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The Soul's Preparation for Christ

The Soul’s Preparation for Christ.

or, a Treatise of Contrition.

Wherein is discovered how God breaks the heart and wounds the soul, in the conversion of a sinner to himself.

Psalm 51:17,

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

London, printed for Robert Dawlman, at the sign of the brazen-serpent in Paul’s churchyard

1632.

The Soul’s Preparation for Christ.

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts, and said to Peter and the other apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do to be saved? Acts 2:37

In this great work of preparation for Christ, observe two things. First, the dispensation of the work of grace on God’s part, he pulls a sinner from sin to himself; and secondly, the frame and temper of spirit that God works in the hearts of those, that he doth draw: and that makes itself known in two particulars; partly in contrition, partly in humiliation; for our better proceeding in the prosecution of these two main points, I shall handle them severally, and at large. And first we will sift out what this contrition and humiliation is, that we may not deceive ourselves, and think we have them, when it is nothing so.

This contrition (as I conceive) is nothing else, but namely when a sinner by the sight of sin, and vileness of it, and the punishment due to the same, is made sensible of sin, and is made to hate it, and hath his heart separated from the same; and the sight of sin makes itself known in three particulars: [1] First, when the soul is sensible of sin; [2] Secondly, when it hath a hearty and sound sorrow for the same, and an earnest detestation of it. [3] Thirdly, when he hath his heart separated from his corruptions. All these are not wrought, so much by any power that is in us, as by the almighty power of God working in us; for the sinner would not see his sin, but the Lord forceth him, as the holy prophet saith: thou holdest my eyes waking, I am so troubled that I cannot speak, the Lord holds sin to a carnal sinful wretch, so that his sin walks, and sleepeth, and goeth with him; nay the soul of a poor sinner would beat back the blow, and would not have the Word to touch him, he labors to shift off the arrows of the almighty, which the Lord shooteth into the soul; but the Lord will not suffer him so to do; thy arrows stick fast in me and thy hand presseth me sore. Psalm 38:2. As if the prophet had said, I would fain have beat back thine arrows, but they stick fast in me; and I would have shaken off the burden, that lay upon me, but thine hand presseth me sore, so then at last, when the sinner sees, he cannot shake off the arrows, then he is content to be separate from his corruptions.

This is in general in the text, wherein you shall plainly see these three particulars fully expressed.

[1] First, the sight of sin by the hearing of Peter’s words, and it was not by the bare hearing of his words only, but when Peter came somewhat roundly home to them, and said; this is Christ Jesus whom ye have crucified, then follows the former work, namely, the acknowledgement of their sins, and the first cause that made them see their sin, was a particular application of their sins, he came punctually and particularly to them, and said, you are they that have crucified the Lord Christ, this touched them and made them see their sins.

[2] Secondly, the daily and serious meditation and apprehension of their sins, and of those truths, which were delivered in the word: hearing, that is, daily pondering and considering of the evils, that were committed by them and shewed to them.

[3] Thirdly, they were pricked, they did not prick themselves, but the Lord followed that truth that was delivered, and by his almighty hand did make that word prosperous to their souls; and though they would not pierce themselves, yet the Lord pierced them.

The second part of it is in these words, they were pricked in their hearts, not in their hands or eyes, but in their hearts.

The third part is the separation from sin in these words, men and brethren, what shall we do? Whatsoever you would have us to do, we will do it, and whatsoever sin is forbidden, we are content to be rid of it; nay, nothing was too hard, or too much for them.

Give me leave to take a doctrine by the way from the words; they when they heard this, who were these (they?) See this in the 36th verse, them that had crucified the Lord of life.

What will some say, is it possible that ever they should be so pierced from their sins? It was said of Judas that betrayed Christ, it had been good for that man that he had not been born, what shall we think of those that murder Christ. If Judas was damned for betraying of Christ? Then much more they for killing of him. Is it possible the Lord should do good unto them, yes, even they came to be pricked in their hearts.

From these words this doctrine ariseth; it is possible for the most stubborn sinners upon earth to get a broken heart. They that stoned the prophets and killed them that were sent unto them, and sleighted all the means of grace, they that refused Christ, and would not hear him; they are now brought upon their knees, and are resolved now, if any course might be taken to get Christ and mercy. Titus 1:12-13. One of their own prophets said, the Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and slow bellies: a man would think it a vain thing to meddle with them, they are such desperate wretches, but the text saith, reprove them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, so that a Cretan which is a filthy beast, by a sound reproof, may come to be a glorious saint: and whereas the Jews had loaden the Lord with their sins; therefore it was just with God to ease himself of his burden, and so send them and their sins down to hell together. Thus a man would think; but the Lord did not so, as we may see in Isaiah, I am he, that blotteth out all thy transgressions, for my own name sake, I will remember your sins no more, and as the apostle saith, the Gentiles were full of all unrighteousness, worse than they almost could be for all kind of degrees of sin, and yet many of them became full of all holiness; such were some of you (saith the apostle) and in another place we may see that a scarlet sinner may become a saint in nature; we know this scarlet is such a deep die, that all the art under heaven cannot alter it: yet the Lord can make of a scarlet sinner, a milk white saint. I do not say it will ever be, and it doth always come to pass, but it is possible.

The reason is taken from the Lord’s almighty goodness and power, the Lord is able to supply all wants, and amend that which is amiss, nay, he is able to do more than that thou standest in need of. When the Lord made heaven and earth he did not spend all his strength, that he was able to help no more. No, no; he is all-sufficient still, he is not only able to continue that good, which the creature hath, but to make a glorious supply of whatsoever is wanting, as David saith, he pardoneth all thy iniquities, and forgiveth all thy sins: not some, but all, otherwise he were not all-sufficient, unless he had a salve for every sore, and a medicine for every malady; if our sins were more than God could pardon, or if our weaknesses were more able to overthrow us, then his strength to uphold us, he were not all-sufficient: indeed there are some things which the Scripture saith, God cannot do, but it is not because of the want of power in God, but because there is a weakness in the creature; as God cannot deny himself, but the more and greater our sins and wickedness are, the more will the strength and glory of his power appear in pardoning of them, and where sin abounds, there grace abounds much more in the pardoning of the same: Christ is all-sufficient in power to procure mercy for all thy sins, and the spirit is all-sufficiently able to apply the satisfaction of Christ to thy soul, and therefore be thy condition never so fearful, (the sin against the Holy Spirit only excepted) there is power and mercy in the Lord to pardon thee, and it is possible for thee to find mercy.

Use 1. The first use is for reproof, and it checks the desperate discouragement that harbors in the hearts of many poor sinners, that if they find no power in themselves, no succor in the means; they do question in this case, and presently conclude an impossibility to receive mercy, and they think there is no hope, of pardon, as heretofore they have had no care in sinning; because they cannot see how it maybe, they suppose it cannot be: this bringeth a great indignity to the Lord Jesus Christ, and a great discouragement to themselves: why? The Lord hath hardness, and difficulties at command. When the siege about Jerusalem was marvelous sore, and every man did despair of any comfort or succor, the prophet said, before tomorrow this time shall a measure of fine flower be sold for a shekel, and then a Lord on whose hand the king leaned, said, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, how can this thing be? And the prophet said unto him, thou shalt see it, but not eat of it, so it is with many that beg often, and the Lord answereth not, so that the soul is marvelously starved, and the flood of iniquity comes in amain upon the soul, and all his sins come to his view, and the heart begins to reason in this manner; if the depths of God’s mercies should be opened, can all these sins be pardoned? And can this damned soul of mine be saved? Surely this cannot be. It is just with God we should seek mercy, given to others as bad as wee, and yet we not taste of it, because we distrust the Lord. Cain’s sin was so much the greater, because he said it could not be forgiven: so it is a horrible sin to say, the Lord is not so merciful, as the devil is malicious, and that the world, and a sinful heart, and that the world, and a sinful heart, shall be more able to damn me than God is to save me; if this were so, God were no God, and Christ no redeemer, and the Spirit no comforter, this is to make sin, ourselves, and the devil above God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh therefore check all those discouragements of soul which too much prevail with us.

Use 2. Secondly, it is a ground of great encouragement to provoke the hearts of all wicked men under heaven, to look out of that condition Wherein they are, for some mercy; because the most wicked of the world may be wrought upon, and the most profane heart may be pierced; who therefore would not have his heart quickened up, to seek out for recovery from that estate wherein he is. All you poor creatures, if there be any here present, as I doubt not but there are; oh you poor and ungodly sinful creatures, my soul pities you, you that have had your hands imbrewed in the blood of Christ, and whose sins are written with a pen of iron, and are seen in every corner of the street, you that are thus in the gall of bitterness, and yet in the kingdom of darkness, though your case for the present be very desperate, yet here is a little twig in the midst of the main sea, whereupon you may lay hold. And this may make you look up, the Lord may show mercy unto you, as proud, as stubborn, and rebellious as you, have had mercy; if you have the hearts of men look for mercy; though your estate be fearful for the present, yet it may be good: God hath not set the scale of condemnation upon your sins, he hath not yet sent you to hell. Consider this whatsoever thou art, thou yet livest upon the earth, and enjoyest the means, and it is possible yet to have all thy sins pardoned; oh lay about thee, go home, and say, good Lord, were they pierced in their hearts that pierced the Lord Jesus; and were their souls wounded? In conclusion then, why may not my profane sinful heart be humbled and pierced? It may be so, if the Lord say, amen; it will be thus, that disease is not past remedy that hath been cured in others, therefore let this stay thy heart, as bad as thou have been humbled, and brought home, and therefore why not thou?

Objection. But the soul will say, can all these abominations be removed? And is it possible all these rebellions of my heart should be pardoned, and all this looseness and security should be cast behind the back of the Lord? I say it cannot be.

Answer. It is possible: only labor thou that it maybe, and that thou mayest not be puffed up with presumption, consider these three cautions in thy seeking.

[1] The first caution is: first, consider in thy seeking, a little mercy will not serve the turn; thou that hast been an old weather-beaten sinner, and hast wallowed in thy filthiness, when thou goest to God for grace, consider it is not a little grace, or a small work, that will do the deed: it is not a few spoonfuls or buckets-full, that will cleanse a foul skin; so if thou hast had a filthy, profane heart which hath been a through-fare to all wickedness, and thou hast thus given thyself liberty thereunto, and hast continued therein; there must be a well of mercy to purge such a miserable wretch as thou art.

When David had committed those two sins of adultery and murder, and had continued in them long, he was forced to beg for much mercy, and to say, purge me, wash me, cleanse me. O Lord these stains are marvelous deep, therefore purge me with hyssop; nay he had never done with it, because his sins were more than ordinary; so, it will cost a great deal of work before a loose profane drunkard can be made clean.

[2] Secondly, thou must expect it with much difficulty and hardness in thy self, thou that hast been riveted in thy base lusts and corruptions, the Lord will make all crack before thou shalt find mercy; thou that hast out-braved heaven with thy profaneness, the Lord will make thee a mirror of humiliation, as heretofore thou hast been a spectacle of filthiness. A man that hath had a bone long out of joint, and it is now festered, it will make him cry many an oh, before it be brought into his right place again; so it is with a man whose heart is full of filthiness, it will cost him much pains and difficulty and heart-smart, before the Lord will bring the soul to a right set again. Manasses humbled himself mightily before the Lord, because he had been a mighty proud rebellious man, the Lord made his humiliation as miraculous as his sins had been, and so David when he had given his sins ease in bedding with them, the Lord brake all his bones and did awaken him with a witness.

[3] Lastly, you must resolve to bestow the utmost of your endeavor to get this mercy at the hands of the Lord: it is not a dipping of a foul cloth in water will cleanse it, but it must be soaked and rinsed in it: so you must not think to have the foul stains of sin washed away with a few tears; no, no; you must rub your hearts over and over, and awake your consciences again and again; it is not a little examination, nor a little sorrow will serve the turn; the Lord will pull down those proud hearts of yours, and (it maybe), let you go a begging for mercy all your days, and well you may have it at your last gasp when all is done.

The main point in hand is this, it is for the first part of contrition for the sight of sin; this hearing is not barely the sound of a man’s words, but the sense and meaning of the words, by which the mind is enlightened, and he begins seriously to ponder the nature of his sins, that were so laid open unto him: thus hearing they came to be pierced.

Doctrine. The first doctrine is this: there must be a true sight of sin before the soul can be broken; for the text saith, they did first hear and then apprehend the evil that was done by them; and thus they were brought to a saving remorse for their sins: Ezekiel 36:31. The text saith, then shall you remember your own evil ways and your doings, that were not good, and shall loath yourselves for your abominations. First, they shall remember their works, and then loath themselves; it is the course that Ephraim takes in Jeremiah, after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh; and after I was turned, I repented, I was ashamed and confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. And it is God’s course which he takes with his, as in Job. When the Lord had once gotten his people into fetters, he shewed them their wickedness, and makes their ears open to discipline. And in another place the prophet shewed the ground and reason why the people repented not, they understood not the ground and reason of their sin, for no man saith, what have I done? As a horse rusheth into the battle and feareth nothing, so a wicked man continues in a sinful course, never considering what he hath done; the drunkard doth not say, how have I abused God’s creatures? And the despiser of God’s ordinances doth not say, how have I rejected the Lord Jesus Christ? And therefore no wonder though he be not affected with that he doth.

Now for the better clearing of this doctrine, I will handle these three things: first, I will show what this true sight of sin is: secondly, I will show the reason why there must be a true sight of sin, before the soul can be broken for it: thirdly, I will make use of the point.

First, it is not every sight of sin will serve the turn, nor every apprehension of a man’s vileness; but it must have these two properties in it, first, he must see sin clearly; secondly, convictingly. First, he that will see sin clearly, must see it truly and fully, and be able to fathom the compass of his corruptions and to dive into the depth of the wretchedness of his vile heart, otherwise it will befall a man’s sin as it doth the wound of a man’s body, when a man looks into the wound overly, and doth not search it to the bottom, it begins to fester and rankle, and so in the end he is slain by it; so it is with most sinners, we carry all away with this, we are sinners; and such ordinary confessions; but we never see the depth of the wound of sin, and so are slain by our sins: it is not a general, slight, and confused sight of sin that will serve the turn: it is not enough to say, it is my infirmity, and I cannot amend it: and we are all sinners, and so forth. No, this is the ground why we mistake our evils, and reform not our ways, because we have a slight and an overly sight of sin: a man must prove his ways as the goldsmith doth his gold in the fire, a man must search narrowly, and have much light to see what the vileness of his own heart is, and to see what his sins are, that do procure the wrath of God against him, as the prophet David saith: I considered my ways, and turned my feet into thy testimonies: the phrase in the original is thus much; I turned my sins upside down; he looked all over his ways. And as Zachariah saith: when the people shall look unto him whom they have pierced, and consider the nature of their sins, then shall they mourn: note, that this clear sight of sin may appear in two particulars.

First, a man must see his sin nakedly in its own proper colors, we must not look upon sin through many mediums, through profits, pleasures, and the contentments of this world; for so we mistake sin: but the soul of a true Christian that would see sin clearly, he must strip it clean of all content and quiet that ever the heart hath received from any corruption, and the heart must look upon sin in the danger of it; as the adulterer must not look upon sin in regard of the sweetness of it, nor the drunkard upon his sin in regard of the contentment that comes thereby, nor the covetous man in regard of the profit that comes by his sin; you that are such, the time will come when you must die, and then consider what good these sinful courses will do you, how will you judge of sin then, when it shall leave a blot upon thy soul, and a guilt upon thy conscience, what wilt thou then think of it? We must deal with sin as with a serpent, we must not play with a serpent as children do, because it hath a fine speckled skin, but fly from it, because of the sting: so must we deal with sin: a profane gallant will profane the sabbaths, because otherwise he should be counted a Puritan; look not at the speckled skin of sin, but how thou canst answer for thy sin before God, especially seeing the Lord saith, I will not hold that man guiltless that blasphemes my name, of what place or condition so ever he be: look now on the nature of thy sins nakedly.

Secondly, we must look on the nature of sin in the venom of it, the deadly hurtful nature that it hath for plagues and miseries it doth procure to our souls; and that you may do partly if you compare it with other things and partly if you look at it in regard of yourselves; first, compare sin with those things that are most fearful and horrible; as suppose any soul here present were to behold the damned in hell, and if the Lord should give thee a little peephole into hell, that thou didst see the horror of those damned souls, and thy heart begins to shake in the consideration thereof; then propound this to thy own heart, what pains the damned in hell do endure for sin, and thy heart will shake and quake at it, the least sin that ever thou didst commit, though thou makest a light matter of it, is a greater evil then the pains of the damned in hell setting aside their sin, all the torments in hell are not so great an evil, as the least sin is: men begin to shrink at this, and loath to go down to hell, and to be in endless torments.

Now I will make it good by three reasons that sin is a greater evil then those torments and plagues which the damned in hell do endure.

The first reason is this, that which deprives a man of the greatest good must needs be the greatest evil, nature says so much, that which deprives a man of all that comfort and happiness wherein the soul finds most content, that must needs be the greatest evil of all, but sin only deprives a man of the greatest good: for the good of the soul is, to have an heart united unto God and to have fellowship with him, to have him and salvation through him, to be one with the Lord: this is the chief good of the soul: all things here below are made for the good of the body, and the body is made for the good of the soul, and the soul is made for God; and these things here below are only so far good to us, as they are means to make us enjoy a nearer communion with God; and contrarily, riches, and honors, and profits, and pleasures, are as so many curses to us, if by them our hearts be withdrawn from God: the reason why God is estranged from us, it is not because we are poor, or pursued, or imprisoned, or the like; but it is sin that breaks the union between God and us, as the prophet Isaiah saith, your sins have separated between you and your God: now that which separates from God which is the chief good, it is our sins; it is not punishment, that takes away the mercy of God from us; but a proud rebellious heart, and the contempt of God’s ordinances; therefore sin is far worse than all the plagues that the damned do or can suffer.

Secondly, because there is nothing so contrary and opposite against the Lord as sin and corruption, and this is the reason why God is the inflicter of all the punishments of the damned in hell: it is through the justice of God that they are damned, because God is of such a pure nature that sin cannot be in him, nor practiced by him.

Thirdly, because it is sin that doth procure all plagues and punishments to the damned, and therefore being the cause why they suffer, it must needs be greater than all punishments: for all punishments are made miserable by reason of sin, therefore sin is a greater evil then all the miseries of the damned. If a man were in prison and had the peace of a good conscience, his prison would be a palace unto him, and though a man were in shame and disgrace, and yet have the favor of God, there were no misery in him, so it is with sin; if no man suffer but for sin, then sin is a greater evil then all other punishments, as being the fountain from whence they flow.

Now let us look upon sin through these things, and when our corrupt heart provokes us, and the world allure us, and the devil tempts us to take any contentment in a sinful way; suppose we saw hell fire burning before us, and the pit of hell gaping to swallow us, and sin enticing of us, and let us say thus to our souls. It is better for a man to be cast into the torments of hell amongst the damned, then to be overcome with any sin, and so to rebel against the Lord. Now therefore if those plagues and punishments make the soul shake in the consideration of them; oh then bless thyself so much the more from sin which is the cause all plagues whatsoever; were a man in hell and wanted his sins, the Lord would love him in hell, and deliver him from all those plagues: but if any man were free from all punishments, and in honor, and wealth, if he were a sinful and wretched creature, the Lord would hate him in the height of all his prosperity, and throw him down to hell for ever.

[2] Secondly, we must see sin simply as it is in itself, in regard of the proper work of it; it is nothing else but a professed opposing of God himself; a sinful creature joins side with the devil and the world, and comes in battle array against the Lord, and flies in the face of the God of hosts; they are called haters of God, Psalm 83. That is when they see grace in another man, in such a man, and in such a woman, and hate them for it; little do they think that they hate the God of heaven and his holy nature; and if it were possible, they would have no God in heaven, to take notice of their sins, and call thee to account for them, as the wise man Gamaliel said to the Pharisees and elders, refrain yourselves from these men, and let them alone, for if this counsel or work be of men, it will come to nothing, but if it be of God, you cannot destroy it, lest you be found fighters against God; you make nothing of opposing the Gospel, and preaching thereof, I tell you that there is never a creature that lives in any such sinful course, but he is a fighter against God, and he resists the Lord as really as one man doth another; and as Stephen saith, you stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart, you have resisted against the Holy Spirit: you must not think that you resist men only, no (poor creatures) you resist the spirit, and so aim at the almighty in opposing of the means of grace; what a fearful condition is this, I pray you in cold blood consider this, and say thus, good Lord! What a sinful wretch am I? That a poor damned wretch of the earth should stand in defiance against the God of hosts, and that I should submit myself to the devil, and oppose the Lord of hosts.

And as you resist the Lord, so you do also pass the sentence of condemnation upon yourselves, and seal up that doom which one day shall be executed upon the wicked in hell at that great day of account; that look what God shall do thee, the same thou dost now by sinning; this is the doom, or (as I may say) the neck verse of the wicked and the last blow; as now thou doest depart from God by sinning, so then thou shalt depart from God for ever. A wicked man forsakes God, and plucks his heart from under the wisdom of God that should inform him in the way of life; and the soul saith, God shall not bless me, God shall not be God unto me; but I will live as I list, and I will run down post haste to hell, and when our hearts begin to rise against God and his ordinances, and your souls begin to go against the Lord, I tell you what I would think with myself; suppose I heard the voice of the archangel crying; arise ye dead and come to judgment; and the last trumpet sounding, and the Lord Jesus coming in the heavens with his glorious angels and did see the goats standing the left hand, and the saints on the right hand, and with that I did hear the terrible sound, depart ye cursed: would you be content to hear that sentence pass against your souls? Oh what lamentation and woe your poor souls would make in those days, and therefore consider it well, and say that I do that in sinning which the Lord will do in the day of judgment; shall I depart from the Lord and withdraw myself from mercy, and say Christ shall not rule over me and save me? Shall I do that against myself which the Lord shall do in that day? God forbid. There are two things hardly known; what God is, and what our sins are, or else we hardly apply the knowledge of them to ourselves?

Objection. But some will object and say, if sin be so vile in itself, then why do not men see it.

Answer. To this I answer, the reason why men see not their sins, though it be so vile, it is mainly upon these two grounds.

[1] First, because we judge not of sin according to the Word and verdict of it, but either in regard of the profit that is therein, or the pleasure that we expect there from; the usurer looks on his profit, that comes by sin, and the adulterer his pleasure; and Judas saw the money, but he did not see the malice of his own heart, nor the want of love to his master, and this made him take up that course which he did, but when he threw away his thirty pence, the Lord made him see the vileness of his sin; it came clearly to his sight, and therefore he cried out: I have sinned in betraying innocent blood. As bribes blind the eyes of the wise and pervert judgment, so sin bribes the eyes of the soul, and therefore the tradesman seeth much profit come by cozening and false measures, and so gives way to himself therein, but he sees not the sin; so the oppressor seeth the mortgages, and pawns that come in, but he cannot see his sin, until he be laid on his death bed, and then the Lord sheweth him all the wrong that he hath done.

[2] Secondly, another reason why we see not the vileness of sin, is, because we judge the nature of sin according to God’s patience towards us, as thus, a man commits a sin and is not plagued for it, and therefore he thinks God will not execute judgments upon him at all, all things continue a like, (saith the wicked man) as if he had said, you talk of the wrath of God that shall be revealed from heaven against all ungodliness, and where is the promise of his coming? Do you not see that such a man is an oppressor, and a profane person? Yet grows rich and thrives in the world; and because God spares a wicked man still for the present, therefore he thinks all are but words, he shall be free from the punishment to come (as the prophet saith in the name of the Lord) these things hast thou done and I kept silence, when thou wast upon thy ale-bench, and there thou didst speak against holiness and purity, and because I did bear yet, and say nothing, therefore thou speakest wickedly that I was even such a one as thy self; the wicked man takes God’s patience to be a kind of allowance to him in his sin, (as the wise man saith) because sentence against an evil work is not speedily executed, therefore the hearts of the Sons of men are wholly set in them to do mischief, and as the prophet saith, they call the proud happy, ye that work wickedness are set to do evil, and they that tempt God are delivered. As who should say, you say that the wrath of God is incensed against swearers, and drunkards, and the like; but we see them prosper, and because they do prosper thus, their hearts are set to work wickedness, but howsoever, it is true the Lord doth sometime bear with wicked men; the longer God stays, the greater account they shall make, and the heavier judgments they shall receive from God; see what Job saith, thou sealest up my transgressions in a bag, and thou sowest up mine iniquities; wicked men do treasure up vengeance against the Day of the Lord, the profane person treasures up wrath, and in the eighteenth verse he saith: the mountains falling come to nothing: as if he had said, good Lord, who can bear all those sins, that I have committed? Are they all sealed up, and shall all the judgments due unto them fall upon me heavier than the mountains? Good Lord, what rock or mountain can bear the weight of my sins thus sealed up and settled, and laid close to my heart. And so God seals up an hundred thousand oaths in one bag, and an ocean of pride and mischiefs done to God’s people and church are barrelled up, in another: and the Lord shall one day lay all these upon thy neck; who is able to bear all these sins?

Now it falls out with a sinner as it is with a bankrupt debtor, one man throws him into prison, and when he is there, everyone comes against him, and so he shall never come out, but die and rot in the prison, so though the Lord will not execute judgment on thee speedily, yet in the end the Lord will be paid for all thy sins; and when thou art in hell, then mercy, and justice, and patience will cry all to heaven for justice and vengeance; then happily a drunkard is cast into prison for his drunkenness, and for his blasphemy, and then all his filthiness comes in as so many bills of indictment against him: oh therefore labor to see sin alive: we play with sin as if it were dead: when children see the picture of a dead lion upon a wall, they labor to pull him in pieces, but if there were a live lion in the place, it would make the strongest to run. So thou paintest thy sin, and sayest it is thy infirmity, and God forgive your swearing, and the like; and thus you dally with your sins: but brethren, labor to see sin alive, and to see sin roaring upon you, see the paw of sin and the condemnation that shall be thrown upon the soul by it, and this will awake the soul in the apprehension of it.

Secondly, we must see sin convictingly, that it may be so to us as it is in itself; that look what sin is in itself, we may so conceive of it in our souls being guilty of it, and this discovers itself in these two particulars.

First, when we have a particular apprehension in our own person, that look what we confess to be in sin in general, we confess the same in our own souls; and that our sins are as bad as the sins of any: this is the cursed distemper of our hearts, howsoever we hold it to be truth in general, yet when we come to our own sins, the case is altered, and we never come to the right seeing of them as they concern our own particular. As the adulterer can easily confess the danger and filthiness of that sin in others, but he thinks not his sin to be so vile; as the wise man saith, he that enters into the house of an harlot, doth he ever return again, doth he ever take hold of the path of life? The Lord is pleased to set such a heavy stamp on this sinful distemperature. These are truths, and a man in his cold blood will easily confess it in the general, that he never returns again. Take the words as they are in the letter of them, and howsoever they have some other interpretations, yet in the letter it is thus read, he is ever hardly recovered. Howsoever it maybe, yet with much difficulty. David had let his soul loose in that, and he did hardly recover himself again, scarce one of a thousand yet ever took hold of the way of life. And the drunkard will confess the danger of his sin in general, when he sees his drunken mates lie groveling in the dust, he will be ashamed of it, and say, now no adulterer or drunkard shall ever come into the kingdom of heaven; but here is the wound of it, when he comes to his own particular drunkenness and uncleanness, that he must look into them, then the sight of a man’s knowledge hath not so much power as to judge himself rightly; or to make a particular application to himself; but he thinks his adultery and drunkenness is not like to another mans, or else his knowledge is but weak, or else he seeth as a man in the twilight, when the sun is down and the heavens begin to withdraw their light, though a man can see to read abroad, yet he cannot see to read in the house, or in the chamber; so it is with a weak knowledge and with a feeble understanding in a wicked man, he is notable to see the vile nature of sin in himself, when he comes to read his own closet sins, and his bosom abominations, then he hath not so much light as to perceive them so fully in himself as he thought to do; therefore the rule is this; arrest thy soul in a special manner of those sins whereof thou standest guilty; that phrase in Job is to good purpose, thou lookest narrowly to my paths thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet, so God followed Job to the hard heels, and did narrowly observe his ways; so deal thou with thy own soul, and set a print upon the heel of thy heart, arrest thy heart in particular for thy sins, and I would have you perceive your own particular sins and follow them to your hearts, and make huy and cry after your sins, and drag your hearts before the Lord, and say, is murder, pride, drunkenness, and uncleanness, such horrible sins, and doth God thus fearfully plague them? Lord, it was my heart that was proud and vain, it was my tongue that did speak filthily and blasphemously, my hand hath wrought wickedness, my eye was wanton, and my heart was unclean and filthy, Lord here they are, it is my affections that are disorderly, and it is I that do delight too much in the world; thus bring thy heart before the Lord; you shall observe the same in David, so long, as Nathan spake of sin in general, he conceived of it truly, and confessed the vileness of it, and the heart of this good king did rage against the man, saying, it is the Son of death: but as soon as the prophet had said, thou art the man, though he never saw his sin kindly before, yet now his heart yielded, and he began to see himself and his sin in the natural colors of it. So the apostle John saith; he that hateth his brother is a man-slayer, and you know no man-slayer hath eternal life abiding in him.

Then play thou the part of Nathan, and say, I am the man; it is this wretched heart of mine that hath hated the saints of God, and therefore if I be a murderer, will not my sin keep me from the kingdom of heaven as well as another mans? Yes that it will, if pride and stubbornness be such vile sins in others, then they are so in me, and as there must be a sight of our personal particular sins; so,

Secondly, the soul must be set down with the audience of truth, and the conscience of a sinner should be so convicted as to yield and give way to that which is known, as not seeking any shift or way to oppose that truth which is revealed, his particular apprehension of sin is like the indictment of a sinner before God, and his conviction is that which brings the soul to such a pass, that the heart will not, nay it dares not, nay (which is more) it cannot escape from the truth revealed: as when a man is only arrested and no more, he may escape, therefore it is not enough particularly to arrest the soul, and bring it under command that it cannot shift from the truth revealed: when the Lord comes to make racks in the hearts of such as he means to do good unto, the text saith, he will reprove the world of sin, that is, he will convince the world of wickedness, he will set the soul in such a stand, that it shall have nothing to say for itself, he cannot shift it off; for there is in every man’s heart naturally such corrupt carnal pleading, that it labors to defeat, and put by the work of the Word, that it may not come home to the heart. As a man in battle array labors to put by the blow that it may not hit his body, so it is with a corrupt heart when the Word comes home to the soul, as it doth sometimes into the heart of a drunkard, or an adulterer, or a murderer, and the Word of God seems to stab the heart, they put by the Word of God by carnal shifts, and so break the power of it that it cannot have its full blow upon the soul, and so the Word takes no place to any purpose in them.

Now this kind of knowledge takes away all shifts, that the soul hath nothing to say for itself, and plucks away all defense, that the edge of the Word cannot be blunted, but that it will fall flat on the heart, this is that I would put to your consideration punctually; when there is that wisdom and knowledge revealed to the soul so powerfully, that it prevails with the heart, and it gives way thereto, so that all the replies and pleas of the soul be taken away, and the soul falls under the stroke of the Word, not quarrelling, but yielding itself, that the Word may work upon it, and withal there is a restless amazement put into the heart of the creature, and a kind of dazzling the eye, so that the soul is not content now before it see the worst of his sin that is revealed, and then it lies under the power of that truth which is made known, these two make it plain; the minister saith, God hates such and such a sinner; and the Lord hates me too, saith the soul, for I am guilty of that sin. Many times when a sinner comes into the congregation, and attends unto the ordinary means of salvation, if now the Lord be pleased to work mightily, at last the mind is enlightened, and the minister meets with his corruptions, as though he were in his bosom, and he answereth all his cavils, and takes away all his objections; with that the soul begins to be amazed to think that God should meet with him in this manner, and saith, if this be so, as it is for ought I know, and if all be true that the minister saith, then the Lord be merciful unto my soul, I am the most miserable sinner that ever was borne.

Give me leave to open a passage or two this way; suppose there be an ignorant creature, that knoweth nothing, and he thinks God will pardon him because he is so, and he need not consider of this or that which the minister calls upon him for: see what God saith to such, in Isaiah, It is a people of no understanding, therefore he that made him will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will show them no favor: you think to carry all away with ignorance, but the God of heaven will show you no pity, and he that made you will not save you; when a poor soul begins to consider of this, he that made us, will save us, will he not? No, he will not; not one of you, not your wife, nor children, nor thy servant; this drives the soul into amazement, when the Lord works this truth in him, and he frequents the ordinances more diligently, and says, if it be so, my case is fearful; in conclusion he finds every minister saith so, and all writings confirm it, and he seeth it is so indeed; and it is the will and way of God: then the soul is cast, and saith, I see this is just my estate and condition and therefore woe to me that ever I was borne. This is right conviction, and though his carnal neighbors come to him, and begin to cheer him up, and say, the Lord is more merciful then men are, ministers must say something, and so forth. If the heart be truly convicted, it returns this answer, and saith; I have thought as you do, but now I see there is no such matter, these are but fig tree-leaves, and will not cover my nakedness; it is true, Christ came to save sinners, and he came to humble sinners too, he came to bind up the heart, and he came to break the heart too. This is a great part of the spirit of bondage spoken of Romans 8:15. We have not received the spirit of bondage to fear again. When God hath revealed a man’s bondage to him: so that sees he himself bound hand and foot, for (mark it) so long as a man keeps in these carnal shifts, he is not in bondage; but when he is once in bondage and fettered; he saith, if ever any had a proud heart, I am he, if ever any were profane, I am he; and if ever God hated such wretches, he hateth me. Now there is no escape, there is no plea at all, he will not go away and say, there is no such matter, ministers many say what they will. No, no, the soul that is truly convicted of sin yields itself, and saith I have sinned; oh what shall I do unto thee thou preserver of men? Saith Job, as if he had said, Lord, I have no plea at all to make, nor no argument to allege, for myself, I only yield up the bucklers, I cannot say so bad of myself as I am, I have sinned Lord, what shall I do unto thee oh thou preserver of men? Thus it is with a heart truly convicted and thoroughly informed of the vileness of sin, he doth not withdraw himself and play least in sight, but he saith, this is my condition just; the Lord met with my heart this day; God resists the proud and profane in heart, and he resists me too; I have heard much, and would not be informed, therefore it is just with God to harden my heart for ever; the Lord hath come often with many loving persuasions to allure me, and draw me to him: if the devil had had the means that I have had, he would have been moved and more bettered by thee then I have been, and have done more than I have done, I have hated and despised all, and to this day I have not been brought upon my knees; shall not Christ rule over me, and yet save me? No it cannot be, except I can bring my neck under the yoke of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is not possible I should be saved by him, I excuse not myself Lord; nay, I confess I know more than all the men in the world can speak by me, and I yield to all this and more; what shall I say, I have sinned? O thou preserver of men.

The reason why, and how it comes to pass, that God deals thus with poor sinners, is taken from the office which the Lord hath placed between the heart and the man, the ground lies thus.

There are two things in the soul; first, you conceive and understand a thing. Secondly, you will, and choose it.

[1] The first is the inlet of the heart, so that nothing can affect the heart, but so far as reason conceiveth it, and ushers it home to the soul; thereupon the heart, as the king hath his counselors which call all matters before them, and consult about business, and then they bring them before the king, to have a final sentence from him, to know what he will have and what he will not have; so the understanding is like the counsellors, and the will is the queen; the understanding saith, this or that is good, then the will saith, let me have it; the understanding saith, these and these duties are required, and the will embraceth them; the understanding conceives what sin is, and the will saith, these and these evils have I done, and they will cost me my life if I repent not: as it was with Job, when his oxen and cattle were taken, it never troubled him, because he never knew it, but when he heard of it by the messengers, he said, naked came I out of my mother’s womb.

There must be a messenger before he can be grieved for the evil; so it is with the soul of a sinful creature, the devil hath made a prey and a spoil of him; thou camest into the world in Adam, wise, holy, and gracious; but he hath made thee unholy and ignorant, and thou considerest not this until God by his ministers opens thy eyes, and makes thee see plainly, that the image of sin and Satan is upon thee, and that God is now become thy enemy, and that now thou goest on in the way to destruction, and art become the heir apparent of hell; and when these evil-tidings come to the understanding, that leaves them upon the heart and will of a man, and so lets it work effectually upon it as God doth bless the same; as Paul saith, I know that through ignorance they did it, if they had known the Lord of life they would never have crucified him.

This is the cause why we commit sin, because we see it not, and therefore we sorrow not for it; as it is with some hot climates in the world, though there be never so much heat in the sun, yet if there be no entrance for the heat into the house, it will not scorch nor heat any, so the understanding is like the door or entrance into the house, and sin is of a fiery and scorching nature, if there be no passage, and if the mind know not, and if the will affect not sin, it will never scorch his conscience; though a man carry sin enough in his bosom to sink his soul forever, yet we suffer it not to work upon us, and we attend not to it, because the brazen wall keeps it off: (as the proverb is) that the eye never sees, the heart never rues. Because we see not our evils, and discern not our sins so clearly as we should, therefore it is impossible we should be touched for them as we ought to be.

The first use is for instruction; from the former truth delivered we may learn that an ignorant heart is a naughty heart, and a miserable wretched heart, whether it be out of ignorance that cannot, or out of willfulness that men will not apprehend their conditions, both are marvelous sinful and miserable; I desire to deal plainly in this point, because I know there are many that do flatter themselves in their conditions, and think all is well with them; I will say nothing of the cause, but I appeal to the hearts of all that hear me this day, and yourselves shall be judges in these particulars; imagine you did see a poor sinner come before you, and lay open his condition and bewail it with bitterness, saying, that for his own part he never did find his heart touched for his sins, nor sorrow for his corruptions did ever enter into his soul, but he hath lived senseless and careless; and for this wounding of spirit he counted it a wonder; for this humbleness of heart it was ever a riddle unto him: let any one pass sentence upon this man now and tell me seriously what do you think of such a person: I hear (me thinks) every man reason thus, (and every man’s heart shakes at it) and saith, good Lord, what a senseless poor ignorant creature is this? If no humbling for sin, no pardoning for sin, and no share in Christ, no salvation? What, is this a good heart that is not in the way to receive any good? If a man be never broken for sin, God will never bind him up, and if never humbled, and burdened for his sin, God will never ease him of it.

Therefore woe to that soul that is thus miserable and accursed. I beseech you pass this sentence against yourselves, oh brethren, the hearts of men are past this brokenness of spirit, nay, they are enemies to it, they never had their judgments cleared and convicted of their sins, and therefore their hearts were never broken, and this brokenness is so far from their heart as it never came into the head; we think not of the foul nature of sin: doest thou think this to be a good heart that was never humbled and prepared for Christ? Alas, it is so far from being truly wrought upon, that it was never in any way to partake of mercy from God; therefore thy condition is marvelous miserable; thy misery is as great as thy sin, if not greater, because when a sinful creature is wounded and galled for his sin, there is some hope he may be cured and helped, but an ignorant soul is not capable of it, he is in hell and seeth it not; he is under the power of Satan and thinks himself at liberty, nay for the present, he is incapable of any good from the means appointed to that end.

It is with an ignorant soul as it befell the drunkard that was asleep on the top of the mast who fears no harm, because he sees it not. So it is with a sinful heart, he is resolved to go on still in his sin, because he seeth not the danger; take a man that hath his heart stabbed with a stiletto and the wound is so narrow that it cannot be searched, there is no means to come to it; just so it is with a blind ignorant heart, there is much means whereby good might be done to it, but an ignorant heart barres all out, so that nothing can do good to the soul. All counsels, admonitions, reproofs cannot prevail, all mercies allure not, because they find no sweetness in them; a minister is as able to teach the stool whereon he sits as to do them good. Methinks it is with a world of men that live in the bosom of the church, as it is with such as have suffered shipwreck, they are cast upon the waves, and their friends are standing upon the shore, and see them, and mourn for them, there they see one sinking, and another floating upon the waves even laboring for his life; and they sigh and mourn, but cannot help him; just so it is with ignorant people that are swallowed up with the floods of iniquity, here is one man going, and there another in the broad way to destruction, and we pity them, and pray for them, that God would open their eyes, and give them the sight of their sins: but alas, they are not able to conceive of anything. We cannot come at them, and thus they sink in their sins.

Our Savior looking over Jerusalem said, oh that thou hadst known at least in this thy day the things that belong unto thy peace, but now they are hidden from thine eyes. As if he had said, oh now they are sinking, they will not be reformed nor reclaimed, now they are going the way of all flesh, and to hell too, the way of peace is hidden from their eyes, they refuse the means that may do them good; I might here condemn the Papists that say ignorance is the mother of devotion, whereas it is the breeder of all wickedness, and the broad way to hell and everlasting destruction.

The use is this; as you desire the comfort of your souls, and to be prepared for mercy and to partake of that rich grace that is in Christ; as you desire to have the rich promises of the Gospel put over to you, as ever you would have the Lord Jesus Christ a guest to your souls, you are to be entreated to give your souls no content till you have your eyes so opened to see your sins that you may be convicted of them.

Now it may be some will say, it is good that you say, but what means must we use to come to this sight of sin? Answer. I answer to such poor souls, give me leave to do three things: first I will show some means how we may come to see sin convictingly;

Secondly, I will take away all the lets that may hinder a man from it;

Thirdly, I will use some motives to stir us up to use the means, and set upon the service, though it be somewhat harsh and tedious to our corruptions. The means are three.

[1] First, we must go to God for knowledge; the Lord knows our hearts, therefore we must go to him, that he would make us able to know them too; the church of Laodicea thought none like herself, as it is the fashion of many in this age so to do; and therefore the Lord said, thou thoughtest thyself rich and full, and that thou didst want nothing; it is an argument of a proud sinful heart that he is always well conceited of himself and of his own wit, grace, and sufficiency, but mark what the Lord saith to this church, I counsel thee, to buy of me eye-salve: she thought all her compters to be good gold, and all her appearances to be good religion, but the Lord bids her buy of him eye-salve; as if he had said, you see not your sins, and therefore go to God, and beseech him that dwells in endless light, to let in some light into your souls.

When the poor blind man Bartimaeus sat begging by the way, saying, O thou son of David have mercy upon me, and pressed earnestly on our Savior, in so much that when his disciples rebuked him, he cried so much the more, O thou Son of David have mercy on me, and when Christ said, what wouldst thou have me to do for thee, he answered, Lord, that I may receive my sight. If he did so earnestly seek for his bodily eyes, much more should we for the eyes of our souls, that we may see our sins; a blind mind brings a wicked heart with it, and lays a man open to all sins; and therefore we ought to be more pinched for the want of this sight, Objection. Then of our bodily eyes: and if the question be asked, what wouldst thou have honor, riches, or the like? Answer. Answer, O Lord the sight of my sins; I know sin is a vile loathsome thing, O that I could see sin convictingly and clearly.

[2] Secondly, labor to acquaint yourselves thoroughly with God and with his law, and to see the compass and breadth of it; the words of the commandments are few, but there are many sins forbidden in them, and many duties required; therefore labor to see thy sins convicted, and thy many duties neglected. The apostle Paul thought himself once alive without the law, and who but he in the world? He was able to carry all before him, he thought his penny good silver, but when the law came (saith the text) then sin revived; when God had opened my eyes to see my sin and the corruptions of my heart, then I saw myself a dead man, yet Paul was a Pharisee, and brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, and one that did keep the law of God in a strict manner. Whence we learn, that a man may be an ignorant man, be his parts never so great for humane learning; and the same apostle saith, I had not known lust, except the law of God had said, thou shalt not lust, by which is meant the tenth commandment, which forbids the secret distemper of the heart, though there is no delight and consent to it; who but Paul? And yet he knew it not, and therefore no wonder though many otherwise well learned are ignorant in God’s law, therefore look yourselves in this glass of the word; all you that say however you are not able to talk so freely as others, yet you have as good a heart to God as the best, I tell you if you could but see the filthiness of your hearts, you would be out of love with yourselves forever.

An ignorant heart cannot but be a naughty heart.

Thirdly, bind your hearts to the peace and good behavior, and be willingly content to take every truth that is revealed, without quarrelling; and I would have a man to bind his heart, hand, and foot, that they may not dare to have any brabling against the revealed will of God; that so whatever truth is delivered, though never so cross and contrary to our corrupt nature, the soul may be willing to be under the blow of it, and let the strength of the Word come full upon the heart; and this will make us feelingly to understand our conditions: as in Job, when God had taken down his proud heart, see how he submits himself, behold, I am vile, what shall I say? I will lay my hand upon my mouth, I have sinned; but I will go no further; as though he had reasoned thus with himself, I have (I confess) pleaded too much for myself, I have made more shift for myself than was needful, I have gainsaid thy word, but now no more. Now if any man seem to quarrel and take up arms against the truth of God, let that man know he was never truly humbled for his sins: it is a sinful rebellious spirit that carries itself thus against God and his word; the shifts whereby the soul labors to beat back the power of the Word may be reduced to these three heads.

First, the soul hath a slight apprehension of sin, and thinketh that it is not so heinous, and so dangerous, as those hot spirited ministers bear men in hand; this is usually the common conceit of all men naturally, and even of us all, more or less, to make a slight account of sin, and that for these four respects.

[1] First, in respect of the commonness of it; because that every man is guilty of it, we slight it; what saith one; good now, what then, are not all sinners, as well as we? Though we have many failings, yet we have many fellows.

If we were drunkards, or whoremongers, then it were somewhat? Thou sayest true indeed, thou hast many fellows in thy sins, and thou shalt have share with many fellows in the punishment to come; there is room enough in hell for thee and all thy fellows, hell hath opened her mouth wide; nay the more companions thou hast had in thy sins, the more shall be thy plagues.

Question. O (saith one) all the world lies in sin, and we do no more than the world doth.

Answer. But if the world lies in sin, Christ never prayed for the world, and he will never save the world? What a senseless thing is this to be such a one as God hates? Is this all thy pleasure that thou art a hater of God? What odds is it for a man to be stabbed with a penknife or with a spear; or for a man to be murdered in the streets or in his bed? So, though thy sins be not hideous blasphemies and the like, yet if they be petty oaths, they are enough to sink thy soul; it is not your great swearer, but no swearer shall come into the kingdom of heaven. The text saith not, no great liars shall enter into heaven, but no liars shall enter into heaven; what difference is there between a man that goes to hell for open rebellion; and a man that goes to hell for civil profession; and what difference is there between an open adulterer and a secret adulterer?

Question. But some will say are not all sinful by nature, and are not some saved, and why not I as well as others?

Answer. For answer, I say, no man is saved by nature, but if any be saved, the Lord opens his eyes, and breaks his heart, and so it must be with thee too, if ever thou thinkest to receive any mercy from God.

[2] Secondly, there is also a naturalness in a sinful course, and they say, it is my nature and infirmity, and I am of a choleric disposition, I shall sometimes swear, when I am angry; and I cannot but be drunk sometimes, when I light into good company. Question. What, would you have of us saints on earth? Answer. I, either saints or devils, never sanctified, never saved; never purged, never glorified, as the apostle saint John saith, he that hath this hope purgeth himself, as he is pure, he striveth with his whole endeavor to be pure, and always he hath a respect to all God’s commandments; and as the author to the Hebrews saith, pursue faith and holiness, without which no man can be saved.

If thou dost say, if it were an honor to pray in my family, and if gentlemen and knights did it, I would do it. I tell thee if holiness doth seem to fly away by disgrace and persecution, then you must pursue it; nay, dost thou say it is thy nature to sin? Then I say the greater is thy wickedness, if it be thy nature so to do: we hate not a man because he drinks poison, but we hate a toad because it is of a poisonous nature, therefore rather mourn the more for thy sins, because it is thy cursed nature so to do, and say, Lord, did only temptations, or the world, allure me to this, there were some hope that thou wouldst have mercy upon me, but O Lord I have a cursed nature, and though there were no devils, nor world, no temptations outwardly, yet this cursed nature of mine would sin against thee.

They that have received Christ, have a new nature: and therefore if I have a carnal corrupt nature, then my condition is most fearful; and say, did temptations and the world allure me, then there were some hope of mercy, but it is my nature to sin, and therefore my estate and condition is most miserable and wretched; oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death?

[3] Thirdly, many say, words are but wind, and all this wind shakes no corn, and so when we press men to the inward work of the soul, not only to keep men from the halter, but to tell them, they must pull down their proud hearts, and be humbled for their sins, and the like, then they reply, thoughts fly away suddenly, and thoughts are free. To which I answer, these words are such wind as will blow down thy soul into the bottomless pit of hell. It is not I that say so, but our Savior himself, by thy words thou shalt be justified; and by thy words thou shalt be condemned: though you make nothing of your swearing, and idle thoughts, and revilings of God’s people; yet the God of heaven will require them at your hands, and you shall either receive acquittance from Christ of them, or else vengeance forever for them: for the Lord cometh with thousands of his saints in flaming fire to punish not only murderers and adulterers and the like, but all ungodly ones; the Lord will call thee to an account for all thy abominations, nay, for all thy speeches against the people of God, upon thy ale-bench when thou didst toss them to and fro, and the Lord will set thy sins in order before thee; nay, he will call thee to an account for them, for all thy thoughts, though they are sudden and quickly passed over, as the prophet Jeremiah saith, O Jerusalem, wash thy heart from wickedness, how long shall thy vain thoughts remain in thee? Whatsoever men think of thoughts, yet they are the very life and sinews of sin, and they are brought forth by meditation of a man’s corruptions in this kind.

A man may sin more in thought then in any other kind whatsoever; both in regard of the vileness of sin, and his unavoidableness thereof. A thief cannot rob all the town, but a covetous man may wish all in the town were hanged, that he might have their goods; and so an adulterer cannot commit sin with every woman in the town, but he may lust after both the godly and profane, and he may commit adultery both with the chaste and unchaste too in his thoughts; a man may sin infinitely in this kind, and never have done: for no company nor place can hinder an adulterer from sinning and lusting, nor the malicious man from envying in his heart, nor the covetous man from desiring the goods of other men. Though thou darest not cut the throat of a minister, yet thou canst malice all the ministers in the country.

[4] Fourthly, the soul hath a strange inward resolution of leaving to sin, whatsoever can be said or done to the contrary. And this inward resolution of the soul hath a delight in corruptions, though he die, and be damned for the same; this plucketh the heart from the Word, and layeth so many mists upon the understanding, that it cannot see the truth; when the soul hath nothing to say for itself, it falls to open and professed reviling of Jesus Christ, and defying of him; and hence it is, that after many good arguments the soul stands as it were at a set; and saith, I will not believe it, though there were five thousand ministers to persuade me to it; and why doth he so? Hath he any argument to allege? No, not a word, but he that is proud will be proud, and he that is a swearer will swear, and will not make conscience of anything; this comes from a proud and a sturdy heart. When Jeremiah would have convinced the people of their sins and of the punishments threatened to them, they said, thou speakest falsely, there is no such matter: so it is with many a carnal heart now a days; if the minister of God will not please their fantasies, then all the business is, they knew all this before: when as indeed they knew nothing at all. Therefore saith God, take heed there be not in any of you a root of bitterness; if the soul heareth the law and blesseth himself in his wickedness, and saith, I shall have peace though I walk after the imaginations of my own heart; the Lord will not spare that man: but the jealousy of the Lord shall smoke against him; this root of bitterness is nothing else but sin, and a resolution to continue in it; for the Lord Jesus sake consider this; there are too many of these in the congregation; wilt thou not believe God’s word, I tell thee thou deniest almost that there is a God, and thou renouncest the Lord Jesus Christ and salvation by him; thou sayest in effect, there is no God, and that there is not any means of grace revealed; what devilish blasphemy is this? Let me speak to the terror of all such hearts, hell never entertained any such thoughts, the devils in hell for ought I know, have not any such professed resolutions, the devils believe and tremble; the devils believe that the scriptures are the Word of God, and they know there is infinite mercy in God; but they shall never taste of it, and they know, all the plagues threatened shall come upon them, and they snake and tremble at the remembrance of it. What, do the devils consent to the Word of God, and conceive of it, and know that it is the truth of God and shall be made good upon them? Then good Lord of what a strange temper art thou, that wilt not believe it, and that wilt not consent that it is true? the devil is not worse than thou art in this case; I must confess that the consideration of these passages sometime makes the soul of a poor minister shake within him, and were it in my power as it is not, the first work that I would do, should be to humble and break the hearts of all such vile wretches, but all that I can or will do, is this, that which the holy man Moses spake and he spake it with a marvelous caution; you that never came to the height of this horrible contempt, take heed that there be not any man among you, that saith, it shall go well with me whatsoever the minister saith. It is as much as your souls are worth, and to such as are guilty of this sin I will give the same counsel that Peter gave to Simon Magus, who had a base esteem of the gifts of the spirit, O (saith Peter) pray, that if it be possible, the thoughts of thy heart may be forgiven thee. It is a fearful thing, it is a marvelous opposing of grace; and for you, whose eyes God hath opened, go home and consider of the miserable estate of all such as lie in this sin; go to prayer, and send up requests in the behalf of all such poor creatures; and say, is it so Lord, that there are many such who have the name of Christians, that will not be reformed nor humbled? Good Lord! That many, that have the name of Christians, will not come in; thy word will not prevail nor take place in their hearts? Good Lord break their hearts in pieces, break in upon them, and let thy word overcome them in mercy and compassion; and bring them to the true knowledge of sin here, and happiness hereafter. And thus much of the first cavil.

Secondly, the soul saith, I confess I see more now than ever I conceived of before; I did not conceive that sin was so heinous and so dangerous as it is: now I see it is marvelous great and dangerous; yet this is my hope, that whatsoever falls, it will not light upon me; and therefore what need I care, I hope to prevent it, and then all will be well. When the Word comes fair and full upon the conscience of a man and would pierce his heart, and meets him in every place as the angel did Balaam, he will have some fetch or other to put by the Word, and he says; I hope for all this, the danger shall not fall upon me. Now the way that the soul useth to put by the Word, and to prevent the danger threatened, appears in these three particulars.

The first is this, however sin is never so vile in itself, and he is guilty thereof; yet he thinks the God of heaven doth not attend to his sins, or else he is not so just or righteous that he will punish him for them. Indeed, if he were some notorious wretch, as a murderer, or an adulterer or a thief, or such like, then he had cause to fear, but God will not bring him to an account for every small sin, that this is the sleight of the soul, I will show you; and then show you how to avoid it.

It is ordinary with every carnal heart more or less, to reason as Eliphaz with Job; how doth God know? Can he judge through the dark? Thick clouds are a covering to him that he seeth not, he walketh in the circuits of heaven. It is the guise of wicked men to say so; nay, it is that which the hearts of God’s people are driven to a stand withal, when they consider the passages of wicked men, now God seeth them and doth not punish them, they say, how doth God know? And, is there knowledge in the almighty? When the prophet saw the way of the wicked to prosper, their eyes to start out with fatness, he saith, doth God see this, and not punish it? As if he had said, did God care for all that is done here below, could he brook such strange oppositions of his word and his Gospel and his members? I doubt not, but that there is many an adulterous heart, that thinks a dark night shall cover all his abominations; and the malicious man that contrives evil against God’s children he thinks that God considers not his course; or else that God will not trouble himself to execute judgment upon him for all his sins. As the prophet saith, the Lord will not do good nor evil; he is marvelous quiet, he will not trouble himself neither for the good that doth befall, nor for the evil that is deserved by us; nay, this is the bane of our ministry, when people hear of many judgments denounced against sin and sinners. (I tell you what they think of all this) they think they are words of course. If the adulterer or drunkard did consider that no such person should inherit the kingdom of heaven, durst they go on? Surely no. But they think they are but the words of some hot spirited minister, to awe, and scare men and keep them in compass, and they will not be persuaded, but God is more merciful then so, that he should punish for every small sin, they think this is more than reasonable; let him make speed (saith the wicked) that we may see it, and let the counsel of the most high draw nigh, that we may know it. As if they had said, you ministers tell us much of God’s wrath against Jerusalem, let us see those enemies, and let the Word of the Lord come to pass now, all these words are but wind, and so forth. These are the carnal cavils of graceless persons. To which I answer; it is desperate ignorance and marvelous atheism of heart, whereby the devil labors to keep men in sin; the Lord knows thy thoughts long before, if thou wouldst hide thyself from the Lord in the dark, the day and the night are all one with him; nay, the Lord will search Jerusalem with candles, the word in the original signifies to track her, nay, he will not leave searching until he find thee out; for the ways of man are before the Lord, and he ponders all his doings, and if our hearts condemn us, God knoweth all things, and is greater than our hearts. Doth thy conscience check thee for vain thoughts, and cursed devices? Then God knoweth much more by thee then thou knowest by thy self. God did see Achan stealing the wedge of gold, and David in his adultery; and he seeth all the malice of thy heart against his saints; and all thy uprising of heart against God’s word; nay, the Lord seeth all the pranks of the adulterer in the darkest night; and God is just to bring all things to judgment; and thee also to an account for them; in vain it is for wicked men to dig deep, to hide their counsel from the Lord: these things hast thou done (said God) and I kept silence, and therefore thoughtest I was altogether such a one as thy self, but I will reprove thee, and set all thy sins in order before thee.

You must not think God is so gentle, no, he will set all your sins in order before you, if not here for your humiliation, yet hereafter for your everlasting confusion; the drunkard shall then see all his pot companions, and the adulterer his mates, and the unjust person all his tricks, nay, God will not bate thee one thought of thy heart; be where you will, God will find you out with his judgments, and say, lo, here is thy pride, and here is thy murder, and here are all thy abominations, this is the wretch that could carry fire in the one hand and water in the other; these are thy sins, and this shall be thy punishment.

[2] Secondly,

Objection. If God be so mighty (say they) that he knows all, and will call us to an account for all; then it is but sorrowing so much the more; and that we will do afterwards, and this will make all well enough; it is but repenting.

Answer. To this I answer, do you make a but at it; be not deceived God is not, nay, cannot be mocked, and therefore delude not your own souls, every repentance will not serve the turn; thou mayest have remorse of heart, and repent, and cry to God for thy sins, and this tormenting of thy heart will be but a forerunner of thy everlasting damnation hereafter: the Lord may deal with thee as Moses said of the people of Israel, you returned and wept before the Lord, but he would not hearken to your voice. So the time may come that all weeping and wailing will not serve the turn. You see Judas wept and brought back the thirty pieces of silver, he had marvelous horror of conscience, he took shame to himself, and made restitution; and yet a damned creature forever.

Thou that thinkest it such an easy matter, ask thy own heart this question: canst thou be content to lay open all thy cursed sinful courses, and all the wrong that thou hast done; consider what a hard matter it is to bring thy heart to it; to confess all thy close adulteries; and when thou hast done all this, thou mayest be as far from salvation as Judas was, who went and hanged himself; therefore it is not every sorrow will serve the turn, and bring comfort to thy soul; but it must be repentance of the right stamp; and again, dost thou think thou hast repentance at command, this is that which cuts the throat of men’s souls, and deprives them of all the benefit of the means of grace; thou art not sure though thou shalt live, thou hast power of thyself to repent savingly; and shall any man be so senseless, as to hang his happiness on that which cannot help him? If thou didst consider thy own weakness, thou wouldst not say that repentance is in thine own power. Remember what the apostle saith, proving if peradventure at any time God would give repentance, that they may acknowledge the truth, and come to amendment of life out of the snares of the devil. It is only but peradventure, it is a rare work, and few have it.

[3] Thirdly, some will say, God may give me repentance, Question. Christ came into the world to save sinners, and why may he not save me? Answer. I answer, is that all? Is it come to this? And who knows but that God may damn thee too? If that be all, why may you not say more truly; what know I, but that God may give me up to a hard heart, and a blind mind forever, and I may forever be cast out of the presence of God? Is it but, it may be all this while? And therefore for a full answer, consider these two things to shake off this carnal security, whereby men resolve to pin their salvation God’s mercy, though they purpose to oppose his mercy. First, know this, that there is a time when God will not show mercy? Behold; saith God, I gave her a time of repentance, but she repented not, therefore I will cast her upon the bed of sickness: and as our Savior saith to Jerusalem, oh that thou hadst known in this thy day, the things belonging to thy peace; but now they are hid from thy eyes. God had sealed up his mercy, and the day of salvation was past, and when the day is over, though Noah, Daniel, and Job, should pray for a people they should save neither Son nor daughter; and if thy father did pray for thee that art a child; if mercy be past, the Lord will not spare that man saith the text; as if the Lord had said, I have abundance of mercy but thou shalt never taste of it, nay, for ought I know, the Lord may set a seal of condemnation upon thee, and so give thee over to all evil, to all sin, to all curses; and blot out thy name from under heaven; are you yet persuaded that this is God’s word? If you were but persuaded of the sorrow some have had, it would make you look about you; the wise man saith, that wisdom professeth to pour out abundance of mercy, saying, oh you simple ones, how long will you condemn and despise purity and holiness?

Now mark, when a people hath had this mercy, and wisdom offered to them, and yet they will despise it; then shall the cry, and call, but I will not answer, (saith God) they shall seek me early, but shall not find me. The period of God’s patience is come to an end, and there is no expectation of mercy; call, and call, you may, but God will not hear you; you whose consciences fly in your faces, and tell you, that you have despised mercy, and you would none of God’s counsels, and you hate the knowledge of his ways, do you think to get it now by crying, when the date of mercy is out? No, no, you would have none of God’s mercy before, and now he will none of you; do you think it fit, that grace, and mercy, and the spirit, should still stand and wait upon you, and strive, and always be despised? Is it not marvelous just that that word which you have despised, should never work more; and that mercy, you have refused should never be offered to you anymore? It is just, and you shall find it so in the end, and take heed the terms of mercy be not out.

[4] Lastly, if we cannot avoid it, then we are resolved to bear it as we may; if we be damned, we shall undergo it as we are able. This is that we poor ministers find too often by woeful experience, that when we have taken away all cavils from wicked men; and then if we could weep over them, and mourn for them, and beseech them to consider of it aright; mark what they say, good sir, spare your pains, we are sinners, and if we be damned, then every tub must stand upon his own bottom; we will bear it as well as we can: what, is the wind in that door? Is that all you can say? O woe to thee that ever thou wert bone! O poor creature! If I should cease speaking, and all of us join together in weeping and lamenting thy condition, it were the best course; it is impossible thou shouldest ever bear God’s wrath with any comfort. And let these three considerations be remembered and retained, which will make any man come to a stand, even the vilest wretches who will blaspheme and swear, and if they be damned (they say) they have born something, and they will also bear this as well as they can.

[1] First, judge the lion by the paw, judge the torments of hell by some little beginnings of it; and the dregs of God’s vengeance, by some little sips of it; and judge how unable thou art to bear the whole by thy inability to bear a little of it in this life. In the terror of conscience (as the wise man saith) a wounded spirit who can bear? When God lays the flashes of hell fire upon thy soul, thou canst not endure it; what soever a man can inflict upon a poor wretch may be born, but when the almighty comes in battle array against a poor soul, how can he undergo it? Witness the saints that have felt it, as also witness the wicked themselves that have had some beginnings of hell in their consciences. When the Lord hath let in a little horror of heart into the soul of a poor sinful creature, how is he transported with an insupportable burthen? When it is day, he wisheth it were night, and when it is night, he wisheth it were day. All the friends in the world cannot comfort him, nay many have sought to hang themselves, to do anything rather than to suffer a little vengeance of the almighty: and one man is roaring and yelling, as if he were now in hell already, and admits of no comfort if the drops be so heavy, what will the whole sea of God’s vengeance be? If he cannot bear the one, how can he bear the other?

[2] Secondly, consider thine own strength, and compare it with all the strength of the creatures, and so if all the creatures be not able to bear the wrath of the almighty, (as Job saith, is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh as brass that must bear thy wrath? As if he had said, it must be a stone, or brass, that must bear thy wrath. Though thou wert as strong as brass or stones, thou couldest not bear it, when the mountains tremble at the wrath of the Lord) shall a poor worm or bubble, and a shadow endure it?

Conceive thus much, if all the diseases in the world did seize on one man, and if all the torments that all the tyrants in the world could devise, were cast upon him; and if all the creatures in heaven and earth did conspire the destruction of this man; and if all the devils in hell did labor to inflict punishments upon him; you would think this man to be in a miserable condition. And yet all this is but a beam of God’s indignation. If the beams of God’s wrath be not hot, what is the full Sun of his wrath, when it shall seize upon the soul of a sinful creature in full measure?

[3] The third consideration is this. Nay, yet if thou thinkest to lift up thyself above all creatures and to bear more than they all; then set before thine eyes the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ, he that creates the heavens and upholds the whole frame thereof, when the wrath of God came upon him, only as a surety; he cries out with his eyes full of tears, and his heart full of sorrow, and the heavens full of lamentations, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Oh thou poor creature, if thou hast the heart of a man, gird up the loins of thy mind, and see what thou canst doe? Doest thou think to bear that which the Lord Jesus Christ could not bear with so much sorrow? Yet he did endure it without any sin or weakness; he had three sips of the cup, and every one of them did sink his soul; and art thou, a poor sinful wretch, able to bear the wrath of God forever? Now (beloved) seeing all objections are answered, and the things made plain, labor to do that which you may have comfort in; submit yourselves to the good word of the Lord, and not only be willing and content to be thus enlightened, but labor for it, that thou mayest prevent the judgments deserved by the same.

Now that I may the better prevail with you, consider these three motives, first, it is the only old way to heaven, for God never revealed any other but this way in the old law: the only way for the leaper to be cleansed was to come out into the congregation and to cry, I am unclean, I am unclean. This leaper was every sinner; this means of curing was the sight of his sin; and as he did, so must every sinner confess his sin, take shame to himself, and say, it is my proud heart, and this my loose life, and so forth. This true sight of sin is the only door to life and salvation, who would not go that way which is the right and the ready way, if ever you receive mercy at the hands of the Lord, it must be by this way, or not at all. I pray you take heed, and do not find a shorter cut to heaven; the further you go the contrary way, the further you must return back again; this hath cozened many a man more than he doth imagine.

As a traveler when he is loath to go through some filthy lane, he will break through the fence and go through the meadow, that he may save the foul way, at last when he hath gone up and down and cannot get out again, he is forced with much loss of time to go back again, and go through the lane. So it is with many sinful wretches in the world, and this hath cost them dear. They will not go this way, by sorrow for sin to see the filthiness thereof, and their cursed abominations, but they will have a new way to receive mercy and comfort from God, yet at last they are driven to a stand, and then they will hear the minister of God, and when he saith, Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost, that is, those poor sinners that saw themselves lost; and consider the plagues of their heart; and when Christ works savingly, he opens the eye and awakens the conscience, and a man must confess before he can find mercy, then the soul saith, I never saw this work upon my soul, I was never lost. No? Where broke you over then? You would needs to heaven a new way; you are like the thorny ground that would receive the Word with joy; nay, I’ll assure you, you must come back again, and see all those abominations which have been committed in secret by you and discover them, or else there is no means to come unto life; let us search and try our ways (saith the church.) You must not think that Christ will pardon all, and you do nothing, no, first see your sins, and then you shall receive mercy and pardon for them.

Secondly, the work by this means will be much more easy then at another time. If thou once get thy conscience convicted and thine eyes opened, the work will go on clearly and easily; many of God’s people will strike in with you, and many good Christians will pity you, and pray for you, and you shall have many helps this way, and therefore is it not better now to have your conscience awakened when you may have help, then afterward when there is no remedy? When any of God’s people fast or pray, they will remember you; what saith one? Do you know such a man? Yes very well: what is he? Oh he was the most shameless drunkard that ever the sun did see, or the earth bear. Was he so? Oh but now God hath opened his eyes, and awakened his conscience, he was never so frolic before, but now he is as much wounded, now his heart is broken, and his conscience flies in his face; it were good to remember him, though he hath been a wretch and a professed opposer of God’s people, yet let us remember him; yes that I will, I know his burden is great, I have found it; and I hope so long as I have a knee to kneel and a tongue to speak I shall remember him. And then they pray for him and say, good Lord, who can bear a wounded soul? Good Lord thou hast humbled him and made him see himself vile and miserable, let him see thy mercy in Christ. What a comfort is this to have a whole Country pray for him in this manner.

Objection. But some will object and say, this is something dangerous and drives men sometimes to a desperate stand, and therefore is it not far better to be as we are, and not to awake this severe lion; a man cannot conjure down his conscience when it is up once.

Answer. To this I answer, you must see your sins that is the truth of it, do not think to put it off; the lion will roar; and that conscience will be awakened one day; it is better to be awakened now, then to have your eyes opened in hell when there is no remedy.

Thirdly, set upon this work, the issue will be very successful: oh what a comfort will it be to a poor soul in the time of death, when he shall come to render up his soul into the hands of God, that all his sins are wiped out: and then to hear those glad tidings from heaven; be of good comfort poor soul, thou hast seen thy sins, therefore I will not see them; thou hast remembered them and mourned for them, therefore I will never plague thee for them. Who would not see his sins that Christ may cover them in that day of accounts? There was never sinner broken hearted but God did bind him up: and there was never any truly wounded for sin but God did ever heal and comfort him; and therefore labor to look your face in the glass of God’s law, and so see your own spots; I confess this is tedious to your sins, and the plagues due to them; but look thou on them that, God may not; if an adversary offer means of agreement, we use to say, suffer it not to come to the public trial, for the case is naught; I say it will be so with every wicked man’s case, the Lord hath a controversy with every wicked man, and it must be tried in the public day of judgment, or else you must make a private agreement between God and your own souls; if there be any drunkard, or adulterer, or unjust person, that is guilty of any sin, you had better take up the matter in private: do not fear to look upon your sins, but bring them all out before the Lord, and see the ugly face of them, and entreat the Lord to seal up unto you the pardon of them, that you may never be called to an account for them; I tell you, it is the most comfortable course in the world.

The last use for instruction to all my fellow brethren: let me speak a word to them and to myself too; let us all take that course in dealing with the people, and God’s ordinances, which God himself takes up; as the steward disposeth of everything at his masters will, and the apothecary orders drugs as the physician appoints, so let it be with us to, we are but stewards and apothecaries; let us take that course, and use those means that God hath appointed for his people’s good; God saith, you must see your sins, and be humbled for them: and therefore let us labor to make men see them, (as the apostle saith, I hope we were made manifest to your consciences; did not your consciences say so, that you could not gain-say it?) we must take up that course the Scripture hath revealed, and which the faithful servants of God have ever used, and which God hath ever blessed: nay, it is our wisdom so to do. Matthew the seventh and the last, Christ taught the people with authority, not as the scribes: there is a kind of commanding power which the Word ought to have upon men’s consciences, if a man be a sinner it will reprove him, and command reproofs to seize upon him, and if he be in distress of conscience, it will command comfort to take place in his heart.

Give me leave to speak my thoughts, and it is my judgment too: what doth it profit a man to scrape up a little Greek and Latin together, and to leave the sense of the Scripture undiscovered, and the conscience no whit touched, nor the heart stirred? He that knows anything this way, though he were but an ordinary school-boy, that had but any skill in the tongues, if he could not do it, he should be scourged by my counsel. But let it be in case of conscience a poor soul comes to anguish of spirit, the only way to set this man on foot again, is to answer all his objections and questions; and resolve all his doubts, and to make the way good and the case clear; alas this course is not known amongst us: and in the way of examination, if a man come to examine a sinner, he takes away all his cavils, and all his carnal shifts, that he hath to hinder the Word, and forces the soul to say, it is God’s word, though he will not entertain it. Let a man try this course and he shall find a marvelous difficulty, this is the reason why our ministry thrives not, and the hearts of men are not wrought upon; because we labor not the right way, to show men their sins, and to convince their conscience, that they may not flinch out from the ordinances of God; nay, I take it to be the special cause why after all the precious promises that God makes known, no man receives good by them; we offer salves to them that know not whether they have any sores or no; and we offer physic to those that we know not whether they have any disease or no, we speak of grace and Christ, but people think they have no need of them; suffer me to speak my mind herein freely. That ministry which doth not ordinarily humble the soul and break the heart, doth not convert and draw to Christ, but that ministry that doth not enlighten the mind and convince the soul of sin, that never humbles ordinarily, and therefore never doth draw home to Christ,

Now we come to show the causes why, and the means how sinners come to see their sins. The apostle speaks it to their faces, you are they that have committed this sin, you have crucified the Lord of life, this is your sin.

The doctrine from hence is this: a special application of particular sins is a chief means to bring people to a sight of their sins and to a true sorrow for them. The apostle doth not generally propound their sins, but he comes home to their hearts, and it is not only done in this place; but it hath been the practice of all God’s faithful ministers heretofore, as John the Baptist, he goes not cunningly to work, secretly to intimate some truths; but he deals roundly with them, and saith, O generation of vipers; who fore. Warned you to fly from the wrath to come? And he shows them their sins in particular. And when the publicans came to be baptized, he saith, receive no more than is appointed for you, and he saith to the soldiers, do violence to no man, and be content with your wages; he was the minister of humiliation and preparation: and therefore he deals thus plainly with them.

When Ahab had slain Naboth, the prophet Elijah came to him and says, in the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood: Ahab said, hast thou found me out O my enemy? And he said, I have found thee out, because thou hast sold thyself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord; and the text saith, when he heard this, he put on sack-cloth and went softly: this was the power of a particular reproof, though he were a miserable wicked man. Thus did Paul deal with Peter, when he halted before the Jews, he did plainly reprove him to his face, and that not secretly, but because he had sinned openly, therefore he reproves him openly; so also our Savior Christ shakes up the scribes and Pharisees. And this is the rule in general, as the apostle saith, reprove them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith.

Oh! But some will say. If I do thus plainly deal with them, I shall discourage them altogether.

Answer. Nay, it will make them sound Christians indeed; see what the Lord saith, plead with your mother: the Word in the original is, call her into the court, call her by her name, and say, that she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. And the Lord saith by Ezekiel, son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations: he doth not say, cause the country to know her abominations, or the country to know the sins of the court, but make Jerusalem know her own abominations.

The reasons are these: first, because the Word thus applied hits sooner than otherwise it would. A master commands a servant to do such a thing, and because he names him not; one thinks it is not he, and another it is not he, only because he is not named: so when a minister saith, in many things we sin all, he hits no man, and so none are affected with it; but now particular application brings every man’s part and portion, and not only sets the dish afore him, but cuts him meat, and carves for him, and we do in this cause as the nurse doth with the child; she not only sets the meat before it, but she minceth it, and puts it into the child’s mouth: the steward doth no only say, there is meat enough in the market, but he buys it, and brings it home, and sees it prepared, and gives direction what is for everyone. The words of a faithful minister are like arrows, which if they be shot a cock height they fall down again and do nothing: but when a man levels at a mark, then, if ever, he will hit it. So, many ministers can tell a grave fair tale, and speak of sins in general, and these common reproofs, these intimations of sin, are like arrows shot a cock height, they touch no man but when a minister makes application of sin in particular, and saith, O all you drunkards and adulterers, this is your portion, and let this be as venom in your hearts to purge out your lusts. When our Savior Christ lapped up the Pharisees all in one speech, it is said, that they heard the parable and knew that he meant them.

Overly discourses that they are sinners and great sinners in other countries, and you should do well to look to your ways and the like: these are like the confused noise that was in the ship when Jonah was asleep in it, which never troubled him, at last the master cometh and saith, arise, O sleeper, and call upon thy God; and as a father observes, they came about him, and every man had a blow at him, and then he did awake. So because of general reproofs of sin, and terms a far off, men come here, and sit and sleep, and are not touched nor troubled at all. But when particular application cometh home to the heart, and a minister saith; this is thy drunkenness, and thy adultery and profaneness, and this will break thy neck one day, what assurance hast thou got of God’s mercy? And what canst thou say for heaven? Then men begin to look about them. There was never any convicting ministry nor any man that did in plainness apply the Word home, but their people would be reformed by it, or else their consciences would be troubled and desperately provoked to oppose God and his ordinances, that they may be plagued by it. The Word of God is like a sword, the explanation of the text is like the drawing out of this sword, and the flourishing of it: and so long it never hits: but when a man strikes a full blow at a man, it either wounds or puts him to his fence: so the application of the Word is like the striking with the sword, it will work one way or other, if a man can fence the blow, so it is: I confess it is beyond our power to awaken the heart, but ordinarily this way doth good.

Secondly, as the Word of God particularly applied hits soonest, so it sinks deepest; the words of the wise are compared to nails fastened by the masters of assemblies; the doctrine delivered is like the nails pointed; but when it is clear, and then particularly applied, it is like the setting on the nails fast upon the hearts and consciences of men; and this I take to be the reason why many that have come many times to oppose the ministers of the Gospel; yet God hath broken in upon them, and humbled their hearts and made them see their miserable condition.

Gather up all then, if a plain and particular application of the Word hits the heart soonest and sinks deepest into the heart, then it is a special means to work a sight of sin, and affect the heart with sorrow for it; but the former part is true: therefore the latter cannot be denied.

The first use is for instruction, here we find the reason why plain teaching finds such opposition, why it is so caviled at by all ministers and others; because thereby the eye of the soul comes to be opened, and all a man’s abominations are discovered, and his conscience is pinched by the same; our Savior saith, he that doth evil, hates the light, lest his deeds should be reproved, as a thief hates the light and the lantern-bearer, because they show his villainy; so they that are guilty of many sinful courses, and base practices, hate the minister that brings the Word with any power to their souls. A malefactor at the assizes can be content to see an hundred men in the town and is never troubled with them; but if he sees one man that comes to give in evidence against him, and knows his practices; oh how his heart riseth with desperate indignation against that man. Oh saith he, this is he that seeks my life, he will make my neck crack; so it is with this soul saving ministry, it is that which brings in a bill of indictment against a man. Now a man can be content to come, and hear though it be never so many sermons; but if a minister comes in for a witness against him, and begins to arraign him, and to indict him, for his pride, and malice, and covetousness, and to convince him of them, and to lay him flat before the Lord, and his conscience, oh then he is not able to bear it. What is the reason of this? He can hear others quietly, and say, oh they are sweet men, they deal kindly and comfortably. Why? The masse bites not; (as the proverb is) such a kind of ministry works not at all, and this is the reason why they are not troubled, but go away so well contented. I have sometime admired at this: why a company of gentlemen, yeomen, and poor women, that are scarcely able to know their A-B-Cs, yet they have a minister to speak Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and to use the fathers, when it is certain, they know nothing at all. The reason is, because all this stings not, they may sit and sleep in their sins, and go to hell hoodwinked, never awakened, and that is the reason they will welcome such to their houses, and say, oh he is an excellent man, I would give anything I might live under his ministry. It is just Ahab’s old humor, he could suit seasonably with four hundred false prophets, and if there had been five thousand more, they should all have been accepted of him, but when Jehoshaphat said, is there never another prophet of the Lord; oh yes (saith Ahab) there is one Micaiah, but I hate him, he never spake good to me that is, he never soothes me up. So it was the temper of the people mentioned in the acts, when the apostle saw they were a rebellious people, he deals plainly with them: but they cried, away with such a fellow, he is not worthy to live. What? Said they, then it seems we shall be cast off from the Lord and be his people no more, they were not able to bear that: people in this case deal with God’s faithful ministers as the widow of Sarepta did, when the prophet had told her that the meal in the barrel and the oil in the cruse should not decrease; all this while he was welcome: but when her child was dead, oh what have I to do with thee thou man of God? Thinking indeed that the prophet had killed her Son; so all the while we set the doors open wide that all the drunkards and adulterers in the country may go to heaven, you like us well enough, and we are as welcome as maybe, and we are marvelous good preachers, and you think us fit for the pulpit, but if we come once to lay sin to your charge, and to threaten condemnation for it, and to say, if God be in heaven you shall never come there, if you continue in your sins, oh then they are up in arms, and say as the widow did are you come to slay our souls, and awaken our consciences? Beloved, this argues a spirit that never found the power of the word; but it is our duties and we must do it, and howsoever it is not accepted of the wicked, yet it shall find entertainment with God, and he shall give us our reward at that great day.

Secondly, it is a word of reproof, suffer me to deal plainly in this kind, if particular application be so powerful, and so profitable, let me speak a word of myself, and to my fellow-brethren. It falls heavy on us that are not willing to practice the same, but rather oppose it in others that desire to do it, this plain and particular application, is accounted a matter of silliness, and want of wisdom, and rashness, and a thing which befits not a pulpit, but a man’s words must be sweet, and toothsome, and he must have a tender hand over men whosoever they be, be they never so profane. Nay, I dare say, if the devil himself were here, he must not be troubled, ministers must lay bolsters under men’s heads, and sow pillows under their elbows, that they may sit easily, and not trouble drunkards, and adulterers, but let them be still in their sins, and so let them go down to hell, this is that which the devil loves and takes much content in. And it is certain, if he could prevail, no other course should be taken up: if a great man be present, or a patron that we look for a living from, (if my ears had not heard it, I could not have believed it) it is strange to think how they daube this over. If their sins be so gross that all the congregation would cry shame, if he did not reproof them, what will they say? Reprove you we will not, we dare not, but beseech you and desire you as every man hath his infirmity, a word to the wise is sufficient, and so forth. I blame myself so far as my base fear possesseth me, but brethren, what will become of preaching in conclusion, if this may take no place in the hearts of people; and yet notwithstanding all this, there is one thing to be considered, if there be but any upright hearted minister, or sincere Christian that is more exact then ordinary, what will the carnal ministers doe, though they have no reason in the text, no ground in the Word, to warrant them? Though they cannot condemn a poor Christian upon good grounds, yet they will invent new ways, and wrest the text to dishonor God’s name, and then in all bitterness they can vent themselves against faithful Christians, and conscionable ministers: and hence the hands of the wicked are strengthened, and the hearts of God’s people are much daunted; and the Gospel of Jesus Christ prevails not in the heart of such as it is preached unto.

Let us see what it is that God requires of us; mark the severe charge and command that the apostle gives his scholar Timothy, I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead, preach the Word, be instant in season, and out of season, reprove, rebuke, (as if he had said) the stubborn hearts of men need this especially, reproving, and therefore doing this, is the main thing that God requires, and the main end for which the Word serves. Sharp reproofs makes sound Christians. He that heals overly, hurts more than he heals, are there not many to be humbled? And are there not many lusts reigning in the hearts of men and women? Let us therefore throw away this shameful hiding, and make our ministry known to the souls of those to whom we speak.

Objection. But some will object against this preaching, that it is nothing but the rashness of men’s spirits, a kind of railing that fits not a pulpit.

Answer. To this I answer, the prophets of God ever used and practiced it; and the holy apostles which were inspired in an extraordinary measure of the spirit, did imitate Christ, and his prophets: and God commanded Isaiah to lift up his voice, as a trumpet, and show my people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins.

That is, tell the drunkard and adulterer of their sins? Did Christ and his apostles rail? Are these men only wise? Oh fearful; that the souls of men should be so desperately transported against the truth of God, you that have had any such thoughts against the power of God, in the ministry of the Word, repent, and pray, that if it be possible the words of your mouths, and thoughts of your hearts may be forgiven. The apostles, and Christ himself used this kind of teaching: woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, seven times together, if Christ had now lived, you would have said, he had railed: oh fearful, I tell you this is the next sin against the sin of the Holy Spirit.

Objection. Ay, but secondly, they object, in this last age of the world there is a difference to be put, it is true, if men were not taught this were necessary, but now in these times of knowledge what needs all this ado? All those troubles and reproofs? What, shall we make men to be chamlings, to mince their meat for them? No, set their meat, set the Word before them, and they are wise enough to take their meat, and to apply the Word to themselves.

Answer. To this I answer three things, I confess it is true, the Lord (blessed be his name) hath made his word more evidently known then formerly, and yet there is a great deal of knowledge wanting in the most sort of men; nay, I can speak it by experience, that the meaner ordinary sort of people, it is incredible and unconceivable, what ignorance is among them; nay, I will be bold to justify it, that he that thinks himself the wisest in understanding, if we come home to him by way of examination, we shall make it known, to him that he knows little or nothing of which he should and ought to know: but imagine men had the knowledge of the Word, that is not the main end of preaching, to instruct men: but to work upon their hearts. When a man hath taught men what they should doe, he is but come to the walls of the castle; the fort is in the heart, the greatest work of the ministry is to pull down the wills of men, that know the truth of God and hold it in unrighteousness: nay, they that do know it, how dull are they in the performances of these duties God calls for at their hands, so that we had not only need to mince their meat for them, but even to put it into their mouths; nay, they sleep with meat in their mouths; I appeal to you that are enlightened in the knowledge of the truth, do you not find dullness of mind, and indisposedness of spirit in the performances of those duties God calls for at your hands? It was spoken by a reverend divine, that the freest horse needs sometimes a spur to prick him forward, so I say, the best Christian needs a sharp reproof to prick him forward in a Christian course.

[3] But thirdly, if reason cannot prevail, they dash this preaching out of countenance, Objection. And say, when men want matter to make up their sermons, then they ransack men’s consciences, and apply unto them their particular sins, and so they make up their sermons.

Answer. To this I answer again, then our Savior Jesus Christ wanted matter, he presseth their faults to the scribes and Pharisees seven times together, nay, in the sixth of John he presseth on truth nine times, his aim and end was, namely, that he was the bread of life; he followeth it and settleth it on them. Now in these men’s judgments, Christ wanted matter, he had not wherewith to spend the time, and therefore he spake to the hearts of men, and came home to their consciences: but to say the truth, the ground of their cavils that are cast against this kind of preaching is, because this troubles the hearts of those to whom we speak, and brings vexation to the souls. Do we want matter for our preaching? No, but this I say, it is an easy matter for any man to observe truths out of a text, and to lay forth a point; this is an easy thing for any one that hath a judgment enlightened in the Scripture, but for a minister of God in the work of examination to drive the soul of a carnal man to a stand, that he cannot escape; to make him go away and hang the wings, in so much that the soul shall be humbled, or else go away and snarl at the truth, and reproof delivered. Or for a man to uphold a soul in the time of trouble, to comfort it, and take away all doubts, I say this is the hardest matter for a minister to accomplish under the sun, in the work of the ministry, I speak for these two passages, that all the world may know what belongs to the work of the ministry; and also that all the world may know if men take any distaste at this kind of preaching, we care not, it is our duty.

The third use is, for exhortation, if this be our duty, it ought to stir up the heart of all the people of God, to set an edge on their affections, that they should desire this manner of teaching, and when God maketh his truth thus known to us, we should submit to the power thereof, you have most need of this, and there is most profit in this; and therefore your hearts ought to be more enlarged to the coveting and submitting thereto.

And therefore you that are hearers, suffer me to provoke you to it, when the time comes that you are to approach to the house of God; pray unto the Lord that he would direct you, and that the minister may come home to your hearts, bring your hearts to the Word, as the people did their sacrifices in the old law; they brought them and laid them on the altar, that the priest might kill them; and divide them. So bring your hearts under the power of Jesus Christ, that they may be cut and divided, that you may be let blood in the right vein, that your corruptions may be subdued, that they may have their deaths wound given them; take up that resolution of the prophet David, I will hear what the Lord saith to my soul. I will not hear what the Levite saith to the courtier, or to the commons, but I will see what the Lord saith to me. Oh (say some) the minister speaks home to such a one, he touched him to the quick: what is that to thee? Will another’s man’s salve cure thee? Therefore labor that the Lord may come home to thy particular, that the Lord may salve thee, and cut thee, and save thee, for thy everlasting comfort.

You are wise for the things of this life, you will be content to part with anything that may procure your comfort; if a father were now on his death bed making his will, every child would think, what doth my father give me? For if a man be bidden to a feast, he is not content only to have the meat set before him, but if the master of the feast will carve for him, he will take it kindly; every faithful minister is the father of the people, and they are his children, they are the stewards of the Lord’s house, and give to everyone their portion, terror to whom terror belongs, and comfort to whom comfort belongs.

Therefore when you come into the congregation, and see the minister giving and parting to everyone his dole; reproof here, and instruction there; look up to heaven and labor to get something to thy own particular, and say as Isaiah did in another case, something for me, Lord something for me, instruct me, reprove me, make known my sins, and discover my abominations, when the dainties of salvation are distributing.

You that are at the lower end of the table, think with yourselves; will the dish never come to the lower end? Oh that the Lord would now guide the minister, to lay his hand on the sore of this cursed infidelity of mind? Oh, that the Lord would knock down that sin of mine this day; and if thy heart be any whit enlightened and touched, thou wilt be much contended and comforted; as David said to Abigail when she came to dissuade him from going against Nabal to destroy him, she said, upon me my Lord be this iniquity: why? Blessed be God (saith David) that sent thee this day to meet me, and blessed be thy counsel, which hath kept me this day from coming to shed blood and avenging myself.

So if thou hast a good heart, thou wilt not go away repining and fretting at the Word, and say, the minister meant me, and crosseth me; take heed of this tempter of heart, and if God bee pleased to carve out to any man those particular fruits that concern his good; go away and bless the Lord, and say, blessed be his good word, and his poor servant that met this day with my sins, I never observed that pride, I never observed that malice, I never discovered that careless what became of Christ I cared not; what became of his ministers I respected not; what became of his name I regarded not; but the Lord hath shewed me my sins; and blessed be God for that good work which hath been communicated to my soul by his servant.

And observe this, so far as the heart is fearful that the minister should meet with his sins, so far the heart is naught, nay, if it be thus, if your consciences testify against you that you are loath to have your sins dealt roundly withal; you think the ministers should be mild, and not use such bitter reprehensions, and sharp reproofs: I beseech you think of it seriously, you deal with your sins in this kind as David did with Absalom: when Joab was to go out, he gives him charge to use him kindly and gently; that is, do not kill him, but take him prisoner, that was his speech, deal kindly for my sake with the young man Absalom.

Dost thou deal so with thy sins? Thou wouldst have the minister deal kindly with drunkenness and adultery and malice; do not kill drunkenness, but only take him prisoner, keep him in, reform the outward face of drunkenness, that we may not be drunken in the open streets, but in a corner, and so that men may not swear at every turn, but when they come among gentlemen, that they do it cunningly.

The case is clear, thy soul if it be of this temper, it never hated sin, it never sorrowed for sin, it never found the Word of God working upon it for the subduing of sin.

Imagine there were a traitor or rebel come into the town, that sought to take away the kings life, nay, suppose he were thy enemy or the like, will anyone say that man hates an enemy, that cannot endure to have an enemy discovered, attached, and brought to execution? No sure, but he loves him, he covers him, he hides him, and would not have him known, he is a lover of a traitor, and a traitor himself? Else why do you harbor a traitor; you cover him that he cannot come to judgment, and therefore you are a friend unto him: so it is in this case, canst thou say that thou hatest sin, thou hatest malice, and covetousness, and looseness, and profaneness, and in the meantime, thy soul saith, I cannot endure that the minister should discover these, I cannot endure that he should attach them, and arrest my soul for my covetousness and adultery and the like? My heart riseth and I would cover it, and hide it, nay I can bear it out sometimes and say, the traitor is not here, I am not the drunkard, I am not the adulterer you talk of; but if the minister will pursue thy soul, then thou shuttest the door against him: if it be thus with thee, I tell thee thou art a friend to the traitor, thou never hatedst thy sin, thou wert never yet brought to a true sight or sorrow for it.

We will now proceed: when they heard this saith the text, the Word in the original carrieth a continual act, when they had heard, there was not an end, but the sting of the Word did still stick in their hearts. When they walked on the way, that sounded in their ears, I have crucified the Lord of life; and when they lay down, that came into their minds, I have shed the blood of the Lord; and when they arose, this was their first thought, I have consented thereunto and imbrewed my hands therein, this stuck upon the spirits of them, and the sting of the truth would not away, but after they had heard it, it remained still in their hearts.

The doctrine is this, that serious meditation of our sins by the Word of God is a special means to break our hearts for our sins. After they had heard, (this notes a continual action), the truth of God still stuck in their stomachs, the arrows of God would not out, the apostle shot some secret shot into their souls, which came home to their hearts and consciences, when they heard this: that is, the musing and meditating and pondering of this, when they could hold no longer, they could bear no more, but came to the apostles and said, what shall we do? Sometimes God brings a man into the church to carpe at the minister, and to see what he may have against him; now if the Lord sting the conscience of that man, he will hear you all the week after, and say, me thinks I see the man still, he aimed at me, he intended me, and me thinks, I hear the Word still sounding in mine ears; he is always meditating on the Word in this kind.

And a serious meditation of sin discovered by the Word is a special means to pierce the soul for the same, this is the power of meditation; when David had considered the glory of wicked men, how their eyes started out with fatness, and they had more than heart could wish, and who but they in the world? they were not troubled, they were not molested; then he thought they were the only men in the world; when he had considered and mused of this, it pierced his soul, and he was vexed with it, this went to the very entrails of him, and therefore that place is marvelous pregnant. It was the means whereby lot was so touched with the abominations of Sodom, that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds. Many saw and heard besides lot, and yet were not vexed, but he vexed himself, that is, the meditation of those evils and bringing them home to his soul, vexed him and troubled him, and the Word is a fine word, implying two things, first the search and examination of a thing, secondly, the racking and vexing a man upon the trial; so it was with Lot, he observed all the evils, he weighed them, and pondered them; and then he racked his soul, and vexed himself with the consideration of them; the same word that is used here for vexing, is used in the matter of a storm, the text saith; the ship was tossed with the waves: so meditation doth toss the soul with vexation. It was the practice of the church, remembering mine affliction, the wormwood and the gall, my soul hath them in remembrance, and is humbled in me: in remembering I remembered, for so the original hath it, I remembered all my miseries and afflictions, and my sins that were the cause thereof; that is, I still mused and meditated thereof. And what follows? The heart was buckled and bowed thereby, and was broken in the consideration thereof.

But you will say, what do you mean by this musing and meditating? What is this meditation?

Answer. I answer, meditation is nothing else, but a settled exercise of the mind for the further inquiry of a truth, and so the affection of the heart therewith.

There are four things to be considered in it, [1] First, it is an exercise of the mind: it doth not barely close with a truth and apprehend it, and see it, and assent unto it, and there rest, but it looks on every side of the truth. It is a fine phrase of David’s, I thought upon my ways, and turned my feet into thy testimonies. The original carrieth it, I looked upon my ways on both sides, it is taken from curious works which are the same on both sides; they that work them must often turn them on every side: so it was with the prophet David, I turned my ways upside down, and looked every way on them. And so again, many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased. Run to and fro, what is that? It is not the bodily removing of the man so much as the busy stirring of the mind from one truth to another; it propounds one, and gathers another, so that it sees the whole silvage of the truth. I use to compare meditation to perambulation, when men go the bounds of the parish, they go over every part of it, and see how far it goes; so meditation is the perambulation of the soul; when the soul looks how far sin goeth, and considers the punishment of it, and the plagues that are threatened against it, and the vileness in it.

[2] Secondly, it is settled exercise of the mind, it is not a sudden flash of a man’s conceit upon the sudden; but it dwells and stays upon a truth, it settles again and again, that it hath bestowed itself upon; when a man is deep in meditation upon a thing, he neither seeth nor heareth any other thing, else the stream of the heart is settled upon the truth conceived.

A man that hath been offered an injury by another, when he ears and walks, still he thinks of his injury; his heart is settled on it: so your hearts ought to be on the truth. The apostle to Timothy saith, continue in the things thou hast learned; the Word in the original is, be in them; that is, let a man’s mind be molded into the truth.

Thirdly, it is a settled exercise for two ends; first, to make a further inquiry of the truth: and secondly, to make the heart affected therewith for this is the nature of meditation, not to settle itself upon a thing known; but it would either know more in those truths that are subjected to it, or else labors to gather something from them; it is with the truth, as it is with a man which goeth into the house, and pulls the latch, when he was without, he might see the outside of the house, but he could not see the rooms within, unless he draws the latch, and comes in, and go about the house: meditation pulls the latch of the truth, and sees, this is my sin, this is the cause, here is the misery, this is the plague: and thus meditation searcheth into every corner of the truth.

[4] Lastly, meditation labors to affect the heart, not only to know a thing, but to bring it home to the soul, these things are so, know it for thy good; so when a man hath viewed all and considered all, then meditation brings all to the heart, and labors to affect the heart therewith; this is that which brings sorrow and compunction for sin, a settled exercise of the heart that meditates on sins, that makes inquiry after them: and the grounds are two, and very remarkable they are.

The first is this, meditation makes all a man’s sins, and any truth belonging thereunto more powerfully and plainly to be brought home unto the heart. It is the action of the understanding when a man doth gather all reasons, and musters up force of arguments, and labors to press the soul, and lay them heavy upon the heart, and bring it under the power of the truth. It is with meditation as it is with usurers that will grate upon men, and grind the faces of the poor; and suck the blood of the needy, they will exact upon men and take use upon use, they will not be contented to take the principal, but they will have consideration for all the time, until they have sucked the blood of a poor man that is under such a muckworm; a poor man could be content to pay the principal, but to exact use upon use, this kills him; so doth meditation, it exacts and slayeth the soul of a poor sinner, you have committed adultery in a corner, but you shall not so carry it away. This you did against the knowledge of God revealed, against many mercies received, against many judgments threatened, against checks of conscience, against many vows and promises remembered: and item for this, and item for that; and thus meditation oppresseth the soul: but then the soul will say, happily it is but a trick of youth, or it is my infirmity: no, no, saith meditation, this hath been your course from time to time continually, that hath been your haunt, it hath been a riveted corruption that hath fastened upon your bones, and will go to your graves with you, and it will bring you to hell. But then the soul saith, I will repent; no, no, saith meditation, your heart is hardened in this sin, you have a heart that cannot repent nor yield, the Word of God works not, it prevaileth not, the minister hath flung hell fire in your face, and told you, that no drunkard, nor adulterer shall go to heaven, and yet you go away no more moved then the seat whereupon you sate, you have continued in sin, and are hardened in sin. Thus mark how meditation exacts use upon use: but then the soul replies, I will go to the Word, and wait upon the means, and it may be the Word will prevail. No, saith meditation, you have despised the Word, and God will take away his word from you, or you from his word, or his blessing from both. What, is it a matter of infirmity? No, it is your continual course. And you repent; no you cannot, you cannot, you are hardened. And you hope the Word will work upon you; no, no, it is cursed unto you. Thus meditation exacts use upon use, until the blood of the soul be sucked up. Meditation breaks the soul, and layeth weight upon the soul, in this case. It is a passage remarkable of Peter, the text saith, when our Savior told Peter, that before the cock crew twice, he should deny him thrice; in the last verse of the chapter, the second time the cock crew, and Peter remembered the words of our Savior, and when he thought thereupon, he went out and wept bitterly: the Word in the original is this, the holy man catched all together, and heaped all the circumstances together, and reasoned thus; the cock crows, now I remember the words of Christ: oh what a wretch am I, that should deny such a master that called me; such a master as found me, such a master as was merciful unto me? When I never saw myself, nor my sins, he plucked me out from my sins: it is that master I have denied, he came to do me good, and to save me, and I have denied him: nay, even at a dead lift, if ever I should have defended him, I should have defended him now, if ever stood for him, I should have stood for him now, but to deny my master, and forswear him, that I should do it, an apostle beloved, an apostle thus honored, that I should do it, when I professed the contrary, what, such a master denied by me such an apostle at such a time, before such persons, and forced to it by such a silly maiden. All these sinful circumstances, the manner of them, the nature of them, the heinousness of them, the holy apostle laid all these to his heart, and his heart sunk under these circumstances thus gathered together, and he went out and wept bitterly. Look as it is in war, were there many scores that came against an army, they might be conquered, or many hundreds might be resisted; but if many thousands should come against a small army, it would be in danger to be overcome. Meditation leadeth as it were an army of arguments, an army of curses, and miseries, and judgments, against the soul, however one misery or plague will not down, but a man may brook it, and go away with it, yet meditation brings an army of arguments, and tells the soul, God is against thee wherever thou art, and whatever thou dost. And then the heart begins to cry out as Elisha’s servant did, master what shall I do? What, so many sins, and so heinous, and so many judgments denounced, and shall fall upon me for them. Lord, how shall I do? How shall I be delivered from these, and pardoned for these: thus meditation brings home sin more powerfully to the heart.

The second argument is this: as meditation brings in all bills of account, so secondly, meditation fastens sin upon the consciences of those to whom the Word of God is spoken, more strongly, in so much that the soul cannot make escape from the truth of God delivered, and from the judgments of God denounced against him: sometimes when men hear the Word and threatenings denounced, then their hearts are touched, and they go away resolved not to commit sin as they have done: but when they are gone, it works not, but the heart recoils again, and goeth to his own course again. The reason is, because you meditate not on the Word.

It is with the Word as with a slave, if a man have never so good a salve, which will help a soar in four and twenty hours, if a man shall do nothing but lay this salve to the wound, and take it off, it would never heal the wound, and no wonder: why? He will not let it lie on; the best salve under heaven will not heal a sore, and eat out a corruption, unless it be bound on, and let lie: so it is with the good Word of God: many a soul heareth the Word of God, and his heart is touched for his sin, and his conscience begins to be awakened, but when he goeth out of the church, all is gone, his affections die, and his heart dies, and his conscience is not touched: no wonder, you will not hold the Word to your souls, you hear sin, and not hear it: you will see sin, and not apprehend it; and therefore it is, that the Word over-powers not your corruptions: do you think the salve will work when you keep it not on? the Word of God is the salve, conviction of conscience is like the binding on of the salve, meditations like the binding of it to the sore, remember the truth which touched thee first, and keep that on, let nothing take it away from thy mind, hold that good word close to the soul; and it will keep thy heart in the very same temper, after the delivery thereof; as it was in the delivery. The apostle James compares, a slight hearer to a man that looks his face in a glass slightly, that forgets himself what visage he had; but saith, who so looketh unto the law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the Word, this man shall be blessed in his deeds: the law of liberty is the law of God; and this law being a glass; you must not only hear, and be gone, and slight and neglect it, but you must continue in looking, and then you shall see the complexion of your sins, and the vileness of your corruptions: when the drunkard heareth the baseness of his sins, and the adulterer the baseness of his abominations, they look themselves slightly in the glass of the law; but they must carry away the glass with them, and look themselves still, and the adulterer must say, I am a profane creature, and my heart is polluted, conscience defiled, and this soul hardened, and I shall be damned; if a man should thus look, and view his sins, and carry away the glass with him continually, he would see his life so ugly, and his heart so base, that he could not be able to bear it; if the pills be never so bitter, yet if a man swallow them suddenly, there is no great distaste, but if a man chaw a pill, it will make a man deadly sick, because it is against the nature of it, so our sins are like these pills, they go down somewhat pleasantly; because we swallow down our oaths and profaneness, and our malice, and contempt of God and his ordinances; and we make it nothing to mock at the religion of God, and the professors of it: you swallow down pills now, but God will make you chaw those pills one day, and then they will be bitter; though the swearer swallows down his oaths now, yet at last the Lord will make him remember, that he will not hold him guiltless, but arraign him at the day of judgment: and make him cry guilty at the barre, and again will make you chaw over your malice: you hated the Lord’s word, and the works of his spirit: and this will condemn you.

Again, meditation doth beset the heart of a man, that he cannot escape; wheresoever he is, meditation brings those things to his mind, and the plagues due thereunto; so that he cannot escape the dint thereof. It is the nature of our own hearts that we are loath to read our own destiny, which will be our bane and confusion: meditation calls over the thoughts of a man, tells him the reasons are good, the arguments found, the Scripture plain, thy sins evident: conscience you know it, therefore heart you must do it, (saith meditation) take heed of drunkenness, saith meditation, you heard what the minister said; these sins are against God, and the wrath of God is gone out against you for these sins, these will be your bane, and will bring you to everlasting destruction. And when meditation doth thus yawl at the heart, the mind still musing, and the heart still pondering of sin, at last it is weary, therefore unburdened therewith, the issue of the arguments is this, if meditation brings in sin more powerful, more plainly to the soul; if it be that, which binds and fasteneth it, and settleth it upon the soul; then the point is clear, that serious meditation of sin is a special means to bring a soul to the sight and sorrow for sin.

The uses are three: the third is the main: we will press on unto it. If it be so, that meditation is thus powerful and profitable, both for contrition of the heart, and to bring in consolation to the heart, then what shall we think of those men that are unwilling to practice this duty? Nay, what shall we think of that untowardness of heart which is in us against the command of this duty? It is a word of reproof against this practice, and it falls marvelous heavy upon us all more or less in this kind: for we are marvelous guilty in this kind, that we are tardy in this duty: a man had as good bring a bear to the stake, as a carnal heart to the consideration of his own ways, much more loath is he to ponder seriously and meditate continually upon his sins; no, men are so far from musing of their sins, that they disdain this practice, and scoff at it: what say they, if all were of your mind, what should become of us? Shall we always be poring on our corruptions? So we may hap to run mad, if we were of your opinion: thus we slight and put it off, and trample on this duty, which is so profitable: the poor will not meditate on his sins, he hath no time: the rich they need it not: the wicked dare not: and so no man will in this case. What, shall a man set his soul on a continual rack? (say they) shall a man drive himself to a desperate stand, and trouble himself unprofitably? Cannot men keep themselves when they are well? This is the course and frame of the world, and we may complain of this careless and heedless age, as Jeremiah did of his time, Jeremiah 8:6. No man repenteth him of his wickedness, saying, what have I done? There is no questioning, nor searching, no musing: no man saith, what have I done? No man saith, these are my sins, these are my ways: no man looks over his course and conversation, he doth not apprehend his sin; and that is the reason we hear of no humbling, of no repenting: but every man runneth into sin as the horse rusheth into the battle, hence it is, that there are so many unclean beasts in the ark. In the old law, if there were any beasts that chewed not the cud, he was counted unclean, the chewing of the cud is serious meditation of the mercies of God to comfort us, and of our sins, to humble us: there are many ungodly persons in the bosom of the church; that muse not of their sinful ways, the prophet Jeremiah saith; were they ashamed when they had committed abominations? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush, he adds a reason in the eleventh verse. They could not be ashamed: why? Because they cry, peace, peace, let the minister speak what he can, and denounce what judgment he will, they promise themselves peace, and quietness, they consider not their ways, and therefore their hearts are not distempered therewith, nor troubled at the consideration thereof, nay, there are many that count it an excellency, a cunning skill, if they can drive away and shake off the sight of sin, if they can put off the meditation of anything the Word reveals, they make it a marvelous excellent piece of skill, and what they do themselves they would have others do also: but they that now will not see, nor consider, nor meditate of their sins, the truth is, they shall see them as the Lord saith Isaiah 26.11. When thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see and be ashamed: so I say, you that will not see your sins, but say, what needs all this stir, let the minister say what he will, shall we be mad men, to be troubled, and shall we be fools, to be disquieted with the consideration of our sins? Well, you will not muse upon your sins now, but the time will come, that the Lord will set all your sins in order before you, and you shall not be able to look off them.

And hence it is, that when a man hath lived wickedly all his days, and comes to lie on his death bed, then all his sins come to his remembrance, and then conscience flies in his face, and says, here is a cup for a drunkard and for an adulterer: now he seeth nothing but sin; and hell, and damnation, due to him for his sin, and then he cries out he is damned. You might have seen something before then, if you had seen them to be humbled for them, you should never have seen them to be damned for them. If there be but any occasion of baseness offered to the view of the drunkard, which way doth he not use to compass his carnal delights? And shall the drunkard and profane wretch be so eager in lingering after sin, that he may commit it, and be damned for it, and shall not a man so labor to see his iniquities, that he may be humbled for them before God, and receive mercy from God in the pardon of the same? Shall the reprobate hale judgments on their souls, and bend all their meditations that way, and shall not they that desire to see God in glory, do the same?

The second use is for instruction: from the former doctrine delivered, we may collect, that loose, vain, jovial company is the greatest hindrance to preparation for Christ, and the greatest obstacle to the work of grace that can be possible: this is not forced, but followeth clearly from the former truth, in this manner: thus I reason.

That course which takes away the mind from musing, and the understanding from meditating on his evil way, that course is the greatest hindrance why the heart is not humbled, and fitted for the Lord, for meditation brings in contrition, and that prepares the heart for Christ: but your jovial company and rioting persons, there is nothing under heaven that takes off the mind more from musing, and the understanding from weighing a man’s evil thoroughly, therefore this must needs be a marvelous impediment, and hindrance to those that endeavor to walk uprightly before God in any measure, Amos 6:5. There are rules of their ribaldry set down, they thrust and put away the Day of the Lord far from them: that is the first law they make, the first statute they enact, think not of sin now, and meditate not of judgment now, but come (say they) cast care away, fling away and casheer those melancholy imaginations: we have many failings, let us not therefore be pondering of them, and make ourselves so much the more miserable, this day shall be as yesterday, and tomorrow as to day, no sorrow nor judgment, no sin now considered. And this is remarkable, and if a poor soul in that drunken distemper should be smitten by the hand of God, and should suggest these words to his drunken companions; we are all here merry and jolly, and let out our hearts in delight, but for all this, God will bring us to judgment, the eyes of God seeth our now drinking and bezeling, and the ear of God heareth our blasphemies and swearing; and for these we shall one day be plagued: why? This should spoil all the sport and jollity, they could not be able to bear him, but they would presently fling him out of doors: this is that which baneth many a soul, therefore take notice of it, if any of you have had a sight of sin, mark if a drunkard go aside and hang the wing a little, mark what men doe, if they can but once get him into their company, and make him shake off those dumps, and run on in his former course, then this hinders him from meditating on his sins, and from being prepared for Christ, and hence it is, that many a poor soul that hath had the fire kindled, the terror that the Lord hath let into his soul, would have humbled his proud stomach, and melted his stubborn heart; but partly drunkenness on the one side, and merriness on another, took away all the amazement whereby the soul might have been wrought upon, and he have received everlasting salvation: therefore think of it. It was the course the Scripture observed in the lamenting church Zechariah 12:12. The house of David apart, and their wives apart, the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart: there is no casting up of account in a crowd; but if a man will cast up his account, if he will see his sins, and consider his base practices, he must go aside by himself, loose occasions and vain occasions withdraw the mind, and pluck off the soul from seeing the evil, and affecting the heart with it. Therefore the apostle Peter a little beyond my text, when he saw the Jews were affected with that he had delivered, and that their hearts were touched, when they asked him what they should doe, he saith, save yourselves from this untoward generation, God hath now touched your hearts, suffer not Satan by these wicked instruments of his, to steal the terror of God out of your harts; for your drunken companions are like nothing else, but those ravenous fouls spoken of by Christ, that devoured the seed that fell by the way side, the foul is the devil, the seed is the Word of God, now the devil doth not pluck this out of the soul himself alone; but often by cursed companions: the ale-house is the bush, that harbors those ravenous beasts, and drunken companions are those: the devil useth to pluck out this good seed out of the heart: and therefore as you love your souls, suffer not yourselves to be drawn away by these cursed wretches, do not suffer them to steal the work of God’s spirit away which he hath wrought in your hearts: this I observe to check that cursed practice of men, who when a man is troubled, send him to play at cards, or dice, or the like, which is the greatest means to hinder the work of God in their hearts.

Thirdly, seeing meditation brings marvelous comfort and profit to our souls, then what remains? If I were silent, the Word itself would speak, and the profit of the duty would speak, and bring your hearts to address your souls to this: you are therefore to be exhorted, since you see what it is that God requires, that with speed, you set upon it, and that with care and conscience you labor to persevere in the performance thereof, I beseech you think of it, what is more usual in the world then this, that men should make sleight and little account of their sins? Nay, to go bolt upright under those execrable abominations wherefore they stand guilty before God. Look as it was with Sampson he went away with the gates of Gaza and made nothing of them: so there are many, that carry the gates of hell upon their backs, as drunkenness and adultery, and yet they fear not, nor are affrighted thereat, nay; God’s own servants, that desire to look towards Zion. Is not this your complaint many times? I cannot find sin heavy, I confess the Word discovers it, and reveals it, but I cannot be troubled for it, I cannot find my soul burdened with it: sin is not heavy unto me, but I carry it away easily, and make no bones of the matter, though proud, and lewd, and careless, and untoward, yet my heart is not apprehensive of the weight of it: let me speak unto you: are you not therefore here hindered in the way God requires of you, because you weigh not and ponder not those evil ways you stand guilty of before God, but you are better content to see them and slight them, then to remember them and lay them aside: I beseech you to take notice of it. Look as it is with men in the world, if five hundred pound weight bee laid on the ground, if a man never pluck at it, he shall not feel the weight of it; your sins are not many hundreds, but many thousand weights, the least vain thought you ever imagined, the least idle word that ever you uttered, are weight enough to press your souls down into everlasting perdition, and therefore so many sins, so great, and so constantly committed against so much knowledge, against so many comforts, and encouragements, against so many vows and protestations, are much more heavy, and yet you see them nor: the reason is, you see them not, you weigh not pride, you weigh not malice, you weigh not dead heartedness; if you would weigh them seriously, and consider of them thoroughly, you would find that they were heavier than the sand on the sea shore; but you will say, how should we come to meditate on our sins, that we may be comforted? For this is the only way: but what course shall we take? That we may be burdened? Here lies the skill.

Now for the opening of the point, I will discover three things: first the ground on which our meditation must be raised: secondly, the manner how to follow it home to the heart. Thirdly, how to put life and power, to it that it may prevail, and work that end in our souls which we would have it.

First, concerning the former, we must consider the grounds whereupon meditation must be raised, and them I refer to these four heads. First, labor to see the mercy, goodness, and patience of God, that have been abused and despised by that unkind dealing of ours, and that marvelous carelessness, those duties, God hath required of us, the height of God’s goodness to us lays out the height of all our iniquities committed: the greater the kindness and mercy of God is, the greater are our sins, that esteem not of this mercy, but abuse it, and despise it; this adds to our rebellions, this makes our sins out of measure sinful, because God hath been out of measure merciful.

There are many sins in one, when a man sinneth against many mercies, and walks not worthy of them, we may observe, that this is the course that God takes to break the hearts of the Israelites, when they had neglected his ways, and broken his commandments: what was his message, when the Lord humbled the people and brake them kindly? the Lord by the angel thus speaks, I made you to go out of Egypt and brought you to the land which I sware to your fathers, and I said, I would never break my covenant with you, and ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of the land, but ye have not obeyed my voice; why have you done this work?

Now the Lord presseth this his kindness upon them, and labors to melt their hearts in the apprehension of his goodness to them, and their unthankfulness to him; in the eight verse, the text saith. When they heard this, the people lift up their voice, and wept. The consideration of God’s kindness to them, and their unkindness to God.

He did all for them, and they did all against him, the Lord was gracious to them, for their comfort, but they did not walk worthy of it: why have you done this saith the Lord? Why was my mercy despised? Why was my goodness slighted? Why was my patience and long suffering abused? When they heard this, they wept in the consideration of their unnatural dealing: nay, this is the thing remarkable in Moses, he stabs the heart, and works effectually upon the Israelites by this means? Do you thus requite the Lord O foolish people, and unwise? Is not he thy father that hath bought thee? Hath not he made thee, and established thee? And will you thus reward the Lord? Thus carelessly, and thus proud, and disobedient? Why, remember, saith he, the days of old, and then he reckons upon God’s gracious dealing with them.

I apply this in particular: there is never a soul here present, there is never a man in the basest estate, and lowest condition, but hath had experience of God’s goodness, and marvelous loving kindness this way. Were you ever in want, but God supplied you? Were you ever in weakness, but God strengthened you? In sickness, who cured you? In misery, who succored you? In poverty who relieved you? Hath not God been a gracious God unto you? Every poor soul can say, never a poor sinner hath had a more gracious God then my soul, all my bones can say, Lord who is like unto thee? This heart hath been heavy and thou hast cheered it, this soul hath been heavy and thou hast relieved it, many troubles have befallen me and thou hast given a gracious issue out of them all.

And shall I thus reward the Lord? Shall I sin against his goodness and this kindness? Then what shall I say, hear O heaven, and harken O earth, the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his masters crib, and Israel knoweth not God’s kindness, nor acknowledgeth his goodness towards them, the consideration hereof one would think should break the hardest heart under heaven: if men be but ingenious men, if they have received any great kindness from a friend, they were never in want but he relieved them, he took them into his house, and they might freely go to his purse or anything he had. If a man should deal thus kindly with another, and this man should deny him an ordinary favor, he will be ashamed to come into his presence, he will say his house was mine, and his purse was mine, and to deal thus unkindly, nature would have taught me otherwise: what are your hearts to God that hath been gracious to us all, he hath created us, and doth preserve and keep and afford many blessings unto us; he gives us our houses that cover us: it is God that affords us all this, and shall we sin against such mercy? Therefore go to the beasts of the field, and they will tell you, and to the birds of the air, and they will discover unto you God’s mercy: go to your beds and tables; who gives these, and continues these? Doth not the Lord? And yet sin against this God? O foolish people and unwise, all love on God’s part, and all negligence on ours? God exceeds in goodness towards us, and we do exceed in unkindness, and unthankfulness towards him; this is the first ground upon which meditation must be raised.

[2] The second ground, secondly if it be so that mercy will not prevail with you, if you have no good nature in you, then secondly, consider that this is a just God, that hath been provoked by your sins, if mercy cannot prevail with you, you shall have justice enough, and that without mercy; you must not think to slight God’s mercy, and carry it away in that fashion. But God is a just God, as he is a gracious God; he will be revenged of you; if there be any stubborn heart shall say, God is merciful, and what then? Therefore we may live as we list, and be as careless as we please: take heed, that just law that hath been condemned, and those righteous statutes that hath been broken, and God hath been provoked by you, will be revenged of you; did ever any provoke the Lord and prosper, and shall you begin? First think you where is Nyrod and Nebuchadnezer, and Pharaoh, and Herod, and those proud persons that set their mouths against God and their hearts against heaven, they that provoked the Lord, what is now become of them? They are now in the lowermost pit of hell.

God sent Pharaoh into the Red Sea, and for ought we know, his soul may now be roaring in hell; this is certain, that whosoever resisteth him shall find him a swift judge to condemn him. The apostle saith, Hebrews 12. And last, our God is a consuming fire. And in Deuteronomy 22 and 32. If my fire be kindled, it shall burn to the bottom of hell. That justice of God will not be appeased without satisfaction; that justice is wise, and cannot be deceived, that justice is powerful, and cannot be resisted, and not only justice, but mercy and patience will come in, and plead for vengeance against the sinner, and that will be the forest plague of all. When you appear before God what will you expect? You will call for mercy to save you, and for patience to bear with you. No, no, saith mercy, justice Lord; I have been despised. Justice saith, patience hath been abused. Justice, saith goodness, I have been wronged. And how will it be then, when mercy itself shall condemn that soul, and patience shall be an accuser of it, and goodness shall call for vengeance against it.

[3] The third ground: thirdly, as we must consider God’s mercy that hath been abused, and the justice of God that hath been provoked: so consider the nature of your sins, and the heinousness of them: sin is not a trick of youth or a matter of merriment; but a breach of the law of God, and therefore it is good for a man in this case to examine every commandment of God, and the breach thereof: thus I would have the soul well acquainted with the law: you know not your sins, therefore get you home to the law, and look into the glass thereof, and then bundle up all your sins thus. So many sins against God himself, in the first commandment, against his worship, in the second, against his name, in the third, against his Sabbath in the fourth Commandment; nay, all our thoughts, words, and actions, all of them have been sins able to sink our souls to the bottom of hell: bundle up your sins, and lay one upon the heart and another upon the conscience, and then it will break your backs; those small infirmities you make nothing of, and those sins you make slight of, and make a trick of youth, if you will bestow your minds a little seriously, you will see them to be far otherwise: every sin deserves death, the wages of sin is death, not he only that murders his neighbor, and takes away his life, but the malicious man, and the proud man deserves death. Nay, to come nearer the text, what if I prove you had a hand in the shedding of the blood of Christ; dwell here a little and consider it, and you shall see the point clear. If there be any soul here present that hopes to have any part in Christ, as if I should go from man to man and ask, have you a part in Christ? You will say, aye surely I hope so; mark what I say then, if thou hopest for any mercy from Christ, then Christ was thy surety and bare thy sins, and those sins of thine were the witnesses against our Savior, they were the soldiers that took him, the thorns that pierced him, the spear that gored him, the cross that took away his life: the truth is, the soldiers, and Pilate, and the scribes and Pharisees, could have done nothing to our Savior but for thy sins: had it not been for thy sins, had it not been for the sins of the elect, the soldiers could not have apprehended him, the Pharisees could not have witnessed against him, there could have been no judge to condemn him; very well then, thy sins caused all this, thy wicked thoughts and wicked actions caused our Savior to cry out, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He sunk under the consideration of thy sins, and thou goest away and makest a trick of youth of them, and a matter of merriment, of loose talk, and wicked doings; well, you had a part in the crucifying of Christ. When you are gone, think of this, and as you are going home, think with yourselves, it was my sins that had a part in the shedding of the blood of Christ; and when you are at meat let that come into your mind, I have had a hand in the crucifying of the Lord Jesus Christ; and when you go to bed think of it, I am one of those that have embrewed their hands in the blood of the Lord Jesus, that Savior that is now at the right hand of God, that hath done so much for his servants, that sweat drops of blood, those sweats and drops were for thy sins, and is this a matter of merriment and a trick of youth in the mean time? No, no, thy soul will find it otherwise one day, unless the Lord remove those sins of thine, those sins will make thee howl in hell fire one day, unless you be burdened with them here: think of this, I am one of those that by vain thoughts and profane actions have crucified the Lord of life; and if you can make those sins a matter of merriment I wonder at it.

[4] The fourth ground ariseth from the consideration of the punishment of sin, you must consider what sin will cost you; namely, those endless torments that cannot be conceived nor prevented, and I will leave here to speak of the pains of the wicked, (I should have said much thereof) and come to speak only a little of the last judgment. Methinks I see the Lord of heaven and earth, and the attributes of God appearing before him: the mercy of God, the goodness of God, the wisdom of God, the power of God, the patience and longsuffering of God, and they come all to a sinner, a wicked hypocrite, or a carnal professor, and say, bounty hath kept you, patience hath born with you, long sufferance hath endured you, mercy hath relieved you, the goodness of the Lord hath been great unto you; all these comfortable attributes will bid you adieu, and say, farewell damned soul, you must go hence to hell, to have fellowship with damned ghosts. Mercy shall never be enlarged towards you any more, you shall never have patience any more to bear with you, never goodness more to succor you, never compassion more to relieve you, never power more to strengthen you. Nay, you that have heretofore withdrawn yourselves from God’s wisdom and Gospel, you shall never have wisdom more to guide you, never Gospel more to comfort you, never mercy more to cheer you, you shall then go into endless and easeless torments, which can never be ended, where you shall never be refreshed, never eased, never comforted; and then you shall remember your sins. My covetousness and pride was the cause of this, I may thank my sins for this. Think of these things (I beseech you), seriously, and see, if sin be good now, see, if you can take any sweetness in it: I end all with that of Job, O that my grief were well weighed, and my calamity laid in the balance: for now they would be heavier than the sand of the sea. So say I, oh that our sins were weighed, and our iniquities weighed in the balance together, such mercy have we despised, such justice we have provoked, such a Lord of life have we crucified, such torments have we deserved, endless, easeless, and remediless: if these were weighed, they would be heavier then the sand, and sink our souls under the consideration of them.

But then you will say, happily I can think of these things, and consider of them. The mind happily hath conceived and fathomed these truths and brought in these occasions, and yet for all this, the mind stirs not, the heart works not, I say therefore, when your meditation is thus raised, you must have this skill to follow home the blow, and make it work kindly on the heart; and that is done by these three things. When your meditation is up, there is another thing which is the following of it home to the soul, and that appeareth in these three particulars.

The first is this, when we have conceived aright of sin, and the nature thereof, and the punishment due thereunto, then do not rest in the bare consideration of these things, but never leave the heart, be still musing of these things, and bring these blessed truths home to the soul, and bind these things on the will and affections; hold them and fasten them there, force them upon the soul, that the heart may not make an escape: take notice of it, it is a rule I would have you consider of, never leave meditating till you find your heart so affected with the evil, as your mind and judgment conceived of the evil before; namely, let the heart feel that evil it conceived, let the soul feel that gall to be in sin which the mind apprehended to be in it: you see these sins loathsome and abominable, make the heart feel them, and be affected with them; the heart will fly off now, therefore it is the cunning of a Christian to lay at the heart, and pursue it continually, and hold these truths to the soul, and at last it may be under the dint of the blow, and the power of God makes the soul feel and find, and be apprehensive of the gall, and bitterness, and vileness of the evil, as before it conceived it so to be; it is not enough for a man to exercise himself in the meditation of sin, but a man must bring his soul in subjection under the power of that meditation, a man must not only chew his meat, but he must swallow it also, if he mean to have it nourish him: meditation is when the heart swalloweth down these sins, that is, when he labors so to be affected with sin, and the nature of it, as it doth require. Meditation in this case is like the beleaguering of a city, when a City is wisely and strongly beleaguered, and beset round about, they do two things: first, they batter it from without as much as they can; and secondly; they cut off all provision and relief from coming in, and so the city being partly battered from without, as much as they can, and being hindered from all relief coming in, in conclusion when they see the enemy is strong, and no provision can come to them, they are content to yield the city, and render up themselves; and if they send a parley to him that doth besiege it, and say, they are ready to perish, why, he bids them deliver then, and they shall be provided for, he bids them yield, and they shall be succored, and before that day, there is no supply shall be brought into the city: so it is with meditation, and here is the cunning of a Christian. Do as wise soldiers doe, cut off all provision, that is, by serious meditation bring thy heart to such a loathing of sin, that it may never love it more, besiege the heart with daily meditation, that so you may cut off any ease and refreshing that the heart may seem to have in any sinful course; if the soul be looking after any sin, if the soul would gout a little to occasions, and take delight in his corruptions, the drunkard in his company, and the worldly man in his wealth, then batter that: when you are thus affected, beleaguer the way, that you may find no comfort; no ease, and when the soul is looking after occasions, and lingering after his abominations, then say to your hearts, you will have your sins though you have your shame with them, you will have your corruptions, though you have your confusion with them: when the soul would meddle with these, let meditation knock off these. If you be still proud, and malicious, and quarrelling, take heed; you cannot have these, but you must have hell and all; you cannot have these, but you must have destruction and all: the mercy of God will be not abused; and the justice of God will not be provoked, and God will be revenged of you, and at last the heart by this means will be troubled: why, deliver up your sins then, and your souls, if your hearts find any sorrow and anguish; why, then yield up your souls unto Christ, that you may find as much comfort in a good way, as you have done misery in an evil way. Thus by meditation make the heart see those evils; nay, thus by meditation make thy heart see those evils, and the punishment that shall be executed for those evils.

Secondly, when you have made the heart thus affected with sin, then take heed that the heart doth not fly off and shake off the yoke. Imagine meditation brings all those sins, and miseries, and vileness, all are brought home to the heart, and the soul is made sensible by this means: hold the heart there then, labor to keep the heart in the same temper, that it is brought into, by the consideration of sin, for this is our nature, when the struck is troublesome that lieth upon us, and the sins are heinous that lie upon us, and are committed by us, these sins, these sorrows, these judgments, when the heart feels this, it is weary, and would secretly have the wound healed quickly, and the sorrow removed, and the trouble calmed: take heed of this, and labor to maintain that heat of heart, which you find in yourselves by virtue of meditation, this is the pitch of the point: as there must be subjection unto meditation, the heart must be so affected with sin, as it conceived it to be, so there must be attention; that is, the soul must hold itself to that frame and disposition so wrought as it should be. Look as it is with a gold smith that melteth the metal that he is to make a vessel of, if after the melting thereof, there follow a cooling, it had been as good it had never been melted, it is as hard, haply harder, as unfit, haply unfitter, than it was before to make vessel of; but after he hath melted it, he must keep it in that frame until he come to the molding and fashioning of it: so meditation is like fire, the heart is like a vessel, the heart is made for God, and it may be made a vessel of grace here, and of glory hereafter: now meditation, it is that melts the soul, the dross must be taken away from the soul, and sin must be loosened from the heart: now meditation doth this, it melts the soul, and affects the soul with the weight of sin: now when you have your heart in some measure melted, keep it there, do not let it grow loose again, and careless again; for then you had as good never have been melted: and that is the reason why many a poor sinner that hath sometime been in a good way, and the Lord hath come kindly and wrought powerfully on the heart, and yet at last it hath grown cold and dumpish, and as hard as ever he was again, and the work is to begin again. And take notice of it; look as it is with the cure of the body, if a man have an old wound, and a deep one; two things are observable; it is not enough to launce the wound, and draw out the corruptions, but it must be tented also, for if the wound be deep, it must not be healed presently, but it must be kept open with a tent, that it may be healed soundly, and thoroughly: so it is here; meditation when it is set on, doth lance the soul, it lanceth the heart of a man, and it will go down to the bottom of the belly: when a man seeth his sin, and weigheth his sin it will go down to the bottom sometime, and when your heart is thus affected, do not heal it too soon, but hold the soul in that blessed frame and disposition: for as meditation doth launce the soul, so attention doth tent the soul; keep the soul therefore so troublesome and sorrowful that so you may be healed soundly, thoroughly, and comfortably.

I use to find this by experience, a city that is be leaguered and won, he that hath won it, sets a garrison over it, that he may keep it forever under: so when the soul hath been won by the stroke of meditation affecting the heart with sin, then set a garrison over the soul, and keep it in awe, set a garrison over the conscience and keep all down, keep all under, that it may submit itself, and that kindly under the stroke of the truth, for it were a blessed frame, if we could always be so in that temper that we are in when we are first humbled for our sins.

The third rule, which is marvelous useful is this: when the soul hath been affected with sin by meditation, and kept to sin by attention, then know how you must stint your souls; know therefore that the soul must be so far kept to the consideration of sin, that it may seek out for pardon for sin. This is a point of marvelous use, and you must give the leave to be enlarged; because there are many deceits this way, in the spirits of a man: for mark it, this is the cunning of the devil, if it be possible, he will keep a man that he shall never see, muse, nor be troubled for sin; and therefore he doth pluck him off, and sends him to company on one side, and merriment on the other side, that by this means, he may keep him from serious meditation of the evil: but if it be so that God will make a man meditate of his sins, and that the heart of a sinner is fully resolved to muse, and ponder, and consider of his corruptions; if he will pore upon his sins, then he shall see nothing else but sin: and thus the devil hath hindered many a poor soul from coming unto Christ, and from receiving comfort of him; he shall now be always poring upon his corruptions, and therefore here lies the skill of a Christian, not to neglect meditation, and therefore here is the stint of meditation of our sins, you shall thus discover it: so far see thy sins, so far be affected with them, so far hold thy mind to them, that they may make thee see an absolute necessity of a Christ, and that these sins may drive thee to the Lord Jesus Christ for succor: here is the main thing observable, and thus far we may go, and must go, if ever God intend to do good to our souls: and therefore when thou settest thy soul, and bestowest thyself to muse and meditate upon thy corruptions, and lay them to thy heart; when thou findest thy soul to be affected with them, and humbled under them, labor then to see an absolute necessity of a Lord Jesus Christ, and so far see them, that they may drive thee, and compel thee to seek unto Christ for mercy: and this is all God looks for, all the Lord requires and cares for in this preparation or preparative work: and therefore take notice of it, see thy sins so far as they may make thee merely look for a Christ, and to fall upon the arms of God’s mercy in and through Christ. For it is not sorrow for sin, nor humiliation, nor faith itself, that can justify us in itself, but only these must make way for us to a Christ, and through him we must receive comfort: for these two be the special extremes, that the devil seeks to drive a man into: if a man presume of a man’s own sufficiency, then he thinks he is well, and he will not go to Christ, because he thinks, he doth not stand in need of Christ; and if he despair of his own ability, he will not go to Christ neither, and here is the ground why a sinner despairs, it is not by reason of any sin, excepting only the sin against the Holy Spirit, despair is not grounded there, for Cain despaired, yet Manasses committed greater sins then Cain and despaired not; but the soul despairs out of stoutness of heart, because it hath not sufficiency in itself, it will not look out for help and comfort from another: presumption saith, I have sufficiency in myself, and need not go unto Christ; and despair saith, I have not sufficiency, and therefore will not go to Christ: here is the property of despair, to cast away hope, when a man hath no hope that God will help him, now all the while the soul looks for sufficiency from Christ, there is hope; for though our sins bee never so heinous; that’s nothing, all the question is, whether we can hope in Christ; for if all the sins that ever were, are, or shall be committed, ran into one man, as all rivers run into one sea, Christ could as easily pardon his sins, as ever he pardoned the sins of any saints in heaven: but here is the ground, when we look into ourselves, we can see there is no sufficiency to comfort us, and we will not go to Christ, that we may be comforted, and so we come to be void of hope, and to despair: a despairing heart, is a proud stubborn heart; because he cannot have what he would of his own, therefore he will not go to another to receive it, and so sinks down in his sins. And therefore let this be the period and stint of meditation, when the soul so far seeth sin and the punishment deserved by it, that the hart is resolved that none but Christ can take away these sins and the punishments due to them, and is resolved to seek to Christ, and be beholden to him for all; when it is thus with you, then away to the Lord Jesus Christ, and let this meditation of a man’s corruptions be as a bridge to carry him to Christ, that so he may have salvation which is promised through him, and shall be bestowed upon all broken-hearted sinners: and mark what I say, that soul that will not seek out to Christ, and will not be beholding to Christ for what he need, that soul wants brokenness of heart: whatever he be that will not seek out to Christ, and go out of himself to another, wants brokenness, and this stubbornness of his, that he will not go to Christ, ariseth from some of these three grounds.

First, the soul will not go out, it is because the heart thinks and presumes it hath no need of Christ, and therefore will not go, but we will not meddle with that: for that is proper to carnal men.

Secondly, if the soul will not seek out to Christ for help and comfort, it is because the heart is not content in good earnest to be ruled by Christ, that Christ should come and take possession of the soul, and do all; therefore if the heart cling to corruption, it is content that Christ should ease it, but not that Christ should sanctify it, and remove that corruption that hath prevailed over it; and therefore when a man is under the sight of sin, he would fain have God show mercy unto him, and yet he will not pray, nor read, nor use the means but dwells upon the meditation of his sins, and neglects many ordinances of God, whereby it may receive comfort: this man would have a Christ to quiet him, but not to rule him, and take possession of him, and this is the reason why, in these cases the soul is never commonly kindly stricken, these would fain have quiet and comforted yet they will not be driven to holy duties, nor be content that Christ should rule in them, they are content to commit the sin, but they would have pardon for it.

The third ground is this, and the cunningest of all, and that is this; provided the soul be content to be ruled by the Lord Jesus, and to submit unto him, yet here is another deceit of the soul of a poor sinner, that would join something with Christ, for the helping of him in that great work of salvation, and this I take to be the complaint of sinners, and sometime broken hearted one’s too; they dare not go to expect mercy from the Lord Jesus. Why? Why? Because they are unworthy, so abominable their lives, so wretched their courses, that they dare not go to Christ, that he may show mercy to them. I reason the point thus; is it because of your unworthiness that you dare not go to Christ? So then, if you had worthiness, this would encourage you for to go: why then, you think Christ is not able alone to help you, but you would have your worthiness help Christ to save you, and so you would join with the Lord Jesus in this great price of salvation and redemption: if your sins were but small, and you had some worthiness, that so Christ might do something, and your worthiness do something, and so you might make up the price between you, then you could be content to go to Christ, but otherwise you think you may not go to Christ, without some worthiness of your own; again, why then (belike) you will be beholden to Christ for so much mercy, and so much grace, and so much forgiveness: one of these two must needs be the ground of this complaint, either we would have our own worthiness join something with Christ, or else we are so vile that we will not be beholden to Christ for so much mercy; but this unworthiness indeed is nothing else but pride, a man will not be beholden to Christ for so much mercy, but he will share with Christ in the matter of salvation, or else he will not be partaker of the great work of redemption.

Imagine a debtor were in prison, and a friend sends to him, whatever the debt be, if he will but come to him, he will pay all; the man returns this answer. If he had not such a great debt to pay, he would be content to come to him, but the truth is, the debt is so great that he will not come to him, nor trouble him: now one of these two must needs follow, either he thinks his friend is not able, or willing to pay his debt, or else in truth he will not be beholden to him for so much, but if the debt were a little one, then he would make a shift to pay some, and his friend some, and so they would make up the debt between them: so it is in this case, this is that which keeps the heart from laying hold on the promise: they think they are unworthy to partake thereof, which is nothing but pride of spirit: for either they would bring something, and share with Christ in the work of redemption, or else they will not be beholden to Christ for so much mercy.

There is another shift which keeps the heart from going to Christ; O faith one, I never had my heart so broken and affected as such a one hath; and therefore they dare not go to Christ, because they have not so much contrition, their hearts so much broken as others have, therefore they dare not go: ay, but be your souls content to go to Christ and yield to him; would you keep any corruption? Is there any sin which you would not have Christ come and remove? The soul answereth, that they would be content to resign all to the Lord Jesus Christ, but they are not so humbled as others are: I say the ground of this complaint is nothing else but self-confidence in broken heartedness, for the soul is not content to have so much broken heartedness as is sufficient to bring a man to Christ, but it would have so much as that it might bring a man to Christ to help him in the work of redemption; they think I is not enough to have the soul so humbled as to submit to the Lord Jesus Christ, but they would have so much as they would join with Christ in this great work: which is nothing else, but carnal confidence. Therefore the conclusion is this: so far see thy sins, so far meditate upon thy sins, and so far labor to have thy heart affected with thy sins, and so far attend unto them, that three things may follow.

First, that you may see an absolute necessity of Christ, and that thou mayest use all means to seek unto him, and never be quiet whilst thou findest him; nay, while thou dost use the means but only upon the Lord Jesus; pray, and rest not in prayer, but in a Savior that is obtained by prayer, hear, but rest not in hearing, but convey to thyself what is revealed in hearing, receive the sacraments, but rest not in them, but therein seek a Savior which is there signed: this is the very stint and pitch of meditation: thus far see and affect and draw your hearts to the consideration of your sins, that the soul may be forced to go to Christ, and use all means to find him, pray for a Christ, hear for a Christ, use all means, and see a need of a Christ, to bless thee in all thy services, and see a need of a Christ to pardon thy sins, and then you take a right course; and thus much for the second passage; now we see how to follow meditation home, that the soul may be affected therewith, and holden thereto.

Ay, but you will say, our thoughts are dull, and our meditation frail, and our wants heavy, and little good we get by this meditation, we fall to sin again; how shall we come to get the life of meditation, that it may be to us as it ought to be?

I answer, the means to make meditation powerful are two, I confess after a man hath mused and pondered, it is possible that a corrupt heart may recoil and fall back again, therefore there are two helps to put more life into meditation.

First, labor to call in the help and assistance of conscience, that meditation may be more fruitful and powerful; conscience is a great commander, it is God’s vicegerent and chief officer, and God is the general overseer of all the affaires of the world, but conscience hath authority to execute judgment according to the sentence God hath revealed, and hath a greater command with the heart, then bare meditation hath; understanding and reason are but the underlings of the will, and they are but servants and subjects to the will, and these only suggest and advise unto the will what is good, as a servant may suggest to his master what is good, and yet his master may take what he list, and refuse what he please in this kind. But conscience hath a greater command, Romans 2:15. Conscience is said to accuse or excuse a man, and conscience comes with a law and a command as the apostle saith, 1 John 3:20. If our hearts condemn us; conscience makes the heart to yield. I compe it thus: look as it is happily with a man that is in debt, if a man have a writ out for him, he is not troubled greatly with that, he will not go to prison because of that, nay, though he show it him, yet he will not go, but if he brings the sergeant arrest him, then he must go, and then he must be imprisoned whether he will or no: so it is here, meditation brings in the writ, and sheweth a man his sins, layeth open all his duties neglected, so many hundred duties omitted, so many thousand sins committed, so many profanations of sabbaths, so many oaths, so many blasphemies; but the soul saith, what is this to me? I have sinned, and others have sinned, and I shall do as well as others; but conscience is a sergeant, and sergeants do your office; these are your sins; and as you will answer it at the day of judgment, take heed of those sins upon pain of everlasting ruin. When conscience begins thus to arrest a man, then the heart comes and gives way to the truth revealed, and conscience thus settles it upon the heart.

The second means whereby meditation may get power upon the soul, is this, we must cry and crave, and call for the spirit of humiliation and contrition, that God by that blessed spirit of his which in Scripture is called the spirit of bondage would set to his helping hand and assist conscience his officer, and take the matter into his own hand, and because there are many rebellious corruptions that oppose God’s truth, we must call to heaven for help, that God would seize upon the heart, and break it: a perverse heart will linde the judgment, and say, I will have my sins, though I be damned for them, and when conscience comes, and saith, I will bear witness against you for your pride, and covetousness, and profaneness. They resist conscience: look as it is if a sergeant arrest a man, he may escape his hands, or kill the sergeant, but if the sheriff or the king himself come, and take the prisoner in hand, then he must go to prison whether he will or no; so it is here, though a corrupt heart can stop conscience, stay conscience, yet there is a commanding power of God’s spirit; the spirit of humiliation: and when God comes from heaven to aide his officer, the heart must stoop, and be governed. Look as it is with a child that is under government, his father perhaps bids the servant correct him, now it is admirable to see how the child will taunt with the servant, and struggle with him mightily, now when the father heareth this, he saith, give me the rod, and he tells the child, you would not be whipped, but I will scourge you, and he will set it home, and plague him so much the more; because he resisted the servant: so it is here, the Lord hath revealed his will and sent his ministers to discover your sins, and verify your hearts, it is strange to see what resistance we find; one scorns to hear, and rebels against the minister. Well, however the voice of the minister, or the Word, cannot make the blow fall heavy enough for the time, yet if the Lord take the rod into his own hand, he will make the stoutest stomach stoop, and the hardest heart come in: when the father takes the rod into his hand, and lets in hell fire, he will set it home, take it off who will or can; the apostle calls it the spirit of bondage: and observe the place, when the spirit of bondage cometh then cometh fear: the spirit of bondage is said to be the spirit of fear, as who should say, the Lord sheweth a man his bondage by the almighty power of his spirit, and will make the soul feel it and stoop unto it. In Job the Lord doth show unto men their works, and then he commands them to return, he openeth their ear to discipline (saith the text) and commandeth that they return from iniquity, he openeth the eye, and maketh a man see his sins, and then he commands the heart to return whether it will or no. When the Lord doth show unto man his sins, and holds him to his sins, that he cannot look off them, this is the work of the spirit of bondage: when conscience hath done his duty, and yet his mouth is stopped, then the Lord himself comes; and however the Word by the mouth of the ministry could not prevail, yet God will set the sun-light of his spirit to your souls, and then you shall see your sins, and stoop under them. When a man would cut off the sense of sin, yet wherever he is, and whatever he doth, the Lord presents his sins to him, when he goeth in the way, he reads his sins in the paths, when he is at meat his sins are before him, when he goeth to lie down, he goeth to read his sins on the teaster of his bed, this is thy covetousness, and thy pride, and for these thou shalt be plagued. Look upon these sins, they are thine own, and thou hast deserved punishments to be inflicted upon thee for them: thus we see the grounds how meditation must be raised: we see how we may bring meditation home to the heart, we see how also we may get the life and power of meditation.

I thought to have propounded an example that you may see the practice of the truth delivered: as imagine it were the sin of the opposing of the Word, I would break my soul withal; first, by meditation cast the compass of this sin, look into the Word, and see whatsoever the Word hath revealed of this sin: the text saith, by this means the anger of the Lord is marvelously provoked, in so much that he will laugh at the destruction of such. Nay, by this means Christ himself is despised, nay, our condemnation is hereby sealed irrecoverably. 2 Chronicles 36:16. The text saith, they despised God’s word, until the wrath of the Lord arose, and there was no remedy: nay, hereby we aggravate our condemnation. For Christ saith, Matthew 11:22. Woe be to thee Bethsaida: woe be to thee Chorazin, for if the mighty works which have been done in thee, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented in dust and ashes: but it shall be easier for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, then for thee: nay, the author to the Hebrews saith, 2:3. How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? The case of such a man is desperate: how shall we escape? Thus you see the reach how far this sin goeth, gather up all then, and tell your hearts of this, when they rebel and oppose the Word of God; how dare I do this? What, provoke God so far as to laugh at my destruction? What, despise Christ and his spirit, nay, make my case irrecoverable, and aggravate to my condemnation? But if the heart will not stoop under this, then call for conscience; conscience to your charge, and then conscience comes, and chargeth the soul on pain of everlasting condemnation to hear and to be humbled; and if this will not doe, entreat the Lord to take the rod into his own hand, and bring these truths home unto the soul, that it may never be quieted until it be humbled: this is the course I would have you take, to bring the truth home to your souls. When the minister hath done his sermon, then your work begins, you must hear all the week long: he that never meditates of his sins, is never like to be broken hearted for his sins: take notice of this, the text saith of these converts, they were pricked in their hearts.

This clause of the verse discovers unto us that, which brings in this shiveredness and contrition of spirit which the Lord calls for at the hands of his servants; now give me leave to make way for myself, by opening of the words, that having taken away all the veil from them, you may more clearly see the truth delivered.

First, let me show you what this piercing or pricking of the heart is.

Secondly, what is meant by heart. You must know, that sound sorrow, or sorrow soundly set on, is here meant by pricking, and this word pricking resembles sorrow in three degrees: for the Word in the original imports not only a bare pricking, but a searching quite through; and we have no word in our English tongue to answer the same word, but only a shiveredness of soul all to pieces. I say there are three things wherein pricking resembles sorrow. First, the body cannot be pricked, but there must be some pain, some grief, some trouble wrought by it, and accompanying of it. Secondly, it is the separation of one part from another, as the natural philosophers conceive, and as the physician gives us to understand, it is the sundering of two parts. Thirdly, the parts being thus pricked, there is the letting of it out, and if any blood or water be in that part thus pricked, so answerably in this sound sorrow in heart, there are three things; I mean in that sorrow which is set home by the almighty: first, there is a great grief and vexation of soul: secondly, by reason of the burden that lieth upon the heart, that cursed knot, and union, and combination between sin and the soul comes in some measure to be severed and parted; the soul being thus grieved with the sin, is content to be severed from it: this is the thing we aim at. Thirdly, this knot of corruption being loosened, and this closure being broken, and the soul daring between sin and the soul being removed, there is now a passage for the letting out of all these corruptions, that the heart may be taken from under the power of sin and be subject to the power and guidance of God: this is the true nature of sorrow. And by the way, consider this, unless the Lord should thus wound and vex the soul, the heart that prizeth corruption as a God (as every natural man doth) would never be severed from it; did the soul see only the delight in sin, it would never part from it; and therefore God is forced to make us feel this, that we may be severed from our sins, and be subject to him in all obedience.

Secondly, what is meant by heart; not to tire you with any matter of signification, this word implieth two things especially, which concerns our purpose, both may be implied and intended, but the first is mainly implied and intended, it is not the natural part of a man which is in the midst of the body, that is, a fleshly heart; but it is the will itself, and that ability of soul, whereby the heart saith, I will have this, and I will not have that. As the understanding is settled in the head, and keeps his sentinel there, so the will is seated in the heart, when it comes to taking or refusing, this is the office of the will, and it discovers his act there; as our Savior saith; where your treasure is, there will your hearts be also. And (as the apostle saith) a man confesseth with his mouth and believeth with his heart: so then they were not only pricked as with a pin, but this sorrow seizeth upon the soul, and pierceth unto the very will, it was not outward overly sorrow, but that which went to the very root, and entered into the very heart.

From these words thus opened, the doctrine I might have handled from this point is, that sins unpardoned are of a piercing, nature, they were not only pricked, because they heard the words, but their sins pierced them: but I will not meddle with this point, though otherwise is were very useful.

The use is, this might take off the imagination of those that think there is no delight, but in sinful courses, they are much deceived: there is no gall but in sin, and there is no sorrow but from sin, and sin only imputed made our Savior to buckle under it, Psalm 22. David’s heart was crushed with it, Psalm 40. Nay, the apostle saith, all the creatures groaned under it, the earth groans under sinners, and is willing to vomit them up, it is a burden to the Sun to give light to the adulterer to see his harlot, and it is a burden to the air to give breathing to a blasphemer that belcheth out his oaths against the God of heaven, nay, it is that which sinks the damned into the bottomless pit, it is such as Judas had rather hang himself then endure the horror of conscience for it: let this therefore dash the foolish conceit of them which think there is no pastime but in sin; however men glory in sin, and take delight in sucking the pleasure of sin, yet the end will be bitterness. Their sweet meat will have a sower sauce, and those sins which are so sweet, will eat out all comfort from their souls, from everlasting to everlasting. They were pricked in their hearts.

So that the main point which fits our aim is this sound sorrow, piercing of the soul of those that are affected with it, they were not only pricked in their eyes to weep for their sins, and to say they would do so no more: the adulterer is not only pricked in his eye, that he would see his adulterous quean, no he goeth further and sinketh into the very soul, and pierceth through the very heart; it is with sorrow that hath any substance in it, as it was with the repentance of Nineveh, not only the ordinary and refuse sort of people forsook their sins, but even the king himself came from his throne and sat in dust and ashes, yea, the nobles and other subjects, and the very beasts of the field did ast: so it is comparatively with this sorrow, it is not only for the tongue to talk of sins, and the eye to weep for his sins; but even the queen of the soul, which is the will itself, puts on sack-cloth, and the heart and all the affections, as so many subjects follow after: it breaks out into the eye, and the frame of the heart shakes with it, and the knees knock together, and the hands grow feeble; it is not; O Lord be merciful unto us, and so be gone: but it must go to your hearts; and you may weep out your eyes, and cry your sins at the market cross, but have you put off the will and affection of sinning as well as the tongue of sinning? The nature of this sorrow is marvelous strange, consider it. David saith, make me to bear of joy and gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice: this sorrow that did seize upon David, was not slight, but it breaks all the bones which are the main pillars and props of nature, the burden was so heavy and so great, that it made all the burden that was in him to shake. And in another psalm. My moisture is turned into the drought of summer: this sorrow went so deep into his soul, that it did not only take away his outward refreshing, but it took away all the moist humors, the inward juice, the very oil of life. It is admirable which the prophet Hosea saith Hosea 13:8. I will meet them as a bear bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their hearts. You must not think to have a whip and away, but the Lord will break the very caul of those proud hearts of yours, rather than he will suffer sin to dwell in you where his throne should be: and hence it is, that this sorrow sink many. Did you never see a soul in distress of conscience, he is all turned to dust and ashes; this sorrow goeth to the quick, it is not a little touch and away, but it breaketh the heart inwardly.

For the opening of this point, let me discover these particulars: first, how the Lord works this sorrow, and how it is brought into the soul. Secondly, I will show you the behavior of the soul when it is thus pierced, and this will show the soundness. Thirdly, I will show some reason why it must be so. Fourthly, I will answer some questions. Fifthly, make some uses, and therein lay down some ends how we may help forward this work when it is begun.

For the first, I know God deals sometimes openly, and sometimes more secretly: but for the first, how this pricking comes into the soul, and how the Lord stabs the soul, and makes at a man to thrust him through. This discovers itself in three particulars. First, the Lord commonly and usually lets in a kind of amazement into the mind of a sinner, and a kind of gastering: as it is with a sudden blow upon the head, if it comes with some violence, it dazzles a man, that he knows not where he is; just so it is generally with the soul, the Lord lets in some flashes of his truth, and darts in some evidences of his truth into the heart of a man, the hammer of God’s law layeth a sudden blow upon the heart, and this discovers the vile nature of sin; as when a drunkard is drunk to day, and will be so tomorrow, and the minister preacheth against that sin, and yet he will be drunk still, and the blasphemer saith, come lets swear the minister out of the pulpit, now it may be the Lord lets in some sudden truth, that unmasks the soul, and drives him to sudden amaze, that now he sees his corruptions to be otherwise then ever he did; commonly he doth not yet see the evil of sin, but he is driven to a stand and a pause, and he doth not know what to say of himself, nor what to think of his sin, there is a kind of tumult in his thoughts, and a confused cumber, he knows not what to make of himself, and he goeth away in a kind of confused distemper: thus it was with Paul when he was running along to Damascus; and had gotten a lusty steed to make hast, suddenly there did shine a light from heaven, and he heard a voice from heaven saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? He marveled at the matter, and yet he did not know what the matter was, and therefore he saith, who art thou Lord? What wouldst thou have me do?

As it was with Saul, so it is most commonly with us all, it may be a poor man drops into the church, and the Lord lets in a light, and the Lord doth compass him about with some threatenings of the law, and shows him the nature of sin, and the damnation that comes by it, and thereupon his thoughts begin to hurry in one upon another, and he retires home, and thinks thus with himself, surely the preacher spake strange things to day, if all be true that he spake, then certainly my condition is naught, surely there is more in sin then ever I thought of; I did always think that such sins as were gross and punishable by the law of man, were abominable, and God was incensed against them, but what? Will every wicked thought sink the soul into hell unless God pardon it? And is God so just, and so severe, and will he punish all sinners? And must I answer for all my petty oaths? If I shall be condemned for my words, and thoughts, it is a strange thing: well, I will inquire further of the matter, it is marvelous hard if it be true. Many a man hath been thus, and goeth no further for the present.

Well then, secondly, he resolves to hear the minister again, and he falls to reading and conferring with others, to try if it be so as the minister before revealed unto him, and commonly he goeth to hear the same minister again, and by this means what with hearing and reading and conferring, he seeth the thing he doubted of is too certain, and that the thing be questioned before is without all doubt: the law is just, the Word is plain, if God be true, this is true, the wages of sin is death; yea of every sinful thought: and, he that believeth not, is condemned already: so that now the sinner begins to consider that the condemnation threatened sleeps not, and that God hath him in chase, and that punishment that God threatens shall be executed upon him sooner or later: thus the soul from a general amazement, comes to see that it is so, and by this means he is surprised with a sudden fear of spirit in expectation and suspicion of what is discovered, left God should lay it upon him, in so much that the soul saith, what if God should damn me, God may do it: and what if God should execute his vengeance upon me, the soul feareth that the evil discovered will fall upon him, the nature of his fear is this, he knoweth there is cause of fear, and he cannot bear the evil when it is come. He saith, I am a sinful wretch, and God may damn me for ought I know, and what if God should damn me: this is the reason of those phrases of Scripture, we have not received the spirit of bondage to fear again, the spirit that shows our bondage, and thence comes this fear.

Hence it is that the apostle saith to Timothy, God hath not given us the spirit of fear: that is, the spirit of bondage that works fear; and therefore the Lord saith by Moses, thy life shall hang in doubt before thee, and thou shalt fear day and night, thou shalt have no assurance of thy life. It is with a soul in this fear, as it was with Belshazzar when he commanded the cups to be brought out of the house of the Lord, that he, and his nobles, and his concubines might quaff in them, and brave against the God of Israel: then came a hand writing against him on the wall, and when he saw it, his thoughts troubled him and his face began to gather paleness, and his knees knocked one against another, as if he should say, surely there is some strange evil appointed for me, and with that, his heart began to tremble and shake; just so it is with this fear, he that runs riot in the way of wickedness, and thinks to despise God’s spirit, and to hate the Lord almighty, and to resist the work of his grace and saith within himself, let us go and hear the minister, that we may cavil at him, and persecute him.

Now it may be there comes this fear and hand-writing against him; and who knows but that it may be thus with thee, whosoever thou art: for this is a note of the child of the devil, to hate God’s servants, and ministers. Now when a wicked man hears this, he saith, the Word of God was profestly spoken against him, and these are my sins, and these are the judgments and plagues threatened against them, and therefore why may not I be damned? And why may I not be plagued? And thus his heart is full of fear, and he begins to reason with himself; what, is this the nature of sin? And are these the judgments of God denounced against sinful creatures? Why then, what if God should lay these judgments upon my soul? And who knoweth but God will do so to me this day; pluck me out of the land of the living? I am sure my sins are such, and God’s judgments are such threatened against them, and therefore why may not this be? And when he goeth to bed he reasoneth thus; what if I never rise more? And when he goeth from home, what if I never return more? And God may take me with my meat in my mouth, and cast me down into hell fire forever. The soul being in this estate, and the heart being thus pestered and plagued with the fear of God’s wrath that followeth a man like a jailor, he is hindered still that he cannot sin so freely, but still the wrath of God pursueth him, and saith, do you not fear that God may take you away in the act of sinning, and in the midst of your chambering and wantonness? The heart being thus pestered with this fear, it is not able to endure it, he labors to drive away this trouble and dread from his mind, and still he thinks God is against him, and he hears some behind him saying, thou must come to judgment and be plagued: now the soul labors to drink away and play away this sorrow. Another man haply that was a prodigal before, riseth now early and will be exceedingly busied about his occasions all the day long, that these things may take up his mind; and the reason is, there lieth something at the heart and he cannot tell which way to drive away his fear, but he labors all in vain: for this is to make up walls with untempered mortar which will presently fall down; it is as much as a man should labor to ease himself of sin by sinning, to give a man cold drink in a hot burning fever.

Thirdly, in the third place the Lord pursueth the soul, and when the heart cannot be rid of this fear, the Lord begins to let fly against the soul of a sinner, and discharges that evil upon him which was formerly feared, and affliction enters into the heart. The nature of fear is to fear an evil to come: now the Lord makes the soul to see that it is not only great drunkards and adulterers that are threatened, but every sinful thought and idle word.

The soul would fain have driven away this fear, but the Lord will not let him, but saith, these curses shall kindle upon thee, and shall continue forever to thy perdition. And hence comes this sorrow, the Lord lets in some vein of his vengeance, and some secret displeasure of his, and makes sin to stab the soul, and then the curse lieth upon him, and the Lord as it were kindles the fire of his wrath upon him really, and makes him see this is that which he feared. Now his conscience is all on a flame within him, and he saith to himself, thou hast sinned and offended a just God, and therefore thou must be damned and to hell thou must go: this is the particular seizing of the curse upon a sinful soul; for this is the nature of true sorrow, if evil be to come we fear it, if evil be upon us we grieve and sorrow for it, herein is the greatest work of all, and the Lord deals diversely as he seeth fit; especially these three ways.

First, if God have a purpose to civilize a man, he will lay his sorrow as a fetter upon him; he only means to civilize him, and knock off his fingers from base courses, as we have known some in our days; many desperate persecutors of God’s people, God casts his sorrow into their hearts, and then they say, they will persecute God’s people no more, haply they are naught still, but God confines them first: God only rips the skin a little, and layeth some small blow upon him: but if a man have been rude and a great rioter, the Lord begins to serve a writ upon him, and saith, thou art the man, to thee be it spoken, thy sins are weighed, and thou art found too light, heaven and salvation is departed from thee, thy sorrow is begun here, never to have end hereafter, but thou must continue in endless torments: thou hast continued in sin, and therefore expect the fierce anger of the Lord to be upon thee forever; so that now the soul seeth the flashes of hell and God’s wrath upon the soul, and the terrors of hell lay hold upon the heart, and he confesseth he is so, and he hath done so: and therefore he is a poor damned creature, and then the soul labors to welter it, and it may be his conscience will be deluded by some carnal minister that makes the way broader then it is, and bids him go and drink, and play, and work away his sorrow: or else it maybe, he stops the mouth of conscience with some outward performances: it may be his conscience saith, thou hast committed these and these sins, and thou wilt be damned for them; and then he entreats conscience to be quiet and hold his peace, and he will pray in his family, and hear sermons, and take up some good courses; and thus he takes up a quiet civil course, and stayeth here a while, and at last comes to nothing: and thus God leaves him in the lurch, if he means only to civilize him.

But secondly, if God intends to do good to a man, he will not let him go thus, and fall to a civil course: when a man begins to color over his old sins, and God hath broken his teeth, that he cannot worry as formerly: but yet there is no power in him: if the Lord love that soul, he will much the more clearly reveal his sins unto him: God will pluck away all his chambering and wantonness, all his pride and peevishness, and pull off his vizard, and show him all his sins, and pursue him; therefore as before God entered the blow, so now he follows it home. And hence it is that Job saith, the arrows of the almighty stick fast in me, and the venom thereof drinks up my spirits, and the terrors of the almighty encamp themselves against me every way. And as David saith, thou keepest my eyes waking, and my sins are ever before me. If God loves a sinner, and means to do good to him, he will not let him look off his sin, the Lord will ferret him from his den, and from his base courses and practices: he will be with you in all your stealing and pilfering, and in all your cursed devises, if you belong to him he will not give you over.

And in another place Job saith, how long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone until I swallow down my spittle? You had better a great deal now have your hearts humbled and broken, and see your sins, then to see them when there is no remedy.

And in another place the holy man Job saith, thou wilt not suffer me to take in my breath, but fillest me with bitterness. Your eyes have beholden vanity, and therefore now you shall see the Lord’s wrath against you for your sins; and you have breathed out your venom against the Lord of heaven, therefore now he will fill your souls with indignation, in so much that he shall breath in his wrath, as you have breathed out your oaths against him: you have filled the Lord’s eyes and ears with your abominations, and the Lord of heaven shall fill you answerably with his wrath.

And in another place Job saith, thou wilt break a dry leaf tossed to and fro: and yet the Lord brake him: now the soul seeth all the evil, and the Lord pursueth him and sets conscience awork to the full. Consider that of the apostle, that all those might be damned which believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness: even all of them. What, shall no great ones be saved? No, nor you little one’s neither; all that lay not hold upon Christ, but have pleasure in unrighteousness, not only great ones, and such as are abominably profane, but even all that had pleasure in wickedness. Now conscience saith, doest not thou know that thou art one of them that have had pleasure in unrighteousness, therefore away thou must go, and thou shalt be damned: now the soul shakes, and is driven beyond itself, and would utterly faint, but that the Lord upholds it with one hand, as he beats it down with the other; he thinks that everything is against him, and the fire burns to consume him, and he thinks the air will poison him, conscience flies in his face, and he thinks hell mouth is open to receive him, and the wrath of God hangs over his head, and if God should take away his life he should tumble head-long down to hell.

Now the soul is beyond all shift, when it is day, he wisheth it were night, and when it is night he wisheth it were day; the wrath of God followeth him wheresoever he goeth, and the soul would fain be rid of this, but he cannot; and yet all the while the soul is not heavy and sorrowful for sin, he is burdened, and could be content to throw away the punishment and horror of sin, but not the sweet of sin: as it is with a child that takes a live coal in his hand, thinking to play with it, when he feels fire in it, he throws it away, he doth not throw it away, because it is black, but because it burns him; so it is here: a sinful wretch will throw away his sin, because of the wrath of God that is due to him for it, and the drunkard will be drunk no more, but if he might have his queans and his pots without any punishment or trouble, he would have them with all his heart, he loves the black and sweet of sin well enough, but he loves not the plague of sin.

Foolish people (saith the prophet) are plagued for their sin. If thou roarest for disquiet of heart, and thy bones are broken; it is because of thy sin; thy pride, and drunkenness, and uncleanness, brought this upon thee; if thou wilt be eased of the plague, throw away thy corruptions, if you would have the effect removed, then take away the cause.

There are two things in sin which make a man sorrowful; first sin itself that doth defile a man, and separate him from God: secondly the punishment of sin. Now the sinner looks either so far at sin as it causeth punishment, or as it separates from God.

Haply a sinner will come to this, he will be content to carry his heart, and that furiously against sin, because it brings judgments and plagues; but thus far a hypocrite may go, a Judas, a Cain, a Saul: Cain would say his sins were greater than could be forgiven: because he had killed his brother; but he could never see his sin so vile; because it did separate him from God.

Thus you see how God enters the blow, and followeth it home upon the soul, but yet for all this, God may leave a man as he did Judas and Saul, and there is an end of them.

Now in the third place, if the Lord purpose to do good to the soul, he will not suffer him to be quiet here, but he openeth the eye of the soul further; and makes him sorrow, not because it is a great and shameful sin, but the Lord saith to the soul, even the least sin makes a separation between me and thee; and the heart begins to reason thus, Lord is this true? Is this the smart of sin? And is this the vile nature of sin? O Lord! How odious are these abominations that cause this evil, and though they had not caused this evil, yet this is worse than the evil, that they make a separation between God and my soul. Good Lord, why was I borne? And why came I into this world? Why did God continue me here, and all the means of grace for my good, and all the comforts of this life, whereby my course might be maintained and made less tedious? What if I did want this horror of heart, and had all the ease in the world? And what if I might be free from all misery on earth? What were this, so long as I had sin in my soul, that makes a separation between God and my soul? I was made to be one with God, and to have communion with God, and to obey his commandments, but I have departed from God by sin and departed from his commandments.

A godless and a graceless man is a miserable man though he were never plagued at all; I was made to honor God, and I have done nothing else but dishonor him: I was made to subject myself to the good will of God, but I have withdrawn myself from his will; and this is my misery and my plague; if I had been in hell, and had not had sin, I had been a happy man, and though I had been in heaven and had had sin I had been a miserable man; because it makes a separation between me and my God.

Nay, the sinner still thus pleads with himself, what is this to me that I am rich and miserable, honorable and damned, to have quiet, and ease here, and a benumbed conscience, and so in the end to be thrown among the devils for dogs’ meat? If I had all the ease, wealth, honors, and friends in the world, so long as I have this vile heart I could not be a happy man.

If you were never pierced for your sins your condition is woeful, you shall have enough of it one day, you that are never troubled for your sins but go on smoothly, know this, I charge you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, though you had all the ease and pleasures in the world, so long as you have these proud, sturdy, unfaithful hearts, you are as miserable creatures as ever breathed upon the face of the earth.

Thus the heart complains as sometimes the lamenting church did, woe to us that we have sinned, not because we have deserved plagues, but because we have sinned, woe to us, for the God of grace is gone from us, and the God of mercy is gone from us, because we have sinned; and the God of blessedness is gone from us because we have walked in cursed ways. Hold here and then your sorrow goeth right, if the soul can say, though I have no horror of heart, yet if I have this sinful heart, I am a miserable man.

Then thy sorrow is right. Sometimes God deals thus punctually with a man; first, he drives it to an amazement, secondly, he works in him marvelous fear of evil that is to come; thirdly, he possesseth the soul with the feeling of the evil, and so forth, as in the former particulars, but yet is bound to no time, and therefore we must not limit the holy one of Israel: it is true, the Lord may press in upon the soul, and work all this on the sudden, but yet experience hath proved, and reason will confirm it, when God works never so suddenly, he affecteth the soul, thus when a poor soul cometh in the congregation, he layeth some truth upon him, that is new and terrible, so that the soul dare not deny it, nor yet fully resist it, but is in a maze, and by and by it may be the Lord opens his eyes and awakens his conscience, and makes that more evident to the soul, and so immediately arrests the soul, and then sorrow falls in a main upon it; and the heart thinks God meant my courses, and the minister spake against him; and he must go down to hell suddenly; so that sometimes the sinner cries out in the congregation, and though he contain himself for a time, yet he buckles under the burthen; all this may be done at one sermon, in one doctrine, or in one part of an use; but usually this is God’s manner of working. But now the question in the next place will be this, how doth the soul behave itself under this sorrow?

I answer, when the soul is sorrowful for sin, as it is sin, and as it is a breach of the law of God, it may appear by these two particulars. First, the soul is most of all weary of sin, because of the vile nature of it. Secondly, it is restless in importuning the Lord for mercy and pardon for it.

First, the heart is most of all weary of the burden of sin, as it is sin, and thinks it the greatest burden in the world: as a man that hath a great burden on his back wrenches this way and that way, and if he cannot remove it, yet he will ease it; so the heart useth all means, and taketh all courses, that if it were possible, it may cast off and ease itself of the vileness of sin and plague of sin. This wearisomeness of the soul, which followeth the weight of sin, makes itself known in these three particulars.

First, his eye is ever upon it, his mouth is ever speaking of it, and he is always complaining against it, and he is readily content to take shame to himself for it. If a man have a sore place in his body, his eye, and his finger will ever be upon it: so it is with the soul; as the people when they apprehended the hideous wrath of God against them, they entreated Samuel to pray for them, for (say they) we have added to all our sins this especially, in asking of us a king.

As it is with a man that hath the stone in the reines, or some stitch in his side, or wherever his pain or trouble is, there he complains most; and when the physician comes to feel on his body he saith, is it here? No saith he: is it here? And when he cometh to the right place, he saith, there it is, cut there, and launce there: so it is with a man that is stung with the vile nature of sin, when he comes to complain of sin, he doth not altogether complain of his horror, nor of death; but he saith, O! That chambering and wantonness, that pride and stubbornness and rebellion of heart: O! That rioting, and malice against the saints of God: the soul seeth this, and complains of it, and takes shame to himself for it; as Paul deals with himself: which argues a heart truly weary of corruption. I was a persecutor, and a blasphemer, and the like; and I was received to mercy; he doth not say, I was in horror or in trouble, but I was a persecutor: he doth not say, I was thus and thus plagued, but I was an injurious person to God’s church, there he was weary, and there he would be eased, if it were possible. Let all vile wretches tremble at it, for God hath enough for all Pharaohs and Nimrods.

Away therefore with all these lapwing cries and complaints, it is the nature of that bird to cry and flutter most when she is farthest from her nest, because by this means she would cozen passengers, and have her young ones: so it is with an hypocrite, he will complain a great way off of his sin, and have some secret turning. It is admirable to see how hard it is for a man to lay open his sins before God, it is a sign that he is never weary of sin, that he is not willing truly to confess his sin, when he is lawfully called to it, and when he pretends it; it is true sometimes God will accept of a confession made to him in secret, if it be in truth, but when God will have a man unbowel himself, and all his abominations, and when a man cometh and desires comfort in this kind, then for a man to cover his sin, and to complain a far off of some ordinary corruption, which every poor child of God is troubled with, and that particular lust whereof he is guilty for shame he is not willing to acknowledge; this argueth that the heart is naught and never sound this wearisomeness of sin: I know that the best heart under heaven will have many windings and turnings; but the Lord will never leave the heart in this case, until he come to deal plainly; and say, these are my sins, and this is my uncleanness, and this is my secret theft, and thus he openeth himself at large, to that man whom God hath appointed for that end: but some are content to confess and complain of their sins when God hath them upon the rack, and Judas did, but mark, his punishment is the greatest cause of his complaint, and hell is his greatest fear, he is weary of sin because of the plague and punishment due to it, but he never regards the vileness of sin in this respect, because it makes a separation between God and his soul. Secondly, as the soul complains of the vile nature of sin and desires to have his face covered with shame, for it is so in the second place; it will never meddle with nor give way to anything that is sinful, so far as it is revealed, so to be setting aside sudden passions, and violent temptations, but when a man is come to himself again, his conscience is awakened; this is sure, the soul will not dare to tamper with anything that is sinful: why? Because it hath bin wearied with the burden of it before. It is the practice of the lamenting church in Hosea; Ashur shall not save us, we will not ride on horses, neither will we say to the works of our hands: ye are our gods, for with thee the fatherless find mercy. That is, we will meddle no more with anything that is sinful, whereby we have dishonored God heretofore, for they had trusted in their horses, and made idols, and relied upon them, but now they cast them clean off.

The reason is, because when the soul seeth sin as it is sin, and that it is burden to the soul, and the heart is now weary of it, it will lay no more weight upon it, because now the heart is weary enough already. The blasphemer fears an oath, and the adulterer shakes to see his quean, and he trembles to see the place where his abominations have been committed, and now his heart loathes all these. If a man hath been once at deaths door by drinking deadly poison, he will never taste of it more; nay, he will not endure the sight of that cup, he will rather fare hardly, and rather starve then eat and drink that which shall kill him, so (saith the soul) it is sin that hath made a separation between me and my God, this pride, or this uncleanness had been the death of me if God had not been merciful unto me, and therefore I will rather sink and die then meddle with these sins any more.

And hence it is, that if anything come under the color of corruption, the soul that is truly weary of sin, saith, omitting of this duty is evil, and therefore I will not omit it, the doing of this action is sinful, and therefore I will not do it; because the sin is worse than the plague, he will take the less evil of the two, as we use to do in other matters: if a man hate his sin for the plague, then so soon as that is removed, he returns to his sin again, the blow was but weak. This was the fault in Judas his sorrow he did see and confess his sins, and bewail them, and did more than many will do now a days, and took shame to himself, but though he confessed and complained of his sin, yet he would rather commit murder upon himself, than undergo the horror of sin; if he had been weary of sin because of the loathsomeness of it, he would not have laid violent hands upon himself: these two passages are everywhere, where true saving grace is.

Now in the third place, if God should deprive a sinner of his judgment and horror of conscience, yet if his heart be truly apprehensive of sin as it is sin, he cannot lay aside his sorrow; so long as sin prevails and gets head against him, and dogs him up and down, nothing will content him, but the removal of his sin: that soul which was cured by any other mean save only by Christ, was never truly wounded for sin: if ease cures him, then horror was his vexation: if honor cure him, then shame was his burthen: if riches cure him, then poverty did most of all pinch him: but if the soul were truly wounded for sin, then nothing can cure him but a Savior to pardon him, and grace to purge him: for what is that to the soul, to have ease and liberty, nay to be in heaven, if he have a naughty rebellious heart, nay if it were possible for him to be in heaven with his sinful heart, it would tire him and burden him there: therefore those souls that are cured by anything saving by Christ, those souls were never truly wounded for sin as sin: it may be horror and vexation lay heavy upon them, but it was not the stroke of sin that did trouble them.

Then gather up all, he that which out of the vileness which he seeth in sin is content to take shame to himself, and will not meddle with his sin, neither carelessly nor willingly, and is not cured by anything saving by Christ, this man behaveth himself truly in the first place. Thus much of the trial.

Secondly, again, the soul is restless in importuning the Lord for mercy, and will not be quieted until it get some evidence of God’s favor, the soul will take on nay, it will not be contented unless it can find some glimpse of acceptance through the goodness of God in Christ. This is plain, if a man be burdened with a weight, or some heavy load that is laid upon him, if that he be fallen under his burthen, he lieth there like to die, and if there be none near to succor him, all his care is to cry out for help, and though he seeth no man yet he crieth out, O help, help, for the Lord’s sake. Saul was without sight three days, and no doubt he prayed to God all that while, as if he had resolved to give him no rest until he had found mercy: this is the nature of true sorrow, it ever drives a man to God, whereas reprobate sorrow drives a man from God: nay, it maybe, though the heart thinks it shall never find mercy, yet the Lord carrieth on the soul in an earnest desire, and using the means, and will not off from God, and from his word and sacraments and ordinances, nay, though he sometime concludes that he shall never get mercy, nor get power against his corruptions; and then one saith, you had best leave off all; nay, (saith the soul) I cannot be worse than I am, if I go to hell I will go this way. There is a kind of sorrow in the heart which is heavenly and godly, but reprobate sorrow even drives a man from God, and makes him say, if I am damned I am damned, if I be a reprobate I am so. O hou wretch, is this all? If a poor creature that is pressed under his burden crieth for help, when almost nature and strength doth fail, he crieth still for help, and that is all he can say, and so he dies, and this is the last word that he speaks with a soft still voice O help, help: so it is with the soul of a poor languishing sinner, when the heart is burdened with the vileness of the nature of sin and the separation from God by the same, he doth not now cry ease and liberty and riches Lord: no, he cries mercy mercy Lord on this vile heart of mine, and give me power against these mighty lusts: and after many means using when he is going the way of all flesh, his last word is mercy.

Methinks I see this poor soul sliding away and saying, how many sins have I committed, oh mercy, mercy, Christ. And this is the last word he speaketh, and so he dies; and no question but mercy shall be given him. It is not a Lord have mercy upon me, and God forgive me will serve the turn: no, it is otherwise, if ever God set home this work, he will make you restless in seeking mercy, and nothing shall content you but mercy to pardon your sins, and grace to subdue them, and the soul thinks if mercy would but shine upon him, and if his sins were taken away that they might never hinder him in a Christian course, he were a happy man: this is the frame of the soul that is truly weary of sin.

When the young man came to Christ, and played fayre and a far off, and said he could do anything. Well (said Christ) if thou canst do anything, then go and sell all that thou hast and give it to the poor: but he went away sorrowful from Christ (saith the text) he did not come to Christ sorrowful, but went away sorrowful from Christ whereas if he had been burdened with sin as sin, he would have come to Christ sorrowful, and say, now I see Lord the world is a heavy burden, O Lord help me against it, give me mercy to pardon me, and grace to remove it: but our Savior heard no more of the young man, and as it is in the text, this pricking of heart made the Jews come to Peter saying, men and brethren, what shall we do? they did not as a great many say now a days, if the minister were far enough off from me, and I from him, I were happy, I cannot be quiet for him: these are reprobate speeches: but the sinner that is truly humbled and burdened with sin as sin, he comes home, and is resolved to wait for mercy until the Lord sheweth mercy to him. Carnal sorrow sent Judas and Ahithophel to the gallows, but godly sorrow ever drives a man to God.

When Jonah was in the whales belly he said, Lord, though I cannot come to thy temple, I will look towards it: so a sorrowful soul that is truly burdened with sin, will say, though I cannot come to heaven, yet I will look up to heaven: and though I never find mercy, yet for mercy will I wait: thy mercy only Lord shall content me.

The next thing is this, we think of all things our sin most pleasant, and nothing so grievous as God’s commandments, and therefore will these sins wherein we have taken so much content, will these so wound the soul; why should sin so wound and pierce the soul? The reasons are these three.

The first is this, the soul must be pierced with sin, because it is the greatest evil of the soul, and therefore if the heart do but truly apprehend it, it cannot but it must be most of all burdened with it: if a man bear two weights on his back, that is most grievous which is most heavy; if he feel the burthen, as the nature of it requires, it will most press the shoulders of him that bears it; if the one be thirty and the other forty pound weight, nature will be most burdened with the greatest weight: so there is no evil so properly and directly evil to the soul, as the evil of sin: punishment deprives the soul of ease and quiet, but sin deprives the soul of God, and the main end for which it was created, through which the soul must be happy, or for the want of this it must be accursed. Now sin is as it were ten thousand weight, when as sorrow and shame and punishment, they are but a hundred weight: if it were possible for a man to have all the ease and quiet in the world, and to be in heaven, yet if he had a foul heart and a sinful soul, he were a miserable cursed creature, and if it were possible to be in hell, free from sin, he were a happy man. There is nothing that can do properly good to the soul but God, and nothing can properly do any hurt to the soul but sin, which estrangeth the heart from God, which is the chief good. If a man had all the pleasures and contents the world could afford, nothing will satisfy the soul but God, and if the soul were in horror, and had the presence of God with it, it would not but be comforted and quieted therewith, it is possible; nay, God doth it also, he makes the soul of a man feel the burden of sin because of the vileness of it, as well as of the plague and punishment of it.

When the Lord will fasten a man’s sin to his conscience, he is able to force the soul to apprehend the evil of sin as well as the torment and plague of sin.

And the ground is this, take the soul as it is polluted with corruption and all abominations, sin is very cross to the nature of the soul, it is a creature and a created thing by God, and hath his being from God, and the soul as it is a creature, was made for God: and howsoever the power of sin prevailed with it and made it fall short of God, yet the nature of the soul still, considering it as it is a creature, it is made for God, and desires to have fellowship and union with God: therefore mark how I dispute: if sin be the worst evil to the soul, as crossing the end of it, and depriving the soul of his chief good, then the Lord is able to make the soul see sin as the greatest evil to the soul; but sin crosseth the end of the creature, for the end of the creature is godward, and to have union and fellowship with God. Therefore the Lord is able to make the soul see the evil of sin as well as the evil of punishment: therefore it is no wonder that the heart be most of all pierced with sin.

The second reason is, because by sound sorrow the soul is truly prepared and fitted for the Lord Jesus Christ, and no other way then this: namely, when the soul sees the burden of sin as sin: for when the soul comes to feel sin in the proper colors of it, and to be affected with the loathsomeness that is in that sin, which hath formerly over-ruled it: now the soul begins to renounce the power of that sin, and to withdraw himself from under the dominion of his corruptions, so that the union between sin and the soul is now broken, and room is prepared and way is made for the Lord Jesus to come into the soul; when sorrow hath wearied the heart and loosened it from the love of sin then the heart is fitted for Christ. As it is with a vessel that hath been for dishonor, if a man will turn the nature of it and make it a vessel of honor, he must not only beat it a little, but he must melt it thoroughly, and then it is fit to be a vessel of honor. So the soul of every sinful man and woman is a vessel of dishonor, and sin hath marvelously polluted them. Now if you will have your hearts fitted for Christ, you must not only have your hearts warmed a little by humiliation, but you must have them melted all to pieces, and the heart must be content to part with all abominations whatsoever, that so the Lord may take place in it, and rule over it even forever. First, cast out the strong man, and then the Lord Christ will come in and take possession of the heart; sin and Satan are the strong man, and the Lord Christ binds this strong man and casts him out, when he sheweth the vileness of sin, and trieth the heart with the burden of it, and binds the soul to good behavior; that now the heart is readily content that Christ should come and do all in the soul.

Many have gone a great way in the stroke of humiliation, and yet because it never went through to the quick, they have gone back again, and become as vile as ever they were; I have known men, that the Lord hath laid a heavy burden upon them; and awakened their consciences, and driven them to a desperate extremity, and yet after much anguish and many resolutions and the prizing of Christ, as they conceived, and after the renouncing of all, to take Christ upon his own terms, as they imagined; and even these when they have been eased and refreshed, and God hath taken off the trouble, they have come to be as cross to God and all goodness, and as full of hatred to God’s children as ever, and worse too.

Now why did these fall away? Why were they never justified and sanctified? And why did they never come to believe in the Lord Jesus? The reason is, because their hearts were never pierced for their sin, they were never kindly loosened from it; this is the meaning of that place in Jeremiah. Plow up the fallow grounds of your hearts, and sow not among thorns, it is nothing else, but with sound saving sorrow to have the heart pierced with the terrors of the law seizing upon it, and the vileness of sin wounding the conscience for it. The heart of a man is compared to fallow ground that is unfruitful; you must not sow amongst thorns and thistles, first plow it, and lay it bare and naked, and then cast in your seed. If a man plow here a furrow, and there a furrow, and leave here and there a bawke, he is never like to have a good crop, there will grow so many thistles and so much grass, that it will choke the seed: our hearts are this ground, and our corruptions are these thorns and thistles: now if a man be content to find some sin hateful, because it is shameful, but will keep here a lust and there a lust, he will never make any good husbandry of his heart: though a faithful minister should sow all the grace of the promises in his soul, he would never get any good by them, but the corruptions that remain in the heart will hinder the saving work thereof.

Therefore plow up all, and by sound saving sorrow labor to have thy heart burdened for sin, and estranged from it, and this is good husbandry indeed; the want of this was the wound of the thorny ground as you may see in the parable, those hearers had much of the world in them, much ease, and profit, and pleasure, and these choked the Word and made it utterly unfruitful, and so they never received comfort nor mercy afterwards. This is that which the prophet David saith, a contrite and an humble heart O God thou wilt not despise if you would have your hearts such as God may take delight in, and accept; you must have them broken and contrite: David saith the Lord’s voice breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. So the voice of the Lord like lightning must thunder into the corrupt heart of sinful creatures.

A contrite heart is that which is powdered all to dust, as the prophet saith, thou bringest us to dust, and then thou sayest, return again ye sons of men. So the heart must be broken all in pieces, to powder, and the union of sin must be broken, and it must be content to be weaned from all sin; as you may make anything of the hardest flint that is broken all to dust, so it is with the heart that is thus fitted and fashioned; if there be any corruption that the heart lingers after, it will hinder the work of preparation: if a man cut off all from a branch, save one sliver; that will make it grow still that it cannot be engrafted into another stock; so though a man’s corrupt heart depart from many sins and scandalous abominations: yet if he keep the love of any one sin, it will be his destruction: as many a man after horror of heart hath had a love after some base lust or other and is held by it so fast, that he can never be engrafted into the Lord Jesus. This one lust may break his neck and send him down to hell. So then, if the soul only can be fitted for Christ by ound sorrow, then this must needs pierce the heart before Christ can come there, but the heart cannot be fitted for Christ without this, and therefore of necessity, the heart must be truly wounded with sorrow for sin.

[3] The last reason is this, because by this means the heart comes to set a high price upon Christ and grace, either the grace of God offered in the Gospel, or that good way which God hath commanded us to walk in. If the heart find the greatest evil to be in horror and vexation, then ease and quietness from these will be the greatest good; but now the soul seeth grace to be truly precious; because it seeth sin to be truly vile: and this is the end why the Lord makes the soul see the vileness of sin; that the heart may be brought to see the excellency in Christ and prize him above all.

Now there are two questions to be answered. First, whether this sound sorrow be a work of saving grace, and such a work as cannot be in a reprobate.

Secondly, whether God doth work this in all men that are truly converted and brought home to Christ, and whether he works this in all alike or no.

For the first, whether this is a work of saving grace yea or no, and such as cannot be in a reprobate: for answer to this,

First I will show the order that this work hath to the other works.

Secondly, I will show the difference of this from sanctifying sorrow, and yet it comes to be sanctifying sorrow.

For the order: first, the heart in this work is not yet conceived to be in Christ, but only to be fitted and prepared for Christ.

If you stop here in your consideration, and dispute not of any work to come, it is only in the way to be engrafted into Christ; but so, that undoubtedly that soul which hath this work upon it shall have faith poured into it: for this is the meaning of that place, the Lord Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost. Now to be lost is not because a man is sinful and miserable in himself; but he is lost that seeth the evil of sin, and the punishment that comes thereby, and comes to be lost in his own apprehension, in regard of his own estate; and he that is thus lost shall be sure to have Christ and salvation by him. It was the end why Christ came, and therefore it shall be fulfilled.

But he that is truly sensible of his sin and the vileness of it, and abhors himself for it, he is truly lost, he is not yet settled on Christ, for then he were safe enough, but he is truly sensible of his lost estate, and therefore shall have faith and Christ; though yet he partake not of them, yet he shall be everlastingly saved and redeemed by Jesus Christ.

Question. And therefore this is an idle question, what if a man die in this work of preparation before he come to have faith?

I say it is an idle question, because it is impossible that he which is thus prepared for Christ and grace, but he shall have them before he die as the prophet saith, behold I will send my messenger before me to prepare my ways. When the heart is fitted and prepared, the Lord Christ comes immediately into it: the temple is the soul, and the way is the preparation for Christ; so as the soul is yet to be conceived as in the way of preparation for Christ; not to have any formal work of grace whereby he is able to do anything for himself.

The next thing is the difference of the sound saving sorrow from sanctifying sorrow; and you must know there is a double sorrow. First, there is a sorrow in preparation, secondly, there is a sorrow in sanctification.

The sorrow of the soul in this preparative work of it, is thus to be conceived; when the Word of God leaves an impression upon the heart of a man, so that the heart of itself is as it were a patient, and only bears the blow of the spirit; the spirit of the Lord and the over-powering force of the same forceth the soul to bear the word: and hence come all those phrases of Scripture, as wounded, pierced, pricked, and the like, only in the passive voice; because the soul is a patient, and the Lord by the almighty hand of his spirit, breaks in upon the soul, so that this sorrow in preparation is rather a sorrow wrought upon me, then any work coming from any spiritual ability in myself. This is sorrow in preparation when I am a patient, and wherein I receive the work of the spirit, and am forced and framed by the spirit to do that which I do in this kind.

But then secondly there is a sorrow in sanctification, and that is thus, that sorrow that doth flow from a spiritual principle of grace, and from that power which the heart hath formerly received from God’s spirit: for sanctification comes after justification, and after the soul hath received faith and grace, then the heart hath a new power given unto it, whereby it is able to set forth itself into any holy action, so that in this a man is a free worker; whereas sorrow in preparation is a work wrought on me, and I am a patient and do only endure it: but I have not any spiritual power to do anything of myself.

Now mark what I say, both these are saving for rows, but they differ marvelously; many thinketh at every saving work is a sanctifying work, which is false; for every saving work is not a sanctifying work, as the apostle saith, those whom he calleth, them he also justifies, and whom be justifies, he glorifies. Glorification implies sanctification here in part, and glory forever hereafter; there is a saving work and calling but yet not sanctifying work; for vocation is when God so far enlighten the mind, as to buckle the heart and to turn it away from corruption to him, and then afterwards God brings the heart to be justified, and then sanctified; they are first called, and then justified and then glorified.

The difference of these two workers is thus to be conceived in this similitude, as it is with the wheels of a clock, that runs quite wrong; what must a man do to set this clock right again? He must first stop it that is run no longer wrong, and then turn it and set the wheels right; now all this while the clock is a patient, and the workman doth all.

Secondly, wherein is thus set right, then the work man puts the plummets and weights on it, and now the wheels can run of themselves by virtue of that poise and weight they have gotten; so that these two are plain different actions.

Just so it is with the frame of the soul, the will and the affections which are as the wheels of this great and curious clock (for the soul goes hell-ward and sin-ward, and the mind knows nothing, and the will and the affections embrace nothing but hell and sin) now to bring these into any holy order, the Lord must stop the soul, and that is done by the discovery of sin and by this humiliation of heart; when the Lord lets a man see his sin and saith to him; if thou wilt have sin thou must have hell and all together; and then the soul saith, if it be so, I will meddle no more with sin, the adulterer will be unclean no more; and the drunkard will be drunk no more.

Now when the soul is thus turned, it looketh heaven-ward, and god-ward, and is content Christ should rule over it: all this while the soul is a mere patient, this is a saving work and a work of God’s spirit wherever it is soundly wrought, and will in the end be faith and grace.

But now when the soul is se heaven-ward and God justifies a poor sin, and plucks him to himself by faith, and adopts him to be his child; then the Lord gives him of his spirit, and this is as the weight of the soul; then by the power of that spirit the soul is able to run right, and hath a principle of grace in it, and the poise of the spirit of grace which doth possess the soul, makes it able freely to mourn for sin, and to have the heart enlarged in the service of God: this is mainly the sanctifying work.

Question. The second question is this, whether doth the Lord work this in all, and whether doth he work it in all alike or no. For I perceive the hearts of many poor Christians are gasping for this, the Lord never wrought upon me in this manner, and my heart was never thus battered and bruised, therefore how shall we know, whether the Lord doth work this in all or no, and in all alike?

Answer. For the answer of this question, I will handle three things, first, the work is the same in all, secondly, the manner is different in the most; thirdly, many have it in them and yet perceive it not how or when it was wrought.

First, this work of contrition of heart is wrought in every one in this work of preparation, before he is, or can be planted into Christ: for the truth of this and the substantial nature of it, Scripture is plain, and reason is pregnant; Scriptures are many, I will only name three, as that in Luke, our Lord Jesus Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost. We may observe two things, first, the qualification of that party whom Christ will seek and save, he must be a lost man in his own apprehension: secondly, see the certainty of salvation of such a one, Christ came for this end; he came to seek up and save that which was lost. Now Christ will not miss of his end; he came for the lost sheep, then the lost sheep he will have; and though the lost sheep cannot seek nor save themselves, yet Christ will save them.

Thus you see, all men must be thus disposed before they can be saved; and if thus fitted and disposed, they shall be certainly saved; it is not enough for a man to be in a miserable estate and damnable condition, but he must also see it, and his heart must be truly affected with it, and find and feel the but then of it; not so much for the punishment, but for the sin whereby his heart is estranged from God, and also God from his soul.

Now that the sensibleness of his lost condition is there spoken of, and this man that hath it shall be saved, may appear, because the sensibleness of a man’s condition in regard of the punishment of sin is such, as a man may have, and yet never have grace and salvation: Cain had the feeling of God’s wrath and felt the punishment of it, and so did Judas also, and yet they were never sought up nor saved.

The second place of Scripture, is out of John, no man cometh to me except the father draweth him, by coming you must conceive believing, (as in that famous place of John, he that comes to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth in me, shall never thirst;) now this text implies two things, and they are professly granted by the intendment of the apostle, for the people murmured why the Pharisees and the great ones believed not and followed not Christ, to whom Christ answers; unless my father from heaven draw them they cannot come: so that these two things are clear, first, a man must be drawn, secondly, if he be drawn he shall surely come

This drawing is thus much, when God opens the eye of a man and makes known his sin, and sets down the heart in the acknowledgement of sin, so that he feels the vileness and the burden of it, and is content to part with the fame.

When the Lord shall lay all a man’s abominations upon him, all his adulteries, and all his thefts, and now he sees what it is to depart from a blessed and a pure God; O then, he will be drunk, and unclean, and malicious no more, because the heart is weary of it, and is content to part with it.

From hence I reason thus, true drawing is ever accompanied with true believing; but this sense of sin in regard of the punishment of it, is not always accompanied with true believing, but a man must see his sin further in the vileness of it, and in the abomination of it; and then he shall undoubtedly believe.

The stream of the whole Scripture runs this way, as that in Matthew, come to me all y that are weary and heavy laden and I will ease you: and this is that which Isaiah saith, the spirit of the Lord is upon me: because he hath anointed me to preach glad tidings to the meek, he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, to proclaim the acceptable Day of the Lord, and to comfort them that mourn: nay, the garment of gladness is fitted only for the broken hearted, as in the third verse of that chapter, to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, and the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise, for the spirit of heaviness: nay, the promises of largest extent in Scripture, do either expressly belong unto such as a broken in heart, or else they do imply so much that a man must be so before ever God can or will accept of him.

As in the Revelations, hoe, every one that will, let him come freely, and take of the water of the well of life and live forever. So then, some may say, Objection. Though a man were not broken hearted, yet if he will take this water of life, he shall live forever; Answer. Nay, but except he be broken hearted and humbled, he will never take it, as a man must have grace, so he must will the water of life: now to will the water of life is this; to choose grace as the chief good; and to prize grace more than anything else in the world; and to esteem the Lord Jesus and his grace truly precious.

A man is said to choose a woman when he is content to part with all for her, and to have her for her grace sake; so a man must part with sin and himself, and whatsoever is dear to him, that he may have grace, now he will not part with sin, unless he be weary and burdened with it; and therefore this wearying implies the burthening of the heart with sin; thus much for the proof of Scripture.

Now to add some reasons that may compel our judgments to yield to this truth; and they are taken; first, from the qualification of man’s heart naturally, and secondly from what he must be, before he can receive Christ.

I will discover my thoughts in four conclusions, and thus I reason. It is a confessed case (I conceive) that every man by nature doth entertain sin as his God, and seeks and loves that most of all; himself, and his sin, is his God. In this case it is his chief good, and the heart will not, nay, it cannot, be content to part with it; what is the cause that we propound Christ, and grace, and salvation, to a company of poor simple creatures, and yet the counsels, the promises, and commandments of God prevail not with the heart of them, nor awe them, but still they will have their sins, and the offer of Christ and grace lies in the dust; the adulterer will have his queans, and the drunkard will have his cups, and they will not suffer the Word to pluck away their corruptions, but they will have them though they be damned for them, what doth this argue, but that sin is their God. Nay, it is clear, not only in palpable reason, but the Scripture is evident this way: it is the match Christ offers to the young man, if he would sell all and follow him, he should have treasure in heaven: he was covetous, and this was fayre offer for a little trash, he should have everlasting life, now the text saith, he went away sorrowful, he would rather have his covetousness and his wealth, then heaven.

The second conclusion is this, there cannot be two God’s in one heart, two kings in one throne nor two suns in one firmament; you cannot have Christ, and yet be an underling to sin; will Christ be a physician to heal you that you may have your sins still? No, our Savior is plain to the contrary, you cannot serve God and mammon; if the adulterer will have his queans, then he must forsake the Lord, and if he will not part with his lust, nor have his heart circumcised, nor broken, then he must go down whole to hell; as the prophet said, why halt you between two opinions, if God be God serve him. God will bochiefe in the soul.

It is not possible to have heaven and hell together; it is impossible for a man look up to heaven steadfastly with both his eyes down to the earth, both at one time.

Thirdly, you must of necessity cast off the yoke of corruption, and rebel against that; you must have your first God; pride, and malice, and the like, to be unthroned, before the Lord Christ will set up his scepter, and before he can be welcome to your souls; you must have your hearts divorced from your first husbands, from sin, and all those abominations which you have loved and hugged as your life; if ever you would have Christ make a match with you, and take possession of your souls; as the Lord saith, thou shalt be as a widow and fit for me, and as the original hath it, thou shalt be separate from all, and fit thyself for me, and then I will marry thee to myself in righteousness.

Lastly, the soul will not part with his corruption and lust, which are his God; unless he be wearied with them, and find the gall and bitterness of their evil nature; I say, until then, it is impossible that ever the soul should be separate from that sin wherein it hath found such contentment; therefore it is of necessity that they be parted; but before the soul seeth the venom of sin, it will not part with it, and so he cannot come to receive the Lord Jesus Christ and hence it is, that the Lord in his infinite wisdom is thus not only willing to do for a poor sinner, but to force him to it, for there is such love and liking to sin; that if you pull away the adulterers queans, and the drunkards pots, you had as good kill them, and they begin to say, it was well with the town before the minister came there; the reason is, because he would have his sin.

Now the Lord is pleased to lay a heavy weight upon the soul, and to force the burden of sin upon it, that whereas before, the heart did find much sweetness in these base courses; the Lord makes them as bitter as gall, or wormwood; and then the soul begins to reason thus with itself; and faith, is it such a thing to be drunk, and is it murder to envy my brother? And can none such enter into the kingdom of heaven? And when the soul seeth God taken away, and heave separated from him; he saith, is this the pleasing sin that I have loved? And is this the nature of my pride to have God resist me? This lies heavy upon the heart, and at last the soul is resolved to part with his sin and never to love it more; good Lord, do what thou wilt with me, only take my soul and save me, and take away my lusts and corruptions: the heart is content at length that Christ should do all; and now the match is made, the sight of sin from the punishment of it will never separate the soul from sin, nor break that union that is between them.

Judas had it in a great measure, and God plucked his sweet morsels from his mouth, and made him confess his sins, and take shame to himself; and so God doth with many, and makes them say, I have been a drunkard and an adulterer, and a desperate opposer of God and his ordinances: but though Judas loathed the horror and punishment of sin, yet he had a murderous disposition still, he that had killed Christ went and murdered himself too.

Now from these former conclusions I reason thus, if a man’s sins be his God, and if there cannot be two God’s in one heart, and if those corruptions of the heart must of necessity be cast out, and if the heart will not part with sin until it be wearied with it, and that is done by godly sorrow; then it is a matter of necessity, that the heart must be pierced; and there must be a separation between sin and the soul, before Christ will marry the soul and rule in it; or else there shall be two God’s in one heart, which cannot be.

The second thing in this answer is this, some may say, oh I never found this work in me. Now therefore you must know, however this work is wrought in all for the substance of it, yet in a different manner in the most. For the fashion that God useth in framing the heart is different; two men are pricked, the one with a pin, the other with a spear: two men are cut, the one with a pen knife, the other with a sword: so the Lord deals kindly and gently with one soul, and roughly with another, and handles it marvelous sharply, and breaks it all to pieces. There is the melting of a thing and the breaking of it with hammers; this I say the rather to check the imagination that harbors in the heart of some men, otherwise holy and wise, (and yet mistaken in this point) they think the Lord never works grace, but in this extraordinary manner.

It is true, God sometime must use this affrighting of spirit, and when proud spirits come to grapple with the Lord, he will make their sturdy hearts to buckle: and it is true; there must be a clear sight of sin and the heart must be wearied with the vileness of I and be content to part with sin: this is wrought in all: but that it must be in all in this extraordinary fearful manner as it is in some, the Word saith it is not, neither is God bound to any manner, there is a difference among persons.

As for example, first, if the person be a scandalous liver, and an opposer of God, and his grace, and sets himself against the Lord Jesus Christ; if he set his mouth against heaven and profess himself an enemy to God and to his truth.

Secondly, if a man have harbored a filthy heart, and continued long in sin, and hath been a close adulterer, and continued long in it.

Thirdly, if a man have been confident in a civil course.

Lastly, if God purpose to do some great works by him.

In all these four cases he lays a heavy blow upon the heart, and commonly the nature of these persons requires it.

First, when any one hath been an opposer of God and his grace, if the Lord should deal gently with him, other vile wretches would be ready to say, such a man is gone to heaven, though he be thus and thus, yet the Lord dealt lovingly with him: and therefore though I continue in these courses, I shall do well enough; nay, (delude not thy self, for) the Lord will bruise him, and rend the caul of his heart, and make him seek to a faithful minister for direction, and to a poor Christian for counsel, whom before he despised; and the world shall know what it is to oppose God, and to persecute his children; as he broke Paul’s heart, and made him say, I am he that have persecuted the saints.

Commonly the Lord will not show mercy to such as these are, in hugger mugger, but will make the world see their humiliation, as they have seen their rebellion and opposition.

Thus the Lord deals with the secret thief and close adulterer; the Lord plucks away their corruptions, and makes them vomit up their sweet morsels, and then they will say, these are my sins, and this heart of mine is hardened by the continuance in them: and therefore it is that the Lord works in this manner.

But if the soul be otherwise trained up among godly parents, and live under a soul-saving ministry, that saith, you cannot go to heaven by a civil course, and you cannot have any dispensation for your profanation of the Sabbath; I say, if a man live under such a ministry and keep good company, the Lord may reform this man, and cut him off from his corruptions kindly, and break his heart secretly in the apprehension of his sins, and yet the world never see it.

In both these we have an example, in Lydia and the jailer, Lydia was a sinful woman, and God opened her eyes and melted her heart kindly, and brought her to a taste of his goodness here, and glory hereafter. But the jailer was an outrageous, rebellious wretch, for when the apostles were committed to prison he laid them up in stocks and whipped them sore; O says he, now I have gotten these precise fellows into my hands, I will have my penny-worths of them.

Now there was much work to bring this man home; when the apostles were singing psalms there came an earth-quake which made the prison doors to fly open and the prisoners fetters fall off, but yet the jailer’s heart would not shake, at last the Lord did shake his heart too, and he came trembling and was ready to lay violent hands upon himself, because he thought the prisoners had been fled; but the apostles cried to him, do thyself no harm: for we are all here; with that he fell down before them and said, men and brethren, what shall I do to be saved?

I conclude this; naturally all men are locked up under infidelity, now the Lord opens their hearts severally, you know some locks are new and fresh, and therefore an easy key may open them, but some locks are old and rusty, and therefore must be broken open by force of hand; so it is with some men’s hearts, howsoever sin prevails over the hearts of civil men, and they are full of pride, and the like; and yet their hearts are kept clear from rusting, by restraining grace; now the Lord will draw that man by the key of his spirit, and kindly withdraw him from his sin. But if a man have been an old rusty drunkard, or adulterer, no key can open his heart; alas, it is not a little matter will do the deed, it is not now and then a gracious promise that will break his heart: but the Lord must come down from heaven, and break open the door by strong hand, by awaking his conscience, that all the Country rings of him.

You know all men’s hearts are compared to stones; some stones are soft, you may crush them to pieces with your hands, and some are flints which must have many blows before they will break, so it is with the heart: while it hath not been melted and softened by humility, the Lord must break it open by main force, and as it is with a tree, some branches are young and smooth without knots; and some are old ones, and full of knots; now if a man come every day and give a little cut at the tender branch, at last it will off easily; but it is no cutting of an old tree with a pen-knife, but a man must take an axe, and give many a sore cut, that all the people in the town may hear it.

All men grow upon the root of sin, which is Adam’s rebellion: some are young, and have not grown knotty in a rebellious course; every Sabbath day the Lord gives a cut at him by his counsels, and by his threatenings, and by his promises; at last it falls off kindly, and they are content to part with their sins, and to rest upon Christ for mercy. Another man is an old sturdy vile wretch an over-grown adulterer and drunkard, and his heart is blinded in sin: I tell you, if ever the Lord cut off this man from his base course, he must come with a mighty hand, and with his book of the law: God is ever laying at his soul, blow after blow, and so at last he begins to forsake his wicked courses. What (saith one) is such a man turned? He was as heavy a persecutor as ever the Sun saw: his father was an enemy to all goodness, and he was as bad; like father like Son: hath the Lord brought him home? Yes, now he sends to the faithful ministers, and to God’s people for comfort and direction.

The third and last part of the answer is this, that when God works gently with Christians, they hardly perceive the work, though wise Christians may approve that which is done; for this is certain, wheresoever Christ is, there preparation was; if ever man be saved, Christ hath made him see his lost estate.

Sometime the work is secret, and the soul apprehends it not because it is so, and though he doe, yet it is an unknown work to him, he knows not what to make of it, he can find in his heart to hate those and those sinful courses, yet he cannot see how this was wrought in him: man’s spirit is such that he misjudgeth the work; but give me a Christian that God doth please to work upon in this extraordinary manner, and to break his heart soundly, and to throw him down to some purpose, though it cost him dear: this man walks with more ear and conscience, and hath more comfort coming to himself, and gives more glory to God, whereas the other doth but little good in his place, and hath little comfort coming to him.

Therefore labor for soundness in this work, and then forever sound: but if once deluded here, then forever cozened, and everlastingly damned.

The first-use is for instruction. It is so, that the soul of a man is thus pierced to the quick, and run thorough by the wrath of the almighty? Then let this teach the saints and people of God, how to carry themselves towards such as God hath thus dealt withal. Are they pierced men? Oh, pity them: let our souls, and the bowels of commiseration and compassion be let out towards them, and let us never cease to do good to them to the very uttermost of our power and strength. And to the performance of this, not only reason persuades us, but religion binds us, and pity moves us.

See what the Lord saith by Moses, if a man see his neighbor’s ox or ass fall into distress by the way the Lord commanded to ease him and succor him, nay to lay all business aside, and not to hide himself from him.

Thus the Lord commands mercy to the unreasonable creature, that is thus wearied with the weight that he carrieth; hath the Lord care of oxen? As the apostle saith in another case, it is for our sakes that the Lord requires this duty: the meaning is this; shall not the heart of thy brother be eased, that is tired thus with the wrath of the almighty? Shall not this poor fainting creature be succored? Are you men or are you beasts in this kind? If a hog be but in distress, it is strange to see how folk come about it; are we devils then that we can see poor creatures burdened with the unconceivable wrath of the Lord, and not pity them? Do you see these, and not mourn and succor, and pray to heaven for them? See what Job saith, and let him speak in the behalf of all distressed souls, O saith he, that my sorrows were all weighed they would prove heavier than the sand. Mark how he cries for succor, oh you my friends have pity upon me, for the hand of God is heavy upon me, for the hand of God hath touched me: imagine you saw him sitting upon the dunghill mourning, it is not the hand of a man or an enemy but the heavy hand of God; and therefore all you my friends that see my anguish and my sorrows have pity upon me.

Those palefaces and blubbered cheeks, and feeble hearts, and hands of theirs; say thus much unto you, have you no regard of a man in misery? Have you no pity saith the lamenting church? So doth every grieved and humbled soul, their sighs and sorrows in secret say thus much; oh all you that walk in the streets, have you no remorse of a poor desolate forlorn creature? Had I been only wounded, or had my nature grown weak, some physician might have eased me, had I been poor, some friends might have enriched me, had I been disgraced, the king might have advanced me to honors, but was there ever sorrow like to my sorrow of soul? It is the God of mercy that shows himself displeased with me, it is the God of all grace and comfort, that hath filled my heart with the venom of his wrath; if there be any pity or compassion in you lend help, and succor such poor distressed souls; if a woman be in travel and her strength faileth her; oh what bitter cries she puts forth, with that all her neighbors come to help her, and when they have done all they can, they pray to heaven for that they cannot do themselves.

And as it is with a man that is swounding away, they run for strong cordial water, and for this man, and that friend, to succor him, and they cry all, help, help, for the Lord’s sake, he is clean gone; this is all well, it is a work of mercy and pity.

But men, brethren and fathers you know not the heart breaking sorrows that are in the souls of these poor creatures, he lies as it were in childbed, and is in the very pangs of conversion, and his heart is even now at a ha, even now to be converted, and loosened from sin, and to have Christ brought into his soul; O that God would send some amongst you that you might see some experience of it: oh faith the poor soul, will these and these sins never be pardoned? And will this proud heart never be humbled? Thus the soul sighs, mourns, and saith, Lord, I see this, and feel the burden of it; and yet I have not a heart to be humbled for it, nor to be freed from it; oh whence will it once be? Did you but know this it would make your hearts to bleed to hear him, it is not the swounding away of a man in a qualm; no, no, the sword of the almighty hath pierced through his heart, and he is breathing out his sorrow, as though he were going down to hell, and he saith; if there by any mercy, any love, any fellowship of the spirit; have mercy upon me a poor creature that am under the burden of the almighty; O pray and pity these wounds and vexations of spirit, which no man finds nor feels but he that hath been thus wounded.

It is the sign of a soul wholly denoted to destruction, that hath a desperate disdain against poor wounded creatures, O saith one, I hope you have hearing enough have you not? It may be you will tumble down into a well or hang yourself, will you not? Oh fearful, is it possible there should harbor such a spirit in any man? There is not a greater brand of a man denoted to destruction then this; I do not say only he is stark naught for the present, but it is a fearful brand of a man denoted to eternal destruction; if the devil himself were upon earth I cannot conceive what he could do worse.

When the woman was about to be delivered, Revelation 14:4, the red dragon was there ready to destroy the child, and see what the prophet David saith of such, Lord pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that know not thee, and the kingdoms that have not known thy name; let thy wrathful displeasure take hold of them that add iniquity unto iniquity, and let them not come into thy righteousness, let them be blotted out of thy book. What’s the reason of this? Why did David make this imprecation, and say; Lord set open the gates of hell, that thy wrath may fall upon the souls of such as these are, the text saith, they persecute him whom thou hast smitten: the Lord smites a poor sinner, and thou art ready to persecute him too; the Lord hath wounded him, and wilt thou stab him to the heart; good Lord! Add iniquity to iniquity! The sin is marvelous, and the curse unconceivable.

When Amalek met Israel and took them at advantage, because they were weak and weary, remember (saith the text) what he did to thee in the way, how he feared not God, and the Lord saith, I remember what Amalek did to the people of Israel: go therefore and blot out his name from under heaven, and kill all both young and old. This is a true type of such as are enemies to the poor saints of God, that are thus desolate and wounded in their consciences; their being in the wilderness was a type of the saints conversion; and their coming to Canaan, was a type of the saints arriving at the heavenly city Jerusalem.

Now canst thou jeer at the saints, that are thus wounded? And canst thou wound them further? And pierce him to the heart, and discourage him? The Lord will remember thee in the day of thy death, and as thou hast shewed no mercy, so shalt thou receive no mercy in that day. I have known many such opposers of God and his grace, that have been forced to lay violent hands upon themselves, and when the Lord hath gotten some of them upon their sick bed they lie roaring there; and the Lord lays his full wrath upon them; if there be any such in this congregation, I pray God let them see some sudden vein of his vengeance, that if it be possible they may find and feel the weight of this trouble of conscience; that they themselves also may find mercy from the Lord.

The second part of the use is this; as we must pity those thus wounded; so hereby we see the best way to send help to such as are wounded in their hearts, the wound is in the heart, therefore let the salve be applied to the heart. It is in vain to tell a poor wounded soul of hawks or hounds, or the like: he is not wounded in his body, but in his heart: the physic must be applied to the part diseased. If the head be sick or sore, you must not apply a salve to the arm; and if the breast be ill, you must not apply a salve to the foot: so it is a vain thing to offer riches or pleasures, or profits, to a man that is wounded in his conscience for sin; the wound is not there: if the wound were in disquietness, then pleasure will cure it; if the wound were in poverty, then riches would cure him; if the wound were in baseness and contempt, then honors would cure him. No, thy heart is wounded, and the conscience is terrified in the apprehension of God’s wrath; and therefore apply the spiritual balm of Gilead, even the blood of Christ: the case is clear that all the crosses and crucifixes, and Agnus dei in the world, and all the popish pardons can do no good to a wounded conscience. There is never a popish shaveling under heaven can cure a wounded soul, he cannot apply that spiritual salve that should comfort him: he may delude him, and lead him into the commission of sin, but he cannot minister any true comfort unto him: thus they cure a poor Christian by searing of his conscience, and make him sin so much the more, and never be troubled for sin, as if a man should kill a sick person, and say now he feels no hurt, so it often falls out that a man feels no sin, but yet he is not cured, because his sin is not removed, and his heart unpacified in the blood of Christ.

Secondly, is it so, that the wound of a sinner is in his heart? Then we have here a matter of complaint that we may justly take up against the secure generation wherein we live, there is but little saving sorrow, and therefore but little saving grace, if there be no preparation for Christ there can be no true evidence of grace, nor of God’s love in Christ; if there be no preparation for a building, there can be no building set up. The Lord be merciful to a world of men that live in the bosom of the church, if we had a fountain of tears with Jeremiah to bewail this age in this respect, it were worth the while, and if the Lord should send some Ezekiel and say to him, go to such a country, or such a shire, and see if there be any that do mourn for their sins, and comfort such: alas, what would become of a world of persons?

This is a bill of indictment against three sorts of people; it arraigns and condemns such, as never yet shared in this work of preparation, and of saving sorrow, and therefore were never in Christ: these swarm in our streets: and first it falls marvelous heavy upon such as take contentment in their base courses, those loose epicures and boon gallants of our time, that go staggering in our streets, they are so far from grieving for their sins, that it is their greatest vexation that they cannot commit sin, and have elbow room to sin freely; O what a grief it is to them to have a minister check them, and that there is a law to punish them for sin; and whereas sin should be poison in their souls to wound them, it becomes as meat to nourish them, they sleep not except they have done mischief, (saith the wise man), and their sleep is taken away unless they cause some to fall; they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. So far it is from being poison unto them and so far are they from being troubled with sin, that it is their meat and pastime to sin; just Esau like: what did he? When he had eat and drunk, he rose up to play, and this was all he looked after: when he had passed away his title to heaven, and happiness, and esteemed of Christ and heaven no more than of a mess of pottage; he ate and drank; his heart was never touched for what he had done, he did not smite upon his thigh, as Ephraim did, and say, what have I done? Have I sold away my birthright for nothing? You that know the world, you know there are many that sit upon the ale-bench, and swear, and drink, and rail against God’s servants, and are never troubled for it; nay, the world is come to this pass, that it is their greatest vexation that they are hindered in their sinful courses.

It was the guise of the old world: Haman went home sick, because he wanted the cap and knee from Mordecai: Amnon was sick of incest, and Ahab was sick of covetousness, and Ahithophel was sick because his counsel was not followed; the Lord of heaven knows, the adulterer is sick because he cannot get the heart and company of his quean; many a man is sick of envy, it is rottenness to his bones; yea many a man goeth up and down sick of it, and is not quiet, because he cannot vent his rage against a faithful minister that checks him: you swearers doth not your hearts rise against the king and state, for making a law against that sin: do you not hate the constable and witness that come in against you, you account these the greatest plague to you in all the world; I appeal to the hearts of you all, that hear me this day; can you say you are troubled for sin, and yet grieve, because you cannot commit sin still: woe woe to your souls that thus delight in sin. There are many that despite the spirit of grace and stick not to say, I did swear such a man out of the house, and I did drink such a man under the table dead: read that place of the apostle and there you shall see your doom, and if there be any such in your families, or amongst your neighbors, throw this in their faces, and if they will go down to hell, let them go with pain, that all they might be damned (saith the text), which believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. God is not partial, but saith, that all they might be damned: it would almost shake a man’s heart to think of it.

How many notorious vile wretches may say, good Lord, what will become of our families and villages? We are all opposers of God and his grace, shall all be damned? I dare not say what God will do to thee, the text saith so. This, me thinks might lie as poison and rats-bane upon the heart of a sinful creature: the Lord in mercy look upon you and make sin as loathsome and bitter unto you, as ever it hath been sweet and pleasant. You see how the matter will go with you: you that thus jibe and jest at the saints, and sport yourselves in sin, the time may come that it will be a dry feast as it was with dives that was drunk and fared deliciously every day, he had a dry feast in hell, and could not have a drop of water to cool his tongue. So it will be with you, you must either buckle and mourn for sin, or else burn forever.

Secondly, it condemns such as are in a fair strain; such are they that have a slight sense of sin; but it never goes down to the heart, the skin is rippled a little, but the caul of their heart was never broken for their abominations. Naaman was to wash seven times in Jordan, so this water of godly sorrow is of a healing nature, but these men do not rub and rinse their souls in it, they only dip their souls in a little sorrow, but you must wash it thoroughly and fully, if ever you desire to have the leprosy of sin purged out: men bathe their sins with tears, but they do not drown them; they do as parents do with their children, they will correct them a little, and presently cocker them again; so the hypocrite useth to trouble his corruptions; and complain of them and vex them a little with sorrow; but in the meantime cocker them and dandle them again. But sin will not be so killed, and the heart will not be so easily broken, this kind of sorrow is too slight and overly.

As it is with a debtor, that hath borrowed money, he will complain he had an ill bargain, and desires that either he might have the debt abated, or the day put off, he puts it off with mere talking; such a generation there are of the whining hypocrites, that will outwardly complain of their corruptions, but keep the corruptions still; as Ahab did, he hated Micaiah, and afterwards he fasted and prayed, that he might sin more freely without suspicion: so there is many a cursed hypocrite that lives in a fair course, and yet will cheat and lie, and deal marvelous unjustly; and then he will complain of his sin, and confess, only to bath his sins, but drown his sins and subdue them he will not, and this he doth that he may sin more freely again; it is but fasting and praying, and so forth.

O brethren it is a desperate hypocrisy, that sorrow which God hath appointed as a means to purge out sin, should be a means to cover his sin: will a few wambling tears do the deed, and break the heart? Is this acceptable sorrow? You yourselves are ashamed of this work, and do you think God will accept of it? No, no, it is not the rending of the garments, nor the weeping of the eyes, that will do the deed, but you must break your hearts: if you only cut off the legs or wings of a fowl, it will live for all that: so you cut off the arms or hands of sin, but so long as the heart is not wounded, and driven to any amazement for sin, it will live with you here and in hell too.

Oh do not cozen your own souls; it is not the tears of the eye, but the blood of the heart that your sins must cost, and if you come not to this, never think that your sorrow is good; and therefore you that find yourselves guilty, lay your hands upon your hearts and say, good Lord, this is my portion, the Lord knows I have confessed my sins, and yet have taken liberty to sin: but my heart was never burdened with this evil and vileness of sin; and therefore to this day I never had this true sorrow.

[3] There is a third sort of sorrowers which is the worst of all, they are such as heretofore have drunk deep of this sorrow, and have been extraordinarily stricken and yet they are grown so much the more hardened in their sins by all these blows that God hath laid upon them; these are in a desperate condition, even such as God hath made howl in the congregation, yet afterwards fall into the same courses again, and return to their old bias, and now they can outface God and his ministers and all; and think it a matter of baseness to be disquieted in heart, as they have been: such novices and children they were once, that they could not sleep nor be quieted, but now they care not what all the ministers under heaven say against them; nay, they can flear in our faces, and be drunk and vile, and be never troubled for it, they have gotten the skill of it, this is the most fearful condition that almost a poor creature can fall into.

Thou accountest it thy glory and credit that thou canst bear all, and art metal of proof, and no bullets can pierce thee, thou wast troubled before, but now thou hast shaken it off; this I say is thy shame, and will aggravate thy condemnation, nay, I take it to be one of the forest tokens under heaven, of a graceless heart; if thou hast had thy conscience awakened, and hast been troubled for sin, and now dost fly off, it is a sign of God’s high displeasure towards thee; thou takest the right course, as if God had invented a way to destroy thy soul, as you may see in Isaiah, go thy ways, saith the Lord, speak to this people, but they shall not hear; make the heart of this people fat: as though he had said, there are a company of people in such a place; go thy ways to them, open their eyes, and touch their hearts, and awaken their consciences, and when thou hast done, then let their consciences be feared and fatted, and then they will go the right way to destruction; for if they would awaken, and sorrow kindly, and repent, I must needs save them.

Let these men remember that it is a heavy sign God hath forsaken them; me thinks this should trouble their souls exceedingly, and force them to cry out, I am the man that have my heart fatted, and would not be touched and converted.

Now if all be true that I have said, there are but few sorrowers for sin, therefore few saved; here we see the ground and reason, why many fly off from godliness, and Christianity: this is the cause; their souls were only troubled with a little hellish sorrow, but their hearts were never kindly grieved for their sins. If a man’s arm be broken and disjointed a little, it may grow together again; but if it be quite broken off, it cannot grow together; so the terror of the law affrighted his conscience, and a powerful minister unjointed his soul, and the judgments of God were rending of him; but he was never cut off altogether: and therefore he returns as vile, and as base, if not worse than before, and he grows more firmly to his corruptions.

It is with a man’s conversion, as in some men’s ditching; they do not pull up all the trees by the roots, but plash them: so when you come to have your corruptions cut off, you plash them, and do not wound your hearts kindly, and you do not make your souls feel the burden of sin truly: this will make a man grow and flourish still, howsoever more cunningly and subtly. This lopping professor grows more subtle in his wickedness: the soul that hath been terrified for his lusts, he is now grown a plashed adulterer, and alehouse haunter, he will be drunk more cunningly and secretly: and so he that hath been an open opposer of God’s children, will now jibe and jest at them in a corner, and when he comes amongst his old companions, then he can vent out all his malice.

This is the reason why all wicked men that were in some good way of preparation of soul, they turn their backs upon Christ; even because they were never cut off kindly from their sins, but only unjointed, and that is the reason why they fall to their old corruptions again. This is the main cause of all the hypocrisy under heaven: there was never any soul that made profession, and falls again, but the ground of it is here.

The third use is for exhortation: if every sorrow will not do it, and if slight sorrow will not do it, what then remains to be done, then if ever thou wouldst be comforted, and receive mercy from the great God, labor to take the right way, and never be quieted, till you do bring your hearts to a right pitch of sorrow; let it never be said of as it was of you them in Hosea, they have not cried unto me with their hearts, when they how led upon their beds, they assembled themselves for corn and wine, but they rebel against me. Thou hast a little slight sorrow, but oh labor to have thy heart truly touched, that at last it may break in regard of thy many distempers; the longer seed time, the greater harvest; and so howsoever this sorrow is troublesome now, it will be very comfortable in the end; and though it be tedious to lay all these cursed abominations upon thy heart; yet it will not be harsh when the Lord remembers you in his kingdom; it will never repent you that you have had your hearts humbled and broken, when the Lord comes to heal you; and it will never repent you that you have wept, when the Lord comes to wipe away all tears from your eyes. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted, saith our Savior, but woe to you that are at ease in Zion; there is a time of mourning for sin; you cannot have ease and quietness always, you had better now be wounded then everlastingly tormented. And therefore if you desire to see the face of God with comfort, and to have Christ speak for you, and say, come you poor heavy hearted sinners, I will ease you, if ever you desire this, labor to lay load on your hearts with sorrow for your sins. Oh what comfort shall poor broken heart find in that day! David saith, a broken and contrite heart (O Lord) thou wilt not despise.

When men go into a far Country for merchandize, they will not take rattles and such toys for their money; but such commodities as they may get something by: so when the Lord comes for broken hearts, you must not think to put the Lord off with a little painted sorrow: no, no, it is a broken heart that the Lord will not despise. Would you know what kind of heart the Lord will accept and never cast off? It is a broken heart: tell your friends and neighbors of it, me thinks you look as if you would find acceptance with God, and go to heaven; oh then get an humble, lowly, broken heart; the Lord regards not all the rivers of oil in the world; not a hundred thousand fasts; but it is a broken heart that God will bless and glorify.

Look as it is with a woman’s conception, those births that are hasty, the children are either still born, or the woman most commonly dies; so do not thou think to fall upon the promise presently. Indeed you cannot fall upon it too soon upon good grounds; but it is impossible, that ever a full soul or a haughty heart should believe, thou mayest be deceived, but thou canst not be engrafted into Christ: therefore when God begins to work, never rest until you come to a full measure of this brokenness of heart. Oh follow the blow, and labor to make this work sound and good unto the bottom, and then you shall be sure to receive comfort, as the prophet David saith, our eyes are up unto thee until thou have mercy on us. Let your consciences be wounded thoroughly and kindly, and resolve not to hear the cursed counsel of carnal friends, that say, what need you mourn; O poor fools, there is not any, even the civilest professor in the kingdom, but if God did discharge his sins to his heart as he could do, it were enough to make him go howling with sorrow to his grave; therefore humble yourselves before God and never be at rest, until the Lord show mercy to your souls, never unburden your souls before God ease you; and do not break prison. For if you do, God will send after you with a witness. No, no, when God hath put thee into prison, break not out till God send to deliver you; and then your hearts will be filled with comfort: soundly humbled, soundly comforted: if a man be lost, Christ will seek him up and save him.

Question. Now it may be some poor soul will say, how shall I bring my heart to this sound work indeed?

Answer. For answer to this, I will show three means whereby the Lord works this sound conviction,

First, when the Lord begins first to work upon you, and you begin to see your corruptions, then possess your souls with the apprehension of the ticklishness of your condition wherein you are: this work is great and marvelous inward, and you may be easily deceived, and the danger is great if you be deceived: it is in this case with the soul, as it is with a ship on the sea, when the mariners pass by and see the rocks where such and such ships have been split; and the men and all lost; they are very wary to steer aright and to direct their compass aright; but near sands and rocks they will not come: so it is with this humbling of the heart, many have been cozened and deceived therein: therefore now hold this rule, let that soul whose eyes God hath opened, and brought under his blows (let such I say) rather fear he is not sound in the work, then fear that he shall not have ease; for every man saith, I pray you (sir) comfort and refresh me, and will God never give me comfort? Oh now you go wrong; many perish because they go off from this work so soon; but never did any perish because he received the work soundly. Therefore reason thus with thy own heart; and say, good Lord be merciful to me, my condition is very tickle; if now I be deceived, then farewell comfort.

Was not Cain and Judas vexed and disquieted and yet damned?

This is a great point of wisdom, and sinks many a Christian, (I know what I say), as it is with child bearing, a woman when her throws come often and strong, there is some hope of deliverance; but when her throws go away, commonly the child dies, and her life too. So it is in this great work of contrition, which is nothing else, but the child-birth of the soul; when your throws go away, take heed that your salvation goes not too; once you could say, the minister spake home to my heart, I remember the time full well; why then what becomes of all your sorrow? You can be as carnal and as secure as ever? It is certain you are in child-bearing, but your throws have left you, and your brokenness of heart is gone, and therefore you are in an ill case, surely at some low ebb of grace.

Again, if a man’s heart be soundly broken, though he fall into some sin, he may be recalled; but if he have not his heart soundly broken; he is undone. If the foundation be naught, the building must needs fall; so it is in this preparation of the soul for Christ, if this be naught, all comes to naught; therefore be so much the more fearful of your souls, because your condition is so much the more tickle in this, then in anything else, and rather desire soundness then quietness.

[2] Secondly, when God stirs, do you stir your hearts too, be you stabbed further, and make the blow go deeper, therefore wheresoever any truth goeth near thy heart, and awakens thee, look up to heaven, and bless God for it, and labor to drive the nail home to the head, and make the salve sink into the bottom; and let me advise you to this, when your souls are wrought upon by any reproofs or admonitions, take that truth, and labor to maintain the power of it upon your hearts all the week after; and let your souls be awed by it.

[3] Thirdly, consider what thy soul finds to be most evil and detestable, whether it be poverty or disgrace, or loss of liberty; and then (mark what I say) get up thy heart higher in the very apprehension of sin as it is sin: and let thy soul be more affected with the vileness of sin, then of any other hardship whatsoever; as thus, suppose thy heart be very proud, if shame and disgrace befall thee, oh how doth this heart shake in the apprehension of it, he can live no longer, except some honor come: now sin is worse than shame, therefore look up to heaven, and say, oh my heart did shake with shame, but sin is far worse, for, what if the Lord take away my honor, that he hath promised to such as fear his name? And what if he blot my name out of the book of life, therefore sin is worst of all; this is certain, there is no evil the soul fears or finds, but sin is the cause of it, but the separation of the soul from the Lord is the greatest evil, and sin is the cause of it, and therefore rest not until thy soul shake in the apprehension of it. This is the next way to be above punishment or anything else.

Now I come to the fruits of godly sorrow, which are from these words, they said to Peter and the other apostles, men and brethren what shall we do? In these words there are three things presumed; and three things plainly expressed.

[1] First, there are three things presumed; they did see themselves in a miserable and damnable condition, as if they had said; hell is now gaping; it is but turning of the ladder, and we go to hell for ever, men and brethren, what shall we do?

[2] Secondly, they themselves were ignorant, and could not direct themselves what to do to come out of this estate, and therefore they said, men and brethren, advise us what to do: if there be any help, ye know it.

[3] Yet still there is a secret kind of hope, and the heart suspects, that it may and will be otherwise with them, they do not say, there is nothing to be done: no, they say, what shall we do? Surely there is some way to find help, if we could tell it.

Again, there are three things plainly expressed in these words; they make an open and plain confession of their sins; when they were sick at the heart, they could make open confession, and lay the hand upon the sore; and say, if there be any vile wretches under heaven, we are they.

[2] Secondly, a thorough resolution against their sins, and a hatred of the same, as if they had said, we are resolved to do anything, whatsoever it is, we care not, so we may thwart our sins.

[3] The last thing expressed is a sequestration of the soul from this sin, the soul falls off from them, and bids farewell to all cursed courses.

First, I come to the three things presumed; and because I shall have occasion afterward to handle the two former, therefore now I come to the last of the three, which is this, men and brethren, what shall we do? Surely there is some course to be taken. Is there not? You that are God’s prophets tell us, if there be any hope for such poor distressed sinners as we are.

So the doctrine is this, there is a secret hope of mercy, wherewith God supports the hearts of those that are truly broken hearted for their sins; howsoever these men did see themselves miserable, yet they did not throw off all, and say, men and brethren there is no hope for us, therefore we will hear no more; but, seeing we must go to hell, we will take our pleasure while we live here in the world, while we may, and if we must be damned we will be damned for something; no, these people had some hope that they should find mercy, the Lord bruised the heart, but he did not break it; the Lord will not quench the smoking flax, but kindles it further, and the Lord draws on the work of the soul and plucks it to himself, and makes it look up to him and wait upon him for help and mercy.

I confess, it is true, that sometimes the soul in some desperate fit, and in some horror of heart, when temptation grows violent and long, and the distempers of a man’s heart stir exceedingly, then a man may seem to cast of all, and resolve with David when he had been long pursued by Saul, I shall one day fall by the hand of Saul; so the soul sayeth, God will one day leave me, and I shall perish; and as David sayeth in another place, all men are liars, that is, they said I shall be king of Israel, but they are all deceived; they all liars; but it was in his haste, in a proud, impatient, haughty humor of soul.

This is our nature, if God buckle not to our bow, and hear us not even when we will; then (in a proud humor) we are apt to say, oh my sins will never be pardoned, and I shall never get ground against my corruptions; a man that is in a swoon, lies as if he were dead, but yet he comes to himself again, and looks up and speaks; so however the soul in some unruly humor is driven to a swoon, and thinks it impossible to find mercy, or overcome his corruption? Yet still he recovers again, and the soul that is truly broken for sin, is upheld; as Jonah said, I am cast out of thy presence, I am ever sinking, yet will I look towards thy holy temple; so howsoever the soul may be over-whelmed in a drunken fit of pride, or impatience; yet after the soul hath prayed, it saith, I will wait upon God for mercy.

God deals with poor sinners in this case, as men do that pound precious powder, as bezar stone or the like, to make some potion withal, they will break it, and pound it all to pieces, yet they cover it up close, and will not lose the least sand of it, as they break it, so they keep it close that none be lost: so when God doth purpose to do good to your souls, he will break you, and melt you,; and then you think he hath cast you off in his anger; no, no, he is pounding of you, but he will preserve those souls notwithstanding, and will not lose such poor sinners whom he purposeth to do good unto.

As it is with pocket dials, a man may shake them this way and that way, but they are still northward by virtue of the loadstone; so there are many shakings in the soul, sometime it feareth God will not be merciful, he sometimes hopes that he will; thus it is tossed to and fro, but still it is heaven-ward, and there is a hope that it may be otherwise: for the Lord holds the soul by a secret virtue to himself, and draws the heart to seek for mercy.

When the prodigal child was brought to a desperate strait, he began to consider what he had done, whereas before he said; shall I ever be a slave in my father’s family? But at last when all was spent, what doth he do? He saith, it is true, I can look for no help and favor, and I cannot tell whether my father will receive me or no; yet my father’s servants have bread enough, and I shall starve for hunger; O wretch that I am, I have left a kind fathers house; yet, come what will, I will home to my father, and say, father, I have sinned; thus the soul thinks with itself, oh the many sweet and gracious calls that I have had! How often hath Christ come home to my heart, and desired entrance? And yet I shut the door upon him: shall I now go home to the Lord Jesus Christ? How justly may he reject me that have rejected him? He may damn me, and yet he may save me, and therefore I will wait upon him for mercy: thus the soul will not off from God, but it hath a secret hope wherewith the Lord keeps the heart to himself.

The first reason is, because unless the Lord should leave this hope in the heart, it would utterly be overthrown with despair: you that make nothing of your loose thoughts, and vain speeches, I tell you, if God did set but one sinful thought upon thy heart, thy soul would sink under it, and the Lord’s wrath would drive thee to marvelous desperation: were it not that the Lord doth uphold thee with one hand, as he beats thee down with the other, (I say) it were impossible but the soul should despair, (as the proverb is), but for hope the heart would break, who can stand under the almighty hand of God, unless he doth uphold him: God hath broken off the sinner by this sorrow, but he will not throw him to hell: as the gardener cuts off a graft to plant it into a new stock, not to burn it: so the Lord cuts off a sinner from all abomination, but he will not cast him into hell; and the Lord melts the heart of a poor sinner, but consumes him not, but as the goldsmith melts his gold, not to consume it all away, but to make it a better vessel: so the Lord melts a poor sinner to make him a vessel of glory: the Lord will fire those proud hearts of yours, and clip off those knotty lusts, but if you belong to him, he will leave a little remainder of hope, that you shall be formed and fashioned, not consumed.

It is the argument of the Lord by the prophet, he will come and dwell with, and refresh the broken soul, and he will not contend for ever, lest the spirit should fail before him: if the Lord should let in but one scattering shot of his vengeance into the heart, it were enough to drive the soul to despair, but God will lay no more upon us then will do good to us.

Secondly, if the Lord did not leave this hope in the heart, a man’s endeavors in the use of the means would be altogether killed: if there be no hope of good, then there is no care of using the means, whereby any good may be obtained. Good is the loadstone of all our endeavors, a man will not labor for nothing: therefore despair kills a man’s labors, and plucks up the root of all his endeavors. If there be any good present, hope makes us labor to increase it, if any good be to come, hope labors to attain it: but good there must be.

So hope provokes the soul to use the means and to say, I am a damned man, but if there be any hope I will pray, and hear, and fast; who knows but God may show mercy to my poor soul?

Now gather up all: if without this secret hope the heart would fail, and if without it a man’s endeavors would be utterly crushed and come to nothing, then it is no wonder that the Lord in his infinite mercy and wisdom, when he will do good to the soul, leaveth some secret hope of mercy.

First, we may here take notice of the marvelous tenderness, and the loving nature of God in dealing with poor sinners; that in all his courses of justice remembers some mercy; and in all the potion of his wrath still he drops in some cordials of comfort: he deals not with us as he might; but so, as might be most comfortable every way, and useful to work upon our hearts, and to draw our souls home unto himself. Should the Lord come out against a poor sinner, and in his wrath let fly against him, his soul would sink down under him; but blessed be God, that he doth not deal with our hearts as we deserve, if he were as rigorous against us, as we have been rebellious against him, we should sink in sorrow and fall into despair never to be recovered any more.

But as the Lord batters us, so he relieves us; as we may see in Saul, he had gotten letters to Damascus, and now he hoped, being general of the field, to bind and to imprison all, and he would not spare the poor Christians a jot; but Christ meets him in the field, and threw him down, and might have killed him too: but the Lord desired rather that he might be humbled then confounded: I cannot read that ever he shewed his letters, but laid all flat down before the Lord, and so was accepted; the Lord shewed him his misery, yet he lets him not perish there, but gives him a little crevice of comfort.

When the Lord dealt with the children of Israel, he said, I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness, and there I will give her the valley of Achor for the door of hope; when Achan was stoned for stealing the wedge of gold, the Israelites called it the valley of Achor, and so it is called to this day.

The valley of Achor is the valley of trouble, of stoning, or consternation, so the Lord doth here; he draweth the soul into the wilderness of sorrow for sin, but doth he leave the soul there? No, there is the door of hope also, and there the soul shall sing as in former times. And hereupon the soul saith, there is some hope that God will do good unto me for all this; there is hope the Lord is melting me, to make me a vessel of glory: that's a gloomy night when there is neither moon nor candle to be seen: so though the soul be marvelous gloomy and heavy, yet there is some crevice of light and consolation let into the heart, still cheering and refreshing it: the Lord knows what metal we are made of, and remembers that we are but dust, therefore he so corrects us, that he may leave an inkling of mercy and favor in our hearts.

O therefore let us admire and bless this good God; and not quarrel with his ministers nor providence, and say, other men have comfort, and therefore why am I so troubled and disquieted? How now? It is endless mercy that thou livest, therefore down with thy proud heart, and stifle those distempers of spirit, and say, the Lord hath broken and wounded me, but blessed be his name, that I may come to church, and that he hath not dealt with me as I have deserved but in goodness and mercy; I hope God in his season will do good to my soul.

Secondly, let us be wise to nourish this same blessed work in our hearts forever; let us have our hearts more and more strengthened, because thereby our hearts will be more and more enabled to bear and undergo anything; if you have but a little glimpse of hope, cover it, and labor to maintain it, and if ever God let in any glimpse of mercy into your hearts, let it not go out; it is ever good to take that way that God takes; the Lord sustains our hearts with hope; hope is the sinews of the soul, therefore strengthen it.

As a mariner that is tossed with a tempest in a dark night, when he sees no stars, he casts anchor, and that cheers him; this hope is the anchor of the soul, whereby it looks out and expects mercy from God: the poor soul seeth no light nor comfort, nothing but the wrath of an angry God, and he saith, God is a just God, and a jealous God, even that God whose truth I have opposed, is displeased with me, then the soul is tossed and troubled, and runs upon the rocks of despair, how shall the soul be supported in this condition? You will find this true one day, therefore look to it before: you vile drunkards are now sailing in a fair gale of pleasure, and carnal delight, but when the Lord’s wrath shall seize upon you, when he shall let in the flashes of hell fire, then you are tossed, sometimes up to heaven, now down to hell: therefore cast anchor now, and this hope will uphold you, for this hope is called the anchor of the soul. Thou dost not yet see the Lord refreshing of thee, but it may be otherwise. The people of Ninevite said, who knows but God may repent, this upheld their hearts, and made them seek to the Lord in the use of the means, and the Lord had mercy on them. If you belong unto the Lord, he will come against those drunken proud hearts, and rebellious hearts of yours, and drag them down to hell, and make them sorrow for their sins. And remember this against that day, who knows but the Lord may show mercy? And therefore yet hear, and pray, and fast, and seek unto him for mercy. We fence those parts of our bodies most that are most Precious, and the hurt whereof is most dangerous. Hope is called the helms of salvation, and the assurance of God’s love is the head of a Christian, now take away a Christians head, and he is clean gone: the devil ever labors for that, and saith, you come to heaven? Prove it: Lo, you think God hath need of drunkards and adulterers in heaven? And will God provide a crown of glory for his professed enemies? Hath God made heaven a hog-fie for such unclean wretches as you are? No, no, there is no such expectation of mercy: this wounds the head of the soul, but hope is the helmet that covers the head of a Christian, makes him say, I confess I am as bad as any man can say of me: heaven is a holy place, and I have no goodness at all in me, yet there is hope the Lord may break this proud heart of mine, and take away these distempers of spirit: now by this means the head of a Christian is kept sure.

Question. But some will say, how shall we maintain this hope in our hearts, and by what means may we feed this hope?

Answer. The means are especially three. First, take notice of the al-sufficiency of God, as he hath revealed himself in his word; say not as many do, I cannot conceive it, or I cannot find it, but what doth the Word say? Is not God able to pardon thy sins? (away then with those, I cannot conceive it, and the like:) is there anything hard for me, saith God? Whatsoever thy estate is, there is nothing hard to him that hath hardness at command; when our Savior said, it is as easy for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, as for a rich man to go into heaven? Good Lord, said they, who can be saved? But Christ said, with God all things are possible; if you look unto man how he is glued to the world, so that all the ministers under heaven cannot pull him away, but still he will lie, and cozen: reason and judgment cannot conceive how this man should be saved, but with God all things are possible: see what the apostle saith, Abraham above hope believed under hope, that he should be the father of many nations; this he did, because he knew he which had promised was able to perform it; and this did feed his hope, he did believe above hope in regard of the creature, under hope in regard of God. As if he had said, I have a dead body, but God is a living God; and Sarah hath a barren womb, but God is a fruitful God.

Objection. It may be thou sayest, if any exhortation would have wrought upon me, then my heart might have been brought to a better pass; but can this stubborn heart of mine be made to yield? And can these strong corruptions of mine be subdued?

Answer. Howsoever thou canst not do it, yet God can quicken thee, and although thou art a damned man, yet he is a merciful God, this all-sufficiency of God is a hook, whereon our souls hang; when the apostles had prayed that the minds of the Ephesians might be opened, and that they might be able to know the love of Christ; because someone might say, how shall we know that which is above knowledge, the text saith, now to him that is able to do abundantly above all that we can think or ask, according to his mighty power that worketh in us, to him be glory: as though he had said, though you cannot think or ask as you should, yet God is able to do exceeding abundantly more than we can think or ask, so then no more but this, we are not able of ourselves to think a good thought, yet there is sufficient power in God, and though we are dead hearted and damned wretches, yet there is sufficient salvation in God. Let us hang the handle of hope on this hook.

Secondly, the freeness of God’s promise marvelously lifts up the head above water; as the beggar saith. The dole is free, why may not I get it as well as another. This sometimes dasheth our hopes: when the soul begins to think what mercy is offered, he saith,

Objection. Oh! Many are they that have it; could I fear God as I should, and seek for mercy as I ought, then there were some hope, but I have no heart to endeavor or desire after any mercy, and I cannot bring my soul, nor submit my will to yield, and therefore shall I ever have any mercy?

Answer. Why not thou too? Doth God sell his mercy? No, he gives it freely, God keeps open house: oh the freeness of that mercy and goodness that is in God! He requires nothing of thee to procure it, but he shows mercy because he will show mercy; thou hast no will, but God hath a will: and his showing of mercy depends not on thy will, but upon his own freewill: it is true, God will make a man will and break his heart, because no man otherwise can be saved, but it is as true, that Christ will give you brokenness of heart as well as heaven and salvation. I will take away the heart of stone, and give you a heart of flesh, and cause you to walk in my ways, saith the Lord: hold this truth in thy soul: as there is no worth in the soul that can deserve anything at God’s hands: so there is no sin (the sin against the Holy Spirit only excepted) that can hinder the freeness of God’s grace from saving of us: if thou belong to him, he will hale thee to heaven and pull thee from hell, he will make thee lie in the dust, and wait for mercy, and come groveling for his grace, and that freely, without anything on thy part: who is a God like to thee (saith Micah) who pardonest iniquity, because mercy doth please thee?

The Lord sheweth mercy, not because thou canst please him, but because mercy pleaseth him. And in Isaiah he saith, I am he that blotteth out thy offences, for my own names sake.

Objection. But the soul may say, they were God’s people that did humble themselves, and they had hearts to fear him.

Answer. See that in the twenty-fourth verse, thou hast brought me no corn, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifice: but thou hast wearied me with thy transgressions, yet the Lord saith, I am he that pardoneth thy sins: thou sayest, if thou couldest pray, and humble thy self, there were hope of mercy; the text doth not say, it is a sinner, but it is I, a God, that must do it, this is the freeness of his grace.

Objection. But some may object, is it possible that a man should receive any mercy, and yet be so stubborn and rebellious? This makes way for drunkards to live as they list, and yet think to go to heaven.

Answer. I answer, it is true, the Lord will pardon them if they belong to him, but he will do it with a witness: the Lord will dowse that soul of thine in the vein of his vengeance, but he will pardon thee too: God will pardon thy sin in Christ, but he will make thee feel the bitterness of sin.

[3] Lastly, consider the abundance of mercy and goodness that is in God, whereby he not only strives with us in the midst of all rebellions, but he is more merciful then we are or can be rebellious; this helps the heart of another thing that cuts it. For when the soul seeth all his sins for number, for nature, so many, and so abominable, he saith,

Objection. Can mercy be shewed to such a wretch as I am?

Answer. Yes, for as God is al-sufficient, and his promise free, so he hath plenty of mercy for the worst, he exceeds in mercy all the sins that can be; (except that against the Holy Spirit) and therefore the soul throws itself upon this, the apostle saith, where sin abounds, grace abounds much more: lest any man should say, let us sin that grace may abound, the text saith in another place, whose damnation is just. This knocks off fingers, though a sinful wretch abuse God and grace, yet mercy will overcome the heart in this case, but it will cost him dear; though thou turnest the grace of God into wantonness, the Lord will turn that wantonness of thine into bitterness; the Lord will sting that heart of thine one day, and make thee see whether it be good to forsake mercy when it is offered; it will be easier for Sodom than for thee, when thou shalt see a company of poor sodomites fry in hell; howsoever God may bring thee to heaven, yet he will make thee fry in hell, and he will make thee think a sodomite to be in a better condition for the present then thou art.

Objection. But some will say, God cannot in justice save such a wretch as I am.

For answer to this, see what saint James saith, mercy rejoiceth, or triumpheth, over justice: howsoever justice saith, he must be plagued, yet mercy saith, Christ hath made a plentiful satisfaction for him, then mercy triumpheth over judgment: so then if God be al-sufficient, and his promise free, and his mercy superabundant, then we may be stirred up to hope for mercy from God, our hearts may be supported herein forever.

Now I come to some other particulars that are plainly expressed in our text.

First, they made a free and open confession of their sins, they did not stay until the apostle went to their houses, but they went to him, and said, men and brethren, you have spoken against the sin of murder, and we confess we are guilty of this sin; they saw their sins and confessed them openly before the apostles.

The doctrine which ariseth from hence is this: when the heart is truly broken for sin, it will be content to make open and free confession thereof, when a man is called thereunto: or thus, sound contrition brings forth bottom confession. Men and brethren, what shall we do to be saved? As if they had said the truth is, we have heard of the fearful condition of such as have killed the Lord Jesus, and we confess whatsoever you have said he was persecuted by us, and blasphemed by us, we are they that cried crucify him, crucify him, we would have eaten his flesh, and made dice of his bones; we plotted his death and gloried in it, these are our sins, and haply a thousand more that then they revealed; and this is remarkable, they go to Peter and the other apostles, they did not go to the scribes and Pharisees, and that cursed crew.

Whence observe this by the way, when the soul is thus truly broken, generally it will never repair to such as are carnal and wicked men: for these people knew that the scribes and Pharisees had their hands as deeply imbrued in Christ’s blood as themselves; and besides they knew them to be such naughty packs, that they would rather encourage them in their sins, then any way ease them and recover them from the same: therefore they went to the disciples, because they were holy and gracious persons, and willing to succor them; and it is certain, that soul was never truly broken for sin, that goes for help to such as are guilty of the same; it is suspicious that these men go only to stop the mouth of conscience, but never to have conscience awakened. You see our converts here went to the apostles, not to the scribes and fellow-murderers; but this by the way only: I go on in the former point.

A broken hearted sinner knows more by himself then any man can do, when a man is pinched with famine or drought, he will open his wants fully and freely, and so a man that is sick and hath some heavy disease upon him, will tell of more pains and gripings then any physician can do: so it is with the soul that is deadly sick in the sight of his sins and abominations.

Question. But now a question will grow from hence; may not a wicked man that never was truly broken-hearted make a large and open confession of his sins?

Answer. I confess that in the horror of conscience he may do it, with the dog returning to his vomit, and with the sow to her wallowing in the mire; now the hog that is kept in a clean meadow, will look somewhat white, but if he comes from thence, h will lie down in the first dirty puddle he comes at; so there are some sinners that have been well trained up, and live in a good family, they are a little cleansed; but when they come to live among wicked companions, they grow as profane as the rest; and yet all this while they are hogs, and will murmur at others that are more holy then themselves; now the dog is he that hath had his eyes opened, and his conscience awakened, and some horror laid upon his soul, and this doth make him disgorge himself for a while, to ease him of his horror; but when that man returns to his sins, he will snarl and bite too, and fall heavily upon God’s people, so much the more because he hath confessed his sins; thus it was with Judas, he swallowed down his thirty pence, but God made him come and acknowledge his sin, and take shame to himself, and yet a Judas, a devil, and at this day in hell: I tell you, this his confession out-bide most people in our generation; the fish is content to nibble at the bait, and so is taken with the hook, and when it hath the hook and bait too, it would be rid of both: so when horror of conscience hath fastened upon the soul of a man because of sin, he could be content to vomit his sin and all up, and yet he is a very beast.

Question. Again, this question may arise here, doth confession argue true contrition?

Answer. I answer, there is a kind of confession which no man attains unto, but he hath a broken heart; Judas nor no carnal heart under heaven comes to this, and you must know, there is no word spoken by the one but may be spoken by the other, and therefore the difference is not from the words, but from the inward frame of the heart, and for the opening of this truth I will propound and show these two things.

First, the confession of a poor broken hearted sinner.

Secondly, I will show you when the saints of God are called to confess.

For the first, the difference between the true and the false confession is discovered in these three particulars.

[1] First, they differ in the end, a broken hearted sinner confesseth his sins that he may take shame to himself, and glorify God, this is the frame of the soul that truly confesseth his sins, he doth it to honor the Gospel which he hath so much dishonored, to discover the vileness of his person and of his sin, that he hath so much set up; he is willingly content that the glory of it may be gods, and the shame his own. Consider that passage of the good thief upon the cross, when the reprobate was going to be executed for his sin, he railed upon Christ, (whence observe this by the way, a wicked man will be a wretch though he should go to hell presently;) now when he was railing, see what the good thief replies; fearest thou not God? We have sinned and are justly punished for our sins, to die and go to hell too if God be not the more merciful; this man, you see, was content to fall out with himself, and his sins, and to honor the justice and holiness of God in condemning of him.

So in Ezekiel, the text saith, they shall remember their ways that were not good, and shall be ashamed. That is, they shall take shame to themselves, they shall not shrink for the same; a gracious heart cannot tell what to do to make sin and itself base enough before God; that his soul and sin may fall out one with another. As in the example of Zaccheus, whereas the confession of a carnal hypocrite comes not so currently off, it sticketh in his teeth, he begins to confess something, and then he stands; he saith something, and calls it back again, and is loath to take any shame for the evil committed and therefore haply he will come when he is called, and go away and confess nothing at all; nay, if a minister hear anything of him, he will hide it and tell a flat lie, rather than take shame to himself for it; it is true, a carnal hypocrite may confess sometimes to give the minister content, as commonly such doe; he may confess, to get inward with a man, and to get commendations, nay, he may confess, to sin more freely without suspicion; for charity believes this, that when a man hath confessed his sin, he will never sin in that kind again, nay sometimes he doth it to stop the mouth of conscience, and therefore when conscience is full of horror, to quiet conscience and to still the clamor thereof, he is content to reveal his sin, that so he may have some secret peace for his sin: thus far they differ in their ends.

[2] Secondly, they differ in their grounds: the cause and ground of a broken hearted sinner, it is from the loathsomeness and vileness that the heart seeth in sin, and therefore it confesseth to free itself from that sin, and to let out all those abominations that are so loathsome and tedious to him; as the sinner that is truly burdened is to confess all his sins, so especially those that are most loathsome and secret, even those sins whereby the heart hath bin most estranged from God: for as before the soul did confess sin freely, because he was content to take shame to himself, so now he doth it to rid himself of the same. Then a man feels sin kindly, when it goeth to the very inwards of the soul; it is in this case with a broken hearted sinner, as it is with that part of a man’s body that is impostumed, or the like; when the impostume is ripe, if it be lanced to the quick, the very core and all comes out; but if it be pricked with a pin, there may some corrupt matter come out, but the core remains yet in it still: so it is with an impostumed heart, when a man is truly pierced with his abominations, he is content to lay open the most inward corruptions of all, that there may be a perfect killing of all: nay, it labors to sweep out the most secret sins of all, without any ifs, or ands, and he saith, oh this proud, wretched, adulterous heart of mine, hath bin my bane, and it will be my destruction forever, if God be not more merciful, now the core and all comes out; whereas the hypocrite that feels only the fear, and horror, and punishment of sin, executed or threatened, he confesseth no more than may procure his case, he desires not so much to have his corruptions removed, as to be freed from horror; and therefore a hypocrite will scum over all his confessions, his talk will be a hundred miles from his sins, he never comes to that main sin which keeps his heart from God; and it is remarkable, one man complains he is troubled with wandering thoughts in hearing the Word, and his soul is taken aside with strange distempers; but follow that soul home, and you shall commonly find some base corruptions that take up his heart; and another man complains of his hard heart, it stirs not at the Word of God, and God’s judgments do not melt him, when yet in the meantime he nourisheth that pride, and self-uncleanness, that is the cause thereof, and there are many besides these: as it is with a dog, he doth not gorge up his meat because he loathes it, but because his stomach is troubled with it, and therefore when his pain is over, he takes it with greediness again; so it is with an hypocrite, his heart is burdened with extreme sorrow, and therefore he throws out so much as did trouble and gal his conscience, and may work him some ease; but afterwards he returns to it again; and this is the cause why we have so many revolters, and backsliders, after such open confessions; they confess only to ease themselves of the horror, and therefore when the horror is gone, they fall to their old sin again, whereas a sound Christian doth confess his sin, only from the loathsomeness of it.

[3] Thirdly, the soul that is truly broken, makes confession with an inward resolution never to meddle with sin anymore; yet all this while the soul is full of fear and suspicion, for fear of falling into those sins again, therefore it desires rather to discover itself by desires and wishes, then any confidence in itself; and therefore the soul saith, O that the Lord would once give me power against these corruptions; oh how happy should I be, but alas I have no power of myself; the soul is willing to fling itself into the arms of God’s mercy, and to commit himself wholly to the means of grace, that God may get himself honor by him; only he desires him to be good unto him by giving of him power against his corruptions.

Whereas the hypocrite that is in fear of some judgments, and the wrath of God hath seized upon his soul; that he may get ease, will promise anything, and be marvelous open, and yet confident in himself, and say, if God would give me health, and raise me up again, all the world shall see I will be a new man, and they shall see how holy, and how careful, and how exact I will be: yet, poor soul, when he is out of his trouble, he returns to his vomit, and is worse than before, and so much the worse, because he hath made an open confession. As it is with a debtor, an honest man comes freely, and doth acknowledge his deb, and desires the creditor to satisfy himself with his body and goods, he desires he may be no loser by him, he suspects he shall not be able to pay him, but he hopes, so far as he is able, to give him content: but another cunning mate promiseth to pay all, if he will give him further day, but intends no such matter. Just so it is with a soul that is truly broken for sin, he lays himself in God’s presence, and refers himself into God’s hands, and saith, the truth is, Lord, I know, this proud corrupt heart of mine will not yield, it will deceive me: I am afraid I shall not be able to walk holily: take this heart of mine, and do what thou wilt with it, only purge out my sin and corruption: this is the manner of his confession.

Objection. But some man may say, is every man bound, thus freely and openly to confess his sins? I answer, the doctrine saith, when he is called to it. But you will say, when is a man bound and called to make confession?

Answer. For the answer, I will show it in four conclusions.

[1] First, when the soul hah had a true sight of sin, and hath confessed it to the Lord abundantly, and through God’s mercy hath gotten some assurance of the pardon thereof: then he need not look to men for pardon, because the end of confession is accomplished already. A man therefore confesseth his sin, that he may find some help against it: not that a minister can absolve or pardon any (as the popish shavelings imagine) but that he may have the direction, help and prayers of a godly minister.

[2] Secondly, if we have wronged anybody that we have conversed withal; though God hath pardoned the sin, yet we are to confess it, that we may make peace, and pray one for another; this is the meaning of that place, confess your sins one to another, and pray one for another.

[3] Thirdly, if a man have used all means ordinary and extraordinary, and hath fasted, and prayed, and sought the Lord for pardon of sin, and strength against it, and yet his conscience remains troubled, and he sinks under the burden of his corruptions, in this case a man is called to confess his sins to a faithful minister. Indeed a man may confess them to a faithful Christian, but it is God’s ordinance to confess them to a faithful minister, not that a minister can pardon his sins, but only to declare when he is fitted, and to apply mercy accordingly. It is not a matter of complement, but a duty commanded: it is in this case with the soul; as it is with a man’s body; he that is able by his own skill and his kitchen-physic to cure himself, hath no need to seek to the physician: but if it be beyond his own skill, and if kitchen-physic will do no good, then he is bound to seek out to a physician, unless he will be his own murderer. It is just so with the soul of a man that is sorrowful for sin: when he hath conscionably used all means, and yet his closest prayers, and his closest fastings will not do the deed, then he is bound to seek out to a faithful minister, for he is the physician that God hath appointed, whereby all the sicknesses of the soul may be eased and cured.

[4] Lastly, if a man have been guilty of common open sins, and it is known abroad that he hath been an open swearer and adulterer, if God hath broken his heart thoroughly for his sins, and he lies (it maybe) upon his death-bed, and now enjoys the company of a faithful minister, or some holy Christian, he is bound to acknowledge his sins, that as God hath been dishonored by him, so now he may honor God, and shame himself, and discourage the hearts of those wicked wretches that have shared with him in the sin: if ever he be truly broken, and if God throw him on his sick-bed, and these things be laid to his charge, he will cry out of himself, and say, oh I have hated the light of God’s truth, I did persecute the cause of godliness, I was a persecutor and blasphemer, saith Paul: so it will be with your proud and rebellious hearts, if ever God open your eyes and awaken your consciences, as they must be either here or in hell.

Therefore when your companions come about you, cry shame of yourselves, and say, the Lord knows, and all the country knows, that I have been a drunkard, and an adulterer; it is the gall of my heart. Now if God had not been merciful unto me, I had drunk, and drunk my last: it hath cost me dear, and so it will be with you too. It is strange to see how God throws some upon their death-beds, and fills their consciences full of horror, and yet a man cannot wrest a word from them. Nay, though all their drunken companions come about them, they have not a word to say to them, I do not think that the heart of any Christian will endure it, if ever God break his heart kindly.

Thus you see when a man is bound to confess his sin, this is far enough from the tyrannical confession of that strange popish doctrine of auricular confession: they hold, all men are bound, whatsoever their condition be, whether their sins be pardoned or unpardoned, they are bound to confess all their mortal sins, and to expect their pardon authoritatively from the priests hand, upon the pain of great matters. The aim of the Papists herein is, first, to snare men’s consciences; and secondly, to pick men’s purses: for when a man hath confessed his mortal sins, his conscience is snared, and then they must give so much money for the pardon of them agreeable to the offence. Now we bind no man upon pain to come necessarily, but if he can get pardon from God in the use of the means, and get power against his corruptions, in this case we enjoin no man to confess; but when the saints do come, it is not because we will or can sell pardons, but only to fit them for mercy. And this is the truth, and that our church holds.

This falls marvelous heavy and foul upon those, that are so far from this duty, that they are opposite against it, and account it a matter of madness and childishness, to acknowledge their offences to any man. Men would be comforted in regard of the sorrow they feel, but they would not be content to open their sins, and take shame to themselves: this harbors in the hearts of many carnal wretches, and so they are deprived of the fruit of the Gospel: they think it all their cunning, to shift, and shelter, and mince their sins, and to keep them close from the knowledge of the minister.

It maybe, the wife is sick, and the husband saith, I pray you show her some comfort. Why, saith the minister, what needs he any comfort, seeing she was never in distress? Oh! Saith he, she hath lived an honest quiet woman: and so by this means we hear of nothing, but good. I would fain wrest this madness out of the hearts of carnal wretches. When the Lord hath them upon the rack, then their consciences are full of horror, and they know not which way to take; yet they scorn to acknowledge anything: shall they be (convicted of their sins, and) such babies, to cry their sins at the market cross? They have a better course than so: for (say they) who knows it? And, let him prove it, or the like. What if no man ever yet knew it? Thy own conscience, and God, knows it.

If thou goest to a physician thou wilt lay open all thy soars and all thy pains to him, or else thou expectest no help from him; and canst thou look for any comfort from a minister, and never discover thy sins, whereby thou art hindered in a good course; men would be comforted, and yet never knew why they were afflicted;

You that keep your sins so close, and maintain them so tenderly, the God of heaven will pluck those sweet morsels from your mouths, and lay them upon you, when you would be rid of them; as a man that is sick, he will not send to the physician, because he thinks he is able to bear it out, until at last the disease begins to fester inwardly, and all the Physicians under heaven cannot cure him; if he had sent in time, he might have been eased; so it is with many sinful creatures, out of a sturdy stoutness of heart, they scorn to confess their corruptions; well, now God opens their eyes, and they begin to say, this is not well, and that is not well; but you will not send for the minister all this while, if it be horror of conscience, you will bear it; well, at last you come to your death beds, and the Lord lays his heavy hand upon you, and then you cry for the minister and all; oh saith one, woe to me because of this adulterous heart, this drunkenness, and this malice, and this madness against God and his people; I was a cunning persecutor, and with such a woman I committed adultery, and at last, when he hath ended his confession, he sinks and dies. Now the minister comes too late; ye will bear the check of conscience, and in time the wound grows soar, and your soul sinks into irrecoverable misery; oh, woe to that soul, this is all because he would not have his heart lanced; well, if thou wilt not, then take that cursed heart of thine, and expect God’s wrath with it, if thou repent not. See how God deals with a sinner in this kind; the text saith, his bones are full of the sins of his youth, which shall lie with him in the dust: although sin be sweet in his mouth, though he spare it, and keep it close as sugar under his tongue, it is as the gall of asps within them; take heed how you keep your sins close, when conscience and horror calls upon you to confess them, and God hath you upon the rack, and saith, these sins you have committed in secret, either confess them, or they shall turn to the gall of asps; if still you will have your sins, remember that the God of heaven bears witness this day against that soul, that will not come off, but hides his sin; take heed that God say not amen, when thou art going the way of all flesh; then thou wilt cry for mercy, but then the Lord will say, remember, that impostumed heart of thine might have been lanced and cured; but thou wouldst needs keep thy lusts and corruptions still.

For the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake now pity yourselves, if you desire your everlasting comfort, now take shame to yourselves, that you may be forever glorified; O now launce those proud rebellious hearts of yours, that you may find some ease; tear now in pieces those wretched hearts, that the core being let out, the cure may be good and sound.

Secondly, this reproves the cunning hypocrite, howsoever he is content to be ashamed for his sin and to show the foulness of it, yet it is admirable to consider what sly passages and tricks he will have before he comes to open anything; sometimes he sends for a faithful minister, and it is his intendment to confess his folly, and yet he goes back again and confesseth nothing at all; but if the Lord follow the close hearted hypocrite and let in some more of his indignation, and make his wrath to seize upon his soul, then he sets down a resolution to confess all; and yet there is such dawbing and such secret acknowledgment of sin; it sticks in his teeth, something he will say that may be every man can say against him, and then he speaks of hardness of heart, and of wandering thoughts, and that which even the best of God’s people are troubled withal; but he never comes to those sinful lusts that lie heaviest upon his soul.

If a man that is sick have a foul stomach, but yet is unfit to vomit, it may be he casts the uppermost up, but the spawn of it remains; so it is with the hypocrite, he saith something, and now and then a word falls from him, and he would fain bite it in again if he could, but there is a witness within that must not be seen.

When Rachel had stolen her father Laban’s idols, he followed after Jacob for them: and searched among the stuff, but Rachel being something foolishly addicted that way, sat still upon them, and Laban must not search there: so it is with the close hearted hypocrite, he is content to confess that which all the world cries shame of him for, but there is some idol lust, as secret uncleanness, or private theft, that he will not confess.

Now for the terror of all such graceless persons, I desire to discover two things in the point. First, that this is a marvelous fearful sin: secondly, it is a dangerous sin.

First, me thinks the sin itself is like the sin of Ananias and Sapphira: he sold all that he had, and as the Lord moved him, and commanded him, he gave way to it that it should be given to the poor: but when it was sold, he kept back one part of it: and when Peter said, did you sell it for so much? Is this all the price? Yes, saith he. Now mark what Peter saith, why hath Satan filled thy heart, that thou hast not lied to man, but to God. Satan many times steps into the heart; but when he is said to fill the heart, he shuts out the work of judgment and reason, and the Word, and spirit, and all good resolutions in those particular occasions, which concern a man.

As if Satan should say, knowledge shall not direct him, the spirit shall not persuade him, and the Word shall not prevail with his heart: but I will take possession of him in despite of all these; this is Satan’s filling of the heart.

Thus it is with the hypocrite: his conscience is awakened, and saith, thou must confess thy sins, or else thou shalt be damned for them: the word commands thee, and the spirit persuades thee to confess thy sin; and hereupon thou saist, this is my condition, and there is no ease nor comfort to be had in private means, and therefore I must go to some faithful minister, and reveal myself to him: and when thou hast done, thou keepest back half from him, and thou liest against conscience, the Word, and spirit, and all: and when the minister saith, is this the bottom of thy sin? Diddest thou not commit such and such a sin? Oh! No; I was never guilty of any such matter: and yet thou liest. Mark what I say, this is to have Satan fill thy heart, thou givest up thy heart into the possession of the devil: knowledge directs thee not, the spirit persuades not, and the Word prevails not; but the devil crowds into every corner of thy heart, and thou wilt cover thy sins, and so perish for them everlastingly.

[2] But secondly, as the sin is vile and odious, so it is as dangerous; he that hideth his sins, shall not prosper, saith the wise man. Howsoever thy heart may be still for a while, yet thou shalt not prosper in thy family, nor in the Word and sacraments, but all means are accursed to thee, thou shalt receive no mercy at all: he that confesseth and forsaketh his sins, shall find mercy; but he that confesseth not his sins, shall not find mercy.

As we use to have a nest egg to breed upon, so it is the devils cunning to leave a nest egg, some bosom lust or other in thy soul, and the devil sits upon this same, as upon a nest egg: and when the devil is cast out by a slight overly confession of your sins, yet there is some secret lust still left in the heart, and that will breed a thousand abominations more in you. For (I beseech you take notice of this) the devil returns and brings seven devils more than himself, and he hatcheth seven times more uncleannesses then there was before: therefore as you desire that Satan may not fill your hearts, and as you desire to have any means blessed to you; come off kindly and currently, either not confess at all, or else confess currently, that you may find mercy in the time of need.

The second use is for instruction, to show us, that a broken hearted sinner is easily convicted of his sins, and willing to undergo any reproof; he that will confess his sins freely of himself, will easily yield when he is called upon to do it. If the Word lay anything to his charge, he will not deny it, a man need not bring any witnesses against him: he will never seek to cover his sin, but if any occasional passage of speech come, that may discover his sin, he takes it presently, and yields to it, and saith, I am the man, I confess, this is my sin and my folly: he doth not fence his heart against the truth.

To whom shall I look (saith God) even to a man that hath a contrite heart, and trembles at my word: this is the root, and this is the fruit: the heart must be contrite and broken by the hammer of God’s law, before it can shake at the hearing of the word; a broken heart comes not to flout at the minister (nay, that is a sturdy heart) but a broken heart shakes at the Word of God; if there come a promise, a broken heart trembles lest he hath no share in it; and if there be any command, he trembles lest he should not be able to obey it, but if the Lord meet with some main lust, as secret malice against the saints of God, and secret uncleanness; or the like: if the Lord give a wipe at these things in the Word, then this broken heart hath enough, he hath his load, and longs to be private, he remembers that truth; and the wound being fresh bleeds again, and he mourns again, and lays hold on his heart, and saith, good Lord, I was this malicious wretch, I intended this mischief to thy saints, and (if it had been in my power) I could have sucked their blood, I was that unclean wretch; shall all these sins be pardoned? And shall all these cursed abominations be removed? Can these corruptions be subdued?

Brethren (ye cannot be ignorant how) a wounded heart is affected with every touch, you that have broken hearts you know it, I shall not need to tell you: therefore whenever the Lord comes to rake in those filthy and drunken hearts of yours, they will shake within you, and you will say, this is my sin, and these are my abominations, whereby God hath been so much dishonored.

The third use is for exhortation, if you know these things (as I am persuaded you do) then be entreated in the name of the Lord Jesus to walk in that way which God hath revealed; this is the baseness of our hearts, we are loath to unbuckle our vile and secret distempers, they are shameful themselves, and yet we are loath to take shame for them. Therefore deal openly and freely with your souls, confess your sins freely, that God may deal comfortably with you; hath the Lord at any time let in this horror into thy soul; and is thy heart now troubled at the word; and after all thy tears, and pains, and means using with uprightness, do thy corruptions still remain? Are they not yet subdued as they might be? Canst thou not get any assurance of the pardon of them? I say then, cast away thy shameful hiding and concealing of sin, and do not say, what will the world, and ministers say of me? Away with these shifts, God calls thee to confession, the saints have done it, and thou must, nay, thou wilt do it, (if ever thy heart be kindly broken, as it should be), in some measure pleasing unto God, and profitable to thy self.

Objection. But some will say, how may we do it.

Answer. For answer thereunto, I will first give some direction how to do it; secondly, I will give some motives to work our hearts to the same.

[1] First, be wise in choosing the party, to whom you must confess your sins, for every wide mouthed vessel is not fit to receive precious liquor; so this confession is not to be opened to every carnal wretch, that will blaze it abroad; the minister to whom you confess, ought to have these three graces.

[1] First, he must be a skillful and able minister of God, one that is trained up, and is master of his art, and so experienced, that he may be able in some measure to find out the nature of the disease: (not that any minister under heaven can be so wife and holy, as to give pardon to a poor sinner: but only he is able ministerially to do it under God) he must be able to approve himself the minister of God: he must have the tongue of the learned, and be able to break the heart, and prepare the soul for Christ; and then to apply the cooling promises of the Gospel to him.

There are many, who instead of curing of the soul, kill it, and by popping the sacrament into a man’s mouth, think to send him to heaven: but in conclusion send him to hell.

[2] Secondly, he must be a merciful physician, one that will pity a poor soul; they that have experience of trouble and misery in themselves, are most compassionate to others in distress: he that hath been tossed in the sea will pity others that have been in the same danger. If these people had gone to the scribes and Pharisees, they had been well holpen. No, but they went to Peter, and therefore found help: when Judas had sinned, and betrayed his master, and his soul was full of horror, he went to the Pharisees and confessed his sins, but what succor found he? they answered him, what is that to us? Hast thou sinned, then bear it, and look to it thy self; so it is with carnal wretches, what comfort yield they to a poor distressed conscience? they add sorrow to sorrow, and say, it is nothing but melancholy, and he hath gotten this by hearing some fiery hot minister, or by reading too much in some books of election, and reprobation.

[3] Lastly, he must be a faithful minister, one that will not fit men’s humors, nor answer the desires of their hearts, in speaking what they would have him; but his faithfulness must appear in two things.

[1] First, in dealing plainly with every one, though a man be his patron, or of what place or condition soever he be, if he have a proud heart he must labor to humble him.

[2] And secondly, as he must apply a salve fitting for the sore, so he must be faithful in keeping secret the sin that is laid open to him, that nothing may fly abroad, no not after his death, except it be in some cases.

Now what remains, but that you all be moved to take up this duty, and provoke your hearts freely to confess your evil ways; to which purpose let me give you three motives.

[1] First, because it is a very honorable thing, and will exceedingly promote the cause of a Christian; you will hardly yield to this on the sudden; a man doth think, that if the minister knows his vileness, he will abhor him for it.

But (I assure you brethren) there is nothing that doth more set forth the honor of a Christian, and win the love of a minister, then this. Indeed it is a shame to commit sin, but no shame to confess it upon good grounds; nay, when the heart comes kindly off, it is admirable to see how a faithful minister will approve of such persons, his love is so great towards them; O, saith the minister, it did me good to hear that man confess so freely, I hope the Lord hath wrought kindly in him, certainly now he is in the way to life and happiness; oh how I love him, I could even be content to put that man in my bosom.

Whereas this overly, and loose dealing of yours, is loathsome to us; do you think we perceive it not? Yes, we may feel it with our fingers, and (when you are gone, I tell you what we think) surely that man is an hypocrite, he hath a hollow heart, he is not willing to take shame to himself for his sin, his confession never comes to the bottom.

Secondly, confession is a matter of great safety; I take this to be the only cause, why many a man goes troubled, and gets neither comfort in the pardon of the sin, nor strength against it, because he comes not off kindly in this work of confession.

When you do nakedly open your sins to a faithful minister, you go out in battle against sin, and you have a second in the field to stand by you: but especially there is comfort in this particular, for the minister will discover the lusts and deceits, and corruptions, that you could not find out, and he will lay open all those holds of Satan, and that means of comfort that you never knew: I am able to speak it by experience, this hath broke the neck of many a soul, even because he would go out in single combat against Satan, and (doe what he could), not revealing himself to others for help, was overthrown forever.

As it is with the impostumed part of a man’s body, when a man lets out some of the corrupt matter, and so skins it, never healing it to the bottom; at last it cankers inwardly, and comes to a gangrene, and the part must be cut off, or else a man is in danger of his life; so when you let out some corruptions by an overly confession, but suffer some bosom lust to remain still, as malice, or uncleanness, and so forth. Then the soul cankers, and Satan takes possession of it, and the soul is carried into fearful abominations.

Many have fallen foully, and lived long in their sins, and all because they would not confess freely; therefore as you desire to find out the deceitfulness of your corruptions, confess them from the bottom of your souls.

Thirdly, this open and free confession, may maintain the secrecy of the soul; for the only way to have a man’s sins covered, is to confess them, that so they may not be brought upon the stage before all the world.

Objection. Oh, saith one, this is contrary to common reason; we are afraid to have our sins known, that is our trouble, we keep our sins close, because we would preserve our honor.

Answer. I say, the only way for secrecy, is to reveal our sins to some faithful minister; for if we confess our sins, God will cover them; if you take shame to yourselves, God will honor you; but if you will not confess your sins, God will break open the door of your hearts, and let in the light of his truth, and the convicting power of his spirit, and make it known to men and angels, to the shame of your persons forever.

If Judas had taken notice of his sin, and yielded to Christ’s accusation, and desired some conference with Christ privately, (and said, good Lord, I am that Judas, and that hell-hound that have received mercy from thee in the outward means, and have been entertained among thy people, yet it is I that have taken the thirty pence, Lord pardon this sin, and never let this iniquity be laid to my charge;) I doubt not but though Judas his soul could not be saved (because that now we know God’s decree of him) yet God would have saved him from the public shame that was cast upon him for it: but he did not do so, but hid his malice in his heart, and professed great matters of love to Christ, and kissed him, and thus he thought to cover his sin wisely: but what became of that? The Lord forced him to come and to indict himself in the high priest’s hall, before the temporal and spiritual counsel.

So you that keep your sins as sugar under your tongues, and will be loose, and malicious, and covetous still; well, you will have your thirty pence still, and they are laid up safe, as Achan’s wedge of gold was; remember this, God will one day open the closets of your hearts, and lay you upon your death beds, and then haply ye will prove mad, and vomit up all: were it not better to confess your sins to some faithful minister now?

If you will not give the Lord his glory, he will distraine for it, and have it from your heart blood, as Julian the apostate said, when the arrow was shot into his heart, he plucked it out, and cried saying, thou Galilean, thou hast overcome me, the Lord distrained for his glory, and had it out of his heart blood.

Now I come to the second fruit of contrition, which is here plainly expressed, and it is this, a restless dislike of themselves and their sins: as if they had said, men and brethren, we care not what we do against those evils of ours, whereby the Lord hath been so much dishonored, and we endangered, command us what you will, we must not rest thus, so loathsome are our sins that we will do anything rather than be as we are.

So from hence the doctrine is this, the soul that is truly pierced for sin, is carried against it with a restless dislike and distaste of it: or thus, sound contrition of heart, ever brings a thorough detestation of sin; this they professedly proclaim before the apostles. As if they had said thus much in more words;

You say we are they that have crucified the Lord of life, and we confess it, oh happy had it been for us if we had never listened to the plots of the scribes and Pharisees, but that which is past cannot be undone or recalled.

What must now be done? If we rest here, we perish forever: can nothing be done against these our sins, that have done so much against the Lord Jesus? We must loath ourselves, and our sins, and we must get out of this eat, or else we are undone forever.

Now for the further opening of this point, I will discover these three things.

First, I will show what a distaste and dislike this is.

Secondly, wherein this hatred and dislike of sin consists.

Thirdly, I will show the reason, why it must be so.

[1] For the first, namely what dislike this is; for the clearing of which you must look back to that which I spake before of godly sorrow. For of the very same stamp and nature, is this dislike and hatred of sin; and it is thus much in effect. First, there is a hatred in preparation, and secondly, a hatred in sanctification; both are saving works, but both are not sanctifying works: vocation is a saving work, but not a sanctifying work: they are two distinct works.

This hatred in preparation, is that which the Lord works upon the soul, and smites upon the soul, and thereby puts this kind of turning into the heart; not that the heart hath any powerful inward principle of grace before, (for this is the first that the Lord works) so that as before the soul was forced to see sin, and to feel the burden of it; so the heart is now brought to dislike sin; this is a work wrought upon the soul, rather than anything done by the soul; the Lord is now fitting and preparing the soul for the presence of his blessed spirit.

And in this great work of preparation the Lord works these three things.

First, he stops the soul from going on any longer in sin.

Secondly he wearieth the soul with the burden of sin.

Thirdly, by hatred the soul is brought to go away from those carnal lusts and corruptions, with a secret dislike of those sins which he hath been wearied withal.

In all these, the soul is a patient, and undergoes the work of humbling, and breaking, rather than (it is any way) active and operative.

[1] Thus the heart is turned away from sin, and set against those corruptions which heretofore it was burdened with; as it is with wheels of a clock, when the wheels have run wrong, before a man can set them right again, he must stop it, and turn it to its right place, and all these are merely wrought upon the wheel, by the hand of the workman; for of itself it hath no poise nor weight to run right; but when the clock-master puts to his plummets, then it is able to run of itself, though the workman’s hand be not there.

So the will and affections of a man which are the great wheels of this curious clock of the soul these wheels do naturally of themselves run all hell-ward, and sin-ward, and devil-ward: now before the soul can receive a new principle of grace, first, the Lord unmasks a man, and makes him come to a stand, and makes him see hell gaping for him; thus the heart is at a maze.

[2] Secondly, the Lord lays the weight of sin and corruption upon him, and that doth sink the soul with the horror, and vexation, and loathsomeness of his sins.

[3] Thirdly, then the soul is carried away from sin by hatred and dislike; and saith, is this the fruit of sin that delighteth me? Oh then no more malice, no more drunkenness, thus the heart is turned away: but after the soul is once brought on to God by faith, and goes to God, and receives the spirit of sanctification, (of which we shall speak afterwards) this is a new principle of life, and out of this gracious disposition the soul is now grown to hate sin freely, and to knock off the fingers from corruptions, and beat down his lusts, and to love God freely; out of that power of grace which the Lord hath put into the soul.

Now you must know, that all this while I speak of the first work, when the soul is turned by the spirit against his sin, being formerly burdened with the same sin: this doth ever accompany a heart truly broken for sin.

There is this difference between sorrow and hatred; sorrow feels the burthen, but hatred flings it away; sorrow looseneth the heart, but hatred lets out the corruption; sorrow saith, doth sin thus pinch the soul? And hatred saith, no more sin then; thus the Lord by his spirit prepares the soul.

For the proof of this point, see what the prophet saith, you shall consider your ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loath yourselves. A poor Christian would tear his heart in pieces in the apprehension of his own vileness, and saith, good Lord, shall I ever be plagued and annoyed with this sturdy malicious heart? And shall I ever carry this vile heart about me, that will one day carry me to hell, if thou be not the more merciful? This makes a man even fall out with himself. Again, see what the apostle saith, for this thing you have had godly sorrow, but what hath it wrought in you? Doth it work a holy indignation and revenge against your sinful courses? That when thy soul seeth his filthy abominations rising, swelling, and bubbling within thy heart, it takes on exceedingly, and will scarce own itself; but looks away from sin, and is weary of itself, in regard of the same; nay, (if it were possible) that thou couldest be content to live without a heart, even to forgo thyself, that so thou mayest not be troubled with that vile heart of thine, and so dishonor God no longer. I beseech you observe it, when a man is brought thus far, oh he cries to God, and saith, Lord was there ever any poor sinner thus pestered with a vile heart? Oh that this heart should ever be so opposite against the Lord? Lord, except I had a better heart, I would I had none at all: thus the heart loathes itself, and in what measure the soul is carried with a restless dislike of sin, as it is sin, in the same degree it is most violent against those sins, whereby he hath most dishonored God; as you may see in Zaccheus, his heart did most rise against his master sin; so the Lord having humbled the repentant church, thou shalt defile thy graven images of silver, and the ornaments of thy golden images, thou shalt cast them away as a menstrual cloth, and say, get you hence. They hated all sin, but especially their idolatrous courses; so it will be with the heart that is truly broken, he will cast away with hatred all his pleasing and profitable sins: thus much of the first passage.

Question 2. The second passage is this, wherein doth this true hatred consist, that a man may know whether he have sin or no?

Answer. Answer, this hatred or dislike consists in these four particulars.

[1] First, if the soul doth truly hate sin, then it is very willing to make search for it in every corner of the heart. And any sin that he cannot know himself, he is willing that any Christian, or any friend should make them known unto him; a king that hates a traitor that would kill him, and a man that hates a thief that would rob him, they are willing that any man should discover that traitor or thief, and they will entertain him kindly, and reward him for it.

When the Ziphites came to Saul, and told him where David was, mark what he saith, oh blessed be ye of the Lord, for you have had compassion upon me. Just so it is with a broken bleeding heart, that hath an open hatred against his corruptions; if any minister or Christian will make known some base lusts that lurk in his soul, he will not fly out, and say, what is that to you? Every tub must stand upon his own bottom, and if I sin I must answer for it: nay, he will bless the Lord for it, and say, blessed be the Lord, and blessed be such a minister, and blessed be such a neighbor, for they have shewed me my sin, and had compassion upon my soul.

[2] Secondly, as the soul desires to have sin revealed, so it desires to have sin killed, and it makes no matter how it be killed, or by whom, so it be killed at all.

Hence it comes to pass, that the soul which truly hates sin, is ever seeking to those means, that are most able to give strength to him, and to overcome his corruptions; and is well pleased that any minister should meet with the base haunts of his heart; and if the Word hit and wound that master-sin of his, he is marvelous content therewith, he cares not from whom the help comes. The sharpest and keenest reproofs, that will shake his very heart, and draw blood out of sin, and the most powerful deliverer of God’s word, that divides between the marrow and the bones, he likes best.

Nay, though the great cannons roar, and gods ordinances work mightily upon his heart; so that his corruptions may be killed and subdued, he blesseth the Lord, and saith, blessed be the Lord, I have had a good day of it, the Lord laid battery against this wretched heart of mine; I bless God for these reproofs and judgments threatened; my heart is in some measure broken under them, I hope my corruptions have gotten their deaths wound this day.

[3] Thirdly, as he desires to see sin killed in himself, so he is not able to see sin in others, but so far as God hath put authority and opportunity into his hands, he pursues it with deadly indignation.

As a man that hates a murderer, he will not only keep him from his own house, but he pursues him even to the place of justice: so the soul that truly hates sin, will not only keep sin from his own heart, but he will pluck it from the hearts of others, so far as possibly he may.

When Haman had a spleen against Mordecai, he was not only desirous to kill him, but he would kill all the nation of the Jews, this was hatred indeed: so it is with a broken heart. If a broken hearted father have had a proud heart, and hath been wearied with it, he labors to kill all the brood of those cursed distempers in his children.

[4] Lastly, he labors to cross and undermine all those occasions and means that have given any succor to his corruptions of heart: the soul hath such a secret grudge against the thriving of sin, that it loathes all occasions that may maintain his sin: as the drunkard and adulterer hate the place where they went in to commit sin.

As in war, haply they cannot take the enemy, but they will drive him out of the country, and burn down all his forts, and fill up all his trenches, that he may find no provision: so the heart that truly hates sin, and hath been truly broken for it, will hate all occasions and whatsoever may be any means to strengthen it. Even all these proud and whorish locks, and these Spanish cuts, and all these wanton and garish attires, and light behaviors, which were nothing else but the tent wherein his vain filthy light heart hath lodged.

Thus it was with Mary Magdalen: and the reason why it is so, is this: because the heart that hath been broken for sin, and burdened with the evil of it, hath now found by woeful experience, that sin is the greatest evil of all others: and therefore (for the preservation of itself) it will hate that sin which separates between God and the soul, and with which the safety of the soul cannot stand.

Everything in reason desires the safety and preservation of itself; the soul knows sin to be the greatest enemy, and therefore it is most envenomed with violence against sin, and saith, whence come all these miseries? And what is the mint out of which all these plagues and judgments come? Is it not my sin? It is not poverty, it is not sickness, nor disgrace that pincheth me, but my sin first caused all these.

It is the poison of sin in poverty, and the poison of sin in shame, and the wrath of God in all these by reason of my sin. These evils were not evil to me, but that my sins make them so.

Had I a heart to fear God, and to love him, and depend upon him, in poverty God would enrich me, and in shame he would honor me, and in misery he would comfort me: it is not poverty, nor shame, that doth hurt me; but sin lies, and venoms my soul.

And therefore the soul now cries, men and brethren, what shall I do to be freed from these corruptions? Great are the evils that I have found, and marvelous are the plagues that I have felt, by reason of my sins: but far worse will that portion bee, that I shall have in hell, in endless torments hereafter: this will be the perfection of all misery; let it be anything rather than this: it is better here now to be plagued, then everlastingly damned.

The first use is a ground of admirable comfort, and strong consolation to all such as have found this dislike and hatred of sin: he may be sure his heart hath been broken for sin, and so consequently, he shall certainly have Christ and grace.

I doubt not but every soul is persuaded of this, and saith, indeed if I could find my soul grieving within me for my rebellions, and sins, then I did not doubt it; but how shall I know whether my soul hath been ever as yet truly wounded for sin, as sin.

Answer. I answer, if thou hast this hatred, and thy heart is carried against thy sins with an utter indignation against them, then certainly thy soul hath been truly broken; indeed, sometimes a man doth hate his sins, more than ever he hath been burdened with them; but thus it is commonly, if thy hatred be good, thy sorrow hath been sincere; for how can thy heart go against sin, except thou have found some evil in it? And how canst thou be an enemy to corruption, except thy heart hath been wounded with it? Therefore let me advise all those that desire to have an evidence of the work of grace in their souls, to go in secret, and examine their hearts, whether they can make hue and cry after their corruptions; can you be content that all your sinful distempers, (even those that would affect you most) should be made known either in public by the ministry of the Word, or in private by some faithful Christian? And can you be content that he should come home to your hearts, and drag out your corruptions before the world? Then you have been wounded for sin, and are enemies against it, (as David saith) try me O Lord, and examine me, and prove my heart, and my reines; and see if there be any wickedness in me. He deals like a good subject that locks all the doors, and bids the officers search if there be any traitor in his house, if any one hide the traitor, he is a traitor himself in so doing; so David as it were sets open the door of his heart, and saith, good Lord, if there any wickedness in me, yet not discovered, Lord let that word, that spirit, and that messenger of thine, find it out; reprove me, convince me Lord, and discover my hypocrisy, and pride of heart, this is an honest heart certainly.

[2] Secondly, when thou hast found out thy sin by the help of the minister, then here thou must not rest; but thou huntest for the blood of thy corruptions, and thou canst not be quiet until thou seest the death of them; the soul can do little of itself, but it would have the Lord do all for it: so though thou have not sanctifying grace, and hast not power of thyself to kill thy corruptions, yet thou makest all thy friends thou hast to use all means to sink thy enemies that else would sink thee.

As it is amongst men, when a man hath found his enemy, he follows the law hotly, and he will have his life or else it shall cost him a fall, he pursues him from one court to another, and makes all the friends that he can, that he may plague him; and if all the law in the land will do it, he will have him hanged; this is a right hatred indeed; so the soul can do little of itself, yet it endeavors, and makes a levy of forces, and prayers, and will not leave sin with life, it pursues sin hotly, and if all God’s words and all the promises, and if the grace of Christ will do the deed, it will not rest till it see the decay of sin, and therefore it will even drag sin before the Lord’s tribunal, and there cry for judgment, and say, Lord kill this proud malicious heart of mine, these are thy enemies, and the enemies of thy grace; Lord they sought my blood, let me have their blood; blood for blood, tooth for tooth, O let me see their destruction.

The second use is a word of instruction; is this contrition? And doth it bring forth such fruits? Then true broken godly sorrow is rare in the world, and there are few that have it even amongst those that think themselves some body in the bosom of the church; therefore save me a labor, and cast your eyes abroad in the world and enquire in the houses and villages where you dwell, and knock at your neighbors’ hearts, and say, is there any broken hearts here? It will appear, there are but few broken hearts here to be found amongst the professors of the Gospel; and so, few shall be saved.

If this true hatred be a true evidence of broken-heartedness, what will become of a world of profane persons, that are carried on with the pursuit of sin, from which they will not be plucked; the drunkard will have his cups, and the adulterer his queans, and the chapman his false weights; they are so far from this dislike of sin, that they hate everything save sin; they hate the godly magistrate that would punish them; nay, they hate the Lord himself, and say, it was pity there was such a law made to punish sin, what shall we do? Let us do anything rather than be hindered in our pleasures; what shall we do that we may not be checked and reproved? Get you down to hell, and there you shall have elbow room enough, there you may be as wicked and as profane as you will, and that will be your portion, unless the Lord be merciful unto you. Consider what the wise man speaks, and do not think, a little humbling of your souls before God, and a few prayers will serve your turn, no, no, then shall they cry (saith the text) but I will not answer, they shall seek me early, but shall not find me, because they hated knowledge, and did not seek the fear of the Lord. Oh how fearful is the doom, and how certain is the desolation of such poor wretches!

Now the Lord, for his mercy’s sake, settle these truths in every one of your hearts, amen.

Finis.