A Warning Piece for the Slumbering Virgins, Part 10
Upon this double Account, that they are ſo expoſed to Temptation, and ſo indiſpoſed to Oppoſition, who do no Watch and Pray: Let me call for double diligence in the Name of the Lord, to this double Duty.
Firſt, Double your Watch; Oh watch, watch,
1. Over your own Hearts;Jer. 17.9. for they are moſt deceitfull, and the Deceiver lyes moſt at catch there: the ſubtle Serpent he knowes where our guile lyes, which he would willingly make uſe of, to beguile us with. 'Tis his Commiſſion, onelyonly to bruiſe the heel;Gen. 3.15. but 'tis his covetous ambition to break into the heart. How he watches day and night, works without wearineſſe, and windes about every way, to ſurprize this Royall Fort of the King of Glory? if he carry that, he commands all, and will lead us captive at his will; if he can but get his head into our hearts, and keep his hand upon this great wheel, he has his hearts deſire, and will turn all about with it. Oh therefore lay to heart that bleſſed Counſell of our great heart-keeper;Prov. 4.23. Keep thy heart above all keeping, (ſo the Hebrew has it) for out of it are the iſsues of life. 'Tis matter of life and death, this; 'Tis as much as thy life is worth, to watch the heart well; and not to watch it, is death. The Devill knowes, if there be any good treaſure within thee, it is laid up in thine heart; and he would fain have the key of this Cabbinet, to rob thee of thy Jewels: If he can but corrupt this fountain, all the ſtreams will be filthy, out of it will proceed the worſt of Evils; when it becomes the worſt part, which ſhould be the beſt.
The Father of ſpirits doubles his Charge upon our ſpirits; The Lord God of Iſrael ſaith, Take heed to your ſpirit,Mal. 2.15, 16. take heed to your ſpirit. Here the unclean ſpirits muſter up their Forces, and therefore here muſt our main Guard be; Watch but the heart ſo, as to keep him out there, and put the Devil out of heart, hee'l deſpair of you.
2. Watch the good Spirit of God, in all its motions, impreſſions, convictions, allurings, comfortings, &c. as ever you would eſcape the temptations and deluſions of the evil ſpirit: and therefore,
Firſt, Watch the good Spirit, to welcome him; make much of his ſweet breathings, ther's much life and love in them. If the Spirit come to Convince you, ſaying, (as Nathan did to David) Thou art the man; ſay, Speak Lord, for thy ſervant heareth. Be ready to hear of that ear, though he ſpeak ſuch things as make it tingle, as you love the peace of your own ſpirits. If he come as a Spirit of glory and power to ſubdue your iniquities, to cut off your right hand, &c. with his two edged ſword: Oh ſay, Let him go on and proſper, till he have ſlain his thouſands, &c: and made all his enemies become his footſtool; If he come to coaſt as a Dove upon you, to meeken and ſweeten your Spirits; Oh put forth your hands to take him in (as Noah did the Dove with the Olive-leafe); make both much of, and ſet much by the good Spirit and Word of God, and the evill Spirit will not be able to do you much hurt. Oh prize the gracious manuductions of this faithfull guide at an high rate, and be as glad of his heavenly conduct, as the wiſe men were to ſee the ſtarre that pointed out Chriſt to them,Math. 2.10. they rejoyced with exceeding great joy; Lie as even as you can under his celeſtial influences, and ſweet diſtillings of the precious dews of grace and peace; Attend his glorious miniſtration all along, let him have his whole will upon you, and do his work wholly and fully within you, ſay him not Nay in any thing; & he will work mightily within you, and witneſſe manifeſtly to you.
2. Watch the workings and witneſſings of the Holy Spirit, ſo as you may not hinder him, when he comes to help you, nor grieve him, when he comes to comfort you, take heed of tempting him, who only can help you againſt the Tempter, oh ſhut not out his glorious light for all the glory of the World; impriſon not any of his precious truths for all the ſpecious libertyes under the Sun; reſiſt not the ſtirring power of his grace upon you, when hee's ſhaking the powers of darkneſſe within you; refuſe not the free and familiar tenders of his heart-renewing and reviving love, for thouſands of Gold and Silver; Loſe not willingly one ſyllable of the ſecret whiſperings of this meſſenger of peace, leſt he with draw his light, love, power, and peace, and leave you to the power of Satan, and he lead you into Priſon, and keep you in darkneſſe; Alas, alas, we have given the greateſt occaſion and advantage, to ſpiritual wickedneſſe in high places to tempt, vex, diſturb and divide us; by tempting, vexing, and quenching the Holy Spirit; as ever any in the World have done; And; are not now the ſhadowes of the evening upon us, for ſlighting his goings forth as the morning? How ſtrangely have the lying Spirits deceived us; ſince the Spirit of truth has been rejected, and the truths of the Spirit? What a thick, black, dark hour of temptation is come upon us ſince we have refuſed the cleare counſel and pure comforts of the Holy-Ghoſt, in the day of his gracious viſitation; what ſtrong deluſions and ſtrange declinings to the right hand or the left, ſince we have forſaken the guide of our ſpirits?
3. Watch your ſpiritual enemies; they watch us,Luk. 4.13. as Satan did Chriſt; when the Tempter is gone, and his temptation, ſeemes to be quite over, he does but watch another ſeaſon, and therefore we muſt watch in ſeaſon and out of ſeaſon; As Nehemiah and the people of God with him, did with Sanballat and the enemies of God,Neh. 4.7.8.9. they prayed and ſet a watch day and night; the enemie was very wroth, and they were very watchfull; a ſword in one hand, when at work with the other: So ſhould we at this day; watch at the Lords work; Watch and Pray, watch and heare, watch and ſpeak, &c: 'Tis very ſeaſonable that counſell of the mightie Counſellour? Take heed no man deceive you, for many ſhall come in my name, ſaying, I am Chriſt & deceive many. Oh how much are we concerned in that bleſſed caution, upon whom the ends of the World are come?Math. 24.4, 5, 11, 24, 25. How affectionate and importunate was Paul the aged and experienced, in warning the people night and day, and that with teares to beware of ſuch as ſhould ſeeke to withdraw them from the Goſpel of Chriſt. Do not ſpiritual dangers multiply upon us every day, whiles we are under a Spirit of ſlumbring ſecuritie from our ſoul-enemies, and that on every ſide; Oh what need of the whole Armour of God, on the right hand and on the left; what need of a diligent ſpiritual watch, over our heads and hearts, words and wayes, teachings and hearings! Oh gather up your ſpiritual forces every day, and call in auxiliaries from Heaven, and follow the Captain of your ſalvation, Watching and Praying (as the armour-bearer did Jonathan climbing upon heads and feet) contend eameſtly for the faith which was once given to the Saints; and as you're fighting the good fight of faith, be ever looking up to Jeſus,1 Pet. 1.5. and you ſhall be kept as in a Garriſon (ſo the word imports) by his power, through faith unto ſalvation.
4. Watch over, and for one another, for good, in an evil time; 'tis very ſeaſonable to be knocking at one anothers doores, and jogging at each others elbowes in the Spirit of meekneſſe, to keep as many awake as you can, in this ſlumbring time, through the good hand of God upon you; and ſurely they, whoſe hearts are awakened in ſuch a day as this, by the Lords ſpeaking from heaven to them, cannot keep ſilence, but muſt be ſpeaking to their brethren in the name of the Lord ſaying, awake, awake; As our hearts ſhould dwell much upon awakening meditations, ſo our mouths ſhould be filled with awakening ſalutations and exhortations, when we meet with the ſervants of Chriſt (as it was with the lively Chriſtians in the primitive times) ſaying behold he comes like a thief; and, The Judge ſtandeth at the door, and the like: When ſo many watch one anothers haltings; let us watch to be helpers of one anothers faith and joy, by provoking one another to Watching and Prayer; when many fellow-ſervants are ſmiting one another with words of violence and verulency, let us ſmite one another with words of truth & ſoberneſs; and the deeper they pierce the heart in the Spirit of Love, the better could we hit one another o'th heart-vein, 'twould be a mercy: Oh that the righteous would thus ſmite one another, with gracious words of reproof, to reſtore one another, and all in much mutual ſoul-love what a kindneſs would this be? Such precious oyntments would not break the head but mollifie and meeken the heart: Such wounds would be welcome from the hand of a friend. Alas, we complain every where of the Saints ſlumbring, wandring, and wantonneſſe; 'twere better we turned our complaints inward, and left them upon our ſelves, that we do not ſtir up one another to Watching and Prayer; we do but bear one another as burthens upon our ſpirits, when we ſhould beare one anothers burthens, and help at a dead lift, as with one ſhoulder; we ſee poore Chriſtians in a dead ſleep on every hand, and we lie dying by them, but who calls upon them, to be watchfull, and ſtrengthen the things that are readie to die?Rev. 3.2. How many have our eyes beheld lying as a man aſleep upon the top of a Maſt, and floods of temptation under them too,prov. 7.23.34. readie to ſwallow them up; but how few have we laboured to awaken to this day?2 Sam. 16.17. may we not reflect upon our ſelves in the words of Abſalom to Huſhai: Is this our kindneſſe to our friends? Is this nothing to you, all ye that paſſe by, do you not take notice how many fooliſh Virgins lie ſlum-bring and languiſhing upon beds of ſenſualitie and ſecuritie, and the houſe readie to be ſet on fire over their heads; and do you take no care to awaken them; would it not pitty your very heart; to ſee the flames ſeize upon them, while they are aſleep? How long has the keeper of Iſrael watched over them, and kept them as the apple of his eye, notwithſtanding all their ſlumbrings and wandrings; and does he not expect (think you) that you ſhould be your brethrens keeper for his ſake, and cry unto them in all haſte to prepare to meet him, leaſt he withdraw the wing of his protection from them, and leave them naked; if you ſee your brethren ſleeping, ſtarving, dying, and ſhut up the bowels of your compaſſions from them in ſuch a caſe, how dwels the love of God in you? And if you ſay, 'tis not in mans power to awaken anothers heart, who cannot awaken his own; can a man raiſe the dead? Tis true, the low voyce of a weak man can never make thoſe hearts heare, which can ſleep under the loud thundrings of Heaven; why but can you weep over them, as the Jewes did over Lazarus in his grave? yea can feelingly ſigh over them, ſaying, Can theſe drie bones live? Who ſhall roul away the ſtone, and open their graves; why he that is the reſurrection and the life, can awaken them out of the deepeſt ſleep, and quicken them with a word of his mouth; If Jeſus will but groan in Spirit with you, and ſay, awake, ariſe, come forth, the dead ſhall heare his voyce and live. You cannot lift up their ſleepie hearts, no alas, they are too heavie for you; but cannot you lift up a prayer for them? If any man ſee his brother ſin a ſin not unto death, he ſhall ask,1 Ioh. 5.16. and he ſhall give him life; what high encouragement is here to praying-ſouls to lift up their voice on high, for ſuch as are ſinning and ſleeping in ſin almoſt to death; oh then if the Spirit of prayer were raiſed again from the dead (as one may ſay) what bleſſed hopes would there be of a ſpiritual reſurrection, to many poor hearts, that are even dead and buried in the grave of ſecuritie.