Ambrose - Houston-Packer Collection BX5200 .A49 1674

raiJedon Gods fervams, & blafphemed Gods Name, . I · prophaned Gods Sabbath!, akd contemned his Ordinances: what then? Confmnce Will make him confelfe more yet to the Rack again with him; & then he cri~s and roars for anguifh offpirit, then he ·~onfelfes all and refolves to mcnd,thenhe w11l pray,and hear,ancl fanchfie Gods Sabbaths and lead'a new life. Thus C~nfci~nre receives fom~ fatisfac'Hon, & begins to be quiet; and now baying got" fome qmet, h1scurfed Compamons fet _upon h1m agam,Refrejh (fay i~~y)your foul with f"'~e ofyonranc~tnt dalltance, &c. To thts, and the hke Temptation~ of Satan, he liftcns agam, and then he begms to follow h1s old fins, perhaps with more violertce and eagcrnelfe than ev(rhe did before;and now is another twill: broken likewife. l· lffo, then Confeience that was a Monitor and .Accufer, now turns Exmttioner. The firll: Propofition admonifhed, the fecond accufed; if neither of thefe prevail, then Confl"ience concludes, Thou mufl to execution, tho11 Jha!t perijl1 everla{fingly. And now Ccmf:ience cries, M :mitions or .Accu(ations could not prevail with this man; Come, come~yc daw/Cdgbojls,a<!d takt away thi! Drunk_ard, this BlaFfhemer,this .Ad~tlrerer,and thr01v.him headlong imo the pit of Hell: he would not beamended, let him be condemned: he would 11ot be h~tmbled, therefore let him be damned. The man hearing this, then he is amazed, and thinks himfelf pall: hope, pafl: help, p~ft cure : Did you ever fee or hear a tormented Confcience in thefe panges? Now he calls, then he cri(s, Lo, where Devi!J fttmd, the Heavensfrown,God is incenf ed, He/1-moutb is open: And now a Mini11er is fent for, who difplayes to this clefpairing foul, the mercy and grace of God in Chri!l: Jefus: 0, (replies he) this ismy bane, my tf.amnation, if I had neverheard of meny, •f I had never lived under the G"of pel, and the meam of Salvation, then had I been an happy man-~ .Alas! it is M ercy I have neglc&ed, it is Salvation I havecontemmd, how then jho~tld I be (aved.? 0 the perf.vafi?ns of the Lord that I have had! the Lord hath ev m lrept over me, ;rs he did over Jcrufalem, 0 that rho1t hadft 10own the thing s belonging to thy peac.·! yet all the(e perfwaf om have I t:c,ntemncd, and therefore certainly to H tIll mufl g o. The iy'tinill:er replies, Truth it io, you have done thus, but would you do fo fiill? is it good now to be drunk, 9r to blafpheme, or to rail on Gods Saints, or contemn Gods Ordinances ? 0 no, no, {faith he) I nowJinde what the end of rhofe wick$d courfes will be : Gods JYord could not prevail with me, the Mimfter could not perfwade me; 0 the good Sermflns that I have hMrd,tht very flames of Hdl have C'l}en fo;Jhed in my f ace,the M inifler hath f}cnt his pains, 11nd would have fpem his bloodf or the good of my poor fonl! But alas! I dei}ifed th< Word, ~end mock,:d the M inifler: Wo, wotmto mefor ever! now my Confcicncegnatvcs~ and tears~ 11nd terrifies my f oul here, arrd I Jba/1 to Hell hereafter; and perijh for ever and ever. The Minifter replies again, The truth is, you have done thus, but would you do fo now ? would you ftill blafph"eme, and curfe; and be drunk, and riotous? or rather would you not now part with all thefe, and take mercy inftcad ofthem ! Then the poor foul cries out,Notv rhe L ord fur his mercies J~ks remove thefefinnesfrom me: 0,1 had ne-ver fo mJtch deli'ght in myJinnes heretofore,as nCIW 7 ha'Vt wo~ mifery llnd vexationf or them; but(alas!) it is not in my power to help my foul; if the Lor4 would do this, let him do what he W>/1 u•ith it. Vi!hat? (faith the Minifter) you are then willing and content to part with your fins : Oyes;(faith the foul) flvould rather offend all the worldthan God; I had rathergo to hell, "than to the committing of a fin; ifit would pleafe G"od to he/~ me, I wou!df orfak! my fins w•th all my heart. Why, now the poor foul1s commg agam, and God IS dralVing him again from his corruptions and finful diftempers. Fourthly, when the foul is thus loofened, the ·Lord then fully plucks it by the cord of his Spine: with ~n Almighty hand he cuts the foul off from fin, and·takes it irtto his own hand, that he may govern him, and difpofe of him according to his own good will and pleafure. Thus much ofpreparation for the fubftance of it on Gods part.. CHAP. IV. Sect r. The fubjlantial parts of Preparation qn Mans pm, or the dif}ojition of thef oul by Gods wori{_. NI Ow are we to obferve the difpofition of the foul on mans part, which Go4 work> on the hearts of whom he drawes. It is known in two works i . . { Contrition, wh(reby the foul is Clit off from fin. .. - - HHmililltion, whereby the foul _ is cut off from itfelf. \ •· For

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