A66106:368
Mercy magnified on a penitent prodigal, or, A brief discourse wherein Christs parable of the lost son found is opened and applied as it was delivered in sundry sermons / by Samuel Willard ...
printed by Samuel Green for Samuel Philips, 1684
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
USE, 2. Here we see a reason why the means of Grace, where they are never so powerfully dispensed, are yet so ineffectual to the conversion of sinners: why convictions fasten ⟨p. 146⟩not, threatenings take not place, promises allure not the Children of men, but they continue senseless under all: the wise man gives the reason of it, Prov. 24. 7. Wisdom is too high for a fool. The saving knowledge and spiritual improvement of these things is out of their reach: It is labour lost to go about to instruct a man that is beside himself: hence it is not in the power of means to work it; none but God, who can restore lost man to his wits again, and bring him to himself, is able to give efficacy to any endeavours of this nature, and till then, line upon line, and precept upon precept, are but as so much water spilt upon a rock.
USE, 2. Here we see a reason why the means of Grace, where they are never so powerfully dispensed, are yet so ineffectual to the conversion of sinners: why convictions fasten ⟨p. 146⟩not, threatnings take not place, promises allure not the Children of men, but they continue sensless under all: the wise man gives the reason of it, Prov. 24. 7. Wisdom is too high for a fool. The saving knowledge and spiritual improvment of these things is out of their reach: It is labour lost to go about to instruct a man that is beside himself: hence it is not in the power of means to work it; none but God, who can restore lost man to his wits again, and bring him to himself, is able to give efficacy to any endeavours of this nature, and till then, line upon line, and precept upon precept, are but as so much water spilt upon a rock.
USE, 3. It may also teach us how to carry it towards unregenerate sinners in their unregeneracy, viz. as we would do to a man that is beside himself: i. e. First, pity and pray for them; we are not wont to be enraged at a frantic, though he play mad tricks, because we know it comes from his distemper: Thus our Saviour, Luk. 23. 34. Father forgive them, they know not what they do: And so Stephen, Act 7. 60. Lay not this sin to their charge. They need your pity and prayers who can do nothing for themselves. 2. Be not afraid to anger them, so you may but do them good: Think it not hard to be scorned, reviled, when you rebuke and entreat them: Alas, if we should say or do nothing to them but what they ⟨p. 147⟩like, we should let them undo and destroy themselves, and become guilty of their blood. 3. Choose them not for your counsellors and companions: Who would account it his commendation or profit, to associate with a fool, or make himself the intimate of one that is out of his wits? None but fools delight in fools.
USE, 3. It may also teach us how to carry it towards unregenerate sinners in their unregeneracy, viz. as we would do to a man that is beside himself: i. e. First, pity and pray for them; we are not wont to be enraged at a frantick, though he play mad tricks, because we know it comes from his distemper: Thus our Saviour, Luk. 23. 34. Father forgive them, they know not what they do: And so Stephen, Act 7. 60. Lay not this sin to their charge. They need your pity and prayers who can do nothing for themselves. 2. Be not afraid to anger them, so you may but do them good: Think it not hard to be scorned, reviled, when you rebuke and entreat them: Alas, if we should say or do nothing to them but what they ⟨p. 147⟩like, we should let them undo and destroy themselves, and become guilty of their blood. 3. Chuse them not for your counsellors and companions: Who would account it his commendation or profit, to associate with a fool, or make himself the intimate of one that is out of his wits? None but fools delight in fools.
USE. 4. It may exhort the people of God, (true Believers) to great thankfulness to God for his wonderful love to you, that you are by his grace restored to a sound mind: as, when we look upon one that is distracted, and see what strange, imprudent, misguided, foolish actions he performs, it is a lesson to all that look on, showing them how deeply they are bound to thank God, and how much they owe him for their wits and understandings: so when we see what mad courses prodigal sinners drive, how they are carried head-long after their own lusts; go from God, spend all in riot, enslave themselves to Satan, and wast away their time in the midst of restless and unsatisfying vanities, neither knowing nor regarding an higher happiness; labouring for husks, and not filling of themselves, and yet presuming that they are in a way to do well; Oh, how should you acknowledge that Grace, from whence you have received more noble principles, and are disposed to higher employments? ⟨p. 148⟩That he hath given you a judgment and spirit of discerning between good and evil; especially remembering that you had been once of that society, and had lived in their Bedlam still, if he who alone is the great Physician of souls, had not applied his grace, and so cured you of this distemper.
USE. 4. It may exhort the people of God, (true Believers) to great thankfulness to God for his wonderful love to you, that you are by his grace restored to a sound mind: as, when we look upon one that is distracted, and see what strange, imprudent, misguided, foolish actions he performs, it is a lesson to all that look on, shewing them how deeply they are bound to thank God, and how much they ow him for their wits and understandings: so when we see what mad courses prodigal sinners drive, how they are carried head-long after their own lusts; go from God, spend all in riot, enslave themselves to Satan, and wast away their time in the midst of restless and unsatisfying vanities, neither knowing nor regarding an higher happiness; labouring for husks, and not filling of themselves, and yet presuming that they are in a way to do well; Oh, how should you acknowledge that Grace, from whence you have received more noble principles, and are disposed to higher imployments? ⟨p. 148⟩That he hath given you a judgment and spirit of discerning between good and evil; especially remembring that you had been once of that society, and had lived in their Bedlam still, if he who alone is the great Physitian of souls, had not applyed his grace, and so cured you of this distemper.
USE, 5. It may also serve for a word of conviction to such as are in their natural estate, let such be persuaded that they are beside themselves. Were you but willing to consider of it, there is enough to make it evident: 1. In your departing from God, and bidding him to go away from you, who only can make you happy, and who can make you miserable: You forsake the fountain of living water. 2. In your resolutely continuing in a course of sin; which is nothing less than running upon a swords point, and exposing of your selves to fearful plagues. 3. In placing your hope and confidence in the creature, which is empty and deceitful, a broken cistern in which is no water, Jer. 2. 13. 4. In laying all out upon your lusts, which fight against your souls, and are but fed and nourished to your utter undoing. But I pass.
USE, 5. It may also serve for a word of conviction to such as are in their natural estate, let such be perswaded that they are beside themselves. Were you but willing to consider of it, there is enough to make it evident: 1. In your departing from God, and bidding him to go away from you, who only can make you happy, and who can make you miserable: You forsake the fountain of living water. 2. In your resolutely continuing in a course of sin; which is nothing less than running upon a swords point, and exposing of your selves to fearful plagues. 3. In placing your hope and confidence in the creature, which is empty and deceitful, a broken cistern in which is no water, Jer. 2. 13. 4. In laying all out upon your lusts, which fight against your souls, and are but sed and nourished to your utter undoing. But I pass.
The first step to true conversion is Divine Illumination. The Prodigal, before he thinks of returning to his Father, first comes to himself: The ground of this is in three things.
1. Man is a reasonable Creature, and a cause by counsel of his own actions: The understanding in man is the light in him, by which he regulates all his ways, and as he seeth so he practiseth. The reason why sinful men place their hopes in perishing things, is because they call evil good: This therefore is a main part of man's misery, that his understanding is perverted, Psal. 53. 2, 4.
1. Man is a reasonable Creature, and a cause by counsel of his own actions: The understanding in man is the light in him, by which he regulates all his wayes, and as he seeth so he practiseth. The reason why sinful men place their hopes in perishing things, is because they call evil good: This therefore is a main part of man's misery, that his understanding is perverted, Psal. 53. 2, 4.
2. Faith, which is wrought in conversion, is grounded upon knowledge, Psal. 9. 10. God dealeth with his creatures according to the manner of their being and acting: Faith is a choosing, and so a closing with God; but every choice ariseth from a rational and convincing discovery of the suitableness of the object chosen, and preference which it is conceived to deserve above others: now this discovery is made to the understanding, which is the eye of the mind whereby it seeth and judgeth of things. Hence,
2. Faith, which is wrought in conversion, is grounded upon knowledge, Psal. 9. 10. God dealeth with his creatures according to the manner of their being and acting: Faith is a chusing, and so a closing with God; but every choise ariseth from a rational and convincing discovery of the sutablenese of the object chosen, and preference which it is conceived to deserve above others: now this discovery is made to the understanding, which is the eye of the mind whereby it seeth and judgeth of things. Hence,
3. It is impossible that the heart of man, which is naturally glued to the vanities of the world, and hath been deeply settled in his high opinion of it, should ever be made to renounce, cast off, and utterly to refuse to have any ⟨p. 150⟩thing more to do with them, or to place any more confidence in them, and make choice of God in Christ, and prefer him above all, till he be throughly enlightened in, and fully persuaded of his own misery, the creatures emptiness, and the glorious fullness that there is in God: The things which he hath so loved must appear to be evil, and the God. whom he hath forsaken must appear to be good: an unknown evil is not forsaken; an unknown good is not chosen: Hence the absence of saving knowledge is the ground of destruction. Hos. 4. 6. Hence conversion it self is often Synecdochically, called knowledge, and understanding, because that is a main ingredient in it: And then a man begins to come to himself, when he becomes to have a discerning of the truth of things.
3. It is impossible that the heart of man, which is naturally glewed to the vanities of the world, and hath been deeply setled in his high opinion of it, should ever be made to renounce, cast off, and utterly to refuse to have any ⟨p. 150⟩thing more to do with them, or to place any more confidence in them, and make choice of God in Christ, and preferr him above all, till he be throughly enlightned in, and fully perswaded of his own misery, the creatures emptiness, and the glorious fulness that there is in God: The things which he hath so loved must appear to be evil, and the God. whom he hath forsaken must appear to be good: an unknown evil is not forsaken; an unknown good is not chosen: Hence the absence of saving knowledge is the ground of destruction. Hos. 4. 6. Hence conversion it self is often Synechdochically, called knowledge, and understanding, because that is a main ingredient in it: And then a man begins to come to himself, when he becomes to have a discerning of the truth of things.
USE, 1. Here we have a rule directing us what course to take for the conversion of sinners; we must imitate God in this, if ever we would do sinners any good; we must endeavour their conviction; we must first deal with their understandings; to raise the affections, without informing the mind, is a fruitless unprofitable labour, and serves but to make zeal without knowledge: Man must firs see before he will repent of his evil; he must first know if ever he will love God, Psal. 9. 10.
USE, 1. Here we have a rule directing us what course to take for the conversion of sinners; we must imitate God in this, if ever we would do sinners any good; we must endeavour their conviction; we must first deal with their understandings; to raise the affections, without informing the mind, is a fruitlesse unprofitable labour, and serves but to make zeal without knowledge: Man must firs see before he will repent of his evil; he must first know if ever he will love God, Psal. 9. 10.
USE, 2. It tells us that there are great hopes ⟨p. 151⟩of men when they begin to come to themselves: If God begins once to cure men of their frenzy, to take them off their wild opinions, and vain conceits of happiness, in the profits, pleasures, and honours of this world, to make them see the emptiness of these things, and their own misery for want of a better stay to trust to, these are in an hopeful way to conversion. hence,
USE, 3. To teach us what to pray for in behalf of unregenerate sinners: i. e. that they may come to themselves: that their eyes may be opened, that God will illuminate their understandings, and give them to see things in their nature, truths in their plainness: It may be they may think you beside your selves for so doing, but it's the greatest love you can show them, and the blessing which they nextly stand in need of. Would God be pleased but to settle mens minds, and open their eyes, we should soon hear them cry out of their own madness and folly, and condemn their prodigality and riot, and be earnestly enquiring after God and Christ, and seeking something better than the world affords, to save their sinking souls from perdition, Act. 2. 37.
USE, 3. To teach us what to pray for in behalf of unregenerate sinners: i. e. that they may come to themselves: that their eyes may be opened, that God will illuminate their understandings, and give them to see things in their nature, truths in their plainness: It may be they may think you beside your selves for so doing, but it's the greatest love you can shew them, and the blessing which they nextly stand in need of. Would God be pleased but to settle mens mindes, and open their eyes, we should soon hear them cry out of their own madness and folly, and condemn their prodigality and riot, and be earnestly enquiring after God and Christ, and seeking something better than the world affords, to save their sinking souls from perdition, Act. 2. 37.
2. WE are to take a view of the things deliberated, which are two.
2. VVE are to take a view of the things deliberated, which are two.
1. Motives and encouragements to return to his father, in the rest of the verse, 17. in the which we have both the motives themselves, and the way in which they became beneficial to him. The general truth contained in these motives was before a matter of conviction to him, it was that which made him to be in want, but it wrought not kindly upon him, till he came, by serious consideration, to apply it more closely to his own condition. Before I speak to the motives themselves, we may a little consider how he came to improve them, intimated in that word, he said: there is a speech of the tongue, and a speech of the heart: the young man had none to discourse with in that far country, he therefore communes with his own heart: the meaning is, he pondered of the matter, considered and weighed in his mind, concluded of the truth, and made application of it to his own condition. Hence,
