Baxter - BJ1441 B3 1673

, Temptations 1vhicl> hinder Conwrfioll, with their !J\!medies. k.! But it's eafie to :1bufe a man that is ajleep: Thou bajl Rea]on; but didfi thou ever awaJte ~t ;:~n~ hours f~:ribus Confidcration, of thy endlefs Jlatea~d prefe~t ca~c? 0 dreadful judgement robe given over to the Spirit tf flumber ! Rom. 1I· 8. Is 1t not btgh ttme now to aw11/te out of flerp ? Rom. 13 , 11 , When the light is arifen and !hines about thee! When others that care for the1r fouls, arc bufily at work! when rhou hafi flcpt out fo much prccio~s time alrea~y ! Many a mercy, and perhaps fome Mioifiers, have been as Candles burnt our to hght thee wlnl<:· thou hall flepr l How oft hafi thou been called already, How lo11g wits thou jlecp, 0 f/uggard l Prov. 6.9. !C. Yet thou hall thundering calls and alhrums to awake thee. G_od calls, and M_inifiers call ! Mercies ca.ll, and judge– ments·call! and yet wilt thou not awake> The vozce ofthe Lord IS powerful: {uU ofMoJefly; breaktth the Cedors; Jhak.cth the Wiltfernefi : and yet cannot it awake thee> Thou wilt not fiecp about far fmal– ler matters ! at meat, or drink, or in common talk, or Market: But 0 how much greater bufinefs haft rhou to keep thee awake? Thou haft yet an unholY foul to be ren.ewed ; an un.g~dly life to be reform– td I an offended God lo be reconciled to; and many thouland hns to he forgtven ! Thou hall death and }udaement ro prepare for : thou hafi: Heaven ro win, ind Hell tofcape! Thou haft many a need– ful Ttuth to learn, and many a holy duty to perform; arid yet doll tho.u think it time to flap .? Pattl that had lels need than rhou,did watch, and pray, and !abo,u> day and mght, Alit 20. 3•· 1 1h•ff.3.w. 0 that thou knewefi how much better it is to be awakt•. While thou flup,fl, thou loldl the benefit of the Light, and all the mercies that attend thee : The Sun is but. as a clo? t6.a m~n aflec~: The world is as no world to him; The beauty of Heaven and Earth are notlung to him : Prmces, lnends and all things are forgotten by him! .so doth.thy fleep in fin m~ke nothin_g ofh.eal.th, an.d ,Pa~i.ence, time and hllp, Miniacrs, Books and daily warnmgs: 0 what a day hall thou for ever!aamg, ,f thou hadfi but a heart to u[e it l Wl~at a price hall thou in thine hand ? Prov• .J O· 5· Sleep not outthy day., thy har– vea rime, thy tiderime: 1bty that fletp, jlcep in tlu night, I ThefT. 5· 7· Awak! and Chrijt p>iU giv• thce light, Rom. 13· 12. Ephef. 5· •4· Awak,_e to rigbteoufmfi, :.and fin not,.. 1 Cor. '5· 34· 0 whm lhou {Cdl the Light ofChrifi, what a wonder will it poiftfs thee with, at the thing~ which tho11 now forger<eA? What joy will it fill thee with? and with what pity to the lleepy.world ?--But if thou wilt needs fleep on, be it known to thee, finncr, it fi1all not be long. If thou wilt wake nofoon~ er, death and vengeance will awake thee: Thou wilt wake when thou feefi the ~ther world, and feeft the things which thou wouldil not believe, and comefi before thy dreadful Judge! 1hy damnation. Jlumberuh not, 2 Pet. 2. 3· There are no fleepy fouls in Ht'aven or Hell, all are awake there: and the day that harh awakened fo many, !hall waken thee : WaJCh then.if thou love thy foul, lefl thy Lord comefuddcnly and find thee j/tcping, Mark 13· 34,3-5,36 1 37· What I fay to ont , I fay- to aU, 1Yatch. _ , . · , . , §. 4• Tempt. 2• If Satan c~nnot ~tp the foul in afleep~, carelrf.r, inconfi~erattforgetfulnefl, he '!'o!'ld Tempt. 2~ mak._e the unregmerute {out beluve that there JS no fuch thmg as Regeneratmg Gract; but that tt u a • fancied tbing, whicb no mrm. bath .cxpcritltct of, andbe faith as Nicodernus, How can thefe things b.c? Jobn~~. 4 • · Ht thinl{f that natural confounce u enough. , §. 5· Dirr/1. 2· But this may be eafily refuted by obferving, that Holimfi is bur the very Health and Dirt{i. 2 • rectitude of the foul ; and·is no qtherwife [upernatural, than as Health to him thlt is born a Leper. , It fs the.reCtitude of Nature, .or its dif~o~tion to the u(t and end_ that it was ~1de for. Though See aCor. 5'· ~race be called fupcrnat~u~l, 1. Becaufe 1t IS not born. With us; and 2. Corrupted Natute is. againQ :J~I. 6 _ 1 It.; 3. And.the End of H IS the God of Nature, who IS above Nature : 4• And the RevelatiOn and GJJ, --. 1 :s. 1 , other means are fupernatural (as Chrifis incarnation,refurre6tion, &c.) Yet both Nature, and Scripture Joh~. /•r .6. andexperience tell you, that rr.an is made for another life, and for fuch works which he is uttnly unfit Macth. 18.1. for, till Grace have changed and renewed him, as it doth by many before your eyes. 1 Pet. r. 13. §. 6. T etjlpt. 3. B•t,. faith the 1tmpt~r, iffupcrnatoral grace be nmffary, ,Y" it may be born inyou : Tempt• 3 ·• Infantt,~ave no jilt; Chriflfatth, Of fuch IS the Ktngdom of God :· Abraham u your Father,yea, God; John 8 39· 4'· You are bqrn o{Cbrijlion Parentt. §· 7• Dirc/1. 3· See the full proofofOriginal Sin in all lnfants, in my Treatile of the Divine Life, Dirtli. 3 , Part. 1. Chap. 1 I . & 12. Grace may indeed be put betimes mtoNature, but corn~ not by n;ature. Ex~ cept you be born again,J•ou camwt enter intothe Kingdom ofGod, John 3. 3. 5• If any man be in Chrift, be U a new creature: old tbings art paft away : behold aY things are become ntnt, 2 Cor. 5· 17· But how ~om.8. 9.16o vain is it for him to boafi that he was bor.n ho0', who finds him{df at the prefen' unholy. Shew that E;~~·;.-~~· you have a holy heavenly heart and life, and then you are happy when ever it was wrought. 9. 8. T empt. 4· Bu~, faith the Tempttr, Baptifm i1tbe lover ofRegtner'lisn: Yot< art Baptiz;ed, and Tempt. 4 • therefore you are Regenerated. 1he Ancienu taught that aiJ fins were wajht away in Bapti[m) and Grace conferred. §· 9· Direli. 4· Anfw. The Ancients by Baptifm meant the Inttrn'l and External ach conjunCl: the Dirr{i. • fouls dehvenng up It felf to God m the Covenant, and fealing it by Baptifm : And fo it includeth 4 Converfion, and rrue Repentance, and faith : And all that are thus baptized are pudoned, jufiified and ~oly ; But they that have ~nly Sacrame~talRegeneration, or the extern~} Ordinance, are not for f..·bt. 1 s. 19 , to~ that Ill a fiate of life: F~r Chnft expre;fly fa1th, that txcrpt you are born ofthe Spirit as well as Wattr, yo~ c .snnot enter intothe Kt~gdom ofHiavtn, John 3· 5, 6. And Pttfr told Simon MagHs after he was bapwed, that he was yet zn tht gaUof bitttrnefsandbondofiniquity, Acts 8. 1;. lr is no! the putting away the filth of the Jltjh, hut the anfwer of a good confcitnct, 1 Per. 3· 2 J. Chrifl cleanferh his Church by the rvajhing ofwater by the word, Eph. 5• 26. But if you had been deanfeJ in Baptifm, if at prelent you are unclean, and- unholy, can you be faved fo?

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