§ 18. And now, reader, I demand thy resolution, what use wilt thou make of all this? Shall it all be lost to thee? or wilt thou consider it in good earnest: Thou hast cast away many a warning of God; wilt thou do so by this also? Take heed, God will not always stand warning and threatening. The hand of revenge is lifted up, the blow is coming, and woe to him on whom it lighteth! Dost thou throw away the book, and say, it speaks of nothing but hell and damnation? Thus thou usest also to complain of the preacher. But wouldst thou not have us tell thee of these things? Should we be guilty of the blood of thy soul, by keeping silent that which God hath charged us to make known? Wouldst thou perish in ease and silence, and have us to perish with thee, rather than displease thee, by speaking the truth? If thou wilt be guilty of such inhuman cruelty, God forbid we should be guilty of such sottish folly. This kind of preaching or writing is the ready way to be hated; and the desire of applause is so natural, that few delight in such a displeasing way. But consider, are these things true, or are they not? If they were not true, I would heartily join with thee against any that fright people without a cause. But if these threatenings be the word of God, what a wretch art thou, that wilt not hear it, and consider it? If thou art one of the people of God, this doctrine will be a comfort to thee, and not a terror. If thou art yet unregenerate, methinks thou shouldst be as fearful to hear of heaven, as of hell, except the bare name of heaven or salvation be sufficient. Preaching heaven and mercy to thee, is entreating thee to seek them and not reject them; and preaching hell, is but to persuade thee to avoid it. If thou wert quite past hope of escaping it, then it were in vain to tell thee of hell; but as long as thou art alive, there is hope of thy recovery, and therefore all means must be used to awake thee from thy lethargy. Alas! what heart can now possibly conceive, or what tongue express, the pains of those souls, that are under the wrath of God? Then, sinners, you will be crying to Jesus Christ, "O mercy! O pity, pity on a poor soul!" Why, I do now, in the name of the Lord Jesus, cry to thee, "O have mercy, have pity, man, upon thy own soul!" Shall God pity thee, who wilt not be entreated to pity thyself? If thy horse see but a pit before him, thou canst scarcely force him in; and wilt thou so obstinately cast thyself into hell, when the danger is foretold thee? Who can stand before the indignation of the Lord? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger?[261] Methinks thou shouldst need no more words, but presently cast away thy soul-damning sins, and wholly deliver up thyself to Christ. Resolve on it immediately, and let it be done, that I may see thy face in rest among the saints. May the Lord persuade thy heart to strike this covenant without any longer delay! But if thou be hardened unto death, and there be no remedy, yet say not another day but that thou wast faithfully warned, and hadst a friend, that would fain have prevented thy damnation.
[261] Nahum i, 6.
CHAP. VII.
The necessity of diligently seeking the Saint's Rest.
§ 1. The Saint's Rest surprizingly neglected; particularly, § 2. By the worldly-minded—§ 3. The profane multitude—§ 4. Formal professors—§ 5-8. and by the godly themselves, whether magistrates, ministers, or people. § 9. The author mourns the neglect, and excites the Reader to diligence, by considering, § 10. The ends we aim at, the work we have to do, the shortness and uncertainty of our time, and diligence of our enemies; § 11. Our talents, mercies, relations to God, and our afflictions; § 12. What assistances we have, what principles we profess, and our certainty never to do enough; § 13. That every grace tends to diligence, that to trifle is lost labor, that much time is mispent, and that our recompense and labor will be proportionable; § 14. That striving is the Divine appointment, all men do or will approve it, the best Christians at death lament their want of it, heaven is often lost for want of it, but never obtained without it; § 15. God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are in earnest; God is so in hearing and answering prayer, ministers in their instructions and exhortations, all the creatures in serving us, sinners in serving the devil, as we were once, and now are, in worldly things, and in heaven and hell all are in earnest. § 16. The chapter concludes with proposing some awakening questions to the ungodly, and, § 17. also to the godly.
§ 1. If there be so certain and glorious a rest for the saints, why is there no more industrious seeking after it? One would think, if a man did but once hear of such unspeakable glory to be obtained, and believed what he heard to be true, he should be transported with the vehemency of his desire after it, and should almost forget to eat or drink, and should care for nothing else, and speak of and inquire after nothing else, but how to get this treasure. And yet the people who hear of it daily, and profess to believe it as a fundamental article of their faith, do as little mind it, or labor for it, as if they had never heard of any such thing, or did not believe one word they hear. This reproof is more particularly applicable to—the worldly-minded,—the profane multitude,—the formal professors,—and even to the godly themselves.
§ 2. The worldly-minded are so taken up in seeking the things below, that they have neither heart nor time to seek this rest. O foolish sinners, who hath bewitched you? The world bewitches men into brute beasts, and draws them some degrees beyond madness. See what riding and running, what scrambling and catching for a thing of naught, while eternal rest lies neglected! What contriving and caring to get a step higher in the world than their brethren, while they neglect the kingly dignity of the saints! What insatiable pursuit of fleshly pleasures, while they look on the praises of God, the joy of angels, as a tiresome burden! What unwearied diligence in raising their posterity, enlarging their possessions; perhaps for a poor living from hand to mouth; while judgment is drawing near; but, how it shall go with them then, never puts them to one hour's consideration! What rising early, and sitting up late, and laboring from year to year, to maintain themselves and children in credit till they die; but, what shall follow after, they never think on! Yet these men cry, "May we not be saved without so much ado?" How early do they rouse up their servants to their labor! But how seldom do they call them to prayer, or reading the Scriptures! What hath this world done for its lovers and friends, that it is so eagerly followed, and painfully sought after, while Christ and heaven stand by, and few regard them? or what will the world do for them for the time to come? The common entrance into it is through anguish and sorrow. The passage through it is with continual care and labor. The passage out of it, is the sharpest of all. O unreasonable, bewitched men! Will mirth and pleasure stick close to you? Will gold and worldly glory prove fast friends to you in the time of your greatest need? Will they hear your cries in the day of your calamity? At the hour of your death, will they either answer or relieve you? Will they go along with you to the other world, and bribe the judge, and bring you off clear, or purchase you a place among the blessed? Why then did the rich man want a drop of water to cool his tongue? Or are the sweet morsels of present delight and honor of more worth than eternal rest? and will they recompense the loss of that enduring treasure? Can there be the least hope of any of these? Ah, vile, deceitful world! How oft have we heard thy most faithful servants at last complaining; "Oh the world hath deceived me, and undone me! It flattered me in my prosperity, but now it turns me off in my necessity. If I had as faithfully served Christ, as I have served it, he would not have left me thus comfortless and hopeless." Thus they complain; and yet succeeding sinners will take no warning.
§ 3. As for the profane multitude, they will not be persuaded to be at so much pains for salvation, as to perform the common outward duties of religion. If they have the gospel preached in the town where they dwell, it may be they will give the hearing to it one part of the day, and stay at home the other; or if the master come to the congregation, yet part of the family must stay at home. If they want the plain and powerful preaching of the gospel, how few are there in a whole town, who will travel a mile or two to hear abroad; though they will go many miles to the market for provisions for their bodies? They know the Scripture is the law of God by which they must be acquitted or condemned in judgment; and that the man is blessed who delights in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth meditate day and night; yet will they not be at pains to read a chapter once a day. If they carry a Bible to church, and neglect it all the week, this is the most use they make of it. Though they are commanded to pray without ceasing, and to pray alway; yet they will neither pray constantly with their families, nor in secret. Though Daniel would rather be cast to the lions, than forbear praying three times a day in his house, where his enemies might hear him; yet these men will rather venture to be an eternal prey to Satan, the roaring lion, than thus seek their own safety. Or their cold and heartless prayers invite God to a denial: For among men it is taken for granted, that he who asks but slightly and seldom, cares not much for what he asks. They judge themselves unworthy of heaven, who think it is not worth their more constant and earnest requests. If every door was marked, where families do not morning and evening earnestly seek the Lord in prayer, that his wrath might be poured out upon such prayerless families, our towns would be as places over-thrown by the plague, the people being dead within, and the mark of judgment without. I fear where one house would escape, ten would be marked out for death; and then they might teach their doors to pray, Lord, have mercy upon us, because the people would not pray themselves. But especially if we could see what men do in their secret chambers, how few would you find in a whole town that spend one quarter of an hour, morning and night, in earnest supplication to God for their souls? O how little do these men set by eternal rest! Thus do they slothfully neglect all endeavors for their own welfare, except some public duty in the congregation, which custom or credit engages them to. Persuade them to read good books, learn the grounds of religion in their catechism, and sanctify the Lord's day in prayer, and meditation, and hearing the word, and forbearing all wordly thoughts and speeches; and what a tedious life do they take this to be? As if they thought heaven were not worth doing so much for.
§ 4. Another sort are formal professors, who will be brought to any outward duty, but to the inward work of religion they will never be persuaded. They will preach, or hear, or read, or talk of heaven, or pray in their families, and take part with the persons or causes that are good, and desire to be esteemed among the godly; but you can never bring them to the more spiritual duties; as to be constant and fervent in secret prayer and meditation; conscientious in self-examination; heavenly minded; and to watch over their hearts, words, and ways; to mortify the flesh, and not make provision to fulfil its lusts; to love and heartily forgive an enemy, and prefer their brethren before themselves; to lay all they have, or do, at the feet of Christ, and prize his service and favor before all; to prepare to die, and willingly leave all to go to Christ. Hypocrites will never be persuaded to any of these. If an hypocrite entertains the gospel with joy; it is only in the surface of his soul, he never gives the seed any depth of earth: It changes his opinion, but never melts and new moulds his heart, nor sets up Christ there in full power and authority. As his religion lies most in opinion, so does his chief business and conversation. He is usually an ignorant, bold, conceited dealer in controversies, rather than an humble embracer of known truth, with love and obedience. By his slighting the judgments and persons of others, and seldom talking with seriousness and humility of the great things of Christ, he shews his religion dwells in the brain, and not in his heart. The wind of temptation carries him away as a feather, because his heart is not established with Christ and grace. He never in private conversation humbly bewails his soul's imperfections, or tenderly acknowledges his unkindnesses to Christ; but gathers his greatest comforts from his being of such a judgment or party. The like may be said of the worldly hypocrite, who choaks the gospel with the thorns of worldly cares and desires. He is convinced, that he must be religious, or he cannot be saved; and therefore he reads, and hears, and prays, and forsakes his former company and courses; but he resolves to keep his hold of present things. His judgment may say, God is the chief good; but his heart and affections never said so. The world hath more of his affections than God, and therefore is his god. Though he does not run after opinions and novelties, like the former, yet he will be of that opinion which will best serve his worldly advantage. And as one whose spirits are enfeebled by some pestilential disease; so this man's spirits being possessed by the plague of a worldly disposition, how feeble is he in secret prayer! How superficial in examination and meditation! How poor in heart watchings! How nothing at all in loving and walking with God, rejoicing in him, or desiring him! So that both these, and many other sorts of hypocrites, though they will go with you in the easy outside of religion, yet will never be at the pains of inward and spiritual duties.