not thinke onely of standing at his right hand and of receiving honour by him but also of doing homage and giving of worship to him If you must come up to Sarahs example in calling and and counting him your Lord. Thus David that Kingly Prophet takes him for his King and his Prophet whom he takes for his Saviour Psal 25.5 Lead me in thy truth there 's the first and teach me there 's the second for thou art the God of my salvation there 's the third So then since true faith doth ever take hold upon an whole Christ who is King Priest and Prophet whether it be granted that this Faith doth justifie as it receives Christ under the precise Nosion of Ruler and Teacher as well as of Priest which some affirme or onely of Priest and Surety as others doe judge that is solely as presenting his righteousnesse to God for us and as putting that his righteousnesse upon us and not as working that righteousness in us that is most usually called Holiness which seems chiefly as to respect the Princely and Prophetical office of Christ so to relate to that purifying or sanctifying act of faith spoken of Act. 15.9 rather then that justifying act of faith spoken of Rom. 5.1 Yet must I assert that no faith doth justifie but that which takes Christ for King and Law-giver as well as Saviour Isai 33.22 Faith justifies si non quâ totum saltem quae totum recipit respicit Christum Take heed soules of distinguishing here between LORD and JESUS as Judge Cook used to do by laying off of his Gown between Judge and Cook If Christs Coat be seamless surely Christ himselfe is divisionless And it is farre safer for me and you to be careful in uniting practically what God hath certainly joyned together then to be over-curious in distinguing notionally where if we divide practically we are undone everlastingly Yea are there not some Pilats that aske what is truth that even question Justification it selfe because some raise so various so dubious Questions about it and whilst these contend so much about the Cement they call into question the very Foundation and say the Builders shall agree before we build with them Yea and a receiving of him upon his owne termes Lastly I say a receiving of Christ upon his own terms Perhaps some guests would come to the Marriage when their Oxen are proved and their Farms managed c. and if they might first go and bury their Father Mat. 8.21 And thus would we be indenting with and thrusting our own terms upon the Lord Chrst but if we marry him we must marry on his own terms with him and what those are we shall have occasion to speak in the Hinderances and therefore thither we refer thee for the present Now therefore that soule that thus Assents and Consents unto Jesus Christ both in Vnderstanding and Will both in the knowledge and love of the truth the soul that thus Conceives and Receives of such a soule may we say in the language of Rev. 19.7 The marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife hath made her self ready This is the soule that may and ought to lean the soule that may and must apply How to improve this interest this soule hath an interest And now let me call for the improvement This is the soule that should be much in meditating 2. By often meditating of this strength rest with Christ what strength and rest her Head and Husband hath received or her Psa 45.1 My heart is enditing a good matter what was that Why Things appertaining to the King and what are those a Throne and a Scepter vers 6. that is Rest and Strength and for whom Why For the Queen at his right hand vers 9. Now sirs doe we believe this that our soules are marryed to the King of glory Oh then O then why is it that we have such base and sordid familiarity and fellowship with this World surely the reason why there is so much Earth in our lives nay may I say so much Hell in our lives is because there is so little heaven in our thoughts Phil. 3.20 whereas our Conversation should be in Heaven whence we look for a Saviour 2ly 2. By often speaking of it to others This is the soule that should be much in relating what a gainer she hath beene by making Christ her beloved What Zeresh what Wife amongst you could hold your peace if your Husband should be promoted to be second man in the Land Let thy soul make her boast in the Lord To Christ himself and speak thou the things that thou hast meditated concerning the King Psal 45.1 Yea speak much of it unto Jesus Christ and say I am thy Spouse O Lord I am thy Spouse and thou hast received gifts for me therefore give strength give refreshings to me the language of Psal 68.18 speaking to Christ in the second person will warrant such pleas at the Throne of grace 3ly 3ly By enlarging affections towards Christ hereupon This is the soule that should improve her interest in Christ by enlarging her affections towards Christ Hast thou an interest in Christ for thy stay and strength say as David Psal 18.1 I will loue thee O Lord O my strength And indeed the stronger the love is the stronger the leaning will be Lastly 4ly By living the life of faith This is the soul that whose life should be made up of faith and of obedience Of Faith For saith David My heart is fixed O God my heart is fixed and upon what is is fixed Why trusting in the Lord Psal 112.7 And obedience in the sence hereof Of Obedience Be the work never so crosse to flesh and blood never so great and difficult though fighting with Beasts though wrestling with Devils because she is strong in her Lord and in the power of his might Ephes 6.10 12. Never so tedious and tyresome though reaping in his Harvest even all the heat and under the burthen of the day because say the Apostles such a soule shall have rest with us yea even with Christ for when his Spouse hath wrought with him all the day of her life she shall lie down with him in the night of her death and rest from all her labours because she is interested in the Lord for so saith the Spirit Reu. 14.13 Thus the Church of Philadelphia when she had but a little strength improves it unto faith and obedience she kept Christs word there 's obedience she denyed not his name there 's faith therefore Christ will keep her from the hour of temptation and give her Victory over Satan and his Synagogue Rev. 3.8 9 10. And thus have I done with the Object viz. Christ prepared and the spring of the Act viz. An Interest or Christ appropriated I come to 3d. Consid What this leaning act in the notion of it doth import More remotely The third thing propounded in
though thou hast been an Underling in Aegypt an Inhabitant of the Wildernesse who hast wrought among the Bricks and lyen among the Pots and gone among the Thornes and trod upon Serpents Art thou in Christ thou and now going homeward to the heavenly Canaan the Rest of Gods people to the Jerusalem that is ABOVE and is TREE Above Aegypt its Brick-kiln and Fleshpots Earth and all its allurements and all their embitterments Above Pharoah and his Hosts Satan and his Instruments above he Wilderness windings and woundings of sinne And therefore thou shalt be FREE from feares from falls from sinne from sorrowes from the Death of the Body and from the Body of Death and from all the evill that is in the World and from the world of Evill that is in the heart The Gulfe shall be fixed and thou shalt be free'd and though these would passe over to thee they shall not be able The Aegyptians that followed thee thou shalt see them no more for ever They followed thee but shall never finde thee There 's a Jordan betwixt thee and them which though it were dryed up before thee yet shall not be so for them to passe after thee Thine old Aegypt is on the other side of the Sea and thine old Wildernesse on the other side of the Flood The Waters shall returne and thine Enemies be cut off Where the Serpent found thee thou shalt leave Him even in the Wildernesse and where thou leavest the Serpent thou shalt leave the poyson and the sting even Satan and Sinne and Death together The first is a Murtherer the next is a Lyer the last is a Dogge that will grumble and snarle at thee but cannot hurt thee and without are Murtherers and Lyers and Dogs but within are true Israelites Feare not poore Convert that are crucified with Christ though a Prisoner among men and condemned of the World where thy legges are broken thy supports taken away the way that thou art in is life as well as Way and the sooner men breake thy legges the more hast shalt thou make to suppe with Christ in Paradice Yea thou art a stranger and strangely dealt with as in a strange Land Art thou but in Christ thou art going homeward to thine owne Country and to the house of thy friends to the Spirits of thy dear deceased Relations that are now made perfect There is Eunice thy Mother and Lois thy Grandmother if thou be a Timothy Yea Jesus himselfe will doe the Right of a Kinsman unto and will owne thee in the Gates of Heaven and before the Elders of thy people Then shalt thou that wast afraid to glean after the Reapers possesse the whole joyes of the Harvest and thou that wast afraid to uncover his feet shalt lye then in his bosome and thou shalt be ever with the Lord. And now who is there among you that are in Christ as the way to this Rest and have Christ in you as the hope of his Glory can hear of this home without desire to be dissolved and to depart if the Lord would let you to this rest in peace And yet this is but a little of that that may be spoken and all that may be spoken is but a little of that that shall be made good unto you when you come at home This is but a short Pisgaprospect of the promised Land which your owne life keepes you out of possession of These are but a few of the clusters of Canaan that are brought you for a taste by a poore Spye lest any of you should have evill thoughts of the good Land and so take up on this side Jordan but who shall reveale unto you what is the fruite of the Vine in your Fathers Kingdom This is but your Provision sent you to support you by the Way but who can Divine without Josephs Cup what a Land is that Goshen whence these Provisions come This is but the Raine that filles your Pooles in the Vale of Baca but who can tell you how it shall bee with you when you appeare before the Lord in Sion This is but Mount Tabor 't is Mount Sion that is your dwelling place and there is the City of the living God there are the innumerable companies of Angells the Church of the first born and Jesus the Mediator And if to thinke of these things seriously while wee are at home in the Body make this home an Heaven sure it will be good for us to be where this Heaven shall be our home This is the Inheritance of the Saints in light the Inheritance incorruptible and that fadeth not away but is reserved in the Heavens for them This is their Habitation made but not with hands and purchased but not with money This is their Rest prepared by Christs travailes their life purchased by his Death the joy of the Lord dearely paid for by that Man of sorrowes their Glory bought by his shame their true Riches gained through his povertie the Kingdome wonne for them by his subjection the blessing obtained through his being made as a Curse for them Oh! thanks be to God for his unspeakable GIFT This is the HOME whereunto Christ is the WAY In and By whom whilest the Ransomed of the Lord come up from the Wildernesse they shall obtaine joy and gladnesse and sorrow and sighing shall flee away Wherefore you see deare Brethren partakers of the heavenly Calling that there is a promise left us of entering into his Rest .. Let us therefore feare lest any of us should seeme to come short Heb. 4.1 The Lord hath this day shewne you the good way and hath said unto you Walke in it and you shall finde Rest to your soules Jer. 5.16 But now if any of you shall answer as they in the next verse We will not walk therein Know of a surety that every soule that goes Christlesse goes both Guidelesse and waylesse and therefore shall never find this Heavenly habitation I cannot say but Christlesse sinners have got as many Guidles as there are SATYRS and as many waies as there are windings in the Wildernesse and they also make hast to their own home for Judas who hanged himself is said to go 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to his own place Act. 1.25 But alas as is the difference of the Waies so of the Homes the waies differ as Darknesse and light and the Homes as Hell and Heaven He that is in Christ goes home to be comforted but the Christlesse to be tormented he to his good things but thou O wretch from thy good things Hee dies to live thou diest to die He descends as to his body that he may ascend thou ascendest as to thy spirit which returns to God that gave it to give sentence on it that thou maist descend and go down into Hell for ever He may complain Abroad the sword bereaveth but thou shalt lament At home there is as death he cannot say so As death I say but worse thou death Where thou shalt
fed out their time in the wilderness of sin at length they have not so much as an hand or a foor or a heart to strive they have not so much as a tongue to beg or a mouth to receive any of those provisions that the Lord hath made for poor souls in Jesus Christ Thus is the wilderness provisionless as for food As for raiment what you have the wilderness the thorns the brambles can rend away and tear from you but all the wilderness cannot help you with one garment So it is with sin if you have any cloathes on any good parts or good nature as they call it the thorns and brambles and temptations of sin can tear them off Oh! how many gallant parts and good natures hath sin rent to pieces but if you be naked you must walk naked for all sin sin can strip you but it cannot clothe you you are all naked whilest you are bewildred Ezek. 16.8 and there is none to help you Therefore till you come out of the wilderness leaning upon Christ and have gotten him up on whom you lean to cast his skirt over you you walk naked and God sees your shame there is no raiment to be had for the soul but onely where Christ keeps his Markets Rev. 3.18 and so for other accommodations all which being thus makes me sadly say Sin is a wilderness that is provisionless O how evil is sin to men and which is saddest of all yet yet are men kinde to sin Sin cannot feed you and yet speak your consciences do not most of you feed sin and cherish and nourish sin sin cannot clothe you O what shall become of those men for their courtesie that cover sin In a word sin cannot make provision for you therefore I beseech you close with the Apostles counsel Rom. 13.14 Make no provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof CHAP. IV. Containeth the two last considerations shewing the dismalness of wilderness-sin because both are wayless waste and husbandless As also the application of the first consideration Exhortation Labor to finde Christ to thy soul a Gardiner to make thee fruitful FIfthly The wilderness as it thus provisionless The wilderness is wayless upon which account there is no encouragement to abide in it so also is it wayless there is no way to get out of it This vain Poets could conclude as the most dismal travelling in the world viz. when they were to go per avia that is wayless places and this indeed the holy Ghost imports as alike dismal to the people and princes of the earth whom God thus punisheth Job 12.24 He causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way And thus it is with sin you are not to think that there are no ways in the wilderness there is as you read the track to the Lions den and Leopards mountain there are ways further into the wilderness but there is no good way no right way no way out again no peaceable and secure way c. Thus there are many too many ways of sin and into sin but there is not one good way amongst them all Sin acquaints sinners with ten thousand ways and yet amongst them all the way of peace have they not known Rom. 3.17 The ways of sin are ways to the Lions den c. Prov. 7.27 Her house is the way to hell and Prov. 5.5 Her feet go down to death her steps take hold on hell Least thou shouldst ponder the path of life her ways are moveable she hath ways great store but not so much as one good living way as one foot-path of life amongst them all therefore as we are to shew afterwards though sin hath as many ways as the wilderness yet may we in the same sense that the holy Ghost calls the wilderness without way conclude sin wayless If you will have it the ways of sin are wayless ways so that as one saith of the way to the Lions den vestigia terrent Omnia te adversum spectantia nulla retorsum So saith the holy Ghost of sin many beasts went to the Lions den but none return back again Prov. 2.19 None that go to her return again neither take they hold of the pathes of life The wilderness is waste and husbandless Lastly 'T is dismal because waste and husbandless and so is the whole region of sin you have the wilderness and waste places as importing one and the same thing Isa 51.3 The Lord will comfort all her waste places and make her wilderness like Eden yea you have waste the character of the wilderness Deut. 32.10 In a desert land and in the waste howling wilderness and surely it must needs be so if that be true which we have heard Scriptures already speak In the wilderness there is no man Job 38.26 no man to plant no man to pluck up no man to plough no man to sowe how should it be but waste In this as in the rest is sin a dismal wilderness there are no provisions there as you have heard for it is desolate there are none like to be for it is waste and desert The plain English of the word desert is what God expounds it Isa 27.10 The habitation forsaken and left like a wilderness Therefore when any soul through sin is a wilderness you may write upon that soul desert the Lord hath forsaken it This is a sad consideration when the soul goes on a long time in sin and then God comes with a judicial act and doth as it were bind it in its sins The soul saith I am willing to be as a wilderness unto God unfruitful to him c. and God saith If thou wilt be a wilderness thou shalt also be a desert I will forsake thee Thus God threatens for sin to set Jerusalem and make her as a wilderness Hosea 2.2 Now this is most sadly true when the soul hath been under the pains and charges of the Lord as you say this piece of ground I have fallowed plough'd sown thus often tryed thus long and it hath brought me forth nothing answerable to mine expectations I have lost say you my time toil and cost about it and now you cast it up So the barren Fig tree Mat. 21.19 as God gave them up Psalm 81.12 Let what will become of it you will never look after it more Now is this ground left DESERT Thus the Lord telleth Isai 5. what husbandry he had bestowed upon Israel his Vineyard v. 7. which yet brought forth none but wilderness-fruit viz. wilde Grapes v. 4. I le tell you saith God v. 5. what I will do with it I will take away the Hedg and it shall be eaten up and break down the Wall and it shall be trodden down I will lay it waste it shall not be pruned nor digged but there shall come up Briars and Thorns and I will command the Clouds that they rain no rain upon it v. 6. And O what a dismal Wilderness must
the soul needs be when the Lord shall thus forsake it There is none to plant prune or protect it no word or spirit to water it it must needs follow that it shall be laid waste and eaten up and trodden down and nothing but Briars and Thorns shall grow there How sad instances hereof have we in some that have lived long under Gospel-means But are not thereby become as a Garden Are they not as a Wilderness Yea of all others the most sharp and thorny and no wonder since they are left of the Lord and desert Is it so then that the Wilderness of Sin is so dismal because fruitless moistureless companionless Vse provisionless wayless waste and husbandless I shall onely improve this sad Consideration unto a double word of Exhortation respect being had unto the several particulars First Are we by sin become barren as a Wilderness Exhortation Labour to finde Christ as a Gard'ner to thy barren soul to make it fruitfull it is onely by grace that we can be made like Eden Isai 51.3 CHRIST is the Gard'ner that can both furnish us with fruit and make us bear fruit for this end he chooseth the grounds he gard'neth John 15.16 Of our selves we neither have fruit for our selves nor bring forth fruit to the Lord but CHRIST gives fruit and makes fruitfull He is the Apple-tree Cant. 2.3 He is the true Vine John 15.1 And yet the Dresser of the Vineyard Luke 13.7 Our Wilderness comes to nothing till it becomes his Husbandry 1 Cor. 3.9 Our souls are not comforted with Apples till we taste of his fruit Cant. 2.3 5. When we were in Paradise we were as a Paradise it was fruitfull to us and we to God Now we are in the Wilderness we are as a Wilderness sin is fruitless to us and we to the Lord. The Tree of Life made Eden a Paradise the River made it a fruitfull Paradise We lost both when we lost our selves There is now no Tree of Life with us to bear us fruit nor Water of Life to make us bear fruit But yet both are with Christ Rev. 22.1 2. And who so do his Commandments have right thereunto v. 14. Christ can set us with slips of Paradise Alas who would as they Isai 17.10 be setting their hearts with strange slips thy people shall be all righteous the branch of my planting the work of mine hand Isai 60.21 Yea and that they may be called Trees of righteousness the planting of the Lord that he may be glorified As the Garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth so the Lord will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before them Isai 61.3 11. Again Christ can replenish us with fruits of Paradise Alas why should we savour those fruits unto death Rom. 7 5. from me saith the Lord is thy fruit found Hos 14.8 Even the twelve manner of fruits of the Tree of Life enough for all the Tribes and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the Nations Rev. 22.1 2. * Compare Ezek. 47 8.12 with Rev 22.1 2. Here 's food and physick life and healing for Jew and for Gentile surely the Wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them Isai 35.1 When those waters Ezek. 47.8 Go down into the Desart But what is the wilderness the better that there are gardens in the world Or we that some strangers have such rare plants or choice fruits in remote countreys Christ hath born and doth bear fruits various and precious old and new such as wisdom righteousness sanctification and redemption with fruits of joy and peace in believing Yea his mediation and the counsel of peace between him and his Father fruit as old as Eternity his intercession and tendring himself a sacrifice for sin as soon as we had faln as a Lamb slain from the begining of the world fruit as old as the world his incarnation birth circumcision temptations sorrows sufferings death burial resurrection and ascension fruits above sixteen hundred years old his word his spirit his daily intercession and gracious dispensations fruits as new as every day These these are the fruits that Christ hath brought forth and unto which they have right that obey his call his command Come with me from Lebanon my Spouse is his call Cant. 4 8. Eat O friends is his command Cant. 5.1 Now be not thou unmannerly modest or disobediently humble take what is given come when thou art called Thou wilt be little the better though Christ be a tree of life to others unless thou come to Christ and feed upon him Oh! therefore be encouraged poor barren soul to leave the desolate wilderness and to hasten thence ere thou perishest therein why should unbelief detain thee any longer from everlasting blessedness for Blessed are they that do his Commandments for these have right to the tree of life and then will Christs fruit be sweet unto thy taste as the Spouse asserteth Cant. 2.3 and then and never till then wilt thou be able to say My Lord and my God my Savior and my redeemer for they onely can truly call the Lord our Righteousness our Advocate our Peace-maker who can look upon all that Christ did as done for themselves in particular Oh! what pleasant fruit is here laid up for the poor soul that was barren and fruitless as a wilderness even until now CHAP. V. Carryeth on the general Exhortation Labor to finde thy soul a fruitful garden unto Christ c. BUt secondly 2. Labor to finde thy soul as a fruitful garden unto Christ labor also to finde thy soul to be a fruitful garden unto Christ for though the other do not depend upon this but this upon the other yet thou wilt hardly finde the other till in some measure thou hast found this O 't is a sweet thing for the soul of a wilderness to be made a fruitful garden unto Christ Marvelously is Christ delighted with it he speaking of the Spouse Cant. 7.7 thy breasts saith he are like clusters of the grapes and row also shall thy breasts be as the clusters of the vine and the smell of thy nose like apples Oh! when believers hearts and breasts are fruitful in holiness unto Christ how marvellously is he delighted yea then Christ delights 〈◊〉 them also ch 6. v 11.12 Let us get up early saith she to the vineyards to see if the vine flourish or the tender grape appear or the pomgranate bud forth there will I give thee my loves O there Christ also manifests much love his loves that 's all his love as 't were to the soul when and where the soul brings forth fruit unto Christ when Daniel was praying then comes out the message O Daniel greatly beloved when the soul acts faith or zeal or any of the fruits of the spirit are budding forth O then Christ takes great delight in it and therefore he observes and watches the souls fruit God could tell if
Gods law yet run none down thine though thou thy self keep it not thou groanest under a hard heart a dry eye a feared conscience and fain thou wouldst it were otherwise with thee poor soul lean thou also upon Christ in the urging of those promises Isa 35.6 The tongue of the dumb shall sing for in the wilderness shall waters break out and streams in the desert waters of sorrow for sin streams of affection towards God if as I said in the other thy soul be hungry it shall be made fruitful if now thy soul be thirsty it shall be made springs of water and the parched ground shall become a pool see the Lords promise Isa 44.3 I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon dry ground that is saith he My spirit which shall make him spring you whose soul God hath turned can witness hereunto by your own experience 3. Promises to the solitary wilderness Thou complainst thou art a solitary wilderness that thou hast none of Christs company no communion with the Spirit no acquaintance with God urge those words of grace Isa 35.1 The wilderness c. the solitary place shall be glad though thou have been solitary Christ will if thou act faith upon these promises come to thee and be with thee and thou shalt be glad so that the voice of joy gladness thanksgiving and melody shall be found in thy soul though thou hadst been a wilderness Isa 51.3 Rev. 3.20 I will come in to him yea Isa 42.16 These things will I do unto them and not forsake them Thou complainst thou art a wilderness 4. Promises to the provisionless wilderness destitute and provisionless and art ready to say Can God spread a table in this wilderness for thy soul Is it possible that even thou shouldst be made fat and flourishing in the ways and things of God that art so lean Yes God can do it yea he hath said he will do it Those that are thus removed out of the wilderness and transplanted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God they shall still bring forth fruit they shall be fat and flourishing Psalm 92. 13 14. Isa 49 9 10. Mic. 7.14 He shall feed the flock which dwells solitary in the wilder as the Gene. Rev. 3.20 He shall sup with me Look what provision Christ hath the same shall be set before such a soul It is remarkable Psalm 105. The people asked and he satisfied them with the bread of heaven He opened the rock c. and the reasons rendred for he remembred his holy promise vers 40 41 42. poor soul art thou hungerbitten be Gods remembrancer of his promises and thou shalt have bread from heaven Thou complainst thy soul is bewildred 5. Promise to the wayless wilderness thy condition is wayless and thou knowest not on which hand to turn thou art in the wilderness where there is no way Hast thou not heard poor soul hast thou not understood the voice of one crying in the wilderness Prepare ye the way of the Lord make streight in the desert an high way for our God John Baptist was his prepater Christ was this way Isa 40.3 with Matth. 3.3 and this in pursuance of that promise made to poor souls in the wilderness Isa 35.8 and an high way shall be there c. Thou complainst that thy soul lieth waste and not husbanded like a desert land 6. Promises to the waste wilderness and thou art afraid that the Lord hath deserted thee and thy God forsaken thee know that the Lord hath said The desert shall rejoyce and blossom Isa 35.1 I will make her desert like the garden of the Lord the Lord will comfort all her waste places Isa 51.3 Here 's comfort indeed her judgement her will her affections her conversation all were waste there came up nothing but briars and thorns and nettles c. and thereefore justly was she desert and forsaken but now all her waste places are comforted how 's that Why her very desert is made as the garden of the Lord now is she the Lords vineyard and the Lord will husband her he will keep it and water it every moment Isa 27.3 And thus is Christ given for a covenant to the people to cause to inherit the desolate heritages therefore they shall feed in the ways and their pastures shall be in all high places They shall not hunger not thirst because he that hath mercy on them shall lead them and by the springs of water shall he guide them and he will make all his mountains a way and his high-ways shall be exalted Isa 49.8 9 10 11. Could you wish that God should speak more encouragingly to you Behold you have a strength to lean upon that can that will that stands engaged to make you of a desolate heritage such as you desire to be before the Lord. CHAP. VII Containeth the Explication of the destructiveness of the progress in wilderness-sin because of famine thorns serpents wilde beasts c. 2. Progress in the wilderness destructive YOu have heard now of the dismalness of the wilderness and so of sin We come now to speak of the destructiveness of both Therefore Secondly The way of the wilderness is destructive so is the way of sin The wilderness through which Israel journyed toward Canaan is not a more lively representation of sin in any thing then in this Multitudes of people came into the wilderness multitudes came out of Egypt yet exceeding few of them came out of the wilderness but were destroyed there multitudes of poor creatures come into the world into sin yea multitudes come out of Egypt that 's gross darkness that heaâ— of Canaan and come as many Israelites almost in sight of it almost in sight of heaven that yet perish through the destructiveness of sin The Israelites complained much of the destructiveness of the wilderness then and I presume they complain more of the destructiveness of sin now Numb 20.4 they cry to Moseâ— Why have ye brought the congregatin of the Lord into this wilderness to die there Oh! Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness Numb 21.5 More sadly wilt thou complain of thy parents thy sinful companions c. Oh! why did you lead me why did you bring me into sin to die in sin you have much people perishing there together Numb 21.6 you have them dying by Fourteen thousands and Seven hundreds at once Numb 16.49 what more you have them complaining and saying Behold we die we perish we all perish Numb 17.12 were sinners consciences awakened by multitudeâ— you would have them much more crying out by multitudes we die we perish we all perish they would all agree in this language if we could hear them all crying out in hell The ways of the wilderness are destructive and are the bewildring ways of sin not so Rom. 3. They are all under sin verse 7. gone out
to his Minister or to his Conscience that should be his Guide goe you out of the way and turne aside You need not take paines to tempt the tempter hee can tempt you fast enough without being tempted by you Secondly If Satan take such paines to bewilders us 2. Exhortation to become laborious unto God in the keeping of our way let those that hear me this day become a laborious people to the Lord. I remember what the Poet saith Ut jugulent homines surgunt de nocte latrones Ut â—eipsum serves non expergisceris Shall theeves take paines to kill men and not men to keep themselves shall Satan take paines to get you into or to keep you in the Wildernesse and not you to get or to keep your way withstand my brethren Encouragemeet herunto in the evill day and when you have done all stand Eph. 6.13 Alas saist thou this I should doe but this I know not how to do I am afraid to stand it out against Satan We shall have Gods armour and strength If I be but in the dark or alone Oh! how shal I doe to stand or keep my way Why to this the Apostle tells you ver 10. be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might ver 11. Put on the whole armour of God that you may be able to stand The Lord Christ hath taken as much pains to secure thee in thy way as Satan can to turne thee aside If thou with a whip be afraid to adventure to turne an armed man out of the way yet when a stronger then he shall come and not onely arme thee but second thee not only give thee whole armor but his whole strength is laid out for thee of whom shouldst thou now be a friend Take faith for a shield and hope for an helmet and the word for a sword and Christ for thy strength and what can Satan do unto thee Never were paines taken by Satan against thee but the Lord Christ hath taken as great yea greater to secure thee If Satan creep Christ was humbled If Satan rise up upon his feet Christ also is risen If Satan walk to and fro up and down in the Earth You know Christ hath done as much and his eyes doe as much continually If Satan run and range to devour surely Christ will make hast to deliver Again If Satan turn Lawyer at the Bar to turne thy faith or prayer or title or right to Heaven out of the way and stand at Iosuahs right hand to resist Iosuah Christ the Angell will bee sure to stand at the Devills right hand to resist him and to say the Lord rebuke thee Satan Zech. 2.2 the Lord said the Lord rebuke thee that is I am perswaded the Lord Christ said so to the Lord God the Father If Satan take the paines of a Minister in Pulpit to deceive thee Christ who is annointed a Prophet and preacher of the Gospell of truth will take much more pains to undeceive thee If Satan as a Souldier fight against thee Christ did undertake as thy Protector with his whole strengh and armory as you have heard to secure thee Again If Satan wait either on God or thee that hee might have thee to tempt thee Christ doth wait with more carefulnesse upon both to pray for thee that thy faith faile not So saith himself Luk. 22.32 and thus as Satan watcheth you Christ watcheth Satan If Satan hunt after you to take you in his snare Christ will also pursue and hunt after Satan to take him in his own snare And so Satan shall be reserved in chaines for ever Jude 6. If Satan wrestle with you and you fear lest you should get the fall know Christians that Christ hath already wrestled with him and prevail'd when Satan would have cast him down from the pinnacle of the temple the Lord Christ threw him down into the bottomlesse pit therefore what ever paines Satan takes hee is stil but a Lyon in his grate or a chain'd bear to those that are strong in the strength of Jesus Christ therefore resist him stedfast in the faith CHAP. XIII Contains the third Querie what are the meanes of Soul-bewildrings unfolded in the generall particular false waies opened WEE come in the third and last place to consider Discovery of the Point in the third Querie What the meanes of soul-bewildrings are What are the meanes of the bewildring of soules Surely all the meanes that can be used shall be improved by Satan hereunto He that will take all paines as you have heard of Satan in the last will also use all means that may be conducible to his end I remember Pauls ardent care for the Thessalonians 1 Thes 3.5 for this cause when I could no longer forbear I sent to know your faith lest by any means as the originall well bears the tempter may have tempted you Satan will make use of any means whatsoever unto the bewildring of poor souls Friends you must therefore pardon us if we exhort seriously and advise sollicitously and reprove cuttingly and sharply if wee cannot forbear doing so you must bear with us for wee are necessitated as Paul here hereunto because by any means the tempter will be tempting you Satan will make use of means of any means of all means now all the means observe that he useth as a tempter he useth to bewilder soules Compare that scripture with the fore quoted 1 Tim. 2.14 You know Satan made use of any means lying means flattering meanes deluding means to tempt Eve and this text expresseth it as you heard thus she being led out of the way went out of the way So that Satans tempting meanes are all of them bewildring means Four kinds Now there are four kinds of means of our Ordinary bewildrings I shall for your Memory-sakes observe that Method 1. Many false waies 1. Saith one such a time I was travelling and I came to a turning where there were many waies and sâ— I lost my right way 2. Man false guides 2. Saith another such a time I was travailing and I met with such or such a man and hee told mee such and such a way was my way and seduced me 3. Darkness 3. Saith a third such a time I was travailing and night came so fast on and it grew so darke that by reason of the darknesse I lost my way 4. False light ignes faâ—ui 4. And saith a fourth I was travailing such a night and kept my way till at length a light flasht and danced about me and by following the light I lost my way So that multitude of waies falshood of Guides You have Satans temptation therefore called the coming on of darknesse and meeting with fires or false lights are the usuall means of our bewildrings And surely something there is in it that Satans tempting-means or means of temptation are set forth sometimes by the one sometimes by the other For instance
facile or easily attained way The way that the multitude of men walkes in our Saviour calles it the broad way Mat. 7.13 It is hard indeed to break through an hedge or to go over a ditch that no body hath done or gone over before But when a multitude goes any way they render the way beaten broad and facile It is easie to finde the wayes of sinne for they are all beaten before unto us and for our turne Broad is the way that leades to destruction therefore many find it many find it therefore broad is the way 2ly Fashionable 2ly The way of the Multitude is a fashionable way And 't is strange to thinke how much our hearts affect the fashions though foolish ones so Eph 2.2 In times past you walked according to the fashion or course of this world therefore saith the Apostle 1 Pet. 1.14 Not fashioning your selves according to former lusts The waies of former lusts were fashionable wayes because they were the Course of the World that is of the Multitude 3ly Secure 3ly The way of the Multitude is therefore a secure way A man will be a little shie of breaking through a field or pasture c. that he hath no footing or beaten way before him in but when others have adventured before him specially when many have he takes a great deale of boldnesse to follow though still it bee a trespassâ— 'T is said Isai 41.7 That they helped every man his neighbour and the Carpenter encouraged the Goldsmith c. That is being many of them in the ways of sinne they confirmed one another as you know its usuall with Travellers in Winter-time when many together commit a trespasse So the Alehouse-keeper encourageth the drunkard and the Maulster the Alehouse-keeper and so in the other wayes of sinne and thus the guidance of the Multitude renders the waies of sinne secure thinkes the sinner I shall not be arrestâ—d for going in a way that so many have gone before but yet though facile fashionable and secure thou shalt not saith God follow a multitude to doe evill Second sort of Guidance that Satan makes use of to bewilder soules 2. The false guidance of erring great ones are the bewildred great ones of the World Oh! what influence as to leading hath a Landlord upon his Tenants or a Lord in his Towne they would go a better way but that such a great one goes so bad a way they would have voted a better man to an Office but that some man was Greater that was worse Oh! what a guiding thing hath such a thing as a Kings example been Regis ad exemplum totus componitur orbis Who would not goe the way that he goes without any more inquiry about it 2 King 4.18 The Lord pardon thy Servant if when my Master leanes upon my hand and worships c. and I bow down my self in the house of Rimmon the Lord pardon me in this thing Oh! saist thou I love a faithfull Magistrate with mine heart but why didst thou not chuse one then truly In this thing you must pardon me I had a Master to chuse c. Men thinke it pardonable to follow wicked mens wayes if they be but Great mens wayes Therefore 't is said Isa 3.12 they which lead thee cause thee to erre and destroy the way of thy paths Leaders then had need take heed what waies they set and inferiors had need as much to take heed what leaders they follow 'T is said that Aholah played the harlot with the Assyrians which were cloathed with blew Captains and Rulers c. Ezek. 23.5 6. And that Aholibah was worse then she because she doted on the Assyrians Captains and Rulers c. ver 12. Now what 's the note that God makes hereupon ver 13. Then I saw that they were defiled and that they both took one way Thus are men ready to dote upon great People and doting upon them to take one way with them 3. The false Guidance of some ministers so called Third sort of Guidances that Satan makes use of to bewilder soules is Ministers so called And herein I dare not be silent surely if Ministers that are pretious guides indeed whilst they keep the way once take the paths of the Wildernesse among the many that follow after them many will be bewildred by them Sad is that saying Jer. 23.13 I have seen folly in the Prophets of Samaria and if they be fools that should bee Guides what will become of the people now he tells you they prophesied in Baal and caused my people Israel to erre How 's that Caused them to Erre what their Prophets Yea sad it was yet so it was and this is the best that comes of bad Ministers and yet that word is sadder Mich 3.5 The Prophets make my people to erre I may tremble to think on 't Oh! there 's a kind of necessity of peoples erring when their Prophets therein become their Guides as if God would say or as if the people might have pleaded against them We would not have erred but that you made us erre We would not have been so superstitious but that Ministers prest superstition upon us Wee would not have been so vain and so jovial but that our Minister used to be so himself and to bear us company in doing so c. There are three sorts of soule-bewildring Ministers 1. A Minister that speak somthing that is good And 1. Such a Minister as saith but doth not but walks himself exceeding ill truly his exhorting them uâ—to good is as much as to bid them to do evill I remember an Holy man amongst other expressions of them that I might refer to this Notion compares them to spittle-men or posts set up in an high-way pointing to a great Road in a place of turning Those posts are to point out the way to living travailers but themselves are dead trees and though they guide others yet they stand still themselves till they rot and those spittle-men use by their tongue and finger to guide and point others to the way which they themselves perhaps never went mile in and these Ministers though they be not quite so dumb as the Posts yet are they as lame as the spittle-men and there they stand or sit whilst they die and rot for all they point others another way Now what advantage is here for Satans improvement If two be going to London and one being a stranger be beholding to the guidance of the other it 's vain for him by the pointing of his rod c. to perswade the ignorant person to go one way as long as he sees the Guide to go himself another way Saith he if you be for London as you pretend to bee and this be the way as you pretend it is why doth your self turn another If you say sobriety and godlinesse c. are the way why are you your selves drunkards and prophane may wicked men say unto wicked Ministers Full to
even to despair And how doe bold prophane sinners urge Scripture for themselves and for their sinnes And bold presumers to hinder their soules from being humbled unto conversion and to the justifying of themselves and their courses even unto that presumption I tremble to think and I dare not speake what I have heard in this kind lest I should put a sword into any mad mans hand whereby hee might kill himselfe unlesse I had time enough as to each particular to take it out of his hand againe I have heard Tipling Chambering long Haire painting of the face c. defended and pittifully too by abusing and by wresting holy Scriptures But surely they that sinne by Scripture-shelter will have a miserable Comforter of it in the latter end Now because there 's so much danger of being lost under a mistaken Scripture-guidance I dare not leave the Saints without a word of serious Exhortation that by frequent prayer they would effectually and frequently put in suit that precious Scripture-promise concerning the holy Scripture-guide Joh. 16.13 I will send the Comforter ver 7. and when he who is the spirit of truth shall come he shall guide you into all truth for he shall not speake of himselfe but whatsoever he shall heare that shall he speak And thus much of Satans bewildring souls by false guidances The CHAP. XVII Containes the third sort of bewildring meanes viz. Darknesse with foure generall Considerations concerning soules bewildred therein applyed Third sort of bewildring meanes viz. Darknesse THird sort of meanes of spirituall bewildrings are spirituall darknesses And nothing is more frequent then this in both kinds You 'l say Those that are bewildred are usually bewildred in the night I 'm sure so it is with sinners They that are drunk n are drunken in the night 1 Thes 5.7 And so for other sinnes for a drunken sinner is a notable resemblance of every bewildred sinner see Isai 19.14 They have caused Aegypt to erre as a drunken man staggereth A drunken man cannot keepe the way no more can erring Aegypt a bewildred people or person they stagger out of the way first on one hand then on the other and this is in the night the dark gives advantage hereunto so Ephe. 5.8 You were darknesse sometimes though now you are light in the Lord therefore walke as who should say it 's good walking now If our light be darknesse sure our walk will be a Wildernesse Therefore if Paul turne sinners from the power of Satan unto God it must bee by turning them from darknesse to light Act. 26.18 And if his Gospel be hid in others and they be lost it will be by Satans blinding their eyes lost the light of the glorious Gospell should come unto them 2 Cor. 4.3 4. It s Satans work then to casts mists and fogges and thick darknesse before the eyes of poore Creatures and so to blind their souls Now what darknesse is in Naturalls Or ignorance Note that ignorance is in Spiritualls And as Darknesse bewilders Travelling persons outwardly so Ignorance bewilders travelling soules Rom. 3.12 They are all gone out of the way Why What 's the reason verse 11. There 's none that understandeth verse 17. The way of peace they have not known so Heb. 3.10 They do alwaie erre in their heart and what 's the reason still and they have not known my waies Object But will you say if ignorance be the cause of soul-bewildrings whence is it that so many that have much knowledge and light enough to come out of the Wildernesse keep there still Solu I deny that There is not any soule that 's in the wildernesse that hath enough of true light to helpe it thence Verily all the notionall knowledge Note and brain-light in the world is little better then darknesse if not darknesse according to that intimation of Christs Mat. 6.23 If the light that is in thee be darknesse how great will that darknesse be and I would have you know that all the knowledge the head can hold is not enough to disentangle the bewildrings of the heart The Pharisees could say we see they had sooner got out of the Wildernesse if they had been blind as Christ tells them Joh. 9.41 You have a strange passage Mar. 12. by the way the Pharisees and Sadduces too were such knowing men hat they had exquisite Observations upon the Scriptures they could quote them and gloss upon them and start Queries about them and notably discourse out of them as here verse 19. Master Moses wrought thus c. Yet Christ tells these very Sadduces verse 24. You do erre not knowing the Scriptures And here 's enough in this one place to prove all that I have spoken upon this account together You that is you Sadduces that can quote Scripture and argue out of it do erre that is are out of the way not knowing the Scriptures Here ignorance or spirituall darknesse is made the very cause of spiritual be wildrings On this Theme as mainly necessary I shall somewhat insist and propound some particulars and therefore I shall prepare my way with these more generall Observations Four generall Considerations concerning souls bewildred in the daâ—k of ignorance in number foure Those that are bewildred in the dark they are they know not where they go they know not whither they stumble they know not at what they fall they know not when and thus it is with bewildred and benighted Sinners 1. They are they know not where 1. They are they know not where If you should meet a bewildred Traveller on an Heath or in a Forrest in a dark night and should aske him where he is hee might say I am here here yea but where is that truly must he say I know not well where I am Thus God demands 1 Cor. 1.20 Where is the Wise where is the Scribe where is the Disputer of this world Where Why the wise man is at the Councill you will say the Disputer is in the Schoole the Scribe is at the Deske Ah poore wretches themselves know not where they are else why doth God aske the Question so likewise Isai 19.12 saith God Where are the wise men c. I will warrant you they thought they could give a very full answer a very faire and prudent account hereof where they were what they were doing and how to come off they thought no doubt they knew well enough but God knows they know not Let me aske you therefore as God did Adam Gen. 3.9 Adam where art thou Why it may be thou wilt say Lo here I am Yea but friend where is thy soule hap'ly thou maist say my Thoughts they are after my work my businessâ— mine Affections they are after the world my Heart that is in my Coffers my Compting-house my Ware-house my Work-house on my Markets in my Barne on mine Harvest my marrow and strength are yet in my bones and my breath is in my nostrills and so I
are thy thoughts that perswade thee that it will please God better to damn thee then to save thee 2ly The exerting of pardoning grace 2ly Gods glory is most in mercy sets the brightest crown of glory upon the head of the Almighty Exo. 33.18 Moses begs of God I beseech thee shew me thy glory and how doth God answer his prayer herein why ver 19. I will make all my goodness pass before thee and I will proclaime 〈◊〉 name of the Lord before thee and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will shew mercy to whom I will shew mercy this is Gods name and his glory If this then be the darkness wherein thou hast walked that God will have most glory in damning thee take hold upon this name of the Lord and stay thy selfe upon him as thy God CHAP. XXI Containes the third kind of bewildring darkness viz. relating to the way of reconciliation betwixt us and God in three particulars under the last whereof this question is resolved what humiliation is sufficient to reconciliation THe third last sort of bewildring darknesses attending conversion it self 3d. Kind Such as respect the way of reconciliation betwixt us and God are such as relate unto the way of Reconciliation between us God And verily though we have a desire now to make peace with God yet how shal we come at him if we be in the dark as to the way of peace The way of peace they have not known may be truly said for some season of some souls that would have peace I remember when God had hammered them by so many judgements Amos 4.12 At length he comes to a nameless judgement so sad that it seems it could not be expressed Therefore thus will I doe unto thee Thus how 's that truly I can't tell how and what of that Oh! therefore prepare to meet thy God O Israel to meet him therefore you must goe onely in that way towards him wherein he is a comming towards you if you go in any other way you I will misse of him not meet him and if you be in the dark though you desire to meet him yet may you misse of the way and so be bewildred when you would be reconciled therefore Mat. 5.25 Agree with thine Adversary quickly whilst thou art in the way with him If thou wouldest agree with God thou must be in the same way with God if thou wouldest meet him thou must meet him in his own way Now there is but onely one way of Reconciliation wherein God will draw neere unto a loâ—t soule being justified by faith through Jesus Christ we shall have peace with God Rom. 5.1 And therefore the same is our onely way of Pacification with God so Heb. 10.20 This is the new and living way Now all other are but dead waies wherein a lost soule seeks life Now what heart hath light enough at the first to see and to hit upon this new and living way I can challenge your darknesse in this respect upon this three-fold accompt 1. You think that undubtedly you must give something to God 1 Darknes we thinke we must give something to God towards your reconciliation with God Now this is very darkness for it is Gods giving of Christ unto you not your giving of any thing unto God that is the bottom of your pacification But very ready are we to thinke and Satan to perswade us that there is no comming unto God but by bringing something of our owne unto God Hence that enquiry Mic. 6.6 Wherewithall shall I come before the Lord and bow my self before him shall I come before him with sacrifices c. Oh! that 's the dark counsell of our vain hearts Bribe Justice and then you shall have its favour I speak not to streighten your hearts or hands from lending to the Lord but to direct your souls where to bottom your peace Doth your goodness extend unto him or will he take a reward to clear him that is guilty God forbid that any heart should think so and yet if many an heart were asked Wherefore are all these alms that thou givest Conscience must answer as Jacob in his course Complement to Esau Gen. 33.8 Esau said What meanest thou by this drove and Jacob said These are to find grace in the sight of my Lord he had need call him my Lord when he intimates him to be of so base and ignoble a a spirit that a Bribe should purchase pardon for a Brother Just so deal souls with God the alms they give their bounty to Saints to Ministers c. are to find favour in the sight of God But if Esau can refuse his present telling him he hath enough surely God may much more despise thy gifts be they what they will be because all things are his Psa 50.9 10. I will take no Bullock out of thine house nor Hee-goat out of thy fold for the beasts of all the Forrest c. are mine Set a side the Lord Jesus Christ and peace in believing and I dare say it would begger all the Saints and Angels in Heaven and Earth to make one Peace-offering to the Lord for any lost soul 2ly You think 2d Darkness We think we must do something for God that undoubtedly you must at least dâ—â— something as a bottom and ground to your reconciliation with God Now this is also a soul-bewildring darknesse for if it be onely what Christ hath given then it is onely what Christ hath done that can be a propitiation to God for us What will God ever be friends with me that give him nothing nor do any thing for him how shall I think that Verily flesh and blood wil hardly think it therefore as the former question was Wherewithall shall I come before God what shall I give and the answer from God comes without money and without price so the next question that dark nature prompts is this Good Master what good thing shall I do that I may inherite eternal life Mat. 9 16. What good thing shall I do Oh! we think it must be some good thing of our own doing that must be at the bottom of our salvation What good thing saith Christ keep the Law and fulfill the Gospel that perfectly for that 's the sum of Christs answer to him Now friend if thy goodness extend so far then go on to meet the Lord in thine own way But now thou that livest upon such terms if ever God take thee as Solomon took Shimei when he had gone beyond his limits from Jerusalem to Gath after his run-away servants 1 Kin. 2.39 40. The Lord will deal with thee if ever he find thine heart running after the world or after sin as he dealt with Shimei ver 44. God will call thee to a severe account upon every old score and return all thy wickedness upon thine own head judging thee by thine own mouth Think of the Pharisee who comes and tells God what he
is good seeking and great hopes of finding your lost soules Possibility of being found The lost Sheepe lost piece of Silver lost Prodigall were all three of them found Luk. 15.6 Rejoyce with me for I have found my Sheepe which was lost vers 9. Rejoyce with me for I have found the Piece which I had lost vers 24. This my Sonne was lost and is found Therefore though thy soule be lost yet seeke it for there is comfortable hope that it may be found Querie But maist thou say How shall I do to seek my lost bewildred soul Answ I answer The way to seeke your soules is to seek God find him and you find them for he is the God of your soules I would at once have you to charge your soules to seek God and to begge of God to seek your soules Take you paines as they did in seeking the Asses and as they when they had done all went to the man of God for them 1 Sam. 9.6 So when you have taken or shall take all paines and use all endeavours to find your lost souls go out of your selves and beyond your own labours go to God that he may find you thus David goes to God and saith Psal 119.176 I have gone astray like a lost sheepe seeke thy servant Art thou gone astray is thy soule lost Oh! seeke to God to seeke you Gods way to seek thee is by making thee to seeke him In this God works by making thee to worke with him It is safer thus to joyne the Notions then to make too nice distinctions in Theory 't is I thinke undoing to make distinctions in practice If thou say thou wilt stay till God seeke thee thou maist never be sought and if on the other hand thou trust to thy owne seeking thou maist nere be found therefore as it were quicken and stir up God to quicken thee Be exhorted hereto 1. For your own sakes Yours the loss say unto God Lord seeke my poore lost soule Let me beg this of you 1. For your owne sakes Oh! friends 't is you 't is only you that can properly be said to have the losse if thy soule be lost surely it is thy losse If thou lose thy owne soule mark those appropriating terms Mat. 16.26 Alas thy damnation will not hinder either Gods being glorified or thy faithful Ministers being saved but thine own salvation thine owne glory this is lost lost eternally Secondly For Gods sake for Heavens sake 2. For God and heavens sake Heaven loseth Although not properly yet in some sort 't is losse to Heaven when a soule is lost for 't is joy in heaven over any soule that is found The Angels rejoyce yea God saith Let us be merry for this my Sonne was lost and is found Luk. 15.32 3. For the Gospel sake for your Ministers sake 3. For the Gospels sake That loseth You pretend to love the Gospel and to love your Ministers Oh! then look after your lost soules Friends if your soules be lost 't wil be in a sort the Gospel's loss 2. Cor. 4.3 If our Gospel be hid 't is hid in those that are lost thy losse is an Eclipse a kind of hiding to the Gospel Yea if you be lost 't wil be in a sort our losse also 1 Cor. 3.9 Though I rather take this Text to be meant of the building up of Doctrines then of Hearers yet give me leave to allude unto it You have Ministers called labourers with God the labour is building Christ is the foundation v. 10. The materials are Gold Silver precious Stones these you know will abide the burning Hay Wood Stubble these are combustible v. 12. Some are Saints and precious Soules some Hypocrites some wretched Creatures Now every mans worke shall be tryed by fire of what sort it is v. 13. Whether you be rotâ—â—n or sound that day will manifest Now if any mans worke abide he shall receive a reward if your soules be saved your Preacher shall be a gainer v. 14. But if any mans worke be burnt he shall suffer loss yet himselfe shall be saved yet so as by fire v. 15. When God comes to look over a Gospel Minister and finds him faithful though soules have perished under his Ministry himselfe shall be saved yet though he be saved if they perish he shall suffer losse for those that convert many to righteousness shall shine as the Starres of Heaven Dan. 12.3 Think of this you Formalists in whose profession there is no more substance then hay or stubble no more durableness then in wood before the devouring flame Encouragement hereunto Christs office is to find lost soules Now for the encouragement as to a search after your lost soules I shal say no more but onely tell you where you may heare of them If you lose a Book or any thing else in the Congregation you go to the Clark to enquire for it because it is his office and businesse to take up that which you have lost and to save it for you Oh! goe to Jesus Christ 't is his very office Luk. 19.10 To seeke and to save that which is lost If you would heare of your long-lost soules go to Christ he can tell you tydings of them Indeed it cost Christ dear before he could take them up but you may have them againe at an happy rate He that understands the value of his soule or believes what I have said this day wil not thinke it an ill bargain to redeem his soule upon any terms Come to Christ and welcome you have lost your selves in selling your selves for naught as it is said Isai 52.3 But you may be redeemed without money and without price Use 2 Secondly From hence a word to those that were lost but are found To those that were lost but are found Art thou found Why welcome friend I am glad to see thee onely labour henceforward to follow close after that God that hath found thee The spouse was once bewildred but now she is found therefore she will lean upon her beloved That you may so do Rules 1. Be shie of the wayes of sinne 1. Be exceeding shie of thâ— wayes of sinne and of your owne heaâ—ts Oh! how cautelous is that Caution Prov. 4.14 15. Enter not into the path of the wicked and go not in the way of evill men Doe not goe do not so much as enter And then in the next verse Avoid it passe not by it turne from it and pass away He cautioneth as if he could never enough caution us surely there is great danger in having the least to do with those wayes 2. Be very observant of the true light Be very observant of the true light Psal 119.104 Through thy Precepts I get understanding therefore I hate every false way 3. Be watchful over thine Affections the feet of thy soul Thirdly Be very watchful over thine Affections the feet of thy soule Psal 119.101 I have refrained my feet
fast an acceptable day to the Lord Oh! how might this qualme our heart from leaning upon such humblings if we consider how different an estimate and value the Lord and we set upon them Nay my friends there may be something done in good earnest by way of Reformation that is not yet to be leaned unto Some reformado Drunkard may say perhaps As long as I haunted Ale-houses I could have no peace of conscience but now I have left those courses grown civil I can walk very quietly calmly this is well that thou hast left off the practice of sins that did once ensnare thee but if thou stay here or lean hereon all is nothing Mat. 12 44. The house was empty and swept and garnished that is it was voyded of sinne reformed and now had some garnish of civility formality or the like but because it was emptied of the former uncleane spirit and not filled with Christs spirit the first in time returns v. 45. and takes with him seven spirits worse then himselfe and they enter and dwell there and the last estate is worse then the beginning verily this may well be called a repentance to be repented of The poor man thinks if his bad tenant such a corruption were out it 's no matter for getting Christ in But godly sorrow worketh repentance never to be repented of 2 Cor. 7.10 There are it should seem repentances to be repented of and undoubtedly of this sort is every repentance that you rest in or lean upon 8ly Leaning upon the promises without Christ Eighthly If you lean upon the promises of God themselves and not upon Jesus Christ in them this will also come to nothing Whence is it that you shall have so many soules bringing a promise to the throne of grace and carrying so little away from it I feare it is frequently from hence because they leane unto promises without leaning to Christ in the promise Thus you shall find the Jews in scripture to leane much upon the promises of the Messiah who when Christ came that was the Messiah him they rejected altogether Thus many would willingly owne the promises that will not leane upon Jesus Christ But what saith the Spirit 2 Cor. 1.20 All the promises of God in Christ are yea and in him Amen That is the assurance stability certainty of them all standeth in leaning upon Jesus Christ He is the Yea and Amen of them Now what a vanity would it be for a man to put a Paper in sute which hath neither yea nor amen to it neither hand nor seal to it Sir might he say to any man These are your Articles you know you wrote them wrote them saith the other but who subscribed them who sealed them the Hand and Seal are the confirmation of the Bond which without them let it relate never so much is worth nothing in Law no wise man will leane to it so vaine a thing is it to put any one promise into sute at the throne of Grace because all the promises in Christ are Yea and in him onely Amen without leaning upon Christ in them for indeed they say nothing what ever they say there is neither Yea nor Amen in them there 's nothing affirmed to thee in them nothing confirmed neither hand nor seal to these Bonds if thou have not Christ therefore thou hast no part nor portion in this matter Ninthly Yea 9ly Leaning upon God himselfe out of Christ though you should leane upon the God of promise without leaning upon Christ in whom he hath promised the Lord would reprove thee for making choice of himselfe as an absolute God for thy Leaning-stock You have some severely threatned by the Lord that are yet said willingly to lean upon the Lord Mich. 3.11 God was in Christ reconciling sinners to himselfe and seeking lost soules 2 Cor. 5.19 Woe to them that come to him not bringing this his Benjamin along with them Lean not immediately I mean without the Sonne but by the Sonne upon the Father for as the Lord hath limited himselfe by his owne purpose and word of truth wherein it is impossible for God to lye God can do nothing for a poor lost soule without Jesus Christ therefore to speake with all reverence and holy sobriety to come to God without Christ for spiritual helpe or support is to come to one that cannot helpe you because he hath resolved and said he will not and it is uncomfortable leaning where we are forbidden to expect reliefe My Brethren it may be in great concernments as needful for us to have interests in a great persons Secretary or Officer of his Seal or his Lord privy Signet or Master of Requests as to have favour from the Prince himselfe because his Law and way whereunto he in forraigne freedome hath bound himself is to dispatch such things by such officers and by his Seal which is in his Officers keeping and not to dispatch them otherwise so that if one be supposed to come to such a King and sue for the accomplishment of such a business and do not bring the Officer with him by which the King wil onely transact it the King would put him off and say My Lord Keeper c. is not in the way and nothing can be done without him Now Jesus Christ is the Lord Commissioner and sole Commissioner of the broad seale of Heaven the onely Master of Requests unto the great King of Glory come then with as much confidence of Gods favour as those in Micah even as it is possible for any Christlesse soule to have the Lord will utterly reject thy sute and turn thee backe until thou look out the Lord Jesus Christ to come with thee unto the Father and thus much Christ himselfe hath told thee No man comes to the Father but by me Joh. 14.6 But why speake I thus mildly herein Sirs should you bring your Christlesse soules and cast them upon the Throne of an absolute God for a resting place having not made the Kings Chamberlain first your friend as they did in the Acts 12.20 without making the Angel of his presence the Lord Christ your friend behold Divine justice would immediately spie you out and as soon cry out Behold a REBELL in the Court and so apprehend you and immediately deliver you to the Tormenter for ever thus it was with them Mich. 3.11 They will by all means lean upon the Lord and yet this God vers 12. expresly declares that he will plough them up and make them to become heapes Now friends if God himselfe will not be leaned upon out of Christ what then shall poor Christlesse Creatures dare to leane unto And thus much for removal of other leaning stocks Secondly 2ly Positive proofe by propounding Christ as the only leaning stock I come now to assert and propose Jesus Christ as the onely stay and stable support for lost soules to leane upon And that upon this cleare and familiar evidence If you leane
to reckon them up and what they did by faith this he inserts in the close of all Heb. 11.34 A double instance 1. Wouldst thou have thine understanding strenthened thou must become a fool That out of weakenesse they were made strong I shall illustrate this in a double instance 1. Wouldst thou have strength into thine understanding by leaning unto Christ for strength truly thou must goe in all manner of sense of the weaknesse of thine understanding to the Throne of Grace and complaine of thy blind heart in that language I am of yesterday and know nothing or in Asaphs Psal 73. I am brutish and ignorant and as a beast before thee If thou goe knowing to the Lord Jesus thou shalt come away ignorant if thou goe blind thou shalt come away seeing if thou be a fool when thou goest to him thou shalt come savingly wise from him if thou goest in the thoughts of selfe-wisdome thou shalt be a fool at thy comming away 1 Cor. 3.18 Let no man deceive himselfe if any man amongst you thinketh himselfe to be wise let him become a fool that he may be wise 2ly Wouldst have thy whole soule strong thou must be sensible of thy weakness in will affections c. 2. If thou wouldst by leaning upon Christ derive any strength into thy will or affections thou must goe in the sense of thine infirmity viz. That thou art not sufficient of thy selfe so much as to thinke any thing that is good that thou hast from thy selfe neither to will nor to doe thou must come complaining as Paul Rom. 7. When I would do good evill is present with me 21. Nay that thy will to good is but weake and thy will to corruption strong so that the law of thy members doth not onely warre but take thee captive to the Law of sinne as he complaines ver 23. and cryes out upon it Oh wretched man that I am ver 24. Then comes he out of this Wilderness leaning on the beloved I thanke God through Jesus Christ ver 25. A two-fold word of improvement Before I goe farther I shall desire to fasten this more upon your hearts by a word of improvement to you that hear me this day And 1. To those that are truly weak comfort 1. To those of you that are truly weake Is it so that none can leane upon Christ unlesse they be as thou art here then is abundant matter of rejoycing and reviving to thee where thou thoughtest there was nothing but sadnesse even sorrowing unto death There have sundry soules come sad unto me upon this account and this was the great burthen of their complaint Oh! I am so weake in prayer of such a weake judgement that I cannot discern or so weake a memory that I cannot retaine the things of God and surely it can never be well with me and truly mine heart hath often leapt within me for joy to behold this their sweet sorrow these poor ones do not find others complaining so much of weaknesse and therefore they thinke that every one is indeed stronger then they Now to such let me speake even to those amongst you whose strong holds the weapons of our warfare have been pulling down and whose strength the Lord hath weakened that if there be any cause of rejoycing unto any soule on this side Jesus Christ it is barely and onely our being made weake by Christ or our thorough sense and feeling of our weaknesse out of him and herein verily we may boast so farre as our weaknesse gives an objective advantage unto the glorifying of the strength of the Lord so saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 12.9 10. I will glory in mine infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me yea I take pleasure in my weaknesses for when I am weake then am I strong Methinks I am sent this day with that message unto such soules that I meet with Isai 35.3 Strengthen you the weake hands and confirme the feeble knees Say unto them be strong ver 4. What ever infirmity you can complaine of I think the Lord hath there on purpose answered you The blind shall see the deafe shall heare the lame shall runne the dumb shall sing verses 5.6 Yea the wayfaring men though fools shall not erre in that high-way that way of holiness and which is there to be remarked all these promises are made to wilderness-soules ver 1.2 6 c. As if so be the Lord should on purpose say whatever weaknesse you can complaine of it shall not be able to hinder your everlasting joy spoken of v. 10. Secondly Let me speak to those of you that are strong 2ly To those that are selfe-strong confusion of face but not by leaning on Jesus Christ Let me tell you that had you no more to answer for or to reckon with God for then your very strength there is enough for the Lord to confound you yea and he will confound you That God that is resolved to stain the pride is resolved to pull down the strength of all flesh Woe be to thee whose strength is in thine hearing or praying or Alms as Samsons was in his haire The Lord will be sure to cut off thy proud locks and then where shall thy strength be found These are the soules that compasse themselves with sparks of their own kindling that warme their hearts at their own fire and say aha aha such as these shall have no hold on the name of the Lord no stay upon the beloved but instead thereof this shall they have of the hand of the Lord they shall lye down in sorrow Isa 50.10 11. CHAP. III. Discovers how soule-weariness fits for Christ Opened and applyed 2. Weary souls as well as weak BUt you wil say are there not some weak ones that rest in their ever complainings of their weaknesse as well as some strong ones that rest in their strength truly I believe there are of whom we may say as Paul of those women that were ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth 2 Tim. 3.7 So there are some that are ever complaining of their weaknesses as to the things of God which are never able because not truly willing to grow stronger or to come up to any strength of grace They feare that Christ will not break the bruised reed they think that he surely wil pitty the weak and such are they and here they rest taking neither due care nor paines to grow any stronger these some have entitled The whining Hypocrites Now therefore The weak and weary of their weaknesse are fit to be leaning souls In the second place It is not onely weaknesse but weariness that disposeth the soul for leaning effectually upon the Lord Jesus The soule that is weake and weary of its weaknesse for indeed as the strength that we spake of was the Pharisees weakness so the weakness we spake of the Hypocrite makes it his strength But now that soule
that is throughly solicitous to be rid of its weakenesse which can onely be by wearinesse is fit to sit down upon this well of living waters for Jesus himselfe also being weary according to the flesh sat down upon the well Joh. 4.6 Till Hagar was wearied as well as weakened in the wildernesse of Beer-shebah the Angel of the Lord never opened her eyes nor discovered unto her the Well of waters Gen. 21. from the 14. to the 19. So until souls be weary of the wildernesse of sin as well as weakned in it by it the Lord wil never reveal unto them those refreshments that are from the presence of the Lord in the hand and dispensation of the Angell of his presence First proved after opened Proofe 1. In that God the fountaine is onely open to the weary the Lord Jesus This I shall first prove and then open I prove it thus 1. The Lord is the fountaine of all spirituall refreshments so saith the Scripture Act. 3.19 The times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord. Now this fountaine which experience shews us to be a fountaine sealed to the rest of the world is a fountaine opened unto weary soules that they may drinke and drink abundantly Jer. 31.25 I have saciated the weary soule that is given them refreshment unto saciety viz. as much as they need 2. 2. In that the Lord Christ the dispenser of refreshments The Lord Christ is the Conduit pipe of this refreshment from God unto the soule or rather thus Christ keepes the lock and key of this fountaine to him is committed the dispensation of these refreshments and upon this account there are these three things that the scriptures minde me of First 1. Hath his instructions peculiarly to respect the weary That the Lord Christ hath particular instructions from the Father that gave him his commission to dispense refreshments peculiarly to such weary soules Read and be ravished with that expression which is plainly the Lord Christs Isai 50.4 I cloath the heavens with blacknesse saith he ver 3. Therefore it must be understood of Christ not the Prophet Now he goes on ver 4. The Lord hath given me the tongue of the learned that I should know how to speake a word in season to weary souls to him that is weary he wakeneth morning by morning he wakeneth mine Eare to hear as the learned As who should say the Lord doth renew my instructions every morning lest the weary should want seasonable refreshment any time of the day It followes that he gave his backe to the smiters c. which makes it cleare that it is Christ that speaks of himselfe principally though subordinately it was the Prophets commission as it is ours in the Gospel to speak in season a word to weary soules 2ly Makes invitation to the weary Secondly In pursuance of these instructions Christ directs his precious invitations to the weary I mean his effectual invitations though many be bidden to the supper that never sit down at it and many are called but few are chosen yet they that are truly called shall come and be welcome when Christ invites them Mat. 11.28 Come unto me all ye that labour as our late translation all ye that are weary as other translations all ye that labour unto weariness as the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 imports for the same word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used Joh. 4.6 and translated as you saw even now Jesus being weary and I will give you rest This is Christs own invitation Let weary soules make hast and come away they need not bring their stooles with them that are thus bidden 3ly Applyeth these refreshments only to the weary Thirdly In pursuance of this invitation Jesus Christ makes Application of his refreshments to the weary Isai 32.2 And a man when he had spoken before of the Kingdome of Christ in the first verse shall raign in righteousness c. shall be as the shadow of a great Rock in a weary Land Look how weary those Eastlanders to whom he then speaks ever were under the scorching heat of the Sun in their torrid zone at noon-day look how weary Jonah was even of his life when his Gourd that shadowed him was gone so weary must souls be of their burning lusts and the scorching flames of their awakened Consciences before they will care for Jesus Christ but when they are once thus weary his refreshments shall not be far off from them Christ is a shadow of a great Rock but his shadow doth ever stretch forth it selfe upon the wearie Land The point thus proved The opening in two Queries I shall endeavour to open by shewing what we must be weary of and how we may know whether we be thus weary or no. 1. What must we be thus weary of I answer Of all that we have formerly leaned unto 1. What we must be wearied of 1. Of Satan and his counsels before we can can leane unto Jesus Christ More particularly 1. Of Satan and of all his counsels and perswasions This is the voyce of the daughter of Sion in her spiritual travaile those wearying pangs of the second birth Jer. 4.31 I have heard a voice as of a woman in travaile that bringeth forth her first childe the voyce of the daughter of Sion that bewaileth her selfe that spreadeth her hands saying Woe is me now for my soule is wearyed because of murderers 'T was a long time that she conversed with them but now her soule is wearyed with them Murtherers they are now when the soul is in the throws of birth it finds them so before the pleasure Devil and the profit-Devil wâ—re the best friends the best companions but now the soul is wearied with them all as so many murtherers How weary of the company of Cutthroats would a man be that should be surprised on the High-way and in danger of his life because of those that are with him every step he goes surely so weary of Satan and his company must the soule be that comes to Christ Or how weary if thou shouldst be taken by a Lyon of the Forrest and kept for some space alive wouldst thou be of the presence of the Lyon and upon this how glad wouldst thou be that some mighty man some David should come and rescue thee so weary of Satan must thou be if ever thou wouldest come up from the wildernesse leaning upon the Beloved 2ly Of the World and her projects and courses 2ly The world and her courses these also we use to lean unto and therefore must be weary of Wee must say of our selves as God saith of Israel Isai 47.13 Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy Counsels thou hast laboured with them even thy Merchants from thy youth they shall wander every one to his quarter none shall save thee ver 15. When you have been trading up and down in the world with the customes or creature-vanities of the
received by us from Christ and you must acknowledge that they are the very things received by Christ from the Father 1. As for the believers strength Col. 1.11 Who are strengthned with all might according to his glorious power Almighty strength is derived from Christ to believers therefore the very strength unto which he is exalted so Phil. 4.13 I can do all things here 's a kind of Omnipotency in a Creature but how through Christ strengthning me Note Let me tell the weak hearts that are among you for their comfort that leaning can do as much as Christ on whom thou leanest is able to doe and Christ can do as much as God can doe for he can doe all things so with reverence I speake it can faith in him that was once crucified through weakness but is now raised in power and unto power that once being weary sat down on the well but now being at rest sits down on the right hand of the Majesty on high 2ly Rest of Christs own receiving 2ly As for the rest quiet peace and establishment that the soule hath that leanes on the Lord Jesus Scripture so phraseth it that if it were not the very rest and peace of Christ in glory I still mean relatively considered viz. as the head of believers in its measure it would not be able to bear such Hyperboles 'T is not call'd only peace with God and rest with Christ but the very quiet and peace of God even that peace that passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts through Christ Phi. 4.7 An infinite peace shall keep house in a finite Creature a peace that passeth all understanding shall keep our minds Now add this infinite peace to almighty power and how can you speak higher of Christ the Prince of peace on whose shoulders the Government of all things in heaven and earth is laid Lastly 4. From the notion in which scriptures represent Christs owne state as Mediator untill we have full possession of that strength and See how the scriptures represent Christs estate as he is Mediator though personally and absolutely considered he is infinitely and absolutely God blessed for ever yet I say as Mediator and relatively lookt upon and it will yet more fully appeare how that the strength and rest that Christ glorified hath received he hath received in trust for us for till such time as we all that ever have leaned or doe leane or shall come truly to leane on him come to be fully strong in him and at rest with him himselfe is not compleat in his glory This is the judgement of reverend men and to me it seems sufficiently to he grounded on that phrase Ephe. 1.22 23. God gave Christ to be head over all things to his Church which is his body Note the fulnes of him that filleth all in all Christ as personally considered is God filling all in all Christ relatively considered as head of his Church is not full till they be full full of strength in all grace and goodnesse full of rest from all evill so that in that day that every beleever shall come fully to be saved in that day shall Christ be fully glorified and not till that blessed looked for long'd for day which though it be for an appointed time yet in the end it will come therefore wait for it for in the end it will come and will not tarry Therefore Thirdly Herein may leaners on this Beloved 3d. Propos Therefore may weak weary soules have strong consolation and encouragement to leane on Christ for strength rest have strong consolation a sure foundation whereon the highest faith may securely build Is this a truth that that Christ that was once both weak and weary and both for thee hath now all power and rest and all for thee Why here lean O friends yea leane inseparably O Beloved O let thy faith be as the Holy Ghost calls it Col. 2.12 The faith of the operation of God which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead wherein also you are risen with him Let persecutions watchings wearinesses Note let Principalities powers and Dominions let what hath or doth or can come upon you rise up against you only rise you up against them and you shall rise up above them through the faith of the operation of God whereby he raised up Christ for his own glory and as you have seen for your advantage Wherefore we having such strong consolation who have fled for a refuge to the hope that is set before us Let us hold this hope as an anchor of the soul both sure and stedfast when Rain descends and Winds rise and Waves beat because our forerunner is for us entred even Jesus c. Heb. 6.18 19 20. Let Isaiahs prophesie be found true of thee and me Isai 45.24 Surely shall one say in the Lord I have strength and righteousnesse For this is his Righteousness and hereunto shall that strength be laid forth that To you who are troubled there may be rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty Angels c. 2 Thes 1.7 When he shall render vengeance to all that trouble you to him be glory for evermore CHAP. X. Containes the reason why so few receive strength and refreshment from Christ that yet seeme to leane upon Christ ANd thus have I explained the Object of this Act of leaning viz. Christ as humbled first to weakness and weariness and then exalted to strength and rest that he might be the support of the weak and the stay of the weary Object But now if this be so Whence is it that there are so many found leaning on Christ that yet continue in their weaknesses and wearinesses still Oh! saith a poor soul methinks my experience confutes your Doctrin for I have been an hanger upon Christ for some years and yet my grace spiritual refreshments are as smal as ever how is it then that Christ is prepared to be so sutable a support to leaning soules Ans I answer thou maist its likely think thou hast been so viz. a leaning soule but hast got no strength neither any refreshing truly I sadly feare thou hast but pleased thy selfe with fancy and never yet madest application of the Lord Christ unto thy soul by faith Never never lay the blame on the preparing of Christ for he is exquisitely accomplished and most fully furnished to supply weak and weary soules surely if he have not supplyed it is because thou hast not applyed Note God hath prepared Christ for you And now he must be improved by you The best made Bed must be laid downe upon if you would have Rest the best drest food must be eaten of if you would have strength The Brass made into a Serpent and lifted up too must also be lookt upon Jo. 3.14 There 's Application as well as Preparation and Jesus Christ lifted up both to Cross and Crown and
order to the opening of this act of leaning and that in this Querie What leaning in the notion of it doth import I shall answer it in four particulars Two things it imports more remotely yet necessarily and two things more intrinsecally and immediately 1. A coming unto Christ First It imports more remotely a coming unto Christ for no man can be said to bait at his Inne or to rest himselfe at his lodging tell he come at his Inne or at his lodging There are some pretenders I feare to lean upon Christ that never yet knew what it is to come at Christ for there is nothing but a clear sence of insufficiency in our selves and of All-sufficiency in Christ that can as we have hinted and may have farther occasion to shew bring the soule to the Lord Jesus Sirs you must get at Christ before you can get hold upon Christ As long as the Spouse was at a distance from him we never heare of her leaning on him Every soule that is at never so little a distance from Christ hath Courtiers enough legions from the black Princes Court offering their service to lead it by the arme but the soule must return to the first Husband before it can have any of his ravishing embraces this is that is said by our Saviour Mat. 11.28 Come unto me and I will give you rest Therefore if you would remove all that hinders you from leaning on Christ remove all that hinders you from coming to Christ It imports also more remotely a continuing 2. A continuing with Chris◠and abiding with Christ There are some soules that may come at Christ and yet cannot be called leaners upon Christ because they are quickly come and quickly gone as Christs throng that staid with him all dinner while whilst the loaves lasted Joh. 6.26 but slunk away in the Sermon time ver 66. Or that stay to heare him as long as his doctrine pleaseth them but when the hard sayings come then they runne away ver 60. such as are spoken of in that sad Scripture Heb. 6.4 5 6. And such are compared to Corne upon the house top you know how soon that 's come and how soon gone for saith Christ it had no root Mar. 4.6 So are there some that have a faire and fresh blade but they have no depth of earth ver 9. no hold no root c. you may say such and such are forward commers to Christ but you cannot say they are leaners upon Christ Alas they are thrown upon Christ by some violence of present conviction of prevalency of custome or expectation of advantage but they have no hold upon him That word Act. 11.23 That our Translation renders Cleaving to the Lord is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is permanently continuing with the Lord. Will you say that man that is thrown from the top of a mountain and in the way dasheth his arme or his elbow upon a Rock and so passeth away that he leaned upon that Rock alas this is all that Apostates and Back-slyders get by comming at Christ at all instead of leaning upon him they rush against him and instead of building upon him as the chiefe Corner-stone they dash upon him as a stumbling stone so saith the Apostle 1 Pet 2.8 He is a stone of stumbling and Rock of offence to the disobedient but on the other hand it is not strange that the Spouse should be called a leaning Spouse for when she came at her beloved she held him and would not let him goe Cant. 3.4 Therefore friends you that are come to Christ the elect and precious stone laid in Sion either by believing build upon him so that you may continue with him or else know that in falling from him you shall be dashed in pieces by him for this is the sum of that discourse 1 Pet. 2.7 8 9 c. More in trinsecally 3ly A devolving of all our weaknesses c. upon Christ Thirdly It imports more intrinsecally a devolving of all our infirmities upon Christ Jacob was then said to lean upon his staffe when he stayes his feeble arms upon his staffe when he rests his languishing fainting dying strength upon the top of his staffe Heb. 11.21 Therefore our leaning upon Christ imports our imploying Christ by faith in that work whereunto God hath appointed him by his gracious counsell viz. as I said before to bear our infirmities and to carry our griefs and to bear the sin of many and the iniquity of us all Isai 53.4 6 12. When faith acts on Christ as the Priest upon the scape Goat Lev. 16.21 which I have before shewne to be a type of Christ Confessing our sins upon Christs head and laying our iniquities upon his shoulders not as if Christ were the sinner or a friend unto sin but as knowing him to be the satisfier for sins and a friend unto penitent sinners And indeed though it be facile to get prophane Ranters and presumers hereunto yet I find it a difficult businesse to get penitent sinners hereunto what the others presume these dare not believe Such soules come to Christ with their bloody consciences as that poore woman with her bloody issue 'T is some time before they dare touch at all and when they do touch they dare not take hold if they doe take hold it must but be upon the skirts of Christ in a promise upon the hemme of his Garment and then as if they had stolne their cure they are ready to run away again as being affraid and ashamed that Christ should see them you may see the story Luk. 8.43 44. But soft sirs Christ will not lose his glory so Christ will have you to come out into view and to acknowledge your cure and though you were affraid to take hold upon Christ by the hemme he will not be ashamed to take you by the hand and to say unto your soules as he did unto her vers 48. Be of good comfort your faith your leaning hath made you whole go in peace Therefore my Brethren bring your soules forth under all their sicknesses evils and infirmities your blind eyes deafe ears dumb tongues palsie hands lame feet feverish affections distempered spirits dead hearts bring them forth I say unto Christ as 't is recorded by the Evangelist that they brought their possesed their sick c. Mat. 8.16 That it may be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the Prophet that himselfe tooke our infirmities c. v. 17. Fourthly 4ly A deriving of strength c from Christ It imports a deriving of and a carying away strength and vertue from Christ as well as a comming to him a continuing with him a devolving of our infirmities upon him When any true faith leanes on Christ it draws strange helping healing curing comforting vertue out of Christ as himselfe saith Luk. 8.46 Some body hath touched me for vertue is gone out of me A man sits down to eat bread faint but riseth up fresh he
a distressed As to the 2d Hinderance Help the second distracted Conscience can beare witnesse Secondly As to the second Hindeoance viz. Few feel Christ and therefore few will leane upon him I shall leave a word or two with you to help your souls in this also First If you be desirous to feele Christ Labour to feel Christ by feeling sin labour to feel sin I believe never did any come savingly to feel Christ that have not come seriously to feel sin You never knew a soule earnestly complain for a Christ that could not earnestly complain of sinne When Christs own spirit is sent forth into our dead benummed Consciences and sencelesse hearts how doth it make us feel righteousnesse but by making us feel sin and judgement the sence of all must goe together where Gods Spirit is indeed at worke Jo. 16.8 Sirs how can we be sensible of the good of light of peace of health of plenty better then by feeling the evill of darknesse warre sicknesse poverty or the light peace or saving health that is by Jesus Christ more effectually then by the darknesse horrour and damning misery of sinne I mean when we see one by the other Isai 54.5 6. 'T is a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit in the remembrance and sence of sinne the shame and the reproach of sinne as is intimated vers 4. I say a woman thus grieved in spirit that God will call a wife of youth unto himselfe and her maker will become her Husband that is Christ will take that soule into the nearest intimacy with himselfe to lie as a wife of youth in his bosome to feele his stripes to put its hand into the wounds of his sides to feel the stirrings of his heart towards sinners that have had the nearest and closest sence of sin that have laine and can most feeling groan under the heavy load and burthen of sin Many there are that speake of the evill of sin but not feelingly and as for these if they speake of the good of Christ you may easily discerne 't is not feelingly When Paul feels sin kill him Rom. 7.9 And as a stinking troublesome tyring dead Carkass cleaving to him ver 24. 2ly By conversing much where Christ is to be found viz. in the Ordinances with the promises Then presently comes he to feele the law of the Spirit of life in Christ making him free from the law of sin and death Rom. 8.2 Secondly Would you feel Christ make then after his hand and after his heart Get you thither where these are to be found and keep you there Now Christs hand is in his Ordinances And Christs heart is in his promises There if any where there and no other where feele for them and you shall finde them How often doe you read in Scripture that Christs hands are stretched forth in his Ordinances if you have not done so You may feele Christs hands in his Ordinances turn to Isai 65.1 2. I said behold me behold me I have spread out my hands all the day and how is that but in the Ordinances unto a rebellious people which walked in a way that was not good This is otherwise expressed by his desire to gather them under his wings Luk. 13 34. Sirs would you feele for Christs Hand to leane upon or his wing to be sheltred under Be much in the Ordinances And Christs heart in his promises Againe Christs heart is in his promises Could you but get into the heart of a promise it would be like Thomas his putting of his hands into Christs sides you might feele Christs heart and how it works towards poor soules What living heart can survey the Promises without a lively sence of Christs hearts tendernesse Sirs doe you not feele how his bowels are turned and his repentings kindled within him when he saith not onely how shall I give thee up Ephraim as Hos 11.8 but also I will not execute the fiercenesse of mine anger I will not return to destroy Ephraim as he saith verse 9. And I will heale their backslydings and I will love them freely chap. 14.4 And I might transcribe a great part of the whole Bible to lead you to a sence of all those promises that plainly lead the Generation of them that seeke the face of Jacob to a sence of Christs heart though now himselfe be at rest towards poore Israel in the Wildernesse CHAP. XVI Convincing Christs lovelinesse by removing the foregoing prejudices THirdly As to the third Hinderance viz. As to the 3d. Hinderance Helpfull considerations convincing Christs lovelinesse notwithstanding any prejudices 1. Against his Port. 1. It is not of necessity but choice that his Port is so mean That few like Christ so as to make him their beloved being prejudiced against his Port Person Discourse Carriage Estate Consider 1. As to Christs wooing Port these three things For my now designe is to remove the prejudices and if it be possible to make up the match and though I woe yet will I not lye for God nor for his Son Christ Though Christ come a wooing in Port despised by the World on the Colt of an Asse the foolishnesse of preaching yet is it not of constraint but of condescension and with a rich compensation First It is let the world know not of constraint or necessity that Christ comes in so mean a Port. He could if he would come so as to convince you hereof but it is of choice that he comes so meanly I have read of one of the Roman Emperours that having been long molested by the King of an eastern Country having at length an Embassy sent him by some contemptible Messengers yet the noblest that that Country afforded the Roman Emperour thinking it were in slight asked them if their Master had none more Heroicall then they they answering they were his Chieftains he brake out in such an immoderate laughter that he dyed in it The Great and Wise and Nobles of the World thus deride the Messengers of Jesus Christ and him that sent them because of the meannesse of the Messengers But let them know that as he laughed himself to death in laughing them to scorn so may these laugh themselves to damnation before they are aware and as for us Call they us and count they us as they please Priest and croaking Calvinists and what they will yet may not we answer that our Master hath none more noble to send or that he cannot come in greater Port for Psal 18.9 10. He bowed the Heavens and came downe and darknesse was under his feet And he rode upon a Cherub and did flie yea he did fly upon the wings of the wind so Isai 19.1 Behold the Lord rideth upon a swift Cloud And this might be his Port. So might Angels also be his Messengers 1.7 Who maketh his Angels Spirits and his Ministers flaming fire Christ could goe a wooing in a whirlwind as the Lord came to answer Job Iob. 38.1
smites thee that hath been so often smitten by thee Art thou pierced by Christ he was pierced by thee first therefore hast thou little reason to complaine that he hath pierced thee Zach. 12.10 They shall look on me whom they have pierced Doth his Word or Spirit wound thee how often have thy vain and vile words and impenitent and unbelieving spirit wounded him Doth his wooong Carriage now prick thee to thine heart how often have thy wandering Carriages struck Jesus Christ to the heart It s fit that thou shouldest feele what it is to be smitten since thou hast so often tryed what it is to smite And well maist thou take it quietly to be under wounds of spirit many hours yea many weeks that hast in thy sinful Conversation been wounding Christ it may bee twenty forty or threescore years 3ly It s he smites thee 3ly He that is smitten with thee that in the mean while is smitten with thee and therefore surely will not smite to hurt thee There 's no great feare that that Father will wrong his Childe that as we say smites himself while hee strikes his Child Surely in all thine Afflictions most of all spirituall which are greatest is Christ afflicted Isai 63.9 If either Satan Sinne or the Law persecuteth thee Christ will say Why persecute you me I have born suffered done and dyed for that soule therefore I will not see that soule perish but though I smite it with mine own rod yet will I not suffer you to ruine it Surely as Paul saith 2 Cor. 11.29 Who is weak and I am not weak who is in the scorching furnace of an afflicted Conscience and I burn not so will Christ say 2ly Consider Why is it that Christ smites thee 2. Consider Why he smites looke backward or forward and there is little reason to murmur on either hand 1. Look backward upon what thou wert 1. Look backward upon what thou hast been and doe not complain and art thou smitten wonder that thou art not struck down to Hell never thinke strange that thou art sore bruised as in the place of Dragons but rather that thou art not damned and so turned down into the place of Devils Lam. 3.30 He gives his Cheeke to him that smiteth him saith Jeremy of the afflicted Spirit and wherefore saith he verse 39. Doth a living man complaine a man for the punishment of his sin Art thou a sinning soul and yet a living soul oh though thou be a bruised soul thou hast small reason to complaine 2ly Look forward upon what thou art to be 2ly Look forward upon what thou art to be and complain no more and doe not count it hard that Christ hath smitten thee Friend Christ intends thee though thy heart have beene crooked and knotty hitherto for a piece of Timber in his living house for a living stone though thy heart hath been a dead and rough stone 1 Pet. 2.5 Ye are built up as lively stones a spiritual house I hope this will satisfyingly answer what is said Hos 6.5 I have hewed them by the Prophets If you will be part in Christs building you must be content with Christs hewing Againe We are called to be Vessels of mercy and these must be prepared unto glory Rom. 9.23 And whoever prepared Vessels of gold but by the Furnace let this answer Isai 1.25 I wiil turn mine hand upon thee Oh! that think you is a scaring word but why will God do it I will purely purge away your drosse and take away all your Tinne Againe You are called to be the Lords Iewels and these Jewels must be made up Mal. 3.17 The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He will finish his Iewels And what Jeweller is there though never so sparing but will have some instrument in his hand to cut away the part or parts that are redundant and so to fit the Jewel before he finish and make it up in the ring of Gold This answers that gracious promise though to a carnall heart a bloody threatning Deut. 30.6 The Lord will circumcise thine heart to love him with all thy soul c. That is the Lord will pare it round he will take away the fleshly and carnall and redundant parts of it this will cost sharpe work to thy fleshly heart Thus will Christ deale with thee to make thee to love him when he wooes thee to love him onely be not thou as Zipporah crying out to Christ as she to Moses Exod. 4.16 A bloody Husband art thou unto me because of the Circumcision So that all the expressions that import thy future glory doe abundantly engage thee to receive with meekness 3ly Consider What these smitings shall conclude in Thine Enemies ruine and thanksgiving thy present sufferings and buffetings 3ly Consider what these smitings shall conclude in and be satisfied viz. In the ruine of thine Enemies and in the healing of thee First When God casts soules as those three Shadrach Meshach and Abednego into the furnace and the Son of God comes to take acquaintance with them and to beare them company in that Furnace as Dan. 3.25 What shall that fire doe more then burn their Enemies as verse 22. Verily upon them shall it have no power nor shall the hair of their head be singed verse 27. Thy Corruptions thy sins thy drosse thy dirt shall consume and be burnt up but it shall not be able to hurt thy soule But 2ly As for thy soule if that be bruised 2ly Thy souls healing it shall bee annointed by that balm that is in Gilead and the Physitian that is there Vna eademque manus vulnus opemque feret Christ doth use to wound us as Enemies doe and then to let us lie and perish for want of looking too neare feare so great unkindnesse from so kind a suiter no no but if sense say as Hos 6.1 The Lord hath torn and he hath smitten let thy faith say also as theirs there and he will heale and he will bind us up after two dayes that is some short season he will revive us and the third day at farthest he will cause us to live verse 2. Hearken my friends what Hezekiah can say after all his chatterings like a Crane and shatterings to pieces both which you have together Isai 38.13 14 verse 16. O Lord by these things men live and in all these things Marke all these things as if he could not be without Note or misse one blow of them and doe well is the life of my spirit so wilt thou recover me and make me to live so wilt thou as if God had as it were limited himselfe to that way of working unto the reviving of a dead heart So then either Christ must marry thee whilest a Carkasse and lay thee a dead piece of flesh in his bosome or thou must be contented to be smitten but and if thou be smitten he will verily revive thee and cause
thee to live so that upon the matter the worst that you can object unto these wooing blowes is this that Jesus Christ will quicken you to marry you Compare two Scriptures Return O backslyding Children and I will heal you Hos 14.1.4 Return O backslyding Children for I am married to you Jer. 3.14 So then to desire that Christ should marry you before he smite you is to desire that Christ should marry you before he revive you and without controversie great is the mystery of godlinesse Blowes from others strike you dead but blows from Christ strike you alive If Christ in his wooing work give strange strokes he will make such strange worke of it before he have done that all that were incensed at him shall be ashamed as Isai 45.24 CHAP. XIX A yet farther removall of remaining prejudices 5ly As to Christs estate THe fifth and last prejudice against Christ is as to matter of Estate in foure Particulars viz. That he must have your portion out of hand That you must take his word for your joynture That you must go into another Country To the first term viz. You must trust him with your portion first 1. Consider 't is but what thou hadst from him at first and die by the way before you can be possessed of it I come now to remove this prejudice To the first of these particulars I have four things to say for thy satisfaction First Though Christ require your portion ready downe to be put into his hand and to be at his disposall yet is it herein the more reasonable in that you had it all from him and from his Father at the first It is not an ordinary match when Christ the only Son of the only Creator goes a wooing to poor Creatures 'T is as if when the Father hath got an Estate under the Stewardship of some Noble Lord or Prince and that Princes Heire should come a wooing to his Stewards Daughter If hee require all her portion at his dispose 't is but what came from his Father see Hos 2.9 I will take away my Corn and my Wine and recover my Wool and my Flax given to cover thy nakednesse Mark that Given to cover thy nakedness yet my wool c. still So Money is given to fill thy Cofer yet is it the Lords still Meat is given to cover thy Table yet is it the Lords still So that if Christ will have thy Wine or Corne or Wool to dispose of to a poore Member of his now and then 't is no more then his own even what thou hadst received of him first 2ly If Christ take any thing from thee that is called tine it is not with intention that thou shouldst want it 2ly He intends not that thou shouldest want it whilest he useth it or be a loser by it Christ will not aske thy Coat that thy nakednesse may be seen nor thy Meat from thee to starve thee But if thou lend unto the Lord Christ that which thou lendest shall he pay thee again as he did the Widdows meal and oyl in her Cruse You have the Spouse inviting Christ unto her Garden Cant. 4.16 Awake O North wind and come thou South and blow upon my Garden that the spices thereof may flow forth Let my Beloved come into his Garden eat his pleasant fruits And you have him requiting her love and returning her kindness with advantage Cant. 5.1 I am come into my Garden my Sister my Spouse I have gathered my Myrrhe with my spice my Hony Comb with mine hony my Milk with my Wine Eat O friends and drink abundantly O beloved This she had even this rich entertainment and abundant welcome because she had beene so free to Jesus Christ So Rev. 3.20 I will sup with him saith God and what of that and he shall sup with me Sirs Let me tell you whatever the wisdome of this world Note which is foolishnesse with God shall say against it you cannot trust your Estate in any certaine hands except you put it into Christ hand whatever confidence you can have of their repaying you yet can you have no certainty The uncertainty of what they have and what they are forbids you to be certaine of it but trust Christ with it and read Psal 37.3 Trust in the Lord any do good and verily thou shalt be fed Lend to others and conclude it may be I shall be repaid againe Lend to Christ and write downe verily though Christ can finde but few Creditors yet blessed are they for they have trusted the very Paymaster 3ly He takes it to give thee better for it 3ly If Christ take from thee any thing of thine 't is to give thee a better in the room of it 'T is as if an Husband should say Wife Prethee give the poor woman at the door thy old and plain Garment and I le give thee a new a lasting a richer Garment in the roome of it Friends what can we part with for Christ but these momentany vaine things that perish in the usage and what we shall receive from Christ are durable riches and substance Mat. 19.21 Go and sell all that thou hast and give to the poor Yea but would flesh and blood say that is the way to want my selfe Nay saith Christ thou shalt have treasure what kind of Treasure heavenly treasure 4ly To husband it for thee not to spend it for thee 4ly and lastly Christ asks it not of thee to spend it from thee but to husband it for thee The men of the world as wise as they are have not wisdome enough to husband their unrighteous Mammon that little time which they doe enjoy it therefore beg of Christ to husband thine Estate for thee Your Usury brings you but five or six or the like in the hundred there is an Usury that you know not of that would gaine you an hundred and more in five Sirs if you be of Peters minde and must needs know before hand what you shall get by parting with all for Christ and to Christ read that passage Mat. 19.27 Peter said unto Christ we have forsaken all and have followed thee what shall we have therefore Christ answers v. 29. They that have forsaken Houses or Lands c. for my sake shall receve an hundred fold and shall inherit life eternall An hundred fold in this time as the other Evangelists and after that eternal life It followes verse 30. But many that are first shall be last and the last shall be first Many that are the wisest and richest and best husbands and the first in the accompt of the world shall appeare the most foolish and improvident and beggarly and poore in that day when Saints shall know what they have trusted Christ for and hide-bound worldlings shall see to what little purpose they have heaped up treasure together against the last days To the second viz. To the 2d viz. You must take his estate upon trust 1.
Moses said to Israel Deut. 11 27. I have set before you in this Discourse a Blessing and a Curse for the Lord hath set my feet upon both Mountains spoken of verse 29. Ebal and Gerizim the Mountains of Curses and of blessings and that upon the Authority of two Scriptures To those that are yet out of love with Christ a Curse The first speakes from the top of Ebal the Mount of CURSING and it is 1 Cor. 16 22. If any man love not the Lord Jesus let him be Anathema Maranatha that is Let him be accursed in all things in all places at all times with all Curses truly Nothing but the perfect experience of the damned in Hell can tell you what that word Anathena Maranatha meanes And who must be so accursed even whosoever loves not the Lord Jesus Art thou out of love with Christ still notwithstanding all that hath been spoken for him And art thou resolved to continue so then let thy Estate thy Body Soul here and hereafter yea and for ever be accursed Dost thou despise his Port hate his Person abhor his Discourse contemne his Carriage disdaine his Estate after all this and resolvest thou so to doe Let all the Scriptures of God curse thee let all the Saints and Angels of God curse thee let all the Creatures of God curse thee let the blessed mouth of God curse thee let the blaspheming mouth of thine own Conscience curse thee yea let the mouthes of all that are in the same curse and condemnation with thee curse thee let every mouth that blesseth God and Christ curse thee yea as long as any mouth blesseth the Lord Jesus let it curse thee for not loving the Lord Jesus This is the sad language of that sad Scripture But I had rather passe from these to those that love him and so from Ebal to mount Gerizim To those that are brought into love with this crucifyed Christ blessing the mount of BLESSING see Rev. 19.6 7 9. Allelujah let us rejoyce and be glad and honour him for the Marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife hath made her self ready And he saith unto me write blessed are they that are called to the Marriage supper of the Lambe and he saith unto me These are the true sayings of God Sins Christ is ready now if you be ready truly blessed are you for you are called to the Marriage and to the Supper If any soule among you that have heard all that hath beene spoken shall love Christs Spokesmen meane as they are in the name of Prophets blessed of God be that soule If any soule entertaine the Message plaine as it is out of love to Christ that sent that message blessed of God be that soule If any soule be in love with a crucified despised naked wounded bleeding Christ blessed of God be that soule If any soule shall account Christs Convictions precious Oyntment and his Termes Righteousnesse if it shall forsake Father and Mother and all carnall Counsells and Relations out of love unto Christ If it shall go forth weeping bearing precious seed if it shall take Christs yoak upon it and his burthen and his Cross daily accounting them light because of love to Christ and easie as Jacob did his hard service out of love to Rachel If it shall cut off its right hand and pull out its right eye and forgoe its owne will and so leave all and cleave to Christ and hate all and love Christ or unfeignedly desire so to doe for ever blessed be that soule If it shall not despise the Corrections of the Lord Jesus nor faint when it is chastised by him patiently bearing because it hath sinned and willingly suffering that it may be pollished and fitted for Christs service or truly desire so to doe for ever blessed be that soule If it shall trust Christ with what it hath and for what it is to receive following him unto the Regeneration untill it shall come unto his Kingdom continuing stedfast till death and willing to be dissolved that it may be with Christ In a word if it take or be truly willing to take Christ as thus tendered upon his own terms blessed blessed blessed be that soule God hath blessed it who can reverse it These are the true sayings of God CHAP. XX. Discovers positive Hinderances The two first viz. leaning to Sinne. Sathan Second sort of Hinderances viz. Positive THe second sort of Hinderances are positive viz. The leaning-stocks that we take unto our selves on this side Christ doe absolutely hinder us from leaning upon this beloved Two Farther Observations from the Text. Which that I may with more advantage inquire into I shall take up from my text two farther previous Observations which I think are evidently lodg'd in the bosome of this expression Leaning on her Beloved The first is That as that soul that will have Christ for its beloved 1. The soule that leans on Christ must have none other leaning-stock must have but one beloved even Christ so that soul that will have Christ to lean upon must have nothing else to lean upon beside Christs For as the Text mentions but one Spouse viz. The Church of Christ so but one Beloved viz. Christ and but one also to leane upon To this the Apostle speakes clearly I have espoused you to one Husband even Christ 2 Cor. 11.2 So unto us there is but one Lord and one God even Christ 1 Cor. 8.6 But one to set our love as our Husband but one also to lean on as our God but one to be beloved as our Husband but one also to believed on as our Lord and God But now to Christlesse soules there are many lovers and beloveds Jer. 3.1 Thou hast played the harlot with many lovers Hos 2.7 She shall not find her lovers A great number of lovers an indefinite number of lovers untill shee returne unto her first Husband and therefore to others also there are Gods many and Lords many 1 Cor. 8.5 A second Observation is 2ly The souls beloved will be the soules leaning-stock That whatever is the soules beloved that ever will be found the souls leaning-stock what ever the soule loves best on that it will be sure to lean most this is a cleare intimation from the Text leaning on her beloved So that if there be any thing that the soule loves more and better then Christ upon that it will leane and not upon Christ Now upon this twofold Accompt it is easie to discern in the generall how lost souls are hindered from leaning upon Christ because they have many Gods to lean on and therefore cannot leane upon the onely true God manifested in the flesh yea and they have many lovers and beloveds instead of Christ which as they lye in their bosomes where Christ onely should lie so stand they under their armes to support them where Christ should be to beare them up When a soule is converted we must with admiration
sing and say Who is this that comes out of the wilderness leaning upon her beloved but of others we may take up a lamentation a Jeremies sad song and say Who are all these that go farther and farther into the wilderness leaning upon their beloveds And as for those that goe downe into Aegypt they have multitudes of Reeds to leane upon many Gods and Lords many even as many as lusts Onyons Fleshpots Melons Cucumers Idols any thing but when God calls his Sonnes out of Aegypt then thus saith the Lord that brought thee out of the Land of Aegypt c. thou shalt have none other Gods beside me Many hands we may have to help us forward or backward rather into the wayes of sinne But there 's not one arme for a soule to leane unto while it comes from sinne but the alone arm of the Lord Jesus Christ Now as we say the more of those Gods the farther from God so the more of these leaning-stocks the farther from leaning upon the Lord Jesus The four usuall leaning-stocks of lost soules There are particularly foure things which lost soules doe generally more love and leane upon then Jesus Christ Sinne Satan the World and selfe And it is to be marked that scriptures charge our usuall carriage towards and in respect of these with Idolatry which is the setting of any thing up in Gods roome to love or lean upon as God which is not God 1. Sinne. First As for sin It is hence evident that sinners place that recumbency on it which they should on Christ because the Apostle enumerating the more notorious sinnes of their unregeneracy summes up all in this one word abominable Idolatries what were those why Lasciviousness lusts excess of Wine revellings drunkenness and abominable Idolatries Wines are the Drunkards Idols Women the Wantons Idols Prophaneness the Revellers Idol Yea every new lust a new Lord yea a new God as hee takes up new sin he hath new dependances upon sinne 1 Pet. 4.3 Hence John writing to those that 't is to be thought were farre enough from gross Idolatry concludes Little Children keepe your selves from Idols Amen 1 Joh. 5.21 Now you can never keepe your selves from Idols except you keepe your selves from sin Sinne ever deales as Solomons strange wives tempting first from the trusting in the true God and next to trusting in the false 2. Satan Secondly As for Satan You have heard him call'd the God of this world 2 Cor. 4.4 Therefore this world leanes upon Satan and trusts in him as their God 3. The world Thirdly As for the World 'T is plainly that which the worldling leans upon instead of God Hence those known passages Ephe. 5.5 The covetous man who is an Idolater and Col. 3.5 Covetousnesse which is Idolatry c. That is he loves and leanes upon Mammon more then God Fourthly As for Selfe The selfe-pleaser 4. Selfe that indulgeth his owne lustfull genius his belly is his God Phil. 3.19 The self-conceited self-confident and presumptuous sinner He sets his heart as the heart of God Ezek. 28.6 Strange expressions you will say yet are they Scripture-expressions you see they be and though many things be imported by them yet must this be a chiefe one that while Saints lean on Christ as their one and only Lord these leane upon Sin Satan Mamnon and themselves Of these in their order First Hinderance that doth in a positive way keepe off sinners from leaning upon Christ 1. Soules lean upon sin and thereby are hindred from leaning upon Christ Proofe of it is their leaning upon sin for proof See Psal 52.7 This is the man that made not God his trust but strengthned himself in his wickednesse What could be more expresse for both sinners make their wickednesse their stay and therefore it is that they make not God their staie so Isai 30.12 You trust in oppression and perversnesse and staie thereon It followes verse 15. Thus saith the Lord in returning and rest you shall be saved but ye would not and in quietnesse and confidence that is in the peace of believing shall be your strength and ye would not No no they could have both a stay and a strength in sinning and therefore they would none of Christs rest in the way of repenting or of his quietnesse and peace in the way of believing 'T is no wonder if sinners can have Crutches in a sinne that they neglect to seeke legges in a Saviour Now that sinners make sinne their leaning-stock Convictions of it 1. The careful hold that sinners keep of sinne I shall give you a two-fold Conviction 1. The charie and carefull and cordiall hold that they keep of sin Just as a lame man holds his Crutch so doth a sinner his sinne The head of it is bolstered and how neare is it to his heart There art that spiritually sow pillowes under their own and others arm-holes for wretched limping sinners to lean upon Ezek. 13.18 The lame man holds his Crutch fast in his right hand and will not by any means let it go as you may see the Lord was Davids leaning-stay for saith David I have set the Lord at my right hand therefore I shall not be moved Psal 16.8 and that Christ was the Spouses leaning-stay for she held and would not let him go Cant. 3.4 And the Apostle requires the Saints to hold that fast by which they may hold Christ fast viz. Holy confidence and the rejoycing of hope Heb. 3.6 By which is evinced that Christ and nothing else is the Saints leaning-stock So sinners have their lies in their right hand Isai 44.20 And they hold fast deceit and refuse to return Jer. 8.5 And this is a full Conviction your Consciences beare witnesse unto it that sinne is the sinners leaning-stock or that in the Prophets language The wicked trust in their wickednesse Isai 47.10 It is strange that a man should dare to sinne and then to trust in sin but oh that it were not more true 2ly In that they think that if their sinne fall they fall also 2ly In this it is too too manifest that sinne is the sinners leaning-stock in that the sinner thinkes that if his sin fall he shall fall too The reason which makes lame persons so loath to let their Crutches fall is because they know that then they shall fall too Did they not leane upon them whilest they stand they would not be affraid of falling with them when they fall Verily sirs If your Consciences beare you this witnesse that the reason why you doe not let your sinfull Alehouse-maintaining or Alehouse-keeping or Cheating fall is because you think that then you shall fall also 't is a plaine Conviction that your sin is your leaning-stock That of Diana's silver-smiths is a pregnant instance 't was a wicked craft that they had and an hellish gain that they made viz. by making instruments of abominable Idolatrie to that cursed vanity of the Ephesians Now they
or seriously and frequently remember death will get a Christ to lean upon in that hour But while you read in one scripture of some that put the evill day far from them as Amos 6.3 't is no wonder that you read in others that some there are that say unto God Depart from us as Job 21.14 or that Christ should come to his own according to the flesh and they not receive him as Joh. 1.11 You have a notable passage Isa 57.10 Thou hast found thy life of thine hand therefore thou hast not grieved Men find their lives in their own hands therefore they have not repented therefore Though all our Times are alwaies in Gods hand yet vaine men ordinarily think they are in their own hands as in time of health and prosperity c. but now in sicknesse they foolishly think yet is there something in it that their lives are in the Physitians hand if he through inconsiderateness or hast mistake a glass or a Gally-pot they may die for it Oh! now they are grieved how glad would they now be that they had but a firm hold upon the Lord Jesus So I have seen at Sea when the vainest of our company have been convicted by a storm that ours lives were in Gods hand and not in our own When our tacklings have been loosed and we could not well strengthen the Mast oh how fain would we all of us then have had an Interest in this Beloved and hope in this Christ as the Anchor of our souls when we could not cast anchor with our ships to have a Master to lean upon When our Mast reeled and wee staggered like drunken men and were ready to sinke in the deep Waters Oh! What crying out with Peter Master save us we perish Lord Jesus We sink we sink we are at our wits ends Lord save us But as soon as we were safe on shoar again though our lives were new given us even for a prey yet then fell wee to our former course of sin self-confidence and vain conversation having small care of faith or holiness Christ is now little beloved little believed little thought upon little lean'd upon Thus whilest we lean upon any thing of SELF there is little leaning to this beloved All this have I spoken to you for the self same end that those sad providences spake to Paul and his companions 2 Cor. 1.9 That you might not trust in your selves but in God Trusting to self and trusting to God leaning upon self and leaning upon the Beloved are as very Opposits as light and darkness as Hell and Heaven and the Apostles argument is very clear that the Lord one way or other must quite remove us from the former before we come to the later Therefore lean not to Self By this time I hope I have spared my self a labour as to any set opposition of such Considerations as might disswade you from leaning on your selves having not been able to convince you that men do so without conviction also of the Vanity and Foolishness of all that doe so Well might the wise man say as Pro. 28.26 He that trusteth in his own heart that is he that leans to self-wit self-will c. is a fool So say I hee that trusteth in his own Righteousness or length of daies or anything of his own is a fool Understandings Souls consider how foolish and unwise a thing it is to lean to your own naturall carnall unrenewed Understandings which are both foolishness with and Emnity against the Lord What needs more weight of argument to disswade you Wills Consider how desperate a thing it is to lean to your own unsanctified and unregenerate Wills which you have seen by scripture-light to be both Rebellion against the Lord and Idolatry in the account of the Lord and require when you have seriously weighed these more forcing disswasives if you can Righteousnes Consider how dangerous a thing it is to lean to your own Righteousnesse which is ever found a stranger to a Run-away from and a Rebell against the onely saving Righteousnesse of the Lord Jesus Lives Consider how vain a thing it is to lean to your lives and so not unto the Lord which are at all times as you are forced to confesse at some times not in your hands but in the hands of the Lord. In this the Bell in your steeple spares me a labour in turning over the Bible in mine hand God proves this to your Eares to your Eyes to your hearts in your Husbands Wives Children dearest Relations sometimes every other day to one of you or other and God might have proved it upon you unto them as he hath done upon them unto you and who of us knowes whom of us the Lord will make the next proofe hereof unto the rest of us or how soone our life is our lease our body our house If you leane to this house it shall not stand Job 8.15 Therefore if any of us have beene staved off from leaning upon this Beloved by leaning upon our selves or any thing of our own oh do no more so wickedly CHAP. XXIII Contains disswasives from leaning upon sinne or Satan I shall onely speake three other words to beat off your elbowes from those three other leaning-stocks viz Sinne Satan and the World and then I shall by the help of my Lord as the close of the discourse shew you the excellent advantage of leaning upon Christ First Leane not to sin This is the veriest vanity Lean not to sinne For 1. This is the veriest vanity and it will be the veriest vexation of Spirit First This is the vreiest vanitie If you doe but believe scripture you may easily be induced to believe this What better termes doth scripture bestow upon sinne then such as these a vain shew or shadow a deceipt a lie or make the most of it and it is but a Cobweb Now if you will but take the Spirit of God to beare a true testimony under these terms unto your sinnes then how vaine a thing is it to leane unto them even your selves being Judges Because 1. Sin a lye First He that leans to a known sinne if the Bible be true leanes undoubtedly to a known lye If the Crutch in his right hand be a sinne let Isaiah speake whether the Crutch in his right hand be not a lie Isai 44.20 They that follow after sin follow after leasing and they that hold fast sin hold fast deceit Jer. 8.5 And therefore 't is not strange that they that doe so should be therefore branded to love vanitie Psal 4.2 What foole so foolish as to trust a known lyar especially in a known lye And yet alas what sinner is there more wise Wilt thou lean upon that which is not but onely seems to be Sinne is not good sinne can bring no good Sinne is not really pleasurable it is not truly profitable when it seemes to bee such it is not such but doth lie In
this case thou must either put the lie upon the Scripture or upon Sin I believe thou darest not doe the former and therefore why is it that thou wilt not do the latter Or 2ly At most 't is but a Spiders web Secondly If sinne have any being at all make the best of it it is but as a Spiders web A poore thing you 'l say for an House to lean upon when all it's support is in very deed by leaning on the House Take but downe the House and you need not take downe the Cobweb My Brethren if Scripture be true then the very best head that sinners can bring their work unto is but the spinning of a Spiders web a poore thing you 'l say and a very vanity for the soule which should be an house for God to dwell in to leane upon and yet read Isai 59.4 5. They trust in vanitie there 's my charge against sinners they speak lies conceiving mischiefe and bring forth iniquitie they spin Spiders webs there 's the proofe Would not he be accounted a foolish one that would not yeeld to the taking downe of a Cobweb for feare least his House should fall And what shall we account of foolish sinners that thinke that if their soules be but swept and their sinnes their Spiders webs but taken downe that then they shall fall also and that their Reformation would be their ruine Miserable madnesse why Sinne is not the House and thy Soule the Cobweb but thy Soule is the House and sinne the Spiders web Thy soule hath not it's dependence being and subsistence upon sinne but sin hath it's dependence by hanging upon thy soule It 's sad that so many cleanly and houswisely for the world that cannot indure Spider or Cobweb in their Houses should to freely suffer both in their hearts and thinke that they goe about to undoe them that would sweep them downe Oh! downe with Spider and Web and All down with Satan and Sinne too and instead of danger I 'le warrant thee decency and that thy soule shall become a Temple for the Holy Ghost to dwell in But if thou wilt still conceipt that thou canst not be or subsist without thy sin when in very deed it is thy sinne that cannot be or subsist without thee know from the mouth of the Lord Job 8.14 That thy hope shall be cut off because thy trust is a Spiders web Secondly 2ly This will be the veriest vexation of Spirit 1. If this Reed bear not up the hand it will pierce the hand This will be the veriest vexation of spirit which will easily appeare in these severall particulars 1. Sin is not of an indifferent nature If it cannot profit thee to leane upon it it will be sure to prejudice thee This is that very Aegyptian Reed 2 King 18.21 That staffe of Aegypt whereon if a man lean it will not onely breake and so shrink from under his hand but it will go into his hand and pierce it thorough Oh! what is that which leaves the deepest markes behind it in wounded Consciences and distressed Spirits but this or the like I have sinned and trusted in my wickednesse and strengthned my self in my sin When a man flees the judgements of the Lord and leanes to his sinne untill the guilt and horror thereof meet him he is compared to a man fleeing from a Lyon and going into the House 2ly The harder you lean upon sin the heavier it will lie upon you and leaning his hand on the wall and a Serpent bites him Amos 5.19 2ly The harder you leane upon sin now the heavier will sin lie upon you another day What is observed of the Irish Nations Genius that while they are Underlings they are faire and flattering but ever plotting for the Mastery and the more they are trusted or leaned unto the more easily they attaine it but their little fingers are as others loynes when they have gotten the upper hand of those that by leaning to them were prevailed upon by them this may be verily said of sinne the more you adventure to leane upon it the harder it will be sure to lie upon you 1. In the Commanding power sinne will not long bee a servant when once you come to trust it Sinne promised to be your servant at the first but you must be it's slaves afterwards Though sinne will be daily offering its service such as it is to the Saints as I remember the Irish used to doe to the English before their massacre in the late Rebellion yet the way to keepe it from Mastery is to keepe from trusting it If once you be deceived so farre as to trust it for then I am said to be deceive when I lean'd or trusted to a man and found him not according to my trust reposed in him I say if once you be thus deceived by sinne sinne will be servant no longer but you shall be presently found serving divers lusts and pleasures Tit. 3.3 2ly In the condemning power of it Sirs The more you put stress upon sinne now the more weight of horror and guilt and condemnation sinne will be sure to lay upon you afterwards You will finde Scripture more expresse to this pupose then you willingly would have it I shall give you but one proofe and thinke that enough Isai 30.12.13 Thus saith the holy One of Israel because you trust in perversenesse and staie thereupon therefore this iniquitie shall be as a breach ready to fall swelling out in an high wall whose breaking comes suddainly at an instant Your sinne will not alwaies be your Underling but if you make it your wall and leane upon it and stay thereupon it will quickly get above your head and grow higher then you and the more you leane the sooner it will swell and the harder you leane the heavier it will fall upon your heads you shall not need to call to Mountaines to fall upon you this high wall of your own building and whereunto you trusted will be weight enough upon your Consciences and vexation enough unto your spirits 3ly Lean on sin and looke that God should leave you 3ly Lean on sin and God wil leave you he that trusts in sin hath a God on this side God he makes sinne his God and then as Hos 10.3 What should a King do unto us so what should God do unto him What will he doe why he tells you Hos 4.17 Ephraim is joyned unto Idols let him alone When men are joyned to sinne that is hold sin as hard as sinne holds them and stick unto sinne as close as sinne sticks unto them God will say and they had as good he should say any thing let such a soul alone Lastly Though God leave thee for the present 4ly The harder you press upon sin the harder will God presse upon you yet will he leane the harder upon thee another day the harder thou leanest upon sinne now What a dreadfull passage is that Job 27.20 22. Terrours
shall take hold upon him for God shall cast upon him and not spare though he would fain flie out of his hand You have this dreadfull judgement annexed to this sad sinne Jer. 13.35 This is thy lot the portion of thy measures from me saith the Lord because thou hast forgotten me and trusted in falsehood this is thy lot from me Oh! that 's a killing word It 's usually the lot of Saints to suffer from the World and to have all the loades laid on them that wicked men can lay yea sometimes 't is their lot to lie under all the loads that they can possibly lay upon themselves and their own Consciences can presse them down withall but all this is little to the other for all this while there is a God to take off their loads from them But now when God shall say this is thy lot from me and I will lay much weight upon thee because thou didst trust in falshood and lay as much weight upon thy sinne as possibly thou couldest and I the Lord will presse hard upon thee with mine owne hand of wrath and will not spare because thou didst leane hard upon thy sinne and sparedst not Heaven and Earth stand astonished and tremble O Hell at the Easelesse Endlesse and Remedilesse vexation that will surprise that Spirit Leane not to Satan 1. He is a knowne lyar 2ly Lean not to Satan for 1. If Sin be the web Satan is the Spider If Sin be the lie Satan's the lyer and which of these is to be leaned unto As for Satan he was a lyer from the beginning he hath continued a lyer ever since he got his Kingdom by lying he continues it by lying he manageth his whole Oeconomy and family-dispensations by lying and therefore he is called the Father of it Jo. 8.44 And is this thy Counsellor thy friend thy bosome-friend Is this hee that so many of the world lean unto Alas the foolishnesse of the children of men or madnesse rather of the children of the Devill alas the frequent bewitchednesse of the children of God! 2ly A sworne enemy Secondly Satan is not onely a known lyer but he is also thy sworn Enemie therefore what madnesse is it for thy soule to leane to him Will a man consult with his Enemie whose plot it is to take away his life or his estate how he may doe to save them Or will he which is much more lean to his Enemies counsell if he should entertaine a discourse with him What is said of the Unicorne Job 39.11 Wilt thou trust him because his strength is great I may much more say so to thy soule concerning Satan Are we ever the more confident in our Adversaries because they are the more potent Strength is the onely thing in Satan which might induce thee to leane unto those Principalities and Powers yea but that strength is in an Enemies keeping and therefore there 's lesse reason for trusting him Or dost thou thinke that he will lay downe his Emnity because he takes up a flattery Let the wise Man counsell thee Prov. 26.24 25. He that hateth dissembleth with his lips and layeth up deceit within him when he speaketh fair believe him not for there are seven abominations in his heart Thirdly You say of knavish Customers 3ly The more you leane to him the more he will presse upon you the more you trust them the more they trouble you and the more they have of your Confidence the more you have of their Companie the way to be rid of them is to give them no Credit neither to trust to their Promises nor to their Payments I am sure it is and will be thus with Satan Oh! how he loves to trade where he may bee trusted you complaine Satan's alwaies troubling you and who can helpe it you are alwaies trusting him Trust him lesse and hee will trouble you lesse In this sort resist him and in that sort he will flee from you Jam 4.7 Lastly Lean unto Satan and farewell all confederacy and correspondence with the Lord. They say 4ly Leane to him and God will leave you if our State will leane to the Portugall they must breake with the Spaniard for these are absolute Enemies I am sure if you leane to Satan God will break with you for there 's no reconciling Christ and Belial Thus resting on the Lord and covenanting with Hell are made termes of fullest opposition Isai 28.12 15. CHAP. XXIV Disswasives from leaning upon the World amplified Lean not to the world THirdly lean not to the World Or as the Apostles rule is where hee speakes of the highest of fleshly things Phil. 3.3 Have no confidence in the flesh 1. Not to the worlds promises First Lean not to the Worlds promises be they never so specious yet are they but like Satans to Christ when he shewed him the glory of the World altogether deceitfull and treacherous All these will I give thee or to our Parents you shall be as Gods What more could be promised but though the second Adam was wiser then to be deceived yet is the first Adam yea and all his posterity a sad and sufficient proofe of the slender performance Much after the same sort doth the World pay what it promiseth Therefore as Job 15.31 Let not him that is deceived trust in Vanity for Vanity shall be his recompence Have you not often found this to be true of the World you very Men of the World Is not an high degree in the world a lye even as a low degree is vanity Read Psal 62.9 Yea let great Ones read their own Experiences in such or such a place of worldly profit or power c. Who were fairly promised much in it before they had it and then tell me Nor performances 2ly The Worlds performances are no more to bee trusted then its promise Leane no more unto what the World can do then unto what the World can say 1. Not to what the men of the world can do First Lean not to the Men of the World Jer. 17.5 Cursed be the man that trusteth in man or maketh flesh his Arm. 2ly Lean not to the Things of the World 2. Nor the things of the world Charge them that be rich in this world that they trust not in riches 1 Tim. 6.17 True may you say men are not to be lean'd to in whom we have no interest but such a man is my friend my Brother But trust not in a friend Mic. 7.5 And againe men will think small friends small forces are not much to be confided in Small means they that have them may live to wast them and too dye beggers notwithstanding them But think men if our friends or our Armies were so great or our Navies so strong or our Estates so many Thousands and that an Annuity then might I trust and that with boldnesse unto these things Therefore I wil go over again First Lean not to the men of
sue for life like Haman but it shall be denyed thee and then thou shalt seek for Death but Death shall flye from thee Thou shalt neither live nor die but live to die and that to eternity This is thine End but behold it is endlesse Therefore thou shall cry yea sadly shalt thou cry an end is come but O that there were an end I dye I perish But O that I could perish If thou wilt not save me Lord kill me but he will do neither O let the Mountaines fall on me and let the hills cover me from thy presence and from the face of the Lamb and this is the only Petition that shall be granted thee but in a sad sense for Mountains of wrath shall fall upon thee and everlasting hills of Gods displeasure shall hide thee I will warrant thee from the face of his pitty and from the presence of his glory Then shalt call to Abraham for a drop but receive a River not of water to cool but of brimstone to bridle thy tormented tongue then shalt thou be thirsty and hardly bestead and shalt curse thy King and thy God and look upward Ah! sad home and homely entertainment Oh! sad welcome O! take it for a warning thou wretch thy Father the Devill is making a scourg for thee of his own chain and thou 'st find it so when hee gets thee in though he flatter thee home thy fellow servants that are in the same Condemnation with thee are prepared to smite thee yea when thou comest home then shall thine owne Conscience speak home because thou hast been a self-Murtherer therefore shalt thou ever be a self-tormentor Ah Satan shalt thou say Is this thy Fatherhood to thy Children is this the best hire thou givest thy servants is this thy kindness to thy friend Ah sirs are you the men that I called good fellowes was I thus mistaken in you am I thus rewarded by you Ah! how I spent my Estate my Time my Soule upon you how I lost the company of Saints to gaine yours the favour of God to gain yours how I displeased my Conscience to please your corruptions And do you thus requite my poor soul Oh cruel people and unkind Then shalt thou cry to thy Conscience ah why didst not thou speak and warn me that I might not have come into this place of torment but thy conscience shall reply Ah wretch Why didst not thou hear how often did I call but thou gavest me no answer but slightedst all my Counsell and wouldst none of my reproof Thou shalt accuse thy Conscience and thy Conscience shall accuse thee Thou shalt accuse thy Companions and they thee thou shalt accuse the serpent and the serpent shall accuse thee Then shalt thou look on the one hand and refuge faileth thee and on the other and there is none careth for thy soul Thou shalt look to thy Merchants with whom thou hast laboured from thy youth but they wander to their Quarters None of them save thee Thou shalt look to thy leaning-stocks but thine hope shal be cut off thy trust shal be as a spiders web then shall thy sinking soul cry out to thy shrinking supports will you also go away what my riches and what my righteousnesses and what the desire of mine eyes and the delight of mine heart I have treasured you up against the latter daies and will you now leave my soul in Hell and suffer one that loved you so dearly to see corruption Yet this shalt thou have from them because thou trustedst in them and it shall be answered concerning thee Lo this is the man that made not God his strength this is the soul that leaned not upon the Beloved Wherefore let me earnestly exhort you seriously to ask your soules this one Question which is the home that I am hasting to Hell or Heaven for there is not a third beside the grave and the grave is but thy long home but these are the everlasting homes if thou reply but how shall I know 't is soon answered if Christ be thy Way Heaven is thy Home and if any man be in Christ he is a new Creature but and if the Wildernesse be thy Way the place of Howling is thy Home therefore go to now lament and Howl for the miseries that shall come upon thee before the Evill daies come wherein thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them Other Uses might be made of this point viz. If there be no salvation for lost sinners but onely by leaning upon the Lord Jesus How may this inform us of inavailableness of all their supports of the folly of leaning on them How may this confute the Popish recumbency on the merits of our own Works our leaning to the Angells to the Virgin-Mother of our Lord or any other of the Saints and all reliance on the light of our own Wisdoms or might of our own wils as also any expectancy of salvation in any other Religion that teacheth not Christ to bee the onely or the all sufficient Saviour of lost sinners And what terror may this speak to such daring Wretches as make their sinns their Saviours and their lusts their leaning-stocks trusting as the Lord complains in their iniquities And on the other hand how great Encouragement to such as onely love and leane upon Jesus Christ to a fixednesse of heart whilst you trust in the Lord. And lastly how might we hence put you upon the tryall what is indeed your soules leaning-stock Is it Christ or another that we follow hard after that wee rejoyce most in that set our love most upon that wee leave others for that we cleave most unto for these I take to be true tryalls what is it is it that we have most recumbency on but each of these or something Equivalent hath already lyen before us in this discourse and therefore I shall say no more but Consider what hath been spoken and the Lord give you understanding in all things FINIS