How One Born a Slave To Sin May Be Translated Into The Kingdom of Christ 2/2

  

Third.  Satan labours to while off the sinner with delays.  Floating, flitting thoughts of repenting he fears not; he can give sinners leave to talk what they will do, so he can beg time, and by his art keep such thoughts from coming to a head, and ripening into a present resolution.  Few are in hell but thought of repenting, but Satan so handled the matter, that they could never pitch upon the time in earnest when to do it.  If ever thou meanest to get out of his clutches, fly out of his doors and run for thy life, wherever this warning finds thee; stay not, though in the midst of thy joys, with which thy lusts entertain thee.  As the paper which came to Brentius—from that senator his dear friend—took him at supper with his wife and children, and bade him flee citò, citus, citissimè—[quickly, more quickly, as quickly as possible]—which he did, leaving his dear company and sweet cheer; so do thou, or else thou mayest repent thy stay when it is too late.  A vision charged the wise men to go back another way, and not so much as see Herod, though he had charged them otherwise.  O go not back, drunkard, to thy good fellows; adulterer, to thy queans ; covetous wretch, to thy usury and unlawful gain: turn another way and gratify not the devil a moment.  The command saith, ‘Now repent;’ the imperative hath no future tense. God saith, ‘To-day, while it is called to-day.’  The devil saith, To-morrow.  Which wilt thou obey, God or him?  Thou sayest, thou meanest at last to do it, then why not now?  Wilt thou stand with God a day or two, huckle with him for a penny?  Heaven is not such a hard pennyworth, but thou mayest come up to his terms.  And which is the morrow thou meanest? Thou hast but a day in thy life, for aught thou know­est, where then canst thou find a morrow for repen­tance?  But shouldst thou have as many days to come as Methuselah lived, yet know, sin is hereditary, and such sort of diseases grow more upon us with our years.  It is with long-accustomed sinners, as with those who have sat long under a government, they rather like to be as they are, though but ill on it, than think of a change; or like those who in a journey have gone out of their way all the day, will rather take any new way, over hedge and ditch, than think of going so far and back to be set right.

   Fourth.  Satan labours to compromise the bus­iness, and bring it to a composition between him and Christ.  When conscience will not be pacified, then Satan for quiet’s sake will yield to something, as Pharaoh with Moses; after much ado he is willing they should go.  ‘And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness,’ Ex. 8:28.  But then comes this caution, ‘Only you shall not go very far away.’  Thus Satan will yield; the sinner may pray, and hear the word, and make a goodly profession, so he doth not go very far, but that he may have him again at night.  If God hath the matins, he looks for the vigils, and thus he is content the day should be divided.  Doth con­science press a reformation and change of the sinner’s course? rather than fail, he will grant that also.  Yet as Pharaoh, when he yielded they should go, he meant their little ones should stay behind as a pledge for those that went, Ex. 10:11; so Satan must have some one sin that must be spared, and no matter though it be a little one.  Now if ever you would get out of the devil's rule, make no composition with him.  Christ will be king or no king.  Not a hoof must be left behind, or anything which may make an errand for thee afterwards to return.  Take therefore thy ever­lasting farewell of every sin, as to the sincere and fixed purpose of thy heart, or thou dost nothing. Paul joins his faith and purpose together, II Tim. 3:10, not the one without the other.  At the promulgation of the law in Sinai, God did, as it were, give Israel the oath of allegiance to him; then he told them what law he would rule them by, and they gave their consent; this was the espousal which God puts them in mind of, Jer. 2, in which they were solemnly married to­gether, as king and subjects.  Now mark, before God would do this, he will have them out of Egypt.  They could not obey his laws and Pharaoh’s idolatrous customs also, and therefore he will have them out, before he solemnly espouseth them to be a nation peculiarly his.  Thou must be a widow before Christ marry thee; he will not lie beside another's wife.  O that it were come to this! then the match would soon be made between Christ and thee.  Let me ask thee, poor soul, hast thou seriously considered who Christ is, and what his sweet government is? and couldst thou find in thy heart—out of an inward abhor­rency of sin and Satan, and a liking to Christ—to renounce sin and Satan, and choose Christ for thy Lord?  Doth thy soul say, as Rebekah, ‘I will go,’ if I could tell how to get to him.  But alas, I am here a poor prisoner, I cannot shake off my fetters,  and set myself at liberty to come unto Christ.’  Well, poor soul, canst thou groan heartily under thy bondage? then for thy comfort know thy deliverance is at the door; he that heard the cry of Israel in Egypt, will hear thine also, yea, [will] come and save thee out of the hands of thy lusts.  He will not act as some, who entangle thy affections by making love to thee, and then give over the suit and come at thee no more.  If Christ has won thy heart, he will be true to thee, and be at all the cost to bring thee out of thy prison- house also, yea, take the pains to come for thee himself, and bring with him those wedding garments in which he will carry thee from thy prison to his Father's house with joy, where thou shalt live, not only as a subject under his law, but as a bride in the bosom of his love.  And what can be added to thy happiness more? when thy prince is thy husband, and that such a prince to whom all other are vassals, even the Prince of the world himself; and yet so gracious, that his majesty hinders not his familiar converse with thee a poor creature, but adds to the condescent thereof; therefore God chooseth to mix names of greatness and relation together, the one to sweeten the other: ‘Thy Maker is thine husband, thy Re­deemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called,’ Isa. 54:5.  And to usher in those promises with titles of greatest dread and ter­ror to the creature, that hold forth the greatest con­descensions of love; how can God stoop lower than to come and dwell with a poor humble soul? which is more than if he had said, such a one should dwell with him; for a beggar to live at court is not so much as the king to dwell with him in this cottage.  Yet this promise is ushered in with the most magnificent titles: ‘Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit,’ Isa. 57:15; and why such titles, but to take away the fears which his saints are prone to take up from them?  Will the high and lofty One, saith the humble soul, look on a poor worm? will the Holy God come near such an unclean crea­ture? saith the contrite one.  Isaiah himself cried he was undone at the sight of God, and this attribute proclaimed before him, Isa. 6.  Now God prefixeth these, that the creature may know his majesty and holiness, which seems so terrible to us, are no prej­udice to his love; yea, so gra­cious a prince is thy hus­band, that he delights rather his saint should call him by names of love than state.  ‘Thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.  Hosea 2:16, that is, my husband, not my Lord.