the City the famine is there and if we sit here we dye also now therefore let us fall into the hands of our enemies and if they save us alive we shall live and if they kill us we shall but dye They had but one means to succor themselves withal and that was to go into the Camp of the enemies and there as it hapned they were relieved Thus is the lively picture of a poor sinner in this despairing condition when he seeth the wrath of God pursuing him and that the Lord hath beset him on every side at last he resolves thus with himself If I go and rest on my priviledges there is nothing but emptiness and if I rest in my natural condition I perish there also let me therefore fall into the hands of the Lord of Hosts I confess he hath been provoked by me and for ought I see he is mine enemy I am now a damned man and if the Lord cast me out of his presence I can be but damned And then he comes to the Lord and he falls down before the footstool of a consuming God and saith as Job did What shall I say unto thee O thou Preserver of men I have no reason to plead for my self and I have no power to succor my self my accusations are my best excuse all the priviledges in the world cannot justific me and all my Duties cannot save me if there be any mercy left O succor a poor distressed sinner in the very gall of bitterness This is the behavior of the soul in this work of Subjection The second part of Humiliation is Contentedness to be at the Lords disposal and this point is of an higher pitch then the former For example Take a debtor who hath used all means to avoid the creditor in the end he seeth he cannot avoid the Suit and to bear it he is not able therefore the onely way is to come in and to yield himself into his creditors hands but suppose the creditor should exact the utmost and throw him into prison to be content now to undergo the hardest dealing it is an hard matter and a further degree So when the soul hath offered himself and he seeth that Gods Writs are out against him and he is not able whensoever the Judgement comes to avoid it nor to bear it therefore he submits himself and saith Lord whether shall I go thy anger is heavy and unavoidable nay whatsoever God requires the soul lays his hand on his mouth and goes away contented and well satisfied and hath nothing at all to say against the Lord This is the nature of Contentedness Or for a further light this Contentedness discovers it self in these three following particulars First the Soul reflects on Gods Mercy which though he begg'd when he submitted yet now he seeth so much corruption and unworthiness in himself that he acknowledgeth himself unfit for Mercy O Mercy mercy Lord What saith the Lord I had thought your own Duties would have purchased mercy O no saith the Soul it is onely Mercy that must relieve and succor me but such is my vileness that I am not fit for the least mercy and favor and such is the wickedness of this wretched heart of mine that whatsoever are the greatest plagues I am worthy of them all though never so insupportable All the Judgements that God hath threatned and prepared for the Devil and his Angels they are all due to my wretched soul O saith the Soul had the Devils the like hopes and means and patience that I have enjoyed for ought I know they would have been better then I am It is that which shames the Soul in all his sorrows and makes him say Had they the like Mercy O those sweet Comforts and those precious Promises that I have had How many heavy journeys hath the Lord Jesus made to me How often hath he knock'd at my heart and said Come to me ye rebellious children turn ye turn ye why will ye dye O that Mercy that hath followed me from my house to my walk and from thence to my closet here Mercy hath conferred with me and there Mercy hath wooed me yea in my night-thoughts when I awaked Mercy kneeled down before me and besought me to renounce my bad courses yet I refused Mercy and would needs have mine own will had the Devil but such hopes and such offers of Mercy they that tremble now for want of Mercy they would for ought I know have given entertainment to it and what do I seek for Mercy shall I talk of Mercy What I Mercy the least of Gods Mercies are too good for me and the heaviest of Gods Plagues are too little for me I suppose for so is my opinion that God cannot do more against me then I have justly deserved but be sure God will not lay more upon me then I am justly worthy of Nay sure it is the Soul cannot bear nor suffer so much as he hath deserved if God should proceed in rigor with him therefore it reasons thus I onely for one sin deserve eternal condemnation for the wages of all sin is death being committed against Divine Justice and against an Infinite Majesty and then what do all these my sins deserve committed and continued in against all checks of Conscience and Corrections and the light of Gods Word Hell is too good and ten thousand hells too little to torment such a wretch as I am What I mercy I am ashamed to expect it With what heart I pray you can I beg this Mercy which I have trodden under my feet The Lord hath often wooed me and when his wounds were bleeding and his side gored and his hideous cryes coming into mine ears My God my God why hast thou forsaken me then even then this Christ have I slighted and made nothing of his Blood and can this blood of Christ do me now any service Indeed I crave grace but how do I think to receive any All the Pillars of the Church can testifie how often Grace and Mercy have been offered and offered but I have ever refused How then can I beg any grace O this stubbornness and villany and this wretchedness of mine What I mercy it is more then I can expect I am not worthy of any Oh no I am onely worthy to be cast out for ever Secondly the Soul reflects on Justice and now it acknowledgeth the Equity of Gods dealings be they never so harsh he confesseth that he is as clay in the hands of the Potter and the Lord may deal with him as he will yea the Soul is driven to an amazement at the Lords patience and that he hath been pleased to reprieve him so long that God hath not cast him out of his presence and sent him down to hell long ago It is the frame of the Spirit which the poor lamenting Church had It is the Lords mercy that we are not confounded because his compassions fail not When the Lord hath humbled
through his heart and he is breathing out his sorrow as though he were going down to hell and he saith If there be any mercy any love any fellowship of the Spirit have mercy upon me a poor creature that am under the burthen of the Almighty O pray and pity these wounds and vexations of Spirit which no man findes nor feels but he that hath been thus wounded It is a sign of a soul wholly devoted to destruction that hath a desperate disdain against poor wounded creatures Is it possible there should harbor such a Spirit in any man if the Devil himself were incarnate I cannot conceive what he could do worse 2. If ever thou wouldst be comforted and receive mercy from God labor never to be quiet till thou dost bring thy heart to a right pitch of sorrow thou hast a little slight sorrow but Oh! labor to have thy heart truly touched that at last it may break in regard of thy many distempers remember the longer seed-time the greater harvest Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted but wo to you that are at ease in Zion Thou hadst better now be wounded then everlastingly tormented and therefore if thou desirest to see Gods face with comfort if thou wouldst hear Christ say Come thou poor heavy-hearted sinner I will ease thee Labor to lay load on thy heart with sorrow for thy sin O what a comfort shall a poor broken heart finde in that day SECT. 5. The extent of this Sorrow HItherto of Contrition the next work is Humiliation which differs from the other not in substance but circumstance For Humiliation as I take it is onely the extent of Sorrow for Sin of which we have spoken and it contains these two Duties 1. Submission 2. Contentedness to be at the Lords disposal The first part of Humiliation is Submission which is wrought thus The sinner having now had a Sight of his Sins and a Sorrow in some measure for Sin he seeks far and wide improves all means and takes up all Duties that if it were possible he might heal his wounded soul Thus seeking and seeking but finding no succor in what he hath or doth he is forced at last in his despairing condition to make tryal of the Lord It is true for the present he apprehends God to be just and to be incensed against him he hath no experience of Gods favor for the while no certainty how he shall speed if he go to the Lord yet because he sees he cannot be worse then he is and that none can help him but God if it would please him therefore he falls at the footstool of Mercy and he lies grovelling at the gate of Grace and submits himself to the Lord to do with him as pleaseth himself or as it seemeth good in his eyes This was the Ninevites case when Jonah had denounced that heavy Judgement and as it were thrown wilde fire about the streets saying Within forty days Niniveh shall be destroyed See what they resolved upon They fasted and prayed and put on sackcloth and ashes who can tell said they but God may turn and repent him of his fierce wrath that we perish not as if they had said We know not what God will do but this we know that we cannot oppose his Judgements nor succor our selves Thus it is with a sinner when he seeth hell fire to flash in his face and that he cannot succor himself then he saith This I know that all the means in the world cannot save me yet who can tell but the Lord may have mercy on me and cure his tdistressed Conscience and heal all these wounds that sin hath made in my soul This is the lively picture of the soul in this case Or for a further light this Subjection discovers it self in four particulars First he seeth and confesseth that the Lord for ought he knows will proceed in Justice against him and execute upon him those Plagues that God hath threatned and his Sins have deserved he seeth that Justice is not yet satisfied and those reckonings between God and him are not yet made up and therefore he cannot apprehend but that God will take vengeance on him What else when he hath done all he can he is unprofitable still Justice remains unsatisfied and saith Thou hast sinned and I am wronged and therefore thou shalt dye Secondly he conceives that what God will do that he will do and he cannot avoid it if the Lord will come and require the glory of his Justice against him there is no way to avoid it nor to bear it and this crusheth the heart and makes the soul to be beyond all shifts and evasions whereby it may seem to avoid the dint of the Lords blow Thirdly he casts away his weapons and falls down before the Lord and resigns himself into the soveraign power and command of God Thus David when the Lord cast him out of his Kingdom he said to Zadock Carry back the Ark of God into the City if I shall finde favor in the eyes of the Lord he will bring me back again and shew me both it and his Habitation But if he thus say to me I have no delight in thee behold here I am let him do with me as seemeth good in his eyes This is the frame of a poor soul when a poor sinner will stand upon his priviledges the Lord saith Bear my Justice and defend thy self by all thou hast or canst do and the soul answereth I am thy Servant Lord do what is good in thine eyes I cannot succor my self Fourthly the soul freely acknowledgeth That it is in Gods power to do with him and dispose of him as he will and therefore he lies and licks the dust and cryes Mercy mercy Lord he thinks not to purchase Mercy at the Lords hands but onely saith It is in Gods good pleasure to do with him as he will onely he looks for favor and cryes Mercy Lord mercy to this poor distressed soul of mine O replies the Lord dost thou need mercy Cannot thy Hearing and Praying and Fasting carry thee to heaven without hazard Gird up now thy loyns and make thy ferventest Prayers and let them meet my Justice and see if they can bear my Wrath or purchase any Mercy No no saith the sinner I know it by lamentable experience that all my prayers and performances will never procure peace to my soul nor give my satisfaction to thy Justice I onely pray for Mercy and I desire onely to hear some News of Mercy to relieve this miserable wretched soul of mine it is onely Mercy that must help me O Mercy if it be possible to this poor distressed soul of mine Me thinks the picture of those poor famished Lepers may â—itly resemble this poor sinner when the Famine was great in Samaria There were four leprous men sate in the gate of the City and they said Why sit we here until we dye if we enter into
most hardly converted what is Humiliation but the emptying of the soul from whatsoever makes it swell the heart must not joy in any thing nor rest upon any thing but onely yield to the Lord to be at his disposing and carving now these parts and gifts and abilities and means are great props and pillars for the heart of a carnal man to rest upon and to quiet it self withal whence the Apostle Not many wise men after the flesh not many mighty men not many noble men are called Indeed blessed be God some are but not many few that have so much of themselves are brought to renounce themselves and no wonder for a rich man to become poor and a noble man to be abased and a wife man to be nothing in himself this will cost hot water and yet this must be in all that belong to the Lord not that God will take away all these outward things and parts but that they must loosen their affection from these if they will have Christ 2. That an humble heart makes all a mans life quiet and marvellously sweetneth whatsoever estate he is in indeed sometimes he may be tossed and troubled yet he is not distracted because he is contented as it is with a Ship on the Sea when the billows begin to roar and the waves are violent if the Anchor be fastened deep it stays the Ship so this work of Humiliation is the Anchor of the soul and the deeper it is fastened the more quiet is the heart when Job in time of his extremity gave way to his proud heart he quarrell'd with the Almighty his friends and all but when the Lord had humbled him then Behold I am vile and base once have I spoken yea twice but now no more And this Humiliation quiets a man both in Fiercest Temptations Heaviest Oppositions 1. In fiercest Temptations when Satan begins to besiege the heart of a poor sinner and lays battery against him see how the humbled heart runs him out of breath at his own weapons Dost thou think says Satan to get mercy from the Lord when thy own conscience dogs thee nay go to the place where thou livest to the chamber where thou liest and consider thy fearful abominations sure God will not respect the prayers of any such vile sinners True saith the poor soul I have often denyed the Lord when he called upon me and therefore he may justly deny me all the prayers I make yet thus he hath commanded that seek to him for mercy I must and if the Lord will cast me away and reject my prayers I am contented therewith What then Satan What then saith the Devil I thought this would have made thee to dispair but this is not all for God will give thee over and leave thee to thy self to thy lusts and corruptions and thy latter end shall be worse then thy beginning thou mayest call and cry and when thou hast done be overthrown God will leave thee to thy self and suffer thy corruptions to prevail against thee and thou shalt fall fearfully to the wounding of thy conscience to the grieving of Gods people to the scandal of the Gospel to the reproach of thy own person To this answers the humbled soul If the Lord will give me up to my base lusts which I have given my self so much liberty in and if the Lord will leave me to my sins because I have left his gracious commands and if I shall fall one day and be disgraced and dishonored yet let the Lord be honored and let not God lose the praise of his Power and Justice and I am contented therewith what then Satan What then saith the Devil I sure thought now thou wouldst have despaired but this is not all for when God hath left thee to thy sins then will he break out in vengeance against thee and make thee an example of his heavy vengeance to all ages to come and therefore it is best for thee to prevent this untimely Judgement by some untimely death To this replies the Soul Whatsoever God can do or will do I know not yet so great are my sins that he cannot or at least will not do so much against me as I have justly deserved Come what will come I am contented still to be at the Lords disposal what then Satan and thus he runs Satan out of breath The want of this Humiliation many times brings a man to desperate stands and sometimes to untimely deaths Alas why will you not bear the wrath of the Lord it is true indeed your sins are great and the wrath of God is heavy yet God will do you good by it and therefore be quiet In time of war when the great Canons fly off the onely way to avoid them is to lie down in a furrow and so the bullets fly over So in all Temptations of Satan lie low and be contented to be at Gods disposing and all these fiery Temptations shall not be able to hurt you 2. In heaviest oppositions when Satan is gone then come Troubles and Oppositions of the world in all which Humiliation will quiet the Soul A man is sometimes Sea-sick not because of the Tempest but because of his full stomack and therefore when he hath emptied his stomack he is well again So it is with his Humiliation of heart if the heart were emptied truly though a man were in a sea of oppositions if he have no more trouble in his stomack and in his proud heart then in the oppositions of the world he might be very well quieted Cast disgrace upon the humble heart causlesly and he cures it thus He thinks worse of himself then any man else can do and if they would make him vile and loathsom he is more vile in his own eyes then they can make him O that I could bring your hearts to be in love with this blessed grace of God! Is there any Soul here that hath been vexed with the Temptations of Satan oppositions of men or with his own distempers and would he now arm and fence himself that nothing should disquiet him or trouble him but in all to be above all and to rejoyce in all O then be humbled and then be above all the Devils in hell Certainly they shall not so disquiet you as to cause you to be misled or uncomforted if you would but be humbled What remains then Be exhorted as you desire mercy and favor at Gods hands to this Humiliation And for Motives consider the good things that God hath promised and which he will bestow upon all that are truly humbled I shall reduce all to these three following Benefits First by Humiliation we are made capable of all those treasures of Wisdom Grace and Mercy that are in Christ Secondly Humiliation gives a man the comfort of all that good in Christ Many have a right to Christ and are dear to God yet they want much sweet refreshing because they want this Humiliation