temptations they shut their eyes and stop their ears they wil not see they will not believe Oh what losses do they sustain how many Sabbaths are lost how many Sermons are lost how many reproofs counsels corrections are lost a Gospel lost and souls thereby like to bee lost for ever oh what prodigies are they become under all this sin and misery and yet merry jolly laughing and singing and sporting and feasting and braving it out as if nothing ail'd them Feeling nothing of all that is come upon them and fearing nothing of all that is coming Warn them reprove them beseech them 't is all but preaching to a stone It may bee you have sometimes wondred to see a company of thieves in prison to bee drinking and carousing and milking merry when they know that in a few daies they must bee brought out and hanged When thou wondrest at these wonder at thy self What bitter complaints do wee sometimes hear even from the best of Saints oh this hard heart oh this stubborn spirit I cannot mourn I cannot stoop I cannot submit Isa 63.17 Why hast thou hardned our heart from thy fear Or why hast thou left us or given us up to an hard heart why hast thou not softened and humbled and broken us thou hast humbled us and wee are not humbled broken us and wee are not broken thou hast broken our land broken our peace broken our backs but the stone is not yet broken oh for one breach more Lord our hearts our hearts let these bee once broken our streets mourn the Cities of our solemnities mourn the wayes of Sion mourn oh when wilt thou give us a mourning spirit Oh what sorrow-bitten souls are the Saints for want of sorrow I mourn Lord I lament I weep but 't is because I cannot mourn or lament as I should If I could mourn as I ought I could bee comforted if I could weep I could rejoyce if I could sigh I could sing if I could lament I could live I die I dye mine heart dies within mee because I cannot cry I cry Lord but not for sin but for tears for sin I cry Lord my calamities cry my bowels cry my bones cry my soul cries my sins cry Lord for a broken heart and behold yet I am not broken The Rocks rent the Earth quakes the Heavens drop the Clouds weep the Sun will blush the Moon bee ashamed the foundations of the earth will tremble at the presence of the Lord but this heart will neither break nor tremble O for a broken heart If this were once done might my soul have this wish thenceforth my God might have his Will what would bee hard if my heart were tender Labour would bee easie pains would bee a pleasure burthens would bee light Neither the Command nor the Cross would bee any longer grievous nothing would bee hard but sin Fear where art thou come and plough upon this Rock Love where art thou come and thaw this Ice come and warm this dead lump come and enlarge this straitned spirit then shall I run the way of his Commandements Oh Brethren how little how very little of this tenderness is there to bee found amongst the most of Christians The sacrifice of God is a broken heart Oh how far must the Lord go to finde himself such a Sacrifice wee do but cast stones up to Heaven when wee lift up our hearts 'T is a wonder that such hearts as wee carry do not break themselves that our marble weeps not that if nothing else will do it our hardness doth not make us relent that wee should so labour under and complain of and yet not bee sick of the Stone Broken hearts yeilding and relenting spirits tender consciences Oh where are they afraid of sin tender of transgressing or mourning under it when shall it once bee our lusts no more broken our pride our passion our envy our earthliness no more broken So venturous on temptation so bold on sin such liberty taken to transgress such mincing and palliating and excusing of sin as wee finde Is this our brokenness wee are tender 't is true but of what of dishonouring God of abusing Grace of neglecting Duty of defiling Conscience of vvounding of our Souls No 't is of our flesh that wee are so tender tender of labour tender of trouble tender of our carkasses of our credits of our Names and reputations a tender shoulder a tender hand a tender foot they can bear nothing nor do nothing nothing can touch our flesh nothing can touch our Idols our ease or our estates but wee shrink and smart and are put to pain God may bee smitten and wee feel it not the Gospel may bee smitten the Church may bee smitten conscience may bee smitten and it moves us not Wee can fear an affliction fear a reproach Oh did wee so much fear a temptation or a sin wee cannot want bread but wee feel it wee cannot want cloathes or an house or a friend but wee feel it Wee cannot want our sleep our quiet our pleasure our respects from men but wee feel it any thing that pinches upon our flesh pierces our hearts Wee cannot pine or languish in our bodies but wee feel it a feaver or an ague or a consumption or a dropsie or any bodily sickness Oh it makes us sick at heart a froward yoak-fellow an unthrifty servant an ill neighbour a scoffe a sleight cannot bee born but Oh! how much sin can bee born while our flesh will bear nothing Oh! how can conscience bear and never complain Christians consider when our flesh must be thus tendred what ever come of it must be tenderly fed must have soft rayment soft lodging soft usage deal gently with it though to maintain it Conscience must bee racked and wracked and wasted When our Wills cannot bee crossed our appetites cannot bee denied but a tumult follows the soul is in an uproar and conscience mean while must be denied rated and must go away in silence When the Word works no more when the prints of it are not received the power of it is resisted when the rod works no more when our stripes make no sign when the lashes on our backs fall all besides our hearts when wee remain so vain and so wanton so wilful and so carnal and so earthly after the Lord hath been preaching and whipping of us into a better frame when wee stand upon our terms keep our distances our animosities our heats and heighths of spirit our censurings our quarrellings one with another Christian with Christian Professour with Professour after the Lord hath been beating us together to make us friends and all to learn us more humility and charity Is this our brokenness is this our tenderness when upon any the Lords rougher dealing with us spitting in our faces throwing us on our backs trampling us in the dirt wee are yet no more brought on our knees Is this our brokenness when the Lord hath been awakening us out of sleep putting his
trust to it trust everlasting truth trust to everlasting strength Fear not for there shall not fail one word of all that I have spoken by all my servants the Prophets If you should hear the Lord speaking thus to you from Heaven what would you say Would not this satisfie you Why search the Scriptures that more sure word of Prophecy 2 Pet. 1.19 Read them diligently understond what thou readest and then say if thou doest not there finde the Lord speaking fully to thee the following words CHAP. XVII God speaking from Mount Gerizim Or the Gospel in a Map being a short view of the exceeding great and precious Promises * Mr. I. A. by another hand The voyce of the Herauld O All ye Inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the Earth Come see and hear gather your selves together unto the Proclamation of the great King Hear you that are farr off and you that are near He that hath an ear to hear let him hear I am the voyce of one crying in the Wilderness Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Let every Valley be exalted and every Mountain made low for the glory of the Lord is to be revealed Go thorow go thorow the Gates prepare the way Cast up cast up the High-way gather out the Stones lift up the Standard for the people for the Lord proclaimeth salvation to the ends of the Earth Tydings tydings O ye Captives Hear all ye that look for salvation in Israel behold I bring you glad tydings of great joy which shall be unto all people Blessed newes Prepare your ears and hearts the Lord hath commanded me saying Go unto the people and sanctifie them lâ—t them waâ—h and be ready for the Lord is coming down upon Mount Sion in the sight of all the Nations Not in Earthquakes and Fire not in Clouds and Darkness not in Thundrings and Burnings rending the Mountains and breaking the Rock in pieces He speaks not to you out of the Blackness and Darkness and Tâ—mpest you shall say no more Let not God speak to us lest we dye He cometh peaceably he Law of kindness is in his mouth he preacheth Peace peace to him that is far off and to him that is near Behold how he commeth leaping upon the Mountains he hath passed Mouth Ebal no more wrath or cursing he is come to Mount Gerizim where he standeth to bless the people As Mordecai to his Nation he writeth the words of truth and peace seeking the welâ—are of his people and speaking peace to all his Seed Behold how he cometh clothed with flames of Love with bowels of Compassion plenteous Redemption and multiplyed Pardons O how pregnant is his Love O the rollings of his Bowels Oh how full are his Breasts even aking till they are eased by the sucking of his hungry Children Hearken therefore O ye Children hearken to me To you it is commanded O People Nations and Languages that at what time you hear the joyful sound the Trump of Jubile the tydings of peace in the voyce of the everlasting Gospel that you fall down before the Throne and worship him that liveth for ever and ever Arise and come away Prepare prepare you Hear not with an uncircumcised ear you are not upon a common thing Behold the Throne is set the Throne of grace where Majesty and Mercy dwell together from thence will the Lord meet you from thence will he commune with you from the Mercy-seat from between the Cherubims upon the Ark of the Testimony Lo the Lord cometh out of his Pavilion the mighty God from Sion Selah His glory covereth the Heavens the Earth is full of his praise A fire of love goeth before him mercy and truth are round about him righteousness and peace are the habitation of his Throne he rideth on his Horses and Chariots of Salvation the Covenant of life and peace is in his mouth Rejoyce ye Heavens make a joyful noise to the Lord all the Earth Let the Sea roar the Floods clap their hands and the multitudes of the Isles rejoyce Stand forth the Host of Heaven prepare your Harps cast down your Crowns be ready with your Trumps bring forth your golden Vials full of Odours for our voyces will jarr our strings will break we cannot we cannot reach the note of our Makers praise Yet let them that dwell in the dust arise and sing Bear your part in this glorious service but consider and attend Call out your souls and all that is within you Lift up your voyces fix your eyes enlarge your hearts intend all their Powers here is work for them all Be intent and serious you cannot strein too high Come forth ye graces beset the way be all in readiness Stand forth Faith and Hope flame O Love come ye warm desires and break with longing Let fear with all veneration do its Obeysance Joy prepare thy songs call up all the Daughters of Musick to salute the Lord as he passeth by Let the generations of the Saints appear and spread the way with Boughs and Garments of Salvation and songs of Deliverance Deut. 29.10 to the 13. Ye stand this day all of you before the Lord your God your Captains your Elders your Officers with all the men of Israel your little Ones your Wives and the stranger that is within thy Camp from the hewer of Wood to the drawer of Water That thou shouldest enter into Covenant with the Lord thy God and into his Oath which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself and that he may be unto thee a God as he hath said unto thee and as he hath sworn I have done my errand The Messenger of the morning disappeareth when the Orient Sun cometh forth out of his Chambâ—rs I vanish I put my mouth in the dust The voice of the Lord The soft and still voice O my soul wrap thy face in the mantle and bow thy self to the ground and put thee in the clif of the Rock while Jehovah proclaimeth his Name and maketh all his goodness to pass before thee The voice of the LORD HEar O ye ends of the Earth The mighty God the Lord hath spoken Gather my Saints unto me those that have made a Covenant with me by sacrifice a a Psal 50.1,5 Behold I establish my Covenant between me and you b b Gen. 17.7 By my holiness have I sworn that I will be your Covenant-friend I lift up my hands to heaven I swear I live for ever and because I live you shall live also c c Ioh. 14.19 I will be yours d d Jer. 32.38,40 Yours to all intents and purposes Your refuge and your rest e e Jer. 50.6 Psal 90.1 Psal 46.1 your Patron and your Portion f f Psal 73.26 Esay 25.4,5 your Heritage and your Hope your God and your Guide g g Psal 48.14 While I have you shall never want and
mine own I have the Promises of this life and of that which is to come Oh what can I wish more How full a Charter is here Now my doubting Soul may boldly and believingly say with Thomas 1 Tim. 4.8 My Lord and my God! What need we any further witness We have heard his words He hath sworn by his Holiness that his Decree may not be changed and hath signed it with his own Signet Rejoyce ye Heavens strike up Celestial Quires Help Heaven and Earth Sing unto the Lord O ye Saints of his Bless the Lord O my Soul Oh had I the tongue of men and Angels all were too little for my single turn Had I as many tongues as hairs the whole Quire were not sufficient to utter my Creators praises Cant. 2.16 My Beloved is mine and I am His. The Grant is clear and my claim is firm Who durst deny it when God himself doth own it Is it an hard adventure to speak after Christ himself Why this is the Message that he hath sent me I ascend to my Father and your Father Joh. 20.17 my God and your God He hath put words into my mouth and bid me to say OUR FATHER I believe Lord help mine unbelief O my God and my Father I accept thee with all humble thankfulness and am bold to take hold of thee O my King and my God I subject my soul and all its Powers to thee O my Glory in thee will I boast all the day Oh my Rock on thee will I build all my confidence and my hopes Cant. 2.3 O staff of my life and strength of my heart the life of my joyes and joy of my life I will sit and sing under thy shadow and glory in thy holy Name O my Soul arise and take possession Inherit thy blessedness and cast up thy riches Thine is the Kingdome thine is the Glory and thine is the Victory The whole Trinity is thine All the Persons in the Godhead all the Attributes in the Godhead are thine And behold here is the Evidence and these are the writings by which all is made sure to thee for ever Psal 116.7 Psal 16.6 And now return to thy rest O my Soul for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee Say if thy Lines be not fallen to thee in a pleasant place and if this be not a goodly Heritage She quelleth Discontent and reasoneth down unbelief in Sequentib Oh Blasphemous Discontent How absurd and unreasonable an evill art thou whom all the fulness of the Godhead cannot satisfie because thou art denyed in a petty comfort or crost in thy vain expectations from the world O my unthankful Soul shall not a Trinity content thee Shall not Allsufficiency suffice thee Silence you murmuring thoughts for ever I have enough I abound and am full Infiniteness and Eternity is mine and what more can I ask The Assaults of unbelief 1. It questions the truth of the Promise But methinks I feel some secret Damps upon my joy and when I would soar aloft and triumph in the riches of my Portion a secret diffidence plucks me back as the string doth the Bird and unbelief whispers in mine ear Sure this is too good to be true The Triumph of Faith in the certainty of Gods Truth But who art thou that disputest against God The Lord hath spoken it and shall not I believe him Will he be angry if I give my assent and speak it confidently upon the credit of his word Esay 54.5 Hos 2.19 Jer. 3.19 Psal 50.7 2 Cor. 6.18 O my Lord suffer me to spread the writing before thee Hast not thou said Thy Maker is thy Husband I will betroth thee unto me Thou shalt call me My Father I pray thee O Lord was not this thy saying I am God even thy God I will be a Father unto you and ye my Sons and Daughters Why then should I doubt Is not the truth of the living God sure-footing for my faith Esay 31.3 Prov. 23.5 Silence then O quarrelling Unbelief I know in whom I have believed Not in Friends though numerous and potent for they are men and not God Psal 146.3,4 Not in Riches for they make themselves wings Not in Princes for their breath is in their Nostrils But let God be true and every man a Lyar. In God have I put my trust in his word do I hope Matt. 7.25 2 Tim. 2.19 Oh sure word Heaven and Earth shall pass away but not one jot nor tittle of this I have not built upon the sand of mortality Let the rain descend and the floods come and the winds blow nevertheless the Foundation of God standeth sure His everlasting Counsel and everlasting Covenant are my stay I am built upon his Promises and let Hell and Earth do their worst to blow up this Foundation Now shall my Faith triumph and my heart be glad and my glory rejoyce 1 Kin. 18.39 Heb. 11.16 I will shout with the exulting Multitude The Lord he is the God and he is not ashamed to be called My God He is not ashamed of my Raggs nor Poverty of my Parrentage not Pedigree and since his infinite condescention will own me will he take it ill if I own him 1 Cor. 1.29,31 Though I have nothing of my own to glory in unless I should glory in my shame yet I will glory in the Lord and bless my self in him Deut. 33.26 For who is like unto the God of Jeshurun Bring forth your gods O ye Nations Lift up now your eyes and behold who hath created all these things Can any do for their Favourites as the Lord can Or if he be angry who is that God that shal deliver out of his hands Will you set Dagon before the Ark Or shal Mammon contend with the Holy One O ambitious Haman where is now thine Idol-honour O rich Glutton that madest a god of Pleasure where is now the god whom thou hast served O sensual worldling that knewest not where nor how to bestow thy Goods Do riches profit thee Could Mammon save thee Deceived souls Go now to the gods that you have chosen Alas they cannot for ever administer a drop of water to cool your tongues Jer. 10.16 Psa 90.2 But the Portion of Jacob is not like them From everlasting to everlasting he is God His Power is my confidence his Goodness is my maintenance his Truth is my shield and my buckler 2. It confounds the soul with amazing Greatness and difficulty of the things But my clamourous unbelief hath many wiles and afresh assaults me with the difficulty of the things promised and labours to nonplus and confound me with their amazing greatness The Triumph of Faith in Gods Omnipotency and Veracity But why should I stagger at the Promise through unbelief robbing at once my Master of his glory and my soul of her comfort It is my great sin to doubt and dispute and yet
not thou have a little patience he for the fruits of the Earth but thou for the joyes of Heaven He upon meer probabilities but thou upon infallible certainties He for a Crop of Corn but thou for a Crown of Glory Were he but sure that every Corn would bear a Crow how plentifully would he sowe how joyfully would he wait Why such is thy harvest As sure as the Summer delights do follow the Winters severities as sure as the wisht-for Harvest doth follow the toilsome and costly Seeds-time so sure shall thy Lord return and bring thy reward with him Revel 22.12 Therefore my soul love and long for the approaching Jubile and wait all the daies of my appointed time until my change shall come O blessed state that my Lord hath translated me into O happy change that he hath made I was a stranger and he took me in and made me an heir and preferred me from the Dunghill to the Throne and from a Hewer of wood and Drawer of water to attend his Court and know his Counsels and do his pleasure Happy am I that ever I was born to partake of this endless dignity Hebr. 12.22,23,24 O my Lord it is no little thing thou hast given me in hand I am already come to mount Zion and the City of the Living God the heavenly Jerusalem and to an innumerable company of Angels to the general Assembly and Church of the first-born and to God the Judge of all and unto the Spirits of Just men made perfect and unto Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant and unto the blood of sprinkling Gal. 4.6 Luke 5.20 My heart reviveth as Jacobs when I behold the tokens which thou hast sent me the spirit of Adoption the pardon of my sins my patent for Heaven the chain of thy Graces the Son of thy Bosome and the New Testament in his blood 1 Cor. 11.25 Luk. 12.32 Cant. 1.10 Joh. 3.16 Joh. 14.21,23 and the Letters of his love My Lord hath said that he will love me and manifest himself unto me and that the Father will love me and both will come unto me and make their abode in me But is it true indeed Will the Lord dwel on Earth Or if he will shal so foul a Stable so unclean a Stye as my heart hath been shal this be the place that the Lord of life will take up his lodging and keep his Court in Will he indeed come with all his Train of Graces and live and walk in me How can these things be But he hath said it and I do and I will believe it Psal 31.19 Yet all this is but the earnest of what is to come Oh how great is thy goodness laid up for them that fear thee Yet a little while and my warfare shal be accomplished and the Heavens must receive me till the time of the restitution of all things 2 Pet. 1.14 It is but for a short term that I shal dwel in this dirty flesh in an earthen Tabernacle Joh. 12.26 My Lord hath shewed me that where he is there shal his servant be Now the living is tyed to the dead and my Soul is a Stage of strife and a Field of war 1 Cor. 13.10 But t is but a little moment and that which is perfect shal come perfect Holiness and perfect Peace eternal Serenity and a Serene Eternity O my sins Rev. 21.27 I am going where you cannot come where no unclean thing shal enter nor any thing that defileth Methinks I see all my Afflictions and Temptations all mine infirmities and corruptions falling off me as Elijah's Mantle at his translation O my Soul dost thou not see the Chariots of fire and the Horses of fire come to take thee up Luk. 16.22 Be thou as poor as Lazarus yet God will not disdain to send a Party of Angels to conduct thee home How canst thou doubt of ready reception who hast such a friend in Court who will lead thee with boldness into his Fathers presence Gen. 45.16 If there were Joy in Pharaoh's Court when it was said Joseph's Brethren are come surely it will be welcom newes in Heaven when it s told Jesus his Brethren are come My Soul fear not to enter though the Lord be clothed with Terrour and Majesty For thy Redeemer will procure thee favour and plead thy right Joh. 16.27 I am sure of welcom for the Father himself loveth me I have tasted and tryed his love Luke 15. and when I had played the wicked Prodigal yet he despised not my Raggs but fell on my neck and kissed me and Heaven it self made merry over me Much more will he receive me gladly and let out his loves upon me when presented to him by his Son in his perfect likeness as a fit Object for his everlasting delight Fear not O my Soul as if thou wert going to a strange place Why Heaven is thy Countrey and thy home wilt thou doubt of leave or fear of welcome when it is thine own home Why my Soul thou wast born from above and here is thy Kindred and thy Fathers House and therefore thou shalt surely be admitted And then shall I see the glorious preparations of Eternal Love and the blissful Mansions of the Heavenly Inhabitants Doubtless it shal be thus These are not sick-mens Dreams or childrens hopes The living God cannot deceive me and may not I certainly promise my self what the Lord hath promised me I will sooner think that all my senses are deluded and what I see and feel and taste is but a fancy then think that the living God will deceive me or that his unchangeable Covenant will fail 1 Joh. 3.2 Now I am a son of God but it doth not yet appear what I shal be but this I know I shal be like him and see him as he is I know it shal be thus Why what security should I ask of God He hath given me all the assurance in the world And though the word of God be enough yet he willing to shew more abundantly to the Heits of Promise the immutability of his Counsel confirmed it by an Oath Heb. 6.17 that by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lye I might have strong consolation O unreasonable Unbelief What shal not the Oath of a God put an end to thy strife O my God I am satisfied it is enough Now I may be bold without presumption and boast without Pride And will no more call my Duty Arrogance nor my Faith a Fancy O my Soul There is but a short life betwixt thee and Glory where holy Angels and glorified Saints shal be mine onely Associates and Love and Praise mine onely employment Job 38.7 Methinks I hear already how the Morning-stars sing together and all the sons of God shout for joy O that I could come in for one But it was said unto me I should rest yet for a little
I know thou hast prescribed for the Death and utter Destruction of all my Corruptions And whereas I have formerly inordinately and idolatrously let out my affections upon the World I do here resign my Heart to thee that madest it humbly protesting before thy Glorious Majesty that it is the firm resolution of my heart and that I do unfeignedly desire Grace from thee that when thou shalt call me hereunto I may practice this my resolution through thy Assistance to forsake all that is dear unto me in this World rather then to turn from thee to the wayes of sin and that I will watch against all its Temptations whether of Prosperity or Adversity least they should withdraw my Heart from thee beseeching thee also to help me against the Temptations of Satan to whose wicked Suggestions I resolve by thy Grace never to yield my self a Servant And because my own righteousness is but menstruous Rags I renounce all confidence therein and acknowledge that I am of my self a hopeless helpless undone creature without righteousness or strength The Terms to which we must turn are either ultimate or mediate And forasmuch as thou hast of thy bottomless Mercy offered most Graciously to me wretched sinner to be again my God through Christ if I would accept of thee I call Heaven and Earth to record this day that The ultimate is God the Father Son and Holy Ghost who must be thus accepted I do here solemnly avouch thee for the Lord my God and with all possible veneration bowing the neck or my Soul under the feet of thy most sacred Majesty I do here take thee the Lord Jehovah Father Son and Holy Ghost for my portion and chief good and do give up my self body and soul for thy servant promising and vowing to serve thee in holiness and righteousness all the dayes of my life The mediate terms are either principal or less principal The Principal is Christ the Mediator who must thus be embraced And since thou hast appointed the Lord Jesus Christ the onely means of coming unto thee I do here upon the bended knees of my Soul accept of him as the onely New and Living Way by which Sinners may have access to thee and do here solemnly joyn my self in a marriage covenant to him O blessed Jesus I come to thee hungry and hardly bestead poor and wretched and miserable and blinde and naked a most loathsome polluted wretch a guilty condemned Malefactor unworthy for ever to wash the feet of the servants of my Lord much more to be solemnly married to the King of Glory But sith such is thine unparallel'd love I do here with all my power accept thee and do take thee for my Head and Husband for better for worse for richer for poorer for all times and conditions to love honour and obey thee before all others and this to the death I embrace thee in all thine Offices I renounce mine own unworthiness and do here avow thee to be the Lord my Righteousness I renounce mine own wisdome and do here take thee for mine onely Guide I renounce mine own will and take thy Will for my Law And since thou hast told me that I must suffer if I will reign I do here covenant with thee to take my lot as it falls with thee and by thy grace assisting to run all hazards with thee verily supposing that neither life nor death shall part between thee and me The less Principles are the Laws of Christ which must be thus accepted And because thou hast been pleased to give me thy holy Laws as the Rule of my life and the way in which I should walk to thy Kingdome I do here willingly put my Neck under thy Yoke and set my Shoulder to thy Burden and subscribing to all thy Laws as holy just and good I solemnly take them as the rule of my words thoughts and actions promising that though my flesh contradict and rebel yet I will endeavour to order and govern my whole life according to thy direction and will not allow my self in the neglect of any thing that I know to be my duty Onely because through the frailty of my flesh I am subject to many failings I am bold humbly to protest That unallowed miscarriages contrary to the setled bent and resolution of my heart shall not make void this Covenant for so thou hast said Now Almighty God searcher of hearts thou knowest that I make this Covenant with thee this day without any known guile or reservation bebeseeching thee that if thou espiest any flaw or falshood therein thou wouldest discover it to me and help me to do it aright And now glory be to thee O God the Father whom I shall be bold from this day forward to look upon as my God and Father That ever thou shouldest find out such a way for the recovery of undone sinners Glory be to thee O God the Son who hast loved me and washed me from my sins in thine own blood and art now become my Saviour and Redeemer Glory be to thee O God the holy Ghost who by the finger of thine Almighty Power hast turned about my heart from sin to God O dreadful Jehovah the Lord God Omnipotent Father Son and Holy Ghost thou art now become my Covenant-friend and I through thine infinite Grace am become thy Covenant-servant Amen So be it And the Covenant which I have made on earth let it be ratified in Heaven CHAP. XX and Last An exhortation to the Saints COme ye People beloved you that are highly favoured The Lord is with you Blessed are you amongst men and women The Likes are fallen to you in a pleasant place yea you have a goodly heritage Come and enter upon your Lot let your hearts be glad let your glory rejoyce but that your joy may be full hearken to these following counsels Make sure your interest in the Covenant Rejoyce not in that that 's none of thine Make sure all lies upon this Your life all the comforts and concernments of it both your eternal safety hereafter and your success in all the parts of your Christian course here depend on your interest in the Covenant VVhat have you if Christ be not yours and what have you in Christ if you be not in Covenant whence are your hopes either of mercy at last or of prospering in any thing at present but from the Covenant of Promise And what have you thence if your name be not in it Oh give not rest to your selves till this be put out of doubt what ever duties you perform what ever ease or hope you finde hereupon what ever transportation of affection you feel in your hearts in the midst of all enquiry But am I in Covenant How shall I know that you 'll say why make a strict and narrow enquiry whether those special graces already mentioned be wrought upon you Common mercies though even these be Covenant mercies to the Saints yet
up your hearts with all your heart grudge not that the Lord requires but bless God that he will accept of an offering this hath a comfortable signification If the Lord had meant to destroy us he would not have accepted an offering at our hands Judg. 13.23 2. A Thank-offering Offer unto God thanksgiving and pay thy vows unto the most High Offer up your selves in token of yuor thankfulness to the Lord. Be ye both the Priests and the Lambs for the sacrifice Present your selves to the Lord as the accomplishments of his Covenant as the fruits of the death of your Redeemer as the Trophies of his Victory as the spoils which he hath recovered from Death and Hell making a shew of them openly that it may be seen that the promise of God is not of none effect and that Christ did not die in vain Let your Lord Jesus when he comes down into his Garden where he left his blood reap his pleasant fruits and carry up your purified Souls as the signals of his glorious atchievement Offer up your sins to the Lord these unclean beasts will be an acceptable sacrifice There 's more real honour growing up to the Lord from one mortified Saint then from ten thousand Anthems from the most seraphick tongues Offer up your duties to the Lord your obedience for a sacrifice To obey is better then sacrifice then thousands of Rams and ten thousands of Rivers of Oyle Let your whole life be this sacrifice let every day be a Sabbath every duty an Eucharist every member a Cymbal sounding out the praises of God Offer up the calves of your lips unto the Lord. O let your souls be filled with wonder and your mouths with praise Whence in this to me that the Mother of my Lord should come to me Oh whence is this to us that the Lord our Father should come and come so near to us Oh whence is it That the Mighty God should indent and come into bond with sinful man that he who was free from all men should make himself debtor to any That the high and lofty One that inhabits Eternity should dwell in Houses of Clay and pitch his Tabernacle in the Dust That he who humbleth himself to behold the Heavens should come down into the earth and after what is he come down but after a dead Dog or a Flea that he should make a league with the stones of the gâ—ound with the beasts of the field and creeping things should espouse dust and ashes and gather up vile worms into his bosome should set his heart upon shadows and adopt the refuse of the earth for Sons and Daughters to himself should raise the poor out of the dust and the beggar from the Dunghil should do such great things and should choose the foolish and the weak and the base and the contemptible and bostow on them among all the world these high honors should make them the Head and the honourable whom the world hath made the Tail the filth and the off-scouring of all things should give himself to be the portion his Son to be the ransome his kingdome to be the heritage of bankrupts prisoners and captives Lord what is man that thou art thus mindful of him Soul what is God that thou shouldst be yet unmindful of him How is it that the tongue of the dumb is not yet loosened that the feet of the lame do not leap as an Hart Oh what is that love whence this strange thing hath broken forth This this is the womb that bare thee hence hath thy righteousness sprung forth hence have thy dignities thy astonishing hope and joys arisen to thee this is it that yearned upon thee in thy mercy that reprived thee from death redeemed thee from darkness rescued thee as a brand out of the burning that pitied thee in thy blood washed thee from thy blood spared thee pardoned thee reconciled thee and brought thee an enemy a rebel a traitor into a Covenant of peace with the God of glory Ah contemptible dust that ever there should be such compassionate contrivements and such astonishing condescentions of the eternal Deity towards so vile a thing O love the Lord all ye his Saints O bless the Lord ye beloved ye people near unto the Lord. Alas that our hearts should be so narrow that the waters should be so shallow with us where are our eyes if we be not yet filled with wonders what hearts have we if we have not yet filled our lips with praise Open all thy springs O my soul let them flow forth in streams of love and joy let every faculty be tuned and strained to the height let heart and hands and tongue and eyes lift up their voice be astonished O heavens be moved ye strong foundations of the earth fall down ye Elders strike up ye heavenly Quires lend poor mortals your Notes to sing forth the high praises of God who rideth on the heavens and hath caused us to ride on the high places of the earth and made us sit together in hevenly places shewing forth the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus Awake up my Glory awake Psaltery and Harps I my self wil awake right early My soul doth magnifie the Lord and my spirit hath rejoyced in God my Saviour for he that is mighty hath done for me great things and holy is his Name Blessed be the Lord God of Israel who hath visited and redeemed his People who hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David who hath laid help on one who is mighty and exalted one chosen among the People and hath given him for a Covenant to them Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless his holy Name who hath redeemed thy life from death and crowned thee with loving kindness and tender mercies Salvation to our God that sitteth on the Throne and to the Lamb. Let the Redeemed of the Lord say so Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and glory and honour and blessing for thou livedst and wast dead and art alive for evermore Thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation and hast made us Kings and Priests unto our God for ever Hallelujah Hallelujah FINIS
their Angels do alwaies behold the face of my Father which is in Heaven Touch not mine annointed let alone my little ones take heed how you offend them their Angels are before my Father and are mighty with him to engage his power for their aid and deliverance O the great security of the least of Saints These Mighty ones these Multitudes these Faithful ones these Favourites of Heaven the Holy Angels of God have all received a charge from the Lord to preserve and defend them Lord open their eyes that they may see Behold the Mountains full of Chariots and Horses of fire round about Elisha 2 King 6.17 Should a mighty Prince commit any Subject of his to a potent and faithful Life-guard with this charge Look to this man keep him in safety see that hee come to no harm whoever offends do you defend him where-ever hee goes go you with him where-ever hee lodges stand you as a guard about the house while hee sleeps do you watch see that hee want for nothing nor hurt come to him If this were thy case in what great security wouldst thou count thy self But O! what is a life-guard of men to a guard of mighty Angels Fear not little flock in Heaven your Angels behold the face of God and in Earth have they pitched their Tents round about you CHAP. VI. The powers of darkness delivered over in the Covenant 6. THe powers of darkness are delivered over in the Covenant Satan and all his Instruments We are naturally in bondage to Satan held captive by him at his Will 2 Tim. 2.26 His Prisoners his Slaves his Vassals By the blood of the Covenant the Lord hath brought forth his Prisoners and redeemed his Captives Zach. 9.11 and also hath spoiled Principalities and Powers and led Captivity Captive In this Covenant there is deliverance of the Prisoners and a delivery over of them by whom they were held a Gaol-delivery and a delivery of the Jaylors too into their hands and they are delivered over bound the God of this world in Chains limited spoiled banished and cast out Mat. 16.18 The Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it The Gates of Cities were antiently their special strength and in them were their great Councels held for the contriving and managing of all their concernments by Hell understand the whole Infernal Corporation all that belong to that dark Region Satan and all his Instruments the dragon with his armies the serpent and all his seed By the gates of hell understand the power and policy the combination and councels of Sathan and his whole party These gates of hell shall not prevail against it that is against the Church neither against head nor any member of it they shall not prevail that notes two things 1. They shall fight against it they are all combin'd and listed against the Church making a war upon it Raze it Raze it even to the foundation thereof Down with it root and branch let it not have a being let it not have so much as a name under heaven particular quarrels there may bee betwixt devil and devil Herod against Pilate and Pilate against Herod yet the tails of these smoaking fire-brands are united against the Lord and his anointed ones Against their profession against their Religion against the soul of every Saint What-ever vails or specious pretences they varnish their quarrel with this is it that lies at the bottom of all their counsels and machinations wherein all their aims are concentred to root out godliness and the professours of it out of the earth to deceive and destroy souls for ever 2. Though they shall fight against them yet they shall not overcome They shall not prevail against it that is not finally in the end the victory shall be the Saints Zach. 12.3 Jerusalem shall be a burthensom stone to all people 1. Such a stone that they shall not be able to lift or move it out of its place it shall stand as a rock against which the impetuous waves may dash themselves but they cannot move it 2. They shall not be able to bear it It shall crush them that burthen themselves with it those that shake the Church they are pulling an house about their ears a rock upon their loins it shall break the backs of all those that contend against it they shall bee cut in pieces saith the Text that burthen themselves with it though all the earth yea and hell too be gathered together against it It is a vain design that Sathan and his partakers are driving on Psal 2.1 Why do the heathens rage and the people imagine a vain thing it is a vain design and it is a fatal design to themselves Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron thou shalt dash them in pieces like a Potters vessel Gen. 3.15 In the first dawning of this glorious day light it 's promised that the seed of the woman shall break the serpents head I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed It shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel John 12.31 Now is the judgment of this world now shall the prince of this world be cast out Cast out whence why cast out of his kingdome out of his hold cast down from his throne and dominion His prison is broken and now the prey is taken from the strong the captives of the mighty are taken away But how was this now done at the death of Christ to which these words referre Doth not Sathan still reign Is hee not still the god of this world and the prince of the power of the air Yea what hold hath hee yet of the Saints that are in the earth what a tyrant is hee to them how doth hee entangle and ensnare them what havock doth hee make in their consciences lording it over them leading them captive by lusts and temptations what a strong party hath he still within them bearing arms against their Lord fighting against their souls what sad spoil doth he make upon their grace upon their peace they cannot rest for him day nor night abroad nor at home alone nor in company hee 's ever following them whither ever they go the Devil is at their backs they cannot pray nor read nor spend a thought nor cast a look nor dispatch a sigh towards the Lord but Sathan stands by to resist and hinder them what a yoke hath he still upon their necks what clogs and weights hath he still upon their loins how do they mourn in their souls whilest he vexes them from day to day how do they groan and travel in pain sighing in themselves and waiting for their redemption How is it then said now is hee cast out why now hee hath received his judgment the prince of this world is judged Joh. 16. Now is the fatal blow given now is the serpents head broken though hee still may bruise and hang in the Saints heel The blow he levelled at our
Lord hath rebounded on his own head Though hee be as Gad a serpent in the way yet you may now tread upon this serpent and it shall not hurt you The strong man is now bound if hee be a god still hee 's a God in chains a prince in fetters he must ask leave of your father ere he can touch one hair of your heads Hee cannot tempt you nor cast a bank against you nor shoot an arrow at you without a commission from heaven The devils are subject to you He is cast out and in your Lords name you may cast him out In my name shall ye cast out devils out of possessed bodies out of possessed souls you may be instruments to bring many a soul to repentance that they may recover themselves out of the snares of the devil who are held captive by him at his will Every sinner that is converted by you you have cast out a devil out of that soul Though he be an adversary still yet such an adversary as may be resisted whom resist stedfast in the faith 1 Pet. 5.9 And if you will resist hee shall flee from you James 4.17 Stand and your enemy runs Nay more hee is not only a conquer'd enemy but made your servant This viper shall yield you medicine against his own poyson His smitings shall be an excellent oyl his messengers he sends to buffet you his thorns he sticks in your flesh shall be a prevention of greater evils The very destruction he intends to bring upon you shall promote your salvation 1 Cor. 5.5 Deliver such an one to Sathan for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus Behold the devil is the Churches servant and such a servant as in their present state they cannot well want The executioner of their censures A Common-wealth may as well want a Jaylour or an Hang-man as the Church a Devil Behold Sathan divided against Sathan the devil without against the devil within the destroyer of souls become the destroyer of sin Deliver such an one to Sathan for the destruction of the flesh Though much against his mind his hand is against his own party Hee 's made to kill his own friends which otherwise would kill the soul Whether he will or no the very tormentour is made a saviour that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus Christians as much as you feel of the devils malice you could ill want his service there 's many a soul lost and undone by a sleeping that might have been recovered and rouzed by a raging devil His winds shall blow off your chaff his floods shall wash away your filth his earth-quakes shall open your prison-doors his tempests shall drive you to harbour Some men want a tempest to save them from a wrack Nay once more he is not low enough yet he shall be yet brought lower You have assurance of his total and final overthrow Rom. 16.20 The god of peace shall tread Sathan under your feet shortly Rev. 20.10 The devil shall be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone 'T is but a little while and when he hath done his work he shall be sent to his place where he shall be shut up and a seal set upon him whence he shall come out no more for ever He shall tempt no more vex no more deceive no more destroy no more torment you no more he shall be thrust out he shall be chain'd up the tormentour shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever Stand Christians stand your ground a little while follow your work hold up your holy profession hold on your holy course keep your hearts keep your garments keep on your armour keep under corruption resist temptation bear your affliction hold out faith and patience fight against your adversaries watch with your Lord this one hour and behold hee that shall come will come he cometh quickly and hee that is in the world shall bee consumed with the breath of his mouth and destroyed with the brightness of his appearing Hee shall bee cast out hee shall bee cast down and rise no more for ever CHAP. VII Death in the Covenant 7. GOd hath put Death into the Covenant 1 Cor. 3.21 Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the World or Life or DEATH all are yours Death there is a great purchase you 'l say what advantage is that yes death is advantage To dye is gain For 1. The Commission of Death is changed 'T was once take him Jaylour away with him carry him down to Prison with him there to bee reserved to the Judgement of the great day It is now take him Janitour take him Porter take him in give him an entrance into his Master's joy Death doth but take the Bride when shee is ready and lodges her in the Chamber of the Bride-groom this made death the Apostles desire Philip. 1.23 I desire to depart and to bee with Christ which is far better 2. Death is conquered What does this mean Your enemie is yours other than this your enemy is conquered to you a conquered enemy is made a Tributary death is dis-armed it hath lost its sting when a Serpent hath lost its sting you may take it into your bosome Hee that can say Death where is thy sting may go on and add Thankes bee to God which hath given me the victory A Signet sent from Heaven with a Death's head is a precious token Come Christians bee of good courage set your feet on the neck of this King of terrours 3. Death is at once The destruction of all their enemies when once death hath done its office upon them then farewel Edom and Ammon and Amaleck and Aegypt fare-well the pricking bryer and the grieving thorne then farewel sin and sorrow for ever the Egyptians they have seen and fear'd and felt to day they shall never see again for ever It destroys it self their last enemy by destroying them it hath its welcome and farewell the same moment it is but welcome death and farewel death for ever Death dies with them once dead they dye no more for ever mortality is swallowed up of life death is cast into the lake of fire that is its Region there there they die and dye and dye again over and over for ever and ever but for the Saints it doth but set them on the banks of that good Land whether it cannot follow them our Lord by death by ours as well as his own hath delivered those who for fear of death were all their life time subject to bondage Christians you may now not onely with patience but with desire expect the assault of this King of terrours What shall tribulation and persecution and famine and nakedness and peril and sword shall sorrows and fears and mortality dye with mee yea shall sin dye with mee then welcome death Lord strengthen me this once let mee dye with the Philistines Would it bee good for
heart 2. The power of the end the end hath a four-fold power it draws directs governs rewards 1. It draws the heart to it God who is a Christians end is also his beginning Our first step heaven-ward wee owe to the influence of heaven upon us Draw mee wee will run after thee Cant. 1. No man can come unto mee unless the Father which hath sent mee draw him Nothing but God will do it as nothing will draw the soul another way the pleasures of sin the wages of unrighteousness are poor and low baits to entice a soul away from God that is so far as 't is renewed so 't is nothing but God that draws the soul on its way and he will do it God draws the soul not by an act of power onely but by moral swasion that 's the proper casuality of the end Not by efficiency onely but by sympathy as by the water the thirsty soul is drawn to the water-brooks It is God that draws hearts after him there are instruments as his Word and Ministers and and there are arguments by which God draws but whatever the instruments or arguments are 't is God that does it What is the work of either Word or Ministers but to set God before them and this draws Instruments can do nothing unless God bee the Preacher by them arguments can do nothing unless hee bee the medium of them as 't was said concerning the peoples following Saul so much more concerning those that follow the Lord. Those onely follow him whose hearts God hath touched 'T is not mans teaching but Gods touching the heart that draws it heaven-ward The tongue of man may touch the ear 't is God onely that touches the heart And when he touches then the heart will follow As you know the needle when it s touched with a Loadstone then it turns after it The Loadstone is not more naturall attractive of the needle than God is of that heart which he hath touched Cant. 5.4 My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door and my bowels were moved in mee He did but touch the door and her heart felt him and moved tovvards him O Christians when you have been waiting upon God in prayer hearing or any other spiritual duty or ordinance consider hath mine heart been touched this day my tongue hath been touched mine ear hath been touched mine heart hath been treated with but hath the Lord touched it hath there vertue come forth from him which hath enticed and drawn my soul after him Sometimes by a message or visit from heaven the Lord hath drawn a good word from the lip a tear from the eye but O for touches upon souls for turning of bowels for the flowings out of hearts after the Lord Hee is the only load-stone that prevails on gracious souls Others that have many hearts have many attractives every heart hath its peculiar god twenty gods it may be in one man because so many hearts Their pleasures are their Gods their profits their gods their belly their god their wives or their children their gods and so many gods so many ends And every end is a loadstone to draw them after them Every heart will after its God A Christian that hath but one heart hath but one God and this is he that draws it on its way Thou sayest the Lord is thy God thou acknowledgest thou ownest thou hast chosen him for thine but what doth thy God whom thou hast chosen do upon thine heart what will the sight of God or thy love to God or thy hope in God do upon thee how far will it carry thee which way runs thy heart which way dost bend thy course dost feel thy God drawing thee and is thy heart running after him running notes motion and a swift or violent motion I shall lay before you these six or seven expressions the Scripture uses to note the running of those hearts after God whom he hath drawn 1. The desiring of the soul after God Isa 26.8.9 The desire of our soul is to thy name with my soul have I desired thee in the night yea with my spirit within me will I seek theee early Desire is the soul in motion God-wards Towards him are their desires and they come deep ab intimis ab imo pectore from their inwards from the bottom of the heart With my soul have I desired thee with my spirit within mee will I seek thee Psal 38.9 Lord all my desire is before thee 't is not all my desires but my desire thou seest all and 't is all but one desire Hee desires pardon hee desires peace hee desires help and the heealing of his wounds but all this is but one desire God is all One thing have I desired Psal 27.4 2. The thirsting of the sout Psal 42.2 My soul thirsteth for God for the living God Thirsting is the extremity of desire hunger and thirst are the appetite or desire heightened violent and painful appetites my soul thirsteth and is in pain till it be satisfied 3. The longing of the soul Psal 63.1 O God thou art my God early will I seek thee my soul thirsteth for thee my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is Longing causeth languishing and abortions if it be not satisfied Psal 119.20 My soul breaketh for the longing desire it hath to thy judgments My heart panteth my flesh faileth the light of mine eyes is gone from me Psal 38.10 4. Calling after God Psal 4.1 Hear mee when I call O God of my righteousness Calling upon God is the voice of desires The desiring soul will not keep silence the tongue the eye the ears the hands the knees must all be oratours when the flame is once kindled within 5 Crying after the Lord. This is an expression answering the thirsting of the soul Crying is a passionate and importunate praying I cryed unto the Lord with my whole heart Psal 119.145 6. Crying out after God This is the manner of the longing soul Crying out notes more than bare crying loud cryes strong cryes forced out by a paroxisme of love or an agony the soul is in Psal 84.2 My soul longeth yea even fainteth for the courts of the Lord my heart and my flesh cryeth out for the living Lord. 7. Following hard after the Lord Psal 63.8 My soul followeth hard after thee This expression is more comprehensive it notes both all the workings and breakings and breathings of the soul within and its diligent pursuing in the use of all outward means and pressing on after the Lord. All those labourings and watchings and runnings all that holy violence wherewith a Saint presses into the Kingdome of God Put all this together and you will see the power and influence the Lord hath on holy Souls to the drawing of them after him they are in motion Heaven-vvard desiring thirsting longing calling crying crying out follovving hard after him What aileth these souls vvhat 's the matter vvith them
their cups amongst their Harlots or in their houses It is good for mee to bee here No wonder Christians that carnal hearts are such strangers to the Word can so well fit out at Duties and can want Ordinances Preaching and Praying and Sabbaths they can spare and not feel their want what wonder What is Heaven to Earth what is God to flesh these Chariots would carry them away from their Gods carry them out of their own Country into a strange Land where they have neither possession nor acquaintance But oh what a sad wonder is it that Saints should go up so often into the Chariots and yet be gotten no nearer home that they should be still so much on the Earth that have been so often mounted for Heaven that those hearts should still bee on the dunghils whose feet are so often on the mountain of the Lord that the Wagons should bee so often sent down and go up empty scarce an heart sent up in them yea that they should be so far from God when God is among them Where 's your love Christians how is it that it is still below what have you here your City is above your home is above your God your Jesus your treasure is above oh how is it that where your treasure is your hearts bee not also hear from God and not God with the messenger send up to heaven your eyes your hands your prayers your complaints your promises and still leave your hearts below send up hearts to heaven and let them return again down to this earth remain earth and flesh and filth and vanity after so much converse or pretence to it with the holy God of spirits lovest thou God when thou canst so often go where hee is and not care to see him or if thou meet him canst let him go without a blessing or if he bless thee canst go presently and exchange thy Fathers blessing for a mess of pottage canst lose a duty in a dinner the comforts and revivings of a Sermon of a Sacrament of a Sabbath in an hours carnal converse in the world did wee love our God more certainly wee should bee more with him and to better purpose His meetings would bee more precious and the fruits of them more lasting Wee should neither go away without his blessing nor throw it away when wee had gotten it Thus much for the object of love 2. It s Act. Love is a natural Affection The love of God is the souls clasping or closing with the Lord. It is the expansion or going out of the heart in its strength after God the uniting or knitting of the soul vvith God vvith a complacency and acquiescence in him There are three things included in this love 1. The strength of the heart making out after God This is that vvhich is commonly called our amor desiderii or our love of desire the breathing or thirsting or panting of the heart after God Psal 42.1 The hearts vvorking God-vvards with its might loving him above all things desiring him above all things and that both Intensivè vvith the greatest vigour and intention and adaequatè as its compleat and adequate object God is its All. Whom have I in heaven but thee and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee 2. The uniting of the soul with God Our cleaving to him By love heart cleaves to heart soul cleaves to soul It s said of Shechem Gen. 34.3 that his heart clave unto Dinah Hee loved her vvith his heart shee vvas gotten into his heart and there his heart holds her Acts 11.23 Barnabas exhorts the Church that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. It is the knitting of the soul vvith God Its said 1 Sam. 1.18 That the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David and Jonathan loved him as his own soul And of Jacob Gen. 44.30 to express his tender love to Benjamin 't is said his life was bound up in the lads life Of the multitude of believers wee read Act. 4.32 that they were all of one heart and of one soul Their love had knit them up all into one By love wee are one with God and hee with us It is the souls willing of God as I may so speak Willing of God to it self and willing it self and all to God All praises all honour all blessedness to him Bee thou mine Lord nothing less nothing else Bee thou mine I need no less I desire no more Let mee bee thine be to thee bee for thee thy servant thy sacrifice or what thou wilt and let all mine bee thine mine heart and my hand and my tongue and my time and mine interest Let all thine bee to thee thy heavens and thy earth with every person with every creature in them Let every heart every mouth every limb every creature bee a praise to the Lord. Let the Lord live and blessed bee my rock let the God of my salvation bee exalted Let every knee bow let every tongue confess unto God This is the amor unionis our love of union as 't is called And 't is the heart the very essence of saving love wherein are included both our accepting of God and our surrender or resignation of our selves unto God Amor non est nisi donum amantis in amaetum And our wishing and willing all glory dominion and blessedness to him And so here also is our amor benevolentiae our love of benevolence All these may bee included in that opening of the heart mention'd Acts 16.14 It s there said that the Lord opened Lydia's heart The heart is then savingly opened when it freely lets out it self upon God all its streams run in to the Lord and when it takes in and takes down God into the depth of the soul The heart thus opened to the Lord when God is come in will close upon him Abide with me thou hast entred upon thine habitation oh let this bee thy dwelling for ever Onely this must bee farther added that with God it takes in all the things of God his Word his Ordinances his waies and all his dispensations With his love his laws with his comforts his counsels with his counsels his corrections with thee I accept of all that 's thine both thy staff and thy rod both thy yoke and thy cross thy self Lord thy love Lord and what thou wilt with thee 3. The souls talking pleasure and taking up its rest in him This is call'd our Amor complacentiae Where wee love there will bee a delightful stay or immoration of the mind upon God Ubi amor ibi oculus The object dwells in the eye we are still looking where we love Anima est ubi amat When I awake I am still with thee there his thoughts are of him is his meditation all the day long My meditation of him shall bee sweet Hee that loves dwelleth in God I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever And why there why there his
of Canticles whose whole language is all love her heart is so full that her lips overflow with the mention of the excellencies of Christ My beloved is white and ruddy the chiefest amongst ten thousand His head fine gold his eyes Dove's eyes his cheeks a bed of spices his lips are lillies his hands are gold-rings his legs pillars of marble his countenance excellent his mouth sweet yea hee is altogether lovely this is my beloved and this is my friend O Daughters of Jerusalem Cant. 5. Who is a God like unto thee glorious in holiness fearful in praises doing wonders Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the City of our God Thy mercy O Lord is in the heavens thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds Thy righteousness is like the great mountains thy judgments are a great deep How excellent is thy loving kindness O Lord therefore the sons of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings I will speak of the glorious honour of thy Majesty and of thy wondrous works the Lord is gracious and full of compassion slow to anger and of great mercy The Lord is good to all and his tender mercies are over all his works Let all thy works praise thee O Lord let thy Saints bless thee let them speak of the glory of thy kingdome and talk of thy power Let them abundantly utter the memory of thy goodness and sing of thy righteousness O my God thou art all love all goodness all grace all glory O let thy servant bee all praise Let this heart bee an altar and every service a sacrifice let this mouth bee a trumpet and every word a Psalm let my breath bee as incense and every member a censer Let all that is within mee my soul with all its powers let all that is without me my body with all its members shout for joy and sing forth the high praises of God This is the voice of Love And now you have another excellency of the new heart laid open to your view Love An heart to love Christians prize this precious grace prize it and you will write down this word also among the great and precious Promises and if you would prize it aright take your estimate of it from its worth and its want as we use to prize Jewels from their excellencie rarity 1. Prize it according to its worth and excellency Why what is the worth Cant. 8.7 If a man would give all the substance of his house for love it would bee contemned The whole world is not of that value to bee a price for love no it must come by gift it 's not to bee bought for money love is worth as much as a soul and that 's more than all the world What shall it profit a man to win the whole World and lose his own Soul love is as much worth as all Religion 't is the soul and the substance of all Religion all the Graces the Duties and Exercises of it are onely valued according to the love that is in them what is knowledge faith hope patience without love what is prayer fasting alms without charity They are worth nothing shall I say nay they are nothing If I had all knowledge and all faith and were all prayer and all labour and all suffering and had not charity I were nothing Love is worth as much as Heaven is worth as Christ as God is worth to us God is love and God is not if love bee not in us Dost thou prize thy substance Is thy house or thy mony or thy lands any thing to thee Dost thou value thy soul Is Religion is Heaven is Christ is God himself of any account with thee Then prize the love of God Without love God is no God to thee Christ is no Christ to thee Heaven is no Heaven for thee better thou hadst no soul no being than no love O prize the Love of God prize and seek prize and pray pray as for thy life as for thy soul as for thy everlasting Kingdome Lord let mee love thee Get love and get all love and thou wilt bee holy love and thou wilt be humble love and thou wilt bee fruitful love and thou wilt please praise and enjoy thy God love and thou wilt fear serve suffer and die for him love and thou shalt live prize love prize it according to its worth And 2. Prize it according to its rarity Things excellent are rated something the more for their scarcity scarcity raises the Market the VVord of God was precious in those daies 1 Sam. 3.1 that is when there was a Famine of the Word when there was no open Vision O were the love of God as precious as 't is rare what a spiritless carkass is the Religion of many Professours what 's become of the soul of it Oh! we freeze in our Duties we freeze in our Devotions wee are almost frozen out of them all if vvee have a Sacrifice left vvhat fire is there to offer it up The God that answereth by fire let him bee God said Elijah the heart that asketh by fire that ascendeth in fire let that bee the heart for God Behold the wood and the fire but where is the Lamb for the Sacrifice Wee may say behold the wood and the sacrifice but where is the Fire to offer it up our Spirits have taken a cold the chill of them appears in all our duties Rabbi where dwellest thou Love where dwellest thou Zeal of God where is thy abode how many houses must wee search how many hearts must wee walk through e're wee finde thine Habitation The Apostle tells the Romans Rom. 10.2 that they have a Zeal of God but not according to Knowledge wee have the Knowledge of God but oh where is the Zeal the Zeal of thine house saith the Psalmist hath eaten mee up but is not that eater eaten The house hath burnt up the fire or if there be any fire left is it not strange fire not the fire of Love but of Lust of Pride or Covetousness or that wilde fire of envy and contention that heats our spirits Jehu was all on fire against the house of Ahab Come see my zeal for the Lord of Hosts That fire was fury not love or if 't was love 't was self-love not the love of God that made all that flame such hearts are like the evil tongue James 3. set on fire of Hell Such heats are not from above but are earthly sensual devilish wee freeze still while wee thus fry our praeter-natural heats have extinguished the super-natural O! how little kindly warmth do wee find in our spirits do wee feel our hearts working upwards ascending in our flames wee all pretend to love but consider are our hearts making out in their strength after God Wee wish well to his Name and Interest wee wish hee were ours wee wish our selves his O if wishing were loving what Christians should wee be But doth the Kingdom of God suffer violence
season but I shal stand in the lot at the end of the daies Dan. 12.13 It is well Lord thy word is enough Thy Bond is as good as ready payment The holy Ghost tells me that life and glory abide me Luk. 23.43 that look what day I loose from the body the same day I shal be landed in Paradise Amen It is as I would have it But this is not all When my body hath slept a short Nap in the dust Christ will call to it Come up hither Ah true Yoke-fellow it will be hard parting but welcome meeting I could not leave thee but to live with Christ Col. 3.4 But he will raise thee a glorious Temple and when he shal appear will bring me with himself in glory and then I shal re-enter thee as a Royal Mansion wherein I shal abide with the Lord for ever For as we have served our Redeemer together so we must be glorified together with him And when the Lord hath married us both together again then will he marry us both unto himself For I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shal stand at the last day over the Earth And though after my skin wormes destroy this body yet in my flesh I shal see God Whom I shal see for my self and mine eyes shal behold and not another though my Reines be consumed within me My Lord hath already told me how it shall be He hath set down the time and shewed me the Robes of immortality and the Crown of life that I must put on and the Throne of glory and the Seat of judgement that I must sit in He hath told me the manner in which I shal be presented to him and espoused by him He hath told me where he will set me and what he will say to me and how he will acknowledge my mean services and remember what I have forgotten Mat 25.35,37 how he will praise the works that I have been ashamed of and reward me openly for what I have buried in secrecy Mat. 6.4 and not forget the poorest Almes that I have given for his Name Then will he confess me before his Father and before the Angels of God Thus saith the true and faithful witness and we know that his Testimony is true 1 Joh. 5.10 Ah my Soul see that thou make not God a Lyar. O my God I have believed thy report and do look for all these things according to thy Promise I know thou intendest me but for a very little while for this lower Region This world is but the house of my Pilgrimage and my soul now is but like a Bird in the shel but when the shel is crackt then shal she take wings like a Dove and soar aloft to thee and flee away and be at rest Yet I doubt not thy care for my despicable dust I know that nothing will be lost Joh. 6.39 I know not where they will lay me but thy wakeful eye observeth and will not be to seeking at what door to knock nor at what grave to call for me I believe and am sure that I shal come a glorious piece out of thy hands fair as the Moon clear as the Sun crowned with honour and glory And when my Absolution is read and sentence past upon the world then must I be taken up to dwell with thee Let not my Lord be angry that thy dust and ashes speaketh thus unto thee Thou Lord hast raised my expectations and haste made me to look for all these great things from thee In vain haste thou written all these things unto me if I should not believe them and a distrustful diffidence would put a high dishonour upon thy Truth O Lord it repenteth me it repenteth me of my jealousies and my doubtful thoughts about thee I know thou lovest an humble confidence and delightest in nothing more then to see thy children trust thee I know the building of my hopes lies not an hairs breadth over the foundation of thy Promises yea 't is sure my expectations are infinitely short of what I shal find Joh. 3.33 Eph. 2.20 Mat 7.25 Psal 39.7 O my God my heart trusteth safely in thee and I here set to my seal that thou art true Christ is my Bottom in which I venture and the Corner-stone on which I build and therefore my fraught is ensured and my building shall challenge the winds and floods And now O Lord what wait I for my hope is in thee O my blessedness let me enjoy thee O my life let me possess thee O desire of mine eyes let me see thy face and hear thy voice for thy voice is sweet and thy countenance is comely I ask but what thou hast promised Matth. 5.8 for thou hast told me that I shall see God and thou wilt speak to me mouth to mouth even apparently and not in dark speeches and the similitude of God shall I behold 1 Cor. 13.9 â—0 So shall my knowledge be perfected and I shall see the inaccessible light and my tender eye shall not water nor my sight dazle but I shall with open face look stedfastly on the Son of Righteousness and behold his glory Then shall Faith be turned into fruition and Hope into Possession and Love shall arise like the full Moon in her brightness and never wax nor wane more O thou God of my hopes I look for a new body and a new soul for new Heavens and for a new Earth according to thy promise when my whole soul shall be wholly taken up with thee and all mine affections strained to the highest Peg and all the Wheels of my raised powers set in most vigorous and perpetual motion towards thee still letting in and still laying out and thus shall there be an everlasting communication of joy and glory from thee and of love and praise from me O my soul thou art rich indeed and increased in goods Thou hast no reason to envy the glory nor grandeur of the mightiest on earth Psa 49.14,17 For their glory shall not descend after them like Sheep shall they be laid in their graves and Death shall feed upon them and there 's an eternal end of all their pomp and excellency But my Kingdome is an everlasting Kingdome My Robes shall never wear my Crown shall never totter my Throne shall never be vacant My Bread shall never mold my Garland shall never wither my House shall never moulder my Wine shall never sowre but everlasting joy shall be upon my head and sorrow and sighing shall flie away O my God how happy hast thou made me It is better then I could have wished Thou hast done all things well Thou hast setled them for ever The whole Earth cannot shew any such heritage or Tenure The world can state out her possessions but for years nor can she make a good title for that neither But mine Inheritance is for ever and none can put me out of possession The thing is
will they not prove themselves so to be but specially graces will be their own evidence Things outward fall alike to all No man knowes love or hatred by ought that befalls him Eccles 9.1 Thou mayest be a son or a bastard notwithstanding all that thou enjoyest or sufferest here but not one of the fore-mentioned graces but is a childes portion Gods mark upon the heart to distinguish children from strangers Prove that thou truly knowest the Lord hast one heart a tender heart c. and thou therein provest thy self to be a child of Promise Read over the descriptions that have been given of these graces observe diligently where the main differenâ—e lyes betwixt common and special grace compare thine heart with it and thereby thou mayest give a judgement of thy state If it be yet questionable whether it be sound or no sit not down till thou hast obtained but having obtained 2. Keep your evidences clear Have you peace maintain it carefully The hidden Manna will never breed worms by long keeping Content not your selves that you once had peace 't will be but a poor livelihood you will get out of what 's wasted and lost Get you good evidences that God is yours and keep them by you till you need them no more Grace is your best evidence cherish and preserve it Get a seeing eye and keep your eye open get a single heart and let it not be again divided get a tender heart and keep it tender let the love and fear of God be acted in holy Obedience An obedient gracious watchful active life will keep grace in heart and flourishing grace will speak for it self and you Look not that the Lord should so far countenance your declinings to a more fleshly careless state as to smile upon you in such a state God will not be an Abettor to sin Count upon it that your grace and peace your duty and comfort will rise and fall together suspect those comforts that accompany you into the tents of wickedness and forsake you not when you forsake your God Keep up your spirits and then lift up your heads keep heedfully on your way and your joy shal no man take from you Particularly 1. Keep close by God 2. Keep hold on Christ 3. Keep touch with the Spirit 4. Keep in with Conscience 1. Keep close to God Keep thy self under his eye and influences Both thy grace and thy comforts as they had their birth so must they have their nourishment from Heaven Lose the sight of the Sun and darkness follows Let thine eyes be towards the hills Let divine love be the pleasure of thy life Let it be thy Lords cord upon thine heart let it binde thee to him be loves Captive let thine ear be bor'd to the threshold be familiar in Heaven keep thine acquaintance there and be at peace chide back thy gadding heart Soul whither art thou going who hath the words of eternal life let the interviews of love betwixt thy Lord and thee be constant let them not be onely on some few holy days of thy life Count not thou hast lived that day in which thou hast not liv'd with God Keep close to God by keeping close to duty Keep close to duty and keep close to God in duty Call not that a duty which thou canst not call communion with God Make not duty to do the work of sin to take God out of sight Let not Prayer or Hearing or Sacraments be instead of a God to thee Such praying and hearing there is amonst many but know not thou any thing for Religion wherein thou meetest not with God Behold the face of God but behold his face in righteousness Psal 17.15 'T is ill looking on God with a blood-shot eye Guilt upon the heart will be a cloud that will make the Sun as darkness to thee Walk in the light of the Lord. Walk in the light as he is in the light In thy light the holiness of thy life thou shalt see his light The light of his holiness in thee will be attended with the light of his countenance upon thee By the light of his countenance thou wilt both see thy self in thy way to thine hopes and learn thy way more perfectly Psal 119.135 Make thy face to shine upon thy Servant and teach me thy statutes God hath many ways of teaching he teaches by Book he teaches by his Finger he teaches by his Rod but his most comfortable and effectual teaching is by the light of his Eye Send forth thy light and thy truth let them lead me let them bring me to thy holy Hill 2. Keep hold on Christ He is thy peace Appear not before God but in the blood of the Lamb let him carry up thy duties and own not that for a comfort which is not brought thee by his hand Let him be thy way to the Father and thy Fathers way to thee Keep fresh upon thine heart the memory of his death and satisfaction and let that be thy life and thine hope Hast thou cast Anchor on this Rock lose not thy hold hang upon the horns of the Altar Thou canst not live but there if thou must dye say but I will dye here Put forth fresh Acts of faith everyday and hour Believe believe believe and thou shalt be established Fall not into Unbelief then thou art gone thou departest from the living God Heb. 3.12 3. Keep touch with the Spirit Observe and obey his motions when he excites get thee on when he checks get thee back know the holy from the evil spirit by its according or differing with the Scriptures reject that spirit in the heart that is not the same with the Spirit in the word Try the Wind what and whence it is by thy Card and Gompass To the Law and to the Testimony And when thou perceivest it s from above hoise up thy sails and get thee on Quench not the Spirit Grieve not the holy Spirit of God whereby thou art sealed to the day of Redemption 4. Keep in with Conscience Make not thy witness thine enemy Deal friendly with it thou wilt need its good word which thou canst not have if it receive blowes from thee it will not learn this Lesson to speak good for evil or if thou shouldest beat it into it thou art undone if an abuse conscience speak peace it becomes thy Traytor Give due respect to Conscience Let it abide with thee in Peace and in Power Keep up its Authority as Gods Vicegerent Next under God commit the keeping of thy soul to conscience as the Lord hath so do thou make it superintendent in thy soul the Judge and Over-seer of all thy motions and actions Let conscience counsell thee and tell thee thy way let conscience quicken thee and put thee on in thy way let conscience watch thee that thou turn not out of thy way let conscience check thee and reduce thee into thy way Whither ever thou goest carry conscence along with thee carry
this world these shall not be thine hire the everlasting God will be thy reward thine exceeding great reward exceeding not thy work only but thy very thoughts also A little is too much for thy earnings but the whole world is too little for his bounty less than nothing might satisfie for thy labours but less than himself will not satisfie for his love the eternal God will be thy reward Oh the unsearchable riches of the poorest of Saints Onimium foelices bona si sua nôrint Poor what and yet hast a God! In want what and yet hast all things Is he a God that is thine and art thou still in straits Would a few sheep and oxen vineyards and olive-yards make thee a rich man and can a God leave thee a beggar Is not a pearl more than pebbles Milk and wine than mud and water Men use to say Money is all things meat and drink and clothes and friends and lands virtually all things And is not God more than money Sure he hath said to his Gold thou art my god that cannot say Let God be mine and then go thou thy way Hast thou a God and yet poor Nay farther would the fatness of the earth and the fulness of heaven if thou hadst both be enough for thee Would corn and wine and houses and lands and pleasures here and eternal life hereafter suffice thee And is not God alone as much as all this Dost thou want Star-light when thou hast the Sun Is the Ocean more full for the Rivers that run into it Or would there be any want there if all these were stopp'd and dry Can they contribute to it which have their rise from it Hath the almighty God a self-sufficiency and hath he not enough to satisfie a poor worm Is he blessed in himself and mayest not thou be blessed in him He that thinks any thing less then God will suffice understands not a soul and he that wants any thing more understands not God God alone is as much as God and all the world and this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord God is their portion If enough be not yet said look a while and consider whence thou art taken up into this blessedness What hast thou left What an exchange hast thou made Thou wert taken with the Prodigal from the trough with the beggar from the dunghil yea as a brand out of the burning there thy lot was fallen Oh where hast thou left the rest of the world Blessing themselves in vanity pleasing themselves with shaddows and apparitions feeding on ashes warming themselves at their painted fires sporting themselves with the wind rejoycing in a thing of nought their crackling thorns their glozing pleasures their drinkings and dancings and riotings their horses and their dogs and their hawks and their harlots making a shift a while to make merry with these whilst they are hasting to the pit To that fire and brimstone which is the portion of their cup. Consider man what is the chaffe to the wheat What is a Comet to the Sun What is the night to the day What are bubbles and childrens toyes to â—…e durable riches What are things that are noâ— to hâ—m whose name is I am But oh what is death and wrath and the curse which was once all thine heritage to that life and love and peace and joy and glory which thou now possessest in that God that is thy portion What a poor wretch wert thou once when thou hadst nothing but sin and shame and misery that thou couldst call thine own these thou mightest call thine sin was thine woe was thine death and the grave and the curse and the pit were thine own but that was all thou hadst thy good things thou livedst upon had they been of never so great value were none of thine thine house and thy lands are none of thine thy gold and thy silver and thy substance are none of thine they are all but borrowed or committed to thee as a Steward and all to be given up upon demand and what thou hast spent of them thou must be brought to a reckoning for a poor wretch thou wert and hadst just nothing all that thou hadst was none of thine But now God is thine own all that he is all that he has is thine never couldest thou lay such a claim to any thing thou possessedst to house or wife or childe or body or soul as now thou mayest to thy God God is as surely thine as thou art thy self as sure as thou art a man thou hast a God Come Christian here 's now thy poâ—tion the light of thine eyes the lifting up of thinehead the joy of thine heart the strength of thy bones thy stock thy treasure thy life thy health thy peace thy rest thy all Whom have I in heaven but thee and in the earth there is none that I desire besides thee My flesh and mine heart faileth but God is the strength of mine heart and my portion for ever Psal 73.25,26 Here is thy portion know it for thy good take it for thine own live upon it and live up to it 1. Live upon thy portion Here thou mayest feed herein thou mayest rejoyce herein thou mayest bless thy self for ever Let him that blesseth himself on the earth bless himself in the God of Truth Let him that rejoyceth in the earth rejoyce in the God of truth Let the strong man live upon his strength let the wise man live upon his wits let the rich man live upon his lands come thou live upon thy God come enjoy God and thy soul enjoy God in thy soul enjoy thy soul in God Thou hast possession what should hinder thy fruition In fruition the Schools tells us there are three things which go to the making it up Cognitio Delectatio Quietatio 1. Knowledge according to the clearness or cloudiness of our apprehensions of any good we more or less take the pleasure or comfort of it and therefore the full fruition of God is not till at last when we shall know as we are known Here we see but as in a glass and darkly we know but in part and while we know but in part we love but in part and joy but in part the dimness of our sight makes an abatement upon our joy When the vail shall be taken away when we shall come to see face to face then we shall fully feel what it is to have a God Christian know thou the God of thy Fathers the more thou knowest the more thou hast The carnal world enjoy not God at all God is not known in their Tabernacles In Jewry is God known his Name is great in Israel at Salem is his Tabernacle and his Dwelling in Zion But what of God in Edom or Ammon or Amaleck or Aegypt those dark Regions wherein neither Sun nor Star appears Leave them to their dunghil gods to the gardens which they have desired and the Oaks which they have chosen The
thy food thy clothing thy friend thy life to thee All this he hath said to thee in this one word I am thy God and hereupon thou mayest say I have no husband and yet I am no widow my maker is mine husband I have no father nor friend and yet I am neither fatherless nor friendless my God is both my father and my friend I have no childe but is not he better to me than ten children I have no house but yet I have an home I have made the most high mine habitation I am left alone but yet I am not alone my God is good company for me with him I can walk with him I can take sweet counsel finde sweet repose at my lying down at my rising up whilest I am in the house as I walk by the way my God is ever with me with him I travel I dwell I lodge I live and shall live for ever 2. Live up to your priviledge Live according to your rank and quality according to your riches laid up for you in God The rich men of this world live like rich men they sort themselves with persons of their own quality attend on the Courts of Princes are employed about the magnalia regum you may read their estates in the whole way of their life they wear them on their backs spread their Tables with them fill their bellies with them they live sumptuously and fare delicately Christians feed not on ashes or husks you have better meat you have milk and honey marrow and fatness the hidden manna the bread that comes down from heaven the water of life you have blessed priviledges precious promises lively hopes living comforts glorious joyes the fountain of life to feed your souls upon come eat O friends drink yea drink abundantly O my beloved out-fare the rich man Luke 16. who fared deliciously every day you have enough to maintain it let every day be a gaudy day a feast-day with you Let your clothing be according to your feeding Be clothed with the Sun put on the Lord Jesus The King's Daughter is and so let all the King's Sons be all glorious within let their clothing be of wrought gold Be clothed with humility put on love bowels of compassion gentleness meekness put on the garments of salvation Let your company and converse be according to your clothing Live amongst the excellent amongst the generation of the just Get you up to the General Assembly and Church of the first-born to that innumerable company of Angels and the Spirits of just men made perfect Live in the Courts of the great King behold his face wait at his Throne bear his name shew forth his vertues set forth his praises advance his honour uphold his Interest let vile persons and vile wayes be contemned in your eyes be of more raised spirits than to be companions with them Disce ex hac parte sanctam superbiam scito te illis esse meliorem Regard not their societies nor their scorns their Euge's or their Apage's their flatteries or their frowns rejoyce not with their joyes fear not their fear care not their care feed not on their dainties get you up from among them to your Country to your City where no unclean thing can enter or annoy Live by faith in the power of the Spirit in the beauty of holiness in the hope of the Gospel in the joy of your God in the magnificence and yet the humility of the children of the great King 3. Their Sun He will discover and make manifest to them the riches and glory of their Portion He hath granted them himself for their portion and he will reveal and make manifest to them what a portion he is He will make manifest both their blessedness they shall enjoy in him and the way to it and also the dangers that lye in the way Psal 84.11 The Lord God is a Sun The Sun is the light of the world it discovers it self and all things else We cannot see the glory of the Sun but by its own light the Moon the Stars the Firmament and all this lower World would all disappear if the Sun withdrew its light beauty and deformity safety and danger the right way and the wrong are all brought to view by the light of the Sun the Sun-light makes the day night is spread over the world when the Sun is set God is glorious but who would be ever the wiser did not this glory shine Psal 36.9 In thy light we shall see light Why is the glorious God apprehended understood admired by so few amongst the sons of men why he is out of sight the Sun is not risen upon them nor shines unto them they have Moon-light or Star-light some dimmer reflections of this glory at second hand from the creatures but they see not the Sun What 's the reason that truth and falshood good and evil substances and shaddows things perishing and things permanent are no better distinguished VVhat 's the reason that men are so mistaken and misguided in their judgements in their choice in their way That they are at such a loss such wanderers from their bliss what 's the reason that mens own sparks the light of their own fires their candle-light or torch-light their fleshly imaginations their carnal prosperity their pleasures their ease their earthly glory and their carnal joyes that hence flash up to them are so ador'd and admir'd by them Oh they see not the Sun God is out of sight and thence are all their dotages and foolish mistakes and miscarriages God will be a Sun to his Saints their Sun Thy Sun shall no more go down They shall have both the propriety and the comfort of this glorious Sun he will shew them his face he will cause his glory to appear he will lead them into himself by his own beams he will shew them their end and the means the goal and their way to it he will shew them the good part and the right path good and evil duties and sins realities and delusions helps and hindrances dangers and advantages their snares and their succours will all be discovered to them by the light of the Lord. Hearken thou poor and dark soul that hast chosen but thou knowest not what that art going but thou knowest not whither that art wandring and stumbling on but thou carest not how that complainest thou canst not see thou canst not value thou canst not be affected with all the glory and joy of the invisible world that findest thy husks and thy trash to be a greater pleasure to thee than all the riches of immortality that wouldest fain mind and chuse and love and relish and seek God and things above but thou canst not thou seest so little of the beauty of them that they do not entice thine heart after them and when thou art seeking thou art at a loss and in the dark as to the way that thou shouldest take Hearken soul thy God calls to thee Come
iniquity to bring in everlasting righteousness and so to bring us to God What-ever difficulties there appear in thy way what-ever doubts arise in thine heart from thy sins from thy guilt from thy poverty from thy impotence what-ever objections thy fears may hence put in there 's the blood of the Lamb that will answer all Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us 2. As a merciful and faithful high Priest Heb. 2.17 who hath made an attonement for us in the earth and appears for us in heaven who hath made reconciliation for us and makes intercession for us Heb. 9.24 to appear in the presence of God for us we read Exod. 28.12.29 That Aaron as the type of Christ was to bear the names of the children of Israel engraven in stones upon his shoulders and upon his breast-plate when he went into the holy place for a memorial before the Lord continually Our Lord is entred into the Heavens to appear in the presence of God with our names upon his shoulders and upon his heart for a memorial before the Lord there is not the least of Saints but there his name is engraven Here 's my ransome Lord and behold my ransomed ones Here 's my price and my purchase my redemption and my redeemed What-ever accusers there be what-ever charge be laid against them what-ever guilt lies upon them here are the shoulders that have born all that was their due and payd all that they owe and upon these shoulders and in this heart thou mayest read all their names and when thou readest remember what I have done for them and acquit absolve and let them be accepted before thee for ever Remember the tears of these eyes the stripes on this back the shame of this face the groans of this body the anguish of this soul the blood of this heart and when thou remembrest what-ever name thou findest engraven upon this heart and upon these shoulders they are the persons whose all these are and what-ever these are what-ever acceptance they have found with thee what-ever satisfaction thou hast found in them put it upon their account never let me be accounted the accepted if they be rejected never let me be accounted righteous if they lye under the imputation of wicked If they be not righteous in my righteousness I must be guilty under their guilt What-ever I am what-ever my satisfaction is all is theirs for them they plead for them they pray my tears stripes wounds groans anguish soul blood they all cry and say Father forgive them Father accept them Of all cryes there are no such strong cries as the cry of blood and that whether it be against or for the guilty its voice shall be heard on high Thy brothers blood cryeth unto me from the ground Gen. 4. and what followed Wo to those persons against whom blood cryeth but where blood such blood cries for them for pardon for mercy blessed are those souls Christian this blood is for thee it speaks better things than the blood of Abel Heb. 12. it pleads sues presses for thy discharge from all that is upon thee Thou hast many cries against thee Sathan cries thy sins cry thine own heart thy conscience cries against thee and thou art amazed at the dreadful noise they make but behold the blood of the Lamb the blood of God cries for thee Thou hast an accuser but thou hast an acquitter thou hast adversaries but thou hast an advocate An Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous who is the propitiation for thy sins 1 John 2. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect It is God that justifieth who is he that condemneth it is Christ that died yea rather that is risen again who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us Rom. 8.33,34 Nay farâ—her thou hast not onely a righteous but a merciful high Priest that is provided of a Sacrifice and hath an heart to offer it for thee thy name is in his heart as well as on his shoulders in his bowels as well as on his back He hath blood for thee precious blood and he hath bowels for thee pitiful bowels He can have pity and compassion on the miserable Heb. 5.2 if he can finde no other he can finde arguments enough from thy wo and thy misery to draw forth his soul towards thee He is merciful and his mercies are tender mercies he is pittiful and his compassions are tender compassions thou art not so tender of the wife of thy bosome of the childe of thy bowels thou art not so tender of thine own flesh of the apple of thine eye of thine own soul as thy Lord is of thee His spirit is moved for thee his soul melts over thee he bleeds in thy wounds he suffers in thy sorrows his eye weeps his heart breaks over thy broken and undone state fear not his forgetting thee his bowels will remember him of thee He is a merciful and a faithful high Priest No dignity to which he is exalted above thee no distance to which he is removed from thee can make him forget his friends He is gone into the heavens and there exalted far above all Principalities and Powers and set down at the right hand of God He is gone but he hath carried thy name with him as a perpetual memorial for thee Thou art unfaithful shame to thee thou forgettest thy Lord at every turn every business that comes every trouble that comes every pleasure that comes every companion that comes in makes thee forget thy Lord forget his love forget thy duty Oh how small a matter will steal thy heart from him yea stir up tumults and rebellions against him Thy comforts thy hopes thy needs thou hast daily of him will not all prevail to hold him in remembrance with thee Thou forgettest thy Lord but he will not forget thee though thou hast been unfaithful in many things yet he is in nothing 2 Tim. 2.13 Yet he abideth faithful he cannot deny himself he should not be true to himself if he be not faithful to thee his interest lies in thee thou art his his possession a member of his body fear not if he should be unfaithful to thy soul he is therein unfaithful to his own body If thy case be such that he can help thee if there be any thing wherein he can stead thee if all that he hath his blood his righteousness his interest with the Father will be sufficient for thy help he hath undertaken to procure it for thee and secure it to thee Faithful is he that hath called you and will do it This now is that Jesus that is given unto us as our propitiatory Sacrifice as our merciful and faithful high Priest who suffered on the earth and is gone into the heavens for us standing in his red robes garments rolled in blood with those glorious whites upon the red pardon peace absolution acceptance with the names of his ransomed ones engraven
for eyes They that see pitty the blinde Wee have a little Sister that hath no breasts wee have a poor Brother yea a world of them that have no eyes What shall we do for our poor brethren in the day that they shall bee spoken for Oh! bee eyes to thy blinde bee a light to thy dark souls let them that dwell in darkness see thy great light Sinners those whom you persecute do thus pitty do thus pray for you Lord that their eyes might bee opened will you say Amen to their prayers or will you say Lord regard not their word wee desire not the knowledge of thy waies Christians bee marvels You that have seen marvellous things bee marvellous persons set the world a wondring for some thing Let your light shine let the light which hath shined into your hearts shine forth in all your paths let the Spirit of Light within you bee a Spirit of Glory resting upon you Once you were darkness but now are yee light in the Lord Walk as Children of the light Bee yee holy harmless the Children of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked Generation amongst whom yee shine as lights in the World Beclouded Christian thou goest on bemoaning and bewailing thy self complaining that thou art still blinde the light hath shined into thy darkness but thy darkness comprehendeth it not thine eye is yet but tender at least and thou canst see but little but little of Christ the Sun is but as a sparke to thee but little of sin that Mountain looks yet but as a Mole hill It is neither clear nor dark neither night nor perfect day thou hopeedst that long e're this thy scales would have fallen off the vail would have been removed but they abide upon thee thou waitest for light but behold obscurity for brightness but thou walkest in darkness thou goest on adding darkness to darkness the darkness of sorrow to the dimness of sight Thou fearest that the Gospel is hid from thee thou doubtest 't is still night because 't is not yet noon with thee But hearken as little as thou seest of Christ doest thou see so much that thou prizest and lovest and cleavest to him above all as little as thou seest of sin doest thou see so much that thou loathest and shunnest it above all things doest thou walke in that little light thou hast dost thou love long wait cry for the light Send forth thy light and thy truth lift up the light of thy countenance Sun of Righteousness shine upon mee why are the wheels of thy Chariots so long a coming when Lord Make haste my Beloved O might I once see thy face as the Sun looking over the Mountains Is this thy voice are these the breathings of thy soul Bee of good comfort these are the glimmerings and groanings of that Holy Spirit within thee which hath already delivered thee from darkness and will bring thee forth into his marvellous light thou shalt know if thou follow on to know the Lord. Arise shine thy light is come the Glory of the Lord is risen upon thee Though yet as to thy sense it bee neither clear nor dark neither night nor perfect day in the evening there shall bee light 2 As a Spirit of Holiness and Sanctification hee is given as an Holy Spirit and as a Sanctifying Spirit therefore Sanctification is called the Sanctification of the Spirit 2 Thes 2.13 he comes to change us into his own nature to make us partakers of his holiness hee is a Refiner's fire and Fullers sope Mal. 3.2 to purge and work and wash off the filth and corruption of our natures What it is said hee shall bee to the Church Isa 4.4 A Spirit of Judgement and a Spirit of Burning to wash away the filth of the Daughters of Zion and to purge the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof a Spirit of Judgement that is in the Rulers of Israel stirring them up to do Justice and execute Judgement that so the guilt of blood may bee taken away Isa 32.15,16 and a Spirit of Burning that is in the hearts of the people of Israel to consume and destroying the inward lusts of their hearts that no more such wickedness bee committed amongst them This hee is to every Saint A Spirit of Judgement to give Sentence against their Lusts to condemn them to the fire these must bee cast out to the fire with them away with them get yee hence yee Sons of the Bond-woman you may not bee Heirs with the Sons of the Free-woman The Spirit of the Lord first discovers and convinces of sin judges betwixt light and darkness grace and sin and then gives sentence away with these Lusts they may not bee suffered to live A Spirit of Burning to execute the sentence to consume them in the fire The Spirit of Sanctification is a spirit of Mortification Rom. 8.13 If yee through the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the body It is the Spirit that kills the Flesh profiteth nothing The Spirit implants the Soul into Christ gives it an Interest in his death brings it under the influence of his death Christus crucifixus est Christus crucifigens 'T is the death of Christ that is the death of sin these Theeves are Crucified with him Rom. 6.6 Our old man is Crucified with Christ that the body of sin might bee destroyed that henceforth wee should no longer serve sin Hell knew not what they did when they Crucified Christ Death with all its Armies were put to death with him The Spirit raises up another party in the soul a party against a party an army against an army brings Grace in to take up arms against sin Grace doth not onely fight against sinne but is in the very nature of it the death of sinne as the Generation of a new is the Corruption of the old form Humility is pride dead meekness is sinful passion and frowardnesse dead patience is impatience slain The Spirit excites and stirs up the soul against sin sets it a praying against it the Spirit of Grace is a Spirit of Supplication fetches down Hail-stones and Thunder bolts from Heaven to destroy these Amorites sets a watch against it presses the soul to deal wisely with it to keep it low by cutting off all provision from the flesh restraining and keeping it short of all those fleshly objects which would keep it in heart and so it 's starved to death It is true our greatest wisdome watchfulness abstinence self-denial and all external means alone will fall short of killing one lust it is the Spirit that killeth without it the flesh profiteth nothing all external attempts for the mortification of the flesh are but a fleshly mortification but if yee through the Spirit do mortifie pray in the Spirit watch in the Spirit curbe and keep short and keep under this body still taking in the assistance of the Spirit then it shall dye Christian thou livest in a weary Land and thou hast but a weary
from falling by the presence of his Grace till he present them faultless before the presence of his Glory O its good being with Christ any where Tell me O thou whom my soul loveth where thou feedest and causest thy flocks to rest at noon Where thou feedest yea where thou art whether feeding or fasting whether rejoycing or mourning where thou causest thy flocks to rest at noon yea and where thou sufferest thy flocks to be scattered in the night Where thy flocks are thou art not far away tell mee where thou feedest tell mee where thou art My beloved that feedeth among the lillies feedeth sometimes among the thorns When his love is a lilly among thorns there hee feedeth Hee feedeth among the thorns he feedeth with his sheep he feedeth with his Lambs where ever they feed when darkness and desolation and devils and death feed upon them even then he feedeth them and takes his feeding with them O where ever my Lord is there let my lot fall Let me dwell amongst the thorns so my dwelling be with my Lord amongst the lillies Let me wander amongst the mountains whilest he is with me telling all my wandrings Let me be scourged so he will wash my stripes let me weep so he will wipe off my tears I would not want wounds whilest I have such oyl to pour in Come all yee thieves and robbers I fear you not my dear Samaritan comes by come yee bulls of Bashan yee boars of the forest let my beloved kiss mee with the kisses of his mouth and I regard it not though you kick me with the heel O my Lord bring me where thou feedest let me live in thy face let me feel thy smiles upon my heart let me love thee tell me thou lovest me remembrest pittiest acceptest takest care for me and then chuse my condition my dwelling and entertainment for me Fainting Christian lift up thine eyes comfort thine heart here 's that thou fearest and tormentest thy self withall Here is the inside of that formidable cross the light side of those dark clouds the sunny side of that shady thorny hedge that so wounds and afflicts thine heart Fear not bee strong and of a good courage Thou still sayest woe is me I can find no such thing Ah Lord God doth he not speak parables O that I were assured it might be thus with me why art thou in Covenant believe and all is thine I believe and therefore have I spoken believe and thou shalt see the salvation of God as sure as the cross is thine all the comforts of the cross are setled upon thee Read over all the gracious words thou hast before thine eyes view over all the instances of suffering Saints that have gone before thee on whom these good words have been made good in conspicuous increases of divine grace in the signal discoveries of divine love in the clearest and fullest revelation of divine glory in the intimate sense of the divine presence quickning enlarging encouraging supporting their spirits in the darkest dens in the sharpest conflicts with reproaches mockings bonds banishments torments and deaths and know that all these things are written for thy learning that thou through patience and comfort of the Scriptures maist have hope Read over Isa 51. Hearken to mee yee that follow after righteousness yee that seek the Lord look unto the Rock whence ye are hewen and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged for the Lord shall comfort Zion hee will comfort all her wast places hee will make her wildernesse like Eden and all her desarts like the Garden of the Lord joy and gladness shall bee found therein thanksgiving and the voice of melody lift up your eyes to the Heavens c. Verse 7 8 12 13. Hearken unto me ye that know righteousness the people in whose heart is my Law fear yee not the reproach of men neither bee ye afraid of their revilings for the Moth shall eat them up like a Garment and the worm shall eat them like wool but my Righteousness shall bee for ever and my salvation from Generation to Generation I even I am hee that comforteth you who art thou that thou shouldest bee afraid of a man that shall dye and of the Son of man which shall bee made as grass and forgettest the Lord thy maker that hath stretched forth the heavens and layd the foundations of the earth and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressour as if he were ready to destroy and where is the fury of the oppressour I even I am he c. and where is the fury of the oppressour where is the fury of the oppressour where is it not rather is it not in the house and in the field is it not in the City and in the Villages is it not upon my Cattel upon my Purse upon my body upon my Children upon my friends where is not the fury of the oppressour I but when thou remembrest the Lord thy maker the Oath the Promise and Covenant of God the Presence Protection and Comfort of thy God when thou remembrest this then where is the fury of the Oppressour CHAP. V. The Angels of Light in the Covenant 5. THe Angels of Light are in the Covenant Heb. 1.14 are they not all Ministring Spirits sent forth for them who shall bee Heirs of Salvation Whilest our Lord himself was sent down to Minister behold his servants are to bee ministred unto the Angels are made their Ministers Psal 91.11 Hee shall give his Angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy waies they have received a charge and they have great advantages for the keeping the charge of the Lord. 1. They are mighty Psal 103.20 Bless the Lord yee his Angels that excel in strength an Angel is more than an Armie what slaughters have the Angels made in the Armies of the Aliens an hundred fourscore and five thousand Assyrians are slain by one Angel of the Lord when encamped against Judah Isa 37.36 It is hard service indeed that is too hard for an Angel 2 They are numerous there are great multitudes of them Psal 68.17 Thousands of Angels a multitude of the Heavenly Host Luke 2.13 An Angel is more than an army but what then are an Army of Angels 3. They are faithful They can do much for the Saints but will they do it yes they are faithful They do the Commandements of God Psal 103.20 God bids them keep and they are faithful they will keep his sheep wee are taught to pray that the will of God may bee done on earth as it is in Heaven that men may bee faithful as the Angels of God 4. They are Favourites they behold the face of God they dwell in his presence they are admitted to stand before his Throne they can bee heard they have favour in Heaven and therefore such power on earth Mat. 18.10 Take heed yee despise not one of these little ones for I say unto you that in Heaven
it Rule till it hath put all thine Enemies under thy feet till every thought imagination every high thing be made low and brought into captivity to Christ Let not the light of the Lord help thee to do the Devil's Work Let it not bee fodder for thy flesh lest it bee fuel for thy flames Let it not repent thy God nor thee that ever thou hadst such a talent committed to thee Let it neither be loss to God nor the eternal loss of thine own soul Hee that hath appeared on earth in beams of light will bee revealed from Heaven in flames of fire rendering vengeance to all that Know God and obey not the Gospel of Christ Woe to those that neither know nor obey but Oh! what to those that obey not though they Know Christians know the Lord but know and fear know and serve know and honour thy God Know God and know thy self thy sinne and thy misery thy dangers and thy temptations Know and mourn know and bee ashamed know and fear and watch and fight and overcome Know God and know his Will thy duty and thy way thy priviledges and opportunities thy Race and thy Crown Know and do and run and suffer and wait and hope and rejoyce in hope of the Glory of God Know God but God in Christ God reconciled pardoning absolving accepting through him Know and believe accept adventure upon resign commit thy self to him Know thy God and behold him look upon thy God in his power in his wisdome in his holiness in his goodness in his loving-kindness in his mercy Behold him in his Word in his Works in his Providence in his Saints in thy Soul in his Son Set him before thine eyes look upon thy God and never leave looking till thou art changed into his Image and satisfied with his Visage and when thou art brought up to this then hee hath done for thee what he hath said I will give them an heart to know mee CHAP. XI One Heart 3. ONe Heart Ezek. 11.19 I will give them one Heart Wee read Hos 14.11 Ephraim is like a silly Dove without an Heart Hath no heart at all none for his God that 's as good as none and Psal 12.2 Wee read that Israel had a double Heart an Heart and an Heart more hearts than one but saies the Lord I will give them an Heart and it shall bee but one and no more For the opening of this to let passe the signification it hath as it respects Christians collectively as it respects each particular Christian This one Heart may bee taken as opposed To A wavering A divided A double Heart 1. As opposed to a wavering unstable Heart Jam. 1.6.8 VVavering minded men have almost as many hearts as they live daies or meet with cases An heart that changes with the weather and tacks about with every winde that resolves and repents that chuses and changes that like a wave of the Sea is tossed about with every VVinde This you may call either many hearts or no heart as you will Thus this one heart is a fixed established resolved heart Heb. 13.9 It is good that the heart bee established with grace Grace fixes and establishes the heart brings it to a consistency in it self which before was any thing or nothing 2. As opposed to a divided Heart Hos 10.2 An Heart cut in two as it were some talk that the Devil hath a cloven foot but what-ever the Devils foot bee to bee sure his Sons have a cloven heart one half for God the other for sin one half for Christ the other for this present World God hath a corner in it and the rest is for sin and the Devil Thus this one heart is an entire heart all the powers of it are united within it self and go the same way God hath the whole heart Psal 103.1 Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name All its springs are in him and thither do all its streams bend their course 3. As opposed to a double heart or an hypocritical heart properly so called Psal 12.2,3 that 's it which is called an heart and an heart an heart in the breast and another in the tongue Our outside is presum'd to be an expression of our inside what wee speak wee pretend to bee our very hearts 'T is the heart in the tongue that speaks the heart in the eye that weeps the heart in the hand that works the heart in the foot that walks no 't is not so with the Hypocrite he shews another heart in his tongue in his waies than that which is within him He hath an heart and an heart one in his tongue or life and quite another in his breast His course speaks him another man than hee is and thus one heart signifies a single or a plain heart To summe up all together this one heart is such as 1. Pitches on one end 2. Has but one thing to do 3. Does what it does 1. Pitches on one end God is its end There it wholly bestows it self I am thine Psal 119. And there only it takes up its rest Psal 39.7 And now Lord what wait I for my hope is in thee God is both its work and its wages To please God this is its whole business and to enjoy God this is its happiness This is the mark it hath in its eye this is the scope of all its motions to honour and enjoy God This it wills this it loves this it desires designs hopes labours for that the Lord may possess and be the possession of it Particularly it gives God the place the power of the end 1. The place of the end God is its first and last Hee 's first in the eye and it looks no farther It makes him not onely the chief but in a sense its onely aim It will have no other God and therefore no other end but the Lord. It makes all things else not onely to stoop and stand by but to serve to him Get you hence stand off is its language to all that stands up in his room or stands in his way Evil men what-ever honour they pretend to have for the Lord they do but make him a servant to their other Gods Religion they will take up but 't is onely to serve their own turns to bring about their carnal ends they serve not the Lord but their own bellies saith the Apostle Rom. 16.18 Phil. 3.19 Nay they make the Lord their fellow-servant They serve and their Religion must serve their sensual appetites Hee that will have so much religion onely as he may live upon which is the measure of the most makes the Lord no longer his God but his servant A sincere Christian will set God upon the throne and makes all things else his servants or his foot-stool What-ever will not be serviceable must bee trodden in the dirt Nothing will bee loved and embraced but what will set God higher or bring God nearer to his
attendance upon thee 1 Pet. 1.13,14,15 Gird up the loyns of your mind and bee sober and hope to the end in the original 't is hope perfectly for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children not fashioning your selves according to the former lusts in your ignorance but as hee which hath called you is holy so bee yee holy in all manner of conversation Gird up the loyns of your minds Gird and bee sober gird and hope perfectly gird and bee obedient gird and bee holy Here 't is true ungirt and unblest ungirt and unholy the girding is the gathering in the strength of the heart to its work Ephes 6.14 Stand with your loyns girt Stand do not gird and ungird stand alwayes girt call in your hearts and hold them in be alwaies in a readiness to every duty in a readiness against every temptation Oh how loose are wee what loose praying and loose hearing and loose meditation and loose walkings do wee satisfie our selves with our hearts are to seek our thoughts and affections are gadding abroad we know not where to finde them and our work is done thereafter Wee excuse our non-proficiency in Religion by our many hindrances by the difficulties of our work but the great hindrance lies here our loyns are ungirded our hearts are not united in our work nor intent upon it When God and the things of eternity are gotten so deep into the heart when there is such a deep sense of the weight and importance of the things that are eternal abiding upon us as over-powers carnal objects and loosens the heart from them when wee feel the evidence and the consequence of these things commanding our whole soules after them then there 's Religion in earnest then wee go on and prosper And thus 't is with this one heart there are not some light touches onely upon it God is gotten deep into it eternity is gotten deep into it this is all this is all I have to minde or do My hope my comforts my life my soul all hang upon this one thing if I speed well here I am made for ever What have I to do in the way of Egypt or to drink of the waters of Sihor what have I to do in the way of Assyria what have I to do in the way of pleasure What have I to do in the way of the World To build Tabernacles for my self here below or to drink the waters of mine own Cisteron How little am I concerned in the interest of this flesh VVhat matter 's it what becomes of it or which way it goes My God my God my soul my soul there lies my concernment of these let my care onely bee Get thee behind me Satan hold thy peace sinful flesh keep silence worldly cares hinder mee not speak no more to me of hearkening to you away from mee ye evil-doers I will keep the Commandements of my God Let others do what they will run whither they please chuse whom they will serve what they will follow after come my soul follow thou the Lord gird up thy loyns and come away for the other world for the other world make haste linger not let others loyter as they will escape for thy life look not behinde thee get thee up to the Mountain and live Object One Heart why 't is never more two Two men a new man and an old two Nations two selfs there are twins in the womb of every Saint the ungodly seem more one than they all for sin and for Hell all dark all hard all but one stone Sol. Yet 't is true the Saints and they onely have but this one heat For 1. The old heart is not an heart the old self is not the self this old man is not the man this is not hee that 's the heart that hath gotten the dominion and the rule in the man The new heart hath the dominion though Sin as Esau bee the first born yet the elder must now serve the younger the old man is but a dead man Col. 3.3 Yee are dead that is your old man is dead your sin is slain and Crucified with Christ and when 't is dead you may say 't is not 2. The meaning plainly is I will give them one heart that is a single sincere upright heart they shall bee no longer an Hypocritical people If there bee something of Hypocrisie in them yet Hypocrites they shall no longer bee their hearts shall bee upright before mee sincerity stands in pitching upon chusing and giving up our hearts to God as our chief good and last end When God is our all there is perfection and when God is our chief there is sincerity I say when God is our all when the world hath nothing left in us to entice or draw out our souls after it but God carries them wholly without any the least liking or lusting after sinful objects there 's perfection This is not attainable here the heart cannot bee thus perfectly one till corruption hath put on incorruption But though it bee not perfectly yet it may bee sincerely one and then 't is so when however the flesh hath too great an interest in it and influence upon it and often pulls it aside and puts it back yet it still bends its course Heaven wards and that way the stream and strength of the soul is running the flesh will bee putting in for a part it would have all it would not take its turns with God God will not take his turns with the flesh hee will have all or none and the flesh would not take its turnes with him it is not contented with now and then it would not bee served in the fields or in the shop or at the Table or in the bed onely but in the Church in the Chamber in the Closet 't would carry away all from God but if it cannot have all 't will divide with God where-ever God is served the flesh will bee putting in for its share The best of Christians feel too great a truth in this their frequent humblings and mournings and breakings and self-shamings before the Lord are mostly upon this account This is the voice of their deepest groanings and bitterest tears the burthens of their mournful groans I cannot do the things that I would when I would do good evil is present with me with my minde I serve the Law of God but with my flesh the Law of sin Woe is me my soul how am I straitned how am I divided Whither am I hurried wherewithall do I come before thee Lord Oh! what halting and heartless and distracted duties do I serve my God withal This flesh eats up the fat and the best and onely the lame and the lean and the sick are left for a Sacrifice to the Lord. Woe is mee my leanness my leanness my God my God how art thou served how art thou robbed of thy due these strangers are gotten into thy Sanctuary
more is the Lord loved by us and the more hee is our own the more love hee hath Now in Christ the Lord is our God Our own God even our own God Psal 67.6 O God thou art my God and I will praise thee Thou art my God and I will love thee The Lord is God and wee therefore love him the Lord is good gracious merciful and wee therefore love him yea and ought to love him whether he bee ours or no but when both meer hee is God and our God hee is good and our good gracious merciful all-sufficient and all this to us hence is our love made perfect in us 4 Possession wee can love a distant an absent good A good that 's only possible there 's love in hope but by how much the nearer good is to us that is really so by so much the more attractive and acceptable ' t is 'T is then most in our hearts when 't is most in our hands Indeed those things which have only speciem boni that are fancied good or those things that are finite good and good over-rated that are judg'd better than they are are lov'd most at a distance because when they come to hand wee see our mistake But that which is what it seem'd much more that which is above our thoughts beyond our expectations infinite good by how much the nearer 't is ever the dearer to us All worldly good is most valued at least by carnal hearts at a distance they promise themselves more contentment in it than it hath to pay them their possession is their disappointment Whilest they lusted they idoliz'd they ador'd but when they have tasted and eaten it comes out at their nostrils Or else they sit down with the shame of the disappointed they are either surfeited or hungry still Is this all all you can do for mee all the pleasure and comfort I shall have of you is all my expectation of delight and satisfaction come to no more but this Miserable comforters are you all possession and fruition is the proof of all things And vanity proved is the less loved But God being an all-sufficient incomprehensible good by how much the nearer to us by how much the more hee is ours by so much the more wee prize and love because now wee find when wee have him wee enjoy him that before the one half was not told us Now in Christ wee have not onely a propriety in God but in some degree a present possession Hee that hath the Son hath the Father also We see his light wee feel his love wee taste of his goodness wee enjoy his presence wee have God with us wee have God in us wee have fellowship with him he dwelleth in us and wee in him and hence wee love and herein wee rejoyce 3. God in all the things of God in his Word Ordinances Sabbaths Saints in graces duties in all his waies the Saints love God and love his word 't is God in the word they love they love God and they love Ordinances and Sabbaths and Saints 't is God in all these they love They love the waies and works and all the dispensations of God and 't is God in them all they love they see God in every thing and they love God where ever they see him They look on all these things with another eye and therefore embrace them with another heart then other men The Saints love to the things of God is their love to God for 't is God in them as was said that they love their love to them is founded either on their participation of God or relation to God Or else you may say they love the things of God because they are the Off-spring the Images the Chariots of God 1. The things of God are the Off-spring of God as the Saints are born from above so all the things of God are 〈◊〉 they come down from above and therefore may also bee called as the Apostle stiles them 〈…〉 things above Phil. 3.1,2 If yee bee risen with Christ seek those things that are above set your affections on things above things above and the things of God come all to one whatsoever is from God and belongs to his Heavenly Kingdome is divine and heavenly and hee that loveth him that begets therefore loveth those which are begotten and whatsoever proceedeth from him 2. The Word and the Saints are the Images of God the character and impresse of God are upon them the Grace in the Saints and the holy truths in the Word are the very face of Christ who is full of Grace and Truth and this is their Rule love God and love his Image 3. The things of God are the Chariots of God Hee that makes the Clouds his Chariots makes also his Word and his Ordinances and his Ministers his Chariots wherein he rides down into these lower parts to give the World a meeting When Ministers come and the Word comes down God comes down in them to visit his people as 't was said of Paul So 't is true of Apollos and Cephas and all the dispensers of the Gospel they are chosen Vessels to bear his Name before the Sons of men and as they are the Chariots in which God comes down so are they also the Wagons which hee hath sent them to fetch them up to himself The Saints send up their hearts in their duties their hearts in their prayers in their praises unto God Old Israel's heart leap'd when hee saw the Wagons which Joseph had sent Oh what love doth the Psalmist expresse to the House and Courts of the Lord O how amiable are thy Tabernacles I was glad when they said unto mee let us go up into the House of the Lord. Hee was glad to go thither because thence hee hoped to bee carried higher from the Mountain to the Mansion from Mount Zion here below to Jerusalem which is above It 's the duty and the delight of the Saints to bee ascending Heaven-wards they are dead with Christ they are risen with Christ and 't is not as they would with them but when they are ascending up with Christ they are dead with Christ by repentance and humiliation they are risen with Christ by faith and sanctification and they ascend with Christ by love and holy affection this is their Chariot of fire a Chariot within a Chariot that through Duties and Ordinances rides up in its own flames to the God of Love Or if you will the Ordinances of God are our Jacobs Ladder reaching from Heaven to Earth by which Angels descend and souls ascend God comes down and hearts go up praises go up and blessings come down thou hast not prov'd what an Ordinance is what Prayer means or Preaching means or Sacraments mean that hast not seen God coming down nor felt thine heart ascending by them hee that hath felt this will say here let mee dwell let others bee where they will amongst their flocks amongst their herds upon their beds or at
God dwells and therefore there his soul takes up its dwelling There is also an acquiescence of the heart in him Return unto thy rest O my soul But this is not felt till love hath obtained Till the soul feels it self to love and to have what it loves to love and to bee beloved to accept and to bee accepted of God When it comes to this then I have enough I am my beloveds and my beloved is mine And here is the sweetness of Religion the marrow and fatness of godliness the pleasure of love When I love I can rest when I can rest I can rejoyce when I feel my self to love I know I am beloved and then what is there wanting where love is a stranger joy is not known wee can never take comfort in any thing but in that which wee love When take wee pleasure in eating but when we have meat that wee love what is a friend or a wife or a childe when wee love them not what is society or communion where love hath not first made an union can two walk together except they bee agreed with little comfort sure they would bee better pleased were they parted asunder 'T is love that is the pleasure of our lives 'T is love that makes heaven sweet there wee shall have our fill of joy because there wee have our fill of love Heaven would bee no heaven God himself could not bee the joy if hee were not the love of his Saints What bitter draughts will love sugar sin and lusts and all the filth of the flesh are sweet morsels to carnal hearts 't is meat they love God is nothing Christ is nothing to them What is thy beloved more than other beloveds Religion is a bondage to them holiness a weariness not the labours onely but the joyes of the Saints are empty and unsavoury things there are no feasts but love-feasts Love is both the best dish and the onely sauce to every dish 't is the best dish he that feeds on divine love will never complain of a short meal and 't is the onely sauce for every dish 't is but unsavoury meat that is not seasoned with love wee may a little change the proverb love is the best sauce Bee the meat never so excellent it will not relish if it bee not loved Love will make any thing down When it puts such a sweetness into sin that even death and hell will down with carnal hearts for its sake oh what a feast will love make of holiness and glory get love to Christ love to Religion and you will never demand where is the blessedness where is the sweetness Love will sweeten both the comforts and the exercises of Religion 't will make duties sweet yea and sufferings sweet There are two things that are naturally sweet to love To please To praise 1. He that loves will please and observe whom hee loves How careful are such to watch themselves that they grieve not their friend what study does love put them upon to find out what 's grateful and acceptable Acceptable looks acceptable language acceptable entertainment what wilt thou Lord what wilt thou have mee to bee a servant a door-keeper a servant of servants for thee I will bee nothing but what thou wilt any thing that thou wilt have mee What wilt thou have mee to do Lord let mee know thy vvill appoint mee my vvork O that my waies were so directed that I might keep thy statutes What vvilt thou have of mee vvilt thou have mine Idols mine ease or mine honour or my pleasure or my house or mine estate vvilt thou have mine Isaacks is there any thing dearer to me than other that might bee an offering to the Lord wilt thou have my liberty or my life behold all is at thy feet I can keep back nothing thou callest for Hence love is said to bee the fulfilling of the Law There is in this good will radically every good work It would walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work Love is generous it would do great things noble things what shall I do for him whom my soul honours oh for a gift that might bee worthy of him but I have nothing my goodness extendeth not to thee it would give more than it owes but where it cannot do so where it cannot bee generous yet it would bee just it would levell all accounts and pay all debts love would have nothing but love owing It would give to all their due it would not die in the debt of a servant of a stranger much less could it help it would it defaulk from the God of glory That 's the daily charge of love pay what thou owest Its receipts and returns are a pleasure to it any thing that comes down from heaven and every present it has to send thither is a joy to love This is the message that both speak happy soul thou lovest and art beloved It catches at all opportunities to send up messages of love and knoweth no fitter messenger to send by than by the hand of duty Every duty is dispatched with this superscription the tribute of love Love is the spring that sets all our wheels a going the womb in which all our works are formed the fire in the heart that vents it self in our words and wayes The fire kindled then spake I with my tongue Love is to a Saint what malice is to Sathan that which gives force to all his actings Sathans temptations are called fiery darts and this not onely because they are headed and barbed with fire as poysoned arrows they burn where they hit they set sin on fire they set the soul on fire burning with lust and wickedness but because they are winged with fire and forced with fire the bullet is fired out of the Gun and thence it flies so fiercely 'T is the malice of Sathans heart that fires out all his darts What malice doth with Sathan that doth love with Saints It sets the heart in a flame of holy zeal and activity for God Jer. 20.9 Thy word was in mee as fire it hath kindled a fire there I was weary with forbearing An heart of love is weary but not of action but of idleness Weary with forbearing not with doing never weary of doing much ever weary of doing nothing O God my heart is fixed my heart is fixed saith the Psalmist I will sing and give thanks Love will adde O God mine heart is fiered my heart is fiered there 's a flame kindled mine heart burneth in holy desires and zeal for thee and where love hath set the heart a burning the heart will set the hand a working and the feet a running 2. He that loves will praise whom he loves Praise is comely and praise is a pleasure to the upright in heart 'T is the delight of love to be speaking of the perfections of the vertues of the beauties of the excellencies of her beloved The Spouse in the book
the Lord He that did this what can he not do His wrath is a dread Jer. 10.10 At his wrath the earth shall tremble and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation Yea his Holiness his Truth his Righteousness and all his Name Deut 28.58 That thou mayest fear this glorious and fearfull Name the Lord thy God The Lord God is a dreadful God 2. The Lord God hath put the dread of himself upon the hearts of all the earth Not the best onely but the worst of the sons of men I am a great King saith the Lord and my Name is dreadful among the Heathen This dread of the Lord breaks forth upon them 1. From the impress of God upon the natures of all men As the Law so the being of God is written in their hearts he hath his witness in their Consciences If the Atheists of the Earth could answer all the Arguments from without proving that there is a God yet they can never confute their own Consciences If the works of God do not their Reins shall instruct them If they will not see whether they will or no they shall feel that there is a God and where ever God is felt he is feared Even when their mouth speaketh proud things their heart shall meditate terror and when nothing else is they shall be a terror to themselves 2. It is increased by the great works of God his Wonders that he doth in the world his Thunder and his Hail his Wind and his Waves and his Earth-quakes make an Earth-quake in hearts 3. It s further heightned by his Judgments which he executeth on the Earth The Judgements of God are God revealing himself from Heaven against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men and do then strike most terror 1. When he smites suddenly and makes quick work with sinners as when Herod was smote by an Angel of God Nadab and Abihu consumed by fire from God immediately upon their sin Sudden strokes shake secure hearts 2. When he executes strange judgments makes a new thing as in the case of Korah and his company he made the Earth to open her mouth upon them and swallow them up so he made the flies and the froggs and the lice c. to be the Executioners of his Wrath on Pharaoh 3. When he executes great Wrath for little Sins as men account them as in the case of Uzzah whom he struck dead for but touching the Ark when it shook 4. When he exercises great severity on his own on those that are near him If he spareth not his Sons what will he do with his Enemies If these things be done on the green Tree what shall be done on the dry 4. Yet further By their Conscience of guilt and their binding over to the judgment to come The sin of Judah is written with a Pen of Iron with the point of a Diamond it is graven upon the tables of their heart The sin of Judah is written yea and the sin of the Gentile also Rom. 2.15 Their Conscience also bearing witness and their thoughts the mean while accusing And where their sin is written there their judgment is written which even nature it self will teach doth inevitably follow upon sin and this is the great dread that is upon them The very mention of judgment to come made a Felix tremble at the face of a poor Prisoner This is the terror of the Lord mentioned by the Apostle 2 Cor. 5.10,11 We must all appear before the Judgment-seat Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we perswade men Death is said to be the King of terrors and this is the terror of death after that the judgment All these the impress of God upon their hearts the wonders of God in the worâ—d the vengeance of God executed on sin the sence of guiâ—t and of a judgment to come do preach to the Consciences of sinners that It is a fearfull thing to fall into the hands of the living God 3. Yet by sin the heart of man is much hardned from the fear of the Lord. Sin blinds the eye and hardens the heart brings into danger and puts out of fear Who in such danger and yet who so bold as the blind sinner When the understanding is darkned the next word we read is Past feeling Eph. 4.19 There is included in the very nature of sin a slighting of God and by once slighting we learn to slight him more Slight the Command and you will quickly slight the Curse Laugh at duty and 't will not be long ere you laugh at tear And when sin hath thus hardned God will also harden le ts the sinner alone suspends his judgments smites the sinner with judicial blindness and gives him up to a Reprobate mind Rom. 1.28 And when once they come to this then Hell is broke loose For what follows ver 29. Being filled with all unrighteousness fornication wickedness covetousness malitiousness and what not Psal 36.1 The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart there is no fear of God before his eyes Gen 20 When Abraham had such a thought Surely the fear of God is not in this place what thought he was there then Murther Adultery Rapes all manner of villany What sawest thou amongst us that thou hast done this thing What hurt what evill didst thou see among us What evill Evill enough to make me afraid I thought the fear of God was not here and there needs no more to make me afraid Say of any Person The fear of God is not in this man and you therein say The Devil is in him here dwels sin and all manner of wickedness Say of any place The fear of God is not in this place and if you find it an Egypt or Sodom for abominations you will not wonder Psal 19.9 The fear of the Lord is clean That is not only Formaliter but Effectivè it cleanseth Where this is not every unclean thing may dwell The reason why this world is such a world as 't is such a wicked world such a treacherous deceitful ungodly world why there is so little Faith or Truth or Mercy or Charity or Sobriety is because there is so little of the fear of God Sin hath cast out fear and this hath brought forth sin in abundance The Law is nothing Threatnings are nothing Conscience is nothing God is nothing to men because he is not their fear Wickedness is as righteousness villany as honesty prodigality debauchery as temperance and sobriety yea and hath gotten the start of it it faceth the Sun it lifts up the head it wears the Garland it paints it self Vertue Generosity Gallantry the beauty and ornament of the World where the fear of God is departed God may promise threaten command Hearken to my voice turn at my reproofs cast away your transgressions Awake from your wine be chaste sober be humble let your merriment be turned into mourning your jollity into heaviness Remember your Creator remember your souls why
of the heart This is the very nature of sin The hearts departing from the living God Heb. 3.12 And therefore this is the great wrong of God There is but one thing in the world that God respects and this sin steals away Sin is the insurrection and rebellion of the heart against God it turns from him and turns against him it runs over to the camp of the enemy and there takes up arms against God Sin is a running from God and a fighting against God it would spoil the Lord of all the Jewels of his Crown It opposeth the Soveraignty of God A sinfull heart would set up it self in Gods Throne it would be King in his stead and have the command of all Sinners would be their own Gods Our tongues are our own who is Lord over us God shall not be God where sin is gotten up as Lord. It assaulteth the wisdom of God Vain man would be wise wiser then his Maker It charges the Lord with folly and proclaims it self the onely wise Sinners pretend to know how to choose for themselves and order themselves to their advantage better then God If God would let me alone to my self to be at mine own finding at mine own ordering it should quickly be better with me If every thing might be with me as I would have it my case would be well mended from what 't is now that every thing must go as God will have it All our quarrellings at Providence all our murmurings and discontents at our Lott are our hearts charging the Lord with folly It casts dirt on the holiness of God it disparages the goodness of God it abuseth mercy violates his Justice despises his Power In summe it disgraceth the Throne of his glory and layes his honour in the dust sets the Almighty below the lowest of his creatures Every companion shall be respected more then God every pleasure shall be loved more then God the Devil shall be feared more then God Where is his love VVhere is his fear VVhere is his Honour Nay where were the Lord might sin carry it Sin is the wrong of God and this wrong is the especial Object of this abhorrence A gracious heart would do no wrong he would not wrong his Neighbour he would not wrong his Servant his Enemy no not his Beast that he possesses But Oh should I wrong my God Hath he ever done me any wrong Hath he not been just to me Yea hath he not been ever good to me Kinde pityful patient bountiful Who hath fed me cloathed me kept me succoured me comforted me What friend have I in all the world What Father what Portion what Hope but the Lord What were I What had I but vanity but woe and misery had I not a God I cannot wrong my God but I wrong my self Prov. 8.36 He that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul But if I did not if my Arrowes would not recoil could I go out with all this injury and suffer nothing by it Yet he is God whom I wrong he is holy he is righteous he is good he is glorious he is excellent he onely is God and shall I be injurious to him He is worthy he is worthy of all that I have of all the service I can do of all the respect I can give of all the Praise I can offer up if I had a thousand tongues if I had a thousand hands if I had a thousand lives if I had a thousand soules if I had all the Earth for an offring to the Lord all would be nothing to shew forth the praise that is due to his Name as he is God and I his creature and when I owe so much and have nothing to pay shall I steal from him Shall I rise up against him Wast thou not afraid to lift up thy hand against the Lords Anointedi 2 Sam. 1. Shall I not be afraid to lift up mine hand against the Lord himself To kick against God to fight against God Oh the Lord forbid What art thou O my soul What servest thou for If thou canst not tremble if thou dost not turn within me if thou dost not start back at the very thought of so great wickedness 2. The loss of God As was said before He that finneth against God wrongeth his own soul His loss is thy loss and more thine then his though no thanks to thee the Lord will be no loser at last when sinners have done their worst he can get up his Honour out of Dishonour he can recover his spoils out of the ashes if he had lost all the world he had lost nothing he is all things in himself When Earth and Hell have spent all their malice God will be God Holy Wise Glorious blessed for ever Though such be the malignity of sin that it would not give over till God ceaseth to be God yet God is above too high for sin to reach its Darts fall short of its Mark God cannot God will not sit down a loser by all that sin can do But what dost thou suffer what dost thou lose that sinnest against God The carnal world understand not what nor would make much reckoning of it did they understand it The loss of two pence goes often nearer them then the loss of God But now a Christian knows no other fear fears no other loss let God be secure and all is well Sin will be the wrong of God and the loss of God it may be a total and eternal loss for ought he knows at least if not assured God lost is the soul lost the Kingdom lost this is Hell the loss of God Better have no being better be a Dog or Toad then a man without a God or if he be not utterly lost yet to his present sence 't will be all one as if he had no God his peace is lost his comfort is lost and his soul is often given for lost from whom God is departed though but for a season he can take pleasure in nothing he can find rest no where whose God is out of fight He knows not what a God means who can spare him till Death or Judgment A Christian cannot live a day without him 't is night 't is all dark he knows no day while the Sun is set upon him How grievous do they find this loss who have proved what it is What wilt thou do for me whilest I go childless What can be done for me whilest I go Fatherless Here is my house here are my friends and my lands but where is my God My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Now I see what this Earth is without an Heaven now I see what ease and pleasure and carnal friends are and how little they can do for me Yea what is prayer What are Sabbaths What are Sermons Sacraments Promises whilest God looks not down Oh I was wont to meet with God here these glasses were my Windows into Heaven and then how pleasant were they to me
be your Advocate to endite your prayers and make intercession for you and shal fill your mouths with the Arguments that he knows will prevail with me n n Rom. 8.26.27 He shal be Oyl to your Wheels and Strength to your Ancles Wine to your Hearts and Marrow to your Bones and Wind to your Sails He shal witness your Adoption o o Rom. 8.16 He shal seal you up to the day of Redemption and be to you the earnest of your Inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession p p Eph. 4.30 and 13,14 2 Cor. 1.22 He giveth all things with himself both present and to come And as I give you my self so much more all things with my self q q Rom 8.32 Earth and Heaven Life and Death things present and things to come r r 1 Cor. 3.22 Things present ours Things present are yours Lo I give you Calebs blessing The upper Springs and the neather Springs I will bless you with all Spiritual blessings in Heavenly places in Christ Å¿ Å¿ Eph. 1.3 The upper springs or blessings spiritual as Adoption Access Audience Peace Perseverance c. To you pertaineth the Adoption and the Glory and the Covenants and the Service of God and the Promises t t Rom. 9.4 To you will I give the white Stone and the new Name u u Rev. 2.17 access into my presence w w Eph. 3.12 the acceptation of your Persons x x Eph. 1.6 the audience of your Prayers y y 1 Joh. 5.14,15 Peace I leave with you my peace I give unto you z z Joh. 14.27 I will undertake for your perseverance and keep you to the end and then will crown mine own gift with eternal life a a Jer. 32.40 Joh. 10 28,29 1 Pet. 1.5 Phil. 1.6 I have made you heirs of God and co-heirs with your Lord Jesus Christ and you shal inherit all things b b Ro. 8.17 Rev. 21.7 I have granted you mine Angels for your Guardians The Protection of his Angels The Courtiers of Heaven shal attend upon you they shal be all ministring spirits for your good c c Heb. 1.14 Behold I have given them charge over you upon their fidelity to look after you and as the tender Nurse to bear you in their arms and to keep you from coming to any hurt d d Psal 91.11,12 These shal be as the careful Shepherds to watch over my Flock by night and to encamp round about my Fold e e Psal 34.7 The Inspection of his Ministers My Ministers I give for your Guides f f Eph 4.11 Paul Apollos Cephas all are yours g g 1 Cor. 3.22 I am alwaies with them and they shal be alwaies with you to the end of the world h h Matt. 28 20. Eph. 4.13 You shal have Pastours after mine own heart i i Jer. 3.15 and 23.4 and this shal be my Covenant with you that my Spirit which is upon you and my words which I have put into your mouth shal not depart out of your mouth nor the mouth of your seed nor of your seeds seed saith the Lord from henceforth and for ever k k Esay 59.21 The Rod of his Discipline In short All my Officers shal be for the profiting and perfecting of you l l Eph. 4.12 All mine Ordinances shal be for edifying and saving of you m m Act. 20.32 Rom. 1.16 The very severities of my house Admonitions Censures c. And the whole Discipline of my Family shal be for preventing of your infection curing of corruption procuring your salvation n n 1 Cor. 5.5,6,7 Matt. 18.15 The light of his Word My WORD have I ordained for converting your souls enlightning your eyes rejoycing your hearts cautioning you of your dangers cleansing your defilements and conforming you to mine Image o o Psal 19 7,8,9,11 Eph. 5 26. 2 Cor. 3.18 To you I commit the Oracles of God p p Rom. 3.2 Here you shal be furnished against Temptations q q Matt. 4.4,7 Eph. 6.17 hence you shal be comforted under Distresses and afflictio s. r r Psal 119 92,93 Here you shal finde my whole Counsel Å¿ Å¿ Act. 20.27 This shal instruct you in your way correct you in your wandrings direct you into the truths to be believed detect to you the errours to be rejected t t 2 Tim. 3.16 Psal 119.105 The pledges of his Sacraments My Sacraments I give you as the Pledges of my love You shal freely claim them they are childrens bread Lo I have given them as Seals to certifie all that I have here promised you u u Rom. 4.11 and when these sacred signes are delivered unto you then know and remember and consider in your hearts that I therein plight you my troth and set to my hand and do thereby ratifie and confirm every Article of these Indentures and do actually deliver into your own hands this glorious Charter with all its Immunities and Priviledges as your own for ever w w 1 Cor. 11.25 Gen. 17.10 The Nether-springs or Mercies Temporal And having sowed to you so largely in Spiritual blessings shal you not much more reap the Temporal Be you not of doubtful mind all these things shal be added unto you x x Luk. 12.29,31 The supply of his Creatures My creatures I grant for your servants and supplies y y Psal 8.3 to the end Heaven and Earth shal minister to you All the stars in their courses shal serve you and if need be shal fight for you z z Jud. 5.20 And I will make my Covenant for you with the Beasts of the field and with the fouls of Heaven and you shall be in league with the stones of the field and all shal be at peace with you a a Job 5.23 Hos 2.18 I will undertake for all your necessities Do I feed the Fowles and clothe the grass and do you think I will neglect my children b b Matt. 6.25 to the end I hear the young Ravens when they cry shal I not much more fulfil the desires of them that fear me c c Psal 145 19. with the 147.9 Fear not you shal be sure to want no good thing d d Psal 34. ver 10. and you would not your selves desire riches pleasures or preferment to your hurt I will give meat to them that fear me I wil be ever mindful of my Covenant e e Psal 111 5. The Cooperation of his Providences My Providences shal cooperate to your good f f Rom. 8.28 The cross winds shal blow you the sooner and swifter into your Harbour Yâ—u shal be preferred when you seem most debased and then be greatest gainers when you seem to be deepest losers and most effectually promote your good when you seem most to
hand crown you t t Rev. 2.10 and set you in Thrones u u Rev. 3.21 Mat. 19.28 and you shal judge men and Angels w w 1 Cor. â— 2,3 and you shal have power over the Nations x x Rev. 2.26,27 and you shall set your feet upon the necks of your enemies y y Psal 49.14 Lo I have set the very day for your enâ—aiment z z Acts 17.31 I have provided your Crowns a a 2 Tim. 4.8 I have prepared the Kingâ—om b b Mat. 25.34 Wherefore do you doubt O you of little faith These are the true sayings of God c c Rev. 19.9 Are you sure that you are now on Earth so surely shal you be shortly with me in Heaven Are you sure that you shal die so surely shal you rise again in glory Lo I have said it and who shal reverse it You shal see me face to face and be with me where I am and behold my glory d d 1 Cor. 13.12 Ioh. 17.24 For I will be glorified in my Saints and admired in all them that believe e e 2 Thess 1.10 and all flesh shal know that I have loved you f f Rev. 3 9. For I will make you the instances of my grace g g Eph. 1.5 6. and 2.7 in whom the whole world shal see how unutterably the Almighty God can advance the poor Worms-meat and dust of the ground And the despisers shal behold and wonder and perish h h Act. 13.41 for they shal be witnesses to the riches of my magnificence and exceeding greatness of my Power * * Luk. 16.23 They shal go away into everlasting punishment but you into life eternal i i Mat. 25.46 Our Triumphant Ascension into heaven For no sooner shal their doom be past but the Bench shal rise k k Mat. 25.41,46 and the Judge shal return with all his glorious Train with sound of trumpet and shouts incredible shal he ascend and shal lead you to your Fathers house l l Psal 45.14,15 Mat. 25.23 Joh. 14.2 with 2 Cor. 5.1 Then shal the triumphal Arches lift up their heads and the everlasting Gates stand open and the heavens shal receive you all and so shal you be ever with the Lord. m m Joh. 12.26 1 Th. 4.17 And now will I rejoyce over you with singing and rest in my love n n Zeph. 3.17 and Heaven shal ring with joyes and acclamations because I have received you safe and sound o o Luk. 15.10,23,25,27 And in that day you shal know that I am a Rewarder of them that diligently seek me p p Heb. 11.6 and that I did record your words q q Mal. 3.16 and bottle your tears and tell your wandrings r r Psal 56.8 and keep an account even to a cup of cold water of whatever you said or did for my Name Å¿ Å¿ Mat. 10.42 Blessed Eternity You shal surely finde that nothing shal be lost t t 1 Cor. 15.58 but you shal have full measure pressed down and running over thousands of years in Paradise for the least good thought and thousand thousands for the least good word and then the reckoning shal begin again till all Arithmatick be non-plust For you shal be swallowed up in a blessed Eternity and the doors of Heaven shal be shut upon you and there shall be no more going out u u Dan. 12.2,3 Rev. 3.12 Luk. 16.26 Glorious company The glorious Quire of mine holy Angels the goodly fellowship of my blessed Prophets the happy society of Triumphant Apostles the royal Hosts of victorious Martyrs these shal be your Companions for ever w w Mat. 8.11,12 Heb. 12.22,23 And you shal come in white Robes with Palmes in your hands every one having the Harps of God and golden Vials full of Odours and shal cast your Crowns before me and strike in with the multitude of the heavenly Hosts glorifying God and saying Hallelujah the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth x x Rev. 7.9,10,11,12 and 19 5.6 Blessing honour glory and Power be unto him that sitteth upon the Throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever y y Rev. 5.13 In short I will make you equal to the Angels z z Luk. 20.36 of God and you shal be the everlasting Trumpets of my praise a a Rev. 7.10,11,12,15 You shal be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of my House and I will make you drink of the Rivers of my pleasures b b Psal 36.8 You shal be an eternal Excellency c c Esay 60.15 and if God can die and Eternity run out then and not else shal your joyes expire Beatifical Vision For you shal see me as I am d d 1 Joh. 3.2 and know me as you are known e e 1 Cor. 13 12. and shal behold my face in righteousness and be satisfied with my likeness f f Psal 17.25 And you shal be the vessels of my Glory whose blessed use shall be to receive the overflowings of my Goodness and to have mine infinite Love and Glory poured out into you brimfull and running over for evermore g g Rom. 9 23. 2 Tim. 2,20 Rev. 22.1 And blessed is he that hath believed for there shall be a performance of the things that have been told him h h Lu. 1.45 The Lord hath spoken it you shall see my Face and my Name shall be written in your foreheads and you shall no more need the Sun nor the Moon for the Lord God shall give you light and you shall reign for ever and ever i i Rev. 22.3,4,5 He taketh us for his people And as I give my self to you for your God and all things with my self so I take you for my Covenant-people k k Heb 8.10 Esay 43 1. and you shall be mine in the Day when I make up my jewels saith the Lord of hosts and I will spare you as a man spareth his own Son that serveth him l l Mal 3.17 The Lord shall count when he writeth up the people Surely they are my children m m Psa 87 6 Esay 63.8 I do not onely require you to be mine if you would have me to be for you but I do promise to make you mine Lev. 20.26 Ezek. 36. 28. and to work in you the conditions which I require of you I will circumcise your hearts to love me o o Deu. 30.6 I will take out the heart of stone p p Ezek. 36.26 My Laws will I write within you q q Jâ—… 31.33 Yet you must know that I will be sought unto for these things r r Eze. 36,37 and as ever you expect to partake of the mercies I charge you to lie at the Pool and wait for my Spirit and be diligent in the use of the meanss
established in Heaven and in the Volume of the Book it is written of me My evidence cannot be lost It is recorded in the Court above and enrolled in the sacred leaves of the Word and entred upon the Book of my Conscience and herein I do and will rejoyce Now my soul wipe up thine eyes and go away with Hannah and be no more sad What though mine House be not so with God so happy so prosperous as I could wish What though they be encreased that trouble me and my temptations and afflictions be like the rolling Billows riding on one anothers backs for haste Yet shall my soul be as a rock unmoved and sit down satisfied in the security and amplitude of my portion For God hath made with me an everlasting Covenant ordered in all things and sure and herein is all my salvation and all my desire And now what remaineth O Lord but that I should spend the remainder of my daies in loving praising and admiring thee But wherewith shall I come before the Lord or bow my self to the most High God What shall I give thee to express my thankfulness though not to requite thy bounty Alas my poor little soul Alas that thou art so little How narrow are thy capacities How disproportionate are thy powers Alas that my voice can reach to no higher a note But shall I do nothing because I cannot do all Lord I resign to thee With the poor Widow I cast my two mites my soul and body into thy Treasury All my powers shall love and serve thee All my members shall be weapons of Righteousness for thee Here is my good will Behold my substance is thy stock mine interest is for thy service I lay all at thy feet There thou hast them they are thine My Children I enter as thy Servants My possessions I resign as thy right I will call nothing mine but thee All mine are thine I can say My Lord and my God and that is enough I thankfully quit my claim to all things else I will no more say My House is mine or my Estate mine I my self am not mine own Yet it is infinitely better for me to be thine then if I were mine own This is my happiness that I can say my own God my own Father And O what a blessed exchange hast thou made with me to give me thy Self who art an infinite Sum for my self who am but an insignificant Cypher And now Lord do thou accept and own my claim I am not worthy of any thing of thine much less of thee But sith I have a Deed to shew I bring thy Word in my hand and am bold to take possession Dost thou not know this hand wilt thou not own this name wilt thou not confirm thine own grant It were infidelity to doubt it I will not disparage the faithfulness of my Lord nor be afraid to averre and stand to what he hath said and sworn Hast thou said Thou art my God and shall I fear thou art mine enemy Hast thou told me Thou art my Father and shall I stand aloof as if I were a stranger I will believe Lord silence my fears and as thou hast given me the claim and title of a Child so give me the confidence of a Child Let my heart be daily kept alive by thy promises and with this staffe let me pass over Jordan May these be my undivided companions and comforters When I go let them lead me when I sleep let them keep me when I awake let them talk with me And do thou keep these things for ever upon the imaginations of the thoughts of the hearts of thy people and prepare their hearts unto thee And let the heart of thy Servant be the Ark of thy Testament wherein the sacred records of what hath passed between thee and my soul may for ever be preserved Amen Thus far my Friend So be it CHAP. XIX An Exhortation to Sinners O Earth earth earth hear the word of the Lord Ye men of this world ye spirits that are in Prison held captive to iniquity under the Prince of this world in a Covenant with Death at an agreement with Hell without Christ Alians from the Commonwealth of Israel strangers from the Covenant of Promise having no hope without God in the world who have said We will not have this man to rule over us let us break his Bonds asunder and cast his Cords from us who are joyned to Idols have chosen you other gods are following after other Lovers who walk after the course of this world according to the Prince of the Power of the Ayr the spirit that now worketh in the children of Disobedience having your conversation in the Lusts of the flesh fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and being still as you were by nature the children of Wrath in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity O ye sons of death ye children of the night and of darkness Hear and your souls shal live to you also is the word of this salvation sent even the strangers and those that are afar off that will lay hold on the Covenant and chuse the thing that pleaseth God these also shal have a name in his house even the glorious name of Sons and Daughters The Lord hath sent a word into Jacob and it shal light upon Edom and Amaleck and the uncircumcised Philistines even as many of them as the Lord our God shal call Act. 2.39 Hearken O people you that are polluted in your blood written in the Earth free among the dead come in let your Covenant with death be made void and your agreement with Hell be disanulled strike a League with the Almighty and your names also shal be written amongst the living in Jerusalem Stand ye before the Lord come and let us reason together Where are you What is your Portion and Inheritance Ye are cursed with a Curse Fire and Brimstone and an horrible Tempest this shall be the portion of your cup Psal 11.6 What are you seeking whither are you travelling After a few years of your vanity are over where must your dwelling be Who can dwell with the devouring fire Who can dwell with everlasting burnings Look before you behold that smoaking Furnace that burning Lake that bottomless Pit that 's gaping for you and at your next step may swallow you up Escape for your lives why will ye dye Turn and live Do you believe the Resurrection from the dead the Judgment to come and the invisible World Is it to the spirit of a man as to the spirit of a beast Doth it perish with his carkase Dieth a Man as a Dogg dieth Dieth a wise man as a fool dieth Fall all things alike to all just and unjust good and bad after this life as well as in it Do you believe the Scriptures Are they but a Fable If you hope they are are you sure they are Dare you venture your souls upon it Whilest the Saints
venture on the Truth dare you venture your souls on the Falshood of it Dare you stand forth and say If this word be not a lye let me be damned for ever I am content that the everlasting worm shal gnaw my heart that the infernal fire shal burn my flesh and bones and soul for ever and ever if it prove not at last a meer Forgery and Imposture Do you believe the Scriptures to be true indeed If you do what do they preach to you Do they speak any thing if not this That there is another life and death besides that which is within the kenn of mortal eyes that the other life and the other death are Eternal that upon your being found within or without the Covenant of God hangs your eternal judgment either for life or death that whilst you are in a Covenant with death and in a course of iniquity you are without the Covenant of God and can have no benefit by it that under sin and out of Covenant out of Covenant and out of Christ out of Christ and under Condemnation Are there any things which that word which you profess to believe to be as true and to stand as sure as Heaven and Earth are there any things that this speaks more plainly then these things and such like What and yet secure in a state of sin Aliens from God enemies of all Righteousness and yet in quiet Are you resolved to sell Eternity for time life for death a soul for the pleasures of sin Is this the choice you have made and are you resolved to stand to it Let me have this world my Portion here my good things here and then let me be damned in the other world Let me sin here and suffer hereafter let me laugh here and lament hereafter let me flourish and prosper and live at ease and in honour and in pleasure and at liberty here and let my Prison and my Pain and my Anguish and my Plagues be beneath there let me be torn let me burn let me roar let me die so I may be rich and be merry and rejoyce a while here let time be my Heaven and eternity be my Hell speak in earnest is this your choice or that you may not be put to it to make a new choice will you take upon you to make a new Gospel And dividing what God hath joyned together will you joyn what he hath divided Will you write this for Gospel Holiness and Hell sin and glory Christ and the Curse the Devil and the Crown Let the wicked hold on his way and the unrighteous his thoughts let him still run away from the Lord and be shall have mercy and from his God and he will abundantly pardon Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto death and few there be that finde it but broad is the gate and wide is the way that leadeth unto life and the whole world are going in thereat Blessed are the proud in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Blessed are they that laugh now blessed are the froward the merciless the impure in heart the persecutors for Righteousness sake for great is their reward in Heaven Within shal be the Doggs and the Swine the Whoremongers the Sorcerers the Drunkards the Ruffians the Blasphemers the Gallants the Idolaters and whosoever loveth and maketh a lye And without shall be the Lambs and the Doves the Holy and the Humble and the Meek and the Merciful and the Upight in heart and the Poor in spirit and Peace-makers the persecuted for Righteousness sake and whosoever loveth truth and maketh God his trust these shal go into everlasting fire but the ungodly into life Eternal Are these the Articles of your Creed Is this your Gospel if it be O what is your Heaven If it be not if the old Gospel must stand Oh where are your souls Are your souls lost and are they not worth the recovery Why will ye dye turn and live Oh when shal it once be As an Embassadour for Christ to whom is committed the word of Reconciliation having hinted to you what 's Law so in the name of the Eternal God I publish to you the everlasting Gospel The Lord God having entred into a Covenant of life with the first Adam for himself and all mankinde in him this Covenant being broken whereby sin hath entred and death by sin and all the world is now becom guilty before God bound over to the vengeance of eternal Fire and under an utter impossibility of recovery by ought that that Covenant can do hath out of his abundant grace made a new Covenant on which whosoever shal lay hold shal be delivered out of the state of Death and Wrath into a state of Life and Blessedness Rom. 8.3 What the Law could not do being weak through the flesh God sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and with him this gracious grant that whosoever believeth in him shal not perish but have everlasting life Ioh. 3.16 And this is the Covenant that hath been declared unto you This new Covenant is a Marriage-Covenant Hos 2.10 I will betroth thee unto me for ever yea I will betroth thee to me in righteousness and in loving-kindness and in mercies In it the Lord makes offer and invites you to accept of an Husband and a Dower The Husband is the Kings son the Lord Jesus Christ and with him the lost Kingdom and all that belongs to the Kingdom of God for a Dower Liberty for the Captives the opening of the Prison to them that are bound riches to the poor eyes to the blinde feet to the lame healing to the diseased and life to the dead And whoever among you all who are persons under the Law held by the cords of your sins whose souls are fast bound in fetters of Iron who are willing that your Covenant with death be made void and your agreement with Hell be disannulled and will joyn your selves to the Lord and be brought within the bonds of this Covenant all the blessings of this Covenant are made over and stand sure unto you The Grant is made the Deed is drawn and sealed the Lord hath set to his Seal come you in and seal the Counter-part set to your seal and the Match is made up Christ and with him all things are yours and you are his Accept and live refuse and dye for ever Come on then sinner what sayest thou Dost thou consent Dost thou accept Or as Laban to Rebekah Wilt thou go with this man Let me espouse thee to this one Husband onely let me first tell thee The matter is solemn and thou must be serious 'T is for life 't is for Eternity Consider therefore and let thine heart lying prostrate before the Almighty come in and make answer to these demands which from him and in his great and dreadful Name I make unto thee 1. Wilt thou have Jesus for thine Husband Understand before thou answer The taking
Christ from henceforth unto death Thou wilt have Christ but when Shall this be the Marriage-day VVilt thou from henceforth be the Lords or when shall it be Must it be to morrow first or next moneth or next year or some time or other thou knowest not when May we not take thy promise as they did the Prophecy Ezek. 12. Is it not for many dayes to come is it not of the times that are afar off To morrow thou wilt hereafter thou wilt as good as thou hast said nothing As good thou hadst said never as not yet Speak Soul wilt give thy self to the Lord wilt presently if thou wilt how long wilt thou abide with him wilt thou not endorse on thy Deed of Gift a power of revocation wilt thou not repent not return again from Heaven to Earth wilt be chaste and play the Harlot no more wilt be faithful to the death obedient to the death Is this thy voice I have opened my mouth to the Lord and I cannot go back As the Lord liveth nothing but death no not death it self shall part thee and me I am perswaded I am resolved that neither life nor death Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other Creature shall separate me from the love of God or withdraw me from Jesus Christ my Lord. Now Soul gather up all this together stand thou before the Lord the God of all the Earth and this once more say Wilt thou have Jesus Christ for thy Husband dost thou choose him for thy Lord wilt thou cleave to him in love wilt thou lean upon him for righteousness and strength for righteousness to pay thy debts and for strength to pay thy vows wilt thou be subject to him thou knowest the commandments how holy how strict they be Wilt thou obey them in all things wilt exercise thy self to godliness in the strictness of it wilt be a thorow-pac'd Disciple wilt not content thy self with such a cold or lukewarm indifferency in Religion as thy lazy flesh will bear as thy credit thy safety or the temper of the times will bear wilt follow thy Lord fully Wilt thou take up thy lot with Christ be it better or worse shall his Father be thy Father his Inheritance be thy Inheritance yea and his Sufferings thy Sufferings his stripes his bonds his poverty be thine wilt thou espouse not his Crown onely but his Cross too whither ever he goes wilt thou go where he dwells wilt thou dwell wilt say where ever my Lord is there let his Servant be Wilt thou forsake all others all thy sins wilt thou be made clean wilt give up thy sores and thy ulcers thy filthy and fleshly lusts to be purged out does thine heart stand disengaged from every sin is there not any one iniquity concerning which thine heart sayes Let this stay with me wilt search out thy sins wilt accomplish a diligent search sweep every corner search every chamber of thine heart life wilt go down to the bottome of thy great deep to find out what lodges there wilt faithfully endeavour no more to allow thy self in any known iniquity wilt use all Gods means for the conquering and casting them out Wilt forsake the world wilt cast away thine Idols shall thy Mammon be no more a god nor a demy-god to thee shall it neither carry away thine heart from him nor so much as share with him in it wilt thou not bow down to this golden Image nor serve it wilt thou no longer serve thy greedy appetite shall thine heart no longer go after thy covetousness wilt thou abandon thine estate thy pleasures thine honours thy friends and companions so far forth as any of these divide or entice or steal away thine heart from thy Lord When ever they say Come away wilt thou say Get you hence VVilt forsake the Devil wilt fear and flie from and no longer hearken to his temptations wilt no longer regard his promises nor his threatnings his flatteries nor his frowns Coming off from the tents of all these wilt cleave unto thy Lord from henceforth from this day forward and not depart from him for ever Wilt hold on thy course wilt run out thy race wilt be faithful to the death wilt hope to the end for the grace that shall be brought unto thee at the revelation of Jesus Christ What sayest thou If thou sayest no as the Lord liveth thou speakest this word against thine own life If thou refusest to enter into this Covenant thou sayest I will not be the Lords I will none of him I will not live let death and wrath and chains and plagues be my portion for ever I will not be the Lords I will not leave my sins and my pleasures and my companions for his love that is I will be a Fool and a beast and a Devil I will die and will not see life Mistake not thy self be not deceived 't is a matter of life and death that is before thee 'T is whether Heaven or Hell a God or no God a Christ or no Christ a Soul or a lost Soul everlasting life or everlasting Fire shall be thy portion that stands now to be determined by thy consent or refusal look to it be wise this once for eternity Consent and thou art blessed consent and he is thine and with him the Kingdome Thy Lord hath given his consent already view the hand-writing the whole New Testament which is written in blood and sealed as 't is written there thou hast his I will in every line almost visible before thee put to thine and 't is done What sayest thou dost thou consent shall thine heart come in and put to thine hand and subscribe for thee I will Let that be done and then say after me A form of words expressing mans covenanting with God O Most Dreadful God for the Passion of thy Son I beseech Thee accept of thy poor Prodigal now prostrating himself at thy Door I have fallen from thee by mine iniquity and am by Nature a Son of Death and a thousand-fold more the Child of Hell by my Wicked practice The Terms of our conversion are either from which or to which But of thine infinite Grace thou hast promised Mercy to me in Christ if I will but turn to thee with all my heart Therefore upon the Call of thy Gospel I am now come in and throwing down my Weapons submit my self to thy Mercy The Terms from which we must turn are Sin Satan the World and our own Righteousness which must be thus renounced And because thou requirest as the Condition of my Peace with thee that I should put away mine Idols and be at defiance with all thine Enemies which I acknowledge I have wickedly sided with against thee I here from the bottome of my heart renounce them all firmly Covenanting with thee not to allow my self in any known Sin but Conscientiously to use all means that
conscience into thy Closet let it watch thee how thou behavest thy self there carry conscience into thy shop let it eye thee what thou dost there carry conscience into the fields into the market amongst thy friends amongst thine enemies let it observe how thou behavest thy self amongst them carry conscience with thee to thy recreation to thy bed to thy table whither ever thou goest there 's like to be but sad work if conscience be not with thee Commit the keeping of thy Covenant to conscience let it be the Ark in which the Tables of the Testimony are kept and preserved let it be the Executor of thy Testament Conscience is bound by thy Covenant the Covenant layes hold on it let it lay hold on thee Is thy conscience bound seek not to be loosed is thy conscience bound give it leave to bind thine whole man let it bind thy thoughts and bind thy will and bind thy affections and hind thy tongue and thy whole practice thou never livest as a man in Covenant longer then thou livest as a man of Conscience VVhat becomes of the Covenant when a breach is made upon Conscience Oh what is there in the world when conscience is not what faith or truth or peace is there left alive what are Vowes and Covenants and Promises what are our duties to the Lord our dealings with men when there is no conscience towards God Keep thy conscience and thou keepest thy soul keep thy Conscience and thou keepest thy Covenant keep thy Covenant and thou keepest thy Peace let that go and all 's lost Let conscience govern what God hath put under its power and let it resist all adverse Power Let it resist temptations When ever Satan and thy flesh fall upon thee and tempt thee Pity thy self spare thy self take thy liberty take thine ease take thy pleasure provide for thy safety what need is there of so much adoe Why canst not take the same liberty and allow thy self the same latitude as others do they have souls as well as thou and they have dangers as well as thou and they have hopes as well as thou and they have reasons and understandings to know what they do as well as thou and why canst thou not he content to do as they Why let this be thy answer But what conscience is there for it With what conscience can I be idle when I have said I will be doing With what conscience can I take mine ease when I have said I will take pains With what conscience can I serve my flesh when I have said I will crucifie it With what conscience can I love this world when I have said I will renounce it With what conscience can I walk at liberty when I have said I will walk circumspectly If all this were more then needs far be it from me to have such a thought till the serving my God and the saving my soul be more then needs But if it were more then needs yet is it any more then I am bound to Are there any such liberties put into my Indentures Was there any exception made of this duty or that duty was there any limitation made to this measure or that measure hitherto I will go and no further this little I will do and no more Was there any such proviso put in I will serve the Lord Provided I may with ease or with safety Have I not solemnly engaged to the Lord to obey him in all things to follow him fully to love him and serve him with all my heart with all my soul with all my strength and this to the death And Oh shal I lye unto God Is it more then needs to be righteous and to keep my faith Come O my soul come on thou hast opened thy mouth to the Lord and thou must not go back Be true be honest be honest though thou must swear for it be honest though thou suffer for it Remember what thy mouth hath spoken and see that thou fulfil it with thine hand Keep conscience pure It s the book in which all thy Records are written let no blot be upon thy Book Beware of sinning against conscience Every sin against conscience is a blot upon conscience and blots upon conscience are blots upon thy Covenant-evidence thou wilt not be able to read whether there be any thing written there for thee or not Ah foolish soul what art thou doing Dashing out all thy hopes with thine own hand Beware thou content not thy self with blotted evidences Christians forget not this counsel keep your Evidences clear He who hath his whole estate in bonds or writings how charily will he keep them If these be torn or lost or so blured that they cannot be read hee 's undone What ever else be lost if his money be gone if his goods be lost if his house be burnt yet if his writings be safe hee 's well enough Oh take heed and keep your writings safe and fair keep your Title to your God clear and you can never be poor or miserable Whatever earth or hell can do against you till they can tear the Covennnt of your God or make you blot out your own names they have left you abundantly enough even when they have left you nothing O how highly are we concern'd to be tender of conscience and yet how little care is there taken of it What 's become of the authority of conscience when thy thoughts and thy passions when thines eyes and thine ears and thine appetite and thy tongue are left unbridled and unconquered when every Servant is set up to be Master and bears rule in thee where is thy Conscience what 's become of its authority When thy s ul hath been no better kept what poverty and leanness is there grown upon it what a starveling is it become both in grace and peace eaten out with lust evaporated into vanity sunk into sensuality thy spirit even transubstantiated into flesh ready to perish and die away for want of good looking to When thy Soul hath been no better kept where is thy Conscience when thy covenant hath been no better kept when thy duties thou hast vowed to perform are so hastily and heedlesly shuffled over if not totally thrust aside when thy hours of prayer are such short hours thy Sabbaths such Winter dayes so short and so cold too when thy God is so shamefully neglected can never hear of thee but when thou hast nothing else to do no nor it may be then neither when thy spare hours are hardly spared for God when this earth thy corn and thy cattel and thy pleasures and thy friends which thou hast vowed to renounce are let in again upon thine heart and have stollen it away from Heaven where is thy Conscience When thou sleepest so and hast let the enemy come in and sowe his tares in thy field when thou art such a busie-body in other mens matters and thine own vineyard thou hast not kept but hast let it
faith let not that man think he shall receive any thing of the Lord Jam. 1.7 And can he think to receive any thing that neither believes nor prayes That neither prayes in faith nor prays at all Phil. 2.12,13 It 's God works in you both to will and to do What then Therefore sit you still and do nothing No such matter therefore work out your salvation with fear and trembling saith the Apostle The promise of God was never intended to make the command of God of none effect God in promising grace promises a power for duty and as he doth not give so we must not receive â—hat power or grace of God in vain Whilst he gives what he requires he still requires what he gives That promise of God ye shall be my people though he undertake to make it good yet it is also the matter of our stipulation And in this promise wherein the Lord assures us what de facto we shall be is included a Precept wherein we may understand what de jure we ought to be In undertaking to give us a new heart a tender and obedient a persevering heart the Lord doth promise both to make us what we should be and to help us in what we are bound to do and gives us at once a clear hint both of our mercy and our duty This is the sence and summ of that Promise The Lord will work all that in us and will help and cause us to perform all that which is required unto salvation and so the Promissum on Gods part doth not make void but establish the Debitum on ours Do we then make void the Law through Faith Nay we establish the Law Though it be certain as to the event that all that 's necessary to salvation shall be accomplished in us God hath undertaken that yet it is altogether as certain that God hath made our loving him fearing him obeying his whole will and our sincerity and perseverance herein so necessary that we cannot otherwise be saved Christians mistake not nor abuse the grace of the Gospel The Lord never meant your mercy should make void your Obligation to duty Redemption from sin was never intended as a toleration of sin He gives not his Spirit in favour of the flesh What he undetakes to work for you was never with a mind to maintain you in idleness Tit. 2.11,12 The grace of God that bringeth salvation teacheth us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world Though you are saved by grace yet you are still in a sense debtors to do the whole Law Perfect Obedience to the whole Law even to the utmost Iota is still due from you and if it be not in your hearts to pay all that you owe that is if there be any duty commanded in the whole book of God that you must be dispensed with that you will not set your hearts to observe and obey if there be any one sin that you must be excused in and will not part with if there be any the highest pitch of holy Care Activity Industry Zeal for God and Holiness that you will not be perswaded to press hard after this is an evidence of such an unsound heart as hath no part in the Gospel or the salvation thereof Perfection is still due though sincerity will be accepted Sincerity shall be accepted but what is sincerity less then an hearty willingness to be perfect attested by a striving and pressing on to that mark which is set before us O admire and bless the Lord the Lord for grace but do not turn the grace of God into licentiousness Shall we continue in sin because grace that abounded Will ye thus requite the Lord Will ye thus deceive your selves O foolish people and unwise Will you slight him because he hath loved you Kick at him because he hath cared for you Shake off his Yoke because he hath secured you the Crown Will you serve his enemies because he hath saved you from them Will you nourish your diseases because he hath said he will cure you Will you live and not eat Reap and not Plough Will you not eat because he hath given you meat Will you not run because he hath given you Leggs Nor work because he hath given you hands Nor watch because he hath given you eyes Or will you tempt the Lord and call that your trust in him Awake from such madness Christians say not If God will I shall whether I take care or no believe or no repent or no be obedient or rebellious whether I wake or sleep work or be idle my unbelief my disobedience my negligence shall not make the faith of God of none effect But rather since God hath said you shall let thine heart answer I will walk in his statutes Arise O my soul up and be doing work out thy salvation because its God that worketh in thee to will and to do Shake off thy sloth set to thy work run out thy race since God hath said thou shalt not run nor labour in vain And look to it for however thy Idleness or greatest Unfaithfulness will not make void the Covenant of God yet will it make manifest that thou hast no part nor lot in it But to all these glorious things that have been spoken possibly some will reply O if all this be so then happy Saints indeed Happy are the people that are in such a case yea blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. But will the Lord indeed do all these things for Mortals Will he take notice of Worms Shall such dry bones live Will he set such vile dust as the Apple of his eye Is not this too good to be true Too great to be believed Are we not all this while but in a Dream or a fools Paradise Oh that I were sure the one half were as it hath been told me Too great to be believed As if it must be questioned whether the Sun light because it dazles our eyes But what certainty would you have Is all this too great for the great and Almighty God to do who hath said Isa 55.9 As the Heavens are higher then the Earth so are my wayes higher then your wayes and my thoughts then your thoughts Can he not do it who can do all things Will he not do it when he hath said he will Will the Lord mock Can God deceive Shall his Word yea and his Oath too those two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lye can these fail If you should hear the Lord himself speaking to you from Heaven with audible voice My Covenant I make with thee and it is my intent and purpose to perform every word that is written in it according to the plain import and meaning thereof there shall not a tittle fail neither will I alter the thing that is gone forth of my lips Heaven and Earth shall fail but my word shall not fail
the Promise should be a sure Foundation yet thou mayest not build upon another mans ground What though the grace and mercies of God are infinite yet Doggs may not catch at the Childrens bread Thou hast not right nor title to the Promise therefore cease thy pretended claim The Triumph of Faith in the clearness of the Bâ—lievers Evidences But O my soul wherefore shouldst thou doubt Whose Image and Superscription is this Dost thou not bear upon thee the marks of the Lord Jesus I have given up my name to him and taken hold of his Covenant and therefore may claim an interest Esay 56.4 I have accepted the matter and closed with the Mediator and subscribed to the conditions of the Covenant and therefore cannot question but it is mine The Lord hath offered to be my God and I have took hold of his offer Psal 73.25,26 I have taken him as God and given him the supremacy O my soul look round about thee in Heaven and in Earth is there any thou dost esteem or value in comparison of God Phil. 3.8 Is there any thou dost love like him or take that content or felicity in that thou dost in him Phil. 1 20 Are not thy chief desires and designes to glorifie and enjoy him Thou canst not deny but it is truly thus Psal 26.8 and 84 1,2,3 Psal 27.4 and 119.57 Psa 119 38 2 Cor. 5.8 Act. 24.16 with Rom. 6.19 Luke 14.33 Psal 16 5,6 I am sure nothing but God will content me I am never so well in all the world as in his company My soul seeketh him above all and rests in him alone as my satisfactory Portion He offereth to take me as one of his people and I have resigned my self accordingly to him as his and have put both my Inward and Outward man under his Government and given up All to his dispose and am resolved to be content with him as my Allsufficient happiness John 1.12 Besides I have taken him in his own way through Christ whom he hath tendered to me as my Head and Husband and I have accordingly solemnly and deliberately taken him Luke 14.26 to the end Matth. 11.29 Phil. 3.9 2 Tim. 1.12 O my soul dost not thou know thy often debates hast thou not put Christ and all the world into the ballance hast thou not cast up the cost and reckoned upon the Cross and willingly put thy neck under Christs yoke and ventured thy salvation upon Christ alone and trusted him with all thy happiness and all thy hopes hast thou not over and over resolved to take him with what comes and that he shall be enough though in the loss of all things 1 Cor. 1.20 Thou canst not but know that these have been the transactions between Christ and thee and therefore he is thine and all the Promises Yea and Amen to thee through him Act. 20.21 Rom. 2.7 And for the terms of the Covenant I love and like them my soul embraceth them neither do I desire to be saved in any other way then by repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ and sincere obedience to his Goâ—pel Phil. 3. â— to the 10. 2 Cor. 5.7 2 Cor. 4.18 1 Thes 1.9 10. Tit. 2.13 Heb. 10 34. 11.35 I am willing to go out of my flesh and do look unto Jesu for righteousness and strength and trust my salvation wholly in this bottome I am content to deal upon trust and venture all in hopes of what is to come and to tarry till the next world for my preferment I am willing to wait till the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and have laid up my happiness on the other side the Grave Rom. 7.24 Gal. 5.17 And though my sins be many yet I should belye mine own knowledge if I should say they were not my constant trouble and burthen and the enemies against which I daily watch and with whom my soul hath no peace Psal 39.1 17.3 Mine own heart knoweth that I hate them and desire and endeavour their utter destruction and do resolve against them all and am willing to use all Gods means that I know to mortifie them Psal 119.101,104 Rom. 7.15,16 c. 1 Cor. 9.26,27 1 John 1.9 Rom 6.16 Psal 119.6 Psal 119.5 30,173 Mat. 6.33 2 Cor. 5.9 'T is too true that I often fall and fail yet my conscience beareth me witness that I confess and bewail it and do not ordinarily and deliberately allow my self in any sin whatsoever against my knowledge And though my obedience be miserably lame yet O Lord thou knowest that I have respect unto all thy commandments and do strive to come up to what thou requirest The Holy Ghost is witness and my conscience also that I first seek the Kingdome of God and the righteousness thereof and that it is my chief care to please God and keep from sin Psa 18.23 19.13 119.133 Matt. 5.6 Speak Oh my soul Is not holiness thy design dost thou not thirst for it and follow after it dost thou not in thy setled choice prefer the holy wayes of God before all the pleasures and delights of sin Psal 119.14,15,16 111,112 Thou knowest it is thus and therefore no more disputing thou hast sincerely taken hold of Gods Covenant and without controversie it must be thine O my God I see thou hast been at work with my soul I find the prints I see the footsteps Surely this is the finger of God I am thy Servant O Lord truly I am thy Servant Psal 116.16 Psal 16.2 and my soul hath said unto the Lord Thou art my Lord. It must be so Wouldst thou ever set thy mark upon anothers goods or shall God disown his own workmanship My name is written in Heaven Thou hast written thy Name upon my heart and therefore I cannot question but thou hast my name on thine heart I have chosen thee O Lord as my happiness and heritage and therefore I am sure thou hast chosen me 1 John 4.19 for I could not have loved thee except thou hadst loved me first O my Lord discern I pray thee whose are these the signet the bracelets and the staffe I know thou wilt acknowledge them 1 Pet. 1.3 And now blessed be God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who of his abundant mercy hath begotten me again to a lively hope Faith makes its claim to all the benefits of the Covenant and stirs up the soul to joy and thankfulness in sequentib And thou my soul believe and wait look through the window and cry through the lattice and rejoyce in the hope of the glory of God a a Hab. 2.3 The Vision is for an appointed time wait for it It will come in the end will not tarry b b Jam. 5 7. Behold the Husbandman waiteth for the precious fruits of the Earth Be thou also patient He hath long patience and wilt