It is out of envy to you, and to the LORD JESUS CHRIST, he endeavours
to keep you from closing with JESUS; and if he can but keep you from
laying hold by faith on CHRIST, he knows he has you safe enough; and
the more temptations you are under, and according to their nature and
greatness, you are more hurried in your minds; and the more unsettled
your thoughts and affections are, the more apt you are to conclude,
that if you were to go to CHRIST, at present, in all that hurry of
mind, he would not receive you; but this is the policy of the tempter,
to make you have low and dishonourable thoughts of the blessed JESUS;
and so by degrees he works upon your minds, that you are careless and
indifferent about CHRIST. This, this, my brethren, is the design of the
tempter. Nothing will please him more, than to see you ruined and lost
for ever. He tempts you for that end, that you may lose your interest
in JESUS CHRIST, and that you may dwell with him and apostate spirits
to all eternity. He knows that JESUS CHRIST died for sinners, yet he
would fain keep souls from seeking to this city of refuge for shelter,
and from going to _Gilead_ for the true balm.
It is he that rules in thy heart, O scoffer, O _Pharisee_; the devil
reigns there, and endeavours to blind your eyes, that you shall not see
what danger you are in, and how much evil there is in those hearts of
yours; and as long as he can keep you easy and unconcerned about having
your hearts changed, he will be easy; though if he can, he will tempt
you to sin against him, until you are hardened in your iniquity. O, my
brethren, do not give the devil a handle wherewith he may lay hold on
you: alas! it is no wonder that the devil tempts you, when he finds you
at a play, a ball, or masquerade; if you are doing the devil’s work, it
is no wonder if he presses you in the continuation thereof; and how can
any say, “Lead us not into temptation,” in the morning, when they are
resolved to run into it at night? Good GOD! Are these persons members
of the church of _England_? Alas, when you have gone to church, and
read over the prayers, it is offering no more than the sacrifice of
fools; you say _Amen_ to them with your lips, when in your hearts you
are either unconcerned at what you are about, or else you think that
the bare saying of your prayers is sufficient, and that then GOD and
you have balanced accounts.
But, my dear brethren, do not deceive yourselves, GOD is not to be
mocked. You are only ruining yourselves for time and eternity. You pray,
“lead us not into temptation,” when you are tempting the devil to come
and tempt you.
III. I shall now point out some of the ways and means, he makes use of
to draw you to himself.
But this is a field so large, and I have but just begun to be a soldier
of JESUS CHRIST, that I cannot name many unto you. I shall therefore be
very short on this head.
1. He endeavours to make you think sin is not so great as it is;
that there is no occasion of being so over-strict, and that you are
righteous over-much; that you are ostentatious, and will do yourself
harm by it; and that you will destroy yourselves. He shows you, my
brethren, the bait, but he hides the hook; he shows you the pleasure,
profits and advantages, that attend abundance of this world’s goods;
but he does not show you the crosses, losses and vexations that you may
have while you are in the enjoyment of the blessings of this world.
2. When he finds he cannot allure you by flattery, he will try you
by frowns, and the terrors of this world; he will stir up people to
point at you, and cry, “Here comes another troop of his followers:”
He will stir them up to jeer, scoff, backbite, and hate you; but if he
still finds this will not do, then he throws doubts, my brethren, and
discouragements in your mind, whether the way you are in is the true
way or not; or else he will suggest, What! do you expect to be saved by
CHRIST? Also, He did not die for you; you have been too great a sinner;
you have lived in sin so long, and committed such sins against CHRIST,
which he will not forgive. Thus he hurries poor sinners almost into
despair.
And very often, when the people of GOD are met to worship him, he sends
his agents, the scoffers, to disturb them. We saw an instance of their
rage just now; they would fain have disturbed us; but the LORD was on
our side, and so prevented all the attempts of wicked and designing
men, to disturb and disquiet us. LORD JESUS, forgive them who are thus
persecuting thy truth! JESUS, shew them that they are fighting against
thee, and that it is hard for them to kick against the pricks! These,
my brethren, are some of the ways Satan takes, in his temptations,
to bring you from CHRIST: Many more might be named; but these are
sufficient, I hope, to keep you on your guard, against all that the
enemy can do to hinder you from coming to CHRIST.
IV. I come to shew you, how earnest you ought to be with JESUS CHRIST,
either not to suffer you to be led into temptations, or to preserve you
under them.
And here, my dear brethren, let me beseech you to go to JESUS CHRIST;
tell him, how you are assaulted by the evil one, who lies in wait
for your souls; tell him, you are not able to master him, in your own
strength; beg his assistance, and you shall find him ready to help you;
ready to assist you, and to be your Guide, your Comforter, your Saviour,
your All: He will give you strength to resist the fiery darts of the
devil; and, therefore, you can no where find one so proper to relieve
you, as JESUS CHRIST; he knows what it is to be tempted; he was tempted
by Satan in the wilderness, and he will give you the assistance of
his Spirit, to resist the evil one, and then he will fly from you.
In CHRIST JESUS you shall have the strength you stand in need of, the
devil shall have no power; therefore fear not, for in the name of the
LORD we shall overcome all our spiritual _Amalekites_: Let the devil
and his agents rage, let them breathe out threatnings, yea, let them
breathe out slaughters, yet we can rejoice in this, that JESUS CHRIST
hath them in his power, they shall go no farther than he permits them;
they may rage, they may rage horribly, but they can go no farther,
until they have got more power from on high.
If they could do us what mischief they would, very few of us should be
permitted to see our habitations any more; but, blessed be GOD, we can
commit ourselves to his protection; he has been our protector hitherto,
he will be so still. Then earnestly intreat of the LORD to support you
under those temptations, which the devil may assault you with; he is a
powerful adversary, he is a cunning one too; he would be too hard for
us, unless we have the strength of CHRIST to be with us. But let us be
looking up unto JESUS, that he would send his Spirit into our hearts,
and keep us from falling. O my dear brethren in CHRIST JESUS, how
stands it now between GOD and your souls? Is JESUS altogether lovely
to your souls? is he precious unto you? I am sure, if you have not gone
back from CHRIST, he will not from you; he will root out the accursed
things of this world, and dwell in your hearts. You are candidates for
heaven; and will you mind earth? What are all the pleasures of earth,
without an interest in the LORD JESUS CHRIST? And one smile from him is
more to be desired than rubies, yea more than the whole world.
O you who have found JESUS CHRIST assisting you, and supporting you
under all the temptations of this life, will you forsake him? have you
not found him a gracious master? is he not the chiefest of ten thousand,
and altogether lovely? Now you see a form and comeliness in CHRIST,
which you never saw before. O! how do you and I wish we had known JESUS
sooner, and that we had more of his love; it is condescending love, it
is amazing, it is forgiving love, it is dying love, it is exalted and
interceding love, and it is glorified love. Methinks when I am talking
of the love of JESUS CHRIST, who loved me before I loved him; he saw
me polluted in blood, full of sores, a slave to sin, to death and hell,
running to destruction, then he passed by me, and said unto my soul,
“Live;” he snatched me as a brand plucked from the burning. It was
love that saved me, it was all of the free grace of GOD, and that only.
The little experience I have had of this love, makes me amazed at the
condescension, the love, and mercifulness of the blessed JESUS, that
he should have mercy upon such a wretch. O, my brethren, the kingdom of
GOD is within me, and this fills me so full of love, that I would not
be in my natural state again, not for millions of millions of worlds;
I long to be with JESUS, to live with the LORD that bought me, to live
forever with the Lamb that was slain, and to sing _Hallelujah_’s unto
him. Eternity itself will be too short to set forth the love of the
LORD JESUS CHRIST. I cannot, indeed I cannot forbear speaking again,
and again, and again, of the LORD JESUS.
And if there are any here who are strangers to this love of the LORD
JESUS CHRIST, do not despair; come, come unto CHRIST, and he will have
mercy upon you, he will pardon all your sins, he will heal all your
backslidings, he will love you freely, and take you to be with himself.
Come therefore, O my guilty brethren, unto JESUS, and you shall find
rest for your souls. You need not fear, you need not despair, when GOD
has had mercy upon such a wretch as I; and he will save you also, if
you will come unto him by faith.
Why do ye delay? What! do you say, you are poor, and therefore ashamed
to come? It is not your poverty that CHRIST mindeth; come in all your
rags, in all your pollution, and he will save you. Do not depend upon
any thing but the blood of JESUS CHRIST; do not stand out an hour
longer, but give your hearts to CHRIST, give him the firstlings of the
flock; come unto him now, lest he should cut you off before you are
prepared, and your soul be sent to that pit from whence there is no
redemption.
Do not waver, but give him that which he desires, your hearts; it is
the heart the LORD JESUS CHRIST wanteth; and when you have an inward
principle wrought in your hearts by this same JESUS, then you will
feel the sweetness and pleasure of communion with GOD. O consider, my
brethren, the love of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, in dying for you; and are
you resolved to slight his dying love? Your sins brought CHRIST from
heaven, and I humbly pray to the LORD that they may not be a means of
sending you to hell. What language will make you leave your sins and
come to CHRIST? O that I did but know! and that it lay in my power
to give you this grace; not one of you, not the greatest scoffer here
should go hence before he was changed from a natural to a spiritual
life; then, then we would rejoice and take sweet council together; but
all this is not in my power: but I tell you where you may have it, even
of the LORD JESUS; he will give it to you, if you ask it of him, for he
has told us, “Ask, and you shall receive;” therefore ask of him, and if
you are repulsed again and again, intreat him more, and he will be unto
you as he was to the poor _Syrophœnician_ woman, who came to CHRIST
on account of her daughter; and if she was so importunate to him for a
body, how much more should we be solicitous for our souls? If you seek
to him in faith, his answer will be to you as it was to her, “Thy faith
hath saved thee, be it as thou wouldest have it.”
O, do not forsake the seeking of the LORD; do not, I beseech you,
neglect the opportunities which may be offered to you, for the
salvation of your souls; forsake not the assembling of yourselves
together, to build up and confirm and strengthen those who are weak
in faith; to convince sinners, that they may feel the power of GOD
pricking them in their hearts, and make them cry out, “What must we do
to be saved?”
The devil and his agents have their clubs of revelling, and their
societies of drunkenness; they are not ashamed to be seen and heard
doing the devil their master’s works; they are not ashamed to proclaim
him; and sure you are not ashamed of the LORD JESUS CHRIST; you dare
proclaim that JESUS, who died that you might live, and who will own
you before his Father and all the holy angels: Therefore, dare to be
singularly good; be not afraid of the face of man; let not all the
threats of the men of this world move you: what is the loss of all the
grandeur, or pleasure, or reputation of this life, compared to the loss
of heaven, of CHRIST and of your souls? and as for the reproaches of
the world, do not mind them; when they revile you, never, never revile
again; do not answer railing with railing; but let love, kindness,
meekness, patience, long-suffering, be found in you, as they were
in the blessed JESUS; therefore, I beseech you, do not neglect the
frequent coming together, and telling each other, what great things
JESUS CHRIST hath done for your souls.
I do not now, as the Pharisees say I do, encourage you to leave your
lawful callings, and your business, in which GOD, by his providence,
hath placed you; for you have two callings, the one a general, and the
other a special one; it is your duty to regard your ♦families, and if
you neglect them out of any pretence whatsoever, as going to church or
to societies, you are out of the way of your duty, and offering that to
GOD which he commanded you not. But then, my brethren, you are to take
care that the things of this life do not hinder the preparing for that
which is to come; let not the business of the world make you unmindful
of your souls; but in all your moral actions, in the business of life,
let all be done with a view to the glory of GOD, and the salvation of
your souls.
♦ “familes” replaced with “families”
The night draws on, and obliges me to hasten to a conclusion; though,
methinks, I could speak until my tongue clave to the roof of my mouth,
yea, until I could speak no more, if it was to save your souls from the
paws of him who seeketh to devour them.
Therefore let me beseech you, in all love and compassion: Consider, you,
who are Pharisees; you, who will not come to CHRIST, but are trusting
to yourselves for righteousness; who think, because you lead civil,
honest, decent lives, all will go well at last; but let me tell you,
O ye Pharisees, that harlots, murderers, and thieves, shall enter the
kingdom of GOD before you. Do not flatter yourselves of being in the
way to heaven, when you are in the broad way to hell; but if you will
throw away your righteousness and come to CHRIST, and be contented to
let JESUS CHRIST do all for you, and in you, then CHRIST is willing to
be your Saviour; but if you bring your good works with you, and think
to be justified on the account of them, you may seek to be justified
by them for ever, and never be justified; no, it is only the blood of
JESUS that cleanseth us from the filth and pollution of all our sins;
and you must be sanctified before you are justified. As for good works,
we are justified before GOD without any respect to them, either past,
present, or to come: when we are justified, good works will follow our
justification, for we can do no good works, until we are cleansed of
our pollution, by the sanctification of the Spirit of GOD.
O ye scoffers, come and see this JESUS, this LORD of glory whom you
have despised; and if you will but come to CHRIST, he will be willing
to receive you, notwithstanding all the persecution you have used
towards his members: However, if you are resolved to persist in your
obstinacy, remember, salvation was offered to you, that CHRIST and free
grace were proposed; but you refused to accept of either, and therefore
your blood will be required at your own hands.
I shall only say this unto you, that however you may despise either me
or my ministry, I shall not regard it, but shall frequently shew you
your danger, and propose to you the remedy; and shall earnestly pity
and pray for you, that GOD would shew you your error, and bring you
home into his sheepfold, that you, from ravenous lions, may become
peaceful lambs.
And as for you, O my brethren, who desire to chuse CHRIST for your Lord,
and to experience his power upon your souls, and as yet do not find
your desires and prayers answered; go on, and CHRIST will manifest
himself unto you, as he does not unto the world; you shall be made
to see and feel this love of JESUS upon your souls; you shall have a
witness in your own breast, that you are the LORD’s; therefore, do not
fear, the LORD JESUS CHRIST will gather you with his elect, when he
comes at that great day of accounts, to judge every one according to
the deeds done in the body, whether they be good, or whether they be
evil: and, O that the thought of answering to GOD for all our actions,
would make us more mindful about the consequences that will attend it.
And now let me address all of you, high and low, rich and poor, one
with another, to accept of mercy and grace while it is offered to you:
Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation; and will you
not accept it, now it is offered unto you? do not stand out one moment
longer; but come and accept of JESUS CHRIST in his own way, and then
you shall be taken up at the last day, and be with him for ever and
ever: and sure this should make you desirous of being with that JESUS
who has done so much for you, and is now interceding for you, and
preparing mansions for you; where may we all arrive and sit down with
JESUS to all eternity!
Which GOD of his infinite mercy grant, &c.