תמונות בעמוד
PDF
ePub

Ch. 8. "vation." Thou haft Cause to doubt, because thou never didft doubt; and yet more, because thou haft been fo careless in thy Confidence. What do thy Expreffions discover, but a wilful Neglect of thy own Salvation? As a Ship-Mafter that fhould let his Veffel alone, and fay, "I will venture it among the "Rocks, and Waves, and Winds; I will truft God

with it; it will speed as well as other Vessels." What horrible Abufe of God is this, to pretend to truft God, to cloak their own wilful Negligence? If thou didst really truft God, thou wouldst also be ruled by him, and truft him in his own appointed Way. He requires thee to give Diligence to make thy Calling and Election fure (a), and fo to truft him. He hath marked thee out a Way in Scripture, by which thou art charged to fearch and try thyself, and mayft arrive at Certainty. Were he not a foolish Traveller, that would hold on his Way, when he does not know whether he be right or wrong; and fay, "I

hope I am right; I will go on, and truft God?" Art not thou guilty of this Folly in thy Travels to Eternity? Not confidering that a little ferious Enquiry, whether thy Way be right, might fave thee a great deal of Labour, which thou beftoweft in vain, and muft undo again, or elfe thou wilt mifs of Sal vation, and undo thyfelf.

§ 2. How canft thou think or speak of the Great Ged without Terror, as long as thou art uncertain whether He be thy Father, or thy Enemy, and knoweft not but all his Perfections may be employed against thee? Or of fejus Chrift, when thou knoweft not whether his Blood hath purged thy Soul; whether He will condemn, or acquit thee in Judgment; nor whether He be the Foundation of thy Happiness, or a Stone of Stumbling, to break thee, and grind thee to Powder?

(a) 2 Pet. i. 10.

Powder? How canft thou open the Bible, and read a Chapter, but it should terrify thee? Methinks every Leaf fhould be to thee as Belshazzar's Writing on the Wall, except only that which draws thee to try and reform. If thou readeft the Promifes, thou knoweft not whether they fhall be fulfilled to thee. If thou readeft the Threatnings, for any Thing thou knoweft thou readeft thy own Sentence. No Wonder thou art an Enemy to plain Preaching, and fay of the Mi. nifter, as Abab of the Prophet, I hate him, for he doth not prophefy Good concerning me, but Evil. How canst thou without Terror join in Prayer? When thou receiveft the Sacrament, thou knoweft not whether it be thy Bane or Blifs. What Comfort canft thou find in thy Friends, and Honours, and Houses, and Lands, till thou knoweft thou haft the Love of God with them, and fhalt have Reft with him when thou leaveft them? Offer a Prifoner, before he know his Sentence, either Mufick, or Cloaths, or Preferment; what are they to him, till he know he fhall escape for his Life? for if he knows he muft die the next Day,` it will be small Comfort to die rich or honourable. Methinks it thould be fo with thee, till thou knowest thy ete. nal State. When thou lieft down to take thy Reft, methinks the Uncertainty of thy Salvation fhould keep thee waking, or amaze thee in thy Dreains, and trouble thy Sleep. Doth it not grieve thee to fee the People of God fo comfortable in their Way to Glory, when thou haft no good Hope of ever enjoying it thyself? How canft thou think of thy dying Heur? Thou knoweft it is near, and there is no avoiding it, nor any Medicine found out that can prevent it. If thou fhouldit die this Day, (and who knows what a Day may bring forth) thou art not cer'tain whether thou thalt go to Heaven or Heil. And cant thou be merry, till thou art got out of this dangerous

[ocr errors]

dangerous State? What Shift doft thou make to preferve thy Heart from Horror, when thou remembereft the great fudgment-Day, and everlasting Flames? When thou heareft of it, doft thou not tremble, as Felix? If the Keepers frook, and became as dead Men, when they faw the Angel come and roll back the Stone from Chrift's Sepulchre; how canft thou think of living in Hell with Devils, till thou haft got fome wellgrounded Affurance that thou shalt efcape it? Thy Bed is very foft, or thy Heart is very hard, if thou canft fleep foundly in this uncertain Cafe.

§ 3. IF this general Uncertainty of the World about their Salvation were remedilefs, then must it be borne as other unavoidable Miseries. But, alas! the common Caufe is wilful Negligence. Men will not be perfuaded to use the Remedy. The great Means to conquer this Uncertainty is Self-Examination, or the ferious and diligent trying of a Man's Heart and State by the Rule of Scripture. Either Men underftand not the Nature and Use of this Duty, or elle they will not be at the Pains to try. Go through a Congregation of a thoufand Men, and how few of them all you meet with, that ever befterved one Hour in all their Lives in a clofe Examination of their Title to Heaven? Afk thy own Confcience, Reader, when was the Time, and where was the Place, that ever thou folemnly tookeft thy Heart to tafk, as in the Sight of God, and didst examine it by Scripture, whether it be renewed or not? Whether it be holy or not? Whether it be fet moft on God or the Creatures, on Heaven or Earth? and when didst thou follow on this Examination till thou hadft difcovered thy Condition, and pafs'd Sentence on thy felf accordingly? But because this is a Work of fo high Importance, and fo commonly neglected, I will therefore ftew, that it is poffible by trying to come to a Certainty,

-what hinders Men from trying and knowing their State; then offer Motives to examine; and Directions; -together with fome Marks out of Scripture, by which you may try, and certainly know, whether you are the People of God or not.

$4. (1) Scripture fhews, that Certainty of Salvation may be attained, and ought to be laboured for: When it tells us fo frequently, that the Saints before us have known their Juftification and future Salvation: When it declares, that whosoever believeth in Chrift shall not perish, but have everlasting Life; which it would be in vain to declare, if we cannot know ourselves to be Believers or not: When it makes fuch a wide Difference between the Children of God, and the Children of the Devil: When it bids us give Diligence to make our Calling and Election fure; and earneftly urges us to examine, prove, know our own felves, whether we be in the Faith, and whether Jefus Chrift be in us, except we be Reprobates: Alfo when its Precepts require us to rejoice always, to call God our Father, to live in his Praifes, to love Chrift's Appearing, to wish that he may come quickly, and to comfort ourselves with the Mention of it But who can do any of thefe heartily, that is not in fome Measure fure that he is the Child of God?

$5. (2) Among the many Hinderances which keep Men from Self-Examination, we cannot doubt but Satan will do bis Part. If all the Power he hath, or all the Means and Inftruments he can employ, can do it, he will be fure above all Duties to keep you from this. He is loth the Godly fhould have that Joy, Affurance, and Advantage against Corruption, which the faithful Performance of Self Examination would procure them. As for the Ungodly, he knows if they fhould once earnestly examine, they would find out his Deceits, and their own Danger, and fo H

be

*

be very likely to efcape him. How could he get fo many Millions to Hell willingly, if they knew they were going thither! And how could they avoid knowing it, if they did but thoroughly try; having fuch a clear Light and fure Rule in the Scripture to difcover it? If the Snare be not hid, the Bird will efcape it. Satan knows how to angle for Souls better than to fhew them the Hook and Line, or fright them away with a Noite, or with his own Appearance. Therefore he labours to keep them from a fearching Miniftry; or to keep the Minifter from helping them to fearch; or to take off the Edge of the Word, that it may not fierce and divide; or to turn away their Thoughts; or to poffefs them with Prejudice. Satan knows when the Minifter hath provided a fearching Sermon, fitted to the State and Neceffity of an Heater; and therefore he will keep him away that Day, if it be poffible; or caft him into a Sleep; or Real away the Word by the Cares and Talk of the World; or fome Way prevent its Operation.

§ 6. Another great Hinderance to Self Examination arifes from wicked Men. Their Examples; their merry Company and Difcourfe; their continually infift rg on worldly Concerns; their Railery and Scoffs at gedly Perfons; alfo their Perfuafions, Allurements, and Threats, are each of them exceeding great Temptations to Security. God doth fearce ever open the Eyes of a poor Sinner, to fee that his Way is wrong, but prefently there is a Mulitude of Satan's A ples ready to deceive and fettle him again in the quiet Poffeffion of his former Mafter. What, fay they, "do you make a Doubt of your Salvation, who have

lived fo well, and done no Body any Harry? "God is merciful, and if fuch as you fla'l not be "faved, God help a great many! What do y

think of all your Fore-fachus? And what will

" become

« הקודםהמשך »