Gospel Reconciliation, Chapter 81
CHAP. 81. Uſe. 4. To ſtrengthen our Faith; if God were reconciled when we were enemies, he wil not caſt us off for every infirmity. Objections Anſwered.
FOurthly, The Conſideration of this, may be a mighty ſtrength to the Faith of thoſe ſinners that have (in ſome meaſure) been wrought upon by the Grace of God. Thus, if the Lord hath manifeſted ſuch abundance of ſtrength of Spirit in ſeeking to ſinners to be reconciled, then certainly, when ſinners are reconciled, the heart of God wil forever be with them; he wil not loſe the fruit of ſuch Grace as this; if once he hath brought in, and that in ſuch a way of mercy (Chriſt having brought it) it cannot be any eaſie thing that ſhal take off Gods heart from thee: there was the goodneſs of God towards Adam in Paradice. I, (but it was not ſo much goodneſs of God unto him, as could not admit of any breach beween God and him. But the heart of God is ſo much in this work in bringing ſinners to be reconciled unto him, as it is impoſſible that ever there ſhould be ſuch a breach between them, and him again; that ever they ſhould prove to be enemies. Therefore let this ſtrengthen thy heart; when at any time thou begin'ſt to have jelous thoughts of God, have recourſe to thy firſt calling to God. I went on not many years ago in a wreatched ſinful way; but God came to me, and ſhewed me my evil way, and ſhewed me his Grace: Yea, when I ſtood out againſt his Grace, he followed me, and would not let me be at quiet, but manifeſted it more and more, and hath overcome my heart unto himſelf. How can I think that God that hath done ſo before, that now he ſhould take advantage upon every infirmity? that now every ſin that he ſees in me ſhould make ſuch breaches between him and my ſoul; that he ſhould caſt me from him? Can I think it? Certainly it is a wrong to the Grace of God in the Goſpel.
Object. I, but you wil ſay here is the evil, That upon my looſe walking I cannot think that ever things were in truth; that I was truly converted.
Anſw. To that I anſwer but theſe two things. Firſt, that if thou canſt but be able to ſay thus in the preſence of God; the Lord knows that there is no weapon of enmity in my heart that is againſt God; that God reveals unto me to be a ſin, but I know my heart is againſt it; I can appeal to God ſo, and there is no duty that God requires of me, but I know my heart is with it, if the Lord wil but reveal to me. Now in this caſe, having before felt the work of God drawing thee to Chriſt, and if thy heart be thus kept to God: this is one good Argument that certainly God, and thou are not enemies.
Secondly, if thou canſt but ſay thus; there is no Argument that is ſo prevalent with me to make me not ſin as this; for fear of breaking peace between God and me; this is the thing that makes my ſin ſting my Soul indeed: becauſe by that I come to loſe ſome of that ſweeneſs of the aſſurance of my peace with God. Canſt thou ſay ſo? keep thy heart but in ſuch a frame (though thou haſt many weakneſſes) that thou canſt ſay; whatſoever ſin the Lord reveals to me yet my heart is againſt it, and whatſoever duty the Lord requires of me yet I know my heart is with it, and if there be any thing that I do not know, Oh! that I knew it more and more, and there is nothing that I fear ſin for ſo much as this, becauſe that I ſee it breaks the peace between God and my Soul. Is it ſo with thy poor ſoul? I pronounce in the name of God Peace be unto thee. Though thy heart be not as thou would'ſt have it, thou maiſt conclude this certainly; God that hath manifeſted ſuch Grace in drawing thy heart unto himſelf at the firſt, wil not caſt thee off. Certainly, God had ſome greater end in working ſo wonderfully towards thee, than to throw thee off; except the Lord had ſome great thoughts of heart in glorifying himſelf in thee, and to do thee good, he would never have wrought ſo upon thy heart as he hath done. There are others that live under the light of the Goſpel, but the Lord doth never come to their hearts to ſpeak to them as inwardly to draw their hearts, and that by his own Spirit as he hath done to thee, the Lord hath not had ſo great thoughts of heart to glorifie his name upon them in the day of his Grace, as towards thee in the working of his Grace: So certainly to thee the Lord is about to do great things; that grace of his that hath been ſo ſtrong upon thee as it hath been, it wil carry thee through al difficulties. Certainly the Grace of God hath been ſtrong, and it wil be ſtrong and therefore build upon it. If thou haſt an hard heart, do not ſay; thou haſt an hard heart, and therefore Gods heart is not towards thee. No, but rather ſay, thou haſt an hard heart and therefore thou wilt look towards God to break thy hard heart, and bring thy frozen and cold heart to theſe Beams of Gods Grace, and ſtand under theſe Heavenly influences. If thou beeſt ſenſible of the hardneſs of thy heart, and then to ſit down ſullenly and heavily, and think becauſe of this God wil reject thee; this is not the way to get thy heart ſoftened: but rather cal to mind what the grace of God hath been towards thee, and how the heart of God is towards ſinners to be reconciled unto them, and what he hath done for the like ſuch ſinners as thou art, and ſo keep thy heart under the warme beams of the Goſpel, and thereby thou wilt gain a great deal more than ſitting down in a ſullen way. Thoſe kind of Herbs that grow under the warm Sun grow the better, and the Fruit ripens better than thoſe that grow out of the Sunne: So the Heart that can keep it ſelf continually in the Sunne of this mercy and goodneſs of God, thus expreſſing himſelf in the Goſpel, willing to be reconciled to ſinners; this heart wil thrive more abundantly, than thoſe that ſhal ly down ſullenly, and diſcontentedly, This is a mighty encouragement for al ſinners to come to be reconciled; a mighty ſtrong encouragement to them, the Lord invites, and beſeeches in the Goſpel, and ſends his miniſters to do it, and requires them that they ſhould do it in his name. What ſhould hinder them, but that any ſinner (none excepted) ſhould come, and be reconciled? We cannot tel who they are that ſhal not be reconciled, and therefore we may ſay concerning any particular ſinner; What ſhould hinder thee but that thou ſhouldeſt come in to be reconciled? And if God entreates, and Chriſt entreates and Miniſters entreate, and thou entreateſt: What letts thee but that thou maiſt be reconciled: As, the Eunuch ſaid. Here is Water enough, why may I not be baptiſed? So here is mercy enough, why maiſt thou not be reconciled? Haſt thou ſuch thoughts as theſe are? See that God is willing to be reconciled to ſinners wel, when I get home I am reſolved to throw my ſelf before the Lord Chriſt, and I am able to cry to him for reconciliation, for I am damned and undone for ever elſe, and and I heare that there is a way to be reconciled to him: wel, this ſhal be my work now; I wil ſet upon it preſently, I wil never leave crying to God til I have found Gods Grace comming to me. Art thou reſolved upon this? Wel go on; and fal down in thy crying to God for mercy; make this point part of thy petition; Lord, I have heard that thou art willing to be reconciled; now Lord here is a wretched ſinner comes in to be reconciled to thee what hinders now when both ſhal entreate? Suppoſe two were fallen out one with the other, but now when both ſides are wrought upon, and one, he profeſſes himſelf not only willing, but earneſtly deſirous to be reconciled and the other he comes, and expreſſes himſelf ſo too, ſurely both theſe wil agree. Now it is true many times between man and man, their expreſſions are but very ſlight, and there is not that at the bottom of their hearts that they expreſs with their mouthes. When two are fallen out, and one comes to them, and ſaith, why, wil you not be at peace with ſuch a man? Oh! yes ſaith he I am willing. So, come to the other, and he ſaies the ſame, he is willing; and yet their hearts are not right (perhapps) one to the other. But now in this caſe between God and thy poor ſoul, be confident that on Gods ſide, it is moſt real, and do thou but make it out that thy heart is real in deſiring after peace with God, and fully underſtand what thou doſt when thou doſt deſire peace with God, [So] that thou wilt not be at peace with any ſin, and deſire it fully and then when thou ſhalt get it, then thy heart ſhal be praiſing God, and ſay, I ſhal live to the praiſe of God for ever; and that ſhal be my endeavor. I would faine have at, but wil God be at peace? Yes, God ſhal get as much as thou ſhalt by it, he ſhal thereby get that that he did eſpecially intend and aime at in making the world. The great deſigne that God had in making the world was to magnify the riches of his mercy, and if thou beeſt one that God hath faſtned upon to ſhew the riches of his mercy, and Grace, he ſhal get that Glory thereby to his name, that he did moſt intend when he made the world. Therefore, though thy ſoul be pretious unto thee, know that Gods Glory is more pretious unto him than thy ſoul can be to thee, therefore God is more deſirous of thy life (with thoſe that ſhal be ſaved hereafter) than they can be deſirous to be ſaved themſelves; this is a certaine truth, becauſe that God ſhal get more by the ſalvation of that ſoul than the ſoul ſhal get. You get ſomething, but God gets much more; now then if God be ſeeking after that that doth ſo much concern you, and you know this day that Gods heart is more ſtrongly ſet uppn it than yours, one would think that this ſhould be a mighty encouragement for any ſinner to come in to be rconciled. And therefore go on in thy way, let not tentation come take off thy heart (though yet God ſeems as an enemy to you.) We know that Joſephs heart was as much towards his bretheren, as his bretherens hearts were towards him; Joſeph dealt in a rugged way, as if he had been their enemy, yet then was his heart towards them. And ſo go on in thy way of ſeeking the Lord, and though God ſeeme to be as an enemy, yet know that the heart of God is as much towards thee as thy heart can be towards him, and Chriſt looks upon thee as one that he ſhal get glory to himſelf by for ever. The good Lord ſay Amen. It ſhal be ſo.
FINIS.