9 "For I was alive without the law once," &c
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ture must be reversed,which lie in full oppoſition to your vain hopes, Mark xvi. 16. John iii. 16. Rom. iii. 8, 9.
Either the truth ofGod, in theſe threatnings, muſt fail, oryourvain hopes muſt fail .
Thirdly, Ifever ſuch as you be ſaved,new conditions must be fet to all the promises : For there is no condition ofany ſpecial promiſe found in any unregenerate perſon.
Compare your hearts with theſe ſcriptures, Mat. v. 3, 4, 5, 6. Pfal. xxiv. 4.
Plal. lxxxiv. 11. Gen. xvii. I , 2.
Fourthly, If ever fuch a hope as yours bring you to heaven, then the faving hope of God's elect is not rightly deſcribed to us in the ſcriptures.
Scripture hope is the effect ofregeneration, 1 Pet. i . 3. Andpurity of heart is the effect ofthat hope, I John iii . 3.
Nay, Fifthly, The very nature ofheaven is mistaken in fcripture, if fuch asyou be fſubjects qualified for its enjoyment : For affimilation, or the conformity of the foul toGod in holiness, is, in thefcripture account, a principal ingredient of that bleſſedneſs :
By all which, it manifeſtly appears that the hopes of moſt men are invain, and willnever bringthem to heaven.
555555 SERMON ΧΧΙ .
Rom . vii. 9. For I was alive without the law once : But when the commandment came, fin revived, and I died.
Doct . 2 .THAT there is a mighty efficacy in the word or law of God, to kill vain confidence, andquench carnal mirth in the hearts of men, whenGod ſets ithome upon their confciences.
" Theweapons of the word are not carnal, " but mighty through God ; to the pulling down of ſtrong
" holds, cafting down imaginations, and every thing that ex- " alteth itſelf against the knowledge ofGod, and bringing into " captivity every thought to the obedience of Chrift," 2 Cor. x. 4, 5.
In the opening ofthis point I ſhall, 1. Demonstrate the efficacy of the word or law ofGod.
2. Shew wherein the efficacy thereof lies.
3. From whence it hath all thismighty power and efficacy.
First, I shall give you fome demonſtrations of the mighty power, and efficacy that there are in the word or law ofGod: which will appear with the fulleft evidence.
First, From the varioussubjects upon whom it works : The
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heartsandconfciences of menofall orders and qualities, have been reached, and wounded to the quick, by the two-edged fword ofGod's law.
Some, among thegreat and honourable ofthe earth, (though indeed the feweſt ofthat rank) havebeen made to ſtoop, and tremble under the word, Acts xxiv. 16.
Mark vi. 20. Sam. xv. 24.
The wife and learned of the world have felt its power, and been brought over to embrace the humbling, and felf-denying ways of Chriſt, Acts xvii. 34. Thus
Origen, Hierom, Tertullian, Bradwardine, and many more, came into Canaan laden with the Egyptian gold, as one ſpeaks,
(i. e) theycame into the church ofGod abundantly enriched, and furnished with the learned arts and ſciences, devoting them allto the ſervice of Chriſt : Yea, and which is as strange, the moftfimple, weak, and illiterate, havebeen wonderfully changed, andwroughtuponby the power of the word : " The testimonies
" ofthe Lordmake wife the ſimple: " Men ofweakunderſtandings, in allother matters, havebeenmade wiſe to ſalvationby the power of the word, Mat. xi. 25. 1 Cor. i. 27.
Nay, the moſt malicious and obſtinate enemies ofChriſt have been wounded, and converted by the word, 1 Tim. i. 13. Acts xvi. 25.
Thoſe that have beenunder the prejudice ofthe worſt and moſt idolatrous education,havebeenthe ſubjects ofits mighty power,
Acts xix. 26.
To conclude, men of the moſt profligate, and debauched lives havebeenwonderfully changed, and alteredby the power of the word, 1 Cor. vi . 10, 11 .
Secondly, The mighty efficacy of the law ofGod appears in the manner of its operation ; it works fuddenly; ſtrikes like a dartthrough the hearts and confciences of men, Acts ii . 37. A wonderful change is made in a ſhort time : And as it works quickly, and ſuddenly, so itworks irreſiſtibly, with an uncontrouled power upon the ſpirits ofmen, I Thef. i. 5. Rom. i. 16.
Let the foul be armed againstconviction with the thickeſt ignorance, ſtrongest prejudice, or moſt obſtinate reſolution, the word ofGod will wound the breast even of ſuch aman, when
Godſends it forth inhis authority and power.
Thirdly, The wonderful powerof the law, or word ofGod is evidently ſeen, inthe ſtrange effects which areproducedby it in the hearts and lives of men.
For, First, It changes and alters the frameandtemper ofthe mind:
It moulds a man into a quite contrary temper, Gal . i. 23. " He "which perfecuted us intimes paſt, now preacheth the faith,
" which once he destroyed :" Thus a tyger is transformed into alamb, by the power ofthe word ofGod.
Secondly, It makes the foul, uponwhich itworks, to forego,
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andquit the deareſt intereſt ithath inthisworldfor JeſusChrift, Phil. iii . 7, 8, 9.
Riches, honours, felf-righteouſneſs, dearest relations, aredenied and forſaken: Reproach, poverty, and death itſelf, are willingly embraced for Chrift's fake, when oncethe efficacy oftheword hath been uponthe hearts ofmen, 1 Thel. i. 6.
Those that were their companions in fin, aredeclined, renounced, andcaft offwith abhorrence, I Pet. iv. 3, 4.
Inſuch things as theſe the mighty power of the worddiſcovers itſelf.
Secondly, Next, let us feewherein the efficacyof the word, upon the fouls of men, principally conſiſteth: and we find in fcripture itexerteth its power, in five distinct acts upon the foul; by allwhich it ſtrikes atthe life, and kills the very heart ofvain hopes.
For, First, It hath an awakening efficacy upon ſecure and fleepy finners: It rouzes the confcience, and brings aman toa fenfe, and feeling apprehenfion, Eph. v. 13, 14.
The firſt effectual touchoftheword ftartles the drowſy conſcience. A poor finner lies in his fins, as Peterdid inhis chains, faſt aſleep, though a warrantwas figned forhis executionthenextday: but the Spirit inthe word awakens him, as the angel did Peter: And this awakening power ofthe word is inorder, bothoftime, andnature, antecedent to all its operations, and effects.
Secondly, The law ofGod hath an enlightening efficacyupon theminds ofmen : It is eye-ſalve to the blinded eye, Rev. iii.
18. A light shining in a dark place, 2 Pet. i. 19. A light shining into the very heart ofman, 2 Cor iv. 6. When the word comes in power, all things appear with another face: The fins that werehid from our eyes, and the danger which wasconcealedby the policy of Satan from our fouls, now lie clear and open before us, Eph. v. 8 .
Thirdly, The word ofGodhath aconvincing efficacy : Itſets fin in order before the foul, Pfal. 1. 21. As an army isdrawn up in an exact order, ſo are the fins ofnature and practice, the fins ofyouth and age, even a great and terrible army is drawn up before the eye ofthe confcience; the convictions oftheword are clear and full, 1 Cor. xiv. 24, 25.
The very fecrets ofa finner's heart are made manifeft : his mouth is ſtopped; his pleas are filenced; his confcience yields to the charge ofguilt, and to the equity of the fentence of the law.
So that the foul ſtands mute, and felf-condemned, at thebar of confcience : It hath got nothing to ſay why the wrath ofGod ſhould notcome upon it to the uttermoft, Rom. iii . 19.
Fourthly, The law of God hath a foul-wounding, anheartcutting efficacy : Itpierces intotheveryfoul and ſpirit ofman,
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Acts ii . 37. " When they heard this, they were pricked at their hearts, and faid unto Peter, and to the rest ofthe apoſtles ; men and brethren, what ſhall wedo ?" A dreadful found is in the finner's ears; his foul is indeep diſtreſs ; he knows notwhich way to turn for eaſe; no plaiſterbut theblood ofChrift can heal theſe wounds which the word makes : No outward trouble, afflic. tion, diſgrace, or lofs, ever touched the quick as the word of Goddoth.
Fifthly, The word hath a heart-turning, a foul-converting efficacyinit: It is a regenerating, as well as convincing word,
1 Pet. i. 32. 1 Thef. i. 9.
The law wounds, the goſpel cures ; the law diſcovers the evil that is in fin, and the miſery that follows it; and the Spirit ofGod, working in fellowship with the word, effectually turns the heart from fin. And thus we fee in what glorious acts the efficacy of the word difcovers itſelf upon thehearts ofmen ; and all theſe acts lie in order to each other : nor until the foul be awakened, it cannotbe enlightned, Eph. v. 14. Till itbe enlightned, itcannotbe convinced, Eph . v. 13.
Conviction being nothing else, but the application ofthe light that ſhines in the mind to the confcience ofa finner; till itbe convinced, itcannot be wounded for fin, Acts ii. 37. And until it bewounded for fin, it will never be converted from fin, and brought effectually to Jeſus Chriſt. And thus you fee what the powerofthe word is.
Thirdly,In the laſt place,it willconcern us toenquire, whence the wordofGodhath all this power: Andit is moſt certain, that it is nota power inherent in itſelf, nor derived from the inftrument by which it is managed; but from the Spirit of the Lord, who communicates to it all that power, and efficacy which it hath upon our fouls.
1. Its power is not in, orfrom itſelf: It works not in a phy. ficalway, as natural agents do; for then the effect would always follow, except it were miraculoufly hindered : But this ſpiritual efficacy is in the word, as the healing virtue was inthe waters of Bethesda, John v. 4. "An angel wentdown at a cer
" tain ſeaſon into the pool, and troubled the water : Whofoever then firſt afterthe troubling ofthe water ftept in, was
" madewhole ofwhatsoever diſeaſehehad."
It is not a power naturally inherent in it at alltimes, but communicated to it at fome ſpecial feaſons. How often is the word preached, and no man awaked or convinced by it !
2. The power ofthe word is not communicated to itbythe inftrument that manageth it, I Cor. iii. 7. " Neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth."
Miniſters are "
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nothing to fuch an effect and purpoſe as this is; hedoth not meanthat they are uſeleſs and altogether unneceſſary, but infufficient of themselves toproduce ſuch mighty effects : It works notas it is the word of man, 1 Theff. ii. 13. Miniſters may ſay of the ordinary, as Peter ſaid of the extraordinary effects of the Spirit, Acts iii . 12. " Ye men ofIfrael, why marvel ye at this ?
" orwhy look ye ſo earnestly on us, as though by ourown pow- " er or holineſs we had made this man to walk ?" If the effects ofthe word were in the power, andat the command of him that preacheth it, then the blood of all the fouls that periſh under our miniſtrymust lieat our door, as wasformerly noted.
3. If you say, whence then hath theword all this power?
Our anſwer is, Itderives it all from the Spirit ofGod, * 1 Thef. ii. 13. " For this cauſe thank weGod without ceaſing, becauſe
" when ye received theword ofGod which ye heard of us, ye " received it not asthe word ofman, but (as it is in truth) the " word ofGod, which effectually worketh alſo inyou that be- " lieve."
It is a ſucceſsful inſtrument, only, when it is in the hand of the Spirit, without whoſe influence it never did, nor canconvince, convert, or ſave anyfoul. Now, the SpiritofGod hath a fovereignty over three things in order to the converfion offinners.
1. Over the word which works.
2. Over the foul wrought upon.
3. Over thetime and ſeaſon ofworking.
First, The Spirit hath a glorious ſovereigntyover theword itſelf, whoſe inſtrument it is, to make it ſucceſsful or not ; as itpleaſeth him, Ifa. lv. 10, 11. " For as the rain cometh down,
" and the ſnow from heaven, &c. ſo ſhall myword be thatgo- " eth out of my mouth:" as the clouds, ſo the word is carried and directed bydivine pleaſure.
It is the Lord that makes them both give down their bleſſings, or to paſs awayfruitless and
empty : yea, it is from the Spirit that this part of the word works, and not another.
Thosethings uponwhich miniſters beſtow greatest labour in their preparation, and from which $
accordingly theyhave the greatestexpectation;theſedonothing, when, mean time, ſomething that dropped occafionally from them, like a choſen ſhaft, ſtrikes the mark, anddoth the work.
Secondly, The Spirit of the Lordhath a glorious ſovereignty over the fouls wrought upon: it is his peculiar work " to take
* What is commandedby the word, isgivenby the Spirit. Aug.
Ep. 157.
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66 away the stony heart out of our fleſh, and togive us an heart " of flesh," Ezek. xxxvi. 26.
We may reaſon, exhort, and reprove, but nothing willabide tilltheLord ſet it home.
The Lord opened the heart of Lydia under Paul's miniſtry : he opens every heart that is effectually opened to receive Chrift in the word: if the word can get no entrance, if your hearts remain dead under it ſtill, we may ſay concerning ſuch fouls, as Martha did concerning her brother Lazarus ; " Lord, if thou
" hadſt been here, my brother had not died.", So, Lord, if thou hadſt been in this fermon, in this prayer, or in that counſel, theſe fouls had not remained dead under them.
Thirdly, The Spirit hath dominion over the times and ſeaſons ofconviction and converfion.
Therefore the day in which fouls are wrought upon is called " the day of his power," Pfal. cx. 3.
That ſhallwork at one time, which had no efficacy at all at another time; becauſe this, and not that, was the time appointed.
And thus you fee whence the word derives that mighty power it hath .
Now this word ofGod, when it is fet homeby the Spirit, is mighty to convince, humble, and break the hearts of finners,
John xvi . 9. " The Spirit when it cometh ſhall convince the " world of fin." The word fignifies conviction by ſuch clear demonſtration as compelleth affent : it not only convinces men in general thatthey are ſinners, but it convinceth men parricuJarly of their own fins, and the aggravations of them.
So in the text, Sin revived, that is, the Lord revived his fins, the very circumstances and aggravations with which they were committed: and fo it willbewith us when the commandment comes; fins that we had forgotten, committed ſo far back as our youth or childhood; fins that lay flighted in our confciences, ſhall now be rouzed up as ſo many fleepy lions to affright and terrify us : for now the foul hears the voice of God in the word, as Adam heard it in the cool of the day, andwas afraid, and hides itſelf : but all will notdo; for the Lord is come in the word: fin is held up before the eyes of the confcience in its dreadful aggravations, and fearful conſequences, as committed against the holy law, clear light, warnings of confcience, manifold mercies, God's long-fuffering, Chriſt's precious blood, many warnings ofjudgments, thewages anddemeritwhereof,by the verdict ofa man's own conſcience, is death, eternal death, Rom. vi. 23. Rom. i,
32. Rom. ii. 9.
Thus the commandment comes, ſin revives, and vain hopes gives up the ghoft .
Infer. I. Is therefuch a mighty power in the word? then certainly the word is ofdivine authority.
There cannot be a more
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The Method of Grace. clear, andfatisfyingproofthat itis no human invention, than the commonſenſe that all believers have ofthe Almighty Power in which it works upon their hearts. So ſpeaks the apostle, 1 Thef. ii . 13. " When ye received the word of Godwhich ye heard
" ofus, ye received it not as the word ofman, but (as it is in " truth) the word of God, which effectually worketh alſo in " you that believe."
Can the power of any creature, the word ofamere man, ſo convince the conſcience, ſo terrify the heart, ſo difcover the very fecret thoughts of the foul, as to put a man into fuch tremblings ? No, no, a greater than man must needs be here : nonebut aGod can ſo open the eyes of the blind, fo open the graves of the dead, ſo quicken and enliven the conſcience that was feared, ſobind over the foul ofa finner tothe judgment tocome, fo change and alter the frame and temper of aman's Spirit, or ſo powerfully raiſe, refresh andcomfort adrooping dying foul : certainly the power of God is in all this ; and, ifthere were no more, yet this alone were fufficient to make full proofof the divine authority ofthe ſcriptures.
-Infer. 2. Judge from hence what an invaluable mercy the preaching of the word is to the world: It is a bleſſing far above
- our eſtimation ofit: little do we know what a treaſure God committeth to us in the ordinances, Acts xiii. 25. " To you is
" the wordof this ſalvation fent."
Itis the very power ofGod to falvation, Rom. i. 16. And falvation is ordinarily denied to whom the preaching of the word is denied, Rom. x. 14.
It is called theword oflife, Phil. ii. 16. and deſerves to be valued by everyone ofus as our life: the eternal decree of God's election isexecutedby itupon our fouls : as many as he ordained to eternal life ſhall believe by the preaching ofit.
Great is the ingratitude of this generation, which ſo flights, and undervalues this invaluable treaſure: which isafad preſage ofthe moſt terrible judgment, even in the removing our candlestick out of its place, except we repent.
Infer. 3. Howfore and terribleajudgment lies upon thefouls of thoſe men to whom no wordofGod is made powerful enough to convince and awaken them ! Yet ſo ſtands the cafe with thousands, who conftantly fit under the preaching ofthe word; many arrows are ſhot at their confciences, but none goes home to the mark, all fall ſhort of the end: thecommandment hath come untothem manythousand times, by way ofpromulgation, andminiſterial inculcation, but yet never came home to their fouls by the Spirit's effectual application .
O friends ! you have often heard the voice of man, but you never yet heard the voice ofGod :
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your underſtandings have been inſtructed, but your confciences to this daywere never thoroughly convinced. "We have
" mourned unto you, but ye have notlamented," Mat, xi. 17.
" Who hath believed our report ? And unto whom is the arm " ofthe Lord revealed ? " Alas ! we have laboured in vain, we have ſpent our ſtrength for nought, our word return untous empty: butO what aſtupendousjudgment is here! Heb. vi. 7,
8. " The earth which drinketh inthe rain that cometh oft upon " it, andbringth forth herbs meet for them bywhom it isdref.
" ſed, receiveth bleſſing from God; but that which beareth " thorns and briars is rejected, and isnigh unto curfing, whoſe
" end is to beburned." Whatſorejudgment,and ſign ofGod's diſpleaſure wouldyou account it, ifyour fields were curfed ; if you ſhould manure, dreſs, plough, and ſow them ; but never reap the fruit ofyour labour ; the increaſe being ſtillblaſted ?
Andyet this were nothing, compared with the blaſting ofthe word toyour ſouls : that which is afavour oflife unto life, unto ſome, becomes the ſavour ofdeath unto death, to others, 2
Cor. ii . 16. The Lord affect our hearts with the terrible ſtrokes ofGodupon the ſouls ofmen !
Secand use ofexhortation.
I ſhall conclude this point with a few words of exhortation to three forts of men, viz.
1. To thoſe thatnever feltthe power ofthe word, 2. To thoſe that have only felt ſome flight andcommon effects thereof, 3.Tothoſeuntowhoſeveryhearts thecommandment iscome, in its effectual aud ſaving power, First, You that neverfelt any power in the word at all, Ibeg you inthenameofhim that madeyou, andby alltheregardand valueyou have for thoſe precious fouls within you, that now at Jaſt ſuch confiderations astheſemay find place inyo your fouls, and thatyou will bethink yourſelves.
Confideration I Whoſe word is that which cannotgain entrance into your hearts ? Is it not theward ofGodwhich you deſpiſe and flight ?
" Thou caſteſt my word behind thy back," Pfal. 1. 17. Owhat anaffrontand provocation toGod is this ! You deſpiſe notman, but God; the great and terrible God, in whaſe hand your breath andfoul is ; this contempt runs higher than you imagine,
Confideration 2.
Confider, that however the word hath nopower upon you, thecommandment cannot come home to your hearts ; yet itdoth work, and comes homewith power to the hearts of others a
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413. whilſtyou are hardned, others are melted under it; whilſt you Deep, others tremble ; whilst your hearts are faſt locked up, others are opened., How can you chooſe but reflect with fear andtrembling upontheſecontrary effects oftheword; eſpecially when you conſider that the eternal decrees, both ofelection and reprobation are now executed upon the fouls men, by the preachingofthe word? Some believe, and others are hardned.
Confideration 3.
That no judgment ofGod, on this ſide hell, is greater than ahard heart, and ſtupid confcience under the word : it were much better that the providence ofGod ſhould blaſt thy eſtate, take away thy children, or destroythy health, than harden thy heart, and fear thy conſcience under the word: fo much as thy foul is better than thy body, fo much as eternity is more valuable than time, ſo much is this ſpiritualjudgment moredreadful than all temporal ones. God doth not inflict a more terrible ſtroke than this upon any man inthis world.
O therefore as you love your own fouls, and are loth to ruin them toall eternity, attend upon every opportunity that God atfords you ; for you know not in which ofthem the Lord may work upon your hearts.
Lay aſide your prejudices against the word or the weakneſſes and infirmities of them that preach it; for the word works not as it is the word of man, as it is thus neat and elegant, but as it is the word of God.
Pray for the bleffing ofGodupon the word; for except his word of bleſſing go forth with it, it can never come home to thy foul.
Meditateuponwhatyou hear ; for, without meditation, it is not like tohave any effectual operationuponyou.
Search your fouls by it, and conſider whether that be not your very cafe and ſtate which it deſcribes : your very danger whereof it gives warning.
Take heed left after you have heard it, the cares of the world chokewhatyou haveheard, and cauſe thoſebudding convictions which begin to put forth, to blaſt and wither.
Carefully attend to all thoſe items, and memorandums your confciences give you under the word, and conclude that the Lord is then come nigh untoyou, Secondly, Let this be matter of ferious confideration, and cautiontoall ſuch as have only felt ſome flight, tranfient, and ineffectual operations of the goſpel upon their fouls : The Lord hathcome nigh to fome of our souls; we have felt a ſtrange power in the ordinances, ſometimes terrifying, and ſometimes tranſporting our hearts ; but, alas ! it proves but a morningdew, or an early cloud, Hof. vi. 4. We rejoice in the word, but it is but for a ſeaſon, John iii. 25. Gal. iv. 14, 15. They
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arevanithing motions, and come to nothing.
Look, as in nature there are many abortives, as well as perfect children, ſo it is in religion ; yea, where the new creature is perfectly formed in one foul, there be many abortives and miſcarriages in others : and there may be three reaſons affigned for it, viz.
First, The fubtilty anddeep policy of Satan, who never more effectuallydeceives and destroys the fouls of men, than in ſuch a method, and by ſuch an artifice as this: for when men have once felt their confciences terrified under the word, and their hearts at other times raviſhed with thejoys and comforts of it, theynowſeem to have attained all thatis neceffary toconverfion, and conftitutive ofthe new creature : theſe things look fo well like the regenerating effects of the Spirit, that many are eafily deceivedbythem.
The devilbeguiles the hearts of the unwary by fuch falſe appearances ; for it is noteveryman that can diftinguish betwixt the natural, and ſpiritual motions of the affections under theword : itis very frequently ſeen that even carnal, and unrenewed hearts have their meltings and tranſports, as well as ſpiritual hearts . The ſubject-matteruponwhich the wordtreats, are the weighty things of the world to come heaven and hell are very awful and affecting things, and an unrenewed heart is apt tothaw and melt at them: now here is the cheat of Satan, to perfuade a man that theſe must needs be ſpiritual affections, becauſe the objects about which they are converfant are fpiritual : whereas it is certain, the object of the affections may be very ſpiritual and heavenly, and yet the workings of aman's affections about them, may be in a mere natural way.
Secondly, The dampening efficacy ofthe world is a true and proper cauſe of theſeabortions and miſcarriages under theword,
Luke viii. 12, 13 , 14.
There are hopeful and promiſing beginnings and buddings of affections in ſome perſons, eſpecially in theiryouth; but when once they come to be engaged in the world, how foon are they damp'd and quenched ! As the cares of a family grow on, ſo does the care of falvation wearoff.
'Tis not as it was wont to be, what ſhall Ido to be faved ? How ſhall I get intereſt in Chriſt ? But what ſhall I eat, and drink, and wherewithal ſhall I, and mine, be maintained ? Thus earth juſtles outheaven, and the preſent worlddrowns all thoughts of thatto come. Goodhad it been for many men, they had never been engaged ſodeep in the world as they are; their life is but a conftant hurry of buſineſs, anda perpetual diverſion from Chrift, and things that are eternal, Thirdly, and lastly, The deceitfulness, and treacheryofthe heart,whichtoo eafily giveswayto thedefigns ofSatan, fuffers
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Pride,and ſelf-love are very apt to over-rule every littlegood,and flight, or under-value every evil that is inus ; and ſo quickly choke thoſe convictions that begin to work in our fouls.
But oh ! that fuch men would confider that the dying away of their convictions, is that which threatens the life of their fouls for ever ; now is the bud withered, the bloſſom blafted : andwhat expectation is thereoffruit after this, except the Lord revive them again ? The Lord open men's eyes, to difcern the danger of fuch things as theſe are ! Jude 12. Heb. x. 58.
Yet Ideny not, but there are many ſtands, and pauſes in the work of converfion; it seems to die away, and then revives again ; and revive it must, or we are loſt. But how many are there who never recover it more ! This is a fore judgment of a moſt terrible conſequence to the fouls ofmen.
Thirdly, In the last place, let it be a word of counſel, and advice to them, upon whom the word works effectually, and powerfully ; to whoſe hearts the commandmentis come home, to revive ſin, and kill their vain hopes; andtheſe are of two forts.
1. Embryo's, under the firſt workings of the ſpirit.
2. Compleat births of the ſpirit, regenerated fouls.
First , Embryo's that are under the firſt workings ofthe fpirit inthe word. O let it not feem a mifery, or unhappineſs to you, that the commandment is come, and fin revived, and your former hopes overthrown.
It must be thus, if everGod intendmercy for you. Had you gone on in that dangerous ſecurityyou were in before, you had certainly been loft forever: God hath ſtopt you in that path that leads down to hell, and none that go in there do ever return again, or take hold ofthe paths of life. O it is better to weep, tremble, and be diſtreſſed now, than to mourn without hope for ever. Letit not trouble you that fin hath found you out; you could never have found out the remedy in Chrift, ifyou had not found out the diſeaſe and danger, by the coming ofthe commandment.
And I beſeech you carefully to obſerve, whether the effects, and operations of the word upon your hearts be deeper, and more powerful, thanthey are found to be in ſuch fouls as mifcarryunder it : the commandment comes to them, and ſhews them this or that moregroſs and ſtartling fin.
Doth it come to you, and ſhew you not only this, or that particular fin, but all the evils ofyour heart and life; the corruption ofyour natures, as well as the tranfgreffions ofyour lives ? Iffo, it promifes
The Method of Grace.
SERM. XXI.
well, and looks hopefully, and comfortably toyou.
The commandment comes to others, and ſtartles them with the fears of damnation for their fin: it puts them into a grievous fright at hell, and the everlasting burnings: but doth it come to thee anddiſcover the infinite evil that is in thy fin, as it is committed against the great, holy, righteous, and goodGod, and fo melts thy heart into tears for the wrong that thou hast done him, as well as the danger into which thou hast brought thyself?
This is a hopeful work, and may encourage thee.
It comes to others, and greatly ſhakes, but never deſtroys and razes the foundation oftheir vain hopes : ifit ſo revive ſin, as to killall vainhopes inthee, and send thee to Chriſt alone, as thy only door ofhope, fear not; theſe troubles will prove the greatest mercies that ever befel thee in this world, ifthus they work, andcontinue to work upon thy foul.
Secondly, Others there are upon whom the word hath had its full effect as to converfion.
O bleſs God for ever for this mercy ; you cannot fufficiently value it! God hath not only made it aconvincing, andwounding, but a converting, and healing word to your fouls; he hath not only revived your fins, and killed your vain hopes, but begotten you again to a lively hope; fee that you be thankful for this mercy. How many have fate under the fame word, but never felt fuch effects of it ? As Chriſt ſaid in another cafe, there were many widows in Ifrael in the time of Elijah, but unto none ofthem was the prophet ſent, ſave unto Sarepta, a city ofSidon, to a certain widow there, Luke iv. 46.
So I may say, in this cafe, there were many fouls in the fame congregation, at the fame time ; but unto none ofthem was the word ſent with a commiſſion to convince and ſave, but fuch a one as thyſelf; one as improbable to be wrought upon as any foul there. O let this beget thankfulness in your fouls; and let it make you love the word as long asyou live : " I will never forgetthy precepts, førby them
" thou haft quickened me," Pfal. cxix. 93 .
But above all I beſeech you make it appear that the commandment hath come home to your hearts, with power to convince you of the evil offin,by your tenderness and care to thun itas long as you live.
If ever you have ſeen the face offin, in the glass of the law ofGod; ifyour hearts havebeen humbled and broken for it in the days ofyour trouble and diſtreſs, certainly you will choose the worſt affliction rather than fin : It would be the greatest folly in the world to return again to iniquity, Pfal. lxxxv. 8.
You that have ſeen ſo much ofthe evil that is in it, and the danger that follows it; you that have had