Doctrine of a Man in the Act of the New Birth, Treatise · Chapter 2
CHAP. II.
SECT. 1. The general Circumſtances of Preparation on Gods part.
BUt for a further diſtribution, which ſhall be our method: In this Preparation two things are conſiderable; The
General circumſtances.
Subſtantial parts.
The general circumſtances are twofold, ſome on
Gods part.
Mans part.
On Gods part they are theſe,
1. The offer of Chriſt and Grace.
2. The condition of this offer.
3. The eaſineſs of this condition.
On Mans part, two things are conſiderable:
1. That corruption doth oppoſe this Grace.
2. That God will remove this corruption.
The firſt general circumſtance of the ſouls Preparation, is on Gods part; wherein is The offer of Chriſt Jeſus, The condition of this offer, and The eaſineſs of this condition; we may have all in this one Compariſon: As with a Malefactor convicted of High Treaſon, for plotting ſome wicked practice againſt his Prince, if (after the diſcovery of all paſſages) the King make a Proclamation, That upon the ſurceaſing of his Enterpriſes, he ſhall be pardoned; nay, if the King ſhall continue to ſend Meſſage after Meſſage, ſecretly to tell him, that would he yet lay down his arms and take a pardon, he ſhall freely be remitted, and graciouſly accepted into favor again: if this Traytor now ſhould rather fling away his Pardon then his Weapons, then ſhould the King raiſe an Army and overcome him, and take him, and execute him without any pity or mercy, I appeal to your own Conſciences, is he not juſtly rewarded? What will the world ſay? he had a fair offer of Pardon, and the King ſent Meſſenger after Meſſenger unto him; ſeeing therefore he refuſed and neglected ſuch offers, it is pity but condemnation ſhould befal him: thus would all ſay. Why, this is the condition of every poor ſoul under heaven, we are all Rebels and Traytors; by our Oathes and Blaſphemies, we ſet our mouth againſt heaven; and yet after all our pride and ſtubbornneſs, and looſneſs and prophaneneſs, and contempt of Gods Word and Ordinances, the Lord is pleaſed to proclaim Mercy ſtill to every one that will receive it: All you that have diſhonored my Name, All you that have prophaned my Sabbaths, and contemned my Ordinances, All you curſed wretches, Come; Come who will, and take Pardon; therein is the Offer: onelyonly let them lay aſide all their weapons; therein is the Condition: and then have Chriſt for the taking; therein is the Eaſineſs of the condition.
Bleſſed God (may every Soul ſay) if I will not do this for Chriſt, I will do nothing; had the Lord required a great matter of me to have attained ſalvation; had he required Thouſands of Rams, and Ten thouſand Rivers of Oyl; had he required the firſt-born of my body for the ſins of my ſoul; had he required me to have kneeled and prayed until mine eyes had failed, until my hands had been wearied, until my tongue had been hoarſe, and until my heart had fainted, one drop of mercy at the laſt gaſp would have quit all this coſt: But what goodneſs is this that the Lord ſhould require nothing of me, but to lay down my weapons, and to receive Chriſt offered? Lo the Lord this day hath ſent from heaven, and offered Salvation unto you Sons of men; the Lord Jeſus is become a ſuitor to you, and I am Chriſts ſpokeſman, to ſpeak a good word for him: O that we may have our errand from you! O that there were ſuch an heart in my people (ſaith God) to fear Deut. 5. 29.me, and keep my Commandments always! Shall the Lord and his Meſſengers thus woo and intreat? and will any yet ſtand out againſt God, and ſay, I will none of Chriſt, I will try it out to the laſt? O then, if the great God of Heaven and Earth ſhall come with Ten thouſand thouſand of Judgements, and execute them upon that man; if he ſhall bring a whole Legion of Devils, and ſay, Take him, Devils, and torment him, Devils, in Hell for ever; becauſe he would not have mercy when it was offered, he ſhall not have mercy; becauſe he would not have ſalvation when it was tendred, let him be condemned: If God ſhould thus deal with that man, the Lord ſhould be juſt in ſo doing, and he juſtly miſerable.
SECT. 2. The general Circumſtances of Preparation on Mans part.
THe ſecond general circumſtance of the ſouls Preparation, is on Mans part; and herein is obſervable,
1. That Corruption oppoſeth Grace.
2. That God will remove this Corruption.
Firſt, The firſt is clear, 1 Cor. 2. 14. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them; and 1 Cor. 2. 14.Acts 7. 51. Ye ſtiff-necked, and uncircumciſed in heart and ears, ye Acts 7. 51.do always reſiſt the Holy Ghoſt, as your fathers did, ſo do ye: Give us a man in the ſtate of Nature, and though all the Mininiſters under heaven ſhould preach mercy unto him; though all the Angels in heaven ſhould exhort and intreat him; though all glory and happineſs were laid before him, and he were wiſhed onelyonly to believe and take it, and it ſhould be his for ever; yet in his natural condition he could have no power to receive ſo bleſſed an offer: howſoever, this hinders not but he is to wait upon God in the means. And then—
Secondly, God may remove this Corruption, which he himſelf cannot do: Herein obſerve we The
Author
Time
of this Grace.
Firſt, The Author is God: I will take away their ſtony hearts (ſaith God) and give them an heart of fleſh; I will remove that Ezek. 11. 19.ſturdy heart which is in them, and will give them a frameable, teachable heart, which ſhall ply, and yield to whatſoever I ſhall teach them: The taking away of the indiſpoſition of the ſoul to any duty, and the fitting, framing and diſpoſing of a ſoul to perform any Spiritual ſervice, is the alone work of God.
Quiet then thy ſoul, and content thy heart; thou mayſt ſay, 1 Ʋſe of Comfort.I have an hard heart within, and it will receive no good from without, the Word prevails not, the Sacraments have no power over me, all the means, and coſt, and charges that God hath beſtowed upon me is loſt, and my heart is not yet humbled, my corruptions are not yet weakned: But in this be thou comforted, though means cannot do it, which God uſeth at his pleaſure, yet the Lord can do it, there is nothing difficult to him that hath hardneſs it ſelf at command.
Be then Exhorted, you that have ſtony hearts, to have recourſe 2 Ʋſe of Exhortation.unto this great God of heaven: Should a Phyſician ſet up a Bill, That he would cure all that were troubled with the Stone in the Reins, and that we ſhould hear of many healed by him, this would ſtir up all to repair to him, that labored of this Diſeaſe: Why, the Lord this day hath ſet up a Bill, That he will cure all ſtony hearts that will but come to him, and all the children of God have found to the proof hereof, to the comfort of their ſouls: You wives therefore, that have husbands with ſtony hearts, and you parents, that have children with ſtony hearts, tell them, You have heard this day of a Phyſician that will cure them, and exhort them to repair unto him.
Secondly, the Time of this Grace is either in regard of the
Means.
Men.
1. In regard of the Means; and that is, when the Sons of men have the Goſpel ſhining in their faces; if ever good work upon their hearts, it will be then.
This ſhould teach us how thankful we ought to be unto the 1 Ʋſe of Inſtruction.Lord, that enjoy theſe liberties in the Land of the living; That a man was born in ſuch a time, in the laſt Age of the World, in ſuch a place, in this Kingdom, wherein the way of life and ſalvation is ſo fully, ſo plainly, and ſo powerfully made known, that the Sun of the Goſpel ſhines full in his face, and is not yet ſet: O how thankful ſhould he be!
And for thoſe that neglect the Means of their Salvation, 2 Ʋſe of Reproof.how ſhould we pity them? Me thinks I ſee a poor creature, that ſlighted mercy and Salvation when it was offered him; me thinks I ſee that ſoul lying upon his deaths-bed, light is departing from his eyes, and his ſoul is departing from his body; O the name of a Miniſter, of a Church, they are as Bills of Indictments againſt coming the Soul of this man; me thinks I hear ſuch a man ſay at his laſt gaſp, The day is gone, the gate is ſhut, and now it is too late to enter: And thus the ſoul departs from his body, the body to the grave, and the ſoul to hell; O what bitter lamentations will that ſoul make in hell, O the golden time that I have ſeen, and not regarded! O the gracious opportunities of Salvation that my eyes have beheld, and yet I neglected! O the mercy, and grace, and goodneſs of God, that have been offered unto me! All theſe I have contemned, and trampled under my feet, and therefore now muſt I be tormented with the Devil and his Angels, from everlaſting to everlaſting. Now the Lord give us hearts to take notice of theſe things. If I were now breathing out my laſt breath, I would breathe out this Legacy to all ſurviving Chriſtians, This is the accepted time, this is the day of Salvation. Do you hear? This day is Grace offered, and if any here would entertain it, O what comfort might he have: I was never humbled afore (might he ſay) but this day I was humbled; I could never before receive mercy, but this day have I received it; O this was a good day to me, now bleſſed am I for ever.
2. In regard of men on whom God works; that is to ſay, on ſome in their tender age, on ſome in their ripe age, on ſome in their old age: But however the Lord doth at ſeveral times convert ſeveral of his ſervants, yet moſt, and moſt uſually before their old age; and that ſome Interpreters wittily obſerve out of the Parable of the Vineyard, Mat. 20. 3, 4, 5. The maſter of the vineyard (ſaith the Text) went out at the third, ſixth and Mat. 20. 3, 4, 5ninth hour, and ſaw ſome ſtanding idle, and he ſent them into his vineyard: He went then (ſay Interpreters) on purpoſe to ſee and hire, and to ſend in laborers to work in his Vineyard, but he went out at the eleventh hour, not to hire any, he expected not then to have ſeen any idle; he went out upon ſome other occaſion, and therefore ſeeing them ſtanding, he wondred at it, ſaying, Why ſtand ye here all the day idle? as if he ſhould ſay, No man will hire you now, it is but an hour to night, and therefore rather a time to leave working, then to begin to work.
O let this provoke us, that while the flower is in prime, we would uſe all means for our good; let us now in the heat and Ʋſe of Exhortation.ſummer of our days, improve our ſelves in good works, that ſo when the harveſt comes, we may be gathered into Gods Barn: O would we be exhorted to take the beſt time and opportunity of ſalvation, then might we receive the fruits of our labors, the ſalvation of our ſouls.