all societies hee knitteth mens hearts together in loue and maketh them to keepe the vnitie of the Spirit in the band of peace It is he that hath promised in the Church of Christ and kingdome of the Messias the rod of the stocke of Ishai to do this The wolfe shall dwell with the Lambe and the leopard shall lie with the kidde and the calfe and the lion and the fat beast together and alittle childe shall leade them and the cowe and the beare shall feed their yoong ones shall lie together and the lion shall eate straw like the bullocke and the sucking child shall play vppon the hole of the aspe and the weaned child shall put his hand vppon the cockatrice hole By the wolfe the leopard the lion the beare the aspe the cockatrice he vnderstandeth men of prowd cruell minds apt to do al hurt bicause they are void of al loue by the lamb the kid the calfe the fat beast the cow the bullocke the sucking child the new weaned child he vnderstādeth men of an humble mild heart apt to do good vnwilling to doe hurt because they are full of loue by the harmelesse society of these so vnlike people he giueth vs to vnderstand that he wil take away from men their pride their fiercenesse their cruelty their vnmercifulnesse and in place thereof he will giue them humilitie mildenes loue and mercie This is a worke that hee doth and this hee will doe pray therfore vnto God who is loue it selfe and he wil giue thee a heart to loue thy brother Faith likewise is his gift and hee himselfe is a most faithfull God worthy to be trusted the God of truth that neither can nor will deceiue them that according to his couenant and promise of mercy doe trust in him The Apostle telleth vs that faith is his gift saying By grace are yee saued through faith and that not of your selues it is the gift of God Euery good gift and euery perfect giuing commeth from him who is the Father of lights pray him therefore to giue a beleeuing heart vnto thee and hee will not faile thee So that if thou haue neither repentance charitie nor faith which are the conditions vppon which God giueth forgiuenesse of sins yet thou maiest haue them for GOD doth giue them pray then vnto God and thou shalt in due time obtain them For the want of this triple grace thou hast a triple commandement to call for grace with a triple promise to obtaine all grace The Lord Iesus saying Aske and it shall be giuen you seeke and ye shal finde knocke and it shall be opened vnto you Then aske repentance and it shall be giuen thee seeke for charitie and a mercifull heart and thou shalt find it and knocke at the gate of heauen for faith and it shall be set wide open vnto thee Wherefore is it that God at this time doth make thee see thy want but because he would haue thee to call for his help CHAP. XXIII BVt still obiections arise in a trobled conscience and the poore burdened sinner complaineth that his estate must needs be desperate For saith he I feele a continuall swarme of euill thoughts in extreame disorder stirring in my heart Thoughts against the maiesty of the most glorious Trinitie thoughts against the veritie of the diuine and humane natures personally vnited in the Lord Iesus Christ thoughts against all the Articles of the Christian saith thoughts rebellious against authoritie and seditious against peace thought malicious against my neighbour and vnnaturall against my selfe thoughts vnchristian vnciuill inhumane thoughts monstrous and fearefull I tremble to thinke that I haue such thoughts And these must either spring and arise out of mine owne heart and then wo vnto so wicked heart It is like vnto the Inne vnto which the virgine Mary came with the Lord Iesus in her wombe there was no roome for her in the Inne all the Chambers were filled with other guests she was glad to creep into the stable and there shee brought forth her first begotten So if any come to bring Christ or any christian thoght into my heart there is no roome in the Inne all the corners of my heart are taken vp with other thoughts they must seeke a resting place else-where and not with mee Or if they spring not from mine owne heart then are they thrust into my heart by Satan who did thrust the thought of treason against his master into the heart of Iudas then surely the diuell hath alreadie possession of my heart and either hee sendeth these thoughts as new inhabitants to dwell there and to keepe possession of my heart to his vse as the king of Ashur sent new inhabitants into Samari◅ to keepe the Citie and Countrie to his vse or else he sendeth them as so many hagges and furies what should I call them so may executioners with firebrandes to torment me and being so fully in his power it is too late to thinke of deliuerance Now the Lord of hosts help thee poore afflicted soule and case thee of this burden that presseth downe so heauily And for thy comfort vnderstand that if these thoughts arise out of thine owne heart as they are in thy heart and grow in the field in which they spring they are yet but as the first graffe of sinne and haue neither blade nor eare nor fruit to poison and kill withall if wee take not liking of them nor suffer our iudgement to be corrupted by them taking them for rules of truth and intertaining them as imbraced opinions nor suffer our will to be seduced by them interpreting them as rules and directions to leade vs into action Iames the Apostle hath an excellent saying to this purpose Euery man is tempted when hee is drawne away by his owne concupisence and is intised then when lust hath conceiued it bringeth forth sin and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death By concupisence he vnderstandeth the first flattering thoughts the first euill motions that stir in our hearts that make the first proposition to our iudgement and will to trie whether they will take holde or no and howsoeuer the feeblest euill thought be sinfull in Gods sight who loueth trueth in our inward affections and it is an euidence of that sinfull nature that wee bring into the world with vs deserued vnto vs from our first parents through all the interceding generations and howsoeuer the same euill thought being sinfull deserueth in the iustice of God eternall death yet the Apostle Iames looking vnto rules of mercy and speaking according to those rules telleth vs that it is not dangerous vnto vs neither bringeth forth sinne vnto death except a man be inticed and drawne away by it For when the iudgement yeeldeth and is corrupted by it approuing as good that that is euill and approuing as true that that is false and when the will yeeldeth and is seduced by it intertaining the
cause vnquietnes Parents must be honoured and Children must be cared for though in some things they grieue vs and God may amend them at the last if wee in the meane while bearing patiently their infirmities continue our duety to them and our prayers for them If it be Masters or Seruants that cause vnquietnesse the Seruants in patience must bee subiect to their Maisters with all feare not only to the good and curteous but also to the froward they can not shake off their Maisters while the dayes of their seruitude continue and the maisters in patience must do vnto their seruants that which is iust not omitting any meanes whereby they may reforme them and in the end the master hath power to ease himselfe of an incurable euill seruāt by dismissing him If it be neighbour against neighbor that causeth vnquietnesse this rule teacheth not to render euill for euill nor rebuke for rebuke but contra◅iwise in patience to blesse and to doe all good offices in neede whereby thou shalt haue peace in thy heart howsoeuer thy neighbour bee disposed to contention And if thy home-trouble be painefull sickenesse either vpon thy selfe or vpon some of thy houshold or some other neare and deare vnto thee this rule teacheth thee whatsoeuer other meanes for recouerie of health be vsed to beare thy visitation meekely humbling thy selfe vnder the mighty hand of God in euery thing If thy trouble bee the death of any whose life thou didst desire this rule will teach thee knowing the death of the righteous to bee vnto them the beginning of true life to giue glorie to God with a quiet mind This patience in all things will giue thee ease of thy burden according to the saying of our Sauiour Take my yoake on you and learne of me that I am meeke and lowly in heart and ye shall finde rest vnto your soules This is one common rule A second common rule in all these troubles pertaining to the right casting of them vpon God is that we pray vnto God crauing his helpe who for ought wee know hath therefore layed these troubles vpon vs because we haue been negligent in prayer that now feeling sensibly in our sorrow our neede of his helpe wee might amend our old negligence and fall to praier And surely whether God did send our troubles for that cause or no yet this is most sure that prayer is a most profitable course for the easing of our trouble which God commandeth with promise of ease saying by the Prophet Call vpon me in the day of trouble so will I deliuer thee and thou shalt glorifie mee And the Saints haue alwayes vsed it with happy successe of ease As the Prophet testifieth saying These called vppon the Lord and hee heard them So did Iacob when returning from his vnckles hee heard that Esau was comming forth against him with foure hundred men hee said thus vnto God I pray thee deliuer me from the hand of my brother from the hand of Esau for I feare him lest hee will come and smite mee and the mother vppon the children And according to his desire God deliuered him from his feare for his brother and hee met in peace and departed one from another in peace so did Moses when the Aegiptians pursued the Israelites and the Israelites feared the Aegiptians before the red Sea The Lord fayd vnto Moses Wherefore criest thou vnto mee for Moses in his heart prayed earnestly vnto God and God did deliuer him from his feare opening a passage for the Israelites thorow the waters of the red Sea and drowning in the floud the Aegiptians that presumed to follow so that Israel sawe the Aegiptians dead vpon the Sea banke Wee neede not stand vpon particular examples hauing a generall rule that neuer fayleth the Prophet saying The Lord is neare vnto all that call vpon him yea to all that call vpon him in trueth hee will fulfill the esire of them that feare him he also will beare their crie and will helpe them Now seeing the saints doe thus in their troubles pray vnto God for ease and do thus at the hands of God obtaine ease when they pray in their troubles it is euident that to pray vnto God in our trouble is a worthy rule of casting our burden vpon God in all domesticall yea in al whatsoeuer troubles And let no man say there is no need in these troubles to trouble God with our praiers because he knoweth both what we suffer and what himselfe hath determined to do for these reasons thou oughtest the more gladly to pray because God doth vnderstand thy want before thou complaine and is determined to succour before thou intreate him thy labour with such a God cannot be in vaine And this know thou hast great imploiment for thy praiers in these and such like troubles First thou hast neede to offer vp praiers vnto God for thy selfe that he will giue thee patience and wisedome to demeane thy selfe aright vnder these troubls that thou maiest neither be a murmurer against God grudging at those troubles nor increase thy troubles by dealing indiscreetly and frowardly with them that are the causers and occasion of thy troubles nor maiest erre and be wanting in vsing good remedies to heale and reforme them that are the causers of thy troubles And if thy domesticall trouble be sicknesse in thine owne body how necessary it is to pray vnto God to giue thee patience to send thee health to forgiue thy sins and to prepare thee for death when Iames the Apostle exhorteth to reioice for temptations and to continue in patience till patience haue her perfect worke because these things require an extraordinary wisedome he further aduiseth vs to pray vnto God for that wisedome saying If any of ◅ou lack wisedome let him aske of God who giueth vnto all men liberally Giuing to vnderstand by that aduise how necessary it is in the time of trouble to vse pra◅er for thy selfe that thou maiest demeane thy selfe patiently and wisely to glorifie God in thy trouble to profit by the same trouble and not to increase the same but safely to grow out of it and to recouer peace and health Secondly thou hast need to offer vp praiers vnto God for them by whose meanes thou art troubled or for whose sake thou art grieued Sometime thou art vnkindly vsed either by thy husband or wife either by thy parents or children or such as haue stept into the roome of parents and children and haue those names by law giuen them not by nature due vnto them or else by thy master or seruant or by some friend or neighbour For these thou hast great cause to pray vnto God that he will giue them better minds and let them see their fault with mislike of it and see what becommeth them to doe and giue them a heart to doe it If they continue in their frowardnesse shall they not continue to be troublers vnto
there be any wickednesse in my hand if I haue rewarded euill to him that had peace with me yea I haue deliuered him that vexed me without a cause then let mine enemy persecute my soule and take it If the burdened man be himselfe faultlesse and the euill heart of the euill doer be the onely fountaine of his euill deede as the Scriptures testifie and daily experience shewes it to be most true that there are such neighbours and such domestikes that of themselues without cause giuen are troublesome as froward wiues with whom it is as vnquiet dwelling as with a Dragon and euill husbands that haue neither wisdome nor honesty to respect the weaknesse of the womans sex and to intreat them with due mildnesse and children riotous and disobedient that will be ruled by no counsell nor order of parents and parents so vnnaturall and carelesse that they haue no regard of their children and seruants so slothful vnfaithfull and murmuring that they will neuer be good and masters so vnreasonable and cruel that their seruants liue vnder them a miserable life and neighbours and companions to whom it is a pastime to doe euill according to Salomons words As he that faineth himselfe mad casteth fire-brands arrowes and mortall things so dealeth a deceitfull man with his friend and saith am I not in sport Thus falleth it out many times that the quiet man giuing no occasion yet receiueth iniury to his great molestation In this case this very testimony of his heart that he is falultesse glueth much quiet to his soule and giueth much boldnesse of heart to him to commend his cause vnto God and to craue his helpe that is the patron of all innocency And it is a goodly rule of casting his burden vpon God in this case to beare patiently his burden till God intreated by humble praier send releefe And this rule is commended vnto vs by the Apostle Peter saying If when ye doe well yee suffer wrong and take it patiently this is acceptable to God He therefore that hopeth for ease must quietly beare in the meane time according to the pleasure of God The trouble may be a present iniury passing away with the deede not to be continued neuer to be iterated as the rayling of Shemei vpon Dauid to beare patiently that which impatience cannot helpe giueth hope of ease and recompence from the good hand of God as Dauid said of Shemeis cursing it may be the Lord will looke vpon mine affliction and doe mee good for his cursing this day Therfore to suffer it patiently not rendring euill for euill no◅ rebuke for rebuke is to cast that burden vpon God If it be a wrong iterated or continued and prosecuted still patience with praier is to be vsed for by patience wee possesse our soules and by praier we obtaine helpe at the hands of God In this continuing and iterated trouble it may please God for thy triall thy exercise and thy good to continue it long or else in mercy to deliuer thee from it be times If he interpose his hand of deliuerance to make it of short continuance which is to be praied for then he will put an end to thy trouble either by changing the minde of thy troubler or by weakning and crossing his malice or else by remouing thy troubler from thee or thee from thy troubler wherein till his will be reuealed by his worke he is to be attended in patience and to be intreated by praier And because he may remoue the burden of thy domesticall troubles by reforming the troubler it is a maine point of the casting of thy burden vpon God to pray vnto him for the reforming of them And to put to thy hand to so good a worke By this rule if a man bee troubled with an vnquiet wife and would be eased by the good worke of God in reforming hir he must pray vnto God that he would be pleased to giue he◅ a better heart And hee himselfe must in all louing manner teach her what is comely for her to doe as a woman as a wife as a mother as a mistresse as a neighbour wheresoeuer he hath found he◅ to erre and by her errour to haue been the cause of his trouble So did Iob checke and reforme the errour of his wife when she prouoked him to curse God saying thou speakest like a foolish woman What shall we receiue good things at the hands of God and not receiue euill So on the other side if a woman be troubled with a bad and vnquiet husband and would be eased by the good worke of God in reforming her husband shee must pray vnto God that he will be pleased to giue her husband a better heart and she her selfe must in all dutifull manner helpe that change actempting it partly by gentle wordes in season spoken and partly by her owne louing and modest behauiour that is very forcible to reclaime euen a froward minde By words Abigail attempted to reforme the churlishnesse of Nabal her husband chusing a fit season to tell him of the danger thereof the next day after when he had slept away his drunkennes She obserued opportunitie so should all women doe Therefore doeth Bathsheba say of a vertuous woman Shee openeth her mouth in wisedome and the law of grace is in her tongue And such words of wisdome from the tongue of his wife an honest man shold not refuse to heare and vnto wise words spoken in season let her adioyne her milde and humble behauiour by which much good may be done vpon him as testifieth Saint Peter saying Likewise let the wiues be subiect to their husbands that euen they which obey not the word may without the word be won by the conuer sation of the wiues while they behold your pure conuersation which is with feare So ought the wife both both with milde words and good behauiour helpe the reformation of her husband These prescribed rules for the man to desire and helpe the reformation of his wife that is froward and for the woman to desire and helpe the reformation of her husband that is disordred when the one prooues the others burden by their errour giue no countenance vnto the disgracing complaints vnto the vnciuill taunts and checkes vnto the brawling words blowes and other euill vsage that passe now and then between man woman when one is offended with another surely God is not the author of such dealings neither do the married that vse such dealings cast the burden of their domesticall troubles vpon God os take ◅ny course to make burden lighter but they do increase it and make it heauier By the same rule parēts masters burdend with disobedient disordred children seruants and desirous to turn off their burdē vpon god are taught to pray to God for the reformation of their children seruants to put their own helping hand to the worke vsing their fatherly and
she affordeth all the delight she can vnto her own The Apostle Paul saith All that will liue godly in Christ Iesus shall suffer persecution And if it be common to all Christs followers to beare a crosse and follow him thou must not looke to be free Thirdly thy troubles if they should continue vnto the last hower of thy life yet are they but short for life it selfe is short no trouble but is shorter They end and giue place one to another and God interposeth between trouble and trouble spaces of quiet and gladnesse and they are mixed with much cause of reioycing not only in regard of future mercies hoped for but also in regard of present mercies possessed Which mixture is as good and pleasant as the ending of troubles and therefore they are to be esteemed short as also the Apostle calleth them saying Our light affliction which is but for a seasō and he that shrinketh for short troubles is but faint-hearted Fourthly thou hast Christ ioyning his shoulder to thine and bearing part with the in euery burden of thine and he beareth both in compassion to pity thee and also in his diuine power to assist thee that thou maiest not sinke vnder thy burden Therefore doth he call thy yoke his yoke saying Take my yoke on you Therefore when he speaketh of the vnkindnesse shewed to his followers he speakes on this manner I was hungry and yee gaue me meat I was thirsty and yee gaue me drinke And speaking to Saul then perscuting those that called vpon his name he said vnto him Saul Saul why persecutest thou me Thus he maketh himselfe a party in all the sufferings of his seruants what Christian man shall grudge to beare his part in that burden wherein he hath the Lord Iesus so kindly and so strongly bearing with him Fistly let him consider that those troubles that disquiet his life were not raised vp against him without Gods appointment as Dauid said of Sheme◅ Suffer him to curse for the Lord hath bidden him And if thou diddest grue to receiue or disdaine to put vp the offered wrong at the hands of the offerer yet receiue them without griefe and put them vp without disdaine at the hands of God and for his pleasure sake Lastly let him consider that troubles auile much to the practise of Christianity they make vs remember God more often and pray to him more feruently then otherwise we would They make vs remember our selues that wee are but dust and haue offended God they pull downe pride and prouoke vnto repence they worke in vs bowels of compassion causing vs to pity others in trouble they make vs lesse to loue this present world and more to desire and long for heauen These considerations put together are of great power to make any Christian man to beare them patiently and to esteeme them no burden though God in his wisedome suffer them to lie long vpon vs. The rules hitherto deliuered teach kindly how to cast our burden of domesticall troubles vpon God When our trouble is caused by the wrong offered vnto vs by others in their vnthankfulnesse disobedience vniustice or frowardnesse Sometime thy home-trouble is occasioned by sicknesse death or some calamity happened vnto thy self or to some other either kinsman neighbor friend or of thine owne family If it be sicknesse feare of death or any calamity vpon thy selfe we know that euery man is readily sensible of his ow◅ euill If it be sicknesse death feare of death or calamity whatsoeuer vpon others we know that some one is more neere and deare vnto thee then some other and accordingly thou art more o◅ lesse sensible in their euils How in these cases we may cast our burdens vpon the Lord let vs consider First if sicknesse feare of death or any other calamity be happened to thy selfe patience and praier commended before for common rules in all troubles are here to be vsed And if it be sicknesse in thine owne body these things obserued will giue ease to thy minde and perhaps health also to thy body and so either remoue wholy thy burden o◅ make it more easie First remember that it is the visitation of God euen of him that saith of himself I wound and I make whole that is I send painefull sicknesse and again I send sauing health This rule will lead thee into many other wherof euery one will greatly helpe thine ease It will teach thee as the Apostle Peter also teacheth thee when he saith Humble your selues vnder the mighty hand of God that hee may exalt you in due time For it wil make thee patiently to yeelde to the Lords pleasure Secondly it will make thee looke into thy life past and to acknowledge thy sinne prouoking God as it moued Dauid saying Thine hand is heauy vpon mee day and night and my moisture is turned into the drought of Summer then I acknowledged my sinne vnto thee for I thought I will confesse against my selfe my wickednesse vnto the Lord and thou forgauest the punishment of my sinne And thirdly with a resolution to depart from thy former iniquity it wil mooue thee to pray vnto God for health and to vow praise and thankes vnto God as the sicknesse of Hezekiah wrought zeale of praier and thanksgiuing in him Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and praied vnto the Lord and said I beseech thee Lord remember now how I haue walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and haue done that which is good in thy sight And for his resolution of praising God it followeth in the same place The graue cannot confesse thee death cannot praise thee they that goe downe into the pit cannot hope for thy truth but the liuing the liuing hee shall confesse thee as I doe this day the father to the children shal declare thy truth The Lord was ready to saue mee therefore we will sing my song all the daies of our life in the house of the Lord. The first acknowledgement of Gods hand will produce all these things following as patience confession of sinnes praier and vowes of thanksgiuing and euery of these at the hands of God wil obtain ease of thy griefe Then lastly it will mooue thee in all the meanes thou vsest for the recouery of helth to looke higher then either to the skill of the Physitian or vertue of the medicine that thou maist not fall into the mischiefe of Asa King of Iuda of whom it is written Asa in the nine and thirtieth yeare of his raigne was diseased in his feete and his disease was extreame yet hee sought not the Lord in his disease but to the Physitians So Asa slept with his fathers and died Thus auaileable to the easing of thy burden of sicknesse in thy selfe it will be to acknowledge therein the visitation of God And if it be any other calamity of whatsoeuer kinde fallen vpon vs and diuers they are