are ready to reele to one side or other When the clouds of heaven have well watered the Earth then doe weeds as well as good hearbes spring apace so when Christ by his Spirit sweetly waters the soul w th consolation then levity and vanity as well as Christian mirth and cheerfulnesse spring amaine If a Christian bee not very watchfull over his soule to pluck up such weedes by the rootes as soone as they begin to shew themselves I conclude this thus thou that art comforted by the Spirit let not the manifestations of thy comfort grieve the Spirit This remember that Satan hath an art to bring evill out of the greatest good as God hath an art to bring good out of the greatest evill and therefore beg that thou mayest not be ignorant of any of his devices nor unable to resist them if thou would'st not loose thy Comforter Secondly if thou would'st have thy Comforter to abide still with thee as thou must not grieve him so thou must doe all that thou canst to delight him Let it be thy meat and drink to follow all the motions of the Spirit of Christ whithersoever Christ would have thee go or whatsoever Christ would have thee do cheerefully obey him this will delight thy Comforter exceedingly and make him to rejoyce to continue with thee If Christ say unto thee as to the Fishermen Follow me Mat. 4 19. do thou readily reply as the Scribe Master I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest Mat. 8 19. This is to declare the genuine disposition of Christs people which Christ is exceedingly taken withall Christs people are a willing people in their obedience Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power c. Psal 110 3 2 Humbly and compassionately tell disconsolate soules what Christ hath done for thy soule this will delight thy Comforter much and make him rejoyce to continue with thee Christ delights to see his children communicative of the sweet meates which hee gives them And therefore as Iael said to Barak so do thou O comforted soule to such as yet go mourning all the day long Come said she and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest Iudg. 4.22 Come O sad soule that canst not finde him whom thy soule loveth I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest the manner of his comming to my poore soule and how long hee made me waite upon him ere he would come to me and how well hee hath now made mee amends for all his staying And therfore Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him yet judgement is before him therefore trust thou in him Iob 35.14 For the vision is yet for an appointed time but at the end it shall speak and not lye though it tarry wait for it because it will surely come it will not tarry Hab. 2.3 The more imparting of experiments of love wee are to the glory of Christ the more still will Christ graciously give us to our further comfort And this indeed is Gods end in comforting some of his children that they may bee able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith they themselves are comforted of God 2 Cor. 1.4 as the Apostle sweetly affirmes 3 Thank Christ humbly and heartily for his comming to thee if thou wouldâ—st have him abide still with thee The Israelites when they came into the promised Land which flowed with milk and honey they were to take the first of all the fruits of the Earth and put them in a basket and so present them to the Priest saying viz. And now behold I have brought the first fruits of the Land which thou the Lord hast given me thus were they to set their first fruits before the Lord and to worship before him as you may see at large Deut. 26. Why you that enjoy Christ as a Comforter you have received the first fruits of that good land which Canaan typified which flowes with Milke and Honey Bring therefore these first fruits and set them before God and worship bring the sweet comforts of the Holy Ghost in your hearts before the Lord and say Behold ô Christ these and these are the sweet consolations of thy spirit and loe for them all I humbly render praise to thy name Such mighty enemies of my peace hast thou conquered such doubts which so long troubled me hast thou answered such wants which so long time kept mee exceeding low hast thou supplyed to thee O God be the glory of thine own goodnesse You have great cause thus to magnifie the Lord for his mercy which finde Christ as a Comforter come to you You enjoy that blessing which exceedeth all outward blessings The light of Gods countenance lifted up upon a poore mourning soule 't is of farre greater value then Corne Wine Oyle then Corrall Rubies or any choice thing that this world can afford The naked revelation of Christ in the soule of man is of more worth then all these saith Solomon the most glorious revelation of Christ then to the soule which the soule of man is capable of in this life must needs be of much more transcendant worth You enjoy that blessing which exceedeth many inward blessings It exceedeth knowledge for what is knowledge in the head to the joy of the Holy Ghost in the heart One beame of light in the understanding is of more worth then all the Silver and Gold Gemmes and Jewels in the world and yet one beame of the light of Gods countenance shining upon the heart though but by reflexion from the face of Jesus Christ is of more worth then all knowledge which humane study can attaine unto I cannot say that this blessing exceedeth the least saving grace in the soule but this I can safely say that consolation 't is the glosse and glory of every grace every grace shines in its full lustre where the Comforter dwels This I can further say that you enjoy that blessing which makes Heaven a Heaven and which makes Earth a Heaven to you and therefore you have great reason to magnifie the Lord for his mercy The more of Heaven we enjoy upon Earth the more should we set our selves to doe the worke of them which are in Heaven whilest on Earth 4 Finally let Christs mediate comming to thee by his Spirit make thee long earnestly for his immediate comming to thee in his owne person this delights Christ that his Spouse should say Come as the Spirit doth Rev. 22.17 That shee should long for the wedding day as he doth When good old Simeon had imbraced the consolation of Israel for which hee so long waited hee then desired presently to be dissolved so thou that hast imbraced the consolation of Israel should'st in a holy manner with Simeon Iob and Paul desire to bee dissolved and to bee with Christ which is best of all You whom Christ hath kissed with the kisses of his lips should long earnestly to lye betweene
comes to us And thus taking the words you may reade them thus viz. I will not leave you comfortlesse for I will come to you No condition can bee comfortlesse if Christ come to us I will not leave you comfortlesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I will not leave you fatherlesse and motherlesse I wil not leave you Orphants saith the Originall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word comes from that is here translated comfortlesse which signifies to be made fatherlesse and motherless which because it is usually a condition very comfortlesse therefore is the word thus rendered 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 comfortlesse Thus the children of Christ shall not be left They are no Orphans which have Christ for their Father They are never totally bereft of all comfort to whom Christ comes and thus he will still do to his Church Millitant Christ will never leave comming from Heaven to Earth although it bee a very long journey as long as he hath any one childe upon Earth I will not leave you comfortlesse I will come to you 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I returne to you saith the Originall spoken in the Present tense and not in the Future I will returne to you as we have it translated Ac si diceret Christus saith one se licèt nondum profectum jam esse inreditu As if Christ had said although I am not yet gone from you yet am I returning to you Christ though not actually in person departed yet was ready in Spirit to be present with his Spouse to the end of the world Thus having Paraphrastically gone over these words I will put the plaine meaning of them into this Thesis in divinity That the Church of Christ Militant shall not bee left comfortlesse because Christ will come to her Or thus No Childe of Christ upon Earth shall be left comfortlesse for Christ will come to him What Christ spake at his departure to his Disciples was not for them only but for the comfort of all his people to the end of the world In his Disciples hee spake thus to all his children that are or ever shall be upon the face of the Earth I will not leave you comfortlesse I will come to you This comfortable doctrine that I may fully and methodically handle I will lay open unto you these foure things First that Christ doth come to his children upon Earth Secondly how Christ doth come to his children upon Earth Thirdly when Christ doth come to his children upon Earth Lastly why Christ will take so much paines as to come to his children on Earth I begin with the first of these to wit that Christ doth come to his Church and children upon Earth The truth of this is evident by our Saviours own language and by each godly mans evidence Our Saviour not only in my Text but in many other places promised to come to his Church Militant and therefore surely he doth come to his people on Earth for Christ is God and God cannot lye nor repent What Christ hath said he will do that he will faithfully performe to a tittle for faithfull is he that hath promised saith the Apostle Go therefore teach all Nations c. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and loe I am with you alwayes even to the end of the world Amen Matth. 28.19,10 This place shewes plainly that Christ doth come to his children upon Earth and that he will do this to the end of the world For Ministers of all men to walke faithfully in their places teaching their flock to observe all things that Christ hath given them in charge will cost them hot water especially living in corrupt places This our Saviour tenderly consider'd and therefore that his Disciples might not be disheartn'd he assures them of his company unto the last to support and comfort them Loe I am with you to the end of the world Christ by this phrase of speech doth hint us that what he then spake should reach further then unto those to whom he then appeared namely to all Ministers and people to the end of the world that shall faithfully discharge their places and callings to his honour I might here tell you that not only Christs word but also Christs name sets forth the truth of this that Christ is with his Church Militant and so consequently that he doth come to her He was called Emmanuel which being interpreted Is God with us Mat. 1.23 Which name was not only to note Christ as then corporally present with his Church but to note Christ as one having actually assumed our nature and so to be more gloriously present with his Church to the end of the world then ever before from the beginning after Adams fall Now as she said of her Husband as his name is so is he Nabal is his name and folly is with him so may the Spouse speak of her Husband Christ as his name is so is he Emmanuel is his name which signifies God with us and so indeed is Christ He is continually with us What David said of himselfe in respect of Christ that may we truly say of Christ in respect of us Neverthelesse saith he I am continually with thee thou hast holden me by my right hand Though Christ dwell in Heaven and wee on Earth yet neverthelesse hee is continually comming to us and abiding with us The godly have and do finde the truth of this by blessed experience which is the second thing and that which I rather insist on for the confirmation of the truth in hand because against experience there is no disputation Peter found the truth of this that Christ comes to his children upon Earth that their condition may not be comfortlesse Herod cast Peter into Prison and thought to have made him comfortlesse but Christ came to him as you may see And behold saith the Text the Angell of the Lord came upon him and a light shined in the Prison and he smote Peter on the side and raised him up saying Arise up quickly and his chaines fell off from his hands Acts 12.7 The Jewes by a storme of Stones thought to have made Steven comfortlesse but Christs comming to him prevented Christ so gloriously came to him in that deadly storme that he found more comfort then I beleeve then ever hee did before in his life for he looked up stedfastly into Heaven and saw the glory of God and Iesus standing at the right hand of God he saw the Heavens opened ready to receive him which transcendantly revived him which glorious vision he could never have seen had not Christ come to him Paul likewise found the truth of this point when he had left Athens and came to preach to the Gentiles at Corinth He was very fearfull what successe he should finde in his Ministery amongst the barbarous Gentiles Now our tender Saviour that Paul might not bee overborne with feare and made heartlesse and comfortlesse graciously comes to him
God in prosperity yet would worldly prosperity be a comfortlesse condition should not Christ by his Spirit come to them Riches and honours together with all other delights of the Sonnes of Men they are as the white of an Egge things without savour unlesse Christ come along with them to us they tyre and weary prick distract and vex a man they rob him of his sleepe and many times of his wits nay of his precious life they drowne mens soules in pride voluptuousnesse security and so set them in the next way to Hell This snare waits at every ungodly mans table which makes prosperity to him comfortlesse This Snare that it may not catch the godly Christ comes to them by his Spirit and sanctifies prosperity to them he teaches them how to a bound that is how so to use the creature as to enjoy service and comfort from it and to bring honour and glory to God by it The creature is empty of what it promiseth and entising with what it hath and this makes prosperity to every carnall man a comfortlesse condition Now to take off both these Christ comes to his children which enjoy the creature plenteously he comes in the creature and so cures the emptinesse of it that is by his blessing he makes it satisfiable and contentfull to the enjoyer which it is not of it selfe this is the peculiar gaine that attends the godly Christ comes in the creature to them and so cures the emptinesse of it and puts such a supernaturall vertue and sweetnesse in it that they are therewith contented And as Christ comes in the creature to cure the emptinesse of it so hee comes with the creature to cure the entising of it He doth by the creature leade the soules of his children to the Creator by the sweet of the one he lifts up their soules to Heaven to admire the sweetness of the other so that that which others are entised and besotted with and rest in that they take wing from to flee to Heaven from whence comes every good and perfect gift which is that indeed that makes prosperity a comfortable condition which otherwise is comfortlesse enough the Lord knowes Secondly adversity would be a comfortlesse condition to the godly if Christ by his Spirit did not come to them This I suppose none will deny for no affliction in it selfe is comfortable or joyfull but comfort lesse if Christ by his Spirit do not come to us Corporall affliction is a comfortlesse condition unlesse Christ come to us and be our Physitian Spirituall affliction is a more comfortlesse condition if Christ do not come to us Here these two questions are necessary to be answered First how doth Christ come to us in corporall affliction Secondly how doth Christ come to us in spirituall affliction To these questions both together I thus answer Christ the Physitian of soule and body comes to both with comfort in one way and that is by helping the soule to apply the promises of God which are suitable to his distresse If a childe of God be sad and sorrowfull because of corporall affliction Christ comes to him by his Spirit with this comfortable language I am all-sufficient Christ by his Spirit spreads abroad this Cardinall promise before the sad soule and shewes him what a depth of mercy is foulded up in it There is a sufficiency of wisdome in me to find out wayes and means to deliver thee though never so low brought There is likewise a sufficiency of power to prosecute right meanes to accomplish their right end Nay there is a sufficiency of power in me to work about good for thee O sad soule without meanes There 's a sufficiency of affection and will to declare power and wisdome with every Attribute else for thy good If for all this application and amplification of a generall promise the soule still droope under some corporall calamity Christ doth then in such a soule as Iacobs sons and daughters did for him They all rose up saith the Text and comforted him Gen. 37.35 so Christ by his Spirit after a lively manner indeed rises up in such a soule to comfort him and now hee leads this mourning Christian to some particular promise that is such a promise as speaks not of deliverance in generall but of deliverance in particular out of this or that kinde of distresse which he groanes under As to give you an instance suppose a Christian be sad take thought as Christ saith what he shall eat what he shall drinke and wherewithall he shall be cloathed then the Comforter comes with this particular promise which speakes of deliverance out of this particular distresse First seeke the Kingdome of God and his righteousnesse and all these things shall be added unto you take therefore no thought for to morrow for to morrow shall take thought for the things of it selfe Mat. 6.33,34 If yet for all this the spirit of a Christian still complaine as one fearing he shall want daily bread for him and his then the Comforter comes and perswades the soule to rest quietly upon the promise of God Hee speakes now to the complaining Christian as the Levits father in law did to him Comfort thy selfe I pray thee with a morsell of bread Iudges 19. Comfort thy selfe O mourning soule I pray thee with this particular promise which is but a morsell of that bread which came downe from Heaven one of the least favours that Christ hath procured for thee to wit a right and interest in the creature with this perswasive language doth Christ follow the complaining soule untill he hath perswaded him to own his own mercy and so he keeps his children in poverty from being comfortlesse As Christ in corporall afflictions comes to his children and keeps them from being comfortlesse so likewise he comes to them in spirituall afflictions that they may not be left comfortlesse If a childe of God be sad and sorrowfull because of this or that strong temptation the Comforter then comes to him with this sweet language My grace is sufficient for thee Thou prayest and Satan tempts thee thou doest fast and pray and yet Satan and thy lusts are more violent upon thee thou doest all this with bitter teares and Satan is the more bitterly bent against thee and thou art foil'd every moment By this O winnowed soule Christ would shew thee that thou wilt bee comfortlesse in the midst of all thy sore soule-labour unlesse he come to thee This same shall comfort us concerning the work and toile of our hands said Lamech of Noah so may we say of Christ this same must comfort us concerning the labour and toile of our soules with any temptation or else we shall be comfortlesse though we labour never so much and this Christ doth and will do I will not leave you comfortlesse I will come to you If a Christian lye languishing because of Satans prevailing upon him by temptation that hee may not be comfortlesse in this
finde Christ as a comforter come to thee is this observe how Christ comes and do not put him off Christ comes to comfortlesse soules with comfort in a promise as I have at large shewed you T is with many Christians in their minority as t was with Samuel theâ— doe not know the voyce of the Lord speaking â—n a promise therefore I thought good to note this last instruction The promise Christ opens before the soule that hee may see the blessing wrapt up in it which he needes and then often repeates it to the soule that he may rely upon it instances to illustrate this way of Christ I have given you things must not bee here againe repeated That which here I would presse by way of application is that you which are comfortlesse soules would observe this secret way of the comforter and meet him Art thou tempted and dost thou now heare a sweet still voyce as it were behind thee saying My grace shall bee sufficient for thee Why this is the voyce of thy beloved that is come to thee embrace what hee saith rest upon it turne not thy comforter away now by unbeliefe and peevish pettish humours Hast thou fallen into sinne by the strength of temptation and thine owne corruption and dost thou heare such a sweete voyce behind thee as this The bloud of Iesus Christ cleanseth us from all sinne 1 Ioh 1.7 Why this is the language of thy beloved hee is come to comfort thee O mourning soule doe not thrust him away by unkinde language of unbeliefe and passion Heare what he saith for it is sweete strive to believe what he saith for it is sure As Isaac said unto Jacob his Sonne after hee had had some discourse at a distance with him Come neere now and kisse mee my Sonne Gen. 27.26 So should such comfortlesse soules say to Christ when they heare Christ speaking as it were at a distance softly and coldly to them the sweet promises of his word come heere now O my beloved and kisse mee with these kisses of thy lippes for thy love is better then Wine what thou sayest to my soule say it with such life that my heart may no longer be faithlesse but believe and give glory to thee I have now done speaking to you who never yet had the comforter come to you I come now in the last place to speake a word or two particularly to such of GODS people who can tell mee that they have found Christ as a comforter come to them but now have lost Him Three things I have to say to these First labour to bee sensible of thy losse Secondly blame not Christ for departing from thee Thirdly use all holy meanes to get him to returne to thee againe First I would have thee O deserted soule to labour to bee truly sensible of thy losse Though it bee that some are deeply sensible of this great losse yet others are as deeply stupid which moves mee to note this instruction For a man to bee stupid and senselesse under corporall afflictions argues a very ill temper of spirit but for a man to bee stupid and senselesse under spirituall affliction under such a spirituall affliction as this the losse of the Sunne the losse of Christ as a comforter argues a very ill temper of spirit indeed Strive therefore O deserted stupid soule to affect thine heart throughly with thy losse Thou hast lost more then Iob when hee had lost Children substance health honours and friends nay thou hast lost more then if thou hadst lost this World nay thou hast lost more then if thou hadst lost thy life which is of more worth then the World thou hast lost Christ which is richer then this World and sweeter then thy life What an infinite losse were it to this World to lose the Sunne 't were at once to loose all Pereunte solep ereunt omnia for all things serviceable for the use of man depend upon the motion and influence of that glorious Body What a losse then is it to the lesser World to loose Christ the Sunne of Righteousnesse 'T is to loose all good at once for soule and body All graces close and wither when Christ departs as all fragrant flowers when the Sunne withdrawes his influence And when these flowers wither in the soul a man is a moving Dung-hill that stinkes in the Nostrils of God and man where ever hee comes A man that hath lost Christ may truely say as shee when the Arke was lost that his glory is departed As the Sunne is the glory of the greater World so Christ the Sunne of righteousnesse is the glory of the lesser World to wit man Thou hast lost that in the world that is more worth then the world and which all the world can never helpe thee to Thou hast lost that which would have made the worst condition in this life a Heaven whereas the best without it is but a hell Thou hast lost that which would have beene to thy soule a continuall feast whereas now thy soul is in a continual famine and leannesse Thou hast lost thy spirits and thy soule is in a dead Palsie so that thou art a living dead man fit for no spirituall service Thou hast lost thy head thou hast lost thy eyes thou hast lost thy hands thou hast lost thy feet thou hast lost thy bread thou hast lost thy cloathing nay thou hast lost thy best father thy best husband thy best friend all this and much more comfort is Christ to man Thou hast great reason then O deserted soule to lay to heart thy losse 2. Lay to heart thy losse this is comely but do not blame Christ for departing from thee this is uncomely and unrighteous Uncomely for it doth not suit with wisdomes children to lay folly to their Maker Unrighteous for thou constrainst him to depart from thee otherwise he had never left thee thou didst sin again and again of weaknesse and yet Christ as a Comforter did not depart from thee untill thou beganst to take pleasure in unrighteousnesse and to make sin a custome a right eye a very serviceable thing unto thee Christ did not leave thee Thou beganst to wax wanton against Christ and then Christ cast thee off Thou beganst to play the Apostate and to backslide in heart from Christ and then he fell off from thee and filled thee with thine owne wayes Now these things seriously considered hast thou any cause to blame Christ for departing from thee It is a comely and a very righteous thing for Wisdomes children to justifie wisdome in all his waies as to others so to our selves Wherefore thus do O deserted soule say righteous art thou O Christ in departing from me and righteous mayst thou be if thou never returne to me so unkindly have I dealt with thee 3. Then set thy selfe seriously to the use of all holy meanes whereby thou maist get thy Comforter to returne to thee Examine thy soule
throughly thou must to finde out what evill deprived thee of so great a good and in serious soule searching God will speak to thy conscience and conscience will speak plainly to thee and tell thee wherein thou didst give distaste to thy Comforter and what was the cause he forsook thy soule And when thou hast found out that evill which conscience tels thee deprived thee of so great a good thou must fall very foule with it how sweet soever it hath been unto thee Thy great worke must be to bring thy heart to a holy revenge upon this sin to abhorre it and thy selfe because of it and to become very vile as Iob saith and very low in thine owne eyes Bring thy heart to admire the infinite patience and mercy of God that things are no worse with thy soule That God had not cut thee off in the acting of that sinne for which he deserted thee that he hath left any place for repentance and given the least desire to set about this work And when thou art come thus farre possibly the light of Gods countenance may begin now and then to glance into thy soul as at some little cranny or at least some more then ordinary lightsomnesse may appear in thy dark dull soul as there doth in the dark morning some space of time before the Sun appears that had left this Horizon Now this beame of light or this little lightsomenesse of soule thou must much admire and acknowledge an unfathomed depth of love in it that God should so much as once stoope to cast an eye after thee more to give thy soule the least refreshing that did abuse flagons of love By this glimpse of light or glimmering light you are to strengthen your faith in the beliefe of this that light will more and more appeare as the light of the morning unto the perfect day and so consequently to follow God with so much the more fervency of prayer for the returne of his wonted kindnesse Toseph you know carried himselfe very roughly to his brethren which had abused him for some space of time and put them in great feare of the losse of their lives told them they were Spies and many harsh words he gave them and harsh looks but at last when his Brethren had brought to him Benjamin and discoursed a while Iosephs bowels began to work and he could no longer with-hold his brotherly love Come neare to me I pray you I am Ioseph your brother c. Gen. 45.4 Thus Christ our elder Brother deales with us who do unkindly unbrotherly use him he will handle us very roughly and put us in fear of the losse of our best lives he will make our consciences speake bitter things against us and let loose the Devill to tell us that we are Spies hypocrites and false friends to Christ in this distracted affrighted perplexed state hee may hold us many dayes many weeks many moneths but hee cannot hold in his brotherly love alwayes if wee patiently beare his frownes and kindly intreat him and bring Benjamin to him his own blood and merits this will make his bowels worke and make him unmask himselfe and say come neare to me O mourning soules tossed and not comforted I am Christ your elder brother whom yee unkindly used in a little wrath I hid my face from you but now with everlasting kindnesse will I embrace you Trinuni Deo gloria FINIS CHRISTS COMMUNION with his Church Militant 2. Tim. 4. verse 22. The Lord Iesus Christ bee with thy spirit THis Text is Pauls sweet affectionate farwell to Timothy Many grave and gracious instructions Paul had given Timothy but 't is not so much what man saith to the eare as as what Christ saith to the heart that workes effectually to set man about his duty and therefore doth Paul in the conclusion of all his Christian counsell to Timothy pathetically pray That the Lord Iesus Christ would be with his Spirit The best teaching of man is but as water spilt on the ground unlesse Christ inwardly teach the spirit If I am taught my duty by a Paul one in gifts not inferiour to the chiefest Apostles yet unlesse Christ bee with my spirit to make things take roote there all will die and wither like good seed cast into bad ground And therefore Paul saw it but needfull as to teach the eare so to intreate the Lord to teach and strengthen the spirit The Lord Iesus Christ bee with thy Spirit There is a great distance you know betweene the eare and the heart it is an easie thing for man to bring home things unto the one but no lesse then the Al-mighty power of Christ will bring home things unto the other There is an incomparable hardnesse upon the heart of man naturally it is harder then an Adamant now though a child with his little finger may make a dint upon dow yet a Gyant with all his strength cannot make dints upon an Adamant much lesse can all created strength make divine impressions upon the spirit of man and therefore it is that Paul doth implore an Almighty strength to doe this The Lord Iesus Christ bee with thy Spirit Why doth not Paul here wish riches and honours pleasures unto Timothy Is the bare presence of Christ with a mans spirit such a blessing To this I answer riches and honours c. they are bona but not optima good things but not the best things Earthly things though good in themselves yet are no further forth good to mee then as the Lord Jesus Christ is with my spirit to guide it to use them and therefore Paul as one truly wise prayed for the prime good for Timothy for that good which makes all other things worke together for good to wit That the Lord Iesus Christ would bee with his Spirit The point I intend to stand on is this That to have the Lord Iesus Christ with our spirits is a prime and principall blessing Paul here wisheth it to Timothy as a cardinall blessing The Lord Iesus Christ bee with thy spirit Enucleatio propositionis To have Christ with our spirits c. How can Christ bee present with man upon Earth who is now ascended and sitteth at the right Hand of his Father in Heaven The Apostle doth hint an answer to this question in the forme of his Prayer if you observe it The Lord Iesus Christ saith hee be with thy spirit Hee speakes of such a presence as will fitly yeeld Communion and fellowship to the spirit of man There is a double presence of Christ with man corporall and spirituall joyntly or meerly spirituall With just men made perfect in glory Christ is corporally present they behold his wounded Body made a glorious Body as a continuall assurance of the Resurrection of their owne vile bodies unto the same similitude And with them Christ is present spiritually filling them with those joyes the tast of which upon Earth is called unspeakable and full of