CHAP. VIII.

The fecond Means of Conviction that Unbelief is fo grat a fin, viz, The Confideration of the evill that Unbelief doth us. The third Means, Fix the thoughts of these things upon your Hearts. A difficult thing it is to bring our Souls to Meditation; and yet more difficult to bring them to meditate upon our own fins, and the greatneß of abem; and moft difficult to keep it in our hearts, that it is a great fin not to go to Chrift by Faith.

Econdly, I beseech you in the fecond place. Confider the evil that unbelief doth you. Andfee then if it be not a great fin. That is a great offender whom City and Country cries out on justly. The Scripture you know fets out Chrift being made fin for us, by this, that al cried out of him, Away with bim, Away with him, Luke, 23. 18. Heaven and Earth cries out of unbelief. God the Father in Heb. 3. 12. Take beed leaft there be in any of you, faith he, an evil beart of unbelief. God the Son in Mark, 16. 16. be that beleevs not shall be damned. And he fpeaks it as one that hath all power in his hand. In Acts, 7.51. They are faid to have refifted the boly Ghoft. And the Holy Ghoft complains of them there by the mouth of Stephen as thofe that waged war with him through their unbelief. Al Gods Attributes, Al Gods Ordinances are wronged by it. Al the faculties of the foul are fpoiled through it.

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It gives a lye unto truth. He that beleeves not, makes God a lyar. 1 John. 5. 10. It preferrs the wisdom of the flesh, to the Counsel of God In 2 Cor. 10. 5. Every high thought must be captivated to the obedience of faith. Where therefore the obedience of faith is not, the imaginations of the heart rule. Power is counted weakness. How can the Lord prepare for us a table faid they in the wilderneß? Pfal. 78. 19. And fo fay we how can this thing be? this guilt be removed? This ftain be washed out and cleanfed? Unbeleife makes not only power weak, but Juftice unjust, becaufe it thinks that God wil condemne, although Jefus Christ hath fatisfied. It makes not only Juftice unjuft, but it counts mercy cruelty. It turnes mercy into cruelty for it required of Jefus Chrift the fuffering of death, and yet wil fpare none of thofe in whofe ftead it was. Unbeleife it makes the preaching of the word unprofitable. Heb. 4. 2. It profited not, because they beard it not with faith. And it makes the facraments no Sacraments, in regard of benefit. A Sacramient in regard of adminiftration,may be witness against us in regard of profanation, but none in regard of benefit: In 1 Cor. 10. 4. It is faid that they had the rocke, they were baptized in the fea, and they had Manna: but faith he, with none of them God was wel pleafed, and all because of their unbeleife. Unbeleife, it makes the understanding fottifh, and puts out the eyes of it, as Neath did the eyes of the people that came unto him. For in fpiritual things we beleeve and know, as the Apostle John Taith. And it makes the wil ftubborn and rebellious. And therefore the fame word in the greek fignifies both, unbeleife and rebellion of heart. The memory growes dul In Heb. 2. 1. The Apoftle expreffeth it thus, when he thould fay, take heed of unbeliefe,he faith

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take beed leaft the word flips cat of you that you bave heard. Our Lord cals unbeleevers, Fools. Ob Fools and flow of heart. And this fhews them to be Fools indeed, because they are tyed to a stake and to a poft with ftraws, as I may fay.! What fmal grounds and reafons are they that keep men from laying hold upon, and applying of Jefus Chrift to them. I fay, what fmal things are they? Such as have no reafon; groundlefs grounds. Thou wilt not go to God becaufe thou art unworthy. Thou haft the more reafon to go becaufe thou art unworthy: for in Jefus Chrift thou shalt be found worthy &accepted. Thou wilt not go to Jefus Chrift,because thou art not humble: By the Love of God fhed abroad in thy heart, thou wilt be humbled, that thou wilt abhor thy felf. What a foolish thing is this, for a man to keep hin felf from the ufe of means before hand, for the want of that which comes only through the means. If that wil not do, go further, And

Befides beloved confider how God hath punished it. And his judgment is alwaies according unto truth. He waited and did ftrive with the old World; but afterwards his judgments overflowed them, aud that in a very little time. The people that were in the Wildernefs, he wooed and increa ted: but at length he fweats they should never have any reft. Their Confciences fhould not be quiet: Nor fhould they have glory to come. Mofes that was his friend, that did converfe with him face to face, yet having but a doubt rife in his heart and difcovering of it, Numb. 20. 10, 11, 12. God did clap him faft from going ever into the Land of promife, and took away his life. The Difciples did beleeve, but they were flow, and dul at it; backward to the work: Our Lord when he was in glory, and rifen from the dead, did chide them continually

continually. A word from his glorious Lips now he was rifen from the dead, did cut like a fword, aud burnt like the fire of Hell, and yet these words came from him. Now lay al thefe things together, which is the fecond Argument, and it comes to this; That which God, and Chrift, and the Spirit doth complain of: That which wrongs all the glory of God: and which makes all the Ordinances of God ineffectuall: That which spoils the faculties of the foul, and provokes God to anger that he wil not hold, That certainly is a very great fin. But fo doth unbelief.

That which I principally aimed at was the third thing: the laying of these things upon your hearts. I wil fhut up all, becaufe I cannot go through at this time, and only fay thus much to you. And I beseech you that I may do it with all arguments, and take in all advantages that may be, and that you would patiently bear it. The providence of God calling me other where for a time, I know not whether I fhal ever speak again to you or not. But could I but leave your heatts groaning under this burden, and bleeding under the fence of this fin, I fhould leave you in as good a way of recovering, nay of life, as a foul can with to be in this world. Happy is that man that hath no other grief, but his fin: but happy is he that hath no other fin to prefs him like unto this, that he lives in himself when he may live in Jefus Chrift, that he is fo poor, that when he may have enough, he hath nothing. What fin is that which you count great? if this fin of unbelief be not? What fin? Name it, Defcribe it, and fet it forth in its colors. When you fay for a man to know the wil of God, and not to do it: when he may have good from the hand of God, to refufe it: when the cup of fal

vation is put into his hand, to fet that by and take up a cup of fornication and pleafure: When God brings him into his treasury, for him to lock it up, and to throw away the key, as it were, and to make himfelfrich in the things of this life. This is a great fin: Like Cain, when he fhould get his conIcience cured, goes to build and increase his living. Beloved, let but al things be alike, and your unbelief is as great as all. If you fay there be but as much unwillingness, you do as much as all this. What do you but take your pleasure,and forfake the loving kindness of the Lord? What do you but leave the treasury, and embrace penury? What can God do more for means, but fay, here is my Son, take what is in him & al in him? What wil perfwade you if falvation & communion with God wil not? What wil terrifie, if abfence from God wil not? There is no fuch terror in any abfence from God as in abfence from hiur through unbelief, when he itetcheth out his hand, and you wil not come.

Object. You say, If I had power, I would come.

Anfo. Never fay fo. For then thou knowest not what an unbelieving heart thou haft. If thou wilt not ufe the power that thou haft: If thou haft a wil to beleev, if thou haft a foot to go, it will be found in the way of Faith. Do not the best of Chriftians find that they have but the root of Faith but it brings forth but now and then? But how oft is its branches withered? If they find it fo much ado to go to Chrift, then certainly thofe in whom all corruptions are in their power, would not if they could go to Jefus Chrift.

Ifay,Let these things lie upon your hearts which youhave heard againft the fin of unbelief. Therefore N

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