/ 1JireElioils for ~g (briftimzs. pearetb? for he it lilt$ ~ Refimrt [.re, and lik! Fullm [oap• . Many when they come firll (by pro– feffion) ro Chrifi, do Iatle thmk that he would ea£\ them mto tht ,fire,, and rtfine the~, and pur~e away their drofs, and call thcm-inew into the mould of the Gofpet, Rom. 6. 17. Many w1ll pia)' awh1.le by the Light; that will not endure to bemelted by. ~hefi~e. When the Preacher cometh once to th.ls, he is harfh and intolerable, and lofeth all the pra1fe whiCh he had won before, and the p!cafing No· ve!Jy of Religion is ov~r with them. The Gofpel. is fenc to tnakc fuch wo~k in ~he ~oul and lite, as rhdC render pcrfons will not endure: It muH capuvatc every thought to Chnfi, and ktllevery 1ufi and plcafurc which is againfi his will; and put a newa~dheavenly li~e into l_he foul : It_mufi poJfef~ 1_uc~ . with deep and llvcly apprehenfions of the great thmgs of etermty :. It JS not wavermg du.U Oplnmu, that will raifc and carry on the foul, to fuch vigorous, confl:ant, victorious at!ion, as is necetf~ry to falvation. Wheh the Go[pel cometh to the Hearr, to do this great prevailing work, then theie men are impatient of the fearch and fmarr, and prefently have done with it. The.yarc like Childr~n~ that Jovc the Book for the gilding and finenefs of the C0ver, and take it up as foon ~s any : but,1t 1.s to play witb, and not.to learn: They are weary of it when it c~mes. to that. At firfi manyc~me ro Chrift with wonder, and will needs be his fervants for fomethwg m it that fecrneth fine : t1ll they hear that the Son of Man bath not the accommodation of the Birds or Foxes; and that his doctrine and way ha<h an enmity to their worldly flefhly intcrcfl, and then they are gone. They fir£\ enter- ' tained Chrifi in cOmplement, thinking that he would plcafe them, or not much contradict th.em : But when they find that they have received a guefi, that will rule them, and not be rului by them, that will not fuffer them ro take their pleafure, nor enjoy their riches, but hold them to a lite which they cannot endure,and even undo them in the world, he is then no longer a fUCfi for them.Whereas if Chrifl had been received as Chrill, and Truth and Godlinefi deliberately enterraintd for their well– difcerned ExceUency and Ncctf!ity, the deep rooting would have prevented this Apofiacie, and cured fuch Hypocrifie. s5· 4· But alas, poor Miniflm find by fad experience, that all prove not SJinu that flock to hear them, and make up the crowd, nor that for a [Sflfon rcjoyce in tbtir light, and magnifie them, and. take their parts: The blolfom hath its beauty ana fweetnclS; but all thar bloffometh or appeareth in the bud,doth not come to perfeCl: fruit:__Some will be blalled; and fome blown down_; fome nipt with frofis; forne eaten by Worms; fome·quickly fall; and fome hang on till thei\rongel\ blafls do cat! them down : fome arc deceived and1 poyfoncd by falfe Teachers : fome by worldly cares, and the de– ceitfulnefs of riches,become unfruitful and are turned afide: The lufis of fome had deeper rooting then the Word: !!hd the friends of fome had greater interefl in them than Chrifl, and therefore they for· fake him to fatisfie their importunity: fome arc corrupted by the hopes of preferment, or the favour of man: fome feared from Chrill by their threats ilnd fmwns, and choofe to venture on damnation, to fcape perfecurion: And fome are fo worldly wife, that they can fee reafon to remit their zeal, and can fave their fouls and bodies too, and prove that to be their duty, which other men call fin (if the end will but anfwer their expectations ): And fome grow weary of truth and dut_y as a dull and common thing, being not fupplyed with that variety which might llill continue the delights of Novelty. s5· 5· Yet mif\ake not what 1havefaid, as if aU the affel.iion furthered by Novelty, and abated by Commomufs and ufe, were a fign that the pcrfon is but an B)'p9critt. I know that there is fomething in the Nature of man, remaining in the bell, which difpofeth us to be much more palfionately affe– Cl:cd with thinr,s when they Ceem New to us, and are fir!\ apprehended, than when they are old, and we haveknown or ufed them long. There is not, I believe, one man of a thoufand, but is much more delighted iO the Light of Truth .when it firfi appeareth to him, than when it is trite and familiarly known; and is much more affel.ied with a powerjitl Minifter at firjl, than when he hath long fate m1derhim. The fame Sermon Chat even tranfporred them at the firH hearing, would affect them lers, if they had heard it preach'd ari hundred times. The fame Boolic which greatly alfeCl:ed us at the iirfi or fecond reading, will affect us lefs when we have read them over twenty times: The fame words ofPrayer that take much with us when fcldorn ufed, do lefs move our atfeC.tions, when thcv are daily ufed all the year. At our firfi convedion we h"ve more pa1fionate farrow for our fin, and love to the godly, than we can afterwards retain. And all this is the ca{C of learned and unlearned, the found and unfound, though nor o( all alike. Even Heaven it {elf is fpoken of by Chrifl, as if it did participate of this, when he faith that Joy fhall be in Heaven over One finner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine jufl: pe.rfons, that need no repentance, Luk,.e 15· 7, 10. And I know it is ~heducy of.Minifiers to take notice of this difpof.ltion in their hearers, and not to dull them wirhgiv· mg them ftdl the fame, but to profit them by a pleafant and profitable VJriety: Not by preaching to them another Chrift, or a new Go[pel: It is ~he {ame God, and Chrifi, and Spirit, and Scripture, and the fame Heaven, the fame Church, the fame faith, and hope, and repentance and obcdimce, that we mufi preach to them as long as we live: Though they fay, we have heard this an hundred times; Let them hear it llil~ and bring them not a new Creed. If they hear fo oft of God, and Cluin, and Heaven, till by Faith, and Love, and FruitiOn they attain them as their end, they have heard well. But yet t.her~ is a grneful variety of fubordinate particulars, and of words, and merhods, and feafomb!e apphcauons, ntcelrary to the nght performance of our Minifiry, and to the proficting of the flocks ; Though the Phylicion ufe the fame Apothecaries Sh?p and Difpenfatory and Drugs, yet how great a vanety mufi he ufe ofcompofit1ons, and umcs, ana manner of adminiftration? . • s5· 6. But for all this, though the bell are alfeeted moll with things that fcem new, and are dulled ;wuh the long and frequent ufe of the fame expreffions, yet thty ate never weary of the fubf!ance oY , their 31
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