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<DATE>2009-03-24</DATE>
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<NAME>Scott Lepisto</NAME>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE SAINTS GUIDE, IN THREE TREATISES;
<LIST>
<ITEM>I. <HI>The Mirror of Mercie,</HI> on Gen. 6.13.</ITEM>
<ITEM>II. <HI>The Carnall Mans Condition,</HI> on Rom. 1.18</ITEM>
<ITEM>III. <HI>The Plantation of the Righteous,</HI> on P&s;a. 1.3</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>By THOMAS HOO|KER <HI>Mini&s;ter in New-England.</HI></P>
<P>Printed at <HI>London</HI> for <HI>John Stafford</HI> over a|gain&s;t <HI>Brids Church.</HI></P>
<P>1645.</P>
<PB REF="2">
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="sermon">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>The Contents of the Fir&s;t Sermon. <HI>Gen.</HI> 6.13.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM>Doct. IN the generality, marriage with a contrary Religion ever brings de&s;truction. p. <HI>5.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Doct. <HI>1.</HI> The Spirit of God doth ever undoubtedly accompanie the Mini&s;try of the word. p. <HI>12.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Rea&s;. <HI>1.</HI> Becau&s;e God hath &s;et apart the Mini&s;tery of the word to &s;anctifie the &s;oule. p. <HI>13.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Rea&s;. <HI>2.</HI> Becau&s;e it is alwayes either a &s;avour of life, or a &s;avour of death. p. <HI>14.</HI> it doth alwayes accom|pany the word, but it doth not alwayes work. p. <HI>14.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Rea&s;. <HI>3.</HI> Becau&s;e it is able to doe all things. p. <HI>15.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>&V;&s;e. For information to take heede least we take up Armes again&s;t the word of God, for the word of God. and the Spirit of God goe together, p. <HI>17.</HI> this &s;inne is neere to the &s;inne again&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t. p. <HI>17.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Doct. <HI>2.</HI> The Lord by the Power of his Spirit in the Mini&s;try of the word &s;trives with poore re|bellious &s;inners for their good, and they appo&s;e both his Spirit, and their owne good, p. <HI>19.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Q. How doth the Spirit &s;trive. p. <HI>24.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A.
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1.</HI> By way of per&s;wa&s;ion,</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2.</HI> By terrour and puni&s;hment.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3.</HI> If this prevailes not then mercy overcomes the &s;inner. p. <HI>25.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>1.</HI> If the &s;inner be &s;ecure, the Lord &s;ummoneth him into his Court. p. <HI>26.</HI>
<PB REF="3">
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1.</HI> By bringing him to the word. p. <HI>27.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2.</HI> By bringing the word home to his under|&s;tanding. p. <HI>28.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2.</HI> If the &s;inner careles, God makes him attend, and bring the word &s;o evident to the Soule, that it cannot evade it. p. <HI>28.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3.</HI> If ignorant he informes him. p. <HI>30.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4.</HI> If carnall rea&s;on come to excu&s;e the hainou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the &s;ins, the Spirit an&s;wers all its pleas, p. <HI>36.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>5.</HI> Lea&s;t the &s;inner being convinced &s;hould de&s;paire, the Lord lets in the manife&s;tations of his goodnes, p. <HI>37.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>6.</HI> If the &s;inner &s;hall turne this grace into wanton|ne&s;&s;e, &s;o that the wi&s;edome of God re&s;olves to for|&s;ake him. p. <HI>39.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>7.</HI> Then the Patience of God pretend for a longer time, p. <HI>39.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>8.</HI> But if the &s;inner grow more carele&s;&s;e, &s;o that Pa|tience is at a period. p. <HI>41.</HI> then commeth in the long &s;ufferance of God. p. <HI>42.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Rea&s;.
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1.</HI> The Lord doth thus &s;trive that he might glorify the attribute of his mercy, p. <HI>56</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2.</HI> That he might leave the world without excu&s;e, p. <HI>57.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>&V;&s;e <HI>1.</HI> For instruction to con&s;ider,
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>1.</HI> Of the riches of Gods free grace,</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2.</HI> Of the depth of that rebellion that is in the &s;oules of men, p. <HI>57.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>&V;&s;e <HI>2.</HI> For information, That the condemnation of
<PB REF="3">the wicked is marvellous ju&s;t, p. <HI>62.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>&V;&s;e <HI>3.</HI> For reproofe of them that &s;trive with men, for their hurt, and ruine, p. <HI>64.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>&V;&s;e <HI>4.</HI> For exhortation, in imitation of God to &s;trive to bring others to the Lord. p. <HI>68.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>&V;&s;e <HI>5.</HI> For comfort, if the &s;inner after all, will but entertaine the Lord, the Lord will entertaine him, p. <HI>78.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Doct: <HI>4.</HI> Though God &s;trive long with &s;inners, and give them long time of repentance, and yet they returne not but abu&s;e his mercy and patience, the Lord will cea&s;e to &s;trive with them, and take ei|ther the meanes from them, or them from the meanes, or his ble&s;&s;ing from both p. <HI>80.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="sermon">
<HEAD>The Contents of the &s;econd Sermon. <HI>Rom.</HI> 1.18.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM>Ob&s;er. <HI>1:</HI> SIns again&s;t the fir&s;t table are &s;innes of a deeper dye of a &s;adder nature, then &s;innes again&s;t the &s;econd table. p. <HI>92.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Ob&s;er <HI>2.</HI> Gods wrath is not primarily not princi|pally intended again&s;t mens per&s;ons, but again&s;t their &s;innes. p. <HI>92.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Ob&s;er <HI>3.</HI> The Gentiles naturally have that ingra&s;|ted in them whereby they may come in &s;ome de|gree to the knowledge of God, p <HI>93.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Doct: <HI>1.</HI> Much of God, of the power, greatne&s;&s;e, and goodne&s;&s;e of God may be knowne, and learned out of the Booke of the Creatures, p. <HI>97.</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="4">
<ITEM>Doct. <HI>2.</HI> That all wicked men are enemies to, and oppo&s;ors of the truth of God, p. <HI>97.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Doct. <HI>3.</HI> The ground of this oppo&s;ition again&s;t the truth of God is from that corruption that is in their hearts, p. <HI>97.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Doct. <HI>4.</HI> All &s;uch unrighteous ones as oppo&s;e the word of truth, &s;hall &s;urely beare the wrath of God, p. <HI>98.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Doct: in generall. Carnall and corrupt men do hin|der the powerfull officatiou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the word of truth from working upon their &s;infull hearts, pre|vayling with them, and &s;ubduing of them, as much as in them lyeth, by rea&s;on of that inbred corruption that is in their hearts. p. <HI>98.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Q. What is the Power of truth, or what would it worke upon the &s;oule that wiked men oppo&s;e it.</ITEM>
<ITEM>A. Fir&s;t it is a word of information di&s;covering things in their proper colours: p. <HI>106.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>2.</HI> It is a word of quickening, it not onely &s;heweth the way, but inableth a man to walke therein. p. <HI>108.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>3.</HI> The word hath a drawing power with it. p. <HI>108.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>4.</HI> It is a word of conviction, able to beare downe all carnall rea&s;onings. p. <HI>109.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Q. How doth a carnall man hinder the powerfull working of the word, p. <HI>110.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A: <HI>1.</HI> He is unwilling to li&s;ten to the truth of God, p. <HI>111.</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="4">
<ITEM>A: <HI>2.</HI> He is ever ready to ray&s;e an evill report of the truth. p. <HI>115.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A: <HI>3:</HI> A carnall heart doth oppo&s;e the truth by re&s;i&s;t|ing the word of conviction, p. <HI>119.</HI> and that is done either by extenuating his &s;inne, or villifying of the word of God: p. <HI>120.</HI> and a low e&s;teeme of the word is the ground of all oppo&s;ition again&s;t the word, p. <HI>120.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A: <HI>4:</HI> If a carnall heart cannot, by carnall rea&s;on de|feate the truth, then it falls to downe right oppo&s;i|tion again&s;t the truth. p. <HI>124</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A: <HI>3:</HI> Rea&s;. <HI>1.</HI> Carnall men doe oppo&s;e the truth, becau&s;e they are unwilling for to have their &s;innes removed, p. <HI>126.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>&V;&s;e <HI>1.</HI> First to examine our &s;elves whether the Commandements of the Lord are not grevious unto us. p. <HI>129.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>&V;&s;e <HI>2:</HI> For con&s;olation to them that finde their hearts willing for to let goe all beloved &s;innes, and to come up to the Lord in every knowne truth. p. <HI>134.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="sermon">
<HEAD>The Contents of the third Sermon. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 1.3.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM>Doct. It is the duty of a godly man not onely to per|forme tho&s;e dutyes, di&s;charge tho&s;e &s;ervices that God requireth of him, but to doe them in the fit|te&s;t &s;ea&s;on. p. <HI>147.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Q. How &s;hall a man di&s;cerne the &s;ea&s;on of his &s;ervices, p. <HI>151.</HI></ITEM>
<PB REF="5">
<ITEM>A. <HI>1.</HI> When all circumstances, and occa&s;ions doe concurre for a duty that is the &s;ea&s;on. p. <HI>151.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A. <HI>2.</HI> We mu&s;t let each time have his allowance. p. <HI>152</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A. <HI>3.</HI> That time is mo&s;t &s;ea&s;onable when we finde our bodyes, and &s;pirits be&s;t di&s;po&s;ed for &s;uch &s;ervices. p. <HI>153.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A. <HI>4.</HI> We &s;hould &s;o di&s;charge them that one duty may be helpfull to another, p. <HI>156.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Severall rules for ocea&s;ionall dutyes, p. <HI>157.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That duty which is mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary, and excellent mu&s;t be taken up, and the other let pa&s;&s;e. p. <HI>159</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>That which concernes Gods glory is to be preferred before that which crucernes a mans &s;elfe. p. <HI>159</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>We mu&s;t doe good to our &s;elves in the fir&s;t pla&s;e, p. <HI>160.</HI> But I mu&s;t not preferre my body, before anothers &s;oule, nor my temporalls before his &s;pi+ritualls, nor my good; before his life. p. <HI>160.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Rea&s;: <HI>1.</HI> If the &s;ea&s;on of doing dutyes be taken, it beautifies all our actions. p. <HI>161.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>&V;&s;e <HI>1.</HI> For triall, whether we have &s;ea&s;onably di&s;|charged our dutyes in regard of our generall, and particular callings. p. <HI>165.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>&V;&s;e <HI>2.</HI> For in&s;truction, it teacheth us that the life of a Chri&s;tian is not an idle life. p. <HI>167.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>&V;&s;e <HI>3.</HI> For incouragement, now to &s;top in that we may be cured, while the &s;ea&s;on of grace la&s;teth. p. <HI>168.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="1" REF="5">
<HEAD>THE MERROR <HI>OF</HI> MERCY.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>GEN. 6.13.</HI></BIBL>
<P>And God &s;aid my Spirit &s;hall not &s;trive with Man, for that he al&s;o is fle&s;h, yet his dayes &s;hall be an hundred and twen|tie yeares.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_THe Scope of this Chapter, and the intendment of the Spirit of GOD therein, is mainely to di&s;co|ver
<PB N="2" REF="6">two things, <HI>viz.</HI> The different condition, or &s;eve|rall &s;orts of the people of the old world before the Flood, in the fir&s;t part of the Chap|ter, and then the different di&s;|pen&s;ation of Gods provi|dence towards them, an&s;we|rable both to their per&s;ons and &s;innes, in the &s;econd part of the Chapter.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t, ob&s;erve fir&s;t, the carriage of the common route in &s;everall Expre&s;&s;ions, from the fift, to the end of the &s;even ver&s;e; and Secondly, the holy demeanour of ble&s;|&s;ed <HI>Noah</HI> in the eight and nine ver&s;es, <HI>But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, Noah was a ju&s;t man and perfect in his generation and walked with God. Noah</HI> in that wicked time and place, and among&s;t
<PB N="3" REF="6">a wicked people, was an <HI>holy and righteous man,</HI> &s;aith the Text.</P>
<P>Touching the carriage and behaviour of wicked men, ob&s;erve the hainou&s;ne&s;&s;e of their &s;innes in tho&s;e unrea&s;o|nable and unlawfull lu&s;ts and abhominable actions again&s;t the light of Nature and the law of God; &s;aith the text be|fore, <HI>the &s;onnes of God &s;aw the Daughters of men that they were faire, and they took them wives of all which they cho&s;e.</HI> As who &s;hould &s;ay, they cared not whether they plea&s;ed God or not, they are re&s;olved to plea&s;e them&s;elves, their owne filthy appetites and humours.</P>
<P>The &s;ons of God were the po&s;terity of <HI>Seth</HI> who had the ordinances and the wor&s;hip of God in outward profe&s;&s;i|on:
<PB N="4" REF="7">And the daughters of men the daughters of <HI>Cain,</HI> they were of another brood, and the&s;e &s;onnes again&s;t Rea|&s;on, Religion, even all com|mon &s;ence and hone&s;tie a|gain&s;t the Lawes of God and the workes of their owne con|&s;ciences joyne with the&s;e daughters in marriage, and the&s;e mongrell kind of marri|ages produce Mon&s;ters, not onely for &s;tate of body, but of mon&s;trous condition and manners, &s;uch as were mon|&s;trou&s;ly proud, prophane and in all wickedne&s;&s;e abounding.</P>
<P>Secondly, touching Gods proceedings and carriage of him&s;elfe again&s;t the genera|tion of the&s;e men. Ob&s;erve it in the words of the Text, wherein the Lord &s;ets downe as it were a &s;entance of doome
<PB N="5" REF="7">again&s;t them, whence ob&s;erve <HI>that as &s;oone as &s;in is propoun|ded God enters immediatly into a Coun&s;ell and determination a|gain&s;t the Sinners.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ob&s;er.</NOTE> Expect when once ba&s;e and &s;infull cour&s;es are put in practi&s;e, Judgment comes and that &s;uddenly. So from the &s;ins of the&s;e people ob&s;erve <HI>That marriages with a contrary Religion ever brings de&s;truction. Soloman</HI> tooke &s;trange wives and therefore his Crowne was rent from him. They cho&s;e new gods faith <HI>Deborah</HI> and there was warre in their gates. Here is no &s;ooner mention made of combining and mixing with contrary Religions, <HI>Seth</HI> and his po&s;terity, with <HI>Cain</HI> and his, but Judgment forthwith en&s;ues and proceeds, <HI>And God
<PB N="6" REF="8">&s;aid my &s;pirit &s;hall not &s;trive with man, for that he al&s;o is fle&s;h, yet his daies &s;hall be an hundred and twenty yeares.</HI> In which words take notice, Fir&s;t of Gods determination what he will doe; &s;eeing they will have their owne waies and wills, he will not want of his will, he will proceede to Judgment, and if God de|termine a Judgment, who &s;hall hinder it?</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2"> Secondly, of the rea&s;on of Gods determination herein. In the Determination con&s;i|der. <MILESTONE N="1"> Fir&s;t, what is &s;uppo&s;ed and mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be gran|ted; <HI>That God doth and will de&s;troy Sinners.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2"> Secondly what is expre&s;t and &s;et downe, and that ge|nerally and particularly.</P>
<P>Generally, <HI>That God will
<PB N="7" REF="8">&s;trive with Sinners before he enters into Judgment.</HI> In the Text, <HI>one hundred and twenty yeares,</HI> a large time of Re|pentance, longer then they had of living.</P>
<P>Particularly, There is the bounds and limits of Gods mercy, <HI>God will not alwaies &s;trive with man.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2"> Secondly Ob&s;erve that the Rea&s;on is &s;et downe by way of aggravation, <HI>For that man is al&s;o fle&s;h.</HI> As if it had beene &s;aid, not onely that ba&s;e ge|neration of <HI>Cain</HI> that had ca&s;t away the Law of God, and made Lu&s;t their Law, but e|ven <HI>Seths</HI> Po&s;teritie, Even thy &s;ervants (O Lord) that pro|fe&s;&s;e the Faith, and have the wor&s;hippe and Ordinances of God, they even they al&s;o are fle&s;hly and &s;en&s;uall; not one|ly
<PB N="8" REF="9"><HI>Rome, Spaine, Italy;</HI> and <HI>Turkes,</HI> but <HI>England</HI> thy peo|ple that have beene baptized profe&s;&s;ed thy truth, enjoyed thy Ordinances, They are loo&s;e and prophane; So that this al&s;o apparantly implies not onely <HI>Cains</HI> Po&s;teritie, the wicked, but <HI>Seths</HI> Seede, the <HI>Church</HI> of God, members of the vi&s;ible Church; the&s;e, though profe&s;&s;ing the truth, depart from the truth, &amp; practi&s;e the abominations of the wicked.</P>
<P>Before we come to the &s;e|verall pa&s;&s;ages of the Text, we mu&s;t unfold the words.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, what is meant by &s;pirit here, it is the Holy Gho&s;t, for God owneth this &s;pirit, <HI>My Spirit,</HI> The third Per&s;on in the glorious <HI>Trinity;</HI> Now God &s;triveth, not only miraculou&s;ly or immediately
<PB N="9" REF="9">by Divination, but mo&s;t u&s;u|ally, and now mediately by the Mini&s;tery of his Word. God &s;trove with this genera|tion of the old World by the Mini&s;tery of <HI>Enoch</HI> and <HI>Noah,</HI> the Lord immediatly a&s;&s;i&s;ting and advi&s;ing them, they &s;poke not their owne words, but &s;uch as Gods Spi|rit, put into their mouthes, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1. the la&s;t ver. <HI>Holy men of God &s;pake as they were moved by the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> &s;o that by &s;pirit here is meant the Spirit of God, and by that &s;pirit in the Mini&s;tery of the <HI>Patriarks</HI> and <HI>Prophets,</HI> the Lord &s;trove with the men of the old world, and former Ages.</P>
<P>Secondly, what is meant by &s;triving; The Greeke In|terpretors tran&s;lates the word &s;o as it hath no agreement
<PB N="10" REF="10">with the word Spirit, and in|deed we &s;hall rather aime at it then explicate it.</P>
<P>The word is taken from a Theame which &s;ignifieth to judge, or condemne in judge|ing, but it is not here meant in judgment, but a debating of the matter betweene God and a &s;inner. Now, if God &s;hould call a man to accompt and enter into judgment with a &s;inner, who is able to &s;tand before him? what man may contend with him that is mightier? <HI>Eccle&s;ia.</HI> 6.10. <HI>No man is able to abide God or contend with him in judgment.</HI> But God here deales with man an&s;werable to the nature of a man, not with blowes, but with rea&s;onings and di|&s;putes, He, as it were, enters a Law Ca&s;e with the poore
<PB N="11" REF="10">&s;innefull &s;onnes of men, and proceedes in a judiciall cour&s;e to recover a poore &s;inner from the pathes of death wherein hee &s;traied, to his owne wor&s;hip which the &s;in|ner wholly declined from; as yee &s;ee men goe to Law, one &s;aith the Land is mine, another &s;aith hee hath be&s;t right to it, and &s;o their title comes legally to be tried: E|ven &s;o &s;inne and Satan &s;ay the &s;oule are theirs, and the &s;inner is content to goe with with them to Hell, but the Lord enters li&s;ts, and claimes by a higher title, and &s;aith that the &s;oule is his; by him it was created, Redeamed, made to honour his Creator, to be happy in his Saviour: And how God &s;trives herein you &s;hall &s;ee afterwards. But
<PB N="12" REF="11">I take this to be the value of the &s;ence, &s;o that from the fir&s;t part of the Text, ob&s;erve the&s;e foure Doctrines.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="1"><HI>The Spirit of God doth ever undoubtedly and un&s;eperably accompany the Mini&s;try of the Word:</HI> Gods Word and his Spirit alwayes goe toge|ther.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2"><HI>The Lord by the power of his Spirit in the Word, in the cour&s;e of his Providence, &s;trives with poore rebellious Sinners for their good and they oppo&s;e both his Spirit and their own good.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3"><HI>God &s;triveth long with Sin|ners,</HI> here with the old world one hundred; and twentie yeares.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4"><HI>Though God &s;trives long with Sinners, and yet they re|turne not, God will leave them to them&s;elves, and their &s;innes
<PB N="13" REF="11">to the power and cur&s;e of &s;inne, and the judgements and plagues de&s;erved.</HI></P>
<P>Of the fir&s;t Doctrine, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<P><HI>That Gods Spirit doth ever</HI> <MILESTONE N="1"><HI>accompany the Word and the Mini&s;try thereof.</HI></P>
<P>By the Spirit of God, I meane the eternall Spirit, the holy Gho&s;t, doth in &s;peci|all manner accompany the Word; know that God is e|very where, and knoweth all things, but in a &s;peciall man|ner he is with this; if the Word commands, hee com|mands, and if the Word for|bids, he forbids, <HI>Rom.</HI> 1.16. <HI>The Go&s;pell is the power of God to the &s;alvation of man.</HI></P>
<P>But how doth this appeare to be &s;o?</P>
<P>I An&s;wer, it appeareth in three things: Fir&s;t, God doth
<PB N="14" REF="12">plea&s;e to &s;et this worke apart, to wit, the Mini&s;try of the Word, to &s;ave and &s;anctifie our &s;oules which all the lear|ning in the world cannot do.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2"> Secondly, the Lord by the power of his Spirit doth con|&s;tantly and continually ac|company this worke as hee thinks good, to be a confuta|tion to the wicked, and a con|&s;olation to the godly, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.16, 17. To the one it is a favour of death, to the other it is a favour of life, it either kills the &s;oule, or &s;aves the &s;oule, though it ever accompanies the word, yet this work of the Spirit is a voluntary worke.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3"> Thirdly, it doth alwayes accompany the Word, but doth not alwayes worke; for &s;ome after twenty or thirtie yeares are converted, &s;o that
<PB N="15" REF="12">it doth not alwayes worke. Looke as the brazen Serpent was lift up in the wilderne&s;&s;e that who&s;oever looked on it that was &s;tung with the fiery Serpents &s;hould be healed: there was a healing vertue in it, he &s;et it apart for that pur|po&s;e; for that had no vertue of it &s;elfe, but becau&s;e God would worke by it, &s;o that who&s;oever looked on it might be healed: &s;o it is with the Word of God: for the Mi|ni&s;ters thereof are no more a|ble to convert then others, but becau&s;e God hath promi|&s;ed to accompany them in di&s;pen&s;ation of it.</P>
<P><MILESTONE UNIT="Rea&s;."> <HI>Rea&s;on.</HI> Fir&s;t taken from the fruit and effect of this Word, that it is able to doe all things: In the beginning it was able to doe that which
<PB N="16" REF="13">men and Angells cannot doe, <HI>Heb.</HI> 4.12. <HI>The Word of God is quick and powerfull, and &s;harp|er then any two edged Sword, piercing even to the deviding a&s;&s;under of the &s;oule and Spirit, and a di&s;coverie of the thoughts of the heart.</HI> It is Gods faith|full word, the rea&s;on why Carnall men fall out with the Mini&s;ters of the word, and &s;ay, you &s;peake again&s;t mee, I know you meane mee. No, no, we know not your hearts, but God doth, and the word of God knows them and that findes you out, <HI>John</HI> 5.25. <HI>The dead &s;hall heare the voice of the Sonne of God,</HI> the meaning is, they that are dead in &s;ins: for by Nature everie man is dead in &s;inne. It mu&s;t be more then all men can doe, as our Saviour &s;aid to <HI>Lazarus,</HI> when
<PB N="17" REF="13">men &s;tood weeping by, but Chri&s;t &s;aid <HI>Lazarus</HI> come forth, <HI>Joh.</HI> 11.43. It mu&s;t be Gods Word that mu&s;t rai&s;e us from the death of &s;inne to the life of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e.</HI> Fir&s;t of In&s;truction to take heede of taking up of Armes again&s;t the Spirit of God, we &s;ee the hainous &s;in of them that de&s;pi&s;e the Mi|ni&s;trie of the Go&s;pell, men may thinke it nothing; but alas, you know not what it is: for the word of God, and the Spirit of God goe together, as the ble&s;&s;ed Martyr <HI>Steven</HI> &s;aid to the Jewes, <HI>Act.</HI> 7.51. <HI>Ye &s;tiffenecked and uncercum|&s;i&s;ed in heart and eares, yee doe alwayes re&s;i&s;t the holy Gho&s;t as did your Fathers &s;o doe you,</HI> therefore take heede, you are neere to the &s;inne again&s;t the
<PB N="18" REF="14">holy Gho&s;t: for it is not the Word of man, but the Word of God, it is the Spirit that thou &s;hould&s;t be &s;aved by, that thou ha&s;t oppo&s;ed; you goe away with the contempt of the Go&s;pell, and make that nothing, thou ha&s;t &s;inned a|gain&s;t God and his Spirit that accompanies the Word: O Coun&s;ell one another, &s;ay, doe you know what you do? It is Gods Spirit, that mu&s;t comfort you? that mu&s;t &s;ave you; It is that that you op|po&s;e: when you oppo&s;e the word, take heede, for this is above ince&s;tuous &s;innes. <HI>Luke</HI> 3.19.20. <HI>Herod</HI> was an in|ce&s;tuous &s;innner, but above all his &s;ins he added this, that he put <HI>John</HI> in pri&s;on, he was an ince&s;tuous Adulterer, yet putting <HI>John</HI> in pri&s;on was a|bove
<PB N="19" REF="14">all, <HI>Math.</HI> 11.21.22. <HI>It &s;hall be ea&s;ier for Sodome and Gomorrah in the day of Judg|ment then for you that oppre&s;&s;e the word of the Lord.</HI> So much for the fir&s;t point.</P>
<P>And now I will fa&s;ten up|on the &s;econd point, which I conceive is the pith and &s;ub|&s;tance, even the maine life of the Text; <HI>viz. That the Lord by the power of his Spirit in the word &s;triveth with poore &s;inners for their good, and they in the meane time oppo&s;e both his Spi|rit and their owne good.</HI> The Parties are God and man; God &s;trives, and the &s;inner &s;trives, The Lord invents wayes to work off the Soule from its &s;innes, and its de|&s;truction, and the Sinner makes it his maine peece and care, his cheife skill and cun|ning
<PB N="20" REF="15">to hinder the good word of the Lord, in the worke up|on his &s;oule for his &s;alvation. In common experience wee &s;ee it, If God open the eies of a Drunkard, or awaken the Adulterer, what a deale of &s;tirre there is; One drinkes it off; another plaies it out, a third dambes up his Soule with untempered mortar; Any thing, or any way, that the good Spirit of the Lord may not prevaile. If the Lord turne the face of a child or a &s;ervant in the familie towards him, then pre&s;ently there is hue and crie up by the Father or the Ma&s;ter; He is an un|done man, or an undone wo|man; then there is labouring by all meanes po&s;sible to &s;ti|fle the worke of grace in the heart: Thus when God &s;tri|veth
<PB N="21" REF="15">to pluck men out of their &s;innes, they continue in &s;inne, and &s;o &s;ubject them&s;elves to eternall puni&s;hment, therfore may the contention grow marvellous great, God &s;tri|veth, and &s;inne and Satan &s;trive, and man holds it out to the la&s;t, As appeares <HI>Math.</HI> 23.37. <HI>O Jeru&s;alem, thou that kille&s;t the Prophets, and &s;tone&s;t them that were &s;ent to thee, &amp;c.</HI> there is the bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, and marke, <HI>how often would I have gathered you, &amp;c. and you would not.</HI> The Father would draw men to his Sonne to be faved, but <HI>John:</HI> 5.4. <HI>ye will not come unto me that ye may be &s;aved:</HI> whil&s;t our Saviour thus &s;trives with the cords of mer|cie to draw men to &s;alvation, they labour to withdraw them&s;elves from him, and to
<PB N="22" REF="16">plundge them&s;elves into damnation. <HI>Act.</HI> 18.5, 6. <HI>Paul &s;trengthened with the &s;pirit convinced them boldly, and by &s;trength of Argument laid hold upon their under&s;tandings pro|ving that Je&s;us was the Chri&s;t.</HI> But they came as in pitcht battell again&s;t that Doctrine of life, and &s;alvation, they did gain&s;ay and bla&s;pheme it; the word in the originall &s;ig|nifies, <HI>They planted forces in order, and came in battell ar|ray again&s;t tho&s;e ble&s;&s;ed truthes he delivered:</HI> and in other pla|ces of the <HI>Acts,</HI> when <HI>Paul</HI> revealed the truth, <HI>part joyned with the Apo&s;tles, part with the Jewes, &s;ome were convinced, others gain&s;ayed, and re&s;i&s;ted.</HI> See then how a poore &s;inner breakes all the cords of grace and mercie, as <HI>P&s;alm.</HI> 2.3.
<PB N="23" REF="16">when there the wicked com|bine again&s;t Chri&s;t, &s;ay they, <HI>Let us breake his Bonds a&s;&s;un|der, and ca&s;t his Cords from us.</HI> Gods Coun&s;ells, Commands, Reproofes, &amp;c. are the cords they breake: the threatnings of the word, the checkes of Con&s;cience, all the tyes of mercie, they &s;nappe in peices, they breake all and wilfully withdraw them&s;elvs from &s;alvation, we neede no more witne&s;&s;es to ca&s;t this cau&s;e, wofull experience dai|ly produces too many; all difficulty re&s;ts in the Expli|cation of this: And therin <MILESTONE N="1"> ob&s;erve three things.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, I will di&s;cover how God drawes and &s;trives with the &s;inner, what a deale of doe it is to bring a &s;inner to <MILESTONE N="2"> everla&s;ting life.</P>
<PB N="24" REF="17">
<P>Secondly, the rea&s;on why God doth &s;o &s;trive.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Application here|of.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, how doth the Lord &s;trive? The good Spirit of the Lord followes a Suit him&s;elfe again&s;t a &s;inner, and pleades a Law-Ca&s;e with him. I doe confe&s;&s;e the dealing of God is marveil|lous &s;trange herein, and I in|geniou&s;ly acknowledge I want both skill and heart to &s;et forth the pleadings of God herein: But, he is onely able to &s;peake for him&s;elfe, and by his gratious a&s;si&s;tance wee &s;hall ob&s;erve to you &s;uch pleaes as God affords in Scripture, how the Lord hath dealt herein. To the point then. How the Lord pleades and &s;trives with a
<PB N="25" REF="17">&s;inner, I referre to two heads.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. By way of per&s;wa|&s;ion.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. By way of con&s;traint and compul&s;ion.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>Wherein we &s;hall ob&s;erve all the cords of mercie and bondes of compa&s;sion. Fir&s;t, &s;triving, and if tho&s;e doe not prevaile, execution of puni&s;hment, terrours and a &s;trong hand pur&s;ues a &s;inner in mercie, and at la&s;t, if all faile, mercy overcomes the &s;inner; wherein &s;ee, God fir&s;t di&s;covers the matter in controver&s;ie Proceedes to execution, and by repreive at la&s;t prevailes by mercy o|ver judgement.</P>
<P>Touching the fir&s;t part, and of the pleaes of mercy in &s;cripture we mu&s;t referre our
<PB N="26" REF="18">ob&s;ervation hereof to foure heads.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, As in a &s;uite of Law before there can be a day of Heareing, the Party is &s;um|moned to an&s;wer.</P>
<P>So the Lord having a Controver&s;ie with a &s;inner, the Lord &s;ummons the &s;inner into his Court, the Lord cau&s;eth a Writ to i&s;&s;ue out to attach a &s;infull Creature that lieth &s;norting in his &s;ins, and &s;ecurely po&s;ts to de&s;tru|ction, one that never &s;aw his mi&s;erie and wants, and never &s;ought for mercy and &s;upply, Salvation being the furthe&s;t end of his thoughts, and the lea&s;t part of his care. Now the Lord doth bring this about in his providence, by bringing them to the word, and therein mercifully ma|king
<PB N="27" REF="18">knowne the &s;inners e|&s;tate before ever he imagi|ned thereof. <HI>J&s;a:</HI> 65.5. <HI>I was found of them that &s;ought mee not.</HI> Hence in ordinarie experience many a poore &s;in|full creature hath beene acci|dentally ca&s;t into &s;uch a Towne, or into a good fa|milie, and the Lord comes upon him on a &s;uddaine when he never dreamed of life and grace. As many a &s;oule in the acknowledgment of Gods mercy and provi|dence breakes out in this wonder, Oh that I &s;hould be brought into &s;uch a place, &s;uch a familie, and meete with &s;uch opportunities, when I dreamed of it as little as of doomes day and de&s;i|red nothing more then mi&s;|cheife, that God &s;hould &s;top
<PB N="28" REF="19">me in the way to <HI>Hell:</HI> See that of <HI>Saul</HI> when he was running to <HI>Dama&s;cus,</HI> ah (&s;aith he) I will take the&s;e Puritaines in their Conven|ticles; a light &s;hin'd &s;udden|ly from Heaven and almo&s;t tumbled him downe into <HI>Hell;</HI> Even &s;uch a kinde of light is let into the &s;oule; not that we mu&s;t expect a miracle, or a new thing, but when the word is brought home to the under&s;tanding, the &s;oule will thinke tho&s;e &s;trange things, &s;uch as hee never heard or thought of.</P>
<P>And if the finner growes carele&s;&s;e and will not attend, God calls upon the &s;oule, and drawes the minde to at|tend, holds the light to the eye, and brings the Word &s;o evident to the &s;oule that it
<PB N="29" REF="19">cannot evade, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 16.2. <HI>Sonne of man cau&s;e the Chil|dren of J&s;raell to know their abominations.</HI> The Prophet, 1 <HI>Kings</HI> 21.20. having a Me&s;&s;age to <HI>Ahab</HI> after his great wickedne&s;&s;e, &s;ee how the &s;ight of the Prophet &s;tar|tles him, and makes him &s;narle, <HI>Ha&s;t thou founde mee out? Oh mine Enemy,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Ahab.</HI> The worde findes a man out and drawes the minde to attend it. The &s;oule would be carele&s;&s;e and &s;e|cure, will not heare, not at|tend. The Lord knockes as the doore of the &s;oule, findes him out behinde the Pillor, awakens him a&s;leepe in his Pue, finds him out his &s;innes, and di&s;covers his abomina|tions. The Lord comes home to the &s;oule, and tells him
<PB N="30" REF="20">thou art the man that hath &s;inned, and thou &s;halt bee plagued; God deales like a Wra&s;tler, fir&s;t catches hold then comes in, and at la&s;t throwes a man upon his back makes him yeeld and con|fe&s;&s;e, I am the man. Thus the Lord cau&s;eth the minde to attende the word. The Lord tells the Drunkard that the Alehou&s;e is not the way to Heaven, and the Adulterour that his way leads, to perditi|on, brings them to the word, and cau&s;eth them to attend thereto.</P>
<P>And further the Soule at|tending the word, and be|ing ignorant and knowing no good, the Lord informes a &s;inner and &s;ets up a light of wi&s;edome in his minde to conceive of the nature of
<PB N="31" REF="20">&s;inne, whereby he hath pro|voked God. He that yet ne|ver knew what &s;inne was, now it &s;tares him in his face, and he beholds it with a|mazement, and in &s;ome mea|&s;ure al&s;o comes to conceive of the nature of grace, he be|ginnes to &s;ee the excellencie of Faith and Repentance, what it is to bee in a Chri&s;t, what it is to want a Chri&s;t: the man is become an appre|hen&s;ive man (&s;aith God) <HI>I will cau&s;e the hou&s;e of J&s;raell to know their abhominations.</HI> It is not &s;ufficient to come and heare the word, and never attend it, or con&s;ider of it; But if God comes with it, it will make the Drunkard know what it is to be drunke, and the Di&s;&s;embler what it is to deale fa&s;ly with God and
<PB N="32" REF="21">his truth, <HI>Job.</HI> 36.9. Hee &s;hewes them their workes and their tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions. God &s;hewes a man his iniquities, God &s;hewes a man his pride, his vanity of minde, the judgements threatned, the plague de&s;erved. Oh then, The &s;inner &s;aith, this is my &s;inne, and this is the puni&s;h|ment due to mee, that is, the Nature of my abhomination, and that is the judgement of God for it. Thus I &s;ay the Lord takes hold of a &s;inner; And this is the fir&s;t way by &s;ummons or Subpena, If a &s;inner be &s;ecure, God brings him to the word; if then care|le&s;&s;e, God makes him at|tend; If ignorant, he informs him; As in a Law ca&s;e, The man is not onely attatched to appeare, but when he ap|peares
<PB N="33" REF="21">there is a declaration of the fact; So the Lord &s;hewes the &s;oule what his &s;innes are, what neede there is of Chri&s;t, grace, faith, and repentance, which hee never knew of before.</P>
<P>Secondly, Thus the Action being laid, oh, the &s;infull heart invents marvellous &s;trange &s;hifts and eva&s;ions.</P>
<P>The day is appointed for the triall, what Lawyer doth the Soule get to plead his Cau&s;e? He &s;ends for carnall rea&s;on, as <HI>Pharaoh</HI> &s;ent for the Magicians, And when God hath opened his eyes, and di&s;covered his &s;oule to his &s;oule, then he calls in, I &s;ay, the Magicians of carnall rea|&s;on to plead again&s;t the word of God le&s;t it &s;hould prevaile, or his &s;ins &s;hould lie &s;o heavy
<PB N="34" REF="22">upon him as to tire and wea|ry him out of them. Fir&s;t, it excu&s;eth the hainou&s;ne&s;&s;e of &s;inne, that the &s;in was not &s;o great, that though the Mini|&s;ter &s;peake as if we were all Saints, yet are we not all &s;in|ners; who then &s;hall goe un|puni&s;hed? we doe not looke to be &s;aved by our &s;elves or our workes, but by Je|&s;us Chri&s;t, and he came to &s;ave Sinners, It is but looking towards him, and crying God mercie at la&s;t; but, &s;aith the Mini&s;ter, we mu&s;t be &s;ancti|fied as well as &s;aved. <HI>Acts.</HI> 3. 26. God having rai&s;ed up his Sonne Je&s;us &s;ent him to ble&s;&s;e you in turning every one of you from his evill way; That is ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e; we mu&s;t be reformed, if conforted; humbled, if glorified; What
<PB N="35" REF="22">&s;aith the Sinner, mu&s;t I for|&s;ake my evill waies? we know no man can, what need a man to be &s;o preci&s;e and cu|rious? Thus with the&s;e and many other plea&s;e carnal rea|&s;on, like a cunning Solicitour, with the helpe of the Divell, who will play the crafty Lawyer, and what the one can invent, and the other &s;ug|ge&s;t will be &s;urely pleaded to beate backe the power of the word. And tis admirable to con&s;ider what contentions there are herein, and how the wicked heart of man will out|bid all the meanes under heaven untill the &s;pirit of God come in upon the &s;oule, and then as the wi&s;edome of God informes a &s;inner, &s;o the &s;pirit becoms the Advocate of God, that wi&s;e and holy
<PB N="36" REF="23">Spirit by the Mini&s;tery of the word convinceth the &s;inner, <HI>John</HI> 16.8. <HI>And when he is come he will convince the world of &s;inne;</HI> he will an&s;wer all the pleaes and arguments that the &s;inner can make. 2. <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.4, 5. <HI>For the wea|pons of our warfare are not carnall but mighty through God, to the pulling downe of &s;trong holds, Ca&s;ting downe immaginations and every high thing that exalteth it &s;elfe a|gain&s;t the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Chri&s;t:</HI> when the &s;oule ca|vills, what needes all this a|doe. Shall not a man goe to Heaven unle&s;&s;e he pray, heare Sermons, and &s;anctifie the Sabboth? Then the Spirit of God convinces a
<PB N="37" REF="23">man fully, that he hath not a word to &s;ay again&s;t the evi|dence of truth, hee gives up the day, and &s;aith, I confe&s;&s;e I am the man, the&s;e are my &s;innes, I mu&s;t for&s;ake the&s;e or peri&s;h; nay, I mu&s;t for&s;ake all my &s;innes or el&s;e I for|&s;ake none: I &s;ee I cannot be a good Chri&s;tian and a &s;wea|rer, a proud vaine per&s;on, a carele&s;&s;e liver, then a Hea|then, a prophane Athei&s;t will be as good a Chri&s;tian. Thus the action being laide by Information, and the &s;in|ner ca&s;t in the action by the Spirits conviction. Then</P>
<P N="3">3. Lea&s;t the &s;inner now in this e&s;tate apprehending his &s;innes and the hainou&s;ne&s;&s;e of them, and of his de&s;perate forlorne e&s;tate thereby &s;hould &s;inke under his burthen, the
<PB N="38" REF="24">Lord lets in the manife&s;tation of his goodnes into his &s;oule, and the Soule thinkes with it &s;elfe how good is God in his providence to provide the meanes of grace to bring me under them, to &s;hew mee my wanderings, Ah &s;infull, lo&s;t, undone creature; And yet the Go&s;pell of grace and the word of grace invites me to mercie. Oh, Is it po&s;&s;ible that &s;uch a foule as mine &s;hould be recovered? That I am yet alive, yet on this &s;ide hell, yet enjoy the&s;e meanes? <HI>Rom:</HI> 2.4. <HI>The good|ne&s;&s;e of the Lord leadeth unto repentantance,</HI> and it incoura|geth the &s;inner both to com|fort and amendment: doth the Lord vouch&s;afe mee the&s;e mercies? why not my heart purged? why not my
<PB N="39" REF="24">corrupt Natures clean&s;ed? why Lord, thou wa&s;t merci|full to <HI>Mana&s;&s;es</HI> who after all his wickedne&s;&s;e repented and received mercy.</P>
<P N="4">4. If yet the &s;inner &s;hall turne this goodne&s;&s;e of God into wantonne&s;&s;e, and per|vert the meanes of grace unto by ends, becau&s;e he is yet in &s;trength and health, doth and will continue &s;till in his &s;innes, delaies his repentance, Repentance will be &s;oone e|nough hereafter. That the wi&s;edome of God groweth almo&s;t re&s;olved to for&s;ake him, becau&s;e all the wayes thereof for the &s;inners refor|mation are neglected, The goodne&s;&s;e of God is re&s;olved to incourage him no more becau&s;e de&s;pi&s;ed: yet the pa|tience of God commeth in,
<PB N="40" REF="25">and when the Lord is even leaving the &s;inner, and Ju|&s;tice taking hold of venge|ance, the ble&s;&s;ed patience of God &s;teps in and pleades, and enters a new &s;uccor, It intreates the Lord to &s;tay one yeare longer.</P>
<P>When the Lord came three yeares to the Figetree, <HI>Luke</HI> 13.7. and found no fruit, <HI>Cut it downe</HI> (&s;aith the Lord) nay, &s;tay Lord, (&s;aith the Keeper of the Vineyeard) another yeare it may beare. So that Gods patience prevailes, that God doth not yet proceede in ju&s;tice and execute judge|ment. <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 11.8, 9. <HI>How &s;hall I give thee up, O Ephraim? how &s;hall I deliver thee, I&s;raell? how &s;hall I makethee as Ad|mah? how &s;hall I &s;et thee as Ze|beim? mine hart is turned with|in
<PB N="41" REF="25">mee, my repentings are kindled together, I will not execute the fiercene&s;&s;e of mine anger, &amp;c.</HI> See how patience pleades for a poore creature, Oh Lord, this poore &s;inner hath delayed, but he will now re&s;olve, he hath put off the time, but now he hath promi&s;ed that all things &s;hall be amended: now indeed he will &s;et upon the worke of Reformation of him&s;elfe and his family. Lord, try him one moneth, one yeare lon|ger, and he will pray in his familie, &s;anctifie the Sab|both, and live holily, and &s;trictly. But, yet if through the patience of the Lord the &s;inner groweth more careles, he hath promi&s;ed faire, but indeavoures not to amende, continues not in the&s;e good
<PB N="42" REF="26">re&s;olutions, but is more vaine and &s;ecure, patience begin|neth to be wearie. <HI>Jerem.</HI> 5. 6, 7. <HI>Their tran&s;gre&s;sions are many, and their back&s;lidings are increa&s;ed. How &s;hall I par|don thee for this?</HI> Patience is at a &s;tand, comes to a period. How &s;hall I &s;pare? I can goe no further, Then cometh in the long &s;ufferance of God, and though the contempt, neglect, and carele&s;ne&s;&s;e of a &s;inner is continued, yet God indures, <HI>Jerm:</HI> 13. in the la&s;t ver&s;e. <HI>VVoe unto thee, Oh Je|ru&s;alem, wilt thou not be made cleane? when &s;hall it once be?</HI> 140. yeares here in the Text. Oh that the Lord &s;hould beare with a man untill he be an old gray-headed &s;inner; Oh this long fufferance of God is admirable; If not for
<PB N="43" REF="26">this, long before this day we had beene all con&s;umed, <HI>Jer.</HI> 15.6. <HI>I am weary with repen|ting.</HI> Oh ye ancient &s;inners, ye gray-headed and &s;tout-hearted &s;inners, &s;o many yeares to continue in your &s;innes, That God is not onely weary of your &s;wearing, bla&s;phemies and prophanes, But his long &s;ufferance al&s;o is even come to a date. <HI>Forty yeares long was I greived with this generation: P&s;al.</HI> 95.10. VVhat forty yeares together a Contemnor of Gods word, a De&s;pi&s;er of the meanes of grace, and yet &s;pared? See, and wonder then poore &s;in|ner, how thou laboure&s;t to get the better of God, and to out tire his patience, And yet God beares and indures to gather up: when the &s;inner
<PB N="44" REF="27">was carele&s;&s;e and ignorant, the Lord did awaken and in|forme him; when the &s;inner was quarel&s;ome and conten|tious, the Lord did convince and ca&s;t him: when the &s;oule might be di&s;couraged and de&s;paire, the Lord did quic|ken and rai&s;e him up, yet the &s;inner delayed, and God did beare, the &s;inner fal&s;ifyed his promi&s;e, and God did indure: And, what &s;hall the&s;e faire promi&s;es come to nothing? Did&s;t not thou thinke and re|&s;olve to leave thy &s;innes, to take up a new cour&s;e? Re|member the time, the place, the bed of &s;ickne&s;&s;e, the Mini&s;tery of the word, At &s;uch a Sermon, under &s;uch a cro&s;&s;e, Did&s;t not thou at &s;uch a time before thou wente&s;t out of the Congregation &s;ay
<PB N="45" REF="27">with thy &s;elfe, now if it plea&s;e the Lord, this good word of God &s;hall prevaile. I will for&s;ake my lu&s;ts, I will never walke in any former cour&s;es; But alas, all is for|got, and the Lord &s;aith, have I thus long indured, and &s;hall I indure you to continue ever in &s;inne? Now patience and long &s;ufferance are both for vengeance: God can, will not indure longer; now he comes to execution, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 1.24. when the Lord was tired with their abhominations, <HI>Ah, &s;aith the Lord, I will ea&s;e mee of mine adver &s;aries, and avenge mee of mine enemies.</HI> As who &s;hould &s;ay, I will now take hold of vengeance, and that Drunkard and loo&s;e per&s;on that would not for&s;ake his Cuppes and his Queanes,
<PB N="46" REF="28">but continue &s;till in their fil|thy bea&s;tline&s;&s;e, I will ea&s;e me of them with &s;uddaine de&s;truction, and that fal&s;e di&s;&s;embling profe&s;&s;or that made 2 &s;hew of godline&s;&s;e, but denied the power, I will ea&s;e me of him, and &s;pue him out with &s;hame to his face, and horror to his con&s;cience.</P>
<P>But of this in three patri|culars.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, the fiercene&s;&s;e of the furie of the Lord breakes in upon the &s;inner, and the Lord lets in the veines of ven|geance, and his heavie di&s;|plea&s;ure upon the con&s;cience, and like a Pur&s;evant breakes through the Chamber doore, and the wrath of God &s;aith, come away to Hell, away &s;uddenly, goe downe to ever|la&s;ting de&s;truction, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 42.7.
<PB N="47" REF="28"><HI>All thy waves and thy billowes are gone over me.</HI></P>
<P>He that was a kinde loving friend, now is become a ter|rible enemie, and pur&s;ues as fiercely as he per&s;waded mercifully, <HI>Job.</HI> 15.24, 25. <HI>Trouble and angui&s;h &s;hall make him afraide, they &s;hall prevaile again&s;t him, as a King ready to battell, For he &s;tretcheth out his hand again&s;t God, and &s;treng|theneth him&s;elfe again&s;t the Almighty.</HI> But though <HI>Phara|oh</HI> &s;aid, <HI>who is the Lord, (Exod:</HI> 5.2.) <HI>that I &s;hould let them goe, that I &s;hould obey his voyce;</HI> yet God ran upon him, even upon his necke, e|ven upon the thicke bo&s;&s;es of his bucklers, and cru&s;ht the pride and vanity of his &s;oule. The poore &s;inner when he was informed in his judg|ment,
<PB N="48" REF="29">convinced in his con|&s;cience, and &s;triven with by much patience, and long &s;uf|ferance &s;tretched out to the utmo&s;t, yet what though the Mini&s;ter told him of plagues and threatnings, Come (&s;aith he) let us drinke &amp;c. what though they &s;ay we mu&s;t goe to hell and peri&s;h, we &s;ee no &s;uch matter, thus out-faceing the Almighty, and out-brave|ing Gods Mini&s;ters: and they are &s;turdy, and will be &s;o &s;turdy &s;till, and rebellious, and &s;o &s;till continue; well, doe they thinke to carrie it a|way thus? The Lord will runne upon them, and cru&s;h them to peices: the Lord doth not take advantage, but when the &s;inner is &s;tronge&s;t, &s;tout|e&s;t, when his pride is &s;hame|le&s;&s;e and impudent, and he
<PB N="49" REF="29">ruffles it out in de&s;pight of Mini&s;ter, Magi&s;trate, and all bonds, Then God will be e|ven with him. Becau&s;e he co|vers his face with fatnes, be|cau&s;e he is carnall, carele&s;&s;e, goes away, eates, drinkes, riots, takes content in a &s;e|cure, &s;en&s;uall, &s;tubborne cour&s;e: the Lord will runne upon their browes, terrifie the con&s;cience, and confound his impudence: thus, when the &s;inner &s;eemes mo&s;t &s;trong and &s;ecure in &s;inne, God will be mo&s;t keene and &s;tartle the &s;oule. And thus the &s;oule comes fir&s;t to be arre&s;ted.</P>
<P>Secondly, the wrath of God further &s;ends for the &s;in|ner, and drags him to pri&s;on and when he is in pri&s;on ca&s;ts him into the Dungeon, Ju|&s;tice and Gods truth come to
<PB N="50" REF="30">take the forfeiture of all fa|vours and mercies heretofore enjoyed, and not profited by: and as one that is ca&s;t into pri&s;on, then action upon acti|on, and execution upon execu|tion is laid upon a man untill they breake his backe, an un|done man for ever (as we &s;ay) &s;o with the Ju&s;tice of God, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 50.21, 22. <HI>The&s;e things thou ha&s;t done, &amp; 1 kept &s;ilence, and thou thoughte&s;t I was &s;uch a one as thy &s;elfe.</HI> Thou did&s;t not thinke I heard thee in &s;uch a Taverne &s;peaking again&s;t God, his people, his waies, marke, <HI>I held my tongue;</HI> Oh the patience of God: and his forbearance of &s;inners in the mid&s;t of their wickedne&s;&s;e, They prophaned Gods Sab|both, and yet pro&s;pered, they thought <HI>God did not reguard it,</HI>
<PB N="51" REF="30">God allowed it; they de&s;pi&s;ed his holy ones, and lived in jollity, and thought God did not &s;ee it, But all the&s;e backe|reckonings, and forfeitures, and all their abominations are now &s;et in order before their eyes. <HI>Con&s;ider this ye that forget God, lea&s;t I teare you in peices, and there be none to deli|ver you.</HI></P>
<P>Ah, the good Spirit of God; ah, the goodne&s;&s;e of God, his patience, his long &s;ufferance; Everie one of the&s;e comes in and enters an action again&s;t the &s;oule: the&s;e that &s;hould re|fre&s;h my &s;oule, relinqui&s;h it, nay, they aggravate my an|gui&s;h and torment, <HI>Job</HI> 14. 16, 17. <HI>For now thou numbre&s;t my &s;teps, do&s;t thou not watch o|ver my &s;inne? My tran&s;gre&s;sions are &s;ealed up in a bag, and thou
<PB N="52" REF="31">&s;owe&s;t up mine-iniquitie.</HI></P>
<P>Remember &s;uch a time what thou did&s;t, and how I did for|beare, but I will forbeare no longer, and at la&s;t Ju&s;tice with a full &s;windge brings in all the bonds and all recknings, all tho&s;e exhortations that have beene &s;lighted, reproofes &s;cor|ned, meanes of grace enjoyed, and not bettered by, and tho&s;e antient multiplyed and great tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions; the&s;e all will breake the back of mountains, and rocks are not able to beare off the billowes of the wrath thus kindled; and thus the &s;oule is in pri&s;on and under ex|ecution, and there like to lie, and rot, and peri&s;h.</P>
<P>Yet againe, and at la&s;t ca&s;t, after the wrath of God hath thus arre&s;ted the &s;oule, and the ju&s;tice and truth and mercie
<PB N="53" REF="31">and patience and the forbea|rance of God hath laid action upon action upon the &s;oule, and the &s;oule is in execution, everla&s;ting ruine being ready to &s;eize on it, then mercy bayles the &s;inner, even the mer|cy of the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t comes in, and undertakes that the &s;oule &s;hall appeare or mer|cie will &s;atisfy for him, &s;o the &s;inner is yet reprived, Mercy gets the day, when a &s;inner comes out of the horror of con|&s;cience, and the devourings of ju&s;tice. Oh the bowells of mercy: Oh the mercy of a Fa|ther: the bloud of a Chri&s;t, the comfort of the Spirit calls the &s;oule out of pri&s;on. <HI>Oh turne, why will ye dye, Ezek.</HI> 18.13. Remember the knocks and horrors of con&s;cience, the be|ginnings of hell: they all come
<PB N="54" REF="32">and mourne over a &s;inner. Oh ye Drunkard, turne, be drunke no more, come to mee and be &s;aved: &s;o to the proud prophane rebellious and malicious &s;in|ners, why will ye yet oppo&s;e God, and &s;o ever be confoun|ded by him? why will ye goe to hell, O ye &s;infull &s;onnes of men? Come to me and I will pardon your &s;innes, Come to me and I will &s;atisfie and pay all your debts, &s;aith Gods Spi|rit, I will &s;ubdue, cru&s;h all your Rebellions. Oh this, this is the la&s;t time. Now ob&s;erve, if ye come in, receive all the good offered, If ye now be a &s;ervant to the Lord your God, all your former iniquities &s;hall be pardoned, old arrerages &s;hall not be laid to your charge. By me (&s;aith Chri&s;t, beleeve, and ye &s;hall be ju&s;tifyed from all
<PB N="55" REF="32">things, <HI>Act.</HI> 13.39. Now ob|&s;erve this is the la&s;t &s;troke, the la&s;t period, the &s;uit is at an end, if you entertaine mercy to pardon ye, the bloud of Chri&s;t to &s;atisfie for you, the motions of the Spirit to quicken you: Tis well, if not now what can be looked for, but fire from Heaven to de&s;troy Gods Ad|ver&s;aries. Thus you &s;ee how God &s;trives and wra&s;tles hard before he brings men to repen|tance and &s;alvation.</P>
<P>The up&s;hot of all is this, the Lord finding a &s;inner carele&s;&s;e and &s;ecure by his word, gives him notice of his waies, when he hath the word he makes him attend, attending awakens and informes him. The &s;inner &s;ee|ing his E&s;tate begines to wran|gle with God, then God con|vinces him, when convinced,
<PB N="56" REF="33">lea&s;t hee &s;hould &s;it downe in di&s;paire, comforts him, and being incouraged, the &s;in|ner againe groweth carele&s;&s;e, and delaies the time; God waites, he abu&s;eth Gods pa|tience, and yet his long &s;uf|ferance indureth, and yet not work effectually: then God is put to it, &amp; with a &s;trong hand layes hold on a &s;inner, and &s;ets his wrath to arre&s;t a &s;inner, and Ju&s;tice binds him over to judgement, yet at la&s;t Mercy comes in, offers grace, pardon of &s;ins, and &s;alvation in the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t. This is the pur&s;uit of the Law-Ca&s;e. The Rea&s;ons why God &s;trives with &s;inners thus, are briefely:</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, that he might expre&s;&s;e and glorifie his attribute of Mercy, and that the world might know it, &amp; rejoyce in it.</P>
<PB N="57" REF="33">
<P>Secondly, that he might leave the world without ex|cu&s;e, that if they goe downe to the bottomle&s;&s;e pit they mu&s;t thanke them&s;elves.</P>
<P>But, to come to the V&s;es. We &s;ee what God doth, how he &s;triveth with a &s;inner, for his everla&s;ting wellfare, and we &s;ee what the poore &s;oule doth &s;trive with God for his owne eternall ruine that the great Greatour that was hap|py before all worlds, and will be glorified if he &s;hould &s;uf|fer thou&s;and millions of us to peri&s;h, and go down to hell, &s;hould &s;trive with a poore&s;in|full creature, tis admirable.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, we &s;ee, and let us &s;tand amazed, and wonder at the admirable goodne&s;&s;e, the riches of the kindne&s;&s;e of the Lord, together with the
<PB N="58" REF="34">depth of the &s;tubbornne&s;&s;e, rebellion, and evill of the &s;oule, how &s;trong in wicked|ne&s;&s;e to &s;trive with the God of Heaven, nay, &s;eemeth (as we &s;ay with reverence) to get the better. The Lord teacheth, and he will not heare; the Lord convinceth, and he will not yeeld; the Lord is good to him, and he de&s;pi&s;eth him; the Lord is patient, and he abu&s;eth it; God beares long and he con|temnes: were it not that God is ju&s;t as well as patient, the &s;inner would overcome God, but God will not have his pa|tience alwayes wronged: But yet ob&s;erve the ba&s;ene&s;&s;e and depth of the wretchedne&s;&s;e of mans heart, that nothing will do him good: foule is the Lea|per that all the water in the &s;ea
<PB N="59" REF="34">will not wa&s;h: Great are the &s;pots that nothing wil clean&s;e or take off; what &s;tate is that body in, that no diet will nouri&s;h, no phi&s;icke cure? Death mu&s;t needs appeare in his face, it is thy e&s;tate and mine. Let us goe home and rea&s;on with our &s;elves in &s;e|cret: Good Lord, what a heart have I, Is there &s;uch an heart in hell? The Divell never had that patience to &s;trive with them, that mercy to cure them, the good Spirit of God to &s;trive with them, Oh! the Lord hath called and revealed him&s;elfe to me; yea, found me when I &s;ought him not, nay, cau&s;ed me to &s;ee mine abominations, made me to &s;ee the wickedne&s;&s;e of my waies: yet, oh the &s;ecret grudges of my heart that it
<PB N="60" REF="35">bore to Religion. How did I taunt the profe&s;&s;ours thereof, and loathed the profe&s;&s;ion therof it &s;elfe; yee are one of tho&s;e holy ones, &amp; what &s;hall I be &s;o preci&s;e? yet the Spirit of God did not leave me, but laid hold on me, &s;urprized me in my bed, and followed me where&s;oever I went, yet I op|po&s;ed all, did winde away from the power of the truth, grieved the good Spirit of God; good Lord, what a heart have I, and good rea&s;on ha&s;t thou to be a&s;hamed of &s;uch a ba&s;e heart. A poore worme, &s;inful du&s;t and a&s;hes, a &s;hadow, a mi&s;erable hell|hound to grapple with the Al|mightie, thus to &s;trive again&s;t mercy &amp; patience, and not to be tumbled into the bottom|le&s;&s;e pit of hell. Tis admira|ble
<PB N="61" REF="35">un&s;peakable mercie. Let us &s;ee into the depth of our mi&s;ery, and weepe if we had a fountaine of &s;orrow. See, there is a Drunkard, God hath opened his eies, and he is become an holy gracious Chri&s;tian: Looke here upon a wretched Adulterer, yet a wonder of mercie. Doth he that goeth into an harlot ever returne? yet the Lord hath pardoned all his abominati|ons. Beholde&s;t thou thy &s;elfe to &s;tand &s;till like a hor&s;e in a Mill, as vaine, as vile, as carele&s;&s;e and wicked as ever, Oh wonder at Gods good|ne&s;&s;e and be a&s;hamed and confounded at thy de&s;perate ca&s;e and wretchedne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="&V;&s;e"> Behold from hence the condemnation of the wicked to be marvellous ju&s;t, they
<PB N="60" REF="36">have their owne de&s;ires as de&s;erts; they are damned, becau&s;e they will be damned; peri&s;h, becau&s;e they will pe|ri&s;h. It is &s;trange to ob&s;erve the madnes of men to &s;trive to goe downe to hell: they take Po&s;t-hor&s;e to everla&s;t|la&s;ting de&s;truction, &s;trive who &s;hall goe fir&s;t. They &s;trive who &s;hall be mo&s;t vaine, malicious, gain&s;ay the truth, oppo&s;e God and good|ne&s;&s;e; well, the Lord hath &s;triven with you, and you have &s;triven again&s;t him, and ye will goe to hell, and then that patience that hath &s;triven with you will &s;top every one of your mouthes, when the body &s;hall lie downe in the du&s;t, and the &s;oule be roare|ing in the bottomle&s;&s;e pit. Now ye have your owne de|&s;ires,
<PB N="61" REF="36">you have worne your owne Garland; ye would be proude and &s;tubborne, loo&s;e and prophane contemning all meanes of Reformation: now ye have your belly full of &s;inning, <HI>Prov.</HI> 30.31. <HI>The Lord will &s;atisfy them with their owne wayes, and fill them full of their owne devices.</HI> As who &s;hould &s;ay, yee &s;hall have your owne hearts con|tent, ye would have none of his Councell, ye de&s;pi&s;ed all his reproofe, and ye will de|&s;pi&s;e the word, oppo&s;e the Mini&s;ter, &s;corne God to his face, de&s;pight his Spirit, re|&s;i&s;t the worke of the Lord, &s;hift, put off, and put backe the Authority of the truth, and the power of grace; well, when ye are full low in the bottomle&s;&s;e pit, then ye &s;hall
<PB N="64" REF="37">have elbow roome enough, liberty and time to be full of all evill, for ever to &s;inne a|gain&s;t, and bla&s;pheme God for ever, and ju&s;t will God be in his Judgments.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="&V;&s;e"> The third u&s;e is of reproofe, Doth God &s;trive with &s;inners for their good and &s;alvation, what &s;hall we thinke of them that &s;trive with men for their hurt and ruine, either God mu&s;t be blamed for dealing &s;o, or they condemned for &s;tanding in oppo&s;ition with God, judge you; I will &s;ay nothing. The Lord &s;trives, he u&s;eth mercie, ju&s;tice, goodnes, &amp; all means to draw &s;inners to him, and &s;o to be &s;aved; and the&s;e endeavour by all meanes, threatning, taunts, councells, and examples to withdraw men from God,
<PB N="65" REF="37">his waies and &s;ervice; cer|tainly, either God is to be blamed for dealing &s;o, or they to be condemned in their mi&s;chiefes. They are the Di|vells, Captaines, and give pre&s;&s;e money, nay, his Bro|kers; if a wife, childe, or &s;ervant, or neighbour begines to looke towards Heaven, then the husband frownes, the Ma&s;ter chides, the freind for&s;akes. Oh, lay your hands on your hearts, the divell if incarnate could doe no more. Oh know not only that thine owne &s;innes &s;hall con|demne thee, but the bloud of your wives, children, and &s;ervants; Oh brethren, I be|&s;eech you heare, feare and tremble. <HI>Acts</HI> 15.8, 9. The text &s;aith, that <HI>Paul</HI> came to the Iland, and found the De|puty
<PB N="64" REF="38">of the Iland de&s;irous to heare the word of God, <HI>Paul</HI> would have brought him to the faith, and <HI>Elimas</HI> would have drawne him from the faith: marke what <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aid in the tenth ver&s;e, <HI>thou childe of the devill:</HI> becau&s;e <HI>Elimas</HI> would not goe to hell him|&s;elfe alone, he drawes others. and <HI>Paul</HI> comes with fire and thundring, as it were, <HI>Oh, child of the Divell, O Enemy of all righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>The Adulterer is an enemy to cha&s;tity, the Drunkard to &s;oberne&s;&s;e, the unju&s;t man is an enemy to ju&s;tice, but they that &s;trive to hinder any man from God are enemies to all righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e. But you will &s;ay you would have prayed but my husband would not let me, I would have gone to
<PB N="65" REF="38">Church, but my Ma&s;ter would not let me, this will not &s;erve the turne, it will be no plea for you to &s;ay Ma&s;ters hinder you, <HI>Mat.</HI> 23.15. Woe to you Scribes and Phari&s;ees that compa&s;&s;e Sea and Land to make a Pro|&s;elyte, and when hee is &s;o made, you make him two|fold more the childe of the Devill, then your &s;elves. To be the children of the Devill that is bade enough in con|&s;cience, but you are twice more the child of the Divell, if you hinder any from God: if you &s;inne, you &s;hall goe to hell, but they that occa&s;ion others to &s;inne, &s;hall be twice more the children of hell then you; Oh, then feare and labour everie one to amend one another.</P>
<PB N="68" REF="39">
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="&V;&s;e"> For exhortation, Doth the Lord &s;o &s;trive, and u&s;e all meanes to draw us to him, doth God doe &s;o? Then doe you &s;o al&s;o where&s;oever thou goe&s;t, doe thou &s;trive to per|&s;wade men and draw them from evill, <HI>Heb.</HI> 3.13. <HI>Ex|horting one another daily:</HI> I|mitate God and Chri&s;t, they &s;trive with poore &s;inners for their good, doe thou &s;o &s;trive with men, yea though they &s;trive again&s;t thee. Thou ha&s;t a wicked father, a prophane mother, pray for them: thy freinds and kindred are op|po&s;ers of God and his wor|&s;hip, exhort them; if thou &s;e|e&s;t for the pre&s;ent little hopes of amendment, continue thy prayers for them: thou pray|e&s;t once, pray againe, it may be God will heare; when a
<PB N="69" REF="39">man is laid in his grave, yet his &s;tock of prayers remaines, and goes forward, and &s;hall doe till doomes day; what a &s;weete comfort will this be to them that doe good to o|thers; you therefore that goe in companies and a&s;&s;emblies with others, &s;trive to draw them on in goodne&s;&s;e by ex|hortations, and &s;ometimes by reproofes, that if it be po&s;&s;ible you may prevaile with their hearts to come in and take mercie, 2. <HI>Tim.</HI> 2.25, 26. La&s;t|ly, therefore what remaines? Oh that I could follow Gods &s;uite, be intreated and exhor|ted in the Lord: Doth the Lord &s;trive with you, what &s;hould you doe but yeeld to the Lord? Strive no more a|gain&s;t him, contend no fur|ther with the Almighty, Let
<PB N="68" REF="40">this advi&s;e be acceptable, and the Lord make it powerfull to you. The Lord hath a great &s;uite, many yeare it hath la&s;ted; a Chauncerie &s;uite, it hath la&s;ted ten, twen|ty, forty yeares: Oh ye of an|cient yeares, with reverence to yeares, be per&s;waded to the feare of the Lord. Oh ye young ones ble&s;&s;e God, that ye have not &s;o long re&s;i&s;ted the worke of Gods grace, and with&s;tood his patience. The Lord hath an old controver|&s;ie with you from your fir&s;t birth to this pre&s;ent. That of <HI>David, Oh God from my youth I have depended upon thee.</HI> Oh what Sabboths ha&s;t thou en|joyed, what Sermons ha&s;t thou heard, what &s;weete op|portunities for thy &s;oul have beene afforded thee? Oh the
<PB N="69" REF="40">ble&s;&s;ed motions of the good Spirit of God? how hath God &s;ent and &s;ued to thee, pur&s;ued and followed thee, mercies on the one hand in|viting thee, ju&s;tice on the o|ther &s;ide threatning, comforts of minde, and horrors of con|&s;cience? Oh at la&s;t heare and be per&s;waded to let the &s;uite fall, Oh e&s;pecially yee anci|ent &s;inners, notwith&s;tanding all this, yet to be an ancient Drunkard, an old blacke mouthed &s;wearer, an ancient Adulterer, an old gray head|ed &s;inner &s;etled in wicked|ne&s;&s;e; the father naught, and the &s;onne naught, ah, vile wretches, the bane of all goodne&s;&s;e: The Lord hath &s;triven forty, fifty, &s;ixty years together, and doe you not thinke the Lord was ad|mirably
<PB N="72" REF="41">patient? Now, now let the word of the Lord pre|vaile, and the Councell of Gods poore &s;ervants take place with you, for your eter|nall good. Thinke with your &s;elves, what &s;hall I &s;tand out in law with God? &s;hall I &s;till re&s;i&s;t his grace? Goe into a corner and &s;igh, and &s;orrow: bewaile your &s;elves; ah, mi|&s;erable Creatures that we are, how have we behaved our &s;elves all our life time to God: ah, tho&s;e cords of mer|cie that would not draw us, tho&s;e powerfull per&s;wa&s;&s;ions, tho&s;e keene reproofes, tho&s;e forcible exhortations, and tho&s;e be&s;towed and continued with much goodne&s;&s;e and long &s;ufferance, and we not bettered by any of them to this very day: why then it is
<PB N="73" REF="41">high time (poore wretches) to lay downe the &s;uite, to re|nounce it and to yeeld to the word of God, and not a word more. Give up the day to the worke of Gods grace, and the power of his Spirit, as <HI>Job, Job.</HI> 39.37, 38. though he held out long untill the Lord &s;chooled him out of the whirl|winde, &s;hewed him his Glory and Power and <HI>Jobs</HI> vilene&s;&s;e and nothingne&s;&s;e. <HI>Then he cries out I am vile, what &s;hal I an&s;wer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth, once</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>have I &s;poken but I will an&s;wer no more;</HI> So all of yee &s;ay that heare the word of God this day, and per&s;wade one another: Say we have beene Brethren in wick|edne&s;&s;e, but now we will &s;ub|mit, we will no longer deferre, well then be incouraged. The
<PB N="74" REF="42">Lord &s;trives with you, nay hee promi&s;eth you if you will at la&s;t yeeld, what&s;o|ever hath been formerly ami&s;&s;e &s;hall bee pardoned: what&s;o|ever is or &s;hall bee wanting &s;hall be &s;upplied: why will yee yet contend, Did ever any re&s;i&s;t the Lord and pro|&s;per? Oh yee have freinds or e&s;tates, and yee beare your &s;elves upon the&s;e and the like &s;tayes; the&s;e, and all &s;uch are but broken &s;taies. Where are all the enemies of God? where is &s;touthearted and &s;tiffe-necked <HI>Pharaoh?</HI> Hee would not let the people of God goe, &amp;c. His body was drowned in the &s;ea, and his &s;oule is roaring in hell, unle&s;&s;e God was more infinitely mer|cifull then we can conceive: What became of proud <HI>Nebu|chadnezar</HI>
<PB N="75" REF="42">that exalted him|&s;elfe to the Heaven, he was brought as low as Hell, How doth God many times &s;lay the drunkard, and cut off the &s;inner on a &s;uddaine? And good Lord what are become of their &s;oules? Therefore let everie man con&s;ider, no man can re&s;i&s;t God and pro&s;per, either thou mu&s;t overcome God, or be confounded by him. Con&s;ider al&s;o, the longer ye &s;tand out with God, the harder to agree the &s;uite, and remember this yee &s;trong ones.</P>
<P>A Law &s;uite at the fir&s;t might happily be ended for a &s;mall &s;umme or nothing, but if it proceede, the charges of &s;uite many times growes to be greater then the debt: A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters"> thinke of this al&s;o ye ancient
<PB N="76" REF="43">&s;inners, gray-headed &s;wearers, con&s;tant &s;ecret oppo&s;ers of God and goodne&s;&s;e: But for|get it not (I &s;ay againe) yee young ones, little ones, goe|ing on in a way of &s;inning. If yee doe not agree betimes with God, God will recover his charges, he will not lo&s;e all tho&s;e exhortations, re|proofes, his patience, good|ne&s;&s;e, loving kindne&s;&s;e, the mercie and bloud of Chri&s;t: Chri&s;t paid deare for the&s;e, ye make nothing of the abu&s;e of all the&s;e, but Chri&s;t paid for everie Sermon not profit|ted by, everie intimation of Spirit &s;lighted, everie mercie not improved; Oh, this is a|ble to undoe any man. Oh poore people be wi&s;e in time, e&s;pecially I &s;ay ye young ones, your reckoning is not yet &s;o
<PB N="79" REF="43">heavy; if now ye get a hear to yeeld to the Councells and Reproofes of God, to &s;ubmit and come in, your &s;innes &s;hall be pardoned, your per&s;ons ac|cepted, and your &s;oules eter|nally &s;aved: if not, thou mu&s;t pay charges, an&s;wer for all the patience, long &s;ufferance, and goodne&s;&s;e of God. And con|&s;ider now, even this day the Lord holdeth out the Golden Scepter of grace, and if ye yet returne to him, ye &s;hall be ac|cepted of him: it may be the la&s;t time you &s;hall have an offer of mercie. How &s;oone may Death &s;eize on thy bo|dy, and then Judgement over|take thy &s;oule: this may be the la&s;t day of thy living, much more of thy hearing the word. If ye now accept, all arrerages &s;hall be forgot|ten,
<PB N="78" REF="44">God will lay downe his &s;uite, all his anger and di&s;|plea&s;ure will be laid a&s;ide, He will put up all if yee en|tertaine his mercie and im|brace Chri&s;t. This may be the la&s;t offer. And doth the Lord offer mercie after all the &s;tubborne&s;&s;e of the heart, af|ter all unprofitablene&s;&s;e, af|ter all the neglect of all the meanes of grace, after all thy drunkenne&s;&s;e and propha|ne&s;&s;e, hypocri&s;ie, after all thy &s;innes and wickedne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>Yes, then heare what the Lord &s;aith: Are ye content to for&s;ake the&s;e, yes? Then the Lord will not for&s;ake you: if ye will entertaine the Lord above all the&s;e, he will entertaine you: if ye lay downe your lu&s;ts and cor|ruptions, he will imbrace you
<PB N="79" REF="44">for ever in the everla&s;ting Armes of mercie: Say, an|&s;wer, and let every mans con|&s;cience an&s;wer, that I may returne my me&s;&s;age.</P>
<P>Me thinkes none of you &s;hould be &s;o &s;en&s;ele&s;&s;e, &s;o unrea&s;onable, &s;o de&s;perately wretched, as to &s;tand out. Good Lord, &s;hall all my e|vills be pardoned, if I be con|tent to receive Chri&s;t and his mercie? will the Lord Je&s;us never leave me, if I be con|tent to leave my &s;innes? Good Lord take all my &s;ins and throw them in a bottom le&s;&s;e pit, let me never &s;ee them againe. I will never more &s;trive again&s;t thy word: Let thy word reveale my &s;ins and &s;ubdue my &s;infull &s;oule: Let that good Spirit of thine come in and rule this heart of mine.</P>
<PB N="80" REF="45">
<P>Now the bu&s;ine&s;&s;e is at an end, all controver&s;ies cea&s;e, when (therefore) occa&s;ions &s;hall come, temptations re|new, corruptions &s;tirre; Goe to God, and for ever remem|ber this daies re&s;olution, and let the Lord take place in thy heart, and he will pre&s;erve thee to &s;erve him here, and e|ternally to be &s;aved hereafter.</P>
<P>I &s;hould proceede to the third and fourth Doctrins, but I am prevented by the time, I will onely name them in one and &s;o conclude.</P>
<P>Though God &s;trives long with &s;inners, he gives them a long time of repentance; ye &s;ee the old world an hundred and twenty yeares, and every knock in the Arke a Sermon of repentance, yet after the long abu&s;e of Gods mercie
<PB N="81" REF="45">and patience, the large time of repentance, and unfruit|fullne&s;&s;e under all the meanes of grace. The Lord cea&s;eth to &s;trive with &s;inners anie more, he takes either the meanes from them, or them from the meanes, or his ble&s;|&s;ing from both. God hath bounds of his bounty and pa|tience, hitherto and no fur|ther he will &s;trive, but not alwaies: when his time is expired, not a jot or minute is further to be expected: As with the Sun it hath its time of increa&s;ing, and &s;o there is the &s;pring and harve&s;t, it hath its time of decrea&s;ing, and then bla&s;ting, and winter: there is al&s;o a time of con&s;u|ming the &s;tore, as of bringing it in: &s;o it is with the Son of Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, who hath a
<PB N="82" REF="46">time to receive, quicken, and ripen the graces of his people, and a time to leave men to hardne&s;&s;e of their hearts in the darkene&s;&s;e of <HI>Aegipt.</HI> He will ridde them of his word, or in hearing they &s;hall not heare. Gods &s;ea&s;on of mercie doth not allwaies la&s;t; there is a Terme time and a vacation: the &s;un-&s;hine of Gods good|nes now comforts and makes grace to grow, the Go&s;pell is gon, and all mercie and com|fort is gon; when <HI>Ephraim</HI> was gon to Idolatrie, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 4.17. God was al&s;o gon, nay, <HI>Let him alone, &s;aith God, he is joyned to Idols,</HI> let him make up his match with mi&s;|chiefe, let him have his belly full of &s;inning, I will now no more &s;trive with him.</P>
<P>The Lord make us wi&s;e
<PB N="83" REF="46">to know the day of our vi&s;ita|tion, lea&s;t he remove his Can|dle&s;ticke from us, and he be &s;eene no more, lea&s;t he in his wrath goe away, and leave us to die and peri&s;h in our &s;innes.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="47">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="47">
<P>THE CARNALL MANS CONDITION.</P>
<P>Set forth in a <HI>Sermon</HI> on <HI>Rom.</HI> 1.18.</P>
<P>By THOMAS HOOKER, late of CHELMSFORD in <HI>E&s;&s;ex,</HI> now <HI>Mini&s;ter</HI> of the <HI>Go&s;pell</HI> in New-<HI>ENGLAND.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>John Stafford,</HI> dwel|ling in the Alley again&s;t <HI>Brides Church,</HI> 1645.</P>
<PB REF="48">
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="87" REF="48">
<HEAD>THE CARNALL <HI>MANS</HI> CONDITION.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>ROM. 1.18.</HI></BIBL>
<P>The wrath of God is revealed from heaven, again&s;t all un|goodline&s;&s;e and unrighteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e of men, who hold the truth in unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_IN the beginning of this Chap|ter, the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI> by way of Preface, pre|pareth way for tho&s;e many
<PB N="88" REF="49">excellent truths, that the Spirit of God had furni&s;hed him withall, to &s;end to the Saints that were at <HI>Rome:</HI> And that tho&s;e Heavenly My&s;teries might take the dee|per roote in their hearts, and find the better acceptance with them, In the fir&s;t place he cleareth the Authority of his Calling, and that he came not before he was &s;ent of God. ver. 1. <HI>Paul a Ser|vant of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, called to be an Apo&s;tle, &s;eparated unto the Go&s;pell of God.</HI> And there|fore being thus called, it be|came them to receive his do|ctrine, not as the notions of his owne braine, but as the Word of the immortall God.</P>
<P>Secondly, by way of in&s;i|nuation he pray&s;eth them for
<PB N="89" REF="49">that good progre&s;&s;e, that they had made in the faith of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, ver&s;e 8.</P>
<P>Thirdly, He di&s;covers the tendernes of his love and af|fection towards them, and his unce&s;&s;ant and unwearied de&s;ire to doe them good, from the ninth to the &s;ix|teenth ver&s;e.</P>
<P>Fourthly, He laieth downe the maine point, the Criti|call point, the hinge upon which all the re&s;t of his glo|rious building &s;hould move, <HI>viz.</HI> That a man is ju&s;tifyed in the Sight of God by faith and not by workes, which Propo&s;ition he proveth, fir&s;t by Scripture, ver. 17. <HI>The ju&s;t &s;hall live by faith.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, by force of Ar|gument, in the words of the
<PB N="90" REF="50">text, &s;hewing that no man can &s;tand righteous before God, by workes, becau&s;e the be&s;t workes that a man can doe of him&s;elfe, are wic|ked and unju&s;t, and therefore puni&s;hed of God, for all men out of Chri&s;t &s;tand guilty both of ungodline&s;&s;e and un|righteou&s;nes, &amp; &s;o are &s;ubject to condemnation, therefore they mu&s;t needs &s;eek righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e in &s;ome other: his Argument runneth thus. If no man by the workes of the Law can appea&s;e the Wrath of God, then by the workes of the Law, no man can be &s;aved, but by the workes of the law, no man can appea&s;e the Wrath of God, therefore by the workes of the Law, no man can be &s;aved, this he propounds in the text, and
<PB N="91" REF="50">pro&s;ecutes in the Chapter following.</P>
<P>In the words of the text, we may ob&s;erve in the gene|rall the&s;e two parts.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="1"> Fir&s;t, that carriage and di&s;|po&s;ition of heart that is in wicked men, towards the Truth of God.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2"> Secondly, Gods dealing with them, in requitall of that their carriage: they &s;tand in oppo&s;ition to the truth, <HI>Holding it in unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI> God &s;tands again&s;t them in a way of Wrath and Venge|ance, they deale roughly with the truth, and God deales as rigorou&s;ly with them. More particularly, here is fir&s;t the &s;ubject, <HI>The Wrath of God,</HI> &s;econdly, the object, <HI>Ungodly and unrigh|teous men,</HI> Thirdly, The U|niver&s;ality
<PB N="92" REF="51">of it, in this word <HI>al,</HI> God doth not deal partial|ly; but <HI>all,</HI> be they what they may be, that <HI>Hold the truth in unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, &s;hall feele the Wrath of God,</HI> no &s;inne how little &s;oever it &s;eemeth to a carnall eye, &s;hall e&s;cape it.</P>
<P>Fourthly, The place from whence this Wrath &s;hall come, that is, <HI>from Heaven.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="Ob&s;er."> From the Method that the Holy Gho&s;t u&s;eth in placing ungodline&s;&s;e, before unrigh|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e, we may learne, <HI>That Sinnes again&s;t the fir&s;t table, are &s;innes of a deeper dye, of a &s;adder nature, then Sinnes again&s;t the &s;econd table.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Ob&s;er."> Secondly, in that it is &s;aid, again&s;t <HI>ungodline&s;&s;e,</HI> and not ungodly men, we learne, <HI>That Gods Wrath is not prima|rily,
<PB N="93" REF="51">not principally, intended again&s;t mens per&s;ons, but a|gain&s;t their &s;innes and wicked wayes.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="Ob&s;er."> Thirdly, in that it is &s;aid, they hold the <HI>truth in unrigh|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> we learne, <HI>That the Gentiles naturally had that in|grafted in them, whereby they might come, in &s;ome degree, to the Knowledge of God, of the Almighty Power, greatne&s;&s;e, goodne&s;&s;e, and everla&s;ting Na|ture of God, even by looking upon his Creatures, &s;o that their own rea&s;on might con|demn them, of their wicked|ne&s;&s;e both towards God and men.</HI></P>
<P>For the clearer under|&s;tanding of the words, wee are to con&s;ider.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, What is ment by <HI>the wrath of God:</HI> The wrath
<PB N="94" REF="52">of God is an act of Gods Ju&s;tice, puni&s;hing wicked men, &s;ometimes it is put for the judgements them&s;elves, as plague, &s;word, famine, and &s;uch like; It is here &s;et down in oppo&s;ition to the <HI>Righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e</HI> of God &s;poken of ver. 17. which is Gods mer|cifull goodne&s;&s;e, and grati|ous di&s;pen&s;ations towards poore lo&s;t men.</P>
<P>Secondly, what is meant <HI>by truth:</HI> by truth here is ment, the remainder of light, that was left in Man kinde, after the fall, that rubbi&s;h that was left upon the fall of that fir&s;t glorious building, that Common light, that is in every mans con&s;cience, &s;ince the fall of <HI>Adam</HI> that &s;erves to &s;hew him what God is, in His Power, Glo|ry,
<PB N="95" REF="52">Maje&s;ty, and Bounty, and that he is to be wor&s;hip|ped, by adoring and fearing of him above all, &s;omtime truth is put for the efficacy and power of truth. <HI>Gal.</HI> 2.14. <HI>Paul</HI> reproveth <HI>Peter,</HI> and the re&s;t for not walking <HI>ac|cording to the truth of the Go|&s;pell,</HI> becau&s;e the truth had not beene &s;o efficatious with them, as to drive them from tho&s;e beggerly elements of the Ceremoniall Law, but they would have had the Gentiles for to have come up unto the Jewi&s;h practi&s;e.</P>
<P>Thirdly, What is ment by <HI>holding the truth in un|righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI> To hold the truth of God in unrighte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e, is either by a kind of violence, and &s;trong hand, to &s;uppre&s;&s;e it, and keep it
<PB N="96" REF="53">back, as if men would im|pri&s;on it, lea&s;t it &s;hould &s;hine clearly abroad, when it is not onely, not &s;ubmitted un|to, followed and obeyed, but re&s;i&s;ted, and gain&s;ayed, and that which is point blank contrary to the direction of truth, is practi&s;ed: or when it is fettered with &s;ome lu&s;t, that hinders the powerfull opperation, and efficatiou&s;|ne&s;&s;e of it upon the &s;oul, &s;o that the word cannot per|form that worke, which o|therwi&s;e it would, in the heart of them to whom it is &s;ent.</P>
<P>Fourthly, What is ment by the word <HI>unrighteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>In &s;ome places of holy writ, it &s;ignifieth, onely &s;uch &s;ins as are committed again&s;t the &s;econd Table, but in this
<PB N="97" REF="53">place it &s;ignifieth, not onely the violation of the Law of Nature, in re&s;pect of our dutie to men, but our viola|tion of the Law of God, in regard of that homage and &s;ervice wee owe unto His Maje&s;tie, &s;o that it implyeth all &s;infull di&s;tempers, and corruptions of heart, all irre|gular belchings out of the affections: Out of the words thus opened we may ob&s;erve the&s;e Propo&s;itions.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM><MILESTONE UNIT="Ob&s;erv."> 1. That much of God, of the power greatne&s;&s;e, and goodne&s;&s;e of God may bee known, and learned out of the book of the Creatures.</ITEM>
<ITEM><MILESTONE UNIT="Ob&s;erv."> 2. That all wicked men, are enemies to, and oppo&s;ers of the truth of God.</ITEM>
<ITEM><MILESTONE UNIT="Ob&s;erv."> 3. The ground of this hin|derance of, and oppo&s;ition
<PB N="98" REF="54">again&s;t the word of God, is from that corruption that is in their hearts.</ITEM>
<ITEM><MILESTONE UNIT="Ob&s;erv."> 4. That all &s;uch unrighte|ous ones, who oppo&s;e the word of truth, &s;hall &s;urely bear the wrath of God.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P><MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> But I &s;hall &s;um up as much as I &s;hall treat of at this time, in this one propo&s;ition, viz.</P>
<P>That carnall and corrupt men, doe hinder the power|full efficatiou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the word of truth, from working upon their &s;infull hearts, pre|vailing with them, and &s;ub|duing of them, as much as in them lyeth, by rea&s;on of that imbred corruption that is in their hearts.</P>
<P>It is true that truth is power|full, and will prevail, and if the Spirit of God &s;et it home upon the Con&s;cience,
<PB N="99" REF="54">there is no heart &s;o hard, but it will &s;often, no heart &s;o proud but it will humble, &amp; lay it lower then du&s;t as low as the nethermo&s;t hell in its own apprehen&s;ion, and when God &s;ends his truth to &s;ub|due a corrupt heart, he doth not &s;tand to aske the &s;inner whether he be willing or no, to &s;ubmit to the word of truth, to put his &s;houldiers under the Government of Chri&s;t, for it is naturall to us &s;ince the fall of <HI>Adam,</HI> to run farther, and farther from God. <HI>Cain</HI> when he had &s;lain his righteous brother, and was bani&s;hed from God, it is &s;aid that hee dwelt in the Land of Nod, which &s;ig|nifieth wandring, for when he had once lo&s;t fellow&s;hip, and communion with God,
<PB N="100" REF="55">in whom alone &s;oule &s;atisfi|ing re&s;t is to be found, all the world was not &s;ufficiently to &s;atisfie his immortall &s;oule: as it was with him, &s;o it is with us all by Nature, there|fore the Lord is faine, not onely to vouch&s;afe unto us meanes and helpes, and hea|venly directions, to do our &s;ouls good, but likewi&s;e to conquer our wills to &s;ubmit thereunto, even to force us, to receive dirrection, how our &s;oules may be happy for ever.</P>
<P>But Gods Spirit doth not alwayes accompanie the Preaching of the word by its efficatious working, God many times &s;trives onely by his word, and by the com|mon workings of his Spirit, by in&s;truction, by convicti|on,
<PB N="101" REF="55">by correction, but carnall hearts re&s;i&s;t, with&s;tand, and as much as in them lieth, la|bour to keep the word of God out of their hearts; for the better under&s;tanding of this, con&s;ider the&s;e particu|lers. Fir&s;t, There is &s;ome re|lickes of the Law of God, left in the con&s;ciences of hea|thens, though they be &s;tran|gers to the life of Faith, and covenant of grace, 2 <HI>Rom.</HI> 14.15. <HI>For the Gentiles which have not the Law do by nature the things contained in the Law, they having not the Law are a Law unto them&s;elves, which &s;hew the effect of the law written in their hearts, &amp;c.</HI> Hence many heathens have written large Volums of vice, and vertue, and have made many good Judiciall Lawes,
<PB N="102" REF="56">for the puni&s;hing of murder, adulterie, drunkenne&s;&s;e, and the like, with death it &s;elfe, Con&s;cience keep many car|nall men from the act of &s;in, Con&s;cience &s;tand over them with a whip, &s;o that they dare not doe many things, they have a minde unto, and a longing after.</P>
<P>Secondly, the workes of Creation doe di&s;cover much of the power, wi&s;dome, and Soveraignitie of God.</P>
<P>But thirdly, the word of God is that which mo&s;t cleerly di&s;covers God in all his glorious attributes: Now though God di&s;cover him|&s;elfe, by that light which he hath &s;et in every mans Con|&s;cience, by his workes of Creation, and providence, and likewi&s;e by the bright
<PB N="103" REF="56">Mini&s;tery of his word, never &s;o cleerly, and unque&s;tion|ably, yet carnall hearts will not yeeld thereunto, nor glorifie God in giving credit to the truth, neither be thank|full unto him for the&s;e glori|ous mercies, but endeavour, what in them lieth, to &s;hut out, and keep out that light that dar<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">eth into their &s;oules, to quench the motions of the &s;pirit, and to eclips the light of the Go&s;pel, when it &s;hineth cleerer then the Sun at noone day, as it was with the Jews, <HI>Acts</HI> 7.51. When <HI>Steven</HI> brought the word neere to their hearts, and touched them to the quick, &s;aith the text. 57.58. ver&s;es, <HI>Then they gave a &s;hout with a loud voice, and &s;topped their ears, and ran upon him violently all
<PB N="104" REF="57">at once, and ca&s;t him out of the City and &s;toned him:</HI> thus it was with the Sodomites, all the per&s;wa&s;ions and en|treaties of <HI>Lot</HI> could not pre|vaile with them, but they cry out <HI>away hence, he came as a &s;tranger, and &s;hall hee judge and rule? Gen.</HI> 19.9. As they &s;aid to <HI>Lot</HI> &s;o doth every carnall heart to the word of God, when a Mini|&s;ter cometh unto them with an unfeined de&s;ire, to do their &s;oules good, to guide them in the way to ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e, to woe them, entreat them, and be&s;eech them, to bee recon|ciled to God, and no longer to re&s;i&s;t his truth, bla&s;pheme his Name, pollute his holy things, to break off their &s;infull cour&s;es, &amp; to become as zealous for the wayes of
<PB N="105" REF="57">God, and &s;ervants of God, as heretofore they have been for &s;in, and Satan, in &s;tead of yeelding to the&s;e ble&s;&s;ed motions, they cry <HI>&s;tand back, who made you judge,</HI> wee re|gard not your councell, we feare not your threatenings, and &s;ay in their hearts as they did, <HI>Iere.</HI> 18.12. <HI>We will walk after our owne immagi|nations, and do every man af|ter the &s;toubberne&s;&s;e of his own wicked heart,</HI> thus they even take up armes again&s;t the Mini&s;ters of God, and the truthes of God, when they come to pull them out of their carnall cour&s;es.</P>
<P>For the better di&s;coverie of the point, I will cleare it in the&s;e three particulars.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. What is the Power of truth.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. How wicked men hinder it.</ITEM>
<PB N="106" REF="58">
<ITEM>3. The rea&s;on why they doe &s;o hinder it.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE UNIT="Que&s;t."> 1. Fir&s;t, What is the pow|er of truth, or what would it worke upon the &s;oule, that wicked men oppo&s;e it?</P>
<P><MILESTONE UNIT="An&s;w."> The worke and power of it will appeare in &s;oure particu|lars. .</P>
<P N="1">1. Fir&s;t, it is a word of in|formation, di&s;covering things in their native, and proper collours, pulling off that vi|zard that carnall rea&s;on hath put upon them, <HI>Prov.</HI> 6.23. <HI>For the Commandement is a Lanthorn, an in&s;truction, a light;</HI> A Light is u&s;efull in a darke and narrow way; &s;o is the word of God to direct us, and informe us, how to walke in the narrow path that leadeth unto life, by this a man is informed, what is
<PB N="107" REF="58">to be &s;hunned, what to be followed, what is to be lov|ed, what to be hated, A man cannot mi&s;carrie nor loo&s;e his way, &s;o long as he is di|rected by the Light of the truth: as the Sun &s;heweth all the moates that be in the hou&s;e, &s;o this di&s;covers all the corrupt corners that be in the &s;oule, all that envie, pride, hypocri&s;ie, bla&s;phe|my, that lodgeth in the heart: <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 5.13. <HI>But all things when they are reproved of the light, are manife&s;t, for it is light that maketh all things manife&s;t;</HI> A man may there be re&s;olved in everie doubt|full ca&s;e of con&s;cience, the ballance of the Sanctuarie is that wherein we &s;hould weigh our thoughts, words, and workes.</P>
<PB N="108" REF="59">
<P><MILESTONE N="2"> Secondly, as it is a word of information, &s;o it is a word of quickening, a vigo|rous powerfull word, which not onely &s;heweth the way, and pointeth to the right path, but enableth a man to walke in that path in the &s;trength thereof, &s;o that he walketh on cheerefully in Heaven way, notwith&s;tan|ding all the rubs, and oppo|&s;itions that he meeteth withall in the world; It is not onely as the Sun to &s;hew us the right way, but as a &s;trong &s;treame to carrie us on in that way, <HI>David, P&s;al.</HI> 119.50. &s;peaking of the word of God, &s;aith, <HI>It is my comfort in my trouble, for thy promi&s;e hath quickened mee.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3"> Thirdly, The word hath a drawing power in it, &s;aith
<PB N="109" REF="59">the Church, <HI>Cant.</HI> 1.3. <HI>Draw mee and I will run after thee.</HI> The Church confe&s;&s;eth that &s;hee cannot come to Chri&s;t, except &s;hee be drawne, now the word of God hath &s;uch a drawing power in it, though corruption be &s;trong, and the Outward man heavy, yet it will lead a man on in the right way that he &s;hould walke.</P>
<P N="4">4. Fourthly, it is a word of conviction, it is powerfull to overthrow all the gain&s;ayings of man, it hath a &s;overaigne, &s;upreame Authority in it, to beare downe all carnall rea|&s;onings, when the Lord is plea&s;ed to accompanie it. 2. <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.4. <HI>The weapons of our warefare, are not carnall,</HI> fee|ble and weake, <HI>but mighty tho|rough God to the pulling downe of &s;trong holds.</HI> There is a
<PB N="110" REF="60">mighty operation in the truth, hence &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, 2. <HI>Cor.</HI> 13.8. <HI>We cannot doe anie thing again&s;t the truth, but for the truth.</HI> So that truth is pow|erfull, and though corruption be &s;trong, the world inticing, and the Divell en&s;naring, yet if the Lord be plea&s;ed to &s;et the truth home upon the &s;oule, either to informe it, or to quicken it, or to draw it on in Heaven waies, or to convince it, all the&s;e avocations, and pull backs, &s;hall not hinder it; thus we &s;ee the truth wil work.</P>
<P><MILESTONE UNIT="Que&s;t."> Secondly, How doth a car|nall man hinder the powerfull working of this word, that is may not prevaile with his &s;oule, the word would have the Soule, but the Soule will have its &s;innes: And its oppo|&s;ition again&s;t the truth doth
<PB N="111" REF="60">appeare in the&s;e foure parti|culars.</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE UNIT="An&s;w."> 1. Fir&s;t, a carnall heart is marvellous unwilling, and altogether indi&s;po&s;ed to li&s;ten to the Truth of God, &s;o as to be in&s;tructed therein, and ex|amine him&s;elfe thereby, it is tendious to fle&s;h and blood to waite upon the truth, it is not willing to know its duty, to know what the word &s;aith in &s;uch, and &s;uch ca&s;es, lea&s;t it &s;hould pull &s;ome of his &s;weete mor&s;ells from betwixt his teeth, cut off his right hand, pull out his right eye, &s;ome bo&s;ome &s;innes that are as neere and deare unto him as either of them, therefore he is wil|ling to be a &s;tranger to the Truth of God, and though Manna from Heaven lyeth at his doore, yet he will not &s;tep
<PB N="112" REF="61">out to gather it in, men natu|rally &s;top their eares agaain&s;t the truth <HI>E&s;ay</HI> 30.10. <HI>They &s;ay to the Seers &s;ee not, and to the Prophets prophe&s;ie not right things, &s;peake to us &s;mooth things, prophe&s;ie deceits; Get thee out of the way, turne a&s;ide out of the path, cau&s;e the holy one of I&s;rael to cea&s;e from before us:</HI> So <HI>Job.</HI> 21.14. <HI>They &s;ay al&s;o unto God depart from us, for we de&s;ire not the knowledge of thy wayes;</HI> They de&s;ire no|thing more then to be exempt from all &s;ubjection unto God, that in <HI>Acts.</HI> 28.27. is likewi&s;e here con&s;iderable, <HI>For the heart of this people is waxed fat, and their cares are dull of hea|ring, and with their eyes have they winked, lea&s;t they &s;hould &s;ee with their eyes, and heare with their cares, and under&s;tand with
<PB N="113" REF="61">their hearts, and &s;hould returne that I might heale them.</HI> Win|ked with their eyes, that is, they made as though they &s;aw not, that which they did &s;ee, again&s;t their wills, carnall men are loath to know the truth, if they doe &s;earch for it, it is onely as a Coward doth for his Enemy, with a hope not to finde him, yea with a feare le&s;t he &s;hould find him; So a naturall man is fearefull to &s;earch, and loath to find the truth, but if the truth doe glan&s;e in, and con&s;cience be|gin to recoile, then, he &s;eekes out for &s;ome merry company, that may help him to &s;mother the&s;e motions of the Spirit, as <HI>Saul</HI> &s;ent for <HI>David</HI> to play before him, when the evill Spirit came upon him. We u&s;e to draw a Curtaine before the
<PB N="114" REF="62">Sun when it &s;hineth too bright in our eyes, &s;o &s;aith every car|nall heart when the word &s;hineth in his &s;oule, Oh, draw a Curtaine before it, let me heare no more of this, lea&s;t it drive me out of wits, I would have Chri&s;t, but I would have the world al&s;o, if God would but allow me &s;uch a finne, meaning his bo&s;ome corrruption, I would willing|ly come up unto him, in every thing el&s;e that he &s;hould re|quire at my hands, thus con|&s;cience puts them to doe &s;om|thing, and the word hath &s;ome &s;lightly worke upon them, like the &s;eede that fell in the &s;tonie ground, but yet they will not part with their Dali|lah Corruptions, but when it toucheth the covetous mans gaine, the voluptuous mans
<PB N="115" REF="62">plea&s;ure, then they crie out, draw a Curtaine before it.</P>
<P>Secondly, A carnall heart is alwayes ready to rai&s;e an evill report of the ble&s;&s;ed truth of God, that &s;o it may ap|pear deformed to the eyes of them that begin to expre&s;&s;e &s;ome de&s;ire after it, they deal with it as the &s;pies did with the Land of Canaan, <HI>Num.</HI> 13.32. <HI>So they brought up an evill report of the Land which they had &s;earched, unto the Children of I&s;rael, &s;aying the Land which we have gone to &s;earch is a Land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof, &amp;c.</HI> The Gyants were &s;o cruell that they eat up one another, and tho&s;e that came among&s;t them; upon this re|port the Children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> murmoured again&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and <HI>Aaron,</HI> and they wi&s;hed them|&s;elves
<PB N="116" REF="63">in <HI>Egypt</HI> again, <HI>Exo.</HI> 14.2. They would willingly have been in Canaan, they &s;till cryed out for the Land that flowed with milk and hony, but they were not willing to encounter with any hard&s;hip by the way, when once they heard of Gyants, then the Leekes and Garlick of <HI>E|gypt,</HI> was preferred before the delicacies of the Land of Canaan, when Chri&s;t feed his followers, many flocked af|ter him, but it was more for love to the loaves, then to his Doctrine, <HI>John</HI> 6.26. Many would bee happy that are not willing to be holy, when once they are called upon to deny them&s;elves, to crucifie their beloved &s;innes, to for&s;ake all, yea life it &s;elf for the truth, then they cry out it is a heard
<PB N="117" REF="63">&s;aying and who can bear it, and then they &s;candalize the wayes of God, and the truth of God, and rai&s;e evill reports of them.</P>
<P><MILESTONE UNIT="Object."> Is it then in our power to make the word effectuall? </P>
<P><MILESTONE UNIT="An&s;w."> No, but it is your power to doe more then you doe, your legs may as well earry you to the word, as to an Ale-hou&s;e, your ears may heare the word as well as idle tales, you may &s;ing as well P&s;almes as idle &s;ongs, you may read good books, as well as Play-books, doe you what you are able to doe, put all your &s;trength, and diligence unto it, and then ca&s;t your &s;elves upon God, and tell his Maje&s;ty, that faine you would for&s;ake every evill way, but of your &s;elfe you are not able, and though the
<PB N="118" REF="64">&s;pirit bee &s;omewhat willing yet the fle&s;h is weak, and that you have a ba&s;e deceitfull heart that is ready to embrace every occa&s;ion of &s;inning, that lyeth in the way, be&s;eech him therefore not onely to begin, but to con&s;ummate every good work within you; Though it be not in mens power to &s;ave them&s;elves, yet their owne Con&s;ciences will tell them, that they might do more then they do. <HI>Luke</HI> 7.29.30. <HI>The Publicans ju&s;tified</HI> God, (that is &s;aid that hee was faithfull and mercifull) <HI>Being Baptized with the bapti&s;me of John, but the Phari&s;ees, and Lawyers re|jected the councell of God, a|gain&s;t them&s;elves,</HI> (or to their owne hurt) <HI>and were not Bap|tized of John;</HI> terms of grace and Salvation, were offered
<PB N="119" REF="64">both to Publicanes, and Pha|ri&s;ees, the one reject the good councell of God given, the o|ther accept of it; therefore when we &s;ee others called, converted by the &s;ame meanes we live under, wee &s;hould blame our &s;elves, and reflect upon our &s;ouls, and &s;ay, the word would have enlightened me, had I not contemned it, it would have quickened mee had I not gain&s;ayed it, I was almo&s;t converted, I had &s;ome ta&s;tes of Heaven and happi|ne&s;&s;e, but, oh, wretch that I was, company came, thoughts of the world came and choak|ed it, the Lord hath oftentimes knocked at my heart but I would not &s;et open the doores of my &s;oul that the King of glory might come in.</P>
<P>Thirdly, A Carnall heart
<PB N="120" REF="65">doth oppo&s;e the good word of God, &s;o that it works not up|on his &s;oul, by re&s;i&s;ting the work of conviction, when the word of God hath had &s;ome powerfull work upon the &s;oul, that the &s;inner is a wakened, and his con&s;cience rou&s;ed up within him, that hee cannot but &s;ay, I am the man, the&s;e are my &s;innes, which (finle&s;&s;e the Lord in mercy prevent it) will &s;urely be my ruine now carnall rea&s;on endeavours ei|ther to extenuate the &s;ins, or to villifie the word of God, and the truth of it, which is the ground of all oppo&s;ition a|gain&s;t the word, for if men did indeed beleeve that it was the word of an Almighty God, and that every cur&s;e therein denounced, &s;hould &s;urely fall upon the heads of
<PB N="121" REF="65">tho&s;e that tran&s;gre&s;&s;e tho&s;e Or|dinances divine, they dur&s;t not &s;inne again&s;t the plaine com|mands thereof as they doe. When <HI>Balack</HI> &s;ent to <HI>Baalam</HI> to cur&s;e the people of God (thinking him to be a Witch, and therefore whom hee ble&s;|&s;ed was ble&s;&s;ed, and whom he cur&s;ed were cur&s;ed) God &s;aith to <HI>Baalam, thou &s;halt not goe with them,</HI> therefore hee went not; But when <HI>Balack</HI> &s;ent more honorable men then they, and promi&s;eth him pro|motion; then &s;aith the poore &s;infull covetous wretch, <HI>Stay all night, and I will &s;ee what the Lord will &s;ay,</HI> when as the Lord had peremtorily &s;aid thou &s;halt not goe with them, yet his affections were linge|ring after the hou&s;e-full of gold, therefore he hoped that
<PB N="122" REF="66">God would have changed his minde, and thus hee tempted God, to require him contrary to his commandement, a low e&s;teeme that hee had of the word of God was the cau&s;e of that fearfull &s;in. Now how many be there that follow <HI>the wayes of Baalam</HI> as the Apo&s;tle <HI>Jude</HI> &s;peaketh, who are willing to obey the commands of God &s;o long as it may &s;tand with their profit, and hononr, but when &s;uch a try all comes, as that by lying and deceit, they may get gain, as hear a hou&s;e full of gold proffered, then they look for a de&s;pen&s;ation, then they ca&s;t the Command|ments behinde their backes: Many a V&s;urer, that findes the &s;weetne&s;&s;e of it, and is re|&s;olved to continue in that &s;in, hee will &s;tudie all the Argu|ments
<PB N="123" REF="66">that hee can to palliate it, and readily catch hold of every thing that may &s;eeme in the lea&s;t manner to counte|nance it, but oh, how hardly can he be brought to give ear to what the word of God &s;aith again&s;t it. When <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;tood before <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> and his rod, by the immediate finger of God was turned into a Ser|pent, <HI>Pharaoh</HI> doth not &s;it kowne under the Miracle, but to make it of light e&s;teem, he &s;ends for his Magicians, who turne likewi&s;e their rods in|to Serpents, but <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his rod devoured theirs, Yet &s;aith the text <HI>Pharaohs heart was hard|ned,</HI> &s;o it is with every carnall heart, when the word cometh home, and convinceth him, and fills his &s;oul with terrour, and trouble, then he &s;end his
<PB N="124" REF="67">Magicians, carnall rea&s;onings, and though the word of God doth eat up all tho&s;e rea&s;on|ings, yet the carnall heart go|eth away &s;atisfied, and with <HI>Pharaoh</HI> groweth harder and harder.</P>
<P>Fourthly, and la&s;tly, if by carnall rea&s;on they cannot de|feat the truth, then they fall to down right oppo&s;ition of it, laying violent hands upon it, and in de&s;pite of the truth doe what&s;oever their own wicked hearts &s;ugge&s;t, as it was with the Children of I&s;rael, when their proud hearts prompted them to aske a King, <HI>Samuel</HI> makes a gracious Sermon un|to them to di&s;wade them from it, and hee &s;hewes them the manner of their King, and how he &s;hould en&s;lave them, and make their &s;onnes and
<PB N="125" REF="67">their daughters &amp; all that they had to be at his di&s;po&s;ing; not that Kings have any &s;uch Au|thority by their office, but be|ing he was to reigne in Gods wrath, therefore hee &s;hould u&s;urpe this power on his bre|thren) but the people would not hear the voyce of <HI>Samuel,</HI> but did &s;ay, <HI>Nay, but there &s;hall be a King over us:</HI> So it is with every carnall heart, when the word cometh &s;o clo&s;e home to his Con&s;cience, that he cannot evade it, yet out of a de&s;perate madne&s;&s;e, he &s;aith, I will not obey it, but let all &s;uch know, that though the command of God prevail not with them, to convert them here, yet it &s;hall one day prevail over them, to damne them for ever, <HI>Mat.</HI> 25.46. <HI>The&s;e &s;hall go into everla&s;t|ing paine.</HI> The rea&s;ons of the point follow.</P>
<PB N="126" REF="68">
<P>Fir&s;t, Carnall men do thus oppo&s;e the truth, as hath been &s;hewed, becau&s;e they are un|willing for to have their &s;ins di&s;covered, and removed, there &s;innes are as deare unto them as their lives, as the life of their precious &s;ouls (which are more worth then all the world) and will not a man &s;trive for his life? Now when the word of God comes to pluck the cup from the drunk|ard, the whore from the A|dulterer, plea&s;ure from the vo|luptuous man, they part with them as they would part with their lives, they will rather &s;uffer their &s;innes to kill their immortall &s;ouls, then the word to kill their &s;ins.</P>
<P>Secondly, Becau&s;e a carnall minded man, cannot take plea|&s;ure in any thing if he be de|barred
<PB N="127" REF="68">of his liberty of &s;in|ning, he accounts it a plague &amp; vexation to live under a &s;tir|ring Mini&s;tery, or in a Godly family, where he dares not wallow in &s;inne as he would, Oh, how tedious is it; Hence how will he rejoyce, when the Godly, (who are the Pillars of the Land) are removed, <HI>Revel.</HI> 11.10. When the two witne&s;&s;es are killed, <HI>Then they that dwell upon the earth, &s;hall rejoyce over them, and be glad, and &s;hall &s;end gifts one to ano|ther: becau&s;e the&s;e two Prophets vexed them that dwelt on the earth;</HI> The Go&s;pell of Chri&s;t is not onely a &s;tumbling block but an affliction to the world, and the Mini&s;tery thereof, <HI>is the &s;avour of death unto death to tho&s;e that peri&s;h.</HI> 2. <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.16.</P>
<PB N="128" REF="69">
<P>Thirdly, carnall men doe thus oppo&s;e the truth, becau&s;e it will not allow them any fin, my of their &s;weete mor&s;ells. they would be willing to part with tho&s;e finnes that they are not much inclined unto; the young man in the Go&s;pell went far, and <HI>Herod</HI> reformed many things, and <HI>Agrippa</HI> was almo&s;t per&s;waded to be a Chri&s;tian, but when it came to their bo&s;ome corruption there they &s;tick, <HI>Demetrious</HI> and his fellow-crafismen <HI>rai&s;e &s;edition again&s;t Paul,</HI> when he once began to confute the opi|nion which men had of <HI>Dia|nas</HI> Image, <HI>by which craft they got their gaine,</HI> for gaine cloa|ked with a &s;hew of Religion, is the very cau&s;e whereof Ido|latry is &s;toutly, and &s;tubborn|ly defended.</P>
<PB N="129" REF="69">
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="U&s;e"> For examination, Is is &s;o that corrupt hearts doe hinder the word from working effe|ctually upon them, then let us examine our &s;elves, whe|ther the Commandments of the Lord are not greiveous un|to us, whether we could not wi&s;h that many of them, that forbid &s;uch, and &s;uch, of our beloved &s;innes, were not ray|&s;ed out of the Booke of God, whether we doe not thinke God a hard Ma&s;ter, and that he layeth too &s;trick a charge, and tye upon us. If it be thus with us, it is an undoubted argument that our hearts are earnall, <HI>deceitfull above all, and de&s;perately wicked,</HI> as <HI>Je|remiah &s;peakes.</HI> There is in|deed in the be&s;t of Gods Chil|dren &s;ome &s;ecret re&s;i&s;ting a|gain&s;t the truth, becau&s;e there
<PB N="130" REF="70">will be fle&s;h, as well as &s;pirit in them, &s;o long as they are on this &s;ide the grave, but when it &s;tirres, they lie not downe under it, but fall out with their owne hearts, and take up Armes again&s;t tho&s;e enemies of their peace and happine&s;&s;e, it is one thing to have &s;inne remaining, another thing to have &s;inne ruling.</P>
<P>Now this truth meeteth e|&s;pecially with two &s;orts of fal&s;e-hearted men.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Di&s;creete hypocrites.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Subtile hypocrites</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="1">1. Di&s;creete hypocrites: Di|&s;cretion indeed &s;imply con&s;i|dered in it &s;elfe, is a ble&s;&s;ed worke of Gods Spirit, wrot in the hearts of his people, and is alwayes acting upon good grounds, in a good matter, and to a right end; But there
<PB N="131" REF="70">is a worldly di&s;cretion that lodgeth in hypocriticall hearts which turnes to the de&s;tructi|on of many a &s;oule, therefore I call &s;uch a one a di&s;creete hi|pocrite, one that will alwayes indeavour to be on the &s;trong|e&s;t &s;ide, one that will joyne with the mo&s;t, though it be with the wor&s;t, one that accor|ding to the Proverb, <HI>Will hunt with the Hound, and run with the Hare,</HI> one that regards not whether the Cau&s;e of Chri&s;t &s;inke or &s;wime, &s;o he may &s;ave him&s;elfe, one that thinks them all madde men that will &s;uffer for Religion, or for con|&s;cience &s;ake, that want his di|&s;cretion, and will not turne with the winde, as he doth, he is one that can be zealous for the Glory of God, &s;o long as it runnes a long with his
<PB N="132" REF="71">owne advantage, as <HI>John;</HI> fal&s;e hearted <HI>John</HI> was very zealous in executing the Lords Command, in cutting off the hou&s;e of <HI>Ahab</HI> root<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> and branch, that &s;o he might &s;ettle him&s;elfe the fa&s;ter in the Kingdome: But when it com|eth to the touch that he mu&s;t either for&s;ake Chri&s;t, or the world, then <HI>De<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="3 letters"></HI> like, he follows this pre&s;ent world, his religion ebbs, and flows with the Current of the times he lives in, with the wicked he can &s;hew him&s;elfe wicked, with the righteous he can &s;hew him&s;elfe righteous, be hath his religion as it were in a &s;er<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">e, he can &s;et it higher and lower, according as the times goe, he can &s;erve God upon a|ny termes, after any fa&s;hion, he indeavours to plea&s;e all,
<PB N="133" REF="71">that &s;o he may get him&s;elfe a name among&s;t men, when as the Lord will <HI>&s;pue hins out of his mouth becau&s;e he is neither hot nor cold, Rev.</HI> 3.16. This is a di&s;creete hypocrite.</P>
<P>Secondly, the &s;ubtile hy|pocrite, one that pretends no|thing but love, and likeing to religion, as if he made it the aime, and end of his cour&s;e, one that would not be knowne to thinke, much le&s;&s;e to &s;peake any thing again&s;t the truth, when in the meane while his owne heart knowes, that he is a &s;ecres Vnderminer of it, he pretends he &s;eekes after the Li|berty of the Go&s;pell, when he &s;eekes his owne carnall liber|ty, like <HI>Saul,</HI> who pretended that he kept alive the cheife of the Cattle, for &s;acrifice, when it was meerely out of a cove|tous
<PB N="134" REF="72">humour that he did it; Further he is one that will pretend marvellous humility, he will &s;eeme to be content to doe any thing, to &s;uffer any thing for the truth, and all this out of a vaine o&s;tentation, he &s;eekes him&s;elfe in all, and though he can denie him&s;elfe in &s;ome lawfull comforts, yet it is onely out of a &s;elfe end that he doeth it, and therefore it is not acceptable with the Lord, &s;aith <HI>David, P&s;al.</HI> 119.6. <HI>I &s;hall not be a&s;hamed nor con|founded when I have re&s;pect to all thy Commandements,</HI> Now this hypocrite hath not re&s;pect to all Gods Commandements therefore he &s;hall &s;urely be confounded.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="U&s;e"> Is for Con&s;olation to all tho&s;e who finde that their hearts be levell to the rule of
<PB N="135" REF="72">the word, who are willing to let goe all beloved finnes, (though never &s;o plea&s;ant and profitable) and worldly ends what&s;oever, yea to give up their all, yea their life it &s;elfe when God &s;hall call for it, this may be a ground of un|&s;peakable comfort unto them, for they finde that di&s;tingui&s;h|ing Caracter in their &s;oules, which cannot be found in the hearts of any hypocrites in the world: Con&s;ider therefore with thy &s;elfe, how thou can&s;t &s;toope as well to the Com|mands, as to the Promi&s;es of the word, can&s;t &s;ubmit to every ble&s;&s;ed truth, art willing both to know it, and to practi&s;e it, and to delight thy &s;elfe in it day and night: Is there any &s;oule here, who&s;e Con&s;cience beares him witne&s;&s;e, that it is
<PB N="136" REF="73">thus with him, that he is wil|ling not onely to heare, but likewi&s;e to entertaine every Truth of God, even tho&s;e that are mo&s;t contrary to fle&s;h and bloud, and that he can &s;ay in the uprightne&s;&s;e of his &s;pirit as before the Lord, be there any more Truths of the Lord to be di&s;covered, Oh! that I might heare them, and come to under&s;tand them, how wil|lingly would I come up unto them, and put them in pra|ctice; that can &s;ay with the holy man <HI>Job, Surely it is meet<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> to be &s;ayd unto God I have borne cha&s;ti&s;ement, and I will not offend any more, that which I &s;ee not, teach thou mee, and if I have done Iniquitie I will doe &s;o no more.</HI> Such a man as can thus love, and thus entertaine the truth; he is a Free-man of
<PB N="137" REF="73">Heaven, one of the ble&s;&s;ed Company of Saints and An|gells, <HI>John</HI> 8.32. <HI>And yee &s;hall know the truth, and the truth &s;hall make you free.</HI> This was the joy of the Apo&s;tle, 3. <HI>Epi&s;t. John</HI> 4. <HI>I have no greater joy then to heave that my Children walke in the truth.</HI> If it was &s;o great a matter of joy to him that he had beene an In&s;trument to worke this ble&s;|&s;ed worke upon other mens &s;oules, how much greater cau&s;e of joy ha&s;t thou, that it is wrought upon thy &s;oule; God him&s;elfe loveth the truth, <HI>and requireth truth in the in|ward parts,</HI> He delighteth al&s;o to reward the lovers of it: Do&s;t thou love the Truth of Chri&s;t? then it will give the &s;ame te&s;timonie of thee, as it did to <HI>Demetrius.</HI> 3. <HI>Epi&s;t.</HI> of
<PB N="138" REF="74"><HI>Joh.</HI> 12. <HI>Demetrius hath a good report of the truth it &s;elf,</HI> And if the Truth report well of thee, Fear not what the world, what thy freinds, or enemies &s;ay of thee, for the te&s;timony of the truth will be a comfort unto thee when all fal&s;e witne&s;&s;es &s;hall &s;tand a&s;ide, and thou &s;halt be able to lift up thine head, when tho&s;e that have derided the truth, and thee for the truths &s;ake, &s;hall hang downe their heads, and have their hearts to faile within them. Then this &s;hall be a comfort to a poore &s;oule, when his con&s;cience &s;hall beare him witne&s;&s;e, that al|though he hath had manie weakne&s;&s;es, yet there was ne|ver any truth made knowne unto his &s;oule, but he was wil|ling to entertaine it, never any
<PB N="139" REF="74">&s;inne was di&s;covered to his &s;oule, to be a &s;inne, but in|&s;tantly he loathed it, then the Truth &s;hall &s;tand up and &s;ay I beare witne&s;&s;e Lord, that he loved mee, entertained mee, and delighted in mee, though he indured bitter per&s;ecutions for my &s;ake, and &s;o the truth &s;hall make him free, the devill &s;hall not have any thing to lay to his charge, and God the Father, God the Sonne, and God the ble&s;&s;ed Spirit &s;hall be ready to imbrace &s;uch a Soule, for God is a God of Truth, Chri&s;t is the Word of Truth, and the Holy Gho&s;t is the Spirit of Truth; Therefore labour after the Truth, let not your hearts any longer oppo&s;e its efficatious working upon your &s;oules, but unce&s;&s;antly intreat the God of Truth, to
<PB N="140" REF="75">&s;et every truth that you &s;hall heare home upon your hearts.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="75">
<P>THE PLANTATION OF THE RIGHTEOUS. Set forth in a <HI>Sermon</HI> on <HI>P&s;alme</HI> 1.3.</P>
<P>BY THOMAS HOOKER, late of <HI>Chelmesford</HI> in <HI>E&s;&s;ex,</HI> Now <HI>Mini&s;ter</HI> of the <HI>Go&s;pell</HI> in NEW-ENGLAND.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON.</HI> Printed for <HI>John Stafford,</HI> dwel|ling in the Alley again&s;t <HI>Brides Church,</HI> 1646.</P>
<PB REF="76">
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="143" REF="76">
<HEAD>THE PLANTATION OF <HI>The</HI> RIGHTEOVS.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>PSAL. 1.3.</HI></BIBL>
<P>But he &s;hall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in due &s;ea&s;on, his leafe al&s;o &s;hall not wither, and what &s;oever he doth &s;hall pro&s;per.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_IN the begining of this P&s;alme the Prophet <HI>David</HI> gi|veth &s;omewhat a generall, and confu&s;ed veiw
<PB N="144" REF="77">of ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e, which is the de&s;ire of all our hearts, the end of all our hopes, and tra|vails; and then he fir&s;t, poin|teth out the by-paths in which tho&s;e that walke, &s;hall be &s;ure never to attain unto this ble&s;|&s;edne&s;&s;e, 2. He &s;etteth out the true and ready way to happi|ne&s;&s;e, and the &s;everall &s;tations therein, which are but two, <HI>delighting, and meditating in the word of God,</HI> 3. In the words of the text he doth more particularly, and di|&s;tinkely di&s;cover this happi|ne&s;&s;e, that &s;o he might win up|on mens affections, and make their &s;oules be enamored ther|with. 4. He &s;heweth the woe|full e&s;tate, and condition of tho&s;e that doe not walke in this way, that leadeth to hap|pine&s;&s;e, <HI>they are not &s;o,</HI> but the
<PB N="145" REF="77">winde of Gods Wrath &s;hall drive them away like chaffe. La&s;tly, he giveth the rea&s;ons of it, <HI>for the Lord knoweth,</HI> that is, doth approve and pro&s;per <HI>the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked &s;hall peri&s;h.</HI></P>
<P>Now in the third ver&s;e, here is fir&s;t a familiar Similitude of a Tree, and this tree is further di&s;covered,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. By the nature of it, it is a planted tree, not a wild tree.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. By the place where it groweth, and <HI>that is, by the rivers of waters.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. By the property of it, <HI>it bringeth forth his fruite in due &s;ea&s;on.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>4. By &s;ome effects.
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. A per|petuall flouri&s;hing, <HI>his leafe &s;hall not fade.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. A good i&s;&s;ue to every undertaking, <HI>what &s;oever he doth &s;hall pro&s;per.</HI> As it is with a Tree digged out of a barren land, and tran&s;planted
<PB N="146" REF="78">into a fruitfull Soyle, and &s;et by a river of water, it bringeth forth much fruite, and remain|eth in a flouri&s;hing e&s;tate; So it is with tho&s;e who having bin rooted out of the drie wil|derne&s;&s;e of &s;in, and are by the great Husbandman God the Father, tran&s;ported into the true Vine Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and &s;et by the Rivers of his word and Ordinances, they grow fruit|full in grace and goodne&s;&s;e, bringing forth flouri&s;hing fruite, and that in due &s;ea&s;on, when it may make mo&s;t for the Glorie of God, and the good of his people, and their fruit &s;hall neither fade, nor peri&s;h, untill they attaine unto perfection, and a full fruition of Happine&s;&s;e with Chri&s;t in Glorie.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>So that this third ver&s;e doth
<PB N="147" REF="78">in particular di&s;cover the diffe|rence betwixt a godly, and godle&s;&s;e man: They are con|trary in their principalls, and wayes, They are contrary in their fruites, and they &s;hall be contrary in their accounts at the la&s;t Day.</P>
<P>Now for the pre&s;ent I &s;hall wave all the other Characters of a godly man, and treat only upon this: <HI>viz.</HI> That as he bringeth forth fruite, &s;o it is fruite in due &s;ea&s;on: So the Point hence con&s;iderable is this: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Doct.</NOTE> <HI>viz. It is the duty of a god|ly man, not onely to performe tho&s;e duties, di&s;charge tho&s;e &s;er|vices that God requireth of him, but to doe them in the fitte&s;t &s;ea|&s;on;</HI> Or take it thus in breife, <HI>The duties of Saints ought to be &s;ea&s;onable.</HI></P>
<P>The point may &s;eeme &s;trange
<PB N="148" REF="79">to &s;ome, it is little knowne and le&s;&s;e practi&s;ed among&s;t mo&s;t. I &s;hall therefore
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Prove the point.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Shew the grounds and rea&s;ons of it.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. Apply it.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, for the proofe of it, the Lord commands it, <HI>Numb.</HI> 9.2, 3. <HI>The Children of I&s;raell &s;hall celebrate the Pa&s;&s;over at the time appointed thereunto: In the foureteenth day of this mounth at Even ye &s;hall keepe it in his due &s;ea&s;on, according to all the Ordinances of it, and according to all the Cerimonies of it &s;hall ye keepe it.</HI> That is, in all points as the Lord hath in&s;tituted it, if they did not ob&s;erve the right time and &s;ea&s;on the Lord would not accept it. And as the Lord commandeth it, <NOTE PLACE="marg">So Exod. 12.1. Levit. 23.5 28.16. Deut. 16.2.</NOTE> &s;o he practi&s;eth it, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 145.15. <HI>The eyes of all waite upon thee, and thou give&s;t their meat in due &s;ea|&s;on.</HI>
<PB N="149" REF="79">And the Prophet <HI>E&s;ay</HI> &s;heweth that for this end the Lord &s;ent him to his people I&s;raell, <HI>E&s;ay</HI> 50.4. <HI>The Lord God hath given mee the tongue of the Learned, that I &s;hould know how to mini&s;ter a word in due &s;ea&s;on to him that is weary.</HI> And Chri&s;t &s;heweth in the pa|rable of the Vineyard, <HI>Mat.</HI> 21.41. That God will let out his Vineyard to &s;uch husbandmen as will deliver him <HI>the fruites in their &s;ea&s;ons.</HI> And he &s;hall be Steward of Gods Hou&s;hold <HI>who will give unto his fellow-&s;ervants their meate in &s;ea&s;on, Luke</HI> 12.42. And it is &s;aid, <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;t.</HI> 10.16, 17. <HI>Woe to thee O Land, when thy King is a Child</HI> (that is without wi&s;e|dome and councell) <HI>and thy Princes eate in the morning:</HI> that is, out of &s;ea&s;on, more for
<PB N="150" REF="80">ju&s;t, then for nece&s;&s;ity: <HI>But ble&s;&s;ed art thou O Land, when thy King is the Sonne of Nobles,</HI> (that is noble for vertue, and wi&s;edome,) <HI>and thy Princes cate in due time, for &s;trength, and not for drunkenne&s;&s;e.</HI> And <HI>Prov.</HI> 15.23. <HI>How good is a word in due &s;ea&s;on;</HI> for there is a &s;ea&s;on for words, as well as for acti|ons, and everie good thing is proper onely in its place, and a thing in it &s;elfe pray&s;e wor|thy, lo&s;eth its commendation unle&s;&s;e it be &s;et in its proper &s;eate: So we &s;ee that the point is plaine, that the Saints of God ought to ob&s;erve the fit|te&s;t &s;ea&s;ons and opportunities for their performance of duties and that is a thing both com|manded, and commended.</P>
<P><MILESTONE UNIT="Que&s;t."> But now the Que&s;tion will be, How &s;hall a man be able to
<PB N="151" REF="80">di&s;cerne the due &s;ea&s;on for his &s;ervices, the &s;it time for tho&s;e duties that are to be di&s;charg|ed by him?</P>
<P><MILESTONE UNIT="An&s;."> Fir&s;t, in the generall, when all circum&s;tances and occa&s;i|ons doe concurre for a duty, that is the &s;ea&s;on, and the time for that duty: As for in&s;tance, the day time is a &s;ea&s;on for a man to walke in, there is time enough for it in the night, but that is not a &s;ea&s;on, and when the winde and tide &s;er|veth, then the Sea-fairing man is to lance forth, or el&s;e though he may have time enough af|terwards, yet he may waite long enough for a &s;ea&s;on; So when the Go&s;pell is cleerely preached, and the deep my&s;te|ries thereof di&s;covered, and the hazard that &s;uch men run as neglect the&s;e opportunities
<PB N="152" REF="81">fully layd open, then it is a fit &s;ea&s;on for a man to bethink him &s;elfe of repenting and re|turning; For in hell a man &s;hall have time enough to re|pent, but there he &s;hall want a &s;ea&s;on, an opportunity: there|fore a Chri&s;tian &s;hould be wi&s;e to ob&s;erve his &s;ea&s;on, and when occa&s;ions, oppor|tunities and abilities: Sure, to take that time for the perfor|mance of his duties.</P>
<P N="1">1. In particular: 1. We mu&s;t be &s;ure to let each time have his allowance that concernes that day, and that time; &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>Mat.</HI> 6.34. <HI>Take no thought for to morrow, for &s;ufficient to the day is the e|vill thereof.</HI> Every day bring|eth evill enough with it, there are &s;innes, failings, and imper|fections enough this day,
<PB N="153" REF="81">therefore no neede to take care for a &s;econd or third day, it is &s;ea&s;onable therefore to &s;et our thoughts upon our pre&s;ent condition, for as &s;ufficient to the day is the evill thereof, &s;o &s;ufficient to the day are the du|ties thereof, that dayly taske that God hath &s;et us, may be &s;ufficient to take up our whole thoughts; we are every day to beg our dayly bread, to &s;ue out the pardon of our &s;innes, to make our peace with God, we know not whether we &s;hall live till the morrow, therefore we ought dayly to di&s;charge tho&s;e dutyes that are &s;uited to the pre&s;ent day.</P>
<P>Secondly, that time is mo&s;t &s;ea&s;onable for the di&s;charge of our duties, when we finde our bodies, and Spirits be&s;t di&s;po&s;ed for &s;uch &s;ervices: we
<PB N="154" REF="82">&s;hould &s;trike while the iron is hot, fa&s;hion the ve&s;&s;ell while the clay is &s;oft, &s;o we &s;hould &s;et upon dutyes when we are in full &s;trength, and activity of &s;pirit: It is not &s;ea&s;onable for a man to goe to pray when almo&s;t a&s;leepe, or when in bed, but when his &s;pirit is a|wake, active and &s;tirring. For a man to put off his repentance and making his peace with God, till he is old, and weake both in body and &s;pirit, and then thinke of &s;erving of the Lord, when he can &s;erve the devill no longer, this is not &s;ea&s;onable, what man would accept of &s;uch &s;ervice? This is ju&s;t as if a young man that is in his prime &s;trength, &s;hould &s;ay here is &s;uch a burden that I mu&s;t carry upon paine of death before I dye, I will let
<PB N="155" REF="82">it alone untill I am old and weake, and then I will carry it; Doth not this man lo&s;e his &s;ea&s;on? As Water-men take the advantage of the tide, &s;o &s;hould we learn to take the advantage of our natures. The Holy Gho&s;t giveth this charge <HI>Honour the Lord with the fir&s;t fruits of thine increa&s;e,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 9.10.</NOTE> and to &s;uch he annexeth this promi&s;e, <HI>So &s;hall thy barnes be filled with plenty.</HI> And in the old Law the Lord required the fir&s;t that opened the wombe; that al&s;o is here con&s;iderable, <HI>Malac.</HI> 1.13.14. The Prie&s;ts and the people were weary of &s;erving the Lord, and regard|ed not what &s;acrifices they offered up unto him, therefore &s;aith the Lord, <HI>Cur&s;ed be the deceiver, that hath in his flock a male,</HI> (that is ability to &s;erve
<PB N="156" REF="83">the Lord according to his word <HI>and &s;acrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing,</HI> that is, &s;erveth the Lord according to his covetous minde.</P>
<P>Thirdly, that our duties may be &s;ea&s;onable, we &s;hould &s;o di&s;charge them, that one may be helpfull and not hindering unto others, and we &s;hould learne &s;o to foreca&s;t the bu&s;i|ne&s;&s;es of our outward calling, that we might lo&s;e no oppor|tunities for our &s;oules advan|tage; Further we mu&s;t &s;o di&s;|charge our duties, that any par|ticular may not cro&s;&s;e the ge|nerall, as we mu&s;t not take up &s;o much time in our owne bu|&s;ine&s;&s;es, as to deprive our&s;elves of time, and &s;trength, for the dutyes of Gods wor&s;hip; So, neither mu&s;t we &s;o &s;pend our &s;trength in one duty, as there|by
<PB N="157" REF="83">to make us unfit for o|thers, for though we have time for duties, yet if we want &s;trength, and &s;pirit, it cannot be &s;ea&s;onable.</P>
<P>Now for Duties occa&s;io|nall, therein we mu&s;t ob&s;erve two rules.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, if it be &s;uch an occa|&s;ionall duty, as may be omit|ted without prejudice to any, and if di&s;charged an opportu|nity for the doing of another good would be neglected, then a man may pa&s;&s;e it by: But if a dutie commeth in a mans way that requireth pre|&s;ent di&s;charge, and if neglect|ed, cannot be recalled nor re|covered, when as the duty of his common cour&s;e may be regained againe, if it be for the pre&s;ent pa&s;&s;ed by, now this is a &s;ea&s;on for an occa&s;io|nall
<PB N="158" REF="84">duty; as for in&s;tance, it is a mans dutie daily to pray in his familie, now if a nece&s;&s;ary occa&s;ionall dutie be ca&s;t in, which cannot be di&s;charged afterwards, a man mu&s;t omit prayer for the pre&s;ent, and di&s;|charge that other duty: In many ca&s;es God will have mercie, and not &s;acrifice, if our Neighbours hou&s;e be on fire, and we have our dutie to performe, we mu&s;t for the pre&s;ent pa&s;&s;e by our duty, and helpe our neighbour, and our Saviour &s;heweth that it is <HI>law|full for a man to pull his Oxe,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 12.11.</NOTE> <HI>or his A&s;&s;e out of the pit upon the Sabboth day,</HI> in &s;uch ca&s;es God will have mercie, and not &s;a|crifice.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Que."> If one duty mu&s;t be lo&s;t, and if we cannot regaine both of them, which then mu&s;t be
<PB N="159" REF="84">taken up, and performed?</P>
<P>Looke which duty is mo&s;t excellent and nece&s;&s;ary, take up that and let the other pa&s;&s;e, and herein know that duties of the fir&s;t table, are to be di&s;|charged before duties of the &s;econd, we mu&s;t &s;erve God before men, that duty which is highe&s;t in place, and worth, mu&s;t fir&s;t be di&s;charged, this is &s;ea&s;onable.</P>
<P>How can a man know the preheminence of any duty? <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que.</HI> 3.</NOTE></P>
<P>That which concerns Gods Glory is to be preferred be|fore that which concernes a mans &s;elfe, <NOTE PLACE="marg">An&s;.</NOTE> that which is for my good mu&s;t give place to that which is for Gods Glory, for we mu&s;t have an eye more to Gods glory, then to the Sal|vation of our &s;ouls, in all the duties that we performe.</P>
<PB N="160" REF="85">
<P>Secondly, for tho&s;e duties that concerne our neighbour, though I mu&s;t doe nothing to others, that I would not have done to my &s;elfe, yet I mu&s;t learne to doe good to my &s;elfe in the fir&s;t place, if the duties that are to be di&s;char|ged in reference to others be of the &s;ame ranke and quality, with tho&s;e that concerne my &s;elfe, then I mu&s;t preferre my own occa&s;ions before another mans, my goods before his, my body before his, my life before his, &s;erve my &s;elfe in the fir&s;t place, and my neigh|bour in the &s;econd, but I mu&s;t not preferre my body before his &s;oule, my temporalls be|fore his &s;piritualls, nor my goods before his life. If we take &s;uch like directions as the&s;e, then our duties will be
<PB N="161" REF="85">&s;ea&s;onable, and &s;o acceptable with the Lord.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="Rea&s;."> Fir&s;t, if the &s;ea&s;on of doing duties be thus ob&s;erved, it beautifyeth all our actions, <HI>Prov.</HI> 25.11. <HI>A word &s;poken in &s;ea&s;on is like apples of Gold in pictures of Silver.</HI> If a man &s;trike while the mettell is hot, glorious formes may be effected; So in the worke of grace, if a man take the oppor|tunity while the wind is blow|ing, the word preaching, the Spirit lifting, and &s;tirring in the Soule, then a glorious worke, a new creation may be wrought, but if men delay untill their eyes be dime, their limbes feeble, their &s;trength &s;pent, their &s;pirits weake, and corruption &s;trong and fa&s;t rooted in the Soule, this &s;el|dome proves a &s;ea&s;on for the
<PB N="162" REF="86">doing of &s;uch a Soule good, for if con&s;cience now cometh to be awakened, and the &s;in|full Soule to &s;ee, what oppor|tunities God hath vouch&s;afed it, what profers he hath made, what &s;ea&s;ons for the doing, and receiving of good have beene afforded: all which he hath abu&s;ed and trifled away, and the Soule now fearing that it &s;hall never have &s;uch &s;ea&s;ons more, but that the day of grace &s;hall &s;et upon it, here|upon it is driven to de&s;paire.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Rea&s;."> Becau&s;e things are &s;weete&s;t, &amp; find be&s;t acceptance when they come in their &s;ea&s;on; Oh, how &s;weete is bread to the hungry, and water to the thir|&s;tie, becau&s;e then they are &s;ea|&s;onable; when a full &s;tomacke loathes the honie-combe; that &s;eede thrives be&s;t that is &s;owen
<PB N="163" REF="86">in its &s;ea&s;on, and that worke goeth on the be&s;t that is un|dertaken in a fitting time, ther|fore the Preacher, <HI>Eccle.</HI> 12.1. calls upon men <HI>to remember their Creatour in the dayes of their youth, whil&s;t the evill dayes come not, nor the years approach wherein thou &s;halt &s;ay I have no plea&s;ure;</HI> For old dayes are likely to be evill daies, unle&s;&s;e we make our peace with God in our young daies for that is the &s;ea&s;on that God lookes for, and calls for, that men &s;hould remember him in, and God &s;eldome giveth the grace of repentance to men in their declining yeares, who have de&s;pi&s;ed it in the daies of their youth. A thing out of &s;ea&s;on is like phy&s;ick brought to a dead man, which if it had bin &s;ea&s;onably applied, might
<PB N="165" REF="87">have done him good: Be wi&s;e to take every opportunity to doe good to others, and to re|ceive good for your owne &s;oules, lea&s;t ye repent with a &s;ad heart, when it is too late, when ye have lo&s;t the &s;ea&s;on of grace and mercie; con&s;ider what the Lord &s;aith, <HI>Prov.</HI> 1. 28, 29. <HI>They &s;hall call upon mee but I will not an&s;wer, they &s;hall &s;eeke mee early, but they &s;hall not finde mee, becau&s;e they hated knowledge, and did not chu&s;e the feare of the Lord, they would none of my councell, but de&s;pi&s;ed my correction, therefore &s;hall they eate of the fruite of their owne doings, and be filled with their owne devi&s;es.</HI></P>
<P>Is it &s;o that the Saints of God ought to doe their duties in &s;ea&s;on, <NOTE PLACE="marg">U&s;e <HI>1.</HI></NOTE> then let this be for triall to every one of our
<PB N="165" REF="87">&s;oules, and let us examine our &s;elves whether we have &s;ea&s;o|nably di&s;charged tho&s;e duties that the Lord requireth of us both in our generall, and par|ticular Callings, and be hum|bled if we finde our &s;elves blame worthy. If we doe con|&s;ider our waies, and looke backe upon our former carria|ges, and veiw over the whole cour&s;e of our lives, I doubt that the be&s;t of us &s;hall finde, that many opportunities, ma|ny ble&s;&s;ed &s;ea&s;ons, for the hoarding up of comfortable provi&s;ion again&s;t the evill day have bin neglected, how often hath this gratious Proclimati|on from heaven &s;ounded in the eares of us notorious Rebells, that whatever our &s;ins have bin, for the nature, for the number of them, yet if we would but
<PB N="166" REF="88">come under the garment of Chri&s;t &amp; &s;toopeto that Royall Scepter of Chri&s;t, and accept of the promi&s;e of life in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, we &s;hould be &s;aved by Chri&s;t, yet how many of us have refu&s;ed the&s;e glorious profers of grace, and un&s;peak|able loving kindnes offered to our &s;oules. How many Mar|kets for the buying of Spiri|tuall foode hath the Lord vouch&s;afed unto us, and yet &s;til we have come empty away. Let us now look back &amp; con|fider, how many Sermons we have heard, how many times we have received the Sacra|ment, and there renued our covenants with the Lord, how many motions Gods Spirit hath made at our hearts to re|pent, and returne, when we have bin hearing of the word,
<PB N="167" REF="88">and likewi&s;e in our private meditation, &s;aying unto our &s;oules why will ye dye; yet (&s;infull wretches that we are) have we not flighted the&s;e motious, and ca&s;t them be|hinde our backs, as though they did not concerne us? let us now look backe upon all &s;lightings of grace, and mer|cy offered unto us, and &s;ay with <HI>Pharaohs</HI> Butler, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 41.5.</NOTE> <HI>I will call to remembrance my faults this day,</HI> and let our &s;ouls be deeply humbled under the remem|brance therof before the Lord.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="U&s;e"> For in&s;truction, it teacheth us, that the life of a Chri&s;tian, is not an idle, but a laborious life, that will co&s;t a man much paines and travell, if he will indeavour for to be &s;incere in his profe&s;&s;ion, and walke up|rightly with the Lord in an
<PB N="168" REF="89">holy conver&s;ation. watching all &s;ea&s;ons, and readily im|bracing all opportunities, as he ought to doe, that &s;o what|&s;oever he doth may rend to Gods glory, and to the good of his Church and people.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="U&s;e"> For incouragement, &s;eeing God doth now vouch&s;afe unto us &s;o many glorious &s;ea&s;ons &amp; opportunities, which if im|proved might be to the eternall welfare of our &s;oules, now to &s;tep in that we may be cured, even while the Angell is mo|ving in the waters of the San|ctuary, for &s;o long as the Go|&s;pell is preached unto us, and tenders of mercie offered, &s;o long our &s;ea&s;on of grace doth la&s;t, we &s;hould therefore now take the&s;e opportunities by the forelocke, for we know not how &s;oone they may be re|moved
<PB N="169" REF="89">from us, or we from them, and when the dore is once &s;hut, though with the fooli&s;h virgins we may knock, yet it &s;hlal not be opened unto us: and for our helpe herein we &s;hould remember the for|mer directions, and likewi&s;e learne &s;o to order, and over|looke all our bu&s;ine&s;&s;es, that we may be able to allot to e|very imployment a proportio|nable time, and we mu&s;t al|wayes take e&s;peciall care that our duty to our neighbour ne|ver ju&s;tly out that homage and &s;ervice that we owe unto our God, we mu&s;t therefore never over-charge our &s;pirits with multiplicitie of worldly bu&s;ine&s;&s;es, but keepe our &s;ouls in &s;uch a frame, that we may be able when ever we goe to conver&s;e with God, in nny
<PB N="170" REF="90">holy ordinance, to &s;et a&s;ide all worldly occa&s;&s;ions, that neither our hearts, nor our thoughts, may run out upon them.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="U&s;e"> For direction, we &s;hould therefore labour to prevent the time in getting aforehand with it, &s;aich <HI>David, P&s;al.</HI> 119. 148. <HI>Mine eyes prevent the night-watches, to meditate in thy word.</HI> He was more earne&s;t in the Study of Gods word, then they that kept the Watch were in their Charge, and <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 63.6. <HI>When I re|member thee on my bedde, and meditate on thee in the night-watches:</HI> He got up before his Nobles when others were a|&s;leepe, he was awake, &s;o that he had performed his duty to God, before any State mat|ters were brought before him,
<PB N="171" REF="90">before his thoughts were &s;cat|tered upon the Affaires of his Kingdome, he is a good Pre|&s;ident in this for all of us to imitate.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, we &s;hould learn how to cut off all unne&s;&s;ary expence of time; if it be &s;infull to &s;pend that time which &s;hould be for &s;pirituall imployment, in worldly bu&s;ine&s;&s;es, which in them&s;elves are lawfull, if &s;ea&s;onable di&s;carged, how much more &s;infull is it to &s;pend it in &s;infull &s;ports, and plea&s;ures; we &s;hould therefore learne how. to redeeme the time out of the hands of our lu&s;ts and corruptions, which have too long imployed many precious houres, and glorious opportunities in &s;uch &s;ervices, as doe directly tend to the e|ternall ruine of our immortall
<PB N="172" REF="91">&s;oules, even now <HI>whil&s;t it is called to day, lea&s;t the Lord &s;weare in his wrath that our &s;oules &s;hall never enter into his re&s;t.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</GROUP>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
