A Warning Piece for the Slumbering Virgins, Introduction 2 – To the reader
To my welbeloved Friends, endeared to me in the love and bonds of the Goſpel, at Lincoln, or elſewhere.
Dear Friends,
BEing laid aſide by the hand of my righteous Father, as to the publique work of the Miniſtry amongſt you; you have been much upon my heart, in my private Meditations, to ſtirre you up and put you in remembrance to wait upon our Lord, and for him, who will meet thoſe with rejoycing,Iſa. 64.5. that remember him in his wayes. The openings of your hearts to me in much affection, and compaſſion, as many of your eyes witneſſed at our parting, (not knowing whether we ſhould ſee the faces of one another any more) and as your affectionate remembrances of me, while abſent, and under preſent bodily preſſures, do ſufficiently teſtifie, have much beſpoke my heart on your behalf to leave this Watch-word with you, if I ſhould now take my Reſt and ſleep in Jeſus. And if the Father of mercies ſhould graciouſly raiſe me up by his ſtrength, to ſpend and be ſpent amongſt you, 'twould be a ſweet mercy, to find you in a waiting, watching poſture: 'Twill be the more ſeaſonable to knock, where they are awakened, and to ſtrike while the iron's hot; The Word of Life will be moſt welcome to quickned ſpirits.
That you may read theſe following awakening Meditations with open eyes and hearts, let me preſent you with a few preparatory hints, to an awakened poſture, happily your ſight may be a little cleared by this foretaſte (as Jonathans was upon his taſting a little honey from the end of his rod) if you look up for eye-ſalve from Heaven, while you are looking on them.
And firſt, by way of Counſel, 1. Hearken as with both Ears to the glad-tydings of the Goſpel; you'l find, that good reports from Jeſus Chriſt, under Evangelical diſpenſations, will exceedingly affect, and effectually awaken your hearts. The ſweetneſs of the bunch of grapes upon that ſtaffe of beauty feelingly taſted, will ſet you a longing after the choice fruits of the heavenly Canaan; and hungry ſouls will not eaſily ſleep over their ſpiritual food. 2. Walk up to light received in the love and power of it; you'l find it a good thing indeed to behold the pure heart-quickening beams of the Sun of Righteouſneſſe: It's Soul-taking too; 'Twill follow you, as you follow it; Then ſhall you know,Hoſ. 6.3. if you follow on to know the Lord; his goings forth will be prepared as the morning, ſhining upon you, and within you, and cauſing your path to ſhine more and more to the perfect day: And you will find this Sun-ſhine marvellouſly clearing and quickening the eyes of your underſtanding: 3. Knock oft at your own doors, you may be bold at home, and ask every day, How all does within; what ſtrength of faith; what warmth of love; what growth in grace, &c. much Soul-ſearching, will very much prevent Soul-ſlumbring: Communing with Conſcience will keep it awake, and it will cry loud in your ears to keep you awake. 4. Stir up one another, and that with importunity, to ſtir up the grace of Chriſt that is in you, to do good to all, &c. and all the good you can; and to do what you find in your hands to do for God, with all your might, and that while you have opportunity;Eccleſ. 9.10. for there's no work i'th grave, whither we are going. 'Twill be one of the beſt deeds of pure charity at this day, to viſit crazy ſickly ſoules, that lie languiſhing and ſlumbring under ſpiritual Conſumptions, in the Name of the Lord; and to propound heart-ſearching Queſtions to quicken them, inſtead of heart ſeparating Queries, which have deaden'd them. And ſure it would be a very ſeaſonable work in this hour of temptation, amongſt Chriſtian friends, (at diſtance) to take up that Primitive practice of the bleſſed Servants and Martyrs of Jeſus, by quickening up one anothers ſpirits with heart-awakening Letters. I cannot but commend this labour of Love to ſuch as are preſent with one another in ſpirit and love, when abſent in body, as that which ſome in our dayes have found a ſweet bleſſing in, even as in that cluſter mentioned, Iſa. 65.8.5. Give all diligence in the frequent and fervent performance of all Goſpel-duties with a Goſpel-ſpirit, ſetting grace on work in all by the ſupply of the Spirit; and if you find your hearts ready to follow the Lord fully in all the work he has cut up for you, you'l find work enough ready at your hands and hearts to keep you awake. 6. Caſt up your ſpiritual accounts every day, with an eye to that great Day, when every one muſt give an account of himſelf to the Judge of quick and dead; oft Soul-reckonings will rowſe up your ſpirits much, to wait for the Bridegroom with loyns girt, and lamps burning,Matth. 25.6. as if you heard the cry at midnight.
Secondly, by way of Caution. 1. Take heed of an heavy Ear under the Sound of the Goſpel, leſt your ears ſhould tingle for it another day. The Seers eyes muſt needs weep in ſecret for you, if they behold you ſleeping openly under the Lords all-ſeeing eye; 'Twill ſadden the hearts of weak Chriſtians to ſee you heavy-hearted under that Goſpel of grace, by which they and you have been often awakened; and carnal hearts will be the more apt to ſlight that ſpirituall food which they ſee you ſleep over. 2. Take heed of reſting in a form of godlineſſe, without power, of taking up with the letter, without the Spirit; or being contented with a Name to live, without that new Name, and a new heart and life: you may lie dead at the letter, till you die, but the Spirit will quicken you, and put life into your ſpirit; you may eaſily ſlumber under the form of an outward profeſſion, but the conſtant exerciſe of the power of godlineſſe will effectually awaken you. 3. Dally not with any beloved luſt, nor be dandled upon any Dalilahs lap, leaſt you fall aſleep upon't, and be betrayed; if your hearts go after any ſtrange lovers, you muſt needs loſe your firſt love, to your firſt husband, and be left heartleſſe and ſpiritleſſe; if you indulge any right eye, or right hand, how dark will the right eye be? and how dead the right hand of your inward man? you muſt watch over your own iniquity, yea, over every ſin ſo, as ever you would be found watchfull at Gods Word, or chearful in his way. Senſuality in any kind will breed ſpiritual ſecurity at firſt, and bring perplexity of ſpirit at laſt. Sin's calm muſt needs end in a ſad ſtorm. 4. Take heed of ſelf-ſeeking, and ſeeking great things to your ſelves. A ſelfiſh ſpirit will be ſluggiſh in ſpirituals; if you once begin to take your fill of creature-comforts, you'l have no ſtomack to the things of Chriſt, but even ſleep at his breaſt: The love of the world will eat out your love to God, his Word, his work, his people, &c. If you be all upon't, riſing early to eat the bread of ſorrows,Pſal. 127.2. you'l loſe that ſweet ſleep he gives his beloved, and be caſt into a falſe ſlumber, feeding your ſelves with fooliſh fancies, ſaying, Soul, take thine eaſe; where little eaſe is to be found, when the heart is drunk with the ſtrong wine of the Worlds cup, or drown'd in the ſweet waters of its own Ciſtern, 'twill certainly fall into a dead ſleep; and Chriſtians overloaden with thick clay, we ſee with ſorrow, how heavily they drive. 5. Take heed of ſlighting any holy duties, and of a ſlight frame of ſpirit in them. 'Tis a ſlighting of God himſelf, who will lightly eſteem ſuch, and leave them to their own ſlothful ſpirits. A ſluggiſh indiſpoſition will ever attend ſinfull omiſſions; and ſuch as dare be bold in the omiting of good, are in danger to become baſe and vile in the committing of evill: if your hearts backſlide in ſecret from humble communion with God in his holy wayes, he will turn his back upon you, and leave you to eat the fruit of your own wayes; and then, alas, how weak will your hearts be, in, and to, any thing that's good? how wofully evill? 6. Take heed of grieving the good Spirit of God; leſt he go away ſadly, and leàve you to the heavineſſe of your own ſpirits. Oh, if you quench the heavenly ſparks of his holy motions, the fire of your love and zeal will quickly be going out, and you'l grow cold at heart. Oh do not, do not tempt the Holy Ghoſt, no, not for a world, leſt he withdraw his light, life, power, and peace from you; and then how dark and dead, heartleſſe and helpleſſe, will you lie in this hour of Temptations?
Theſe are the broken thoughts of one of your poor heart-friends, when afflicted and abſent in body, yet affected, as preſent in ſpirit, with the ſenſe of the room he hath had in your hearts, while the hand of the Lord hath touched him; What in mercy he hath brought to my hand and heart, (while I had onelyonly his own Book with mee) I leave to the bleſſing of his own hand, upon your hearts and mind.
Now the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and the patient waiting for of Chriſt. And I beſeech you Brethren for his ſake, and the love of the Spirit, that you ſtrive together and aſunder in your prayers to God for me, that he would conſider my troubles, and know my Soul in adverſity, that I may rejoyce in his mercy; and that I may come unto you with joy by the Will of God, and may with you be refreſhed, through the gracious preſence of Chriſt, to the praiſe of his grace, to whoſe benediction, direction, and dominion, I humbly commit you, and reſt,
Your much obliged Friend and Servant in the Goſpel of Chriſt, G. S.
Chriſtian Reader,
AS 'tis the ſpecial Office of ſome men to be Watchmen, ſo 'tis the common duty of all men to Watch. That ſome men are appointed to watch over others, cannot excuſe any mans neglect of watching over Himſelf. All the Ports of the Body, the Eyes, the Ears, the Lips, (at which the Soul is continually iſſuing out by ſeveral acts, or taking in from ſeveral Objects) need a continual watch upon them; how much more doth that moſt important Piece of all, the Heart? We ſhould alwayes watch what God is doing, we ſhould watch what God is ſpeaking, what he ſpeaks to us in his Word, what he ſpeaks to us in his Works; We ſhould watch what he ſpeaks to move us unto prayer, and what he ſpeaks in anſwer to the motions which we have made in prayer. How watchfull ſhould they be, who have all theſe, and many more, occaſions of watching? We read in Daniel, (Chap. 4. 13.) Of a Watcher and a Holy one that came down from heaven; And ſurely none on earth can be Holy Ones, unleſſe they be Watchers. The careleſſe Soul is alwayes a corrupt one; and Security layeth us open to all impurity. Satan watcheth to make us Halt, and evil men watch for our Haltings; we ſhall never take either eaven or clean ſteps, unleſſe we watch our own goings, and ponder the path of our feet: Watchfulneſſe being ſo indiſpenſible a Duty, how glad ſhould we be of any thing either to awaken us, or keep us awake? The Learned and Godly Authour of this enſuing Diſcourſe hath beaten ſuch an Alarm, and ſhot off ſuch a Warning-Piece in our Quarters, that if the Virgins ſlumber ſtill, as their ſecurity will be inexcuſable, ſo their calamity will be unavoidable. What can they look for, who will not watch to pray, But that God (as he once did, Jer. 31.28.) ſhould watch over them to pluck up, and to break down, and to deſtroy, and to afflict? What can they look for, who will not watch to do good, but that, God, (as another Prophet ſaith he once did, Dan. 4.13.) ſhould watch upon the evill, and bring it upon them? They who will not take warning, deſerve to be made one. Having peruſed this Manuall of Watchfulneſſe, I commend it into the hands and to the hearts of all thoſe, who would find peace, and be found in peace, when their Lord commeth. It was ſad, that the Diſciples eyes were ſo heavy, that they could not watch with Chriſt one hour, when he was going out of the world. And it will be more ſad with thoſe, whoſe hearts are ſo heavy, that they cannot watch for the return of Chriſt at all houres: who therefore hath not told us, the particular hour of his coming, that we at all hours might be kept watching for it. And Bleſſed will thoſe Servants be, whom when their Lord cometh, he ſhall find watching and praying, or watching unto prayer, that they enter not into temptation, and that they may be kept in the hour of temptation.
Reader, That his Book may be bleſſed from above to make thee Watchfull, is his Prayer, who readily Approves it for the Preſſe, and publick Uſe of this Slumbring Age,
Joſeph Caryl.
To the Reader.
Reader,
THey who keep cloſe to the Lord Chriſt in holineſſe of Life, and purity of Doctrine, are Virgins, whether particular Perſons, or Churches: Such being expos'd to many Temptations, and ſubject to much Slumbring, here is a Warning-Piece for them. The great Watchman of Iſrael warn'd his Apoſtles, yea all to Watch:Mark 13.37. ſo doth this good Watchman in Iſrael. Watching is a Duty of grand importance. Noah, Lot, David, Peter, and other Worthies were tempted, ſlumbred, and ſuffered much for want of Watchfulneſſe. When Kings ſlumber, they may loſe a skirt of their garments;1 Sam. 24.14. and when Virgins ſlumber they may loſe their whole Garments, all their Ornaments,Rev. 16 15. and the ſhame of their nakedneſſe appear. The vigilant Author hath prepar'd and fitted this Treatiſe to prevent ſuch evils; Its little, but of much worth, being Judicious, Succinct, and Spirituall. Bulky Volume, muſt give place. It's full of Apples of gold in pictures oſ ſilver, choyce Truths in choice expreſsions. Reader, wouldſt thou be a wiſe, watchful, and experimental Chriſtian, look ſeriouſly into this Treatiſe, lay the Contents of it cloſe to thy heart, and be ſure to have thy deſire.
William Greenhill. Geo: Griffiths.