Thus God dealt with Paul before he Acts 9. 1 to 23. put him upon that hard and dangerous service that he had cut out for him he takes him up into Heaven and sheds abroad his love into his heart and tells him That he is a chosen Vessel he appears to him in the way and fills him with the Holy Ghost that is with the gifts graces and comforts of the Holy Ghost And straightway he Chrysostom saith that he was Insatiabilis Dei cultor an unsatiable server of God falls upon Preaching of Christ upon exalting of Christ to the amazing and astonishing of all that heard him And as he had more clear full and glorious manifestations of Gods love and favor then others so he was more frequent more abundant and more constant in 2 Cor. 11. 21 ult the work and service of Christ then others And this hath been the constant It is sufficient to point at these instances they are so notoriously known to all that know any thing of the Scripture in power As he in Plutarch said of the Scythians that although they had no musick nor vines among them yet as better things they had gods so the Saints though they may want this and that outward encouragement in the service of God yet they shall injoy his presence that is better then all other things in the world dealing of God with the Patriarks as with Abraham Isaac and Jacob c. and with the Prophets as with Moses Isaiah Jeremiah Ezekiel c. when he hath put them upon weighty services he hath shed abroad his love into their hearts he hath set his seal upon their spirits and made them to know that he hath set them as a seal upon his hand he hath assured them of his countenance and of his presence and of his assistance he hath told them though others should desert them yet he will stand by them and strengthen them and support them and uphold them with the right hand of his Righteousness he hath told them that his power should be theirs to defend them and his wisdom should be theirs to direct them and his goodness should be theirs to supply them and his grace should be theirs to heal them and his mercy should be theirs to pardon them and his joy should be theirs to strengthen them and his promises should be theirs to chear them and his spirit should be theirs to lead them And this hath made them as bold as Lyons this hath made them stand fast and stand close to the work of God in the face of all dangers and difficulties this hath made them with stout Nehemiah scorn to desist or flie from the work of the Lord this hath made their Bows to abide in strength though the Archers have shot sore at them Now there are considerable Reasons why God is pleased to give his Children some sweet tastes of his love some assurance of his favor when he puts them upon some hard and difficult service and they are these that follow First That they may not faint nor Reas 1 faulter in his service but go thorow it Apollonius as Philostratus reports being asked if he did not tremble at the sight of the Tyrant made this answer God which hath given him a terrible countenance hath given also unto me an undaunted heart c. resolutely and bravely in the face of all difficulties and oppositions When God put Joshua upon that hard service of leading and governing his people Israel he assures him of his love and of his presence Fear not be of good courage I am with thee And this makes him hold on and hold out in the service of the Lord bravely and resolutely in the face of all discouragements Chuse you whom you will serve whether your fathers gods or the gods of the Amorites but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord. So when the Lord put Paul upon such service that Acts 20. 23. occasioned bonds and afflictions to abide him in every City he gives him a taste of Heaven before hand and lifts up the light of his countenance upon him and this makes him resolute and bold in the work of the Lord. Now Paul will not consult with flesh and blood Gal. 1. 15 16 17. now it is not reproaches nor stripes nor prisons nor whips nor perils nor deaths that can make him look back having put his hand to the Lords plough O the beamings forth of Divine Love upon his soul filled him with that courage and resolution that with Shammah one of Davids worthies he stands and defends the field 2 Tim. 4. 16 17. when others fall and flie and quit the field Secondly God gives his people Reas 2 some tastes of his love some sense of his favor when he puts them upon hard and difficult services because else he should not onely act below himself as he is a wise God a faithful God a powerful God a merciful God a righteous God c. But also act below his poor weak Creatures For And to imagine that ever the great God will act below the wisdom of those that are foolishness in the very abstract is the greatest madness and blasphemy in the world what Husband will put his Wife what Father will put his childe what Master will put his Servant what Captain will put his Souldier what Prince will put his Ambassadors upon hard and difficult services but they will smile upon them and speak kindly to them and make large promises to honor their persons and kindly to accept and nobly to reward their services c. Surely none And will God Isa 42. 8. 48. 11. will God who will not give his glory to those that have the most glorious Beings suffer his glory to be clouded and eclipsed by the prudent actings of weak worms Surely no. Thirdly God lifts up the light of Reas 3 his countenance upon his people when Solus amor nesciâ— difficultates Love knows no difficulties he puts them upon hard and difficult services that they may never repent of listing themselves in his service Ah did not the Lord warm the hearts of his people with the glorious beams of his love when he puts them upon hard work they would be ready when they meet with oppositions and hazards to throw up all and to sit down lamenting and repenting that ever they were engaged in his service they would be as peevish and froward as Jonah and with him venter a drowning to shift off Gods service Ah Melancthon was such a man whom Luther encourages thus Why should we fear a conquered world that have Christ the Conqueror on our side c. but now the Lord by letting his goodness drop upon their hearts and by putting an earnest-penny into their hands he causes them to go chearfully on in his work without sighing or repenting The kisses and embraces of God do put such life such spirit such mettle into their
for he hath found it so That Christ is the one Psal 27. 4. thing necessary for hee hath found him so That the favour of God is Psal 63. 3. better then life for he hath found it Psal 32. 1 2. so That pardoning mercy onely makes a man happy for he hath found it so a That wounded spirit is such Prov. 18. 14. a burthen that none can bear for he Psal 51. 17. hath found it so That an humble and a broken heart is an acceptable sacrifice to God for he hath found it so That the Promises are precious pearles for 2 Pet. 1. 4. hee hath found them so That the smiles of God will make up the want Psal 4. 6 7. of any outward mercy for he hath found it so that communion with Psal 48. 10. God can onely make a Heaven in a Beleevers heart for he hath found it so John 16. That if the Spirit be pleased and obeyed he will be a comforter to the soul for he hath found it so But if his motions and laws be slighted and neglected Lam. 1. 16. Isa 63. 10. 11. he will stand far off from the soul he will vex and gall the soule Well souls remember this That knowledge that is not experimental will never turn to your account it will only increase your guilt and torment as it did the Scribes and Pharisees What advantage had the men of the old world by their knowing that there was an Arke or by their clambering about the Arke when they were shut out and drowned in the flood What doth it profit a man to see heaps of Jewels and Pearles and mountains of Gold and Silver when he is monylesse and pennilesse It is rather a torment then a comfort to know that there is a pardon for other malefactors but none for me that there is bread for such and such hungry souls but none for me that there is water and wine to chear comfort and refresh such and such but not a sip a drop for me my bottle is empty and I may die for thirst whilst others are a drinking at the fountain head That there is houses and cloaths to shelter such and such from colds storms and tempests whilst I lie naked with Lazarus at Dives door exposed to the miseries of all weathers This kind of knowledge doth rather torment men then comfort them it does but adde fuell to the fire and make their hell the hotter the knowledge that Devils and Apostates have of God Christ and the Scriptures c. being onely notional is so far from being a comfort to them that it is their greatest torment James 2. 19. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies so roars the Sea and to tremble and shake horribly it is a worm that is eternally gnawing them it makes them ten thousand times more miserable then otherwise they would be They are still a crying out O that our light our light were put out O that our knowledge our knowledge were extinguished O that we might but change rooms change places with the Heathens with the Barbarians that never knew what we have known O how happy would damned Devils and Apostates judge themselves in hell if they should escape with those dreadfull stripes that shall be eternally laid upon the backs of fools Remember Reader that a little heart knowledge a little experimental knowledge is of greater efficacy and worth then the highest notions of the most acutest wits He doth well that discourses of Christ but he doth infinitely better that by experimental knowledge feeds and lives on Christ It was not Adams seeing â—ut his tasting of forbidden fruit that made him miserable and it is not your seeing Psal 34. 8. of Christ but your experimentall tasting of Christ that will make you truly happy As no knowledge will save you but what is experimental so let no knowledge satisfie you but what is experimental Fourthly that Knowledge that accompanies salvation is a heart-affecting-knowledge it affects the heart with Christ and all spiritual things O it doth wonderfully 1 John 4. 7 8. indear Christ and the things of Christ to the soul Can. 2. 5. Stay me with flaggons and comfort me with apples for I am sick of love O saith the Spouse my heart is taken with Christ it is raised and ravished with his love my soule is burning my soul is beating towards Christ O none but Christ none but Christ I cannot live in my selfe I Plusquam mea plusquam meos plusquam me Ber. cannot live in my Duties I cannot live in externall Priviledges I cannot live in outward Mercies I cannot live in common Providences I Col. 3. 3 4. Ignatius cryed out amor meus crucifixus my love my love is crucified c. can live onely in Christ who is my Life my Love my Joy my Crown my all in all O the hearing of Christ affects me the seeing of Christ affects me the taste of Christ affects mee the glimmerings of Christ affects me the more I come to know him in his Natures in his Names in his Offices in his discoveries in his appearances in his beauties the more I finde my heart and affections to prize Christ to Psal 73. 23 25 26. run after Christ to be affected with Christ and to be wonderfully indeared to Christ Cant. 5. 10. He is white and ruddy the cheifest of ten thousand The knowledge that she had of Christ did so affect and indear her heart to Christ that she cannot but make use of all her Rhetorick to set forth Christ in the most lovely and lively colours Gal. 6. 14. God forbid that I should glory in any thing save in Christ Jesus O God forbid that my heart should be affected or taken with any thing in comparison of Christ The more I know him the more I like him the more I know him the more I love him the more I know him the more I desire him the more I know him the more my heart is knit unto him His Beauty is taking his Love is ravishing his Goodnesse is drawing his Manifestations are inticing and his Person is inamoring His lovely Looks pleases me his pleasant Voice delights mee his precious Spirit comforts me his holy Word rules mee and these things make Christ to be a Heaven unto me O but now all that notionall knowledge that speculative knowledge that leaves a man on this side salvation never affects the heart it never draws it it never indears the heart to Christ or to the precious things of Christ Hence it is that such men under all their notions under all their light and knowledge have no affection to Christ no delight in Christ no workings of heart after Christ Well Reader remember this if thy knowledge doth not now affect thy heart it will at last with a witnesse afflict thy heart if it doth not now indear Christ to thee it will at last the more provoke Christ against thee if
times it was very much taken notice of by the very Heathen That in the depth of misery when Fathers and Mothers forsook their Children Christians otherwise strangers stuck close one to another their love of Religion and one of another proved firmer then that of nature They seem to take away the Sun out of the World said the Orator who take away friendship from the life of men And we do not more need fire and water then constant friendship Ninthly That Love that accompanies Salvation doth manifest and shew it self by working the Soul to be quiet and still under Christs rebukes John 21. 16 17 18 Peter sits down quiet under a threefold reproof Lord thou knowest all things thou knowest that I love thee So Eli It is 1 Sam. 3. 18. the Lord let him do what seems good in his own eyes And Aaron holds his peace Levit. 10. 3. when he saw the flames about his sons ears So David I was dumb I opened Psal 39. 9. not my mouth because thou didst it The lovers of Christ are like the Scythian that went naked in the Snow and when Alexander wondered how he could endure it he answered I am all forehead O the lovers of Christ are all forehead to bear the rebukes of the Lord Jesus The Lovers of Christ know That all his rebukes are from love whom he Revel 3. 19. loves he rebukes they can see smiles thorow Christs frowns They know that to argue that Christ hates them because he rebukes them is the Devils Logick They know that all the rebukes of Christ are in order to their internal and eternal good and that quiets them They know that all the rebukes of Christ are but fore-runners of some glorious manifestations of greater love to their souls Psal 71. 20 21. Thou which hast shewed me great and sore troubles shalt quicken me again and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the Earth Thou shalt increase my greatness and comfort me on every side They know that it is the forest judgment in the world to go on freely in a way of sin without rebukes Ebhraim is joyned to Idols let him alone Hos 4. 17. And therefore they keep silence before the Lord they lay one hand upon their mouthes and the other upon their hearts and so sit mute before the Holy One. Tenthly That Love that accompanies Salvation shews it self by working the heart to be affected and afflicted with the least dishonors that are done to Christ Love is curious of little things it is as much afflicted with an idle word or with an impure dream as lovers of Christ are with adultery or blasphemy David did but cut off the lap of Sauls Garment and his heart â—mote him 1 Sam. 24. 5. Though he did it to convince Saul of his false jealousie and his own innocency Love will not allow of the least infirmity Rom. 7. 15. That which I do I allow not Love will make a man aim at Angelical purity and perfect innocency love will be getting up to the top of Jacobs Ladder love can rest in nothing below perfection Love makes a man look more at what he should be then at what he is it makes a man strive as for life to imitate the highest examples and to write after the choicest copies Love fears The sin and the coat of the sin is to be hated saith Ambrose every Image of offence it trembles at the appearance of sin it doth not it cannot allow it self to do any thing that looks like sin it hates the Garment spotted with the flesh it shuns the occasions of sin as it shuns Hell it self This is the Divine curiosity and glory of a Christians love Love says Melius mori fame quam Idolothytis vesci Aug. Marcus Arethusius in Julians time It is better to die with hunger then to eat that which is offered to Idols I have read of a holy man who out of his love to Christ and hatred of Idolatry would not give one half-penny toward the building of an Idols Temple though he was provoked thereunto by intollerable torments Love The Nieene Fathers would not gratifie Arrius no not in one tittle knows that the least evils are contrary to the greatest good they are contrary to the Nature of Christ the Commands of Christ the Spirit of Christ the Grace of Christ the Glory of Christ the Blood of Christ Love knows that little dishonors if I may call any sin little make way for greater as little Theeves unlock the door and make way for greater Love knows that little sins multiplied become great As love knows that there is nothing lesser then a grain of Sand so love knows that there is nothing heavier then the Sand of the Sea when multiplied Eleventhly That love that accompanies Salvation will shew it self by keeping the doors of the heart shut against those treacherous lovers that would draw the heart from Christ Love is a Golden Key to let in Christ and a strong lock to keep out others Though many may knock at Loves door yet Love will open to none but Christ Cant. 5. 6. I opened to my Beloved 8. 7. Many waters cannot quench love neither can the floods drown it If a man would give all the substance of his house for love it would utterly be contemned Bon Jabuzu contemning it would be contemned When the world would buy So did Luther Galeaciouâ— that noble Italian his love he cryes out with Peter Thy money perish with thee Love makes a man look with a holy scorn and disdain upon all persons and things that attempt either to force or flatter her out of her love and loyalty to her Beloved It is neither force nor fraud it is neither promises nor threatnings it is neither the Cross nor the Crown the Palace nor the Prison the Rod nor the Robe the Hempton Halter nor the Golden Chain that will make love embrace a stranger in the room of Christ Go says Divine Love offer your Gold and empty Glories to others your Pleasures and your Treasures to others put on your Lyons skin and fright others As for my part I scorn and contemn your golden offers and I disdain and deride your rage and threats Love makes a man too noble too high too gallant and too faithful to open to any lover but Christ to let any lie between the Brests but Christ Cant. 1. 13. A bundle of myrrhe is my welbeloved unto me be shall lie all night betwixt my Brests When Basil was Plato saith Pliny took as much delight and glory in those dignities and honoâ—â— he denied as he did in those he did enjoy It â—s just so with the Saints tempted with money and preferment he answers Pecuniam da quae perma neat ac continuo duret gloriam quae semper floreat Give money that may last for ever and glory that may eternally flourish Love makes a man cry out when tempted Let
all lights When God is gone it is night with the soul cannot make up the want of the light of the Sun so all temporal comforts cannot make up the want of one spiritual comfort So Job sometimes sings Job 16. 19. 19. 25. Job 6. 4. it out My Witness is in Heaven and my Record is on high and my Redeemer lives c. At other times you have him complaining The Arrows of the Almighty stick fast in me and their poyson drinketh up my spirit the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me And in the 29 Chapter you have him sighing Job 29. 2 3 4 5. Tota vita boni Christiani sanctum desiderium est The whole life of a good Christian is an holy wish saith One. it out thus O that I were as in moneths past as in the days when God preserved me when his candle shined up on my head and when by his light I walked thorow darkness As I was in the days of my youth when the secret of God was upon my Tabernacle when the Almighty was yet with me c. Now by all these clear instances and by many others Saints Experiences it is evident That the choicest Saints may loose their assurance and the lustre and glory of it may decay and wither What the Soul should do in such a case and how it should be recovered out of this sad state I shall shew you towards the close of this Discourse The sixth Proposition is this That The sixth Proposition the certainty and infallibility of a Christians assurance cannot be made known to any but his own heart He can say as the blinde man once said This I know John 9. 25. that once I was blinde but now I see once I was a slave but now I am a son once I was dead but now I am alive Rom. 8. 6. 11 13. once I was darkness but now I am light in the Lord once I was a childe of wrath Ephes 5. 8 2. 3. John 8. 36. an heir of Hell but now I am an heir of Heaven once I was Satans bondman but now I am Gods freeman once I 2 Cor. 3. 17. was under the spirit of bondage but Gal. 5. 1 13. Eph. 1. 13 14. now I am under the spirit of adoption that seals up to me the remission of my sins the justification of my person and the salvation of my soul All this I Can you compass the Heavens with a span or contain the Sea in a Nut-shel then may you fully evidence your assurance to others know says the assured Saint but I cannot make you know it certainly and infallibly if you would give me a thousand worlds What I have found and felt and what I do finde and feel is wonderfully beyond what I am able to express I am as well able to tell the Stars of Heaven and to number the Sand of the Sea as I am able to declare to you the joy the joy the unconceivable joy the assurance the glorious 1 Pet. 1. 8. So my yong Lord Harrington and Nazianzen and Vincentius and Faniâ—us an Italian Martyr with many more that might be named assurance that God hath given me Severinus the Indian Saint under the power of assurance was heard to say O my God do not for pity so ever joy me if I must still live and have such consolations take me to Heaven c. So say souls under the power of assurance Lord we are so filled with joy and comfort with delight and content that we are not able to express it here on Earth and therefore take us to Heaven that we may have that glory put upon us that may inable us to declare and manifest those glorious things that thou hast wrought in us Parents do by experience feel such soundings such meltings such rowlings such sweet workings of their affections and bowels towards their children that for their lives they cannot to the life describe to others what it is to be a Father to be a Mother what it is to have such rowlings of bowels towards children Assurance is that white stone that none knoweth Vide Beza Bullenger Pererius and Brightman on the words but he that hath it Revel 2. 17. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden Manna and I will give him a white stone and in the stone a new name written which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it White stones were in great use among the Romans 1. In white stones they used to write the names of such as were victorious and Conquerors so in that Text To him that overcometh will I give a white stone 2. They used to acquit the innocent And they gave black stones to note their condemnation in Courts of Justice by giving them a white stone and so here the white stone points out absolution and remission 3. They used to give a white stone to those that were chosen to any places of honor so the white stone of assurance Heb. 12. 28. Matth. 6. 20. 1 Pet. 1. 4. is an evidence of our Election of our being chosen to a Kingdom that shakes not to riches that corrupt not and to a crown of glory that fades not And thus much for this sixt Proposition viz. That the certainty and infallabillity of a Christians assurance cannot be made known to any but his own heart The seventh Proposition is this That The seventh Proposition there are some special seasons and times wherein the Lord is graciously pleased to give to his children a sweet assurance of his favor and love and they are these that follow First Sometimes I say not always at first conversion the Lord is pleased to make out sweet manifestations of his love to the penitent soul when the soul hath been long under guilt and wrath when the soul hath been long under the frowns and displeasure of God and hath long seen the gates of Heaven barred against him and the mouth of Hell open to receive him when the soul hath said surely there is no hope there is no help surely I shall loose God Christ and Heaven for ever Then God comes in and speaks peace to the soul then he says I will blot out thy iniquities for my name sake and will remember thy sins no more Hark soul hark says Christ My Isai 55. 8 9. thoughts are not as your thoughts nor my ways as your ways My thoughts toward you are thoughts of peace and thoughts of love Hark soul here is Mercy to pardon thee and here is Grace to adorn thee here is a Righteousness 1 Cor. 1. 30. to justifie thee here is eye-salve to enlighten thee and gold to Revel 3. 18. enrich thee and rayment to cloath thee and balm to heal thee and bread to nourish thee and wine upon the lees to chear thee and happiness to Isai 25. 6. crown thee and my self to satisfie thee
Ah souls have not some of you found it so surely you have God deals sometimes with rebellious sinners as Princes do with those that are in arms that are in open rebellion against them You know Princes will This hâ—â—h bâ—â—n a practise among all Princes whether they have been Christians or Heathens put such hard to it they shall fare hard and lie hard Chains and Racks and what not shall attend them and yet after the sentence is past upon them and they are upon the last step of the Ladder of Life ready to be turned off and all hope of escape is gone then the Princes pardon is put into their hand So the Lord brings many poor souls to the last steps of the Ladder to a hopeless condition and then he puts their pardon into their bosoms then he sayes Be of good chear I have received you into favor I have set my love upon you I am reconciled to you and will never be separated from you You know how God dealt with Paul after he had awakned Acts 9. 3 4 5 6. Vide Bezam Grotium Calvin and convinced him after he had unhorsed him and overthrown him after he had amazed and astonished him then he shews himself graciously and favorably to him then he takes him up into the third Heaven and makes such manifestations of his love and favor of his beauty and glory of his mercy and majesty as he is not able to utter So upon the prodigals return the fatted Calf is killed Luk. 15. 22 23. and the best Robe is put upon his back and the Ring is put on his hand and shoes on his feet Some understand by the Robe the Royalty of Adam others The dignity which Adam lost nay I think in this parable God sets forth his goodness and our happiness in restoring to us more by the death of the second Adam then we lost by the sin of the first Adam the Righteousness of Christ and by the Ring some understand the pledges of Gods love Rings being given as pledges of love some the seal of Gods Spirit men using to seal with their Rings Among the Romans the Ring was an ensign of Virtue Honor and Nobility whereby they that wore them were distinguished from the common people I think the main thing intended by all these passages is to shew us That God sometimes upon the sinners first conversion and returning to him is graciously pleased to give him some choice and signal manifestations of his love and favor of his good will and pleasure and that upon these following Grounds First That they may not be swallowed up of sorrow nor give up the ghost under the pangs and throws of the new birth Ah did not the Lord set in some beams of love upon the soul when it is magor Missabib a terrour to its self when the heart is a hell of horrour the conscience an An awakned conscience is like Prometheus Vulture it lies ever gnawing Acheldema a Field of black blood when the soul is neither quiet at home nor abroad neither at Bed nor Board neither in company nor out of company neither in the use of Ordinances nor in the neglect of Ordinances how would the soul faint sink and despair for ever But now when it is thus night with the soul the Lord sweetly comes in and tells the soul that all is well that he hath found a ransom for Job 33. 24. the soul that the Books are crost that all debts are discharged and that his favor and love upon the soul is fixed And so God by his sweet and still voice speaking thus to the soul quiets and satisfies it and keeps it from sinking and despairing Secondly God gives in assurance sometimes at first conversion that he may the more raise and inflame their love and affections to him Ah! How does a pardon given in when a man is ready to be turned off draw out his love and raise his affections to that Prince that shews bowels of mercy when he is upon the brink of misery So when a poor sinner is upon the last Titus Motro was Priâ—câ—ps bonus orbis amor All the world falls in love with a good Prince with a merciful Prince step of the Ladder upon the very brink of Hell and misery now for God to come in and speak peace and pardon to the soul Ah how does it inflame the soul and works the soul to a holy admiration of God and to a spiritual delighting in God King Antigonus his pulling a sheep with his own hands out of a dirty ditch as he was passing by drew his Subjects exceedingly to commend him and love him So King Jesus pulling of poor souls out of their sins and as it were out of Hell cannot but draw them to be much in the commendations of Christ and strong in their love to Christ Christ hath nothing more in his eye nor upon his heart then to act towards his people in such ways and at such seasons as may most win upon their affections And therefore it is that sometimes he gives the strongest consolation at first conversion Thirdly Christ sometimes at first conversion grants to his people the sweetest manifestations of his love that they may bee the more active servent abundant and constant in Amor Dei â—unquam otiosus est operatur enim magna si est fi vero operari renuit amor non est the love of God is never idle for if it is it worketh great things but if it resuse to work it is not love wayes of grace and holinesse hee knows that divine manifestations of love will most awaken quicken and engage the soule to wayes of piety and sanctity Look what wings are to the bird oyle to the wheels weights to the clock a reward to the coward and the load-stone to the needle that is the smiles and discoveries of God to a poore soule at his conversion The manifestations of divine So said Bradford and other blessed souls love puts heat and life into the soule it makes the soule very serious and studious how to act for God and live to God walk with God Ah saies a soul under the beams of divine love It is my meat and drinke it is my joy and crowne to doe all I can for that God that hath done so much for me as to know me in darknesse and to speak love to me when I was most unlovely to turn my mourning into rejoycing and my hell into a heaven Fourthly Christ sometimes at first conversion gives his people the sweetest manifestations of his love to fence and fortifie them against Satans fiery temptations before Christ shall bee led into the wildernesse to be tempted Mat. 3. 16 17. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is an emphatical word and signifies that infinite affection delight and contentt hat God the Father did take in Christ Eph. 6. 16. by the devill the Spirit of the Lord shall
certainty bless him and will bless his blessing to him and in multiplying he would multiply his seed as the stars of Heaven and as the sand which is upon the Sea shore Now the Angel of the Lord viz. the Lord Jesus as his own words shew Verse 12 15 16. calls unto Abraham out of Heaven not once but twice and now he shews his admirable love in countermanding of Abraham and in providing a Ram even to a miracle for a burnt-offering And thus you see that believing times are times wherein the Lord is graciously pleased to reveal his love and make known his favor to his people and to look from Heaven upon them and to speak again and again in love and sweetness to them Fifthly Hearing and receiving Reas 5 times are times wherein the Lord is graciously pleased to cause his face to shine upon his people when they are a hearing the Word of Life and a Psal 63. 3 4. breaking the Bread of Life then God comes in upon them and declares to them that love that is better then life Acts 10. 44. While Peter yet spake these words the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the Word As Peter was Also by the Holy Ghost is meant the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit Vers 45 46. Acts 11. 15. Therefore says the Apostle do not leave the substance for a shadow the Sun for a Candle and speaking the Holy Ghost that is the graces of the Holy Ghost viz. the joy the comfort the love the peace c. of the Holy Ghost fell upon them So in that Gal. 3. 2. This onely would I learn of you received ye the Spirit by the works of the Law or by the hearing of Faith By the Spirit here Calvin and Bullinger and other Expositors do understand the joy the peace the assurance that is wrought in the heart solid Meat for Milk which none would do except they were bewitched Gal. 3. 1. by the hearing of Faith that is by the Doctrine of the Gospel for in these words of the Apostle hearing is put for the thing heard and Faith for the Doctrine of the Gospel because the Gospel is the ordinary means of working Faith Faith comes by hearing saith the Apostle So in that 1 Thes 1. 5 6. By the Holy Ghost in this Text cannot be meant the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit and that first because they were no evidences of Election secondly because many vessels of wrath have been partakers of them thirdly many of Gods choice and chosen ones have been destitute of those extraordinary gifts For our Gospel came not unto you in word onely but also in power and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake And ye became followers of us and of the Lord having received the Word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost In these words you have a Divine Power attending Pauls Ministry a power convincing enlightning humbling raising delighting reforming renouncing and transforming of them that heard him Also you have the sweet and blessed testimony of the Spirit attending his Ministry and assuring those of their Effectual Calling and Election upon whom the Word came in power and raising up their spirits to joy in the midst of sorrow Ah you precious Sons and Daughters of Sion that have sate waiting and trembling at Wisdoms door tell me tell me Hath not God rained down Manna upon your souls whilest you have been hearing the Word Yes Hath not God come in with power upon you and by his Spirit sealed up to you your Election the Remission of your sins the Justification of your persons and the Salvation of your souls Yes Without controversie many Saints have found Christs lips in this Ordinance to drop honey and sweetness marrow and fatness And as Christ in hearing times when his people are a hearing the Word of Life does lift up the light of his countenance upon them so when they are a receiving the Bread of Life he makes known his love to them and their interest in him in this feast of fat This Ordinance is a Cabineâ— of Jewels in it are abundance of Spiritual Springs and rich Mines heavenly Treasures things the Master of the Feast the Lord Jesus comes in the midst of his guests saying Peace be here Here the beams of his glory do so shine as that they cause the hearts of his Children to burn within them and as scatters all that thick darkness and clouds that are gathered about them When Saints are in this Wine Celler Christs Banner over them is Love When they are in this Canaan then he feeds them with Milk and Honey When they are in this Paradise then they shall taste of Angels Food When they are at this Gate of Heaven then they shall see Christ at the right hand of the Father When they are before this Mercy Seat then they shall see the Bowels of Mercy rowling towards them In this Ordinance they see that and taste that and feel that of Christ that they are not able to declare and manifest to others In this Ordinance Saints shall see the truth of their graces and feel the increase of their graces and rejoyce in the clearness of their evidences In this Ordinance Christ will seal up the Promises and seal up the Covenant and seal up his Love and seal up their pardon sensibly to their souls Many precious souls there be that have found Christ in this Ordinance when they could not finde him in other Ordinances though they have sought him sorrowingly Many a cold soul hath been warmed in this Ordinance and many a hungry soul hath been fed with Every gracious soul may say not onely credo vitam aeternam edo vitam aeternam I believe life eternal but I receive I eat life eternal Manna in this Ordinance and many a thirsty soul hath been refreshed with Wine upon the Lees in this Ordinance and many a dull soul hath been quickned in this Ordinance * Every wicked soul that takes the cup may say Calix vitae calix mortis the Cup of Life is made my death 1 Cor. 11. 27. I do not say That ever a dead soul hath been in livened in this Ordinance this being an Ordinance appointed by Christ not to beget Spiritual Life where there was none but to increase it where the Spirit hath formerly begun it In this Ordinance weak hands and feeble knees have been strengthned and fainting hearts have been comforted and questioning souls have been resolved and staggering souls have been setled and falling souls have been supported Ah Christians if you will but stand up and speak out you must say That in this Ordinance there hath been between Christ and you such mutual smiles such mutual kisses such mutual embraces such mutual opening and shutting of hands such mutual opening and closing of hearts as hath made such a Heaven in your hearts
applying precious promises and suitable remedies to all your maladies Have you not found God a bringing in unexpected mercy in the day of your adversity suitable to that promise Hosea 2. 14. I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness and speak comfortably to her or I will earnestly speak to her heart as the Hebrew reads it yes Have you not found that God hath so sweetned and sanctified afflictions to you as to make them a means to discover many sins that lay hid and to purge you from many sins that cleaved close unto you and to prevent you from falling into many sins that would have been the breaking of your bones and the loss of your comfort yes Have you not found that you have Musk saith one when it hath lost its sweetness if it be put into the sink amongst filth it recovers it so doth afflictions recover and revive decayed graces been like the Walnut tree the better for beating and like the Vine the better for bleeding and like the ingenious childe the better for whiping yes Have you not found afflictions to revive quicken and recover your decayed graces have they not inflamed that love that hath been cold and put life into that Faith that hath been dying and quickned those hopes that have been withering and put spirits into those joyes and comforts that have been languishing yes O then stand up and declare to all the world That times of affliction have been the times wherein you have seen the face of God and heard the voice of God and sucked sweetness from the brests of God and fed upon the delicates of God and drunk deep of the consolations of God and have been most satisfied and delighted with the presence and in-comes of God When Hezekiah in his great affliction lamentingly said I shall go mourning Isai 38. 9. to 21. to my grave I shall not see the Lord in the Land of the living he will cut me off with pining sickness he will break all my bones Like a Crane or a Swallow so did I chatter I did mourn as a Dove mine eyes fail with looking upward O Lord I am oppressed undertake for me So now God comes in a way of mercy to him and prints his love upon his heart Vers 17. Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption or rather as the Hebrew reads 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it Thou hast loved my soul from the grave for thou hast cast all my sins behinde thy back Ah says Hezekiah I have now found that in my afflictions thy affections have been most strongly carried towards me as towards one whom thou art exceedingly taken with O now thou hast warmed me with thy love and visited me with thy grace thou hast made my darkness to be light and turned my sighing into singing and my mourning into rejoycing So when Habakkuks belly trembled Hab 3. 16 17 18. and his lips quivered and rottenness entered into his bones and all Creature comforts failed yet then had he such a sweet presence of God with his Spirit as makes him to rejoyce in the midst of sorrows Yet says he I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation And thus you see it clear That in times of affliction God makes sweet manifestations of his love and favor to his Childrens souls Eighthly Praying times are times wherein the Lord is graciously pleased to give his people some sweet and comfortable assurance of his love and favor towards them Prayer crowns Nunquam abs te absque te recedo Bern. ep 116. O Lord saith he I never go away from thee without thee He was a man very much in prayer as some Writers observe God with the honor and glory that is due to his Name and God crowns prayer with assurance and comfort usually the most praying souls are the most assured souls There is no service wherein souls have such a neer familiar and friendly entercourse with God as in this of prayer neither is there any service wherein God doth more delight to make known his grace and goodness his mercy and bounty his beauty and glory to poor souls then this of prayer The best and sweetest flowers of paradise God gives to his people when they are upon their knees Prayer is Porta coeli clavis padisi the Gate of Heaven a Key to let us into paradise when John was weeping in prayer doubtless the Sealed Book was open to him Many Christians have found by experience praying times to be sealing times times wherein God hath sealed up to them the remission of their sins and the salvation of their souls They have found prayer to be a shelter to their souls a sacrifice to God a sweet savor to Christ a scourge to Satan and an in-let to assurance God loves to lade the wings of prayer with the choicest and chiefest blessings Ah! how often Christians hath God kist you at the beginning of prayer and spoke peace to you in the midst of prayer and filled you with joy and assurance upon the close of prayer That nineth of Daniel from the seventeenth to the four and twentieth verse is full to the point in hand I shall onely cite the words of the four last Verses And whilest I was speaking and praying Dan. 9. 20. and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the Holy Mountain of my God Yea whilest I was speaking in prayer even the man Gabriel whom I had seen in the vision at the begining 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 With weariness or flight tired as it were with his making speed being caused to flie swiftly touched me about the time of the Evening Oblation And he informed me and talked with me and said O Daniel I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth and I am come to shew thee for thou art greatly beloved therefore understand the Matter and consider the Vision In these words you see whilest Daniel was in prayer the Lord appears to him and gives him a Divine touch and tells him That he is a man greatly beloved or as the Hebrew hath it a man of desires So 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chamudoth a man of desires that is one singularly beloved of God one that is very pleasing and delightful to God Act 10. 1 2 3 4. There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius a Centurion of the Band called the Italian Band a devout man and one that feared God with all his house which gave much alms to the people and prayed to God alway He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an Angel of God coming in to him and saying unto him Cornelius And when he looked on him he was afraid and said What is it Lord And he said unto him Thy
with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins And as they are pardoned freely so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The gracious gift of God Charisma signifies a gift flowing from the free-grace and favor of God John 10. 28. they shall be saved freely Rom. 6. ult For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Thus you see O despairing souls that all is of free-grace from the lowest to the highest round in Jacobs Ladder all is of Grace Christ is a Donative the Covenant of grace is a Donative Pardon of sin is a Donative Heaven and Salvation is a Donative Why then O despairing souls should you sit down sighing under such black sad and dismal apprehensions of God and your own state and condition Verily seeing all happiness and blessedness comes in a way of free-grace and not in a way of doing not in a way of works you should arise Revel 21. 6. 22. 18. O despairing souls and cast off all despairing thoughts and drink of the waters of life freely What though thy heart be dead and hard and sad what though thy sins be many and thy fears great yet behold here is glorious grace rich grace wonderous grace matchless and incomparable riches of free-grace spread before thee O let this fire warm thee let these waters refresh thee let these Cordials strengthen thee that it may be day and no longer night with thee that thy mourning may be turned into rejoycing and that thy beautiful garments Isa 52. 1. may be put on that so the rest of thy days may be days of gladness and sweetness and free-grace may be an everlasting shade shelter and rest unto thee Again tell me O despairing souls do you understand and most seriously and frequently ponder upon those particular Scriptures that do most clearly sweetly and fully discover the mercies of God the bowels of God the grace and favor of God to poor sinners as that Psal 86. 5. For thou Lord art good and ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee Gods mercies are above all his works and above all ours too his mercy is without measures and rules All the acts and attributes of God sit at the feet of mercy the weapons of Gods artillery are turned The Rainbow is signum gratiae foederis into the Rainbow a Bow indeed but without an Arrow bent but without a string The Rainbow is an emblem of mercy it is a sign of grace and favor and an assurance that God will remember his Covenant it is fresh and green to note to us that Gods mercy and grace to poot sinners is always fresh and green Again tell me O despairing souls have you seriously pondered upon Nehe. 9. 16 17. But they and our Fathers dealt proudly and hardned their necks and hearkned not to thy Commandments And refused to obey neither were mindful of the wonders that thou didst among them but hardned their necks and in their rebellion appointed a Captain to return to their bondage but thou art a God ready to pardon gracious and merciful slow to anger and of great kindness and forsookest them not Thou art a God says he ready to pardon or rather as it is in the Original and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thou a God of pardons There is a very great emphasis in this Hebraism a God of pardons it shews us that mercy is essential unto God and that he is incomparable in forgiving iniquity transgression and sin Here Nehemiah sets Micah 7. 18. him forth as one made up all of pardoning grace and mercy as a circle begins every where but ends no where so do the mercies of God When Alexander did sit down before a City he did use to set up a light to give those within notice that if they came forth to him whilest that light lasted they might have quarter if otherwise no mercy was to be expected O but Luke 13. 7. Jere. 3 1. to 15. such is the mercy and patience of God to sinners that he sets up light after light and waits year after year upon them When they have done their worst against him yet then he comes with his heart full of love and his hands full of pardons and makes a proclamation of Grace that if now at last they will accept of mercy they shall have it Why then O despairing soul dost thou make thy life a hell by having such low and mean thoughts of Gods mercy and by measuring of the mercies and bowels of God by the narrow scantling of thy weak and dark understanding Again tell me O despairing souls have you seriously pondered upon those words in Isai 55. 7 8 9. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Veish Aven The man of iniquity i. e. One that makes a trade of sin man or rather as it is in the Original the man of iniquity his thoughts And let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon or as it is in the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He will multiply to pardon or he will increase his pardons as the sinner increases his sins He will multiply to pardon For my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways saith the Lord. For as the Heavens are higher then the Earth so are my ways higher then your ways and my thoughts then your thoughts Turn O despairing souls to these Scriptures Numb 14. 19 20. Exod. 34. 6 7. Micah 7. 18 19. Isai 30. 18 19. Psalm 78. 34 to 40. 103. 8. to 13. Jere. 3. 1. to 12. Luke 15. 20. to 24. 1 Tim. 1. 13. to 17. and tell me whether you have seriously and frequently pondered upon them O how can you look so much grace and mercy so much love and favor and such tender bowels of compassion in the face as appears in these Scriptures and yet rack and tear your precious souls with despairing thoughts O there is so much grace and goodness so much love and favor so much mercy and glory sparkling and shining thorow these Scriptures as may allay the strongest fears and scatter the thickest darkness and chear up the saddest spirits c. Again tell me O despairing souls do you not do infinite wrong to the 1 Pet. 1. 19. precious blood of the Lord Jesus Three things are called precious in the Scripture the blood of Christ is called precious blood and faith is called precious 2 Pet. 1. 1 4. faith and the promises are called precious promises Now what a reproach is it to this precious blood that speaks better things then the blood of Abel Heb. 12. 24. for you to faint and sink under the power of delpair what doth this speak out O doth it not proclaim to all
cast water upon those Divine Motions that hath been 1 Thes 2. 18. kindled in you have you not often â—ound him a Lion and a Serpent a tempter and a deceiver a lyer and a murderer Yes O then never gratifie him any longer by living without assurance He that lives without assurance lives without a comfortable fruition of God and so gratifies Satan He that lives without assurance lives upon some Creature-enjoyment more then upon God and so gratifies Satan He that lives without assurance lives not like the beloved of God and so gratifies Satan He that lives without assurance is very apt to gratifie Satan sometimes by complying with him sometimes by following after him and sometimes by acting his part for him c. Verily Christians there is no way effectually to prevent this sore evil but by getting a wel-grounded assurance of your Everlasting Happiness and Blessedness Assurance will make a man stand upon terms of defiance with Satan it will make the soul constant in resisting and happy in over-coming the evil one And assured soul will fight it out to the death with Satan an assured soul will not flie like a coward but will stand and triumph like a David And as you gratifie Satan by living without Assurance so you wrong your own souls by living without assurance Rapit animam suaâ— He plundreth his own soul 1 In the point of comfort and joy you wrong your own souls 2 In the point of peace and content you wrong your own souls 3 In the point of boldness and confidence you wrong your own souls A man that lives without assurance lies his precious soul open to many blows and knocks to many frowns and wounds from God from the world from carnall friends from hypocrites and from Satan Therefore as you would not Christians gratify Satan and wrong your own soules and exercise over your selves spirituall cruelty and tyranny which is the very worst of all cruelty and tyranny give God no rest till hee hath made known to you the sweetnesse of his love and the secrets of his bosome till he hath gathered you up into himself till he hath set you as a seal upon Câ—nt 8. 6. his heart as a seal upon his arm The tenth Motive to provoke you Motive 10. to get a wel-grounded assurance is this consider the sweet profit and glorious advantage that will redown to you by gaining assurance and if the gain that will certainly redown to you by assurance will not provoke you to get assurance I know not what will First It will bring down Heaven into your bosomes it will give you a Heb. 11. 1 possession of Heaven on this side heaven an assured soul lives in Paradise and walks in Paradise and works in Paradise and eats in Paradise and rests in Paradise hee hath Heaven within him and Heaven about him and Heaven over him all his language is Heaven heaven Glory glory Secondly Assurance will exceedingly sweeten all the changes of this life this life is full of changes Assurance will sweeten sickness and health weakness 2 Cor. 4. 16 17 18. and strength wants and abundance disgrace and honour c. while a man lives in the sense of unchangeable loves no outward changes can make any considerable change in his spirit Let times change let men change leâ— powers change let Nations change yet a man under the power of assurance will not change his countenance nor change his Master nor change his work nor change his hopes though others under changes turn like the Camelion into all colours Souls that want assurance are like him in Aesop that blew hot and cold with the same breath The wind is not more subject to change and shift from one quarter to another from one corner to another then they are subject to change and shift in changing times to save their little all yet the assured soul under all changes is semper idem always the same Antistines a Philosopher to make his life happy desired onely that he might have the spirit of Socrates who was always in a quiet temper of spirit what ever wrongs injuries crosses losses c. befel him Let the trials be what they would that did attend him yet he continued one and the same Ah Christians the want of assurance hath made many changlings in these days but if ever you would be like Socrates if ever you would be like the Philosophers good man that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tetragonos Four-square that cast him where you will like a Dy he falls always sure and square then get assurance of Everlasting Happiness Assurance will make your souls like the Laws of the Medes and Persians that alters not it will sweeten the darkest day and the longest night under variety of changes it will Hab. 3. 17 8 19. make a man sit down with Habakkuk and rejoyce in the Lord and joy in the God of his Salvation Thirdly Assurance will keep the heart from an inordinate running out after the World and the glory thereof Moses having an assurance of the recompence of a reward and Heb 11. 24 25 26 27. of his love and favor that is invisible could not be drawn by all the honors pleasures and treasures of Egypt He slights all and tramples upon all the glory of the world as men trample upon things of no worth So after Paul had been in the 2 Cor. 12. 1 2 3. Rom. 8. Third Heaven and had assurance that no thing should separate him from the love of God in Christ he looks upon the world as a crucified thing The world is crucified to me saith Gal. 6. 14. he and I am crucified unto the world The world is dead to me and I am dead to it the world and I am well agreed the world cares not a pin for me and I care not a pin for the world The Loadstone cannot draw the Iron So when God gave Golâ—acius that Italian Maâ—quess an assurance of everlasting happiness he withstood many golden temptations and cryed out Cursed be he that prefers all the glory of the world to one days communion with Christ c. when the Diamond is in presence no more cannot the vanities of this world draw the soul after them when Assurance that choice Pearl of price is in presence I have read of Lazarus that after he was raised from the Grave he was never seen to smile the assurance that he had of more glorious things did deaden his heart to the things of this world he saw nothing in them worthy of a smile Ah were there more assurance among Christians there would not be such tugging for the world and such greedy hunting and pursuing after it as is in these days to the dishonor of God the reproach of Christ and the shame of the Gospel Justice would not be sold and bought as it is in these days were there more assurance in the world Get but more
7. 4 5 6 7. Isa 58. 1 2 3 c. Assurance of your Everlasting Happiness is to be much yea to excel in those choice particular things that may clearly and sully difference and distinguish you not onely from the prophane but also from the highest and most glistering Hypocrites in all the world It is nothing to be much in those duties and performances wherein the worst of sinners may equalize yea go beyond the best of Saints O but to excel in those things that the most refined Hypocrites cannot reach to This cannot but much help you on in assurance He that hath those Jewels in his bosom that God gives onely to his choicest favorites needs not question whether he be a favorite c. If he doth it it is his sin and will hereafter be his shame But you may say to me What are those choice particular things that may difference and distinguish Christs true Nathaniels from all other persons in the world Now to this question I shall give these following answers First A true Nathaniel in his constant course labors in all duties and services to be approved and accepted of God he is most studâ—ous and in dustrious to approve his heart to God in all that he puts his hand to So David Search me O God and know my Psal 139. 23 24 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 heart try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting So Peter To make a strict search and inquisition John 21. 15 16 17. approves his heart to Christ three several times together Lord thou knowest that I love thee Lord thou knowest that I love thee Lord thou knowest all things thou knowest that I love thee Thou knowest the sincerity and reality of my love and therefore to thee I do appeal to the same purpose the Apostle speaks in 2 Cor. 5. 9. Wherefore we labor that whether present or absent we may be accepted of him The Greek word that is here translated labor is a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 very emphatical word it signifies to labor or endeavor with all earnestness and might to endeavor with a high and holy ambition to be accepted of God judging it the greatest honor in the world to be owned and accepted of the Lord. Ambitious men are not more diligent earnest studious and laborious to get honor among men then we are saith the Apostle to get acceptance with God Ah but your most Maâ—th 6. 23. Also it is Chrysostoms observation that she that paints tears and blubberings is worse then a wanton woman that paints to seem fair Hom. 6. in Matth. refined Hypocrites labor onely to approve themselves to men in their Praying Fasting Talking Hearing Giving c. Let them have but mans eye to see them and mans ear to hear them and mans tongue to commend them and mans hand to reward them and they will sit down and bless themselves saying it is enough Ah ha so would we have it They say of the Nightingale that when she is solitary in the Woods she is careless of her note but when she conceives that she hath any auditors or is near houses then she composes her self more quaintly and elegantly Verily this is the frame and temper of the best of Hypocrites O but a sincere Nathaniel Noli peccare Deus videt angeli astant Take â—eed what thou doest God beholds thee Angels observe thee saith one labors in all places and in all cases and services to approve himself to God he labors as much to approve himself to God in a Wood where no eye sees him as he doth when the eyes of thousands are fixt upon him The Sun would shine bright though all men were a sleep at High noon and no eyes open to see the glory of his Beams so a sincere heart will shine he will labor to do good though all the world should shut their eyes yet he will eye his work and eye his God he knows that God is totus oculus all eye and therefore he cares not though others have never an eye to observe him to applaud him Let God but secretly whisper him in the ear and say Well done good and faithful servant and it is enough to his soul enough to satisfie him enough to cheer him and enough to encourage him in the ways and the work of his God Secondly He labors to get up to He cannot be satisfied with so much grace as will keep him from dropping into Hell but he must have so much Grace as will make him shine gloriously in Heaven the very top of Holiness he labors to live up to his own Principles He cannot be satisfied with so much Grace as will bring him to glory but he labors to be high in Grace that he may be high in glory Phil. 3. 11. I desire if by any means I might attain unto the Resurrection of the Dead That is to that perfection that the dead shall attain to in the morning of the Resurrection Verily that man is ripe for Heaven who counts it his greatest happiness to be high in holiness that man shall never be low in Heaven a door-keeper in Heaven that cannot be satisfied till he be got up to the very top of Jacobs Ladder till he hath attained to the highest perfection in Grace and Holiness Psal 45 13. The Kings daughter is all glorious within her clothing is of wrought gold Her inward principles are all glorious and her outward practise ecchoes to her inward principles her clothing is of wrought gold It was the honor and glory of Joshua and Caleb that they Num. 14. 24. followed the Lord fully That is they lived up to their own principles So those Virgins in Revel 14. 4 5. that were without spot before the Throne of God They followed the Lamb wheresoever he went That is they lived up to their Profession there was a sweet harmony betwixt their principles and practises And thus the Apostles Vivimus praceptis non factis We live by precepts not by deeds Legibus Dei non eâ—emplis homiâ—um by the Laws of God not by the examples of men lived 2 Cor. 1. 12. For our rejoycing is this the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity not with fleshly wisdom but by the Grace of God we have had our conversation in the world and more abundantly to you wards 1 Thes 2. 10. Ye are witnesses and God also how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved our selves among you that believe Thus we see these worthies living up to their own Principles Blested Bradford and Bucer lived so up to their principles that their friends could not sufficiently praise them nor their foes finde any thing justly to fasten on them Believers know first That their living up to their own principles doth best evidence Christ living Gal. 2. 20. in them and their union with him secondly
9 13 14 17. Divine Love is not stinted nor limited to one sort of duty but is free to all He that loveth flieth he that loveth runneth he that loveth believeth he that loveth rejoyceth he that loveth mourneth he that loveth giveth he that loveth lendeth he that loveth beareth he that loveth waiteth he that loveth hopeth c. Heb. 6. 10. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love Love makes the soul laborious that Love that accompanies Salvation is very Active and Operative it is like the vertuous Woman in the Proverbs that sets all her Maidens on work it is never quiet but in doing the Will of God it will not suffer any Grace to sit idle in the Soul it will egg and put on all other Graces to act and operate Love sets Faith upon drawing from Christ and Patience upon waiting on Christ and Humility upon submitting to Christ and Godly-sorrow upon mourning over Christ and Self-denial upon forsaking of the nearest and dearest comforts for Christ c. As the Sun makes the Earth fertil so doth Divine love make the Soul fruitful in Works of Righteousness and Holiness He that loves cannot be idle nor barren Love makes the Soul constant and aboundant in wel-doing 2 Cor. 5. 14. The love of Christ constraineth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Loves property is to do eternally it is an eternal lasting principle and actions will last as long as principles its action is as abiding as it self us it doth urge us and put us forward it carries us on as men possessed with a vehemency of spirit or as a ship which is driven with strong winds towards the desired Haven Natural love makes the Childe the Servant the Wife obedient so doth Divine love make the soul better at obeying then at disputing A Soul that loves Christ will never cease to obey till he ceases to be That Love that accompanies Salvation is like the Sun the Sun you know casteth Beatus qui amat te amicos in te inimicos propter te Aug. Confess his beams upward and downward to the East and to the West to the North and to the South so the love of a Saint ascends to God above and descends to Men on Earth to our Friends on the right-hand to our Enemies on the left-hand to them that are in a state of Grace and to them that are in a state of Nature Divine love will still be a working one way or another Thirdly That Love that accompanies Salvation is a sincere and incorrupt love Eph. 6. 24. Grace be with all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Word for word in incorruption or with incorruption i. e. That love Christ in sincerity and not feignedly and hypocritically them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity Amen The true bred Christian Amat Christum propter Christum loves Christ for Christ he loves Christ for that internal and eternal worth that is in him he loves him for his incomparable excellency and beauty for that transcendent sweetness loveliness holiness and goodness that is in him he is none of those that loves Christ for loaves neither will he with Judas kiss Christ and betray him nor yet will he with those in Matth. 21. 9 15. the Gospel cry out Hosanna Hosanna one day and Crucifie him crucifie him the next They love Christ with a Virgin love Cant. 1. 3. The Virgins love thee They love thee in much sincerity purity and integrity they love thee for that fragrant savor for that natural sweetness for that incomparable goodness that is in thee so in the fourth Verse The upright love thee or as it is in the Hebrew Uprightnesses 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 love thee Uprightnesses being put for upright ones the abstract for the concrete Judas was kin to the bag he was not kin to Christ and he in Clemens was not his but his riches Kinsman Christ hath many such Kinsmen A Christian cares not for any thing that hath not aliquid Christi something of Christ in it He sayes with him Sine Deo omnis copia est egâ—stas Without Christ all plenty is scarcity Austin prayes Lord saith he whatever thou hast given take all away onely give me thy self God gave him himself and cast in many other mercies as Paper and Packthred into the bargain or they love thee in uprightnesses that is most uprightly most intirely most sincerely and not as Hypocrites who love thee for base carnal respects who love thee in complements but not in realities who love thee in word and tongue but despise thee in heart and life who love the gift more then the giver That Love that accompanies Salvation is real and cordial Love it is sincere and upright love it makes the Soul love Christ the giver more then the gift it makes the Soul love the gift for the givers sake it will make the Soul to love the giver without his gifts And verily they shall not be long without good gifts from Christ that love Christ more then his gifts Vespasian commanded a liberal reward should be given to a woman that came and professed That she was in love with him and when his Steward asked him What item he should put to it in his Book of Accounts the Emperor answered Vespasiano adamato Item to her that loved Vespasian Ah Christians shall Vespasian an Heathen Prince reward her liberally that loved his person and will not the Lord Jesus much more reward them with his choicest gifts that love him more then his gifts Surely Christ will not be worse then a Heathen he will not act below a Heathen He shall never be a loser that loves Christ for that Spiritual sweetness and loveliness that is in Christ Christ will not live long in that mans debt Fourthly That Love that accompanies Salvation is a vehement Love an ardent Love it is a spark of heavenly fire and it puts all the affections into a holy flame Can. 1. 7. Tell me O thou whom my soul loveth where thou feedest c. This amiable amorous Pathetical Compellation O thou Anima est ubi amat non ubi animat The soul is where it loves not where it lives whom my soul loveth speaks the Spouses love to be hot and burning towards Christ So in Isa 26. 8 9. The desire of our souls is towards thee and to the remembrance of thy name With my 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In the midst of me it is an emphatical phrase soul have I desired thee in the night yea with my spirit within me will I seek thee early This affectionate this passionate form of Speech With my soul have I desired thee and that with my spirit within me will I seek thee does elegantly set forth the vehement and ardent love of the Church to Christ so doth that pathetical exclamation of the Church Stay me with flagons comfort Cant. 2. 5. me with apples for I am sick of love
when one would have struck at his Father the affection that he had to his Father broke the bars of his Speech and he cryed out Take heed of killing the King You know how to apply it Moses was as a dumb childe in his own cause yet when the Israelites by making and dancing about their Golden Calf had wounded the honor and glory of God he shews himself to be much affected and afflicted for the dishonor done to God The statue of Apollo is said to shed tears for the afflictions of the Grecians though he could not help them so a true lover of Christ will shed tears for those dishonors that are done to Christ though he knows not how to prevent them It is between Christ and his Lovers as it is between two Lute strings that are tuned one to another no sooner one is struck but the other trembles so no sooner is Christ struck but a Christian trembles and no sooner is a Christian struck but Christ trembles Saul Saul Acts 9. why persecutest thou me Seventhly That Love that accompanieâ— Salvation doth shew it self by working the Soul to observe with a curious critical eye Christs countenance Vbi amor ibi oculus As love came in by the eye so it delights by the same door to run out to Christ and carriage and by causing the soul to be sad or chearful as Christs carriage and countenance is towards the soul when Christ looks sad and carries it sadly then to be sad as Peter was Christ cast a sad look upon him and that made his heart sad he went forth and wept bitterly And when Christ looks sweetly and speaks kindly and carries it lovingly then to be chearful and joyful as the Church was in Cant. 3. 4. It was but a little that I passed from them but I found him whom my soul loveth I held him and would not let him go until I had brought him into my Mothers house and into the Chamber of her that conceived me So the Church in Isai 61. 10. I will greatly rejoyce in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In rejoycing I will rejoyce That is I will exceedingly rejoyce the Lord my soul shall be joyful in my God for he hath cloathed me with the garments of Salvation he hath covered me with a robe of Righteousness as a Bridegroom decketh himself with Ornaments and as a Bride adorneth her self with her Jewels A true Lover of Christ hath still his eye upon Christ and as his countenance stands so is he glad or sad chearful or sorrowful Tigranes in Xenophon coming to redeem his Father and Friends with his Wife that were taken prisoners by King Cyrus was asked among other Questions this viz. What ransom he would give for his Wife he answered He would redeem her liberty with his own life But having prevailed for all their liberties as they returned together every one commended Cyrus for a goodly man and Tigranes would needs know of his Wife what she thought of him Truly said she I cannot tell for I did not so much as look on him or see him Whom then said he wondering did you look upon Whom should I look upon said she but him that would have redeemed my liberty with the loss of his own life So a Christian a true lover of Christ esteems nothing worth a looking upon but Christ who hath redeemed him with his own Blood Eighthly That Love that accompanies Salvation reaches forth a hand Jâ—rom professed how much he loved Christ in Augustine and Augustine in Christ of kindness to those that bear the Image of Christ 1 John 5. 1 2. Every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him By this we know that we love the Children of God when we love God and keep his Commandments He that loveth not his Brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen Now because many mistake in their love to the Saints and the consequences that follow that mistake are very dangerous and pernicious to the souls of men I shall therefore briefly hint to you the properties of that love to the Saints that accompanies Salvation And The first is this True Love to the Saints is spiritual it is a love for the Image of God that is stamped upon the Soul Col. 1. 8. Epaphras hath declared to us your love in the Spirit A Soul that truly loves loves the Father for his own sake and the children for the Fathers sake Many there are that love Christians for their goods not for their good they love them for the money that is in their purse but not for the grace that is in their hearts Many like the Bohemian Cur fawn upon a good suit Love to the Saints for the Image of God stamped upon them is a flower that grows not in Natures Garden No man can love Grace in another mans heart but he that hath grace in his own Men doth not more Remember wicked men God himself is wroâ—ged by the injury that is done to his Image The contempt and despight is done to the King himself which is done to his Image or Coyn. naturally love their parents and love their children and love themselves then they do naturally hate the Image of God upon his people and ways True love is for what of the Divine Nature for what of Christ and Grace shines in a man It is one thing to love a godly man and another thing to love him for godliness Many love godly men as they are Politicians or Potent or Learned or of a sweet Nature but all this is but natural love but to love them because they are spiritually lovely because they are all Psal 45. 13. glorious within and their rayment is of imbroidered gold is to love them as becometh Saints it is to love them at so high and noble a rate that no Hypocrite in the world can reach to it Tho Wasps flie about the Tradesmans shop not out of love to him but the Honey and the Fruit that is there This age is full of such Wasps Ephes 1. 15. Col 1. 4. It was the glory of the Ephesians and Colossians that their Faith and Love reached to all the Saints It was not narrow and confined to some particulars but it was universal Secondly True Love to the Saints is universal to one Christian as well as another to all as well as any to poor Lazarus as well as to rich Abraham to a despised Job as well as to an admired David to an afflicted Joseph as well as to a raised Jacob to a despised Disciple as well as to an exalted Apostle Phil. 4. 21. Salute every Saint the meanest as well as the richest the weakest as well as the strongest the lowest as well as the highest They have all the same Spirit the same Jesus the same Faith they are all Fellow Members Fellow Travellers Fellow Souldiers Fellow Citizens Fellow Heirs and therefore must they
not any man think that he will embrace other mens goods to forsake Christ who hath forsaken his own proper goods to follow Christ Love makes a man cry out when tempted as that worthy Convert did Ego non sum ego I am not the man that I was When my heart was voide of Divine Love I was as easily conquered as I was tempted O but now he hath shed abroad his love in my soul I am not the man that I was I had rather die then flie or fall before a temptation Twelfthly That Love that accompanies Salvation shews it self by secret kindnesses by secret visits by secret expressions of love A Soul that truly loves Christ loves to meet him in a corner to meet him behinde the door to meet him in the clefts of the Cant. 2. 14. Matth. 6. 6. Rock where no eye sees nor no ear hears nor no heart observes Feigned love is much in commending and kissing Christ upon the stage but unfeigned love is much in embracing and weeping over Christ in a Closet The Pharisee loved to stand praying in the Matth. 6. Market-place and in the Temple but Nathaniel was with Christ under the John 1. 48. Fig-tree and Cornelius was at it in the Acts 10. corner of his house and Peter was at it on the Leads and the Spouse Cant. 7. 11. was at it in the Villages Souls that truly love Christ are much in secret visits in secret prayer in secret sighing in secret groaning in secret mourning c. True love is good at bolting of the door and is always best when it is most with Christ in a corner The secret discoveries that Christ makes to souls do much oblige them to closet services Arcesilaus in Plutarch visiting his sick friend and perceiving his necessity that he wanted and yet his modesty that he was ashamed to ask that he might satisfie the one and yet salve the other secretly conveyed money under his Pillow which his friend finding after he was gone was wont to say Arcesilaus stole this So Christ steals secret kindnesses upon his people and that draws them out to be much in secret in closet services Thirteenthly That Love that accompanies Salvation shews it self by breathing after more clear evidence and full assurance of Christs love To the soul Divine love would fain have her drop turned into an Ocean her spark into a flame her penny into a pound her mite into a million A soul that truly loves can never see enough nor never taste enough nor never feel enough nor never enjoy enough of the love of Christ when once they have found his love to be better then Wine then nothing will satisfie them but the kisses of his mouth Cant. 1. 3. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth Not with a kiss but with the kisses of his mouth A soul once kissed by Christ can never have enough of the kisses of Christ his lips drop myrrhe and mercy no kisses to the kisses of Christ The The more a Virgins love is drawn out to another the more she desires to be confirmed and assured of his love to her more any soul loves Christ the more serious studious and industrious will that soul be to have the love of Christ discovered confirmed witnessed and sealed to it That is a sweet word of the Spouse Cant. 8. 6. Set me as a seal upon thy heart as a seal upon thy arm for love is strong as death Set me as a seal upon thy heart that is Let me be deeply engraven as a seal into thy heart and affections Let the love and remembrance of me make a deep impression in thee and set me as a seal or signet on thy arm 1. The seal you know is for ratifying confirming and making sure of things O sayes the Spouse establish and confirm me in thy love and in the outward expressions and manifestations of it 2. Seals among the Jews were used not as Ornaments onely but as Monuments of love that were continually in sight and remembrance O says the Church Let me be still in thy sight and remembrance as a monument of thy love In the Old Law you know Exod. 28. 11 12 21 29. compared the High Priest did bear the names of Israel engraven on stones upon his heart and shoulder for a memorial Ah says the Church Let my name be deeply engraven upon thy heart let me be alwayes in thy eye let me be always a memorial upon thy shoulder 3. Great men have their signets upon their hands in precious esteem Jere. 22. 24. As I live saith the Lord though Coniah the son of Jehojakim King of Judah were the signet upon my right hand yet would I pluck thee thence Ah sayes the Spouse O highly prize me Lord Jesus highly esteem of me O let me be as dear and precious unto thee as the signet that thou carriest about with thee or as signets are to great men that wear them Lastly That Love that accompanies Salvation shews it self by working a true lover of Christ to commit his richest Treasures his choicest Jewels to the care and custody of Christ Where we love we will trust and as we love we will trust Little trust speaks out little love great trust speaks out great love The lovers of Christ commend to Christs Psal 31. 15. So Job so Paul 2 Tim. 1. 12. 4. 7 8 Micah 7. 8 9. Dan 6. 22. care their Pearls of greatest price their Names their Lives their Souls their Crowns their Innocency their All. It was a notable saying of Luther Let him that died for my soul see to the salvation of it Caesar received not his wounds from the swords of enemies but from the hands of friends that is from trusting in them Oh! but the lovers of Christ shall never receive any wounds by trusting in Christ by committing their choicest Jewels to his care for he hath a powerful hand and a wise and loving heart Christ will hold fast whatever the Father or the Saints put into his hand And thus I have shewed you what that Love is that doth accompany Salvation I come now in the sixth place to shew you what Prayer that is that doth accompany Salvation But I see that I must contract what remains into a narrow room lest I should tire out both the Reader and my self Which that I may not I shall endeavor by Divine Assistance to minde brevity in what remains Now that Prayer doth accompany Salvation I have formerly shewed Now I am briefly to shew you what Prayer that is that doth accompany Salvation and that I shall do in these following particulars First Prayer is a Divine Worship The matter of Prayer may be reduced to these heads 1. Petition 2. Deprecation 3. Intercession 4. Expostulation There are other distinctions in regard of the manner As first Mental Prayer which is the inward lifting up of the heart to God Secondly Vocal which is uttered by words
see the worth of Assurance I have long sought Assurance and now I finde the sweetness of Assurance Ah it is such a Pearl of price it is such a Beam of God it is such a spark of glory that makes my Soul a rich amends for all its waiting weeping and wrastling So when it pleased Gal. 1. 15 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In me God to call Paul by his grace and to reveal Christ in him and to him Ah how doth he labor as for life to bring others to an acquaintance with Christ and to an acceptance of Christ and to an Assurance of Everlasting Happiness and Blessedness by Christ After Paul had been in Paradise he makes it his 2 Cor. 12. all to bring others to Paradise So the Spouse in the Canticles having assurance Cant. 5. 10 ult 6. 1 c. of her interest in Christ how doth she labor by all holy and heavenly Rhetorick and Logick by all the strains of love and sweetness to draw the daughters of Jerusalem to a sight of Christ and to an assurance of the love of Christ When a Beam of Divine light and love had shined upon Andrew John 1. 40 41 42. he labors to draw his Brother Simon to the Fountain of all light and love and when Philip had but a cast of Vers 43 44 45 46 47. Christs countenance his pulse beats and his heart calls upon Nathaniel to come and share with him in that loving kindness that was better then life The constant cry of Souls under the power of Assurance is Come taste and Psal 34. 8. see how good the Lord is Ah sinners sinners his wayes are wayes of pleasantness Prov. 3. 17. 1 John 5. 3. and all his paths are peace his commands are not grievous but joyous his yoke Matth. 11. 30. is easie and his burden is light not onely for keeping but also in keeping of Psal 19. 11. his commands there is great reward Assurance will strongly put men upon winning of others by counsel by example by prayer and by communicating their Spiritual Experiences to them Assurance will furnish a man with will skill and experience to confute all those false reports that vain men frequently cast upon the Lord and his ways It will make a man proclaim to the world That one Psal 84. 10. day in the Lords courts is better then a thousand years elswhere That there are more glorious joyes more pure comforts more abiding peace more royal contents more celestial delights in one dayes walking with God in one hours communion with God c. then is to be found in all things below God And by these and such like wayes Souls under the power of a wel-grounded Assurance do endeavor to make others happy with themselves A Soul under Assurance is unwilling to go to Heaven without company he is often a crying out Father bless this Soul too and crown that Soul too Let us to Heaven together let us be made happy together Sixthly A wel-grounded Assurance of Gods love and of a mans Everlasting Happiness and Blessedness will exceedingly arm and strengthen him against all wickedness and baseness No man loaths sin and himself for sin Ezek. 16 60 61 62 63. as such a man no man wars and watches against sin more then such a man no man sighs and mourns Rom. 7. 22 ult bleeds and complains under the sense of sinful motions and sinful operations Luke 7. 44. ult more then such a man Every stirring of sin makes a man that is under the power of Assurance to cry out O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death Psal 85. 8. I will hear what God the Lord will speak for he will speak peace unto his people and to his Saints And let them not turn again to folly or as the Hebrew will bear And they shall not return to folly Gods speaking peace to his people fences and fortifies them against folly and vanity The Assurance that Joseph had of his Masters love armed him against the lascivious assaults of his lustful Mistress and will not Divine love that is stronger then death do this Cant 8. 6 7. and more Assurance makes a man say to his sins as he to his Idols get you hence for What have I any Hosea 14. 8. compared with the 2 3 4 5 6. versâ—â— more to do with Idols So sayes the assured Soul away pride away passion away worldly mindedness away uncleanness away uncharitableness c. For what have I any more to do with you Assurance makes the Soul speak to sin as David speaks to sinners Psal 119. 115. Depart from me ye workers of iniquity for I will keep the Commandments of my God So sayes the assured Soul depart from me O my lusts for I have tasted of the love of God and I have given up my self wholly and oneâ—y to God and I cannot but keep the Commandments of my God The Jewish Rabbins report that the same night that Israel departed out of Egypt towards Canaan all the Idols and idolatrous Temples in Egypt by Lightning and Earthquakes were broken down So when Christ and Assurance comes to be set up in the Soul all the Idols of Satan and a mans own heart are cast down and cast out as an abomination Sound Assurance puts a man upon purifying himself even as Christ is 1 John 3. 2 3. pure The assured Christian knows That it is dangerous to sin against light that it is more dangerous to sin against love that it is most dangerons to sin against love revealed and manifested God may well say to such a Christian Is this thy kindness to thy friend To sin under Assurance is to sin against the Bowels of Mercy it is to sin against the choicest Remedy it is to sin against the highest Hopes of Glory and this will certainly provoke God to be angry 1 Kings 11. 9. And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Lord was angry with Solomon because Vaiithannaph in Pihil to shew that the Lord was greatly angry with Solomon the Root 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies properly to snuff with anger It notes such anger as appeareth in the paleness of the face and snuffing of the nose his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel that had appeared to him twice To sin under Assurance is to sin in Paradise it is to sin under the flaming sword it is to sin in the Suburbs of Heaven it is to run the hazard of losing that favor that is better then life of that joy that is unspeakable and full of glory and of that peace that passes understanding To sin under Assurance is to cast reproach upon Christ to grieve the Spirit to wound Conscience to weaken your Graces to blur your Evidences to usher in Calamities to imbitter your Mercies and to provoke the Tempter to triumph over your Saviour Verily that Assurance is but
would seriously consider as you tender the peace and settlement the satisfaction consolation and salvation of your own souls First The Spirit of Christ doth not witnesse by any outward voice as God Matth 3. ult Luk. 1. 30 31 32 33 34. did from Heaven of Christ nor by an Angell as to the Virgin Mary but by an inward secret glorious and unspeakable way he bids Beleevers be of good chear their sins are forgiven Matth. 9. 2. them as Christ said to the palsie man in the Gospel And this truth is to be solemnly minded against those poor deceived and deluded souls in Quakers and Raâ—ters these daies that would make the world beleeve that they have had such and such glorious things made known by an outward audible voyce from Heaven It is much to be feared that they never found the inward the sweet the secret the powerful testimony and report of the Spirit of Christ that boast and brag and rest so much upon an outward testimony In 1 King 19. you read of a great strong wind that rent the Vers 11. Mountains and brake in peeces the Rocks but the Lord was not in the wind and after the wind there was an earthquake but the Lord was not in the earthquake And after the earthquake a fire but the Vers 12. Lord was not in the fire And after the fire Vers 13. there was a still small voyce and the Lord spake to Elijah in that still small voice Ah Christians the Spirit of the Lord makes not a noise but he comes in a still small voice as I may say and makes a soft and secret report to the soul that it is beloved that it is pardoned and that it shall be for ever glorified Secondly The testimony and witnesse of the Spirit of Christ is onely gained enjoyed in holy and heavenly waies as you may clearly see by comparing Acts 10. 4. Dan. 9. 20. 21 22. Isa 64. 5. Act. 10. 44 c. the Scriptures in the margent together The Spirit of the Lord is a holy spirit he cannot he wil not make any report of the love of the Father to the soule out of a way of holinesse Verily all those glorious reports that many boast they have met with in sinfull waies in wretched and ungodly waies are from the hissing of the old Serpent and not from the whisperings of the Yet this age hath many such Monsters Spirit of Grace I think it is little less then blasphemy for any to affirm that the blessed Spirit of Christ doth make reports of the love and favour of God to persons walking in waies of wickednesse and basenesse Thirdly The testimony and witness of the Spirit of Christ is a clear a â—ul a satisfying testimony and witnesse the soul sits down under the home reports John 14 17. 1 John 3. 24. of the Spirit saith Lord it is enough the soul being full sits down and sweetly sings it out My beloved is mine and Cant. 2. 16. 7. 10. I am his I am my wel-beloveds and his desire is towards me The Lord is my portion Psal 16. 5. Psal 73. 25. and the lot of mine inheritance I have none in Heaven but thee neither is there any on earth that I desire in comparison of 2 Tim. 4 8. thee Henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness Make haste my beloved Cant. 8. ult c. Such power majesty and glory attends the glorious testimony of the Spirit of Christ as scatters all clouds as resolves all doubts as answers all objections as silences the wrangling soul c. If the testimony of the Spirit of Christ were not a ful satisfying testimony it could never fill the soule with such joy as is unspeakable and full of glory and with such peace as passes understanding if the testimony were not satisfactory the soul would still be under fears and doubts the heart would still be a wrangling and quarrelling I may perish and I may be undone I may have the door of Mercy shut against me c. If you bring news to a condemned person that the King hath pardoned him and that he will receive him to favor and confer such and such dignity upon him yet this doth not quiet him nor satisfie him till he knows it is the Kings act till he is satisfied in that he cannot say it is enough he cannot be chearfull hee cannot be delightful c. But when hee is satisfied that it is the Kings act that the King hath certainly done this and that for him then he is satisfied and then sighing and mourning flies away and then he rejoyces with joy unspeakable So it is with a beleeving Soul under the testimony and witness of the Spirit of Christ Fourthly Though the Spirit be a witnessing Spirit yet he doth not alwaies witness to beleevers their adoption their interest in Christ c. There is a mighty difference between the working of the Spirit and the witness of the Spirit There are often times many glorious and efficacious works of the Spirit as Faith Love Repontance Isa 50. 10. Holinesse c. where there is not the witness of the Spirit David at that very time had the Spirit and Psa 50. 10 11 12 many sweet workings of the Spirit in him and upon him when he had by sin lost the witness and testimony of the Spirit Though the Spirit of the Lord be a witnessing and a sealing Spirit yet he doth not alwaies witness Job 23. 8 9. 1 Joh. 5. 13. Psa 88. Psa 77. Mich. 7. 8 9. Isa 8. 17. and seal up the love and favor of the Father to beleevers souls as you may see by the Scriptures in the Margent and as the experience of many precious Christians can abundantly evidence All beleevers do not see alike need of this testimony they doe not all alike prize this testimony they do not all alike observe it and improve it and therefore it is no wonder if the Spirit be a witnessing Spirit to some and not to others You do but gratifie Satan and wrong your owne soules when you argue that certainly you have not the Spirit because he is not a witnessing and a sealing Spirit to your soules Though it be the office of the Spirit to witness yet it is not his office alwayes to witness to beleevers their happiness and blessedness The Spirit may act one way in one room of the A man may be a doing in one Room when he is not in another So is the Spirit in the heart of a Saint soul when he doth not act in another sometimes the Spirit works upon the Understanding sometimes upon the Will sometimes upon the Affections sometimes upon Faith sometimes upon Fear sometimes upon Love sometimes upon Humility c. Our hearts are the Spirits Harps If a man should alwaies touch one string in an Instrument he should never play various tunes he
should never make pleasant musick no more would the Spirit it he should be alwaies a doing one thing in the soule therefore he acts variously sometimes he will shew himselfe a quickning Spirit sometimes an enlightning Spirit sometimes an humbling Spirit sometimes a rejoycing Spirit sometimes a sealing Spirit and alwayes a surporting Spirit c. Fifthly The testimony and witness of the Spirit is a sure testimony a Titus 1. 2. John 14. 17. 1 Cor. 2. 10 1 Joh. 4. 1 2 3 4 sure witness the Spirit is truth it self he is the great searcher of the deep things of God the Spirit of the Lord is the Discoverer the Confuter and Destroyer of all false spirits The Spirit is above all possibility of being deceived he is omnipotent he is omniscient he is omnipresent he is one of the Cabinet-Councel of Heaven he lies and lives in the bosome of the Father and can call them all by name upon whom the Father hath set his heart and therefore his testimony must needs be true It is a surer testimony then if a man should hear a voice from Heaven pronouncing him to be happy and blessed You may safely and securely lay the weight of your souls upon this testimony it never hath it never will deceive any that hath leaned upon it This testimony will be a rock that will bear up a soul When other false testimonies will be but a reed of Egypt that will deceive the soul that will undoe the soul As I am afraid many in this deluding age have found by sad experience Sixthly The testimony of Gods I do not say that the testimony of our spirits is always accompanied with the testimony of the Spirit No for a Beleever hath often the single testimony of his own spirit when he wants the testimony of the Spirit of Christ and the single testimony of his own conscience wil afford him much courage and comfort 2 Cor. 1. 12. Yea it wil make a paradise of delight in his soul c. Spirit is alwayes accompanied with the testimony of our own these may be distinguished but they can never be separated when the Spirit of God gives in witnesse for a man his own spirit doth not give in witnesse against him Look as face answers to face so doth the witness of a Beleevers spirit answer to the witness of the Spirit of Christ Rom. 8. 16. The Spirit witnesseth together with our spirits that we be the Sons of God Now if our own Consciences do not testifie first that we are Sons and Heirs the Spirit doth not testifie for the Spirit beares witness together with our spirits St. John is very expresse in 1 Joh. 3. 21. But if our hearts condemn us not then have we confidence toward God But if our hearts condemn us God is greater then our hearts and knoweth all things 1 Joh. 5. 8 9 10 11 12. And there are three that bear witness in Earth the Spirit and the Water and the Blood and these three agree in one The Spirit doth witness eminently and efficiently but Water and Blood materially and our spirits and Reason instrumentally By the Spirit we may understand the Holy Ghost by whose strength wee lay hold on Christ and all his benefits by Water we may understand our Regeneration our Sanctification and by Blood we may understand the blood and righteousness of Christ that is imputed and applyed by faith to us and these three agree in one that is they doe all three of one accord testifie the same thing Seventhly The witness of the Spirit is ever according to the Word there is a sweet harmony between the inward and outward testimony between the Spirit of God and the VVord of God The Scriptures were 2 Pet. 1. 20 21. all indicted by the Spirit and therefore the Spirit cannot contradict himselfe which he should do if he should give in any testimony contrary to the testimony of the word It is blasphemy to make the testimony of the â—pirit to contradict the testimony of the Word The Spirit hath revealed his whole mind in the Word and he will not give a contrary testimony to what he hath given in the Word The Word saith they that are born again that are new Creatures that beleeve and repent shall be saved But thou art born again thou art a new Creature thou beleevest and repentest therefore thou shalt be saved saith the Spirit The Spirit never looseth where the Word bindeth the Spirit never justifies where the Word condemnes the Spirit never approves where the Word disapproves the Spirit never blesses where the VVord curses In Deu. l 3. 1 2 3 4 the Old Testament all Revelations were to be examined by the VVord Isa 8. 20. To the Law and to the Testimony 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if they speak not according to this Word it is because there is no light or no morning in them So in that of John 16. We are not only blind but lame too therefore the Spirit shall lead us to the knowledge and practice of all necessary saving truths 13. The Spirit shall lead you into all truth for he shall not speak of himselfe but what he shall hear that shall he speak Here the Holy Ghost is brought in as some Messenger or Ambassador who onely relates things faithfully according to that he hath in charge Such as look and lean upon the hissing of the old Serpent may have a testimony that they are happy against the testimony of the VVord But where ever the Spirit of Christ gives in his â—estimony it is stil according to the VVord Look as Indenture answers to Indenture or as the Counterpaine exactly answers to the principall Conveyance there is Article for Article Clause for Clause Covenant for Covenant word for word So doth the testimony of the Spirit exactly answer to the testimony of the VVord Eighthly It is a Holy witness a holy Nil nisi sanctuÌ„ à sancto spiritu prodire potest Nothing can come from the Holy Spirit but that which is holy testimony it is formally holy it is originally holy it is effectually holy Nothing makes the heart more in the love study practise and growth of holines then the glorious testimony of the Holy Spirit and the more clear ful the testimony is the more holy and gracious it will make the Soule Nothing puts such golden Engagements upon the soul to holiness as the Spirit sealing a man up to the day of Redemption as the Spirits speaking and sealing Peace Love and pardon to the Soul Psal 85. 8. 1 Cor. 15. 31. 2 Cor. 5. 14. Nothing makes a man more careful to please Christ more fearful to offend Christ more studious to exalt Christ and more circumspect to walk with Christ then this testimony of the Spirit of Christ Verily that is not the blessed whispering of Christs Spirit but the hissing of the old Serpent that makes men bold with sin that makes men dally with sin that makes
are among the precious Sons and Daughters of Zion that have lost this Pearl of price and after waiting weeping and wrestling have found it again therefore be not discouraged O sighing losing Souls In the loss of emporals it is a great support to mens spirits that their loss may be made up and why should it not be so in spirituals also The fourth Support to keep their Support 4 hearts from sinking and breaking that have lost that sweet Assurance that once they had is seriously to consider that your loss is no greater nor no sadder then what the noblest and the choicest Saints have sustained as you may see by comparing the Scriptures Psal 30. 6 7. 51. 12. Job 23. 8 9. Isa 8. 17. in the Margent together Those that were once the Worthies of this world and are now triumphing in that other World among the Princes of glory have lost that sweet Assurance and sense of Divine love and favor that once they enjoyed therefore let not your spirits faint and fail In temporal Acts 16. trials it is a comfort and a support to have companions with us and why should it not much more be so in spirituals The fifth Support to bear up their Support 5 spirits that have lost that sweet Assurance that once they had is for them to remember and seriously minde that though they have lost Assurance yet they have not lost the blessed breathings and sweet influences of the Spirit Cant. 3. 5. Micah 7. 7 8 9. compared Isa 8. 17. Isa 50. 10. upon them witness their love to Christ their longing after Christ their fear of offending Christ their care to please Christ their high esteem of Christ and their mourning for the dishonors that by themselves or others are done to Christ c. A man may enjoy the warmth heat and influence of the Sun when he hath lost the sight of the Sun David had lost his Assurance he had lost the sight of the Sun and yet he enjoyed the warmth and influences of it upon his heart as is evident in the One and fiftieth Psalm Though thy Sun O Christian be set in a cloud yet it will rise again and in the interim thou hast and dost enjoy the warmth and influences of the Sun therefore sorrow not mourn not as one without hope Those warm influences that the Sun of Righteousness hath now upon thy heart are infallible evidences that he will shine Psal 42. 5 7 8 11. forth and smile upon thee as in the days of old therefore let thy Bowe still abide in strength The sixth Support to keep their Support 6 hearts from fainting and sinking that have lost that sweet Assurance that once they had is seriously to consider that it will be but as a day but as a short day before the loss of thy Assurance shall be made up with a more clear full perfect and compleat enjoyment of God ere long O mourning Soul thy Sun shall rise and never set thy joy and comfort shall be always Isa 57. 18 19 20. fresh and green God shall comfort thee on every side it shall be night with thee no more thou shalt be always in the bosom of God Psal 71. 20 21. Thou which hast shewed me great and sore troubles shalt quicken me again and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the Earth Thou shalt increase my greatness and comfort me on every side The day is at hand O perplexed Soul when thou shalt have smiles without frowns light without darkness day without night wine without water sweet without bitter and joy without sorrow The year of Jubile is at hand thou Levit 25. Psal 126. 5. Isa 35. 2. now sowest in tears thou shalt shortly reap in joy yea Everlasting joy shall be upon thy head and sorrow and sighing shall flee away therefore faint not The third Question is this viz. Quest 3 What means must Souls use to recover Assurance when it is lost I shall give a few short Answers to this Question and so draw to a cloze First If thou wouldst recover Assurance Austin saith Humanum est peccare diabolicum perseverare Angelicum resurgere It is a humane thing to fall into sin a devilish to persevere therein and an Angelical or supernatural to rise from it then thou must labor diligently to finde out that sin that Achan that hath robbed thee of thy Wedg of Gold of thy Assurance surely it is not for infirmities but enormities that God hath put out thy candle and caused thy Sun to set at Noon surely thou hast been feeding I say not tasting of forbidden fruit that God hath stript thee of thy robes and taken the crown from off thy head and turned thee out of Paradise But this is not all Therefore in the second place weep Reve. 2. 4 5. When ancient Rome was Heathenish if the Malefactor brought to be whipped sell upon his knees at his feet whom he had offended it was held as a sin if he suffered him to be whipt much mourn much over the Achan over those wickednesses that have turned thy day into night thy rejoycing into sighing c. David doth thus in that One and fiftieth Psalm and God takes him up from his knees and restores to him the joy of his Salvation Though God be displeased with your sins yet he is wel-pleased with your tears The promise is that he will revive the spirit of the contrite Isa 51. 15. It is said of Adam that he turned his face towards the Garden of Eden and from his heart lamented his fall Ah losing Souls turn your faces towards Heaven and from your hearts lament your fall lament your loss nothing puts God to it like penitent tears No sooner doth Ephraim weep over his sins Jere 31. 18 19 20. It is an excellent expression of Basil It grieves it irks it is tediâ— is to our most munificient great glorious King If we ask any thing little of him he would have us ask great things of him but the bowels of God are stirring towards him and God cannot hold but he must proclaim to the world that mourning Ephraim bemoaning Ephraim is his dear son his pleasant childe and that he will surely have mercy on him or as the Hebrew hath it Rahhem arahhamenu I will having mercy have mercy on him or I will abundantly have mercy on him When our hearts are set to weep over our sins God will so act in ways of love towards us that it shall not be long night with our Souls God will never suffer them to be drowned in sorrow that are set upon drowning their sins in penitential tears The Jews have a saying That since the destruction of Jerusalem the door of Prayers hath been shut but the door of tears was Psal 39. 12. Job 16. 20. Mark 9. 24 25 c. never shut saith one God hath by promise engaged himself That those that sow in tears shall reap
HEAVEN ON EARTH OR A Serious Discourse touching a wel-grounded ASSURANCE of Mens Everlasting Happiness and Blessedness Discovering the Nature of Assurance the possibility of attaining it the Causes Springs and Degrees of it with the resolution of several weighty Questions By THOMAS BROOKS Preacher of the Gospel at Margarets Fishstreet-Hill That their hearts might be comforted being knit together in love and unto all riches of the full Assurance of understanding Col. 2. 2. Qui fidei suae sensum in corde habet hic scit Christum Iesum in se esse Ambros 2 ad Corinth c. 13. 5. London Printed by R. I. for John Hancock and are to be sold at the first Shop in Popes-head Alley in Corn-hill 1654. Mr. Brooks on Assurance To the Right Honorable The Generals of the Fleets OF THE Commonwealth of England And to those Gallant Worthies my much Honored Friends who with the Noble Generals have deeply jeoparded their Lives unto many deaths upon the Seas out of love to their Countreys good and out of respect to the Interest of Christ and the faithful people of this Commonwealth Such Honor and Happiness as is promised to all that Love and Honor the Lord Jesus Renowned Sirs THe better any thing is the more communicative it will be for bonum est sui communicativum There are two sorts of goods â—here are Bona Throni and there are Bona Scabelli Goods of the Throne as God Christ Grace Assurance c. Nihil bonum sine summo bono Aug Nothing is good without the chiefest good Omne bonum in summo bono All good is in the chiefest good And Goods of the Foot-stool as Honors Riches c. A man may have enough of the goods of the Footstool to sink him but he can never have enough to satisfie him Mans Happiness and Blessedness his Felicity and Glory lies in his possessing the Goods of the Throne which that you may I humbly desire you seriously to view over the ensuing Treatise It was an excellent saying of Lew is of Bavyer Emperor of Germany Hujusmodi comparandae sunt opes quae cum naufragio simul enatent Such goods are worth getting and owning as will not sink nor wash away if a shipwrack happen but will wade and swim out with us Such are the goods that are here presented in this following Discourse in all storms tempests and shipwracks they will abide with the Soul they will walk and lie down with the Soul yea they will to the Grave to Heaven with the Soul they will in the greatest storms be an Ark to the Soul I have observed in some A Philosopher could say in dâ—nger of shipwrack in a ligh starry night Surely I shall not perish there are so many eyes of providence â—ver me But these had neither so much faith nor courage these men of might had lost their hands and hearts Psa 76. 5. vide terrible storms that I have been in that the Mariners and the Passengers want of Assurance and of those other Pearls of price that in this Treatise are prepresented to publick view hath caused their countenance to change their hearts to melt it hath made them to stagger and reel to and fro like drunken men like men at their wits ends whereas others that have had Assurance and their pardon in their bosoms c. have bore up bravely and slept quietly and walkt cheerfully and practically have said as Alexander once did when he was in a great danger Now saith he here is a danger fit for the spirit of Alexander to encounter withal so they now here are storms and dangers fit for assured pardoned Souls to encounter withal c. Gentlemen This following Discourse I do not present to you as a thing that needs your protection for Veritas stat in aperto campo truth stands in the open Fields I and it will make the lovers of it to stand triumph and overcome Magna est veritas valebit Great is truth and shall prevail but upon these following grounds I tender it to you First You have honored the Almighty by helping him against the high and mighty and he hath honored you by owning of you by standing by 1 Sam. 2. 30. As it was saâ—d of Caesâ—r that while here stored the Statue of Pompey he estabâ—ished his own so while men honor God they preserve their own you by acting for you and by making of you prosperous and victorious over a near enemy a powerful enemy an enraged enemy a resolved enemy a subtil enemy a prepared enemy a lofty enemy and therefore I cannot but desire to honor you by dedicating the following Treatise to the service of your Souls Secondly Because you are my Magnes amoâ—is amor Love is the loadâ—â—oâ—e of love and therefore he said right Si vis ama i ama if thâ—n wilt love thou shalt be loved Friends and that cordial love and friendship which I have found from you hath stampt in my affections a very high valuation of you The Ancients painted Friendship a fair yong man bare headed in a poor garment at the bottom whereof was written Life and Death in the upper part Summer and Winter his bosom was open so that his heart might be seen whereupon was written longè propè a Friend at hand and a far off Verily your undeserved love and respects have made me willing to open my bosom to you in this Epistle and in the following Treatise as to Friends that I love and honor When one came to Alexander and desired him that he might see his Treasure he bid one of his servants take him and shew him not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his Money but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his Friends It seems he put a higher value Secrates preferred the Kings countenance above his coyn upon them then he did upon all the wealth which he had Faithful Friends are an unvaluable Treasure and the rarity of them doth much inhaunce the price of them Thirdly Because of its exceeding usefulness and suitableness to your conditions I have been some years at Sea and through Grace I can say that I would not exchange my Sea Experiences Psal 107. 24. It is between Christian and Christian as between two Lute strings that are tuned one to another no sooner one is struck but the other trembles for Englands Riches I am not altogether ignorant of the troubles trials temptations dangers and deaths that do attend you And therefore I have been the more stirred in my spirit to present the following Discourse to you wherein is discovered the nature of Assurance the possibility of attaining Assurance the causes springs degrees excellencies and properties of Assurance also the special seasons and times of Gods giving Assurance with the resolution of several weighty Questions touching Assurance further in this Treatise as in a glass you may see these ten special things clearly and fully opened and manifested 1. What Knowledge that is that accompanies Salvation
your walkings and actings you are lights upon a Hill you are Sea-marks and therefore every eye will be upon you Those that can finde no ears to hear what you say will finde many eyes to see what you do Scripture and Experience do abundantly evidence that good mens examples have done a world of good in the world and verily the evil examples of great men especially are very dangerous Charls the fift was wont to say That as the Eclipse of the Sun is a token of great commotions so the errors and evils of great men bring with them great perturbations and evils to the places and persons where they live O therefore be exemplary in lip and life in word and work that others seeing your good works may glorifie Matth. 5. 16. Plutarch said of Demosthenes that he was excellent at praising the worthy acts of his Ancestors but not so at imitating them You may easily apply it your Father which is in Heaven O look that your lives be as a Commentary upon Christs life Tace lingua loquere vita Talk not of a good life but let thy life speak said the Philosopher Alexander willed that the Grecians and the Barbarians should no longer be distinguished by their Garments but by their Manners so should Christians be distinguished from all others by their lives and by their examples 2 Sam. 23. 3. The God of Israel said The Rock of Israel spake to me he that ruleth over men must be just ruling in the fear of the Lord. An excellent Lord is always better then an excellent Law let your Laws be never so good if the Law makers are bad all will come to nothing The peoples eyes are much John 7. 48. It was a good Law that the Ephesians made That men should propound to themselves the best patterns and ever bear in minde some eminent man upon that Scripture Have any of the Rulers believed on him c. Abraham was an example of Righteousness in Chaldaea Lot was just in Sodom Daniel was an example of Holiness in Babylon Job was an example of Uprightness in the Land of Huss which was a Land of much Prophaneness and Superstition Nehemiah was an example of Zeal in Damasco and Moses was an example of Meekness among the muttering and murmuring Israelites Above all examples Christ was exemplary in all Piety and Sanctity in all Righteousness and Holiness in the midst of a crooked and perverse Generation And why then should not you be ex mplary The Arabianâ— if their King be sick or lame they all feign themselves so among those poor Creatures ethose black Angels I had almost said among whom you walk It was the saying of Trajanus a Spaniard the first stranger that reigned among the Italians Qualis Rex taliâ— grex Subjects prove good by a good Kings example so do Souldiers so do Sailers by the good examples of their Superior Commanders Such Commanders as are examples of Righteousness and Holiness to others are certainly high in worth and humble in heart they are the glory of Christ and the honor of Religion Fifthly As you are in publick places I have read of one that had rather beautifie Italy then his own house there is very little of this spirit abroad in the world so lay out your selves impartially for the common good of all that have interest in you or dependence upon you So did Abraham Moses Joshua Nehemiah Ezra Daniel but above all Christ himself You are more for the peoples sake then the people are for yours Magistrates are Rulers over the persons of the people but they are servants to the good of the people As it is the duty of all to serve them so it is their office to serve all It is no Paradox to affirm That Rulers are the greatest Servants The Ancients were wont to place the Statues of their Princes by their Fountains intimating that they were or at least should be Fountains of the Publick good The Counsellor saith That a man in publick place should give his will to God his love to his Master his heart to his Countrey his secrets to his Friends his time to Business It is a base and unworthy spirit for a man to make himself the Centre of all his actions The very Heathen man could say A Mans Countrey and his Friends and others challenge a great part of him The Sun that is the Prince of lights So doth the Sea feed and refresh the smalest fish as wel as the greatest Leviathan the Trees do shade and shelter from heat the least Bird as well as the greatest Beast doth impartially serve all the Peasant as well as the Prince the poor as well as the rich the weak as well as the strong you must be like the Sun The Sun of Righteousness was of a brave Publick Spirit he healed others but was hurt himself he filled others but was hungry himself he laid out himself and he laid down himself for a Publick good That Pilot dies nobly saith Seneca who perisheth in the storm with the Helm in his hand It is really your praise among the Saints that you have ventured killing burning drowning and all to save the Ship of the Commonwealth from sinking Sirs Be not weary of Publick Work it is honor enough that God will make any use of you to carry on his design in the world he is a faithful Pay-master Heaven at last will make amends for all you shall reap if you faint not I do verily believe God will make use of you to do greater things on the Sea then yet have been done The Lord hath now begun to set a foot upon the Sea let his enemies tremble God will not suffer his glory to be buried in the deeps he is a shaking the Nations and will not leave shaking them till he that is the desire of all Nations come The Lord hath said That he will overturn overturn overturn until he comes whose right it is to wear the Crown and the Diadem and he will give it him Ezek. 21. 25 26 27. Till then there will be little else but plucking up and breaking down Jere. 45. 4. Therefore be couragious and follow the Lamb wheresoever he goes You need fear no enemies that have Christ the Conqueror on your sides Sixthly and lastly Make it more O animâ— Dei insigâ—â—ta imagine desponsata fidie donata spiritu c. Bern. O divine Soul invested with the Image of God espoused to him by Faith and more your chiefest work to make plentiful provisions for the eternal welfare of your Souls Your Souls are more worth then ten thousand worlds All is well if the Soul be well if that be safe all is safe if that be lost all is lost God Christ and Glory is lost if the Soul be lost Worthy Sirs Though others play the Courtiers with their Souls yet do not you The Courtier doth all things late he rises late and dines late and sups late and repents late
is so fully perswaded of its eternal happinesse and blessednesse that it s carried like 4 There is a divine perswasion that flows from divine principles and causes Noahs Arke above al waves doubts and fears and Noah-like fits still and quiet and can with the Apostle Paul triumph over sinne hell wrath death and devill This is sometimes called Col. 2. 2. Heb. 6 11. 18 19 cha 10. 22. full assurance of understanding sometimes it is called full assurance of hope and sometimes it is called full assurance of faith because these are the choice and pleasant springs from whence assurance flows Now though this full assurance is earnestly desired and highly This full Assurance is the maximum quod sic the highest pinacle of Assurance prized and the want of it much lamented the injoyment of it much endevoured after by al Saints yet t is only obtained by a few Assurance is a mercy too good for most mens hearts it is a Crowne too weighty for most mens heads Assurance is optimum maximum the best and greatest mercy and therefore God will onely give it to his best and dearest friends Augustus in his solemne feasts gave trifles to some but gold to others honours and riches c. are trifles that God gives to the worst of men Rev. 3. 18. But Assurance is that tryed gold that God onely gives to tried friends Among those few that have a share or Most Saints I beleeve can give aloud testimony to this truth I shall rejoyce when their experiences shall confute â—r portion in the special love and favour of God there are but a very few that have an assurance of his love It is one mercy for God to love the soule and another mercy for God to assure the soule of his love God writes many a mans name in the Book of life and yet will not let him know it till his houre of death as the experience of many precious soules doth cleerly evidence Assurance is a flower of Paradise that God sticks but Rom. 8. 16 17. in a few mens bosomes It is one thing to be an heire of heaven and another thing for a man to know or see himselfe an heire of heaven The childe in the arms may be heire to a Crown a Kingdome and yet not understand it so many a Saint may bee heire to a Crowne a Kingdome of glory and yet not know it As the babes that passes the pangs of the first birth do not presently cry Father Father so the new borne Babes in Christ that have 1 Pet. 2. 2. past the pangs of the second birth doe not presently cry Abba Father they doe not presently cry out Heaven Heaven is ours Glory Glory is ours The third Proposition is this That The third Proposition a man may have true grace that hath not Assurance of the love and favour The blinde man in the Gospel called his faith unbeleef of God or of the remission of his sins and salvation of his soule A man may be truly holy and yet not have assurance that he shall be eternally happy A man may be Gods and yet he not know it his estate may be good and yet he not see it he may Mat. 15. 22. 29. be in a safe condition when he is not in a comfortable condition All may be well with him in the Court of glory when hee would give a thousand worlds that all were but well in the court of conscience The Canaanite woman shewed much love wisdome zeale humility and faith yea such strength of faith as makes Christ admire her and yeeld to her grace her and gratifie her and yet shee had no assurance that wee read of So Paul speaking of the beleeving Eph 1. 13. They that honour God by sealing to his truth those God will honour by sealing them with his Spirit Ephesians saith In whom ye also trusted after that yee heard the word of truth the Gospel of your salvation in whom also after that yee beleeved yee were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise First They heard the word and then secondly they beleeved and then thirdly they were sealed that is fully assured of a heavenly inheritance of a Saints have eternal life 1 In praetio 2 In promisso 3 In primitiis purchased possession So 1 John 5. 13. These things have I written unto you that beleeve on the name of the Sonne of God that yee may know that yee have eternal life and that yee may beleeve on the name of the Son of God So in that Isa 50. 10. Who is among you that feareth the Lord that obeyeth the voyce of his servant that walketh in darknesse and hath no light let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay himselfe upon his God So in that Mich. 7. 8. 9. verses Rejoyce not against me O mine enemy when I fall I shall arise when I sit in darknesse the Lord shall be a light unto me I will bear the indignation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Lord because I have sinned against him untill he plead my cause and Zagnaph Signifies vehement anger with a sad and lowring countenance Dan. 1. 10. vide Merâ— execute judgement for me he will bring me forth to the light and I shall behold his Righteousnesse Asaph was a very holy man a man eminent in grace and yet without assurance as may bee seen at large in that 77. Ps Heman doubtlesse was a very precious soule and yet from his youth up hee was even distracted with terrours Psalm 88. There are thousand Christians that are in a state of grace and shall bee Isa 8. 17. Chap. 49. 14 15 16. Ch. 54 6 7 8 9 10 11. saved that want assurance and the proper effects of it as high joy pure comfort glorious peace and vehement longings after the coming of Christ Assurance is requisite to the well-being of a Christian but not to the being it is requisite to the consolation of a Christian but not to the salvation of a Christian it is requisite to the well-being of Grace but not to the meer being of Grace Though a man cannot be saved without faith yet he may bee saved without assurance God hath in many places of the Scripture declared that without faith God never said except you be assured I will pardon you I will never pardon you except you are assured I will save you I will never save you this is language God never spoke and why then should men speak it there is no salvation but God hath not in any one place of Scripture declared that without assurance there is no salvation A man must first bee saved before he can be assured of his salvation for he cannot be assured of that which is not and a man must have saving grace before he can bee saved for hee cannot be saved by that which hee hath not Againe a man must be ingrafted into Christ before
descend upon him like a Dove and he shall hear a voice from heaven saying This is my beloved Sonne in whom I am well-pleased that so he may be strong in resisting and glorious in triumphing over all the assaults and temptations of Satan So many times at first conversion the Lord makes out sweet manifestations of his love to the soule that so the soule may stand fast and not give ground and in the sense of divine love may so manage the shield of faith as to quench all the fiery darts of the Devil The Lord knows that when hee sets upon the delivering of a poor soule from the Kingdome of darknesse and translating it into the Kingdome of his dear Sonne that Satan will roar and Col. 1. 13. rage rend and tear as he did him in Pharaoh in his furious and violent pursuing after Israel when he saw that God would bring them from under his power was a type of Satan Mark 9. 25 26. When Jesus saw that the people came ranning together hee rebuked the foule spirit saying unto him Thou dumb and deaf spirit I charge thee to come out of him and the spirit cryed and rent him sore and came out of him and he was as one dead in so much that many said He is dead No sooner did Jesus Christ look with an eye of love pity and compassion upon the Boy but the Devil in his rage and wrath The Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies to tear and rent as the dog doth falls a renting and tearing of him as mad dogs do those things they fasten upon This poor childe had never so sore a fit as now he was nearest the cure when rich Mercy and Glorious power is nearest the soul then Satan most storms and rages against the soul The more the Bowels of Christ do work towards a sinner the more furious will Satan assault that sinner Therefore Divine Wisdom and Goodness does the more eminently shine in giving the poor soul some sight of Canaan and some Bunches and Clusters of that Land upon its first coming out of the Wilderness of Sin and Sorrow But that no soul may mistake this last Proposition give me leave to premise these two Cautions First That God does manifest his Caut. 1. love onely to some at their first conversion not to all Though he dearly loves every penitent soul yet he does not manifest his love at first conversion to every penitent soul God is a free Agent to work where he will and when he will and to reveal his love how he will and when he will and to whom he will It is one thing for A man may enjoy the warmth and heat of the Sun when he cannot see the Sun so a man may have grace when he cannot see that he hath grace God to work a work of Grace upon the soul and another thing for God to shew the soul that work God oftentimes works Grace in a silent and secret way and takes sometimes five sometimes ten sometimes fifteen sometimes twenty years yea sometimes more before he will make a clear and satisfying report of his own work upon the soul Though our Graces be our best Jewels yet they are sometimes at first conversion so weak and imperfect that we are not able to see their lustre The being of Grace makes our estates safe and sure the seeing of Grace makes our lives sweet and comfortable The second Caution is this A man Caut. 2. I have conversed with several precious souls that have found this true by experience and upon this very ground have questioned all and strongly doubted whether they have not taken Satans delusions for divine manifestations may at first conversion have such a clear glorious manifestation of Gods love to him and of his interest in God and his right to glory that he may not have the like all his days after The fatted Calf is not every day slain the Robe of Kings is not every day put on every day must not be a Feastival day a Marriage day the wife is not every day in the bosom the childe is not every day in the arms the friend is not every day at the table nor the soul every day under the manifestations of Divine Love Jacob did not every day see the Angels ascending and descending Steven did not every day see the Heavens open and Christ standing on the right hand of God Paul was not every day caught up to Heaven nor John was not every day rapt up in the Spirit No Saint can every day cry out I have my Christ I have my Comfort I have my Assurance as the Persian King cryed out in his dream I have Themistocles I have Themistocles Job had his Job 30. 31. Harp turned into mourning and his Organ into the voice of them that weep The best of Saints are sometimes put to hang their Harps upon the Willows and Psal 137. 2. cry out Hath God forgotten to be gracious Psal 77. 7 8. 9. and will he be favorable no more The second special season or time wherein the Lord is pleased to give to his children a sweet assurance of his 2 Cor. 5. 14. favor and love and that is when he intends to put them upon some high and hard some difficult and dangerous service O then he gives them some 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Divine love hath a compulsive faculty it is very powerful to put the soul upon acting in the highest and hardest services for Christ sweet taste of Heaven before hand Now he smiles now he kisses now he embraces the soul now he takes a Saint by the hand now he causes his goodness and glory to pass before the soul now he opens his bosom to the soul now the soul shall be of his Court and Councel now the Clouds shall be scattered now it shall be no longer night with the soul now the soul shall sit no longer mourning in the valley of darkness now Christ will carry the soul up into the Mount and there reveal his glory to it that it may act high and brave noble and glorious in the face of difficulties and discouragements Christ did intend to Matth. 17. 1 2 3 4 5 6. put Peter James and John upon hard and difficult service and therefore brings them up into an high mountain and there gives them a vision of his Beauty and Glory there they see him transfigured metamorphosed or transformed there they see his face shining as the Sun and his Rayment glistering In the Mount he shews them such beams of his Deity such sparkling glory as did even amuse them and amaze them transport them and astonish them and all this Grace and Glory this Goodness and Sweetness Christ shews them to hearten and encourage them to own him and his truth to stand by him and truth to make him and his truth known to the world though hatred bonds and contempt did attend them in so doing
souls as makes them bid defiance to the greatest dangers and as Crowns them Conquerors of the greatest difficulties Ah says a soul that hath walked some turns in Paradise what is dross to gold what is darkness to light what is Hell to Heaven no more is all difficulties and oppositions to me who have found As they said once of the Grecians in the Epigramme whom they thought invulnerable we shoot at them but they fâ—ll not down we wound them and yet not kill them c. the sweetness of Divine Grace and have had the happiness to lie in the bosom of God Dioclesian the worst and last Persecutor in all the Ten Persecutions observed That the more he sought to blot out the name of Christ the more it became legible and to block up the way of Christ the more it became passible and whatever of Christ he thought to root out it rooted the deeper and rose the higher in the hearts and lives of the Saints among whom he had scattered the beams of his love and the rich pearls of his grace Such souls as have once been in the arms of God in the midst of all oppositions they are as men made all of fire walking in stubble they consume and overcome all oppositions all difficulties are but as whetstones to their Fortitude The Moon will run her course though the Dogs bark at it so will all those choice souls that have found warmth under Christs wings run their Christian race in spight of all difficulties and dangers The Horse neighs at the Trumpet the Leviathan laughs at the Spear so does a Saint under the power of assurance laugh at all hazards and dangers that he meets with in the Lords service The sense of Gods love and goodness makes him to triumph over the greatest difficulties Fourthly and lastly God gives his Reas 4 people some tastes of his love when he puts them upon hard and difficult services that the mouths of the wicked may be stopt should God lay heavy burdens upon his peoples shoulders and not put under his finger to give some ease should God double their tale of brick and yet deny them straw should God engage them against a potent enemy and then desert them should God send them upon some weighty embassage and not give proportionable encouragements to them what would the world say would Exod. 32. 12. Num. 14. 12 13 14 15 16. they not say That he is a hard Master and that his ways are not equal would they not say Verily they are lyers that say he is glorious in power and wonderful in counsel and infinite in mercy and admirable in goodness and rich in grace and unsearchable in his understanding for surely were he he could not he would not put his children upon such hard and dangerous services but he would own them and stand by them he would assist them and smile upon them he would be as careful to bring them bravely off as he hath been ready to bring them freely on O he could not see them in garments rouled in blood but his bowels would yern towards them and he would arise and have compassion on them Then thirdly Waiting times are times wherein God is pleased to give his people some sweet tastes of his love and to lift up the light of his countenance upon them I waited patiently Psal 40. 1 2 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the Lord saith David and he inclined unto me and heard my cry Waiting I waited He brought me up also out of an horrible pit or out of a pit of noise out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings And he hath put a new song in my mouth even praise unto our God After God had exercised Davids patience in waiting he sweetly breaks in upon him and knocks off his bolts and opens the prison doors and takes him by the hand and leads him out of the pit of noise and confusion in which he was and causes his love and goodness so to beam forth upon him as causes his heart to rejoyce and his tongue to sing So after devout Simeon had waited for the consolation Luke 2. 25 to 33. of Israel that is for Christs coming the Holy Ghost falls upon him and leads him to a sight of Christ in the Temple and this makes the good old man sing nunc dimittas Now let thy servant depart in peace Ah says Simeon I have lived long enough now I have got Christ in my heart and Christ in my arms who is my light my life my love my joy my crown let me depart according to thy Word Ah Saints I appeal to you have not many of you found by experience the sweet breathings of Christ upon you even whilest you have been waiting at the door of Mercy while you have been weeping and waiting hath not the Lord Jesus come in and said Peace be to you waiting souls be of good cheer it is I be of good cheer your sins are pardoned surely you have Hath not God made that word good unto you Wait Psal 37. 14. on the Lord be of good courage and he shall strengthen thine heart Wait I say on the Lord yes And hath he Isa 49. 23. These words Shall not be ashamed in the Hebrew Dialect do not simply import that such shall not be brought to shame or shall not perish but that he shall be advanced to great dignity and glory to everlasting happiness and blessedness Isai 30. 18. Lam 3. 25. not made that good to you They shall not be ashamed that wait for me that is they shall not be deceived or disappointed of their hopes and expectations that wait for me yes And have you not found that word made sweet to your souls Therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious blessed are all they that wait for him Yes And hath not the Lord made that word good to you The Lord is good unto them that wait for him to the soul that seeketh him Yes Waiting souls remember this assurance is yours but the time of giving it is the Lords the Jewel is yours but the season in which he will give it is in his own hand the Gold Chain is yours but he onely knows the hour wherein he will put it about your necks Well wait patiently and quietly wait expectingly wait believingly wait affectionately and wait diligently and you shall finde that Scripture made good in power upon your souls Yet a Heb. 10. 37. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hab. 2. 3. Mal 3. 1. little little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry he will certainly come he will seasonably come he will suddenly come as the Prophet Malachi speaks Behold I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his Temple even the messenger of the Covenant whom ye delight in Behold he
upon thee Divine Wisdom sparkles much in this in giving milk to Babes that are more carnal then spiritual and meat i. e. Assurance to strong men that have more skill and will that have a greater ability and choicer faculty to prize and improve this Jewel Assurance then babes have The Hebrew word Chabodh signifies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So the Chaldee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 both weight and glory and verily glory is such a weight that if the body were not upheld by that glorious power that raised Jesus Christ from the grave if it were not bore up by everlasting Arms it were impossible it Deut. 33. 27. should bear it Now assurance is the top of glory it is the glory of glory Psal 45. 13. then certainly they had need be very glorious within that shall be crowned with such a weight of glory as assurance is Well remember this It is mercy to want mercy till we are fit for mercy till we are able to bear the weight of mercy and make a divine improvement of mercy Thirdly You must distinguish between Answ 3 Every audience increaseth love thanks and trust Psa 116. 1 2 3. And those mercies are best improved which we receive after we have been long upon our knees delays and denials God may delay us when he does not deny us he may defer the giving in of a mercy and yet at last give the very mercy begged Barren Hannah prayes yeer after yeer for a mercy God delayes her long but at last gives her her desire and the Text sayes expresly that her countenance was no more sad 1 Sam. 1. 18. After many prayers and tears the Lord comes in and assures her that she should have the desire of her soul and now she mourns no more but sits down satisfied comforted and cheered After much praying waiting and weeping God usually comes with his hands and his heart full of mercy to his people He loves not to come Vacuis manibus empty handed to those that have sate long with wet eyes at Mercies door Christ tries the faith patience and constancy of the Canaanite woman he deferred Matth. 15. 21 to 29. and delayed her he reproached and repulsed her and yet at last is overcome by her as not being able any longer to withstand her importunate requests O woman great is thy faith Be Exclamat tanquam victus Brugensis He cryes out as conquered it unto thee even as thou wilt Christ puts her off at first but closes with her at last at first a good word a good look is too good for her but at last good words and good looks are too little for her Be it unto thee even as thou wilt At first Christ carries himself to her as a churlish stranger but at last as an amorous lover though at first he had not an ear to hear her yet at last he had a heart to grant her not onely her desires but even what else she would desire over and above what she had desired God heard Daniel at Dan. 9. 15. to 25. the beginning of his supplications and his bowels of loâ—â— was working strongly towards him but the Angel Gabriel doth not inform Daniel of this till afterwards Praying souls you say that you have prayed long for assurance and yet you have not obtained it Well pray still O pray and wait wait and pray the Vision is for Hab. 2. 3. an appointed time but at the end it shall speak and not lie though it tarry wait for it because it will surely come it will not tarry God hath never God will never fail the praying soul at the long run thou shalt be sure to obtain that assurance that will richly recompence thee for all thy praying waiting and weeping therefore hold up and hold on praying though God doth delay thee and my soul for thine thou shalt reap in due season such a harvest of Gal. 6. 9. joy and comfort as will sufficiently pay thee for all thy pains Shall the Husband-man wait patiently for the precious fruits of the Earth and wilt Jam. 5. 7. not thou wait patiently for assurance which is a Jewel more worth then Heaven and Earth Praying souls remember this It is but weakness to think that men shall reap as soon as they sow that they shall reap in the Evening when they have but sowed in the Morning Titus Vespasian never Suelonius dismist any Petitioner with a tear in his eye or with a heavy heart and shall we think that the God of compassions will always dismiss the Petitioners of Heaven with tears in their eyes Surely no. Ninthly Sometimes before the This truth many choice Christians have found by experience soul is deeply engaged in fore conflicts with Satan the Lord is graciously pleased to visit his people with his loving kindness and to give them some sweet assurance That though they are tempted yet they shall not be worsted though they are tried yet they shall be crowned though Satan doth roar as a Lyon upon the soul yet he shall not make a prey of the soul for the Lyon Revel 5. 5. John 10. 28. of the Tribe of Judah will hold it fast and none shall pluck it out of his hand God first fed Israel with Manna from Heaven and gave them water to Exâ—d 17. 8 c. drink out of the Rock before their fore fight with Amalek Before Paul 2 Cor. 12. 1. to 8. was buffetted by Satan he was caught up into the third Heaven where he had very glorious visions and revelations of the Lord even such as he was not able to utter Before Jesus Christ Matth. 3 ult was led into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan to question and doubt of his Son-ship he heard a voice from Heaven saying This is my beloved Son in whom I am wel-pleased The Spirit of the Lord did first descend upon him as a Dove before Satan fell upon him as a Lyon God walks with his people some turns in paradise and gives them some tastes of his right-hand pleasures before Psal 16. ult Satan by his tempting shall do them a displeasure But I must hasten to a close of this Chapter and therefore Tenthly and lastly After some sharp conflicts with Satan God is graciously pleased to lift up the light of his countenance upon his people and to warm and cheer their hearts with the beams of his love Matth. 4. 11. Then the Non tanquam misericordes indigenti sed tanquam subjecti om ipotenti Aug. Hom. 8. Devil leaveth him and behold Angels came and ministred unto him When Christ had even spent himself in soiling and quelling in resisting and scattering Satans temptations then the Angels come and minister cordials and comforts unto him So after Paul had 2 Cor. 12. 7 â—â— 10. been buffetted by Satan he heard that sweet word from Heaven My grace is sufficient for thee for my strength is made
doth a Wife that hath been false and unfaithful to him and yet Gods heart and love is so set upon Jonah that he will save him by a miracle rather then he shall not be saved Jonah was much in the heart of God and God made his faith at last victorious To these I shall adde some other famous instances In King James his time there was one Mistress Honiwood of Kent an ancient and religious Gentlewoman who lived many years in much horror and terror of Conscience for want of assurance of the favor of God and of her eternal wel-being She would very often cry out She was damned she was damned Several men of eminent piety and parts left no means unattempted whereby her doubts might be answered her conscience pacified and her soul satisfied and cheared yet she being strongly under the power of despair persisted in crying out O she was damned she was damned When these Gentlemen The truth of this whole story is notoriously known were about to depart she called for a Cup of Wine for them which being brought she drank to one of them a glass of the Wine and as soon as she had done in an extream passion she threw the Venice-glass against the ground saying As sure as this glass will break so surely am I damned The glass rebounded from the ground without any harm which one of the Ministers suddenly caught in his hand and said Behold a miracle from Heaven to confute your unbelief O tempt God no more tempt God no more Both the Gentlewoman and all the company were mightily amazed at this strange accident and all glorified God for what was done and the Gentlewoman by the grace and mercy of God was delivered out of her Hell of despair and was filled with much comfort and joy and lived and died full of peace and assurance Take another instance There lived lately at Tilbury in Essex a Gentleman who was a long time under such an eminent degree of despair that he rejected all comfort that was tendered to him by any hand and would not suffer any to pray with him nay he sent to the Ministers and Christians that lived near him and did desire them that as they would not increase his torments in Hell they would cease praying for him he would not suffer any religious service to be performed in his family though formerly himself was much in the use of them yet God gave him at last such inward refreshings and by degrees filled him with such abundance of heavenly comsorts as he told all that came to him that it was impossible for any tongue to utter or heart to imagine that did not feel them at last God gave him the new name and the white stone that none knows but he that hath it He lived about three quarters of a year enjoying Heaven upon Earth and then breathed out his last in the bosom of Christ Poor I that am but of yesterday have known some that have been so deeply plunged in the gulf of despair that they would throw all the Spiritual Cordials that have been tendered to them against the walls they were strong in reasoning against their own souls and resolved against every thing that might be a comfort and support unto them they have been much set against all Ordinances and Religious Services they have cast off holy Duties themselves and peremptorily refused to joyn with others in them yea they have out of a sense of sin and wrath which hath lain hard upon them refused the necessary comforts of this life even to the overthrow of natural life And yet out of this horrible Pit this Hell upon Earth hath God delivered their souls and given them such manifestations of his grace and favor that they would not exchange them for a thousand worlds O despairing souls despairing souls you see that others whose conditions have been as bad if not worse then yours have obtained mercy God hath turned their Hell into a Heaven he hath remembred them in their low estate he hath pacified their raging consciences and quieted their distracted souls he hath wiped all tears from their eyes and he hath been a well-spring of life unto their hearts Therefore be not discouraged O despairing souls but look up to the Mercy-seat remember who is your Rest and kick no more by despair against the bowels of Divine love Now the second Impediment to 2. Impediment 2 Sam. 14. 19. Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this You know how to apply it assurance is Mens entring into the lists of dispute with Satan about those things that are above their reach as about the Decrees and Counsel of God O by this Satan keeps many precious souls off from assurance since God hath cast him out of paradise and bound him in chains of darkness he will make use of all his skill power and experience to draw men into the same misery with himself and if he cannot prevent their entring at last into paradise above he will labor might and main to make their life a wilderness here below And to this purpose Eorum qua scire nec datur nec fas est docta est ignorantia scientiae appetentis insaniae species Aug. he will busie their thoughts and hearts about the Decrees of God and about their particular elections as whether God hath decreed them to Eternal Happiness or chosen them to Everlasting Blessedness c. That so by this means he may keep them from that desirable assurance that may yeeld beleevers two Heavens a Heaven of joy and comfort here and a Heaven of felicity and glory hereafter It is said of Marcellus the Roman General that he could not be quiet nec victor nec victus neither conquered nor conqueror Such a one is Satan if he be conquered by Faith yet he will be assaying if he conquers he will be roaring and triumphing Satans great design is eternally to ruine souls and where he cannot do that there he will endeavor to discomfit souls by busying them about the secret Decrees and Counsels of God if the soul break thorow his temptations as Davids â— Sam. 24. Worthies did break thorow the Hosts of the Philistims and snap his snares Judg. 15. 13 14. in sunder as Samson did his Cords then his next shift is to engage them in such debates and disputes that neither men nor Angels can certainly and infallibly determine that so he may spoil their comforts when he cannot take away their Crown Now thy wisdom and thy work O doubting soul lieth not in disputing but in believing praying and waiting on God No way to Heaven no way to assurance like this Adam disputes with Satan and falls and loses Paradise Job believes and resists Satan and stands and conquers upon the Dunghil When Satan O trembling soul would engage thee in disputes about this or that say to him Satan Deut. 29. 29. Revealed things belong to me but secret things belong to the
in blood it made the Martyrs to complement with Lions to dare and tire their persecutors to kiss the stake to sing and clap their hands in the flames to tread upon hot burning coals as upon Beds of Roses The assured Soul knows that Death shall be the Funeral of all his sins and sorrows of all afflictions and temptations of all desertions and oppositions He knows that Death shall be the Resurrection of his joyes he knows that death is both an out-let and an in-let an out-let to sin and an in-let to the souls clear full and constant injoyment of God And this makes the assured soul to sing it sweetly out O 1 Cor. 15. 35 36 37. death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory I desire to be dissolved Phil. 1. 23 Make haste my beloved Come Cant. 8. ult Revel 22. Lord Jesus come quickly Now Death is more desirable then life Now says the Soul Ejus est timere mortem qui ad Christum nolit ire Let him fear Death that is loth to go to Christ So I may be with Christ though I go in a Cloud I care not sayes the assured soul so I may be with Christ I care not though I go in a Fiery Charriot sayes the assured soul The Persians had a certain day in the year in which they used to kill all Serpents and venomous Creatures The assured Christian knows that the day of Death will be such a day to him and that makes Death lovely and desirable he knows that Sin Morimur dum non morimur was the Midwife that brought Death into the World and that Death shall be the Grave to bury Sin Ambrose said to his friends about him when he was dying I have not so lived that I am ashamed to live nor yet fear I death because I have a good Lord c. And therefore Death is not a terror but a delight unto him he fears it not as an enemy but welcomes it as a friend As Crook-back Richard the Third in his distress cried A Kingdom for a Horse a Kingdom for a Horse So souls that want assurance when they come to die will cry out A Kingdom for Assurance a Kingdom for Assurance And as Severus said If I had a thousand worlds I would now give them all for Christ So a Soul that wants Assurance when he comes to enter upon a state of eternity will cry out O had I now a thousand worlds I would give them all for assurance whereas the assured soul would not for a thousand worlds but die When his glass is out and his sun is set he cryes not out as that Lady did A World a World for an inch of time but rather why is it why is it Lord that thy chariots be so long a coming Eightly Assurance will very much sweeten that little oyl that is in the 1 King 17. 12 c. Cruse and that handful of meal that is in the Barrel Assurance will be sauce to all meats it will make all thy mercies to taste like mercies it will make Daniels pulse to be as sweet as Princes Dan. 1. delicates it will make Lazarus Rags Luke 16. as pleasurable as Dives Robes it will make Jacobs bed upon the stones to be Gen. 28. Amos 6. 4. as soft as those Beds of Down and Ivory that sinful great ones stretch themselves upon Look as the want of assurance imbitters all a sinners mercies that he cannot taste the sweetness and the goodness of them so the enjoyment of assurance casts a general beauty and glory upon the Believers meanest mercy And hence it is that assured souls Prov. 15. 16. live so sweetly and walk so chearfully when their little all is upon their backs and in their hands whereas the great men of the world that have the world at will but want this assurance that is more worth then the world live as slaves and servants to their mercies in the midst of all their abundance they are in straits and perplexities Job 20. 22. full of fears and cares and nothing pleases them nor is sweet unto them because they want that A Believer knows 1. That his little mercies are from great love Secondly That they are pledges of greater Thirdly That his blessings are blest unto him Fourthly That they shall not at last be witnesses against him assurance that sweetens to a Believer the ground he stands on the air he breaths in the seat he sits on the bed he lies on the bread he eats the cloaths he wears c. Ah were there more assurance among Christians they would not count great mercies small mercies and small mercies no mercies no no then every mercy on this side hell would be a great mercy then every mercy would be a sugared mercy a perfumed mercy Look as the Tree that Moses cast into the Exod. 15. 23 24 25. waters of Marah made those bitter waters sweet so Assurance is that Tree of Life that makes every bitter sweet and every sweet more sweet Ninthly Assurance will make a man The Rabbins say That the Angels attend in all Judicatories very Angelical it will make him full of motion full of action it will make him imitate the Angels those Princes of glory that are always busie and active to advance the glory of Christ they are still a singing the Song of the Lamb they are still pitching their Tents about them that Psal 34. 7. Heb. 1. ult fear the Lord they are Ministering Spirits sent forth for the good of them that are Heirs of Salvation Assurance will make a man fervent constant and abundant in the Work of the Lord as you may see in Paul The Assurance makes a Saint all fire it makes him like â—he burning Seraphims Isal 6. 2 3 4. assured Christian is more motion then notion more work then word more life then lip more hand then tongue When he hath done one work he is a calling out for another What is next Lord sayes the assured soul what is next His head and his heart is set upon his work and what he doth he doth it with all his might because there is no working in the Grave An assured Christian Bellarmiâ—â— is of opinion that one glimpse of Hell were enough to make a man not onely turn Christian but a Monk to live after the strictest rules to be abounding in wel-doing Surely assurance of Heaven will make a man do more will put his hand to any work he will put his shoulder to any burden he will put his neck in any yoke for Christ he never thinks that he hath done enough he always thinks that he hath done too little and when he hath done all he can he sits down sighing it out I am but an unprofitable servant In a word Assurance will have a powerful influence upon thy heart in all the duties and services of Religion nothing will make a man love like
this and live like this nothing will make a man humble and thankful contented and chearful like this nothing will make a man more serious in Prayer nor ingenuous in praises then this nothing will make â— man more chearful and joyful then this nothing will make a man fit to live and more willing to die then this Ah Christians if ever you would act as Angels in this world get an assurance of another world then you shall be dumb no more nor dull no more but be active and lively like those whose hopes and whose hearts are in Heaven Tenthly Assurance will sweeten Christ and all the precious things of Christ to thy soul Ah how sweet is Ipse Deus sufficit ad praemium Bern. It is Heaven enough to see your interest in Christ the Person of Christ the Natures of Christ the Names of Christ the Offices of Christ the Benefits of Christ the Blood of Christ the Word of Christ the Threatnings of Christ the Spirit of Christ the Ordinances of Christ the Smiles of Christ the Kisses of Christ to an assured soul Now thy Meditations on Christ will be no more a terror nor a horror to thee nay now thy heart will be always best when you are most in pondering upon the sweetness and goodness the kindness and loveliness of the Lord Jesus Now all the Institutions and Administrations of Christ will be precious to thee upon every thing where Christ hath set his Name there thou wilt set thy heart Now thou wilt call things as Christ calls them and count things as Christ counts them that shall not be little in thy eye that is great in the eye of Christ nor that shall not be great in thy eye that is but little in the eye of Christ Assurance will also exceedingly sweeten your carriage to all that bear the Image of Christ nothing Rom. 14. Assurance is like fire very operative Si non operatur non est if it do not work it is an argument it is not at all will make men bear with those weak Saints whose light is not so clear as yours whose parts are not so strong as yours whose enjoyments are not so high as yours whose judgements are not so well informed as yours whose consciences are not so well satisfied as yours and whose lives are not so amiable as yours Assurance We are united in the same Head and Hope Eodem sanguine Christi glutinati We are cemented with the same blood of Christ as Augustine said of his friend Alypius and himself makes men of a God-like disposition easie to pardon ready to forgive abundant in goodness admirable in patience It makes men to study the good of others and joy in all opportunities wherein they may strengthen the feeble and comfort the dejected and enrich the impoverished and recover the seduced and enlarge the straitned and build up the wasted Verily the reason why men are so bitter and sowre and censorious is Because God hath not given into their bosoms this sweet flower of delight Assurance Ah were their souls fully assured that God had loved them freely and received them graciously and justified them perfectly and pardoned them absolutely and would glorifie them everlastingly They could not but love where God loves and own where God owns and embrace where God embraces and be one with every one that is one with Jesus Were there Magnes amoris est amor Love is the attractive Loadstone of love more assurance among Christians there would be more of Davids and Jonathans spirit among Christians then there is this day were there more assurance among Christians there would be more life and more love more sweetness and more tenderness were there more assurance there would be less noise less contention less division less distraction less biting and less devouring among the Saints Assurance will make the Lion and the Calf the Wolf and Isai 11. 6 7 8. the Lamb the Leopard and the Kid the Bear and the Cow lie down together and feed together Men that want assurance love their Brethren as Flies love the Pot so long as there is any meat in the Pot the Flies love it so those men will love as long as there is an external motive to draw love but when that ceases their love ceases Dionysius loved his bottles when they were full but hurled them away when they were empty so many that want assurance love the Saints while their bags are full and their houses full of the good things of this life but when they are empty then they throw them away then they cast them off as Jobs friends did him Ah but assurance will make a man love as God loves and love as long as God loves The assured Christian will not cease to love so long as the least Buds and Blossoms of Grace appears Lazarus in his rags is as lovely to an assured Christian as Solomon in his robes Job is as delightful to him upon the dung-hil as David is upon his throne It is not the outward pomp and bravery but the inward beauty and glory of Saints that takes the assured Christian The last Motive to provoke you to Motive 11. get a wel-grounded assurance of your Everlasting Happiness is this Consider that as there is a great deal of counterfeit knowledge counterfeit faith counterfeit love counterfeit repentance c. in the world so there is a great deal of counterfeit assurance in the world Many there be that talk high and look big and bear it out bravely that they are thus and thus and that they have such and such glorious assurance whereas when their assurance comes to be weighed in the ballance of the Sanctuary it is found too light and when it comes to withstand temptations it is found too weak and when it should put the soul upon Divine action it is found to be but a lazy presumption Shall the counterfeit gold that is in the world make men active and diligent to get that which is currant and that will abide the Touchstone and the Fire and shall not that counterfeit assurance that is in the world provoke your hearts to be so much the more careful and active to get such a wel-grounded assurance that God accounts as currant and that will abide his Touchstone in the day of discovery and that will keep a man from shame and blushing when the Thrones shall be set and the Books shall be opened I have been the longer upon these Motives to provoke your souls to get a wel-grounded assurance because it is of an eternal concernment to you and a work to which mens he arts are too backward though assurance carries a reward in its own bosom yet few look out after it though the pains of getting it be nothing to the profit that accompanies it yet few will sweat to gain it If the inducements laid down will not awaken and provoke you to be restless till you have got the White stone and New
Rom. 8. John 14. he is the great Comforter and the onely Sealer up of souls to the day of Redemption If you set him a mourning Eph. 1. 13. by your wilful sinnings that alone can glad you by whom will you be gladed Verily Christians when you turn your back upon the Spirit he will not turn his face upon your souls your vexing of the Spirit will Isai 63. 10. be but the disquieting of your selves Look as all lights cannot make up the want of the light of the Sun so all Creatures cannot make up the want of the testimony of the Spirit Let me speak to you as God once spake to his people in that of Exod. 23. 20 21 This Angel is the Lord Jesus as Expositors do generally agree 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 22 23. Behold sayes God I send an Angel before thee to keep thee in thy way and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared Beware of him and obey his voice provoke him not for he will Malachi which Hebrew word is here rendered Angel is by transposition of letters Michael as some of the Rabbins have observed not pardon your transgressions for my name is in him â— So I say Behold the Spirit of the Lord that is your guide and guard he also is onely able to make a soul satisfying report of the love and favor of the Father to you therefore as ever you would have assurance beware of him and obey his voice provoke him not for if you do by wilful transgressions he will neither comfort you nor counsel you he will neither be a sealing nor a witnessing spirit unto you nay he will raise storms and tempests in your souls he will present to you the Father frowning and your Saviour bleeding and himself as grieving and these sights will certainly rack and torture your doubting souls The Spirit of the Lord is a delicate thing a holy thing a blessed guest that makes every soul happy where he lodges Therefore Epâ—es 4. 30. This phrase is Tropically to be understood The Greek cannot be fully exprest in our tongue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. The Spirit the holy of that God To shew the transcendent excellency and glory of the Holy Spirit grieve not the holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of Redemption You will not grieve your guests your friends but courteously and friendly entertain them Why then do you make so little conscience of grieving that holy Spirit that alone can stamp the Image of the Father upon you and seal you up to life and glory Ah Christians the way to assurance is Not to sit down sighing and complaining of the want of assurance but it lies in your eying of the Spirit in your complying with the Spirit in your cleaving to the Spirit in your following of the Spirit in your welcoming of the Spirit and in your honoring and obeying of the Spirit As he said of the sword of Galiah none like to that So I say no mans like to this to gain a wel-grounded Assurance of a mans Happiness and Blessedness And as he said If there be any way to Heaven on horse-back it is by Prayer So I say If there be any way in the world to assurance it is by being fearful to offend and careful to please the Spirit of the Lord whose office it is to witness to poor souls the remission of their sins and the salvation of their souls Fourthly If you would obtain Assurance Means 4. then be sincere be diligent and constant in assuring Ordinances He that will meet the King must wait Isai 64. 5. Revel 2. 1. on him in his walks Christs Ordinances are Christs walks and he that would see the beauty of Christ and taste of the sweetness of Christ and be ravished with the love of Christ must wait at Wisdoms door they Prov. 8. 34 35. must attend Christ in his own appointments and institutions that comfort and assurance that flowes not in thorow the Golden Pipes of the Sanctuary Hos 6. 4. 1 Pet. 1. 24. will not better the soul nor long abide with the soul it will be as the morning dew and as the flower of the field that soon fadeth away I have in the former Discourse shewed at large How the Lord is graciously pleased to cause his love and glory to beam forth upon souls in Ordinances and therefore I shall say no more unto this particular at this time The fifth Means to obtain Assurance Means 5. is wisely and seriously to observe What gift of God there is in thee that brings thee within the compass of the promises of eternal mercy Now let the gift be this or that if it be a gift that brings thee within the compass of the promise of Eternal Mercy that gift is an infallible evidence of thy Salvation For the better and further opening of this Truth premise with me these two things First No man can have any sure evidence to himself of his Happiness and Blessedness from absolute promises Absolute promises do not describe to whom Salvation and all Eternal Isai 42. 6. 49. 8. Joel 2. 28. Ezek. 36. 26 27. Jere. 32. 40. Heb. 8 10 11 12. Isai 23. 25. Blessings do belong the promise of giving Christ of giving the Spirit of giving a new heart and of pardoning and blotting out sin are all absolute promises Now God is free to make good these to whom he pleases therefore he often steps over the rich and chuses the poor the learned and chuses the ignorant the 1 Cor. 1. 25 26 27 28 29. strong and chuses the weak the noble and chuses the ignoble the sweet nature and chuses the rugged nature c. That no flesh may glory and that all may shout out Grace Grace Secondly Though no man can have any sure evidence of his Happiness and Blessedness from absolute promises because absolute promises do not describe the persons to whom Salvation and all Eternal Blessings do belong yet absolute promises are of most choice and singular use First In that they discover to us that our Salvation is onely from Free-grace and not from any thing in us or done by us Secondly They are a most sure and glorious foundation for the very worst of sinners to stay their filthy guilty wearied burdened perplexed souls upon seeing that God looks not for any peny or peniworth for Isai 55. 1 2. any portion or proportion in the Creature to draw his love but he will justifie pardon and save for his Name sake seeing all the Motives that moves God to shew mercy are in his Deut. 7. 7 8. Psal 68. 18 own bosom seeing they are all within doors there is no reason why the vilest of sinners should sit down and say There is no hope there is no help Thirdly Absolute promises may and doubtless often are choice Cordials to many precious souls who happily have lost the
more in grace 2 Pet. 1. 5. to 11. Add to your Faith vertue and to vertue knowledge c. to v. 11. for so an enterance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdome of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ By enterance into the everlasting Kingdome of Christ is not meant a locall enterance into Heaven for Heaven is no where called the Kingdom of Christ but the Fathers Kingdome the opposition ver 9. sheweth clearly that it is meant of Assurance Now the way to full Assurance is by adding grace to grace The Greek word that is here rendred adde hath a greater emphasis it signifies to link our graces together as Virgins in a Dance doe link their hands together O we must be still a joyning grace to grace we must still be adding one grace to another We must still be a leading up the dance of graces Great measures of grace carry with them great evidence If moral vertue saith Plato could be seen with mortal eyes it would soon draw all hearts to it self O how much the more should our hearts be drawn out after the highest measures of grace the least dram of grace being more worth then all morall vertue of truth little measures carry with them but little evidence great measures of grace carries with them the greatest evidence of the soules union and communion with Christ and the more evident your union and communion with Christ is the more cleare and full will your Assurance be Great measures of grace carries with them the greatest and the clearest evidences of the glorious indwellings of the Spirit in you and the more you are perswaded of the reall indwellings of the Spirit in you The higher will your Assurance rise Great measures of grace will bee a fire that will consume and burn up the drosse the stubble the fears and doubts that perplex the soule and that causes darknesse to surround the soule Now the more you are rid of your fears doubts and darknesse the more easily and the more effectually will your hearts be perswaded that the thoughts of God towards you are thoughts of love that you are precious in his Jere. 32. 41. eies and that he will rejoyce over you to do you good for ever c. The eighth Means to gaine a wel-grounded Means 8. Assurance of your everlasting happinesse and blessednesse is to take your hearts when they are in the best and most spiritual frame and temper God-wards Heaven-wards and Holinesse-wards Times of temptation and desertion c. are praying times hearing times mourning times and beleeving times but they are not trying times they are not seasonable times for doubting soules to set themselves about so great and so solemn a worke as that is of searching and examining how things stand and are like to stand between God and them for ever Be diligent and constant be studious 2 Cor. 13 5. and consciencious in observing the frame and temper of your owne Our hearts are ponderous multum trahit de terra de carnum multum therefore we had need take them when they are in the best temper c. hearts and when you find them most plain most melting most yeelding most tender most humble most sweetly raised and most divinely composed then O then is the time to single out the most convenient place where thou mayst with greatest freedom open thy bosome to God and plead with him as for thy life that hee would shew thee how things stand between him and thee and how it must fare with thy soule for ever And when thou hast thus set thy selfe before God and opened thy bosome to God then wisely observe what report God and thy owne renewed conscience do make concerning thy eternall condition I wil hear what God the Lord wil speak saith Psal 85. 8 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 David for he will speak peace unto his people and they shall not return to folly so the Hebrew may be read O so must thou stand still when thou hast sincerely unbowelled thy selfe before the Lord and listen and hearken what God will say unto thee Surely he will speak peace unto thee he will say Son be of good chear thy sins be forgiven thee thy heart is upright with me my soul is set upon thee I have already blest thee and I will hereafter glorifie thee I have read of one who was kept A good conscience is mille testes a thousand witnesses therefore make much of its testimony from destroying of himself being much tempted by Satan thereunto by remembring that there was a time when he solemnly set himself in prayer and self-examination before the Lord and made a diligent enquiry into his spiritual condition and in the close of that work it was evidenced to him that his heart was upright with God and this kept him from laying of violent hands upon himself O a wise and serious observing what that testimony is that God Conscience and the Word gives in upon solemn Prayer and self-examination may beget strong consolation and support the soul under the greatest affliction and strengthen the soul against the most violent temptations and make the soul look and long for the day of desolution as Princes do for their day of Coronation Lastly The last Means to gain a Means 9. wel-grounded Assurance is To make a diligent enquiry whether thou hast those things that do accompany eternal salvation Heb. 6. 9. But beloved we are perswaded better things of you and things that accompany salvation or as it is in the Greek that have salvation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as it were in the very bowels of them that comprehend salvation and that touch upon salvation O Beloved If you have those things that accompany salvation that comprehend salvation you may be abundantly assured of your salvation But you may say to me What are those things that accompany salvation To this Question I shall give this answer viz. That there are seven special things that accompany salvation and they are these First Knowledge Secondly Faith Thirdly Repentance Fourthly Obedience Fifthly Love Sixthly Prayer Seventhly Perseverance First Knowledge is one of those special things that accompanies salvation John 17. 3. And this is life eternal Vide Piscat on the words that they may know thee the onely true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent Divine Knowledge is the begining of eternal life it is a spark of glory It is called Eternal life Quia radix erigo vitae In legend is libris non quaeramus scientiam sed saporum Bern. In reading Books let us not look so much for Science as a Savoriness of the tâ—uth upon our own hearts it works life in the soul it is a taste and pledge of eternal life 1 John 5. 20. And we know that the Son of God is come and hath given us an understanding that we may know him that is true And we are in him that
compleat and perfect before the Throne of God Faiths putting this righteousness on the soul brings down blessings upon the soul When Jacob had put on his elder Brothers Gen. 27. 15. garment he carried the blessing away The actings of Faith upon this Pearless Righteousness of Christ brings down the blessing of Peace and the Rom 5. 1. 1 Pet. 1. 8. Acts 10. 43. blessing of Joy and the blessing of Remission of sins and in a word all other blessings that contributes to the making us blessed here and happy hereafter c. The third object that Faith is exercised about is the precious promises 2 Pet. 1. 4. Mark the whole Word of God is the object of Faith but the promises more especially are the prime object about which Faâ—â—h is most conversant which are a Christians Magna Charta As every precious stone hath an â—gregious vertue in it so hath every promise The promises are a precious Book every Leaf drops Myrrhe and Mercy and upon these precious promises precious Faith looks and lives From these Brests Faith sucks comfort and sweetness Psal 119. 49 50. Remember thy word that is thy promise unto thy servant upon which thou hast caused me to hope This is my comfort in my affliction for thy word hath quickned me So in Psalm 27. 13. I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the Land of the living Heb. 11. 13. These all died in faith or according to faith not having received the promises but having seen them a far off and were perswaded of them and embraced them or as the Greek hath it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Persevering in Faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 some think that it is an allusion to the custom of saluting one another by embracing or laying hold of each other saluted them by Faith they kissed the promises and kissed Christ in the promises and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the Earth It would be an endless thing to shew you how the faith of the Patriarks Prophets Apostles and other Saints have been acted and exercised upon promises of Sanctification upon promises of Justification upon promises of Salvation upon promises of Glorification upon promises of Protection upon promises for Direction upon promises for Supportation c. Look as the Lamp lives upon the Oyl and the Childe upon the Brests so doth Faith upon the promises For the further advantage and comfort of your souls in eyeing the promises let me give you these two sweet hints First In your looking upon the promises minde most eye most spiritual promises absolute promises viz. Those and such-like that you see in Jere. 32. 40 41. Ezek. 11. 19 20. the Margent These spiritual and absolute promises are of nearest and Ezek. 36. 25 26 27. I a 42. 1. Ezek 20. 41 42 43. Psal 91. 15. Isa 65. 24. Jere. 33. 3. Isa 32 15. Ezek 34 30 31. with many others of the like import greatest concernment to you these carry in them most of the heart of Christ the love of Christ the good will of Christ these are of greatest use to satisfie you and to settle you when you are wavering to support you when you are falling to reduce you when you are wandering to comfort you when you are fainting to counsel you when you are staggering c. Therefore make these your choicest and your chiefest companions especially when it is night within your souls when you are sensible of much sin and but a little grace of much corruption but of little consolation of much deadness but of little quickness of much hardness but of little tenderness of many fears and but a little Spiritual and absolute promises are the most precious Mines to inrich you in them you will finde he greatest Pearls of price Faith The Jews under the Law had more temporal promises then spiritual but we under the Gospel have far more spiritual promises then temporal therefore sit down at this fire and be warmed drink of these springs and be satisfied taste of these delicates and be cheered Let the eye of Faith be cast upon all the promises but fixt upon spiritual promises upon absolute promises they will have the greatest influence upon the heart to holiness and to prepare it for Everlasting happiness Look not onely upon some of the Haman took notice yea and would have his friends take notice of all his greatness honors and riches Esth 5. 10 11 12. And will not you stir up your hearts to see all those riches and pleasures that be in precious promises riches the Jewels the Pearls that be rwapped up in the promises but enlarge and expatiate your understandings to an effectual contemplation of all those riches and treasures that God hath laid up in the promises Cast not the eye of your Faith onely upon one beam of the Sun but endeavor to see all the beams of the Sun Look not upon one branch of the Tree of Life but upon every branch of that Tree look not upon one bunch of the Grapes of Canaan but look upon the whole Land As understanding Heirs when they come to read over their Evidences and Writings they will see what they have in Houses what in Goods what in Lands what in Money what in Jewels what at home what abroad They will not sit down and say Well we finde in our Evidences that such and such Land is ours and look no further no no they will look all over and take exact notice of every thing they will say We have so much Land and so much Money c. O beloved there is much Marrow and Fatness there is much Honey and sweetness much Grace and Glory wrapped up in the promises O press them and oppress them till you have got forth all the riches and sweetness that is in them Ah Christians did you this God would be more honored the promises more prized your Graces more strengthned your fears more abated your hearts more warmed and engaged and your lives more regulated and Satan more easily and frequently vanquished And so much for this third object about which Faith is exercised The fourth object and last that I shall mention that Faith is set and fixt upon is That Glory Blessedness and 2 Tim 4. 8. Faith antedates glory Life which God hath laid up for them that love him The things of eternity are the greatest things they are the most excellent things they are most excellent in their natures in their causes in their operations in their effects in their ends and upon these Faith looks and lives Faith Heb. 11. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Subsistance i. e. That which gives a substantial being to the things of eternal life Faith alters the Tensis it puts the Future into the Present Psal 60. 6. Heb. 12. 2. realizeth things it makes absent things present Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence
was the great sin of Israel but after their return out of captivity they never set up Idols more but were wonderful zealous to keep their Temple from such defilements both in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes and of the Romans and do accunt them as a menstruous cloth to this very day iniquity of Jacob be purged and this is all the fruit to take away his sin When he maketh all the stones of the Altar as Chalk stones that are beaten in sunder the groves and images shall not stand up Here you see when God appears and acts graciously for and towards his people they put the hand of Repentance upon their Groves and Images these must down these must no longer stand The Groves and the Images shall not stand up they shall be utterly abandoned and destroyed demolished and abolished So in Isa 30. 22. Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven Images of Silver and the ornament of thy molten Images of Gold Thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth thou shalt say unto it Get thee hence Here you see the hand of Repentance is against their Idols of Silver and Gold and not onely against their Idols but also against whatsoever had any relation to them Now they shew nothing but a detestation of their Idols and a holy indignation against them Get you The Jews were willing in the Romans time rather to die then to suffer the Eagle the Imperial Arms to be set up in the Temple hence The hand of Repentance makes a divorce between them and their Idols between their Souls and their especial Sins Now they are as much in hating abhorring abominating and contemning their Idols and Images as they were formerly in adoring worshipping and honoring of them So Mary Magdalen in the seventh of Luke walks quite cross and contrary to her former self her sinful self she crosses the flesh in those very things wherein formerly she did gratifie the flesh So the penitent Jailor in that sixteenth of the Acts washes those very wounds that his own bloody hands had made He acts in wayes of mercy quite contrary to his former cruelty At first there was none so fierce so furious so cruel so bloody so inhumane in his carriage to the Apostles at last none so gentle so soft so sweet so curteous so affectionate to them The same you may see in Zacheus in the nineteenth of Luke In Paul Acts the ninth and in Manasse in that of the second of Chronicles chap. 33. 6. Fifthly That Repentance that accompanies Salvation is very large and comprehensive it comprehends and takes in these following particulars besides those already named 1. It takes in a sight and sense of sin Men must first see their sins they must be sensible of their sins before they can repent of their sins Ephraim had first a sight of his sin and then he repents and turns from his sin After I was instructed I smote upon my thigh Jer. 31. 18 19. A man first sees himself It was so with Paul who thought himsâ—lf in as good a way for Heaven as any Acts 9. and 26. compared out of the way before he returns into the way till he sees that he is out of the way he walks still on but when he perceives that he is out of the way then he begins to make inquiry after the right way So when the sinner comes to see his way to be a way of death then he cryes out O lead me in the way of life lead me in the way everlasting Psal 139. 24. 2. For I shall but touch upon these things That Repentance that accompanies Salvation doth include not onely a sight and sense of sin but also confession and acknowledgment Act 19. 18. Confessio peccati est vomitus sordium animâ— Aug. of sin Psal 51. 32. 3 4 5. While I kept close my sin my bones consumed but I said I will confess my sin and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin Job 33. 21 27. The promise of remission is made to confession 1 John 1. 9. If we Non dico ut confitearis conservo tuo peccata tuâ— diceto Deo qui curet ca. Chrys in Psa 50. confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins So Prov. 28. 13. He that hideth his sin shall not prosper but he that confesseth and forsaketh it shall finde mercy If we confess our sins sincerely seriously humbly cordially pardon attend us Homo agnoscit Deus ignoscit Confession of sin must be joyned with confusion of sin or all is lost God is lost Christ is lost Heaven lost and the Soul lost for ever The true Penitent can say with Vivaldus I hide not my sins but I shew them I wipe them not away but I sprinkle them I do not excuse them but I accuse them Peccata enim non nocent si non placent My sins hurt me not if I like them not The beginning of my Salvation is the knowledge of my transgression 3. That Repentance that accompanies Salvation doth include not onely confession of sin but also contrition Jer. 13. 17. Joel 2. 13. David cryes not perii but peecavi not I am undone but I have done foolishly Basil wept when he saw the Rose because it brought to his minde the first sin from whence it had the prickles which it had not while man continued in innocence as he thought You know how to apply it for sin Psal 51. 4. 1 Sam. 7. 2. Zach. 12. 10 11. Ezra 10. 1 2. 2 Cor. 7. 11 c. It breaks the heart with sighs sobs and groans for that a loving Father is offended a blessed Saviour crucified and the sweet Comforter grieved Penitent Mary Magdalen weeps much as well as loves much Luke 7. Tears instead of gems were the ornaments of Penitent Davids Bed and surely that sweet Singer never sung more melodiously then when his heart was broken most penitentially How shall God wipe away my tears in Heaven if I shed none in Earth And how shall I reap in joy if I sow not in tears I was born with tears and shall die with tears why should I then live without them in this valley of tears saith the true Penitent The sweetest joys are from the sourest tears Penitent tears are the breeders of spiritual joy When Hannah had wept she 1 Sam. 1. 18. went away and was no more sad The True Repentance is a sorrowing for sin as it is Offensivum Dei aversivum à Deo Bee gathers the best Honey of the bitterest Herbs Christ made the best Wine of Water the strongest the purest the truest the most permanent and the most excellent joy is Peters was for sin Judas his for punishment Peter grieves because Christ was grieved Judas grieved because he should be damned Psal 42. 5. made of the Waters of Repentance If God be God they that sow in tears shall reap in joy But that no mourner may drown
it the greatest mercy in the world to be still a mourning over sin sayes the Penitent soul The Penitent soul never ceases repenting till he ceases living He goes to Heaven with the joyful tears of Repentance in his eyes He knows that his whole life is but a day of sowing tears that he may at last reap everlasting joyes That Repentance that accompanies Salvatition is a final forsaking of sin It is a bidding sin an everlasting adieu it is a taking an eternal farwel of sin a never turning to folly more What have I to do any more with Idols says Ephraim Hos 14. 8. I have tasted of the bitterness that is in sin I have tasted of the sweetness of divine mercy in pardoning of sin therefore away sin I will never have to do with you more you have robbed Christ of his service and me of my comfort and crown Away away sin you shall never be courted nor countenanced by me more That man that onely puts off his sins in the day of adversity as he doth his garments at night when he goes to bed with an intent to put them on again in the morning of prosperity never yet truly repented He is a dog that returns to the vomit again he is a swine that returns to the wallowing in the mire such a dog was Judas such a swine was Demas It is an extraordinary vanity in some men to lay aside their sins before solemn duties but with a purpose to return to them again as the Serpent layeth aside his poyson when he goeth to drink and when he hath drunk he returns to it again as they fable it It is sad when men say to their lusts as Abraham said to his servants Abide you here and I will go and worship and return again to you Gen. 22. 5. Verily such souls are far off from that Repentance that accompanies Salvation for that makes a final and everlasting separation between sin and the soul it makes such a divorce between sin and the soul and puts them so far a sunder that all the world can never bring them to meet as two lovers together The Penitent Soul looks upon sin and deals with sin not as a friend but as an enemy it deals with sin as Amnon dealt with Tamar 2 Sam. 13. 15. And Amnon hated her exceedingly so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater then the love wherewith he had loved her And Amnon said unto her Arise be gone Just thus doth the Penitent Soul carry it self towards sin And thus you see what Repentance that is that accompanies Salvation The fourth thing I am to shew is What Obedience that is that doth accompany Salvation That Obedience doth accompany Salvation I have formerly proved Now what this Obedience is that doth accompany or comprehend Salvation I shall shew you in these following particulars First That Obedience that accompanies Salvation is cordial and hearty the heart the inward man doth answer and eccho to the Word and Will of God The Believer knows That no Obedience but hearty Obedience is acceptable to Christ he knows Isa 29. 13. Matth. 15. 7 8 9. The heart is Camâ—ra omnipotentis regis i. e. The presence chamber of the King of Heaven and that upon which his eye his hand his heart is most set that nothing takes Christs heart but what comes from the heart Christ was hearty in his obedience for me sayes the Believer and shall not I be hearty in my obedience to him Christ will lay his hand of love his hand of acceptance upon no obedience but what flows from the heart Rom. 6. 9. Ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you So in Rom. 7. ult So then with the minde I myself serve the Law of God My heart sayes Paul is in my obedience So in Rom. 1. 9. God is my witness whom I serve with my spirit in the Gospel of his Son Many serve God with their bodies but I serve him with my spirit many serve him with the outward man but I serve him with my inward man God hath written his Law in Ezek. 36. 26 27. Believers hearts and therefore they cannot but obey it from the heart I delight to do thy will O my God how so why thy Law is within my heart or in the midst of my bowels as the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hath it The heart within ecchoes and answers to the Commandments without as a Book written answers to his minde that writes it as face answers to face as the impression on the wax answers to the character engraven on the seal The Scribes and Pharisees were much in the outward obedience of the Law but their hearts were not in their obedience and therefore all they did signified nothing in the account of Christ who is onely taken with outward actions as they flow from the heart and affections their souls were not in their services and therefore all their services were lost services They were very glorious in Matth. 23. their outward profession but their hearts were as filthy Sepulchres their out-sides shined as the Sun but their in-sides were as black as Hell They were like the Egyptians Temples beautiful without but filthy within Well remember this No action no service goes for current in Heaven but that which is sealed up with integrity of heart God will not be put off with the shell when we give the Devil the Kernel Secondly That Obedience that accompanies Salvation is universal as well as cordial the soul falls in with every part and point of Gods will so far as he knows it without prejudice or partiality without tilting the ballance on one side or another A soul Non eligit mandata He doth not pick and chuse He obeyes all in respect of his sincere purpose desire and endeavor and this God accepts in Christ for perfect and compleat Obedience c. sincerely obedient will not pick and chuse what commands to obey and what to reject as Hypocrites do he hath an eye to see an ear to hear and a heart to obey the first Table as well as the second and the second as well as the first he doth not adhere to the first and neglect the second as Hypocrites do neither doth he adhere to the second and contemn the first as prophane men do he obeys not out of humor but out of duty he obeys not out of choice but out of conscience Psal 119. 6. Then shall I not be ashamed when I have respect unto all thy Commandments Look as Faith never singles out his object but layes hold on every object God holds forth for it to close with Faith doth not chuse this truth and reject that it doth not close with one and reject another Faith doth not say I will trust God in this case but not in that I will trust him for this mercy but not for that mercy I will trust him in this way but not in
that way Faith doth not chuse its object Faith knows that he is powerful and faithful that hath promised and therefore Faith closes with one object as well as another So a true obedient soul singles not out the commands of God as to obey one and rebel against another it dares not it cannot say I will serve God in this command but not in that No In an Evangelical sense it obeyes all Luk. 1. 5 6. Zacharias and Elizabeth were both righteous before God walking in all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Without complaint An obedient soul is like a chrystal glass with a light in the midst which shines forth thorow every part thereof So that Royal Law that is written upon his heaâ—t shines forth into every parcel of his life his outward works do eccho to a Law within the Commandments and Ordinances of the Lord blameless They walked not onely in Commandments but also in Ordinances nor onely in Ordinances but also in Commandments They were good souls and good at both A man sincerely obedient layes such a charge upon his whole man as Mary the Mother of Christ did upon all the servants at the Feast John 2. 5. Whatever the Lord saith unto you do it Eyes ears hands heart lips legs body and soul do you all seriously and affectionately observe what ever Jesus Christ sayes unto you and do it So David doth Psal 119. 34 69. Give me understanding and I shall keep thy Law yea I shall observe it with my whole heart The proud have forged a lie against me but I will keep thy Precepts with my whole heart The whole heart includes all the faculties of the soul and all the members of the body sayes David I will put hand and heart body and soul all within me and all without me to the keeping and observing of thy Precepts Here is a soul thorow-paced in his obedience he stands not halting nor halving of it he knows the Lord loves to be served truly and totally and therefore he obeys with an entire heart and a sincere spirit I have read of a very strange speech that dropped out of the mouth of Epictetus a Heathen If it be thy will sayes he O Lord command me what thou wilt send me whither thou wilt I will not withdraw my self from any thing that seems good to thee Ah how will this Heathen at last rise in judgement against all Sauls Jehues Judases Demases Scribes Pharisees Temporaries who are partial in their obedience who while they yeeld obedience to some commands live in the habitual breach of other commands Verily he that lives in the habitual breach of one command shall at last be reputed by God guilty of the breach Jam. 2. 10. of every command and God accordingly will in a way of Justice proceed against him Ezek. 18. 10 11 12 13. It was the glory of Caleb and Joshua Num. 14. 24. that they followed the Lord fully in one thing as well as another So Cornelius Acts 10. 33. We are present before God to hear whatsoever shall be commanded us of God He doth not pick and chuse So in Acts 13. 22. I have found David the son of Jesse a man after mine own heart which shall fulfil all my will or rather as it is in the Greek he shall fulfil all my 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wils He mindes not onely general duties of Religion but also particular duties as a Magistrate as a Minister as a Father as a Master as a Son as a Servant wills To note the universallity and sincerity of his Obedience A sincere heart loves all commands of God and prizes all commands of God and sees a Divine Image stamped upon all the commands of God and therefore the main bent and disposition of his soul is to obey all to subject to all God commands universal obedience Josh 1. 8. Deut. 5. 29. Ezek. 18. The Promise of Reward is made over to Universal Obedience Psal 19. 11. Josh 1. 8. Universal Obedience is a Jewel that all will wish for or rejoyce in at the day of death and the day of account And the remembrance of these things with others of the like nature provokes all upright souls to be impartial to be universal in their Obedience Thirdly That Obedience that accompanies Salvation springs from inward Spiritual causes and from holy and heavenly Motives it flowes from Faith Hence it is called The obedience of Faith Rom. 16. 26. So in 1 Tim. 1. 5. Now the end of the Commandment is Love out of a pure Heart and of a good Conscience and of Faith unfeigned Faith draws down that Divine Vertue and Power into the soul that makes it lively and active abundant and constant in the work and way of the Lord. And Where Love is the Soul says of every command Bonus Sermo it is a good saying but where Love is wanting the man cryes out Durus Sermo It is a hard saying who can bear it as Faith so Love puts the Soul forward in ways of Obedience John 14. 21 23. If any man love me he will keep my Commandments So Psal 119. 48. My hands also will I lift up to thy Commandments which I have loved Divine Love is said to be the keeping of the Commandments because it puts the Soul upon keeping them Divine Love makes every weight light every yoke easie every command joyous it knows no difficulties it facilitates obedience it divinely constrains the soul to obey to walk to run the ways of Gods commands And as sound Obedience springs from Faith and Love so it flows from a filial Fear of God Psal 118. 119. Mine heart stands in aw of thy Word So Heb. 11. 7. Noah being warned of God touching things not seen as yet moved with fear prepared an Ark. Ah but Hypocrites and Temporaries are not carried forth in their Obedience from such precious and glorious principles and therefore it is that God casts all their services as dung in Isa 1. 11. their faces And as that Obedience which accompanies Salvation flows from inward Spiritual Principles so it flows from holy and heavenly Motives as from the tastes of Divine Love and the sweetness and excellency of communion with God and the choice and precious discoveries that the soul in wayes of Obedience hath Isa 64. 5. had of the beauty and glory of God The sweet looks the heavenly words the glorious kisses the holy embraces that the obedient soul hath had makes it freely and fully obedient to the Word and Will of God Ah! but all the Motives that move Hypocrites and carnal Professors to Obedience are onely external and carnal as the eye of Matth. 6. the Creature the ear of the Creature the applause of the Creature the rewards of the Creature either the love of the loaves or the gain of John 6. custom or the desire of ambition sometimes they are moved to obedience from the fear of the Creature and sometimes from the
want of the Hos 7. 14. Creature and sometimes from the example of the Creature and sometimes from vows made to the Creature sometimes the frowns of God Hos 5. ult Psal 78. 34. the displeasure of God the rod of God moves them to obedience sometimes the quieting and stilling of Conscience the stopping of the mouth of Conscience and the disarming of Conscience of all her whipping racking wounding condemning terrifying and torturing power puts them upon some ways of Obedience Their Obedience always flows from some low base carnal corrupt consideration or other O but that Obedience that accompanies Salvation doth always flow as you see from inward and Spiritual causes and from holy and heavenly Motives Fourthly That Obedience that accompanies Salvation is a ready free willing and chearful Obedience First It is ready Obedience Psal 27. 8. When thou saidst Seek ye my face my heart said unto thee Thy face Lord will I seek Psal 119. 60. I made haste and delayed not to keep thy Commandments Psal 18. 44. Assoon as they hear of me they shall obey me the strangers shall submit themselves unto me I have read of one who Cassianus lib. 4. c. 24. readily fetched water near two miles every day for a whole year together to pour upon a dry stick upon the bare command of a Superior when no reason could be given for the thing O how ready then doth Grace make the Soul to obey those Divine commands that are backed with the highest strongest and choicest Arguments Secondly As that Obedience that accompanies Salvation is ready Obedience so it is free and willing Obedience Acts 21. 13. Then Paul answered Voluntaes semiplena est voluntas An half will an incompleat will an unwilling will is a will in Divine account What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart For I am willing not to be bound onely but also to die at Jerusalem for the Name of the Lord Jesus The beamings out of Divine love and glory make gracious souls willing in the day of his power Psal 110. 3. Those Divine principles that be in them make them willingly obey without coaction or compulsion So 2 Cor. 8. 3. The Macedonians were willingly obedient or as the Greek hath it They were voluntiers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not onely to their power but beyond their power All the motions and actings of Christ towards his people for his people and in his people are free He loves them freely he pardons them freely he intercedes for them freely he acts them freely and he saves them freely and so they move and act towards Christ freely they heat they pray they wait they weep they work they watch freely and willingly that Spirit of Grace and 1 Chron. 29. 6-18 1 Tim. 6. 18. 1 Thes 2. 8. A Saint at worst is obedient either Holiness that is in them makes them Voluntiers in all Religious duties and services It is reported of Socrates that when the Tyrant threatned death unto him he answered He was willing Voluntate plena or semi-plena with a will or an unwilling will like the Merchant that is unwillingly willing to throw his goods over board into the tempestuous Sea to save his life nay then says the Tyrant You shall live against your will he answered again Nay whatsoever you do with me it shall be my will Yet nature a little raised and refined will inable a man to do this will not Grace will not Union and Communion with Christ inable a man to do as much yea infinitly more Thirdly As that Obedience that accompanies Salvation is free and willing Obedience so it is cheerful and delightful Obedience it is a Believers meat and drink it is his joy and crown it is a pleasure a paradise to his soul to be still obeying his Fathers will to be still found about his Fathers business Psal 40. 8. I delight to do thy will O my God yea thy Law is in my heart As the Sun rejoyceth to Psal 19. 5 11. compared Tanto magis delectat opus bonum quanto magis diligitur Deus summum incommutabile bonum Aug. A good work so much the more delighteth by how much the more God the chiefest and unchangable Good is loved In hoc cognoscitur amor Christi si quis servat praecepta Christi Bern. run his race so do the Saints rejoyce to run the race of Obedience Gods work is wages yea it is better then wages therefore they cannot but delight in it not onely for keeping but also in keeping of his commands there is great reward Psal 112. 1. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord that delighteth greatly in his Commandments that is in the studying and obeying of his Commandments Psal 119. 16. I will delight my self in thy Statutes I will not forget thy Word Vers 35. Make me to go in the path of thy Commandments for therein do I delight V. 47. And I will delight my self in thy Commandments which I have loved V. 143. Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me yet thy Commandments are my delight Divine commands are not grievous to a lover of Christ for nihil difficile amanti nothing is difficult to him that loveth The love of Christ the discoveries of Christ the embraces of Christ make a gracious soul studious and industrious to keep the Commandments of Christ in lip and life in word and work in head and heart in book and brest Thus you see that that Obedience that accompanies Salvation is Ready Free and Chearful Obedience Fifthly That Obedience that accompanies Salvation is Peremptory Obedience Josh 24. 15. I and my Josephus reports of such resolute Christians that in the face of al reproaches and difficulties followed Christ to the Cross houshold will serve the Lord. He is fully resolved upon it come what come can in the face of all dangers difficulties impediments and discouragements he will obey the Lord he will follow the Lord so those Worthies in the eleventh of the Hebrews of whom this world was not worthy obeyed Divine commands peremptorily resolvedly in the face of all manner of deaths and miseries So Paul was obedient to Acts 20. 23. Gal. 1. 15 16. You may as well stop the Sun from running his race as you are able to hinder gracious souls from obeying Divine commands Psal 44. 13. 24. As a wicked natuâ—e makes the wicked peremptory in their disobedience Jer. 44. 15 16 17. So the Divine nature makes gracious souls peremptory in their Obedience the heavenly vision though bonds did attend him in every place he is better at obeying then at disputing I conferred not sayes he with flesh and blood So Peter and John and the rest of the Apostles in despight of all threatnings and beatings they obey the Lord they keep fast and close to their Masters work Whether it be right in the fight of God to hearken more unto you then unto God judge ye for we cannot but
speak the things which we have seen and heard And now Lord behold their threatnings and grant unto thy servants that with all boldness they may speak thy Word And when they had called the Apostles and beaten them they commanded that they should not speak in the Name of Jesus and let them go And they departed from the presence of the Council rejoycing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his Name And daily in the Temple and in every House they ceased not to Teach and Preach Jesus Christ Acts 4. 19 20 29. 5. 40 41 42. compared Thus you see no tryals no troubles no terrors no threats no dangers no deaths could deter them from peremptory Obedience to Divine precepts It is not the Fiery Furnace nor the Lyons Den nor the Bloody Sword nor the Torturing Wrack that can fright gracious Souls from their Obedience to their dearest Lord. Psal 119. 106. I have sworn and I will perform it that I will keep thy righteous judgements Sixtly The end of that Obedience that accompanies Salvation is Divine Propter te domine propter te Is every godly mans Motto Quicquid agas propter Dâ—um agas Was an Eastern Apophthegm Drusius glory the Eye of the obedient Soul in prayer and praises in talking and walking in giving and receiving in living and doing is Divine glory Rom. 14. 7 8. For none of us liveth to himself and no man dieth to himself for whether we live we live unto the Lord and whether we die we die unto the Lord whether we live therefore or die we are the Lords In all actions the obedient Soul intends and attends most Divine glory If Satan the World or the Old man do at any time propound other ends to the Finis movet ad agendum The End moves to doing Soul this great end Divine glory works out all those ends for this is most certain That which a man makes his greatest and his highest end will work out all other ends Look as the light of the Sun doth extinguish and put out the light of the fire so when a man makes the glory of God his end that end will extinguish and put out all carnal low base ends That man that makes himself the end of his actions that makes honor riches applause c. the end of his actions he must at last lie down in eternal sorrow he must dwell in everlasting burnings Isai 50. ult 33. 14. the man is as his end is and his work is as his end is if that be naught all is naught if that be good all is good and the man is happy for ever Seventhly That Obedience that accompanies Salvation that borders upon Salvation that comprehends Si dixisti sufficit teriisti Aug. If once thou saidst it is enough thou art undone Salvation is a constant Obedience Psal 119. 112. I have enclined my heart to do thy Statutes alway even unto the end The Causes Springs and Motives of holy Obedience are lasting and permanent and therefore the Obedience of a sound Christian is not like the morning dew or a deceitful bow Psal 44. 17 18 19. All this is come upon us History reports that it hath been the ancient custom of pious Christians under persecuting Emperors to meet and by the Sacrament to binde themselves for ever to flie what was evil and follow what was good what ever it cost them yet have we not forgotten thee neither have we dealt falsly in thy Covenant Our heart is not turned back neither have our steps declined from thy ways Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of Dragons and covered us with the shadow of death The love of Christ the promises of Christ the presence of Christ the discoveries of Christ the example of Christ and the recompence of reward held forth by Christ makes a sound Christian hold on and hold out in ways of Obedience in the face of all dangers and deaths Neither the hope of life nor the fear of death can make a sincere Christian either change his Master or decline his Work Phil. 2. 12. Wherefore my beloved as ye have always obeyed not as in my presence onely but how much more in my absence Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling This was the Philippians glory That they were constant in their Obedience whether Paul was present or absent they constantly minded their work Ah but Hypocrites and Temporaries Such Hypocrites may well cry out as Ecebolius did who was onely constant in inconstaney 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tread upon me that am unsavory Salt are but passionate transient and inconstant in their Obedience they talk of Obedience they commend Obedience and now and then in a fit they step in the way of Obedience but they do not walk in a way of Obedience they are onely constant in inconstancy Job chap. 27. vers 10. Will the Hypocrite delight himself in the Almighty Will he always call upon God Or as the Hebrew hath it Will 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he in every time call upon God will he call upon God in time of prosperity and in time of adversity in time of health and in time of sickness in time of strength and in time of weakness in time of honor and in time of disgrace in time of liberty and in time of durance c The answer to be given in is He will not always he will not in every time call upon God As a lame Horse when he is heated will go well enough but when he cools he halts down-right even so an Hypocrite though for a time he may go on fairly in a Religious way yet when he hath attained his ends he will halt down-right and be able to The Monk in the Fable being a poor Fisher-mans son still spread a Net over his Table as a remembrance of his mean original till he had by these shews of humility attained to the highest preferments which when he had attained he laid away the Net because the Fish was caught go no further The Abbot in Melancton lived strictly and walked demurely and looked humbly so long as he was but a Monk but when by his seeming extraordinary sanctity he got to be made Abbot he grew intolerably proud and insolent and being asked the reason of it confest That his former carriage and lowly looks was but to see if he could finde the Keys of the Abbey Ah! many unsound hearts there be that will put on the Cloak of Religion and speak like Angels and look like Saints to finde the Keys of Preferment and when they have found them none prove more proud base and vain then they Ah! but that Obedience that accompanies Salvation is constant and durable A Christian in his course goes strait on Heaven-wards The two milch Kine 1 Sam. 6. 12. took the strait way to the way of Bethshemesh and went along the high-way loughing as they went and turned not aside
The betrothed Virgin cannot shew more strong and vehement love to her beloved then by being sick and surprised with love-qualms when she meets him when she enjoyes him it was so here with the Spouse of Christ The love of Christ to Believers is a vehement love an ardent love witness his leaving his Fathers bosom his putting upon us his Royal Robes his bleeding his dying c. And it doth naturally beget Amor non nisi donum amantis Gul. Par. vehement and ardent Love in all the beloved of God Where Christ loves he always begets somewhat like himself Amor semper habet quid sui simile That love that is flat luke-warm or cold will leave a man to freeze a this side Heaven it will fit him for the warmest place in Hell Dives love was very cold and he found the flames of Hell to be very hot That love that accompanies Salvation is full of heat and fire Fifthly That Love that accompanies Salvation is lasting Love it is permanent Love the objects of it are lasting the springs and causes of it are lasting the nature of it is lasting The Primitive Christians loved not Revel 12. 11. their lives unto the death Persecutors have taken away the Martyrs lives for Christ but could never destroy their love to Christ Ephes 6. 24. Grace be 1 Cor. 13. 8. Love never faileth or as it is in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 never falleth away but shall last for ever in Heaven in which respect the Apostle lifts it up above Faith Hope and all the common gifts of the Spirit in the same Chapter with all that love the Lord Jesus in sincerity or in incorruption as the Greek word signifies whereby the Apostle gives us to understand That true love to Christ is not liable to corruption putrifaction or decay but is constant and permanent lasting yea everlasting That Love that accompanies Salvation is like to the Oyl in the Cruse and the Meal in the Barrel that wasted not it is like the Apple-Tree of Persia that buddeth blossometh and beareth fruit every moneth it is like the Lamp in the story that never went out it is like the Stone in Thracia that neither burneth in the fire nor sinketh in the water Cant. 8. 6 7. Love is stronger then death many waters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Contemning it would be contemned Omnia vincit amor Love rides in her chariot of triumph over all calamities and miseries and cryes Victory victory cannot quench it nor thâ— floods cannot drown it If a man would give all the substance of his house for love it would be contemned Love will out-live all enemies temptations oppositions afflictions persecutions dangers and deaths Loves Motto is Nulli cedo I yeeld to none Love is like the Sun the Sun beginning to ascend in his circle never goes back until he comes to the highest degree thereof True love abhors Apostacie it ascends to more perfection and ceases not until like Eliahs Fiery-Chariot it hath carried the Soul to Heaven Many mens love to Christ is like the Morning Dew it is like Jonahs Goard that came up in a night and vanished in a night But that love that accompanies Salvation is like Ruthes love a lasting and an abiding Ruth 1. love it is Love that will bed and board with the Soul that will lye down and rise up with the Soul that will to the fire to the prison to the grave to Heaven with the Soul Sixthly That love that accompanies Salvation is an abounding This is clear throughout the whole Book of Cantiâ—les as all may ruâ— and read love an increasing love Love in a Saint is like the Waters in Noahs time that rose higher and higher The very nature of true Love is to abound and rise higher and higher Phil. 1. 9. This I pray that your love may abound yet more and more The longer a Believer lives the more eminent and excellent Causes of Love he sees in Christ Christ discovers himself gradually to the Soul Now a Believers love to Christ rises answerable to the causes of love that he sees in Christ The more light the more love Knowledge and Love like the Water and the Ice beget each other Man loves Christ by knowing and knows Christ by loving Mans love is always answerable to his light he cannot love much that knows but little he cannot love little that knows much As a man rises higher and higher in his apprehensions of Amat Deus non aliunde hoc habet sed ipse est unde amat Aug. Christ so he cannot but rise higher and higher in his affections to Christ Again the daily Mercies and Experiences that they have of the love of Christ of the care of Christ of the bowels and compassions of Christ working more and more towards them cannot but raise their affections more and more to him As fire is encreased by adding of fuel unto it so is our love to Christ upon fresh and new manifestations of his great love towards us As the Husband abounds in his love to his Wife so the Wife rises in her love to her Husband the more love the Father manifests to the Childe the more the ingenuous Childe rises in his affections to him so the more love the Lord Jesus shews to us the more he is beloved by us Christ shewed much love to Mary Luke 7. 47 48 Magdalen and this raises in her much love to Christ She loved much for much was forgiven her As the Israelites in the three and thirtieth of Numbers removed their Tents from Mithkah to Chasmonah from sweetness to swiftness as the words import so the sweetness of Divine love manifested to the soul makes the soul more sweet swift and high in the exercise and actings of love towards Christ A Soul under special manifestations of Love weeps that it can love Christ no more Mr. Welch a Suffolk Minister weeping at Table and being asked the reason of it answered It was because he could love Christ no more The true lovers of Christ can never rise high enough in their love to Christ they count a little love to be no love great love to be but little strong love to be but weak and the highest love to be infinitely below the worth of Christ the beauty and glory of Christ the fulness sweetness and goodness of Christ The top of their misery in this life is That they love so little though they are so much beloved Seventhly and lastly That Love that accompanies Salvation is open love it is manifest love it is love that cannot be hid that cannot be covered and buried it is like the Sun it will shine forth and shew it self to all the world A man cannot love Christ but he will shew it in these and such-like things as follow First Divine Love makes the Soul even ready to break in longing after a further clearer and fuller enjoyment of Christ The voice of Divine love is
all be loved with a sincere and cordial love The Apostle James doth roundly condemn that partial love that was among Professors in his days Jam. 2. 1 2. Not that the Apostle doth absolutely prohibit a civil differencing of men in place from others but when the rich Non gens sed mens non genus sed genius Not race or place but grace truly sets forth a man mans wealth is more regarded then the poor mans godliness and when men carry it so to the rich as to cast scorn contempt disgrace and discouragement upon the godly poor This is a sin for which God will visit the sons of Pride Pompey told his Cornelia it is no praise to thee to have loved Pompeium Magnum Pompey the Great but if thou lovest Pompeium Miserum Pompey the Miserable thou shalt be a pattern for imitation to all posterity I will leave you to apply it Romanus the Martyr who was born of Noble Parentage intreated his Persecutors that they would not favor him for his Nobility For it is not said he the blood of my Ancestors but my Christian Faith that makes me noble Verily he that loves one Saint for Yet there is a love of familiarity which we may lawfully shew more to one godly man then to another Thus Christ loved John more then the other Disciples the Grace that is in him for that Holiness that Image of God that is upon him he cannot but fall in love with every Saint that bears the lovely Image of the Father upon him he cannot but love a Saint in rags as well as a Saint in robes a Saint upon the dunghill as well as a Saint upon the throne Usually the most ragged Christians are the richest Christians they usually have most of Heaven that have least of Earth Jam. 2. 5. The true Diamond shines best in the dark Thirdly Our Love to the Saints is Yet this must be granted That grace in a rugged unhewn nature is like a Gold Ring on a leprous hand or a Diamond set in Iron As a Gold Ring is most pleasing and taking when it is on a neat clean hand and as a Diamond when it is set in a Ring of Gold so grace is most pleasing and taking to us in a sweet nature and not so much when it is in a rugged unhewn nature the beauty and glory of it being clouded and darkned by a rugged nature right when we love them and delight in them answerable to the Spiritualcauses of love that shine in them as the more holy and gracious they are the more we love them Psal 16. 2 3. My goodness extendeth not to thee but to the Saints that are in the earth and to the excellent in whom is all my delight This is most certain If godliness be the reason why we love any then the more any excel others in the Love Spirit Power and practise of Godliness the more we should love them There are those that seem to love such godly men as are weak in their judgments low in their principles and dull in their practises and yet look with a squint-eye upon those that are more sound in their judgments more high in their principles and more holy in their practises which doubtless speaks out more hypocrisie then sincerity Verily he hath either no grace or but a little grace that doth not love most where the Spiritual causes of love do most shine and appear Surely those Christians are under a very great distemper of spirit that envy those gifts and graces of God in others that out-shine their own Johns Disciples muttered and murmured because Christ had more followers and admirers then John And Johns Disciples are not all dead yea they seem to have a new Resurrection in these days Well as the fairest day hath its Clouds the finest Linnen its spots the richest Jewels their flaws the sweetest Fruits their Worms So when precious Christians are under temptations they may and too often do envy and repine at those excellent Graces Abilities and Excellencies that cloud darken and out-shine their own The best of men are too full of pride and self-love that makes them sometimes cast dirt and disgrace upon that excellency that themselves want Eusâ—bius speaks of him in his Ecclesiastical History As that great man that could not write his own name and yet called the Liberal Arts a Publick Poyson and Pestilence There is no greater Argument that our grace is true and that we do love others for grace sake then our loving them best that have most grace though they have least of worldly goods A Pearl is rich if found on a dunghil though it may glister more when set in a Ring of Gold so many a poor Believer is rich and glorious in the eye of Christ and should be so in ours though like Job he sits upon a dunghil though to the world he may seem to glister most when adorned with riches honor and outward pomp c. Fourthly True Love to Saints is constant 1 Cor. 13. 8. Love never faileth it continues for ever in Heaven that love was never true that is not constant Heb. 13. 1. Let brotherly love continue True love is constant in prosperity Consalvus a Spanish Bishop and Iâ—quisitor wondered how the Christians had thâ—t Commandment Thou shalt love thy Neighbor as thy self so indelibly Printed in their hearts that no torture could blot it out and make them confess and betray one another or cease from loving one another and adversity in storms and calms in health and sickness in presence and in absence Thy own friend and thy Fathers friend forsake not A friend sayes the Wiseman loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity Prosperity makes friends and Adversity will try friends A true friend is neither known in prosperity nor hid in adversity True love is like to that of Ruths to Naomi and that of Jonathans to David permanent and constant Many there be whose love to the Saint is like Jobs Brooks Job 6. 15 16. which in Winter when we have no need over-flows with tenders of service and shews of love but when the season is hot and dry and the poor thirsty Travellor stands in most need of water to refresh him then the Brooks are quite dried up They are like the Swallow that will stay by you in the Summer but flie from you in the Winter It is observed by Josephus of the Samaritans that when ever the Jews affairs prospered they would be their friends and profess much love to them Augustus Caesar was a constant friends to those whom he loved he used to say Amare nec cito desisto nec teâ—ere incipio Late ere I love as long ere I leave but if the Jews were in trouble and wanted their assistance then they would not own them nor have any thing to do with them This age is full of such Samaritans yet such as truly love will always love In the Primitive
deliver me from my Bonds but O Rom. 7. 23. wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from my sins from this body of death David cryes not Perii but Peccavi Psal 51. Not I am undone but I have done foolishly But wicked men strive in Prayer more to get off their chains then to get off their sins more to be delivered from enemies without then lusts within more to get out of the Furnace then to be delivered from their Spiritual Bondage as the Scriptures Psal 78. 34. Zach. 7. 5 6 7. Isai 26. 16 17. in the Margent do evidence Thirdly The Stream and Cream of a gracious Mans spirit runs most out in Prayer after Spiritual and Heavenly Psal 4. 6 7. 27 4. things as is abundantly evident by those Prayers of the Saints that are upon record throughout the Scripture But the Stream and Cream of vain mens spirits in Prayer runs most out after poor low carnal things as you may see in comparing the following Scriptures together Hos 7. 14. Zach. 7. 5 6 7. Jam. 4. 3 c. Fourthly A gracious Soul looks and lives more upon God in Prayer then upon his Prayer He knows though Prayer be his Chariot yet Christ is his food Prayer may be a staff to support him but Christ is that Manna that must nourish him and upon him he looks and lives Psal 5. 3. In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee or Martial and set in order my Prayer as it is in the Hebrew and will look up or look out as it is in the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Pihil as a watchman looks out to dâ—scover the approaches of an enemy But vain men they live and look more upon their Prayers then they do upon God Nay usually they never look after their Prayers they never observe what returns they have from Heaven they are like those that shoot Arrows but do not minde where they fall Wicked men think it is Religion enough for them to pray and to look after their prayers to see how their prayers speed is no Article of their Faith But a gracious Soul is of a more noble spirit when he hath prayed he will stand upon his watch-tower and observe what God will speak Psal 85. 8. I will hear that God the Lord will speak for he will speak peace unto his people and to his Saints But let them not return to folly or as the Hebrew may be read And they shall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I will lissen and lay my obedient ear to what the Lord shall speak not return to folly Veal iashubu le Chislah Wicked men would have God to be all ear to hear what they desire when themselves have never an ear to hear what he speaks But deaf ears shall always be attended with dumb answers Justice always makes mercy dumb when sin hath made the sinner deaf Fifthly No discouragements can take gracious Souls off from Prayer but the least discouragements will Aristotle though a Heathen could say That in some cases a man had better lose his life then be cowardly Ethic. 3. c. 1. take off carnal hearts from Prayer as you may see in the following Scriptures compared together Psal 40. 1 2. 44. 10-23 Matth. 15. 21-29 Mal. 3. 14. Isai 58. 1 2 3. Amos 8. 3 4 5 c. When one of the Ancient Martyrs was terrified with the threatnings of his persecutors he replied There is nothing saith he of things visible nothing of things invisible that I fear I will stand to my profession of the name of Christ and contend earnestly for the Faith once delivered to the Saints come on it what will It is neither the hope of life nor the fear of death that can take a real Christian off from Prayer He is rather raised then dejected he is rather quickned then discouraged by delays or denials he will hold up and hold on in a way and course of Prayer though men should rage and Lyons roar and the Furnace be heat seven times hotter c. But it is not so with carnal hearts Job 27 9 10. Sixthly When a gracious man In his course his heart is in his Prayer he findes by experience that the heart is the Primum mobile the great wheel that moves all other wheels It is the chief Monarch in the Isle of Man prayes he hath his heart in his Prayer when he falls upon the work he makes heart-work on it So David in Psal 42. 4. When I remember these things I pour out my heart So Hannah in 1 Sam. 1. 15. I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit saith she and have poured out my soul before the Lord. So the Israelites in 1 Sam. 7. 6. Poured out their souls like water before the Lord. So the Church in Isa 26. 8 9. The desire of our soul is to thy name and to the remembrance of thee With my soul have I desired thee in the night yea with my spirit within me will I seek thee early Gracious Souls know The voice of God is Da Mihi cor that no Prayer is acknowledged accepted and rewarded by God but that wherein the heart is sincerely and wholly It is not a piece it is not a corner of the heart that will satisfie the Maker of the heart The true Mother would not have the childe divided As God loves a broken and a contrite heart so he loaths a divided heart God neither loves halting nor halving he will be served truly and totally The Royal Law is Thou shalt The heart as a Prince gives Laws to all other Members The Heart is Christs Bed of Spices it is his Presence Chamber it is his Royal Throne it is one of those four Keys that God keeps under his own girdle love and serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul Among the Heathens when the Beasts were cut up for Sacrifice the first thing the Priest looked upon was the heart and if the heart was naught the Sacrifice was rejected Verily God rejects all those Sacrifices wherein the Heart is not Now wicked men are heartless in all their Services in all their Prayers as you may see in comparing the following Scriptures together I shall not transcribe the words because I must cut short the work Isai 29. 13. Matth. 15. 7 8 9. Ezek. 33. 30 31 32. Zach. 7. 4 5 6. 2 Chro. 25. 1 2. As the body without the soul is dead so Prayer Prayer without the heart is but an empty ring a tinckling symbal without the heart be in it is but dead Prayer in the eye and account of God Prayer is onely lovely and weighty as the heatt is in it and no otherwise It is not the lifting up of the voice nor the wringing of the hands nor the beating of the brests but the stirrings of the heart that God looks at in Prayer God hears no more then the
presumption that works men to play with sin to be bold with sin to make light of sin to walk on in wayes of sin Such Assurance will never bring a man to Heaven it will never keep him from dropping into Hell yea it will double his damnation and make him the most miserable among all damned miserable forlorn spirits Ah Lord from This made Auselm say That he had rather be thrust into Hell without sin then go into Heaven with sin such an assurance deliver my Soul and give me more and more of that Divine Assurance that makes sin to be more hateful then Hell and that makes the Soul to be more careful to avoid the one then it is fearful of falling into the other Seventhly A wel-grounded Assurance is alwayes attended with three fair Handmaids or with three sweet Companions The first is Love O! the Assurance 1. Handmaid of Divine Favor doth mightily inflame a mans love to Christ Mary Magdalen Luke 7. loved much Christs love to her drew out her love very much to Christ Assurance makes the Soul sing it out with that sweet Singer of Israel I will dearly love thee O Lord my Psal 18. 1. strength Lovers know not how to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To love intimately and dearly as a tender mother loves the fruit of her womb keep silence lovers of Christ are full of gracious expressions Magnes amor is est amor Love is the attractive Loadstone of love It is impossible for a Soul not to love Christ that knows he is beloved of Christ Christs love constrains the Soul to love not by forcible but loving necessity Praxiteles exquisitly drew Love taking the pattern from that Passion which he felt in his own heart A Believer cannot finde the heart of Christ to be beating towards him but his heart will strongly beat towards Christ Divine love is like a rod of myrtle which as Pliny reports makes the Traveller that carries it in his hand that he shall never be faint or weary of walking or loving Love alone over-powereth all power Love is the Diadem none but the Queen must wear it Love is the Wedding Garment none but the Spouse can fit it Love is a Loadstone to draw as well as a fire to warm he that doth not love Christ was never assured of the love of Christ The second Handmaid or Companion 2. Handmaid that attends a wel-grounded Assurance is Humility David under Assurance Psal 22. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Hebrew word Tolagnah that is here rendred Worm signifies a very little worm which a man can hardly see or perceive cryes out I am a worm and no man Abraham under Assurance cryes out that he is but dust and ashes Jacob under Assurance crves out that he was less then the least of all mercies Job under Assurance abhors himself in dust and ashes Moses had the honor and the happiness to speak with God face to face he was very much in Gods books in Gods favor and yet a more humble Soul the earth did never bear The great Apostle Paul under all the revelations and glorious manifestations of God to him counts himself less then the least of all Saints Ephe. 3. 8. That is Presumption that is a delusion of the Devil and no sound Assurance that puffs and swels the Souls of men that makes men prize themselves above the market above the value that God hath put upon them The third Handmaid or Companion 3. Handmaid that attends Assurance is holy Joy Ah this Assurance causes the strong waters of Consolation to overflow the Soule Assurance raises the strongest joyes in the Soul Luk. 1. 46 47. And Mary said My soul doth magnifie the Lord and my Spirit hath rejoyced in God my Saviour When a man comes to be assured that God is his Savior presently his Spirit rejoyces in God this truth is held forth by three Parables in that of Luk. 15. So in that of 1 Pet. 1. 8 9. Whom having not seen ye love in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to dance and leap for joy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 glorified already they have heavens happinesse before hand whom though now ye see him not yet bebeleeving ye rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory Receiving the end of your faith even the salvation of your souls O the Joy the Joy the inexpressible Joy that attends a wel-grounded Assurance Assurance raises a Paradise of delight in the soul In quibus operamur in ill is gaudemus saith Tertull. In what things or persons we act in those things we rejoyce a Christian under the power of Assurance works all his works in Christ in him therefore and in him alone he rejoyceth Eightly and lastly A wel-grounded Assurance sometimes springs from the Testimony and Witnesse of the Spirit of God The Spirit sometimes witnesses to a Beleevers spirit that he is born of God that he is beloved of God that he hath union and communion with God that he shal reign for ever with God Rom. 8. 16. The Spirit it self beareth witness with our 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That same spirit The Spirits work is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to witnesse together with our Spirit that is to confirme and ratifie what ou◠spirits have asserted concerning our Adoption c. spirit that we are the children of God The Spirit it self witnesseth not onely the Gifts and Graces of the Spirit but the Spirit it self witnesseth together with our own spirit that we are the children of God Sometimes the Saints have two Witnesses joyning their testimonies together to confirm and establish them in these blessed and glorious Truths that they are the Sons of God and Heirs of Glory And this is their honor as well as their comfort that the blessed Spirit should bear witness at the bar of their Consciences that they are the Sons of God 1 Cor. God sometimes assures his people of heaven aforehand 2. 12. Now we have received not the spirit of the world but the Spirit which is of God that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God That is that we may know our Election Vocation Justification Sanctification and Glorification A man may receive many things that are freely given of God and yet not know them till the Spirit comes and makes them known to the soul Quest But you may say to me how shall wee know the whispering of the holy Spirit from the hissing of the old Serpent how shall we know the report the witnesse and testimony of the Spirit of Christ from that report witnesle and testimony that the old Serpent deludes and deceives many by in these daies wherein he mostly appears in his Angelicall Robes I Answer you may know the whispering Answ of the Spirit from the hissing of the old Serpent c. by these following things which I desire that you
in joy Psal 126. 5. The tears of the Saints have such a kinde of omnipotency in them that God himself cannot withstand them 2 Kings 20. 5. I have seen thy tears behold I will heal thee on the third day thou shalt go up unto the House of the Lord. Thirdly If you would recover Assurance then sit not down discouraged but be up and doing Remember what a Pearl of price thou hast Revel 2. 4 5. As a man that hath been recovered formerly out of such or such a disease if he be relapsed he will to the same means again he will apply the same remedies again This did once do me good I will try it again lost and repent and do thy first works fall close to the good old work of Believing Meditating Examining Praying Hearing Mourning c. Begin the world again and set afresh upon those very ways by which at first thou didst get Assurance fall upon family Duties apply thy self to publick Ordinances be much in close◠Services stir up every gift that is in thee stir up every grace that is in thee stir up all the life that is in thee and never leave blowing till thou hast blowed thy little spark into a flame never leave turning thy penny till thou hast turned thy penny into a pound never leave improving thy mite till thy mite be turned into a million God will be found in the use of means and he will restore our lost mercies in the use of means Psal 22. 26. But this is not all Therefore in the fourth place wait patiently upon the Lord David did so and at length the Lord brought him Psal 40. 1 2 3. out of a horrible pit or out of a pit of noise and confusion and set his feet upon a rock and established his goings and put a new Song of praise into his mouth God never hath nor never will faile the waiting Soul though God loves to try the patience of his Children yet he doth not love to tire out the patience of his Children Isa 57. 16 18 19 therefore he will not contend for ever neither will he be alwaies wroth lest the spirits of his people should faile Assurance is a Jewel worth waiting for it is a Pearl that God gives to none but such as have waited long at mercies door It is a Crown that every one must win by patient waiting before he can wear God doth not think the greatest Mercies too good for waiting Souls though he knows the least Mercy is too good for impatient Soules The Breasts of the Promises lie fair and open to waiting Soules Isa 30. 18. 64. 4. 49. 23. The waiting soule shall have any thing of God but the froward and impatient soule gets nothing of God but frowns and blowes and wounds and broken bones Sad souls should do well to make that text their bosome companion Joh. 14. 18. I will not leave 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 you comfortless or Orphans I will come to you And that Text Heb. 10. 36 37. For ye have need of patience that after ye have done the will of God ye might receive the Promise for yet a little little while as it is in the Greek and he that shall come will come and will not tarry Fifthly and lastly If you would recover Assurance then take heed of refusing Comforts when God brings them to your door take heed of throwing Gospel-Cordialls against the wall This was Asaphs sin My Psal 77. 2. Ambrose saith If I would offer thee gold to day thou wouldest not say I will come tomorrow And wilt thou lightly and slightly put God off when he offers peace and comfort to thy soul c. soule refused to be comforted God comes and offers love to the soul and the soule refuses it God comes and spreads the Promises of Consolation before the Soul and the Soul refuses to look upon them God comes and makes tenders of the riches of grace and the soule refuses to accept of them Sometimes the hand the man that brings the Cordiall is not liked and therefore men refuse it Well remember this when gold is offered men care not how great or how base he is that offers it neither should we care by whom the Cordials and consolations of the Gospel are offered to us whether they are offered by the hand of Isaiah a Prophet of the blood royall as some think or by Amos from amongst the Heardsmen of Tekoa If the Sweet-meats of Heaven are set before thee it is thy wisdom and thy duty to taste of them and to feed upon them without stumbling at the hand that presents them Now for a cloze I shall make a few short uses of what hath been said and so conclude First You that have Assurance be Use 1 thankful for it it is a Jewel more worth then Heaven therefore be thankful Assurance is a mercy nobly descended it is from above Man is Jam. 1. 17. Plato was very thankful that God made him a man and not a woman a Grecian and not a Barbarian a Scholar to Socrates and not to any other Philosopher O what cause then have you to be thankful for Assurance not born with it in his heart as he is with a tongue in his mouth Assurance is a peculiar mercy it is a flower of Paradise that God sticks onely in his childrens bosoms Assurance is a mercy sweetning mercy it is a mercy that puts the Garland upon all our mercies Assurance makes every bitter sweet and every sweet more sweet he enjoyes little that wants it he wants nothing that enjoyes it therefore be you thankful that have and do finde the sweetness of it If Philip rejoyced that Alexander was born in the dayes of Aristotle How much more cause have you to rejoyce upon whose heads the Lord hath put the Crown of Assurance a crown of more worth and weight then all Princes crowns in the world Secondly If God hath given you Use 2 Psal 37. 1 7 8. Prov. 23. 17. Assurance then do not envy the outward felicity and happiness of the men of the world Ah lass what are Mountains of Dust to Mountains of Gold what are the Stones of the Street to Rocks of Pearl what are Crowns of Thorns to Crowns of Gold c. No more are all the treasures honors pleasures and favors of this world to Assurance The envious man hath so many tortures as the envied Socrates wished that envious men had more eyes and more ears then others that they might be more tormented then others by beholding others happiness hath praisers it is the Justice of Envy to kill and torment the envious The men of the world are real objects of pitty but not of envy who envies the Prisoner at the Bar who envies the Malefactor that is going to Execution who envies the dead man that is going to his grave God hath done more for thee by giving thee Assurance then if he had given thee
hee will doe for you to all eternity and spend your dayes in whining and mourning if Psal 32. 1. Psal 33 11. The word noteth a faire and comely grace for which a thing is to bee liked and desired Ainsw you can Ps 32. 11. Be glad in the Lord and rejoyce ye righteous shout for joy all ye that are upright in heart Psal 33. 1. Rejoyce in the Lord O ye Righteous for praise is comely for the upright Christians are not your mercies greater then your miseries yes is your greatest sufferings comparable to the least spark of grace or beam of glory revealed in you or to you No wil not one Aeterna erit exultatio quâ— bono lâ—tatur aeterâ—o Their joy lasts for ever whose object remaines for ever houres being in the bosome of Christ recompence you for all your trouble and travell Yes Why then doe you spend more time in sighing then in rejoycing and why doe you by your not rejoycing sad those precious hearts that God would not have sadded and glad those graceless hearts that God would not have gladded A beautifull face is at all times pleasing to the eye but then especially when there is joy manifested in the countenance joy in the face puts a new beauty and makes that which before was beautifull to be exceeding beautifull it puts a luster and glory upon beauty so does joy in the face heart and life of a Christian cast a generall splendor and glory upon him and the wayes of God wherein hee walkes The joy of the Lord is not Nehem. 8. 10. only the strength but also the beauty and glory of Christians Joy and rejoycing is a consequent and effect of assurance as many beleevers by experience finde and therefore Mrs. Kath. Brettergh under the power of assurance cryes out O the joyes the joyes the unconceiveable joyes my heart is filled with without all peradventure beleevers may attaine unto a well-grounded assurance of their everlasting happiness else it is impossible that they should rejoyce evermore so that by this argument as by the former it clearly appeares that beleevers may in this life be assured of their eternal wel being The tenth and last Argument to prove that beleevers may in this life attaine to a well-grounded assurance is this That God would never have made such a broad difference in the Scripture between the seed of the Gen. 3. 15. Ezeck 18. Mat. 25. Mat. 3. 12. 2 Cor. 6. 14. Woman and the seed of the Serpent between the righteous and the wicked between Saints and sinners between Sons and Slaves Sheepe and Goats between Lions and Lambs between Wheat and Chaffe Light and Darkness c. if it were impossible for men to know which of these two estates they are in therefore they may know whether they are in a state of life or in a state of death in a state of misery or in a state of felicity in Mat. 13. a state of wrath or in a state of love O it is much below the grace of God! it is repugnant to the wisdome of God to make such a wide difference Joh. 8. 44. between his owne Children and Satans if it were not possible for every Childe to know his owne Father and his interest in him Jer. 3. 19. And Jer. 3. 19. The Saints Motto is Tam pius nemo tam pater nemo no Father is like our Father Rom. 8. 15. I said thou shalt call me my Father and shalt not turne away from me Here God ingages himselfe that his people shall know him account him and acknowledge him for their Father Thou shalt call me my Father Isa 63. 16. Doubtlesse thou art my Father though Abraham be ignorant of us and Israel acknowledge us not thou O Lord art our Father and Redeemer thy name is from everlasting The weakest Saint can say Ioh. 14. 18. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God hath no childe so young but can more or lesse call him Father Abba Father the Lord will not leave his Children comfortless or as Orphans and fatherless children as it is in the Greek though the salvation of beleevers doe not depend upon their knowledge of God to be their Father yet their consolation does Ier. 3. 4. We say he is a wise childe that knows his Father such wise ones beleevers are therefore the Lord wil not be only a Father to Israel but he wil make Israel know that he is his Father Jer. 3. 4. Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me my Father thou art the guide of my youth By these ten Arguments it doth evidently appear that beleevers may in this life attain unto a well-grounded Assurance of their everlasting happinesse and blessednesse I shall apply this a little and then close up this Chapter Use This precious truth thus proved looks sourely and wishly upon all those that affirme that beleevers cannot in this life attaine unto a certaine well-grounded Assurance of their everlasting happinesse and blessednesse As Papists and Arminians all know that know their writings and teachings that they are in Armes against this Christ-exalting and soule-cheering Doctrine of Assurance I know no such thing as Assurance of Heaven in this life saith Greevinchovius the Arminian Assurance is a Pearle that Sensum electionis ad gloriam in hac vita nullam agnosco Greevinchov they trample under feet it is a beame of Heaven that hath so much light brightnesse shining glory in it that their bleer eyes cannot behold it Assurance is glory in the bud it is the Suburbs of Paradise it is a cluster of the land of Promise it is a sparke of God it is the joy and crowne of a Christian the greater is their impiety and folly that deny assurance that cry downe assurance under any names or notions whatsoever They are rather tormenters then comforters that say poore souls may know that there is a crowne of Righteousnesse but they must not presume to know that they shall have the honour to weare that Crowne * Is the surety of the New Covenant growne so poor Heb. 7. 22. 2. Is the promise now come to be yea and nay 2 Cor. 1. 20. 3 Is the power of God growne so weak 1 Pet. 1. 5. 4 Is the decreeing will of God become mutable 2 Tim. 2. 19. 5 Is the free eternal and everlasting love of God become changeable Jer. 31. 3. Joh. 13. 1. that these things can be Ezek. 13. 22. and that makes God like King Xerxes who crowned his Steersman in the morning and beheaded him in the evening of the same day Arminians are not ashamed to say that God may crowne a man one hour and uncrowne him the next they blush not to say that a man may bee happy and miserable under love and under wrath an heire of heaven and a firebrand of hell a childe of light and a childe of darknesse and all in an houre O what miserable comforters are these what
is this but to torment the weary soule to dis-dis-spirit the wounded spirit and to make them most sad whom God would have most glad Ah how sad is it for men to affirme that wounded souls may know That the Son of righteousnesse Mal. 4. 2. hath healing in his wings but they cannot be assured that they shall bee healed The hungry soule may Luke 15. 17. know that there is bread enough in his Fathers house but cannot know that he shall taste of that bread The naked soule may know that Christ hath Rev. 3. 18. Robes of righteousnes to cover al the spots sores defects and deformities of it but may not presume to know that Christ will put those royal Robes upon it The impoverished soule may know that there bee unsearchable Eph. 3. 8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not to b◠traced out riches in Christ but cannot be assured that ever it shall partake of those riches all that these men allow poore foules is guesses and conjectures that it may be well with them they will not allow soules to say with Thomas My Lord and my God nor with Job to say My Redeemer lives nor with Joh. 20 28. Job 19. 25. Can. 7. 10. the Church I am my beloveds and his desire is towards mee And so they leave soules in a cloudy questioning doubting hovering condition hanging like Mahomets Tomb at Mecha between two Load stones or like Erasmus as the Papists paint him hanging betwixt heaven and hell They make the poor soul a magor missabib a terrour to it selfe What more uncomfortable Doctrine then this what more soule-disquieting and soul-unsetling doctrine then this Thou art this moment in a state of life thou mayest the next moment bee in a state of death thou art now gracious thou mayest the next houre be gracelesse Thou art now in the promised Land yet thou mayest dye in the wildernesse Thou art to day a habitation for God thou mayest The heathens used to absolve men by giving them white stones and condemn them by giving them black ones tomorrow be a Synagogue of Satan Thou hast to day received the White-stone of absolution thou mayest tomorrow receive the Black-stone of condemnation Thou art now in thy Saviours Arms thou mayest tomorrow bee in Satans Paws Thou art now Christs free man thou mayest tomorrow bee Satans bond-man Thou art now a vessel of honour thou mayest suddenly become a vessel of wrath Thou art now greatly beloved thou mayest soon be as greatly loathed This day thy name is fairly written in the Book of life tomorrow the Book may be crost and thy name blotted out for ever This is the Arminians doctrine and if this bee not to keep soules in a doubting and trembling and shivering condition what is it Well Christians Remember this is your happinesse and blessednesse That none can plucke you out of your Fathers hand That you are kept as in a Garrison or as with a Guard by the power of God through faith unto salvation That the Mountains shall depart Ioh. 10. 29. 1 Pet. 1. 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 kept safe and fast as in a strong Garrison Isa 54. 10. Heb. 7. 25. and the hils be removed but the kindnesse of the Lord shall not depart from you neither shall the Covenant of peace be removed saith the Lord that hath mercy on you That Christ ever lives to make intercession for you And that men and devils are as able and shall as soon make a world dethrone God pluck the Sun out of the Firmament and Christ out of the bosom of the Father as they shall pluck a beleever out of the everlasting Arms of Christ or rob him of one of his precious Jewels I shall close up this Chapter with an Deut. 33. 26 27 Mal 3. 17. excellent saying of Luther The whole Scripture saith he doth principally aime at this thing that we should not doubt but that we should hope that we should trust that we should beleeve that God is a merciful a bountiful a gracious and a patient God to his people CHAP. II. Containing several weighty Propositions concerning Assurance THE first Proposition that I shall lay downe concerning Assurance is this That God denies Assurance for a time to his dearest and choysest ones and that upon many considerable grounds As first for the exercise of their grace a gracious soule would alwayes be upon Mount Tabor looking into Canaan he would alwayes bee in his Fathers arms and under his Fathers smiles hee would alwayes bee in the Sun-shine of divine favour hee would alwayes have the heavens open that Tam pater nemo tum pius nemo Tertul. he might alwayes see his Christ and his Crowne he would with Peter bee alwayes upon the Mount hee is loath to walke through the valley of darknesse through the valley of Baca. As Gen. 14. 21. If Saints should alwayes have Assurance they would be too apt to say bonum est esse hic it is good for us to be here the King of Sodome said once to Abraham Give me the persons and take the goods to thy selfe So gracious soules are apt to say Give mee joy give me peace give me Assurance and doe you take trials afflictions and temptations to your selves But pray what use would there be of the Starres if the Sunne did alwayes shine why none why no more use would there bee of your graces if Assurance should be alwayes continued therefore the Lord for the exercise of his childrens faith hope patience c. is pleased at least for a time to deny them Assurance though they seek it by earnest prayer and with a flood of penitent tears Secondly The Lord denies Assurance to his dearest ones that he may keep them in the exercise of those Religious duties that are most costly and contrary to flesh and blood as to mourning repenting selfe-judging selfe-loathing selfe-abhorring and selfe-searching As that 1 Sam. 16. For these things I weep mine eye mine eye runneth downe with water because the comforter that should relieve my soule is far from me Chap. 3. verse 2 3. Hee hath led me and brought me into darknesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not into light Surely against me hee is Bring back my soule or fetch again my soule i. e. Comfort refresh and rejoyce me as in former times 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 turned he turneth his hand against mee all the day verse 17. And thou hast removed my soule far off from peace I forgat prosperity Now what this sad dealings of God puts the Church upon you may see in verse 40. Let us search and try our wayes and turne again to the Lord And if you look throughout 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the book you shall finde the These two Hebrew words are joyned together to intimate to us that diligent narrow and accurate enquiry that they should make into their wayes to search as men do into the bowels of the