Captives bound in chains made free by Christ their surety, or, The misery of graceless sinners and their recovery by Christ their saviour by T. Doolittle.

CHAP. VI.

The Fourth Chain is Presumption.

4. ANother Chain with which these Captives are bound is presumption, vain and false hopes of Heaven: This is the ruin of most that do miscarry for ever, a groundless hope that they shall be saved for ever; how few are there, be they never so ignorant of the way to Hea∣ven, but yet do hope they shall come thither? that walk in the broad way and common road and beaten path to Hell, and yet do hope they shall get to Heaven; as if a man were daily tra∣velling towards the West, and yet were confident he should come unto the East. The Drunkard doth hope he shall be saved; the Swearer and profane, the hypocrite and unbeliever, nay, who is there but doth hope for happiness? this is so strong in the worst of men, that when they would set forth the certainty of a thing, they do it by this expression, as I hope to be saved; as if they should say, it is as true, it is as sure as it is true that I hope to be saved; and though their hope be not a true hope, yet that they hope is true. And the strength of this cord appears in that these hopes are the last thing that wicked men will part withal; when they are so sick, that they perceive they must part with riches,

yet they will not part with their hope of Hea∣ven, when they are so sick, that they perceive the hour is drawing on wherein they must part with their dearest friends, yet their hope they will not part withal; and when they see they must part with life, yet they will not part with hope, till soul and body be parted, the soul and hope will not be parted; and then poor cap∣tives lose their souls and hopes together; and thus with hopes of Heaven they do go down to Hell, and then and there they can hope no longer. Its one of the hardest things that Ministers have to do, to beat down these false hopes of Hea∣ven in our hearers; if this were done, a great part of our work were done; if we tell you of your misery and danger, of the wrath of God against sinners, of the torments that are prepa∣red by a provoked God for you, yet you hope you shall escape, and ward of all the threat∣nings of the Word with these vain and ground∣less hopes; if we could but get these false hopes from you, then we should begin to hope that you might be delivered from your bondage, and escape from this captivity, in which you are so strongly held thereby; no man is faster bound in fetters, than he that is ungodly, and yet strongly confidently hopes that he shall be sa∣ved. If you could speak with damned Souls thousands of them would tell you, this was their ruin and their bane; should you ask them were not you told, that sin would bring you

to this place of torment? were you not told by Ministers, and by God himself, that you were in the way to misery and damnation? what would they reply? Yes, yes, we were often told, and we were plainly told, but this was it that did undo us, we hoped it would be better with us. Shall I then attempt to break this bond asunder? but because man can but shew unto you the vanity of your hopes, Oh that God himself would come and powerfully convince you by his Word and Spirit, that your hopes are vain and groundless hopes, that you may be no lon∣ger kept in thraldom by the Devil by these fet∣ters of false hopes of Heaven. I know that this is a manifold twisted cord; many things there are that you do bottom these hopes upon; but if I shall shew you from the Word of God, that they are no better grounds and reasons of hope, than graceless persons might alledg, and many now in hell once had to say, and did, as well as you, that then you will no longer suffer Satan to delude and to deceive you, and keep you as his captives in a state of bondage. Only let me ask you first, whether you will believe that that is true, that God speaketh in his Word, or will you dare to say, that what is contained in the Scripture is forgery and a lie; if you say the latter, God shall shortly convince you of the truth thereof; the flames of Hell shall shortly convince you, and the pains and torments you shall shortly feel shall powerfully convince you,

that all these sayings of God are true: If you say the former, that Gods word is true, I do not doubt to make it appear, that your hope is false, if you do agree to try your hopes by the word of God, by which you and I and all must be shortly tried, and acquitted or condemned according to this Word, I do not doubt to shew that Satan hath befooled you all this while; God hath as plainly told you, that in an uncon∣verted state, without faith in Christ, without re∣pentance and reformation you cannot be saved, this is as plain as can be spoken, and yet con∣trary to Gods revealed will, will you hope you shall be saved? which do you think shall be proved false, Gods word or your hope, that is contrary to his word? both cannot be true. Will a Drunkard say, Gods word is false; no, he will not, then thy hope is false. See 1 Cor. 6. 9, 10. Where God doth plainly say, and po∣sitively lay down for a certain truth, and which within a few years, or months, or weeks, all the Drunkards, Whoremongers, and graceless per∣sons in the world without exception of any one (dying so) shall find to be so, that they shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. Come then, you that say, you hope to be saved, as well as the precisest of you all come and produce your rea∣sons, and in the fear of God seriously weigh the answers that shall be given to them.

1. One Link in this Chain of false hopes by

which these Captives are bound, is misappre∣hension and misapplication of the mercy of God; thou sayest, God is a merciful God, and is ready to shew mercy to his creature; it is true in me, there is no merit, but in God there is mercy, and God did not make his creatures to damn them, God did make me, and therefore I hope that he will save me. Is this all thou hast to say, in such a weigh∣ty matter? why thou thinkest thou art redee∣med from thy bondage, and shall be free for ever from the torments of the Damned? that thou maist be no longer bound with this Chain. Consider,

1. The Devils themselves and the damned souls in Hell themselves can say as much as this: Poor damned Devils do know that God is a merciful God, and that he is willing to shew mercy to the penitent and the humble sinner. Devils and damned souls can say, that they are Gods crea∣tures, and yet notwithstanding they are miser∣able, and must be so for ever; and this is the aggravation of their misery, that though God is merciful, yet they are for ever damned; this cuts them to the heart, that a merciful God hath condemned them, and sentenced them down to eternal torments; what is that to them, that God is merciful in himself, and shews mercy unto o∣thers; if he is not merciful unto them? and what is it unto thee, that God is so, if thou by reason of thy continuance in a state of unrege∣neracy, shalt never be benefited by his mercy? I

know there is a difference betwixt the damned in Hell, and wicked men on Earth: the dam∣ned in Hell are past a possibility of mercy, but so are not you; they shall have no more tenders of mercy, which you yet have, but then you must repent and be converted, which they were not, or else you shall have no saving benefit by Gods mercy, as they had not.

2. God might be infinite in mercy, though thou (and thousands such as thou art) do perish in thy bondage, and be for ever damned. What a proud blasphemous thought is this that God should not be merciful, except he take thee reaking in thy sins, except he take thee off thy Ale-house-bench, and put thee into Heaven. The greatness of Gods mercy is not manifested so much by the number of the persons that shall be saved, as by the way and method which he saveth them by. If God had saved but one man out of all the ma∣ny millions of mankind, without his own de∣sert, and contrary to it, by the death of his own Son, it would have been a plain demonstra∣tion of the mercy of God. Must thou measure the mercy of God by thy being saved, or not saved, while thou walkest contrary to his Laws, and to his revealed Will? This is, as if a Ma∣lefactor that for murder hath deserved death, and is to be tried for his Life, yet hopes he shall escape, because the Judg is a merciful man, when notwithstanding the Judg proceedeth to pass a sentence of death upon him, you will all

acknowledg he might be a very merciful man; and that the Prisoner was a fool, from the mer∣cy of the Judg to be confident he should escape the execution due unto him for the violation of the Law. So it is in this case, which is easie to apply.

3. God is just and true, as well as merciful and gracious, and why maist thou not fear that God will damn thee, because he is a just God, as well as hope that he will save thee because he is a merciful God? You do not conceive of God aright, when you consider him to be merciful without justice, and to be gracious without truth, there are both in God. This merciful God hath said, Except you repent and turn from sin, you shall find no mercy from him; and what shall become of Gods Truth, if contrary to his Word he should save thee without repentance, and while thou go∣est on in thy sinful ways? must God falsifie his word to save thy Soul, never hope for it, for he will never do it. Where God proclaims his mercy to the penitent, he doth also declare his justice, and his jealousie, and his fixed re∣solution that the guilty shall not go free, Exod. 34. 6, 7. and that he is full of fury to the wicked, as of mercy to the godly; and that as he reserveth a Crown for the one, so also wrath for the other, Nahum 1. 2, 3.

4. Though God be merciful, yet he propoundeth

conditions in the Gospel, which you must com•• up unto, if you will be partakers of his mercy: and God is resolved that if thou wilt not have mercy upon the terms of mercy thou shalt never have it. When thou shalt come to put in thy claim for mercy, Lord have mercy on me, for thou art a gracious God; yes may God say, and so I am, and those that have repented and believed shall find me to be so, but did I not also tell thee what manner of person thou shouldst have been, holy, humble and repent∣ing, if thou wouldst be saved by my mercy, but that thou wouldst not be: therefore now I have no mercy for thee. God may say unto thee, did I ever promise thee or any other, that I would save thee, or them without repentance and faith in Christ my Son? did I ever promise that I would pardon the Impenitent? that I would save the unbelieving that finally perse∣vere therein? If I have, produce my words, alledge my promise, when, and where, and by whom did I ever make thee such a promise? and and if I have not, as indeed I have not promi∣sed any such thing, why wast thou so vainly confident of my mercy? therefore take thy answer and be gone? for I tell thee I will have no mercy on thee. Luke 13. 25, 26, 27. Mercy it self will not save thee, but in the way of mercy propounded in the Gospel.

5. Whereas thou sayst, God did make thee, therefore he will save thee; consider, the vilest

••••nner in the world upon this account should go to Heaven, yea, every one of them. The whore∣monger whom thou thy self wilt condemn might plead this as well as thou; and so thou wilt make the way to Heaven broader than e∣ver God did make it. Moreover, if thou hadst continued such a one as God did make, he would then have made thee happy indeed for ever. God made thee holy and upright, but thou hast rebelled against him: God did make thee a Creature, but he did not make thee a Drunkard; he did not make thee a Worldling, nor a Lyar, therefore let Gods creature be holy, and God will not damn his creature; but if thou be a drunkard, or an hypocrite, and God shall damn the drunkard or the hypocrite, what will become of Gods creature. God doth pe∣remptorily answer this, and I will give it thee in his own words. Isa. 27. 11.—It is a people of no understanding; therefore he that made them, will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them, will shew them no favour. Is not this di∣rectly contrary to the reason of thy hope? wilt thou then plead this no more, while thou con∣tinuest in thy sin, and let not Satan keep thee bound with this cord any longer? if thou dost, remember it hath been told thee, that this is but a sandy foundation of thy hope, that thou shalt have the everlasting mercy that shall be shown to Gods redeemed ones, that are indeed delive∣red from their bondage and captivity.

2. Another Link in this Chain of false hopes whereby Captives are bound is a strong (though false) perswasion of salvation by the death of Christ the Redeemer. If you ask many carnal, igno∣rant and ungodly persons, why they perswade themselves that they shall be saved, they will tell you, because Christ died for sinners, and I am a sinner (saith one) God help me, as all men are, yea I am the chief of sinners, and therefore I hope it shall go well with me; and so will a se∣cond say, and a third, and multitudes will give no better account, without care or knowledg of applying the death of Christ unto them and the virtue and power of it, for the killing of their sins; and thus the very means for the re∣deeming of captives is abused to make their bonds the stronger, and keep them faster bound in their Captivity.

By way of Concession it is granted, (1) that the death of Christ, and the satisfaction made to the justice of God thereby is the only meritorious cause of mans Redemption from his bondage and of Salvation, and whosoever is saved, is saved by Christs death, for there is no other Saviour nor Redeemer besides him▪ Act. 4. 12. and if Christ had not died, we had certainly been for ever captives without redemption. (2) It is true that this Redeemer is offred unto all where the Gospel is preached, none are excluded from the offers of grace and pardon, and benefits of Re∣demption, and his death shall be sufficient and

effectual for deliverance from bondage, and making of them free that do obey his call, and accept of him for Lord Redeemer, as offered in the Gospel, Act. 10. 43. Joh. 3. 16. But yet that you might not through your own mistake be the more enthralled by the means of Re∣demption, and be the faster bound by the mis∣understanding of the way of Salvation by the death of Christ. Consider,

1. If this were enough to prove your Re∣demption and Salvation, because Christ died for Sinners, and you acknowledg your selves to be such, then the damned souls in Hell might have hope of being delivered and saved; for they know that Christ died for Sinners, and they are now sensible that they are Sinners and miserable; the pains they feel do convince them that they are sinners I know (as I have already said) that there is a difference betwixt the state of Devils and damned Souls, and of sinners upon earth, Christ is preached to the one, and not to the other, freedom from bondage is possible to one but not to the other, mercy doth entreat, and the Spirit doth strive, and patience doth wait upon the one, but not upon the other; mercy and patience hath done with them for ever; no more asking them, what? will you have Christ now? and will you be pardoned now? which yet through mercy is not your conditi∣on; but yet as to the ground of your plea for Redemption and Salvation by Christ, (before

alledged) [Christ died for sinners and you are sinners] what is the difference? all men upon earth, and the damned in hell, that ever heard of Christ might say as much; and is it not matter of great astonishment to sober serious men, to see poor sinners bound so fast in a captive-state with this vain confidence of being set free by Christ, and yet can say no more than damned Souls might say, [That they are sinners, and Christ died for sinners.]

2. Consider that all shall not be saved by the death of Christ that are sinners. Christ hath died, yet thousands shall for ever be tormented, Mat. 7. 13, 14. and the damnation of many shall be the greater than it would have been if Christ had never suffered.

3. Know and understand that the benefits of Redemption, and the compleating of all in salva∣tion at the last is propounded by God in the Gospel conditionally, and why then should you be so confident, when you have not come up unto the condition? there is pardon to be had by the blood of Christ, but there is a condition, with∣out which you shall never be pardoned, Act. 10. 43. there is Salvation by Christ, but there is a con∣dition, without which you shall never be saved, Joh. 3. 16, 36 Mar. 16. 16. Act. 16. 31. there is just∣ification to be had by the blood of Christ, but re∣member still there is a condition without which you shall never be justified, Rom. 5. 1. all a∣long in the Word of God, offers and grants of

pardon, deliverance from Hell, and the curse of the Law, offers and grants of Salvation and Eternal life are made conditionally, if you do believe, and if you do repent, and if you are converted and born again, but not else▪ Christ did not die, that sinners meerly as sinners should be saved▪ for then all sinners should be saved, and that which is the reason of mens condemna∣tion should be a qualification of mens salvation; bu•• Christ did die that believing sinners might be saved, and repenting and returning sinners might be saved; Christ did die, that unholy ones might be made holy, and so be saved; that unbelievers might believe, and so be saved; and not that unholy and impenitent, and unbelie∣ving persons living and dying so should have Salvation by his death. Know therefore, O vain man, that if thou hadst a thousand souls, they should all be damned, though Christ hath died, except thou dost believe, repent, and be con∣verted unto God; for the effusion or shedding of the blood of Christ upon the Cross saveth no mans soul, without the application of it to the Conscience; and Faith in Christ, and Re∣generation, and Holiness, and repairing of the Image of God in the Soul are necessary to Sal∣vation in their place, as the death of Christ is necessary in its place, and for its end. As when m••ny persons be in bondage, and are taken cap∣••ives, that cannot give a ransome for them∣selves, the Kings son pays it down for them, but

the King and his Son do propound certain con∣ditions to the Captives, that if they will ac∣knowledg him to be their Redeemer, and will become his servants and his subjects, and be o∣bedient to his Laws, they shall have the bene∣fit of the ransome, but not else; now so many as shall refuse these conditions, must remain, and die, and perish in their fetters, though a suffici∣ent ransome were given for Redemption; so it is in this case, which is easie to apply.

I beseech you therefore, Sirs, do not any longer flatter and deceive your selves with such groundless hopes of being delivered by the death of Christ from your slavery and bondage, ••ithout faith in him, and repentance for your s••n. These things that I am now a preaching, and you are hearing are of everlasting concern∣ment to your Souls. And I desire to preach as one that doth believe, I must give an account to God, what doctrine I deliver, and that you would hear with that seriousness and diligent at∣tention, as those should do, that do believe you must give an account to God at the Great day, for what you hear, and how you do obey it; I charge you therefore in the name of the great eternal God, whose Truths I do declare unto you, that you do not hence-forward hope for deliverance from Hell and wrath to come, though Christ hath died, except you do believe ••n him, become new creatures, forsake your s••n, be sanctified and made holy; and love him

above all, and count all things but dross in com∣parison of the excellency of Jesus Christ; that you do not continue drunkards, and yet hope you shall be saved, that you do not continue to love your sins, and the world more than Christ, or remain unholy and unconverted, and yet think or hope that Christs death shall save your Souls. If you do, and if you will still so do, let God be witness for me, and let all those that fear God in the Congregation be witnesses for me, and let the consciences of these Captives themselves be witnesses for me, that I have plainly from the Word of God given warning to you, that you do not perish by this deceit▪ bear witness that I do declare, that those tha•• have been Drunkards, Swearers, Profane, Lyars, Hypocrites, if they do repent and turn, become holy and believing persons, they may, they shall be saved by the death of Christ, but if they shall continue still in sin, and live and die such, a crucified Christ will not save you; let be••ie∣ving Parents bear me witness against their wick∣ed and ungodly children, and believing chil∣dren against their ungodly parents. Let believing Husbands bear me witness against their unbe∣lieving Wives, and believing Wives against their unbelieving Husbands. Let believing Masters bear me witness against their unbelieving Ser∣vants, and believing Servants against their un∣believing Masters, that all without exception▪ and respect of persons, having not repentanc••

for sin, nor faith in Christ, that are not holy, nor converted before they die, shall be eternal∣ly damned, and perish in their bonds and fet∣ters, though Christ hath died to redeem and save holy, humble, repenting and believing sin∣ners.

Alas poor captive Sinners! what will you do, and whither will you go, when this Re∣deemer shall come to judgment? when all shall be raised out of their graves, and stand before the bar of God? to whom will you appeal? and from whom will you expect mercy and salvati∣on? methinks I hear these prisoners at the bar, crying, begging, pleading, Lord Jesus save us! Lord Jesus open unto us! Lord Jesus now glorifie us with thy self, save us, Oh save us now from yonder place of torment, from yonder flaming fire, from yonder Lake of burning brimstone I Oh send us not down to yonder dreadful place, for we trusted in thy merits, and hoped to be sa∣ved because thou hadst died! Methinks I hear Jesus the Judg reply to the prisoners at the bar, No, oh no, there is no room for you in Hea∣ven; there is no entrance for ungodly men into the holy place; there is no mansion for any such in the Kingdom of my Father; who bid you trust to me for mercy, without believing on me? who bid you hope for Heaven because that I was crucified, without holiness and repentance? Had you any warrant from me in my word so to do? or did my Ministers whom I did send

unto you tell you from me, that you may be saved by my death, though you did not repent, believe, nor were converted? did they? which is he? what is his name? Lo, here they stand, point him unto me, that did preach such Do∣ctrine to you. My Ministers come forth, what do you say against the prisoners at the bar? Lord we told them in thy name that there was a ransome paid for captives by thy blessed self, and that thou wast willing they should have the everlasting benefit thereof; and we did stu∣dy for them, pray for them, and preach unto them thy sufferings and thy death for sinners, and did beg and intreat them to come unto thee; and when we did not prevail one day, we did prepare and preach the next, and so we did continue to do, as long as they lived▪ and till thou didst call us from that work by death. But did you ever tell them that they should be saved by my death, though they continued in their sins; though they had no faith in me, though they were not sanctified, nor converted. Oh no, our blessed Lord, we never did, we never did, there they stand before thee, they cannot say we ever did preach such Doctrine to them; but on the contrary we told them from thy word which we made the rule and matter of our Sermons, and turned them to the places, where thou hast said, without holi∣ness they should not see thy face with com∣fort, Heb. 12. 14. We bid them turn to Mar. 16. 16.

where thou toldst them thy self, that he that believed not should be damned, and to many more such declarations of thy mind to sinners. Lord there stands one that did use to hear me, and he can not deny it; and there stands ano∣ther that was used to hear me, and turned to the Chapter and the Verse, and turned it down, as if he would have observed what thou hast declared, Lord there he stands, he cannot deny it, yea Lord, here is a whole cluster of them stand together, that were wont to hear me, and there is not one amongst them all that can deny but they were told of what now they find; and here are those that did believe on thee through our preaching of thy Word, that can say and witness for us that we told them of the necessity of converting grace, and faith in thee: In the same Sermon that we prea∣ched that thou didst die for sinners; we also told them that they must take thee for their Lord, and obey thy Laws, and resign their hearts and wills, and love, and all to thee, but they would not do it; but they never did it; this is the evidence that we give against the prisoners at the bar. Come then ye captives, is this true, or is it not? Yes, Lord, our consci∣ences do compel us, to acknowledg that thy Ministers did declare such things unto us. Did they so? why then did you not believe them? go, get you gone, go, get you down to your deserved torments. Come hither, ye my glori∣ous

Angels take the Prisoners at the bar, that in their life-time were fettered and bound with chains of sin. Now come ye hither, and take them, bind them hand and foot, and cast them into utter darkness; drive them from my pre∣sence; away with them, away with them; come ye damned Devils, you took them captive, and kept them in their sinful bondage, I would have redeemed them, and knockt off their fetters from them, but they would not hearken unto me, and now I will not hearken unto them; come take them then, and drag them down to the place of punishment, where you and they shall be for ever.

Oh woful Souls! poor wretched Sinners! ah poor condemned Prisoners! how do they trem∣ble? how do they hang down their heads? How are their countenances changed? what hideous out-crys? what doleful lamentations will there be at that day, and especially by those that hoped for Heaven, but their hopes are disap∣pointed? Methinks I hear them say, Is all our hopes come to this? Is this the end of all our confidence? Prisoners we were to the Devil and our lusts, we might have been made free, Wo unto us that ever we were born, that we did befool our selves, and that these then tempting, and now tormenting Devils should so much be∣fool us, contrary to the plain declarations of the Will of Christ, we should so confidently hope for life and for salvation by him, while

we did refuse him for our Lord, and to yield obedience to him. Oh now we are ashamed of our hope, of our vain and foolish hope, yet thus it is, we were deceived, and we are now disappointed. Now farewell Christ for ever, now farewell Heaven for ever, and now fare∣well hope for ever. Hope we did, but now can hope no longer, but now can hope no more for ever. Farewell all ye holy, blessed Angels, ye shall be rejoycing for ever, while we shall be sorrowing for ever. Farewell all ye Saints of God, ye that are the Lords redeemed, that once were captives as well as we, but ye were re∣deemed by the blood of Christ, and were san∣ctified and now are saved for ever, ye shall re∣joyce, but we must mourn, ye are blessed, but we are cursed, ye shall be with God and Christ your Redeemer for ever, while we shall be with the Devil and his Angels for ever. Farewell, farewell, adieu, adieu, to all eternity.

Beloved hearers, if this shall be the doleful end of vain and groundless hopes of unwar∣rantable and unscriptural confidence in the death of Christ, without faith and sanctifying grace, be no longer kept as captives bound by this chain of false hopes of Heaven.

3. Another Link in this Chain of false hopes wherewith these captives are bound, is, that they have oftentimes great trouble of Con∣science and inward terrours of mind after they

have committed sin. I have saith one, been trou∣bled for my Oaths, and cried God forgive me, and if I have been drunk saith another, I have been troubled for it, sometimes it breaks my sleep, and sometimes I cannot eat in peace, nor think of my sin but my heart is filled with horror at the remembrance of it; and therefore I hope that I am redeemed by Christ, and got loose from my bondage state, and that God will have mercy on me, and will save my Soul. I answer,

1. False repentance is a strengthning of false hopes, and many times the more the sinner is troubled for his sin, the faster he is bound in his sinful captive state; the more tears do fall from thine eyes, the faster are thy fetters lockt up∣on thy Soul, because as true repentance maketh way for a well-grounded peace of consci∣ence, and for solid comfort, so a false and counterfeit repentance afterwards makes the sinner more secure, and doth strengthen his mistake concerning his spiritual condition, he hath sinned▪ and he hath sorrowed, and now he thinketh all is well; and the Devil hath him faster in his hold than he had before.

2. Terrours of Conscience for sin, though great and grievous, in so much that thou art restless and weary of thy life, are no argument that of a captive thou art made free. Hast thou ever been so much troubled as was Cain? or hast thou ever been so filled with amazing horrors

as was Judas? and yet these were captives to the Devil still, and are bound in chains of sin, and guilt, and punishment, to this day, and so shall be for ever; and who have greater terrors, reprovings and reproaches from their own con∣sciences, than the damned in Hell? and these terrors in thy soul and conscience, might be the fore-runners and beginning of those hellish hor∣rors thou shalt be filled with in another world.

3. But what are thy terrors and thy tears, the agonies and anguish of thy heart, without an in∣ward change? What are all these legal fits of sorrow, while thou art the same man in sinning still, and thy love the same unto thy sin; and when the temptation comes, thy course and pra∣ctice is the same? If thou shouldst wear the skin from off thy knees by going often to confess thy sin, and weep thy self blind, and pine away with sorrow; yet if thy heart do secretly like thy sin, and thou still art not inwardly renewed, nor acceptest of, nor closest with Christ by faith; whatever thy apprehensions are of thy good condition, thou art still a captive to the De∣vil, especially when one while thou seemest with sorrow to lament thy sin, and another while dost with pleasure and delight commit the sin lamented; dost commit the sin, and then confess it; confess it, and go on again to com∣mit; and so like a slave indeed, runnest round in the Devils Mill betwixt confession and com∣mission

of thy sins, whereas in a true penitent there is the renovation of the heart, and the reformation of the life; a loathing and a leaving of the sin lamented, Ezek. 36. 31. & 18. 30, 31. Isa. 57. 7. Joel 2. 12, 13.

4. Another Link in this Chain of false hopes, wherewith these Captives are bound, is, in that they have good meanings, and good wishes and desires; and though they cannot discourse as others can, nor have those gifts that others have; yet they thank God their hearts are good, and ever were even from their childhood, and though they cannot utter themselves, yet they have it in their hearts. Thus the Devil keepeth some in this fet∣ter and this bond; but towards the breaking of it consider,

1. Many have gone to hell with such good meanings in their hearts, and with such good wishes in their mouths; as Balaam for one, Numb. 23. 10, Let me dye the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his. Who would not wish to be for ever happy? and who would not wish to be freed from eternal misery, pain, and torment? But these things are not got with such lazy wishes; neither do you approve of them in your idle servants, that sit still and wish their work were done.

2. But can your meanings be good, in many of your wicked acts, and in your sinful neglects? What good meaning is it in thee, to keep Christ

out of thy heart? to prophane Gods Sabbaths? What good meaning hast thou, in neglecting to make thy peace with God? in not seeking af∣ter grace and fitness for Heaven?

3. If thy meanings were good, this doth not make thy action good, nor thy life good; and can it then prove thy condition to be good?

4. If thy heart were good, thy life would be so too. The life indeed might be good before men, where the heart is bad before God; but if the heart be good before God, the life will be good before men; for a good tree bringeth forth good fruit, Mat. 7. 17, 18. and your not-seeing the badness of your hearts, is an evidence that yet they are not good; and the more you justifie the goodness of your hearts, in the neglect of your duty, it is the clearer demonstration that yet they are not good; and that thy heart, which thou vainly thinkest is the best part in thee, is indeed the worst of all, Jer. 17. 9, 10. Thou a good heart ever since thou wast born! then there hath been a good Devil ever since he sinned, and when he ceased to be good.

5. Whereas thou sayest, Thou hast good things in thy heart, though thou canst not express them with thy tongue. What is thy heart so full of good? and is it so locked up there, that there is no vent for it? What! neither by works nor words? neither by lip nor life? A likely mat∣ter! If thou art pinched with hunger, thou hast words enough to express the sense of thy wants,

and if thou art sick, thou hast words enough to express the sense of thy pain: When the Phy∣sician comes and asketh after the state of thy body, thou canst quickly reply, O sick, sick, Sir, I am 〈…〉〈…〉eeding sick; I am in pain, in pain; Where? •• ••ere in this part, and in this; my book, my bowels, my head, my heart, is full of pain. But if a Minister come and enquire into your spiritual state, you reply, Truly Sir, I have good things in my mind and in my heart, but I cannot express them to you. What! not at all? What! nothing of this good boasted of? no, not in broken language? But if we follow you to your shops, there you want no words, there your tongues go glib; Who have words at command more than you? You can talk roundly of the World, of your Goods, and your Estates, of your Furniture and Apparel; but in the things of God you are mute. This is plain, it is not for want of words in these, but for want of a work of God upon their hearts. Therefore let not the Devil keep thee any longer bound with this chain, a vain conceit of the goodness of thy heart, thy wishings, and thy meanings.

5. Another Link in this Chain of false hopes wherewith these Captives are bound, is on the contrary, in that they have strong parts, great knowledg in the things of God, are very full of good discourse; for the Devil hath several Fet∣ters for his several Prisoners; and several Chains

for several Captives, various ways and wiles to keep them in Captivity; and this is not the meanest nor the weakest, when men take gifts for grace, and common grace for s〈…〉〈…〉al. But towards the cutting of this chain, 〈…〉〈…〉ider:

There might be notional kn〈…〉〈…〉dg of the things of God, where a man nev•••• ••ad any ex∣perimental taste and rellish of them. A man that never yet repented, might be able to tell you what Repentance is; and a man that is not converted, might tell you much of the method of the Spirit in converting of a sinner. Many can talk of God, that never tasted any sweet∣ness in him; and many can discourse of Heaven, that shall never enter into Heaven. The head might be f••l of knowledg, when the heart is empty of Grace; might talk of faith, of the na∣ture of it, of the actings of it, of the excellen∣cy of it, of the necessity and effects of it, and yet have no Faith; and so of Love, and other gra∣ces, and yet have no Love, nor any other grace. The greater is your knowledg, the greater is your sin, and the greater will be your misery if it be separated from practice and obedience. Luk. 12. 47, 48.

Thus you have heard what a strong bon false hope of Heaven is, and on what grounds •• is built, and by what reasons it is strengthened and how they are removed: What say you now will you continue still bound with this cord, and still be kept thereby in your Captivity? I

doubt yet many of you will. Drunkards, for all this that hath been said, will hope for heaven and salvation still; and Swearers and Prophane persons will go on in their sinful course, and yet hope still for Heaven and Eternal life. There∣fore because this Fetter is so strong, if possible to knock it off from these captive sinners, an∣swer me to these few following questions.

1. What if Christ himself in person were now amongst you, and preaching to you, and telling you with his own mouth, That these alledged grounds of thy hopes of heaven, and redemption by his blood, were not sound nor warrantable, wouldst thou after this hope thou art redeemed, and shalt be saved? If Christ were visibly pre∣sent, and you should hear him with your own ears telling you, That the Drunkard is a captive to the Devil, and shall not be saved; would you say, No, we are not in bondage to the Devil, or our sins, and therefore will hope we are re∣deemed and shall be saved? Wouldst thou be∣lieve Christ himself? or wouldst thou not? If thou wouldst not, how shall I hope thou wilt hearken to my words? If thou sayest thou wouldst believe him, why then wilt thou not believe what Christ hath indeed already spoken, and left recorded in his Word? The same Do∣ctrine that Christ preached in person in the world, is faithfully recorded in the Gospel. In his Sermon that he preached on the Mount, he tells you, that Except your righteousness exceed

the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven, Mat. 5. 20. And doth the righte∣ousness of gross sinners, yea or close hypocrites, either exceed the righteousness of the Phari∣sees and the Scribes, who walked so strictly, that many would have judged, if but two men should be saved, the Scribe should be one, and the Pha∣risee another? What Christs Doctrine was, see again, Luk. 13. 3. 5. Mar. 16. 16. Mat. 18. 3. And yet when Christ tells you, Except ye re∣pent, ye shall perish; and except ye believe, ye shall be damned; and except ye be converted, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of God; you do remain captives still; and do you not repent, nor believe, nor are converted, and yet will you hope you are freemen, and shall be saved? The truth is, if you do not believe Christs mi∣nisters preaching Christs own words, neither would you believe Christ himself, Luk. 10. 16, He that heareth you, heareth me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me; and he that despi∣seth me, despiseth him that sent me; not to hear is to despise, and whom do you despise when you do not hear and obey the doctrine preach∣ed according to the Scripture? is it poor mortal men? No, but you despise Christ, and God himself. Believe me then, or believe rather Christ himself, that tells thee, without convert∣ing-grace thou shalt be damned, and except thou art converted do not hope thou art deli∣vered

out of thy Captivity, or that thou shalt be saved, and so be befooled by the Devil, and thereby be kept still in bondage by him.

2. What if God should send an Angel from heaven to thee, and tell thee while thou art a drunkard swearer, profane, a lyar, an hypo∣crite, a worldling, art unsanctified, Thou art a captive to the Devil, and abiding so, shalt not be saved? Wouldst thou after such a message from God by a glorious Angel, still hope thou art made free, and shalt be saved? Or would you then leave your sins, and look after Grace, and make it your business to get out of bondage? Why, if an Angel should come from Heaven, he would preach this Doctrine to you, the very same that is contained in the Word of God, or else a blessed Angel would be a cursed Creature, Gal. 1. 8. But behold, you have a surer and more certain way of knowing the mind of God, and that is the Scripture, 2 Pet. 1. 17, 18, 19. For if an An∣gel came from Heaven, you would be doubt∣ing whether he came from God or no; but that the Scripture is from God, we have plain, full, and undeniable reasons to believe; and the truth is, if you will not believe the Scripture, neither would you believe an Angel that should come from Heaven.

3. What if thou couldst with safety draw near to the gates of Hell, and take a view of those thousands there in restless torments, that

lived once as now thou dost, and were perswa∣ded that they were redeemed and made free, and that they should be saved, as confidently as now thou art; Wouldst thou still continue in thy sinful state and course of life, and yet hope, after such a sight as this? That though thou sawest so many thousands damned before thee for the same sins as thou livest in, wouldst yet be confident, that thou shalt be delivered? Poor sinner! what shall I do for thee? What shall I say unto thee? Will nothing convince thee, nor awaken thee on this side the flames of Hell? Wilt thou believe none of these truths, till thou shalt feel them all made good upon thee? Wilt thou be more brutish than thy very Beast, which thou canst not force nor drive into a burning fire? And yet when thou art told, there is a fire that is kindled, into which the slaves of sin and Satan shall be cast, will voluntarily walk in that way that leads thee to it? What if God should take thee to some place, and bid thee stand and see so many millions rolling in a lake of Brimstone, and bid thee stand, and hearken, and hear their groans and hideous howlings, their doleful out-cries, and dolorous com∣plaints; one confessing, God hath justly damn∣ed me for my Drunkenness and my Oaths; and another, I am here tormented for my Sabbath-breaking, and pleasing of my flesh; and ano∣ther, I am suffering in these flames for my Hy∣pocrisie

and Unbelief; and a thousand thou∣sand making of the same complaints: After thou hadst heard such things as these, wouldst thou remain a Drunkard, a Swearer, a Sab∣bath-breaker, an Hypocrite, and an Unbelie∣ver; a Captive in thy bonds of sin, and yet perswade thy self that thou art free, and that thou shalt never be one of the number of this cursed Crew? Methinks such sights and hear∣ings of such things, should awaken and alarm thee: Why, tell me then, Why shouldst thou not believe the True Eternal God, as well as thy own eyes and ears? Such are there that died without Repentance and Faith, that di∣ed in their bondage-state; and the same God that hath already damned them, doth also threaten thee for the same sins with the same damnation; and yet shall Satan still keep thee bound with this false hope of a better place? Oh! let him not do it, as thou lovest thy soul, and as thou wouldst escape this place, let him no longer do it.

4. What if God should send one of thy Ac∣quaintants and Companions that hath been in Hell a year or two, a month or two, one that thou wast wont to swear and swagger with, to drink with and carouse, whose Corps not long since thou followedst to the grave; whose soul when separated from the body, went down to Hell; should come to thee and say, I was wont to be merry and jovial in thy company; with

thee I was wont to game and sport, and waste and spend my precious time, and I hoped I should be saved when I died, as now thou dost: but wo is me, I find I was mistaken to my everlasting shame and sorrow; I find I was deceived; I find, I find I did but flatter and delude my self; I would not believe it, but now I find it; I would not believe it, but now I feel it. Mini∣sters did warn me of this place, and told me I was going thither, but I would not be convinced till I came to Hell: I hoped still I should go to Hea∣ven, but now I am convinced, alas, when it is too late to be converted; I am at last convinced. Believe me, though a damned soul, believe me, The Word of God is true, the threatnings of God are true, and what your Ministers preach out of Gods Word concerning sin, and misery by sin, it is all true; believe me now, that have been in Hell ever since the day I died, that the bond∣slaves of the Devil, that dye in their captivity, do all go down to this dark and dreadful Dun∣geon. If one of thy Neighbours not long since departed and damned, should thus appear un∣to thee in thy Chamber in the silent night, and bring thee such tidings as these, wouldst thou believe him and repent, and refuse thence-for∣wards to be a servant and slave unto the Devil? It may be thou thinkest thou shouldst believe this Doctrine then, and take warning and re∣form and mend thy ways: Tell me then, Should not the True Eternal God of Heaven be be∣lieved

sooner, rather, more than a damned soul in Hell? But certain it is, if thou wilt not be∣lieve the Scriptures, nor the Ministers of God that preach the Truths of God unto thee, nor repent and turn from the drudgery of the De∣vil to the service of the Lord, neither wouldst thou do it if one came to thee from ••e dead, Luk. 16. 27, to the end.

5. What if thou hadst been in hell thy self a month or two, and felt the pains and torments there, and God should let thee out again, and put thee in the same capacity as now thou art in, and place thee again under the same means and ministry as now thou dost enjoy, and the same Doctrine should be preached unto thee, and the same offers of Christ and pardon, of heaven and eternal life as now thou hearest; Wouldst thou then hearken to our Doctrine, and renounce the Devils service, and beg and pray that God would knock off thy fetters and thy chains, and of a slave of Satan, make thee a willing servant of the blessed and the living God? Or, wouldst t••ou still live as now thou dost, and hope again upon the same grounds as now, that thou shouldst not the second time be cast into that place of tor∣ments? Oh then why then wilt thou not believe that God that cannot lye, as well as thy own experience?

Though this God will never do; he will never try thee again, nor set thee in this life again; for once in hell, and for ever there; God

will not give thee a second life, to mend what was amiss in thy living upon earth. If thou think∣est thou shouldst be more careful, if God should try thee after he had damned thee, that thou mayest not be damned again; why shouldst thou not be as careful now that thou mayest not be damned at all?

What then poor captive sinner! wilt thou af∣ter all this that hath been said go on in sin, and yet hope thou shalt do well? Or shall the De∣vil still keep thee in captivity, and hold thee fast in this bond and chain of a false perswasion, that thy state is good, and groundless hopes that thou shalt be saved? I am afraid he will, oh I do greatly fear he will. Poor prisoner! what dost thou think of? what ailes thee? why art thou no more concerned at the hearing of these things? wilt thou still remain in the fools para∣dise? why do I preach, and why dost thou come and hear, if thou wilt not regard what is spo∣ken to thee from the word of God, in the name of God? Oh how hard a thing is it, to stand and view so many Souls, and think after all the stu∣dy, pains, prayer, and preaching, for you and to you, so many should still be in the Devils fetters, and are going in chains to the prison of hell, and bound fast in sin to a place of ever∣lasting torments? Oh how shall I do to bear the thoughts of your damnation? O it is a burden, it is a burden, it is indeed a heavy burden to my Soul to think that any of you should be damned;

that you should go from hence to hell; from a place of solemn worship to a place of torment and of blasphemy. Do you think it is not enough to break a poor Ministers heart, to preach and labour that your bonds may be broken, and your souls escape and set at liberty, and after all you are in fetters still? Were it not that some do hearken and obey, were it not that some give great grounds of hope that they are leaving off the Devils service, and that their Chains are broke, it would be a sore tempta∣tion, to preach no more; but alas! though some are set at liberty, what shall we do for the rest that still remain in bonds? especially in this, that is so strong, a false perswasion that you are al∣ready free, and false hopes that you shall be for ever saved. Sirs, the stronger is your false hopes, the greater is poor Ministers true and real sorrow; and the more you hope for hea∣ven upon such slender grounds, the more we do despair of being instruments to help you out; the more confident we see you to be that you are not in bondage, the more discourage∣ment it is unto us; for if we set forth the mise∣ry of these Captives, we lose our labour as to you, because you think you are not the persons; if we exhort and direct you to look after liber∣ty, as to you we lose our labour, because you are perswaded (strongly though falsly) that you are free already; whereas if you did see your selves in chains, and were sensible of your

bonds, there were more hopes that we might prevail with you to accept of a Redeemer. Oh that God would break this bond! Oh that God would open your eyes, that you may see that you are Captives, and not be so vainly confi∣dent that you are made free! Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes fountains of tears, that I might night and day lament the woful state of these Captives that are on their way to hell, and yet think they are in the way to hea∣ven. But let me leave this particular, by leaving this with such presuming Captives, that if you will hope, while your eyes are open▪ yet when death shall close your eyes, you shall hope no more; let me commend unto you the serious study of three places of Scripture, and I will procede unto the next: The first is Job 8. 13. The hypocrites hope shall perish. 14. Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spiders web. If your hope perish, shall not your souls perish too? If your hope be cut off, will not your souls be cut short of heaven hoped for? if your hope be as a Spiders web, can it be a sure hope? can the Spiders web stand before the broome? God at furthest with the besom of death shall sweep your hope away.

The second is Job 11. 20. But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and and their hope shall be as the giving up of the Ghost. Thou poor Captive, lookest for heaven, but thy eyes shall fail before thou hast it; thou

lookest for happiness, but thou shall look thy eyes out, before (without being made free by Christ) thou shalt enjoy it; thou hopest thou shalt escape wrath and hell, but thou shalt not escape; it is the true, infallible God that saith, thou shalt not escape, and thy hope shall be as the giving up of the Ghost, in these respects:

1. A man is loth to give up the Ghost; it is the last thing he doth. Thou art loth to give up thy false hopes of heaven; except God pre∣vent it, it will be the last thing thou wilt do.

2. A man must give up the Ghost, though he be never so loth to do it; he would not dye, but he must; thou must at last give over ho∣ping; though thou keep this hope till thou dy∣est, yet then thou shalt hope no more; it is as impossible for you to keep these hopes for ever, as it is for you to live upon earth for ever.

3. A man that gives up the Ghost, by all the power on earth cannot be called to life again. When thy soul and body part, then thy soul and hope shall part, and thou shalt lose both hope and soul together. The parting of the soul and body is a sad parting, but the parting of the soul and hope is a sadder parting; and when thy soul hath parted with its hopes at death, hope shall never return again; thy soul parted from thy body shall return to it again, but not thy hope unto thy soul; thy body falls and shall rise again, but there shall never be a re∣surrection of thy hope.

Some translate these words thus, and their hopes shall perish at the expiration of the soul. The sinner shall breath out his soul and hope at once. These words [The giving up of the Ghost] are but two words in the Hebrew Text; and the one signifies not only the soul, but also the breath, or a puffe of wind, and the other, signifyeth to blow, which Imports, that the hope of wicked men, the Devils captives, shall be but as puffe of wind, or as the blast of a mans mouth: and one of the words doth signifie sometimes to grieve and to be sad; so the hope of these captives shall end in sorrow and sadness; it shall make him sad, to puff and blow, that he trusted for such great and weighty things as Heaven and Salvation upon such sleight and slender grounds. Again, the Hebrew Word hath a∣nother signification, to despise, and loath, and nauseate •• thing: this may teach us, that though these captives do now think well of their hope, yet at last they shall loath it, and abhor it, as a man will do some rotten and unsavoury thing. Now you will not loath your sins, but hereafter you shall loath your very hope: now you will not loath your selves for your iniquity, but hereafter you shall, for your folly.

The third Text is, Job 27. 28. For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gai∣ned, when God taketh away his soul? yea,

what is it indeed? thou hast gained riches, and thou hast gained in a way of hypocrisie (which men could not judg of) credit and esteem a name of a good, and holy, zealous man! but what is this gain, or what is thy hope, though thou hast gained the name of being Religious, when God taketh away thy soul? from whence? from thy body; whi∣ther? to eternal torments; what will be your hope then? and will you still be bound by this chain? this hath had a greater propor∣tion of time, than can be allowed to the rest, because I judg it to be one of the strong∣est bonds in which multitudes are carried cap∣tive to the hellish prison.