comes to us And thus taking the words you may reade them thus viz. I will not leave you comfortlesse for I will come to you No condition can bee comfortlesse if Christ come to us I will not leave you comfortlesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I will not leave you fatherlesse and motherlesse I wil not leave you Orphants saith the Originall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word comes from that is here translated comfortlesse which signifies to be made fatherlesse and motherless which because it is usually a condition very comfortlesse therefore is the word thus rendered 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 comfortlesse Thus the children of Christ shall not be left They are no Orphans which have Christ for their Father They are never totally bereft of all comfort to whom Christ comes and thus he will still do to his Church Millitant Christ will never leave comming from Heaven to Earth although it bee a very long journey as long as he hath any one childe upon Earth I will not leave you comfortlesse I will come to you 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I returne to you saith the Originall spoken in the Present tense and not in the Future I will returne to you as we have it translated Ac si diceret Christus saith one se licèt nondum profectum jam esse inreditu As if Christ had said although I am not yet gone from you yet am I returning to you Christ though not actually in person departed yet was ready in Spirit to be present with his Spouse to the end of the world Thus having Paraphrastically gone over these words I will put the plaine meaning of them into this Thesis in divinity That the Church of Christ Militant shall not bee left comfortlesse because Christ will come to her Or thus No Childe of Christ upon Earth shall be left comfortlesse for Christ will come to him What Christ spake at his departure to his Disciples was not for them only but for the comfort of all his people to the end of the world In his Disciples hee spake thus to all his children that are or ever shall be upon the face of the Earth I will not leave you comfortlesse I will come to you This comfortable doctrine that I may fully and methodically handle I will lay open unto you these foure things First that Christ doth come to his children upon Earth Secondly how Christ doth come to his children upon Earth Thirdly when Christ doth come to his children upon Earth Lastly why Christ will take so much paines as to come to his children on Earth I begin with the first of these to wit that Christ doth come to his Church and children upon Earth The truth of this is evident by our Saviours own language and by each godly mans evidence Our Saviour not only in my Text but in many other places promised to come to his Church Militant and therefore surely he doth come to his people on Earth for Christ is God and God cannot lye nor repent What Christ hath said he will do that he will faithfully performe to a tittle for faithfull is he that hath promised saith the Apostle Go therefore teach all Nations c. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and loe I am with you alwayes even to the end of the world Amen Matth. 28.19,10 This place shewes plainly that Christ doth come to his children upon Earth and that he will do this to the end of the world For Ministers of all men to walke faithfully in their places teaching their flock to observe all things that Christ hath given them in charge will cost them hot water especially living in corrupt places This our Saviour tenderly consider'd and therefore that his Disciples might not be disheartn'd he assures them of his company unto the last to support and comfort them Loe I am with you to the end of the world Christ by this phrase of speech doth hint us that what he then spake should reach further then unto those to whom he then appeared namely to all Ministers and people to the end of the world that shall faithfully discharge their places and callings to his honour I might here tell you that not only Christs word but also Christs name sets forth the truth of this that Christ is with his Church Militant and so consequently that he doth come to her He was called Emmanuel which being interpreted Is God with us Mat. 1.23 Which name was not only to note Christ as then corporally present with his Church but to note Christ as one having actually assumed our nature and so to be more gloriously present with his Church to the end of the world then ever before from the beginning after Adams fall Now as she said of her Husband as his name is so is he Nabal is his name and folly is with him so may the Spouse speak of her Husband Christ as his name is so is he Emmanuel is his name which signifies God with us and so indeed is Christ He is continually with us What David said of himselfe in respect of Christ that may we truly say of Christ in respect of us Neverthelesse saith he I am continually with thee thou hast holden me by my right hand Though Christ dwell in Heaven and wee on Earth yet neverthelesse hee is continually comming to us and abiding with us The godly have and do finde the truth of this by blessed experience which is the second thing and that which I rather insist on for the confirmation of the truth in hand because against experience there is no disputation Peter found the truth of this that Christ comes to his children upon Earth that their condition may not be comfortlesse Herod cast Peter into Prison and thought to have made him comfortlesse but Christ came to him as you may see And behold saith the Text the Angell of the Lord came upon him and a light shined in the Prison and he smote Peter on the side and raised him up saying Arise up quickly and his chaines fell off from his hands Acts 12.7 The Jewes by a storme of Stones thought to have made Steven comfortlesse but Christs comming to him prevented Christ so gloriously came to him in that deadly storme that he found more comfort then I beleeve then ever hee did before in his life for he looked up stedfastly into Heaven and saw the glory of God and Iesus standing at the right hand of God he saw the Heavens opened ready to receive him which transcendantly revived him which glorious vision he could never have seen had not Christ come to him Paul likewise found the truth of this point when he had left Athens and came to preach to the Gentiles at Corinth He was very fearfull what successe he should finde in his Ministery amongst the barbarous Gentiles Now our tender Saviour that Paul might not bee overborne with feare and made heartlesse and comfortlesse graciously comes to him
imparting divine mysteries if thou follow on to know as the Prophet speaks if thou humbly forget look over all thou hast presse hard after more the things thou knowest not Christ will teach thy spirit morning by morning as by the learned Christ hath taught thy spirit many truths why he will leade thy spirit into all truth if thou urge his promise and beleeve He will fill thee with the knowledge of his will in all wisdome and spirituall understanding If thou pray for it as Paul did for the Colossians Thou findest Christ with thy spirit as a Comforter why thou maist have yet much more consolation from him if thou study to be more pliable to him Thou hast Christ distilling drops of consolation into thy spirit now and then why thou maist have Christ powring in flagons of love into thy soule filling thee with joy unspeakable and full of glory if thou bring thy spirit to bee more lowly and meek for such find most rest to their soules if thou carefully keep comming to Christ still in every pressure of spirit for such finde most ease that is renewing faith still as thou renewest thy sins Thou findest Christ with thy spirit as a quickner strengthner to duty why thou maist find him yet more mighty with thy spirit this way if thou powre out thy spirit often with David for quickning grace and if thou more deny thine own strength and cast thy self more upon his Could we but attain Pauls height in selfe-denyall to bee nothing in our selvs though I am nothing saith he 2 Cor. 12.11 we should finde Christ gloriously present still with our spirits and be more constant in zeale strength to every good work then we are I conclude this thus bee so tractable to Christ that thou maist with Mary winne upon Christ still and think that thou canst never bee neere enough to him nor intimate enough with him and this is the ready way to have a heaven upon earth for the more we get Christ to be with our spirits the more truly may wee bee said to be in Heaven The last thing that I have to say to you that find Christ with your spirits is matter of consolation Here is comfort for you against famine When thy body wants food Christ that is with thy spirit will give that meat to eat which the world knowes not off so that when others repine and curse God and their King in their extremity as the Prophet speaks thou shalt bee patient in this tribulation and instant in prayer to him who can command Ravens to bring thee bread and flesh to feed on and will rather then thou shalt starve if thy life may bee more to his glory then thy death Here 's comfort for you against the sword In the midst of all troubles and fears Christ that is with thy spirit will beare thee up admirably What is the face of an enemy to terrifie if Christ be with thy spirit What is the spoiling of thy goods nay what is the spoiling of thy body if Christ bee with thy soule A Mountaine of misery is but as a Mole-hill if Christ support the spirit To think of the Sword is a naked reference to flesh and blood and so nothing is more terrible but let us that feare the Loro think of it in reference to Christ that is with our spirits then wee shall not be troubled though we heare of warres and rumours of warres no more then at the rumours of any other calamity Here is coÌ„fort for you against the Plague which is here and there scatterd in the Kingdome What is any disease to the body if Christ bee with thy soule As the outward man decayeth the inward man shall be renewed daily because Christ is with thy spirit When thy body is full of paine thy soule shall be full of comfort because Christ is with thy spirit When thy body is sealed with spots for death thy soule shall be sealed with the Holy Ghost unto eternall life because Christ is with thy spirit The plague of the body is nothing if this plague of plagues bee not upon the spirit to wit destitute of Christ Here is comfort for you against persecution When men frowne upon thee without Christ will smile upon thy spirit within when men lade thy outward man w th reproaches Christ will fill thy inward man with comforts when men shut up thy body from the communion of Saints Christ will give thy spirit a large freedome of communion with himself When men strike thy body Christ will stroke thy soule when men kill thy body Christ will save thy soule In a word as the afflictions of Christ abound in thy body so the consolations of Christ shall abound in thy soule because Christ is with thy spirit Name any misery that is incident to man and here 's comfort to be suckt out of this point to oppose unto it Finally in life in death eternally after death Christ that is with thy spirit will be gaine unto thee Thy life he will make comfortable thy death hopefull and thy being after death eternally joyfull Wherefore I will conclude my Sermon for the good of you as S. Paul doth his Epistle for the good of Timothy The Lord Iesus Christ bee with your spirits Trinuni Deo gloria Errata Pro 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 leg 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pag. 7. For say read saw p. 39. l. 6. pro pereunte solep eâ—…nt omnia lege pereunte sole pereunt omnia p. 114. Marg. For I do conceive r. I do not conceive p. 169. l. 7. FINIS
a mans spirit bee never so cold yet if Christ be with it hee is in the ready way to burne with love to Christ as strong as death which many waters cannot quench They that have Christ with their spirits are in the ready way to the very heigth of joy consolation they are in the ready way to joy unspeakable and full of glory These things have I spoken unto you that your joy may be full said Christ to his Disciples Christ speaks such things to the spirits of those with whom hee is present as fils their spirits with joy to the very brim and this oft times in the very depth of all outward extremity The Church doth darkly hint this The Comforter which should relieve my soule is far from me Lam. 1.16 As if the Church had said though my outward misery bee exceeding great yet if the Comforter did but keepe close to my spirit I should have as much consolation as my heart could hold in the midst of all my misery but this is my misery of miseries that the Comforter which should relieve my soule is far from me out of the hearing of sighes and groanes nay out of the hearing of strong cryes he is angry against my prayers In a word a Christian which hath Christ with his spirit is in the ready way to excell in vertue as David sayes to excell in all vertue to be wiser then his teachers more excellent in all grace then his neighbours And therefore to have Christ present with our spirits must needs be counted and called A prime and principall blessing Lastly to have Christ with our spirits is the ready way unto eternall good and therefore a prime and principall blessing As a stone carries with it whatsoever light thing be fastned to it unto its own center so Christ whose proper place of residence is Heaven carries with him thither all such spirits as to whom he is united on earth If we have a speciall friend at Court wee count that wee are in a ready way to see all the pompe of the Prince Christ hath the Keyes of Heaven and Hell hee opens and no man shuts shuts and no man can open all with whose spirits he hath dwelt and beene kindly used upon earth hee knowes and when they shall knock at those everlasting gates hee will open and let them in to every roome in his royall dwelling and shew them all the glory which he had with his Father before the world was 'T is betweene Christ and that spirit with whom he lives as between Naomi and Ruth where the one lives the other will Whilest such spirits live in the body Christ will live with them there when they remove out of the body Christ will not leave them death cannot separate but commands his Angels to bring them to eternall mansions with himself Christ which is lifted up to glory himselfe will draw all such unto him as in whose spirits he dwels and no strength shall bee able to withstand him none shall pluck such out of his hand Vnio cum Christo est unio inunibilis If to have Christ with our spirits bee a grand favour not to have him with our spirits must needs be a grand evill A spirit without Christ is naked as a body without cloathes Many things may make cloathing and defence for the body but only Christ that best garment as the Father of the Prodigall cals him can make cloathing and munition for the soule A mans spirit without Christ is as a naked body amongst thorns every thorne pierceth and every bryer scratcheth and fetcheth blood from such a body so worldly cares and worldly fears when strong will pierce such a naked spirit thorow and thorow and make him runne mad if God unsought do not seasonably step in and bridle the Bedlam A mans spirit without Christ is as a naked body amongst Serpents every Serpent stings and venomes such a naked body to death so every seed of the Serpent stings and poysons to death such naked soules by their threatnings flatteries examples and the like A mans spirit without Christ is as a naked body in great blasts of lightning such bodies are suddenly scorcht and consumed so such naked soules are suddenly blasted by the fiery darts of the Devill and so suddenly oft times goe from burning to burning from burning in sin to burning in hell A mans spirit without Christ is not only naked but blind too A naked man having his sight may make some shift but a man naked and blind too is in a miserable helpelesse state indeed and just such is the state and condition of every mans spirit that hath not Christ with it for as the Sunne in the Heavens is the eye and light of the greater World so the Sunne of righteousnesse Christ is the eye light of the lesser world man Now doe but imagine what a darke dolorous condition wee should all bee in if the Sunne were darkned or had utterly forsaken our Horizon or doe but thinke of that darknesse which was upon the Aegyptians for a little time when no man could stirre out of his place and such and much worse is the darke dolorous condition of a spirit without Christ not able to see the least beame of saving light not able to stir a steppe out of his place in the way that leads to life A mans spirit without Christ is not onely blind but dumme too A man that is blind yet if he can speake can begge for that which hee cannot see to worke But when a man is blind and dumme too that hee can neither helpe himselfe nor beg others hee is in a dolefull condition indeed and just such is the condition of every mans spirit that hath not Christ with it For as Christ is Eyes to the soule so hee is a Mouth and Tongue enabling it to cry Abba Father Unlesse the spirit of Christ be with our spirits helping our infirmities who are godly we are dumme and not able to speake to our owne Father as adopted children for daily Bread much more unable to begge for life to the dreadfull Judge of all the World must all ungodly persons needes bee whose spirits are altogether without Christ as an helper I would have all men that live in their sinnes thinke seriously of this when Christ as the dreadfull Judge of all the World at the great day shall aske you what you have to say for your selves that you should not eternally die for your sinnes in which you have lived you will bee like that man which was without his wedding garment dumme and not able to say a word for your selves because Christ is not with your spirits 'T is impossible that a mans own guilty spirit should bee able to looke the terrible judge of men and divells in the face much lesse speake a word for mercy unlesse the Al-mighty spirit of Christ be with it to aid it Many ignorant wretches sooth themselves with this that they will
CHRISTS COMMVNION WITH HIS Church Militant First preached and now published for the good of Gods Church in generall By. Nicholas Lockyer Mr. of Arts. Cant. 1.13 A bundle of Myrrhe is my well-beloved unto me he shall lye all night betwixt my breasts LONDON Printed by E. G. for Iohn Rotâ—wâ—ll at the Sunne in S. Pauls Church-yard 1640. TO The vertuous Lady Aunt SUSAN CECILL Grace and peace be multiplyed by Iesus Christ MAdam The sweet taste I have had of your Ladyships love to the best things hath encouraged me humbly to present this little tract unto you What Solomon speakes from experience that you upon triall have found true That the most promising contents of this life are vanity and vexation of Spirit Our wise and mercifull Father doth usually thus imbitter the sweetest things of this world to us that we may the more cordially rellish and fervently seek after that full satisfying and everlasting sweetnesse and comfort which is in communion with Christ our heavenly Husband in whom all fulnesse of consolation dwels A drop of this transcendant fulnesse your Ladyship I hope shall finde distilled into your soule by reading this little worke now come to your hands which like Aqua Vitae shall cheere and revive your sad spirit when ready to faint Fainting persons carry little bottles of reviving liquids alwayes about them if your Ladyship shal think fit to make this little Tract your pocket-companion and peruse a little of it still when you feele soule-qualmes to seaze upon you you shall finde I trust through the blessing of Christ much ease and comfort and so spend and end your aged dayes in more true solace of heart then you have done your primest dayes of flourishing youth The accomplishing of this is the sincere and holy aime of your much obliged Nephew in this his first offering to publick view Which simple aime that the Lord may graciously answer to your Ladyships comfort here and eternall happinesse hereafter I shall still continue my prayer though here I end my Epistle that the Lord will still attend this my poore endeavour with his rich blessing to all the partakers thereof and in speciall to you Your much obliged Nephew Nicholas Lockyer Christian Reader COmmunion with Christ is our happines in this world and in the world to come that which makes every bitter thing sweet and every sweet thing sweeter With this sweet subject is this little tract now come to thy hand taken up Poore fallen man is still complaining of one want or other and when the thing is given which he longed for yet his soule is as far from content as before like to a childe that cries for this and that and yet when he hath what he cryed for continues crying still and cannot tell well what he would have All our want is this the want of Communion with Christ this is the cause of all complaints the infelicity of the soule the summe of mans misery here and hereafter but poore blind-man sees it not and therefore complaines of twenty things twenty miles a this side his disease and so spends his dayes in labour and sorrow and yet loses happinesse both here and hereafter too A full fruition of Christ is full felicity a full fruition of any thing below Christ without Christ is but vanity and vexation of spirit The more then O fallen man thou canst get into communion with thy God the more will thy great losse bee repaired thy complaining soule satisfied thy tranquillity setled upon thee againe Hunt not then after riches honours pleasures and suchlike low delights of the sonnes of men with this deluded mistaken world which lyes in wickednesse for felicity is not in these but study and strive after a nearer communion with Christ the next way to get most in with him is the speedy way unto all happinesse so much as thou canst get of his company so much art thou in Heaven How precious are thy thoughts unto mee O God saith David how great is the summe of them If I should count them they are more in number then the sand when I awake I am still with thee Psal 139.17,18 This is Heaven upon Earth and that true nobility and honour which wee should all bee ambitious after to lose our spirits in God What an unspeakable felicity is it to bee still with God in our thoughts This ennobles the spirit of man and makes it a companion to the King of Kings this gives evennesse and steadinesse to a mans course and makes him walke in all the wayes of God blamelesse this gives transcendant peace tranquility to a mans spirit and makes him unmoveable in the midst of feares this gives bread in famine drink in drought peace in warre health in sicknesse life in death Devote thy selfe therefore to Christ that he may devote himselfe to thee and as a poore medium of communion make use if you please of this ensuing Treatise If thou get any good give glory to God and make the poore Pen-man a constant sharer in thy prayers Thine in Christ Theophilus Philanthropus The Principall Heads handled in this Tract THat the Church of Christ Militant shall not bee left comfortlesse because Christ will come to her Pag. 9 That Christ doth come to his Church Milit. pag 10 11. How Christ doth come to his Church Militant to comfort her in all conditions p. 18 19 When Christ comes to his disconsolate Church as a Comforter pag. 41 42 c. Why Christ will come to his Church upon earth as Comforter pag. 51 52 c. Wicked men shall live and dye comfortless because Christ as a Comforter will never come to them p. 57 58 c. Laughter is one thing and spirituall consolation another p. 59 How Christ doth come to the wicked in this life p. 61 Christ will come to the wicked neither in prosperity nor in adversity as a Comforter p. 62 63 c. How wicked men may get Christ as a Comforter to come to them p. 66 67 c. Vsefull instructions to strong men and to babes in Christ p. 68 Strong men in Christ that say Christ as a Comforter is come to them should make it sure to themselves that they are not deluded p. 65. The great need of this p 69 How a man may know that it is Christ indeed and no spirit of delusion which is come to him with consolatioÌ„ p. 73 74 Strong men in Christ after they have made it sure to themselves that the true Comforter is come to them should so walk that they may ever injoy his sweet company p. 80 How Christians may so walk as to enjoy Christ as a Comforter continually p. 81 82 c. Babes in Christ which never found Christ as a Comforter to come to them should beleeve that Christ will come to them p. 93 Their objections against Christ comming to them as a Comforter answered p. 93 94 Babes in Christ that never found Christ as a Comforter
come to them should patiently wait till Christ thus come to them p. 98 Severall considerations very powerfull to make the soule to wait patiently till Christ as a Comforter come to him p. 98 99 c. Babes in Christ which never yet found Christ as a Comforter come to them should observe how Christ comes with comfort to the soule and not put him off p. 109 110 Babes in Christ which have found Christ as a Comforter to come to them but now have lost him should labour to bee sensible of their losse p. 112 113 c. Such should not blame Christ for departing as a Comforter from them p. 116 117 c. Meanes how such babes in Christ may get their Comforter to returne againe to them p. 118 119 c. 2 Tim. 4. Vers 22. The Lord Jesus Christ bee with thy spirit To have the Lord Iesus Christ with our spirits is a prime and principall blessing p. 126 There is a double presence of Christ with man corporall and spirituall joyntly or meerely spirituall p. 127 128 c. The spirituall presence of Christ with man upon earth is commune or speciall p. 129 130 c. To have Christ specially present with our spirits is the ready way to all temporall good p. 134 Objections to the contrary answered p. 135 136 c. To have Christ specially present with our spirits is the ready way to all spirituall good p. 143 144 c. To have Christ after a speciall manner with our spirits is the ready way to eternall good p. 147 Not to have Christ specially present with our spirits is a great evill p. 149 Wherein this grand evill doth principally consist p. 149 150 c. How to know whether Christ be specially present with our spirits p. 164 165 c. How to get Christ to be specially present with our spirits p. 171 172 c. Men that finde Christ specially present with their spirits should thankfully acknowledge this great favour p. 176 177 c. Such should labour to keepe Christ with their spirits p. 180 According to what operations a man may lose the presence of Christ p. 181 182 c. Christians should labour to get Christ as much present with their spirits as may bee and how this may be done see page 188 189 c. Comfort against the sword plague famine persecution and the like ariseth to them which have Christ specially present with their spirits p. 191 192 c. CHRIST'S COMMUNION with his Church Militant John 14. vers 18. I will not leave you comfortlesse I will come to you CHRIST and his Church are deare each to other the truth of this is at large manifest in this Chapter Christ as a heavenly Husband being to leave his earthly Spouse to wit his Church Militant and to live with his Father at his right hand in glory with his Church Triumphant endeavoureth in various Verses of this Chapter to comfort the sad Spirit of his beloved Spouse which he perceived was much dejected The Verse which I have chosen to insist on is one of them I will not leave you comfortlesse I will come to you In more words let me repeate this Verse againe Thou O my Love my Dove my faire one art sad I see and disconsolate at my departure As a Lily in the valley nay as a Lily indeed among thornes I shall leave thee the Prince of darknesse dwelling in the children of darknesse will endeavour to devoure thee Sons of Belial will beset thee persecute and torment thee as they have done me before thee but be not at this O fairest of women dejected as one without all consolation for I will not leave thee comfortlesse I will come to thee What difference is there betweene a Prison-house and mine own house if sweet friends continually come to me there T is a Prison and no better we abide in whilest we dwell in the body fetter'd we are with many lusts and groane we doe under the tyranny oppression of a body of death and O! wretched men that wee are dwelling in these dungeons of Clay if no friend from Heaven come to us 'T is true O my Spouse what thou sayest and therefore that thy dweling in the body may not be comfortlesse I will come to thee I will not leave thee comfortlesse I will come to thee The body is a Prison to the soule and the World is a Hell to both The God of this world is a Devill and the children of this world Devils to the Spouse of Christ The Father torments her spirit and the Children torment her flesh neither in body nor soule whilest in this world can the Spouse of Christ be quiet We that are thus in Hell upon Earth shall quickly be comfortlesse if no friend from Heaven come to us True O my Spouse but to prevent this I will come to thee From Heaven to Earth indeed is a long journey but yet this I 'le not stand on rather then thou shalt be left comfortlesse in any condition upon Earth I will from Heaven come to thee Let it bee what weather 't will at what time 't will and be at midnight thou need'st me I will come to thee I will not leave you comfortlesse I will come to you Affliction hath made many friends upon Earth forsake me O my Saviour wilt not thou my heavenly friend so serve mee What if the Devill cast me into Prison wilt thou come to mee there wilt thou visit me when I lye in a nasty roome amongst nasty wretches that curse and swear which thou canst not endure to heare Yea O fairest of Women rather then thou shalt be comfortlesse in such a condition I will come to thee Thou wilt come to me O my Saviour one day but what if the Devill keepe mee in such a Prison ten dayes a long time till the iron enter into my soule wilt thou not wax weary at last and leave comming to me No my love I am resolved to the contrary I will not leave thee comfortlesse I will come to thee Why but what if Satan winnow me as wheat and cast me into sinne which is more odious to thee then any prison then any place or any thing wilt thou not then shake me off for ever never come to me more This O fairest of Women may make me cease comming to thee for a moment but no longer for I am resolved not to leave thee comfortlesse in any condition either of sin or punishment I will not leave thee comfortlesse I will come to thee My Text you see is Christs conjugall promise to his Spouse of all kindnesse during the time of his personall absence The matter of this promise is consolatory the forme according to which our Saviour expresseth this consolatory language is first negative I will not leave you comfortlesse Secondly affirmative I will come to you These latter words containe the reason of what is delivered in the former Wee cannot bee comfortlesse because Christ still
is a degree of consolation Finally and more directly I answer to this complaining soul thus Christ as a sensible and satisfactory Comforter comes to us at his time and not at ours Now Christs time to come to comfort mourners is then when mourners will make him most welcome and that is usually when the soule is brought to the greatest extremity that it is capable of and not utterly miscarry When Peter was ready to sink on the Sea and cryed out Master save mee or I perish then Christ came to him and catcht him by the hand thus doth Christ usually come with sensible and satisfactory consolations when poore soules are almost quite spent with temptations and soule anguish and look every houre when they shall die and drop into Hell He shall come to us as the latter and former raine unto the Earth saith the Prophet Hos 6.3 That is at the seasonablest time when the soule will make him most welcome and that is when burnt and scorcht with Satans fiery darts as the Earth with the fervent heat of the Sunne when parcht and chapt gaping for some heavenly showers then Christs visits will be kindnesse indeed and Christs consolations sweet indeed This still remember O mourning soul that Christ keeps his word if he doe not leave us comfortlesse and this be assured he will not do I will not leave you comfortlesse I will come to you But why wilt thou come to me O my Saviour To this I answer first thus viz. Christ will come to his Church Militant to be a Comforter to fulfill his Fathers will The Spirit of the Lord is upon me saith Christ because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tydings to the meeke he hath sent mee to binde up the broken-hearted to proclaime liberty to the Captive and the opening of Prison to them that are bound to proclaime the acceptable yeare of the Lord to comfort all that mourne c. Esay 61.1,2,3 By this Text we see that Christ is anointed for this end to come to us and be our Comforter whilest we live here below mourning in Zion What is said of the three friends of Iob that may I say of the blessed Trinity They made an appointment together to come to comfort him So the blessed Trinity have made an appointment together to come to us by Christ and in all distresses sweetly to comfort us Secondly Christ will come as a Comforter to his Church Militant because he hath promised it As Christ promised this in my Text so in many other Texts Iohn 2.11 And if I goe away I will prepare a place for you and will come againe and I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that may abide with you for ever By these promises Christ hath obliged himselfe to come as a Comforter to us let therefore our deservings of comfort bee what they will Christ will come to us because he hath promised he will Christ stands much upon his word Christ is God and God cannot lye Tit. 1.2 Though we beleeve not yet he abideth faithfull and cannot deny himselfe 2 Tim 2 A Christian is ready to say to Christ as Iephtha to the Elders of Gilead did not ye hate me and expell mee out of my Fathers house and why are ye come to me now when yee are in distresse said Iephtha So saith a Christian did not I hate thee O my Saviour and did not I doe what in mee lay to expell thee from my soule by my sinning againe and againe against thy Spirit And why art thou come to mee now to comfort mee in my distresse Why this that was foresad said may suffice O sinfull soul as an answer Christ looks not at what thou hast done but at what he hath promised and his word he will keepe though we change as the Heavens Heaven and Earth shall passe away but not one jot of his word shall fall to the ground I will not leave you comfortlesse I will come to you These I conceive are the principall grounds why Christ comes as a Comforter to his Church Militant two grounds more may be alledged as Causae minus principales lesse principall causes the first whereof is this Christ comes to us in our distresses as a Comforter that we may not stretch out our hands unto iniquity Man in distresse is so desirous of ease that if Christ do not come to him and comfort him he 'll go to Sin and Satan for ease Cain was disconsolate and because Christ did not come to him as a Comforter he ran like a vagabond up and downe the world to finde ease in any thing Iudas was disconsolate and because Christ as a Comforter did not come to him he made a halter his Comforter Saul being in distresse by the Philistines because Christ did not come to him by Urim nor by Vision nor by Prophets he went to the Devill for comfort Now that Christs children may not thus do Christ will not leave them comfortlesse but will come to them The second ground why Christ will come to his Church Militant as a Comforter is this That he may stop the mouthes of all ungodly wretches who say of the godly when in great distresses Persecute and â—akâ— them for there is none to deliver them A wicked man looking upon a wounded soul with a carnal eie breaks cut into some such language as Achish did concerning David Loe you see the man is mad 1 Sam. 21.14 This man is a distracted person fitter for Bedlam then for Gods house an idle crackt-braine fellow unfit to come into solemne assemblies Now that Christ may silence such black mouth'd men as these he graciously comes to such wounded soules and heales their broken hearts binds up their wounds he powres the Spirit of consolation upon such as went mourning all the day long and makes them walke with joy and strong consolation so that such as censured them for this and that are forc'd to lay their hand upon their mouth and to condemne themselves as blinde Bats and not able to discerne the wayes of God towards his children Having thus opened the point in hand I will in the next place shew you how usefull it is to the wicked and to the godly Will not Christ leave any of his children upon Earth comfortlesse but still as a Comforter come to them Then you which live in your sins and so consequently none of Christs children may collect the unhappinesse of your condition from this point You shall live and dye comfortlesse for Christ will not come to you as a Comforter thus he comes only to his children Christ will not come to you in prosperity as a Comforter and therfore in the midst of sensuall laughter your hearts will be sad in the midst of all thy worldly contents thy spirit will at times gnaw and beat within thee and never will all thou enjoyest give any complacency of comfort to thee because Christ as
are ready to reele to one side or other When the clouds of heaven have well watered the Earth then doe weeds as well as good hearbes spring apace so when Christ by his Spirit sweetly waters the soul w th consolation then levity and vanity as well as Christian mirth and cheerfulnesse spring amaine If a Christian bee not very watchfull over his soule to pluck up such weedes by the rootes as soone as they begin to shew themselves I conclude this thus thou that art comforted by the Spirit let not the manifestations of thy comfort grieve the Spirit This remember that Satan hath an art to bring evill out of the greatest good as God hath an art to bring good out of the greatest evill and therefore beg that thou mayest not be ignorant of any of his devices nor unable to resist them if thou would'st not loose thy Comforter Secondly if thou would'st have thy Comforter to abide still with thee as thou must not grieve him so thou must doe all that thou canst to delight him Let it be thy meat and drink to follow all the motions of the Spirit of Christ whithersoever Christ would have thee go or whatsoever Christ would have thee do cheerefully obey him this will delight thy Comforter exceedingly and make him to rejoyce to continue with thee If Christ say unto thee as to the Fishermen Follow me Mat. 4 19. do thou readily reply as the Scribe Master I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest Mat. 8 19. This is to declare the genuine disposition of Christs people which Christ is exceedingly taken withall Christs people are a willing people in their obedience Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power c. Psal 110 3 2 Humbly and compassionately tell disconsolate soules what Christ hath done for thy soule this will delight thy Comforter much and make him rejoyce to continue with thee Christ delights to see his children communicative of the sweet meates which hee gives them And therefore as Iael said to Barak so do thou O comforted soule to such as yet go mourning all the day long Come said she and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest Iudg. 4.22 Come O sad soule that canst not finde him whom thy soule loveth I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest the manner of his comming to my poore soule and how long hee made me waite upon him ere he would come to me and how well hee hath now made mee amends for all his staying And therfore Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him yet judgement is before him therefore trust thou in him Iob 35.14 For the vision is yet for an appointed time but at the end it shall speak and not lye though it tarry wait for it because it will surely come it will not tarry Hab. 2.3 The more imparting of experiments of love wee are to the glory of Christ the more still will Christ graciously give us to our further comfort And this indeed is Gods end in comforting some of his children that they may bee able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith they themselves are comforted of God 2 Cor. 1.4 as the Apostle sweetly affirmes 3 Thank Christ humbly and heartily for his comming to thee if thou wouldâ—st have him abide still with thee The Israelites when they came into the promised Land which flowed with milk and honey they were to take the first of all the fruits of the Earth and put them in a basket and so present them to the Priest saying viz. And now behold I have brought the first fruits of the Land which thou the Lord hast given me thus were they to set their first fruits before the Lord and to worship before him as you may see at large Deut. 26. Why you that enjoy Christ as a Comforter you have received the first fruits of that good land which Canaan typified which flowes with Milke and Honey Bring therefore these first fruits and set them before God and worship bring the sweet comforts of the Holy Ghost in your hearts before the Lord and say Behold ô Christ these and these are the sweet consolations of thy spirit and loe for them all I humbly render praise to thy name Such mighty enemies of my peace hast thou conquered such doubts which so long troubled me hast thou answered such wants which so long time kept mee exceeding low hast thou supplyed to thee O God be the glory of thine own goodnesse You have great cause thus to magnifie the Lord for his mercy which finde Christ as a Comforter come to you You enjoy that blessing which exceedeth all outward blessings The light of Gods countenance lifted up upon a poore mourning soule 't is of farre greater value then Corne Wine Oyle then Corrall Rubies or any choice thing that this world can afford The naked revelation of Christ in the soule of man is of more worth then all these saith Solomon the most glorious revelation of Christ then to the soule which the soule of man is capable of in this life must needs be of much more transcendant worth You enjoy that blessing which exceedeth many inward blessings It exceedeth knowledge for what is knowledge in the head to the joy of the Holy Ghost in the heart One beame of light in the understanding is of more worth then all the Silver and Gold Gemmes and Jewels in the world and yet one beame of the light of Gods countenance shining upon the heart though but by reflexion from the face of Jesus Christ is of more worth then all knowledge which humane study can attaine unto I cannot say that this blessing exceedeth the least saving grace in the soule but this I can safely say that consolation 't is the glosse and glory of every grace every grace shines in its full lustre where the Comforter dwels This I can further say that you enjoy that blessing which makes Heaven a Heaven and which makes Earth a Heaven to you and therefore you have great reason to magnifie the Lord for his mercy The more of Heaven we enjoy upon Earth the more should we set our selves to doe the worke of them which are in Heaven whilest on Earth 4 Finally let Christs mediate comming to thee by his Spirit make thee long earnestly for his immediate comming to thee in his owne person this delights Christ that his Spouse should say Come as the Spirit doth Rev. 22.17 That shee should long for the wedding day as he doth When good old Simeon had imbraced the consolation of Israel for which hee so long waited hee then desired presently to be dissolved so thou that hast imbraced the consolation of Israel should'st in a holy manner with Simeon Iob and Paul desire to bee dissolved and to bee with Christ which is best of all You whom Christ hath kissed with the kisses of his lips should long earnestly to lye betweene
his breasts all night my meaning is to have a full enjoyment of Christ Thus have I done speaking to such who can tell me that Christ as a Comforter is come to them In the next place I addresse my selfe to speak to such of the godly who can tell me that they never yet found Christ as a Comforter come to them Two or three things I have to say to you from this sweet doctrine 1. First I would have you to labour to beleeve this doctrine that Christ will not leave you comfortlesse but will certainly at last come to you Christ hath repeated his promise which is as a bond with many seales and therefore thou hast just ground to beleeve ô comfortlesse soule that Christ will not leave thee comfortlesse but will come to thee Object What just ground have I to beleeve that Christ will come to me seeing he is holy and I am unholy hee is glorious in holinesse and I am abominable in sin and wickednesse saith the weake comfortlesse soule Sol. Art thou more vile then Manasseh Christ came to him and comforted him Art thou more muddie and earthy then Zacheus Christ came to him and comforted him Art thou more divelish then Mary Magdalen out of whom were cast seven Devils Christ came to her and filled her soule with strong consolation Why should'st not thou beleeve that Christ will come to thee too and quiet and comfort thy mourning spirit Sol. But secondly I answer thus viz. Christ doth not so much lock how thou art qualified as at what hee hath promised Christ hath promised hee will come to thee and he is faithfull and will doe it If thy soule were never so poore never so blinde never so wretched never so naked yet Christ having promised to come to thee hee will make good his word though he come backward with a mantle to cover thy nakednesie as Shem and Iaphet did to Noah If thy soule were full of wounds if thy soule were full of running putrifying sores if thou wert as black with sin as an Ethiopian if thou wert as spotted with sin as a Leopard nay if thy soule did stink within thee as Lazarus body after taken out of the Earth againe yet Christ having promised to come to thee and comfort thee he will doe it though he hold his nose while hee bee comforting thy stinking nasty soule Heaven and Earth shall passe away but not a jot or tittle of Christs promise shall faile The voice of my Beloved behold he commeth leaping upon the Mountaines and skipping upon the Hils Cant. 2.8 Though there bee mountaines and hils of sin in thy soule yet Christ will come skipping over all these with comfort to thy soule rather then thou shalt be left comfortlesse Wherefore O weake comfortlesse soule say not of thy Saviour and Comforter as Balaam did I shall see him but not now I shall behold him but not nigh Num. 24.17 I shall see Christ come with a witnesse nay with many thousand witnesses at the great day when every eye shall see him but I shall not see him come to me now in this soule dolour as a Comforter I shall behold him peradventure as Moses beheld the Holy Land afar off he will never come nigh my poore soule to stay it with those comforts which it needs Cease O weak soule this incredulous language and strive to beleeve and this sweet promise I treat of shall be made good unto thee No sinne so mighty to keepe thy Comforter from thee as unbeliefe Say then O mourning Christian to thy comfortlesse soule Yet a little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry Heb. 10.37 He that hath said he will come as a Comforter to thee will come and will satisfie thy soule with consolation as with marrow and fatnesse Say to thy sad soule with the Psalmist My God will come and will not keepe silence he will speak consolation so plainly that my ignorant soule shall understand so powerfully that my incredulous soule shall beleeve and owne her own mercies Thou art now tossed and almost drowned O my soule with restlesse waves of misery but the Spirit will move upon these waters thou shalt see Christ comming towards thee upon these troublesome waves anon and say be not afraid it is I I that have loved thee and given my selfe for thee and none shall pluck thee out of my hand Secondly as I would have thee to strive firmely to beleeve this truth so I would have thee endeavour patiently to waite the accomplishment of it Beleeve that Christ will come to thee and waite patiently untill hee doe come There is good ground why every soule should patiently waite for Christ comming to him whither we consider our selves which are to bee visited or Christ our visitour If thou O comfortlesse soule consider thy selfe which art to bee visited there is great reason thou should'st waite patiently till Christ come to thee how long soever he stay First thou art a creature and Christ is thy Creator and should not a creature wait on his Creator Thou art a servant and Christ is thy Lord and should not a servant waite on his Lord Consider thee in thy highest relations and they all call for waiting Thou art a Sonne and Christ is thy Father and should not a Sonne wait on his Father Thou art a Wife and Christ is thy Husband and should not a Wife wait on her Husband Secondly consider that thou hast deserved that Christ should never come to thee and yet for â—ll this seeing hee will come to â—hee hast not thou just cause â—o wait patiently till hee doe come how long so ever it bee first Before thy calling thou didst reject Christ and since â—hy calling thou hast often grieved Christ and hast not thou â—hen deserved that Christ should never come to thee Thou hast quenched many a sweet motion of the Spirit of Christ thou hast â—urned the deafe eare to the sweet still voice that hath spoken behinde thee times without out number and so slighted the Spirit of Christ and hast not thou then justly deserved that Christ as a Comforter should never come to thee yet seeing he will come for all this unkindnesse hast not thou just cause to wait patiently for him how long soever he stay Thou hast many weekes many moneths nay many yeeres gone along in a course of grieving Christ and doest thou think much of waiting a few weeks a few moneths a few yeeres for Christ to come to comfort thee Take this in another forme thou didst make Christ wait a long time upon thee ere thou wouldst let him abide with thee as a spirit of reformation and is there not just cause then that thou shouldst wait patiently a long time upon him if he will have it so ere hee abide with thee as a Spirit of consolation how many knocks did Christ give at thy stubborne heart ere thou wouldst open to him how much dew
of the night distilled upon his locks ere thou wouldst give him house roome in thy heart how many mercies how many corrections were all spilt upon thee ere Christ could win thee to respect him canst thou tell if thou canst not think not much if Christ make thee shed a few teares and breathe out a few groanes ere he bring glad tydings of peace unto thee Secondly if thou consider Christ thy visitour there is all the reason that can be that thou shouldst wait patiently till hee come to thee Christ will certainly come to thee Christ will come to thee at the fittest time Christ will come richly when he doth come which are all speciall grounds of patience Christ will certainly come to thee O comfortlesse soule though it may seeme to thee something long first Thou doest not wait for one that will not come at all as the Turk waiteth for Mahomet nay thou doest not wait for one that will frivolously delay the time of his comming Thou doest not wait for one that will deceive thee Christ hath promised to come to thee and he is faithfull and cannot deny himselfe There is two things in faithfulnesse first that a man should own what he hath said then secondly that he should make it good Now both these will Christ do Christ will not eat his words as we say what he hath promised he will confesse and will make good whatsoever labour or losse he be at to do it Christ is not mutable as we are to promise one thing to day and recall it againe to morrow he is immutable and changeth not therfore we are not consumed Thou doest not wait for one that will frivolously delay the time of his comming Christ will not deale with thy comfortlesse soule as those sorry ghests dealt with Christ make excuses one had bought a yoke of Oxen and therefore could not come an other a Farm c. Christ will not tell thee as Abrahā Dives in hell between thy soul him is a great gulfe so that there can be no intercourse between them Nor that from Heaven to Earth is too long a journey for him to make He will not tell thee that the place where thy sick comfortlesse soule lyes is filthy and altogether unfit for him to come to Hee will not tell thee that thy soule is so far gone in griefe and desperate sorrow that 't is in vain for him to come to thee Christ puts none of these delayes upon any of his patients No the ground why Christ stayes is that hee may come at the fittest time and then he will come with healing in his wings if all the Devils in Hell should oppose him which me thinks should be a satisfactory ground of patience to any disconsolate soule If a Physitian yet apply this and that for further evacuation rather then cordials as knowing the body not yet fit for cordials will not any wise man submit patiently to his way so if Christ for bear giving thy sick soule cordials as hee that well knowes thy soule not fit yet for such luscious things wilt not thou with much thankfulnesse acknowledge his great care over thy soule and with all patience waite his leasure I patiently undergoe the paine of drawing plaisters when I know my sore is not fit for healing thus should it be in spirituall distresses wee should patiently undergoe griefe and sorrow untill our soules bee fit for consolation and then we shall bee sure to have it Finally bee sure of this O mourning soule that Christ will come richly when hee doth come and therefore methinkes thou should'st waite patiently for him what Merchant but would waite patiently the returne of his Ship in the longest voiage if hee were sure that it would richly returne at last Christ will come very richly furnished with the comforts of the Holy Ghost which are unspeakable and glorious to your soules that mourne after him and waite for him What the Apostle once spake of himselfe in relation to the Romans that may I truely say of Christ in relation to all that mourne after him And I am sure that when I come unto you I shall come saith he in the fulnesse of the blessing of the Gospell of Christ Rom 15.29 Christ I am sure O mourning soule when he doth come unto thee hee wilt come in the fulnesse of the blessing of the Holy Ghost thou shalt have joy in the Holy Ghost unspeakable and glorious Thou by long waiting art made a more vast Vessell to hold the precious waters of consolation and Christ by long staying doth as I may say the more furnish himselfe with these waters of life to refresh fill and satisfy thy thirsty soule when he comes to thee Christ will heale throughly thy broken heart and binde up all thy woundes he will answer all thy doubts and cleare all thy scruples hee will quiet thy quarrelling conscience and still thy complaining Spirit he will fill thy sadde soule with joy and gladnesse and thy dejected spirit with Songs of thankes giving If these things O mourning soule will not make thee waite patiently till thy Comforter come to thee but thou wilt murmure and repine and fall upon indirect wayes to get consolation know that by this practice thou wilt make thy condition more miserable then at present it is Thou wilt grieve him that should come as a comforter to thee and if thou by sinne make Christ grieve how can Christ by his Spirit make thee rejoyce and if thou set him a mourning that can onely comfort thee by whom wilt thou bee comforted Dost thou thinke to winne Christ to thee by a dogged disposition Christ may pitty and cure thy humours but t' will never bee by consolation He will bring thee to bee lowly and meeke ere thou shalt find rest to thy soule hee will make thee willing to lye under his Feete glad of crummes of comfort and willing to waite for them till Christ hath dined and every Child served If thy corrupt soule hanker after the pleasure of sinne againe because Christ as a comforter doth not come to thee and thou bee resolved to picke and chuse amongst all the sins thy soule knowes to finde out one that thy soule most loves to make a comforter to thee as the Israelites in their dogged humour made them a Captaine to returne to Aegypt againe know this that what sinne thou pitchest upon to make a comforter that sinne will Christ make a Divell to torture thee Christ will make thee know by woefull experience that the sweetest sinne is a bitter and miserable comforter that the least sinne is too great an evill truly to comfort the soule that to goe to the Divell for consolation is to make faster hast for comfort then good speed that neither sinne nor any thing in the world beside sin shall comfort thy soule when he himselfe will not The last Instruction that I have to commend to thee O comfortlesse soule that did'st never yet
glory Of this communion speakes Christ himselfe I in them and thou in mee that they may bee made perfect in one Iohn 17.23 As the soule is tota in toto tota in qualibet parte according to the whole in that whole which is lesse noble then it selfe according to the whole that is according to that full force and energy which the soule hath it actuates and organizeth every member of the body the least as well as the greatest So Christ in the mysticall body of Saints glorified is as I may say Totus in toto totus in qualibet parte Whole Christ doth wholy exercise dominion in every glorified soule hence it is that all such souls are wholly holy and wholy happy that is perfectly holy and perfectly happy for as much as Christ who is the fulnesse of his Fathers glory is fully present with them Secondly there is a presence of Christ with man meerly spirituall that is such a presence as whereby not the person but the providence of Christ may bee seene Such a presence as superiora have with inferiora not a contiguall but a vertuall presence a presence of influence and governance as the Sunne hath with us by his rayes and beames And this presence is either commune or speciall The Commune presence of Christ with man is that wherby man is upheld and guided according to the being of a rationall creature Of this presence of Christ with man speakes the Apostle that they should seeke the Lord if happily they might feele after him and sinde him though hee bee not farre from every one of us for in him we live move and have our being Acts 17.27.28 Christ as an upholder of each creature is not far from every one of us that is hee is still present with us thus and with all Nations of men which hee hath made of one bloud to dwell upon the face of the Earth This presence of Christ with man therefore cannot properly bee called a prime and principall blessing a choise and speciall favour because it is Commune to man-kinde in generall yea Commune to all Creatures below man for God is with all the workes of his Handes to uphold every Creature according to its proper species Secondly there is a speciall presence of Christ with man which is that efficacious working of the Spirit of Christ in the spirit of man whereby it is made one spirit with the Spirit of Christ in willing and nilling according to that of the Apostle Hee that is joyned to the Lord is one spirit There is a speciall presence of Christ with the bodies of men for the good of them which the Psalmist intimates where hee saith that hee knowes our frame and remembers that wee are but dust and that the Angells of the Lord pitch their Tents about the righteous And Iacob found the truth of this by experience when hee fled before Esan and slept so sweetly upon a stone But this tender and speciall presence and providence of Christ respecting the outward man is comprehended under the other which respects the inward man as quid minus sub majori a lesse blessing under a greater For if God bee in a speciall manner present with my spirit to guide and order that unto all Holy wayes my spirit will command my body to walke in them too and so consequently Christ cannot chuse but be tenderly present with my body also for the good of that whilst every member thereof is actuated by a spirit of his owne ordering to his owne honour as weapons of Righteousnesse And therefore doth Paul pithily to speake much in few silently passe over that which is necessarily presupposed praying that Christ would bee with Timothies spirit and then he was sure Christ would bee after a speciall manner present with his body too for the good of that The Lord Iesus Christ bee with thy spirit That is the Lord Iesus Christ exercise a speciall dominion in thy spirit for the guiding and ordering of it unto the avoyding of all evill and to the performing of all good whereby Christ may have all the glory due to his Name Now that thus to have Christ present with a mans spirit is a prime and principall blessing I will plainely demonstrate to you by a triple argument ab effectu Thus to have Christ present with our spirits is the ready way to all temporall spirituall and eternall good and therefore must needes bee a prime and principall blessing Thus to have Christ present with a mans spirit is the ready way unto all temporall good Men whose spirits Christ doth after a speciall manner order to avoid sinne and to keepe themselves pure as Paul here useth the expression to Timothy all temporall good things so farre forth as may be good for them belong unto them by promise For godlinesse hath the promise of this life It shall come to passe saith the Lord if you walke in my wayes that I will blesse you in the fruite of the Wombe in the fruit of the Field in the basket and store c. If you walke in my wayes I will doe this c. Why they with whose spirits Christ is after a speciall manner present this is their high way as Salomon saith to depart from evill that is this is their daily endevour to walke in all the wayes of the Lord and so consequently all temporall good of right belongs unto them But you will say how is it then that those with whose spirits Christ is most present to make most tender for his honour have usually least of all temporall good things To this the answer is easie and manifold Men with whose spirits Christ is most present to make them most tender to avoide sinne and to keepe themselves pureâ— these the Divell doth most of all maligne and sets his limmes to spoile them of their goods as the Author to the Hebrewes saith to keepe them from that which Christ would have them advanced to or else to strip them of that which Christ hath conferred on them by imprisonment banishment and the like and so make such live in Dens and Holes and Caves of the Earth to wander in Deserts and Wildernesses wearing Sheeps-skins and Goates-skins of whom the World is not worthy Where a spirit of malice and confusion rules t is no marvell to see servants set on horse-back and Princes goe on foote Secondly men with whose spirit Christ is after a speciall manner present he takes special notice to what evill the spirit is most enclined so answerably gives of these outward things unto them A wise Father hath his eye upon the disposition of his child and to what exorbitancy he finds him enclined he labours to prevent all occasions to it and so keeps his child short of what hee could otherwise liberally allow him And thus 't is with our heavenly Father respecting his children he eyes strictly their spirits and if he see them inclined to pride covetousnesse or any
then labour to get this grant speedily supplyed First labour to bewaile your great want as persons deeply affected with it 'T is the greatest want in the World to want Christ to bee with a mans spirit Other wants may bee afflicting wants but this is a damning want Other wants may make thee despised of men but this want will make thee for ever to be abhorr'd of God Thou were better want riches thou were better want honours nay thou were better want bread to put in thy head then want Christ to bee in thy heart Thou were better want thy deere Husband thy sweete Wife to lye in thy besome then want Christ to lye there Nay thy soule were better to bee without thy body them without Christ If there bee any want under Heaven that makes a hell to a man upon Earth it is this to want Christ to bee with his spirit For what is it that makes hell 〈…〉 place full of sin and full of misery but this that Christ is not with those spirits they are spirits everlastingly excluded from all communion with Christ Now whereas great wanes make you complaine heavily and mourne bitterly begge the Lord to make these things sinke into your spirits that you may bee sensible of this great want of wants that your spirits are without Christ and so without God in this world that so all sorrow for other wants may meete and run in one channell to bewaâ—…e this great want Sauls speech to his servant I may here â—…ly allude to Come let us returne said he least my Father leaâ—… caring for the Asses and take thought for us 1 Sam. 1 5 If you that mourne for this want and that want did but feele the want of Christ with your spirits you would with Kish quickely leave mourning for trifles and begin to mourne for things of waight Come O my soule cease mourning for Father and Mother cease mourning for Husband and Wife for Children and substance and begin to mourne for this that thou yet livest Christlesse and art in the ready way to die and perish remedilesse When you have got your hearts to bleed inwardly under your great want theÌ„ cry mightily to the Lord to supply it And to make your prayers prevalent urge the promise of God wherin hee hath engaged himselfe to do good in Christ to them that are afar off Thy soule thou findest far off from Christ why the promise saith the Apostle of Christ and salvation by him is to such For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are afar off Acts 2.39 This Peter spake by way of comfort as now I do to such as felt their spirits without Christ without grace and hope of glory Christ you see is under promise under a generall promise and therefore no soule should despaire of obtaining him Hee is promised to the Jewes and not only to them but to us Gentiles who sometimes were afar off not to this Gentile or that but to all that are prickt in heart for the want of him For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are afar off Let every one therefore upon this ground that feels his spirit prickt and wounded for want of Christ take words to himselfe and go unto God and say O God my soule is a poore Christlesse soule I sinde by wofull experience that the Lord Jesus is not with my spirit by reason of which I live wickedly to thy dishonour and shall I know not how soone die miserably to mine own eternall undoing if thou do not shew mercy upon me according to thy promise Thou hast said that thou wilt bestow Christ grace and salvation upon them that are afar off make good thy gracious promise to mee whose spirit is far from Christ grace and all good so shalt thou oblige me for ever unto thee and I shall tell of thy goodnesse as long as I live Having thus spoken what I thought fit to such as finde by what was formerly delivered that Christ is not with their spirits I shall in the next place speak unto you that by what was formerly delivered finde that Christ is indeed with your spirits Something by way of counsell and some thing by way of consolation I have to deliver unto you Three things by way of counsell I would commend unto you thankefully acknowledge this great favour carefully preserve it and industriously labour to augment it First thankfully acknowledge this great favour 'T is a pearle of great price that God hath cast into thy bosome to give Christ to bee with thy spirit and for great favours every one will acknowledge it very fit and just that they should bee thankfull 'T is a Jewell that Christ scarce gives to one of ten-thousand and for rare gifts every one will readily confesse it to bee great ingratitude not thankefully to acknowledge them Doest thou not heare some sweare some curse some lye like their father the Devill Why thou wouldst have beene such an one had not God given Christ to be with thy spirit Doest thou not see some drunkards some whoremasters some murderers some persecutors of the Saints Why thou would'st have beene such in one if God had not given Christ to be with thy spirit Doest thou not see some make a God of their belly some make a God of their wealth some proud some mad some putting far from them the evill day living as if they should never dye Why thou wouldest have been such an one had not God given Christ to be with thy spirit Doest thou not see some Nabals some Iezabels some Caines some Demases some Iudases Why amongst the number of these wouldest thou have beene had not God given Christ to be with thy spirit Wherefore magnifie the Lord with all thy might and let all that is within thee praise his holy Name Think but how it was with thee when thy spirit was without Christ How foolish thou wast serving divers lusts how the God of this world which rules mightily in the children of disobedience did rule mightily in thee How weak thy spirit was and easily overcome and carried captive of every lust How drunken thy spirit was and reeld from one opinion to another one day thou thoughtst thus and thus and another day thou thoughtst quite contrary I say do but think of these things and how the Lord might justly have left thee still to have gone on thus untill thou hadst perished as he hath done many thousands and then be unthankfull for the communion of Christ with thy spirit if thou canst It was this consideration that set Paul a wondring at the goodness of the Lord. I was a blasphemer a persecutor c. yet I obtained mercy He circumflexes this term I yet I obtained mercy c. It was wonderfull in his eye that God should give Christ to dwell with such a bloody blaspheming spirit as he had In this way let us go to work to raise our