the next verse The cure then of Naaman is that which in these latter words is to be considered and first of the holy Ghost his expression 1. The expression His flesh came againe as the flesh of a little childe for of this I will say somewhat ere I come to the main point Many words had been used to expresse Naaman his obedience how punctuall it was and now as many are used to expresse the cure how entire and perfect it was as if God would not come short of him but be as punctuall in full curing of him as hee had been in close obeying God Who doubts of the perfect cure of such a Leper as was made of a scurvie loathsome nasty skin like the skin of a little childe that is as whole as he was borne So that it notes a perfect restitution of Naaman to his former integrity of soundnesse Gods remedies are perfect ones But mens are lame and crazie Mens remedies are alway lame ones if they heale one way they hurt another We use to say of Physicall courses purgings bleedings as they helpe in point of present cure and remove present death and danger so yet they leave a touch upon the body afterward and leave either some other aile behinde or else take away strength abate the spirits or other like and all to shew us that mans medicines are like himselfe and that is crazie doubtfull and dangerous so that not long after the same or worse maladies and diseases follow but to bee sure death Hence arose that proverbe Many Remedies are worse then the diseases themselves And all commodities in this life carry inconveniencies after them Perhaps they are one way beneficiall and two wayes prejudiciall But Gods cures are like himselfe perfect intire and absolute No more leprosie is heard of to grow upon Naamans skin after God had done with him he came no more into the hands of other Physitians through relapse into the old distemper Eccles 7.14 No man can finde out any thing after God But hee can finde out sundry failings after men when they have done their best I will not insist upon it onely it may briefly teach us these two Items First to turne our doting eyes from the perfection of any creature here by reason of those crackes and flawes which are in the best of them We must turn our doting eye from the perfection of the creature What petty Deities and Idols are Physitians esteemed among carnall people for their skill in curing diseases especially if their gift be any more then ordinary Say it be but in any one kinde or disease as a Consumption Feaver Dropsie or the like especially if when others have given over the cure as desperate they take it in hand and effect it What money what honour is thought enough to requite a man Nay as Patients teach them so how doe Physitians learne to dote upon themselves And how will they boast themselves like petty Kings of their supposed skill Oh! if this medicine saith one wil not heale him nothing in the world will doe him good And another I healed him saith he when no other could turne his hand to it And I will pawne all I have upon my skill that I heale him Could God himselfe speake any more Let me not bee thought to speake disdainfully against the persons of any learned or religious Physitians much lesse their profession both which I honour and am bound to doe while I live for the good received from them through Providence And I know many there are in this kinde eminently religious and well deserving But onely by so just occasion one Item I would give to Physitians Physitians must know themselves only instruments of Providence for such as God will heal and another to Patients To the former this That as they are conversant most what about searching out naturall causes symptomes and cures of diseases So no profession is more subject to Atheisme and prophanenesse then such except the Lord subdue and captivate their spirits and skill under his Providence making them servants to attend it for the good of such as to whom God hath appointed life by meanes and no otherwise For why Who knowes not but many recover of diseases in the judgement of Physitians incurable And how many there are in whom nothing save safety appears who yet in the midst of the Physitians security dye instantly All to shew that the passages of life and death are not in mans hand but in the Lords who oft-times delights to blind-fold the wise and prudent in their own sense and to doe good by those who are of meaner parts Not but that the parts of learned Physitians are to bee esteemed who cannot be too well parted since they deale in so pretious a subject as the life of the most excellent creature man but that with parts they joyne a God adore him and set him up in their souls as supreame and chiefe treading themselves under feet in point of that Royall prerogative of saving life Alas how doth the Lord humble our confidence daily when hee crosseth our conjectures and betrayes our folly both in our hopes of recovery when there is none and in our despaires when there is no cause What mortall man whose breath is in his nostrils would not here submit and lay downe his weapons at the feet of the Lord of life and death confessing himselfe a foole and that both in his owne case and others the Lord may and doth often conceale from him the reall cause and truth of Diseases 2 Kings 4.27 The holy Prophet Elisha led by a Divine and miraculous Spirit humbly professed it to Gehazi in the womans case who came for her dead childe The Lord saith hee hath hidden it from me And shall not we say so who are poore silly ones to him even as a base ignorant empiricke is to us and much more So for people how insolent are they in this kinde People very fond in magnifying the outward cause and neglecting God Robbing God of his honour and setting up base man in his throne Oh saith one such a Physitian let me have or let such a sickeman have and upon my life he will heale him Let the upper milstone runne upon the nether and I warrant your corne betweene will be grown What Is there no more in it then so Is there no God Oh cry you mercy saith one I forgot that now I speake as a man Nay rather like an Atheist and so let a Physitian whom they like visit them his comming is to them as good a medicine as the physicke he brings If Physitians would abhorre and tremble at such Patients and Patients such Physitians mules scratching each others itch they would learne more humility and divinity Honour the Physitian and spare not so thou give him no more then is due to an instrument Let him and thou sanctifie both physicke and receits by prayer and faith and behold it as
if comparison be made not betweene them and other of meaner gifts but betweene them and the effects of conversion what is a base sinfull man with all his complements to God and put case that sometime the Lord doe use some men of great esteeme with some carnall persons for their excellent parts the better to winne their great stomackes to like of his truth yet this commonly is but a generall preparative to their conversion for the Lord will strike the maine stroke afterward rather by some other instrument of meaner worth All the Scriptures doe with one consent beare witnesse hereof both in doctrine and examples Our Lord Jesus his worke of salvation was the greatest worke that ever was done in the world And who was he that did it I confesse in himselfe Esay 53. 1 Cor. 1.20 the wisedome of God and the power of God but in the eyes of the world most base the stumbling-blocke of the Jew and foolishnesse to the Gentile By a sonne of a poore woman not an Empresse one borne in a stable and a cratch not in a Palace one that had not an hole to hide himselfe in one that rode upon an Asse and had a few silly men and women cry Hosanna to him who dyed as a malefactor upon a Crosse the most cursed death of all other By him the Lord effects this great worke Not that hee could not have used greater preparations but so it pleased him even to make him the corner stone whom the builders refused So the Apostles were used to preach Christ in the world to subdue and conquer it all to himself who were they No men of great breed birth Luke 5. training or learning but poore Fisher-men utterly unlearned So Paul a poore creature in shew a poore withered branch a man that affected no quaint phrase no elocution but was weak in speech 1 Cor. 3. is used to do more then any of the rest See 1 Cor. 1. Yee know brethren your calling how that not many learned noble or rich but the mean things of this world hath the Lord chosen What is a greater worke then conversion and calling And who are greater and more pretious objects then the called Who honour God more then such as beare his image and are partakers of his Divine Nature Now if God should chuse great ones and jolly wise and politick ones to such ends he should confute this point but he useth the poorest as Saint Iames saith and most base off all of this world to bee heires of salvation That so when his excellency shines through the elements of their basenesse the glory may bee his owne Reason 1 Reasons of the point are many First the Lord delights in casting down and treading under feet all the pride of flesh and conceit of man in beeing instrumentall to his worke So saith Paul 1 Cor. 1. Where is the Scribe where is the Law interpreter where is the wise God hath confounded the great things of the world by his owne seely things No wise man or Artist hath such delight to discover and shame a proud Mountebanke and emperick as the Lord hath to confound a proud person who thrusts himself into his solemne businesse God delights to confute great things by seely He scattereth the wise in the imaginations of their owne heart And the Lord knoweth the wisedome of the wise that it is but folly The weaknesse of God is stronger then man and the foolishnesse of God is wiser then man and therefore by his weaknesse and folly he delights to controll the strength and wisdome of man Those false Apostles gloried much in their parts and speech and skill But the Lord chose poor Paul with his weaknesse to do more good in the point of conversion then all of them They made a great boast to man ward and who but they But the Lord laught them to scorne and all their complements as enemies to the grace of Christ and they who could discerne at length perceived all their scope to be the setting up that trinity of Belly Ambition and Covetousnesse Phil. 3.18 and so beeing discovered they vanisht in the opinion of the Church as smoke Reason 2 Secondly the Lord is very jealous least hee should lose any honour through the glorious shewes and shaddowes of humane ostentation strength or sufficiency God is very jealous of his glory When he gave Jerico into Iosuas hand he was very jealous least Israel should ascribe too much to themselves and therefore befooled all their great courage and strength with a march about the City Josh 6. and blowing with trumpets of Rams-horns and thereby the City walls fell downe prostrate on the earth J â—dg ... These could rob God of no honour they were safe instruments to use when Gedeon had a compleate number of souldiers ready for the battell they were an eye sore to the Lord he thought he should be a loser in point of honour and therefore he told him he should abandon all the rest of the Army and of those of the Army being yet too many he would trie who would lap water as a dog and who would take it into their hand to drinke these latter being many he sent away and the former being but three hundred he would use to get the victory The reason was because by them as no way proportionable to such an effect he could feare no treacherous robbing of his honour So true is that Esay 42. My glory is as my selfe deare to me I will not lose it upon any tearms nor give it to another Reason 3 Thirdly the Lord knowes that we are prone to Idolize the meanes more or lesse and to forsake him for our broken pits For either wee will beleeve no effect further then we see meanes for it We are prone to Idolize means or if we doe not so yet we cleave too much to meanes or if we set up God above them yet we would tie him to blesse them without faile Touching the first of these Jer. 2.13 we naturally goe to worke and weigh things in the ballances of our owne reason And that three waies The first and what they will afford we will yeeld the Lord but no more This age we live in excells in this carnall esteeme of instruments parts and abilities of men and smoother of all divine worke under these feathers As Samuel proportioned Eliab to a Crowne at first sight When great exploits bee done by such as are brave and jolly fellowes men wonder not but say Yea he was a brave man indeed It troubles our base eyes to looke beyond that which is next us and to see God in such effects As silver answeres all things in price so strength and parts answeres all effects in efficacie and working and so God is thrust out of doores As in a Market men lay downe money and take ware so in this Market of worldly wisedome men thinke to effect any thing if they bring
of great wealth I shall dye a beggar Neither will fall to pillaging and breaking open granaries to serve my turne nor rise up against the rich as lately some did in some parts of this Country and were justly executed Conclusion of the Use Lastly in generall be we armed by this doctrine and admonition against the common sway of the age to beleeve as we see They say of the dampe in Colepits that if it come it will cause the candle to burne blue Simil. and thereby the workemen haste them to the mouth of the pit presently lest they be choaked This world is the Colepit this dampe is the carnall Religion of it the candle burning blue is the infection of mens understandings and wills when therefore we see this infection to have tainted most mens hearts and the power of goodnesse decaying then let us be warned looke to our lives ere we be choked with the error of the wicked and let us runne to the pits mouth and desire to bee haled up to the open aire let us goe to the Word and Testimony and as David did Psal 73. ere he was quite stifled let us goe into the Sanctuary and lay this carnall religion in the ballances of it and we shall find it too light and such as is reprobate silver for both weight and substance and then we shall cling to a more sure word of the Prophets and Apostles shining in a darke place 1 Pet. 1.20 which doing we shall doe well and so not bee reproved or rejected So much for this third Vse 4 Fourthly let this be Information to all who would shunne this bitter reproofe of God to bee well advised how they enter upon Religion with a sound judgement about the nature thereof Marke and learne this as all common thinges for the most part goe by sense and rationall grounds So Gods matters goe by contraries Logicke and Philosophy reach not comprehend not Gods mysteries Religion is not against sense or reason for then why should Paul 1 Cor. 15. urge the Atheist by similitudes of naturall things to grant spirituall convincing him of the resurrection by naturall experience of the corne rotting ere it live And so by others But it s above it and therefore resists it rules of art and reason faile here Reason saith of nothing comes nothing God saith I create the fruit of the lips peace even of nothing Yea of nothing comes every good thing He that denies himselfe and is nothing shall be my Disciple Other vertues goe by addition Gods by subtraction God counts the things that are not as if they were The principles of Divinity are not as sense is The Lord Jesus himselfe truly eternall yet truly mortall God cannot dye and yet they killed the Lord of life Christ a very man and no person but a nature By death to conquer death is a senslesse thing in reason Flesh consumed to dust yet shall bee made againe the selfe same body Reason attempts great things by great instruments The Lord uses the poorest and silliest Reason would say the richest make most rich Religion tells us As poor and yet making many rich As having nothing yet possessing all things That a poore company of fishermen should conquer the world which Alexanders army could not That Babes should understand mysteries which wise men cannot That the King of all the world should ride upon an Asse c. How absurd are these notions But to be principled in these senslesse truths irrationall principles what a wonderfull advantage is it to a poore soule in her first entrance upon Religion How will it prepare the heart to beare downe reason and flesh To thinke the better of truth by how much it crosses reason most To beare troubles and crosses meekely because by how much lesse they promise any happinesse by so much the rather they performe it So much for this use of Instruction Lastly let this point bee use of comfort to all Gods people who Vse 5 cleave to the word Consolation Close cleavers to Gods promise are in a blessed state or else soone recover their sliding foote from this common error For if carnall reason be so reproveable then is living by faith commendable The Lord shall one day cause thy light to breake forth poore soule who in all the forenamed respects lookest more to Paul then the Pilot to the word then the world and her Religion Thou livest here as a dispised creature as one of Gods fooles thrust up into a corner as a candlesticke throwne up and downe the house who wert wont to hold out the candle to the house of God Be of good cheere if thou be content to be as God will have thee and to teach thine owne soule in stead of teaching others if thou be one who wilt thrust thine eyes blindefold into Gods bosome and see no further then he hath light for thee take courage to thy selfe Mica 6 9. Psal 37. one day it shall be better and the Lord shall bring forth thy righteousnesse as noon day He shall take thee from among the crokt pots and restore thy doves silver wings as bright as before waite the whiles be doing the thing which is good When the Lord shall come in flaming fire against all that have set up their crest against him and bee a swift witnesse against them then shall he refine his Levy with this fire of triall Mal. 3.3.4 Reve. 3.14 2 Thes 1. Heb. 10.37 and by this day or night rather of tentation which he hath spread over the face of the earth if thou hold the word of his patience he shall bring thee forth of the Colepit And then shall hee be admired by them and in them that beleeve because abandoning themselves the word was received by them in that day I say cast not away thy confidence it hath great recompence of reward But what should I need to comfort thee who carriest the matter of comfort within thee So much for this use also and for the whole doctrine be spoken as also of the first thing which arises out of the attempt it selfe of these servants c. THE THIRTEENTH LECTVRE Still continued upon this thirteenth VERSE VERSE XIII And his servants came neere and said unto him Father if the Prophet had bid thee doe some great thing wouldest thou not have done it How much more then when he saith unto thee Wash and be clean VERSE 14. So he went downe c. 2 Kings I Have in the last Exercise Beloved as you may remember finisht the attempt of the servants being the second generall of the Verse Now we proceed in order to the third viz. The arguments which they use to perswade their Master to obey the message The third generall viz. The arguments The first whereof is the ease of obeying I told you there were foure of them I come to the first that is of greatest weight let us note it wel And that is that
wife good ministery when bad times examples of debauchednesse malitious foes treacherous friends when all these or any would make us thinke our faith was but a fancy and we cast our selves upon a promise in vaine Then looke about thee here and never till now is the triall whether thou hast cast thy selfe upon God or no upon his wisdome to reach thee a way of escape upon his power his truth love and constancy that he can and will free thee Is this faith to pretend casting thy selfe upon God once for all and when trialls come Joh. 11.27.39 to warpe and to say with Martha Now hee stincketh To fling up and downe and say How shall I beare this losse Endure such affront Get out of this poverty Avoid this enemy Cease all other tricks and learne one better then all As the Cat once being challenged by the Fox in point of wit when the Dogs came upon them the Fox with all his wit was torne in peeces the Cat had but one way but it was worth all she got up an high tree and secured herselfe Read Ezra 8.22 He would not dishonour God but fell to the worke of fasting and beleeving and so prevailed Give not thy right in one promise for a world It s a fountaine better then all dry pits A wise man will not sell his possibility of a great inheritance for a trifle assure thy self there is a promise in the word belonging to every duty and every part of a Christians course which who so can beleeve shall go through it whether doing or suffering with sweet ease in respect of him who goeth to work of his owne head He that casts himselfe upon the word cuts off many troubles which others meet with because his heart being well appaid in Gods love is not easily unsettled and as for such as must pinch yet there hee is upheld knowing they come from God in love are no greater then mercy sees meet are such as Christ himselfe is a party in and affords to his members his owne courage meeknesse power and victory to sustaine them in and in his due time will give a redemption from to all who wait for it in well doing and faint not Plead therefore the promise and trust God in all The third Branch of Exhortation concernes those who have cast Branch 3 themselves upon the promise both for pardon Persevering in beleeving procures assurance also for all other support here To such I say give not God over here neither but still presse him for assurance fulnesse of perswasion touching both The faithfull improvement of the promise in respect of the truth of the promiser is often requited by the Lord with such a gratious strength and full faile of the Spirit of the promise as makes God and the soule to grow into close communion and holy familiarity and carries the soule above her doubts feares and complaints because the Spirit of God witnesseth unto our spirits both that we are his and hee ours Nothing shall separate us from his love nor it from us All things pertaining to life and godlinesse shall be ministred This is that which Paul speakes of Ephes 1.13 By which Spirit after you had beleeved you were sealed and by it the Lord makes the soule so interessed in him that as he knowes who are his 1 Tim. 3.1 So they who are his know themselves so reflecting this assurance to their owne consciences so that they walke as enlarged ones because perfect love expells feare I will not say that their joy doth alway equall their peace But their peace equalls their assurance Hence it is that commonly such finde hard duties easie crosses welcome feares vanisht Lesser light in Faith may goe with greater assurance God present in ordinary so that their falls are few and their peace is constant according to that knowledge which they have Which I adde because I doubt not but many an upright Christian may in some cases exceed him in some acts of closenesse and obedience both in doing and suffering who yet goes beyond him in assurance the reason is plaine because assurance followeth not alway upon the greatnesse of light but the constant living by faith in that light which a man hath so that for lacke of light greater faith may come short of that measure of obedience which lesser faith may have To returne let none be wanting to himselfe in seeking the greatest degree but beware of resting upon this that his faith is unfeigned and the faith of the Elect and so never seeke further This is the generall disease of most Christians at this day wherein I am perswaded few attaine that degree which formerly in times of smaller light but more tendernesse conscience watchfulnesse and sincerity with diligence they attained unto Oh thou shalt one day finde the fruit hereof Note this when that broad doore of entrance into the Kingdome shall not be granted thee If any aske by what markes the Spirit of sealing is discerned I answer First by more then ordinary selfe-deniall humility Markes of assurance Luke 5.8 spiritualnesse The nearer the soule comes to God the more it abhorres it selfe Secondly such an one hath much inured herselfe to weigh the promise as that scholler soonest growes to bee above his rules who hath got most exactnesse in his rules Thirdly he is ordinarily free from doubts Rom. 8. ult I am perswaded that neither life nor death c. Fourthly death is welcome to him as it was to Simeon Lord let thy servant depart in peace because mine eyes have seen thy salvation Fifthly such an one is above carnall respects or owne ends for he knowes his requitall is not daunted with trouble hard duties losses for Gods cause for hee understands his hundred fold And so I might adde more which the examples of David and Paul in Scripture will affoord One more I adde If God visit them with any spirituall desertion as he may in extraordinary yet the experience of former mercy at the lowest point keepes them so that the grace of God shall ever be sufficient and therefore they shall bee content for the time of their eclipse to be under infirmity seeing hereby God is most glorified Luke 22.42 and their grace approved Thus it was with our head Christ himselfe and with Paul 2 Cor. 12.9 So much for this third and last Branch and so for the whole use of exhortation Vse 6 Lastly this is use of Comfort and Encouragement to all Gods weake Consolation Weake beleevers must not quaile and give over though sound and faithfull ones who though in much poverty and infirmity of spirit have desired to cast themselves upon the promise when yet their light is divine and their setling and comfort but small Say thine owne heart oft misgives thee saying I have long heard and received the Sacraments with other helps but I cannot put on the Lord Jesus I cannot in particular fasten upon each part of
feares him Psal 103. and thy smoaking flax shall not be put out nor thy bruised reed be broken through thy conflict with the drudgery of thy distrustfull heart Maâ—t 12. Reach only at this strength as able to save thee and as belonging to thee and nothing shall come betweene cup and lip to defeat thee Death it selfe shall but hasten the promise for thee when the fruit is come to the birth this strength of the promise shall bring it forth Wait thou quietly and be doing good and thy judgement shall breake out into victory Whatsoever thy weake beginnings were thy encreases shall be great Believe it and rest thy selfe for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it Job 8.7 Branch 9 Lastly to end remember that in beleeving this promise thou dost not dishonour the Lord Faith is the greatest glory that the soule can yeeld to God but glorifie him above whatsoever else thou canst doe for him It s his scope to shut thee up under this soveraignty of his justice and shew thee his uttermost advantage that he may trie thee whether the sense thereof will draw thee to his ends or no That is when thou hearest of a free grace above and beyond this justice purchased by his deare Sonne that they who beleeve it may glorifie all his whole excellent union of Attributes in one and confesse him to be most just wise powerfull and gracious in his way of redemption above the grace of creation I say he doth trie thee whether thou wilt give him that excellent glory which he hath sought to himselfe by occasion of thy ruine If thine heart then can freely beteame him this glory and more fully empty it self in the glorifying of him then in thy own escaping the former advantage know it thou shalt honour him above all other honour in thy beleeving And by thy distrust and sealing up thy heart under the darkenesse bondage and feare of thy former guilt whatsoever Satan and unbeleefe tell thee sure it is thou goest the next way to crosse God of his purposed intention to glorifie himself marveilously in thy pardon and salvation 2 Thess 1.8 And therefore instead of his being admired in thee because thou beleevest he justly will be admired in thy double vengeance because it was not enough for thee once to sinne in Adam but thou addest drunkennesse to thirst in denying that grace which would have taken occasion by thy sinne to settle an infinite glory upon himself and far better estate upon thee then Adams innocency could have done And so much for this second use of exhortation Secondly this point should be humiliation to all sorts because the Vse 2 Lord hath even the best at sundry petty advantages in each particuler concerning this fraile life Humliation to all sorts in respect of Gods having us at so infinite advantage Although he have released the maine advantage by forgiving us yet so long as sinne and this body of death abideth so long all the penalties abide incident to our nature our Lord Jesus himselfe all the daies of his abasement and flesh endured them and we much more must stoop under them that we might be conformed to his sufferings How should it pull downe our carnall presumption and jollity to consider that even while we are hearing the word the Lord might stop our breath as the breath of one almost was while this point was in handling being a sleepe at the sermon which of us stand not at Gods curtesie for somewhat which others are deprived of How is our fraile life on the sudden intercepted how many are choked with their meate nay have bin choked with a Fly or a raison stone how many make their beds their graves in the midst of their feasting their mirth talke and company arrested with the stroke of Gods hand how many have made their feasting cheare to be the cheare for their funerall how many are slaine by the high way by the fall of their horse others have their eie lasht out by a twig in their travaile Absolon is snatcht up by his long head locks by a shrag of an oake when we are secure of our children lo one is scald with water another drowned in it another burnt with fire other come to other sad casualties All to teach us to humble our soules each day before God and confesse the many just advantages he hath us at us I say and ours and that salvation is from the Lord we take it for granted if we have tilled our grounds we shall have a sowing season at our pleasure if we have sowne our seed and waited our time we shall have our crop and if we have carried it into our barne we shall thresh and eat of our travaile and so ordinarily we doe through mercy yet we are still at Gods advantage in all by wet by drought by fire and vermine and an hundred waies all to teach us God is not so tyed to us or to the meanes and husbandry we use God is not tyed to us in outward protection alwaies no nor to his promise neither but that our presumption infidelity and unthankefulnesse may provokâ— him to use his prerogative and to destroy all that so we may walke with more awe and feare before this our God who is a consuming fire and teach us daily and nightly to shut up our selves and ours in the Arke of his protection to arise up to dresse our selves to eat to worke Deut. 33.11 to walke to converse to lye downe with an humble thankefull heart neither as slaves nor yet as presumers but as those whom the Lord hath at a perpetuall advantage and may use it if hee will and if hee should say as he might better say it 1 King 20.1.3 then that boasting Benhadad did All thy wives children are m ne all thy gold and silver is mine thy treasures also and all thy wealth is mine yea if he should lay his hand upon all or any as which of them is not subject to casualty thy mends were in thine owne hands Oh! with how narrow an eye and foot and how soberly would we use each blessing if we were bound in a statute to a creditor to surrender all at an houres warning and stood at his curtesie for the bread we eat Would we then take our fill or the uttermost liberty of our commodities Even so let us walke humbly before God who is our Soveraigne and hath our lives wealth and persons at command in a moment to surprize us Let us daily take all as lent us from his hand let us use all humbly and purely as if we used them not let us count out selves daily to be in jeopardy and bid adiew daily to all comforts here below yea life it selfe As an holy man being asked over night whether he would goe to such a place to morrow or no answered I thanke God Note I have known no morrow these twenty yeares A signe
powder and shot to the battery The Lord therefore substitutes seely instruments in stead thereof and when mighty effects follow then is his might magnified For the second though wee deny not but the Lord is chiefe The 2. yet still we look at meanes and thinke God workes by them and why should wee not therefore embrace them Our base hearts fall short of God through lazinesse and distrust as well as by Atheisme And therefore even here also God layes a block in our way to stumble at and breake our shinnes to teach us to behold God more closly in the use of meanes both in matters of the World and of the Word he puts us off from our Elisha and sends us to wash in Jorden Thirdly if we goe a little further The 3. and set God up in his place above the meanes yet we take it for granted he must not faile us wee will tye him to over-rule and work by the meanes and thinke much if God satisfie us not accordingly Whereas wee should so look at God as an absolute soveraigne Agent who can work or not work by them above them against them without them Now I come to the use And first this is instruction in sundry kindes Vses 1 First Instruct to teach us why the Lord hath so stript our land and kingdome of Branch 1 so many worthy Lights and Instruments as he hath done some by death some by banishment others in warre others by other violence why hee hath so stript and bared us of many both in civill and Ecclesiasticall state Surely because we applauded our selves too much in their policie Wee have lost many worthy instruments because wee ascribed too much unto them their wisedome their learning experience and sufficiencie We have not looked upon God in their gifts zeale and labours wee have magnified our selves in our store and provision as if we should never be desolate as Tyrus did pride her self in her store of Jewels and pretious stones as Babel sate like a Queen and said she should never see sorrow and therefore was suddenly brought downe See Ezek. cap. 26.27 and 28. verse 13. Jer. 51.53 Lam. 1.9 John 5 35. and as Jerusalem thought her selfe the holy Mountaine and Citie of God the mirror of the world having the Ark of Gods presence his Temple and Priests his Ordinances and Prophets his Word and Oracles therefore Lam. 1. shee came downe wonderfully Even so hath it been with us No sooner hath the Lord planted in any place a faithfull Minister as a shining Light and burning Candle but the people have fallen to idolize him to rejoyce in his out-side to thinke themselves safe and happy in enjoying such Instruments ascribing all the effect of his labours to him little acknowledging the finger of God or the office which hee sustaines not honouring him for the worke sake which hee serves for to reconcile them to God to beget them to a lively hope by the Gospell This basenesse of our fleshly respects hath caused the Lord to rob us of them and to set mean ones in their roomes To teach men to lay to heart their former carnall ends How many have received Prophets to farre other ends then the Lord ever sent them To make them as tearmes of comparison between person and person some to hold upon Apollo 1 Cor. 3.3.4 some Cephas some Paul some others To censure to jangle and some to bring themselves and Townes into some credit in the countrey others to get good custome for their wares and shops others to make themselves wel reputed praised for their forwardnesse and zeal in profession whereas yet alas the meanes being gone and the sive taken out of the water they have proved as meere formall time-servers and as ignorant of their grounds as they who never made shew at all Others have securely rested in their labours never looking for any change of heart thereby but thinking the Prophets shall live for ever and when they are gone fretting at their precisenesse of conscience and unthankfully leaving them to sink or swim and shift as they can Is this beloved to honour God in his ordinance to cleave close to it as under God the mean of conversion Is this to count their feet beautifull and to adore the Lord in the varietie of his gifts and instruments Rom. 10.15 No no and therefore the Lord hath been fain to take them out of the way and leave us to our selves so that our supply was never so great as our defeat is strange All to teach us to looke at the simplicitie of Gods ends to serve God first and man with his leavings let the Lord have the heart set him up there in selfe-deniall humility faith sincerity and faithfulnesse and then let the instrument have the over-plus that honour and countenance which belongs to him for his service For God counts not himselfe robbed by that esteeme wherein we have his Minister under himselfe but that which he hath above himselfe And surely it is not for nothing that the renowned King lately slaine in the heat of his warres King of Sweden oft spake a little before his death that the Lord would not long suffer him to live because the people made him such an Idoll and robbed God of his due to magnifie him Papists worship a dead blocke for want of knowledge and we a living one for lacke of faith the one for a little carving and workmanship of gold and silver the other for a little varnish of gifts or excellencie or parts the one from man the other from God but both idolatrous because against the honour of the giver Branch 2 Another branch of instruction Instruction is to teach us why the Lord doth so defeat men of their purposes and projects which they frame to themselves when they goe to worke upon their owne heads in matters of God We have seen it with our eyes verified Eccles 9.11 which Salomon speakes That victory is not alway with the strong nor race with the swift nor wealth to the provident nor esteeme to the vain-glorious nor spirituall successe to the Minister though learned and rarely qualified because men have boasted of their strength swiftnesse policie experience providence and abilities more then the Lord. I am witnesse my selfe of some sad events in this kinde that men have spent themselves in their studie to perfect some speciall discourse and Master-peece of their owne braine either to beare downe the truth and broach schismaticall points or to win the spurres and get themselves the eternall repute of learned persons or some vaine applause of fantasticke auditors as if they sought a plaudite upon the stage a base prophanenesse both in them that seek it and them that offer it But the Lord hath so resisted their pride and struck off their wheeles brought them to such a reproachfull non-plus before all their auditors that they have verified the speech God resisteth the proud
God beseech him to helpe thee with faithfulnesse in the search else thou wilt end as thou beganst not to spare thy self but desiring that the spears point which pierced Christ sides might let out the thoughts of thy heart in this kinde or rather that the sword of conviction may open the bowells of it and shed them to the ground doe not this work when thou art otherwise occupied and hast other businesse to doe thou shalt finde this work enough alone if not too much for thee and doe it by frequent meditation which is nothing else save making the truth of God thine owne and that which thou canst not finde thy selfe guilty of at one time or perhaps capable of or able to lay to heart to abhorre or to finde sweetnesse in the doing of goe to it another goe on where thou leftst praying God thou maiest not be new to beginne and thou shalt finde that at another time the second or the third thou shalt obtaine it Thou shalt not repent thee of thy labour in thus preventing and cutting short that enemy which would else have prevented and cut thee off from grace only resolve of this that till the Lord hath grounded thee in the truth of this doctrine a principle of practicall Catechisme it is impossible for thee to thrive in grace or use of meanes Further pressing of the triall Say therefore thus to the Lord Thou knowest the paines of thy servant in the use of meanes thou knowest how poorly I have thriven under them how little my faith my comfort my obedience is how ready I am to deceive my selfe in that I seeme to have to take up my rest therein that so I may not be molested any longer but soke my selfe in the dregges of my ease and will not to stirre one inch off my owne ground Now Lord if thou wilt be pleased to shew me whâ—t hath done me all this hurt I should infinitely blesse thee I am not so foolish I thanke thee as to trade for religion and yet crosse mine owne ends in wilfull holding any evill within my bosome which should deprive mee of my hopes I am willing to be informed and heare of the worst yea to unbottome my selfe of my old rotten mixtures and false grounds for the bettering of mine estate rather then to sleep in death and lie down with them in the dust Lord therefore now before my heart bee hardened in custome and security blesse mine examination to the true ends which it serves for Here I thought to have ended the use but there comes one objection to my minde Object Do all see this Selfe who are truly converted which must be answered For some will say You make a great discourse of this Self What think you Are there not many Christians truly converted to God who never discerned this disease as you have described it and yet are unfeigned and true converts and beleevers Answ 1 I answer you 2. or 3. wayes First hoping that their Quaere proceeds not from self-cavilling The grace of election working a greater measure of humiliation and tendernesse in some poore soules who want this knowledge supplies this want sweetly but from simplicity thus Many poor soules have through mercy obtained from the Lord a great measure of brokennesse of heart humblenesse of spirit more then the common sort of Professors either have or seek and by this means their helpes in both publique and private being few and their discouragements many the Lord beholding them in the grace of his election supplies all wants by his owne Spirit keepes them hungry abases them in the sense of their many infirmities puts in a spirit of perpetuall jealousie over themselves and works them to a marveilous plainnesse of heart to loath all falshood as they can discerne it and so perfects the work of faith in them secretly farre otherwise then in such poore creatures might bee expected of these I say that although perhaps they heare not so much discourse of the name and dangerous markes of Selfe yet they feele the realnesse of it within themselves and are better acquainted with it then many who heare more of it And these persons if it should please the Lord to bring that home in doctrine use and admonition unto them which I have spoken would be formost in acknowledging and blessing God for such truth and make better use of it then the most doe Answ 2 Secondly I answer Satan and corruption in these last daies doe conspire to withold many subtill wise and carnall worldlings from embracing the truth then ever and as all Arts so this art of Selfe serving into the truths of God by the counterfeiting and deceiving of men is grown rife and perfect Satan more prevailes with this subtill world then ever Ephes 4.14 therefore needs the more exact and carefull countermining Thirdly the Spirit of God under constant meanes workes leasurely and therefore corruption is not cast out all at once but by long discipline and discovery of it by the word and in the multitude of helpes such as Answ 3 God be thanked have beene enjoyed in sundry places much rankenesse hath growne as a canker in a faire apple in the spirits of many Professors as pride selfe-conceit and prejudice which the Lord hath justly punished as I noted in the reasons with a spirit of fulsomenesse and furfet hardnesse of heart and difficulty of perswasion so that in these daies that old tendernesse and selfe-deniall which possessed the spirits of most Christians is rare to finde Much need therefore of urging this doctrine in these our daies Much more need therefore there is of this doctrine to be urged in these dayes that such as are the Lords and yet held under this snare may be pulled out and saved and those who are not may be left therein because they would not receive the truth in the naked love of it Lastly to end this use this I adde That although the Lord should Answ 4 have called home many without any former knowledge of Selfe in any great measure yet I doubt not but when they do come to a better view of it they will both mend their former bottomes see cause to trust God and glorifie his grace in Christ more then ever before and also looke to themselves in the course of their sanctification the more watchfully lest this enemy should hurt them more in that then it did in the matter of their first conversion However I see no cause why the more cleare discovery of the will and way of God should seeme superfluous because God had his number when the light shined not so cleerly And so much for answer to this question We may discover it by these marks First by the true humbling of the soule A proud heart will have her will to die for it Because pride hath high thoughts and must be satisfied as Rabel with children or else shee dies And her daughters having lost their children by
his vantage and all things considered it is no great selfe-deniall to sell all for so infinite a gaine to lose a present little for a future unknowne estate therefore his eye will not spare he will abondon all his worth and gage his credit too but hee will have it and so he makes it his own But having so done will not take twice the worth of it again Oh! do thou so poor Soule and prosper sell all selfe and all for though it be not worth in it selfe the parings of thy nailes yet because opinion and errour and a corrupt heart of selfe-love doe set such a price upon it he Lord is content to take it as a price of the Lord Jesus As David thought a pot of water upon such tearmes as the hazard of three Princes lives a meet offering for God so I say Offer God selfe and all it is scarce worth a pot of water of it selfe but as it is the price of life so it makes the selfe-deniall pretious to God Skin for skin and all that a man hath will hee give for life but even this pretious life and all will a sinfull soule give to save Selfe Oh! what is every man save his minde Each mans will more deare to him then the world The minde of every man is the man the spirit of the Miser the mind of the Drunkard the conceit and opinion of a Papist an Heretick or Schismaticke the will of an Adulterer though all of them are as vile as dung yet they are more pretious to them then life it selfe They will engage all rather then their will and selfe Even so fares it with corrupt selfe The Lord offers to the soule the Lord Jesus the fruit of his bloud and satisfaction to pardon save it But upon what tearmes Surely these that the soule sell all Alas what is all she hath to sell worth Shee hath nothing but bare walls within and a dung-hill without he that should carry them away to have them should take them at a deare rate for what is old Adams wealth but misery and nakednesse Oh! but there is a further thing in it the soule thinkes her selfe rich and full This conceit must be first abhorred the offer of Christ seemes to bee too hot and heavie carnall wisedome reason wit ease feare of losing liberties and all other selfe resists it yea she so likes the Pearle that she will yeeld a devotion a religion of duties of costly service to redeeme this price of Selfe the halfe of the Kingdome she can forgoe and the other halfe shee will yeeld to Christ and so save her stake but to sell himselfe wholly to the skin that Christ may be all in all ground money gold apparell meat drinke and all this is death But even this God must have or nothing For why This will lay grace and the thanke of the soule under feet which God cannot endure Therefore this price the Lord will have or nothing Oh! give it him freely One peece of Selfe will plead how canst thou spare thy darling Another to live at ease in an opinion of a safe estate to God How canst thou part with it being thy Idoll thy bosome delight But if thou be this merchant royall who is able to weigh the worth of the Pearl offered thee peace of conscience an happy death and happier life after I advise thee put it not off for the sake of a thousand Selves except thou will bring such sorrow upon thy selfe after as all thy will cannot make recompence for when the bargain is rejected As the Mariners in Ionah would have rowed to land to have saved Ionahs their own lives Jonah 1. but when no way would serve they threw all into sea Wheat and other provision And when nothing would do they cast Ionah himselfe in so let this last enemy Selfe as perverse as Ionah in his owne device be throwne over-boord rather then the pretious soule should bee in jeopardy Ministers must be the formost in self deniall Josu 3.15 And let us Ministers of God like the Priests that first stepped into Jordan when it gave way into Canaan bee the first that tread out this way to the people of God for it is a way which though it bee troden out plainly enough in the Scriptures yet had need of lively practice to teach it before men will beleeve it These sheep are much led by the eye as well as the eare by beholding the examples of their Shepheards I meane as well as by doctrine Oh! when they heare us declaim against Selfe and plead for selfe-deniall very stoutly with our tongues they lay their eare to our practice and hearing our Lute strings to jarre and seeing us wire-draw and cast about every way rather then we will part with any thing for peace of conscience or glory to God not onely not our livings but not our passions of wrath envie contention vain-glory not a brasse farthing of our gaines not a dramme of our pride ease idlenesse pompe and jollity will and stomack pleasure or preferment for Christ and his Gospel they have the measure of our foot by and by and resolve to give us the hearing till our tongues be torne but till they see in us more selfe-deniall they will never beleeve that wee speake the truth for Gods cause but onely as Parrets for fashion sake Oh! the infinite prejudice which we our selves brethren by our close cleaving to our selves have done to this great cause of God And this I can say That such of Gods Ministers as have hazarded themselves most for God and purchasing advantage for their Ministery have obtained more roome in the consciences of their hearts then many of such as have stood out to the uttermost and would not abate any ace of their owne for the winning of reverence to their doctrine And yet I would also exhort Ministers to be as instant in the teaching of this truth as in lively exemplifying it in their practice And rare it is to see it otherwise that those who have found by experience the life of this truth of selfe-deniall in themselves can keepe hot coales in their bosomes but must needs utter themselves to their people in a serious and painfull preaching of this doctrine There was a Statute we know of Mortmaine The true Mort-maine which was faine to bee enacted since the times of superstition in this our Kingdome to cut off the validity of such gifts as were given to the Clergy for Popish ends This Statute should every good Minister enact in his owne soule if ever he looke to doe good to others first to cut off and make Selfe a Mort-maine a dead hand for God doth so if it shall dare to bring any gifts to God for Christ and to count them as absolute forfeits as if a Popish fellow should give moneyes and yearly gifts to a Priest to read Masse or Dirigies for the weale of his soule after his decease And
our places and callings and be not too indulgent to our backs bellies companies travells and the like sensuall recreations and contentments many men affect such a breâ—th in the uttermost of their liberties and jollitie that their very garbe bewraies them to bee men who savor not much of denying themselves goe to the Lord often with this thorne in thy heele and bemoane thy paine unto him 2 Cor. 12.6 till he ease thee as Paul did and ceased not till the Answ 6 spirit was sufficient for him Beseech the Lord not to leave thee to thine owne findings but to take thee into his own patronage maintaining thee at his cost and charge It is said that Ieconia long after his obedience to the Prophet Ieremy Jerem. 52.31 to yeeld up himselfe to the King of Babel was so honoured by God as to become of a vassall and captive a favorite and to be nourished from the Kings owne dish to have a portion of meate from him daily meditation of the Pearle Matth. 13.44 caused the Merchant to sell all and buy it How doth Paul Phil. 3. heate his heart with the Lord Jesus till hee cast out himselfe as dung Dâ—vid Psal 73. recovers himselfe out of his temptation of distrust and impatience by meditation and then breakes out Whom have I in heaven but thee Luke 2.51 Mary bred Christ in her soule by pondering the message of the Angell against her feare and doubting Nothing a greater nourisher of Selfe then unacqaintance and slothfull neglect of the promise Againe behold the practice of the Saints both in Scripture and experience both living and dying Heb. 13.7 how they have moulded their souls into the truth of God and have been content to hazard their own salvation thereupon saying if I perish I perish Let also as I toucht before the afflictions Answ 8 of God whether in our bodies or soules breake us off from our wilde olive stock and implant us into the naturall and sweet olive Say Lord it is a sweet mercy not to live to my self though it cost me deare to learne this discipline but to be at thine allowance As an idle wench chuseth to live basely and idely at her owne hand rather then under a Mistresse so would Self do if God did not over-rule the soul But when she is corrected and instructed then she smites upon her thigh and repenteth Lastly Answ 9 be not too eager in pursuit of our worldly affairs but quietly let us set our boate upon our streame of providence to crosse our selves in our carnall appetites and though God crosse us not yet deny we our selves inuring our hearts to mercy compassion to such as are in necessity bodily or spirituall Let not Papists the chiefe favorites of Selfe condemne us Protestants in this kinde farre it be it from us to foster a spirit of envy which lusteth in us after uncharitablenesse indignation morosity austerity censoriousnesse anger revenge suspitions contentions Jam. 4.4 discontents either with men or with providence and Gods administrations that please us not for these morall distempers will defile us spiritually if we be not aware of it Seeke not honour repute respect and acknowledgement from men let God alone with these Joh. 5.44 and let us not for such base scurfe yet highly set by in the world destroy the worke of God Oh! beloved consider what I have said of this weighty argument and the Lord give us understanding in all things for mine owne part I have cause to mourn that notwithstanding all I have spoken I have so small hope to prevaile with men because I goe against their edge and speake riddles to men of another metall What are we but signes and spectacles to men and divells in preaching these doctrines What serve we for save to harden their hearts For they will fulfill the doctrine and Selfe is like to quash their hopes when all is done The Lord prevent it in you for his mercies sake And so much also shall suffice for this whole use of exhortation to them that seeke conversion Now concerning the latter branch of Exhortation 2. Branch of Exhortation Gods people must practise selfe-deniall in their conversation to them who through mercy are converted already Let me urge this upon them so much the rather to deny all for Christ and his name by how much they have already obtained favour to count all as drosse in respect of pardon and reconciliation If in the former respect that of our Saviour be true how much more in the latter He that will bee my Disciple must deny all if the case so require take up his crosse and follow me And the truth is such are the times we now live in that I am in a manner forced to adde this point of use to the former For you must know the former is secret from the view of men though one day it shall be knowne to men and Angells so that we should doe men a world of wrong if we should judge them to bee other then selfe-denyers and beleevers Matth. 16. end But indeed there is another selfe-deniall a consequent upon faith and that is an outward renouncing of our selves and selling our selves out of all our profits pleasures ease and liberties for the name the truth of doctrine the profession of Christ in power That rather then we would betray these to the enemies thereof neither liberties nor lives should be deare to us Now herein what doe men Alas they shew that either they never knew what it meant to cast out Selfe to receive Christ or else they have found a narrow distinction between barke and tree to save themselves harmelesse viz. That although they deny themselves inwardly for him never so yet they have a dispensation so that outwardly they will not lose a dramme of wealth credit maintenance ease love of wife child will or appetite for his sake And at this plat the world of our professors now fall off Causes They love Christ with their hearts but they will not lose one straw for him Alas what wonder that it is so with them For why Why most men so little deny themselves for Christ To deny a mans selfe for Christ requires a better bottome then they have any The Lord Jesus never denyed himselfe to the death for the redemption of their soules never gave himselfe as a price to wrath for their pardon and peace The Apostle Rom. tells us Doubtlesse for a good man one would be content to dye Christ hath not been a good Christ to them for if he had they would deny themselves to the death for him They are upon their owne bottome still their owne ease will health pleasures life and liberties are too deare to them they love them as pretiously as a zealous Christian loves Christ therefore they will part with nothing for him If Christ were their Selfe their inner man their joy and content they would cleave to him as their
remaines both of this and the other uses to the next Sermon if God will Let us pray c. THE EIGHT LECTVRE still continued upon this twelfth VERSE VERSE XII VERSE 12. Are not Abana and Pharfar rivers of Damascus better then all the waters of Israel May I not wash in them and be cleane So he went away in a rage VERSE 13. Then his servants came neere unto him and said Father if the Prophet had sayd some great thing c. I Could not beloved in our Lord Jesus finish in the former exercise 2 Kings that which I intended concerning the doctrine of carnall reason I repeat nothing but call to your minde that in the fourth branch of admonition I first spake by way of watch-word to the severall conditions of my hearers And first I entred upon caveat to Gods Ministers and so proceeded to the people Let me now come to Parents and Object 3 Governours Bee carefull to what Tutors and Teachers Parents and governours beware of it Masters and Guardians ye commit the education of your children Carnall reason lookes at carnall ends where children may not be backe and belly beaten where they may learne their bookes and trades and have their stocks restored at their yeares end and this I dislike not so be it that ye neglect not their soules which else will crie out against you and leave them to themselves so be it you plant them not under Masters which are content so they doe their worke to give them their liberty upon the Lords day to drinke to game and to keepe company with them by whom they may soone be carried into the depth of Satan and grow debaucht in their manners all their life after Worldlings make but a mock of this I grant and say so they may have their children taught to behave themselves civilly and learne their occupation they care not greatly for precisenesse or to have them more Religious then themselves but when they see this narrow scantling will not be kept but irreligion teacheth them to grow drunkards uncleane swearers and the like Oh! then they wish they had beene brought up with Puritans Oh ye husbands Object 4 and parents looke to it let not carnall conversing with your wives and training up your children and servants Husbands and wives humoring them in their vices for peace and ease teach them the common religion of the times swearing cogging deceiving breaking Sabbaths geering and squibbing at those that are better then their selves I tell you look what Characters are in your seale will soon be seen by your wax they shall have cause to curse the day that ever they saw your faces nay perhaps one day your owne consciences shall rend you in peeces for that you see the fruit of your government appeare so fearfully and shall say it was I that nipt this blossome on the head I corrupted my wife I tainted my children in their youth I shall pay the shot of their soules ruine Object 5 So ye Physitians Physitians take heed of the disease incident to your profession even to be haife Atheists and that by ascribing so much to naturall and second causes and too little to God Philosophy and Physicke will reveale no better except Divinity teach you to ascribe all to the supreame cause and be content to stoop and be at a set in your cures when providence will have it so Teach your selves your patients who is that great Physitian that rules your Art and take not upon you to keep that key of successe those issues of life or death which are under divine custody who can kill by a disease not mortall All sorts and can save when the disease is deadly Object 6 Likewise you Magistrates Magistrates boast not of your skill in the law but feare God say it is the Lord who subdueth the people unto us you schollers Object 7 and Sudents beware of that prophane tradition that ye cannot be religious and learned Sâ—holars and students set up the Bible above your other library and prayer above your studies and the Lord above your wits tye your boates to his ship to be led according to his motion follow the star till you have found out the babe Jesus and doe homage to him with the first and best Object 8 of your treasures Ye tradesmen shopkeepers and labourers sacrifice not to your nets Tradesmen say not to your hands you have made us rich ye rich men Object 9 say not to the wedge of gold thou art my stay this were as Iob saith to Object 10 deny the Almighty ye poore folke now in this deare time despaire not of releefe Rich and poore Job 32.16 because you see few friends say not God give me health or else I starve for more then I worke for I looke not for use industry but set up God above adore his providence who all this yeare hitherto hath so provided that yet ye are not starven make him your God alsufficient Object 11 Ye midwives teach not women in their travel to call upon our Lady Midwives Jona 3.9 but bid them say salvation is of the Lord. And thus would I speake to all sorts if they were present cast out that carnal reason whereby ye feele your selves most tempted to distrust God 2. Branch of this fourth Admonition 1. Prejudice an abettor of carnall reason And to these former let me adde also other caveats in a word against those evills which nourish this carnall reason in you As first one prop of this sinne is prejudice and forestallednesse Such as those Jewes Acts 28. bewraied who when Paul made his defence told him This sect of Nazarens is every where ill spoken of and from this carnall ground they renounced his apology and cause A second is scandall at the power of Religion Oh! it is a pinch and a checke to their carnall liberties men cannot endure such chaines Psal 2. and will have no Lord to curbe their lusts A third is offence and stumbling at the meanes of Christ and Religion Doe any of the Pharisees follow him 2. Scandall at Religion and her meannesse 3. Base feare of man Luke 1. Tradition None save these people who are accursed embrace him A fourth is base feare of man more then God My grandfather father friends favour not this way I see it breeds losse danger trouble and pursuit A fifth is the tradition of men As Zachary disliked to name his sonne Iohn because none of his family were so named rather they chuse to be irreligious still then to change the custome of their forefathers And the threats of parents to their children doe deterre others saying if I thought thou wouldest be one of these zealous ones thou shouldest not have a foote of my land A sixth is lewd counsell Lewd counsell of such as egge away the yonger sort and tell them it is the next way to reproach and beggery A seventh is base
an outward manner Surely hee would declare from heaven who are for him and who against him Carnall reason wishes old waies in stead of a promise His enemies should not flourish and have their wills as they have Goates should not trample upon sheep surely he would judge the world in equity not suffer things to be so darkely carried Indeed we have the word and his promises sounding in our eares and his threats but he followes them not really with blessing the godly nor destroying the wicked Oh! those were happy times when the high Priests Ephod answered cases when God spake with voice and by miracles visions and Prophets This scurfe is lodged in our bosomes and we little ponder that Heb. 1.1 that now God speaketh by his sonne as if he should say this manner of his revealing himselfe exceeds all other to a beleeving soule Faith can make a reall presence though no carnall both in sacrament and in word preached and in crosses and in the most hidden administrations of God in the Church But it is this cursed carnall reason which darkens all and causes every object to be like the glasse through which we behold it To returne therefore if thou have beene a man given to thine appetite put thy knife henceforth to thy throate and stand not to defend or maintaine it against the Lord Bestow no more wit to cavill but fight against thy infidelity Sarah laughed behinde the doore at the message of the Angel but she was ashamed of it Heb. 11. she is said by faith to conceive seed she had cast out carnall reason ere she could breed by the promise If thou see a difficulty in the promise which thou canst not match yet turne thy struggling against thy self and give glory to God in shaming thy self that so thou maiest give him more in beleeving Oh what should it boot me to heare men say I have as morall a people as any are except it may be added as spirituall also what joy can be morall and carnall civility and rationall Religion may well agree truly this taint is deeply festred into most of us You of this congregation looke to it No congregation for this fifty years hath been so beaten and staved off from carnall reason a life of sense and unbeleefe as this and therefore looke to it Satan will more rejoyce in your flesh then in any other if he can rule in you by the scepter of carnall reason as truly he doth in most of us Oh! how will he crow upon his dunghill and exalt himselfe above the truth of God so long preached Give over this strong hold forsake and surrender this castle for God sticke no longer to it say thus If I cannot beleeve as I would yet I will set my marke upon Gods word I will honor such as can Gods truth ceases not to be faithfull because I am unbeleeving God keepe me from being unfaithfull that it may be true to me Alas if God spake never so really from heaven what were it without faith Joh. 21. And when Thomas put his finger into Christs sides what had he gained by it if still unfaithfull God hath made himselfe cleare to me by more expressions then to many I have had more patience deliverances blessings redemptions then many I have touched and tasted the Lord and groped him with hands and yet unbeleefe hath made all unsavoury So that I see it must be faith and not carnall reason which must prevaile For then Israel in the wildernesse had never beene barred from Canaan by unbelefe Oh therefore I am weary of this wofull enemy I could put tenne cavillers to silence ere I could set carnall reason at a non-plus she hath a fountaine within her springing up to death and is never weary But Oh Lord pardon what is past and through mercy for the time to come I shall turne a new leafe Oh! that I could nay the Lord prevaile but thus farre with you I dare not leave you here But Oh! that you who are not come so farre as this might at least attaine this Branch 2 Secondly therefore let me draw ye one steppe further and that is to be a foole in thy selfe Exhortation We must bee Gods fooles ere we be wise to salvation that thou maist be made wise The sunne never riseth but ye shall perceive a dimnesse and blacknesse cast upon the aire though the moone and starres shine never so brightly before So where the light of divine wisdome approacheth it causeth all the wisdome of flesh to vanish as smoke before it And this the Lord of purpose effects in all whom he converts as he rehe did to Naaman He will make all flesh to be as grasse and all the beauty of it as stubble that he may shine onely in the soule and that the Kingdome may be the Lords It is I confesse as ridiculous to us Joh. 3.5 as that a man should enter againe into his mothers wombe But such a change must there be the fruit in the wombe undergoeth not more alteration ere it see the light then carnall reason must doe ere the soule be begotten to God It must be with it as with a scholar that would learne a poore trade he must lay downe all his learning and stoop to be an idiot in that science till he be taught it It must even be as the Jesuits novice is to his superior whatsoever he teaches him or enjoynes him be it never so repugnant hee must submit he must have no understanding cavills or objections against it but freely suffer himselfe to be led into the streame of authority and captivate all feares unlikelyhood dangers to the blinde obedience of governours he must say the Crow is white and the Swan blacke yea even suffer his senses and braines to be knockt out that he may be a true novice a wise Catholicke no Jesuit will else have to doe with him if he say not yea to his assertions and nay to his denialls if he be not ready in all things to assent This I affirme of them as most unnaturall for Religion expells not reason but rectifies the carnality of it but yet in a sort the Lord requires no lesse in point of carnality then they doe in point of reason it selfe The Lord will triumph over it and say where is the Scribe The wise man 1 Cor. 1.15 He will cause this wisdome to become very madnesse ere ever he commit the seed of true wisdome to it and the soul hearing principles of Christ and faith must chaine up cavilling and thrust her eies into Gods bosome professing to know nothing in any mystery of Religion save that which truth reveales and having as Ionathan by his honey received sight Psal 73.15 he must cry out Oh foole that I was Oh beast in thy sight Oh Lord Oh now I appeare a very foole to my selfe and perceive that darkenesse cannot comprehend it selfe till a light of God be held
into the dungeon and then it falls downe as Saul with that light which shone about him Act. 9. and saith what wilt thou have me to doe I am as thou wilt have me 1 Sam. 3. my wisdome my wit shall be thine speake Lord and thy servant heareth he that formerly should have perswaded me of this might as easily have forced me to say it is light at midnight But Lord now I am a foole in my selfe meerly empty of mine owne sense and wholly thine addicted to sweare to thine edicts and if thou sâ—â—ak the word I lay hand upon mouth and have done This is to be as a little child whom ye may winne to say what ye list Oh! this is the next way to make thee wise to salvation This is to be unto Gods wisdome as the Queene of Sheba was to Salomons even to have no spirit left in her Oh! thou must say with David My fingers shall forget to play and lose all cunning Thirdly thou must so be stript of all thine owne Word of truth must cast the seed of God into the soule when once emptied of her selfe as yet thou must Branch 3 not be a meere void and empty one of all other wisdome But the word of truth must be shed as seed into thy soule and the principles thereof must be infused into it to informe it and to create of nothing a new nature of divine light into it I say as they spake in Act. 23.7 If an Angell from heaven have revealed any thing from heaven to him we will not gainesay it These words the Pharisees used of set purpose to oppose the Sadduces who denyed Angels and souls of men So must thou That which hath beene most contrary to thy wisdome must now bee all in all Now thou must oppose thy selfe thus If God have revealed any truth of his from heaven I will sooner cast thee out then resist it Be thou as parties who put their matters to compromise They are first bound in bonds to stand to award So doe thou binde thy carnall reason as a dogge to the stake that it stirre not a foote nor once mute while God is speaking yea doe thus with gladnesse as poore men are glad to be bound to arbitrement because they desire an end So thou because thou desirest to be savingly wise be glad there is such a word of truth shining in a darke place and open all windows to let it in do not stop any crevis of light which might enter but greedily attend study meditate in this word till the Lord thereby have let it into those darke corners of the heart that was before in the shadow of death and till the truth doe incorporate with thine understanding and cause the scales of darkenesse to fall off as Pauls did that thou maiest see cleerely those things that concerne thy peace All the fogs mists and cavills of carnall reason being scattered Oh! let her interrupt the Lord as she will yet the soule knowes whither to goe for deciding the question she will not forfeit her bond by which shee is bound to stand to the last decision of the word Fourthly get the spirit of the Lord Jesus into thy soule The fourth The Spirit of the Lord Jesus must create holy wisdome in the soule Joh. 1.18 who is the active worker of true and sanctified wisdome in the renued soule According as the Apostle tells us He is made unto us of the Father wisedome c. He enlightens every one that comes into the world with true light being that light which the soule must come by to the Father whose light cannot else be approached By the flesh of the Lord Jesus the soule is made capable of this light of the word else there is no capablenesse And the Spirit of the Lord Jesus workes the soule into this light because it reveales him unto it in the mystery of reconciliation and forgivenesse For why Till the soule be made wise to salvation all her wisdome is only in the brain will not hold The Spirit of Christ therefore lets into the heart as well as the head of the beleever this light and conveies the goodnesse warmth and sweet of it into the soule and that it is which causes it to dwell in the soule and to be an immortall and unâ—â— caying light which shall abide to eternall life till the soule see light in Gods light else the light of the Hypocrite is but a violent and dim twilight caused rather by a necessity of conviction then a powerfull perswasion Therefore apply thy selfe especially to such helpes as may bring Christ into thy soule The sight of his salvation to thy soule is the quintessence of spirituall wisdome this will cause thee to grow in all light when once thou art enlightned in the mystery of acknowledging Christ to be thy Saviour Ephe. 1.18 For why This will teach thee that Christ is all godlinesse in a mystery all the whole truth of God is lapped up in him as his infants body was lapped up in cloaths and swath-bands Else all knowledge is but a guessing and conjecturall thing count it then thy chiefe wisdome to be wise in escaping the snares of death and in beleeving unto salvation Oh! who shall bring me where I shall heare a Sermon of Christ to pardon me to reconcile me to God! If faith in the Lord Jesus once turne thy stream and carry thee with a fuller sway to heaven then all thy worldly wit carried thee before to thy cavills and objections there is hope thou hast well quitted thy selfe of carnall reason Faith the true eye to behold the mysteries of salvation Fifthly looke with the eye of faith into all the mysteries of godlinesse to beare downe carnall reason No mystery can be understood without faith The Spirit of God workes faith first as that instrument whereby the soule is led into all the secrets of God Faith by a promise will make carnall reason stand by as a very foole Hence it is that the spirituall man is said to judge all things even the hidden things of God And yet to be judged of no man 1 Cor. 3. Why Because the light of faith is the highest light All other lights are of a lower kinde And hence it is that a carnally wise man comming to heare a poore soule to speake by the light of faith touching the matters of God stands as a man astonished and as a foole in the presence of a wise man For why The Spirit which revealed the promise of salvation reveales therewith all other promises and all parts of the will of God So then I say in the fifth place let faith subdue thy reason and shew thee a reall sensiblenesse savour and wisdome in all the matters of God By her eye judge of the Sacraments discerne the reall presence of Christ there though not really carnall behold a sacramentall union betweene him and the Elements for the carrying of the soule into
best grounded yet alas have many feares are very much unsettled and have never done in the proving of them to be sound Answ I answer They who stagger about their grounds may be to seeke and so remaine doubtfull But yet by their studious enquiry and serious deliberating at last they come to determine whereas the prophane carelesse and Atheisticall never are troubled at all and therefore remaine in their wofull condition Psal 17. And whereas some of them as Iob and the Psalmist speaks seeme to die in peace yet that peace is accursed for though they force to themselves a wilfull peace there is none to them they goe downe to the pit with such peace as a drunken prisoner goes to execution Esay 57. ult But this doth not infringe the doctrine because although some live and dye lawlesse and senslesse yet the case of the greater sort is otherwise They rush without due consideration upon their maters and accordingly meet with sorrow and repentance onely the godly who fix their eies upon Gods stable bottomes provide best for themselves hee that walketh soundly walketh safely and although through unbeleefe Esay 26.2 weaknesse or temptation they are often appalled it is to teach them to cleave better to their grounds But ordinarily they walke by rule and finde peace when trouble befalls them it comes not by their closing with but by warping from their rule and when they recover their grounds they recover their peace So much for answer to this objection Now the uses follow First Instruction to teach us the wonderfull Vse 1 wisdome of the art of Godlinesse Instruction Râ—ligion is grounded upon most solid foundations It is grounded upon most weighty and materiall bottomes No man would suppose the Lord to be so infinitely wise as he is till he set himselfe seriously to try his conclusions Few men thinke there is any great matter in living by faith in shunning appearences of evill in cleaving to the company of the good in pitching the soule upon a truth of a promise threat or command But by that time they feele the sad fruit of their errors then they grow to looke backe and behold a most hidden excellencie in Gods principles when their peace is lost and themselves cast upon hideous sorrowes then they beginne to applaude them that goe to worke by knowledge and discerning of things that differ as Scholars never grow in love with an Artists principles till they have examined them and finde out their exactnesse then they behold the misery of an inartificiall and ungrounded course of study So is it here Art hath no enemies save idiots no more hath Religion Secondly it teaches us It is a singular favour of God to any when they are bottomed soundly how great a favour of God it is to any beginner Branch 2 in Christianity when as the Lord prevents them with wisdome in grounding themselves throughly both in point of faith and conversation Who can expresse the depth and height of that mercy which hath prevented so much sorrow Let it but appeare in this one principle That a poore soule though it have but a poore measure of grace yet is taught of God to deny herselfe and to captivate herselfe to the truth of the word not daring to goe on the right hand or left to the contrary Why This is in a sort the comprehension of all other graces the Lord herein hath laid a ground of many prevented a world of misery at once Look back into thy life past and aske who hath thus led me as a Shepherd leads his sheepe through a wildernesse Oh! Esay 63.14 the helpe of some one principle is as much as a mans soule is worth What a mercy then is it to be led on by knowledge in all our course To shunne all the snares of death Oh! be thankefull and say It is not my carnall wit Lord it is thy lore and word which hath made me wise to frame my course so that I doe now esteeme welfare not to stand in wealth or favour of men but in the losse of all these yea although persecution and the crosse should betide me for thy truth and name yet so long as conscience and peace abide and I am privy to it that thou hast lost no honour by me I count my state happy Looke upon the snares which the proud ambitious covetous flatterers and servers of the time pull upon themselves and then judge whether it be not a favour to be kept by a principle of truth from such sorrow and repentance The world boasts of her many tricks and policies but thy one is worth them all and shall preserve thee when they with all their inventions shall bee intercepted Vse 2 Secondly let it be use of Admonition to all that desire to see good dayes and a quiet life Admonition Be well grounded upon the unchangeable principles of truth 1 King 13. to ground themselves carefully upon the principles of God and to eschew all false waies and inventions Be earnest with God to remove far from thee all waies of error and to turn thee out of all crosse paths of deceit Remember still one error in the ground produces infinite many dangers in the sequell Rehoboam had better have given halfe his Kingdome then to have split himselfe so irrecoverably upon the rocke of his ill counsellers What sorrow did it worke him all his dayes Stript him of three parts of his Subjects at once What a misery did one error create to Saul to wit his owne carnall wisdome 1 Sam. 13. 15. rejecting Samuels charge What one quiet day had hee thirty yeares after in all his whole life but perpetuall vexation till he was faine to consult with a witch and to fall upon his owne sword Nay consider what Gods owne deare servants have purchased to themselves by one error and tricke put upon them by Satan As Davids lust what a world of sorrow did it procure So let it warne us to abhorre the incurring of such a premunire with God by embracing any principle of error or vanity as being once bred in the bone will never out of the flesh Beware we either of instilling or of drinking in any base error into any or from any of speciall note for parts learning or authority Let such as are men of place whose example if bad would like poyson pierce into the bowells of silly ignorant ones I say let such looke to themselves lest after in hell they cry out of them and say woe bee to such examples had not their authority beene stronger with me to draw me to formality to ambition to pleasures and lusts then the word to disswade I had never come here Beware of such offences Woe be to the world because of offences Matth. 18.7 both in laying blocks and stumbling at blocks It is just with God that one should destroy the other because neither cared for the truth nor to be principled upon
of God Thinke with thy selfe is this a lesse priviledge then the former Are all that are Gods people partakers of this grace Are they preserved by the power of faith to salvation without snares wounds and breach of their peace is this so common and thankelesse a favour to be carried as the Arke above mountaines so above the floods of great waters that they should not come neare us Behold the Saints in Scripture Gen. 7. Psal 32.5.6 how few escaped the trialls of their sincerity in a safe manner How many of them lost their peace wasted their conscience by drunkennesse uncleannesse intemperate passions pride the world disguised and at last comming to their grave with sorrow Witnesse David Salomon Asa Hezekia Ionah Peter others Behold the times in which we live Doe wee finde it so common a grace that those whom we have esteemed of well for uprightnesse and zeale to the Gospel still hold their beauty Doe they not beginne to change colour and wax pale and wanne Doe they not stagger temporize and grow common in their communion with all sorts in their affections to the truth to the power of godlinesse Is it not hard to finde one who may be trusted Oh then if God have kept thee close from the error of the wicked that thou mightest not be pulled from thy stedfastnesse nor wanze in thy first love count it a peculiar unspeakeable mercy Againe dost thou see the most professors to keepe from revolts Is not the world full of offences of such as gave their names to Christ Whence then are so frequent scandales of such as are fallen to uncleannesse in all corners and so to other reproachfull sins Art not thou one of them Hath the Lord hitherto holpen thee as Samuel saith Blesse him and wonder Oh Lord thou who gavest Paul the lives of all that were in the ship with him and notwithstanding all tempests and fears of shipwrack broughtest them all safe to land Thou hast graciously given my soule to the Lord Jesus put me into his ship kept me hitherto from sinking being cast away upon the rocks sands shelfes of this wofull sea in which I am tossed Even so O Father because thou hast promised else I had beene cast away a thousand times by temptation by offences by my corruptions But as nothing could intercept the Lord Jesus till his worke was done when they had beene on the toppe of the hill to throw him downe headlong Esay suddenly he passed through them without hurt fire could not burne water could not drowne him Divell could not tempt to prevaile nothing could hinder but he passed through all reports wrongs persecutions feares till he had fulfilled his course rose againe from death and conquered it And why Hee walked under the banner of his fathers protection Even so it hath pleased thee O Lord to fence and fortifie my poore soule that neither my desertions when I thought my selfe cast off and in despaire through unbeleefe nor the dint of my afflictions when as yet the arrowes of God dipt in venome stucke in me nor the malice of enemies nor the fiery darts of Satan piercing me by my lusts could ever wholly divorce me from thee Oh! how many thousands have fallen on my right hand and as many on my left since I beganne Men of like age birth and education of better parts and endowments then I and yet mercy hath kept mee hitherto nay Naaman was never so sullen and froward with the Prophet and with Jorden as I have beene wayward with God sometime weary of his crosses cavilling against his governement both in generall and speciall ready to leave his worke to renounce his Sabbaths Sacraments Promises and all because I could not see how God performed them to me when I have beene oppressed with Selfe and a dead saplesse and savourlesse heart ready to give the Lord and his trade quite over yet he hath revived me and not suffered me to revolt quite from him by all these still by the power of poore faith he hath kept mee to salvation he hath delivered doth and will deliver me still if I can waite Oh! wonder at this grace of his and let the first linke of vocation be a warrant to thee that the linke of justification sanctification and redemption shall never be broken but he that brought thee through so many unlikelyhoods to beleeve can and will now much more bring thee through as great oppositions to persevere enjoy thy priviledge stand at gaze and boast onely of the Lord. Thus much for the use of instruction Lastly let this doctrine be an incouragement to all feeble and fearfull Vse 2 soules who think they shall never wade out of their distrust Encouragement to all feeble and fearfull ones ignorance of Gods way their deepe pride Selfe rebellion and hypocrisie they behold these corruptions by which Satan holds possession as by Forts and Bulwarks as evident markes of their perishing one day and that they are so strong that they will master grace and deprive them finally of hope But poore soule stay a while doe not so hardly sentence thy soule Looke here upon a poore Pagan out of covenant an alien from God behold how freely God prevented him at first when he sought him not how graciously he assisted him and that when he was past all sense of it deepe in the sence of the contrary One I say that had no promise meerly an hangby to the visible Church save that he was supported by an invisible bounty of unspeakeable goodnesse and yet lo when he was at the saddest point and the lowest ebbe of dispaire suddenly as if this were Gods season to breake his heart and to win him to himselfe all hope of good successe being past there appeares a change of his wretched condition into an happy secret mercy had first marked him out for God and the same still waited on him not suffering him to slippe away and depart from welfare Hath God done this in the green tree and shall not he doe it in the dry Hast thou O poore soule either deeper distempers then Naaman had or sadder affronts then he within or without Canst not thou take courage to thy selfe by a promise when hee found mercy without one What is it then that causeth thee to be so heavy In the following points I shall speake further to thee onely here let me say this If thou canst prove that God hath once savingly prevented thee whereof upon the ninth verse I have at large spoken I can prove hee will not forsake thee he will not lose any one stroke of worke upon thee but will assist it and in time perfect it Sure I am thou canst not feel thy spirit deader or further off then did Naaman thou canst not be further out of Gods precinct then he was and yet the Lord beyond hope turned all to as happy an issue as the premises seemed uncomfortable Take thou like courage unto thy selfe All thy
unkindly affronts shall end well when thou art weary of hearing God shall revive thy spirit so that thou shalt heare a voice behinde thee saying heare still thou shalt not be able for thy heart to give over the ordinances thy sullen heart shall not be permitted to prevaile in thee against the promise do what thou canst some light or other shall appear to encourage thee to cast out thy prejudice cavills frowardnes when others are left to themselves to sinke in their owne peevish rebellions thou shalt finde pitty thy tender nurse shall use all his wisdome not against thee but for thee and shall not bee provoked to give thee over as thou dost him thou shalt see it and blesse those armes that comprehended thee when thou couldest not containe thy selfe those feet that followed thee those hands that laid hold on thee saying returne O Shulamite returne whither wilt thou goe Out of blessing into the warme Sunne What boot will that bee to thee What an occasion of endlesse repentance and regret will it bee to thee hereafter to leave God in a tetch to forsake cleare evident sure mercies upon a toy and conceit of thine owne against the promise of him that cannot lye Oh! consider better of it lay not the bottome of remedilesse woe betimes Thou shalt wish one day of the Sonne of man hereafter and that it were with thee as it hath beene but then the guilt of thy former contempt and fullennesse shall be a thousand witnesses against thee Thus the Lord shall even revive the spirit of Naamans servants in thy spirit to pull thee backe from the pit and prepare thee for mercy Onely beware thou yeeld not to thy temptations but waite upon the word A caution hereupon Suffer not this grace of God in thee to be slighted as it is by hypocrites or to be damped and eclipsed by wantonnesse wordlinesse and base lusts as it is by prophane wretches for these will rankle in thee and fret into thy bowels a as canker and then feare not but other annoyances shall cease in due time and turne to a sweet calme in thee when suddenly the Lord Jesus awaking out of his sleepe shall rebuke them as he did the storme and waves which threatned the ship wherein he lay for it is as possible that those should have overwhelmed him and his Disciples as these shall ovewhelme thee perhaps thou conflictest with boylings of corruptions and rebellings against the Law of faith and righteousnesse of the Lord Jesus but even these shall humble thee turn to great casting of Self out of thee perhaps thou art cast upon same unwelcome crosses losses sicknesse feare of death before thy peace be made be content the Lord doth not try thee in vaine they are to make sure worke of thy heart and to bring thee to a duer sight of thy selfe they are not to destroy thee although thou maiest thinke them sent to discourage thee God shall put more courage then so into thee hee hath the power of death in his hand and it shall not seize upon thee till the worke of God in thee be past danger The bed of thy sorrow and the racke of thy conscience and the clattering of thy bones and thy loathing of dainty meates and drawing neare to the grave shall not hurt thee for all shall end well Job 33. and turne thee from the pit and when thou art convinced thereof thy loathnesse shall be turned to readinesse as Peters was Joh. 13.9 and thou shalt say Doe what thou wilt Lord if for good I am ready to stoope perhaps thy owne parents wife in bosome best friends and companions turne enemies looke estrangedly lye at thee with threats taunts scornes for thy casting them off and looking another way But be quiet the Lord shall teach thy fingers to fight and thee to thinke that the more pretious for which the Divell so blusters against thee resolve to beare what thou canst but surrender not thy hopes perhaps when the Law hath laid thee open to the sight of thine owne conscience buffeting thee with guilt and horrors exceedingly thine estate seemes worse and worse thy old liberty in a sinfull course bubbles up within thee tempting thee to shake off chaines to returne to it again but God shall teach thee to preferre his chaines to the Divells freedome In a word Satan will disquiet thee with Atheisticall thoughts against God Providence Scriptures the threats the promises as if they were all but fables so the wicked world through error counts them but in all this confusion the Lord shall not leave thee and as I said before through this sea dried up he shall bring his scattered ones rather then they shall perish All shall give place be it never so opposite rather then Gods worke shall be defeated And so much for this point of coherence may serve Another thing there is to be noted here Ground of second point Gods continuing still to buffet and humble Naaman ere I come to the substance of the words And that is that this thirteenth verse wholly aimes at a third buffeting and subduing of Naamans spirit to the obedience of Gods command Twice already you have heard how the Lord crossed him once by the idle carriage of the King who rent his cloathes when hee thought he would have healed him Another time when he waited at Elisha's doore for an answer of reall cure without delay We see these did but incense the froward spirit of Naaman and set him on carping and cavilling and not onely so but upon a will and stomacke of his owne to turne away and give over all Therefore to take downe his high lookes and that the cure which now followed might not light upon so rebellious a peece Lo the Lord tames him this third time not by sending Elisha to shame him but by setting him to schoole to his poore servants and underlings such as commonly were glad to be at his becke Doe this and he doth it goe and he goeth come and he commeth But lo now the case is altered the Lord so honours them that rather hee is under their authority they bid him come backe and he commeth they exhort him to goe to Jorden and he goeth they bid him doe this Wash seven times and he doth it yea and he is a happier man by thus obeying then ever in all his dayes by commanding We know when a Parent will abase a proud sonne he will not vouchsafe to correct him himselfe but put him to his Ostler or to his Groome to be chastened and this takes downe the pride of his sonne So here The Lord keepes Elisha within doores and sets the servants of this great stout Champion to take him to taske so ordering it that they must be conquerors of him who yet had got so many victories Now they can charme and levell his spirit more then any other and now these poore fellowes of farre lesse wit policy and insight must yet be
it hath beene since I came among you And yet some of you through lazinesse worldlinesse love of your shops formality neglect of meditation Others through a curst sullen heart snuffing at the Ministry stumbling at the stone of offence but the most from a cloy'd and surfeited stomacke with much food have never come to taste the ease of mercy If some few have truly either they have little else to take too or else God hath pickt them out as odde ones here and there and what may become of some of these when meanes shall faile God knoweth But now even at this last cast and farewell for Gods sake come in and dally no longer and breake through all your lusts for this promise It shall vex ye as fire one day to thinke of this how foolishly did I misse of heaven When I might have had it with ease then to lose it for a base lust a vanity which shall leave me empty Oh foole in kinde The Lord move your hearts So much for this first branch of Reproofe Branch 2 Secondly here is reproofe for all such as have forestalled this blessed ease of God Deny selfe-ease for Gods ease by leaning to their owne strength zeale and affections I have beat much upon this Now I say no more but this Wonder not if your lives bee full of complaints Oh ye saith Esay who kindle a fire of your rotten sticks Esay 50. ult and compasse your selves with your owne sparkles much good doe it you with your owne light and heate but you shall have this at mine hand you shall lye downe in sorrow Is it a small sinne that turnes Gods ease into misery Vers 10. No surely A viper shall come forth of your owne heat and sting you to death without repentance Who is he among you that feares the Lord and obeyes the voice of his servants that walkes in the darkenesse and hath no light Let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay himselfe upon his God And so doing he will doe his worke for him Get once the slight of it as we say and then halfe the worke is at an end Lay downe rather your owne spirits and sparkles good deeds and affections rather then take them up to demerit God and resist his ease And so by denying your selves here on the left hand in your vices there on the right in your vertues and praises sucking out an humble heart out of the promise for alas what needed the cost of Christ if your cost could serve the turne you shall finde your selves to profit more by one Sermon then you have done by tenne So much for this second Branch Thirdly this reproves all such Ministers as turne this true and spirituall Branch 3 ease of God into a carnall liberty and smoothing their ignorant and prophane people Preachers of carnall ease who sow pillowes yea sowing pillowes of fleshly ease under their elbowes telling them they are in good ease and these Preachers scare them with false fires for Gods yoake is easie Christ came to destroy the hard Law c. And the ground of this practice is either idlenesse to spare themselves a labour or through prophanenesse or through Gods just judgement to give them teachers such as themselves are to cause them to stumble and fall and rise no more and all because they have rejected better meanes And others Pelagian wise teach that there is an universall sufficient grace offered in the Gospel which also is effectuall except men resist it and that they have free will to accept and embrace it As for the doctrine of Gods peculiar ease of perswading some more then others they cannot endure it They teach the people to say to God as those in Esay are brought in saying to one man doe but beare our name and owne us and we will be at our owne findings thou shalt not be troubled with our maintenance we will bee fed apparrelled and supported by our owne meanes and moneies Pelagian ease of selfe-conversion and of fre-will confuted So say these to Christ beare our name for fashion and obtaine a generall pardon by the merit of thy bloud and as for the application of it let us alone we will finde strength by our owne free concurrence with the grace offered to fasten upon and apply it to our selves And so if there fall out to be any defect herein it is no want of the accommodation of grace to us for that is equall to all but our accommodation to it in such a due season matter or other circumstances as if they had beene concurring might have produced a perswasion to receive the grace offered To all which I answer such ease as this in obeying the command of beleeving the orthodox Church of God know none The ease that is is on Gods part preventing assisting and perfecting and from none of ours To us the work is absolutely impossible So much for this third Branch and so for this third Use of Reproofe The fourth Use should be Exhortation and that many fold First Vse 4 to all Gods poore servants Exhortation In sundry Branches Such as have found ease in Gods way are thankfull who have found Gods way sweetned thus and eased by the Lord that they be very thankefull for this speciall favour Say thus who am I whom thou shouldest make that sweet and easie unto which to others thou sufferest to bee toilesome Thou mightest have brought mee as hardly to heaven as others there is not a prouder tougher moulded wretch of an hundred then I have beene Jer. 2.3.4 yet thy milde and gentle cords of allurement have been strange to me Thou hast pull'd me with the cords of a man made love to me even in the wildernesse forelaid my way sweetly brought me into the net ere I was aware concealed difficulties while afterward mittigated my horrors gone leasurely on with me drop upon drop line upon line not gugged me too deeply with my lusts not suffered me to revolt to my old courses thou hast laid no heavy burthens upon my shoulders required no toile of service thou hast given me an hope of successe from the beginning so that I have gone to worke with hope beene freed from excessive feares temptations crosses discouragements which many others are basked withall For my part I know no reason and I can but wonder that thou shouldest doe as thou hast which I cannot deny without lying to one so hollow inconstant and perverse as I know my selfe to be It pleases thee to hold me fast to those steps to which thou hast brought me and to try mee no deeplier then thou givest light and strength to resolve and revive mee againe Methinkes thou hast made the whole mystery of Christ sensible and lively to me in the ground of it the merit thy scope which is to magnifie thy selfe in the hearts of thine and my heart hath found some sweetnesse in it found it day by day more lightsome and sweet
mocked It behooves us to hope the best of all whom we cannot convince of the contrary But except this principle be ingrafted first all other shewes will vanish and a false heart must one way or other bewray her selfe This open sincere heart is the best present for a Preacher and that which will doe great things if need be as Naaman was here ready to do It saith to the Minister there is mine heart take that in pawn and the rest will follow But an iron close hollow heart is poison to a Minister The Jesuits begged of King Henry the fourth of France that he would bequeath them his heart in token of his esteeme which they keep in a golden cup in one of their Chappell 's Let us doe so to the Minister of Christ and as I said let not Fryers and Jesuits prevaile more with their votaries for their hearts then faithfull messengers from heaven with their people That which is well for the present among us brethren I commend If the Gospel had not some friends it could not be so well as it is onely take heed that bad times eclipse it not But I speake as I doe because daies of peace are not as daies of trouble among some good hearts of sincerity many are hollow and the best may amend and learne to bee confirmed to doe that they doe upon grounds of conscience And I desire the Lord that without prejudice wee might heare this truth and receive it Aske thine heart whence is it that my affections are so blunt and dead towards Gods Minister The more I am loved the lesse I love 2 Cor. 12.15 What Did his message never pierce my soule Did it never convince me to be a ranke enemy of God by nature That the wrath or favour of the Almighty was my life or death Did it never convince me of this that the Lord Jehovah hath in the bloud of his owne sonne devised offered sealed up a reconciliation and that for me Alas what wonder if the hearth of that Altar be cold whereon Gods fire was never kindled O Lord work the sense of the message of immortality and life in me by the Spirit of grace and then I shall behold the honour and worth of thy Minister with a spirituall eye and that common base judgement of the world shall vanish Then shall his feet be beautifull his face and voice pretious and his love above the love of any earthly object Job 33. Then shall I call him with Elihu one of a thousand For where one Minister cares for reconciliation himselfe or teacheth it to others some others doe not so they have the fleece what care they whether men sinke or swim Oh! Now I see it s a rare grace for a Minister to prise a soule to tremble at the losse of it to value it at the price of the bloud of the eternall God and the losse thereof as the spilling of the heart bloud of Christ Oh Lord Didst thou meane a poore soule so well as to give him a part in this bloud And to send me tidings thereof by the messenger of peace thy Minister sealing up that unto me on earth which in heaven thou hast granted me My goodnesse my thanks cannot reach thee but it shall fall upon thy Minister whose blessed voice thou hast caused to sound in mine eares and to convey thy love into my soule I hope I shall not forget such a Levite all my dayes So much for this Use Fourthly and lastly this point is for Instruction to teach us what duty Vse 4 we owe to God himselfe Instruction If we owe the Minister great things what owe we to God himselfe If to the Minister a poore mortall worm we owe such honour and reverence what then owe wee to God himselfe If we should doe great things for the instrument of our peace who is the messenger onely of glad tidings What then owe we to him that is the fountaine of it and him that sends it from heaven to us What should seeme great unto us for such kindnesse How should wee carry our lives liberties soules and selves in our bosomes ready to lay downe for him What cost what price is so great which should part the Lord and us Gen. 23.15 As Ephron said to Abraham touching the price of Machpelah its worth so many shekels of silver but what is that betweene me and thee So should we say Oh what is my best treasure worth Lord in respect of losing thy love and communion God will have his servants do some singular thing for him Some shreds I doubt not we should beteame him what great thing would we doe for him What vertue goes out of us What streames of our love and affection goe to him from whose springs all proceed unto us What singular thing doe we for him who gave his Sonne to save enemies and his Minister to bring us newes of it Servants who attend royall Benefactors love to seale their loyall love by some undeniable exploit and marke of extraordinary service As those worthies of David would breake through an hoast of enemies to fetch him water 2 Sam. 23.15 so great an hazard that David thought it a present meet for God And all to teach us that he whom great things do become to give deserves the greatest from us even the very neglect of life it self if he aske it When I read of the strange adventures of men for the pleasing of their Lords and Commanders methinks it shames us Christians It s recorded of the souldiers of Charles the fifth who hearing that he desired a way to be made for his army over a certaine broad River then beset with the ships of the enemy They put their swords in their mouthes and drew those ships surprised to the shore and conveied over the army in them What was this but for the pleasing of a mortall man But when as one day the soule shall be summoned before God and demanded by the Judge what singular thing hast thou done to put it out of question what love thou bearest to me What a wofull regret will it be when it can bethink it selfe of nothing save shreds and parings We could beteame that God should straine himselfe to a demonstration of some great thing for us If it were to make the Sunne stand still or goe backe ten degrees to worke some miracle or shew some signe from heaven of love to us that it might appeare how great we are in his bookes And we make small account of small blessings which others share in with us who are lesser then the least But what doe we picke out to resalute him withall How doe we curtall him of his ordinary dues rather Gen. 22.2 as thinking much of that The Lord bad Abraham do a great thing for him even kill his son and he was ready to do it and the Lord said Now I know that thou lovest me indeed But if he should put us to
have needed to have fallen to his shifts 2. Instance 1 Sam. 15.3 The other instance of Saul is in Chap. 15. There the Lord betrusted him the second time with another close tryall of his loyall heart putting him upon the destruction of Amalek commanding him not to spare any old young high or low fat or leane but to kill all One would have thought that the former triall had been a watchword sufficient but a base heart will be base when all is done therefore in that businesse also he faulters fearfully killing the baser and meaner sort of people the leane and worthlesse cattell but keeping the richer sort of people and the fat cattle alive Now when Samuel comes to him to take an account what doth hee Hee magnifies his obedience at the first but by and by being convinced of his falshood hee falles to dawbing with untempered mortar Doubtlesse the bottome was a covetous heart turning after the spoile but he had colours enow to defend it For why Was not the killing of so many fat cattell in shew a prejudice to mercie since that they might have filled many hungry bellies Yea and to piety also since they might have made many a sacrifice to God But alas to plead mercy or sacrifice against a charge is to bee wiser then God that is a starke foole And so was he The like were his other trickes That the people reserved them And he feared their violence if hee had resisted them a very lye for they feared him extreamly as appeares by the vow which hee bound them in Chap. 14. But could all these shifts profit him No surely Hee was convinced to be hollow and then threatned the second time with the losse of his Kingdome for the breach of the command 1 King 12.26 The second instance is Ieroboam God gave him his charge to keepe his statutes and promised to make him a sure Kingdome What doth he As soone as he had gotten into the saddle what thoughts doth he apprehend Surely leaving the promise of establishing his Kingdome he casts with himselfe what would follow upon the going up of the ten Tribes to Jerusalem to worship hee imagined that it would prove an occasion of stealing away their hearts to the government of Juda and therefore he gives God over warps to himselfe a better way of safety sets up two Calves in Dan and Bethel to keep the people at home And what thinke wee were his pretences Very many For why Was there no other place might serve to worship in save one Did not Abraham Gen. 21.33 Gen. 26.25 Gen. 35.14 Isaac and Iacob set up their Altars and worship God Nay were there not Altars built in Canaan by the command of God and by the two Tribes and an halfe And did not Samuel build an Altar by occasion of the Philistines invasion And besides what Was it not equall that he being a King called by God as well as Rehoboam might ordaine a place for his subjects to worship God as well as he Did God by name forbid this 1 Sam. 7.9 or tye him to the Temple And moreover if God had so delighted in the Temple-worship would he have cut off the Kingdome from the house of David and setled it upon him Besides all this what Could nothing content men but the Temple Hee did not set up his Calves against the Temple but for the worship of the true God If indeed hee had done it for idolatry it were sinfull but he ordained it for God And as for those resemblances of Calves which hee devised why Was not the Temple full of Lyons and Cherubims and ingraven formes And to conclude although a Prophet came to denounce against his Altars yet was he not devoured by a Lyon And his sonne Abijah who would not close with his Idols died hee not an untimely death And did not he survive and prosper by this worship of his Lo what a world of trickes and shifts hee could alledge But nothing could serve his turne against so strict a charge as the second Command wherewith hee stood charged still the wrath of God pursued him and cut him off at length making him a very by-word Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat who made Israel to sinne So that let hypocrites turne themselves into never so many colours and scrue themselves never so subtilly into their distinctions they doe but so much the more incense God against them and provoke him to unmaske and discover them to the world to be such as they are till unavoidable destruction at last come upon them Endlesse were it to speake of all 3. Instance Act. 5.5 Ananias and Sapphira those sacrilegious hypocrites had first consented to bee of the forwardest in zeale to the Churches service And they would sell all and lay it at the Apostles feet After through temptation of Satan they consulted to keepe away a part of the price and yet pretended to give all What thinke we Had they not colours Yes doubtlesse For why Did all sell their estates for the Church Or did many give such a portion as they gave who yet perhaps had as great meanes And was it not well that they did as they did Or did God urge more from them then they could well spare Should they so succour others as to undoe and endanger themselves Or could consequent difficulties at the first so appeare as they did after Or could they well change their tale to the Apostles after it was once given out that they had sold all Would not that have discredited their zeale All these are faire colours But for all these forasmuch as the pinch of the command of God to keepe their vow caused them to play the hypocrites and to câ—st it off the Lord we see used Peter as an instrument both to deâ—â—st convince and sentence them with such a doome as made all the Church to tremble at the like falshood and lying against the Holy Ghost â—cation 〈◊〉 Christ at his second comming will wâ—sh off all the colours of hypocrites with his terrors To apply this terrour also and so to conclude the Use Let all such be affrighted to consider what the end of flatterers and time-servers shall be The 2. Command hath in it a sad and solemne intent and extent to take up the whole man for God in the duties of his worship Not onely urging us to abhor all false worship Popish worship grosse Idoll-worship But to embrace the most pure and exact manner of worship which possibly we can and to reject any such dregs as might in the least sort defile the spirit of the worshipper How dares any man then in this case to come in and stop Gods mouth with distinctions and pretences Thinke we that God will be mocked Although now while they goe with the streame of the time they may seeme pardonable yet when God shall come in vengeance to take a severe and strict surview of the actions of Hypocrites doe we
for this time Let us pray c. The end of the ninteenth Lecture THE TWENTIETH LECTVRE continued upon the 14. VERSE VERSE XIV Then he went downe and washed himselfe seven times in Iorden and his flesh came againe unto him as the flesh of a little child and he was cleane WEE ended last time with some exhortation But brethren because mee thinkes I heare some say Were it a thing within my power to compasse there is nothing which I more wish then to delight in the law of God in my inner man Quest But I finde no power to it Tell me therefore how I might attaine it Answer For answere whereto I will finish the whole Doctrine with those Meanes which direct hereto Meanes dâ—â—ecting to obey 1. Faith The first and one mayne is get the Lord Jesus to be thy lawgiver Moses is a commander of rigorous impossible duties serving rather to convince the soule of that power of created righteousnes which we have lost then to enable us to obey But the Lord Iesus is a more mild and mercifull lawgiver who as he hath united God with flesh in his owne person so therein he hath broken downe that wall which stood up as a Tower impregnable Coloss 1.20 Eph. 3.15.16 between God and us he hath made all levell and easie and fastned the hand-writings of Morals and Ceremonials unto his Crosse that it might never appeare against us Nay more hee hath fulfilled all righteousnesse both of doing and suffering that wee in him might be clothed with it as a Robe from top to toe and might fulfill the Law by faith Practic Catech part 3. Art 5. I have at large opened this point elsewhere in the doctrine of it Let us here urge the necessity of faith upon our selves and close with the promise to make it our owne The truth is there is no command of God but Christ hath made it possible and sweet and by a promise he conveyes it to the soule saying Take my yoke upon you for is easie Mat. 11.29 and my burden for it is light Of our selves wee have another Law in our members leading us captives thereto a law of lust pride ambition sloth prophanenesse hypocrisie and selfe-love These naturally we take thought to fulfill as Paul saith Rom. 13. ult But the Lord Jesus hath destroyed this power in us of sin and death Rom. 8.2 Rom. 13. ult eased us of the impossiblenesse of obeying through the weaknesse of our flesh He hath quit us of being debtors to our flesh to fulfill it and redeemed us to himselfe Nothing remaines now save that wee put on the Lord Jesus by faith that wee renounce our old base bondage and slavery that we be willing to be free-men and that we close with the promise of sweet obedience by our beleeving it For this was his scope in easing us of one burden to put upon us another yet easie and sweet Let this then be the first Rule If thou wouldest fulfill the Law beleeve Faith hath united all the elect to Christ his Flesh and God-head who fulfilled all righteousnesse Rom. 10.4 and was made under the Law that he might be the end of the Law to righteousnesse for all that beleeve Fasten then upon this That the Lord Jesus never brake one Law performed all never preacht Sermon lesse then hee was bound to never did one miracle lesse then hee ought failed in nothing ground substance manner measure end of obeying but did all in perfection And none of this he did for himselfe sure I am not properly and purposely but for us wee were his scope for our sakes he did all And why Surely that we might partake it not onely in freedome from guilt and wrath but also in acceptation with God as his beloved and his righteous servants prepared for every good worke As the Lord offered us Christ to the former end so doth hee for this latter he is as faithfull in the one as the other Therefore 1 Thess 5.24 Rom. 12.2 Coloss 1.10 Philip. 4. sunder wee not those things which God hath joyned together but put wee on Christ in both to redeeme us from guilt and to make us Priests and Kings to offer up sacrifices of all well pleasing and obedience with holy delight and cheerfulnesse He is faithfull that hath promised who also will doe it He who hath him for his owne who hath done and suffered all hee whose Christ is by imputation of righteousnesse and by not imputation of sinne sinneth not fulfilleth the Law and is that which he is unto whom he is united by faith This for the first Secondly if thou wouldest obey commands closely 2. Meditation of the object then muse seriously of the sadnesse and solemnesse thereof and incorporate thy soule into it First muse of the spiritualnesse of them If Gods Candle search the bowels of the belly and pierce the soule bee convinced in thy meditations that the basenesse of thy hollow vaine worldly wandring heart upon the Sabboth vexes the Spirit of God as much as working or playing and so in other duties Secondly of the universality of them Muse therefore of this It is not my wealth or poverty my greatnesse or meannesse my learning or ignorance which can dispense with me with God there is no respect of persons No time no place no circumstances can prescribe against God he is one and the same object of feare in all places duties times occasions Thirdly muse of the indispensablenesse of Gods Commands Courts may dispense with mens offences Gods penalties cannot be bought off nor commuted Gods commands are unappealable comming from the highest Court of heaven Lower Courts cannot be appealed unto from the higher Fourthly they are his Commands who is infinite in wisdome righteousnesse and vengeance sees knowes and tries all obedience is present every where and strong enough to punish the breaches of any one no man can avoid his eye or escape his censure He backs all Commands with threats and pursues threats with revenges Fâ—fthly they are absolute no colours no distinctions will be admitted they are subject to no mans interpretation but to their owne They are both Text and Comment to themselves Other mens charges and statutes are yet subject to construction and interpretation so oft as any ambiguous questions fall out about them and by that means are often perverted quite and cleane from their sincere intentions But no Divell hereticke or prophane person could ever remove Gods limits or overthrow his meanings As they were so they still abide 1 Pet. 1. ult The word of God abideth for ever Such thoughts as these being setled by meditation upon the soule may be as powerfull to perswade closenesse in obeying as the thoughts of bad men upon the wrongs offered them provoke them to revenge If the Lord goe with the one as Satan goes with the other they must needs prosper Righteous O Lord are all thy judgemens therefore thy servant feareth
shall fall into some scandall 3. Fear of falling into some scandall and not persevering and never persevere but he who hath delivered will deliver from every evil way and work He wil preserve the souls of his Saints he wil write his law in their heart they shall not depart from his feare I am perswaded nothing shall separate c. He is faithfull who hath promised Sometime sicknesse poverty debt disquiets and how then In six troubles he will keepe thee and in the seaventh that it shall not oppresse Hee put his hand under my head and will make my bed in sicknesse when I was weake the Lord holpe me Againe the soule complaines 4. Sicknesse debt enemies unfaithfull friends and the like But I have enemies Well but if thy wayes please the Lord he can make them thy friends If not though an Army of them compasse mee about yet will I not be afraid But perhaps friends faile and turne unfaithfull Well yet Mica 7. When I dare trust no friend nor wife I dare trust the Lord. When my father and mother forsooke me but the Lord took me up Can a mother forsake the childe of her womb Yet will not the Lord. He will sustaine and redeeme thee In all their afflictions hee was afflicted Esay 63.9 Oh! but they prosper and I decay They beare all the stroke and my cause is sentenced Stay a while and their green Bay tree shall wither True it is it is long first Psal 73. Psal 37.6 But fret not thy selfe roll thy way on Jehova and be doing good and hee will effect it Hee will bring forth thy righteousnesse as the morning Hee will plead thy cause Mica 7. When there is casting down thou shalt see a lifting up and hee shall save the humble person Job 22.29 But thou wilt say My prayers be not heard Not presently but it is that thou mightst pray oftner and earnestlier that so God may deliver thee from that thou fearest and his grace may bee sufficient for thee Thou wilt still object 5. When prayer is not heard My troubles are as no bodies secret and stinging unknowne to any But not unto the Lord whose eyes are in every corner of the earth and knows the heart and reynes yea the most hidden sorrowes that he may be strong with the weak and contrite ones Oh! but I am darke for lack of faith Yet let him that is in darknesse and seeth no light trust upon God Esay 50. But I want meanes The Lord is my support Psal 23.3 leads me to the pastures and streames and when I am lost yet sustaines me So that although the Olive and Vine should faile though there should be no Calfe in the stall nor Sheep in the flocke Habak 3. yet will I make the Lord my salvation But my temptations and assaults by Satan are fierce to Atheisme to deny providence the Scriptures and such like molestings It they be tedious they shall bee short and faith shall quench the most fiery darts 6. Temptations and fierce assaults of Satan Matth. 5.12 1 Pet. 4. But he stirres up his instruments to vex and pursue Well they may cast thee into prison tenne dayes but hold out and I will give thee a Crowne of life Gods hook is in their nostrills Blessed art thou when thou art persecuted for the name of Christ The Spirit of glory shall rest upon thee Fear not man whose breath is in his nostrills Esay 40.7 But I feare evill times will plucke me from my stedfastnesse No Thousands and tenne thousands shall fall on both sides but thou shalt goe free in the midst Matth. 24. If possible the Elect should be deceived But it s not possible I have prai'd for thee that thy faith faile not The just shall have a shining light upon their pathes Luke 22.31 Oh! but perhaps I am in perplexing straits what course to take Well but a voice shal be behind thee and say This is the way walke in it Oh but my sorrowes are the miseries of the Church Esay 30. The gates of hell shall not prevaile against her Be of good courage I have overcome the world The ship that Christ is in Matth. 18. John 13. ult Mica 7.8 cannot be drowned He will rebuke the waves and cause a calme Rejoyce not over me O mine enemy for when I am down I shall rise Christ hath naild my enemies to his crosse led captivity captive Esay 26.1 Salvation hath the Lord set for walls and bulwarks Esay 13.5 God will defend Jerusalem Light is sowne for the Righteous Beare the yoke because thou hast sinned and the Lord shall breake the decree Mica last and tread them as mire in the streets In the meane time Jer. 46. I will correct them in measure and Esay 28. Did I correct him as I corrected them who afflicted him No but in measure But how shall I doe when the King of feares comes The sting of death is sin which being taken out thou shalt triumph 2 Cor. 15. O death where is thy sting But I have poore children to provide for Well Exod. 20. The Lord shewes mercy to thousands of them that love him And the children of the righteous inherit the earth Psal 25. But when I am dead what shall become of me Take no thought Esay 57. They shall rest in their graves perfumed and softned by the grave of Christ and be purged by it from corruption Their names shall be sweet on earth as the pretious ointment And their soules shall reigne with God in full perfection of happinesse above sinne sorrow and all enemies till it shall joine with the beloved body againe at the day of Christ to enjoy in heaven perfect consummation These and such like promises let every poore soule cull out for herselfe out of the treasury of the Scriptures and enlarge them to her owne use that it may goe well with her and that the promises may be beleeved according to their extent for this is the misery of the soule that God hath fulnesse for her in his promises but shee will not see it acknowledge it embrace it accommodate it but let them lye rusting there without regard as men use to suffer their Armour to doe because they have no use of it Thus much shall serve for a direction in this kinde and for this Use as also for the whole Doctrine and former part of this verse containing Naamans obedience Now I come to the latter part of the verse The last generall His successe Three things in it which containes the immediate successe of his washing And that is first the expression That his flesh came againe c. Secondly the cure it selfe He was cleane And thirdly now we heare no more of his former distempers all are vanisht and washt away with his leprous skin in Jorden These points I note here As for the remoter consequences following upon this cure afterward I shall come to them in
to shift for my selfe it s I who have broken covenant with thee O breake my heart for it let it not be all one with me whether I feele thy presence or want it It s the death of my soule to be without thee I walke desolately mine heart melts in my bosome as wax I am consumed for thine anger as with a moth and I have no rest in all my flesh for thee Oh Lord let it exercise mee throughly and use any meanes rather then my disease should rankle and grow incurable in me 1 Sam. 20.1 2 3. When David saw that Sauls countenance was changed to him in what a pickle was he How did he bemoane it to Ionathan And yet his favour had beene deare of the price and shalt not thou mourne for the losse of presence and performance of promises from God Oh take heed goe not on adde not drunkennesse to thirst grow not from one or two falls to a falling sicknesse What is the life of most men but a sinning and repenting repenting and sinning againe Yea though the Lord be angry and smite them what doe they save go on still in the frowardnesse of their heart as Esay 57.16 Oh take heed Commune with God and thine heart consider the sad steps of thy revolt undoe thy worke get the Lord Jesus to be thy Mediator better then Ionathan for he was like to have beene slaine for his labour but Christ shall be accepted and the Lord shall restore thee againe and thou shalt bee as in time past unto him returne by a promise and by renewing thy faith as by thy unbeleefe thou didst revolt the Lord is willing that thou doe so and he will heale all thy backslidings and marry thee after thy harlots tricks and divorce Jer. 2. and 3. read the places Soder not up thy errors by duties weigh not good against bad but by a promise And so doing thy flesh shall returne like the flesh of a childe and thou shalt bee cleane and then thy title to the performance of promises shall bee restored And as the daughter of the Priest having buried her husband Levit. 22.13 might returne and eat bread in her fathers house as when she was a virgin so shalt thou returne to thy former demensum at the Lords board and thy charter of promises shall be restored and the performance of them If thou belong to God thus it shall be with thee some crosse or other God will send thee home by he will cause thy wounds to stinke and thy reines to burne within thee but hee will set home his truth in thee yea rather then faile he will set the Divell upon thee though he pull him off againe in mercy rather then he will lose thee But if thou be a revolting hypocrite and a server of the time thou maist goe where thou shalt God will not owne thee Thus much for this third Use Now it is time that we hasten to other Uses of the Doctrine A fourth Use therefore is instruction with caveat If God performe all his promises let us learne so to carry our selves as becomes them that beleeve Vse 4 this truth let not us joine purchasers with God in performances Instruction Caveat God must bee left to himself to performe promises without mixing of our wits and wills therewith Ruth 3.18 but stand still looke on and behold the faithfulnesse of God let us give faire way to his providence in this kinde and leave the businesse to himselfe as onely concerning himselfe As Naomi said to Ruth Rest and be still for the man will not be quiet in himselfe till he bring the matter about leave it to him so let us doe God needs not our negotiousnesse or double diligence to bring his matters to passe he can doe them best himselfe And yet so it is that as in all other lawfull actions we must come in and chop our gourds in the pottage to defile it so especially in the performing of promises Our mixtures must be added our humors and extremities or else all is marred The Disciples must needs crave fire from heaven to destroy the Samaritans Luke 9.54 Matth. 16.21 or else their affection to their Master cannot subsist So Peter cannot love his Master except he disswade him from death Just so is it in this businesse with most men From the chiefe promise of salvation to the least and lowest we must have a finger in the worke and promises must passe through our dispatch To give God the honour of fulfilling as well as promising is too difficult for us And thence it is that we so hardly obtaine the promises they sticke betweene our fingers our hastnings our feares our dallying our presumption causeth so much sorrow betwixt the making and performing of promises If God were nakedly beleeved without our owne selfe-love the worke would soon be at an end Gen. 27.6 God promised Rebecca that the elder of the twinnes should serve the younger She could not rest content with that but she must devise how as if God needed her sinne shifting and lying to bring it to passe and in doing so she being taxed by Iacob tels him Indeed God foretold it to Abraham and alledged the sinnes of Amorites were not full yet why might not this come in as an externall motive to God his execution Gen. 15.16 Thy curse bee upon me my sonne But she could not so easily latch the blow For what might be the cause why Isaac fetcht over the blessing the second time save onely to reprove the indirect course that Rebecca had taken It s true that the spirituall birthright tooke effect from the present But the temporall was delayed six or seven hundred yeares till David brought Edom under bondage I submit my judgement to wiser men and I doubt not but other causes may be alledged but why might not the promise have taken effect sooner if shee had suffered the Lord to take his course We see Esau and his posterity were Dukes and Princes when poore Iacob was faine to bee a servant a pilgrim and his children to be slaves foure hundred and thirty yeares ere they went into Canaan Who doubts but that God guided all Yet I see not but we may suspect God to have had an hand of punishment for this prevention of his performances As the midwives subtilty spake of the Israelitish women to Pharaoh Exod. 2.19 That they were lively and needed not them So I may say Gods promises are lively and need no midwifery of ours they are not so weake that our wisdome need bring them to the birth Yet brethren we cannot be kept from venturing God hath promised to be alsufficient yet as if he could not be so without us we must step forth and bestirre us with using some indirect meane or other to purchase a performance God hath promised to blesse us in all we put forth our hand to but if wee marry a childe or purchase a commodity
the seed which causes the wombe to conceive Meditation and weighing of the promise is as the cleane beasts chewing of the end till it be almost made milke We are weary of the promise as they of Manna our soule loathes this dry Manna But as the Lord shames them for that by shewing how many wayes Manna might be dressed baked fryed parched it was good any way so may I shame us the promise may be taken up as a cup by many handles and that fitly whether we thinke of it as the fruit of Gods decree to save or of the Lord Jesus his death in which it is ratified or in the Fathers acceptation or in the Ministers fidelity or in the Lords prevention of us the wisedome and other properties even now named or our owne desolation without it or the Saints generall clasping about it or the universall ignorance unacquaintance of the world with so spirituall a subject surely every way wee might heale this disease of our little musing of it But above all if the freedome from all our old distempers did present it selfe to our minds How do men plod upon Purchases Pleasures Honours because thereby they imagine that they shall become new men and that they shall live no longer as they have done basely poorly mopishly So should the new happy life of faith no more to lead a sad dismall life affect us Nineveh could turne her thoughts from plodding feares and look up saying Jonah 3. Who knowes if he will turne from his fierce wrath and we perish not They mused of the happy ease which a secret hope would effect And are wee so farre from fastning these cords of direct promises about our armeholes It is a harsh worke to the flesh but sweet to the spirit and although the gains be slow yet if they be kept together they will make a heavy purse when as the neglect of this work wil leave the soule beggerly to her shifts Therfore wait upon those doores at those posts of Assemblies upon which the Proclamations of Heaven are fixed think thy self safe when those nayles given by the Master of them are driven fast to sticke in thy soule that they may not easily be unsettled So much for the second The third is estranging of our hearts from the promise and growing out of acquaintance with it so that we grow not more and more into a promise to know the worth and sweetnesse thereof Contrary to this is the welcomming and entertaining of the Promise The which phrase the Apostle uses in that place of Timothy This is a faithfull saying and worthy all entertainment the word there is taken from Inne-keepers who stand at their doores or gates of receit 1 Tim. 1.15 with both armes to welcome and lodge travellers Such a traveller the Promise is going up and downe seeking where it may be entertained Just it is with God to hold us to hard meat brethren and to straiten us in this point and I pray God it be not the lot of this place to be bereft of this traveller for these forty years hath he gone up and downe among us seeking who are good hoasts and finding few And because the Lord hath pind his promises upon our sleeves a great while wee waxe shie of them and thinke we may have too much of them But woe unto us if those pathes which have beene trodden bare by the feet of the Messengers of God become overgrowne and lye unoccupied as she speakes Judg. 5. for want of travell I tell you good guests finding bad hoasts are grieved and soone seeke them places of better resort and welcome So many as have received him among us have lost nothing save our distempers and corruptions which we were clogg'd with for this guest brings glad tidings and expels all sorrowes and old inmates which distempered the soule Let us therefore beware of this unhospitalnesse and grow glad entertainers of this guest the best which ever came within our doores Grow we as familiar and entire with the promises as the world is strange and aloofe from them Else our usuall distempers will be sure to haunt us whole mornings dayes and nights while they have tyred us But if the Promises be present and our doore stand ever open for them to enter and loath to leave them our old crochets will have small joy to salute us their roome will be better then their company The soule is carried along with delusions of selfe and molested either by false feares or false hopes as we read of Sisera's mother and her Ladies Judg. 5. Iudg 5. She was alwaies staggering betweene two rockes of feare and hope loth was she to thinke the worst and yet afraid of the worst she was willing to thinke that her husband would come and bring home his garments of divers colours captives and spoyle But then she thought his charet wheeles staid too long thus was she willing to beare her selfe in hand with the best both she and her false Ladies till the worst affronted her Oh brethren what a wofull life is this for such as may live a better Who would be a stranger to this Post from Heaven comming with swift wings and healing in them alway bringing found intelligence from thence Mal. 3. and supporting the soule with assurance that it is well betweene God and the soule Who would not do as David did I have made thy Word my Counseller to passe my matters Do Clients keepe themselves aloofe from their Counsellers Do Patients make strange to the Physitian or do friends alienate themselves from friends Oh! Hos 8. we count the Promise a strange thing which in truth by this time should have bin as sweete unto us as the honey and the honey combe as sweet and sweeter then ever our delusions were And we must thinke this will cost us good inuring and acquaintance Our old guests have the birthright and long have taken up the roome it will cost time to dislodge them againe Therefore to end this let us if we would shunne the surfet of our old distempers grow inward with the promise Esay 28. Esay 38. and as Job saith let us acquaint our selves with God Till he come and say This is your refreshing to give over your owne torrents and violent streames and to embrace the waters of Siloe which runne softly let us make the promise our Companion let it be both of our Court and counsell let us empty all our mind into the bosome thereof and hide nothing from it let us discover all our doubts and distempers unto it for it hath as Salom. is said to have the wisdome and treasures of God to supply us Marke it a Minister of the promises is as a scare-crow to the people they care not how little they acquaint with him And as scarce one of forty knowes a Minister or a Prophet in the name of one so few know or receive a promise in the name of a promise
as ours doth Naaman here hath an incurable disease which none can heale in all the world save one man He comes to him craves a cure receives answer Go wash The message pleases him not he frets and stampes that it is no easier no more liking to his humour hereupon more looking at his humour then this disease he is ready to fling away in a rage His servants come about him and tell him Master if thy disease might be otherwise cured it skill'd not greatly to turne homeward but the matter is considerable here we are on the one side pinched with a leprosie incurable on the other offered a remedy that likes us not in this case either we must reject it and so we are sure to keepe our disease or we must accept the remedy What shall we here doe Thou sayest the remedy is unlike uncertaine be it so but the leaving it is assured and desperate misery Whether of the two shall we take Shall we preferre certaine sorrow to uncertaine good What folly were that Perhaps we may goe to Jordan and come back as we came grant it it is but a peradventure for perhaps we may speed If we speed by going we are made if we speed not we are not undone we shall come backe no worse then we went Therefore there is three to one for our going let us deny our tech our conceit and distemper let us but venture it and cast the worst but home in any case let us not goe without trying the remedy Hereupon he adventures and finds it as the Prophet foretels Just so is it with a poore soule Feare on the one side lest God his word should deceive it doth dismay it from attempting the promise on the other side hope to speed doth encourage us What shall we doe Surely let the possibility of speeding the desperate impossibility of speeding any other way and that our venturing cannot make us in worse case then we were it may make us in much better prevaile with us If we must be miserable let us fall into the hands of God if we must perish better that his hand cast us away then our owne distrust if he can be unfaithfull well may we be miserable for our owne guilt and not his unfaithfulnesse hath made us so Therefore how ever it be let us venture our selves rather upon a possible hope then lie still in assured misery This is the very state of it and by this we may see what the wofull condition of an unbeleever is He doth as Naaman would have done if God had given him his will he chuseth to lie under his load as the Asse in her slow without striving to get out nay preferreth a sullen humour of discontent before the adventuring upon Gods way that is to say assured misery before possible remedy In other cases 2 Kings 7. no man will be so foolish Take an instance In the great famine of Samaria there sate two Lepers at the gate of all others most sure to starve It comes into their minds that their case was desperate and that any termes were to bee chosen before dying in coole bloud Let us say they go offer our selves to the Campe of our enemies if they save our lives we shall live if not we are but dead men we were better be slaine out-right then die here Hereupon they ventured and lighted well Consider we well of this Shall flesh and bloud in a case of life and death venture upon a possibility rather then lie still in assured misery venture without any promise nay venture upon an enemy And shall we be so base and cowardly in the case of our immortall soules as to chuse rather to perish where we lie then to venture our selves upon a mercifull promise upon no enemy but a Father who assures us that we shall not onely not be worse then we were but happy and forgiven Who should be so foole-hardy but one that was never put to throughly in the sense of his unavoidable misery If the party pursued by the avenger of bloud should having advantage of ground of the pursuer wilfully have lien downe in the mid-way saying I shall never get thither I were as good lie still for naught as goe for naught would not any man have thought him a senselesse blocke not affected with his danger Therefore to end this seeing there is that in the promise which can remedy us let us make toward it and if our base spirits misgive us in the entrance as not knowing the successe yet let our inward disease thrust us forward and tell us This is no time of quarrelling with God and keeping of our misery still but rather of seeking out worse we cannot be better we may be let us therefore preferre hope before ruine and say If I must needs perish I will perish by venturing not by cowardize So much for the fifth And to conclude by these meanes let us resigne up our selves to the authority and power of the promise which hath as infinite a supply of helpe from a fountaine of grace to answer our doubts and cavils as we have of objections to discourage our selves And the rather because it is eternall to survive all our tedious and endlesse cavils Let us claspe and cleave to this promise as having grounds enough from the manifold excellencies therein contained to match our feares let us consent to the offer of it and obey the command of it let us set to our seale that it is true not onely in it selfe but also to us for our remedy let us be carried into the streame of it as being able to turne our streame a quite contrary way let us lot upon it set up our rest in it buy and sell upon it as the thing we make full reckoning and account to be happy by yea let us plead it when our necessities carnall hearts doubts and feares doe put us to it as those who will not easily forgoe their right in it and so hold it as that which the Lord our God hath bestowed upon us Iudg. and therefore as Iphta once said we will possesse it and not be beaten off from it whatsoever any enemy can say to weaken it Thus much for this Use of Admonotion may serve The next is Use of Exhortation Exhortation to all such as either doe desire Use 6 to feele In 2 Branches or such as have felt this benefit by the promise already to free them from their distempers The former to refuse no pains to get faith the latter both to blesse God for that liberty yea to trust him for the true peace of Conscience issuing from faith and also to rely upon the promise for a riddance from all future distempers which may arise from revolts temptations or crosses throughout their course Let me speake a word of both For the first let every poore soule be encouraged to breake through all difficulties hindring the soule from beleeving because the fruit recompenceth
a mercifull and skilfull Physitian Tell me now what man or woman is there living who having such a cure of such a Physitian would or could or hath the heart to turne away from him like a blocke insensible and â—naffected wâ—th such a favour There is no such man breathing I thinke But this is common if any get such a rare cure all is too little to make recompense though he should sell himselfe to his shirt he hath no power to do other he thinkes the same evill would take him then If he see that no reward will fasten upon the Physitian but he will needs bestow it freely the more his purse is discharged the closer his heart is knit his affections are up in armes his tongue is loosed Oh! what love is this what moved his heart thus to me what a man of men is he what admiration have I him in O how I love him what is there which I would not do for him run ride spend for him suffer for him expose my selfe to any hazard maintaine his quarrell by any weapon O how he commends him in all companies and blazeth his name farre and wide till he have raised up as great fame abroad as reputation at home Aske him why he doth so he will answer That I am I am under God by him I was a dead man worse I could not be he hath restored mee to health and I am better I thinke then ever I was and therefore I must alway count him my preserver I remember in the Roman story I have read of a certaine spectacle upon the Circk or Theatre of Rome where among other sports condemned persons were to fight for their lives with wild beasts it fell out so that a man before time passing through the wildernesse met with a lyon And looking for no other then death fell downe for feare An illustration of the point But the poore Lion approached to him with much moane and held out his foote to the man which foot of his by reason of a thorn or some such like thing sticking deep therein had so rankled and swell'd that it was like to hazard the lyons life The man with all his Art and skill fell to his Surgery and so wrought that he pull'd out the thorne out of the Lyons foote by the rootes The poore beast feeling her aile and danger gone fawnes upon the poore man and makes all the love that a dumbe creature could possibly to him leads him out of the forrest and there leaves him and sets him at liberty It was the lot of this lyon after to be taken and to be sent to Rome for a present and it was the worse lot of the man to commit a great Robbery and being condemned to the Theatre to fight what lyon must be brought forth to fight with this man but this lyon The man all amort and despairing of life this preserved lyon knowes his Surgeon comes to him fawnes upon him again and by no meanes could be pull'd from the mans side and embraces but to bring the man to mind of the cause he puts forth his foot heal'd of the thorne The people defeated of their expectation turn'd their sporting humour into admiration asking the caytiffe the reason of so marvellous an accident The man publiquely opens the history as it were wrought whereupon cruelty being turn'd into astonishment pity they decreed a statue to be set up in the Market place for eternall memory of the fact of a Lyon embracing a man over the Lyons head with this title Behold a Lyon the saviour of a man over the mans head Behold a man the Physitian of a Lyon I have beene too long but the workes of God are not to be neglected I would but shew you the spirit of a cure even in a dumbe creature what then is it in a reasonable But what comparison is there betweene either and the spirit of cure in the spirituall soule and conscience converted Oh! no tongue can utter it onely we may admire it Proofes of the Doctrine 1 In examples Examples in our Saviours story we have many of the spirit of bodily cures How many did our Saviour cure of whom it is said he was faine to charme them from telling it abroad yet they could not but so much the more blazed it to make him famous Others were no sooner healed but arose and ministred unto him others could not so part with him but followed him But one of all others will best serve our turne and that is the blind man Joh. 9. Ioh. 9. who though he had but poore seede sowne in him of any faith as appeares after yet from this spirit of the cure of his blindnesse did strange things magnifyed Christ call'd him a Prophet wondred that those who had their eyes should not know him when the enemies of Christ like hornets came about his eares to deface the miracle and the doer of it yet strong was the spirit of this cure in the man that he could not endure their malice though he knew their spite and rage and the danger of it as well as his parents yet he would not spare them an inch What saith hee 12 13 14 15 16. verses Will ye be his Disciples That were fitter for you then to smother such a miracle From the beginning of the world to this day was it never heard of that any opened the eies of the blind Oh! how it affected him Surely it might have become one of his strongest Apostles thus to have defended him But the spirit of a cure and the love of such is stronger then death at least then Excommunication And when the Lord Jesus met him he added the spirit of a better cure and of conversion These hints I have given you for familiar explication of the nature of that I speake of But to leave these let mee come to the Doctrine it selfe to ground it out of the Word to give you a few Reasons and so come we to Use 2. Grounds of the Scripture Ier. 2.2 3 4. For the first of these read Jerem. 2.2 I remember thee and the kindnesse of thy youth and of thine espousals when thou wentest after mee in the wildernesse c. He speakes of that first marriage love which passed betweene himselfe and his people who tooke it kindly that God had brought them out of Egypt bondage and the red Sea and made a song of his mercies and were found of him so many at least as knew him aright Noting that this first love is as precious to God as early fruits of the spring apples peares plums pease or the like are to the taste of man as being the most pure and dainty of all Zach. 12.10 And that which Zachary in Ch. 12.10 calls the spirit of grace compassions and mourning is sutable hereto by which the grace of God uttered it selfe in those who were converted as we see it fulfilled in the Church Act. 2. who
the spirit within you shall put the difference though others hold their peace The base degenerate carnall spirit of men now a daies boasting of a cure and conversion but still the same for their temper and frame of spirit or else in a base outside of zealous performances and shewes of good without any cordiall geniall spirit of self-deniall tendernesse and love to holinesse bewrayes sufficiently whence their cures came Tell mee I pray was there such a spirit of a cure in him whom Christ cured at the Poole after 38. years disease Joh. 5. as was in that blind man Ioh. 5.7 Ioh. 9.7 8 9. Joh. 9. When the former of these was in healed what news were there he went to the Pharisees and there jangled but Christ heard no more of him so that after meeting him in the Temple he told him Thou art now healed but sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee A sad item so soon after Alas what wonder it was a cure of the left hand a bodily cure of lame feet not of a lame spirit and thereafter came of it no spirit of tendernesse thankes acknowledgement or engagement followed And what came of those cures in the wildernesse which befell the Israelites when the Lord had heald them of their bondage taken away the feare of Pharaoh his hoast Exod. 12. compared with 15. c. and with Num. 11. 15. and the danger of the red Sea when hee had removed the sad disease of famine and thirst sent them quailes in plenty dropt Manna from heaven into their bellies and fill'd them with the Rocke which gusht out and followed them with water when as there was a plague gone out among them Aaron with his censer went and stood betweene the living and the dead and staid it when scorpions were let fly among them to sting them to death the Lord set up a brazen one upon a Pole to looke upon that beholding it they might escape What came of all these cures Nothing their carcasses fell in the wildernesse after all these themselves grew as base murmurers rebels and breakers of Covenant as ever But as for any true spirit of a sound cure I meane any remembring of him that had healed them alas it was farre from them and why I pray you Surely because the cure was but by halfes not a full and sound one it came from one Physitian but not from the like purpose of heart it reacht their bodies but toucht not their soules How many are there among us whom the Lord hath wrought cures upon Some of us he hath cured of our poverties and filled our purses with money paid our debts and set us on foot others have beene cured of our ill Names healed in point of our bad yoak-fellowes others of us have beene healed of our diseases of body agues consumptions dropsies and God hath betrusted us with second lives like Hezekiah whē as we would have given the hope of them for a straw but to what end have all these boones befallen us surely to make us more ranke proud jolly in our selves we have had a spirit of our cures too but it is such as the disease had beene much better then the remedy and had beene like to have held us in more humblenesse and feare then our cures Eccles 13.5 I may say with Salomon I have seene a misery under the Sunne a cure bestowed upon a poore sicke man to the ruine of him 2 Chron. 28.22 Is not this a fearfull cure Ahaz because he was worse for crosses is thus branded This is King Ahaz what shall our brand be who are worse for our cures But this is not all the preposterousnesse of it That all the hope of these seemed to be before their cure False cures have a preposterous spirit O then if God would not destroy them of this disease but let them live what manner of ones would they prove but when they lived what deivlls have they proved That good King sung Esay 38.19 The living the living shall praise thee But these may cry The living shall do thee more dishonour then ever And to leave these others have beene healed by a better hand by the Ministry of the Spirit they have beene healed of their ignorance uncleannesse profane lives they have gotten knowledge reformation of some grosse evils but what shall we say of them Is the spirit of a cure seene upon them Can any man say that grace hath bred in them tendernesse of conscience love to the people of God a change of heart Alas no such matter Nay there are some who are not so much as rid of their grosse lusts and yet make great shew of zeale and forwardnesse Note As lately one arrested by the hand of God with sudden feare of death emptied himselfe of all and confessed that hee was habited in a custome of adultery with three or foure harlots about the same time and yet an hearer noter repeater of Sermons and a kind of Professor Cures now are all mens cases All will be religious and that shall be the cover of all their ranke lusts plaisters are now applyed to all sores let them be as festred within as rankled and corrupt as they will not to speake of secret evils of wrath frowardnesse rage unmercifulnesse rebellion of heart worldlinesse and the like Alas these men have no leasure to thinke of they seeke religion as drunkards seeke drinke to besot and disable their consciences from stirring and stinging of them Misery of such as rest in false and halfe cures What shall I say of such Alas there is no spirit of a cure to be seene in them they want the sound cure which a spirit of conversion hath in it God hath two closets of plaisters and medicines the one outward the other secret in the former hee keepes universall salves for all sores in the other Medicines for an hard heart a proud spirit unbeleefe subtilty hollownesse imponitency To the former men flock apace and if they can get them they care for no more But the heart which God onely askes for runnes full of all excesse and so long as the still stream of outward Religion possesses them with security of their estate they never lay ought to their hearts till wrath and hell-fire flash in their faces and feare surprizes Hypocrites Esay 33.13 Then all turnes to horrour and who shall endure everlasting burnings But oh yee wofull people Might you not have beene admitted into the inner closet if you had preased hard to it yes verily That paddle and adoe which you have made to soder and play the Hypocrites might have beene better spent and sped better to purchase a sound cure never to be repented of Tell me if a man that hath a dangerous sore upon his body content himselfe with going to a base Quacksalver with a budget at his backe and get of him a little salve in a clout to skinne his sore
resist that spirit by which you speake and walke It is not your duties hearing Sermons which will serve turne except you get into the way of God and get your spirits whetted up to a lively temper of godlinesse you shall but adde heapes to heapes and die of thirst Rake up the ashes of your first sacrifice and see if there be any one sparkle alive Iudg. 15.16.18 to kindle that old fire in your hearts God hath now farre more need of it then he had then If you cannot find old sparks goe to Heaven for new for a double portion of it else you will hardly hold out in these cold times You young Novices here among us who in your youth have begunne well and honoured the labours of Gods servants by your zeale by your answering to Catechism by drawing on many to God be not discouraged that the same Grace which made you young Sts. can make you old ones I doubt it not but blesse God for the hope I conceive of your growth and fruit Esay 8.18 1 Iohn 4.4 though we are as signes both we and the children which God hath given us and wonders to the world feare not greater is he that is in us then with them You Magistrates hereabouts you Headborowes and Officers at home doe not play the cowards in the cause of God and the government of the Towne suffer not drunkards to fill up your Alehouses here upon the day of our Lecture and to rout in all cursed behaviour all the day after going together by the eares swearing and swaggering let not your Taverns and places of resort be more frequented then Gods house I see ruine before mine eyes and the young fry will prove worse then their Predecessors your glory is gone except you hold together and prevent sinne from flowing downe your streets and overthrowing all 2 Cor. 2.14 â—â— And in a word to all sorts I speake scatter the savour of this spirit of Grace all about the places where you dwell shine especially within your owne sphere and families lay in for grace and mercy for your husbands wives children kinsfolke and neighbours who have long beene ignorant profane or formall worshippers at the best pluck them out of the fire by violence Iude ult Perhaps some seed lies under a clod they are not so deeply sunk under the slavery of those Idols but that God may fetch out somewhat of them at the last and shall it die for lacke of stirring up Be earnest with God and strive hard for the whole corner this poore Countrey in which ancient zeale and the spirit of Grace decayes exceedingly Easie serving of God for fashion and this love of the creature hath eaten up all The last yeare we were almost starven for bodily bread but God be thanked better food did helpe well both to content the poorer sort and to uphold their spirits with patience yea and to perswade the richer sort to mercy and compassion Now we feare a worse famine if not want of the Word yet that the Lord for our wretched unfruitfulnesse may fill our mouthes with Quailes Mumb. 11.20 and suffer them to come out againe at our nostrils may fat us with meanes and curse us with leannesse in our soules Psal 106.15 Lord suffer not the child to die at the breasts for lack of milke nor having it to surfet Oh thou who hast bred us by thy Word with the lively spirit of Grace preserve us by the same nourishment whereby wee are begotten And so for such among us brethren as have continued constantly Branch 5 in this zeale of the Gospel Consolation to all such as walke in the comfort of the spirit of conversion I doe here reach out comfort unto them and say to them as Elisha to Naaman Goe in peace Though you and I should never heare the voyce nor see the face of other yet we shall do well as long as the peace of God is with us Nourish your hearts still till death in this love of the Gospel Make not shipwrack in the havens Thinke not now of any new way Turne not to the world for they care not for you you stink to them therefore hold to your old Master and be his servants for ever Let the Lord beate you out of his doores before you dare start from him you have beene his so long that as Peter said Whither should we goe Lord from thee Iohn 6.68 thou hast the words of eternall life Though there be neither Calfe in the stall nor Bâ—llock in the heard though the Olive cast her fruit and the Vine decay yet God shall be your salvation Though meanes faile Habac. 3.17.18 yet this spirit of grace in you shall be a lively immortall stock in you and preserve you by faith to the day of salvation 1 Pen. 1.5 These are times wherein sinne abounds it is the very houre of darknesse Revel 3.10 Pray that as you have kept the Word of Gods patience all this while so he would keepe you though all the world should be over-shadowed And although perhaps you take thought for your first edge which is blunted by long continuance and custome Ephes 3.16 17 yet so long as your metall holds good steele to the back and you grow rooted settled and stable in all faith love and fruitfulnesse feare not he that hath begunne will perfect his worke Faithfull is he who hath promised 1 Thes 5.24 To the worke of whose Grace I commend you which is able to sanctifie you throughout and both to keep your bodies soule and spirits 1 Thes 5.25 pure and blamelesse to his comming through the Lord Jesus to whom with the Father and the Spirit that immortall invisible and onely wise God 1 Tim. 1.17 be all honour and praise for ever Amen FINIS AN APPENDIX OR POSTSCRIPT TO THE READER ANd thus good Reader thou hast these Lectures penned to the uttermost wherein they were preached And as I inteÌ„ded to preach no more so neither doe I purpose to trouble thee with more then I preached The Verses following to the twentieth savour wholly of a spirit carried zealously towards God whose mercy cured both Naamans body and soule a draught whereof I gave thee in this last Lecture I grant there are some passages of obscurity attending the words next to them I have handled which some scrupulous Reader might thinke himselfe wronged if they should wholly be unsaluted Wherefore to give a very short touch of them thus conceive of the severals thereof THerefore take a blessing c. But he said Vers 15. end 16. As the Lord liveth Touching this Addition of his large gifts to his large heart I have already spoken of it in the servants arguments and shewed there the duty of the people to their Ministers And we must know it did not abhorre from the custome of those times either to offâ—r or accept gratuities by the Prophets But touching his refusall