The second use is for Conviction of four sorts of Persons.

IF it be so necessary to have a treasure within, that a Christian may be fitter to walk, speak and act holily, then this falls with weight upon the head of four sorts of persons, viz.

1.Careless loyterers.#

2.Vain-glorious boasters.#

3.Impious offenders.#

4.Unprofitable Christians.#

1.Careless loyterers, that sleep out a fair Summers day of grace, and forget the day of their Visitation; many poor Ministers have cause to weep over their dear people, as Christ over Jerusalem, and say, If thou hadst known, at least in this thy day, [Note 1] the things that belong to thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes: If any soul be without grace, under precious meanes of grace, let such tremble at present providences, least they lead on to the loss of Ordinances: if thou hast sate under the droppings of the Sanctuary, and art yet barren, be afraid, lest God either command the Clouds to rain no rain on thee, or the curse of the barren Fig-tree be pronounced against thee, [Note 2] Let no Fruit grow on thee hence forward for ever, or else, cut it down, why cumbreth it the ground? Oh sirs, have your souls been yet empty of grace, under Ordinances, which are the Channels of grace? have you lived thus long in Goshen, and are you yet in Egyptian darkness? where's the fault, what can you say for your selves? Suppose God should put you to it, to bring forth your strong reasons, (as he expostulated with the Man that wanted the wedding Garment,) and should say, [Note 3] friend (for so wilt thou needs be accounted, and as such thou wast invited) where hast thou lived? in my Church? and didst thou not there hear of a rich Ward-robe provided for naked souls, even the fine white linnen of Christs perfect righteousness? was there not a wellfurnisht shop and store-house of the gifts and graces of the spirit to fill and adorn the house of thy heart? how comes it then that thou art so devoid and destitute of what is good? hadst thou lived in Turky or India, where I did not set up such an office of mercy, thou mightest have more to say, but now what apologies can you make? what Fig-leaves can you finde to cover your shameful nakedness, or colour your wretched negligence? how camest thou hither? qua fronte? what canst thou say to excuse thy brazen Impudence, that darest approach such a presence in so sordid an habit, or rather miserably naked? the truth is, though witty sinners can finde shifts enough to put off Ministers arguings, and silence the bawlings of conscience, yet how can their hearts endure, or hands be strong, when God shall deal with them? their mouths shall be muzled up in speechless, yet self-condemning astonishment: they must needs be condemned out of their own mouths: Oh consider, if yet you be without a treasure of grace, and rather ask thine own heart some heart-awakning, than that God should ask thee such astonishing interrogatories: as thus, say to thy soul, my poor pining soul, How is it with thee? What hast thou been doing? and what wast thou sent into the World for? what must become of thee? what provision hast thou made for an eternal state? where must thou lodge, if thou die this night? and let me propose to you these Considerations:#

1.If thy soul be yet without a true treasure of a gracious Principle, thy condition is miserable, for thou hast no assurance of any more meanes to obtain it, nor to live another day, to hear another Sermon, or of Grace, to make the means effectual for thy souls good: Remember Esau; hast thou stood out so long, and dost thou now presume upon a longer day? Must the earth be forsaken for thee? and shal God leave his ordinary road to do thee good, step aside to meet with thee? God sometimes doth so, but what ground hast thou to expect it, that hast abused Grace so long?#

2.Is not this emptinesse of good a dreadful sign of rejection? Salomon saith, He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: [Note 4] nothing doth him good, Word, nor Rod; but he saith, the heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; [Note 5] may not you sadly fear judicial hardnesse, to punish wilful negligence? One would have thought, if any good had been intended for you, that you should have been possessed of it before this: its a black brand of reprobation to live long under melting Ordinances, and be stil hard and dead.#

3.Wilful neglect is an act of dis-ingenuity to God, cruelty to your own souls, & the ready way to banish Ordinances from posterity: What? Must God alwaies hold you the Candle to play by? [Note 6] Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool, when there's no heart to improve it? Be sure, if Satan finde you idle, he wil set you a work; Negligence is a sad prognostick, and preparative for eternal torment, and so much ease now, so much torment hereafter: Shal the God of Heaven alwaies threape kindnesse upon offending Grace-abusing and refusing wretches? No, no, when Love hath said its errand, Justice will act its part:#

And

4.Your lost advantages wil prove your bitterest torment, all men must be judged according to their receits, and wilful Loyterers shal be punisht according to their contempt of Gospel-opportunities: Gospel-despisers shal account poor Heathens comparatively happy, though their Companions in eternal misery: their bright Sun of Gospelgrace shal set in more utter darknesse, and greater treasures of wrath shal be poured into those Vessels, that shut out treasures of Grace.#

2.Another sort to be reproved, are empty and vain-glorious boasters, guilded Hypocrites that pretend to a great Treasure, but are sorry beggars: Some devout Papists there are, which wil tell you they have merit enough, both for themselves and others, that out of the abundant treasure of their good works, can furnish defective soules on earth, and deliver tormented soules out of Purgatory: But believe them not, they would make merchandize of soules, and draw them to delusions and damnation; Jesus Christ is our onely Treasury, there is nothing like merit in a meer Creature. Angels in Heaven stand by Grace, having their confirmation by Christ; Sure I am, they have no merits to spare, the wise Virgins could not furnish others, but a boasting Fryer pretends he can: the most of his seeming good works wil rather prejudice himself, than profit others, since they are generally that vain wil-worship, that's coined in the mint of a wanton superstitious Brain, and so make the Commands of God to be of none effect, and provoke the Lords wrath against the promoters and practisers thereof. But suppose a man could obey positive Commands, in practising all Scripture-duties, and avoiding all prohibited sins, yet wherein hath he to glorie? Is he not stil an unprofitable servant? Doth he give God any thing but his own? Is it not due debt? and is it by his own strength, or by the strength of God? And can he do what he doth perfectly without the least tincture or stain of imperfection, or of defect? Let any meer creature shew such good works as these, and let him climb up to Heaven upon Acestu's rotten Ladder, we are resolved to ascend on Jacobs Ladder; let others seek their own merit, let right Christians study grace. I hope we shal be so wise to chuse Bellarmines dying safe way, [Note 7] rather than his Disputing politick-way to Heaven, to repose all our trust in the mercy of God, and merits of Christ, rather than the tottering foundation of mans best righteousness, which is but a filthy rag, and wil rather defile than cover our nakednesse. But I principally design to lash such persons, as hypocritically and histrionically act the part of Kings and Emperours, but are poor despicable Mushrooms, that pretend upon the stage of their fair profession to Coffers of gold, and precious treasures of Grace; But alas, follow them into withdrawing-Rooms of privacy, and you shal finde them wofully destitute of all saving good; these poor soules conceit with counterfeit graces to purchase Heaven! and by making lies their refuge to be secured from wrath: But alas, the God of Heaven sees their false coyn and self-flattering hearts; Prov 16:2. All the wayes of man are clean in his own eyes, but the Lord weigheth the spirits. Oh, how many hearts and waies would be found light, and wanting, if weighed in an even ballance, even in the ballance of the Sanctuarie? At the last day it wil be seen that there are wonderful self-cheating conceits and confidences: there's many false hearts under fair Vizors, but when these Vizors are pluckt off, all shal appear in their colours: and oh, what strange sights wil then be seen? [Note 8] When wicked mens foul insides are turned out, certainlie they wil be very abominable, though now every cunning Hypocrite carries so closely, that none can detect him, or say black is his eye, yet a time shal come that shal bring every secret thing to light, and discover the guile of the deceitful Usurer in Religion; who thinks to truck for Heaven with his stollen wares: Oh, how much better is a poor soul than such a self-deluding Richling! that thinks he is something, yet he is nothing, and so deceives his own soule, plaies the Sophister, and puts a false Syllogisme upon himself, as the Apostle James speaks: How many are in a golden dream? that build Castles in the Air, and fancie they are Kings; but, when they awake out of their frantick dreams do finde themselves miserably mistaken! Salomon saith, Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift, is like Clouds and wind without rain, Prov 25:14. i. e. He that pretendeth to give or receive what is not real, but counterfeiteth either, renders himself ridiculous to men, and odious to God: Our Lord Jesus cursed the barren Fig-tree, to manifest his displeasure against hypocrisie; Hypocrites are the most hateful of all persons, they are hated of wicked men for seeming good, they are hated of God and good men, for But seeming, and not Being truly good: As Hypocrites fruit is like the Apples of Sodom that look fair with a beautiful skin, but touch them, and they are dust: so are Hypocrites ends likelie to be like that of Sodom, which God overthrew as in a moment: yea, these must be patterns to others of a more dreadful destruction; hence the phrase of appointing a portion with the Hypocrites. [Note 9] But here comes in a carnal, sensual sot, and applies all this to the zealous Professor, and wil needs condemn him for an hypocrite, because he makes so great a shew, and account himself a sincere Saint, because he conceits his heart to be good; the former censure is contrarie to Scripture, and this latter is contrarie to their own sense and experience: for they may finde, and Gods children do feel that the heart is the worst part of the whole man; 'tis a mans ignorance of it that makes him imagine it is the best: the truth is, no man wil commend this common Cheater, but he that knows it not, for its known to be desperatelie wicked, and 'tis deceitful, or a Supplanter (as the word imports) that wil trip up the heels of the Christian, [Note 10] and cheat him of his prize and reward: if ever thou be undone, 'tis thy heart that wil undoe thee; thou dost brag of thy heart, alas poor soul, thou hast cause to bewail it, and be affraid of it; and if conviction open thee a window to look into it, thou shalt see a monstrous dreadful sight, that wil make thee out of love with thy self, and cause thy heart to ake, if it do not break with godlie sorrow; As for the Children of God whom wicked men condemn, for making so great a shew, I shal say but this, that it is the most unreasonable, uncharitablenesse in the world, to judge contrarie to what we see, yea, 'tis a blasphemous assuming to a mans self the propertie of Gods Omniscience, to pretend to search the heart, in saying, the thoughts of the heart are opposite to the professions of the Lips, and practices of the Life: the Lord rebuke such railing Rabshekah's, as condemn all the generation of Gods Children, and that because of their holie world-condemning conversations; these Moles cannot endure the light of Saints pathes: hence they say, I warrant you these precise walkers are no better than their Neighbours; if the truth were known, they are a company of dissemblers, and are rotten at the heart, Pharisee-like they make clean the out-side of the Cup, and condemn others as prophane, and then binde it with an Oath, they are as bad as themselves: and if a Professour slip into an open sin, then they are confirmed in their censures, and conclude, they are all alike, a pack of dissemblers: and now the holiest Saint (that hates such sins, and mourns for it, as his greatest burden) shal have his brothers miscarriage dasht in his teeth for ever: But if a man might argue with these sottish, yet censorious soules, in a rational way, what could they answer? Are not they themselves worse than the loosest Professors? and how far short do they fall of close-walking Christians? Should all be condemned for the sake of one? and should wee not judge according to what we see, or can attain to the knowledge of? Is not the Tree known to us by its fruits, and not by its Roots, which are invisible to us? Lord, set these vain boasters a work in searching their own hearts, and examining their own selves, [Note 11] whether Christ bee within them (as Paul directs the Corinthians in this very case) and this wil cure their censorious spirits, and finde them work enough to do at home; for as the Eye that looks most abroad sees least within, so the most uncharitable Censurers are the most emptie, unprofitable Professors: when as a Christian that hath most grace himself, judgeth best of others: and observe it, they that groundleslie judge others to be worse than they see apparent cause, [Note 12] wil be judged by others in like manner in this world, and are in danger of a sad and just censure and sentence at the dreadful day of judgment: [Note 13] What then is the hope of the Hypocrite when he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?#

3.Another sort to be reproved, is the impious offendors, impenitent sinners, that verifie the latter part of the Text, and run a course directly contrarie to this good man: An evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth evil things: How should it be otherwise? Men must needs act as they are: It was a Proverb of the Antients, Wickednesse proceedeth from the wicked, 1 Sam 24:13. such as the Fountain is, such must needs be the Streams, the Fruit is answerable to the nature of the Root and Tree: The working Forge of mens wicked hearts, [Note 14] doth sparkle forth suitable imaginations: Why are men so wicked in their lives? its because they have more naughtie hearts, for the cause hath more in it than the effects: Oh, how many vassals of Satan and vessels of sin are replenishing and preparing for wrath? for as a good mans treasure prepares him to do the more good, so, too many are filling their soules with guilt; and harden their hearts by custome in sin, that they may be vile with lesse remorse, and swallow down iniquity, as the fish drinks in water: they cauterize their consciences, and twist a strong cord of customary sinning, that they may draw iniquity with Cart-ropes, and do evil with both hands carnestly, that their hearts may not smite them with sense of remorse: As the Scholar that Dr. Preston speaks of, who having committed a scandalous sin, that he could not rest by reason of terrours of conscience, the Devil perswaded him to commit that sin again, and he should be quiet, he did so, and afterwards could sin without remorse: just so do many persons, who have woaded an impudence in their foreheads by constant sinning, so that at last they are past feeling, [Note 15] having given themselves over to all lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness: Eph 4:19. The Word past feeling, imports remorselesness, senselesness, like a member benummed, scared, and this comes with custome in sinning: according to that, Consuetudo peccandi tollit sensum peccati, i. e. The custome of sinning takes away the sense of sin: We are apt to wonder at the horrid abominations that break out, but if we do consider the prodigeous wickedness of an Atheistical heart, we may rather wonder that there is no more prophaness in the World: [Note 16] If the tongue be a World of iniquity, how many Worlds of wickedness is there in a wicked heart? the thousandth part of corruption breaks not out, of that which is within: Surely did not God fet bounds to Mens raging lusts, the World would not be habitable for the Saints: God restrains that wrath which shall not turn to his praise, and Saints advantage, and when wicked Men have belched out as much rage as they can, there is a remnant yet behinde, Ps 76:10. We are fallen into the dregs of times, and iniquity doth abound, there is a World of Atheisme, pride, uncleanness, swearing, drunkenness, gluttony, blasphemy, Sabbath-breaking, contempt, and scorning of Religion, men break out, and blood toucheth blood: But, were there a Casement or prospective, whereby a man might look into a carnal heart; Oh what a filthy sink of un-heard of sin, and ful nest of odious vipers might he behold? certainly it would be the dreadfullest sight in the World, far worse than to see the Devil in the ugliest hue: we may stand wondering at the fathomless, bottemless depth of wickedness in the heart of man, [Note 17] it is, saith Luther, the treasure of evils, the fountain of poyson, the head and original of all iniquity? Every man hath that in his heart which he cannot believe is in him; but yet may and wil break out in its season upon occasion: as in the known instance of Hazael: the truth is, the seed and spawn of all haeresies, impieties, blasphemies, are in our nature. Reverend Mr. Greenham saith, that if all errours, and the memorials of them were annihilated by the absolute power of God, so that there should not the least remembrance of them remain, yet there is enough in the heart of one man to revive them all again the next day: And I may add also as to prophane practices: so that the wickedness that is in the World, doth not proceed from imitation of Adams first sin (as Pelagians dream) at least not from thence only, but also, and chiefly from the propagation of original corruption to all his posterity, for there is an habitual pravity entailed upon us, and transmitted to us from our first Parents, which hath its regency in the heart, and activity in the life: Romans 5. will stand firm against all Pelagian and Socinian adversaries, that both Adam and Christ our second Adam, [Note 18] do communicate to their seed that which is their own both by imputation and propagation, only the first Adam distributes filth, guilt, death, the second gives grace, righteousness and eternal life: [Note 19] it wil remain as an undoubted maxime and sad experiment, that there is an habitual depravation, and deviation of our whole nature from the Law of God: So that there's an universael corruption of the whole man, understanding, conscience, will, affections, and all the members of the body: Now this propagation (Divines commonly say) is two wayes.#

1.By divine appointment and designation whatsoever Adam received or lost should be not only for himself, but for his posterity, being a publick person, so God leaves the soul in respect of his image, and hence follows defect of original righteousness, this, he doth not as Author of sin, but as a righteous Judge.#

2.By natural generation, as sweet Oile poured into a fusty Vessel loseth its pureness, being infected by the Vessel, so the soul created good, and put into the corrupt body, receives contagion thence: this putting a pure soul into a corrupt body is a just punishment of the sin of all Men in Adam: So some: But this is generally agreed upon, that original sin is not in some Men more, in some less, but in every man equally, as all men do equally from Adam participate the nature of man, and are equally the Children of wrath: and the reason why some are more civil, others outragious, proceedeth from Gods bridling some and leaving others: and truly restraining grace is a choice mercy in its kinde, else what would not men do? or rather, what would they not do? the truth is, the original of sin is within, every man is tempted when he is drawn away, [Note 20] and enticed of his own lust, saith the Apostle, there lust is the father, and lust when it hath conceived bringeth forth sin, there lust is the mother too: hence saith one, there's no sin but might be committed, if Satan were dead and buried— original sin is (vertually) every fin, and could one kill the Devil, yet you cannot name the sin that original lust would not entice a man to: Suppose it possible for a man to be separated from the contagious company of wicked men, and out of the reach of Satans suggestions, nay to converse in the midst of renowned Saints, yet that man hath enough in himself to beget, conceive, bring forth, and consummate all actual sins: Well then, sirs, let all men behold the foul face of their hearts in the pure glass of the Law of God, and they shall see a strange and astonishing spectacle; which would end either in evangelical Repentance or final despair, as one saith, —If apparitions make us sad, By sight of sin we should grow mad. Herbert. there is a necessary and profitable sight of sin, which drives the soul out of it self to Jesus Christ: O labour for that, take the Candle of the Word, and go down into the dark Dungeon of your hearts, search your selves, lest the Lord search you as with Candles, know and acknowledge the plague of your own hearts, be not afraid to know the worst of your selves, 'tis better we should set our sins in order before us (while there is hope of pardon) for our humiliation, than that God should set them in order before us, at the great and last day, for our eternal condemnation: we may say of an impenitent soul, as the Prophet of his Servant, Lord open his eies, and surely he shall see a troop of lusts. The mountain of his proud heart is covered with monstrous armed sins, that fight against the soul: Oh that the thoughts of your hearts may be discovered, pardoned, and purged out, lest by wilful sinning, [Note 21] you heap up wrath against the day of wrath, and your soules perish for want of a treasure of grace, and by reason of this dreadful treasure of sin and guilt.#