\ Book 11, ·Glilllar lbltb 3t~bHS'. Chap.3.ScCl:o~o, 3: T here is no fuitablencG of _what they offer to t:-h-e-:h-e-al:-i,-,g-o-:f--:th_y_::_fo-'r'--r-ow-fu-1-.a-,id fin-lick foul :_What _idle comp.mron~. can quiet thy confcience, forgive thy fin , lirp; port thy fp1nr, or hll thee w1th fpmtu1l JOY? Alas! all their )oyes are b,lt as the crack• Ecclcf. ,.,, ,, ling of duons undtr a pot; V•nity, vani~y of v•nitier, all it vanity. --] faid o}' lJT<f!,btcr, zt is mad, an_d of )'y, what dotb zt ? There IS no more agreement betwixt carnal mirth and afpiritual_fore, than betwixt lig~u and darknefs : Away r~en, Namb, r 6, :6. dep.,·t from_tbe tents of tbefe mck!d men, and touch 11othmg •ftheirJ, leajl thJit be co~tfum· ed i;z aU tbrtr [uu. ~ · Ir Was the Apollks ,ad vie~ to t~em, who ~pon the prick ofrhe heart enquired for cmc,. j:.ve your {elves [tom tbts croo!,Sd Generatwn. And thts he d1d very earnellAll.o.4o, ly, for wttb many rvords didhetejlijiea11dcxhort,[.ying,favill£yoztr felvesfromthem. He infilled n:uch on• ir, and fcrioutly chargeJ, adjured, entreated them,as kuowing it to be a buhnefs o~ very gre•r importance i~ whar company fuch young bcginuer> lrghted ;.iurely tins concerns thee as much as htm: Oh that when fuch temptations are wkc , 4 , 'l· abroJd,. thou wouldft think ~s if thou heardft that quellion put to thee, I¥by fie~ ye tbc lzvm~ among'th~ de.d l what llVIn;; laftmg Joys can be lound with them th•c aredead m lms? Oh fave rhyfclffrom them, Tu the fccond aifault of going to dlltics, and rdling on duties for cale and corn. fort, conriJer-- 1. This is a jie~i11g for riy,lmoufn~{s, as it werr, by the'""'~ rft/,e Law, not directly, Rom.9. ~ '· but as 1t were, tt fets up one thmg for another ; bewg rgm~r•11l of the righteou[ncji Ram ro. 3' of Gnd, rve eftablijh our onm righteoufnefs and are not fobje[l to the rigbtcouj11rji of God. 2· Duties may pacific ccnfcience tor a time, bm certawly it wi 11 not hold : Then Hof.S. 1 3· Ephraim farv his ficb,pefs, and Judah Jaw his n>ollnd, then went Ephraim to the Affyrian, mui fent ~o King Jarcb, ytt could they nut heal him, 11or curehim of his rvou11d. It is na. rural to men to reft i>I dLlties, lo it was at fitll, Ad•m artd all his pollerity was to be faved by doing, Do tbis, and live : And hence •ll to this day {~ek in like manner to be fa vcd by doing; b11t if this were f•flictcn , what ncct. ofa Saviour ilf we re!l 011 duties,. or on any thing 011 this fide Chrill, wclhail find them as week as the Affyria 11 or as Jareb, they cannot heal us, they will not cure us ofour wounds. ' 3- Duties mufi be u!ed, but carnally applauded and gloried in, they will undo fouls. Duties arc to SataJ> as the Aik of God \US to the Philliftincs: he trembles to fee a Soul diligent in the ufe ufduries, but when rne creature confides in them and rells on them, ha hath hi; d<fign. This was Bernards temptation, when being affilled in duty, he could llroak his own head with be1tefecifti Bernarde : 0 Bernard 1 this ""' gaUantly done, >tow chear · "P thy [elf. Many a poor foul would have comfort, and knows nor whith<r to go for it but to prayer, hearing , reading, &c. and that done, he goes away, and firoltes himfelfe, Surely I }hall do m// now, I }hall be able to wrejlle with devils : fhis is the very way to ntifcarry. Onefpeakesit our boldly, but trnly; MaJiy{o11!es do 1101 only perifh praying •nd repenting, but they perifh by tbdr praying a.•d repenting, whiles tbey camaliy trttjl, and comfurtthemfelves in_lbem. I detire to be right– ly underllood _in this point, fome becaufc they mutt not rd1e on dunes, let go their due ies be.caufe t{leir comfort uug'ht to be all, in Chrill, therefore they imagine a Chrift tal~ed of;_:md not ddircd, loved, believed in, or prayed to, V: ill folidly comfort : Ob. '"ke hr::ed of Satans deceits either way ! what? isthy foul lad, and li:eks to be comforted I go to Chrifi, butgo ro him in a way of duty, cot relling on the duty b~t only en him; heat a Selfllon to bring thee ro Chr1ft, fall and pray, and get a •' fulf tide of atfcd-ions in rhem to carry thee to the Lord Jelus Chrill ; in thus doing Satan will vani!h, and depart from thee, at Jeafi for • [ea[on, as he did from Chrilt, the C~ptain of thy Sou/1 S•lvation. Hof.6,r,-::;, SECT. X· Of Sata/11 affaults~tp'nafight ofChrift. THo Soul now und~rfianding that there is no folid fuira~le comfort on this tide Chrill, bcgig~ tnercfo~e to look out for Chnfi : Come ( fay Converts ) let ns return ttJtto the LorJ, for be bath brok!n us, andhe will beal11s ; i?e bathjinitten t<J andhe will bind us 11p : after two daies he will revive ns , in tbe t~ird day be will raife lit urp a~d we jl~alt live i11 tJis fight ;thtn j/Jali "'' know, if we follow on to /l,.Kow the Lord, , ~
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=