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<DATE>2014-06-25</DATE>
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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="half title">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>Mr. <HI>CHARNOCK</HI>'s Two Di&s;cour&s;es: VIZ. <HI>Of Man's Enmity to God;</HI> AND <HI>Of the Salvation of Sinners.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<P>TWO DISCOURSES: The FIRST, <HI>Of Man's Enmity to God,</HI> FROM
<Q><BIBL><HI>ROM. viii. 7.</HI></BIBL> Becau&s;e the carnal mind is enmity again&s;t God: for it is not &s;ubject to the law of God, neither in|deed can be.</Q></P>
<P>The SECOND, <HI>Of the Salvation of Sinners,</HI> FROM
<Q><BIBL><HI>1 TIM. i. 15.</HI></BIBL> This is a faithful &s;ay|ing, and worthy of all acceptation, That Chri&s;t Je&s;us came into the World to &s;ave &s;inners; of whom I am chief.</Q></P>
<P>By the late Learned Divine STEPHEN CHARNOCK, B. D.</P>
<P>Publi&s;h'd from his Original Manu&s;cripts by Mr. <HI>Edward Veel.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON:</HI> Printed for <HI>Tho. Cockerill,</HI> at the <HI>Three Legs</HI> and <HI>Bible</HI> in the <HI>Poultrey,</HI> over-again&s;t <HI>Grocers-Hall,</HI> 1699.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="3">
<PB REF="3">
<HEAD>AN Adverti&s;ement TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Good Reader,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>UPON the Publication of the <HI>Second Volume</HI> of Mr. <HI>CHARNOCK'S</HI> Works, it was much lamented by tho&s;e that knew him, and had a ju&s;t value for him, that &s;ome Sermons he was known to have preached (and which were as worthy of the publick View as the re&s;t, and no le&s;s u&s;eful to the grand de&s;ign
<PB REF="4"> of mans Salvation) could not be found among his Papers; e&s;pecially three Sermons which many heard him preach on Three &s;everal Lord's-days, upon <HI>1 Tim. 11.15. Chri&s;t Je&s;us came into the World to &s;ave &s;inners.</HI> But now, beyond expectation, in&s;tead of them, the good Providence of God hath brought to light the Two follow|ing Treati&s;es, by the unwearied Dili|gence of Mr. <HI>A&s;hton,</HI> one of the laborious Tran&s;cribers of the Fir&s;t Volume of this Author's Works; and who, to give him his due, hath rak'd them out of the A&s;hes, and re&s;cued them from that oblivion to which they &s;eemed condemned; having with great Pains and Patience tran&s;cribed, as well as with great Judgment joined together the &s;everal Materials he found belong|ing re&s;pectively to each Subject, in
<PB REF="4"> the many loo&s;e Papers of Mr. <HI>Char|nock</HI> he had by him. The Papers I have &s;een, and with Mr. <HI>A&s;hton</HI>'s help, have (&s;o far as was needful) compared the Tran&s;cription with them.</P>
<P>One of the&s;e Treati&s;es contains the Continuation of the Author's Me|ditations on <HI>1 Tim. 1.15.</HI> And herein he handles a &s;econd Doctrine, grounded on the la&s;t Clau&s;e of the Ver&s;e. The Text was fruitful, and bore twins; whereof the younger only &s;urvives; the other, I fear, is dead without recovery.</P>
<P>But I verily per&s;uade my &s;elf, that many an hone&s;t Soul will have occa&s;i|on to ble&s;s the Lord for the Birth, (&s;hall I &s;ay?) or the Re&s;urrection of this &s;till-born Offspring of &s;o worthy a Father, being thereby &s;tirr'd up
<PB REF="5"> not only to admire that rich Grace of God which &s;o eminently appears in many times calling the Chiefe&s;t of Sinners, but encouraged in the Faith of it, and &s;upported under the burden of the greate&s;t guilt which we find &s;o often oppre&s;&s;ing, terrifying, and even &s;inking awaken'd Sinners into de&s;pair, when they look upon their Sins as not only above the Sins of others, but even above the Mercy of God it &s;elf, and therefore unpardonable. If &s;ecure Sinners &s;hall dare to abu&s;e the great Truths here declared and &s;et forth, to the &s;trengthening their hands in their evil Works, and emboldening them|&s;elves to a life of Sin, becau&s;e God's Grace abounds; at their peril be it, and let them an&s;wer for it. But in the mean time it is pity that &s;uch rich and precious Cordials &s;hould be with|held
<PB REF="5"> from tho&s;e that need them, le&s;t others to whom they do not belong &s;hould pre&s;umptuou&s;ly catch at them and undo them&s;elves by mi&s;applying them. And who knows not, that what is a Cordial to &s;ome, may prove Poi&s;on to others?</P>
<P>As for the other Di&s;cour&s;e, Of <HI>Man's Enmity again&s;t God,</HI> we cannot find when or where it was preached. I have been credibly informed, that the Author had a de&s;ign (had it plea|&s;ed God to have prolonged his days) to have preached largely about <HI>Ori|ginal Sin,</HI> and then it is not unlikely that he might intend this pre&s;ent Trea|ti&s;e as one branch of it. And in it, if the Reader can but di&s;pen&s;e with one degree le&s;s of that accuracy and neatne&s;s of &s;tile which u&s;ually ap|pears in his other Writings, he will
<PB REF="6"> find as excellent Matter, and great things as in mo&s;t of them, and in|deed the true Spirit of the Author. He had made great u&s;e of the Ham|mer in beating out the Truth, but wanted time to apply the File for the more thorough &s;moothing and poli&s;h|ing of his Work, which truly wants no|thing but the fini&s;hing-&s;troke. The Thread of this Di&s;cour&s;e is as finely &s;pun as of any, tho' the Piece be not altogether &s;o glo&s;&s;y. But whatever is wanting in Ornament, is abundantly made up in U&s;efulne&s;s. And if one of the&s;e Treati&s;es may be a Gla&s;s in which humbled Sinners may &s;ee the beauty and glory of Soveraign Grace, the other too may be a Gla&s;s in which the be&s;t of Saints may &s;ee the Face of their own Souls, and a lively Repre|&s;entation of that inherent Wickedne&s;s,
<PB REF="6"> which all that diligently ob&s;erve and know their own hearts, cannot but acknowledge to be natural to them, as having been born with them into the World. I cannot but &s;ay that this Di&s;cour&s;e is an excellent Pour|traiture of the Old Man; a Graphical de&s;cription of the Devils Image im|pre&s;s'd upon, and deforming the mo&s;t beautiful part of this lower Creation. It &s;hews how much Man is deba&s;ed and degraded by Sin, and become a Slave to his Lu&s;ts, who was made at fir&s;t to be the Lord of his Fellow-Creatures; and &s;o how rueful a Le|gacy our fir&s;t Father hath left us, and to what mi&s;ery he hath intail'd us, by communicating &s;o cur&s;ed a Nature to us. That the ble&s;&s;ing of God may be upon the&s;e Labours of his (long &s;ince) decea&s;ed, but faithful Servant; and
<PB REF="7"> that they may, by the power of his Grace, be made effectual for obtain|ing the Ends de&s;igned by the Author is the de&s;ire and prayer of him who is, Good Reader,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>Thy Soul's Well-wi&s;her, and Servant for Je&s;us &s;ake,</HI> Edw. Veel.</SIGNED>
<DATELINE><DATE><HI>Septemb. 20. 1699.</HI></DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="1" REF="7">
<HEAD>Man's Enmity to God.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>ROM. 8.7.</HI></BIBL>
<P>Becau&s;e the carnal mind is enmity again&s;t God: for it is not &s;ubject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>IN the 4th Ver&s;e the Apo&s;tle re|news the de&s;cription of tho&s;e Per|&s;ons to whom he had proclaim'd a Jubile in the 1&s;t Ver&s;e, <HI>There is now no condemnation,</HI> &amp;c. Sanctifi'd Per&s;ons only have an intere&s;t in Chri&s;t; and tho&s;e that have an intere&s;t in Chri&s;t, are not &s;ubject to a &s;entence of death. They are de&s;crib'd from their Cour&s;e and Conver&s;ation; <HI>They walk not after the fle&s;h:</HI> Not after the dictates, wills, de&s;ires, importunities of the Fle&s;h, but according to the motions, dictates, di|rection
<PB N="2" REF="8"> of the Holy Gho&s;t in the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>The note by which we may know, whether we walk after the Spirit, is laid down, <HI>v.</HI> 5. <HI>They that are after the fle&s;h, do mind the things of the fle&s;h; but they that are after the &s;pirit, the things of the &s;pirit.</HI></P>
<P><GAP DESC="foreign"> &s;ignifies,</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Affectum,</HI> Affection. <HI>Rom.</HI> 12.16. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>Sen&s;um,</HI> Sen&s;e or reli&s;h. The Un|der&s;tanding is the palate of the Soul, the ta&s;ter to the Will; it con&s;iders what things be good, and under that notion offers them to the Will. Spiri|tual things are as dry Chips to a carnal heart, even as carnal things are con|temptible to a &s;piritual mind.</P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>Cogitationem,</HI> Thought. So for the mo&s;t part it is taken, and notes the <GAP DESC="foreign">, and is meant of the higher Acts of the Soul.</P>
<P>Frequent Thoughts di&s;cover rooted Affections.</P>
<P>Operations of the mind are the In|dexes, <GAP DESC="foreign"> of a regenerate or un|regenerate E&s;tate. If about Carnal,
<PB N="3" REF="8"> they evidence the bent of the heart to be turn'd that way, and that worldly Objects are deare&s;t to them. If about Spiritual, they manife&s;t Spiritual Ob|jects to be the mo&s;t grateful to the Soul.</P>
<P>Carnal thoughts are &s;igns of a lan|gui&s;hing and feeble frame, but &s;piritual di&s;cover a well-temper'd and com|plexion'd Soul.</P>
<P>As this is laid down by the Apo&s;tle, it hath, as &s;ome Pictures, a double a&s;|pect.</P>
<P>'Tis a Character, and a Duty. For <HI>v.</HI> 6. The Apo&s;tle enforceth it by the con&s;ideration of the danger of the one, and the happine&s;s of the other. <HI>To be carnally minded is death, to be &s;piritually minded is life and peace.</HI></P>
<P>Death and Life,</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Effectiv&egrave;,</HI> by way of Efficiency. As they deaden and enliven the Soul. Carnal Principles are Spiritual Di&s;ea&s;es. Spiritual Thoughts are healing Re&s;tora|tives.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>Con&s;ecutiv&egrave;,</HI> by way of Con&s;e|quence. Revenge and Ju&s;tice attends the one, as Grace and Mercy accompa|nies the other.</P>
<PB N="4" REF="9">
<P>The proof of this is, <HI>v.</HI> 7. 'Tis death, becau&s;e it is enmity to, and aver&s;ion from God, who is the fountain of life.</P>
<P>'Tis the de&s;cription of a Natural E&s;tate, and what relation a man con&s;i|der'd in his Corrupt Nature bears to God.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="foreign">. The mo&s;t refined and ele|vated Thoughts, which have no other ground-work than Nature. The highe&s;t flights of an unregenerate Soul by the Feathers of the greate&s;t Rea&s;on. The Wi&s;dom and Virtues of the Heathen were enmity: Therefore tran&s;lated by &s;ome, <HI>Sapientia Carnis,</HI> the wi&s;dom of the fle&s;h.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="foreign">. Unregenerate man. Fle&s;h is u&s;ually taken in Scripture for the un|regenerate part of the Soul. <HI>John</HI> 3.6. <HI>That which is born of the fle&s;h,</HI> is fle&s;h.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="foreign">. Not Enemy, but Enmity.</P>
<P N="1">1. Not <HI>Anger.</HI> That is not &s;o bad. It may ari&s;e from &s;ome di&s;ta&s;te; Every di&s;gu&s;t &s;naps not Friend&s;hip in pieces.</P>
<P N="2">2. Not <HI>Aver&s;ion.</HI> That may be quick|ly remov'd. But,</P>
<P N="3"><PB N="5" REF="9">3. <HI>Enmity.</HI> How directly oppo&s;ite is Man to God? God is &s;aid to be Love, and Man Enmity, both in the ab&s;tract. Like that in <HI>Ezek.</HI> 44.6 <HI>Thou &s;halt &s;ay to the rebellion,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> Rebellion in&s;tead of Rebellious. Enmity in Nature; the Nature of God, and that of a corrupt Man, can never be reconciled.</P>
<P>In the Ver&s;e ob&s;erve,</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>A Propo&s;ition. The carnal mind,</HI> &amp;c. 2. <HI>The Proof.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Propo&s;ition.</HI> 1. <HI>The &s;tate, Enmity.</HI> 2. <HI>The Object of this Enmity, God.</HI> 3. <HI>The &s;ubject</HI> or &s;eat of it, <HI>Mind.</HI> 4. <HI>The quali|fication, Carnal.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>The Proof. 'Tis not &s;ubject,</HI> &amp;c. wherein ob&s;erve,</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Wilfulne&s;s. 'Tis not &s;ubject.</HI> The holine&s;s of the Law, like the light of the Sun, dazels its eyes, that he cannot endure it. If we be not God's Subjects, we mu&s;t be his Enemies: For he that is not with Chri&s;t, is again&s;t him.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>Weakne&s;s. Neither indeed can be.</HI> It cannot, <HI>Quia non vult,</HI> becau&s;e it will not, &s;aith <HI>Haymo.</HI> 'Tis an enemy to it;
<PB N="6" REF="10"> and therefore will not be &s;ubject to its determinations.</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. It cannot be <HI>perfectly &s;ubject.</HI> It may be &s;ubject to the material part, and outward bark, not to the &s;piritual and true intendment of the Law.</P>
<P N="2">2. It cannot, <HI>qu&agrave; talis,</HI> as &s;uch. Sin cannot be reconcil'd to God, neither can a Sinner, as a Sinner. It mu&s;t be &s;ome &s;uperior Power that mu&s;t conquer an Enemy that hath po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of a &s;trong Fort.</P>
<P>Doctr. 1. <HI>A &s;tate of Nature is a &s;tate of Enmity again&s;t God.</HI></P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>Man is naturally an Enemy to the Soveraignty and Dominion of God.</HI> Not &s;ubject to the Law of God.</P>
<P>By Law, I mean not here the Moral Law only, but the whole Will and Rule of God, which is chiefly di&s;cover'd in his Law.</P>
<P>For the fir&s;t.</P>
<P>D. 1. <HI>A &s;tate of Nature is a &s;tate of Enmity again&s;t God.</HI></P>
<P N="1"><PB N="7" REF="10">1. For <HI>the Explication.</HI> 2. <HI>The Con|firmation.</HI> 3. <HI>The Application.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>What is meant by a Natural Man,</HI> or <HI>&s;tate of Nature?</HI></P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. By a &s;tate of Nature is <HI>not meant the Human Nature, or Man as a Creature</HI> con&s;i&s;ting of Body and Soul: Then Je|&s;us Chri&s;t, who truly and really a&s;&s;um'd the Human Nature, was an Enemy to God, as well as we.</P>
<P>Therefore &s;ome that under&s;tand tho&s;e Scriptures which &s;peak of the Fle&s;h hindring us, of the natural or fle&s;hly Body, are much mi&s;taken: For if the Fle&s;h as created, and not as corrupted, did impo&s;e a nece&s;&s;ity upon us of &s;in|ning, it would nece&s;&s;arily follow, that God did fir&s;t place in us a natural en|mity, and &s;o is the Author of all our Sin.</P>
<P>And al&s;o that Chri&s;t could not be free from this black Character, if it be own|ed (as it mu&s;t be) that he had a Na|ture of the &s;ame kind and mould as ours are.</P>
<PB N="8" REF="11">
<P>God did not in Creation implant in us a Principle of contrariety to him; neither could a God of infinite Goodne&s;s da&s;h any &s;uch blot upon Man's Nature, for he fram'd him in an exact harmony to his own Will, and printed him a fair Copy without any Errata's, according to his own Image, which is nothing but Holine&s;s and Love.</P>
<P>But our defection from God puts us into this State, which is maintain'd by our inherent and tumultuous Lu&s;ts.</P>
<P>In our Creation there was an union to God; in our Corruption a &s;eparation from Him, whence ari&s;eth an oppo&s;ition to him; &s;o that it is not created, but cor|rupted Nature which is here meant.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>Every Prophane Man</HI> is a Natural Man, and con&s;equently an Enemy.</P>
<P>Wicked Works are <HI>demon&s;trativ&egrave;,</HI> de|mon&s;tratively denials of God. <HI>Tit.</HI> 1.16. <HI>In works they deny him. Sen&s;ual,</HI> and <HI>ha|ving not the &s;pirit,</HI> are put together, <HI>Jude</HI> 19. That man that is actuated by &s;en&s;uality, is not acted by the Holy, but by the Diabolical Spirit.</P>
<PB N="9" REF="11">
<P>Luxurious Per&s;ons, that make their Belly their God, are term'd Enemies to the Cro&s;s of Chri&s;t, <HI>Phil.</HI> 3.18. And if Enemies to the Cro&s;s of Chri&s;t, then Enemies to God, who was engaged in the greate&s;t De&s;ign that ever was upon the Stage of Heaven and Earth, at the time of Chri&s;t's being upon the Cro&s;s. And if Enemies to the Cro&s;s of Chri&s;t, then Enemies to all tho&s;e Attributes of Wi&s;dom, Power, Holine&s;s, Truth, Ju|&s;tice, Mercy, which God glorified in the Death of Chri&s;t, and in the mo&s;t illu&s;trious manner.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3. Every <HI>unrenew'd man, though ne|ver &s;o richly endowed with morals, is a Natural Man.</HI></P>
<P>What is call'd <GAP DESC="foreign"> in the Text, is called, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.14. <GAP DESC="foreign">, one that hath nothing excel|lent but a rational Soul.</P>
<P>As <GAP DESC="foreign"> is oppo&s;ed to <GAP DESC="foreign">, it is a Soul jointur'd in the riche&s;t Dow|ry of Nature.</P>
<P>And as oppo&s;ed to <GAP DESC="foreign">, a fle&s;hly Man, it notes a freedom from gro&s;s pollutions and defilements without.</P>
<PB N="10" REF="12">
<P>A <GAP DESC="foreign">, is one led by the Rational Dictates of his Mind, and <GAP DESC="foreign"> is a man led by his Sen&s;itive Affe|ctions.</P>
<P>Though the one be better than the other, and more agreable to the order of Nature, yet both being corrupted and defiled, are contrary to God.</P>
<P>Suppo&s;e a Man with the highe&s;t En|dowments of Rea&s;on, Wi&s;dom, Un|der&s;tanding, Learning, as wi&s;e as <HI>Solo|mon,</HI> and &s;uppo&s;e him as rich in Morals as in Intellectuals; yet if he be not <HI>re|newed in the &s;pirit of his mind, Rom.</HI> 12.2. <HI>i. e.</HI> the more &s;piritual and rational part of his Soul, though there be ne|ver &s;o fair a fronti&s;piece, colour, and pretences of friend&s;hip, yet &s;uch a Man is an Enemy; becau&s;e by all that &s;trength of Nature he cannot have a knowledge of &s;piritual things, or a faith in God; and without a knowledge of him, he cannot be &s;ubject to him; and without faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to do any thing to plea&s;e him.</P>
<P>The civille&s;t Heathens, who di&s;dain'd tho&s;e ugly and carnal Sins of Drunken|ne&s;s, Lu&s;t, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> yet were po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed by
<PB N="11" REF="12"> the more &s;piritual Legions of Pride and Vain-glory, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Though you have not outwardly the filthine&s;s of the Fle&s;h, yet you may flow with a greater filthi|ne&s;s of the Spirit.</P>
<P>External Acts of pollution are more abhorred by Rea&s;on, becau&s;e they are more bruti&s;h, they degrade the Nature of a Man, and di&s;grace his Per&s;on. But in Heart-&s;ins, though there be not &s;o much of di&s;credit, there is more of enmity.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>What kind of Enmity this is.</HI></P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. I under&s;tand it of <HI>Nature, not of Actions only.</HI></P>
<P>Every Action of a Natural Man is an Enemy's Action, but not an Action of Enmity. A Toad doth not envenome every &s;pire of Gra&s;s it crawls upon, nor poi&s;on every thing it toucheth, but its Nature is poi&s;onous.</P>
<P>Certainly every man's Nature is wor&s;e than his Actions: As Waters are pure&s;t at the Fountain, and poi&s;on mo&s;t pernicious in the Ma&s;s, &s;o is Enmity in the heart.</P>
<PB N="12" REF="13">
<P>And as Waters reli&s;h of the Mineral-Vein they run through, &s;o the Actions of a Wicked man are tinctured with the enmity they &s;pring from, but the ma&s;s and &s;trength of this is lodg'd in his Na|ture.</P>
<P>There is in all our Natures &s;uch a devili&s;h contrariety to God, that if God &s;hould leave a man to the current of his own heart, it would overflow in all kind of wickedne&s;s: For the be&s;t meer Nature hath fundamentally and radical|ly as much of this enmity, as the wor&s;t: For the di&s;po&s;ition is the &s;ame, though the effects may be re&s;train'd in &s;ome men more than in others.</P>
<P>No man is any more born with a love to God, than he is with the knowledge of the highe&s;t Sciences. There is indeed an active power to the attainment of tho&s;e by the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of a good Educa|tion; but man hath only a pa&s;&s;ive power to the other, as being a Subject pa&s;&s;ive|ly capable of the Grace of God.</P>
<P>The inherency of this enmity in our Nature the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> expre&s;&s;eth, when he tells us, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 58.3, 4. <HI>The wicked are e&s;tranged from the womb, they go a&s;tray as
<PB N="13" REF="13"> &s;oon as ever they be born.</HI> They go &s;in|fully, before they go naturally. Their poi&s;on is like the poi&s;on of a Serpent, which you know is radically the &s;ame in all of the &s;ame Species.</P>
<P N="2">2. 'Tis <HI>a &s;tate of Enmity.</HI></P>
<P>Godly men may do an Enemy's Acti|on, but they are not in a &s;tate of enmi|ty. They may be cheated into &s;in, but they do not dwell in it; they may fall into it as a man into a Ditch, but they lie not in it.</P>
<P>There may be &s;ome jarrings between God and a regenerate Man; God may be di&s;plea&s;ed with him, and he di&s;gu&s;t|ed with God, and jealous of him, as in the Ca&s;e of <HI>Jonah,</HI> a Type of Chri&s;t; but there is not a &s;tated War.</P>
<P>But a Natural man is in a &s;tate of univer&s;al contrariety.</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>All times,</HI> its rooted in the Nature of a man. 'Tis call'd a <HI>root of bitterne&s;s</HI> planted in a man's di&s;po&s;ition: There|fore bitterne&s;s is a quality e&s;&s;ential to it, and in&s;eparable from it: For while it remains a Root, it will remain bitter.</P>
<PB N="14" REF="14">
<P>You can never &s;uppo&s;e a thing to ex|i&s;t, and be without its Nature, and the Modes and Qualities due to &s;uch a Be|ing; or a man to live, and be without a Soul.</P>
<P>So you cannot &s;uppo&s;e a corrupted Creature to be one moment of time without this enmity, no more than a Serpent can be imagin'd to retain its Na|ture without the Venome inherent in it, though there is not at all times the di&s;covery of it.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>In every &s;inful Act.</HI></P>
<P>Though the intere&s;t of particular Sins may be contrary to one another, yet they all con&s;pire in a joint League again&s;t God.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Seneca.</NOTE><HI>Scelera di&s;&s;ident.</HI> Sins &s;narl at one another; Covetou&s;ne&s;s and Prodigali|ty, Covetou&s;ne&s;s and Intemperance can|not agree, but they are all in an amica|ble combination again&s;t the Intere&s;t of God.</P>
<P><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jenkin Jude, Part 2. p. 522.</NOTE>In betraying Chri&s;t <HI>Judas</HI> was acted by Covetou&s;ne&s;s, the High Prie&s;t by Envy, <HI>Pilate</HI> by Popularity, but all &s;hook hands together in the murther|ing
<PB N="15" REF="14"> of Chri&s;t. And tho&s;e various Ini|quities were blended together, to make up one lump of Enmity. Though in every Sin there is not an expre&s;s hatred of God, yet there is <HI>Odium Dei partici|pativ&egrave;,</HI> &s;ome participation of hatred of him.</P>
<P>As all virtuous Actions partake of the nature of love to the chiefe&s;t good, our beloved Object; &s;o all vicious Actions, which are at a di&s;tance from the chief end, are mar&s;hall'd by, and tinctur'd with that inward enmity which lurks in the Soul.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3. <HI>Objectively univer&s;al again&s;t all the Attributes of God.</HI></P>
<P>For Sin being an oppo&s;ition to the Law of God, is con&s;equently a contra|riety to his Will, and his Under&s;tand|ing, and therefore to all tho&s;e Attri|butes which flow from his Will, as Goodne&s;s, Righteou&s;ne&s;s, Truth; and his Under&s;tanding, as Wi&s;dom, Know|ledge.</P>
<P>Though every Law proceeds from the Will of the Lawgiver, and doth formally con&s;i&s;t <HI>in actu voluntatis,</HI> yet
<PB N="16" REF="15"> it doth pre&s;uppo&s;e <HI>actum intellectus,</HI> i. e. Though it doth con&s;i&s;t in the Will of the Law-giver, yet it pre&s;uppo&s;eth the Wi&s;dom of the Law-giver to be the Fountain. As the Under&s;tanding of God doth precede the Act of his Will, &s;o every Sin being again&s;t the Will of God, is al&s;o again&s;t the Infinite Rea&s;on and Wi&s;dom of God, which is the foundation of all his Laws.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3dly. This enmity again&s;t God 'tis habitually &s;eated in the mind.</P>
<P>Corruption extends its Empire as large as Regeneration; but this is &s;eated in the mind, and the mo&s;t &s;piritual part of it, <HI>Rom.</HI> 12.2. <HI>renew'd in the &s;pirit of your mind;</HI> it doth not content it &s;elf with the Outworks of the Affections, but triumphs in the chiefe&s;t Fort of the Soul, and there di&s;plays its Banners.</P>
<P>The great conte&s;t between God and the Devil is in the Under&s;tanding and Will. The Standards are fir&s;t erected there. As in Conver&s;ion, the mind is fir&s;t enlightned by God, and the Will fir&s;t inclin'd; &s;o in Seduction, they are fir&s;t po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed by <HI>Satan.</HI></P>
<PB N="17" REF="15">
<P>Hence a natural man is de&s;crib'd to be one that fulfils the <HI>de&s;ires of the mind,</HI> as well as of the fle&s;h, <HI>Eph.</HI> 2.3. In this part, wherein God placed the mo&s;t &s;plendid part of his Image, doth the Devil diffu&s;e his poi&s;on: And Wi&s;dom, the chiefe&s;t Flower in the rational part of Man, is infected with this Plague, for that is <HI>devili&s;h</HI> too, <HI>Jam.</HI> 3.15.</P>
<P>The mind thus infected, is like tho&s;e eminent Per&s;ons, that &s;pread the con|tagion of their Vices to all their Atten|dants.</P>
<P>If it be thus in the noble&s;t and go|verning part of the Soul, it mu&s;t be &s;o al&s;o in the other Faculties, which are directed by it, and ob&s;erve the dictates of it.</P>
<P><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Gurnal</HI>'s Chri&s;tian Armor &s;omething chang'd.</NOTE>The other Faculties, like common Soldiers in a War, fight for the Prey and Booty; but the Mind, the Sove|reign, being fill'd with Principles of a more direct contrariety to God, fights for the &s;uperiority, and orders all the motions of the lower Rout.</P>
<P>But more particularly, there is,</P>
<P N="1"><PB N="18" REF="16"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>Odium aver&s;ionis,</HI> as oppo&s;ed to de&s;ire.</P>
<P>Thus man hates God, becau&s;e he turns from him.</P>
<P>Man naturally gives his vote for God's ab&s;ence, and is &s;o far from loving the practice, that his &s;tomach abhors the knowledge of God's ways, <HI>Job</HI> 21.14. That &s;ay unto God, <HI>Depart from us, for we de&s;ire not the knowledge of thy ways.</HI> That <HI>&s;ay unto God.</HI> No Creature dur&s;t be &s;o bold to &s;ay it to God's face; but it is the language of our Natures, though not of our Tongues. <HI>We de&s;ire not the knowledge of thy ways.</HI> The Laws and ways of God which he commands us to walk in, are too holy, righteous and &s;piritual for our Corrupted Nature.</P>
<P>By &s;in we &s;tand indebted to God, and therefore have an aver&s;ion from him; as Debtors hate the &s;ight of their Credi|tors, and are loth to meet them. <HI>Adam</HI> fled from God, when he had run upon God's Score: Sin is a Di&s;ea&s;e, and &s;o contrary to that Phy&s;ick which would abate the violence of the Humour.</P>
<PB N="19" REF="16">
<P>God's pre&s;ence and purity is too daz|ling a &s;ight for &s;inful men: And there|fore they cannot look upon God, but are like &s;ore Eyes that are di&s;temper'd with the Sun.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>Odium Pro&s;ecutionis,</HI> which implies a dete&s;tation oppo&s;ite to love and affe|ction. And &s;o there is not only an aver|&s;ion from God, but an oppo&s;ition to him.</P>
<P>Both tho&s;e parts of hatred are de|&s;crib'd, <HI>Col.</HI> 1.21. <HI>And you that were &s;ometime alienated and enemies in your minds by wicked works.</HI> Here is,</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Alienation,</HI> which is aver&s;ion.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>Enmity,</HI> which is oppo&s;ition; and both &s;eated in the mind. Though &s;ome expound Alienation according to out|ward, Enmity according to inward e&s;tate.</P>
<P>But the Apo&s;tle declares hatred to be compleat in tho&s;e two, Alienation and Enmity, which is both in Mind and Works; Mind as the Seat, Works as the i&s;&s;ues of it. Enemies in di&s;po&s;ition and action, principle and execution.</P>
<P>This <HI>Odium per&s;ecutionis</HI> is,</P>
<P N="1"><PB N="20" REF="17"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>Natural,</HI> which we call Antipa|thy.</P>
<P>And there are &s;teps of this among many Creatures: Many men have an abhorrency to &s;ome kind of Meats, and can never endure the ta&s;te, nor the &s;ight; and if unawares they eat any of that di&s;agreeing &s;ort, it breeds a Di|&s;temper in the Body.</P>
<P>Some men have had antipathy at the &s;ight of &s;ome Creatures, as <HI>Germanicus,</HI> according to <HI>Plutarch</HI>'s relation, could not endure the crowing of a Cock. Another the &s;mell or touch of a Ro&s;e.</P>
<P>Antipathies have been ob&s;erved be|tween &s;ome Creatures after they are dead. The Guts of a Lamb and Wolf upon the &s;ame In&s;trument can never be tun'd. The Blood of Dragons and Eagles can never mix together. Some Plants will not grow by one another.</P>
<P>There is not &s;uch a hatred ab&s;olutely between God and Man, though there be between God and Sin: Becau&s;e there may be a reconciliation between God and a Sinner, but not between God and Sin: For Antipathies are irreconcile|able.</P>
<PB N="21" REF="17">
<P>The enmity between God and a Sin|ner is not founded in Nature, but Cor|rupt Nature; and this Nature may be remov'd by &s;atisfaction and regenera|tion.</P>
<P>A fundamental Reconciliation was the great intendment of God in the death of Chri&s;t: For he was in him as in his Amba&s;&s;ador reconciling the World unto him&s;elf: And an actual reconci|liation is made between God and a par|ticular Soul at the fir&s;t in&s;tant of faith; though this reconciliation be made be|tween God and Man, yet not between God and the Corrupt Nature of Man: For it would be again&s;t God's Nature to be reconcil'd to that, though he be his Creature; becau&s;e &s;ince his Nature is infinitely good, he cannot but love goodne&s;s, as it is a re&s;emblance of him|&s;elf, and con&s;equently cannot but abhor unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, as being mo&s;t di&s;tant from his Nature; and therefore never will expre&s;s any dearne&s;s or intimacy to man's Corrupted Nature, but to man ju&s;tify'd and regenerate.</P>
<P>But the enmity which is between God and Sin is founded in the Nature
<PB N="22" REF="18"> of God, and the Nature of Sin. Sin be|ing the <HI>&s;ummum Malum,</HI> the greate&s;t Evil, is naturally mo&s;t oppo&s;ite to God, who is the <HI>&s;ummum Bonum,</HI> the greate&s;t Good.</P>
<P>So that God can never be reconcil'd to Sin, or Sin to God: For on the one &s;ide God mu&s;t part with his Holine&s;s, or Sin with its Malice and Impurity, and &s;o God cea&s;e to be God, or Sin cea&s;e to be Sin.</P>
<P>As God is unchangeably good both in Nature and Decree, &s;o Sin is un|changeably Evil. As God can never cea&s;e to be good, &s;o Sin can never cea&s;e to be Sin; becau&s;e the natural imprint|ed Law of God can never cea&s;e to be his Law, becau&s;e it is grounded upon eter|nal Principles of Righteou&s;ne&s;s.</P>
<P>God's Nature is again&s;t Sin: For if his hating Sin were a meer voluntary Act, he might then either love it, or dete&s;t it, which he pleas'd. But is God unrighteous to love unrighteou&s;ne&s;s? No, 'tis a voluntary, natural Act.</P>
<P>The hatred Sin hath to God, hath no mixture of love; the hatred a man hath to God, may have &s;ome mixture of a
<PB N="23" REF="18"> natural love, becau&s;e of the kindne&s;s he knows he receives from God.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2ly. <HI>Acquired hatred,</HI> which is grounded upon diver&s;ity of intere&s;ts.</P>
<P>Various intere&s;ts mu&s;t have con|trary means for the attainment of their ends.</P>
<P>The intere&s;t of a Sinner as &s;uch, <HI>qua talis,</HI> con&s;i&s;ts in gratifying the impor|tunities of his lu&s;ts, in finding out oc|ca&s;ions of plea&s;ures; and the intere&s;t of God lies in vindicating the Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s of his Commands, and main|taining the Truth of his Threat|nings.</P>
<P>This is either,</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>Direct.</HI></P>
<P>When a Man burns with a de&s;ire of revenge again&s;t another for &s;ome real or &s;uppo&s;ed affront, endeavouring to do him all the ill offices in his Power.</P>
<P>This none but the de&s;pairing and malicious Devils are guilty of, who know them&s;elves to be under an inevi|table Sentence.</P>
<PB N="24" REF="19">
<P>In this, &s;ome place the Sin again&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t, and make it to be a direct and malicious hatred of God. But that will be a que&s;tion, whether a Creature in a po&s;&s;ibility, and pro|bability of Salvation, and pre&s;uming upon mercy, can maliciou&s;ly take up Arms again&s;t God as God. For as I believe, there is no &s;ettled Opiniona|tive Athei&s;m in the World, nor a man ever in any Age, that did deliberately think there was no God, &s;o I believe there is no &s;etled malice again&s;t God.</P>
<P>But there may be a malicious con|tempt of Chri&s;t, &s;uch as <HI>Julian</HI>'s was, who in &s;corn term'd him the <HI>Gali|laean.</HI></P>
<P>15. Joh. 24. <HI>They have hated me, and my Father</HI> al&s;o; me directly, my Father interpretatively or virtually, through many &s;ins.<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Joh 14 9.</NOTE> As when he &s;aith, tho&s;e that <HI>have &s;een me, have &s;een my Father al&s;o; Me</HI> plainly, evidently, in my Per&s;on and Works; my Father virtu|ally, as I am his Extraordinary Am|ba&s;&s;ador in the World, to repre&s;ent him; and becau&s;e they have &s;een the power of my Father acting in and by
<PB N="25" REF="19"> me in the Miracles I have wrought. So that they hated the Father as they had &s;een him; <HI>i. e.</HI> Not directly, but in his Agent our Saviour. Their ha|tred of God was as their &s;ight of God had been.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2ly. <HI>Implicit&egrave; &amp; interpretativ&egrave;.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Idem velle &amp; nolle e&s;t proprium amicorum.</HI> Lovers are &s;aid to have but one Soul; and therefore but one will.</P>
<P>Men love not the things that God loves, and therefore may be &s;aid to hate him. A Man may be &s;aid to hate God, as Men are &s;aid to wrong their own Souls; and love death, and de&s;pi&s;e their own Souls, Prov. 8.36. <HI>He that &s;ins again&s;t me, wrongs his own Soul; all they that hate me love death.</HI> Pro. 15.32. <HI>He that refu&s;eth in&s;truction, de&s;pi&s;eth his own Soul. Con&s;ecutiv&egrave;,</HI> as they do tho&s;e things that will be an injury unto, and bring death upon them. As a Thief may be &s;aid in this &s;en&s;e to hate his own Life, becau&s;e he doth tho&s;e things which will be the Occa&s;ion and meri|torious Cau&s;e of his de&s;truction.</P>
<PB N="26" REF="20">
<P>For no Man doth formally love death as death, or de&s;pi&s;e his own Soul, but in doing tho&s;e things, the effects whereof are &s;uch as a man may be &s;aid to contemn him&s;elf.</P>
<P>So Men acting tho&s;e things which ju&s;tle with God's Law, and &s;tand dia|metrically oppo&s;ite to his Will, are &s;aid to hate God.</P>
<P>In this re&s;pect, Sin is call'd a con|tempt of God, not formal and expre&s;s, but implicit and interpretative, becau&s;e by Sin the Law of God is contemn'd, and con&s;equently the Authority, Will, and Wi&s;dom of the Law-giver, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 2.30. <HI>They that</HI> de&s;pi&s;e me, <HI>&s;hall be lightly e&s;teem'd.</HI></P>
<P>The nature of Hatred being thus explain'd, let us &s;ee what kind of En|mity again&s;t God this is.</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>Negatively.</HI></P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>We hate not God as God.</HI></P>
<P>'Tis not the primary intention of a Creature to &s;et it &s;elf again&s;t the Na|ture of God. And indeed, it is im|po&s;&s;ible: becau&s;e God ab&s;olutely con|&s;ider'd, hath all the attractives of Love, &s;ince the noble&s;t Perfections of the
<PB N="27" REF="20"> Creatures are in a more excellent man|ner united in him as the Original.</P>
<P>As a Man cannot will &s;in as &s;in, becau&s;e it is purely evil; and therefore cannot be the object of the De&s;ire, &s;ince his Will is carry'd out to things under the notion of Good: So we can|not hate God as God, becau&s;e of the amiablene&s;s of his Nature; and what we conceive good, cannot be the object of contempt.</P>
<P>No man can hate truth as truth, or good as good; becau&s;e the one is the Proper Object of his under&s;tanding, the other of his Will, though he may hate them both under an apprehen&s;ion, that they are evil, and inconvenient to him.</P>
<P><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Non pote&s;t e&s;&s;e moti|vum Volun|tatis ad o|dium. <HI>Banez in 22 da. q. 34 art. 2.</HI></NOTE>God in him&s;elf, as he is known by an open Vi&s;ion, cannot be a motive to Enmity, no, not to the Devils them|&s;elves, but as they apprehend his Na|ture de&s;tructive of their well-being.</P>
<P>We never yet met with any &s;o mon|&s;trou&s;ly ba&s;e, as to hate a Creature as a Creature; or Man as Man; not a Toad or a Serpent as a Creature, but as it is venomous.</P>
<PB N="28" REF="21">
<P>And though <HI>Timon</HI> was &s;irnam'd <GAP DESC="foreign">, becau&s;e po&s;&s;e&s;s'd with a melancholly kind of hatred; yet he profe&s;s'd he hated bad Men, becau&s;e of their Vices; and good Men, becau&s;e they did not concur with him in &s;o in|ten&s;e and exact a hatred of the Enor|mities of the World.</P>
<P>And as it is impo&s;&s;ible that we &s;hould hate a Creature under the no|tion of a Creature, becau&s;e there is nothing in the &s;imple notion of a crea|ture contrary to us, but in regard of &s;ome appropriated nature of this or that Creature of a different or con|trary &s;tamp to our own; &s;o neither can we hate God as God, becau&s;e in the general and ab&s;tracted notion of God, there is nothing contrary to Man, no nor to corrupted Man, but he is an infinite Mirror of Goodne&s;s, and ravi&s;h|ing Loveline&s;s.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2ly. <HI>We hate not God as Creator and Pre&s;erver.</HI></P>
<P>Hatred always &s;uppo&s;eth &s;ome in|jury either real or imaginary, or at lea&s;t the fear of &s;ome. And our hatred
<PB N="29" REF="21"> doth evaporate, when we find him to be good, whom we hated under a conceit of being bad, or when our &s;up|po&s;ed injuries are recompenced by comforting benefits.</P>
<P>What Servant can di&s;dain his Ma&s;ter for feeding him, or what Child hate his Father for begetting and maintaining him? This is contrary to the common &s;parks of ingenuity, which are in the natures of Men, and again&s;t their natu|ral intere&s;t.</P>
<P>Rea&s;on will acquaint men with a Fir&s;t Cau&s;e; and that their Beings are produced and pre&s;erved by a power &s;uperior to their own. Who can loath this infinite Sun for the con&s;tant refre&s;hment they receive by his beams and influences, any more than a man can hate the created Sun, for the kindly warmth darted upon him?</P>
<P>In this re&s;pect natural men from a common ingenuity, have &s;ome &s;tarts of love to God, though this is not a love of a right impre&s;&s;ion: becau&s;e it re|&s;pects not the Excellency of God's Na|ture, but the agreeablene&s;s of his be|nefits to us, and &s;o is rather a &s;elf-love, as
<PB N="30" REF="22"> terminated principally in our own wel|fare, &s;u&s;tain'd and increas'd by the in|fluence of his Providence.</P>
<P>Sometimes this love to God, which a wicked Man thinks him&s;elf endued with, is rather an Enmity, when he loves God with an only re&s;pect to his own corrupt Ends. As when he pro|fe&s;&s;eth an affection to God for his pre|&s;ervation, that he may the longer con|tinue in the &s;ociety of his darling lu&s;ts. Or when he loves God for the wealth he gives him; Becau&s;e he hath thereby the more materials for his luxury and voluptuou&s;ne&s;s: This is &s;uch an affecti|on to God, which may be term'd an Enmity, &s;ince it is &s;ubordinate to the love of his bruti&s;h lu&s;ts. 'Tis a love of him for tho&s;e mercies which he turns into fuel to &s;upport his natural contrariety again&s;t God.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2ly. <HI>Po&s;itively.</HI></P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>We hate God as a Soveraign.</HI></P>
<P>Man cannot endure a &s;uperior: He would be uncontrolable.</P>
<PB N="31" REF="22">
<P><HI>Pharaoh</HI>'s principle, that would ac|knowledge none above him, but pro|claim'd War again&s;t Heaven, this dwells naturally in every one, P&s;al. 12.4. <HI>Our Lips are our own, who is Lord over us?</HI> Exod. 5.2. <HI>Who is the Lord, that I &s;hould obey his Voice, to let I&s;rael go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let I&s;rael go.</HI> How contemptible doth he &s;peak of God, which is the dialect of every man's heart? Who is the Lord, that I &s;hould obey his Voice, and let my deare&s;t carnal plea&s;ures go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let them depart from me.</P>
<P>A De&s;ire of being like to God, or equal to him in Wi&s;dom, was the fir&s;t Sin of Man after the Creation; as to be equal to God in Authority and Power was the fir&s;t Sin of Devils, a renoun|cing of God's dominion.</P>
<P>God by a po&s;itive Law enjoyn'd Man not to eat of the forbidden Fruit; a thing in it &s;elf indifferent, but com|manded for the trial of his Obedi|ence, to &s;ee whether he would own a Subjection to God's ab&s;olute Will, and ab&s;tain from things de&s;irable in them|&s;elves,
<PB N="32" REF="23"> becau&s;e of the meer plea&s;ure of the Creator. But by his tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion he di&s;own'd God's right of commanding, and his own duty of obeying.</P>
<P>The Devil knows by his own tem|per, what bait Man was mo&s;t like to Catch at, &s;ince the noble&s;t Creature among the Animals aim mo&s;t at &s;upe|riority and victory.</P>
<P><HI>Nebuchadnezzar,</HI> who was for this a&s;piring humour to be accounted and wor&s;hipped as a Soveraign God, was as de&s;ervedly as di&s;gracefully turn'd a grazing among the Bea&s;ts.</P>
<P>And the great charge at the la&s;t day again&s;t the Sons of Men, will be, that they would not have God, or Chri&s;t of his appointment, to reign over them.</P>
<P>We <HI>hate God as a Law-giver.</HI> As he is <HI>peccati prohibitor, Luk.</HI> 19.27. 'Tis im|po&s;&s;ible that man &s;hould do otherwi&s;e, as con&s;idered in the nature wherein he &s;tands, becau&s;e it is as natural to us to abhor tho&s;e things which are un&s;uta|ble and trouble&s;ome, as to plea&s;e our &s;elves in things agreeable to our minds and humours. But &s;ince Man is &s;o deeply in love with &s;in, accounting it
<PB N="33" REF="23"> the mo&s;t e&s;timable good, he cannot but hate the Law which checks it, both the external Precept, and the Counterpart of it in his own Con&s;ci|ence, becau&s;e the &s;trictne&s;s of the Com|mands mole&s;t and &s;hackle him in his agreeable Cour&s;e, and the &s;everity of its threatnings &s;tare him in the face with Cur&s;es. As the Sea foams mo&s;t, and ca&s;ts up mo&s;t Filth, when the impetuou&s;ne&s;s of it is re&s;train'd by &s;ome Rock, or bounded by the Shore.</P>
<P>'Tis not the Law that provokes us to &s;in directly, but accidentally, be|cau&s;e of our Corruption, contrary to the image of God's Purity in the Pre|cept.</P>
<P>For we look upon God as cruel, and injurious to our liberty and well-being, and commanding tho&s;e things which in our apprehen&s;ions do thwart and contradict our plea&s;ures.</P>
<P>This Conceit was the Hammer whereby the helli&s;h <HI>Jael</HI> &s;truck the Nail into our fir&s;t Parents, which hath convey'd Death and Damnation, toge|ther with the &s;ame imagination, to all
<PB N="34" REF="24"> their po&s;terity, Gen. 3.5. <HI>God doth know that in the day you eat thereof, your Eyes &s;hall be opened, and you &s;hall be as Gods, knowing Good and Evil. Alas poor Soul! God knows what he did, when he forbad you that Fruit, he was jealous you &s;hould be too happy, and it was a Cruelty in him to deprive you of a food &s;o plea&s;ant and delicious.</HI> 'Twas for this end the Law was given with Thun|derings and Lightnings from Mount <HI>Sinai,</HI> to enforce an awe upon Men; God well knowing, how apt we are to break the Hedges, and fly from Re&s;traints.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 4.16. Mal. 1.13.</NOTE>The Sum is, Man would be as a <HI>Lamb in a large place,</HI> like a Heifer &s;liding from the yoke. He &s;nuffs at the Com|mands of his Lord, and would be &s;ub|ject to no Law but his own, and be guided by no Will but that of the fle&s;h. Have you not many times wi&s;hed, that there were no Law, or that it were not &s;o &s;trict as to check your darling lu&s;ts? What is this but an Enmity to the authority of that Law you account &s;o burden|&s;ome?</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="35" REF="24"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2ly. <HI>We hate God as a Judge.</HI> As <HI>Autor legis,</HI> and <HI>&V;ltor legis.</HI> As <HI>Peccati Prohibitor,</HI> and <HI>Poenae Executor.</HI></P>
<P>Fear is often the cau&s;e of hatred.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Ari&s;t. Rhetr. lib. 2. cap. 4.</NOTE> All men have a fear of God, not of offending him, but of being puni&s;hed by him.</P>
<P>Corruption kindles this Enmity, but Fear like a Bellows enflames it. When men know they de&s;erve puni&s;hment, they mu&s;t needs fear, and con&s;equent|ly di&s;affect both the Author and In|flicter of it.</P>
<P>Guilt makes Malefactors tremble at the report of a Judge's coming.</P>
<P>All the Perfections of God, though never &s;o amiable, cannot produce any true Spiritual Love in a Natural Man, though he be never &s;o &s;pecious in the Eye of the world, or good-natur'd to his fellow-creatures, while he lies under the apprehen&s;ions of wrath, and is in his own &s;en&s;e concluded under an eternal doom.</P>
<P>If you &s;hould tell a Pri&s;oner, That his Judge is a brave comely gen|teel Man, of excellent Accompli&s;h|ments, and un&s;potted Innocency, would this commend the per&s;on of the Judge
<PB N="36" REF="25"> to the Pri&s;oner? No, becau&s;e he con|&s;iders him not in his Intellectual or Moral Endowments, but in his Political Function, as a Judge that will try, and condemn, and take away his Life.</P>
<P>This hatred of God is &s;tronger or weaker according as the Fear is.</P>
<P>And therefore in Hell it's in its Meri|dian and Maturity, and mo&s;t proper to the damn'd Spirits.</P>
<P>But not &s;o evident in this World, unle&s;s a Man be brought into &s;uch a de&s;pairing condition as <HI>Spira</HI> was, who profe&s;&s;ed he hated God upon this ac|count; Becau&s;e the acts of God as a Judge are remote, and Evils at a di|&s;tance do not &s;o much affect us, be|cau&s;e we flatter our &s;elves with hopes of e&s;cape. 'Tis the certainty and approach of Judgment that in&s;pires Fear.</P>
<P>Evils hurt us not by a &s;ingle appre|hen&s;ion of their nature: for the con|templation may be delightful, as a picture of a &s;torm at Sea, or a battel at Land; but they affect us as they have relation to us; That which was the Devil's Language to Chri&s;t, Mat.
<PB N="37" REF="25"> 8.29. <HI>What have we to do with thee, Je|&s;us, thou Son of God? art thou come to torment us before the time?</HI> This is the dialect of our hearts, Job 21.14. <HI>De|part from us, we de&s;ire not the knowledge of thy ways</HI> of Holine&s;s, nor thy ways of Ju&s;tice.</P>
<P>Well then, Did none of you ever rage again&s;t God under his afflicting hand? Were you never like wild Bea&s;ts, ready to are in pieces tho&s;e that would take and tame you?</P>
<P>Did you never wi&s;h, that God were &s;o carele&s;s, as to enact no Law to hurt you; and &s;o unrighteous, as to have no Ju&s;tice to puni&s;h you? Did you never wi&s;h him &s;tript of his Preceptive Will, and his Revenging Arm? Have you not wi&s;hed &s;ometimes, that the Law might be as dead a letter in re&s;pect of Cur&s;es, as it is in re&s;pect of convey|ing &s;trength for the performance of it? that it might be a &s;ilent Law, like <HI>Eli</HI> to his Sons, never to correct you?</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3ly. When this fear ri&s;eth high, or Men are under a &s;en&s;e of puni&s;hment, <HI>they hate the very being of God.</HI></P>
<PB N="38" REF="26">
<P>This ri&s;eth &s;o high, that it aims at the very E&s;&s;ence of God, as in <HI>Spira</HI>'s Ca&s;e, who wi&s;hed that he could de|&s;troy him.</P>
<P>Since all men are acted by a princi|ple of &s;elf-pre&s;ervation, and that this principle is univer&s;ally natural, and pre|dominant, it will move them to take away the Life of any Per&s;on, rather than lo&s;e their own Life by them.</P>
<P>When men look upon God as a Judge and Puni&s;her of their Crimes, if they could by any means, yea by the undeifying of God him&s;elf, re&s;cue them|&s;elves from tho&s;e fears, there is &s;elf-love enough, and enmity enough again&s;t God in them to quicken them to it.</P>
<P>There is no doubt but the damn'd, if they could, would pull God out of his Throne to have ea&s;e from tho&s;e dreadful torments they undergo. And what&s;oever fearful apprehen&s;ions we have of God in this world, are but the lower degrees of that hatred which the damn'd have in the highe&s;t.</P>
<P>But that I may not &s;end you &s;o far as Hell for a proof, I will a&s;&s;ert, That the wi&s;hing, nay the endeavouring
<PB N="39" REF="26"> the de&s;truction of God, is fundamen|tally and &s;eminally in every one of our Natures.</P>
<P>I will appeal to your &s;elves; Did none of you ever plea&s;e your &s;elves &s;ometimes in the thoughts, how happy you &s;hould be, how free in your lu&s;t|ful plea&s;ures, if there were no God?</P>
<P>Have you not one time or other wi&s;hed, there were no Law given above to re&s;train you, no Con&s;cience within to check you, no Judge hereafter to Sentence you? And can God be hated wor&s;e, than when the de&s;truction of his in&s;eparable Perfections, his Holi|line&s;s, Righteou&s;ne&s;s, are thought &s;o de&s;irable? It is a wi&s;hing the de&s;tructi|on of his Being.</P>
<P>Hatred as defin'd by one,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Scaliger Exercit. 316. S. 1.</NOTE> to be <HI>Appetitus amorendi rem aliquem.</HI> As Love is a de&s;ire of union, Hatred mu&s;t be a de&s;ire of &s;eparation. And <HI>Ari|&s;totle</HI> tells us, That Hatred is an affecti|on of a higher &s;train than Anger, be|cau&s;e it de&s;ires the <GAP DESC="foreign">, the ve|ry not being of the hated Object.</P>
<PB N="40" REF="27">
<P>As the hatred of Sin aims at the de&s;truction of Sin, and men's hatred of Saints would cau&s;e their Expul&s;ion out of the World; &s;o the hatred of God is a de&s;ire to de&s;poil him of his Being. And their not doing it, is not for want of an innate di&s;po&s;ition, but for want of &s;trength; for Men hate God more than the be&s;t Saint doth Sin. All ha|tred includes a virtual Murder, 1 <HI>Joh.</HI> 3.15. <HI>Who&s;oever hates his brother, is a murderer.</HI> If he who hates his Brother is in the Court of exact Judgment a Murderer of his Brother, he that hates God is a Murderer of God.</P>
<P>The more &s;elf-love we have, the more we &s;hall hate that which we judge de&s;tructive to us; becau&s;e the more we wi&s;h well to our &s;elves, the more we wi&s;h ill to that which we imagine contrary to our well-being.</P>
<P>And &s;ince we hate tho&s;e acts of God which flow from the Righteou&s;|ne&s;s of his nature, we con&s;equently ri&s;e up to a hatred of God's being; be|cau&s;e he could not be God, unle&s;s he loved righteou&s;ne&s;s, and hated iniquity; and he could not te&s;tify his love to the
<PB N="41" REF="27"> one, or his loathing the other, but in encouraging Goodne&s;s, and witne&s;|&s;ing his Anger again&s;t Iniquity.</P>
<P>Man would have God at the greate&s;t di&s;tance from him; and there is no greater di&s;tance from being, than not being, <HI>Job</HI> 21.14. who &s;ay unto God, <HI>Depart from us.</HI> And <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 14.1. The Fool hath &s;aid in his heart, <HI>No God,</HI> as it is in the Hebrew; I wi&s;h there were no God, and this is founded upon &s;in: for the rea&s;on rendred, is, that <HI>they are corrupt, and have done abominable works.</HI></P>
<P>Hence is Sin by &s;ome call'd <HI>Deicidium,</HI> a &s;laughtering of God: becau&s;e every &s;in being Enmity to God, doth virtually in|clude in its nature the de&s;truction of God.</P>
<P>And &s;ince every man naturally is a Child of the Devil, and is acted by the Diabolical Spirit, <HI>Eph.</HI> 2.2. <HI>The &s;pirit that now works in the Children of di&s;obe|dience;</HI> he mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arly have that nature which his Father hath, and the infu&s;ion of all that venom which the Spirit that acts him, is po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ed with, though the full di&s;covery of it may be re&s;train'd by various Cir|cum&s;tances. And this a&s;&s;ertion &s;eems
<PB N="42" REF="28"> to be intimated in the death of Chri&s;t; for when we &s;ee, for the &s;atisfaction of the di&s;honour done to God, Chri&s;t mu&s;t die for Sin, it intimates, that if it were po&s;&s;ible, God &s;hould die by Sin. If &s;in can be expiated by no le&s;s than the blood of God, it &s;eems to imply, that in its own nature it aims at no le&s;s than the Life of God; becau&s;e all God's puni&s;hments are founded <HI>in lege talionis,</HI> and are highly Equitable.</P>
<P>For confirmation, That a &s;tate of Nature is a &s;tate of Enmity.</P>
<P>The very de&s;ign of Chri&s;t coming into the World being an errand of peace, and the management of this de&s;ign both when he was conver&s;ant in the World, and &s;ince his a&s;cen&s;ion, being to recon|cile God and Man, and to promote by his Spirit an acceptance of this recon|ciliation, plainly di&s;covers the &s;tate Man was in, wherein Man injur'd God, and was puni&s;hed by him: for what need of piecing up a friend&s;hip, if there had not been an antecedent Enmity?</P>
<P>There was a Moral Enmity again&s;t God on our parts, which mu&s;t needs draw a legal Enmity on God's part again&s;t us.</P>
<PB N="43" REF="28">
<P>But the Apo&s;tle in <HI>Rom.</HI> 5.10. de|clares it; <HI>If when we are enemies, we were reconcil'd to God.</HI> If when we were enemies, <HI>we all of us;</HI> not the be&s;t Saint on Earth, nor the mo&s;t illu&s;tri|ous glorifi'd Saint in Heaven, but had once this black Character of being God's Enemy.</P>
<P>Not a Son of <HI>Adam</HI> but inherited this filthy puddle, and had this ho&s;tile di&s;|po&s;ition boiling up again&s;t God.</P>
<P>Every Man naturally is like the Lake of <HI>Sodom,</HI> that no holy motion can flutter over it, but falls down dead, being choak'd by tho&s;e &s;teams which exhale from the corruption of the heart.</P>
<P>Rom. 1.30. <HI>Haters of God,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> &s;ignifies to hate a thing as <HI>Hell;</HI> 'tis deriv'd from <GAP DESC="foreign">, one of the Poetical Rivers of Hell, and &s;ignifies a more inten&s;e and rooted hatred than the ex|pre&s;&s;ion of the LXX, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 139.21. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</P>
<P>The mo&s;t de&s;perate enemy God hath now in Hell of mankind, had not a blacker Soul at his Nativity, than eve|ry one of us had at ours.</P>
<PB N="44" REF="29">
<P><HI>Tit.</HI> 1. <HI>ult.</HI> The Apo&s;tle tells us of &s;ome that denied God, though they profe&s;s they knew him. They knew him notionally, and denied him practi|cally, yea every Attribute of his, and his very Being. <HI>Deny'd God!</HI></P>
<P>There are the Characters of a Deity engraven upon every Man by nature, &s;o deeply in Men's Con&s;ciences, that it is impo&s;&s;ible for all the malice of the Devil to raze it out. But if we make a judgment of Men's hearts by the Counterpart of them in their Lives, and con&s;ider Men's Practices, which are the be&s;t indexes of their Principles, we &s;hall quickly find by tracing the &s;treams how corrupt the Fountain is.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 19.29.</NOTE>This Enmity is again&s;t the Sove|raignty of God.</P>
<P>Men will not have God reign over them: They will not have God for their Governour, nor his Law for their Rule.</P>
<P>Our created Arms cannot reach Hea|ven, to pull God from his Throne; but there is a radical di&s;po&s;ition in Man to do it, had he ability equivalent to his Corruption. For what is the great
<PB N="45" REF="29"> quarrel between God and Man, but this, Who&s;e Will, and who&s;e Authority &s;hall &s;tand?</P>
<P>While we exclude him from being the Lord of our Hearts, we would ex|clude him from being the Lord of the World; for that unju&s;t principle which doth deprive him of the heart, would deprive him al&s;o of the other; to which God hath no greatet Right, nor no ju&s;ter Title than he hath to our heart, over which we will not let him reign.</P>
<P>Sin is therefore call'd <HI>Rebellion;</HI> which is a denial of &s;ubjection to him as our Lord; 'tis an act of Di&s;loyalty, a breach of Allegiance. As the <HI>Jews</HI> &s;ay of every Judgment upon them, That there is &s;ome of the du&s;t of the golden Calf; <HI>i. e.</HI> &s;omething of the puni&s;hment of their fir&s;t Idolatry. So we may &s;ay, That in every Sin there is a taint of that fir&s;t Prodigious ambition of our fir&s;t Parents, which co&s;t them and their po&s;terity &s;o dear, <HI>viz.</HI> That we would be as Gods, we would be God's equals, if not &s;uperiors.</P>
<PB N="46" REF="30">
<P>The Enmity again&s;t this Soveraignty is in three things:
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. In the <HI>breach of God's Laws.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. In <HI>&s;etting up other Soveraigns.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. In <HI>u&s;urping God's Prerogative.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P N="1">1. In the <HI>breach of God's Laws.</HI></P>
<P>That Servant that doth not perform his Ma&s;ter's Command, doth virtually deny his Authority.</P>
<P>If Obedience be a &s;ign of love, Di&s;obedience is an argument of ha|tred.</P>
<P>Joh. 14.15. <HI>If you love me, keep my Commandments.</HI> If Obedience to God enobles us with the glorious title of God's <HI>Friends, Joh.</HI> 15.14. Di&s;obedi|ence to God mu&s;t needs expo&s;e us to the unworthy Character of his Ene|mies.</P>
<P>And indeed the breach of God's Laws is not only a di&s;carding his Sove|raignty, but a ca&s;ting dirt upon his other Attributes.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.12.</NOTE>For if his Command be <HI>holy, ju&s;t, and good;</HI> if it be the image of God's holi|ne&s;s, the tran&s;cript of his Righteou&s;ne&s;s,
<PB N="47" REF="30"> and the efflux of his Goodne&s;s, then in the breach of it all tho&s;e Attributes are de&s;pis'd. The Law is then &s;lighted as it is a Medal of God's Holine&s;s, as it is equitable in its &s;elf, and as it is in its goodne&s;s de&s;ign'd for our conveniency and advantage.</P>
<P>Therefore by the Breach of one point of the Law, we contract virtually the guilt of the Contempt of the whole Sta|tute-book of God, <HI>Jam.</HI> 2.10, 11. <HI>Who&s;oever &s;hall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all;</HI> becau&s;e the Will and Authority of the Lawgiver, which gives the Sanction to it is oppos'd: Al|&s;o, becau&s;e that the Authority of the Lawgiver, which is not prevalent with us, to re&s;train us from the Breach of one Point, would be of as little force with us to re&s;train us from the Breach of all the re&s;t, when occa&s;ion is offer'd; becau&s;e al&s;o the Breach of any one Law declares a want of that Love which is the Sum and Spirit of the whole Law.</P>
<P>This Enmity to God's Law, will ap|pear in the&s;e Ten Things.</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>&V;nwillingne&s;s to know the Law of God,</HI> enquire into it, or think of it.</P>
<P>Men affect an Ignorance of God's
<PB N="48" REF="31"> Command; they are loth to inform them&s;elves; they hate the Light, which would both di&s;cover their Spots, and direct their Cour&s;e.</P>
<P>Hence tho&s;e Expre&s;&s;ions,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Zech. 7.11.</NOTE> <HI>Refu&s;ing to hearken, and &s;topping the ears that we &s;hould not hear.</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.10.</NOTE> <HI>None under&s;tands; there is none that &s;eeks after God;</HI> unwilling|ne&s;s to &s;eek the knowledge of him; yea, though it be the mo&s;t advantagious and refre&s;hing to their Soul; <HI>yet they would not hear,</HI> I&s;a. 28.12.</P>
<P>When God pre&s;&s;es in upon them by inward Motions, or outward Declara|tions of his Will, they &s;ecretly de&s;ire God not to trouble them with his Laws, though their hearts bear witne&s;s to the Righteou&s;ne&s;s of them, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 30.10, 11. <HI>Which &s;ay to the Prophets, Prophecy not unto us right things: cau&s;e the Holy One of I&s;rael to cea&s;e from before us.</HI> Let not the Holy One of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> trouble us with any of his Laws, but leave us to our &s;in|ful Labour. Herein God placed their Rebellion, <HI>v.</HI> 9. <HI>Rebellious children, that will not hear the law of the Lord.</HI> They would have &s;mooth things prophe&s;ied to them; they would partake of his Mercy, but would not imitate his Holi|ne&s;s.</P>
<PB N="49" REF="31">
<P>And when any motion of the Spirit thru&s;ts it &s;elf in, to enlighten them, they <HI>exalt them&s;elves again&s;t the know|ledge of God,</HI> 2 Cor. 10.5. and re&s;i&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t, keep their Hearts barr'd, that he may not have admittance. The word <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>Acts</HI> 7.51. is empha|tical, To fall again&s;t; as a Stone or any other ponderous Body falls again&s;t that which lies in its way; they would da&s;h in pieces or grind to powder that very motion which is made for their in&s;tru|ction, yes, and the Spirit too which makes it; and that not in a fit of Pa&s;|&s;ion, but from an habitual Enmity al|ways. Whereas a faithful Subject or Servant who loves his Prince or Ma&s;ter, would fain know what his Will is, and what Laws are order'd, that he may ob|&s;erve them.</P>
<P>But when men have a &s;uperficial know|ledge of God's Laws by Education, or Attendance upon a godly and able Mi|ni&s;try, yet they are loath to retain it, neg|ligent in improving it; they ea&s;ily let it &s;lip from them, their minds have not de|light to employ them&s;elves in <HI>meditating</HI> of it, or to know the &s;pirit of it, which the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> fixes as the Character of a Godly Man, <HI>P&s;.</HI> 1.2.</P>
<PB N="50" REF="32">
<P>Men are more generally fond of the Knowledge of any thing, than of God's Will. Do not the mo&s;t of Men, that are intent upon Knowledge, &s;pend more Time, and engage more &s;erious and affe|ctionate Thoughts in the &s;tudy of &s;ome Science or Trade, than in the Knowledge of God's Will? With what readine&s;s and dexterity will a man di&s;cour&s;e about Philo&s;ophy, Mathematicks, Hi&s;tory, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> but any di&s;cour&s;e of God began in Company, &s;trikes them dead: He is quite at a lo&s;s in the Knowledge of Him and his Will, which was the great End of his coming into the World, and the great Concern of his Soul.</P>
<P>But if a man doth de&s;ire to know the Law of God, it is many times more out of a curio&s;ity and natural itch to know, than any de&s;ign to come under the Pow|er of it; therefore many Men that can di&s;pute for the Principles of Religion, are a&s;ham'd of the practice, and a&s;ham'd to di&s;cour&s;e much of the practical part of it; which is a contradictory thing: for can the profe&s;&s;ion be honourable, if the practice be vile? If the principles be true and good, and worthy to be known, why are they not practi&s;ed? If the Pra|ctice
<PB N="51" REF="32"> be di&s;graceful, why are the Princi|ples which lead to &s;uch Practices, profe&s;|&s;ed and &s;tudied? Whence can this af|fected Ignorance of Gods Laws, this care|le&s;s enquiry into his Will ari&s;e, but from an Enmity again&s;t it, for fear they &s;hould be di&s;turb'd by it in the pur&s;uit of their carnal plea&s;ures? therefore they account the Word of the Lord <HI>a reproach</HI> to them and their ways, and a rtouble to have their Con&s;ciences &s;et on work by the Law that galls them, <HI>Jer.</HI> 6.10.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2ly. <HI>&V;nwillingne&s;s to be determin'd by any Law of God.</HI></P>
<P>When Men cannot e&s;cape the convin|cing Knowledge of the Law, but it breaks in upon them as the Morning-light, they &s;et up their Carnal Re&s;oluti|ons again&s;t it, Jer. 44.16. <HI>As for the word which thou ha&s;t &s;poken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee:</HI> And harden their hearts with <HI>a &s;toutne&s;s</HI> again&s;t God, Mal. 3.13. <HI>Refu&s;e to walk in his law,</HI> P&s;al. 78.10. Though it be a <HI>&s;trength to them,</HI> yet they will not, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 30.15. they would rather guide them&s;elves to de&s;truction, than be under God's Conduct to happine&s;s: They would rather be their own Rulers, than
<PB N="52" REF="33"> God's Subjects. Men naturally affect an unbounded Liberty; would not have the Bridle of a Command to check them, or be hedg'd in by any Law: They think it too &s;lavi&s;h a thing to be guided by the will of another: They are well compared to the Wild A&s;s, that loves to &s;nuff up the Wind at her plea&s;ure in the Wilder|ne&s;s: They will take their own cour&s;e, rather than come under the guidance of God, <HI>Jer.</HI> 2.24. Since the Law checks the inward Operations of the Soul, and would keep them from inward as well as outward compliances with Sin; they therefore account it a heavy Yoke to be &s;o &s;trictly regulated as not to have their &s;ecret retirements and dalliances with &s;in in their thoughts.</P>
<P><HI>Let not God &s;peak to us,</HI> &s;ay the <HI>Jews,</HI> Exod. 20.19, 20. <HI>le&s;t we dye.</HI> One would think it was the Terror of the Thunder|claps wherewith the Law was proclaim|ed, that made them &s;o unwilling to hear God &s;peak to them. But the Apo&s;tle tells us it was the hatred of the Law it &s;elf; <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.20. <HI>For they could not endure that which was commanded;</HI> which Particle, <HI>For,</HI> &s;hews it to be a rea&s;on why they de|&s;ir'd the word &s;hould not be &s;poken to
<PB N="53" REF="33"> them any more. They had a natural un|willingne&s;s to be guided by any Statute of God's enacting. Had they been only afraid of tho&s;e terrible Lightnings, with|out any aver&s;ion to God him&s;elf, methinks they &s;hould not &s;o &s;uddenly after have preferred a Golden Calf, the &s;imilitude of the <HI>Egyptian</HI> Idol, and put the Name of God upon it, and a&s;cribe to it their Deliverance from <HI>Egypt,</HI> which had been wrought, not by a &s;en&s;ele&s;s Calf, but an Almighty and out&s;tretched Arm. Therefore in the Charge God brought again&s;t them, <HI>Lev.</HI> 26.43. <HI>Becau&s;e, even becau&s;e they de&s;pi&s;ed my judgments, and becau&s;e their &s;oul abhorred my &s;tatutes;</HI> he accu&s;eth them not only of de&s;pi&s;ing his Judgments, but of a rooted abhorrency of them even in their Souls. There is not a Law but the heart of man natural|ly hath a &s;ecret and rooted dete&s;tation of.</P>
<P>Hence man is &s;aid to make void the Law of God, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119.126. They have <HI>made void thy law.</HI> To make it of no obligation to them, as if it were an Almanack out of date; which Chri&s;t calls a making <HI>the law of none effect, Mat.</HI> 15.6. <GAP DESC="foreign">; you have <HI>unlorded</HI> the Law; put it out of Commi&s;&s;ion; thrown
<PB N="54" REF="34"> off all the power and Dominion of it: Which Law God values more than he doth the whole World; nay, the lea&s;t tittle of it is &s;o dear to him, that it &s;hall &s;tand, when Heaven and Earth &s;hall fall. And to vindicate the Honour of it, he would have his Son to dye for a Satisfa|ction for the breach of it. So that if a man could de&s;troy the whole World, it were not &s;o bad as Sin, which is an unlor|ding that which is an act of God's Royal|ty, a Copy of his Holine&s;s; whereas the making the World was but an act of his Wi&s;dom and Executive Power; nay, God would not be &s;o angry at it; becau&s;e his Power is by that contemned; but in this, his Holine&s;s, which is an Attribute he doth particularly delight in.</P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>Violence man offers to tho&s;e Laws,</HI> which God doth mo&s;t &s;trictly enjoin, and which he doth mo&s;t delight in the performance of.</P>
<P>If a man be willing to be determin'd by &s;ome Law of God, it's not becau&s;e it is his Law, but becau&s;e it doth not run counter to &s;ome beloved Lu&s;t of his. But when God enjoins any thing which is again&s;t the beloved intere&s;t of the fle&s;h he flies out in rage again&s;t God; and the
<PB N="55" REF="34"> intere&s;t of his corrupt Affection excites him to a loathing of that wich is truly good.</P>
<P>The &s;trictne&s;s of the Law, which na|tural men account their Band and Shac|kle, is the ground of their Quarrel with God, the rea&s;on of their Rage and their Coun&s;el again&s;t God and his Chri&s;t: <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 2.3. <HI>Let us break their bands, and ca&s;t away their cords from us:</HI> All this was, <HI>ver.</HI> 1, 2. for the &s;trictne&s;s of his Law; which <HI>Grotius</HI> under&s;tands of the Law of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and all the Rights of it; but meant certainly of the Evangelical Law of Chri&s;t, the P&s;alm being a Pro|phecy of him.</P>
<P>If a man be willing to comply with any Law of God, it is as it prohibits &s;ome outward Carnal Sins; but the more &s;piritual the Law, the more aver&s;e the Heart. The more &s;piritual the Law is, the more doth indwelling Sin exerci&s;e its Power, and endeavour to encrea&s;e our &s;lavery; Rom. 7.14. <HI>The law is &s;pi|ritual, but I am carnal, &s;old under &s;in.</HI> The Apo&s;tle there intimates, that our Carna|lity, our Slavery to Sin, the Enmity of our hearts to God, is be&s;t di&s;cerned by comparing man with the Spirituality of the Law.</P>
<PB N="56" REF="35">
<P>The <HI>Jews</HI> were much for Sacrifices, and very diligent in them, which were but the Skirts of the Law, and which God did not principally require at their hands; but for Holine&s;s, Mercy, Pity, and other duties mo&s;t valued by God, they were mere &s;trangers unto them. Men will grant God the Lip, and the Ear, but deny him that which he mo&s;t calls for, <HI>viz</HI> the Heart.</P>
<P>The more earne&s;tly Con&s;cience doth at any time urge the Law, the more fu|riou&s;ly will the Fle&s;h act again&s;t it. <HI>Rom.</HI> 7.8. But <HI>&s;in taking occa&s;ion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupi&s;cence.</HI> Like as the boi&s;terous Waves, which roar mo&s;t at that Bank or Rock which forbids their progre&s;s; or like Wind, which pent within the nar|row compa&s;s of the Earth, grows more violent.</P>
<P>Had not God commanded &s;ome things &s;o &s;trictly, they had not been broken &s;o frequently. God's righteous Laws, which are intended to check our Cor|ruptions, are occa&s;ions to enrage them; as the Vapour in a Cloud ends in a tear|ing Clap of Thunder when it meets with oppo&s;ition. We &s;hall find our hearts
<PB N="57" REF="35"> mo&s;t aver&s;e from the ob&s;ervation of tho&s;e Laws which are eternal and e&s;&s;ential to Righteou&s;ne&s;s, which God could not but command, as he is a righteous Go|vernor; in the ob&s;ervance of which we come neare&s;t to him, and expre&s;s his Image more illu&s;triou&s;ly. As tho&s;e Laws for an inward and Spiritual Wor&s;hip of God, the loving God with all our Heart and Soul; God cannot in regard of his Holine&s;s and Righteou&s;ne&s;s command the contrary to this. The&s;e our hearts mo&s;t &s;well at; tho&s;e our Corruptions &s;narl at mo&s;t; whereas tho&s;e Laws that are on|ly morally po&s;itive, or tho&s;e that are on|ly po&s;itive, and have no intrin&s;ick Righ|teou&s;ne&s;s in them, but depend purely upon the Will of the Lawgiver, and may be changed at plea&s;ure, (which the other that have an intrin&s;ick Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s cannot): &s;uch as the Ceremo|nial part of Wor&s;hip, and the Ceremo|nial Law among the <HI>Jews;</HI> the&s;e we can comply better with, than with tho&s;e Laws which have an e&s;&s;ential Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s in them, and expre&s;s more in them the Righteou&s;ne&s;s of God's Na|ture.</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4ly. <HI>Man hates his own Con&s;cience, when
<PB N="58" REF="36"> it puts him in mind of the law of God.</HI> Man cannot naturally endure a quick and lively practical thought of God and his Law, and is an Enemy to his own Con&s;cience for putting him in mind of God. This is evidenced by our &s;tifling of Con&s;cience, when it doth dictate any practical conclu&s;ions from the Law, and would &s;tamp &s;uitable impre&s;&s;ions upon the Soul. As it is an evidence of an Enmi|ty in one Man again&s;t another, when he cannot bear his Company, nor en|dure to hear him &s;peak; &s;o it is an evi|dence of an Enmity to God, when a Man cannot cannot endure to li&s;ten to that which is in him&s;elf, and more intimate with him than any Friend he hath, for the whole&s;ome and nece&s;&s;ary advice it gives him as God's Viceroy in him.</P>
<P>Which is not an Enmity to Con&s;ci|ence it &s;elf, or to its act of &s;elf reflection, but to the matter of it as it is God's Vice|gerent and Repre&s;entative, and bears the marks of his Authority in it, and pre&s;&s;eth the holy Law of God upon the mind and heart.</P>
<P>Becau&s;e in other ca&s;es this &s;elf-reflect|ing act of Con&s;cience is welcome, and is cheri&s;hed, where it doth not act in a
<PB N="59" REF="36"> way of Soveraignty deriv'd from God, but &s;uitable to natural affections. As &s;uppo&s;e a Man hath in a pa&s;&s;ion &s;truck his Child that caus'd &s;ome great mi&s;|chief to him, his Con&s;cience reflecting upon him afterwards, will be welcome, and &s;hall work &s;ome tenderne&s;s in him, which it &s;hall not do in the more &s;piritu|al concerns of God, but &s;hall rather be loathed by him as a bu&s;y-body.</P>
<P>And by &s;uch frequent oppo&s;itions of Con&s;cience, this Enmity doth &s;o far pre|vail, that the Soveraignty of Con&s;cience &s;eems to be quite Ca&s;hier'd, in&s;omuch that it cea&s;eth with any efficacy to &s;pur on the Soul to good, or withdraw it from evil; and being overpower'd by &s;inful habits, its Commands grow weak, and it &s;its labouring like a Magi&s;trate that cannot &s;tem the tide of ill manners in a Commonwealth; it enjoins as if it had no mind to be ob&s;erv'd.</P>
<P>'Tis upon this account that Men of|tentimes cannot endure to hear any gra|cious Di&s;cour&s;es of God, becau&s;e they excite unwelcome reflections in their own Con&s;ciences; which in&s;tead of re|forming them, do more di&s;temper them; as the &s;weete&s;t Perfumes affect a weak Head with Aches.</P>
<PB N="60" REF="37">
<P>Now &s;ince Men hate their own Con|&s;ciences for putting them in mind of God's Laws, it is clear that they hate God him&s;elf, becau&s;e Con&s;cience is God's Officer in them: Since they would de|&s;troy the Memorials and Prints of God in the Con&s;cience: Since they would de|&s;troy God's Commi&s;&s;ioner for doing his work, they would de&s;troy God him&s;elf. The Apo&s;tle therefore calls Di&s;obedi|ence to the Light of Nature, a Conten|tion, <HI>Rom.</HI> 2.8. <HI>To them that are conten|tious, and obey not the truth,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, that act out of Contention: It mu&s;t be a Contention again&s;t Con&s;cience, the Light of Nature, and con&s;equently a|gain&s;t God: for the Apo&s;tle in that Chapter &s;peaks of Di&s;obedience to the Light of Nature; they obey not the Truth, out of Contention again&s;t it, and again&s;t God, who hath publi&s;hed that Truth, and had imprinted it on their Souls as a Guide to them: For God hath put into Man a Con&s;cience as his Deputy, to have a Command over him, and to keep up his Prerogative as a Law|giver in him.</P>
<P>And as the di&s;owning the Principles of the Chri&s;tian Doctrine, after a ta&s;te
<PB N="61" REF="37"> and profe&s;&s;ion, is a crucifying of Chri&s;t, <HI>Heb.</HI> 6.6. Seeing <HI>they crucify to them|&s;elves the Son of God afre&s;h, and put him to an open &s;hame:</HI> And a real acting that in Spirit upon his Doctrine, which the <HI>Jews</HI> did upon his Body; it being an accounting him an Impo&s;tor, and di&s;|owning all the Excellency of his Per&s;on and Offices; and an implicit A&s;&s;ertion, That there is nothing in him worthy their de&s;ire; and this Crucifying, <GAP DESC="foreign">, [It may be <HI>in them&s;elves,</HI> as well <HI>as to them&s;elves</HI>] in them&s;elves, the Common Works of Chri&s;t upon them, was in effect the killing of his Per&s;on: So by the Rule of Proportion, every Sin again&s;t Con&s;cience, and blotting out Common Principles, is not only a Contention again&s;t God, but an interpretative de|&s;troying of him, and putting God to &s;hame, who is the Engraver of tho&s;e Principles, and that Law of Nature in Man.</P>
<P N="5"><MILESTONE N="5"> 5ly. <HI>Man &s;ets up another Law in him, in oppo&s;ition to the Law of God.</HI></P>
<P>A Sinner looks upon God as too &s;e|vere a Task-ma&s;ter, and his Laws as too hard a Yoke; as though God were cruel and injurious to the liberty of his
<PB N="62" REF="38"> Creature, and envied Man of well being, and a due plea&s;ure, <HI>Gen.</HI> 3.5. <HI>God knows, that in the day you eat thereof, your eyes &s;hall be opened.</HI></P>
<P>It was the Old Charge the Devil brought again&s;t God to <HI>Eve,</HI> and the &s;ame Impre&s;&s;ions he makes &s;till upon the Minds of tho&s;e Children of Di&s;obedi|ence, in whom he works, and fills them with unju&s;t Reflections upon God.</P>
<P>Man having this conceit wrought in him, will be a Law to him&s;elf, and will frame a Rule &s;ub&s;ervient to his own Ends, <HI>Rom.</HI> 7.23. <HI>But I &s;ee another law in my members, warring again&s;t the law of my mind:</HI> Which is call'd <HI>the law of &s;in,</HI> and is &s;et up in a Warlike and Authori|tative Oppo&s;ition again&s;t the Law of God in the Mind, <GAP DESC="foreign">. This Law of Sin is nothing el&s;e but the &s;etting up our own corrupt Appetite and Will again&s;t God. As corrupt Rea|&s;on is oppos'd to Go&s;pel, &s;o corrupt Will is oppos'd to Law.</P>
<P>Sin having &s;et up this Law, makes it the Mea&s;ure and Rule of Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and mea&s;ures al&s;o the Righteou&s;ne&s;s of God's Law by this Law of his own fra|ming; nay, mea&s;ures the Holine&s;s and
<PB N="63" REF="38"> Righteou&s;ne&s;s of God him&s;elf by it. This is horrible, to makes God's Law no holier than our own, and to &s;quare God's Holine&s;s and Righteou&s;ne&s;s according to our Conceptions; as if God's Holine&s;s were to be tried by our Mea&s;ures, and judged by our Corruption, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 50.21. <HI>Thou thoughte&s;t I was altogether &s;uch a one as thy &s;elf.</HI> This Men do when they plead for Sins as little, as venial, as that which is below God to take notice of; becau&s;e they them&s;elves think it &s;o, therefore God mu&s;t think it &s;o too.</P>
<P>Man with a Gyant-like Pride, would climb into the Throne of the Almighty, and e&s;tabli&s;h a Contradiction to the Will of God by making his own Will, and not God's, the Square and Rule of his Actions.</P>
<P>This Principle commenced, and took date in Paradi&s;e, when <HI>Adam</HI> would not depend upon the Will of God reveal'd to him, but upon him&s;elf, and his own Will, and thereby make him&s;elf as God.</P>
<P>This is the hereditary Di&s;ea&s;e of all his Po&s;terity, to affect an independency, and leave God's directions, to be his own guide.</P>
<P>And this is the great Controver&s;y
<PB N="64" REF="39"> that hath been ever &s;ince between God and Man, Whether he or they &s;hall be God; whether his Rea&s;on or Truths, or their Rea&s;on; his Will, or theirs, be of mo&s;t force. Ju&s;t as the di&s;pute was between <HI>Pharoah</HI> and God, who &s;hould be God; whether the Great <HI>Jehovah,</HI> or a petty King of <HI>Egypt.</HI></P>
<P>And what &s;aith the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t?</HI> they &s;ay of their Tongues, <HI>Our Tongues are our own,</HI> who &s;hall controul us? but more truly the language of men's hearts, Our Wills are our own, who &s;hall check us?</P>
<P>This is the thing God condemns in the <HI>Jews,</HI> I&s;a. 65.2. <HI>A rebellious people, that walk after their own thoughts:</HI> They would &s;et up their own Thoughts above his Precepts, as though their vain Ima|ginations were a more ju&s;t and holy Rule than the infinite perfect Will of God. As in <HI>Jer.</HI> 18.12. <HI>We will walk after our own devices.</HI> We will be a Law to our &s;elves; let God take his way, and we will take ours.</P>
<P>'Tis not perhaps &s;o hainous an Idola|try to &s;et up a graven Image, a &s;en&s;e|le&s;s and a &s;inle&s;s Stock or Stone, as for a Man to &s;et up his own &s;inful corrupt
<PB N="65" REF="39"> Affections, and devote him&s;elf to a com|pliance with them, in oppo&s;ition to the Righteous Will of God.</P>
<P N="6"><MILESTONE N="6"> 6ly. <HI>In being at greater pains and charge to break God's Law, than is nece&s;&s;a|ry to keep it.</HI></P>
<P>How will Men rack their Heads, &s;tu|dy mi&s;chief upon their Beds, wear out their time and &s;trength in Contrivances to &s;atisfy &s;ome ba&s;e Lu&s;t, which leaves behind it no other recompence but a momentary plea&s;ure, attended at length with unconceivable horror; and ca&s;t off that Yoke which is ea&s;y, and that Bur|den which is light, in the keeping whereof there is great reward. <HI>Mic.</HI> 6.7, 8. <HI>Wherewith &s;hall I come before the Lord? Will the Lord be pleas'd with thou|&s;ands of rams, or with ten thou&s;ands of rivers of oyl? Shall I give my fir&s;t-born for my tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion? the fruit of my body for the &s;in of my &s;oul?</HI> They in the Pro|phet would be at the Expence of One thou&s;and of Rams, and Ten thou&s;ands of Rivers of Oyl; offer Violence to the Principles of Nature, give the Fir&s;t-born of their Bodies for the Sin of their Souls, rather than to <HI>do ju&s;tice, love mercy, or walk humbly with God;</HI> Things more ea&s;y
<PB N="66" REF="40"> in the practice than the Offerings they wi&s;h'd for.</P>
<P>Thus Men would rather be Sin's Drudges, than God's Freemen; and neglect that Service wherein is perfect Freedom, for that wherein there is in|tolerable Slavery; They will make a combu&s;tion in their Con&s;ciences, vio|late the rea&s;on of their Minds, impair the health of their Bodies in contradict|ing the Laws of God, and prefer a &s;en|&s;ual &s;atisfaction with toil here, and eter|nal ruin hereafter, before the honour of God, the dignity of their Nature, or Happine&s;s, or Peace and Health, which might be pre&s;erv'd with a cheaper Ex|pence than they are at to de&s;troy them.</P>
<P N="7"><MILESTONE N="7"> 7ly. <HI>In doing that which is ju&s;t and righteous upon any other con&s;ideration, ra|ther than of Obedience to God's Will.</HI></P>
<P>When Men will indent with God, and obey him &s;o far as may comport with their own Ends. Unle&s;s God will degrade him&s;elf, to &s;ubmit to the Con|ditions of their intere&s;t, they will pay him no Duty of Obedience, nor render him a grain of Service.</P>
<P>What is Hypocri&s;y, a Sin &s;o odious to God, but performing Duties mate|rially
<PB N="67" REF="40"> good, upon any other con&s;idera|tion, rather than that of God's Sove|raignty?</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1&s;t. <HI>Out of re&s;pect to &s;ome humane Con|&s;ideration.</HI></P>
<P>When Men will practi&s;e &s;ome Points of Religion, and walk in the track of &s;ome Laws of God, not out of Con&s;ci|ence to the Command, but the Agree|ablene&s;s of it to their Humour, Con&s;ti|tution, or Nature; Out of the &s;way of a Natural Genero&s;ity, the dictate of Carnal Rea&s;on, the bya&s;s of Secular In|tere&s;t; not from an holy Affection to God, an ingenuous Sen&s;e of his Autho|rity, or voluntary-Submi&s;&s;ion to his Will. As when a man will avoid &s;wil|ling, not becau&s;e God forbids it, but becau&s;e it is attended with bodily In|di&s;po&s;itions. Or when a man will give Alms, not with re&s;pect to God's In|junction, but to his own Natural Com|pa&s;&s;ion, or to &s;how his Genero&s;ity. This is Obedience to his own Pre&s;erva|tion, the Intere&s;t of Moral Virtue, not to God.</P>
<P>Though it may look like Virtue, yet when it is done from Cu&s;tom and Ex|ample, without a due regard to our
<PB N="68" REF="41"> Soveraign, we may, in the doing it, be rather accounted Apes, than Chri&s;ti|ans, or indeed Men. This &s;eems to be Obedience in the Act, but Di&s;obedience in the Motive; for it is not a re&s;pect to God, but to our &s;elves: At the be&s;t it is but the performance of the material part, without the &s;piritual Manner, which is mo&s;t regarded by God.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, if we ob&s;erve any Law upon the account of its Suitablene&s;s to our Natural Sentiments, or Carnal De&s;igns, we &s;hall as readily di&s;obey, when it cro&s;&s;es the Purpo&s;es of our Minds, or De&s;ires of the Fle&s;h; for our Obedi|ence will be changeable, according to the Mutations we find in our own hu|mours.</P>
<P>How can that be entit'led an Affecti|on to God, which is as mutable as the intere&s;t of an incon&s;tant Mind?</P>
<P>Gen. 27.41. <HI>And E&s;au hated Jacob, becau&s;e of the ble&s;&s;ing wherewith his Father ble&s;&s;ed him.</HI> And <HI>E&s;au &s;aid in his heart, The days of mourning for my Father are at hand, then will I &s;lay my brother Jacob.</HI> So, many Children that expect at the Death of their Parents great Inheritan|ces, may be very ob&s;ervant of them;
<PB N="69" REF="41"> not becau&s;e they re&s;pect God's Com|mands in it, but becau&s;e they would not fru&s;tate their hopes by any Di&s;ob|ligement. <HI>E&s;au</HI> had no regard of God in decreeing his Brother's Death, though he was awed by the Reverence of his Father from a &s;peedy Execution.</P>
<P>He con&s;ider'd, perhaps, how ju&s;tly he might lie under the imputation of ha&s;t|ning Crazy <HI>I&s;aac</HI>'s Death, by depriving him of a beloved Son.</P>
<P>But had the Old man's head been laid, neither the contrary Command of God, nor the nearne&s;s of a fraternal Relation, could have di&s;&s;uaded him from the Act, any more than they did from the Re&s;olution.</P>
<P>Whence it is, that many Men ab&s;tain from gro&s;s Sins only out of love to their Reputation: They act that Wickedne&s;s privately, which if &s;een or taken notice of by others, would over&s;pread their Fa|ces with blu&s;hing and confu&s;ion.</P>
<P>He may have his Mind in a Brothel-house, notwith&s;tanding God's Prohibi|tion, but re&s;train his Body for fear of di&s;grace. He may commit Murder in his heart, when the fear of Puni&s;hment &s;hall tye up his hands.</P>
<PB N="70" REF="42">
<P>Has not then our own Credit more power over us than God? And do we not &s;ooner ob&s;erve the opinion of the World, which fright us, than the Au|thority of God which commands us?</P>
<P>Is it not a mon&s;trous thing to be &s;wayed by every thing but the right Motive? To let every thing be a Chain to bind us to the doing good, or e&s;chew|ing evil, rather than God's Law in his Word, or the Natural Law of Rea&s;on implanted in us? Or to be moved ra|ther by the Examples of men that are ju&s;t or the Cu&s;toms of the places where we live, than to act in conformity to the righteous Nature of God? How great an evidence is this of our Enmity to God, or at lea&s;t a great want of Affection!</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>Out of affection to &s;ome ba&s;e lu&s;t, &s;ome cur&s;ed end.</HI></P>
<P>The <HI>Phari&s;ees</HI> were devout in long Prayers, not that God might be ho|nour'd, but them&s;elves e&s;teem'd by men. Ambition may be the Spring and Soul of mens Devotions. <HI>Jehu</HI> was order'd to cut off the Hou&s;e of <HI>Ahab;</HI> the &s;er|vice which he undertook was in its &s;elf acceptable, but corrupt Nature acted that which Holine&s;s and Righteou&s;ne&s;s
<PB N="71" REF="42"> commanded: God appointed it to mag|nify his Ju&s;tice, and <HI>Jehu</HI> acted it to &s;a|tisfy his Revenge or Ambition: He did it to fulfil the Will of his Lu&s;t, not the Will of his true Lord. <HI>Jehu</HI> applauds it as Zeal, and God abhors it as Murder, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 1.4. We may &s;how our hatred to God, and provoke him, in doing the thing which he particularly enjoins us.</P>
<P>This is a compliance with the de&s;ign of &s;ome Carnal Lu&s;t, more than with the Authority of the Lawgiver. 'Tis a Service not to God for his own &s;ake, but to our &s;elves for our &s;ins &s;ake.</P>
<P>'Tis rather a ca&s;ting down the Will of God from commanding, to &s;et our own in its place. Nothing more po&s;i|tively commanded both in Natures Law and the Go&s;pel, than to pray, and wor|&s;hip God. Men may ob&s;erve &s;ome Laws, to have the better convenieney to break others. The <HI>Phari&s;ees</HI> were great Ob|&s;ervers of this, they pray'd, and to outward apperance devoutly, with a Zeal (if Zeal may be mea&s;ur'd by length); but to what end? Now that God might be honoured, but them&s;elves e&s;teemed; nay more cur&s;ed, to devour Widows Hou&s;es; that men might be
<PB N="72" REF="43"> induced by that appearance of Devoti|on to make them Executors of their Wills, and Guardians of their Children; Feoffees in tru&s;t for their Widows, and &s;o they might get a fat Mor&s;el for them|&s;elves.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3. <HI>Out of a &s;lavi&s;h Fear.</HI></P>
<P>In the doing any thing out of this Principle, men are rather Enemies than Friends. 1 <HI>Joh.</HI> 4 18. <HI>There is no fear in love,</HI> but <HI>perfect love ca&s;teth out fear;</HI> becau&s;e <HI>fear hath torment.</HI> If Fear be incon&s;i&s;tent with Love, it mu&s;t be the property of Hatred. If perfect Love doth ca&s;t out Fear, then perfect Fear doth ca&s;t out Love, and nouri&s;h Enmi|ty. If Fear be a torment, the Effects of it cannot be a plea&s;ure; and the du|ties flowing from it have a &s;pice of that hatred which is an in&s;eparable Compa|nion of that Pa&s;&s;ion, and are done ra|ther to appea&s;e their Fears, than to plea&s;ure their Creator. Ju&s;t as <HI>Pharaoh</HI> parted with the <HI>I&s;raelites,</HI> &s;o do &s;ome men with &s;ome &s;ins, not out of love to God's Law, but for fear of a further Wrath, or becau&s;e of the &s;mart of pre&s;ent Judgments.</P>
<P>Well then, how can we di&s;charge
<PB N="73" REF="43"> our &s;elves from this accu&s;ation of Enmi|ty to God, when we will be excited to a performance of good, and ab&s;ti|nence from evil, by any thing of a le&s;s Authority, as the pre&s;ence of a Child, the &s;entiments of the World, the pre|&s;ervation of our own Reputation, and the fear of Puni&s;hment? So that actions materially hone&s;t in men, may be ra|ther a fruit of Pa&s;&s;ion than Rea&s;on; and that which we call our Obedience, a product of the Be&s;tial part in us, ra|ther than that of the Man.</P>
<P N="8"><MILESTONE N="8"> 8thly. In being <HI>more ob&s;ervant of the Laws of men, than of the Law of God.</HI> The fear of man is a more powerful Curb to retain men in their duty, than the fear of God: For men are re&s;train'd from breaking human Laws, for fear of the pre&s;ent Penalties annexed to them; but they encourage them&s;elves in the breach of Divine by God's for|bearance; whereby they attribute a greater Right of Dominion to man, than they will acknowledge to be in God.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 5.11.</NOTE> They <HI>willingly walk after the com|mandment</HI> of man, though in ca&s;e of Idolatry, but like Snails creep after the
<PB N="74" REF="44"> Commandment of God, if they move at all.</P>
<P>So they made <HI>the King glad with their lies,</HI> they cheered his heart with their ready obedience to his Command for Idolatry, again&s;t the Coun&s;el of God, and Warnings of the Prophets. And they, contrary to the Speech of Chri&s;t, fear him that can kill the Body, more than that God who can de&s;troy both Body and Soul; and are &s;car'd more by the Frowns of men, than the Power of God. 'Tis natural in all Ages. It was <HI>Hierom</HI>'s Complaint,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hierom. Vol. 1. Epi&s;t. 2. p. 11. B.</NOTE> <HI>Timent leges huma|nas, at non divinas; Qua&s;i majora &s;int Imperatorum &s;cuta quam Chri&s;ti, leges ti|memus, Evangelia contemnimus.</HI></P>
<P>Without que&s;tion man is obliged to obey his Creator, without con&s;ulting whether his Commands are agreeable to the In&s;titutions of men. For if we obey him becau&s;e mens Laws enjoin the &s;ame, we obey not God but man, hu|man Laws being the chief motive of our Obedience. This is to vilify God's Soveraignty, and lay it under the Hatches of mens Authority, &s;ince we thus &s;light the Duty which in point of
<PB N="75" REF="44"> Right he may demand of us, and pay with ungrateful returns &s;o liberal a Be|nefactor: For men who&s;e Laws we principally regard, were never the prin|cipal Author of our Being; and the in&s;trumental Pre&s;ervation we have by them, is not without the Providential Influence of that Lord who&s;e Autho|rity we &s;ubject to theirs. Why &s;hould we readily &s;ubmit to Human Laws, and &s;tagger at Divine? Why &s;hould we de|po&s;e God from his Right of governing the World, and value mens Laws above our Maker's? Why &s;hould we make God's Authority of a le&s;s concern to us than that of a Ju&s;tice of Peace, or a Petty-Con&s;table; as though they were God's Superiors, and Obedience more rightfully due to them, than to him? What a Contempt of God is this? 'Tis to tell God, I will break the Sabbath, &s;wear, revile, revel, were it not for the Curb of National Laws, for all thy Precepts to the contrary.</P>
<P N="9"><MILESTONE N="9"> 9thly. In <HI>mans unwillingne&s;s to have God's Laws ob&s;erv'd by any.</HI> Man would not have God have a Loyal Subject in the world.</P>
<PB N="76" REF="45">
<P>What is the rea&s;on el&s;e of the Per&s;e|cution of tho&s;e who would be the &s;trict|e&s;t Ob&s;ervers of God's Injunctions, as if they were the mo&s;t execrable per&s;ons under the Cope of Heaven? What is the rea&s;on the Seed of the Serpent hates the Seed of the Woman with as much vehemency as the holy Angels do the mo&s;t prodigious Villanies? 'Tis ordi|nary for prophane men to look upon &s;uch as would walk before God unto all well plea&s;ing, as &s;trange and abomina|ble Mon&s;ters. 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 4.4. <HI>Wherein they think it &s;trange, that you run not with them to the &s;ame exce&s;s of riot; &s;peaking evil of you. Speaking evil of you;</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, railing, libelling the whole Pro|fe&s;&s;ion, loading them with many op|probrious Epithets: Becau&s;e they will not be as diffu&s;ive in Sen&s;uality as them|&s;elves: Becau&s;e <HI>they run not,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">; thus cen&s;uring tho&s;e acts of theirs, which are plea&s;ing to God, at the Bar of Prophane&s;s.</P>
<P>'Tis not for any wrong done to them, that they thus hate them, but becau&s;e they will not injure God, and tran&s;gre&s;s his Laws &s;o much as them&s;elves do.
<PB N="79" REF="45"> How clear a di&s;covery is this of mens natural unwillingne&s;s to &s;uffer God to have the lea&s;t grain of Obedience in the world, when they are angry that any bear a Veneration to his Laws, and that others will not run into the &s;ame Ca|reer, and be in Arms again&s;t God as well as they?</P>
<P>Hence it is that the holie&s;t per&s;ons have been mo&s;t per&s;ecuted: Among the <HI>Jews, I&s;aiah</HI> &s;awed to death, <HI>Jeremiah</HI> &s;toned, <HI>Zacharias</HI> killed at the Altar, <HI>Elias</HI> put to flight. Among the Chri|&s;tians, all the Apo&s;tles but <HI>John</HI> put to death: The holie&s;t men have been the greate&s;t Sufferers. Among the Heathen, <HI>Socrates</HI> condemned to Poi&s;on. And the rea&s;on is, becau&s;e they have more honourable thoughts of God, and would maintain the intere&s;t of God in the world.</P>
<P N="10"><MILESTONE N="10"> 10thly. <HI>In the plea&s;ure we take to &s;ee his Laws broken by others.</HI></P>
<P>Sin is the greate&s;t evil that can hap|pen to God; and there is nothing man doth more care&s;s and gratify him&s;elf in, than to &s;ee a Creature be-mir'd with it.
<PB N="80" REF="46"> And indeed, Sin is the very E&s;&s;ence of mo&s;t of the Mirth in the world. <HI>Job</HI> &s;o well knew it, that he ro&s;e every morn|ing to make an Atonement for his Sons, who he knew could not be without ma|ny Errata's in their Jollities.</P>
<P>This Indictment the Apo&s;tle brings among the re&s;t again&s;t the <HI>Gentiles,</HI> Rom. 1.32. <HI>Not only do the &s;ame, but have plea&s;ure in them that do them.</HI> Do not men often make that the Object of their Laughter, which is the Object of God's Infinite Hatred? Are not other mens Sins the &s;ubject of our Sport and Mirth, which &s;hould be the &s;ubject of our Pity and Sorrow? Pity to the Sin|ner, and Sorrow for the Sin.</P>
<P>What is this, but an evidence of a rooted hatred of God in our nature, when we plea&s;e our &s;elves with any di&s;|honour done to him by others?</P>
<P>For it is put among the noble Attri|butes of Love, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 13.6. That it <HI>re|joiceth not in iniquity;</HI> neither its own Iniquity, nor other mens. To rejoice in it then mu&s;t be an accur&s;ed quality belonging to Hatred; yet how many are there in the world, that cannot &s;ee
<PB N="81" REF="46"> others di&s;honour God, without &s;ome &s;ort of &s;atisfaction; they are di&s;plea&s;ed with his Glory, and pleas'd with his Di&s;ho|nour.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. We are Enemies to God's So|vereignty, <HI>in &s;etting up other Sovereigns in the &s;tead of God.</HI></P>
<P>If we did dethrone God to &s;et up an Angel, or &s;ome virtuous man, it would be a lighter Affront; but to place the ba&s;e&s;t and filthie&s;t things in his Throne, is intolerable.</P>
<P>What we love better than God, what we &s;acrifice all our Indu&s;try to, what we &s;et our hearts mo&s;t upon, what we grieve mo&s;t for, when we mi&s;s of our end, we prefer before God.</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1&s;t. <HI>Idols.</HI></P>
<P>Though &s;o palpable Idolatry be not committed by us, yet it was natural to mankind; &s;ince we know all Nations were over-run with it, <HI>Jo&s;h.</HI> 24.2. Since the Father of the Faithful was an Idola|ter before he was a Believer. And his Po&s;terity the <HI>Jews,</HI> who had heard God him&s;elf &s;peak to them from Mount <HI>Si|nai,</HI>
<PB N="82" REF="47"> were no &s;ooner departed from the foot of the Mountain, but they adore a Golden Calf in his &s;tead; and this &s;in did run in the blood of all their Po&s;te|rity; &s;ince we find God charging them with it through the whole Old Te&s;ta|ment; and was not rooted out till the Seventy Years Captivity in <HI>Babylon.</HI></P>
<P>And that the naturalne&s;s of it to mankind may further appear, con&s;ider what Incentives again&s;t it the <HI>Jews</HI> had. They had the greate&s;t Appearances of God, particular marks of his Favour, his Judgments and Statutes; which the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t (P&s;al.</HI> 147.19, 20.) &s;ets an Empha&s;is upon, That he had not dealt &s;o with every Nation, no, not with any Nation. They had the vi&s;ible &s;igns of his Pre&s;ence, the Pillar of Fire by Night, and the Cloud by Day; they were more particularly under his in|dulgent Care; he had alter'd the Cour&s;e of Nature, and wrought Miracles for their Deliverance; rain'd <HI>Manna</HI> from Heaven to &s;pread their Table, carried them in his Bo&s;om; yet tho&s;e Wretches were throwing down God, to make room for a Calf, made, as I may &s;ay,
<PB N="83" REF="47"> with the Gold, which was be&s;mear'd with their Ear-wax, daub'd with an Excrement.</P>
<P>This Idolatry is as ab&s;olute a degra|ding and vilifying of God as Hell it &s;elf could invent; 'Tis a real calling him by the names of all tho&s;e filthy, loath|&s;ome, &s;en&s;ele&s;s Creatures, &s;o odious, as Images of him. As if God were no better than a Stone, a piece of carved Bra&s;s or Wood, of no greater Excellen|cy than an Image or Puppet: This is a denying of God. <HI>Job</HI> &s;peaking, that he had not ki&s;s'd his hand, or made obey&s;ance to Idols; for then, &s;aith he, <HI>I &s;hould have deni'd the God that is above,</HI> Job 31.28.</P>
<P>'Tis call'd a <HI>loathing</HI> God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 16.45.</NOTE> who is the Husband of Chri&s;tians; a loathing of all his Authority over them.</P>
<P>The giving Adoration to an Image which belongs to God, is a making it equal to him, if not above him; for by &s;uch a Veneration they evidence, that God is no better in their apprehen&s;ion than the Stock they wor&s;hip.</P>
<P>The Heathen World is at this day drenched in this kind of Idolatry, and
<PB N="84" REF="48"> mo&s;t part of the Chri&s;tian World are &s;ubject to the Remains of this Pagan Sin: As the Papi&s;ts, who adore for their Saviour a little Wafer, which perhaps the Mice have bitten, and Flies have ca&s;t their Excrements upon.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2ly. <HI>We are Enemies to God's Sove|raignty in &s;etting up Self.</HI></P>
<P>Man imagin'd at fir&s;t, that by Eat|ing the forbidden Fruit, he &s;hould have a knowledge of Good and Evil, as to be independent upon God, and bottom'd upon him&s;elf, and his own Will.</P>
<P>This <HI>Self</HI> in us is properly the Old <HI>Adam,</HI> the true Offspring of the fir&s;t Corrupted Man. This is the great Anti|chri&s;t, the great Anti-god in us, which &s;its in the heart, the Temple of God, and would be ador'd as God, would be the chiefe&s;t, as the highe&s;t End. This is the great U&s;urper in the World, for it invades the Right of God; 'tis the mo&s;t direct compliance, and likene&s;s to the Devil, who&s;e Actions center wholly in malicious Self-will: In this re&s;pect I &s;uppo&s;e the Devil is call'd <HI>the God of this World,</HI> becau&s;e he acts &s;o,
<PB N="85" REF="48"> as if the World &s;hould only &s;erve his Ends.</P>
<P><HI>Self</HI> is the Center of many men's Religious Actions; while God &s;eems to be the Object, Self is the End, <HI>Zech.</HI> 7.5. <HI>Did you fa&s;t unto me?</HI></P>
<P>This being the Motive of Hypocri&s;y, makes it more Idolatry, and &s;o more odious to God; other Sins &s;ubject only the Creature to Self, but this &s;ubjects the Soul, and even God him&s;elf to cor|rupt Self. Self-love leads the Van, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.2. <HI>Men &s;hall be lovers of their own &s;elves;</HI> To that black Catalogue he &s;eems to &s;peak of that black Regiment which march behind it, and is conclu|ded with a <HI>form of Godline&s;s,</HI> and <HI>deny|ing the power of it;</HI> and a denying the Power of Godline&s;s, is a denying the Soveraignty of God.</P>
<P>The Righteou&s;ne&s;s a Man would e&s;ta|bli&s;h in oppo&s;ition to God, is call'd a man's <HI>own;</HI> a Righteou&s;ne&s;s of his own framing, that hath its Ri&s;e only from him&s;elf, <HI>Rom.</HI> 10.3. Going about to <HI>e&s;tabli&s;h their own Righteou&s;ne&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>Sin and Self are all one; what is call'd a <HI>living in Sin</HI> in one place, <HI>Rom.</HI>
<PB N="86" REF="49"> 6.2. is a <HI>living to Self</HI> in another, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.15. <HI>That they which live, &s;hould not live to them&s;elves.</HI> What a man &s;erves, and directs all his projects, and the whole la|bour of his life to, that is his God and Lord, and that is Self.</P>
<P>All inferior things act for &s;ome &s;upe|rior as their immediate End: this Order hath Nature con&s;tituted; the le&s;&s;er Ani|mals are de&s;ign'd for the greater; the irrational for Man, and Man for &s;ome|thing higher and nobler than him&s;elf; for all Beings naturally &s;hould, in their &s;everal Stations, tend to the Service of the fir&s;t Being. Now to make our &s;elves the end, and all other things to act for our &s;elves, is to make our &s;elves the &s;u|preme Being, to deny any &s;uperior as the Center to which our Actions &s;hould be directed, and u&s;urp God's place, who along being the &s;upreme Being, can be his own End: For if there were any thing higher and better than God, his own Purity and Goodne&s;s would cau&s;e him to act for that as more noble and worthy.</P>
<P>I appeal to you, whether you have not &s;ometimes &s;ecret Wi&s;hes, that you
<PB N="87" REF="49"> were in the place of God; for where there is a &s;lavi&s;h Fear of him, there mu&s;t needs be &s;uch Wi&s;hes, according to the degrees of Fear; and &s;o you have wi&s;hed God undeified, that you might be advanced to the Godhead.</P>
<P>This &s;ome think to be the Sin of the Devils, affecting an independency on God by a proud Reflection upon their own created Excellency, and at lea&s;t a delightful Wi&s;h, if not an Endeavour to make them&s;elves the ultimate End of all their Actions.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3ly. We are Enemies to God's So|veraignty <HI>in &s;etting up the World.</HI></P>
<P>When we place this in our Heart, God's proper Seat and Chair, we deprive God of his Propriety, and do him the greate&s;t wrong, in giving the po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ion of his Right to another. The Apo&s;tle gives Covetou&s;ne&s;s no better Title than that of Idolatry, <HI>Col.</HI> 3.5. And the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> puts the Athei&s;t's Cap upon the Oppre&s;&s;or's Head, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 14.4. Who <HI>eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord.</HI> What we make the chief Object of our De&s;ires,
<PB N="88" REF="50"> is to us in the place of God. The poor <HI>Indians</HI> made a very natural and ratio|nal Con&s;equence, That Gold was the <HI>Spaniards</HI> God, becau&s;e they hunted &s;o greedily after it. This is an intolera|ble dethroning of God, to make that which is God's Foot&s;tool to climb up into his Throne; To bow down to an Atom, a little Du&s;t and Mud of the World, a drop out of the Ocean; To &s;et that in thy Heart, which God hath made even below thy &s;elf, and put un|der thy feet; And to make that which thou trample&s;t upon, to tread down the right God hath to thy Heart. Alas! who &s;erves God with that Care, and with that Spirit that he &s;erves the World with?</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4ly. We are Enemies to God's Sove|raignty in <HI>&s;etting up &s;en&s;ual plea&s;ures.</HI></P>
<P>Love is a commanding Affection, and gives the Object a power over us; what we chiefly love, we readily obey. Now Men are &s;aid to be <GAP DESC="foreign">;<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim, 3.4.</NOTE> A Glutton's belly is &s;aid to be his God, becau&s;e his Projects and Af|fections are devoted to the &s;atisfaction
<PB N="89" REF="50"> of that; and he lays in not for the Ser|vice of God, but a Magazine for Lu&s;t. If you preferr'd &s;ome honourable thing which might perfect your Natures, as Learning, Wi&s;dom, Moral Virtues; though this were an indignity to be cen&s;ur'd by the Judge of all the World, yet it would be more tolerable; but to con&s;ecrate your Heart and Time to a &s;ordid Voluptuou&s;ne&s;s, and feed it with the Cream of your Strength, this is an inexcu&s;able Contempt, to pay a quick and lively Service to an effemi|nate Delight, which is only due to the &s;upreme Lord.</P>
<P>Doth not that Man dethrone God, and hate him, that will be under the com|mand of a &s;wini&s;h plea&s;ure; and make that the &s;upreme End of his Life and Acti|ons, rather than to be under the righteous Government of God? The greate&s;t Ex|cellency in the World is infinitely be|low our Creator; how much more mu&s;t a bea&s;tial Delight be below him which is &s;o exceedingly di&s;graceful to, and below the Nature of Man? If we &s;hould love all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth above God, it were more
<PB N="90" REF="51"> excu&s;able than to degrade him in our Affections beneath a bruti&s;h Plea&s;ure. Why doth any man court an ignoble Sen&s;uality with the di&s;plea&s;ure of God, Hell and Damnation at the end of it, if he did not value it above God, as well as above his own Soul?</P>
<P>The more &s;ordid any thing is that we &s;et up in the place of God, the greater is the de&s;pite done to him. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 8.5. When the Prophet &s;aw the Image of Jealou&s;y at the gate, God tells him there were greater Abominations than that, which are de&s;crib'd <HI>v.</HI> 10. <HI>Creep|ing things, and abominable bea&s;ts,</HI> viz. the <HI>Egyptian</HI> Idols.</P>
<P>The viler the thing is which po&s;&s;e&s;&s;es our Heart, the greater flight is put up|on God, and the greater the Abomi|nation.</P>
<P N="5"><MILESTONE N="5"> 5ly. We are Enemies to God's Sove|raignty in <HI>&s;etting up the Devil.</HI></P>
<P>Every Sin is an Election of the De|vil to be our Lord: If Sin had a Voice, it would give its Suffrage for &s;uch a Lord as would favour its intere&s;t.</P>
<PB N="91" REF="51">
<P>As the Spirit dwells in a Godly Man to guide him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.2, 3.</NOTE> &s;o doth the Devil in a Natural Man, to direct him to Evil; &s;o that every Sin is an Effect of the De|vil's Government: Therefore Sins are call'd his Lu&s;ts, which natural Men (who being the Devil's Children, are under his paternal Government) fulfil and do with a re&s;olute Obedience, <HI>Joh.</HI> 8.44. <HI>His lu&s;ts you will do.</HI></P>
<P>If we divide Sins into Spiritual and Carnal, which divi&s;ion comprehends all Sin, we &s;hall find that in both; we own the Devil's Authority either in obeying his Commands, or in conform|ing to his Example. Some are &s;aid to be his Lu&s;ts <HI>&s;ubjectiv&egrave;,</HI> as he commits them; others <HI>di&s;po&s;itiv&egrave;,</HI> as he directs them. In Spiritual he is an Actor, in Carnal a Tempter. In Carnal, Men obey his Commands; in Spiritual, they model them&s;elves according to his Pat|tern: In the one they are his Servants, to do his work; in the other his Chil|dren, to partake of his Nature. In the one we acknowledge him as our Ma&s;ter; in the other we own him as our Copy. In both we derogate from God's Sove|raignty
<PB N="92" REF="52"> over us, whom we are bound to imitate, as well as to obey. Every Sin, in its own nature, is a Communion or Society with <HI>Belial,</HI> a fighting for the Devil again&s;t God; 'tis the end of the Act, though it be not the intention of the Agent. Every Sin is the Devil's work, and therefore the choice of it is a preferring his Service before God's. The Sin of <HI>Saul,</HI> though in a &s;mall mat|ter, and not in any natural, but po&s;itive Command, is equall'd to the Sin of Witchcraft, which, you know, is a Co|venanting with the Devil to yield Obe|dience to him, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 15.23.</P>
<P>What a mon&s;trous Ba&s;ene&s;s is this, to advance an impure Spirit in the place of infinite Purity; to embrace the great Ring-leader of Rebellion, above the Con|triver of our Reconciliation; the only Enemy God hath in the World, who drew all the re&s;t into the Faction again&s;t him, before him who is ready to par|don us upon our revolt from his Adver|&s;ary? To affect that De&s;troyer above our Pre&s;erver and Benefactor: To e&s;teem him as the exacte&s;t Pattern, and the greate&s;t Lord, as though he had crea|ted
<PB N="93" REF="52"> us, provided for us, and in mercy watched over us all our days.</P>
<P>What a prodigious Enmity is this, to offend God, to plea&s;ure the Devil, and injure our Creator, to gratify our Adver&s;ary. Have we nothing to pre|fer before him, but the deadlie&s;t Enemy that both God and our Souls have in the World? Mu&s;t we &s;ide with our Tor|mentor again&s;t our Pre&s;erver? Shall he which will fire us for ever, be valu'd above him, who would wipe all Tears from our Eyes? Oh let us blu&s;h, if any &s;park of ingenuity be left; and let our hatred of God change its Object, and boil up again&s;t our &s;elves for our abomi|nable ingratitude.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3ly. <HI>In u&s;urping God's Prerogative, and exacting tho&s;e ob&s;ervances which belong to God.</HI></P>
<P>We de&s;troy his Soveraignty in deify|ing and rewarding Men for things done in oppo&s;ition to the Law of God, in putting glorious Titles upon the vile&s;t Acts, naming Ambition Generou&s;ne&s;s; Murder Valour, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P N="1"><PB N="94" REF="53">1&s;t. <HI>In challenging Titles and Acts of Wor&s;hip due only to God.</HI> What Act of Wor&s;hip is there due to God, but Man hath one time or other challeng'd it as pertaining to him?</P>
<P><HI>Darius</HI> for Thirty days mu&s;t have all Petitions put up to him, as though he could &s;upply the Wants of all Creatures, <HI>Dan.</HI> 6.7, 8, 9</P>
<P><HI>Alexander</HI> would be wor&s;hipped as God; after him <HI>Antiochus,</HI> whom God calls a vile per&s;on. The Pope makes up the number in the Preface the Ca|noni&s;ts put to his Decrees: <HI>Edictum Domini Deique no&s;tri.</HI></P>
<P>In men's equalling them&s;elves to God. The fir&s;t Man would know as God. <HI>Ba|bel</HI> builders would dwell as God. <HI>Rab|bins</HI> tell us, that <HI>Eve</HI> was told by the Devil, That if &s;he eat the forbidden Fruit, &s;he &s;hould make a World as God. The Pope will &s;it in the Temple of God, and pardon Sins as God; exalts him|&s;elf above all that is call'd God, &s;hew|ing him&s;elf that he is God.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2ly. <HI>&V;&s;urping God's Prerogative, in lording over the Con&s;ciences and Rea&s;ons of others.</HI></P>
<PB N="95" REF="53">
<P>Whence el&s;e &s;prings the re&s;tle&s;s de|&s;ire in &s;ome Men, to model all Con&s;ci|ences according to their own Wills, which belongs to a greater Power than Man is capable of?</P>
<P><HI>Ferdinand</HI>'s Speech was eminent, who when by the per&s;ua&s;ion of others, with much reluctancy on his part he had pa&s;&s;ed an Edict again&s;t the Prote|&s;tants, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> &s;aid, <Q>I expected &s;uch a thing, when I would take upon me the Prerogative of God to be Lord over men's Con&s;ciences.</Q></P>
<P>We u&s;urp God's Prerogative, when we are angry that others are not of our Minds and Judgments; when they will not be blind Servants to our Opinion, in endeavouring to have our own fan|cies, yea and pa&s;&s;ions, though never &s;o boi&s;terous and ridiculous, to be a mea|&s;ure to others. When we are pertina|cious in any doubtful Opinion, and a&s;|&s;ume to our &s;elves Infallibility of Judg|ment, as if our Sentiments were as firm as divine Decrees; What is this, but an exalting our &s;elves above all that is call'd God, to erect an unlimited Power over other men's Rea&s;ons and Judg|ments,
<PB N="96" REF="54"> as though it were as infallible as God, and all others differing from us under Blindne&s;s and Error.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3ly. U&s;urping God's Prerogative, <HI>in pre&s;cribing Rules of Wor&s;hip which ought only to be appointed by God.</HI></P>
<P>In putting out, or leaving in, what they think fit to be the Rule of Wor|&s;hip; in pre&s;cribing by humane Laws, what they judge good and right in di|vine. All the rea&s;on under Heaven could not have inform'd us what God was in him&s;elf, or what Wor&s;hip he expected of us, without &s;upernatural Revelation: Therefore, when God hath fixed it, for Men to be making alterations in it, and additions to it, is an intolerable inva|ding of his Right, at lea&s;t it is an equal|ling our own fallible Inventions with his infallible Oracles, imperiou&s;ly to obtrude upon People humane Inventi|ons with as much authority as if they had been &s;ign'd and &s;eal'd in Heaven, and were unque&s;tionably warranted by God him&s;elf. The pre&s;cribing the man|ner of Wor&s;hip, is a part of God's So|veraignty; therefore in the two la&s;t
<PB N="79" REF="54"> Chapters of <HI>Exodus,</HI> where the erect|ing of the Tabernacle is de&s;crib'd, tho&s;e words, <HI>As the Lord commanded,</HI> are &s;e|venteen times in&s;erted. And to pre|&s;cribe any thing which God hath not commanded (though he hath not for|bidden it) is &s;uch an inva&s;ion of his Prerogative, that he hath puni&s;h'd it by a remarkable Judgment.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lev. 10.1.</NOTE> When <HI>Na|dab</HI> and <HI>Abihu</HI> took &s;trange fire, <HI>i. e.</HI> other fire than what was upon the Altar, wherewith to kindle their Incen&s;e, though God had given no Command to the contrary, yet becau&s;e he had not commanded the Offering with &s;trange Fire, he cut them off by a ter|rible Judgment.</P>
<P>And it is to be ob&s;erv'd, that none are more irreconcilable Enemies to the true Power and Spirit of Godline&s;s, than the U&s;urpers of this Prerogative of God, the Lord in ju&s;t Judgment leaving them to the dotages of their own Minds, and the enmity of their Hearts again&s;t him, being Succe&s;&s;ors of the <HI>Phari&s;ees</HI> in their Judicial Blindne&s;s, as well as their U&s;ur|pations of God's Authority.</P>
<P N="4"><PB N="98" REF="55"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4ly. <HI>In &s;ubjecting the Truths of God to the Trial of Rea&s;on,</HI> or trying God's oracles at the Tribunal of our &s;hal|low Rea&s;on. 'Tis a part of God's So|veraignty to be the Interpreter, as well as Maker of his own Laws, as it is a Right inherent in the Legi&s;la|tive Power among Men. So that it is an inva&s;ion of his Right to fa&s;ten a &s;en&s;e upon his declar'd Will, which doth not naturally flow from the words: for to put any interpretation according to our plea&s;ure upon divine as well as humane Laws, contrary to the true intent, is a virtual U&s;urpation of this Power; be|cau&s;e if Laws may be interpreted ac|cording to our humours, the Power of the Law would be more in the Inter|preter than in the Legi&s;lator. And it is the wor&s;e when Men try the Word not by their Rea&s;ons, but by their Fan|cies and Humours, and put Allegories, the Brats of crazy or humorous Fancy, as the genuine meaning of the Word of God.</P>
<P N="5"><MILESTONE N="5"> 5ly. <HI>In judging future Events,</HI> as if we had been of God's Privy-Council
<PB N="99" REF="55"> when he fir&s;t undertook any great Acti|on in the World.</P>
<P N="6"><MILESTONE N="6"> 6thly. <HI>In cen&s;uring others &s;tate.</HI> 'Tis an intruding into God's Judicial Autho|rity. Who hath <HI>made me a judge?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 12.14.</NOTE> was Chri&s;t's Plea. Who art thou that judge&s;t another's &s;tate, as though thou wert Lord of the heart of thy Brother, and God had given over his juri&s;diction over the heart to thee; as though he were to &s;tand or fall to thy Cen&s;ure?</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. <HI>Enmity to the Holine&s;s of God.</HI></P>
<P>This hating his Holine&s;s, is a virtual depriving him of his Being: For if he did not infinitely hate evil, he would not be infinitely good, and con&s;equent|ly would not be God. God can never endure &s;in, no not to <HI>look upon it;</HI> and to cheri&s;h that, which is &s;o contrary to his purity, is a denial of his Holine&s;s. <HI>Hab.</HI> 1.13. <HI>Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, thou can&s;t not look on ini|quity.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="1"> Fir&s;t, <HI>In &s;inning under a pretence of Re|ligion.</HI></P>
<PB N="100" REF="56">
<P>Many re&s;olve upon &s;ome ways of wickedne&s;s, and then rake the Scrip|ture to find out, at lea&s;t Excu&s;es and Eva&s;ions for it, if not a ju&s;tification for their Crimes. This was the Devil's method to Chri&s;t, to bring Scripture for Self-murther. <HI>Saul</HI> re&s;olves not to obey God, but would pre&s;erve the Spoils of the <HI>Amalekites,</HI> and then thinks to qualify all, with offering a few Sacrifices; as though God's Holi|ne&s;s would not hate Sin, that had a re|ligious pretext.</P>
<P>Many that have wrung E&s;tates from the tears of Widows, and heart-blood of Orphans, think to wipe off all their oppre&s;&s;ion by &s;ome charitable Legacies at their death.</P>
<P>'Tis abominable to make Charity, the tran&s;cript of God's goodne&s;s, a covert for Sin; and Religion, which is to bring us near to God, to patronize our Ty|ranny.</P>
<P>When men will &s;peak wickedly, and talk <HI>deceitfully for God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Job 13.7.</NOTE> i. e. will &s;in for God's glory, and make the honour of his Service a &s;talking-Hor&s;e to the af|front of his Holine&s;s.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="101" REF="56"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. In <HI>charging Sin upon God.</HI></P>
<P>Every man naturally is willing to find the inducement to &s;in in another, rather than in him&s;elf. This is an act of hatred, to be&s;pot the Reputation of others by imputing our Crimes to them, and accu&s;ing them as the Authors or occa&s;ions of our Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions. 'Tis an act of fear, which is the companion of hatred; if men can make God a Sinner again&s;t his own Law, they blemi&s;h his Holine&s;s, they think they are &s;ecure from the puni&s;hment they did dread.<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Manton <HI>on</HI> James, <HI>p.</HI> 92.</NOTE> For we fear not man, who is faulty as well as our &s;elves. When men have done all that they can to blot out a &s;en&s;e of a Deity, and &s;ee they cannot do it, they will raze out the reverence of it. And if we find a way to lay our Sins at God's door, when he chargeth them up|on us, we think then to e&s;cape the rigor of his Ju&s;tice, and that he cannot be unrighteous to puni&s;h us for tho&s;e Crimes which he is guilty of as well as our &s;elves. But it is a fooli&s;h con&s;ide|ration; for if we can fancy an unholy God, we have no rea&s;on to think him a
<PB N="102" REF="57"> righ|teous God. That you may &s;ee that this very thing which looks &s;o horrible, runs in our blood, take notice of the two fir&s;t Di&s;cour&s;es God had with Man after his Fall, and they will both di&s;cover this.</P>
<P>When God examines <HI>Adam</HI> about his Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, he excu&s;eth him&s;elf by laying it upon God, <HI>Gen.</HI> 3.12. <HI>The woman whom thou gave&s;t me to be with me, &s;he gave me of the tree, and I did eat.</HI> Had&s;t thou not given me the Woman, I had not been tempted; and had I not been tempted, I had not &s;inned: And this Sin was committed pre&s;ently after the Woman was given me, as if thou had&s;t given me this Woman to be my immediate Tempter; and infus'd &s;uch a love in my heart to her, that it could not re&s;i&s;t her Allurements. For he &s;eems by the Speech to intimate, that God gave him the Woman on purpo&s;e to draw him into &s;in. The next is <HI>Cain;</HI> &s;ome think <HI>Cain</HI> here lays the fault up|on God, <HI>Gen.</HI> 4.9. <HI>Am I my brother's keeper?</HI> as if he &s;hould have &s;aid, Art not thou the Keeper and Gover|nor of the World, why did&s;t not
<PB N="103" REF="57"> thou hinder me from killing my Bro|ther?</P>
<P><HI>David,</HI> a holy man, follows him in tho&s;e &s;teps, and charges a Sin of his own contrivance upon the Providence of God; when the news of <HI>&V;riah</HI>'s death was brought, he wipes his mouth, and &s;aith, <HI>The &s;word devours one as well as another.</HI> He fa&s;tens that &s;olely on the Divine Providence, which was his own wicked contrivance, 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 11.25.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3dly. <HI>In hating the image of God's ho|line&s;s in others.</HI></P>
<P>The more holy any man is, and the more active in the &s;evere&s;t Duties of Religion, the more is he the Object of the Scoffs of others; and not only barkt at by tipling Drunkards on the Ale-bench, but by formal and grave Judges on the Seat of Ju&s;tice. <HI>David,</HI> though a King, who&s;e Example might have been pow|erful to have brought them to an out|ward pretended love to holine&s;s, was &s;poke again&s;t by them that &s;ate in the Gate, and was the Song of the Drun|kards, and that when he wept, and cha|&s;tis'd his Soul with fa&s;ting, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 69.10, 11, 12.</P>
<PB N="104" REF="58">
<P>Hence nothing is &s;o burthen&s;ome as the pre&s;ence of a &s;ober religious Per&s;on, becau&s;e of that image of God's holine&s;s &s;hining in him, which &s;trikes &s;o full up|on his Soul, and &s;ets his heart on work in checking and griping reflections. Now Holine&s;s being the glory of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 15.11. Joh. 17.11.</NOTE> the peculiar title of the Deity, and from him deriv'd upon the Soul, he that mocks this in a Per&s;on, derides God him&s;elf. He that hates the Picture of a Prince, hates the Prince al&s;o, and much more were he in his power. He that hates the Stream, hates the Fountain: He that hates the Beams, hates the Sun. The holine&s;s of a Crea|ture is but a beam from that infinite Sun, a &s;tream from that eternal Fountain. If a mixed and imperfect holine&s;s be more the &s;ubject of thy &s;coffs, than a great deal of &s;in, &s;urely thou woulde&s;t more roundly &s;coff at God him&s;elf, &s;hould he appear in the unblemi&s;hed and un&s;pot|ted holine&s;s of his Nature, which infi|nitely &s;hines in him: For thy hatred would be greater, becau&s;e thy contra|riety is &s;o much more again&s;t the per|fection of holine&s;s, than where it is
<PB N="105" REF="58"> with a mixture. Where there is a ha|tred of the purity and perfection of any Creature, there is a greater reflection upon God, who is the Author of that Purity.</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4thly. <HI>In having deba&s;ing notions of the holy nature of God.</HI></P>
<P>We invert the Creation contrary to God's order in it; God made Man ac|cording to his own Image, and we make God according to ours. We fa&s;hion God like our &s;elves, and fa&s;ten our own humours upon him, as the <HI>La|cedemonians</HI> were wont to dre&s;s their gods after the fa&s;hion of their Cities. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 40.21.</P>
<P>Though men are enemies to the holy Maje&s;ty of God, yet they can plea&s;e them&s;elves well enough with him as re|pre&s;ented by that Idea their corrupt minds have fram'd of him. We can|not comprehend God; if we could, we &s;hould be infinite, not finite; and be|cau&s;e we cannot comprehend him, we &s;et up in our fancies &s;trange images of him, and &s;o ungod God in our heart and affections.</P>
<P N="1"><PB N="106" REF="59"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>This is an higher affront to God than we imagine.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Vulgi opinionis diis applicare prophanum e&s;t.</HI> Epicurus. <HI>De Deo mal&egrave; &s;entir&egrave; qu&agrave;m Deum e&s;&s;e negare pejus duco.</HI></P>
<P>'Tis wor&s;e to degrade the Nature of God in our conceits, and to make him a vicious God, than if in our thoughts we did quite di&s;card any &s;uch Being; for 'tis not &s;o gro&s;s a Crime to deny his Being, as to fancy him otherwi&s;e than he is; &s;uch imaginations &s;trip him of his Perfections, and make him a God of Clouts.</P>
<P><HI>Plutarch</HI> &s;aith, he &s;hould account him&s;elf le&s;s wrong'd by that man that &s;hould deny there ever was &s;uch a man as <HI>Plutarch,</HI> than that he &s;hould affirm, there was &s;uch a man indeed, but he was a cholerick Clown, a decrepit Fel|low, a debauch'd Man, and an igno|rant Fool.</P>
<P>This was the general Cen&s;ure of the Heathen, That Super&s;tition was far wor&s;e than Athei&s;m, by how much the le&s;s evil it was to have no opinion of God, than &s;uch as is vile, wicked, derogato|ry
<PB N="107" REF="59"> to the pure and holy Nature of the Divine Maje&s;ty.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>Carnal imaginations of God, as well as corporeal images, are Idolatry.</HI></P>
<P>'Tis a que&s;tion, which Idolatry is the greate&s;t, to wor&s;hip an Image of Wood or Stone, or to entertain mon&s;trous imaginations of God. It provokes a man when we liken him to &s;ome infe|rior Creature, and call him a Dog, or Toad; 'tis not &s;uch an affront to a man to call him a Creature of &s;uch a low Rank and Cla&s;&s;is, as to &s;quare and mo|del the Perfections of the great God ac|cording to our limited Capacities. We do wor&s;e than the Heathen (of whom the Apo&s;tle proclaim'd) did in their Images, they likened the glory of God to &s;uch Creatures as were of the lowe&s;t form in the Creation. We liken God not to corruptible man, but to corrupt man, and wor&s;e yet, to the very corrup|tions of men, and wor&s;hip a God dre&s;&s;ed up according to our own fooli&s;h fancies; Rom. 1.23. <HI>And chang'd the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like
<PB N="108" REF="60"> to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed bea&s;ts, and creeping things.</HI></P>
<P>If all tho&s;e &s;everal Conceptions and Ideas men have of God, were uncas'd, and di&s;cover'd, what a mon&s;trous thing would God appear to be, according to the modes the imaginative Faculty frames them in?</P>
<P N="5"><MILESTONE N="5"> 5thly. <HI>In our unworthy and perfuncto|ry addre&s;&s;es to God.</HI></P>
<P>When men come into the pre&s;ence of God with lu&s;ts wreaking in their hearts, and leap from &s;in to duty. God is &s;o holy, that were our Services the mo&s;t refin'd,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jo&s;h. 24.19.</NOTE> and as pure as tho&s;e of the Angels, yet we could not &s;erve him &s;uitably to his holy Nature: Therefore we deny this holine&s;s, when we come before him without due preparation, as if God did not de&s;erve the pure&s;t thoughts in our applications to him; or as if a blemi&s;hed and polluted Sacri|fice were &s;uitable enough to his Na|ture.</P>
<P>When we excite not tho&s;e elevated frames of &s;pirit, which are due to his greatne&s;s, and fulne&s;s, and think to put
<PB N="109" REF="60"> him off with cheap and &s;potted Servi|ces, we &s;light the holy Maje&s;ty of God, and are guilty of a higher Pre|&s;umption than is fitting for us in our ac|ce&s;s to an Earthly Prince.</P>
<P>We wor&s;hip him not according to the excellent Holine&s;s of his Nature, when we have fooli&s;h imaginations creep upon us in the very act of Duty, which makes our Services erroneous, and mi&s;guided. When we bring our worldly, carnal, debauch'd thoughts in|to his pre&s;ence, wor&s;e than the Dogs or dirty Slaves we would blu&s;h to be at|tended by in our Vi&s;its of a Great Man. When our hearts are turned from God in any Duty; while we are &s;peaking with our Creator, to be in our hearts conver&s;ing with our &s;ordid Sen&s;ualities; 'tis as if we &s;hould be raking in a Dung|hill when we are talking with a King. We do here but defame his Holine&s;s while we pretend to honour it; and prophane his Name, while we are pray|ing <HI>Hallow'd be thy Name.</HI> It would ar|gue more Mode&s;ty, though le&s;s Since|rity, to &s;ay to our Lu&s;ts as <HI>Abraham</HI> to his Servant, <HI>Tarry here, till I go to &s;a|crifice.</HI></P>
<P N="6"><PB N="110" REF="61"><MILESTONE N="6"> 6thly. <HI>In defacing the Image of God in our own &s;ouls.</HI></P>
<P>God in the fir&s;t draught of Man, con|formed him to his own Image; becau&s;e we find that in Regeneration this Image is renew'd, <HI>Eph.</HI> 4.24. <HI>The new man, which after God,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>is created in righteou&s;ne&s;s and true holine&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>He did not take Angels for his Pattern in his fir&s;t poli&s;hing the Soul, but him|&s;elf. In defacing this Image therefore we ca&s;t dirt upon the Holine&s;s of God, which was his Pattern in the framing of us: And rather chu&s;e to be conform'd to Satan, who is God's great Enemy, and to have God's Image wip'd out of us, and the Devil's pictur'd in us. There|fore natural men, that are guilty of gro&s;s &s;ins, are called <HI>Devils, Joh.</HI> 6.70. 'Tis &s;poken of <HI>Judas:</HI> Chri&s;t gave it to <HI>Peter</HI> too, <HI>Matth.</HI> 16.23. And if he give this Title to one of the wor&s;t of men, and one of the be&s;t of men, it will be no wrong to give it to all men. Men wallow in &s;in, which is directly contrary to that illu&s;trious Image which God did imprint upon them; and per|form
<PB N="111" REF="61"> tho&s;e actions which are odious to God and his Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and &s;uitable to their Corruption.</P>
<P>Men <HI>glory</HI> in that which is their <HI>&s;hame;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 3.19.</NOTE> and account that their Ornament which is the greate&s;t Blot upon their Nature, which if it were upon God would make him cea&s;e to be God.</P>
<P N="3">3dly. <HI>Enmity to the Wi&s;dom of God.</HI></P>
<P>Pre&s;umptuous &s;ins are called a Re|proach of God; <HI>Numb.</HI> 15.30. <HI>The &s;oul that doth ought pre&s;umptuou&s;ly, the &s;ame reproaches the Lord.</HI> All Reproaches are either for Natural, Moral, or Intel|lectual Defects: All Reproaches of God mu&s;t be either for Wickedne&s;s, or Weak|ne&s;s; if for Wickedne&s;s, his Holine&s;s is deni'd; if for Weakne&s;s, his Wi&s;dom is blemi&s;hed.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>In &s;lighting the Laws of God.</HI></P>
<P>Since God hath no defect in his Un|der&s;tanding, his Will mu&s;t be the be&s;t and wi&s;e&s;t, and therefore his Laws highly rational, as being the Orders of the wi&s;e&s;t Agent. As God's Under|&s;tanding apprehends all things in their
<PB N="112" REF="62"> true rea&s;on, &s;o his Will enjoins nothing but what is highly good, and makes for the happine&s;s of his Creature; the true means of who&s;e happine&s;s he under|&s;tands better than Men or Angels can do.</P>
<P>All Laws, though they are enforced by Sovereignty, yet they are, or ought to be, in the compo&s;ing of them, found|ed upon Rea&s;on, and are indeed Appli|cations of the Law of Nature upon this or that particular Emergency. The Laws of God then, who is <HI>&s;umma ratio,</HI> are purely founded upon the true&s;t rea|&s;on, though every one of them may not be &s;o clear to us: Therefore they that make alteration in his Precepts, ei|ther dogmatically or practically, con|troul his Wi&s;dom, and charge him with Folly. When men will ob&s;erve one part of his Law, and not another; pick and chu&s;e where they plea&s;e, hence it is that Sinners are called Fools in Scripture. 'Tis certainly inexcu&s;able Folly, to con|tradict undeniable and infallible Wi&s;|dom. If Infinite Prudence hath framed the Law, why is not every part of it ob&s;erved? If it were not made with
<PB N="113" REF="62"> the be&s;t Wi&s;dom, why is any thing of it ob&s;erved?</P>
<P>He that receives the Promi&s;es of God, and the Te&s;timony of Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 3.33.</NOTE> <HI>&s;ets to his &s;eal, That God is true.</HI> It mu&s;t thence undeniably follow, that he that refu&s;eth obedience to his Law, &s;ets to his Seal, That God is fooli&s;h.</P>
<P>Men live as though the Commands of God were made in Sport, not by Coun&s;el. If God took Coun&s;el in the making man, there is as much need of Coun&s;el in the right ordering him.</P>
<P>If the defacing his Image by any Sin is a defaming his Wi&s;dom in the Crea|tion, the breaking his Law is a di&s;gra|cing his Wi&s;dom in the Admini&s;tration. Were they not rational, God would not enjoin them; and if they are ratio|nal, we are enemies to Infinite Wi&s;dom by not complying with them.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. <HI>In defacing the wi&s;e workman&s;hip of God.</HI></P>
<P>Every &s;in is a defacing our own &s;ouls; which as they are the prime Creatures in the &s;en&s;ible World, had greater Characters of God's Wi&s;dom
<PB N="114" REF="63"> in the Fabrick of them. But this Image of God is ruin'd and broken by Sin.</P>
<P>Though the &s;poiling of it be a &s;corn of his Holine&s;s, it's al&s;o an affront to his Wi&s;dom; becau&s;e though his Power was the cau&s;e of the production of &s;o fair a Being, yet his Wi&s;dom was the guide of his Power, as well as his Ho|line&s;s the Exemplar whereby he wrought it. If a man had a curious Clock or Watch, which had co&s;t him many years pains, and the &s;trength of his skill to frame; for a man after he had &s;een and con&s;idered it, to cut, &s;la&s;h, and break all, would argue a contempt of the Workman's skill. God hath &s;hown Infinite Art in the Creation of man, but &s;in unbeautifies man, and be|reaves him of his Excellency.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3dly. <HI>Cen&s;uring his ways.</HI></P>
<P>What is our impatience at any pa&s;&s;a|ges of his Providence, but a cen&s;uring his dealing with us as unju&s;t or unwi&s;e; as if we would pre&s;ume to in&s;truct him better in the management of human Affairs. 'Tis to take upon us to be God's
<PB N="115" REF="63"> Judges, to cite him to our Tribunal to give an account of his admini&s;tration of things. 'Tis a reviling him becau&s;e he doth manage things according to his own Will, and not according to ours: 'Tis a &s;triving with God, and a &s;um|moning him to the Bar of our Rea&s;on, I&s;a. 45.9, 10. <HI>Wo to him that &s;trives with his Maker: Shall the clay &s;ay to him that fa&s;hion'd it, What make&s;t thou?</HI> To quarrel with him, and examine him about his works, why he made them thus, and not thus; 'Tis a reproaching of God, a <HI>contending with him, to in|&s;truct him.</HI> Job 40.2 <HI>Shall he that con|tendeth with the Almighty in&s;truct him? he that reproves God, let him an&s;wer it.</HI> A Reproof argues a Superiority in Au|thority, Knowledge, or Goodne&s;s. 'Tis a playing <HI>Ab&s;alom</HI>'s game; Oh that I were King in <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> I would do this and that man Ju&s;tice: So that it is a virtual wi&s;hing, Oh that I were King of the World, the Governor of all Creatures, things &s;hould be di&s;pos'd more wi&s;ely, and more ju&s;tly.</P>
<P N="4"><PB N="116" REF="64"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4thly. <HI>Pre&s;cribing Rules and Methods to God.</HI></P>
<P>We pre&s;ume to be God's Tutors, and would &s;way him according to the di|ctates of our Wi&s;dom; When we would have a Mercy in this Method which God de&s;igns to convey through another Channel; When we would have him take his mea&s;ures from our hu|mours: This was the ground of <HI>Jonah</HI>'s Argument with God, <HI>Jonah</HI> 3.10. <HI>Jo|nah</HI> 4.1. <HI>It di&s;plea&s;ed Jonah exceedingly;</HI> and <HI>he was very angry.</HI></P>
<P>When we make Vows to flatter God into a compliance with our de&s;igns; when we pray imperiou&s;ly for any thing without a due Submi&s;&s;ion to God's Will; as if we were his Coun&s;ellors, and he were bound to follow our hu|mours. Thus would the mo&s;t glorious of Virgins and Mothers pre&s;cribe to Chri&s;t a Rule for his miraculous action, <HI>Luke</HI> 2.48. His Mother &s;aid unto him, <HI>Son, why ha&s;t thou thus dealt with us?</HI> So <HI>John</HI> 2.3, 4.</P>
<P>The <HI>Jews</HI> who nail'd him to the Cro&s;s, offer'd to believe on him, if he
<PB N="117" REF="64"> would &s;ubmit to their terms, and grati|fy their curio&s;ity in de&s;cending from the Cro&s;s they had fixed him to. Are not mo&s;t men <HI>Jews</HI> in this, to pre&s;cribe terms to God, upon the grant whereof he &s;hall have our &s;ervice of believing in him. As if a Child &s;hould appoint Rules for his Father, or a crazy headed Patient to his Phy&s;ician; would it not be an injury to their prudence and skill? This pre&s;umptuous humour is a helli&s;h offence. <HI>Abraham</HI> a&s;&s;erts the way of God's appointment by <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and the Prophets, to be the be&s;t way for bring|ing men to Repentance and Salvation, but the Rich man prefers his own Judg|ment, and would have him &s;end one from the dead to preach to them. <HI>Luke</HI> 16.27, 28, 29, 30. <HI>Abraham</HI> &s;aith unto him, <HI>They have Mo&s;es and the Prophets;</HI> and he &s;aid, <HI>Nay, father Abraham.</HI></P>
<P>We deal often thus with God, as though we were his Coun&s;ellors, not his Subjects.</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4thly. <HI>Enmity to the Sufficiency of God.</HI></P>
<P>The preferring any &s;in before God, is a denial of the fulne&s;s of Content to
<PB N="118" REF="65"> be had in the enjoyment of God; as though God were inferior to a ba&s;e Lu&s;t, and that a vile Plea&s;ure had a better re|li&s;h than the Communications of God to the Soul. For when God de&s;cribes what plea&s;ure and peace there is in his ways, what fulne&s;s of joy in his Pre|&s;ence; what is the refu&s;al of it but equivalent to this language of the &s;in|ner; No, I will believe no &s;uch thing; there is more happine&s;s to be had in Sin than in God? and &s;o he values a Va|pour, an empty Bubble, more than In|finite Fulne&s;s. The greater is the Scorn of God's Sufficiency, by how much the more ignoble, bruti&s;h, and contempti|ble the Plea&s;ure is we prefer before him.</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1&s;t. <HI>In &s;ecret thoughts of meriting by any Religious Act.</HI></P>
<P>As though God could be indebted to us, and obliged by us. As though our Devotions could bring a ble&s;&s;edne&s;s to God more than he e&s;&s;entially hath; when indeed <HI>our goodne&s;s extends not to him,</HI> P&s;al. 16.2. Our Services of God are rather &s;ervices to our &s;elves, and bring a happine&s;s to us, not to God.
<PB N="119" REF="65"> This &s;ecret opinion of Merit (though di&s;puted again&s;t the Papi&s;ts, yet) is na|tural to man; and this &s;ecret &s;elf-plea|&s;ing, when we have performed any du|ty, and upon that account expect &s;ome fair compen&s;ation from God, as having been profitable to him.</P>
<P>God intimates this, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 50.11, 12. <HI>The wild bea&s;ts of the field are mine; if I were hungry I would not tell thee; for the world is mine, and the fulne&s;s thereof.</HI> He implies, that they wrong'd his Infinite Fulne&s;s, by thinking that he &s;tood in need of their Sacrifices and Services, and that he was beholden to them for their Adoration of him. All Merit im|plies a moral or natural In&s;ufficiency in the Per&s;on of whom we merit, and our doing &s;omething for him, which he could not, or at lea&s;t &s;o well do for him|&s;elf. 'Tis implied in our murmuring at God's dealing with us in a cour&s;e of cro&s;s Providences, wherein men think they have de&s;erv'd better at the hands of God by their &s;ervice, than to be &s;o. ca&s;t a&s;ide and degraded by him. In our Pro&s;perity we are apt to have &s;ecret thoughts that our Enjoyments were the
<PB N="120" REF="66"> Debts God owed us, rather than Gifts freely be&s;tow'd upon us. Hence it is that men are more unwilling to part with their Righteou&s;ne&s;s than with their Sins, and are apt to challenge Salvation as a Due, rather than beg it as an Act of Grace.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. <HI>Trying all ways of helping our &s;elves, before we come to God.</HI></P>
<P>Having hopes to find That in Crea|tures, which is only to be found in an All-&s;ufficient God.</P>
<P>When we rather &s;eek an Alms from the World than God, as though there were &s;ome hidden Excellency in the World, which over-topp'd the Excel|lency of God. When we would rather drink of Ci&s;terns than of the Fountain; as though the Waters in the Ci&s;tern were fre&s;her and &s;weeter than tho&s;e in the Spring.</P>
<P>Hence it is that upon any Emergen|cy we &s;et our own Rea&s;on on work, be|fore we crave the A&s;&s;i&s;tance of God's Power; and &s;carce &s;eek him, till we have modell'd the whole Contrivance in our own Brains, and re&s;olv'd upon
<PB N="121" REF="66"> the methods of performance; as though there were not a fulne&s;s of rea&s;on in God to guide us in our Re&s;olves, as well as power to breathe &s;ucce&s;s upon them, <HI>Prov.</HI> 20.25. <HI>After vows to make enquiry,</HI> after Re&s;olutions to beg direction in our bu&s;ine&s;s.</P>
<P>Sometimes men &s;eek out unlawful ways for their delivery, as though there were more &s;ufficiency of help in Sin, than in God.</P>
<P>Did we believe, and love the Suffici|ency of God, that is able to &s;upply our wants, we &s;hould not upon every &s;trait be turn'd from him, and beg help at the door of Creatures.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3dly. <HI>In our Apo&s;tacies from God.</HI></P>
<P>When after fair Pretences and devout Applications, we grow cold, and thru&s;t him from us, it implies, that God hath not that fulne&s;s in him which we ex|pected. Back&s;liding te&s;tifies, that there is not that &s;weetne&s;s, and &s;atisfactori|ne&s;s in God, which we expected upon our fir&s;t approach to him. All apo&s;ta|cy is a denial of God; for it denies him either to be a fountain of all good, or
<PB N="122" REF="67"> el&s;e that he is not true to his Promi&s;es, but deceives us in our ju&s;t expectations of good from him. It either &s;peaks him evil, or deceitful; 'tis a greater affront to deny him after an experience of his &s;weetne&s;s, and a&s;&s;i&s;tance, than to deny him before any dealing with him, or trial of him. Now though all apo&s;ta|cy begins in a neglect, yet it quickly ripens into a hatred.</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4thly. <HI>In joining &s;ome thing with God to make up our happine&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>Though men are willing to have the enjoyment of God, yet they are not con|tent with him alone, but would have &s;omething el&s;e to eke him out; as though God, who accounts the enjoy|ment of him&s;elf the greate&s;t ble&s;&s;edne&s;s, had not al&s;o in him&s;elf a &s;ufficient ble&s;|&s;edne&s;s for his Creatures, without the addition of any thing el&s;e.</P>
<P>The Young man in the Go&s;pel went away &s;orrowful, becau&s;e he could not enjoy God and the World both toge|gether, <HI>Matth.</HI> 19.21, 22.</P>
<P>If we would light up Candles in a clear day, when the Sun &s;hines in its
<PB N="123" REF="67"> full brightne&s;s, what do we imply, but that the Sun hath not light enough in it &s;elf to make it day? And when we labour for other things with as much &s;trength and eagerne&s;s, as we labour for the enjoyment of God, what is it, but to deny that there is enough in him without the concurrence of &s;ome other good?</P>
<P N="5"><MILESTONE N="5"> 5thly. <HI>Again&s;t the Omni&s;cience of God.</HI></P>
<P>Men hate God's Omni&s;cience, and could willingly have him &s;tript of this Eminency. For men naturally love not tho&s;e that dive into their Purpo&s;es, and canva&s;s their Thoughts; &s;o neither can men love this Attribute of God, where|by he enters into the &s;ecret clo&s;ets of their heart, and takes an exact mea&s;ure of every wicked and &s;ubtile Contri|vance.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t Speech that <HI>Adam</HI> &s;pake in Paradi&s;e after his Fall, infring'd God's Omni&s;cience, <HI>Gen.</HI> 3.10. <HI>I heard thy voice in the garden, and I hid my, &s;elf.</HI> As if the Trees could &s;helter him from that Eye that &s;aw the minute&s;t part of the whole Earth.</P>
<PB N="124" REF="68">
<P>The next Speech recorded of the &s;e|cond man, <HI>Cain,</HI> is to the &s;ame purpo&s;e; when God put the que&s;tion to him, <HI>Where is thy brother?</HI> Gen. 4.9. <HI>I know not;</HI> thinking thereby to delude God's Omni&s;ciency. He that practically de|nies God's Omni&s;ciency, denies his Godhead: For a man may as well de|ny that there is a Sun, as deny that it &s;hines, and di&s;per&s;eth its light and influ|ence into every corner. <HI>See more of this in the Di&s;cour&s;e of God's Omnipre&s;ence.</HI></P>
<P>This appears,</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>When we commit &s;in upon the ground of &s;ecre&s;y.</HI></P>
<P>If all hearts, &s;urely then all places are open to God's Eye; no private Bench for a Drunkard, or &s;ecret Stew for an Adulterer, but is obvious to him. Common Mode&s;ty before man, is not practi&s;ed before God: Men are a&s;ha|med to have their actions &s;een by man's eye, but not by God's. <HI>Maxima debetur pueris reverentia.</HI> Filthy actions cannot endure the pre&s;ence of a Child's eye, much le&s;s of man's. Shall the pre|&s;ence of a Child have more power over
<PB N="125" REF="68"> us than the pre&s;ence of God; and mens ob&s;erving, more than God's cen&s;uring Eye? Is not this a denial of him, when the Eye of God is of le&s;s force to re|&s;train thee, than the eye of man; as if men only could &s;ee, and God were blind? All the &s;in thou committe&s;t be|fore the eye of the holie&s;t man in the world, cannot make him hate thee &s;o much as God hates thee; becau&s;e his Holine&s;s is infinitely &s;hort of God's Ho|line&s;s, and con&s;equently his Hatred is infinitely &s;hort of God's</P>
<P>'Tis an aggravation of a man's &s;in, to be committed in the pre&s;ence of God. <HI>Gen.</HI> 10.9. A mighty Hunter <HI>before the Lord.</HI> As it was of <HI>Haman</HI>'s Offence, when he lay upon <HI>E&s;ther</HI>'s Bed, That he would force the Queen <HI>before the King's face.</HI> It &s;eems to be <HI>David</HI>'s conceit in his Sin, That God would not &s;ee him, both by <HI>Nathan</HI>'s charge, 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 2.19. Wherefore ha&s;t thou de&s;pi&s;ed the Com|mandment of the Lord, <HI>to do evil in his &s;ight?</HI> and by his own confe&s;&s;ion, P&s;al. 51.4. <HI>This evil have I done in thy &s;ight.</HI> Every Penitent takes notice of the Wrong he doth to God's All-&s;eeing
<PB N="126" REF="69"> Eye. It's a high provocation for a Ser|vant to do ill when his Ma&s;ter's Eye is upon him, or a Thief to cut a Pur&s;e be|fore the Judge's face. God ob&s;erves all Wickedne&s;s; Wickedne&s;s under Lock and Key. If he doth regi&s;ter all thy Members in his Book, he will al&s;o regi|&s;ter the &s;ins of tho&s;e Members, what u&s;e thou putte&s;t them to, whether to his Service, or the Devil's Drudgery; whether thy Eye rove about in wanton Glances, or thy Tongue be let loo&s;e in prophane Language, or thy Ear open to ungodly Di&s;cour&s;e, or thy Feet more &s;wift to carry thee to an Alehou&s;e than a Sermon.</P>
<P>It was once a Check a Young man gave to a Harlot, who had enticed him, and carried him from one Room to ano|ther for &s;ecre&s;y; Oh, &s;aith he, can none &s;ee us here? Can we be hid from God's Eye?</P>
<P>Yet &s;inners in their practice make their boa&s;t, as they, <HI>Job</HI> 22.14. in ex|pre&s;s words, <HI>Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he &s;ees not, and he walks in the circuit of heaven:</HI> As though God's Eye could not pierce the thick Clouds; as
<PB N="127" REF="69"> though his Cares were confin'd only to Cele&s;tial things, and Earth were too low an Orb for his Eyes to roul about. If we think a word in the pre&s;ence of a grave religious man may di&s;grace us, we are troubled in our minds; but we regard not an Injury done to God. We are more ca&s;t down, if a fooli&s;h action of ours comes to the knowledge of men, than to the knowledge of God.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. <HI>When men give liberty to inward &s;ins.</HI></P>
<P>God doth often &s;et forth him&s;elf by that expre&s;&s;ion, That he <HI>trieth the heart, and &s;earcheth the reins.</HI> The heart hath man Valves and Ventricles, but God &s;earches all the Valves, which cannot be e&s;pied and di&s;cerned but by a curious eye. God &s;ees all the Contrivances of it.</P>
<P>The Reins are partly hid, mo&s;t in|ward, &s;urrounded with Fat. The mo&s;t inward thoughts cannot be hid from God's piercing Eye, for all is open be|fore him, like di&s;&s;ected Sacrifices when the Bowels are ript up, and all the In|wards di&s;covered.</P>
<PB N="128" REF="70">
<P>God is more within the Soul of a Creature, than any one hidden thought can be, and knows it before the heart that mints it hath a full di&s;covery of it. What do the actings of Sin in our Fan|cies import, but as though God's eye could not pierce into the remotene&s;s and darkne&s;s of our minds?</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Kings 21.4.</NOTE><HI>Mana&s;&s;eh</HI> is blam'd for &s;etting up &s;trange Altars in the Hou&s;e of God; much more may we for &s;etting up &s;trange Imaginations in the heart, which &s;hould belong to God.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 2.16.</NOTE> This is to deny God's Judicial Prerogative; this is the Attribute which &s;peaks him fit to be a Judge, and yet men can po&s;&s;e&s;s their hearts with this, That he is de|fective in this Attribute, and &s;o make him uncapable of judging the World. Hypocri&s;y is a plain denial of this Om|ni&s;ciency. When men have a Religious Lip, and a black Soul; an out&s;ide &s;wept and garni&s;hed, and a Legion of Devils gari&s;on'd within. This derogates from God, as though his Eye were as ea&s;ily deceived as mens, and an outward ap|pearance limited God's Ob&s;ervation. Are we not more &s;light in the perfor|mance
<PB N="129" REF="70"> of private Devotions before God, than we are in our Attendances in pub|lick in the &s;ight of men.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3dly. <HI>When men give way to diver&s;ions</HI> in <HI>a Duty,</HI> it is a denial of God's Om|ni&s;cience. Love is the cau&s;e of fixed|ne&s;s. The Angels have a pure affecti|on to God, and therefore they have an uninterrupted attention in his Pre&s;ence. If thou thinke&s;t God doth not mind thee, why do&s;t thou pray at all? If thou thinke&s;t he doth mind thee, why do&s;t thou not pray more fervently, fixedly, and hear more attentively? This atten|tion doth con&s;i&s;t in the frame of the Soul; for bodily Exerci&s;e is requir'd for our &s;akes, not for God's. Ge&s;ture and Speech are to quicken our affecti|ons. Chri&s;t hath given us a &s;hort Pat|tern of Prayer, and can our hearts be &s;teady upon God in the repetition of it? Duties are Vi&s;its we pay to God; would it not be an Affront, if when we were to vi&s;it a Prince, we &s;hould &s;end a noy|&s;om rotten Carka&s;s in our &s;tead? Do we not deal &s;o with God, when we come without our heart, as though
<PB N="130" REF="71"> God were ignorant, and could be put off with any thing, the wor&s;t in our <HI>Flocks,</HI> as well as the be&s;t.</P>
<P>It wrongs the Maje&s;ty of God's Pre|&s;ence, that when he &s;peaks to us, we will not give him &s;o much Re&s;pect as to regard him; and when we &s;peak to him, we do not regard our &s;elves. What a vain thing is it, to be &s;peaking to a Scullion when the King is in pre|&s;ence? Every carele&s;s diver&s;ion to a vain Object, is a denial of God's pre|&s;ence in the place.</P>
<P>'Tis a wrong to God's Excellency, that when we come to God for what we count &s;weet and de&s;irable, we pre|&s;ently turn our backs, as though our addre&s;s were an act of imprudence and folly; as much as to &s;ay, There is no &s;weetne&s;s in him, no beauty that we &s;hould de&s;ire him.</P>
<P N="6"><MILESTONE N="6"> 6thly. Enmity to <HI>the Mercy of God.</HI></P>
<P>God is not wronged more in any At|tribute by Devils and Men, than in his Mercy. Man would deprive God of the honour of his own Bowels; of the Objects of Mercy; when God's Mercy
<PB N="131" REF="71"> to others comes in competition with his Self-love and Credit. <HI>Jonas</HI> his Pride would null the Goodne&s;s of God. With what an unrea&s;onable Pa&s;&s;ion doth he fly in the face of God, for re|prieving the humbled <HI>Ninivites?</HI> he would rather have had his own Credit pre&s;erv'd in the de&s;truction of them ac|cording to his Prediction, than God's tenderne&s;s magnified in their Pre&s;erva|tion.</P>
<P>Some fancy a God made up altoge|ther of Mercy, a Childi&s;h Mercy; as if his Mercy had nothing el&s;e to do, but to wrong all his other Perfections; to make him bely his Truth, extingui&s;h his Ju&s;tice, di&s;card his Wi&s;dom, and en&s;lave his Power. This appears,</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>In the &s;evere and jealous thoughts men have of God.</HI></P>
<P>Men are apt to charge God with Ty|ranny, whereby they &s;trip him of the Riches of his glorious Mercy. The Devil's de&s;ign at fir&s;t was to bely God to man, that he might have hard and contracted thoughts of God, to think him &s;trait-handed towards his Creature.
<PB N="132" REF="72"> Therefore he is call'd a <HI>Liar from the be|ginning,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 8.44.</NOTE> in urging man to misbelieve his Creator to be an unju&s;t, hard, and cruel Ma&s;ter, and that envied him Comforts nece&s;&s;ary for him; which frightful thoughts of the Deity have haunted man ever &s;ince. If man in Creation was &s;o ready to entertain Jea|lou&s;ies of God, man in Corruption, with the load of Guilt upon him, is much more prone.</P>
<P>The Heathens (by the Devil's in&s;ti|gation), as the <HI>Indians,</HI> have their No|tions, That Mercy flows not naturally from God, but mu&s;t be wre&s;ted by a multitude of Services; that he will do nothing without the Bribe of a Sacri|fice; which they offer, le&s;t he &s;hould hurt them. As if God only created men, to make &s;port with their mi&s;ery: As if God had no other de&s;ign in the Creation, than to load his Creatures with Chains, and govern that World by Tyranny, which he made by an Ef|flux of powerful Goodne&s;s. The Wor|&s;hip of many men is founded upon this conceit, whereby they are frighted into &s;ome actions of Adoration, not &s;weetly
<PB N="133" REF="72"> drawn. This repre&s;entation of God doth deba&s;e the Soul, and fills it with that tyranical pa&s;&s;ion of Fear, which is alway accompanied with Hatred; for we hate what we fear. Thus the De|vil accu&s;eth God to troubled Con&s;cien|ces, per&s;uading them that his Bowels are &s;trait, that he hath no Mercy for them, that &s;o he may drive them to de|&s;pair. This he attain'd in <HI>Cain,</HI> who cries in de&s;pair, <HI>My puni&s;hment is great|er than I can bear;</HI> i. e. my &s;in is great|er than can be pardon'd, <HI>Gen.</HI> 4.13.</P>
<P>When any Soul is like to be &s;natcht out of Satan's hands, he makes it inter|pret tho&s;e acts wherein God means fa|vour, to be acts of Enmity.</P>
<P>So that the main work God hath to do after Conviction, is to per&s;uade the Soul to have good thoughts of him. Hence doth ari&s;e that unwillingne&s;s in the Soul to come to God. How can we approach to him, of whom we have &s;uch narrow thoughts, and judge of according to our own revengeful hu|mours? How can we do otherwi&s;e but hate him, when we repre&s;ent him as one ea&s;ily angry, hardly appeas'd, of
<PB N="134" REF="73"> a cruel nature; a <HI>Minos,</HI> a <HI>Rhadaman|thus,</HI> or <HI>Phalary,</HI> rather than an Infi|nite Mirror of Sweetne&s;s and Love. If we do not think him &s;o, why do we &s;tand off from him? Hence ari&s;eth our wrong con&s;tructions of Providence, and &s;ini&s;ter interpretations of God's acts; when we attribute to God &s;uch ends as have no other foundation but our own fooli&s;h Fancy.</P>
<P>Thus <HI>Manoah</HI> interprets the Angel's coming, which was an act of God's kindne&s;s to him, to be an ill-meant Pro|vidence, <HI>Judg.</HI> 13.22.</P>
<P>Now as it is the quality of Love to think no evil, &s;o it is the property of Hatred to think all evil. And as when a man hates Sin, he cannot endure any varni&s;h of an Excu&s;e to be put upon it, and cannot &s;peak or think too bad of it; &s;o when a man hates God, he cannot endure to have a good glo&s;s put upon his actions.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. <HI>Slighting his Mercy, and robbing him of the end of it.</HI></P>
<P>The wilful breaking of a Prince's Laws, upon the ob&s;ervance whereof
<PB N="135" REF="73"> great Rewards are promi&s;ed, is not on|ly a de&s;pi&s;ing his Sovereignty, but a &s;lighting his Goodne&s;s, in the Rewards proffer'd to the Ob&s;ervers. Rebels that &s;tand it out again&s;t Proclamations of Pardon, do what in them lies to de|prive the Prince of any Objects to &s;how his Clemency on. So ob&s;tinate Sinners again&s;t Mercy would as far as they are able, deprive God of any &s;ubject to magnify his Mercy on, e&s;pecially when they do not only &s;tand it out again&s;t &s;o gracious Proffers of God, but draw in others to take up Arms again&s;t him: Every &s;in in this re&s;pect is a &s;tealing the glory of this Attribute from God, in de|nying him that Tribute of Obedience which is due to him for it. Often this Enmity ri&s;eth higher; and whereas men &s;hould <HI>fear</HI> him, becau&s;e he is rea|dy to forgive, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 130.4. they rather &s;light him, and pre&s;ume to &s;in, becau&s;e he hath mercy to pardon. And &s;o make that which &s;hould cheri&s;h their Obe|dience, to be a Spur to their Rebellion; and encourage their future Offences by that Goodne&s;s which &s;hould excite a Fear and holy Awe of him in their
<PB N="136" REF="74"> Souls. Becau&s;e God is gracious, men will be more vicious; hence they are &s;aid to <HI>de&s;pi&s;e his goodne&s;s,</HI> Rom. 2.4. And that Patience which &s;hould teach them Repentance, inflames their Ha|tred, and in this humour they turn Grace it &s;elf into Wantonne&s;s.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccl. 8.11.</NOTE></P>
<P N="7"><MILESTONE N="7"> 7thly. Enmity <HI>to the Ju&s;tice of God.</HI></P>
<P>When men wi&s;h there were no God, they wi&s;h this at lea&s;t, that God were uncloath'd of tho&s;e Perfections which are aver&s;e and dreadful to their guilty Con&s;ciences: Scarce a man but hath flattering Fancies, that God is not &s;o terrible as he is repre&s;ented.</P>
<P>This appears,</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>In not fearing it, but running under the la&s;h of it.</HI> Sin is an act of Rebelli|on, and Rebels fear not the Ju&s;tice, or el&s;e hope to overcome the Power of their Superior. Would not men be afraid to &s;pit in the face of Heaven, did they really believe there was a God who was ju&s;t and righteous, and would not let any &s;in go unpuni&s;hed? The Pro|phet &s;peaks of &s;ome that had <HI>wearied God</HI>
<PB N="137" REF="74"> with their Sins, and <HI>made him &s;erve</HI> with their Iniquities, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 43.24. as if God were bound to endure their evil Carriage again&s;t him with patience, and never to un&s;heath the Sword of his Ju&s;tice.</P>
<P>How often are men upon this account &s;aid to have a rocky Heart, and iron Si|news, that will neither be broken, nor bent? Are not the <HI>Bel&s;hazzars</HI> of the World merry, though the hand-writing be upon the Wall again&s;t them.</P>
<P>Thus men commit &s;in with <HI>greedine&s;s,</HI> and are <HI>pa&s;t feeling,</HI> Eph. 4.19. daring the Ju&s;tice of God, and without any &s;en&s;e of revenge due to &s;in; and &s;ay, To morrow &s;hall be as this day, and much more abundant. Nay, I dare aver, that if a man who had been &s;corcht in Hell, &s;hould again enjoy his wonted Plea&s;ures, and have all the while a fre&s;h remembrance of his late Torments, were not his Will chang'd by a powerful grace, he would &s;tand it out as &s;tiffly again&s;t God as ever, notwith&s;tanding tho&s;e terrible marks of Wrath, and be without a holy fear of that Ju&s;tice which he had felt.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="138" REF="75"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. <HI>Sinning under the &s;trokes of Ju&s;tice.</HI></P>
<P>Men will not turn to God that &s;mites them, though they have hypocritical howlings upon their Beds under God's &s;troke, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 7.13, 14. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 9.13. They will roar under the &s;troke, but not &s;ub|mit to the Striker. 'Tis the Witch of <HI>Endor,</HI> or the God of <HI>Ekron</HI> &s;hall have their Addre&s;&s;es, and not the God of Heaven.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3dly. <HI>In hoping ea&s;ily to evade it.</HI></P>
<P>There are &s;ometimes &s;ecret thoughts, that a man is able to maintain him&s;elf again&s;t all the force God can u&s;e; which the Apo&s;tle implies, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.22. <HI>Are we &s;tronger than he?</HI> Do we think to try it out at Arms length with God? Sin implies a ma&s;tering God's all-powerful Ju&s;tice. Sometimes men will argue for Impiety from their pre&s;ent impunity; and becau&s;e <HI>he keeps &s;ilence,</HI> think that he will not publi&s;h a condemning Sen|tence, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 50.21. And becau&s;e God forbears, think that he hath forgotten to puni&s;h, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 10.11. <HI>God hath for|gotten.</HI></P>
<PB N="139" REF="75">
<P>Sometimes we fancy God like to our &s;elves, mutable with every Wind, as &s;oon appeas'd as angry; either unable to re&s;i&s;t the force of our Prayers, or ea|&s;ily enticed by our good words and prai&s;es of him, as though he were to be flatter'd out of his ju&s;t Anger, his holy and righteous Nature, <HI>P&s;al</HI> 78.36. <HI>They flatter'd him with their mouth.</HI> As if he needed our Trifles, and Rattles, as Children do, to appea&s;e them. Or might be wrought upon as the poor <HI>In|dians,</HI> to give the Gold of Heaven for a few Beads.</P>
<P>They fancy him a God of Wax, whom they can bend at their plea&s;ure; either &s;o weak, that he cannot, or of &s;o &s;oft a di&s;po&s;ition, that he will not be reveng'd of Sin; and that a few &s;ighs will blow away a &s;torm of Wrath. Hence men invent ways of plea&s;ing God after they have offended him; and think to ex|piate the &s;in of their Soul, by the offer|ing their Sub&s;tance, or pre&s;enting &s;ome melancholy Devotions, or inflicting &s;ome Self-cha&s;ti&s;ements. As if God were to be brib'd by the Blood of a Lamb, or Goat, or by &s;ome &s;uper&s;titious and for|mal
<PB N="140" REF="76"> Services, to change his provoked Ju&s;tice into an ea&s;y Clemency.</P>
<P N="8"><MILESTONE N="8"> 8thly. <HI>Enmity to the truth of God.</HI></P>
<P>Mo&s;t men live upon tru&s;t for their knowledge, and know far more by the relation, and upon the credit of others, than upon certain demon&s;trations; as that there are &s;uch Places as <HI>China, Peru, Mexico.</HI> And why are men &s;o backward in believing God, &s;peaking in his Word? 'Tis clear hereby, that men have not &s;o great an enmity again&s;t one another, as they have again&s;t God.</P>
<P>This appears,</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>In not believing his Threatnings.</HI></P>
<P>Men believe not either the matter, or &s;udden execution of them. Our Faith is more operative upon Reports from Men, than Revelations from God. Men will believe Stories of Danger, &s;o as to avoid the Places wherein they may be liable to it. Yet though God tells them what the i&s;&s;ue of Sin will be, how cer|tainly it will de&s;troy them, they will walk on in their own way. Men look upon Hell as a painted Fire, upon the
<PB N="141" REF="76"> Threatnings as Scarecrows, without a Sting, and are not &s;o much affected with them, as at the reading of a Tragedy. Would men be &s;o &s;tupid, as not to &s;tir out of the fire, if they did really believe God were true? they are apt to fear others that threaten inferior puni&s;h|ments, and not to fear God who threa|tens everla&s;ting Woe. But think to find mercy in the way of Sin, though God a&s;&s;ures them to the contrary. How &s;oon did the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> lo&s;e the &s;en&s;e of the Thunder, which terrified them when the Law was given? Like tho&s;e Spunges that Thunder will pa&s;s through. Such are &s;ecure Per&s;ons through whom the thunder of God's Threatnings will pa&s;s, without doing any hurt.<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 66.2.</NOTE> A contrite heart trembles at the Word, becau&s;e he acknowledges it to be true; whereas a proud heart is like an unmoved Rock, that is not daunted at God's Threat|nings, as imagining them to be fal&s;e. If a man doth at fir&s;t believe them, yet if God delays the execution of them, he thinks they were in je&s;t with him, and takes delays for denials, <HI>Luke</HI> 12.45. <HI>My Ma&s;ter delays his coming.</HI> This tem|per
<PB N="142" REF="77"> is call'd a belying of God, <HI>Jer.</HI> 5.12. <HI>'Tis not he, this evil &s;hall not come upon us.</HI></P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. <HI>His Promi&s;es.</HI></P>
<P>Man is more prone to believe God's Promi&s;es, than Threatnings, becau&s;e men are naturally credulous of that which makes for their intere&s;t; there|fore God made the <HI>Jews</HI> to &s;ay <HI>Amen</HI> to the Cur&s;es, <HI>Deut.</HI> 27.26. Not to the Ble&s;&s;ings, <HI>Deut.</HI> 28. becau&s;e they were ready to &s;light Threatnings, and &s;natch at Promi&s;es. But yet even his words of Grace are not credited by men; hence it is, that they are not allur'd by his gracious Proffers, which would work upon men, if they really believ'd that God intended as he &s;pake. All the un|belief in the World gives God the lie; the greate&s;t indignity among the Sons of Men, 1 <HI>Joh.</HI> 5.10. <HI>He that believes not God, hath made him a liar.</HI> We be|lieve the Promi&s;es of a Man, that is a lie, as the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> &s;peaks, and hath deceiv'd us; and rely upon a vain Creature that fails, rather than upon the true and li|ving God. Like the fooli&s;h <HI>Indians,</HI> part with the Gold of God's Promi&s;es
<PB N="143" REF="77"> for Gla&s;s and Ribbons, brittle and gaudy things. Pre&s;ent things do more affect us, than future. It was the pre|&s;ent World <HI>Demas</HI> lov'd more than a future Crown, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4.10. Sen&s;ible Trifles are e&s;teemed more valuable than invi&s;ible and eternal Excellency. Men look upon Heaven as a Poet's <HI>Elizi|um,</HI> a Dream and Fancy, and the pro|mi&s;e of Chri&s;t's coming to be the great|e&s;t fal&s;hood, 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3, 4. <HI>Where is the promi&s;e of his coming?</HI> 'Tis an under|valuing God's Veracity, to be led by Sen&s;e, a bruti&s;h Principle; rather than by God, who is Truth it &s;elf. Our fol|lowing the Dictates of Natural Rea&s;on again&s;t Revelation, is not &s;o derogatory, as the making Sen&s;e our Guide.</P>
<P N="9"><MILESTONE N="9"> 9thly. <HI>Enmity to his Providence.</HI></P>
<P>By denying his Truth, we deny his Providence: For as the crediting the truth of one another, keeps up com|merce in the World; &s;o the Veracity of God on his part, and the Sincerity of Man, keep up an entercour&s;e be|tween God and the World. Some have thought God a &s;leepy God, as though he
<PB N="144" REF="78"> never cared how the World moved, &s;o he might re&s;t, <HI>Zeph.</HI> 1.12. Some thought it below God's Maje&s;ty to mind &s;ubluna|ry things, as though it were more un|worthy for God to govern them, than it was to create them. This appears,</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>In a&s;cribing his Works to &s;econd Cau&s;es.</HI></P>
<P>When we look upon &s;econd Cau&s;es as the Authors of Benefits we enjoy, and attribute to them what is due to God, and a&s;cribe them to blind Chance, or to the dexterity of our own Wit, and thither return our Thank-offerings, <HI>Hab.</HI> 1.16. <HI>They &s;acrifice unto their net, and burn incen&s;e to their drag.</HI> Deifying the Creature, the In&s;trument, without any, or a formal regard to the chief Actor. In Cha&s;ti&s;ements we look not upon Sin as the meritorious, or God as the efficient Cau&s;e. Thus <HI>Balaam</HI> &s;purr'd on his A&s;s, and never con&s;ider'd the Angel that &s;tood in the way. Many regard In&s;truments, and never con&s;ider God, who doth all the Evil in the City; and thus rob God both of the honour of his Mercies, and the Obedience requir'd both by him and his Cha&s;ti&s;ements.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="145" REF="78"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. <HI>In the offence we take, and the re&s;i&s;tance we make to his Providences if they cro&s;s our will.</HI></P>
<P>Sometimes men will charge the Pro|vidence of God in times of Affliction, That he is unju&s;t towards them, and in|flicts Puni&s;hments when they de&s;erve Rewards; therefore the Spirit of God gives it as the commendation of <HI>Job,</HI> that <HI>in all this,</HI> i. e. in tho&s;e ma|ny Afflictions, he did <HI>not charge God fooli&s;hly,</HI> Job 1.22. a prai&s;e &s;carce to be given to any man in the World. We are apt to murmur, as if God were bound to take care of us, and act all for our good, and neglect the whole World be&s;ides; or as though it were fitter for him to govern according to our fooli&s;h Wills, than his own wi&s;e and righteous Will. Sometimes men will oppo&s;e the De&s;igns of his Provi|dence.</P>
<P>The <HI>Gadarenes</HI> are &s;o &s;tartled at the lo&s;s of&punc; their Swine,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 8.31.</NOTE> that with a joint con&s;ent they de&s;ire Chri&s;t to depart from their Coa&s;ts, having no mind to entertain his Per&s;on or his Doctrine,
<PB N="146" REF="79"> when they &s;hould rather have been mo|ved by his miraculous Power and his Preaching, to have enquired into the Go&s;pel which he preached. When the carnal Intere&s;t of mens Grandeur is &s;truck at, they will quarrel at the pow|erful ways of God, <HI>Acts</HI> 5.16, 17. The High Prie&s;ts and Sadduces were fill'd with indignation at the Apo&s;tles Mira|cles, which had rea&s;on enough to con|vince them, had they not had too much malice to with&s;tand them. In&s;tead of &s;ubmitting to the Rod, we rage again&s;t God, when he is correcting us; and like Chaff, flye in the face of him that fans us. Not like Children, &s;ubmitting to a Father; but like Rebels, denying his Superiority over us.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3dly. <HI>In our mi&s;interpretations of Pro|vidence.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Shimei</HI> mi&s;interpreted the Providence of God, when <HI>David</HI> fled from <HI>Jeru&s;a|lem</HI> upon his Son <HI>Ab&s;alom</HI>'s Rebellion. Oh, &s;aith he, now God will revenge the Hou&s;e of <HI>Saul,</HI> 2 Sam. 16.7, 8.</P>
<P>We will put interpretations upon God's Acts according to our Fancies,
<PB N="147" REF="79"> Humours and Wi&s;hes; therefore the Spirit of God takes particular notice, that <HI>Shimei</HI> was of the Hou&s;e of <HI>Saul,</HI> and therefore according to his own hu|mour accounted this a puni&s;hment, for his outing the Hou&s;e of <HI>Saul</HI> from the Government. This is a high u&s;urpation of God's Prerogative, who is the be&s;t Interpreter of his own Acts, as well as his Laws.</P>
<P N="10"><MILESTONE N="10"> 10thly. <HI>Enmity to his Content and Plea&s;ure.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>In his Nature.</HI></P>
<P>Such an enmity there is in Sin, that it &s;trives to make a confu&s;ion in God him&s;elf, a war in his very Nature: For Sin put God to his infinite Wi&s;dom to &s;atisfy all the Perfections of his Nature. If he &s;par'd the Sinner, how could he be ju&s;t? if he de&s;troy'd him, how could he be merciful? What Wit of Men or An|gels could contrive a way to compo&s;e tho&s;e Attributes, and make Truth and Righteou&s;ne&s;s, Mercy and Ju&s;tice, to ki&s;s each other, and &s;till tho&s;e Jars which Sin endeavour'd to make betwen them?</P>
<PB N="148" REF="80">
<P>If Ju&s;tice &s;hould have its full due, what would become of the Creature? If Mercy &s;hould only act its part, what would become of the Righteou&s;ne&s;s of God's Nature? If the Creature &s;hould be damn'd by the Severity of Ju&s;tice, Mercy might &s;it weeping for want of Objects, unle&s;s new ones were created. If Mercy &s;hould have its contentment in the impunity of the Sinner, Righteou&s;|ne&s;s and Truth might bewail the want of a due Satisfaction. The heart of Mercy would be broken, if Sin were puni&s;hed; and the cry of Ju&s;tice would be perpe|tual, unle&s;s the Sinner fell under his own demerits. That &s;urely is the greate&s;t Enemy, that endeavours to &s;et divi&s;ion in a man's own Family, and Nature.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. <HI>In his Works.</HI></P>
<P>Men endeavour to di&s;appoint God of his Glory, the end of his Creation, and the tendere&s;t Jewel he re&s;erves for his own u&s;e, and will not impart to ano|ther. God created all things for him&s;elf, and Man by turning them to another u&s;e, evidenceth, that he would not let God have the plea&s;ure of his own Works, or
<PB N="149" REF="80"> the Rent due to him for them. Sin made him repent that ever he put his hand to the framing that World, which after the Creation he had pronounced good;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen 6.6, 7.</NOTE> and made God be griev'd at his own Creatures, which with &s;o much Wi&s;dom he made, and &s;o much delight acquie&s;ced in. God requires no more of Man for all his Benefits, but a Service, and they deny him this, and endeavour to make him weary of his life, as if we &s;tudied how we could mo&s;t vex and di&s;|quiet him, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 16.43. Thou ha&s;t <HI>fretted me in all tho&s;e things.</HI></P>
<P>God created the World to have a Ser|vice from his rational Creatures, and yet their Services naturally, as well as their Sins, are a trouble to him, and tire him, that he is ready to &s;hake the World in pieces, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 1.14. <HI>Your ap|pointed fea&s;ts my &s;oul hateth, I am weary to bear them, they are a trouble to me;</HI> &s;o that he can have no ea&s;e but in the Acts of Vengeance, <HI>V.</HI> 24. <HI>Ah, I will ea&s;e me of my adver&s;aries, and avenge me of my enemies.</HI></P>
<P>God created the World, not for any need he had of it, but to communicate
<PB N="150" REF="81"> his own goodne&s;s, and made Man as a choice Ve&s;&s;el to receive it; but Man &s;hrinks his Soul, that goodne&s;s cannot enter upon him, and &s;o endeavours to fru&s;trate God of this End. Can there be a greater contempt, than to deny God the &s;atisfaction of his own Works?</P>
<P>Now to &s;um up all that hath been &s;aid. Suppo&s;e, if it were po&s;&s;ible, that there were another God to judge, or an indifferent Per&s;on to judge between God and Men of this World, and had a Copy of all the Laws and Promi&s;es, Records of all God's dealings, would he not judge by the practice of Men, that God was &s;ome cruel <HI>Pharoah,</HI> that notwith&s;tanding all his fair words and promi&s;es, minded nothing but the de|&s;truction of his Creature; and that Man had &s;ome high provocations from God, to act &s;o again&s;t the Laws of Goodne&s;s, and Propo&s;als of eminent Rewards? That God had no Excellency to make him de&s;irable, but that he were the mo&s;t de&s;picable, contemptible, unwor|thy Being in the whole World. All the Actions and Practices of Men te&s;tify thus much, that he is a weak, impure,
<PB N="151" REF="81"> cruel, fal&s;e, empty, &s;hallow, incon&s;i|derable Being, and one that hath no Au|thority over him; a Pattern not fit to be imitated, one that hath been injuri|ous to him, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> An indifferent Per&s;on, that had no knowledge of God, view|ing his Laws, would have a high opi|nion of him; but again con&s;idering the Practices of his Creatures, he could not but think that &s;ome great provocation was offer'd by God to Men; that he was full of di&s;&s;imulation; he could not otherwi&s;e think that there &s;hould be &s;o general a defection from him.</P>
<P>But to declare this Enmity further, it will be evident, by con&s;idering what enmity there is again&s;t all that comes from him; both the Truths he reveals, and the Duties he enjoins.</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>Enmity again&s;t his Truths.</HI></P>
<P>Hating In&s;truction is a part of A|thei&s;m, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 50.17. <HI>Seeing thou hate&s;t in&s;truction, and ca&s;te&s;t my words behind thee.</HI> God complains in <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 8.12. that the mo&s;t excellent things were account|ed as a &s;trange thing. God had given
<PB N="152" REF="82"> them the great things of his Law, and they e&s;teemed them not.</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>In mens loathne&s;s to believe any Di|vine Truth; or to meditate upon it.</HI></P>
<P>Men &s;hun the thoughts of what they do not love; if we will not let Truth in, which is a Me&s;&s;age from Heaven, it is a &s;ign we care not for the Per&s;on from whom it comes.</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>'Tis hard to believe Moral or Divine Truths.</HI></P>
<P>Becau&s;e they are again&s;t the intere&s;ts of our Lu&s;ts, and would eject tho&s;e Principles which have got &s;o firm foot|ing in our Minds and Affections, and would bring them into &s;uch a reform'd Cour&s;e, which our Minds by a&s;s'd by &s;uch Principles, do exceedingly hate: Whereas Natural or Mathematical Ve|rities are readily credited, and kindly entertain'd, becau&s;e they thwart not our Principles, as the others do.</P>
<P>The more divine and &s;piritual the Object is, the more unwilling we are to clo&s;e with it: And by how much the nearer any notion of truth is to God,
<PB N="153" REF="82"> and the more clearly repre&s;enting him, the more aver&s;e are we from it. And if men are enemies to that truth which doth mo&s;t clearly di&s;cover God, and his mind, and cannot endure the thoughts of it, much le&s;s can they endure the thoughts of God him&s;elf. They are loth to entertain any thing that may di&s;quiet them.</P>
<P>Chri&s;t de&s;cribes this Humour, as it was in <HI>Noah</HI>'s time, and as it will be towards the end of the World:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 24.38, 39.</NOTE> They were eating and drinking, as though the World were their own, and loth to think of a Deluge; and at the latter end men will as hardly believe the burn|ing, as they did then the drowning of the World.</P>
<P>The <HI>Phari&s;ees</HI> derided the &s;ounde&s;t Doctrine, <HI>Luke</HI> 16.14. They derided him, <HI>&s;ub&s;annarunt;</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, they blew their No&s;es at him in contempt, when he declaim'd again&s;t their Cove|tou&s;ne&s;s.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. <HI>If the Word lays hold upon a man, he endeavours to &s;hake it off,</HI> as a Man would a Serjeant, which comes to
<PB N="154" REF="83"> arre&s;t him. Men <HI>like not to retain God in their knowledge,</HI> Rom. 1.28. If any Truth pre&s;&s;eth in upon them, they turn it away, as Men do importunate Beg|gars; We have nothing for you; Do not trouble us, we have no Alms to be&s;tow upon you: And the rea&s;on is, becau&s;e Men having abortivated and deadned all tho&s;e reliques and natural infu&s;ions of God in their Soul, any live|ly Truth and Apprehen&s;ions of him proves mo&s;t un&s;avoury: As Wine and Strong waters, which have lo&s;t their na|tural Spirit, become mo&s;t ungrateful and unplea&s;ant to the Stomach; &s;o tho&s;e innate impre&s;&s;ions of God which are &s;o refre&s;hing to a good Man, they do what they can to &s;hake off or taint them, by mingling with them their own corrupt Notions; and when they cannot, they are fill'd with an irreligious rancour again&s;t God. Men keep the Truths that ri&s;e up in them&s;elves for convicti|on and in&s;truction, in unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, and quench the motions of the Ble&s;&s;ed Spirit, killing them in the Womb. Have not Men often had &s;ecret Wi&s;hes, that the Scripture had never mention'd
<PB N="155" REF="83"> &s;ome Truths, or that they were blotted out of the Bible, becau&s;e they face their Con&s;ciences, damp their Plea&s;ures, and cool their boiling Lu&s;ts, which el&s;e they would with eagerne&s;s and delight pur&s;ue.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3ly. When Men cannot &s;hake off a Truth, but it &s;ticks fa&s;t in them, yet <HI>they have no plea&s;ure in the con&s;ideration of it.</HI></P>
<P>Which would be if there were a love to God: for Men love to read over the Letters which are &s;ent by them to whom they have an affection, and &s;tick them up, or peru&s;e them afterwards at their lei&s;ure. And it was an unclean Bea&s;t that did not chew the Cud under the Law; &s;o it is a corrupt Heart that doth not chew Truth by Meditation. Hence a natural Man is &s;aid <HI>not to know</HI> the Things of God; for while he is in|clin'd to a &s;en&s;ual life, he can have no delight in &s;piritual things, for Sen&s;ua|lity hinders the Operations of his Soul about the choice&s;t Objects.</P>
<P>Natural Men may indeed meditate on a Truth, but they do not delight in
<PB N="156" REF="84"> it; or if they do, it is only as it is Knowledge: for we delight in nothing that we de&s;ire, but upon the &s;ame ac|count that we de&s;ire it. Now Natu|ral Men de&s;ire to know God, and &s;ome Truths; not out of a &s;en&s;e of his Ex|cellency, but from a natural thir&s;t af|ter Knowledge; &s;o that they rejoice in the Act, not in the Object; not to quicken their Affections, as idle Boys &s;trike fire; not to kindle any thing, but plea&s;e them&s;elves with the Sparks: Whereas a gracious Soul accounts not only his Meditation, or the Operation of his Soul about a thing to be &s;weet, but he hath a Spiritual Joy in the Ob|ject of that Meditation. Many have the Knowledge of God, who have no delight in it; as Owls and Batts have Eyes to perceive the Light, but by rea|&s;on of the Weakne&s;s of their Sight have no delight in it to look cheerfully upon it; &s;o neither can a Man by his natu|ral or acquir'd Knowledge delight in God, or love to look upon him, be|cau&s;e of his Corruption.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="157" REF="84"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2ly. In their <HI>Oppo&s;ition to it.</HI></P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>External.</HI></P>
<P>In the fir&s;t dawning of the Go&s;pel, what Oppo&s;ition did the Apo&s;tles meet with? What Per&s;ecutions were rais'd again&s;t them? How did the Carnal World, like Dogs, bark at the &s;hining of the Moon? 'Tis as natural for Man to per&s;ecute the Truth, which is again&s;t the grain, as it is for them to breathe. When <HI>Socrates</HI> upon Natural Principles did confute the Heathen Idolatry, and a&s;&s;erted the Unity of God, the whole Cry of <HI>Athens,</HI> a learn'd Univer&s;ity, is again&s;t him; and becau&s;e he oppos'd the publick receiv'd Religion, he mu&s;t die, <HI>Acts</HI> 13.45. <HI>Contradicting</HI> and <HI>Bla&s;|pheming</HI> are put together; Di&s;putes again&s;t the Word many times ends in Bla&s;phemies.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>Internal.</HI></P>
<P>God's Truths ca&s;t again&s;t a hard Heart, are like Balls thrown again&s;t a Stone-wall, which rebound the further from it; &s;uch a re&s;i&s;tance there is in
<PB N="158" REF="85"> Man, to beat back all the Tenders of Grace. Where the Grace of God comes in any power, it doth accidentally &s;tir up Sin in the Heart; as when the Sun &s;hines upon a noi&s;om Dunghil, it &s;tinks the wor&s;e; not that the Sun commu|nicates any filthine&s;s or pollution to the Dunghil, but by accident in warm|ing it, it makes the &s;tench break forth. Sin, as a Gari&s;on in a City, is up in Arms upon any alarm from its Adver|&s;ary. A Word of God again&s;t the great <HI>Diana</HI> of a man's Lu&s;t, &s;ets the whole Soul in an uproar; Sin follows the &s;teps of its Father the Devil, and en|deavours to brui&s;e the Heel of Truth, which would break the Head of Lu&s;t. Men hate the Truths of God, when they begin to &s;earch and tent their belov'd Corruptions. So <HI>Ahab,</HI> 1 Kings 22.8. <HI>I hate him, for he doth not prophecy good concerning me, but evil.</HI> John 3.19, 20. Le&s;t their <HI>deeds &s;hould be reproved.</HI> As Apes are reported to break the Gla&s;s, becau&s;e they would not &s;ee their own deformity. The Light of Speculation may be plea&s;ant, but the Light of Con|viction is grievous; The Light &s;trikes
<PB N="159" REF="85"> too &s;trongly upon their &s;ore Eyes, and makes them &s;mart.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3ly. If Men do entertain Truth, <HI>'tis not for Truth's &s;ake, but for &s;ome other by end.</HI></P>
<P>Truth is &s;carcely receiv'd as Truth; there is more of Hypocri&s;y than Since|rity in the Pale of the Church: The Dowry makes it more de&s;irable than the Beauty. <HI>Judas</HI> follows Chri&s;t for the Bag. Sometimes Men entertain Truth to &s;atisfy their own Pa&s;&s;ions, ra|ther than upon God's account. The Religion of many is not the Judgment of the Man, but the Pa&s;&s;ion of the Brute. Many rather entertain the Do|ctrine for the Per&s;on's &s;ake, than the Per&s;on for the Doctrine, and believe any thing that comes from a Man they e&s;teem and affect, as if his Lips were as Canonical as Scripture, 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 2.13. You receiv'd it <HI>not as the Word of Men, but as it is in truth the Word of God.</HI> So that many times the very &s;ame Truth deliver'd by another, is di&s;regarded; which when coming from the fancy and mouth of their own Idol, is cried
<PB N="160" REF="86"> up for an Oracle; whenas, alas! it was the Truth of God in the A&s;s's, as well as in the Angel's mouth. And thus they have the Word of God with <HI>re|&s;pect of per&s;ons,</HI> and receive it not for the &s;ake of the Fountain, but of the Channel; and though they entertain the Truth of God materially, yet not formally as his Truth, <HI>James</HI> 2.1 <HI>Have not the faith of Chri&s;t with re&s;pect of per&s;ons.</HI></P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4ly. <HI>If Men do entertain Truth, 'tis with un&s;etled affections, and much mix|ture.</HI></P>
<P>If Men let in &s;ome good Notions of God, they let in al&s;o much of Corrup|tion and Error, like Spunges that can &s;uck up the foule&s;t Water, as well as the &s;weete&s;t Wine; they have the un|clean Bea&s;ts enter into the Ark of their Souls, as well as the clean. There is a great Levity in the Heart of Man. The <HI>Jews</HI> cry <HI>Ho&s;anna</HI> to Chri&s;t one day, and Crucify him the next. They have their Heart open one day for Truth, and the next turn it out of doors. Tho&s;e Truths which are ea&s;y to be
<PB N="161" REF="86"> under&s;tood, are hard to be impre&s;s'd: Our Affections will as &s;oon lo&s;e them, as our Under&s;tandings embrace them. Some were willing to rejoice in <HI>John</HI>'s Light, which gave a Lu&s;tre to their Minds, not in his Heat, which would have given Warmth to their Affections; for <HI>John</HI> was a burning and a &s;hining Light, and they would rejoice in his Light, but not in his Heat, and in that too but for a &s;ea&s;on.</P>
<P>We begin in the Spirit, and end in the fle&s;h. We go from God with af|fections, and quickly grow cold again. Our hearts are like Lute-&s;trings, chang'd with every change of Weather, with every Temptation; and &s;carce one mo|tion of God in a thou&s;and can prevail upon us.</P>
<P N="5"><MILESTONE N="5"> 5thly. <HI>In a carnal Improvement of Truth.</HI></P>
<P>Some endeavour to make Truth &s;ub|&s;ervient to Lu&s;t, and like Spiders draw cur&s;ed Poy&s;on out of the &s;weete&s;t Flowers. As when men hear of God's willingne&s;s to pardon and receive re|penting Sinners, they will argue from
<PB N="162" REF="87"> hence, for deferring their Repentance till they come to dye. So <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 94.7. God's Patience is made a Topick whence to argue again&s;t his Providence. Wicked men father their &s;ins upon God's Word. A Lyar will find his Refuge in the Re|wards God gave the Midwives that lied to <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> for the Pre&s;ervation of the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> Children; and <HI>Rahab</HI>'s lye for pre&s;erving the Spies: Though God rewarded their Fidelity, yet we read not that he approved their Sin. Some will venture into all kind of wicked Company, from Chri&s;t's Example, who conver&s;ed with Sinners; when Chri&s;t companied with Sinners, as a Phy&s;ician with di&s;ea&s;ed Per&s;ons, to cure them, not to approve them; but the&s;e with per&s;ons not to communicate Holi|ne&s;s to them, but receive Infection from them. Thus, like the Devil, we have Scripture at our fingers ends to plead for our Lu&s;ts. As the Sea turns fre&s;h Wa|ter into &s;alt, &s;o a carnal heart turns Di|vine things to carnal ends. As man &s;ubjects the Precepts of God to carnal intere&s;t, &s;o they &s;ubject the Truths of God to carnal Fancies. Make a humo|rous
<PB N="163" REF="87"> and crazy Fancy the Interpreter of Divine Oracles, and not the Spirit &s;peaking in the Word; this is to rifle Truth of its true mind and intent; as it's more to rob a man of his Rea&s;on, the e&s;&s;ential con&s;titutive part of man, than of his E&s;tate.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. <HI>Enmity again&s;t the Duties God doth enjoin,</HI> as well as again&s;t the Truths he doth reveal.</P>
<P>We are not willing to come to God in Duty; which &s;trangene&s;s took date from the beginning of our nature. We were <HI>e&s;tranged from the womb,</HI> P&s;al. 58.3.</P>
<P>I &s;hall in&s;tance in Prayer, which is one of the greate&s;t Duties, and is an immediate &s;peaking to God. And in that Duty wherein there is the greate&s;t intimacy with God, there is the great|e&s;t Aver&s;ion, and con&s;equently an En|mity again&s;t God.</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>&V;nwillingne&s;s to it.</HI></P>
<P>Men cannot endure to give God a Vi&s;it; if they do, it is with &s;uch a dulne&s;s of &s;pirit, as if they wi&s;hed them&s;elves out of his Company; which
<PB N="164" REF="88"> te&s;tifies that men care not for any Cor|re&s;pondence or Friend&s;hip between God and their Souls. Man having an Enmity to true Holine&s;s, hath from thence an Enmity to Prayer, becau&s;e Holine&s;s mu&s;t at lea&s;t be pretended in Prayer, becau&s;e in that Duty there is a real &s;peaking to God, and a Commu|nion with him, unto which Holine&s;s is required. Now as wicked men hate the Truth of Holine&s;s, becau&s;e it is un&s;uitable to them, &s;o they are not Friends to the pretence of it in that du|ty, becau&s;e they mu&s;t for &s;ome &s;pace be diverted from the thoughts of their be|loved Lu&s;ts. I appeal to you, whether you are not more unwilling to practice Prayer in your Clo&s;ets, than to join with others, as if it were a going to the Rack, and rather your Penance than Privilege. If men do come to God, it is a con&s;trained Act, to &s;atisfy Con&s;ci|ence; and &s;uch are rather &s;ervile, than Son-like Performances, and &s;pring from bondage more than affection. If Con|&s;cience like a Taskma&s;ter did not la&s;h them to duty, they would never per|form it. If we do come willingly, it
<PB N="165" REF="88"> is for our own ends, to have &s;ome de|liverance from &s;ome trouble. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 26.16. <HI>In trouble have they vi&s;ited thee; they poured out a prayer when thy cha&s;tning was upon them.</HI> In trouble they will vi|&s;it God; in pro&s;perity he &s;hall &s;carce hear of them. In affliction he finds them kneeling, and in pro&s;perity he finds them kicking. They can pour out a Prayer in di&s;tre&s;s, and &s;carce drop a Prayer when they are delivered. This unwillingne&s;s to addre&s;s to God, what &s;light and low thoughts doth it imply? 'Tis a wrong to his Providence, as tho we &s;tood not in need of his a&s;&s;i&s;tance, but that we can do all our bu&s;ine&s;s our &s;elves.</P>
<P>'Tis a wrong to his Excellency, as though there were no amiablene&s;s in him to make his company de&s;irable. This Enmity is the greater, by how much God's Conde&s;cention is the great|er to admit us into his pre&s;ence. It was a part of the Devils hatred; they were loth to have Chri&s;t pre&s;ent with them. Matth. 8.29. <HI>What have we to do with thee, Je&s;us, thou Son of God?</HI> Men ex|cu&s;e their neglect of private Prayer, by
<PB N="166" REF="89"> their want of opportunity; but indeed they want hearts. We may &s;ooner &s;tep up to Heaven with a holy Ejacu|lation, than &s;tep over the Thre&s;hold about our bu&s;ine&s;s. We naturally de&s;ire acquaintance with the greate&s;t Per&s;ons that may advance our Intere&s;t; but we are ready to bury our Intere&s;t, rather than be acquainted with God.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. <HI>Slightne&s;s in the Duty.</HI></P>
<P>We are loth to come into God's pre|&s;ence, and when we are come, we are loth to keep with him. When men do not their Duty heartily as to the Lord, they look not upon him as their Ma&s;ter, who&s;e Work they ought to do, and who&s;e Honour they ought to aim at.</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>In re&s;pect of time.</HI></P>
<P>Our dulle&s;t and deade&s;t time we think fitte&s;t for God: When &s;leep is ready to clo&s;e our eyes, we think it a fit time to open our hearts. How few Morning Sacrifices hath God from men? They leap out of their Beds to their Plea&s;ures or Worldly Employ|ments, without asking Coun&s;el at
<PB N="167" REF="89"> God's mouth. As men re&s;erve the dregs of their life, their Old Age, to offer up their Souls to God; &s;o they re&s;erve the dregs of the day, their &s;leepy times, for the offering their Service to God.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. <HI>In re&s;pect of frame.</HI></P>
<P>We think any frame will &s;erve God's turn; which certainly &s;peaks our En|mity, and &s;light thoughts we have of him. Man naturally performs duty with an unholy heart, whereby it becomes an abomination to God; <HI>Prov.</HI> 28.9. He that turns away his ear from hear|ing the Law, even <HI>his prayer &s;hall be an abomination.</HI></P>
<P>God calls for our be&s;t Sacrifices, and we give him the wor&s;t, &s;uch which he hates. <HI>Amos</HI> 5.21. <HI>I hate, I de&s;pi&s;e your fea&s;t-days, and I will not &s;mell in your &s;o|lemn a&s;&s;emblies.</HI> They were Duties which God commanded, but he hated them for their evil frames, or corrupt ends. God requires Works of Grace, and we pre&s;ent him not with &s;o much as the Work of Nature, but the Work of Corruption. There is not that natural Vigor which we have in Worldly Bu|&s;ine&s;s:
<PB N="168" REF="90"> You may often ob&s;erve a live|line&s;s in man as to that; but change the &s;cene into a motion towards God, and how &s;uddenly doth this Vigor &s;hrink, and their hearts become &s;luggi&s;h, freeze with coldne&s;s.</P>
<P>Many times we pray as coldly as if we were loth that God &s;hould hear us, and take away that Lu&s;t which Con|&s;cience forceth us to pray again&s;t. How flitting are we in Divine Meditations, how &s;leepy in Spiritual Exerci&s;es? This proceeds from the aver&s;ion of the Soul, and its e&s;trangedne&s;s from God. But in other Exerci&s;es we are active. The Soul doth not awaken it &s;elf, and &s;tir up tho&s;e Animal Spirits in Religious Du|ties, which it will in Bodily Recreati|ons and Sports; whereby it is evident we prefer the latter before any Service to God. Since there is a fulne&s;s of Ani|mal Spirits in us, why might they not be excited in Holy Duties, as well as in Corporal Operations, but that there is a Reluctancy in the Soul to exerci&s;e its Supremacy over them in this ca&s;e?</P>
<P N="3"><PB N="169" REF="90"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3dly. <HI>Wearine&s;s in it.</HI></P>
<P>We are not weary with that dulne&s;s, but in the Duty it &s;elf: Our deadne&s;s &s;hows a di&s;affection, our wearine&s;s &s;hows a greater: We are loth that God &s;hould have &s;o much as a day's &s;ervice from us, or any thing that looks like a &s;ervice. How tired are we in the per|formance of Spiritual Duties, when in the vain triflings of time we have a perpetual motion? How will many force them&s;elves to dance and revel a whole Night, when their hearts will flag and jade at the fir&s;t entrance into a Religious Service. Some in the Pro|phet wi&s;hed the Sabbath over, <HI>Mal.</HI> 1.13. Ye &s;aid al&s;o, Behold <HI>what a wea|rine&s;s it is.</HI> Attendance on him is a wearine&s;s; God had but a poor pollu|ted Service from them, and they were weary of that little they gave him, they grudg'd him that. This unwieldine&s;s in duty is a &s;ign we receive little Satis|faction in God's company, and that there is a great un&s;uitablene&s;s between him and us. When our Joy begins when the Duty ends, it evidenceth that
<PB N="170" REF="91"> there was no affectionate motion to God, but a tir'd and yawning Service. Unwilling Servants &s;tay not long at their Ma&s;ters work, neither are cheer|ful in it. If we did love God, it would be with us as with the Needle towards the Load&s;tone, there would be a &s;peedy motion, and a fixed Union. Saints in Heaven, who&s;e Affections and Judg|ments are perfect, behold the Face of God Five or Six thou&s;and Years toge|ther without wearine&s;s; but we natu|rally are neither willing to come, nor come to &s;tay in his pre&s;ence.</P>
<P>Obj. <HI>Natural men had be&s;t not pray, or meditate at all, if even their Prayers are acts of Enmity.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> Their Prayers are not acts of Enmity, though the natural Enmity be di&s;cover'd in them. In the Male-per|formance of the Duty, there is a denial of his Holine&s;s, but in the total Omi&s;&s;ion there is a denial of his Sovereignty, who commands it as a natural duty; or his Providence, who orders human Affairs; of his Holine&s;s too, and
<PB N="171" REF="91"> Righteou&s;ne&s;s in his Law which en|joins it.</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4thly. <HI>Neglect of expecting An&s;wers.</HI></P>
<P>Men naturally care not for having the Spiritual Mercy they pray for of cour&s;e from God, though they are de&s;irous of any Temporal; for the latter they will endeavour, but leave the other wholly upon God's hands, as if they were care|le&s;s whether they had them or no. They care not whether their Letters come to God's hands or no, and therefore care not much for any returns from him: Whereas if we have any love to a per|&s;on we &s;end to, or value of a thing we &s;end for, we &s;hould expect an An&s;wer every Po&s;t.</P>
<P>The Creature in its Natural In&s;tinct goes beyond &s;uch per&s;ons; for there is an <GAP DESC="foreign">; <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.19. For <HI>the earne&s;t expectation of the creature waits for the manife&s;tation,</HI> &amp;c. Every Crea|ture is in a more waiting po&s;ture than a natural man. 'Tis a &s;ign we do not own God for our Ma&s;ter, or our &s;elves for his Servants, if we do not wait upon him till he &s;hew mercy to us. <HI>P&s;al.</HI>
<PB N="172" REF="92"> 123.2. <HI>As the eyes of &s;ervants look unto the hands of their ma&s;ter, &s;o our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, till he have mercy on us.</HI> It implies that we think God will not hear, or cannot hear, or that we have no need of him, and can do well enough without him; or that Prayer is no effectual means to procure Ble&s;&s;ings: If &s;o, why do&s;t thou pray at all? If it be otherwi&s;e, why do&s;t thou not wait for an An&s;wer? So that there is a di&s;affection in man to the Duty it &s;elf, and to God the Object of it; or to the Subject of it, the thing pray'd for. Whereas tho&s;e that love God, and love the Spiritual Mercy they pray for, watch thereunto with Thanksgiving. Col. 4.2. <HI>Continue in prayer, and watch in the &s;ame with thank&s;giving.</HI></P>
<P>They watch for occa&s;ion of Prai&s;e. As we are to be in a praying po&s;ture, to de&s;ire a Ble&s;&s;ing, &s;o in a waiting po|&s;ture to meet with it. But a natural man doth not love to be beholden to God if he can help it; and if he doth prai&s;e God after any common Mercy received, it may proceed from a natu|ral Ingenuity, or pre&s;ent &s;en&s;e of the
<PB N="173" REF="92"> Mercy it &s;elf, not from any Affection to the Donor: But as for any Spiritual Mercy, as the &s;tirrings of his Affections by any Truth, he is &s;o far from prai&s;ing God for them, that he is troubled at them, and quickly quencheth them.</P>
<P N="5"><MILESTONE N="5"> 5thly. <HI>De&s;ertion of the Duty.</HI></P>
<P>If God doth not an&s;wer us, naturally we ca&s;t off the Duty, and &s;ay with tho&s;e in <HI>Job, Job</HI> 21.15. <HI>What is the Almighty, that we &s;hould &s;erve him? and what profit &s;hould we have, if we pray to him?</HI> They pray not out of Con&s;cience of the Command, but merely for the Profit; and if God makes them wait for it, they will not wait his lei&s;ure, but &s;ollicite him no longer. There are two things expre&s;s'd; That God was not worthy of their Service; and, That the &s;erving of him would not bring them in a good Revenue, or an advan|tage of that kind they expected. 'Tis Intere&s;t draws men on to Prayer; and when that is not advanc'd, they will beg no more; like &s;ome Beggars, if you give them not pre&s;ently upon their asking, from ble&s;&s;ing they turn to cur|&s;ing:
<PB N="174" REF="93"> So do men &s;ecretly do that which <HI>Job</HI>'s Wife advi&s;ed him to do upon his Affliction, <HI>Job</HI> 2.9. <HI>Do&s;t thou &s;till re|tain thy integrity? Cur&s;e God, and dye.</HI> What a &s;tir, and puling, and waiting, and caring is here? Ca&s;t off all &s;ervice, be at Daggers-drawing with God. So <HI>Mal.</HI> 3.14. 'Tis vain to &s;erve God, and <HI>what profit is it that we have kept his or|dinances, or that we have walked mourn|fully before the Lord of ho&s;t.</HI> If they have not the benefits they beg, they think God unrighteous, and doth them wrong to withhold from them the fa|vours they imagine they have de&s;erv'd; and if they have not that recompence when they would, they leave off the &s;erving God any more, as a vain and un|profitable thing. Whereas Love moves upon a &s;en&s;e of Duty, a Natural man that hath an aver&s;ion, moves upon a &s;en&s;e of Intere&s;t. Love is encouraged by An&s;wer, but is not di&s;&s;olv'd by Si|lence; but a Natural man would have God at his beck, and &s;teers his cour&s;e in duty by the outward profit, not by the inward plea&s;ure.</P>
<PB N="175" REF="93">
<P>This Enmity might further be evi|denc'd by,</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>Our Enmity again&s;t Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Many that are <HI>his own, receive him not, John</HI> 1.11. His own by Privileges, to whom he gives Ordinances, and &s;piri|tual meat from his Table; his own by Profe&s;&s;ion, who profe&s;s they have made a Covenant with him, and yet under|hand keep up their ancient Agreement with Hell. Profe&s;&s;ions of Chri&s;t are no demon&s;trations of love to him. We may commend another for his parts and perfections, and yet have a &s;ecret grudge again&s;t him. All the pretended Love unrenewed men have to Chri&s;t, hath no better ground than the <HI>Turks</HI> love to <HI>Mahomet;</HI> for it hath no higher &s;pring than Education; and had their Lot been to be born among them, they would have loved <HI>Mahomet</HI> with as warm a Devotion as now they pretend to love Chri&s;t; for they love him not formally, but they love that which they were brought up in the profe&s;&s;ion of, let it be what it will. This Enmity again&s;t Chri&s;t reflects upon God him&s;elf. Chri&s;t
<PB N="176" REF="94"> tells us often, He was &s;ent by God: An Affront to an Amba&s;&s;ador, is an in|jury to the Maje&s;ty he repre&s;ents.</P>
<P>De&s;pi&s;ing the Emba&s;&s;y of an Angel, is an act of Enmity again&s;t God; much more the de&s;pi&s;ing the Emba&s;&s;y of his own Son.</P>
<P>This is evident in the practices of men.</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>'Tis hard to convince men of the ne|ce&s;&s;ity of Chri&s;t.</HI> You &s;ee what little fruit Chri&s;t him&s;elf had by all his preaching among the <HI>Jews.</HI></P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. When men are convinc'd, <HI>they endeavour to &s;tifle tho&s;e Convictions.</HI> We are as untam'd and unruly Heifers, that will not endure the Yoke: They will break tho&s;e Cords as if they were the mo&s;t formidable evils, and &s;hake them off from them, as if they were Vipers upon their hands.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3dly. When men cannot &s;tifle their Convictions, <HI>yet they are loth to come to Chri&s;t.</HI> John 5.40. <HI>You will not come to me.</HI> They would bring &s;omething of
<PB N="177" REF="94"> their own to him, for they grudge him the Glory of being an entire Saviour; Or if they do come to Chri&s;t, it is for Ea&s;e, not for Holine&s;s: for when their Troubles are ceas'd, they return to their Vomit.</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4ly. If men do come, <HI>it is a re&s;train'd Act.</HI></P>
<P>Men are therefore &s;aid to be drawn, and it is the mighty Power of God to bring them. Did not God overpower the Hearts of his People, but leave them to them&s;elves, they would &s;till &s;tand it out in Rebellion again&s;t God.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2ly. <HI>Enmity to the Saints.</HI></P>
<P>When the Devil found God above his reach, he &s;ets him&s;elf again&s;t the Creatures that were de&s;ign'd more pe|culiarly for his Service. Ju&s;t after we read of Enmity to God in <HI>Adam,</HI> we read of Enmity to the Godly in <HI>Cain.</HI> The <HI>Italians,</HI> when they &s;ay <HI>un Chri&s;ti|ano,</HI> commonly mean a Blockhead; and our common Speech, <HI>a &s;illy Abraham</HI> im|ports no better: It will be &s;o to the World's end. <HI>De&s;pi&s;ers of tho&s;e that are
<PB N="178" REF="95"> good,</HI> are rank'd with tho&s;e that are Enemies to God, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.3. It ari&s;eth from a hatred of Holine&s;s it &s;elf. And it is Enmity to God; for he that would not &s;uffer him to have a holy Servant, would not &s;uffer him to have a holy Throne, a holy Scepter, a holy Crown, a holy Kingdom. If men hate the Chil|dren of Light, they do by con&s;equence hate the Father of Lights. Mr. <HI>Cotton</HI> was convinc'd of his Enmity again&s;t God by his Enmity to the Servants of God.</P>
<P>There are &s;everal Cau&s;es of this Enmity.</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>Di&s;&s;imilitude between God and a natural Man.</HI></P>
<P>As Likene&s;s in Nature and Inclinati|ons is a Cau&s;e of Love, &s;o Di&s;&s;imilitude and Un&s;utablene&s;s is a Cau&s;e of Hatred. Di&s;tance of Manners breeds Alienation of Affection. This Di&s;&s;imilitude de|pends al&s;o upon the Oppo&s;ition between the Law, and the Nature of a Sinner, <HI>Rom.</HI> 7.14. <HI>The Law is &s;piritual, but I am carnal.</HI> Hence proceeds all that act|ing again&s;t it; for the Apo&s;tle &s;aith
<PB N="179" REF="95"> <HI>v.</HI> 15, 16. <HI>I con&s;ent to the law, that it is good;</HI> but my Fle&s;h, which hath a re|pugnancy to it, will not comply with it; the Spiritual Law and the Car|nal Heart do quarrel with one and other.</P>
<P>Di&s;&s;imilitude between God and a na|tural Man is the greate&s;t,</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>In re&s;pect of Nature.</HI></P>
<P>God is infinitely holy, Man corrupt and filthy. Darkne&s;s and Light, Hea|ven and Hell are directly contrary; &s;o is Chri&s;t and <HI>Belial.</HI> Let Engagements be what they will, &s;o long as Men are of different Spirits, they cannot agree. As in regenerate Men this di&s;&s;imilitude works an abhorrency of them&s;elves, as in <HI>Job;</HI> &s;o in natural Men it engenders a di&s;affection to God.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2ly. <HI>In re&s;pect of Ends.</HI></P>
<P>There are in God and Men different Ends. Man's End is to plea&s;e him&s;elf, and &s;atisfy the De&s;ires of the Fle&s;h; God's End is to vindicate his Law, and &s;how him&s;elf the Righteous Governor of the World, which cannot be at|tained
<PB N="180" REF="96"> without a direct Contrariety to the corrupt End of Man.</P>
<P>The remedy then will be, to get a renew'd Nature, the Image of God new-form'd in the Soul.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>Guilt.</HI></P>
<P>Men fly from God out of &s;hame; they con&s;ider the Debts they owe God are great; and naturally Debtors fly from their Creditors, for fear they &s;hould exact or demand any thing of them, <HI>Adam</HI>'s Guilt was rather attended with a flight from him, than with an ap|proach to him. Tho&s;e <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> that de&s;ir'd God no more to &s;peak to them but by <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> were afraid of his Pre|&s;ence too, when his Face &s;hone with an heavenly Splendor. Terror is e&s;&s;ential to Guilt, and Hatred to a perpetual Ter|ror. Their Guilt made them fly from that <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> whom they knew to be their friend, when God had &s;et a &s;ignal mark upon him. When Men cannot di&s;|charge their Judgments of the belief of a &s;trict account, and dreadful Hell, and perpetual Immortality, their Hearts are pierc'd with their Sins like &s;o many
<PB N="181" REF="96"> Darts. As they have a thou&s;and Sins, &s;o they have a thou&s;and Stings; all pointed with God's Wrath, and return'd back with their own Hatred, though it is but the ju&s;t fruit of their own do|ings. The frequency of iniquity con|tracts the more implacable Contrarie|ty to God, and makes them as unca|pable of any Union to God, as of Re|po&s;e in them&s;elves.</P>
<P>The Remedy then is, to labour for Ju&s;tification by the Blood of Chri&s;t, which is only able to remove that Guilt which engenders our Hatred.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3ly. <HI>God's cro&s;&s;ing the de&s;ires and in|tere&s;ts of the Fle&s;h.</HI></P>
<P>Natural qualities encrea&s;e with the re&s;i&s;tance of their Contraries; &s;o doth Sin. The Duties God doth principal|ly love, do mo&s;t of all cro&s;s our Cor|ruptions; and tho&s;e are the Duties we hate mo&s;t. <HI>Sodomites</HI> &s;how mo&s;t di&s;|affection to <HI>Lot,</HI> when he oppo&s;eth them in the Pro&s;ecution of their Lu&s;ts with the Angels, <HI>Gen.</HI> 19.9. <HI>We will deal wor&s;e with thee than with them.</HI> Had God (as well as <HI>Micajah</HI> to <HI>Ahab</HI>)
<PB N="182" REF="97"> &s;poke good to natural Men in their own E&s;teem, and held them up in their Lu&s;t; his Truth would not be &s;o much impri|&s;on'd in unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, but be highly ador'd with men's choice&s;t Affections; but his commanding things according to his own holy Nature, brings into act that habitual Hatred which was before in the Heart. All Hatred doth ari&s;e from an opinion of de&s;tructivene&s;s in the Ob|ject hated. Why do we loath a thing, but becau&s;e we imagine it incon&s;i&s;tent with our Happine&s;s and Wi&s;hes? And a Sinner being po&s;&s;e&s;s'd that his darling Sin is incon&s;i&s;tent with the Holine&s;s of God's Law, hates God for being of a Nature &s;o contrary to that which he loves. The di&s;appointment our cor|rupt Principles find by any Truth of God, exa&s;perates the Heart. The <HI>Jews</HI> expecting an Earthly Grandeur by the <HI>M &s;&s;iah,</HI> and that they &s;hould be made Lords paramount of the World, was the Cau&s;e that they were the more de|&s;perate Enemies to Chri&s;t when they found his de&s;ign to be &s;hort of their Ex|pectations, and that his Humility fa|vour'd not their Pride, and his Meek|ne&s;s
<PB N="183" REF="97"> was not like to rai&s;e him from the Foot&s;tool of the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire to the Throne of the World.</P>
<P>The Remedy then is, To have a high E&s;teem of the Holine&s;s and Wi&s;dom of the Law of God, and the Advantages he aims at for our good in the enjoyn|ing of it. To account it better than thou&s;ands of Gold and Silver. To look upon his Commands as not grievous, 1 <HI>John</HI> 5.3.</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4ly. <HI>Love of Sin.</HI></P>
<P>The greater the Love of Sin, the more mu&s;t be our Hatred of God; becau&s;e the more we love that which hath an E&s;&s;ential Enmity again&s;t God, the more we &s;ignify that it is our chief Good and Happine&s;s, and con&s;equently we mu&s;t hate that which is mo&s;t contrary to it, and would hinder our enjoyment of it: and therefore our hatred of God's Holi|ne&s;s grows up equally with our fond|ne&s;s of Sin.</P>
<P>When by frequent Acts the habitual Nature is &s;trengthen'd, all the Powers of doing contrary is &s;wallow'd up in that habit. Hence it is &s;aid, <HI>the carnal
<PB N="184" REF="98"> mind is enmity to God, i. e.</HI> the &s;en&s;ual mind, when Sen&s;uality hath got the ma&s;tery of the mind, and planted &s;en|&s;ual habits, there is Enmity to God; and it cannot be &s;ubject to the Law of God, becau&s;e that habit wholly acts the mind. Men's Rea&s;ons &s;ide with the Precepts of God, and conclude them to be the way to felicity; but the Law of the Mind is too weak for the power|ful and plea&s;ing Charms of the Fle&s;h, whereby they are drawn into an imagi|nary Paradi&s;e, but a real Captivity. The hating all the Dictates of God our Saviour is put upon this &s;core. Light mu&s;t be odious, when Darkne&s;s is love|ly: God mu&s;t needs be hated, when his Enemy is mo&s;t care&s;s'd. As the Love of God in the Godly is the Cau&s;e that they hate Sin, &s;o the Love of Sin in the Wicked is the Cau&s;e that they hate God. Every Sin being an aver&s;ion from God in its own Nature, and a conver|&s;ion to the Creature, according to the multiplying the Acts of Sin, this aver|&s;ion from God, and conver&s;ion to the Creature, mu&s;t needs be encreas'd; and by how much the more Love we have
<PB N="185" REF="98"> to the Creature, &s;o much the more Love is taken from God.</P>
<P>The Remedy then is, To endeavour for as great a Hatred of Sin as thou ha&s;t of God; to look upon Sin as the great|e&s;t Evil in it &s;elf, the greate&s;t di&s;advan|tage to thy Happine&s;s.</P>
<P N="5"><MILESTONE N="5"> 5ly. <HI>Injury we do to God.</HI></P>
<P>It is proper to Men <HI>Odi&s;&s;e quos lae&s;e|rint;</HI> whereas the per&s;on injur'd might rather hate, yet the per&s;on injuring hath often the greate&s;t di&s;affection. <HI>Jo|&s;eph</HI>'s Mi&s;tre&s;s fir&s;t wrong'd him, and then hated him. <HI>Saul</HI> fir&s;t injur'd <HI>Da|vid,</HI> and then per&s;ecuted him; as if <HI>David</HI> had been the Malefactor, and <HI>Saul</HI> the Innocent. <HI>Italians</HI> have a Pro|verb to this purpo&s;e; <HI>Chifa injuria ne pardonna mai.</HI> The Rea&s;on is, becau&s;e they think the injur'd per&s;on mu&s;t needs hate him; and Love is not an affection due to an Enemy. We have al&s;o &s;u&s;pi|cious thoughts of the per&s;on we have provok'd to be our Enemy. We wrong God, and then we hate him; mea&s;u|ring his Affections by humane Pa&s;&s;ions; and thinking, that becau&s;e we have
<PB N="186" REF="99"> wrong'd him, he mu&s;t needs lay a&s;ide all the Goodne&s;s and Patience of his own Nature, and watch the fir&s;t Op|portunity of Revenge. Every Sin and Act of it being Enmity to God, the more the habit of any Sin is encreas'd by frequent Acts, the more al&s;o is the habitual Enmity in the Heart increas'd: For as every Sin hath an immediate ten|dency to the &s;upply of &s;ome Lu&s;t, &s;o it hath a remote and principal tendency to the encrea&s;e of that Enmity. <HI>Cain</HI> fir&s;t affronts God in his Omni&s;cience and Providence, and then departs from his Pre&s;ence; turns his back upon him, and becomes the head of the prophane part of the World, <HI>Gen.</HI> 4.16. <HI>The pre|&s;ence of the Lord, i. e.</HI> from all the Or|dinances of God, and Communion with him in Wor&s;hip.</P>
<P>The Remedy then is, To endeavour a Conformity to God's holy Will; to think with thy &s;elf every Morning, What &s;hall I do this day to plea&s;e God? what Duty doth he require of me? The more thou do&s;t obey his Will, the more thou will love his Holine&s;s.</P>
<P N="6"><PB N="187" REF="99"><MILESTONE N="6"> 6ly. <HI>Slavi&s;h fear of God.</HI></P>
<P>Men are apt to fear a ju&s;t Recom|pence for an injury done to another, that he will do him one ill turn for another; and Fear is the Mother of Ha|tred. God being Man's &s;uperior, and wrong'd by him, there follows nece&s;&s;a|rily a &s;lavi&s;h Fear of him, and his Power; and &s;uch a Fear makes wrath|ful and imbitter'd Thoughts of God, while he con&s;iders God arm'd with an unconquerable and irre&s;i&s;tible Power to puni&s;h him. 'Tis as natural for a man to hate that which he conceives to be again&s;t him, as for any Animal to hate that who&s;e Acts it fears do tend to a di&s;&s;olution of its Being. The De|vils <HI>tremble,</HI> James 2.19. <GAP DESC="foreign">; they have a great Horror, and their Enmity is as great as their Fear; nay, heightned by their Fear, becau&s;e they have no hopes of pardon; they do their utmo&s;t to oppo&s;e God, and have Companions in Mi&s;ery: 'Tis impo&s;&s;ible a man &s;hould love God, while he is apprehended as an irreconcilable Adver&s;ary. The &s;tronger the Impre&s;&s;ions of Fear, the
<PB N="188" REF="100"> quicker the Inclinations to Hatred. But when the Evil fear'd begins to &s;trike, it makes the Hatred &s;hoot out in Vol|lies of Cur&s;es and Bla&s;phemies, which is evident in the damn'd. God con&s;i|der'd as a Judge, is the Object not of comforting, but terrifying Faith; No man can naturally love that Judge which he thinks will condemn him. A fear of God as an inexorable Judge, that we have highly wrong'd, will nouri&s;h an enmity again&s;t him.</P>
<P>The Remedy then is, Be much in Communion with God; &s;trangene&s;s is the Mother of Fear; we dread Men &s;ometimes, becau&s;e we know not their di&s;po&s;ition. The Bea&s;ts them&s;elves de|light in the Company of Man, when being familiariz'd to him; they fancy his di&s;po&s;ition, and ta&s;te his kindne&s;s to them, which when they were un|acquainted with, they would fly from his Pre&s;ence with the greate&s;t &s;peed. Study the reconciling-Love of God in the Go&s;pel; Con&s;ider much the love|line&s;s and amiablene&s;s of his Nature, his ardent De&s;ire thou woulde&s;t be his friend more than his enemy. A Cau&s;e
<PB N="189" REF="100"> of our hating God, is our ignorance of him; for if we did but know how good he is, how merciful to Man, and to us; if we would but leave our Sin, we could not po&s;&s;ibly hate him.</P>
<P N="7"><MILESTONE N="7"> 7ly. <HI>Pride.</HI></P>
<P>Self-denial is ab&s;olutely again&s;t the Pride of Rea&s;on; and this is the fir&s;t Le&s;&s;on God teacheth us. 'Tis the fir&s;t Letter in the Alphabet of the Go&s;pel of Peace, and therefore we are again&s;t him. Men lift up the Pride of Rea&s;on again&s;t the Truth of God, and the Pride of Heart again&s;t the Will of God. Hence it appears, that Self is the great Incendiary of the Soul again&s;t God. The Enmity of <HI>Tyre</HI> again&s;t God is charg'd upon this foot of account, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 28.2. <HI>Thy heart is lifted up in the mid&s;t of the &s;ea; thou ha&s;t &s;et thy heart as the heart of God.</HI> She would rather have her Wi&s;dom admir'd by God, than God's Wi&s;dom admir'd by her. The &s;harpe&s;t Enmities in the World are founded upon this Vice. This makes the greate&s;t Combu&s;tions in Common|wealths. Men fear to be overtopp'd
<PB N="190" REF="101"> by one another. All other Vices de&s;ire Companions. A Drunkard loves his Good-fellows; he cares not to &s;will alone. An unclean per&s;on mu&s;t have his Mate. Swearers hate tho&s;e that come not up to their own pitch; but a proud Man would have none keep an equal pace with him: He cannot en|dure a Companion, but would have all others under his feet. Pride is natu|rally again&s;t God; and therefore Sin is often call'd a lifting up of the Heart again&s;t God, a hardening the Heart again&s;t him.</P>
<P>The Remedy then is, To endeavour after Humility. Study the Humility of God, who is more humble to us than we can be to him. Reflect more upon thy Vilene&s;s than thy Worth.</P>
<P N="8"><MILESTONE N="8"> 8ly. <HI>Love of the World.</HI></P>
<P>The greater dearne&s;s of &s;en&s;ual plea|&s;ures, the further our divorce from God. The Love of the World is incon&s;i&s;tent with the Love of God, 1 <HI>John</HI> 2.15. <HI>If any man love the World, the love of the Father is not in him.</HI> It puts us un|der an impo&s;&s;ibility while that Love
<PB N="191" REF="101"> remains, to entertain the Spirit of Truth, Joh. 14.17. <HI>The &s;pirit of truth whom the World cannot receive.</HI> Who&s;oever will be a friend of the World, is an enemy to God. The Friend&s;hip of the World is enmity with God, <HI>Jam.</HI> 4.4. <HI>Ye adul|terers, know you not that the friend&s;hip of the world is enmity with God? Know you not:</HI> 'Tis an unque&s;tionable Truth, your own Con&s;ciences cannot be &s;trangers to it. Indulgence to Carnal intere&s;ts and plea&s;ures mounts up to a fiercene&s;s again&s;t God, <HI>Deut.</HI> 32.15. <HI>Je&s;urun wax|ed fat, and kick'd.</HI> The Wi&s;dom of the Fle&s;h is fir&s;t <HI>earthly,</HI> then <HI>&s;en&s;ual,</HI> then <HI>devili&s;h;</HI> When once the Mind is po&s;|&s;e&s;s'd by an earthly and &s;en&s;ual Temper, it will not be long before it grows up to devili&s;hne&s;s, and you know that can be no friend of God. What begins in Earthline&s;s, Earthly Principles and Ends, and proceeds on to Sen&s;uality, will end in Devili&s;hne&s;s both principle and pra|ctice. Who&s;oever loves his own Plea|&s;ure and Voluptuou&s;ne&s;s, mu&s;t needs hate what&s;oever is contrary to it, and would de&s;troy it: This is the great Root of Anger, revenge in Man, and our contempt of God.</P>
<PB N="192" REF="102">
<P>The Remedy then is, To look upon the World with &s;corn, to think the Soul above it; and that the Content|ments and Plea&s;ures of the World are fitter for Bea&s;ts, and at be&s;t but Accom|modations for thee as a Traveller, not a fit Pillow to repo&s;e thy Soul on. De|&s;pi&s;e the World, and the Devil hath &s;carce any bait and argument left to move thee to an e&s;trangedne&s;s from, and an enmity again&s;t God.</P>
<P>Now if all the Saints that ever were &s;hould meet together in a Synod, to con&s;ult of the truth of this Propo&s;ition, That the heart of Man is enmity again&s;t God, they would all bear witne&s;s to it <HI>Nemine contradicente;</HI> and he that de|nies it, I may confidently affirm, did never &s;eriou&s;ly read the Scripture, or ca&s;t one practical glance upon his own heart.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="application">
<HEAD>&V;SE.</HEAD>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1 <HI>Information.</HI></P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>How de&s;perate is the Athei&s;m in eve|ry man's heart by Nature?</HI> What a Ma&s;s of Villany is in the heart of Man?
<PB N="193" REF="102"> What! to make God no God? &s;et up our Wills again&s;t the Will of God? When we &s;ay an enemy to God, we mu&s;t conceive all that may denominate a man ba&s;e and abominable. What more can be added, than to &s;ay, Such a man is an enemy to Love it &s;elf? Sin and God are at direct odds. To har|bour a Traytor in a hou&s;e after Procla|mation, is a Capital Crime, and comes under the Charge of High-Trea&s;on. What then is the harbouring of Sin again&s;t God, but involving thy &s;elf in the &s;ame Rebellion which every Sin includes in its own nature?</P>
<P>This Enmity to God hath this aggra|vation in it, That it cannot upon any account what&s;oever be ju&s;t.</P>
<P>God him&s;elf cannot command a Creature not to love him; before he can command this, he mu&s;t change his Nature, ca&s;hier his Loveline&s;s, cea&s;e to be the chief Good. God cannot com|mand any thing unju&s;t; but this is in|trin&s;ically unju&s;t, eternally unju&s;t, Not to love that which is infinitely amiable. It had been unju&s;t to command an Act of the highe&s;t di&s;ingenuity and ingra|titude,
<PB N="194" REF="103"> to hate the Author of our Mer|cies. It had been again&s;t the Original Nature of a rational Creature, to be an enemy to that which is its chiefe&s;t Good. Our loving God doth not ari&s;e meerly from the Command of God enjoyning it, but from the Nature of God, and the Creatures relation to him. None but will confe&s;s, that had God never com|manded us to love him, it had been highly abominable for a Creature to hate his Maker and Benefactor: There|fore in the Moral Law or Decalogue, the Love of God is not explicitly com|manded, but &s;uppos'd as a fundamen|tal and indi&s;pen&s;able Principle; from whence all other Commands are ne|ce&s;&s;ary Con&s;equences: So that this En|mity again&s;t God is not only again&s;t his Command, but again&s;t his very Na|ture, and again&s;t the fundamental and indi&s;pen&s;able Principle of all God's Com|mands, and all the Duties which as ra|tional Creatures we owe to God.</P>
<P>The de&s;peratene&s;s of this Natural Enmity will appear,</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. In that <HI>'tis as bad, and in &s;ome re|&s;pects wor&s;e than Athei&s;m.</HI> We complain
<PB N="195" REF="103"> much, and not without Cau&s;e of the growing Athei&s;m of the times; but we &s;hall find as bad and wor&s;e than we complain of in our own Nature, and the practices of Men. <HI>Mirandula</HI> &s;aith, a Speculative Athei&s;t is the mo&s;t prodi|gious Mon&s;ter in the World, but a Pra|ctical. An Athei&s;t that denies the Be|ing of God, doth not &s;o much affront him, as a natural Man that owns his Being, but walks as if there were no God; as if he were not a ju&s;t and righ|teous God; as if he made u&s;e of his So|veraign Power to make Laws for the prejudice of his Creature.</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>The Athei&s;t barely denies God's Be|ing, the other mocks him,</HI> Jer. 32.33. They have <HI>turn'd to me the back, and not the face.</HI> This puts a &s;light upon him, turning the back upon him, which is an act of di&s;dain, as if God were the mo&s;t contemptible Being in the World. Thou that turne&s;t thy face to thy Dog, thy Bea&s;t, the Devil, u&s;e&s;t God with more contempt than thou do&s;t thy Dog, thy Swine, thy Ox, thy A&s;s, yea the Devil him&s;elf. The Athei&s;t that denies
<PB N="196" REF="104"> God's Being, and yet walks according to Moral Principles, is like the Son in the Go&s;pel, that told his Father he would not go, and yet did; which Chri&s;t commends above the other, which acknowledged his Father's au|thority to command him, and pre|tended a readine&s;s to obey, but an|&s;wer'd not his Acknowledgments by the performance of his Duty.</P>
<P>A prophane Man, or a Hypocrite, is more an Athei&s;t than one that profe&s;|&s;eth him&s;elf &s;o, in as much as Actions, and a continual Succe&s;&s;ion and Circle of them, makes a greater di&s;covery of the Principles of the Heart, than the Motions of the Tongue. Would not that man, who in his belief of a Deity, doth things which fall under the Cen&s;ure of God's Ju&s;tice, and contrary to his Law, and odious among Men, though not puni&s;hable by Man, do things far wor&s;e, did not the fear of Laws, the anger of his Prince, the pain and di&s;grace of Puni&s;hment re&s;train him? Surely he would: For that Principle which car|ries him again&s;t his Rea&s;on and profe&s;s'd Religion in his practices again&s;t God,
<PB N="197" REF="104"> would hurry him further, were there not &s;ome powerful Limits &s;et to him by human Laws.</P>
<P>Now what doth this evince, but that he honours Man more than God, fears Man more than God, obeys Man more than God, owns the Power of Man more than the Power of God, which he pre|tends to acknowledge and believe.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2ly. <HI>The Athei&s;t denies God's Being, the other his Authority.</HI></P>
<P>And in denying his Authority, ver|tually denies his Being: for it is a con|tradiction to be God, and not to be So|veraign. Doth not Man imply, by the breaking God's Laws, that he would not have God act as a Soveraign; that he would have him but a carele&s;s God, an unholy and unrighteous God in gi|ving him the Reins, and not prohibiting by holy Laws any Wickedne&s;s his heart is inclin'd unto? What then would be|come of God's Being? His Deity can|not outlive the life of his Authority and Righteou&s;ne&s;s. If he ceas'd to be a righteous Lawgiver, and a holy Main|tainer of his Laws, he would cea&s;e to
<PB N="198" REF="105"> be a God. So that every Breach of the Law is a virtual depo&s;ing him from his &s;upreme Government, and con&s;e|quently a virtual depo&s;ing him from his Deity.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2ly. <HI>This Enmity is of the &s;ame nature with the Devil's Enmity.</HI></P>
<P>'Tis not indeed in the pre&s;ent &s;tate wherein Man is &s;o inten&s;e, becau&s;e his is direct, Man's implicit. But yet,</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>Natural Men have a Diabolical Na|ture.</HI></P>
<P>There are but two Seeds, the Seed of the Woman, and that of the Serpent; two Natures, the Divine and Diaboli|cal. Satan is the Father of Wicked Men, and Fathers derive their Nature to their Children. He is not their Father by Creation, nor by Generation, but by a diffu&s;ion of his Principles into them, <HI>Joh.</HI> 8.44. <HI>You are of your Father the De|vil.</HI> God made Man in Creation ac|cording to his own Image; and the De|vil quickly by Corruption brings him into his own Likene&s;s. In Scripture is not meant by the Devil only a particular
<PB N="199" REF="105"> Per&s;on, but a Nature: So Chri&s;t inti|mates in his Rebuke to <HI>Peter,</HI> Matth. 16.23. <HI>Get thee behind me, Satan.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Peter,</HI> an eminent Apo&s;tle, who had a little before, <HI>v.</HI> 16, 17. made an illu&s;tri|ous profe&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t being the Son of God, is now call'd Devil; not be|cau&s;e he was really the per&s;on of the Devil, but the Devil's nature did then exert it &s;elf in him: for that advice proceeded not from a divine, but dia|bolical Di&s;po&s;ition; for it made direct|ly for the &s;erving the Devil's Kingdom, which was only to be overthrown by the death of Chri&s;t. Hell it &s;elf could not produce a more devili&s;h re&s;ult of its deepe&s;t Coun&s;els, than the advice which <HI>Peter</HI> now gave, which would highly have promoted the intere&s;t of Hell. And do but ob&s;erve the rea&s;on why Chri&s;t calls him Satan, <HI>v.</HI> 23. <HI>Thou &s;a|voure&s;t not the things which be of God,</HI> &amp;c. The things of God, and the things of Man, and &s;avouring the things of God, and the things of Man, are &s;et in oppo|&s;ition; and a man that &s;avours not the things of God, but the things of Man, &s;uch a man and Satan are all one and
<PB N="200" REF="106"> the &s;ame in the account of Chri&s;t. So by Chri&s;t &s;ometimes is not meant a par|ticular Per&s;on, but a Nature, <HI>Col.</HI> 1.27. <HI>Chri&s;t in you the hope of glory.</HI> What in one place is call'd the <HI>divine Nature,</HI> is by <HI>Paul</HI> call'd Chri&s;t; not the Per&s;on of Chri&s;t, but the Nature of Chri&s;t; <HI>i. e.</HI> that &s;piritual Principle of Grace or new Nature, which is an Earne&s;t of your future Inheritance, and &s;o a ground of <HI>Hope.</HI></P>
<P>A natural man is wholly Carnal, <HI>Rom.</HI> 7.18. There is <HI>no good thing</HI> dwells in him, no good Principle; it may lodge a while, but it hath no &s;etled abode; and what is not good, is of the Devil. As God is the author of all Good, &s;o is the Devil of all Moral Evil. So that a natural Man is wholly Diabolical.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. <HI>Every natural Man is a Friend to the Devil.</HI></P>
<P>There are but Two Soveraigns in the World, One Rightful, and the other U&s;urping. If we are Enemies to the right Soveraign, we mu&s;t be Friends to the U&s;urper; if Enemies to
<PB N="201" REF="106"> God, Friends to the Devil. He <HI>works in the Children of Di&s;obedience, Eph.</HI> 2.2, 3. Not by force, but by con&s;ent: For he works in them according to the de&s;ires of the Fle&s;h, which the Apo&s;tle implies <HI>v.</HI> 3. <HI>Fulfilling the de|&s;ires of the Fle&s;h.</HI> If the love of the World be enmity to God, <HI>Jam.</HI> 4.4. <HI>The Friend&s;hip of the World is Enmi|ty with God,</HI> then Enmity to God mu&s;t needs be a love of the Devil; Enmity to God implying a Friend&s;hip with every thing that hath the &s;ame di&s;po|&s;ition again&s;t him. The love of the World, <HI>i. e.</HI> of the Sin and Unrighte|ou&s;ne&s;s of the World, doth nece&s;&s;ari|ly include virtually love of the God of the World, which is the Devil's Title, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4.4. And &s;o a Man adores Satan as a God, in loving that World the Devil is the God of; that wickedne&s;s the Devil is the Head of, above God. <HI>Rebellion again&s;t God is called a Covenant with Death,</HI> and <HI>an Agreement with Hell, I&s;a.</HI> 28.18. (not with the puni&s;hments, but principles of Hell); And being a Friend to the Devil, he mu&s;t needs be a Friend to
<PB N="202" REF="107"> the grand de&s;ign of the Devil. 14. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 12, 13, 14, and <HI>v.</HI> 4. was &s;poke of the King of <HI>Babylon.</HI> The knot of Friend|&s;hip in the World is &s;ome particular Man's de&s;ign, which both Friends agree in, and drive on. Now his de&s;ign &s;eems to be affecting the Throne and Authority of God: for God threat|ning the King of <HI>Babylon,</HI> and in him, as the Type, the great Antichri&s;t, compares him to Lucifer, who was not content with his &s;tation as a Sub|ject, but would mount into the Chair of the Supreme Power.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3dly. <HI>Thy Enmity again&s;t God is in &s;ome re&s;pect as much, in regard of the actual effects of it, as the Devils is, though not in regard of di&s;po&s;ition.</HI></P>
<P>We declare our Enmity as far as we can: We cannot pull God out of Heaven; we cannot nail Chri&s;t to the Cro&s;s again, and pierce his Heart; we cannot rail at him to his Face as the <HI>Jews</HI> did; but the de&s;pi&s;ing his Laws, di&s;owning his Power granted by Hea|ven over us, is the only thing we can do again&s;t him; and this we do as
<PB N="203" REF="107"> much as we can, as much as the gripes of Con&s;cience and our intere&s;t in the World will give us leave. We vir|tually deprive him of that which was the reward of his Sufferings, <HI>viz.</HI> his Power, of the de&s;ign of his Sufferings, <HI>viz.</HI> the Propagation of his Evange|lical Law in our Heart. And he that would de&s;troy the deare&s;t things God and Chri&s;t have left in the World, and that which he gave the greate&s;t charge for the pre&s;ervation of, would act all the Villanies again&s;t the per|&s;on of Chri&s;t as well as again&s;t what he had in the world, and again&s;t the E&s;&s;ence of God, were it in his power; Thou do&s;t as much in this, as the Devil can do. The being of God and the Per&s;on of Chri&s;t are above his reach as well as ours. All that he can do is to trample upon his Laws, and li&s;t others in rebellion again&s;t God, and in this thou do&s;t comply with him. He can do no more, and thou do&s;t as much.</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4thly. <HI>'Tis a wor&s;e Enmity than is in Hell.</HI> This Enmity is more di&s;inge|nuous then that in Hell.</P>
<PB N="204" REF="108">
<P>Our hatred of God is wor&s;e than that of the Damned, they de&s;pairing|ly hate him under the inevitable and unavoidable &s;trokes of Ju&s;tice, thou hate&s;t him while thou art hedged in with the expre&s;&s;ions of his Good|ne&s;s.</P>
<P>They hate him under vials of Wrath, and we under &s;howers of Mercy; they in terrour of Damnation, and we under the &s;en&s;e of Kindne&s;s. They hate him becau&s;e he inflicts what is Hurtful, and we becau&s;e he commands what is Profitable and Holy. Our hatred of God is wor&s;e than the De|vil's hatred of him. We hate God, who contrived our Redemption, and &s;ent his Son to accompli&s;h it; The Devils had not tho&s;e obligations laid upon them. Chri&s;t came not for them, nor &s;hed his Blood for their recove|ry. They hate their Creator, but we our Creator and Redeemer too. The Devils hate him that came to tor|ment them and de&s;troy their Works, we hate him that came to Ble&s;s us, and &s;ave our Souls.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="205" REF="108"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2 <HI>Information.</HI></P>
<P><HI>God is the greate&s;t Evil in the account of every natural Man.</HI></P>
<P>If there be in us a greater enmity to God and his Law than to any thing el&s;e, it implies that we think him the greate&s;t Evil, and the wor&s;t of Beings. Evil, and not Good, is the ob|ject of Hatred. As Love is the pro|pen&s;ion of the mind to &s;ome thing as good, &s;o Hatred is an an alienation of the mind from &s;ome thing as evil, either really, or &s;uppo&s;edly<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Plutarch's</HI> Morals, <HI>p.</HI> 536, 537.</NOTE>. We cannot po&s;&s;ibly hate good as good, as we cannot po&s;&s;ibly love evil as evil. Now nothing but Sin is ab&s;olutely evil, and therefore nothing but Sin &s;hould be the ab&s;olute object of our hatred. But &s;eeing that Love which &s;hould be &s;et upon God, is &s;et upon Sin, and that Hatred which &s;hould have only Sin for its object, pitches upon God as its object, 'tis hence clear, that we account Sin the highe&s;t Good, and God the greate&s;t Evil. Though a Man doth not hate God as God, yet there being more of his hatred &s;pent again&s;t
<PB N="206" REF="109"> God than again&s;t any thing el&s;e, it is mo&s;t certain that God is virtually ac|counted by us the mo&s;t dete&s;table be|ing. Do we offend any &s;o much as we do God? Do we love the Pro|&s;ecution of any thing which is di|&s;ta&s;teful to Man, as we do that which is an abomination to God? Is there any thing in the World we do more rejoice in, than that whereby God is prejudiced? Is there any thing we do love and pur&s;ue with greater Vio|lence, than that which is hateful and injurious to him? Are we &s;o ab&s;olute|ly contrary to any Man, any Crea|ture in our natural inclinations, di&s;po|&s;itions, affections, and de&s;ires, as unto God? Is it not clearly manife&s;t by our inward and outward Carriage, that we imply, that God is the great|e&s;t Evil, and we rank him who is unchangeably good, in the place of Sin, which is unchangeably bad. As Love is carried out in de&s;ire for the object Beloved, &s;o Hatred is a flight from it. As Love is accompanied with joy at the pre&s;ence of a beloved Object, &s;o is Hatred attended with a Dete&s;tation. Are
<PB N="207" REF="109"> we not naturally more de&s;irous of op|portunities of Sin, than opportunities of Service to our Maker? Are we ever &s;o chearful in the pre&s;ence of God, and Communion with him in Religious Services, as in our Sports, Recreations, and Sinful Practi&s;es? What then hath mo&s;t of our Love, what do we ac|count our &s;upreme Happine&s;s, and our wor&s;t Mi&s;ery?</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3. <HI>Information.</HI></P>
<P>It <HI>ju&s;tifies God in his Acts of punitive ju&s;tice.</HI></P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1&s;t. <HI>In his &s;evere&s;t judgments in the World.</HI></P>
<P>Who can blame God for his &s;eve|rities again&s;t tho&s;e that hate him, e&s;pecially after riches of forbearance? Con&s;ider Man as his de&s;perate Enemy, and you may more admire his Cle|mency, than accu&s;e his Ju&s;tce. You may wonder that he doth not de&s;troy the whole &s;tock of Mankind, as well as &s;end &s;ome few drops and Hail|&s;tones of Judgment upon the World. We may rather &s;tand amazed at his
<PB N="208" REF="110"> Patience that he &s;uffers &s;uch creatures to live, than murmur at his Judg|ments, for not a day but we commit many acts which manife&s;t this Ha|tred. For as all actions truly good partake of the nature of Love to the chiefe&s;t good; &s;o all unworthy actions which are at a di&s;tance from God the chief end, are mar&s;hall'd by, and tin|ctured with that enmity which lurks in the Soul. 'Tis equal God &s;hould be a Judge to condemn, where he is rejected as a Soveraign to rule.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. <HI>It Ju&s;tifies God in his Judg|ments upon Infants.</HI></P>
<P>Indeed we call Infants Innocent, and we are &s;tartled at the pain and &s;ufferings of Babes; but this Doctrine is a &s;ufficient Curb to any Accu|&s;ations of God in &s;uch Proceedings. Do we not kill Vipers and noxious Creatures in the Ne&s;t? Infants are endued with an Inimical and Ho|&s;tile Nature again&s;t God, though they exert it not by rea&s;on of the weak|ne&s;s of their Organs.</P>
<PB N="209" REF="110">
<P>If <HI>Death reign'd over them that had not &s;inned after the &s;imilitude of Adam's Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, Rom.</HI> 5.14. Enmity &s;urely reigned over them. The Fro&s;t which by Congealing a Viper, &s;u&s;|pends its motion, doth not expel its natural Venom, (which it hath in as great a quantity as the livelie&s;t) tho' at pre&s;ent it binds up the activity of it, which will &s;hew it &s;elf when out|ward impediments are removed by Heat. Neither doth the inability of Infants exerci&s;ing this Enmity, di&s;charge their Nature from an unconceivable ma&s;s of it; nay, you may perceive &s;ome &s;tarts of it even in them; Did you never &s;ee Envy, Pa&s;&s;ion, Sen&s;u|ality in an Infant? We may more wonder that God doth not da&s;h them in pieces at their fir&s;t appearance in the World, as we do young Wolves and Ravenous Creatures, than that he &s;hould u&s;e his right over them for their Original Pravity, and take them out of the World.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3dly. <HI>It ju&s;tifies the eternity of Pu|ni&s;hment.</HI></P>
<PB N="210" REF="111">
<P>Who can charge God with Inju&s;tice, for puni&s;hing eternally a creature who doth eternally hate him; to keep that per&s;on in being to his everla&s;ting da|mage, that doth wi&s;h, and if it were in his power, would accompli&s;h the de&s;truction of God him&s;elf? Can any Puni&s;hment be too hard, any du|ration of it too long for him that is an Enemy to the be&s;t of beings? to one infinitely Good, and therefore di&s;in|genuous; to one infinitely Powerful, and therefore intolerably fooli&s;h.</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4. <HI>Information.</HI></P>
<P><HI>What an admirable pro&s;pect may we take here of God's Patience?</HI> With what a&s;toni&s;hment may we review all the former as well as the pre&s;ent Age of God's forbearance towards Men! That he &s;hould pre&s;erve &s;uch a crew of di&s;ingenuous Mon&s;ters, as we all na|turally are! <HI>Rom</HI> 2.4 <HI>Or de&s;pi&s;e&s;t thou the riches of his goodne&s;s, and forbearance, and long-&s;uffering?</HI> Had he not had riches of goodne&s;s, forbearance, and long-&s;uffering, and infinite Riches too, the Enmity of Man again&s;t him had
<PB N="211" REF="111"> exhau&s;ted all before this time; and being the riches of goodne&s;s as well as long-&s;uffering, it makes our En|mity appear the blacker. A Grain of goodne&s;s is no fit object for hatred, much le&s;s riches of it. How many Millions of &s;uch haters of him, breathe every day in his air, are maintained by his bounty, have their tables &s;pread, and their cups filled to the brim, and that in the madde&s;t of their reiterated belchings out of this Enmity again&s;t him, under &s;ufficient provocations, to the highe&s;t indignation?</P>
<P N="5"><MILESTONE N="5"> 5. <HI>Information.</HI></P>
<P>Hence we &s;ee <HI>the root of all Sin in the World.</HI></P>
<P>What is the rea&s;on Men Row again&s;t the Stream of their own Con&s;ciences? What is the rea&s;on Men of &s;ublima|ted Rea&s;on, and clear natural Wi&s;dom, are voluntary Slaves to their own Lu&s;ts, which they &s;erve with as delightful, as di&s;graceful a Drudgery again&s;t the light of their own Minds? 'Tis from this contrariety to God, &s;eated in theit very Nature, they could never el&s;e &s;o ear|ne&s;tly,
<PB N="212" REF="112"> &s;o chearfully do the Devil's Work before God's. They could never el&s;e be deaf to the loud Voice of God, and have their Ears open to the lea&s;t whi&s;per of Satan. Whence proceeds our Stupidity, the folly of our Thoughts, the levity of our Minds, the deadne&s;s of our Affections, the &s;leepine&s;s of our Souls, our inexcu&s;able carele&s;ne&s;s in Holy Duties more than any thing of a Temporal Concern, but from this A|ver&s;ion from God! 'Tis this Enmity dulls our Heart in any Service. Though Con&s;cience which is in us, to keep up the intere&s;t of God's Law, &s;purs us on to Duty, yet Sin that is within us, that keeps up the quarrel again&s;t Heaven, hinders us from it, or diverts us in it.</P>
<P N="6">6. <HI>Information.</HI></P>
<P>Hence follows <HI>the Nece&s;&s;ity of Rege|neration.</HI></P>
<P>This divi&s;ion between God and his Creature will not admit of any union without a change of Nature. The carnal mind, as &s;uch, can never be re|conciled to God before this be wrought. The old frame mu&s;t be demoli&s;hed,
<PB N="213" REF="112"> and a new one reared: for a change of State cannot be without a change of Nature. 'Tis impo&s;&s;ible that this Nature, &s;o corrupt and contrary, can ever be reconcil'd to the pure and holy Nature of God; what commu|nion hath Light with Darkne&s;s? We mu&s;t be God's Friends, before we can be Sin's Enemies; the root of bitter|ne&s;s mu&s;t be taken away, habitual Corruption remov'd, the Heart will never el&s;e &s;tand right as a Compa&s;s towards Heaven. Who can ever fight again&s;t his Nature? No Man will ever re&s;i&s;t the Devil without a change; we cannot without the rooting out this Enmity, make a profitable ap|proach to God. What expectation can&s;t thou have of a good look from him, when thou come&s;t to him with all thy natural Hatred of him? How can&s;t thou dare to come to him, who knows every circum&s;tance of thy Enmi|ty better than thou do&s;t thy Name, and is &s;o well acquainted with thy Heart? What hopes can you have of any an&s;wer from him? If we bring our wickedne&s;&s;es with us to <HI>Gilgal,</HI> the
<PB N="214" REF="113"> place of Wor&s;hip, even there in the &s;olemne&s;t Duties will God hate us, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 9.15. <HI>All their wickedne&s;s is in Gilgal, for there I hated them.</HI> If the mind be fill'd with ho&s;tile principles again&s;t the purity of God's commands, it mu&s;t be unexperienced and unactive to every good work, <HI>Tit.</HI> 1. <HI>ult. To every good work reprobate.</HI> If the Head be &s;ick, needs mu&s;t the Heart be faint. If the coun&s;elling-faculty be fal&s;e, cur|&s;ed mu&s;t be all its advice.</P>
<P N="7"><MILESTONE N="7"> 7. <HI>Information.</HI></P>
<P><HI>That is not Grace which doth not al|ter Nature.</HI></P>
<P>Morality therefore is not Grace, be|cau&s;e it doth not change Nature; if it did, many of the Heathens were as near to God as the be&s;t of Chri&s;tians; what|&s;oever may be done by the &s;trength of Nature, cannot alter it: for no Nature can change it &s;elf. Poy&s;on may be great within the Skin, like to a Viper's, be we never &s;o &s;peckled with a Reformation. Freedom from gro&s;s Sins argues not a friend&s;hip to God. None were &s;o great Enemies
<PB N="215" REF="113"> to Chri&s;t as the Phari&s;ees, to whom Chri&s;t gives no better a Title, than that of the Devil's Children, and char|ges them with the hatred both of him|&s;elf and his Father, <HI>Joh.</HI> 15.24. The Enmity may be the greater under a zealous and devout Morality. The poor Publicans crowded in to Chri&s;t, while the &s;elf-righteous Jews derided him, and rejected the coun&s;el of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 7.30. Act. 13 46.</NOTE> and put the word of God from them. 'Tis a fooli&s;h thing for men to boa&s;t of their own Heart, or outward con|formity; thou can&s;t not tell how &s;oon that heart thou bragge&s;t of, may boil out its Enmity. The Plant which is plea&s;ant to the Eye, may be poy&s;on to the Stomach. Boa&s;t not therefore of thy glo&s;&s;y Morality, thy checquered Skin, &s;o long as there is a venom in thy Nature. What&s;oever excellen|cies a Natural Man hath, are all taint|ed with this poi&s;on, his Wi&s;dom, Learn|ing, Moral Virtue, and are rather ag|gravations than excu&s;es.</P>
<P N="8"><MILESTONE N="8"> 8. <HI>Information.</HI></P>
<P>Hence follows the <HI>Nece&s;&s;ity of apply|ing thy &s;elf to Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<PB N="216" REF="114">
<P>As there is a nece&s;&s;ity of a change of Nature in us, becau&s;e our Enmity to God is a Moral Enmity; &s;o there is a nece&s;&s;ity of a compen&s;ation and &s;atisfaction to God for the pre&s;erva|tion of God's honour, becau&s;e it is an unju&s;t Enmity, not ri&s;ing from any injury that ever God did to us; And becau&s;e his Enmity to us, provoked by our di&s;affection to him, is a legal Enmity, his Law violated mu&s;t be &s;atisfied. Our Enmity is unju&s;t, and therefore mu&s;t be parted with; God's Enmity again&s;t us is ju&s;t, and there|fore mu&s;t be removed by a Satisfacti|on. And &s;ince we are unable to give God a compen&s;ation for our Wrongs, we mu&s;t have recour&s;e by Faith to that Blood which hath given him a com|pleat &s;atisfaction. 'Tis Chri&s;t only that &s;atisfies God for us, by the &s;hed|ding of his Blood, and removes our Enmity by the operation of his Spirit.</P>
<P N="9"><MILESTONE N="9"> 9. <HI>Information.</HI></P>
<P>See hence <HI>the rea&s;on of the difficulty of Conver&s;ion, and the little &s;ucce&s;s the Go&s;pel hath.</HI></P>
<PB N="217" REF="114">
<P>All the Words in the World will not change Nature; Men &s;trive again&s;t the Spirit, and will not come under the power of it if they might have their own will. Can you by Exhortations ever reconcile a Wolf and a Lamb? Can you by rational Arguments new-mould the nature of a fierce Lion, or by moral di&s;cour&s;es &s;top the Tide of the Sea? Though Man be a rational Creature, yet corrupt Habits in him an&s;wer to meer Nature in them, and &s;way, and Tide us as much again&s;t God. Grave di&s;cour&s;es can never &s;et a Man &s;traight that is born crooked. 'Tis no ea&s;y thing for the Heart of Man, po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed &s;o long by this cur&s;ed principle, to &s;urrender it &s;elf upon God's Summons; Men are not &s;o ea&s;ily reconciled, when the hatred hath been hereditary in the Family; this hath been of as long a &s;tanding, within a few Hours, as <HI>Adam</HI> him&s;elf. To turn to God in ways of Righteou&s;ne&s;s, is contrary to the &s;tream of corrupt Nature, and therefore it mu&s;t be overpowered by a flood of Almighty Grace, as the &s;tream of the River is by the Tide of the Sea.</P>
<P N="10"><PB N="218" REF="115"><MILESTONE N="10"> 10. <HI>Information.</HI></P>
<P>If there be &s;uch an Enmity again&s;t the Soveraignty of God in the Heart of Man, this &s;hows us <HI>the excellency of Obedience.</HI></P>
<P>'Tis the endeavour of the Creature, as much as in him lies, to exalt God, to keep him upon his Throne, to pre&s;erve the Scepter in his Hand, and the Crown upon his Head. As Faith is a &s;etting a Seal to the truth of God, &s;o is Obedience a &s;etting a Seal to the Dominion of God, and &s;ub|&s;cribing to the righteou&s;ne&s;s thereof. 'Tis called a Confirmation of God's Law, an Affection to the Honour of it, <HI>Deut.</HI> 27.26. <HI>Cur&s;ed be him that con|firms not all the words of this law, to do them.</HI> 'Tis an e&s;tabli&s;hing it, as a &s;tanding infallible rule, and con&s;e|quently an E&s;tabli&s;hing the Law-gi|ver, and an applau&s;e to the righteou&s;|ne&s;s of his Government. God being the highe&s;t perfection, and infinitely good, therefore what&s;oever Rule he gives the Creature, mu&s;t be good and amiable, or el&s;e it cannot proceed
<PB N="219" REF="115"> from God. A ba&s;e and vile thing can never proceed from that which is only excellent. An unrea&s;onable thing can never proceed from that which is al|together Rea&s;on and Regular; there|fore the obedience to God's Law is an acknowledging the excellent Good|ne&s;s, Love, Wi&s;dom, Righteou&s;ne&s;s of the Law-giver, and a bearing wit|ne&s;s to it in the face of the World.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2"> The Second U&s;e is for <HI>Examination.</HI></P>
<P>Examine your &s;elves by tho&s;e De|mon&s;trations laid down in the Fir&s;t Part, Whether this Enmity be prevalent in you or no? 1. Have you yet a &s;tout|ne&s;s of Heart again&s;t hearing the Law of God, which cro&s;&s;es the de&s;ires of the Fle&s;h? 2. Are you unwilling to be determin'd by divine Injunctions? 3. Doth your Heart &s;well mo&s;t again&s;t tho&s;e Laws which are mo&s;t Spiritual, and which God doth mo&s;t &s;trictly urge? 4. Do you fall out, and quarrel with your own Con&s;ciences, when they pre&s;s upon you any Command of God? 5. Do you countenance that Law in your Mem|bers, that Law of Sin, in oppo&s;ition to
<PB N="220" REF="116"> the Law of your Mind? 6. Are you willing to be at more pains and expence to violate God's Law, than to ob&s;erve it, and pre&s;erve the honour of it? 7. Do you perform things materially Righte|ous, becau&s;e of the Agreeablene&s;s of them to your humour and con&s;titution, out of re&s;pect to your Reputation, or, which is wor&s;e, out of an affection to &s;ome ba&s;e Lu&s;t and carnal End, or out of a &s;lavi&s;h Fear of God? 8. Are the Laws of Men more valued and fear'd by you than the Laws of God? Do you more readily obey them? 9. Are you de&s;irous and diligent in the draw|ing Men from compliance with God's Laws, to be your Companions in any Sin you are addicted unto? 10. Do you take plea&s;ure in the affronts Men offer to God, and make them the mat|ter of your &s;port and jollity? So much as you find of this Temper in any of your Souls, &s;o much of Enmity there is.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3"> The Third U&s;e is for <HI>Exhortation to Sinners.</HI></P>
<P N="1"><PB N="221" REF="116"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>Lay down thy Arms again&s;t God.</HI></P>
<P>How can you hear the&s;e things with|out &s;aying, Lord deliver me from this Nature. Oh! what &s;hould I be an ene|my to &s;o good a God? Did God put Enmity between the Seed of the Wo|man, and the Seed of the Serpent? and &s;hall I put an Enmity between God and my Soul, and a Love between my Heart and the Serpent? Shall I change this Promi&s;e of God, and make my deare&s;t Affections embrace the Serpent's Seed, and refu&s;e God him&s;elf? Lay down thy Cudgels, &s;trip thy &s;elf, yield thy &s;elf to him upon his own terms. How can&s;t thou &s;it down at re&s;t in hating God, and being hated by him? While thou art in thy Natural condition, thou can&s;t not be a friend to God: For <HI>they that are in the fle&s;h, cannot plea&s;e him, Rom.</HI> 8.8. How can two walk toge|ther, unle&s;s they be agreed? We mu&s;t change our Enmity into Friend&s;hip if ever we would be happy. We mu&s;t accept of his terms, to be at peace with him, or feel the bitter fruits of his pow|erful Ju&s;tice. We may pronounce in
<PB N="222" REF="117"> the Pre&s;ence of God, That if we hence|forward endeavour not to get out of a Natural &s;tate, it is a re&s;olute maintain|ing the War again&s;t Heaven.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>Lament this Enmity, and be hum|bled for it.</HI></P>
<P>If there be a common ingenuity, it will make thee tremble to think of thy hatred of Mercy it &s;elf. Every Sin is a branch of this Enmity, and doth con|tribute to the encrea&s;e of it, as Acts &s;trengthen Habits, and as every part of the Sea, according to its quantity and &s;trength, contributes to the roaring and violent Irruptions of it. We have robb'd God; for as much Obedience as we have given to the Fle&s;h, we have taken from God: Therefore ri&s;e as high as the Fountain in your Humiliations; and lie low, not for a particular Sin only, but for that Enmity in thy Nature, which is the root of all the Sins thou ever did&s;t act. The Evil in our Acti|ons is tran&s;ient; but there is a perfect and overflowing Fulne&s;s of Evil in thy Nature to animate a thou&s;and Acts of the &s;ame kind; as the habit of Love
<PB N="223" REF="117"> to God re&s;ident in the Soul, can com|mand and &s;pirit a thou&s;and Acts with its own Nature.</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4thly. The Fourth U&s;e <HI>of Exhorta|tion.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>To Regenerate per&s;ons,</HI> &s;uch as by the powerful working of the Grace of God, and the over-ruling Hand of the Spirit, have been brought out of this &s;tate of Enmity. Be&s;ides tho&s;e things which you may gather from the former Informations, as to grow up in all the parts of the New Creature, to further and advance that Regenerate Work in your Soul: To make frequent Appli|cations of the Blood of Chri&s;t, and to have your Heart lifted up in the Ways of God, and Obedience to him, there|by to bear witne&s;s to Chri&s;t, the Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s of God in his Admini&s;trations in the World: Let me advi&s;e to the&s;e things.</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>Po&s;&s;e&s;s your Hearts with great Ad|mirations of the Grace of God towards you, in wounding this Enmity in your Hearts, and changing your State.</HI></P>
<PB N="224" REF="118">
<P>The Apo&s;tle winds up our Admirati|ons of the Love of Chri&s;t upon this Peg, <HI>Rom.</HI> 5.10. <HI>When we were enemies, we were reconcil'd to God by the death of his Son; much more being reconcil'd, we &s;hall be &s;av'd by his life.</HI> Our Salva|tion from Sin by Regeneration, is the fruit of his Re&s;urrection and Life, as our Salvation from the Guilt of Sin by Satisfaction was the fruit of his Death: And not only &s;o, &s;aith he, <HI>v.</HI> 11. But <HI>we al&s;o joy in God through our Lord Je|&s;us Chri&s;t, by whom we now receive the atonement.</HI> This Reconciliation of us being the fruit of the fir&s;t Promi&s;e, of breaking the Serpent's Head, <HI>Gen.</HI> 3.15. <HI>i. e.</HI> The projects and de&s;igns of the Devil, to &s;et God and Man at eternal Variance, makes it the more admirable: That as &s;oon as Man had immediately after his Creation, and being made Lord of the re&s;t of the &s;ublunary Crea|tures, ca&s;t off his Lord and Creator, that ju&s;t at that time, under the pre|&s;ent &s;en&s;e of that unworthy Slight, he &s;hould be laying about for the good of fallen Man, and make a promi&s;e for the di&s;&s;olving this Enmity, and change this
<PB N="225" REF="118"> Re&s;i&s;tance of God into a more Righte|ous one; <HI>viz.</HI> A Variance with, and an eternal Enmity again&s;t the Serpent.</P>
<P>And hath not this been the Ca&s;e of &s;ome of our Souls, that God hath grap|led with us, and chang'd the Current of our Wills, even at the very time of the &s;pitting out our venomous di&s;affecti|on again&s;t him? It was <HI>Paul</HI>'s Ca&s;e, and the Ca&s;e of many, I am &s;ure, &s;ince that time: If &s;uch a Circum&s;tance as this did attend thy fir&s;t Conver&s;ion, it &s;hould methinks enlarge thy Notes, and wind up thy A&s;toni&s;hments to a higher pitch. But how&s;oever it be, change your Complaints into Prai&s;es for your Deliverance, though it be as yet im|perfect. A lively and warm &s;en&s;e of it would quicken thy Obedience, and &s;pi|rit thee more in the ways of God than all thy Complaints can do. 'Tis to the Grace of God that we owe the decays of it. 'Tis a particular a&s;&s;i&s;ting Grace that keeps it down, and binds it up at any time. If we are &s;ometimes with|out con&s;iderable di&s;turbances by it, it is not for want of the Will of the Fle&s;h, nor for want of Strength enough in the
<PB N="226" REF="119"> Fle&s;h, even in the be&s;t of Men, but it is &s;tak'd down, and &s;topt by the power|ful Operation of the Spirit, and the working of irre&s;i&s;tible Grace. To this purpo&s;e often reflect upon your former State; it will &s;et a Glo&s;s upon the Grace of God. The more di&s;ingenuous our Enmity was, the more illu&s;trious will it make the Love of God to appear in our eye.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. Endeavour <HI>to hate Sin as much as thou ha&s;t hated God.</HI></P>
<P>What rea&s;on have we to bewail our &s;elves? None of us have ever yet ha|ted Sin &s;o much, as naturally we have hated God. Turn this Affection now as much upon thy great Enemy, as thou ha&s;t done upon thy be&s;t Friend. The deeper ga&s;hes thou ha&s;t given to God, Chri&s;t, and his Glory, the wider wounds, the harder blows, the &s;harper &s;tabs give to thy Sin. Have as great an animo&s;ity again&s;t it, as you have had &s;toutne&s;s of heart again&s;t God. Come not under the power of any one: Lift up thy hand mo&s;t again&s;t Spiritual Sins: Shew no Obedience to the Law of Sin in thy Members.</P>
<P N="3"><PB N="227" REF="119"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3dly. <HI>Enflame thy Love to God</HI> by all the Con&s;iderations thou can&s;t po&s;&s;ibly mu&s;ter up. Outdo thy former di&s;affecti|on by a greater ardency of Love. Sin|cerely aim at his Glory. Eye his Com|mand only in every thing thou do&s;t. Delight to plea&s;e him above thy &s;elf. Endeavour by all means to draw others to think well of him, and be at peace with him. Take plea&s;ure in thy con|ver&s;ion of others to him. Rejoice at any Glory he gains in the World. The un|ju&s;t Enmity he receives from others, &s;hould procure a greater re&s;pect from us to God. Oh that we could make up by an inten&s;ene&s;s of Love, the injury he receives by the enmity of others, and ballance their Hatred by an increa&s;e of our Affection! Oh that we could de|light our &s;elves in him, as much as we have been di&s;plea&s;ed with him! That he might be as dear to us, as he is odi|ous to Devils; and that the Devils them&s;elves, in the degrees of their de|te&s;tation of God, might not out&s;trip us in the degrees of our affection to him.</P>
<P N="4"><PB N="228" REF="120"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4thly. <HI>Bewail this Enmity.</HI></P>
<P>Are the be&s;t of us perfect? Are we &s;tript of all reliques of it? Has any man on Earth put off the dregs of the Fle&s;h, and commenc'd an Angel in Pu|rity? Have we got the &s;tart of all the Saints of old, and expell'd it wholly out of us? Have we out&s;tript the great Apo&s;tle, who complain'd of Sins dwel|ling in his Fle&s;h? Is there no more need of Groans to be deliver'd from this body of death? Ah! what reliques are there? Doth not the be&s;t Man find it a laborious Undertaking, to engage again&s;t the Remainders of Nature in him, and to manage a con&s;tant and open ho&s;tility again&s;t the force of the Sen&s;ual Appetite, and the Spiritual Wickedne&s;s in the high places of his Soul, though much wound|ed by the Grace of God? 'Tis this ga&s;p|ing body of death in a Regenerate man that gives life to tho&s;e &s;warms of im|perfections in his Religious Duties. 'Tis this that cripples our Obedience; that &s;hackles our Feet, when they &s;hould run the Ways of God's Command|ments. 'Tis this drags away our Heart
<PB N="229" REF="120"> after unworthy Objects, in the mid&s;t of tho&s;e Services wherein we attempt the neare&s;t approaches to God. 'Tis upon the &s;core of this lurking Principle in us, that we may charge all the foils we &s;uf|fer in our &s;tronge&s;t Wre&s;tlings for Hea|ven. And is not this Cau&s;e enough to bewail it? One great Ingredient in any day's Repentance, is an acknowledg|ment of the due demerit of Sin, and the Righteou&s;ne&s;s of God in his Threat|nings and Puni&s;hment; and this mu&s;t be the ground the abhorrency our Souls naturally have to his Statutes, <HI>Levit.</HI> 26.43. <HI>They &s;hall accept of the puni&s;hment of their iniquity; i. e.</HI> They &s;hall repent of it, and acknowledge my Righteou&s;|ne&s;s in it, <HI>becau&s;e, even becau&s;e:</HI> And <HI>v.</HI> 40. they were to confe&s;s their iniqui|ty, and the iniquity of their Fathers, <HI>i. e.</HI> the iniquity deriv'd from their Fathers; for their actual Sins are expre&s;s'd by <HI>the tre&s;pa&s;s they tre&s;pa&s;&s;ed again&s;t God.</HI> Are there not daily Starts of this Nature in us? Do we not need a daily Pardon for it? and is it for God's honour to pardon us without an humble Acknowledg|ment? 'Tis the greate&s;t part of our
<PB N="230" REF="121"> Enmity that we are not more affected with it. Our breaking God's Com|mands, is not &s;o much as the inherent contempt of God in us; a man may re|ceive injuries from another, and lightly pa&s;s them over, when he knows the per&s;on hath no di&s;affection to him. It was not &s;o much the act of Adultery and Murther that <HI>Nathan</HI> by God's Com|mi&s;&s;ion charges &s;o home upon <HI>David,</HI> as his de&s;pi&s;ing God's Commands, and de&s;pi&s;ing God him&s;elf, 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 12.9. <HI>Wherefore ha&s;t thou de&s;pi&s;ed the command of the Lord?</HI> and <HI>v.</HI> 10. <HI>Thou ha&s;t de&s;pi|&s;ed me.</HI> And it is not &s;o much our actual breaches, as our natural and indwelling contempt of God, that is mo&s;t charge|able upon us in our approaches to him, and exerci&s;es of our Repentance before him. If a likene&s;s to <HI>Adam</HI>'s Sin be made a ground of the aggravation of actual Sin, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 6.7. <HI>But they like men have tran&s;gre&s;s'd;</HI> implying that to be the greate&s;t; then the Corruption of Nature we deriv'd from him by the means of that Sin, mu&s;t be the highe&s;t and mo&s;t lamented.</P>
<P N="5"><PB N="231" REF="121"><MILESTONE N="5"> 5thly. <HI>Watch again&s;t the daily Exert|ings and Exerci&s;es of this Enmity.</HI></P>
<P>When we would be &s;erious in the concerns of God and our own Souls, Do we not feel &s;ome inward A&s;&s;aults again&s;t our own Re&s;olutions, and &s;ome &s;ecret Adver&s;ary within &s;triving again&s;t our mo&s;t &s;piritual Reflections? and is there no need of a Watch? Alas! this being a con&s;tant Adver&s;ary, requires our con&s;tant Care. It being a &s;ecret and inward Adver&s;ary, requires our ut|mo&s;t diligence and prudence. Who is there of us, who &s;erves God with that care, and obeys him with that reverence as he doth his worldly Superior? Do we not &s;ometimes hate in&s;truction when it goes again&s;t the grain, and ca&s;t the Words of God behind our backs, and thus kick again&s;t the Lawgiver? Do we not many times prefer the Fle&s;h be|fore him? (I know, in the bent of the heart a Godly man doth not, but in &s;ome particular Acts he may and doth.) Are not our Under&s;tandings more fre|quently awakened to any thing, than that which God doth command? Are
<PB N="232" REF="122"> not our de&s;ires too Vehement for tho&s;e things which have no commerce with the Law and Mind of God? Have we no doubts of his Faithfulne&s;s, no mur|muring again&s;t his Soveraign di&s;po&s;al of things, no ri&s;ings of Heart again&s;t his Law, again&s;t his Providences, no Self confidence, Envy, Ambition, Re|venge? All the&s;e are but the Branches of this bitter Root. And is not our exacte&s;t care and con&s;tant watch|fulne&s;s requi&s;ite again&s;t the workings of this natural cur&s;ed di&s;po&s;ition? Sure it is, and &s;ure it mu&s;t be.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="motives">
<HEAD>MOTIVES.</HEAD>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. Con&s;ider the <HI>di&s;ingenuity of this Enmity.</HI></P>
<P>There is no nece&s;&s;ity thou &s;hould|e&s;t be his Enemy, it will not be Ho|nourable to thee to &s;tand out. <HI>Peter</HI> denied Chri&s;t, when his own Life was in danger; and thou hate&s;t God, who would put the life of thy Soul out of danger. 'Tis again&s;t all the obligati|ons of Nature and Grace, to be an Enemy to him to whom thou owe&s;t
<PB N="233" REF="122"> thy Being, thy pre&s;ervation from Hell, and recovery from Mi&s;ery, but for thy own Fault. Do we not voluntarily &s;ubject our &s;elves to Men, whom we e&s;teem good, though the loveline&s;s of their Per&s;ons, and the goodne&s;s of their Nature be infinitely &s;hort of God, and are as much below him in alluring Qualities, as they are in Greatne&s;s and Maje&s;ty? What Bene|fits can Men be&s;tow upon their Ser|vants, like tho&s;e God doth recompence his &s;incere Adorers with? Men may love their Friends more than they can help them; but the loving-kind|ne&s;s of God is attended with a Power as infinite as it &s;elf.</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>God hath been good to us.</HI></P>
<P>He is Love,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Joh. 4.8.</NOTE> and we are out of love with Love it &s;elf. Is he not our Father? why &s;hould we not Honour him? Is he not our Ma&s;ter? why &s;hould we not Obey him? Is he not our Benefactor? why &s;hould we not Affect him? Whence have we our Mercies, but from his Hand? Who be&s;ides him maintains our Breath this
<PB N="234" REF="123"> moment? Would he call for our Spirits this in&s;tant, they mu&s;t depart from us to attend his Command? What &s;hall his Benefits be made Weapons of Unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, and the Devils Arms again&s;t him? Chri&s;t died for us while we were Ene|mies, and &s;hall we &s;tand out as Ene|mies &s;till? It will be the lea&s;t thou can&s;t do to love him at the very time he &s;hows Mercy to thee, and that is every minute. There is not a moment wherein thou can&s;t with any ingenuity be an enemy to him, be|cau&s;e there is not a moment wherein he is not thy Guardian, wherein thou do&s;t not ta&s;t of his Bounty. God hath let thee have thy &s;wing all this time, thou ha&s;t had thy Rendezvouz at thy Plea&s;ure, and he never laid wait for thee but in kindne&s;s. He might have dealt with us, as we do with Venomous Creatures, and de&s;troyed &s;uch a generation of Vipers, and cru&s;hed the Cockatrice in the Egg. What a di&s;graceful thing is it to put off the Nature of Men for that of Devils, to hate God under Mercy, as
<PB N="235" REF="123"> much as the Devils do under wrath|ful Anger? Is not God our greate&s;t Benefactor, and &s;hall he have nothing but di&s;dains from us for all his Be|nefits? The P&s;almi&s;t cries out, <HI>What &s;hall I render to the Lord for all his Benefits towards me?</HI> But it is the Lan|guage of our Heart, What ill turns &s;hall we render to God for all his Mercies unto us? 'Tis his <HI>Mercy we are not con&s;umed,</HI> and &s;hall we &s;pend this Mercy upon our Lu&s;ts? He was Compa&s;&s;ionate in &s;paring us, and &s;hall we be Ungrateful in hating him? 'Tis the highe&s;t Di&s;ingenuity.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. <HI>God hath been importunate in intreaties of us.</HI></P>
<P>God offers not only Truce, but a Peace, and hath been mo&s;t active in urging a Reconciliation. Can he ma|nife&s;t his willingne&s;s in clearer Me|thods, than that of &s;ending his Son to reconcile the World to Him&s;elf? Can he evidence more &s;incerity than by his repeated and reiterated pre&s;&s;ing of our Souls to the acceptance of Him? God knocks at our Hearts,
<PB N="236" REF="124"> and we are deaf to him; He thun|ders in our Ears, and we regard him not; He waits upon us for our acceptance of his Love, and we grow more mad again&s;t him; He be&s;eecheth us, and we ungratefully and proudly reject him; He opens his bo&s;ome, and we turn our backs; He offers us his pearls, and we tread them under our feet; He would cloath us with pure linnen, but we would &s;till wear our foul rags; He would give us Angels bread, and we feed on husks with Swine. The wi&s;dom of God &s;hines upon us, and we account it fooli&s;h|ne&s;s. The infinite kindne&s;s of God courts us, and we refu&s;e it, as if it were the greate&s;t cruelty. Chri&s;t calls and begs, and we will not hear him ei|ther commanding or intreating. To love God is our privilege, and though it be our indi&s;pen&s;able duty, yet it had been a pre&s;umption in us to a&s;|pire &s;o high as to think the ca&s;ting our earthly affections upon &s;o tran&s;cen|dent an object &s;hould be dear to him, had he not authori&s;ed it by his com|mand, and encouraged it by his ac|ceptance.
<PB N="237" REF="124"> But 'tis &s;trange that God &s;hould court us by &s;uch varieties of kindne&s;s to that, wherein not his happine&s;s, but our perfection doth con&s;i&s;t; and much &s;tranger, that &s;uch pieces of Earth and Clay &s;hould turn their Backs upon &s;o adorable an Ob|ject, and be Enemies to him, who di&s;plays him&s;elf in &s;o many Allure|ments to their Souls, and fix their ha|tred upon that tender God who &s;ues for their Affections. If you con&s;ider that</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>God is our Superior.</HI> An Inferior &s;hould &s;eek to a Superior, not a Su|perior to one below him. There is an Equality between Man and Man, but an infinite Inequality between God and us.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>God is the party wronged,</HI> and yet offers a Parley.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3. When <HI>he could as well Damn us, as Court us;</HI> he wants not Power to rid his hands of us, but he would ra|ther &s;how his Almightine&s;s in the triumph of his Mercy, than the Tro|phies of his Ju&s;tice; He had rather
<PB N="238" REF="125"> be a refre&s;hing Light, than a con&s;u|ming Fire.</P>
<P>The Second Motive.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. This <HI>Enmity to God, 'tis the great|e&s;t Folly and Madne&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>The Scripture tells us, that Sin is Folly and Madne&s;s; And certainly had Man a clear pro&s;pect of this Truth, which in his fir&s;t Apo&s;tacy he fell from, &s;o that he could examine all his Speculations, De&s;ires, Motions, and Actions by that Rule, they would appear to him to be acts of a craz'd and Frantick Mind. Therefore, when upon our return to God we have but a glimp&s;e of this Truth, how much a&s;ham'd is Man of the deformity of his Actions from that Rule; as a Man that hath been Mad, is of tho&s;e pranks he plaid in his Phrenzy, after he is brought to his right Wits. Hence Repentance, which is always accom|panied with a Shame, is called <GAP DESC="foreign">, a return to our right Wits.</P>
<P N="1"><PB N="239" REF="125"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. This Enmity to God, 'tis in it &s;elf <HI>Irrational;</HI> becau&s;e,</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>God is the mo&s;t lovely Object.</HI></P>
<P>He hath in his own nature, as well as in his Operations the highe&s;t right to our Love: for the more of Entity and Being any thing hath, the more of Perfection, and the more lovely it is in it &s;elf, and the more to be belov'd by us. Now God hath the mo&s;t of Being, becau&s;e other Beings were eminently contained in his im|men&s;e E&s;&s;ence, and produced by his infi|nite Power, and were the Manife&s;tati|ons of him&s;elf, and lines drawn from him, and by him; and therefore He is the mo&s;t amiable Object, becau&s;e the Creature hath nothing lovely but only what it hath from God, which is more eminently trea&s;ur'd up in him, and may in him be &s;een and enjoyed with a greater advantage. The Creatures are but Pictures, and can no more re|pre&s;ent to the full the true amiable|ne&s;s of God, than a few Colours, tho' never &s;o well &s;uited together, can the
<PB N="240" REF="126"> Moral or Intellectual Loveline&s;s of the Soul of Man. As God had all the Idea's of his Creatures in his Mind, &s;o he had all the virtues of them in his E&s;&s;ence. Therefore to love any Creature above God, and &s;o to hate him, is the highe&s;t piece of unrea&s;o|nablene&s;s.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. <HI>God is the chiefe&s;t Good, and the Fountain of all Goodne&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>'Tis unrea&s;onable to look upon that, which comes from the Fountain of Goodne&s;s, to be de&s;tructive to our true Plea&s;ure; yet Men have &s;uch hard thoughts of Religion and Divine Com|mands, as if they were de&s;igned for their utter ruin, when they are the effluxes of infinite Goodne&s;s. All ha|tred doth ari&s;e from an apprehen&s;ion of the incon&s;i&s;tency of the thing we hate, with &s;omething we e&s;teem a part of our happine&s;s; and Sinners being po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with the thoughts of the Ju&s;tice and Holine&s;s of God, as incon&s;i&s;tent with their Darling Sin, hate him for being of a Nature &s;o con|trary to that which they love; where|as
<PB N="241" REF="126"> none of God's perfections are repug|nant to our Being, or Well-being in them&s;elves: For would we have a God unju&s;t, what comfort could we then take in him; we hate him for being again&s;t that which is mo&s;t again&s;t us? We hate him for hating of that which would de&s;troy our Souls, and imbitter our Beings to us to all Eternity: We hate him for hating that, which if it were po&s;&s;ible would di&s;quiet his Felicity, and de&s;troy his Being. What an unrea&s;onable thing is it, to quarrel with that Law of God, which obligeth you to nothing but what conduceth to the benefit of your Souls, and the order of the World? What doth it bound and re&s;train you from, but that which would bring de&s;truction upon you? Is it not a greater advantage to be carried fet|ter'd to Heaven, than to run at liber|ty to Hell? who but a Madman would prefer the Devil's before God's Yoke, and be the Captive of a helli&s;h Ty|rant, rather than the Subject of a Gracious Soveraign? What an unrea|&s;onable
<PB N="242" REF="127"> thing is it to love any Sin, a privation better than the be&s;t of Beings? Can we expect to get as much advantage from him, by being his Enemies, as by being his Friends, &s;ince he is of &s;o Merciful a Di&s;po&s;i|tion?</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3dly. <HI>God cannot po&s;&s;ibly do us Wrong.</HI></P>
<P>All right Hatred is from a real Wrong, &s;en&s;e of Wrong, or fear of Wrong; either of tho&s;e is an unju&s;t imputation upon God, who cannot po&s;&s;ibly do wrong to his Creatures, becau&s;e he cannot be unrighteous. <HI>Rom.</HI> 3.5. <HI>Is God unrighteous who takes vengeance,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">. For God is &s;o far from being injurious in the lea&s;t to us, that he doth ca&s;t about, and contrive our Happine&s;s in his Laws, more than we can our &s;elves, or are willing he &s;hould do for us. Men cannot, if they con&s;ult but the &s;parks of Rea&s;on, but confe&s;s the rea&s;onable|ne&s;s of Gods Commands, and be &s;a|tisfied in the righteou&s;ne&s;s of the Du|ties
<PB N="243" REF="127"> enjoined, and the profitablene&s;s of the Coun&s;els &s;et out in the Go&s;pel, and mu&s;t needs look upon the Feli|city promi&s;ed, to be excellent and de|&s;irable, and therefore cannot upon any rea&s;onable account charge God with doing them any Wrong. Or let me argue thus; Either God hath Wrong'd us, or not; if not, it is unrea&s;onable to di&s;affect him; if he hath, why &s;hould we hate him, &s;ee|ing if God could do any inju&s;tice, he would not have the being of a God? For if it were po&s;&s;ible, as &s;oon as ever he &s;hould cea&s;e to be Ju&s;t and Righteous, he would cea&s;e to be God, and de&s;troy his own Nature: For as every Man in doing an Unju&s;t Act, is le&s;s than a Man, and lo&s;es the end of his own Rea&s;on; &s;o God by doing any Inju&s;tice, would be le&s;s than a God. Nay our hating him as Judge, is highly irrational, becau&s;e of his Equity, and Righteou&s;ne&s;s in all his proceedings. And becau&s;e it is our own act in forcing him to that by our Evil Practi&s;es, which he
<PB N="244" REF="128"> is not willing to do but according to his own Righteous Nature, and for the Vindication of his Holine&s;s in his Law, cannot but do, upon our final Impenitency, and per&s;i&s;ting in our Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions.</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4thly. <HI>God cannot be hurt by us.</HI></P>
<P>'Tis a folly among Men to &s;how their Enmity where they cannot hurt. What an unrea&s;onable Boldne&s;s is it for a man to think he can grapple with Omnipotency, and enter the Li&s;ts with the Fountain of all Strength and Pow|er? What is thy Enmity, but a &s;mall wrigling again&s;t God? What di&s;ad|vantage can accrue to him by thy op|po&s;ing him? Ju&s;t as much as the Moon receives by the Dog's barking at it, which neither &s;tands &s;till, nor alters its Cour&s;e, nor is frighted at the noi&s;e. Fooli&s;h man! that will not di&s;cover an Enmity again&s;t a Superior, but rakes it up in the A&s;hes, and muzzles his Anger till he be able to bite; and yet proclaims a War openly again&s;t Hea|ven, as if he were too &s;trong for God,
<PB N="245" REF="128"> and God too weak for him. As the Light of God's Face is too dazling to be &s;een, &s;o the Arm of his Power is too mighty to be oppre&s;s'd by us. His Almightine&s;s is above the reach of our pot&s;herd Strength, as his Infinitene&s;s is above the Capacity of our purblind Under&s;tandings. His Happine&s;s is too firm to be di&s;turb'd by us, as well as his E&s;&s;ence too glorious to be compre|hended. What force can&s;t thou have to re&s;i&s;t the Pre&s;ence of him, before whom the Rocks melt, and the Hea|vens at length will be &s;hrivell'd up as Parchment by the la&s;t fire?</P>
<P N="5"><MILESTONE N="5"> 5thly. But though thou can&s;t not hurt God, yet <HI>thou do&s;t mightily wrong thy &s;elf.</HI></P>
<P>Sen&s;ele&s;s Sinner! God is out of thy Gun&s;hot; thy Arrows are too &s;hort for that Mark, but his are long enough for thee; thy Shot will fall before it reach him, but his Arrows will both reach thy Heart, and &s;tick in it. Ha|tred in the World is attended &s;ome|times with outward advantage; but
<PB N="246" REF="129"> what gain can&s;t thou expect by this Enmity? What refre&s;hment is there by thy endeavouring to dry up the Fountain? What good by labouring to de&s;troy the Original of Goodne&s;s it &s;elf? What harm is it to the Sun to &s;hoot up Arrows again&s;t it? Do they pierce its Light, or &s;hatter any of the Sparks of it? No, but they fall down upon the Archer's head. The Oppo|&s;ition of a wicked Man again&s;t God is much like a man's running his head again&s;t a Rock, to be reveng'd on it for &s;plitting his Ship; whereby he brui&s;eth not the Rock, but da&s;heth out his own Brains, and pays his Life for a price of his folly. Poor man is like a Pot&s;herd, that ju&s;tles with a Rock, and bur&s;ts it &s;elf! and is not this the highe&s;t piece of Madne&s;s? <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 45.9. <HI>Wo unto him that &s;trives with his Maker: let the pot&s;heard &s;trive with the pot&s;herds of the earth.</HI> Do&s;t thou fight again&s;t the Rock of Ages? it will rather blunt thy Weapon than be hurt by thy Arm; it will make thy Sword fly back in pieces upon thy own Face.
<PB N="247" REF="129"> Every wicked Man is a greater Enemy to him&s;elf than the Devil is, and wrongs him&s;elf more than the Devil can do; becau&s;e he nouri&s;heth that Sin in him which wars again&s;t his Soul.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3dly. The Third Motive, Con&s;ider <HI>the Mi&s;ery of &s;uch a &s;tate.</HI></P>
<P>Thou wilt be mi&s;erable with a wit|ne&s;s, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 16.22. <HI>If any man love not the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, let him be Ana|thema.</HI> Let all the Cur&s;es in Heaven and Earth light upon him. Let the Mercy, Wi&s;dom, Power, Strength of God appear again&s;t him; let him not have an Advocate to make any Plea for him. Angels, Men, Devils will all appear again&s;t &s;uch a per&s;on.</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. Thou <HI>can&s;t not po&s;&s;ibly e&s;cape Ven|geance.</HI></P>
<P>The <HI>Sodomites,</HI> who&s;e Sins had &s;o long dar'd God's Ju&s;tice, might have better e&s;cap'd than thou can&s;t: But, alas! what force hath a Puppy or Worm in a Lion's paw? Thou art no more in
<PB N="248" REF="130"> his hand than a Fly between a Gyant's fingers.</P>
<P>Go fooli&s;h &s;elf-deluding Creature, recollect thy &s;elf. Can &s;uch a Bub|ble, Du&s;t, Chaff, Stubble, wor&s;e than nothing and Vanity, wre&s;tle with God? Ah poor Worm! Wilt thou &s;et thy &s;elf in a &s;trutting Array again&s;t Omnipotency, far le&s;s in God's hands than a Chicken new &s;tript of its Shell in the Talons of an Eagle. <HI>Jacob,</HI> a holy Man, wre&s;tled with him upon a holy account, and broke his Thigh; take heed in thy wre&s;tling with him upon a &s;inful account, thou do&s;t not break thy Neck. If he be thy friend, none can hurt thee; but if thy enemy, none can relieve thee. He is the be&s;t friend when Men will love him, but as terrible an enemy as con&s;uming fire, when Men will hate him. Thou mu&s;t be &s;ubject to him whether thou wilt or no, there is no remedy; if &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to his Mercy be not free, &s;ubjection to his Ju&s;tice mu&s;t be forc'd. We mu&s;t be under his Power whether we will or no; we cannot wre&s;t our
<PB N="249" REF="130"> &s;elves out of the compa&s;s of his Arm; if we go down to Hell, he is there; if we dive to the bottom of the Deep, thence his Hand will fetch us out. We always have been, are &s;till, and for ever mu&s;t be within the reach of his Almighty Power. Whither wilt thou go? Is there any Gari&s;on to de|fend thee? any Sanctuary to &s;ecure thee? any Champion to &s;tand for thee? If all the Angels in Heaven, and De|vils in Hell, &s;hould rouze up them|&s;elves to be thy Protectors, thou woulde&s;t be ju&s;t as happy, as if thou had&s;t the &s;helter of the Du&s;t of the Balance, or a drop of a Bucket. Can we blind his Eye that he &s;hould not &s;ee, or deafen his Ear that he &s;hould not hear, or bind his Arm that he &s;hould not &s;trike? Can we remove his Jealou&s;y by increa&s;ing it? Can we mitigate Everla&s;ting Burnings by adding Oil to them? Can our Sins &s;tand out again&s;t his Judgments, or our Per&s;ons &s;ucce&s;sfully combat with his Wrath? Before any of tho&s;e can be done, the Creator mu&s;t de&s;cend in|to
<PB N="250" REF="131"> our Impotency. What man will confe&s;s he is able to do any of tho&s;e, and yet he will walk in a Path of En|mity? Wrath will come, though it be &s;low in coming; 'Tis &s;low, but &s;ure; the longer it is preparing, the bitterer will it be in enduring. Let all Devils and Sinners in the World join together, how &s;oon is God able to overthrow them, and turn their <HI>Babel</HI>-Fort to their own Confu&s;ion, and bury them in the Ruins of their own Works! <HI>Prov.</HI> 11.21. <HI>Though hand join in hand, the wicked &s;hall not be unpuni&s;h'd.</HI> How would he fling them all into Hell, as one of us can a Bag of Du&s;t or Sand into the Sea?</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. <HI>Thou do&s;t even force God to de|&s;troy thee for his own content,</HI> and as it were provoke him to damn thee for his own Ea&s;e; if thou wilt not lay down thy Arms, thou do&s;t wre&s;t Wrath out of his hands, <HI>Zech.</HI> 6.8. <HI>Have quieted my &s;pirit.</HI> He &s;peaks of the Angels which he had &s;ent out again&s;t <HI>Babylon,</HI> tho&s;e black Hor&s;es
<PB N="251" REF="131"> which noted Death and De&s;truction; and tho&s;e Angels doing their work and duty, are &s;aid by him&s;elf to quiet his Spirit; &s;o that God can have no Re&s;t in his own Spirit but by thy &s;ub|mi&s;&s;ion or de&s;truction. And the longer thou do&s;t &s;tand out, the more thou do&s;t provoke God to take &s;ome cour&s;e for the ea&s;ing of him&s;elf: for Puni&s;h|ment in another place he calls his <HI>Ea&s;e,</HI> I&s;a. 1.24. <HI>I will ea&s;e me of my adver&s;a|ries;</HI> and the latter words explain it, <HI>I will avenge me of my enemies.</HI> Is not the Honour of God concern'd in his Laws? and would he not make him|&s;elf ridiculous to the Sons of Men, if he did not &s;everely puni&s;h their Viola|tions of them?</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3dly. <HI>God cannot &s;ave thee without di&s;turbing the happine&s;s of tho&s;e that love him, and are loved by him.</HI></P>
<P>Thou wilt but make a di&s;turbance in Heaven by thy contrary di&s;po&s;ition, and hinder that exact Harmony; Thy jarring Principles could never agree with that Con&s;ort; thy Enmity and
<PB N="252" REF="132"> Divi&s;ion with that Union; The Re|po&s;e of the Saints would be di&s;quieted, and their Plea&s;ure cool'd: for if they cared not for thy Company in the World, when they had many reliques of Enmity in them&s;elves, and an im|perfect holine&s;s, they can le&s;s endure it in Heaven, where their holine&s;s is fully ripe, and their hatred again&s;t impiety perfectly &s;trong; And God will not bring thee thither with that cur&s;ed nature thou ha&s;t, to damp their joy, and &s;poil the order of Hea|ven.</P>
<P>A &s;tate of Wrath mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily &s;ucceed a &s;tate of Enmity: for Hea|ven can never be a place &s;uitable to you, it will be as little agreeable to you, as your being there will be to God.</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4ly. <HI>Thou ha&s;t the beginnings of Hell in thee already.</HI></P>
<P>Enmity is a helli&s;h Di&s;po&s;ition. As the perfection of Love in Heaven is a part of Heaven's Happine&s;s, &s;o the perfection of Enmity in Hell is a
<PB N="253" REF="132"> part of the damned's Mi&s;ery. The &s;ight of God in Heaven enflames Love in Saints, &s;o the ab&s;ence of God from Hell enrageth Enmity in the Devils and damned Spirits.</P>
<P N="5"><MILESTONE N="5"> 5ly. <HI>All thy Enmity will certainly be charged upon thee one day.</HI></P>
<P>There is a time when all thy acts of Enmity &s;hall be &s;et in order before thee, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 50.21. <HI>I will &s;et them in or|der before thee.</HI> This is to be under|&s;tood <HI>more Militari,</HI> when &s;in &s;hall be &s;et in rank and file, in bloody array again&s;t thy Soul. Or <HI>more Foren&s;i,</HI> when they &s;hall be &s;et in order as &s;o many Inditements for thy Rebellion and Trea&s;on. What &s;adne&s;s will &s;eize upon thee at the la&s;t, when God &s;hall fix upon thee out of the Croud, and point at thee, <HI>Luk.</HI> 19.27. <HI>But tho&s;e my Enemies which would not that I &s;hould reign over them, bring hither, and &s;lay them before me.</HI> How &s;olemnly will he execute every Enemy at the la&s;t! they &s;hall be brought out &s;hackled one by one, and Chri&s;t will &s;it and be|hold
<PB N="254" REF="133"> it. Lo here is one of my Enemies, I have found him out for all his fair hopes of e&s;cape. When Men and An|gels &s;hall &s;ay, <HI>Lo this is the man</HI> that made not God his Strength; this is the Man that &s;et up other Gods in his heart; that was &s;uch a fool as to think his Plea&s;ure, Riches, Strength, Ho|nour, to be his God. Ah fool with a witne&s;s, to think that a God could be of thy own making!</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB REF="133">
<PB REF="134">
<PB N="1" REF="134">
<HEAD>Chiefe&s;t Sinners Objects of Choice&s;t Mercy.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>1 TIM. 1.15.</HI></BIBL>
<P>This is a faithful &s;aying, and worthy of all acceptation, That Chri&s;t Je&s;us came into the world to &s;ave &s;inners, of whom I am chief.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P N="1">1. Ob&s;. <HI>THE Salvation of Sin|ners was the main de|&s;ign of Chri&s;t's coming into the World.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>God doth often make the chiefe&s;t Sinners Objects of his choice&s;t Mercy.</HI></P>
<P>For the la&s;t, That God doth &s;o.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>God hath formerly made invita|tions to &s;uch.</HI> See what a black Gene|ration
<PB N="2" REF="135"> they were, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 1. by the &s;crowl of their Sins. They were Rebels, and Rebels again&s;t him that had nur&s;ed them. Ver&s;. 2. <HI>I have nouri&s;h'd and brought up children, and they have rebell'd again&s;t me:</HI> And in this re&s;pect wor&s;e than the Bea&s;ts they were ma&s;ters of; the &s;tupid Ox, and the dull A&s;s out&s;tript them in ingenuity. Ver&s;. 3. <HI>The Ox knoweth his owner, and the A&s;s his ma&s;ter's crib; but I&s;rael doth not know, my people doth not con&s;ider.</HI> He calls upon Heaven and Earth to judge between them, <HI>v.</HI> 2. He appeals to Men and Angels, as a Jury to give their Verdict, whether the&s;e People had not been the mo&s;t di&s;|ingenuous and ungrateful People in the World. Or if by Heavens and Earth be meant Magi&s;trates and People, as in the Prophetick &s;tyle they are u&s;ually ta|ken, God then appeals to them&s;elves, to let their own natural Con&s;ciences, and the common Ingenuity their Sins had left them, to judge between them. He comes to charge them, <HI>v.</HI> 4. <HI>laden with iniquity:</HI> They had &s;uch great weights lying upon them, that they were not able to &s;tir; or laden with it,
<PB N="3" REF="135"> as &s;ome Crab-tree is with &s;owr Fruit. They had &s;prouted from a wicked Stock; they had corrupted one another by their Society, and Example, as rotten Apples putrify the &s;ound ones that lie near them.</P>
<P>They had been incorrigible under Judgments; God had u&s;ed the Rod again, and again; but being there was no reformation, he was even weary of whipping them any longer; v. 5. <HI>Why &s;hould ye be &s;tricken any more? ye will re|volt more and more.</HI> They were al&s;o &s;o univer&s;ally infected, that there was no &s;ound part about them, but running Sores all over, both head and heart were infected; corrupt Notions in the one, and corrupt Affections in the other.</P>
<P>Or if you take it Prophetically, Head &s;ignifies the Chief Magi&s;trate; Heart, the Judges; Feet the common People. The Fire which had burnt their Cities, had not con&s;um'd their Lu&s;ts, and dried up their Sins; <HI>v.</HI> 7. <HI>Your country is de|&s;olate, your cities are burnt with fire, your land &s;trangers devour it in your pre&s;ence, and it is de&s;olate, as overthrown by &s;tran|gers.</HI>
<PB N="4" REF="136"> And had it not been for a &s;mall Remnant, they had been as bad as <HI>Sodom</HI> and <HI>Gomorrah,</HI> v. 9. Their Ser|vices were polluted, vain, and an abo|mination to him, <HI>v.</HI> 13. A trouble to him, his Soul hated them, he was ti|red with them, <HI>v.</HI> 14. for they came with their bloody murtherous hands in|to God's pre&s;ence.</P>
<P>Yet though he ju&s;tly charg'd them with the&s;e horrid Crimes, he gives them a&s;&s;urance of entertainment if they would return to him, <HI>v.</HI> 18. <HI>Come now, and let us rea&s;on together:</HI> He would conde&s;cend to debate the Ca&s;e with them, when one would have thought he &s;hould have &s;aid, I'll have nothing to do with &s;uch a Crew as they; God loves to di&s;cour&s;e with Men about this Argument of Pardon; and he loves that Men &s;hould hear him &s;peak concerning it. He would di&s;pute them out of their Sins, into good and right apprehen&s;ions of his Mercy.</P>
<P>So <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 31.6. <HI>Turn ye unto him from whom the children of I&s;rael have deeply revolted.</HI> Revolted, there is their Sin; deeply, there's the aggravation of it;
<PB N="5" REF="136"> and being al&s;o Children of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> a People of much Mercy, and Miracles, there's another aggravation; yet turn unto him again&s;t whom you have thus &s;inn'd.</P>
<P>The great Objection of a Penitent is, I have &s;inned, and I know not whether God will receive me: Con&s;ider, God knows thy Sin better than thou do&s;t, yet he kindly calls to thee, and promi|&s;eth thee as good a reception as if thou had&s;t never &s;inn'd.</P>
<P>So <HI>Jer.</HI> 3.1. <HI>They &s;ay, If a man put a|way his wife, and &s;he go from him, and become another man's, &s;hall he return unto her again? &s;hall not that land be greatly polluted? But thou ha&s;t play'd the harlot with many lovers, yet return again to me, &s;aith the Lord.</HI> Though thou ha&s;t been a common Whore, and made all Com|ers, every Idol welcome, and been in league with many Sins; yet upon thy return I'll own thee; and the&s;e are God's warrants for encouragement.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>God hath given Examples of it in Scripture. Adam,</HI> the Ring-leader of all Rebellions of Mankind in the World,
<PB N="6" REF="137"> had the promi&s;e of the Seed of the Wo|man to break the Serpents head made to him: And in the Genealogy of Chri&s;t, is call'd the Son of God, <HI>Luk.</HI> 3.38. not only in re&s;pect of Creation, for &s;o the Devil is the Son of God; but in a nearer relation. Yet all that deluge of Wickedne&s;s which has overflow'd the World &s;ince the Fall, &s;prung out of his Loyns. Nay, <HI>Abraham,</HI> the Father of the Faithful, was probably an Idolater in <HI>&V;r</HI> of the <HI>Caldees,</HI> and a Wor&s;hipper of the Sun, and Fire, as his Fathers were, <HI>Jo&s;h.</HI> 24.2. yet God makes a particular Covenant with this Man, pre|&s;ents him with a richer Act of Grace than any in the World be&s;ides him had, even that the <HI>Me&s;&s;iah,</HI> the great Re|deemer of the World, &s;hould come from his Seed: This man is &s;et up as the pattern of Faith to others, and his Bo&s;ome &s;eems to be a great receptacle of Saints in glory, <HI>Luk.</HI> 16.22, 23. <HI>I&s;|rael</HI>'s Sins were as a thick Cloud, yet this powerful Sun did melt them. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 44.22. <HI>I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, and as a cloud thy &s;ins.</HI> A &s;ullen gloomy Morning
<PB N="7" REF="137"> often ends in a well-complexion'd Noon.</P>
<P><HI>Mana&s;&s;eh</HI> is an eminent Example of this Doctrine. His &s;tory, 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 33. repre&s;ents him as black as a Devil, if all the aggravations of his Sin be con&s;ider'd.</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>'Twas again&s;t knowledge.</HI> He had a pious Education under a Religious Fa|ther; an Education u&s;ually leaves &s;ome tinctures and impre&s;&s;ions of Religion. No doubt but the In&s;tructions his Father <HI>Hezekiah</HI> had taught him, and the ex|emplary holine&s;s he had &s;een in him, were &s;ometimes awakened in his memo|ry, and recoil'd upon his Con&s;cience.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>His Place and Station, a King:</HI> Sins of King's are like their Robes, more Scarlet and Crim&s;on than the Sins of a Pea&s;ant. Their Example u&s;u|ally infects their Subjects. As they are not without their Attendance in their Progre&s;&s;es, and Recreations, &s;o neither in their Vices and Virtues.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3. <HI>Re&s;toration of Idolatry.</HI> Had he found the Wor&s;hip of the Ho&s;t of Hea|ven deriv'd to him by &s;ucce&s;&s;ion from
<PB N="8" REF="138"> his Father, and the Idols &s;et up to his hand, the continuance of them had le&s;s of &s;in, becau&s;e more of temptation: But he built again tho&s;e High Places and Altars to Idols after they had been broken down, <HI>v.</HI> 3. and da&s;h'd in pieces that Reformation his Father had com|pleated.</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4. <HI>Affronting God to his very face.</HI> He &s;ets up his Idols, as it were to no&s;e God, and built Altars in the Hou&s;e of the Lord, and in the two Courts of his Temple, whereof God had &s;aid he would have his Name there for ever, <HI>v.</HI> 4, 5, 7. He brought in all the Stars of Hea|ven to be &s;harers in that Wor&s;hip which was only due to the God of Heaven. What, could he find no other place for his Idols, but in the very Temple of God? mu&s;t God be ca&s;t out of his Hou&s;e, to make room for <HI>Baal?</HI></P>
<P N="5"><MILESTONE N="5"> 5. <HI>Murther.</HI> Perhaps of his Chil|dren, which he cau&s;ed to pa&s;s through the fire as an Offering to his Idol, <HI>v.</HI> 6. It may be it was only for purification. But he had the guilt of much innocent Blood upon him, the &s;treams whereof ran down in every part of the City.
<PB N="9" REF="138"> 2 <HI>Kings</HI> 21.16. <HI>Moreover Mana&s;&s;eh &s;hed innocent blood very much, till he filled Je|ru&s;alem with blood from one end to the other.</HI></P>
<P N="6"><MILESTONE N="6"> 6. <HI>Covenant with the Devil.</HI> He us'd Enchantments, and Witchcraft, and dealt with a Familiar Spirit, <HI>v.</HI> 6. yea he had acquaintance with more Devils than one, and dealt with Familiar Spirits and Wizards in the plural Number.</P>
<P N="7"><MILESTONE N="7"> 7. <HI>His other mens Sins.</HI> He did not only lead the People by his Example, but compell'd them by his Commands. 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 33.9. <HI>So Mana&s;&s;eh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jeru&s;alem to err, and to do wor&s;e than the Heathen God had rooted out,</HI> to make room for them. Hereby he contracted the guilt of the whole Nation upon him&s;elf.</P>
<P N="8"><MILESTONE N="8"> 8. <HI>Ob&s;tinacy again&s;t Admonitions.</HI> 2 <HI>Kings</HI> 21.10. God &s;pake to him and his People, but they would not hear|ken, or alter their cour&s;e.</P>
<P N="9"><MILESTONE N="9"> 9. <HI>Continuance in it.</HI> He a&s;cended the Throne young, at 12 years old, <HI>v.</HI> 1. 'Tis uncertain how long he continued in this Sin. <HI>Torniellus</HI> thinks 15 years.
<PB N="10" REF="139"> <HI>Bellarmine</HI> 27. <HI>Kinchi</HI> 50 years, reckon|ing but 5 years of his Life after his Re|&s;tauration.</P>
<P>What a world of Sin, and aggrava|tions of it, were there in this Man! and yet God was intreated, <HI>v.</HI> 19.</P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>The &s;tock whereof Chri&s;t came, &s;eems to intimate this;</HI> God might have kept the Stock, whence Chri&s;t de&s;|cended according to the Fle&s;h, pure, and free from being tainted with any notorious Crimes; but we find Sins of a crim&s;on dye even among them.</P>
<P>There are no Women reckon'd up in Chri&s;t's Genealogy, but &s;uch as in Scripture are noted for loo&s;ene&s;s, <HI>Matt.</HI> 1.3. <HI>Tamar</HI> who play'd the harlot with <HI>Judah</HI> her Father-in-law, <HI>Gen.</HI> 38. <HI>Ra|hab,</HI> v. 5. the Harlot of <HI>Jericho. Ruth, v.</HI> 5. a <HI>Gentile,</HI> and a <HI>Moabite&s;s;</HI> the Root of who&s;e Generation was <HI>Lot</HI>'s Son by ince&s;t with his own Daughter. <HI>Bath&s;heba,</HI> v. 6. <HI>David</HI>'s Adultere&s;s. He cho&s;e the&s;e repenting Sinners, out of who&s;e Loyns Chri&s;t was to come, that the greate&s;t Sinners might not be afraid to come to him.</P>
<PB N="11" REF="139">
<P>Was <HI>David,</HI> who&s;e Son our Saviour is call'd, much better? 'Tis true, he was a man after God's own heart, but yet very notorious for that Act of Mur|ther and Adultery, and with more ag|gravating Circum&s;tances than u&s;ually are met with in Acts of the like nature, 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 11. <HI>&V;riah</HI> was a godly man, and had a &s;en&s;e of the Condition of the Church and Nation whereof he was a Member, <HI>v.</HI> 11. and &s;uch a Man's Bed <HI>David</HI> is not only content to defile, but he pullutes his Soul with drunkenne&s;s, <HI>v.</HI> 13. lays Snares for his Life, not in a manly, but &s;ly and treacherous man|ner; for while he doth care&s;s him, and &s;how him a fair countenance in his Pa|lace, he draws up &s;ecret In&s;tructions to <HI>Joab</HI> &s;o to order the bu&s;ine&s;s, that <HI>&V;riah</HI> might be thru&s;t into his Grave, and makes him the Po&s;t to carry the Com|mi&s;&s;ion for his own death, <HI>v.</HI> 15, 16. After all this he hath no remor&s;e when he hears of the lo&s;s of &s;o godly and va|liant a man, but wipes his mouth, and &s;weeps all the dirt to the door of Provi|dence, <HI>v.</HI> 25. Now Chri&s;t's Stock be|ing thus tainted, was methinks an evi|dence
<PB N="12" REF="140"> that Penitents, though before of the greate&s;t pollutions, might be wel|come to him. And that as he pickt out &s;uch out of who&s;e Loyns to proceed, &s;o he would pick out &s;uch al&s;o in who&s;e hearts to re&s;ide.</P>
<P N="4">4. <HI>'Twas Chri&s;t's employment in the world to court and gain &s;uch kind of Crea|tures.</HI> The fir&s;t thing he did, while in the Manger, was to &s;natch &s;ome of the Devil's Prophets out of his Service, and take them into his own, <HI>Matth.</HI> 2.1. &s;ome of the <HI>Magi,</HI> who were A&s;trolo|gers and Idolaters. When he fled from <HI>Herod</HI>'s Cruelty, he cho&s;e <HI>Aegypt,</HI> the mo&s;t Idolatrous Country in the world, for his Sanctuary; a Place where the People wor&s;hipp'd Oxen, Crocodiles, Cats, Garlick, <HI>putida Numina,</HI> all kind of Riff-raff, to &s;how, that he often comes to &s;ojourn in the blacke&s;t Souls.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t People he took care to preach to, were the Seamen, which u&s;ually are the rude&s;t, and mo&s;t de|bauch'd &s;ort of men, as gaining the Vices, as well as the Commodities of tho&s;e Nations they traffick with, <HI>Matth.</HI>
<PB N="13" REF="140"> 4.13. The Inhabitants of tho&s;e Sea-coa&s;ts are &s;aid to &s;it in darkne&s;s, <HI>v.</HI> 16. in darkne&s;s both of Sin and Ignorance; Ju&s;t as the <HI>Aegyptians</HI> were not able to &s;tir in that thick darkne&s;s, which was &s;ent as a Plague upon them. And the Country, by rea&s;on of the Vices of the Inhabitants, is call'd the Region and &s;hadow of Death; a Title properly be|longing to Hell it &s;elf. To call Sinners to repentance, was the Errand of his coming. And he u&s;ually delighted to chu&s;e &s;uch that had not the lea&s;t pre|tence to merit, <HI>Mark</HI> 2.17. <HI>Matthew</HI> a Publican, <HI>Zacheus</HI> an Extortioner; &s;tore of that Generation of Men, and Harlots, and very little Company be&s;ides.</P>
<P>He cho&s;e his Attendants out of the Devil's Rabble; and he was more Je&s;us, a Saviour, among this &s;ort of Tra&s;h, than among all other &s;orts of People; for all his de&s;ign was to get Clients out of Hell it &s;elf. What was that Woman that he mu&s;t needs go out of his way to convert? a Harlot, <HI>John</HI> 4.18. an Ido|later, for the <HI>Samaritans</HI> had a mixt Wor&s;hip, a Lin&s;ey-wool&s;ey Religion, and upon that account were hateful to
<PB N="14" REF="141"> the <HI>Jews.</HI> She continued in her whore|dom at the very time Chri&s;t &s;pake to her, yet he makes her a monument of his Grace; and not only &s;o, but the fir&s;t Preacher of the Go&s;pel to her Neigh|bours; <HI>v.</HI> 29. <HI>Is not this the Chri&s;t?</HI> and an In&s;trument to conduct them to him, <HI>Come, &s;ee a man which told me all things,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Was any more &s;mutted than <HI>Mary Magdalen?</HI> &s;even Devils would make her &s;ooty to purpo&s;e, and &s;o many did Chri&s;t ca&s;t out of her, <HI>Mark</HI> 16.9. <HI>Now when Je&s;us was ri&s;en early the fir&s;t day of the week, he appear'd fir&s;t to Mary Mag|dalen,</HI> out of whom he ca&s;t &s;even De|vils. This lu&s;tful Devil he turns into a weeping Saint.</P>
<P>What was that <HI>Canaaniti&s;h</HI> Woman, who had &s;o powerful a Faith infus'd? One &s;prung of a cur&s;ed Stock, hateful to God, rooted out of the plea&s;ant Land, a Dog, not a Child; &s;he comes a Dog, but returns a Child; Chri&s;t made this Crab in a Wilderne&s;s to bring forth Fruit, even the be&s;t that Heaven could afford; <HI>viz.</HI> the Fruit of Faith; and larger and better bunches of it, than at
<PB N="15" REF="141"> that time &s;prouted out of any Branches of the <HI>Jewi&s;h</HI> Vine, &s;o well planted, and &s;o often water'd by Chri&s;t him&s;elf.</P>
<P>When he comes to act his la&s;t part in the World, he &s;aves a Thief, who was got to Hell-gates, ready to be pu&s;h'd in by the Devil.</P>
<P>Do you find Examples among the <HI>Phari&s;ees?</HI> No; Dunghil-Sinners take Heaven by violence, while the proud <HI>Phari&s;ees</HI> lo&s;e it by their own righteou&s;|ne&s;s. <HI>Scribes</HI> and <HI>Doctors</HI> continue De|vils in the Chair, while Harlots com|mence Saints from the Stews, and the Thief proceeds a Convert on the Cro&s;s.</P>
<P>Since there was but one that in his own per&s;on he converted, after he went to Heaven, What was he? One that had <HI>breathed out &s;laughters and threat|nings again&s;t the Church,</HI> Acts 9.1. To do &s;o, was as common with him, and natural to him, as to &s;uck in Air, and breathe it out again: This Man gallop|ing to Hell as fa&s;t as his mad rage and pa&s;&s;ion could carry him, he &s;tops in his career, ordains a Preacher <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> a Per&s;e|cutor; gives him as large a Commi&s;|&s;ion
<PB N="16" REF="142"> as he had given any of his Favou|rites; for he makes him the chiefe&s;t Apo&s;tle of the <HI>Gentiles.</HI></P>
<P>What Boggs and Miry Places did Chri&s;t drain, and make fruitful Gar|dens? What barren and thorny Wil|derne&s;&s;es did he change into plea&s;ant Paradi&s;es? He made Subjects of Ven|geance Objects of Mercy: He told the Woman of <HI>Samaria,</HI> who lived in forni|cation, that he was the <HI>Me&s;&s;iah,</HI> Joh. 4.25. <HI>The woman &s;aith to him, I know that Me&s;&s;ias cometh, which is call'd Chri&s;t: Je|&s;us &s;aith unto her, I that &s;peak unto thee, am he;</HI> which he never di&s;cover'd to the Self-righteous <HI>Phari&s;ees,</HI> nor indeed in &s;o many words to his Di&s;ciples, till <HI>Peter</HI>'s confe&s;&s;ion of him.</P>
<P N="5">5. <HI>The Commi&s;&s;ion Chri&s;t gave to his Apo&s;tles, was to this purpo&s;e:</HI></P>
<P>He bids them proclaim the Promi&s;e free to all, <HI>Mark</HI> 16.15. Go ye <HI>into all the world,</HI> and preach the Go&s;pel to <HI>every creature.</HI> All the World, every Crea|ture. He put no difference between men in this re&s;pect, though you meet with them in the likene&s;s of Bea&s;ts, and
<PB N="17" REF="142"> Devils, never &s;o wicked, never &s;o abo|minable; as long as they are Creatures, reach out the Cup of Salvation to them, if they will drink; open the Trea&s;ures of Grace to them, if they will receive them; indent with them for nothing but Faith for Ju&s;tification, and Profe&s;|&s;ion of it for their Salvation.</P>
<P>This Commi&s;&s;ion is &s;et out by the Parable of a King, commanding his Servants to fetch the Maim'd, Halt and Blind, with their Wounds, Sores and Infirmities about them, <HI>Luke</HI> 14.21, 23. Bring in hither the Poor, and the Maim'd, and the Halt, and the Blind. Yea, and go out into the High|ways, and Hedges, and tho&s;e loath|&s;ome Per&s;ons, tho&s;e dregs of Mankind, which you &s;hall find &s;warming with Vermin, and lou&s;ing them&s;elves under every Hedge, bring them in; if they pretend their Rags and Na&s;tine&s;s as un|&s;uitable to My Rank and Quality, com|pel them, force them again&s;t their own natural Inclinations and doubts, that my Hou&s;e may be fill'd. God will have Heaven fill'd with &s;uch, when Self-righteous Per&s;ons refu&s;e him. When
<PB N="18" REF="143"> you come to Heaven, to &s;it down with <HI>Abraham, I&s;aac,</HI> and <HI>Jacob,</HI> you'll find &s;ome, and a great many, that were once as filthy morally, as the&s;e Hedg-birds were naturally, who had once as many Lu&s;ts creeping about them, as there were Frogs in <HI>Aegypt.</HI></P>
<P>Such a Compul&s;ion as this &s;poken of, there was in the Primitive Times by the Power of the Spirit of Grace.<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Grot. <HI>in</HI> Luk. 14.23.</NOTE> Two Stage-players, that in their acting &s;cof|fed at the Chri&s;tian Religon, were con|verted, and prov'd Martyrs; one under <HI>Diocle&s;ian,</HI> the other under <HI>Julian.</HI></P>
<P N="6">6. <HI>The practice of the Spirit after Chri&s;t's A&s;cen&s;ion, to lay hold of &s;uch Per&s;ons.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Some out of the wor&s;t Families in the World:</HI> One out of <HI>Herod</HI>'s, Acts 13.1. Now there were in the Church that was at <HI>Antioch,</HI> certain Prophets, and Teachers, as <HI>Barnabas,</HI> and <HI>Simeon</HI> that was call'd <HI>Niger,</HI> and <HI>Lucius</HI> of <HI>Cy|rene,</HI> and <HI>Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch</HI> and <HI>Saul.</HI> Ei|ther <HI>Herod Antipas,</HI> who derided Chri&s;t
<PB N="19" REF="143"> before <HI>Pilate;</HI> or <HI>Herod Agrippa,</HI> who put <HI>James</HI> to death; which of the&s;e <HI>Herods</HI> it was, 'twas not likely that in &s;uch a Family he &s;hould &s;uck in any Principles advantageous to the Chri&s;ti|an Religion: For being brought up with him, he was either his Play-fellow when young; or his Confident when grown up; yet out of this Family of this wicked Prince he calls out one, to make not only an Object of his Mercy, but an In&s;trument of it to others, con|trary to the force of Education, which u&s;ually roots bad Principles deep in the heart. 'Tis likely to this intent the Holy Gho&s;t takes particular notice of the Place of <HI>Manaen</HI>'s Education, when the Families, where the re&s;t nam'd with him were bred up, are not mentioned: Some rude and rough Stones were ta|ken out of <HI>Nero</HI>'s Palace; &s;ome that were Servants to the mo&s;t abominable Tyrant, and the greate&s;t Mon&s;ter of Mankind; one that &s;et <HI>Rome</HI> on fire, and play'd on his Harp while the flames were crackling about the City; ript up his Mother's Belly to &s;ee the place where he lay; would any of the Civiller &s;ort
<PB N="20" REF="144"> of Mankind be Attendants upon &s;uch a Devil? yet &s;ome of this Mon&s;ter's Ser|vants became Saints. <HI>Phil.</HI> 4.22. All the Saints &s;alute you, chiefly <HI>they that are of Cae&s;ar's hou&s;hold:</HI> To hear of Saints in <HI>Nero</HI>'s Family, is as great a Prodigy, as to hear of Saints in Hell. God be|fore had promi&s;ed his Grace to <HI>Aegypt,</HI> the mo&s;t Idolatrous Country; there God would have an Altar erected, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 19.18, 19, 20. <HI>In that day &s;hall five Cities in the Land of Aegypt &s;peak the language of Canaan, and &s;wear to the Lord of ho&s;ts; in that day &s;hall there be an altar to the Lord in the mid&s;t of the land of Aegypt.</HI> And indeed the Go&s;pel was famous in <HI>Aegypt,</HI> both at the Chri&s;tian School at <HI>Alexandria,</HI> and for many fa|mous Lights.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>Some of the wor&s;t Vices.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Ephe&s;ians</HI> were as bad as any, &s;uch that <HI>Paul</HI> calls darkne&s;s it &s;elf; <HI>Eph.</HI> 5.8. For <HI>ye were &s;ometimes darkne&s;s:</HI> There was not only an Eclip&s;e, or a dark Mask upon them, but they were chang'd into the very nature of Night. Great Ido|laters; the Temple of <HI>Diana</HI> ador'd, and re&s;orted to by all <HI>A&s;ia,</HI> and the whole
<PB N="21" REF="144"> World, was in that City, <HI>Acts</HI> 19.27. That the Temple of the great Godde&s;s <HI>Diana</HI> &s;hould be de&s;pi&s;ed, and her Mag|nificence &s;hould be de&s;troy'd, <HI>whom all A&s;ia, and the world wor&s;hippeth.</HI> And they cry up this Statue they pretended fell down from <HI>Jupiter,</HI> above Chri&s;t, who was preached by <HI>Paul</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Plin. <HI>lib.</HI> 5. <HI>cap.</HI> 36.</NOTE>. They were given to Magick, and other Dia|bolical Arts; yet many of the&s;e were weaned from their Idol, and their Ma|gick, and of darkne&s;s were made light in the Lord; which is more than if you &s;aw a black piece of Pitch chang'd into a clear piece of Cry&s;tal, or a Stone a&s;|cend into the nature of a glittering Star.</P>
<P>Take a view of another Corporation at <HI>Corinth</HI> of as filthy Per&s;ons as ever you heard of, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.11. <HI>&s;uch were &s;ome of you.</HI> After he had drawn out a Catalogue of their Sins again&s;t the light of Nature, and made the enume|ration &s;o perfect, that very little can be added. He adds, <HI>&s;uch were &s;ome of you.</HI> Not all, but &s;ome. <HI>But you are wa&s;h'd,</HI> &amp;c. Not <GAP DESC="foreign">, &s;uch Sinners; but <GAP DESC="foreign">, &s;uch Sins. Per&s;ons not only
<PB N="22" REF="145"> committing &s;ome few acts of them, but &s;o habituated in them, that they &s;eemed metamorpho&s;ed into the very nature of the&s;e Sins them&s;elves; &s;o that they were become the very Dirt, Mud, and Rubbi&s;h of Hell. Yet you &s;ee De|vils he really turn'd into Angels of light.</P>
<P>Well then, how many flinty Rocks has God di&s;&s;olv'd into a &s;tream of Tears? How many hard hearts has he made to bleed, and melt? That which is now pure Gold, has been earthy, and pol|luted.</P>
<P>I &s;hall only add this to the whole.</P>
<P>Great Sins are made preparations by God to &s;ome mens Conver&s;ion, not in their own nature, that's impo&s;&s;ible; but by the wi&s;e di&s;po&s;al of God, which Mr. <HI>Burges</HI> illu&s;trates thus; As a Child who&s;e Coat is but a little dirty, has it not pre&s;ently wa&s;h'd; but when he comes to fall over head and ears in the mire, 'tis taken off, and wa&s;h'd imme|diately; the Child might have gone many a day with a little dirt, had not &s;uch an Accident happen'd.</P>
<PB N="23" REF="145">
<P><HI>Peter</HI> might have had his proud and vain-glorious Humour &s;till, had he not fell &s;o foully in the denial of his Ma&s;ter; but when he fell into the Jakes, and Puddle, it promotes his Conver&s;ion: For &s;o Chri&s;t calls it, <HI>Luke</HI> 22.32. <HI>And when thou art converted, &s;trengthen thy brethren;</HI> 'twas Conver&s;ion in a new Edition; and you do not find him in the &s;ame boa&s;ting vanity again.</P>
<P><HI>David</HI>'s falling into the Sin of Mur|ther and Adultery, is the occa&s;ion of the ran&s;acking his Soul, which you find him not &s;o hot about another time: He digs all about to the very Root, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 51.5. <HI>Behold, I was &s;hapen in iniquity, and in &s;in did my mother conceive me.</HI> This Sin had &s;tirr'd and rak'd up all the mud in his heart, and made him &s;ee him&s;elf an abominable Creature: Therefore, <HI>v.</HI> 9. he de&s;ires God to <HI>hide his face from his &s;ins;</HI> he was &s;o loath&s;ome, he would not have any one look upon him; (fling all this mud out of my Soul), and prays more earne&s;tly for a new heart, and a right &s;pirit. So when a wicked man falls into &s;ome grievous &s;in, which his Con&s;cience frowns upon him, and
<PB N="24" REF="146"> la&s;hes him for, he looks out for a &s;hel|ter, which in all his peaceable wicked|ne&s;s he never did.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>Why God doth chu&s;e the greate&s;t Sin|ners, and let his Elect run on &s;o far in &s;in before he turns them.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>There is a pa&s;&s;ive di&s;po&s;ition in the greate&s;t Sinners, more than in moral or &s;uper&s;titious men, to &s;ee their need:</HI> Be|cau&s;e they have not any &s;elf-righteou&s;|ne&s;s to boa&s;t of. Man's blamele&s;s out|ward carriage and freedom from the common Sins of the Times and Places wherein they live, many times proves a &s;nare of death to them, and makes them more cold and faint towards Chri&s;t: Becau&s;e they po&s;&s;e&s;s them&s;elves with imaginations, that Chri&s;t cannot but look upon them, though they never &s;o much as &s;et their faces toward him. And becau&s;e they are not drencht in &s;uch Villanies as others are, their Con|&s;ciences &s;it quiet under this moral Car|riage, and gauls them not by any &s;elf-reflections: Therefore when the Threat|nings of the Law are denounc'd again&s;t
<PB N="25" REF="146"> &s;uch and &s;uch Sins, the&s;e men wipe their mouths, being untainted from tho&s;e Sins that are thus curs'd, and vainly glory in their gay and gawdy Plumes, and ble&s;s God with the <HI>Phari|&s;ee,</HI> that they are not Sinners of &s;uch a Scarlet dye, and that they do &s;uch and &s;uch Duties, and &s;o go on without &s;ee|ing a nece&s;&s;ity of the new Birth; and by this means the &s;trength of Sin is more compacted and condens'd in them.</P>
<P>Super&s;titious and formal men are hardly reduc'd to their right Wits: Partly becau&s;e of a defect in Rea&s;on, from whence tho&s;e Extravagancies a|ri&s;e; and partly becau&s;e tho&s;e fal&s;e ha|bits and &s;pirit of error po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing their Faculties, they are incapable of more generous impre&s;&s;ions: Be&s;ides, they are more tenacious of the Opinions they have &s;uckt in, which have got the em|pire and command over their Souls; &s;uch mi&s;guided Zeal fortifies men a|gain&s;t propo&s;als of Grace, and fa&s;tens them in a more ob&s;tinate inflexiblene&s;s to any converting-motions. This &s;elf-righteous Temper is like an exter|nal heat got into the Body, which pro|duceth
<PB N="26" REF="147"> an Hectick-Fever, and is not ea|&s;ily perceived till it be incurable; and na|turally 'tis a harder matter to part with Self-righteou&s;ne&s;s, than to part with gro&s;s Sins: for that is more deeply root|ed upon the &s;tock of Self love, a Prin|ciple which departs not from us with|out our very Nature: It hath more Ar|guments to plead for it; It hath natural Con&s;cience a Patron of it. Whereas a great Sinner &s;tands &s;peechle&s;s at Re|proofs, and a faithful Monitor has a good Second and Corre&s;pondent of na|tural Con&s;cience within a man's own brea&s;t. It was not the gro&s;s Sins of the <HI>Jews</HI> again&s;t the light of Nature, &s;o much as the e&s;tabli&s;hing the Idol of their own Righteou&s;ne&s;s, that was the block to hinder them from &s;ubmitting to the Righteou&s;ne&s;s of God, <HI>Rom.</HI> 10.3.</P>
<P>Chri&s;t came to his own, and his own receiv'd him not, <HI>John</HI> 1.11. Tho&s;e that &s;eem to have his peculiar &s;tamp and mark upon them, that had their heads in Heaven by &s;ome kind of re&s;emblance to God in Moral Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s, being undefiled with the com|mon
<PB N="27" REF="147"> Pollutions of the World: The&s;e received him not, when Publicans and Harlots got the &s;tart of them, and run before them, to catch hold of the ten|ders of grace, <HI>Matth.</HI> 21.31. <HI>Publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of heaven before you.</HI> Ju&s;t as Travellers that have loyter'd away their time in an Alehou&s;e, being &s;en&s;ible how the darkne&s;s of the night creeps upon them, &s;pur on, and out&s;trip tho&s;e that were many Miles on their way, and get to their Stage before them. So the&s;e Publicans and Harlots which were at a great di&s;tance from Heaven, arriv'd there before tho&s;e, who like the Young man were not far off from it.</P>
<P>Great Sinners are more ea&s;ily con|vinced of the notorious wickedne&s;s of their Lives; and reflecting upon them|&s;elves becau&s;e of their horrid Crimes again&s;t the light of Nature, are more inclinable to endeavour an e&s;cape from the Devil's &s;lavery, and are frighted and &s;haken by their Con&s;ciences into a compliance with the Doctrine of Re|demption; whereas tho&s;e that do by nature the things contained in the Law,
<PB N="28" REF="148"> are &s;o much a Law to them&s;elves, that 'tis difficult to per&s;uade them of the ne|ce&s;&s;ity of conforming to another Law, and to part with this Self-law in matter of Ju&s;tification. As Metals of the no|ble&s;t &s;ub&s;tance are harde&s;t to be poli&s;h'd; &s;o Men of the mo&s;t generous, natural and moral Endowments, are more dif|ficultly argued into a &s;tate of Chri&s;tiani|ty, than tho&s;e of more dro&s;&s;y Conver&s;a|tions. <HI>Ca&s;&s;ianus</HI> &s;peaks very perempto|rily in this ca&s;e; <HI>Frequenter vidimus de frigidis &amp; Carnalibus ad Spiritualem veni&s;&s;e fervorem de lepidis &amp; animalibus nunquam.</HI></P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>To &s;hew the in&s;ufficiency of Nature to &s;uch a work as Conver&s;ion is,</HI> that men may not fall down, and Idolize their own Wit and Power. A change from Acts of Sin to Moral Duties, may be done by a natural &s;trength, and the pre|valency of natural Con&s;cience: For the very &s;ame Motives which led to Sin, as Education, Intere&s;t, Profit, may upon a change of Circum&s;tances, guide men to an outward Morality; but a change to the contrary Grace is &s;upernatural.</P>
<PB N="29" REF="148">
<P>Two things are certain in Nature.</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>Natural Inclinations never change, but by &s;ome &s;uperior Virtue.</HI> A Load|&s;tone will not cea&s;e to draw Iron, while that attractive quality remains in it. The Wolf can never love the Lamb, nor the Lamb the Wolf; nothing but mu&s;t act &s;uitably to its Nature. Water cannot but moi&s;ten, Fire cannot but burn. So likewi&s;e the Corrupt Nature of Man being po&s;&s;e&s;t with an invincible contrariety and enmity to God, will never &s;uffer him to comply with God. And the Inclinations of a Sinner to &s;in being more &s;trengthen'd by the frequen|cy of &s;inful Acts, have as great a power over him, and as natural to him, as any Qualities are to natural Agents. And being &s;tronger than any Sympathies in the World, cannot by a man's own power, or the power of any other Na|ture equal to it, be turn'd into a con|trary Channel.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>Nothing can act beyond its own Prin|ciple and Nature.</HI> Nothing in the World can rai&s;e it &s;elf to a higher rank
<PB N="30" REF="149"> of being, than that which Nature hath plac'd it in; A Spark cannot make it &s;elf a Star, though it mount a little up to Heaven; nor a Plant endue it &s;elf with Sen&s;e, nor a Bea&s;t adorn it &s;elf with Rea&s;on: Nor a Man make him&s;elf an Angel. Thorns cannot bring forth Grapes, nor Thi&s;tles produce Figs; be|cau&s;e &s;uch Fruits are above the Nature of tho&s;e Plants. So neither can our Corrupt Nature bring forth Grace, which is a Fruit above it. <HI>Effectus non excedit Virtutem &s;uae cau&s;ae:</HI> Grace is more excellent than Nature, therefore cannot be the Fruit of Nature. 'Tis Chri&s;t's Conclu&s;ion, <HI>Matth.</HI> 12.33, 34. <HI>How can you, being evil, &s;peak good things?</HI> Not &s;o much as the buds and blo&s;&s;oms of Words, much le&s;s the fruit of Acti|ons. They can no more change their Natures, than a Viper can ca&s;hier his Poy&s;on. Now though this I have &s;aid be true, yet there is nothing Man does more affect in the World than a &s;elf-&s;ufficiency, and an independency upon any other Power but his own. This Tem|per is as much riveted in his Nature, as any other fal&s;e Principle what&s;oever:
<PB N="31" REF="149"> For Man does derive it from his fir&s;t Parents, as the prime Legacy bequeath|ed to his Nature: For it was the fir&s;t thing di&s;cover'd in Man at his Fall; he would be as God, independent upon him. Now God, to cro&s;s this Principle, &s;uffers his Elect, like <HI>Lazarus,</HI> to lie in the Grave, till they &s;tink, that there may be no excu&s;e to a&s;cribe their Re|&s;urrection to their own Power. If a putrified rotten Carca&s;s &s;hould be brought to life, it could never be thought that it in&s;pir'd it &s;elf with that active Principle. God lets men run on &s;o far in &s;in, that they do unman them|&s;elves, that he may proclaim to all the World, that we are unable to do any thing of our &s;elves at fir&s;t towards our recovery, without a &s;uperior Principle. The evidence of which will appear if we con&s;ider,</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>Man's &s;ubjection under &s;in.</HI> He is &s;old under &s;in, <HI>Rom.</HI> 7.14. and brought into captivity to the law of &s;in, <HI>v.</HI> 23. <HI>law of &s;in,</HI> that &s;in &s;eems to have a legal authority over him; and man is not only a Slave to one &s;in, but divers, <HI>Tit.</HI>
<PB N="32" REF="150"> 1.3. <HI>&s;erving divers lu&s;ts.</HI> Now when a man is &s;old under the power of a thou&s;and Lu&s;ts, every one of which hath an ab&s;olute tyranny over him, and rules him as a Sovereign by a Law. When a man is thus bound by a thou|&s;and Laws, a thou&s;and Cords and Fet|ters, and carried whither his Lords plea&s;e, again&s;t the dictates of his own Con&s;cience, and force of natural light; can any man imagine, that his own power can re&s;cue him from the &s;trength of the&s;e Ma&s;ters that claim &s;uch a right to him, and keep &s;uch a force upon him, and have &s;o often baffled his own &s;trength, when he offer'd to turn head again&s;t them.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>Mans affection to them.</HI> He doth not only &s;erve them, but he &s;erves them and every one of them with de|light, <HI>Tit.</HI> 3.3. <HI>And plea&s;ures.</HI> They were all Plea&s;ures, as well as Lu&s;ts; Friends, as well as Lords. Will any man leave his Voluptuou&s;ne&s;s, and &s;uch &s;ins that plea&s;e and flatter his Fle&s;h? will a man ever endeavour to run away from tho&s;e Lords which he &s;erves with affection? having as much delight in
<PB N="33" REF="150"> being bound a Slave to the&s;e Lu&s;ts, as the Devil hath in binding him.</P>
<P>Therefore when you &s;ee a man ca&s;t away his Plea&s;ures, deprive him&s;elf of tho&s;e Contentments to which his Soul was once knit, and walk in Paths con|trary to Corrupt Nature, you may &s;earch for the cau&s;e any-where, rather than in Nature it &s;elf.</P>
<P>No piece of dirty muddy Clay can form it &s;elf into a neat and hand&s;ome Ve&s;&s;el; no plain piece of Timber can fit it &s;elf for the Building, much le&s;s a crooked one. Nor a man that is born blind, give him&s;elf Eyes.</P>
<P>God deals with men in this ca&s;e, as he did with <HI>Abraham.</HI> He would not give <HI>I&s;aac,</HI> while <HI>Sarah</HI>'s Womb in a na|tural probability might have born him; But when her Womb was dead, and Age had taken away all natural &s;trength of Conception, then God gives him; that it might appear, that he was not a Child of Nature, but a Child of Promi&s;e.</P>
<P>I have been the larger on the&s;e two Heads (which I de&s;ign rather as things premi&s;ed, than Rea&s;ons) becau&s;e the&s;e
<PB N="34" REF="151"> two Principles of common Hone&s;ty, and Self-&s;ufficiency, are the great impedi|ments to Conver&s;ion, and natural to mo&s;t men.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3. God doth this for his own Glory. His</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. Patience.</P>
<P>We wonder when we &s;ee a notorious Sinner, how God can let his Thunders lie &s;till by him, and his Sword ru&s;t in his Sheath. And indeed when &s;uch are converted, they wonder them&s;elves, that God did not draw his Sword out, and pierce their Bowels, or &s;hoot one of his Arrows into their hearts all this while.</P>
<P>But God by &s;uch a forbearance &s;hews him&s;elf to be God indeed, and &s;ome|thing in this Act infinitely above &s;uch a weak Creature as Man is, <HI>Ho&s;ea</HI> 11.9. <HI>I will not execute the fiercene&s;s of mine an|ger, I will not return to de&s;troy Ephraim; for I am God, and not man.</HI></P>
<P>When God had reckon'd up their &s;ins before, and they might have ex|pected the Sentence, after the reading the Charge; God tells them, he would
<PB N="35" REF="151"> not <HI>de&s;troy them,</HI> he would not execute them, becau&s;e he was <HI>God.</HI></P>
<P>If he were not a God, he could not keep him&s;elf from pouring out a ju&s;t Vengeance upon them. If a man did inherit all the Meekne&s;s of all the An|gels, and all the Men that ever were in the World, he could not be able to bear with patience the Extravagancies and Injuries done in the World the &s;pace of one day: For none but a God, <HI>i. e.</HI> one infinitely long-&s;uffering, can bear with them.</P>
<P>Not a Sin pa&s;t in the World be|fore the coming of Chri&s;t in the fle&s;h, but was a Commendatory Letter of God's forbearance, <HI>Rom.</HI> 3.25. <HI>To de|clare his righteou&s;ne&s;s for the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins that are pa&s;t, through the forbearance of God.</HI> And not a &s;in pa&s;t before the coming of Chri&s;t into the Soul, but gives the &s;ame te&s;timony, and bears the &s;ame record. And the greater number of &s;ins, and great &s;ins are pa&s;t, the more Trophies there are erected to God's long-&s;uffering: The rea&s;on why the grace of the Go&s;pel appear'd &s;o late in the World, was to te&s;tify God's Pa|tience.
<PB N="36" REF="152"> Our Apo&s;tle takes notice of this long-&s;uffering towards him&s;elf in bearing with &s;uch a Per&s;ecutor, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 1.16. <HI>Howbeit, for this cau&s;e I obtained mercy, that in me, fir&s;t Je&s;us Chri&s;t might &s;hew forth all long-&s;uffering, for a pattern to them which &s;hould hereafter believe on him.</HI> This was Chri&s;t's end in letting him run &s;o far, that he might &s;hew forth not a few mites, grains, or ounces of Patience; but <HI>all long-&s;uffering,</HI> long-&s;uffering without mea&s;ure, or weight, by whole-&s;ale; and this as a Pattern to all the Ages of the World: <GAP DESC="foreign">, for a type; a type is but a &s;hadow in re&s;pect of the &s;ub&s;tance. To &s;how, that all the Ages of the World &s;hould not wa&s;te that Patience, whereof he had then manife&s;ted but a Pattern. A Pat|tern we know is le&s;s than the whole Piece of Cloath from whence 'tis cut. And as an E&s;&s;ay is but a &s;hort ta&s;te of a man's skill, and doth not di&s;cover all his Art. As the fir&s;t Miracle Chri&s;t wrought, of turning Water into Wine, as a Sample of what Power he had, was le&s;s than tho&s;e Miracles which &s;ucceed|ed; And the fir&s;t Miracle God wrought
<PB N="37" REF="152"> in <HI>Aegypt,</HI> in turning <HI>Aaron</HI>'s Rod into a Serpent, was but a Sample of his Power which would produce greater Wonders: So this patience to <HI>Paul</HI> was but a little E&s;&s;ay of his Meekne&s;s, a little Patience cut off from the whole Piece, which &s;hould always be dealing out to &s;ome Sinners or other; and would never be cut wholly out till the World had left being. This Sample or Pattern was but of the extent of a few years: For <HI>Paul</HI> was but young, the Scripture terms him a Young man, <HI>Acts</HI> 7.58.<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Sanctius</HI> in locum.</NOTE> about 36 years of Age, yet he calls it all long-&s;uffering. Ah <HI>Paul!</HI> &s;ome &s;ince have had more Yards cut out of this Patience, that have reached not only to 30, but 40, 50, 60 years.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. Grace.</P>
<P>'Tis partly for the admiration of this Grace, that God intends the day of Judgment. 'Tis a &s;trange place, 2 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 1.10. <HI>When he &s;hall come to be glorified in his &s;aints, and to be admir'd in all them that believe, in that day.</HI> What, has not Chri&s;t glory enough in Heaven with his Father? Will he come on purpo&s;e to
<PB N="38" REF="153"> &s;eek glory from &s;uch worthle&s;s Crea|tures as his Saints are? what is that which glorifies Chri&s;t in them? 'Tis the gracious work he has wrought in them. For the word is <GAP DESC="foreign">, to be inglorified in his Saints; <HI>i. e.</HI> by &s;omething within them: For which they glorify Chri&s;t <HI>activ&egrave; &amp; objectiv&egrave;,</HI> as the Creatures glorify the Wi&s;dom and Power of God, by affording matter to men to do &s;o: So doth the Work of God in Saints afford matter of prai&s;e to An|gels, and admiration to Devils. The Apo&s;tle u&s;eth two words, <HI>Glorified,</HI> that's the work of Angels, and Saints, who &s;hall &s;ing out his Prai&s;es for it. As a Prince after a great Conque&s;t re|ceives the Congratulations of all his Nobility. <HI>Admired:</HI> That the very De|vil and damn'd &s;hall do: For though their Malice and Condition will not &s;uf|fer them to prai&s;e him, yet his un|expre&s;&s;ible Love in making &s;uch black in&s;ides &s;o beautiful, &s;hall a&s;toni&s;h them. In this &s;en&s;e tho&s;e things under the Earth &s;hall bow down to that Name of Je&s;us, a Saviour. A Name which God gave him at fir&s;t, <HI>Phil.</HI> 2.9, 10. <HI>Where|fore
<PB N="39" REF="153"> God al&s;o hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Je&s;us every knee &s;hould bow.</HI> And upon his Exalta|tion did confirm, <HI>Heb.</HI> 5.9. when he was <HI>made perfect,</HI> i. e. Exalted, he be|came the Author of Eternal Salvation, and had the power of &s;aving, as well as the Name conferr'd upon him. They &s;hall confe&s;s that he is Lord, <HI>Phil.</HI> 2.11. <HI>i. e.</HI> that he acted like a Lord, when he prevail'd over all the oppo&s;ition which tho&s;e great Sinners made again&s;t him. The whole Trial of the Saints, and the Sentence of their Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s, &s;hall be fini&s;hed before that of the Damn'd, <HI>Mat.</HI> 25.35, 44. That the whole &s;cene of his Love, and the won|ders of the work of Faith being laid open, might &s;trike them with a va&s;t amazement. And that this is the de|&s;ign of Chri&s;t, to be thus glorified in his Grace, and Power, appears by the Apo&s;tle's Prayer, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 11, 12. that the <HI>The&s;&s;alonians</HI> might be in the number of tho&s;e Chri&s;t &s;hould be thus glorify'd in. Therefore he prays, that God would <HI>fulfil all the good plea&s;ure of his goodne&s;s,
<PB N="40" REF="154"> i. e.</HI> that Grace he is &s;o pleas'd and de|lighted to manife&s;t, and carry on the work of Faith with power; that <HI>the name of Chri&s;t might be glorified in them,</HI> as well as in the re&s;t of his Saints. Or|dinary Conver&s;ion is an Act of Grace; <HI>Barnabas</HI> &s;o interprets it, <HI>Acts</HI> 11.21, 23. when a great number believed; what abundance of Grace then is ex|pended in converting a company of extraordinary Sinners!</P>
<P>'Tis the glory of a man to pa&s;s by an offence, <HI>Prov.</HI> 19.11. <HI>i. e.</HI> 'tis a mani|fe&s;tation of a Property which is an ho|nour to him to be known to have. If it be thus an honour to pa&s;s by an of|fence &s;imply, then the greater the of|fence is, and the more the offences are which he pa&s;&s;eth by, the greater mu&s;t the glory needs be; becau&s;e it's a ma|nife&s;tation of &s;uch a Quality in greater &s;trength and vigour. So it mu&s;t argue a more exceeding grace in God to remit many and great &s;ins in man, than to forgive only &s;ome few, and le&s;&s;er of|fences.</P>
<P N="1"><PB N="41" REF="154"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>Fulne&s;s of his Grace.</HI></P>
<P>He &s;hews hereby, that there is more grace in him, than there can be &s;in in us, or the whole World.</P>
<P>He lets &s;ome Sinners run mightily upon his &s;core, to manife&s;t, that though they are beggar'd, yet his Grace is not. That though they have &s;pent all their &s;tock upon their &s;wini&s;h Lu&s;ts, yet they have not drain'd his Trea&s;ures; no more than the Sun is emptied of its &s;trength, by exhaling the ill Vapours of &s;o many Dunghils. This was his de|&s;ign in giving the Moral-Law, <HI>Finis operis,</HI> that is, the event of the Law was to encrea&s;e the Sin; but <HI>Finis operantis,</HI> was thereby to glorify his Grace. <HI>Rom.</HI> 5.20. <HI>Moreover the law entred, that the offence might abound; but where &s;in abound|ed, grace did much more abound.</HI> When the Law of Nature was out of print, and &s;o blurr'd that it could &s;carce be read, God brings the Moral-Law (the Counter-part of the Law of Nature) in a new Edition into the World; and thereby Sin hath new aggravations, as being rebellion again&s;t a clearer light,
<PB N="42" REF="155"> a &s;welling, and breaking over this migh|ty Bank of the Law laid in its way. But this was &s;erviceable to the fulne&s;s of his Grace, which had more abundant matter hereby to work upon, and a larger Field to &s;ow its inexhau&s;tible Seed in, <GAP DESC="foreign">, it did &s;uperabound. That Grace &s;hould ri&s;e in its tide higher than Sin, and bear it down before it: Ju&s;t as the rouling Tide of the Sea ri|&s;eth higher than the &s;treams of the Ri|ver, and beats them back with all their mud and filth. 'Twas mercy in God to create us; 'tis <HI>abundant mercy</HI> to make any new Creatures, after they had for|feited their Happine&s;s; 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.3. which according to his abundant mer|cy, <GAP DESC="foreign">, according to his much mercy. But it was <GAP DESC="foreign">, overflowing exceeding abun|dant, more than full Grace to make &s;uch deform'd Creatures new Creatures, <HI>v.</HI> 14. of this Chapter.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>Freene&s;s of Grace.</HI></P>
<P>None can entertain an imagination, that Chri&s;t &s;hould be a debtor to &s;in, unle&s;s in vengeance, much le&s;s a debtor
<PB N="43" REF="155"> to the wor&s;t of Sinners. But if Chri&s;t &s;hould only take Per&s;ons of moral and natural Excellencies, men might &s;u|&s;pect that Chri&s;t were &s;ome way or other engag'd to them, and that the gift of Salvation were limited to the Endowments of Nature, and the good exerci&s;e and u&s;e of a man's own Will. But when he puts no difference between Per&s;ons of the lea&s;t, and tho&s;e of the greate&s;t demerit, but affecting the foul|e&s;t Mon&s;ters of &s;in, as well as the faire&s;t of Nature's Children, he builds trium|phal Arches to his Grace upon this Rub|bi&s;h, and makes Men and Angels admi|ringly gaze upon the&s;e infinitely free Compa&s;&s;ions; when he takes Souls full of Boils and Sores into his Arms. For 'tis manife&s;t hereby, that the God and Lord of Nature is no more bound to his Servant, (as touching the gift of Salva|tion) when &s;he carries it the mo&s;t &s;moothly with him, than when &s;he re|bels again&s;t him with the highe&s;t hand. And that Chri&s;t is at perfect liberty from any Conditions, but that of his own, <HI>viz.</HI> Faith; and that he can, and will embrace the dirt and mud, as well
<PB N="44" REF="156"> as well as the beauty and and varni&s;h of Nature, if they believe with the like precious Faith.</P>
<P>Therefore 'tis frequently God's me|thod in Scripture, ju&s;t before the offer of Pardon, to &s;um up the Sinner's Debts, with their aggravations; to convince them of their in&s;olvency to &s;atisfy &s;o large a Score, and al&s;o to manife&s;t the freene&s;s and va&s;tne&s;s of his Grace. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 43.22, 23, 24. <HI>But thou ha&s;t not call'd upon me, O Jacob, but thou ha&s;t been weary of me, O I&s;rael; Thou ha&s;t not brought me the &s;mall cattle of thy burnt-offering,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>but thou ha&s;t made me to &s;erve with thy &s;ins, thou ha&s;t wearied me with thine ini|quities.</HI> When he had told them how dirtily they had dealt with him, and would have made him a very &s;lave to their corrupt Humours; at the conclu&s;i|on, when they, nor no Creature el&s;e, but would have expected fireballs of wrath to be flung in their faces, and that God &s;hould have dipt his Pen in Gall, and have writ their <HI>Mittimus</HI> to Hell, he dips it in Honey, and cro&s;&s;eth the Debt; <HI>v.</HI> 25. <HI>I, even I am he, that blotteth out thy tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions for mine own &s;ake, and
<PB N="45" REF="156"> will not remember thy &s;ins.</HI> Could there be any thing of merit here, when the Criminal in&s;tead of favour could ex|pect nothing but &s;everity, there being nothing but demerit in him?</P>
<P>'Tis &s;o free, that the Mercy we abu&s;e, the Name we have profan'd; the Name, of which we have de&s;erved wrath, opens its mouth with Pleas for us. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 36.21. <HI>But I had pity for mine holy name, which the hou&s;e of I&s;rael had profan'd a|mong the heathen whither they went.</HI> Not for their &s;akes. It &s;hould be wholly free: For he repeats their profaning of his Name four times. This Name he would <HI>&s;anctify,</HI> i. e. glorify. How? <HI>v.</HI> 25. <HI>In clean&s;ing them from their filthine&s;s.</HI> His Name, while it pleads for them, men|tions their demerits, that Grace might appear to be Grace indeed; and tri|umph in its own freene&s;s. Our &s;ins again&s;t him cannot de&s;erve more than our &s;ufferings for him; and even they are not worthy of the glory which &s;hall be revealed, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.18.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3. <HI>Extent of his Grace.</HI></P>
<P>Mercy of God is called his Riches,
<PB N="46" REF="157"> and exceeding Riches of Grace. Now as there is no end of his Holine&s;s, which is his Honour; neither any limits &s;et to his Power: So there is no end of his Grace, which is his Wealth; no end of his Mines: Therefore the foule&s;t and greate&s;t Sinners are the fitte&s;t for Chri&s;t to manife&s;t the abundant riches of his Graces upon: For it mu&s;t needs argue a more va&s;t E&s;tate to remit great Debts, and many thou&s;ands of Talents, than to forgive &s;ome fewer Shillings, or Pence; than to pardon &s;ome &s;maller &s;ins in men of a more un&s;tain'd Conver&s;ation. If it were not for turning and pardoning Mountainous Sinners, we &s;hould not know &s;o much of God's E&s;tate. We &s;hould not know how rich he were, or what he were worth. He pardons Ini|quities for his Name &s;ake; and who can &s;pell all the Letters of his Name, and turn over all the Leaves in the Book of Mercy? who &s;hall &s;ay to his Grace, as he does to the Sea, Hitherto &s;halt thou go, and no further?</P>
<P>As the Heavens are of a va&s;t exten|&s;ion, which like a great Circle encom|pa&s;s the Earth, which lies in the middle
<PB N="47" REF="157"> like a little Atome, in compari&s;on of that va&s;t Body of Air and Aether; &s;o are our &s;ins to the extent of God's Mer|cy: <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 55.9. <HI>For as the heavens are higher than the earth, &s;o are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.</HI> Mens &s;ins are innu|merable, yet they are but Cyphers to the va&s;t Sums of Grace which are every day expended; becau&s;e they are finite, but Mercy is infinite; &s;o that all &s;ins in the World put together, cannot be of &s;o large an extent as Mercy: becau&s;e be|ing every one of them finite, if all laid together cannot amount to infinite.</P>
<P>The Go&s;pel is intit'led <HI>good will to men;</HI> to all &s;orts of men; with Iniquities, Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions and Sins, of all &s;orts and &s;izes. God hath &s;tores of Mercy lying by him. His Exchequer is never empty, <HI>Exod.</HI> 34.7. Keeps <HI>mercy for thou&s;ands,</HI> in a readine&s;s to deal it upon thou&s;and millions of Sins, as well as millions of Per&s;ons. <HI>Abraham, I&s;aac</HI> and <HI>Jacob,</HI> and all that were before, have not wa&s;ted it; and if God were to proclaim his Name again, it is the &s;ame &s;till, for his Name as well as his E&s;&s;ence is unchangeable.
<PB N="48" REF="158"> His Grace is no more tied to one Sin, than 'tis to one Per&s;on: He has mercy on whom he will, and his Grace can pardon what Sins he will: Therefore he tells them, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 55.7. that he would <HI>multiply</HI> Pardons: He will have mercy to &s;ute every &s;in of thine, and a Salve for every Sore: Though thy &s;in has its heights, and depths, yet he will heap mercy upon mercy, till he makes it to over-top thy &s;in. He will be as good at his merciful Arithmetick, as thou ha&s;t been at thy &s;inful, if thou do&s;t &s;incerely repent and reform. Though thou mul|tiply thy Sins by thou&s;ands, where Repentance goes before, remi&s;&s;ion of &s;in follows without limitation; when Chri&s;t gives the one, he is &s;ure to &s;e|cond it with the other. Though ag|gravating Circum&s;tances be never &s;o many, yet he will multiply his Mercies as fa&s;t as thou can&s;t the Sins thou ha&s;t committed.</P>
<P>He hath a clean&s;ing Virtue, and a pardoning Grace for all Iniquities and Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, <HI>Jer.</HI> 33.8. <HI>And I will clean&s;e them from all their iniquity, where|by they have &s;inned again&s;t me: And I will
<PB N="49" REF="158"> pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have &s;inned, and whereby they have tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ed again&s;t me.</HI> 'Tis three times re|peated, to &s;hew, that his Mercy &s;hould be as large as their Sin, though there was not a more &s;inful Nation upon the Earth than they were. His Ju&s;tifying and Sanctifying Grace &s;hould have as va&s;t an extention: For he would both <HI>pardon</HI> and <HI>clean&s;e</HI> them. Why? <HI>v.</HI> 9. That it might be a <HI>name of joy, and prai&s;e, and an honour</HI> to him before all the Nations of the Earth.</P>
<P>'Tis &s;o great, that Self-righteous Per|&s;ons murmur at it, that &s;uch Swines &s;hould be preferr'd before them. As the Elde&s;t Son was angry that his Fa|ther &s;hould lavi&s;h out his kindne&s;s upon the Prodigal, more than upon him&s;elf, <HI>Luke</HI> 15.28.</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4. <HI>Compa&s;&s;ionatene&s;s of it.</HI></P>
<P>The formal nature of Mercy is Ten|derne&s;s, and the natural effect of it is Relief. The more mi&s;erable the Object, the more compa&s;&s;ionate Human Mercy is, and the more forward to a&s;&s;i&s;t. Now that Mercy which in Man is a Quality,
<PB N="50" REF="159"> in God is a Nature. How would the infinite tenderne&s;s of his Nature be di&s;|cover'd, if there were no Objects to draw it forth? It would not be known to be Mercy, unle&s;s it were &s;hed abroad; Nor to be tender Mercy, unle&s;s it re|lieved great and oppre&s;&s;ing Mi&s;eries. For Mercy is a Quality in Man that can|not keep at home, and be &s;tow'd under Lock and Key in a Man's own Brea&s;t. Much le&s;s in God, in whom 'tis a Na|ture. Now the greater the Di&s;ea&s;e, the greater is that Compa&s;&s;ion di&s;co|ver'd to be, wherewith God is &s;o fully &s;tor'd.</P>
<P>As his End in letting the Devil pour out &s;o many Afflictions upon <HI>Job,</HI> was to &s;hew his pity and tender mercy in relieving him; <HI>Jam.</HI> 5.11. <HI>You have heard of the patience of Job, and have &s;een the end of the Lord, that the Lord is ve|ry pitiful, and of tender mercy.</HI> So in permitting the Devil to draw his Elect to &s;o many Sins, 'tis the &s;ame End he drives at. And he is more pitiful, to help men under Sin, than under Affli|ction: becau&s;e the guilt of one Sin is a greater mi&s;ery than the burthen of a
<PB N="51" REF="159"> thou&s;and Cro&s;&s;es. If forgivene&s;s be a part of tenderne&s;s in Man, 'tis al&s;o &s;o in God, who is &s;et, <HI>Eph.</HI> 4.32. as a Pattern of the Compa&s;&s;ion we are to &s;hew to others. <HI>And be ye kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Chri&s;t's &s;ake hath forgiven you.</HI></P>
<P>The lower a man is brought, the more tender is that Mercy that relieves him; <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 79.8. <HI>Let thy tender mercies &s;peedily prevent us: for we are brought very low.</HI></P>
<P>To vi&s;it them that &s;it in darkne&s;s, and the &s;hadow of death, and to pardon their &s;ins, is call'd mercy with this Epi|thete of <HI>tender,</HI> Luke 1.77, 78, 79. <HI>Through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the day-&s;pring from on high hath vi&s;ited us.</HI> And &s;o 'tis indeed, when he vi&s;its the mo&s;t forlorn Sinners.</P>
<P N="5"><MILESTONE N="5"> 5. <HI>Sincerity, and plea&s;ure of his Grace.</HI></P>
<P>Ordinary pardon proceeds from his delight in mercy, <HI>Mich.</HI> 7.18. <HI>Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity,
<PB N="52" REF="160"> and pa&s;&s;eth by the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion of the rem|nant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, becau&s;e he delighteth in mercy.</HI> Therefore the more of his Grace he lays out upon any one, the more ex|ce&s;s of delight he hath in it; becau&s;e 'tis a larger effect of that Grace. If he were not &s;incere in it, he would ne|ver mention mens Sins, which would &s;care them from him, rather than al|lure them to him. If he were not &s;in|cere, he would never change the heart of an Enemy, and &s;hew kindne&s;s to him in the very act of enmity: For the fir&s;t act of Grace upon us is quite a|gain&s;t our wills. And man is &s;o far from being active in it, that he is con|trary to it. <HI>In primo actionis,</HI> 'tis thus with a man, though not <HI>in primo actu:</HI> For in the fir&s;t act of Conver&s;ion, man is willing, though not in the fir&s;t mo|ment of that Act. But for God to be|&s;tow his Grace upon us again&s;t our wills, and when he can expect no &s;uita|ble recompence from us, evidences the purity of his Affection; That when he endured &s;o many contradictions of Sin|ners again&s;t him&s;elf, day by day, yet
<PB N="53" REF="160"> he is re&s;olv'd to have them, and does &s;eize upon them, though they &s;truggle and fly in his face, and provoke him to fling them off.</P>
<P>'Tis &s;o much his delight, that 'tis call'd by the very name of his glory; <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 58.8. <HI>The glory of the Lord &s;hall follow thee,</HI> i. e. The Mercy of the Lord &s;hould follow them at the very heels. And when they call, it &s;hould an&s;wer them; and when they cry, he would, like a watchful guardian Servant, cry out, Here I am. So that he never lets a great Sinner, when chang'd into a Pe|nitent, wait long for mercy; though he &s;ometimes lets them wait long for a &s;en&s;e of it. This Mercy is never &s;o de|lightful to him, as when 'tis mo&s;t glo|rious; and 'tis mo&s;t glorious, when it takes hold of the wor&s;t Sinners. For &s;uch Black Spots which Mercy wears upon its face, makes it appear more beautiful.</P>
<P>Chri&s;t does not care for &s;taying, where he has not opportunities to do great Cures, &s;uitable to the va&s;tne&s;s of his Power, <HI>Mark</HI> 6 5. When he was in his own Country, he could do no great
<PB N="54" REF="161"> Work there, but only laid his hands upon a few &s;ick People. He had not a &s;uitable Employment for that glorious Power of working Miracles. So when men come to Chri&s;t with lighter guilt, he has but an under-opportunity given him, and with a kind of di&s;advantage, to manife&s;t the greatne&s;s of his Charity. Though he has &s;o much Grace and Mer|cy, yet he cannot &s;hew more than the nature and exigence of the opportunity will bear; and &s;o his Plea&s;ure doth not &s;well &s;o high, as otherwi&s;e it would do. For little Sins, and few Sins, are not &s;o fit an Object for a Grace that would ride in triumph. Free Grace is God's Dar|ling, which he loves to advance; and 'tis never more advanc'd, than when it beautifies the mo&s;t mi&s;-&s;hapen Souls.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3. <HI>Power.</HI></P>
<P>The Scripture makes Conver&s;ion a wonderful Work, and re&s;embles it to Creation, and the Re&s;urrection of Chri&s;t from the dead, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>Creation.</HI> Conver&s;ion &s;imply con|&s;ider'd, is concluded by Divines to be a
<PB N="55" REF="161"> greater Work than Creation: For God puts forth more Power morally in Con|ver&s;ion, than he did phy&s;ically in Crea|tion. The World was Created by a Word; but many Words, and many Acts concur to Conver&s;ion.</P>
<P>The Heavens are call'd the Works of God's Fingers, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 8.3. But the Go&s;pel in the effects of it, is call'd the Arm of the Lord; <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 53.1. Men put not their Arm to a thing, but when the Work requires more &s;trength than the Fingers po&s;&s;e&s;s. 'Tis the <HI>power of God</HI> to Salvation; and the faith it works is begun and fulfill'd with <HI>power,</HI> 2 The&s;&s;. 1.11.</P>
<P>God created the World of nothing; nothing could not objectively contribute to his De&s;ign, as Matter does to a Work|man's Intent; yet neither doth it op|po&s;e him, becau&s;e 'tis nothing. As &s;oon as God &s;pake the word, this Nothing brings forth Sun, Moon, Stars, Earth, Trees, Flowers, all the garni&s;h of Nature out of its barren Womb. But Sin is actively di&s;obedient, di&s;putes his Commands, &s;lights his Power, for|tifies
<PB N="56" REF="162"> it &s;elf again&s;t his entrance upon the heart, gives not up an inch of ground without a conte&s;t. There is not only a pa&s;&s;ive indi&s;po&s;ition, but an active oppo&s;ition. His Creating Power drew the World out of nothing, but his Converting Power frames the New Creature out of &s;omething wor&s;e than nothing.</P>
<P>Naturally there is nothing but dark|ne&s;s and confu&s;ion in the Soul; we have not the lea&s;t &s;park of divine light, no more than the Chaos had, when God commanded light to &s;hine out of that darkne&s;s, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4.6. <HI>&s;hin'd</HI> in our hearts. To bring a principle of light into the heart, and to &s;et it up in &s;pight of all the oppo&s;ition that the Devil, and a man's own Corruption makes, is greater than Creation. As the power of the Sun is more &s;een in &s;cattering the thicke&s;t Mi&s;ts that triumph over the Earth, and mask the face of the Heavens, than in melting the &s;mall Clouds compacted of a few Vapors; &s;o it mu&s;t needs argue a greater &s;trength to root out tho&s;e great Sins that were twi&s;ted and inlaid with our very Nature, and become as
<PB N="57" REF="162"> dear to us as our right Eye, and right Hand, than a few Sins that have taken no deep root. Every man naturally is po&s;&s;e&s;s'd with a hatred of God, and doth oppo&s;e every thing which would re&s;tore God to his right: And being &s;ince the Fall fill'd with a de&s;ire of independency, which is daily &s;trengthn'd with new recruits, and loth to &s;urrender him&s;elf to the power and direction of another: 'Tis a more difficult thing to tame this unruly di&s;po&s;ition in man's heart, I &s;ay more difficult than to annihilate him, and new create him again. As 'tis more ea&s;ie oftentimes for an Artificer to make a new piece of Work, than to re|pair and patch up an old one that is out of frame.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>Re&s;urrection.</HI> Conver&s;ion &s;imply is &s;o call'd, <HI>Eph.</HI> 2.5. <HI>quickned us when we were dead.</HI> And the Power that ef|fects it, is the &s;ame Power that rais'd Chri&s;t from the dead; which was a mighty Power, that could remove the Stone from the Grave, when Chri&s;t lay with all the Sins of the World upon him; <HI>Eph.</HI> 1.19, 20. So the greater
<PB N="85" REF="163"> the Stone is upon them, the greater is God's Power to remove it.</P>
<P>For if it be the Power of God &s;im|ply to regenerate Nature, and to put a new Law into the heart, and to quali|fy the Will with a new byas to comply with this Law; and to make them that could not endure any thoughts of Grace, not to endure any thoughts of Sin; 'Tis a greater Power &s;ure to rai&s;e a man from that death, wherein he has lain thirty or forty years rotten and putri|fied in the Grave: For if Conver&s;ion in its own nature be Creation and Re&s;urrection, this mu&s;t needs be Crea|tion and Re&s;urrection with an Em|pha&s;is.</P>
<P>The more malignant any Di&s;temper is, and the more fix'd in the vital Parts, and complicated with other Di&s;ea&s;es, the greater is the Power in curing it: For a Di&s;ea&s;e is more ea&s;ily checkt at the fir&s;t inva&s;ion, than when it has infect|ed the whole ma&s;s of Blood, and become Chronical; &s;o 'tis more to pull up a Sin, or many Sins, that have &s;pread their Roots deep, and &s;tood again&s;t the &s;hock of many blu&s;tring winds of
<PB N="59" REF="163"> threatnings, than that which is but a Twig, and newly planted.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3. <HI>Traction</HI> or <HI>drawing.</HI> Drawing implies a &s;trength. If Conver&s;ion be a Traction, then more &s;trength is requi|red to draw one that is bound to a Po&s;t by great Cables, than one that is only tied by a few Packthreads; one that has millions of Weights upon him, than one that hath but a few Pounds.</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4. 'Tis <HI>the only Miracle Chri&s;t hath left &s;tanding in the World, and declares him more to be Chri&s;t than any thing.</HI> When <HI>John</HI> &s;ent to know what he was, <HI>Luke</HI> 7.20. he returns no other account but a li&s;t of his Miracles; and that which brings up the Rear as the greate&s;t, is, the poor, <GAP DESC="foreign">, are Evange|liz'd. 'Tis not to be taken actively, of the Preaching the Go&s;pel; but pa&s;&s;ively, they were wrought upon by the Go&s;pel, and became <HI>Go&s;pell'd</HI> People, transform|ed into the Mould of it.</P>
<P>For el&s;e it would bear no analogy to the other Miracles. The Deaf heard, and the Dead were rais'd; they had not only Exhortations to hear, but the ef|fects were wrought upon them. So
<PB N="60" REF="164"> the&s;e words import not only the preach|ing of the Go&s;pel to them, but the powerful operation of the Go&s;pel in them. 'Tis not &s;o great a work to rai&s;e many thou&s;ands kill'd in a Battel, as to <HI>go&s;pellize</HI> one dead Soul. 'Tis a miracle of Power to transform a ravenous Wolf into a gentle Lamb, a furious Lyon into a meek Dove, a na&s;ty Sink into a clear Fountain, a &s;tinking Weed into a fra|grant Ro&s;e, a Toad or Viper into a Man endued with Rational Faculties and Moral Endowments; and &s;o to tran&s;|form a filthy Swine into a King and Prie&s;t unto God. In Conque&s;ts of this nature does Divine Power appear glori|ous. 'Tis &s;ome &s;trength to poli&s;h a rough Stone taken out of the Quarry, and hew it into the Statue of a great Prince; but more to make this Statue a living Man. Wor&s;e Stones than the&s;e doth God make Children, not only to <HI>Abraham,</HI> but to him&s;elf, even the <HI>Gen|tiles</HI> which were accounted<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Grot. Mat. 3.9.</NOTE> Stones by the <HI>Jews,</HI> and are call'd Stones in Scrip|ture for the wor&s;hipping Idols.</P>
<P>What Power mu&s;t that be, which can &s;top the Tide of the Sea, and make it
<PB N="61" REF="164"> &s;uddenly recoil back? what va&s;t Power mu&s;t that be, that can change a black Cloud into a glorious Sun? This, and more doth God do in Conver&s;ion. He doth not only take &s;mooth Pieces of the &s;ofte&s;t Matter, but the ruggede&s;t Tim|ber full of Knots, to plain and &s;hew both his Strength and Art upon.</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4. <HI>Wi&s;dom.</HI></P>
<P>The work of Grace being a new Creation, is not only an Act of God's Power, but of his Wi&s;dom; as the Na|tural Creation was. As he did in con|triving the Platform of Grace, and in bringing Chri&s;t upon the Stage, &s;o al&s;o in the particular di&s;tributions of it, he acts according to Coun&s;el, and that In|finite too, even the Coun&s;el of his own Will, <HI>Eph.</HI> 1.11. The Apo&s;tle having di&s;cour&s;ed before, <HI>v.</HI> 9. of God's ma|king known the My&s;tery of his Will in and through Chri&s;t: And <HI>v.</HI> 11. of the di&s;pen&s;ation of this Grace, in be&s;towing an Inheritance, being prede&s;tinated ac|cording to the purpo&s;e of him, <HI>who works all things according to the coun&s;el of his own will:</HI> He doth not &s;ay, God pre|de&s;tinated
<PB N="62" REF="165"> us according to the Coun&s;el of his own Will, but refers it to all he had &s;aid before, <HI>viz.</HI> of his making known the My&s;tery of Chri&s;t, and their obtaining an Inheritance. And <HI>v.</HI> 8. &s;peaking before of the pardon of Sin in the Blood of Chri&s;t, according to the riches of God's Grace, wherein, &s;aith he, <HI>He hath abounded towards us in all wi&s;dom:</HI> As there was abundance of Grace &s;et apart, to be dealt out, &s;o there was abundance of Wi&s;dom, even all God's Wi&s;dom employ'd in the di|&s;tribution of it. The re&s;toring of God's Image requires at lea&s;t as much Wi&s;|dom, as the fir&s;t Creating of it. And the application of Redemption, and be|&s;towing of Pardoning and Converting Grace, is as much an Act of God's Pru|dence, as the Contrivance of it was of his Coun&s;el.</P>
<P>Grace, or a gracious Man in re&s;pect of his grace, is call'd God's <HI>workman&s;hip, Eph.</HI> 2.10. <GAP DESC="foreign">, not <GAP DESC="foreign">; Work of his Art, as well as &s;trength and opera|tion of his Mind as well as his Hand. His <HI>Poem,</HI> not barely a Work of Omni|potency, but an intellectual Spark. A
<PB N="63" REF="165"> new Creature is a curious Piece of Di|vine Art, fa&s;hion'd by God's Wi&s;dom to &s;et forth the prai&s;e of the Framer. As a Poem is by a Man's Rea&s;on and Fancy, to publi&s;h the Wit and Parts of the Compo&s;er.</P>
<P>'Tis a great Skill of an Artificer, with a mixture of a few Sands and A&s;hes, by his breath to blow up &s;uch a clear and diaphanous body as Gla&s;s, and frame &s;everal Ve&s;&s;els of it for &s;everal u&s;es. 'Tis not barely his breath that does it, for other men have breath as well as he; but 'tis breath manag'd by Art. And is it not a marvellous Skill in God, to make a miry Soul &s;o pure and chry&s;talline on a &s;udden; to endue a Swine with a Di|vine Nature, and by a powerful word to frame &s;o beautiful a Medal as a new Creature is?</P>
<P>The more intricate and knotty any Bu&s;ine&s;s is, the more eminent is a man's Ability in effecting it. The more de|&s;perate the Wound is, the more ho|nourable is the Chyrurgion's Ability in the Cure. Chri&s;t's healing a Soul that is come to the la&s;t ga&s;p, and given over by all for lo&s;t, &s;hews more of
<PB N="64" REF="166"> Art, than &s;etting right an ordinary Sinner.</P>
<P>Our Apo&s;tle takes notice of the Wi&s;|dom of God in his own Conver&s;ion here: For when he relates the Hi&s;tory of it, he breaks out into an Hallelujah, and &s;ends up a Volley of Prai&s;es to God for the grace he had obtain'd. And in that Doxology, he puts an Empha&s;is on the Wi&s;dom of God, <HI>v.</HI> 17. <HI>Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invi&s;ible, the only wi&s;e God, be honour, and glory, for ever and ever.</HI> Only Wi&s;e God; Only, which he does not add to any other At|tribute, he there gives him.</P>
<P>This Wi&s;dom appears,</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>In the Subjects he chu&s;eth;</HI> we'll go no further than the Example in our Text. Our Apo&s;tle &s;eems to be a man full of heat and zeal. And the Church already had felt the &s;mart of his Activi|ty; in&s;omuch, that they were afraid to come at him after his change, or to ad|mit him into their company, imagining that his Fury was not chang'd, but di&s;|guis'd; and he of an open Per&s;ecutor, turn'd Trepaner, <HI>Acts</HI> 9.26. None can
<PB N="65" REF="166"> expre&s;s better what a Lyon he was than he doth him&s;elf, <HI>Acts</HI> 26.10, 11. <HI>Many of the &s;aints did I &s;hut up in pri&s;on, ha|ving received authority from the chief Prie&s;ts; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice again&s;t them. And I puni&s;hed them oft in every &s;ynagogue, and compelled them to bla&s;pheme; and being exceedingly mad again&s;t them, I per&s;ecuted them even unto &s;trange cities.</HI> He &s;eems al&s;o to have been a Man of a high and ambitious Spirit. This Per&s;ecuting pro|bably was acted &s;o vigorou&s;ly by him, to ingratiate him&s;elf with the Chief Prie&s;ts, and as a means to &s;tep into Pre|ferment; for which he was endewed with Parts, and Learning, and would not want Zeal and Indu&s;try to attain it. He &s;eems to be of a proud Spirit, by the temptation which he had, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.7. <HI>le&s;t I &s;hould be exalted above mea&s;ure.</HI> He &s;peaks it twice in that Ver&s;e, intima|ting that his Natural Di&s;po&s;ition led him to be lifted up with any Excellency he had: And u&s;ually God doth direct his Battery to beat down that which is the Sin of our Con&s;titution.</P>
<PB N="66" REF="167">
<P>He was a man of a very hone&s;t mind, and was forward in following every Point his Con&s;cience directed him to: For what he did again&s;t Chri&s;t, he did according to the Dictates of his Con&s;ci|ence, as then inform'd, <HI>Acts</HI> 26.9. <HI>I verily thought with my &s;elf,</HI> i. e. in my Con&s;cience, <HI>that I ought,</HI> not that <HI>I might,</HI> but that it was his Duty. His Error commanded with the &s;ame power that Truth does where it reigns.</P>
<P>Now it di&s;covers the Wi&s;dom of God to lay hold of this man, thus tem|per'd, who had hone&s;ty to obey the Dictates of a rightly inform'd Con&s;ci|ence, as well as tho&s;e of an Erroneous one; Zeal to execute them, and height of Spirit to pre&s;erve his Activity from being blunted by any oppo&s;ition; and Parts and Prudence for the management of all the&s;e. I &s;ay, to turn the&s;e Affe|ctions and Excellencies to run in a hea|venly Channel, and to guide this Na|tural Pa&s;&s;ion and Heat for the &s;ervice and advancement of that Intere&s;t which before he endeavour'd to de&s;troy, and for the propagation of that Go&s;pel which before he per&s;ecuted, is an effect
<PB N="67" REF="167"> of a wonderful Wi&s;dom; As 'tis a Rider's Skill to order the Mettle of a head&s;trong Hor&s;e for his own u&s;e, to carry him on in his Journy.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>This Wi&s;dom appears in the Time.</HI></P>
<P>As Man's Wi&s;dom doth con&s;i&s;t as well in timing his Actions, as contriving the models of them; &s;o doth God's. He lays hold of the fitte&s;t Opportunities to bring his wonderful Providences upon the Stage. He hath his <HI>&s;et time</HI> to de|liver his Church from her Enemies, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">2.13. And he hath his &s;et time al&s;o to deliver every particular Soul, that he intends to make a Mem|ber of his Church, from the Devil. He waits the fitte&s;t Sea&s;on to manife&s;t his Grace, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 30.18. <HI>Therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto you.</HI> Why? <HI>For the Lord is a God of judg|ment,</HI> i. e. a God of Wi&s;dom: There|fore will time things for the be&s;t advan|tage, both of his glory, and the Sin|ner's good. His timing of his Grace was excellent in the Conver&s;ion of <HI>Paul.</HI></P>
<P N="1"><PB N="68" REF="168"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>In re&s;pect of him&s;elf.</HI></P>
<P>There could not be a fitter time to glorify his Grace, than when <HI>Paul</HI> was almo&s;t got to the length of his Chain; almo&s;t to the Sin again&s;t the Holy Gho&s;t. For if he had had but a little more light, and done that out of ma|lice, which he did out of ignorance, he had been lo&s;t for ever. He obtain'd mercy, why? becau&s;e he did it <HI>igno|rantly,</HI> v. 13. As I &s;aid before, he fol|low'd the dictates of his Con&s;cience: For if he had had knowledge &s;uitable to his fury, it had been the unpardon|able Sin. Chri&s;t &s;uffer'd him to run to the brink of Hell, before he laid hold upon him.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>In re&s;pect of others.</HI></P>
<P>He is converted at &s;uch a time, when he went as full of madne&s;s as a Toad of Poy&s;on, to &s;pit it out again&s;t the poor Chri&s;tians at <HI>Dama&s;cus;</HI> arm'd with all the Power and Credential Letters the High Prie&s;t could give him, who with|out que&s;tion promi&s;ed him&s;elf much from his indu&s;try. And when he was
<PB N="69" REF="168"> almo&s;t at his Journy's end, ready to exe|cute his Commi&s;&s;ion, <HI>Acts</HI> 9.3. <HI>And as he journied, he came near Dama&s;cus.</HI> About half a mile from the City, as <HI>Gulielmus Tyrius</HI> thinks<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Turin.</HI> in loc.</NOTE>; At this ve|ry time Chri&s;t grapples with him, out|wre&s;tles all his Bedlam Principles, &s;e|cures <HI>Paul</HI> from Hell, and his Di&s;ciples from their fears of him. Behold the Nature of this Hawk chang'd, ju&s;t as he was going to fa&s;ten upon the Par|tridge.</P>
<P>Chri&s;t might have converted <HI>Paul</HI> &s;ooner, either when <HI>Paul</HI> had heard of &s;ome of his Miracles; for perhaps <HI>Paul</HI> was re&s;ident at <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> at the time of Chri&s;t's preaching in <HI>Judaea:</HI> For he was brought up in <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> at the Feet of <HI>Gamaliel,</HI> Acts 22.3. who was one of the Council, <HI>Acts</HI> 5.34. He might have converted him when he heard <HI>Stephen</HI> make that Elegant and Convincing Ora|tion in his own defence, <HI>Acts</HI> 7. Or when he &s;aw <HI>Stephen</HI>'s Con&s;tancy, Pa|tience and Charity in his Suffering; which might &s;omewhat have &s;tartled a moral Man, as <HI>Paul</HI> was, and made him look about him.</P>
<PB N="70" REF="169">
<P>But Chri&s;t omits the doing of it at all the&s;e Opportunities, and &s;uffers him to kick again&s;t the pricks of Miracles, Ad|monitions and Arguments of <HI>Stephen</HI> and others: Yet hath his Eye upon him all along in a &s;pecial manner, <HI>Acts</HI> 7.58. He is there nam'd, when none el&s;e are; <HI>witne&s;&s;es laid their clothes at a young man's feet, nam'd Saul.</HI> And <HI>Acts</HI> 8.1. <HI>Saul was con&s;enting to his death;</HI> was there none el&s;e that had a hand in it? The Spirit of God takes &s;pecial notice of <HI>Saul</HI> here; he runs in God's mind, yet God would not &s;top his fury. And <HI>Acts</HI> 8.3. <HI>As for Saul, he made havock of the Church.</HI></P>
<P>Did no body el&s;e &s;hew as much Zeal and Cruelty as <HI>Saul?</HI> &s;ure he mu&s;t have &s;ome In&s;truments with him; yet we hear none nam'd but <HI>Saul.</HI> And <HI>Act.</HI> 9.1. <HI>Saul yet breathing,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>yet,</HI> as much as to &s;ay, he &s;hall not do &s;o long. I &s;hall have a fit time to meet with him pre|&s;ently.</P>
<P>And was it not a fit time, when the Devil hop'd to rout the Chri&s;tians by him? when the High Prie&s;ts a&s;&s;ur'd them&s;elves &s;ucce&s;s from this man's pa&s;|&s;ionate
<PB N="71" REF="169"> Zeal, when the Church travel|led with throws of fear of him. But Chri&s;t &s;ent the Devil &s;neaking away for the lo&s;s of &s;uch an active In&s;trument, fru&s;trates all the Expectations of the High Prie&s;ts, and calms all the &s;tormy Fears of his Di&s;ciples: For Chri&s;t &s;ets him fir&s;t a preaching at <HI>Dama&s;cus</HI> in the very Synagogues which were to a&s;&s;i&s;t him in his cruel De&s;ign, <HI>Acts</HI> 9 20, 22. And &s;traightway he <HI>preached Chri&s;t in the &s;ynagogues, that he is the &s;on of God, and increa&s;ed the more in &s;trength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Da|ma&s;cus, proving that this is very Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Did not Chri&s;t &s;hew him&s;elf to be a God of Judgment here? He &s;at watch|ing in Heaven for this Sea&s;on, to turn <HI>Paul</HI> with the greate&s;t advantage. His Wi&s;dom an&s;wers many Ends at once, and kill'd &s;o many Birds with one Stone. He &s;truck dead at one blow <HI>Paul</HI>'s Sin, his Peoples Fears, the High Prie&s;t's Ex|pectations, and the Devil's Hopes. He triumphs over his Enemies, &s;ecures his Friends, &s;aves <HI>Paul</HI>'s Soul, and pro|motes his Intere&s;t by him; he di&s;ap|points
<PB N="72" REF="170"> the Devil of his Expectations, and Hell of her longing.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3. This Wi&s;dom appears, <HI>to keep up the Credit of Chri&s;t's Death.</HI></P>
<P>The great Excellency of Chri&s;t's Sa|crifice, wherein it tran&s;cends the Sacri|fices under the Law, is, becau&s;e it per|fectly makes an atonement for all Sins; It fir&s;t &s;atisfies God, and then calms the Con&s;cience, which they could not do, <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.1, 2. for there was a con&s;ci|ence of Sin after their Sacrifices. The tenor of the Covenant of Grace which God makes with his People, is upon the account of this Sacrifice, <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.16, 17. <HI>This is the covenant I will make with them.</HI> V. 17. <HI>And their &s;ins and ini|quities will I remember no more; Now where remi&s;&s;ion of the&s;e is, there is no more offering for &s;in.</HI> This Covenant extends not only to little Sins, for there is no limitation; great Sins are included: Therefore Chri&s;t &s;atisfied for great Sins, or el&s;e if ever they be pardon'd, there mu&s;t be another Sacrifice, either of him&s;elf, or &s;ome other, which the Apo&s;tle, upon the account of this Covenant, a&s;&s;erts
<PB N="73" REF="170"> there need not be; becau&s;e this Sacrifice was compleat, otherwi&s;e there would be a remembrance of Sin: As the Co|venant implied the compleatne&s;s of Chri&s;t's Satisfaction, &s;o the continual fulfilling or application of the tenor of the Covenant, implies the perpetual &s;avour and force of this Sacrifice.</P>
<P>And indeed when God deliver'd him up, he intended it for the greate&s;t Sins. <HI>Rom.</HI> 4.25. <HI>He was deliver'd for our of|fences,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, which &s;ignifies not &s;tumbling, but falling. Not a light, but a great tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion. Now if Chri&s;t's Death be not &s;atisfactory for great Debts, Chri&s;t mu&s;t be too weak to perform what God intended by him, and &s;o Infinite Wi&s;dom was fru&s;trate of its Intention, which cannot, nor ought not to be imagin'd. Now therefore God takes the greate&s;t Sinners to &s;hew,</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. Fir&s;t the <HI>Value of this Sacrifice.</HI></P>
<P>If God &s;hould only entertain men of a lighter guilt, Chri&s;t's Death would be &s;u&s;pected to be too low a Ran&s;om for Mon&s;trous Enormoties; and that his Trea&s;ure was &s;ufficient for the &s;atisfa|ction
<PB N="74" REF="171"> of &s;maller Debts, but a penury of Merit to di&s;charge Talents; which had not been a De&s;ign &s;uitable to the gran|deur of Chri&s;t, or the infinitene&s;s of that Mercy God proclaims in his Word. But now the Conver&s;ion of Giantlike Sin|ners doth credit the Atonement which Chri&s;t made; and is a great renewed Approbation of the infinite Value of it, and its equivalency to God's Demands: For it bears &s;ome analogy to the Re&s;ur|rection of Chri&s;t, which was God's ge|neral Acquittance to Chri&s;t, to evidence the &s;ufficiency of his Payment. And the ju&s;tification of every Sinner is a branch of that Acquittance given to Chri&s;t at his Re&s;urrection; <HI>Rom.</HI> 4.25. <HI>Rais'd again for our ju&s;tification.</HI> And a parti|cular Acquittance to Chri&s;t for that par|ticular Soul he had the charge of from his Father. All that Power that works in the fir&s;t creation of Grace, or the progre&s;s of Regeneration, bears &s;ome proportion to the acquitting and appro|ving Power manife&s;ted in Chri&s;t's Re|&s;urrection. <HI>Eph.</HI> 1.19, 20. <HI>And what is the exceeding greatne&s;s of his power to us|ward, who believe according to the working
<PB N="75" REF="171"> of his mighty power which he wrought in Chri&s;t when he rais'd him from the dead.</HI> In <HI>v.</HI> 17, 18. the Apo&s;tle prays for the carrying on the work of Grace and Re|generation begun in them, that they might more clearly under&s;tand that Power which wrought in Chri&s;t; <HI>viz.</HI> that approving Power of what Chri&s;t has done, which he exerts daily in Con|ver&s;ion, and in the effects of it. For by rai&s;ing any Soul from a death in Sin, God doth evidence the particular value of Chri&s;t's Blood for that Soul, as he did in rai&s;ing Chri&s;t, evidence the ge|neral fulne&s;s of that Satisfaction. And this he will do even to the end of the World, <HI>Eph.</HI> 2.6, 7. <HI>rais'd us up together with Chri&s;t: &mdash;Kindne&s;s through Chri&s;t Je&s;us.</HI> All his Grace in all Ages, even to the end of the World, &s;hall run through this Channel, to put Credit and Honour upon Chri&s;t. Now the greater the Sin is that is pardon'd, and the greater the Sinner is that is convert|ed, the more it &s;hews the &s;ufficiency of the Price Chri&s;t paid.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="76" REF="172"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>The Virtue of this Sacrifice.</HI></P>
<P>He is a <HI>Prie&s;t for ever,</HI> Heb. 7.17. and therefore the Virtue as well as the Value of his Sacrifice remains for ever: He hath obtained an <HI>eternal redemption, Heb.</HI> 9.12. <HI>i. e.</HI> a Redemption of an Eternal Efficacy.</P>
<P>As long as men receive any Venom from the fiery Serpent, they may be healed by the Antitype of the Brazen one, though it were &s;o many years &s;ince he was lifted up. And tho&s;e who are &s;tung all over, as well as tho&s;e who are bitten but in one part, may by a be|lieving looking upon him, draw virtue from him as diffu&s;ive as their Sin.</P>
<P>Now the new Conver&s;ions of Men of extraordinary guilt, proclaims to the world, that the fountain of his Blood is inexhau&s;tible; that the virtue of it is not &s;pent, and drain'd, though &s;o much hath been drawn out of it for the&s;e Five thou&s;and years and upwards for the clean&s;ing of Sins pa&s;t before his coming, and Sins &s;ince his Death. This evidences that his Prie&s;thood now is of as much efficacy as his Sufferings on
<PB N="77" REF="172"> Earth were valuable; and that his Me|rit is as much in virtue above our Ini|quity, as his Per&s;on is in excellency above our Nothingne&s;s. He can wa&s;h the Tawny <HI>American,</HI> as well as the Moral Heathen; and make the Black <HI>Aethiopian</HI> as white as the mo&s;t Virtu|ous Philo&s;opher. God fa&s;tens upon the wor&s;t of Men &s;ometimes, to adorn the Cro&s;s of Chri&s;t; and maketh them Eminent Te&s;timonies of the power of Chri&s;t's Death. <HI>He made his grave with the wicked,</HI> I&s;a. 53.9. <HI>Heb.</HI> He <HI>&s;hall give</HI> the Wicked (not <HI>Grave) and the rich in his death.</HI> God &s;hall make Man wal|lowing in &s;inful Plea&s;ures, tied to the Blandi&s;hments and Profits of the World, to come to Chri&s;t, and comply with him, to be &s;tanding Te&s;timonies in all Ages of the Virtue of his Sufferings.</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4. <HI>For the fruitfulne&s;s of this Grace in the Converts them&s;elves.</HI> The mo&s;t rug|ged Souls prove mo&s;t eminent in Grace upon their Conver&s;ion, as the mo&s;t Orient Diamonds in <HI>India,</HI> which are naturally more rough, are mo&s;t bright and &s;parkling when cut and &s;mooth'd.
<PB N="78" REF="173"> Men u&s;ually &s;prout up in &s;tature after &s;hattering Agues.</P>
<P>It increa&s;eth,</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>Thankfulne&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>Converts only are fit to &s;hew forth the Prai&s;es of Chri&s;t, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.9. <HI>That you &s;hould &s;hew forth the prai&s;es of him, who hath call'd you out of darkne&s;s into his marvellous light;</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, the Virtues of Chri&s;t. The end why God &s;ets Men at liberty from Pri&s;ons and Dungeons, and from fear of Death and Condemnation for great Sins, is, that they may be fit|ted, and gain a commodious &s;tanding, to publi&s;h to the World the Virtues of him; <HI>i. e.</HI> the Mercy, Meekne&s;s, Pa|tience, Bounty, Truth, and other Royal Perfections of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Men at their fir&s;t Conver&s;ion receive the Grace of God with a&s;toni&s;hment; for 'tis <GAP DESC="foreign">, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.9. mo&s;t amazing at the fir&s;t appearance of it; as the Northern Nations that want the Sun for &s;ome Months in the Winter, are rea|dy to Deify it when it appears in their Horizon: For the thickne&s;s of the fore|going Darkne&s;s makes the lu&s;tre of the
<PB N="79" REF="173"> Sun more admirable. But &s;uppo&s;e a man had been all his life-time like a Mole under ground, and had never &s;een &s;o much as the light of a Candle, and had a view of that weak Light at a di|&s;tance, how would he admire it, when he compares it with his former Dark|ne&s;s? But if he &s;hould be brought fur|ther, to behold the Moon with its train of Stars, his Amazement would increa&s;e with the Light. But let this Per&s;on behold the Sun, be touched with its warm Beams, and enjoy the plea&s;ure of &s;eeing tho&s;e Rarities which the Sun di&s;|covers, he will ble&s;s him&s;elf, adore it, and embrace that Per&s;on that led him to enjoy &s;uch a Benefit. And the black|ne&s;s of that Darkne&s;s he &s;at in before, will endear the pre&s;ent Splendor to him, &s;well up &s;uch a &s;pring tide of a&s;toni&s;h|ment, as that there &s;hall be no more &s;pirit in him.</P>
<P>God lets men &s;it long in the &s;ha|dow of death, and run to the utmo&s;t of Sin, before he &s;tops them, that their Danger may enhance their De|liverance.</P>
<PB N="80" REF="174">
<P>We admire more when we are pull'd out of danger, than when we are pre|vented from running into it. A Male|factor will be more thankful for a Par|don, when it comes ju&s;t as he is going to be turn'd off. If there be degrees of Harmony in Heaven, without que&s;tion the Convert Thief on the Cro&s;s warbles out louder Notes than others, becau&s;e he had little time to do it on Earth; and his Engagements are the greater, becau&s;e Chri&s;t took him in his Arms when he was hanging over Hell.</P>
<P>When <HI>Paul</HI> writ this Epi&s;tle to <HI>Ti|mothy,</HI> he was about 55 years of age, and yet tho&s;e 20 years run out &s;ince his Conver&s;ion had not &s;tifled his Admira|tion, nor dampt his Thankfulne&s;s for Converting Grace. Take a pro&s;pect of it in this Chapter, <HI>v.</HI> 12, 13. <HI>And I thank Chri&s;t Je&s;us our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, put|ting me into the Mini&s;try, who was before a bla&s;phemer, and a per&s;ecutor, and inju|rious.</HI> I thank Chri&s;t Je&s;us our Lord. He &s;eems to &s;et his Sin and God's Mercy in oppo&s;ition. I was Injurious, but I obtain'd mercy. I was a Bla&s;phemer,
<PB N="81" REF="174"> but I obtained, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> I&mdash;mercy. Who would imagine, but that of all Per&s;ons he &s;hould have pa&s;t by me, while he had taken this or that poli&s;hed <HI>Phari&s;ee,</HI> this or that Doctor of Morality? but that he &s;hould overlook them, and &s;et his eye upon me, &s;o injurious, &s;uch a Bla&s;phemer, &s;uch a Per&s;ecutor! A great Sinner, when he reflects upon his Sin, wonders that a <HI>But</HI> was not made at him. You find that no Apo&s;tle gives &s;uch Epi|thetes to the Grace of God as our Apo|&s;tle does. None &s;o Seraphical in his admiring Expre&s;&s;ions. Riches of Grace, Exceeding Riches of Grace, Abundant Grace, Riches of Glory, Un&s;earchable Riches of Grace. He never &s;peaks of Grace without an Empha&s;is. Single Grace, and &s;ingle Mercy would not &s;erve his turn.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>Love and Affection.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Mary Magdalen,</HI> out of whom Chri&s;t had ca&s;t &s;even Devils, was mo&s;t early in her affection, to be&s;tow her provi&s;ion of Spices upon the dead Body of her Sa|viour. The fire of Grace cannot be &s;ti|fled, but will break out in glory to
<PB N="82" REF="175"> God. This is &s;uch a Grace, that Man in innocency could not have exercis'd in &s;uch a height; becau&s;e now the Sinner is not only in his own &s;ight unworthy of pardon, but worthy of the greate&s;t hatred and puni&s;hment. You &s;carce find your &s;elves po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with greater affection to any, than tho&s;e who have been In&s;truments to free you from your &s;inful Fetters. How often do you ble&s;s them, could pull out your Eyes for them, and think all ways too little to mani|fe&s;t the &s;en&s;e of your obligations to them! And doth the In&s;trument carry away all? &s;urely God has the greate&s;t Sacrifice of Affection, when the Con|vert con&s;iders that his powerful Grace was the principal Agent to draw him out of this &s;piritual Mire. As when a Pre&s;ent is &s;ent to you, you &s;hew a Cour|te&s;y to the Servant, but the chief part of your kindne&s;s is devoted to the Ma|&s;ter that &s;ent him. What flames of Love, raptures of Joy, tran&s;ports of Affection, boilings of Courage for God in a young Convert! The Soul is mo&s;t couragious for God at fir&s;t Conver|&s;ion, becau&s;e 'tis then mo&s;t &s;tor'd with
<PB N="83" REF="175"> Comforts; and is &s;o &s;truck into amaze|ment at the marvellous light which darts upon him, that he is ambitious to be a Martyr for God pre&s;ently; <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.32. <HI>After that you were illuminated, you endured a great fight of afflictions.</HI> Grace is not only attended with Afflictions, but be&s;tows a Courage upon a Con|vert to endure them. The Soul then thinks it is able to undergo any thing for God, who hath be&s;tow'd &s;o much Grace upon it.</P>
<P>A Chri&s;tian hath the greate&s;t love to Chri&s;t at the fir&s;t turning to him: For &s;ince the horror of all his Sins, and the natural ugline&s;s and deformity of that which he has &s;erv'd &s;o long, comes with a full &s;en&s;e upon him; And &s;ince the admirable Excellency of Chri&s;t &s;hines upon him, which is a &s;ight he was ne|ver acquainted with before; the great|ne&s;s of the danger he was in, and the incomparable love which beams upon him from his believing a Saviour, fills his Affection with full Sails.</P>
<P>Thus do men, who have been to&s;&s;ed in a dangerous Tempe&s;t, afflicted with the darkne&s;s of the night, as well as
<PB N="84" REF="176"> their danger, rejoice, and welcome the Ri&s;ing Sun in the Morning, which di|&s;pels their tumultuous Fears, as well as tho&s;e gloomy Shadows.</P>
<P>God permits a man's Sins to abound, that his Love after pardon may abound too; <HI>Luke</HI> 7.47. <HI>Her &s;ins which are ma|ny, are forgiven: for &s;he loved much.</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>Therefore,</HI> 'tis the con&s;equent, not the cau&s;e of remi&s;&s;ion. And this inter|pretation agrees be&s;t with the following words, <HI>To whom little is forgiven, the &s;ame loves little.</HI> 'Tis more con&s;onant to Rea&s;on, that where there are greater Mercies, there &s;hould be greater re|turns of Affection. Remi&s;&s;ion of Sins is the greate&s;t evidence of God's Love, and therefore &s;hould be the greate&s;t in|centive of ours. And indeed Chri&s;t ne|ver appears to a Penitent with a more comely air in his Countenance, than upon the removal of great Judgments, or the pardon of great Sins. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 4.2. <HI>In that day &s;hall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth &s;hall be excellent and comely, for them that are e&s;caped of I&s;rael.</HI> In <HI>that</HI> day, in what day? After great Judg|ments,
<PB N="85" REF="176"> <HI>v.</HI> 1. and in the foregoing Chapter, in purging away great filth, <HI>v.</HI> 4. The Branch Je&s;us appears mo&s;t lovely, when he comes laden with the fruit of Grace, with the &s;anctifying juice of his Blood; as a ripe bunch of Grapes looks plea&s;antly in a thir&s;ty Tra|veller's Eye. This Convert <HI>Paul</HI> was more affectionate to Chri&s;t than any of the other Apo&s;tles: For when he could not look upon him, he is enamour'd on his very Name, and delights to expre&s;s it no le&s;s than 500 times, as, I remem|ber &s;ome have numbred it in his Epi|&s;tles; more proportionably than <HI>Peter, James</HI> and <HI>John</HI> did in what they writ.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3. <HI>Service and Obedience.</HI></P>
<P>Such will endeavour to redeem the time, becau&s;e their former days have been &s;o evil, and recover tho&s;e advan|tages of Service, which they lo&s;t by a cour&s;e of Sin. They will labour that the largene&s;s of their Sin may be an|&s;wered by an exten&s;ion of their Zeal. Such will be almo&s;t as much a&s;ham'd to do but common &s;ervice, as they are now a&s;ham'd of their &s;carlet Sins. As Men, the further they go bacward, the greater leap
<PB N="86" REF="177"> they u&s;ually take forward. Grace in|&s;tructs a man in holine&s;s out of grati|tude.</P>
<P><HI>Tit.</HI> 2.12. The Grace of God <HI>teach|eth us to deny ungodline&s;s and worldly lu&s;ts, that we &s;hould live &s;oberly, righteou&s;ly and godly in this pre&s;ent world.</HI> Grace teach|eth us. The greater the Grace, the more pre&s;&s;ing is the In&s;truction; as it doth increa&s;e gratitude, it doth increa&s;e &s;ervice. That <HI>Peter,</HI> who had been &s;o criminal in denying his Ma&s;ter, and ad|ding Perjury to his Perfidiou&s;ne&s;s, was as active in &s;ervice, as he had been in apo&s;tacy. He laid the fir&s;t Stone of the Chri&s;tian Church among the <HI>Jews</HI> after Chri&s;t's A&s;cen&s;ion: He preached the fir&s;t Sermon to them, and charg'd them home with his Ma&s;ter's Murther, <HI>Act.</HI> 2. He was al&s;o the Spoke&s;man in all bu&s;i|ne&s;s, de&s;crib'd in the fir&s;t &s;ix Chapters of the <HI>Acts.</HI> He laid al&s;o the fir&s;t foun|dation of the <HI>Gentile</HI> Church: For God in a Vi&s;ion revealed to him the calling of the <HI>Gentiles,</HI> pa&s;&s;ing by all the other Apo&s;tles, to whom it was not known but by <HI>Peter</HI>'s Relation<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Camer. <HI>on</HI> Myro <HI>in</HI> Acts 15.7.</NOTE>, <HI>Acts</HI> 15.7. <HI>Men and brethren, ye know how that a
<PB N="87" REF="177"> good while ago, God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth &s;hould hear the word of the go&s;pel, and believe. A good while ago,</HI> which good while ago refers to the time <HI>Matt.</HI> 16.18. where|in Chri&s;t &s;aid, <HI>&V;pon this Rock will I build my Church.</HI> He was cho&s;en by God to this purpo&s;e, <HI>i. e.</HI> &s;eparated from the re&s;t of the Apo&s;tles, and adorn'd with this Prerogative. Great Sins did not make Chri&s;t change his Re|&s;olution.</P>
<P>Never an Apo&s;tle that had been bred up under Chri&s;t's Wing, that was &s;o active an In&s;trument as this <HI>Paul,</HI> who had been &s;o bitter an Enemy. He <HI>la|bour'd more abundantly than all,</HI> 1 Cor. 15.10. In matters of obedience he would not ask coun&s;el of Fle&s;h and Blood, <HI>Gal.</HI> 1.16. <HI>Immediately I conferred not with fle&s;h and blood.</HI> He was quick in his obedience. He had endeavour'd to weaken Chri&s;t's Kingdom; he now en|deavours to li&s;t men in his Service. He had breathed out Threatnings, he now breathes out Affections; He could even &s;pend and be &s;pent for the intere&s;t of his Saviour. And u&s;ually we find con|verted
<PB N="88" REF="178"> Souls mo&s;t active in the exerci&s;e of that Grace which is mo&s;t contrary to that which was their darling Sin.</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4. <HI>Humility and Self-emptine&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>Chri&s;t cho&s;e the <HI>fooli&s;h things of the world to confound the wi&s;e, and the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty,</HI> 1 Cor. 1.26, 27. that nothing &s;hould be attributed to their Worth and Dignity, but to his Grace and Mercy. Were the Go&s;pel di&s;co|ver'd only to the wi&s;e, they would look upon it rather as a di&s;covery made by the Opticks of their own Rea&s;on. And if God did be&s;tow his Grace only upon men of un&s;potted Conver&s;ations, they would rather think it a debt God &s;tood obliged to pay them, than a free act of Grace. As God reveals knowledge to the &s;imple&s;t, <HI>Matth.</HI> 2.25. &s;o he doth manife&s;t Grace to the &s;infulle&s;t; and as Chri&s;t ble&s;t his Father for that, &s;o no doubt but he doth return the &s;ame thanks for this. Such great Sinners re|ceive all from God, and &s;o have more rea&s;on to hang down their heads; others may &s;ometimes ca&s;t many a loving
<PB N="89" REF="178"> look to their own Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and like <HI>Nebuchadnezzar,</HI> glory, This is the <HI>Babylon</HI> which I have built; and boa&s;t of their good Acts, and freedom from the common Pollutions of the World.</P>
<P>But &s;uch who were fallen over head and ears in the mire, and were dirty all over, have no cau&s;e to boa&s;t: For God did not find them, but made them wor|thy. They brought nothing but Dirt and Rags, that were not worthy the wa&s;hing; only God would pick glory out of their worthle&s;ne&s;s, to his own Grace. Such are &s;en&s;ible, that God was not their debtor, but they his; and that there was nothing in them to ob|lige God to be&s;tow the lea&s;t Mite of mercy on them.</P>
<P>Therefore we find not one of the&s;e mountainous Sinners in Scripture a&s;cri|bing their Conver&s;ion to their own &s;trength or merit.</P>
<P>As no Apo&s;tle was &s;o God-magnify|ing, &s;o none was &s;o Self-vilifying as <HI>Paul;</HI> though he was the greate&s;t Apo|&s;tle, yet he accounts him&s;elf le&s;s than the lea&s;t of all Saints, <HI>Eph.</HI> 3.8. Unto <HI>me who am le&s;s than the lea&s;t of all &s;aints.</HI>
<PB N="90" REF="179"> Surely he might have put him&s;elf equal to the lea&s;t, it would have been great humility to do &s;o; but he is more hum|ble than &s;o, even le&s;s than the lea&s;t; le&s;s even than him who was only fit to be a Door-keeper in the Hou&s;e of God. And he e&s;teems him&s;elf not only unwor|thy of the Office of an Apo&s;tle, but of the very Name, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.9. <HI>Not wor|thy,</HI> not only to be, but <HI>to be call'd an Apo&s;tle.</HI> And why? becau&s;e of his for|mer Sin; becau&s;e I <HI>per&s;ecuted the Church of God.</HI> The remembrance of his great Sin before his Conver&s;ion, kept him humble. And in <HI>v.</HI> 10. when he had a little boa&s;ted of his abundant labour, he checks him&s;elf pre&s;ently, <HI>yet not I, but the grace of God.</HI> He attributes his very being as a Chri&s;tian, as well as his Actions, to the &s;ame Cau&s;e, <HI>viz.</HI> the Grace of God; by Grace <HI>I am what I am.</HI> So <HI>Gal.</HI> 1.16. how doth <HI>Paul</HI> at|tribute to Grace; <HI>plea&s;ed by his grace, reveal;</HI> Revelation, not Acqui&s;ition.</P>
<P N="5"><MILESTONE N="5"> 5. <HI>Bewailing of Sin, and &s;elf-abhor|rency for it.</HI></P>
<P>When Men are fir&s;t tran&s;lated out
<PB N="91" REF="179"> of darkne&s;s into the Kingdom of Chri&s;t, and begin to know Chri&s;t truly, the ways of their former ignorance are ve|ry bitter and uncouth things unto them. The very di&s;proportion and un&s;uitable|ne&s;s of them to the &s;weetne&s;s of that Grace, which now they ta&s;te from the hand of Je&s;us, is an offence to them, and hateful to their thoughts. There|fore the more Sin a man hath run into before his return to God, the more he &s;ees the vilene&s;s of his own Nature, and con&s;equently the more he abhors him|&s;elf. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 36.31. <HI>Then &s;hall you re|member your iniquities,</HI> and <HI>&s;hall loath your &s;elves.</HI> When? <HI>v.</HI> 29. when God had accompli&s;h'd the Promi&s;e of &s;aving them from all their uncleanne&s;s. They &s;hall remember with abhorrency what was their own Sin, and &s;hall enjoy what is purely God's.</P>
<P>Time of pardoning great Sins, is the time of great Self-loathing; &s;uch prove the holie&s;t Per&s;ons, becau&s;e they have had more experience of the Evil of Sin.</P>
<P>Such are a&s;ham'd of their Sins not on|ly at the in&s;tant of their Conver&s;ion,
<PB N="92" REF="180"> but afterwards, every time they re|member them; <HI>Rom.</HI> 6.21. <HI>What fruit had you then in tho&s;e things whereof you are now a&s;ham'd? Now,</HI> at that time, when <HI>Paul</HI> writ to them; the very &s;hame of their Sins &s;tuck upon them, though they had been converted before. The more they grew in the experimen|tal knowledge of God and his goodne&s;s, the more a holy &s;hame for Sins commit|ted in their natural condition was &s;tirr'd in their Con&s;ciences; and they could not but blu&s;h every time they con&s;ider'd how dirty they had been towards God. Now the greater the &s;hame, the greater the hatred of the occa&s;ion of that &s;hame, and the more exact the watchfulne&s;s again&s;t it. As a man that hath fallen into &s;ome Slough by &s;ome &s;tumble or over-&s;ight, when he travels that way again, he cannot but remember what a pickle he was in, and will be watchful le&s;t he meet with the &s;ame mi&s;hap. Who&s;e heart was more melted by mer|cy than <HI>Mary Magdalen</HI>'s? All the <HI>Pha|ri&s;ees</HI> that Chri&s;t converted never rain'd &s;uch &s;howers of Tears; How &s;he u&s;eth all her In&s;truments of Sin to be Servants
<PB N="93" REF="180"> to her Repentance! Her Eyes, which had enflam'd &s;o many Hearts, been Snares to catch men, &s;he makes the Con|duits to convey her penitential Tears to her Saviour's Feet. Her Hair, which had engro&s;s'd &s;o much time in the curio|&s;ity of Dre&s;&s;es, &s;he u&s;es as a Towel to wipe them. The Ointment &s;he had us'd for the tricking up her &s;elf, to gra|tify the Sen&s;es of her Lovers, &s;he pours out to embalm her Lord. Her Lu&s;ts &s;hould have no more of her choice&s;t things, but her Saviour &s;hould have all. She would keep them not &s;o much for her own u&s;e, as his.</P>
<P N="6"><MILESTONE N="6"> 6. <HI>Faith and Dependance.</HI></P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>At pre&s;ent in the in&s;tant of the fir&s;t act of Faith.</HI></P>
<P>Great Sins makes us appear in the Court of Ju&s;tification, <HI>&s;ub forma impii,</HI> with a naked Faith, when we have no|thing to merit it, but much to de&s;erve the contrary, <HI>Rom.</HI> 4.5. &mdash;<HI>believes on him that ju&s;tifies the ungodly.</HI> The more un|godly, the more elevated is that Faith which lays hold on God. <HI>Thomas</HI> his
<PB N="94" REF="181"> unbelief was very black, for he had re|fus'd to give credit to all the Te&s;timo|nies of the Di&s;ciples concerning Chri&s;t's Re&s;urrection; but when he was &s;en&s;ible of his Crime, and &s;o kindly dealt with by his Saviour, he puts forth a &s;tronger act of Faith than any of the re&s;t, <HI>Joh.</HI> 20.28. <HI>My Lord, and my God!</HI> His Faith was not &s;atisfi'd with a &s;ingle <HI>my;</HI> he gives him more honourable Titles, and his heart gra&s;ps him more clo&s;ely and affectionately than any of the re&s;t.</P>
<P>The man that was born blind, and curd by Chri&s;t, owns him, acts &s;ome Faith before the <HI>Phari&s;ees,</HI> Joh. 9.33. <HI>If this man were not of God, he could do nothing,</HI> v. 39. And he &s;aid, <HI>I believe,</HI> and he wor&s;hipped him. But when Chri&s;t comes to talk with him particularly, <HI>v.</HI> 36, 37, 38. he believes. When Chri&s;t comes to talk with a great Sinner, one that hath had Di&s;ea&s;es naturally incu|rable, he exerts a &s;tronger Faith than others. 'Tis then, <HI>Lord, I believe,</HI> and 'tis a Faith accompani'd with an Adoration.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="95" REF="181"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>In following Occa&s;ions.</HI></P>
<P>Pardoning &s;uch great Sins, and con|verting &s;uch great Sinners, is the be&s;t Credential Letter Chri&s;t brings with him from Heaven; Men naturally would &s;carce believe him for his own &s;ake, but for his Works &s;ake they would; becau&s;e they are more led by Sen&s;e than Faith. This Chri&s;t knew, when he bids his Di&s;ciples believe him for the Works &s;ake, that he was &s;ent by God, and that they are unanimous in this Work of Grace, as well as in other Works, <HI>Joh.</HI> 14.11. <HI>Believe me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, or el&s;e believe me for the very works &s;ake.</HI> Therefore tho&s;e that have been Partakers of this Converting Grace, if they &s;tagger, and doubt afterwards, they give the greate&s;t affront to Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>For their unbelief is not only again&s;t his Per&s;on, but again&s;t his Work too. That he has far more rea&s;on to &s;ay to &s;uch, than he did to his Di&s;ciples, <HI>Mat.</HI> 17.17. <HI>How long &s;hall I be with you! &amp;c.</HI> what &s;hould I &s;tay to do &s;uch great Works as the&s;e, and cannot be believed?</P>
<PB N="96" REF="182">
<P>Such great Sins pardon'd, and e&s;|cap'd, make men take fa&s;ter hold of Chri&s;t afterward. As a man that hath lately got out of a deep Lake, wherein there were many Serpents, Crocodiles, and Venomous Creatures, which he has e&s;cap'd, and has no Sanctuary to protect him from their fury, but by hanging upon a &s;mall Bough; when he looks down upon them, and &s;ees them gaping for him, and ready to devour him, if he were within their reach, he will &s;ummon up all his &s;trength to hold fa&s;t that Branch. In &s;uch a day will the <HI>Branch of the Lord</HI> al&s;o be beautiful and glorious.</P>
<P>Certainly, when the Soul went out to Chri&s;t in &s;o de&s;perate a Condition, with the load of guilt and di&s;courage|ment upon it, and re&s;olv'd to venture upon him come what would of it, and found &s;ucce&s;s; As it was the bolde&s;t ad|venture, which the Scripture frequent|ly calls boldne&s;s, &s;o 'tis the greate&s;t en|couragement to come to Chri&s;t upon any occa&s;ion what&s;oever hereafter. This fir&s;t act of Faith is of &s;o noble and gene|rous a quality, that 'tis &s;et as the Copy
<PB N="97" REF="182"> of all following Acts of Faith, 3. <HI>Heb.</HI> 14. <HI>Beginning of your confidence;</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">; the primary Act of Faith, which was the principal Act of Confidence.</P>
<P>Though there is a greater &s;trength in the habit of Faith after Conver&s;ion, yet the fir&s;t exerci&s;e of it upon Chri&s;t is the bolde&s;t and mo&s;t vigorous, becau&s;e it was for the &s;aving the life, when the Soul &s;aw no recovery any way but in Chri&s;t; and the mo&s;t noble, when it was under the di&s;couragements of &s;uch mountains of Guilt.</P>
<P>It al&s;o gave Chri&s;t the greate&s;t Ho|nour; for it was an act of greater Con|fidence in him than any &s;ucceeding act could be. Now if thou did&s;t put forth &s;uch a high and daring Act of Faith, when all thy &s;ins hung about thee, and thou had&s;t neither a <HI>Hur</HI> or <HI>Aaron</HI> to hold up thy hands, with much more confidence maye&s;t thou come now, &s;ince thou ha&s;t tried how &s;ucce&s;sful thy fir&s;t Faith hath been. So when Temptati|ons a&s;&s;ault thee, and the Devil with all his black Legions be&s;ets thee round, thou art not in a wor&s;e condition than at the fir&s;t, when all thy &s;ins did not only
<PB N="98" REF="183"> be&s;iege thee, but po&s;&s;e&s;s thee; well may &s;uch a Soul &s;ay, If I acted Faith when the Devil had all the Strong-holds in me, at the wor&s;t; now 'tis but to &s;tart out, and exerci&s;e the power of that fir&s;t Faith.</P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>In ca&s;e of Corruptions likewi&s;e, and unma&s;ter'd &s;ins:</HI> I have great Corrupti|ons, but the Power which rai&s;ed Chri&s;t, rai&s;ed me, when I had greater Stones upon me, wherewith I had even wearied God him&s;elf; and now when I have fewer, though they are too great &s;till, &s;hall I de&s;pair of that Power which wrought greater Miracles for me, and threw away my Grave-Stones, when I was not able to &s;tir my &s;elf?</P>
<P N="4">4. So <HI>in ca&s;e of De&s;ertion.</HI> I'll ven|ture to go to God, let him frown and &s;trike; for I am &s;ure I did once go to him when I was his ab&s;olute &s;worn Enemy, and he had not a greater Hater of him in the world than I was, and he did receive me: I am not wor&s;e now than I was at that time; for I love him, and would do all that I can to plea&s;e him; therefore I will pre&s;s into his Pre|&s;ence now, and try the &s;ucce&s;s of my fir&s;t Faith.</P>
<PB N="99" REF="183">
<P>Such mens Faith is u&s;ually a more ge|nerous Faith, becau&s;e they have le&s;s of the Principle of Rea&s;on to &s;upport it. 'Tis like that of <HI>Abraham</HI>'s, a believing <HI>in hope again&s;t hope,</HI> 4. Rom. 18. A Faith again&s;t mighty and mountainous oppo|&s;ition of high and mighty &s;ins, that might &s;care a man from &s;uch acts of Faith, and e&s;tabli&s;h a diffidence of the Promi&s;es of God in the Soul: God re|ceives no more Glory from the Faith of any, than from tho&s;e of the greate&s;t Sinners through their Repentance.</P>
<P N="7"><MILESTONE N="7"> 7thly. <HI>Fear and Reverence.</HI></P>
<P>Such will never de&s;pi&s;e the Riches of that Goodne&s;s and Patience which has been given out to him, 2 <HI>Rom.</HI> 4. be|cau&s;e it has led him to repentance; and he will not provoke that Goodne&s;s which is conducting him to the enjoy|ment of all the fruits of Repentance, to throw him off.</P>
<P><HI>There is forgivene&s;s with thee,</HI> &s;aith <HI>David,</HI> 130. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 4. <HI>that thou maye&s;t be feared,</HI> or wor&s;hipped. If God &s;hould &s;et a mark of Death upon every Iniqui|ty, who could &s;tand in his pre&s;ence, or
<PB N="100" REF="184"> have any hope to be heard; but becau&s;e he is a God of forgivene&s;s, therefore he is reverenced; therefore the more For|givene&s;s he doth expend upon any, the more he is reverenc'd. After a man's return to God, his fear of God is increa|&s;ed upon a more ingenuous account; for he fears God and <HI>his goodne&s;s,</HI> 3. <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 5. whereas before he feared God and his Power, God and his Ju&s;tice. And the <HI>Jews</HI> of whom he there &s;peaks, &s;hall fear, or reverence that Goodne&s;s the more; becau&s;e the &s;in he has pardoned was &s;o great, as the crucifying the Son of God, which according to their Fa|thers Wi&s;h lay upon the heads of all their Po&s;terity.</P>
<P>God's Goodne&s;s once ta&s;ted, will make Ingenuity afraid to offend him. Self intere&s;t al&s;o will make them afraid to provoke that Mercy that formerly re|lieved them, to ca&s;hier them out of his Favour.</P>
<P>When the man was in the deep Dun|geon, where the Fetters of Sin entred into his very Soul, and bound up un|der the Terrors of the Law, when Mercy &s;tepped in, and delivered him,
<PB N="101" REF="184"> and poured Oyl into his Wounds, He will be afraid to provoke that Mercy to leave him in the &s;ame condition in which it found him, and from whence it drew him. He will be loath to be numbred among&s;t the Crew of Tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ors, and Bank of Gally-&s;laves, from whence he has been redeemed. He that hath ta&s;ted the bitterne&s;s of Sin, will fear to commit it; and he that hath felt the &s;weetne&s;s of Mercy, will fear to offend it.</P>
<P>I might add, <HI>For others &s;akes, to en|gage them to come to Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Every Conver&s;ion of a great Sinner is a new Copy of God's Love; 'tis a re|peated Proclamation of the tran&s;cenden|cy of his Grace. <HI>Eph.</HI> 2.5, 6. <HI>Even when we were dead in &s;ins, hath quickened us together with Chri&s;t.</HI> God hath quicken'd tho&s;e Rank Sinners, that were as black as darkne&s;s it &s;elf, and had rais'd them to a condition of light; why? <HI>v.</HI> 7. Not only for them&s;elves, But that <HI>in the Ages to come he might &s;hew forth,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, tran&s;cendent <HI>ri|ches of his grace.</HI> 'Twas a Picture God
<PB N="102" REF="185"> drew of his own Heart, and expos'd to the view of the World, that they might know by the gracious Entertainment, and high advancement of tho&s;e Sinners, how liberal he is, and would always be in the di&s;tributions of his Grace, that Penitent Sinners of as great Stains might be encourag'd in all Ages to rely upon him. This was his De&s;ign in <HI>Paul</HI>'s Conver&s;ion in this Chapter, <HI>v.</HI> 16. <HI>How|beit, for this cau&s;e I obtain'd mercy, that in me fir&s;t Je&s;us Chri&s;t might &s;hew forth all long-&s;uffering for a pattern to them which &s;hould hereafter believe on him to life ever|la&s;ting.</HI> A Pattern to them which &s;hould hereafter believe on him. He &s;ets up this Apo&s;tle as a White Flag to invite Rebels to treat with him, and return to their Loyalty. As every great Judg|ment upon a grand Sinner is as the hanging a Man in Chains, to deter others from the like practice; &s;o every Conver&s;ion is not only an act of God's Mercy to the Convert, but an Invita|tion to the Spectators.</P>
<P>This is the Argument <HI>David</HI> u&s;eth to per&s;uade God to pour into him the joy of his &s;alvation, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 51.12, 13.
<PB N="103" REF="185"> <HI>Then will I teach tran&s;gre&s;&s;ors thy ways, &amp;c.</HI> I'll make all <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> ring of it; and Sinners &s;eeing the multitude and long Train of thy tender Mercies, &s;hall fly into thy Arms to be partakers of the &s;ame Grace. For every great Conver|&s;ion is as a Sea-mark, to guide others into a &s;afe harbour. And indeed this he tells God, when he had receiv'd Pardon, that this would be the i&s;&s;ue of God's Pardon to <HI>David, P&s;al.</HI> 32.5, 6. which is thought to be penn'd upon the &s;ame occa&s;ion, as <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 51. when <HI>v.</HI> 5. he had been forgiven, he tells God what the effect upon others would be, <HI>v.</HI> 6. <HI>For this &s;hall every one that is godly,</HI> &amp;c. Judging it the fitte&s;t time to come when God is dealing out his Mercy. Such effects we find when Chri&s;t was upon the Earth; when Chri&s;t call'd <HI>Matthew, Mark</HI> 2.14. the next news we hear, <HI>v.</HI> 15. is, that many Publicans and Sin|ners &s;at down with him, and follow'd him. Many of the &s;ame Tribe were en|courag'd by this kindne&s;s to one of their Fellows, to attend upon him.</P>
<P>As when a Phy&s;ician comes into an Hou&s;e where many are &s;ick, and cures
<PB N="104" REF="186"> one that is de&s;perate, 'tis an encourage|ment to the re&s;t to rely upon his Skill.</P>
<P>When Chri&s;t gives an Experiment of his Art on any Sinner near thee, 'tis a Call from Heaven as well to excite thy Emulation to come to him, as thy A&s;to|ni&s;hment at it. As the Conver&s;ion of the <HI>Gentiles</HI> was to provoke the <HI>Jews</HI> to Jealou&s;y; 11. <HI>Rom.</HI> 11. <HI>Salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke,</HI> &amp;c. Indeed &s;uch Conver&s;ions may more ra|tionally move men, than any Miracle can objectively move the Sen&s;e. To &s;ee &s;uch a remarkable Change wrought in the Soul of a Devil, in a Diabolical Na|ture. If men believe not in Chri&s;t af|ter the &s;ight of &s;uch &s;tanding Miracles, 'tis an aggravation of their Impeniten|cy, as much as any Miracle Chri&s;t wrought upon the Earth, was of the <HI>Jews</HI> Ob&s;tinacy, and does put as black a dye upon it. 21. <HI>Mat.</HI> 32. <HI>Ye when you had &s;een it, repented not afterward, that you might believe him.</HI> Not any great Sinner that thou ha&s;t &s;een take Heaven by violence, but is writ down by God as a <HI>Yet</HI> upon all thy unbelief. And how
<PB N="105" REF="186"> many hundred <HI>Yets</HI> may Chri&s;t bring again&s;t thee, upon the account of others converted round about thee. The <HI>Yet</HI> &s;et upon <HI>Paul</HI> may refer to this, 9 <HI>Acts</HI> 1. becau&s;e in the foregoing Chapter <HI>Luke</HI> had related the &s;ucce&s;sful progre&s;s of the Go&s;pel in <HI>Samaria</HI> and <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> which was an evidence of the Power of this new Doctrine: <HI>Yet Paul</HI> proceeded in his per&s;ecuting Fury, again&s;t &s;uch clear Te&s;timonies.</P>
<P>Had you been in the times of Chri&s;t, and &s;een tho&s;e Miracles he wrought among the <HI>Jews,</HI> you would all think you &s;hould never have been &s;o &s;tupid as they were, but would pre&s;ently have believ'd in him upon a &s;ight of tho&s;e Wonders. Let me tell you, the Succe&s;s of Chri&s;t's Grace upon the Souls of men, whereof you have &s;een many Evidences, is a greater Miracle, by Chri&s;t's own confe&s;&s;ion, than u&s;ually he wrought: For he tells the Apo&s;tles, they &s;hould work <HI>greater works,</HI> 14. <HI>Joh.</HI> 12. which he means of their Succe&s;s in converting work. And &s;o thy Im|penitency has as great aggravations as the <HI>Jewi&s;h</HI> Perver&s;ity. Let every &s;uch
<PB N="106" REF="187"> Conver&s;ion of a great Sinner be a ground of hope to thee, and a &s;pur in thy &s;ide.</P>
<P>Further, &s;uch Conver&s;ions evidence that God's Commands are practicable, that his Yoke is not burthen&s;ome. Men naturally think God a hard Ma&s;ter, that his Commands are impo&s;&s;ible to be per|formed; but when they &s;ee men that had lain &s;oaking in Sin many years, to have a fre&s;h and fair Verdure by Grace, to run with delight in the ways of God's Commands: When they &s;ee men that had the greate&s;t prejudices again&s;t the ways of God, throughly turn'd, they may think with them&s;elves, Why may not I ob&s;erve tho&s;e Commands? Is it more impo&s;&s;ible for me, than &s;uch a one? 'Tis natural to men not to believe, un|le&s;s they &s;ee Miracles; 4. <HI>John</HI> 48. <HI>Ex|cept ye &s;ee &s;igns and wonders, ye will not believe.</HI> Therefore all the &s;tanding Miracles God hath left in the world, are the extraordinary Conver&s;ions of men, and the wor&s;t of men, that men may thereby be convinced of the Power of the Go&s;pel, and the Strength of his Grace, by &s;eeing the admirable effects
<PB N="107" REF="187"> of it upon others; for many times Con|ver&s;ion begins in admiration.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="application">
<HEAD>&V;SE.</HEAD>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1. <HI>In&s;truction.</HI></P>
<P>This Doctrine manife&s;ts the Power of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>Nothing &s;hows more the heavenly Authority of the Chri&s;tian Religion, and the Divine Efficacy of the Word, than the &s;udden Conver&s;ions of notori|ous Sinners. That a man &s;hould enter into the Church a Tyger, and return a Lamb.</P>
<P>'Tis this little Stone which is in&s;tru|mental to lay Lu&s;ts more Giant-like than <HI>Goliah,</HI> groveling in the du&s;t.</P>
<P>That <HI>Paul,</HI> mad with Rage again&s;t the Chri&s;tians, &s;hould after an Arre&s;t in his Journey embrace a Religion he had hated. A <HI>Phari&s;ee</HI> changed into a Preacher. A Per&s;ecutor commence a Martyr. That one of eminent Parts, in favour with the <HI>Sanhedrim,</HI> &s;hould fly from a Preferment expected, and pa|tronize a Doctrine contemned in the world, and attended with Poverty, Mi|&s;ery, cruel Scourgings, and Death.</P>
<PB N="108" REF="188">
<P>Whenever you &s;ee &s;uch Effects, take them as new Credentials from Heaven, to maintain the Credit of the Word, and to a&s;&s;ert the Authority of that Con|clu&s;ion <HI>Paul</HI> lays down, <HI>Rom.</HI> 1.16. That it is <HI>the power of God unto &s;alva|tion.</HI> God gains a reputation to the Go&s;pel, and the power of Chri&s;tianity, that can in a moment change Per&s;ons from Bea&s;ts to Men, from Serpents to Saints.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2ly. <HI>Groundle&s;ne&s;s of De&s;pair.</HI></P>
<P>De&s;pair not of others, when thou do&s;t reflect upon thy own Crimes, and con&s;idere&s;t, that God never dealt with a ba&s;er Heart in the World than thine was. Was not <HI>Paul</HI> as unlike to prove a Convert, as any Relation of thine that wallows in his blood? Who would have thought that <HI>One&s;imus</HI> &s;hould run from his Ma&s;ter, and be catched in Chri&s;t's Arms?</P>
<P>Neither de&s;pair of thy &s;elf. Shall any Soul in angui&s;h, and cover'd with pe|nitential Blu&s;hes, think it &s;elf ca&s;t out of the Riches of God's affectionate Grace? Shall any Man &s;o much bla&s;|pheme
<PB N="109" REF="188"> the merciful Bowels of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, as to fly to a Knife, a Halter, or a deep Well for &s;uccour? Though thou wert in Hell, <HI>David</HI> tells thee God is with thee, even there in his E&s;&s;ential pre&s;ence; yea, though thou wert Hell it &s;elf; for where the Devil dwells, that's Hell: Yet if the Soul throbs, fighs, groans under it, his infinite Grace will break down the door, and come in up|on thee. And we know, that neither &s;he that had &s;even Devils, nor he that had a Legion, were &s;trong enough to keep out Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2ly. <HI>Comfort.</HI></P>
<P>If God has made thee of a great Sin|ner the Object of his Mercy, thou may'&s;t be a&s;&s;ur'd of,</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Continuance of his Love.</HI> He par|don'd thee when thou wert an Enemy, will he leave thee now thou art his Friend? He lov'd thee when thou had&s;t raz'd out in a great mea&s;ure his Image and Picture, which he had &s;et in thy Soul; will he hate thee now, &s;ince he has re&s;tor'd that Image, and drawn it with fre&s;h Colours? He ju&s;tified thee
<PB N="110" REF="189"> when thou wert ungodly, and will he ca&s;t thee off, &s;ince he hath been at &s;uch pains about thee, and written in thee a Counterpart of his own divine Nature in the Work of Grace?</P>
<P>Were his Bowels fir&s;t mov'd when thou had&s;t no Grace? and will they not &s;ound louder &s;ince thou ha&s;t Grace?</P>
<P>Would the Father embrace his Son, when his Garments &s;melt of Draff and Swine? and will he ca&s;t him off, after he hath put upon him a Royal Robe?</P>
<P>Will <HI>Pharaoh</HI>'s Daughter pity <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> when he was in a filthy pitchy Ark? and will the Charitable Lady &s;corn him when he is dre&s;s'd?</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2ly. <HI>Supplies of his Grace.</HI></P>
<P>Thou had&s;t a rich Pre&s;ent of his Grace &s;ent thee, when thou could'&s;t not pray for it; and will he not much more give thee what&s;oever is needful, when thou calle&s;t upon him? He was found of thee, when thou did&s;t not &s;eek him; and will he hide him&s;elf from thee when thou art enquiring after him? A wi&s;e Builder does not begin a Work, when he is not able to fini&s;h it. God
<PB N="111" REF="189"> con&s;ider'd, before he began with thee, what Charge thou would'&s;t &s;tand him in, both of Merit in Chri&s;t, and Grace in thee; &s;o that the Grace he hath gi|ven thee, is not only a Mercy to thee, but an Obligation on him&s;elf, &s;ince his Credit is engaged to compleat it. Thou ha&s;t more unan&s;werable Arguments to plead before him, than thou had&s;t, <HI>viz.</HI> His Son, his Truth, his Promi&s;e, his Grace, his Name, wherein before thou had&s;t not the lea&s;t intere&s;t.</P>
<P>To what purpo&s;e hath God call'd thee, and wa&s;h'd thee, if he did not in|tend to &s;upply thee with as much Grace as &s;hall bring thee to Glory? To what purpo&s;e &s;hould a Creditor forgive part of a Debt, and lay the Debtor in Pri&s;on for the other part? Has God given thee Chri&s;t? and will he detain any thing el&s;e? Supplies of Wants, Grants of any thing thou de&s;ire&s;t, are but as a few grains of Pepper that the Grocer puts in as an Overplus to many pounds.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3ly. <HI>Strength again&s;t Corruptions.</HI></P>
<P>Can Molehills &s;tand again&s;t him who has levell'd Mountains? Can a few
<PB N="112" REF="190"> Clouds with&s;tand the melting Force of the Sun, which has di&s;&s;olv'd tho&s;e black Mi&s;ts that over&s;pread the Face of the Heavens? No more can the remain|ders of thy Corruption bear head again&s;t his Power, which has thrown down the great Hills of the Sins of thy Natural Condition, and has di&s;&s;olv'd the thick Fogs of thy unregeneracy.</P>
<P>Thou can&s;t neither doubt his Strength nor his Love; <HI>Amor gaudet in maximus;</HI> He has done the greate&s;t, and will he withdraw his Hand from doing the lea&s;t? When <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;lew the <HI>Aegyptian,</HI> 'tis &s;aid, <HI>Acts</HI> 7.25. That he <HI>&s;uppo&s;ed his brethren would have under&s;tood, that God intended by his hand to deliver them. Mo&s;es</HI> was a Type of Chri&s;t: Has Chri&s;t overthrown a whole Army of <HI>Aegypti|ans,</HI> that did not only pur&s;ue thee, but kept thee in &s;lavery? Has he over|turn'd them all in the Red Sea? and wilt thou not take notice thereby, that he intends to be thy Deliverer from the &s;catter'd Troops of them?</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3ly. <HI>Exhortation.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>To tho&s;e that God hath dealt &s;o with.</HI></P>
<P N="1"><PB N="113" REF="190">1. <HI>Glorify God for his Grace.</HI></P>
<P>Admiration is all the Glory you can give to God for his Grace, &s;eeing you can add nothing to his E&s;&s;ential Glory. Chri&s;t will come at the la&s;t day to be <HI>admir'd;</HI> I pray &s;end your Admirations before-hand to attend him at his Com|ing.</P>
<P>Who made thee thus to differ from another? Was it not God? Let him then have the Glory. If he made thee to differ from others in the Enjoyment of his Mercy, do thou al&s;o differ from others in the Sounding of his Prai&s;e. If thou ha&s;t an Angel's State, 'tis fit thou &s;hould'&s;t have an Angel's Note. If <HI>David,</HI> when he con&s;ider'd the glo|rious Heavens God had made for Man, cried out &s;o affectionately, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 8.4. <HI>What is man that thou art mindful of him!</HI> Surely, when thou con&s;idere&s;t that Work of Grace which God hath wrought in thee, thou may'&s;t with A&s;toni&s;hment cry out, <HI>What is man that thou art mindful of him!</HI> What is &s;uch a Toad, that thou &s;houlde&s;t take him into thy bo&s;om? For there is not a Grace in thee, but is more glorious than the
<PB N="114" REF="191"> Sun with all its Regiments of Stars; and is more like to God than the great Fountain of Light with all its amazing &s;plendor. 'Tis &s;omething of that Hea|ven, which is more glorious than all the re&s;t of the Heavens, and is above the reach of the natural Eye. Oh what is Man that thou art thus mindful of him, to make him who is a Hell by Sin, to become Heaven by Grace! Pardon of but one act of Sin, makes us for ever debtors to God; becau&s;e one Sin ren|ders us obnoxious to Eternal Torments, and every Sin includes a hatred of God. What then is it to remit &s;uch va&s;t Sums, if to pardon one be a Miracle! To par|don many committed again&s;t a &s;uffering Chri&s;t, that hath invited us, and repeats his invitations, after they have been re|jected, is a Miracle of the greate&s;t mag|nitude, &s;omething above a Miracle!</P>
<P>How &s;hould you think <HI>Jacob</HI>'s Ex|pre&s;&s;ion in Temporal Mercies, a few Sheep, too mean! <HI>Gen.</HI> 32.10. <HI>I am le&s;s than the lea&s;t of all thy mercies.</HI> Oh I am le&s;s, le&s;s, le&s;s than the lea&s;t of all this Mercy. A great Sinner, when con|verted, &s;hould &s;ing a Note &s;omewhat
<PB N="115" REF="191"> above <HI>David</HI>'s, P&s;al. 116.12. <HI>What &s;hall I render?</HI> and would &s;ay, I can render nothing, nothing; but I will render Prai&s;e, Ble&s;&s;ing, Amazement, A&s;toni&s;h|ment; That is all I can render, and I cannot render enough of that.</P>
<P>Had you cho&s;en God fir&s;t, it had been &s;ome ingenuity in God to an&s;wer that affection; but God cho&s;e you fir&s;t, and that when there was nothing lovely in you, when he &s;aw you the mo&s;t de|form'd Creatures in the World. There was no Likene&s;s between God and thee. <HI>Similis &s;imile amat,</HI> is a Rule in Nature; but in this Ca&s;e, <HI>Deus optimus diliget hominem pe&s;&s;imum.</HI></P>
<P>'Tis that which does amaze the Di&s;|ciples; they could not tell the rea&s;on why Chri&s;t &s;hould manife&s;t him&s;elf to them, <HI>John</HI> 14.22. Perhaps thou art only &s;natcht out of a Family; the Wrath of God may be fallen upon the re&s;t, and thou only e&s;cap'd. Has he not lopt down many Cedars in Morali|ty, and cho&s;en thee, a Thorn, a Shrub, to deck Heaven with? Are not many damn'd, that were not guilty of thy Sins?</P>
<PB N="116" REF="192">
<P>How wonderful is it that &s;uch a black Firebrand &s;hould be made a Statue fit for Glory? He might have writ thy Name as ea&s;ily in his Black Book, as in his White. Is it not admirable Mercy for a God provok'd, to take pains with &s;tiff-neck'd Sinners, and to beat down Mountains of high Imaginations, to rear up a Temple to him&s;elf? If Mercy had knockt once or twice, and no more, thou had&s;t dropt into Hell; but Mercy would not leave knocking. Perhaps thy Sins were &s;o great, that if thou had&s;t gone but a little farther, thou had&s;t been irrecoverable; but God put a &s;top to the proud Waves, &s;aying, <HI>Hitherto &s;halt thou go, and no further.</HI></P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2ly. <HI>Often call to mind thy former Sin.</HI></P>
<P>It hath been the cu&s;tom of the Saints of God-formerly. When <HI>Matthew</HI> rec|kons up the Twelve Apo&s;tles, <HI>Mat.</HI> 10.3. whereof he was one, he remembers his former State, <HI>Matthew the Publican;</HI> but none of the other Evangeli&s;ts call him &s;o in that Enumeration.</P>
<P N="1"><PB N="117" REF="192">1. <HI>It makes us more humble.</HI> Thoughts of Pride cannot lodge in us, when the remembrance of our Rags, Bolts, and Fetters, is frequently renew'd. What was there in thy former life, but Mi&s;ery, to move God to &s;hew Mercy to thee? Though <HI>Paul</HI> had a greater Manife&s;ta|tion than any we read of, nay than Chri&s;t him&s;elf had, (for we do not read that Chri&s;t was wrapt up into the Third Heavens) yet how frequently does he remember his Sin of Per&s;ecuting, to keep Humiliation in exerci&s;e, and &s;top the growth of Pride.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2ly. <HI>It will make us thankful.</HI> Sen&s;e of Mi&s;ery heightens our Obligation to Mercy. Men at Sea are mo&s;t thankful for Deliverance, when they con&s;ider the Danger of the foregoing Storm. A long Night makes a clear Morning more welcome.</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3ly. <HI>It will make thee more active in the Exerci&s;e of that Grace which is con|trary to thy former Sin.</HI> Chri&s;t ask'd <HI>Peter</HI> thrice whether he lov'd him, <HI>John</HI> 21. to put him tacitly in mind of his
<PB N="118" REF="193"> late Sin, and to have a threefold Exer|ci&s;e of his Love, proportionable to his threefold Denial.</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4ly. <HI>It will be a Pre&s;ervative again&s;t falling into the &s;ame Sin again.</HI> Perhaps Chri&s;t might pre&s;s that threefold De|mand of <HI>Peter</HI>'s Love, to renew his Re|pentance for his Apo&s;tacy, as the be&s;t Antidote again&s;t the falling into the &s;ame Sin; and therefore <HI>Peter</HI> was griev'd when he ask'd him the third time; not &s;o much, it may be, for the &s;u&s;picion his Ma&s;ter had of his Fidelity, as for the ju&s;t Cau&s;e of Jealou&s;y his fall had given him. And at this third Que|&s;tion calling to mind his Denial, he re|new'd his Grief for his late unworthy Carriage. Look back then upon thy for|mer Sin, but let it be with Anger and Shame, to &s;trengthen thy Dete&s;tation, to &s;trangle thy former delight in it, and to magnify the Mercy of God, who has deliver'd thee from it.</P>
<P>When the <HI>Corinthians</HI> were proud of their &s;piritual Gifts, the Apo&s;tle beats down their &s;welling Plumes, by giving them a review of their accur&s;ed State,
<PB N="119" REF="193"> 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.2. <HI>Ye know that ye were Gen|tiles, carried away unto the&s;e dumb Idols. Ye know that ye were Gentiles,</HI> &amp;c. When a Convert frequently con&s;iders what he was once in his unregenerate State, he would not for all the Honours, Profits and Plea&s;ures of the World, return to that State again; &s;o great a delight he takes in the Work of the New Creature.</P>
<P>Second Branch of Exhortation is to <HI>tho&s;e that are in a doubting Condition.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> The main Objection &s;uch make, is the Greatne&s;s of Sin. Oh! there was never &s;uch a great Sinner in the World as I am! If you rake all Hell over, you will not find &s;uch another. Sure God will never pardon me; My Sins are too great to be forgiven. Such language as this does &s;ometimes drop from Men, which they are partly urg'd to by the Devil, to di&s;parage that Royal Prince <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> that came to de&s;troy his Works, and to keep up an Enmity be|tween God and Man, in making the Creature have jealous Thoughts of the Creator. And partly from a Man's
<PB N="120" REF="194"> own Con&s;cience, which acting by tho&s;e legal Principles writ in the Heart by Nature, which are directive, and upon non-ob&s;ervance condemning, but di&s;co|ver nothing of pardoning Grace. This was the fir&s;t Act of Natural Con&s;cience in <HI>Adam,</HI> after he had &s;inn'd, he had the lea&s;t thoughts of forgivene&s;s, for he &s;tudied nothing, but how he might fly from the Pre&s;ence of God. Such Speeches as the&s;e di&s;credit thy Creator, if they be per&s;i&s;ted in, argues thee to be one of <HI>Cain</HI>'s Po&s;terity, who indeed told God to his very face, <HI>Gen.</HI> 4.13. that his <HI>Sin was greater than could be forgiven.</HI> I will a little argue with &s;uch.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> 1. Art thou indeed the greate&s;t Sinner? <HI>I can hardly believe it.</HI> Did&s;t thou ever &s;in after the rate that <HI>Paul</HI> did? or wert thou ever po&s;&s;e&s;s'd with &s;uch a fury? Sure there have been &s;ome as great Sinners as thou art, be as bad as bad can be. If thou wert to look over the Names of all tho&s;e now in Heaven, and ask them all what Sins they were guilty of, before God &s;how'd Mercy to them; I cannot think but
<PB N="121" REF="194"> thou &s;houlde&s;t find many that would Mate thee, yea, and exceed thee too; and thou can&s;t not charge thy &s;elf with any black Circum&s;tances, but thou woulde&s;t meet with &s;ome or other that would cry out pre&s;ently, Oh, I was in the like condition, and rather wor&s;e! What do&s;t thou think of Chri&s;t's Mur|therers, who re&s;i&s;ted the Eloquence of his Sermons, and the Power of his Mi|racles? And when his Death had dark|ned the Sun, &s;hook the Earth, clave the Rocks, rent the Vail of the Temple in twain; not one Heart among that murderous Crew had any &s;aving Re|lentings that we read of. And yet were not &s;ome of the&s;e converted by <HI>Peter</HI>'s Sermon, and the Pardon of them left upon Record by the Spirit of God?</P>
<P>Have not &s;ome of God's greate&s;t Fa|vourites been the greate&s;t Sinners? Did not <HI>Adam</HI> draw upon him the guilt of all his Po&s;terity, and may in &s;ome &s;en&s;e be charg'd with the Sins of all tho&s;e that came out of his Loins, even all Mankind? Yet to this very Per&s;on was the fir&s;t Promi&s;e of the Go&s;pel made, and that before he pronounced any
<PB N="122" REF="195"> Sentence again&s;t him for his Sin, <HI>Gen.</HI> 3.15.</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2ly. Suppo&s;e thou art the greate&s;t, <HI>is thy &s;taying from Chri&s;t the way to make all thy Sins le&s;s?</HI> Art thou &s;o rich, as to pay this great debt out of thy own Re|venue? Or ha&s;t thou any hopes of ano|ther Surety? Did any Man or Angel tell thee, they could &s;atisfy for thee? Can Complaints of a great Load, with|out endeavouring its removal, ea&s;e that Back that bears it?</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3ly. Are thy Sins the greate&s;t? <HI>Is not the &s;taying from Chri&s;t a making them greater?</HI> Does not God command thee to come to Chri&s;t? and is not thy delay a greater Act of Di&s;obedience, than the Complaint of thy &s;infulne&s;s can be of Humility? Ha&s;t thou not Load enough already, but wilt thou add Unbelief, which is as black as all thy other Sins put together? Is not a refu&s;al of his Mercy provocative? Thou art mad if thou thinke&s;t thy Sin can decrea&s;e by trampling upon Chri&s;t's Heart, and &s;purning at his Bowels. Thou ha&s;t
<PB N="123" REF="195"> &s;inn'd again&s;t Ju&s;tice, again&s;t Wi&s;dom, again&s;t common Providence: Is not this enough, but wilt thou rob him of an Opportunity to &s;how the Riches of his Grace, by refu&s;ing the Blood of his Son, which his Wi&s;dom contrived, and his Love offers?</P>
<P>Who is it per&s;uades thee thus to keep off from Chri&s;t? Does God? Show me, where is his hand for it? Show me thy Authority in God's Warrant. But &s;ince thou can&s;t not, I am &s;ure 'tis thy own corrupt heart and the Devil in League together. And may&s;t thou not &s;ay of him far better than <HI>Ahab</HI> did of <HI>Micaiah,</HI> Thou did&s;t <HI>never prophecy good</HI> to me; no, he never did, nor ever will. What, wilt thou more black thy &s;elf, by following the Devil's Coun&s;el, than obeying God's Command? If thy &s;in be great, let it multiply thy Tears, but by no means &s;top thy progre&s;s to Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="4"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4thly. <HI>Were thy &s;ins le&s;s than they are, thou mighte&s;t not &s;o ea&s;ily believe in Chri&s;t, as now thou maye&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>If thou wilt not believe while thy &s;ins are great, and thy heart naughty,
<PB N="124" REF="196"> I dare a&s;&s;ure thee, if thy heart were not naught, and thy &s;ins little, thou would&s;t not believe; for thou woulde&s;t be apt to believe in thy own heart, and tru&s;t in thy own Righteou&s;ne&s;s, rather than believe in Chri&s;t. Great Sins and a bad Heart felt and bewail'd, is rather an ad|vantage; as Hunger is an incentive to a man to &s;eek for Meat. If men had clean hearts, 'tis like they would di&s;po&s;e of them otherwi&s;e, and rather think Chri&s;t &s;hould come to them. Mens Po|verty &s;hould rather make them more importunate, than more mode&s;t. To &s;ay, I will not come to Chri&s;t, becau&s;e I have great &s;ins, is as if one &s;hould &s;ay, I will never have any thing to do with Happine&s;s if offer'd, becau&s;e I have great Mi&s;ery: I'll go to no Chirurgeon, becau&s;e my Wound is &s;o great: I'll eat no Bread, becau&s;e I am &s;o exceeding hungry, and like to &s;tarve. This is ill Logick; and &s;o 'tis with thee, to argue, Becau&s;e I am filthy, therefore I will not go to the Fountain to be wa&s;hed; or to think to be &s;anctified before believing. Now &s;ince thou ha&s;t, as thou confe&s;&s;e&s;t, no Righteou&s;ne&s;s to tru&s;t in, methinks
<PB N="125" REF="196"> thou &s;houlde&s;t be the more ea&s;ily per|&s;uaded to ca&s;t thy &s;elf upon Chri&s;t, &s;ince there is no other way but that.</P>
<P>If therefore thou art afraid of drown|ing under the&s;e mighty Floods which rowl upon thee, methinks thou &s;hould&s;t do as men ready to peri&s;h in the Wa|ters, catch hold of that which is next them, though it be the deare&s;t Friend they have; and there is none nearer to thee than Chri&s;t, nor any &s;uch a Friend; catch hold therefore of him.</P>
<P N="5"><MILESTONE N="5"> 5thly. <HI>The Greatne&s;s of thy Sin is a ground for a Plea.</HI></P>
<P>Turn thy Sins into Arguments, as <HI>Da|vid</HI> doth, 25. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 11.&mdash;<HI>For it is great.</HI> Some tran&s;late it, <HI>Though it be great;</HI> and the <HI>Hebrew</HI> word <GAP DESC="foreign"> will bear both. The <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> u&s;eth two Arguments, God's Name, and the Greatne&s;s of his Sin. And both are as good Arguments as they were then.</P>
<P>Thou maye&s;t go to God with this language in thy mouth; Lord, my fil|thine&s;s is great, there is more need there|fore of thy wa&s;hing me; my Wound is deep, the greater is the nece&s;&s;ity of
<PB N="126" REF="197"> &s;ome Plai&s;ter for the Cure. What cha|ritable man in the world would not ha&s;ten a Medicine, rather than refu&s;e to grant it? What earthly Phy&s;ician would object, The Di&s;ea&s;e is great, therefore there is no nece&s;&s;ity of a Cure; there|fore there is no room left for my Skill? And &s;hall God be le&s;s charitable than man?</P>
<P>Dogs are filthy and foul, yet they may lay claim to Crumbs.</P>
<P>Thou maye&s;t u&s;e al&s;o the Argument of God's Name. Sinners may plead for Grace upon the account of God's Glo|ry; <HI>viz.</HI> The Glory God will have by it. His Wi&s;dom is eminent in &s;erving his own Ends by his greate&s;t Enemy. His Power in conquering Sin, his Grace in pardoning. Show him his own Name, 34. <HI>Exod.</HI> and &s;ee if he will deny any Letter of it.</P>
<P>If thy Di&s;ea&s;e were not &s;o great, Chri&s;t's Glory would not be &s;o illu&s;tri|ous. Pardon of &s;uch Sins enhanceth the Mercy and Skill of thy Saviour. The multitude of Devils which were in <HI>Mary Magdalen,</HI> are recorded to &s;how the Power of that Saviour that expell'd
<PB N="127" REF="197"> them, and wrought &s;o remarkable a Change. Are thy &s;ins the greate&s;t? God that loves to advance his free Grace in the highe&s;t manner, will be glad of the opportunity to have &s;o great a Sin|ner follow the Chariot of it, and to ma|nife&s;t thereby its uncontroulable Power.</P>
<P>Use <HI>David</HI>'s Argument 39. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 12. When <HI>ver.</HI> 8. he pray'd, that God would <HI>deliver</HI> him from his <HI>tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions,</HI> v. 12. he u&s;eth this argument, That he was a <HI>&s;tranger.</HI> I know no rea&s;on but it may be thine, for if thy &s;ins be great, thou art more alienated from God than the ordinary rank of men: Lord, thou do&s;t command us to &s;how kindne&s;s to &s;tran|gers, to love our Enemies; and wilt thou not u&s;e the &s;ame Mercy to a &s;tran|ger, that thou commande&s;t others to u&s;e, and &s;how the &s;ame Love to &s;o great an Enemy as I am? The greater my Enmity, the more glorious will be thy Love.</P>
<P>Plead therefore,</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1"> 1&s;t. <HI>Infinitene&s;s of God's Mercy.</HI></P>
<P>'Tis &s;trange if thy Debts &s;hould be &s;o great, that the Exchequer of the King
<PB N="128" REF="198"> of kings cannot di&s;charge. Why &s;hould the Apo&s;tle &s;ay, God was <HI>rich in mercy, Eph.</HI> 4. and call it <HI>Great Love,</HI> if it were &s;pent only upon little &s;ins, and if any Debts could exhau&s;t it: For &s;urely an Infinite God cannot be finitely rich. If God be rich in mercy, he is &s;urely infinitely rich: Thou can&s;t not think that any that have got to Heaven before thee, have drein'd his Trea&s;ures, for then it had been finite, not infinite. They were not un&s;earchable Riches, if the &s;ins of all the world could find the bottom of them.</P>
<P>God looks upon his Grace as the greate&s;t part of his E&s;tate. He calls it his Riches, which Title he gives not any other Attribute: Now Riches are not to lye by and ru&s;t, but to be laid out and traded with; and the more they are tra|ded with, the more Wealth they bring in. God hath not delight to keep the&s;e Riches by him, and to hoard them up for no u&s;e; for <HI>omne bonum e&s;t &s;ui diffu|&s;ivum;</HI> therefore the more Goodne&s;s any thing hath, the more diffu&s;ive it is of it &s;elf. God loves to di&s;tribute his Wealth upon his own terms, and to
<PB N="129" REF="198"> venture out Riches of Grace, that he may have returns of Riches of Glory; &s;o that if you come to God, you have all his E&s;tate at your &s;ervice. Till thou can&s;t be as &s;inful as God is merciful, as evil as God is good, do not think thy Iniquities can check an Al-Almighty Goodne&s;s. Mercy bears the greate&s;t &s;way in God's Name, 34. <HI>Exod.</HI> 6, 7. There is but one Letter of his Power, two of his Ju&s;tice, and nine or ten expre&s;&s;ions of his Mercy. His Power attends his Mercy as well as his Ju&s;tice; &s;o that on Mercy's &s;ide again&s;t Ju&s;tice there is five to one, which is great odds.</P>
<P>Plead then with God, Lord, 'tis &s;aid in thy Word, 3. <HI>Prov.</HI> 28. <HI>Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give thee, when 'tis in the power of thine hand to do it.</HI> Should not a man refu&s;e to give to his Neigh|bour, when he has it by him; and &s;hall the merciful God deny me that Mercy which I beg of him upon my knees, when he has it all in &s;tore by him? Mu&s;t I forgive my Brother, if he offends 77 times, a double perfect Number; and mu&s;t I be more charitable to man, than
<PB N="130" REF="199"> Infinite Mercy will be to me? Shall thy Ju&s;tice only &s;peak, and thy Mercy be &s;ilent, and plead nothing on my be|half? Ha&s;t thou not &s;aid, that thou art he that <HI>blots out tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions for thy own &s;ake,</HI> 43. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 25.? That thou do&s;t <HI>blot out iniquities like a thick cloud,</HI> 44. I&s;a. 22.? Is there any Cloud &s;o thick as to ma&s;ter the melting power of the Sun; and &s;hall ever a cloud of &s;in be &s;o thick as to ma&s;ter the power of thy Mercy? Has not thy Mercy as much Strength and Eloquence to plead for me, as thy Ju&s;tice has to declaim again&s;t me? Is thy Ju&s;tice better arm'd with Rea&s;on, than thy Kindne&s;s with Compa&s;&s;ions? Have thy Bowels no Eloquence? Oh! who can re&s;i&s;t the plea&s;ing Rhetorick of his own Bowels?</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2dly. <HI>Chri&s;t's, and God's intent in his coming, was to di&s;charge great &s;ins.</HI> He was called Je&s;us, a Saviour, becau&s;e he was to <HI>&s;ave his people from their &s;ins.</HI> And do you think &s;ome of his peoples &s;ins were not as great as any mens &s;ins in the world? To &s;ave only from little iniquities, had not been a work &s;uita|ble to the glorious Name of Je&s;us. Nei|ther can we conceive how Chri&s;t &s;hould
<PB N="131" REF="199"> enter into &s;uch &s;trict Bonds to his Fa|ther, to be a Surety only for &s;ome &s;mal|ler Debts? If this had not been his in|tent, he would have put &s;ome Limita|tion in that Prayer he taught his Di&s;ci|ples, and not have commanded them to pray, <HI>Forgive us our Tre&s;pa&s;&s;es;</HI> but, Forgive us our little Sins, or Sins of &s;uch a &s;ize. He never ask'd what &s;ins, and how many &s;ins men were guilty of, when they came to him. But upon Faith, &s;aith he, <HI>Thy &s;ins are forgiven thee.</HI> Plead therefore with Chri&s;t, and &s;ay, Thou did&s;t come to do thy Father's Will, which was, that none &s;hould be ca&s;t off that come unto thee; and thou ha&s;t &s;aid the &s;ame; 'tis not &s;ufficient for thee to &s;ay it merely, and not to do it. Wilt thou draw me <HI>with the Cords of a man,</HI> (for I could not thus come to thee, unle&s;s thou did&s;t draw me) and &s;hall I be beaten back with a Frown?</P>
<P N="3"><MILESTONE N="3"> 3dly. <HI>Chri&s;t's Death was a Satisfaction for the greate&s;t &s;ins,</HI> both <HI>ex parte facien|tis,</HI> Chri&s;t, and <HI>ex parte acceptantis,</HI> God; for God could not accept any Satisfacti|on but what was infinite, 10. <HI>Heb.</HI> 12. <HI>One &s;acrifice for &s;ins for ever,</HI> &amp;c. Not
<PB N="132" REF="200"> one &s;in, but &s;ins. Not little &s;ins, but &s;ins without exception. Yea, and 'tis all &s;in, 1 <HI>Joh</HI> 1.7. And <HI>all</HI> includes great as well as little.<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Goulart Tableau de la mort, Tableau 9. p. 131.</NOTE> Satan once came to a &s;ick man, and &s;hows him a great Ca|talogue of his &s;ins, concluding from thence his Eternal Damnation: The &s;ick man &s;trengthening him&s;elf by the Word of God, bid the Devil write over the Catalogue in great Letters tho&s;e words, 1 <HI>John</HI> 1.7. whereupon the De|vil pre&s;ently leaves him.</P>
<P>Can thy Sins be greater than Chri&s;t's Merit? Or thine Offences, than his Sa|crifice? 'Tis &s;trange if the Malignity of thy Sin &s;hould be as infinite as the Virtue of his Death.</P>
<P>He hath &s;atisfied for all the Saints that ever came to Heaven; and put thy &s;ins in the balance with theirs, and &s;urely they cannot weigh &s;o much. He was <HI>a propitiation for the &s;ins of the whole world;</HI> and are thy &s;ins as great as the &s;ins of the whole World? If part of his Merits be enough to &s;ave Ten thou|&s;and damn'd Souls in Hell, if they had applied it; is it not enough to &s;atisfy God for thy Sins, which are far le&s;s?
<PB N="133" REF="200"> Was not Chri&s;t charg'd with as great Sins as thine can be, when he was up|on the Cro&s;s? Or are thy &s;ingle Sins bigger than all tho&s;e the Prophet means, when he &s;aith, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 53.6. <HI>And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.</HI></P>
<P>Well then, plead thy Saviour's death, &s;ince it was for his honour to &s;atisfy for &s;ins of &s;o deep a dye: 'Tis &s;aid in thy Word, 'Tis a Joy to a Righteous Man to perform Judgment; and &s;hall it not be much more a Joy to the Righteous God? Behold, here I offer thee the Atonement thy Son and my Saviour has made; and if it be not enough, I am content to peri&s;h: But if it be, I de&s;ire thee to do me Ju&s;tice with that joy that a Righteous Man would do it with, and di&s;charge my Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions. And if thou do&s;t object, that I have flung away this Satisfaction, and would not have it: I an&s;wer, My Saviour's &s;atisfaction was for &s;uch &s;ins as tho&s;e, otherwi&s;e none would be &s;av'd; for was there any but refu&s;ed the Proffer of it at fir&s;t, and made Demurs before they entertain'd it? Let thy Objections be what they will, Chri&s;t &s;hall be my Attorney to an|&s;wer for me.</P>
<P N="4"><PB N="134" REF="201"><MILESTONE N="4"> 4thly, <HI>Chri&s;t is able to take away great &s;ins.</HI></P>
<P>Did he ever let any one that came to him with a great infirmity, go back without a Cure, and di&s;honour him&s;elf &s;o much, as that it &s;hould be &s;aid, It was a Di&s;temper too great for the Power of Je&s;us to remedy? And why &s;hould there be any Sin that he cannot pardon? 'Tis as ea&s;y for him to heal the one as the other: For he did with as much ea&s;e and delight &s;ay, <HI>Thy &s;ins are forgi|ven thee;</HI> as &s;ay, <HI>Take up thy bed, and walk.</HI></P>
<P>Ha&s;t thou Seven Devils? Suppo&s;e a Legion, <HI>i. e.</HI> 6666; he did di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;s a Body of as many: Can he not as ea&s;ily di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;s a Soul? If thou had&s;t Ten thou&s;and Legions, I dare &s;ay Chri&s;t would not lo&s;e an opportunity of &s;uch a Conque&s;t: For it would plea&s;e him more to do great works than little, and to &s;how how far his Power can reach.</P>
<P>Were it not for &s;uch Objects, we could not know whether he could <HI>&s;ave to the utmo&s;t,</HI> or no, 7. <HI>Heb.</HI> 25. What has he this Ability for? to lye idle? No
<PB N="135" REF="201"> &s;urely, to be exercis'd about the mo&s;t difficult Tasks. Suppo&s;e the Scroul of thy Sins were as long as to reach from Earth to the highe&s;t Heavens, would this reach to the utmo&s;t of Chri&s;t's Abi|lity? If thou had&s;t &s;inn'd as far as any man in the world can &s;in, yet &s;till thou art not got without the Verge of Chri&s;t's Saving-Power. That word <HI>utmo&s;t</HI> I dare &s;et again&s;t all thy Objecti|ons. If you had the Sins of all the damn'd in Hell upon you, you could not put either his Free Grace or va&s;t Power to a Nonplus. His Blood is of that Virtue, that were it pour'd out upon a Devil, it would make him pre&s;ently commence a glorious Angel.</P>
<P>What is either a great or a light Di&s;|ea&s;e to Omnipotency, when with the &s;ame Word he can cure the greate&s;t as well as the lea&s;t Di&s;tempers?</P>
<P>But may the Soul &s;ay, I do not que|&s;tion his Power, <HI>but his Will.</HI> There|fore,</P>
<P N="5"><MILESTONE N="5"> 5thly. <HI>Chri&s;t's Nature leads him to &s;how Mercy to the greate&s;t Sinners.</HI></P>
<PB N="136" REF="202">
<P>Some que&s;tion whether Chri&s;t will pardon them, for they look upon him as a hard Ma&s;ter, that will not ea&s;ily forgive. But Chri&s;t gives another Character of him&s;elf, 11. <HI>Mat.</HI> 28, 29. when he ex|horts men to come to him; he tells them they mu&s;t not judge him to be of a rugged and implacable nature, but as <HI>meek</HI> as they are &s;inful. Meekne&s;s is &s;een in pardoning of Injuries, not keep|ing them in memory, to beget and che|ri&s;h Revenge. Now the greater the Provocation, the more tran&s;cendent is that Meekne&s;s to pa&s;s it by.</P>
<P>Did he ever upbraid any with their Offences, and hit them in the teeth with their former Extravagancies? 7. <HI>Luk.</HI> 44. Chri&s;t makes a Narrative of <HI>Mary</HI>'s acts of kindne&s;s to him, but not a &s;ylla|ble of her foul Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions. Are thy &s;ins &s;o great? &s;urely Chri&s;t who delights in his Compa&s;&s;ions, will not lo&s;e &s;uch an opportunity of evidencing both his Power, and his Pity upon &s;uch a Sub|ject: For if there cannot be &s;o great a Sinner as thou art, he is never like to have &s;uch a &s;ea&s;on for it, if he mi&s;s of thee.</P>
<P N="6"><PB N="137" REF="202"><MILESTONE N="6"> 6thly. <HI>Chri&s;t was exalted by God upon this very account.</HI> Heb. 7.25. Where|fore <HI>he is able to &s;ave them to the utter|mo&s;t that come unto God by him.</HI> How comes Chri&s;t to be &s;o able to &s;ave to the utmo&s;t? 'Tis becau&s;e <HI>he ever lives to make interce&s;&s;ion for them:</HI> For whom? for tho&s;e <HI>that come to God by him.</HI> What has Chri&s;t his life in Heaven for, but to intercede? And would his Father's love to him, and the greatne&s;s of his in|tere&s;t in God be di&s;cover'd, by granting &s;ome &s;mall Reque&s;ts, the pardon of a few and little Sins? Chri&s;t is con&s;ecra|ted Prie&s;t by the Oath of God, <HI>Heb.</HI> 7.28. would God put him&s;elf to his Oath for a light bu&s;ine&s;s, a thing of little mo|ment? What is the end of this Oath? Compare it with <HI>Heb.</HI> 6.16, 17, 18. <HI>For men verily &s;wear by the greater; and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all &s;trife. Wherein God willing more abundantly to &s;hew unto the heirs of promi&s;e the immutability of his coun&s;el, con|firm'd it by an oath:</HI> And all is that you might have <HI>&s;trong con&s;olation.</HI> What &s;trong Comfort could there be, if only
<PB N="138" REF="203"> little Debts were remitted? What is the end of an Oath? <HI>v.</HI> 16. to take away <HI>&s;trife;</HI> Men do not &s;trive with God, or doubt of his Mercy to forgive little Sins: For they think that will be done of cour&s;e. But the great conte&s;t men have with God, is about his wil|lingne&s;s to remit great Debts, &s;carlet Sins: Upon this account the &s;trife is between God and doubting Sinners; therefore to bring this Conte&s;t to a pe|riod, God hath put him&s;elf to his Oath, and &s;worn that Chri&s;t &s;hould be a Prie&s;t for ever, to take away all &s;trife between him and believing Sinners.</P>
<P>For whom is this &s;trong con&s;olation founded upon God's Oath? <HI>v.</HI> 18. For tho&s;e that <HI>fly for refuge.</HI> Now the Ci|ties of refuge were not appointed for ordinary Crimes, but for blood, to &s;e|cure the Malefactor from the Avenger.</P>
<P>Shall I add further, God is be&s;t pleas'd with Chri&s;t when he makes in|terce&s;&s;ion for the greate&s;t Tran&s;gre&s;|&s;ors.</P>
<P>Suppo&s;e thou had&s;t been one of Chri&s;t's Murtherers, and had&s;t given thy Vote again&s;t him; perhaps thou
<PB N="139" REF="203"> would&s;t have thought this a more Crim|&s;on Sin than any thou art guilty of.</P>
<P>You know Chri&s;t pray'd for their pardon while he was upon the Cro&s;s. And God gives this as one rea&s;on why he would exalt him, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 53.12. <HI>He &s;hall divide him,</HI> &amp;c. why? becau&s;e he pour'd out his Soul to death. What &s;hould he bear &s;in for, if God had no mind to pardon it? And be|cau&s;e he was <HI>numbred among the tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ors,</HI> which the Evangeli&s;t under|&s;tands of his being crucified with Thieves, <HI>Mark</HI> 15.28. And therefore his making interce&s;&s;ion for Tran&s;gre&s;|&s;ors, mu&s;t be under&s;tood of his Prayer upon the Cro&s;s. And if God did exalt him for this, would God be plea&s;ed with him, or would Chri&s;t an&s;wer the end of his Exaltation, if he did cea&s;e to make interce&s;&s;ion for Sinners of the like &s;tamp?</P>
<P>Tell God, that he &s;ent Chri&s;t to ble&s;s you, <HI>Acts</HI> 3.26. in converting you; and de&s;ire Chri&s;t to do his Office.</P>
<P N="7"><MILESTONE N="7"> 7thly. <HI>Chri&s;t is intru&s;ted by God to give out his Grace to great Sinners.</HI></P>
<PB N="140" REF="204">
<P>Chri&s;t is God's Lord Almoner for the di&s;pen&s;ing Redemption, and the riches of his Grace. To whom? Not to the Righteous, they have no need of it; but to Sinners, and tho&s;e that have the greate&s;t nece&s;&s;ity.</P>
<P>He would be an ill Steward, who when intru&s;ted by his Lord to be&s;tow his Alms upon the Poor, &s;hould over|look the mo&s;t mi&s;erable, indigent, and nece&s;&s;itous Per&s;ons, when they crave it of him, and relieve tho&s;e that had not &s;o great and crying Wants.</P>
<P>Chri&s;t is a Prie&s;t for intents of the &s;ame nature as the Legal Typical Prie&s;ts were. They were to have compa&s;&s;ion, <HI>Heb.</HI> 5.2. <GAP DESC="foreign">, to mea&s;ure out their compa&s;&s;ion, to order the Sacrifice according to the nature of the &s;in of the Per&s;on that pre&s;ented it. So is Chri&s;t by virtue of his Office to mea&s;ure out his Grace according to the greatne&s;s of a man's nece&s;&s;ity; as Manna was to be gathered according to every ones wants.</P>
<P>Well then, to conclude this Exhor|tation. Embolden thy &s;elf to draw near to Chri&s;t. 'Tis the Apo&s;tle's u&s;e
<PB N="141" REF="204"> he makes of all his foregoing Doctrine, <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.19. <HI>&amp;c.</HI> God requires not a heart without &s;in, but a heart without guile. Who needs more boldne&s;s than great Sinners? And the Apo&s;tle &s;ets no limits to it. Let us, who have been as great Sinners as any, re&s;olve to do as they in <HI>Jeremy</HI> did, <HI>Jer.</HI> 3 22. They had both a Command, and a Promi&s;e. <HI>Return,</HI> there's the Command. <HI>I will heal,</HI> &amp;c. there's the Promi&s;e. Pre|&s;ently, they reply, <HI>We will come to thee,</HI> &amp;c. They &s;eem to &s;natch the Promi&s;e out of God's mouth.</P>
<P>How will the&s;e quick and ready Con|verts ri&s;e up in judgment again&s;t thy &s;lowne&s;s and dulne&s;s? Shall they do this upon one Promi&s;e; and when thou ha&s;t all the Promi&s;es in the Book of God repeated to thee, &s;hall God hear no other an&s;wer but this, We will not return, or we dare not come, we dare not believe thee?</P>
<P>Did God give but one Promi&s;e to <HI>Adam,</HI> and did he embrace it, and live upon it all his life; (for we read of no more he had than that of the Seed of the Woman breaking the Serpent's head)
<PB N="142" REF="205"> and wilt thou not return, when thou ha&s;t &s;o many Promi&s;es filling every page in the Scripture?</P>
<P>Ha&s;t thou not a world of Precedents? Did not God take up all his Saints from the Dunghil with all their Rags, and clothe them? Were any of them born Princes, and Sons of Heaven? Alas, every man at fir&s;t &s;ued for a Saviour in the right of a Sinner; and all pleaded in the Court of Heaven <HI>in form&acirc; pau|peris.</HI> Were they not Debtors, and could they do that which might make God cro&s;s out one of tho&s;e Sums they ow'd him? Oh think not then thou can&s;t damm up that torrent of Love that has flow'd &s;o freely to the World for &s;o ma|ny Ages. Tho' thy Di&s;ea&s;e be grievous, yet 'tis not irrecoverable, provided thou goe&s;t to the Phy&s;ician. He can with a breath burn up thy Corruption, as &s;oon as di&s;&s;olve the Creation. Chri&s;t can turn the muddie&s;t water into &s;uch Wine that can plea&s;e the heart both of God and Man. As you have been Ve&s;&s;els of Sin, if you will be Ve&s;&s;els of Repen|tance, God will make you brimful of Mercy. Plead not therefore thy own
<PB N="143" REF="205"> unworthine&s;s. Man's unworthine&s;s ne|ver yet hindered the flowing of God's kindne&s;s. 'Tis too weak a Bank to &s;top the current of God's favour. The greater thy unworthine&s;s, the greater advan|tage has free Grace to manife&s;t its un|controulable Excellency. That Man di&s;|honours God, that &s;ets his Sin above God's Goodne&s;s, or his Unworthine&s;s above God's Conde&s;cen&s;ion. You cannot do God a greater plea&s;ure, than to come to him to be made clean. When he reckons up thy Sin, 'tis not with an up|braiding, but a compa&s;&s;ionate &s;igh, <HI>Jer.</HI> 13.27. He longs for the time of thy returning; and minds thee of thy Sin, that thou may&s;t the &s;ooner &s;eek a reme|dy; and wonders thou wilt continue in &s;uch a filthy Condition &s;o long.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="application">
<HEAD>&V;SE <HI>4.</HI> Caution.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Think not thy Sins are pardon'd, be|cau&s;e they are not &s;o great as tho&s;e God has pardon'd in others.</HI></P>
<P>This is <HI>ad &s;uam con&s;olationem aliena numerare vitia</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Hierony in Vol. 1. p. 114. e.</NOTE>.</P>
<PB N="144" REF="206">
<P>Con&s;ider, God ca&s;t off <HI>Saul</HI> for le&s;s Sins than <HI>David</HI> committed. Evil An|gels were ca&s;t off for one Sin. A few &s;mall Sands may &s;ink a Ship as well as a great Rock. Thy Sins may be pardoned though as great as others, but then you mu&s;t have equal Qualifications with them. They had great Sins, &s;o ha&s;t thou; but have you as great a hatred and loathing of Sin as they had?</P>
<P N="2"><MILESTONE N="2"> 2. <HI>Let not this Doctrine encourage any per&s;on to go on in &s;in.</HI></P>
<P>If thou do&s;t now &s;uck &s;uch poi&s;on out of this Doctrine, and boa&s;t of that Name God proclaims <HI>Exod.</HI> 34.6, 7. take the Cooler along with thee, and remember it is one part of his Name, <HI>By no means to clear the guilty.</HI> He never intended tho&s;e Mercies for Sinners, as Sinners, but as penitent. Penitents, as &s;uch, are not guilty, becau&s;e repentance is a moral revocation of a Sin, and al|ways &s;uppo&s;eth &s;aith in Chri&s;t. There is <HI>forgivene&s;s with God,</HI> P&s;al. 130.4. but it is <HI>that he may be feared,</HI> not de&s;pi&s;ed. God never intended mercy as a &s;anctua|ry to protect Sin.</P>
<P N="1"><PB N="145" REF="206">1&s;t. <HI>'Tis di&s;ingenuous to do &s;o.</HI> Great Love requires great Duties, not great Sins. Freene&s;s of Grace &s;hould make us increa&s;e holine&s;s in a more chearful manner. What high ingratitude is it, to be inclin'd to &s;in, becau&s;e God is in|clin'd to pardon; to have a frozen heart to him, becau&s;e he hath a melting heart to thee? What, to kick again&s;t him, becau&s;e he has bowels; and to be wick|ed, becau&s;e God is good? To turn Grace it &s;elf into wantonne&s;s. Is this to fear his Goodne&s;s? No, 'tis to tram|ple on it, to make that which &s;hould excite thee to holine&s;s, a Bawd to thy Lu&s;t, and God him&s;elf a Pandar to the Devil.</P>
<P>If thou do&s;t thus &s;light the de&s;ign of this Mercy, which thou can&s;t never prize at too high a rate, 'tis certain thou never had&s;t the lea&s;t ta&s;te of it. If thou had&s;t, thou could&s;t not &s;in &s;o free|ly: For when Grace enters, it makes the Soul dead to &s;in, <HI>Rom.</HI> 6.1, 2. The Apo&s;tle an&s;wers &s;uch a Con&s;equence with a <HI>God forbid.</HI></P>
<P N="2"><PB N="146" REF="207">2dly. <HI>'Tis fooli&s;h.</HI></P>
<P>Would any man be &s;o &s;imple, as to &s;et his Hou&s;e on fire, becau&s;e he has a great River running by his Door, from whence he may have water to quench it; or wound him&s;elf, becau&s;e there is an excellent Plai&s;ter which has cur'd &s;e|veral?</P>
<P N="3">3dly. <HI>'Tis dangerous.</HI></P>
<P>If thou lo&s;e&s;t the pre&s;ent time, thou art in danger to lo&s;e Eternity. There are many in Hell never &s;inn'd at &s;uch a pre&s;umptuous rate. He is merciful to the Penitent, but he will not be unfaith|ful to his Threatnings. If thou art wil|ling to receive Grace, thou may&s;t have it, but upon God's Conditions. He will not pin it upon thy Sleeve whether thou wilt or no. This is to make that which is the &s;avour of life, to become the &s;a|vour of death unto thee.</P>
<P>See what an an&s;wer <HI>Paul</HI> gives to &s;uch an imagination, <HI>Rom.</HI> 3.8. <HI>Let us do evil, that good may come, who&s;e dam|nation is ju&s;t.</HI> He takes a handful of Hell-fire and flings it in their faces.</P>
<PB N="147" REF="207">
<P>Let but the 29th of <HI>Deut.</HI> 18, 19. &s;tare them in the face, and promi&s;e thy &s;elf peace in this Cour&s;e if thou can&s;t. <HI>Le&s;t there &s;hould be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood. And it cometh to pa&s;s, when he heareth the words of this cur&s;e, that he ble&s;s him&s;elf in his heart, &s;aying, I &s;hall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart.</HI></P>
<P>As his Goodne&s;s is great, which thou do&s;t de&s;pi&s;e; &s;o the Wrath will be the hotter, thou do&s;t trea&s;ure up. Though great Sins are occa&s;ions of great Grace, yet Sin doth not nece&s;&s;i|tate Grace.</P>
<P>Who can tell, whether ever God would have &s;hown mercy to <HI>Paul,</HI> had he done that again&s;t knowledge, which he did ignorantly?</P>
<P>Repentance mu&s;t fir&s;t be; &s;ee the order, <HI>Acts</HI> 3.19. <HI>Repent, and be con|verted, that your &s;ins may be blotted out.</HI> Fir&s;t, Repentance and Conver&s;ion, then Ju&s;tification. This Grace is on|ly given to penitent Sinners. You know not whether you &s;hall repent, but you may know, that if you do
<PB N="148" REF="208"> not repent, you &s;hall be damn'd. As there is infinite Grace to pardon you, if you repent; &s;o there is infinite Ju|&s;tice to puni&s;h you, if you do not re|pent. The Go&s;pel binds us to our good behaviour as much as the Law.</P>
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<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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<DIV1 TYPE="publisher's advertisement">
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<P>A Pre&s;ervative again&s;t <HI>Dei&s;m.</HI> By <HI>Nat. Taylor.</HI> Octavo.</P>
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<P>Geography Anatomiz'd: Being an Exact Anali&s;is of the whole Body of Modern Geography, after a New and Curious Method. By <HI>Pat. Gordon</HI> M. A.</P>
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