{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_3613/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_3613","id":"gutenberg_3613","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3613","summary":null,"tags":["Category: British Literature","Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Christianity"],"text":"Transcribed from the 1845 Thomas Nelson \u201cWorks of the Puritan Divines\n(Bunyan)\u201d edition by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org\n\n                  [Picture: Bunyan\u2019s cottage at Elstow]\n\n\n\n\n\n                           MISCELLANEOUS PIECES\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n                                        Page\nOf the Trinity and a Christian           245\nOf the Law and a Christian               251\nBunyan\u2019s Last Sermon                     257\nBunyan\u2019s Dying Sayings                   267\n\n\n\n\nOF THE\nTRINITY AND A CHRISTIAN.\n\n\n _How a young or shaken Christian should demean himself under the weighty\n  thoughts of the Doctrine of the Trinity or Plurality of Persons in the\n                            eternal Godhead_.\n\nTHE reason why I say a _young_ or _shaken_ Christian, is, because some\nthat are not young, but of an ancient standing, may not only be assaulted\nwith violent temptations concerning gospel-principles, but a second time\nmay become a child, a babe, a shallow man, in the things of God:\nespecially, either when by backsliding he hath provoked God to leave him,\nor when some new, unexpected, and (as to present strength) over weighty\nobjection doth fall upon the spirit, by means of which great shakings of\nmind do commonly attend such a soul in the most weighty matters of the\nconcerns of faith, of which this is one that I have supposed in the\nabove-mentioned question: Wherefore passing other things, I will come\ndirectly to that, and briefly propose some helps to a soul in such a\ncase.\n\nI.  The first preparative.\n\n_First_, Then, be sure thou keep close to the Word of God for that is the\nrevelation of the mind and will of God, both as to the truth of what is\neither in himself or ways, and also as to what he requireth and expecteth\nof thee, either concerning faith in, or obedience to, what he hath so\nrevealed.  Now for thy better performing of this, I shall give thee in\nbrief these following directions.\n\n1.  Suffer thyself, by the authority of the Word, to be persuaded that\nthe Scripture indeed is the Word of God the Scriptures of truth, the\nwords of the Holy One; and that they therefore must be every one true,\npure, and for ever settled in heaven.\n\n2.  Conclude therefore from the former doctrine, that that God whose\nwords they are, is able to make a reconciliation and most sweet and\nharmonious agreement with all the sayings therein, how obscure, cross,\ndark, and contradictory soever they seem to thee.  To understand all\nmysteries, to have all knowledge, to be able to comprehend with all\nsaints, is a great work; enough to crush the spirit, and to stretch the\nstrings of the most capacious, widened soul that breatheth on this side\nglory, be they notwithstanding exceedingly enlarged by revelation.  Paul,\nwhen he was caught up to heaven, saw that which was unlawful, because\nimpossible, for man to utter.  And saith Christ to the reasoning\nPharisee, \u201cIf I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how\nshall you believe if I tell you of heavenly things?\u201d  It is great\nlewdness, and also insufferable arrogancy, to come to the Word of God, as\nconceiting already that whatever thou readest must either by thee be\nunderstood, or of itself fall to the ground as a senseless error.  But\nGod is wiser than man, wherefore fear thou him, and tremble at his word,\nsaying still, with godly suspicion of thine own infirmity, What I see\nnot, teach thou me; and, Thou art God only wise; but as for me, I am as a\nbeast before thee.\n\n3.  Take heed of taking a part of the Word only, lest thou thereby go\naway with the truth as mangled in pieces.  For instance, where thou\nreadest, \u201cThe Lord our God is one Lord,\u201d there take heed that thou dost\nnot thence conclude, then there are not three persons in the Godhead:\nwhen thou readest of \u201cthe Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,\u201d then\ntake heed of concluding there must therefore either be three Gods, or\nelse that Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are not true God, but the\nFather only.  Wherefore to help thee here, observe,\n\nII.  The second preparative.\n\n1.  That the Christian religion requireth credit concerning every\ndoctrine contained in the Word; credit, I say, according to the true\nrelation of every sentence that the Holy Ghost hath revealed for the\nasserting, maintaining, or vindicating that same truth.\n\n2.  And therefore, hence it is that a Christian is not called a doer, a\nreasoner, an objector, and perverse disputer, but a believer.  Be thou an\nexample to \u201cthe believers;\u201d and, \u201cbelievers\u201d were \u201cadded to the church,\u201d\n&c.\n\n3.  Therefore, know again, that the Word, if it saith and expresseth that\nthis or that is so and so, as to the matter in hand, thou art bound and\nobliged, both by the name, profession, and the truth, unto which thou\nhast joined thyself, to assent to, confess, and acknowledge the same,\neven then when thy carnal reason will not stoop thereto.  \u201cRighteous art\nthou, O God,\u201d saith Jeremiah, \u201cyet let me plead with thee; Wherefore do\nthe wicked live?\u201d  Mark, first he acknowledgeth that God\u2019s way with the\nwicked is just and right, even then when yet he could not see the reason\nof his actions and dispensations towards them.  The same reason is good\nas to our present case: and hence it is that the apostle saith, the\nspiritual armour of Christians should be much exercised against those\nhigh towering and self-exalting imaginations, that within our own bosoms\ndo exalt themselves against the knowledge of God; that every thought or\ncarnal reasoning may be not only taken, but brought a captive into\nobedience to Christ; that is, be made to stoop to the Word of God, and to\ngive way and place to the doctrine therein contained, how cross soever\nour thoughts and the Word lie to each other.  And it is observable that\nhe here saith, \u201cthey exalt themselves against the knowledge of God;\u201d\nwhich cannot be understood, that our carnal, natural reason doth exalt\nitself against an eternal deity, simply considered; for that nature\nitself doth gather from the very things that are made, even his eternal\npower and Godhead: it must be then that they exalt themselves against\nthat God as thus and thus revealed in the Word, to wit, against the\nknowledge of one God, consisting of three persons, Father, Son, and\nSpirit; for this is the doctrine of the Scriptures of truth: and\ntherefore it is observable these thoughts must be brought captive, and be\nmade subject in particular to the Lord Jesus Christ, as to the second\nperson in the Godhead: for the Father is ever acknowledged by all that\nprofess the least of religion; but the Son is that stumbling-stone and\nrock of offence, against which thousands dash themselves in pieces;\nthough in him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and in\nhim dwells the fulness of the Godhead bodily.\n\n\n\n\nOF THE\nLAW AND A CHRISTIAN.\n\n\nTHE law was given twice upon Mount Sinai, but the appearance of the Lord,\nwhen he gave it the second time, was wonderfully different from that of\nhis, when at the first he delivered it to Israel.\n\n1.  When he gave it the first time, he caused his terror and severity to\nappear before Moses, to the shaking of his soul and the dismaying of\nIsrael; but when he gave it the second time, he caused all his goodness\nto pass before Moses, to the comfort of his conscience and the bowing of\nhis heart.\n\n2.  When he gave it the first time, it was with thunderings and\nlightnings, with blackness and darkness, with flame and smoke, and a\ntearing sound of the trumpet; but when he gave it the second time, it was\nwith a proclamation of his name to be merciful, gracious, long-suffering,\nand abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands,\nforgiving iniquity, transgressions, and sins.\n\n3.  When he gave it the first time, Moses was called to go up to receive\nit through the fire, which made him exceedingly fear and quake: but when\nhe went to receive it the second time, he was laid in a clift of the\nrock.\n\n4.  From all which I gather, that, though as to the matter of the law,\nboth as to its being given the first time and the second, it binds the\nunbeliever under the pains of eternal damnation (if he close not with\nChrist by faith); yet as to the manner of its giving at these two times,\nI think the first doth more principally intend its force as a covenant of\nworks, not at all respecting the Lord Jesus; but this second time not (at\nleast in the manner of its being given) respecting such a covenant, but\nrather as a rule or directory to those who already are found in the clift\nof the rock Christ; for the saint himself, though he be without law to\nGod, as it is considered the first or old covenant, yet even he is not\nwithout law to him as considered under grace; not without law to God, but\nunder the law to Christ.\n\n5.  Though, therefore, it be sad with the unbeliever, because he only and\nwholly standeth under the law as it is given in fire, in smoke, in\nblackness, and darkness, and thunder; all which threaten him with eternal\nruin if he fulfil not the utmost tittle thereof; yet the believer stands\nto the law under no such consideration, neither is he so at all to hear\nor regard it, for he is now removed from thence to the blessed mountain\nof Zion\u2014to grace and forgiveness of sins; he is now, I say, by faith in\nthe Lord Jesus, shrouded under so perfect and blessed a righteousness,\nthat this thundering law of Mount Sinai cannot find the least fault or\ndiminution therein, but rather approveth and alloweth thereof, either\nwhen or wherever it find it.  This is called the righteousness of God\nwithout the law, and also said to be witnessed by both the law and the\nprophets; even the righteousness of God, which is by faith in Jesus\nChrist unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no\ndifference.\n\n6.  Wherefore, whenever thou who believest in Jesus, dost hear the law in\nits thundering and lightning fits, as if it would burn up heaven and\nearth, then say thou, I am freed from this law, these thunderings have\nnothing to do with my soul; nay, even this law, while it thus thunders\nand roars, it doth both allow and approve of my righteousness.  I know\nthat Hagar would sometimes be domineering and high, even in Sarah\u2019s\nhouse, and against her; but this she is not to be suffered to do, nay,\nthough Sarah herself be barren; wherefore, serve it also as Sarah served\nher, and expel her out from thy house.  My meaning is, when this law with\nits thundering threatenings doth attempt to lay hold on thy conscience,\nshut it out with a promise of grace; cry, The inn is taken up already;\nthe Lord Jesus is here entertained, and here is no room for the law.\nIndeed, if it will be content with being my informer, and so lovingly\nleave off to judge me, I will be content, it shall be in my sight, I will\nalso delight therein; but otherwise, I being now made upright without it,\nand that too with that righteousness which this law speaks well of and\napproveth, I may not, will not, cannot dare not make it my Saviour and\njudge, nor suffer it to set up its government in my conscience; for by so\ndoing, I fall from grace, and Christ Jesus doth profit me nothing.\n\n7.  Thus, therefore, the soul that is married to him that is raised up\nfrom the dead, both may and ought to deal with this law of God; yea, it\ndoth greatly dishonour its Lord and refuse its gospel privileges, if it\nat any time otherwise doth, whatever it seeth or feels.  \u201cThe law hath\npower over the wife so long as her husband liveth, but if her husband be\ndead she is freed from that law; so that she is no adulteress though she\nbe married to another man.\u201d  Indeed, so long as thou art alive to sin,\nand to thy righteousness which is of the law, so long thou hast them for\nthy husband, and they must reign over thee; but when once they are become\ndead unto thee\u2014as they then most certainly will when thou closest with\nthe Lord Jesus Christ\u2014then, I say, thy former husbands have no more to\nmeddle with thee; thou art freed from their law.  Set the case: A woman\nbe cast into prison for a debt of hundreds of pounds; if after this she\nmarry, yea, though while she is in the jailor\u2019s hand, in the same day\nthat she is joined to her husband, her debt is all become his; yea, and\nthe law also that arrested and imprisoned this woman, as freely tells\nher, go: she is freed, saith Paul, from that; and so saith the law of\nthis land.\n\nThe sum, then, of what hath been said is this\u2014The Christian hath now\nnothing to do with the law, as it thundereth and burneth on Sinai, or as\nit bindeth the conscience to wrath and the displeasure of God for sin;\nfor from its thus appearing, it is freed by faith in Christ.  Yet it is\nto have regard thereto, and is to count it holy, just, and good; which,\nthat it may do, it is always, whenever it seeth or regards it, to\nremember that he who giveth it to us \u201cis merciful, gracious,\nlong-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,\u201d &c.\n\n\n\n\nBUNYAN\u2019S LAST SERMON:\nPREACHED JULY 1688.\n\n\n     \u201c_Which were born_, _not of blood_, _nor of the will of the flesh_,\n             _nor of the will of man_, _but of God_;\u201d John i. 13.\n\nTHE words have a dependence on what goes before, and therefore I must\ndirect you to them for the right understanding of it.  You have it\nthus,\u2014\u201cHe came to his own, but his own received him not; but as many as\nreceived him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to\nthem which believe on his name; which were born, not of blood, nor of the\nwill of the flesh, but of God.\u201d  In the words before, you have two\nthings\u2014\n\n_First_, Some of his own rejecting him when he offered himself to them.\n\n_Secondly_, Others of his own receiving him, and making him welcome.\nThose that reject him he also passes by; but those that receive him, he\ngives them power to become the sons of God.  Now, lest any one should\nlook upon it as good luck or fortune, says he, \u201cThey were born, not of\nblood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.\u201d\nThey that did not receive him, they were only born of flesh and blood;\nbut those that receive him, they have God to their father, they receive\nthe doctrine of Christ with a vehement desire.\n\n_First_, I will shew you what he means by \u201cblood.\u201d  They that believe are\nborn to it, as an heir is to an inheritance; they are born of God; not of\nflesh, nor of the will of man, but of God; not of blood\u2014that is, not by\ngeneration; not born to the kingdom of heaven by the flesh; not because I\nam the son of a godly man or woman.  That is meant by blood, Acts xvii.\n26, \u201cHe has made of one blood all nations.\u201d  But when he says here, \u201cnot\nof blood,\u201d he rejects all carnal privileges they did boast of.  They\nboasted they were Abraham\u2019s seed.  No, no, says he, it is not of blood;\nthink not to say you have Abraham to your father, you must be born of God\nif you go to the kingdom of heaven.\n\n_Secondly_, \u201cNor of the will of the flesh.\u201d  What must we understand by\nthat?\n\nIt is taken for those vehement inclinations that are in man to all manner\nof looseness, fulfilling the desires of the flesh.  That must not be\nunderstood here; men are made the children of God by fulfilling their\nlustful desires; it must be understood here in the best sense.  There is\nnot only in carnal men a will to be vile, but there is in them a will to\nbe saved also\u2014a will to go to heaven also.  But this it will not do, it\nwill not privilege a man in the things of the kingdom of God.  Natural\ndesires after the things of another world, they are not an argument to\nprove a man shall go to heaven whenever he dies.  I am not a free willer,\nI do abhor it; yet there is not the wickedest man but he desires some\ntime or other to be saved.  He will read some time or other, or, it may\nbe, pray; but this will not do\u2014\u201cIt is not in him that wills, nor in him\nthat runs, but in God that shews mercy;\u201d there is willing and running,\nand yet to no purpose; Rom. ix. 16, \u201cIsrael, which followed after the law\nof righteousness, have not obtained it.\u201d  Here I do not understand as if\nthe apostle had denied a virtuous course of life to be the way to heaven,\nbut that a man without grace, though he have natural gifts, yet he shall\nnot obtain privilege to go to heaven, and be the son of God.  Though a\nman without grace may have a will to be saved, yet he cannot have that\nwill God\u2019s way.  Nature, it cannot know anything but the things of\nnature; the things of God knows no man but by the Spirit of God; unless\nthe Spirit of God be in you, it will leave you on this side the gates of\nheaven\u2014\u201cNot of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of\nman, but of God.\u201d  It may be some may have a will, a desire that Ishmael\nmay be saved; know this, it will not save thy child.  If it were our\nwill, I would have you all go to heaven.  How many are there in the world\nthat pray for their children, and cry for them, and ready to die; and\nthis will not do?  God\u2019s will is the rule of all; it is only through\nJesus Christ, \u201cwhich were born, not of flesh, nor of the will of man, but\nof God.\u201d  Now I come to the doctrine.\n\nMen that believe in Jesus Christ to the effectual receiving of Jesus\nChrist, they are born to it.  He does not say they _shall_ be born to it,\nbut they _are_ born to it; born of God, unto God, and the things of God,\nbefore they receive God to eternal salvation.  \u201cExcept a man be born\nagain, he cannot see the kingdom of God.\u201d  Now unless he be born of God,\nhe cannot see it.  Suppose the kingdom of God be what it will, he cannot\nsee it before he be begotten of God; suppose it be the Gospel, he cannot\nsee it before he be brought into a state of regeneration; believing is\nthe consequence of the new birth, \u201cnot of blood, nor of the will of man,\nbut of God.\u201d\n\n_First_, I will give you a clear description of it under one similitude\nor two.  A child, before it be born into the world, is in the dark\ndungeon of its mother\u2019s womb; so a child of God, before he be born again,\nis in the dark dungeon of sin, sees nothing of the kingdom of God,\ntherefore it is called a new birth; the same soul has love one way in its\ncarnal condition, another way when it is born again.\n\n_Secondly_, As it is compared to a birth, resembling a child in his\nmother\u2019s womb, so it is compared to a man being raised out of the grave;\nand to be born again is to be raised out of the grave of sin\u2014\u201cAwake, thou\nthat sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee life.\u201d\nTo be raised from the grave of sin is to be begotten and born; Rev. i. 5.\nThere is a famous instance of Christ\u2014\u201cHe is the first-begotten from the\ndead, he is the first-born from the dead;\u201d unto which our regeneration\nalludeth,\u2014that is, if you be born again by seeking those things that are\nabove, then there is a similitude betwixt Christ\u2019s resurrection and the\nnew birth; which were born, which were restored out of this dark world,\nand translated out of the kingdom of this dark world into the kingdom of\nhis dear Son, and made us live a new life; this is to be born again; and\nhe that is delivered from the mother\u2019s womb, it is the help of the\nmother; so he that is born of God, it is by the Spirit of God.  I must\ngive you a few consequences of new birth.\n\nFirst of all, a child, you know, is incident to cry as soon as it comes\ninto the world; for if there be no noise, they say it is dead.  You that\nare born of God, and Christians, if you be not criers, there is no\nspiritual life in you; if you be born of God, you are crying ones; as\nsoon as he has raised you out of the dark dungeon of sin, you cannot but\ncry to God, What must I do to be saved?  As soon as ever God had touched\nthe jailor, he cries out, \u201cMen and brethren, what must I do to be saved?\u201d\nOh! how many prayerless professors are there in London that never pray?\nCoffee-houses will not let you pray, trades will not let you pray,\nlooking-glasses will not let you pray; but if you were born of God, you\nwould.\n\n_Secondly_, It is not only natural for a child to cry, but it must crave\nthe breast, it cannot live without the breast; therefore Peter makes it\nthe true trial of a new-born babe; the new-born babe desires the sincere\nmilk of the Word, that he may grow thereby.  If you be born of God, make\nit manifest by desiring the breast of God.  Do you long for the milk of\npromises?  A man lives one way when he is in the world, another way when\nhe is brought unto Jesus Christ; Isa. lxvi., \u201cThey shall suck, and be\nsatisfied.\u201d  If you be born again, there is no satisfaction till you get\nthe milk of God\u2019s word into your souls; Isa. lxvi. 11, \u201cTo suck, and be\nsatisfied with the breasts of consolation.\u201d  O what is a promise to a\ncarnal man; a whorehouse, it may be, is more sweet to him; but if you be\nborn again, you cannot live without the milk of God\u2019s word.  What is a\nwoman\u2019s breast to a horse?  But what is it to a child?  There is its\ncomfort night and day, there is its succour night and day.  O how loath\nis he it should be taken from him.  Minding heavenly things, says a\ncarnal man, is but vanity; but to a child of God, there is his comfort.\n\n_Thirdly_, A child that is newly born, if it have not other comforts to\nkeep it warm than it had in its mother\u2019s womb, it dies.  It must have\nsomething got for its succour; so Christ had swaddling clothes prepared\nfor him; so those that are born again, they must have some promise of\nChrist to keep them alive.  Those that are in a carnal state, they warm\nthemselves with other things; but those that are born again, they cannot\nlive without some promise of Christ to keep them alive, as he did to the\npoor infant in Ezekiel xvii., \u201cI covered thee with embroidered gold.\u201d\nAnd when women are with child, what fine things will they prepare for\ntheir child!  O but what fine things has Christ prepared to wrap all in\nthat are born again!  O what wrappings of gold has Christ prepared for\nall that are born again!  Women will dress their children, that every one\nmay see them how fine they are; so he in Ezekiel xvi. 11\u2014\u201cI decked thee\nalso with ornaments, and I also put bracelets upon thine hands, and a\nchain on thy neck.  And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and ear-rings in\nthine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head;\u201d and, says he in the\n13th verse, \u201cthou didst prosper to a kingdom.\u201d  This is to set out\nnothing in the world but the righteousness of Christ, and the graces of\nthe Spirit, without which a new-born babe cannot live, unless he have the\ngolden righteousness of Christ.\n\n_Fourthly_, A child when it is in its mother\u2019s lap, the mother takes\ngreat delight to have that which will he for its comfort; so it is with\nGod\u2019s children, they shall he kept on his knee; Isaiah lxvi. 11, \u201cThey\nshall stick and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolation.\u201d  Ver.\n13, \u201cAs one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you.\u201d  There is\na similitude in these things that nobody knows of but those that are born\nagain.\n\n_Fifthly_, There is usually some similitude betwixt the father and the\nchild; it may be the child looks like its father; so those that are born\nagain, they have a new similitude, they have the image of Jesus Christ\n(Gal. iv.), every one that is born of God has something of the features\nof heaven upon him.  Men love those children that are likest them most\nusually; so does God his children; therefore they are called the children\nof God.  But others do not look like him, therefore they are called\nSodomites.  Christ describes children of the devil by their features; the\nchildren of the devil, his works they will do; all works of\nunrighteousness, they are the devil\u2019s works.  If you are earthly, you\nhave borne the image of the earthly; if heavenly, you have borne the\nimage of the heavenly.\n\n_Sixthly_, When a man has a child, he trains him up to his own liking, he\nlearns the custom of his father\u2019s house; so are those that are born of\nGod; they have learned the custom of the true church of God, there they\nlearn to cry, My Father and my God; they are brought up in God\u2019s house,\nthey learn the method and form of God\u2019s house for regulating their lives\nin this world.\n\n_Seventhly_, Children, it is natural for them to depend upon their father\nfor what they want.  If they want a pair of shoes, they go and tell him;\nif they want bread, they go and tell him; so should the children of God\ndo.  Do you want spiritual bread? go tell God of it.  Do you want\nstrength of grace? ask it of God.  Do you want strength against Satan\u2019s\ntemptations? go and tell God of it.  When the devil tempts you, run home\nand tell your heavenly Father; go pour out your complaints to God.  This\nis natural to children; if any wrong them, they go and tell their father;\nso do those that are born of God, when they meet with temptations, go and\ntell God of them.\n\nThe first use is this, to make a strict inquiry whether you be born of\nGod or not.  Examine by those things I laid down before of a child of\nnature and a child of grace.  Are you brought out of the dark dungeon of\nthis world into Christ? have you learned to cry, My Father? Jer. iii. 16,\n\u201cAnd I said, Thou shalt call me thy Father.\u201d  All God\u2019s children are\ncriers.  Can you be quiet without you have a bellyful of the milk of\nGod\u2019s word?  Can you be satisfied without you have peace with God?  Pray\nyou consider it, and be serious with yourselves.  If you have not these\nmarks, you will fall short of the kingdom of God, you shall never have an\ninterest there; there is no intruding.  They will say, \u201cLord, Lord, open\nto us; and he will say, I know you not.\u201d  No child of God, no heavenly\ninheritance.  We sometimes give something to those that are not our\nchildren, but not our lands.  O do not flatter yourselves with a portion\namong the sons, unless you live like sons.  When we see a king\u2019s son play\nwith a beggar, this is unbecoming; so if you be the king\u2019s children, live\nlike the king\u2019s children.  If you be risen with Christ, set your\naffections on things above, and not on things below.  When you come\ntogether, talk of what your Father promised you; you should all love your\nFather\u2019s will, and be content and pleased with the exercises you meet\nwith in the world.  If you are the children of God, live together\nlovingly.  If the world quarrel with you, it is no matter; but it is sad\nif you quarrel together.  If this be amongst you, it is a sign of\nill-breeding, it is not according to rules you have in the Word of God.\nDost thou see a soul that has the image of God in him?  Love him, love\nhim; say, This man and I must go to heaven one day.  Serve one another,\ndo good for one another; and if any wrong you, pray to God to right you,\nand love the brotherhood.\n\n_Lastly_, If you be the children of God, learn that lesson: \u201cGird up the\nloins of your mind as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves\naccording to your former conversation; but be ye holy in all manner of\nconversation.\u201d  Consider that the holy God is your father, and let this\noblige you to live like the children of God, that you may look your\nFather in the face with comfort another day.\n\n\n\n\nBUNYAN\u2019S DYING SAYINGS.\n\n\nOF SIN.\n\n\nSIN is the great block and bar to our happiness, the procurer of all\nmiseries to man, both here and hereafter; take away sin, and nothing can\nhurt us; for death temporal, spiritual, and eternal, is the wages of it.\n\nSin, and man for sin, is the object of the wrath of God.  How dreadful\ntherefore must his case be who continues in sin; for who can bear and\ngrapple with the wrath of God?\n\nNo sin against God can be little, because it is against the great God of\nheaven and earth; but if the sinner can find out a _little_ God, it may\nbe easy to find out little sins.\n\nSin turns all God\u2019s grace into wantonness: it is the _dare_ of his\njustice; the _rape_ of his mercy; the _jeer_ of his patience; the\n_slight_ of his power; and the _contempt_ of his love.\n\nTake heed of giving thyself liberty of committing one sin, for that will\nlead thee to another; till by an ill custom it become natural.\n\nTo begin sin is to lay a foundation for a continuance; this continuance\nis the mother of custom, and impudence at last the issue.\n\nThe death of Christ giveth us the best discovery of ourselves; in what\ncondition we were, so that nothing could help us but that; and the most\nclear discovery of the dreadful nature of our sins.  For if sin be such a\ndreadful thing as to wring the heart of the Son of God, how shall a poor\nwretched sinner be able to bear it?\n\n\n\nOF AFFLICTION.\n\n\nNothing can render affliction so heavy as the load of sin; would you\ntherefore be fitted for afflictions, be sure to get the burden of your\n_sins_ laid aside, and then what afflictions soever you meet with will be\nvery easy to you.\n\nIf thou canst hear and bear the rod of affliction which God shall lay\nupon thee, remember this lesson, thou art _beaten_ that thou mayst be\nbetter.\n\nThe Lord useth his _flail_ of tribulation to separate the chaff from the\nwheat.\n\nThe school of the cross is the school of light; it discovers the world\u2019s\nvanity, baseness, and wickedness, and lets us see more of God\u2019s mind.\nOut of dark affliction comes a spiritual light.\n\nIn times of affliction we commonly meet with the sweetest experiences of\nthe love of God.\n\nDid we heartily renounce the pleasures of this world, we should be very\nlittle troubled for our afflictions; that which renders an afflicted\nstate so insupportable to many, is because they are too much addicted to\nthe pleasures of this life; and so cannot endure that which makes a\nseparation between them.\n\n\n\nOF REPENTANCE AND COMING TO CHRIST.\n\n\nThe end of affliction is the discovery of sin; and of _that_ to bring us\nto the Saviour; let us therefore, with the prodigal, return unto him, and\nwe shall find ease and rest.\n\nA returning penitent, though formerly bad as the worst of men, may by\ngrace become as good as the best.\n\nTo be truly sensible of sin, is to sorrow for _displeasing_ of God: to be\nafflicted, that he is displeased _by us_ more than that he is displeased\n_with_ us.\n\nYour intentions to repentance, and the neglect of that soul-saving duty,\nwill rise up in judgment against you.\n\nRepentance carries with it a _divine rhetoric_, and persuades Christ to\nforgive multitudes of sins committed against him.\n\nSay not to thyself, to-morrow I will repent; for it is thy duty to do it\ndaily.\n\nThe gospel of grace and salvation is above all doctrine the most\ndangerous, if it be received in _word_ only by graceless men; if it be\nnot attended with a sensible need of a Saviour, and bring them to him;\nfor such men only as have the _notion_ of it, are of all men most\nmiserable; for by reason of their knowing more than heathens, this shall\nonly be their final portion, that they shall have greater stripes.\n\n\n\nOF PRAYER.\n\n\nBefore you enter into prayer, ask thy soul these questions, 1.  To what\n_end_, O my soul! art thou retired into this place?  Art thou come to\nconverse with the Lord in prayer?  Is he present, will he hear thee?  Is\nhe merciful, will he help thee?  Is thy business slight, is it not\nconcerning the welfare of thy soul?  What words wilt thou use to move him\nto compassion?\n\nTo make thy preparation complete, consider that thou art but _dust_ and\n_ashes_; and he the great God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, _that\nclothes himself with light as with a garment_; that thou art a vile\nsinner, and he a holy God; that thou art but a poor crawling worm, and he\nthe omnipotent Creator.\n\nIn all your prayers, forget not to thank the Lord for his mercies.\n\nWhen thou prayest, rather let thy heart be without _words_ than thy words\nwithout _heart_.\n\nPrayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease\nfrom prayer.\n\nThe spirit of prayer is more precious than thousands of gold and silver.\n\nPray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a\nscourge for Satan.\n\n\n\nOF THE LORD\u2019S-DAYS, SERMONS, AND WEEK-DAYS.\n\n\nHave a special care to sanctify the Lord\u2019s-day; for as thou keepest it,\nso will it be with thee all the week long.\n\nMake the Lord\u2019s-day the _market_ for thy soul; let the whole day be spent\nin prayer, repetitions, or meditations; lay aside the affairs of the\nother parts of the week; let the sermon thou hast heard be converted into\n_prayer_: shall God allow thee six days, and wilt thou not afford him\none?\n\nIn the church, be careful to serve God; for thou art in his eyes, and not\nin man\u2019s.\n\nThou mayst hear sermons often, and do well in practising what thou\nhearest; but thou must not expect to be told in a pulpit all that thou\noughtest to do, but be studious in reading the Scriptures, and other good\nbooks; what thou hearest may be forgotten, but what thou readest may\nbetter be retained.\n\nForsake not the public worship of God, lest God forsake thee; not only in\npublic, but in private.\n\nOn the week-day, when thou risest in the morning, consider, 1.  Thou must\ndie; 2.  Thou mayst die that minute; 3.  What will become of thy soul.\nPray often.  At night consider, 1.  What sins thou hast committed; 2.\nHow often thou hast prayed; 3.  What hath thy mind been bent upon; 4.\nWhat hath been thy dealing; 5.  What thy conversation; 6.  If thou\ncallest to mind the errors of the day, sleep not without a confession to\nGod, and a hope of pardon.  Thus, every morning and evening make up thy\naccount with Almighty God, and thy reckoning will be the less at last.\n\n\n\nOF THE LOVE OF THE WORLD.\n\n\nNothing more hinders a soul from coming to Christ than a vain love of the\n_world_; and till a soul is freed from it, it can never have a true love\nfor God.\n\nWhat are the honours and riches of this world, when compared to the\nglories of a crown of life?\n\nLove not the world, for it is a moth in a Christian\u2019s life.\n\nTo despise the world is the way to enjoy heaven; and blessed are they who\ndelight to converse with God by prayer.\n\nWhat folly can be greater than to labour for the meat that perisheth, and\nneglect the food of eternal life?\n\nGod or the world must be neglected at _parting_ time, for then is the\ntime of trial.\n\nTo seek yourself in this life is to be lost; and to be humble is to be\nexalted.\n\nThe epicure that delighteth in the dainties of this world, little\nthinketh that those very creatures will one day witness against him.\n\n\n\nON SUFFERING.\n\n\nIt is not every suffering that makes a man a martyr; but suffering for\nthe Word of God after a right manner; that is, not only for\n_righteousness_, but for righteousness\u2019 sake; not only for _truth_, but\nout of love to truth; not only for God\u2019s Word, but according to it: to\nwit, in that holy, humble, meek manner, as the Word of God requireth.\n\nIt is a rare thing to suffer aright, and to have my spirit in suffering\nbent against God\u2019s enemy, sin.  Sin in doctrine, sin in worship, sin in\nlife, and sin in conversation.\n\nNeither the devil, nor men of the world, can kill thy righteousness, or\nlove to it, but by thy own hand; or separate that and thee asunder,\nwithout thy own act.  Nor will he that doth indeed suffer for the sake of\nit, or out of love he bears thereto, be tempted to _exchange_ it for the\ngood will of the whole world.\n\nI have often thought that the best of Christians are found in the worst\ntimes: and I have thought again, that one reason why we are not better\nis, because God purges us no more.  Noah and Lot, who so _holy_ as they\nin the time of their afflictions! and yet, who so _idle_ as they in the\ntime of their prosperity?\n\n\n\nOF DEATH AND JUDGMENT.\n\n\nAs the devil labours by all means to keep out other things that are good,\nso to keep out of the heart as much as in him lies, the thoughts of\npassing out of this life into another world; for he knows if he can but\nkeep them from the serious thoughts of _death_, he shall the more easily\nkeep them in their sins.\n\nNothing will make us more earnest in working out the work of our\nsalvation than a frequent meditation of mortality; nothing hath a greater\ninfluence for the taking off our hearts from vanities, and for the\nbegetting in us desires for holiness.\n\nO! sinner, what a condition wilt thou fall into when thou departest the\nworld; if thou depart unconverted, thou hadst better have been\n_smothered_ the first hour thou wast born; thou hadst better have been\nplucked one limb from the other; thou hadst better have been made a dog,\na toad, a serpent, than to die unconverted; and this thou wilt find true\nif thou repent not.\n\nA man would be counted a fool to slight a judge before whom he is to have\na trial of his whole estate.  The trial we are to have before God is of\n_otherwise_ importance; it concerns our eternal happiness or misery, and\nyet dare we affront him.\n\nThe only way for us to escape that terrible judgment is to be often\npassing a sentence of condemnation upon ourselves here.\n\nWhen the sound of the trumpet shall be heard, which shall summon the dead\nto appear before the tribunal of God, the righteous shall hasten out of\ntheir graves with joy to meet their Redeemer in the clouds; others shall\ncall to the mountains and hills to fall upon them, to cover them from the\nsight of their judge; let us, therefore, in time be _posing_ ourselves\nwhich of the _two_ we shall be.\n\n\n\nOF THE JOYS OF HEAVEN.\n\n\nThere is no good in this life but what is mingled with some evil: honours\nperplex, riches disquiet, and pleasures ruin health.  But in heaven we\nshall find blessings in their purity, without any ingredient to imbitter;\nwith everything to sweeten it.\n\nO! who is able to conceive the inexpressible, inconceivable joys that are\nthere!  None but they who have tasted of them.  Lord, help us to put such\na value upon them here, that in order to prepare ourselves for them, we\nmay be willing to forego the loss of all those deluding pleasures here.\n\nHow will the heavens echo for joy, when the bride, the Lamb\u2019s wife, shall\ncome to dwell with her husband for ever!\n\nChrist is the desire of nations, the joy of angels, the delight of the\nFather; what solace then must the soul be filled with, that hath the\npossession of him to all eternity!\n\nO! what acclamations of joy will there be, when all the children of God\nshall meet together, without fear of being disturbed by the\nanti-Christian and Cainish brood.\n\nIs there not a time coming when the godly may ask the wicked, what profit\nthey have in their pleasure? what comfort in their greatness? and what\nfruit in all their labour?\n\nIf you would be better satisfied what the beatifical vision means, my\nrequest is, that you would live _holily_ and go and see.\n\n\n\nOF THE TORMENTS OF HELL.\n\n\nHeaven and salvation is not surely _more_ promised to the godly, than\nhell and damnation is threatened to, and shall be executed on, the\nwicked.\n\nOh! who knows the power of God\u2019s wrath?  None but damned ones.\n\nSinners\u2019 company are the devil and his angels, tormented in everlasting\nfire with a curse.\n\nHell would be a kind of paradise, if it were no worse than the _worst_ of\nthis world.\n\nAs different as grief is from joy, as torment from rest, as terror from\npeace; so different is the state of sinners from that of _saints_ in the\nworld to come.","title":"Miscellaneous Pieces","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":7266}