Sermon V (continued, part 4)
tive towards an ofi'ensive object ; and this in itself is no propassions, rather than passions; the infelicities, ral sins of nature, as Jerom calls them. Reason, saith Ph driver, the soul is the cliariot, and the two horses that
all its motions, are the concupiscible and irascible appe
these are rightly managed by reason, they are not onl' very useful to the soul. God would not have us to I insensate, though he would have us to be meek and Eph. i. 26. he allows the natural motion, but forbids t orbitancy. (2.) Holy anger, which is a pure flame, k: heavenly spark of love to God, and in scripture is calle
is, as one saith, the dagger which love draws in God's qi
was Lot's against the Sodomites, and that of Most idolatrous Israelites. When Servetus condemned Zui harshness, his answer was. In aliis mansuctus ero, in b
Christum, non ita ; In other cases I will be mild, but i Christ not so. That which the world calls moderation
here, is in God's account stupidity and cowardliness ; n( are that which I am now persuading you to keep your \ But, (S.) There is a sinful passion, that is the thing wh vou. Now anger becomes sinful when it is either caui 22. or excessive ; and that either in measure or time, i value of the impulsive cause, be it more transient or al is a sin, and it is matter of humiliation^jefore God. ^
to keep the heart from it under provocations, are thes(
Means 1. Get low and humble thoughts of yoursel you will have meek spirits, and peaceable deportments tc
The humble is ever the patient man ; pride is there a lofty Avill be a surly spirit ; bladders blown up with he close together ; but prick them, and you may pack
a little room : " Only by pride cometh contention," '
HOW TO KKEP THE IIF.ART FROM HUVF.XGEFCL MOTIOXS. 4
liiiow SO much of thyself, that it is impossible any should lay ti
lower, or have baser thoughts of thee than thou hast of thys
Some render the original of that text, Hab. ii. 5. thus : " The pre *' man is as he that transgresseth by wine C and drunkards, ^ know, are quarrelsome. O get more humihty, and that will br you more peace.
Means 2. Be often szveeiening your spirits in communion xcith G and they •anil not easily be imbittered with wrath towards men.
A quiet conscienee never produced an unquiet conversation :
peace of God doth jSta^i-jsiv, rule in the heart, as an umpire appe ing strifes; for so much that word. Col. iii. 15. imports. Wrath e strife are hugely opposite to theframe and temper of a spiritual hej because inconsistent with the delight and contentment of thatdove-l spirit which loves a sedate and quiet breast. O ! saith the soul that fe upon the sweet communion of the Spirit, shall the sparks of prove tions now catch in my passions, and raise such a smoke in my soul, will offend and drive away the Comforter from me ? This is so efl
tual a remedy against passion, that I durst almost venture, in a Ch tian of a hasty nature, to make long-suffering a sign of commun
with God. Seest thou such a Christian quiet and calm under pro
cations, it is verjlike his soul feeds upon such sweetness in God he is loth to leave ; and on the other side, seest thou a Christ turbulent and clamorous, doubtless, all is not well within ; his sp is like a bone out of joint, which cannot move without pain a trouble.
Means 3. Get due apprehaisimis of the evil nature and effects sififnl anger : Ira furor brevis ; anger is a short madness, (saith ont
Iraanimae febris (saith another ;) anger is the fever of the soul; is the interregnum and eclipse of reason, (saith a third).
The effects of it are also very sad.
(1.) '• It grieves the Spirit of God," Eph. iv. 30. banishes h from that breast in which it rages and tumultuates: God is theG of peace ; the presence and comforts of God are only enjoyed ii
calm. It is a golden note one gives upon the forecited text, G doth not usually bless with peace of conscience, such as make no c
science of peace. (2.) It gives advantage to the devil, Eph. iv. 1 27. Satan is an angry and discontented spirit, and finds no rest 1 in restless hearts ? he lives like the salamander, in fires of contenti( he bestirs himself when the spirits are in a commotion ; sometimes
fills the heart with revengeful thoughts, sometimes he tills the Ii and inflames the tongue with indecent languaffe; even a meek Mc
476 HOW TO KEEP THE HEART FJIOM REVEJCGEFUL :
(4.) To mention no more, it disparages the Christian re would Plato and Pythagoras shame us, if they were Christ was a lamb for meekness, and doth it become h: be like lions ? O keep your hearts, or you will at once your own peace, but the credit of religion.
Means 4. Consider how sweet a thing it is to a Chr quer his corruptions, and carry away the spoils qfthe'i
" He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty ; " ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city," Prov. there any content in venting a passion ? How much mo ing it? When thou comest in a calm mood, or upon a review thy life, how comfortable then will it be to refl conquests thou hast got by the fear of God, over the ev of thine own heart ! It was a memorable saying of \i emperor when he came to die : * Amongst all my conqu
* there is but one that now comforts me ; and being asi * was, he answered, I have overcome my worst enen
* naughty heart.' Means 5. Shame yourselves hy setting before you patterns that have been most excellent Jbr meekness.
Above all, compare your spirits with the Spirit of Ch
" of me (saith he,) for I am meek and lowly," Mat. > was meek and lowly, but I am proud and passionate ; il commendation of Moses, Num. xii. 3. " Now the nu *' meek above all the men of the earth : and this was
■ " knew God to face." It is said of Calvin and Ursin, t were of choleric natures, but yet had so learned the Christ as not to utter one word, under the greatest pn beseeming religion. When I read the pretty storie heathens that never had the advantages that we have, Ik goreans, whatever feuds had been among them in the da all by sending to each other this message, The sun is at that of Plato to his scholar, / would beat thee if I wer
When I read what lenity and tenderness Lycurgus insolent fellow that had struck out one of his eyes, I to see how much Christians are out-shot by heathens ; moral arguments and precepts, had thus meekened the conquered their passions. The dim light of nature c( neca to say, That anger will hurt a man more than th there is a certain bound in the offence, but I know not anger will carry me. It is a shame that these men wh
trow TO KEEP THE HEAUT FROTI YIELDING TO SIN". 4'
wav of it, it is true spiritual valour, to run as fast, and as far as we a
out of sin's way: If you can but avoid anger in its first rise, there
no great fear of it afterwards ; for it is not with this sin as it is w other sins ; other sins grow to their full strength by degrees, th first motions are the weakest ; but this sin is born in its full streng
it is strongest at first ; withstand it then, and it falls before y< Thus learn to keep your hearts when provocations aiise.
Season 9Tlie ninth season ofexerting our greatest diligence, * * the critical hour of temptation, wherein Satan lays close siege to 1
' fort-royal of a Christian's heart, and often surprizes it for want * watchfulness : to keep the heart now, is no less a mercy jhan a dui ' few Christians are so well skilled in detecting the fallacies, a * retorting the arcruments bv which Satan uses to draw them to sin,
* to come off safe in those encounters. " \\ atch and pray (sa
* " our Lord) lest ye enter into temptation,'' ^lark xiv. SS.' E^ an eminent David, and a wise Solomon, have smarted for their ca lessness, at such a time as this. The ninth case therefore shall be tl
Case 9. Huic a Christian, zchen strongly solicited hy the devil
sin, may lieep his heart Ji-om yielding to the temptation.
Now there are six special arguments by which Satan subtilly sinuates and winds in the temptation ; in all which I shall offer tl some help for the keeping of thy heart ; and the first is this :
Argument 1. The first argument is drawn from the pleasure of s O (saith Satan) here is pleasure to be enjoyed : the temptation cor
with a smiling countenance, and charming voice : what, art thou phlegmatic and dull a soul, as not to feel the powerful charms pleasure ? Who can with-hold himself from such delights .?
Now thine heart may be kept from the danger of this temptati by retorting this argument of pleasure upon the tempter ; whicl
done two ways.
1. Thou tellest me, Satan, that sin is pleasant; be it so: But the gripes of conscience, and the flames of hell so too ? Is it pleas to feel the wounds and throbs of conscience ? If so, why did Pt
weep so bitterly.'^ ]Mat. xxvi. 75. Why did David cry out of brol bones .'' Psal. li. I hear what thou sayest of the pleasure of i and I have read what David hath said of the terrible effects of sir
his Psalm to bring to remembrance, Psal. xxxviii. ver. 2. " Th
"arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore:" ver " There is no soundness in mv flesh because of thine anger ; neit
" is there any rest in my bones, because of my sin : ver. 4. *' ] " nunp ininnitips nrp crrvnt^ nvf>r ininp fit>orl nc an lif>nviViiirHpn • tl
478 HOW TO KEEP THE HEART FllOM YlELDINfi TO
Here I see the true face of sin ; if I yield to thy tempi either feel these pangs of conscience, or the flames of 1
2. What talkest thou of the pleasure of sin, when, b I know there is more true pleasure in the mortification in the commission of 'in ? O how sweet is it to please conscience, to preserve inward peace ! To be able to say I have discovered the sincerity of my heart ; now I kr Lord, now I see that I truly hate sin. Ilath sin any su this ? This will choak that temptation.
Ar^. 2. The second argument is drawn from the S( O (saith Satan) this sin will never disgrace thee abroai know it.
This argument may be retorted, and the heart secure sayest, none shall know it ; but, Satan, canst thou find of the divine presence for me to sin in ? Thus Job secu from this temptation, Job xiii. 4. " Doth he not see n
•* count all my steps V Therefore he makes a covei eyes, ver. 1. After the same manner Solomon teachetl
this temptation, Prov. v. 20, 21. *' And why my son " ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosc *' ger.'* For the ways of man are before the eyes of tl *' he pondereth all his goings." What if I hide it froi all the world for the present .'' I cannot hide it from G
time is at hand, when all the world shall know it too ; assures me, Luke viii. 17. "That what now is done ir
'* be proclaimed as upon the house top." Besides, is science as a thousand witnesses ! Do I owe n© reverenc Could the heathen man say, Turpe quid ausurus, te Jin When thou art tempted to commit sin, fear thyself other witness : And shall not I be afraid to sin befoi
conscience, which always hath a reproof in its mouth, c hand, to record my most secret actions.?
A7-g. 3. The third argument by which Satan tempt taken from the gain and profit arising out of it ; why
scrupulous.'' itisbut to stretch the con science a httle, and make thyself: now is thy opportunity !
The heart may be kept from falling into this danger retorting the temptation thus: But what a profit will it should gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ? ( a man give in exchange for his soul ? Shall I hazard th good that is in this world ? There is an immortal spiri
HOW TO KEEP THE HEAllT FROM YIELDING TO SIM I f presses it) with this difference: a master commits two thmgs U I servant — the child, and the child's clothes ; will the master tha
the ser\'ant, if he plead, I have kept the clothes, but I have i glected the life of the child?
Jra; 4. The fourth argument is drawn from the smallness of J sin ; it is but a little one, a small matter, a trifle ; who would sta upon such niceties ?
This argument may be retorted three ways. 1. But is the majesty of heaven a little one too ? If I commit t sin, I must offend and wrong a great God, Isa. xl. 15, 16, 17, — !
ii. Is there any little hell to torment little sinners in ? Are not t least sinners there filled with the fulness of wrath ? O there is gr wrath treasured up for such as the world counts little sinners.
3. The less the sin, the less the inducement to commit it : Wh shall I break with God for a trifle ? Destroy my peace, wound i * conscience, grieve the spirit, and all this for nothing ? O what m< jpess is this !
Jrg. 5. A. fifth argument is drawn from the grace of God, a hopes of pardon : Come, God will pass by this as an infirmity, will not be extreme to mark it ;
But stay, my heart; 1. Where do I find a promise of mercy to presumptuous sinnei Indeed for involuntary surprisal, unavoidable and lamented infirr ties, there is a pardon of course ; but where is the promise to daring sinnner that sins upon presumption of pardon ? Pause a whi
mv soul, upon that scripture, Numb. xv. 27 — 30. " And if a s( *' sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she-goat of the fi " year for a sin-ofFeruig, Sec. But the soul that doth ought presun Hv* tuously, the same reproacheth the I.iord, and that soul shall ""•' cut off from among his people."" 2. If God be a God of so much mercy, how can I abuse so goo< God ? shall I take so glorious an attribute as the mercy of God and abuse it unto sin ? Shall I wrong him because he is good ? ' should not rather the goodness of God lead me to repentance ? Ro
ii. 4. " There is mercy with thee that thou mayest be feared,"" Ps cxxx. 4.
Arg. 6. Lastly, Sometimes Satan encourages to sin from the exa pies of good and holy men ; thus and thus they have sinned and be restored, therefore this may consist with grace, and thou be sav nevertheless. The danger of this temptation is avoided, and 1 heart secured, bv retorting the aro-ument these three wavs :
480 HOW TO KEEP THE HEART mOM DESPERATE CON(
*' examples, to the intent that we should not lust aftc
*' as they also lusted." 3. Am I willing to feel what they felt for sin ? O, I d
them in the ways of sin ! quia me vest'iga terrent ; Lei plunge me into the deeps of horror, into which he cas
Thus learn to keep your hearts in the hour of tern Season 10. " The tenth special season to keep the * diligence, is the time of spiritual darkness and doubti * with the soul as it was with Paul in his dangerous vi * sun, nor moon, nor star appears for many days: W
* of the hidings of God's face, the prevalency of corru] * inevidence of grace, the soul is even ready to give u] * and comforts for lost ; to draw sad and desperate con * itself; to call its former comforts vain delusions ; it
* crisy. When the serene and clear heavens are overi ' clouds, yea, filled with thunders and horrible tempi * poor pensive soul sits down and weeps forth this sac
* " My hope is perished from the Lord !" Now to k * from sinking in such a day as this, to enable it to mt * sincerity, is a matter of great difficulty. The tenth ' be this :'
Case 10. Hoiv the people of God, in darlc and dom maylceep their hearts from entertaining such sad con their estates, as destroy their peace, and unfit them fl
There are two general heads to which the grounds ol
sincerity may be reduced- (1.) God's carriage tow; either in the time of some extraordinary affliction, or and sad desertion. Or, (2.) The souPs carriage towan here it usually argues against the truth of its own grac From its relapses into the same sins from which it had with shame and sorrow. Or, (2.) From the sensible d aiFections from God. Or, (3.) From the excess of the wards creature-comforts and enjoyments. Or, (4.) Frc ments in public, and often straitenings in private dut From some horrid injections of Satan, with which the
Iv perplexed. Or, lastly, From God's silence and seer its long depending suits and prayers.
These are the common grounds of those sad conclus order to the establishment and support of the heart in it will be necessaiy,
1. That you be acquainted with some general truth
ttOW TO KEEP THE HEAKT FROM DESPEllATE CONCLUSIONS. ^
"1. That every worTc'ing and appearance of hypocrisy doth presently prove the person in 7vhom it is, to be an hypocrite. \
must carefullv distinguish between i\\e presence anA predominanci hvpocrisy : Tliere are remains of deceitfulness in the best heai David and Peter had sad experience of it ; yet the standing fra and general bent of the heart being upright, it did not denomii them hypocrites.
2. That we ought as well to hear uliat can he said for us as aga\ us : It is the sin of upright hearts sometimes to use an over-ri^ and merciless severity against themselves: They do not indifFerer consider the case of their own souls : It is in this case, as Solor
speaks in another, Prov. xii. 7. "There is that maketh him
"■ rich, and yet hath nothing; and there is that maketh himself pc
'' and vet hath great riches." It is the damning sin of the self-flatter hypocrite, to make his condition better than it is : And it is the and folly of some upright ones, to make their condition worse tl indeed it is. Why should you be such enemies to your own pea
To read over the evidences of God''s love to vour souls, as a man d a book which he intends to confute ? Why do you study to i evasions, to turn off those comforts which are due to you? It is s of Joseph, that he was minded to put away his espoused Mary, knowing that that holy thing which was conceived in her, was by Holy Ghost : And this may be your case. And a third truth is tl
3. That many a sainthath charged and condemned himself'for tl which God will never charge him with, nor condemn him for. " AV " hast thou hardened our hearts from thy fear," (saith the chur ■■|Isa. Ixiii. 17. and yet the verse before manifests, that their hei
^ were not so hardened: Godly Bradford wrote himself an h\^crit(
painted sepulchre ; yet doubtless God acquitted him of that chai ■^ 4. Every thing which is a ground of grief to the people of God
P not a sufficient ground of questioning their sincerity. There
many more things to trouble you, than there are to stumble y< If upon every slip and failing through infirmity, you should qi tion all that ever was \vrought upon you, your life must be made of doubtings and fears : You can never attain a settled peace, live that life of praise and thankfulness, the gospel calls for.
5. The soul is not at all times Jit to pass Judgment upon its own c
dition : "^o be sure in the dark day of desertion, when the soul is nigh ted ; and in the stormy day of temptation, when the soul is i hurry, it is utterly unfit to judge its estate; '• Examine your he;
" linr»n vrknr ]^dc onrl l-«o efill " 'Pc.,,! '■,-., T'V.io \o -KntVi^r. r> <?oo
482 HOW TO KEEP THE HEART FllOM DESPERATE CONC
7. Lastly, Whatever our sin, or trouble be, it slioulc
us to God, than from God. " Pardon my sin for it is XXV. 11. Suppose it be true, that thou hast so and s< thou art thus long and sadly deserted : Yet it is a fa that therefore thou shouldest be discouraged, as if i help for thee in thy God. When you have well dige van establishing truths, if still the doubt remain, then > may be rephed to the particular grounds of these doul
1. You doubt, and are ready to conclude, the Lor gard or love for your souls, because of some extraordi which is come upon you : But I would not have thy s elude, till thou be able satisfactorily to answer these th
Question 1. If great troubles and afflictions be mi hatred, why should not impunity and constant prospei
of his love ? For contrariorum coniraria est ratio (^- c of contrary things, there is a contrary reason and consi is this so indeed ? or saitli not the scripture quite oth(
i. 32. " The prosperity of fools destroys them." So P Quest. 2. Dare I draw the same conclusion upon a
have been as much, yea, more afflicted than myself.'' ment conclude against thee, then so it doth against eve condition ; yea, the greater the affliction of any child been, the more strongly the argument still concludes : . to David, Job, Heman, Paul, and all that have be^
they were.
Quest. 3. Had God exempted you only from those tr
all other his people feel, would not that have been a gi of doubting to you than this ? Especially since tlie sc Heb. xii. 8. " If ye be without chastening, whereof
*' kers, then are ye bastards, and not sons." Oh, how is our Father put to it by froward childr flicts, then one cries, he loves me not : If he exempt fn others question his love upon that ground. Surely y( work to do, under the rod, than this.
2. Or do you rashly infer, the Lord hath no love for he hides his face from you ; that your condition is misei dark and uncomfortable .'' Before you draw such rasl see what answer you can give to these four following <
Query 1. If' any action of God towards Ms people re vourable, as zcell as a harsh and severe construction, u hiji nrnnlf: internret it in the best sense ? And is not thi
I I ( I
HOW TO KEEP THE HEART FROM DESPERATE CONCLUSIONS. 4!
Was it so indeed? Nothing less. Ver. 15. " Can a mother fc
*' get,^ kc. Query 2. Doyoujind tlie marks of art absolute, total and final a irrtion upon yotir oxen spirits, that you are so apt to conclude yours be such f Do you find your hearts inclined to forsake God ? Ha^ you lost your conscientious tenderness in point of sin ? If so, sj characters appear upon you indeed ; but if in this dark hour y( are as tender of sin as ever, as much resolved to cleave to God as eve I cannot, I will not forsake God, let him do what he will with mi O no, I cannot. If vour hearts work thus, it can be but a parti£ limited, and temporary desertion ; by this he still keeps his intere in your hearts, a sure sign he will return, and visit you again.
(luery 3. Is sense and feeling a competent judge of God's actio\ and designs ? Or may a man safely rely upon its testimony, after many discoveries of the infallibility of it? Is this a sound argumen If God had any love for my soul, if it were not quite gone, I shou feel it now, as well as in former times ; but I cannot feel it, ther
fore it is quite gone. Do you not know the sun still keeps on h course in the heavens, even in dull and close weather, when y< cannot see it ? And may it not be so with the love of God ? Rej
Isa1. 10. May not I as well conclude in winter, when the flowe have hid their beautiful heads under ground, they are quite dej and gone, because I cannot find them in December where I sc them in May?
Query 4. Think you the Lord cares not to break his childrei hearts, and his own promise too ? Hath he no more regard either ? If he return no more, these must be tlie consequents, li
Ivii. 16, 17. Heb. xiii. 5.
Weil, then, from God's carriage towards vou, either in afflictio or desertion, no such discouraging, heart-sinkinsr conclusions can 1 mferred. Next, let us see whether they may not be inferred fro our carriage towards God; and here the principal grounds of doul ing are such as these ;
1. 1 have fallen again into the same sin from which I have former risen with repentance and resolution ; therefore mv sinning is cu
tomary sinning ; a spot that is not the spot of God's children. Hejii the upright soul trembk-s; upon this it is ready to affirm, that alii former humihations for, and op}x>sition3 unto sin, were but acts hypocrisy. But stay, poor trembling heart.
Query 1. If this be so, huio comes it to pass thai Christ put siu afyvourable construction upon the discivles sleemn^ the third tin?
484 now TO keep the heaet from desperate con«
bled ; it is not so in customary sinning, the rise where excellently discovers. 1. (Saith he) When a man a good, sinncth grievously, it seems insupportable, yea descend alive into hell. 2. In process of time it seems i able, but heavy : and betwixt insupportable and heav small descent.
3. Next it becomes light, his conscience smites but f feels not the stripes of it. 4. Then there is not only i bleness of it, but that which was bitter and displeasi come sweet and pleasing, in some degree. 5. Then it custom, and not only pleases, but daily pleases. Last turned into nature; he cannot be pulled away from it and pleads for it : This is customary sinning, this is t wicked ; but the quite contrary is your condition.
Query 3. Are you sure, from scripture-grounds, t may not relapse again and again into the same sin ?
for gross sins, they do not use to relapse into them : mitted adultery no more: Paul persecuted the chui Peter denied Christ no more : But I speak of ordina
Job's friends were good men, yet (saith he) chap, xi: " ten times have ye reproached me." So then, no su( follow from this first ground of doubting.
2. The second ground is the declining aiid zoitherin^ tions to spiritual things ? O ! (saith the upright soul] been planted a right seed, I should have been as a gr in the house of my God; but my branches wither, root is naught. 13 ut stay,
Query 1. May you not he mistaken about the decay fading of your affections ? What if they are not so q
ishing as at first, may not that be recompensed in t
and solidity of them now ? Phil. i. 9. " I pray God ^
" abound more and more in all judgment :" It may though not so fervent ; or do not you mistake by lot to what you would bp, rather than backward to what o
It is a good note of Ames, we discern the growth of growth of plants, which we perceive rather Crcvisse ^ to have grown, thari to grow.
Query 2. But grant it be so indeed, as you affirm, follou:, that the root of the matter is not in you ? Dvc
are distinguished from his first, 2 Chron. xvii. 3. anc and last a holy man. The church of Ephesus is chai
__i — I
sow TO KEEf THE HEAKT FKOM DESPKKATE COKCLUSIOKS. I
feel stxmiger, and more soosible motions of my heaxt to earthJj co forts, than I do to beavenly objects, dioreftMre my soul is Dot iipri| in me. Bat stay, O soul.
Query 1. May not a man lave God mare soRdfyj and strong Hum tike creature, and ^ ki* a^K&oms to Ae creature be tometin moved more riotent^, and sensiify, tkan Umards Godf As root malice argues a stronger hatred, than a sudden, though more v lent passion : So we must measure our love, notfajaTH^entmoti <^it, now and then, but by the depth c^ the roc^ and constancy
its actings Because David was so passioaatdy moved fw Absalo Joab concludes, that if he had hved, and «U the people died, **
*' would have ideased him well," 2 Sam. xix. T But that was aigu more like a smdier, than a lo^cian.
Query 3. If yon indeed love the creature Jor its^, jfyou nu it yoitr end, and reSgion but a masns, then the condhmon is righ drawn upon you. Bat if you love the creature in refezence to Gt and see nothing in it separated irom him, thbu^ acxnetimes yc affections offend in the excess ; tliis is consastoat with sincere love God. To love the creature inordinately, (i. e.) to put it in Go
room, and make it a man^s end ; this is the love of a caornal heai to love it immodefately, that is, to let out mc»e affection to it tfa we ought, is sometimes the an of the best hearts^
Query 3. Have not many soulsjeared^ as you do, thai iiAen Chr and creatures shall stand as compettiors in some eminent trial, tA thouldjbrmke Chrisi riUher than the creature ; and yet when brou^ to that dilemma, heax been able to casi aU the world at their he
for Christ f Many of the martyrs had such fears, and they woe : tisfied ; the prevalency of love is best seen at parting ; there may more love to Christ in thy soul, than thou art now aware of; a
if God bring thee to such a pnch, thou mayest see iL » *
4. A fourth ground of these sad conclusions, is from hence, tt we find our hearts sometimes mtxe stiaitmed in |Hivate^ than in pu
lie duties. 'O ! if my soul xe&e sinc»e, its actings in duty wou be uniform. I fear I am but a Pharisee upiM^ this ground. It sad, indeed, we should at any time iSad our hearts straitened in p jjirate. But, • ' 'nt Query 1. Do not cdl thine enlargements in duty, whether puhli or private, depend upon lA« Spirit^ mho is the Lord of infiuenee, and aceordtng as he gives out, or holds back those influences, so a thou enlarged, or strtnfened ? And what if sometimes he i^eaaes give that in a public, which he withhtdds in a private duty, as loi
486 HOW TO KEEP THE HEART FROM DESPERATE CONTC
about public, and careless about private duties, that W( sign : but when you have conscientiously performed, a with God in them, it will not follow that you are insin that communion is sometimes interrupted. Besides,
Query 3. May there not he somethifig, at sometimes which is wanting in a private duty, to raise and adt affections? God may sometimes make use of the melti of them with whom thou hearest, or prayest, as pett^i to move thy affections ; this advantage is wanting in pr fore from hence (the case so standing) no such inference (
5. Another ground is from those horrid injections c which the soul is greatly perplexed ; by these I may heart I have : Can grace be where those are ?
Yes, grace may be where such thoughts are, thoug they are lodged, and consented to. Dost thou cry oi burden ? Enter thy protest in heaven against them, s up holy and reverend thoughts of God ; then it is vi
yoXnni-Ai'y prostitution.
6. The last ground of these sad conclusions, is the silence, and seeming denial of our long depending suits, O if God had any regard to my soul, he would have hi before now ! But I have no answer from him, therefoi
in him. But stay, doubting soul.
Query 1. Have not many saints stumbled upon this
thee ? Psal. xxxi. 22. " I said in my haste, I am cut of
" thine eyes : nevertheless thou heardest the voice of
*' tion." So the church, Lam. iii. 44. " Thou coveresi
*' a cloud, that our pi'ayers should not pass through." *' Then said I, I am cast out of thy sight." And ma mistaken in this matter, as well as they ^
Query 2. Though God's abhorring, and final rejec he an argument of' his ablior ring the person that prm •we conclude so from a mere suspension of the answei hear long with his oxen elect, that cry unto him day and xviii. 7.
Query 3. Can you deny but that there are some sigi in your souls, even whilst God suspends his answer, tha prayers are not rejected by him ? As, (1.) Though no i
yet you are still resolved to wait : You dare not say as wretch did, 2 Kings vi. 33. " This evil is of the Lord " I wait for him any longer .?" (2.) You can clear and
HOW TO KEEP THE HEART FBOM BACKSL1DIN9. 4J
*' prayer :" And how doth this work ? You may see, ver. 40. L *' us search and try our ways.^ Well, then, neither from hence m, you conclude that God hath no love for your souls.
And thus I have shewn you how to keep your hearts, in a da and doubting season, from those desperate conclusions of uubeU God forbid any false heait should encourage itself from these things; it is our unhappiness that when we give Cautio saints and sinners their proper portions, that each of them
are so prone to take up the other's part. Season 11. The eleventh special season calling for this diligen
' to keep your hearts, is, when sufferings for religion come to j ' height, then look to your hearts, Matth. xxiv. 8, 9, 10. " All the * are the beginning of sorrows, and they shall deliver you up to ' afflicted, and shall kill you ; and ye shall be hated of all natio * for my name's sake; and then shall many be offended." Whi * sufferings for religion grow hot, then blessed is he that is not ( * fended in Christ, troubles are then at an height. (1) When a mai * nearest friends and relations forsake and leave him, Mic. vii. 5, ' 2 Tim. iv. 16. When a man is engaged alone. (2.) When it com * to resisting to blood, Heb. xii. 4. (3.)When temptations are pr * sented to us in our sufferings, Heb. xi. 37. (4.) When emine * persons for profession turn aside, and desert the cause, of Chris * 2 Tim. ii, 19. (5.) When God hides his face in a suffering hou * Jer. xvii. 17. (6.) When Satan falls upon us with strong tempt * tions, to question the grounds of our sufferings, or the soul's int ' rest in Christ : Now it is hard to keep the heart from turning bac * and the steps from declining God's ways." The eleventh questio * then, shall be this:
Case 11. Haul the heart may he liept J'rom relapsing under ti greatest sufferings Jbr religion ? If the bitterness of sufferings \
any time cause thy soul to distaste the way of God, and take i;
thoughts of forsaking it ; stay thine heart under that temptation, I propounding these eight questions solemnly to it.
Question 1. What reproach and dishonour shall I pour upc Christ, and religion, by deserting him at such a time as this ^ Th
11 proclaim to all the world, that how much soever I have boastc
"of the promises, yet, when it comes to the trial, I dare hazard m
thing ujx)n the credit of them : And how will this open the moutl of Christ's enemies to blaspheme ? O better had I never been bori than that worthy name should be blasphemed through me ! Shall furnish the triumphs of the uncircumcised ? Shall I make mirth i
488 HOW TO KEEP THE HEART FKOM BACKSLIDl^
shall comfort me when conscience wounds me ? What co
in life, liberty, or friends, when peace is taken away f man ? When Constantius threatened to cut off Samos
hand, if he would not subscribe somewhat that was ag science, he held up both his hands to the messenger that ing, he shall cut off both, rather than I will do it : Fare
joy, and comfort, from that day forward. « Had Zim
" slew his master ?" said Jezebel. So say I here, had , Had Spira peace ? And shall you have peace, if you 1 steps ? O consider what you do !
Quest. 3. Is not the public interest of Christ and relig more than any private interest of my own ? It is a far that of Terentius, captain to Adrian the emperor, he pn tion to Adrian, that the Christians might have a temple b to worship God apart from the Arians : The emperor tion, and threw it away, bidding him to ask somethin and it should be granted. But he modestly gathered of his petition again, and told him, ' If he could not be h
* cause, he would never ask any thing for himself ."• Yea though an heathen could say, Ne immortalitatem q^ rempuhlicam ; he would not accept even of immortality the common-wealth. O if we had more public, we sh( such cowardly spirits !
Quest, 4. Did Jesus Christ serve me so, when, for m\ posed himself to far greater sufferings than can he, be)
sufferings were great indeed, he suffered from all hands
fices, in every member, not only in his body, but in his si
sufferings of his soul were the very soul of his sufferings : bloody sweat in the garden ; Avitness that heart-melting rending out-cry upon the cross, " My God, my God, v
" forsaken me r And yet he flinched not, "he endured t " pising the shame." Alas ! what are my sufferings cc Chrisf s.P He hath drank up all that vinegar and gall tha my sufferings bitter. When one of the martyrs was aske so merry at his death .? O, said he, it is because the soul i so heavy at his death. Did Christ bear such a burden for broken patience, and constancy ; and shall I shrink hi mentary, and light afflictions, for him ?
Quest. 5. Is not eternal life worth the suffering of a mc If I suffer with him, I shall reign with him. O how will
life and limb fora fadingcrown, swim through seasof bloc
I» HOW TO KEEP THE HEART FROM BACKSLIDING. i
F the forerunner, who is already entered, standing, as it were, upon
walls of heaven, with the crown in his hand, saying, '• He that ov Cometh shall inherit all things.'' Come on, then, ray soul, come there is eternal life laid up for them that, by patient continuance well-doing, seek for glory, honour, and immortality, Rom. ii. 7. ■^ Quest 6. Can I so easily cast off the society and company of ■ flints, and g^ive the right-hand ofjelloxcship to the zcicked ? H can I part with such lovely companions as these have been ? H often have I been benefited by their counsels ? Ezra x. S. how of refreshed, warmed, and quickened by their company ? Eccl. iv.
11. how often have I fasted and prayed with theni.^ What sw counsel have I taken with them, and gone to the house of God company .'* And shall I now shake hands with them, and say. Fa well all ye saints for ever ; I shall never be among you more : Co drunkards, swearers, blasphemers, persecutors, you shall be my ev lasting companions 1: O ratlier let my body and soul be rent a*uuc tlian that ever I should say thus to the excellent of the earth, whom is all my delight.
Quest. 7. Have I seriously considered the terrible scripture-cc viinations against backsliders f Omy heart! darest thou turn thy b; upon the very point of such threatenings as these .'* Jer. xvii. 5, " Thus saith the Lord, cursed be the man that trusteth in man, a " maketh flesh his arm ; and whose heart departeth from the Loi *' for he shall be hke the heath in the desert, and shall not see wl
" good Cometh,"" i. e. The curse of God shall wither him root £ branch. And Heb. x. 26, 27. " If we sin wilfully, after we have " ceived the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sai
*' flee for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fi(
*' indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." And again, \ 38. " If anv man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in hiu As if he should say, ' Take him, world, take him, devil, for yt
' own, I have no delight in him.' O who dare draw back when G has hedged up the way with such terrible threats as these !
Quest. 8. Can I look Christ in the face at the day ofjudn-mem I desert him nOiC ?
" He that is ashamed of me and of my words, in this adulterc *' and sinful generation, of hira shall the Son of man be asham " when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angel Mark \-iii. 38. Yet a httle while, and you shall see the sign of i Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and gr« glory ; the last trump shall sound, the dead, both small and ere
490 HOW TO KEEP THE HEAllT FROM BACKSLID!
Wouldst thou desert Christ now, to protract a poor
on earth ? If the word of God be true, if the sayin'-f seaJed and faithful, this shall be the portion of the ap an easy thing to stop the mouth of conscience now, easy to stop the mouth of the Judge then ? Thus k that it depart not from the living God.
Season 12. The twelfth season of looking diligently and keeping them with greatest care, is the time of sicki
* a child of God draws nigh to eternity, when there ; * sands more in the upper part of his glass to run dowi ' busily bestirs himself; of him it may be said, as of th * Yient, nunguam 7iisi moj'iens producitur inhngum ; Ik * at his full length till dying : And now his great design. * not win the soul from God, is to discourage, and nfak * to go to God, though the gracious soul, with Jacob ' rouse up itself upon a dying bed, and rejoice that the * of the Lamb is now almost come ; though it should t * dying Austin, vivere renuo ut Christo vivam ; I desi * with Christ. Or as dying Milius, when one asked hin
* were willing to die ? O said he, illus est nolle mori, qi ' Christum ; let him be unwilling to die who is unwil * Christ. But O .' what shrinking from death ? Wha ' depart, may sometimes (indeed too frequently) be ol ' people of God ? How loth are some of them to take * cold hand ? If such a hberty were indulged to us, r * solved till we dissolve ourselves ; when should we say ^ ' " I desire to be dissolved .?'' Well then, the last case
Case 12. How the people of God, In times of sickn their hearts loose from all earthly engagements, and p into a xoillingness to die.
And there are seven arguments, which I shall ui people of God at such a time as this, to make them c tertam the messengers of death, and die as well as well saints. And the first is this :
Argument 1. First, The harmlessness of death to thep Though It keep its dart, it hath lost its sting : A saint that, Isa. xi. 8.) « May play upon the hole of the asp, " hand into the cockatrice's den." Death is the cockat the grave is his hole or den ; a saint need not fear to i boldly into it : It hath left and lost its sting in the sid« 1 Cor. XV. 55. " O death ! where is thv stino- ?" W
HOW TO ENCOURAGE THE HEART AGAINST DEATH. 4
Startle and shrink back from it ; but when God hath put away t
sins from thee, " as far as the east is from the west,'' Psal. ciii. 12. lonf as there is no other evil left in death for thee to encounter wi
but bodily pain ; as long as the scriptures represent it to thee unc such harmless and easy notions, as the putting off thy clothes, 2 C
V. 2. " And lying down to sleep upon thy bed," Isa. Ivii. 2. W shouldst thou be afraid ? There is as much difference betwixt dej
to the people of God, and others, as betwixt the unicorn's horn, wt it is upon die head of that fierce beast, and when it is in the apot
carv's shops, where it is made salubrious and medicinal.
Arg. 2. T/iT/ heart may he kept from slirink'ing bach at such time as this^ by co7isidering the necessity of death, in order to full fruition of God.
Whether thou art willing to die or no, I assure thee there is other way to obtain the full satisfaction of thy soul, and complete happiness ; till the hand of death do thee the kind office to draw as the curtain of the flesh, thy soul cannot see God : This animal
stands betw ixt him and thee, 2 Cor. v. 6. " Whilst we are at ho
" in the body, we are absent from the Lord." Thy body must refined and cast into a new mould, else that new wine of heave gJory would break it. Paul, in his highest rapture, 2 Cor. xii
when he heard thingrs unutterable, was then but as a stander-bv looker-on, not admitted into the company as one of them ; but as angels are in our assemblies, so was Paul in that glorious assem above, and no otherwise ; and yet even for this he must, as it were taken out of the body, unclothed for a little time, to have a glim of that glory, and then put on his clothes again. O then ! \ would not be willing to die for a full sight and enjojaiient of G(
Methinks thy soul should look and sigh, like a prisoner, through
grates of this mortality : "• O that I had wings like a dove, then wo
" I fly away, and be at rest :" Most men need patience to die, bi saint that understands what death admits him to, should rather n patience to live ; methinks he should often look out, and listen c
death-bed for his Lord's coming ; and when he receives the new his approaching change, should say, " The voice of my beloved !
" hold, he Cometh leaping over the mountains, skipping upon
" hills," Cant. ii. 8.
Arg. 3. Another argument pen'suading to this xoiUingness, is immediate succession of a more excellent and glorious life.
It is but a wink, and you shall see God : Your happiness shall be deferred till the resurrection ; but as soon as the bodv is dead.
492 HOW TO ENCOURAGE THE HEART AGAINST DEi<
sleep till the resurrection, as others have groundlessly fai been a madness for Paul to desire a dissolution for the Christ : For if this were so, he enjoyed more of Chri soul dwelt in its fleshly tabernacle, than he should out
There are but two ways of the souPs living, known
viz. the life of faith, and 'the life of vision, 1 Cor. v. 5. divideth all time, both present and future, betwixt then
13. If when faith fails, sight should not immediately si would become of the unbodied soul .? But blessed be Go
heart-establishing truth is evidently revealed in scripture 43. You have Christ's promise, John xiv. 3. " I will ( " ceive you to myself" Owhat a change will a few nu upon your condition .? Rouse up, dying saint ; when thy out a little further ; when it shall stand like Abraham at i the angels of God shall soon be with it : the souls of the
it were, put out to the angels to nurse, and when the
angels carry them home again to their Father's house : were caused to fly swiftly to bring a saint the answer o Dan. ix. 22. how much more will the angels come post to receive and transfer the praying soul itself.?
Arg. 4. Farther, It may much conduce to thy willingn conside?; that by death, God oftentimes hides hi^ people oi of all temptations and troubles upon earth. Rev. xiv. 1 " from henceforth, Blessed are the dead which die in th
is God's usual way, when some extraordinary calamities upon the world, to set his people out of harm's way befor Ivii. 1. "Merciful men are taken away from the evil to Mic. vii. 2. when such an evil time comes as is there
" That they all lie in wait for blood, and every man hunts *' with a net :" God, by an act of favour, houses his pe hand. Dost thou know what evil may be in the earth, art so loth to leave ? Thy God removes thee for thy g
tage ; thou art disbanded by death, and called off' the poor saints must stand to it, and endure a great fight of
It is observed that Methuselah died the very yearbefoi Augustine, a little before the sacking of Hippo ; Parens, the taking of Heidelburgh : Luther observes, that all t died before the destruction of Jerusalem : and Luther 1
before the wars broke out in Germany. It may be thi thy tender heart cannot endure to see the misery, or bes tations that are coming, and therefore will now gather
HOW TO ENCOURAGE THE HEART AGAINST DEATH.
1. For your communion with God : the time of perfecting thi now come : thy soul shall shortly stand before the face of God, have the immediate emanations and beamings forth of his glory u it : here thv soul is remote from God, the beams of his glory st
it but obliquely and feebly, but shortly it will be under the line, there the sun shall stand still, as it did in Gibeon ; there shall b(
cloudings, nor declinings of it. O how should this fill thy soul ' desires of being unclothed !
2. As for the enjoyment of saints, here indeed we have fellow with them of the lower form ; but that fellowship is so dissweete by remaining corruptions, that there is no satisfaction in it ; as the greatest plague that can befal an hypocrite to live in a ] church, so it is the greatest vexation to the spirit of a saint, to in a corrupt and disordered church ; but when death hath admi you into that glorious assembly of the spirits of just men made per you shall have the desire of your hearts ; here you cannot fully < with another; yea, you cannot fully close with your own souls, what discords, jarrings, censurings are here ? What perfect, ble harmony there ! In heaven each saint loves another as himself, 1 are altogether lovely. O my soul, haste thee away from the li dens, from the mountains of Bether, from divided saints, to t mountains of myrrh, and hills of frankincense : thou art now gi
unto thine own people, as the apostle's phrase imports. Cor. v. Arg. 6. If this will not do. Consider what heavy burdens d KiH ease thy shoulders of.
In this tabernacle we groan, being burdened, (1.) With bodily tempers ; how true do we find that of Theophrastus. The soul ]
a dear rent for tiie tenement it now lives in .'* But glorified bodie; clogged with no indispositions ; death is the best physician ; it cure thee of all diseases at once. (2.) With the indwelling of
this makes us groan from the very bowels, Rom. vii. 24. " Bui
" that is dead, is free from sin," Rom. vi. 7. Hath justificatior stroyed ns damningpozoer, and sanctification \i% reigning power . glorification destroys its very being and existence. (3.) We gi under temptations here, but as soon as we are out of the body, wt out of the reach of temptation : when once thou art got into hea thou mayest say, Now Satan, I am there where thou canst not co for as the damned in hell are mah ohformati, so fixed in sin misery, that their condition cannot be altered ; so glorified saintj bono conjinnati, so fixed in holiness and glory, that they canno shaken. (4.) Here we groan under various troubles, and afflicti
494 WHY SAINTS WALK SO UNFRUITFULLT.
Objection 1 . 0 I have many relations in the world, I kn will become of them when I am gone.
Solution. If thou art troubled about their bodies, and o dition, why should not that word satisfy thee, Jer. xlix.
*' thy fatherless children to me, I will keep them alive, " widows trust in me." Luther, in his last will and test this expression, ' Lord, thou hast given me wife and chih
* nothing to leave them, but I commit them unto thee. * of the fatherless, and judge of widows, Nuti% serva, do
* keep, and teach them.' Or, art thou troubled for 1 Thou canst not convert them, if thou should st live, ai make thy prayers and counsels to live, and take place when thou art dead.
Objection 2. I would fain live to do God more service i Solution. Well, but if he have no more service for thee
why shouldst thou not say with David, "If he have no d( *' me any farther, here am I, let him do what seemeth In this world thou hast no more to do, but he is callinj higher service and employment in heaven ; and what tl do for him here, he can do that by other hands.
Objection 3. I am not yet fully ready, I am not as a pletely adorned for the bridegroom.
Solution. Thy justification is complete already, thougl fication be not so ; and the way to make it so, is to die ; it will have its defects, and wants.
Objection 4. O but I want assurance ; if I had that, presently.
Solution. Yea, there it sticks, indeed ; but then consi hearty willingness to leave all the world to be freed from with God, is the next way to that desired assurance ; nc son was ever willing to die upon this ground.
And thus I have finished those cases which so nearly people of God, in the several conditions of their life, and I how to keep their hearts in all. I shall next apply the
I. Use, of Information.
Jl OU have heard, that the keeping of the heart is the of a Christian, in which the very soul and life of religi and without which all other duties are of no value with (
WHY SAINTS WALK SO UNCOMFORTABLY.
are wrought by men, which yet are utterly rejected by God, shall never stand upon record, in order to an eternal accepta because they took no heed to keep their hearts with God in t duties : this is that fatal rock, upon which thousands of vain pr sors have split themselves eternally : they are curious about th( ternals of religion, but regardless of their hearts. O how n hours have some professors spent in hearing, praying, reading, ferring ! and yet, as to the main end of religion, as good they sat still, and done nothing ; for all this signifies nothing, the j work, 1 mean heart work, being all the while neglected. Tell thou vain professor, when didst thou shed a tear for the dead hardness, unbelief, or earthliness of thy heart ? Thinkest thou
an easy religion can save thee ? If so, we may invert Christ's wi and say, " Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadel
*- life, and many there be that go in thereat." Hear me, thou deluding hypocrite, thou that hast put off God with heartless di thou that hast acted in religion, as if thou hadst been blessing an that couldst not search and discover thy heart; thou that offered to God but the skin of the sacrifice, not the marrow, fat
inwards of it : how wilt thou abide the coming of the Lord .'' ' wilt thou hold up thy head before him, when he shall say, O dissembling, false-hearted man ! how couldst thou profess relig With what face couldst thou so often tell me that thou lovedst when thou knew all the while, in thine own conscience, that 1 heart was not with me ? O tremble to think what a fearful judgi it is to be given over to a heedless, and careless heart ; and thf have religious duties, instead of a rattle, to quiet and still the science !
2. Hence also infer for the humiliation^ even of upright he That unless the people of God spend more time ajul pains about i hearts, than generally and ordinarily they do, they are never lit do God much service, or be orcners of much cornfbrt in this 7cor
I may say of that Christian that is remiss and careless in kee his heart, as Jacob said of Reuben, " Thou shalt not excel." grieves me to see how many Christians there are that go up and d dejected, and complaining, that Uve at a jxwr low rate, both of vice and comfort ; and how can they expect it should be others as long as they live at such a careless rate ? O how little of i time is spent in the closet in searching, hurabhng, and quicke their hearts ? «i
You say your hearts are dead, and do you wonder they are s
496 "WHY SAINTS -vrALK SO UXCOMFORTABLY.
channel ; I fear most of us may take up the Church's
Cant. i. 6. " Thej have made me the keeper of the vir
" mine own vineyard have I not kept.'"" Two things ha the time and strength of the professors of this generatio diverted them from heart-work : (1.) Fruitless controve by Satan, I doubt not, to this very purpose, to take us of tical godliness, to make us puzzle our heads when w« searching our hearts. O how little have we minded that
tie, Heb. xiii. 9. " It is a good thing that the heart be
*' with grace, and not with meats ;"" i. e. with disputes versies about meats, " which have not profited them tha
*' occupied therein." O how much better is it to see men live exactly, than t dispute suhtlely ! These unfruitful questions, how hav the churches, wasted time and spirits, and called Christi their main business, from looking to their own vineyard ? ye, sirs ? Had it not been better if the questions agitated people of God of late days had been such as these ? t man discern the special, from the common operations of How may a soul observe its first declinings from God ? backsliding Christian recover his first love ? How may t preserved from unseasonable thoughts in duty ? How m sin be discovered, and mortified, &c. Avould not this 1 more to the credit of religion and comfort of your soi time to repent and be ashamed of this folly ! When I Suarez, a Papist, said, who wiote many tomes of disput he prized the time he set apart for the searching and e:; his heart, in reference to God, above all the time that ev in other studies : I am ashamed to find the professors of insensible of their folly. Shall the conscience of a Su relenting pang for strength and time so ill employed, ar yours ? This is it your ministers long since warned yc spiritual nurses were afraid of the rickets, when they sa\ only to grow, and our hearts to Avhither. O when will G swords into plow-shares ! I mean, our disputes and cont practical godliness. (2.) Another cause of neglecting hath been earthly incumbrances ; the heads and heart have been filled with such a croud and noise of world]
that they have sadly and sensibly declined and wither zeal, love, and delight in God ; in their heavily, seriou fitable way of conversing with men. ■
WHY SAIXTS WALK SO UXCOMFORTABLY.
* it is sad to think how many precious opportunities I have 1( * how many sweet motions and admonitions of the Spirit I have ]
* sed over iuifruitfuUy, and made the Lord to speak in vain : in
* secret illapses of his Spirit, the Lord hath called ujxjn me, but
* worldly thoughts did still lodge within me, and there was no p
' within my heart for such calls of God."^ Surely there is a wa; enjoying God, even in our worldly employments; God would n( have put us upon them to our loss; " Enoch walked with God,
" begat sons and daughters,"" Gen. v. 19. He walked with God, did not retire and separate himself from the things of this life : the angels that are employed by Christ in the things of this wc (for the spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels) they are fi creatures, and cannot be in a twofold ubi at one time ; yet they nothing of the beatifical vision all the time of their administrati
for Mat. xviii. 10. " Their angels (even whilst they are emplo
" for them) behold the face of their Father which is in heav We need not lose our visions by our employments, if the fault v not our own. Alas ! that ever Christians, who stand at the doc
eternity, and have more work upon their hands than this poor ment of interposing time is sufficient for, should yet be filling 1 their heads and hearts with trifles.
3. Hence I infer for the axcakemng of all, That if the Keepin,
the heart be the great zvork of a Chj-istiau, then there are but real Christians in the xcorld.
Indeed if every one that hath learned the dialect of Christiai and can talk like a saint : if every one that hath gifts and parts, by the common assisting presence of the Spirit can preach, praj discourse like a Christian ; in a word, if such as associate themse with the people of God, and delight in ordinances, may pass Christians, the number then is great.
But, alas ! to what a small number will they shrink, if you jt them bv this rule ! how few are there that make conscience of k
ing their hearts, watching their thoughts, judging their ends, O there be but few closet men among professors ! It is far easiei men to be reconciled to any duties in religion than to these: ' profane part of the world will not so much as touch with tlie out of religious duties, much less with this; and for the hypocrite, tho he be polite and curious about those externals, yet you can ni persuade him to this inward work, this difficult work, to which tl
is no inducement by human applause ; this work, that would qui( discover what the hypocrite cares not to know ; so that by a gen
I I I
4j98 why saints walk so unfkuitfitlly.
interests he wrapt up in it^ then let me call upon the p every ivhere to Jail close to this work.
O study your hearts, watch your hearts, keep your I with fruitless controversies, and all idle questions ; awa^ names and vain shews ; away with unprofitable discou^ censures of others ; turn in upon yourselves ; get into and now resolve to dwell there. You have been stra
work too long ; you have kept others vineyards too lon< trifled about the borders of religion too long ; this world ed you from your great work too long ; will you now re better to your hearts ? Will you haste and come out o of business, and clamours of the world, and retire you than you have done ? O that this day you would resoh
Reader, methinks I should prevail with thee : All tl
is but this, that thou wouldst step aside a little oftener God, and thine own heart ; that thou wouldst not suffei
to divert thee ; that thou vrouldst keep a more true and count of thy thoughts and affections ; that thou wouldst 1 demand of this thy own heart, at least every evening, ( where hast thou been to-day ? Whither hast thou made day ? If all that hath been said by way of inducement be I have yet more motives to offer you. And the first is
1 Motive. TJie studying, observing, and diligent Tieej
o-wn hearts, will marvellously help your understanding mysteries of religion.
An honest well-experienced heart, is a singular helj head ; such a heart will serve you instead of a cornmen great part of the scriptures : By this means you shall fa derstand the things of God, than the learned rabbles an doctors (if graceless and unexperienced) ever did ; you si have a more clear, but a more sweet perception and gui A man may discourse orthodoxly and profoundly of the effects of faith, the troubles and comforts of conscience ness of communion with God, that never felt the efficac impressions of these things upon his own spirit : but O hf dry are these notions, compared with his upon whose heai been acted.'' When such a man reads David's Psalms epistles, there he finds his own objections made and ans .saith he, these holy men speak my very heart : Their d mine, their troubles mine, and their experiences mine. ] Ghrysostom, speaking to his people of Antioch about s
WHY SAIXTS Walk tXCOMFOllTABLV.
For what think you is the reason that so many professors in El iand have departed from the fr.ith, giving heed to fables ; that many thousands have been led away by the error of the w icked ; t Jesuits and Quakers, who have sown corrupt doctrine, have 1
such plentiful harvests among us, but because they have met \\'it company of empty notional professors, that never knew what belgi
to practical godliness, and the study of their own hearts.
If professors did but give diligence to study, search and watch tl: own hearts, thev would have that ibiov fjg/yaoy, that stedfastness their own, that Peter speaks of, 1 Pet. iii. 17. and this would I last and settle them, Heb. xiii. 9. Suppose a subtle Papist shoi
talk to such of the dignity and merit of good works ; could he e work the persuasion of it into that heart that is conscious to itself so much darkness, deadness, distraction and unbehef, attending best duties ? It is a good rule, Xon est disputaiidum de gusiu : Th is no disputing against taste. What a man hath felt and tasted. < cannot beat him off iVom that by argument.
3 Motive. Your care and dU'igeTicc in keeping your hearts : prove one of the best evidences of' your sincerity. I know no external act of religion that differences the sound fr the unsound professor : It is wonderful to consider how far hypocri go in all external duties; how plausibly they can order the outw£
man, hiding all their indecencies from the obser%-ation of the wor
But then, thev take no heed to their hearts ; they are not in sec what thev appear to be in public : And before this trial no hypocr can stand. It is confessed they may in a fit, under a pang upoi death-bed, cry out of the wickedness of their hearts ; but alas ! thi is no heed to be taken to these extorted complaints. In our law, credit is to be given to the testimony of one upon the rack, because may be supposed that the extremity of the torture may make him s any thing to be eased. But if self-jealousy, cave, and watchfulne be the daily workings and frames of thy heart, it strongly argues t sincerity of it : For what but the sense of a divine eye ; what but t real hatred of sin as sin, could put thee upon those secret duti which lie out of the observation of all creatures ?