England Faithfully Watched, Lecture 1
COLOS. 1.13.
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkneſſe, and hath tranſlated us into the kingdome of his dear Sonne.
FItneſſe for heaven is generally acknowledged in the foregoing verſe, and particularly and fully explain'd in this and that which follows, and put into two branches, Deliverance from the power of darkneſſe, and tranſlation into the kingdome of Chriſt: Who hath made us meet for the inheritance of ſaints in light, &c. What is that meetneſſe? He hath delivered us from the power of darkneſſe, and hath tranſlated us into the kingdome of his dear Sonne.
Deliverance undergoes a double acceptation; it means temporall deliverance ſometimes: Attend unto my cry, for I am brought very low: deliver me from my perſecutours, for they are ſtronger then I, Pſal. 142.6. Sometimes it means eternall deliverance, ſoul-ſalvation, deliverance from ſinne it ſelf and the dominion of it, and not barely from ſuch domineering evils as ſinne ſets up to make this life miſerable: Deliver me from all my tranſgreſſions, Pſal. 39.8. Deliver me from bloud-guiltineſſe, Pſal. 51.14. Theſe expreſſions ſpeak ſoul-deliverance, eternall deliverance; and of this nature is that deliverance here mentioned in my Text, as the words themſelves explain.
Doctr. Man now is in ſoul-miſery, our eternall eſtate is undone, our eternall life ſlain, the bloud of our ſouls is ſpilt upon the earth. There is death, and death with Emphaſis; Who ſhall deliver me from the body of this death? Soul-death is here meant▪ man is ſpiritually ſlain, ſtabbed at heart, undone inwardly; he needs a deliverance from this death: So there is wrath, and wrath to come; wrath that works hereafter upon ſpirits, when then they have laid aſide the bodies of fleſh, in which they dwelt here. Even Jeſus who hath delivered us from the wrath to come, 1. Theſſ. 1.10. That deliverance and this in my Text mean one thing, ſoul-deliverance, which every ſoul ſtands in need of, but ſome onelyonly enjoy; Who hath delivered us from the power of darkneſſe.
Naturally.Man is in ſoul-miſery naturally; we are children of wrath by nature; wrath works againſt us in the very wombe: Jacob have I loved, Eſau have I hated, and this ere they had ſeen the world. Corruption is got into the bloud, generation is marred, man the nobleſt creature cannot beget a happy creature; when he goes about this work, he layes the firſt foundation in ſinne. In ſinne was I conceived, &c. David was marred from the beginning, and made miſerable as ſoon as crudled in the wombe, as ſoon as any matter was laid together for ſuch a form. Treaſon ſtains the bloud; the firſt man proves a traytour, and never ſince any otherwiſe, but one. The firſt man poiſoned his nature, and then begat as he made himſelf, and not as God made him, and ſo doth all the poſterity to this houre; and this makes ſo many men, ſo many worms and no men; ſo many baſe miſerable things, and not one worthy of the name of a bleſſed creature, but the name of an uncreated thing, a piece of mere putrifaction, a worm, ſo in body, and ſo in ſoul, mere putrifaction in all.
JudiciarilyMan is in ſoul-miſery judiciarily. Juſtice hath traced ſinne to its riſe, and plagued it at the fountain head. Man firſt abus'd his ſoul▪ and then his body; he ſwel'd within, pride puffed up his ſpirit, the man would be God; pride is ſpirituall wickedneſſe, which had ſuitable juſtice; man is made naked within as well as without, body and ſoul ſtript of God, and he that would be a God, is no man, but a beaſt: Man that was in honour, became as the beaſt that periſheth, that is, periſhing all over, for you know ſo is the ſtate of a beaſt, ſoul and body periſhing. Juſtice works like juſtice, ſhe makes ſuitable revenge; to cut off a finger when the man deſerves to have his neck cut off, humane juſtice doth not go forth ſo unſuitably, neither doth divine. Man abus'd his glory, his ſoul, and therefore God turned this glory into ſhame; man defiled this with ſinne, and therefore this is ſubjected to wrath, and made to need deliverance moſt, and therefore is this deliverance here from ſinne noted as the grand deliverance, Who hath delivered us from the power of darkneſſe, &c.
Man is in ſoul-miſery univerſally. Wrath, death, ſoul-death,Univerſally▪ is paſſed over all men. The whole world is a great field of ſlain ſouls, not a man in the world but lies under a deadly ſoul-wound. Unbelief hath ſhut up all, and that's a ſoul-plague, and yet the plague of all (ſaith the Apoſtle) Jews and Gentiles. The whole world is ſhut up in ſinne and miſery, and needs a deliverance: what a great goal is one ſinne become! a gangrene keeps not at one part, it runs over all: There were many lepers in Iſrael, (ſaith the prophet) and he alſo ſaith, there were many widows; but I cannot ſay of this world, that there are many lepers and many widows, but all are lepers and widows, unmarried creatures to Chriſt, not one good: Who can ſay his heart is clean? Prov. 20.9. There is a plague of the body, but that is not every ones plague; but there is a plague of the heart, and that is every ones plague: there are mortall diſeaſes upon the immortall ſouls of all, and the expreſſion in the Text here ſpeaks it plain, Who hath delivered [us] from the power of darkneſſe, who hath taken us out of the common deluge.
Uſe. The truth is plain before you, man is in ſoul-miſery, he needs a ſoul-deliverance. Apply this point to your ſelves, are you ſenſible of the truth of it? do you ſet your ſelves to work anſwerably? Bodily miſery begins to creep towards you, and you are very ſenſible of this; bloud and wounds are like to be common, to catch hold of every one, and every ones fleſh ſhakes. O what miſery are we in, ſaith one! and what miſery are we in, ſaith another! yea, but what miſery is thy ſoul in, art thou ſenſible of that? doſt thou feel that plague of plagues, that miſery within, which hath made all ſo miſerable without? Bodily miſery is but to make ſenſible of ſoul-miſery; 'tis Gods pulling the rope without, to make the bell ſpeak within, (and 'tis many thouſand mens unhappineſſe, that they conſider not this,) and it comes as the laſt means to do this. The ſunne ſhines a great while, as the onelyonly kind means to open mens eyes, and to bring them to ſee their ſtate; but when this will not do, the ſunne ſets, and darkneſſe comes in the place thereof, that is, miſery and calamity, to beat open theſe doors which love could not unlock. Look about thee England, thy laſt remedie is upon thee to make thee good, to make thee know thy lukewarmneſſe, thy ſettledneſſe upon thy lees, thy ſoul-miſery. Thou beginneſt to grow very poore in temporalls, doſt thou yet begin to ſee that thou art poore in ſpiritualls? Thou beginneſt to be made naked in body, doſt thou yet begin to ſee thy ſoul-nakedneſſe; what a poore, blind, wretched, and naked Church thou art? what a pitifull ſoul thou haſt? Biſhops may be, and Common Prayer book may be, and this and that unwarranted thing may be in Gods worſhip; ſuch language as this ſpeaks how ſoul-miſerable thou art ſtill.
But I will not be ſo generall in the application of this point, I will ſpeak particularly to you. In the night owls eyes are open, and they ſee: 'Tis night now in England, and very dark; ye blind creatures are your eyes open? do you yet ſee any thing that belongs to your ſouls? doth ſinne revive now things without are kill'd? your iniquity hath found ye out, have you found out it? Can you lay your hand on your heart, and ſay, Here's that iniquity that hath made a kingdome bleed, my family deſolate, undone me and mine? Paul when the Law was preached to him, ſinne revived and he died, in the conſideration of his wretched condition. God preaches Law now all the kingdome over, becauſe Goſpel will do no good; doth ſinne revive now, and can you ſee the wretched ſtate of your ſouls? When the ſonnes of Jacob were caſt into bodily miſery, then their ſoul-miſery came to ſight, what they had done to their brother Joſeph, and they could lay their hand diſtinctly upon that within which brought ſo much miſery without upon them. When ponds are ſtirred, and water let out, then frogs and toads appear, and we ſee what uggly things they are: Thus hath God dealt with many of you Londoners; you had great eſtates like great deep ponds, and now God hath let out all almoſt, that you may ſee what mud, toads and frogs are at the bottome of it in your ſouls, with what hearts ye got and kept your wealth: do you ſee any uggly creatures yet ſtirre in your ſouls? ye are almoſt, I think, ſome of you, in Joſephs brethrens caſe, ready to ſtarve for want of bread: Can you now like them tell that within, which hath made ſuch clean work without, which hath clean'd your teeth and your ſtates? Senſibility of ſoul-miſery is the thing that is driven at in all this.
The man that complains not of ſoul-miſery amongſt all other miſeries he undergoes, I am afraid is not ſenſible of the main evil upon him. Where there is a new man and an old in one heart, there is a perpetuall warre, and this very ſenſible, I find a law in my members rebelling againſt the law of my mind. That which will be death to the ſoul, is death to it, and the ſoul groans under it as in the pangs of death: Who ſhall deliver me from the body of this death? Corruption according to its qualitie, and according to its quantity, a ſoul ſenſible of its ſtate, is ſenſible of both; what corrupt bloud is in him, and how much, and how it runs up and down in every vein, and pricks as it goes; and no Phyſician like him that can do good to this diſeaſed body, Who ſhall deliver me from this body of death? What a burthen corruption is to you, in the body of it, and in the branches of it, and what a death it makes to your life; what a bleſſing deſired is Chriſt, and what pantings daily about theſe things you know: there is no way like this to find out what ſoul-ſenſibilitie is in you.
Conſider theſe things, and as you find your ſelves indeed ſenſible of ſoul-miſery; ſhew it every one of you, by ſeeking deliverance from it, it ſhould be all your work, what elſe in this world have you to do? 'Tis an imployment for life, for all, to get our ſouls out of ſinne, and into Chriſt; and yet ſome of you make it a work by ſtarts, and marre all, ſink your ſouls lower, whilſt you give but a half lift, that is, lift and let fall again: the devill a little ſtirred, and not caſt out, takes ſtronger hold.
Know your work, and know your time; know this time; You are not like to die the common death of all men, Gods ſore judgements are abroad: you may have your throats cut quickly, in your beds, and how ſad will it be when bloud ſhall touch bloud, a body in bloud touch a ſoul in bloud: this will be a bloudy ſight indeed. Sinners, me thinks you do not ſtirre as if juſtice were near you, there is killing and ſlaying round about us, and we in the midſt of all are aſleep: is not your bloudy cloud gathering too? There is a great crie of peace, and I think God means no ſuch thing yet: ſinners, take heed juſtice doth not ſeize on your ſouls, ere you know them, or it. You are making bulworks and forts to deliver your bodies, but what do you do to deliver your ſouls? You would not have your bodies kild, and your ſouls are ſlain already, and ſtink ſo that God cannot indure them: do you think that your bulworks will be any defence for ſuch bodies, as have ſuch ſouls in them? Will not the juſtice of God beat down all, to take her prey and ſeize upon malignants? You have more malignants in the citie then you are aware of: you have a great deal of malignancy in your ſouls, and this will betray you all if you look not to it; there are many of you deſperate malignants to God, which yet are not ſo to the Parliament. What ſouls you have, and what the condition of them is, look to it, and work out ſalvation for them with fear and trembling, I will not give a ruſh elſe for all your forts to defend you; juſtice will break through ſtone-walls, and mud-walls, and through all, through your fleſh and through your bones, till it come into the very ſpring of ſinne, which is your ſouls, & there it will lie burning for ever, as things when they are at their center, there reſt. The ſoul is the center of ſinne and wrath, and wrath will to its center do what you can, and make what fortifications you can, if your ſouls be not delivered and ſaved from that wretched condition wherein naturally they are.