Imatges de pàgina
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leave them, and to repent and be converted, and unthankfully reject the mercy of salvation so dearly bought, and so freely offered them, their damnation will be doubled as their sin is doubled. Live but as men that have such redemption to admire, such mercy to entertain, and such a salvation to attain, and that are sure they can never escape if they continue to neglect so great salvation: and is there any controversy among Christians in any of this? There is not certainly. 4. Live but as men that believe that the Holy Ghost is given by Jesus Christ to convert, to quicken, to sanctify all that he will save; and that except you be born again of the Spirit, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven; and that if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, the same is none of his and that without this no patching or mending of your lives by any common principles will serve the turn for your salvation, or make you acceptable to God3. Live as men that believe that this Spirit is given by the hearing of the word of God, and must be prayed for, and obeyed, and not resisted, quenched, and grieved. And is there any controversy among Christians in any of this? Ask those that make a mock at holiness, sanctification and the Spirit, whether they be not baptized into the name of the Holy Ghost, and profess to believe in him as their Sanctifier, as well as in the Son their Redeemer? And then ask them whether it be not a thing that should make even a devil to tremble to come so near the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, as to mock at his office and sanctifying work, and at the holiness without which no man shall see the Lord! and this after they are baptized and profess to believe in the Holy Ghost as their Sanctifier.

5. Live but as men that believe that sin is the greatest evil, the thing which the Holy God abhorreth. And then you will never make a mock of it, as Solomon saith the foolish do ; nor say, 'What harm is in it?'

6. Live but as men that believe no sin is pardoned without repentance; and that repentance is the loathing and forsaking of sin; and that if it be true, it will not suffer you to live wilfully in any gross sin, nor to desire to keep the least infirmity, nor to be loath to know your unknown sins.

7. Live as those that believe that you are to be members * John iii. 5, 6. Rom. viii. 9. y Heb. xi. 6. 2 Heb. xii. 14. a Prov. xiv. 9.

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of the holy catholic church, and therein to hold the communion of saints. And then you will know that it is not as a member of any sect or party, but as a holy member of this holy church, that you must be saved; and that it is the name of a Christian which is more honourable than the name of any division or subdivision among Christians, whether Greek, or Papist, or Protestant, or Prelatist, or Presbyterian, or Independent, or Anabaptist. It is easy to be of any one of these parties; but to be a Christian, which all pretend to, is not so easy. It is easy to have a burning zeal for any divided party or cause; but the zeal for the Christian religion is not so easy to be kindled or kept alive; but requireth as much diligence to maintain it, as dividing zeal requireth to quench it. It is easy to love a party as a party: but to keep up catholic charity to all Christians, and to live in that holy love and converse which is requisite to a communion of saints is not so easy. Satan and corrupted nature befriend the love and zeal of faction, which is confined to a party on a controverted cause; but they are enemies to the love of saints, and to the zeal for holiness, and to the catholic charity which is from the Spirit of Christ. You see I call you not to division, not to side with sects; but to live as members of a holy catholic church, which consisteth of all that are holy in the world; and to live as those that believe the communion of saints.

8. Live as those that believe that there is a life everlasting, where the sanctified shall live in endless joy, and the unsanctified in endless punishment and woe. Live but as men that verily believe a heaven and a hell, and a day of judgment, in which all the actions of this life must be revised, and all men judged to their endless state. Believe these things heartily, and then think a holy diligence needless if you can. Then be of the mind of the deriders and enemies of godliness if you can. If one sight of heaven or hell would serve without any more ado, instead of other arguments, to confute all the cavils of the distracted world; and to justify the most diligent saints in the judgment of those that now abhor them, why should not a sound belief of the same thing in its measure do the same?

9. Live but as those that believe this life is given us as the only time to make preparation for eternal life; and that

all that ever shall be done for your salvation, must be now, just now, before your time is ended. Live as those that know (and need not faith to tell them) that this time is short, and almost at an end already, and stayeth for no man, but as a post doth haste away. It will not stay while you are trimming you, or sporting you. It will not stay while you are taking up in stage plays, in compliments, in idle visits, or any impertinent, needless things. It will not tarry while you spend yet the other year, or month, or day, in your worldliness, or ambition, or in your lusts or sensual delights, and put off your repentance to another time. O, sirs, for the Lord's sake, do but live as men that must shortly be buried in the grave, and their souls appear before the Lord, and as men that have but this little time, to do all for their everlasting life, that ever must be done. O live as men that are sure to die, and are not sure to live till to-morrow. And let not the noise of pleasure or worldly business, or the chat or scorns of miserable fools, bear down your reason, and make you live as if you knew not what you know, or as if there were any doubt about these things. Who is the man, and what is his name, that dare contradict them, and can make it good? O do not sin against your knowledge. Do not stand still and see your glass running, and time making such haste, and yet make no more haste yourselves, than if you were not concerned in it. Do not, O do not slumber, when time and judgment never slumber, nor sit still when you have so much to do, and know all that is now left undone must be undone for ever! Alas! sirs, how many questions of exceeding weight have you yet to be resolved in ? Whether you are truly sanctified? whether your sins be pardoned? whether you shall be saved when you die? whether you are ready to leave this world, and enter upon another? I tell you, the answering of these and many more such questions, is a matter of no small difficulty or concernment. And all these must be done in this little and uncertain time. It must be now or never. Live but as men that believe and consider these certain unquestionable things.

10. Lastly. Will you but live as men that believe that the world and the flesh are the deadly enemies of your salvation. And that believe, that if any man love the world, (so far)

the love of the Father is not in him. And as men that believe, that, if ye live after the flesh ye shall die; but if by the Spirit ye mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. And those that are in Christ Jesus, and are freed from condemnation, are such as walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. And that we must make no provision for the flesh to satisfy the will or lusts thereof, and must not walk in gluttony and drunkenness, in chambering and wantonness, in strife and envying; but must have our hearts where our treasure is, and converse in heaven, and being risen with Christ, must seek the things that are above, and set our affections on them, and not on the things that are on earth f.

Sirs, will you say that any of this is our singular opinion, or matter of controversy and doubt? Are not all Christians agreed in it? Do you not, your ownselves profess that you believe it? Live then but as those that do believe it, and condemn not yourselves in the things that you confess.

I tell thee, if now thou wilt refuse to live according to these common acknowledged truths, thou shalt never be able to say before the Lord, that men's controversy about a ceremony, or church-government, or the manner of worship, were the things that hindered thee. But all sorts and sects shall be witnesses against thee, and condemn thee: for they all agreed in these things; even the bloodiest sect, that imprison, torment, and kill others for their differences in smaller matters, are yet agreed with those that they persecute and murder, about these things. Papists are agreed in them, and Protestants are agreed in them. All the sects that are now quarrelling among us, and in the world, are agreed in them, who are but meet for the name of Christians. All these will be ready to bear witness against the profane, the sensual, the slothful neglecter of God and his salvation, and to say, we all confessed, notwithstanding our other differences, that all these things were certain truths, and that men's lives should be ordered according unto these.

But if yet you pretend controversy to cover your malignity or ungodliness, I will go a little further, and tell you that in the matter as well as in the principles, it is things

b 1 John ii. 15, 16. * Rom. viii. 13. d Rom. viii. 1. xiii. 10. 13. Matt. vi. 21. e Phil. iii. 18-20. f Col. iii. 1-3.

that we are all agreed in, which I call you to, and which the ungodly do refuse. I will briefly name them.

1. One part of your work which we urge you to do with all your might, is seriously and soberly to consider often of all these truths before mentioned, which you say you do believe. And is it any controversy with reasonable men, whether they should use their reason? or with believers, whether they should consider and lay to heart the weight and use of the things which they believe?

2. Another part of your work is, to love God with all your soul and might; and to make him your delight, and to seek first his kingdom, and the righteousness thereof; and to set your affections on the things above, and to live on earth as the heirs of heaven. And is there any controversy among Protestants, Papists, or any about this?

3. Another part of your work is, to see the honouring of God in the world, the promoting of his kingdom and government in yourselves and others, the doing of his will, and obeying of his laws. And is there any controversy in this?

4. Another part of your work is, to mortify the flesh, and reject its conceits, and desires, and lusts, which resist the aforesaid obedience to God; and to cast out the inordinate love and care of worldly things; to refuse the counsels, the commands, the will, the enticements and persuasions of men, which contradict the commands and will of God; and to forsake all that you have in the world rather than forsake your dear Redeemer, and hazard your salvation by any wilful sin. To take up your cross and follow Christ through a life of suffering to glory. I know there is difficulty enough in all this, and that flesh will repine against it and abhor it. But is there any controversy about it among any true believers? Is not all this the express command of God, and necessary to salvation?

5. Another part of your work is to avoid temptations, and fly from the occasions and appearances of evil; and not only to avoid that which is directly evil itself, but that also which would draw you into evil (as far as you can) and to keep as far as may be from the brink of hell and danger, and to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, nor be companions with them, but reprove them, and mourn

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