foon would Time wear out the Memory of it, and leave thee as careless as it found thee? Thou feeft miraculous Providences every day, and yet they move thee not; that God fpares fuch a rebellious finful Wretch as thou art, fo long, and after so many thousand Provocations, is a Miracle; thou feeft Water turned into Wine every Year, for the infipid Liquor of the Vine is changed into another tafte; thou feeft how from a dry Acorn a mighty Tree doth grow, which gives Protection to Men and Beasts, and to the Fowls of the Air; thou knoweft how from that liquid Principle Job doth speak of, A man cloathed with skin and flesh, and fenced with bones and finews, rifes. What mighty Miracles would thefe be, if they were not common? And yet none of thefe ftir thy Soul to reflect ferioufly, what thou muft do to be faved. Would an audible Voice from Heaven do it? Why, how couldst thou be fure it came from Heaven? And fhould a Voice come to thee from the Regions of Blifs, fhould God vouchsafe thee fuch a Meffage immediately from the Clouds as this, Return, thou backfliding finner, and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon thee; for I am merciful, and will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou haft tranfgreffed against the Lord thy God, and haft not obeyed my Voice: Why, it would be no more but what God hath faid already, it might for the prefent furprize and startle thee a little; but if that Precept written cannot work upon thy Soul, it's to be feared the Precept spoke from Heaven would make no very lafting Im preflion preffion upon thee. Thou art fufficiently affured, fo affured that a Man of Reason cannot justly defire better grounds, that God hath fpoke thofe Words to thee already; and if God's repeating this Duty fo often in his Word can do good, what hope is there, that repeated again, it would draw thy Heart away from Sin, and from the World? Would a Man's rifing from the Dead, do it? Why,Chrift is rifen from the Dead, and is become the Firit-fruits of them that flept; and he doth, with all the Protestations that are fit for a God to make, affure thee, that he that believes not, that is, fhews not his Faith by his Works, fhall be damned; and would engage thy mind to ruminate upon that threatning, and to think which way thou mayest flee, and be freed from that Deftruction he fpeaks of: And why wilt thou not give Credit to what he faith? Nay if thou shouldft fee a Spirit, the Ghost of one that had been thy Acquaintance formerly, a Ghoft that should, by woful Experience,inform thee,that thofe things, the Scripture speaks of, are undoubtedly true, and that God will proceed exactly, according to what he hath promised, and threatned there, it would more fatisfie thy Curiofity, than advance thy Piety: And the Question ftill may be, Whether it would fatisfie thy Curiofity? For it's poffible thou mayeft imagine, that it might be a Deception of Sight, and fo forget it, and flight it, and make little of that Motive. Thou confeffeft Chrift's Refurrection, and why he fhould not be believed before a Spirit, especial ly when a Spirit could fay no more than he hath faid, I cannot well conceive, Sing Sinner, who feeth not, that all these Pretences, are like the Wishes of fickly Men, that with for this or that Fruit, or this or that Dish, and when it is brought, it is fo far from curing them, that often it makes them worse, and increases their Diftemper? Who fees not, that thefe are but Inventions, to give fome Colour of Reason to thy Unwillingnefs, to shake off the Sins which do so easily befet thee? Who fees not, that these are only Arguments fuggefted by the Devil, to keep thy Soul from her true Food and Nourishment? And who is the Lofer all this while? Thou wouldst fain impose upon God, and make him believe, that it is not want of Will, but want of Affurance, that this ferious Confideration of thy ways is neceffary, that it makes thee ftand out against it. And alas! the Cheat thou feekeft to put upon God, thou puttest upon thine own Soul; and is thy Soul fo inconfiderable a Thing, that thou makest nothing of deluding, and circumventing it? What thinkeft thou, Sinner? Suppofe thou didft fee a Senate, or Parliament, made up of very grave, wife, fober, judicious Men, who fhould unanimoufly give their verdict in a cause, and determine it; and while thefe Men, after a ferious deliberation, give their Judgment in the Cafe propofed to them, in comes the Malefactor againit whom they have given Sentence, accuses the Decree of the Senate of Injustice, charges their Vote with a Lye, and takes a great deal of pains to make the World believe a Tale of his own making; whom wouldeft thou believe, that that grave, wife, judicious Senate, or the Malefactor? The Senate, fure; and then,when God, Angels, and Men, the wifeft, the graveft, the learnedst of them, do all unanimously determine, that without a ferious Confideration of thy Spiritual Concerns, thou can't not arrive to any fincere Reformation of Life, canft never know the Danger thou art in, or what thou muft do to escape unquenchable Fire; and that without it thou art truly a miferable Man, and doeft take the way that leads to Destruction; haft thou the Impudence to oppofe thy fickly Opinion, which arifes from a distempered Head, and a more diftempered Confcience, to the grave, found, and orthodox Judgment of Men, infinitely wifer than thy felf? When all, with one confent, affirm, that thou art fick to death, and nothing but Confideration can recover thee; wilt thou cancel their Verdict, by prescribing to thy felf Medicines of thine own making? All cry out against thy inconfiderate. courfe of Life, God doth not juftifie it, Angels do condemn it, the Preachers of the Gospel confute it, Philofophers arraign it, thy Reason hath Arguments against it,thy Confcience chides thee for it, thy fober Neighbours reprove it 0 and wilt not thou fubfcribe to their Sentence? What Infolence is it to think thy felf more knowing, than he that knows all things? Behold, Sinner, here lies the way to Heaven, God is intreating thee to walk in it; the Devil is bufie to discourage thee from it. God faith, here I will be found; the Devil suggests, that the Sons of Anack dwell there. God wishes thou wouldst yield CC 4 yield and live; the Devil, that thou wouldst ftand out, and die. God feeks to Crown thee; the Devil to rob thee of thy Diadem. God affures thee, that this is the Garden where thy Graces muft grow; the Devil argues, that nothing but Weeds and Thiftles grow there. All the difpute is, who fhall have thy Soul, God or the Devil? Think, Sinner, for God's fake, think who is the Rewarder, and who is the Tormentor; who is the King that can save thee, and who is the Executioner that ftudies only to ruin thee. Shall not God prevail? Wilt not thou give him thy Heart? And fhall Satan go away with thy Soul? Shall he poffefs that Treasure, which Angels are ambitious of? For fhame, let not God go away empty; think what a condefcention it is in God, to be willing to accept of fo inconfiderable a Present as thy Heart? What is thy Soul to him? What benefit doth he receive by offering thee his Bofom? If thou haft such a mind to be the Devil's Slave, what need God take pains to refcue thee from that bondage? Doft thou think he cannot live without thee? Doft thou think thy being in his Heaven, doth add any thing to his felicity? Cannot he as well be glorified in thy Torments, as he can in thy Salvation? Cannot he make his Juftice triumph over such a ftubborn Wretch as thou art? Wherein doth his Advantage lie? May not he be Good, and Great, and Glorious; and admired by Angels, while thou frieft in Hell? Thou haft very highly obliged him indeed, that he need be at all this trouble to make thee in love with his ways! Shouldeft not thou ftand amazed at his Favour? |
