Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heart_n	affection_n	pray_v	prayer_n	3,335	5	6.6693	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A88594	A treatise of effectual calling and election. In XVI. sermons, on 2 Pet. 1.10 Wherein a Christian may discern, whether yet he be effectually called and elected. And what course he ought to take that he may attain the assurance thereof. Preached by that faithful servant of Christ, Mr. Christopher Love, late minister of Lawrence Jury, London.	Love, Christopher, 1618-1651.; Calamy, Edward, 1600-1666.; Cross, Thomas, fl. 1632-1682,	1653 (1653)	Wing L3178; Thomason E696_1; ESTC R202781	182,095	256

of John so the Eunuch was converted by reading Isa 53.7 Beloved God is not bound up to any one way in saving man He that wrought upon Austin by a verse reading upon another by a Sermon he can do so by thee Reading is an ordinance of God and God is not bound up but may use that as ameans of thy effectual call likewise Thirdly Yea but saith another doubting soul Peradventure I was never wrought upon neither by seeing godly people among whom I lived and observing their example nor was I wrought upon by reading good books but I was first wrought upon by hearing such a Minister that I now see is run into error or a Minister that is grown loose in his practice happily in these present times gone to joyne with the enemy against the Kingdom and become a wicked and vile liver and the Minister being bad that wrought upon me makes me question whether the work be not an unsound and bad work also and this gravels many a Christian likewise To which I answer briefly First That suppose the Minister were bad that wrought upon thee yet the badnesse of the Minister is no just ground of making us suspect our calling For then we should never be sure of our call A man may be sure of his own conversion though a man may not be sure of the conversion of him by whose means he was called Secondly Again it is clear in Scripture God may use Ministers that are wicked themselves to convert others The Ministers of the seven Churches of Asia doubtlesse some of them were bad men Paul tells you 1 Cor. 9.27 I keep under my body lest when I preach to others I my self may be a castaway Intimating that a man may preach to others and may be a means to save others and yet not be saved himself So 1 Cor. 13.1 Ministers in this case may be as Cooks are A Cook may dresse many a dish and let them go through his hands to furnish a large and stately Table yet of all these dishes himself hardly taste one So Ministers they may dresse many a dish for their hearers yet they not lick their fingers or taste of this spiritual food themselves As in the building of the Ark there were many men built Noahs Ark to save others that were drowned themselves so many men may build an Ark by preaching the Word and the wayes of God to save other mens soules when they may be drowned themselves Hence it is the Scripture tells us of Starres that fell from Heaven many Ministers that seemed godly Ministers like Starres in their Generation yet they fell and became wicked and loose And I remember Doctor Pembleton a famous Minister in the dayes of Queen Mary and a man whose Ministry had converted many Christians yet at length he himself turned to be a Papist Now these Christians did never misdoubt or suspect their conversion because the man that converted them was a bad man They might be good people though he was a bad Minister so that this is no ground in the world though I confesse it is not ordinary that God makes wicked men meanes of conversion but God ordinarily crowns the Word most in the mouth of a godly Minister yet sometimes I say God may use a wicked man to be a means to convert soules And I would give you these reasons to prove that a wicked man may convert soules and that God ties not conversion onely to a godly Minister Because first the efficacy of the Word doth not depend upon man but upon Jesus Christ and Christ may make use of whom he pleaseth Secondly If only a good man could convert then this would follow that we could be as well sure of another mans conversion as we are of our own which is a thing most untrue For if only a godly man could convert then if I were sure of my own conversion I were as well sure of his conversion that wrought upon me also which cannot be so that clearly this should lay no block in your way because you discern the Minister that wrought upon you to be no good man seeing conversion is not tied onely to a godly Minister Thirdly a third ground from whence doubts arise in called ones is from some seeming defects they apprehend to be in the concomitants that accompany or in the effects that should follow effectual calling and this makes them fear that sure they are not effectually called I will name to you three or four First saith a doubting Christian I do hear in Scripture what effects will follow and what will accompany a man effectually called and I find them not wrought in my soul As now first I apprehend that when a man is effectually called he shall be inabled by God to call upon him in prayer I finde in Scripture 1 Cor. 1.2 That all that are called to be Saints they shall call upon the Lord in every place but alas wo is me I do not find this in my soul I find I have a dull dead listlesse unpraying heart all the dayes of my life and therefore I doubt whether I am effectually called or no. Now to this I shall lay down three things for answer First peradventure you judge that you are not enabled to pray because you want expressions in prayer though you have affections Now if you judge your inability to pray because you want expressions only you judge amisse because prayer is to be judged by the affections not by the expressions Expressions they are but the breath of nature a natural voluble tongue may tumble out expressions whereas affections in prayer they are the breath and fruit of the holy Spirit Therefore do not judge you cannot pray because you have not such fluent expressions as others use for the very essence of a prayer lies in the heart and therefore it is said when the Spirit of God teacheth men to pray it teacheth them not only in expressions but with sighs and groans that cannot be uttered Rom. 8.26 When the Spirit moves the heart and makes you sigh out your requests and sorrow out your supplications you pray best of all Secondly you that judge your inability to pray and therefore think you are not called because you cannot call upon God I would say this unto you That the best of Gods children have found a great difference in their spirits in reference to praying duties the best of Gods children do not alwayes pray alike Sometimes the affections of godly men are as swift in prayer as the Chariots of Aminadab otherwhiles they drive as heavily as Pharaohs Chariots when the wheels were off Sometime the people of God are burning in their affections hot as fire otherwhiles they are frozen in their affections cold as ice None of Gods people are in their carriage alwayes alike towards God in prayer Psal 77.4 It is the speech of Asaph O Lord my spirit is overwhelmed within me I am sore troubled I cannot speak The man was

so troubled he could not speak yet Asaph spake these words with his mouth but the meaning is though Asaph was a godly man yet he was so overwhelmed with trouble he could not speak to God he could not call upon God with that inward vigor of spirit Though thou mayest sometime call upon God with affection yet when trouble rests upon thee thy heart may be out of frame Thirdly many times Gods people are subject to a state of desertion and abatements in their spiritual affections and then they are out of a praying vein when you loose affections the wheels of prayer are knocked off Many times it falls out with Gods people that they are even brought into a languishing and low condition they are in such a swoune as if they had neither a principle nor the actings of spiritual life Rev. 3. verse 2. Strengthen that which remaines saith the holy Ghost that is ready to die Godly people may bee a dying people and then the tongue failes when it is a dying the people of God may be in a dying condition though they never die wholly in grace yet they may be so weakned in their spirits that they cannot poure out their requests to God as in wonted time 2 Chron. 17.3 Jehosaphat he walked in the first wayes of David his father implying that Davids first wayes were better then his last So many men may have their first wayes good yet sometime in the end before they die they may have much failing and deadnesse of spirit upon them Fourthly If a man doth but mourn that he cannot call upon God God looks upon that as calling upon him If you can but sigh out your requests and mourn that you cannot mourn and pray that you might pray the Lord hears your prayer This is the most melodious musick you can make in the eares of God Therefore David saith Psal 6.8 The Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping There is a voice in Teares as well as in Words If the Lord see thee to weep over thine own straitnesse and mourn over thine own deadnesse the Lord looks upon this with a more pleasing eye then if thou couldst poure out the inlargements of thy tongue with most fluent and voluble expressions 2 PET. 1.10 Wherefore the rather Brethren Give all diligence to make your Calling and Election sure THE Doctrine which I am yet upon is this That Christians ought to put forth a great deal of diligence to make this sure to their souls that they are effectually called by Jesus Christ In the prosecution of which I have gone over many particulars and answered some doubts in reserence to godly men who are effectually called As first in regard of some seeming defects they apprehend to be in the manner of their calling Secondly in the means of their calling And thirdly which I am yet upon of some defects they apprehend about the concomitants that accompany those that are effectually called of which I have spoken onely of one in particular to wit that they cannot call upon God in prayer I now passe to the second Secondly They apprehend that those that are effectually called they have this to accompany their calling that they are brought out of a state of ignorance into a state of knowledge out of a state of darknesse into a state of light hence they will urge this against themselves 1 Pet. 2.9 Ye are to shew forth the praises of him who hath call'd you out of darknesse into his marvellous light And Acts 26.18 He sent forth his Word to call them from darknesse to light and from the power of Satan unto God Now saith the poor soul Alas I do not finde this concomitant to be in my heart I do not finde this marvellous light the Scripture here speaks of 2 Cor. 4 6. Alas my heart is like a dungeon of darknesse and like a house that hath no inlets no windows to let in the Sun-shine of the Gospel upon it and many times this gravelleth many a godly minde Now to those that make this doubt I shall onely speak two or three things to take it off First to you that make this complaint I would say this that those that know most they know but little in the mysteries of Christ as you are not perfect in other graces so you are not here perfect in knowledg You know but in part 1 Cor. 13.9 therefore you have no need to be discouraged at this Secondly and more particularly you that complain of ignorance though you are ignorant and cannot finde that marvellous light shine in your souls which you exspect yet if your ignorance have not these three ill qualities you may rest confident your ignorance will never prove a damning sinne unto you but it may be consistent with your effectual calling As First If you ignorance be not a stubborne and wilfull ignorance Secondly If it be not a sottish and brutish ignorance And thirdly If it be not a fundamental ignorance First If it be not a stubborne and wilfull ignorance Though you are ignorant yet if you are willing to learn and know the wayes of God revealed in his Word such an ignorance will never damne you But when ignorance comes to be wilful that a man doth not know and he will not learne a man is an ignorant man yet he thinks he knows more then all the Preachers can tell him this is a sad signe you are not effectually called Hence you read Prov. 1.22 How long ye simple ones will you love simplicity c Godly people may be in a state of ignorance but they love it not therefore 2 Pet. 3.5 the Scripture tells us of wicked men that they are wilfully ignorant So that if your ignorance have not this bad quality in it to be a stubborne and wilfull ignorance it may stand with your effectual calling Secondly Provided that your ignorance be not a sottish and brutish ignorance that is that you do not so lie clouded in a state of darknesse that you are uncapable to discerne the goodnesse of the Word and uncapable to apprebend any thing that is taught you that you are not like those Jer. 4.22 My people have no understanding they are a sottish people wise to do evil but to do good they have no understanding Many men are ignorant men yet not so sottishly ignorant as not to be capable of learning if you will teach him he is willing to be instructed but some men are so ignorant they are not capable of learning you may as well teach a block as them Hence it is the Prophet complains Esa 1.4 The Oxe knows his owner and the Asse his Masters Crib but Israel knows not the Lord his God Thirdly In case your ignorance be not a fundamental ignorance I mean such an ignorance as not to know those necessary and fundamental points in the Word that must be known if ever you be saved as about Jesus Christ and salvation and justification by his blood and faith in

ingages God to take away comforts from a people As First the sinne of superciliousnesse and uncompassionatenesse of spirit towards doubting Christians If a soul carries a proud and supercilious eye over poor Christians and carries no compassion towards doubting souls God for that sinne of wanting bowels of compassion may bring him to the same estate which he could not compassionate in other men Secondly the sinne of grieving the Spirit if you grieve Gods Spirit God will grieve yours Esa 63.10 Or Thirdly The sinne of spiritual pride ordinarily this may be the sinne Or Fourthly The sinne of worldly-mindednesse or eager pursuit after the things of this world As digging in the earth doth endanger a man to bee stifled with damps so digging and poring in the world brings but a damp upon a Christians comforts and many times stifles their assurance As the Sun is eclipsed by the interposition of the Moone between it and our sight so if the world once get between the Sunne of righteousnesse and you it will eclipse the Sunne that you shall not see the glory of Jesus Christ and shall not perceive nor gain that interest in Jesus Christ you had in former time Secondly Another cause you are to search If it be not the commission of some great transgression yet it may be the omission of some necessary and weighty duty and the Lord may bring you upon the stage of discomfort for omission as well as commission If a man doth let but a wound go undressed he may as well die as if you knockt him with a Beetle upon the head Beloved if you let your wounds be undressed and let your discomforts be unlooked after and let all run at sixes and sevens if you interrupt in your duties it is just with God to interrupt you in your comforts If you keep not your watch 't is no wonder if you are surprized There are many Christians that grow carelesse in keeping communion with God that love seldome reading and seldome praying and seldome examining their owne hearts alas men casting away their duties it makes God in judgement make stoppage in a way of comfort Fifthly In your searching work examine your selves what you would do in case God should restore to you your former evidences could you bring your hearts to this temper that you would think no pains too much to take no cost too much to give nothing should be irksom to you that God would have you perform in case he would give you your wonted comforts If you finde this temper of spirit in you this is a very ready way to bring on your comforts and restore the joyes of your salvation to you Secondly Set upon humbling work the onely way to gain what you have lost is to mourn over your losses Jer. 31.18 19 20. See how Ephraim comes to have his comforts restored when he wept over his own discomforts I have heard Ephraim bemoaning himselfe saith God and I said Is Ephraim my dear sonne I saw him smiting upon his thigh humbling his soul for his sinnes and since I saw him I do earnestly remember him and I will shew mercy to him Here you see lamenting Ephraim God in the very time of his bemoaning himself restored his comforts to him we hear many lament for their outward losses but who laments for the losse of inward comforts And David after he had lost his comforts by that great sinne of adultery makes seven penitential Psalmes Psalmes of lamentation or repentance and he calls one of them A Psalm to call to remembrance And as an Authour well notes when David came to renew his comforts he makes a Psalm to call to remembrance those sinnes that might provoke God to take away his comforts from him So Beloved let it be your work to make such Psalms in your Closets and make it your practice to call to remembrance those evils that provoke God to eclipse your comforts to you and let that humble you If you cannot find out the Particular sin labour to humble your soules for every sinne and then to be sure you cannot misse that Thirdly Would you restore your wonted comforts then set upon praying work This course you finde David took Psal 51.8 Make me O Lord to hear the voice of joy and gladnesse that the bones which thou hast broken might rejoyce Create in me a new heart and establesh me with thy free Spirit verse 12. Here you read of Davids praying work how he poured forth his soule in prayer that God would restore to him the joyes of his salvation And here in your praying work I would only cast in three directions First Pray for a distinct sight of those evils that provoked God to take your comforts from you Secondly After you have got a sight bend the strength of your prayers most against those evils that did so provoke God to cloud your comforts Pray against them as against the deadliest enemy you have in the world Thirdly Pray for attaining those graces that may be inlets to spiritual comfort as the graces before named the grace of godlie sorrow the grace of humiliation the grace of faith and of love to Jesus Christ Thus if you set upon searching upon humbling and upon praying work you are in a likely way to have your comforts restored Fourthly Set upon the work of meditation and in this work I shall commend four meditations you are to take into your thoughs which may be very helpful and useful to you in restoring your comforts As First Let your meditations run upon this that sometimes you are not so competent Judges of your own spiritual estate as others may be As First In a time of desertion when God hath left you and frownes upon you Secondly In times of temptation when the devils temptations are violent against you Thirdly In times of Relapse when you are fallen into some great sinne at this time you are not so competent Judges of your own estate but standers by may see more of your own good and your own sincerity then your selves may do as the Proverb is Many times Lookers on see more then he that playes the game it is true in this A Looker on may see sincerity sparkle in thy practice and thy graces shine in thy conversation when thou canst not do it thy selfe A childe when it blubbers and cries can see nothing of his book So when Christians are sad and sullen and lumpish they can hardly read any thing of their evidence Mr. Throgmorton got his assurance this way by the Testimony of a company of godly Ministers that they could lay their soules in his soules stead Let this therefore run in your Meditations that many times standers by and Christians that behold your walkings and see your Actions they may see more ground of comfort in you then your selves can do Secondly Meditate and think upon the comforts God gave you in wonted time and call them to minde Do as David did Psal 77. I called to

souls that they are effectually called and eternally elected Give diligence to make your Calling and Election sure Now I cannot handle this Doctrine in the bulk of it but must of necessitie take it into parts and handle it piece by piece that so I may give you the strength of the whole Observation in the Application of it And seeing Calling lies in the front I shall in a few Sermons treat of that And the Point from thence will be this That Doctr. Christians ought to put forth a great deal of diligence to make this sure to their souls that they are effectually Called Beloved This is a very material Point I am now upon especially in this deceitful age wherein men plunge themselves into a gulph of presumption wherein many times men take faith upon trust and Christ upon trust It is meet that you that live under the Gospel should trie your Calling by the Gospel whether it be true or no there may be an external Cal when there is no inward calling by the operation of the Spirit upon your hearts In the managing of this Point I shall shew you these three things First What Effectual Calling is Secondly Why you are required to put forth a great deal of diligence to make your Calling sure to your souls Thirdly By what Characters or Discoveries you may be assured in your own hearts that you are effectually called First What Effectual Calling is You say we must make it sure therefore what is the nature of it For answer you may take this description of it Effectual Calling is the fruit of Gods Election whereby God of his free grace works a wonderful change in the heart of an Elect person by the inward operation of the Spirit accompanying the outward Ministry of the word by vertue of which the soul is brought from under the dominion of sin and Satan into a state of grace and so made meet for the enjoyment of God in glory Now I shal not take this apart but commit it to your memorie and judgment to apprehend Only in this description there are laid down four differences to distinguish effectual Calling from that ordinary or outward Calling that wicked men have by the Ministrie of the Word As 1. Effectual Calling in the description is said to be a fruit of Gods Election but outward or general Calling is a fruit only of common providence God by an over-ruling providence sends the Gospel among a people and thereby calls them to an outward compliance and conformitie but effectual Calling is a fruit of Gods Election 2. It is said in the description that Effectual Calling it changes the heart whereby God works a wonderful change in the heart but an external Calling no way reacheth the heart only worketh some kind of civil or common alteration in the life 3. It 's said Effectual Calling is wrought by the inward operation of the Spirit accompanying the outward Ministry of the word whereas an External Call is only by the word but no inward saving work of the Spirit at all 4. It s said of Effectual Calling that it is from the dominion of sin but External Calling is only from the external acts of sin Indeed by an external calling the word may have that power over a man as to restrain and keep in the visible and external actings of sin but it no way works upon the inclination to take off the affection from sin wheras this effectual Calling works upon the heart and works to the subduing and destroying of the power of sin as well as the actings of it Secondly Why doth God require that we should put forth such great diligence in making sure that we are effectually called by the Spirit of Jesus Christ in the Gospel There are three Reasons why this should be Reas 1 First Because there are many professing the Gospel that do harbour ungrounded perswasions that they are effectually called when they are not Now if many men be deceived why may not you And if many are apt to be deceived about this matter have not you great cause to be diligent lest you are deceived also The Jewes of old they boasted of their Calling and said We have Abraham to our father but Christ confutes that If you were Abrahams children saith he you would do the works of Abraham but you seek to kill me which Abraham did not But then they go higher John 8.46 they were effectually called For God is our Father No saith Christ You are of your father the Divel Thus many men run into these gross mistakes to believe they are effectually called when they are not Many are called outwardly that are not called effectually Matth. 22.14 And therefore it concerns you not to be deceived in this great business Reas 2 Secondly Because there is this natural aptness in all of us in things that are of any value concerning the bodie you wil be sure to make sure of them It may be if you have Brass and Pewter or baser Mettals your Kitchin shal serve for that but things of greater value as Pearls and Diamonds they must be in the Closet and in a Cabinet in that Closet you wil be sure to ensure them Why how much more should you ensure this great and precious Jewel of Effectual Calling that so much concerns your immortal souls When you buy Land you will be sure your Title is good to draw up your evidences so as to be firm in Law You know Merchants if they venture a great or most part of their estate at sea where happily there may be hazard in the Voyage they will run speedily to ensure a great part of their Commodities Beloved this should you do this bodie of yours is the Ship and the Merchandize and Freight in this Ship is your souls and this Ship is going a great Voyage to Glorie Glorie is the Port whither this Ship is to come you shall meet with many dangers in your way haply with storms and tempests of temptation yea haply you may run upon the rocks of presumption or quick-sands of despair O now run to the ensuring Office what 's that why run to seek the Testimonie of Christs Spirit in your own Spirit by the word to evidence unto you upon good ground that the Ship shal be safe and the Commodities brought secure to the Haven that Ship Bodie Soul and all shal come safe to Heaven Beloved if men wil thus ensure their Estates you have much more reason to ensure your souls For believe it if you make not sure your souls if you suffer shipwrack ye are turned Bankrupts presently bankrupt to God you lose him for ever It is said of an old Usurer That when any man came to borrow money of him he would hardly trust one in twentie and being ask'd the reason Why he would do so O saith he it is good to be sure Why Beloved shal an Usurer in all his ways be so secure and so heedful in all his disbursments that he could say

that have sometime enjoyed this assurance but now have lost or eclipsed the comfortable feeling of their assurance Into these two heads I shall branch my discourse Vse And first the exhortation or counsel I am to give is to them that are assured of their effectual calling that have done the work the Apostle here injoynes them that have made sure their vocation and by unquestionable evidence can say so And these I would advise to three particular duties First you should be directed rightly to use your assurance Secondly Carefully to preserve your assurance Thirdly Daily to improve your assurance This is the threefold task that lies upon you that enjoy this rich jewel of assurance First You are to take care that you rightly use and manage your assurance A thing hardly gotten if it be not well managed a man may enjoy it in a way of losse to himselfe To use assurance well is the great Art of a Christian And here that I might speak distinctly to this direction I shall lay down eight particulars as concomitants or gracious qualifications which must accompany you in a condition of assurance As First You must use and manage your assurance with humility in case you use it well Assured Christians must be humble Christians The more high you are in comforts the more low you should be in Spirit You know the fullest eares of corn hang down their head lowest when light and flashy darnel that hath nothing of worth in it lifts up its head on high Assured Christians they are like your full and ripe eares of corn the more full they are of this fruit of the Spirit assurance the more low do they and should they hang down their heads It is your empty barrels make a noise when your full vessels though you strike them will not sound It is those Christians that are most empty of faith and most empty of assurance that make most noise and are most proud of their gifts and graces when your assured Christians they are like vessels full of the best liquor that makethe least noise The fuller God hath fil'd you with this comfort the more you should shine forth in humility As Paul when he saith Christ loved him and gave himselfe for him when he was most full of comforts he was most fill'd with humility and said I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me Secondly You must manage your assurance with a high valuation of the comforts of God in you A man that hath received a benefit if he do not value it it is a provocation to the man that gave it either to repent of his gift or take it away David when he had assurance mark how he values it Psal 63.3 Thy loving kindnesse is better then life He valued the comforts of his God and the shining of Gods countenance better then life And Psal 4.6 Lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me and that shall more glad me then when my corn and wine and oile increaseth David would more value the comforts of Gods Spirit then any other comfort in the world Assured Christians that use assurance rightly they must put a high valuation and worth upon it And the reason is Because you will not then easily part with your assurance for a base and beggerly lust and for a fruitlesse sinne if once you know the value and worth of it Thirdly Your assurance must make you to live with a weaned heart from the comforts of this world 2 Cor. 4. the last verse compared with Chapt. 5.1 The Apostle tels you We doe not look after the things that are seen that are temporal What made the Apostle not to look after worldly things he gives the reason For when this house of ours is dissolved we have a dwelling with God eternal in the heavens As if he should say That 's the reason we do not look after the world as worldly men do for we know that when we leave this world we have a heaven to go to The assurance of the Blessednes of their future being did make them undervalue the world as a thing not worthy the glance of the eye Persons that have assurance can say as Philip said to Christ John 14.8 Shew us saith Philip the Father and it sufficeth us Thus saith a gracious heart O sweet Jesus shew us but thy favour assure but my soule that thy Father is a reconciled Father to me in thy selfe that he is my Father as well as thy Father Shew me but the Father and it sufficeth me though I have little or nothing in the world this shall suffice me Gracious hearts that live in the enjoyment of assurance they ought to live with a weaned heart from the comforts of this world Men that have tasted hony or some other sweet morsel they do distaste all other things though of themselves very pleasant So men that have tasted of this hony of Gods love and the sweetnesse of this grace of assurance it will make them distaste and disrelish all the things of this world though of themselves pleasant good If a man look on the Sun it dazles his eyes that he cannot discern colours about him so he that beholds the light of Gods countenance will not look upon the things here below I may allude to that place Luke 5.39 No man saith Christ having drunk old wine straight way desireth new for he saith The old is better His meaning is this No man that hath had a taste of Jesus Christ hath had communion and fellowship with Jesus Christ and lain under the Ministery of Jesus Christ no man that hath drunk of this old wine will say new is better to have other comforts and other pleasures is better no man will say this saith Christ And so he compares his Ministery and his doctrine and the comfort Gods people have thereby to old wine Beloved so I say men that have drunk draughts of this wine of consolation and men that are set●edly assured and have had a taste that the Lord is gracious no man will now say that the world is better and the comforts below better No the assurance of Gods love should wean a mans heart from all the comforts of the world As old Jacob said when he saw his sonne Joseph in his old age after he had made many a prayer and shed many a tear O Joseph my sonne is yet alive I have enough As was the carriage of Jacob to Joseph the same should be the carriage of a Christian towards Christ If he can say My Joseph my Jesus is alive in my heart I having him have enough this comfort should ravish his spirit Paul when he was rapt up into the third heaven was so transported that he knew not whether he was in the body or no so are the people of God ravished with heavenly consolations that they minde not these earthly things Cui incipit dulcescere Christus ei necesse est am ●●escere mundum It