when we should love God, we love our carnal selves; when we should trust God, we trust our selves; when we should honour God, we honour our selves; and when we should ascribe to God, and admire him, we ascribe to, and admire our selves: And instead of God, we would have all mens eyes and dependence on us, and all mens thanks returned to us, and would gladly be the only men on Earth, extolled, and admired by all. And thus we are naturally our own Idols:1 But down falls this Dagon, when God doth once renew the soul: It is the great business of that great work, to bring the heart back to God himself. He convinceth the sinner. 1. That the Creature or himself, can neither be his God, to make him happy. 2. Nor yet his Christ, to recover him from his misery, and restore him to God, who is his happiness. This God doth, not only by Preaching, but by Providence also: Because words seem but wind, and will hardly take off the raging senses; therefore doth God make his Rod to speak, and continue speaking, till the sinner hear and hath learned by it this great lesson. This is the reason, why affliction doth so ordinarily concur in the work of Conversion: These real Arguments which speak to the quick, will force a hearing, when the most convincing and powerful words are slighted. When a sinner ⟨p. 151⟩made his credit his God, and God shall cast him into lowest disgrace; or bring him that idolized his riches, into a condition, wherein they cannot help him; or cause them to take wing and fly away, or the rust to corrupt, and the thief to steal his adored god in a night, or an hour; what a help is here to this work of Conviction? When a man that made his pleasure his god, whether ease, or sports, or mirth, or company, or gluttony, or drunkenness, or clothing, or buildings, or whatsoever a raging eye, a curious ear, a raging appetite, or a lustful heart could desire; and God shall take these from him, or give him their sting and curse with them, and turn them all into Gall and Wormwood; what a help is here to this Conviction? When God shall cast a man into languishing sickness, and inflict wounds and anguish on his heart, and stir up against him, his own Conscience, and then, as it were, take the sinner by the hand, and lead him to credit, to riches, to pleasure, to company, to sports, or whatsoever was dearest to him, and say, Now try if these can help you;
when we should love God, we love our carnal selves; when we should trust God, we trust our selves; when we should honor God, we honor our selves; and when we should ascribe to God, and admire him, we ascribe to, and admire our selves: And instead of God, we would have all mens eyes and dependance on us, and all mens thanks returned to us, and would gladly be the onely men on Earth, extolled, and admired by all. And thus we are naturally our own Idols:1 But down falls this Dagon, when God doth once renew the soul: It is the great business of that great work, to bring the heart back to God himself. He convinceth the sinner. 1. That the Creature or himself, can neither be his God, to make him happy. 2. Nor yet his Christ, to recover him from his misery, and restore him to God, who is his happiness. This God doth, not onely by Preaching, but by Providence also: Because words seem but winde, and will hardly take off the raging senses; therefore doth God make his Rod to speak, and continue speaking, till the sinner hear and hath learned by it this great lesson. This is the reason, why affliction doth so ordinarily concur in the work of Conversion: These real Arguments which speak to the quick, will force a hearing, when the most convincing and powerful words are slighted. When a sinner ⟨p. 151⟩made his credit his God, and God shall cast him into lowest disgrace; or bring him that idolized his riches, into a condition, wherein they cannot help him; or cause them to take wing and flie away, or the rust to corrupt, and the thief to steal his adored god in a night, or an hour; what a help is here to this work of Conviction? When a man that made his pleasure his god, whether ease, or sports, or mirth, or company, or gluttony, or drunkenness, or cloathing, or buildings, or whatsoever a raging eye, a curious ear, a raging appetite, or a lustful heart could desire; and God shall take these from him, or give him their sting and curse with them, and turn them all into Gall and Wormwood; what a help is here to this Conviction? When God shall cast a man into languishing sickness, and inflict wounds and anguish on his heart, and stir up against him, his own Conscience, and then, as it were, take the sinner by the hand, and lead him to credit, to riches, to pleasure, to company, to sports, or whatsoever was dearest to him, and say, Now try if these can help you;
- 1Regeneration works back the heart to God again▪ It convinceth, fi•st, That the Creature cannot be our God; secondly, Nor our Jesus. Providences, and especially Affliction, do usually much further this Conviction.Regeneration works back the heart to God again▪ It convinceth, fi•st, That the Creature cannot be our God; secondly, Nor our Jesus. Providences, and especially Affliction, do •sually much further this Conviction.
