The Greatest Sinners Exhorted and Encouraged, Title page – To the reader
THE GREATEST SINNERS EXHORTED and ENCOURAGED To Come to CHRIST, and that NOVV Without DELAYING.
Also, The Exceeding Danger of men's Deferring their REPENTANCE.
Together with a Discourse about The DAY of JƲDGEMENT. And on Several other Subjects.
By INCREASE MATHER Teacher of a Church at Boston in N. England.
Eccles. 12. 13.
Let us hear the Conclusion of the whole matter, fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the Whole duty of Man.
Act. 20. 21.
Testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, Repentance toward God, and Faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
BOSTON in N. E. Printed by R. P. for Joseph Brunning at his Shop near the Exchange. 1686.
To the Reader.
IT is, as the Practice, so the Duty of every Scribe which is instructed to the Kingdom of God, to bring forth things both New and Old. The Law must be preached, inasmuch as thereby is the Knowledge of Sin, without which men will never be duly sensible of their need of Christ. But it is the Gospel (and not the Law) which is the word of Faith. Sinners will never come to Christ except they be perswaded of His Ability and Willingness to save. This the Gospel doth make known, as also that the gracious God is ready for His Son's sake, to pardon all those that truly repent, tho their sins are as Scarlet, though they be red like Crimson. The Holy Spirit doth sometimes bless encouraging sometimes awakning Considerations for saving good to the souls of the Elect o… God. Nothing hath a greater tendency to awaken unto Repentance than serious Thoughts about the great DAY of JUDGMENT, and the Infinite Danger which is in mens Delaying their Conversion. A late Writer saith that he had enquired of some whose Ministry had been eminently blessed as to Converting work, and They assured him, that they found greater success in preaching about the Danger of Deferring Repentance, than in their Discourses on any other Subjects▪ What can be more desirable than that such as are indeed brought home to Christ, should be abundantly fruitful in good works, and grow into greater Intimacies of Communion with God? Such Cons…d…rations as these have induced me first to preach, and now to consent to the Publication of the Sermons emitted herewith.
There are Thousands in the world better than I am, Whose Opportunities for Service are taken from them: If a great door and effectual is as yet opened to me, all that know my Circumstances will say I ought to thank God, and not the world. I must and do (not altogether without shame and Sorrow for my want of wisdome to improve them) acknowledge that the Lord Jesus hath entrusted mee for many years with rich Opportunities more wayes than one; but how soon they may be all gone I know not. That Satan and his Instruments have been designing to deprive mee of them, is manifest from that foolish and Treasonable Letter pretended to be written at Boston in N. E. 3d. of 10th. M. 1683. whereunto my name is most injuriously affixed: which Letter was Published in Barbadoes, and part of it Printed b… Le Strange in his Observators Novemb. 26, 27. and Decemb. 1. 1684. as if it bad been really mine, whenas I never wrote so much as one Line of it, nor had any more hand in the Composure of it than the Observator himself had. I find in the History of Shamplots, pag. 16 that some of farr greater worth than I am have suffered the like abuses. Dr. Owen, Mr. Baxter, Dr. Conant and others had Treasonable Letters imposed on them by wicked men. Who am I, that I should not bear such wrongs with Patience? Hitherto I have not published any thing for my Vindication, and it was in my thoughts never to have done it, but to have left all to the Discoveries of the great DAY, in the mean time being mindful of the old Saying, Magnum Contumeliae remedium NegNegligentia. But having been informed the some have made an ill use of my Silence I thought it my Duty to take this occasion to notifie to the world what I have now declared.
I cannot but see my self concerned to Redeem the Time, and in all wayes wherein I am capable, to be doing for Christ, whilest it is Day.
INCREASE MATHER. Boston, in N. E. Feb. 24. 1685/6.
John 6. 37.
—And him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.
IN this Chapter we have the sacred Story of Christ's feeding five Thousand men with five Loaves and two Fishes, together with the Consequents of that Miracle. One Effect of it was, that many followed Christ, hoping that He would have fed them again in a way extraordinary. The Lord Christ did reprehend them for their vanity, in desiring to live an idle life, and then hoping that they should be fed by Miracle. He also took ocasion to exhort them to labour after meat for their souls: He does therefore set forth the excellency of spiritual bread, shewing how much it does transcend the Manna which the Children of Israel lived upon in the WilWilderness; thereupon the Jews desired that they might alwayes feed upon that bread ver. 34. Then said they to Him, Lord evermore give us this bread. It is evident that they had carnal imaginations in their minds still, dreaming of bread for their bodies, which might cause them to live a long time in this world. Therefore in answer to that request of theirs, the Lord Jesus Christ does both inform and reprove them.
1. He informs them, What that Bread of life which He spake of, is, and what it is to eat thereof, viz. that He Himself is that Bread, and that to beleeve on Him, is to eat thereof, ver. 35.
2. He reproveth them for their Unbelief, ver. 36. But I say unto you, that you also have seen me and beleeve not. They had seen Christ with bodily eyes, and they had seen his Miracles too, and yet they had not seen Him with an eye of Faith; they did not close with Him as the true Messiah, as the Son of God, and the Saviour of the World.
In this verse there are two things asserted,
1. The Reason why some that have the outward means of Faith, yet never beleeve. It is because they are not by the Father given to Christ. All such shall first or last believe on Him. But if men be not given to Christ, let them hear never such sermons preached, nay, tho never such Miracles should be wrought before their eyes, they will not beleeve.
2. Another thing asserted in this verse, is, the great benefit which does follow upon coming to Christ, as in the words before us to insist on; the meaning of which may be spoken unto under the Doctrine from them, which is,
Doct. That if any man, whoever he be, shall indeed come unto Jesus Christ, He will in no wise cast him out.
For the clearing of this Doctrine, three things may be enquired into,
1. Who are Comers unto Christ.
2. What is imply'd in this expression, that Christ will in no wise cast him out that comes unto Him.
3. How it does appear that Christ will in no wise doe so.