Refiner of silver in my house Who carryed me above all murmurings against I had almost said all remembrance of those instruments that conveyed the infection to me Who reconciled my heart to this Disease so that it seemed no more grievous noysome or scandalous than any other Who subdued me to I had almost said brought me in love with this passage of the Divine Will I can remember alass that I can say little more but that I do remember how my soul was overpowred yea and almost ravisht with the goodness holiness and perfection of the will of God and verily judged it my happiness and perfection as well as my duty to comply cheerfully with it and be molded into it Who gave me a most powerful and quick sense of the Plague of a carnal heart self-will and inordinate creature-loves convincing me that those were infinitely worse than the Plague in the flesh so that I did more pitty than I could be pittied by my ordinary visiters Who wonderfully preserved me from the assaults of the Devil never leâ—t him loose so much as to try his strength upon my integrity to drive me to a despondency or to any uncharitable conclusions concerning my state Who enabled me to converse with his love and mercy in the midst of his chastenings to see his shining and smiling face through this dark cloud yea kept up clear and steady perswasions in my soul that I was beloved of him though afflicted by him Who knew my soul in adversity visited Psal 3 me when I was sick and in prison refreshed strengthned comforted my inner man in a marvelous manner and measure and made me appear to my self never less Nunquâ— minus lus qâ— cum sâ— Scip. shut up then when shut up Oh would to God I might be never worse than when I was shut up of the Plague The not removing of that affliction-frame I shall count a greater blessing and a more proper mercy than the removing of that afflicted state Who cleared up my interest in his son strengthened my evidences of his love satisfied and assured my soul of its happy state more than at any time more then at all times formerly I had clearer and surer evidences of Divine gracè in that patient self denying self submitting frame of spirit than in all the duties that ever I performed The valley of tears brought me more sight of my God more insight into my self then ever the valley of visions all duties and ordinances had done When the Sun of righteousness arose upon my soul and chased away all the mists and foggs of self-will and creature loves then also did all black and dismal fears all gloomy doubtings most sensibly flee before him Who supplyed my Family from compassionate friends with all things needful for Food Physick c. The Lord return it sevenfold into their bosoms Who maintained my health in the midst of sickness in the midst of so great a death I do not remember that either sorrow of mind or sickness of body ever prevailed so much upon me during three months seclusion as to hinder me of my ordinary study repast devotions or my necessary attendance upon my several infected rooms and administring to the necessities of my sick These ensuing Discourses were then composed which doth at least argue that through grace this mind was not altogether discomposed nor body neither Who preserved me and gave me not up to death For I judge that I was personally visited with the Plague though not with the Sickness Who hath given me a sincere and setled resolution and vehement desire to live entirely on and to Himself which I account to be the only life of a soul and only worthy to be called a living Grant me this prayer O most blessed and gracious God for the sake of my only and dear Redeemer Thou O Lord God who art witness to all my thoughts and words and works knowest that in truth and soberness I publish these things to the world not to advance the reputation of my own silly name or to be admired of my fellow creatures but for the glory of thy holy name to beget a good liking of so gracious a Creator in all thy poor creatures who are prejudiced against thee and thy holy Service and to strengthen the hearts of thy servants to a most firm and lasting adherence to thee even in the greatâ—st extremities that thou mayest be admired in thy Saints and glorified for gâ—ving such power and grace and comfort â— 9. 8. unto men And oh thaâ— men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful â—l 107. 8. works in and to the children of men 2. Suffer me to make a short Observation of some few memorable Passages out of mâ—ny possibly they may be for the future though they should not be for your present advantage The Lord direct you to make a right application of them according to the â—mergencies of life First I do thankfully record the gracious design of the holy and wise God in that he had secretly prepared my heart though at that time I knew not particularly for what I remember that for some few weeks before I had found a more than ordinary largeness and readiness of soul particularly that I had been studying the exceâ—lent mysterie and sâ—â—king out the streng thning marrow of that famous Text 1 Joh. 4. 8. God is love from whence I had imâ—ortunately prist upon my self the reasonableness of â—â— complying sweetly cheerfully universally with the will of God little dreaming then of the Plague which was almost an hundred miles off me Oh blessed and merciful God who of old didst make Abraham and yet makest his and thy children Heb. 1â— to follow thee though they know not well whither In the next place I count it most worthy of my observation not unworthy of your consideration that it pleased God to seize upon my Family in the beginning of harvest a harvest which I had too earnestly expected too carefully provided for and promised my self too liberally from which folly and vanity of mind this Visitation thus tim'd did as clearly convince me of me thought as if I had seen an hand-writing upon the wall I am ashamed yet I will not stick to confess before all the world God grant it may be for the seasonable and effectual warning of any that my vainer mind was over-pleasantly not to say eagerly drawn out towards secular and worlaly however necessary employments and concernments And thus I was rebuked Vpon examination I find that verily I have been guilty concerning my Children I do not remember that ever any man reproved me for immoderate loving of them or could for any indulgence that could be by humane eyes discerned But oh I see and feel it as a sword at my heart that I loved them not so purely spiritually and properly in God as I ought to have done Philosophy will easily prove it to be a more tolerable vanity to
a dead Lion Eccles 9. 4. But I may say to these even as our Saviour said to that woman in Joh. 4. 18. concerning her Husband The life that we live here is not our life The union of the sensitive soul with the body is indeed truly and properly the life of a beast and its greatest happiness for it is capable of no higher perfection But the union of the rational soul with God is the noblest perfection of man and his highest life so that the life of a believing soul is not destroyed at death but perfected Neither was the Apostle weary of his life because of the adversities of it The Apostle was of a braver spirit sure than any Stoick he durst live though he rather desired to dye All the conflicts he endured with the world never wrung such a sigh from him as the conflict that he had with his own corruptions did Rom. 7. 24. O wretched man c. All the perfecutions in the world never made him groan so much as the burden of his flesh doth here and his great distance from the Lord. A godly soul can converse with persecuting men and a tempting Devil can handle briars and thorns can grapple with any kind of oppressions and adversities in the flesh without despondency so long as it finds it self in the bosome of God and in the arms of Omnipotence But when it begins to consider where it is how far it is from its God its life and the happy state that God hath prepared it for then it cannot but groan within it self and be ready with Peter to cast it self out of the ship to get to its God to land it self in eternity Neither indeed to speak truly is it only the sense of sin against God which seâ—s the godly soul a going For though it must be confest that this is a heavy burden upon the soul yet the Apostle makes no complaint of this here but only of his distance from God that necessary distance from God that the body kept him it at 2. See here the excellent spirit of true Religion Godly souls do groan after an unbodyed estate not only because of their sins in the body but even because of the necessary distance at which the body keeps them from God We may suppose a godly soul at some time to have no manner of affliction in the world to grieve him no sin unpardoned unrepented of to trouble him yet for all this he is not at perfect rest he is burdened and groans within himself because he is at such a distance from that absolute good whom he longs to know more familiarly and enjoy more â—ully than he doth yet or than is allowed to mortal men And though nothing else ayl him yet the consideration of this distance makes him cry out Oh when shall I come and appear before God! be wholly swallowed up in him see him as he is and converse with him face to face Bare innocency or freedom from sin cannot satisfie that noble and large spirit that is in a truly and God-like soul but that spirit of true goodness being nothing else but an efflux from God himself carryes the soul out after a more intimate union with that Being from whence it came God dwelling in the soul doth by a secret mighty power draw the soul more and more to himself In a word a godly soul that is really toucht with the sense of divine sweetness and â—ulness and imprest with divine goodness and holiness as the wax is with the stamp of the seal could not be content to dwell for ever in this kind of animal body nor take up an eternal rest in this imperfect mixed state though it could converse with the world without a sinful sullying of it self but must needs endeavour still a closer conjunction with God and leaving the chase of all other objects pant and breath not only after God alone but after more and more of him and not only when it is under the sense of sin but most of all when it is under the most powerful influences of divine grace and love cry out with Paul Oh who will deliver me out of this body 3. Suffer me from hence to expostulate a little to expostulate with Christian souls about their unseemly temper Doth this animal life and mortal body keep us at such a distance from our God our happiness Why are we then so fond of this life and mixed state Why do we so pamper this body Why so anxiously studious to keep it up so dreadfully afraid of the ruines of it If we take the Apostles words in the first sense that I named then I may ask with him in the first verse Know we not that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved we had a building of God a house not made with hands eternal in the Heavens or vers 8. Why are we not willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord If we take them in the latter sense as this animal body is an hinderance to the souls knowledge of and communion with God then I ask concerning this as the Apostle doth concerning rich men James 2. 6. Why do ye pamper prize honour dote upon this body Doth not this body oppress you distract you burden you clog you hinder you Doth not this body interpose between the Sun of Righteousness between the Father of Lights and your souls that should shine with a light and glory borrowed from him even as the dark body of the earth interposes between the Sun and Moon to ecclipse its light Why are we not rather weary that we are in the body Surely there are some objections some impediments to the souls longing after its happy state which I shall come to anon But I doubt also that there is something that chains the soul to this animal life some cords in this earthly tabernacle that tye up the soul in it but I cannot well imagine what they should be Say not There is something of God to be enjoyed in this life which makes it pleasant For although this be true yet I am sure God gives nothing of himself to a soul thereby to clog it or cloy it Did Moses send for some Clusters of the Land of Canaan into the wilderness think ye that the people might see and taste the fruits and sit still and be satisfied and say Oh it is enough we see that there are pleasant things in that Land we will never come at it or did he not do it rather that they might make the more haste to possess themselves of it Will any man say Away I will have no more land no more mony I have some already Can a godly soul say God hath given me an earnest I desire no more No no but the report that a Christian hears of a rest remaining a happy life remaining for it and the chariots of divine graces that he sees God hath sent out into his soul to
that watch for the morning Psa 130. 6 Ps 119. 20. when his soul broke for the longing that it had unto him at all times I say not that you should prepare for death that seems too low both word and thing look and live beyond death and the grave be lifting up your heads to discover the dawnings of the day of your Redemption be laying hold upon immortality and eternal life Something to this purpose you will find in the second Discourse withâ—r I refer you And now accept I pray you these poor labours which for the glory of my God I makâ— publick that since with Hezekâ—â—h I may not go up â—o the House of the 2 King 20. 8. Lord to declare the goodness of the Lord â—et I may leave some monument of it in wâ—iâ—â—ng as he did when he had been sick Isa 3â— 9. and was recovered of his sickness I will add no more but entreat all serious and devout Readors to magnifie the holy name of God on my behalf adding thereunto their earnest prayers to God for me viz. that the same fire that burnt up the standing Corn of my creature-comforts may also happily consume all the stubble of my creature delights and loves that my God would give me a name better than of Sons and of Daughters the blessed Isa 56 5. fruits of his Spirit instead of the Beloved fruits of the womb that I may for ever live under the most powerful influences of this dispensation and that the glory of the Lord may never depart out of the Temple of my soul as it departed out of the Temple made with hands Now to the God of all grace and peace be all praise and glory To him I commit you all and rest Your friend and servant in Christ Jesus S. S. Feb. 27. 1665. Quod sani quaesivimus hoc invenimus aegri Quae nequiit vallis visûs tulit haec lachrymarum Courteous Reader THere being through some ill circumstances such a mistake happened in the Printing of these Papers which caused a confusion not to be afterward helpt by the placing of them thou art desired to take notice that after those words Curse God and Die page 31. should have followed the second Reason which is now to be found in the midst of pag. 43. and so the sense is continued to pag. 102. after which comes in the Application pag. 31. to pag. 43. where the first Discourse is concluded with those words Whosoever sinneth hath not seen him nor known him I shall suppose thy candour such as to excuse this trouble thou art unhappily put to which I have done what I could to lessen by this Notice and Direction and should but increase it by any farther Apology for a fault which now admits not of a remedy Other slighter Errata's correct thus â— Page 13 line 19 for the read a l. 20 for a r. the p 15 l. 4. for so r to p. 46 l. 8. put in hold of and l. 9. blot out here p. 68. l. 7. for had r. hath p. 81. l. 2 for act read art and l. ult for promises r. premises p. 85. l. 4. for on r. up p. 125. l. 4 for more r. meer p. 136. l. 9. blot our it p 157. l. 22. for it r. Christ p. 193. l. 15. for the r. your p. 214. l. 12. for them r. him Place this after the Epistle to the Reader A VVelcome TO THE PLAGUE AMOS 4. 12. Prepare to meet thy God O Israel IN this Sermon of the Prophet the Lord reckons up the many fearful Plagues wherewith from time to time he had assayed to reclaim this perverse people the ten Tribes of Israel beginning at the 6th verse But still concludes the relation with a doleful Epiphonema yet have ye not returned unto me It is not my business to enquire into the several Plagues either the clear meaning of them or the particular time when they took place or ended nor into the impenitence and stubborness of the people though many useful things might be observed from hence But in the conclusion because none of these judgments had prevailed upon them God resolves to trouble himself with them no longer but to destroy them utterly All that he had done to them in the Land had not prevailed therefore now he will cast them and carry them out of the Land by the over-flowing scourge of an Assyrian captivity This threatning he denounces in the second and third verses I will take you away with hooks and your posterity with fish-hooks c. And after he had reckoned up the many calamities whereby he had sought to bring them to repentance but they repented not and so had demonstrated the equitableness of this final judgment he reassumes the same threatning and persists in his former resolution vers 12. Therefore thus will I do unto thee And then adds Because I will do thus unto thee therefore prepare to meet thy God O Israel Which words may either be understood Ironically by way of derision of all their vain confidences and refuges and then the Doctrine is That there is no standing before nor striving against nor flying from God when he comes to execute vengeance Which is an excellent truth and of great use Or else the words may be understood seriously by way of exhortation The doubt seems to arise from the ambiguous meaning of the word Meet The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies both to meet in a hostile manner to assault invade or grapple with as a man meets his enemy so it is used concerning David addressing himself to fight with Goliah 1 Sam. 17. 48. He ran to meet the Phillstin And also to meet in a friendly amicable manner by way of communication collocution salutation or converse So it is used concerning Isaac going to meet Rebekah Gen. 24. 65. and concerning Gods meeting of Balaam to speak with him and impart his mind to him Numb 23. 4. If we take the word in the first sense then it is spoken by way of Irony or derision and so the meaning of the words is contained in the Proposition that I have laid down If we take the words in the latter sense then it is spoken seriously by way of exhortation and so the meaning of them may be wrapt up into this Doct. That it is the duty of Gods people to study a right behaviour towards him and to converse with him aright in the way of his judgments in the time of their afflictions And in this sense I shall take them and prosecute them Besides that general unalterable godly frame and behaviour which Gods people owe to him as a standing duty and indispensable homage there are some more especial behaviours and tempers which they owe to him in special cases and are duties pro hic nunc as the season requireth Particularly there are some special behaviours required at our hands in the time of our affliction And these both 1. Towards ourselves as self-examination
THE Voice of one Crying IN A WILDERNESS OR The business of a Christian both Antecedaneous to Concomitant of and Consequent upon a sore and heavy Visitation Represented in several Sermons First Preacht to his own Family lying under such Visitation And now made Publike as a Thank-offering to the Lord his healer By S. S. A Servant of God in the Gospel of his Son All the Paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies Psal 25. 10. Mala poenalia non sunt veré mala quia fluunt à summo Bono nimirum Deo ducunt ad summum Bonum nimirum fruitionem Dei erant in summo bono nimirum Christo Biel. The evils of Punishment are not truly evils for they flow from the chiefest good even God they lead to the chiefest good the enjoyment of God and are found in the chiefest good even Christ Jesus LONDON Printed Anno Dom. 1666. TO THE READER Christian Readers IT is now more than seaven months since it pleased the holy and wise God together with some dear and Christian friends from London to visit my house with the Plague whereby he gently toucht and gave warning to my self and whole family consisting then of eight souls but called away bâ—nce only three members of it viz. two tâ—nder babes and one servant besides my beloved sister and a child of my precious friend that man of God Mr. G. C. since also translated who were of those Citizens that visited me You will easily believe that I can have no pleasure to rake into the ashes of the dead nor to revive the tast of that wormwood and gall which was then given me to drink and yet I see no reason but that I ought to take pleasure in the pure and holy will of God which alwayes proceeds by the eternal rules of Almighty love and goodness though the same be executed upon my dearest creature-comforts and grate never so much upon my sweetest earthly-interest yea and I see all reason in the world Why I should give God the glory of his Attributes and works before all the world and endeavour that some instruction may accompany that astonishment which from me and my house hath gone out and spread it self far and near I will not undertake to make any Physical observations upon this unaccountable disease nor to vindicate my self either from that great guilt that is charged upon me as if I were a sinner above all that dwell in this countrey or from those many false and senseless aspersions that have been cast upon my behaviour during this visitation much like that we read of Mat. 28. 13. but do freely commit my self to him that judgeth righteously and pray with the Psalmist Psal 69. â— Let not them that wait on thee O Lord God of Hosts be ashamed for my sake let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake O God of Israel Neither do I purposely undertake in this Preface to reconcile the providences of the most wise God to his promises or to salve that seeming difference between the words of his mouth and the language of his hands between which I have only suspected some kind of jarr but have experienc't an excellent harmony In very faithfulness hast thou afflicted me Whence arise all those uncharitable censures with which the afflicted soul is apt to charge both himself and his God too Spring they not certainly from these two grand causes viz. A misapprehension of the nature of God and of the nature of Good and Evil let the studious and pious Reader search and judge If ever therefore you would be establisht in your minds in a day of affliction 1. Labour to be rightly informed concerning the nature of God Away with those low and gross apprehensions of God whereby your carnal fancies do ascribe unto God such a kind of indulgence towards his children as you bear towards yours which indeed no way agrees to his nature His good will towards his children is a solia wise and holy disposition infinitely unlike to our humane affections Soli Deo competit Amare Sapere â— Labour to be rightly informed concerning the nature of good and evil Judge not the goodness or evilness of things by their agreeableness or disagretableness to your flesh palate or carnal interest but by the relation that they have to the supream good The greatest prosperity in the world is no further good than as it tends to make us partakers of God and the greatest affliction may thus be really good also But that by the By. My design is to justifie and glorifie Infinite Wisdom Righteousness Goodness and Holiness before all men Oh blessed God! who maketh a seeming Dungeon to be indeed a Wine-celler who bringeth his poor people into a Wilderness on set purpose there to speak comfortably to them â—s 2. 14. Be of good cheer O my soul He hath taken away nothing but what he gave and in â—b 1 21. lieu of it hath given thee that which shall never be taken away the first fruits of liâ—e â—k 10. â—2 instead of those whom the first born of death hath devoured But why do I say devoured Doth not that truly live at this day which was truly lovely in those darlings Didst thou O my fond heart love Beauty Sweetness Ingenuity incarnate And canst thou not love it still in the fountain and enjoy it in a more immediate and compendious way Thy body indeed cannot taste sweetness in the abstract nor see beauty except it be subjected in matter but canst not thou O my soul taste the Vncreated goodness and sweetness except it be embodyed and have some material thing to commend it to thy palat Be shâ—med that thou being a spirit as to thy constitution art no more spiritual in thy affections and operations Dost thou with sadness reflect upon those sweet Smiles and that broken Rhetorick with which those Babes were went to entertain thee 1 Consider duly what of real contentment thou hast lost in losing those For what were those things to thy real happiness Thou hast lost nothing but what it was no solid pleasure nor true felicity to enjoy nothing but what the most sensual and brutish souls do enjoy as much as thou 2. Be ashamed rather that thou didst enjoy them in such a gross and unspiritual manner Art thou troubled because any earthly interest is violated Rather be ashamed that thou hadst and cherishedst any such interest But pardon me Courteous Readers this digressive Soliloquy and now suffer me patiently whilest I speak something by way of Admiration something by way of Observation and something by way of Exhortation 1. Let me call upon Men and Angels to help me in celebrating the Infinite and almighty grace and goodness of the Eternal and blessed God Who enabled me to abide the day of â—l 3. 2. his coming to stand when he appeared and made me willing to suffer him to sit as a