I would make supplication to my Judge And what is the supplication that I would make unto him Even that which his own holy Spirit hath taught me to make and will cause him to hear That he will not be extream to mark what is done amiss Psal. 130. 2. Lord hear the voice of my supplications for what even for this that thou shouldst not mark iniquities as it follows If thou Lord shouldst mark iniquities O Lord who shall stand But there is forgiveness with thee that thou maist be feared This is the favourable proceeding by which I hope to be acquitted for why hast thou taught me to believe the forgiveness of sins unless I may attain what I do believe And if I may attain forgiveness of my sins here how shall I be condemned or punished for them hereafter since that is no forgiveness which either holds guilty to condemn or holds as guilty to punish and torment I do then believè that God will proceed in Judging me not according to the Law which requires an absolute obedience without sin but according to the Gospel which admits of Repentance for the forgiveness of sins Thus hath the Doctor of the Gentiles long since determined Rom. 2. 16. In the day when God shall Judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my Gospel Not according to the Law which will condemn all that have been guilty of any sin but according to the Gospel which will condemn none but the unbelieving and impenitent sinners For the Gospel pronounceth sentence of Absolution to all that Believe So Mark 16. 16. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned Where damnation is denounced not for breaking the Law but for rejecting the Gospel And again John 3. 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life The words speak four such truths as the Angels desire to look into and men can never enough look upon yet four Miracles rather then Truths 1. That God who was provoked to inflict Death should offer Life and that Everlasting Life 2. That he should offer it to the world which had so provoked him 3. That he should offer it by sending his only begotten Son away from himself into the world 4. That he should so send this Son as to give him giving his only Son the Son of his love to give life to those that hated him and more deserved his hatred That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Since then I know that I believe why should I fear that I shall perish Why should I think that I shall not have this everlasting life which the Father hath promised the Son hath purchased and the holy-Holy-Spirit hath sealed for I can say with a thankful heart and a chearful voice In Te Domine speravi ne confundar in aeternum Psal. 71. 1. In thee O Lord have I put my trust let me never be put to confusion deliver me in thy righteousness I pray not to be delivered in mine own righteousness but in thine Deliver me in thy Righteousness O God the Father of heaven for thou hast promised deliverance Deliver me in thy Righteousness O God the Son Redeemer of the world for thou hast purchased deliverance Deliver me in thy Righteousness O God the Holy-Ghost proceeding from the Father and the Son for thou hast sealed both the Promise and the purchase of deliverance Deliver me in thy Righteousness O Holy Blessed and Glorious Trinity three Persons and one God for I trust on thy Promise on thy Purchase on thy Seal for deliverance For with thee is the Fountain of life in thy light shall we see light Psal. 36. 9. My soul desires nothing but Life and Light for as a Spirit she was made for Life as an Intellectual or Rational spirit she was made for Light And she must go to God for both She must go to him for Life for with thee is the Fountain of Life and she must go to him for Light for in thy Light shall we see Light And the Life is before the Light even as Living is before Seeing The soul cannot work before she sees and she cannot see before she lives so that Life is in truth given before the work and cannot possibly be given for it And will you know who gives both Life and Light Saint John will tell you John 1. 4. In him was Life and the Life was the Light of men Life and Light both proceed from the Eternal Son of God and Life before Light I had Life in him before I had Light from him He purchased the Life before he gave the Light and therefore sure he hath not given the Light to take away the Life I know it is said That we must all appear before the Judgement-seat of Christ that every one may bear the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad 2 Cor. 5. 10. And I confess I have done very bad things in my body but since my Saviour hath already born them for me must I still fear to bear them for my self Christ is called The Mediator of the New-Testament Heb. 9. 15. It is not said The Mediator of the New-Covenant as in other places but of the New-Testament for a Covenant doth wholly depend upon mutual conditions which if either partie fail the Covenant is broken and made of none effect But a Testament is a thing meerly of Grace and Liberality without any condition and so may be fulfilled meerly out of the goodness of the Testator And this goodness is the support and comfort of my soul I am afraid of the Covenant and I flie to the Testament even to that Testament by which I am made a child an heir even an heir of God and joint heir with Christ Rom. 8. 17. Wherefore I cannot but hope that he will Judge to me the Inheritance which he hath already given me by his own Will and Testament For I look for him to appear the second time without sin unto salvation Heb. 9. 28. not only without sin in himself for he never had any but also without sin in me and all his members from whom he hath taken away all For the death of Christ is doubly beneficial to all true Believers First in respect of his Priest-hood that he hath expiated their sin Secondly in respect of his Testament That he hath given them an Inheritance I dare not deny the first the benefit of his Priest-hood for he is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world And why should I doubt the second the benefit of his Testament since he did therefore take away the sin that he might give the Inheritance I confess that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God 1 Cor. 6. 9. whether Fornicators or Idolaters or Adulterers or Thieves or
should I be angry and offended at the effects and tokens of his love For thy loving-kindness is better then the life it self Psal. 63. 3. What then though thou take away my life by thy chastisement if so be thou give me thy loving-kindness which is far better What is my life in it self without thy love O then take away my life as it is in it self and give it me as it is in thy love I desire not to live in mine own life but in thy loving-kindness Secondly because chastisement is a proof of my adoption Verse 7 8. For what son is he that the Father chasteneth not But if ye be without chastisement whereof all are partakers then are ye Bastards not Sons If I be not one of his Sons what expectancy can I have of his inheritance And if I be not under his correction how can I be assured I am one of his sons Wherefore let me rejoyce for being under the discipline of his chastisement as for being under the care of his Fatherly protection And let me be afraid of not being chastised on earth in this mortal life as I would be afraid of being bastardized from heaven and declared illegitimate as to the inheritance of immortality Thirdly because chastisement is a testimony of my obedience Verse 9. We have had Fathers of our flesh which corrected us and we gave them reverence shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live Would I be accounted an obedient child I must shew my self so not only by my doing but also by my suffering For my active obedience may be very much for mine own sake because I expect a Blessing but surely my passive Obedience is meerly for my Fathers sake because I know my duty If therefore I desire to be truly dutiful to my Father in heaven let me shew him reverence whiles he punishes me and not only whiles he cherishes me And let me consider him to be the Father of spirits and I shall be sure to shew him this reverence for I shall never deny him the subjection of my spirit and much less of my flesh I shall be willing to trust him with my soul and shall not desire that he would trust my soul too long with my body This the natural man looks on as the high-way to destruction but the spiritual man knows it is the way to salvation for thus did Christ himself pass to life even by being obedient unto the death Let me labour to follow his example for I have no reason to hope to fare better then he did and sure Iam I cannot fare worse Let me accordingly desire to kiss my Fathers hand then chiefly when it holds the rod wherewith he strikes me or rather let me desire to kiss his rod for it is much better for me that his scourging should testifie my obedience then extort it And if my weak and sinful flesh whiles it is yet wedded unto my soul shall deal with me as Jobs wife did with him and say Dost thou still retain thine integrity curse God and die Let me be sure to give her the same answer as he did his wife Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh what shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil Job 2. 10. This is the true way not to bless God and die but to bless God and live for so it is in the Hebrew Bless God and die And Jobs wife speaking in that holy language had her tongue sanctified though not her heart in so much that she did not say Curse God and die though she meant it but bless God and die I say this is the way not to bless God and die but to bless God and live and I may well say it again and again for so saith the Apostle Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of Spirits and live Fourthly Because chastisement is a furtherance of my sanctification Verse 10. For they verily for a few daies chastened us after their own pleasure but he for our profit that we might be partakers of his holiness Good Lord can I not be partaker of thy holiness until thou chasten me then let thy hand spare me no longer for in thus sparing it will most severely punish me since there is no greater punishment either in this world or in the next then not to be partaker of thy holiness Our fathers on earth by chastening us after their own pleasure and not for our profit do often make us partakers of their sin even of that impatience whereby they do either unduly or unmeasurably chasten us But our Father in heaven is never peccant either in the manner or in the end of his chastening not in the manner for he takes no pleasure in scourging us and therefore cannot do it either unduly or unmeasurably Not in the end for he aims only at our profit in scourging that he may brush away or strike off some excrescencies of our flesh or some adherencies to it thereby to make us partakers of his holiness in a far greater proportion and measure then otherwise we could have been Fifthly Because chastisement is a furtherance of my salvation Verse 11. Now no chastisement for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous nevertheless afterwards iâ—… yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby If I look no further then after mine own Joy it is most evident that I cannot endure much less desire chastisement because that for the present is not joyous but grievous but if I look after my Masters joy I must enter into it the same way that he entred he entred into his joy by sufferings and so must I. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory Luke 24. 26. He suffered that he might enter into his own glory which was undenyably his from all eternity and shall I hope to enter into that glory without suffering Ought Christ to have suffered and ought not the Christian to expect suffering Surely it hehoved Christ to suffer for these three Reasons Propter Remedium Peccatorum Propter exemplum Virtutum Propter complementum Scripturarum For the expiation and redress of sin by his Merit For the propagation of Righteousness by his Example For the fulfilling of the Scriptures by his Obedience As the Seraphical Doctor teacheth Now tell me which of these Reasons is not a fit and sufficient ground for my sufferings Have I not Brethren to be edified by my example who seeing my patience in the day of my visitation may also glorifie God in the day of theirs Hath not my God a Word to be fulfilâ—…ed which hath expresly said That we must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God Acts 14. 22. Have not 〈◊〉 my self much sin to be redressed and amended For though I will gladly impute the expiation of all my sins only to my Saviours sufferings
enjoy thee And now O Lord God the Word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant establish it for ever and do as thou hast said for thou O Lord God hast spoken it and with thy blessing let the soul of thy servant be blessed for ever 2 Sam. 7. 18. 75. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant Mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for us O Lord let me not fear being deprived oâ—… my earthly inheritance by death whiles 〈◊〉 find in my self the work of this Regeneration and cherish in my self the hope of this resurrection But let me ever be kept by the power of God through Faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time that I may therein greatly rejoyce though now for a season I am in heaviness through manifold temptations 2 Pet. 1. 3. That the tryal of my faith being much more precious then of Gold that perisheth though it be tried with fire may be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. 76. O thou who hast given me the soul of thy Christ and of my Jesus to sanctifie me the body of Christ to nourish and strengthen me the blood of Christ to redeem me the stripes of Christ to heal me the agonies of Christ to comfort and to refresh me give me also the wounds of Christ to hide me that thou mayest not Judge me or the Merits of Christ to cover me that I may be acquitted in the Judgement O Lord who didst not despise man transgressing and falling from thee do not despise me repenting and returning to thee but as thou hast opened unto me a door of faith and repentance unto life so shut not that door against me now I am desirous to enter in by it and to come to thee O Lord I believe help my unbelief O Lord â—…repent increase my repentance and give unto me that repentance whereby thou wiâ—…t accept me and that faith whereby I may receive and embrace thee for ever 77. The Lord make me faithfully to remember and thankfully to consider and constantly to believe that he who spared not his own Son but delivered him up for me will also with him freely give me all things or rather hath already with him freely given me all things that I was capable to receive and now is enlarging my capacity that he may enlarge his own bounteous liberality He is making me capable of receiving more that he may freely give more He hath made me capable of receiving himself his Son his holy Spirit by Faith Hope and Love He will now make me capable of receiving and enjoying himself his Son his holy Spirit by vision comprehension and fruition A vision that shall see him as he is in his excellent glory A comprehensioâ—… that shall fully receive and firmly retaiâ—… him And a fruition that shall perfectlâ—… enjoy him and perfectly rejoyce in him One God Father Son and Holy-Ghost world without end Amen 78. Abide thou with me O Lord Jesuâ—… Christ for it is towards evening with me and the day is far spent of this my toilsom and troublesom life And though my eye be holden that I do not see thee whiles I have sad communications with mine own heart yet be thou pleased still to tarry with me and to sit at meat with me and to bless to me the holy repast of eternity and mine eyes shall soon be opened to see thee and my heart shall be opened to receive thee And do not vanish out of my sight till thou hast brought me to see thee in thy heavenly Kingdom Amen 79. God be merciful unto me and bless me and shew me the light of his countenance in my passing through Death and be merciful unto me in bringing me to everlasting life The Lord bless me and keep me the Lord make his face to shine upon me and be gracious unto me The Lord lift up â—…is countenance upon me and give me â—…eace God the Father preserve me in my â—…assage by his Almighty power God the â—…on guide and direct me by his All-seeing wisdom God the Holy-Ghost assist and comfort me by his All-sufficient Grace and Goodness and bring me to everlasting life Amen 80. Now the God of hope fill me with all joy and peace in believing that I may abound in Hope through the power of the Holy-Ghost Rom. 15. 13. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me unto his heavenly Kingdom to whom be glory for ever and ever Amen 2 Tim. 4. 18. The sick mans Devotions To the Reader DEvotion is seldom Cordiaâ—… when it is constrained and iâ—… is commonly constrained when either Fear or Paâ—… makes a man devout For then he may seem to have taken up Sauls resolution 1 Sam. 13. 12. Therefore said I the Philistines will now come down upon me and I have not made supplication unto the Lord I forced my self therefore and offered a burnt-offering So is it too too frequently with those men who neglect the motives and means of prayer whiles they are in health and leave all their suplications to be made in their sickness or any other great extremity for whiles â—…y vainly fear lest custom should make â—…ir prayers uncordial or undevout they â—…erably find that compulsion doth indeed â—…ve them to be so since therefore either â—…tom of praying will steal away thy heart thou fondly thinkest or contempt of praywill harden thy heart at I flatly averr now in good time what thou hast to do a phantastical fear is no excuse for runâ—…g into a real mischief Whiles thou â—…ishly fearest lest thy heart should be stolen 〈◊〉 impiously causest thy heart to be hardenâ—… Consider therefore what the Prophet â—…uel hath taught thee to say and do in thy â—…resses to thy Maker since God hath set 〈◊〉 appointed him to direct and guide thee â—…y Devotions And do not as Saul did 〈◊〉 without a Priest or with a Priest of â—…e own choosing perhaps of thine own â—…ing offer thy burnt-offering lest Samuel 〈◊〉 at the end of thy sacrifice and say unto 〈◊〉 as he said unto him v. 13. thou hast 〈◊〉 foolishly thou hast not kept the comâ—…dment of the Lord thy God which he â—…manded thee this reproof as it doth â—…rly concern thee so it will undoubtedly siâ—…e thee for when God hath given thee a sure Guide for thy Devotions even such a Church as neither the wit of man can prove nor the malice of Devils can make guilty either of Faction or of Superstition If thou wilt not go along with this Guide but wilt needs gad after thine own imaginations thou dost indeed follow Saul in his sin and art like to follow him in his punishment thou appeasest not wrath but provokest it thou forsakest God and
offered and the time of my departure is at hand 2 Tim. 4. 6. Now therefore I pray thee if I have found grace in thy sight shew me now thy way that I may know thee that I may find grace in thy sight and consider that I am one of thy people And he said my presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest And he said unto him if thy presence go not with me carry me not up hence for wherein shall it be known here that I have found grace in thy sight is it not in that thou goest with me And the Lord said I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken for thou hast found grace in my sight and I know thee by name And he said I beseech thee shew me thy glory so saith my soul O Lord and because no man shall see thee and live I desire to die that I may see thee Exod. 33. 13 14 15 16 17 18. Unto him that is able to keep me from falling into the pit of everlasting destruction and to present me faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy do I recommend my soul even to the only wise God our Saviour to whom be glory and Majesty dominion and power now and ever Amen Epist. of Saint Jude v. 24 25. The Lord shall preserve me from all evil yea it is even he that shall keep my soul. The Lord shall preserve my going out and my coming in from this time forth for evermore Amen Psal. 121. 7 8. The sick mans Departure or Dismission ARise ye and depart for this is not your Rest because it is polluted it shall destroy you even with a sore destruction Micah 2. 10. Return unto thy Rest O my soul for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee For thou hast delivered my soul from death mine eyes from tears and my feet from falling I will walk before the Lord in the Land of the living Psal. 116. 7 8 9. There remaineth therefore a Rest to the people of God Heb. 4. 9. Lord I willingly go out of this world that I may enter into that everlasting rest Amen I have set God before me he is at my right hand I shall not fall Therefore my heart is gland and my glory rejoyceth my flesh also shall rest in hope For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption Thou wilt shew me the path of life in thy presence is fulness of joy at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore Amen Psal. 16. 8 9 10 11. To me to live is Christ and to die is gain I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ. Lord now lettest thou servant depart in peace that he may rest in hope rise in joy and reign in glory Amen A sick mans Resignation Psal. 31. 5. Into thine hand I commit my spirit thou hast Redeemed me O Lord God of Truth THere is nothing more the duty of a good Christian then whiles he lives to possess his soul in patience and when he shall die to resign his soul in comfort And indeed he must possess his soul in patience that he may resign it in comfort He must possess his soul in patience as not being fully contented much less fully delighted with his present â—…ndition in this world wherein he canâ—…t but see very much to trouble him but â—…thing at all to satisfie him Help Lord â—…h the Psalmist Psal. 12. 1. in great â—…ation of his heart and we may gather threefold reason why he is so vexed 〈◊〉 the godly man ceaseth the faithful fail â—…d they speak vanity Defectus sanctitatis 〈◊〉 affectu veritatis in intellectu sanctitatis 〈◊〉 â—…ffectu saith Alensis The defect of holiâ—…ss in the will of truth in the understandâ—…g of innocency in the action This is â—…e threefold defect that makes the good â—…ristian possess his soul not in delight as â—…on choice but only in patience as upon â—…cessity because he wants holiness in his â—…ill and cannot love God because he â—…nts truth in his understanding and â—…not know God because he wants inâ—…grity in his action and cannot honour â—…od as he is bound and desires to do This the reason that he possesseth his soul not delight but in patience and the trouble â—…at he finds in his possession makes him 〈◊〉 think himself of a Resignation The â—…ssessing his soul in patience whiles he â—…es makes him Resign his soul in comâ—…t when he is to die And here we have the form of that comfortable Resignatioâ—… Into thy hands I commit my spirit thou haâ—… redeemed me O Lord God of truth I hopâ—… no man will say that this set form of thâ—… Resignation of his soul doth stint Goâ—… Spirit which teacheth him how to Resigâ—… his own For sure we are that he useâ—… this same form of whom it is said Gâ—… giveth not the spirit by measure unto hiâ—… John 3. 34. And if a set form did not coâ—…fine the spirit in him who received it not bâ—… measure much less can it confine the spirâ—… in us who have it measured from him Well may set forms teach us rightly tâ—… commend our own spirits to God but theâ—… cannot possibly make us confine his Spirit Had there been any such inconveniency 〈◊〉 using of set forms the Spirit of Goâ—… would not have provided us so many seâ—… forms of Prayers and Praises in the Psalm and other parts of the Text so that no objection can be made against set forms oâ—… Prayer as such which may not be retorteâ—… to some undervaluing if not undermininâ—… of the Scripture it self the very light oâ—… our eyes the breath of our nostrils and thâ—… joy of our hearts We may not then hearken to this objection above all the rest unless we will say That the Spirit of Goâ—… did intend to confine himself Or the Son â—…f God did intend to confine his own Spiâ—…it in us when he absolutely prescribed a â—…t form in his own most holy Prayer comâ—…anding it to be said Luke 11. 2. when ye â—…ray say Our Father nay yet more unâ—…ess we will say that the Son of God did â—…ntend to confine his own Spirit in himself when he used this very particular form 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Into thy hands I commend my spirit Luke 23. 46. For it is the very same Greek Text in both places and the very same translation in the vulgar Latine though we in English have seemed to make a Verbal but not a Real difference And therefore it is evident that our blessed Saviour by using this set form hath sanctified it for our use and taught us thereby how to Resign our souls to him that gave them And indeed the Spirit of God had sufficiently sanctified it before so that now we have this Resignation doubly sanctified to us by the spirit and by the Son of God so happy a thing is it for us seriously to consider and much
as penitents God heareth not such sinners as are willingly and wilfully under the Power and Dominion of sin such as are habitually sinful and still remain in the state of sin For A man may be a sinner yet not be in the state of sin That notes a Momentany Action but this a standing Relation or a setled continuance status notat Dispositionem cum quadam immobilitate saith Aquinas That makes a man unworthy of Gods Favor but this makes him uncapable of it So saith the Prophet What hath my beloved to do in mine house seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many and the holy Flesh is passed from thee when thou dost evil then thou rejoycest Jer. 11. 15. These words shew the state of sin and the miserable condition of that state The state of sin is the working of lewdness with many and rejoycing in that work neither Reluctancie before it nor Repentance after it And the miserable condition of that state is not to have to do in Gods house i. e. Not to have any right to the Word Sacraments for the Holy Flesh here saith R. David is the Flesh of Gods Altar An Impenitent sinner hath nothing to do with that Holy Flesh and if he will needs intrude himself to have to do with it yet it shall not be Holy Flesh to him he shall have no benefit of its Holiness Nay to him it shall be in its effect what it is already in his account an unholy thing Heb. 10. 29. Impura es ipsa ac proinde non potes non impurare omnes oblationes tuas saith Trem. Thou thy self being in the state of impurity canst not but make all thy offerings impure Thy Prayers will be turned into sin Psal. 109. 7. And how then can thy sin not be turned into Death Therefore he that will offer to God an acceptable offering must first offer himself For if God accept not the person he will not accept the offering The Lord first had respect to Abel then to his offering Gen. 4. 4. Wherefore it neerly concerns every Christian to forsake all his sins and to assure himself that he is in the state of Grace and Acceptance with God for that else he cannot be assured that either his Prayer or his Prayses will be accepted And how shall we better know the state of Grace then from his mouth whose hands nailed to the Cross made it And whose side Pierced on the Cross poured it forth to us And he plainly tells us that our state is either of God or of the Devil John 8. 42. If God were your Father you would love me From whence we may infer they that do love Christ have God for their Father and consequently are in a Good in a Happy state But v. 4. 4. Ye are of your Father the Devil and the lusts of your Father ye will do From whence we may infer they that will needs do the lusts of the Devil have the Devil for their father Not simply they that do the lusts but they that wilfully do them The Text it self gives us this Distinction saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ye will do them For there is a great difference betwixt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Facio and Volo Facere I do and I will do For Saint Paul saith of himself the evil which I would not that I do Rom. 7. 19. and yet proves that he is in the state of Regeneration notwithstanding his doing it Now if I do that I would not it is no more I that do it but sin that dwelleth in me v. 21. Sin may dwell in me but I may not dwell in sin If I do that evil I would not it is because sin dwelleth in me But if I will that evil I do it is because I dwell in sin and am one of those of whom it is said ye are yet in your sins 1 Cor. 15. 17. He saith not your sins are in you but you are in your sins not they possessed by you but you possessed by them not they have a being in you but you have a being in them This Regiment of Satan doth not come to Quarter with you against your will but you have made an Invitation to them and Provision for them they find the house swept and garnished and look upon it as their own and so have their Habitation with you as that they also have Dominion over you And in this respect doth our blessed Saviour say to the Jews ye shall dye in your sins That is in the Guilt and under the Bondage of your sins unless by faith in Christ you get out of that Guilt out of that Bondage for so it is said If ye believe not that ' I am he ye shall dye in your sins John 8. 24. To live out of Christ is to live in sin and to live in sin is the way to die in sin and to die in sin is to die eternally For he that dies in sin is an eternal sinner and is therefore justly punished with eternal death Peccavit in suo aeterno saith Saint Greg. He sinned in his eternity and yet his whole life was but a span-long The reason is He that sins impenitently would sin eternally if he might live eternally He sins eternally in his Resolution though not in his Action and shews whose child he is by doing the works of his Father and wilfully doing them The works of your Father ye will do A man may do the lusts of the Devil and yet be the child of God but he cannot wilfully do them and continue in that wilfulness but he must be the child of the Devil He alone hath Right in him and he will claim his Right He will claim him as a Father claims his child For this is the specifical difference betwixt the Regenerate and the Unregenerate Both are sinners but the one sinneth eagerly with desire and Habitually with delight the other desireth not to sin and delighteth not in sinning Though he may sometimes do the work of the Devil yet it is against his will for he Desires and delights to do the work of God And that 's the reason our Blessed Saviour hath taught such a man to call God his Father and he would not have taught him to call God so were he indeed not so For truth teacheth no man to tell a lye much less in his Prayers wherefore in that we are taught to say Our Father it is evident that we are bound to be in the state of Regeneration or we have no right to say our Prayers For we are not taught to say Our Father in respect of our corporal Creation for so God is the Father of the wicked as well as of the Righteous but of our spiritual Regeneration That God is Our Father by spiritual Generation for that according to his Abundant mercy he hath begotten us again to lively hope 1 Pet. 1. 3. For of his own will begat he us with the word of
the Lord is good Psal. 34. 8. You will taste his goodness in the most bitter Potion you will see his goodness in the most bloody scourge if you do but seriously consider that Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and consequently whom he most chasteneth he most loveth Wherefore since thy loving kindness is better then life Psal. 63. 3. though thy chastisement take away my life yet I desire not thou shouldst take away thy chastisement as long as that giveth me the true sense and feeling of thy loving kindness Gods Rod â—…s it self a very good Lesson and doth here accordingly set down a Two fold Document Documentum Amoris Documentum Salutis A Document of his Love for loving and chastening go together And to be without Correction is to be without Filiation v. 8. But if ye be without chastisement then are ye Bastards not Sons And a Document of our Salvation For his chastisement is as it were a Plowing and Tilling of our Souls to make us bring forth more fruit even the fruit of unfeigned Righteousness and the fruit of everlasting Peace ver 11. It yeildeth thâ—… Peacecable fruit of Righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby The peaceablâ—… fruit of Righteousness These words may be called Eshcol For they are a whole clustster of grapes Num. 13. 24. yet not to be carried between two upon a staff being no less in effect then That Eternâ—… weight of Glory or indeed the whoâ—…e Kingdom of Heaven for if you Press these Grapes and squeeze out the wine thaâ—… is in them you will find Righteousness an unfeigned Righteousness which is thâ—… Kingdom of Grace And you will finâ—… Peace an Everlasting Peace which is thâ—… Kingdom of Glory And this is the whoâ—… Kingdom of Heaven the Kingdom 〈◊〉 Grace and the Kingdom of Glory Anâ—… as unfeigned Righteousness is the way tâ—… bring us to Everlasting Peace So is correction and chastisement the way to brinâ—… us to unfeigned Righteousness Where in we shall see very much to exercise oâ—… Piety but nothing at all to disturb ouâ—… Patience For all chastening is but for a few â—…yes ver 10. whether it be by our â—…thers on earth or by our Father in â—…aven For neither takes the Rod out 〈◊〉 delight but only out of necessity and â—…erefore is soon ready to throw it away â—…ter a little chastening And a chastening â—…at is but for a few dayes cannot call â—…r many groans A chastening that is â—…t for a little time cannot require any â—…eat patience And though our Fathers 〈◊〉 earth chastening us after their own pleaâ—…re may chastise us both unjustly and â—…measurably unjustly as to the end unâ—…easurably as to the manner of their â—…astening yet surely our Father in heaâ—…n doth not so He chastens not unmeaâ—…rably because much less then we deserve â—…even the Damned souls in hell are puâ—…shed citra condignum saith Aquinas with â—…uch less then condign Punishment â—…d he chastens not unjustly because for â—…r Profit That we might be partakers of â—…s holiness And therefore if we owe subâ—…ction and reverence to the Fathers of our â—…esh much more to the Father of spirits â—…nd the rather because the Reward of our â—…tifulness to them is but the prolonging 〈◊〉 a momentary and a miserable life But the Reward of our dutifulness to the â—…ther of spirits is to live blessedly and live eternally ver 9. 10. Therefoâ—… we must be sure in this case to follow oâ—… Saviours advice John 7. 24. Judge 〈◊〉 according to the Appearance but judge rigâ—…teous judgement For what though no chaâ—…ning for the present seemeth to be joyous bâ—…grievous ver 11. yet doth it not follâ—… because it seems not so therefore it is nâ—… so Ab eo quod videtur ad id quod est nâ—… valet consequentia To argue from thâ—… which seems to be to that which really 〈◊〉 were a most absurd way of argumeâ—… For this would prove the greatest Hypâ—…crite to be the most Religious man becaâ—… he most seems to be zealous of Religioâ—… So neither may we think that chastening not joyous because it seems not so 〈◊〉 though it bring grief to the body yet 〈◊〉 suredly being rightly taken it bring joy unto the soul. And this is a very suâ—…stantial Reason why we should not repiâ—… that God hath annexed Affliction asâ—… necessary condition of our Salvation yâ—… may we farther to this add these othâ—… Reasons First because though our present afflâ—…ction be never so great yet it is nothing iâ—… respect of our future Glory so saith Saint â—…ul Rom. 8. 18. For Ireckon that the â—…fferings of this present time are not worthy be compared with the Glory which shall be â—…vealed in us If you will compare them in â—…eir Continuance The one is momentaâ—… the other is eternal If in their Quantity â—…e one is little or nothing the other so â—…eat that it may be reputed All in All If 〈◊〉 Quality the one scarce deserves our noâ—…ce the other challenges both our attenâ—…ons and affections So that in all three â—…spects The Comparison is very unworâ—…y the one are not worthy to be compared â—…ith the other Secondly because our present Affliction â—…nduceth to the assurance of our future â—…lory Therefore Saint Peter exhorteth us 〈◊〉 rejoyce in the fiery Tryal and gives this â—…eason for our rejoicing In as much as we â—…e Partakers of Christs sufferings That â—…hen his Glory shall be revealed we may be â—…ad also with exceeding joy 1 Pet. 4. 13. 〈◊〉 is a siery tryal but that Fire will both â—…rge your soul and Prove your Faith â—…our soul being purged will let heaven it 〈◊〉 you your faith being proved will let â—…ou into Heaven For it will testifie unto â—…ou That Christ would not have made you partaker of his sufferings if he had intended to make you partaker of his glâ—… Let him then punish temporally thaâ—… may spare Eternally Let him chastise body that he may save my soul and unto me the Joy of his Salvation Thirdly and lastly because our Preâ—… Affliction conduceth to the increase of Future Glory Justine Martyr in 79. Quest. ad Orthodoxos Asks the Reâ—… why when Josiah is commended in Scripture above all the Kings of Isâ—… and Judah for his zeal to Religion 2 Reg. 25. yet himself was slain by the swâ—… and his sons after him carryed into Caâ—…vity which was a greater misery then fell any of the worser Kings and he gâ—… this Answer to his Question 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 time of recompence and reward for thâ—… who do the works of Righteousness is in this but in the next World And indâ—… they may here expect to suffer for tâ—… Righteousness but not till hereafter to Rewarded for it And they must with greater comfort expect this because thâ—… present sufferings are for the increase their future reward according to tâ—… â—…f 2 Cor. 4. 17. For our light affliction which 〈◊〉 but for a moment worketh for us a far â—…ore exceeding and
mortis in cujus anima omnes vires ac Potentiae fuerunt per speciale miraculum conservatae saith Gabriel in 3. sent Dist. 15. Christ alone did feel all the sharpness and tast all the bitterness of Death in whose soul alone all powers and faculties were preserved in their full vigour and sense by special miracle But we will not argue the case whether the pains of death be most felt in the sensitive or intellective parts of the soul and whether they that have the strongest senses have alwayes the strongest pains For sure we are what are the pains of death none do know but those that cannot come to tell us yet we have reason to believe that they are so violent as to be able to shake the tallest Cedar of Libanus much more the shrubs of Carkemish To terrifie men of undaunted resolutions much more such as have too much guilt to have too little fears or else the Church would never have taught us to pray O Holy and mercifull Saviour thou most worthy Judge eternal suffer us not at our last hour for any pains of Death to fall from thee Thou art our Saviour we cannot fall from thee but we must fall from our salvation and the pains of Death will make us fall from thee unless thou shew thy self our merciful Saviour to sustain us in the hour of Death as thou hast sustained us all our life And why didst thou taste the vinegar at thy death and not till then give up the ghost John 19. 30. but to teach me to pray O my God let me not taste the vinegar when I am to give up the ghost since thou thy self hast tasted it for me so saith thy Apostle Heb. 2. 14 15. For he also himself took part of the same flesh and blood that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Devil and deliver them who through fear of Death were all their life time subject to bondage We see here a two-fold effect of Christs death The one was to conquer the Devil that had the power of Death The other was to deliver us that were under the fear of Death and fled to him for deliverance The Devil had the power of Death till he was conquered and he was not conquered till the death of Christ till then he kept the keys of Hell and of death but then Christ took them away from him and doth ever since keep them Apoc. 1. 18. I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive for evermore Amen and have the keys of Hell and of Death Then let me not fear to pass through the gates of Death whiles my Saviour keeps the keys of it to open the Grave Let me not fear to pass by the gates of Hell whiles my Saviour keeps the keys of it to shut the Gates Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear none evil for thou art with me Psal. 23. 4. Thou art with me to uphold me in that walk that I fail not to direct me in that valley that I stray not To enlighten me in that shadow that I stumble not Christs guidance cannot but afford a very safe conduct which is not unfitly expressed by these four words Educit Deducit Adducit Introducit He brings out He brings on He brings to He brings in First Educit he brings the soul out to wit out of the Body for it may not go till he call and then it must O my soul never be affraid to go from thy body when thy Saviour calls thee to go along with him Secondly Deducit He brings the soul on to wit on the way to Heaven And himself saith Justin Martyr in Tryphon did pray to his Father to guide his soul at his death that we might know how to pray to him to guide our souls Psal. 22. 20 21. Deliver my soul from the sword my Darling from the power of the Dog save me from the Lions mouth He thus prayed on the Cross immediatly before his death for it is the Tradition of the Church That Christ said all the 22 Psalm upon the Cross though the Evangelists mention only the first words of it to teach us to pray when we die That God who alone can would deliver our souls from the Dog and from the Lion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That he would turn away the evil Angel who is compared to a Dog for his impudency to a Lion for his violence least he should catch our souls at their going out of our bodies We know the Devil is called the Prince of the Air and we may be sure he would not let any mans soul pass from earth to Heaven were not he ready to convey it thither to whom is given all power in Heaven and in Earth and over Hell Thirdly Adducit He brings the soul to that is to God Man when he dies his body returns to the dust but his spirit returns to God that gave it All spirits return to God at the hour of death either as to a Father or as to a Judge and Christ brings them all to him The spirits of wicked men as to a Judge for punishment The spirits of good men as to a Father for mercy Whence that admirable prayer of our Church for the sick That whensoever his soul shall depart from the body it may be without spot presented unto thee through Jesus Christ our Lord Christ presents all souls unto God but the souls of the impenitent and unbelievers in the spots they have contracted by their sins The souls of those who by Faith and Repentance have laid hold on his Righteousness he presents without spot Those souls that are in their sins shall be rejected those souls that are in their Saviour shall be received There is no man at that day but will be speechless who hath not the Eternal Word to answer for him Fourthly and lastly Introducit he brings the soul in that is into the state of Eternal blessedness to see and enjoy him who is the blessed and only Potentate the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who only hath immortality dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto unless Christ bring him in whom no man hath seen or can see to whom be honour and power everlasting Amen 1 Tim. 6. 15 16. No man hath seen him or can see him in this corruptible body but the Saints now do see him in their incorruptible souls and do ascribe unto him his honour and power everlasting Accordingly the Angelical Doctor makes it his business to confute those who said that the souls of the Saints separated from their bodies do not come to their bliss till the day of judgement quod quidem apparet esse falsum autoritate ratione which saith he is apparently false as we can prove both by authority and by reason and all the world is not able to afford better proofs or gain-say them 1. By
all those present miseries of my life which thou hast already sanctified in that thou hast born them and all those possible horrours of my death which thou hast already conquered in that they durst assail thee to bear them That I who of my self am in death even in the midst of life may through thee my blessed Saviour find life in the midst of death and glory after it to glorifie thee who art the Lord of death and the Giver of life Amen 23. O holy Jesus thou only Redeemer of souls who by ' thy death hast overcome death and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life I most humbly beseech thee that as by thy special grace preventing me thou dost put into my mind good desires of departing hence and of being with thee so by thy continual help I may bring the same to good effect and at last joyfully depart in thy peace for that mine eyes have seen thy salvation my heart hath believed it and my soul goeth hence to enjoy it and with it thee my blessed Redeemer who with the eternal Spirit art most high in the glory of the Father one God everlasting Amen 24. O thou who layedst down thy life for my Redemption make me ready to lay down my life at thy command Teach me more and more to despise the Treasures and the Pleasures of this world which have in them a double vanity that they are transitory that they are not satisfactory As they cannot give me true content whiles I possess them because they are not satisfactory so let them not create in me any discontent when I must have them because they are but transitory O make me lay up for my self a stock of Treasure and of Pleasure in heaven by 〈◊〉 true and lively faith working zealously â—…or thee relying wholly on thee and â—…onging earnestly after thee for ever 25. Lord where is my Treasure but only in him that bought me who is my everlasting Portion that only God could give me and men cannot take from me And where should my heart be but where my Treasure is even in heaven and heavenly things I will therefore from henceforth live by the faith of the Son of God who died for me and gave himself for me And living by that faith though I may dwell on earth yet I shall live in heaven nay in the uppermost part of heaven even at the right hand of God there will I live alwaies with thee O my blessed Redeemer adoring thy Excellency reverencing thy Majesty loving thine Authority enamoured with thy Perfections and joyfully depending on thy Mercy That though my continuance be still with men yet my conversation may be with thee my God and Saviour by love earnestly longing for thee by hope wholly trusting on thee by desires stedfastly cleaving to thee and by delight alwaies rejoycing in thee So shall my soul when it departs out of this earthly Tabernacle be received into thine everlasting habitations there to bless and enjoy thee who with the Father and the Holy-Ghost livest and reignest one God world without end Amen 26. O Lord who hast called to thee all those that travel and are heavy laden and hast promised to give them rest have mercy upon me thy distressed servant who now am in a restless condition what ease and repose thou denyest unto my body I beseech thee give unto my soul that though my flesh doth not enjoy the sweet and comfortable rest of sleep yet my spirit may enjoy that everlasting rest and repose which is alwaies to be found in thee O grant that a promise being left me of entering into thy rest I may not come short of it through my unbelief but that by going out of my self and living in thee I may forthwith enter into that internal rest which is to be enjoyed here in the presence of thy grace and may continue and abide therein till I shall come to that eternal rest which is not to be expected till hereafter nor to be enjoyed but only in the presence of thy glory 27. O Lord God the God of my salvation teach me to cry day and night before thee that so thou mayest still save me and let my prayer enter in whither I am not worthy to enter even into thy presence Incline thine ear unto my calling since thou hast inclined my heart to call upon thee for my soul is full of trouble and my life draweth nigh unto hell But draw thou nigh unto my soul I shall be delivered from all my troubles and though thou hast put my lovers my friends away from me and hid mine acquaintance out of my sight yet let me ever see the light of thy countenance and I shall not be troubled for not seeing them and make me rejoyce in thine everlasting love and I shall find no want of my other friends lovers 28. O Lord I cannot deny but that having been at enmity with thee I deserve to be cloathed with shame and covered with mine own confusion as with a Cloak But O cloath me with thy Sons righteousness and therewith cover my shame and my confusion I am unworthy in my self to pray for mercy for Judas-like I have betrayed my Saviour O make me worthy in his blood not only to pray for it but also to obtain it 29. O Lord my foot hath often slipped but thy mercy hath hitherto held me up that I have not fallen into the pit of destruction Let thy Mercy O Lord still hold me up and in the multitude of sorrows that I have or shall have in my heart by reason of my sins let thy comforts evermore refresh my soul For thou makest me find trouble and heaviness that I may call upon thy Name and I do call upon thy Name that thou mayest deliver my soul O Lord I beseech thee deliver my soul from death mine eyes from tears and my feet from falling that I may walk before thee in the Land of the living That I may walk carefully and conscionably before thee because thou seest all things That I may walk reverently before thee because thou rulest all things That I may walk thankfully before thee because thou givest all things That I may walk comfortably before thee because thou savest all things and wilt in mercy save me O let me so walk before thee here in this world as one that hath a hope to live with thee hereafter in the world to come Let my soul awake from the sleep of sin to give glory to thee because I trust that when I shall awake from the sleep of death I shall receive glory from thee 30. O thou worthy Judge-Eternal I tremble at the very thought of thy Judgement and how then shall I tremble at the sight of my Judge For mine own mouth doth most grievously accuse me and mine own heart doth most impartially condemn me and mine own conscience cannot but set its seal to the justness of my condemnation But I believe that thou
Secondly the faithfulness of the Redeemer O Lord thou God of truth First the fulness of the Redemption for it had a threefold fulness a fulness of Excellency a fulness of Appearance a fulness of Redundancy which is Bonaventures distinction concerning our blessed Saviour lib. 3. sent dist 13. Quod est loqui de Plenitudine secundum Excellentiam secundum Apparentiam secundum Redundantiam We may speak of the fulness of Christ according to its Excellency according to its Appearance and according to its Redundancy for Christ had a fulness of Excellency from his first conception And he had a fulness of Appearance from the discent of the Holy-Ghost upon him for then his excellent holiness was made apparent to all the world by the testimony of the Father and of the Holy Spirit And he had a fulness of Redundancy from the time that he sanctified his disciples and servants by the communication and participation of his holiness And this same threefold fulness is in this Redemption A fulness of Excellency or Perfection in the nature of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hast Redeemed A fulness of appearance or manifestation from the Author of it Thou thou hast Redeemed And a fulness of Redundancy from the subject of it me Thou hast Redeemed me First there is a fulness of Excellency or Perfection in this Redemption from the nature of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thou hast Redeemed So saith the Master of Greek Criticisms 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This word is properly used concerning the Redemption of Captives that are Redeemed with a price For they that are otherwise delivered then by a price 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are said rather to be Rescued then to be Redeemed Eustath in Iliad a. Here is then a Redemption as excellent as the price that was paid for the Captives and that was the blood of the Eternal Son of God A price that was infinitely more worth then all the whole Creation both in heaven and in earth which hath in truth no other preciousness but what it hath from this price is no farther precious then as it is sprinkled with this blood Secondly A fulness of appearance or manifestation in this Redemption from the Author of it Thou thou hast Redeemed Thou whom God hath appointed heir of all things by whom also he made the worlds and who art the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person Heb. 1. 2 3. This heir of all things came to make us partakers of his inheritance The same God that made the world by his Power and governed it by his Wisdom Redeemed it by his Mercy He that was the brightness of the glory of God and the express image of his person was pleased to make himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and being found in fashion as a man to humble himself and become obedient unto death Phil. 2. 7. That by his death he might destroy death and by his rising to life again might restore to us everlasting life But that 's the third fulness in this Redemption A fulness of Redundancy from the subject of it Me Thou hast Redeemed Me Thou Me Heaven and Earth are meet together in the Mysterie But Heaven and Hell are met together in the Mercy of this Redemption God and Man in the Mysterie but God and sinful Man in the Mercy of it Me in my Nature was a great mysterie but Me in my Sins was a far greater mercy Thy love did seek me when I did not deserve it Thy care did keep me when I did not observe it O let neither Love nor Care forsake me now I do desire it And indeed thou hast promised not to forsake us And that is the second Reason we are so willing to Resign our selves to thee the faithfulness of our Redeemer O God thou God of Truth Thou art powerful in thy performances as God and faithful in thy Promises as the God of Truth As none can resist thy power in performing so none may distrust thy truth in promising It was thy Mercy that made thee promise but it is thy Truth that maketh thee keep thy promises Mercy and Truth are together in God as Cruelty and Falseness go together in man Though I have no right to thy Mercy from it self yet I have a right to thy Mercy from thy Truth And thine own Holy Spirit hath taught me to claim this Right Heb. 13. 5. For he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee He said it to Joshua yet will have me believe he said it to me for though that promise in its occasion was particular and concerned only Joshua and those with him Josh. 1. 5. yet in its document it was universal and concerned all the faithful servants of God that should be to the end of the world for that promise was made to Joshua as Leader of the people and therefore belonged in common to him and to them even to the whole Church of the Jews And by the same reason belongs to us now as it did to them even to the whole Church of the Gentiles For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek or Gentile For the same Lord over All is rich unto all that call upon him Rom. 10. 12. If we call upon him as Joshua and the Israelites did we have the same interest in his promises as Joshua and the Israelites had He will be as rich in Mercy to us as he was to him and to them or else in vain hath his Apostle said For whatsoever things were written afore-time were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope Rom. 15. 4. Where is the comfort of the Scriptures if it be not in the Promises or what promise can be the ground of our hope like this I will never leave thee nor forsake thee A promise which he made in Mercy as Lord over All and therefore rich in mercy to All that call upon him But a promise that he keepeth in truth as being the same Lord over All That is one and the same constantly in himself and therefore not diverse in his Word nor in his Promises O God thou God of truth As God thou art a Creditor to All by thy Mercy All borrow of it All depend on it All are obliged to it But as a God of Truth thou art a Debtor to All that is to All that call upon thee for the Promise though it be universal yet it is conditional Thou art a Debtor to All by thy Truth they have an Interest in thy Promise claim it as their Right look to it as their Treasure look on it as their Comfort Debitor fidelitatis non Justitiae God is to man a Debtor of faithfulness though not a Debtor of Justice A Debtor of faithfulness because of his own Word though he cannot be a Debtor of Justice because of mans Merit As he is God he hath
provided Mercy for as is his Majesty so is his Mercy But as he is the God of truth so he hath moreover assured it In this assurance did Saint Paul comfort himself 2 Tim. 1. 12. For I know whom I have believed and I am perswaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Depositum meum servare God is contented to be our Depositarius or Trustee to keep that which we commit to him so it be worth his trust or fit for his keeping And nothing is fit for his keeping which hath relation to this day or any thing of this world but only that which hath relation to that day or to the world to come Therefore I may commit nothing else to him as to my Depositary or Trustee but only my soul which alone can remain and a bide till that day And if I commit my soul unto him against that day he will see it then forth-coming as safe as I can desire and more safe then I can deserve This is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Depositum Saint Paul speaks of And the word used by him is a Noun derived from the Verb used in my Text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I will Depose Into thy hands will I Depose my spirit Saint Pauls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wholly agrees with this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his Depositum with this Deposing The thing that he commits to Gods trust is his spirit his soul which he commits into his hands as the only Trustee of souls And it is much to be observed that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Greek Text is not in the Present but in the Future-Tense so that it is to be rendered not I do depose or commit or commend but I will depose or commit or commend my spirit to shew to us mans uncessant Dutifulness and Gods uncessant Faithfulness First mans uncessant Dutyfulness for this act of Resigning the soul is a continued act it is a thing long in doing before it can be well done It requires great preparations greater deliberations and greatest Resolutions And after all our Preparations and Deliberations and Resolutions it is still a motion that is rather in fieri then in facto esse rather compleating then compleated that hath more perfection from the time to come then from the time present or past more perfection in the Purpose then in the Performance in the Resolution then in the Execution 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I will commit No man can so fully Resign himself to God as he ought and though our blessed Saviour could and did yet to teach us this Document of humility he also speaks as if he had not done it for he saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as well as David I will commit As if something were still behind something still more in the Resolution then in the Execution For though the grace of union in Chirst was infinite the grace whereby he took his humane soul yet the habitual grace was not infinite the grace whereby he resigned his soul But God is infinite as in himself so also in his Obligation and an infinite Obligation requires an infinite Satisfaction which to a Finite nature must needs be rather in the Purpose then in the Performance for which cause our blessed Saviour himself thought fit to say not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I do commit but I will commit my â—…pirit O Lord let me never think I can â—…o too much when thine own Son hath â—…ught me that I can never do enough He said I will do it when he had done it â—…hall I say I have more then done it when cannot do it Did he speak by way of â—…xtenuation in his works and shall I â—…hansie a Supererogation in mine Did â—…e seem to intimate something less in his â—…erformance then was in his Obligation â—…nd shall I dream of Performing more then was Obliged O let me never come to â—…at height of Impiety as to neglect my â—…uty much less to that height of Impuâ—…ence as to over value it Let me never â—…y I Do or Have done but only I will â—…o accounting it thy greatest mercy to my â—…oul that thou givest the will to do and â—…he greatest security of my soul that thou â—…cceptest the will for the deed Secondly Gods uncessant faithfulness for David could not have said I will commit by a continued act of giving if he â—…ad not believed Gods uncessant faithfulness in a continued act of receiving Gods faithfulness is as everlasting as himself And that makes him look upon his trust as never fully discharged but as alwaies newly undertaken And he would have us believe that he is as careful of it and as faithful in it as if he did every moment newly undertake it for this same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Future-tense which doth shew mans continued act in resigning his soul to God doth also import Gods continued act in receiving souls that are resigned unto him that he is alwaies ready to Receive them and alwaies as careful to Retain them and will be as faithful to Restore them He Receives them by his Mercy he Retains them by his power nonâ—… is able to pluck them out of his hands Johâ—… 10. 28. He will Restore them by his Truth And he will Restore them infinitely better then he can Receive them contrary to all other Trustees who generally Receive much better then they Restoreâ—… Never any man gave his spirit to God in his life-time though but for an instant bâ—… an holy Contemplation or Affection buâ—… he received it again much better then he gave it How much more shall he that gives him his spirit at his death by a full and free Resignation receive it again infinitely better at the last Resurrection Wherefore let us pray unto him that hâ—… will be pleased to make us ready to resign â—…ur souls to him without reluctancie and â—…areful to resign them without spot or â—…emish being throughly washed by the â—…ars of our own Repentance and by faith 〈◊〉 our Saviours blood that so he may â—…ceive them into his Mercy and sanctifie them by his grace and satisfie them with â—…is glory through Jesus Christ our Lord â—…nd only Saviour to whom with the Father and the Eternal Spirit be ascribed all â—…onour and glory be performed all bounâ—…en duty and obedience from this time â—…orth and for evermore Amen Quod de te per te loquimur da transeat ad te Utque tui simus nos age solus habe FINIS