consciences with the guilt of sin which is a burden heavier than we can bear Thus saith the wise man l Prov. 18. 14 A wounded spirit who can bear We can have no true comfort in these or the like afflictions but what cometh from the holy Ghost and no hope of succour or relief in our distresses without him if our spirits are wounded he onely can apply the true Balm of Gilead to cure them This Balm is the blood of Christ which is an universall Remedy to cure all the spiritual diseases of our souls and none but the holy Ghost can apply it to our hearts by Faith Also if the holy Ghost doth not refresh us with the comforts of grace and with the assurance of the love and favour of God we shall be ready to sink under the great weight of our calamities and miseries But we may draw comfort enough from the holy Ghost in what sad condition soever we be for he will sweeten the bitternesse of all our sufferings with true peace of conscience and tranquility of minde in the assurance of the pardon of our sins he will sanctifie all our afflictions and sorrowes with saving grace that they shall be for our good and will witnesse to our spirits that we are in grace and favour with God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour Also he will give us strength and courage to suffer any thing for Christ and for righteousnesse sake and likewise heavenly wisedome rightly to use every part of the whole armour of God to defend our selves from all our spirituall enemies and to beat back or quench all the fiery darts of the divell that his temptations and evill suggestions may not wound our souls to the death Lastly he will perfect all with the gift of perseverance so that we shall be able to stand fast in the day of tryall and we shall have assured hope of conquest and victory in all our conflicts and combates here and to be crowned with immortall glory hereafter Now let this be the desire of our souls and the Meditation of our hearts to draw comfort from the holy Ghost when we are afflicted troubled or any way perplexed with grief of heart sorrow of spirit or anguish of soul which we may do if we know that no outward comforts can support us without God and therefore we do not rest and rely upon them but do seek to the true comforter by earnest and faithfull Prayer in all our necessities which is a sure means to draw comfort from him when we want it Also if we be truly sensible that we do want his gracious assistance to carry us on cheerfully through all the difficulties and dangers that we shal meet with in this world upon our humble supplications to him he will return us a comfortable answer as shall be best for us So likewise if the guilt of our sins doth stick close unto us or if we possesse our former iniquities by a sinfull remembrance of them so that we are truly humbled in the sight and sense of them and that our hearts are touched with a godly sorrow for them the holy Ghost will then come with spirituall consolation to comfort our poor souls with an holy assurance that all our sins are washt away in the blood of Christ by faith Lastly we may draw comfort from this spiritual fountain by our pious and devout Meditations of him for then he will give us a sweet taste of his heavenly graces to comfort us in all conditions of life and he will give us spirituall joy in the midst of all our afflictions also he will unite us unto Christ by Faith and will seal our Redemption to us by his blood whereby we shall enjoy eternal felicity for ever O what sweet Meditations may we draw from this heavenly Comforter in all the sadnesse of our hearts Thus we may Meditate on the holy Ghost as he is the true comforter of our souls we come now to consider of his Divine Operations from whence we may also draw much profitable and comfortable matter for our holy Meditations And for our better understanding herein this eternal spirit of life is set forth in the holy Scriptures by severall resemblances to shew in what manner and how variously he worketh in our hearts that our Meditations may be ordered accordingly First the holy Ghost is resembled to a dove for when Christ was baptized m Mat. 3. 16 he descended in the similitude of a dove and rested upon him which was to shew his spirituall anointing to his Office of Mediatorship and to set forth the true nature of Christ how humble and and meek he was how innocent and harmlesse how loving and how ready and willing he was to do good to all These dove-like qualities were poured upon Christ above measure that we his members might receive the same in some measure from him by the holy Ghost for he will put all the faculties of our souls all the affections of our hearts and all the parts of our bodies into a new frame he will change the corruptions of our nature into an holy temper of proud and haughty minded he will make us lowly and meek of hatefull and malicious he will make us loving and courteous to all he will so season us with sanctifying grace throughout that our evill disposition shall be changed into a gracious condition This spirit of truth will bring us an Olive leafe n Gen. 8. 11 like Noahs dove to let us know that though we be in the midst of troubles dangers or distresses yet we shall be preserved and delivered and though we be troubled disquieted or perplexed in our mindes yet at the last we shall have peace tranquillity spirituall joy and comfort Now by this resemblance of the holy Ghost we may examine our selves what purity and holinesse he hath wrought in us what meeknesse of spirit what patience under the crosse what love to God and to our neighbour and how far we are sanctified in all the affections of our hearts in all the parts of our bodies also how much the corruptions of our nature are weakned in us and how far we are changed from that which is sinful to newness of life if we can finde these Operations of the holy Ghost in us they wil afford us profitable matter for our hearts to meditate upon to the glory of God and for the comfort of our own soules Secondly some of the operations of the holy Ghost are set forth unto us by the resemblance of that o Exod. 13 21 pillar of a cloud which went before the children of Israel by day when they marched out of Egypt to guide them the right way that God would have them go toward the Land of Canaan This pillar did also protect and defend them from their enemies it kept the scorching heat of the Sun from them and it cooled and moistned the earth with sweet and comfortable dewes which was a great refreshing
should he have learned by his own experience what we suffer when we are under the crosse that he might pity us This may teach us to bear patiently whatsoever God doth lay upon us though the instruments that he useth be our deadly foes because it is his will and pleasure to have it so b 2 Sam. 16. 1â— Thus did David meekly bear the cursing of Shimâ—i and would not suffer Abishai to kill him because it was the Lords will it should be so This Meditation will greatly comfort our fainting spirits when we are under any strong temptation or worldly misery that no enemy be he never so powerfull or his heart never so malicious can imagine more against us in his wicked thoughts or act more with his cruell hands than Divine Providence hath appointed Also no calamity pain or sicknesse can afflict us without his will no perill or danger can come near us without his permission and we shall suffer no more under any crosse than God in his wisdom knoweth to to be profitable for us If we are thus perswaded it will greatly comfort us in all our sufferings and keep us from murmuring and repining when GODS visitation is upon us Wherefore let no fear of danger cast down our hope let no storme of persecution shake the foundation of our faith and let no waves of affliction quench the flame of our love or abate the zeal of our affections to our dear Saviour who spared not his own life for us but poured out his very heart bloud for our justification and salvation If the strength of grace that is in us be not answerable to what we suffer or to the power of our corruptions Christ will either take off some part of our burden or give us more strength to bear it and he will also make us able by degrees to overcome our corruptions that we may live a sanctified life to the Lord and then let death come how or when it will we shall dye in the Lord which will be great gain and advantage to us Now let the Meditations of thy heart be fixed upon the death of thy precious Saviour that from thence thou maist draw vertue and power by faith to mortifie and kill the body of sin that by nature is in thee also to have a firm assurance that he hath reconciled thee to God by the merit of his blood Why then dost thou cherish any sin to crucifie thy Redeemer afresh What is this that thou doest when thou delightest in swearing in uncleannesse in drunkennesse and the like Why dost thou delay thy turning unto God Why dost thou thus indanger the salvation of thy soul Oh think upon the iniquity of thy sin with hatred and detestation which hath put to death thy gracious Redeemer think upon thy sin with godly sorrow and true compunction of heart which did so separate thee from thy God that nothing could restore thee into his grace and favour but the death of his eternall Son Wherefore seek earnestly by faithfull Prayer to thy sweet Saviour that thou mayest finde the vertue and power of his death in the crucifying of all the severall members of this body of sin that by nature is inherent in thee that so thy corruptions may be weakened and thou mayest be dayly renewed by the strength of that sanctifying grace which the Holy Ghost hath wrought in thee Consider now in the last place how rigorously God did deal with his onely Son throughout his whole passion he gave him no intermission in his suffering but as soon as one sorrow was past another presently came in the place when one pain was over a greater was ready to supply the room c Psal 102. 4. his heart was smitten and withered like grasse so that he forgat to eat his bread his torturings came so fast upon him that he had no time to refresh himself with bread or water but above all Gods fury was upon him in all his sufferings which made his passion beyond the strength of nature God never dealt thus with any of his servants but still they had some intermission in their afflictions some comfort in their sorrowes and some heavenly consolation to uphold their spirits or else a joyfull deliverance out of them Joseph had his afflictions and yet at length God advanced him to great honour Jobs afflictions came upon him as fast as one messenger could follow another at last misery seized upon his own body but in the end God gave him double as much as he took from him So likewise David and many more have suffered very great afflictions and torments but none like unto Christ whose passion continued to his heath d 2 Cor. 11. Paul was above measure afflicted persecuted and tormented for the Name of Christ and at last he dyed by the sword but all this while he had Christ to support him with many spiritual consolations Wherefore howsoever God is pleased to deal with us in this life it will be in mercy and in judgement for our good and not in fury or in the rigour of his justice for our confusion and he will bountifully reward us in the life to come if we hold out constant to the end What happened at CHRISTS Death VVHen the soul of our blessed Redeemer was dissolved and separated from his breathlesse body a Mat. 27. 51. The vail of the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottome the earth did quake the rocks rent the graves were opened and many bodies of the Saints which slept arose and came out of their graves after his resurrection God did shew these strange signs and wonders at the death of his Son as fore-runners of the fearfull judgements that soon after should come upon that renowned City and upon the whole nation of the Jews and so strike terrour into their hearts for their odious and detestable sin in crucifying the Lord of glory if by any means they could be made sensible of their sins that they might repent and turn to the Lord that so God might turn away his judgements and have mercy on them This hath been Gods usuall course to give warning before he strikes to threaten before the judgement comes and nothing but repentance can stay Gods hand b 1 Kin. 21. 29. Ahabs outward form of humiliation kept off the judgement from himself that God hath denounced against his house by his Prophet The Ninivites repenâ—ed at the Preaching of Jouah and therefore God brought not the evill upon them which he threatned against that great City But the house of Juda would not repent though God sent his Prophets to them early and late and therefore they were carried away captives into Babylon Thus doth God in great mercy give warning before he doth visite a nation or a people in his wrath that they should prevent the judgement by their repentance First God did shew by the renting of the vail of the Temple that the partition wall was
which was determined by all the three Persons in the holy Trinity before the world was he laid aside his Glory and humbled himself for that great Work which was decreed in the secret Counsel of God and to be wrought at his appointed time The first degree of Christs Humiliation was that he gave away the manifestation of glory of his Deity which he had with the Father in heaven which was his due from his first incarnation the bright beams whereof were clouded with his humanity for he took upon himself our flesh and was cloathed with our weak and frail nature and was subject to such humane passions and infirmities as might be without sin This was a great degree of Humiliation for the eternall King of glory to leave his glorious mansions in heaven and to come down and be with us men here upon earth and to take up his habitation in an earthly tabernacle which was subject to hunger thirst and heat and cold to pain torment and death it self The second Degree of his Humiliation was that he took upon himself the guilt of our sins and did undertake to fulfill the whole righteousnesse of the Law for us and to satisfie the justice of God for all the sins of his Elect not that his humane nature was polluted or stained with any sin For the holy Ghost did so sanctifie the Virgins wombe that he was conceived and born without Originall sin and he lived without any actuall transgression but our sins were imputed to him and therefore as the Apostle saith a Gal. 3. 13 He was made a curse for us Also b Tit. 2. 14. Christ gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works He gave his body and all the parts of it to the persecutors tormentors he gave his blood to be spilt and his life for the redemption of man he gave his soul to suffer anguish and sorrow c â—sa 53. 10. and to be aâ— of fering for sin also in some sort he gave his Deity by suffering most horrible blasphemies that were cast upon him d Acts 20. 28. and God purchased to himself a Church with his own blood This was a very low abasement of Christ when he left all his glory in heaven and came down to live here upon earth not in the nature of Angels but he cloathed himself with our flesh which was all stained and defiled with the guilt of our sins e Isa 53. 6. for God laid on him the iniquity of us all The third degreee of Christs Humiliation was that he was content with a mean condition of life here upon earth his birth and education was very mean he was exposed to wants and necessities to perils and dangers even from his infancy and after he began his Ministry he had no abiding place f Mat. 8. 20. he had not where to lay his head and he did the office of a servant to his own Disciple g John 13. 5 when he washed their feet for as the Apostle saith h Phâ—l 2. 7. He made himself of nâ— reputation and took upon him the form of a servant Christ continually travelled from place to place to teach the people to heal the sick to cleanse the lepers and to cast out Devils he was often wearied often hungry and often thirsty Thus was his whole life full of sorrowes and full of afflictions and thus low did the eternall Son of God humble and abase himself to advance us and to perfect the work of our redemption Lastly in his passion he was made a scorn to the most abject of all the people and a derision both to Jew and Gentile he suffered both in his soul and in his body as much anguish pain and torment as the power of the divell and the malice of wicked men was able to inflict upon him And as if all this was not sufficient to humble him enough God himself did fiercely assault him for he kept all comfort from him when he was in his greatest extremity and his wrath went along with all his other sufferings When Christ had suffered to the full so much as the justice of God required in satisfaction for all our sins and that the work of our Redemption was perfectly finished then he commended his soul unto God and dyed upon the Crosse according to this of the Apostle i Phil. 2 8. He humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the crosse this kinde of death was most painfull shamefull and accursed Here is a short view of the humiliation of Christ for our weak understandings cannot reach to the depth of that which Christ suffered for us much lesse can we reach to the honour and dignity of his Person in his Divine nature which doth make his sufferings and his Humiliation far the greater If we do seriously meditate upon it with pious affections it will teach us to adore his sacred Majesty with reverence and godly fear to love him with a perfect love to serve and obey him with a pure and upright heart and to suffer any thing for his sake with a cheerfull minde Also if we have gained any grace by the death and passion of Christ it will teach us meeknesse of spirit and humility of minde though we have places of preheminence and authority above other men If God shall bring us down from an high degree to a mean condition of life we shall bear it contentedly because God is the sole disposer of all things and he can raise us to an higher degree if he pleaseth If what we have be too little for us and that we can improve more to the best advantage of Gods glory he will then in his good time bestow more upon us If our life be full of troubles and sorrowes the Humiliation of Christ will teach us k 1 Pet. 5. 6 7 to humble our selves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt us in due time We may safely cast our care upon him for he careth for us l Psal 18. 35 His right hand will hold us up m Psal 17. 5 He will hold up our goings in his paths that our footsteps slip not n Cant. 2. 6. Christ also will put his left hand under our heads and with his right hand he will imbrace us Wherefore if we have this gracious humility of spirit it will produce these and many more blessed fruits to give us comfort in a troublesome and painfull life And when death comes it will be favourable to a meek and humble spirit and well-come to a good conscience if we be thus qualified it will bring us to our graves in peace and then we shall have a joyfull and a blessed resurrection Christ did willingly humble himself to the death for us why should we be unwilling to resign up our life unto him do we know no other happinesse or
and honour wherewith God hath crowned him then our souls will feel a comfortable influence of grace from his glorious Exaltation to give us an holy assurance that he hath led captive all our spirituall enemies and hath so weakened their power that they have no ability to hurt our souls also that in his due Time he will take revenge upon all the Enemies of his Church And as he is crowned with the highest titles of honour so likewise he will crown the meanest of his Saints with honour and dignity far above the greatest Potentate upon earth This doth also give us assurance that we may receive from the fulnesse of Christ sufficient grace for the mortifying of our sins for the sanctifying of our lives and for our comfort in all tribulations he will support us in all our spirituall weaknesses he will cure all the wounds that sin hath made in our souls and he will keep us from despair because he doth binde us with the bonde of faith so close to himself that we shall not totally and finally fall away from him and he will so protect and defend us that no adversary power shall be able to take us out of his hands But if we conceive of these high honours and dignities of Christ according to our humane capacity and not according to the reach of faith as it is grounded upon the Word of God we shall too much undervalue his highnesse and disrespect his sacred Majestie we cannot confide in his power to defend us against all our spiritual adversaries neither can we rest and depend upon his goodnesse to supply all our wants to minister relief in all our necessities to heal all our infirmities and to be all in all unto us upon all occasions our frail nature will be full of doubtings and fears to weaken our faith and confidence in him for according to our esteem of him in our hearts such is our faith such is our hope and trust in him if we have no spiritual eye to discern these essential honours and excellencies of Christ we cannot then reach them with that reverence and fear with that duty and obedience as we ought and our best worship and service will come far short of that which his great and dreadful Name requireth Now then examine thine own heart and see what good evidence thou hast that Christ is dear and precious unto thee and that thou dost honour him with thy heart and soul what experience hast thou had of his goodnesse and power How hast thou performed thy duty and service to him What awful reverence and filial fear hast thou had of his sacred Majesty when thou hast been in his presence and about his businesse If thy conscience can tell thee that Christ is the joy of thy heart that he is thy Lord God thy King and Governour then he hath set up his Scepter of righteousnesse in thee and ruleth in thy heart and that hereafter he will bring thee to his eternall kingdom of glory If the holy Ghost hath thus wrought in thy heart thou wilt finde a conformity of will to the will of Christ thine affections will be squared to the glory of God to love that which he loveth and to hate that which he hateth thy sinful desires will be restrained for the fear and dread of his great Name will be alwayes before thine eyes and the love of him will constrain thee to obedience Also the hardnesse of the heart will be taken away Ezek. 36. 26 27. and it will be made tender and flexible fit to receive any heavenly impression of grace Our Advantage and gain by CHRIST in this life EVery true believer hath a peculiar Advantage and Gain by Christ more than unregenerate men in whatsoever they possesse though these have more of earthly blessings and of common graces than many of Gods servants yet it is with a great deal of difference for by Christ they are sanctified to the one not the other But there is a spirituall Gain by Christ which is onely proper and peculiar to the children of God whereof unregenerate men are not capable until faith be wrought in them by the holy Ghost to unite them unto Christ First we have this Advantage by Christ above unregenerate men a Gen. 3. 17. that the curse which God laid upon the creatures for the sin of man is taken away and he hath given to every true believer in Christ the free use of them all for his comfort and to glorifie God in their right use and by their thankfulnesse for them for Christ hath sanctified them and made them blessings to them But unregenerate men have no right to what they injoy because they have no interest in Christ and the curse still cleaveth to whatsoever they possesse for Christ hath not taken it away nor sanctified their estate unto them for their good Secondly this is our peculiar Gain by Christ that he hath taken away the guilt of sin that by nature was upon our souls and hath fastned it to his own crosse whereas naturall men have the guilt of their sins still cleaving to their souls so long as they are in that condition This is a great advantage to us that are in Christ if we do well consider it for now we may appear with boldnesse in the presence of God we need not fear the accusations of the Divell our conscience can witnesse nothing against us because we have no guilt of sin and the Law cannot condemn us b Rom. 8. 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit c Isa 53. 5 6 For Christ was wounded for our transgressions as saith the Prophet 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 Thus are our sins imputed unto Christ because be hath taken them upon himself and his righteousnesse is imputed unto us that we might appear without sin in the sight of God Thirdly This is a speciall Gain that we have by Christ above all other men that he hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law d Gal. 3. 13. being made a curse for us for it is written Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree Christ in our nature and for us hath fulfilled the whole righteousnesse of the Law by his active obedience to it and he hath suffered the penalty of it by his passive obedience even to the death of the Crosse that the justice of God might be satisfied for all our sins so that now we are not under the curse of the Law nor under the condemning power of sin but we are under grace because he hath reconciled us to God and brought us again into his grace and favour that
with Christ and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindnesse toward us through Christ Jesus b Eph. 4. 23 This renovation in the spirit of our minde is wrought in us by the holy Ghost through Christ for he was anointed with the holy Ghost for this end and purpose that by him we might be raised up from the death of sin to a spirituall life of grace according to the signification of his Name for as he is Christ he is Anointed of God and as he is Jesus he is the Saviour of the world to save us from our sins and to work salvation for us whereof we are not capable untill we have a spiritual life wrought in us Thus saith the Spouse of Christ c Cant. 1. 3. Thy Name is as oyntment poâ—red forth A precious Oyntment hath many excellent vertues d Psal 104. 15. for it maketh a chearful countenance it comforteth and strengtheneth all the parts of the body it healeth all diseases and it sendeth forth a sweet savour when it is poured out which refresheth and comforteth all the senses Thus is Christ to every true believers soul he is the Anointed of God as saith the Psalmist of him e Psal 45. 7. Thou lovest righteousnesse and hatest wickednesse therefore God thy God hath anointed thee with the oyl of gladnesse above thy fellowes f Act. 10. 38 for he was anointed with the holy Ghost and with power First by the power of his holy unction Christ doth put a spiritual light into our understanding by his Spirit that we may see how to walk in the paths of godlinesse and truth according to this of old Simeon g Lu. 2. 31 32. that God had prepared him to be a light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of his people Israel h Psal 97. 11 Light is sown for the righteous and the comfort and gladnesse of it for the upright in heart This Prophesie was fulfilled in Christ i Isa 2. 9. The people that walked in darknesse have seen a great light they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death upon them hath the light shined k Eph. 5. 14 Wherefore awake thou that sleepest in fin and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light If we want this heavenly light we must needs wander and go astray from God and we have no means to obtain such a light but by Christ It is sin that hath brought this darknesse and this spiritual death upon our souls and none but Christ can take it away This is the beginning of our spiritual life when we have some light to discern the spirituall things of God for the good of our souls Secondly Christ is the food and nourishment of our souls to preserve this spirituall life in us whose flesh we must spiritually eat and whose blood we must spiritually drink by faith in the hearing of his Word preached and Sacramentally when we come to his holy Table or else we have not this spirituall life in us l John 6. 48 53. I am that bread of life saith Christ which came down from heaven who so eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternall life and I will raise him up at the last day for my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed Wherefore if our souls do hunger and thirst after this heavenly food and do earnestly desire to be refreshed and fully satisfied therewith it is an evident sign that there is a spiritual life in us for Christ doth freely offer himself to every empty soul that can feed upon him by Faith in his Word or in his Sacraments But if our desires and the affections of our hearts are taken up with the love of this world and of earthly vanities it s no marvell if we have no hunger nor thirst after Christ and that we feel so little want and need of him Thirdly the blood of Christ is the true balm to heal and cure all the diseases and wounds that sin hath made in our souls it is like m Lu 10. 34 the good Samaritans wine and oyl for it hath a cleansing and an healing vertue There can be no wound so deep in the soul and no ulcer so festered but this precious Oyntment will cleanse and heal it if it be rightly applyed by faith and true repentance for repentance layeth open the wound by true confession and faith applyeth the remedy to it and then repentance giveth us an holy assurance that we shall be cured This is the way and the means of recovery when our souls are sick of any spirituall disease and also to preserve that spirituall life which is in us Lastly when the heavenly graces that flow from Christ are poured out upon our soules they will greatly refresh and comfort our spirits in all sadnesse of heart and they will so persume all our actions and services which we perform unto God that their sweet savour shall ascend up unto him that he may smell it and graciously accept of us and of our offerings n Gen. 8. 21. When Noah offered burnt offerings to the Lord after the floud the Lord smelled a sweet savour and accepted his sacrifice and blessed him exceedingly Wherefore if our souls are perfumed with grace they will so perfume all our holy oblations which we offer up to God that he will in mercie accept them for his Sonnes sake o I rev 5. 8. But the sacrifices of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord and they stink in his nostrils because they proceed from a corrupt and unclean heart which is not perfumed with grace how much â— Eccl. 10. 1 more when he bringeth them with a wicked mind â—o 21. 27 Sin is like dead flies in the ointment of the Apothecary which causeth it to stink for sin maketh us odious in the sight of God Wherefore take heed with what heart thou comest into the presence of God and that thou bringest no oblation to him with a wicked mind but first purifie thy heart from sinne by faith in the bloud of Christ and see that thy soul be perfumed with sanctifying grace and then come and offer thy gift and God will accept it But if there be any sin in thy bosome unrepented of or any iniquity in thy heart which thou seekest to hide from God then he cannot smell a sweet savour of thy prayers of thy praises and thanksgivings or of any duty which thou performest to him to make it accepted because thy heart is not upright before God Now we must examine our selves what spiritual life we have by Christ and we must know how he is our spiritual life if we will have any comfort thereby First q 1 Joh. 2. 20 If we have this holy unction from Christ which was poured upon him above measure that
to the people of God in their march through that hot Countrey We are by nature under the spiritual bondage of sin and Satan which is far worse than the Egyptian bondage was to the Israelites and we have no means to be brought out of it but by an almighty power and if God doth deliver us yet we are so ignorant of the way to the heavenly Canaan that we cannot set one step toward it except the holy Ghost doth put a spiritual Light into our understanding to teach and instruct us in the right way to heavenly happinesse And because we shal meet with many spiritual enemies so long as we march thorough the wildernesse of this world the holy Ghost will so protect and defend us that they shall neither hurt our souls by their power nor keep us out of Canaan by their subtilty or malice He will guide and direct us into all holy duties he will give us holy desires and true endeavours to do the will of God and to walk humbly before him in this present world Also the holy Ghost doth protect us from the heat of Gods wrath by working faith in us to lay hold upon the merit of Christs death for the pardon of our sins and by conferring grace for the sanctification of our lives So likewise he doth refresh and comfort our fainting spirits with the sweet dewes of heavenly consolations and he doth mollifie and soften our obdurate and stony hearts with those influences of grace that descend from him that we may p Joel 2. 28 Gal. 5. 22 23. be fruitfull in all good works This holy Spirit doth also quench the fire of sin which otherwise would inflame the whole man with sinful lusts And lastly the holy Ghost doth purge and cleanse the soul from the filth of sin as water washeth away the filth of the body This doth God promise by his Prophet q Zech. 36 25. I will pour clean water upon you and you shall be clean from all your filthinesse and from all your idols will I cleanse you Wherefore we ought seriously to ruminate upon these operations of the holy Ghost for we cannot find the right way to the heavenly Canaan by all that nature or humane learning can afford us we cannot over power our spiritual enemies by our own strength we have no holy desires and no ability in our selves to any thing that is good nothing that is in our power can keep us from the wrath of God and we have nothing that can refresh and and comfort our afflicted spirits But here we shal find that the holy Ghost wil be our guide to this heavenly Country he wil be our Protector against all adversary power and he wil be a true comforter to us in all our sorrowes and upon all occasions in all conditions of life He will bring us unto Christ and wil firmly unite us unto him by faith r 1 Cor. 10. 1 2. for as the ancient Fathers were all under the cloud and all passed thorough the sea and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea so we are baptized unto Christ by the holy Ghost that our sins may be washed away in his blood and that we may be sanctified by this spirit of grace to live in true holinesse and righteousnesse all our dayes If we can thus Meditate on the holy Ghost it wil be exceeding profitable and comfortable to our souls Thirdly the holy Ghost is resembled to the pillar of fire that conducted the Israelites by night out of Egypt toward the Land of Canaan Now we must consider that such as are the properties of fire such are some of the operations of the holy Ghost in our hearts Fire is the most pure Element and purifies all other elements it doth naturally mount upward it is bright and shining and giveth light to all dark places It doth also warm and comfort every part of our bodies and it is the most active of all the other elements it purifies the gold and burnes away the drosse Thus it is with the holy Ghost for he is essentially pure in himself and purifies every soul from dead works into which he comes he wil not suffer any unclean lust or evill concupiscence to have dominion where he dwelleth and he wil raise up the cogitations of the minde and the affections of the heart to mount upwards in heavenly contemplations Also whereas by nature Å¿ 1 Cor. 2. 10 11. we cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishnesse unto us neither can we know them because they are spiritually discerned God hath revealed them to us by his Spirit for the holy Ghost wil put a spiritual light into our hearts to discern the deep things of God he wil also inflame our affections with an holy zeal to the glory of God and will make our love fervent to the truth So likewise the holy Ghost wil melt our hard and stony hearts and make them tender and gracious flexible and yielding to every holy duty And whereas our hearts are naturally bound up in unbelief and heavy and sluggish to any thing that is good t Psal 119. 32. the holy Ghost wil so inlarge them that with all cheerfulnesse of spirit and willingnesse of minde we shall run the way of Gods Commandements Wherefore now if we have found any of these operations of the holy Ghost in our hearts we shal be in some measure purified and refined from our sins and pollutions we shall have some of the drosse of our corrupted nature consumed and the heavenly graces of the Spirit of God wil shine forth in the integrity of our lives and conversations Also we shall have some spiritual light to guide our darkned understandings in the knowledge of God and of his wayes some fervency in our Prayers some love to the truth and some holy zeal to the true worship and service of God we shal delight in his Law we shal study to do good works and it will be the desire of our hearts and the comfort of our souls to Meditate day and night in the Commandements of God If these Operations of the holy Ghost which are resembled to these two pillars cannot easily work upon us if these cannot raise up our affections to heavenly contemplations and to be forward and ready to every good duty in the service of God then surely we are exceeding dull and stupid and we have great need to pray earnestly that the holy Ghost will be pleased to come with his unresistible power and break our hard stony hearts and molifie this extreme obduracy that is in them with his suppling grace that so we may more easily take the impression of his sanctifying grace in us Consider further that these two pillars which did lead the Israelites out of Egypt were a visible sign of the presence of God with them to conduct them in the way to Canaan to protect and defend them from all their
will hear our supplications and prayers if they proceed from a true sense of the want of what we pray for Thirdly he will succour and comfort us in our sorrowes and distresses if we cry unto him in the true apprehension of our own misery Lastly such is the goodnesse of God that he will incline our will and put holy desires into our hearts to seek the light of his countenance when we are prepared for it by true humiliation and sorrow for our sins for then he will hear our prayers he will grant our requests and will graciously accept us though our sins had formerly moved him to hide himself from us Consider further that the principall meanes of grace is by Jesus Christ our Saviour by whose righteousnesse we are justified by whose grace we are sanctified and by the merite of whose blood we are saved so that without Christ we can neither come into grace and favour with God neither can any sanctifying and saving graces be wrought in us to make us capable of salvation Now God hath appointed the sincere Preaching of his Word to be a special meanes to reveal Christ perfectly and fully to us and to work faith in us whereby we are knit and united unto Christ from whom all other sanctifying and heavenly graces do plentifully flow and they are conveyed to us by the operations of the holy Ghost Thus saith the Apostle q Rom. 10. â—7 Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God and it bringeth in with it all other spirituall Graces For the Word of God containeth in it whatsoever is needful to salvation and there is no grace but we may attain to it by this meanes if the holy Ghost doth accompany the administration of it to bring it close to our hearts God hath also other meanes which he useth for the working of grace in us and to bring us home when we go astray from him for every blessing that we receive every affliction that he sendeth and every motion of his Spirit that we feel is a call from God and a meanes that conduceth to the gain of some grace or other His blessings should stir us up to glorifie God with our praises and thankfulnesse r Rom. 2. 4. his goodnesse should lead us to repentance and his love to us should binde us to love him again also the sorrowes and miseries that we suffer in this life should teach us godly sorrow for our sins and patience under the crosse they should humble us and bring us to true repentance and newnesse of life so likewise every motion of his holy Spirit should move us to obedience and to conformity of will to the will of God and the dayly experience we have of Gods care over us should teach us to confide in God and to rest and depend upon him in all conditions of life whatsoever These and the like means God doth use to quicken up those graces that lye languishing in us and are as dead to our apprehension and also to make us seek unto him for his grace and favour which is sufficient to support us in all our tryalls and distresses These heavenly motions of the holy Ghost is Gods still voice which should make deep impression in our hearts because he doth thereby immediatly from himself reveal his will and pleasure to us what we ought to do to which holy inspirations we ought to yield our willing obedience though it be irksome to our nature and crossing the unregenerate part of our will as to repent and to leave a darling sin which we have long nourished in our bosomes This is a time when we may gain the grace and favour of God if we are ready to listen to this voice and cheerfully to obey it Wherefore this ought to be our care to imbrace any meanes or opportunity that God shall tender to us for grace because it is Gods time of grace and he will second his own time and his own meanes with a blessing if we imbrace it but if we will be feasting when we should fast and pray or rejoicing when we should mourn and weep we do then discover too much disobedience and rebellion against the will of God Now we ought to examine our selves how we have profited under the meanes of grace how the Word of God hath wrought upon our hearts and affections what heavenly graces have been wrought in us by it or by any of Gods holy Ordinances and what spirituall comfort we have found by them Also we ought to examine what thankfulnesse we have returned to God for his blessings what sorrow of heart we have had for our sins how we have been humbled under the crosse what reformation of life Grace hath wrought in us how we have obeyed the holy motions of Gods Spirit and how we have been ravished in soul with earnest desires to do the will of God If we have lived long under a powerfull Ministery and yet have gained little or no knowledge of Christ and of the truth and no faith or saving grace is wrought in us by the power of it we have then lost so much time of grace and we have not improved the meanes of grace to our best advantage nor to the right end as God hath appointed which is to gain grace for the spiritual good of our souls Wherefore let these be the Meditations of our hearts how to improve the time and the meanes of Grace to the right end that we may be found good stewards and profitable servants to our Lord and Master Jesus Christ by that gain which we shall make of grace in this little stock of time which he hath given us in this life For the more time and the more meanes of grace we do enjoy the more fruits of grace we must bring forth or else we shall be unprofitable servants If we improve our time for grace as we ought we shall gain the love and favour of God in Christ our hearts will be seasoned with all spirituall graces and our conversation will be in heaven while we live here upon earth for we shall live a gracious and a comfortable life now and a glorious and blessed life hereafter Also let this be the true desire of our souls to redeem the time of grace that we have lost and to improve the meanes of grace to more profit that the fruits of it may appear in our obedience to Gods Commandements in our zeal to the true worship and service of God and in our care to walk in all piety and vertue which we may the better do if we daily addresse our selves to God by faithfull prayer for the gracious assistance of his holy Spirit herein In the last place we must consider that though God doth give us time and meanes for grace yet we cannot attain unto it without the speciall working of the Spirit of grace in us for he must put a spirituall light into our understandings he must open our hearts and
further to what height of impiety the spiteful and malicious Jews are brought u Mat. 27 24. Pilate washed his hands in water before he gave sentence against Christ in token as he thought that he was innocent of the guilt of his blood because he knew him to be a just person but the Jewes drowned themselves in the blood of that immaculate Lamb and said Let his blood be on us and on our children O what a burden is innocent blood to the conscience What fearful judgements did they pull down upon themselves and upon their posterity hereby David found this to be true when he did unjustly shed the innocent blood of Vriah â— 2 Sam. 11. for x Psal 51. this fact of his cost him many a tear before he coul get assurance of pardon for it How severe was the punishment that God laid upon Cain for killing his brother Abâ—l and yet these wretched Jewes did wish that the most precious blood of Christ the eternall Son of God might lye upon them and upon their children to which God in justice did say Amen That blood which was the blood of the New y Heb 9 20 Covenant and sealeth redemption to all that do apply it to themselves by faith is made a most heavy curse to the Jewes for their unbelief and it doth rest upon their posterity even to this day because they did despise it and most maliciously trampled it under their feet for they rejected him and would not believe in him for their salvation but preferred a murtherer before him which made their sin the more odious in Gods eye Wherefore let the thoughts and the Meditations of our hearts be how to moderate and suppresse our rash and raging passions that they break not out to wicked wishes or impious execrations to our own hurt or to the hurt of another but specially concerning blood lest God that heareth in heaven should say Amen to it for then the guilt of that sin will lye heavy upon us and the evill which we have unadvisedly wished will be grievous to them except we do speedily repent that God in mercy may forgive us We should therefore set a continuall watch before our lips that we speak nothing against themselves or to the hurt of another for God in his justice may bring the same evil upon us which we have wished either to our selves or to others but we ought to accustome our selves to blessing and not to cursing to wholesome speeches that may tend to edification and not to mischievous words that tend to destruction and then God in mercy will say Amen to it Now observe and mark what barbarous cruelly the Gentiles did use against our dear Saviour for as soon as he was condemed z Mar. 15. 15. they scourged him without limitation of stripes so that this of the Psalmists was verified in Christ a Psal 129. 3. The plowers plowed upon my back they made long their furrows whereas the Jews were limited by the Law of God to fourty stripes When Christ was thus b Deut. 25 3 cruelly scourged then Pilate delivered him to be crucified c Mat. 27. and then the savage Gentiles did mock and deride him they did spit upon him they crowned him with thornes and smote him on the head with a read and then they led him away to be crucified This was a dolefull spectacle and able to make a deep impression of tender compassion in any Christian heart to see a righteous man thus miserably tortured but much more to see the onely begotten Son of God thus dishonoured and thus shamefully used with as much disgrace and shame as they could devise But such inhumanity did reign in their murthering mindes and such cruell deeds were acted with their bloody hands that nothing could swage their malice and cruelty and nothing could mollifie their stony hearts or melt them into compassionate pitty because they were given up to a reprobate minde But let our hearts be touched with a true sense of our Saviours sufferings and with a godly sorrow and compunction for our sins when we ruminate and ponder in our thoughts how unjustly our blessed Redeemer was condemned and how cruelly he was used for our sakes for Gods controuersie was against us and not against his dear Son But because he of his tender love and compassion stept in between Gods fierce wrath and us which he knew was too heavy for us to bear and took upon himself the guilt of our sins and because the desire of his soul was to reconcile us to God his Father he was willing that so much of Gods severe wrath as in justice was due to us for our transgressions should light upon himself which he did meekly undergo to free us from it If we are thus affected when we do seriously think upon the passion of our Saviour Christ it will make us hate our sins with a perfect hatred it will pull down our proud and haughty spirits it will make us thankfully to acknowledge our unworthinesse of so great love from him and it will bind us in a firm bond of love and obedience to him then Christ will commiserate and pitty us in our sorrowes and will comfort us in our sad condition But alas we take no pleasure in such dolefull Meditations we are not feelingly affected with our Saviours tedious and bitter passion and therefore we cannot bring it home to our selves by faith neither can we raise up the affections of our hearts hereunto because we are not perswaded that he suffered more than his humane nature could have born if it had not been supported by his Deity neither do we faithfully believe that what he suffered was for our redemption as it was for all the elect of God and therefore we can draw no spirituall comfort from thence to our souls These sad contemplations are not sweet to our taste they are not delightfull to our corrupted nature nor pleasing to our carnall desires for we had rather go to the house of feasting than to the house of mourning our love to Christ is not so firm and our faith in him is not so strong as to make our mindes constant in these heavenly Meditations which are most profitable for the good of our souls If we find such obduracy in our hearts so little grace in our affections and that our unregenerate part is so prevailing in us that we can take no pleasure to Meditate on the bitter passion of Christ as if he were not to be pitied we may justly condemn our selves of too much ingratitude for his great love to us and we cannot then expect any compassion from him in our afflictions and miseries If we look upon a Kings onely Son and see him suffer all kind of rebuke and shame by rebells and traitors and all kinde of torturings and tormentings for no offence given shall we not pity his miserable condition And shall we not think upon his miseries with sad
Jewes and therefore he will not refuse us Lastly consider that Pilate did highly honour our Lord and Saviour Christ when he wrote this Title to be set over his head upon the Crosse r Jon 2â— 10. Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jewes which was a title of great honour and not of shame and disgrace unto him Their manner was to set up a superscription to shew the crimes why a malefactor was put to death but Pilate could find no crime and no fault in Christ and therefore he wrote this superscription to clear his innocencie and to brand the Jewes with perpetual ignominie and shame to all generations for their malice and cruelty against him For though Pilate did not believe that Christ was a King and though he was perswaded by the chief Priests and by the people to condemn him and to put him to death yet God would not suffer him to be perswaded by them to alter the Title but to have it written in Hebrew Greek and Latine that all Nations and Languages might know the honour of his Person and the horrible wickedness of the bloudy Jewes in killing their King whom God had appointed and sent to be their Saviour and Redeemer also to make their name odious to all people as a just judgement of God upon them because they refused the sweet tender of his grace and mercy and killed his dear and onely Son Christ was brought to the lowest degree of his humiliation and now God doth begin to glorifie him and to publish his honour and his great Name by the highest authority to all nations and people and to the perpetual infamy and reproach of all his enemies to all posterity This honour was his due and God would not suffer him to loose it and thus God will do for us also If we are made the scorn of men if we suffer persecution fire sword or famine in a good cause and if we die upon this crosse yet God will manifest the integrity of our hearts and will give us that honour which is due to us as his servants and his children for if we drink of Christs bitter cup of sorrows we shall also drink of his pleasant cup of joy and consolation Wherefore if thou wilt have the meditations of thy heart upon the passion of thy dear and gracious Redeemer to be comfortable and profitable to thy soul thou must not look upon him onely in that despicable condition as he is now upon the crosse to the outward eye but with the eye of faith thou must look upon him as he is the eternal Son of God God and man and as he is dignified with all his excellencies and titles of honour for he was a Prophet and such a Prophet as did endow all the former Prophets with the spirit of prophesie whose Prophesies did chiefly concern him Also he was a Priest after the highest order whose Priesthood was eternal according to this of the Psalmist Å¿ Psal 110. 4. The Lord sware and will not repent Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedeck So likewise he was a spiritual King to rule his Church and in the hearts of all his elect and he did subdue all his enemies under him and he will also subdue all the enemies of his spiritual Kingdom in us If thou canst thus see the excellencies of Christ through his mean and contemptible condition and if thou canst believe that he is thy Redeemer and all-sufficient to be thy Saviour it will inflame the affections of thy heart with intire love to him because he hath humbled himself so low for thy sake it will make thee bend thine ear to his instructions for he will teach thee heavenly wisdom and how to walk in the paths of godlinesse he will also present thy prayers and all thy holy services to God his Father and then they shall be accepted and this will also work a reverential fear in thee to yeild all obedience to his commands If thou doest thus look upon Christ though he be upon the crosse it will give thee abundant comfort in thy sufferings exceeding much joy in the benefits which thou shalt have by his passion and it will stirre thee up to a thankful acknowledgement of his goodness and mercie to thee Now look upon thine own unworthiness and thou wilt admire the moâ—â— that Christ should so much humble himself to exalt thee that he should suffer so much smart pain and torment to free thee from everlasting torments and burnings in hell and that he should loose the comfort of his Deitie and the sense of his Fathers love to reconcile thee unto God and to make an attonement for thy sins Who were the Agents in the Passion of CHRIST VVE come now to consider what Agents there were in this doleful tragedie of our Saviour Christ how every one acted for his own ends how God did make the designes of the devil and of all his wicked instruments to work for his own glorie and how he did afterwards bring their wickedness upon their own heads The whole Passion of Christ and every circumstance of it was decreed from eternitie and the three Persons in the sacred Trinity were the first and principal Agents in this great work of Christs Passion for they decreed that Jesus Christ the second Person in the holy Trinitie should be sacrificed and made a propitiation for the sins of the world which was done at Gods appointed time For God the Father sent him into the world for this end and purpose and God the Son gave himself to be a ransome for us and assumed our nature that he might fulfil all righteousness and suffer the whole penalty of the Law for us also God the holie Ghost did give him all fulness of grace and power to bear the bitterness of his passion and thereby to conquer sin death hell and the devil and to give us power also over all the enemies of our salvation Though God was the principal Agent in the crucifying of Christ yet herein he had no evil intent or purpose and therefore he was without sin for he had a gracious and merciful end in it that his justice might be satisfied for the sin of man and that the redemption and salvation of all his elect might be wrought by the precious bloud and all sufficient sacrifice of his dear Son But the devil was the chief actor in the wickedness and crueltie of this sad tragedie whose end and design was to hinder our salvation by destroying our Saviour and this he did seek to bring to passe by wicked means and of malice to mankind and therefore as soon as he had his permission from God he raised up his wicked instruments for his hellish design First a John 13. 27. he entred into Judas and took possession there b Mat. 26. 25 16. who out of covetousness sold his Lord and Master to the chief Priests and Elders for thirtie pieces of silver
resurrection whereof the earthly Paradise was but a shadow i Psal 16. 1. 1. This blessed place is in the presence of God where we shall have fullnesse of joy and it is at Gods right hand where there are pleasures for evermore k Exod. 34. 6. Thus is Christ abundant in goodnesse and in truth if we have but little comfort in this short time of our life yet when we come to the end of our dayes we shall have fulnesse of joy in the Paradise of God together with Christ our Saviour for evermore Wherefore though this life be full of vexations and troubles the meditation and hope of heavenly happinesse which we shall hereafter injoy to all eternity will sweeten the bitternesse of all our momentany afflictions and tribulations Now comfort thy self O penitent sinner if thou art so cast down in the apprehension of thy sins that thou darest not come into the presence of God in regard of Divine justice l Luk. 18. 13. or lift up thine eyes unto heaven with the poor Publicane to crave what thou wantest or desirest because thou hast justly incurred his high displeasure by thy manifold transgressions yet be not disheartned faint not but come cheerfully to Christ with true faith and firm confidence to be received for he will open a Fountain to thee from whence all Divine mercy floweth and thou wilt find him alwayes ready and willing to accept of thee make thy condition therefore truly known unto him put up thy prayers and supplications to him and though thou desirest but a drop of comfort yet he will give thee abundant consolation in what thou sufferest and much more than thou desirest By the example of this Malefactor we may draw holy Meditations upon the Divine Nature of true faith for our instruction and comfort for it looketh beyond the eye of reason and above the reach of nature it maketh us evidently to apprehend that which our reason or naturall capacity cannot shew us and it will make us believe in hope even against hope that which is impossible to nature and incredible to humane reason This miserable sinner had no reason to believe in Christ and to confide in him for his salvation for we do not read that ever he heard his preaching or saw any of his miracles but he saw him now ready to dye an ignominious and cursed death upon the crosse and he heard him thus reviled m Mat. 27. 39. If thou be the Son of God come down from the crosse Also he heard him mocked in this manner by the chief Priests and Elders He saved others himself he cannot save if he be the King of Israel let him come down from the crosse and we will believe in him He trusted in God let him deliver him now if he will have him for he said I am the Son of God Though these and the like blasphemous words were spoken in derision against him which were sufficient in all reason to keep back this Malefactor from trusting in him yet the holy Ghost did so work upon his heart that he did faithfully believe that Christ was the Son of God that he was the King of Israel that he had saved others and therefore he could save him also which made him to apply himself to Christ for comfort and for his salvation and in his addresses to him he came with all modesty and humble submission he gave him all due honour and reverence as much as he was then able to expresse and then he made this humble suite and supplication to him and no sooner was his request made but it was granted because Christ did see truth and sincerity in his heart and integriry in his expressions We may observe from hence for our instruction and consolation that the holy Ghost can work the conversion of a sinner either without meanes or by contrary meanes he doth sometimes work very strangely upon the will and upon the affections of the heart for Christ was now preached by his deadly foes out of scorn and mockery n Phil. 1 15 as there were some in Pauls time that did preach Christ even of envy and strife others of love and good will yet the Spirit of God did so enlighten the understanding of this sinfull man and did so work upon his will and so seasoned his heart with saving grace that he received holy instruction thereby and what the enemies of Christ did speak in his disgrace he did apply it to himself to confirm him in the truth of his Divinity which made him stick close to him by faith when he was in the lowest degree of his humiliation his faith made him rest upon Christ and upon his promise above the strength of nature and contrary to all humane reason If he had seen the glory of Christ in his transfiguration upon Mount Tabor and if he had seen some of his great miracles or had heard his Divine Doctrine and powerful Preaching his faith had not seemed so great but now he did see him onely upon Mount Calvary nailed to his crosse as the worst of Malefactors are and rejected of his own nation so that to the outward eye he appeared nothing else but a pitiful spectacle of woful misery and yet this penitent sinner did expresse an admirable faith in the pangs of a cruell and violent death though his faults had been intolerable in his dissolute life for nothing but faith could move him to honour and reverence Christ now he was in this sad condition and to sue unto him to be remembred in his Kingdome By the eye of his faith he did see in Christ more than humane meeknesse and patience in his sufferings undaunted courage above the strength of nature to go thorough with all constancy those torturings and torments which with all cruelty and malice were inflicted upon him and he did see some glympse of Divine mercy in him when he heard him pray so graciously for his persecutors and tormentors and for those that put him to death In the last place ponder well in thy heart upon the mercifull answer of Christ to this penitent Malefactor Verily I say unto thee To day thou shalt be with me in Paradise whereby he did shew his power to forgive sins upon earth Thus he said to the sick of the palsie o Mar. 2. 5â— 10. Son thy sins are forgiven thee and hereby also he did shew that he had power to dispose of heaven at his own pleasure p Mat. 28. 18. for all power was given to him both in heaven and in earth therefore he did assure this Petitioner that though his body did now suffer the torments of a cruell death yet his soul should live and presently injoy a most happy and blessed condition in the Paradise of God and in the mansions of heaven to all eternity which place q John 14. 2. Christ hath prepared for his servants We shall meet with labour and toil troubles and crosses in this
THE COMFORT OF THE SOUL Laid down by way of Meditation upon some heads of Christian Religion very profitable for every true Christian Composed and writen by Iohn Anthony of London Doctor of Physick Psal 19. ver 14. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be alwayes acceptable in thy sight O Lord my strength and my Redeemer LONDON Printed for G. Dawson and are to be sold by John Mountague at the Sign of the White-Dragon in Duck-Lane 1654. I have perused these Divine Meditations Intituled the Comfort of the Soul and do find them to be so Orthodox and solide pious and profitable that I do approve them well worthy to be Printed and Published JOHN DOVVNAME To the Right Honourable Dame Elizabeth Dygby Baronesse of Geshal in the Kingdom of Ireland Grace Mercy and Peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ HAving nothing of mine own that is worthy your Acceptance to express my Cordiall respects and thankfulnesse for those many favours which I have received from you I have taken some spirituall Receipts out of Gods sacred Dispensatory which I am bold to present or Dedicate to your Honour because they are speciall Cordialls for the spirits and precious Antidotes against the evill of sad times Wherein also you will finde some Balm of Gilead for the cure of all spirituall diseases if it be applyed close to the part that is ill affected with the hand of Faith If these things do relish well with your spirituall Palate then I am confident you will take sometime to ruminate hereupon for I know it hath been your constant course to Meditate something dayly of Divine and heavenly things which did strongly induce me to present these unripe fruits of my labours to you which I gathered in mine old age for mine own use according to my first Intention Though I have thus laboured out of my Calling as I am a Physician yet I am not out of my profession as I am a Christian Now seing this Work is come to Publick view I do humbly desire your favourable construction of the frailties that are in it and that you will be pleased to vindicate it from carping spirits for I did not write it to please their curiosity but to refresh and comfort those that do any way stand in need of spirituall consolation If any thing herein can give you any reasonable satisfaction let God have the honour and glory of his own Work and I shall greatly rejoice therein and shall still remain your much obliged Servant JOHN ANTHONY To the READER COurteous Reader if thou dost live under the Crosse and art sensible of these sad times or if Gods visitation be upon thee which makes thee to sigh and groan under the burden and pressure of thy sorrowes so that thy soul desireth comfort and thy spirits want spirituall refreshing and heavenly consolation then I have written this Treatise for thee which I present to thy view wherein thou shalt finde the true way how to demean thy self under Gods visitation how to bear thy crosse with a contented patience how to make the burden of thy sorrowes more easie or how to be delivered out of them if God seeth it to be most for his glory and best for thy good also how to refresh thy spirits and comfort thy soul in what kinde soever it is afflicted Here also thou shalt finde that many of Gods dear servants have suffered as great afflictions as thou canst and yet God did send them comfort and deliverance but specially what Christ thy Saviour hath suffered for thee and what benefit and comfort thou maist have by it if thou canst draw it to thy self and make a particular application of it to thine own sorrowful condition without which it will yeeld thee but small consolation in thy miseries If thou dost meet with any thing here that will fit thy present condition either for edification or for comfort thou must ruminate well upon it to suck out the spirituall juiâ—e to imprint it in thy minde and to bring it close home to thy heart that it may comfort thy soul and cure thy wounded Spirit David found great comfort when he did Meditate on the Word of God My soul saith he shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatnesse and my mouth shall praise thee with joyfull Psal 63. 5 6 lips when I remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee in the night watches And it must needs be so for this is a duty which God requireth and he takes speciall notice of those that do practice it to pour down his blessings upon them as he did upon Isaack who went out dayly into the field to Meditate Gen. 24. 63 64. upon the wonderfull Works of God and then at that very time God sent him a vertuous Wife If the Spirit of God goeth along with thee in thy holy Meditations they cannot but be comfortable to thy soul thou wilt then conceive aright of the secret and hidden things of God and thou wilt see the infinite wisdom ond power of God in all the Creatures his goodnesse and bounty to thee in them and a glympse of the Majesty and glory of the great Creator God Almighty His holy Spirit will also open thy heart to let in whatsoever spirituall good thou reapest by thy pious Meditations For if thou lookest upon the creature and doest not Meditate something of God in it thou dost look upon it in vain and if thou readest or hearest his Word Preached and dost not settle it upon thy affections by ruminating upon it thou canst not edifie thy heart nor comfort thy soul thereby So likewise if thou doest read any thing in this Treatise that is comfortable to poor dejected Spirits it will not comfort thee if it be not well digested in thy heart and applyed to thine own soul If thou art not acquainted with this holy Duty I have given thee some directions how to perform it and if thou doest first practise it upon thy self to meditate upon thine own condition what thou art by nature and what by grace and considerest seriously in thy thoughts what way thou walkest what steps thou treadest and to what end thy wayes do tend thou wilt not onely come to the knowledge of thy self but thou wilt also learn how to Meditate profitably and comfortably upon God thy Creator upon Jesus Christ thy Redeemer and upon the Holy Ghost thy Sanctifier and Comforter I conclude with this saying of an ancient Father Nothing is found more sweet in this life nothing is conceived more comfortable nothing doth so separate the affections from the love of this world nothing doth so fortifie the minde against temptations nothing doth so stir up man and further him to every good work and duty as the grace and benefit of Divine Meditation and heavenly contemplation Thine in the Lord Christ JOHN ANTHONY A Table of these severall Heads contained in this Book MEditation is a Duty
Prophet b Isa 59. 2. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God and your sins have made him hide his face from you that he will not hear For God will not regard us untill the pardon of our sins be sealed to us by faith in the bloud of Christ and we can have no comfort in God nor hope of his grace and favour untill we have some assurance of the remission of our sins by true repentance and turning unto God For thus saith the Prophet c Isa 56. 3 4 5 7 Thâ—ugh we have been strangers to the people of God and as fruitlesse as a dry tree yet if we now kâ—â—p his Sabbaths and choose the things that please him and take hold of his Covenant he will give us a place in his house and an everlasting name that shall not be cut off he will bring us to his holy mountain and make us joyfull in his house of Prayer and all our offerings shall be accepted Though Christ by his death and resurrection hath perfectly wrought our redemption from all our spirituall enemies yet we have not the full vertue and power of it in this life for we are often foiled with the temptations and suggestions of the devill our sins do prevail against us our sinfull lusts and unruly passions do often over-power us d Rom. 7. 19 20 23. and the corruptions of our unregenerate part do war against the Law of our minde and bringeth us captive to the Law of sin so that the good which we would we do not but the evill which we would not that we do it is then no more we that do it but sin that dwelleth in us Wherefore we can feel the power of our redemption but in part so long as we live in the flesh but it will be fully perfected when our corruptible shall put on incorruption and our mortall shall put on immortality and that cannot be untill the generall resurrection at the last day when all the enemies of our salvation shall be subdued For death will seize upon our bodies and will keep them in the prison of the grave untill Christ shall come with power and break open the prison doores by the power of his resurrection and raise them up to immortality and to eternall glory and then our Redemption will be made perfect to us and this e John 6. 54 Christ hath promised and he doth plainly manifest it to us for when he had shewed his disciples some signes and tokens of his second comming which were forerunners of the generall resurrection he said f Luke 21 â— 28. That when they see those things begin to come to passe then they should look up and lift up their heads for their Redemption draweth nigh whereof we are as fully perswaded by faith in this life as if we did already injoy it Wherefore let nothing weaken our faith in our Redemption for we may confidently rest upon it though we have it but in part in this life for Christ will perfect it to us at the last day when he will raise up our bodies out of the dust by his Almighty Power which is the last part of our Redemption Here is matter of great comfort if our hearts do piously ruminate upon the transcendent love of God to us in our Redemption g John 3. 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Redemption is freely offered to all yet none can have the assurance of it but such as believe in Christ and belong unto him through the election of Grace these and none but these shall have the benefit of it for they are within the New Covenant h Heb. 9. 15 which Christ hath procured for them by his death these onely shall receive the promise of an eternall inheritance and shall be advanced to an higher degree of felicity and blessednesse than they had in Adam before his fall Adam had but a dimme light of his Redemption yet it was sufficient to ground his faith upon it and the promise of grace was very mystically delivered to him but the Patriarks and Prophets had a clearer evidence of it God hath given us a full demonstration of our Redemption because Christ is come in the flesh and hath finished the whole work of our Salvation by treading down all principalities and powers under his feet and by subduing to us all the enemies of our salvation and because death is our last enemy which will undoubtedly seize upon our bodies we do assuredly believe that by the power of Christs Resurrection who is our head our bodies shall be raised up out of the dust at the last day for Christ hath redeemed our bodies from death as well as our souls from the devill that both in soul and in body we may live and reign with Christ for evermore Wherefore if God hath been so rich in goodnesse to us and if his grace and love hath been so free as to redeem our souls from hell and our bodies from the grave even when we were his enemies and when he saw nothing in us but misery then let us with the Prophet David say thus with our selves i Psal 116 12 13 14 What shall we râ—nder unto the Lord for all his benefits towards us how shal we pay our vowes which we have made to him in our Baptism or at any other time we will take the cup of salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord we will be his servants and will offer to him the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving Thus let our thoughts and the Meditations of our hearts be alwayes upon the love of God to us and not upon the vanities of this world let them be set upon the joyes and happinesse of heaven and not upon earthly transitory pleasures and delights let us study how to live a sanctified life unto God and a blamelesse life to our neighbours and not how to fulfill our own sinfull desires and the evill concupiscence of our flesh otherwise we have received the grace of God in vain and we can have no good assurance of our Redemption by Christ for God bestoweth his grace upon us and hath given us the light of his Spirit that we should walk as in the light and not in darknesse that our conversation should be holy and pure and not corrupted and defiled with uncleannesse but that we should perform holy obedience unto God and serve him with pure affections Now let our hearts and souls devoutly Meditate upon the great Work of our Redemption for it was far greater than the Creation of the whole world God did but say the Word let such a thing be made and it was made he did not disrobe himself of any part of his glory in the creation of any creature but rather his glory wisdom and power was magnified in the making of the least of them
be washed away in the blood that flowed from thence and he will bid us put our finger by faith into the print of the nails and thrust our hand into his side that we may not be faithless but faithful to believe that all this was done to our beloved Redeemer for our deliverance out of the bondage of sinne and Satan and for our eternal salvation for Christ will not suffer any member of his mystical body to be hurt or wounded by the devill or wicked men to the anger of their souls It is a great honour to us if we are made conformable to our head Christ in his sufferings x Rom. 8. 17 2 Tim. 2. 12. if we suffer with him we shall also raign with him Let the devil rage what he will yet he can do nothing until his hour of permission be come and then he can do no more but what Christ will suffer him to do and that will be according to our strength of grace and not according to his malicious will and purpose Concerning the fidelity of Peter and the treachery of Judas NOw behold and see how the sorrows of our sweet Saviour comes upon him a Job 1. like Iobs messengers and like the throws of a woman in travel for no sooner was he out of his sharpe Agony and bloody sweat and a little refresht with the comfort of an Angel but presently b Luk. 22. a band of rude and cruel souldiers sent from the chief priest and rulers of the Jewes was ready at hand to apprehend him and Iudas one of his disciples who sold him for a prey to the blood thirsty Jews was their guide to conduct them to the place were Jesus was and he gave them a sign how they should know him and also a watch-word to hold him fast But when Peter saw that his dear Master was apprehended and ready to be carried away by that base multitude his love and zeal to him was so inflamed that he did hazzard his own life in his cause and he cut off the High-priests servants ear with his sword in his masters defence but Christ rebuked him for it saying c Mat. 26 52 53. Put up again thy sword into his place thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of Angels Yea he was able by his own divine power to defend himself from them all for by the power of his word his enemies were smitten to the ground But to shew how ready he was to obey his heavenly Fathers will and to finish the work of mans redemption for which cause he was sent into the world he did meekly as a Lamb submit to his Fathers will and suffer himself to be bound and led away to Annas the High-priest Now we may see that an holy and religious master may have a wicked or ungodly servant though the example of his own life and his discipline in his family be pious and godly d 2 King 5. Elisha the Prophet had a covetous Gehazi Philemon had an unfaithful and unprofitable Onesimus until Paul did work upon him and convert him to the faith So likewise a good servant doth sometimes dwell in the house of an irreligious and ungodly master e Gen. 39. Potiphar had a faithful and a chast Ioseph in his house Naaman had a vertuous maid in his 2 King 5. family and there were Saints in Cesars houshold f Phil. 4. 22. who sent their salutations to the Philippians Also a godly and religious father hath oft times a wicked and ungracious son Adam had a wicked Cain Noah had a cursed Cham. Abraham had a scoffing Ishmael Isaac had a profane Esau and David also had an incestuous Amnon and a rebellious Absalom for good education and holy instructions cannot make children to be vertuous and godly unless the holy Ghost doth season their hearts with grace If we settle and compose our thoughts to ruminate seriously upon these two disciples of Christ we shall see the damnable treason of wretched Iudas and the couragious boldness of blessed Peter Both of them did hear the heavenly doctrine that Christ preached yet they were not alike edified by it for it was as good seed sown in good ground to Peter which brought forth fruit unto holiness and righteousness but to Iudas that good seed was sown in barren ground for his heart was stony full of unbelief and void of all grace and goodness and could not receive it the preaching of Christ was but as a bare sound to his ear which did not profit him to salvation because the holy Ghost did not spiritually bore his ear and convey it to his heart They did also see the great miracles that Christ wrought but they were not alike instructed by them for Peter by the eye of his faith did thereby see his Deity and did believe and confesse that he was the Christ the Son of the ever-living God but Judas could see no more of Christ but his humane nature though he might conceive him to be a great Prophet These two Disciples were like g Gen. 25. 23 24. the twins in Rebeckahs womb h Rom. 9. 13. for God loved Jacob but he hated Esau so Christ loved Peter i Joh. 6. 70. but Judas was a devill For the devill entred into him and took possession of his heart and then he plotted and contrived how to betray his most gracious and loving Master whom he knew to be blamelesse and free from any offence and his treason was carried on in a most deceitful and malitious way against him k Mat. 26. 15. for he betrayed him to the Rulers of the Jewes for a small sum of money who were his deadly enemies and sought his life and to colour his devilish mischief he betrayed him to the Souldiers with a kisse Thus apt was Judas to learn any wickednesse in the devils school but he could learn no goodnesse in the school of Christ though Christ himself was the schoolmaster But such was the faithfulness of Peter to his dear Lord that he would not be danted at the band of Souldiers neither would he shrink from him when he was in this danger but did greatly jeopard his own life for his Masters safety If it be so that the devil teacheth wicked and ungodly men to hide their mischievous designes under some pretence of love and kindness we shall hardly escape their snares for we cannot tell what is intended under a fair shew of friendship and we cannot be free from danger when it lurketh so privily under plausible pretences Abner did not suspect that Joab intended to kill him l 2 Sam. 3. 27. when he took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly Joab also saluted Amasa with these kind words m 2 Sam. 20. 9 10. Art thou in health my brother and he took him by the beard with the right hand to kisse him and then
though the guilt of all our sins was imputed unto Christ yet he was not defiled therewith and though he suffered for sin yet it was not for his own but for the sins of all the Elect of God which he took upon himself for the perfection of his purity and of his righteousnesse did still remain unspotted and undefiled that we might be cloathed therewith by faith to hide our nakednesse and the shame of our sins when we come into the presence of God to perform any holy service unto him but specially when we shall appear before his dreadfull Tribunal at the last day From hence also we may draw much consolation when we are falsely accused spitefully used or cruelly persecuted for the Profession of the truth and for a good conscience for our dear Saviour hath suffered the like in our Nature and for our sakes that these and the like sufferings might be sanctified to us and that we should follow Christs example of patience and meekness when we are under them We need not therefore be dismaid when we are thus unjustly dealt with for Christ hath taken away the evill of these sufferings and hath taught us how to demean our selves under them and if we wait patiently upon God he will in due time make our innocency break forth like the Sun out of a cloud to his own glory and to our great comfort Consider now and admire to see how the malice and cruelty of the chief Priests and Scribes did increase against Christ for when they perceived that Pilate had cleered his innocency and was willing to release him their rage and fury was the more inflamed k Mat. 27. 20. insomuch as they moved the people to desire that Barrabas might be released to them who raised sedition in the City and was also a Murtherer and that JESUS might be crucified which kinde of death was most ignominious most shamefull and accursed Though they knew by their own Law what a crying sin in the eares of God the shedding of innocent blood was yet no blood could satisfie them but innocent blood Pilate offered them the blood of Barrabas but that would not content them for they thirsted after the purest blood that ever was spilt even the most precious blood of the eternall Son of God because he laid open their corrupt doctrines and discovered their hypocrisie to all the people The cruell Jews did shed the blood of the Prophets that were sent to them and now they do eagerly hunt after the blood of Christ whom they could no way convince of any sin Thus doth their divelish envy and malice carry on to the highest degree of rebellion against God and against his Anointed Now let us meditate with an holy zeal and pious devotion upon the price of our Redemption l 1 Pet. 1. 18 19. for we were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from our vain conversation but with the precious blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot who was both God and Man so that the Jews crucified him that was m 1 Cor. 2. 8. the Lord of glory and the blood which they spilt was the blood of that Person who was God as well as Man according to this of Paul n Act. 20. 28 That God hath purchased to himself a Church with his own blood Wherefore o 1 Cor. 6. 20 seeing we are bought with such a price we ought to glorifie God in our bodies and in our spirits which are Gods p Heb. 6. 5 6. and not to fall away when we have tasted of the good Word of God and of the powers of the world to come seeing thereby we crucifie to our selves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame by our new committed sins after repentance Also we must ruminate upon the transcendent worth of the blood of our crucified Redeemer with pure affections for it was an infinite price to satisfie the justice of an infinite God We cannot conceive much lesse expresse the incomprehensible goodnesse of Christ who of his meer love hath given up himself and his whole nature both Divine and Humane to purchase our redemption with his own blood His Deity of it self could not suffer either hunger or thirst pain or torment for these and all other his sufferings did properly belong to his humane nature but by the personall union of his humanity with his Deity the Divine nature of Christ did suffer together with his humanity by a nearer simpathy than is between the members of the naturall body and the head or between the members of the mysticall body of Christ and himself who is their Head for these members both naturall and spirituall are but knit and united to the head by firm ligaments but the humanity of Christ was taken up into his Deity and so made one Christ Saul persecuted Christ when he did persecute his Church for thus saith Christ unto him q Act. 9. 4 5 Saul Saul why persecutest thou me And he said Who art thou Lord And the Lord said I am Jesus whom thou persecutest for he persecuted him in his members he being their Head How much more then did the Deity of Christ suffer throughout his whole passion by simpathizing with his humane nature not onely as r Cor. 11. 3 God is the Head of Christ but chiefly because his humane nature was personally united to his Deity this is the cause why the blood of Christ his sufferings and his death is of so great merit and of such an infinite price If it be so that Christ did give himself in his whole nature for us that his blood should be spilt his body mangled and tortured his soul tormented his Glory clouded with ignominy and shame and that his Deity should be blasphemed and spitefully dishonoured for our redemption and if we were bought with so great a price we have then as great cause as ever David had Å¿ Psal 103 1 2 3 4. to blesse the Lord and to stirre up all that is within us to praise his holy Name for all the benefits of our redemption for he forgiveth all our iniquities he healeth all our diseases he redeemeth our lives from destruction and he crowneth us with loving kindnesse and tender mercies For if we can apply to our selves by a true faith Jesus Christ and him crucified for us t Gal. 2. 20 as Paul did he will fasten the guilt of our sins to his own crosse that it shall not cleave to our souls and he will remit the punishment that is due to us for them also he will heal and cure all the spirituall diseases of our souls by powring clean water upon us and by sanctifying us with his grace and holy Spirit unto newnesse of life which is a sure evidence of the pardon of our sins and then he will imbrace us with the armes of his love and will crown us with everlasting peace Consider yet
pain or trouble But wilt thou give so much way to thy passions as to dishonour God thereby is thy minde so much set upon vain pleasures as if no sorrow could come upon thee Did Christ bear his crosse and dost thou think to go free Dost thou not know O fainting soul how to measure thy strength â—f thou dost measure it by the common measure of mature thou wilt find it too weak to bear thee up against those crosses afflictions or temptations which thou shalt meet with in this life but if thou dost measure it by the measure of the sanctuary and by the grace of Christ that is in thee thou wilt then perceive what strength thou hast to bear the crosse for thy strength lyeth not in the wealth or in the arm of flesh but in thy faith in Christ and in the graces of his Spirit If thou hast but a little faith and a small measure of grace thou hast then but little strength and courage to encounter with the assaults of the devill with the troubles and vexations of this world and with the discomforts of sicknesse but art easily surprised with every temptation and sinfull lust and as easily overwhelmed when the waves ef affliction come upon thee Wherefore when thou art upon thy bed of sicknesse or in any distresse and misery complain not of thy strength of body if that be weak and faileth but look to the strength of grace that is in thee o 2 Pet. 3. 18. for grace may grow and increase though the strength of thy body doth decay or is spent and grace will uphold thee from sinking even in the bitter pangs of death and it will make thee to hold on constant to the end in all thy sufferings Consider in the next place that Christ hath appointed his crosse to be the badge of every true Christian which he must wear for the honour of his Lord and Master Thus saith Christ p Mat. 16 24. If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his crosse and follow me Also Paul saith q Acts 14. 22. That through much tribulation we must enter into the Kingdom of God Christ giveth this badge to some for the tryal and the manifestation of his graces in them that he may be glorified thereby to others for their humiliation and to bring them to repentance for their sinnes he doth exercise others under the crosse to conform them unto himself in his sufferings and to make them bear it contentedly Also he gives this badge to some to keep them from security and to prevent their backslidings from God for by these tryals and afflictions he doth alwayes intend the good of his servants and not their hurt Where this mark is truly imprinted there will grace appear and the fruits of it will break forth in their conformity to the will of God in their faith and patience under afflictions and in their rejoycing in the crosse of Christ This was the Apostles joy r Acts 5. 41 that they were counted worthy to suffer shame and rebuke for the Name of Christ And this was Pauls glory Å¿ Gal. 6. 1 for saith he God forbid that I should glory save in the crosse of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world For such is the tender and indulgent care of Christ toward those that wear his livery that though they are put into the fining pot of affliction there to have their drosse and corruptions purged and refined yet he will not suffer them to receive any detriment thereby but he will bring them forth purer gold than they were before Wherefore learn to carry the crosse of Christ in thy heart expect it daily and resolve to bear it willingly when God shall be pleased to lay it upon thee and then thou wilt not feel it so heavie as it is in its own nature also imprint the remembrance of his passion in thy minde thereby to mortifie all thy worldly lusts and sinfull desires This cognizance will tell thee what inheritance thou hast in Christ if thou dost duly examine thy heart when thou art under the crosse how thou hast glorified God by thy faith and patience how much thou art refined from thy corruptions how much nearer thou art brought unto Christ in thine affections to love him to confide in him to delight in the sweet fruition of him and to meditate on his goodnesse and love to thee If thou canst finde such fruits of thy crosse and that in the midst of thy sorrowes thou canst say with holy Job t Job 13. 1â— Though he slay me yet will I trust in him then be confident that Christ hath set his own stamp upon thy heart he will know thee for his own he will hide thee under the shadow of his wings he will provide for thee in all thy necessities and upon all occasions and all the powers of darknesse shall not be able to raise his stamp or the impression of it out of thy heart or to separate thee from Christ Mark further and consider it well that there were some that followed Christ all that dolorous way to Mount Calvary who could not refrain from teares and u Luk. 23. 27 28. sorrowfull sobs but bewailed him and lamented when they saw his dolefull and sad condition and they were chiefly women to whom Jesus turning said Daughters of Jerusalem weep not for me but weep for your selves and for your children Whereby he did graciously instruct them how to fix their mourning upon the right object that their teares may proceed from a principle of grace not to mourn for him because he did suffer no more than what was appointed by his heavenly Father and he did bear it in obedience to his will also he did undertake no more than he was well able to undergoe and no more could be laid upon him than was decreed in his Fathers counsell for the redemption of man But Christ would have them weep and mourn for their sins which brought the wrath of God upon themselves and upon their children for there were grievous judgements which would shortly come upon them Also Christ did intimate to them that their sins and the sins of their children were a great part of the cause why he suffered such contumelies and so much cruelty both by the Jews and by the Gentiles that they might be freed from the guilt and from the punishment of them Consider now that Christ doth give them two speciall reasons why they should weep and mourn for themselves and for their children First because of the great desolation and finall destruction that was shortly after to come upon that famous and renowned City and upon the whole nation of the Jews wherein they and their children should suffer very great calamities therefore Christ did tell them u Lu. 23. 29 That the dayes were coming in which they should say blessed are the barren
a spirituall manner because Christ will draw him to himself by his Spirit Thus is Christ also present with us by his grace and holy Spirit to assist and support us to teach and instruct us in what condition soever we be There is the same relation by faith between Christ and us as is between the head and the members and we shall injoy the comfort of this blessed relation by our heavenly Meditations of him for then by his Spirit he is present with us to teach us some heavenly instructions for our edification which we ought carefully to practice that he may be honoured thereby There is no time or place but we may take occasion to Meditate something on Christ for the good and comfort of our souls either as he is our Mediator and Redeemer or as he is our Prophet to teach and instruct us our high Priest to present our Prayers and oblations to God or our King to rule and govern us by his Spirit If we Meditate upon his passion upon his death and buriall he will shew us how low he did humble himself to advance us and it will much comfort us in our afflictions and sorrowes and also it will fit and prepare us for death and for the grave that we may as willingly lye down in the grave where we shall rest in peace as we take our rest and sleep in our beds By these and the like Meditations of Christ we shall injoy his sacred society by his Spirit and he will make us feel true consolation thereby But if we Meditate upon the Exhortation of Christ we must raise our affections up to the highest heavens for there he sitteth at the right hand of God above all principalities and powers and then he will shew us how victoriously he triumpheth over all his enemies and that he hath subdued all the enemies of our salvation to teach us to fear and reverence his sacred Majesty to perform all dutifull obedience to his Commands and to submit to his rule and government And because he is our Advocate with the Father we may come boldly to him in all our wants troubles and necessities Also faithfull Prayer is another speciall means to injoy the comfort of this happy relation and Communion which we have with our Saviour Christ in all conditions of life and upon all occasions whatsoever to give us comfort in all our distresses strength of grace against temptations protection in all dangers and deliverance out of all troubles If our Prayers proceed from a faithfull heart they cannot return without a blessing for they will open Christs rich treasury and whatsoever is there we shall have so much of it as is good for us This kind of prayer will yet reach higher for it will so prevail with Christ that he will open his heart to us and conceal nothing from us that may conduce to an holy and sanctified life here and to the injoyment of eternall blessednesse hereafter If we dayly converse thus with Christ in our Meditations and Prayers we shall have our conversation with him in heaven though we live in a vale of misery here upon earth Now then examine thy self what communion thou hast had with thy dear Saviour hath he walked with thee in the field as he did with Isaack in his Meditations Hath he travelled with thee in the way as he did with the two Disciples as they went to Emmaus Went he into a strange land as he did with Joseph into Aegypt or was he in prison with thee as he was with him and with the Apostles Hast thou had his company in thy bed-chamber or in thy closet as David had Was he in the dungeon with thee as he was w th Jeremiah Hast thou had his company when thou hast been among spoilers as Daniel had among the Lyons and as Paul had when he was in the Lyons mouth And hath he been with thee upon thy sick-bed as he was with Hezekiah Then surely thou hast received some blessing from him then thou hast learned holy instructions of him how to bear thy crosse without murmuring and how to endure thy sufferings with meeknesse of spirit Then also thou hast learned how to pray zealously how to live piously how to fix thy trust and confidence on him and how to set thine affections upon him by the plentifull experience which thou hast had of his goodnesse to thee that so thou maist dye in his love and favour Examine thy self also what sin thou hast killed and buried for if thou dost leave thy sins because thou hast not ability to continue still in them thy sins do leave thee but thou dost not leave them and they are not buried with Christ in his Sepulchre for thou retainest still the remembrance of them with delight and approbation and if thou hadst ability and opportunity thou wouldst be as vicious still as ever thou wert before For unlesse faith had sealed thy union with Christ thou canst have no power from his death to mortifie thy corruptions or to bury thy sins with him neither canst thou live unto righteousnesse and true holinesse Consider in the last place what subtile policy was used to make the Sepulchre sure that the body of Christ might not be stoln away and to prevent his resurrection from the dead for they sealed the Stone and set a watch about the Sepulchre But God did hereby make the truth of his resurrection the more evident to the great comfort of his children and servants but to the perpetuall shame and confusion of his enemies and of such as will not believe it For Gods Decree must stand and nothing can prevail to frustrate his determinate Councell Whatsoever wicked men do vainly imagine or contrive God will bring to passe what he hath decreed for his own glory This is great comfort to the servants of God that are under tyrannicall pressures and can see no means how to be delivered out of their slavery for God will bring about his own purposes and will be honoured in their deliverance to the shame and rebuke of all their enemies Consider also that those malicious Jews could not but be convinced in their consciences that Christ was the Son of God by those strange wonders which they saw at his death and yet they still spit out their blasphemies against him though he were dead and in the presence of Pilate they term him a deceiver Thus it is with wicked men when they are given up to a reprobate minde for there is no end of their wickednesse against God and no end of their malicious and mischievous practises against his servants and against all that professe his Name A brief Summe of the Humiliation of CHRIST CHRIST was in the bosome of the Father from eternity where he was cloathed with fulnesse of Majesty and Glory in the highest heavens and had the Dominion and power over all things both in heaven and in earth but when he was to undertake the Work of our Redemption
up thy spirit thou fainting soul for Christ hath redeemed thy body from the grave and thy soul from death by his Resurrection he hath conquered all the enemies of thy salvation sin hath no condemning power over thee death is advantage to thee hell is lockt up from thee and the Devill himself cannot go beyond his commission for thy hurt Though the world doth frown upon thee h Joh. 16. 33 and thou findest tribulation here yet be of good chear and lift up thy head for Christ hath overcome the world and he will sanctifie all thy tribulations to thee Thou livest here subject to shame and reproach to diseases of body and sorrow of spirit and to all miseries and calamities but death will put an end to all thy labour and travell the grave will refine thy body from all imperfections and diseases and thy resurrection will bring thee to thy reward which is laid up for thee in heaven If the powers of darknesse set themselves in array against thee if the terrours of death assault thee fear not but keep close to the Resurrection of thy Saviour by faith he hath overcome them all and will also subdue them unto thee i Eph â— 30. If thou art a member of his body of his flesh and of his bones thou must be made conformable to him as to thy head as well in his glory as in his shame as well in his resurrection as in his death and buriall If the crosse must try thy strength he will not tire thee with a greater burden than thou art well able to bear If pain or sicknesse brings thee near unto death the faithfull hope of a joyful resurrection will greatly refresh and comfort thy soul for though thy soul must be parted from thy body yet neither thy soul nor thy body shall be parted fuom Christ but thou shalt rise again out of the dust with a spirituall and immortal body to be joyned unto Christ thy head for ever Now think on these things with holy affections and they will minister heavenly comfort to thy soul when thou art in any perplexity of minde or body Consider now to whom Christ appeared after his Resurrection it was first to holy Women who in their pious devotion and love to him came to imbalm his body with spices and sweet odours then he appeared to his Disciples at sundry times and also to many Brethren that they all might be well confirmed in the truth of his Resurrection and of his Deity to comfort them in their sorrowes to uphold them in their sufferings to strenthen their faith against all persecutions and bloody tryals and to be able to strengthen others in the Doctrine of the Resurrection Thus did the holy Apostles testfiie that they had seen the Lord Jesus after he was risen to confirm their Doctrine of his Resurrection But Christ did not appear to any wicked or ungodly men for they could neither believe it nor understand it nor receive any comfort or benefit by it because they have no spirituall eye to discern his glorified body but chiefly because they have no relation to him as their Saviour Christ doth appear to us at this day by his Spirit when he doth manifest to us the truth of his Resurrection by his Word and doth give us grace to apply it to our selves for the confirmation of our faith in the Resurrection of our bodies at the last day But chiefly Christ doth appear to us when by faith we draw vertue and power from his Resurrection to rise from the death of sin to the life of grace when we can raise up the affections of our hearts from earthly and worldly cares to heavenly contemplations and when we can with the wings of faith mount up above the sinfull delights and pleasures of this life and above all the calamities and tribulations that we shall meet with here upon earth to have our conversation in heaven and can draw comfort to our selves in all our sorrowes and miseries from the hope of our resurrection There will also be a day of resurrection to the wicked which will be most sad wofull and miserable to them for they shall not rise with purified and glorified bodies but with filthy ugly and unclean bodies all besmeared with the guilt of sin which will make them odious to look upon and they have no covering to hide their sins but onely the Divels liverey which is a guilty conscience that they may be known to whom they belong For there is no place and no inheritance in heaven for such unclean monsters but they shall be thrust down into the lowest hell to partake with the devil and his angels in their everlasting torments which is the reward of all wicked men for their evill works Of CHRISTS Ascension up into Heaven VVHen Christ had fully instructed his Apostles after his Resurrection in those things which concerned the Kingdom of Heaven and had taught them how to plant his Church here upon earth he was taken up in the sight and view of them all and ascended up into heaven where he sitteth at the right hand of God in fulnesse of Majesty and glory until he shall come again to judge both the quick and the dead whereby Christ is now become our eternall Advocate with the Father to make intercession for us and he is also our eternall high Priest to present our Prayers and oblations to God At his Ascension he carried up our humane nature with him into heaven and hath advanced it above the Angels and above all Principalities and powers also Christ hath taken possession of that heavenly Inheritance which we shall hereafter injoy for he keeps it for us Wherefore now let the thoughts of our hearts be raised up in our holy Meditations to contemplate the transcendent glory of Christ now he is at the right hand of the Father that we may firmly confide in him and have a longing desire to be with him to injoy that place of true blessednesse a John 14. 2 which he hath prepared for us in his Fathers house Also let all our Prayers and sacrifices proceed from an upright and a believing heart that they may be such as Christ will present to his Father for us and then we may confidently believe that God will graciously receive them Here is also great comfort for us that though we sin dayly through humane frailty or through the corruption of our nature b 1 John 2. 1 2. that we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins who will intercede for us and will present the merit of his blood unto him in full satisfaction for all our sins whereof we may have an holy assurance by faith and true repentance If we do faithfully believe that we have such an high Priest and such an Advocate in heaven why do we give our selves liberty in sin to displease him Why do we cherish any darling sin
true believer hath by Christ in this life above all other men that have no interest in him by faith and examine thy self hereby what thou hast gained by him If thou hast used the blessings of God and his good creatures soberly and temperately to his glory and not to pamper or cherish any sin to dishonour him thereby and doest return thanks unto God for them with a sincere heart because he is the sole giver of all things that thou injoyest then Christ hath taken away the curse that was upon them and hath made them blessings to thee which thou maist freely use to thy comfort otherwise thou canst finde little comfort in them Also if thou dost truly believe that thy sins were imputed unto Christ and hast an holy assurance hereof by the dayly renuing of thy repentance for thy dayly sins then thou maist be fully perswaded that the guilt of sin which was a burden to thy conscience and did cleave close to thy soul is taken away and that Christ hath nailed it to his crosse whereby thou art freed from the curse of the Law and from the condemnation of sin This consideration will much comfort thee when thou art under the crosse for the evill of punishment that was in thine afflictions is taken away it being part of the curse and thou art but chastised for thy good and not punished for thy hurt Examine thy self yet further what thou hast gained by Christ for if thou canst over-power thy corruptions by the strength of grace and canst leave thy sins before they leave thee and that the remembrance of them is bitter to thy soul and doest dayly strive with a true purpose of heart to newnesse of life then thou hast an evident sign that Christ hath taken away the dominion of sin in thee z Ezek. 36. 25. and hath poured clean water upon thy soul to purifie cleanse thee from all thy filthines Also if thou dost find the fruits of the Spirit of sanctification that thou hast an holy desire to the means of grace and a faithful endeavour to grow stronger in grace that thy heart may be stablished in the truth and thy Faith firm to uphold thee in thy sufferings and tryalls then thou hast gotten great gain and much Advantage by Christ But if thou art perswaded of thine Adoption by Faith in him thou canst not conceive how great thy gain will be for whatsoever a childe can desire of a loving Father thou mayest expect much more from God nothing shall be too dear for thee nothing shall be hurtfull to thee and nothing shall be concealed from thee that may be profitable and advantageous to the salvation of thy soul Let us consider now that our hearts may ruminate well upon it for our great comfort what honour we have by being made the sons of God a 1 Sam. 18. 23. When Sauls servants came to perswade David to be the Kings son in law he gave them this answer Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a Kings son in law seeing that I am a poor man and lightly esteemed How great then is the honour and how highly to be esteemed for a poor wretched captive to be made the Son of the eternall and everliving God to have such a Father to come to in all our necessities such a Refuge in all our distresses such a Protectour against all our enemies and to be heir to such an Inheritance as is incorruptible and eternal which Christ hath reserved for us in heaven Wherefore we should be holy and undefiled in our conversations as becometh the sons of such a Father we should not walk stubbornly before him but in filial fear and reverence obeying his holy will and commands with filial love and submitting to his rod and corrections as a childe ought to submit to his Father If our services are thus performed to God he will then be a tender and a gracious Father to us If we have this Gain by Christ in this life what is the gain of the whole world to it What is all earthly honour to the honour of a true Christian and yet most men covet and desire that gain and that honour and they neglect the true Gain and the true honour of a Christian which is chiefly to be desired b Mat. 16. 26 What is a man profited saith Christ if be shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul If we injoy Christ we have a rich Patrimony we can want no comfort whatsoever shall betide us in soul or in body in goods or good name he will repair all our losses in Adam with his abundant righteousnesse he will also repair all our losses in children servants or estate either in this life c Job 42 10 as he did unto Job or else in the life to come in a more plentifull manner Christ will likewise furnish us with all spiritual abilities to encounter with the enemies of our salvation to stand firmly for the truth and for a good conscience and to endure the tryall of our faith love hope and patience and he will make perfect whatsoever is wanting or imperfect in us d 2 Cor. 12. 9 for his grace is sufficient for us and his strength is made perfect in weaknesse his love and his care of us doth most shine forth when we do most a base and humble our selves and when we do acknowledge our unworthinesse of it In the last place we should Meditate with all thankfulnesse upon the great benefit that we have by the Covenant of grace which Christ hath sealed for us with his blood for we may faithfully believe and comfortably expect that God will perform his condition expressed therein to us though we cannot perfectly perform our conditions to him also that he will purifie and cleanse us from all our filthinesse e Jer. 32. 40. and will put his fear in our hearts that we shall not depart from him Wherefore let not the failings and frailties of the flesh discomfort us nor weaken our faith and confidence in the goodnesse of God to us in Christ for the flesh will rebell against the spirit and the corruptions of the unregenerate part will sometimes breake out upon us to dash and hinder our comfort in this gracious Covenant Therefore Christ hath ordained the two Sacraments to seal this Covenant to our souls for the better confirmation of our Faith f Gal. 3. 26 27. For if we are baptized into Christ by Faith we have put on Christ we are members of his Church and this Covenant is sealed to us g 1 John 1. 7 and the blood of Christ hath cleansed us from all sin If age or sicknesse or any thing else beside sanctifying grace doth keep us from sinning against God this is not the true purging away of sin nor the regeneration and renewing of the holy Ghost because the evill concupisence of the flesh and the sinful desires of the minde will remain strong and
nor his parents had sinned but it was that the works of God should be made manifest in him Lastly God doth sometimes visit us with afflictions to stir us up to more frequency and fervency of prayer untill we are delivered out of our troubles Howsoever or to what end soever God doth visit us our faith in Christ will stand us in great stead to support us in our sufferings and tryals and to make the right use of all Gods dealings with us that our soules may receive profit and comfort thereby If we did live in sad and mournful times when we could scarcely see any thing but oppression injustice rapine and wrong k Ps 82. 2 3 when the Judges judge unjustly as the Psalmist saith and accept the persons of the wicked and doe not defend the poor and fatherlesse nor doe justice to the afflicted and needy when the Church of God is under affliction and torn in pieces by persecutors and spoilers with sects and scismes and the sincere Word of God corrupted with humane inventions or else troden down by the authority of unjust men then were the time to live by faith and to strengthen our faith with firm hope that God will arise as the same Psalmist saith and judge the earth and will send deliverance to his Church in his good time and that he will awake as a Gyant out of sleep to avenge the desolations thereof and the oppressions of his people In the mean time we should remember those that suffer in our prayers and comfort our selves with faith in the promises of God waiting with patience for the salvation of God when he will visit his people in mercy and remember what his Church hath suffered and by whom to render to every man according to his works Among many calamities that God doth sometimes bring upon a nation or a people to humble them for their sinnes to rouse them up out of security to pull down their pride and to break their stubborn hearts this is one of the greatest when he doth take away the pillars of his Church and doth suffer it to be underpropt with weak meanes for though it may stand for some short time yet it cannot continue long for if the winds doe blow or the billows of the sea rise against it they will shake it and much indanger the fall of it This was Davids request unto God in the like case l Psal 12. 1. Help Lord for the godly man ceaseth for the faithfull fall from among the children of men When we see these things come to passe we had need cry mightily to the God of our salvation for his help for they are fore-runners of great calamities But we trust that God will not bring such visitations upon us but that he will pitty us as a father pittieth his child upon his submission to his will though by reason of our sinnes and rebellions against his sacred Majesty we have deserved no pity Now then if these things be well considered thou wilt find that whatsoever thy condition of life be that sorrows and troubles will daily attend thee that the corruptions of thy nature will break out upon thee to make thee fail of thy duty to God to make thee yeild to sinful motions and to fall sometimes into grosse sinnes and so to loose the sense of Gods grace and favour which doth more perplex the soul of a true Christian than to suffer the greatest miseries but here is thy comfort that if thou hast faith in Christ thou wilt rest upon him for he will support thee in all thy sorrows he will free thee from all thy sinnes and will procure thy pardon upon thy true repentance and he will bring thee again into the favour of God by the merit of his bloud Nothing can make thee so unhappy and so comfortlesse but that true faith well grounded upon Christ and upon the promises of God will take away the apprehension of thy unhappinesse and will give thee true consolation in the assurance of the love and favour of God to thee in Christ Sixtly Faith will give us comfort in all the pious actions of our life for by our union with Christ God will accept for his sake both of our persons and of our works whether they be works of piety to God or works of charity to our neighbour That our works may be such as God requireth first the Word of God must be our rule to teach us to frame our actions according to the will of God and not according to the conceit of our own fancie Secondly Our works must be such as come within the compasse of our calling either publick or private otherwise we have no ground to believe that God will accept them m â— Sam. 6. 7 Vzzah was stricken dead for staying the Ark when it was shaken in the cart because he had no calling for it God requireth that we should teach instruct and admonish our children and servants in the wayes of godlinesse but if we presume to execute the office and function of the Minister without a lawfull calling thereunto God may set his mark upon us for our presumption n 2 Chro. 26. as he did upon King Vzziah for going in to the Temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the Altar which pertained not unto him to do Thirdly we must take the time and opportunity that God gives us for any good action and not to put it off with delayes for that is the time which he will accept God hath set a part one day in seven for his peculiar service and for good works which is the Lords Day and that day must be wholely sanctified to him Fourthly our Adoption by Faith in Christ will strongly move us to perform good works and holy duties out of a filiall love to God and not out of a slavish fear to do them willingly in obedience to Gods command and not upon constraint also with an holy zeal and not with a blinde devotion o Acts 17. 24. like the Athenians who worshipped an unknown God p 1 Chro. 18. 9. David did counsel his son Solomon to worship God with a willing minde for God accepteth free-will offerings But if we are forced to the service of God like slaves for fear of punishment our service will not be well accepted Fifthly Faith will make us do all our religious duties with chearful hearts and pure affections to the glory of God q Psal 35. 15. for the Lord considereth all our works Thus God saith by Solomon r Prov. 23. 26. My son give me thy heart And thus saith the Apostle Å¿ 2 Cor. 9. 7. God loveth a chearfull giver Lastly Faith will make us constant in well-doing which will crown all our good actions with gracious acceptation so that we have respect t Psal 119. 6. as holy David had to all Gods Commandements then if we do our best endeavour in Gods service though we fail of our