sad a thing is it that we should thus add to our own Afflictions and the heavier we judge the burden the more we lay on As if God had not done enough or would not sufficiently afflict us We may more comfortably bear that which God layeth on us then that which we immediately lay upon our selves Crosses are not great or small according to the bulk of the matter but according chiefly to the minde of the sufferer Or else how could holy men rejoyce in Tribulation and be exceeding glad that they are accounted worthy to suffer for Christ Reproaches wrongs losses are all without you unless you open them the door wilfully your self they cannot come in to the heart God hath not put the Joy or Grief of your Heart in any other mans power but in your own It is you therefore that do your selves the greatest mischief God afflicts your body or men wrong you in your state of name a small hurt if it go on further and therefore you will afflict your soul But a sadder thing yet is it to consider of that men fearing God should so highly value the things of the world They who in their Convenants with Christ are engaged to renounce the world the flesh and the devil They that have taken God in Christ for their Portion for their All and have resigned themselves and all that they have to Christs dispose whose very business in this world and their Christian life consisteth so much in resisting the devil mortifying the flesh and overcoming the world and it is Gods business in his inward works of Grace and his outward teachings and sharp afflictions and examples of others to convince them of the vanity and vexation of the world and throughly to wean them from it And yet that it should be so high in their estimation and sit so close to their hearts that they cannot bear the loss of it without such discontent disquiet and distraction of minde Yea though when all is gone they have their God left them they have their Christ still whom they took for their Treasure they have opportunities for their souls they have the sure promise of Glory yea and a promise that all things shall work together for their good yea and for that one thing that is taken from them they have yet a hundred outward Mercies remaining that yet even Believers should have so much unbelief and have their Faith to seek when they should use it and live by it and that God should seem so small in their eyes as not to satisfie or quit them unless they have the world with him and that the world should still seem so Amiable when God hath done so much to bring it into contempt Truly this and more shews that the work of Mortification is very imperfect in professors and that we bend not the force of our daily strivings and endeavours that way If Christians did bestow but as much time and pains in Mortifying the flesh and getting down the Interest of it in the soul that Christs Interest may be advanced as they do about Controversies external duties formalities tasks of devotion and self tormenting fears O what excellent Christians should we then be and how happily would most of our disquiet be removed Alas if we are so unfit to part with one outward comfort now upon the disposal of our fathers providence how should we forsake all for Christ or what shall we do at death when all must be parted with As ever therefore you would live in true Christian Peace set more by Christ and less by the world and all things in it and hold all that you possess so loosely that it may not be grievous to you when you must leave them So much for the Troubles that arise from your Body and outward state All the rest shall be directed for the Curing of those Troubles that arise immediatly from more Spiritual Causes DIRECTION III. 3. Be sure that you first lay sound apprehensions of Gods nature in your understanding and lay them deeply THis is the first Article of your Creed and the first part of Life Eternal to know God! His substance is quite past humane understanding therefore never make any attempt to reach the knowledge of it or to have any positive conceivings of it for they will be all but Idols or false conceptions but his Attributes are manifested to our understandings Well consider that even under the terrible Law when God proclaims to Moses his own Name and therein his Nature Exod. 34.6 7. the first and greatest part is The Lord God Mercifull and Gracious long suffering and abundant in Goodness and Truth keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity transgression and sin And he hath sworn that he hath no pleasure in the death of a sinner but rather that he return and live Think not therefore of Gods Mercifulness with diminishing extenuating thoughts nor limit it by the bounds of our frail understandings for the heavens are not so far above the earth as his thoughts and wayes are above ours Still remember that you must have no low thoughts of Gods Goodness but apprehend it as bearing proportion with his Power As it is blasphemy to limit his Power so it is to limit his Goodness The advantages that your soul will get by this right knowledge and estimation of Gods Goodness will be these 1. This will make God appear more Amiable in your eyes and then you will Love him more readily and abundantly And Love 1. Is effectually consolatory in the very working so much Love usually so much Comfort I mean this Love of Complacency for a Love of Desire there may be without comfort 2. It will breed perswasions of Gods Love to you again and so Comfort 3. It will be an unquestionable evidence of true Grace and so Comfort The Affections follow the Understandings conceptions If you think of God as one that is glad of all advantages against you and delighteth in his Creatures misery it is impossible you should Love him The Love of our selves is so deeply rooted in nature that we cannot lay it by nor Love any thing that is Absolutely and directly against us We conceive of the devil as an Absolute Enemy to God and man and one that seeks our destruction and therefore we cannot Love him And the great Cause why troubled souls do Love God no more is because they represent him to themselves in an ugly odious shape To think of God as one that seeks and delighteth in mans ruine is to make him as the devil and then what wonder if in stead of Loving him and Delighting in him you tremble at the thoughts of him and fly from him As I have observed Children when they have seen the devil painted on a wall in an ugly shape they have partly feared and partly hated it If you do so by God in your fancy it is not putting the Name of God on him when you have done that will reconcile your Affections
the fourth point is undeniable That It is but very few Christians that reach to Assurance of Salvation If any think as intemperate hot spirited men are like enough to charge me that in all this I countenance the Popish doctrine of Doubting and Uncertainty and contradict the common doctrine of the Reformed Divines that Write against them I answer 1. I do contradict both the Papists that deny Assurance and many forreign Writers who make it farre more Easie Common and Necessary then it is much more both them and the Antinomists who place Justifying faith in it But I stand in the midst between both extreams and I think I have the company of most English Divines 2. I come not to be of this minde meerly by reading Books but mainly by reading my own heart and consulting my own experience and the experience of a very great number of Godly people of all sorts who have opened their hearts to me for almost twenty years time 3. I would intreat the gainsayers to study their own hearts better for some considerable time and to be more in hearing the case and complaints of Godly people and by that time they may happily come to be of my minde 4. See whether all those Divines that have been very practical and successfull in the work of God and much acquainted with the way of the Recovery of lost souls be not all of the same Judgement as I in this point such as T. Hooker Jo. Rogers Preston Sibs Bolton Dod Culverwell c. And whither the confidentest men for the contrary be not those that study Books more then hearts and spend their daies in Disputing and not in winning souls to God from the world Lastly Let me add to what is said these two Proofs of this fourth Point here asserted 1. The constant experience of the greatest part of Believers tels us that Certainty of salvation is very rare Even of those that live comfortably and in peace of Conscience yet very few of them do attain to a Certainty For my part it is known that God in undeserved Mercy hath given me long the society of a great number of Godly people and great interest in them and privacy with them and opportunity to know their mindes and this in many places my station by providence having been oft removed and I must needs profess that of all these I have met with few yea very few indeed that if I seriously and privately asked them Are you Certain that you are a true Believer and so are Justified and shall be Saved durst say to me I am Certain of it But some in great doubts and fears most too secure and neglective of their states without Assurance and some in so good hopes to speak in their own language as calmeth their spirits that they can comfortably cast themselves on God in Christ And those few that have gone so far beyond all the rest as to say They were Certain of their sincerity and salvation were the Professors whose state I suspected more then any of the rest as being the most proud self-conceited censorious passionate unpeaceable sort of Professors and some of them living scandalously and some fallen since to more scandalous waies then ever And the most of their humble godly acquaintance or neighbours suspected them as well as I. Or else some very few of them that said they were Certain were honest godly people most women of smal Judgement and strong Affections who depended most on that which is commonly called The sense or feeling of Gods Love and were the lowest at some times as they were the highest at other times and they that were one moneth certain to be saved perhaps the next moneth were almost ready to say they should certainly be damned So that taking out all these sorts of persons the sober solid judicious Believers that could groundedly and ordinarily say I am Certain that I shall be Saved have been so few that it is sad to me to consider it If any other mens experiences be contrary I am glad of it so be it they be Sober Judicious men able to gather experiences and so they live not among meer Antinomians and take not the discovery of their meer opinion for a discovery of experience For I have seen in divers professors of my long acquaintance the strange power of Opinion and Phantasie in this thing I have known those that have lived many years in doubting of their Salvation and all that while walked uprightly and in the late Warres falling into the company of some Anabaptists they were by them perswaded that there was no right way to their comfort but by being Re-baptized and associating themselves with the Re-baptized Church and abstaining from the hearing of the Unbaptized Parish Priests as they called them No sooner was this done but all their former doubtings and troubles were over and they were as comfortable as any others as themselves affirmed which no doubt proceeded from partly the strength of Phantasie conceiting it should so be and partly from the Novelty of their way which delighted them and partly from the strong Opinion they had that this was the way of Salvation and that the want of this did keep them in the dark so long and partly from Satans policy who troubleth people least when they are in a way that pleaseth him But when these people had lived a year or two in this comfortable condition they fell at last into the society of some Libertines or Familists who believe that the Scriptures are all but a dream fiction or Allegory These presently perswaded them that they were fools to regard Baptism or such Ordinances and that they might come to hear again in our Congregations seeing all things were lawfull and there was no Heaven or Hell but within men and therefore they should look to their safety and credit in the world and take their pleasure This lesson was quickly learned and then they cried down the Anabaptists and confessed they were deluded and so being grown loose while they were Anabaptists to mend the matter they grew Epicures when they had been instructed by the Libertines and this was the end of their new gotten comfort Others I have known that have wanted Assurance and falling among the Antinomians were told by them that they undid themselves by looking after Signs and Marks of Grace and so laying their comforts upon something in themselves whereas they should look only to Christ for Comfort and not at any thing in themselves at all and for Assurance it is only the Witness of the Spirit without any Marks that must give it them and to fetch Comfort from their own Graces and Obedience was to make it themselves in stead of Christ and the holy Ghost and was a Legal way No sooner was this Doctrine received but the Receivers had Comfort at will and all was sealed up to them presently by the Witness of the Spirit in their own Conceits Whence this came judge you I told
mistakes of many sad Christians hereabouts The cure lieth in breaking off sinne to the utmost of your power This is the Achan that disquieteth all It is Gods great mercy that he disquieteth you in sinning and gives you not over to so deep a slumber and peace in sinne as might hinder your repentance and reformation The dangerous mistakes here are these two 1. Some do as the Lapwing cry loudest when they are furthest from the nest and complain of an aking tooth when the disease is in the head or heart They cry out O I have such wandring thoughts in prayer and such a bad memory and so hard a heart that I cannot weep for sinne or such doubts and fears and so little sense of the Love of God that I doubt I have no true Grace When they should rather say I have so proud a heart that God is fain by these sad means to humble me I am so high in my own eyes so wise in my own conceit and so tender of my own esteem and credit that God is fain to make me base in my own eyes and to abhorre my self I am so worldly and in love with earth that it draws away my thoughts from God duls my love and spoils all my duties I am so sensual that I venture sooner to displease my God then my flesh I have so little compassion on the infirmities of neighbours and servants and other brethren and deal so censoriously churlishly and unmercifully with them that God is fain to hide his mercy from me and speak to me as in anger and vex me as in sore displeasure I am so froward peevish quarrelsome unpeaceable and hard to be pleased that it is no wonder if I have no peace with God or in my own conscience and if I have so little quietness who love and seek it no more Many have more reason I say to turn their complaints into this tune 2. Another most common unhappy miscarriage of sad Christians lieth here that They will rather continue complaining and self-tormenting then give over sinning so farre as they might give it over if they would I beseech you in the Name of God to know and consider what it is that God requireth of you He doth not desire your vexation but your reformation No further doth he desire the trouble of your minde then as it tendeth to the avoiding of that sinne which is the cause of it God would have you less in your fears and troubles and more in your obedience Obey more and disquiet your minde less Will you take this counsel presently and see whether it will not do you more good then all the complaints and doubtings of your whole life have done Set your self with all your might against your pride worldliness and sensuality your unpeaceableness and want of love and tenderness to your brethren and whatever other sin your conscience is acquainted with I pray you tell me If you had gravell in your shoe in your travel would it not be more wisdom to sit down and take off your shoe and cast it out then to stand still or go complaining and tell every one you meet of your soreness If you have a thorn in your foot will you go on halting and lamenting or will you pull it out Truly sinne is the thorn in your conscience and those that would not have such troubled consciences told of their sinnes for fear of increasing their distress are unskilfull comforters and will continue the trouble while the thorn is in As ever you would have peace then resolve against sinne to the utmost of your power Never excuse it or cherish it or favour it more Confess it freely Thank those that reprove you for it Desire those about you to watch over you and to tell you of it yea to tell you of all suspitious signes that they see of it though it be not evident And if you do not see so much Pride Worldliness Unpeaceableness or other sinnes in your self as your friends think they see in you yet let their judgement make you jealous of your heart seeing self-love doth oft so blinde us that we cannot see that evil in our selves which others see in us nay which all the Town may take notice of And be sure to engage your friends that they shall not smooth over your faults or mince them and tell you of them in extenuating language which may hinder Conviction and Repentance much less silence them for fear of displeasing you but that they will deal freely and faithfully with you And see that you distast them not and discountenance not their plain dealing lest you discourage them and deprive your soul of so great a benefit Think best of those as your greatest friends who are least friends to your sinne and do most for your recovery very from it If you say Alas I am not able to mortifie my sinnes It is not in my power I answer 1. I speak not of a perfect conquest nor of a freedom from every passion or infirmity 2. Take heed of pretending disability when it is unwillingness If you were heartily willing you would be able to do much and God would strengthen you Cannot you resist Pride Worldliness and Sensuality if you be willing Cannot you forbear most of the actual sinnes you commit and perform the duties that you omit if you be Willing though not so well as you would perform them Yea let me say this much lest I endanger you by sparing you Many a miserable hypocrite doth live in trouble of minde and complaining and after all perish for their wilfull disobedience Did not the rich young man go farre before he would break off with Christ and when he did leave him he went away sorrowfull And what was the cause of his sorrow Why the matter was that he could not be saved without selling all and giving it to the poor when he had great Possessions It was not that he could not be rid of his sinne but that he could not have Christ and Heaven without forsaking the world This is the case of unsanctified persons that are enlightened to see the need of Christ but are not weaned from worldly profits honours and pleasures they are perhaps troubled in minde and I cannot blame them but it is not that they cannot leave sinning but that they cannot have Heaven without leaving their delights and contentments on earth Sin as sin they would willingly leave For no man can love evil as evil But their fleshly profits honours and pleasures they will not leave and there is the stop and this is the cause of their sorrows and fears For their own judgement cries out against them He that loveth the world the love of the Father is not in him If ye live after the flesh ye shall die God resisteth the proud This is the voice of their informed understandings And conscience seconds it and saith Thou art the man But the flesh cries louder then both these Wilt thou leave
but use these three Distinctions 1. Between the Acts of the meer Rational faculties Understanding and Will called Elicite Acts and the Acts of the Inferiour faculties of soul and body called Imperate Acts. 2. Between the Acts that are About the End immediatly and those that are About the Means 3. Between the Intension of an Act and the Objective-Extension and Comparison of Object with Object And so I say 1. The End that is God and Salvation cannot be too fully Known or too much Loved with a pure Rational Love of Complacency nor too much sought by the Acts of the soul as purely Rational For the End being loved and sought for it self and being of Infinite Goodness must be loved and sought without Measure or Limitation it being Impossible here to exceed Prop. 2. The Means while they are not mis-apprehended but taken as Means and Materially well understood cannot be too clearly discerned nor too Rightly chosen nor too Resolutely prosecuted Prop. 3. It is too possible to mis-apprehend the Means and to place them instead of the End and so to Over-love them Prop. 4. The Nature of all the Means consisteth in a Middle or Mean betwixt two Extreams materially both which Extreams are sin so that it is possible to over-do about all the Means as to the Matter of them and the Extent of our acts Though we cannot Love God too much yet it is possible to Preach Hear Pray Read Meditate Confer of Good too much For one Duty may shut out another and a greater may be neglected by our over-doing in a lesser which was the Pharisees sin in Sabbath-Resting 5. If we be never so right in the extension of our Acts yet we may go too far in the Intension of the Imperate Acts or Passions of the soul and that both on the Means and End Though the pure Acts of Knowing or Willing cannot be too great towards God and Salvation yet the Passions and Acts commonly called Sensitive may A man may Think on God not onely too much as to exclude other necessary thoughts but too Intensly and Love and Desire too Passionately For there is a Degree of Thinking or Meditating and of Passionate Love and Desire which the brain cannot bear but it will cause Madness and quite overthrow the use of Reason by overstretching the organs or by the extreme turbulency of the agitated spirits Yet I never knew the man nor ever shall do I think that was ever guilty of one of these excesses that is of Loving or Desiring God so Passionately as to distract him But I have often known weak-headed people that be not able to order their thoughts and many Melancholy People Guilty of the other that is of thinking too much and too seriously and intensly on Good and Holy things whereby they have overthrown their Reason and been distracted And here I would give all such weak-headed Melancholy persons this warning That whereas in my Book of Rest I so much press a constant course of Heavenly Meditation I do intend it onely for sound heads and not for the Melancholy that have weak heads and are unable to bear it That may be their sin which to others is a very great duty While they think to do that which they cannot do they will but disable themselves for that which they can do I would therefore advise those Melancholy persons whose minds are so troubled and heads weakned that they are in danger of overthrowing their Understandings which usually begins in multitudes of scruples and restlesness of mind and continual fears and blasphemous temptations where it begins with these distraction is at hand if not prevented that they forbear Meditation as being no duty to them though it be to others and instead of it be the more in those duties which they are fit for especially Conference with Judicious Christians and Chearful and Thankful acknowledgement of Gods Mercies And thus have I shewed you how far we may possibly exceed in Gods service Let me now a little apply it It hath ever been the Devils Policy to begin in perswading men to Worldlyness Flesh-pleasing Security and Presumption and utter Neglect of God and their souls or at least preferring their bodies and worldly things and by this means he destroyeth the world But where this will not take but God awaketh men effectually and casteth out the sleepy Devil usually he fils mens heads with needless scruples and next setteth them on a Religion not commanded and would make poor souls believe they do Nothing if they do not more then God hath commanded them When the Devil hath no other way left to destroy Religion and Godliness he will pretend to be Religious and Godly himself and then he is always over-religious and over-godly in his Materials All over-doing in Gods work is undoing And who ever you meet with that would Over-do suspect him to be either a subtil destroying enemy or one deluded by the destroyer O what a Tragedy could I here shew you of the Devils acting and what a Mysterie in the Hellish Art of Deceiving could I open to you And shall I keep the Devils counsel No. O that God would open the eyes of his poor desolate Churches at lâ—st to see it The Lord Jesus in Wisdom and tender Mercy establisheth a Law of Grace and Rule of Life Pure and Perfect but simple and plain laying the Condition of mans salvation more in the Honesty of the Believing Heart then in the strength of Wit and subtilty of a Knowing Head He comprized the Truths which were of Necessity to salvation in a Narrow room So that the Christian Faith was a matter of great plainness and simplicity As long as Christians were such and held to this the Gospel rode in Triumph through the world and an Omnipotency of the Spirit accompanied it bearing down all before it Princes and Scepters stoopt subtil Philosophy was non-plust and all useful Sciences came down and acknowledged themselves Servants and took their places and were well contented to attend the pleasure of Christ As Mr. Herbert saith in his Church Militant Religion thence fled into Greece where Arts Gave her the highest place in all mens hearts Learning was pos'd Philosophy was set Sophisters taken in a Fishers Net Plato and Aristotle were at a loss And wheel'd about again to spell Christs Cross Prayers chas't Syllogisms into their den And Ergo was transform'd into Amen The Serpent envying this Happiness of the Church hath no way to undo us but by drawing us from our Christian simplicity By the occasion of Hereticks quarrels and errours the Serpent steps in and will needs be a spirit of Zeal in the Church and he will so Over-do against Hereticks that he perswades them they must enlarge their Creed and adde this Clause against one and that against another and all was but for the perfecting and preserving of the Christian Faith And so he brings it to be a Matter of so much Wit to be a Christian as Erasmus
to him as long as you strip him of his Divine Nature Remember the holy Ghost's description of God 1 Joh 4.16 God is Love Write these words deep in your Understanding 2. Hereby you will have this Advantage also that your thoughts of God will be more sweet and delightfull to you For as Glorious and beautifull sights to your eyes and melodious sounds to your ears and sweet smels tastes c. are all delightfull when things deformed stinking c. are all loathsome and we turn away from one with abhorrency but for the other we would often see taste c. and enjoy them So is it with the objects of our minde God hath given no command for Duty but what most perfectly agreeth with the nature of the object He hath therefore bid us Love God and Delight in him above all because he is above all in Goodness even infinitely and unconceivably Good else we could not Love him above all nor would he ever command us so to do The object is ever as exactly fitted to its part as to draw out the Love and Delight of our hearts as the Precept is on its part to oblige us to it And indeed the Nature of things is a precept to Duty and it which we call The Law of Nature 3. Hereupon will follow this further Advantage that your Thoughts will be both easilyer drawn toward God and more frequent and constant on him For delightfull objects draw the heart to them as the Loadstone doth the Iron How gladly and freely and frequently do you think of your deerest friends And if you did firmly conceive of God as one that is ten thousand times more Gracious Loving and Amiable then any friend that you have in the world it would make you not only to Love him above all friends but also more freely delightfully and unweariedly to think of him 4. And then you would hence have this further Advantage that you would have lesse backwardness to any Duty and lesse weariness in Duty you would finde more delight in Prayer Meditation and speech of God when once God himself were more Lovely and delightfull in your eyes 5. All these Advantages would produce a further that is The growth of all your Graces For its impossible but this growth of Love and frequent delightfull thoughts of God and addresses to him should cause an increase of all the rest 6. Hereupon your Evidences would be more clear and discernable For Grace in strength and action would be easily found and would not this resolve all your doubts at once 7. Yea the very exercise of these severall Graces would be comfortable 8. And hereupon you would have more humble familiarity and communion with God For Love Delight and frequent addresses would overcome strangeness and disacquaintance which make us fly from God as a Fish or Bird or wild beast will from the face of a man and would give us access with boldness and confidence And this would banish sadness and terrour as the Sun dispelleth darkness and cold 9. At least you would hence have this advantage That the fixed apprehension of Gods Goodness and mercifull nature would cause a fixed apprehension of the Probability of your Happiness as long as you are willing to be Happy in Gods way For reason will tell you that he who is Love it self and whose Goodness is equal to his Almightiness and who hath sworn that he hath no pleasure in the death of a sinner but rather that he repent and live will not destroy a poor soul that lyeth in submission at his feet and is so far from resolved rebellion against him that it grieveth that it is no better and can please him no more 10. However these right apprehensions of God would overcome those terrours which are raised only by false apprehensions of him And doubtless a very great part of mens causeless troubles are raised from such misapprehensions of God For Satan knows that if he can Bring you to think of God as a cruel Tyrant and bloudthirsty man-hater then he can drive you from him in terrour and turn all your Love and cheerfull obedience into hatred and slavish fear I say therefore again Do not only get but also fix deep in your understanding the highest thoughts of Gods natural Goodness and Graciousness that possibly you can raise for when they are at the highest they come short ten thousand fold Object But Gods Goodness lyeth not in Mercy to men as I have read in great Divines he may be perfectly Good though he should for ever torment the most innocent creatures Answ These are ignorant presumptuous intrusions into that which is unsearchable Where doth Scripture say as you say Judge of God as he revealeth himself or you will but delude your self and abuse him All his works represent him mercifull for his Mercy is over all his works and legible in them all His word saith He is Good and doth Good Psal 119.68 and 145.9 How himself doth proclaim his own Name Exod. 34.6 7. I told you before The most mercifull men are his liveliest Image and therefore he plants Mercy in them in their conversion as a principal part of their new nature and commands of mercifulness are a great part of his Law and he bids us Be mercifull as our heavenly Father is mercifull Luk. 6.36 Now if this were none of his Nature how could he be the pattern of our new nature herein and if he were not infinitely Mercifull himself how could we be required to be Mercifull as he is Who dare say I am more Mercifull then God Object But God is Just as well as Mercifull and for all his Mercifull nature he will damn most of the world for ever in hell Answ 1. But James saith Mercy rejoiceth against Judgement Jam. 2.13 2. God is necessarily the Governour of the world while there is a world and therefore must govern it in Justice and so must not suffer his Mercy to be perpetually abused by wicked wilfull contemptuous sinners But then consider two things 1. That he destroyeth not humble souls that lye at his feet and are willing to have Mercy on his easie termes but only the stubborn despisers of his Mercy He damneth none but those that will not be saved in his way that is that will not accept of Christ and salvation freely given them I speak of those that hear the Gospel for others their case is more unknown to us And is it any diminution to his infinite Mercy that he will not save those that will not be intreated to accept of salvation 2. And consider how long he useth to wait on sinners and even beseech them to be reconciled to him before he destroyeth them and that he heapeth multitudes of Mercies on them even in their rebellion to draw them to Repentance and so to Life and is it unmercifulness yet if such men perish Object But if God were so infinite in Mercy as you say Why doth he not make all these