from the marriage-bed and the like Thirdly Abstaine from all worldly labour as upon a Sabbath day for worldly busines the cares thereof doe as well as worldly delights distract the thoughts and hinder humble devotion and a ceasing there-from giveth a full opportunitie to holy imployments the whole day Therfore the Iewes were commanded to sanctifie a fast And that yearely Fast called the day of Atonement was upon perill of their lives to be kept by a forbearance of all manner of worke Now albeit the Ceremonials of that day are abolished in Christ yet forbearing worke as well as meate and drinke being of the substance of a Fast doth remaine to bee observed in all such as may properly be called Religious Fasts Thus much for the outward fast you must be as strict in observing the inward Begin the day with prayer according as I directed you to doe every day but with more than ordinary preparation with fervency and faith praying for Gods special grace to enable you to sanctifie a fast that day according to the Commandement Then apply your selfe to the maine worke of the day which hath these parts 1 unfained Humiliation 2 Reformation together with Reconciliation and 3 earnest Invocation The soule is then humbled the heart rent and truly afflicted when a man is become vile in his owne eyes through conscience of his owne unworthinesse and when his heart is full of compunction and anguish through feare of Gods displeasure with godly sorrow and holy shame in himselfe and anger against himselfe for sinne These affections stirred doe much afflict the heart To attaine this deepe humiliation know that it is to be wrought partly by awakening your Conscience through a sight of the Law and apprehension of Gods just judgements due to you for the breach of it which wil break your heart and partly by the Gospell raising up your heart to an apprehension and admiration of the love of God to you in Christ which will melt your heart and cause you the more kindely to grieve and to loath your selfe for sin and withall to conceive hope of mercy whence wil follow reconciliation reformation and holy calling upon God by prayer To worke this Humiliation there must be First Examination to find out your sinne Secondly a Accusation of your selfe with due aggravation of your sinne Thirdly Iudging and passing sentence against your selfe for sinne Sinne is the transgression of the Law and revealed will of God Wherefore for the better search and finding out of your sinne you must set before youthe glasse of the Law for your Light and Rule And if you have not learned or cannot beare in minde the heads of the manifold duties commanded or vices forbidden then get some Catalogue or Table wherein the same are set downe to your hand which you may reade with pausing and due consideration staying your thoughts most upon those particular sinnes whereof you finde your selfe most guiltie If of those many that are you doe not meete with one more fit for this purpose or which you shall like better then use this Examinatorie Table in manner as Followeth But expect not herein an enumeration of all particular sinnes which is beyond my skill nor yet of all the heads of duties or kindes of sinnes which would require a volumne but of those which are principall and most common yet hereby if your Conscience be awake it will be occasioned to bring to your thoughts those other not mentioned in the Table if you bee thereof guiltie The first Table of the Law concerneth duties of love and pietie to God the performance whereof tendeth immediately to the glory of God and mediately to the salvation and good of man The first Commandement concerneth the setting up of the onely true God to your selfe to bee your God Examining your selfe by this and so in the other Commandements thinke thus with your selfe Doe I know and acknowledge the onely true GOD to be such a one as hee hath revealed himselfe in his Word works namely One onely Infinite Immateriall Immutable Incomprehensible Spirit and Everlasting Lord God having beeing and All-sufficiencie in and from himselfe One who is simply full of all perfections and uncapable of the least defect being Wisedome Goodnesse Omnipotencie Love Truth Mercy Iustice Holinesse and whatsoever is originally and of it selfe Excellent The only Potentate King of Kings Lord of Lords of whom through whom and to whom are all things The Father Sonne and holy Ghost God blessed for ever Amen Doe I Beleeve his Word in all things related commanded promised and threatned therein and that his holy and wise Providence is in all things Have I Him and his Word in continuall remembrance Doe I esteeme and exalt God in my heart above all so that it doth humbly adore him at the very mention and thought of him making my selfe to be nothing in mine owne eyes yea esteeming all creatures to bee nothing in comparison of him Have I given religious worship to him onely Have I beleeved in him and in him onely Have I sworne by him as there hath beene cause and by him alone Have I prayed onely unto him and have I sought to him and to obtaine helpe of him only by such meanes as he hath appointed giving the glory and thanks of my being and well-being and of al other things which are good unto him Is my Conscience so convinced of the truth Authority of God that it holdeth it selfe absolutely bound to obey him in all things that it doth incite to that which is good restrain from that which is evill encourage me in well-doing and check me when I doe ill Is my will resolved upon absolute and unfained obedience to doe whatsoever God commandeth to forbeare whatsoeuer hee forbiddeth to subscribe to whatsoever he doth as well done and have I borne patiently all which either by himselfe or by any of his creatures hee hath inflicted upon me Have mine affections beene so for God that I have loved him with al my heart loving nothing more than him nothing equally to him Doe I hate every thing that is contrary to him Hath my Confidence beene onely in him and my expectation of good from him Have my desires beene to him and for him longing above all things to have communion with him Hath it beene my greatest feare to offend him or to be severed from him Hath it beene my greatest griefe and shame that I have sinned against him Have I reioyced in God as in my chiefe Good Hath mine anger risen against whatsoever I saw crosse to his glory Have I beene zealous for God And have I made him the utmost end of all mine actions Hath my whole outward man as tongue senses and all other active powers of my body been readie to professe the true God and to yeeld obedience to his will Or contrariwise Am I not guilty of denying of God in word in workes or at least in heart
brotherly 1 When you love them out of a pure heart fervently which â—s when you love them because they are brethren partakers of the same Faith and Spirit of Adoption having the same Father and being of the same houshold of faith with you 2 When you love them not onely with a love of humanity as they are men for so you love all men even your enemies nor yet onely with a common love of Christianity wherewith you love all professing true Religion though actually they shew little fruit and power thereof but with a specialty of love for kinde spirituall and for degree more abundant Therefore it is called brotherly kindnesse and a servent love distinct from charitie or a common love 2 Pet. 1. 7. Where this love is it will knit hearts together like â—onathans and Davids making you to be of one heart and soule It will make you enjoy each others societie with spirituall delight It will make you to beare one with another and to beare each others burthens It will make you to communicate in all things communicable with gladnesse and singlenesse of heart as you are able and that by a specialtie beyond that which you shew to them which are not alike excellent Yea it is so entire and so ardent that you will not hold your life to be too deare to lay downe for the common good of the brethren When therefore you meete with those that feare God make improvement of the Communion of Saints not onely by communicating in naturall and temporall good things as you are able and as there is neede but especially in the communion of things spirituall edifying your selves in your most holy faith by holy speech and conference and in due time and place in reading the holy Scriptures good Bookes and by prayer and singing of Psalms together That your singing may please God and edifie your selfe and others observe these Sing as in Gods sight and in matter of prayer praise speake â—o God in singing The matter of your Song must be spiritual either indited by the Spirit or composed of matter agreeing thereunto You must sing with understanding You must sing with judgement being able in private to make choise of Psalmes befitting the present times and occasions And both in private and publike to apply the Psalme sung to your owne particular â—s when how â—o pray and praise in the words of the Psalme taking heede that you do not apply the imprecations made against the enemies of Christ and his Church in generall to your enemies in partilar also know how to confirme your faith and incline your will and affections when you sing the prophesies of Christ promises threats commands mercies judgements c. You must make melody to the Lord in your heart which is done 1 by preparing and setting the heart in tune it must be an honest heart 2 the heart must be lift up 2 the minde intentive 4 the affections fresh and new the heart beleeving and in matter of prayse and thanks joyous Lastly the voyce must be distinct and tuneable Lose not your short and precious time with idle complemeÌ„ts worldly discourses or talke of other mens matters and faults nor yet Athenian-like in a barren and fruitlesse hearing and telling of newes out of affectation of strangenesse and novelty But â—et the matter of your talke be â—ither of God or of his Word and â—ayes wherein you should walk â—r of his works of Creation Preservation Redemption Sanctificaâ—ion and Salvation of his Iudgements which he executeth in the world and of his mercies shewed towards his people or matter of Christian advice either of the things of this life or of that which is to come Impart also each to other the experiments and proofes you have had of Gods grace and power in this your Christian warfare And as there shall be cause Exhort admonish and comfort one another To doe all these well it will require a specialty of godly wisdome humility and love If these three be in you and abound your societie will bee profitable The strong will not despise the weak neither will the weake iudge the strong You will be farre from putting a stumbling-blocke or an occasion to fall in your brothers way but you will follow after the things which make for peace and things wherewith you may edifie one another You will then beare with each others infirmities and not seeke to please your selfe but your neighbour for his good to edification You must first be wise to make choise not onely of such matter of speech as is good and lawfull but such as is fit considering the condition and neede of those before whom you speake In propounding questions you must not onely take heed that they be not vaine â—colish and needlesse such as ingender strife and doe minister and multiply questions rather than godly edifying but you must be carefull that they be apt and pertinent both in respect of the person to whom they are propounded in respect of the person or persons before whom they must bee answered Some men have speciall gifts for one purpose some for another Some for interpreting Scripture some for deciding of controversies some for discovering Satans methods and enterprises some are excellent for comforting and curing afflicted and wounded consciences some are better skilled more exercised in one thing than in another And some also of Gods deare children as they are not able to â—eare all exercises of Religion so neither are they capable of hearing and profiting by all kinde of discourses of Religion If this were wisely observed Christian conâ—rence would bee much more â—uitfull than usually it is Secondly you must be lowlyâ—â—ded and of an humble spirit or presuming above your gifts â—nd calling When you speake â—f the things of God be reveâ—end serious and sober keeping your selfe within your sine both of your calling and the measure of the knowledge and grace which God hath given you speaking positively and confidently only of those things which you clearly understand and whereof you have experience or sure proofe Thinke not your selfe too good to learne of any neither harden your necke against the admonitions and reproofes of any If you have an humble heart you will doe as David did when he was admonished and advised by a woman He saw God in it and blessed him for it he received the good counsell and blessed it he tooke it well at Abigails hands and blessed her Now blessed bee God which hath sent thee to meet me this day saith he and blessed be thy advice and blessed bee thou which hast kept mee this day from comming to shed bloud c. Thirdly there will be need of the exercise of much servent love and charitie even amongst the best For sith that Satan doth
spite all good company and good conference he will cast in matters of jarres difference and discord And because the best men differ in opinion though not in fundamentals yet in Ceremonies and lesse necessary points of Religion and for that they all have infirmities and while the reliques of corrupt nature are in them are subject and apt to mistake and misconstrue one anothers actions and speeches as also the ends of their actions and speeches you will need that this bond of love be strong that it be not broke asunder by any of these or any other meanes but that you remain fast and sweetly knit together in the unitie of the Spirit through this bond of peace I commend this Christian society in brotherly love the rather because 1. there is nothing giveth a more sensible evidence of your conversion and translation from death to life than this 2. Nothing doth more further the increase and power of godlinesse in any place or person then this For let it be observed though there be never such an excellent Ministrie in any place you shall see little thriving in grace amongst the people untill many of them become of one heart shewing it by consorting together in brotherly fellowship in the Communion of Saints 3. Nothing bringeth more feeling joy comfort and delight next the communion with God iâ— Christ then the actuall communion of Saints and the love of brethren It is the beginning of that our happinesse on earth which shal be perfected in Heaven It is for kind the same that onely differeth in degrees And to conciude this subject after that you have beene in company good or bad it will be worth your while to examine how far forth you have hindred any evill in other have preserved your selfe from evill how farre you have endevoured to doe good to others and how much you haue bettered your selfe in knowledge good affection zeale or any other good grace by your company and according as you find let your heart checke or cheare you CHAP. X How a man should carry himselfe as in Gods sight when things goe well with him SECTIONI VVHen at any time you prosper in any thing and have good successe that you may therein walke according to God First Take heed of committing those sinnes whereto man is most apt when his heart is fatted with prosperity Secondly be carefull to produce those good effects which are the principal ends why God giveth good successe The sinnes especially to bee shunned are 1 Denying of God by forgetting him and his wayes departing from him when you are fat like Iesurun taking the more licence to sin by how much you shall prosper more in the world 2 Ascribing the prayse of successe to your selfe or to secondarie causes sacrificing to your owne net 3 High mindednesse thinking too well of your selfe because you have that which others have not and despising and thinking too meanly of those which have not as you have 4 If riches increase or if you thrive in any other earthly thing set not your heart thereon either in taking too much delight therein or intrusting thereupon Holy Iob and good David were in some particulars over-taken with this latter When Iob was warm in his nest he did hatch this secure conceit that he should dye in his nest and multiply his dayes as the sand And David in his prosperity said he should never bee moved But the LORD by afflictions taught them both to know by experience how vaine all earthly things are to trust unto and ingeniously to confesse their error I reduce the good effects which are the principall ends why God giveth good successe unto these two heads 1 professed prayse and thankes to God 2 Reall proofes of the said thanks in well using and imploying this good successe for God First prayse and thanke God For 1 it is the chiefe and most lasting service worship which God hath required of you 2 It is most due and due to him onely he onely is worthy for of him are all things and he is called the God of prayses 3 It is the end why God doth declare his excellency and goodnesse both in his Word and Workes that it may be matter of prayse and thankes also why he hath given man an hart to understand and a tongue to speake that for them and with them as by apt instruments they might acknowledge his goodnesse and excellencie thinking and speaking to his prayse and glory wherfore David speaking to his heart or tongue or both when hee would give thankes saith Awake my glory and I will give praysâ— 4 There is not any service of God more beneficiall to man than to bee thankefull For it maketh those gifts of God which are good in themselves to be good to you and they are the best continuers of good things to you yea Thanks are reall requests and the best security you can have for God will not withdraw his goodnesse from the thankefull This Prayse and Thankes is a religious service wherein a man maketh knowne to God that hee acknowledgeth every good thing to come from him and that he is worthy of all prayse and glory for the infinite excellencie of his Wisedome Power Goodnesse and of all his other holy and blessed Attributes manifest in his Word and Workes and that he for his part standeth wholly beholding to God for all that he hath had now hath and which hereafter hee hopeth to have Prayse and Thankes goe together and doe differ only in some respect The superabundant excellency in God shewed by his Titles and Workes is the obiect of prayse The abundant goodnesse of God shewed in those his Titles and Workes to his Church to you or to any person nothing to which you have reference is the obiect and matter of your thankes These things concerning praise and thankes are needfull to be knowne and observed First Who must give prayse and thankes Namely you and all that have understanding and breath must praise the Lord. Secondly To whom praise and thanks are due Only to God Not to us not to us saith the Church but to thy Name give glory Thirdly By whom must this Sacrifice of thankes be offered Even by Christ onely the onely high Priest of our Profession out of whose golden Censer our prayers and praises ascend and are sweet-smelling to GOD as Incense Fourthly For what must wee praise God and give him thanks Wee must praise him in all his workes be they for us or against us we must thanke him for all things spirituall and temporall wherein he is any way good unto us Fifthly With what must wee prayse and thanke him Even with our soules and all that is within us and with all that we have We must praise and thanke GOD with the inward man praise him with the
for joy before ever they have made a legge and shewn any signe of thankfulnes you will easily be overtaken in this kinde and neglect God that gave it The furtherances of thankfulnesse are most of them directly contrary to the former hindrances of many take these First Get sound knowledge of God and of his infinite excellencies and absolutenesse every way of his independency on man or any other creature whence it is that he needeth not any thing that man hath or can doe neither can he be beholding to man But know that you stand in need of God and must be beholding to him for al things Know also that whatsoever God doth by whatsoever meanes it be hee doth it from himselfe induced by nothing out of himselfe being free in all that he doth Know likewise that whatsoever was the instrument of your good God was the Author both of the good and of the instrument Next Fill your selfe with a due knowledge of the full worth and excellent use of Gods gifts both common and speciall Wealth honour libertie health life senses limmes wit and reason c. considered in themselves and in their use wil be held to be great benefits but if you coÌ„sider them in their absence when you are sensible of poverty sicknesse and the rest or if you be so blessed that you know not the want of them then if you shall advisedly and humbly looke vpon the poore base imprisoned captives sicke deafe blind dumbe distracted c. Putting your selfe in their case you will â—ay that you are unspeakeably beholding to God for these corporal and temporall blessings But chiefely learne to know aâ—d consider well the worth of spirituall blessings One of them the peace of God passeth all understanding To enjoy the Gospell upon any tearmes to have â—â—â—vation such a salvation offered by Christ to have faith hope love and other the manifold saving graces of the Spirit though but in the least measure in the very first seed of the Spirit though no bigger then a grain of Mustard-seed with never so much outward affliction is of such value and consequent that it is more then eye hath seene eare hath heard or ever entred into the heart of man For besides that the least grace is invaluable in it selfe it doth give proof of better gifts namely that God hath given his Spirit hath given Christ and in him hath given himselfe a propitious and gracious God hath given all things also When you know God aright his gifts aright knowing all things in God and God in all things then you will be full of praises and thankes Secondly Be low and base in your owne eyes Let all things be base in your eyes in comparison of God account them worthlesse and helpelesse things without him Iudge your selfe to be as indeed you are lesse then the least of Gods mercies For what are you of your selfe but a compound of dust and sinne unworthy any good worthy of all misery You stand in need of God â—he not of you It is his mercy that you are not consumed When you can be thus sensible of your owne neede and that helpe can come onely from God and that you are worthy of no good thing then you will be glad and thankefull at heart to God for any thing An humble man will be more thankfull for a peny then a proud man will for a pound Thirdly Call all the forementioned knowledge of God and of his gifts into fresh memory Commune with your soule and cause it to represeÌ„t lively to your thoughts what God is in himselfe what to his Church and to you how precious his thoughts are to you-ward Tell your selfe oft what God hath done and what he will doe for your soule Call to minde with what varietie of good gifts he doth store his Church blesse you you will find that they will passe all account and number When withal you call to minde that God is free in all his gifts to you who are unworthy the least of them If you would cause your selfe to dwell upon these and the like thoughts they would worke in you an holy rapture and admiration out of which you shall with David break out into these or the like prayses Oh Lord our Lord how excellent is thy name in all the earth I thanke thee I praise thee I devote my selfe as my best sacrifice to thee I will blesse thy Name for ever and ever Fourthly Be perswaded of Gods love to you in these good things which he giveth unto you First he loveth you as his creature and if onely in that regard he doth preserve you and doe you good you are bound to thanke him Secondly you cannot know but that he loveth you with a speciall love to Salvation Gods revealed will professeth as much you must not meddle with that which is secret I am sure he maketh proffer of his love and you daily receive tokens of his love both in means of this life and that which is to come Did not he love you when out of his free and everlasting good will towards you He gave his Sonne to die for you that you beleeving in him should not dye but have everlasting life What though yet you be in your sinnes Doth hee not bid you turne and hath hee not said â—hee will love you freely What though you cannot turn to him nor love him as you would yet endevour these in the use of all good meanes to be and doe as God will have you then doubt noâ— but that GOD doth love you and you must wait till you see it in the performance of his gracious promises unto you But if you would consider things aright you may know certainly that the good things you have received of God are bestowed in love to you I will onely aske these Questions Hath Gods mercie made you to bethinke your selfe of your dutie and obedience to God have you had a will to be thankefull upon the thoughts thereof or if you finde a defect and barrennesse herein hath not this unfruitfull and unthankefull receiving of good things from God beene a great burden and griefe of heart to you If yea this is an evident signe that God gave those good things to you in love because this holy and good effect is wrought in you by them Againe Dâ—â— you love God would you love God and his wayes and Ordinances yet more This provetâ— that God loveth you for 〈…〉 man can love God till God have first loved him Likewise doe you love the children of God Theâ— certainly you are Gods childe and are loved of God By these you have proofe of your calling and election how that you are now translated from death to life after which time though God may give you many things in anger as a father giveth correction yet he never giveth any thing
like proud Lamech and froward Ionas 2. Be not overwhelmed or eaten up with griefe like covetous Ahab and foolesh Nabal But 3. Beare them patiently 4. Beare them chearefully and thankefully 5. Beare them fruitfully Now to helpe you that passion and heat of anger kindle not or at least breake not out or last not First Convince your judgement thorowly that passion and rash anger is forbidden and hated of GOD. It is a fruit of the flesh A worke of the Devill Bred and nourished by pride folly and selfe-love Also that it surpriseth all the powers of right reason putting a man besides himselfe causing him to abuse his tongue hands and the whole man making him like a foole to let flye and cast firebrands at every thing which crosseth him and that not onely against his neighbour and dearest friends but against God himselfe Consider likewise that it maketh a man out of case to pray heare the Word or to performe any worship to God and unfit to speak or heare reason or to give or receive good counsell God barreth such as are froward the company of good men and saith That such a one doth abound in transgression that there is more hope of a foole than of him Wherfore he must needs be exposed to all the just iudgements of God temporall and eternall By these and such like thoughts worke your selfe to an ill opinion of this vice and to such a loathing of it that you may beware and shun it Secondly Observe watchfully when anger beginneth to kindle and stirre in you and before it flame break forth into tongue or hand set your reason aworke let it step before it to hold it in and bridle it Nay set Faith aworke having in readinesse and calling to minde such pregnant Scriptures as these Be angrie but sinne not And Anger resteth in the bosome of fooles And say thus Shall I sinne against God Shall I play the foole Then you sinne and play the soole in your anger first when it is without cause as when neither GOD is dishonoured nor your neighbour or your selfe indeede injuried when it is for trifles and onely because you are crossed in your will and desire and the like but chiefly when you are angry with any for wel-doing Secondly though you have cause yet if it be severed from love to the person of him with whom you are angry so as you neglect the common and needful offices thereof Thirdly when it exceedeth due measure as when it is over-much and over-long Fourthly it is sinfull when it bringeth forth evill and unseemly effects such as neglect or ill performance of dutie to GOD or man also when it breaketh out into lowd clamorous reviling or sâ—appish peeches or into stamping staâ—ing flinging churlish sullen or dogged behaviour or when it breaketh out into any injurious act Thirdly If you cannot keepe anger from rising and boyling within you yet be sure that you binde your tongue and hand to the good behaviour Make a Covenant with them charge them not to shew it nor partake with it any farther then considerate reason and good conscience shall advise you Set a Law to your selfe that you will not chide nor strike while you are in your scalding heate of anger If there be cause of either deferre it untill you be your selfe If you say that if you doe them not in your heate you shall doe neither I answer that in saying so you discover a great deale of impotencie folly corruption I am sure you never doe them well in passion And conscience of dutie should lead you to chiding and correcting when there is cause not passion for in it you serve and revenge your selfe upon the partie but not God Fourthly Both before and when you are in a chafe See GOD by the eye of your Faith comming in hearing you and looking upon you This will make you whist and quiet causing you not onely to hold your hands and tongue as you finde by experience you use to doe when some reverend friend coÌ„meth in but this will coole and abate your very inward heate and passion Fifâ—ly if you feele your corruption and weakenesse to be such and the provocation to anger to be so great that you feare you cannot hold then if it be possible avoid all occasions of anger remove your selfe but in a peaceable and quiet manner from the person object or occasion thereof And at all times shunne the company of an angry man as much as your calling will give you leave lest you learne his wayes Sixthly Howsoever it may happen that anger doe kindle in you and breake out Be sure that youâ—uâ—dâ—e it before it grow into hatred of him with whom you are angry For this cause Let not the Sunne goe downe upon your wrath you know not what hatred it may hatch before morning And the best means which I know to subdue it is If you finde your heart to boyle against any pray heartily to God for him in particular for his good this you are commanded And be so farre from seeking revenge that you force your selfe to be loving and kinde shewing all good offices of love with wisedome as you shal have occasion overcome evill with good Pray also to God for your selfe that he would please to subdue this passion for you This act of love to him performed before God before whom you dare not dissemble will excellently quench wrath and prevent hatred aganist him with whom you were angry and will give proofe betweene God and your Conscience that you love him If pleading for your selfe you shall say It is my naturall constitution to be cholericke and flesh and bloud will have their course Know this is to nourish your passion Knowalso it is a wicked and hateful constitution of body which came in with the fall And flesh and bloud shall not inherite the kingdome of God Say not I am so crossed and provoked never any the like For Christ was more injured and more provoked yet was never in a chafe And you provoke God daily a thousand times more every day yet he is patient with you Say not It is such an head-strong passion that it is impossible to one who is of a cholericke nature thus to bridle and subdue it For I can assure you that by using the former meanes if a man also do oft and much shame and abase himselfe before God for his passion and folly and daily repent thereof and be watchfull over himselfe he may of a most cholericke man become most meeke before hee dye I have seene it in old men whose age in it selfe giveth advantage to tutchines and frowardnes who were exceeding passionat intheir youth yet through the grace of God by constant coÌ„flict against this vice have attained to an admirable degree of meeknesse Next as carnal anger so
kinde of the sinne if you wel observe it it being a wilfull and malicious refusing of pardon upon such tearmes as the Gospell doth offer it scorning to be beholding unto God for it You may perceive what it is by this description The sinne against the holy Ghost is an utter wilfull and spitefull reiecting of the Gospell of Salvation by Christ together with an advised and absolute falling away from the profession of it so farre that against former knowledge and conscience a man doth maliciously oppose and blaspheme the Spirit of Christ in the Word and Ordinances of the Gospel and motions of the Spirit in them having resisted reiected and utterly quenched all those common and more inward gifts and motions wrought upon their hearts and affections which sometimes were intertained by them in so much that out of hatred of the Spirit of life in Christ they crucifie to themselves a-fresh the Sonne of God and doe put him both in his Ordinances of Religion and in his members to open shame â—reading underfoot the Sonne of God counting the bloud of the Covenant wherewith they were sanctified an unholy thing doing despight to the spirit of grace If you shall heedfu'ly looke into these places of the Scripture which speake of this sinne and withall doe observe the opposition which the Apostle maketh betweene sinning against the Law and sinning against the Gospell you shall clearely finde out the nature of this sinne But to resolve you of this doubt if you be not overcome with Melancholy for then you will answer you know not what which is to be pittied rather than regarded I would aske you that thinke you have committed the sinne against the holy Ghost these Questions Doth it grieve you that you have committed it Could you wish that you had not committed it If it were to be committed would you not forbeare if you could choose Would you take your selfe beholding to God if hee would make you partakers of the bloud and Spirit of his Sonne thereby to pardon and purge your sinne and to give you grace to repent Nay are you troubled that you cannot bring your heart unto a sense of desire of pardon and grace If you can say yea then albeit the sinne or sinnes which trouble you may be some fearefull sinne of which you must be exhorted speedily to repent yet certainly it is not the sinne against the holy Ghost It is not that unpardonable sinne it is not that sinne unto death For he that committeth this sinne cannot relent neither will he be beholding to GOD for pardon and grace by Christs bloud and spirit he cannot desire to repent But he is given over in Gods just judgement unto such a reprobacy of minde pollution and deadnesse of conscience perversnesse and rebellion of will and to such an height of hatred and malice that he is so blasphemously despitâ—fully bent against the Spirit of holinesse that â—t much pleaseth him rather than any way troubles him that hee hath so maliciously and blasphemously rejected or fallen from persecuted and spoken blasphemously against the good way of Salvation by Christ and against â—he gracious operations of the Spirit and against the members â—f Christ although he was once convinced clearly that this is the â—nely way of Salvation and that those graces and gifts were from God that they were the deare children of God whom he doth â—â—w despight Others if not the same object â—â—us God will certainely conâ—â—mne them because S. Iohn â—â—th said if their hearts condemne â—em God is greater than their â—arts hence they in ferre God will condemn them much more For they say their hearts doe condemne them There is a double judgement by the heart and conscience It â—â—â—gâ—â—h a mans state or person â—â—â—theâ—â—e be in state of grace â—â—â—â—â—â—o Also it judgeth a mans â—…lar actions whether they be good oâ— no. I take it that thâ—i place of Iohn is not to be understood of judging or condemning the person For God in his finall judgement doth not judge according to what a mans weaâ— and erroneous conscience judgeth for so it cannot choose buâ— be more or lesse in this life making it the square of his judgement to condemne or absolve any For many a man in his presumption iustifieth himselfe iâ— this life when yet God will condemne him in the world to comâ— and many a distressed soule liâ—â— the Prodigall and humble Puâ—â— liâ—an coÌ„demneth himselfe wheâ— yet God will absolve him For a man may have peace with God yet God for reasons best known to his wisedome doth not presently speake peace to his conscience as it was with David in which case man doth judge otherwise of his estate than God doth This place is to be understood of iudging of particular actions namely whether a man love his brother not in word and tongue onely but in deed and truth according to the exhortation ver 18. Which if his Conscience could testifie for him then it might assure his heart before God and give it boldnesse to pray unto him in confidence to receive whatsoever hee did aske according to his will But if his owne conscience could condemne him of not loving his brother in deed and truth then God who is greater thaÌ„ his hart but wherein greater greater in knowing mans heart and the truth of his love knowing all things must needs condemn him therein much more Even as Peter in the question whether hee loveth Christ or no he appeales to Christs omniscience whereby he proveth his love towards him saying Thou knowest all things thou knowest that I love thee This is the full scope of the place Yet this I must needs say that the holy Ghost hath instanced in such an act namely of hearty loving the brethren which is an infallible signe of being in state of grace whereby except in case of extreame melancholy or phrensie and in the brunt of a violent temptation a man may judge whether at that present he be translated from death to life yea or â—o If any shall think the place to be understood of judging the person he must distinguish between that judgement which the heart doth give rightly and de iure and that which it giveth erroneously But suppose that you trying your selves by this your hearts doe condemne you of not loving the brethren can you conclude hence that you shall be finally damned God forbid All that you can inferre is this you cannot have boldnesse to pray unto him untill you love them nor can you assure your selves that you shal have your petitioÌ„s granted And the worst you can conclude is that now for the present you are not in state of grace or at the least you want proofe of being in state of grace You must then use all Gods meanes of being ingrafted into Christ and must love the children of GOD that you may have proofe thereof Did Paul love
but chiefly considering that by this his passion he hath made full satisfaction for you and withall seeing God and Christ himself by the hand of his Minister truely giving Christs â—…ery body and bloud sacramentally to signifie and seale it unto you it should raise your heart â—o an holy admiration of the love of God and of Christ and it â—hould stirre you up in the very â—ct of taking the bread and wine 〈…〉 a reverend and thankefull reâ—â—iving of this his body and bloud 〈…〉 faith discerning the Lords boâ—…e gathering assurance hereby â—…at now all enmitie betweene â—…od and you is done away and â—…at you by this as by spirituall â—…od and life shall grow up in â—…m with the rest of his mystiâ—…ll body unto everlasting life After that you have received untill you bee to joyue in pubâ—…ke prayse and prayers affect â—…ur heart with ioy and thankefulness in the assurance of the pardon of all your sinnes and of salvation by Christ yea more than if you being a bankrupt should receive an acquittance sealed of the Release of all your debts and with it a Wil and Testament wherein you should have a Legacie of no lâ—sse than a Kingdome sâ—aled with such a seale as doth give cleare proofe of the fidelitie ability and death of the Testator or then it having been a traitour you should receive a free and sulâ— pardon from the King seaâ—ed with his own seale together with an Assurance that â—â—â—aâ—h adopted you to bee his câ—ild to be married to his sonne the hâ—ire of the Crowne This is your case when by faith you receive the bread wine the body and bloud of the Lord. Thinkâ— thus therefore with joy and rejoycing in God oh how happiâ—… am I in Christ my Saviour Gâ—… who hath given him to death foâ—… me and also given him to me how shal he not with him give me all things also even whatsoever may pertaine to life godlinesse and glory Who shall lay any thing to my charge c Who or what can separate me from the love of CHRIST c Resolve withall upon a constant and an unfained endevour to performe all duties becomming one thus acquitted thus redeemed pardoned and advanced and this in token of thankfulnesse even to keepe covenants required to be performed on your part undoubtedly expecting whatsoever God hath covenanted and sealed on his part Ioyne in publike prayse and prayer heartily and in a liberall contribution to the poore if there be a Collection After the Sacrament If you feele your faith strengthned and your soule comforted nourish it with all thankfulnesse If not yet if your Conscience can witnesse that you endevoâ—ed to prepare as you ought and to receive as you ought be not discouraged but wait for strength and comfort in due time Wee doe not alwaies feele the benefit of bodily food presently but stirring of humors and sense of disease is sometimes rather occasioned yet in the end being well digested it strengthnetâ—â— so â—â— is oft with spirituaâ—l food corruption may stirre and temptations may arise more upon the receiving then before especially sith Satan if it be but to vexe a tender-hearted Christian will â—ereupon take occasioÌ„ to tempt with more violence But if you resist these and stand resolved to obey and to rely upon Gods mercy in Christ this is rather a signe of receiving worthily so long as your desires and resolutions are strengthned and you thereby are made more carefully to stand upon your Watch. Endeavour in this case to digest this spirituall food by further meditation improving that strength you have praying for more strength remembring the Commandement which biddeth you to be strong and you shall be strengthned Lastly If you finde your selfe worse indeed or doe feele Gods heavy hand in speciall sort upon you following upon your receiving and your Conscience can witnesse truly that you came not prepared or that you did wittingly and carelesly faile in such or such a particular in receiving it is evident you did receive unworthily In which case you must heartily bewaile your sin confesse it to God aske and beleeve that he will pardon it and take heed that you offend not in that kinde another time Vpon the Lords day you must likewise bee readie to visit and relieve the distressed Take some time also this day to looke into your by past life and chiefly to your walking with God the last weeke asbeing in freshest memory and bee sure to set all straight betweene God and you Last of all on every opportunitie take good time to consider Gods workes what they are in themselves what they are against the wicked what they are to the Church and to your selfe and to yours And in parricular take occasion from the Day it selfe to thinke fruitfully of the Creation of your Redemption Sanctification and of your eternall Rest and glory to come For God in his holy wisedome hath sâ—t such a divine print upon this our Lords day that at once it doth minde us of the greatest workes of God which either make for his glory or his Churches good As of the Creation of the World in six dayes hee resting the seventh which specially isattributed to the Father And of mans redemption by Christ of whose resurrection this Day is a remembrance which is specially attributed to the Sonne Also of our sanctification by the Spirit for that the observation of the Sabbath is a signe and meanes of holinesse which worke is specially attributed to the holy Ghost Lastly of your and the Churches glorification which shall be the joynt work of the blessed Trinity when we shal ceasefrom al our works and shall rest and bee glorious with the same glory which our Head Christ hath with the Father to whom be glorie for ever and ever Amen Doe all these with delight raising up your selfe hereby to a greater measure of holinesse and heavenly mâ—naeâ—nesse Doe all this the rather because there is not a clearer signe to distinguish you from one that is prophane than this of conscionable keeping holy the Lords Day Neither is there any ordinarie means of gaining strength and growth of grace in the inward man like this of due observing the Sabbath For this is Gods great Mart or Faire day for the soule on which you may buy of Christ wine milke bread marrow and fatnesse gold white raiment eye-soelve even all things which are necessary and which will satisfie and cause the soule to live It is the speciall day of Gods hearing of suites and receiving petitions It is his speciall day of proclaiming and sealing of Pardons to penitent sinners It is Gods speciall day of publishing and sealing your Patent of eternall life It is a blessed day sanctified for all these blessed purposes Now lest this urging of the moralitie of the Sabbath and so strict an observation of the Lords day in spending the whole day in holy
report good of you to your face represse those speeches as soone and as wisely as you can giving the prayse of all things to God knowing that this is but a temptation and a snare and a meanes to breed and feed selfe-love pride and vaine-glory in you If this good report be true blesse God that he hath enabled you to give cause thereof and studie by vertuous living to continue it If this good report be false endevour to make it good by being hereafter answerable to the report If men report evill of you to your face Be not so much inquisitive who raised it or thought-some how to bring him to his answer or how to cleare your reputation amongst men as to make a good use of it to your owne heart before God For you must know this evill report doth not rise without Gods providence If the report be true then see Gods good providence it is that you may see your error and fault that you may repent If the report be false in respect of such or such a fact yet consider have you not runne into the appearance and occasions of those evils then say Though this report be false yetit commeth justly upon mee because I did not shunne the occasions and appearances This should humble you and cause you to bee more circumspect in your wayes But if neither the thing reported be true neither yet have yâ— runne into the occasions thereof yet see GODS wise and good providence not onely in discovering the folly of foolish and the malice of evill men who raise and take up an evill report against you without cause but in giving you warning to looke to your selfe iest you deserve thus to be spoken â—â— And what doe you â—now â—at that you shoâ—â—d have â—allen into the same or the â—â—ke evâ—ll if by these reports you had not beene forâ—warned Make use of the railings and reviling of an enemy for though he be a bad Iudge yet he may bee a good Remembrancer for you shall heare from him those things of which flatterers will not and friends being blinded or over-indulgent through love doe never admonish you Fourthly your conversation amongst all must be loving you should be kinde and courteous towards all men Doe good to all according as you have ability and opportunity Give offence wittingly to none Doe wrong to no man either in his name life chastitie or estate or in any thing that is his but be ready to forgive wrongs done to you and to take wrong rather then to revenge or unchristianly to seek to be righted As you shall have calling and opportunitie doe all good to the soule of your neighbours exhort and incourage unto well-doing If they shew not themselves to be dogs and swine that is obstinat scorners of good mâ—n conâ—emners of the pearle of good counsell you must so far as God giveth you any interest in them admonish and informe them with the spirit of meeknes and wisdome With this cloakâ— of love you should cover and cure a multitude of your companions infirmities and offences In all your demeanour towards him seeke not so much to please your selfe as your Companion in that which is good to his edification Speake evill of no man nor yet speak the evill you know of any man exceptin these or like cases 1 When you are thereunto lawfully called by Authoritie 2 When it is to those whom it concerneth to reforme and reclaim him of whom you speake and that you doe it to that end 3 When it is to prevent certaine dammage to the soule or state of your neighbour which would ensue if it were not by you thus discovered 4 When the concealment of his evil may make you guiltie and accessary 5 When some particular remarkeable judgement of God is upon a notorious sinner for his sinne then to the end that GOD may be acknowledged in his just judgments and that others may be warned or brought to repent of the same or like sinne you may speake of the evils of other But this is not to speake evill so long as you doe it not in envy and malice to his person nor with aggravation of the fault more then is cause nor yet to the judging of him as concerning his finall estate When you shall heare any in your company speake evill of your neighbor by slandering or whispering tale-bearing whereby hee detracts from his good name you must not onely stop your eares at such reports but must set your speech and countenance against him like a North-wind against raine When you heare another well reported of let it not be grievous to you as if it detracted from your credit but rejoyce at it in so much that God hath enabled him to be good and to doe good all which maketh for the advancement of the common cause wherein you are interessed Envie him not his due prayse Detract not from any mans credit either by open backbiting or by secret whispering or by any cunning meanes of casting evil aspersions whether by way of pittying him or otherwise As He is good or doth well in such and such things But c. This but marreth all And to heape up all in a word In all your speeches to men and coÌ„munication with them your speech must bee gracious that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister grace not vice to the hearers It must not be prophane nor any way corrupt filled out with oathes curses or prophane jests it must not be flattering nor yet detracting Not bitter not railing not girding either by close sqâ—is or salt iests against any man It mâ—…t not be wanton ribaldry lasciâ—ious and filthy It must not be false no nor yet foolish idle and fruitlesse For all eviâ— communication dâ—th corrupt good manners And Wee must answer for every idle word which wee speake Besides a man may easily be discerned of what Country he is whether of Heaven or of the earth by his language his speech will bewray him There is no wisdome or power here below can teach and enable you to doe all or any the forementioned duties This wisdome and power must bee had from above Wherefore if you would in all companies carrie your selfe worthy the Gospell of Christ First be sure that the Law of God and the power of grace bee in your heart else the Law of grace and kindnesse cannot bee in your life and speech You must be indued therefore with a spirit of holinesse humilitie love gentlenesse appeaseablenesse long-suffering meekenesse and wisedome else you can never converse with all men as you ought to doe For such as the heart is such the conversation will bee Out of the evill heart come evill thoughts and actions but A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good
Spirit and with the understanding praise him with the will praise and thanke him with the affections with all love desire joy and gladnesse praise him with the whole hart Wee must likewise praise him with the outward man both with tongue hands our words and our deeds must shew forth his praise When our thankes are cordiall orall and reall then they make a good harmony and sweet melodie most pleasant in Gods eares Sixthly When must we give thankes Alwayes Morning Evening Noone at all times as long as wee live and have any being wee must praise him Seventhly How much Wee must praise and thanke him abundantly Wee must endevour to proportion our praise to his worthinesse and goodnesse As we must love him so wee must thanke him with all our soule and with all our strength There is no sinne more common than unthankefulnesse for scarce one of ten give thankes and that one which doth give thankes besides many other his errors in thankesgiving doth not thank God for one mercy among twenty Many in distresse will pray or cry and bowle at least as they in Hosea for Corne and Oyle but who returneth proportionable praises to his prayers Whereas a man should be oftner in thanks than in prayers because GOD preventeth our prayers with his good gifts a thousand wayes Take heed therefore that you be not unthankfull It is a most base hateful and damnable wickednesse For he that is unthankfull to God is 1 A most dishonest and disloyall man he is injurious to God in detaining from him his due in not paying his Tribute 2 He is foolish and improvident for himselfe for by not paying his reut of thankes and for not doing his homage he forfeits all that hee hath into the Lords hands which forfeiture many times he taketh But if hee doe not presently take the forfeit it will prove worse to the unthankefull in the end For prosperity severed from thanksgiving alwayes increaseth sin and prepares a man for greater destruction The more such a one thrives the more doth pride hard-heartednesse and many other noisome lusts grow in him This unthankefulnesse is the high way to be given over to a reprobate sense Such prosperity alwayes wayes proves a snare and endeth in utter ruine For the prosperitie of fooles shall destroy them And when the wicked prosper it is but like sheepe put into fat pastures that they may be prepared to be pluckt out for slaughter in the day of slaughter An unthankfull man is of al men most unfit for to goe to heaven Heaven can be no heaven to him for there is praising of God continually Now to whom thankesgiving and singing of the praises of God is tedious to him heaven cannot be ioyous It doth concerne you therefore that you be much and oft in thankes and praises unto GOD. For this cause doe these things 1 worke your heart to a resolution and longing so to doe 2 Beware of and remoove impediments to thankefulnesse 3 Improve all good furtherances thereunto For the first Consider that besides that thankes is the best service being the end of all other worship and is Gods due and is the end why God giveth matter for which and meanesby which we should be thankefull and besides that nothing is more beneficiall than thankefulnesse nor more mischievous than unthankfulnes as hath beene already noted to adde more force with them consider these motives Harty and constant thankfulnes is a testimony of uprightnesse it doth excellently become the upright to be thankefull It is all the homage and all the service which God requireth at your hands for all the good that he bestoweth on you It is pleasant and delightfull It is possible and easie through the grace of Gods Spirit It is a small matter to what God might exact even as an homage-penny or pepper-corne Thankefulnesse doth fat elevate and enlarge the soule making it fruitfull in good workes no duty like it For the thankefull man with David is oft consulting with himselfe what he shall render to the Lord for all his benefits to him Lastly this spirituall praise and thankes to GOD by Christ is the beginning of heaven upon earth being part of the communion and fellowship which wee have with God while wee live here It is that everlasting service which indureth for ever Secondly when you have wrought the heart unto a good will to be thankfull then shâ—nne the impediments thereunto Amongst many take heed especially of these 1 Ignorance 2 Pride 3 Forgetfulnesse 4 Doubting of Gods love 5 Over-eager affection to the benefits received especially to such as are temporall First If you be ignorant of the excellencie and worth of good things bestowed or iâ— you misprize things preferring naturall temporall or common gifts before spirituall eternall and speciall graces peculiar to GODS children you can either give no thankes at all for who can give thankes for that hee esteemeth worth little or nothing or if you doe give any thankes it will be proposterous giving thankes for temporall blessings sooner and more then for spirituall and eternall Moreover though you doe know each good gift according to its due value yet if through ignorance you mistake the Giver you will bestow your thankes upon men and inferiour creatures upon second causes but not on God who is the Giver of every good and perfect gift Secondly If you be proud and highly conceited of your worth and good deservings you will expect greater matters than God will thinke fit to give as Naâ—man did before he was cleansed and when you misse of your expectation you will be so farre from thanks that you will mutter and complaine Thirdly Though you know the worth of the gift and doe know the Giver also doe thinke your selfe unworthy of the gift yet if you have not these good gifts of God in actuall remembrace if you have forgotten them and they be out of minde how can you be actually thankefull Therefore when David calleth upon himselfe to be thankefull he saith Forget not all his benefits Fourthly Suppose that you know wel the worth of the gift and doe judge your selfe lesse then it and remember well that you received it of God yet if through doubting of Gods love and through mis-beliefe you thinke that God doth not give it to you in love and mercy but in wrath as he gave Israel a King your heart will sinke and be so clogd with this feare that you cannot raise it vp to thankes for any gift which you conceive to be so given Fiftly Suppose that you quit your selfe of all the former impediments yet if you be over-eagerly affected with the gift you will in a kinde of over-ioyednesse be so taken up with it that as little childreÌ„ when their parents give them sweet-meates or such things as they most delight in fall to eating of the sweet-meat and runne away
worldly griefe must be avoided in all sorts of crosses For by it you repine against GOD fret against men and doe make your selfe unfit for naturall civill and spiritual duties and if it be continued it worketh death The best remedy against worldly sorrow for any crosse is to turn it into godly sorrow for sin which is the cause of the crosse This will cause repentance to salvation never to be repented of and will drive you to Christ in whom if you beleeve you shall have joy and comfort even such ioy unspeakeable which will dispell and drie up both this and all other griefes whatsoever For godly sorrow doth alwaies in due time end in spirituall joy SECTION 2. Of bearing all crosses patiently IN the third place I told you that you must beare all your afflictions and crosses patiently By Patience I doe not meane a Stoicall sensclesnesse or blockish stupiditie like that of Isachar Nor yet a counterseit patience like Esau's and Absaloms Nor a meere civill and morall patience which wise Heathen to free themselves from vexation and for-vaine-glorie and other ends attained unto Nor yet a prophane patience of men insensible of GODS hishonour Nor a patience-perforce when the sufferer is meerely passive But a Christ an holy patience wherein you must be sensible of Gods hand and when you cannot but feele an unwillingnesse in nature to beare it yet for conscience to Gods Commandement you doe submit to his will and that voluntarily with an active patience causing your selfe to be willing to beare it so long as God shall please like the patience of Christ Not my will but thine be done The excellencie of Christs suffering was not in that he suffered but in that he was obedient in his suffering He was obedient to the death So likewise no mans suffering is acceptable if he be not active and obedient in suffering This Patience is a grace of the Spirit of God wrought in the heart and will of man through beleeving and applying the Commandement and promises of God to himselfe whereby for conscience sake towards God he doth submit his will to Gods will willing quietly to beare without bitternesse and vexation all the labours changes and evill occurrents which shall be fall him in the whole course of his life whether from God immediately or from man as also to wait quietly for all such good things which God hath promised but yet are delayed and unfulfilled To induce you to get and to shew forth this holy Patience know that you have need of it and that in these respects 1. You are but halfe a Christian you are imperfect in your parts you want a principall part if you want patience thus S. Iames argueth implying that hee that will be entire and want nothing to make him a Christian man he must have patience This passive obedience is greater than active it is more rare and more difficult to obey in suffering than to obey in doing 2. You have not a sure possession of your soule without patience In your patience possesse yee your soules saith our Saviour A man without patience is not his own man hee hath not power nor rule over his owne spirit nor yet of his own body The tongue hand and feet of an impatient man will not bee held in by reason But he that is patient enjoyeth himselfe and hath rule over his spirit no crosse can put him out of possession of himselfe Thirdly There are so many oppositions and lets in your race and growth of Christianity that without patience to suffer and to wait you cannot possibly bring forth good fruit to God nor hold out your profession of Christianitie to the end but shall give off before you have enjoyed the promise Therefore you are bid to runne with patience the race which is set before you And the good ground is said to bring forth fruie with patience And the faithfull are said through Faith and Patience to inherite the Promises Fourthly Patience worketh experience without which no man can be an expert Christian this experieÌ„ce being of the greatest use to confirme a Christian soule in greatest difficulties This be said of the necessitie together with the benefit of patience that you may love it and may desire to have and shew it By what meanes you may attaine it followeth First you must be after a sort impatient and must spend your passion on your lusts which war in your members fall out with them mortifie them for nothing maketh a man impatient so much as his lusts doe both because they wil never be satisfied it is death to a man to be crossed in them and because the fulfilling of lusts doth cause a guilty conscience whence followeth impatience troublesome vexation upon every occasion like unto the raging Sea which with every wind dothâ—ome and rage and cast up nothing but filth and dirt And as Saint Iames saith Whence are warres and brawlings So I say of all other fruits of impatiencie But from your lusts that warre in your members Take away the causes of impatiency then you have made a good way for patience Secondly Lay a good soundation of patience you must be humble and low in your owne eyes through an appreâ—eÌ„sion that you are lesse then the least of GODS mercies and that your greatest punishments are lesse than your iniquities have deserved As any man hath abounded in humility so hath â—ee abounded in patience witnesse the examples of Abraham Moses Iob David and others Thirdly Store your heart with faith hope and love all these and either of these do calm â—he heart and keepe it â—eadie For besides that they quiet the heart in the maine giving assurance of Gods love in Christ For being iusâ—â—fied by faith we have peace with God reiâ—yce in hope whence joy and patience in tribulation And who can be impatient with him whom hee loveth with all his heart and strength These graces also doe furnish a man with an ability of spiritual reasoning and disputing with a disquieted soule whereby it may be quieted in any particular disquietment Wherefore the fourth meane of patience is to doe as Davâ— did whensoever you finde your heart begin to boyle and to be impatient you must before passion hath got the bit in the teeth and carried you out of your selfe into height of impatience aske your soule what is the matter and why it is so disquieted within you This do seriously and your heart will quickly represent to your thoughts such and such crosse or crosses stretched out upon the tenters of manifold aggravations All which you must answer by the spirituall reasoning of your faith grounded on the word of God whereby you may quiet your heart and put it to siâ—ence Whatsoever the affliction be that may trouble you you may â—e furnished with reasons why you
so willingly after this sort c But it is otherwise with the Hypocrite For either hee ascribeth all the glory of his good work to himselfe or if he seeme to be thankfull it is with a proud thankefulnesse like that of the proud Pharise accompanied with disdaine of others which in his opinion doe not so well as himselfe Thirdly the upright man having begun to do well doth not set downe his rest there but striveth to doe more and to be better hee with the Apostle forgetteth what is behinde looking to what is before not thinking that yet he hath attained to that he should doe So many as are indeed perfect and upright doe thus But the hypocrite if he have some flash of common illumination and some little taste of those things that concerne the kingdome of heaven and hath attained to aforme of godlinesse hee thinketh that he hath enough and needeth nothing So did Laodicea Seventhly The upright man and the hypocrite are differenced by their different affections and carriages after that they are fallen into sinne For in many things we sinne all As the upright man did not commit his sinne with that full consent of wil and with that dexterity which the hypocrite may doe and oft doth but alwaies with some reluctation and opposition of will though not alwayes felt and observed in so much that hee can say It was not hee but sinne that dwelt in him so after he is fallen into sinne when hee hath meanes to make his sin knowne to him hee doth not hide excuse or defend his sinne or if he doe it is but seldome in comparison and but faintly and not long his conscience smiting him when he doth it or quickly after it An upright man will not be much or long angry with any that shall admonish him of his sinne yea though an enemy shall by malicious railing cal his sinne to remembrance as Shemei did to David even therein hee can see God and can for the most part abstaine from revenge and will worke his heart to godly sorrow for his sinne But if any like Abigail shall in wisedome and love admonish him he blesseth God that sent him or her he blesseth and maketh good use of the admonition and doth blesse the admonisher and doth take it for a speciall kindnesse Thus David a man according to Gods owne heart as hee bewrayed humane frailtie in his many and great fals so he gave cleare proofe of his uprightnesse sooner or later by his behaviour after his fals He could say and his repentance did prove it that though to his griefe and shame sometimes he departed from God yet hee did not wickedly depart from GOD. Though upright men be transgressors yet they are not wicked transgressors there is great difference betweene those two For though there be evill in their actions yea in some of them filthinesse and grosse iniquity yet in their filthinesse is not lewdnesse as God complaines of Iudah that is they are not obstinate and rebellious standing out against the meanes of purging and reclaiming them For when God doth purge them by the rod of his mouth or hand in admonition and correction they are willing to reforme whatsoever is discovered to be amisse Moreover Although the upright man may be oft drawne into a way that is not good and often through his weaknesse and heedlesnesse like the sheepe may fall into a state that is not good yet hee doth not set himselfe in a way that is not good nor yet like the swine delighteth to wallow and lye in it When an upright man is fallen is recovered out of his spirituall swoone when he is well come to himselfe hee is like a man sensible of his bones broken or out of joynt he is not well nor at quie nor his owne man untill he have confessed his sinne repented of it asked pardon and grace and made his peace with GOD even untill he be well set and in joynt again An upright-man is likewise like the needle of the Sun-Dyall or of the Marriners Compasse which may by violent motion and joggling sometimes swerve to the West sometimes to the East but standeth steady no way but toward the North and if it be truely touched with a true Loadstone hath no rest but in that one North point so an upright man may through boystrous temptations strong allurements oft-times looke toward the pleasure gaine and glory of this present world but because hee is truely touched with the sanctifying Spirit of God he still hangeth and inclineth to God-ward and hath no quiet untill hee standeth steadie towards Heaven But it is not so with the Hypocrite Hee is in each particular directly contrary I leave the full and particular application thereof to your selfe to enlarge for having much to write I abbreviate as much as I may without obscurity and defect Eighthly You shall finde the most evident marke of uprightnesse from your sense of hypocrisie in you and from your conflict with it The upright man is sensible of a great deale of hypocrisie and guile in his heart Yea so much that oft-times hee doth make a questioÌ„ whether he have any uprightnesse and untill hee have brought himself to due triall by the ballance of the Sanctuary the Word and Gospell of Christ he doth feare he is an hypocrite But there is nothing which hee would oppose more nothing which hee complaineth of or prayeth to GOD more against than this hypocrisie nor is there any thing that he longeth after â—aboureth and prayeth for more then that he might love and serve the Lord in sinceritie This was the Apostles chiefe care that hee might approve himselfe to be upright All this plainly sheweth that this man would be upright which thing to will is to be upright The hypocrite contrariwise hee neglecteth to observe his guile and hollow-heartednesse in the things he doth or if hee cannot but see it hee is noâ— much troubled at it but suffereth it to raigne in him And as hee boasteth of his good actions so likewise of his good heart and good meaning in all that he doth except when his lewdnesse and hypocrisie is discovered to his face flattering himselfe in his owne wayes till his iniquitie is found to be hatefull Before I leave this I will answer a question or two concerning judging of uprightnesse by these markes First whether an upright man may at all times discerne his uprightnesse by these or any other markes Ordinarily if he will impartially compare himselfe with these evidences he may But as sometimes it so happeneth that he cannot namely in the case of spirituall desertions when God for his neglect of keeping his peace with him is hid from him for a time when in his displeasure he looketh angrily and writeth bitter things against him Likewise when he is in some violent and prevalent temptation and thereby cast into
The Vpright man hath an Holy boldnesse with God When Abimelech could say In the integritie of my heart and innocencie of my hands I have done this he had boldnesse to expostulate and reason his case with God An uprigh man in his sicknesse or in any other calamity yea at all times when he needeth GODS helpe can bee bold to come before GOD notwithstanding his sinne that hangeth so fast on his originall sinne and his many great actuall transgressions So did Hezekiah upon his death-bed as he thought saying Remember O Lord I beseech thee how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done good in thy sight So did Nehemiah saying Remember mee O my GOD concerning this and spare mee according to the greatnesse of thy mercy This Vprightnesse giveth boldnesse with God but without all Presumption of merit as you see in good Nehemiah 9 Lastly Whatsoever the upright mans beginning was and whatsoever his changes have bin in the times that have gone over him both in the outward and inward man in his progresse of Christianity mark this his end shall be peace The last and everlasting part which he shall act indeed and to the life is everlasting happinesse And to contract all these motives into a short but ful summe The Lord is a Sunne and Shield The Lord will give grace and glory No good thing will hee withhold from them that walke uprightly SECTION 4. Touching meanes to subdue Hypocrisie and to nourish uprightnesse IT remaineth now that you should know by what meanes you may abate and subdue hypocrisie and may get keepe and increase this grace of uprightnesse First you must by a due and serious consideration of the disswasives from hypocrisie and motives to uprightnesse worke your heart to a loathing and detestation of the one and to an admiration love and hungring desire of the other And withall by this means you must worke your heart to a resolution by the grace of God to be upright This must first be wrought for untill a man stand thus affected resolved against hypocrisie and for uprightnesse he will take no paines to be rid of the one nor yet to get the other Secondly you must be sensible of that Hypocrisie which yet is in you and of the want of uprightnesse though not altogether yet in great part For no man will boat cost and paines to remoove that disease wherof he thinketh he is sufficiently cured though indeed he did judge it to be never so dangerous nor yet for to obtain that good of which he thinketh that hee hath enough already though hee esteeme it never so excellent Hitherto both in the motives and meanes I have indevoured to gaine the will to will and resolve to bee upright and to be willing to use all good meanes to be upright Now those meanes that will effect it follow Thirdly doe your best to root out those vices that beget and nourish Hypocrisie Then plant in their râ—ome those graces which will breed and feed uprightnesse The chiefe vices are Ignorance and unbeleefe selfe-love pride and an irresolved unsetled heart unstable and not firmely resolved what to chuse whereby it wavers and is divided between two objects dividing the heart between God and something else whether it be false gods a mans selfe or the world whence it is that the Scriptures call an hypocrite a man that hath an heart and an heart one that is double minded The graces which breed and nourish uprightnesse are a right knowledge of GOD and of his will and faith in him Selfe-deny all Humility and lowly mindednesse Stability and â—nenesse of heart and that to God-ward For the more cleare light you can get into your minde the more truth you shall have in your will And when you can so deny your selfe that you can â—uite goe out of your selfe and first give your selfe to Christ and unto God then there will follow readinesse of minde and heartinesse of will to doe whatsoever may please God Also the more humilitie you have in your minde the more uprightnesse you shall have in your heart For while the soule is lifted up that mans heart is not upright in him saith the Spirit Lastly when your eye is single and your heart one and undivided you wil not allow your selfe to be in part for God and in part for Mammon in part for GOD and in part for your lusts whether of the flesh or of the world or of pride of life you will not give your name and lips to God and reserve your heart for the world the flesh or the Divell But by your will God shall be all in all unto you Fourthly if you would be in earnest and in truth against sin and for goodnesse you must represent sinne to your thought as the most hurtfull hatefull and most loathsome thing in the world and must represent the obeying and doing of Gods will unto your mind as the best and most profitable most amiable most sweet and most excellent thing in the world Hereby you may affect your heart with a through vexation and loathing of sinne and with an hearty love and delight in Gods Commandements If you doe thus you cannot choose but shunne sin and follow after that which is good not in seeming onely but indeed and in truth with all your heart For a man is alwaies hearty against what he deadly hateth and for what he dearely loveth Fiftly if you would be sincere and doe all your actions for Gods glory and for his sake you must by the light of Gods Word and Workes fully informe and perswade your selfe of GODS Soveraignty and absolutenesse and that because he is the first absolute and chiefe good he must needs be the last the absolute and chiefe end of all ends For he that is Alpha must needs be the Omega of all things Sith all things are of God and sith hee made all things for himselfe therefore you should in all things you doe be upright intending GODS glory as your principall and utmost end in all things Sixthly Consider oft and seriously that how close and secret soever hypocrisie may lurke yet it cannot be hid from the 〈…〉 of God with whom you haâ—… and before whom you wâ—… who will bring every secret 〈…〉 to Iudgement Wherefore take continuall notice that you are in the eye of God that made your heart who requireth truth of heart who perfectly knoweth the guilâ—or truth of your heart This will much further your uprightnesse for who can dare to double and dissemble in the presence of his Lord and Iudge who knoweth his hollownesse and dissimulation better than himselfe Seventhly Vnite your selfe more and more strongly unto your head Christ Iesus by all good meanes Goe so out of your selfe that you may every day be more and more in him Wherefore grow dayly in faith
doth care and will provide for you 4 Lastly you must oft-times actually casâ— your care on GOD by making your requests known to GOD by prayer and supplication for what you would have being heartily thankful for what you have had now have and hope to have hereafter Then the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keepe your heart and minde from vexing thoughts and heart-eating fears and that in and through Christ Iesus of which peace I intend next to speake and with it shall end these directions CHAP. XIIII Of Peace of GOD. SECTION I. Of Peace in generall and of the kindes of it THat you may be perswaded to walke before GOD in uprightnes in all wel-pleasing and to live without taking thought about any thing casting your care on GOD according to the former directions God hath assured you that peace shall be upon you even that peace of God which passeth all understanding which shall keepe your heart and minde through Christ Iesus if you thus doe Peace and quiet is most desireable Al things that have motion desire it as their perfectioÌ„ bodily things enjoy it by their rest in their places reasonable things enjoy this peace in the quiet of their minde and heart when they have their desires satisfied being freed from such opposition as might disquiet them Peace is a true agreement and concord betweene persons or things whereby not onely all enmitie is laid downe and all crossing and doing each other harme is forborne but all amitie is entred into and all readinesse of communicating and doing good to each other is shewed Naturall peace consisting of the harmony and good agreement of the severall parts of mans body Domesticks and Civill peace consisting of amitie and good agreement of persons in a familie or State is of great price and very much to be desired for the exceeding great benefit which it bringeth to the body family and state But the peace of which I am to speake which is promised to all which walk with God according to the rule of faith and of the new creature casting their care on God exceedeth all other peace as far as the soule heaven and eternitie exceedeth the body the earth and a moment of time Which will easily appeare if you shall observe by what motives and arguments the holy Ghost doth commend and set this forth unto you Phil 4. 7. It hath its commendation above all other peace in three respects First In respect of the excellency of the person with whom and from whom it is namely God therefore it is called peace of God It is so called 1 Because it hath God for its obiect it is a peace with God 2 Because God by his Spirit is the author of it it is peace from God a peace which God giveth such a peace which the world neither can nor will give Secondly this peace is commended in respect of the unspeakable inconceivable and surpassing goodnesse and worth that is in it It passeth all understanding and this it doth not onely because unsanctified men are meere strangers to it and understand it not but because regenerate men to whom it belongeth and in whom it is even they when God giveth them any lively feeling of it finde it to bee such a peace as they could not imagine it to be before they felt it For they cannot so distinctly and so fully conceive and comprehend the surpassing excellency of it as by any meanes fully to expresse it It rather taketh up the minde into an holy rapture unto admiration of what it seeth and of what it perceiveth is yet to be known beyond full comprehension then possibly can be taken up and bee distinctly and fully comprehended or expressed by minde or tongue It fareth with them that feele it in any speciall degree as it did with the Queen of the South when she saw Salomons Wisdoms Shee had a great opinion of Salomons Wisdome by that which she received by heare say but when she saw it she was stricken with such admiration and was so taken up with it that it is said shee had no more spirit in her his Wisdome was not only more than her expectation but more than her spirit was able throughly to comprehend in so much that shee giveth over to seeke to finde the depth of it but breaketh out into words of admiration saying the halfe was not told her of Salomons wisedome it exceeded the fame thereof So doth the peace of God It being like the dimensions of the love of Christ the root thereof and like the ravishing ioy of Christians the effect thereof passing all full and distinct knowlege and passing all meanes of full and cleare expression being as the holy Ghost also saith unspeakeable This peace is included amongst those other graces and gifts accompanying the Gospell which are such as eye hath not seene nor eare heard nor hath entered into the heart of man so as clearely to perceive them or fully to expresse them Thirdly This peace is commended in respect of the excellent effect thereof which is a proofe that it passeth understanding namely it keepeth the heart and minde in and through Christ Iesus This is a rare and most usefull effect on mans behalfe For it supplieth the place and office of a Castle or strong Garrison as the Greeke word signifieth to keep the principall Forts of the soule from being surprised or annoied either by invasioÌ„ from without or by insurrection from within The parts of man which are kept by this peace of GOD are the heart and minde by heart is meant the will and affections by minde the power of thinking and understanding For true peace of GOD doth fill the heart with such Ioy Patience Hope and Comfort in beleeving that it keepeth it from heart-eating and heart-vexing griefe feare distrust and despaire It likewise filleth the mind so full of apprehension of Gods favors fidelity and love that it maketh it rest secure in God and to forbeare to plod and beat the brain unnecessarily about any thing keeping out the dominion of all carking and distrustfull thoughts The strength which this peace hath whereby it keepeth the heart and mind as wâ—th a Garrison is impregnable It is derived from Christ it hath it in from Christ The Text saith through Christ that is throgh the power of Christs Spirit For as wee are kept by Faith from which this peace springeth as with a strong Garrison by the power of GOD to Salvation readie to be revealed in the last time so by the same power of Christ our hearts and mindes are kept by the peace of God as with a Garrison from discouragefull distractfull distrustfull and discomfortable thoughts in the meane time For what is this peace else but a parcell of the object of our Faith as wee apprehend it in God to us-ward and the fruit of Faith as wee feele it wrought in us by God This peace
them but rather worse If it be so it is your sinne and it behoveth you presently to repent but doe not say these things cannot befall those who are in state of grace and beloved of God For did not David by his adultery and murder bring upon himselfe much affliction And had not penitent Iob divers fits of impatience And was not the Prophet at first rather worse than better by his afflictions when thereby he had almost judged the state of the wicked because they prospered to be better than his because he was continually chastened and plagued thinking that all his Religion had beene in vaine and to no purpose It was their faults and so it is yours if it bee true which you say yet it cannot be denyed but that God loved them and so he may you notwithstanding You may know that afflictions many times doe worke like Physicke which at first stirreth humors and which discovereth and seemeth to increase the disease before that it cure it and this God doth many times that his children may more fully see their corruptions to their through humbling before he cure them There are others and it may be the same when the tide of affliction is turned because they Prosper and are not in trouble as other men doe conceive that God doth not love them For it is said as many as hee loveth he doth rebuke and chasten and hee doth chasten every Sonne whom he receiveth See a fearefull and doubtfull heart will draw matter to feede its feares and doubts out of any thing But know God is a wise and good Father hee knoweth whento strike and when to hold his hands In these cases God doth not usually afflict his children with his heavie rod. First when they bee Infants babes in Christ or if they bee growne to yeares when they be spiritually weake or sicke and cannot beare correction then though they be way ward and froward and deserve strokes God doth forbeare and is inclined to pitty rather Secondly when they be good Children that is shew that they would please him indevouring to do what they are able though it be with much imperfection then GOD will not strike but spareth them as a Father spareth his onely sonne that serveth him Thirdly when forbearance of punishment and when fruits and tokens of kindnesse will reclaime his children from evill and doe prove incitements unto good God in this case also like a wise and loving Father had rather draw them by the cords of love then drive them with the lashes of his displeasure Thus you see God may love his Children and not bee alwayes afflicting of them The Husbandman doth not alwayes plow and harrow his land nor yet is hee alwayes threshing of his corne Well doe you prosper Then take notice of Gods goodnesse towards you with thanksgiving studie and indevor therefore tobe the more obedient If you cannot yet grieve because you cannot be more thankfull and more obedient Then because prosperity hath made you better or at least to will to be better hence you may assure your selves that your prosperity is not given you in wrath but in love But take heed quarrell not with God because hee forbeareth to afflict you either make this use that you be good and amend without blowes or else be sure the more is behinde and then when it commeth it will bee the more grievous because for his good will you did foolishly call his love into question As the forementioned did question Gods love from considerations taken from their outward conditions so there are very many besides what they conclude from outward crosses gather also from their inward horrors and distresses of Conscience and from their intolerable perplexities of soule that God doth not love them they think that their distresse is other or greater than the affliction of any of GODS Children therefore they want peace fearing that God doth not love them Those to whom GOD doth beare speciall love may bee so far perplexed with inward and strange terrors and discomforts that they may think themselves to be forsaken of God Thus the Psalmist complaineth will the Lord cast off for ever And will he be favourable no more Yea not onely hee but Christ Iesus himselfe and his Church did in their sense feeling take themselves to be forsaken of God yet none that are wise will say that these were out of Gods love or were ever quite forsaken though never so much perplexed and cast downe though in their owne feelings and sense they in the agony of their spirits did thus thinke or speake God hath most holy and blessed ends why that many times hee doth leade and leave his Children in such straits that they are altogether without sense of his love First it may be a just correction of them for their not shewing love to God and because they doe in part forsake him by their sinnes This is therefore to humble them and to make them know themselves and to bring them to repentance God may be pacified towards them in the maine yet for a time shew them no countenance as DAVID though his anger was appeased towards Absolon yet for a time he wold not let him see his love for hee would not let him come in his sight that Absolon might be more humbled and might the more detest his sinne Secondly God exerciseth his beloved ones with many feares horrors and doubts to prevent that spirituall pride which else would be in them and that selfe-sufficiency which else they would conceive to be in themselves If they should alwayes have sense of inward spiritual comforts and should not sometimes have prickes in the flesh and buffetings of Satan they would be exalted above measure and would bee some thing in thēselves in their owne opinion But when there is such difficulty in getting and in holding of grace and comfort and when they shall finde what neede they have of both and how neither can bee had but from God in and by Christ it will make them empty themselves of all things in themselves that they may bee something in Christ And then when they have grace and comfort they will acknowledge themselues to be beholding to GOD for the same Thirdly GOD doth withhold from his Children the sense of his favour to try the sinceritie and truth of their sole dependace on him trying whether because GOD seemeth to forsake them they will forsake him whethsr like King Ioram they will say why shall they wait upon God any longer And whether they will with Saul betake them to unlawfull meanes of helpe Or whether on the other side they will say with Iob and David though GOD kill us or forget us yet wee will trust in him hope in him and praise him who they are perswaded is and will shew himselfe to be the health of their countenance and their GOD. God useth to
is not of it selfe so strong nor so constant nor so infallible as the certainty of Faith and Adherence is For sense and reason since the fall even in the regenerate though they will lay some foundation in the Rules of Faith to proceed by yet erring in or misapplying the rule are weake variable and their conclusions are not so certaine as those of pure Faith Because Faith buildeth onely upon Diuine Testimonie concluding without reasoning or disputing yea many times against reasoning So that notwithstanding the excellent and needfull use of Assurance and certainty of Evidence it is Faith and the certainty of Adherence whereby even in feares and doubts a man cleaveth fast to the promises and is that which we must trust unto and is the Cable wee must hold by lest we make ship wracke of all when wee are assaulted with our greatest temptatioÌ„s for then many times our Assurance leaveth us to the mercy of the winds and Seas as Marriners speake If you have Faith though you have little or no feeling you are yet sure enough of Salvation indeede though not in your owne apprehension When both can be had it is best for then you have most strength and most comfort giving you chearefulnesse in all your troubles but that certainty of Faith and cleaving to the naked word and promise is that to which you must trust See this in the examples of most faithfull men for when they have beene put to it it was this that upheld them and in this was their faith commended Abraham against all present sense and reason even against hope beleeved in hope both in the matter of receiving a sonne and in going about to offer him againe unto God in Sacrifice He denyed sense and reason he considered not the unlikelihoods and seeming impossibilities in the iudgement of reason that ever he should have a seed hee being old and Sarah being old and barren or having a seed that he should be saved by that seed sith hee was to kill him in Sacrifice He onely considered the Almighty power faithfulnesse and soveraigntie of him that had promised he knew it was his dutie to obey and to waite and so let all the businesse thereabout to rest on Gods promise For this his faith is commended and hee is said to be strong in faith Iob and David or Asaph shewed most strength of Faith when they had little or no feeling of Gods favour but the contrary rather Iob had little feeling of Gods favour when for paine of body hee said wherefore doe I take my flesh in my teeth and in anguish of soule he said Wherefore hidest thou thy face and takest me for thine enemie Yet then this certainty of faith which made him cleave unto GOD made him to hold fast and say in the same Chapter Though hee slay mee yet I will trust in him When David said to GOD Why hast thou forgotten mee His Assurance was weake yet even then his Faith discovered it selfe when he saith to his soule Why art thou disquieted within mee Hope in God who is the health of my countenance and my God You see then that the excellencie of Faith lyeth not in your feeling but as the Psalmist speaketh by experience in cleaving close unto the promise and relying on God for it upon his bare word For he saith It is good for mee to draw neere to God I have put my trust in the Lord God this was it which secretly upheld him and kept him in possession when as you may see in that Psalme his Evidences and Assurance was to seek Wherefore Beleeve Gods promises made to you in Christ and â—est on him even when you want â—oy and feeling comfort For â—aving Faith you are sure of heaven though you be not so fully â—ssured of it as you desire It will â—e your greatest commendation when you will be dutifull servants and children at GODS Commandement though you have not present wages when you wil take Gods word for that Those are bad servants and children which cannot go on chearfully in doing their Master or Fathers will except they may receive the promised wages 〈◊〉 least in good part aforehand Oâ— every day or except they may have atleast a good part of the promised inheritance presently and in hand Feeling of comfort is part of a Christians wages and inheritance to be received at the good pleasure of God that freely giveth it rather than a Christian duty To comfort and stay ourselves on God in distresse is a duty but this joyous sense and feeling of Gods favour is a gracious favour of God towards us not a duty of ours toward God It is from too much distrust in God and too much self-respect when wee have no heart to goe about his worke except we be full of feeling of his favour Hee is the best child or servant that will obey out of love duty and conscience and will trust on God and wait on him for his wages and recompence Though want of apprehension of Gods favour and of feeling of comfort may be accounted a great misery yet it is not to be judged a proofe of no grace or of no true Faith Thirdly when you say you cannot feele that you have faith or hope you meane as in deede many good soules doe you cannot finde and perceive that these graces bee in you in truth which if you did you would not doubt of your salvation My answer is If faith and hope be in you then if you would judiciously enquire into your selves and feele for them you may finde and feele them and know that you have them For as certainly as he that seeth bodily may know that he seeth so he that hath the spirituall sight of Faith may know that he hath Faith Wherfore try and feele for your Faith and you shall finde whether it be in you yea or no. For this cause 1 Try whether you ever had the necessary Antecedents and Preparatives which ordinarily make way for the seed of Faith to take deepe root 2 Consider the nature of saving Faith and whether it hath wrought in you accordingly 3 Consider some consequents and certaine effects thereof First hath the Law shut you up in your owne apprehension under the curse so that you have beene afraid of Hell And hath the Spirit also convinced you of sin by the Gospell to the wounding of your conscience and to the working of true humiliation causing the heart to relent and to desire to know how to be saved and if after this you have denied your selfe and received and rested on Christ according to the nature of true Faith as followeth then you have Faith If you doubt you were never sufficiently humbled then reade Chap. 16. Sect. 6. Secondly Consider rightly the nature and proper acts of Faith lest you conceive that to be faith which is not and that to be no faith which is You may know wherein true saving Faith consists by
Castle to steppe into or an Army of friends to rescue him this mans feare is quickly over and forgotten The other doth not onely see great danger but is surprized by his enemies is taken and carried captive and is a long time in cruell bondage and feare of his life til at length he is redeemed out of their hand Such a feare as this can never be forgotten You may evidently know whether you had sufficient griefe and feare in your first conversion by these signes Had you ever such and so much griefe for sin that it made you to dislike sinne and to dislike your selfe for it and to bee weary and heavie laden with it so as to make you heartily confesse your sinnes unto GOD and to aske of him mercie and forgivenesse Hath it made you to looke better to your wayes and more carefull to please God Then be sure it was a competent and sufficient griefe because it was a godly sorrow to repentance never to be repented of Againe are you now grieved and troubled when you fall into particular sinnes then you may be certaine that there was a time when you were sufficiently grieved and humbled in your Conversion For this latter griefe is but putting that griefe into further act whereof you received an Habit in your first Conversion If you can for the present find any proofes of Conversion it should not trouble you though you know not when or by whom or how you were converted any more then thus that you know that God hath wrought it by his Word and Spirit When any field bringeth forth a croppe of good corne this proveth that it was sufficiently plowed For GOD doth never sow untill the fallow ground of mens hearts is sufficiently broken up Now as for those of you which remember that you have had terrors of conscience and it may bee ever and anon feele them still who feare that these were not beginnings of Conversion but rather beginnings of Desperation and Hellish torments you should know that there is great difference betweene these and those Those feares and horrours which are onely flashes and beginnings of hellish torment are wrought onely by the Law and spirit of bondage giving not so much as a secret hope of Salvation But those feares which make way unto and which are the beginnings of Conversion are indeed first wrought by the Law also yet not onely for the Gospell hath at last some stroke in them partly to melt the heart broken by the Law partly to support the heart causing it by some little glimpse of light to conceive possibilitie of remedy Compare the terrors of Cain and Iudas with those of the men prickt at Peters Sermon with S. Pauls and the Iaylors and you shall see both this and the following differences 2. The former terrours and troubles are caused either onely for feare of Hell and fierce wrath of God but not for sinne or if at all for sinne it is onely in respect of the punishment These tending to conversion are also caused through feare of Hell but not onely The heart of one thus troubled aketh because of his finne and that not onely because it deserveth hell but because by it he hath offended and dishonoured God 3. Those who are troubled in the first sort do continue head-strong and obstinate retaining their wonted hatred against God and against such as feare GOD as also their love to wickednes onely it may bee they smoother and bite in their ranckor through the spirit of restraint that for the time it doth not appeare But in the other will appeare some alteration towards goodnesse As whatsoever their opinions and speeches were of Gods peoples before now they begin to think better of them of their waies So did they in the Acts before they were prickt at heart they did scoffe at the Apostles and derided Gods gifts in them but afterwards said men and brethren they conceived reverently of them and spake reverently to them See the like in Paul in his readinesse to doe whatsoever Christ should enjoyne him The Iaylour also in this case quickly became well affected to Paul and Silas 4. The former sort when they are troubled with horror of conscience flie from God and seeke no remedie but such as is worldly and carnall as jollitie company-keeping musicke and other earthly delights as in building and in their lands and livings according as their owne corrupt hearts and as carnall men will advise them whereby sometimes they stupifie and deaden the Conscience and lay it asleepe for a time Thus Cain and Saul allaied their distempered spirits And if they have some godly friends which shall bring them to Gods Ministers or doe themselves minister to them the instructions of the Word this is tedious and irkesome to them they cannot rellish these means nor take any satisfaction in theÌ„ But the other are willing to secke to God by seeking to his Ministers to whom God hath given the tongue of the learned to minister a word in season to the soule that is wearie and though they cannot presently receive comfort wil not utterly reject them except in case of Melancholicke distemper which must not bee imputed to them but to their disease And in application of the remedy as there were two parts of the griefe so they must find remedies for both or they cannot be fully satisfied First they were troubled with griefe for feare of Hell for taking away whereof the bloud of Christ is applyed together with Gods promise of forgivenesse to him that beleeveth and a commandement to beleeve all this is applied to take away the guilt and punishment of sinne Secondly they were troubled for sinne whereby they had dishonored and displeased God now unlesse also they feele in some measure the grace of Christs Spirit healing the wound of sinne and subduing the power of it and enabling them at least to will and strive to please God they cannot be satisfied As it was with David though God had said by the Prophet The Lord hath put away thy sinne that is forgiven it yet he had no comfort untill God had created in him a cleane heart and renewed a right spirit within him Whereas if feare of Hell be off it is all that the former sort care for 5. As for the first sort it may be while they were afraid to be damned they had some restraint of sinne and it may be made some proffers tending to reformation but when their terrours are over and forgotten then like the dogge they returne to their vomit and like the sowe that was washed to their wallowing in the mire of their wonted ungodlinesse But as for them whose terrours were preparations to Conversion when they obtaine peace of Conscience they are exceeding thankefull for it and are made by it more feaâ—efull to offend And although they may and oft doe fall into some particular sinne or sinnes for which
proofe of the graces of his children to give them experience of their owne weakenesse and of his grace towards them and strength in them even in their weakenesse preserving them from being vanquished albeit they fight with Principalities and powers and spirituall wickednesses For Gods strength is made perfect in mans weakenesse That you who are troubled with blasphemous and other abhominable thoughts may be lesse troubled or at least not hurt by them follow these directions which will 1 shew you how to arme your selves against them before they rise oâ— be suggested 2 How to carry your selves when they are iâ— you 3 How both before in and after your conceiving oâ— them First arme your selfe with evident proofes that there is a God that there is a divine spiritual absolute and independent Being from whom and to whom aâ—… all things and by whom aâ—â— things doe consist Next confirme your selfe in a sure perswasion that the Bible and holy Scriptures are the pure word of this onely true God Then labour with your heart that it may so awe and love God and his will that it he alwaies ready to rise against every motion to sinne especially these of the worst ranke with loathing and detestation To be assured that there is a God Consider first the Creation preservation and order of the Creatures How could it be possible that such a world could be made and upheld or that there should be such an order or subordination amongst creatures if there were not a God The heavens give their influence into the ayre water and earth these by vertue hereof and by their inbred properties support afford meanes to all living creatures The creatures without sense serve for the use of the sensitive and all serve for the use of man who although hee be an excellent creature yet of himselfe he is so impotent that hee cannot adde one cubit to his stature nay hee cannot make one hayre white or blacke therefore could not be the maker of these things Moreover If the Creatures were not limited and ordered by a superiour Being they would one devoure another in such sort as to bring all to confusion For the savage beasts would eat up and destroy all the tame and gentle the strong would consume the weake the Sea if it had not bounds set to his proud waves would stand above the mountaines and the Devill who hateth mankinde would not suffer a man to live at any quiet if there were not a God one stronger than the strongest creatures to restraine Satan and to confine every thing to his place order How could there be a continuall vicissitude of things How could we have raine and fruitfull seasons and your soules fed with food and gladnesse if there were no God Thus by the Creation the invisible things of God that is his eternall power and God-head are clearely seene for by these things which are thus made and thus preserved he hath not left himselfe without witnesse that God is and that hee made all things for himselfe even for his owne glory Secondly If all things came by nature and not from a God of nature how then have Miracles which are many times against nature and doe alwayes transcend and exceed the order and power of nature beene wrought For nature in it selfe â—oth alwayes worke even in its greatest workes in one and the â—â—me manner and order For Nature is nothing else but the power â—â— God set in the creatures to support them and to produce their effects in a set order Wherefore if any thing be from Nature or from Miracle it is from GOD the one from his power in things ordinary the other from his power in thing extraordinary wherefore whether you look on things naturall or above nature you may 〈…〉 there â—â— a God Thirdly looke into the admirable workemanship of but one of the Creatures namely your owne soule and in it particularly into your Conscience whence are your fears that you shal be damned What need it nay how could it trouble you for youâ— blasphemous thoughts and other sinnes if it were not privie to iâ— selfe that there is a God which will bring every thought â— judgement Fourthly make use of the eye of faith whereby you may â—â— God who is invisible that morâ— distinctly more certainely anâ— more fully Remember that it is the first principle of all Religion which is first to bee learned namely That God is that all things are made by him and that hee is a rewarder of all those that so beleeve this that they diligently seeke Him That you may assure your selves that the Scriptures are the word of God Consider first how infallibly true they are in relating things past according as they were many hundred yeares before also in foretelling things to come many hundreds of yeares after which you may see to have come to passe and daily to come to passe accordingly Which they could not doe if they were not Gods Word 2. They lay open the particular and most secret thoughts lusts and affections of mans heart which it could not doe if it were not the word of him that knoweth all things in whose sight all things are naked and open 3. They command all duties of piety sobriety and equity and doe prohibit all vice in such sort as all the writings and lawes of all men laid together neither doe nor can doe 4. As the Scriptures discover a state of eternall damnation unto man and conclude him in it so they reveale a sure way of Salvation which is such a way as could never enter into the imagination and heart of any man or of all men together without the Word and revelaâ—â—â—n of the Spirit of GOD wâ—â—â—â— his wisedome found out â—â—d ordained this way 5. The Scriptâ—â—â—â— are a word of power almighâ—â—â— beyond the power of any creature pulling downe strong holds casting downe imaginations and every high thing that exalteth it selfe against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivitie euery thought to the obedience of Christ. 6. Lastly the Scriptures have an universall consent with themselves though penned by divers men which argueth that they are not of any private interpretation but that those holy men of God spake as they were moved by the holy Ghost Much more might bee said to this point but this may suffice Moreover Against temptations to offer violent hands upon other or your selves you must have these and like Scriptures in readinesse Thou shalt not kill And see thou doe thy selfe no harme and such like And that you may be prepared against all other vile temptations possesse your hearts before-hand with this that these are great wickednesses and against God against your God When Ioseph could say Shall I commit this great wickednesse and sinne against GOD no temptations could prevaile against him Thus much for fore arming
present note this When was it knowne that an Hypocrite did so see his hypocrisie as to have it a burden to him and to be weary of it and to confesse it and bewaile it to aske forgivenesse thereof hartily of God and above all things to labour to be upright If you finde yourselves thus disposed against Hypocrisie and for uprightnesse although I would have you humbled for the remainder of hypocrisie which you feele to be in you yet chiefly I would have you to be thankfull to God and to take comfort in this that you feele it dislike it thank God therfore for your uprightnes comfort your selves in it and cherish and nourish it in you and feare not Moreover consider this How can it justly bee conceived that hee should be an Hypocrite that from an inward principle from the inward motions of his owne heart shall with a setled and deliberate will out of love to God and goodnesse chiefly and out of hatred of sin resolve to his power to abstaine from all sinne and to doe whatsoever he shall know to bee his duty and withall prayeth heartily unto God for grace to that end truly endevouring the same having a carefull eye not onely to the matter of what he doth but to the manner and truth of it being truly grieved when he faileth in either You being such a one how dare you at once offer wrong to your selfe and to Gods grace in you by judging your selfe to be an Hypocrite Others object that they are already fallen farre backe from what they were They doe not feele so much zeale and fervencie of affection to goodnesse nor against wickednesse nor yet doe they now feele those comforts and cleare apprehensions of GODS favour towards them as they did in their first Conversion It may be that you are fallen back and have lost your first love whence all which you have objected will follow but may it not befall a particular childe of GOD to have lost his first love as well as a whole Church the Church of Ephesus You could not for that conclude that Ephesus was no Church neither can you hence conclude that you are none of Gods children or that you shall not hold out unto the end But if it be so be willing to see your sinne and to be humbled and repent heartily of it follow the Counsell of Christ Remember whence you are fallen repent and doe your first workes and certainely Gods childe shall have grace to repent then you enduring to the end shall not bee hurt of the second death notwithstanding that sinne of yours in losing your first love But it may and it oft doth happen that a true child of God doth in his owne feeling thinke he hath lesse grace now than at first when yet it is not so The reasons of his mistake may bee these At the first a truly regenerate man doth not see so much as afterward hee doth At first you had indeed the light of the Sunne but as at the first spring and dawning of the day whereby you saw your greater enormities and reformed many things yea as you thought all but now since the Sunne being risen higher towards the perfect day shining more clearely it commeth to passe that in these beames of the Sunne as when it shineth into an house you may see many motes and very many things amisse in your heart and life which were not discovered nor discerned before you must not say you had lesse sinne then because you saw it not or more sinne now because you see more For as the eye of your minde seeth every day more clearely and as your hearts grow every day more holy so will sin appeare unto you every day more and more for your constant humiliation and daily reformation For a Christian if he goe not backeward seeth in his latter time more clearely a far off what is yet before him to be done and with what an high degree of affection hee ought to serve God to what an height of perfection he ought to raise his thoughts in his holy ayme which in the infancie of his Christianitie hee could not see Hence his errour Even as it is usuall for a novice in the Vâ—iversitie when hee hath read over a few Systemes and Epitomes of the Arts to conceit better of himselfe for Scholarship than when hee hath more profound knowledge in those Arts afterwards for then he seeth knottie difficulties which his weake knowledge being not able to pry into passed over with presumption of knowing all Secondly Good desires and feelings of comforts are sudden strange and new at first which suddennesse strangenesse and newnesse of change out of state of corruption and death into the state of grace life is more sensible and leaveth behinde it a deeper impression than can possibly be made after such time that a man is accustomed to it or that can be added by the increase of the same grace A man that commeth out of a close darke and stinking Dungeon is more sensible of the benefit of a sweet aire of light and libertie the first weeke than he is seven yeares after he hath enjoyed all these to the full Let a meane man be raised suddenly and undeservedly unto the estate and glory of a King he will be more feeling of the change and will be more taken and exalted in his conceit with the glory of his state for the first weeke or moneth than at ten yeares end wheÌ„ he is accustomed to the heart and state of a King yea more than if at ten yeares end he happen to have the accession of another Kingdome unto him and though double power and glory bee conferred on him Thirdly GOD for special causes doth tender his Scholars when they first enter into Christs Schoole In like manner doth he deâ—dle and deale with his Babes in CHRIST before they can goe alone Doe not wise Schoole-masters the better to enter and encourage their young and fearefull Scholars shew more outward expressions of affection kindnesse towards them and forbeareth to exercise Schoole-discipline on them the fâ—ist weeke that they come to Schoole yea it may bee shew more countenance and familiarity towards them their first weeke then ever after untill the time that they send them to the Vniversitie And hath not a young chilae more attendance and fewer falls in his or her infancie while it is carried in the arms or led in the hands of his father or mother then when it goeth alone But when it goeth alone it receiveth many a fall and many a knocke yet this doth not argue lesse love in the parents or lesse strength in the child now then when it was but one or two yeares old Fourthly Albeit Gods trees planted in his Courts alwayes should and usually doe in their age beare more and better fruit then they did or could doe in their youth yet these through a false apprehension of things
spirit of spirituall ioy Where it doth testifie that you are Gods children there it will give you new harts causing you to desire and endevour to live like Gods children in reverent feare and love leading you in the right way checking you and calling you backe out of the way of sinne stirring you up to prayer with sighes desires and inward groanes at least making you to coÌ„fesse your sinnes and to aske and hope for pardon in the name of CHRIST And will still be putting you on to live like obedient children giving you no quietif you doe not Thus much of the first and principall meanes of getting true peace and comfort Secondly If you would have the invaluable Iewell of pâ—ace then abstaine as much as is possible from the act of all grosse and from all presumptuous sins and from the allowance of any sinne For the more sin the more guilt and the lesse sin the lesse guilt Now the lesse guilt lyeth upon the Conscience the more peace of Conscience the more guilt the lesse peace Thirdly When you fall into sinne for who liveth and sinneth not then with all speed affect your heart with godly sorrow for it cause it to be a burden and a load and wearinesse to the Conscience but withall affect your heart wiâ—h hope of mercy forgivenes and grace through Christ. Then with all humble submission you must seeke unto GOD the God of peace but come to him by Christ Iesus the Prince of peace upon whom lay the chastisement of your peace Aske mercy and forgivenesse Aske repentance grace and new obedience Beleeve in Christ If you doe all this then you come unto Christ and unto God by Christ according to his Commandement and you have his sure promise that you shall have rest to your soules This doe for in Christ onely can you have peace This true application of CHRISTS bloud and satisfaction will so sprinkle the Conscience from the guilt of sinne that there shall remaine no more Conscience for sinne that is no more guilt which shall draw upon you the wrath of God and eternall punishment for sinne whence must needs follow peace of Conscience because the Conscience hath nothing to accuse you of guiltinesse being washed off by Christs bloud As soone as David after his foule sinnes could come thus to God his heart had ease But when you have thus gotten a good and cleare Conscience take heede of defiling it againe or giving it any matter of unrest Be as tender in keeping your Conscience unspotted and unwounded as you are of the apple of your eye Sin not against knowledge and Conscience and in any case smother not the good checks and watchwards of your Conscience For if being washed you doe againe defile it this will cause new trouble of heart and you must againe apply your selves to this last prescribed remedy In the fourth place CHRIST having taken upon him the burden of your sinnes which was intollerable you must take upon you and submit unto the yoke of Christs service which is light and easie You must indevour to doe whatsoever hee hath commanded in his Word and Gospell following his steppes in all his imitable actions in all humility and meekenesse in all spirituall and heavenly mindednesse When you can thus subject your selves to Christ in holinesse you shall have peace For the holy Ghost saith the worke of righteousnesse is peace and againe saith To be spiritually minded is peace that is bringeth with it peace I comprehend CHRISTS yoke of the Gospell in these three Faith Hope and Love As these three be in you and abound in the same degrees shall peace be in you and shall abound Having Faith in Christ saith the Apostle we have peace with God It is God that justifieth who shall lay any thing to your charge For justifying Faith is the ground and spring from which onely sound and true comfort doth flow Hope will make you wait and expect with patience for the accomplishment of GODS sure promises whereby it will hold you as steady and as sure from wracke of soule as any Anchor can hold a ship God doth therefore give hope that it may be as an Anchor sure and stedfast Though while you are in the Sea of this world it doth not keepe you so quiet but that you may bee in part tossed and disquieted with the waves and billowes of feare and doubt to try the goodnesse of your vessell and strength of your Anchor and tacklings Yet you shall be sure not to make shipwracke of Faith and a good Conscience if you shall lay hold upon this hope set before you And as for Love They that love the Lord shall have peace you must therefore love God love his ordinances and his people Love God with all your heart Love your neighbours as your selves love Gods Commandements For great peace shall they have saith the Prophet that love Gods Law and nothing shall offend them Whosoever doe thus take up Christs yoke and follow him shall find rest to their soules and peace shall be upon them as upon the Israel of God Fiftly If you would have peace use all good meanes whereby you may bee oft put in remembrance of the exhortations and consolations of God They in the Hebrewes were therefore out of quiet and readie to faint in their minds both because they forgat the exhortation which said My sonne despise not the chastening of the Lord c. And because they forgat the consolation which saith Whom the LORD loveth he chasteneth The principall meanes of being put in minde of GODS consolations are these following 1. You must be much Conversant in Scriptures by reading hearing and meditating thereon For they were all written to that end that through patience and comfort of the Scriptures you might have hope The Scriptures of God they are the very Wells and Breasts of consolation and Salvation The Law discovers sinne and by its threats against you and by relating judgements executed upon others doth drive you to Christ The promises of the Gospell made to you and the signification of the accomplishment thereof to others doe settle and confirme you in Christ whereby your heart is filled with joy and consolations The Gospell is called the Gospell of peace and the Ministers of the Gospell are said to bring glad tydings of this peace â—t is the bright shining light in the Gospel which will guide your feet in the way of peace 2. Be much in good Company especially in theirs who are full of ioy and peace in beleeving whose example and counsell will mind you of joy and comfort and will be of excellent use unto you to establish you in peace Sixtly and lastly Acquaint your selfe with God touching the course he useth to take with his children in bringing them to glory Acquaint your selfe with God
excellency of Christian Experience 126 127. F An answer to them that question their Faith because they want feeling 590 Many doe not feele they have Faith because they feele not for it 603 How a man may know that he hath Faith 621 Reasons why many without cause thinke they have no Faith 584 Many presume they have Faith but have none 614 Reason for which many thinke they have Faith but have not 463 Who may Fall from grace and how 683 A regenerate man may Fall farre backe but not quite away 685 Grounds of difference betweene the Fals of men truly sanctified and others 688 Whence it is that a true Convert cannot Fall quite away from grace 695 Of Religious Fasting 68 A generall Reason of Fasting 72 Reasons why the body must be afflicted in Fasting 73 Reasons why the soule must be afflicted in Fasting 74 Who are to keepe a publike Fast 76 Who may keepe a private Fast 77 How oft we must Fast 78 How long we must Fast 80 Preparation to a Fast 82 How to keepe a Religious Fast 84 c. What to doe when a man is interrupted in his private Fast 142 Motives to oft Fasting 143 Directions what is to be done after a Fast 145 Cautions touching Fasting 146 Needful fear before coÌ„version 485 Holy Feare after conversion 486 Causlesse Feare 488 The kindes of causlesse Feares ibid Strange effects of Feares rising from naturall distempers 489 There is some difference between the regenerate in those Feares which arise froÌ„ melaÌ„choly others 490 Difference betweene those Feares which arise chiefly from melancholy and those which arise from trouble of conscience ibid Grounds of false Feares 495 Feare of punishment must be turned into trouble for sinne 498 Feares of sinning against the holy Ghost removed 527 Feare that because the heart condemneth God will condemne much more removed 529 Feare of being reprobates removed 531 Feare that God will not have mercie because they have let passe the time of their Conversion removed 540 Feares arising from doubts of Gods love removed 576 c. Feares through conceit of being in worse case than any other removed 561 Feares that God loveth them not because they thinke their prayers are reiected removed 576 Feares from doubting of faith removed 581 Feares of not being sanctified because they thinke they were never sufficiently humbled nor have repented removed 626 Reasons why some feele more sense of Feare and horror in their first conversion than others 627 Feares that a man is not sanctified because he is pestered with worse thoughts than ever removed 637 Feares of not being sanctified because of falling into grosse sinnes removed 656 Feares that they are not sanctified because of sense of dulnesse and deadnessein spirituall duties removed 665 Feares of not being sanctified because of sudden dulnesse after fresh feeling comforts removed 670 Feares of not being sanctified because out-gone by others removed 671 Feares of not being sanctified because of hardnesse of heart removed 677 Feares of falling away from grace removed 681 c. Feares taken from thinking the heart is deceitfull removed 727 Feares from present fainting removed ibid Feares because we doe not our part removed 729 Feare from want of such graces where of God hath absolutely promised removed 676 Feares through want of peace of Sanctification removed 744 G Convincing reasons to prove that there is a God 647 God doth never wholly forsake his children 566 Once and ever in state of Grace 685 Reasons why man being once in state of grace can never fall quite from it 701 Reasons why many thinke they have lesse grace now than in their first conversion but mistake 714 H What is the cause of Hypocrites well-doing 341 Disswasives from hypocrisie 361 365 Meanes against hypocrisie 373 Grounds of false hope discovered and removed 444 I Meanes to strengthen the Inner man 133 Rules to direct Inferiours 62 Causes of error in Iudging of a mans state 754 Of Iudging and condemning of a mans selfe 126 L ATable of Duties commanded and of Vices forbidden in the Morall Law 90 c. No man must abuse Christs lenity 620 Signes to know when God giveth good things in love 265 Directions for sanctisying the Lords day 147 M What Meditation is 195 The distinct acts and parts of Meditation 198 Rules for meditation 202 Cautions about the matter of meditation 203 Motives perswading to meditation 211 Meanes of Mortification 131 O When it is that a man obeyeth out of conscience and love to Christ 340 Weakest performance of duties is lesse dangerous than whole omissions 551 P A description of Christian Patience 286 Inducements to patience 286 287 Meanes of Christian patience 288 Vpon what grounds arguments may be taken to worke the heart to patience 291 292 What peace is in generall 414 The peace of GOD explained and magnified by the opening of Philip. 4. 6. 7. 415 The different sorts of peace of God 421 Reasons proving the excellency of the peace of God 432 The impediments of peace 437 Whence presumption and false peace doth arise 441 Signes of false hope and false peace 476 An excellent helpe to peace of conscience 765 Meanes to get and keep true peace ibid How to know in time of peace to hold out in time of persecution 725 How to be kept from dastardly feare in time of persecution 723 Reasons of due preparation of the heart to prayer 32 How to bee disposeà in the act of prayer 35 God heareth prayer many wayes 578 Cautions to be observed in preparation and in prayer 37 Signes of distempered thoughts thorough worldly businesse to prayer 42 Remedies against distempered thoughts in preparation and in prayer 43 How to know when thoughts of worldly businesse are distractfull in preparation in prayer 45 Remedies against the said distractions in preparation and in prayer 47 Pride is a manifest hinderance of Christiâ—â— Comfort 764 765 Grounds of presumption discovered and removed 437. unto 481 Rules of holy carriage in prosperity and when men have good successe 245 246 Good effects of prosperity 247 Doubts of Gods love because men prosper removed 559 Presumption of Gods love because they prosper removed 448 Presumption ariseth either from false grounds of hope or from true grounds misapplyed 442 Presumption that God will save a man because he made him removed 444 Presumption of escaping Hell because men thinke they have it in this life removed 445 Presumption they shall ever be wel because hither to they have escaped evill removed 446 Presumption they shall be saved because as great sinners as they have bin saved removed 450 Presumption of Salvation by Popes Pardons pennance and merit of workes removed 452 Presumption of salvation because God is mercifull removed 454 Presumption from universall Redemption removed 456 Presumption of Salvation because as men thinke their faith and repentance is good when it is not removed 462 Presumption of repenting hereafter removed 475 R How to read the Word profitably 187 Who must
things and according to the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh A man must have the heart of the wise before the tongue can be taught to speake wisely Secondly You must resolve before-hand as David did to take heed to your wayes that you sinne not with your tongue And that you will keepe your mouth as with a bridle And before your speech and actions be well advised weigh and ponder in the ballance of discretion all your actions and words before you vent them Thirdly Let no passion of joy griefe feare anger c. get the head and exceed their limits For wise and good men as well as bad when they have beene in any of these passions have spoken unadvisedly with their lips And experience will teach you that your tongue doth never runne before your wit so soone as when you are over-feared over-grieved over-angry or over-ioyed Fourthly You must be much in prayer unto God before you come into company that you may be able to order your conversation aright Let your heart also be lifted up oft to God when your are in company that he would set a watch before your mouth and keepe the doore of your lips and that your heart may not incline to any evill thing to practise wicked workes with men that worke iniquity and that he would open your lippes that your mouth may shew forth his prayse and that you may speake as you ought to speake knowing how to answer every man for the tongue is such an unruly evill that no man onely God can tame and governe it SECTION 2. Of ordering a mans selfe well in ill Company VVHen Company is sinfull and naught if you may choose come not into it at all For keeping evill company wil 1 blemish your Name 2 It wil expose you oft-times to many hazards of your life state And 3 you are alwayes in danger to be corrupted by the contagious infection of it By bad company I doe not onely understand seducers and such as are openly prophane or riotous but also such civill men who yet remaine meere worldlings and all luke-warme professours who are neither hot nor cold For although the sinnes of these latter doe not carrie such a manifest appearance of grosse impietie and dishonestie as doe the sinnes of open Blasphemers Drunkards whore-Masters and the like yet they are not lesse dangerous your hart wil quickly rise against these manifest enormous evils but the other by reason of their unsuspected danger through that tolerable good opinion which in comparison is had of them though in truth they be as dangerous and as hatefull will sooner insnare infect you by an insensible chilling of your spirits by taking off the edge of your zeale which you had to the power of godlinesse And so by little and little draw you to a remissenesse and indifferencie in Religion and to a love of the world If you shall thinke that by keeping evill company you may convert them and draw them to goodnesse be not deceived It is presumption so to think Hath not God expresly forbidden you such company If you be not necessarily called to be in sinfull company you may justly feare that you shall be sooner perverted and made naught by their wickednes than that they should be converted and made good by your holinesse Secondly when by reason of common occasions in respect of the affaires of your calling generall or particular in Church Common-wealth and Familie you cannot shunne ill company Looke 1 that in speciall sort your conversation be honest unblameable harmelesse even with a Dove-like innocency that by your good example they may without the Word be brought to the Word and to a love of the power and sinceritie of that true Religion which you professe Howsoever give no advantage to the adversary to speake evill either of you or of your Religion but by a holy life stop the mouths of ignorant and foolish men or if they will notwithstanding speake against you this your holy life shall shame all that blame your good conversation in Christ Iesus 2 Be wise as serpents Walke warily lest they bring you into trouble and doe harme you but especially lest they infect you with their sinne for a little leaven will quickly sowre the whole lumpe That you may not be infected by that ill company which you cannot avoid use these preservatives 1 Be not high minded but feare lest you doe commit the same or the like sinne for you are of the same nature and are subject to the same and like temptations He that seeth his neighbour slip and fall before him had need to taâ—â— heed lâ—st he himselfe fall 2 Your soule like the riotous soule of Lot must be vixed daily with seeing and hearing their unlawfull deeds 3 Raise your heart to a sensible loathing of their sinne yet have compassion on the sinner and so farre as you have calling admonish him as a brother 4 When you see or heare any wickednes lift up your heart to GOD and before him confesse it and disclaime all liking of it pray unto God to keepe you from it and that he would forgive your companion his sinne and give unto him grace to repent of it Lastly though you may converse with sinnefull companie when your calling is to be with them in a common and â—older kinde of fellowship by a common love whereby you do wish well to all and would doe good to all yet you must not converse with them with such speciall and intimate Christian familiaritie and delight as you doe with the Saints that are excellent Thus doe and the Lord can and will keepe you in the midst of Aegypt and Babel as hee did Ioseph and Daniel if hee call you â—o it Thirdly As soone as possibly you can depart out of their company when you finde not in them the â—…ppes of knowledge or when they â—…ny way declare that they have onely a forme but deny the power of godlinesse From such turne away â—aith the Apostle And so use the preservatives prescribed or any other whereof you have proofe that you depart not more evill or lesse good then when you â—ame together SECTION 3. How a man should carry himselfe towards good company NOw touching good company First highly esteeme of it and much desire it For you should love the brotherhood howsoever the world scoffe at it and forsake not the fellowship or consorting with the godly as the manner of some is But with David as much as may be be a companion with them that feare God Secondly when you are in good company you must expresse all brotherly love improving your time together for your mutuall good chiefly in the increase of each others faith and holinesse provoking one another to love and to good workes Then you love