1n Alarrnfor sleepy Chrillians. 3o 5 and when Chrift appointed..them to watch : but the fleep 'of their minds and fouls was much more : for that was not a time to fleep, if they had knownwhat they had been about. . Again further, as the fleep of the body binds up the Tellies, and makes a than S. Ïnfenf;h1e. fenf1efs ofthat which isgood or evil: he that sleeps, offerhim a Kingdom, itmoves Refs> and im- him not : threaten him, draw a fword,offer to fhbhim,he ftirs not,he is not I-ena- morcablcncfs. blc ; he-is inunoveable : a man that is afeep, where you left him, there you flrall find him frill. So it is in the sleep of fin, it binds up all the fpiritual fenfes, that a nan that is in,this sleep,hewantsa feting eye, and a hearingear, heknows nothing, he fees nothingofGod, (but that which will snake him in.ctccufable :) he taftea nor, he feels not how goodGod is to him. Offer him the kingdom ofheaven,andgrace in the means ; it moves him not : threaten him , draw out thewword, the wea- pons of Gods wrath againft him, he fears nothing. As he is infenfible in these «suries,, fo he is immovable, look where, he was At the firft, there lhall you find him 1h11, there is nodifference : -but he is as a dead man,as long as he sleeps thus in fin. To conclude this'point : fistíy, the sleep -ofthe body deludes a man with many 6. Vain fan- vain dreams, and foolith conceits, false joyes, and falle fears, and false hopes,(&. cats. which are nothing true. So thesleep of fin in the foul, it bath the fame effe&, it feeds a man up with falle joyes, and falle hopes : it cafs him down with falle fear, where no fear is. Amall in the {tate of fin, he fears the faceof man, the eyeof man,the word ofman, the hand ofman :, he fearsnot the eye ofGod, nor the word ofGod, nor the mighty power of God. So likewife forfalfe ¡oyes, aman thatis a beggar, he dreams that he bath gold enough, that he tumbles in ir. So beggars in grace, thofc that have not a rag of righteoufnefs upon them, they dream thattrey are rich,' andencreafedingoods, and that they have needofnothing, when they know not that they are poor andbeggarly, and naked, as the Church ofLaodicea. So this fpiritual sleep, it sills a man with falfeconceits. Aman sometime whenhe goesto sleep, he thinksnot to sleep long,but to take a 7. The conti. nap, and wake by and by, yet it may be he sleepsbeyond his compass, fometimr he nuance. wakes no more : Sa it is with a man in fin,he hopes to wake, he thinks to sleep but a little, but fometimehe sleeps long, and fometitne henever wakes. So we fee how aptly the fpirit compares the {tare of aman in fm to sleep: This is the firftthing in themeaning of thewords: Now thefetond thing is, what is meant bymaking, orarifng out ofsleep. To z.what 'ream y wake,or to rife ont offleep, is for a man to do in the matterofChristianity, asa man ny-wakieg. that awakes out of sleep. And for a man that wakes out of sleep, there are three things he Both, and foout ofthe fleep of fin. Fir4, theremuft be an openingofthe eyes, and aheholding ofthelight. And To open the this is the firft thing in awaking out of the sleepoffin and fecurity: a manmuft la ese, to fee the hour to open his eyes; to behold the light ofGods word, and that shining grace 'S6t' that theLord propounds to him in the Scriptures : hemutt open bis eyes to behold the light; and that will discover filch objefts as will keep him awake. Therefore men sleep fo much in the night, because they are lathedark, and not in the light ; they fee objefts in theday urne that keeps them awake. So for this sleep of fin, if we would keepawake,let us open our eyes tobehold the light ofgrace ; and in the light of the Scriptureswe (hall fee objefts that will help to keepus waking : we (hall fee Godsdifplcafure, the wrath of GM, we faall fee thofe things, that eye cannot fee, nor ear bear,nor bathentred into the heart ofman: We (hall fee them in theirbeginning and degrees; though the full degree cannot enter into the heart to conceive, and this will help to keep us waking. Then in the next -place when a man bath opened his eyes to fee the light,' then z. to ton-0e there muff be arouzingof thefenfes. This awakes a rnan,whenhis fenfes that were the fenles. bound up by sleep are loofed, thatnow he is able to fee, and to move, and to.talk, t&c. What unbinds the fpiritual fenfes of a man in this sleepof fin ? only faith in theSonofGod, that opens the eyes of them that were dead in fin; itreftores new fenfes, and life,that theyare able to walk inthe wayes ofGod, and tomove in the K r aftiond
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=