fullnesse and constant fruition is reserved for the next life Here wee are trained as it were in a spirituall warfare against the World the Flesh and the Divell wee are exercised unto New-obedience by manifold crosses troubles and temptations Satan is sometimes set upon us to afflict us with His owne immediate Hellish suggestions Sometimes our owne sinnes grievously affright us with renewed representations of horrour Sometimes our owne God frownes upon us Himselfe with His displeased and angry countenance and in love leaves us a while to the terrours of a spirituall desertion Hee sometimes laies His visiting 〈◊〉 upon our Bodies and casteth us downe 〈…〉 of sicknesse Sometimes Hee sends heavy crosses upon our outward States and breakes the Staffe of our prosperity Continually almost Hee suffers many malicious Currs to barke at us with slanders lies disgracefull imputations and all the enemies of grace to pursue us bitterly with much malice and disdaine Thus are wee trained and entertained in this world Our Crowning comes in the World to come Ninthly To cause thee to have recourse with more reverence thirst and thankfull acknowledgement to the Well-head of refreshings if God once withdraw the light of His countenance and comfortable quickning of His Spirit wee shall find no comfort at all in any Creature no life in the Ordinances no feeling of our spirituall life and therefore wee must needs to the ever-springing Fountaine of All-sufficiency c. Which blessed ends and effects when the good hand of our God hath wrought Hee will as certainly returne as ever the Sunne did after the darkest Mid-night and that with abundance of glory and sweetnesse proportionable to the former dejection and darknesse of our spirits The lowest ebbe of a spirituall desertion brings the highest tide of spirituall exultation As wee may see before in Mistris Brettergh and Master Peacocke pag. 84. 2. What is the reason thou art so sad and sore afflicted for the absence of thy Beloved and with want of the woonted gracious and comfortable workings of the Spirit It is because Thou hast formerly grasped the Lord Iesus sweetly and savingly in the armes of thy Soule been sensibly refreshed with the savour of His good ointments ravished extraordinarily with the beauty of His Person dearenesse of His blood riches of His purchase and glory of his kingdome And hast heretofore holden Him as the very life of thy Soule and chiefest and onely treasure ejaculating with David unfainedly from the heart-roote Whom have I in Heaven but Thee And there is none upon Earth that I desire besides Thee Earth is an Hell and Heaven no Heaven without Iesus Christ I say the present griefe that thy well-beloved is now gone argues evidently this former enjoyment of His gracious presence And then build upon 't as upon the surest Rocke Once Christs and His for ever The gifts and calling of God are without repentance Whom Hee loveth once Hee loveth unto the end Hee is no changeling in his love I am the Lord faith Hee I change not therefore yee sonnes of Iacob are not consumed Once elected ever beloved Once New-borne and borne to eternity If once the sanctifying Spirit hath seizd upon Thee for Iesus Christ thou art made sure and lockt fast for ever in the armes of his love with everlasting barres of mercy and might from any mortall hurt and adversary power Thou maist then cast downe the gauntlet of defiance against the Devill and the whole world and take up with Paul that victorious chalenge unto all created things I am perswaded that neither death nor life nor Angels nor Principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other Creature shall bee able to separate mee from the love of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lord Hee may hide His face from Thee for a while but thou hast His owne sure and inviolable Word from His owne mouth That Hee will returne and with everlasting kindnesse have mercy on thee Hee may frowne upon Thee I confesse for a season and so fright thee with his terrours as tho in thy present apprehension thou wert a lost Man But Hee never will Hee cannot possibly forsake thee finally I have sworne once by my holinesse that I will not faile David Psal. 89.35 And in the meane time thy former feelings of the motions of the Spirit and grace doe give cleare evidence and assurance that spirituall life is still resident in thy Soule tho runne as it were into the roote and tho it 's more lively operations and effects bee suspended for a time The Woman that hath once felt the Child stir in Her wombe is most assured that shee is with-Child that an immortall Soule and naturall life is infused into it by the omnipotent hand of God though at other times shee perceive no motion at all It is so in the present Point And thy grieving also groaning and panting after Christ is an unanswerable argument that thou art alive spiritually Lay the waight of the whole world upon a man that is starke dead and Hee can neither stirre cry or complaine 3. Consider that some graces are more substantiall in themselves more profitable to us and of greater necessitie for salvation as Faith repentance love New-obedience active and passive Selfe-deniall vilenesse in our owne eyes humble walking with God c. Others are not so or absolutely necessary but accompany a saving state as separable accidents as ioy and peace in believing sensible comfort in the holy Ghost comfortable feelings of Gods favour rejoycing in hope a lively freedome in prayer assurance of evidence c. And from hence mayest thou take comfort in two respects First Desertion deprives thee only of these comfortable accessarâ—es but thou art still possest of the Principall and substantialls of salvation Of which not the utmost concurrence of all hellish and earthly rage can possibly rob thee And therefore thou art well enough in the meane time and as safe as safety it selfe can make thee 2. Secondly Losse of these lesse principall graces which by accident is a singular advantage and gaine drives thee nearer unto Iesus Christ at least by many unutterable groanes every one whereof is a strong cry in the eares of God and causeth thee better to prise and plie to exercise and improove more fruitfully those other more necessary graces without which thou canst not bee saved It is a wise and honest passage in Mistris Iuxons Monument pag 60. Shee continued faithfull to the ende in the most substantiall graces For howsoever shee mourned for the want of that degree of ioy which shee had felt in former times yet she continued in repentance in the practise of holinesse and righteousnesse in a tender love of God and to his Word and Children in holy zeale and fruitfulnesse even to the last period of her daies And indeede her want of full ioy was so
with the wrath of God and left to the horrour of some hideous temptation 4. Heare Master Hooker a man of great learning and very sound in this point I varie some words but keepe the sense entire Happier a great deale is that mans Case whose soule by inward desolation is humbled then hee whose heart is through abundance of spirituall delight lifted up and exalted above measure Better is it sometimes to goe downe into the pit with him who beholding darknes and bewailing the losse of inward ioy and consolation crieth from the bottome of the lowest hell My God My God why hast thou forsaken mee Then continually to walke arme in arme with Angels to sit as it were in Abrahams bosome and to have no thought or cogitation but of peace and blessing himselfe in the singularity of assurance above other men to say I desire no other blisse but only duration of my present comfortable feelings and fruition of God I want nothing but even thrusting into heaven and the like For in the height of spirituall ravishments thou art in great hazard of being exalted above measure and so may bee justly exposed to a Thorne in the flesh the Messenger of Satan to buffet thee which is a very heavie case But now on the other side the lowest degree of humiliation under Gods mighty hand is the nearest step to rising and extraordinary exultation of spirit The extremest darknesse of a spirituall desertion is wont to go immediately before the glorious Sun-rise of heavenly light and un-utterable lightsomnes in the soule David securely pleasing and applauding himselfe in his present stability and strong conceit of the continuance of his peace brake out thus I shal never be moved Lord by thy favour thou hast made my mountaine to stand strong But hee was quickly throwne downe from the top of his supposed unmoveable hill taken off from the height of his confidence and lay trembling in the dust Thou didst hide thy face and I was troubled But now that sweetest rapture of incredible joy for so he spake The ioy which I feele in my conscience is incredible did arise in Master Peacocks heart when hee was newly come as it were out of the mouth of Hell Mistris Bretterghs wonderfull reioycing followed immediately upon her returne out of a roaring wildernesse as she called it What large effusions of the Spirit and overflowing rivers of heavenly peace were plentifully showred downe upon Robert Glovers troubled spirit after the heaviest night in all likelyhood that ever he had in this world by reason of a greivous Desertion 5. Nay heare the Spirit of all truth and comfort Himselfe immediately Who is among you that feareth the Lord that obeyeth the voyce of his servant that walketh in darkenesse and hath no light Let him trust in the Name of the Lord and stay upon his God Whence wee may draw a double comfort in time of Desertion first Because in thy present apprehension thou finds and feeles thy selfe in darkenesse and to have no light thou art ready therupon to conceive and conclude un-necessarily against thy owne soule that Gods favour Iesus Christ grace salvation and all are gone for ever And this is the most cutting sting sorest pang which grievously afflicts and rents the heart in pieces with restlesse angvish in such Cases Out of what depth of horrour doe you thinke did these heavie groanes and almost if not altogether for the time despairing speeches spring in those blessed Saints mentioned before Will the Lord cast off for ever And will hee be favourable no more Is his mercy cleane gone for ever Doth his promise faile for evermore While I suffer thy terrours I am distracted I am amazed confounded and almost mad with feare least my soule should bee swallowed up with the horrours of eternall death I am afraid lest the Lord hath utterly withdrawne his wonted favour from me Woe woe woe c. A weake a wofull a wretched a forsaken woman I have no more sense of grace then these curtaines Oh! how wofull and miserable is my estate that must thus converse with hell-hounds It is against the course of Gods proceedings to save mee c. But now herein the deserted in the sense I have said are much deceived and extremely wrong their owne soules in such extremities not considering that their walking in darkenesse and having no light may most certainely consist with a saving estate and a Beeing in Gods favour tho for the present not perceived Which appeares plainely by the quoted place Wherein Hee that walketh in darkenesse and hath no light is such an one as feareth the Lord and obeyeth the voice of his servant Now the feare of God and obedience to the Ministery are evident markes of a gracious man Hence it is that when the servants of God are something come againe unto themselves they see and censure their owne unadvisednesse in that respect disavow and disclaime all termes tending that way which they let hastily fall from them in heate of temptation And I said faith David this is my infirmity but I will remember the yeeres of the right hand of the most High Truly said Master Peacocke my heart and soule have been far led and deepely troubled with temptations and stings of conscience but I thanke God they are eased in good measure Wherefore I desire that I bee not branded with the note of a forlorne reprobate Such questions Oppositions and all tending thereto I renounce Here then is a great deale of comfort in the greatest darkenesse of a spirituall desertion for wee may assure our selves that God by his blessed Spirit hath a secret influence and saving worke upon the soule of his Child when there is no light or feeling of his favour at all The Sun we know tho hee leaves his light upon the face of the earth yet notwithstanding descends by a reall effectual influence into the bosome and darkest bowels thereof and there exerciseth a most excellent work in begetting mettals Gold Silver and other pretious things It is proportionably so in the present Point A poore soule may lie groveling in the dust afflicted tossed with tempest and in present apprehension have no comfort and yet blessedly partake still of the sweet influence of Gods everlasting love of a secret saving worke of grace and almighty support of the sanctifying Spirit Let us looke upon the Lord Iesus himselfe His holy soule though hee was Lord of Heaven and Earth upon the Crosse was even as a scorched heath-ground without so much as any drop of deaw of comfort either from Heaven or Earth and yet at the same time hee was gloriously sustained by an omnipotent influence And God was never nearer unto Him than then neither Hee ever so obedient unto God And I make no doubt but that the judicious eye of the well-experienced Physition may many times easily observe it in those troubled tempted and deserted soules which they
deale and converse with for recovery and cure This secret and saving influence I speake of might bee evidently discerned in Master Peacocke even at the worst Some reverend Ministers standing by his bed of sorrow asked him if they should pray for him Marke well his answer Take not the Name of God in vaine said hee by praying for a Reprobate Which words well weighed seeme to imply and represent clearely to a spirituall discerning judgement some good measure even of the highest degree of divine love preferring the glory of God before the wellfare of his owne soule rather willing to have the meanes of his salvation neglected then the Lord dishonoured One asking another time whether hee loved such an One meaning a godly man Yes saith hee Why For his goodnesse Another comming to him upon the Lords day willed him to put his hand to a note of certaine debts This is not a day for that said hee And at the same time hee would hardly suffer any to stay with him from the Sermon Beeing told of suffering plaisters out of Gods Word to rest upon his wounded soule Hee brake out thus Oh! if I had Oh! if it would please God I had rather then any thing in this or other three thousand Worlds By these we may see and other passages to the same purpose that our blessed God had a secret working and saving influence upon his soule even in the depth and hideous darkenesse of his most grievous desertion Here is love first unto God in a high degree secondly deare affection unto his Children and that for his Image shining in them thirdly love unto his Sabbaths and salvation of others fourthly vehement desires after grace and Gods favour All which were undeniable demonstrations of an undamned state to every understanding eye Nay unquestionable arguments of spirituall life and designation to eternall blisse Whereupon my resolution was then and protestation upon good ground That if all the powerfull eloquence which rested with in the reverent bosome of mine owne deare Mother the famous Vniversity of Oxford managed by the Sâ—raphicall tongue of the highest and most glorious Angell in heaven had been industriously set on worke for that purpose except I had heard my blessed Redeemer say I will rend a member from my Body and throw it away The holy Spirit say I will pull my seale from that Soule which I have savingly sanctifyed my gracious and mercifull Father say I wil this once faile forsake One of mine I could never have been possibly perswaded that that soule of his so richly laden with heavenly treasure and gifts of God never to be repented of so syncerely exercised in the waies of God and opposition to the corruption of the times c. should possibly perish 2. Secondly suppose thou shouldest walke in darkenesse and have no light in the sense of the Prophet for the residue and remainder of thy few and evill dayes in this vale of teares nay and dye so before comfort comes yet be not discomforted For fearing God and being upright-hearted thy Soule shall most certainely bee preserved in spirituall and eternall safety by staying upon thy God tho thou bee without any sense of joy and peace in believing This life tho never so long is but a moment to the life to come But the kindnesse is everlasting with which hee will have mercy on thee Thy sufferings are but short whatsoever they bee But thou hast eternity of joyes in the World above purchased and prepared for thee by the hearts-blood of that blessed Saviour of thine upon whom thy soule relies It is the Divels policy say Divines to procure for his slaves all the favours honours and advancements all the prosperities and pleasures hee can possibly lest if hee should not follow and fullfill their humours this way they might thinke upon seeking after and serving a new Master Noâ— caring to vexe or molest them in this World because hee knowes full well hee shall have time enough hereafter to torment them in Hell And wilt not thou contrarily be content if God so please to passe thorow this vale of teares even with Hemans horrour Psal. 88.15 Sith Heaven is so neare at hand and thou hast a little before thee an everlasting time to row in the bottomlesse and boundlesse Ocean of all glory and blisse in an endlesse variety of new and fresh delights infinitely excellent and sweet aboue the largest created conceite 6. Let us suppose a Christian in these three states And it is no uncouth thing to those who obserue or feele Gods secret and unsearchable dealings with his Children 1. First in a faire and comfortable calme and Sun-shine after the tempestuous troubles and travaile in the pangs of the New-birth when the light of Gods countenance the first refreshing warmth of his sanctifying Spirit the fresh sweetnesse and vitall stirrings of grace the ravishing consciousnesse of his happy conversion doe fill his soule as with marrow and fatnesse and feede it with a kindly and more lively disposition to all good and godly dueties 2. Secondly in a spirituall Desertion when the sense of Gods favour love and woonted presence the comfortable vse and exercise of the Ordinances graces and spirituall affaires langvish and leave him for a time 3. Thirdly In the state of recovery and restitution from such a fearefull Dampe and deprivation of divine comfort unto former ioyfull feelings and re-enjoyment of his Beloved so that his revived soule may sweetly sing My Beloved is mine and I am his Now I doubt not But that the middle of these three estates being accompanied with hearty griefe and groanes for Christs absence restlesse pantings and longings after a new resurrection as it were of the sensible and fruitfull operations of grace renewed desires and endeavours for regainement of accustomed surer hold by the hand of Faith patient and praierfull waiting for the returne of Gods pleased face c. is as pleasing and deare if not more to our mercifull Father as either of the other two Doe you not thinke that the Fathers of our flesh are as lovingly affected and meltingly mooved to heare the obedient Child sigh and sob cry out and complaine because they looke not kindly upon him but for triall of his affection have hid for a time the much desired beames of their fatherly favour under some affected angry frownes as when things are carried more currently and comfortably betwixt them without any great distast and discontentment or occasion to discover the mutuall impatiency of their loves one unto another And shall not the Father of our Spirits who loves us with the same love with which he loves the Lord Iesus himselfe surpasse as farre in affectionate compassion towards us in the like Case as an Almighty God doth a mortall Man He cannot chuse because the word is already gone out of his mouth Like as a Father pittieth his Childe so the Lord pittieth them that feare him Psa. 103.13 I am
refreshing which sprung out of that promise upon her forlorne and fearefull soule or the excesse of that love which shee bore ever after to those blessed lines to the mercy that made them and to the blood that sealed them An other terrified in conscience for sinne resolves to turne on Gods side but the crie of his good-fellow companions strength of corruption and cunning of Satan carrie him backe to his former courses A good number of yeares after hee was so throughly wounded that whatsoever came of him he would never returne againe unto folly Then comes into his minde the first of the Proverbes whence hee thus reasoned against himselfe So many yeares agoe God called and stretched out his hand in mercy but I refused and therefore now thâ— I call upon him hee will not answer though I seeke him early I shall not finde him Whereupon was his heart filled with much griefe terrour and slavish feare But the Spirit of God leading him at length to that place Luke 17.4 If thy brother trespasse against thee seven times in a day and seven times in a day turne againe to thee saying I repent thou shalt forgiue him He thence happily argued thus for himselfe Must I a silly sinnefull man forgive my brother as often as hee repents and will not then the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort entertaine mee seeking againe in truth his face and â—avour God forbid From which hee blessedly drew such a deale of divine sweetnesse and secret sense of Gods love that his trembling heart at first received some good satisfaction and afterward was setled in a sure and glorious peace An other godly man passing through his lâ—st sicknesse with such extraordinary calmâ—nesse of conscience and absolute freedome from temptation that some of his Christian friends observing and admiring the singularity of his soules quiet at that time especially questioned him aboue it He answered that he had stedfastly fixed his heart upon that sweetest promise Isa. 26.3 Thou wilt keepe him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because hee trusteth in thee And his God had graciously made it fully good unto his soule And so must every Saint doe who would sound the sweetnesse of a promise to the bottome make it the arme of God unto him for sound thorow-comfort Even settle his heart fixedly upon it and set his Faith on worke to broode it as it were with it's spirituall heate that quickenesse and life may thence come into the soule indeed For God is woont to make good his promises unto his children proportionably to their trust in them and dependance upon his truth and goodnesse for a seasonable performance of them Now all these promises in Gods blessed Booke which addes infinitely to their sweetnesse and certainty are sealed with the blood of Iesus Christ Heb. 9.16 and confirmed with the Oath of Almighty God Heb. 6.17.18 God willing more abundantly to shew unto the heires of promise the immutability of his counsell confirmed it by an oath That by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie wee might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us Oh what a mighty and pretious invitation is this to beleeve perfectly The speciall Aime of Gods oath whereas his promise had been more then infinitely sufficient was to strengthen our consolation And therefore every heart true unto Christ ought hence to hold fast not a faint wavering inconstant but a strong stedfast and unconquerable comfort Otherwise it sacrilegiously as it were robs God of the glorious end for which hee swore 5. The free love of God Which how rich and glorious how bottomlesse and boundlesse a treasure it is of all gracious sweetnesse abundant comfort and endlesse bounty appeares in this that Iesus Christ blessed for ever that unvalew-able incomparable Iewell came out of it For God so loved the World that hee gave his onely begotten Sonne that whosoever beleeveth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Ioh. 3.16 And therefore every syncere servant of Christ when upon a serious and sad survay of his Christian waies finds himself to come so far short of that which God requires and himselfe desires That his prayers are very faint his sorrow for sinne very scant his love unto the brethren too cold His spending the Sabbaths very unfruitfull His spirituall growth since he gave his name to Christ very poore His profiting by the meanes hee enjoyes most unanswerable to the power and excellency thereof His New-obedience almost nothing c. For so hee is wont to vilifie himselfe Whereupon hee is much cast downe and out of this apprehension of his manifold unworthinesse concludes against himselfe that hee hath little cause to bee confident in the promises of life or to presume of any part and interest in Iesus Christ and so begins to retire the trembling hand of his already very-weake Faith from any more laying-hold of comfort I say in such a Case being true-hearted he may safely and upon sure ground have recourse to this ever-springing Fountaine of immeasurable mercy and raise up his drooping soule against all contrary oppositions with unspeake-able and glorious refreshing from such places as these Hos. 14.4 I will love thee freely Isai. 55. Ho every one that thirsteth come yee to the waters and hee that hath no money come yâ—e buy and eate yea come buy wine and milke without money and without price And Chap. 43.25 I even I am hee that blotteth one thy transgressions for my owne sake and will not remember thy sinnes Revel 21.6 I will give unto him that is athirst of the Fountaine of the water of life freely c. God never set the Promises on sale or will ever sell his Sonne to any Hee never said Iust so much sorrow so much sanctitie so much service or no Christ But Hee ever gives Him freely Every truly humbled heart which will take him at the hands of Gods free love as an Husband to bee saved by him and to serve him in truth may have him for nothing Yet I must adde this there was never any who received the Lord Iesus savingly but hee laboured syncerely to sorrow as much for sinne to bee as holy to doe him as much service as hee could possibly And when hee reflected upon his best hee ever desired it had been infinitely better 6. The sweete Name of the Lord. Which hee proclaimes Exod. 34.6.7 wherein he first expresseth his essence in one word The Lord The Lord. Which doubled is effectuall to stirre up Moses attention Secondly three Attributes first His power in one word Strong Secondly His justice in two formes of speech not making the wicked innocent visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon childrens children unto the third and fourth generation Thirdly but his speciall goodnesse and good affection towards repentant and beleeving sinners in seven 1
un-avoidablenes and terrible pangs of a womans travaile and is more skilfull ready and forward to relieve in such distresse And so also all others who have been most afflicted either with outward troubles or inward terrours or both are ever most fit and feeling to speake unto the heart to put to their helping hand and make much of comfortlesse and miserable men troubled and tempted as they have been And such was the Case of our blessed Saviour in his sufferings for our sakes Hee was exercised all his life long with variety and extremitie of cruelties indignities and all manner of vexations beyond measure grievous bitter and intolerable Hee drunke full deepe of the Worlds disgrace the Divels malice the rage of great Ones the contempt and contumelies of the vilest the scornefull insultations of his enemies sorest sufferings from all things in Heaven Earth and Hell Of those pinching passions hunger thirst wearinesse of bodily tortures hideous temptations agonies of Spirit even of the full Cup of his Fathers fiery wrath and horrors of soule for our sinnes to the very last drop which went as farre beyond his other outward extremities as the Soule goes beyond the body Gods utmost anger the malice of men Whereby hee is now blessedly fitted and enabled excellently to succour them that are tempted Consciousnesse of his owne Case in the daies of his flesh is a keene incentive to his holy and heavenly soule more sensibly and soone to take pitty upon and ease the severall necessities troubles sorrowes and soule-afflictions of all his Children 3. Thirdly As this ever-blessed Redeemer of ours was in himselfe more then infinitely free and more then farre enough from all sinne so by consequent from any inherent cause of the least crosse or any shadow in the World of his dearest Fathers displeased countenance For originally He was of a most pure harmelesse and holy nature all his life long kinde sweet and gracious to every Creature offending none doing good unto all In his death incomparably patient brought as an innocent Lambe to that bloody slaughter not opening his mouth for all those base and barbarous provocations of the cruell and mercilesse Miscreants about him swimming in blood burning in zeale wrastling in prayer even for the salvation of his enemies So that his guiltlesse and unspotted soule had no neede at all of any passion or expiation All his sorrowes and sufferings were voluntarily under-gone onely for our sakes and sinnes Had not the pretious hearts-blood of the only deare naturall eternall Sonne of God been poured out as water upon the ground where at the whole Creation was astonished the Earth trembled and shooke her Rocks clave asunder her Graves opened the Heavens with-drew their light as not daring to behold this sad and fearefull spectacle never had the soule of any sonne or daughter of Adam been saved It was not the glory and treasures of the whole Earth not any streaming sacrifices of purest Gold not the life of Men and Angels no not the power and prostration of all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth or of ten thousand Worlds besides could have prevail'd satisfied and served the turne in this Case Either the Heire of all things must die or we had all been damned Is the heart then of any Mourner in Zion heavy and ready to breake for sorrow because hee hath lost the light of Gods face feeling of his love and consolations of grace So that the darknesse of his Spirit thereupon frights him with re-possession of his pardoned sinnes temptations to despaire and feares lest hee bee forsaken O then let him hie and have speedy recourse unto this heavenly Cordiall when our Lord and our Love felt the curse of our sinnes and his Fathers hottest wrath comming upon him in the Garden without any outward violence at all onely out of the paine of his owne thoughts bled thorow the flesh and skinne not some faint deaw but even solid drops of blood and afterwards in the bitternesse of his soule cried out upon the crosse My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee And none of all this for himselfe For no staine at all did cleave to his sacred soule But all this the least of which wee can no more expresse then wee could undergoe for thy sake and salvation alone who loves our Lord Iesus Christ in syncerity And therefore ground upon it as upon the surest Rocke even in the height of thy heavie-heartednesse and depth of a spirituall desertion that those depths of sorrow whereof our conceits can finde no bottome thorow which hee waded in his bloody sweat cry upon the Crosse and painfull sufferings in soule did most certainly free thee everlastingly from the guilt venome and endlesse vengeance of all terrours of conscience Agonies of Spirit temptations to despaire and damnations of Hell The righteous Iudge of all the World will never expect or exact at the hands of any of his Creatures double paiment a double punishment Our dearest Saviour hath satisfied to the utmost with his owne blood the rigour and extremity of his Fathers Iustice in thy behalfe and therefore it is utterly impossible that thou shouldest ever finally perish Inward Afflictions and troubles of minde may for a time presse thee so sore that thou maist bee ready to sinke for 1 chastisement 2 triall 3 prevention of sinne 4 perfecting the pangs of the New-birth 5 example to others c. But in despite of the united rage and policy of all infernall Powers Thou shalt in due time be raised again by that victorious and triumphant hand which bruised the Serpents head and burst the heart of Hell even out of an horrible pit bee set upon a Rocke farre above the reach of all hellish hurt or sting of horrour In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment but with everlasting kindnesse wil I have mercy upon thee saith the Lord thy Redeemer Isa. 54.8 5. There is another terrible fierie dart dipt full deep in the very rankest poyson of the infernall pit which though it bee not much talked of abroad nor taken notice of by the World yet is secretly suggested and managed with extremest malice and cruelty in the silent bosomes of Gods blessed Ones The most holy hearts are many times most haunted with this foulest fiend Strangers to the wayes of God bee not much troubled in this kinde nor ordinarily vexed with such horrours Satan as I said before makes as much of his in this World as hee can possibly knowing that hee hath time enough even eternity to torment them in the World to come And therefore hee is not woont to weld this terrifying weapon against them save only at some dead lift or upon some speciall advantage as under some extraordinary misery or in excesse of melancholy to drive them thereby to distraction selfe-destruction or despaire Or it may bee God may suffer him to afflict thus hideously some grievous sinner which hee is
tempests raised by all the powers of Hell are presently calmed for ever doing him any deadly hurt All the creatures then pull in their hornes retire their stings bite in their poyson sâ—ib'd and awed by those divine impressions of their Creators blessed image stamped upon them by the Spirit of grace and dare no more offer any violence or vexation to him except upon particular dispensation for his spirituall good and quickening then to the Apple of Gods owne eye Heare the promise from Gods owne mouth And in that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowles of Heaven and with thâ— creeping things of the ground and I will breake the bow and the sword and the battell out of the earth and will make them to lye downe safely Hos. 2.18 Nay they are so farre from charging their seuerall stings upon the Saints that they will change their very natures to doe them service They will rather become an astonishment and horror to the whole Creation then they be hurt How often have they suspended and put off their native power and properties for the protection and good of Gods people The very Sea that most raging and roaring creature must stay his course and current to give passage and preservation to a true Israelite The Starres must fight and the Sunne stand still for the ayde and advantage of Gods armies The Lions must leave their savage rage and trade of blood and become Lambes and loving unto a Daniel The Crowes will feed an Elijah The flames of fire must hold in their heate from burning a Shadrach Meshach or Abednego The devouring belly of a dreadfull fish must be turned into a Sanctuary of safty to a Ionah A popish Furnace heated with the very malice of Hell shall become a bed of doune and Roses to a Martyr of Iesus The very dead lines of an ordinary Letter must represent to a Royall conceite a meaning quite contrary to the naturall sense and all Grammaticall construction before a blessed Parliament be blowne up with Popish Gun-Powder A brittle Glasse must rebound unbroken from the hardest stone to helpe to bind up a broken heart bleeding with griefe for absence of her Spouse and wanâ— of the assurance of his love c. Nay the divell himselfe though hee walkes about like a roaring Lion seeking with restlesse rage and desiring infinitely to devoure the Lords inheritance yet cannot possibly adde one linke to the chaine in which by the mercifull and mighty hand of God he is hampered nor goe an haires bredth beyond his commission Though it bee utterly impossible that that damned Angell should so farre change his divellish nature as to doe any of Gods chosen directly any true good yet he is everlastingly musled by an Almighty arme from ever doing them any deadly hurt He may be suffered sometimes to shake his chaine at them and roare upon them hideously to drive them nearer unto God and fright them from sinne But he shall never either in this world or the world to come have his full swinge at them or fasten his hellish fangs upon their redeemed soules 3. Besides all that other excellent compleate impenetrable armour of proofe mentioned Ephes. 6. which is able to beate backe victoriously all earthly oppositions and the very Ordnance of Hell every one of Gods Favourites is also blessedly furnished with a mighty spirituall Engine which is able to batter downe all the Bulwarkes of the Divell to shake the whole kingdome of darkenesse and all hellish powers nay to offer an holy violence to the very Throne of God himselfe witnesse His most mercifull intreating Moses To let him alone Exod. 32.10 As though the mediation of a man could binde as it were I speake it with lowliest reverence to that highest Maiestie the hands of his Omnipotency from doing his people any hurt and were able to extingvish that unquenchable wrath in the conception which once on foote would burne unto the lowest Hell and set on fire the foundations of the Mountainâ—s I meane that most pretious and almost if not altogether omnipotent Grace of Prayer This great Master of miracles hath wrought from time to time many and very remarkeable wonders both in Heaven and Earth It made the Sun that mighty creature the Prince of all the Lights in Heaven to stay and stand still upon the suddaine in the heat of his swiftest course It landed Ionah safely upon the shore out of the bellie of the Whale and bowels of the Sea It drew refreshing streames out of a dry bone for the saving of Samsons life It turned the Heaven into brasse for three yeeres and a halfe and afterward turned the selfe-same brasse into fruitefull clouds and fountaines of raine It killed an hundred fourescore and five thousand of the enemies of Gods people in one night For the freeing of Elisha from a straite and dangerous siege It filled a mountaine in a moment as it were full of Horsâ—s and Charets of â—ire It turned the swords of a mighty Army into the Bowells of one another when Iehoshaphat knew not which way to turne himselfe but was so helpelesse and hopelesse that he cryed unto the Lord wee know not what to doe only our eyes are upon thee It loosed Peter out of prison shoke his chaines off from his hands and made an Iron gate to open of its owne accord It eâ—raged and inlarged the English Seas to swallow up the Spanish invincible Armado And which is none of the least wonders It brought Prince Charles out of Spaine But you instance may some say in extraordinary examples of extraordinary men endowed with an extraordinary spirit Yet sure I am they are registred by the holy Ghost to represent unto us and to all generations of the Church to the Worlds end the Almighty and wonder-working power of Prayer And I am as sure that the Petitioners were men subiect to like passions as we are Perhaps if thou be a true-hearted Nathanael since thy new birth thou wast never so extraordinarily passionate as Ionah was when out of a pang of strange distemper hee thus answered the mighty Lord of Heaven and Earth I doe well to bee angry even unto death Fourthly Gods Favourite is further furnished with an other spirituall weapon of impregnable temper and incredible might I meane Faith the very Power and Arme of God for all true ioy sound comfort and light somnesse at the heart-roote in this life This crowned Emperesse of all those Heavenly graces that dwell in the Soule of a sanctified man and which in a right sense may be said vertually to comprehend all the beautie strength excellency and power of Christ himselfe is truely victorious and triumphant over all the World over the very gates of Hell and all the powers of darkenesse over the Divels fieriest darts over the devouring
the Lord Iesus so sweetly offering himselfe in that pretious promise Matth. 11.28 resoluing to take him for an everlasting husband and ipso facto as they say it might be put into a very Heaven upon Earth For this glorious grace of Faith the Prince of all spirituall light and lightsomnesse in the truely humbled Soule thus shed into such a darke and grieved spirit doth enkindle and set on shining all those gracious heavenly Starres that are woont to beautifie the hearts of holy men hope love zeale son-like feare humility patience selfe-deniall vniversall obedience fruitfulnesse in all good workes c. Which make them light it selfe to walke in the light towards the infinite and unapproachable light And therefore they never neede to want lightsomnesse but have perpetuall pregnant matter of spirituall mirth and mightinesse of spirit The point appeares and is further prooved by manifest and manifold experience David having bin formerly wofully wasted with great varietie and extremitie of dangers and distresses was at last plunged into a most desperate perplexity 1. Sam. 30 6. Which had bin able to have swallowed up into despaire the manliest vigour of the greatest spirit upon earth not supported with grace The like or a lesse caused King Saul to fall upon his owne sword yet He blessed man by the power of his spirituall peace and the beames of Gods pleased face-shining upon his Soule did patiently and sweetly comfort Himselfe in the Lord His God and stood like an impregnable Rocke unshaken with the raging assaults of any tempestuous sourges He was at this time hunted by Saul like a Parâ—ridge in the Mountaines cashierd by the Princes of the Philistines as a fâ—llow of suspected fidelity robd by the Amalekites of His wiues His sonnes and His daughters The Towne to which He returned for safety was burnt with fire And to make his calamity compleate and most cutting even His owne men were ready to stone Him Now in this great distresse upon the first apprehension whereof He wept as the story saith untill He had no more power to weepe yet comming to Himselfe and recollecting His spirituall forces His heavy heart ready to sinke and fall asunder in His bosome did fetch by the hand of faith comfortably fortified by sense and experience of former fauours such heavenly strength from Iehova whom He had made His portion that thereupon His courage was revived and raised to that height that He presently pursued his enemies with extraordinary valour and resolution cut them off quite and recovered all And David saith the text was greatly distressed for the people spake of stoning Him because the Soule of all the people was grieued every man for His sonnes and for His daughters but David encouraged Himselfe in the Lord his God c. What a bitter Sea of unmatched miseries did breake out upon blessed Iob which with a sudden unexpected violence bearing downe that Hedge of protection which God had set about Him the raines purposely let loose by divine dispensation to Sathans malice in the meane time did fearefully overflow him to that height and horrour that He stands registred in Gods Booke as an unparalled Instance of extraordinary sufferings and sorrowes calamities and conflicts to all succeeding ages no story being able to afford the like The naturall death of one deare childe strikes sometimes so heavy to a mans heart that for griefe he growes into a consumption but all Iobs children were suddenly taken away at once by a violent stroke some petty crosse upon his outward state and cutting off but part of his goods causes sometimes a couetous worldling to cut his oÌ„wne throate But Iob was robd of all so that it is a prove be to this day As poore as Iob Many wives are passionate and peevish in time of prosperity whose hâ—arts notwithstanding will melt in compassion and kindenesse over their husbands in any kinde of misery but Iobs wife tho dearely intreated by Her most distressed Husband even for their childrens sake the mutuall common pledges of sweetest loue yet would not come neare Him My breath saith He is strange to my wife though I entreated for the childrens sake of mine owne body Chap. 19.17 Satan I confesse is woont to roare and rage fiercely enough about Gods blessed Oâ—es to doe them all the mischiefe Hee can possibly but rarely hath hee so large a reach and his chaine so lengthned as he had against Iob. The painefull anguish of some one part would not onely deprive a Man of the pleasure of the worlds Monarchy if he had it in possession but also make Him weary of His life In what a taking then was Iob who from the sole of his foote unto his Crowne had no part free from â—ore bâ—les and horribly iâ—flâ—med ulcers exasperated and enraged with the stiâ—ging smart of Satans extremest malice who had power given Him to inflict them God himself frownes many times and withdrawes beames of His pleased face from the soules of His seruants to their great griefe tho for their spirituall good But seldome doth he set them up for His Marke hunt them as a fierce Lion set His terrours in array against them and command the poyson of his arrowes to drinke up their spirit as Iob complaines It is no strange thing neither should it much moove but only make us walke more watchfully to heare men of the world and drunken Belialls to belch out from their rotten hearts upon the Ale-bench such base slanders as these These Professors for all their faire shewes are certainely all of them notorious Hypocrites Tho they looke never so demurely they are not the men they are taken for c. But to have a Mans nearest familiar understanding Christian friends to charge Him with Hypocrisie is a most cruell cut to a troubled conscience And this was Iob. case So thus as â—ob was singular in the universality of His afflictions so there was a singularity of bitternesse above ordinary in eâ—very particular aâ—fliction And what of all this And yet for all this this holy man by the helpe of that pretious hoard of grace which his heavenly heart had treasured up in the time of prosperitie out of that spirituall strength which He had gotten into His soule by his former humble acquaintance and conversation with His God and knowing full well that tho all was gone yet He still possessed Iesus Christ as fully if not more feeliâ—gly as ever before He becomes hereupon as rare and admirâ—ble a Patterne of Patience to all posterity as He was an extraordinary astonishing speâ—â—acle of adversitie and woe Consciousnesse of His fore-spent righteous life which he peruseth Chap. 31. The clearenesse of a good conscience Chap. 16 19 Behold my witnesse 〈◊〉 in heaven and my record is on high And his invincible faith Chap. 19.23 24 25 Oh that mâ— words were now written Oh that they were priâ—ted in a hunke That they were graven with an Iron pen
of that comfortable provision and gracious strength which should support it in the day of sorrow and leaves it at last to the tempestuous winter-night of death and all those desperate terrours that attend it like a scorched heath-ground without so much as any drop of comfort either from Heaven or earth 2. A second sort worse then the former are such as are so farre from treasuring up in this time of light and mercifull visitation soundnesse of knowledge strength of saith purity of heart clearnesse of coÌ„science holinesse of life assurance of Gods favour contempt of the world many sanctified Sabbaths fervent prayers holy conferences heavenly meditations dayes of humiliation righteous dealings with their Brethren compassionate contributions to the necessities of the Saints workes of iustice mercy and truth a sincere respect to all Gods Commandements a carefull performance of all spirituall Duties a conscionable partaking of all Gods Ordinances a seasonable exercise of every grace hatred of all false wayes an hearty and invincible loue unto God and all things that He loues or any wayes belong unto Him His Word Sacraments Sabbaths Ministers Services Children Presence Corrections Comming c. which are the ordinary provision of Gods people against the evill Day I say they are so farre from prizing and preparing such spirituall store that they hoard up stings scourges and scorpions for their naked soules and guilty consciences against the Day of the Lords visitation I meane lies oathes blasphemies Adulteries whoredomes selfe-pollutions variety of strange fashions gaming 's revellings drunken matches good-fellow meetings wanton dancings usuries falshoods hypocrisies plurality of ill gotten goods Benefices Offices honours filthy iests much idle talke flanderous â—â—les scoffs raylings oppositions to the Holy way c. And that with a cursed greedinesse and delight For they cry One unto another out of a boysterous combination of good fellowship with much eagernesse and roaring Come on therefore Let us fill our selves with costly wine and ointments and let no flower of the Spring passe by us Let us crowne our selves with Rose buds before they be withered Let none of us goe without his part of our voluptuousnesse Let us leave tokens of our pleasure in every place For this is our portion and our lot is this Let us lie in waite for the righteous because hee is not for our turne and be is cleane contrary to our doings c. But alas what will bee the conclusion of all this or rather the horrible confusion Even all their ioviall revellings roaring Outrages and sinfull pleasures which are so sweete in their mouthes and they swallow downe so insatiably shall turne to gravell and the gall of Aspes in their bowels and to fiery enraged scorpions in their consciences Where lurking in the meane time in the mudde of sensuality and lust breede such a never dying worme which if God thinke fit to awake upon their last Bed is able to put them into Hell upon earth to damne them above ground to knaw upon their Soule and flesh with that unheard-of horrour which seizde upon Spir'as woefull heart Who protested being fully in his right minde that Hee would rather be in Cain's or Iudas his place in Hell then endure the present unspeakeable torment of His afflicted spirit To beate them from this bedlam desperate course of greedy hoarding up such horrible things unto themselves against their ending houre Let them consider 1. Besides the eternity of ioyes for the one and of torments to the other hereafter the vast and unvaluable difference in the meane time in respect of true sweetenesse and sound contentment betweene the life of a Saint and a Sensualist a Puritan as the World calls Him and a goodfellow as hee termes Himselfe Let us for the purpose peruse the different passages of one day as Chrysostome excellently delineats them and represents to the life Let us produce two men saith He the one drown'd in carnall loosenesse sensualities and riotous excesse the other crucified and starke dead to such sinfull courses and worldly delights Let us goe to their houses and behold their behaviour We shall find the One reading Scriptures and other good Bookes taking times for holy Duties and the service of God sober temperate abstemious diligent also in the necessary duties of His Calling having holy conference with God discoursing of Heavenly things bearing himselfe liker an Angell then a Man The other joviall a vassall of luxury and ease swaggering up and downe Ale-houses Tavernes or other such conventicles of good fellowship hunting after all the wayes meanes and men to passe the time merrily plying his pleasures with what variety hee can possibly all the day long rayling and roaring as tho He were enraged with a Devill tho He be starke dead while He is alive c. Which is accompanied with murmuring of the family discontent of the wife chiding of friends laughing to scorne of enemies c. Whether of these courses now doe you thinke were the more comfortable I know full well the former would bee cried downe by the greatest part as too precise and the latter would carry it by a world of men but heare the Puritane Fathers impartiall holy censure quite crosse to the common conceite and humour of flesh and blood It is excellent and emphaticall arguing His resolute abomination of the wayes of goodfellowship and infinite love and admiration of the holy Path. Having given to the Goodfellow His hearts desire all the day long in all kindes of voluptuousnesse and delight yet for all this Who is he saith He that is in his right minde and hath His braines in His head that would not chuse rather to die a thousand deaths then spend but one day so This peremptory passage would bee holden a strange Paradoxe from the mouth of any moderne Minister and so appeares to the carnall apprehension of all those miserable men who are blindfolded and baffled by the Devill to the eternal losse of their Soules But besides that it might bee made good many other wayes it is more then manifest by comparing that threefold sting that dogs every sinfull delight at the heeles c. See my Booke of Walking with God pag. 17â— with the comfortable contentment and secret sweetenesse which might and should attend all well-doing and every holy duty done with uprightnesse of heart The very Philosophers doe tell us of a congratulation a pleasing contentednesse and satisfaction in doing vertuously according to their morall Rules What true solid and singular comfort then doe you thinke may bee found in those godly actions which spring from faith are guided by Gods Word directed to his glory and whose bewailed defects and failings are most certainely pardoned by the bloud of his Son Now what an extreme madnesse is this for a Man to sell His salvation for a life of pleasures abhorring the wayes of Gods Childe as too precise and painefull whereas besides Hell for the one and Heaven for the
him and â—ore torments of the inner parts So that the wormes rose up out of the body of this wicked man and whiles hee lived in sorrow and paine his flesh fell away and the filthinesse of his smell was noysome to all his army Herod in the height of his hatred against the Gospell and pride in imprisoning and persecuting the Apostles was eaten up of wormes in a most fearefull prodigious manner Gardiner gaping for newes of the dispatch of those two blessed Martyrs of Iesus Latimer and Ridley at Oxford deferred his dinner untill three or foure of the clocke at afternoone delighting more in drinking the bloud of the Saints then in his ordinary foode But upon the returne of his Post Hee fell merrily to his meate And marke what followed The bloudy Tyrant saith the Story had not eaten a few bittes but the sudden strokâ— of God His terrible hand fell upon him in such sort as immediatly he was taken from the table and so brought to his bed where he continued the space of fifteene dayes in such intolerable anguish tormeÌ„ts that all that â—eane while during those fifteene dayes he could not avoyde by order of urine or otherwise any thing that hee received Whâ—â—eby his body being miserably inflamed within who had inflamed so many good Martyrs before was brought to â— wretched end For further inlargement of this Point looke into the Stories of the primitive Church Acts and Monumentâ— Theater of Gods iudgements 4. A cry farre louder then the noise of many waters or voice of greatest thunder knocks continually with strong importunity at Gods iust Tribunall for a showre of fire brimstone and an horrible Tempest to be rained downe upon their heads I meane a cry of bloud wrongs disgraces and slanders wherewith they have loaden the Saints of God Rev. 6.10 And they cryed with a loud voyce saying How long O Lord holy and true doest thou not iudge and avenge our blood on them that dwell upon the earth 5. They are the principall provokers of Gods wrath against a nation Their hatefull heate overflowing gall and scornefull carriage against Gods people doth ripen apace His fiercest indignation fill up full the vialls of His vengeance and draw downe upon a kingdome a desperate and finall ruine without all remedy But they mocked the messengers of God and despised His words and mis-used Hiâ— Prophets untill the wrath of the Lord arose against his people till there was no remedy 2. Chron. 36.16 6. Their spitefull spirits being once thorowly set on heate with this fire of hell and infernall rage against the grace of God and His people commonly continue in flâ—me and fury untill their fearefull and finall confusion And they being once flesht as it were with the bloud of the Saints at lest by scoffes slanders for even lewd and lying tongues are keene razours and sharpe swords scourges and scorpions that fetch bloud they feede insatiably upon the damned sweetnesse of such supposed cursed revenge untill they be seizd upon with irrecoverable ruine and fall amongst the firers of their malice and Arch-persecutors of all Professours the fiends of Hell This is my meaning This pestilent and crying Sinne of persecution is like the gulfe of drunkennesse which Austin compares to the Pitt of Hell into which when a man is once fallen there is no redemption or returne A Persecutour is rarely or never â—eclaimde Either by miracle or Ministry mercy or misery Fire from Heaven falling upon the first Captaine and His fâ—â—y did not fright the second Captaine and His fifty from pressing upon Elijah to apprehend him 2. Kings 1.10.11 The souldiers who came to take Iesus as soone as Hee had said I am Hee were strangely upon the suddaine stroke downe to the ground Ioh 18.6 and yet this miracle did never a whit mollifie and abate the malice of the Priests and Pharisees against Him Not even the Miniâ—â—ry of Christ Himselfe though He spoke as never Man spake Not that of Stephen whose face appeared to His Hearers as it had beene the face of an Angell not that of the Apostles freshly filled with the holy Ghost from heaven did at all dis-enrage or â—ame those fellowes which were possest with this fâ—ule spirit of scornefull contradiction See Luc. 4.28.29 And 16.14 Act. 7 54. And 2.13 Not all those horrible miraculous plagues of Aegypt were able to quench Pharaohs fury against the people of God untill he was choakt in the red Sea No kindnesse from David though extraordinary and matchlesse 1. Sam. â—4 11. And â—6 9. could turne Saâ—ls heart from hunting him as when One doth hunt a Partridge in the mountaines And no marvaile tho they be not mooved by all or any of these meanes for they scorne persecute and contemne the very meanes which should amend them and the onely Men who should convert them Whether of the two thinke you is likelier to recover That man who being dangerously sicke yet entertaines the Physition kindely and takes patiently what is prescrib'd or Hee who having a Potion presented unto Him very soveraigne for his recovery throwes the glasse against the wall spils that pretious Receipt and drives the Physition out at doores Conceive proportionably betweene the Persecutour and the lesse pestilent sinner who meddles nor maliciously against the Ministry 7. They are already in the pestilent Path and very hie-way that leads to sinne against the Holy Ghost The horriblenesse and height of which dreadfull villany may bring upon them even in this life impossibility of pardon Matth. 12.31.32 and liablenesse to that flaming iudgement â—iery indignation threatned Heb. 10.26 c. And that they are growing towards this sinne if they be not quite gone that way appeares because they despitefully traduce with much malice and mischiefe persecute the very workes of Grace and graces of Gods Spirit shed into the hearts and shining in the lives of the children of light 1. Ioh. 3.12 Psal. 38.20 1. Pet. 4.4 If a man would drinke sweare swagger revell and roare with them If he durst bee an Ignorant an Vsurer a Sabbath-breaker a Worldling a doter upon and defender of heathnish superstitious customes a practiser or Patrone of Old anniversarie fooleries and rotten vanities an incloser gamester good-fellow c. Oh! then Hee should bee the onely Man with them entertain'd into their hearts and houses with all affectionate embracements of kindnesse and acceptation but if the same man by the mercies of God once begin to breake from them and out of the snares of the Devill to dis-rellish and detest his former wayes of nature and naughtinesse to love and reverence the most searching Ministry to reade the Scriptures and best bookes to sanctifie the Lords Day to pray in his family to renounce resolutely His running with them to the same excesse of riot to abandon and abominate their lewd and licentious courses In a word to turne Christian Oh! then Hee is an arrant Puritane a Precision an
groaning most pitifully Oh mee Wretch Oh mine heart is miserable Oh Oh miserable and wofull The burthen of my sinne lyeth so heavy upon mee I doubt it will breake my heart Oh how wofull and miserable is my state that thus must converse with Hell-hounds When By-standers asked if Hee would pray Hee answered I cannot Suffer us say they to pray for you Take not replyed Hee the Name of God in vaine by praying for a Reprobate What grievous pangs what sorrowfull torments what boyling heates of the fire of Hell that blessed Saint of God Iohn Glover felt inwardly in his spirit saith Fox no speech outwardly is able to expresse Being young saith Hee I remember I was once or twice with Him whom partly by His talke I perceived and partly by mine owne eyes saw to bee so worne and consumed by the space of five yeeres that neither almost any brooking of meat quietnes of sleep pleasure of life yea and almost no kind of senses was left in Him Vpon apprehension of some back-sliding Hee was so perplexed that if Hee had been in the deepest Pit of Hell Hee could almost have despaired no more of His salvation saith the same Author In which intolerable griefes of minde saith Hee although Hee neither had nor could have any ioy of his meate yet was Hee compelled to eate against his appetite to the end to differre the time of His damnation so long as Hee might thinking with Himselfe no lesse but that Hee must needs bee throwne into Hell the breath beeing once out of his Body I dare not passe out of this Point lest some Childe of God should bee here discouraged before I tell you that every One of these three last named was at length blessedly recovered and did rise most gloriously out of their severall Depths of extremest spirituall misery before their end Heare therefore also Mistris Bretterghs triumphant Songs and ravishments of spirit after the returne of Her Welbeloved O Lord Iesu doest Thou pray for mee O blessed and sweete Saviour How wonderfull How wonderfull How wonderfull are thy mercies Oh thy love is unspeakeable that hast dealt so graciously with mee O my Lord and my God blessed bee thy Name for evermore which hast sâ—â—wed mee the Path of life Thou didst O Lord hide thy face from mee for a little season but with everlasting mercy thou hast had compassion on mee And now blessed Lord thy comfortable presence is come yea Lord thou hast had respect unto thine hand-maide and art come with fulnesse of ioy and abundance of consolations O blessed bee thy Name my Lord and my God O the ioyes the ioyes the ioyes that I feele in my Soule Oh they bee wonderfull They bee wonderfull They bee wonderfull O Father how mercifull and marveilous gracious art thou unto mee yea Lord I feele thy mercy and I am assured of thy love and so certaine am I thereof as Thou art the God of truth even so sure doe I know my Selfe to bee thine O Lord my God and this my Soule knoweth right well and this my Soule knoweth right well O blessed bee the Lord O blessed bee the Lord that hath thus comforted mee and hath brought mee now to a place more sweet unto mee then the Garden of Eden Oh the ioy the ioy the delightsome ioy that I feele O praise the Lord for his mercies and for this ioy which my Soule feeleth full well prayse His Name for evermore Heare with what heavenly calmenesse and sweete comforts Master Peacocks heart was refresht and ravisht when the storme was over Truly my heart and Soule saith Hee when the tempest was something alayed have been farre led and deepely troubled with temptations and stings of conscience but I thanke God they are eased in good measure Wherefore I desire that I bee not branded with the note of a cast-away or reprobate Such questions oppositions and all tending thereto I renounce Concerning mine inconsiderate speeches in my temptation I humbly and heartily aske mercy of God for them all Afterward by little and little more light did arise in His heart and Hee brake out into such speeches as these I doe God bee praised feele such comfort from that what shall I call it Agony said One that stood by Nay quoth Hee that is too little That had I five hundred worlds I could not make satisfaction for such an issue Oh the Sea is not more full of water nor the Sunne of light then the Lord of mercy yea His mercies are ten thousand times more What great cause have I to magnifie the great goodnesse of God that hath humbled â—ay rather exalted such a wretched Miscreant and of so base condition to an estate so glorious and stately The Lord hath honoured me with His goodnesse I am sure Hee hath provided a glorious Kingdome for me The ioy that I feele in mine heart is incredible For the third heare M. Fox Tho this good Servant of God suffered many yeares so sharp temptations and strong buffetings of Satan yet the Lord who graciously preserved Him all the while not onely at last did rid him out of all discomfort but also framed him thereby to such mortification of life as the like lightly hath not been seene in such sort as Hee bâ—eing like one placed in Heaven already and dâ—ad in this world both in word and meditation led a life altogether celestiall abhorring in His mind all prophane doâ—ngs 7. No arme of flesh or Art of man no earthly comfort or created power can possibly heale or helpe in this heaviest case and extreamest horrour Heaven and earth Men and Angels friends and Physicke gold and silver pleasures and preferments fauour of Princes nay the utmost possibility of the whole creation must let this alone for ever An Almighty hand and infinite skill must take this in hand or else never any cure or recovery in this world or the world to come Bodily diseases may be eased and mollified by medicines Surgery as they say hath a salve for every sore Poverty may be repaired and releived by friends There is no imprisonment without some hope of enlargement Sute and favour may helpe home out of banishment Innocency and neglect may weare-out disgrace Griefe for losse of a wife a Child or other dearest friend if not by reasons from Reason that death is un-avoidable necessary an end of all earthly miseries the common way of all Mankinde c. yet at last is lessened and utterly lost by length of time Cordialls of Pearle Saphyres and Rubies with such like may recomfort the heart possest with Melancholy and drown'd in the darkenesse of that sad and irkesome humour c. But now not the most exquisite concurrence of all these nor all the united abilities which lie within the strength and sinewes of the Arme of flesh can helpe any whit at all in this Case Not the exactest quintessence extracted from all the joyes glory and pleasures that ever the world
our owne wee shal bee Pastours feeding our Selves not our flocke The Authour of the imperfect commentary in Chrysostome sorted by some Body into Homilies upon Matthew seemes to intimate that the cause of the overflowing and rankenesse of iniquity is the basenesse of these Self-preaching men-pleasers Tolle hoc vitium de Clero saith Hee Take this fault from the Clergy to wit that they bee not men-pleasers and all sinnes are easily cut down But if they blunt rebate the edge of the Sword of the Spirit with dawbing slattery temporizing or strike with it in a scabberd garishly and gaudily embroiderd with variety of humane learning tricks of wit frier-like conceits c. it cannot possibly cut to any purpose it kills the Soule but not the sinne They are the onely men howsoever worldly wisedome raue and unsanctified learning bee besides it selfe to beate downe sinne batter the Bulwarks of the Deuill and build vp the Kingdome of Christ who setting aside all private ends and by-respects all vaine glorious covetous and ambitious aimes all serving the times proiects for preferment hope of rising feare of the face of Man c. addresse themselves with faithfulnesse and Zeale to the worke of the Lord seeking sincerely to glorify Him in converting mens Soules by the foolishnesse of that Preaching which God hath sanctified to save them that beleeve In a word who labour to imitate their Lord and Master Iesus Christ and His blessed Apostles in teaching as men having authority in demonstration of the Spirit and power And not as the Scribes By embroidered Scabberd I meane the very same which King Iames not long before His Death did most truly out of His deepe and excellent wisedome conceive to bee the Bane of this Kingdome To wit A light affected and unprofitable kinde of preaching which hath been of late yeeres taken up in Court Vniversity City and Country Heare something more largely what reason led His royall iudgement to this resolution and desire of reformation His Maiesty beeing much troubled and grieved at the heart to heare every day of so many defections from our religion Both to Popery and Anabaptisme or other Points of separation in some parts of this Kingdome And considering with much admiration what might bee the cause thereof especially in the Raigne of such a King who doth so constantly professe Himselfe an open adversary to the superstition of the One and madnesse of the other His Princely wisedome could fall upon no One greater probability then the lightnesse affectednesse and vnprofitablenesse of that kind of preaching which hath been of late yeares too much taken up in Court Vniversity Citty and Country The usuall scope of very many Preachers is noted to bee a soaring vp in Points of Divinity too deepe for the capacity of the people or a mustring vp of much reading or a displaying of their own wits c. Now the people bred up with this kinde of teaching and never instructed in the catechisme and fundamentall grounds of religion are for all this aiery nourishment no better then abrasae Tabulae meere Table Bookes ready to bee filled up either with the Manualls and Catechismes of the Popish Preists or the Papers and Pamphlets of Anabaptists c. In another place hee resembles with admirable fitnesse the vnprofitable pompe and painting of such Selfe-seeking discourses patched together and stuft with a vaineglorious variety of humane allegations to the redde and blew flowers that pester the corne when it stands in the fields where they are more noysome to the growing crop then beautifull to the beholding eye They are King Iames his owne words Whereupon a little after hee tells the Cardinall That it was no decorum to enter the Stage with a Pericles in his mouth but with the sacred Name of God Nor should his Lordship Saith his Maiesty have marshalled the passage of a Royall Prophet and Poet after the example of an heathen Oratour These things being So how pestilent is the Art of Spirituall Dawbing What miserable men are Men-pleasers who being appointed to helpe mens Soules out of hell carry them headlong and hoodwinkt by their vnfaithfulnesse and flatteries towards euerlasting miseries Oh how much better were it and comfortable for every man that enters upon and undertakes that most waighty and dreadfull charge of the ministery a burden as Some of the Ancients elegantly amplify it able to make the shoulders of the most mighty Angell in heaven to shrinke under it to tread in the steps of blessed Paul by vsing no flattering words nor a cloake of covetousnesse nor seeking glory of men but preaching in season and out of season not as the Scribes but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power Keeping nothing backe that is profitable declaring unto their hearers all the counsell of God holding the Spirituall children which God hath given them their glory ioy and crowne of reioycing still watching for the Soules of their flocks as they that must giue account Heb. 13.17 The terrour of which place Chrysostome professeth made his heart to tremble I say by such holy and heavenly behaviour as this in their ministery To be able at least to say with him in sincerity not without vnspeakeable comfort I take you to record this Day that I am pure from the blood of all men Let us bee moved to this course and frighted from the contrary by consideration of the different effects and consequents of plaine dealing and dawbing in respect of comfort or confusion Faithfulnesse this way 1. Begets those which belong unto God to grace and new obedience See Peters piercing Sermon Act. 2.23.37 2. Recovers those Christians which are fallen by remorse and repentance to their former forwardnesse and first loue See Nathans downe-right dealing with David 2. Sam. 12.7.13 3. Makes those which will not be reformed inexcusable See Pauls Sermon to Foelix Act 24.26 How strangely will this fellow be confounded more then vtterly without all excuse when hee shall meet Paul at that great Day before the highest Iudge 4. It is right pleasing and profitable to vpright hearted men and all such as happily hold on in a constant and comfortable course of Christianity Doe not my words do good to him that walketh vprightly Micah 2.7 It makes them still more humble zealous watchfull heavenly minded c. 5. Hardens the rebellious and contumacious See Isa. cap. 6. In which faithfull ministers are also unto God a sweet savour of Christ 2. Cor. 2.15 6. And the Man of God himselfe shall hereafter blessedly shine as the brightnes of the firmament and as the Starres for ever and ever And all those happy Ones which hee hath puld out of Hell by his downe-right dealing shall raigne and reioyce with Him in unknowne and vnspeakeable Bliste through all eternity But now on the otherside the Effects of Dawbing and men-pleasing are most accursed and pestilent in
many respects 1. In respect of Gods word and messages first not dividing it and dispensing them aright Secondly Dishonouring the Majesty and weakening the power of them many times with the vnprofitable mixture of humane allegations ostentations of wit fine frier-like conceits digged with much adoe out of Popish postills c. Even as wee may see at haruest time a land of good corne quite choaked up with red blew and yellow flowers As King Iames doth excellently allude in the forecited place Thirdly Fearefull prophaning them by mis-application against Gods will Making the heart of the righteous Sad whom God would not have made Sad and strengthening the hands of the wicked that hee should not returne from his wicked way by promising him life Fourthly Villanous perverting and abusing them to their owne advantage applause rising revenge and such other private ends 2. In respect of the flattering and unfaithfull Ministers themselves First Extreme vilenesse Isa. 9.15 Secondly Guiltinesse of spirituall bloudshed Ezech. 3.18 Thirdly Liablenesse to the fierce wrath of God in the Day of visitation Ier. 14.15 1. King 22.25 3. In respect of their hearers who delight in their lies in their smooth and silken sermons Suddaine horrible and unavoidable confusion Isa. 30.13.14 4. Burning both together in hell for euer without timely and true repentance banning there each other continually and crying with mutuall hideous yellings O thou bloody Butcher of our Soules hadst thou bin faithfull in thy Ministery wee had escaped these eternall flames O miserable man that I am Woe is mee that ever I was Minister for now besides the horrour due unto the guiltinesse of mine owne damned Soule I have drawen vpon mee by my unfaithfull dealing the cry of the bloud of all those soules who have perished under my Ministery to the everlasting enraging of my already intollerable torment Give mee leave to conclude this point with that patheticall and zealous passage of reuerend and learned Greenham against negligent pastors amongst whom I may justly ranke and reckon also all Dawbers for as well never a whit as never the better Men-pleasers For selfe preachers are for the most part seldom-preachers Heare His words Were there any love of God from their hearts in those who in stead of feeding to salvation starve many thousands to Destruction I dare Say and say it boldly that for all the promotions under Heaven they would not offer that iniury to one Soule that now they offer to many hundred Soules But Lord how doe they thinke to give up their reckoning to thee who in most strict account will take the answere of every Soule committed unto them one by one Or with what eares doe they often heare that vehemâ—nt speech of our Saviour Christ Feede Feede Feede with what eyes doe they so often readâ— that piercing speech of the Apostle Feede the slocke committed unto you But if none of these will move them then the Lord open their eyes to heare the grievous groanes of many Soules lying under the griefly altars of destruction and complaining against them O Lord the revenger of blood behold these men whom thou hast set over us to give us the bread of life but they have not given it us Our tongues and the tongues of our children have stucke to the roofe of our mouths for calling and crying and they would not take pitty on vs Wee have given them the tenths which thou appointedst us but they have not given us thy truth which thou hast commanded them Reward them O Lord as they have rewarded us Let the bread betweene their teeth turne to rottennesse in their bowells Let them be clothed with shame and confusion of face as with a garment Let their wealth as the Dung from the earth bee swept away by their executours And upon their gold silver which they have falsely treasured up let continually bee written the price of blood the price of blood For it is the value of our blood O Lord. If thou didst heare the blood of Abel being but one man forget not the blood of many when thou goest into judgement I now returne to rectify and tender a remedy against the first aberration Which I told you was this When mercy Christ the promises salvation heaven all are applied hand overhead and falsely appropriated to vnhumbled sinners whose Soules were never rightly illightened with sight of sinne and waight of Gods wrath nor afflicted to any purpose with any legall wound or hearty compunction by the Spirit of bondage In whose hearts sense of their spirituall misery and want hath not yet raised a restlesse and kindly thirst after Iesus Christ In this case mine advise is that all those who deale with others about their Spirituall states and undertake to direct in that high and waighty affaire of mens Salvation either publikly or privatly in their ministry visitations of the sicke or otherwise that they would follow that course of which I largely discoursed a little before taken by God himselfe his Prophets his Sonne the Apostles and all those men of God in all ages who have set themselves with Sincerity faithfulnesse and all good Conscience to seeke Gods glory in the salvation of mens Soules to discharge aright their dreadfull charge and to keepe themselues pure from the blood of all men To wit That they labour might and maine in the first Place by the knowledge power and application of the Law to illighten convince and terrify those that they have to doe with concerning conversion with a sensible particular apprehension and acknowledgement of their wretchednesse and miserable estate by reason of their sinfulnesse and cursednesse To breake their hearts bruise their Spirits humble their Soules wound and awake their Consciences c. To bring them by all meanes to that Legall astonishment trouble of minde and melting temper which the Ministry of Iohn Baptist Paul and Peter wrought upon the Hearts of their hearers Luk. 3.10.12.14 Act. 16.30 And 2.37 That they may come crying feelingly and from the heart to those Men of God who happily fastened those keene arrows of compunction and remorse in the sides of their Consciences and say Men and Brethren what shall wee do Sirs what must wee doe to bee saved c. As if they should have said Alas wee see now wee have bin in Hell all this while and if wee had gone on a litle longer wee had most certainely lien for ever in the fiery Lake The Devill and our owne lusts were carrying us hood-winkt and headlong towards endlesse perdition Who would have thought wee had bin such abominable beasts and abhorred Creatures as your Ministry hath made us and in so forlorne wofull estate Now you blessed Men of God helpe us out of this gulfe of spirituall confusion or wee are lost everlastingly By your discovery of our present sinfull and cursed estate wee â—eele our hearts torne in pieces with extreme and restles
and Orient Mines of all those sweetest mercies folded vp within the Bowells of Gods dearest compassions and of the Mysterie of his free grace and love through the Sonne of his lous vpon purpose to invite and allure those that are without to come in and to stirre vp our Hearers to bring broken hearts bruised Spirits bleeding Soules unto the Throne of grace upon the same ground but infinitely more gracious that incouraged the Seruants of Benhadad to addresse themselves towards the King of Israel And his Servants said unto Him Behold now wee have heard that the Kings of the House of Israel are mercifull Kings Let vs I pray thee put Sackecloth upon our loines and ropes upon our heads and goe out to the King of Israel peradventure hee will save thy life The most desperate Rebels heretofore upon present true remorse for their former rage in sinne resolving sincerely to stand on Gods side for ever hereafter may safely and upon good ground thus reason within themselves Alas wee have done very villanously we have served Satan a long time we walk up downe as condemned men ripe for destruction long agoe Hell it selfe even groanes for us wee may justly look every moment for a Mittimus to cast us headlong into the dungeō of Brimstone and fire and yet we will trie we will goe and throw downe our selves before the Throne of grace in dust and ashes and cry as the Publican did unto the great God of heaven for Hee is a mercifull God gracious long suffering abundant in goodnesse and truth keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity transgression and sinne And then not onely peradventure but most certainely they shall bee received to mercy and hee will save the life of their Soules I say for this Point of Preaching mercy onely to hearten Men to come in and to nourish in them a hope of pardon in Case of penitency c. See my discourse of true happines p. 173. And I will only adde and advise at this time this one thing of great importance in the Point That after a plentifull magnifying and amplifying the mercy of God by its infinitenesse eternity freenesse and imcomparable excellency every way onely upon purpose to assure the greatest sinners of most certaine acceptation and pardon if they will presently turne with truth of heart from Sathan to the living God from all sinne to his holy Seruice I say that wee then take heed and make sure as much as in us lies that no impenitent unbelieving wretch none that goes on in his trespasses or lies willingly and delightfully in any one sinne receive any comfort by any such discourse as though as yet Hee had any part or interest at all in any one drop of all that boundlesse and bottomlesse Sea of mercy that were a meanes to naile Him fast to His naturall estate for ever But onely thence conceive that if Hee will presently lay downe armes against the Majesty of Heaven and come in with a truly penitent humbled soule thirsting heartily for Iesus Christ and resolve vnfainedly to take His yoke vpon Him there is no number or notoriousnesse of sinne that can possibly hinder his gracious entertainement at Gods mercy-Seate For this end let vs tell all such that though the mercies of God be infinite yet they are dispensed according to His Truth Now the Oracles of Divine Truth tell us that those who shall find mercy are such as confesse and forsake their sinnes Who so confesseth and forsaketh his sinnes shall have mercy Proverb 28.13 Those then who doe not confesse and forsake them shall haue no mercy That the Parties to whom good tidings of mercy and comfort are to bee preached are the poore the broken hearted them that are bruised those that labour and are heavy laden All that mourne c. Luk. 4.18 Mat. 11.28 Isa. 61.2.3 That the man to whom the Lord lookes graciously is even Hee that is poore and of a contrite Spirit and trembleth at his word Isa 66.2 That whosoever by his free mercy through Christ is borne of God doth not commit sin 1. Ioh. 3.9 I meane with allowance purpose perseverance No sinne raignes in such a One c. And yet alas How many miserable men will needs most falsely perswade themselves and others that they have a portion in the mercies of God and hugge with extraordinary applause and embracement the formall flattering messages of Men-pleasers and Time-servers to dawbe over such rotten hopes who yet notwithstanding goe on still in their trespasses who were never yet sensible of the burden of their corruptions and spirituall beggery never wounded in conscience or troubled in minde to any purpose for their sinnes never mourned in secret and sincerely for the abominations of their youth could never yet find in their hearts to sell all for the buying of that one pearle of great price nor ever yet so prized Iesus Christ as to leave their darling pleasures though very base and abominable to enjoy the unspeakeable and glorious pleasures of His gratious kingdome Nay such as heartily serve some Captaine and Commanding sinne in heart or life or calling as their owne consciences if they consult with them impartially in cold blood can easily tell them as Lust the world ambition the times the fashion their pleasures their profits their Passions their ease selfe love pride revenge the dunghill delight of good fellow-ship or the like And here then Let mee discover a notable depth of Sathan whereby hee doth baffle and blind fold His slaves most grossely you know full well and heare often the common Cry of all carnall men especially under any conscionable Ministery against preaching of judgement and for preaching of mercy See the causes why they cannot downe with downeright dealing and powerfull application of the law Disc. of true Happinesse pag. 179 c. But what doe you thinke is the reason that they gape so greedily after Preaching of mercy Not that they can endure the preaching of it as I now have taught and as it onely ought to those that are without To wit To have first the dearenesse the sweetnesse the freenesse the full glory of Gods immeasurable mercy revealed unto them onely as a motive and incouragement to come in but ever at the Close and conclusion to bee made to understand and know certainely that not so much as one drop of all that bottomlesse depth of mercy and bounty in Iesus Christ doth as yet belong unto them lying in any state of unregeneratnes or in any kind of Hypocrisy whilest they regard any wickednesse in their heart and are not willing to plucke out their right eyes and cut off their right hands I meane to make an everlasting divorce from their former dearest sensuall delights and sinnes of their bosome for onely they who confesse and forsake their sinnes shall have mercy Pro. 28.13 This way of preaching mercy would nettle and gall them as much perhaps as pressing of
Iesus Christ c. But who doe you thinke now are the true and great fooles of the world And who are likeliest one day to groane for anguish of Spirit and say within themselves This was hee whom wee had sometimes in derision and a Proverbe of reproch Wee fooles accounted His life madnesse and His end to bee without honour Now is hee numbred among the Children of God and His Lot is among the Saints Therefore haue we erred from the way of truth and the light of righteousnesse hath not shined unto us and the Sun of righteousnesse hath not rose upon us wee wearied our selves in the way of wickednesse and destruction yea wee have gone through deserts where there lay no way But as for the way of the Lord wee have not knowne it What hath pride profited us Or what good hath riches with our vanting brought us All those things are passed away like a shadow and as a post that hasted by c. Nay and yet further besides the extraordinarinesse of the iniquity folly in refusing Christ freely offered it shall most certainely bee hereafter plagued with extremest tormenting fury and most desperate gnashing of teeth For with what infinite horrour and restlesse anguish will this conceit rent a Mans heart in pieces and gnaw upon His Conscience when Hee considers in Hell that Hee hath lost Heaven for a lust and whereas Hee might at every sermon had even the Son of God His husband for the very taking and have lived with Him for ever in unspeakeable Blisse yet neglecting so great salvation must now crying out therefore continually against Himselfe as the most raging Bedlam that ever breathed lie in unquenchable flames without remedy ease or end It is the highest honour that can be imagined and a Mystery of greatest amazement that ever was that the Sonne of God should make sute unto sinfull Soules to be their Husband And yet so it is Hee stands at the doore and knocks if you will give Him entrance Hee will bring Himselfe and Heaven into your hearts We are Christs Ambassadours as though God did beseech you by us Wee pray you in Christs stead to be reconciled to God Wee are Christs spokes-men that I may so speake to Wooe and Winne you unto Him Now what can you say for your selves that you stand out Why come you not in If the Divell would give you leave to speake out and in plaine termes One would say I had rather bee damned then leave my drunkennesse Another I love the world better then Iesus Christ A third I will not part with my easie and gainefull trade of Vsury for the treasure hid in the field And so on So that upon the matter you must needs all confesse that you hereby judge your selves unworthy of everlasting life that you are wilfull bloody Murderers of your owne Soules that you commit such a wickednesse that all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth cry shame upon you for it Nay and if you go on without repentance you may expect that the Hellish gnawing of Conscience for this one sinne of refusing Christ may perhaps hold scale with the Vnited horrors of all the rest What is the matter I marvell that you will not entertaine the Match If wee stand upon honour and noble family Hee that makes love and sute unto our soules hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords If upon beauty Heare how hee is described Cant. 5. My beloved is white and ruddy the chiefest of ten thousand His head is as the most fine gold his lockes are bushie and blacke as a Raven His eyes are as the eyes of Doves by the rivers of water washed with milke and fitly set His cheekes are as a bed of Spices as sweet flowers His lips like Lillies dropping sweet smelling myrrhe His hands are as the gold rings set with the Berill His belly is as bright Ivory overlaid with Saphires His legs are as pillars of marble set upon Sockets of fine gold His countenance is as Lebanon excellent as the Cedars His mouth is most sweet yea hee is altogether lovely Now you must understand that the Spirit of God by these outward beauties and braveries labours in some measure to shadow out and represent unto us the incomparable excellency of inward graces the dignity the glory the spirituall fairenesse of Iesus Christ that wee may know that Hee is wholly and altogether lovely delectable and precious If upoâ— ease and contentment Hee can lead us to fulnesse of joy and pleasures at Gods right hand for evermore If wee desire honorable Alliance Hee will bring us to an innumerable company of Angels to the generall assembly and Church of the first borne which are written in heaven and to God the Iudge of all and to the spirits of just men made perfect If we stand upon wealth we shall haue all things with him which is a large Possession If we respect love Greater love hath no Man then this that a Man lay downe His life for his friends And hee being the brightnesse of His Fathers glory and the expresse image of his person came downe from his bosome the well-spring of immortality and blisse the fulnesse of joy and that unapprocheable light into an House of flesh upon this base and miserable earth Hee passed thorow a life full of all manner vexations miseries persecutions indignities slanders speaking against of Sinners c. He was so prodigiously slandered that they said Hee had a divell Whereas the fulnesse of the Godhead dwelled in him bodily Hee was cunningly hunted long and at last violently haled by a Packe of Hell-hounds to a cruell and bloody death which for the extremity and variety of paines for the enraged spight of the executioners for the innocency and excellency of the Person suffering the like never was shall or can bee endured His passions were such so bitter and unsupportable that they would have made any meere creature to have sunke downe under the burden of them to the bottome of Hell Hee was tortured extremely and suffered grievous things both in Body and Soule from Heaven Earth and Hell His blessed Body was given up as an Anvile to bee beaten upon by the violent and villanous hands of wretched Miscreants without all measure or mercy untill they had left no one part free from some particular and speciall torment His skin and flesh were â—ent with scourges His hands and feet pierced with nailes His head with thornes His very heart with the speare point All His senses all his parts indeed His whole sacred body was made a rufull spectacle to Angels and to Men of all the most base and barbarous vsage which malice could devise and cruelty execute But all this yet was but a shadow of His suffering the substance of His suffering was the Agony of His Soule Give mee any affliction save the affliction of the mind For
compassionately over us or purchase pardon and acceptation at his hands Tender therefore unto that poore troubled soule who beeing sorely crushed and languishing under the burden of his sinnes refuses to bee raised and refreshed endlesly pleading and disputing against himselfe out of a strong fearefull apprehension of his owne vilenesse and unworthinesse putting off all comfort by this mis-conceit that no Seaes of sorrow no measure of mourning will serve the turne to come comfortably unto Iesus Christ I say presse upon such an One this true Principle in the high and heavenly Art of rightly comforting afflicted consciences So soone as a Man is truly and heartily humbled for all his sinnes and weary of their waight tho the degree of his sorrow bee not answerable to his owne desire yet Hee shall most certainely bee welcome unto Iesus Christ. It is not so much the muchnesse and measure of our sorrow as the truth and heartinesse which fits us for the promises and comforts of mercy Tho I must say this also Hee that thinkes Hee hath sorrowed enough for His sinnes never sorrowed savingly 2. For the second which is more properly and specially pertinent to our purpose Take notice That the blood of Christ beeing seasonably and savingly applyed to thine humbled Soule for the pardon and purgation of sinne must by no meanes damne and dry up thy well-spring of weeping but onely asswage and heale thy wound of horrour That pretious Balme hath this heavenly property and power that it rather melts softneth and makes the heart a great deale more weeping-ripe If these bee truly the pangs of the New-birth wherewith thou art now afflicted Thou shalt find that thy now cleaving with assurance of acceptation unto the Lord Iesus will not so much lessen hinder or cease thy sorrow as rectifie season and sweeten it If thy right unto that Soule-saving Passion bee reall and thou cast thine eye with a beleeving hopefull heart upon Him whom thou hast therein pierced with thy sins and those sinnes alone are said properly to have pierced Christ which at length are pardoned by his blood Thou canst not possibly containe but excesse of love unto thy crucified Lord and sense of Gods mercy shed into thy Soule thorow his merits will make thee weepe againe and faâ—ely force thine heart to burst out abundantly into fresh and filiall teares See how freshly Davids heart bled with repentant sorrow upon His assurance by Nathan of the pardon of His sinne Psal. 51 Thou canst not chuse but mourne more heartily Evangelically and that which should passingly please Thee and sweetely perpetuate the spring of thy godly sorrow more pleasingly unto God Take therefore speciall notice and heede of these two depths of the Divell that I have now disclosed unto thee 1. When thou art truly wrought upon by the Ministry of the Word and now fitted for comfort Beleeve the Prophets those Ones of a thousand learned in the right handling of afflicted consciences and thou shalt prosper As soone as thy Soule is soundly humbled for sinne open and enlarge it joyfully like the thirsty ground that the refreshing dew and Doctrine of the Gospell may drop and distill upon it as the small raine upon the parched grasse Otherwise 1. Thou offers dishonour and disparagement as it were to the dearenesse and tendernesse of Gods mercy who is ever infinitely more ready and forward to bind up a broken heart then it to bleed before Him Consider for this purpose the Parable of the prodigall Sonne Luk. 15. Hee is there said to goe but the Father ran 2. Thou maist by the unsettlednesse of thy heavy heart unnecessarily unsit and dis-able thy selfe for the duties and discharge of both thy Callings 3. Thou shalt gratifie the Divell who will labour mightily by his lying suggestions if thou wilt not bee counselled and comforted when there is cause to detaine thee in perpetuall horrour here and in an eternall Hell hereafter Some find him 〈◊〉 furiously and maliâ—iously busie to keepe them from comfort when they are fitted as from fitnesse for comfort 4. Thou art extremely un-advised nay very cruell to thine owne Soule For whereas it might now be filled with unspeakable and glorious ioy with peace that passeth all understanding with Evangelicall pleasures which are such as neither eye hath seene nor eare heard neither have entred into the heart of Man by taking Christ To which thou hast a strong and manifold Calling Isai. 55.1 Ho every one that thirsteth come yee to the waters c. Matth. 11.28 Come unto mee all yee that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Ioh. 7.37 If any man thirst let him come unto mee and drinke Revel 22.17 And let him that is a thirst come And whosoever will let him take the water of life freely Yea a Commandement 1. Ioh. 3.23 And this is his commandement that wee should beleeve on the Name of his Sonne Iesus Christ And yet for all this Thou as it were wilfully stand'st out wilt not beleeve the Prophets forsak'st thine owne comfort and liest still upon the Racke of thy unreconcilement unto God 2. On the other hand when the angvish of thy guilted Conscience is upon sure ground something allayed and suppled with the oyle of comfort and thy â—â—unded heart warrantably revived with the sweetnesse of the Promises as with marrow and fatnesse Thou must not then either shut up thine eyes from further search into thy sins or dry them up from any more mourning But comfort of remission must serve as a pretious Eye-salve both to cleare their sight that they may see moe and with more detestation and to enlarge their Sluces as it were to poure out repentant teares more plentifully Thou must continue ripping up and ransacking that hellish Heape of thy former rebellions and pollutions of youth still dive and digge into that Body of death thou bearest about thee for the finding out and furnishing thy selfe with as much matter of sound humiliation as may bee that thou mayst still grow viler and viler in thine owne eyes and bee more and more humble untill thy dying Day But yet so That as thou holdest out in the one hand the cleare Cristall of Gods pure Law to discover the vilenesse and variety of thy sinnes all the spots and staines of thy Soule so thou hold out in the other hand or rather with the hand of Faith lay hold upon the Lord Iesus hanging bleeding and dying upon the Crosse for thy sake The one is soveraigne to save from flavish stings of conscience bitternesse of horrour and venome of despaire The other mingled with faith will serve as a quickning preservative to keepe in thy bosome aâ— humble soft and lowly spirit which doth ever excellently fit to live by Faith more chearefully to enjoy God more neerely to apply Iesus Christ more feelingly and to long for his comming more earnestly In a word to climbe up more merrily those staires of joy which are
gracious acceptation and intertainement at his Throne of Grace That it is naturall also to his Name To forgive iniquity transgression and sinne That is sinnes of all sorts kindes and degrees whatsoever There is none so hatefull and hainous whether naturall corruption or ordinary outward transgression or highest presumption but upon repentance God is most able ready and willing to remit it 7. God the Fathers compassionate pangs of infinite affection and forwardnesse to entertaine into his armes of mercy all true Penitents As I live sayth the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turne from his way and live turne yee turne yee from your evill wayes for why will yee die O house of Israell Ezech. 33.11 Woe unto thee O Ierusalem wilt thou not bee made cleane When shall it once be Ier. 13.27 They say if a man put away his wife and shee goe from him and become another mans shall hee returne to her againe Shall not that Land be greatly polluted But thou hast played the harlot with many lovers yet returne againe to mee sayth the Lord Ier. 3.1 Oh that my people had hearkned unto mee and Israel had walked in my waies I would soone have subdued their enemies and turned my hand against their adversaries The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him but their time should have endured for ever Hee should have fed them also with the finest of the wheate and with honey out of the rocke should I have satisfyed thee Psal. 81. O that thou hadst hearkned to my commandements then had thy peace been as a River and thy righteousnesse as the waves of the Sea Thy seed also had been as the sand and the off-spring of thy howells like the gravell thereof his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before mee Isa. 48.18 8. His mercifull almightinesse in putting life and lightsomnesse into the most dead and darkest heart Seeke him saith the Prophet that maketh the seven Starres and Orion and turneth the shâ—dow of death into the morning Amos 5.8 Suppose thou sâ—ttest thy selfe to seeke Gods face and favour and art presently set upon with this temptation But alas My soule is so blacke with sinne and darke with sorrow that it is to no purpose for mee to proceed c. But now in this case consider who Hee is that thou seekest it is He that made of nothing those beautifull shining glorious constellations Orion and the Pleiades and nothing in the world is darker then nothing Hee is Hee that turneth the darkest midnight into the brightest morning c. 9. Christs sweetest dearest most melting invitations of all truly troubled soules for sinne unto the Well of life and their owne everlasting wellfare Come unto mee all yee that labour and are heavie laden and I will give you rest Mat. 11.28 O Ierusalem Ierusalem thou that killest the Prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee How often would I have gathered thy children together even as a Hen gathereth her Chickens under her wings c. Mat. 23.37 And when hee was come neare hee beheld the City and wept over it saying Oh if thou hadst knowne even thou at least in this thy day the things which belong unto thy peace Luke 19.41.42 In the last day the great Day of the Feast Iesus stood and cried saying If any man thirst let him come to mee and drinke 10. Precedents in Gods Booke of many hainous and horrible sinners received to mercy upon their humiliation As Eve Magdalen Paul Zacheus Sodomits 1. Cor. 6.9.11 Crucifiers of Christ. Acts. 2. 11. Experience perhaps of the Comforter converted from a more wicked and desperate course then the Patient himselfe And it doth not a little refresh the heart of him who grievosly wounded in conscience and thereupon sending for a skillfull and faithfull Messenger of God and when he hath opened his Case fully unto him to heare him say when he hath sayd all My Case was farre worse then yours every way Nay but besides those notorious sins I have named unto you I have defiled my selfe with many secret execrable lusts Be it so saith the spirituall Physition yet in the daies of my vanity I have been guilty of moe and more hainous crimes then any you have yet spoken of Yea but even now when I have most need of should most prize reverence and lay hold upon Gods blessed Word Son and Promises I am pestilently pestered with many abhorred villanous and prodigious injections about them Not a man alive replies the Man of God hath had his head troubled with more hideous thoughts of such hellish nature then I c. 12. That pretious Parable Luk. 15. wherein all those loving passages of the Father unto his prodigall Son to wit His beholding him when hee was yet a great way off his compassion running towards him falling upon his necke kissing him putting on him the best Robe and the Ring killing the fatted Calfe c. doe shadow that immeasurable incomprehensible love of God the Father to every one that is willing to come out of the Divels cursed service into the good way But come as farre short of expressing it to the life as the infinite greatnesse of Almighty God surpasseth the finite frailty of a weake man and worme of the earth 2. In a second place Let us take a view of some of those most delicious and sweetest streames of dearest comfort which spring abundantly out of that fruitfull Fountaine of compassion and love Psal. 103.13 Like as a Father pittieth his Children so the Lord pittieth them that feare him See also Deutâ—r 8.5 Malac. 3.17 Hence may wee draw refreshing enough to our thirstie soules in many passages of heavy thoughts and grievous complaints about our spirituall state 1. In the distempers and damps of prayer thus Suppose the dearest Sonne of the loving'st Father to lie grievously sicke and out of the extremity of angvish to cry out and complaine unto him that hee is so full of paine in every part that hee knowes not which way to turne himselfe or what to doe and thereupon intreats him of all loves to touch him tenderly to lay him softly to mollifie all hee may his painefull misery and give him ease How ready thinke you would such a father bee with all tendernesse and care to put to his helping hand in such a ruefull case But yet if hee should grow sicker and weaker so that hee could not speake at all but onely looke his Father in the face with watery eies and moane himselfe unto him with sighes and groanes and other dumbe expressions of his increased paine and desire to speake Would not this yet strike deeper into the Fathers tender heart pierce and melt it with more feeling pangs of compassion and make his bowells yerne within him with an addition of extraordinary dearenesse and care to doe him good Even just so will thy heavenly Father bee
contentment in this vale of teares and a piece as it were of everlasting pleasures 5. In times of triall Thou seest sometimes a Father setting downe his little One upon it's feet to trie it's strength and whether it bee yet able to stand by it selfe or no But withall hee holds his armes on both sides to uphold it if he see it incline either way and to preserve it from hurt Assure thy selfe thy heavenly Father takes care of thee with infinitely more tendernesse in all thy trials either by outward Afflictions or inward temptations The thou shouldest fall yet shalt thou not bee utterly cast downe for the Lord upholdeth thee with his hand Psal. 37.24 Never did Gold-smith attend so curiously and punctually upon those pretious mettalls hee casts into the fire to observe the very first season and bee sure that they tarry no longer in the furnace then the drosse bâ—â— wasted they thorowly purified and fitted for some excellent use as our gratious God lovingly waits to take thee out of trouble and temptation when the rust 〈◊〉 removed from thy spirituall armour thy graces shiâ—â— out and thou heartily humbled and happily fitted to doe him more glorious service for the time to come I meane when hee hath attained the end which hee mercifully intended in love and for thy good 6. In conceits of our unworthinesse David commanded Ioab and the other Captaines to entreat the young man Absolom gently for his sake 2. Sam. 18.5 A rebellious traiterous Sonne up in armes against his owne Father gracelesly and unnaturally thirsting out of a furious ambitious humour to wâ—ing the Regall Scepter out of his hand and to set the Imperiall Crowne upon his owne head How dearely and tenderly then will the Father of mercies deale with a poore humbled soule that sighes and seekes for his favour infinitely more then any earthly treasure or the glory of a thousand worlds 7. I will suppose thou hast broke some speciall vow which were a grievous thing made before the Sacrament upon some day of humiliation or such other occasion and so forfeited thy selfe as it were and thy soule into the hands of Gods justice to bee disposed of to the dungeon of utter darkenesse if thou weâ—t served as thy sinne hath deserved And thereupon thou art much afflicted and sore troubled in minde to have suffered thy selfe to be so sottishly ensnared againe in such a dis-avowed sin against so strong a purpose But here consider whether thou being a Father would'st take the forfeiture of a bond and advantage of breaking day especially full sore against his will from thy dearest Childe intreating thee to intreat him kindely Much nay infinitely lesse will thy heavenly Father deale hardly with thee in such a Case if thou complaine at the Throne of Grace with a grieved spirit renew thy covenant and tell him truly that thou wilt by the help of the holy Ghost guard thy heart with a narrower watch and stronger resolution for the time to come If wee confesse our sinnes hee is faithfull and iust to forgive us our sinnes 1. Iohn 1.9 And in such a Case wee have ever a blessed Advocate with the Father Iesus Christ the righteous Cap. 2.1 8. A Father sometimes holds his Child over a Pond River or Well to fright him from it lest at some time or other he fall into it But the Child especially if of riper conceit and wiser thoughts laughes perhaps in the Fathers face dreads no danger dreames not of drowning And what 's the reason thinke yee Only because hee knowes hee that holds him is his Father So thy heavenly Father holdes thee as it were over Hell in some strong temptation upon purpose to terrifie thee from tampering so much with the Divels baites so that thou sees nothing about thee for the present but darknesse and discomforts the very horrors of eternall death ready to take hold on thee yet for all this upon the ground of this loving gracious resemblance thou maist be comforted and cry confidently with Iob Tho he slay me yet will I trust in him With David Tho I walke through the valley of the shadow of death I will feare no evill Who is among you saith the Prophet that feareth the Lord that obeyeth the voice of his servant that walketh in darkenesse and hath no light Let him trust in the Name of the Lord and stay upon his God 9. A Son by the seducement of some dissolute and drunken Belials is drawne into lewd and licentious company and so plunges presently over head and eares into pestilent courses Falls unhappily to swaggering drinking gaming the mirth and madnesse of wine and pleasures And at length to expresse to the life an exact conformity to that compleat character of the professours of Good-fellowship as they call it and Epicurisme both for pursuite of sensuall delights and persecution of true professours Wisd. 2.6 c. 12 c. Whereby he wasts his Patrimony cuts the heart of his Parents wounds his conscience c. His Father mournes and grieves consults and casts about with all love and longing for his recovery and returne At length out of sense and conscience of his base and debosht behaviour vile company dishonouring God banishing good motions c. Hee comes to himselfe intreats his father upon his knees with many teares that hee would bee pleased to pardon what is past receive him into favour againe and hee will faithfully endeavour to displease him no more but redeeme the losse of the former with the improovement of the time to come How willingly and welcomely thinke you would such a Father receive such a son into the bosome of his fatherly affection and armes of dearest embracement And yet so and infinitely more is our heavenly Father mercifull and melting towards any of his relapsed children returning unto his gracious Throne with true remorse and hearty griefe for so going astray Which is an incomparable comfort in case of backe-sliding which yet God forbid 10. A Father indeede will lay heavier burdens upon his son now growne into yeares and strength and puts him to sorer labour and harder taskes But while hee is very young hee is woont to forbeare him with much tendernesse and compassion because he knowes hee is scarce able to carry himselfe out of the mire Even so but with infinite more affectionatenesse and care watchfullnesse and love doth our heavenly Father beare in his armes and forbeare a Babe in Christ. See Isai. 40.11 This may bee a very sweet and pretious cordiall to weake consciences ar their first conversion Who when they cast their eie upon the hainousnesse and number of their sinnes the fiery and furious darts of the Divell the frownes and angry foreheads of their carnall friends the worlds lowring and enmity the rebelliousnesse and untowardnesse of their own hearts pressing upon them all at once and so considering that refraining from evill they make themselves a prey are ready to sinke and faint and feare
heavenly Father deale withal that are upright-hearted in all their troubles trials and temptations For the dearest love of the most affectionate Father or Mother to their Childe is nothing to that which hee beares to those that feare him Isa. 49.15 Psal. 103.13 Deut. 8.5 3. Thirdly there is a pretious Principle in the mysterie of salvation which as a comforting Cordiall-water serves to quicken and revive in the sownings and faintings of the Body defection of the spirits and sinking of the heart So it may bee soveraigne to support and succour in afflictions and dejections of Soule and weakenesses of our spirituall state It is thus delivered by Divines A constant and earnest desire to bee reconciled to God to believe and to repent if it bee in a touched heart is in acceptation with God as reconciliation Faith repentance it selfe A weake faith shewes it selfe by this grace of God namely an unfained desire not onely of salvation for that the wicked and gracelesse man may have But of reconciliation with God in Christ. This is a sure signe of Faith in every touched and humbled heart and it is peculiar to the elect Those are blessed who are displeased with their owne doubting and unbeliefe if they have a true earnest desire to bee purged from this distrust and to believe in God through Christ. Our desire of grace faith and repentance are the graces themselves which wee desire at least in Gods acceptation who accepteth of the will for the deede and of our affections for the actions Hungring and thirsting desires are evidences of a repenting heart True desire argues the presence of things desired and yet argues not the feeling of it It may not bee dissembled that there are in the world many definitions or descriptions of faith such as doe not comprehend in them that onely thing which is the chiefe stay of thousands of the deare servants of God and that is desires which may not bee denyed to bee of the nature of Faith I expresse my meaning thus That when a Man or woman is so farre exercisâ—d in the spirituall seeking of the Lord his God That hee would bee willing to part with the world and all things thereof if hee had them in his owne possession so that by the Spirit and Promises of God hee might bee assured that the sinnes of his former life and such as presently doe burthen his Soule were forgiven him and that hee might believe that God were now become his God in Christ I would not doubt to pronounce that this Person thus prising remission of sinnes at this rate that hee would sell all to buy this pearle did undoubtedly believe Not onely because it is a truth though a Paradoxe that the Desire to believe is Faith But also because our Saviour Christ doth not doubt to affirme that they are blessed that hunger and thirst after righteousnesse because they shall bee satisfied And to him that is a thirst I will give to drinke of the water of life freely And David doubted not to say The Lord heareth the desire of the humble I thinke whensoever the humbled sinner sees an infinite excellency in Christ and the savour of God by him that it is more worth then all the world and so sets his heart upon it that hee is resolved to seeke it without ceasing and to part withall for the obtaining it now I take it is Faith begun What graces thou unfainedly desirest and constantly vsest the meanes to attaine Thou hast There is no rocke more sure then this truth of God That the heart that complaineth of the want of grace desireth above all things the supply of that want useth all holy meanes for the procurement of that supply cannot be destitute of saving grace Such are wee by imputation as wee bee in affection And he is now no sinner who for the love he beareth to righteousnesse would bee no sinner Such as we be in desire and purpose such we be in reckoning and account with God who giveth that true desire and holy purpose to none but to his Children whom hee justifieth We must remember that God accepts affecting for effecting willing for working desires for deedes purposes for performances pence for pounds and unto such as doe their endeavour hath promised His grace enabling them every day to doe more and more If there be in thee a sorrow for thine unbeliefe a will and desire to believe and a care to increase in Faith by the use of good meanes there is a measure of true Faith in thee and by it thou maist assure thy selfe that thou art the Child of God It is a great grace of God to feele the want of Gods graces in thy selfe and to hunger and thirst after them If you desire healing of your nature groane in desire to grace perceive your foulenesse unto a loathing of your selfe feare not sinne hath no dominion over you Sense of Want of grace complaint and mourning from that sense desire setled and earnest with such mourning to have the want supplyed vse of good meanes with attending upon Him therein for this supply is surely of grace What graces thou unfainedly desirest and constantly usest the meanes to attaine Thou hast Take it in short from mee thus A true desire of grace argues a saving and comfortable estate The truth of which appeares clearely By Scriptures Reasons Both ancient and moderne Deuines Proofes Mat. 5.6 Blessed are they which doe hunger and thirst after righteousnâ—sse for they shall bee filled Here to a desire of grace is annexed a Promise of Blessednesse which comprehends all the glory and pleasures of Christs Kingdome here and all heavenly joyes and everlasting blisse hereafter Ioh. 7.37 If any man thirst let him come unto mee and drinke Psal. 10.17 The Lord heareth the desire of the humble Psal. 145.19 Hee will fulfill the desire of them that feare Him Luk. 1.53 The Lord filleth the hungry with good things Reu. 22.17 Let him that is athirst come And whosoever will let Him take the water of life freely Isa. 55.1 Hâ— every one that thirsteth come yee to the waters c. And Cap. 44. vers 3. I will poure water upon Him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground O Lord I beseech thee saith Nehemiah let now thine eare bee attentive to the prayer of thy servant and to the prayer of thy servants who desire to feare thy Name Here those who desire to feare the Lord are stiled His servants and proposed as men qualified and in a fit disposition to have their praiers heard their petitions granted their distresses relieved their affaires blessed with successe And no doubt thâ—s Man of God would make speciall choise of such Attributes and affections which might proove powerfull and pleasing Arguments to draw from God compassion favour and protection And therefore a true-hearted desire to feare the Lord is a signe of His servant
Abraham as you know Gen. 22. did not indeede when it came to the Point sacrifice his Son An Angell from Heaven stayed his hand Onely Hee had a will purpose and resolution if the Lord would so have it even to shed the blood of his onely Childe Now this desire to please God was graciously accepted at his hands as tho the thing had been done and thereupon crowned with as many blessings as there are starres in Heaven and sands upon the Sea-shore By my selfe have I sworne saith the Lord because Thou hast done this thing and hast not spared thine onely Sonne and yet Hee spilt not a drop of his blood save onely in purpose and preparednesse to doe Gods will Therefore will I surely blesse thee and greatly multiply thy seede as the starres of the Heaven and as the sand which is upon the Sea-shore vers 16.17 Rich men Marke 12. cast into the Treasury large Doles and royall offerings no doubt For it is there said Many that were rich cast in much vers 41. And yet the poore Widowes two mites receiving worth and waight from her holy and hearty affection in Christs esteeme did out-valew and over-weigh them all Verely saith Christ I say unto you that this poore widow hath cast more in then all they which have cast into the Treasury Reasons 1. One argument may bee taken from the blessed noblenesse of Gods nature and the incomparable sweetnesse of his divine disposition Which by infinite distance without all degree of comparison and measure of proportion doth surpasse and transcend the ingenuousnesse of the noblest spirit upon earth Now men of ingenuous breeding and generous dispositions are wont to receive sweetest contentment and rest best satisfied in prevailing over and winning the hearts good wills and affections of those who attend or depend upon them Outward performances gratifications and visible effects are often beyond our strength and meanes many times mingled and quite mard with Hypocrisies disguisements famed accommodations and flatteries with selfe-advantages by-respects and private ends But inward reverence and love kind and affectionate stirrings of the heart are ever and alone in our power and ever by an uncontrole-able freedome exempted from enforcement dissembling and formality No marvaile then tho the most royall and Heroicall spirits prize most and bee best pleased with possession of Mens hearts and beeing assured of them can more easily pardon the want of those outward Acts of sufficiency and service most minded by basest men which they see to be above the reach of their ability and power Now if it be so that even ingenuous and noble natures accept with speciall respect and esteeme the affectionatenesse and hearty well-willing of their followers and Favourits tho thâ—y want dexterity and meanes to expresse iâ— actually in visible effects and executions answerable to their affection How much more are spirituall longings holy affections thirsty desires graciously accepted of that God in respect of whose compassions the bowels of the most mercifull man upon earth are cruelty In respect of whose immeasurably amiable melting sweetest disposition the ingenuousnesse of the noblest spirit is doggednesse and disdaine Especially sith Mens good Turnes and Offices of love turne many times to our good and benefit to our advancement profit preferment But our well-doing extendeth not unto God That infinite essentiall glory with which the highest Lord alone to bee blessed adored and honoured by all for ever was is and shall bee everlastingly crowned can neither bee empaired by the most desperate rebellions or enlarged by the most glorious good deeds Can a man saith Eliphaz to Iob bee profitable unto God As Hee that is wise may bee profitable unto himselfe Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous Or is it gaine to Him that thou makest thy waies perfit And Cap. 35.6 7 8. If thou sinnest what doest thou against Him Or if thy transgressions bee multiplyed what doest thou unto Him If thou bee righteous what givest thou to Him Or what receiveth he of thine hand Thy wickednesse may hurt a man as thou art and thy righâ—eousnesse may profit the Sonne of Man Were all the wicked men upon earth turned into humane beasts desperate Belials nay incarnate Divels and the whole world full of those out-ragious Giants of Babell and those also of the oâ—â— World And all with combined force and fury should bend and band themselves against Heaven yet they could not hurt God The Lord is King be the people never so impatient Hee sitteth between the Cherubins be the earth never so unquiet Or Were all the Sonnes of men Abrahams or Angels and as many in number as the Starres in Heaven and as shining both with inward graces and outward good deeds as they are in visible glory yet could they make no addition unto that incomprehensible Majesty above They could not conferre so much as one drop to that boundlesse and bottomlesse Sea of goodnesse or the least glimpse unto that Almighty Sunne of glory All nations before Him are as nothing and they are counted to Him lesse then nothing and vanity Our sinnes hurt Him not Our holinesse helpes Him not It is onely for our good that God would have us good No good no gaine accrewes unto Him by our goodnesse For what good can come by our imperfect goodnesse to that which is already infinitely good What glory can bee added by our dimnesse to Him which is already incomprehensibly glorious Every infinite Thing is naturally and necessarily uncapable of addition Possibility of which suppos'd implies contradiction and destroyes the nature of Infinity If it bee so then that good turnes doe good unto Men and yet out of their ingenuousnesse they most esteeme good wills true heartednesse kind affections And can well find in their hearts to passe-by failings where there is heart and good will as they say To pardon easily want of exactnesse in performance where there are unfained purposes How much more will our gracious God who gaines nothing by all the good workes in the world out of the depth of His dearest compassions kindly interpret and accept in good part the holy longings and hungry desires of a panting and bleeding Soule How dearely will Hee love the love of a true-hearted Nathanael How willingly will Hee take the will for the deede the groanings of the Heart before the greatest Sacrifice But lest you mistake take notice here of a two-fold Glory 1. Essentiall infinite everlasting It is impossible that this should either receive disparagement and diminution or addition and encreasement by any created power And this I meant in the precedent Passage 2. The other I may call Accidentall finite temporary This ebbs or slowes shines or is over-shadowed as Goodnesse or Gracelesnesse prevailes in the world As the kingdom of Christ or powers of darknes get the upper hand amonst the Sonnes of Men. In this regard indeede Rebellious wretches dishonour God upon Earth I confesse And Godly men
by their holy Duties good workes and gracious behaviour make his Name more illustrious in the world But what is this to that essentiall infinite everlasting glory which was as great and full in all that former eternity before the world was When God blessed for ever enjoyed onely His glorious Selfe Angels Men and this great Vniverse lying all hid as yet in the darke abhorred Dungeon of Nothing as now it is or ere shall bee 2. A second reason may bee taken from Gods proportionable proceeding in his courses of justice and mercy In his executions of Iustice and inflictions of punishment He interprets and censures desires for the deeds affections for Actions Thoughts for the things done Whosoever saith Christ looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart In Gods interpretation in the search and censure of divine justice Hee that lusts after a Woman in his heart is an adulterer and without true and timely repentance in the meane time shall bee so taken and proceeded against at that great and last Day Whosoever hateth his Brother saith Iohn is a man-slayer An hateful thought of our Brother murthers Him and spils his blood by the verdict of the blessed Spirit And a malicious man at the Barre of God goes for a Man-slaier If this then bee Gods property and proceeding in justice wee may much more confidently expect Nay with reverent humility challenge way beeing made by the mediation of Christ the same proportionable measure in those His most sweet and lovely inclinations and expressions of mercy Shall a lewde desire after a woman fall under the Axe of Gods justice as if it were the grosse Actâ— of lust And shall not a longing desire after grace bee graciously embraced in the armes of mercy as the grace it selfe Shall an angry thought invisible immaterial hurtfull only to the heart which harbours it be charged with actuall bloodshed And shall not a panting thirst of a broken and bleeding Soule after Christs saving and sanctifying blood bee bath'd and refresht in his pretious blood Yes certainely and much rather For Gods tender mercies are over all his workes Psal. 145.9 And mercy with an holy exultation triumpheth and reioyceth against iudgement Iam. 2.13 His mercy is great unto the Heavens Psal. 57.10 Hee doth with much sweet contentment and as it were naturall propension encline to the gracious effusions of mercy Hee delighteth in mercy saith Micah Cap. 7.18 Hee is passingly pleaâ—ed and exalted most gloriously when Hee is pardoning of sinnes purging of Soules pulling out of the Divels Paw pouring in of grace shining into sad and uncomfortable hearts saving from Hell c. This makes Him so passionate in an holy sense when Hee hath no Passage for his love Deus 5.29 Psal. 81.13 Isa. 48.18 Mat. 23.37 Luk. 19.41.42 But now on the other side Hee is hardly drawne not without much reluctancy delaies forbearance and as it were some kinde of violence offered by excesse of multiplyed rebellious provocations to exercise His justice and to punish for sinne See 2. Chron. 36.16 Hos. 6.4 c. It appeares Zeph. 2.2 by the emphasis of the Original that in this respect in a right and sober sense God is like a woman with Childe When the cry of our sinnes comes first to Heaven Hee doth not presently poure upon our heads fire and Brimstone according to our desert But as loth to enter into judgement with us Hee then but begins to conceive as it were wrath which Hee beares or rather forbeares full many and many a moneth still waiting when upon our repentance Hee might bee gracious unto us untill it come to that ripenesse by the fullnesse and intolerable waight of our sinnes that Hee can possibly beare no longer And then also when Hee is about to bee delivered of his justly conceived and long-forborne vengeance Marke how Hee goes about it Ah! saies Hee c. Isa. 1.24 This aspiration argues a compassionate Pang of griefe speaking after the manner of men to proceede against His owne people tho they had provoked Him as enemies How shall I give thee up Ephrâ—im How shall I deliver thee Israel How shall I make thee as Admah How shall I set thee as Zebâ—im Mine heart is turned within mee my repentings are kindled together Hos. 11.9 When Hee came against Sodome and Gomorrah the most prodigiously wicked people that ever the Earth bore What a miracle of mercy was it that He should be brought so low as to say I will not destroy it for tennes sake Gen. 18.32 So it is then that mercy flowes naturally and easily from God and he is most forward and free-hearted in granting Pardons and receiving into grace and favour But justice is ever as it were violently with cart-ropes of iniquity pul'd from Him He is pressed with our sinnes as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaues before wee wring from Him the vials of just wrath and wrest out of His hands the Arrowes of deserved indignation That you erre not in this Point conceive that both Gods mercy and iustice are originally and fundamentally as God Himselfe infinite Both of the same length height bredth and depth that is equally endlesse boundlesse botomlesse unsearchable Yet if wee consider the exercise and execution of them amongst the creatures and abroad in the world Mercy that sweetest Attribute and most pretious baulme to all bruised hearts doth farre surpasse and out-shine the other tho incomparable excellencies of His divine nature and all the perfections which accompany the greatnesse of God As appeares Exod. 20.5.6 Gen. 18.32 Ioel. 2.43 Ionah 4.2 Psal. 36. and 103. 2. Chron. 21.13 His influences and beames of mercy are fairely and plentifully shed into the bosome of every Creature and shine gloriously over all the earth even from one end of Heaven to the other The whole world is thicke set and richly embroidered as it were with wonderfull variety of impressions and Passages of his goodnesse and bounty In this great Volume of Nature round about us wee may runne and reade the deepe Prints and large Characters of kindnesse and love which His mercifull and munificent hand hath left in all Places in every leafe and Page and line of it If mercy then bee so graciously magnified over all his workes we may more strongly build upon it That if the hand of Iustice seize upon an hatefull thought as a murtherer and stained with blood and arraigne a lustfull conceite as guilty of adultery and actuall pollution His armes of mercy will most certainely embrace and accept of a syncere desire for the deed done of hearty affections for the Actions and of a grieved spirit for the grace it groanes for Yea but may some say If mercy bee so faire a flower in the garland of Gods incomprehensible greatnesse if it so farre excell his other Attributes in amiablenesse amongst His creatures How comes it to passe That the
the Christian for the present into a most dark and dis-cōfortable condition I meane when the most wise God for some holy ends seeming good unto Himself retires for a time with-holds from the heart of his Childe the light of His countenance the beames of His favour and sense of His love Whereupon tho the roote of spirituall life the Habite of Faith and fundamentall power of salvation and eternall safty remaine still and sure in His Soule never to bee shaken or prevailed against no not by the very gates of Hell or concurrent forces and fury of all the powers of darknesse yet for the time Hee findes and feeles in Himselfe a fearefull deprivation and dis-continuance of the feeling and fruition of Gods pleased face exercise of Faith pardon of sinne inward peace joy in the holy Ghost cheerefulnesse in wel-doing and godly duties confidence in praier assurance of beeing in a saving state c. So that Hee may judge Himselfe to have been formerly an Hypocrite and for the present can very hardly or not at all difference and distinguish His wofull condition from that of a Cast-away This secret and wonderfull work of spirituall desertion doth God much exercise and practise upon His Children in many Cases for many Causes 1. Sometimes upon a re-ensnarement in some secret bosome-lust which was their Darling and delight in the daies of their rebellion Relapse into which Satan labours industriously to procure with much adoe by all His Devises For Hee gaines greatly thereby For so the New-Convert considering in cold blood what Hee hath done may be cast upon such complaints as these Alas what have I done now This pestilent old pollution which so wofully wasted my conscience in time past hath fearefully re-infected my newly washed Soule I have againe Woe is mee fallen into the abhorred Sodome of this foule sinne I have grieved that good spirit which was lately come to dwell in me All the former horrours charge afresh upon my heart from which I was happily freed even by some glimpses of heavenly joy I have wretchedly let goe my hold lost my peace broke my vowes and blessed communion with my God c. Ah! wretch that I am what shall I now doe And thereupon may fall upon a temptation of returning to His dis-avowed sensuall Delights out of this conceit As well over bootes as over shoes Doe what I can I see I can never hold out c. Or Hee may plunge into this slavish perplexity I dare not goe to God I have used Him so villanously after such immeasurable kindenesse and provoked the eies of his glory with such prodigious impurity after I was purged I dare not fall againe to good-fellowship and former courses lest I draw some remarkeable vengeance upon mee in the meane time and bee certainely damned when I have done So that Hee can neither take pleasure upon the right hand or the left Or which is most for my purpose and that which the Divell specially desires God therefore may hide His face from Him and leave Him to the darknesse of His own spirit so that He may for a long time walke on heavily starke lame in respect of those comfortable supporters of the Soule affiance hope spirituall joy peace of Conscience sense of Gods favour boldnesse in His waies courage in good causes delight in the company of the Saints c. Such a dampe also and desertion may come upon the Soule especially after a Fall into some new open scandalous sinne whereby not onely their owne Consciences within are grievously wounded but also for their sakes and sinne the Profession of Gods truth abroad scandalized and disgraced the common state of goodnesse questioned and traduced the heart and glory of Christianity hurt and distained David was thus dealt with in Gods just judgement after His monstrous and matchlesse fall Gods good Spirit had richly crowned His royall heart with abundance of sanctification and purity and had graciously filled Him aforetime with the fruits and feeling thereof and thereupon many heavenly deawes no doubt of spirituall joyes had many times sweetly refreshed His blessed Soule But by the hainous scandalousnesse of His hatefull fall Hee so grieved that good Spirit and turned the face of God from Him that Hee had neither sense of the comforts of the one nor of the favour of the other The spirituall life of his Soule the eie of His judgement light of conscience lightsomnesse in the holy Ghost and the whole grace of sanctification were so wasted dazeled confounded weakened raked under the ashes as it were and runne into the roote that hee speakes as if He had utterly lost them and so stoode in neede of a new infusion and creation thereof Psal. 51.10 But by the way conceive aright of Davids spirituall condition at this time Tho in his owne feeling and present apprehension Hee so complaines and cries out for a New creation as tho all were gone yet even when Hee was at the lowest and worst the Soule and substance that I may so speake of saving grace and salvation did abide still rooted and resident in his heart Which once emplanted by Gods omnipotent mercifull hand in an humble Soule and taking roote it there sticks fast for ever far more un-mooveable then a thousand Mount Zyons The blossoms buds and fruits may sometimes bee fouly cankerd as it were by our owne corruptions shrewdly nipt by the frost of some earthly affections blasted by sharper tempests of Satans temptations But the foundation standeth sure grounded and founded upon the unchangeable Nature of God and immutability of His counsell and therefore mauger the malice of all both mortall and immortall rage there is still life in the roote which in due season will spring out againe and grow up unto everlasting life To the present Instance All purity and cleannesse of heart was not utterly extinguisht and abolisht in David For 1. Some little at least was left which descried and discovered those spots and pollutions of filthinesse and impurity which had lately over-growne it For grace discovers corruption not nature A sensible complaint of hardnesse of heart and an earnest desire after softnesse is a Signe that the heart is not wholly hard A syncere crying out against impurity and hearty endeavour after purity argues the presence of the purifying Spirit 2. And how was this holy ejaculation Create in mee a cleane heart O God and renew a right spirit within mee created but by the Spirit of grace and supplications Which blessed sanctifying Spirit was all the while rooted and resident in Davids heart by a saving existence there tho not so fully by an effectuall operation and exercise Divines about this Point consider First The infinite free and eternall love and favour towards His Childe with which whom Hee loves once Hee loves for ever The gifts and calling of God that is as best Interpreters affirme the Gifts of effectuall calling effects of His free
and feeling of his favour by cutting off as it were for a time those streames of comfort which were woont to distill upon his soule by use ordinary influence of the meanes Meditation Prayer Conference publike Ministry Sabbaths Sacraments Daies of humiliation such like doth mercifully force him to have recourse unto at length with much longing and thirst to repose upon with more reverence and acknowledgement the everlasting Fountaine and Founder of all graces comforts compassions and life even his owne glorious mercifull and Almighty self See this in the beginning of the third Chapter of the Canticles at the latter end of Cap. 2. The christian soule is sweetely crowned with a glorious over-flowing confluence of all spiriuall consolations rapt extraordinarily with un-utterable and joyfull ravishments of Spirit upoÌ„ the nearer embraceÌ„ment of her dearest Spouse and more sensible grasping of refreshing graces She lies so peacefully in His armes of mercy and under the Banner of His love that shee sweetly sings unto Her selfe My beloved is mine and I am His. But in the beginning of the third For the daies of Gods child after conversion are like the daies of the yeere Some faire and shining Some tempestuous and cloudy Some happy with heavenly Hony-dewes as it were of unspeakeable joy and unconceivable peace others more dismall and dis-astrous if I may so speake for want of an amiable aspect from the Throne of graces I say a little after the case is fearefully altred with Her For she lies strugling and distressed in the irkesome and comfortlesse desolations of a spirituall desertion Her Spouse is gone the very heart and life of all Her lightsomnesse in this World and the World to come No sense now of the Savour of His good ointments no feeling of the assurance of His favour Nothing left of all that former heaven but onely a sad and wofull heart which had been happy In this infull Case She casts about for recovery of Her woonted comfort Assaies those meanes which were accustomed to convey unto Her with joy fresh streames and strength from time to time out of the Wells of Salvation 1. First shee seekes her Spouse and former refreshings of Spirit by secret praier meditation experimentall considerations calling to Minde former assurances of his love reflecting upon the foot-steps of a saving worke unfained change and sweete communion with Him aforetime and other silent Selfe-inquisitions and inward exercises of the heart But shee found Him not vers 1. 2. Secondly She enquires abroad and hath recourse unto godly christians especially such as have been most exercised and best acquainted with trials temptations and mysteries of the holy way to see if Shee can get any comfort any new hold and hope by their counsell prayers instructions out of their owne experience For in such Cases Gods Children may and ought to confesse their sinnes and Gods dealing with them one unto another and pray one for another But shee finds none vers 2. 3. Thirdly She addresses Her selfe and resorts to faithfull Ministers Gods publike Agents in the Church about the affaires of Heaven and Salvation of Soules to receive from them some light and direction to regaine Her Love But it will not yet bee vers 3. No comfort comes by all or any of these meanes No feeling of Gods favour and former peace for all this various and sollicitous seeking and pursuite For God may sometimes upon purpose restraine His quickning influence from the meanes and recall as it were to the Well-head those refreshing Rivers of comfort which ordinarily flow thorow His owne holy Ordinances as so many blessed Conduits of grace into humble hearts That wee may fetch them more immediately from the Fountaine the boundlesse Sea of all heavenly treasures and true peace and so with more humility Sense of self-emptinesse reverence and praise-fulnesse acknowledge from whence wee have them It was but a little that I passed from them saith the deserted Soule But I found Him whom my soule loveth vers 4. When no meanes would bring Him but that Shee had past thorow the use and exercise of them all and Hee would not bee found Hee after at length comes upon his own compassionate accord and illighteneth Her darke and disconsolate state with the shining beames of His glorious presence and fills Her plentifully with ioy and believing againe That so no vse variety and excellency of meanes but His owne free mercy and goodnesse might bee crowned with the glory of it Let every christian by the way take notice of and treasure up this point it may steed him in some spirituall extremity hereafter God may sometimes withdraw and delay His comfort to draw His children thorow all the meanes which when they have passed without prevailing Hee after and immediately when Hee please puts to His helping hand that they may not attribute it to the meanes tho never so excellent but to the mercies of God the onely Well-spring both of the first plantation continuance and everlastingnesse of all spirituall graces and true comforts in all those happy Ones which shall bee saved Why doth the Lord let us use all the meanes and yet not finde Him in them That wee may know Hee only commeth when Hee will nothing mooving Him but His owne good pleasure 5. Fifthly The world sometimes that mighty enemy to the Kingdome of Christ aided under-hand by the covetous corruption of our false hearts and the Divels craft For ordinarily in all spirituall Assaults and overthrowes Satan is the Bellowes the World the Wild-fire our corruptions the Tinder and the pretious Soules of men those goodly Frames which are fearfully set on fire and blowne up doth wrastle so desperately even with some of Christs Champions that surprising their watch cooling the fervour of their first love and stealing away by little and little their spirituall strength it supplants them at length and throwes them upon the earth Whereon it labours might and maine to keepe them downe and doting that so they may roote in the mud and mire thereof with immoderation and carking to the great disgrace of divine pleasures their high and excellent Calling and so raising the spirit of railing in unregenerate men to cast unworthy aspersions upon the glory of profession for their sakes Nay too often by it's suttle insinuations and Sirens Songs it lulls them so long upon Her lap that they are cast into a heavy slumber even of carnall security And that so deepe and dangerously that tho the Lord Iesus the Beloved of their Soule cry aloud in their eares by the shrill and piercing sound of His spirituall Trumpetters and by the more immediate and inward motions of His holy Spirit intreate them fairely upon all loves for His owne deare passions sake and all those bloody sufferings to shake off that carnall drouzinesse and to delight againe in God to â—et the earth fall out of their mindes and againe to minde heavenly things Open to me my Sister my Love my
Dove my undefiled For my head is filled with dew and my lockes with the drops of the night yet for all this full loth they are to leave their Beds of ease and therefore frame many shifts excuses and delaies to passe by and put off those compassionate calls of love and mercifull importunities I have put off my coatâ— how shall I put it on I have washed my feet how shall I deâ—ile them Whereupon their blessed Spouse so unworthily repell'd with such notorious unkindnesse and ingratitude scattering onely in their hearts some sense and glimmerings of his spirituall sweetnesse and beauty to breede the more shame and sorrow for so foule neglect departeth from them for a time withdrawes the life and lightsomnesse of His gratious presence hides as it were in an angry cloud the comfortable beames of His former favour and so leaves them to the darknesse of their owne spirits and in the comfortlesse Dampe of a justly deserved desertion That thereby they may bee schooled to prize Iesus Christ before gold and silver and to preferre as is most meete one glimpse of His pleased face before the splendour of all earthly Imperiall Crownes To listen with more reverence cheerefulnesse profit and holy greedinesse to His heavenly voice in the ministry of the Word and to make more deare account of godly comforts when they shall recover and re-injoy them For the purpose Wee may finde Cant. 5. The christian Soule laid too soft and lazily upon the â—ed of case and earthly mindednesse and slipt into a slumber of security and selfe-love vers 2. Her wellbeloved knocks and calls upon Her Nay be speakes and intreats upon all the termes of dearest love and for his painefull sufferings-sake to rise open unto Him Ibid. But she most unworthily puts him off with some slight excuses and delaies of sloth vers 3. whereupon Hee drops into Her heart some taste of His sweetest ointments to set Her affections on edge and eagernesse after Him vers 4.5 And so departs and leaves Her in Her sad and solitary dumps for driving away Her Dearest by such intolerable unkindnesse and shamefull neglect vers 6. Which perplexity and trouble of spirit for His departure begets in Her a great deale of zeale fervency and patience to follow after Him vers 7.8 An extraordinary admiration of His amiable excellencies and heavenly fairenesse vers 10 c. And no doubt a farre nearer embracement and dearer esteeme of Him upon His returne and enjoyment of a more full blessed coÌ„munion with Him againe Cap. 6.3 6. Sixthly The graces of salvation are the most pretious and worthfull things that ever issued out of the hands of God by creation The dearest of His infinite mercies the hearts-blood of His Sonne the noblest worke of His blessed Spirit doe all sweetly concurre moovingly meritoriously efficiently to the production of them No mervaile then tho it bee right pleasing unto God that such rare and inestimable Iewels should bee rightly prized and holden in highest esteeme by those that have them That they should still appeare and present themselves to those Soules wherein they shine in their true excellency orient fairenesse and native beauty Now privation of excellent things hath speciall power to raise our imaginations to an higher streine of estimation of them and to cause us at their returne to entertaine them with much more longing farre dearer apprehensions and embracement Absence and intermission of the most desirable comforts adde a great deale of life to the love of them and waight of pretiousnesse to their valewation The goodnesse of whatsoever we enioy is better perceived by vicissitude of want then continuall fruition Sleepe is more sweet after the tediousnesse of some wakefull and wearysome nights Liberty and enjoyment of the free aire and faces of men after restraint and imprisonment The glory and fairenesse of the Sunne after a blacke day or boisterous storme c. So Gods favourable aspect is much more acceptable after an angry tempest and hiding his face for a season And the graces of salvation farre more amiable and admirable to the eie of His humbled Childe after the darkenesse of a spirituall desertion Wherefore our gracious God doth many times in great mercy and wisedome deprive His dearest servants for a time of the presence of their Spouse the assurance of His love and sense of those graces that the absence thereof may represent the glory of such an incomparable happinesse and those heavenly Pearles more to the life and discontinuance of their enjoyment may inflame and affect their hearts with more holy greedinesse and eager pursuite after them and stirre up in them that height of esteeme and heate of love which may in some good measure bee answerable to their unvalewable excellency and sweetnesse Such dulnesse of heart deadnesse of affections and declination to the World may grow sometimes upon a good man that Hee may finde little more contentment in communion with Iesus Christ then in the prosperity of His outward affaires which is infinitely unworthy an Heire of Heaven But now in such a Case Let God make Him but to repossesse the iniquities of His Youth and fight against Him with His terrours for a while and the same Man with all His heart will preferre the reconciled face of God and peace of conscience before the Soveraignty and sole command of all the Kingdomes upon Earth While wee have a free and un-interrupted recourse unto the Throne of Grace wee are apt to under-valew and to conceive of that mighty grace of prayer but as of an ordinary gift But if once the Lord please to leave us to that confusion and astonishment of Spirit that our ejaculations doe sadly rebound upon our heavy and un-heated hearts without answer or encouragement from Heaven wee shall easily then acknowledge the Spirit and power of praier to bee one of the fairest flowers in the Garland of all our graces the very arme of God to doe Miracles for us many times and ever to settle our troubled Soules in sweetest peace and patience amidst the greatest pressures and persecutions either of Hellish or earthly enemies 7. Seventhly Iesus Christ Himselfe blessed for ever drunke full deepe of the extremity and variety of sorest sufferings in many kinds not only to deliver His from the vengeance of eternall fire but also lovingly to learne out of the sense of that sympathy and self-feeling to shew Himselfe tender hearted kind and compassionate unto them in all their extremities and never to suffer them to sinke in any trouble or affliction though never so full of desperate representations or apprehensions of impossibility to escape or to bee tempted at any time above their power and patience And many are the meanes and Methods by which Hee is woont to ease and mitigate their many painefull miseries especially that extremest of Martyrdome First Somtimes He rescues them by His own mighty and immediate arme out the mouth of Lyons and pulls them by strong hand
convenimur nos constringimur nos rei esse ostendimur Qui supra ea mala quae propriae habemus alienas quo ne mortes addimus quia tot occidimus quot ad mortem ire quotidiè tepidi â—acentes videmus Gregor in Ezech. 16. 1. Hom. 11. m Et qui sollicitus esse non studuit in praedicatione factus est particeps in damnatione Idem Ibid. Benè nostis fratres charissimi me vobis frequenter supplâ—casâ—e paternâ sollicitudine commonâ—isse pariter contestatumesse ut illas sacrilegas Paganorum consuetudines observare minimè debeâ—etis Sed quantùm aâ—me multorum relatione pervenit apud aliquos parum profecit admonitio mea quia si vobis ego non dixero pro me pro vobis malam sum redditurus rationem in dic judicâ— vobiscum mihi erit necesse aeterna supplicia sustinere Ego me apud Deum absolvo dum iterum atque iterum admonco pariter conâ—esâ—or Aug de temp Ser. 241. n â—or the painefulnes of that unprofitable way of preaching wherein there is ordinarily so much affectation on the one side and expectation on the other of such a deale of curiosity variety of extraordinary conceits tricks of wit ostentation of reading c. that it puts the Pen-man to a great deale of paines and tortures his wit extremely Then afterwards the irkesome tediousnesse of committing it so punctually and precisely to memory The fearefulnesse in delivery and danger of being out Vaine-glorious doubting that they shall not bee appâ—â—â—ded as they were wont Feare lest the next time should lessâ—n their former reputation of wit reading c. I say such considerations as these are many times notable 〈◊〉 to keepe them from appearing too often in the Pulpit o In His Godly Observations concerning divers Arguments and Common Places in Religion Cap. 13. p 〈◊〉 quotidiè nobiscum rationes quas cum nostro judice habebimus 〈◊〉 qâ—od lucrum Deosicimus nos qui accepto talento abeo ad negotium missisumus 〈◊〉 dicit Negotiamini dum venio Ecce jam vâ—nit ecce de nostro negocio lucrum requirâ—â— Quale eâ— daâ—marum lucrum de nostra negotiatione monstrabimus Quot ejus conspectuian 〈◊〉 mâ—nipulos de praedicationis noâ—â—rae segete illaturi sumus Ponamus ante ocâ—los nostros illum tantae distinctionis diem quo judex veniet rationem cum seruis quibus talenta credidit ponâ—t Ecce in majestate terribili inter angelorum atque archangelorum choros videbitur In illo tanto examine electorum omnium reproborum multitudo deduâ—etur unusquisque quid sit operatus ostendetur Ibi Petrus cum Iudaea conversa quam post se traxit apparebit Ibi Paulus converum ut ita dixerim mundum ducens Ibi Andreas post se Achaiam ibe Joannes Asiam Thomas Iâ—diam in conspectum sut judicis conversam ducet Ibi omnes dominici gregisarietes cum animarum lucrâ—â— apparebunt quisanctis praedicationibus Deo post se subditum gregem trahunt Cum igitur tot pâ—stores cum gregibus suts ante aeterni pastoris oculos venerim nos miseri quid 〈◊〉 sumus qui ad Dominum nostrum post negotium vacui redimus qui pastorum nâ—men habuimus oves quas ex nutrimento nostra debeamus ostenderâ— non habemus Hic pastores vocati samus ibi gâ—egem non ducimus Gregor in Evangel Hom 17. q Fo sumus omnes ingenio ut nunquaÌ„ velimus quaerere Christum nisi impulsi sensu aliquo miseriae ac indigentiae nostrae Qui valent non egent medico sed male affecti inquit Christus Venite ad me omnes qui fatigati onerati estis ego faciam ut requiescatis Quotquot igitur Christum praedicant Christi exemplo hoc discant nempo quo tempore alliciunt homines ad fidem propositâ illâ suavitate quae est in Christo codem tempore extimulandos esse ipsos peccati ac miseriae suae sensu ad Christum amplectendum Nam hae duae partes doctrinae semper conjungendae sunt Doctrina miseriae Doctrina misericordiae in Christo Iesu. Rolloc in Ioan. c. 4. r Let none speak against the preaching of the Law for it is the wholesome way that God Himselfe and His Servants in all Ages have taken Hee did reprove convince and curse Adam and Eve and after Hee preached the Seed of the Woman shall breake the Serpents head So Iohn Baptist dealt with His hearers And our Saviour Christ saith Hee came to seeke and to save the lost Peter Act. 2.37 first preached the Law and after the Gospell So Paul and Silas Act. 16. The contrary is the way to make people curse us hereafter tho it please them for the present As if one should heale a sore on the top and not corrasive it to draw and eate out the core it would within a while breake out againe with farre greater danger So shall wee find it in this case Rogers of Dedham in His Doctrine of Faith pag. 97.98 s The Law first humbles then the Gospell comforts The Law hath three works First it inlighteneth a miserable sinner in whom God hath a meaning to worke Faith with a cleare and particular sight of His misery and wofull estate Hee stands in by sinne Secondly it doth also by the working of the Spirit convince the Party that that is particularly true of Him which before Hee used to poste over His head as pertaining to others not to Him But now God makes Him take this to Himselfe and to apply and appropriate it as if the Minister spoke to Him alone by Name and to thinke the Minister knowes all His heart looketh on Him and speakes directly to Him Though it may bee the Minister knew Him nor or not His case but God makes Him so to thinke Thirdly upon these two it raiseth terrour and puts this sinner out of His old secure and peaceable course of impenitency that He went on in Whether it bee the prophane that went on boldly in His sinne or the civill man trusting in His owne righteousnesse And makes Him as one shot into flesh with a crosse or bearded arrow which He cannot shake out nor abide the smart but stampes as one sâ—â—â—ng with an Addâ—r 〈◊〉 cannot stand His ground but is wholly possessed with fearâ— Ibid pag. 68. c. * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈…〉 Act. 2 37. Isai. 55.1 Ioh 7.37 Matth. 5.29.30 s Matth. 13.44 By that a man hath is meant sinne and by selling it the renouncing and disclaiming of sinne Now to sell this is as the nature of selling wee know requires to part with the right and title and interest that a Man hath unto it the secret and inward loue to it and the outward and common practise of it He that would enioy this heavenly treasure which the Lord doth so freely and graciously tender unto us by the preaching of the Gospell must resolve to make a through sale and