To prevent the success of the tempter, in all, or either of these, I shall oifer you my best assistance under these eight ensuing heads of advice and counsel ; beseeching you, by all the dear regard you have to the dreadful and glorious name of God, which is called upon you, Eph. iv. 1. Col. i. 10, 11. 2 Tim. ii. 19. or to your own pre- cious and immortal souls, whose eternal happiness is not a little en- gaged in these tilings, Matth. x. 33. Gal. vi. 9. or to the comfort and encouragement of your suffering and afflicted ministers and brethren abroad, a great part of whose joy, yea, life, lies at your mercy, 1 Thess. iii. 8. Col. ii. 5. and is, as it were, bound up in your stabilit}^, that you will heedfully observe and embrace these admonitions, according to the weight and evidence that are in them, and let not any fleshly interest in the world carry you against the convictions that may, hereby, be left upon your consciences.
And the first advice to counsel is this : COUNSEL I.
Cleave fast to Christ, and the profession you have formerly made ofh'im^ what aspect soever the times have upou you.
Psalm xliv. 18, 19, 20, 21. " Our heart is not turned back, '' neither have our steps declined from thy way, though thou hast '' sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the " shadow of death. If we have forgotten the name of the Lord, *' or stretched out our hands to a strange god : shall not God " search this out ? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart." Hence those new converts, who were turned to the Lord in a time of great temptation and persecution, were so earnestly per- suaded. Acts xi. 23. " That with purpose of heart tliey would '' cleave unto the Lord ;'' i. e. as they had made a good choice, so now to stick to their choice, and not repent of it, whatever after- ward they should meet with. O take heed, lest after you have lifted up your hand to God, you should lift up your heel against
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him. Though the * h^^pocrite will not pray always, yet f the upright soul abhors to flinch from his duty, let come on him what will, It is now autumn witn many flourishing professors, but if thou be a tree planted l)y the river-side, thy leaf shall not wither. Psalm i. You look for happiness as long as God is in heaven, and be sure God looks for holiness as long as you be on earth. What duty is more importunately urged upon you by every part of the gospel than stability "t The preceptive part peremptorily requires it. See Rev. ii. 10. Heb. iv. 14. Rev, iii. 11. these be com- mands flowing from sovereignty, clothed with the highest au- thority. The minority part urges us : See Heb. x. 38. Mat. X. 33. Rev. xxi. 8. and these dreadful threats are discharged against the soul, and levelled at the very breast of the apostate.
The promissory part marvellously encourages it, a sweet voice seems to come down from heaven in these promises, saying, Goodi souls, hold fast, if ever you liope to possess the glory that is here^ holdfast, Gal. vi. 9. JMat. x. 22. Rev. iii. 12, 21. Rev. xxi. 7.
Now, lest all this should leave but a floating and ineffectual conviction upon you, give me leave to follow it a little farther, and endeavour to work it in by a few wanning considerations upon your hearts.
1. Consider, God hath hanged the whole weight of eternal hap- piness upon this wire : so that the deepest, dearest, and everlast- ing interest of thy soul is bound up in thy perseverance, Rom. ii. 7. Gal. vi. 9. Heb. iii. 14. and if so, methinks this should make thee cling fast, despise dangers, face the storm, and make a stand for Christ : let come on thee what will : for, consider soul, what comparison betwixt a moment'*s sufi^ering, and this eternal glory ? Rom. viii. 18. 2 Cor. iv. 16, 17, 18, O that vast eternity ! that amazing word ! which none but he that was from eternity, and is to eternity, comprehensively understands : When a soul is swal- lowed up in it, yea, or when it sits in a dying hour trembUng upon the brink of it, how are its apprehensions of present things altered !
2. Consider how constant and faithful Jesus Christ was to thee, Avhen he conflicted in the days of his flesh, with sufferings, dan- gers, and difficulties infinitely beyond thine; and what a motive that should be to persuade thee to a bold and constant owning of him in this day of thy trial.? 1 Tim. vi. 12, 13, 14. " Fight the " good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou " art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many
f Dan. vi. 10. Excepting cowardice, or flinching from God's cause, you may sup- pose any thing of me wLo have borne the hatred and outrage of the vrhole world,
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'^ witnesses. I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth '•' all things, and before Jesus Christ, who before Pontius Pilate <' witnessed a good confession, that thou keep this commandment " without spot/' He flinched not when the terrors of death and hell beset him round : He was faithful to the trust committed to him, till death beat the last breath out of his breast. If thou now start Irom him, may not he say to thee as that Roman soldier said to his general, who refused his petition after the war was ended,
* Well (saith he) I did not serve you so at the battle of Actium.'
8. Never imagine to be owned and acknowledged by him in that great day, if thou desert his cause and interest now, Mat. x. 33. " He that is ashamed of me before men, of him will I be ashamed," when I come in my Father's glory, and mine own glory, and the glory of the holy angels. Oh, sirs, one of these days the Lord will break out of heaven with a * shout, accompanied with -f- myriads of angels, and ten thousands of his saints, those glistering courtiers of heaven, ^ the heavens and earth in a dreadful conflagration round about him ; § the graves shall open, the sea and the earth give up their dead : || Thou shalt see him ascend the awful seat of judg- ment, •[[ his faithful ones sitting on the bench as assessors with him; ^all flesh gathered before him, ** even multitudes, multi- tudes in that valley of decision ; and then to be publicly disowned by him in the face of that great assembly, and proclaimed a traitor and delinquent to him that fearedst not to deny him, and betray his truths into his enemies hands, because of the frowns of a poor worm that shall die, and be made as grass : O what confusion and everlasting shame shall cover thee ! This, this is the portion of all such trom the hand of the Lord, 2 Tim. ii. 1^. " If we deny him, ^' he also will deny us.""