N00302:575
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 teacher of a church in Boston in New-England. ; [Two lines from Luke]
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.
2. None but the humble soul takes a right scantling of himself: this man only is he that knows himself: and we can never know God aright in the Covenant of his Grace, till we have a right apprehension, of our selves. Now that you may clearly understand your own unworthiness. Consider,
1. That you have never done any thing in all your lives, that can render you worthy in God's account: the Godly themselves must ⟨p. 243⟩say of all they do, they are unprofitable, Luk. 17. 10. The best deeds of sanctified men call for forgiveness; yea, for the merits of Christ to render them acceptable unto God, which makes them so far from boasting, that it puts them upon it to ask forgiveness. According to the first Covenant, those works were accounted worthy of acceptance and reward, whereby God was glorified in perfect obedience; wherein the heart and life were exactly conformed to the mind of the Law of God, that was given man for his rule; but since the fall, the best of men cannot thus do: And as for thee, thou hast been a sinner, how justly mayest thou take that to thy self, which the Prophet charged that wicked King withal? Dan.5.23. Thou hast kept no command of God, but fallen short of all, and what worthiness canst thou plead? those services which thou thinkest thou hast done, even they are worse than filthy rags; for the Church concludes hers to be no better, Isa. 64. 6.
1. That you have never done any thing in all your lives, that can render you worthy in God's account: the Godly themselves must ⟨p. 243⟩say of all they do, they are unprofitable, Luk. 17. 10. The best deeds of sanctified men call for forgiveness; yea, for the merits of Christ to render them acceptable unto God, which makes them so far from boasting, that it puts them upon it to ask forgiveness. According to the first Covenant, those works were accounted worthy of acceptance and reward, whereby God was glorified in perfect obedience; wherein the heart and life were exactly conformed to the mind of the Law of God, that was given man for his rule; but since the fall, the best of men cannot thus do: And as for thee, thou hast been a sinner, how justly maist thou take that to thy self, which the Prophet charged that wicked King withal? Dan.5.23. Thou hast kept no command of God, but fallen short of all, and what worthiness canst thou plead? those services which thou thinkest thou hast done, even they are worse than filthy rags; for the Church concludes hers to be no better, Isa. 64. 6.
2. How much thou hast done to render thy self unworthy: Thou hast not only done nothing for God and his Glory, but but hast been doing very much against it; nay consider.
1. What an unworthy creature thou art in thy natural state; so far from being amiable in Gods eyes, that thou art by nature a loathsome ⟨p. 244⟩object: Thy pedigree, original, state, all speak all against thee: thou mayest see what thou art, Ezek. 16. begin. Though thou hadst done nothing against God, yet thy very being is hateful: Who counts toads and snakes worthy of preservation, but rather of destruction?
1. What an unworthy creature thou art in thy natural state; so far from being amiable in Gods eyes, that thou art by nature a loathsome ⟨p. 244⟩object: Thy p•degree, original, state, all speak all against thee: thou maist see what thou art, Ezek. 16. begin. Though thou hadst done nothing against God, yet thy very being is hateful: Who counts toads and snakes worthy of preservation, but rather of destruction?
2. Thou hast carried it unworthily towards God in the whole course of thy life: all the days of thy vanity and unregeneracy, all thy course and carriage, hath been to set thee out of his favour. If vile and profligate abuses will give a man worth, thou mightest claim it, for such hath all thy life been. Consider,
2. Thou hast carried it unworthily towards God in the whole course of thy life: all the dayes of thy vanity and unregeneracy, all thy course and carriage, hath been to set thee out of his favour. If vile and profligate abuses will give a man worth, thou mightest claim it, for such hath all thy life been. Consider,
1. What God hath been doing for you: how many ways he hath been expressing kindness, pity, favour to you: The being he hath given you, the preservation afforded to you, the provision he hath made for you, the bounty he hath heaped upon you; but above all, the precious Salvation he hath set before you, and all the means given you for the promoting of it: innumerable have been the obligations, strong the cords that he hath laid upon you.
1. What God hath been doing for you: how many ways he hath been expressing kindness, pitty, favour to you: The being he hath given you, the preservation afforded to you, the provision he hath made for you, the bounty he hath heaped upon you; but above all, the precious Salvation he hath set before you, and all the means given you for the promoting of it: innumerable have been the obligations, strong the cords that he hath laid upon you.
2. What you have requited him with; in one word, Ingratitude (&si ingratum dixeris, omnia dixisti.) Nay, opprobrious contumity: For,
1. You have driven a trade of sinning against ⟨p. 245⟩and provoking him all your lives long: it hath been your custom from your youth upward; nay, you have done it with delight; you have made nothing to break his holy commands; yea, it hath been a sport and recreation to you, you could not sleep without it.
2. You have abused and mis-improved all his mercies, taking encouragement by them to sin against him: with his own you have dishonoured his great Name; with his flax, and his wool, &c. Hos. 2.8,9. You have spent that substance which he lent you in riot, have made his creatures to serve your sins, and so armed them against him, and thereby made the creation to groan under your oppression.
2. You have abused and mis-improved all his mercies, taking encouragment by them to sin against him: with his own you have dishonoured his great Name; with his flax, and his wool, &c. Hos. 2.8,9. You have spent that substance which he lent you in riot, have made his creatures to serve your sins, and so armed them against him, and thereby made the creation to groan under your oppression.
3. You have sought for succour, relief, comfort, to other things, and not to him, have trusted in creatures and not in the Creator, you have lived upon husks, and fed on the air, and have made your selves servants; yea, slaves to Satan and the World, and thereby disgraced your Original, and forgotten your end, which was to serve God, and depend upon him for all.
4. You have despised his Redemption and Grace, that hath been tendered to you in the Gospel: Jesus Christ, that precious Saviour, hath been less esteemed by you than your vile lust, and filthy pleasures; his patience hath been slighted, and grace refused; you have ⟨p. 246⟩turned a deaf ear to his counsel, the back and not the face to his proffers of Salvation; thus hath he been of no worth in your eyes. And now say, What are you worthy of? Ask your own Consciences, and they will tell you, that you do such things as are worthy of death: An heathen's Conscience will say so much, Rom. 1. ult. You are worthy to have all those mercies that you have thus abused, taken from you, and to be turned down into the place of woes and miseries: Hell is a place fit for▪ you, and the torments of it a due reward. Thus thou art unspeakably unworthy that God should show thee any mercy: Get then to be deeply abased, and ashamed of thy self; hang down thy head with the Publican, and so go to the throne of Grace, and ask mercy of God for his own sake, for Christ's sake; this is the way in which God is to be found, and entertainment to be had with him: God is not wont to send such away ashamed, but contented.
4. You have despised his Redemption and Grace, that hath been tendered to you in the Gospel: Jesus Christ, that precious Saviour, hath been less esteemed by you than your vile lust, and filthy pleasures; his patience hath been slighted, and grace refused; you have ⟨p. 246⟩turned a deaf ear to his counsel, the back and not the face to his proffers of Salvation; thus hath he been of no worth in your eyes. And now say, What are you worthy of? Ask your own Consciences, and they will tell you, that you do such things as are worthy of death: An heathen's Conscience will say so much, Rom. 1. ult. You are worthy to have all those mercies that you have thus abused, taken from you, and to be turned down into the place of woes and miseries: Hell is a place fit for▪ you, and the torments of it a due reward. Thus thou art unspeakably unworthy that God should shew thee any mercy: Get then to be deeply abased, and ashamed of thy self; hang down thy head with the Publican, and so go to the throne of Grace, and ask mercy of God for his own sake, for Christ's sake; this is the way in which God is to be found, and entertainment to be had with him: God is not wont to send such away ashamed, but contented.
2. WE have heard of the Prodigals confession, now follows his petition: Make me as one of thy hired servants. True humility (as was hinted before) hath two things in it, viz. 1. A low esteem of one-self: 2. A yielding one-self to God's dispose, this latter is here presented to us. The world is much altered with this younger son; time was when the place and condition of a son in the family would not content him, but he must have his Portion and take his liberty; but now he would be glad so he might but fare as a servant in his Father's house. God, in the work of Conversion will hide pride from man, and make him very low. There is naturally a self-sovereignty in every Child of Adam; though beggars, they would yet be choosers; and if they may not have their will, they will rise up in rebellion: This God breaks him off from, whom he takes to himself. Make me, &c. i. e. handle ⟨p. 248⟩me, treat me: as one of thy hired servants: hired servants are, 1. Members of the family. 2. The meanest sort of members, except slaves. It intends two things. 1. The son desires admission into his fathers family, under his favour and care. 2. Submits to be disposed of as he sees meet, and will not repine, but account it a favour. Hence,
2. WE have heard of the Prodigals confession, now follows his petition: Make me as one of thy hyred servants. True humility (as was hinted before) hath two things in it, viz. 1. A low esteem of one-self: 2. A yielding one-self to God's dispose, this latter is here presented to us. The world is much altered with this younger son; time was when the place and condition of a son in the family would not content him, but he must have his Portion and take his liberty; but now he would be glad so he might but fare as a servant in his Father's house. God, in the work of Conversion will hide pride from man, and make him very low. There is naturally a self-soveraignty in every Child of Adam; though beggars, they would yet be chusers; and if they may not have their will, they will rise up in rebellion: This God breaks him off from, whom he takes to himself. Make me, &c. i. e. handle ⟨p. 248⟩me, treat me: as one of thy hyred servants: hyred servants are, 1. Members of the family. 2. The meanest sort of members, except slaves. It intends two things. 1. The son desires admission into his fathers family, under his favour and care. 2. Submits to be disposed of as he sees meet, and will not repine, but account it a favour. Hence,
He voluntarily throws himself down at Gods feet, and leaves him to do with him as he sees meet. This is the highest part of self-denial, which Christ requires in those that come unto him, Mat. 16.24. And this will follow upon a true sight and sense of our own unworthiness; and both of these are rooted in the right apprehension of our own vileness. It will not be amiss to look into the nature of this Grace, and its operation in an humble soul; and there is in it something Negative, and something Positive.
He voluntarily throws himself down at Gods feet, and leaves him to do with him as he sees meet. This is the highest part of self-denial, which Christ requires in those that come unto him, Mat. 16.24. And this will follow upon a true sight and sense of our own unworthiness; and both of these are rooted in the right apprehension of our own vileness. It will not be amiss to look into the nature of this Grace, and its operation in an humble soul; and there is in it somthing Negative, and somthing Positive.
1. The Negative part of it is, that he will be no longer at his own dispose: He finds that he hath been so long enough already to his cost: The Prodigal found that it was the taking upon himself the Government of himself, that ⟨p. 249⟩brought him to all his misery, and this taught him, to see how unable he was to rule and guide himself. He hath no wisdom, no discretion, but is a mere childish thing; hence resolves against it, as they, Hos. 14. 3. He confesseth himself to be brutish and ignorant; readily consents that it is not of man of himself to direct his own way, or make a good choice for himself.
1. The Negative part of it is, that he will be no longer at his own dispose: He finds that he hath been so long enough already to his cost: The Prodigal found that it was the taking upon himself the Goverment of himself, that ⟨p. 249⟩brought him to all his misery, and this taught him, to see how unable he was to rule and guide himself. He hath no wisdom, no discretion, but is a meer childish thing; hence resolves against it, as they, Hos. 14. 3. He confesseth himself to be bruitish and ignorant; readily consents that it is not of man of himself to direct his own way, or make a good choice for himself.
