Is this your case I pray you answer these few Questions and suffer the truth to have its proper work upon your mind Quest. 1. Who was it that deprived you of your friend was it not God Did not he that gave him you take him from you Was it not his Lord and owner that call'd him home And can God do any thing injuriously or amiss will you not give him leave to do as he list with his own Dare you think that there was wanting either wisdom or goodness justice or mercy in Gods disposal of your friend Or will you ever have Rest if you cannot have Rest in the will of God 2. How know you what sin your friend might have fallen into if he had lived as long as you would have him You 'l say that God could have preserved him from sin It 's true but God preserveth sapientially by means as well as omnipotentially And sometime he seeth that the temptations to that person are like to be so strong and his corruption like to get such advantage and that no means is so fit as Death it self for his preservation And if God had permitted your friend by temptation to have fallen into some scandalous sin or course of evil or into errors or false wayes would it not have been much worse then death to him and you God might have suffered your friend that was so faithful to have been sifted and shaken as Peter was and to have denied his Lord and to have seemed in your own eyes as odious as he before seemed amiable 3. How know you what unkindness to your self your dearest friend might have been guilty of Alas there is greater frailty and inconstancy in man then you are aware of And there are sadder roots of corruption unmortified that may spring up into bitter fruits then most of us ever discover in our selves Many a Mother hath her heart broken by the unnaturalness of such a child or the unkindness of such a husband as if they had died before would have been lamented by her with great impatience and excess How confident soever you may be of the future fidelity of your friend you little know what tryal might have discovered Many a one hath failed God and man that once were as confident of themselves as ever you were of your friend And which of us see not reason to be distrustful of our selves And can we know another better then our selves or promise more concerning him 4. How know you what great calamity might have bifallen your friend if he had lived as long as you desired When the Righteous seem to men to perish and merciful men are taken away it is from the evil to come that they are taken Isa. 57. 1. How many of my friends have I lamented as if they had died unseasonably concerning whom some following providence quickly shewed me that it would have been a grievous misery to them to have lived longer Little know you what calamities were eminent on his person his family kindred neighbours country that would have broke his heart What if a friend of yours had died immediately before some calamitous subversion of a Kingdome some ruines of the Church c. and if ignorantly he had done that which brought these things to pass can you imagine how lamentably sad his life would have been to him to have seen the Church the Gospel and his Country in so sad a case especially if it had been long of him Many that have unawares done that which hath ruined but a particular friend have lived in so much grief and trouble as made them consent that death should both revenge the injured on them and conclude their misery What then would it have been to have seen the publick good subverted and the faithful overwhelmed in misery and the Gospel hindered and holy worship changed for deceit and vanity and for conscience to have been daily saying I had a hand in all this misery I kindled the fire that hath burned up all What comfort can you think such friends if they had survived would have found on earth Unless it were a comfort to hear the complaints of the afflicted to see and hear such odious sins as sometimes vexed righteous Lot to see and hear or to hear of the scandals of one friend and the apostasie of another and the sinful compliances and declinings of a third and to be under temptations reproaches and afflictions themselves Is it a matter to be so much lamented that God hath prevented their greater miseries and wo 5. What was the world to your friends while they did enjoy it Or what is it now or like to be hereafter to your selves was it so good and kind to them as that you should lament their separation from it was it not to them a place of toil and trouble of envy and vexation of enmity and poison of successive cares and fears and griefs and worst of all a place of sin Did they groan under the burden of a sinful nature a distempered tempted troubled heart of languishings and weakness of every grace of the rebukes of God the wounds of conscience and the malice of a wicked world And would you have them under these again Or is their deliverance become your grief Did you not often joyn in prayer with them for deliverance from malice calamities troubles imperfections temptations and sin and now those prayers are answered in their deliverance and do you now grieve at that which then you prayed for Doth the world use your selves so well and kindly as that you should be sorry that your friends partake not of the feast Are you not groaning from day to day your selves and are you grieved that your friends are taken from your griefs you are not well pleased with your own condition when you look into your hearts you are displeased and complain when you look into your lives you are displeased and complain when you look into your families into your neighbourhoods unto your friends unto the Church unto the Kingdome unto the world you are displeased and complain And are you also displeased that your friends are not under the same displeasedness and complaints as you Is the world a place of Rest or trouble to you And would you have your friends to be as far from Rest as you And if you have some Ease and Peace at present you little know what storms are near you may see the dayes you may hear the tydings you may feel the griping griefs and pains which may make you call for Death your selves and make you say that a life on earth is no felicity and make you confess that they are Blessed that are dead in the Lord as resting from their labours and being past these troubles griefs and fears Many a poor troubled soul is in so great distress as that they take their own lives to have some tast of Hell and yet at the same time are grieving because their friends are taken from them who
all that he saith and doth will be more acceptable to you and all that you say or do in Love will be more acceptable unto him Love him and you will be loth to offend him you will be desirous to please him you will be satisfied in his Love Love him and you may be sure that he Loveth you Love is the fulfilling of his Law Rom. 13. 10. And that you may Love him this must be your work to Believe and Contemplate his goodness Consider daily of the Infinite goodness or Amiableness of his Nature and of his excellency appearing in his works and of the perfect Holiness of his Laws But especially see him in the face of Christ and behold his Love in the design of our Redemption in the person of the Redeemer and in the promises of Grace and in all the benefits of Redemption Yea look by Faith to Heaven it self and think how you must for ever live in the perfect blessed Love of infinite enjoyed goodness As it is the knowledge and sight of gold or beauty or any other earthly vanity that kindleth the Love of them in the minds of men so is it the knowledge and serious contemplation of the goodness of God that must make us Love him if ever we will Love him 2. The goodness of God must also encourage the soul to trust him For Infinite good will not deceive us Nor can we fear any hurt from him but what we wilfully bring upon our selves If I knew but which were the best and most Loving man in the world I could trust him above all men and I should not fear any injury from him How many friends have I that I dare trust with my estate and life because I know that they have Love and goodness in their low degree And shall I not trust the Blessed God that is Love it self and Infinitely good what ever he will be in Justice to the ungodly I am sure he delighteth not in the death of sinners but rather that they turn and live and that he will not cast off the soul that Loveth him and would fain be fully conformed to his will It cannot be that he should spurn at them that are humbled at his feet and long and pray and seek and mourn after nothing more then his grace and love Think not of God as if he were scanter of love and goodness then the Creature is If you have high and confident thoughts of the goodness and fidelity of any man on earth and dare quietly trust him with your life and all see that you have much higher thoughts of God and trust him with greater confidence left you set him below the silly creature in the Attributes of his goodness which his Glory and your Happiness require you to know 3. The Infinite goodness of God must call off our hearts from the inordinate Love of all created good whatever Who would stoop so low as earth that may converse with God And who would feed on such poor delights that hath tasted the graciousness of the Lord Nothing more sure then that the Love of God doth not reign in that soul where the Love of the world or of fleshly lust or pleasure reigneth 1 John 2. 15. Had worldlings or sensual or ambitious men but truly known the goodness of the Lord they could never have so fallen in Love with those deceitful vanities If we could but open their eyes to see the Loveliness of their Redeemer they would soon be weaned from other Loves Would you conquer the Love of Riches or Honour or any thing else that corrupteth your affections O try this sure and powerful way Draw nigh to God and take the fullest view thou canst in thy most serious Meditation of his Infinite goodness and all things else will be vile in thy esteem and thy heart will soon contemn them and forget them and thou wilt never dote upon them more 4. The Infinite goodness of God should increase Repentance and win the soul to a more resolute chearful service of the Lord. O what a heart is that which can offend and wilfully offend so good a God! This is the odiousness of sin that it is an abuse of an Infinite good This is the most hainous damning aggravation of it that Infinite goodness could not prevail with wretched souls against the empty flattering world but that they suffered a dream and shadow to weigh down Infinite goodness in their esteem And is it possible for worse then this to be found in man He that had rather the sun were out of the firmament then a hair were taken off his head were unworthy to see the light of the Sun And surely he that will turn away from God himself to enjoy the pleasures of his flesh is unworthy to enjoy the Lord. It s bad enough that Augustine in one of his Epistles saith of sottish worldly men that they had rather there were two stars fewer in the firmament then one Cow fewer in their Pastures or one tree fewer in their woods or grounds But it is ten thousand times a greater evil that every wicked man is guilty of that will rather forsake the Living God and lose his part in Infinite goodness then he will let go his filthy and unprofitable sins O Sinners as you love your souls despise not the riches of the goodness and forbearance and long suffering of the Lord but know that his goodness should lead you to Repentance Rom. 2. 4. Would you spit at the Sun Would you revile the stars Would you curse the holy Angels If not O do not ten thousand fold worse by your wilful sinning against the Infinite Goodness it self But for you Christians that have seen the Amiableness of the Lord and tasted of his perfect Goodness let this be enough to melt your hearts that ever you have wilfully sin'd against him O what a Good did you contemn in the dayes of your unregeneracy and in the hour of your sin Be not so ingrateful and disingenuous as to do so again Remember when ever a Temptation comes that it would entice you from the Infinite Good Ask the tempter man or Devil Whether he hath more then an Infinite Good to offer you and whether he can outbid the Lord for your affection And now for the time that is before you how cheerfully should you address your selves unto his service and how delightfully should you follow it on from day to day What manner of persons should the servants of this God be that are called to nothing but what is Good How Good a Master how good a work and how good company encouragements and helps and how good an End All is good because it is the Infinite Good that we serve and seek And shall we be loitering unprofitable servants 5. Moreover this Infinite Goodness should be the matter of our daily Praises He that cannot cheerfully magnifie this Attribute of God so suitable to the nature of the Will is surely a stranger to the
it should all be done to the Glory of God 1 Cor. 10. 31. He that regardeth a day or regardeth it not he that eateth or that eateth not must do it to the Lord And though a Good Intention will not sanctifie a forbidden action yet sins of Ignorance and meer Frailty are forborn and pardoned of God when it is his Glory and Service that is sincerely intended though there be a mistake in the choice of means None of us liveth to himself and no man dyeth to himself For whether we live we live unto the Lord and whether we dye we dye unto the Lord Whether we live therefore or dye we are the Lords For to this end Christ â—â—th dyed rose and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead and living Rom. 14. 6 7 8 9. Our walking with God is a serious Labouring that whether present or absent we may be accepted of him 2 Cor. 5. 9 To this the Love of our Redeemer must constrain us For he dyed for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto him thâ—t dyed for them and rose again Vers. 14 15. Religion therefore is called the seeking of God because the soul doth press after him and labour tu enjoy him as the Runner seeks to reach the prize or as a Suiter seeketh the Love and fruition of the person beloved And all the particular acts of Religion are oft denominated from this intention of the End and following after it and are all called a seeking the Lord. Conversion is called a seeking the Lord Isa. 55. 6. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found Hos. 3. 5. The Children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God Hos. 7. 10. They do not return to the Lord their God nor seek him Men that are called to Conversion are called to seek God Hos. 10. 12. Break up your fallow ground for it is time to seek the Lord till he come and rain Righteousness upon you The converted Children of Israel and Judah shall go weeping together to seek the Lord their God Jer. 50. 4. The wicked are described to be men that do not seek the Lord Isa. 9. 13. 31. 1. The holy Covenant 2 Chron. 15. 12 13. was to seek the Lord If therefore you would Walk with God let him be the mark the prize the treasure the happiness the Heaven it self which you aim at and sincerely seek 1 Chron. 22. 19. Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God Psal. 105. 3 4 Glory ye in his Holy Name Let the heart of them rejoyce that seek the Lord Seek the Lord and his strength seek his face for evermore As the life of a Covetous man is a seeking of Riches and the life of an ambitious man is a seeking of worldly honour and applause so the life of a man that liveth to God is a seeking Him to please him honour him and enjoy him And so much of this as he attaineth so much dotb he attain of satisfaction and content If you live to God and seek him as your End and All the want of any thing will be tolerable to you which is but consistent with the fruition of his Love If he be pleased mans displeasure may be borne The loss of all things if Christ be won will not undo us Mans condemnation of us signifieth but little if God the absolute Judge do justifie us He walketh not with God that Liveth not to him as his only Happiness and End 4. Moreover our Walking with God includeth our subjection to his Authority and our taking His Wisdom and Will to be our Guide and his Laws in Nature and Scripture for our Rule you must not walk with him as his Equals but as his Subjects nor give him the honour of an ordinary superior but of the universal King In our doubts he must resolve us and in our straits we must ask counsel of the Lord Lord what wouldst thou have me to do is one of the first words of a penitent soul Act. 9. 6. When sensual worldlings do first ask the flesh or those that can do it hurt or good what they would have them be or do None of Christs true Subjects do call any man Father or Master on earth but in subordination to their highest Lord Matth. 23. The Authority of God doth aw them and govern them more than the fear of the greatest upon earth Indeed they know no power but Gods and that which he committeth unto man And therefore they can obey no man against God what ever it cost them but under God they are most readily and faithfully subject to their Governours not meerly as to men that have power to hurt them if they disobey but as to the officers of the Lord whose Authority they discern and reverence in them But when they have to do with the enemies of Christ who usurp a power which he never gave them against his Kingdom and the souls of men they think it easie to resolve the question whether it be better to obey God or men As the commands of a rebellious Constable or other fellow-subject are of no authority against the Kings Commands so the commands of all the men on earth are of so small authority with them against the Laws of God that they fully approve of the ready and resolute answer of those Witnesses Dan. 3. 16 17 18. We are not careful to answer thee in this matter If it be so our God whom we serve is able to deliver us c. But if not be it known unto thee O King that we will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up Worldlings are ruled by their fleshly interest and wisdom and self-will and by the will of man so far as it doth comporte with these By these you may handle them and lead them up and down the world By these doth Satan hold them in captivity But believers feel themselves in subjection to a higher Lord and better Law which they faithfully though imperfectly observe Therefore our walking with God is called A walking in his Law Exod. 16. 4. A walking in his statutes and keeping and doing his commands Lev. 26. 3. A walking in his paths Mic. 4. 2. It is our following the Lamb which way soever he goeth To be given up to our own hearts lusts and to walk in our counsels is contrary to this holy walk with God Psal. 81. 12. and is the course of those that are departed from him And they that are far from him shall perish he destroyeth those that go a whoring from him But it is good for us to draw near to God Psal. 73. 27 28. 5. Our walking with God doth imply that as we are ruled by his Will so we fear no punishment like his threatned displeasure and that the threats of death from mortal men will not prevail with us so much as his threats of Hell Luk. 12. 4. If God
to leave the crowd and come home to God and try a more noble and gainful conversation If Reasons may have room and leave to work upon you I will set a few before you more distinctly to call you off from your barren inordinate creature converse to a believing serious converse with God 1. The higher and more excellent the object is especially when it is also of most concernment to our selves the more excellent is the converse Therefore as nothing dare compare it self with God so no employment may be compared with thâ—s of holy walking with him How vile a contempt is it of the Almighty and of our Celestial joyes for the heart to neglect them and turn away and dwell upon vanity and trouble and let these highest pleasures go Is not God and Glory worthy of thy thoughts and all thy service 2. What are those things that take thee up Are they better then God Or fitter to supply thy wants If thou think and trust in them accordingly ere long thou shalt know better what they are and have enough of thy cursed choice and confidence Tell those that stand by thee at the parting hour whether thou didst choose aright and make a gaining or a saving match O poor sinners have you not yet warning enough to satisfie you that all things below are Vanity and Vexation and that all your hope of happiness is above Will not the testimony of God satisfie you will not the experience of the world for so many thousand years together satisfie you will not the ill success of all the damned satisfie you will nothing but your own experience convince you If so consider well the experience you have already made and seasonably retire and try no further and trust not so dangerous a deceiver to the last least you buy your knowledge at a dearer rate then you will now believe 3. You have daily more to do with God than with all the world whether you will or no And therefore seeing you cannot avoid him if you would prefer that voluntary obediential converse which hath a reward before that necessitated converse which hath none You are alwaies in his hands he made you for his service and he will dispose of you and all that you have according to his will It shall not go with you as your selves would have it nor as your friends would have it nor as Princes and great ones of the world would have it unless as their wills comply with Gods but as God would have it who will infallibly accomplish all his will If a sparrow fall not to the ground without him and all the hairs of our heads are numbered then certainly he overruleth all your interests and affairs and they are absolutely at his dispose To whom then in reason should you so much apply your selves as unto him If you will not take notice of him he will take notice of you He will remember you whether you remember him or not but it may be with so strict and severe a remembrance as may make you wish he did quite forget you You are alwaies in his presence and can you then forget him and hold no voluntary converse with him when you stand before him If it be but mean inferiour persons that we dwell with and are still in company with yet we mind them more and speak more to them then we do to greater persons that we seldom see But in God there is both Greatness and Nearness to invite you Should not all the worms on earth stand by while the Glorious God doth call you to him and offer you the honour and happiness of his converse shall the Lord of Heaven and Earth stand by and be shut out while you are chatting or trifling with his creatures Nay shall he be neglected that is alwaies with you You cannot remove your selves a moment from his sight and therefore you should not shut your eyes and turn away your face and refuse to observe him who is still observing you Moreover your dependence both for soul and body is all on him You can have nothing desirable but by his gift He feeds you he cloatheth you he maintaineth you he gives you life and breath and all things and yet can you overlook him or forget him Do not all his mercies require your acknowledgement A Dog will follow him that feedeth him his eye will be upon his Master And shall we live upon God and yet forget and disregard him We are taught a better use of his Mercies by the Holy Prophet Psal. 66. 8 9. O bless our God ye people and make the voice of his praise to be heard which holdeth our soul in life and suffereth not our feet to be moved Nay it is not your selves alone but all the world that depends on God It is his power that supporteth them and his will that disposeth of them and his bounty that provideth for them And therefore he must be the observation and admiration of the world It is less unreasonable to take no notice of the Earth that beareth us and yieldeth us fruit and of the Sun that yields us heat and light than to disregard the Lord that is more to us than Sun and Earth and all things The eyes of all things wait on him and he giveth them their meat in season He openeth his hand and satisfieth the desire of every living thing Psal. 145. 15 16. The Lord is good to all and his tender mercies are over all his works All his works therefore shall praise him and his Saints shall bless him They shall speak of the glory of his Kingdom and talk of his power vers 10 11. Moreover God is so abundantly and wonderfully represented to us in all his works as will leave us under the guilt of most unexcusable contempt if we overlook him and live as without him in the world The Heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth his handy work Day unto day uttereth speech and night unto night sheweth knowledge Psa. 19. 1 2. Thus that which may be known of God is manifest for the invisible things of him from the Creation of the world are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternal power and Godhead so that the ungodly are without excuse Rom. 1. 19 20. Cannot you see that which all the world revealeth nor hear that which all the world proclaimeth O sing ye forth the honour of his name make his praise glorious Say to the Lord How terrible art thou in thy works through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee All the earth shall worship thee and shall sing unto thee they shall sing unto thy name come and see the works of God he is tertible in his doings towards the children of men Psal. 66. 2 3 4 5. Can we pass him by that is everywhere present and by every Creature represented to us Can we forget him when all the world are our
of all our lamentable weakness of faith and love and heavenly mindedness and our strangeness to God and backwardness to the matters of eternal life O that I could escape these though I were in the hands of the cruellest enemies O that such a heart could be left behind How gladly would I overrun both house and land and honour and all sensual delights that I might but overrun it O where is the place where there is none of this darkness nor disaffection nor distance nor estrangedness from God! O that I knew it O that I could find it O that I might there dwell though I should never more see the face of mortals nor ever hear a humane voice nor ever tast of the delights of flesh Alas foolish soul such a place there is that hath all this and more than this but it is not in a wilderness but in Paradise not here on earth but above with Christ And yet am I so loth to die yet am I no more desirous of the blessed day when I shall be unclothed of flesh and sin O death what an enemy art thou even to my soul By affrighting me from the presence of my Lord and hindering my desires and willingness to be gone thou wrongest me much more than by laying my flesh to rot in darkness Fain I would know God and fain I would more love him and enjoy him but O this hurtful love of life O this unreasonable fear of dying detaineth my desires from pressing on to the happy place where all this may be had O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death this carnal unbelieving heart that sometime can think more delightfully of a Wilderness then of Heaven that can go seek after God in desert solitude among the birds and beasts and trees and yet is so backward to be loosed from flesh that I may find him and enjoy him in the world of glory Can I expect that heaven come down to earth and that the Lord of Glory should remove his Court and either leave the retinue of his celestial Courtiers or bring them all down into this drossy world of flesh and sin and this to satisfie my fleshly foolish mind Or can I expect the translation of Henoch or the Chariot of Elias Is it not enough that my Lord hath conquered Death and sanctified the passage and prepared the place of my perpetual abode Well! for all this though a Wilderness is not Heaven it shall be sweet and wellcome for the sake of Heaven if thence I may but have a clearer prospect of it and if by retiring from the crowd and noise of folly I may but be more composed and better disposed to converse above and to use my faith alas my too weak languid faith untill the beatifical vision and fruition come If there may be but more of God or readier access to him or more heart-quickening flames of Love or more heart-comforting intimations of his favour in a wilderness then in a City in a prison then in a Palace let that wilderness be my City and let that prison be my Palace while I must abide on earth If in solitude I may have Henochs walk with God I shall in due season have such a translation as shall bring me to the same felicity which he enjoyeth and in the mean time as well as after it is no incommodity if by mortal eyes I be seen no more If the Chariot of contemplation will in solitude raise me to more believing affectionate converse with heaven than I could expect in tumults and temptations it shall reconcile me unto solitude and make it my Paradise on earth till Angels instead of the Chariot of Elias shall convey me to the presence of my glorified Head in the Celestial Paradise Object But it is grievous to one that hath been used to much company to be alone Answ. Company may so use you that it may be more grievous to you not to be alone The society of waspes and serpents may be spared and Bees themselves have such stings as make some that have felt them think they bought the honey dear But can you say you are alone while you are with God Is his presence nothing to you Doth it not signifie more then the company of all men in the world saith Hierome Sapiâ—ns nunquam solus esse potest habet enim secum omnes qui sunt qui fuerunt boni si hominum sit inopia loquitur cum Deo viz. A wise man cannot be alone for he hath with him the good men that are or have been And if there be a want of men he speaks with God He should rather have said There can be no want of man when we may speak with God And were it not that God is here revealed to us as in a glass and that we do converse with God in man we should think humane converse little worth Object O but solitude is disconsolate to a sociable mind Answ. But the most desirable society is no solitude saith Hierome Infinita eremi vastitas te terret sed tu Paradisum mente deambula Quotiescunque cogitatione ac mente illuc conscenderis toties in eremo non eris that is Doth the infinite vastness of the wilderness terrifie thee But do thou ascend in mind and walk in Paradise As oft as thou ascendest thither in thought and mind so oft thou shalt not be in the wilderness If God be nothing to thee thou art not a Christian but an Atheist If God be God to thee he is All in all to thee and then should not his presence be instead of all O that I might get one step nearer unto God though I receded many from all the world O that I could find that place on earth where a souâ— may have nearest access unto him and fullest knowledge and enjoyment of him though I never more saw the face of friends I should chearfully say with my blessed Saviour I am not alone for the Father is with me And I should say so for these Reasons following 1. If God be with me the Maker and Ruler and Disposer of all is with me so that all things are virtually with me in him I have that in Gold and Jewels which I seem to want in Silver Lead and Dross I can want no friend if God vouchsafe to be my friend and I can enjoy no benefit by all my friends if God be my enemy I need not fear the greatest enemies if God be reconciled to me I shall not miss the light of the Candle if I have this blessed Sun The Creature is nothing but what it is from God and in God And it is worth nothing or good for nothing but what it's worth in order unto God as it declareth him and helps the soul to know him serve him or draw nearer to him As it is Idolatry in the unhappy worldling to thirst after the Creature with the neglect of God and so to make the
The Divine Life IN THREE TREATISES THE FIRST Of the Knowledge of God THE SECOND Of Walking with God THE THIRD Of Coversing with God In SOLITUDE By RICHARD BAXTER LONDON Printed for Francis Tyton at the three Daggers in Fleetstreet and Nevil Simmons Bookseller in Kederminster 1664. A TREATISE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. AND THE Impression which it must make upon the Heart and its necessary Effects upon our Lives Upon John 17. 3. By RICHARD BAXTER LONDON Printed for Francis Tyton at the three Daggers in Fleetstreet and Nevil Simmons Bookseller in Kederminster 1664. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE AND Exemplary Lady ANN COUNTESS OF BALCARRES MADAM IN hope of the fuller pardon of my delay I now present you with two other Treatises besides the Sermon enlarged which at your desire I preached at your departure hence I knew of many and great afflictions which you had undergone in the removal of your dearest friends which made this subject seem so suitable and seasonable to you at that time But I knew not that God was about to make so great an addition to your tryals in the same kind by taking to himself the principal branch of your Noble Family by a rare disease the embleme of the mortal malady now raigning I hope this loss also shall promote your gain by keeping you nearer to your Heavenly Lord who is so jealous of your affections and resolved to have them entirely to himself And then you will still find that you are not alone nor deprived of your dearest or most necessary friend while the Father the Son the sanctifying and comforting Spirit is with you And it should not be hard to reconcile us to the disposals of so sure a friend Nothing but good can come from God however the blind may miscall it who know no Good or Evil but what is measured by the private standard of their selfish interest and that as judged of by sense Eternal Love engaged by Covenant to make us happy will do nothing but what we shall find at last will terminate in that blessed end He envyed you not your Son as too good for you or too great a mercy who hath given you his own Son and with him the mercy of eternal life Corporal sufferings with Spiritual blessings are the ordinary lot of Believers here on earth As corporal prosperity with spiritual calamity is the lot of the ungodly And I beseech you consider that God knoweth better than you or I what an Ocean your son was ready to lanch out into and how tempestuous and terrible it might have proved and whether the world that he is saved from would have afforded him more of safety or seduction of comfort or calamity whether the protraction of the life of your Noble husband to have seen our sins and their effects and consequents would have afforded him greater joy or sorrow Undoubtedly as God had a better title to your Husband and Children and Friends than you had so it is much better to be with him than to be with you or with the best or greatest upon earth The heavenly inhabitants fear not our fears and feel not our afflictions They are past our dangers and out of the reach of all our enemies and delivered from our pains and cares and have the full possession of all those mercies which we pray and labour for Can you think your Children and Friends that are with Christ are not safer and better than those that yet remain with you Do you think that earth is better than heaven for you your self I take it for granted you cannot think so and will not say so And if it be worse for you it s worse for them The providence which by hastening their Glorification doth promote your Sanctification which helpeth them to the End and helpeth you in the Way must needs be good to them and you however it appear to flesh and unbelief O Madam when our Lord hath shewed us as he will shortly do what a state it is to which he bringeth the spirits of the just and how he doth there entertain and use them we shall then be more competent judges of all those acts of Providence to which we are now so hardly reconciled Then we shall censure our censurings of these works of God and be offended with our offences at them and call our selves blind unthankful sinners for calling them so bad as we did in our misjudging unbelief and passion We shall not wish our selves or friends again on earth among temptations and pains and among uncharitable men malicious enemies deceitful flatterers and untrusty friends When we see that face which we now long to see and know the things which we long to know and feel the Love which we long to feel and are full of the joyes which now we can scarce attain a taste of and have reacht the End which now we seek and for which we suffer we shall no more take it for a judgement to be taken from ungodly men and from a world of sin and fear and sorrow nor shall we envy the wicked nor ever desire to be partakers of their pleasures Till then let us congratulate our departed friends the felicity which they have attained and which we desire and let us rejoyce with them that rejoyce with Christ and let us prefer the least believing thought of the everlasting joyes before all the defiled transitory pleasures of the deluded dreaming miserable world And let us prefer such converse as we can here attain with God in Christ and with the Heavenly Society before all the pomp and friendship of the world We have no friend that is so able to supply all our wants so sufficient to content us so ready to relieve us so willing to entertain us so unwearied in hearing us and conversing with us as our blessed Lord. This is a friend that will never prove untrusty nor be changed by any change of interest opinion or fortune nor give us cause to suspect his Love A friend that we are sure will not forsake us nor turn our enemy nor abuse us for his own advantage nor will ever dye or be separated from us but we shall be alwaies with him and see his Glory and be filled and transported with his Love and sing his praise to all Eternity With whom then should we so delightfully converse on Earth and till we can reach that sweet delightful converse whom should we seek with more ambition or observe with greater devotedness and respect O that we were less carnal and more spiritual and lived less by Sense and more by Faith that we knew better the difference between God and Man between visible Temporals and invisible Eternals we should then have other thoughts and desires and resolutions and converse and employments and pleasures than too many have Madam it displeaseth me that it is no more elaborate a Treatise to which the present opportunity inviteth me to prefix your Name but your own Desire of the
the use of means in the course of our Conversations 9. A seeking him in the choise and use of means 10. An obeying him as our Soveraign Governour 11. An honouring and praising him as God 12. And an enjoying him and delighting in him in some small foretasts here as he is seen by saith but perfectly hereafter as beheld in Glory The affective practical Knowing of God which is Life eternal containeth or implyeth all these parts And every Christian that hath any of this Knowledge desireth more It is his great desire to Know more of God and to know him with a more affecting powerful knowledge He that groweth in grace doth accordingly grow in this knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ. The vigour and alacrity of our souls lieth in it The rectitude of our actions and the holiness of them floweth from it God is the excellency of our Hearts and lives Our advancement and our joy is here only to be found All other knowledge is so far desirable as it conduceth to the knowledge of God or to the several duties which that knowledge doth require All knowledge of words or things of causes and effects of any creatures actions customes Laws or whatsoever may be known is so far valuable as it is useful and so far useful as it is Holy subserving the knowledge of God in Christ. What the sun is to all mens eyes that God is to their souls and more It is to Know him that we have understandings given us And our understandings enjoy him but so far as they know him as the eye enjoyeth the Light of the sun by seeing it The ignorance of God is the blindness and part of the atheism of the soul and inferreth the rest They that know him not desire not heartily to know him nor can they Love him Trust him fear him serve him or call upon him whom they do not Know How shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed Rom. 10. 14. The heart of the Ungodly saith to God Depart from us for we desire not the knowledge of thy wayes what is the Almighty that we should serve him and what profit shall we have if we pray unto him Job 21. 14 15. 22. 17. All wickedness hath admission into that heart or land where the knowledge of God is not the watch to keep it out Abraham inferred that the men of Gerar would kill him for his wife when he saw that the fear of God was not in that place Gen. 20. 11. It was Gods controversie with Israel because there was no truth nor mercy nor knowledge of God in the land but by swearing and lying and killing and stealing they brake out and blood touched blood Hos. 4. 1 2. They are called by God a foolish people sottish children of no understanding that knew not God though they were wise to do evil Jer. 4. 22. He will pour out his fury upon the heathen that know him not and the families that call not on his name Jer. 10. 25. As the day differeth from the night by the light of the sun so the Church differeth from the world by the Knowledge of God in Jesus Christ. Psal. 76. 1 2. In Judah is God known his name is great in Israel In Salem also is his Tabernacle and his dwelling place in Sion The Love and Unity and peace which shall succeed persecution and malice in the blessed times shall be because the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea Isa. 11. 6 7 8 9. Hypocrites shall know him superficially and uneffectually and his holy ones shall know him so as to Love him fear him trust him and obey him with a knowledge effectual upon heart and life And he will continue his loving kindness to them that know him Psal. 36. 10. He is the best Christian that hath the fullest impression made upon his soul by the Knowledge of God in all his Attributes Thus it is our Life eternal to Know God in Christ. It is to reveal the Father that the Son was sent and it is to reveal the Father and the Son that the Holy spirit is sent God is the light and the life and felicity of the soul. The work of its salvation is but the restoring it to him and putting it in possession of him The beginning of this is Regeneration and Reconciliation the perfection oâ— it is Glorification beatifical Vision and Fruition The Mind that hath least of God is the darkest and most deluded Mind And the mind that hath most of him is the most lucide pure and serene And how is God in the Mind but as the Light and other visible objects are in the eye and as pleasant melodie is in the ear and as delightful meats and drinks are in the tast But that God maketh a more deep and durable impress on the soul and such as is suitable to its spiritual immaterial nature As your seal is to make a full impression on the wax of the whole figure that is upon it self so hath God been pleased in divers seals to engrave his Image and these must make their Impress upon us 1. There is the seal of the Creation sor the world hath much of the Image of God It is engraven also on the seal of Providential disposals though there we are uncapable of reading it yet so fully as in the rest 2. It is engraven on the seal of the holy Scriptures 3. And on the Person of Jesus Christ who is the purest clearest Image of the Father as also on the holy example of his life 4. And by the means of all these applyed to the soul in our sober consideration by the working of the Holy Ghost the Image of God is made upon us Here note 1. That All the revealed Image of God must be made on the soul and not a part only and all is wrought where any is truly wrought 2. That to the compleatness of his Image on us it is necessary that each part of Gods Description be orderly made and orderly make the Impress on us and that each part keep its proper place For it is a monster that hath feet where the head should be or the backside forward or where there is any gross misplacing of the parts 3. Note also that all the three forementioned seals contain all Gods Image on them but yet not all alike but the first part is more clearly engraven upon the first of them and the second part upon the second of them and the third part most clearly on the third and last To open this more plainly to you Unity in Trinity and Trinity in Unity is the sum of our holy faith In the Deity there is revealed to us One God in three persons the Father Son and Holy Ghost The Essence is but one the subsistences are three And as we must conceive and speak of the Divine Nature according to its Image while we see it but in a glass so
and makes them as no mercies at all Creation and our Being is a mercy but it is in order to our Eternal end Redemption by Christ is an unspeakable mercy but its denyed by the Infidel and rejected by the Ungodly what is Christ worth and all his mediation if there be no life for man but this Peace and Liberty health and life friends and neighbours food and rayment are all mercyes to us as a ship and sails are to the Mariner or a fair way or Horse or Inn to a Traveller But if by denying our Eternal end you make our voyage or our journey vain these mercies then are little worth no more then a ship on the land or a plow in the sea or a horse to him that hath no use for him And O what an ungrateful wretch is that who will deny all the mercies of God to himself and to all others For once deny the use and the Eternal end and you deny the mercy 3. He that believeth not or seeks not after an Eternal end destroyeth all the Doctrine Law and Government of God For all is but to lead us to this end All the holy Scriptures the precepts of Christ and his holy example the Covenant of Grace the gifts and miracles of the Holy Ghost the light and law of Nature it self are all to bring us to our Eternal end And therefore he that denyeth that end doth cancel them all and cast them by as useless things 4. And he denyeth all the Graces of the Spirit For what use is there for Faith if the object of it be a falshood what use for Hope if there be no life to be Hoped for what use for holy desires and love if God be not to be enjoyed Grace is but the delusion and deformity of the soul if the Infidel and ungodly be in the right 5. They destroy also All the means of our Salvation if they deny Salvation which is the End To what purpose should men study or read or hear or pray or use either Sacraments or any other means for an End that is not to be had To what end should men obey or suffer for any such end that 's not attainable 6. Yea they do let loose the soul to sin and take off all essectual restraint If there be no Eternal end and no Reward or Punishment but here what can effectually hinder the men of this opinion from stealing whoredome or any villany when it may be done with secrecy what should hinder the revengeful man from poisoning or secret murdering his enemy or setting his house on fire in the night If I know a man or woman that believes no life to come I take it for granted they are revengeful thieves deceivers fornicators or any thing that is bad if they have but temptation and secret opportunity For what hath he to seek but the pleasing of his flesh that thinks he hath no God to seek or please or no future reward or punishment to expect He that confesseth himself an Infidel to me doth confess himself to be in all things else as bad as ever he can or dare Honesty is renounced by that man or woman that profess themselves to be Atheists or Infidels Methinks in congruency with their profession they should take it for a wrong to be called or reputed honest If you tell me that Heathens had a kind of Honesty I must tell you again that most Heathens believed the Immortality of the soul and that kind of seeming Honesty which they had was only in those of them that thus expected a life to come But those that believe not another life where man is to have his punishment and reward have nothing like to Honesty in them but live like greedy ravenous beasts where they are from under the Laws and Government of them that look for another life The Cannibals that eat mens flesh and some such savages as they are the Nations that expect no life but this It is believed so commonly by all the civil Infidels and Turks as shews it to be a principle that nature doth reveal 7. Yea the whole Creation that is within the sight of man is destroyed opinionatively by the Infidels that look for no Immortal life For all things were made to further our Salvation the Heavens to declare the Glory of God and the sirmament to shew his handy work and all Creatures to be our Glass in which we must behold the Lord and our Book in which we must read and learn his nature and his will The sun is to light us and maintain our Life and the Life of other lower Creatures while we prepare for Immortality The earth is to bear us and to bear fruit for us and the Trees and Plants and every Creature to accommodate and serve us while we serve the Lord and pass on to Eternity And therefore the Atheist that denyeth us our Eternity denyeth the usefulness of all the world what were all the Creatures here good for if there were no men the earth would be a wilderness and the beasts would for the most part perish for want of sustenance and all would be like a forsaken Cottage that no man dwelleth in and doth no good And if man be not the Heir of Immortality they can do him no good All Creatures are but our provision in the way to this Eternity And therefore if there were no Eternity what should we do with them what should we do with wayes and pavements or with Inns for Travellers or with horses or other provision for our journey if there were no travelling that way And who will travel to a place that is not or a City that is nowhere but in his brains besides a mad man It s evident therefore that as all the tools in a workmans shop are made useless to him if he be forbidden to use his trade and all the books in my Library are useless if I may not read them to get knowledge so all Creatures under Heaven are made useless and destroyed doctrinally by the Atheist that thinks there is no Eternal life for which they should be used I must seriously profess if I believed this being in other things of the mind I am I knew not what to do with any thing What should I do with my Books but to learn the way to this Eternity what should I do with my money if there be no treasure to be laid up in Heaven nor friends to be made with the Mammon abused commonly to unrighteousness what should I do with my Tongue my Hands my Time my Life my Self or any thing if there were no Eternity I think I should dig my grave and lay me down in it and die and perish to scape the sorrows of a longer life that must be my companions Remember then Christians and still remember it that Eternity is the matter of your Faeith and Hope Eternity is your portion and felicity Eternity is the End of all your desires and labours and
then begin their perfection The Hopes of the ungodly are like an addle egge that when it is broken sends forth nothing but an odious stink when another sends forth the living bird O all you worldlings rich and poor you dream you play you trifâ—le because you labour not for Eternity Even worldly Princes and Nobles of the earth your glory is but a squib a flash a nothing in comparison of the Eternal glory which you lose you are doing Nothing when you are â—â—iving for the world you are trifling and befooling your â—mmortal souls while you are grasping a shaddow the uncerâ—â—in Riches 〈…〉 is the Believer whom you despise that seeks â—â—â— something thâ—â— loseth not his labour that shews himself a â—an of reason who is caring and studying and labouring and 〈…〉 watching and suffering for Eternity why is a 〈…〉 courts of God so much better then a thousand in 〈…〉 oâ— palaces of wickedness but because it is the Exâ—… where we have News of Heaven and trade for an Eternity And why is it better to be a door keeper in the 〈…〉 of God then to floursh in the prosperity of sinners but because Gods house is the porch or entrance of an Eternity â—â— delights and the lowest room among the saints affords us a better prospect into Heaven then the Highest state of worldly 〈◊〉 The ungodly are neer to cutting down when they flourish in their greatest glory Psal. 37. 2 20. Stay but a little and hâ— that flourisheth will be withered and cast into the fire and the Righteous shall see it when he is out off and shall seek him but he is not to be found vers 34 35 36 38. For the enemies of God and all that are far from him shall perish Psal. 92. 9. 13. 27. their desire shall perish Psal. 112. 10. their hope shall perish Prov. 11. 7. Job 8. 13. their way shall perish Psal. 1. 6. and himself and all that they sought and loved and delighted in shall perish Job 20. 7. 2 Pet. 2. 12. Rom. 2. 12. Heb. 1. 11. Even the visible Heavens and Earth which they abused shall be consumed with fire Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness looking towards and waiting for the coming and appearance of our Lord 2 Pet. 3. 11. Shall any man be accounted wâ—le that is not wise for Eternal happiness shall any man be counted Happy that must be most miserable to Eternity In the name of God Christian I charge thee to hold on and look to thy soul thy words thy wayes for it is for Eternity O play not loyter not do nothing by the halves in the way to Eternity Let the careless world do what they will they despise and know not what they do despise they neglect and know not what they do neglect but thou that seekest and labourest and waitest knowest what thou seekest and labourest and waitest for They sin and and know not what they do They know not what they are treasuring up for an Eternity But tâ—â—n knowest why thou â—â—test and avoidest sin Sinners be awakened by the Call of God Do you know where you are and what you do You are every man of you stepping into Eternity Will you sin away will you loyter away will you sell-for nothing an Eternal Glory Is thy sinful lust and gain and mirth and gluttony and excess of drink a price to set upon Eternity If Heaven be no more worth to thee art thou not as bad as Judas that for thirty pieces of silver would sell his Lord O Eternity Eternity what hearts have they that can so forget thee neglect thee and disesteem thee when they stand so neer thee O sleepy souls do you never use to rub your eyes and look before you towards Eternity And doth it not amaze you to see whither it is that you are going Merrily you run down the Hill but where 's the bottom If you look but down from the top of a steeple it may occasion an amazing fear what then should it cause in you to look down into Hill which is your Eternity No good can possibly be small that is Eternal And no hurt or pain can be called little that is Eternal An Eternal tooth-ake or an Eternal gowt or stone or feaver were a misery unspeakable But O what are these to an Eternal loss of Heaven and to an Eternal sense of the burning wrath of God Almighty To be out of Heaven a day and in Hell that day is a misery now unknown to sinners But if it were as many thousand years as the earth hath sands it were a greater Misery But to be there for Ever doth make the Misery past all Hope and all conceiving O me thinks the very name of Eternity should frighten the drunkard out of the Alehouse and the sleepy sinner out of his security and the lustful sportful voluptuous sinner out of his sensual delights Methinks the very name of Eternity should call off the worldling to seek betime a more enduring treasure and should take down the gallants pride and bring men to look after other matters then the most do look after Me thinks to hear the name of Eternity should with men of any faith and reason even blast all the beauty and blurre the glory and sadden the delights and weaken the temptations of the world and make all its pleasure pomp and splendour to be to our apprehensions as a smoak a shaddow as the dirt that we tread upon Methinks to hear the name of Eternity should lay so odious a reproach on sin and so nakedly open the folly and shame and misery of the ungodly and so lively shew the need and worth of faith and Holiness that men should be soon resolved in their choice and soon be at the end of an ungodly course and need no more words to make them the resolved servants of the Lord before to morrow O me thinks that a thought of Eternity should with a Believer answer all temptations and put life into all his prayers and endeavours If we were never so cold or dull or sleepy one would think a serious thought of Eternity should warm us quicken us and awake us O Christians shall we hear carelesly or speak carelesly of Eternity shall we pray coldly or labour negligently for Eternity O what an Ocean of Joy will Eternity be unto the sanctified It hath neither banks nor bottom O what a gulf of misery and woe will Eternity be to the ungodly wonderful that on their dying beds they quake not with the horrour and that they cry not out with greatest lamentation to think what a bottomless gulf of misery their departing souls must be cast into To be for Ever Ever Ever under the most heavy wrath of God! This is the appointed wages of ungodliness This is the end of wicked wayes This is it that sinners chose because they would not live to God!
or life to them We should know what is Gods prerogative and that we should keep entirely for him A subordinate esteem and love and desire the Creature may have as it revealeth God to us or leadeth to him or helpeth us in his work But it should not have the least of his part in our esteem or love or desire This is the Chastity the Purity the Integrity of the soul. It is the mixture impurity corruption and consusion of our souls when any thing is taken in with God See therefore Christian that in thy heart thou have no God but ONE and that he have all thy heart and soul and strength as far as thou canst attain it And because there will be still in imperfect souls some sinful mixture of the Creatures interest with Gods let it be the work of thy life to be watching against it and casting it out and cleansing thy heart of it as thou wouldst do thy food if it fall into the dirt For whatever is added to God in thy Affections doth make no better an increase there then the adding of earth unto thy gold or of dung unto thy meat or of corrupted humours and sickness to thy body Mixture will make no better work It may be thy Rejoycing if thou have the testimony of a good conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity and not in fleshly wisdome but by the grace of God thou hast had thy conversation in the world 2 Cor. 1. 12. It is the state of Hypocrisie when One God is openly professed and worshipped and yet the creature lyeth deepest and nearest to the heart 2. The Invisibility of God also must have its due effects upon us And 1. It must warn us that we picture not God to our eye sight or in our fancies in any bodily shape Saith the Prophet Isa. 40. 18. To whom will you liken God or what likeness will ye compare unto him so 25. No man hath seen God at any time the only begotten Son which is in the bosome of his Father he hath declared him Joh. 1. 18. and therefore we must conceive of him but as he is declared Joh. 6. 46. Not that any man hath seen the Father save he which is of God he hath seen the Father If you ask me How then you should conceive of God if not in any Bodily shape I answer Get all these Attributes and Relations of God to make their proper Impress upon thy soul as now I am teaching you and then you will have the true Conceiving of God This Question therefore is to be answered at the end of this Discourse when you have seen all the Attributes of God together and heard what impression they must make upon you 2. This must teach us to think most highly of the things that are Invisible and meanlier of these visible things Let it be the property of a Beast and not of a man to know nothing but what he seeth or hath seen Let it be the mark of the bruitish Insidels and not of Christians to doubt of the invisible things because they are invisible or to think that things visible are more excellent or sure As the senses are more ignoble then the Intellect a beast having as perfect senses as a man and yet no reasonable understanding so the objects of sense must proportionably be below the Objects of the understanding as such The grossest and most palpable objects are the basest It is the subtle part that 's called the Spirits which being drawn out of plants or other vegetables is most powerful and excellent and valued when the earthly dregs are cast away as little worth It is that subtle part in our blood that 's called the Spirits that hath more of the virtue of life and doth more of the works then the feculent gross and earthly part The aire and wind have as true a Being as the Earth and a more excellent nature though it be more gross and they invisible The Body is not so excellent as the invisible soul. Invisible things are as real as visible and as suitable to our more noble invisible part as visible things to our fleshly baser part 3. The invisibility of God must teach us to Live a life of Faith and to get above a sensual life And it must teach us to value the faith of the Saints as knowing its excellency and necessity Invisible objects have the most perfect excellent Reality and therefore Faith hath the preheminence above sense Natural Reason can live upon things not seen if they have been seen or can be known by natural evidence subjects obey a Prince that they see not and fear a punishment which they see not and the nature of man is afraid of the Devils though we see them not But Faith liveth upon such invisible things as mortal eye did never see nor natural ordinary evidence demonstrate but are revealed only by the Word of God though about many of its invisible objects Faith hath the consent of Reason for its encouragement Value not sight and sense too much Think not all to be meer uncertainties and notions that are not the objects of sense We should not have heard that God is a spirit if Corporal substances had not a baser kind of Being then Spirits Intellection is a more noble operation then sense If there be any thing properly called sense in Heaven it will be as far below the pure Intellective Intuition of the Lord as the glorified Body will be below the glorified soul. But what that difference will be we cannot now understand Fix not your minds on sensible things Remember that your God your home your portion are unseen And therefore live in hearty Affections to them and serious prosecution of them as if you saw them Pray as if you saw God and Heaven and Hell Hear as if you saw him that sends his Messenger to speak to you Resist all the Temptations to lust and sensuality and every sin as you would do if you saw God stand by Love him and Fear him and Trust him and Serve him as you would do if you beheld him Faith is the evidence of things not seen Heb. 11. 1. Believing must be to you in stead of seeing and make you as serious about things unseen as sensual men are about things sensible In every thing that you see remember it is he that is unseen that appeareth in them He lighteth you by the sun he warmeth you by the fire he beareth you by the earth See him in all these by the eye of Faith 3. The Immortality Incorruptibility and Immutability of God must 1. Teach the soul to rise up from these Mortal Corruptible Mutable things and to fix upon that God who is the immortal incorruptible portion of his Saints 2. It must comfort and encourage all Believers in the consideration of their felicity and support them under the failings of all mortal corruptible things Our Parents and Children and Friends are mortal They are ours to day
and dead to morrow They are our delight to day and our sorrow or horrour to morrow But our God is Immortal Our houses may be burned Our goods may be consumed or stolne our cloaths will be worn out our treasure here may be corrupted But our God is unchangeable the same for ever Our Laws and Customes may be changed our Governours and Priviledges changed our company and employments and habitation changed but our God is never changed Our estates may change from Riches to poverty and our names that were honoured may incur disgrace Our health may quickly turn to sickness and our ease to pain But still our God is unchangeable for ever Our friends are unconstant and may turn our enemies Our Peace may be changed into war and our liberty into slavery but our God doth never change Time will change customes families and all things here but it changeth not our God The Creatures are all but earthen mettal and quickly dasht in peices our comforts are changeable our selves are changeable and mortal but so is not our God 3. And it should teach us to draw as near to God as we are capable by unchangeable fixed Resolutions and constancy of endeavours and to be still the same as we are at the best 4. It should move us also to be more desirous of passing into the state of immortality and to long for our unchangeable habitation and our immortal incorruptible Bodies and to possess the Kingdom that cannot be moved Heb. 12. 28. And let not the mutability of things below much trouble us while our Rock our Portion is unmoveable God waxeth not old Heaven doth not decay by duration the Glory of the blessed shall not wither nor their sun set upon them nor their day have any night nor any mutations or commotions disturb their quiet possessions O Love and Long for Immortality and Incorruption CHAP. VII 6. HAving spoken of the effects of the Attributes of Gods Essence as such we must next speak of the Effects of his three great Attributes which some call Subsistential that is his Omnipotency Understanding and Will or his Infinite Power Wisdom and Goodness By which it hath been the way of the Schoolmen and other Divines to denominate the three Persons not without some countenance from Scripture Phrase The Father they call the Infinite Power of the God head and the Son the Wisdom and Word of God and of the Father and the Holy Ghost the Love and Goodness of God of the Father and Son But that these Attributes of Power Understanding and Will or Power Wisdome and Goodness are of the same importance with the termes of Personality Father Son and Holy Ghost we presume not to affirm It sufficeth us 1. That God hath assumed these Attributes to himself in Scripture 2. And that man who beareth the Natural Image of God hath Power Understanding and Will and as he beareth the Holy Moral Image of God he hath a Power to execute that which is Good and Wisdome to direct and Goodness of Will to determine for the execution And so while God is seen of us in this Glass of Man we must conceive of him after the Image that in man appeareth to us and speak of him in the language of man as he doth of himself And first The Almightiness of God must make these impressions on our souls 1. It must possess the soul with very awful Reverent thoughts of God and fill us continually with his holy Fear Infinite Greatness and Power must have no common careless thoughts lest we Blaspheme him in our Minds and be guilty of Contempt The Dread of the Heavenly Majesty should be still upon us and we must be in his fear all the day long Prov. 23. 17. Not under that slavish Fear that is void of Love as men fear an Enemy or hurtful Creature or that which is Evil For we have not such a spirit from the Lord nor stand in a Relation of enmity and bondage to him But Reverence is necessary and from thence a Fear of sinning and displeasing so Great a God The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdome Prov. 1. 7. and 9. 10. Psal. 111. 10. By it men depart from evil Prov. 16. 6. Sin is for want of the Fear of God Luk. 23. 40. Pro. 3. 7. Jer. 5. 24. I. ev 25. 36. The Fear of God is often put for the whole new man or all the work of Grace within us even the Principle of new life Jer. 2. 19. and 32. 40. And it is often put for the whole work of Religion or Service of God Psal. 34. 11. Prov. 1. 29. Psal. 130. 4. and 34. 9. And therefore the Godly are usually denominated such as Fear God Psal. 15. 4. and 22. 23. and 115. 11 13. and 135. 20. and 34. 7 9. c. The godly are devoted to the Fear of God Psal. 119. 38. It is our Sanctifying the Lord in our hearts that he be our fear and dread Isa. 8. 13. If we Fear him not we take him not for our Master Mal. 1. 6. Evangelical Grace excludeth not this Fear Luk. 12. 5. Though we receive a Kingdom that cannot be moved yet must our acceptable service of God be with Reverence and godly fear Heb. 12. 28. With fear and trembling we must work out our salvation Phil. 2. 12. In fear we must pass the time of â—â—journing here 1 Pet. 1. 17. In it we must converse together Eph. 5. 4. Yea Holiness is to be perfected in the fear of God 2 Cor. 7. 1. and that because we have the Promises The most prosperous Churches walk in this fear Acts 9. 31. It s a necessary means of preventing destruction Heb. 11. 7. and of attaining salvation when we have the promises Heb. 4. 1. God puts this fear in the hearts of those that shall not depart from him Jer. 32. 40. See therefore that the Greatness of the Almighty God possess thy soul continually with his Fear 2. Gods Almightiness should also possess us with holy Admiration of him and cause us in heart and voice to Magnifie him Oh what a Power is that which made the world of nothing which upholdeth the earth without any foundation but his Will which placed and maintaineth all things in their Order in Heaven and Earth which causeth so great and glorious a creature as the Sun that is so much bigger then all the earth to move so many thousand miles in a few moments and constantly to keep its time and course that giveth its instinct to every brute and causeth every part of nature to do its office By his Power it is that every motion of the Creature is performed and that order is kept in the Kingdoms of the world Jer. 32. 17 18 19. He made the Heaven and the Earth by his Great Power and stretched out arm and nothing is too hard for him The Great the Mighty God the Lord of Hosts is his Name great in counsel and mighty in works Neh. 9.
Praises of the Lord. The Goodness of God should be a daily feast to a gracious soul and should continually feed our cheerful Praises as the spring or cistern fills the Pipes I know no sweeter work on earth nay I am sure there is no sweeter then for faithful sanctified souls rejoicingly to magnifie the Goodness of the Lord and joyn together in his cheerful Praises O Christians if you would tast the Joys of Saints and live like the redeemed of the Lord indeed be much in the exercise of this Heavenly work and with holy David make it your employment and say O how great is thy Goodness which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee Psal. 31. 19. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord Psal. 33. 5. What then are the Heavens Thy Congregation hath dwelt therein thou O Lord hast prepared thy Goodness for the poor O that men would praise the Lord for his Goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men For he satisfyeth the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness Psal. 107. 8 9. The goodness of God endureth continually Psal. 52. 1. Truly God is good to Israel even to such as are of a clean heart Psal. 73. 1. O taste and see that the Lord is good blessed is the man that trusteth in him Psal. 34. 8. The Lord is good his mercy is Everlasting his truth endureth from generation to generation Psal. 100. 5 The Lord is good to all and his tender Mercies are over all his works Psal. 145. 9. O Praise the Lord for the Lord is good sing Praises to his name for it is pleasant Psal. 135. â— Call him as David My goodness and my fortress my high tower and my deliverer and my shield and he in whom I trust Psal. 144 2. Let men therefore speak of the glorious honour of his Majesty and of his wonderous works Let them abundantly utter the memory of his great goodness and sing of his Righteousness Psal. 145 5 7. If there be a thought that is truly sweet to the soul it is the Thought of the Infinite Goodness of the Lord. If there be a pleasant word for man to speak it is the mention of the Infinite goodness of the Lord And if there be a pleasant hour for man on earth to spend and a delightful work for man to do it is to meditate on and with the Saints to Praise the Infinite goodness of the Lord. What was the glory that God shewed unto Moses and the tast of Heaven that he gave him upon Earth but this I will make all my Goodness pass before thee and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee and I will be gracious on whom I will be gracious and will shew Mercy on whom I will shew Mercy Exod. 33. 19. And his proclaimed Name was The Lord the Lord God Merciful and gracious long suffering and abundant in goodness and truth Exod. 34. 6. These were the holy Praiâ—es that Solomon did consecrate the Temple with 2 Chron. 6. 41. Arise O Lord God into thy resting place thou and the Ark of thy strength let thy Priests O Lord God be cloathed with salvation and let thy Saints rejoyce in Goodness See Isai. 63. O Christians if you would have joy indeed let this be your employment Draw neer to God and have no low undervaluing thoughts of his Infinite Goodness For How great is his Goodness and how great is his Beauty Zach. 9 17. Why is it that Divine Consolations are so strange to us but because Dive Goodnesâ— is so lightly thought upon As those that think little of God at all have little of God upon their hearts so they that think but little of his Goodness in particular have little Love or Joy or Praise 6. Moreover the Goodness of God must possess us with desire to be conformed to his goodness in our measure The Holy perfection of his Will must make us desire to have our Wills conformed to the will of God We are not called to Imitate him in his works of Power nor so much in the paths of his Omniscience as we are in his goodness which as manifested in his work and word is the Pattern and standard of Moral Goodness in the sons of men The Impress of his goodness within us is the chief part of his Image on us and the fruits of it in our Lives is their Holiness and Vertue As he is Good and doth Good Psal. 119. 68. so must it be our greatest care to be as good and do as much good as possibly we can Any thing within us that is sinful and contrary to the Goodness of God should be to our souls as griping poyson to our bodies which nature is excited to strive against with all its strength and can have no safety or rest till it be cast out And for Doing Good it must be the very study and trade of our lives As worldlings study and labour for the world and the Pleasing of their flesh so must the Christian study and labour to improve his masters talents to his use and to do as much good as he is able and to please the Lord. Prov. 11. 23. The desire of the Righteous as such is only Good To depart from evil and do good is the care of the just Psal. 34. 14. We must please our neighbours for Good to their Edification Rom. 15. 2. While we have time we must do good to all men as we are able but especially to them of the houshold of faith Gal. 6. 10 Not only to them that do good to us but to our enemies Luk. 6. 32 33 34. Mat. 5. 44. This is it that we must not forget Heb. 13. 16. and which by Ministers we must be â—ut in mind of 1 Tim. 6. 18. which all that love life and would inherit the blessing must devote themselves to 1 Pet. 3. 10 11 12. In this we must be like our heavenly Father and approve our selves his Children Mat. 5. 45 46. 7. From the perfect Infinite goodness of God we must learn to judge of Good and Evil and in all the Creatures To this must all be reduced as the standard and by this must they be tryed It is a most wretched absurdity of sensual men to try the will or word or wayes of God by themselves and by their own interests or wills and to judge all to be Evil in God that is against them And yet alas how common is this case Every man is naturally â—oth to be miserable suffering he abhors and therefore that which causeth his suffering he calleth evil And so when he hath deserved it himself by his sin he thinks that the Law is Evil for threatning it and that God himself is Evil for inflicting it so that Infinite Goodness must be tryed and judged by the vicious creature and the Rule and standard must be reduced to the crooked line of humane actions or dispositions and if God will please
to be here and the covetous man among his gains and the sensual man among his recreations and merâ—y companions It is good to be here the Christian that can get nigh to God or have any prospect of his Love in his ordinances concludeth that of all places upon earth It is good to be here and that a day in his Courts is better then a thousand Psal. 84. 10. But O to depart and be with Christ is far better Phil. 1. 23. With Infinite goodness we shall find no evil no emptiness or defect when we perfectly enjoy the perfect Good what more can be added but for ever to enjoy it O therefore think on this Christians when death is dreadful to you and you would fain stay here as being afraid to come before the Lord or loth to leave the things which you here posfess shall Goodness it self be distrusted by you or seem no more desirable to you Are you afraid of Goodness even of your Father of your Happiness it self Are you better here then you shall be with God Are your houses or lands or friends or pleasures or any thing better then Infinite Goodness meditate on this blessed Attribute of God till you distast the world till you are angry with your withdrawing murmuring flesh till you are ashamed of your unwillingness to be with God and till you can calmly look in the face of death and contentedly hear the message that is posting towards you that you must presently come away to God Your Natural birth day brought you into a Better place then the womb and your gracious Birth day brought you into a far Better state then your former sinful miserable captivity And will not your Glorious birth day put you into a better habitation then this world O know and choose and seek and live to the Infinite Good and then it may be your greatest joy when you are called to him CHAP. X. 9. HAving spoken of these three great Attributes of God I must needs speak of those three great Relations of God to man and of these three works in which they are founded which have flowed from these Attributes This one God in three Persons hath Created man and all things which before were not hath Redeemed man when he was lost by sin and sanctifieth those that shall be saved by Redemption Though the external works of the Trinity are undivided yet not indistinct as to the order of working and a special interest that each person hath in each of these works The Father Son and Holy Ghost did create the world and they also did Redeem us and do Sanctifie us But so as that Creation is in a special sort ascribed to the Father Redemption to the Son and Sanctification to the Holy Spirit Not only because of the order of operation agreeable to the order of subsisting for then the Father would be as properly said to be incarnate or to die for us or mediate as the Son to create us which is not to be said For he created the world by his Word or Son and Spirit Joh. 1. 3. Psal. 33. 6. and he Redeemed it by his Son and Sanctifieth it by his Spirit But Scripture assureth us that the Son alone was incarnate for us and dyed and Rose again and not the Father or the Spirit and so that the humane nature is peculiarly united to the second person in glory and so that each person hath a peculiar interest in these several works the Reason of which is much above our reach The first of these Relations of God to man which we are to consider of is that he is our Creator It is he that giveth Being to us and all things and that giveth us all our faculties or Powers Under this for brevity we shall speak of him also as he is our Preserver because preservation is but a kind of continued Creation or a continuance of the Beings which God hath caused God then is the first efficient cause of all the creatures from the greatest to the least Gen. 1. And easily did he make them for he spake but the word and they were created They are the Products of his Power Wisdome and Goodness Psal. 33. 6. Joh. 1. 3. Psal. 148. 5. He commanded and they were created He still produceth all things that in the course of nature are brought forth Psal. 104. 30. Thou sendest forth thy spirit they are created thou renewest the face of the earth And from hence these following impressions must be made upon the considering soul. 1. If All things be from God as the Creater and Preserver then we must be deeply possessed with this truth that All things are for God as their ultimate end For he that is the Beginning and first cause of all things must needs be the End of all His Will produced them and the Pleasure of his Will is the End for which he did produce them Isa. 43. 7. I have created him for my glory Prov. 16. 4. The Lord hath made all things for himself yea even the wicked for the day of evil I think the Chaldee Paraphrase the Syriack and Arabick give us the true meaning of this who concordantly translate it The wicked is kept for the day of evil as Job hath it 21. 30. The wicked is reserved to the day of destruction they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath And 2 Pet. 2. 9. To reserve the unjust to the day of judgement to be punished God made not the wicked as wicked or to be wicked but he that gave them their Being and continueth it will not be a loser by his Creation or preservation but will have the glory of his Justice by them in the day of wrath or evil for which he keeps them and till which he beareth with them because they would not obediently give him the glory of his Holiness and mercy So it is said of Christ Col. 16 17. For by him were all things created that are in Heaven and that are in earth visible and invisible all things were created By him and For him If they are By him they must needs be For him So Rev. 4. 11. Thou art worthy O Lord to receive Glory and Honour and Power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created This Pleasure of Gods will is the End of all things and therefore it is certain that he will see that all things shall accomplish that end and his will shall be pleased Rom. 11. 36. we have all in few words For of him and through him and to him are all things and to whom be glory for ever Amen Of him as the first efficient that giveth them their Beings and Through him as the Preserver disposer and conducter of them to their end and To him as the Ultimate end If you say But how is the pleasure of Gods will attained from the wicked that break his Laws and displease his will I answer Understand but how his will is
for the Head yet we are more for Christ as a means to his glory then he for us I mean he is the more excellent principal end For to this end Christ both dyed rose and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead and living Rom. 14. 9. who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the Cross Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow both of things in heaven and things in earth and under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father Phil. 2. 6. to 12. Rev. 5. 8 9 10 11 12. And I beheld and I heard the voice of many Angels round about the Throne and the beasts and the elders and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing And every creature which is in Heaven and on Earth and under the Earth and such as are in the sea and all that are in them heard I saying Blessing honour glory and power be unto him that sitteth on the Throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever So Rev. 15. 3 4. 20. 6. Rev. 21. 23. The City had no need of the Sun neither of the Moon to shine in it for the glory of God doth lighten it and the Lamb is the light thereof Rev. 22. 3 4. The Throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it and his servants shall serve him And they shall see his face and his name shall be in their foreheads These and many other Scriptures shew us that God will be for ever Glorified in the person of the Redeemer more then in either men or Angels and consequently that it was the principal part of his Intention in the design of mans Redemption 2. I will be briefer in the rest In the way of Redemption man will be saved with greater humiliation and self-denyal then he should have been in the way of Creation If we had been saved in a way of Innocency we should have had more to ascribe to our selves And it is meet that all Creatures be humbled and abased and nothing in themselves before the Lord. 3. By the way of Redemption sin will be more dishonoured and Holiness more advanced then if sin had never been known in the world Contraries illustrate one another Health would not be so much valued if there were no sickness nor Life if there were no Death nor Day if there were no Night nor Knowledge if there were no Ignorance nor Good if man had not known Evil. The Holiness of God would never have appeared in execution of vindictive Justice against sin if there had never been any sin and therefore he hath permitted it and will recover us from it when he could have prevented our falling into it 4. By this way also Holiness and Recovering Grace shall be more triumphant against the Devil and all its enemies By the many conquests that Christ will make over Satan the World and the Flesh and Death there will very much of God be seen to us that innocency would not thus have manifested 5. Redemption brings God nearer unto man The mysterie of Incarnation giveth us wonderful advantages to have more familiar thoughts of God and to see him in a clearer glass then ever we should else have seen him in on earth and to have access with boldness to the throne of grace The pure Deity is at so vast a distance from us while we are here in flesh that if it had not appeared in the flesh unto us we should have been at a greater loss But now without controversie great is the mysterie of godliness God was manifested in the flesh justified in the spirit seen of Angels preached to the Gentiles believed on in the world and received up into glory 1 Tim. 3. 16. 6. In the way of Redemption man is brought to more earnest and frequent addresses unto God and dependance on him Necessity driveth him And he hath use for more of God or for God in more of the wayes of his mercy then else he would have had 7. Principally in this way of saving miserable man by a Redeemer there is opportunity for the more abundant exercise of Gods mercy and consequently for the more glorious discovery of his Love and Goodness to the sons of men then if they had fallen into no such Necessities Misery prepareth men for the sense of mercy In the Redeemer there is so wonderful a discovery of Love and Mercy as is the astonishment of men and Angels 1 Joh. 3. 1. Behold what manner of Love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God! Eph. 2. 4 5. God who is rich in Mercy for his great Love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ by grace yee are saved and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness towards us by Christ Jesus for by grace yee are saved through faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God Not of works lest any man should boast Tit. 3 3 4. For we our selves were sometimes foolish disobedient deceived serving divers lusts and pleasures c. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his Mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost Never was there such a discovery of God as he is Love in a way of Mercy to man on earth as in the Redeemer and his benefits 8. In the way of Redemption the soul of man is formed to the most sweet and excellent temper and his obedience cast into the happiest mold The glorious demonstration of Love doth animate us with Love to God and the shedding abroad of his Love in our hearts by the spirit of the Redeemer doth draw out our hearts in Love to him again And the sense of his wonderful Love and Mercy filleth us with Thankfulness so that Love is hereby made the nature of the new man and Thankfulness is the life of all our obedience For all floweth from these principles and expresseth them so that Love is the compendium of all Holiness in one word and Thankfulness of all Evangelical obedience And
6. Submit your selves to every ordinance of man for the Lords sake For so is the will of God 1 Pet. 2. 13 15. Deut. 1. 16 17. Judge righteously between every man and his brother ye shall not respect persons in judgement but shall hear the small as well as the great you shall not be afraid of the face of man for the judgement is Gods 2 Chron. 19 5 6 7. And he said to the Judges Take heed what ye do for you judge not for man but for the Lord who is with you in the judgement wherefore let the fear of the Lord be upon you But our Atheistical Politicians would teach Rulers that they are none of the Ministers of God and that they judge for man only and not for him The nature of all true obedience is such as Paul describeth in children and servants Eph. 6. 1 6 7 8. that setcheth its rise and motives from the Lord Children obey your Parents in the Lord for this is right Servants be obedient to them that are your Masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling in singleness of your heart as unto Christ not with eye-service as men-pleasers but as the servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart with good-will doing service as to the Lord and not to men So Colos. 3. 22 23. 7. Hence also you must learn that Gods authority is the highest authority and there is indeed no such thing in the world as true authority that is against him or not subordinate unto him And therefore if men command us to disobey God by neglecting that which is hic nunc a duty or by sinning against him their commands are from a disobedient will of their own but from no Authority and it is better in such cases to obey God then man Act. 5. 29. so many Prophets Apostles and other Martyrs would not have been sacrificed by the fury of Persecutors if they had thought it just to obey them before God God never gave any man Authority against him Nor to nullifie his laws The acts of a Justice or Constable against the King or beyond their power are private or rebellious acts and not Authoritative And so are the Laws of men that are against God Yet note well that though we must rather disobey men then God yet we may not forcibly Resist when we may not obey them And in some cases as if a King would ravish a woman or the like when it is lawful to Resist his fact it is not lawful to Resist his State and disturb the Government of the Commonwealth Obey men chearfully when God forbids it not but see that God be your Absolute Soveraign whose Laws can be dispensed with by none If Parents or Masters command you to break the Laws of God obey them not Despise them not but humbly deprecate their displeasure and obey them in all other things but in the unlawful thing obey them not no not if they were the greatest Princes upon earth But say as the three witnesses of God Dan. 3. 16 17. We are not careful to answer thee in this matter If it be so our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of thy hands O King But if not be it known unto thee O King that we will not serve thy Gods nor worship thy golden Image which thou hast set up What I have said of Magistrates in the two last cases I mean also of Pastours of the Church They must be obeyed in and for the Lord but not against the Lord. Saith Paul of the Churches of Maceâ—onia 2 Cor. 8. 5. They gave their own selves to the Lord and unto us by the will of God See Act. 20. 28. 1 Thes. 5. 12. Luk. 10. 16. He that heareth you heareth me and he that despiseth you despiseth me And yet the leaven of the Pharisees must be avoided and an Angel from Heaven be held as accursed if he should preach another Gospel Gal. 1. 8. And I would not have flatterers to set either Princes or Pastours above the Angels of Heaven Though yet in other respects we may be still obliged as I said before to hear and to obey them 8. And the Knowledge of Gods soveraignty must teach us to fear his righteous Threatnings and reverence his Justice and prepare our selves to be judged by him He ruleth by his Laws and so by Threatnings and Promises which he will make good It is not a painted fire that he Threatneth Judgement is a part of Government Laws are but shadows if there be no execution O worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness fear before him all the earth Say among the Heathen that the Lord reigneth Psal. 96. 9 10 As his promises so his peremptory threatnings shall be fulfilled He will not revoke his stablished Laws for fear of hurting willful sinners that will not fear his judgements till they feel them Psal. 33. 8. Let all the earth fear the Lord let all the inhabitants of the world stand in aw of him for he spake and it was done he commanded and it stood fast Mark also the present judgements of the Lord and rush not on his indignation For the Lord is known by the judgements which he executeth the wicked is oft snared in the work of his own hands Psal. 9. 16. Though the wicked contemn God and say in his heart Thou wilt not require it Psal. 10. 13. yet they shall find that he beholdeth mischief to requite it with his hand and that he is the helper of the fatherless and poor that commit themselves unto him ver 14. The Lords throne is in heaven his eyes behold his eyelids try the children of men the Lord tryeth the Righteous but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth Psal. 11. 4 5. 9. The Soveraignty of God is a comfort to his loyal subjects They may be sure that he will protect them and make good his word Behold he cometh and his reward is with him Rev. 22. 12. The righteous Judge at his appearing will give the Crown of Righteousness to all them that love his appearing 2 Tim. 4. 18 7 8. O let the Nations be glad and sing for joy for thou shalt judge the people righteously and govern the Nations upon earth Psal. 67. 4. Let the Heavens rejoyce and the earth be glad before the Lord for he cometh for he cometh to judge the world with righteousness and the people with his truth Psal. 69. 11. 13. 10. Lastly the Knowledge of God as our Soveraign King must cause us to desire and pray for and promote the glory of his Kingdome and the obedience of his subjects in the world that his Name may be hallowed by the coming of his Kingdom and the doing of his will on earth as it is in Heaven must be the matter of our daily requests to God It must be the grief of every subject of the Lord to
doth sweetly relish and take pleasure in as we would do to hear an Angel speak of the Holy things of the invisible Glory 3 And Relative Holiness it self though the lowest must be H 〈…〉 ured by us Holy offices and persons in them must be Re 〈…〉 d for their Relative Holiness Holy dayes must be holily 〈…〉 rved Holy Ordinances which also participate of the 〈…〉 of the Law as significative must be reverently used Due reverence must be given even to that which is lawfully by men â—â—voted to a Holy use as are Temples and Utensils of worship and the maintenance dedicated to the service of God That which is Holy must not be devoured Prov. 20. 25. nor used as we do things common and unclean â— Gods Holiness must make us Holy we must fall in Love with it and wholly conform our selves unto it Every part of Sanctifying grace must be entertained and cherished and excited and used by us Sin must be loathsome to us because it is contrary to the Holiness of God No Toad or Snake should seem to us so ugly A dead carkass is an unpleasant sight because it sheweth us a privation of natural life But an unholy soul is incomparably a more loathsome ghastly sight because it sheweth us the privation of the life of Holiness No man can well know the odiousness of sin and the misery and loathsomeness of the unholy soul that knoweth not the Holiness of God Speak unto all the Congregation of Israel and say unto them Ye shall be Holy for I the Lord your God am Holy Lev. 19. 2. Sanctifie your selves therefore and be ye Holy for I am the Lord your God Lev. 20. 7 8. As be that hath called us is Holy so must we be holy in all manner of Conversation 1 Pet. 1. 25. It is an holy calling wherewith we are called 2 Tâ—â— 1. 9. We are sanctified to be a peculiar people to Christ Tit. 2. 14. That denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world ver 12. We are made an Holy Priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifice acceptable to God by Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 2. 5. Rom. 12. 1 2. We must therefore present our bodies a living sacrifice Holy acceptable to God our reasonable service For we are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be Holy and without blame Ephes. 1. 4. and are Redeemed and Sanctified by Christ that we may be presented Glorious Holy and without blemish Ephes. 5. 26 27. See therefore that you follow Holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. Heb. 12. 14. For Blessed are the Pure in heart for they shall see him Mat. 5. 8. 3. The Holiness of God must be to us a standing unanswerable Argument to shun all temptations that would draw us to be unholy and to confound all the words of wicded men that are spoken against Holiness Remember but that God is Holy and if thou like that which is spoken against God thou art his Enemy Think on the Prophesie of Henoch Jude 14. 15. Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his Saints to execute Judgement upon all and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him God will not hold him guiltless that taketh his holy Name in vain much less that blasphemeth Holiness which is the perfection of his blessed nature 4. The Holiness of God must possess us with a sense of our Uncleanness and further our Humiliation When Isaiah heard the Seraphims cry Holy Holy Holy is the Lord of Hosts the whole Earth is full of his Glory Isa. 6. 3 He said Woe is mee for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips for mine eyes have seen the King the Lord of Hosts v. 5. 5. The Holiness of God must cause us to walk continually in his Fear and to take heed to all the affections of our souls and even to the manner of our behaviour when we come near to him in his Holy Worship What suffered the Beâ—shemiâ—es for unreverent looking into the Holy Ark 1 Sam 6. 19. and Uzzah but for touching it And what a dreadful example is that of the two Sons of Aaron that were slain by a devouâ—ing fire from the Lord for offering strange fire which he commanded not Lev. 10. 1 2. And Aaron was awed into silence by this account from God I will be sanctified in them that come nigh mee and before all the people I will be glorified v. 3. Take heed lest unreverence or deadness or customary heartless wordy services should be brought before a Holy God Take heed of hypocritical carnal worship The Holy God will not be mocked with complements and shews CHAP. XIX 18. THe next Attribute of God to be spoken of is His Veracity Truth and Faithfulness This is the result of his perfect Wisdome Goodness and Omnipotency For because he is most Wise and Powerful he cannot be Necessitated to Lye And because he is most Good he will not Lye Though God speaketh by none but a Created Voice and signifie his Will to us by men that in themselves considered are defectible yet what he maketh his Voice shall speak Truth and what he chooseth to signifie his Will shall truly signifie it He therefore condemneth Lying in man because it is contrary to his own Veracity For if any should say that God is under no Law and therefore is not bound to speak Ttuth or not deceive a Prophet or Apostle by his Inspirations I answer that he hateth Lying as contrary to his Perfect Nature and is himself against it and cannot possibly be guilty of it because of his own Perfection and not because he is under a Law Lying comes from some Imperfection either of Knowledge Power or Goodness which can none of them befall the Lord. The Goodness of the Creature is a Goodness of Conformity to an Obliging Law and the Goodness of the Law is a Goodness of Conformity to and expression of the Good Will of God But the Goodness of God is a Perfection of Essence the Primitive Goodness which is the Fountain and Standard and End of all other Good and not a Goodness of Conformity to another And this Attribute of God is of very great use to his servants 1. From hence we must be Resolved for Duty and for a holy heavenly life because the Commands of God are serious and his Promises and Threatnings True If God were not True that tells us of these great Eternal things then might we excuse our selves from Godliness and justifie the worldling in his sensual way There is nothing of common sense and reason that can be said against a Holy life by a man that denieth not the Truth of God or of his Word And to deny Gods Truth
be alwaies actually upon God but he that doth manage his calling in Holiness doth all in obedience to Gods commands and sees that his work be the work of God and he intendeth all to the glory of God or the pleasing of his blessed will and he oft reneweth these actual intentions and oft interposeth thoughts of the presence or power or love or interest of him whom he is serving He often lifteth up his soul in some holy desire or ejaculatory request to God He oft taketh occasion from what he seeth or heareth or is doing for some more spiritual meditation or discourse so that still it is God that his mind is principally employed on or for even in his ordinary work while he liveth as a Christian And it is not enough to think of God but we must think of him as God with such respect and reverence and love and trust and submission in our measure as is due from the Creature to his Creator For as some kind of speaking of him is but a taking his Name in vain so some kind of thinking of him is but a dishonouring of him by contemptuous or false unworthy thoughts Most of our walking with God consisteth in such affectionate apprehensions of him as are suitable to his blessed Attributes and Relations All the day long our thoughts should be working either on God or for God either upon some work of obedience which he hath imposed on us and in which we desire to please and honour him or else directly upon himself Our hearts must be taken up in contemplating and admiring him in magnifying his Name his Word and Works and in pleasant contentful thoughts of his benignity and of his Glory and the Glory which he conferreth on his Saints He that is unskilful or unable to manage his own thoughts with some activity seriousness and order will be a stranger to much of the holy converse which believers have with God They that have given up the Government of their thoughts and turned them loose to go which way phantasie pleaseth and present sensitive objects do invite them and to run up and down the world as masterless unruly vagrants can hardly expect to keep them in any constant attendance upon God or readiness for any sacred work And the sudden thoughts which they have of God will be rude and stupid savouring more of prophane contempt than of holiness when they should be reverent serious affectionate and practical and such as conduce to a holy composure of their hearts and lives And as we must walk with God 1. In our communion with his servants 2. And in our affectionate Meditations so also 3 In all the ordinances which he hath appointed for our Edification and his Worship 1. The Reading of the Word of God and the explication and application of it in good Books is a means to possess the mind with sound and orderly and working apprehensions of God and of his holy Truths So that in such Reading our understandings are oft illustrated with a heavenly Light and our hearts are touched with a special delightful rellish of that truth and they are secretly attracted and engaged unto God and all the powers of our souls are excited and animated to a holy obedient life 2. The same Word preached with a lively voice with clearness and affection hath a greater advantage for the same illumination and excitation of the soul. When a Minister of Christ that is truly a Divine being filled with the Knowledge and Love of God shall copiously and affectionately open to his hearers the excellencies which he hath seen and the happiness which he hath foreseen and tasted of himself it frequently through the co-operation of the Spirit of Christ doth wrap up the hearers hearts to God and bring them into a more lively knowledge of him actuating their graces and enflaming their hearts with a heavenly Love and such desires as God hath promised to satisfie Christ doth not only send his Ministers furnished with Authority from him but also furnished with his Spirit to speak of spiritual things in a spiritual manner so that in both respects he might say He that heareth you heareth mee and also by the same Spirit doth open and excite the hearts of the hearers so that it is God himself that a serious Christian is principally employed with in the hearing of his heavenly transforming Word And therefore he is affected with reverence and holy fear with some taste of heavenly delight with obediential subjection and resignation of himself to God The Word of God is powerful not only in pulling down all high exalting thoughts that rise up against God but also in lifting up depressed souls that are unable to rise unto heavenly knowledge or communion with God If some Christians could but alwaies finde as much of God upon their hearts at other times as they finde sometimes under a spiritual powerful Ministry they would not so complain that they seem forsaken and strangers to all communion with God as many of them do While God by his Messengers and Spirit is speaking and man is hearing him while God is treating with man about his reconciliation and everlasting happiness and man is seriously attending to the treaty and motions of his Lord surely this is a very considerable part of our walking and converse with God 3. Also in the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ we are called to a familiar converse with God He there appeareth to us by a wonderful condescension in the representing communicating signs of the flesh and blood of his Son in which he hath most conspicuously revealed his Love and Goodness to Believers There Christ himself with his Covenant-gifts are all delivered to us by these Investing signs of his own institution even as Knighthood is given by a sword and as a House is delivered by a Key or Land by a Twig and Turf Nowhere is God so near to man as in Jesus Christ and nowhere is Christ so familiarly represented to us as in this holy Sacrament Here we are called to sit with him at his Table as his invited welcome guests to commemorate his sacrifice to feed upon his very flesh and blood that is with our mouths upon his Representative flesh and blood and with our applying Faith upon his real flesh and blood by such a feeding as belongs to Faith The Marriage-Covenant betwixt God â—ncarnate and his espoused ones is there publickly sealed celebrated and solemnized There we are entertained by God as friends and not as servants only and that at the most precious costly feast If ever a believer may on earth expect his kindest entertainment and near access and a humble intimacy with his Lord it is in the participation of this sacrifice-feast which is called The Communion because it is appointed as well for our special Communion with Christ as with one another It is here that we have the fullest intimation expression and communication of the wondrous Love of God
though all your carnal friends and superiors be against it though the devil will do all that he can against it yet all this must be done or you are lost for ever And all this must be done by the Spirit of God for it is his work to make you New and Holy And can you think then that the business is not great which you have with God when you have tryed how hard every part of this work is to be begun and carryed on you will finde you have more to do with God than with all the world 9. Moreover in order to this it is necessary that you read and hear and understand the Gospel which must be the means of bringing you to God by Christ This must be the instrument of God by which he will bring you to Repent and Believe and by which he will renew your Natures and imprint his Image on you and bring you to Love him and obey his will The Word of God must be your Counsellor and your delight and you must set your heart to it and meditate in it day and night Knowledge must be the means to reclaim your perverse misguided Wills and to reform your careless crooked Lives and to bring you out of the Kingdom of darkness into the State of Light and Life And such Knowledge cannot be expected without a diligent attending unto Christ the Teacher of your souls and a due consideration of the truth By that time you have learnt what is needful to be learnt for a true Conversion a sound Repentance a saving Faith and a holy Life you will finde that you have far greater business with God than with all the world 10. Moreover for the attaining of all this Mercy you have many a prayer to put up to God You must daily pray for the forgiveness of your sins and deliverance from temptations and even for your daily bread or necessary provisions for the work which you have to do You must daily pray for all the supplies of Grace which you want and for the gradual mortification of the flesh and for help in all the duties which you must perform and for strength against all the spiritual enemies which will assault you and preservation from the manifest evils which attend you And these prayers must be put up with unwearied constancy fervency and Faith Keep up this course of fervent prayer and beg for Christ and Grace and Pardon and Salvation in any measure as they deserve and according to thy own necessity and then tell mee whether thy business with God be small and to be put off as lightly as it is by the ungodly 11. Moreover you are made for the Glory of your Creator and must apply your selves wholly to glorifie him in the world You must make his service the trade and business of your lives and not put him off with something on the by You are good for nothing else but to serve him as a knife is made to cut and as your cloaths are made to cover you and your meat to seed you and your horse to labour for you so you are made and redeemed and maintained for this to Love and Please your great Creator And can you think that it is but little business that you have with him when he is the End and Master of your lives and all you are or have is for him 12. And for the due performance of his service you have all his Talents to employ To this end it is that he hath entrusted you with reason and health and strength with time and parts and interest and wealth and all his mercies and all his ordinances and means of Grace and to this end must you use them or you lose them And you must give him an account of all at last whether you have improved them all to your Masters use And can you look within you without you about you and see how much you are trusted with and must be accountable to him for and yet not see how great your business is with God 13. Moreover you have all the graces which you shall receive to exercise and every grace doth carry you to God and is exercised upon him or for him It is God that you must study and know and love and desire and trust and hope in and obey It is God that you must seek after and delight in so far as you enjoy him It is his absence or displeasure that must be your fear and sorrow Therefore the soul is said to be sanctified when it is renewed because it is both disposed and devoted unto God And therefore Grace is called Holiness because it all disposeth and carryeth the soul to God and useth it upon and for him And can you think your business with God is small when you must live upon him and all the powers of your soul must be addicted to him and be in serious motion towards him and when he must be much more to you than the Air which you breath in or the Earth you live upon or than the Sun that gives you light and heat yea than the soul is to your bodies 14. Lastly you have abundance of temptations and impediments to watch and strive against which would hinder you in the doing of all this work and a corrupt and treacherous heart to watch and keep in order which will be looking back and shrinking from the service Lay all this together and then consider whether you have not more and greater business with God than with all the creatures in the world And if this be so as undeniably it is so is there any cloak for that mans sin who is all day taken up with creatures and thinks of God as seldome and as carelesly as if he had no business with him And yet alas if you take a survey of high and low of Court and City and Country you shall find that this is the case of no small number yea of many that observe it not to be their case it is the case of the prophane that pray in jeast and swear and curse and rail in earnest It is the case of the malignant enemies of holiness that hate them at the heart that are most acquainted with this converse with God and count it but hypocrisie pride or fancy and would not suffer them to live upon the Earth who are most sincerely conversant in Heaven It is the case of Phariseâ—s and Hypocrites who take up with ceremonious observances as touch not taste not handle not and such like traditions of their forefathers instead of a spiritual rational service and a holy serious walking with the Lord. It is the case of all ambitious men and covetous worldlings who make more ado to climb up a little higher than their brethren and to hold the reins and have their wills and be admired and adored in the world or to get a large estate for themselves and their posterity than to please their Maker or to save their souls It is
BUt it may be the objector will be ready to think that If it be indeed our duty to walk with God yet Thoughts are no considerable part of it what more uncertain or mutable then our Thoughts It is Deeds and not Thoughts that God regardeth To do no harm to any but to do good to all this is indeed to walk with God You set a man upon a troublesome and impossible work while you set him upon so strict a guard and so much exercise of his thoughts what cares the Almighty for my thoughts Answ. 1 If God know better then you and be to be believed then Thoughts are not so inconsiderable as you suppose Doth he not say that the Toughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord Prov. 15. 26. It is the work of the Gospel by its power to pull down strong holds casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth it self against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ 2 Cor. 10. 4 5. The unrighteous mans forsaking his thoughts is part of his necessary conversion Isa. 55. 7. It was the description of the deplorate state of the old world Gen. 6. 5. God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually and it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him at his heart Judge by this whether Thoughts be so little regarded by God as you imagine David saith of himself I hate vain thoughts Psal. 119. 113. Solomon saith The thoughts of the righteous are right Prov. 12. 5. Paul saith that Charity thinketh not evil 1 Cor. 13. 5. 2. Thoughts are the issue of a rational soul. And if its operations be contemptible its essence is contemptible If its essence be noble its operations are considerable If the soul be more excellent then the body its operations must be more excellent To neglect our Thoughts and not employ them upon God and for God is to vilisie our noblest faculties and deny God who is a spirit that spiritual service which he requireth 3. Our Thoughts are commonly our most cordial voluntary acts and shew the temper and inclination of the heart And therefore are regardable to God that searcheth the heart and calleth first for the service of the heart 4. Our Thoughts are radical and instrumental acts such as they are such are the actions of our lives Christ telleth us that out of the heart proceed evil thoughts murders adulteries fornications thefts false witness blasphemies which defile the man Matth. 15. 19. 5. Our Thoughts are under a Law as well as words and deeds Prov. 24. 9. The thought of foolishness is sin And Matth. 5. 28 c. Christ extendeth the Law even to the thoughts and desires of the heart And under the Law it is said Deut. 15. 9. Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart c. viz. of unmercifulness towards thy brother 6. Thoughts can reach higher much then sense and may be employed upon the most excellent and invisible objects and therefore are fit instruments to elevate the soul that would converse with God Though God be infinitely above us our Thoughts may be exercised on him Our persons never were in Heaven and yet our Conversation must be in Heaven Phil. 3. 20. And how is that but by our thoughts Though we see not Christ yet by the exercise of believing thoughts on him we love him and rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory Though God be invisible yet our Meditation of him may be sweet and we may delight in the Lord Psal. 104. 34. Say not that all this is but fantastical and delusory as long as Thoughts of things unseen are meeter to actuate and elevate the love desires and delights of the soul and to move and guide us in a regular and holy life then the sense of lesser present good The Thoughts are not vain or delusory unless the object of them be false and vain and delusory Where the object is great and sure and excellent the thoughts of such things are excellent operations of the soul. If thoughts of vainglory wealth and pleasure can delight the ambitious covetous and sensual no wonder if the Thoughts of God and life eternal afford us solid high delights 7. The Thoughts are not so lyable to be counterfeit and hypocritical as are the words and outward deeds And therefore they shew more what the man is and what is in his heart For as Solomon saith Prov. 23. 7. as he thinketh in his heart so is he 8. Our Thoughts may exercise the highest graces of God in man and also shew those graces as being their effects How is our Faith and Love and Desire and Trust and Joy and Hope to be exercised but by our cogitations If Grace were not necessary and excellent it would not be wrought by the spirit of God and called the Divine nature and the image of God And if Grace be excellent the use and exercise of it is excellent And therefore our Thoughts by which it is exercised must needs have their excellency too 9. Our Thoughts must be the instruments of our improving all holy Truth in Scripture and all the mercies which we receive and all the afflictions which we undergo What good will Reading a Chapter in the Bible do to any one that never Thinketh on it Our delight in the Law of God must engage us to meditate in it day and night Psal. 1. 2. What good shall he get by hearing a Sermon that exerciseth not his Thoughts for the receiving and digesting it Our considering what is said is the way in which we may expect that God should give us understanding in all things 2 Tim. 2. 7. What the better will he be for any of the merciful providences of God who never bethinks him whence they come or what is the use and end that they are given for what good will he get by any affliction that never bethinks him who it is that chastiseth him and for what and how he must get them removed and sanctified to his good A man is but like one of the pillars in the Church or like the corps which he treadeth on or at best but like the dog that followeth him thither for company if he use not his Thoughts about the work which he hath in hand and cannot say as Psal. 48. 9. We have thought of thy loving kindness O God in the midst of thy Temple He that bideth you Hear doth also bid you Take heed how you hear Luk. 8. 18. And you are commanded to lay up the word in your heart and soul Deut. 11. 18 19. And to set your hearts to all the words which are testified among you for it is not a vain thing for you because it is your life 10. Our Thoughts are so considerable a part of Gods service that they are
appeareth that their neglect of it is a sin of special aggravations This is the remainder of my task § 2. I. To Walk with God in a Holy and Heavenly Conversation is the employment most suitable to humane nature not to its corrupt disposition nor to the carnal interest and appetite but to nature as nature to man as man It is the very work that he was made for The faculties and frame of soul and body were composed for it by the wise Creatour They are restored for it by the gracious Redeemer Though in corrupted nature where sensuality is predominant there is an estrangedness from God and an enmity and hatred of him so that the wicked are more a verse to all serious holy converse with him in prayer contemplation and a heavenly life then they are to a worldly sinful life yet all this is but the disease of nature corrupting its appetite and turning it against that proper food which is most suitable to its sound desires and necessary to its health and happiness Though sinful habits are become as it were a second Nature to the ungodly so depraving their judgements and desires that they verily think the business and pleasures of the flesh are most suitable to them yet these are as contrary to nature as nature that is to the primitive tendencies of all our faculties and the proper use to which they were fitted by our Creatour and to that true felicity which is the end of all our parts and powers even as madness is contrary to the rational nature though it were hereditary 1. What can be more agreeable to the nature of man then to be rational and wise and to live in the purest exercise of Reason And certainly there is nothing more rational then that we should live to God and gladly accept of all that communion with him which our natures on earth are capable of Nothing can be more Reasonable then for the Reasonable soul to be entirely addicted to him that did create it that doth preserve it and by whom it doth subsist and act Nothing is more Reasonable then that the Absolute Lord of nature be honoured and served wholly by his Own Nothing is more Reasonable then that the Reasonable creature do live in the truest dependence upon and subordination to the Highest Reason and that derived imperfect defectible wisdome be subservient to and guided by the primitive perfect indefectible wisdome It is most reasonable that the Children depend upon the Father and the foolish be ruled by the most wise and that the Subjects be governed by the universal King and that they honour him and obey him and that the indigent apply themselves to him that is All sufficient and is most able and ready to supply their wants and that the Importent rest upon him that is Omnipotent 2. Nothing can be more Reasonable than that the Reasonable Nature should intend its End and seek after its true and chief felicity And that it should Love Good as Good and therefore prefer the chiefest Good before that which is transitory and insufficient Reason commandeth the Reasonable Creature to avoid its own delusion and destruction and to rest upon him that can everlastingly support us and not upon the creature that will deceive us and undo us and to prefer the highest and noblest converse before that which is inferiour unprofitable and base and that we rejoyce more in the highest purest and most durable delights than in those that are fordid and of short continuance And who knoweth not that God is the chiefest Good and true felicity of man the everlasting Rock the durable delight and to be preferred before his creatures And who might not find that would use his Reason that all things below are vanity and vexation 3. Nothing can be more Rational and Agreeable to Mans Nature than that the superiour faculties should govern the inferiour that the brutish part be subject to the Rational and that the ends and objects of this higher faculty be preferred before the objects of the lower that the objects of sense be made subservient to the objects of Reason If this be not Natural and Rational then it is natural to Man to be no Man but a Beast and Reasonable to be Unreasonable Now it is evident that a Holy Living unto God is but the improvement of true Reason and its imployment for and upon its noblest object and its ultimate End And that a sensual life is the exercise of the inferiour brutish faculties in predominacy above and before the rational And therefore to question whether God or the Creature should be first sought and loved and principally desired and delighted in and served is but to question whether we should live like Men or like Beasts and whether Dâ—gs or wise men be fitter companions for us and whether the Rider or the Horse should have the rule whether the Rational or Sensitive Powers be superiour and proper to the nature of a man Object But there is a middle state of life betwixt the sensual and the Divine or Holy Life which sober Philosophers did live and this is the most Natural Life and most properly so called Answ. I deny this There is no middle state of life if you denominate the several states of life from the several Ends or the several Powers I grant that the very sensitive powers in man especially the imagination is much advanced by the conjunction of Reason above that of a brute And I grant that the Delights of the Phantasie may be preferred before the immediate pleasure of the senses And I grant that some little distant knowledge of God and things Divine and Hopes of attaining them may affect an unsanctified man with an answerable pleasure But all this is nothing to prove that there is a third sort of End or of Powers and so a third or middle state of life specifically distinct from the sensitive and the Holy life Besides the Vegetative man hath no other life or faculties than the Sensitive and the Rational And therefore one of these must be in predominancy or rule And therefore he can have no middle sort or End and therefore no middle state of life that can be said to be agreeable to his nature Those that seek and take up their chief felicity in Riches and plenty and provisions for the flesh though not in present pleasing of the sense do live but the life of sensuality A Fox or Dog takes pleasure when he hath eaten his belly full to hide and lay up the rest And so doth the Bee to fill the Hive and make provision for the Winter The Proud that delight in Honour and applause and making others subject to their lusts do live but the life of sensuality A Dog a Horse and other brutes have something of the same They that are grave through Melancholy or because they can reach no great matter in the world and because their old or duller spirits are not much pleased with
sensuality but in the way of holy obedience and of believing contemplations of the Divine everlasting objects of delight For lo they that are far from him shall perish he destroyeth them that go a whoring from him but it is good for us to draw nigh to God Psal. 73. 27 28. III. VVAlking with God is the only course that can prove and make men truly wise It proves them wise that make so wise and good a choice and are disposed and skilled in any measure for so high a work Practical Wisdome is the solid useful profitable wisdome And Practical Wisdome is seen in our Choice of Good and Refusal of Evil as its most immediate and excellent effect And no Choosing or Refusing doth shew the Wisdome or Folly of man so much as that which is about the Greatest matters and which everlasting life or death depends on He is not thought so wise among men that can write a Volume about the Orthography or Etymology of a word or that can guess what wood the Trojane Horse was made of or that can make a chain to tye a Flea in as he that can bring home Gold and Pearls or he that can obtain and manage Governments or he that can cure mortal maladies For as in lading we difference Bulk and Value and take not that for the best commodity which is of greatest quantity or weight but that which in most precious and of greatest use so there is a bulky knowledge extended far to a multitude of words and things which are all of no great use or value and therefore the Knowledge of them is such as they And there is a precious sort of Knowledge which fixeth upon the most precious things which being of greatest Use and Value do accordingly prove the Knowledge such Nothing will prove a man simply and properly wise but that which will prove or make him Happy He is wise indeed that is wise to his own and others good And that is indeed his Good which saveth his soul and maketh him for ever blessed Though we may admire the Cunning of those that can make the most curious engines or by deceiving others advance themselves or that can subtilly dispute the most curious niceties or criticize upon the words of several languages yet I will never call them Wise that are all that while the Devils slaves the enemies of God the refusers of Grace and are making haste to endless misery And I think there is not one of those in Hell who were once the subtile men on earth that now take themselves to have been truly wise or glory much in the remembrance of such Wisdome And as this Choice doth prove men wise so the practice of this Holy walking with God doth make them much wiser than they were As there must be some work of the Spirit to draw men to believe in Christ and yet the Spirit is promised and given in a special sort or measure to them that do Believe so must there be some special Wisdome to make men Choose to walk with God but much more is given to them in this holy course As Solomon was wiser than most of the world before he asked wisdome of God or else he would not have made so wise a Choice and preferred wisdome before the riches and honours of the world And yet it was a more notable Degree of wisdome that was afterwards given him in answer to his prayer so it is in this case There are many undenyable Evidences to prove that walking with God doth do more to make men truly wise than all other learning or policy in the world 1. He that walketh with God doth begin aright and settle upon a sure foundation And we use to say that a work is half finished that is well begun He hath engaged himself to the best and wisest Teacher He is a Disciple to Him that knoweth all things He hath taken in infallible principles and taken them in their proper place and order He hath learnt those Truths which will every one become a Teacher to him and help him to that which is yet unlearnt Whereas many that thought they were Doctors in Israel if ever they they will be wise and happy must become fools that is such as they have esteemed fools if ever they will be wise 1 Cor. 3. 18. and must be called back with Nicodemus to learn Christs Cross and to be taught that that which is born of the flesh is but flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit and that therefore they must be born again not only of water but also of the spirit if ever they will enter into the Kingdome of Heaven Joh. 3. 3 5 6. O miserable beginning and miserable progress when men that never soundly learnt the mysteries of Regeneration and Faith and Love and Self-denyal and Mortification do proceed to study names and words and to turn over a multitude of Books to fill their brains with airy notions and their Common-places with such sayings as may be provision and furniture for their pride and ostentation and ornament to their style and language and know not yet what they must do to be saved and indeed know nothing as they ought to know 1 Cor. 8. 2. As every Science hath its principles which are supposed in all the consequential verities so hath Religion as Doctrinal and Practical those Truths which must be first received before any other can be received as it ought and those things which must be first done before any other can be done so as to attain their ends And these Truths and Duties are principally about God himself and are known and done effectually by those and only those that walk with God or are devoted to him It is a lamentable thing to see men immerst in serious studies even till they grow aged and to hear them seriously disputing and discoursing about the controversies or difficulties in Theology or inferiour Sciences before ever they had any saving knowledge of God or of the work of the Holy Ghost in the converting and sanctifying of the soul or how to escape everlasting misery 2. He that walketh with God hath fixed upon a right end and is renewing his estimation and intention of it and daily prosecuting it And this is the first and greatest part of Practical Wisdome When a man once knoweth his End aright he may the better judge of the aptitude and seasonableness of all the means When we know once that Heaven containeth the only felicity of man it will direct us to Heavenly cogitations and to such spiritual means as are fitted to that End If we have the right mark in our eye we are liker to level at it than if we mistake our mark He is the wise man and only he that hath steadily fixed his eye upon that blessedness which he was created and redeemed for and maketh strait towards it and bends the powers of soul and body by faithful constant diligence to obtain it He
wanteth more of God than he enjoyeth and his enjoying graces Love and Joy are yet imperfect But when he hath attained his nearest approach to God he will have fulness of Delight in fulness of fruition O Christians Do I need to tell you that after all the tryals you have made in the world you have never found any state of life that was worthy your desires nor that gave you any true content but only this living upon God If you have not found such comfort here as others have done yet at least you have seen it afar off within your reach As men that in the Indies in the discovery of Plantations expect Gold Mines when they find those golden sands that promise it You have found a life which is certainly desirable and leadeth to joy in the midst of sorrow And it is no small joy to have a certain promise and prospect of everlasting joy It is therefore more excusable in those that never tasted any better than the pleasures of the flesh to neglect this sweeter Heavenly life than it is in you that have been convinced by your own experience that there is no life to be compared with it 4. YOur Walking with God is the necessary prosecution of your Choice and Hopes of life eternal It is your necessary preparation to your enjoying him in Heaven And have you fixed on those Hopes with so great reason and deliberation and will you now draw back and be slack in the prosecution of them Have you gone so far in the way to Heaven and do you now begin to look behind you as if you were about to change your mind Paul setteth you a better example Phil. 3. 8 9 10 11 12 13. Yea doubtless I account all things but loss for the excellency of the Knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I may win Christ and be found in him If by any means I might attain to the resurrection of the dead Not as though I had already attained either were already perfect But I follow after if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus Brethren I count not my self to have apprehended but this one thing I do forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before I press toward the mark for the price of the high Calling of God in Christ Jesus He compareth himself to a runner in a race that till be apprehend the price or mark doth still make forward with all his might and will not so much as mind or look at any thing behind him that would turn him back or stop him in his course The world and the flesh are the things behind us We turned our backs upon them at our conversion when we turned to God It is these that would now call back our thoughts and corrupt our affections when we should run on and reach forward to the heavenly price It is God and Heaven and the remaining duties of a holy life that are the things before us And shall we now look back what we that are running and striving for a Crown of endless glory we that if we lose it do lose our souls and hopes for ever we that have loitered in the morning of our lives and lost so much precious time as we have done we that have gone so far in our way and held out through so many difficulties and assaults Shall we now grow weary of walking with God and begin to look to the things behind us Did he not tell us at the first that Father and Mother and house and land and life and all things must be forsaken for Christ if we will be his Disciples These are the things behind us which we turned our back on when we consented to the Covenant and are they now grown better or is God grown worse that we turn our hearts from him to them when we first begun our Christian race it was upon supposition that it was for that immortal Crown which all the world is not to be compared to And have we not still the same consideration before us to move us to hold on till we attain it Hold on Christians it is for Heaven Is there not enough in that word to drive back all the cares and pleasures that importune your minds to forget your God Is there not enough in that word to quicken you up in your greatest dulness and to call you home when you are wandring from God and to make you again fall out with all that would reduce you or divert you and call it Vanity and Vexation of spirit Methinks the fore-thought of that life and work which you hope to have with God for ever should make you earnestly desire to have as much of the like on earth as is here to be attained If it will he your Heaven and Happiness then it must needs be desirable now It is not beseeming a man that saith he is seeking for perfect communion with God in Heaven and that above all things as every Christian doth to live in a daily neglect or forgetfulness of God on earth Delightfully to draw near him and exercise all our faculties upon him or for him sometime in prayer and contemplation on himself and alwaies in works of obedience to him this is the life that beseemeth those that profess to seek eternal life O therefore let us make it our daily work to keep our God and Glory in our eye and to spur on our dull affections and in the diligent attendance and following the Captain of our salvation to prosecute our expected End 5. LAstly consider that God doth purposely provide you hard entertainment in the world and cause every creature to deny you the pleasure and satisfaction which you desire that so you may have none to walk with but himself with any heart-setling comfort and content If you see not enough in him to allure you to himself you shall feel enough in the world to drive you to him If his Love and Goodness will not serve alone to make him your pleasure and hold you to him in the best and most excellent way of Love at least the storms and troubles that are abroad shall shew you a Necessity of keeping close to God and the Love of your selves shall help you to do that which was not done by the attraction of his Love alone If you will put him to it to send out his command to every creature to cross and vex you and disappoint all your expectations from it that so he may force you to remember your Father and your home deny not then but it is long of your selves that you were not saved in an easier way Would you wish God to make that condition pleasant to you which he seeth you take too much pleasure in already or seek and desire it at least When as it is the pleasantness of the
his Love He hath readify forgiven the sins which I thought would have made my soul the fuel of Hell He hath entertained me with joy with musick and a feast when I better deserved to have been among the Dogs without his doors He hath embraced me in his sustaining consolatory arms when he might have spurned my guilty soul to Hell and said Depart from me thou worker of iniquity I know thee not O little did I think that he could ever have forgotten the vanity and villany of my youth yea so easily have forgotten my most aggravated sins When I had sinned against light when I had resisted conscience when I had frequently and wilfully injured Love I thought he would never have forgotten it But the greatness of his Love and Mercy and the blood and intercession of his Son hath cancelled all O how many mercies have I tasted since I thought I had sinned away all mercies How patiently hath he born with me since I thought he would never have put up more And yet besides my sins and the withdrawings of my own heart there hath been nothing to interrupt our converse Though he be God and I a worm yet that would not have kept me out Though he be in Heaven yet he is near to succour me on Earth in all that I call upon him for Though he have the Praise of Angels he disdaineth not my tears and groans Though he have the perfect Love of perfect soulâ— he knoweth the little spark in my breast and despiseth not my weak and languid Love Though I injure and dishonour him by Loving him no more though I oft forget him and have been out of the way when he he hath come or called me though I have disobediently turned away mine ears and unkindly refused the entertainments of his Love and unfaithfully plaid with those whose company he forbad me he hath not divorced me nor turned me out of doors O wonderful that Heaven will be familiar with Earth and God with man the Highest with a worm and the most Holy with an unconstant sinner Man refuseth me when God will entertaine me Man that is no wiser or better than my self Those that I never wronged or deserved ill of reject me with reproach And God whom I have unspeakably injured doth invite me and intreat me and condescendeth to me as if he were beholden to me to be saved Men that I have deserved well of do abhorre me And God that I have deserved Hell of doth accept me The best of them are bryars and as a thorny hedge and he is Love and Rest and Joy And yet I can be more welcome to him though I have offended him than I can to them whom I have obliged I have freer leave to cast my self into my Fathers arms than to tumble in those bryars or wallow in the dirt I upbraid my self with my sins but he doth not upbraid me with them I condemn my self for them but he condemns me not He forgiveth me sooner than I can forgive my self I have peace with him before I can have peace of conscience O therefore my soul draw near to him that is so willing of thy company That frowneth thee not away unless it be when thou hast fallen into the dirt that thou mayest wash thee from thy filthiness and be fitter for his converse Draw near to him that will not wrong thee by believing misreports of enemies or laying to thy charge the things thou knewest not but will forgive the wrongs thou hast done to him and justifie thee from the sins that conscience layeth to thy charge Come to him that by his Word and Spirit his Ministers and Mercies calleth thee to come and hath promised that those that come to him he will in no wise shut out O walk with him that will bear thee up and lead thee as by the right hand Psal. 73. 23. and carry his Infants when they cannot go O speak to him that teacheth thee to speak and understandeth and accepts thy stammering and helpeth thine infirmities when thou knowest not what to pray for as thou oughtest and giveth thee groans when thou hast not words and knoweth the meaning of his spirit in thy groans that cannot be contained in the Heaven of Heavens and yet hath respect to the contrite soul that trembleth at his word and feareth his displeasure that pittieth the tears and despiseth not the sighing of a broken heart nor the desires of the sorrowful O walk with him that is never weary of the converse of an upright soul that is never angry with thee but for flying from him or for drawing back or being too strange and refusing the kindness and felicity of his presence The day is coming when the proudest of the sons of men would be glad of a good look from him that thou hast leave to walk with Even they that would not look on thee and they that injured and abused thee and they that inferiours could have no access to O how glad would they be then of a smile or a word of hope and mercy from thy Father Draw near then to him on whom the whole Creation doth depend whose favour at last the proudest and the worst would purchase with the loudest cryes when all their pomp and pleasure is gone and can purchase nothing O walk with him that is Love it self and think him not unwilling or unlovely and let not the deceiver by hideous misrepresentations drive thee from him when thou hast felt a while the storms abroad methinks thou shouldest say How goâ—d how safe how sweet is it to draw near to God! 1. With whom should I so desirously converse as with him whom I must Live with for ever If I take pleasure in my house or land or country my walks my books or friends themselves as clothed with flesh I must possess this pleasure but a little while Henceforth know we no man after the flesh Had we known Christ himself after the flesh we must know him so no more for ever Though his Glorified spiritual Body we shall know Do you converse with Father or Mother with Wives or Children with Pastors and Teachers Though you may converse with these as Glorified Saints when you come to Christ yet in these Relations that they stand in to you now you shall converse with them but a little while For the Time is short It remaineth that both they that have wives be as though they had none and they that weep as though they wept not and they that rejoyce as though they rejoyced not and they that buy as though they possessed not and they that use this world as not abusing it or as though they used it not for the fashion of this world doth pass away 1 Cor. 7. 29 30 31. Why then should I so much regard a converse of so short continuance why should I be so familiar in my Inne and so in love wiâ—h that familiarity as to grieve when I must but think of
thou art upon A mind that is drowned in ambition sensuality or passion will scarce find God any sooner in a wilderness than in a croud unless he be there returning from those sins to God whereever he seeth him God will not own and be familiar with so foul a soul. Seneca could say Quid prodest totius regionis silentium si affectus fremunt What good doth the silence of all the Country do thee if thou have the noise of raging affections within And Gregory saith Qui corpore remotus vivit c. He that in body is far enough from the tumult of humane conversation is not in solitude if he busie himself with earthly cogitations and desires and he is not in the City that is not troubled with the tumult of worldly cares or fears though he be pressed with the popular crouds Bring not thy house or land or credit or carnal friend along with thee in thy heart if thou desire and expect to walk in Heaven and to converse with God Direct 5. Live still by Faith Let Faith lay Heaven and Earth as it were together Look not at God as if he were far off set him alwaies as before you even as at your right hand Psal. 16. 8. Be still with him when you awake Psal. 1 39. 18. In the morning thank him for your rest and deliver up your self to his conduct and service for that day Go forth as with him and to do his work Do every action with the Command of God and the Promise of Heaven before your eyes and upon your hearts Live as those that have incomparably more to do with God and Heaven than with all this world That you may say with David Psal. 37. 25 26. as aforecited Whom have I in Heaven but thee and there is none on Earth that I desire besides thee And with Paul Phil. 1. 21. To me to Live is Christ and to Dye is gain You must shut up the eye of sense save as subordinate to Faith and live by Faith upon a God a Christ and a World that is unseen if you would know by experience what it is to be above the brutish life of sensualists and to converse with God O Christian if thou hadst rightly learned this blessed life what a high and noble soul-conversation wouldst thou have How easily wouldst thou spare and how little wouldst thou miss the favour of the greatest the presence of any worldly comfort City or Solitude would be much alike to thee saving that the place and state would be best to thee where thou hast the greatest help and freedome to converse with God Thou wouldst say of humane society as Seneca Unus pro populo mihi est populus pro uno Mihi satis est unus satis est nullus One is instead of all the people to me and the people as one One is enough for me and none is enough Thus being taken up with God thou mightest live in prison as at liberty and in a wilderness as in a City and in a place of banishment as in thy native Land For the Earth is the Lords and the fulness thereof and everywhere thou mayest find him and converse with him and lift up pure hands unto him In every place thou art within the sight of home and Heaven is in thine eye and thou art conversing with that God in whose converse the highest Angels do place their highest felicity and delight How little cause then have all the Churches enemies to triumph that can never shut up a true believer from the presence of his God nor banish him into such a place where he cannot have his conversation in Heaven The stones that were cast at holy Stephen could not hinder him from seeing the Heavens opened and Christ sitting at the right hand of God A Patmos allowed holy John Communion with Christ being there in the Spirit on the Lords day Rev. 1. 9 10. Christ never so speedily and comfortably owneth his servants as when the world disowneth them and abuseth them for his sake and hurls them up and down as the scorn and off-scouring of all He quickly found the blind man that he had cured when once the Jews had cast him out Joh. 9. 35. Persecutors do but promote the blessedness and exceeding joy of sufferers for Christ Mat. 5. 11 12. And how little Reason then have Christians to shun such sufferings by unlawful means which turn to their so great advantage and to give so dear as the hazard of their souls by wilful sin to escape the honour and safety and commodity of Martyrdome And indeed we judge not we Love not we Live not as sanctified ones must do if we judge not that the truest Liberty and Love it not as the Best Condition in which we may Best converse with God And O how much harder is it to walk with God in a Court in the midst of sensual delights than in a prison or wilderness where we have none to interrupt us and nothing else to take us up It is our prepossessed minds our earthly hearts our carnal affections and concupiscence and the pleasures of a prosperous state that are the prison and the Jaylors of our souls Were it not for these how free should we be though our bodies were confined to the straightest room He is at Liberty that can walk in Heaven and have access to God and make use of all the Creatures in the world to the promoting of this his Heavenly conversation And he is the prisoner whose soul is chained to flesh and earth and confined to his lands and houses and feedeth on the dust of worldly riches or walloweth in the dung and filth of gluttony drunkenness and lust that are far from God and desire not to be near him but say to him Depart from us we would not have the knowledge of thy waies that Love their prison and chains so well that they would not be set free but hate those with the cruellest hatred that endeavour their deliverance Those are the poor prisoners of Satan that have not liberty to believe nor to Love God nor converse in Heaven nor seriously to mind or seek the things that are high and honourable that have not liberty to meditate or pray or seriously to speak of holy things nor to love and converse with those that do so that are tyed so hard to the drudgery of sin that they have not liberty one month or week or day to leave it and walk with God so much as for a recreation But he that liveth in the family of God and is employed in attending him and doth converse with Christ and the Host of Holy ones above in reason should not much complain of his want of friends or company or accommodations nor yet be too impatient of any corporal confinement Lastly be sure then most narrowly to watch your hearts that nothing have entertainment there which is against your Liberty of converse with God Fill not those Hearts with
worldly trash which are made and new-made to be the dwelling place of God Desire not the company which would diminish your heavenly acquaintance and correspondency Be not unfriendly nor conceited of a self-sufficiency but yet beware lest under the honest ingenuous title of a friend a special faithful prudent faithful friend you should entertain an Idol or an enemy to your Love of God or a corrival and competitor with your highest friend For if you do it is not the specious title of a friend that will save you from the thorns and bryars of disquietment and from greater troubles than ever you found from open enemies O blessed be that High and everlasting friend who is every way suited to the upright souls To their Minds their Memories their Delight their Love c. by surest Truth by fullest Goodness by clearest Light by dearest Love by firmest Constancy c. O why hath my drowsie and dark-sighted soul been so seldome with him why hath it so often so strangely and so unthankfully passed by and not observed him nor hearkened to his kindest calls O what is all this trash and trouble that hath filled my memory and employed my mind and cheated and corrupted my affections while my dearest Lord hath been daies and nights so unworthily forgotten so contemptuously neglected and disregarded and loved as if I loved him not O that these drowsie and those waking nights those loitered lost and empty hours had been spent in the humblest converse with him which have been dreamed and doted away upon now I know not what O my God how much wiser and happier had I been had I rather chosen to mourn with thee than to rejoyce and sport with any other O that I had rather wept with thee than laughed with the creature For the time to come let that be my friend that most befriendeth my dark and dull and backward soul in its undertaken progress and heavenly conversation Or if there be none such upon earth let me here take no one for my friend O blot out every Name from my corrupted heart which hindereth the deeper engraving of thy Name Ah Lord what a stone what a blind ungrateful thing is a Heart not touched with celestial Love yet shall I not run to thee when I have none else that will know me shall I not draw near thee when all fly from me When daily experience cryeth out so loud NONE BUT CHRIST GOD OR NOTHING Ah foolish Heart that hast thought of it Where is that place that Cave or Desert where I might soonest find thee and fullest enjoy thee is it in the wilderness that thou walkest or in the croud in the Closet or in the Church where is it that I might soonest meet with God But alas I now perceive that I have a Heart to find before I am like to find my Lord O Loveless Lifeless stony heart that 's dead to him that gave it Life and to none but him Could I not Love or Think or Feel at all methinks I were less dead than now Less dead if dead than now I am alive I had almost said Lord let me never Love more till I can Love thee Nor think more on any thing till I can more willingly think of thee But I must suppress that wish for Life will act And the mercies and motions of Nature are necessary to those of Grace And therefore in the life of Nature and in the glimmerings of thy Light I will wait for more of the Celestial life My God thou hast my consent It is here attested under my hand Separate me from what and whom thou wilt so I may but be nearer thee Let me Love thee more and feel more of thy Love and then let me Love or be beloved of the world as little as thou wilt I thought self-love had been a more predominant thing But now I find that Repentance hath its Anger its Hatred and its Revenge I am truly Angry with that Heart that hath so oft and foolishly offended thee Methinks I hate that Heart that is so cold and backward in thy love and almost grudge it a dwelling in my breast Alas when Love should be the life of Prayer the life of holy meditation the life of Sermons and of holy conference and my soul in these should long to meet thee and delight to mention thee I straggle Lord I know not whither or I sit still and wish but do not rise and run and follow thee yea I do not what I seem to do All 's dead all 's dead for want of Love I often cry O where is that place where the quickening beams of Heaven are warmest that my frozen soul might seek it out But whither ever I go to City or to Solitude alas I find it is not Place that makes the difference I know that Christ is perfectly replenished with Life and Light and Love Divine And I hear him as our Head and Treasure proclaimed and offered to us in the Gospel This is thy Record that he that hath the Son hath Life O why then is my barren soul so empty I thought I had long ago consented to thy offer and then according to thy Covenant both He and Life in him are mine And yet must I still be dark and dead Ah dearest Lord I say not that I have too long waited but if I continue thus to wait wilt thou never find the time of Love and come and own thy gasping worm wilt thou never dissipate these clouds and shine upon this dead and darkened soul Hath my Night no Day Thrust me not from thee O my God! For that 's a Hell to be thrust from God But sure the cause is all at home could I find it out or rather could I cure it It is sure my face that 's turned from God when I say His face is turned from me But if my Life must here be out of sight and hidden in the Root with Christ in God and if all the rest be reserved for that better world and I must here have but these small beginnings O make me more to Love and long for the blessed day of thine appearing and not to fear the time of my deliverance nor unbelievingly to linger in this Sodom as one that had rather stay with sin then come to thee Though sin hath made me backward to the fight let it not make me backward to receive the Crown Though it hath made me a loiterer in thy work let it not make me backward to receive that wages which thy Love will give to our pardoned poor accepted services Though I have too oft drawn back when I should have come unto thee and walked with thee in thy waies of Grace yet heal that unbelief and disaffection which would make me to draw back when thou callest me to possess thy Glory Though the sickness and lameness of my soul have hindered me in my journey yet let their painfulness help me to desire to be delivered from them and to be at home where without the interposing nights of thy displeasure I shall fully feel thy fullest Love and walk with thy Glorified ones in the Light of thy Glory triumphing in thy Praise for evermore Amen BUT now I have given you these few Directions for the improvement of your solitude for converse with God lest I should occasion the hurt of those that are unfit for the Lesson I have given I must conclude with this Caution which I have formerly also published That it is not melancholly or weak-headed persons who are not able to bear such exercises for whom I have written these Directions Those that are not able to be much in serious solitary thoughtfulness without confusions and distracting suggestions and hurrying vexatious thoughts must set themselves for the most part to those duties which are to be done in company by the help of others and must be very little in solitary duties For to them whose natural faculties are so diseased or weak it is no duty as being no means to do them the desired good but while they strive to do that which they are naturally unable to endure they will but confound and distract themselves and make themselves unable for those other duties which yet they are not utterly unfit for To such persons therefore instead of ordered well-digested Meditations and much time spent in secret thoughtfulness it must suffice that they be brief in secret Prayer and take up with such occasional abrupter Meditations as they are capable of and that they be the more in reading hearing conference and praying and praising God with others untill their melancholly distempers are so far overcome as that by the direction of their Spiritual Guides they may judge themselves fit for this improvement of their Solitude FINIS * Charles Earl of Balcarres who dyed of a stone in his heart of a very strange magnitude