A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

VFFLICTED CONSCIENCES. 289pleasure through all eternity ! Prodigious madness ! crueltyto thine own soul ; or something at which heaven and earth,man and angel, and all creatures may stand amazed, thatthou shouldst so wickedly and wilfully " forsake thine ownmercy," and " neglect so great salvation."6. Lastly, lest he should let pass any means, or be anyways warning on his part to drive us to Christ, and settleour souls upon him with sure and everlasting confidence, healso threateneth : " And to whom sware he, that theyshould not enter into his rest ; but to them that believednotV (Heb. iii, 18.) Wherein he expresseth extremestanger, unquenchable and implacable indignation. Heswears in his wrath that no unbeliever shall ever enter intohis rest. In the threats of the moral law there is no suchoath, but a secret reservation of mercy upon the satisfactionof divine justice some other way. But herein the Lordis peremptory, and a third way shall never be found orafforded the sons of men. Neglect of such a gracious offerof so great salvation, must needs provoke and incense sogreat a God extraordinarily : for with prodigious ingratitudeand folly it slings as it were God's free grace in his faceagain, and sins against his mercy. Suppose a mighty prince,passing by all the royal and noble blood in Christendom,many brave and honourable ladies, should send to a poormaid, bred in a base cottage, born both of beggarly andwicked parents, offer her marriage, and to make her a princess; and she then should foolishly refuse and reject soinfinitely undeserved and unexpected advancement. Asshe might thereupon be justly branded for a notorious maniac; so would not so great a prince, think you, be mightilyenraged at such a dunghill indignity and peevish afiVont ?The Prince of peace, upon whose thigh is written " King ofkings, and Lord of lords," passing by more excellent andnoble creatures, sends unto thee, whose "father is corruptionand the worm thy mother and thy sister," and who inrespect of thy spiritual stateliest "polluted in thine ownblood," and offers to "betroth thee unto himself in righteousnessand in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and intender mercies" (Ilos. ii, 19); to crown thee with all theriches both of his kingdom of grace and glory. Now if thoushouldest stand off (which God forbid !) as thereupon outout of perfection of madness thou forsakest thine own salvation,so thou most justly enforcest that blessed Lord toswear in his wrath that thou shalt never be saved.Thus thou hast heard how, first, he keeps open house toall such hungry and thirsty souls (Rev. xxii, 17; ; secondly,he invites (Mat.xi, 28) ; thirdly, invites with an awakening