A DIVINE MESSAGE TO THE ELECT SOUL: The Heads of these ensuing SERMONS contained in this BOOK. Viz. The use and benefit of Divine Meditation The danger of deferring Repentance. The Arraignment of vain and evil thoughts. The Judgement of the World passed by the Saints. The punishment of unworthy Receivers. The Duty of Communicants. The Duty of Reprovers and Persons reproved. The second Edition, corrected and amended by a worthy friend of the AUTHORS. A DIVINE MESSAGE TO THE ELECT SOUL: DELIVERED In eight Sermons upon seven several Texts. By that laborious and faithful Messenger of CHRIST, Mr. William Fenner, B.D. Sometimes Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge, and late Minister of Rochfort in Essex. The second Edition, corrected and Enlarged. I have sent unto you the pestilence, after the manner of Egypt; your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses, I have made the stink of the Camp to come up to your nostrils, yet have ye not returned to me, saith the Lord: therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel; and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet me thy God, O Israel. Amos 4.10.12. Printed at London by T.R. and E.M. for John Stafford, and are to be sold at his house in Bride's Churchyard, 1647. THE EPISTLE TO the godly Reader of these pious Sermons. THE Author of these ensuing Sermons, Master William Fenner, was so deservedly famous in the Church of God, and so well known unto me in particular, and one to whom I was so much obliged when he was living, as that I could not think it sufficient to give a bare Imprimatur unto his Sermons, but have added this Testimony also, that thereby all good people might be encouraged to read these Works of his, whose life and conversation was a continual Sermon, and who spent himself in studying and preaching, and whose memory will be ever precious unto Your loving friend, Edm. Calamy. TO THE READER. Good Reader, THe Author of these Sermons, having served his time, and being fallen asleep, The lot is fallen upon me to appear in their behalf, and to seal unto their worth and usefulness for public service, as far as thou pleasest to seal unto my judgement and faithfulness in such a case, with thine opinion and approbation. For the truth is, that the strength and value of my testimony concerning them, is like to extend no further, then thine doth concerning me: So that if I add any thing to their credit and estimation in the world, by my recommendation, it is by the mediation of thine ingenuity and fairness towards me. But if thou shalt please to be at any reasonable cost in the reading of them, and lay thy judgement and conscience as close to the Spirit, as thou must thine eyes to the letter of what thou readest, I make no question but I shall be the gainer, and not they, by this engagement of myself for them. True worth, especially when it overcomes, and breaks out of the cloud of obscurity, always returns more than what it receives from any man's testimony: neither is there any method or trade so proper and certain, whereby to raise an estate of honour and reputation to a man's self, as the bestowing or casting honour and reputation upon others, so he be careful and dexterous in the choice of his subject. John Baptist by giving testimony only to one, Jesus Christ, out-grew the common stature of those that are born of women, in true greatness, Mat. 11.11. And yet there was little or nothing (in effect) added to Jesus Christ himself by his testimony, Joh. 5.34. It is an ingenuous and inoffensive way to serve ourselves out of other men's excellencies, by advancing them: neither do the generality of men in their practice, more generally consent upon any principle of reason & equity, than this, To recompense such men with terms of honour, who are unpartial and free in subscribing and acknowledging the worth and eminency of others. And as many that are but of mean condition in the world otherwise, yet maintain themselves comfortably, by trimming and dressing the gardens and orchards, and vineyards of rich and wealthy men: so may men that want other personal abilities and excellencies of their own, subsist upon terms of a convenient reputation, only by vindicating, adorning, and setting forth the endowments and graceful parts of other men. The subject or argument of these Sermons, is partly that noble and high-importing strain of Christian devotion; Preparation for that solemn interview of Jesus Christ in his death, at his Table; The great severity of God's proceedings against despisers of admonitions and reproof. Both themes of savoury consideration for all those that love not death; and more especially for those, who desire not only to be saved, but to be saved upon sweeter and more comfortable terms then as by fire, 1 Cor. 3.15. Those that were chastened with weakness, and sickness, and death, amongst the Corinthians, 1 Cor. 11.30. were yet saved, ver. 32. but this was as by or through fire: though they did not perish, were not consumed by the flames of God's displeasure against them, yet they were sorely scorched with them, the smell of this fire was strong upon the garments of their flesh: They discerned not the body of his Son Jesus Christ, in his ordinances; but in stead of that holy, reverend, and deep-studied behaviour which was due unto it, both from their inner and outward man, as being a creature of the highest and deepest sanctification that ever God sanctified; Sanctified not only to a more excellent and glorious condition, but also to many ends and purposes of far higher and dearer concernment, both for the glory of God, and benefit of Men themselves, than all other creatures whatsoever, whether in heaven or in earth: They handled and dealt by it in both kinds, as if it had been but a common or unsanctified thing; thus they discerned not the Lord's body. And as they discerned not his body, so neither did God (in some sense) discern theirs; but in those sore strokes and heavy judgements which he inflicted on them, had them in no other regard or consideration, then as if they had been the bodies of his enemies, the bodies of wicked and sinful men; thus drawing the model and platform of their punishment (as usually he doth) from the structure and proportion of their sin. And if the moral or spiritual seeds and originals of our outward and bodily afflictions, as sicknesses, weaknesses, either upon ourselves or ours, declining estates, losses, etc. (which still lie deeper than the natural) were but carefully and narrowly sought out, it is much to be feared we should find a great part of them (at least) in the bowels of the same Sin so frequent amongst us, I mean, of Not discerning the LORDS Body. The just and righteous God builds up the breaches that we make upon the honour belonging to the body of his Son, with the ruins of that honour which he had given unto ours in health, strength, life, and many other outward comforts and supports. But thou wilt hear more of these things in the Sermons themselves: the wholesome Admonitions and Reproofs wherein contained, with the rest of that heavenly provision for thy Soul, which thou shalt find here gathered together, and laid into thy hand, I heartily wish may be sanctified unto thee by the highest hand of the Sanctifier; that so thy sins and corruptions may fly seven ways before that Spirit of power which here pursueth them, and thou never presume to return back again unto them more. The God whom we serve, is able to perform this great petition, by Jesus Christ. To whose grace the peace of thy soul is faithfully and feelingly recommended by That poor and unworthy servant of Christ and his Church, John Goodwin. The Contents and Heads of the eight following Sermons. The Contents of the first two Sermons from HAG. 1.5. THe Preface showing the usefulness of Meditation, together with the danger in neglecting it, Page 1 The opening of the Tex in several particulars, pag. 4 Doctrine. Serious Meditation of our sins by the ●ord, is an especial means for to make us repent, 4 The definition of Meditation in four particulars, 4 1 It is an exercise of the mind, 4 2 A settled exercise of the mind, 5 3 It is to make a further enquiry into all the parts of the truth, 6 4 It labours to affect the heart, 7 Two Reasons. 1. Because Meditation presseth ●ll Arguments home to the heart, 7 2 Because Meditation fastens sin close upon the ●oul, and makes the soul to feel it, 9 1 Use. For the reproof of several sorts of men ●hat are loath to put in practise this so necessary a duty, 12 Four lets of Meditation. 1. Vain company, 14 2 Multitude of worldly business, 14 3 Ignorance, 16 4 That natural averseness is in the heart of man unto it, 16 This averseness of heart consisteth in three things 1 In the carelessness of the heart, 17 2 In the run and rovings of the heart, 17 3 In the wearisomeness of the heart in meditation, 17 2 Use. For terror unto all those that dare sit down in security, never at all regarding this soul searching duty, 18 Four means or helps to meditation. 1 With all seriousness tell the soul that thou hast a message from the Lord unto it, 20 2 Observe sitting times for meditation: viz. 1 The morning, 21 2 The night, 22 3 The evening, 22 4 When the heart is after some extraordinary manner touched with God's word or providences, 22 3 Call to mind what evil thou hast done ever since thou wast born, 23 4 Rouse up thy heart and thoughts as high a● heaven, 23 3 Use. For the reprehension of those that meditate upon their sins, and how they may with the more freeness commit sin, 24 Four grounds upon which meditation must be raised. 1 Meditate on the goodness, mercy and patience of God, that you have oft abused by your sins, 26 2 Meditate on the justice of God that you have so oft provoked, 28 3 Meditate on the wrath of God that you have so oft kindled, 29 4 Meditate on the constancy of God, who is a constant hater of all sin, 30 Four directions how to carry Meditation home to the heart. 1 Weigh and ponder all the foregoing things in ●hine own heart 33 2 Strip sin, and look upon it starknaked, and in ●ts own colours, 33 3 Dive into thine own soul, and search thine ●eart to the quick, 34 4 Prevent thine own heart by meditation, and ●ell thy soul that it will one day wish, that it had not neglected this so necessary a duty, 36 Four duties to be discharged, that we may put life to Meditation. 1 Let Meditation haunt and dog thy heart with the promises, and threatenings, mercies and judgements of God, 38 2 Let Meditation trace thy heart in the same steps, and run over all thy duties discharged, 41 3 Let Meditation hale thy heart before God's Throne, there to pour out thy complaints before the Almighty, p. 43. and let thy complaint be 1 Full of sorrow, 44 2 A full complaint of all thy sins, 44 3 A complaint aggravating all thy sins by all their circumstances. 45 4. A self-condemning complaint, wherein the complaint of Ezra is illustrated in eight particulars, 46 4 Let Meditation when it hath searched out thy case, and made it appear how woeful it is, cast thee down before God, 49 Four motives to stir up the soul to Meditation. 1 Consider it is the part of a fool not to meditate; It is a madness for a man to walk on in a course, and not to consider whither it will tend, 50 2 Consider, not to meditate, is the brand of a Reprobate, 52 3 He that meditates not, robs God of his honour, 52 4 All the service that a man performeth unto the Lord, will be abominable, if he meditate not before it, and after it, 53 The reason why we have so many vain thoughts in our holy exercises, is, because we prepare not our hearts thereunto by meditation, 54 The Contents of the third Sermon. Proverbs 1.28. 1 THe opening of the context in 5 particulars, 59 2 The opening of the words of the Text in four particulars, 62 1. Doctrine. Those that will not hear the Lord when he calleth upon them by the ministry of his word, and voice of his Spirit, the Lord will not hear them, when in their misery they call upon him. 62 3. Reasons of the point. 1. The law of Retaliation, of rendering like for like, requires it. 64 2. Because God's two Attributes of Mercy and Justice, have their season in this life, and when Mercy hath acted her part, then cometh Justice upon the stage for to act her part. 66 3. Because it is God's manner for to do so in temporal things, and therefore much more in matters of grace and salvation. 68 God giveth to men a day, and no Man nor Angel knoweth how long this day lasteth, or when this season of grace shall have an end. 71, 73 And as there is a Personal day, so there is a national day. 74 Object. 1. A man may be called at the 11th or 12th hour of the day. 75 Ans. Those that were called at the first hour, came in at the first hour; these that came in at the twelfth hour, were not the same that were called at the first hour. 75 Object. 2 The day of grace lasteth as long as the day of life. 77 The Objection is cleared under three particulars. Ans. And it is answered, that the day of grace may end to a particular man long before his death. 1. Because God may harden a man's heart. 78 2. Because God may sear men's consciences. 78 Object. 3. Suppose I go on in my sin, and repent upon my deathbed, will God hear me? Ans. The answer is negative. 80 Object. 4. Suppose I humble myself by fasting and prayer, will not God hear that? The answer is negative, if thou neglect the day of grace. 81 5. Obj. At what time soever a sinner reputes, he shall find mercy. Ans. It is true, if he repent from the bottom of his heart, but a man may have many a degree of repentance, and yet never repent from the heart, 81. Self-love may make a man do much. 82 2. Doct. It may be this very day, even this particular Sermon, this instant hour may be thy day, that art now in thy sins, that if thou repent not at this very one Sermon, thou neglectest eternal life for ever. 82 Four Reasons of the point. 1. Because God's patience is in his own breast, and who can tell how long it will last? 83 Wherein Joel 2.13. is opened in five particulars. 84 God usually giveth some signs of death beforehand. 86 But the day of grace may end, and a man never have any warning of it. 86 2. Because God's patience giveth no marks or incklings of its ending before it ends. 86 3. Because God keepeth a strict account how many opportunities he hath vouchsafed. 88 4. Consider it is a wonder that the day of grace is not ended already, and that thou art not now in hell. 90 The Contents of the Fourth Sermon, upon Philip. 3.18.19. 1. An explanation of the several parts of the Text, in five particulars. 98 Doct. That those whose minds and thoughts run habitually on earth and earthly things, their end must needs be destruction. 99 6. Reasons. 1. The curse of God is the desert of vain thoughts. 99 2. The curse of God is the event of vain thoughts. 99 3. That man whose thoughts are habitually on the things of the world, can never truly repent. 100 4. Because that man whose thoughts run habitually on earthly things, hath no part in Jesus Christ. 102 For the thoughts and affections of the heart are the feet of the soul. 102 5. Because so long as a man's thoughts run habitually on the things of the world, that man hath no true love of God in him. 105 6. Because so long as a man's thoughts run after the world, he can never depart from his sins. 106 2. Uses. 1. For humiliation, because these vain thoughts bearing sway in the heart, they make that man's end to be destruction. 108 2. For the terror of those men who suffer their hearts to be taken up with vain thoughts. 111 Object. But I think of God, and of Christ, of faith and repentance. 113 Ans. 1. Consider whether thy good thoughts be merely cast into thy heart; or whether they be raised by thy heart, 113 A wicked man may have a thousand good thoughts, and yet go to hell in the midst of them, 114 2 Thou hast good thoughts, but consider whether they be fleeting or abiding thoughts, 116 There are two kinds of vain thoughts: First, vain because the matter and substance of them is vain; Secondly, vain for want of durance and lasting, though not vain for the matter of them, 116 3 Thou thinkest of God, but consider whether thy thoughts be studied or accidental thoughts. When a good thought cometh into a godly man's heart, it leaveth a good impression behind it; but when a good thought comes into a wicked man's heart, it leaves no impression behind it, 117, 118 A godly man not only thinketh of God; but he studieth how to think of God. 119 4 Thou thinkest of God, but consider whether thy thoughts of God be profitable, or unprofitable thoughts, 120 Thoughts are not free; 121. Not free 1 From God's knowledge, 121 2 They are not free from God's word, 122 3 They are not free from the wrath of God, 123 Three means, in the use whereof we may rid ourselves of vain thoughts. 1 Love the word of God, 123 2 Go unto God by prayer, 124 3 Consider thou hast not so learned Christ, 125 All vain thoughts arise from these three Heads. 1 From the variety and abundance of the thoughts of the world, 125 2 From the Fountain of corruption that is in men's hearts, 126 3 From the damned malice of Satan, and his temptations both within and without, 126 1 Materially thoughts are vain, 1 When the matter of them is vain, 126 Such are the thoughts of the world, calling or recreation: these are evil, 1 When we think of them primarily, that is, before we think of God, 127 2 When we think of them too usually, too often, 129 3 When we think of them too savourly, 130 4 When we think of them without counsel, 131 5 When they are thought needlessly, 131 2 Thoughts are vain formally, when though the matter of them be never so good, yet the manner of thinking them is evil, 132 It is possible for a wicked man to go to hell, though he perform the same things for the matter of them that a godly man doth. 132 3 Thoughts are vain efficiently, when the heart that thinketh upon them is earthly, and vain 134 4 Thoughts are vain, when the drift and end of the soul in thinking on them, is vain, 136 Wicked men will be thinking of God, 1 To make God amends for their dishonouring of him by their wicked thoughts. 137 2. To collogue with God, and to flatter him. 138 3. To smother and choke their own consciences. 139 The Contents of the Fifth Sermon upon 1 Corinth. 6.2. 1. An explanation of the text, together with the verses foregoing and following. 144 Doctrine. The Saints shall judge the world. 146 Objection. How shall the Saints judge the world? 146 Answer. 1. By their consent unto Christ's judgement. 146 2. By their applause of Christ's judgement. 147 3. By their Majesty; then shall they shine as the Stars in the Firmament, and the wicked shall be amazed at the sight of them. 148 4. By their lives and conversations, by their accepting of the Lord Jesus Christ, shall judge the world's rejecting of him. 148 Four Reasons of the point. 1. First, because of that mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Saints, so when Christ judgeth the world, the whole body of Christ may be said to judge the world. 149 2. In regard of their sufferings with Christ, as they are judged by the world, so they shall be judged of the world. 149 3 For the greater terror to all wicked men at the day of judgement, 150 4 Because the mouths of wicked men may be stopped, and that they may have no excuse for themselves, 150 Use 1 For information in five particulars, 1 Hence we may learn that the Saints, by their now being Saints, do now judge the world, 151 Wherein Heb. 11.7. is cleared from an objection, 2 Hence let the world learn that when any one sinner is converted, there is one Judge more to sit upon them, 153 3 Hence we may learn that it concerns all the world to take notice of every grace in God's children, because there is never a grace in any of the Saints, but it shall make for the condemnation of them that want it, 154 4 Learn hence, that if the Saints, then much more the world that begets them, shall judge the world, 155 5 Learn hence also that the Ministers of God by every Sermon they preach, shall judge the world, 157 Use 2 For to condemn the world, who see not an amiableness in the faces of the Saints, who shall one day be their judges, who shall judge both Saints and Angels, 157 2 This showeth the folly of the wicked, who prepare not for these Judges, 158 Lastly, it condemns all those that do not see glory and majesty in the faces of God's Saints, he that revileth the Saints, revileth his judges, 159, 160 Who shall judge the World. 1 God the Father by way of authority, all judgement is originally from him, 161 2 God the Son by way of dispensation, 161 3 God the holy Ghost by way of conviction, 161 4 The word of God by way of form, it being the platform, according to which Christ will judge the whole world, 162 5 All the Ministers of God shall sit as Justices in common, 164 6 All the Saints from one end of the world to the other, shall assist the just Judge of heaven and earth, 164 So that the wicked shall not be able to plead, 1 Their ignorance, 165 2 Nor their poverty, 166 3 Neither their sinning at their master's command, 170 4 Neither callings nor trade, 167 5 Neither the sinful times they live in, 167 Use 3 First, for the just reproof of many of the Saints of God, because they are not so circumspect over their ways, as they ought, how will they be able to rise up in judgement against the wicked for such sins as they themselves live in? 168 2 It may serve to condemn some of the Saints of God in regard of that little difference that is to be found betwixt the wicked of the world, and them in their lives and manners, that it is hard to tell which is a Saint, and which is a reprobate by their conversations, 170 3 It may serve to condemn the scandalousnes of many persons in their behaviour and actions, 171 The Contents of the Sixth Sermon, 1 Cor. 11.30. Doct 1 from the 18 verse, That whosoever will come to the holy Communion, they must examine themselves, that so they may come worthily, 175 The Apostle gives three Reasons of it, 1 From the end of the Sacrament, 176 2 From the wrong men offer to Christ, if they come in their sins, 177 3 From the woeful wrong that a man doth to his own soul, that cometh without preparation, 177 The Uses of the point are these, 1 For the reproof of those that coming unpreparedly get no spiritual strength thereby, 178 2 For terror to unworthy receivers, 179 3 To show they make themselves liable to Gods temporary plagues, 180 4 For instruction to examine ourselves, 180 5 He concludes with an use of exhortation, 181 An explanation of the words, 2 Doct. God doth most severely punish the unworthy receivers of the Lords Supper, 183 4 Reas. 1 Because Christ himself instituted it, 184 2 Because Christ is the matter of it, and therefore the more heinous the defilement, 187 3 Because Christ is the form of it, wherein confirming grace is sealed to the soul, 190 4 Because Christ is the end of the Sacrament, 191 Use 1 For instruction; showing whence sickness, weakness, etc. come, 193 2 From whence comes hardness of heart etc. 194 Use 2 For comfort unto every poor afflicted soul etc. 198 Use 3 For terror to those that come unpreparedly, 199 Object. Do all that come unworthily eat and drink their own damnation? Answ. A man may eat and drink his own damnation three ways, 1 In regard of guilt, and liableness to God's wrath, 203 2 In regard of the seal and obligation in the conscience, 203 3 In regard of the sigillation in heaven, 204 Lastly, the conclusion, denouncing terror to all those that dare rush upon this holy ordinance, 205 But for comfort to all them, who with all diligence set upon the preparing of their souls for this great Ordinance, 206 The Contents of the Seventh Sermon on 2 Cor. 11.28. The words of the Text explained, 210 Doct. 1 We must not rush upon the Sacrament, 210 There are none of the Ordinances of God that a man may rush upon without examination, 211 Three Reasons. Naturally we are no invited guests to the Sacrament, 212 2 Though we are invited, yet it may be we are not disposed: for naturally we are strangers to God, and the covenant of God, all this indisposition must be wrought off before we can come comfortably to the Sacrament, 213 3 This is a solemn Ordinance, and therefore an ordinary disposition will not serve the turn, 213 Many a reprobate may eat and drink in Christ's presence, 214 Use. To forewarn men lest they unpreparedly rush upon any of God's Ordinances, especially upon the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, 215 The Text divided into Four parts. 216 Doct. 2 There is a necessity that we should receive the Lords Supper, and receive it often, 217 Doct. 3 The manner of performance of duties is to be regarded, 218 Five Reasons. 1 The Lord commands the manner as well as the matter, 219 2 Circumstances overthrew actions, if they be not rightly and duly observed, 219 Its instanced 1 In prayer, 219 2 In preaching, 220 3 In receiving the Sacrament, 221 4 In brotherly reproof, 221 5 In eating, drinking, and marrying, 221 3 Because only the right manner of doing duties gets the blessing, 223 4 Because Christ himself is an example unto us, in this he did not only obey his Father in the matter of his commands, but in the manner of them, 224 5 Because otherwise we canaot glorify God, 225 Use. 1 First, to condemn that natural Popery that is in the hearts aef men etc. 227 Use 2 For discovery why people are so willing to do duties for the matter and not for the manner, 229 The Reasons of it are these: 1 Because the matter of duty is easy, but the manner is difficult, 229 2 Duties for the matter of them, may be done with a proud heart, 231 3 They may be done with an unholy life, 232 4 The matter of duty bringeth not the cross; and many zealous for the matter, are persecutors of goodness, 234 Use 3 To exhort men to labour to perform duties aright, 235 Three motives to persuade people to perform duties after a right manner. 1 Because no Ordinance at all else can be effectual unto us, 236 2 All is but hypocrisy if the manner be not regarded, 236 3 It is only the right manner of doing duties, that pleaseth God, 238 4 Doct. Every man must prepare himself before he come to the Lords Table, 239 4 Reas. 1 Because the Sacrament is God's Ordinance, 239 2 Because the Lord Christ hath made great preparation in providing it, 241 3 Because Christ in this ordinance offers for to come into the soul, & he looks for good entertainment, 24● 4 Because the Sacrament is a part of Christ's last will and Testament, therefore when we know our Lords will, we must prepare for the doing of it, 243 The Contents of the eighth Sermon upon Proverbs 29, 1. 1, A double exposition of the Text. 1 Doct. From the first exposition, viz. He that reproveth another, and is guilty himself in the same kind, or in any other kind, and hardeneth his own heart in it, that man shall be destroyed without remedy, 244 7 Reasons. First, because the office of a reprover bindeth him to be blameless, 2 Because such a reprover as is guilty himself, can never reprove to a right end, 250 3 Neither can he do it in a right manner, 251 4 Such a reprover is an hypocrite, 252 5 Such a reproving of another man's sin, makes him inexcusable in his own, 253 6 It is an absurd thing for a person to reprove another for that whereof he is guilty himself, 254 7 Such a reproving is a sign of impenitency, 254 Object. Shall not a wicked Magistrate or Minister reprove others, etc. Ans. He is bound to reprove, in regard of his office; ●ut is bound in conscience to amend himself first, 155 Use, For instruction: first, Let every reprover take heed lest he make himself inexcusable, 256 2 Let him endeavour to walk unblameable and inoffensive, 256 Two Doctrines from the second exposition of the Words: viz. Doct. 1. The Lord doth not destroy man willingly, but for sin, 261 Doct. 2. It is a great mercy for a man to be reproved for his sin, 261 Three Reasons of the Second Doctrine. 1 Because reproofs primarily come from love, 262 2 They tend to the good of a man's soul, 264 3 It is brutish not to take reproofs in good part, 265 Use 1 First for information, that God is bringing destruction upon a Kingdom, when he takes away reprovers from them, 267 Use 2 For the reproof of those that despise the reproof of the wise; they despise not men, but God, 269 The grievousness of their sin who stand out against reproof, is aggravated under several heads, 270 Doct. 3 The Lord proportions punishments to men's sins, 271 Reas. 1 Because hereby a man's punishment appears to be so much the more equal and worthy, 271 2 This stops men's mouths, and convinceth their consciences, 3 All the standers by may see the equity of it, when the punishment is according to the sin, 273 Use for instruction, First to teach men not to complain of Gods dealing with them, if their punishment be (for the kind of it) according to their sin, but rather let them learn to see Gods immediate hand in it, 274 2 To teach men to consider how God many time● proportion's punishments to sins: 1 For kind, 275 2 For quantity, 275 3 For quality, 276 4 For time, 277 5 For place. 277 The Author's Preface upon these ensuing Sermons. THE cause of that little heavenlines which is in the profession of Christianity, is the want of Meditation. Many can meditate cursorily, but that is not enough: it must be a sticking Meditation that must affect the heart. That place in 2 Pet. 2.8. is marvellous pregnant, it was the means why Lot was so touched with the abominations of Sodom: That righteous man ●welling amongst them, in seeing and hearing their ungodly deeds, vexed his righteous soul from day to day. Many heard and saw too, besides Lot, and were not vexed. Why? Other matters stuck in their thoughts, they never throughly meditated on it; but he vexed himself, that is, the meditation of those evils, and bringing them home to his soul, vexed him. The word is a fit word, implying two things: First, the searching and examining of a thing, his meditating heart examined their sins; how many they were, how grievous, how damnable, how likely to pull down some vengeance or other upon them. Secondly, the wracking or vexing upon trial; so it was with Lot, he observed all their evils, and weighed them in his soul, & then he wracked his spirit with the consideration of them. The Evangelist useth this very word for tossing: this word that is here put for vexing, he puts for tossing of a ship in the seas, Matt. 14.24. The ship was toss'ed with the waves: so meditation did toss his soul with vexation, sometimes down to the deep: O miserable wretches that we are! or, How brutish, how beastly, and how hellish are our sins? Sometimes up; O that the Lord would humble us and spare us! Sometimes over head and ears in the storm, O fool that I was to choose my dwelling amongst such men! These meditations vexed hi● soul: Many have studied meditations, and yet are not acquainted with this cordial meditation: Many Minister● that study Divinity all the day, that study the Word all the week, that study their Sermons all the year, may yet for all this, be carnal Ministers. Why? Because their meditation is but inventing and mental meditation; thi● meditation is a practical meditation, the thing meditated feeds the heart: that meditation is like a fluttering Pheasant that flutters before their eyes▪ it feeds their eyes indeed, but never feeds the stomach, as long as they neither catch nor eat it. The saving mysteries of God flutter before their eyes, and before their understandings, they feed their eyes with knowledge, but never feed their souls unto everlasting life, unless they fowl for it, dress and digest it in their hearts. There is an apt word, Gen. 24.63. Isaac went out to meditate in the field: the original hath it, to signify mutual conference, his mind conferred with the truth, and the truth with him, a mutual working he wrought upon the truth, by meditating of it, and it wrought upon him; by leaving an impression upon his soul: this is a rare practice in the world, and yet as necessary as most, it is the art of the soul in being heavenly, it is the inuring of thee to every good duty: for by meditation a man comes to have his mind and heart fixed upon every thing that he would: Would he pray? he that hath enured his heart to meditate, his mind is fixed in his prayer. Would he receive the Sacrament? He that hath enured his heart by meditation, his mind is fixed in the Ordinance. David that was excellent at meditation, had a fixed heart, Psal. 57.7. Psal. 112. 1.7. A SERMON OF The use and benefit of Divine Meditation. HAGGAI. 1.5. Now therefore saith the Lord of Hosts, Consider your ways. THe Prophet reproveth the people because they could find in their hearts to mind their own houses and yet were careless of the house of the Lord: the Lord had sent a drought and a famine, and sundry punishments upon them for this thing, and yet they laid it not to heart; and therefore he sends Haggai the Prophet unto them to call them to repentance; and (which is an admirable course, and little thought of in the world) he begins with holy meditation and consideration: Now therefore thus saith the Lord, consider your ways; that is, both in regard of the course of them, your wicked ways; and also in regard of the bitter fruit of them, your wretched and unprosperous ways. Here be two things very remarkable according to the Text; 1. The repetition and enforcing of it again; for he urgeth it again, Consider your ways, in the seventh verse. 2. The benefit that came by it; it brought them to repentance; for they all obeyed the voice of the Lord, and the words of the Prophet, verse 12. Doct. 1 So that the Doctrine from hence is this, that, Serious meditation of our sins by the Word, is a special means to make men repent. Meditation is a settled exercise of the mind for a further inquiry of the truth, and so affecting the heart therewith; and therefore there be four things in meditation. The first is an exercise of the mind, not barely closing with the truth, and assenting unto it, and seeing it, and there rests; but it looketh on every side of the truth: I thought upon my ways, and turned my feet unto thy Testimonies, Psal. 119.59. saith David; that is, I looked on my ways on both sides, above and beneath; it's taken from curious works, which are the same on both sides, so that they which work them, must often turn them on every side; used Exod. 38.23. as being works with two faces, as one well observes: so it was with David, I turned my ways up-side down, and looked every way upon them: thou never meditatest, unless thou look on thy ways on both sides with all circumstances. An elegant phrase we have, Dan. 12.4. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall abound, and be increased. [Run to and fro] what is that? It is not the bodily removing of man from one place to another so much, as busy stirring of the mind from one truth to another, so that it seeth the whole selvedge and compass of the truth: thou wilt never get the truth to be meditated of, till thou run to and fro in it, meditate it on this side, and meditate it on that side, look on it in every nook of it. Meditation is like perambulation when men go the bounds of the Parish, they go in every part of it, and in every skirt of it: so meditation is the perambulation of the soul, when the soul looks how far sin goes, how far the flesh goes, how far the wrath of God against it goes. Secondly, as it is an exercise, so it is a settled exercise, it is not a sudden flash of a man's conceit, but it, dwells upon a truth. When a man is in a deep meditation upon a thing he neither sees nor hears, nor attends any thing else; the stream of the heart is settled upon the truth received; The word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the world, 1 joh. 2.14. How came these young men to overcome Satan? Not by looking into the word, or only thinking of the word; but by letting the Word abide in them. When a man hath been offered an injury, his heart is always settled upon it; when he eats, his mind runs on the injury; when he walks, and talks, still his mind runs on the injury: so thy heart must go on the truth 2 Tim. 3. Continue in the things thou hast learned: that is, take up thy mansion house in them. A wicked man may turn into the word sometimes to think of it; but it is as a man goes into another man's house: there is not his dwelling. Thirdly it is to make a further inquiry: Meditation doth not only settle upon the truth known; but it also would fain know more of those truths, that are subjected to it; as a man without may see the out side of the house, but he cannot see the rooms within, unless he come nigh, and draw the latch, and come into the house, and go into the rooms, and look about them. Meditation pulls the latch of the truth, and looks into every closet, and every cubboard, and every angle of it. Here is my sin here is my uncleanness, and here is God's anger, here is the woeful evil that will follow upon it, and here is a remedy against it. Meditation searches into all the lofts and closerts of the truth. The entrance of thy word giveth understanding unto the simple, Psal. 119.30. The ingress (as one expounds it) or going into thy word, gives understanding; the wicked stand looking upon the truth without the doors, but it is the ingress, or going into the truth, that gives understanding. Indeed the truth is like a neat palace, (saith chrysostom) the Spirit of God is like the light of the Sun that shineth into it; the wicked they stand without, like fools peeping in at the windows, and there be many thousands of pearls that are not manifest unto them: The house seems dark to them that stand without. Thou must enter into the word, and into every particular truth in it, and go up stairs, and downstaires, and have an eye into every room. There thou shalt find humility, there contrition, there conversion, there Christ and his Spirit in one closet, there all his Jewels in that, and that box; all is manifest within doors. Fourthly, it labours to affect the heart; it doth not only labour to know more and more of the truth, but also it labours to bring it home to the heart. The good woman considers a field and buys it. Prov. 31.16. that is, (saith Ambrose) the good Christian soul, if in civility, then much more in Divinity, considers the truth and buys it, he taketh it for his own, and appropriates it unto himself; Lo this (saith Eliphas) we have searched out: so it is, bear it, and know it for thyself, Job 5.27. When thou canst say of the truth lo this it is, we have searched it out; I have dived into it, perused it, so it is, even so indeed: all this is, that thou mayest apply it unto thyself, and know it for thy good. Reas 1 The first Reason is, because meditation musters up all weapons, and gathers all forces of arguments for to press the same, and lay them heavy upon the heart: This usury is spiritual and good, when meditation, like usurers, who grind and suck the blood of the needy, and are not content with their principal, but will have consideration for every pound they lay out yea for every shilling, and that for every week and every month, and every quarter, and every year: the poor man could be content to pay the principal; but to exact use upon use, this kills him; so meditation exacteth upon the soul and holdeth it to use upon use. You have committed evil in a corner, but you shall not carry it away so. Item, it was against the knowledge of God revealed; Item, against many mercies received; Item, against many judgements threatened, against many checks of conscience, against many vows and promises; remember that, O my soul. Item, for that, and Item for this; Item for every lust, and every circumstance, thus oft, and in this place, an● at that time, in that manner. So meditated the prodigal. Luke 15.17. Look as it is in wars; were there but many scores come against an Army, they might be conquered: or many hundreds, they mighr be resisted; but if many thousands should come against a small army, it would be in danger indeed. Meditation leavieth a whole Army of arguments, a whole Army of curses, miseries, judgements, commandments against the soul: how ever one misery or plague will not knock it down, but the soul may brook it, and go away with it: but meditation brings a great Armado of arguments, and tells the soul God is against thee, and against thy ways: God is against thee where ever thou art, or what ever thou dost. Then the heart begins to cry out, as Elisha his servant did, Master, what shall we do? 2 Kings 6.15. So many horses against us, so many charets, and so many men against us? Master, what shall we do? so many sins, and so heinous, so many judgements and so heavy, and so many evils and spiritual maladies! Oh, what shall I do to be saved! that I should commit sin against a God that hath damned innumerable Angels, millions of Kings, Princes, and Nobles! that I should commit it against this God, so merciful to me, so gracious, so patient, so good to my soul! that I, wretched rebel, should for a cup of drink refuse heaven! for a lust not worth a straw under my foot, cast off Christ, and grace and all! how shall I do? Then the soul stands in a maze. Reas 2 The second Reason is, because meditation having bundled up all Items against the soul, and brought in all bills of account, it fastens sin upon the soul▪ I mean it makes the soul feel it, so that it must needs be convinced without any evasion. Meditation deals with a man as Elisha dealt with the messengers of King Joram; the murderer he was coming to do mischief to the Prophet, and the Prophet did shut the door, and held him fast at the door, 2 Kings 6.32. and then he made him know that the evil was from the Lord, before he could stir: so meditation, when the soul would fain out of doors into i●s old course again, it shuts the door upon it, and holds it fast Meditation tells the soul, this evil is from the Lord upon thee, O my soul, if tho● stir in or out upon this or that lust any more▪ this evil that curse, that vengeance and damnation; if ever thou stir forth, thou losest thy mercy, thou losest Christ, thou losest all possibility of comfort. Stir not out; if thou dost, thou wilt roe it. Sometimes when men hear the Word, they go away touched, they resolve not to commit sin again as they have done; yet when they are gone, it works not, but the heart recoils again, and turns to its old pass. The Reason is, because they meditate not upon the Word, they fasten it not upon their consciences. It is with the Word as it is with a salve: if a man that hath never so good a salve that will heal any thing in four and twenty hours, if a man should do nothing but lay it to the wound, and take it off, lay it on and take it off, it will not heal the wound: and no marvel. Why? he will not let it lie on, the best salve will not heal the sore nor eat out the corruption, unless it be bound on and let lie: so it is with the Word, many a soul hears it; heart, conscience, affections, all touched: but when he is gone out of the Church, all is gone his affections die, his heart dies, and his conscience becomes unfruitful. Why? he is still removing of the salve, and will not let it lie on, and therefore the Word over-powers not his corruptions; the Word is like the salve; conviction of conscience is like the laying on of the salve; meditation the binding of it to the sore. St James compares a slight hearer to a man that looks into a glass, who soon forgets his visage; but a good hearer doth two things: First, he stoops down and looks into it, to take a perfect view of his estate; Secondly, he continues looking into it, James 1.25. he doth not leave the glass behind him, but he carrieth away the glass with him: This man shall be blessed in his deed. If the pills be never so bitter, yet let a man swallow them speedily, there is no great distaste; but if a man chew a pill, it will make him deadly sick. Thy sins are like those pills, they go down very pleasingly, because thou swallowest them: thou swallowest down thine oaths, lies, ignorance, pride, thou swallowest down the threats of the Lord; but if thou wouldst chew these bitter pills, and meditate and ruminate, and chew the cud, drunkenness would be as bitter as hell; swearing, and security, and Sabbath-breaking, would be as bitter as wormwood; thou durst not go on in them, they would make thee look sourly upon them for ever: like a man that hath chewed a pill, he can hardly ever see a pill, but his stomach riseth against it. Behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, Hosea 2.6. I will not be so precise (saith the heart) I will go on as I have done, I will go after these and these courses; I will hedge up thy way with thorns (saith God;) meditation is God's instrument, and sets a thorn in the way to every sin, to bring the heart back again. Would the heart lash out into lukewarmness? Meditation sets a thorn in the way; God will spew thee out of his mouth: Would the heart sally forth into any sin? Meditation sets a thorn in the way, Cursed ar● thou if thou dost err from God's Commandments. The heart cannot step forth into any lust; but meditation meets it with a thorn, this curse, and that curse, this plague, and that Plague: Would the heart reach at mercy in its sin? Meditation pricks it from it; mercy is vengeance unto thee, so long as thou hankrest after sin. Would the heart reach after Christ in his sin? Meditation bushes it back with a thorn: No Christ for thee, but a severe judge, so long as thou itchest after thy vanities. Use 1 What shall we think of them then, which are loath to practise this duty? Most men are loath, though they be willing enough to meditate on their worldly affairs. The Mariner meditates and considers his course by his Compass, or else he might soon run on the quicksands; a Pilgrim is full of thoughts, what? am I in my right way? He never comes to a doubtful turning, but he stands in a study & muses, O which is my right way? The Merchant meditates, and his mind runs on his Count-book, or else he is soon bankrupt: The voluptuous man, his thoughts run on his pleasures: the drunkards on his cups, the proud man's on his credit. But it is one thing to look to that which is thine, and another thing to look to thyself, Take heed to yourselves saith the Lord, Deut. 11.16. Deut. 12.30. Deut. 4.9. Exod. 34.12. as if he should say, think on thyself and of thy poor soul; let thy meditation run on thy poor soul. The heart is untoward unto this duty, and as unwilling as a Bear to be brought to the stake: the Bear would rather be rambling abroad then be baited: so men had rather let their hearts ramble about any thing, then bait them for their sins: yea men scoff at it, saying, shall we always be poring on our sins? shall we run mad? shall we drive ourselves to despair? cannot men keep themselves well while they are well? The poor man he hath no time for this tedious duty: the rich man, he needs it not, the wicked they dare not; so no man will: No man repent him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? jer. 8.6. No man would meditate and think with himself, what is my case? how stands my condition before God? what evil have I done? In the Ark, and in the old law, if there were any beast that chewed not the cud, it was a sign of an unclean beast: the word implies the bringing up of their meat into their mouths again, and sitting down to chew it again. But now men like unclean beasts, swallow down the food of their souls unchewed, and will not meditate thereof, that it may turn to good nutriment; but like Cormorants, they take it down by wholesale, and are never the better. So the Word is to them as the Quails to the Israelites, while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against them, and smote them with a very great plague, Num. 11.33. so the Word of God sticks in their teeth; ere they chew it, or meditate upon it, the wrath of God falls upon them, and strikes them with a very great plague of hardness of heart, and leanness of soul. But the truth is, you that will not now see your sins, nor meditate on them, you shall see them, and meditate on nothing but on fear. Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see, but they shall see and be ashamed, Esay 26.11. Let. 1 Now the Lets of serious meditation are, First, vain company. When Peter saw the people touched, Acts 2.37. he said unto them, Save yourselves from this untoward generation, verse. 40. as if he should say, If you love yourselves, God hath touched your hearts, suffer not Satan and these wicked instruments, to steal away these impressions of terror from your souls. If ever you love your souls, sort not yourselves with this untoward generation. See as it humbles you, so let meditation follow upon it, so that it may still humble you. Ill company brings a man to the gallows (as the proverb is) and ill company will bring a man to hell (say It) and meditation cannot be admitted to it. David would not have a wicked man to abide in his sight, when he was to meditate: he wished that there were never a wicked man in the world; much less would he keep company with them. My meditation of him shall be sweet; let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more: Bless thou the Lord, O my soul, Psal. 104.35. Let. 2 The second Let is, multitude of worldly business. A dream (saith Solomon) comes through multitude of business, Eccles. 5. Multitude of business causeth the mind so to run on them, that they do even dream of them in their sleep, as Lucretius, Seneca, Claudian, and many others of the heathens have observed. He that over-imployes himself, his meditations of heaven are dreaming meditations, his thoughts dreaming thoughts, he can never seriously meditete on the good of his soul. Many engross business into their hands, never thinking they have enough; they are so greedy after the world, and so careless of heaven. So they make their hearts like highway ground: the word sown in their hearts is like seed sown in the highway, where is such a thoroughfare, and a broad Carriers road of earthly affairs, that all the word and meditation thereof is trodden down as the grass in the highway, which cannot grow; so neither meditation in a busie-bodied heart. For a good meditating mind, (Nemo ad illam pervenit occupatus, saith Seneca) no man ever came to it surfeited with employments. David although he had abundance of State affairs, both his hands full, yet he would not have his hands to be overcharged, but that he might meditate in God's word: My hands also (not all down to business only in the world, but also up to thy Law) will I lift up to thy commandments which I have loved, and I will meditate on thy statutes, Psal. 119.48. Take not too much upon thee, like those grasping worldlings, that will have a finger in a hundred things: Martha, Martha, thou art cumbered about many things, but one thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen the better part, Luk. 10.41. and what was that one thing? Marry was sitting and meditating in, and pondering Christ's words, not (as Theophylact expounds it) as if he would say, Martha, Martha, thou art cumbered about many dishes, but one thing is needful, only one dish; though indeed so it be, yet he here speaks not only of one dish, but of many cares which hinder that one necessary duty of hearing and meditating on the word of God. Thirdly, ignorance. A man cannot meditate of a thing he knows not; nor thou of thy sins, if thou be not skilful in God's catalogue of thy sins; nor of mercies and promises if thou be'st not versed in them; nor of his Precepts, if thou be not expert in them. The Psalmist proveth that he had more knowledge than all his Teachers: Why? Because he used to meditate. I have more understanding than all my Tutors, for thy testimonies are my meditation, Psal. 119.99. Fourthly, averseness of the heart: The heart is like the swine, meditation is like the yoke: the Hog would fain get into forbidden fields for to grub them; the yoke, that hinders him; but he cannot abide it; every step he takes, he lifts up his foot to strike it off if he could; so the heart would fain break through hedges, and get into forbidden ways, and if thou wouldst meditate, it would every moment lift up its heel to put thee besides it: If it cannot put thee besides it, it will mar it if it can; and therefore David prayed to God to settle his heart upon the right, and put his yoke upon him, or it would never be steadfast else upon meditation. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, be ever acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer, Psal. 19.14. This averseness of the heart consists in three things: First, in the carelessness of the heart, the heart prizeth not meditation, nor the things of grace that are to be meditated on; it will not be at the cost and charge, nor at the pains for them. To what end is a price in the hands of a fool, seeing there is no heart to get wisdom? Prov. 17. ●6. The heart will not be brought to God's price; it would fain have the wares at a cheap rate. Secondly, in the run of it; the heart is like a vagrant rogue, he would rather be hanged then tied to his parish. Thou canst not bring it to prayer, but it will be a gadding on by-thoughts: thou canst not bring it to a Sermon, but it will be roving after wand'ring imaginations: thou canst not bring it to a meditation but it will be a gossipping forth. When Christ came to bind men with his blessed cords, and bind their hearts to him, Psal. 2. they fall a meditating afterwards, but it was meditating and imagining vain things, verse 1. and when they saw they were to be tied up, Tush (say they) let us break their bonds a sunder, and cast their cords from us, verse 3. What, do Ministers call us to such strictness, thinking to imprison our hearts in their stocks? away with their bonds, no we● will have none of it. Thirdly, in the wearisomeness of the heart: It is a weary of meditation as a Cur is of the whip, and the chain; Oh how it barks and maunders, till it be loose! yea, though it be never so eager upon it at the first, it's jaded presently. When God called the Jews to sanctify his Name, they thought in their hearts, O what a weariness is this! and ye have snuffed at it, (saith the Lord) ye brought that which was lame, and torn and sick, Malac. 1.13. What a weariness is it to meditate? saith the heart; it snuffs, it is untoward, it is lumpish; it would fain tear of a piece of the duty, or bring it wanting a leg, or without soundensse and sincerity; yet some of them (saith Calvin) were so humbled, that they thought on the Name of the Lord, Malac. 3.16. they thought, and meditated, and forced their hearts to consider throughly. Use 2 This may serve for terror unto all those, who for all this that hath been spoken, dare sit down without it; yea, the world will not believe these things, nor meditate therein: yea, they blame Gods messengers, that call so sore upon them. Habukkuk was so served; he preached the mercies of God to the humble, and the judgements of God to the wicked: they ask him why he was so mad? well (says the prophet) I will stand upon my watch, and see what the Lord says unto me, that I may answer to them that reprove me. Hab. 2.1. What did the Lord tell him? Write the vision, and make it plain upon Tables that ●e may run that reads it, vers. 2, Will they not believe? Will they rove? Will they not meditate steadily upon these things? Will they not let their hearts stay and meditate and consider? The vision shall be so plain, that he that runs may read it. If thou wilt not stay, and meditate herein, the Word is so plain to thy condemnation, that if thou didst but think of it with a running thought, thou mayst read thine own vengeance, thine own woes, in regard of the multitude of them. He that runs by a way full of holes and pits, though he stand not meditating where are the pits, yet he may run and see them. The book of God is full, leaves and cover, and all, of woes against thee, Lam. 2.10. It is written without, there thou mayst read thy sins written; it is written likewise within, there thou mayst read thy plagues. Secondly, in regard of the greatness of them, he that runs along▪ and lo a great town on fire, though he stay not to meditate on it, what or where it is, yet he may run and read it: so is the curse of sinners a great curse, Zeph. 1.10. he that runs may read it. Thirdly, in regard of the proximity and nearness of them He that runs, if a sword come out by his throat, though he do not stop to meditate, what is this at my throat, yet he cannot but see it. Behold the Judge standeth before the door. Jam. 5.9. Take heed how thou grudgest, or sinnest in any particular; behold the Judge standeth before the door; behold it and meditate on it with thy heart; if not, he is nigh enough, thou canst not step out of doors unto any sin, but though thou runnest, thou must needs see the Judge that will Judge thee, Iteming thy sins▪ noting thy ways, observing thy courses, ready to unhaspe the door on thee, to hale thee unto hell in thy sins. Whose end is destruction. Whose? Even those that mind earthly things. Phil. 3.19. If thy mind and meditation run more on thy ground, cattle, goods, kitchen, house business, earthly talk, discourses, thoughts, more than of heaven, thy end is destruction. If thy thoughts will n●t stay here, do but run, and thou mayst read it; Think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the Prophets, I am come t● fulfil them, Mat. 5.17. Some (saith chrysostom) might think now Christ is come, it is no matter though we be not so strict, Christ is enough: Think not thus (saith Christ) but rather think and meditate that I am come to fulfil it myself, and to see it fulfilled in those I mean to save, so as to make it the rule of their lives. Themistocles said, he could not sleep in his bed for continual thinking and meditating on Miltiades his Triumphs: And how canst thou sleep in thy bed, if thou wouldst but meditate on these places of Scripture? Retire thyself apart, there is no casting up of a man's account in a crowd: Let me alone, I am busy; so we use to say, when we would be private. Means 1 Thou must do with thy soul as Ehud did to Eglon, who said, I have a secret errand to thee, O King, and so all went out, and he said I have a message from God to thee, & so stabbed him at his heart, Judg. 3.19. So (for Ehud was a type of Christ, saith Lavator) I have a secret errand to thee, O my soul: and so let all go forth: I have a message from God to thee, a message of wrath for thy Pride, a message of wrath for thy vain hopes: Thus, saith the Lord; Cursed art thou, O my soul; stab it to the heart with this spiritual Dagger, wound it with the blade and haft and all, till thou have let out the fat and the dirt, the filth and iniquity all out. The Prophet speaking of men's looking on Christ whom they have pierced, this meditating and laying to heart that they have crucified the Lord Jesus, saith that they shall mourn every one in private, the house of David apart, and their wivis apart; the house of N●than apart, and their wives apart; the house of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; every family apart, and their wives apart, Zach. 12.2. Means 2 The second means, if thou wouldst meditate aright, observe the times of privacy. First, the morning, that is the best time for study: David chose the morning for meditation, Psal. 5.1.3. Let them hear this (saith chrysostom) that rise betimes in the morning to serve their Hogs and their Dogs, their bellies and their backs▪ before they serve God in meditation or prayer, unless it be the mumbling and roting a few [Lord have mercy upon us] that pray not till after many other businesses, it may be not then neirher. David prayed and meditated in the morning. In the morning thou washest thy face and thy hands, but thy soul hath more need, which thou washest not: in the morning thou puttest thy clothes on thy body: but thou puttest not on afresh the new man upon thy soul; in the morning thou shakest off sleepiness from thine eyes, but thou shakest not off drowsiness from thy soul. Thou lookest into the glass in the morning, to see if thy face be as it should be; but thy soul is not composedly looking into the glass of God's word. In the morning look up in prayer, look up in thanksgiving, look up in meditation. Secondly, the night too; O Lord, I meditate on thee in the night watches Ps. 63. not as carnal ones do, when they cannot sleep, than their mind runs on their Cow and their Calf, their markets and vanities, this neighbour and that neighbour, like Petronius his dog, that was hunting while he lay asleep in his kennel. Thirdly, in the evening; I prevent the night watches, that I might meditate, Psal. 119.148. he did not as wicked men do, sleep like a horse in the stable on his litter, with his neck tied to the manger; they go to bed with their hearts roped to the world, worldly thoughts, this thought and that thought, and God knows what. Fourthly, when the heart is touched at a Sermon, or Sacrament, or observing of any judgement or mercy, or act of God's providence, it is best striking when the Iron is hot. David when his heart was touched at the reproaches of the wicked, than he meditated, Ps. 119.23. When the Instrument is in tune, than it is good playing upon it; when a Churl is in a good mood, than it is fittest to deal with him. Oft will thy heart be out of tune, oft churlish and in an ill mood: if thou lettest the good opportunity go, thou know'st not when thou shalt have such another. When the fish is nibbling at the bait, than it is good twitching at the angle rod; when the heart is a nibbling at grace, then give a pluck at it by meditation. See Act. 17.11. now while the tide ●asts, see thou mayst get into the haven. Means 3 Thirdly, rub up thyself and thy memory; call as much to mind as thou canst, what evil thou hast done ever since thou wast borne, what in the womb, what in thy cradle, childhood, youth, age; what a servant, what a Master; what as a servant, what as a son, what as a neighbour, what as an inferior, what as a superior; either in thought, or word, or deed; how often thou ●ast omitted good duties, or done them by ●alves; Item for this, and Item for that. They shall remember themselves, and turn unto the Lord, Psal. 22.27. First they shall remember themselves, and say, What have I done, O wretch! how carelessly have I lived! Secondly, so meditating, they shall turn unto the Lord. Many say, Oh! they cannot remember their sins. They lie in a thousand particulars; for they can remember to commit them well enough. See Lam. 3.19, 20.21. our Greek translation turns it, I sp●ke to myself, and meditated: as if they should say, O what a rebel have I been! how unthankful, how unprofitable under all the means of grace! I may thank my sins for all the plagues of the Almighty that are upon me: if he had damned me, I had been well served. What follows? The heart bowed, and was humbled, as it is in the text. Means 4 The fourth means. Rouse up thy heart. As it is with the eye of the body, so it is with the eye of the soul: when a man would look wishly upon a thing, as if he would look through it, he sets his eyes on it, as Paul set his eyes on Elymas, Ah thou child of the Devil, thou, etc. Acts 13.9. Meditation is the setting of the eye of the soul upon a thing: set thine eye upon thyself and say, Ah thou child of the wicked, why hath Satan filled thy heart! O wretched heart! whence hadst thou thy self-love? hadst thou not it from the Devil? God might do well to send thee to the Devil, if thou lovest so to be his Broker. Se● thine eyes steadfastly upon thine own ways and thou shalt see infinite hellish evils in thy sins. Use 3 The third use is for reprehension. What is more usual than this that men make slight account of their sins? Nay, when God tells them in their hearts. Thou shalt not do this, thou shalt not do that, yet they meditate and think, Why may I not? Samuel bid Saul stay for directions from him, before he sacrificed unto God. It seems that God spoke to his heart, Stay till Samuel comes to direct thee: yet Saul forced himself to disobey, and to do sacrifice, 1. Sam. 13.12. he was bold, as Vatable turns it; he confirmed himself, as Pagnin translates it: he thrust himself upon the doing of it; God forbade him, he would do it: God urged him in his conscience not to do it, yet he would do it: God again whispered to him to do it not, yet he forced himself to do it; as if he should say, I hope I may do it, I have stayed seven days wanting an hour, or a piece of an hour; and a little piece breaks no squares. No? God rejected Saul for that venture; God would have forced him by meditation, O no, do it not, by no means: he made him think, Oh, it is against God's commandments, I may not do it. No, but nevertheless he forced himself to do it. Thus God deals with thousands and millions in the world: Be not a drunkard; God flings the meditation into the conscience yet a drunkard thou wilt be: be not a drunkard again; a drunkard notwithstanding thou wilt be: Be not again; they force themselves, they will go to the Alehouse. And so of all other sins. If men will cast oft this work of meditation darted into their souls, they cast off their own mercy. God tells them, pray not, hear not, offer not, without directions from me; they dread not the commandment, they will: I trust prayers are good, I will say them. Thus they will not meditate, or if they do, they break it off before it comes to any strength or perfection: yea, Gods own servants, that desire to look towards Zion, is not this your complaint oft? I cannot find sin heavy: I confess the word discovers it to me, but I cannot be troubled for it. Look as it is with men in the world, if five hundred pounds' weight be laid upon the ground, if a man never pluck at it, he shall never feel the weight of it. Your sins are not many hundreds, but many thousands, yea many ten thousands: self-love, security, hardness of heart, base fears, etc. it is impossible to reckon them. The least vain thought that ever you imagined, the least vain word that ever you uttered, were weight enough to press your souls down to hell. Therefore what are so many sins, and so great, and so often committed? What are they? they are as heavy as rocks and mountains; yet ye feel them not so heavy. Why? Ye weigh them not; if ye did, ye should find them heavier than the sand, as David did when his sin was ever before him (Psal. 51.3.) that is his sin was ever in his thoughts, and in his meditation, his sin was ever like a huge Millstone before him, and he was ever tugging and pulling to remove it out of his way. Object. ay, but you will say, How shall I come to feel my burden? Answ. I answer, three things are here to be discovered. First, the ground upon which our meditation must be raised. Secondly, the manner how to follow it home to the heart. Thirdly, how to put life and power in it. The ground I refer to these four heads: First, meditate on the goodness, patience, and mercy of God, that hath been abused by any of your sins; the greater they have been to you, the greater is every sin: this maketh them out of measure sinful, because God is out of measure merciful. There are many sins in one, when a man sins against many mercies. See judg. 2.2, 3. Why have ye done thus? I have done thus and thus mercifully unto you, why have ye done thus unthankefully to me? Why was my mercy abused? Why was my goodness slighted? Why was my patience despised? as if the Lord should say, I speak to your own consciences, think of it, meditate of it, why have ye done this? Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? Is not he thy Father? Meditate of it first, and tell me then. For it is a question put to thy meditation to answer. Do ye thus requite the Lord ye foolish people? Wert thou ever in want, but God supplied thee? Wert thou ever in weakness, but God strengthened thee? Wert thou ever in straits, but God delivered thee? When thou wert in sickness! he cured thee when thou wert in poverty, who relieved thee? when thou wert in misery, who succoured thee? Hath not God been a gracious God to thee? Every soul can tell, never poor sinner hath had a more gracious God, than I poor sinner have found to my soul. All my bones can say, Lord, who hath been like unto thee? This heart hath been heavy, and thou hast cheered it: this soul hath been distressed, & thou hast eased it: many troubles have befallen me, and thou hast given me a gracious issue. This poor man (saith David, pointing to himself) this poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, Psa. 34.6. And shall I thus reward the Lord? shall I sin against this goodness? Then what shall I say? Hear. O heavens, and hearken, O earth; Sun, stand thou still, and thou Moon be amazed at this, and be avenged on such a heart as this. The Ox knows his Owner, and the Ass his Master's Crib; but here is a heart that will not remember to know the Lord▪ Hear, O heavens, this villainy crieth so loud, that your ears may hear it. Hear all ye Angels, and be astonished, here is villainy to make your ears glow: yea, hear Hell, hear Devi●s, if ever there were worse committed by you. When men are but ingenuous, if they have received any kindness from a friend, they were never in want but he relieved them: never harbourless, but he housed them; never to seek, but he found them: Let a man deal thus kindly with a man, if this man should deny him any ordinary favour, he will be ashamed of himself, ashamed to come into his presence. What will he think, his house was mine, his cubboard was mine, and his purse was mine, and his friends were mine, and that I should deal thus unkindly with him, even nature rebukes me. This serious meditation will help to break thy heart. The second ground of meditation is to meditate on the justice of God: God is a just God as well as merciful. Speak all ye Devils in hell, Do ye not feel that he is a just God? Speak Sodom, Speak Gomorrah, your fire and brimstone can testify that he is a just God: Speak Adah, Zillah, and all ye that were drowned in the old world, your deluge can testify he is a just God, His judgements are in all the world. 1 Chron. 16.14. What is become of drunken Nabal, and swearing Saul, and covetous Ahab, and proud jesabel, and mocking jehu, and envious Shimei? What is become of all blind Jebusites, and prating cavilling Dio●repheses? Justice hath taken hold of them. What is poverty? What is nakedness? What is famine, sickness, the gout the stone, Fever, plague? These are the little arrows of God's justice. What is shame, disgrace, crosses, afflictions, unseasonable reins, dangerous weather, wars, rumours of wars? What are all the evils under the Sun? They are the little finger of God's justice. Thou spiest them here and there, in every Town, and in every parish, in every Country: do they not all witness that he is a just God? Read Psalm 7.11, 12, 13. God hath bend his bow already (saith David) the arrow is ready to sly out of the string: It will not be long before it hit thee, if thou meditate not upon amendment: God is angry with the wicked every day, as an angry man useth to say, I will be revenged on thee. Wilt thou not give over thy sins? I will be revenged on thee. Read Psal 11.5, 6, 7. Meditate on this; he will neither spare King nor subject, nor rich nor poor, nor noble nor base, nor Judges and Justices; yet judges and Justices may spare, but God will not spare: they may be bribed to pardon, but God will not be feed to spare them that go on in their wickedness; and do I think to escape? Nay, my soul, thou canst never escape, except thou obeyest. The third ground is, Meditate on the wrath of God; Oh! what wrath is it? Can I stand against it? It burns like an Oven, and all the proud, and all that do wickedly, shall be as stubble, and the day of wrath shall burn them up. Behold this, saith the Text. Malac. 4.1. Behold it, and meditate on it. Can I go naked in a hot fiery oven? Can I lift up my hands against it? My hands will be scorched. Can I kick against it? My legs will be baked. Can I blow upon it with my mouth? my mouth is fired. Did I ever see lime burned? were I in the limbs room, could I endure that boiling? and yet if I live in my sins, I shall be as the burning of lime, Isay 33.12. Let thy heart meditate terror: Who among us shall be able to dwell (that is the meaning of it, as Montanus showeth) who among us shall dwell with devouring fire? who among us shall burn with everlasting burnings? vers. 14. God's mercy shall say, Take him wrath: I would have converted him, but he would not. God's goodness shall say, Take him wrath: I would have been kind unto him, but he hath abused me. God's patience shall say, Take him wrath: I have suffered him a great while, that he might have time of repentance, but he repented not in that time. God smote Egypt in their firstborn. Why? For his mercy endureth for ever. God overthrew Pharaoh and his host: Why? For his mercy endureth for ever. Psal. 136.15. He smote great Kings, Sihon a King, and Og a King: for his mercy endureth for ever. So will God damn thee that art a drunkard: Why? for his mercy endureth for ever. God will confound thee that art a worldling: Why? for his mercy endureth for ever. God will be revenged on thee that art a Luke-warmling: Why? for his mercy endureth for ever. This may well make thee tear the hair of thy head, rather than let thee go on in thy sins. See Jerem. 7.29. Meditate on this. The fourth ground: meditate on the constancy of God. As the Lord was an enemy to wicked men, so he continues the same God still, a constant enemy to them still. As the Lord would not endure sin heretofore, so he is constant, he still will not endure it. Did the Lord once say, Weep and howl ye drunkards? Joel 1.5. he is constant, so he saith still. Did the Lord say, he would burn up Sabbath-breakers? Jer. 17.27, he is constant; so he saith still. Who ever hardened his heart against the Lord, and prospered? Job 9.14. as if he should say, I put it to thee to meditate of it: canst thou show me a precedent? did ever any man harden his heart against God's Word, in his sin, that prospered? Did Senacherib prosper in his will-worship? Did Judas prosper in his covetousness? Did Jeconiah prosper in his stubbornness? Where is the Scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers? (saith the prophet) Your fathers where are they, saith Zachary? Did not my words take hold of them? and are they not all now in hell, that have ever lived and died in their sin, from the beginning of the world? Thou canst not show me one drunkard, or one mocker, or one profane person, or one formal professor, from the day that man was created upon the earth, that is not now in hell, if he be dead. Meditate on this, how canst thou expect to be the one only in all the world that shall escape, if thou livest and diest in thy sins? If hell were opened, and the bottomless pit were looked into, thou shouldest see every soul that ever lived, and died in their sins, even every soul; there is not one soul missing. Meditate on this; when I die, do I think I shall not be there? nay I shall be there too, unless aforehand I enter into the straight gate, and walk in the narrow way of newness of life. The Second SERMON OF The use and benefit of Divine Meditation. HAGGAI. 1.5. Now therefore thus saith the Lord of Hosts, Consider your ways. NOw follows the manner, how to follow Meditation home to the heart. Here are four things to be practised. First, weigh and ponder all these things in thy heart. It's said of Mary, she pondered, Luke 2, 19 and kept all these sayings in her heart: verse 51. The words signify two things: First, she compared these things together. Secondly, she cast them all in the scales together. Dost thou know God is merciful? ponder it with his justice. Dost thou know that Jesus Christ died for sinners? ponder it with the true drift of it, how that it is not to let men go on in their sins, but to save them from their sins. Dost thou obey God in this or that Commandment? O ponder thy life with the rest, Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Prov. 4.26. A man that eats his meat well, forty morsels well, yet one crumb going awry throttles him. Thou walkest in these and these Commandments; yea, but there be other Commandments besides these: dost thou walk in them too? thou must, if thou meanest to have thy ways to be established. The Jews had their continers, talents, mind's sicles, which were greater weights; so they had also their gerahs, and agorahs, smaller measures, and smallest of all: so have thou greater and less weights; great ones to ponder the great Commandments, and less to weigh even the least of God's Commandments: and see thou make true Evangelicall weight, or else all will not be well. Suppose a man were to pay a 100 pound of good and lawful money, and in weight, upon forfeiture of all that he hath, if he weigh it not; but the Creditor doth, and finds it light; he is undone. If thou ponderest not thy ways, God will ponder them: Prov. 5.21. the word signifies, he weighs, and ponders them in a balance, or scales; he puts the Word of his Gospel in the one, and thy goings and obedience in the other. Thou art weighed, and art found light, thy kingdom is departed from thee: saith God to Belshazzar, Dan. 5.27. So if thou be light, thou shalt be weighed, and so found, thou shalt lose the kingdom of heaven for ever. Secondly, strip sin, and look upon it stark naked: sin covers and disguiseth itself, with pleasure, profit, ease, and many a whorish garment, and so enticeth the heart. Even a toad, if she were covered over with gold, those that saw only the gold, would pocket it up; if it were naked, they would sling it in the kennel. Why do men love covetousness? Why, its hooded with profit. Why carding, dicing, hunting, hawking, tabring, piping, and more than the word alloweth? Why? they are clothed with pleasure, and delight. It's the duty of Ministers to unmask and uncase sin, and pluck off the vail that covers it from appearing unto men. The not doing of this is the cause, that men do not meditate on the vileness of their sins, never are humbled, never escape God's wrath; even because they do not discover men's iniquities. Lam. 2.14. Alas, the profit of thy sins shall cease, the pleasure cease, the ease cease, and all these goodly suits shall vanish away, when the soul comes to die, or to stand before the judgement seat of Christ: sin will remain, but thy silver, and thy gold, where will that be then? thy laughter, and thy merriment, what will become of that then? thy delight will be gone. Meditate therefore with thyself, my sin is now gainful, and easy, and pleasant; but what will my sin become, when I come to lie on my deathbed? what good will it do me, when I have most need of succour? I will never acknowledge him my friend that will turn against me, when I have most need of him. Alas, I must die, I must come to judgement, I must go either to heaven, or to hell: the profit that I get now by my sins, will it bestead me then? the pleasure, the ease that I now find in sin, will it help me there? Alas no, it will then be my break-neck, it will be a Devil unto me: the more I have been delighted with it, the more it will gall me: the more I have gotten by it, the more it will damn me: the sin which I most of all loved, will most of all torment me. Ecclesiast. 11.9. look thus upon sin. The third means: dive into thine own soul and heart? there is a tough brawn over thy heart that it feels not its sins. Now Meditation must look through, and come to the heart at the quick and cause the truth to dive into the deep places of the soul. When the timber is hard, the workman cannot thrust in the nail with the weight of his hand: no, he must hammer it in. Meditation is the hammering of the heart. It's a pertinent phrase, Jer. 23.24. Is not my word like a fire, (saith the Lord) and like a hammer that breaketh the rocks in pieces? There be two similitudes, first, of a hammer: the Word of God is the hammer; meditation is the hand that taketh this hammer, and knocks the nail into the rocky heart, and makes it enter: Wilt thou not feel? I'll make thee feel: (saith meditation) wilt thou not take notice of thy wretched estate? Meditation comes with blow after blow, and makes it take notice. Seeondly, of fire; the word is like fire; Meditation kindles it about the heart. A man benumbed with cold is senseless; the water frozen with cold, though the least pebble would have sunk in it before, now a great millstone is able to lie upon it, and not sink; the water is able to bear it: so is the heart, be it sins never so heavy, as the hill of Basan, yet it bears it and feels no weight: but Meditation thaws the heart, and then every sin pincheth and oppresseth. Is not my word like fire? as if he should say, think of it, and muse of it, and meditate of it, and thou shall feel it as a fire. Meditation is the often smiting of the heart with this hammer: so did Ephraim, smite upon his thigh: Jer. 31.19. like a man in a miserable agony, he thumps his own breast, and in a vexation strikes his hand on his thigh. Oh miserable wretch that I am! So did Ephraim, Oh what an unruly Ox am I! how unwilling am I to bear the yoke of the Lord? Oh and oh the hardness of my heart! oh that I could tell how to beat thee black and blue! Many men smite their hearts, but they smite them not often enough. When El●sha bade Joash smite upon the ground, he smote thrice and sta●ed. The man of God said to him in anger, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times, for than thou hadst smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed them, where as now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice. 2. Kin. 13.19. So men smite their hearts twice or thrice or so, but they will not smite their sins dead: it may be they break the head of their sins, but they recover again, and grow strong upon them, as at first. Thou must smite five or six times, yea fifty times five times, till thou hast quite broken the imposthume of thy heart. Meditate on the mercies of God, and with them smite it often and often: Meditate on the justice of God, and with it smite it again, and again: Meditate on the wrath of God, which is as a consuming fire, and with it smite it sound. Meditate on the truth of the Lord, this threatening and that threatening; this commandment, and that commandment; this promise and that promise; and with all these smite it to powder. The forth manner; Anticipate and prevent thine own heart: meditate what thy heart will one day wish, if it be not humbled, and tell thy soul as much; thou wilt one day wish, Oh that I had been humbled under the reproofs of the Lord! Oh that I had been wise to have understood mine own mercy! Cursed be the day that ever I neglected the means of grace; so the Lord brings in a foolish obstinate sinner, cursing and banning his own soul, sobbing and howling at the last, Oh how have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof! and have not observed the voice of my Teachers, nor inclined mine care to them that instructed me? Pro. 5.12, 13. I had Ministers to preach to me, but I would not come at them ●or if I did, I cared not for their doctrine: I had friends that advised me well, but woe is me damned wretch! I heeded them not. Thus thou wilt cast the fool into thine own teeth and fling a thousand curses into thine own face, because of thy madness. I might have learned. but I would not; I might have been humbled, but I would not: I was almost in all evil in the midst of the assembly of the congregation, verse. 14. I lived where the Saints of God were in whole assemblies, but I mocked them, I hated them, I misliked them for being too precise. I was not ashamed of my security, no not in thy sight. Thus thou wilt cry out one day, if now thou wilt not yield unto meditation, which must make this as present with thee. Know thou, O my soul, the time of thy visitation is at hand, thou wilt curse thyself hereafter, if thou dost not now be moved by God's mercies, thou shalt never see mercy more: Now be awaked by God's judgements, or else thou shalt feel them for evermore, now or for ever thou shalt roar for them. Then thou shalt curse thy gains and thy profits that bewitched thee, thou shalt curse thy pleasures and delights that besotted thee, curse thine own heart, and thine own soul, and thine own conscience that have damned thee. Meditation may tell thee, thus it will be with thee, unless thou obeyest now. Hear ye me now, oh ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth, ver. 7. hear the word now, and obey it, let it not depart out of thy meditation. Now be humbled with grace, o● than thou shalt be humbled with horror: then thou shalt wish, Oh that I had been ruled! When thou art in hell, than thou shalt meditate, 〈◊〉 it was good counsel that such and such a ●ster gave me; good counsel that such a 〈◊〉 and such a brother gave me; but wretch 〈◊〉 I was, I had not grace to follow it! I had more mind of my pleasures, more mind of my vanities then of grace. Oh if it were to do again, I would not do so for a thousand worlds: but alas, it is now too late. Therefore let Meditation press this upon thee beforehand. Now follows the third thing, how to put life to Meditation. Four duties are to be done to this purpose 1. Let Meditation haunt thy heart, let meditation dog thee with the hellish looks of thy sins, and follow it with the dreadful vengeance of God, haunt it with promises, haunt it with threatenings, haunt it with mercies, and haunt it with judgements, and haunt it with Commandments. The heart is like the Beaver, when it perceiveth it cannot possibly escape from the Huntsman, it cuts the member for which it is hunted, and slings it down, and so escapes (saith Aesop's:) So pursue thy heart with its sins, with the hue and cry of God's mercies; pursue it with the hubbub of God's judgements; let meditation haunt it, and let thy soul see it shall never be rid of the haunt; at last it will be content to part with its lusts. Let meditation say, Wilt thou forsake thine own mercies? If thou livest thus and thus, if thou prayest thus and thus, dead-heartedly, thou kickest against thine own mercy, wilt thou rush upon the pricks? This mercy thou mayst have, if thou wouldst amend; that vengeance thou shalt have, if thou do not amend: Either cut off thy sins, or else God will cut off thy soul. Return, O Shulamite, return, return, it's the voice of Christ to thee: Let meditation say, Return, O my soul, return, return, and thou mayst be saved; return, or else thou shalt be condemned. Now what was the effect of this haunting meditation? Or ere I was aware, my soul made me like the Chariots of Aminadab, verse. 12. That is, my soul musing and meditating on these and these commandments, it so humbled my soul, that it made me yield; yea, and made me run as fast as the Chariots of Aminadab, freely and willingly to Christ. Deal with thy heart as Junius his father dealt with him: he seeing his son was Atheistical, he laid a Bible in every room, that his son could look in no room, but behold a Bible haunted him, upbraiding him, Wilt thou not read me, Atheist? Wilt thou not read me? And so at last he read it, and was converted from his Atheism: So let meditation haunt thy heart, hold forth the commandments, promises, threatenings of the Lord, that thy heart may see them; let meditation haunt thee in thy lukewarmness: prayest thou thus lukewarm? This prayer will break thy neck one day. Repentest thou? This lukewarm repentance will cause God to spew thee out of his mouth. Hearest thou, speakest thou, thinkest thou? These lukewarm duties will confound thee ere long, if thou lookest not to it. Let Meditation haunt thee, as they haunted Nehemiah with warnings, ten times (saith the Text) they sent to Nehemiah, they will be upon thee, Nehem. 4.12. Beware of the danger, the enemy will be upon thee: ten times they warned him, never giving over till Nehemiah looked about him, vers. 13. So do thou haunt thine own heart: they will be upon thee, this curse, this wrath, that hardness of heart, this security will be upon thee. Ten times, yea, a thousand times ten times, never give over thine own soul, until thou hast made it to submit. Indeed there be some, let God send Meditations to haunt them, and follow them, saying, Repent, leave this or that sin, why wilt thou be damned with this sin? Oh forsake it, presently they will gag the mouth of Meditation, and of conscience, and strike them stark dead: as Abner when Azahel would haunt him, and follow him, and turn neither to the right hand, nor to the left, but follow him at the heels. Turn aside (saith Abner) but he would not turn aside from following him. Turn aside from me (says Abner again) or I will kill thee, but he would not turn aside, he would follow him close: Then he up with his Spear and slew him, 2 Sam. 2.19, 20, 21, 22, 23 So many deal with the meditation of conscience, when conscience would dog them, and weary them out of their sins, they will not: when conscience would haunt them, they will not be haunted therewith; when conscience would follow them up with their desperate wilfulness, they gall and wound, and murder conscience to be quiet. But David haunted his heart, and would have it haunted. The second duty: Let Meditation trace thy heart, as it should haunt thee, so also let it trace thee in the samesteps. So would the Church, Let us search and try our ways, and turn again unto the Lord: Lam. 3.40. The word (in the original, says Buxtorf) signifies, tract or steps, step by step: this step was in the ditch, that in the mire, that step awry: tract them all, that we may ungo them all again, and turn unto the Lord. Never pray but let Meditation tract thy prayer: this passage was right, that passage was amiss. Never keep a Sabbath but let Meditation tract thy keeping of it; this duty was sincere, that was rotten: Never do any thing but let Meditation tract it. This thought, this word, this action was warrantable; that was out of the way: tract thy heart, as the Lord tracted Eliah, he tracked him in the wilderness, he tracted him under the juniper tree, he tracked him in the cave; What dost thou here Eliah? go forth: 1 King. 19 What dost thou here Eliah, go, return. He tracked him in the mount, Go, return, what dost thou here Eliah? this is not a place for thee. So let Meditation wait thee: what dost thou here, O sinner? what dost thou here O drunkard? in thy covetousness, or in thy profaneness, what dost thou here? this is not a place for thee, unless thou mean to perish. It may be thou art now scared out of these sins, and art run into civil honesty; let Meditation still tract thee. What dost thou do here, O sinner? Civility is not a case fit for thee, unless thou wert better, thou shalt be torn in pieces. It may be thou art driven out of thy civility, and art gone further, to the profession of Religion, though it be without the power of it: let meditation still wait thee. What dost thou here, O sinner? this sorry kind of profession is not a race fit for thee: unless thou be godlier than so, thou shalt be devoured with everlasting fire. Meditation is like the coursing of a hare in the snow; the hare fearing to be taken by the dogs, here she stops, there she leaps, here she interleaps, there she goes backward, and forward upward and downward, and all to deceive the dogs, that they may not find her; but they go smelling and maundering, winding and turning, and tract her step by step, till they find her: so meditation in the coursing of the soul, the heart hath a thousand fetches, a thousand meanders and labyrinths, a thousand cross windings, and compassings, and deceits, and all to puzzle Meditation. But Meditation must tract the heart, as God dealt with Job, he counted his steps, step by step: Job 14.16. Meditation is the souls bloodhound, it will never leave howling, the wrath of God, till it hath taken the heart's sin for a prey; Meditation haunts it out of one sin, and it runs into another; Meditation haunts it out of that, and it runs into a third: Meditation is a good pursuivant, it prosecutes the sinner, and attaches him. Now because the heart is most cunning, and hardest to be tracked by its scent, when the heart hath taken up abundance of good duties, and attained unto sundry graces, these good duties and common graces drown the sent of the heart's wickedness. As Huntsmen observe, that the hounds cannot well hunt in the Spring, as Theophrastus, and Pollux, and others observe: the sweet odours of the flowers and herbs (says Oppian) hinder the hounds from smelling the hare: so it is with Meditation; it is hard for it to tract the heart in the green Spring time of civil honesty and formality. And therefore let Meditation make diligent search, saith he. Psal. 77.16. The third duty: hale thy heart before God, and let Meditation bring it before his throne, and there pour out thy complaint against it before God, there out with all thy villainy, and article against thyself, and bring as many complaints against thyself before heaven, as there be drops in a bucket full of water. So do the godly: I poured out all my complaints before him, (Psal. 102. in the preface) I poured out my complaints, as a man poureth out water out of a vessel; generally men are willing to call for mercy, but they are not so willing to bring complaints unto God against themselves: ye shall have them whisper after the Minister, as he is begging for pardon and mercy, but they will not do so, whiles he is complaining of their sins; the hellish and devilish abominations of their heart. These are men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith, and shall never have mercy, till they be as forward to complain of their sins, as to be plaintives for mercy. When a man in Meditation meets with a hard matter, that he cannot sufficiently dive into, he breaks it to another: so do thou to God; break all thy heart to God, tell him of thy hardness of heart, of the pride of thy heart, of the desperate profaneness of thy heart: but take these rules with thee. First, thy complaint must be full of sorrow: Psal. 55. Secondly, it must be a full complaint, of all thy sins, and of all thy lusts; Lam. 2.18, 19 Pour ou● thy heart like water before the face of the Lord. Water runs all out of a vessel when you turn the mouth downward; never a spoonful will stay behind. The wicked will not complain of their sins fully: they make hypocritical professions. If it be a sin, I am sorry for it; (says one) if it be naught, I cry God mercy; (saith another) when their own consciences tell them it is a sin, yet they will not complain of it absolutely. Thirdly, thy complaint must be with aggravation: thou must aggravate thy sins by all the circumstances, that may show it to be odious, as Peter did: when he thought thereon, he wept Mark 14.72. the original hath it, he cast all these things one upon another. Wretch that I was, Christ was my master, and yet I denied him; such a good master, that he called me before any of my fellow Apostles, and yet I denied him; I was ready to sink once, he denied not me: I was to be damned once, he denied not my soul, and yet I denied him; he told me of this sin beforehand, that I might take heed of it, and yet I denied him. I said I will not commit it, nor forsake him, and yet I denied him: yea, this very night, no longer ago, did I say and say again, I would not deny him, and yet I denied him, yea, I said, though all others denied him, yet would not I; and yet worse than all others, I denied him with a witness, before a maid, before a damosel; nay, more filthy beast that I am, I said I did not know the man; nay more, I swore I did not know him; nay, more than all this, I did even curse myself with an oath, that I did not know him: nay more, all this evil did I, not above five or six strides from my Lord and Saviour: nay more, even then, when if ever I should have stood for him, I should have done it then, when all the world did forsake him. Oh wretch that I was, I denied him! he cast up all these circumstances together, and meditating on them, he went out, and wept bitterly. Fourthly, thy complaint must be a self-condemning complaint: thou must condemn thyself, and lay thyself at hell gates, and set the naked point of God's vengeance at thy throat. Thus and thus have I lived, damned, castaway, as I have deserved to be! So did Ezra in the behalf of the Jews, Ezra 9 For, 1 He fell on his face; he did not bow down on his knees; but like a man astonished, he fell on his knees, ready to feel on the ground in amazement. 2. He spread out his hands unto the Lord, verse 5. as if he should say, here is my heartblood. Lord here is my breast, Lord; we deserve thou shouldst stab us with thy wrath. 3. He blushes to look heaven in the face, verse 6. so vexed to think on the sins of his people, that he is even confounded to beg mercy. 4. He is (as it were) dumb and speechless before God: And now our God, what shall we say after all this? for we have forsaken thy commandments, verse 10. Shall I excuse the matter? alas! it is inexcusable. What shall we say after all this? Shall we call for thy patience? We had it, and yet were little the better. Shall we call for mercy? Why we had it, and yet our stubborn hearts would not come down. I know not what to say for ourselves: for we have sinned against thee. 5. He declares God's truth, that he had warned them by his Prophet●, (vers. 11.12.) but no warning can better us. 6. He shows how God had punished them, yet they would not be humbled: for all that God had brought upon them less evils than they deserved, and wrought deliverances for them, which they could not have expected; What shall we say, should we for all this break thy Commandments? verse 13, 14. What can we expect but hell and confusion? 7. He is sensible of God's judgements and righteousness: O Lord, thou art righteous: as if he should say, How canst thou spare us for this sin? How can it stand with thy righteousness? How is it that such hellhounds as we are, should live above ground, when thou art so righteous a God? It is a wonder that the earth opens not her mouth for to swallow us up quick: for, O Lord, thou art righteous. 8. He lays down his soul, and all the people's souls at God's feet; as if he should say, here we be, thou mayst damn us if thou wilt; Behold, we are all here before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee, because of this, ver. 15. Behold here we are: rebels we are: here are our heads and our throats before thee, if now thou shouldst take us from our knees unto hell, & from our prayers unto damnation, we cannot ask thee why thou dost so: Oh it's mercy, it's mercy indeed, that we have been spared. Thus meditation must bring our hearts before God, and there complain against them before heaven. Meditation should deal with the heart, as the Father did with his possessed child, who carried him to Christ; saying, Master, my child is possessed with a Devil, even a dumb spirit, and I spoke to thy Disciples that th●y should cast him out, but they could not Mark 9.18. Bring him to me (saith Christ) vers. 19 How long is this ago since this came to him? Of a child (saith the Father) and often it hath cast him into the fire, and often into the water to destroy him; but if thou canst do any thing (as certainly thou canst do all things) have compassion on us, and help us. verse 22. And then Christ helped him. So let meditation drive thy heart to God, saying, Lord here is my heart (I believe) possessed with a Devil; for it is a most abominable sinful heart: I brought my heart to thy Ministers to cure it, to Sermons to Prayer, to all other good duties, but they could not help me: my heart is a Devilish heart, still my heart is wicked, and rebellious still, the Devil, oh! the Devil is in it still! Oh, how he tempts me! he holds me, he casts me into the fire of this lust, and into the water of ever-flowing iniquity. Have thou compassion, come and help me; for my heart is miserably vexed with Satan; when I pray, the Devil stuffs me with dead thoughts, and drowsy desires▪ the Devil fills me with wand'ring Imaginations, and I know not what; when I hear the Word the Devil makes me to rise up against it, or forget it, or not obey it; when the Sabbath is come, the Devil sets me on thinking my own thoughts, and speaking mine own words; when a Sacrament is come, the Devil hinders me in selfe-examination, the Devil disappoints me of my preparation: Oh have thou compassion on me. The fourth duty; let meditation, when it hath held thy heart before God, there cast thee down before him: when Meditation hath searched out thy case, and made it appear how woeful it is, then let it lay thee along before God, with What shall I do to be saved? So it did with them in Acts 2.27. as if they should say (saith chrysostom) we have not one jot of hope to find mercy, so long as we live as we do. What shall we do? Say what thou wilt, our ears are ready to hear it; command what thou wilt, our souls, what ever it be, are willing to do it: bid us suffer what ever thou pleasest, tell us what it is, and we will endure it. They did not say, (notes chrysostom) How shall we be saved, as wicked men do: they desire to be saved, but their main care is not to see what they must do, they are told what they must do, and yet refuse to do it; but thy chief study must be, to cast thyself down before God, with the good Jailor, Sirs, what shall I do to be saved? Acts 16.30. First, what must I do? and then to be saved. First, thy care must be what to do to get out of thy sins, how to be rid of thy lusts, and then to be saved; as if he should say, I see I am at a damned pass, and therefore I was a making away myself, the fire of hell did slay my soul: but now is there hope of salvation? is there indeed? Oh tell me, I am willing to do any thing, what must I do? Keep nothing back of all the will the Lord; be it punishments to suffer, tell me of it, I am ready to bear it; be it precepts for to do, though never so irksome, O let me know it, and I will not refuse it. What must I do to be saved? When the heart is thus humbled upon sound meditation, it's willing to do or suffer any thing. Jonah is willing to be cast into the sea, being humbled. Jonah 1.2. Here I am, Lord, deal with me as thou wilt. Motive 1 The first Motive. Is it a folly not to meditate? Should a man walk on in a course, and not meditate whether it will tend? When he falls into mischief, what will he say? I never thought of this before, I never considered that this would be the end. Now it is the part of a fool to say, I never thought, as the Latin proverb hath it; when the Steed is stolen, if he should then shut the Stable door, what wouldst thou say? He should have thought of that before. The rich man in the Gospel had these meditations in his heart; he thought within himself, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow, my fruits? He said in his heart, This will I do, I will pull down my barns and build greater; and will say to my soul, Soul, soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, eat, drink, and be merry; Luke 12.17, 18, 19, 20. Thou fool (said God) this night shall thy soul be required of thee; then, whose shall these things be that thou hast provided? God said thus unto him; not as if God spoke thus familiarly unto him (saith Theophylact) but it is a parable, and God says so in his word, Thou soul, this night shall they requir● thy soul of thee. In this night of thy blindness, in this night of thy security, shall they require it: he doth not say, I will require thy soul of thee, but they: he doth not say who, but they, the Devils in hell, God knows who shal● come, thou shalt die, and they shall fetch away ●hy soul to hell: they shall require it. A godly man's soul is not required, but ●ather he requires God to take away his soul: he is willing to die, that he may be with Christ: but a wicked man's soul is required of him: he would willingly not ●ie, but that his soul is required of him and he must die. Doubtless the rich foo●e now thought with himself, I never thought that I should have died so soon, and therefore now he ●alls (it may be) to his Lord, Lord, and cries God mercy. But what will they say to him? Thou shouldst have thought of this before. The wise man shall inherit ●lory, but shame shall be the promotion of so●es, ●rov. 3.3. ●he wi●e and prudent, those that truly meditate of things before hand, shall have glory; but fools that hope to be promoted to glory and salvation, shame and confusion of face shall be all their promotion▪ and when they come thereto, besides their expectation; what will they say? We never thought it would be thus with us before; but fools as we were, we thought to be promoted to heaven: like Haman, when King A●ashuerus said unto him, What shall be done to the man whom the King will honour? O thus and thus (saith Haman) for he thought, I am the man whom the King intendeth to honour, Esther 6. ●. but when Haman was presently after to be hanged on a gallows, he might rightly say, I never thought of this before. So what shall be done to the man whom the Lord will honour? Thus and thus sayest thou, he shall have mercies, blessings, heaven: I, for thou thinkest I am the man that God intendeth thus to honour; but when thou art come to hell, what wilt thou say then? I never thought of this before, that so it would be. Mot. 2 The second Motive is, Thou wouldst be loath to have the brand of a Reprobate: Not to meditate, is that brand; The wicked through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God; neither is God in all his thoughts, Psal. 10.4. He scorns to be so poring upon Bibles, to be so wracking his mind with his sins; He hath said in his heart, God will not require it, vers. 13. God requires no such scrupulosity nor strictness. Mot. 3 The third Motive is, Thou wouldst be loath to roh God of his honour, and the main part of his service, whis is Meditation. Thou shalt love the Lord with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, Matth. 22.38. How can this be true of them (saith Chrysostom) who become vain in their imaginations? Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul and mind: And so do I (sayest thou:) So dost thou? What, and not love God with all that is in thy heart? Thy thoughts are in thy heart, thy meditations are in thy mind; If thy thoughts then, and meditations be not of God, thou dost not love God with all thy heart. David did not only pray, that the words of his mouth, but also that the thoughts of his heart should be ever acceptable to the Lord, Psal. 19.14. not only that he might be full of heavenly communication in his mouth, but also of holy meditation in his heart. Behold (saith he) thou requirest truth in the inward parts, Psal. 51.6. And meditation is one of the duties of truth in the inward parts. Mot. 4 The fourth Motive: Thou wouldst be loath that all the worship thou givest to God, should be abominable: so it will be without meditation; meditation before it, meditation after it. First, Thou must meditate before thou goest about a duty of God's worship: consider before thou hear the word of God, meditate what thou art going about, Harken O daughter, and consider, incline thine ear, Psal. 45.10. First, consider and meditate, and then incline thine ear. This is part of those words often in Scripture, Be ready, be ready: Be ready and come up saith God, Exod. 34.2.) Be ready against the third day, Exod. 19 Gather yourselves together, Zeph. 2.1. that is, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel, Amos 4.12. Secondly, meditate after the duty. When men part with men, they use to give one another a farewell, and not bluntly deliver their mind one to another, and so turn their backs one upon another. Lysias could not write a letter to Felix, and break up abruptly, but he gave him a farewell, Acts 23.30. Neither may a man when a duty is done, go away bluntly from God, but give him a farewell by holy meditation. It's an unseemly kicking of a duty, as most men do when they are come to the end of their prayers, to whom with the Father and holy Spirit, be ascribed all praise and glory, Amen; Come, is dinner ready? or, what news do you hear? This is unmannerliness towards the ordinances of God. A man that hath been at a ●oo● dinner will sit a while after it, or walk a while, he will not presently run to his work, that the meat may digest the better: So when thou hast been at God's dainties, sit after it a while, pausing and meditating thereof, as often as thou well mayest, let it have its working a while. What is the reason thou hast so many by-thoughts in prayer? Because thou dost not meditate beforehand and after. Hence it is that thine eyes are not directed to the duty, but like a blind Archer thou shootest but by aim; when the good Archer shoots, he must have the white in his eye still, which he must level at. My voice shalt thou hear betimes in the morning, in the morning will I direct my prayer to thee, and will look up, ●s. ●. 3. How came that? you may look on his meditations, vers. 1. By meditation he was wont to direct and level his prayer to God. Wicked men know that God is before them, as a blind man may le●rne that the But is before him, but they see not God before them to direct their prayers unto him: they pray at rovers. Thou must use then to meditate of God, that thy prayers may be directed: if thou prayest not thus, thy prayers are like them in the Prophet, who drew near to God with their lips, but their hearts were far from him, like an arrow beside the But, or far from the mark, either wide or short. They have not cried unto me with their hearts, when they howled upon their beds, Hosea 7.14. They prayed, but they prayed not to me; (saith the Lord) as the White may say of a bungling Archer, he shoots, but not at me: when he shooted, he shot another way. God counts all such prayers no better than howling of Dragons and wild beasts; (so the word signifies saith Scindler) God would as lief, and rather too, that a Dog, or a Wolf, or Dragon should howl in his hearing, then hear such a prayer as this is. The only way therefore to perform duties of God's worship purely, is chiefly meditation, meditation, meditation. THE DANGER of deferring REPENTANCE, DISCOVERED In a Sermon preached at Maidstone in Kent, Septem. 25. 1629. By that Reverend and faithful Minister of the Word, WILLIAM FENNER, B.D. Sometime Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge, and late Parson of Rochfort in Essex. London, Printed by T.R. and E.M. for J.S. A SERMON OF Mr. WILLIAM FENNERS at Maidstone, Septem. 25. 1629. PROV. 1.28. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer: they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. THere is a good English Proverb amongst us, that he that neglects the occasion, the occasion will neglect him. Solomon wisely begins his Proverbs with it: for he bringeth in the Wisdom of his Father in these five particulars: first, making a general Proclamation in the 20 verse, Wisdom crieth without, she uttereth her vice in the streets. He compareth God unto a Crier that goeth up and down the City from street to street, and from door to door, crying his commodity, even the richest that ever was, which is a Christ, a Christ for redemption, a Christ for sanctification, a Christ to enlighten those that walk in darkness, and in the shadow of death. Ho, every one that thirsteth, here is a Christ for you. Secondly, here is a merciful reprehension, in the 22. verse, O ye foolish, how long will ye love foolishness, and ye scorners take pleasure in scorning? Foolish indeed to be without Christ: foolish to be without grace, foolish to chaffer away our souls for sin. How long ye scorners will ye take pleasure in scorning? will you still persist in your wickedness, and never have done with your sins? will you never turn back again, but damn your souls for ever? O ye foolish, how long will you love foolishness? Thirdly, here is a gracious exhortation in the 23. verse: turn you at my correction: lo, I will pour out my mind unto you, and make you to understand my words. As if he should say, Do you not see how you are going apace to confusion; and that the way you take, leadeth unto destruction? turn ye therefore, turn ye back again, for there is a Christ behind you: O turn ye; for if ye go on in your sins, you perish for ever. Fourthly, here is a yearning promise made unto the world, in the end of the 23. verse; Lo, I will pour out my spirit upon you, and cause you to understand my words. As if he should say, return back again with me, and you shall have better welcome than you can possibly have, if you go on in your sins: the Devil will never let you gain so much by your living in your lusts, as you shall do by repentance for them, and forsaking of them. For behold, I will pour out my spirit upon you, whereby you shall be far greater gainers, than you shall be by your sins. Fifthly, here is a grievous threatening against the world, even all those that have loitered out the day of grace. As time and tide stays for no man, no more doth the day of grace: Because I have called, and you refused; I have exhorted, but you have not regarded; I have denounced judgements against you for your sins, but you have harned your hearts; now a day of woe and misery shall come upon you, a time of vengeance and desolation shall overtake you; there will a day come wherein there will be weeping, and crying Mercy (Lord) mercy; but I tell you beforehand what you shall trust to: let this be your lesson, now I call, and you will not hear; now I stretch out my hands, but you will not regard: you shall seek● me early, but you shall not find me: and shall cry, but you shall not be heard. The words are a thunderclap against all those that procrastinate their repentance, and returning home unto God, wherein note, first, the parties themselves that do prolong this time of grace, they: that is, they who when God calls on them, will not hear; when God invites them by his mercies, patience, and forbearance, by his Ministers and servants, by his corrections and judgements, by all fair means and foul means, yet withstand the means of grace: they are the men, they shall call, but God will not answer. Secondly, here is their seeking after God; they shall call upon me. Thirdly, here is their earnest and diligent seeking unto God; they shall not only call, but seek to, and not only seek, but seek as to labour to find: nay they shall seek me early▪ even strive to go about it with all haste, and fly to repentance, but they shall not find me. Fourthly, here is the unseasonableness of the time of their seeking, then: that is a demonstrative, then; even a time which the Lord points at: as if he should say, you shall see then these men will be of another mind, than they will be glad to be converted than they will be glad to come out of their sins, than they will be glad to get grace, and seek reconciliation with God: but alas! they saw not this then, but God foresaw it well enough; then shall they call, but I will not answer, they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. Lastly, here is the frustration of their hope, which hath two things in it. First, in regard of their selves, in regard of the slaw of their seeking, it being not aright. Secondly, in regard of the ●ustice of God, who rewards every man according to his works. But I will not hear them. Whence observe this point of Doctrine. Decked. 1 Those that will not hear God when he calleth them; God will not hear them, when they call upon him. Those that will not hear the Lord when he calleth upon them by the ministry of his Word, and voice of his Spirit, the Lord will not hear them, when in their misery they call upon him. Thus the Lord dealt with the people in Ezekiels days; the Lord called them to repentance and obedience: but when they stood out, and neglected the opportunity of grace, and seasons of conversion, see how God deals with them: though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet I will not hear them (saith the lord) When men have gone beyond the time of God's mercy, and out-rowed the tide of God's forbearance, and will not return, the Lord sets it down with himself, that his wrath shall return upon them, he will no longer forbear: they had a time wherein the Lord did pity them, and offered grace and mercy unto them, but they neglecting this season, and withstanding this proffer of grace, God resolves with himself they shall never have it again. There was a time wherein God did pity them, but now he will not pity them any more; twenty five years he called unto them▪ and sought to bring them home; but because they stood out and refused, the Lord saith, I will love Ephraim no more. Beloved, there is a double day, a white day, and a black day; there is a day of salvation; Isa. 49.9 this is the day in the which the Lord said to the prisoners, Come forth: and to those that lie in their sins, repent and believe. Now if any man will come forth and humble his soul before the Lord, let him come and welcome, for it is a day of salvation. But there is another day of damnation, which is a dark day, a black and a dusky day, wherein the Lord will visit the sins of the world, and revenge the quarrel of his Covenant. Hos. 9.7, The day of visitation is come, yea the day of recompense; the people shall know it; the Prophet is a fool, and the spiritual man is mad. Beloved, we are fools, and all the spiritual men under heaven are mad, that lay not this day to heart. For the day of the Lord is a day of visitation, and all the world shall rue it, though now men sleep in security. If once mercy be rejected, and God turn away his ear from a man, than grace shall be no more, the door of life shall for ever be shut up against him: and when once this day comes, he hath lost his own peace, and deprived himself of eternal happiness. Reas 1 Now there are three reasons of this point; the first is the law of retaliation, of rendering like for like, which is the justest law that can be made with man, for to give unto every man according to his works, to make him take such as he brings, (as the Heathen call it) to give a man quid for quo. Now if God call upon thee, and thou wilt not hear; it is righteousness with God, yea equity with God (that is more) that when thou callest on him, he should not hear thee. For thus runs the tenor of God's Word, Prov. 28.9 He that turns away his ear from hearing the Law▪ even his prayers shall be abominable. He that turns away his ear from God's Law, God will turn away his ear from his prayer. He that turns, it is spoken in the present tense, that is, he that now turns away his ear, his prayer shall be abominable (in the future tense) that is, the Lord marks what master or servant, what father or mother, what husband or wife, what man or woman it is, that turns away the ear of his head, or the ear of his heart, from hearing his will, and obeying of his Commandments, the Lord takes special notice of it, and sets it down in his Calendar, and records it in his Memorial; keeping a strict account thereof: as if God should say, Well, is it so? I now call, and will not this man or that woman answer? Do I now stretch out my hands, and will not they take care to obey me? Well, let them alone (saith God) there is a day coming, that I shall be a hearing of them; times of sorrow and misery will take hold of them, and then they in their afflictions will cry unto me, but I will not hear; they will beg for mercy, but I will not regard: they will seek me early, but they shall not find me. It was one of the Articles of high Treason brought in against Cardinal Woolsey, that he had the pox, and a stinking breath, and yet durst come into the King's presence: So it will be an Article against thee of high treason before the King of heaven, if thou come into his presence with the stinking breath of thy sins, living in thy lusts, and wallowing in thy filthiness, all thy prayers are but as so many stinking breaths in the nostrils of the Lord, and every duty that thou performest unto the Lord, shall be as so many Articles of high treason against thee, for to condemn thee, because thou livest in rebellion, and a Traitor against God. His prayer shall be abominable: he doth not say, I will turn away mine ear from hearing his prayer, which turns away his ear from hearing my Law, (that is the true exposition of the words) no, like for like is sometimes in justice: for if a man should strike a Magistrate a box on the ear, it were not justice for him to give him another: for it is a greater sin to strike a Magistrate, than any other common person; and therefore a greater punishment the Law requireth: So God doth not say, he will turn away his ear from hearing his prayer, but will serve him in a worse kind, he will count it abominable, yea abomination, (in the abstract) it shall be loathsome, yea loathsomeness itself in the worst manner. Galat. 6. As a man soweth, so shall he reap: if thou sow sparingly, thou shalt reap sparingly: if thou sow a dull ear to God's Word, thou shalt reap a dull ear from God to thy prayer: for God will reward every man according to his works. Reas 2 Secondly, because of the time of God's attributes: both mercy and justice have their season in this life; and when mercy hath acted her part, then cometh justice upon the stage, and acteth her part; so that God will have his attributes manifested to all the sons of men, yea to the face of the whole world. There is no market, nor Fair day that lasteth always: if the country will not come in, the Tradesmen will put up their wares, and be gone: but if they come in time, they may have a pennyworth: otherwise if they come too late, they will find none. For the Merchant will not always dwell in tents, but away he goeth, and will not stay for them. Beloved, Gods standing is now open, and his shop set wide unto the sons of men; if men will not come in, cheapen and by without money, whiles God offers his wares, he will put them up and be gone. For the Merchant will not lose his wares, which he should do, if he should always remain in the open air with them; if he always continue in the fields expecting customers, his wares would spoil and rot. So it is with God, how many sweet counsels doth he lose? how many sweet exhortations? how many blessed Sermons, and holy Sacraments, and Sabbaths, doth he lose? how many checks of conscience? how many days of grace, and motions of his spirit have been squandered away in vain? do you think that God will lose all these; and let them rot upon the stall, with staying for you? No, no: the day of grace and mercy will have an end, and grace and mercy will have an end; and then the day of wrath and vengeance will step up. To day if you will hear his voice, than barden not your hearts: then they hardened their hearts, and would not be led by God's mercies to forsake their sins; Therefore he swa●e in his wrath that they should never enter into his rest. If it be so with you as it was with Israel in the wilderness, in the day of temptation, you do not know but that your sins may now begin to pluck vengeance upon you. I tell you, if you harden your hearts this day, you do not know but this very day the Lord may clap an oath upon your heads, that you shall never enter into his rest. For one and the selfsame occasion lasts not always: as every day is not a Market day, nor every week in the year a Fair week, nor every season in the year a time of Spring or harvest; so every day of a man's life may not claim to be the day of grace. Therefore if a man foreslow it, now he foresloweth his own happiness, and putteth off his own peace for ever. Excellent is that annotation of Gregory on Job 27.9. Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him? Beloved, now God's patience is troubled, wilt not thou repent? Now God's Spirit is troubled, wilt not thou obey? Now God's Justice is troubled, wilt thou not relent? Now God's Word is troubled, wilt thou refuse to hearken? Will God hear his cry? He speaketh interrogatively, as if he should say, Art thou so mad, so vain, so foolish, to promise to thyself being an hypocrite, that God will hear thy prayer? Oh no, than justice cometh to take place. Reas 3 Thirdly, it is Gods use to do so in other things, even upon the contempt of temporal blessings; and therefore much more in matters of grace and salvation. Thus God promised to give Israel the Land of Canaan, Num. 12.22. but the text saith, They tempted God ten times, that is, (as some Expositors expound it) many times; or (as others) ten several times. But what ever the meaning of the text be, certainly it was very many times; so long, till at last he swore in his wrath that they should never enter into his rest. Beloved, though there be many a hot swearer that regards not an oath; yet certainly if the Lord swear, we may believe him: the Word of God is as strong as oaths: if he say it upon his word, we are bound to believe it: how much more then, when he confirms it with an oath? Therefore if the Lord swear thou shalt not, how darest thou, how canst thou hope or think ever to enter into his rest? This was almost forty years before he died, that the Lord made this oath against them: and God knows how many thousands of them fell short, not only of the land of Canaan, but also of the Kingdom of heaven. So God took Ishmael an hundred and seventeen years before he died: twenty years God offered him grace and repentance, but he would not take warning; a mocker he was, and a mocker he would be: for he mocked Isaac when he was a child of six years old; and no means would reclaim him, before he heard the voice, Cast out the bondwoman and her son: Out with him, (saith God) for he shall never be heir with my son: this was an hundred and seventeen years before Ismaels' death. And so God took Saul, five and thirty, or six and thirty years before he died, according to Josephus Chronology, (if it be true); howsoever, he took him divers years before his death: for so the Scripture makes it plain, 1. Sam. 15.20. The strength of Israel will not lie, nor repent: for he is not a man that he should repent. Therefore because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord also hath rejected thee from being a King. And do not think that thou by thy prayers, and crying God mercy, canst ever alter him: for his council is immutable, and he is strong in his decree, and cannot change. Hitherto Grace and Mercy have been offered thee, which if thou hadst embraced, thou mightst have found mercy from the Lord, and the Kingdom should have been established and confirmed unto thee: but now it is too late: for the strength of Israel cannot lie. God took Esau fifty years before his death: for so long he lived, after he sought the blessing with tears: but he was a hunting when God was a calling: he was following his profaneness when God was wooing him to repentance. At last when he called for repentance, and sought it earnestly, yea his soul was careful for to get it; yet he could never obtain it, though he sought it earnestly with tears fifty years before he died. Now if the Lord so severely punish contempt of temporal blessings, O how will he punish the contempt of proffers of grace and salvation! I tell you God will be more strict in revenging of this sin, then of any other sin: he will come with Martial law against all those that contemn his Gospel, Joh. 3.18. He that believeth not, is condemned already. Doth Christ preach repentance and salvation, and the Kingdom of God; and wilt thou not repent and believe? Martial Law (beloved) martial Law, hang him up; for he is condemned already. Even like a soldier that rebels against his General, & forsakes his Colours, they do not cast him into prison, and stay for the Assizes, or Sessions, but give him Martial Law, even hang him up: So if the Lord sound his Gospel in thine ears, and offers thee conditions of peace, knocking at the door of thy heart by his Spirit, and thou refuse to open to him, thou art condemned already: for the Strength of Israel cannot lie, nor repent. Oh therefore take heed now whiles his word sounds in thine ears, while his Spirit secretly whispers in thy heart to thee, open to him, for else thou art condemned for ever. Take notice then, that God doth commonly give men a day, and no man or Angel doth know how long this day lasteth. To some it lasteth to their last gasp; to some, to their old age; and to some, it is cut off in their childhood. God gave the Angels a day, the which because they neglected, they are reserved in chains of darkness until the great judgement day. God gave Cain a day, Genes. 4. During all the time of this day, though Cain sinned again and again, and went on in his sins a great while, yet he heard nothing but a still voice, If thou do well Cain, shalt thou not be accepted? but if thou dost ill, sin lieth at the door. But when no means will prevail, but Cain will go on adding sin to sin, and murder unto all the rest of his sins, and so let go the season of mercy, the Lords tells him from heaven, that the day of grace is past, the gate of mercy is shut against thee: for thou art now accursed from the earth. As if the Lord should say, Before I gave thee a day of salvation, and offered thee mercy, but thou wouldst not accept of it; but now I have clapped a curse upon thy soul, that thou shalt never claw off. So God gave Nineveh a day to repent, Jona. 3. Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be destroyed. God gave the Figtree a day, even three years, before he would have it cut down. God gave the old World a day of an hundred and twenty years; during this time God sent unto them Noah, a Preacher of righteousness, to call upon them to repent, and so set it down also, that his Spirit shall not always strive with man, but his time shall be an hundred and twenty years: yet one writes, that the Lord cut off twenty of the hundred and twenty years, because of their iniquities, which were so grievous, and provoked him so much, that they hasted him to come before he would have done. In all this space if they had repent, they should have found mercy from the Lord: but when this time was gone, and the day of grace was out, the Deluge came in upon them, and God by his judgements overthrew the whole World. Object. You my ask me when this day or season of grace doth end, or cease. Answ. I answer, that neither men nor Angels can tell; but this I say, it may be yet this day of grace lasteth unto thee, now it may be God speaketh whom to thy soul, now it may be God warms thy heart, and givs thee good purposes & resolutions: now it may be the Lord Jesus passeth by thee in a good thought and desire; lay hold on it, for thy day may cease this very night, for aught thou knowest. Luke 17.22. The time shall come (saith Christ) when you shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and shall not see it. Now is the day of Christ upon you, now is Christ offering and preaching himself to you: but if you let this day pass, thou mayst desire to have one of the drops of that blood that hath been offered to thee, and yet never have it: thou mayst desire to feel one rap of that Spirit that hath knocked at thy heart, and yet go without it: thou mayst entreat for one dram of that mercy that hath been offered, and thou hast rejected, but it shall never be granted to thee: God may clap that fearful sentence upon thee, Now henceforth never grow fruit more on thee, never repentance come into thy heart more. If now thou wilt not repent and be converted, the Lord may set it down in his decree from this day forward, that thou mayst fumble about thy sins, but shalt never get victory over them: thou mayest ever be mourning for thy corruptions, but never mourn aright for them: thou mayest blunder about repentance, but never do the work. Ezekiel 24.23. You shall not mourn nor weep, but you shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one towards another. There is many a soul for contemning of God, and not taking up repentance while they may have it, this plague of God is come upon them, that they are ever repenting, and are never able to repent, ever poring upon their sins, but never able to come out of them; they pray and pray against them, but their prayers moulder away under them: for they shall pine away for their iniquities. What is the reason? he showeth in the 13. verse: Because I would have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged any more. Because I gave thee line upon line, precept upon precept, motion upon motion, Sacrament upon Sacrament, Sabbath upon Sabbath, and Ordinance upon Ordinance, because I used all fair means and foul means, I awaked thy conscience, and stirred up the motions of grace in thee; but because I would have cleansed thee, and thou wast not cleansed, thou shalt never be cleansed. A fearful sentence it is, if men's hearts were sound opened to consider rightly of it. And as there is a personal day, so there is a national day; if the Nation turn unto God during that time, than that nation shall find mercy; but if they neglect that day, than God will hide those things from their eyes that belong to their peace, as Christ saith of Jerusalem, Luke 19.42. O Jerusalem, if that thou hadst known in this thy day, those things that did belong to thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes: in this thy day; if thou hadst known it during that day, it had been happy for thee; but now the day of grace is gone, the Lord hath concealed it from thee, and thou shalt never perceive it any more. Some men's day of grace God endeth even in their very childhood; therefore if there be any little ones, any children here in this congregation, that are of age to know what belongs unto an exhortation, to them I speak, that they take heed how they rebel against the commandment of a father or a mother, or master, against the teaching of God's Word, for though you be children, yet God may inflict judgements upon your heads; for not only the day of grace, but also the day of life may be cut off from children, as 2 Kings 2.24. Four and twenty children were torn in pieces for mocking the Lords Prophet. Some men's day of grace is not shut up until their youth, some not until their old age, some not until they are a dying; and if they refuse then, they are alike, yea sure to perish for ever; I know the day of grace may have several returns, but at last God's Exchequer will be finally shut up. Object. May not a man be called at the eleventh or twelfth hour of the day? The day of grace lasteth always; and doth not the Apostle call the day of life the day of grace? 2 Cor. 6.2. Answ. Is it true, the Lord calleth men at the eleventh and twelfth hour; but yet, look and you shall see in the twentieth of Matthew, that they were not called at the first hour, nor at the second nor third hour, nor at the sixth and ninth hour, i. he doth not say he found the same men that he found at the first, and third, sixth and ninth hours, but he saw others standing idle: No, those that were called at the first hour, came in at the first hour; and they that were called at the third hour, came in at the third hour; and they that were called at the sixth and ninth hour, came in at the sixth and ninth hour. Well, doth God call thee in thy childhood, in thy youth, or in thy middle age, now at the first or sixth, or ninth hour, now come in and labour in God's Vineyard, and work out your salvation with fear and trembling, and make use of the season of grace, now whiles it is upon you: for if thou be called the first hour, the sixth is for another, and not for thee; if thou be called the sixth hour, the ninth hour is for others and not for thee; if thou be called the ninth hour, the eleventh hour is for others and not for thee; The Text saith, He came and found others standing idle in the market place, and said unto them, Why stand ye here idle? And they say unto him, No man hath hired us; as if they should say, We never had any means of salvation, we have had no Ministers to preach unto us; but now God calls upon thee to come in, this is thy hour, look unto it. If God call thee, see thou come in, whether it be at the first or third hour, at the six or ninth hour, lest the Lord in his wrath clap hardness of heart upon thy soul. Object. But you will say, that the day of life, and the day of grace are paralleled and likened one to another; and therefore there is hope so long as a man remains in the Congregation of the living. Answ. I answer, it is true indeed, that the day of grace lasteth so long as the day of life: 1. In regard of others, for others are so to esteem of it, the Minister is to look to his people, as to a people to be converted as long as they live. 2. In regard of a man's own self, he is so bound to believe, for the commandment of faith standeth in force on a man, so long as he liveth, and therefore infidelity and despair cease not to be sins, till a man is actually in hell; when he is in hell, than they are no sins, because than he is not commanded to believe, but are part of the punishment of the damned; but whilst a man lives it is a sin, for men are now bound to lay hold upon Christ and to believe, at what hour of their life soever. 3. It may be said to last all a man's life long, because it is bounded within the compass of life: for no man hath a day of grace after this life. But what is the meaning of all those Scriptures which show how God doth deliver up men unto the Spirit of giddiness, and unto the Spirit of slumber? And what means the hardening of men's hearts, and searing of men's consciences, but only to show that the day of grace may end unto a particular man, ten, twenty, thirty, nay forty years before his death. 1. Because God may harden a man's heart, Jerem. 13.10. and deal with them as with Israel in the Rock, so shut up their hearts, that they shall never melt at any Sermon, never be wrought upon by any judgement, God having closed them up in a rocky heart, that he saith of them, Can the Blockmore change his skin, or the Leopard his spots? then may they do good that are accustomed to do evil. The blackness of the Blackmore is only in the outside of the skin, yet all the Art under the heavens cannot blot it out: So if once hardness possess thy soul, all the preaching of the Ministers, and all the means of grace in the world can never bring it unto that frame and temper, as to make it melt under the hand of God; I tell thee, thou that usest to come unto Sermons day after day, and refusest to repent, living still in thy sins, there is no hammer nor beetle in the world more hard than thy heart: as those men and women that sit under the preaching of the Word, and hear the doctrine of life, like rain from above, beating and knocking on their consciences, and on their hearts, to awaken them out of their sins, and yet notwithstanding will not repent at last, they prove to be deaf Adders, that stop their ears against the Word, charm the Charmer never so wisely. 2. God may sear men's consciences; Doth thy conscience tell thee that thou art a luke-warmling, and wilt thou not be reform? Doth thy conscience tell thee that thy prayers and all thy religion is rotten and unsound, and that thy repentance is hypocritical and naught; and that for all thy vain hopes, thou art but a dissembler, and yet remainest in thy sins, and wilt thou not be bettered hereby? Take heed; for that man that runs on in sin against the voice of his own conscience, that man sins the sin of Saul, 1 Sam. 13.8. God bid him stay seven days until Samuel came: Saul stays full seven days within one hour; at last his lust began to bawl: What? shall I stay for a Prophet thus long? Stay, says his conscience; Why? (says Saul) I waited for him so long, even seven days lacking but one hour. Stay (saith God to his conscience) for the Word of God bids thee stay so long: he stayed one day, and two days, and six days, and seven days but one hour; Stay (saith his conscience:) no, he would not; but I forced myself, (saith the Text) as if he should say, I hardened my heart to do it, though the word of the Lord, & my own conscience bid me stay and not do it, yet I forced myself to do it: What was this man's sin! Was it his offering of Sacrifice, and calling upon God by prayer? No, the Lord commands us to call upon him in time of distress; and being commanded, it was lawful. Was it his sin to meddle with the Priest's office? No: for he did but appoint the Sacrifice, the Priest offered it. What? was it the breaking of one hours' time? No: for he had sinned more against God then so: but this was his sin, that he went against his own conscience, when God stood in the way, when conscience stood in the way; conscience said stay, but he would not stay: God bid him stay, but he would not stay. And this is the sin of many thousands amongsts us; men's consciences tell them that they must not be drunkards, men's consciences tell them that they must not be worldlings, they must not be swearers, they must not be lukewarm professors, they must pray better than they do, and have other faith then yet they have, if ever they mean to be saved; wilt thou yet against thy conscience force thyself to go on in thy sins from day to day, and never be reform? take heed lest the Lord be provoked to set thy sun upon thy head, and shut up thy heart, and tonclude thy eternal destruction. Object. Suppose I go on in my sins, and follow my wicked courses now; what if I seek him hereafter, and humble my soul before him with fasting and prayer, and when I lie upon my deathbed, I send a ticket unto my Minister to pray for me, will all this do me no good? Answ. Surely no, (saith God, Jerem. 15.1.) Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my affections could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight. Dost thou lie sick upon thy deathbed? were Samuel, Job, or Daniel the Minister of thy Parish, and thou shouldst send thy ticket unto them, desiring them to remember thee in their prayers; if Noah stood in the Pulpit, and Job and Daniel were here before the Lord for to plead for thee, yet he would not hear thee. Object. But, suppose I humble myself by fasting and prayer, will not God hear that. Answ. No if thou neglect the day of grace. Jer. 14.12. when they fast. I will not hear them: and when they offer oblations, I will not accept their cry: but I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. You may set up your fastings, prayers, and humiliations, you may lament and mourn, and pine away yourselves in your sins; but it is not all your prayers and fastings, it is not all your lamentation and mourning, that will do you good, so long as the counsel of the Lord is rejected. Because I called, and ye would not answer; therefore you shall call, but I will not hear: they thought that the Lords ears would always be open, and that when they called the Lord would have answered▪ and that the day of grace would ever remain; but God saith, I will not hear them: they would never have sought if they thought the Lord would not hear them, but all their seeking was in vain. Object. You will say, at what time soever a sinner repenteth he shall have mercy. Answ. It is true, if thou repent from the bottom of thy heart, but thou mayest come with many a degree of repentance, and yet never repent whilst thou livest: if thou repent from thy heart, and root out thy sins, than God will put away thy sins; but thou mayest go on in repentance and calling upon God, and performing many duties of Religion, and yet be hardened; look how much Religion will stand with self-love, so much thou mayest have after the day of grace is gone. Self-love may make a man fly to prayer, and run after Sermons, and go on in many holy duties, and give over many sins; look how far self-love may drive thee unto holy duties, so far thou mayst go, and yet notwithstanding remain hardened. O therefore let us not delay, nor put off the time of grace, nor let go salvation while it may be had; then shall they call, but I will not answer: he doth not set down when this time is; it may be it is now, it may be not this seven years, it may be not till thy death. Doct. 2 Doctr. It may be, this very day, even this very Sermon, this very hour may be thy day that art now in thy sins, that if thou repent not at this very one Sermon▪ thou neglectest eternal life for ever; lose the benefit of this Sermon at this time, and thou mayest lose eternal salvation, and never have it more. The thief that robbed this day, how doth he know but this one robbery may bring him to the gallows? So the man that sins this day, how doth he know but that this very day's work may bring him to hell? Deut. 32.35. To God belongs vengeance: their feet shall slide in due time. Therefore if a man sin against him, he may stand to day, and to morrow, and many days; but when the due time comes, even the time which God hath set, than up goes his heels, he shall slide and break his neck: thy hourglass runs in heaven, and thou seest not when the sand comes to the bottom, but when 'tis out, then down thou goest to hell for ever. There was one resolved to kill Julius Caesar such a day; the night before, a friend sent him a letter to acquaint him with it: but being at supper, and busy, I will not look upon it now, (saith he) to morrow is a new day. The next day when he should have read his letter, he was stabbed; Whence this Proverb came in Greece, To morrow is a new day. God sends thee a letter and a message from heaven to day; hear his voice to day, repent and come out of your sins, or for ever to hell; to day be converted and sanctified, or for ever be hardened. Dost thou refuse to hearken to day, and puttest it off until to morrow? it may be to morrow may be a day of God's wrath, and then thou mayest be hardened, seared, and bound over unto the great day of God's vengeance: to morrow God may set the decree upon thy soul, that thou shalt never repent. Therefore if thou refuse this, thou refusest all; for what knowest thou, but this very day may be thy day? Reas 1 The reason is, because God's patience is in his own breast; and who can tell how long it will last? Hast thou Momus his glass-window, to look into God's secret counsel? hast thou a keyhole to look into God's treasury? canst thou stand on tiptoe, to look over God's shoulder, to look into God's decree, to see how long his patience will last? It may be God hath suffered thee till this day, thou art guilty of ten thousand sins, and yet he is patient towards thee; God hath stayed thus long for thee, that hast sworn I know not how many oaths, God hath born thus long with thee that hast told I know not how many lies, profaned I know not how many Sabbaths contemned I know not how many ordinances, and slighted I know not how many judgements, yet God's patience is in his own breast, it is the long sufferance of God. Thou mayest say, I would fain have it to morrow, and this seven years, but alas, it is his long sufferance and not thine: and how dost thou know when he will conclude it? it may be this day as well as to morrow. Joel 2.13. Rend your hearts, and not your garments, (saith the Prophet) for the Lord he is gracious, and merciful. This word [for] hath a great deal of force in it: First, It is a descriptivum [for:] for he is gracious and a merciful God: therefore rend thy heart, and let thy soul burst within thee, that thou hast sinned against him: for he is a merciful God, and it may be he will pardon all thy sins, and heal all thy rebellions committed against him. Secondly, it is an upbraiding [for:] upbraiding thee for thy sins: rend thy heart therefore, why? he is a patient God; wilt thou go on in thy sins against such a patient God? and rebel against such a loving Father▪ that hath loved thee with so much compassion? Rend thy heart, for he is patient. Thirdly, it is a comforting and encouraging [for:] rend thy heart for there is encouragement for thee to repent, give over thy sins, and go to the throne of grace. For there is much mercy to welcome thee, and great patience for to bid thee come home, and abundance of grace for to encourage thee: therefore rend thy heart and come home unto the Lord, for he is patient and long-suffering. Fourthly, it is a forewarning [for:] rend your hearts, for the Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; yet his mercy lasteth, yet his patience endureth, yet he hath all his attributes, and yet he is pleased to manifest the same, still tendering grace and mercy unto thee. Oh turn unto him, while these endure, or else thou shalt perish for ever. Fifthly, it is a threatening [for;] now he is gracious, now he is merciful, but his mercy will end, his patience will end, and then if thou hast not rend thy heart before, it will be too late then. Therefore as ever thou lovest thine own soul, now rend thy heart and turn unto God. It is Gods own proclamation; The Lord the Lord, slow to anger, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and sin. Yea what man soever it be, that humbles his soul before him he shall find grace and mercy with him; yea abundance of mercy, pardoning iniquity, transgression and sin; yea any thing: Let but a soul come prostrate before him, humbling his soul, he will pardon his sin. But as it followeth in the words; He will by no means clear the guilty; if notwithstanding all God's patience and mercy, thou go on in thy sins, the Lord will never forgive thee, but will visit thy sins upon thee unto the third and fourth generations, because thou hast withstood the day of grace. Beloved, men run on in their sins, as if so be an Angel from heaven should cry unto them and tell them, yet God will be good unto them, yet God will show them mercy, and forbear them. Beloved, let your consciences answer, if you ever heard the Lord God say to any of you, thus long I will forbear you. No, God's patience is in his own breast, and therefore no man knows how long it will last. Reas 2 A second reason is, because God's patience giveth no marks or inklings of it, before it ends: commonly when God strikes a man with death, he giveth some signs of warnings of it before, as sickness, and pains, and grey hairs, and many sorrows, etc. Now because thy life is in God's hands, thou carest not for it, but venturest to go on in thy sins, hoping to have some warning, though thousands be cut off without it; but the day of grace may come to an end, and yet thou never have any inkling or warning of it beforehand: commonly when God strikes a man with death, he tells him of it beforehand by aches and pains, as if the Lord should say, Now thou shalt die, now will I take thee out of the world. But when the Lord taketh away the day of grace from a man, though the spiritual man may take some notice of it, yet there is no sensible apparition of it, but after the day of grace is set upon a man, he may be as strong and lusty as before, he may come to Church as well after as before, perform religious duties, and do many good things, as well after as before; as Saul went on in duties of Religion, as well after Samuel had pronounced the Lords doom upon him; how many times was he offering sacrifice unto the Lord after the Prophet told him, that he was a man rejected? how many good speeches came from him? as when Samuel met him, he salutes him with these words; Blessed be thou of the Lord, I pray thee turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord. A man would have thought that Saul had been a good convert. No, no, before all this his judgement and doom was set upon him; God steals upon him and says nothing; he claps his plague upon their souls, and holds his peace. Isa. 42.14. I have a long time held my peace, I have been still, and refrained myself; now will I cry like a travelling woman, I will destroy, and devour at once. The Lord shows here how he deals with men, they go on in their sins, but the Lord holds his peace; they provoke him every day, but the Lord refrains his anger: but now all at once his wrath breaketh forth upon them. Psal. 64.7. God will shoot an arrow at them suddenly, their stroke shall be at once. The Lord suddenly shoots a swift arrow at thee; no sooner it is shot, but it enters into thy bowels. When the Lord comes upon a man; he comes suddenly; when he ends the day of grace upon him, he doth it suddenly. He ended the day of grace on the Scribes and Pharisees even in the very Sermon time, while Christ was preaching unto them, they were delivered up to hardness of heart: so many were delivered up to hardness of heart in the time of Hosea's prophecy, Hos. 4.17. Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone (saith God,) as if he should say, Sermon, let him alone; Preacher, let him alone; Sirrit, let him alone; Christ, let him alone; Beloved, if we stand out against God, and reject the day of grace, the Lord may say. Word, let such a man alone, and never convert him; Christ, let such a man alone, and never redeem him; Spirit▪ let such a man alone, and never sanctify him; Sacraments, let such a man alone, and never seal up any comforts unto him: a fearful sign that men are come to this hour, do we not see that men come to the Word, and the Word lets them alone in their sins? do not men come to the Sacrament, and the Sacrament leaves them still in their filthiness? men come unto good duties, but good duties let them alone, and do them no good: and this is the condition of many thousands in the world. Therefore oh think upon this you that have made a league with your sins, and an agreement with hell: hear this delivered to you this day, that the day of grace may be ended, and God may come and clap his curse upon men, and never give them any inkling of it at all. Reas 3 A third reason is, because God reckons upon every hour, if God kept not a strict account of time, how many Sermons▪ you have had, how many mercies you have enjoyed, how many crosses he hath warned you by: if God kept not a true tale and account of every hour's time; you might rub on many days, and months, and years, and spend much time in fulfilling of your lusts; but God keepeth a reckoning of these things, yea of every hour, and of every minute. Acts 17.30. The times of ignorance God regarded not; but now he admonisheth all men to repent. Alas, when men live in their sins through blindness and ignorance, and know not God, the Lord takes no such strict notice of them, but lets them go on longer and longer; but when the Lord sends them his Word and Gospel, and affords them the means of grace, he doth the more strictly look unto them, and takes the more exact account of them; before they had the means of grace, the Lord winked at them, and did not so narrowly watch them: but looked over men's igonrance, (as the original hath it) but now God sends his Word and Gospel, he admonisheth all men to repent, he winks at never an hour, but sets down how oft thou hast had exhortation from thy Minister, how often thou hast had warning by sickness and aflictions, how often thou hast had checks from thine own conscience, how many admonitions thou hast had from thy friends, how many times thou hast had the sound of the Gospel to sound in thy ears to bring thee home unto God, John 2.7.11. This is the first beginning of miracles that Jesus did. John 4.58. This is the second miracle that Jesus did, saith the Text, God sets down this, is the first, this is the second time: This is the second Epistle I wrote to you, saith Paul. Oh this is the third time I wrote unto you, 2 Cor. 13. that when I come I will not spare: so God sets it down in his catalogue, this is the first time that I have warned this man, this is the second time, this is the third time, that when I come I will not spare; the Lord accounts how long he hath sought unto thee, and entreated thee by his mercies, how long he hath alured thee by his word, how long he hath warned thee by his judgements, how oft he hath smote thy heart with fears, and thy conscience with terrors. Now if for all this thou wilt not return, just is it with God to cast thee down to hell for ever. Reas 4 The fourth Reason, and last: it is a wonder that the day of grace is not ended already, and that thou art not now in hell. When a thing in this kind is looked for to be done, it is a wonder that it is not done: It is a wonderful mercy of God unto this Kingdom that yet the day of grace is continued amongst us, in regard of our long fear and expectation of the contrary. For from the highest to the lowest we have highly revolted more and more, & provoked God to his very face. What contempt of God's word? what neglect of God's Ordinances? what profanation of God's Sabbaths? what scoffing and deriding of God's servants? how doth wickedness and profaneness stand up in the highest room, climb up into the highest chambers? But as a whore condemned to die being with child, is repreived for a time, until her child be brought forth: so this Land hath gone a whoring from God, yet so long as God hath some children to be brought forth, which are not yet come unto the birth, he lets his grace and Gospel continue until these children be brought forth. Therefore now (beloved) if we stick at the birth and come not forth, a hundred to one but we shall miscarry. When Christ comes first to thy soul, he witnesseth grace and mercy to thee, if thou wilt repent and amend; yea he witnesseth forgiveness of sins, redemption and salvation, if thou wilt believe; but if not, he will be a swift witness against thee, Malachi 3.5. if thou continue and goest on in thy sins: Agree with thine adversary, while thou art in the way quickly, Matth. 5.25. Now God is in the way with thee, Christ and his Spirit are in the way with thee; thou needest not now say, who shall go up to heaven and bring down the Spirit to thee; Christ's Spirit is now knocking at thy heart, and now God offers his mercy to thee, now thou art in the way, now he calls unto thee to accept of his mercy, now he commands thee to take Christ, now hear him caling to thy heart, now he tenders grace unto thee, embrace it: now receive Christ and make up thy peace with him: remember the saying of the Apostle, 2 Corinth. 13.5. Examine yourselves whether you be in the faith; prove yourselves. Know you not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you except you be reprobates? As if the Astostle should say, I have been an Apostle to you this year and half, I have preached thus and thus long unto you, I have wrote one Epistle to you to reform those abuses that were among you, and now I write this second Epistle, to declare the whole will and counsel of God to you. Now cast up your reckoning, examine yourselves, and make up your account: see if you have gained Christ. O, I have Christ, (saith one) I have Christ, (saith another.) ay, but prove it, saith the Apostle, and try yourselves: know ye not that by this time Christ is in you, or else you be reprobates? As if he should say, if yet Christ be not in you, and grace wrought in your hearts, if yet you lie festering in your sins, and go on in your wicked ways, it is to be feared you are reprobates: either you or we are reprobates, you for not obeying, or we for not delivering the truth of God unto you: But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates: verse 6. God forbid that this word should be ever spoken unto any soul in this Congregation: but this let me say, is there any man here that goes on in his lusts, and in his carnal course of life, in pride, security, hardness of heart, and impenitency, that hath not the soundness of grace? he hath a fearful sign and brand of a reprobate, whose conscience is stifled: it is a fearful sign, if he be not a reprobate before God, yet he is one that is not approved, but for the present in a wretched and miserable condition. Now is the time of grace wherein God hath spoken to your souls, remember that vengeance that is coming towards you if it be rejected; now the Lords fatlings are ready; his Oxen, and Sheep are slain, and laid upon the board; Christ is sacrificed, and his blood is shed, and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is tendered to you; you that have grace, get more grace; you that have no grace, get grace and Christ, and take heed of neglecting any opportunity of grace, for that may come unto thee in one hour, that will never come again. FINIS. VAIN THOUGHTS ARRAIGNED At the Bar of God's JUSTICE. SET FORTH In a Sermon preached at Linton in Kent, Septem. 29. 1629. By that Reverend and painful Minister of the Word, WILLIAM FENNER, B.D. Sometime Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge, and late Parson of Rochfort in Essex. London, Printed by T.R. and E.M. for J.S. A SERMON OF Mr. WILLIAM FENNERS Preached at Linton, Septem. 9 1629. PHIL. 3.18, 19 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you weeping, that they are the enemies of the Cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose belly is their God, whose glory is their shame, ●nd who mind earthly things. THE Apostle in the closure of this Chapter, setteth out unto us a twofold kind of life: First, the life of the godly, and that 1. by way of Exhortation, verse 17. Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as you have us for an example: 2. By way of declaration, verse 20. But our conversation is in heaven, whence also we look for the Saviour, even the Lord Jesus Christ. Then secondly, he sets forth unto us the life of the wicked, which walked otherwise then the Disciples and Apostles of Christ walked, in these words read unto you. The Apostle warned those wicked men again and again, but they would not take warning, neither did they think themselves so bad as he made them, and therefore they thought they should speed well enough; he preached to them in the Pulpit, and wrote unto them, though he were six hundred miles and more distant from them, (and that weeping too) that they are enemies to the Cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, who mind earthly things. The words may be construed two ways; either as being meant, 1. Of several wicked men, as first of Heterodox walkers, such as walk contrary to the Apostles: 2. Of wicked persecutors of the Gospel, enemies to the Cross of Christ: 3. Of Drunkards and hypocrites, whose God is their belly: 4. Of Ambitious and proud persons, whose glory is their shame: and 5. of covetous and carnal minded men, who mind earthly things: or as Chrysostom expounds the words (and so it seems is the meaning of them) to be meant of one sort of men, who mind earthly things, they are such as walk otherwise then the Apostle walked. Who are they that mind earthly things? they are enemies of the Cross of Christ: Who are they that mind earthly things? Whose hearts and affections run more after the things of this life, then after the cross of Christ; Their God is their belly. Who are they that mind earthly things, and think only how to increase their living, and enlarge their estate, and make them sure unto themselves? their glory is their shame. Who are they that mind earthly things? that give their hearts (the flower of man) and their affections (the flower of their souls) unto the world, and unto the base things of the world, still they are they that mind earthly things, which set either their loving thoughts, or their carking and caring thoughts, or their fretting and vexing thoughts; or their eager, covetous, and vain thoughts on earthly things, they are they that walk otherwise then the Apostles of Christ walked; These are those that are enemies to the cross of Christ, whose God is their belly, whose glory is their shame, who mind earthly things, whose end is destruction. Hence then will we observe this point: Doct. That those whose minds and hearts run habitually on earth and earthly things, their end must needs be destruction. Jerem. 6.19. Hear O earth, (saith God behold I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not harkened unto me, but rejected my Law. Wherein we may see 3 things, 1. That the curse of God is the desert of cursed evil & vain thoughts: 2. That the plague and curse of God is the event of evil and vain thoughts; evil thoughts do not only deserve God's plagues, but also bring them: 3. Here is notice given to all the world; Hear, O earth: as if he had said, here is a reckoning that you little dream of, I will bring a plague upon you not only for your idolatry, for your whoredom and fornication, but even for your vain thoughts, Prov. 24.9. The thoughts of the wicked are sin; the Lord doth not only condemn the actions and courses of wicked men, but sets his curse upon their very thoughts. Sin is of an homogeneal nature, of which every part of a thing is the whole; every piece of stone is stone, for it hath the nature of the whole: even so it is with sin, the least part of sin, the least thought of sin, the least shiver of sin, is sin, and abominable before God. Reas 1 The reasons why those, whose hearts and thoughts run habitually on earth and earthly things, must needs end in destruction, are, 1. That man's end must needs end in destruction, that never reputes: Now, so long as a man's thoughts run usually and habitually on the things of the world, that man never reputes; repentance not only cleanseth the outside of man, but the inside also, even the heart; repentance goeth as far as the Law of God goeth; where the word of God begins, there repentance must needs begin: now the word of God begins and strikes at the heart, as saith the Apostle, The word of God is sharp and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts of the heart, Heb. 4.12. Now than if the word of God strike at the thoughts of the heart, than repentance must go and teach so far to reform and amend the things of the heart, or else he never reputes. Let a man sweep his house never so much, yet it is not clean so long as there remains one Cobweb in it: so if thy heart be swept from drunkenness, whoring and swearing, and yet if the old Cobweb of vain thoughts remain in any corner of thy heart, not washed out, nor swept down, thou hast not as yet repent: Oh Jerusalem (saith God by his Prophet) wash thy heart from wickedness, that thou mayst be saved: how long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? Jer. 4.14. Mark how the Lord enforceth his exhortation: see how he backs his counsel▪ [that thou mayst be saved:] as if he had said, thou canst not be saved, unless thou wash thy heart from vain thoughts: how long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? He doth not say, why do vain thoughts come in thee? for they will come into the best & most holy heart; but how long shall they lodge within thee? If but vain thoughts do lodge in man & take up their nest in his heart, if a man let his thoughts dwell upon vain things, and he give way unto them, and use them as his market, trade and recreations, he cannot be saved; it is an emphatical kind of speech: as if the Lord should say, O Jerusalem, thou never considerest this, and thus he doth as it were pity and compassionate them in their blindness and ignorance, and horrible besottednesse, that think that thought is free. Beloved, when the Lord comes to reckon with the world, he will not only reckon with them for their pounds and shillings, for their hundreds and thousands of sins; for their murders, whoredoms, blasphemies, etc. but he will call them to account for their least sins, the pence and farthing sins, even their very thoughts: agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way, lest he deliver thee up to the Jailor, and thou be cast into prison: thou shalt not come out until thou hast paid the utmost farthing; thou must deliver up thy farthing as well as thy pound sins, or else thou never agreest with thine adversary. When the Lord by his prophet calls upon his people, exhorting them to repentance, he willeth and exhorteth them to change their thoughts, Esay 55.7. Repentance is the change of the thoughts, according to the English Proverb, (I have changed my thoughts:) Look unto thy feet when thou goest into the house of God, Eccles. 5.1. Thou canst never go to the House of God without thy feet: the thoughts and affections of the heart, are the feet of the soul; and thou canst never go to God without them; and therefore if thy heart and affections run habitually on earthly things, thou didst never repent, and so thine end is damnation. Reas 2 The second reason is, that man's end must needs be destruction that hath no Christ in the world: now so long as thy thoughts run habitually on earthly things, thou hast no Christ. It is not enough for a man to hang on Christ, for many a man doth so, and yet is cut off from Christ, and perisheth for ever: thou must not only hang upon Christ, but thou must also get into Christ. As in the old world, when the deluge came, and the waters increased so greatly, that the mountains and high hills were covered with them, and the people could not save themselves by getting unto the tops of the mountains, no question but many seeing the Ark swim above the water, did climb up and hang upon the sides of the Ark, thinking to save themselves, yet none of them were saved, but those that were gotten into the Ark: so many a man will catch hold of Christ, but his hold will be gone, and he perish for ever, unless he get into Christ. Now a man can never get into Christ, unless his heart be purged from vain thoughts: For Christ when he entereth into a man, cleanseth his heart from vain thoughts, 2 Cor. 10.5. If Christ once come into the heart, he will set up his throne there: he will hold up his Sceptre of Righteousness in it: when Christ cometh, see what a work he will make in the heart, he will not suffer a proud thought to remain there to upbraid him: he will not suffer ever a sinful lust to stand up to beard him; but he will cast down every imagination, and all high things that exalt themselves, and he will bring every thought into subjection unto himself. Therefore if thy thoughts run after the lusts of thy own heart, thou hast no Christ in thee: for Christ (beloved) will never dwell in a foul house: I know there is no wheat without some darnel, no gold without some dross, no wine without some lees; so there is no man but hath some sin; no man so clean, but hath some defilements of sin upon him; therefore if a man have not his cleansing grace of Christ in him, cleansing the heart from vain things, there is no Christ in him: for Christ will never dwell in a foul heart. Now beloved, the very vain thoughts of a man defile him: as Christ saith, Matth. 7.21, 22, 23. Out of the heart proceedeth evil thoughts, and they are they that defile a man All these, not only murder, and adulteries, and uncleannesses, and all other abominable sins, which men's conseiences startle at, bull evil thoughts defile a man: Assure thyself that so long as the league of these evil thoughts is not broken, thou hast no Christ as yet within thee. Hence is that exhortation of the Apostle, Colos. 3.12. If you be risen with Christ, then seek those things which are above. Brethren, you must remember that there be two kinds of exhortations in Scripture: the one, if a man do them, blessed and happy is he: the other, if he do them not, yet he may find mercy; it will be a grief and a sorrow to him, but it follows not that he shall miscarry. But there are exhortations that tie to obedience, that must be obeyed: or else there is no salvation, as this exhortation of the Apostle; it is not left to our choice to do or not to do but if a man be risen with Christ, he must do it: he must seek the things that are above: that man then that hath his thoughts run habitually on the world, that man hath no Christ in him; and therefore his end must needs be destruction. Reas 3 Thirdly, that man's end must needs be destruction that loves not God; now so long as thy thoughts run habitually on the things of the world, thou hast no true love of God in thee. For thus runs the Commandment of love, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul and with all thy might. Matth. 22.37. It is as if Christ should have said, thou shalt love God with all thy heart, and with all thy heart, and with all thy heart: for the soul, mind, and heart are all one, that no man might dare to keep any part of their heart from God. Every one will say, I love God with all my heart, I go to Church and serve God with all my heart: I hear the Word, and pray with all my heart: I receive the Sacraments with all my heart: Dost thou so? and yet let thy thoughts run upon the world? dost thou pray, and yet let vain thoughts lodge within thee? dost thou hear the Word, receive the Sacraments, and yet lettest vain thoughts distract thee? Dost thou walk in thy calling, and yet lettest vain thoughts steal away thy heart, and yet sayest thou, I love God with all my heart, when thou takest away thy heart from God? How dost thou think thy thoughts? with thy heels, or with thy heart? Surely thou sayest, with my heart: Why then if thou lovest God with all thy heart, thou must give thy thoughts unto God; God that calls for thy heart, calls for all the heart: now the heart is nothing but all a man's heart; all the affections and desires, all turnings and windings, all things that are in the heart do but make up the heart: and therefore when God calls for thy heart, he calls for all the powers and faculties of the soul. And therefore the Prophet David would bless God with his soul, and all that was within him. Psal. 103. So thou must give thy thoughts, and all that is within thee to God, or else: thou givest God nothing; therefore that man's end must needs be destruction that loves not God. Reas 4 Fourthly, that man's end must needs be destruction, that never gives over his sins: and so long as thy thoughts run after the world, thou canst never forsake sin: thou mayest resolve and think on the contrary, yet so long as thy thoughts run habitually on the things of the world, thou dost not forsake sin. Wicked and carnal men may have the eyes of their consciences opened, and their hearts awakened, whereby they may see their sins, and the hellish evil and danger of them: whereupon they may resolve and purpose to forsake them, and then they will make a covenant with God that they will not do thus and thus; I have been touchy and choleric, but I will be so no more; I have been a profane swearer and blasphemer of the name of God, but I will be so no more; I have been a drunkard, and an unclean person, but Lord thou shalt see a reformation in me. Nay it may be he will tell his Minister of it, and his father and his mother, his wife, his children, and all his friends too of it: but when he comes to his cold blood again, and these cold graces which sluttered so, come to be cold in him, so that his heart comes to itself again, then vain thoughts rest in his heart, and he returns to his old sins again▪ as the dog to his vomit, and the sow being washed, to the wallowing in the mire. The Apostle excellently describes a man that can never depart from his sins: They have eyes full of adultery, which cannot cease to sin: 2. Pet, 2.14. where the Apostle speaks not only of that adultery which is a breach of the seventh Commandment; but of such an adultery which is a perfect breach of every Commandment, when the heart runneth whoring after every sin and vanity: when the eye of the soul is full of adultery, the heart cannot cease to sin; when the eye cannot see an object of gain or profit, but the mind is presently engaged and runs after it, when it cannot see an object of delight and pleasure, but it is straightway caught by it: when he cannot see any wrong or injury done unto him, but presently he is inflamed with revenge, and his heart runs after it: I say that if thy eye be thus full of adultery that thou canst not see the occasions and hints of sin, but presently thou art ensnared, and thy soul is taken by it; thou art the man that canst not cease to sin: therefore until thou turn the eye of thy soul, which is the thoughts and affections of thy heart, another way, thou wilt never cease to sin. For wheresoever thou lookest, thou wilt be ensnared, so long as thy thoughts are evil and vicious; either upon pride, or covetousness, or ambition, or envy, or delights; thy soul will look asquint on God: and until these vain thoughts of thine be crucified, thou wilt only look upon the satisfying of these vain lusts of thine. Prov. 3.6. In all thy ways acknowledge God, and he shall direct thy paths. In all thy ways think on God, or else thou mayest go to many duties in Religion, but never be direct in thy going; thou mayest pray a thousand times, but never be established in thy prayer: thou mayest go from Lecture to Lecture, and yet never be established in thy service: thou mayest go about many things and never be established in any thing, unless God be in all thy thoughts: a man may go on in a course of Religion, but it is at haphazard, he is inconstant, and unsteady in his course, unless in his heart he think upon God; and therefore his end must needs be destruction. This than may serve, first, for humiliation to the godly: secondly, for matter of condemnation to the wicked. Use 1 First, for humiliation; are vain thoughts thus damnable, that when they bear sway in the heart, they make that man's end to be destruction? How then ought this to fill the faces of them that have the Spirit of Christ, with shame and confusion, and to make them in a holy manner to be confounded of themselves, and to think of the emptiness, naughtiness, and vanities of their hearts? Beloved, thou canst not go to prayers, but abundance of vain thoughts will be about thee, like wasps to assault thee; thou canst not go to the Word, but these vain thoughts will be a humming in thy ears; thou canst not go about the works in thy calling, but vain thoughts will haunt thee, and creep into thy meditations, and take away the main burden of the work all the day long. Beloved, this should make a godly man ashamed, and confounded in himself in the consideration hereof. The Prophet David was so confounded and ashamed hereat, that had not God poured in mercy and comfort into his soul, he had been distracted, and should have despaired, considering the company of vain thoughts that lodged within him, Psal. 94.19. where he shows what abundance of distracting thoughts he had; that if God had not sustained him with comfort after comfort, he had even been been overwhelmed in despair by them. Augustine saith, a man's thoughts are not in his own power: the heart of man is like tinder; and if the Devil cast a spark into it, thou canst not hinder it from taking fire; but thou mayest hinder it from burning further. A ship may have leaks in her, and thou canst not hinder the coming in of water into her: but by thy pumping and industry thou mayest save her from drowning in the water; even so evil thoughts, though they be rooted out, yet they will come in again; A man's heart is like to the figtree that grew out of the stone wall, which Epiphanius speaketh of; the branches were lopped off, and it grew again; the boughs were lopped off, and it grew again; they cut down the body of it, yet it grew again: they plucked up the roots of it, yet it grew again: till at last the stone wall and all was fain to be pulled down: Even so it is with vain thoughts in the heart; a man may lop them off by godly sorrow; he may cut them down, and root them up by mortification, and yet they will be sprouting up, and rising up again; till the whole body of sin be pulled down, and destroyed in a man. Gregory speaks of them, and saith, man may pluck them up, but yet not so but that they will rise again. The consideration hereof should humble us, and make us low in our own eyes: Oh then think with thyself and say, Oh that my thoughts should be so base, earthly and vain! what, have I not a God, a Christ, a heaven to think upon? have I not excellent Commandments of my God, and thousands of sweet and precious promises in Scripture to think upon? and must I be thinking on every babble? of every straw, not worth the thinking on? Take the Apostles exhortation, Whatsoever things be true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are of good report: if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things: Phil. 4.8. What, are there so many virtuous things; so many holy and pure things; so many admirable and glorious things-so many heavenly graces, and divine promises▪ so many blessed passages of holy Writ to take up my mind? and shall I spend my thoughts and time upon such vain and cursed things as will yield me no profit? This should astonish the hearts of God's people, and greatly humble their souls. Use 2 The second Use may serve for matter of condemnation unto the wicked: let this doctrine strike terror into the hearts of those men, that suffer their hearts to be taken up with vain thoughts: as Peter said unto Simon Magus, so let me say unto them, Repent of this thy wickedness, and pray unto God (vers. 8.) that if it be possible, the thoughts of thy heart may be forgiven thee. The Apostle doth not only wish him to repent of his simony and bribery, but also of the least vain thoughts of his heart: pray unto God, if perhaps the very thoughts of thy heart may be forgiven thee: for beloved the very least vain thoughts that thou thinkest, without repentance is impardonable: there is an impossibility of remission of vain and idle thoughts without true repentance. Oh what fearful news is this to the world that lay not this to heart! Beloved, may we not now run into the ears and hearts of all earthly men with this point, whose minds and thoughts are earthly? Is it so that he whose thoughts run habitually on the world, his end is destruction? Then they that make no conscience what their thoughts are, what their imaginations are, what they think of as they go up and down, how can such escape the vengeance of hell? Tell me then what thy thoughts are; are they not of thy hawks and hounds, of thy cattle and grounds, of thy gardens and orchards, rather than of Christ? When thou walkest in the streets, whereon run thy thoughts, but on thy pleasures, and profits, and earthly delights? yea of every vanity, and every delight canst thou think, rather than of God and his Commandments. Thou comest to Church, thou prayest, and hearest the Word of God; but do not vain thoughts come along with thee? thou goest home again, but do not vain thoughts haunt and dog thee? It is the brand of a wicked man, not to have God in all his thoughts, Psal. 4.10. when goods and cattle, plough and cart, pleasures and outward contentments are in his mind and thoughts; when ruffs and cuffs, houses and dishes, tables and fair hangings, or any thing but God can take up their thoughts; they can have thoughts of every thing, but of God they can think none; this is the brand of a wicked man, that he hath no blood of a Christian in him. It is a true description of a Pagan and Infidel, that hath no knowledge of Christ, to be vain in his imaginations, Rom. 1.21. When they knew God, they glorified him not as God, but became vain in their imaginations: vain in their disputes, vain in their reasonings, vain in their thoughts; in their carriages and disputations; so than though thou knowest God, and hast things enough in thy mind, that convinceth thee that this God is to be worshipped; and understandest the worship of God, and the commandments of Christ: yet if thou glorifiest him not as God, giving thy heart and affections to him but art vain in thy imaginations, thou dishonourest God. Hear what God saith unto such, All the day long have I stretched out my hand unto a rebellious and gainsaying people, which walk in a way that is not good, but after their own thoughts, a people that provoke me continually to my face. Isa. 65.2, 3. As if God had said, I sent Prophet after Prophet, Minister after Minister, to instruct them in the knowledge of my ways, I laboured to convert them, and to bring them home unto myself, and to work better thoughts in them; but still they are a people that walk after their own thoughts, that provoke me continually unto my face. There is never a thought of thine, but it is in the verse face of God, both thought and imagined. But some man may say, I think of God and of Christ, of faith and repentance, and of calling on God, of mending of this and that course; I think of death, and of my last account and every foot I have holy thoughts in my mind. But beloved, give me leave, I pray you, for to speak something unto you, which, it may be, may stick by you while you live: I will propound these four things and distinctions unto you, which I will use. First, what dost thou think of God and of heaven? then tell me whether thy thoughts be injective thoughts into thy heart, or thoughts raised by thy heart; for there is a great deal of difference between thoughts injected and thoughts raised: God casts good thoughts into a godly man's heart, which being fit soil, it fructifies, and brings forth fruit. Again, God casts good thoughts into a wicked man's heart, but because his heart is not sanctified, and therefore no fit soil to harbour in, they die and vanish: God casts in, and they cast out: God casts in again, and they cast out again: therefore if thou hast good thoughts, examine and try whether they be thoughts raised from thy heart or no; see whether thy heart be a renewed heart, a sanctified, an holy heart, fit to bring forth good thoughts every day. Beloved, a wicked man may have a thousand good thoughts, and yet go to hell in the midst of them all. God cast a good thought into the heart of the King of Babylon to go against Judah and Jerusalem for to punish his people for their sins, and to avenge himself on them for the breach of his Covenant: but what saith the text? Reas 1 Howbeit he thought not so. Isa. 10. No, his only aim was how to get honour, how to enrich, to enlarge his territories, and to bring down the Nations under him, and to make his name and fame to be spread, and declared through all the world. So God casts many good thoughts into many a wicked man's heart to repent, and to leave his drunkenness, his pride, his swearing and whoring, to be holy and religious: howbeit he thinks not so, but he thinks how to eat and drink, how to be proud and haughty; how to be rich and great in the world; how to be vain and licentious: yea thy thoughts are vile and vain all the day long. Oh that men were wise truly to understand this! the want whereof is the cause why many thousands go to hell and are damned for ever. I will make it plain to you: A wicked man reasons thus with himself; I confess, and it is true, I sin every day against God, and sometimes drink a pot with my friend, though sometimes I let fall an oath, and am overtaken in my infirmities▪ yet I thank God, he hath sanctified my heart; for I think of God and of Christ, and I oft call upon his name, and let my thoughts run on good things; God and heaven are many times in my mind, and I am sorry when I do amiss, and the Lord hath blest me with a large portion of outward things. Besides I see these and these signs of grace in me, and therefore I think my case to be happy. And thus securely they live, and so they go on, and so they die, and so go to hell and perish for ever and ever. Here is the misery of it, many think of God, and of Christ, of death, and of their last account, of heaven, of hell, of faith, and repentance, of leaving sin, of crucifying their lusts, and practising of holiness. Now men think that their thinking of these things, is a part of their discharge, when indeed they are Additions to, and pieces of their talents, which increase their judgements. God casts in a thought of repentance, of holiness, of the remembrance of death, and last account: Dost thou find thy heart never the better and holier by them? Then know it is only Gods haunting of thy heart, and Gods calling upon thee, and Gods inviting thee unto repentance, to leave thy sins, to come out of thy deadness and formality, to prepare for thy death and judgement; and therefore I say, if thy heart now think not so, if thy heart do not repent, believe, and grow more zealous, and thou art not drawn the nearer to God; I say then, that the more of these good thoughts that thou hast had, the greater thy doom will be: if thou hast had ten thousands of them, if they have been only Gods haunting of thy heart, think thou then now of grace, of God, of thy poor soul, which is not bettered by them, nor made holy, then know they are pieces of thy talon, and it doth make thy torments in hell the greater. Secondly, thou hast good thoughts, but the question is, whether they be fleeting or abiding thoughts: Many think of God, of grace, of heaven, of the word of God; and when they hear a Sermon, they will think of God; but these thoughts, though they come into their minds, yet they go away presently, they are in and out at an instant, in a trice, they pass away and are gone. Beloved, there are two kinds of vain thoughts; 1. vain, because the substance and matter of them is vain, and so all worldly thoughts are vain: 2. or else for their want of durance and lasting: and so are all thoughts of heaven, of God, and grace, and of Christ, it they vanish away, they are all vain thoughts, though they seem otherwise. Haer what God saith, Gen. 6.5. God saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and all the imaginations of the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually: [all the imaginations] great is the emphasis of this word [all] all the thoughts: yea all universally, are only evil continually. But you will say unto me, Doth not a wicked man think that there is a God: why, that is a good thought; doth he not think that this God is to be observed and worshipped? why, this is a good thought; doth he not think that sin is to be forsaken? that is a good thought; doth he not think of heaven, and of Christ? how then are their thoughts only evil and that continually? I answer, because all the thoughts of a wicked man's heart are vain: that is, vanishing thoughts, not vain for the matter, which sometimes may be good and holy, but vain because they soon vanish away; thoughts that come and tarry not, that leave no impression in their hearts behind them, these are all vain thoughts, according to that of the Apostle, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise that they are vain: 1 Cor. 3.20. Beloved, in a godly man's heart, when a good thought comes, it abides and dwells a good while in him; and when it goes away it leaves a good impression behind it; it leaves a sweet smell and savour in the heart after it is gone, It's made more holy, and sanctified by it. When a good thought comes into a godly man's heart, it leaves the print of it behind: when a wicked man hath a good thought, he tosseth it up and down, and suffers it not to stay, but presently puts it away: let a thought of the world come in, and he can give it entertainment for seven days, yea for seven years, yea all his life he sets his heart as a wide gate open to receive them, and to entertain them: but if a thought of God, or of repentance, of holiness and salvation come into his mind, he is tired out with it, and it soon vanisheth away; therefore so long as thy thoughts are thus vain, though for the matter good, if thou hast never so many of them, yet if they abide not, but thou thinkest and unthinkest them again; if they come and give thy soul a jog, and so away; the more I say thou hast of them, though thou hast many millions, the greater will be thy doom at the last day. Thirdly, thou thinkest of God, but the question is, whether thy good thoughts be studied, or accidental thoughts; a wicked man that runs gadding in his thoughts here and there, over the whole world upon this and that, and I know not what, in the midst of a lottery of thoughts he cannot choose but stumble upon some good: he thinks on God, he thinks on Christ, he thinks on heaven; but it is by the by, these thoughts of his are not natural; but if he think of the world, of his pleasures, of his outward delights and contentments, these thoughts arise naturally out of his heart, they are his own. Now it may be a thought of God comes by the way; But a godly man not only thinks of God, but he studies how to think of God: It is his continual endeavour to bring his mind to be fixed upon God; it is his whole care for to have good thoughts to dwell habitually in him. There is an excellent phrase used to set it forth, Malac. 3.16. They that feared the Lord spoke one unto another, and the Lord harkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him of all them that feared the Lord, and thought upon his Name. Where I pray you for to mark, that thinking upon God's name, and the fear of God are joined together: for thinking on God, comes from the fear of God; a godly man thinks upon God and fears him; he thinks that God is always with him in every place, and he trembles before him: he thinks God beholds all his thoughts and affections, and he trembles at him: he thinks as he walks up and down in his way, as he is employed in his calling, as he is performing of any duty of Religion, that God's eye is upon him and beholds him: and therefore he fears to offend and displease him. A wicked man will swear and blaspheme the name of God, and by and by it may be he will cry God mercy, and so he thinks of God. The man breaks out it may be into wrath and malice, fury and passion; and than it may be a thought will come into his mind for to cry God mercy for it, and thus he thinks of God: The man is careless, earthly, dead, and lukewarm in the performance of good duties; and because his conscience tells him it is not good, he will ask God forgiveness: he will be proud, vain and rotten in his speeches, and then it may be a thought will come into his mind to ask God forgiveness, and so he thinks of God; he will think of the world, of his pleasures, profits, and of his lusts and sins, and then it may be a good thought will come into his mind, and then it may be he will think a little of God too. Beloved, this is carnal and devilish thinking on God; thy thoughts then of God must be joined with the fear of God. Fourthly and lastly, thou thinkest of God, but the question is, whether thy thoughts of him be profitable or unprofitable thoughts: a godly man thinks of repentance, and reputes upon it: he thinks of calling upon God more faithfully and fervently than he did before: and he accomplishes his thoughts: for he goes about it, and his heart is the better for it: Thus it was with David when he said, I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies, Psalms 119.59. I thought on my ways (there was his good thoughts) and turned my feet into thy testimonies, (there was the profit of his good thoughts.) But on the contrary thou thinkest on God, but God hath never the more service of thee: thou thinkest of leaving of thy good fellowship, and merry companions; but for all thy thoughts, thou retainest them still: thou thinkest to give over all thy deadness and lukewarmness, and to get more zeal and fervency: yet day after day, and year after year, thy heart is as dead, vain and secure as before, as ever before. Examine thyself and see, thou hast good thoughts (thou sayest) but where is the profit of them? thou thinkest of leaving thy wrath, and of bridlling thy filthy passions: but art thou enabled by thy thoughts to put up an injury the better? It may be thou thinkest on death; but is thy life the more holy and sanctified by it? Thou thinkest of Christ and his blood; but is thy heart purged by it? Oh the wretched misery of the most men in the world, because of the unprofitableness of their thoughts! they have many good thoughts, but they want the profitable use of them, they get no good by them. There is an excellent description of the thoughts of wicked men (though it be Apocrypha,) The heart of the foolish is like a Cart wheel, and his thoughts like the rolling Axletree. As the Cart wheel goes round all the day, and yet remains on the Axletree; so is it with wicked men, their thoughts wheel and wheel them up and down a thousand thousand times, their thoughts run upon this thing, and then upon another thing, and so they roll up and down continually, yet their heart is at the same pass it was still; an earthly heart it was, and so it is still, a profane heart it was, and so it is still; a carnal proud heart it was, and so it remains still; But let these know, that the time hastens wherein God will judge them even for their very thoughts. Where are they then that say thought is free? It is true indeed, it is free from men's knowledge, and from men's Courts but not from Gods; they are not free from God's all-seeing eye, and know, ledge. me●●aith ●aith the Prophet) thou understandest my thoughts afar off, Psal. 139. Beloved, as you are in the Alehouse, or gaming house, as you walk abroad in the fields, as you are employed in your callings, or about any holy duty, God seeth all thy thoughts what is going in, and what is coming out: there is never a thought in thy heart, but God sees it; how then can thoughts be free? God will weigh the thoughts of men, Prov. 16.2. Beloved, what a fearful day will that he, when God shall take his Scales and weigh (no man's bodies and estates, for than it may be that rich men and fat and gross men will outweigh them that are better:) but he will take men's thoughts and weigh them, he will weigh their souls: he will take men's good thoughts, and put them into one scale, and their bad, earthly, carnal, and unprofitable thoughts, into another scale, and to try which weighs heaviest: Now if thy earthly and sinful thoughts weigh heaviest, then down thou goest into eternal damnation. Secondly, as thoughts are not free from God's knowledge, so are they not free from God's Word; for God's word can meet with them: for it is lively and mighty in operation, and is a descerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, Hebr 4.12. Doth the word of God discern the thoughts of men's hearts? Then much more doth the God of this Word, and therefore how can thoughts be free? Thirdly and lastly, they are not free from the condemnation of hell and damnation. I am he (saith God) that searcheth the hearts and reins, and I will give to every one of you according to his works; or as some translations have it, according to your thoughts: Rev. 3.23. Now if God will so severely punish thoughts, take heed then how thou tetainest any evil thoughts. I should here give you some means in the use, that so you might rid yourselves from vain thoughts. Means 1 First, love the word of God, if ever thou wilt come out of them; prise the truth of God, and labour to get thy mind and thoughts to be● set on better things; and then the thoughts of the world, and all vain things will vanish away. This course the Prophet David took, Psal. 119.113. I hate vain thoughts, but thy Law do I love. How came it to pass that he hated vain thoughts? namely, by loving Gods Law: if he had not loved God's Law and those excellent things therein, and set his heart on them; he could never have hated vain thoughts: The way then to break of thy league with vain thoughts, is to be in league with good thoughts. Dost thou complain of vain thoughts in prayer, in hearing the word, in receiving of the Sacraments, and art thou stuffed and filled with them, that thou canst not think: upon God and holy things? thou dost here by bewray thine own rottenness and corruption. And therefore know, that if thou lovest the Lord and his Word, and didst set thy thoughts upon him, thou wouldst never have them so much employed about such base things. Secondly, if ever thou wouldst rid thy heart of vain thoughts, especially when thou art in holy action, thou must go unto God by prayer; there is no greater bridle to restrain a man from vain thoughts, than this consideration, that he is to go to God. I speak not this to the men of this world: Carnal men, who can rush into God's presence hand over head, without any fear or reverence, they can set upon any duty without any preparation: but I speak it to the godly man, whose heart dreads and stands in awe of God: Wilt thou let thy mind rove and run all the day on worldly things? how then wilt thou call upon God? Dost thou not know that this is the cause of thy dulness, thy deadness and wander of thy heart, when thou art about any good duty, namely, because thou sufferest thy heart to be lashing out, and roving abroad on the world all day, no marvel if it keep his haunt at night: and therefore thy heart being vain God will never hear thy prayer, Job 35.13. God will never bear vanity. Comest thou to God with a vain prayer? God will never hear it. Comest thou with a vain ear to the hearing of the Word? God will never hear it; or with a vain heart to the Sacrament? God will not regard it. Lay this seriously to thy heart, if ever thou wouldst have thy heart to the duty thou art about, busy thy mind upon good things; for if thy heart be accustomed to vain and worldly things all the day, it is no marvel if it return to its haunt again at night. Thirdly, consider that you have not so learned Christ: It is the Apostles argument, Ephes. 3. consider then what you have learned of Christ; hath Christ taught you so? hath Christ taught you such a love, and given you such a liberty, that you should love the world more than him, and employ and bestow all your thoughts wholly in seeking after vain things? Hath Christ taught you such a faith as this? Hath Christ taught you such a repentance as this, to have your thoughts more upon the world then upon Christ? to repent of sin, and yet never forsake sin? Have ye so learned Christ? Hath he not taught you such a faith as purifieth the heart, such a sanctification as cleanseth the soul and the mind, such an obedience as bringeth every thought into subjection unto himself? Therefore if now thou shouldst still retain thy vain, dead, earthly and carnal thoughts, it is not to learn Christ: Christ teacheth thee no such doctrine, nor giveth thee any such licentious liberty; but thou learnest of the Devil, and of thine own heart: for all evil and vain thoughts arise from these three heads. First, from the variety and abundance of the thoughts of the world, which our Saviour calls the cares of this world. Seconly, from the fountain of corruption in man's heart, the heart of man being always like a sink, naturally running with filthiness, or like a living quickset, always bearing: so is it with the heart of man, always imagining vain thoughts. Thirdly, from the damned malice of the Devil, and his fearful suggestions and temptations both within and without: the Devil is fitly called a tempter and trier; for by these suggestions and temptations he feels and tries men's hearts; and thereby knowing to what they are most inclined, and which way they are soon overcome, accordingly he fits his temptations for to entrap them. Now these thoughts are infinitely variable, according to the constitution, place, quality, passions, affections, and conditions of men: as of the poor man in his beggary, of the rich man in his abundance, of the Minister in his calling, of the Magistrate in his, and so of all other men. Now the whole world is not able to fill the heart; how then shall we number the thoughts of it? But for the better understanding, we will rank them into these four heads, to show how thoughts become vain. 1. Materially, men's thoughts are vain, when the matter of them is vain. 2. Formally, when though for the matter they are never so good, yet the manner of thinking them is evil. 3. Efficientially, when the man that thinks them is vain. 4. When it is a thought that might become the best Saint upon the earth, or a glorified Angel in heaven; yet the drift of the soul being carnal and vain, the soul thereby becomes vain also. First then material vain thoughts, are all thoughts of the world, of the works of thy calling, of thy recreations, eating, drinking, sleeping, thoughts of thy wife and children, and the like; they are vain thoughts, not sinful necessarily, yet they may come to be sinful five manner of ways. Manner. 1 First, when we think of them primarily, that is, in the first place, when we think of them before we think of God. Tell me then, what are thy first thoughts in the morning? Hereby a man may know his thoughts whether they be good or evil. Consider, I say, what it is that first presents itself unto thy thoughts: certainly, that which the heart is most haunted withal, and most taken up with, is most natural unto it: If the heart be carnal and earthly, it will have carnal and earthly thoughts: if it be a godly and gracious heart, it will labour to make God the first in his thoughts. I know the godly man fails in many things, and many unruly thoughts in him may rebel; but it is the very grief of his soul, and he will never rest nor be at quiet, till he hath got Balm from Gilead, strength from Christ for the subduing and crucifying of them, even of those vain and sinful thoughts that stick closest unto their hearts, and are most prone unto them naturally: so that it is the practice of a godly man first in the morning to lift up his heart with his hand unto God; and when he is up, his thoughts are wholly upon God. See this in David, who considering that the Lord was present everywhere, made this use of it, When I awake I am present with thee, Psal. 139.18. His heart was lifted up to God, he did endeavour to shake hands with God (as it were) in his holy meditations, worshipping and adoring God with his first thoughts: he would be sure to give God the flower and Maidenhead of his first service and thoughts; as soon as ever he was awake, his heart was in heaven. This shows that the thoughts of men that ●ive in their sins, are damnable thoughts? Thou that ar● a drunkard, a swearer, a profane person, a carnal worldling, that never hast repent, I tell thee, that the very thinking of thy meat and drink is damnable, the very thoughts of thy recreations and of thy sleep, are damnable thoughts: to think of the works of thy calling, yea of setting thy foot upon the ground, or of any thing that God hath commanded thee for to do, are all damnable thoughts. Why? Because thou givest not God thy first thoughts. Wilt thou think of thy belly and back, before thou thinkest of God and how to be converted unto him? Wilt thou think of thy Markets and Fairs, before thou thinkest of thy reconciliation with God? The first thing that every soul is bound for to do, is to get in with God: First seek the kingdom of God. saith our Saviour and the righteousness thereof, Matth. 6.35. Where our Saviour doth not forbid our taking of thought for the things of this life, but that they should not be sought after in the first place; so that our first thoughts and endeavours should be after the Kingdom of heaven. Therefore all thoughts whatsoever, which are conceived before a man be converted, and so thinks of God, are all damnable thoughts. Manner. 2 Secondly, all worldly thoughts are sinful, when we think of them too usually (as chrysostom speaks) because we think of the universality of them. Beloved, it is lawful to think of the world and to think of our trade and employments, to think of our corn, of our cat●ell, fields, barns, wives, children: for if God have commanded or commended these things unto us, then surely he gives us leave to think on them, that so we may accomplish our business the better; but let us take heed they be not too usual with us: for we have souls as well as bodies, and there is a heaven as well as an earthly business to think upon: thou art not to live here always, therefore take heed that thy thoughts be not too usual and common upon the things of the world let not earth and earthly things have too much of thy thoughts. As the Prophet David seeing the thoughts of wicked men wholly to run after the things of the world, he tells them, all their thoughts perish: and so I tell you, if that your thoughts on the world run together with heap and crowd, and then you bundle them up in bundles (as it were) they all prove damnable, and shall perish. Manner. 3 Thirdly, worldly thoughts are sinful and damnable, if thou thinkest of them too savourly: a carnall-minded man thinks savourly of the things of the world, the thoughts of earthly things are savoury unto them: a wicked man he will think of God and of the world: but which is the savourest thought to him? He will think of Christ, of heaven, and of the word of God, and of such a Sermon he heard, but alas, he finds no savour, taste, nor relish in them; he finds no sweetness, joy, or delight in them: but when he thinks of the world, of his gold and silver, of his lands and livings, Oh these are merry thoughts unto him, ●hese are sweet unto him, and pleasant to him, and his heart is not at home in his own nest; he can think of these seven days, nay seven months, nay seven years together, and yet never be weary, but his thoughts as full & as fresh as at the first: But bring him to a Sermon, or to a prayer, and he is jaded presently, his heart is empty, and his thoughts are at an end: For (saith the Apostle) they that are after the flesh savour the things of the flesh, Rom. 8, 5. It is a true note of an earthly, carnal, fleshly heart▪ to be thinking on earthly and vain things savourly. Thou mayst think on the world, but it must be only with a cast of thy thought●, as one that looks upon a thing with a squint eye: but when thou art to think on God, or on the things of God; then thou must gather all thy thoughts and affections, thou must lay all the powers of thy soul together, and thou must employ them only to this work. Manner. 4 Fourthly, worldly thoughts become sinful, when we think of them without counsel; then (saith Solomon) they come to nought, when a man considers not aforehand what thoughts are necessary and needful and so restrains and keeps off all impertinent thoughts: then his thoughts will prove distrustful, carking thoughts, caring for the morrow, contrary to the rule of Christ, Matth. 6.33. Take no care for to morrow, let to morrow care for itself. He doth not forbid here Christian provident thoughts: for godly, honest, and sober thoughts, are fitting and necessary, but he seems hereby to cut off all distrusting, carking thoughts. Manner. 5 Fifthly, worldly thoughts come to be sinful, when they are thought needlessly. And here I will show how far a man may think of the world; namely, so far as his necessary business requires. Suppose a man's business be upon merchandise, it is lawful to think of it, and of his shop and wares; but if thou wouldst know how far; why so far as is it for thy business; But if thou hast so many of them, that thy heart is taken up with them, and thy mind still on them, than they are sinful thoughts. There is many a man that in following of his business bestows more thoughts than his business requires, he hath ten thousands of superfluous thoughts; but let such remember the exhortation of the Wise man, establish thy thoughts by counsel: counsel will tell a man when he hath thought enough, and what thoughts are fit for his employment. Not that any man can carry himself always in that golden mediocrity or mean; but a Christians care must be daily more and more to pair off all superfluous thoughts of earthly things. Now we come to the second thing: 2. Thoughts are vain formally, when though the matter of them be never so good, yet the manner of thinking them is evil. It is possible that a wicked man go to hell, though he performs the same things for the matter of them, that a godly man doth: a godly man comes to Church, so doth a wicked man; a godly man prays in his family, so doth a wicked man; a godly man reads the Scriptures, so doth a wicked man; a godly man repeats Sermons, and confers of good things, so doth a wicked man. There is no work that comes to the outward act, that a godly man doth, but a wicked man may do the same: here only is the difference, in the manner of working. I will set it out to you by a place of Scripture; In a great house (saith the Apostle) there are not only vessels of gold, and of silver, but also of wood and of stone, some to honour, and some to dishonour, 2 Tim. 2.20. Mark how the Apostle here sets out the reprobate and the elect, comparing them to vessels of honour, and dishonour: the vessels of dishonour are of the same matter that the vessels of honour are of: suppose it be pewter or silver, cast it into an honourable form, and it will be a vessel of honour; but cast it into a dishonourable form, and it will be a vessel of dishonour, for base and mean service; even so it is between a true Christian and a mere formal professor, the matter of their service is one and the same; suppose it be hearing the Word, or receiving of the Sacraments, prayer, or the like, the substance and action is the same; but take the same prayer, and let a godly man cast it in his form, and it is holy and prevails with God: let a wicked man take the same prayer, and cast it into his dishonourable form, and it becomes sinful, not regarded, and abominable in God's eyes. For hearing of the Word of God, the godly man hears, and the wicked man hears; the matter in both is the same; the godly man he casteth the Word into a godly mould, he hears the Word, and he trembles at it; he hears the Word and believes it, he hears the Word, and his heart bows to it, and resolves to practise it: a wicked man he hears the Word too, but he casteth it into a dishonourable mould, he hears it with deadness and dulness, without trembling, without faith and obedience. So a godly man may think thoughts of God, and so may a wicked man think thoughts of God, the matter of both is good; yet the thoughts of the wicked are vain, though he thinks of God, because he casteth it into his dishonourable frame: he fears not God, his heart trembles not at God, but his heart is as full of dead earthly affections as before; he thinks of hearing the Word, but it is after his own fashion, he thinks of praying, but he prays with his own spirit, and not with the spirit of Adoption. The Psalmist tells us, that the whoremaster, the drunkard, and the thief, thinks of God, but it is after his own fashion: Psal. 50.21. These things hast thou done (saith God) and I held my tongue, and thou thoughtest that I was even such a one as thyself: A wicked man goes on in his sins, and thinks that they are not so devilish and abominable, as some say that they are: and he thinks that God thinks so too; he is earthly, carnal, lukewarm, and dead-hearted, and if he repent at the last, he thinks all will be well, and he thinks God is of the same mind too: he goes on in his drunkenness, swearing, pride, and hypocrisy; and he thinks if he do but remember to ask God mercy, and to cry, Lord receive my soul, when he is going out of the world, he thinks he shall not go to hell, but be carried to the joys of heaven, and he thinks God is of his mind, that God thinks so too: But mark what the Lord saith, I will reprove thee, and set thy sins in order before thee. Oh consider this you that forget God, lest he tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver you. Thirdly, men's thoughts are vain, when the heart that thinks upon them is earthly and vain; wherefore if all the wicked men in the world should lay their heads together to think a good thought, yet they cannot: for their hearts are vain hearts, sinful hearts, they may think of excellent propositions concerning God, his worship, his word, and service; but so long as the heart that thinks upon them is carnal and vain, they cannot speak that which is good, as saith our Saviour: Matthew 12.34. How can you speak good things? Object. Why, may some man say? may not a wicked man read a Chapter in a Bible? are the words so hard to be understood, and pronounced? cannot a wicked man take a Sermon and read it, and hear a Sermon and repeat it? what are letters and syllables so hard to be pronounced? Answ. I answer, (beloved) that is not the meaning of our Saviour [How can ye that are evil speak good things]: no, no, a wicked man may read God's Word, and propound good questions, as well as a true Christian; but he cannot speak good words, that is, he cannot speak h●m from a good heart; and therefore his heart being carnal and vain, good words in his mouth are as a jewel in a swine's snout: It is a word indeed, but not a speech, when he reads or pronounceth God's Word. Aristotle saith, that speech is nothing but the expression of that that is within the heart. Now then, if the word and truth of God be not ingraffed in thy heart, if thy heart be not heavenly when thou speakest of heavenly things, thou dost pronounce them, but not speak them. But when thou speakest of earthly things than thou speakest to the purpose; because thy heart is set upon them, and thy mind and the tongue go together, there is no jar or discord betwixt them: but if thy heart be not pure, though thou speakest good things, or holy things, yet in Christ sense thou speakest them not: For (say I) how can a vain, evil, corrupt heart think good thoughts? An evil tree cannot bring ●orth good fruit (saith our Saviour); he doth not say, that an evil tree cannot be made good, for it may be graffed into another stock; divers ways there are to make it good: but so long as it is a corrupt tree, it cannot bring forth good fruit; Do men gather grapes of thorns, or stage's of thistles? Dost thou go to a drunkard, and thinkest there to find any religion in him? or to a whoremaster to find grace in him? Dost thou go to a swearer or a profane person, and thinkest thou to find any fear of God in them? Indeed sometimes there may be some moral good found in them, but they are as a pearl in a dunghill out of its place. Fourthly, all men's thoughts come to be vain, when the drift and end of the heart and soul in thinking of them is vain. But thou wilt say unto me, the end of my good thoughts is God's glory. What? is it not to God's glory that we go to the Word and Sacraments that we pray and give alms? I answer▪ the end of every good work in itself is God's glory; but is it the end of the worker, speaker, or thinker? I make no question but the end of a good action in itself, is the glory of God; so the end of prayer is the glory of God, the end of all preaching and Sermons is the glory of God, the end of giving of alms, and of all good thoughts, is the glory of God, but the end of the man that prays and preaches, what is that? the end of the hearer and giver of alms, what is that? the end of him that speaks well, what is that? Beloved, must men have false and corrupt ends, which we will branch out into these three heads. For the first▪ men will be thinking and plodding from morning till night of their worldly business: Now because they know they must think on God, to make God amends, perhaps they will think on him at night, when they have dishonoured him all the day. So men will swear and swagger drink and be drunk, and when they have done, say, Lord have mercy upon me, and so they think to make God amends. What (beloved) will ye swear, swagger, drink, be drunk, and lie, be secure and worldly, and then ask God forgiveness to make him amends? This is to break Priscian's head, that you may give him a plaster. Will you trespass your neighbour, that you may ask him forgiveness? This is a damned and devilish religion; yet this is the religion of many men in the world, you shall have them keep days and weeks and years in the observation of the times of God's worship; they will keep the Sabbath in coming to Church, they will hear Sermons, pray and think of God: but all this is to make God amends for the wrong that they have done him: they know they have offended God, and therefore they will do something to make him amends: like those wicked men in Jeremy's time, who did steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal; and walk after the gods whom they knew not, and then come and stand before God in his house, which was called by his name, and said, We are delivered, though we have done all these abominations. As if God should say unto wicked men, What, will ye swear, steal, lie, and be earthly, giving up yourselves unto all manner of lewdness in the breach and contempt of my commandments, and then think by making a prayer unto me, and by lifting up your eyes unto me, and by giving your ears to hear my word, thereby to make me recompense? No, no, I have showed thee, O man, what is good, Micah. 8. Secondly, the end of men's thoughts is commonly to collogue with God. Let a man be under the cross, in calamity, pain, and misery, than God shall hear of him often, than he will think of God, and of his sins: nay, the beastliest wretch in a whole Parish, upon his sickbed, then, Oh how will he call upon God, then send for the Minister, let him pray for me, read a chapter or some good book; then God shall have service upon service, than he shall have the first, second, and third course. But all this is but to be raised up again; and then when he hath received a little strength, he fall off again: like the Jews, who when God slew them, they sought him: and they returned and enquired early after God; nevertheless they did but dissemble with him with their mouths, and flatter him with their double hearts, Ps. 78.34. There is many a man that seeks to God, yea, that seeks to him with tears, and performs many a good duty, and yet he doth but flatter with God, he doth it but to curry favour with him: he is afraid of sickness, crosses, plagues, and death, and curses upon him, if he should not do so: and therefore to prevent this, he will dissemble some service to God. Thirdly, to smother and choke their own consciences; their hearts think and tell them, they must think of God, their consciences tell them, that they must have some holiness, some religion; that they must keep the Sabbath in some sort, that they must pray, and go to Church: and hence it is, that the drunkard, swearer, whoremaster, will sometimes have thoughts of God, and will be performing some outward acts of Religion, Why? his conscience otherwise would not let him be at rest, but it is as the Devil's bandog to drive him to it. Thus when the Prophet commanded the people to worship the Lord, to reverence his name, to hollow his Sabbaths; their consciences told them that they must do so, or else all the threatenings of wrath and vengeance denounced by the Prophets would come upon them, Hence it is that the Lord by his Prophet exhorts, saying, Arise ye, and depart, for this is not your rest: your mind hath another haunt, you have this and that black lust, this is not your rest. Doth thy heart rest on God and good things? If thy heart be good and holy, so that it takes up its rest in God, and in Christ, than it is well; but if thou only turnest aside to good duties, and fallest as it were by chance upon holy things; away, away (saith God) this is not your rest. Aristotle saith, that the being of a thing cons●steth in the end of a thing. Therefore if the end of thy thoughts and courses be earthly and vain, then certainly thy religion is earthly and vain. Thou goest up and down; what is it that thou lookest after? Is it that thou mayest have grace, or that thou mayst follow thy calling, and get thy living? is it this that thou wouldst have, for which thou keepest such a digging and scraping, and such a laying up? Then thy end is carnal and vain, and thy drift and end declareth the truth of thy soul, that it is carnal and vain. THE JUDGEMENT OF THE WORLD By SAINTS at the last Day. DELIVERED And learnedly discovered in a Sermon preached By that vigilant and painful Minister of the Word, WILLIAM FENNER, B.D. Sometime Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge, and late Parson of Rochfort in Essex. London, Printed by T.R. and E.M. for J.S. A SERMON OF Mr. WILLIAM FENNERS Upon this ensuing Text. 1 Cor. 6. part of the 2d verse. Know ye not that the Saints shall judge the World? THE Corinthians thought Paul had converted many poor mean men amongst them, Chapter 1.26, 27. God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty: yet the Nobles, the Lawyers, the Counsellors, the chief men in the City, the Apostle had not converted one of them, or at the least very few. Brethren, you see your calling, who they are that be converted to the obedience of the Gospel of Christ from the evil of their ways: not many wise men after the flesh, not many rich not many noble, some few there be, here and there one; but for the most part they are a company of poor beggarly Christians: Now (it seems) these poor Christians having controversies one with another, went to Law among themselves, and that before unbelievers. The Apostle condemns this their going to Law, and would have them cease their suits and quarrels one against another before the unjust and unbelievers, and that by four Arguments: First, by the shamefulness of it, verse 5. I speak it to your shame; as if he should say, Are you such fools, that you cannot take up these matters among yourselves? that you cannot make references of your wrongs to mediate one to another, but that you must go to Law before unbelievers? Secondly, from the scandalousness of it. It is a thing so scandalous and offensive to those that are without, that I wonder any of you dare be so bold as to go to Law one with another. What will the world think? What, are these the men that profess the Gospel? Are these they that have the Wisdom of God in them, and that are led by the Spirit of God? And have they no more understanding in them, than when they have any matter of controversy, they cannot end it among themselves, but must go to Law before the unjust and unbelievers? (as they term them.) Thirdly, from the uns●emingnesse of it, in the second verse. Do you not know that the Saints shall judge the earth? What? hath God made you Judges of the world, and do you go to be judged by the world? Or, as Ambrose speaks hath God appointed you to be Judges of the men in the world, and are you not fit to be Judges of the things of the world? Fourthly, from the strangeness of it; Dare any of yw? He speaks interrogatively (vers. 1.) It is a strange thing that you should come to that impudency against the Gospel of Christ; one would think that you should tremble and quake at such a thing as this is. What, is there never a wise Christian amongst you? never an understanding professor that is able to take up a controversy, or decide and judge between his brethren? what a strange thing is this? Then he backs it with four Arguments. 1. Because they were Brethren, vers. 6. Brother goes to Law with brother. 2. Because it was about the things of this life What? hath God made you Judge of heavenly things, of Angels, and are you unfit to Judge of the things of this life? 3. It was about small matters (ver. 2.) whereas you shall sit upon men and Angels, and the weightiest matters in the world, the greatest things of God's law, judging them to the greatest penalty and punishment even to eternal damnation: and are ye unworthy then to judge even of the smallest matters? 4. And lastly, Because it was about such things, as the meanest Christian in the town might have taken up, and have ended: Set up them that are least esteemed. Do you not know, that the Saints shall judge the world? Doct. I need not go far for a point, the word affords it; The Doctrine is; That the Saints shall judge the world. It is an old truth, yea as old as the world itself▪ you may read it in the fourth verse of Judes' Epistle: That Eno●h the seventh from Adam prophesied, saying; Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his Saints. God will not only come to judgement himself, but he will come attended with all his Saints, even with all the god●y, to execute vengeance upon all the world. So our Saviour told Saint Peter, and not only him, but all that follow him in the regeneration: They shall sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel▪ Mat. 9.18. They shall judge the Nations, and have dominion over the people, Wisd. 3.8. Object. And now because doubt is the best way to attain unto knowledge, let me answer a doubt, that may creep in by the way; How shall the Saints judge the world? Answ. Ans. Not by pronouncing of judgement upon the world, for that Christ alone shall do; Then shall the King say to them on his left hand, Depart ye cursed, Mat. 25. But the Saints shall judge the world these four ways: 1. They shall judge the world, by their consent unto Christ's judgement, God trains up his children in this world, & educates them, and tea●heth them how they may judge the world hereafter; he teacheth them in this life how to assent with his proceedings in the world; so that they are able to say, Righteous art thou, O Lord, and just are thy judgements▪ Psal. 119.137. Now if the Saints be trained in this life to assent unto Gods proceedings with the world, much more than will they be able to know and consent unto Christ's judgement, when he shall come with his Saints to judge the world: Now the Law saith, that consenters are agents: and therefore because the Saints shall consent to the judgement of Christ, therefore they are said to judge the world. 2. The Saints shall judge the world by their applause of Christ's judgement: they shall not only give consent unto the judgement of Christ, but they shall also applaud it and commend it: when God shall say to all drunkards, swearers, liars, Sabbath-breakers, and to all unbelieving, impenitent, and graceless sinners, Depart ye cursed into hell fire, then though it were his own father that begat him, or his mother that bore him, though it were his own brother or sister, wife or child, that hath been as dear as his own life and soul to him; yet they shall clap their hands for joy, and applaud the most righteous sentence of God upon them; and they shall sing Hallelujah, salvation, and honour, and power, be to the Lord our God for true & righteous are his judgements, Rev. 19.1, 2. Let them go accursed as they are; for it is a righteous sentence passed on them. 3. They shall judge the world by their Majesty; they shall not only stand against the wicked, and consent to, and applaud that sentence that Christ shall pass against the wicked, but they shall be invested w●th robes of majesty, and with a diadem of glory: then shall the righteous shine as the stars in the firmament, and the wicked shall be amazed and astonished at the fight of them: as you may read in that platform of judgement, Matth, 25. where Christ sets his Saints over against the world, that so the world may look upon them, and be confounded at their sight. 4. They judge the world by their lives and conversations; (as Ambrose saith rightly) then is the world judged by them, when as the courses and manners of the world are not found upon them. Therefore it is a pretty observation of Hilary (if it be the meaning of the Text) (I will not say it is) upon the 2. Psalm; Be wise ●ee Judges: God hath appointed you to be Judges, to sit on his bench with his Son; learn then to be wise, get to be endued with spiritual wisdom and understanding, and to shine in all integrity and righteousness; and then turning his speech to the wicked, he says, Kiss the Son lest he be angry, However it be yet this is a truth, that by the lives of his Saints, he will judge the world; there faith shall judge the world's infidelity: their repentance shall judge the world's impenitency; their accepting of, and taking the Lord Jesus, shall judge their rejection and neglect of Christ Jesus, their zeal shall judge the world's lukewarmness, and their holiness shall judge the world's profaneness. Reas. 1 1. Because of the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Saint●; He is the head, and they are his members; now that which the head doth, we ascribe to the whole body; when the head speaks, the whole body speaks; when the head sees, the whole body sees: so when Christ judgeth the world, the whole body of Christ may truly be said to judge the world. As much as you did it unto one of these (saith Christ) you did it unto me: so in as much as Christ passeth sentence even all the members of the mystical body of Christ judge with him. Reas. 2 Secondly, in regard of compassion: I speak not of the word [compassion] as it signifies [pity] but of compassion of suffering with Christ, seeing that Christ was reproached, contemned, hated, misused, and condemned by the world, the Saints are likewise with him; seeing they partake of the afflictions, humiliations, and debasements of Christ here▪ they shall also be made partakers with Christ in his glory. Here the wicked judge the Saints, and call them hypocrites, and dissemblers, and laugh and scoffs at them, and wonder at them, as the Prophet brings in Christ speaking. Esay. 8. Behold, I and the children that thou hast given me, are for signs and wonders in Israel: The wicked count them for wonders and monsters in the world, judging them hypocrites and liars, which have nothing in them but rottenness and dissimulation. Now the rule of like for like shall take place here, and as they were judged by the world, so they shall be Judges of the world. Reas. 3 Thirdly, for the great terror to all wicked men at the day of judgement: for as it is with a thief, not only when the Judge shall command to hang him, but all the Justices, and all the Country shall cry out, Hang him, hang him, he is judged the more terrible; so God will not only say of all wicked and ungodly sinners, Damn them damn them, but he will have all the Saints in heaven, and all the Saints on earth to cry out, Away with them, away with them, let them be damned, Psal. 50.4, 5. This will make their judgement so much the more terrible. Reas. 4 Fourthly, the Saints shall judge the world, because God will so convince them, that their mouths shall be stopped, they shall have never a syllable to excuse themselves withal, when they shall see men flesh and blood as themselves are, when they shall see men and women, that have lived in the same town, enjoyed the same Ordinance of God, lived in the same family, that did partake of the same blessings, and of the same crosses and afflictions with themselves, subject also to the same corruptions and sins as themselves, when they shall see these at Christ's right hand, they shall have never a word to excuse themselves withal: As when the Apostles had healed the cripple (Acts 3.) if the people had judged them for wicked and pestilent men, the cripple would have convinced them, and showed that they were of God; if they should have cried, Root them out, the cripple would have condemned them, and told them, that they did good. And when the wicked shall see the Saints at God's right hand, will they call them hypocrites and dissemblers? they themselves shall see, that they are sincere; will they call them Puritan? why, they shall then see that their purity stands them in good stead: then the ungodly shall not stand in judgement, nor the sinners in the Congregation of the righteous, Psal. 1.6. Thus the point is clear. Use 1 The first Use then is for instruction, whereby we may learn, that the Saints by their now being Saints, do now judge the world: if by the lives of Saints than God doth judge the world, than there is never a Saint in a town, or City, or Parish in all the Country, but he judgeth all the wicked that are about him: How? By living godly, by hating the sins of the times, by keeping his or their garments clean from the pollution of the world: For by doing this, he judgeth the world. See it in Noah, Heb. 11.7. By faith Noah being warned of God, as yet moved with fear, prepared an Ark for the saving of his house, by which he condemned the world. Object. But some men will say, Could Noah be said to condemn the world by making the Ark? All the world did not see him when he did it. Answ. Beloved, Noah making the Ark an hundred and twenty years, though it was not seen of all, yet all the world must needs baar of it, it being such a strange thing. Now he condemned the world, in that the whole world did not come unto Noah to inquire of him in sober sadness, but rather mock● him for building the Ark; they thought him to be a peevish melancholy man, and not well in his wits, and so scoffed at him, saying, Will he make an Ark to swim upon dry land? whereas they should have asked him soberly the cause why he did it; and if they had done so, Noah no question would have told them, that the wrath of heaven was upon the world, and that the floods of God's vengeance were shortly to be poured down upon us: and, because my heart hath been naught, and I have sinned and provoked the Lords wrath, I fear if I get not into this Ark which the Lord hath commanded me for to make, I shall perish. Now because they would not come unto Noah to ask him this reason, therefore the world was condemned by him: even so the Saints, by making an Ark for their poor souls, even by getting into Christ, (as the Ark was a type of Christ without whom none can be saved) the Saints, I say, by getting into Christ, do judge the whole world, when they hear there be men ●hat be no swearers, and no drunkards, and that there be men that will pray, read, hear the word, confer of God and of Christ, and that weep and mourn for their sins, that spend their times in the mortification of their lusts, and endeavour after holiness and sanctification; the whole world, I say, is judged by them. How? why, they should say: Sirs, what is the matter that you do so run after Sermons? that you keep such a stir about getting faith and repentance more than other men? that you pray, weep, fast, and mourn, and are so strict in your works? If thus men would but come unto God's Saints, and ask them the reason of all these things, the Saints of God would tell them, that the wrath of God would come upon them if they did not do thus: they would never be saved, if they did not thus believe, and thus repent, and thus pray, and walk thus holily and precisely, they should be all damned. But the world it falls a mocking and a scoffing at them, and never seeks to prevent the wrath of God; but it suddenly seizeth on them to their destruction. Secondly, this teacheth us, that when there is any one sinner converted from the wickedness of his ways, and is become a Saint, than all the world may know that there is a new Judge come to sit upon them. Seest thou a drunkard, a swearer, a profane person converted from his sins, and now walks soberly, holily, and purely? seest thou a man and a woman struck at a Sermon? Then know that unless thou comest out of thy sins, unless thou dost repent, and walk holily, there is a new Judge added to the rest, that shall judge thee. As our Saviour told the Pharisees, If I through Beelzebub cast out Devils, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges, Matth. 12.27. where Christ tells them, that their children who were his Disciples (for some of the Pharisees children did believe in Christ and follow him, and had power from Christ to do the same works that Christ did;) Now they liked it well enough in their own children, but they could not endure it in Christ: and therefore he tells them, that their children, whom God had converted, and to whom he had given power to do the same works that he did, even they shall be their Judges to condemn them: And even so may it be with thee, thou that art a father or a mother, God having converted any of thine own children, that child shall be thy Judge and condemn thee, if thou repent not. It may be God hath converted thy brother and sister, and thou art not converted; thy own brother and sister shall condemn thee, if thou do not repent and come out of thy sins. Thirdly, we may learn that it concerns all the world to take notice of every grace in God's children, There is never a grace of God in any of his Saints but it shall condemn the world if it be void of it. The ways of the Lord are all judgements, because they judge them that will not walk in them. Every grace, yea the very thoughts of the righteous are called Judgements by Solomon, Prov. 12. You may know a crooked thing by laying it to a strait line, and by that it is judged to be crooked: so the thoughts of the righteous which are right, holy and pure, shall judge the impure, unholy, and crooked thoughts of wicked men. Is the child of God humble? His humility shall judge thy pride. Is the child of God meek and patient in suffering of wrong and injuries? His meekness and patience shall judge thy choler and revenge. Hath the child of God saith given him to believe in the Lord Jesus? His faith shall judge thy infidelity. Hath the child of God the spirit of prayer given him? It shall condemn thee that prayest only with thine own spirit. Hath he zeal? His zeal shall judge thy lukewarmness, Doth his speech and communication administer grace to the hearers? It shall condemn thee that speakest of vain and idle things. Yea, all the actions of the godly shall judge the wicked: and hence the Saints are said to do God's judgements, Zeph. 2.3. that is, they do according to God's judgements whereby he will judge the world: Thus they that do mourn, do judge them that do not mourn: they that bewail their wickedness, and the sins of the times, judge them that do not: they that fast, weep, pray, and humble themselves for the miseries of the Church in these dreadful days, they judge them that make no good conscience of their duties. Fourthly, learn hence, that all the Texts of Scripture, all the whole word of God, that is it that begets these Saints, and therefore they must needs judge the world, the word of God begets men's hearts unto sanctification and holiness, whereby they become the Saints: and therefore if they, then much more shall the Word itself judge the world: and hence it is that all the words of God in the Scripture, are called Judgements, Psal. 105.5. And our Saviour saith. The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge you in the last day, Joh. 12.48. The word that I have spoken▪ where mark he doth not say, The word which you have heard: No there are many swearers, and drunkards, and profane ungodly wretches, that will not come to Church to hear the word; there are many wicked men, and dead hearted worldlings, and rotten livers, that will not be brought to hear God's Word: it may be at this present there is many whoremongers, drundards, and wicked persons, that wallow in their filthiness? in the Alehouse, Game-house, or Drabhouse; or in the fields, or beds, or at their sports. Well, this word that is now a preaching, whether they will hear it or no, shall judge them at the last day. Now all the wicked in Ashford, that hear the word of God calling upon them to repent, and to come out of their sins, but will not, or out of contempt of God's word, will absent themselves from it; this word shall judge and condemn them. There is never a drunkard, swearer▪ or profane person, though his pew be empty, but this word of God that denounceth the eternal wrath and vengeance of God upon them, if they come not out of their sins, this word shall rise up in judgement against them and condemn them eternally. Oh that they could but hear it! but the word that I have spoken shall judge you, whether you hear it or not. Fifthly and lastly, hence it follows, that all the Ministers of God shall also judge the world. Son of man (saith God to the Prophet Ezekiel) wilt thou judge the bloody City? Yea, thou shalt show her all her abominations, Ezek. 22.2. As if he should have said, Son of man, they are drunkards, wilt thou not tell them of it? They are whoremasters, wilt thou not tell them of it? They are filthy idolaters, wilt thou not tell them of it? They live in their sins, and in their abomination, and wilt thou not tell them of it? Son of man, tell them of all their abominations, and tell them that they shall go to hell, if they repent not, tell them that they are damned men if they go on, and come not out of their sins: Wilt thou not judge them (son of Man?) Beloved, there is never a Minister in England, nor ever a Sermon that is preached by them, but it judgeth every Parish, and every man and woman in the congregation, that do not labour to do what is commanded them, and leave undone what is forbidden them: I say it judgeth them, or else it is a judgement unto them. Use. 2 This then serves to condemn three sorts of men in the world: First, all those that despise the Saints, and that see not amiableness in their faces. All the Country doth reverence the face of the Judge when he rides circuit; Let the Judge come into the Country, and all the Knights, Justices, and Gentlemen in the Country will go out to meet him, and bow unto him; yet these Judges are but Judges of a few rogues, malefactors, and peasants of the Country: Alas, they are far from the dignity of the Saints? for the Saints shall judge Saints and Angels: all the world Kings and Queens, Lords and Nobles, and Capteins of the Earth, the poorest Saint in Christendom shall judge them. The Apostle, or rather our Saviour faith, to him that overcometh, and keepeth my words until the end, to him will I give power over the Nations, Rev. 2.26. Whatsoever he be, if he do the works of Christ, and walk in the Ordinances of Christ, shall have power over the Nations, not only to contemn their pomps and vanities, their lusts and corruptions, but also to convince their consciences, and to condemn their souls for ever. 2. Shall the Saints judge the world? Then what fools are the wicked that prepare not for these Judges? When the Judge comes to an Assize, all men prepare for him; the Constables make ready their Presentments, the Juries are warned, and the Clerks make ready their Bills, etc. sest the Judge should clap a fine upon them: and shall the Saints be Judges, and dost thou not prepare thy heart by grace? Dost thou not get purity and holiness against that day? Surely, if thou dost not, the very Saints will judge thee unmeet for heaven, and fit only to have thy portion in hell. When Christ said, To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, Rev. 3.21. He adds, Let him that hath an ear hear: Will God make his Saints to judge the world? Then let all wicked men give ear and hear what God saith of his Church: The Saints shall judge the world: therefore let all men take notice of it, and prepare themselves for their judgement. Lastly, It condemns all those that do not see glory and majesty in the faces of God's Saints. There is majesty in the face of a Judge; yea a man may discover in them a kind of a sovereign majesty. Even so the Saints of God have a majesty in their courses, in their looks, in their thoughts, and in all their ways; and in all these they shall judge and condemn the wicked. The wicked may give the Saints nicknames and scorn, flout, contemn, and deride them now in this life, but let me tell them, that how lightly soever they esteem of them, they shall be their Judges: They may cry out against the Saints, as long since the wicked Sodomites did against good Lot, Gen. 19.9. This fellow (say they) will be our Judge: Why, what had Lot done unto them? Alas, he did nothing, but when they would have done that Sodomish villainy against the two Angels that came to him, Lot went to them and said, I pray you my Brethren, do not so wickedly. So let the godly be in the company of wicked men, that abuse the good creatures of God; say, I pray you my brethren, do not so wickedly, be not drunkards, be not swearers; brethren, I pray you do not so vainly, nor so profanely use the name of God in your mouths; I pray you my brethren, do not profane Gods Sabbaths; do not lie, do not cheat, nor cozen; if you do these and these things, the wrath of God will plague us for it, Oh then presently they cry out, Who made you our Judges? As once the Hebrews did of Moses, Act. 7.39. Dost thou call Saints hypocrites and dissemblers, men that judge before the time? Thou fool, wert thou not as good to suffer the Saints to judge thee now, whereby thou mayst see thy wretchedness and misery, and by faith and speedy repentance prevent that doom, which otherwise they tell thee will come upon thee, as hereafter, when if thou hast not repent, thou shalt never escape that doom and vengeance, to which the Saints shall judge thee? What, wilt thou not suffer them to call a drunkard a drunkard? an adulterer, an adulterer? a blasphemer, a blasphemer? a carnal man, a carnal man? a worldly man, a worldly man? It is a pretty observation out of Cyprian, that because Christ did reprove all sorts of religions, and spared none, he reproved the Scribes, the Pharisees, the Lawyers, the Soldiers, etc. and yet doth not reprove the Priests, because they were Judges of the people, not because he durst not, but he would not: If thou revilest the Saints, thou revilest thy Judges. Take heed then, how thou casts the least aspersion upon the Saints; do not say, they are rash Judges, uncharitable censurers, dissembling hypocrites; for they shall be your Judges. O that the people would hearken & be admonished in time, to prevent this judgement. Our Saviour saith, that this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world and men hate it, Joh. 3.19. But the children of God, whom God calls the light of the world, these lights are come into the world, and men love darkness more than the light. How can the wicked escape damnation, that have so many thousand Judges to condemn them? If the malefactor that is Indicted for murder or felony, cannot escape condemnation, that hath but one Judge to sit upon him: thou that art a wicked man, living in thy sins without Christ, how canst thou escape, that hast so many millions of Saints to judge thee, yea from Adam the first, till the last Saint that shall be upon the earth? Surely the wicked shall never escape condemnation: for, 1. God the Father who judgeth by way of authority, he will condemn thee; all judgement cometh originally from him; he that hath often commanded thee to repent, and to come out of thy sins, he shall condemn thee, because thou hast not obeyed him. 2. God the Son, he will judge thee, who judgeth by way of dispensation, Act. 10. First Christ preacheth to thee repentance and remission of sins, to which if thou yield not, then know, that there is a day appointed, wherein he will judge thee. That Saviour that thou sayest thou desirest, if thou part not with thy lusts, he himself will be thy Judge that will condemn thee. 3. God the holy Ghost will judge thee; that Spirit that now strives and wrestles with thee, that suggests good motions into thy heart, that puts thee in mind of repentance, bidding thee leave and forsake thy sins, and live holily, but if thou wilt not, this Spirit shall judge thee by way of conviction. 4. The Word of God shall judge thee, and that by way of form, it being the platform, according unto which Christ will judge the whole world. Now suppose there be forty prisoners in the Gaol together, one in for murder, another for theft, another for treason, (that man that knows the Law, if there be equity and justice in the Assize) he, I say that knows the Law, knows who shall be hanged, or quartered, or burned, or set free; even so, Beloved, that man that looks through the Scriptures, that reads this or that Chapter, this or that sentence, may know that or this man will to hell, if he repent not. Say I this of myself? or says not the Scripture as much? The fearful, and unbelieving, and all that love and make lies, shall be cast into that lake that burneth with fire and brimstone for ever, Rev. 21.8. By this text will the Lord jesus come and judge the world: and therefore as for all such as live and die in their sins, we may all know, that they shall be all damned in fire & brimstone for ever. Hereby I know that all they that make no conscience of idle, vain and earthly speeches, and reproachful words, they shall give an account for them by this Text, Mat. 12.56. Doth the Scripture say, that all the wicked shall be turned into hell, with all the Nations that forget God? I know it shall be so by that text, Psal. 10. for all things shall be done according to the Scriptures Rom. 2.16. In that day (saith the Apostle) when God shall judge the secrets of men● hearts by Jesus Christ, according to my Gospel; that is, just as God's Ministers preach; just as you find it written in the same Scriptures, so will he judge at that day. Beloved, there is never a Text throughout the whole Scripture, that commands you to leave and forsake your sins, but it shall judge you, if you do not: there is not one Text of Scripture, that commands performance of any holy duty, but it shall rise up in judgement against thee, if thou perform it not. Doth the Scripture say, Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess? Eph. ●. 18. It shall judge and condemn the drunkard that drinks excessively. Doth the Scripture say, Mortify your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affecti●n● evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is Idolatry? Col. 3.5. If notwithstanding these sins live in thee this Text shall rise up and condemn thee to hell. Doth the text say, That the fathers to the children shall make known God's truth, Esa. 28.9. Eph. 6.4. Parents bring up your children in the nurture and information of the Lord? It shall rise up in judgement and condemn those parents that have not instructed their children to fear God. Doth the tex say, Thou shalt teach the word of God unto thy children and that thou shalt tal●e of it when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou go●st by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up? Deut. 6.7. It shall judge thee, because thou makest no conscience of holy conference. All these and the like Texts of Scripture, shall rise up and stand in rank to condemn thee, that hast not swayed thy heart, and framed thy life according to the Scriptures. 5. All the Ministers of God shall sit as Justices in common (from the first Preacher of righteousness unto the last.) Moses shall judge thee, Joshua, David, Esay, Jeremy, Hosea, Daniel, Paul, Peter, etc. they shall all judge you: just as God's Ministers judge you here, so will God; he will take all their Sermons, and clap them upon the heads of all rebellious hearers, and so damn them for ever. Lastly, The Saints shall judge you; yea, all the Saints from one end of the world to the other, they shall assist the just Judge of heaven & earth, and they shall be interpretive Judges. Beloved how can the wicked escape condemnation, that have so many thousands of Judges, so many thousand exhortations and reproofs, so many thousand admonitions and invitations, so many thousand mercies & proffers of Christ? When God the Father, Son, and holy Ghost, shall judge them, when heaven and all the Angels in heaven, and all the Saints on earth, shall judge them, and condemn them? How canst thou escape? Is there never a drunkard in this congregation? Is there never a swearer? never a profane person? never a mocker? never a railer in this town, that refuseth to hearken to the word? The men of Niniveh shall rise up in judgement against them, and condemn them, because they still live in their sins, notwithstanding they have had not three days preaching, nor forty day's space only for repentance, but many years of grace calling upon them. The Queen of Sheba shall condemn many that live in these sins, who went many hundred miles to hear the wisdom of Solomon (for going and coming, it was well-nigh two thousand miles) but you have the word of Christ preached in your ears, and saying, the Kingdom of God is come among you; but you will scarce step out of your doors to receive it, or take any pains for it. This one woman shall judge them. There will be no way for the wicked to put off their judgement: then the sons of Eli shall have none to advocate between God and them, none to cloak or cover their wickedness; they shall then have no excuses for themselves: for would they excuse themselves? the Saints shall judge them: would they send out excuses? the Saints shall cut them off. Would they in the first place say, Alas! I was ignorant, I knew not how to pray, or to read, or to meditate on the Scriptures, nor to chatechize my family; I was dull and blockish to conceive such points as were taught me; and if I did live in sin, it was ignorance that taught it me, I was never book-learned? Saith Augustine, this Ignoramus that was as ignorant and as little book-learned as thou, he eschewed those sins that thou livest in, got the anointing of God's Spirit to anoint his eyes, to see and know the things of God which thou hast neglected to get; he shall condemn thee. A second excuse is poverty. I have no means to live on; if I should run after Sermons, I should beg my bread: I have a great charge to keep, and nothing but my labour to maintain them: and therefore I cannot spare time for meditation; I have no while to study the Scriptures, to pray and to mourn for my sins, and to get grace. Well, the poor Cobbler that liveth next door to Saint Anthony, shall rise up and condemn thee; he was as poor as thou, and had as great a charge to keep as thou: yet he mourned and wept, he got grace, and he set time apart for prayer, reading, meditation, holy conference; he shall judge and condemn thee. Thirdly, they shall have no excuse by employment; I am a servant, I am commanded to do this or that I find so much business to follow, that I cannot find any time for such things. Another saith, I have great employments, I have many Irons in the fire, and therefore God, I hope, will be merciful unto me. Well then, Cornelius that had as many and as great employments as thou, and Eleazar (Abraham's servant) who was a servant as well as thou, yet in as much as they walked with God, and waited upon him in his ordinances, they shall judge thee. Fourthly, they shall have no excuse from their callings and trades, I am an Innkeeper, and if I should not suffer drinking, and swearing, and gaming, I should not live. Another saith, I am a tradesman & if I should ask at first just so much as I could take, I should never bring customers to my price, and so I should not live of my trade. Well, Rahab was an Innkeeper, as well as thou, and yet she lived by faith, and did not suffer such wickedness in her house. So may a tradesman, that had the same trade, and the same employment with thee, and as great a trade as thou, and yet have avoided these sins and evils that thou fallest into: they shall judge thee. Fifthly, they shall have no excuse from the times they live in. Alas (saith one) I live in wretched times, all the world is given to sin. Therefore if I should be so strict and precise in my ways, if I should run after Sermons, pray, sing Psalms etc. all the world would be against me. There are no Professors of religion but are reproached and miscalled I should lose all my friends, I should be hated and opposed; yea, it may be (the time being such I should be accused to Counsels, and have my life questioned; there is nothing but disgrace and reproach and persecution; wherefore I was afraid, and did dispense with my conscience. Ah wretch! that man that lived in those wicked times in the same town with thee that had the same hatred and reproach that thou wast afraid of, that hath endured all the rebukes of Christ that thou wast ashamed of, yet he went on, and continued unto the end; he shall judge thee. Use 3 The use is for the just reproof of many of the Saints of God, because they are not so circumspect and watchful over their ways, as they ought. Dost thou judge others (saith the Apostle) and yet dost the same things thyself? Rom. 2.2. So may I say to all such, Will you give way to sin? will you suffer your lusts and corruptions to sway you, and not endeavour to root out or kill them rather? How wilt thou then judge the world? How wilt thou then be able to rise up in judgement against the wicked, to judge them for such sins wherein thou allowest and livest thyself? Surely God will never account thee for a Saint, if he cannot judge the world by thee. Oh this should rend the heart and bowels of those that go for Christians, that go for Saints, yet live not as the Saints should live. If God cannot take thee, and judge the world by thee; if he cannot take thy life, and judge the life of all Pagans, Infidels, all lukewarm earthly, and secure sinners, he will not account thee for a Saint. This then first condemns all unholiness in the lives of them that be Saints. Beloved, if we did but live like the Saints of God in holiness and purity in the ways of God, the Lord would put such splendour and glory upon us, that would even daunt the very face of our enemies, and make them stand amazed at Saints. But it is the contrary with us, the glory of God is departed from us, Spain, France, and other Nations fear us not: Why? The righteousness and purity of Religion is departed from us. For you shall have a Saint come into the company of a wicked man, and yet the swearer will not be afraid to swear before him: the drunkard will not be afraid to be drunk before him: the filthy speaker will not be afraid to utter rotten speeches before him: the liar will not be afraid to lie before him: the worldly man will not be afraid to discover his vanities before him by his carnal and filthy conference. Beloved, all this is, because the Saints have lost their glory; if they did live as Saints ought to live, the wicked would tremble to work wickedness before them. Though a wicked man be a drunkard, and abuse the good creatures of God when no Saint is in his company, yet if a Saint were present, he would tremble, and not dare to do it. Though he were a swearer, a filthy talker, a vain worldling amongst his companions; yet if he come in the Saint's company, and the Saints stand in God's counsel, than would the wicked tremble and quake to do such things: then would they lick in their tongues, and not dare to speak such blasphemous oaths, such vain and unprofitable words, filthy lies and flanders. It is said of those that gladly received the Apostles words, and were added to the Church, that the fear of them came upon the world, Acts 2.41. What, did the Disciples go with swords and guns, etc. to keep men in awe thereby? No, they continued in the Apostles doctrine and fellowship, and did live according thereto, and this made all the world afraid of them. Secondly, this condemns the little difference that is betwixt the wicked of the world, and some Sainis in their lives and manners: Beloved, is there so little difference between the Judge and the prisoners, that any one need to come and say, I pray you Sir, show me which is the Judge, and which is the malefactor? Is there not a plain difference both in the apparel and carriage? The one is in rich apparel, and the other in stinking and filthy clothes, having his hands manacled, or his legs chained. But it is to be feared, that many of the Saints have neglected holiness and purity in their carriage and actions which they perform, that one can hardly tell which is a Saint, and which is a reprobate. If a man deal with a Saint, and deal with a wicked man, he seeth no difference between them. Let a Saint do any action, either pray, hear, or confer, let a wicked man do the like, there is such deadness, such carnality, such worldly-mindedness, such lukewarmness of affection, that one can hardly tell which is the Saint and which is the hypocrite. Beloved, if the Saints did live like Saints, there would be as plain a difference between a Saint and a wicked man, in their lives and behaviour, as is hetwixt the Judge and the Rogue that is to be judged by him. Hast thou not con●dered my servant job▪ (saith God) how that there is none like him in all the earth? job 1.4.8. If a man come to be a Saint indeed, there is never a wicked man in the Town and Country, that lives and doth as he doth, and walks as he walks, nor prays as he prays, nor hears the word as he hears it, nor that confers or meditates as he doth, that believes and reputes as he doth, that strives against his lusts as he doth: there is none like him in all the world. Thirdly, it condemns the scandalousness of many Professors in their behaviours and actions. Oh how do wicked men insult and exclaim hereupon, to see a Professor led away and overcome by some lust! What (say they) are these they that are led by the Spirit of God? Are these your devout men? why, they can covet and scrape as well as others; they can cousin and lie as well as others. ay, those that are your great Professors, and hot spurs, they are as covetous, as worldly, as cruel as others, though they will not be drunk, nor swear, yet they will cousin and lie, as well as others. The consideration whereof made the Prophet's heart to bleed in him, and to pray, Oh purge me from my murder and adultery, and all other my secret sins, lest I cast mire and dirt in the faces of thy children, causing them to bear the reproaches of my sins. Oh let not those that seek thee, be ashamed for my sake, Psal. 69. For thy sake that livest scandalously and offensively, for thy sake that livest covetously and scraping after the world, that art so unjust in thy dealings and promises, mire and dirt, scandals and reproaches are cast upon the children. For thy looseness, yea for thy carnal liberty it is that the true professors of Religion are reproached, suspected, and hardly censured in the world. What did Jacob when he was to walk with the people of the Land? Gen. 35.5.6. he purged his house, and (saith the text) the terror of God was upon all the Cities, he made them all to tremble at him. I tell you, all the wicked in Ashford would tremble at the Professors that live therein, if they did live and carry themselves like Saints indeed. Oh if all those that did profess themselves to be Christians, were Christians indeed; and that profess themselves to be Saints, were Saints indeed, living in the power and sanctification of holiness; then men would say of themselves, of a truth God is in these men, Christ dwells in them, and the Spirit of God leads and governs them indeed. If thou wouldst judge the world, take heed so as the world judgeth thee, and so thou with the world be condemned eternally. It is said that Herod feared John, because he● was a just man, Mark 6.23. So if all thy neighbours did know that thou wert a just man, a holy and conscionable man in all thy ways, and in all thy actions, and that cannot endure swearing, lying, and deceit; but did see that thou wast just, and one that feared God truly, they would all fear thee. THE PUNISHMENT Of Unworthy COMMUNICANTS At the TABLE of the LORD: DELIVERED In a SERMON Preached, Decemb. 7. 1628. By that vigilant and painful Minister of the Word, WILLIAM FENNER, B.D. Sometime Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge, and late Parson of Rochfort in Essex. London, Printed by T.R. and E.M. for J.S. A SERMON OF Mr. WILLIAM FENNERS Upon this ensuing Text. 1 COR. 11.30. For this cause many are weak and sick among you and many sleep. THE Apostle in this Chapter taxeth two abuses which were then amongst the Corinthians: First, the unseemly habit of women in the Congregation, from the first ver. to the 17. Secondly, the profane usage of the holy Communion, both of men and women, from the 17. verse to the end of the Chapter: And herein, from the 23. verse to the end of the 25. he sets down the Institution of the Lords Supper; and thence raised a point of Doctrine. Doct. 1 That whosoever would come to this holy Communion, they must examine themselves, that so they may come worthily; else it were better that they never came. So we read in the 28. verse; But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup: As if the Apostle had said, Unless a man examine himself, and search his own heart, and find out his sins, and dive into the secrets of his soul, to bring out his hidden corruptions, confessing them and judging himself for them before the Lord, let him never presume to come unto this holy Sacrament. And then he proves it by three Reasons. Reas. 1 The first is taken from the end of the Sacrament; for it is the remembrance of the death and passion of Christ: so it is in the 26. verse, So oft as you eat of this Bread and Drink of this Cup, you show forth the Lords death till he come. It is a reason that the men of this world are not acquainted withal, and therefore it was a good wish of a Reverend Father, that the Sacrament should never be ministered, but there should be a Sermon, to teach men the nature of it, and to instruct them in the Mystery thereof. We approach unto the Sacrament hand over head, living in our sins, not showing by our coming, that Christ is dead; we say, and we profess that Christ died for our sins, and yet notwithstaning our sins live in us, as if Christ had not died for us, or as if we would proclaim, that his death hath had no effect in us. For were we dead with Christ, than sin and the living occasions of sin, would be dead in us also. My Beloved, we should never come to this Sacrament, but we should show forth the Lords death thereby, that is, that Christ is dead (or, rather died) for sin, and that sin is also dead in us. Reas. 2 The second reason is taken from the damned wrong we offer unto Christ, if we come in our sins, for we are guilty of the body and blood of Christ, as it is in the 27. verse; nay, thou sinnest against the Lord Jesus Christ not a jot less, than Pilate that condemned him, than Judas that betrayed him, and the Jews that cried out, Crucify him, crucify him; yea, thou art as much guilty, as if thy own hand in thy own person had been imbrued in his blood. Now we know it is a horrible sin to be guilty of the blood and murder of an ordinary man, yea of a very rogue; how much more is it a great and fearful sin to be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord jesus Christ, the only and etrnall Son of God? yet comest thou to this holy Communion, and bringest no less than the guilt of the body and blood of Christ upon thy soul? Reas. 3 The third Reason is taken from the woeful wrong and injury that man brings upon his own soul, that comes unpreparedly without examination of himself; in the 20. verse, he eateth and drinketh his own damnation; that is, he maketh himself guilty of, and liable to the same vengeance that the crucifiers of Christ had inflicted on them Good had it been for that man (saith Christ of Judas) if that he had never been born: So may I say, Good had it been for that man and that woman, if they had never been born, who come unworthily unto the Table of the Lord; for when they eat of that Bread they eat their own bane; and when they drink of that Cup, they drink their own damnation. Use. 1 Then cometh he to make some uses of this point; and first he condemns those that as they come, so they go away from the Sacrament; no more holy, no more gracious than before; but as they come in their sins, so they go away in their sins; they came drunkards, and they go away drunkards; they came worldlings, and they go away worldlings; they came mockers, and they go away mockers: they came in theit wrath, anger, malice, deadness, hypocrisy, and lukewarmness and so they go away, still never the better, but living in them as they did before: As in the 17. verse. You come together (saith the Apostle) not for the better, but for the worse: Whereas if they would have come worthily, they should have gone away the better, they should have received more grace and holiness ●o walk with God, more power and strength against sin, and corruption; yea, the Lord would have ratified and confirmed his Covenant with them; whereas living in contention, and not coming with preparation, they grow the worse by the Sacrament. The Corinthians thought that the Apostle would have praised them for their coming to Church, and receiving the Sacrament: Shall I praise you? in this (saith the Apostle) I praise you not, Use. 2 Secondly, He makes an use of terror against all those that dare come in their sins unto this holy Sacrament of the Lord; for that man that cometh in his sins unto the Table of the Lord, 1. though he may think he receives the communion, yet he doth not: for this is not the Table of the Lord, but the Table of Devils. It is true, thou receivest the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ; hut yet coming in thy sins, thou receivest not his body and blood, as of a Saviour to save thee from thy sins: Indeed thou receivest the body and blood of Christ sacramentally; but it is as the judge to condemn thee unto the pit of destruction, for thy damned Impudence in coming so unworthily unto this holy Sacrament. For that man cannot eat the body of Christ, that is not a member of Christ; therefore thou must be a limb of Christ, if ever thou wilt receive worthily. 2. If a man come unto the Sacrament, and come in his sins, he cometh to his own destruction: for though it be a sweet banquet for to refresh an humble and weary soul, and to make it walk more cheerfully in the ways of God all the days of his life: yet he that cometh unto it in his sins, and receiveth it in his uncleanness, speedeth thereby his own damnation, and receiveth it as his viaticum to hell. The Apostle compares Baptism to the red Sea, 1. Cor. 10. from which place chrysostom saith, that as the red Sea was a way for the Israelites to pass through to Canaan, so it was as a grave to swallow up the Egyptians to their destruction: So the Lords Supper is as a grave or open pit whereby many plunge themselves into eternal destruction but as a chariot to the godly to carry them to heaven. Use. 3 Thirdly, by coming in thy sins, thou makest thyself liable to Gods temporary plagues and judgements; as appears in my Text, For this cause many are sick and weak among you, and many are fallen asleep, [For this cause] which is not one●y a note of conclusion, but of the cause: For this cause, namely, because they examine not themselves, but come in their sins and receive it unworthily. One man hath a disease in his body, that he liveth not out half his days; another sick and weak near unto death; a third is fallen asleep. Wherefore? why (saith the Apostle) for this cause of receiving unworthily the Sacrament of the Lords Supper. Use. 4 Fourthly, for instruction, that because the people of God as well as wicked men, are guilty of unworthy coming to the Lords Table, therefore he exhorts them, that if they would not have the Lord judge them, that they would judge themselves, as in the 31. verse. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged of the Lord. If we would sit down and search our own hearts and try our own spirits, and pry into our bosoms, and out with our old corruptions, and unclean lusts and enter into a new covenant with God, of holy walking before him for after time, if we would thus judge and condemn ourselves, and mortify our sins, coming with grace un●o this holy banquet, than we might come with comfort unto this blessed Sacrament, assuring ourselves that we shall escape the judgement of the Lord. For those of the Corinthians whom God struck with sickness, weakness, and death, it was to instruct others that are well and in health, that they venture not to enter upon these holy mysteries with unholy hearts, and unclean hands. Use. 5 Fifthly, he concludeth with a use of exhortation in the 33. and 34. verses: Wherefore brethren, when ye come together to partake of the holy Communion, tarry one for another: As if he should have said, Away with all your disorders, and come not with a temporal, but with a spiritual appetite; provide not thy teeth, but thy heart for these dainties: for this is not a feast for the body, but for the soul therefore away with all your disorders and unseemly coming unto thi● blessed Sacrament, take heed and repent of this sin among you, and of all other sins which you know your own consciences to be guilty of and so come unto this holy communion. Now, the verse that I have read to you, is a part of that use of terror which the Apostle makes against the unworthy receivers of the Sacrament; and it contains Gods severe hand and judgement against those that come unworthily: wherein note three things, First, the cause of their punishment, which is the unworthy eating of the Communion: For this cause many are sick and weak among you and many are fallen asleep, Secondly, the punishment inflicted for this sin, weakness, sickness, and mortality: For it seems (saith Peter Martyr) that the Lord sent a sore plague and pestilence among them for to revenge himself of them for their abuse of the Sacrament for this cause. Thirdly, there is the delinquents, which are you Corinthians: Many are sick and weak among you, and in them all others that come unpreparedly to the Sacrament. chrysostom notes here, that our Apostle doth not fetch here an Argument or example of judgement from others, as he had done in the former chapter, but he brings it from themselves, who sensibly felt the wrath of God upon them for this very sin: As if the Apostle should have said How is it, O Corinthians, that you dare venture to come unto the Communion so unpreparedly, and that you have no more regard of so weighty business as is the receiving of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ? See you not the wrath of God upon your dwellings, and the curse of heaven to take hold of your town? you see it this very time, that some are weak and very sick amongst you▪ near unto death, and others have been struck with death before your eyes, and the wrath of God is not removed, but lies yet upon you: What will you always go on, and never cease to provoke the Lord to indignation and wrath against you for your sins, until his jealousy hath utterly consumed you, and clean cut you off? And howsoever many of you may think that this sickness, weakness, and mortality comes upon you by chance, as from the infection of the air, or other secondary causes, I tell you nay, but it is for this cause only, even your unworthy coming to the Supper of the Lord. Whence we may observe this point of instruction: Doct. 2 That God doth most severely punish the unworthy receivers of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper. He punished the Corinthians here with sickness, weakness, fevers▪ pestilence, death temporal, and God knows how many with death eternal. Theodoret observes, that the Apostle told them of a thing that was acted amongst them, for if he had told them of such judgements as had been hid from them, and not manifest before their eyes, as if they had not felt the sickness in their bodies, and heard the bells tolling daily in their ears, they might have thought that the Apostle had but lied unto them. So the people of Israel, as we may read in 1 Cor. 1.2.3. verses, they were baptised in the Cloud and in the Sea, and they did all eat the same spiritual meat and drink the same spiritual drink; yet as it is in the fifth verse, with many of them God was not well pleased. Nay, God was so wroth with them, that within the space of forty years, many thousands of them were destroyed by death here and God knoweth how many thousands of them in hell. For God speaketh of hell, as well as of death; and their sin was so great, that it made God confirm it with an oath, that they should never enter into his rest. And Saint Cyprian saith, that the Lord hath showed many miracles, and declared many fearful judgements upon the unworthy receivers of the Sacrament. Judas, who Ambrose thought received the Sacrament (though Hilary and others that he did not, but only that he did eat the Passeover, and was coming to this Sacrament also) but see his doom, John 13. as soon as ever he received the sop, the Devil entered into him; and so it is with all such as come to the Communion in their sins without repentance, and unfeigned resolution of walking ever after worthy of the Sacrament; I say unto all and every one of them, that as soon as ever thou receivest the Bread and Wine into thy mouth, thou receivest the Devil together with it; as soon as ever it goeth down into thy body, the Devil goeth after it, and taketh more full possession of thy heart and soul. Reas;. 1 Now the reason why the Lord doth so severely punish both with temporal judgements, and with spiritual curses, the unworthy receivers of the Sacrament, is, in regard of the author of the Sacrament, who is Christ: and that not only as he was man, (as the Papists would make us believe) but Christ as he was God did institute the same. So saith the Apostle in the 23. verse, The Lord Jesus Christ in the same night that he was betrayed, ●ok bread and broke it, when he had given thanks, and said, Take ye, and eat ye, for this is my body which is broken for you. Now if the Lord Jesus did institute it, what a cursed thing is it for any to defile it, and so sin against Christ? It is a damnable thing to sin against God; but to sin against God, as he is God in Christ, is damnably damnable. The holy Ghost in the second Psalm exhorts to kiss the Son lest he be angry, and so thou perish: As if he should say, Adore the Son, Adore the Lord jesus Christ, and so come and eat of this Bread, and drink of this Cup: for if he be angry, thou wilt surely perish; and if thou sin against God, and so go out of the way, Christ upon thy repentance will set thee in again; but if thou sinnest against God in Christ, who is the Way, the Life, and the Truth, thou shalt surely perish from the right way: for there is no other way for to bring thee in again, Acts 4.12. Therefore woeful is thy case, and miserable is thy condition if thou sinnest against Christ, profaning his holy ordinances which he himself hath instituted, and abusest and despisest that blessed Spirit of his, that comes to seal unto thee the redemption that he hath purchased by his blood. Better had it been for thee that thou hadst never been born: for if he be wroth, blessed only are all they that put their trust in him, and come preparedly, unto his holy Ordinance, and that by faith embrace the Lord jesus Christ. But woe unto all profane persons that live in their sins: if his wrath be but a little kindled, than woe to all drunkards, swearers, and unclean persons; but blessed is that man that is come out of his sins. For if his wrath be so terrible when it is but a little kindled, O how much more fearful will it be when it is deeply incensed! Therefore if thou comest unto this holy Sacrament in thy sins, without due preparation and examination, what dost thou but even set the wrath of God burning upon thy soul and body from the very bottom of hell? When the Lord Delivered the Law upon Mount Sinai, he commanded the people to sanctify themselves; yea if a beast did but touch the mountain, he must die for the same, even be stoned to death, or thrust through with a dart, Heb. 12. Much more than now, when the Lord doth deliver the Gospel, especially the groundwork and masterpiece thereof, the Lord Jesus Christ, and that in the most blessedest manner that ever God exhibited himself unto man; how much more doth God require purity and holiness, that all such as come to receive the Lord Jesus Christ in the blessed Sacrament, should be sanctified, purging their hearts, and cleansing souls from all their sin and uncleanness? Should not a beast touch the mountain where God did appear, and darest thou touch the body of Christ, and drink his blessed blood in thy sins? The very Angels of heaven will curse thee, and the clouds of heaven will pour down showers of vengeance upon thee: for God hath more severe punishments to inflict upon sinners under the Gospel, than he used under the Law, though then he struck them with more visible and sensible plagues and judgements then ordinarily he bringeth upon men now: as Gebezi for his covetousness was strucken with leprosy; Corah, Dathan, and Abiram, the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up quick for their rebellion against the Lord: Er and Onan were strucken dead for their wickedness: Jeroboam had his hand withered for stretching of it forth to strike the Lords Prophet. And though the Lord bring not such sensible punishments now as he did then, ye he knows how to punish the world a thousand times more than he did then, at this time. As a father hath other kinds of punishments for his son, when he is grown up, than he had when he was in coats, and but a child; then a twig or two would serve the turn; but if he comes to man's estate, and then rebel against his father, it may be that he will disinherit him, and cast him out of his family: So in former time God did scourge and whip his people when they sinned against him; but now he hath drawn out his Church to this age, even to the age of the Gospel, he hath severer strokes of plagues and curses, wherewith to confound all profane and impenitent sinners, that dare to abuse that blessed Sacrament of the Lord Jesus Christ. The second Reason is, in regard of the matter of the Sacrament, which is Christ also; who as he was the efficient cause, so in regard of Sacramental relation, he is the matter of the Communion, 1 Cor. 10.16. The Cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the Communion of the blood of Christ? and the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? Now the better matter any thing is of, the more heinous is the defilement of it: A master will not be so angry for casting his earthen vessels into the mire, as he will be for casting his rich jewels. The Bread and Wine in the Sacrament, are the blessed Communion of the precious body and blood of Christ, and darest thou to defile them? Knowest thou not that thou dost greatly increase the wrath of the Lord against thy soul thereby? That soul whatever it was from Dan to Beersheba, that came in his uncleanness to partake of any of those holy things which the children of Israel hallowed to the Lord, whether he were man or woman, rich or poor, that person was to be cut off from the presence of the Lord, Levit. 12. whereto the Lord sets his seal for the confirmation thereof (I am the Lord:) And as sure as I am the Lord, so will I see it accomplished. So my beloved, let me say unto you of England, from Dover to Newcastle, or from the o●e end of the town unto the other, that soul who toucheth any of these holy things with an impure heart, and cometh to partake of them with his uncleanness upon him, living in his sins, and wallowing in his lusts, casting off the fear of the Lord, and making no conscience to walk in God's ways, that soul shall surely be cut off that cometh so unworthily unto the Table of the Lord; not only the hand that taketh it, and the mouth that eateth it, but even the very soul of him that so cometh, shall perish from the presence of the Lord. So Levit. 7.20. That soul that eateth of the flesh of the Sacrifices of peace offerings that pertain unto the Lord, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. Now you know that all those sacrifices had relation unto Christ; but yet under the Law they were but shadows, and typical relations, and were not so lively and effectual means for the exhibiting of Christ, as the Lords Supper, is: And therefore if such as came in their uncleanness unto them, were punished with no less punishment than a cutting off from the fellowship with the Lords people; what wrath and vengeance will the Lord bring upon thee that comest with thy uncleanness upon thee unto this holy communion? Augustine saith, that man that receiveth the Sacrament unworthily, receiveth a greater plague to his own soul, and a greater torment to his own conscience, yea and heapeth up a store of wrath unto himself against the day of wrath. Reas;. 4 Me thinks thou that livest in thy sins, and wilt not come out of them, when thou hearest these words [This is my body] and seest the bread broken before thy face, it should even make thee tremble and quake for to look upon it, more for to touch it, and most of all for to taste it: for it is the Communion of the body and blood of Christ; and how darest thou come in thy sins for to defile it? Reas;. 3 A third Reason is, in regard of the form of the Sacrament, which is Christ too, for as he is the efficient cause that instituted it, and as he is also the matter of the Sacrament, so in the third place Christ is the form of the Sacrament also, wherein the confirming grace of God is sealed up unto thee. Now as it is treason for a man to offer contempt unto the King's broad Seal; so certainly is it high treason against this King of Kings, to contemn this blessed Sacrament, which is the Seal of the righteousness of faith. If thou shouldst clip the Kings Coin, I will say that thou art a Traitor. Oh what a traitor art thou then, yea, an accursed traitor in the account of God and Christ, if thou clippest his holy Communion, if thou clip it of thy examination, and due preparation, and so come hand over head, not regarding so holy an Ordinance! Thou sinnest against the Court of heaven. That which Saint James speaks in general of the whole worship of God [Draw near unto God] let me apply it in particular unto this drawing near unto God in this holy Communion, James 4.8. Cleanse your hands ye sinners, and purify your hearts ye double minded: Draw near unto God in the hearing, reading and meditating on God's word; draw near unto God in prayer, and in this holy Sacrament, and receive it for your amendment of life. [Draw near to God] ay, that I will, (saith the wicked man) I will come to Church, & draw near unto the holy Communion. Will you so? (saith the Apostle:) No, first, Cleanse your hands ye sinners, and purge your hearts ye double-minded: As if he should say, never think of drawing near unto God, or setting foot on this holy ground, and handling those holy mysteries of Christ, unless thou first purge thy heart, and cleanse thy soul from all thy filthy lusts and cursed corruptions, lest otherwise thou coming in thy sins with thy uncleanness on thee, and so receiving unworthily, thou eatest and drinkest thine own damnation, (as our English translation hath it) damnation to thyself, and not to another. No, God forbid, that thou shouldest by thy unworthy coming, eat and drink condemnation to another, for thou that art a child of God, and comest unto the Table of the Lord with repentance, and a sound measure of preparation, though others that sit in the same pew with thee, for their profaneness eat and drink their own damnation, yet thou shalt be sure to receive the seal and assurance of thy reconciliation and salvation, with free acceptance of God, through the Lord Jesus Christ; for every man shall bear his own burden. Reas;. 4 The last Reason is, in regard of the end of the Sacrament, which is Christ also: For as he is the efficient, material, and formal cause, so Christ is also the final cause of the Sacrament: So it is in the 26. verse, As oft as you eat of this Bread, and drink of this Cup, you show forth the Lords death until he come. Not that Christ may be eaten with the teeth, or corporally received in the Sacrament, or as if he were there productively, or transubstantially, (as the Papists say); no, the Apostle shows, that the end of the celebration of this Sacrament, is for to show forth the death of Christ until he come. Object. ay, but (say the Romists) unless we eat the body, and drink the blood of Christ really, and not the consecrated bread and wine, how can any man by this unworthy communicating, eat and drink his own damnation, and make himself guilty of the body and blood of Christ. Answ. I answer, a man cannot bring this guilt upon himself by eating a piece of bread, or drinking a cup of wine; but the Apostle hath an answer so fitted for this, as that all the Papists in the world shall never be able to gainsay; and therefore I pray you to mark it: for he hath joined these two verses together; As oft as you eat of this bread, and drink of this cup, you show forth the Lords death till he come: Wherefore whosoever eateth this bread or drinketh this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord; even for this cause, because it is the showing forth of Christ's death till he come. Therefore if thou eatest and drinkest unworthily, coming in thy sins, and resolvest to go on in them, that as thou wert proud before thou camest to the Sacrament, so thou art still; as thou wert choleric, angry, and impatient before, so thou art still▪ as thou wert lukewarm and dead-hearted in God's service before, so thou remainest sti●l, remember I pray thee, that as oft as thou hast come unto the communion in those thy sins, thou hast made thyself guilty of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore I beseech you to look to it, and in time to repent, and pray with the Prophet David, Ps. 51. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O Lord, even from the blood of thy Son, left one day it be laid unto thy charge, and required straight at thy hands. For, for this cause many are sick among you, and many weak. Use. 1 Is it so then, that the Lord doth so severely punish the unworthy receivers of the Sacrament? Take notice (I pray you) then from whence cometh all sickness, weakness, and mortality, and the reason why the Lord doth send so many kind of sorrows, crosses, and miseries upon men; namely, because of the unworthy receiving of the Lords Supper. So saith Mr. Calvin, why do you wonder to see such wars, and rumours of wars, that there is so many bloodsheds, so many Towns and Cities ruinated, and so many Countries sacked and depopulated, so many calamities come upon the Churches abroad, & so many plagues and scourges to overrun Christendom at this day, is not the cause plain enough? men come unto the Table of the Lord carelessly and unworthily. And, beloved, we shall never see the Lord take away his judgements here from the earth, until we betake our selus to a more diligent and holy receiving of the Sacrament. For this very cause there are so many strange diseases amongst us, never formerly known or heard of until these days, as the French Pox, the English Sweat, (as they call it) that even the Physicians, themselves are blunted at them; and (as Peter Martyr well observes) hence are all diseases, as plagues, pestilences, (which were late amongst us) dropsies, bloody Flux, Agues, Apoplexies, Convulsies, burning Fevers, and impostumes, etc. and all for this cause. One man hath fallen into a Fever, and we wonder at the cause whence he took it; but in truth the communion hath cast him into his Fever, and the Lord will avenge himself on him for the same. Another is sick, and he thinks that a cold hath brought it upon him; but it is the unworthy receiving of the Sacrament that is truly the cause of it. A third man dieth before his time, even in his full strength, before in the course of nature he hath ended half his days; but the cause is unworthy coming to the Communion, which hath taken hold of him, and cut off the thread of his life. Many there be that expound these words in a spiritual sense, Many are sick and weak, and many are fallen asleep, that is to say, many have their consciences seared, and their hearts hardened, etc. and this is true also, that because men come unpreparedly, they have their hearts hardened, and their consciences seared, and their souls plagued with many spiritual plagues. But it is as true also in temporal judgements, thou hast had many afflictions, and much sickness laid upon thee; but thank thyself for it; namely, because thou hast come unworthily unto the communion, thou hast had much weakness in thy body, which hath cost thee much money, and weakened thy estate; but thy unholy coming unto the Sacrament, is that which thou mayest thank for it. Thou hast been reproached and contemned, and endured much shame; but take notice of it, that it proceeds from the foregoing cause, and that is a special reason why the Lord hath brought these and many other evils upon thee. Thou canst say the commandments (for the most part) by rote; but thou didst never know the mystery of this one commandment, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: Beloved: the Communion is one of Gods own names, and how many thousands are there in the world that take this name of God in vain? Is there never a drunkard here in this congregation, that hath been at the Sacrament? Is there never a whoremonger, never a covetous worldling? Where is the man, whosoever he be amongst you all, that is such a one? He is in the state of damnation. Is there never a lukewarm and carnal Christian, that contents himself with a formal worship, and a dead performance of holy duties, that hath no zeal for God, nor courage for his truth, but is careless of all God's commandments? whosoever amongst you are guilty of these sins, or any other, and hath come unto this holy Communion in them, they are the persons, that how oft soever they have received, so oft they have taken this name of the Lord in vain: And if I should examine this Congregation from the one end of it unto the other, I fear that every pew would yield some one, If not many that have taken a Communion (which is one of God's names) in vain. Should I but examine thee that comest unto the Communion this day, how by the last Sacrament thou receivedst, and the last Sermon thou hast heard, thy faith is strengthened, thy repentance renewed, and thy obedience is increased, and thy care doubled for to walk with God? whether thou art made by them more zealous for God, more forward in his worship and service, and every day more holy and heavenly minded; if not, than thou hast taken this Name of the Lord thy God in vain, and the Lord will not hold thee guiltless, that is, the Lord will not take away the guilt from thy conscience, but he will let thy sin lie open, and thou shalt not be cleansed from it nor justified by the very blood of Jesus Christ, but it shall rest upon thee to thy utter ruin and destruction, unless thou forsake thy sins, and so come preparedly unto this holy Table and banquet. I know here is a covenant of grace, a sweet refreshing for every humbled soul that is hungry & broken for his sins and for every poor distressed conscience: let all such come and lay their sins upon Christ's cross and welcome: But if there be any that come in their sins, and will not reform their live●, but be as they came sinners, so they mean for to continue, the Lord himself will lay this man's sins upon his own head, and they shall never be taken away from him but Christ shall at the day of judgement pronounce him a guilty person, to his eternal condemnation. King Belshazzar that abused but the holy vessels of the Temple, and the Cups thereof, what a dismal plague befell him for it? Dan. 5.27.28. God hath numbered thy Kingdom and finished it, thou art weighed in the balance, and art found too light, thy Kingdom is departed from thee, and is given to the Medes and Persians. So (beloved brethren) if any of you shall abuse this Cup of the Lord coming to it with a filthy unclean heart, and polluted conscience, and earthly affections, there is a hand-writing against every soul that thus cometh this day unto the Table of the Lord: thou art numbered and weighed and found too light: thou, O man, and woman, whosoever thou art that profanest and contemnest these holy things of God, thou shalt be found out, and the Lord will keep thee out by his spiritual plagues, and thy sin shall never be done away, but be required at thy hands, and stand in everlasting record against thee; O my brethren, that you would but seriously consider of it, and look about you, it being so weighty a thing that so nearly concerns every one of you. But I would not have any poor broken heart and humble soul to mistake me, and so-thereby be discouraged: but give me leave (I pray you) for to use the words of the Brophet, though spoken in another sense, Psal. 115. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy Name give the glory: So let me apply this doctrine unto the comfort of all poor broken hearted sinners, and beat off all carnal profane wretches that live in their sins; not unto you, O drunkards, and swaggerers, not unto you whoremasters and unclean persons, that wallow in ungodliness, I say not unto you, but unto the poor afflicted soul and contrite spirit that lieth bleeding and gasping under the weight of his sin, and that trembles and fears being oppressed with the sense of its own unworthiness, panting and breathing after Christ Jesus, and suing earnestly unto the Throne of grace for mercy and forgiveness: unto thee only belongs this comfort, and therefore take it home to thee, and know it for thyself. Art thou troubled with a hard heart, and an unbelieving soul, and art even wearied and tired out with thy many sins and infirmities? Come thou with comfort unto this holy Communion: for thou shalt be sure to find saying good by it; to thee it shall be a spiritual medicine to heal all thy diseases, and to cure all thy strong and prevailing corruptions; and if thou come unto this holy Table of the Lord, it shall make thee as it is recorded of Saint Laurence, able to suffer Martyrdom, and to get victory over all thy unruly affections; yea at last thou shalt tread Satan thy arch-enemy under thy feet. Therefore be not dismayed: for the Lord Jesus invites thee to come. What if thy infirmities be many, yet the mercies of God, which he tenders to thee in this Communion, are many more. Samson who was the strongest Soldier and Champion in his time that was in Israel to overcome the Philistims, he yet began his strength in weakness, being at the first overcome by a woman: So though the Lord intent to make thee a strong Christian, he will make thee to begin in weakness to perfect thy power; to begin in sin and misery, that he may make thee to end in glory. I know God's children here may receive temporal punishments, and bring temporal scourges upon themselves, as we may see amongst the Corinthians here, but it shall be for their good and amendment, namely, for their correction, and not for their ruin and destruction; that so being chastened by the Lord, they might not be condemned with the world. Therefore if thou comest carelessly and unprofitably, God will chastise thee with the rods of men, as he did Peter, who receiving the Sacrament with his Master over night, yet the next day thrice denied him; but God whipped his soul, and scourged his conscience for it, and beat him black and blue, so that he went out and wept bitterly: Nay, he could scarce wipe off that sin, and recover himself again whilst he lived. Wherefore let us take heed of unprepared coming to the Sacrament; for God will not hold such guiltless: Yea, if his own sons or daughters transgress thereby; he will make them to feel the smart of it. But now to come to all such as come month by month, hand over head, without any examination and repentance, in their uncleanness and abomination, making no conscience of their reformation, let me tell them that it shall be one of Christ's demands of them in the day of judgement. How oft hast thou been at my Table? How oft hast thou been partakers of that holy Communion which I gave unto thee? Hast thou come preparedly, or received worthily, or no? Hast thou eat bread at my Table with me, and lift up thy heel against me? Did I command, and thou wouldst not obey? Did I send my Ministers to thee to reform, but thou wouldst not be reform? Did I check and reprove thee for thy pride, blasphemies, drunkenness, covetousness, anger, wrath, malice, fornication, hyporcrisie and hrophanesse in the matter of my worship? and yet wouldst thou still live in these sins? Where are all the Sacraments that thou hast received? How hast thou behaved thyself? Where are the sins that thou hast forsaken, and pleasing corruptions that thou hast abhorred? What grace and holiness hast thou received by the means thou hast enjoyed? and how hast thou manifested the same through thy whole conversation? Oh! woe, woe unto thee, yea and a world of woes unto thee, and unto all such as shall be silent and speechless to those or the like demands of Christ: for they cannot say they have come out of their sins, and have been reform by the means of grace, and have received spiritual nourishment and refreshing from the heavenly banquet of the Communion of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. A man will especially regard the last words of a dear friend, who is as a man's soul, when he is to speak upon his deathbed, and will be careful to remember them: and dost thou not more regard the last Will and Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ? We count it a horrible sin to alter the last Will of a man that is dead. Beloved, the Lord Jesus, before he left this world, instituted this blessed Sacrament at his last Will and Testament, and hath given us a charge, that as we would not eat and drink our own damnation by bringing the guilt of his body and blood upon our souls, so that we should discern the Lords body, and not come unpreparedly in our sins and abominations, without reverence and respect of such holy and high mysteries, as if there were nothing to be received and looked for after, than the bare & naked element of bread and wine, or as if we did come to communicate with unclean Devils. O my brethren, if you had but faith, you would be able to discern Christ in the Sacrament; and therefore when thou comest unto it, thou must prepare and sanctify thyself for to communicate with him in those, holy Ordinances and heavenly mysteries of his most precious body and blood: For if so be that thou retainest thy sins, and so come unworthily unto this holy Table of the Lord, thou art a great covenant-breaker with God: For thou never comest unto the Communion, but thou makest and renewest thy covenant with God, wherein thou promisest thus much or the like in effect. Lord, I have been formerly a drunkard, but now I promise to give it over, and never to be a drunkard more; I have been a scoffer at Religion, and a mocker and derider of thy children; but now I faithfully promise (Lord) that I will never do so any more. I have been wicked and sinful, disobeying and rebelling against all thy holy commandments, and respected not thy judgements and thy promises, and have been careless of thy glory: But now (Lord) as I eat this bread, and drink this wine; so I covenant unto thee, and promise to thee, that I will amend all my sinful ways, and become a reformed Christian. And as I ever look that the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ represented in the elements, should nourish my soul unto eternal life: so I promise to be disobedient to the Devil, but faithful and obedient unto thee. I will stop my ears against the alluring enchantments of the world, and wicked suggestions of the Devil; but I will open them wide to hearken to thy voice, that I may obey thy commands. But now as thou hast made it, so if thou hast broken this thy covenant with God, returning to thy former courses of sin and disobedience against him, know thou, that this covenant of thine which thou hast broken, shall stand in full force against thee: for God will assuredly require it at thy hands: and all the Sacraments which thou hast received, thou hast received them but as so many seals and pledges of thy just deserved condemnation. Object. But some man may object and say, Do all that come unworthily unto the Sacrament, eat and drink their own damnation? Then many hundreds, yea thousands are damned: Are all damned that have eat and drunk unworthily? Answ. Ans. No; but a man may eat and drink his own damnation three ways: First, in regard of guilt and liableness unto God's wrath: and so he that eateth and drinketh his natural food, his dinner, supper, or breakfast in his sins, eateth and drinketh his own damnation: yea, whosoever thou art, that comest unto this holy banquet in thy sins, in thy pride, choler, malice, wrath or revenge, covetousness, hypocrisy, and deadness in God's service, thou never eatest a bit of bread, but thou eatest and drinkest thine own damnation; that is, thou eatest and drinkest that which will witness against thee another day, Deut. 28.16, 17, 18, 19 verses, etc. If thou wilt not hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and do all his commandments, than all these curses shall come upon thee & overtake thee: Cursed shalt thou be in the City, and cursed in the field, cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. Now if thy bread be cursed, than thou also art cursed that eatest it Secondly, in regard of the seal and obligation in the conscience; so he that eateth and drinketh the Sacrament in his sins, eateth and drinketh his own damnation; that is, he eats and drinks that which seals up his damnation against the great day of account. And thus many amongst us, and I fear the most part of this Congregation, have eat and drunk their own damnation. But this seal may be broken off, and God grant it may. Thirdly, in regard of sigillation in heaven; and so he that eats and drinks unworthily, and will not be reform; he that receives the Sacrament time after time, but still retains his sins, and will not be humbled for them, not forsake them, he setteth a seal in heaven upon his own damnation, that all the whole world can never break off, but such a one most certainly is a damned creature. And now (my brethren) God forbid there should be any such here, but that this seal may be broken off: And O that God would put some strength into this word, that it may be broken off by your godly sorrow for your sin, and forsaking of them all: for if this seal be set on your damnation, why do I yet speak unto you, and entreat and beseech you in the name of Christ to come home and be reconciled to him? and I desire to stand here, as Jehoiadah set Porters at the gates of the City, and of the house of the Lord, to keep off all those that come in their uncleanness, 2 Chron. 23.19. So I stand this day as the Porter of the Lord, to keep the Lords watch, that no profane wretch, no proud hearted sinner, that means not to enter into a new course of life, that no such one come unto this holy communion. I charge that as you will answer the guilt of Christ's blood before God's Throne, that thou meddle not with it. But now if there should be any that would absent himself because he will the more freely go on in his sins, let him know that such a one excludes himself from the benefits and merits of Christ's death, and shall never have the benefit of a Redeemer at the day of judgement; but shall perish in his sins for his careless neglect and fearful contempt of so effectual and powerful means of salvation and purging, as is the blood of Christ truly and really offered in the Sacrament. Wherefore if thou comest or comest not, woe is thee, if so be thou livest and continuest in thy sins, and goest on in thy unholy courses. And now to conclude; as the Cherubin stood before Paradise with a naked sword to keep Adam out, that he might not enter and so eat of the tree of life: so I bring with me the sword of God, to run it up to the hilts in the heart and bowels of every ungodly man, every rebellious and impenitent sinner this day, that dares presume to rush upon this holy Ordinance of God, with a polluted and unclean heart. Therefore let me exhort thee, that as thou tenderest the eternal good of thy soul, so thou be careful not to eat the body of Christ, nor drink his blood in thy sins, lest thou eat thine own bane, and drink thine own curse: Nay, so doing, thy misery will be so great, as a good man well weighing and considering of it, said, I profess I had rather have all my veins cut open, and my blood spilt on the ground, then deliver the body and blood of Christ unto a profane sinner: for why should I deliver his own bane and destruction unto him? But now (my brethren and beloved) come out of your sins, come and welcome, if you part with your lusts, and so you shall be sure to have his blood to wash your heart, and cleanse you, his righteousness to clear you, and clothe you, his graces to strengthen you, his spirit to heal and to sanctify your hearts and natures; and the Lord Jesus Christ to supply all good that is wanting in you. But if yet notwithstanding all this that hath been said, you will go on in your sins, and live as you did in your swearing, whoring, lying, and drinking, and all manner of filthiness; and as you came unto it unclean, so you depart away from it more unclean, and never make any conscience of any reformation, I pronounce this day before God and his elect Angels, that thou shalt surely perish, and thy soul and body be damned and tormented in the scorching flames of hell for evermore. Therefore harken unto instruction, and give ear unto council, now whiles that the Lord offers it to you, that so you may not harden your hearts any more, but may hear and obey, that your souls may live, and so coming together to this holy and blessed Communion for the better and not for the worse, you may return home with the blessing of children. FINIS. THE DUTY OF COMMUNICANTS: OR, Examination required of every COMMUNICANT. In a SERMON Preached, By that vigilant and painful Minister of the Word, WILLIAM FENNER, B.D. Sometime Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge, and late Parson of Rochfort in Essex. London, Printed by T.R. and E.M. for J.S. EXAMINATION Required in every COMMUNICANT. A Sermon preached by Mr. WILLIAM FENNER Minister of God's Word. 2 COR. 11.28. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup. IN the latter part of this Chapter the Apostle treats of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper: And first he reproves the Corinthians for their unworthy coming to it, as we see in verse 18. There were Errors, and Schisms, contempt of the poor, drunkenness, excess, disorder, and unprofitableness in the duties of God: they waxed worse and worse by the Sacrament. All these, and sundry other abuses were among them; so that they did not eat the Lords Supper aright as they ought. Secondly, he reduceth them back to the first prime institution of it by Jesus Christ, as we see in verse 23. that hereby they might both see how grievously they had abused thy Sacrament, and likewise see how they might sanctifiedly use it. Thirdly, he shows the danger of unworthy receivers: and this he sets out two ways: First, by the greivousnesse of the sin; such a person makes himself guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, as we see verse 27. Secondly, by the doleful consequence that follows upon it; He eats and drinks damnation to himself, as we see verse 29. The sum of the text Now in this verse (that I may not trouble you with speaking of any more matter than what is necessary for the present Theme) he shows how we may prevent, escape, and avoid this danger; how we may take an order that we do not fall into this grievous sin, that we do not plunge ourselves into this grievous misery: Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that Bread, and drink of that Cup. A man must examine himself, sift his own soul, and labour to prepare himself, before he dare to venture on this sacred business. In these words, before we set upon the particular handling of them, we may observe, Observe. 1. We must not rush upon the sacrament. that We must not rush upon the Sacrament. There must somewhat be done before we can receive it, Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that Bread, and drink of that Cup. There are none of the Ordinances of God, that a man may safely rush upon. Wouldst thou offer any sacrifice to God? but thou must stay first, and examine thyself, whether there be not something yet undone: It may be thou hast offended God in something or other; It may be thou art out with thy brother; thou must first go and be reconciled to thy brother, and then offer thy gift, Matth. 5. So, wouldst thou reprove thy neighbour? Matth. 5. It may be there is somewhat out of order, some indisposedness in thee, thou art not yet in case to set on this duty; it may be thou art faulty, and guilty thyself; it may be thou hast a beam in thine own eye. First (saith the Text) pull the beam out of thine own eye, and then thou mayst see clearly to pull the moat out of thy brother's eye, Matth. 7.5. Matt. 7.5. So wouldst thou reform thy outward man? But it may be thy inward man is not reform; there is s●me lust in thy heart, some pride in thy will, some stubbornness in thy spirit, some Idol in thy bosom; First, cleanse the inside of the platter, Matth. 23.26. Mat. 13.26 There is never an ordinance of God that can be done, but there must be somewhat done first, a man must do something before, As in the choice of Officers, as Ministers, or Deacons▪ other Officers in the Church, first, they must be proved before they be chosen: so in all the Ordinances of God. Would we come to the Sacrament? There is somewhat must be done first, we must examine ourselves, and root out all unsanctifiednesse, and indisposition, that cannot stand with the right communicating in the Lord's Supper. And so in every other good duty. Reason 1. Naturally we are not invited guests. The reasons of this are: First, because naturally we are not invited guests, we are not such as are invited to the Lords Supper; we are children of wrath, and as long as we are in such a estate, we cannot come aright to the Communion. This is children's bread, and it cannot be given to dogs. Christ, whensoever he sets his dainties before his people▪ he tells us for whom they are, Take, eat, this is my Body that is broken for you. This is the Supper that is made for you, as it is in this Chapter, verse 24. First we must prove ourselves invited guests. It is true, the Lord Christ invites every man to the Lords Supper; but he invites him methodically, he must be in such an estate: but every man is not so fitted: a man must be a member of Christ that means to partake of Christ's death; he must be one that is in Christ, he must be able to prove that he is ingraffed into Christ, he must be able to show the mark of the Lord Christ on him. Simile. As it is with some of your great dinners, and feasts in this City, you have tickets, and all that are admitted to the feast, must show their ticket before they are admitted; So thou must be able to show thy ticket, that thou hast an invitation from Christ, thou must have a mark, and token from Chtist that thou comest, and comest with his warrant. A second reason is, Reason. 2 We are indisposed. though thou be invited, it may be thou art not disposed. If a man will do a thing that he is naturally indisposed to, there must be somewhat done before of necessity: So the Lords Supper, it is a thing that naturally we are indisposed unto, therefore somewhat must of necessity be done first. Naturally we are unholy, we are unthankful, and carnal, we are in our sins, strangers from God, and the Covenant of God, and from the seal of the Covenant: all this indisposition must be wrought out before we can comfortably come hither. If Christ would have the very Chamber first trimmed, before he instituted the Passeover, and the Sacrament; much more will he have the soul disposed for him, and the heart cleansed from all filthiness. If he that ate of the Peace-offering being indisposed, having his uncleanness upon him, was to be cut off from his people. Levit. 7.20. Levit. 7.20. what will God do to such people as come hither in their uncleanness, and indisposition, unsanctified, and unqualified? Reason. 3 Solemn preparations required to the Sacrament. Thirdly, suppose we were both invited and disposed, yet this is not enough: This is a solemn Ordinance of God, and an ordinary disposition will not serve the turn. Though every child of God be ordinarily disposed to every good word and work, to pray, and to hear the word of God, he is prepared and furnished to every well doing ordinarily and habitually? but a man must be disposed further; There is a solemn preparation required to the Communion, as in Deut. 16.15. Deut. 16.16. there were solemn feasts in the Law: so there is this solemn feast in the Gospel, and there are solemn preparations required thereto. When we come to the Communion, to eat the Lords Supper, it is not eating and drinking in Christ's presence; for so may any reprobate do, and yet Christ may say to him, Depart from me, thou worker of iniquity. It is not to come and sit in your pews, and wait till the Bread come, and take it; and till the Cup come, and drink it; so many a reprobate may do, and the Corinthians did, that did eat and drink their own damnation: But there must be a solemn preparation to it, to be sealed with the Spirit of Promise, to be righteous by faith in the body and blood of Christ; For a man to be humble and empty of his sin, to be thirsty after the precious blood of Christ, to be fed and built up in the promises; It is a weighty thing to come to the Communion: a man must be a worthy man▪ or else he hath nothing to do here, As Solomon said of Adonijah, 1 King. 52. If he be a worthy man, not a hair shall fall from his head; but if wickedness be found in him, he shall die, 1. King 1.52. So if we be worthy men and women, not a hair of our head shall fall to the ground, none of the curses shall light on us, that light on unprepared persons: but if wickedness be found in us, if we be guilty of any sin, if we live in any lust not mortfied; if there be any profaneness in our lives, in our families, in our courses and callings, though we catch hold of the horns of the Altar, though we partake of these holy mysteries, yet we shall be so far from having any mercy, as that we shall hasten our own ruin, we set a seal on our own judgement, and make our case worse than it was before. Let us take notice of it and never dare to rush on any of God's ordinances. Use. To take heed of rash performance of duties. You know what became of the foolish man in the Gospel, that when they were invited to come to the marriage Supper, he thought it was nothing but to come with them that came, to crowd in with them, and sit down among the rest; he considered not what he went about, that he might be prepared accordingly; the event was this, he was cast out into utter darkness, Matth. 22.13. It is dangerous rushing on any of God's ordinances. To rush upon prayer, for a man to fall down upon his knees, and to utter any thing before the Lord hastily with his mouth, not considering that God is in heaven, and he on the earth. A man's word may damn his own soul, and pull vengeance on his own pate, his prayers may prove a curse, his prayer for mercy may be turned into vengeance: So the higher the service, 2 Sam. 15.17. the greater the danger. As the servants of Abigail said to her, Consider what you do, when evil was determined against them: so consider what you do when you come to the Sacrament, you come to a weighty thing, to that that will either set you nearer to the Kingdom of God, or to hell and condemnation. But I let this pass, and come to the words themselves. Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that Bread, and drink of that Cup. In these words observe, Parts of the Text. First, the matter of the duty commanded▪ that is, to eat of that bread, and to drink of that cup. Secondly, the manner of doing the duty; not only to eat of that bread, but so to eat; and not only to drink that cup, but so to drink. Thirdly, the rule of direction how to come in a right manner to partake of it, that is, by examining of ourselves, Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. Fourthly and lastly, the benefit following that direction, and that is in this word But; But let a man examine himself. He had said before, He that eats and drinks unworthily, is made guilty of the body and blood of the Lord; and, he discerneth not the Lords body, vers. 27. But, saith he, as if he should say, if a man would prevent this; if a man would take order that he be not guilty of the body and blood of Christ, that he do not come undiscerningly to these heavenly mysteries, but with comfort, and title to the promises, with hope and confidence and speeding there of the benefits of Christ exhibited, then let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. Now I will pass over some of these points, Necessity of receiving the Lords Supper. namely, that we are to eat that bread, and drink that cup. There is a necessity that we should receive the Lords Supper. I need not stand on this, you know it is sufficiently proved by the Sacrament of the Law, which was the forerunner of this Sacrament, that soul that did not partake of that, was to die the death, he was to be cut off from God's people, Num. 9.13. Num. 9.13. If the Lord was so careful of those Sacraments that were inferior to these (and yet they were of the same substance as these) that the man that neglected to come to them, to partake of them, was to be cut off, to be excommunicated from the people of God, and to be rend off from the Congregation of the Saints, then how much more for these heavenly, and weighty, and glorious Ordinances of the Gospel, which are far more glorious than them of the Law? But I will not stand upon that. I might here take notice too of the frequency of the duty: The Lord's Supper to be received often. for so it hath dependence on those words formerly, As oft as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye show the Lords death, and so that is, as oft as ye eat, do it in this manner. This is the command of God, that we oft receive the Lords Supper. Basill. In the Primitive times St. Basil observes, that they ate it three or four times in, a week, on Wednesdays, Fridays, and on the Lord's day,; but that was a time of persecution, I will not stand upon that. I think it not needful: But it should be often, we should not trust it only upon Easter and Whitsuntide, and Christ tide, three or four times in the year. Again, I might observe here from this mystery received, in that he calls it Bread, I might observe against the Papists Transubstantiation, that the bread received, is not transubstantiated, it is bread. And against that of receiving in one kind. So let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup: he doth not say, so let him eat of that bread only, but he directs the command in both kinds. But I let this pass, and come to the seceond thing, that is, the manner how we should do this duty. Observe. The manner of performance of duties to be regarded So let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. It is not, first let him examine himself, and then let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup: But let him examine himself, and then SO let him eat: implying, that examining a man's self helps, or aught to help a man to a right manner: and when he hath gotten a right manner, then to eat that bread, and drink that cup; that he may do not only for matter that which the Lord commands, but for manner as the Lords commands. Beloved, the Lord stands on circumstances as well as duties: we are all racers, we run, but we must so run that we may obtain, 2 Cor. 9.26. 2 Cor. 9.26 So pray that we may speed, so hear that we may be converted, so reprove that we may be edified; so behave ourselves in our places and callings, that we may glorify God. It is not enough for a man to run, but he must so run, if he mean to obtain. Every man will be speaking and doing good things; but so speak, and so do, Jam. 2.12. ●am. 2.12. The Lord calls upon us to have a care of the manner of duties, as well as of the matter of duties. It is not enough that a man come to eat of that bread, and drink of that cup, but so to eat, and so to drink of it, he must partake of the Lords Table, and so as the Lord enjoins. Now the Reasons of this are: First, because the same Lord that commands the matter, commands the manner too. Reas. 1. The Lord commands the manner as well as matter. The Lord he will have his service well done, as well as done, he will have the work well performed, as well as performed. It is not only the thing that the Lord stands upon, but the right manner and kind of doing it. When David persuaded his son Solomon to worship the God of his Fathers, he bids him not only do the thing, but do it in a right manner, And thou my son Solomon, 2 Chron. 28.9. know thou the God of thy fathers, and serve him. Is that all? No, but with a perfect heart, and a willing mind, 2 Chron. 28.9. He commands him to do it, not only for the matter of it, but in the right manner of it. A man may serve God, but if it be not with a perfect heart, and a willing mind, and with a cheerful spirit; if he be not ready to every command, if he do not open his ears to every rebuke, a man doth not serve God at all. The manner either makes all, or mars all. Secondly, another Reason is, Reas. 2. Circumstances overthrew actions, as 1. Prayer. because circumstances overthrew actions, if they be not rightly and duly observed. As for example: In Scripture prayer is an action commanded of God: the Lord commands us to pray, that we call upon his name duly, every day, in all our needs and necessities, upon all occasions continually. But now if we pray not aright, not in that manner that the Lord hath perscribed; if we pray either with a guilty defiled conscience, with cold affections, with a dead spirit, or without departing from iniquity, or without a pure heart: if a man pray without the right manner of prayer, he mars all his prayer, it is a howling, and not a prayer. They did not cry to me (saith God) when they howled on their beds, that is, when they prayed: but because they did not pray in a right manner, the Lord calls it a howling, and not a prayer. Isai. 59.12. We roar as Bears, in Isay 59.12. the Prophet nicknames it, speaking in the person of the people, he calls it the roaring of Bears: The Lord had as lief hear the barking of a Dog, or the grunting of a Swine, as a man that doth not pray aright, with a bleeding heart, with contrition of soul and spirit, with a spirit of grace and supplication. When a man prays, and prays dot aright, his prayer leaves that name, it is no more a prayer in God's account. 2 Preaching. And so preaching, it is an admirable action; but if a man do not preach aright, if it be flattering with the enticing words of man's wisdom, or beating the air, and to show his own learning, this overthrows the action of preaching, he preacheth not Christ but himself; himself, not the Gospel, though the Gospel be in his Sermon all over, yet himself he preacheth, the action is marred, the circumstance marreth it. So in the Lord's Supper, 3 Receiving the Sacrament. if a man come not prepared, that he have not the Wedding Garment, that he be not aright qualified according to the requisites of the Gospel, this is not to eat the Lords Supper. Saith the Apostle, When ye come together, this is not to eat the Lords Supper: you think you eat the Lords Supper, you take the bread and the cup, and can say, Blessed be God, and I pray God to bless me: you may come and do these actions, but the action is altered, the action is diversified when it is not done in a right manner. So if a man come to reprove his brother, 4. Brotherly reproof. Matt. 7.5. if himself be faulty, do you think this a sufficient reproof? No, it is hyhocrisie. Thou hypocrite, Matth. 7.5. his reproof of his brother is hypocrisy. So for men to tell one another of their faults, and to tell them with a spirit of bitterness; this is not Christian dehortation, but biting one another, Gal. 5.15. Gal. 5.15. And so for eating and drinking, beloved, 5. Eating and drinking. eating is lawful, and drinking is lawful, and marrying and giving in marriage, all these are lawful, yet if a man eat not aright, and drink not aright, and marry in the Lord, and eat and drink with title to the Lords creatures, that he have interest in the covenant of God, if Christ be not in it, how shall he have comfort? Nay, that very nature of his eating is alrered, his eating and drinking, and marrying is a sin. As our Lord Christ shows of the old world, They did eat and drink, and were marrying and giving in marriage, till Noah entered into the Ark, and the flood came and swept them away, Mat. 24.37. Matth. 24.37. He reckons their eating and drinking among their sins, among the reasons and causes why the flood came upon them, they did eat and drink, and marry and give in marriage. Object. You will say, Was that the reason the flood came? And was that an argument of their security? Did not Noah eat and drink and marry? And were not his sons married that were in the Ark, and he a grandfather. Answ. But he did it aright; therefore his eating and drinking is not brought in as a sign of security, but of the old world, that were carnal and wretched people; it was; because they did not eat and drink aright. There be Rules in eating and drinking, in talking and discoursing, in doing the duties of our callings: There be Rules how you ought to buy and sell, and to do every good word and work. If these Rules be not observed, the Rules of God's blessed word, the actions themselves are altered; though the things be commanded of God, yet they are cursed and abominable things, when the true form and fashion of them is not regarded, though they be never so godly. Simile. A garment, though it be never so good, if the Tailor handle it not well, it is marred in the making, if he bring it not to a right form, and make it in a right manner, the man that is to have the garment, is disappointed. So Timber, though it be never so excellent, though it be all Oak, or Elm, or whatsoever tree, though it be never so fit for building, if the Artificer deal not well in handling it, the inhabitant that comes there, may curse the day that ever he came there: If it be not well built, it may fall on his head and kill him, and all that belongs to him. So it is in all the Ordinances of God, and the matters of Religion, we must not only do them for matter, but for manner too: for that either makes or mars them. Thirdly, another Reason is, Reas. 3. The right manner of doing duties gets the blessing because only the right manner of doing duties gets the blessing. A man may pray a thousand times, and never be heard, he may hear a million of Sermons, and never be converted, a man may come to all the Sacraments in the year, all his life long, and never be sealed against the day of redemption. A man may do the things, and never get the blessing; all the blessing lies in the right manner of doing. Blessed is that servant, who when his master comes, shall find so doing, Matth. 24.48. Matt. 24.48. He saith not, Who when his master cometh, shall find doing. Christ when he comes to judgement, shall find many doing; it may be he will come in prayer time, it may be he will come in the morning, when many thousands shall be at their prayers in their families: it may be he will come at night, when all are at prayer in their houses; it may be he will come on the Sabbath, when all the Country is at Church, hearing of Sermons, he shall find many thousands doing▪ and praying But blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when he comes, shall find so praying so hearing, so receiving the Sacrament: He shall find many believing but so believing gets the blessing: many professing but it is so professing that gets the comfort. I say, all the blessings of God are promised to the right manner of doing. Now, what is it, when we do duties, what do we look for? Is it not for a blessing? Why do we do the duties, if we do not do them so as we may get the blessing? Now except we observe the right manner of doing them, all is to no purpose. Reason. 4. Christ's example. Fourthly, another Reason is, the example of Jesus Christ; Christ hath given us an example that we should do as he did: Now he did not only do that which his Father bid him do, for ma●ter, but for manner, both in all the words he spoke, and in all the deeds that he performed. For the words he spoke, As the Father hath said unto me, even so speak I, Joh. 12. And in Joh. 14.31. J●hn 12. John. 14.31. As the Father hath given me commandment even so do I. Mark, he did not only obey his Father in the matter of his command, but in the manner of it. And as Christ hath done thus, so all that are Christ's: all the servants of God in all ages, they have been very careful, especially of the right manner of obeying God. As it is said of Noah, Gen. 6 22, As the Lord commanded Noah, even so did he, just as the Lord commanded him; he did not only make an Ark, but so he made all the rooms: so he made it in the same form and figure, and in the same similitude, just as the Lord set him down the pattern, even so did he. So the Lord sets down the pattern of every good word and work, of all our prayers, and Sermons, and hearing, and conference, and keeping the Sabbath, and speaking holily: all our actions have their pattern set down in the word of God. Now as we are to do the things, so we are to do them in the same manner, as the Lord commands, even so must we do. Fiftly and lastly, except we do it in a right manner, except as we come to the duty, Reason. 5 From God's glory. so we come to the right manner, we can never glorify God; The glory of God lies in the manner of doing of things. So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven, Matth. 5.16. Mark, the light must not shine only in our lives and conversations; but so that the duty must be a means to the glorifying of God. Now the means must have its proportion, and likeness, and nature, and mould, and frame, from the nature of the end. Look how the end is that the duty looks unto, so must the frame and fashion of the duty be: Now if the end of all our actions be, that God may be glorified, that must put a form and fashion upon every duty, that it may be so, that he may have glory. Suppose a man pray every day in his family, and call all his household, his servants, and wife and children, and all under his roof about him every morning and evening: he may dishonour God by prayer every day on this fashion: if a man pray coldly, and carelessly, for form and fashion, without faith, and life: he makes all the ordinance of God vile, and all the work of God contemptible: his household sleeps, one snorts it may be; another is infinitely profane, it may be; and though there be divers that would fain be quickened, and wakened, yet his prayer is so cold▪ there is no life, nor heat▪ nor warmth in it, that God is exceedingly dishonoured, and all are thereby rather worse then better. So for a man's preaching, though it be never so good a duty, yet he must labour to preach so, as the Apostle speaks of his preaching and labour in the work of the Ministry, how he may edify others, and save his own soul. So fight I, not as one that beats the ●ire; but so as I may get the mastery: We must so preach, that we may attain the conversion of the people; or else we may rather do as Hophni and Phineas, the sons of Fli, that made the Table of the Lord contemptible, and the Sacrifice of the Lord loathsome in the eyes of the people: So may we do with the ordinance of God. Take any duty of religion, if it be not done aright, God hath no glory by it. Suppose thou wouldst reprove thy brother, and tell him of his fault▪ and check him for his backwardness, or omission of some duty, and for the commission of some sin; if thou do not do it with a spirit of compassion, and bowels of Jesus Christ, with an humble heart, with a feeling and a pure conscience; I say thou gettest a blot to thy own self, and causest God to be ill spoken of, and the very way of his name to be dishonoured: This will be the effect of it; and so in every other duty. And so I come to the use. Is it so, Use. 1. To reprove those that barely do duties, without looking to the manner. that we must not only come to the Sacrament; but come aright; or do any duty, but we must do it in a right manner? This servs to condemn that natural popery that is in men's hearts, that is of opus operatum, of the deed done; this is the religion of the Church of Rome, that so a man do the duty (indeed it is better if it be done in a right manner, but) if it be done, there is somewhat a man may look for by that. If a man come to the Sacrament, the very eating of the Host, the very partaking of the body of Christ, they make it meritorious: so the very hearing of so many Sermons, the very saying of so many prayers, the very performanec of so many duties, the very thing itself, nakedly considered, it is of some validity. This is rooted in the hearts of men, we see it up and down, people do the duty, and think all is well enough, when they consider not how it is done. People pray, but not with zeal; they hear, but not with reverence: People come to the Sacrament, not for the better, but for the worse, they come not in a right manner; and yet every one hopes to speed, and builds himself on this, that God accepts of him. But this is the folly of men's hearts; it is an evident argument that men go foolishly to work in the ways of God. It is the brand of a fool not to be able to observe circumstances. Aristotle the heathen, he saith, it is the part of a wise man to think of, and understand the manner of actions; as a wise man saith, he observes circumstances. It is a part of wisdom to observe the right circumstances of every action, as it is Ephes. 5.15. Walk circumspectly, that is, accurately, as it is in the original, not as fools, but as wise. Mark, he persuades them to a right manner of walking; not only to walk in a good course, in praying, and hearing, in obedience and sobriety, in temperance, faith, and diligence in our callings; but do it accurately, in a right manner; do it as wise men, and not as fools, they do it in a wrong manner. It is the part of a fool, I say, to do a thing, and to leave the right manner of doing it. Now this is nothing with God, the Lord doth not esteem any action, though it be never so frequently done, except it be done with his own stamp, except it have his own character upon it. I remember a story in 2 Kings 17.26. The Assyrians there observed, that God sent Lions among them, because they did not observe the right manner of the God of Israel: they worshipped the God of Israel; but because they observed not the right Manner of his word, he sent Lions among them, to tear and devour them in pieces. So though we pray, and hear, and read, and profess, and have a name that we live; and though we be taken for good people, & heap up duties from day to day, and vie performances; and though we do them as many times as the children of God; nay, though we could do them ten thousands times oftener than they, yet if we do them not in a rightmanner, if we know not the manner of the God of heaven, and earth, with humble hearts, and selfe-denying spirits, with holiness of affection, and with purity of heart: if a man do them not in a right manner, the Lord will tear him in pieces, and he shall have no deliverance for all that. Another use shall be, what may be the reasons why people are so willing generally, Use. 2. The reason why men regard the matter and not the manner of duties. to do duties for the matter, and care not to do them in a right manner. It will not be amiss a little to show the mystery of this thing: for we see every man is willing to do duties, every man will be praying, and coming to Church, many reprobates, and God knows how many carnal hearts are in this congregation, some drunkards it may be, some adulterers, some it may be, that committed whoredom the last night, some that have been swearing even now, and deceiving in their shops, there are many carnal hearts: yet every man is willing to do duties, to hear, and to pray. Now what may be the reason that people are willing to do good duties, and yet are loath to come off with their carnal hearts? There are four reasons. The first is this, Reason 1. The matter of duties easy. Because the matter of the duty is easy, but the manner is difficult. It is an easy matter to pray, to say, Lord, I have sinned against heaven, and against thee. Lord, I have sworn, I have been a drunkard. I have disallowed the Sabbath, I have done this and that, I pray thee pardon and forgive me, and give me thy grace; it is an easy matter to do this. It is easy for a man to come to Church, and mark what the Mi●iner saith, and follow him from point to point, and it may be go over it to his family. This is good, there are few that come thus far. And so it is easy to come to the Sacrament, to take the Bread and the Cup, and to pray for a blessing, this is easy; but, when a man comes to a duty in a right manner, here is difficulty, when a man doth it with a How; Take heed How you bear. He doth not call upon people to hear, that is not the matter; there needs no great diligence for that: but if you will consider How you hear, take heed to that. Here must be a great deal of circumspection; the soul must be marvellous painful, a man must offer violence to his own soul; a man must fight against his own will, a man must beat down his own spirit, he must crucify his own thoughts, must mortify his own mind & beat down his own soul. It is a hard thing to do it in a right manner, as the Lord commands, if we consider now how to do it. This is certain, flesh and blood cannot abide to take pains; if it can serve God with ease, and pray with ease, that it will do; but for a man to weep before God, for a man to indict his heart to the throne of grace, to rend his bowels before his Maker, to t●are the call of his heart upon his knees; for a man to vow to God, and pay them; for a man to rid his hands of all the wages of iniquity, for a man to purify himself as Christ is pure, for a man to wrestle with God, and to take grace according to the covenant of grace, with life and power, to do it in a right manner: here is religion, and this men cannot abide. And so for the Sacrament, for a man to come in a right manner, Oh it is difficult to flesh and blood; for a man to go and examine all his life, to reckon up all his conversation, to anatomize himself from his cradle to this moment; to consider how he hath sinned in his calling, in his family, in his shop, in his company, in his spe●ch, and in his life; to go and judge himself of these, and condemn himself, and to accept of his own punishment, to go and wrack his own thoughts, and crucify his own soul: Oh! this is hard, men cannot abide this: therefore they go and take the matter, they observe that, and leave out the manner. Secondly, another reason is this, Reas. 2. The matter of duties may be done with a proud heart. because the matter of duties may be done with a proud heart; there is no duty but a man may do it with a proud heart, and never be humble. A man may pray, and use good words, and make good petitions, and have marvellous good language, and Scripture phrases, and terms, and passages, and an admirable sweet tone, and yet have a proud heart. A man may come and preach a Sermon, he may preach so as that he may strangely affect the hearts of the people, and may make all the people wonder and admire at the gracious words that come from his mouth, and yet have a proud heart. A man may hear, and hear oft, and hear the best Preachers in the City, and delight in hearing▪ and yet have a proud heart. A man may come to the Sacrament, and sit to ones thinking, as devoutly as any in the Church, and pray when the people pray, and give thanks when others give thanks, and have a kind of moral faith in the Covenant, and a moral application of the promises, and yet have a proud heart. It is the manner of doing duties that humbles the soul, as St. Paul saith, Acts 20 Acts 20. You know in what manner I have been with you. Why, what was the manner? In all humility of mind, saith he, being among the Ephesians, preaching to them in a right manner, leaving them the example of his own pattern, doing all this in a right manner, he did it in all humility of heart. It is the right manner of prayer that pulls down the heart before God. It is the right manner of hearing the word, that makes a man melt at it. It is the right manner of coming to the Sacrament, that makes a man feel the comfort of God, and the promises of the Gospel, and to seek and find the admirable things contained in it. Reason. 3 The matter of duties may be done, & yet a man be unholy. It is the right manner that makes a man walk lowly with his God. Thirdly, another Reeson is; Because the matter may stand with an unholy life. A man may do a duty for the matter of it, and yet be unholy. This is plain; how many thousands are there that pray, and yet are vain, and covetous, and carnal? How many thousands hear Sermons, and yet are unprofitable? Ever hearing, and never come to the knowledge of the truth. If they were injurious before, they are injurious still; if they were cousners before, they are so still, if they were drunkards before, they are so still. A man may receive the Sacrament every month, and yet may have his lusts, and roll them as a sweet morsel under his tongue; he may delight in his secret lusts, and go on in the deadness of his heart. It is the right manner of worshipping of God, that purgeth the conscience, and purifieth the soul, and makes a man that there is no room for his corruptions, as you may see, 1 Thess. 2.10. You yourselves know (saith the Apstle) how holily and unblamably we walked among you. He speaks there of his manner of walking, and he saith to them, because it was in a right manner, it was an holy manner; such walking as excluded all unholiness and profaneness. Flesh and blood cannot abide this. Men they love to pray and be proud; they love to hear sermons, and to have their profit; they love to profess religion, and still to carry their secret lusts in their bosoms. People love this alive, to go up to Gilgall and transgress, to offer sacrifice every new Moon, and every morning, and to find the labour of their hands, this is right; but for a man to part with his iniquity, that is the thing that goes against the hair. Reas. 4. The matter of duties brings not the cross. The last reason is, because the matter of duties bring not the cross upon a man. A man may do all the duties of Religion, and never be persecuted for it: a man may be as devout as the devoutest man under heaven, and yet no body hate him for it, except he be devout in a right manner, and worship God in a right manner. One man may reprove another that is wicked. A drunkard may suffer a drunkard's reproof, and be never the worse: A whore master may serve his quean so, he may call her so, and yet not be spighted, because it is not right. It is the right doing of it that brings the cross; 2 Tim. 2.10 as in 2 Tim. 2.10. Thou knowest my manner of life. It was that that brought afflictions and persecutions. We may see to this very day many thousands that seem devout men in the Church, they will pray, and will hardly miss any time of prayer morning or evening; and yet they are far from being persecuted: nay, many of them are main persecuters of the Gospel of God, enemies to the cross of Christ, adversaries to the Saints of God. Act. 15.5. We see it plain in Acts 13.5. we read there of devout women that raised persecution against Paul. Mark, they were devout, and because it was not in a right mann●r, they persecuted the Apostles, and set themselves against them that were truly faithful. Though wicked men do not love to pray aright, yet many of them are much for praying, they care not how much praying they have, and when they are at prayers, they will pray over from the beginning of the book to the end, they love it alive. But if they come to a prayer that moves the heart, that rifles the conscience, that dogs a man into his bosom, that lays a man flat on his face before God, they gnash their teeth at such a prayer. So they love preaching too; I, it is true, if it be preaching that is flaunting, and glozing, with the enticing words of man's wisdom: but if a man preach to the conscience, if he preach the pure naked word of God: and carry it home to men's souls, this makes them gnash their very teeth, and they could eat the Minister of God for his labour. It is the right manner of duty that is accompanied with the cross. Thirdly, Use 3. To labour to do duties aright. if we ought to be careful to perform duties in a right manner, Let us be exhorted in the fear of God, to go and quicken all our duties, to bring a soul into so many bodies; we have bodies of praying, and bodies of hearing, and bodies of receiving the Sacrament, and of good duties, let us get a soul into them, labour to do them in a right manner. The bare duty is like a carcase. It is a Proverb of the Jews, Prayer without preparation, it is as a carcase without the soul, that is, a loathsome thing; so is prayer without life, and without a right manner of pouring it forth. Let us labour therefore in the fear of God, to pray, and pray aright, to hear, and to hear aright; to seek God, and to seek him with all our hearts, aright, and to do every thing in the right way. Motives to perform duties in the right manner. 1. Motive. Numb. 11.14. Let us consider, first, we do not partake of any ordinance at all, except we do it in a right manner. I remember a fit place for this in Num. 11.14. It is said there, The stranger shall eat the passover, and partake of it according to the ordinance, and the manner of it. Where the Text puts in the Ordinance of the Passover, and the Manner of it. For it is all one, they are Synonyma's. So the Ordinance in every duty, God's ordinance in praying, in hearing the Word, in the Sacrament, in reproof, in every good duty, it is all one as the selfsame thing. So that if we pray, and do not pray in a right manner, we have not prayed, we do not partake of the ordinance. So when we come to the Sacrament, the ordinance of the manner of it is all one; it is one complete concrete action, we do not partake of it, except we partake of both. 2. Motive. Secondly consider, it as nothing but hypocrisy, when a man prays▪ and doth not pray in a right m●nner; when a man doth any duty to God, and not in the right wise, it is nothing but hypocrisy, Mark how our Saviour Christ sets forth the hypocrisy of the Pharisee, Luke. 18.11. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, he marks his manner of prayer; Luk. 18.11 he doth not say, He stood and prayed This, these words, but Thus he prayed, he did not pray in a right manner: there was his hypocrisy, and that was the reason he went home not justified. 3. Motive. Mat. 15 6. Thirdly consider: it makes the Ordinance of God of no effect. Thus they make the Commandments of God of none effect, Matth. 15.6. He speaks there of their duties that they did in a wrong manner, and their expounding the Scripture, that they did in a wrong wise; and their sacrifice, their offerings, and tithings, their precepts, and many things that were all done after another fashion than God had commanded; therefore saith Christ, Thus, they make the Commandments of God of none effect. So we make all the duties of God's worship of none effect. We know there is never an ordinance of God, but it hath great effect if it be rightly performed. Prayer is of great effect, it is able to rend heaven, it is able to pull down God to the soul, it is able to wrestle out a blessing, to quicken the heart, to obtain of God every thing we want: but if a man pray not aright, a man may pray, and go away never a whit the more holy, nor more quickened, nor nearer to heaven, nor comfort. So preaching and hearing, they are admirable Ordinances, what powerful effects have they wrought when they have been done in a right kind? People have cried out and been converted at them; and many a man hath been pulled out of the power of Satan to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. They had royal glorious effects upon many thousand souls. But what is the reason that our hearing is so in effectual? Because we hear not in a right manner, this makes the Ordinance of God of none effect, it makes Prayer of no effect, the word of no effect, the Sacraments and Sabbaths of no effect; you see people partake of these things, and are never the wiser. Lastly, it cannot please God, it is only the right manner of doing duties that pleaseth God, as in 1 Thess. 4.1. As ye have received of us, How ye ought to walk, and to please God, Mark, there is the manner, That ye may know HOW to walk, and by that to please God. It is not enough for a man to walk in good duties; that a man may do, and not please God: but (saith he) ye have received the manner HOW to walk and to please God. It is the manner How that pleaseth God. A man may walk to hell upon heaven's ground, Simile. he may go to hell in the ways of God, it is possible. Suppose a man should go and take (if it were possible) all the surface of ground between this place and York, and lay it between this place and Dover, a man might go to Dover upon York ground. So many a man lays the Ordinances of God in hell way: he walks in the way to hell, and there he lays his prayers, and there his hearing, and his good duties: he prays every day, and hears every day, and doth good duties every day, and yet walks to hell; he goes to hell on heaven's ground. The reason is, because he doth the duty, and doth not observe the manner how he doth it. The third thing is, the rule of direction, how we may come to the right manner of receiving the Sacrament, that is, by preparing of a man's self: and the preparation is here set down by the specification of it, namely, in examining himself. Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that Bread, and drink of that Cup. The general scope of these words, and the Apostles meaning in them, is this, That Every man must prepare himself before he come to the Lords Table. Observe. 3. Every man must prepare himself, before he come to the Lords Table. I cannot stand on this, I will only name it. As in the sacrament of the Passeover, there was preparation to the Passeover. In Joh. 19.14. it is said of the Disciples of Christ, that they made ready the Passeover. In Matth. 26. they made the Lamb ready, and the room ready, and themselves ready, and the Table ready, and every thing ready. So in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, wherein Christ is the true Pascall Lamb, when we come to eat of him, we must make every thing ready, faith ready, and repentance ready, and interest in the promises ready, and hunger and thirst after these spiritual dainties ready, every thing must be ready: or else, like a man that comes into the field to battle, that hath not gotten his sword, or his weapons ready, that is the way for himself to be killed: so it is when we come to the Communion, and have not all things ready, it is the way to be damned. The Reasons of this are, First, Reason. It is God ordinance because the Sacrament is an Ordinance of God: Now all the Ordinances of God require reparation, they are all spiritual, and naturally a man is carnal, and therefore cannot be prepared. Simile. As it is with wood, there is never a tree in the wood, but it is unprepared for building. Is there any tree in the wood of the fashion of a Chimney, or of a Lintel, or a Door? It must first be prepared, as it is Prov. 24.27. First prepare thy work without, and then build thine house. So every ordinance is to build a man up in the fear of God, in the grace of God: and in Religion: Now man is naturally unprepared for it; First, a man must fallen his wood, and then cut it, and hew it even, and carve it, and plane it fit, and prepare it before he build: So a man must hew down his own heart, he must humble his own soul, and qualify all within him, and so be sanctified before he be fit. As for example: In prayer, a man must be prepared to prayer before he pray; he must prepare his heart, and then God's ears will hearken to it. In Psal. 10.17. The Lord will have the heart prepared before he hear the prayer. So it is with the word of God, a man must be prepared before he hear it: As a man that preacheth must be prepared before he preach, as Ezra is said to prepare his heart, Ezra 7.10. He prepared his heart to do the Law, and to teach it. So a Minister cannot preach, except he be prepared beforehand, with a commission from God▪ with preserving knowledge, with a coal from God's Altar, with a spirit of wisdom and understanding, with a law of kindness in his lips, with meditation, and with a Theme fitted in his mouth for the people, he must be prepared with a burning and a shining light; or else he shall not edify the congregation: So it is with all other ordinances. For humbling of a man's soul, a man cannot humble his heart, except he be prepared to it, Amos 4.12. Prepare to meet thy God, he speaks of humiliation. If a man would humble himself before God, if he be not prepared, if his heart be not prepared to let go the world, his worldly profits, and vain pleasures, and carnal acquaintance, his wont lusts, and former delights. If he be not prepared to let these go, when he comes to keep a Fast, or to afflict his soul, and goes along to do the duty, to lay himself down before Almighty God, some lust or other will stick in his teeth, and intercept his heart, he shall never be able to do it: as Samuel said to the people; If you will turn to the Lord, prepare your hearts to do it, 1 Sam. 7. So it must be in all the ordinances of God, and much more in the Sacrament. Secondly, another Reason is, Reason. 2 Christ hath made preparation for us in the L. Supper. because the Lord Christ hath made great preparations to provide the Lords Supper; therefore we must be prepared to eat it. You know what a great deal of ado there was before this Supper was made. Christ must be incarnate, and fulfil all righteousness, he must conclude it upon his suffering; he must tread the winepress alone, and suffer himself to be beaten and rejected of God, and men, and suffer death, the cursed death of the Cross, all these things were concluded upon, before this holy and blessed Supper was provided. Come (saith he) I have prepared my dinner, Matth. 22. Mark, Christ is fain to prepare his dinner, he makes a great Feast: there was great preparation for it; so there must be great preparation of our souls before we can come to this holy banquet. It is true among men, there may be great preparation for a feast, and little or nothing for the eating of it. Sometimes there are two or three day's preparation for a Feast, and it is eaten presently. The reason is, because man naturally hungers after meat and drink, and he always provides twice or thrice in twenty four hours, for eating and drinking: But the Lord's Supper is a spiritual banquet, a man is every day, and hour, and moment, naturally unfit for it; and there is much ado to put an edge upon men's appetites, and a keenness upon men's desires, that they may be fitted and prepared for it. Reason. 3 Christ looks for good entertainment. Thirdly, another reason is, because the Lord Christ, when he administers himself in this heavenly mystery, he offers to come into the soul, and he looks for good entertainment; and therefore of necessity there must be preparation for it. You see when a mortal man, an earthly Prince, or a Noble man comes to another man's house, what a deal of preparation there is to provide for him: there is meat made ready, and purging the house, and sweeping the yard, and trimming up the very pales, and every thing, and making clean all the Chambers, and riding out whatsoever fills it, and every thing that is out of order is set in tune, And, what will my Lord think? and what will his Majesty think? he will think he is slighted and contemned: And when he comes in, it may be, his own children shall serve, and his own wife wait at the Table; and there is running up and down of errands, and a great deal of ado to give such a one entertainment. There is preparation to entertain a man, as Saint Paul said to Philemon, I will that thou prepare me a lodging: how much more when the eternal God shall come under a man's roof, and dine with him? Lastly, Reason 4. It is part of Christ's last Testament. Because the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, it is a part of Christ's last Will and Testament. Now it is a terrible thing when we know our Lords will, and prepare not for the doing of it. Look in Luke 12.48. he that knew it not, did things worthy of stripes; but in verse 47. That servant that knew his Lords will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes, that man shall be damned with much damnation: he shall be damned deeper than any body. Dost thou know that the Lords Table, that this blessed Sacrament, it is part of Christ's last Testament? and wilt thou not prepare thyself for it, to get an humble heart, and labour for a holy life, and seek for a thirsty soul, and vow upon new obedience, and enter into Covenant with the Lord Jesus Christ, for a better kind of conversation for the time to come? Wilt thou not go and examine thine own soul, and go and reform whatsoever is amiss in thy family, in thy place and calling? Wilt thou not do these things to prepare for this holy will of Jesus Christ? thou shalt be damned deeper than any body else, because this is a part of God's last Will and Testament, and thou knowest it, and therefore woe unto thee if thou prepare not for it. THE DUTY OF THE REPROVER, AND The Persons reproved, SET FORTH In a SERMON Preached, By that Reverend and faithful Minister of God's Word, WILLIAM FENNER, B.D. Sometime Fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge, and late Parson of Rochfort in Essex. London, Printed by T.R. and E.M. for J.S. THE DUTY OF REPROVERS And Persons reproved, A Sermon preached by Mr. WILLIAM FENNER Minister of God's Word. Pou. 29.1. He that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. THese words, by reason of the ambiguity in the Hebrew tongue, they bear two expositions, and our English can suffer but one. The first Exposition is this, He that reproveth another, and hardeneth his own neck, shall sudden●y be destroyed, and that without remedy. The othet is as we have it here translated, He that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. I desire to speak of both these expositions, for fear I should miss the true sense of this Text. For the first, it is a truth of God every where confirmed in the Scriptures, that he that reproves another, and yet hardeneth his own hair, he doth but make a rod for his own back, he pulls sudden destruction upon his own self. Then Secondly, there is no hindrance from the context, but that this may be the meaning of the text: you know the Proverbs have little or no coherence, except two or three chapters. Indeed there is a coherence in them, but generally through the Proverbs there is none; so that if the text itself will bear one exposition as well as another indifferently, the meaning none can tell, only as it is hit. Thirdly and lastly, the Text itself savours this exposition: for so the word in the Hebrew is, A man of reproofs, that hardens his own neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. Now the Question is. Whether the wise man's meaning here be of the actual reproof, the reproving of another; or of passive reproof, this is undetermined which of these is meant. A man can have no light from the coherence, none in the world; and from the text itself, there is as much reason why we should expound it one way (even almost) as the other. So that I say, for fear I should let go the true meaning of the wise man. I desire to speak a little of the active sense. He that often reproveth another, and yet hardeneth his own neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. From hence I may observe, that. A reprover (whether a Master or a Minister, Observe. 1. A guilty hardened reprover, shall be destroyed. or a Magistrate, or a Father, or a private Christian, be he what he will be) that reproveth another, and yet is guilty himself either in the same kind, or else in another, or in any kind) and hardeneth his own heart in it, that man shall suddenly be destroyed without remedy. Take a Preacher that preacheth strict doctrine to the people, that is very zealous against their sins, he is up with hell and damnation against their filthy courses: he preacheth for quickening, but himself is not quickened; he threateneth judgements against hardness of heart, and yet he hath a hard heart himself; this man pulls destruction upon his own pate. He is like the Pharisees, that imposed upon others grievous burdens and heavy to be born, but would not touch them with one of their fingers themselves, Matth. 23.4. The Reason of this is, because First such a reprover of sin, Reason 1. It is against his office. it is against his office: the office of a reprover binds him to be blameless as the Apostle speaks, A Bishop must be blameless, 1 Tim. 3.2. Every Christian should be blameless; how much more Ministers, that bear the office of reprovers? they should be blameless. Nay, if a man, though he take not the office of a reprover, yet if he bear the person of a reprover (as every private Christian must when God calls him to it: for every man may be called to reprove) though he have no authority over another, though he be a private man, he may bear the person though not the office of a reprover. Now a man must be unculpable, and unblameable himself, or else he sins against his person. If a man reprove another for being carnal, himself must be spiritual, Gal. 6.1. If any man be overtaken with a fault, ye that are spiritual, restore him. The reprover, the exhorter, and admonisher, must be spiritual, if he would draw another to be spiritual. Reason. 2 He cannot reprove to a right end. Secondly, such a reprover as is guilty himself in that kind, or in any other kind, he can never reprove to a right end. Why seest thou a moat in thy brother's eye, and considerest not the beam in thine own eye? Matth. 7. vers. 3. Why (saith he) to what end? what is that thou lookest at, thou art severe to espy faults in thy brother's eye? To what end dost thou reprove him? What is the reason? What is the thing thou wouldst have, that thou finddest fault with him? Why seest thou a mo●t in thy brother's eye? As if he should say, thy end can never be good, it cannot be to do thy brother good: for than thou wouldst do thyself good first: It is not because thou hatest sin; for than thou wouldst detest thy own sin. It cannot be out of a good principle, or to a good end. It is either because thou art a busy body in other men's matters, or thou art censorious, thou lovest to be meddling; or because thou hatest thy brother, and wouldst wreak thy malice on him; thou wouldst fain shame and disgrace him, and by beating him down, get thyself up; or thou wouldst get a cover to thy own conscience; it must be some such end, it cannot be a good end. Christ puts it to a man's conscience, why he reproves his brother, when he is faulty himself. Thirdly, another Reason is, Reason 3 Not in a right manner. such a reprover can never do it in a right manner, as Christ saith, Matth. 7.4. How wilt thou say to thy brother, let me pull the moat out of thine eye, when behold a beam is in thine own eye? How wilt thou do it? In what fashion, or sort? How wilt thou be able to bring this about? A man that is a reprover, had need to have a very clear sight of his own, that sees another man's faults, and will set another to rights; he had need to have a good judgement, to see all the circumstances of reproof, and rebuke, that deals with another. As long as a man hath a beam in his own eye, as long as he hath lusts in his own heart, that will blind his judgement, and darken and cover his eyes and make him that he shall not be able to see to go about it. How canst thou possibly say to thy brother, let me pull the moat out of thine eye, when there is a beam in thine own eye? A man that is to reprove another, a Master that will reprove his servant, or a father his children, or a Minister that will reprove his people, or a Magistrate that will reprove those that are committed to his charge, or any brother that will reprove another, he must do it with a spirit of compassion, with bowels of pity, with a sense and feeling: there is a great deal of wisdom and discretion to be observed in this act. Now when a man hath a beam in his own eye, how shall he be able to do it? That man that is faulty and guilty himself, either he must reprove too harshly, and rigorously, or too sparingly, or too insultingly, he must do it in a wrong manner, it can never be sincerely and truly done, as long as a man hath a lust in his own heart, and he himself is guilty and faulty, that is a reprover of his brother. Nay, the party reproved, is holpen to retort on him, How dost thou tell me of pride, and worldliness, and covetousness? Who so proud and covetous as thou? Thus a man shall be ready to be hit in the teeth. Reason 4. It is hypocrisy. Fourthly, such a reprover is an hypocrite. It is no Christian reproof for a man to do so. Wilt thou go and find fault with thy servant for his laziness in thy service, when thou art lazy in God's service? Wilt thou find fault with thy brother for his pride, and thou art full of fashions? Wilt thou condemn the sins of the times, and thou livest in some lust? This is nothing but hypocrisy. Thou makest as if thou didst stand so much for obedience to God; and oh! there is this and that sin against God, when thyself is a sinner in that, or in another kind; this is hypocrisy, as Christ saith here, Thou hypocrite, first cast the beam out of thine own eye, and then thou shalt see clearly to cast the moat out of thy brother's eye. Thou hypocrite: Mark, it is an act of hypocrisy when a man goes to find fault with another, before he has gone to redress his own soul; to purge his own conscience, and have shaken hands with the wages of iniquity his own self, before a man have done this, it is hypocrisy to deal with another. For when a man reproves another he takes a form upon himself of one that is zealous against sin, and an enemy to all sinful practices: Now what is this but hypocrisy, when a man hath not this in him that he pretends? when a man finds fault with another's pride, as if he were humble forsooth, with another's worldliness as if he were liberal; when a man doth so, he incurs the guilt of hypocrisy in reproving another. Fifthly, another Reason is, Reason 5. It makes inexcusable. because such a reprover is inexcusable, his reproving of another man's sin, makes him inexcusable for his own, as the Apostle speaks, Rom. 2.1. Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art, that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself, for thou dost the same thing. Mark, thy own mouth shall condemn thee; thou findest fault with another man's pride: it seems he is to be condemned for it, than God condemns thee for thy pride. Thy pride is a fair mark for God's justice, because thou condemnest another. Dost thou find fault with anothets hardness of heart, and ill will and backwardness to any thing that is good, and yet thou art backward? Thou exposest thine own soul to the judgement of God; thou hast taught (as it were) Almighty God how to condemn thee for thy own lusts and corruptions. Reason 6 It is absurd. Again sixthly, another Reason is this, because such a reprover is an absurd person. It is absurd to reprove another, and be faulty ones self, as it is Rom. 2.21. Thou that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? Thou that preachest another should not steal▪ dost thou steal? This is a strange absurd thing, this reproof doth not sound well in thy mouth: thou stealest, and forbiddest stealing; thou preachest against adultery, and committest it; thou speakest against such and such sins, thou findest fault with them in the children of God, and art guilty thyself, or in thy children or servants, or neighbours, and art obnoxious to them in thine own practice: this is an absurd thing: these rebukes and reproofs sound not well out of thy mouth. Reason 7. It is impudency. Lastly, it is a sign of impudency, Psal. 50. What hast thou to do to take my covenant into thy mouth, when thou hatest to be reformed, and hast cast my covenant behind thy back? And to the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to take my statutes or covenant into thy mouth, since thou hatest instruction? What hast thou to do to reprove thy brother? If he be proud, what is that to thee, as long as thou art proud thyself? thou goest and slingest stones at him: sling them at thine own heart first. It is a sign of impudency. But it may be objected, Shall not a wicked magistrate punish sin, and a wicked Minister preach against the corruptions of the times, and a wicked master rebuke his servants, and a wicked father correct his children? Because he is wicked himself, shall he make himself more wicked, and contract more guilt upon his soul? I answer, that such a man is in a dilemma; for the man is bound to reprove; in regard of his office, and yet he is bound in conscience to go and amend himself first. I say, he is bound to reprove all those that God calls him to reprove, in regard of his office: but in regard of conscience he is bound to go and amend his own fault first. Therefore if it be a Magistrate, such as sit upon life and death, or Nisi prius, or any action between man and man, if he condemn a malefactor, and there remember himself guilty, he is bound in conscience to arise from the Bench, and go and amend his own sin. And we that are Ministers, when we preach to the people, and remember ourselves guilty, let us lay our hands upon our mouths, at least in votis, before ever we have the face to go and find fault with the people, it is necessary it should be so. Therefore, I say, a man is in a dilemma, if he do not reprove sin, it is against his office, and the person he bears, when God calls him to it; and if he do reprove, than he sins against the command of God, that binds him to be blameless that is to bear the place of a reprover. Use 1. The Use of this is, first, to let us see, that a man that reproves (I speak not of Ministers only, or of Magistrates, or Fathers, but of every man that reproves, either by tongue, in word, or in thought, if he find fault in this thought with another man for his sins, and his strange doings) let him take heed he doth but pull a judgement upon his own head; he makes himself inexcusable, as in Rom. 2.3. the Apostle there speaking of this very point, Thinkest thou, O man, that judgest him that doth these things, and dost them, that thou shalt escape the judgement of God? A man that judgeth another, and doth the same things, that man certainly shall not escape the judgement of God, as his brother doth not escape his judgement. Use 3. To be unblameable ere we reprove. Secondly, another Use shall be for counsel to every man and woman (for it is every one's case, God hath called every one of us to reprove one another, Ministers to reprove the people, and Magistrates to judge between man and man, and every neighbour is to reprove when he is called thereto. Now) let us mark and observe this rule, let every one of us labour with all care and conscience, to be unblameable, unoffensive, to go humble our own souls, to cleanse our own consciences, that we may be able to perform this duty. Beloved, we wrong our own souls, if we find fault with others, and suffer ourselves to be faulty. When Paul was to preach to the people, knowing that his office of preaching required reproving, you see lest he should wrong his own soul, how he laboured to be unblameable▪ saith he, I beat my body down, when I preach to others, lest I become a castaway. Again as a man wrongs his own soul, so he dishonours God. It cannot be unknown what an unthankful office, the office of a reprover is; the world cannot abide reproof, The wicked hate the reprover in the gate Isa. 29.21. The world is full of scorners, that hate reproof. Prov. 15.12. Though some men be not so wicked as to hate reproof, yet at least they think hardly of them that reprove; they think they usurp authority over them, and crow over them, or they undertake to be their betters; as a reprover undertakes in that thing to be a man's better. Now when a man is reproved, he is apt to think that his neighbour crows over him, and excerciseth authority upon him, as if he would grow on him, and be his judge. You see Lot when he reproved the Sodomites, though as gently as ever he could. My brethren, do not so wickdly, presently for all that they thought hardly of him. What, will this fellow be a judge that came but the other day to sojurn? Gen. 19 Presently they thought ha●dly of him. So we see the Prophet, he doth but find fault with Amaziah for his fault, and presently the King's eyes are blinded, and his heart hardened, Who made you of the King's counsel? 2 Chron. 25.15. he thought him a meddler, that pried into State-affairs, and into the Court and Kingdom. A man cannot reprove his brother for his sin, but it is a thousand to one, if his brother be not ready presently to pry into him and to look narrowly into his ways, to espy a hole in his coat if he can, or to make one if he cannot: all men's eyes are upon him, and they look strictly and straight; and if any thing in the world be amiss they will be sure to mark it, and to make more of it, to make mountains of molehills. When the blind man did but find fault with the Pharisees and reprove them a little for persecuting of Christ, what say they? Art thou altogether conceived and born in sin, and wilt thou teach us? Joh. 9.34. Presently they looked on his blindness, and birth, Certainly he is a viler sinner than other men, and shall he go find fault with them? If we mean to reprove another, let us labour to be unblameable, to be godly and holy, to reform our own ways, let us be sure to purge our own famlies, to cleanse our own souls, to rid our own hands of all the ways of sin and iniquity, lest God be dishonoured. The word of God will be flung in his own face back again, and the reproof if it be never so sweet, and never so wise it will be retorted in a man's own teeth▪ if he be not unblameable himself. And a man had need to be humble, and low●y, and gentle, and meek, and to put on all bowels and gentleness of heart, if he will reprove. All sins are not to be reproved alike, some with sharpness, some with lenity. He that is a Mountebank that will open a vein for every wheal and pimple. Simile The reprover is like them in Isaiah, when they deal with the Cummin and Fetches, a little rod will beat them out, but when they come to the Corn, Wheat and Rye, they beat them out with the Cartwheel: So when we meet with a hard-hearted spirit, we must use stronger corrosives to them, and gentler admonitions and rebukes towards others that sin with a lesser and a weaker hand. But this is a thing that a man must be marvellous careful that reproves. Nay, let a man be unblameable for the present, if he have been faulty before, if it were seven, or ten, or twenty years before, if it be known, it is a thousand to one, but he shall be hit in the teeth with it when he reproves: you committed adultery, and you did steal at such a time, if it were never so long ago, Therefore St. Paul would not consent to take Mark with him in the ministry. Acts 15. because he had been offensive to the Church before. We had need be marvellous careful and wary if we will reprove. I had thought to have named other Uses, but I leave this Exposition, and take it as it is passively interpreted. He that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. The seceond xposition. THough it may be expounded the other way, yet I rather incline to this. The Reason is, Because this is the constant current of all Interpreters generally. I meet but with one or two that expound it the other way; but all passively, He that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, etc. Secondly, because the word in the origiall is, A man of reproofs that hardeneth his own neck. Now, though it be indifferent whether it be active or passive, yet look in the Scripture, and you shall find it more often passive then active. A man of reproofs, that is, a man often reproved, in the passive. As in Isay 53.3. Christ is a man of sorrows, not making others sorry, but made sorry passively. And so in Dan. 9.23. It is said Daniel was a man of desires, that is, not a man desiring other men, or other things, not actively desiring, but passively, desired, beloved of God exceedingly. So it is said of Jeremiah, Jerem. 15.10. he was a man of strife, not a man striving with others, but a man striven with. So in 1 King. 2.26. A man of death, that is, not kill others, but to be killed himself. It is taken more frequently in the passive sense; so we may more boldly take it so. A man of Reproofs, that is, reproved again and again, that hath received divers reproofs, and yet hardeneth his own neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. Here I might observe by the way, this point of Doctrine, That, The Lord doth not destroy man willingly. Doct. The Lord doth not destroy men willingly. He saith not, A man shall be destroyed without remedy; but a man when he hath sinned against God, when he hath committed sin, and not only so, but when he is reproved for his sin, and goeth on. The Lord doth not destroy a man nakedly, but upon consideration of sin. God destroys not but for sin. Simile. Willingly the Lord doth not afflict any, Lament. 3. Mercy and punishment they flow from God, as the honey and the sting from the Bee; the Bee yieldeth honey of her own nature, but she doth not sting but when she is provoked: so the Lord is gracious, and good, and favourable, and kind, and blesseth his people from his own nature, but he doth not punish, and plague, and destroy, but being provoked by sin and iniquity. I will not stand to follow this point, I let it go. The text itself contains the great mercy of God in lending a man a reproof. And what a great sin it is, what a great ill it is for a man to sin against his reproof. The greatness of the ill is set down two ways: First, by the great sinfulness of the thing, it is called the hardening of a man's own neck. Secondly, by the greatness of the punishment that God inflicts upon this sin, and that is, Observe. A great mercy to be reproved. he will destroy him, and without remedy. For the first, namely, what a great mercy it is for God to let a man be reproved for his sins. It may be proved by many places of Scripture, only I find in Scripture it is brought as an aggravation of sin when they sinned against reproof, Hosea 5.2. saith he, they are profound to commit sin, though I have been a rebuker of them all. As if he should say, though I have been so merciful as to show them the danger of sin, to tell them what would come of their wretched courses: though I have called them to repentance, and have given them warning what would be the issue of these things; yet for all this, for all my mercy, they have gone on in their sins though I have reproved them. This Though is a word of aggravation as we see in the speech of Daniel to Belshazzar; Thou, O King, hast not humbled thyself though thou knewest this: as if he had said, though the Lord let thee know the punishment upon thy Father▪ and the plagues of Nabuchadnezzar thy grandfather, though the Lord have let thee understand what it is for thee ro exalt thyself against him; yet thou art not humbled; he aggravates his sin, So, this aggravates a man's sin when he goes on, notwithstanding he is reproved. The reasons are, Reason. 1. Reproofs come from love. First, because when God reproves a man of sin: the reproof primarily comes out of love; therefore when he reproved Laodicea, and told her she was luke-worm, and said, I would thou wert either hot or cold: And since she was neither, he would spew her out of his mouth; he tells her whence the reproof flowed; because I love I reprove: As many as I love, I rebuke, Rev. 3.19. It is not out of ill will that I tell thee of thy lukewarmness, and threaten to spew thee out of my mouth; I tell thee these things that thou mayst avoid that ill I say, God's reproofs flow primarily from love to men, whereby he would have them lay aside their wretched courses, and avoid the judgements. Nay, it is an argument of hatred when a man doth not reprove his brother of sin. If God let a man go on in sin, and never tell him of his drunkenness, nor never find fault with his pride and security, never convince him, or wound, or touch him, nor deal with him about his unsettled estate, and his rotten condition, it is a sign God hates the man: but when God reproves a man from day to day, Man, thou art a proud creature, thou shalt to hell for thy pride, and hypocrisy, and security, and harpnesse of heart: When the Lord reproves a man from day to day, this is an argument of love; the other is an effect of hatred, not to reprove. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart, saith Moses, but shalt in any wise reprove him, and not suffer sin to be upon him, Levit. 19.17. Thou hatest thy brother when thou seest him sin, and dost not warn him, and knowest he is guilty of sinful courses, and dost not reprove him; and when thou hast time, and place, and opportunity, and fit circumstances to reprove, and yet thou wilt not do it, it is a sign thou hatest thy brother; it is the greatest degree of hatred one of them. If a man deny food for the body, and let a man rather die of hunger, than he will give him meat, or let a man fall into a pit, rather than he will prevent the mischief, a man is guilty of bodily murder: but thou art guilty of the soul of thy brother, if thou let him fall into sin. Thou thinkest thy brother is harsh, he will not bear with thee, he is hasty and testy: no, thou art in an error, That man that hates reproof, erreth, saith Solomon. Prov. 10.17. Indeed a man should not be too sharp, but first tell his brother in private that he is in an error: for reproof is a means of grace, it flows from great love, it is the providence of God that hath cast it about, that thou shouldest have reproof given thee; if thou have a heart to take it, it is an argument of love. Reason. 2 They tend to good. Another reason is taken from the primary end of reproof, which is to bring a man to good, to reduce him into a right way, to convert a man, to save his soul, that is the primary end of reproof and admonition: therefore to go on in sins contrary to it, must needs be a great evil. As Solomon brings in the wisdom of the Father, Jesus Christ, calling upon people, O ye fools, how long will ye love folly? turn at my reproof. Mark what follows, to what end; I will pour my spirit on you. There is the end he tells them O ye fools, wretched people without understanding, that go on in sin, and harden your own hearts, that repent not, nor turn not to God, that will not submit to his wisdom, nor embrace his word: ye fools, that wrong your own souls, oh turn at my reproof. Why? This is the reason that God reproves a man on this fashion, it is that a man may have the Spirit of God granted him. If thou have an ear to hear reproof, and a heart to drink it in, and to wear it as a crown of gold on thy head, and as a chain about thy neck, thou shouldest have the Spirit of God for thy labour: the Lord reproves thee that thou mightest return back, and have his Spirit, and have mercy and forgiveness. This is all the ill will that God's Ministers bear thee, and all the hatred that reprovers show, when they tell thee of thy sins whatsoever they be, that they may stop thy steps from going down to Hell. When the Lord sends thee Sermon upon Sermon, Preacher after Preacher, thou art called on day by day, (as you here in this place) This is the infinite goodness of God toward your souls; therefore your sin is infinite great, if you do not amend, as the wise man saith, He that hates reproof shall surely die, Prov. 15.10. there is no remedy for that man, that man that puts off repentance, God reproves him from day to day, on the Sabbath day, and on the week days; he goes to this man, and there he is reproved; and to another, and there he is reproved; and yet he goes on in this deadness and formality in the ordinances of God, that man shall surely die, there is no remedy, he sins against the infinite mercy of God. Thirdly, Reason. 3 It is brutish to reprove then there is no reason in the world why reproof should be taked otherwise then with all willingness, and thankfulness, and cheerfulness. If a man have but the reason of a man in him, he must needs take reproof in good part; he must be a beast that doth not judge well of him that reproves him. There is an excellent place, Prov. 12.1. He that puts off reproof is brutish; he that hates reproof, is a brute, that man hath no reason in him. Art thou a swearer, and art reproved for it? thy brother tells thee thou wilt be damned for it. Dost thou chafe at that man? thou art a beast, thou hast no more understanding than an Ox or an Ass. Simile As it is with a horse when the Ostler comes to rub him, he kicks with the heel; when he only beats off the dirt, he lifts up his hinder leg on him, and it may be wounds him: so thou hast no more understanding than a beast that finds fault with one that reproves thee for thy sins. So that whatsoever thy sin be, he that tells thee of it, there is no reason in the world but he should be a dear man to thee. Me thinks of all men under heaven, godly Ministers that are faithful in their place and calling, should be the dearest men to you upon the face of the earth. Why? because they reprove you, and tell you of your sins, and what will become of your souls, what will be the issue and Catastrophe of all your ways. You that come to Church every day, may read a Lecture in the Word of God, what will be your doom at the last day: you are told of your pride, and adultery, of your whoredom and oaths, carnal Gospelers of their secure and carnal condition, and common professors of their formality, and other lusts that men are given to; you are told of all: I say, the feet of God's messengers should be beautiful; you should hug the messengers, and put their reproofs in your bosoms, and let them have power and efficacy on your souls; and go and put them in practice. The Use of this is, First, is it so, Use 1. The misery to want reprovers that it is the infinite mercy of God to reprove men of their sins, to tell them of whatsoever is amiss in their hearts and lives? let me tell you, First, see here what an infinite punishment God is bringing upon that Kingdom when he is taking away reprovers, from them: when God takes away reprovers, he takes away all mercy and loving kindness. Therefore God when he threatened to deliver up Judah, to curse that Kingdom, to plague them for their rebellion, and utterly to give them over, he saith he will take away the reprover; saith he to the Prophet, Thou shalt be dumb, and not open thy mouth, thou shalt not be a reprover to this people, Ezek. 3.26. When the Lord would curse that people, and bind them over to a reprobate sense, and deliver them to wrath, the Prophet shall not be a reprover, he silences the Prophet. Or as Piscator thinks, the * or Angel anger of God silenced him, or confined him to his house, that he should not prophesy. So when God silences his Ministers, that he takes them from a place, or threatens to take them away, it is a sign of heavy vengeance toward such a people. It may be wicked people laughed at them, and made it a matter of nothing, they were glad that Ezekiel's mouth was gagged, and it were no matter if the country were rid of a company of Puritans; though they had no such word then, they had as bad, they think all is well: but the time will come that they will curse the day that ever they provoked God to take away their Ministers; we enjoy them by the mercy of God, other places have lost them, God knows how soon we may lose ours. In Hosea 4.4. the Lord there when he would set out the desperate estate of the children of Ephraim, he delivers them up to such a state and condition, that none should reprove them, Let none reprove another. If they will sin let them; if they will go on in idolatry, let them; if they will harden their own hearts, let them; if they will die in sin, let them; if they will perish, and be damned for ever, let them. Let no man reprove another. It is a lamentable state. Generally people are glad when the Land is swept of all the good Ministers, and the good servants of God: they had rather hear a fine song in a Pulpit, of one that preacheth morally, or it may be preacheth his own self, or the like, but the time will come, when they shall say as Solomon saith, It is better to hear the reproof of the wise, than the song of fools, Eccles. 7.5. People love alive to hear the song of fools. When a fool comes up and preacheth, At what time soever a sinner shall repent of his sin: And, Be not just over much; and what need such ado? Her● is more pother than needs, and abuse places, and wrest Scriptures. As for example, the thief on the Cross was saved at the last with a word or two; and they bring the example of the Publican, that cried, God be merciful to me a sinner, and went justified to his house rather than the Pharisee that made long prayers. And tush, what need men be so zealous, and precise, and puritanical, Whosoever calls upon the name of God, shall be saved: people love alive such songs of fools: but the time shall come when people's eyes shall be opened, and their consciences awakened, and then they will wish, O that we had heard the reproof of the wise. The second use makes against those that despise the reproof of the wise, ye despise not men, Use 2. but God; ye have despised me, Prov. 1.30. You think you despise a poor Minister, he is strict, & harsh with your souls, and presseth these things upon your conscience, and it may be, more than he hath warrant to do: Against despisers of reproof so you think you do not despise God, but one only Minister: Nay, saith Christ, you have despised my reproof. When you despise them that Christ sends, you despise him. This is an express and an explicit sign of a man's everlasting destruction, when he despiseth reproof as in that speech of the Prophet to Amaziah, I know that the Lord hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast not harkened to my reproof, 2 Chron. 25.16. So I may say, I know that God hath determined to destroy a Nation, a City, or a people, when they will not take counsel of God's Messengers, when they will not hearken to instruction: They have been called upon, national sins have been ripped up, parochial sins have been spoken of, yet when they are told, they will not be reproved. We that are the Ministers of God, know that God will destroy as many as turn not at reproof. I let this pass. I should now show the grievousness of this ill of standing out against reproof: it is expressed two ways: The grievousness of standing out against reproof. First, in the sinfulness of it, to harden a man's heart. Secondly, in the punishment; He shall be destroyed without remedy. And in the destruction you may see here, First, the unexpectedness of it, He shall be destroyed suddenly. Secondly, the totalnesse of it, He shall be destroyed. The word signifieth to shatter all in pieces. Thirdly, the irrecoverableness of it, without remedy. Fourthly, the suitableness of it, his punishment is according to his sin. Mark, as he hardened his own heart against God, so God will harden his heart against him: as no remedy would turn him from his sin, so no remedy shall turn God from his wrath: As his sin was in hardening his heart like a stone, so God shall deal with him as a stone is dealt with, he shall destroy him. The word in the original signifies broken to pieces as a stone is broken, that is, the Lord will deal with him just in his own kind. Hence I might observe this doctrine, that The Lord proportions punishments to men's sin. Doct. God proportions punishments to sins. Just as a man's sin is, so is the punishment. David sinned in numbering the people, 2 Sam. 24.15. and God punished him in that, Pharaoh sinned in destroying and drowning the males of the Israelites, God smote his firstborn: He drowned their babes, and he himself was drowned in the sea. I might bring abundance of examples. Now the Reasons of this are, First, Reason. 1 To show the eqvity of the punishment. because hereby a man's punishment appear to be so much the more equal, and worthy. Retaliation is a most equal punishment to the sin; there is no inequality in it but this, that it is too merciful, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, hurn for burn, wound for wound. You know an eye is equal for an eye: so when God punisheth a man just in his own kind, quid for quo, that as there was no remedy would turn him from his sin, so there shall be no remedy shall turn God from his wrath. Herein God's punishment appears to be most equal, Revel. 16.5.6. Thou art righteous, O Lord, in that thou judgest thus: for she hath shed the blood of thy Saints, therefore thou hast given them blood to drink, for they are worthy. Thou thirstedst after blood, there it is for thee: so this is most equal, when men have dealt thus and thus with God, when God shall deal so and so with thee, thou canst not find fault. When a man drinks as hebrews, and reaps as he sows, and finds as he brings, what inequality is here? It shall come to pass, that as when I called they would not hear, so when they call, I will not answer, Zach. 7. When God calls upon thee, and thou wilt not hear, afterwards when thou callest for mercy, if he do not hear thee, it is just. Reason 2. ●t stops a man's mouth. Secondly, another reason is, because this stops a man's mouth, it convinceth a man's conscience; when a man's conscience finds that he is served in his own kind, that he is paid in his own coin, it stops his mouth. As Adonibezek he had cut off the thumbs and toes of 70. King's: afterwards he was served just so as he had dealt with others; he had cut off their thumbs and toes, and made them gather orts under his table; so afterwards his thumbs and toes were cut off. Now mark what his conscience saith, Judg. 1.7. As I have dealt, so God hath dealt with me. As if he had said, God knows wherefore the children of Judah have done this: they know not why they cut off my thumbs, and the reason why they cut off my toes; God knows what they looked at in punishing me thus: but God's just providence hath dealt thus with me; in this kind I served others. This is so palpable a punishment, so equal and just, that though the sin were committed twenty years ago, yet a man's conscience will find out his sin twenty years after. As Joseph's brethren they sold him, and after cast him into a pit, two and twenty years after, when Joseph was harsh with them, see what their conscience saith; Doubtless we are guilty of our brother's blood, when we saw the anguish of his soul, and he besought us, and we would not hear. As if they had said; What is the matter why the man is thus harsh? he never saw us before, why should he be so harsh, and we be strangers? Nay, saith conscience, you are well served, remember you were harsh to your brother; if you dealt so with him, marvel not if you be dealt so with. And after, when they came to their Inn, and found their money, they wondered, What is this that God hath done? Their conscience, I warrant you, hit them in the teeth: without doubt they thought the money that they took for selling of their brother, had humbled them as a Ghost: did not we pay the man money for his corn that we bought? Nay, saith conscience, you are rightly served, here is the money you sold your brother for, (though it were not so) without doubt conscience upbraided them. Naturally we are apt to find fault with God's judgements and quarrel, but when conscience sees the equity of them, we have nothing to say. Thirdly, all the standers by may see the equity of it, when the punishment is according to the sin: Nay, Divinity makes this argument, that there is a God to judge the earth, because men are punished in their own kind. I will show you one example of Abimilech, that wretch, that slew seventy of his brethren upon one stone, Judg. 9.7. afterwards when he came to stand under the tower of Abel, a woman flung a piece of a millstone upon his head, and killed him: This was strange all the standers by might say, that Abimilech should be killed with a stone: no question the woman thought nothing, she flung the stone because she had nothing else to fling; it was strange that it should hit him so pat, it might have hit another as well as him; the stone might have fallen to the ground as well as on him; and that it should be by a woman, and a millstone too: Millstones are not used on the top of a Tower, and a millstone broken that a woman could lift it, and that he should be killed by a millstone, and not with a sword; nay, might all the standers by say, This God hath done, he was the son of a strange woman, and a woman hath killed him; he killed his brethren upon one stone, and now a stone hath killed him; all the world might be able to say; This God hath done. The use of this is, First, let no creature in the world complain of God's dealing, if he punish us according to our kind; he that kills with the sword, shall be killed with the sword. He that stops his ears from hearing the poor, what shall his punishment be? He shall cry and not be heard. He that shows no mercy, how shall he be punished? He shall receive no mercy james ●. 13. Woe to thee that spoyledst, and wast not spoiled: when thou ceasest spoiling, others shall spoil thee, Isai. 33.1. judge not, (saith Christ;) what if I do? Then thou shalt be judged. Thus God recompenseth the fruit of a man's doing. Here is no Momus can complain; no Aristarchus, that can find fault with the justice and judgement of God. Secondly, it is not amiss to consider and see how God proportions punishments to 〈◊〉 In Kind, In Quantity, In Quality, In Time, In Place, and other circumstances. In kind: He shall eat the fruit of his own ways, that is, he shall be punished in kind. It is a similitude from a tree, every tree brings forth according to its own kind; if it be an Appletree, it brings forth Apples; if a Crabtree, Crabs, a Pear-tree, Pears: So every sinner shall be punished in their kind, a Minister shall be punished in his kind, wicked Masters in their kind, servants in theirs, rich in theirs, poor in theirs: if a man be a drunkard, he shall be punished in one kind; if he be an adulterer, in another: Every man shall eat the fruit of his own ways. Every sin brings an homogenial punishment, according to the nature of it. I cannot stand to follow this, though it be very clear in Scripture. Secondly, it is in Quantity; God proportions the punishment according to the sin; he that sows sparingly, shall reap sparingly; but he that sows bountifully, shall reap bountifully. Little sins, little punishments; and great sins great punishments. There are little sins, moat sins, gnat sins, and there are Camel sins: so there are little and great punishments, some meet with many, some with fewer stripes. Just according to a man's sins, so the Lord shapes out the punishment, for great sinners, great plagues, and for every one according to his own measure. God hath a pair of Balance that he means to weigh men in: As he weighed Belshazzar, so he will weigh thee, and look how much sin thou puttest in one scale, so much punishment God will put in the other; he will not abate thee one oath, not one idle thought, not one breach of the Sabbath, not one neglect of hearing the Word, or of other duties: the Lord will put wrath in one balance, as thou puttest sin in the other; he will make the scales even to a hair: as he dealt with Belshazzar, He will lay righteousness to the line, and judgement to the plummet, and weigh thee out in the scales, and thou shalt have just according to thy sins. As the Lord deals with his own people, he will not abate so much as a cup of cold water, but it shall be rewarded: he will reward all, from the greatest to the least; so he will deal with the wicked, there shall no sin pass unpunished. Again, ●here is a proportion in the Quality▪ If Adam sin in eating, he shall be punished in eating; If the women of Judah sin in apparel, they shall be punished in apparel, Isay 3.24. In Wisd. 11.16. a man shall be punished in that that he sins in; if Absolom sin in his hair, he shall be punished in it; Nabuchadnezzar might find his sin in his brutish condition, and the Prodigal might find his sin in the Hog-trough: So if thou find thyself in want, consider if thou hast not wasted thy means, if thou hast not been vain in building, and prodigal in spending, or gaming, or unnecessary bounty, and immoderate liberality, beyond thy means: Art thou punished in thy Trade, or Children, etc. see if thou hast not sinned in them: for where there is sin, God will proportion the punishment to the sin. Fourthly, God proportions the punishment to the sin in regard of the time. The same hour that Belshazzar was drinking and quaffing in the Temple, the same hour the hand of God was upon him; if it be not upon thee the same hour, it may be to morrow at the same hour. It may be thou hast sinned this day at such an hour, it may be God may strike thee to morrow at the same time, or this day seven-night, it may be the next year. Nabuchadnezzar was warned of his pride this year, and the same time twelve month the Lord drove him from among men. So in Acts 13.42. one Sabbath day the jews heard Paul preach and went out before the Sermon was quite done they were not able to stand to the blessing; the same day seven-night the Lord made the Apostles shake off the dust of their feet against them, and leave them to a reprobate sense. Fifthly, the Lord proportions his punishments to the place. It is strange many times, that the drunkard should get his death in the same Alehouse where he got his liquor. In Judge 7. in that story of Oreb and Zeeb, Oreb at the rock Oreb, devised against the children of Israel, and upon the same rock he was killed, And Zeeb another persecuter of the children of God; so the Psalmist calls them, he at the Winepress of Zeeb, took victuals from the children of Israel, and in the same place his own life was taken away. Just as Judges and Magistrates at this day, they hang up men where they have done the villainy. As they do with Dogs and Cats, they carry them to the place, to the Cellar or the Buttery where they do the mischief. But the beasts themselves, though they have no reason, are able to pick out the meaning of it. The Lord punisheth sinners in the same place. Here where thou hast been deaf to hear the word of God, when thy heart riseth against the Preacher, in the same place (it may be) the Lord will deliver thee up to a reprobate sense. In the same place, at the Lords Table, where thou comest unworthily, thou shalt eat and drink thine own damnation. FINIS. Postscript. THe same Author hath another Book in the Press entitled, The Sacrifice of the Faithful: OR, A Treatise showing the nature, property, and efficacy of zealous Prayer, Together with some Motives to Prayer, and helps against discouragements in Prayer. Together with seven Profitable Sermons on divers texts of Scripture.