The Drunkards Character, Section 127 – Section 129
§ 127.
BEsides,The same further amplified. as these mercies are great in themselves, so our unworthinesse doth greater them more, being shewed to us, who are no lesse rebellious to him, then he is beneficiall to us. And is all this nothing to move thee? dost thou thus requite him? art thou so farre from loveing and fearing him, that thou hatest others, which doe? O monstrous ingratitude! oh foolish man, to looke for other, then great, then double damnation!
O that such soveraigne favours as these, should not onelyonly not profit thee, but turne to thy destruction, through thy wilfull, blind, and perverse nature!
He is thy Lord, by a manifold right; his tenure of us is diversly held, and thou his servant by all manner of obligations; indeed our tenure of him is but single, he is ours onelyonly by faith in Christ, Gal. 3. 26.
First, he is thy Lord by the right of creation, thou being his workmanship, made by him.
Secondly, by the right of redemption, being his purchase, bought by him.
Thirdly, of preservation, being kept, upheld, and maintained by him.
Fourthly, thou art his by uocation, even of his family, having admitted thee a member of his visible Church.
Fifthly, his also (if it be not thine owne fault) by sanctification, whereby he possesseth thee.
Sixtly, and lastly, he would have thee of his court by glorification, that he might crowne thee every way his. Yea, he hath removed so many evills, and conferred so many good things upon thee, that they are beyond thought or imagination; for if the whole Heaven were turned to a booke, and all the Angells deputed writers, they could not set downe all the good, which Christ hath done us.
Now favours bestowed, and deliverances from danger, binds to gratitude; and the more bonds of duty, the more plagues for neglect. Hath God contrived so many wayes to save us, and shall not we take all occasions to glorifie him? Hath he done so much for us, and shall we deny him any thing that he requires, though it were our lives, yea our soules, much more our lusts? we have hard hearts, if the blood of the Lambe cannot soften them; stony bowells, if so many mercies cannot melt us. Was he crucified for our sinnes, and shall we, by our sinnes, crucifie him againe? Doe we take his wages, and doe his enemy service? Is this the fruit of his benificence, of our thankfulnesse? Is this th… recompence of his love, to doe that which he hates, and hate those whom he loves?
O for shame thinke upon it, and at his instance be perswaded, by whose blood you were redeemed from all these evills, and interrested in all these good things. The Apostle could not finde out a more heart-breaking argument, to enforce a sacrificing of our selves to God, then to conjure us by the mercies of God in Christ, Rom. 12. 1. and indeed, we could not be unthankefull, if we thought upon what the Lord gives, and what he forgives: but if the thought of these things will not move thee, Lord have mercy upon thee. For, as it is a fearefull marke of a reprobate, alwayes to abuse Gods mercy and patience, to the hardening of our selves in our evill courses: so good turnes aggravate unkindnesses, and our offences are increased with our obligations: yea, there is not one of these favours, of those warnings, which I have mentioned, or which thou hast received, that shall not once be a wirnesse against thee, as appeares by, 1 Sam. 2. where God saith unto Ely, by the Prophet, Did not I doe such and such things for thee, and thy fathers house, wherefore then hast thou done thus and thus? And likewise by Chap. 15. where the Lord reproving Saul for his disobedience, exceedingly aggravates his sinne, by what he had formerly done for him: yea, how doth the Lord by the Prophet Nathan aggravate Davids fact, by repeating the many and severall favours, and deliverances, which formerly he had extended to him, 2 Sa. 12. 7. to 13.
§ 128
YEa,Even this booke will be a witnesse against them, when their consciences are awakened. even this very Booke shall be a witnesse, and rise up in judgement against thee (as Plutarch told Trajane the Emperour, touching his letter of advise) and those very eyes that read it, and that understanding, and will, which hath conceived, and consented unto the equity and truth of it, shall be cited as witnesses against thee. And, in the meane time, thou shalt never hereafter drinke, sweare, whore, seduce, hate, persecute, or reproach any for well doing, but thy conscience, as a sergeant, shall arrest thee upon it; yea, this Booke shall gnaw thee at the heart, with a Memorandum of Hell, that thou shalt with, O that I could abandon my sinnes, or else that I had never had such a warning.
But then,And then perhaps the gate of mercy wi… be sh…t. perhaps, the gate of mercy will bee shut, and though thou wouldest gladly repent, yet it will be too late, then shalt thou begin to say; O what a warning had I such a time, what an opportunity did I then let slip! woe is me, that ever I was borne; and woe is me, that ever I had such a warning, which cannot choose but double my damnation hereafter, as now it doubles my feare and horror.
Even thus, and no otherwise will it fare with thee, when once thine eyes are opened: and opened they shall be, for though Sathan, and thy corrupt conscience doe sleep, and suffer thee to sleep for a while, yet, at least upon thy death bed, or in hell, when there shall bee no more hope, or meanes of recovery, they will both wake against thee, and awaken thee up, to everlasting anguish and unquietnesse: yea, God shall once enliven, and make quick the sense of thy benummed conscience, and make thee know his power, which wouldest never take notice of his goodnesse; he will then teach thee with a vengeance, as Gid…on taught the men of Succoth vvith briers and thorns. Those carelesse guests made light of their calling, to come unto the marriage of the Kings sonne; but they found at last, (vvhen they vvere shut out) that there vvas no jesting; and the rich man lift up his eyes in hell, Luke 16. 23. those scorching flames opened them to purpose, they vvere never opened before.
§ 129.
THis is the difference between a godly wise man and a deluded worldling: Want of consideration the cause of all impiety & neglect of obedience.that which the one doth now judge to be vaine, the other shall hereafter finde to be so, when it is too late.
O the want of consideration what is spoken, and who speaks, is the cause of all impiety, and neglect of obedience. The reason why Samuel returned to his sleepe one time after another, when God called him, was, he ignorantly thought it was only mans voyce: and for the same reason, thou wilt not listen to what justice and truth speakes in this behalfe, otherwise, thou wouldest search the Scriptures and try, whether my doctrine and allegations be of God, or no, Acts 17. 11. and being of God, and agreeing with the pensell of the Holy Ghost (for otherwise thou art free) entertaine these lines, as if they were an Epistle sent unto thee from heaven, and writ by God himselfe, to invite and call thee to repentance: and though thou canst not imitate Zacheas, who was called but once, and came quickly to Christ; yet thou wouldest imitate Peter, and at this last crowing of the Cocke, remember the words of Iesus, which saith, take heed to your selves, least at any time your hearts he oppressed with surfeiting and drunkennesse, and cares of this life, least that day come on you at nnawares, Luke 21. 34. and againe, whatsoever ye doe unto the least of mine, ye do it unto me; and weighing them with thy selfe, goe out of thy …innes by repentance; as he went out of the high Priests Hall.
And so doing, it should bee unto thee as Ionathans three Arrowes were to David, which occasioned his escape from Saul's fury: or as David's Harpe was to Saul, which frighted away the evill spirit from him, 1 Samuel 16. 23. yea, as the Angels was to Peter, that opened the Iron gates, loosed his bands, brought him out of Prison, and delivered him form the thraldome of his enemies; yea, if thou beest thine owne friend, it shall serve thee as a Buoy, to keep thy the ship of soule from splitting upon the Shelf of presumption; which is my prayer, and hope, and should bee my joy to see it; these things have I said, that ye might be saved.
You know, the good counsell of Sauls servant, ledd him, in a doubt, to the man of God; but his owne curiosity, ledd him to the Witch of Endor, 1 Sam. 9. 6. And that little, which Craesus King of Lydia, learn'd of Solon, saved his life: and if Pilate would have taken that faire warning which his wife gave him, as hee sate to judge Christ; it might have saved his soule, Matth. 27. 19. and so may this thine, if thou wilt be warned by it. But if this, nor no other warning wil serve thee, if neither present blessings, nor hope of eternall reward will doe any good▪ if neither the Preachers of God, in exhorting; nor the goodnesse of God, in calling; nor the will of God, in commanding, nor the Spirit of God, in moving can prevaile with thee; tr…ble to think what a fearefull doome will follow; for they shall tremble at the voyce of his condemnation; that have shut their eares, at the voyce of his exhortation, Prov. 1. 24. to 32. And so much of the sixth aggravation.