Oldalképek
PDF
ePub

Though the Path you must tread, is narrow, and, will not admit of many Things which Pride has introduced, and the Tyrant, Cuftom, maintains and fupports (and which by the Way, you will have no Affection for) yet there is Room enough to enjoy the neceffary Things of this Life, in Moderation: Lament, you will indeed, because you have been fo long Sinners, and did not turn to, love and obey God fooner; and now will you mourn over him, whom you often pierced with your Sins: Grieve, perhaps, you may; but one Reason will be, That the World lies in Wickedness: But I dare venture to affert, that no true and real Christian, ever repented that he was fo; for all fuch experience, in Truth, that God's Service is perfect Freedom and that all bis Ways, are Ways of Pleasantness, and all his Paths, Paths of Peace.

[ocr errors]

;

But farther, you who may be unwilling to enter upon this new but neceffary Work, this one Thing is abfolutely needful, remember and confider, that Chrift pofitively affures us, That except a Man be born again (of the Spirit) he can in no wife enter the Kingdom of Heaven, John iii. 3. And that if ever you are faved, it must be according to God's own Prescription, by the Washing of Regeneration, and Renewing (Power) of the holy Ghoft; by his fanctifying Word and Operation; which is able to do more abundantly for you, than

you can afk or think Therefore let me entreat you, not to forfake your own Mercies: God is waiting to be gracious to you; his Hand is full of Bleffings; accept, I beseech you, of the Offers of his Grace, and answer to his Call, while the Day of your Vifitation lafts, left when you call, he fhould not E 2 anfwer ;

anfwer; for he has declared, that his Spirit shall not always frive with Man, for that be alfo is Flefb.

Comply then with the Almighty's Terms of Salvation, and do not vainly hope or imagine he will be brought down to yours: Don't think yourfelves fafe, tho' many of you may be innocent from great Trangreffions; remember, all and every Unrighteousness is Sin: But many flatter themselves, and believe, if they are not chargeable with grofs Immoralities, that little Sins will not be noted by the Almighty; that Satan, the World, and the Flesh, are fo powerful, that they cannot get the better of thofe little Weakneffes and Frailties fo incident to human Nature; and as they do not, on their Principles, expect to be freed from them on this Side the Grave, they do not so much as defire or attempt to obtain a Conqueft over them; but depend on God's Mercy, hoping he will not be extreme to mark small Offences ; and if they are exact in fome moral Duties, they imagine the Almighty will compound for little Referves. That God is effential Mercy, I grant; but don't forget, that he is alfo Sovereign Juftice, and will not condeinn the Innocent; neither will he ftep afide from his Equity, to acquit the Guilty; for as the Righteousness of the Righteous fhall be upon him, fo fhall the Wickedness of the Wicked be upon him, Ezek. xviii. 20. Say ye to the Righteous, it shall be well with him, for he fhall eat the Fruits of his Doings: But woe unto the Wicked, it shall be ill with him; for the Reward of bis Hands fhall be given him.

But

But farther, thefe trite Arguments and Excuses, which are so generally made use of to defend evil Practices, appear as weak as the Frailties they plead for ; and I think, if I may be allow'd the Expreffion, People make the Almighty a very injurious Compliment, when they afcribe greater Power and Strength to Satan, than to the Most High. But perhaps they imagine the Almighty will difpenfe with fome of his Attributes, fince allow him one in a more abfolute Degree.

"

And now give me Leave to tell you what the great Proteftant Advocate, Chillingsworth, fays on this Subject, in a Sermon preached before King Charles the First (if I remember right) which take it in his own Words and Senfe. "Some afcribe a "Sort of Omnipotency to the World, the Flesh, " and the Devil; and that God neither does, nor "will give fufficient Strength to resist them ; which Opinion he labours to explode, and pofitively affirms, "that, by the Affiftance of the "Grace of God, it is in our Power to refift them ;' and fhews the Neceffity of fo doing, from what we are fo frequently and plainly affured of in the New-Teftament, viz. "That without actual " and effectual Mortification, with actual and "effential Amendment of Life, Regeneration "and Sanctification, no Hope, no Poffibility of "Salvation. Thus you fee, Jays he, all the divine "Writers of the New-Teftament, with one Con"sent, and with one Mouth, proclaim the Neceffity of real Holinefs, and labour to disenchant us from the vain Fancy, That Men may be "faved by forrowing for their Sins, and intending "to leave them, without effectual Converfion and "Reformation

[ocr errors]

E 3

[ocr errors]

"Reformation of Life: Which, it may be fear'd "has fent Thousands of Souls to Hell, in a golden "Dream of Heaven :"And therefore he very juftly apprizes his Audience," That it was not the pleafing themselves, of being of fuch a Sect or "Profeffion, together with going to Church, "faying or hearing of Prayers, receiving of Sacraments, hearing, repeating or preaching of Ser

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

mons; with Zeal for Ceremonies, or Zeal "against them; or, indeed with any Thing else, "than conftant Piety towards God, Juftice and

Charity to our Neighbours, Temperance, Chaftity and Sobriety towards ourfelves; we fhall one Day find we have not mocked God, but ourfelves; and fhall have our Portion among Hypo"crites! We make the Church a Stage whereon to act our Part, and Playing our Pageantry; there we make a Profeffion every Day of confefling "our Sins, with humble, lowly, penitent and obedient Hearts; and yet when we have talked after this Rate, twenty, thirty, or forty Years, our Hearts, for the moft Part, continue as proud, as impenitent, and as difobedient, as they were in the Beginning *. We make great Protefta"tions

* A certain Author, in fome Remarks on the Confeffion and Litany in the Book of Common Prayer, exclaims after this Manner; "What! always learning, and never coming to the Knowledge of "Truth? Miferable Sinners you find us, and miferable you leave "us!" And in the Cafe of Confeffion, he thus ftates the Matter; "Suppofe thou hadst a Son, and thould daily let him know what "thou wouldst have him do, and he fhould Day by Day, Week

by Week, and Year by Year, provoke thee to thy Face, and "fhould fay, Father, I have not done what thou Commandeft me to "do; but I have done quite the contrary; and fhouldcontinue to provoke thee to thy Face, once, or oftner, every Week, wouldft thou not think him a rebellious Child, and that his Application "to thee was a mere Mockery? And would it not occation thee "to difinherit him?

"tions when we meet and affemble together to "render Thanks to almighty God, for the great "Benefits received at his Hands: And if this "were to be performed with Words, with "Hofannas, Hallelujahs, Gloria Patri's, Pfalms,

Hymns, and fuch like outward Matters; peradventure we should do it very fufficiently: But " in the mean Time, in our Lives and Actions,we provoke the Almighty, and that to his Face, with "all Variety of grievous and bitter Provocations;

e

we do thofe Things which he has affured us to "be odious unto him, and contrary to his Nature. "And therefore he laments to fee, that the Power ❝of Godliness, almost in all Places, was decried "and vanifhed; the Form and Profeffion of it

[ocr errors]

only remaining; that the Spirit and Soul of Re«ligion was, for the moft Part, gone, and only "the outward Carcafs or Shadow of it left behind!" His whole Difcourfe was to press the abfolute Neceflity of Converfion fom Sin, and to fhew that nothing short of it, would ftand one in any Stead. That none were Chrift's, but thofe "who have crucified the Flesh, with the Affections "and Lufts: They that have not done fo, let them "be as forrowful as they pleafe, they, as yet, are none of Chrift's: And he cries out, Lord! what "a Multitude of Chriftians are there in the World, "that do not belong to Chrift! And then goes It is not a wifhing, but a working Faith: "Not a wishing you were a new Creature; but "being a new Creature: Not a wishing you had kept, nor a forrowing you have not kept, nor purpofing vainly to keep; but the keeping his "Commandments must prevail with him, as it E 4

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

on;

"is

« ElőzőTovább »