his sins lest you be partaker of his plagues Or if you resolved to take more notice of your godly neighbours about you who are made as the offscouering of the world and to make it more manifest that your delight is in the Saints and that you hate them that hate the Lord yea hate them with perfect hatred and count them your enemies Or if you would remember who have provoked and offended you by slandering you or otherwise and now shew your selfe courteous and loving to them especially requiting them good for evill and never remembring or upbraiding them with their offensive miscarriages towards you Or if you would resolve to spare somewhat more from your super fluities (a) Divitis â—uperfluae Pauperi sunt necessaria alieâ—a retinet qui ista tenet Aug in Ps 147. and sinfull expences for the preservation of the lives of many starving poor and to that end alway keep a stock by you to lay out as occasion shall require for pious ases (b) R. Bolâ—ons Gen. Direct p. â—62 Exod. 35. â—5 yea if you sought out objects of your charity and sent to some of the more modest poor to know how 't is with them that you might buy or make cloaths for the naked as Dorcas did and every good woman Acts 9 3â— Prov. 31.20 as Solomon describes her should doe and get food for the hungry physick for the sick harbour for the destitute imployment for the diligent c. This was a motive to Peter to raise up Dorcas that she had cloathed the poor widows And this sayes one was the practice of the blessed Virgin who having great gifts from the three wise men (a) Supponendum est quod illa munera pauperibus erogaverat N. Hanap Patr. Hierosul virtutuÌ„ vitiorum exempla cap. 125. p. 166 Levit. 5.7 that followed the star yet bestowed all on the poor and shortly after at her purification had but two turtle Doves or two young Pigeons to offer which was by Gods appointment the manner of the poorer Jews who were not able to buy a lambe Thus I have given divers instances of such particulars as you may make the matter of pious Resolution And if in these or any other of like nature you fix your intentions of abounding more and growing more fruitfull in every good work it will be doubtlesse thank-worthy with God if he see your heart thus firmly bent to observe that precept of his Psal 50.15 Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorifie me How would you glorifie God when he delivers you What by a meer verbal acknowledgement and not by some signall testimony of your thankefullnesse and some sureable return for so great a mercy Wherefore I say again resolve if God deliver you to be more faithfull to your principles more usefull in your generation more alive to God more affectionate to Christ and his members more dead to the world more eminent in some particular service to God whereby you may shew forth his praise and acknowledge him in your works and shine with your light before men And thus having in some measure dispatched the duties before mentioned you may the more boldly addresse your self to what next follows viz to exercise and strengthen your faith CHAP. XII To labour for faith in Christ or if they have faith to endeavour to exercise it in trust and dependance upon God for pardon of sin is also the duty of Women with child TO get faith and to get an interest in Christ are great words more commonly spoken than understood Know therefore that faith is not a beleeving that I am pardoned or that I have true grace and shall certainly be saved this is not the nature but fruit of justifying faith But Faith is a believing the Gospel which represents and offers Christ to us as the onely all sufficient Saviour and the receiving him as such Faith looks on Christ as revealed in his word to be our Priest Prophet and King or the way the truth and the life Accordingly it causeth us to renounce our own Righteousnesse to renounce our own Reason and to believe all mysteries of godliness upon his bare Word thus becoming fools that we may be wise in him and to deny our selves and renounce our own wills and all things that oppose themselves against Christ and to make his will our supreme rule in all our actions Thus faith receives Christ with all his benefits graces laws yea with his yoke crosse reproach counting the treasures of the world as nothing in comparison of the meanest and poorest things that appertain to Christ and have his name upon theÌ„ So that they who thus receive Christ believe in him are justified by him yield to Christ the chief interest in all that is theirs in their understanding by believing him in their affections by loving him in their wills by obeying him in their time strength estate and all things they are or have by serving him with their whole heart their whole soul and their whole strength all their dayes And such have doubtlesse an interest in Christ Wherefore if you doubt complain and torment your self with such inward feares as would all be removed if you once knew that you believed and had an interest in Christ then stir up your self now to receive him as he is offered be willing to be saved by him in his own way let his interest prevail in you above all other interests and you shall find that faithfull and obedient compliance with him will sooner bring comfort than meer complaints Be not then slothfull in this businesse but fervent in spirit seeking the Lord for increase of faith and help against your infidelity Doe not by a heart of unbelief depart in the least from him upon any termes but lay aside every sin that hath easily beset you else your complaints are not in earnest patiently persevere in well doing and in a way of holiness accept comfort Yet look not presently and too eagerly for a high measure of sensible joy and assurance for that is scarce a promised mercy given to a few who are most eminently holy and with them it doth not alwayes abide neither And if you are wholly without joy or peace in thus believing you are not streightned in God but in your selfe because you either retain some sin which grieves the Spirit or listen to temptations or cherish your fears and refuse to be comforted Wherefore for your further help consider the freenesse fulnesse suitablenesse and multitude of those exceeding great and precious Promises whereby you have all things that pertain to life and godlinesse promises of pardon and promises of deliverance promises to your soul and to your body promises of all needfull good and of all things working together for good in this life and promises of all good in the enjoyment of God who is the chief good and that with life everlasting Search then
godly women when with child YOu that have tasted the goodness of the Lord and have given up your selfe to him must upon this occasion sequester your self awhile from all the incumbrances of secular affairs and deny your self of the usual attendance of any company and entring into your chamber shut the door and give attendance to these things Commune with thy own heart Ps 4.4 77.6 and let thy spirit make diligent search after those secret sins that yet lurk in thy bosome rub up thy memory of former sins even those committed in the dayes of thy ignorance and vanity remember the wormwood and gall I mean how sin was to thee upon thy first conversion Lam. 3.40 Prov. 20.27 remember thy relapses any time since into sins formerly confessed and bewailed and consider thy unfruitfulness and unsuitable returns to God for his rich mercy in Christ how little thou hast adorned his Gospel but rather rendered Godliness less amiable by thy frequent miscarriages In a word examine thy senses members thoughts and inward parts of all their several evils and renew thy repentance in that serious and humble manner the Lord requires For your sins are in some respects more provoking to God than the wickednesse of the wicked More dishonourable to his name more grievous to his holy Spirit more displeasing to the good Angels more advantageous to the evill Angels more scandalous to the world and more unbeseeming your principles and heavenly hopes Therefore as David having sinned against God Recordari vol o tranactas fóeditates meas carnales corruptiones animi non quòd eas amem sed ut amem te Deus meus Augustin in Confess lib. 2. c. 1. wrote many penitentiall Psalms and shed many a tear day and night And Solomon having finned foulely after God had appeared to him wrote his recantation and penitentiall review of his life in the Book of Ecclesiastes And the woman after she was pardoned washed our Saviours feet with her teares and spent as histories tell us many years after in bewailing her sins So go you and do likewise remembring the holy Apostle who sometimes shames himselfe for the sins of his unconverted estate sometimes bewails the remainders of corruption that abode within him And renew also your resolutions of better obedience and more circumspect walking in all manner of conversation Chide your heart for its deceitfullnesse charge your soul to be more mindfull of the vows of God that are upon you Double upon your selfe all possible obligations to recover what you have lost and to stir up in you those things that are ready to dye Thus you should persevere in the work of confession lamentation and supplication till you find some such answerable effect in your heart as may assure you that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. Cor. 15.58 As our book of Martyrs relates of that famous Martyr Mr. John Bradford that he could not leave a duty till he had found communion with Christ in the duty i. e. till he had brought his heart into a more holy frame He could not leave Confession till he had found his heart touched broken and humbled for sin nor Petition till he had found his heart taken with the beauty of the things he desired nor could he leave Thanksgiving till he had found his spirit enlarged and his soul quickened in the return of praises (a) Nunquam abs te absque te recedo Bernard Medit. Like that of devout Bernard who saith of himselfe that he never went away from God without God This is indeed the genius of every Saint who have known by experience how good t is for them to draw nigh to God And you have surely found God in the duty if you find your heart more out of love with your selfe and the world more humbled for sins past more afraid of every appearance of evil for the future and more delighting in all those duties that may promote your graces and weaken your corruptions in you But remember that the duties of humiliation confession supplication must be therefore delighted in because they leade us to God And then do we serve him aright when we have learned to delight not in our services but in God Wherefore raise your heart to that heavenly frame of thank fulnesse and praise to God Rev. 19.5 Luk. 2.13 for the eternall contrivances of his wisdome and purposes of grace in giving Jesus Christ Psal 33.1 for the fulnesse of his promises the freenesse of his covenant the sufficiencie of his word the blessed operations of his Spirit the transforming power of his grace Yea let all that is within you blesse his holy name for pardon of sin Psal 103.1 2 3. Psal 139.14 Rev. 15.3 for all other benefits whether deliverances from evill or giving you any thing that pertains to life and godlinesse for any good hope through grace of an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled 1 Peter 1.3 4 5. reserved in the heavens for you to which you are kept by the power of God And really when I consider that the whole world lyes in wickednesse I cannot but praise God in your behalf who hath called you out of darknesse into his marvellous light and numbred you among the faithfull The Lord adde to your number inable you by cheerfull and thankfull submission to Christs easy yoke to shew forth his praises Another good step towards your preparation for death would be not onely to get a heart truly penitent for sin and thankfull to God 1 Cor. 13.1 2 3 4.8.13 Col. 3.14 1 Tim. 2.15 1 Pet. 4.8 2 Pet. 1.7 Rev. 2.19 but also charitable towards all men that is to be of an inoffensive and courteous disposition to the wicked affectionate to the godly and compassionate to the needy But I meane especially this last of having bowels of mercy to them that be in want which by way of eminency is commonly called Charity as charity in the Greek is called grace Implying that there is no grace without charity no evidence of the truth of our charity without liberality For t is utterly a fault among many rich Ladies and gentlewomen who yet professe religion that they care not what they lay out in foolish gaming immodest dresses exotick garments c. But as if God had no right in any of their wealth they are loath to understand the duty of charity or to part with any thing considerable to pions uses except some small matter to them whom they cannot for shame deny ◠Tim. 6.17 18. Now the Apostle hath directed us to charge them that are rich in this world that they be not high minded nor trust in uncertain riches but in God that they be rich in good works ready to distribute willing to commucicate laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life Let this full Scripture serve instead
the Scriptures peruse your Charter read the last Will and Testament of Jesus Christ and pick out and observe such promises as will sufficiently reach you in this or any condition imaginable In so great variety as the storehouse of Scripture affords I shall set only some few before your eyes Promises of pardon of sin Let the wicked forsake his way Isa 57.7 and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord for he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon I will cleanse them from all their iniquities Ezek. 37 23. and I will pardon all their iniquities whereby they have transgressed and whereby they have sinned against me I even I Isa 43 25. am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for my own sake and I will not remember thy sins Who is a God like unto thee Micah 7.18 that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage I will be mercifull to their unrighteousnesse Heb. 8.12 and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more Be it known unto you all Act. 13.38 men and brethren that through this man is preached unto you forgivenesse of sins Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavie laden Mat. 11.28 and I will give you rest Surely he hath born our griefs Isa 53.4.5 and carried our sorrows He was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed All we like sheep have gone astray we have turned every one to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all He was numbred with the transgressors and he bare the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors To him give all the prophets witness Act 10.43 that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins And Act. 13.39 by him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses We are justified freely by his grace Rom. 3.25 through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for remission of sins that are past Many other places of this nature you may turn to at your leisure As Isa 33.24 Mat. 12.31 James 5.15 Psal 130.4 Dan. 9.9 Exod. 34.7 Luke 1.77 Luke 24.47 Mat. 26.28 John 20.23 Rom. 4.25 Rom. 5.16 18. Rom 8.33 And if you think your sinns greater then ordinary yet be not so weak as to count that any bar or impediment to saving grace To Omnipotency there is nothing great nothing difficult to infinite love nothing is troublesome or can be a hinderance God who commands us to forgive till seventy times seven can as easily forgive a thousand talents as a hundred pence What is our Bucket to his Ocean If you give your hope and your soul for lost Luk. 19.10 yet he came to seek and to save that which is lost He delighted to cure the most desperate diseases when he was upon earth And he usually healed body and soul together and told them that their sinnes were forgiven them as well as that they should arise and walk Many of those sinners that Christ shewed mercy to were most infamous and to mens seeming as unlikely to have been saved as any of that generation What think you of Mary Magdalene out of whom our Saviour cast seven devils and of that woman that washed his feet with her teares Luke 8.2 who though a notorious known sinner an harlot yet had all her sins forgiven her Luk. 7.37 38 39 c. our Saviour largely defending and explaining the freeness of his grace to her What of the woman taken in adultery whom our Saviour did not condemn but with charge to sin no more dismissed her in peace John 8.10 11. â— Titus 3.3 4 5 7. What think you of the Apostle himself who thus speaks For we our selves were sometime foolish and disobedient deceived serving divers lusts and pleasure living in malice and envy hateful and hating one another But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us That being justified by his grace we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life 1 Pet. 4 3. What of Peter and the converted Jewes who had walked in lasciviousness lusts excess of wine revellings banquettings and abominable idolatries and in the former lusts in their ignorance 1 Pet. 1.3 4 c. yet of such sinners he sayes Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Christ from the dead It were endless to heap up all examples in this kind You shall doe well to see what the Colossians were when they lived and walked in fornication Col. 3.5 6 7. 1 Cor. 5.9 10 11. uncleanness covetousness c. The Corithians when they were Fornicators Idolaters Sodomites Thieves Drunkards c. yet now are washed sanctified justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God And was it for their sakes onely that God shewed mercy to them No but also to encourage us when heavy laden with sin to expect the like For so the Apostle more then once doth assure us Eph. 2.1 2 3 4 5 c. As when he speaks of the Ephesians and himself and all believers that in times past they were over-ruled by the Devil and the world and their own lusts fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind But God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins hath quickned us together with Christ by grace ye are saved and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness towards us through Jesus Christ To the same purpose is that other excellent passage of his This is a faithfull saying 1 Tim. 1.25 16. and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners whereof I am chief Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all long-suffering for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting Mr. Love his Zealous Christian To conclude this I shall onely adde the observation of a blessed Author In the Genealogie of Christ there are but four women mentioned and they are all branded with a mark of infamy in Scripture-story The first is Thamar Mat. 1.3 she was incestuous for she lay
sinful creature and yet a living creature punished not destroyed punished for your iniquities which deserve far worse why should you complain seeing 't is the Lords mercy you are not consumed Suppose a Ship after a long voyage being come into harbour springs a leak the Master is somewhat troubled at it and is never quiet till it be stopped so that it is an evil to him yet he comforts himself in this that it did not happen to him when he was out at Sea that had been a great deal worse and might have proved the ruine of them all So there is this comfort in all our forrows that they happen to us in this life we feel they are upon us but blessed be God they are upon us here in this world so that by a sanctified use to be made of them they shall not be upon us in the world to come Consider also whose hand it is that inflicts these sorrowes upon you Your pangs and throws as they were procured by sin so they are disposed by the Lord. This made Job so patient The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away This made Eli submissive when Samuel told him of the ruine of his family It is the Lord 1 Sam. 3.18 let him do what seemeth him good Yea this made David so silent I was dumb and opened not my mouth because thou Lord didst it So do you reason with your selves shall not I drink of the cup of trembling seeing 't is in the hand of the Lord my God who wil give me onely so much as shall profit me and not destroy me Shall I not stand under that cross that he hath laid on my shoulders and stoop to that yoke that he imposes on my neck Bears and Lions take blows from their keepers and shall not I bear any thing from my keeper and preserver Children take bitter physick from the Mother and hard blows from a Father and shall not I be in subjection to the Father of Spirits and live I cannot I must not contend with my Maker I will therefore humbly bend to him lest he break me and I will not make my cross heavier by impatience then he hath made it by his providence Look also to the examples of patience which are such as will abundantly shame us if we murmure and repine at the hand of the Lord upon us God himself is pressed with our sins as a cart is pressed that 's full of sheaves yet is still patient and long-suffering to us-ward not willing that we should die and perish in our sins but turn and live The Lord Jesus endured innumerable injuries unspeakable agonies and intollerable grievances at his death yet as a sheep before the shearer so opened he not his mouth he did neither strive nor cry neither was his voice heard in the streets And alas what are yon pains in comparison of his The holy Spirit our sanctifier and comforter is exceedingly vexed and grieved at our yielding to many sins and corruptions yet forsakes us not utterly but waits all the day long knocking at the doores of our hearts and patiently expecting our reformation The holy Church of God hath been from the first planting thereof continually tossed to and fro with what tempests Satan could raise against them They have been continually assaulted with the wild beasts of the wilderness Heb. 11.36 37 38. stung with fiery serpents exposed to wants hardships dangers c. They have had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings of bonds and imprisonment They were stoned they were sawn asunder were tempted were slain with the sword they wandred about in Sheep-skins and goat-skins being destitute afflicted tormented of whom the world was not worthy c. Ecclesiastical Histories and Martyrologies are pregnant with most famous instances of the patience of the Saints under such torments as ordinary men have not the hardiness to inflict much less the patience to endure But 't is a tried rule then which none more certain that God never calls his people to any suffering but he will be with them to enable them to bear it But least you should think that the examples are all of the stronger sex I shall mention only a few whereas I could many more of the singular examples of womens patience in such paines as do I think equall the paines in travel Blandina a christian woman being brought before the Heathen Judges Euseb Ecl. Hist lib. 5 â—ap 1. for the Faith of Christ when as all her friends quaked for fear least at the time of her answer by reason of the frailty of the Flesh she should not be constant she was so replenished with grace from above that the Excutioners which tormented her by turns from morning to night fainted for wearinesse and ceased confessing themselves overcome and that they were no longer able to plague her with any more punishments wondring that she yet drew breath having her whole body rent in pieces and the wounds open they confessing withal that one of these torments was sufficient to cost her her life much more so many so great But this blessed Woman like a noble wrestler was renewed at her confession for as often as she said I AM A CHRISTIAN she was refreshed and felt no pain of her punishment Potamena Euseb l. â— c. 7. a chaste and most beautiful Virgin having suffered infinitely for the Faith of Christ last of all after great and grievous torments terrible to be spoken of together with her Mother Marcella was burned with fire Her body was first cruelly tormented with scourges and afterwards boyling pitch powred upon her from the crown of her head to the sole of her feet Quinta for refusing their Idols Cap 40. had her feet bound together and by them trailed and lugged along the streets which were paved with sharpe stones and being beaten against Mill-stones and sorely scourged she was brought to the Place of Execution and there put to death Mercuria an honest Matron Ibidem and Dionisia a very fruitfull women for child-bearing which Children notwithstanding she preferred not before the Lord when they had comfounded the Judge which used all kind of persuasions after they were so tormented that they were past all sence and feeling they were beheaded with the sword But Ammonarion a holy Virgin passed them all notably enduring all kind of torment saith the Author Theodosia a modest christian Maid of Tyrus not fully eighteen years old Euseb lib. 8. cap. 25. came to some christian prisoners who were at their tryal to comfort them and was forthwith haled by the catchpoles before their judge who presently scourged her bare sides with bitter and grievous lashes renting with the whip her white breasts and tender dugs to the bare bones At length this holy Virgin scarce breathing yet patient enough for all these punishments was throne in the Sea and their drowned Ennathus a christian Virgin was cruelly scourged and tormented Idem ib. cap. 27. and patiently