Selected quad for the lemma: love_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	believe_v	heart_n	love_v	3,877	5	5.7496	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93248	The glorious feast of the Gospel. Or, Christs gracious invitation and royall entertainment of believers. Wherein amongst other things these comfortable doctrines are spiritually handled: Viz. 1. The marriage feast between Christ and his Church. 2. The vaile of ignorance and unbeliefe removed. 3. Christs conquest over death. 4. The wiping away of teares from the faces of Gods people. 5. The taking away of their reproaches. 6. The precious promises of God, and their certaine performance. 7. The divine authority of the holy scriptures. 8. The duty and comfort of waiting upon God. / Delivered in divers sermons upon Isai.25 chap.6,7,8,9 verses, by the late reverend, learned and faithfull minister of the Gospell, Richard Sibbs, D.D. Master of Katharine-Hall in Cambridge, and preacher at Grayes-Inne, London. Perused by those that were instructed to revise his writings.	Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635.	1650 (1650)	Wing S3736; Thomason E599_13; ESTC R206386	119,357	167

truths are revealed they give way to their owne proud scornfull hearts they know not the love of the truth God knoweth what a jewell the Truth is and since they despise it God giveth them up to believe lies and take heed practice what we know and love what we know entertaine it with a loving affection A loving affection is the Casket of this jewell if we entertain it not in love it removes from us its Station and being gone God will remove us into darknesse And remember it is God that taketh away the vaile of ignorance and unbeliefe And therefore make this use of it to make our Studies and Closets Oratories not to come to Divine Truths to out-wrastle the excellency of them with our owne wits but to pray to God as you have Psal 119. Open mine eyes and reveale thy truth And St. Paul prayeth for the Spirit of Revelation 1 Ephes 19. And so desire God to reveale and take away the vaile from us that he will open divine Truths to our soules that since he hath the Key of David that opens and no man shutteth that he would open our understandings to conceive things and our hearts to believe He hath the onely Key of the soule we can shut our souls but cannot open them againe so we can shut our hearts to divine Truths we can naturally doe this but open them without the help of the Spirit we cannot He can open our understandings as he did the Disciples He can open our Hearts to believe he can doe it and will do it If we seek to him he will not put back the humble desires of them that feare him And therefore for heavenly light and heavenly revelation all the teaching of the men of the world cannot do it If we know no more than wee can have by Bookes and men that teach us wee shall never come to Heaven but wee must have God teach the heart as well as the Braine hee must teach not onely the Truths themselves as they bee discovered but the love of them the faith in them the practice of them and hee onely can doe this hee only can teach the heart hee onely can discover the bent of the heart and Satans wiles that cast a cloud upon the understanding the Spirit onely can doe it and therefore in all our endeavours labour to get knowledge and joyne holinesse and divine grace and pray to God that he would reveale the mystery of salvation to us But how shall we know whether we have this heavenly light and revelation or no Whether the vaile be yet upon our hearts or no I will not be long in the point Wee may know it by this The Apostle Peter●aith ●aith to expresse the vertue of Gods power he hath called us out of darknesse to his marvelous light The soule that hath the vaile taken from it there is a marvelling at the goodnesse of God a wondering at the things of faith And the soule sets such a price upon divine things that all is dung and drosse in comparison of the excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ Wherefore is it that thou wilt reveale thy selfe to us and not unto the world as admiring the goodnesse of God What are we what am I that God should reveale these things to me and not to the world that many perish in darkensse and shadow of death though they heare of divine things yet they teaching rebellion and unbeleife are not moulded to them and so perish eternally There is a secret admiration of the goodnesse of God to the poore soule and a wonderment at spirituall things Oh how sweet is thy law saith David And teach me the wonders of thy law and joy unspeakable and glorious and peace that passeth understanding these things be high to the soule by the taste of what they have they wonder at that little and at that they looke for and are carried with desire still further and further which is a farther evidence they that have any spirituall knowledge they be carried to grow more and more and to enter further and further into the Kingdome Where there is not a desire still till they come to the full measure that is to be had in Jesus Christ there is no knowledge at all certainly a gracious soule when once it sees it desires still to feele the power and vertue of Christ in it as Paul counted all dung in comparison of this knowledge to know my selfe in Christ and feele the power of his death in dying to sin and vertue of his resurrection in raising me to newnesse of life it was Saint Pauls study to walk still to the high price of Gods calling and where that is not no grace is begun And againe where divine light is and the vaile taken away it is the sanctified meanes for God works by his owne instruments and meanes and they be able to justifie all courses of wisdome Wisdome is justified of her children By experience they be able to say the word is the word I have found it casting me downe and raising me up and searching the hidden corners of my heart I have found Gods Ordinances powerfull the word and Sacrament I have found my hope faith strength and spirituall comfort and therefore I can justifie them for I have found tasted and relished of these things which worketh that upon the soule which Christ did on the body I finde mine eyes I finde my deafe eares opened I can heare with another relish then before I finde a life and quickning to good things though it be weake I had no life at all to them before I find a relish which I knew not before So that there be spirituall senses whereby I am able to justifie that these things be the things of God So that they that have divine truths can justifie all the ordinances of God by their owne experience As Peter answered when Christ asked him will you be also gone be gone said Peter Whether should we goe thou hast the words of eternall life I have found thy words efficacious to comfort and strengthen and raise and shall I depart from thee who hast the words of eternall life And so take a soule that the spirit of God hath wrought upon aske whether they will be carelesse of meanes of salvation not to pray or heare or receive the Sacrament by these have I eternall life conveyed God hath let in by these comfort and strength and joy and shall I leave these things no I will not whether shall I goe thou hast the words of eternall life Are we able to justifie these things by the sweetnesse wee have found in them then certainly God hath shined upon the soule and together with strength and light conveyed sweetnesse to the soule A godly man seeth things with life his sight worketh upon him it is a transforming sight as the Apostle saith wee all behold the glory of God and are changed Sight of light

included in Christ Aske of him and yee shall obtaine even the forgivenesse of your sinnes peace of conscience and communion of Saints Aske of Christ as of one invested with all priviledges for the good of others but yet this is by his death he is the feast it selfe he is dished out into promises have you a promise of the pardon of sinnes it is from Christ wouldst thou have peace of conscience it is from Christ justification and redemption it is from Christ the love of God is derived to us by Christ yea and all that we have that is good is but Christ parcelled out Now I will shew why Christ with his benefits prerogatives graces and comforts is compared to a feast First in regard of the choice of the things In a feast all things are of the best so are the things we have in Christ whatsoever favours we have by Christ they are choice ones they are the best of every thing pardon for sin is a pardon of pardon the title we have for heaven through him is a sure title the joy we have by him is the joy of all joyes the liberty and freedom from sin which he purchased for us by his death is perfect freedome the riches of grace we have by him are the only lasting and durable riches take any thing that you can if we have it by Christ it is of the best All worldly excellencies and honours are but meere shadowes to the high excellencies and honour we have in Christ No joy no comfort no peace no riches no inheritance to be compared with the joy peace and inheritance which we have in Christ whatsoever we have by him we have it in a glorious manner And therefore he is compared to fat to fat things full of marrow to wine to wine on the lees that preserveth the freshnesse of it the best wine of all that is not changed from vessell to vessell but keepeth its strength And indeed the strength and vigour of all floweth from Jesus Christ in covenant with us The love of Christ is the best love and he himselfe incomparably the best and hath favours and blessings of the choisest Againe as in a feast besides choice there is variety so in Christ there is variety answerable to all our wants Are we foolish he is wisdome have we guilt in our consciences he is righteousnesse and this righteousnesse is imputed unto us are we defiled he is sanctification are wee in misery he is our redemption If there be a thousand kinds of evils in us there is a thousand waies to remedy them by Jesus Christ Therefore the good things we have by Christ are compared to all the benefits we have in this world in Christ is choice and variety Are we weake he is meat to feed us that we may be strong he will refresh us he is the best of meats he is marrow so are our spirits faint he is wine thus we have in Christ to supply all our wants he is variety There is a plant among the Indians called by the name of Coquus the fruit thereof serveth for meat and drinke to comfort and refresh the body It yeeldeth that whereof the people make apparell to cloath themselves withall and also that which is phisicall very good against the distempers of the body And if God will infuse so much vertue into a poore plant what vertue may we expect to be in Christ himself He feedeth our soules to all eternity puts upon us the roabes of righteousnesse heales the distempers of our soules there is variety in him for all our wants whatsoever He is food physicke and apparell to cloath us and when we are cloathed with him we may with boldnesse stand before the Majesty of God He is all in all He is variety and all There is something in Christ answerable to all the necessities of Gods people and not only so but to their full content in every thing Againe as there is variety in a Feast so there is sufficiency full sufficiency We beheld the only begotten Son of God full of grace and truth And being full of grace He is wise and able to furnish this heavenly banquet with enough of all sorts of provisions fit for the soule to feed upon Ther 's abundance of grace and excellency and sufficiency in Christ And it must needs be because he is a Saviour of Gods owne sending Labour not therefore for the meate that perisheth but for the meat that the Son of God shall give you for him hath God the Father sealed That is sent forth for this purpose to feed the Church of God As there is an all-sufficiency in God so in Christ who by the sacrificing of himselfe was able to give satisfaction to divine justice Therefore saith he My flesh is meate indeed and my bloud is drinke indeed That is spiritually to the soule he is food indeed and can satisfie Gods justice If we consider him as God alone he is a consuming fire or as man alone he can do nothing But considered as God-man he is meate indeed and drinke indeed And now the soule is content with that which Divine justice is contented withall though our consciences be large yet God is larger and above our consciences Therefore as there is variety of excellency so is there sufficiency and fulnesse in Christ what he did he did to the full He is a Saviour and he filleth up that name to the full His pardon for sinne is a full pardon His merits for us are full merits His satisfaction to divine justice a full satisfaction His redemption of our soules and bodies a full redemption thus all he did was full A Feast is for company it is convivium there is converse at it So Cicero preferres the name of convivium among the Latines before the Greeke name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And this Feast is not for one we are all invited to it the excellency of Christs Feast consisteth in the Communion of Saints for whosoever takes part of it their spirits must agree one with another Love is the best and chiefest dish in this Feast the more wee partake of the sweetnesse of Christ the more we love one another Christ by his spirit so works in the hearts of the children of men that bring a thousand together of a thousand severall nations and within a little while you shall have them all acquainted one with another if they be good there is agreement of the spirit and a sympathy between them there is a kindred in Christ He is the true Isaack the death of Christ and the bloud of Christ is the ground of all union and joy and comfort whatsoever the bloud of Christ sprinkled upon the conscience will procure that peace of conscience that shall be a continuall Feast unto the soule This Feast must needs be wonderfull comfortable for we do not feast with those that are like our selves but we feast with God the Father and

grace which shall bee finished and accomplished in glory to discerne that peace which passeth understanding c. What a marvellous sweetnesse are in these things They cannot be revealed to the knowledge spiritually but there is a Feast in the soule wherein the soule doth solace it selfe so both these goe together And therefore we should not rest in that revealing that doth not bring a savor with it to the soule undoubtedly that knowledge hath no solace and comfort for the soule that is not by divine Revelation of heavenly truths We see the dependence of these one upon another Then let us make this Use of all Since there is a vail over all men by nature the work of ignorance and unbeliefe and since God onely taketh it away by his Holy Spirit and since that onely those that be godly and sanctified have this taken off While this is there is a spirituall feast joy and comfort and strength then let us labour to have this vaile taken off let us labour to have the eyes of our understandings enlightned to have our hearts subdued to believe let us take notice of our naturall condition We are drowned and inwarpt in darknesse the best of us all It is not having knowledge what wee are by nature it is not any knowledge that can bring us to heaven there must be a revelation a taking away of the vaile How many content themselves with common light of Education and traditionary knowledge so they were bred and catechized and under such a Ministery but for spirituall knowledge of spirituall things how little is it cared for And yet this is necessary to salvation There is great occasion to presie this that we rest not in common knowledge If Religion be not knowne to purpose its like Lightning which directs not a man in his way but dazles him and puts him quite out of his way Many have flashes of knowledge that affect them a little but this affection is soon gone and directs them not a whit in the wayes of life and therefore labour that the will and affections may be subject Beg of God a fleshy heart an heart yeelding to the truth We know eare-truths will harden as none is harder than a common formall Christian A man had better fall into the hands of Papists than into the hands of a formall hypocriticall Christian Why they pride themselves in their profession No Persecuters worse than the Scribes and Pharisees that stood in their own light They were more cruell than Pilate And therefore if wee bee informed but not truly transformed to love the truth we know and hate the evill we know it maketh us worse And then it inrageth men the more The more they know the more they be enraged Men when truths be prest which they purpose not to obey they fret against the Ordinance and cast stones as it were in the face of truth When Physick doth raise humors but is not strong enough to carry them away they indanger the body And where light is not strong enough to dispell corruption when it raiseth corruption it inrageth it When men know Truth and are not moulded into it they first rage against it and then by little and little fall from it and grow extreme enemies to it It s a dangerous thing therefore to rest in naked knowledge Beg then of God that he would take away the vaile of ignorance and unbeliefe that light and life may goe together and so wee shall be fit to feast with the Lord. Now that we may have true saving knowledge first we must attend meekly upon Gods Ordinances which be sanctified to this end to let in light to the soule Will we know sinne and our state by nature and how to come out of it then together with this Revelation must come an heavenly strength into the soule a heavenly taste and relish and therefore attend upon the Ordinances And labour for an humble soule empty of our selves And doe not think to break into heavenly things with strength of parts God must reveal God must take away the vaile only by his holy Spirit in the Ordinance The vaile is taken away from the oject in opening of Truths but the vaile must bee taken away from the object and from the heart too there must bee knowledge of the object as well as an object the object must bee sanctified and fitted to the persons else divine Truths will never be understood divinely nor spirituall Truths spiritually Labour to be emptied of your selves In what measure we are emptied of our self-conceitednesse and understanding wee bee fill'd in divine things in what measure we are emptied of our selves we are filled with the Spirit of God and knowledge and grace As a vessell in what measure it is emptied in that measure it is fit to be fill'd with more supervenient liquor so in what measure we grow in self-denyall and humility in that measure wee are filled likewise with knowledge He will teach an humble soule that stands not in its own light what it is to repent to believe to love what it is to be patient under the Crosse what it is to live holily and dye comfortably The Spirit of God will teach an humble selfe-denying soule all these things and therefore labour for an humble empty soule and not to cast our selves too much into the sinnes and fashions of the times As the Apostle Rom. 12. Be not conformed to this world but be yee transformed by the renewing of your minde c. When a man casteth himselfe into the mould of the times and will live as the rest doe he shall never understand the secrets of God and the good pleasure of God for the world must be condemned The world goeth the broad way And therefore we must not consider what others doe but what God teacheth us to do And adde to this What we know let us labour to practise Iohn 7. 17. But he that doth the will of my Father shall know of every Doctrine whether it be of God or no. We must doe and we shall know But can wee doe before we know The meaning is this that we have first breeding and education and some light of the Spirit turneth it presently to practice by obedience to that knowledge And then you shall know more hee that doth these things hee shall know all They shall know that doe practice what they know already To him that hath shall be given That is to him that hath some knowledge and putteth in practice what he hath God will increase the talent of his knowledge hee shall know more and more till God revealeth himselfe fully in the world to come And therefore be faithfull to our selves and true to the knowledge we have love it and put it into practice when divine truths are discovered let the heart affect them lest God giveth us up to believe lies We have many given up to this sinne because when

God read it as the word of God A company of prophane wretches you shal have the scums and basest of the people that will discourse and to grace their Discourse they must have Scripture phrases but whose word is it it is the word of the great God Eglon was a Heathen King and yet when a Message came from God hee arose up and made obeysance Wee should never read the Word but with reverence considering whose book it is and that we must be judged by it another day If it be the word I beseech you consider what we say and know that God will make every part of it good there shall not a jot of it faile nothing of it shall miscarry God speaketh all these words And therefore if you be blasphemers you shall not carry it away guiltlesse God hath said it if you continue not to obey you are under Gods curse unlesse you repent you shall perish every threat God will make good you must repent and get into Christ else perish eternally God hath said it and we may confirme it in the unfolding and reading of it the time is comming for the execution of it and then God is peremptory Now God waiteth our leisure and intreateth us but if wee will not repent wee shall have that Arrow in our sides that will never be gotten out till we dye in hell whose sinnes are condemned in Scripture they are condemned by God and whom we shut heaven to by opening the Scriptures God will shut heaven to The opening of the Scriptures is the opening of heaven If the Scripture saith a man that liveth in such a sinne shall not be saved heaven shall be shut to him he is in a state of death he is strucken and remaineth in danger till he repenteth How many live in sins against Conscience that are under the guilt and danger of their sinnes they be wounded they be struck by the word there is a threat against their sinnes although it be not executed and they be as much in danger of eternall death as a condemned Traytor onely God suffers them to live that they may make their peace they have blessed times of visitation O make use of it it is the word of God and know that God will make every part of his word good in threats as well as in promises Take occasion from hence likewise to shame our selves for our infidelity in the promises when wee are in any disconsolate estate we are in Jobs case being in trouble the consolation of the Almighty seemed light to him These be the comforts of God When we come to comfort some though the sweet promises of the Gospell be opened yet they doe not consider them as being the word the consolations of the Almighty and therefore they seem light to them But it should not be so Consider they be the comforts of the word and therefore we should heare them with faith labour to affect them and shame our selves Is this Gods word that giveth this direction that giveth this comfort and shall I not regard it Is it the consolation of the Almighty and shall not I embrace it Therefore we should be ashamed not to be more affected with the heavenly sweet things promised of God than we are A man that refuseth heavenly Comforts to imbrace comforts below how should hee reflect upon himselfe with shame Hath God promised such things God that cannot lye and shall I lose my hope of all these glorious things for the enjoying of the pleasures of sin for a season I professe my selfe to be a Christian where is my faith where is my hope A man must acknowledge either I have no faith for if I had faith believing God speaking these excellent things I would not venture my losse of them to get the enjoyment of poor temporary things here for the good things promised in another world Labour therefore to bring mens hearts to believe the word and desire God to seale it to our soules that it is so I will give one direction Labour for the Spirit of God that writ the word that indited the word Beg of God to ●eale to our soules that it is the word and that he would sanctifie our hearts to be suitable to the word and never rest till wee can finde God by his Spirit seasoning our hearts so that the relish of our soules may suit to the relish of divine truths that when wee heare them we may relish the truth in them and may so feele the worke of Gods Spirit that we may bee able to say hee is our God And when we heare of any threatning we may tremble at it and any sinne discovered wee may hate it For unlesse wee by the Spirit of God have something wrought in us suitable to the word we shall never believe the word to bee the word And therefore pray the Lord by his Spirit to frame our hearts to be suitable to divine Truths and so frame them in our affections that we may find the word in our joy in our love in our patience that all may be seasoned with the word of God When there is a relish in the word and in the soule suitable to it then a man is a Christian indeed to purpose till then men will Apostatize turne Papist turne Atheist or any thing because there is a distance betweene the soule and the word the word is not ingraffed into the soule they doe not know the word to bee the word by arguments fetched from the word and therefore they fall from the power of the word But if we will not fall from divine truths get truth written in the heart and our hearts so seasoned by it and made so harmonious and suitable to it that we may imbrace it to death that we may live and dye in it To goe on In that day shall it be said loe this is our God we have waited for him Here is a gracious promise that shutteth up all spoken before He spake of great things before And now here is a promise of a day wherein hee will make all things promised good to the soule of every believing Christian In that day it shall be said this is our God wee have waited for him he will save us It is an excellent portion of Scripture to shew the gracious disposition that the Spirit of God will worke in all those that imbrace the gracious promises of God The time shall come when they shall say Loe this is our God wee have waited for him and now wee enjoy him The points considerable are these First of all by supposition that there bee glorious excellent things promised to the people of God Rich and precious promises of Feasting of taking away the vaile of conquest over death by victory of wiping away teares and removing rebukes great things if vve goe no farther than my Text. Secondly these have ha● day vvhen they shall bee performed vvhich is not presently for

of the world there I shall be starved if I sit still I shall also perish what shall I now doe I will venture upon Jesus Christ he hath food that endures to eternall life and if I perish there I perish If I have not Christ I must die the wrath of God hangeth over my head and I cannot escape Alas poore soule now thou seest thy wretchednesse cast thy selfe upon him and come in If thou venturest thou canst but die adventure therefore put thy selfe upon Gods mercy for he is gracious and full of compassion Those that have given up themselves to Christ let them study to honour God and Christ by taking those comforts that are allotted to them When any man inviteth us to a Feast he knoweth if we respect him wee will fall too God hath bestowed his Sonne upon us and will he not with him give us all things let us not therefore dishonour the bounty of our good God but come in and labour to have our hearts more and more inlarged with the consideration of the excellency of these eternall comforts The fulnesse of Christ is able to satisfie the soule though it were a thousand times larger then it is If it were possible that wee could get the capacity of Angels it could not be sufficient to shew forth the fulnesse of pleasures that are provided for a Christian let us therefore labour with all labour to open our hearts to entertaine these joyes for we cannot honour God more then of his bounty to receive thankfully what he freely offers To taste plentifully in the covenant of grace of these riches and joy and hope of things to come glorious above all that we are able to thinke of I say this is the way to honour God under the Gospel of hope of things that are infinite the more we take the more we may take and the more we honour him that giveth Let us therefore enter deeply into our speciall sinnes there is no feare of despaire thinke of all thy wants and of all thy sins let them be never so many yet there is more to be had in Christ then there can be wanting in thee The soule that thinkes it selfe full of wants is the richest soule and that that apprehendeth no want at all no need of grace or Christ is alwaies sent empty away grieve therefore for thy sinnes and then joy that thou hast grieved and goe to God for the supply of all thy wants The seeds of joy and of comfort are sowne in teares and griefe in this world but yet we know we shall reape in joy in the world to come Remember this we have we know not what to goe through withall in this valley of teares That speech of Barzillai was good and excellent who being by David himselfe invited to the Court answered I am now growne old I am not fit for the Court for my senses are decayed and gone even so the time will come when our sense of relishing earthly pleasures will utterly be lost we are sure to goe to our graves and we know not what particular trouble we may meet with in this world and goe through if we live to a full age Alas what are all comforts here to the comforts of eternity when our daies are spent on earth then comes in the eternity of pleasure or everlasting sorrow Oh then if when we shall leave all behind us we have the joy of the holy Ghost in our hearts it will advance us above all the suggestions of sinne or Satan and bring us chearefully above to the tribunall seat of Christ Labour therefore to have a spirituall relish of soule to grow in grace and comforts of the holy Ghost for the time will come when we shall wish that we had had more then we have every one will repent of loosenes and slacknes in the waies of holinesse Therefore let us labour earnestly to be good husbands for our soules for the time to come THE Third Sermon ISAIAH 25. 6 7. And in this Mountaine shall the Lord of Hosts make unto all people a Feast c. And he will destroy in this Mountaine the face of the covering cast over all people and the vaile that is spread over all Nations I Have heretofore spoken of the Feast that God makes to his Church specially in the later times which was specially performed at the first comming of Christ when the Gentiles came in But the consummation and perfection of all will be at the day of judgement then God will spread a Table for his to all eternity We have spoken heretofore at large of the resemblance of spirituall good things by this comparison of a Feast God sets out spirituall things by outward because wee cannot otherwise conceive of them the best things in grace by the best and sweetest things in Nature And thus God enters into our soules by our senses as we see in the Sacrament But wee have spoken at large of this Our care must be to have a speciall taste a spirituall appetite to relish this Feast that God provides naturally wee are distastfull we relish not spirituall and heavenly things we savor not the things of God And the spirit of God must alter our savor and taste as he doth wheresoever there is spirituall life there is spirituall relish of heavenly truths Now let me adde this further that though it be made by God yet we must bring something to this Feast Christ feasteth with us as yee have Rev. 3. he sups with us not that wee have grace from our selves or can bring any thing he bringeth his own provision with him when hee suppeth with us But yet by the Covenant of grace whereby he enters into termes of friendship with us we must sup with him wee must have grace to entertaine him though it is at his owne cost yet we must have something he doth not require us to pay our debts but he giveth us wherewith secretly he bids us come but giveth a secret Messenger to draw us he sends his spirit certainly certainly hee will have us bring somthing when wee come to feast but it is of his owne giving And that we are to bring is humble and empty soules wherein we are to delight our selves in sense of our unworthinesse and the spirit of faith to believe his promises that pleaseth him when we can honour him with a Spirit of Faith and then a Spirit of Love and new Obedience springing from a Spirit of Faith and Love these bee the things Christ requires wee should have Our soules must be thus furnished that Christ may delight to dwell with us And therefore it is a good importuning of God Lord I desire thou shouldest dwell in mee and prepare my soule as a fit Temple vouchsafe me the graces thou delightest in and delightest to dwell in So wee may begge of God his Holy Spirit to furnish our soules so as he may dwell and delight in us But we have spoken largely

and praying and doing good and abstaining from evill the Law of the Spirit of life frees us from the Law of sinne and death I beseech you inlarge these things in your thoughts They bee things wee must all have use of beforehand against the evill day It should bee comfortable and usefull to us all to heare that our enemy our greatest enemy Death is swallowed up in victory And yet there 's more comfort in the Text. THE Fifth Sermon ISAIAH 25. 8. And all teares shall be wiped away from all faces NOt only death shall be swallowed up in victory but God will wipe away all tears from all eyes Religion shall be religion good things shall be good things nothing shall go under false notions all tears shall be wiped away we have now many causes of teares In the world there is continuall raising of clouds that distill into drops of teares had we nothing without us to raise a vapour to be distil'd in teares we are able to raise up mists from our owne mists from our owne doubts and conflicts within As we should weepe for our owne sinnes so for the sinnes of others as wee may see in Jeremy where the Prophet saith Oh that my head were a fountaine of teares that I might weepe continually for the sinnes of my people And indeed good men are easie to weepe as the heathen man observeth they are easie to lament not onely for their own sinnes but the sinnes and misery of another Our blessed Saviour himselfe we never read that he laughed wee have heard that he wept and for his very enemies Oh Jerusalem Jerusalem He shed teares for them that shed his bloud Teares were maine evidences of Christs sweetnesse of disposition as that hee would become man and a curse and die for us and that he would make so much of little children and call all to him that were weary and heavy laden that hee never refused any that came to him Hee that wept specially for the miseries and afflictions this shewed his gracious and sweet disposition And that in heaven he is so full of sympathies in glory that when Paul persecuted the Church Why dost thou persecute me So though he is free from passion in heaven he is not free from compassion from sympathie with his Church And so every child of God is ready not onely to grieve for his own sinnes and the miserie that followeth them but the sins and miseries of others Mine eyes gush out with rivers of teares saith the Prophet David when hee saw that men brake the law of God whom he loved A true naturall child takes to heart the disgrace of his father if we be not grieved to see our father disgraced wee are bastards not sonnes They that make a sport of sinne what are they Alas they have not one sparke of the spirit of adoption they are not children who rejoyce at that at which they should grieve So Saint Paul I have told you often and now tell you weeping there be many enemies of the crosse of Christ When he saw some men preach against and others enemies of the crosse of Christ whose end is damnation hee telleth them of it weeping Wee have cause therefore to mourne for the sinnes of others and for the miseries of others whether we respect God or the Church or our selves First the love of God moveth us to weepe when wee see him dishonored If we love the Church we should mourne for any sinnes that may prejudice their salvation Doth it not pitty any man to see an Oxe go to slaughter to see a man of parts otherwise by sinning against conscience going to slaughter to see an ordinary swearer an uncleane person a prophane wretch covering himselfe with pride as a garment scorning God and the world and all Can a Christian looke upon this see flesh and blood like himself under the Gospell under a cursed condition unavoidable without serious repentance and not be affected with it Can a man see a poore Asse fall under a burthen and not helpe to take it up and yet see man falling to hell and not be affected with it Thus we see wee have cause enough of teares And as there is cause so we should be sensible we ought to take to heart the afflictions of Joseph hee is a dead man that hath not sense in this kinde If wee go to the body and state or any thing about a man there is cause of griefe hath not every member many diseases and is not our lives a kind of hospitall some sicke of one thing some of another But as there is cause wee should bee sensible of it wee are flesh and not stones therefore it is a sottish opinion to be stockish and brutish as if to out-face sorrow and griefe were a glory When our Saviour was sent into the world Christi dolor dolor maximus there were no patience without sensiblenesse away then with that iron that flinty Phylosophy that thinks it a vertue to be stupid And as the Apostle saith Romans 1. 31. without naturall affections He counteth it the greatest judgement of God upon the soule yet they would have it a vertue Why should I smite them any more saith God they have no sense no feeling The proud Phylosopher thought it was not phylosophicall to weepe a proud stoicall humor but Christians desire it And therefore we ought to labour to be more sensible that we might make our peace and reverence the justice of God and be more sensible of him afterwards It is most true that Sapiens miser plus miser the more wise any man is the more sensible of misery And therefore of all men the best men have most griefe because they have most quicke senses they be not stupified with insensibility and resolutenesse to beare it bravely as the world but they apprehend with griefe the cause of griefe And as they have a more sanctified judgement than other men so they have a more wise affection of love and a quicker life of grace where life is there is sense and where there is a cleare sight or cause of griefe there is most griefe Therefore the best men have most griefe because they be most judicious most loving Then they have most grace to beare it out of all others therefore considering there is cause in our selves and in others of griefe continually wee ought to labour to be sensible of it else it were no favour to have teares wiped away So that there is cause of teares and teares is a duty of Christians sensible of the cause both of sinne and misery upon one and another And as it is an unavoidable griefe so it is good wee should grieve we must stoope to Gods course we must bring our hearts to it and pray that since our necessities and sins doe call for this dispensation that we must under correction he will make us sensible of his rod that

and for time to come and all little enough It was Davids course thou art my God from my mothers wombe and upon thee have I hanged over since I was borne faile me not when I am old Goe along with Gods favours and use them as arguments of future blessings As former victories are helps to get the second victory Every former favour helpeth to strengthen our faith In the next God is an inexhausted fountaine and when we have to deale with an infinite God the more we take of him the more we offer him It is no good plea to say you have done courtesies therefore do them still But we cannot honour God more then from former experience to looke for great things from the great God We have have waited for him he will save us we have waited for him and we will rejoyce in his salvation That which a child of God gives thanks for rejoyces in and labors for is more more experience of his salvation We wil rejoyce in his salvation There is not a stronger word in all the Scripture nor in nature he doth not say rejoycing in this or that benefit but in his salvation that is in deliverance from all evill we will reioyce in his perservation when he hath delivered us we will reioyce in his advancement of us and we will reioyce in his salvation And therfore when the wisedome of heaven would include all in one word hee useth the word Jesus all happinesse in that word that pregnant full word a Saviour So that Gods carriage towards his children is Salvation He is the God of Salvation or a saving God And God sent his name from heaven and the Angels brought it the name of JESUS Therefore looke to the full sense of it We have a Saviour that will answer his name as he is Jesus so he will save his people from their sinnes And therefore we will reioyce in his salvation God dealt with us like a God when he delivered us from all misery from all sinnes and advanced us to all happinesse that nature is capable of As he said before he will wipe away all teares from all faces and take away the rebukes of all people He will punish the wicked with eternall destruction And if he advanceth a people he will be salvation then which he can say no more And this sheweth that the children of God rejoyce more then in any thing else in salvation because it is the salvation of God and because God is salvation it selfe Heaven were not heaven if Jesus and God in our nature were not there And therefore the Apostle saith I desire to depart not to be dissolved and to be with Christ for that is better The sight of God specially in our nature God the second person taking our nature that we might be happy will make us happy for ever In loving God and joying in God and enjoying God makes full happinesse but that is not the cause of joy in heaven but the cause of all is Gods influence into us Here in the world happinesse is mediate in Gods revealing of himselfe to us by his holy spirit in the use of meanes in his dealings and deliverances letting us see him by his grace to see him and joy and delight in him for ever It is no good love that resteth in any blessings of God for themselves It is an harlottry affection to love the gift more then the giver So the Saints of God they doe all desire to see him as they may and to joy in God and enjoy God himselfe and to see God in our nature and to be with him for ever Before he spake of a feast and if the Feast-maker be not there what is all In a Funerall feast there is much cheere but the Feast-maker is gone In heaven there is joy but where is God where is Christ he that hath done so much suffered so much for us that hath taken possession of heaven and keepeth a place for us there What is heaven without him salvation severed from him is nothing We shall say when we are there Loe here is David Abraham Saint John here the Martyrs I but here is Christ here is God here is our Saviour the cause of all and the seeing of him in them that he will be glorious in his Saints that maketh us rejoyce We shall see all our friends in heaven there we shall see the excellency of the happinesse of Christ his love his grace his mercy The words are expressed with a kind of glorying Loe this is our God So that the joy of a Christian endeth in glory and in the highest degree of glory As you have it Rom. 5. We glory also in tribulation we glory in hope of glory nay we glory in God as ours reconciled And if we glory in him now as a God reconciled what shall we doe in heaven Can a worlding glory in his riches his greatnesse his favour from such a man as Haman did And shall not a Christian glory in his God and make his boast in his God And therefore in this world wee should learne to glory before we come to that glory in heaven specially when we be set upon by any thing that is apt to discourage us glory then in our head perhaps a Christian hath no wealth no great rents to glory in I but he hath a God to glory in let him glory in him The world may take all else from him but not his God As the Church in Cant. 5. The virgins put the Church to describe her beloved what is thy beloved more then another beloved My beloved is white and ruddy the chiefest of 10000. Then she goeth on in particulars my beloved is thus and thus and if you would know what my beloved is this is my beloved So a Christian that hath a spirit of faith should glory in God here for heaven is begun here and he should glory in Christ is Saviour and should set Christ against all discouragements and oppositions if you will know what is my beloved this is my beloved the chiefe among ten thousands Psal 115. Our God is in heaven and doth whatsoever he pleaseth in heaven and earth and the deepes yea we make our boast of God saith the Psalmist when there is occasion this is the Lord this is our God we have waited for him specially in times of afflictions and what is the reason This will hold out to eternity This is our God As in the Revelations It is a plea and a glory for ever for God is our happinesse As the School-men say he is our objective happinesse and our formall happinesse he is our happinesse as he is ours And he is ours in life and death and for ever so there is alwayes ground of glory onely God doth discover himselfe to be ours by little and little as we are able to beare him he is ours in our worst times My God my God why hast thou forsaken