when we come to see him we may be pierced and be in bitternesse for him Yea 3. That a Soul may truly and in earnest feel and discern its need of such a Jesus to bear and deliver from that wrath When such a glimpse of God upon it such a shaking such an abasement in its own vilenesse such a tasting of wrath then a Christ to quiet and calm a desolate soul is worth looking after indeed But it will presently be enquired whether every Soul is brought into Christ this way I will first open the height of this tempest upon a Soul and then I will satisfie this Query It is thus When God musters up our sins and sets them in order before our eyes Psal 50.21 When he will make sin appear exceeding sinfull to be abounding sin When God writes bitter things against a Soul and makes it to possesse the iniquity of its youth I need seek no further then the 38. Psalm for this tempest and the 88. In both of them you have a description of this tempest upon a poor creature Thine arrows stick fast in me There is no rest in my bones because of my sin Mine iniquities are gone over my head and are a burthen too heavy for me to bear Troubled and bowed down and go mourning all the day filled with his terrours as Heman To this as it may be conceived to have been the case with David and Heman in both these Psalmes is usually added some sharp affliction either of sicknesse or of the imbittering some choice creature-comfort our spirits were inordinately let out unto which causeth this shaking and tempest to be the more grievous that we become as David speaks even as broken vessels under the mighty hand of God This also by the sufferance of God is often heightned by Satans violent assaults black and horrible suggestions blasphemous accusations representing sin as unpardonable joyns with an accusing conscience and all our fleshly reasonings that God is in a way of destroying and beginning of wrath here and therefore is apt to suggest self-destruction so crossing Gods design perswading the Soul to fly from God as an Enemy when Gods main design is mercy to turn it to him Now then take all these the appearing of a great and holy and terrible God shaking a poor earthly creature the powerfull awakenings and enlightenings of his Word a sense of his fierce wrath the dread of a miscarrying soul the burthen of sin the accusations of conscience the afflicting hand of God the desperate assaults of Satan these like several windes make a tempest in the whole man and make it to cry out Thy waves O Lord and thy billows go over my soul who is able to abide thine appearance These like severall windes meeting in a cranny of the earth make a concussion and mighty shaking upon the spirit of a sinner when the Lord thus takes him in hand Now to answer the question whether every Soul be brought in to Christ such a way in the height of this tempest This is more then I dare assert yet that many a poor Soul comes thus shipwracht Christ thus tempestuous and forlorn I know I need not insist to prove This I may call the storming of a Soul when Christ takes a Soul by his great power suddenly breaks down all the strong holds and high things 2 Cor. 10.5 This is usually the way of an open sinner though not in the same height neither in every open sinner at his first conversion But then sometimes Jesus Christ takes a Soul as I may so speak upon easier terms brings it in leni afflatu with a more gentle gale yet so that in the progresse of it there will be some shakings something of this tempest upon it though the Soul hath a glimpse of Christ and his hand more sensibly supporting it which I clear thus First If the seed of grace be sown early in the heart as sometimes it is that some Souls cannot remember the first work of it yet if the Soul grow up to any measure of experience it must be more shaken in order to its further subduing and purifying It will meet with some kinde of tempests ordinarily I never spake with any as to this Point but more or lesse did allow of it But when the work of God is begun at some further ripenesse of years then certainly it shall meet with what I have set forth in some measure Consider for a Soul to be awakened out of the deep sleep of carnall security which sin hath bound him in To have Satan the strong man dispossest by a stronger then he To have the guilt and filth of sinne discovered by the holy Spirit To have Christ destroy the works of Satan the power and peace of corruptions that will set against him with all the reasonings of flesh and bloud mustered up To have in a word the secure dead earthy dark hard proud atheisticall unbeleeving heart of an obstinate wretch of death to become life of darknesse light of a stone flesh To have a grain of faith break through all naturall impossibilities spirituall wickednesses all discouragements within and without when nothing within us to help forward beleeving but every thing against us as I shall further shew Though all these be not enough to hinder the Lord Jesus when he by his strong arm will work Isa 43.13 I will work and who shall let it yet certainly this work is not wrought forth in a dream as we use to speak of things insensibly done not without some shaking and concussion upon the spirit something of this tempest upon it partly in the beginning and partly in the progresse of conversion Fides non fit sine multo motu saith Melancthon faith is not wrought forth without much motion in the Soul Yea I might here shew into how many tempests from without and within many a poor Soul specially such whom God will most humble and fit for some speciall service fals into how many overwhelmings of spirit and gusts of temptations it is frequently shaken with but I intend to keep my self chiefly to the discovery of the souls first approach to Christ It may yet be further enquired What is the lowest measure of such conviction in the bringing in of a Soul to Christ In this there have been extreams somtimes I presume gracious men giving forth the tenour of their own conversion as a generall rule to all others But in this case I may safely assert that the first work of the Spirit is to convince of sin Joh. 16.7 And that such a convincement that shall give a creature such a sight of sin that it must appear exceeding sinfull to be abounding sin Rom. 5.18 to be tyrannizing fin filthy sinne condemning sinne which must not only flote in the head but convince the conscience and affect the heart that it must needs humble and abase a creature as he goes out of himself and rowls upon Jesus Christ yea he shall come in a
presence between the two considerations of the injuries they had done him and the exceeding love he shewed them As for Joseph say they we sold c. so poor souls seeking Jesus Christ when he appears comfortably unto them They are even troubled at Christs presence considering the injuries they have done him and the exceeding great love he hath shewed them and this doth kindely melt the heart when they wistly look him Till Christ answer as Joseph ver 5. of Gen. 45. Come hither saith good Joseph to his Brethren for God did send me before to preserve life so saith the Lord Jesus Christ Ah poor soul come hither God did send me on purpose to preserve thy soul to bear thy sins to establish a Covenant of peace for thee And how endearing and melting is this to a soul that so enjoys him 6. Christ thus withholding himself for a time as it makes way for the greater joy and more abundant consolation to a tempestuous soul so it will make a soul more watchful and careful to keep Christ Cant. 3.4 I held him and would not let him go If so tempestuous perishing and succourlesse when I enjoyed him not Oh let them never take away my Lord Here Here his Soul clasping him let him lodge One hour of his fellowship is a heaven Oh no thou must not go my dearest Lord 'till I go with thee and lie in thy bosome to all eternity I will love thee and honour thee while I am here and therefore do not ah do not depart from me I will not let thee go But of this more in the close Is it so then that Christ may for a time cloud himself from a poor soul at his feet why then Soul let me return to the first posture I stated thee in in this Point Art thou one that hast said seriously within thy self from the sight of thy helplesse condition I will arise now and go about Cant. 3.2 I have been sitting all this while in the shadow of the vain world But now I will arise and seek him who hath life and peace in himself though but now yet I will enquire of the watchmen after him v. 3. I will wait at the posts of his doors his blessed and powerfull Ordinances till my soul findes him Well Take with thee this lesson If thou findest him not in joy and comfort assoon as thou expectest Here 's encouragement for thee not no give off thy pursuit as Satan and thy own unbeleeving heart will be still prompting thee To return to thy former ease and peace in sinne and vanity and the world again or that thou hadst a good interest enough in Christ before thou thus troubledst thy self or it may be Satan will suggest it is too late for thee and thy day of grace is over because thou hast sleighted many Well I say let none of these prevail with thee Thou hearest upon what weighty and endearing Reasons Christ may for a time withhold comfort and peace therefore let deniall encrease thy diligence and not dead and flat it Thou seest Soul that if thou wilt have Jesus Christ that he hath other work besides filling thee with perfumes and staying thee with flaggons of love And if thou beest truly convinced of sin and so of thy absolute need of Christ thou wilt be glad of him and seek to him for those works too He hath strong-holds of sinne to break down He hath Atheism Pride Self-love Obstinacy all manner of fleshly and earthy lusts to subdue within thee that have by nature the possession of thy heart and these will grapple with him and are unwilling to let thy heart go all these unclean spirits must be cast out if thou wouldest have Christ dwell there So that if thou wilt have him thou must have him on such terms thou must thus suffer him to prepare his way to have a resting-place within thee And those lusts must not domineer with him If thy debate within thy self be rather to venture his losse then to part with the old guests of thy heart that he wold cast out then thou dost not yet know what belongs to the guilt and filth and reign of sinne which thou wilt cry to be rid of when thou truly seest what mischief it hath done thee If that be indeed the terms thou insistest on 't is but a little stirring of meer naturall conscience and not the convictions of the Spirit Many souls no doubt from some such temporary common enlightning of the natural conscience go and make an essay at Christ liking well of peace and salvation but finding that lusts must die for it they give up the pursuit again or else will have him pretend to have so and make him lodge with their unclean lusts to protect and countenance them and so make him a half-Christ divide his work make him indeed like those blasphemers in the Gospel to have an unclean Spirit and sin to be nothing As many wretches in this age do assert and indeed all carnall professors of Christ do in their conversations imply when they serve their lusts and cry Christ Christ No Soul yeeld up a heart freely to him and let him make one lust after another bleed for it Let him make good his way and possession Let him subdue all opposition in thy heart and lay low all the crooked waies of it and see what a Temple he will make for himself in the close In a word follow him and hold out in his strength and thou shalt have more then thy errand 2. Learn well from hence to understand Christs meaning in his invitations not as if the thing promised were all to be enjoyed in a moment Thou maiest rest confident in this that the heart of Christ will be true to thee in them though thou waitest for a time considering that one hour of his joy is worth the waiting of an age much more a heaven and eternity by it And 't is an everlasting rest thou seekest in him 3. It chides the repinings of our hearts against this way of dealing by the Lord Christ It rebukes all our hard thoughts of him though he stay a little when we cry after him Oh be contented for his wisedom and love to order all things for his more sweeter welcome and more sure and comfortable abode with thee But yet to a soul under the impatiency of anguish of spirit Consider 1. Dost thou truly come to Christ as before dost thou frequently spread thy case before him and pleade his own bowells free invitations promises his interest with his Father with him some lie repining but not earnestly follow Christ for what they want c. 2. Consider duly If there be no Action lust that holds up its head and would not yeeld that is as a right hand or right eye go to God for a more narrow search of thy heart say as David Search me prove me and try me If there be any iniquity in my heart undiscovered reveal and mortifie it
of smoak perfumed with Myrrhe and Frankincense with all Powders of the Merchant c. A little to enlarge this I will shew what considerations they are that make any work appear wonderfull and they will be found in this of the Lord Christs to his People 1. A repugnancy in nature to the effect wrought forth this causeth wonder So is it in the whole work of Christ for us and in us That which was for us being but as one continued rich glorious mystery Col. 1.26 All of nature against it As to his work in his people what reluctancy obstinacy strivings with the holy Spirit before a proud hard rebellious self-exalting heart will yeeld to bow before the Lord Jesus Not only listnesnesse heartlesnesse impotency but a strong enmity and resolute opposition against the work of grace yea as to our case in hand the quieting of the tempest upon a soul what resistency to comfort by the carnall part what putting up of fresh reasonings and doubtings and will not beleeve Jesus Christ upon his word till the spirit of power perswade command enables to do so 2. Such things do beget wonder which are unexpected or unhoped for so is the first appearing and work of Christ to and in us When a Soul securely sits with folded arms in the shadow of death in the grosse darknesse that is naturally upon it the strength of the heart after vanity when little expectation of such a voice of Christ as hath been shewed in the first Arise Awake Come away c. Matthew sitting at the Receipt of Custom little expected that the Lord Christ whom he never lookt after should come and speak to him in such a commanding voice and he should presently leave all so wealthy an income and follow a persecuted Christ He would have been like enough to have spit in the face of him who should have prophesied such a thing to him as every sinfull wretch is till the Lords voice be heard within him And so in the matter of comfort when poor and languishing and complaining a tempest is up then even before we are aware above what we durst to expect comes a Christ and speaks and calms all 3. Things formerly unknown to us when they appear beget wonder so are the things that Christ works and reveals to us we are utterly ignorant and know not what preciousnesse in Christ rill he open his heart to us What refreshings what treasures of all goodness and sweetnesse are in him 4. Things that are seldome done beget wonder so comparatively with the world of souls that are passed by 't is but seldome and rare work for Jesus Christ to lay hold upon souls here and there a soul he chaseth forth And saith a poor delivered soul What was I more then another that the Lord should passe by abundance of poor creatures who haply never dishonoured God so much as I have done Oh this consideration makes grace appear abundant and admirable this is a heightning enlarging Meditation upon a poor calmed soul indeed In a word the Lord Jesus so convays himself to his own that it shall be marvellous in their eyes That they may attribute the first motion of light and life in the soul from him the perfecting and continuing of it That his children may be kept humble and lowly before him and ascribe all to him and depend upon him that they may have nothing to rejoyce in but only in the name of the Lord Jesus Vse If a calmed soul be thus full of the wonders of Christs power and love first By this any soul may know whether the calm that is upon his spirit be from Christ or not If so then his hand his power and love is admired and extolled in it Consider therefore any soul by the way What are the wondrous things upon thy Spirit what are the things thou hast deep thoughts of heart about Canst thou feelingly say Oh how wonderfull have been the thoughts of Christ towards me what wonders hath he wrought for me and in me Who is a God pardoning iniquity like unto thee Mic. 7.18 That 's the temper and voice of a pardoned soul So he breaks out into the admiration of him A pardoned Soul cannot have such sleight thoughts about it as the pretenders to a dead hope of it have If it be not so with thee let me once more counsell thee to go to Christ and tell him what wonders thou hearest he can doe And pleade with him that there 's an object before him to manifest one upon even by raising up such a worm dead in sin as thou art unto life Tell him he shall have the glory of the Miracle Oh let him say unto thee Live and thou shalt live in his sight 2. If Jesus Christ be able to work forth such wonders upon and for poor souls Videant quam tutò se committunt Sancti c. saith Bucer See then how safely we commit our selves to such a Pilot who can guide and anchor us through all storms and difficulties can cease our tempests within or without to make way for sweeter Sun-shines and calms And therefore should not the Saints pierce through the thickest darkest tempests and hang upon him when all appears but in a perishing way yea will not the Lord Jesus pierce through them all to us and make our hears melt with chiding us for our little faith Say not Fainting Soul within thy self that because 't will be a wonderfull thing for thee to be raised up comforted whatever thy condition be and therefore it will not be No No Say thou hangest upon a Christ whose works are all wonders and therefore it shall be so And now what will this poor Soul do that is thus through the abundant grace of Christ silled in some measure with such precious wonders of Christ when it is blessedly calmed by Christs refreshing voice For so I will now suppose that soul either already or shall be so who hath been or is in this tempestuous perishing condition at Christs feet and is or shall be thus calmed Will it not to this purpose break forth O welcome ten thousand times sweetest Christ Come Lodge for ever in my soul though a mean habitation for I cannot let thee go Ah will not that soul study returns of love and honour to Jesus Christ Will it not love him and love him more abundantly Will it not lay it self at his feet to be disposed by him Will it not smile upon and embrace reproaches for him Shall any thing be too dear and precious to part with for Christ No It shall not Shall the pursuit of empty creatures come in competition with him Let me ask thee Soul in earnest Wilt thou canst thou seek great things for thy self and let Christs honour be slighted Go then and daily treat with Christ to this purpose Say unto him Master Master what shall I do for thee For whom shall I live and die but for thee Dear Lord let me some way or other bring honour to thy tender glorious Name among the living before I come to thee and adore thee for ever Now Soul to point thee out thy particular duty that livest in the sense of the favour and love of Christ is more then I designed in this brief Treatise only I will minde thee with a word or two and so have done Art thou a Soul that hast been by the strong arm of the Lord carried through some of these experiences as have been set forth in this Treatise If thou art a poor Soul not yet attained to this measure of comfort and joy I have endeavoured to lay down Directions to thee and what may by the blessing of the Spirit with it uphold thee till these wonders shall be made good upon thy soul But now to a Soul that in some measure enjoyeth them 1. Consider that though Jesus Christ hath made such a calm upon thy Spirit yet know that there 's more than enough in thy heart to distemper all again though at present kept under Therefore thou art to look up to the same mighty hand to keep all in peace and in a comfortable frame as well as at first to create it and to give in new refreshings else that which is within thee already will decay and wither If Jesus Christ withdraw his hand all is in a mutiny again Oh therefore walk humbly and jealously before him and still be committing all to him and be drawing fresh supplies from him or else the sense of this blessed calm will grow dead in thee 2. Beware how carnal joy mixeth with thy spiritual by fetching in too large additions from Creature-comforts whence will follow lightnesse and vanity of spirit and then comes a Cloud ere thou art aware 3. Be vigilant as I have before hinted and diligent in such waies wherein thou hast speciall communion with God By which thou shalt finde greater wonders by the strong arm of the Lord then thou hast yet felt The danger of this neglect is spoken before 4. Do not sit down in a slender stock of Grace and the Knowledge of Christ There are depths in Christ and depths in thy own heart to be searcht which haply doe yet lie close undiscerned upon thy spirit 5. Be in the frequent remembrance of how much is forgiven and this will raise up thy love and zeal and quicken it when it begins to slack 6. Beware of venturing on the least sin do not say 't is a little one and thou maist venture 't will like an Achan disturb all The fear and hatred of the least evil maintains a solid setled communion with God vain and carnal company as hath been shewed dulls a mans spirit as also a frothy carriage and liberall jesting 7. Much might be said but in a word know 'T is the hardest work of a Beleever to manage comfort and assurance The heart the carnal part of it is apt to be lifted up in it Indeed a comforted Soul at the first coming of it is apt to conceive that such a temper can never be lost But this is a vanity Lastly Get the aims of thy heart more raised after purity and likenesse of God then joy and comfort To be like God and see him at he is 1 Joh. 3.2 is the highest aim of a gracious Soul which the blessed holy God give thee and me to aspire after till we shall be fully with him and so see him as he is to all eternity Amen FINIS
will joyn righteousnesse with thine In a word in stead of being a well-conceited Pharisee for 't is uo better Go and be a poor sinner at Christs feet and be willing to let him have all the glory in thy salvation Even put on Jesus Christ by an humble free totall resignment of thy self unto him to undertake thy cause as hath been shewd to work all thy works for thee and in thee And in stead of thy own defiled righteousnesse thou hast stood a tip-toe in the entire obedience of Christ shall be thine and thou shalt appear before God in that full pure spotlesse acceptable righteousness of the Son of his in which the soul of God is infinitely delighted Ah Soul what a change is this to part with filth and abomination for the glorious righteousnesse of the Son of God to be clad in it and even shine forth before God in it 4. Well do the same as to any considence in all thy Church-priviledges of being baptized being a Protestant no heretick Do the same as to all creature-refuges as hath been shewed and being undone and shattered in them do not dare to be safe in them any longer no no pretension to safety till thou shalt be safe in the Lord Jesus by a clear and full closure with him till thou hast him in thy arms by faith thy soul embracing and twining it self about him till he shall say unto thee I am thine and thou shalt finde power and vertue coming from him From what hath been said maist thou now with deep thoughts of heart say thus within thy self Ah wretch that I have been fond self-pleasing self-flattering wretch how well conceited of my self how able thought I my self to do every thing how confidently have I stood before the perfect God in the performance of my carnall duties when they were as filthy as sin could make them and God was loathing of them Now I see one Jesus Christ is ten thousand times better then them all Now I will cast anchor into him now I will contend for him as for life Now I will enquire seek wait upon his voice his spirit enabling me till I shall finde him and all those Blessings are reported to be in him Now I will be diligent in duties upon a better account not as they are able to render me accepted and justified before God so I do and ever will renounce them but as means blessed be God to conveigh Christ to my soul and as the testimony of my obedience to him And now if by the Lords blessing unto thee what hath been said or thou wast such before even a more perishing sinner in thy own eyes take yet what farther is implied in the heart of these words Lord save I perish which may be enlarged in such a plea as this Oh blessed Lord Jesus of Life and Glory Here 's a soul at thy feet with the weight of numberlesse sins upon it but not one dram of righteousnesse to cover him a desolate forlorn shipwrackt worm that stands bound over in thousands of debts to the just and dreadfull God of heaven and earth But hath not so much as one mite to pay him unlesse with the forfeiture of my immortall soul Here I come with thee as thou hast commanded and throw my self upon thee He venture an immortall soul with thee If thou hast not treasures enough to spare lying by thee the infinite merits of thy own bloud If thou wilt not freely satisfie for me and take the debts of my sins upon thee and so stand between a just God and a condemned sinner If thou hast not favour enough with the righteous God to prevail for me Oh I must perish everlastingly perish Lord It implies thou art mighty and able to do it for all power is committed to thee If there be not power enough with thee thou who art the mighty God the Prince of Peace and so able to rescue my darling soul I am contented to sink before thee but thou thou alone art the Lord of Life oh magnifie thy great power upon me and even be my Lord my Lord other Lords beside thee I would have none Lord save c. Save 'T is for a great and weighty matter that I pleade that I come unto thee for No lesse then to be eternally saved saved from the everlasting wrath and vengeance of God saved to everlasting life and glory in the glorious presence of God for evermore O thou Saviour of men that 's thy Name and honourable Title didst thou not passe through many abasements when thou wast upon earth very unsuitable to thy glorious person didst thou not drink of a most bitter cup full of the wrath of divine justice And was not this then in thy heart did not this then bear thee up that thou shouldest save ah save poor helplesse souls that could never have been saved without thee Oh hadst thou not infinitely delighted in saving lost souls thou hadst never been at so much pains and travell and cost in the work Oh therefore Save Lord Save Yea Save I perish Must will perish If thou dost not save Save for the waters are come over my soul I am sinking without thee Master Master I perish Luk. 8. Master Carest thou not that I perish Mar. 4. Oh let it never be told in Gath that even a complaining forlorn soul perished at thy feet What at the feet of a Jesus Alas if thou carest not that I perish who will If thou pitiest not who will or can Oh for the honour of thy own Name pity If I should now perish in the view of harbour now I have seen and cried to a Saviour Thy enemies will speak evil of thy Name Well blessed Lord thou seest all the arguments I have to move thee That which I will stick upon and never give thee over with is that I must perish perish without thee yea perish in thy sight if thou succour me not Lord save I perish Well now Soul If thou dost in this or the like manner pant after Jesus Christ in such a perishing posture and thine eyes are upon him and followest him and waitest what he will speak unto thee I will a little prevent thee and shew thee a copy or two of his tender heart in this particular See Luk. 19.10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost He came 't was his errand his businesse 't was the main thing he had in his heart What that which thou so earnestly look'st for even to save yea more to seek whom he might save but what kinde of persons even such as thou presentest thy self unto him that which is lost souls that come as lost and perishing in themselves to seek him Have the worst thoughts of thy self it can reach but to be a lost soul and such saith Christ if he be worthy of credit with thee he came to seek If thou art seeking him why he was seeking thee before He left it
that it mix not nor break out into carnall joy And indeed when such a holy fear doth arise and mingle it self with our joy then it is most spirituall and doth best distinguish a fleshly joy from a spirituall And now having thus farre stated the case of a poor willing hardly-beleeving soul as coming in a perishing condition to Christ with such considerations which may be for a stay unto it till Christ speak as in the Text Why art thou fearfull We will now set the tempestuous Soul in this perishing condition in weaknesse of faith before Jesus Christ and so briefly consider what this rebuking voice of Christ is able to do Only I will first question with this fearfull soul in Christs words Soul why art thou fearfull thou wilt answer readily From thy sins and unbelief 1. Hath Jesus Christ power enough to subdue them Sure he hath I will subdue them and Isa 43.13 I will work and who shall let it or turn it back When he will work in any businesse his Father hath committed to him whereof this is one of the chief even to receive and comsort weak souls that come unto him Isa 40.10,11 Behold the Lord God will come with strong hand and his arm shall rule for him behold his reward is with him and his work before him What work is this he owns with so much power and puts such a Behold upon See in the next verse He shall feed his Flock like a Shepherd He shall gather the Lambs with his arm and carry them with his bosome and shall gently leade them that are with young Now mark Soul Here 's his power to work and none none shall turn it back and the work thou hast for him to do is his own work and businesse therefore with encouragement spread it before him commit it to him and neither sins nor unbelief shall stand before him 2. Is' t his will and purpose to receive such a weakling This hath been opened in part before But consider Soul 't was his very purpose in coming down from heaven 1 Joh. 3.8 and having wrought forth his purpose in order to it here below Now he is passed into the Heavens to make it good to poor souls to whom to such who come on set purpose for it Therefore when 't is Christs great purpose that which his heart is full on and also thou goest and seekest to him on purpose for it what needst thou stagger and be fearfull Now that this is the work that is still before Christ to do and his purpose not changed is left upon record in his last words to John Rev. 22.17 Let him which is athirst Come which was spoken after his ascension into glory But still it may be thy minde runs upon this This power and purpose of Christ towards my self I beleeve in the general to be true of the Lord Jesus Christ but whether I am one of those to whom it is meant Mark whosoever will answers that as I have reasoned before Shew me how thou canst exclude thy self from that generall invitement or thou must grant it takes in thee also that desirest to come to him And if thou still reasonest as to thy particular case as receiving such aggravations which every ordinary sinner doth not I answer There is no stating of cases but Whosoever will and whosoever is athirst know in a word That 't is written as with a beam of the Sun for clearnesse that the Gospel excludes no soul from salvation because he is such or such a sinner but for not coming in the sense of it to Christ that he might have life in him If thou shouldest catch at that and say Thou fearest thou art not sensible enough know that is a measure of sensibility of sin and such as may upon a true account send to Christ And therefore Soul say what thou wilt within thy self and reason from thy self and so maist put in these demurres do but eye Jesus Christ in his power purpose free and generall invitement and thou hast no ground to be fearful And therefore why art thou fearfull Thou hast no reason if thou eyest Christ to be so specially if thou consider what is next to be opened Obs 5. That Jesus Christ can with a word rebuke all the tempests and fears upon a poor soul coming and seeking to him In the handling of which I shall be very brief He maketh the storm a calm so that the waves thereof are still Psa 107.27 True in this case also In Mar. 4 the parallel place to the Text He said unto the Sea Peace and be still and 't was enough He that could command the windes and Seas by his word can much more still the troubles and fears of a poor soul coming to him This hath also in part been confirmed by observing the answers that Christ gave to those who in such difficult cases came to him Be thou clean Go in peace and these were presently effected by the word of his mouth As in the Creation of the word God said Let there be c. and it was so Now as to this work upon a poor soul there 's the same mighty power promised and goes along with his word which he speaks in and by in the Gospel Thou hast the words saith Peter of eternall lise 'T is often cal'd The Word of Life The power of God The arm of the Lord The red of his Strength even such a power as is described Psa 29. The voice of the Lord upon the waters The voice of the Lord is powerfull and full of Majesty it breaks the Cedars of Lebanon and shakes the wildernesse c. So is it able to subdue all the high things all the reasonings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the strong holds and heights of our Spirits It can make the wildernesse and the solitary place the place of singing and of joy even what the Psalmist concludes in that Psalm mentioned at vers 11. The Lord will give strength unto his people The Lord will bless his prople with peace And this is spoken as a conclusion to all those mighty things that are spoken of the voice of the Lord. Much might be said for the further explication of this but being a truth so clear and granted I shall only briefly apply it Vse I might return here to the dead-hearted professour and inform him of his misery by this Truth That so much vertue and might in the holy Word of God and he never felt this shaking or quickning him And thence that he might come under this that no work of God with power upon his heart to this day and so to counsell and encourage the poor dead blinde deaf sinners with diligence to attend upon Christs voice saith Christ Isa 43.8 Bring them to me Hast thou a heart like a wildernesse come to him and it shall blossome as the rose Hast thou a heart of earth I will smite it Isa 11. Nor sins