145 2 You must labour to be much acquainted with the precious promises of God p. 146 3 You must maintaine in the heart a deepe and serious acknowledgement of that supreme authoritie of the Lord to doe what hee will and how hee will according unto his owne good pleasure p. 148 Doctrine VI. The Spirit of the Lord quickneth the desire of an humble and enlightned sinner to long for the riches of his mercy in Christ p. 150 The reason why desire commeth next in order and the manner how God the Father doth quicken up the desires of the soule to long for mercy are p. 152 Use I. It is an use of strong consolation to stay the hearts of poore sinners in the midst of their infirmities canst thou but finde thy smoking desire thy condition is then good p. 156. The signes of sound desires are these three 1 Signe of a sound desire is this that as the desire is so the endevour will be p. 157 2 Signe of a sound desire is this he that truly desires mercy and grace desireth Christ for himselfe 158. 3 Signe of a sound desire is this the soule that truly desires mercy is ready to receive it with thankfulnesse and will entertaine the meanes and messenger that may bring home Christ and mercy to his soule p. 159 Use II. It is of reproofe to all them that yet have not these true and sincere desires after grace and salvation wrought in them p. 160 There are three sorts and rankes of professours and hypocrites whose desires are unsound the Lazy Hypocrite Stage Hypocrite Terrified Hypocrite p. 161 There are foure sorts of lazy professors and lazy Hypocrites that are void of these sound and sincere hopes 1 Sort of lazy Hypocrites are such who when they enjoy the means of salvation yet they esteeme not thy blessing they prize not the meanes p. 164 2 Sort of lazy Hypocrites are such who when God hath taken away and deprived them of the ordinary meanes of grace and salvation they are well contented to be without the same they sit downe very well satisfied p. 166 3 Sort of lazy Hypocrites are such who when they have the meanes of grace and salvation are content to use them and if they want the meanes will seeke out for them but yet are not carefull to prevent those inconveniences which hinder them by receiving benefit from the meanes p. 168 4 Sort of lazy Hypocrites are those who though they heare the duties commanded yet they neglect all duties commands p. 169 There are two sorts of stage Hypocrites that are void of these sound and sincere desires p. 172 The first sort of stage Hypocrites are such as will take up so much of Christ and the Gospell as may stand with their credit and with their estate p. 173 The second sort of stage Hypocrites are such that will use all Gods ordinances but will part with nothing and will suffer nothing for the Lord Iesus p. 175 The third sort that are void of sound and sincere desires are the terrified Hypocrites p. 177 The signes of a terrified Hypocrite are two 1 He will be lingering and hankering after some corruption p. 178 2 The terrified Hypocrite he will slight and slubber over small sinnes and small corruptions p. 178 How farre this terrified Hypocrite will goe and what he may doe vid. p. 179 Use III. Is of Exhortation wherein you are intreated in the bowels of the Lord Iesus to long and desire after the Lord Iesus Christ p. 191 Means I. The Means are foure the first is this be acquainted thorowly with thy owne necessities and wants with that nothingnesse and emptinesse in thy selfe p. 192 Means II. The second is consider the necessitie after grace and goodnesse it is no matter of complement and indifferencie p. 197 Means III. The third is labour to spread forth the excellencie of all the beautie and surpassing glory that is in the promises of God p. 198 Means IV. The fourth is thou must know that it is not in thy power to bring thy heart to desire grace p. 199 Doctrine VII The Spirit of the Lord kindles in an humbled heart and inlightned sinner love and joy to entertaine and rejoyce in the riches of his mercy p. 205 The opening of the Doctrine consists in 3. passages Passage I. Is this that this love and joy is no where else to be found but in an heart humbled and inlightned p. 205 Passage II. Is this that the love and joy is enkindled by the Spirit of the Father p. 206. Passage III. Is this that the love and joy being kindled they may entertaine and rejoyce in the riches of Gods mercy p. 207 Reason I. Of the point is this because that love and joy doe follow desire p. 209 The Spirit of the Father doth enkindle the love and joy in these three particulars p. 217 Particular I. Is this God the Father by the Spirit doth let in some sweetnesse and rellish of his love into the soule that doth warme the heart p. 221 Particular II. Is this that the freenesse of Gods love doth enkindle a love in the soule p. 222 Particular III. Is this that as the sweetnesse did warme it the freenesse kindles it so the greatnesse of the sweetnesse of this love doth set the soule in a flame p. 224 Use I. It is an use of instruction to enforme you that there is no sufficiencie in a naturall heart to be carried to the Lord Iesus Christ or to the worke of grace p. 226 Use II. Iâ— is an use of consolation to stay and refresh the hearts of those that have received the gracious worke p. 233 Use III. It is an use of triall to examine your selves whether your love and joy be sound true and sincere and how it doth differ from the fained wilde and hypocriticall love in the world p. 237 The soundnesse of true love from counterfeit Hypocriticall love appeareth in these five trialls Triall I. Is this observe the root and rise of thy love ibid. Triall II. Is this observe if thou entertainest thy Saviour as a Saviour that is as a King p. 242 Triall III. Is this thou must observe if thou labourest to give contentment to Christ p. 244 Triall IV. Observe whether thy heart doth rejoyce to see the happinesse of the thing you love p. 251 Triall V. Is this it is the nature of true love to covet nearer union with the thing beloved p. 254 Use IV. It is of repose to all those upon whom this worke of love and joy in Christ was never wrought p. 261 Most men have not this love to God but hatred against him p. 263 The persons that doe not love the Lord Iesus Christ they are referred to three ranks p. 266 Sort I. Are such as are open enemeis to Christ and who these are are largely described in p. 267 Sort II. Are those glozing Neuters that halt betweene two opinions p. 273 Sort III. Are those fawning Hypocrites that are faire
of those gracious promises which God hath made to poore humbled sinners Now if we be not able to cast the sense and meaning of the promise it is like an uncertaine sound though the witnesse bee good and plaine yet I cannot be comforted thereby 2 Cor. 6.16 17. This is the language of the Spirit Now let a poore humble hearted soule come and lay his heart levell to the promise one saith it is true if it were so with mee then God would be my God that promise is made to them that touch no uncleane thing but I am defiled with sins and abominations and carried aside by them therefore no share in this promise Now the meaning of the testimony is mistaken the witnesse is as good as can be and will cast the cause on your side but you understand not the meaning of the witnesse therefore we will spell the words what is it to touch no uncleane thing it is not to bee lightly acquainted with it therefore art thou content to sue out a bill of divorce to all thy sins how ever heretofore thou wert married to them yet now thou art resolved to bed with them no more art thou contented God should make knowne what ever is amisse in thy soule and subdue every distemper that is the meaning of the promise and if it be thus with thee the promise belongs to thee Meanes 4 Labour to keepe the promise by you for ever and have a readie recourse thereunto upon all occasions forget not the promise be not a stranger to it be not unacquainted be not unaccustomed to have daily trading with the promise which is so profitable to us Prov. 3.3 marke what counsell God gives by wisdome Let not mercy and truth forsake thee mercy and truth will forsake a man Satan would plucke them away but suffer them not saith the Text to depart from thy soule Iob 22.21 so the originall hath it have a daily intercourse to the promise meditate therein and muse thereupon see thou looke a ready way and have recourse to the Lord upon all occasions Motive 1 To perswade us to use these meanes is this because this most concernes our good if a man had all the good things the world could afford and his hearts desire if he had friends to respect him wealth to enrich him and honour to promote him yet if the Lord should send this heavie Message into his conscience God will curse those blessings and dam thy soule and person that newes from heaven of Gods indignation would take away the sweetnesse of all the comforts of this life but had a man good tidings from heaven were the Lord pleased to give notice of his love and mercie in Jesus Christ it would support us in whatsoever miseries or troubles should befall us nay when our owne hearts and consciences tell us hard tidings these evils thou hast committed and they will be thy plague and for this thou shalt be damned and frie in hell this is ill newes but this will beare up a mans heart if hee can but looke up to heaven and take good tidings and notice of Gods favour this will joy and refresh a mans soule Motive 2 As this most concernes us so Satan is most cunning to deprive us of the same if hee can stop any intelligence and take away any evidence of Gods love and mercie to the soule this is that Satan labours for for if the heart gets evidence this way and have notice under the hand of the Spirit what love what joy what power and vertue will be in the soule what courage and undauntednesse will be in the heart to walke in the wayes of godlinesse then learne from the Devill himselfe he labours to keepe from you what will doe you most good therefore be you as carefull to get this notice of Gods love to your soules from the Spirit in the promise as Satan is to hinder you from the same Vse 3 Instruction Hence I conclude that the poorest humbled sinner of the meanâ—st capacity doth know more of spirituall truths concerning grace and salvation and Gods love in Christ than the most wise and learned in the world that are not humbled In a word take the meanest Saint that ever breathed on the earth and the greatest scholler for outward parts and learning and reach and policie the meanest ignorant soule that is almost a naturall foole that soule knowes and understands more of grace and mercy in Christ than all the wisest and learnedst in the world than all the greatest schollers and most pompous Cardinals these were never humbled How doe I conclude this why thus if Gods spirit onely give notice of this favor to the humble then all other bee their parts what they will bee God doth not informe them the humble are informed they not instructed therefore the other know not what they cannot conceive As suppose one dull blocke and a quicke wit are both set to one trade yet if the dullard had an expert master and did beat into him the skill of the trade and the quicke spirit was with a master that could not teach him his trade wee see that the dull blocke is more wise in his trade than the other so it is here they have the Lord for their master Vse 4 To shew us the certainty of the assurance of faith if the spirit of God gives notice and certifie a thing it must needs be certaine and hence it is that the assurance of faith must needs bee infallible and undeniable in those that have it I ground it thus That which commeth from the notice of the spirit is most undeniable but the assurance thereof commeth from the notice of the spirit that faith is most undeniable hence commeth those triumphs I know my Redeemer liveth I am perswaded that neither height nor depth c. shall be able to separate me from the love of God in Christ The worke of God upon the understanding we have spoken of at large now wee come to the worke of God upon the affections as the understanding apprehendeth the truth of the promise so the heart looketh at the goodnesse of the promise Now therefore the Lord he must teach all the affections to come unto the promise and the first affection that commeth next in order is the affection of hope Doctrine The Doctrine is this The holy Spirit of the Father doth stir the heart of an humbled and inlightned sinner to hope for the goodnesse of the Lord The Lord calleth all the affections come joy come desire come love but the first voyce is to hope only observe this passage it must come from a heart humbled and inlightned for nothing commeth to the heart to be affected but onely by the head and understanding therefore before the soule can hope the heart must bee humbled and inlightned humbled in regard of preparation and inlightned in regard of the certification of Gods goodnesse Secondly it must be stirred up to doe it the spirit
a poore miserable creature commend my love commend my mercy to such a poore soule and tell him though hee hath beene an enemy to me yet I am a friend to him tell him though he hath beene a traitor to mee I have beene a good King to him he hath beene a rebell to mee but tell him I have beene a good God to him commend my love to him and let him know that all his sinnes are done away for the Lord Jesus died for sinners when they were sinners This is the argument of Saint Iohn If God so loved us as that he gave his onely begotten Sonne for us how ought wee to love one another I collect from hence But how then ought we to love God himselfe It was this that kindled the frozen heart of Saul he had a heart almost as cold as ice and yet this did worke upon him Marke what the text saith When David had taken Saul on the hip 1 Sam. 24.19 and had him at advantage and might have taken away his life and yet would not when hee saw that David was so kinde and would doe him no hurt David knew Saul persecuted him and desired to kill him hee was the most profest enemy he had and was the onely man that stood betweene him and the kingdome Now when David had him in his hands and spared him this kindnesse of David wrought even upon the heart of a Saul and kindled a kinde of love in him as the text saith Thou art more righteous than I for thou hast rewarded mee good and I have rewarded thee evill and thou hast shewed this day that thou hast dealt well with me forasmuch as when the Lord had delivered mee into thine hands thou killedst me not for if a man finde an enemy will hee let him goe well away wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day So that wee see a Saul is warned and his love is kindled towards David for his kindnesse So when the soule considers what is the Lord thus gracious to me who ever found an enemy and slew him not Had it not beene just with the Lord to take advantage against me Had it not beene just that I which lived in sinne should have perished for my sinne Had it not beene just that I which loved my corruption should have perished for my corruptions But that the Lord should finde an enemy and not slay him nay that the Lord should finde an enemy and send his Sonne to save him is wonderfull Let my soule for ever love that God and rejoyce in that mercy this would work almost upon a Devill If the soule had but the sap and sweetnesse of this it could not but warme the heart of an humbled sinner and kindle in him an abundant love to God who hath beene so loving to him Particular 3 Lastly the greatnesse of the sweetnesse of the mercy of God this inflames the soule the sweetnesse warmes it the freenesse kindles it and when the greatnesse meets with these it sets the soule all in a burning flame This is the ground the Apostle presseth to the Ephesians he desireth that they may be rooted in love that is stablished with mighty strong love how shall that be Why the text saith comprehending with all Saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height of the love of Christ which passeth knowledge as who should say can you but once comprehend the unmeasurable dimensions of Gods love and goodnesse this will kindle and inflame your hearts with admirable love to the Lord Jesus When the sinner thinkes thus with himselfe I that have done all that I could against so good a God that my heart even bleeds to thinke of it there was no name under Heaven I tore in peeces but Gods Name his wounds and heart and life I have torne all nay there was no command in the world that my soule so much despised as the command of the Lord Jesus There was no spirit that ever spake to me which I so much resisted as the Spirit of the Lord. Oh how many sweet motions hath the Lord let into my soule that he might plucke mee from my base courses and sinfull practices but I have flowen in the face of his blessed Spirit If I had lien in a dungeon and had beene plagued with torments all my life time yea though I had another world of misery to live in it is infinite mercy so the Lord would passe by these base dealings and pardon these rebellions of mine But that God should send his Sonne to love mee so incomparably so unconceivably that I could not hate him so much as he loved me I could not so exceed in unkindnesse towards him as he hath exceeded in kindnesse towards mee Oh the height of this mercy beyond my desire Oh the breadth of this mercy without all bounds Oh the length of this mercy beyond all times Oh the depth of this mercy beneath all miseries Were my eyes made of love I could nothing but weepe love were my tongue made of love I could nothing but talke love were my hands made of love I could nothing but worke love and all too little for that God that hath loved mee so admirably so unmeasurably What shall I love if I love not the Lord I love all things but I love God above all things Psal 18.1 I love thee dearly O Lord my strength saith David this is the last particular whereby the soule comes to bee all on a flame and hath a burning affection towards the Lord Almighty Vse 1 We come now to the application of the point that so wee may reape some good to our soules thereby First then it is a ground of instruction which I desire to presse unto you because it is both seasonable and profitable From the former Doctrine therefore wee collect and conclude undeniably that there is no sufficiency in a naturall heart to be carried to the Lord Jesus Christ or to the worke of grace wee have not this before God doth give it unto us nay we cannot move towards God or be carried in the least kind to love or delight in him further than the Lord will carry us himselfe and beare up our hearts by the hand of his Spirit It is true and wee finde it by wofull experience it is in our power to love the world it is in our power to delight in our lusts Nay being but naturall men it cannot be but that we should love our selves and love our honour and our ease and profit and applause in the world There is enough of this foolish wild-fire there is enough of this carnall self-selfe-love in every mans heart But to love the Lord Jesus Christ and to have a heart inlarged with joy to him this is a worke of grace which groweth not in our gardens there is not one sparke of this holy fire and spiritual delight in our hearts Nay we cannot buy it nor borrow it
nor receive it from any creature under Heaven further than the Father sends downe some beames of his love to kindle this in us further than the blessed Spirit of God is pleased to blow these sparkes when they are kindled further than the Lord Iesus Christ is pleased by the power of his merits to feed these sparkes of love thus blowne in our soules It is almost impossible that any man in his naturall estate should be so deluded as to thinke hee can love the Lord or delight in him 1 Tim. 1.13 14. opened The Apostle Paul tels us plainly hee was a persecutor and a blasphemer and injurious Paul could doe this and thou haply canst doe this thou canst be a blasphemer against Jesus Christ and thou canst be a persecutor of Jesus Christ but Paul cannot beleeve in Christ nor love the Lord Iesus how comes hee to this Why the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Iesus marke that As if hee should say it was Gods abundant grace that over-powerd my unfaithfull heart and made it faithfull It was Gods abundant grace that over-powerd my stubborne injurious heart and made it a loving heart But how comes this that the grace of the Lord was abundant in faith and love Why it is in Christ saith the text from Christ this faith was rooted from Christ this love was kindled As if he had said I could persecute and blaspheme and despise and cast off God and his grace I was a wretch a villaine that I could doe But that I should love the Lord being injurious and that I should beleeve the Lord being unfaithfull this was from Christ alone In experience we finde it the ball must first fall upon the ground before it can bound up againe and returne from the ground So the Lord Jesus must dart in and fling in this love of his into the soule before the soule can rebound in love and joy backe to him againe We must receive the Spirit of love from God 2 Tim. 1.7 before the Lord can receive any spirituall and holy love from us In a word what the Lord spake in some case to the Jewes is true of every man naturally I know that you have not the love of God in you Iohn 5.42 As if he should say you know not your selves you thinke you have hearts inlarged to God and you pretend great kindnesse to God but you are deceived in your soules and cozened in your corrupt natures for I know full well that the love of God is not in you I pursue the point the rather for these two ends First it discovers and confutes the carnall conceits of a company of carnall Gospellers that pretend they doe not delight to set out themselves in shew so much and they doe not heare and pray and fast so much as these and these doe But say they as for the soundnesse of our love to the Lord Jesus wee defie any man in the world that speakes against us they finde no difficulty in the matter to love the Lord they are certainly perswaded they doe that Therefore if the Minister shall presse upon them and challenge them of want of love to God and his grace they flie in a mans face presently What not love the Lord Jesus Christ why then it is pitie a man should live upon the face of the earth they doe love him and they will love him all the world shall not perswade them from the loving of Christ Oh poore silly creature it is a great argument that thou never hadst this love to God because thou sawest no hardnesse to get it It is an argument thou never didst expresse any delight in Christ because thou thinkest it an easie matter to delight in him Most men thinke it a matter of nothing what not love the Lord Jesus Christ why who cannot love Christ Who cannot I say neither thou nor I nor any man under heaven can love Christ by any power in himselfe Nay let me speake peremptorily thou art as able to save thy owne soule nay thou art as able to redeeme thy soule without Christ as thou art able unlesse the Lord by the Almightie helpe of his Spirit-inable thee to love the Lord Jesus Christ Nay marke what I say you that love Christ and yet doe nothing for him but pretend great kindnesse inwardly how ever you expresse not your selves in outward appearance I tell thee if a man might have happinesse by it if he might have heaven laid downe upon the naile as wee say if he could love Christ I say upon these conditions if thou hast but nature in thee thou wouldst never goe to heaven thou wouldst never be happie No no it will cost thee more than that comes to it will cost thee much paines it will cost thee many prayers and many teares before that day come It is not an easie matter to love the Lord Jesus the Father from heaven must learne you that you must goe to another manner of schoole than ever you have beene at yet if ever you learne this lecture thou mayst pray till thy eyes sinke in thy head and till thy heart failes and yet thou canst not love Christ unlesse the Spirit inable thee thereunto Thinke of this you that thinke it is nothing to love the Lord Jesus Christ If it were nothing but to talke of love and to complement with the Lord Jesus to make a cursie to Christ and to make a leg to the Lord and yet hate him inwardly then it were an easie matter indeed it is nothing to buckle to him in this fashion and in the meane time oppose him and the power of his grace but to entertaine and welcome a Saviour sutable and agreeable to the worth of him this nature will not cannot doe it is the worke of the Lord. Observe it I beseech you I say as nature cannot doe this so nature will not doe it first nature cannot doe it 1 Iohn 1.5 God is light and in him is no darknesse Ephes 5.8 saith the text at all and Ye were darknesse but now are light in the Lord A man naturally is nothing but darknesse and God is nothing but light a man by nature is nothing but unholy and God is nothing but holy Now darknesse will resist light and not give way to it and wickednesse will oppose holinesse and not give way to the same this is thy condition thou hast an ignorant carnall blinde heart and God is light pure and holy and thou canst resist a Saviour but not entertaine him doe what thou canst Nay further as a man cannot naturally doe this so in the second place I say he will not doe it The Apostle affirmes of the Thessalonians That they would not receive the love of the truth 2 Thess 2.10 opened that they might be saved he doth not say They would not receive the truth but they would not receive the love of the truth It is
a phrase taken from a man which makes love to a partie so the truth of God makes love to many a man it makes love to thy naughtie and corrupt heart and would plucke thee away from these things here below and would draw thee from thy base haunts and filthy lusts and sinfull courses and it would wooe and winne thy soule to take place in it that it may shew comfort to it the truth of God makes love to the world and the world will none of the truth Christ came to the world and the world received him not they were so farre from seeking a Saviour and comming to him that they would not receive a Saviour when hee came unto them Therefore know thou hast a heart that can hate the Lord Jesus Christ but thou hast not a heart to love him thou hast not a heart that can delight in his good Spirit thou hast not a heart that can take content in his rich grace The second reason why I presse this point is this I would discover the disorderly dealing of many poore Saints of God wâ—th their owne soules Many a poore childe of God labours extremely and takes great paines to worke his soule and bring his heart to love Christ he falls out with himselfe because he cannot love God and he is ready to curse himselfe hee cannot get his heart up to heaven where is more riches than is in the best riches of the world where is more honour than in the greatest honour upon earth where is more pleasure than in the greatest delight here below they labour and can finde no good successe they take paines but their worke doth not succeed prosperously the reason is this they doe not begin at the right end they worke the wrong way goe to the sea of love and goe to the sunne of righteousnesse and to the beames of Gods mercie which onely can worke thy heart to love God and delight in him doe not goe to thy cold earthly frozen heart and thinke to fetch love from thence thinke not to bring love to the promise but looke to receive love from the promise but it is the love of God towards thee that must draw love from thee to God againe It was the speech of Christ when he was to send the Comforter to his Disciples Iohn 16.14 He shall receive of mine saith the text and give it unto you marke the phrase all graces and all spirituall abilities are Christs goe thy wayes therefore and presse the Lord Jesus with this promise of his and say The truth is Lord the heart to love thee and delight in thee is thine and thou hast said thy Spirit shall take of thine and give to us therefore give to us of thine Lord that thou mayst receive of thine from us Our hearts cannot love nor delight in thy Majestie but it must come from thee give it to us therefore Lord that wee may give thee of thine owne Vse 2 The second thing I gather from this doctrine is this namely strong comfort and consolation to stay and refresh the hearts of those that have received this gracious worke What ever thy weaknesse be it skils not Is thy love in truth Is thy joy sound it is enough thy soule may bee comforted in that the Lord hath bestowed this gracious worke upon thee in any measure if thy love be in truth it will carry thee through all occasions in this pilgrimage of thine and bring thee to everlasting happinesse it is a ground of admirable refreshing to the soule that findes in his heart this love and delight in God The text telleth us a man by nature cannot doe this Therefore if thou hast this goe thy way cleare thy soule and blesse God for it and make much of it and say Thou hast more than all carnall men than all cunning hypocrites under heaven can have pretend what they will and professe what they please thou that hast the love of God in any measure though in much weaknesse thou hast more than they all This may refresh the hearts of many of you poore ones though haply many other things goe ill with you yet this appeares in the younglings of Christ though they cannot doe any thing for their Father yet they can love him it is a loving childe we say it can love the Father though it can doe nothing for him so you poore weake Christians that have small meanes little abilities haply thy understanding is not so deepe to fadome the mysteries of life and salvation thy tongue is not so glib to talke so freely and conferre so comfortably of heavenly things thou canst not be enlarged in holy duties thy understanding is marvellous blinde thy memory marvellous weake thy parts exceeding feeble so that thou art even ashamed of thy selfe and of what thou hast and dost But I aske thee this question Canst thou love Christ and reioyce in the Lord Jesus mee thinkes many a poore soule replies Yes I blesse the Lord that is all I have to uphold my heart withall I thinke all the profits and pleasures and friends in the world cannot draw my love from Christ it is my delight to love him and rejoyce in him Goe thy wayes then and the God of heaven go with thee this sparke is a sparke of that immortall Spirit of the Father which will never dye it is a worke of grace which will never leave thee it is a badge it is the cognizance and the proper liverie which the Lord Jesus Christ gives only to his Saints there was never a hypocrite under heaven that ever wore this God intended it not for them but those and onely those which the Lord hath effectually called and will glorifie with himselfe hereafter weare this and therefore thou that wantest all yet hast this comfort thy selfe with this in the want of all and say I love the Lord and the Lord knowes it and my soule knowes that I love the Lord Jesus I can say but little for Christ my understanding is weake I conceive not my memorie is weake I retaine not but yet the Lord knowes I love him and delight in him Yea and know thou it too and comfort thy selfe therein the Apostle provoâ—es us to love one another Iohn 4.7 because love comes from God now if the love to the brethren comes from God because wee see Gods image in them then the love of God hath a much more expresse worke in it therefore reason thus with your selves The time was that this wretched vile carnall worldly heart of mine could finde no relish in the promise I could not bring this naughtie soule of mine to entertaine the Gospell of grace nor the Spirit of grace but they were tedious and irksome to my soule but the Lord blessed be his name hath beene pleased to helpe me so that I can doe that which I never could doe I finde the Lords promise and goodnesse much more comfortable to me than all the corne and wine
in the world and my heart is cheared with the consideration of the same The Apostle saith Rom. 8.28 All things shall worke together for the best to them that love God namely to those that are called according to his purpose that is to those that so love God that their love came by calling according to Gods everlasting counsell He called them in his good time from darknesse to light and he called them from the love of the world to the love of God therefore all things shall worke together for the best to them let nothing therefore discourage thee in this case but say All things shall worke for my good because God hath given me a heart to love him nay be cheared herein I charge you and let not your hearts droope and quarrell not with the Lord for a greater portion but blesse God for that you have received your lot is fallen into a faire ground and the Lord hath dealt lovingly with you you need no more for a childes part David desired no more Looke upon mee O Lord saith he and doe good unto me how as thou usest to doe unto those that love thy name As if hee had said I desire no more for my life and everlasting happinesse and the comfort of my soule deale with me no otherwise but just so as thou doest with those that love thy name I know thou wilt love them that love thee I know thou wilt save them that love thee I know thou wilt comfort them that love thee I know thou wilt glorifie them that love thee thus Lord doe good to thy servant I desire no more I crave no other but as thou doest as thou usest to doe good to those that love thy name if I have that I have enough David a King a glorious Saint desired no more expected no more if thou hast so much know that thou art beholding to the Lord and be contented therewith Haply you have not that vaine of talking and conference which others have this is commendable but there is a great deale of pride and vanitie in it now adayes thou canst not crancke up thy selfe in performances but thy heart closeth with God and thy affections are set upon him and thy soule burnes with love towards the Lord why that is enough to bring thee to heaven if there be ever a Saint in heaven thou art one now shalt be in heaven forever hereafter But now here is the difficultie if a man had that love which comes from God according to his purpose this would stand us in stead but there is much feigned wilde hypocriticall love in the world Quest How shall I therefore know my love whether it be true of the right nature or no Answ Here is the skill therefore we will skan the matter a little if it be true love and right joy God will accept it therefore put this love and joy upon the triall and we will say no more than what we have ground for out of the doctrine of the text Examine thy love and joy by this whether thou welcomest and entertainest the Lord Jesus Christ as beseemes him whether thou entertainest grace answerable to the worth of grace for that is the nature of this love and joy which God kindles and workes Now this appeares in five particulars The first is this if thou wilt know the truth and soundnesse of thy love and joy for what I say of the one I say of the other if love be good joy will be sound for they grow both upon one root onely the one hath more sweetnesse of Gods favour shed into the heart which makes the soule sport with it c. I say therefore to discover the soundnesse of this love of thine observe these trials Triall 1 First observe the root and rise from whence thy love came and wisely consider this for it is a point of great weight and hard to discover yet it is that which will never faile it is the narrowest search in the world if thy love come from the right mint it is currant and warrantable it is such as our Saviour approves of It is Christs royall prerogative to mint love and coine such love as he will take for payment and accept of therefore doth thy love come from the Spirit of the Father then it is made fit to close with the Father and to close with the Lord Iesus and with his good Spirit and consequently the Father allowes this and will give acceptance to it You know great men must be entertained answerable to their worth for a man to have meane fare and scant provision this may content a poore man but the choisest and best deare bought and farre fetched beseemes men of great ranke and place So there is a kinde of leane love this earthly and naturall love that growes only out of thy owne strength and naturall parts it is scant provision it beseemes not it suits not with God the Father it is not answerable to the place and state of the Lord Iesus Christ It is good enough for these base things here below earthly love for earthly things carnall love for carnall things it is good enough for these things But will you entertaine the Father of heaven Will you entertaine the Lord Iesus Christ I tell you then you must have dainties you must have spirituall love to welcome a spirituall Father otherwise it will not be sutable to his worth Looke as it is with flowers those flowers which are sowen and planted and by the skilfull hand of the gardiner inocculated are choise ones both for sent and sight are your province roses and the like are of great account but your common hedge roses no man cares for them So it is with the worke of Gods Spirit and all other common graces there is province love and province joy which is planted and wrought in the heart by the skilfull hand of God and his blessed Spirit these make a sweet smelling savour in the nostrils of God Aye that love saith the Father Aye that love saith the Lord Jesus wee cannot better please them than by entertaining them after this matter but these hedge roses this carnall love and carnall joy that growes upon the hedge of our owne naturall hearts the Lord cares not for this love and joy it beseemes him not in any measure therefore observe this canst thou say I love God because hee loved me this is a love of the right coine it came from the right mint and know it for ever that that God which cannot but love himselfe he cannot but like that love of thine which is of his owne nature which came from his owne selfe who is the God of all love I would faine have you understand what I speake is thy heart therefore affected and inlarged with love to the Lord because thou hast found and felt and received the sweetnesse of the rellish of the riches of his grace into thy soule doth love and joy grow upon
than God doth convey this and communicate to the soule a man naturally is as well able to keepe the law which is doe and live as hee is of himselfe in himselfe so considered to beleeve in the Gospell and to keepe the second covenant of grace which is beleeve and live but the difference is here the Gospell requires abilitie and gives it the Lord cals us to come and inables us to come whereas the law reveales a mans corruptions but never gives him power against them but as the Lord called Lazarus so the Lord gave Lazarus power to rise so when the Lord cals a poore sinner he gives strength and spirituall ability to come according to the call which the Lord reveales that he may come by that saving and precious faith as S. Peter cals it therefore it is of necessity required that as the soule beleeves the Lord must give strength that it may beleeve and therefore it is effectually perswaded Now that I might meet with that erronious opinion of Pelagians consider what I say they say it is of necessity required that a poore sinner have his minde inlightened but the will of man is unaltered and left free to refuse or chuse grace if it please so that they put a kinde of ability in the will to take or refuse Christ and grace when it is offered but here is a deepe mistake because the will of man is as farre averse from God as the minde is blinde nay it is more averse from God than the minde is blinde and it is more hard to be framed therefore there must be this effectuall perswading as the understanding must have the truth cleered to see a Christ so the will must be perswaded that it may receive power from him as it is with the sea and the thames there is ebbing and flowing now the natutall Philosophers observe that the ebbing and flowing comes not from any inward proper principle of it selfe but the light and heat of the moone leaves its beames upon the water and drawes the water after it this makes it to flow and when the moone is gone the water returnes backe againe and this is ebbing just so it is with the soule of a man humbled and enlightened there is no power in the soule to goe any further than it selfe to flow unto a Christ and to goe towards the promises further than the Lord lets in by the power of his Spirit the beames of his mercie upon the soule and sheds in the freenesse of his grace into the heart and that makes the soule flow againe so that as it ebbed and went away from God by sinne so it now flowes and comes to God againe but it is by the power and Spirit of God Quest. Now if you aske mee what it is to have the heart thus perswaded of Gods goodnesse in Christ Answ It is nothing else but this first as it is undeniably inlightened to see this mercie of God so there comes in a streame of the freenesse and riches of Gods grace and doth affect the heart with the sweetnesse and rellish of Gods grace that it findes a marvellous sweetnesse in it Quest Secondly what is it to be effectually perswaded Ans It is thus much not a touch and away and a little sip and begone nor a hourly kinde of tasting but take notice of these two things in it First when the prevailing sweetnesse in the promise and that goodnesse in the promise is let in by the Spirit of the Lord that it sinkes into the heart roots and it comes to take possession of the soule of an humble sinner and is next the soule there is nothing next the soule but that the world and pleasure c. are without the heart but the goodnesse of the promise and the freenesse of Gods grace hath its privie chamber in the heart of a man this I take to be the meaning of that phrase of rooting the promise in the heart and this was the fault of the stony ground-hearers Matth. 13.21 The seed grew up suddenly and perished suddenly why because it had not depth of earth the seed of the promise had not the depth of his heart but there was a stone in the heart and the world lay next the heart and a stone of lust and pride was betweene the word of the Lord and the heart so that the promise had not root and hence it was slightly affected with the truth but never thus powerfully to have it goe downe to the roots of the heart the good word of the Lord in this case comes to the heart not as an owner but as a travellour this is the meaning of that place Hosea 2.14 I will allure her and draw her into the wildernesse that is by preparation and then I will speake comfortably to her that is I will speake to her heart so it is in the originall there is a kinde of prevailing sweetnesse of the grace of God in Christ that will be at the roots of the heart that it may give allowance unto it now marke what followes from hence and this is the first part of the effectuall perswading of the heart when the heart saith away with profit and the world and all let me have the Lord and his grace Oh that goes to the bottome of the heart hence it is that the soule thus prevailingly is sweetned with the goodnesse of the promise can taste nothing in the world without this it is now out of love with all other things it had loved and doted on before most immoderatly the sweetnesse of the promise hath stolne away the heart of a poore sinner and gotten the good will of the soule to be only for Christ and to have his heart to close with Christ and to be nothing in the world without him this effectuall perswading it is the meaning of that place Act. 3.19 Amend your lives repent and turne that your sinnes may be done away repent and be converted that is be truly prepared in the worke of humiliation and be converted that is have a through heat of the heart for grace in vocation that your sinnes may be done away in justification so then when the soule is first humbled in preparation and the heart now all for the Lord Jesus Christ and can taste nothing but Christ and nothing in regard of him and God hath gotten his good will then followes justification that your sinnes may be blotted out this was the practice of the repenting Church when the Lord had hedged her way and built a wall that she could not finde her old lovers Hos 2.7 at last the Church saith I will returne to my first husband for then it was better with me than now as if the Church had said Oh the mercies of God and the consolation of Christ are better than all my delights in sinne the soule comes now to see a bettering in Christ Oh to have my heart purged and my sinnes remitted it were better than to wallow
after the freenesse of grace in Christ yet the poore soule will ever be lingring after this Light looke as it is with a great torch carry it out of one roome into another by-roome and though the torch be gone yet it will leave such a glimmering so that a man may follow the torch so it is with the soule truly humbled it hath received the testimony of the Spirit though the torch the glory of the testimony of this witnesse goeth aside a little in temptation yet the Lord leaves such a kind of glimmering or inkling of goodnes that the soule looks after the lampe light in this kinde and followeth it for ever Ionah 2.4 Ionah was there stubborne with the Lord he was sent to Ninive he goes to Tarshish wel God sends a whirlewind after him and tosseth him into the sea and sent also a great Whale an unruly ferry-man to carry him to land Now being in the belly of the Whale hee begins to apprehend himselfe and then is joyfull and there he made a question of Gods everlasting love but yet when he was in the belly of hell and mountaines of water went over him yet marke how the holy man behaveth himselfe I will still looke towards thy holy presence He had some illuminations of Gods goodnesse in Christ and howsoever the glory therof was eclipsed yet there was some glimmering left behinde But now the flashes of the Hypocrite they are sudden the lightning of Gods love that is in his minde but it passes thorow the soule suddenly and leaves it in the same hazard ignorance and at a losse as formerly for howsoever an hypocrite may have a glimmering and a kinde of flash and take notice of the powers of the world to come yet it comes like lightning suddenly come suddenly gone and it draweth the minde for the while and the understanding for the present but in conclusion the soule is where it was before when this flash is gone and the lightning is over it is just at the same losse and danger it was before Differ 3 From this authority of the Spirit it is of great authority and of marvellous powerful command so that the whole frame of the soule comes to be ordered and the heart comes to be framed sutable and agreeable thereon Looke as it is with a mighty streame all the lesser streames runne that way so it is with the blessed streame of this evidence of truth what the Spirit of God lets into the minde of the Saints it carries all with it and beares all before it and makes the whole streame of the soule be answerable thereunto Take notice between the vision Saint Paul had and which Balaam had God let in a light into Balaams soule What wilt thou curse Iacob Oh the glory that I will bestow upon them This made his teeth water at the goodnesse of the Lord and he saith Let mee die the death of the righteous Numb 24.2 the Text useth the phrase The Spirit of God was upon Balaam the meaning is he intimated the happie condition of the Saints of the Lord and in stead of cursing he blessed them though this cursed Witch Balaam had this common enlightning to know the excellencie of the condition yet his heart was never the better was covetous and malicious still towards Iacob But looke Acts 26.19 Saint Paul saith hee was not disobedient to the vision as who should say The blessed truth that was revealed to me the voyce that spake to me from heaven my minde was framed thereby and answerably disposed thereunto and I submitted and came in at the voyce of the Lord. Hence the phrase in Scripture They that know thee will trust in thee as who should say Grounded knowledge brings in confidence So Ioh. 4.10 Christ saith Hadst thou knowne me it is not every knowledge that will doe the deed a man may talke of grace but hadst thou understood better the evidence thou shouldest have asked grace and received it this is the reason of Iobs speech when God takes a man in hand he will command a man to returne fron iniquitie there is a commanding power in the obedience of truth the Lord lets in a commanding power and turnes the heart from sin and makes it yeeld to the obedience of God Whereas the light of the hypocrite is like lightning in the evening a flash and away and leaves no heat behinde it The Sunne doth not only give light but it leaves a heat behind it so it is with the Spirit of God when the sunshine of the heavenly light comes into the heart it leaves a heat of holy affections behinde it framing and disposing the heart of a man to be at the call and command of God Observe when wee lay forth arguments before men and convince their consciences that their course is nought notwithstanding whatsoever we can speake they returne to their wicked speeches and base practices their lives are as wicked their tongues as prophane as ever but when the Spirit of God will take those arguments we propound out of Scripture and make knowne those troubles to the understanding it communicates unto thee and them that power to the soule that it comes to be disposed thereunto Differ 4 The testimony of the Spirit goes upon very good ground it is a wise Spirit and a Spirit of truth and therefore goes wisely to worke Now Hypocrites they beare up their hearts with admirable evidence of Gods love but aske them what reasons they have for it what arguments to maintaine it they have nothing at all to say this is an undoubted argument of a besotted befooled hypocrite Come to your ancient people and enquire of them in the time of their sicknesse aske them if ever they were perswaded of Gods favour they say they thanke God they never doubted of it they reply they were worse than Reprobates if they should but they have no ground at all to confirme this this is an undoubted argument of a soule that never had any sound evidence of Gods love for where the Spirit comes it goes upon good ground Vse 2 Direction and Exhortation hence wee learne what course wee must take what path wee must tread in what meanes we must use to get this notice and gaine this evidence of Gods love to our soules learne the ground get the witnesse of Gods Spirit get but the Spirit to seale it and all is thine It was the speech of Sampson when he propounded a Riddle to the Philistines they knew not how to answer it because they understood it not before he had told his wife and shee them then they related the Riddle to them hee confesseth their answer to be good But saith he had you not plowed with my Heifer you could not have expounded my Riddle I use the same comparison for our purpose use Gods meanes if you would know Gods minde take counsell of him that is privie Counceller of Heaven would you be perswaded of Gods love and affection
inlarged to bestow his heart thereupon nor carry himselfe with that pleasure and delight which otherwise he would this is the first passage I know there is a wilde kinde of love and joy in the world counterfeit coyne but this is not the love and joy we meane we will have garden love and joy of the Lords owne setting and planting those carnall hypocriticall joyes we will not meddle withall Passage 2 The second passage is this this love and joy is kindled by the Spirit of the Father he it is from whence come all the sparkes that must kindle grace in us So that all other love and joy which is not spirituall and from him cannot be acceptable to his Majesty It is that in generall which the Apostle Paul inferres Rom. 8.8 They which are in the flesh cannot please God So all the joy and love as well as any other action that proceeds out of nature and flesh cannot please God But it must be heavenly love and joy proceeding from the Spirit Suffer me to expresse my selfe after this manner Looke as it is with a gentleman in the countrey he will bee content to leave his habitation for a while and give up his house to the King for a while because hee is but a meane man and not able to entertaine so great a retinue therefore the King sends his owne provision before hand observe it So it is with a poore humble broken hearted sinner the poore soule is marvellous well content the Lord should come to him and dwell in him and dispose of him but he is such a poore beggerly wretch Simile he is not able to make God a fire he cannot love God hee hath not that holy heat of love and joy to entertain and welcome the Lord as becommeth his Majesty therefore the Lord sends provision before hand and kindleth love and joy in the soule that by that love and joy he may be welcomed to the heart of an humble sinner or thus to expresse my selfe more clearly Take a burning glasse that will receive the beames of the Sunne and heat and burne other things the glasse of it selfe hath no such heat in it but when it hath received the beames of the Sunne it heats and burnes other things as flax and such combustible matter but it is by the heat of the beames of the Sunne received otherwise it could doe nothing So it is with an humble sinner hee lieth fit to receive the beames of Gods mercy and waits when the Sun of righteousnesse will shine from heaven comfortably upon his heart and being warmed with the beames of Gods love and favour effectually hee is able to reflect the heat of love and joy backe againe this is the second thing Passage 3 Thirdly the Doctrine saith that love and joy are kindled that they may entertaine and rejoyce in the riches of Gods mercy This last clause is added to discover the difference and to make knowne the distinct nature of this love and joy here from all the fained and false love and joy which hypocrites pretend to have and seeme to expresse to the Lord Jesus Christ Therefore I say this love and joy is kindled not onely to entertaine him and rejoyce in him for there is a kinde of entertaining and rejoycing in Hypocrites Iudas had a haile Master and the common people spread their garments and welcomed Christ crying Hosanna blessed is hee that commeth in the Name of the most High and the young man pretended a deare affection to Christ Master I will follow thee whither soever thou goest And the stony ground received the word with joy Matth. 13. and with love too for they goe both together for he that joyes in a thing cannot but love that he rejoyceth in So that wee see all these had a kinde of joy but it is not that kinde of joy that comes from the Father neither will it carry it selfe beseeming the riches of Gods mercy for hee that saluted his Master All haile in conclusion betrayed him is this your joy and love you entertaine Christ withall So that young man that would follow him whithersoever he went presently forsooke him And they that even now cried Hosanna Hosanna blessed be hee that commeth in the Name of the Highest anon crye as fast crucifie him crucifie him and they that received the Word with joy when temptation and persecution came rejected it This joy is a foolish imagination hammered out of their Anvill for base ends and by aimes but they carry not themselves beseeming the riches of Gods mercy revealed to them For Hee that loveth father or mother or brother or sister more than me is not worthy of me saith our Saviour that is hee that priseth any thing more and delights in any thing more than Christ is not worthy of him Therefore whosoever he be that bestowes his love and joy more upon any thing in this world than upon Christ it is not a love and joy beseeming him nor brought from heaven but proceeds from a base rotten heart and will faile us and bring no profit nor comfort in the end This then sufficeth for the sense and proofe of the point we come now to open it a little wherein for explication and confirmation thereof wee will handle these two things First wee will shew you the reason of the order why after hope and desire there comes this love and ioy Secondly we will discover the motives and grounds what it is in the promise that will kindle and strike fire and inflame these two affections and bring them to the Lord. First Reasons you will say how comes love and joy next after hope and desire I answer you must know there is no more but two affections in the soule God infinitely wise having so framed it and these two are hope and desire The understanding saith such a thing is profitable and comfortable if I had it then hope is sent out to wait for that goodnesse and if it comes not then desire the second affection is sent out to meet the good hope stands and waits for it but desire wanders up and downe seeking and enquiring after a Lord Jesus and goeth from coast to coast from East to West Oh that I could and oh that I might and when shall I and how may I come to the speech of a Lord Jesus Christ As it was with the Spouse in the Canticles when her beloved was gone she wandred up and downe seeking of him and enquiring of the watchmen if they did not see him so desire wanders from this thing to that thing from this place to that place and never ceaseth to see if it can gaine notice of Christ It goeth to prayer to see if that will intreat a Christ It goeth to the Word to see if that will reveale him It goeth to conference to see if he can heare of a Christ there then it commeth to the congregation and to the Sacrament to see if it can heare any
goe to heaven No heaven shall rather fall than I come there Thus the discouraged sinner knocks off mercie and shuts the doore against it Now when all carnall reasonings and high imaginations as Paul cals them have raised up strong holds against mercie and comfort when the word cannot doe it for the present God is faine at last to command loving kindnesse and send him with a commission from heaven saying I charge you breake open the doore of the heart of such a sinner rend that veile of ignorance and teare that cursed veile of carnall reasoning And I command thee goe to that soule and cheare it and comfort it goe to that soule and refresh it and fill it tell him his sinnes are pardoned his person accepted and his soule shall be saved tell him his sighs and groanes are heard and his prayers observed in heaven make this good to his soule I charge you before you come backe againe this is the admirable goodnesse of the Lord the soule many times hath so many trickes and shifts and windings and yeeldings to carnall reason that no comfort will come in So that the Lord is faine to send loving kindnesse to cheare the soule As it is with some unruly fellowes who will not give a man possession of his right till the high Sheriffe comes and gives him possession by force whether they will or no So loving kindnesse is Gods high Sheriffe now when a company of base fellowes as carnall reasonings and the like would keepe out mercie and favour that is due to a sinner the Lord commands loving kindnesse to breake open the doore and speake comfort to him and now take notice of what I say as a good to come was the ground of hope and if there be any necessarie excellencie desire longs for it So when the good is not only present but expresseth his presence and leaves some kinde of remembrance as it were and discovers it selfe in some manner effectually to the soule that stirres up love continually and that must be done before any love can be kindled I open it thus Looke as it is with touching which is a facultie of nature if the thing lyes upon a man leaves a strong impression upon him then a mans touch will feele it but if it be marvellous light then it may lye upon a man and be present with him and yet not be perceived as a feather lay it upon a mans finger on the sudden or a mote in a mans face because it leaves no impression hee feeles it not but if there bee any weight laid upon his hand then he feeles so if it be water that moistens him or fire that scorcheth him he is sensible of it so love in the soule is like touching in the body now when loving kindnesse is not set on upon the heart though it be present with the soule yet because it leaves no impression upon the soule hence it comes that the heart cannot be stirred with any love towards it nor be touched and affected with it nor returne that joy and delight as becomes the favour of God So that there must be the love of God letting some sweet intimations into the heart and expressing it selfe to the soule and affecting the heart therewith and then our love comes to bee kindled towards God againe Gods love setling upon the soule drawes and puls our love to God againe This is the ground of that the Apostle speakes We love him 1 Iohn 4.19 because he loved us first It must be the beames of Gods love that must fall upon the soule before the soule can returne love to God againe Hosea 11.4 So in Hosea I drew them saith the text with the cords of love and with the bands of a man as who should say God lets in the cords of his love into our soules and that drawes our loves to him againe But most excellent is that place of the Canticles marke the manner of the guise of the Spirit of God expressing himselfe to the soule He brought me to the Banquetting house Cant. 2.4 and his Banner over me was Love and what followeth Stay mee with flaggons and comfort mee with apples for I am sicke of Love When the Banner of Christs love is displayed over the soule the soule comes to bee sicke of love to Christ againe In warre when the Captaine displayeth the banner three things are done by it First it argueth the presence of the Generall Secondly it commands all the Souldiers to come to it Thirdly all come under it Now observe the excellency of the sweetnesse of the sense of the Spirit of God when God displayeth the banner of his love in the perfect colours and beauty of it to the soule then all the hearts of poore fainting sinners come in as Souldiers and they are sicke of love to him now this love of God begets love in us againe in three particulars Particular 1 First there is a sweetnesse and rellish which Gods love le ts into the soule and that warmes the heart When a man is fainting aqua vitae comforts him Thy loving kindnesse is better than life saith the Prophet David there is aqua vitae indeed the Lord lets in but one glimpse of his love and that warmes the soules This is that observable in the Canticles Cant. 2.3 opened Let him kisse mee with the kisses of his mouth for thy love is better than wine because of the savour of thy good oyntment thy Name is an oyntment powred forth therefore doe the Virgins love thee Every poore sinfull creature thou that drinkest water if thou hast Christs love thou thinkest it better than the best wine under heaven Let him kisse me with the kisses of his lips that is with the comforts of his Word and Spirit so that marke what the soule saith Let the Lord Jesus Christ refresh my soule with the sweet comforts and consolations of his Word and it will be better than wine But first he must kisse him with the kisses of his lippes before his love can be better than wine that is the Lord by the power of his Spirit in the ministery of the Word must expresse his love to the soule and that drawes the love of the soule to God and marke what followeth because of the savour of thy good oyntments therefore the Virgins love thee by Christs oyntments are Christs graces signified Now when the Lord Jesus Christ doth communicate the sweet savour of his grace into the soule then the Virgins which are loosened from sinne love the Lord Jesus but first the savour of the oyntment must be spred abroad before they can love him Particular 2 Secondly as the sweetnesse of Gods love warmes the heart so the freenesse of the same doth even beginne to kindle a love in the soule Herein saith the Apostle God commends his love towards us Rom. 5.8 in that while we were yet enemies unto him Christ died for us The Lord sends from heaven to
this root namely upon a grounded application as I may so say in speciall manner of Gods favour to thy soule settled and sealed and made knowne in this kinde if thy love doe grow upon this ground upon the particular application of Gods mercie to thy soule so that thy soule can say the Lord hath looked downe from heaven hee hath said in his word that hee will looke at them that tremble at his name I looked for mercie and I sought for grace and blessed bee God I have found that mercie and grace I looked and sought for the Minister spake it and his Spirit spake it that my name was registred in heaven and that my prayers were heard my desires satisfied and therefore how shall I love the Lord that hath done all this for mee my sinnes I have bewailed my complaints I have powred forth and the Lord hath looked from heaven and given me a gracious answer therefore I will love the Lord for it even for ever I love thee dearly O Lord my strength thou art my support that hast strengthned me thou art my Saviour that hast saved me therefore my soule shall for ever love thee for that mercie of thine this is a love now that comes from a right mint it is currant and good pay Difference betwixt the love and joy of an hypocrite and of Gods childe But if a man love God from himselfe this love will bring a man to himselfe and there leave him as if a man have a love to his parts or to his hearing or reading or praying or preaching or conferences if a man have a love to his understanding wisedome and policie he loves his wisedome and policie well therefore hee would faine be beholding to Christ to helpe him to glorifie this wisedome and policie and these parts of his that he might receive honour to them now the love of his parts brought all to his parts and Christs honour in the meane time lay in the dust and so I might instance in a thousand examples of the like nature Whereas now marke what I say that love which is wrought from God alwayes drawes the soule unto Gods love againe the Lord lets downe the cords of his love into the soule and thereby breeds love and kindles love in the soule to that goodnesse and kindnesse of his and this is the excellencie of a Christian and this love is of a right coine and of a right stampe but love of my parts that Christ may glorifie my parts and love of profit that Christ might promote my profit I love my parts and profit only now and not Christ in this case and this is the greatest difference betweene the love and delight which the cunningst hypocrite under heaven can have and the Saints of God I expresse it thus Meat that a man takes downe inwardly Simile and digests breeds good bloud and good complexion but that which a man takes and digests not but vomits out againe presently breeds neither good bloud nor good complexion So it is with the love of the heart that is rightly wrought upon to entertaine and love a Saviour and delight in him and welcome him as beseemes his worth a heart that is foundly wrought upon by the Spirit feeds heartily upon the promise and that feeding and taking downe of the promise and that closing with the promise breeds good bloud and good complexion true love that breeds good bloud and true joy that breeds good complexion because the promise is fed upon it is the worke of Gods Spirit which seize upon and worke effectually upon the heart that bred this sound love and true joy But a carnall hypocrite that only hath a taste of the promise and a flattering apprehension of the promise in general Christ came to save sinners c. these are prettie things to tickle their conceits but they never goe downe they digest not the promise of Christ and therefore that love which comes from hence is but a fained love and that joy which ariseth from hence is but a false joy it breeds no good bloud it breeds no good complexion but meere vanities and overtures in a Christians course here is the difference betweene the love and joy of an hypocrite and of a Saint of God this is the first triall Triall 2 Secondly if thou entertaine thy Saviour as beseemes a Saviour thou must entertaine him as a King for he is a King that is give up all to him and entertaine none but those that attend upon him and appertaine to him in a word love all in Christ love all for Christ but expresse thy affection and joy to him above all he is the King all the rest are but retainers and therefore entertaine him in the first place hee that loves any thing equall with Christ hee never loved Christ truly he that sets up any thing cheeke by jowle with his Saviour he despiseth he renounceth his Saviour It is all one in plaine termes as if a man should put a slave into the chamber where the King is and say he hath entertained the King this base behaviour of his will drive the King away as well as if he did openly and profesly bid him be gone So if thou settest up any thing with thy Saviour thou dost drive him away as well by thy base behaviour as by open profession a man cannot receive friendship with Christ and the world upon the same termes Iames 4.4 a wife that loves her husband loves him only as a husband hee only hath her heart and she loves none but him in that manner she loves others as friends and neighbours and gives them respect so farre as they keepe themselves there but if they come to claime the love of a husband she abhorres them so a loving heart loves Jesus Christ onely as a bridegroome and all things else only as friends and neighbours the soule that loves Christ loves him onely as a Christ and all the rest as friends the soule will love riches that may credit it and parts that may advance it as friends to speake for a man and to give occasion to a man to come to a Saviour as the wife loves her husband firstly and the rest as friends and neighbours that must further the match so the soule loves the Lord Iesus Christ in the first place and all things else as profit and riches and parts as friends and neighbours that may make up the match with a Saviour and bring it into acquaintance with a Saviour the soule loves prayer and hearing and Gods ordinances as friends to speake a good word to Christ for it but if any thing come to steale away the heart and challenge the affection of a spouse it abhorres it it hates honour and riches and all things in the world that will challenge any spouse-like love Christ only shall have that Luke 14.16 opened Our Saviour saith Hee that hates not father and mother for my sake is not worthie of mee
it be stirres it selfe to attaine neerer union with the Lord Jesus even when he seemes to absent his presence from the soule but we cannot prosecute that so that by this time then it doth appeare what it is to love the Lord trulâ— and wee have laid downe the triall whereby we may know whether wee have this love or no. Vse 3 The third use is a word of reproofe you have heard the ground of consolation already therefore when the pill is sugered I hope it will down the better Here then wee have a just ground of reprehension and it comes marvellous heavy as a witnesse to accuse many nay as a Judge to condemne many in the world this is sufficient to shake their hearts and to make their soules that live in the bosome of the Church almost to sinke in the consideration and sight of their owne miserable and fearfull condition upon whom this worke was never stamped in whose soules this grace of God was never yet kindled certaine it is such never loved the Lord nor ever rejoyced in Christ Woe to their soules therefore and beloved this is the condition of the greatest part of those that live in the Church and are counted professors among us they love not Christ they rejoyce not in him yet they will not bee perswaded of it therefore give a little attendance I beseech you to what I shall say This is the cunning that Satan hath to deceive poore soules withall because these holy affections are inward and retired as hope and desire and love and joy because I say they are secret things in the soule and doe not discover themselves outwardly to the view of the world further than the fruits thereof manifest the same Therefore men not knowing these affections themselves and not conceiving of the nature of them that is the cause that many leane upon the expectation of what they have in frame of heart though they want in the course of their lives this is that which every man almost doth challenge to himselfe as that whereby he will beare up his heart in time of trouble and cheere up his soule in the day of distresse Wicked men when every one cannot but see and behold their base courses and loath their sinfull practices nay when they themselves cannot but confesse their filthy behaviours c. Why they confesse they fall foully and they fall dayly and scandalously but that which heals all helps all is this they say it is true it is so with their lives but yet they love the Lord Jesus with all their hearts every vile varlet will say thus when hee hath sworne by a Saviour and torne his flesh in peeces his blessed body his blood his wounds and all yet when he hath done this he loves a sweet Saviour still Oh poore deluded miserable sinfull wretch that I may apply my selfe particularly to such a one I beseech you give mee leave to doe two things First I will make it good that most men have not this love of God Secondly I will plead the Inditement and then when I have laid out the Inditement and pleaded it and shewed who they are that have not this love of God the point will be cleere First it is sure and most certaine 1 Most in the world have no love to God but hatred against him that most in the world that live in the bosome of the Church have not their hearts carried in any love of God but in a hatred and desperate opposition against the Lord Jesus Christ In him was life and this life was the light of the world and the light shined in darknesse and the darknesse comprehended it not the meaning is this the Lord Jesus Christ was the life of the promise in him was life the promise of life was in Christ and that promise of life was a light to teach men the way to life and salvation but when this light of the promise of grace shined to the world the darke world comprehended it not they knew it not Christ came unto his owne Iohn 1.11 and his owne received him not There the Lord speakes of the Jewes that were his chosen people and his owne by covenant His owne by reason of the privileges and benefits and ordinances which he bestowed upon them His owne by profession they tooke the Name of Christ upon them Christ came not to heathens and pagans but to his owne and they received him not How many are there amongst us who professe the Name of the Lord Iesus and take up the Gospell of Christ and yet being Christians in profession will not entertaine the love of the Lord Iesus Christ which should make us Christians in dâ—ed Christ comes to many a mans doore and knocks and calls and intreats entrance but few will entertaine him when hee comes nay let mee say more my heart trembles to speake it nay my heart were it as it should be would grieve to thinke it Wicked men are so farre from prising Christ and loving the Lord Iesus that they hate him more than sinne nay I had almost said yet I am loth to speake it my heart shakes to thinke it but that I hope you are willing to heare the worst why then I will speake it and they are the words of the Scripture wicked men hate Christ more than the devill himselfe the Lord be merciful to such poor sinful creatures good Lord that ever men should be created by the Lord and enjoy mercy and meanes from the Lord and yet love sinne and the devill himselfe more than God Object But you will say are there any such is it possible that ever any man that breathed and received mercy from the Lord Iesus should deale so sinfully and unkindly with him why the devill would not doe it Answer I say to you as the Prophet said to Hazael in another case I know saith he the evill thou wilt doe to the children of Israel their strong holds wilt thou set on fire 2 King 8.12.13 and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword and wilt dash their children and rip up their women with childe but Hazael said what am I a dogge that I should doe this the Prophet told him the Lord hath shewed it unto me I know saith the Prophet the cruelty and venome of thy spirit though thou knowest it not So when I speake of these things men will bee ready to say what are there any such dogs to deale thus with the Lord Jesus I tell you the Lord knowes this and the Word seeth all thy venome and spight and hatred against Christ the Lord seeth and knoweth it Most men in their hearts doe hate Christ though they see it not beloved your hearts are more vile than you can conceive and more base than you can imagine the Word will make it cleere The greatest evill of all wee know is sinne the Devill is not to be loathed but for his sinne and the reason why he is
runnes and reacheth after a Christ for a man can never rest on a thing before he come to lay hold on it and to deliver all his strength and lay all his weight upon it This is implied necessarily and it is one maine proper act of faith when the soule seeth this that the Lord Jesus is his aid and must ease him and pardon his sinnes then let us goe to that Christ saith he see what our Saviour saith Iohn 6.35 He that commeth to me shall never hunger and hee that beleeveth in mee shall never thirst the phrase of comming and beleeving they are both one Ier. 3.22 there the Prophet makes the answer of the humble sinner the Lord calls upon by his Spirit and sets on his mercy effectually and saith Come to me yee rebellious sinners and I will heale your rebellions Though a poore Minister speake the word yet the Lord from heaven saith come to me ye loose hearted c. Now this voyce comming home to the heart and the prevailing sweetnesse of the call overpowring the heart the soule answers Behold we come for thou art the Lord our God The soule goes out and falls and flings it selfe upon the riches of Gods grace thus setled and revealed Come to mee all yee that are weary saith Christ when the Lord saith come I have mercy though thou hast none and I have comfort though thou hast none nay I not only have it but am ready to bestow it and come to me thou poore burthened sinner I have undertaken for thee and I will ease and helpe thee Now as for you that were never humbled nor brought low God will pull downe your proud hearts and make you stoope but you that have beene burthened and have seene your sinnes and mourned under the loathsome burthen of them to all such the Lord saith Come to mee thou poore broken hearted sinner I will heale thee and I have undertaken for thee we goe then saith the will to that Christ and that promise and that mercy and that grace that will pardon all and subdue all whatsoever is amisse It is with a sinner as it is with a Sea-faring man that is tossed with the windes and driven to a hard set with the tempest hee labours to betake himselfe to a shelter and to land at some Haven This is the nature of beleeving in the Hebrew phrase as Esa 25.4 Thou hast beene a strength to the poor and needy in trouble a refuge against the tempest a shadow against the heat c. Now when a poor sinner is weather-beaten and can see no comfort and finde no evidence for the pardon of his sinnes the Lord is pleased to make knowne the goodnesse of Christ through the promise then the soule shrowds it selfe under that shâ—dow and that goodnesse thus offered and revealed Psal 118.11 Davids soule had gotten away from God and he began to quarrell with Gods providence saying I said in my haste all men are liars see what an hasty spirit is hee hoysed up saile upon the maine Ocean and he had imaginations and conclusions of feare and despaire At last he got the Haven againe and said where art thou Oh my soule thou hast gone from God and from his promise Returne to thy rest O my soule let us goe to the promise and keepe us there to see land and make haste to it and labour to hold the heart close to the Lord Jesus Christ now the soule is come to Christ The next Act of resting is this it layes fast hold upon Christ and when the Lord saith Come my Love my Dove and come away behold I come saith she and when she is come she fastneth upon Christ and saith my Beloved is mine and I am his When she is come to Christ shee will not away againe In the Hebrew phrase to beleeve is nothing else but Amen the Heathen say that the answer of a man is this let it be done which thou hast promised that 's faith So after the soule hath walked a great while in horrour and vexation and the soule sinks in the apprehension of it the Lord lets in the comfort of his promise and saith thou poore burdned heart thy person is accepted thou art unworthy but Christ is worthy thou art sinfull but hee is mercifull Now when the soule heares this voyce it saith even Amen Lord let it be so Lord. This is the hold of the heart hope and desire love and joy have discerned a world of mercy and the will saith so be it let us stay and hold here and goe no further Esay 64.7 There is none that calleth on thy Name neither that stirreth up himselfe to take hold of thee Faith layes hold on the Lord and will not let mercy goe but cleaves unto it it is sweet to see faith in conflict with the Lord. When a man hath it as in Iob see how faith holds its owne God makes him even the Butt of his wrath as it were but Iob saith though he slay mee yet will I trust in him Me thinkes I see how the Lord makes his hand all goare blood and yet faith holds his owne it is able to fasten it selfe upon the promise of God in Christ 1 King 20.32 33. when Ahab was deeply provoked with a drunken Benhadad who said take him alive c. they entred the combat now when the day went against Benhadad for hee had dealt basely with Ahab and hee could not with any face looke for any favour from him yet when hee was driven to a stand his servants being worse than their master came to him and said Wee have heard that the Kings of Israel are mercifull Kings we pray thee let us put ropes about our neckes and sackcloth on our loynes c. Because the poore servants were like to come into danger as well as their master they went to Ahab and said thy servant Benhadad saith I pray thee let me live and Ahab said is he yet alive he is my brother and the servants catched at that word and said he is yet alive and they went away rejoycing This is a lively picture of a broken hearted sinner after he hath taken up armes against the Almighty saying shall he be at Gods command he will never doe it whilest the world stands but he will have his lusts his profit and ease c. and the Lord and hee are at open warres and now the Lord lets in justice and hee seeth the anger of God bent against him and even frowning upon him and the wrath of the Lord dogging him from day to day saying thou art an enemy to me saith the Lord and I will be an enemy to thee Now the soule seeth that he cannot avoid justice neither can he beare it and therefore the soule reasons thus I have heard that though I am a rebellious sinner yet none but sinners are pardoned he is a gracious God and therefore the soule falls downe at the footstoole of the Lord and saith Oh
it not take a man in contempt and disgrace and scorne and no man lookes after him if this man were regarded and honoured of men all were well and the man were healed and fully contented now the Lord accepts of thee thou faithfull soule he hath honoured thee so farre as to make thee his sonne and to give thee a kingdome why should honours comfort thee when the honour of Gods love and favour in Christ will not doe it the reason is because wee are carnall and see not these if a man could but see his privileges and say the world shames mee but God accepts mee this would quiet his heart for ever therefore take speciall heed of those earthly and carnall affections that take off the price of the promise an earthly heart would have more than it ought I say take heed of these affections and know that thou hast a title to the promise and know that one promise and the sweetnesse of Gods mercie in Christ is better than all the honours in the world to advance thee better than all the riches in the world or than all the parts that ever any scholler had prize these at this rate and then thou canst not but be contented with it Rule 3 Thirdly labour to keepe the promises ever at hand that you may have a ready recourse to the promise at a trice and at a turne and that you may not have the promises to seeke when need is what is it to mee though I have a thing in house if I have it not at my need if a man should say I have as good cordiall water as any is in the world but I know not where it is what folly were this to set his bottle he knowes not where haply the man is ready to swound and dye and he saith I have as good cordiall water as any is in the world but I know not where it is hee may swound and dye because hee knowes not where his waters are so thou hast a title to rhe promises of grace and thou settest not a high price upon the promise but out of thy carelesnesse leavest one promise here and another there and thou hast taken up thy heart with the world and when miserie comes and thy heart is surcharged thou saist Oh some comfort to beare up a poore fainting drooping soule my troubles are many and I cannot beare them Christ and a promise would have done it but you throw them in a corner it is your owne carelesnesse and that breeds all your miserie keepe the promises at hand and let them be within your reach he that is ready to faint often will bee sure to carry his bottle in his pocket and will set it at his beds head every night that whensoever hee should faint hee may finde it presently now for the Lords sake let me intreat you to be wise for your poore soules there is many a fainting and aguish fit and qualme comes over the heart of many a poore Christian persecutions without and sorrowes and corruptions within therefore keepe your cordiall about you and bee sure that you have it within your reach and have it not to seeke when you have need to use it I would have a poore Christian acquainted with the promise in the darke that so at midnight when God frowns and the Devill threatens and corruptions boile within you you may have it ready at hand set the promise ever at your beds head take one and bring another and be refreshed by another and goe singing to your graves and to heaven for ever in the 63. Psalme 5 6. verses marke the connexion of those two verses My soule shall bee satisfied as with marrow and fatnesse but when shall this bee looke the 6. verse When I remember thee upon my bed and meditate upon thee in the night watches he was now in the wildernesse but when he left his house he tooke the promises with him he would not leave his cordiall behinde him my soule shall be satisfied enough Lord enough I am satisfied as with marrow but when is all this when I remember thee upon my bed hee remembred well where hee had set the promise when I remember the mercie of the Lord that though all my friends be gone yet I remember thy mercie that doth all and thy faithfulnesse and goodnesse that satisfieth all fully I le warrant you that the promise will fetch you againe though you were fainting and going away Rule 4 Well I have now a title to the promise and though I have not wealth nor honours nor friends yet I have a Christ and though I cannot doe this and that yet I hope to goe to heaven in spight of all the Devils in hell Now lastly be sure to drinke a heartie draught of the promise if a man drinke a little and spet it out againe it will never doe him good therefore stand by the promise feed and drinke heartily of the promise and as Eliphaz said Iob 22.21 Acquaint thy selfe with God bestow thy selfe upon the promise every houre whensoever thou dost finde the fit comming this is the only way to finde comfort it is the counsell that the Lord Christ gives to his spouse Cant. 5.1 the Lord hath fitted all things to refresh his poore children and marke what the manner of feasting is â—nd what every man that comes to this feast must doe Eat Oh friends and drinke yea drinke abundantly Oh well beloved the word in the originall â—s in drinking drinke ye cannot be drunken with â—he Spirit as ye may with wine therefore drinke â—bundantly looke as it is in nature were the greatest dainties in the world prepared and the tables furnished send a hungar-starved man to the place if he only take a bit and away hee must needs goe away an hungred the fault was not in the meat for there was enough for him but the fault was here hee did not feed heartily hee did not drinke it downe thinke of it sadly you faithfull Saints of God they come now and then and take a snatch of the promise and then comes feare and temptation and persecution and all is gone there is enough in the promise for thee and all thy posteritie but to take a snatch and begone and to thinke of the promise and flye off againe presently this is the cause why you come â—hirstie and goe away thirstie you come discomforted and so you goe away it is your owne fault brethren experience tels us thus much take a poore distressed soule much burthened and pinched and he wants the sense of Gods love and is not worthy the ground hee goes upon bring this man to the word of God and to holy confeâ—ence and the like and hee will say I blesse God my heart is very well quieted now and hâ—s trouble is over and his temptation is gone yet hee is no sooner gone from the congregation or from the place of conference but hee is the same man that he was before still doubting of
THE SOVLES VOCATION OR EFFECTVAL Calling to CHRIST By T. H. 2 PETER 1.3 Through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glorie and vertue LONDON Printed by Iohn Haviland for Andrew Crooke and are to be sold at the Black Beare in S. Pauls Church-yard 1638. A TABLE OF THE Contents out of JOHN Doctrine I. THe soule humbled and inlightened must learne the fulnesse of the mercie of God that there is fulnesse of sufficiencie of mercie with him p. 37 Use I. Looke only to Gods mercie after that thou hast learned the lesson of contrition and humiliation p. 43 Doctrine II. That the teaching of the heart effectually is the proper taske and worke of God p. 49 Reason Because the worke is an almightie worke p. 50 Use I. It is of admirable comfort to all weake silly feeble minded creatures p. 51 Use II. If it be the worke of God then goe to him p. 52 Use III. Doth the Father teach then acknowledge you have it as from God p. 57 Doctrine III. That the word of the Gospell and the worke 〈◊〉 â—â—irit goe both together p. 62 The manner how the Word and Spirit goe together p. 63 Reason I. Because the Lord would have all use the meanes p. 65 Reason II. Because the Lord would not have men be couzened by their owne fancies p. 65 Reason III. Because the Lord would have all to bee watchfull and carefull in not losing their comfort p. 60 Use I. Instruction to teach us the worth of the Gospell above all other things in the world for it is accompâ—nied with the Spirit and it brings salvation with it p. 65 Use II. For triall hence a man may know whether wee have a spirituall heart or no. p. 67 Use III. Direction hence we may observe the ground why many of Gods faithfull people understand not that they have the Spirit of God p. 68 Use IIII. Terrour wee may see the hopelesse condition of those men that live under the Gospell c. p. 69 Use V. Exhortation you are to submit to the Word of the Lord. p. 70 The meanes to submit are three p. 71 Doctrine IIII. 〈…〉 Spiâ—â—â— of the Lord gives speciall notice of Gods acceptance to the soule truly humbled p. 72 The manner how the Spirit doth it is in three passages p. 74 Reason I. Because onely the Spirit of the Lord knowes the Lords minde p. 88 Reason II. Because the Spirit onely can breake thorow all those â—â—â—sts and clouds of ignorance and blindnesse that are in the mindes to oppose this worke p. 90 Those hindrances are of two sorts p. 91 Use I. Is of triall to examine your selves whether Gods Spirit hath given you speciall notice of Gods acceptance p. 94 The speciall notice of the Spirit from all other is to be tried and differenced by foure particulars p. 95 Use II. It is an use of direction to teach you what meanes you must use to get the notice and evidence of Gods love to your owne soules p. 101 The meanes to get the witnesse of the Spirit are foure Ibid. 1. You must labour to bee such a one to whom the Spirit doth belong p. 102 2. You must not hearken to carnall reason of your owne hearts p. 103 3. You must labour to understand the language of the Spirit p. 105 4. You must labour to keepe the promise by you for ever p. 107 The Motives to this are two Ibid. Use III. Instruction to teach you that the humbled sinner of meanest capacitie doth know more of grace and salvation and Gods love in Christ than the most wise and learned in the world that are not humbled p. 108 Use IIII. It is to shew the certaintie of the assurance of faith p. 109 Now we come next in order to shew how that the Lord must teach all the affections to come unto the promise and the first affection is the affection of hope p. 110 Doctrine V. The holy Spirit of the Father doth stir the heart of an humbled and inlightened sinner to hope for the goodnesse of the Lord. Ibid. Reason I. Why the Lord doth in the next place proceed to stir up hope is because it is the fittest facultie of the soule to wait upon mercy p. 112 The manner how God doth stirre up the heart of an humble broken hearted sinner to hope is in three passages p. 113 1 The Lord doth sweetly perswade the heart that a mans sinnes are pardonable p. 113 2 The Lord doth sweetly perswade the soule that all his sinnes shall be pardoned p. 118 3 The Lord letteth in some rellish into the soule of the sweetnesse of his love ibid. Use I. Reproofe of two sorts of persons first of those that despaire secondly of those that presume p. 119 The hainousnesse of the sin of desperation is set forth in two particulars 1 As io is most injurious to God p. 120 2 As it is most dangerous to the soule p. 121 The sinne of presumption of carnall Hypocrites is set forth p. 123 The grounds of the unreasonable hopes of carnall Hypocrites are five 1 The ignorants hope that the Lord that made him will not damne him p. 125 2 Another hopeth that God is his God because of his prospertie in outward things ibid. 3 Another hopes he shall be saved because he hath had an hell of affliction in this life ibid. 4 Another hopes for salvation in regard they enjoy the means of salvation p. 127 5 Another hopes he shall be saved because there is mercy enough in God to save him p. 129 Use II. An use of consolation to every poore broken hearted sinner canst thou but looke to God and hope I say thy condition is good p. 133 There are foure signes to know the true grounded hope of the Saints from all false and flashy hopes of Hypocrites The first signe of true hope is that true hope hath a peculiar certainty in it p. 135 The second signe is this that a true grounded hope is of great power and strength to hold the soule to the truth of the promise p. 137 The third signe is this that the excellency of this hope doth overshadow all the hopes in the world that can be offered propounded desired p. 139 The fourth signe is this a true grounded hope alwayes lendeth supply and succour when all the rest of a mans abilities doe faile in his owne sense and apprehension p. 140 Use III. Of exhortation to beseech every one to labour for this true and grounded hope p. 143. The Motives to stirre you up to seeke this hope are these three 1 Because there is nothing more usefull than this grace of hope p. 143 2 Because nothing is more needfull to the soule than this true hope p. 144 3 Because by this true hope the hearts of the Saints are kept both in love to God and in obedience unto him p. 145 The Meanes to attaine this true grounded Hope are these three 1 You must labour to cast out all carnall sensualitie p.
into the heart and by the over-piercing worke doth leave some dint of supernaturall and spirituall vertue on the heart The Spirit doth not onely with truth bring home the evidence to the heart but it iâ— stâ—ll whispering and calling and making knowne the same and forcibly soketh in the rellish of the freenesse of Gods grace and leaveth a dint of supernaturall vertue upon the soule We will expresse the points because it is somewhat difficult and is the scope of that place 2 Tim. 1.7 The Lord hath not given you the spirit of feare but of a sound minde The spirit of feare is the spirit of bondage in humiliation contrition When the Spirit sheweth a man his sinnes and sheweth him that he is in bondage and in fetters le ts him get out how he can this is the spirit of feare and of bondage In the second place there is the spirit of power But what is this spirit of power You must imagine this spirit of power doth not intimate any particular grace but as it were the sinewes and strength of the worke of the Spirit conveying it selfe through the frame of the heart and this I terme to bee the effectuall worke of the Spirit of God When the soule is humbled the Lord sweetly communicates into the soule a supernaturall and spirituall vertue Lastly as it is in nature take a knife if it be rubbed on a Loadstone it will draw iron unto it now it cannot doe that because it is a knife but because it is rubbed on a stone and receives vertue there from So it is with a heart humbled it is a fit subject for the grace of God to worke upon the love of God is like the loadstone and if the heart he rubbed thereupon and affected with the sweetnesse thereof it will bee able to close with that mercy and come to that mercy and goe to God from whence that mercy comes Quest 4 What is the behaviour of the soule when it hath learned this lesson from the Lord Answ I answer When these two things meet together in the soule then it hath learned this lesson The first is this when the soule having heard of that plentifull redemption that is in Christ as also having apprehended the revelation thereof it commeth to close with the worke of the Spirit revealing presenting and offering grace to the heart nay it comes to give entertainment to he riches of that mercy revealed to the soule There is in the mercy of God and in the blessed truth of the promises a great excellency Now when this is so plentifully brought home to the heart that it breakes through all oppositions which may hinder the worke of the Spirit upon the soule when it is brought home by the spirit of God and the heart gives way and closes with it so that there is nothing betweene that and the soule this I take to be the first frame of the soule that beginnes to learne this lesson it beginnes to close to the truth to give way to the sweetnesse that is in it and bids adieu to all delight and sinnes and whatsoever may be a hindrance unto it from receiving of this grace into the soule This is the first passage The second with which I will conclude is this that as the soule closeth with that mercy and welcommeth it and the heart is content to take up mercy upon those termes so in the second place there is an impression and disposition left upon the soule that it is framed and disposed there is a kinde of print which the soule hath with it so that as the mercy of God is revealed to the soule and communicated to the soule so there is a kind of impression frame and print which the heart retaineth and hath wrought upon it by this grace and free favour of God made knowne therefore that phrase Rom. 6.17 is a marvellous patterne to our purpose the Text saith they were delivered to this forme of doctrine Looke as it is with a seale if the seale be set to the wax and leave an impression just so many letters upon the wax as in the seale then it is wholly sealed So the Spirit of God through Christ in the promises doth reveale al the freenesse and grace of mercy in Christ Now when the Spirit doth leave an impression on the soule that man is delivered into the truth I conclude all in Acts 26.18 when Saul was sent to preach to the Gentiles the Text saith he was but to bring them out of darknesse into light mark when the Lord doth come to worke effectually upon the soule he brings men from under the power of darknesse whereas the understanding was darke and blinded when the Spirit comes it turnes it from the darknesse and power of sinne unto the power of light and grace Lastly the power of the heart doth these two things for not onely some of the heart must bee brought to God but the whole heart therefore in the precious promises of grace and savation there is fulnesse of all good to draw all the faculties of the soule unto the Lord and therefore the faithfulnesse and the truth of God is mainly revealed in the promises now that fits the understanding and makes it looke to God for pardon for power and mercy As the promise is a true word so it is a good word this answers all the will and affections there is a possibility in mercy to save a man hope expects it but then the soule must looke onely to Christ for mercy desire long for it for that there is a certainty that a man shall have mercy if he can desire it love doth welcome and delight in it nay the soule doth say The Lord hath said thou must be saved nay thou must looke to Christ for mercy it is no where else to be had nay if thou dost desire it thou shalt have it and then the Lord determines the point it is done mercy is thine and then the will addes full consent and sayes Amen Lord let it be as thou hast said Gather them up briefly When the Spirit of God doth so cleerly present mercy to the soule and doth leave by the over-powring worke thereof a supernaturall worke upon the soule that the spirit closeth therewith and receives the print and impression thereof now the lesson is fully learned this may suffice for the opening of the severall things now therefore we will addresse our selves to gather the doctrines out of the Text. And first for the generall in that the Father is said to teach Doct. That the teaching of the heart effectually is the proper taske and worke of God It is not you that can teach your selves neither can all the meanes and friends under heaven doe it no it is the work onely of the Father All these meanes and ministers are usefull but God is the chiefe master and all these are but underling ushers to convey the minde of God unto us but the master is God himselfe
towards good Now the affections of the soule that doe respect evill are especially three if any evill be comming first feare is a watchman and the heart trembles and shakes and gives in Hence comes palenesse in the face because feare goes downe into the very castle of a man which is the heart and then sorrow greeves and mournes and laments under the weight of that evill wee feare evill to come but we sorrow for evill that is come Thirdly hatred that carries it selfe with a kinde of indignation and takes up armes against that evill feare is preventing sorrow feeling hatred opposing any evil that comes Now these three affections that goe from evill have been wrought upon in contrition and humiliation namely when the Lord the eye of a poore sinner discovers unto him that hell is gaping for him and the God of justice preparing vengeance for him the soule staggers and shrinks in the apprehension of it then the Lord lets in the fire of indignation into the soule and makes the soule feele that before he threatned and then the soule grieves and because his sinnes have beene so tedious unto him his heart is brought to a hatred and indignation against those evils So that if any evill or provocation or temptation come to a soule broken if the old loose companions old corruptions old swearing old blaspheming old dalliances come to call upon the soule let us have our fill of love untill the morning let us take up our old delights when these call the soule and would plucke the soule home againe unto them then these foure fence the soule against all those inchantments in so much that when the drunkard seeth his company comming towards him hee thinkes that is my plague that is the man and his perswasions and counsels hee remembers his old corruptions and his old horrors and his old burthens and heavie loads that lay upon his heart and the soule hates the drunkard and will not yeeld to his perswasions they so fence the way that the voice of sinne cannot be heard it may call and call but the doore is shut they stop the currant that no streame of distempers may prevaile any more this now is done before so that now wee come to the second worke So there are other affections that carry the soule unto good if there be any good propounded or offered then there are foure other affections that the will sends out to entertaine that good hope and desire looke for the good that is absent hope saith I marvell it comes not desire saith I long after it when the goodnesse is neere then love welcomes it and delights in it and joy rejoyceth and all these hope desire love and joy all bring carry and convey all the good to the will which is the great commander of the soule Love and joy tell the will We have found much goodnesse and taken great delight and much content in the goodnesse and mercy of the Lord. The truth is wee have taken delight in sinne and base courses but oh the comfort but oh the consolation and goodnesse of mercy you cannot have a better good than mercy Then saith the will We will have grace mercy wee will rest here Thus wee see how the head and the foot of the affections doe come on to embrace that good now the understanding doth stand sentinell all the while and discovers all the good and musters up hope and desire and love and joy and these foure are the maine wee must meddle with all the other went from evill and they have their proper worke before we doe not hate and sorrow for mercy wee doe not feare to receive mercy but wee feare and withdraw our selves from sinne and corruptions that we may entertaine the call of mercy Thing 2 There is the promise of grace and mercy in Christ a fulnesse of mercy which doth so powerfully and effectually draw the soule by this good that it brings all these affections after it Therefore in this fulnesse of mercy and goodnesse of God there are these particulars that like so many claspes draw all these faculties to God to follow and close with God for their good The promise is a true one and truth is that which marvellously pleaseth the understanding as a mans palate tastes meat so the understanding tastes words There is nothing so pleasing to the understanding as the truth of God Now of all truth there is none like the truth of a promise therefore the evidence of it doth cleere the judgement and the certainty of it doth establish the judgement of a poore sinner Eph. 1.13 The promise of God is a good word Heb. 6.5 therefore as the truth of the Gospell fils the understanding so there is a goodnesse in the promise of grace and mercy which will answer all and satisfie all the faculties of the soule as in the good word of the Lord mercy is a proper object of hope that it may be sustained a proper object of desire that it may be supported there is a proper object for a mans love and delight that they may be cheered nay there is a full satisfactory sufficiency of all good in the Gospell that so the will of a man may take full repose and rest therein Therefore the Lord saith Come unto me all that are weary and heavy laden come hope and desire and love and will and heart they answer We come all the mind saith Let me know this mercy above all and desire to know nothing but Christ and him crucified let mee expect this mercy saith hope that belongs to me and will befall me desire saith Let me long after it nay saith love let me embrace and welcome it let me delight in it saith joy nay saith the heart let me lay hold on the handle of salvation here we will live and here we will dye at the footstoole of Gods mercy thus all goe minde hope desire love joy the will and all lay hold upon the promise and say Let us make the promise a prey let us prey upon mercy as the wilde beasts doe upon their provision Thus the faculties of the soule hunt and pursue this mercy and lay hold thereupon and satisfie themselves herein Hence wee will raise these two points Doct. 1 That the word of the Gospell and the word of the Spirit goe both together this is grounded in the Text they must first heare then learne heare the Gospell and learne by the Spirit Doct. 2 That Gods Spirit gives speciall notice of Gods acceptance to an enlightned soule and that is the first voice of the Spirit to the understanding Now to the first doctrine Doct. 1 The word of the Gospell and the worke of the Spirit alwayes goe together the point is grounded in the Text after this manner they must first heare then learne heare by the word and learne by the Spirit The hearing of the Gospell without the Spirit is nothing else but a beating of the ayre and a
treasures of his mercy in the Lord Jesus If a man have no eye hee cannot see if hee have an eye and have no object nor colours before him hee cannot see first therefore the Lord gives an eye to the humbled heart and when hee hath given him an eye then hee layes colours before him that hee may see and looke and fall in love with the treasures of mercy and compassion 2 Cor. 3. the foure last verses the Text saith The vaile of blindnesse is taken from our minds and then the faithfull Soule beholds as in a glasse all the grace and mercy and compassion that God layeth before him in Christ the humbled sinner hath now gotten an eye and some spirituall eye-sight that the Lord hath brought within his view all the riches and treasures of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Soule saith oh that mercy and grace and pardon were mine Oh that my sinnes were done away The Lord saith I will refresh them that are heavy laden Oh that I had that refreshing saith the Soule You shall have rest saith God Oh that I had rest too saith the soule Now the Soule beginneth to looke after the mercie and compassion which is laid before it Passage 3 The Spirit of the Lord doth witnesse or certifie throughly and effectually to the Soule that this mercy belongs to him that is the upshot of the notice God gives to the Soule The third stroke of the Spirit strikes through the bargaine and makes the understanding close with that grace and mercy set forth unto it and without this the Soule of an humble broken hearted sinner hath no ground to goe upon Beleeving in Scripture is called comming Now no man can goe without some ground now this is the ground without which the Soule hath no bottome to beare it up either to come to Christ or perswade it selfe of mercy in Christ What good doth it doe any hungry stomacke to heare that there is a great deale of cheere and dainties provided for such and such men what is it to him if he have them not Take a begger that hath a thousand pound told before him hee may apprehend the summe of so much gold and so much silver but what is that all to mee saith he if in the meane time I die and starve It falls out in this case with a broken hearted sinner as with a prodigall childe the prodigall he hath spent his meanes and abused his Father the prodigall hath now much need the famine is in the land and poverty is befalne him and hee knowes there was meat enough and cloaths enough in his Fathers house but alas hee can expect no kindnesse from his Father but only his heavy displeasure if any man should say goe to your Father hee will give you a portion of a hundred pounds againe doe you thinke the prodigall would beleeve this no no he would answer thus haply my Father will imprison mee or send a Sergeant to arrest mee or an executioner to take away my life it is my Father that I have offended my portion I have spent and his anger I have incensed and what will hee receive mee no I will never beleeve it Indeed had I beene a good husband I might have had his favour and increased my estate but I have lost his favour my owne estate patrimony and all but if a man should come and tell him now that he heard his Father say so and bring a certificate under his Fathers hand that it was so this would draw him into some hope that his Father meant well towards him so it is with the sinner when he is apprehensive of all his rebellions that hee hath heaped up against Gods mercy and spirit and grace by his declining from the truth If a man should tell such a soule goe to God he will give you a pension of a hundred thousand pounds a yeere that is hee will give you abundance of mercy and compassion the Soule cannot beleeve it but thinkes what I mercy no no blessed are they that walke humbly before God and conforme their lives answerable to Gods word let them take it but the truth is it is mercy I have opposed it is grace that I have rejected no mercy no grace for mee you cannot wooe the soule to be perswaded for to thinke that there is mercy for him But if God send a messenger from heaven or if under the hand of his spirit that hee doth accept of him and will doe good to him and passe by all former sinnes and shew favour to him this makes the soule grow into some hope this is the ground whereupon the soule goeth to the Lord. This the Lord performeth to the soule That which David prayes for Psalm 35.3 the Prophet was not contented that there was salvation in Gods hand hee knew that God had a world of mercy and salvation and pardon lying by him but David prayes to God Say unto my soule thou art my salvation testifie it speake it home Lord once more plainly effectually and sensibly there is salvation with thee Paul was saved and Abraham was saved but what is that to mee say unto my soule thy sinnes shall be pardoned thine iniquities shall be forgiven thy person accepted Quest But now the question growes on But how shall a man discover this testification and this witnessing of the spirit to the heart of a humble broken hearted sinner that these things are so Answ This third worke of the spirit makes knowne it selfe in three particulars Partic. 1 The spirit doth evidence to the soule broken and humbled That the soule hath an interest in this mercy that it was appointed for it and he hath to meddle with it in reason we may observe that a witnesse in a cause doth marvellously cleare it if he be wise and judicious and the thing that before was doubtfull comes now to be apparant as now in a point of Law two men contend for land now if an ancient wise man of some place is called before the Judge at the Assises and hee beares witnesse upon his knowledge that such Lands have beene in the possession of such a generation or family for the space of many yeares this is a speciall testification that this man being of that generation he hath interest to these lands So it is with the witnesse of Gods Spirit there is a controversie betweene Satan and the soule the soule saith oh that grace and compassion might be bestowed on mee why saith Satan dost thou conceive of any mercy or grace and Salvation marke thy rebellions against thy Saviour marke the wretched distempers of thy heart and the filthy abhominations of thy life dost thou thinke of mercy Here is the controversie whether an humble sinner hath title to or interest in the mercy of God Now the Spirit of God comming in that casts the cause and makes it evident if such a poore heart have interest and may meddle and make challenge to mercy and salvation because
much sustained What is there yet hope that my offence may bee pardoned will the King receive mee to mercy So when the Lord humbleth the soule discovereth his sinnes maketh knowne his judgements these are thy sinnes that thou hast committed and for them thou shalt be plagued the great judgement of the great God shall come upon thee and the great God whom thou hast dishonoured will come against thee and to hell thou must Now the poore soule seeth no hope no helpe no means of supply now the poore soule heareth a voyce from heaven there is no hope in thy selfe nor in meanes yet in the Lord Jesus Christ thy sinnes are pardonable thy soule may be saved thy heart may be quickned that place in the Psalmist Let Israel hope in the Lord for with him is plenteous redemption this upholdeth and sustaineth the heart of Gods servant yet there is plentifull redemption and this may discover it selfe in three particulars The infinitenesse of Gods power though thy sinnes are many though the guilt of sinne is mighty and powerfull to condemne the soule yet when the soule apprehendeth an infinitenesse in the power of the Lord to over-power all his sins all the guilt of corruption this lifteth up the heart in some expectation that the Lord will shew favour unto a man though it is a hard thing to hope when the soule is thus troubled can this hard heart be broken can these sinnes bee pardoned can this soule bee saved now commeth in the power of God God can pardon them never measure the power of God to that shallow conceit of thine as Christ when he had told his Disciples it is hard for a rich man to be saved they said how can any man be saved the Lord Christ saith all things are possible to God though not to men and it is said of Abraham hee hoped above hope he looked to the Lord that was able to doe what he promised to supply what he wanted he considered not that he had a dead body but he considered he had a living God not Sarahs barren wombe but the gracious goodnesse of God able to make it fruitfull nay hee beleeved in the God that can make things that are not thy soule is not humbled the Lord can humble it thy sinnes are not pardoned the Lord can pardon them thy soule is not converted the Lord can convert it though I cannot see it though man cannot imagine it yet the Lord can doe it As the infinitenesse of Gods power so the freenesse of his grace and promise that is a thing that marvellously taketh up the heart and maketh it hope for wee are ready naturally to expect no kindnesse from God the Lord is able to doe it that is true but I am unworthy the Lord will not bee wanting to them that can desire it but I am wanting now here is comfort the Lord will not sell his mercy his mercy is not to be merited it is not to bee discovered it is to bee given and to bee bestowed Malach. 7.18 Who is a god like unto our God we say Oh if I could please God if I could walke with God nay but God saith mercy pleaseth him and that place in Esay I for my owne Name sake will doe this not for thy workes sake I for my owne sake not for thy obedience sake this is certaine as there is no worke in any poore creature can discover any mercy from God so there is no wickednesse in the heart of a sinner that can hinder the Lord when hee will bestow grace and mercy in Jesus Christ Object But the world will say Then a man may live as he list and doe what he will if grace be free Answ No no the Lord will pull downe thy proud heart and lay thee in the dust the Lord will abase thee and humble thee before thou shalt receive any mercy from him hee can as well sit thee for mercy as bestow it upon thee The abundance of the riches of Gods goodnesse that exceedeth all the basenesse and vilenesse of man though thou hast sinned against heaven and the Lord in heaven yet there is mercy above the heaven bee thy sinnes and rebellions for the nature of them for the number of them for the continuance of them never so hainous yet they may bee pardoned Here the soule saith My sins are so many so great of such a nature what shall I beg mercy and oppose it shall I desire grace and resist it as that place clearly sheweth Rom. 5.20 Where sinne abounded grace superabounded hee is the Father of mercy and the God of all consolation Iam. 2.13 there the holy Ghost saith mercy triumph above justice justice cannot bee so severe to revenge thee as mercy is gratious to doe good unto thee if thy sinnes be never so many Gods justice never so great yet mercy is above all thy sinnes above all thy rebellions this may support the soule So then you have the first ground to stirre up hope thy sinnes are pardonable this is possible what thy sinnes be it skilleth not what thy iniquities be it mattereth not there is more mercy in God than sin in thee to pardon more power in God to shew mercy to thee than power in sin to destroy thee The Lord doth sweetly perswade the soule that all his sinnes shall be pardoned the Lord maketh this appeare and perswadeth the heart of his that he intendeth mercy that Christ hath procured pardon for the soule of a broken hearted sinner in speciall and that it cannot but come unto it So that hope commeth to bee assured and certainly perswaded to looke out knowing it shall bee accomplished the former only sustained the heart and provoked it to looke for mercy but this comforteth the soule that undoubtedly it shall have mercy The Lord Jesus Christ came to seeke and to save that which was lost he came for this purpose it was the scope of his comming now saith the broken and humble sinner I am lost did Christ come to save sinners Christ must faile of his end or I of my comfort God saith Come unto me all you that are weary and heavy laden I am weary unlesse the Lord intended good unto me why should he invite me and bid me for to come surely he meaneth to shew mercy to me nay hee promiseth to releeve me when I come therefore he will doe good unto me The Lord letteth in some rellish and taste of the sweetnesse of his love some sent and savour of it so that the soule is deeply affected with it marke this there is yet a further dint a setling and an assured kinde of fastning of the good unto the soule so that the heart is deeply affected with it and carried mightily unto it that it cannot bee severed It is the letting in the riches of his love that turneth the expectation of the soule another way it overshadoweth all outward good Looke as the covetous man is up early to contrive his riches
may set open a peepe-hole of mercy know therefore this that though the Lord will not nay the Lord according to his oath cannot save a continuing unbeleever yet here is all the hope thou hast and blesse God for it and bee thankfull that thou hast it though whilest thou art an unbeleeving creature thou canst have no mercy from God yet God can make thee a beleever he can breake that heart he can make thee good therefore I say blesse God that thou art yet in the land of the living and say good Lord this is mercy that I am on this side hell if I had died I had as certainly gone to hell as the coat upon my backe hath not the Lord said it did not the Minister speake it and the Word reveale it that as long as I had a proud naughty stubborne wretched heart I should never finde mercy unlesse I should thinke that God would make new Scriptures turne the course of his providence to save a company of base wretched creatures Oh my brethren you that are yet in the gall of bitternesse and bond of iniquity proud before and proud still that live and lie in your sinnes I say every morning and every evening that yet you live thinke with your selves Hath God given me this hope this liberty and that my life is continued why now bestirre your selves to get mercy I beseech you thinke oâ— it if you be not wrought upon by the Word if Heaven and Earth should meet together to save thee and an Angell from Heaven would speake comfort unto thee all would faile therefore you see by this time in what case these are goe aside and mourn for your selves and neighbours this say if you will continue proud and wicked there is no hope for you all the hope is this you are yet alive the Lord may humble that heart hee may enlighten your eyes he may worke upon thy soule else there is no mercy for thee Vse 2 It is an use of consolation and I hope you will be content to heare that I beseech you therefore to observe what I say take notice here that every poore broken hearted sinner may take some ground here to stay his soule though much disquieted though exceedingly perplexed when the soule seemeth to be aloofe off from the Lord when the Lord doth not shine abroad the sweetnesse of his mercy upon the soule when the Lord withdraweth himselfe and his grace in assisting and comforting his Saints when thou hast no sense no feeling thou canst not bee perswaded of it or thy heart beleeve it canst thou but looke up to God and hope I say thy condition is good thou art a good scholler in the Kingdome of the Lord Jesus Esay 40.18 The Lord waiteth upon his Saints to doe them good but marke what the Text saith Blessed is every man that waiteth upon the Lord he doth not say blessed is the man that hath sense of Gods favour blessed is the man that hath assurance of Gods mercy but blessed is that man that waiteth upon the Lord thou saist thou canst not doe this and thou canst not doe that I say if thou canst but wait and hope for the mercy of the Lord I say thou art a rich Christian if a man hath many reversions though he hath them not for the present men that judge of his estate will not judge him for his present estate but for his reversions which hee shall have haply thou hast not for the present the sense and feeling of the assurance of Gods love away with that feeling doe not dote upon it thou hast reversions of old leases ancient mercies old compassions such as have beene reserved from the beginning of the world and know thou hast a faire inheritance this is observable Rom. 8 28. We are saved by hope now hope that is seene is no hope for why should a man hope for that which a man hath wee are saved through hope now if you would have hope to be seene you have no hope in conclusion though thou hast it not in thy eye yet if thou dost hope it is enough that hope will save thy soule It is the folly of our sinfull proud hearts that sometimes in the sense of our owne sinnes and sight of our owne unworthinesse we almost disdaine to looke upon what God hath done for us and we consider not the kindnesse of the Lord. That place in the Psalmist The eye of the Lord is upon them that feare him and wait for him it is the wretched distemper of the soule we can fall out with heaven and our selves because we cannot have what we would nay we quarrell against the means of grace what availe meanes and helpes as long as I have such a stubborne naughty heart Psal 174 1â—1 The Lord taketh pleasure in those that feare him and wait for his mercy alas brethren out of the pride of your owne spirits you fall out with God and your selves and so deprive your selves of this comfort Object But you will say were my hopes of the right stampe and of the right coyne then a man might comfort himselfe therein though he wanted the sense of Gods love and the assurance of his mercy but there are many false hopes flashy hopes leane hopes how shall a man know that his hope is sound and good and will comfort him Ans You may know it by these foure particulars The first is this a grounded hope it hath a peculiar certainty in it it doth bring home unto the soule in speciall manner the goodnesse of God and the riches of his love in Jesus Christ this same grounded hope doth not stand upon Ifs and And 's but it saith it must be undoubtedly it must certainly bee mine and this you must know it is the nature of hope to make a thing to be certaine Hope maketh things infallible and undoubted and withall there is a kinde of speciality a bringing home of Gods goodnesse unto the soule in a peculiar manner hope alwayes if sound it hath something to say for it selfe alwaies it hath a ward to hang and hold upon Psal 130.5 I wait upon the Lord and I hope in his Word and so Rom. 15.4 All things are written for our instruction that through the comfort of the Scriptures wee might have hope here is hope not through your conceits imaginations and dreames but through the Scripture we might have hope a grounded hope is a Scripture hope it is a word hope and therefore those that cannot bring a word and give a reason for their hope I would not give a rush nor a farthing token for a hundred cart load of such hopes No it is Law hope it is Gospell hope Scripture hope Word hope so that the soule can say the Word saith the Lord came to save those that are lost why I finde my selfe to be lost and therefore I hope the Lord will seeke mee though I cannot seeke him I hope the Lord will finde me though I cannot
he might still continue but if his head-peece be gone all is gone a Christian may want many inlargements many comforts many abilities but if his head-peece be gone if his hope be cut off alas he hath nothing to support and sustaine himselfe in the time of trouble Motive 3 This hope is that whereby our hearts are kept both in the love of God and provoked unto obedience unto God Iude 21. Keepe your selves in the love of God expecting the mercie of God now this is nothing but the worke of hope and brethren this is a rule unlesse we expect some mercie from God we will never looke after him we will never obey him never walke with him but when wee expect some good thing comming unto us then wee love him and follow after him but some might here say it is true we doubt not of the comfort and benefit that commeth by it but what meanes are there that might helpe a man to hope in the goodnesse of God how shall a man uphold his soule in some measure in expecting mercie from the Lord Answ The meanes are three Meanes 1 Labour above all to cast out all carnall sensualitie that commonly creepeth upon us and would prevaile over us I meane this that wee would faine live by sense our carnall hearts be sensuall creatures we would faine live by our sense what we see with our eyes and feele with our fingers and have in our hands that we can be sure of but wee can have nothing in hope now when the soule is taken up with and bestoweth it selfe upon the present things then you put hope out of office Rom. 8.24 You are saved through hope and hope that is seene is no hope a man doth not hope for a thing that he hath but hope alwayes expects a good that is to come this is the marvellous sottish distemper of our wretched hearts that wee will trust God no further than wee see him Acts 1.9 wilt thou now restore the kingdome to Israel just now so here saith the soule may I now have grace may I now have assurance may I now have the evidence of Gods love but I would have it now where now is hope all this while you take away the worke of hope when you would have things present wee know the childe must wait for his portion before hee hath it so you must stay your time and be contented with the dealing of the Lord toward you in this kinde Meanes 2 You must daily attend and labour to bee much acquainted with the precious promises of God to have them at hand and upon all occasions for those are thy consorts those are they that support thy soule that looke as the body is without comfort unfit for any thing nature groweth feeble and weake a pale face a faint heart a feeble hand and the like so it is here unlesse a man hath that provision of Gods promises and have them at hand daily and have them dished out and fitted for him his heart will faile Rom. 15.4 What ever was written was for our comfort that through the Scripture we might hope Verse 13. That we might abound in hope through the Gospell as who should say it is not in your power to support your hope it is not in any power here below but through the Scripture yee might have hope and through the power of the holy Ghost brethren I beseech you observe it while wee looke upon our owne infirmities on one side and the feeblenesse of the meanes on the other side this is the next way to dampe our hope to dead our hearts and to take away all our comfort and assurance this is not the way to abound in hope through the power of the holy Ghost I beseech you observe it all these things here below cannot give any comfort a man may as soone wring oile or water out of a flint as wring comfort out of these meanes In all these outward things there is no sound comfort or hope there be these three things either wee shall not finde comfort or contentment in them or else not sufficient content or else no constant no continuall content It is with the hope of a poore Christian as with Noahs dove she found no rest upon the earth for the sole of her foot so it is with our wretched hearts wee send out our hope to our abilities to the meanes we doe enjoy to our prayers and performances wee doe discharge and thus all our hopes breake and faile us for in all these things there is no foot-hold for hope we must ancker our foot-hold in Christ what I want Christ can supply what I need Christ can give what is good for me Christ can bestow what I have done amisse Christ can pardon though I barren he is full though I dull he hath enough grace and enlargement for me it is said of Naamans leprosie Let him come and hee shall know there is a God in Israel though the King cannot heale yet a God can though the meanes cannot yet the Lord can so it is here the hope that a man hath in these things here below and the hope in the Gospell A man sendeth out his hope having a wounded conscience hee now goeth to his gifts that they should pacifie him he sendeth out his hope to his prayers that they should ease him marke what they say are wee God we cannot helpe but heare what the promise saith though prayers cannot though parts cannot though outward helpe cannot yet there is a God in Israel there is a promise that is able here is mercie enough here is power and comfort enough Meanes 3 Maintaine in thy heart a deepe and serious acknowledgement of that supreme authoritie of the Lord to doe what he will and how he will according to his owne pleasure brethren I beseech you to observe it this I take to be the ground why the heart of a poore sinner is marvellous taken up with passion and distemper and a kinde of teachy shortnesse wee thinke to bring God to our bow we have hoped thus long and God not answered wee have stood so long and no comfort and shall we wait still wait I wait and blesse God that you may wait if you may lye at Gods feet and put your mouth in the dust and at the end of your dayes have one crum of mercie it is enough therefore checke those distempers what if God will when a wretched sinner wrangleth with God for his dealing with him Paul cutteth him short what if God will so when thou thinkest the time long when Lord and how long Lord what if God will he oweth thee nothing thou deservest nothing what if God will damne thee and will send thee to hell it is a most admirable strange thing that a poore worme worthie of hell should take up state and stand upon tearmes with God and he will not wait upon God who must wait then must God wait or man wait must the Creatour wait
seeke after him whom her soule loved and prized and from whom she expected that good she needed It ought to bee so with our desires they must proceed only from the sparke of the spirit The smoking flax God will not quench Matth. 12.20 all flax of it selfe will not smoke but a sparke must come into it and that will make it catch fire and smoke thus lay your hearts before the Lord and say Good Lord here is only flax here is only a stubborne heart but strike thou by thy promise one sparke from heaven that I may have a smoking desire after Christ and a longing desire after grace that I may walke with more care and more conscience with thee hereafter using the meanes thou hast appointed for my good that they may at the last worke unto my good this take notice of above all the rest for he that thinkes to get a desire from himselfe will not labour to obtaine from the hands of the Lord. Therefore labour to use all meanes and labour to see a weaknes in all means and expect this desire onely from the hands of the Lord. Thus we see the means how we may get this desire Thus we see how the Lord learnes every faculty his lecture the mind hath beene inlightned we have done with that hope hath beene stirred and desire quickned these we have likewise finished We come now in the fourth place to treat of two other faculties of the soule Love and Ioy which because they are so neerly combined together both in nature and forme as we shall heare hereafter therefore with your patience handle them together and read one Lecture to them both But before I proceed to meddle with the particulars let me premise something in the generall that wee take all rubs out of the way and that none may stumble at that which shall be delivered Therefore let no man thinke it strange that I come here to meddle with Love and Joy as though I would make sanctification to goe before justification for wheresoever we finde love and joy they seeme rather the effects that follow faith than to be the seeds and spawne to bring in faith Methinkes these doubts should not trouble any if they did but consider what wee have spoken already in the worke of preparation But a little to take away these rubs take notice of three ensuing passages which will cleare the way to that which afterward shall be spoken Passage 1 Know in the first place it is not mine intendment to perswade any to thinke that sanctification is before justification for the truth is I conceive the thing is not agreeable to truth taking sanctification in a narrow strict sense as it must be so conceived in this place neither can the Doctrines which I have delivered if they bee understood aright according to the explication thereof shew so much this is the first Passage 2 Secondly looke by what right and reason many judicious Divines of late yeares having by experience observed in their owne spirits and judiciously scanned and delivered it that there is a saving desire by which God brings in and breeds faith in the soule It is the speech of judicious Perkins Nay the Spirit seemes to me to intimate as much when it saith Ho every one that thirsteth Iohn 7.37 come and drinke there must be first thirsting then comming and beleeving which thirsting is nothing else but a saving desire Therefore as there is a saving desire by which God causeth both grace to breed and faith to spring in the soule by the same reason there may bee a kinde of Love and Joy by which as spawnes and seeds of faith faith may bee communicated and stamped upon the soule for the same ground that is for the one is also for the other and it is a thing to me incredible that the soule of a man should fall and rest upon the promise and yet never desire it nor hope for it being absent and imbrace it love and delight in it with joy when it is comming For looke with what authority and right there is thirsting before comming and a desire before faith for faith is all this while a hatching and breeding by the same right and authority there is a saving kinde of love and joy before faith whatsoever wee speake of the one wee must necessarily speake of the other Passage 3 The third thing is this wee must understand that all these saving workes of the affections are no sanctifying I call them saving that is such workes as doe accompany salvation for there is a difference betweene a saving worke and a sanctifying taken in the proper narrow sense of it Know therefore that desires and loves are of a double nature some in vocation are observed some in sanctification are considered as there was a sorrow in preparation a sorrow in sanctification so there is one desire and love and joy in vocation stirred another in sanctification expressed both joyne one with another but they are not the same The frame of the heart and the worke upon the soule in vocation is not the same which is in sanctification Briefly in vocation in this call which I speake of the Lord worketh this worke upon me I have no power of my selfe but onely receive it from the Lord. At the first conveying in of the power of hope and desire and love and joy God communicates them unto me but in sanctification I worke from a principle which I have received from the power of grace which Christ hath communicated to me being called and sanctified and having received the Spirit of Adoption So that the graces I now speake of usher in and lead the way for the comming in of faith when faith comes into the soul it is there as the King in his privy chamber it rules and commands all his servants Now the way being cleare if you meet with hope and faith love and faith put for one another understand that they are not literally to bee conceived but in a figurative sense So then to proceed to the Doctrine I meane to stand upon which is this Doctrine The Spirit of the Lord kindles in an humbled heart and inlightned sinner love and joy to entertaine and rejoyce in the riches of his mercy there are three passages to be considered that so we may see the compasse of the point in hand Passage 1 First this love and joy is no where to be found but in a heart humbled and inlightned for unlesse the soule bee humbled before God it seeth no need of grace or mercy and therefore despiseth it and disclaimes it and is carried with a hatred against that grace that would master his corruptions and purge them Nay the soule is carried with a kinde of wearisomnesse and is pestered with the power of grace that would frame his heart anew his corrupt heart is rather troubled with it than any way delighted in it and if humbled and not inlightned be could not be
if I never see more of it but goe downe to hell yet this is my comfort that I have seene a smile from God this makes my heart leape within me though I burne in hell for ever this is the next voice Now that brings in love and joy See a passage this way Esay 40.2 opened Esay 40.2 Comfort yee comfort yee my people saith the Lord speake comfortably to Jerusalem and crie unto her that her warfare is accomplished and her iniquitie is pardoned tell Ierusalem shee is accepted tell her so saith the Lord. So the Lord speakes to poore hungrie broken sinners after he hath seene their desires to be sound and thorow the Lord saith to his Ministers Speake to the heart of a poore sinner tell him from mee tell him from heaven tell him from the Lord Jesus Christ tell from under the hand of the Spirit his person is accepted and his sinnes are done away and he shall be looked upon in mercie So Esay 66. Esay 66.2 opened the text saith The Lord lookes to him that is of an humble and contrite heart and that trembles at his word The poore creature cannot but observe every word and tremble at every truth Here is salvation indeed saith he but it is not mine here is mercie but that is not mine and so he shakes at the apprehension of it that he should heare of it and not enjoy it The text saith The Lord lookes at such a trembling soule that is he casts sweet intimations of his goodnesse and kindnesse upon him and saith Thou poore trembling sinner to thee bee it spoken I have an eye towards thee in the Lord Jesus Christ this as I take it is the meaning of the place Ephraim is the picture of a soule truly humbled we may see his behaviour towards God and Gods dealing towards him the text saith Surely I have heard Ephraim bemoaning himselfe here is the heart broken and thirsting and what more thou hast chastized mee Ier. 31.18 19 20. and I was chastized as a bullocke unaccustomed to the yoake turne thou me and I shall be turned thou art the Lord my God surely after that I was turned I repented and after that I was instructed I smote upon my thigh I was ashamed yea even confounded because I did beare the reproach of my youth Here wee see Ephraim lamenting himselfe as if the sinner should say I am the wretch that have seene all the meanes of grace in abundant measure and beautie and yet never profited under the same the Lord hath corrected me but I would not be tamed the Lord hee hath instructed mee but I would not learne Lord turne mee thou art my God I have nothing in my selfe Nay now I see the evils which before I never perceived and I observe the basenesse of my course now which before I never considered and I am ashamed of my former abuse of Gods grace revealed I am even confounded in regard of the abominations which my soule hath harboured this is the mourning of a poore sinner Now marke Gods answer Ephraim is my deare sonne hee is a pleasant childe for since I spake against him I doe earnestly remember him still therefore my bowels are troubled for him I will surely have mercie upon him The Lord kindled the fire of his indignation in his heart and spake bitter things against his conscience yet hee remembred him all the while as who should say I observed all those desires and considered all those teares and heard all those prayers and tooke notice of all those complaints and my bowels earne towards a poore sinner that desires my mercie in Christ and the truth is I will shew mercie to him thus wee see the behaviour of God to the soule as also the behaviour of the soule to God and thus you see the order of the affections when God is absent hope waits for it and desire longs after it when the good is in view love entertaines it and joy delights and sports and playeth with it love is like the Host that welcomes the guest and joy is like the chamberlaine that attends upon him and is very ready and pleasing to entertaine the promise and the Lord Jesus Christ this is the very guise of the heart as I conceive The second thing observable is the motives whereby the promise comes to inflame these two affections and to worke this frame in the heart namely by the Spirit of the Father which kindles in an humble and inlightned soule love and joy to entertaine and reioyce in the riches of his mercie as beseemes the worth thereof Quest But how doth the Spirit kindle this love and joy Answ I answer thus it is when the Spirit of the Lord in the promise lets in some intimation of Gods love into the soule the weight lieth upon these two words le ts in some inckling conveyeth some rellish of the love of God into the soule I beseech you marke it when the Lord doth expresse his favour and goodnesse in that same powerfull manner unto a heart humbled longing for his favour that it doth force the soule to bee affected with it and doth prevaile with the soule and by a holy kinde of might prevaileth and makes the soule to be affected with the rellish of his favour this is the ground A possible good stirres up hope a necessarie excellencie in that good setleth desire and a rellish in that good setled kindles love So that in the promise there is a fulnesse to take up the whole frame of the heart The phrase is admirable in the Psalmes The Lord shall command his loving kindnesse in the morning Psal 42.18 a strange passage it is a phrase taken from Kings and Princes and great Commanders whose word is a law So that the Lord shall send forth his loving kindnesse with a command as if he should say Goe love and everlasting kindnesse take thy commission and I charge thee goe to the poore humble sinner goe to the poore hungry and thirstie sinner goe and prosper and prevaile and settle my love upon his heart whether he will or no and let my kindnesse be setled upon his soule that hath longed for it Experience tels us this the Lord doth by an Almightinesse give a charge and put a commission into loving kindnesse hands that hee shall doe good to a poore soule even then when hee sinkes under the burthen of his sinnes and under the apprehension of his weaknesse What shall I have mercie No no. Will the Lord Jesus Christ accept me No surely Could I pray so and had I those parts and could I performe duties after this and this manner then there were some hope but alas there is no mercie for me But hearken I beseech you what the word discovers your estate to be is it thus and thus with you yes then I speake from the Lord mercie is yours and heaven is yours No no saith the soule I cannot beleeeve it such a wretch as I
that is if father and mother stand betweene thee and Christ if they would be married to thy soule hate and abhorre them love them so farre as they lead to a Saviour but when they step into the place of a Saviour abominate and hate them Difference betweene a sound and false heart in the entertainment of Christ This I take to bee the difference betweene a sound and false heart in the entertainment of the Lord Jesus a sound heart entertaines a Saviour as a favourite entertaines a Prince he comes into his house and disposes and orders every thing as he sees fit what he will is done and no more but now an in keeper hee entertaines him that comes next he will take any mans money and give welcome to any man for he loves the gaine of all but loves the person of none so a gracious soule entertaines Christ as a Prince all give attendance to the Lord and all the courtiers are welcome because they are serviceable to his Majestie but if a man be an enemy to his Majesty he will rather imprison him than entertaine him he will rather punish him than welcome him but now an hypocrite entertaines the Lord Jesus as a stranger into an inne if honour or profits or riches come first they are first served all are welcome they and Christ and Christ and they but loves not Christ but he loves himselfe in all Triall 3 Thirdly he that truly loves Christ labours to give contentment to Christ for love alwayes gives contentment to the thing beloved so it must bee with every Christian heart that is truly humbled and hath this affection kindled beseeming our Saviour the soule that thus entertaines him is studiously carefull and marvellous watchfull lest it doe any thing that may grieve the Lord Jesus and discontent his Spirit and send the good Spirit of the Lord sad or in any dislike to Heaven it is carefull lest the Lord Iesus should bee displeased with him and offended at him or goe away in anger and displeasure the heart feares lest hee should doe any thing that may cause this and it would be almost death to him if hee should doe this Marke the guise and behaviour of the Spouse she never left seeking of her beloved till she had found him Cant. 3.7 and when she had found him shee layes hold of him and when she hath done so she brings him home and when hee was there shee gives charge to all the house I charge you O ye daughters of Ierusalem by the Roes and the Hindes of the field that you stirre not up nor awake my love till he please Look as it is when men of great place come into a mans house there is a great charge warning given see there be no noyse about such a place lest such a man be raised before his time What basenesse is this that wee should have our hearts inlarged to any thing but Christ A good heart wil do as the spouse did here when the soul hath received the Spirit of a Saviour found the mercy of a Saviour it keeps watch ward within it selfe and gives peremptory charge to all in the family I charge you profits and pleasure and riches and honour and all the things of this life love and joy and all the faculties of the soule it gives them warning I charge you that you stirre not I charge you that you grieve not I charge you that you disquiet not the Spirit of the Lord let there bee no motion but entertaine it no command but obey it no advice but receive it thus the soule gives peremptory charge not to grieve the Spirit of the Lord or to doe any thing that may distaste it See this in Lot who when he had received the two Angels into his house the cursed Sodomites came to the doore and thought to abuse his strangers Now marke it I beseech you Lot could be content that rather any hurt or distaste should befall himselfe than them therefore observe how he pleads with those base people Lot went out unto them and shut the doores after him and said Gen. 19.8 I pray you brethren doe not so wickedly Behold now I have two daughters which have not knowne man let me bring them out unto you and do to them as is good in your eyes onely to these men doe nothing for therefore came they under the shadow of my roofe This was kinde honorable entertainment As Lot deale with the Angels so a loving heart will deale with the Lord Iesus let my soule bee wounded saith the loving heart but let not Gods Spirit be grieved let my honour bee laid in the dust but let not God be dishonoured let temptations oppositions persecutions and disgrace befall mee but let Gods glory be advanced The soule is willing and content to beare any thing but it will doe nothing against Christ it will doe nothing against the Gospell of the Lord Iesus The soule saith you may doe what you will with me my life and honour and wealth is in your hands but to the Lord doe no harme blaspheme not his Name resist not his Spirit doe no dishonour to his Gospell doe not contemne his grace what ever betides me This is the frame of the soule that truly loves Christ They that entertaine Persons which they highly respect are inquisitive of those that appertaine unto them to know what their minde is what likes your master and what takes he most contentment in this they doe that they may prevent him with a kindnesse though he aske not for it what ever will best content him they seeke for it and what ever will distaste him they labour to avoid it So a gracious loving soule never satisfieth it selfe but labours to give content to the Lord Iesus that hee may have his will onely Therefore such a soule will come to a faithfull Minister and aske him how must I order my family What shall I doe in regard of my selfe and children How may I please the Lord better And how may I entertaine the Lords Spirit better What duty is to be performed What service is to bee discharged What course is to bee taken that I may please Christ You are acquainted with Christ you know what will content him I pray you tell me how I may pray so and performe duties so that nothing may distaste him or be offensive unto him This I take to bee the difference betweene an honest sincere heart which entertaines Christ as beseemes him and a naughty hypocriticall spirit that would fawne upon Christ Iesus this is the difference betweene faithfull true love and joy and dissembling love and joy There is the same ods betweene them which is betweene a man that entertaines a servant and another that entertaines a noble friend or a King into his family A man entertains a servant that he may please him Simile and not that hee may please his servant he seeth he is wise to order his
at it and said unto Iohn Iohn 3.29 Rabbi He that was with thee beyond Iordan of whom thou barest witnesse behold the same baptizeth and all come to him Now marke how Iohn speaks His Disciples were stirred because they thought the honour and credit went away from them As if they had said Master there is one now that carries all before him every mans eye is towards him and every mans heart is after him Now Iohn loved Christ and marke how he replies He that hath the Bride is the Bridegroome but the friend of the bridegroome which standeth and heareth rejoyceth greatly because of the bridegroomes voice this my joy therefore is fulfilled As who should say Christ is the Bridegroome I am but the friend of the Bridegroome who labour only to prepare hearts for Christ Is the Lord honoured Is the Lords worke prospered if this bee so my joy is full I have enough let the Lord increase though I decrease let the Lord have the praise that is due unto him and what ever befals me I care not This also was that of Mephibosheth when he was dealt falsly with and some false reports had beene suggested to David against him he was content to put up all the wrong and when David returned in peace and hee saw the Kings face and that he had gained the day and got the field David began to comfort and refresh him 2 Sam. 19.30 and bade him divide the land which hee had taken from him betweene Ziba and him now marke how hee replieth Let him take all for as much as the King is come againe in peace to his owne house as who should say as for the land it skils not as for my selfe and the field and my life I passe not for as much as you my King are come home in peace it is enough it is sufficient that I have seene your Majestie in peace this was better to him than the field or any thing else whatsoever could befall him Beloved many a man is all a mort because his honour fals to the ground and because his credit lies in the dust but if he may have his owne honour and credit he is not troubled though Christ and his Gospell and Gods honour and glory lye in the dust this man loves not the Lord for he that loves the Lord makes him his portion and his glory it is enough Christ is mine it is sufficient that his glorie and Gospell prospers what ever befals me I care not let the world take my ease and liberty and life and all let the Gospell be advanced I care not Brethren such are the base dispositions of too too many amongst us they can tread upon Christs shoulders and lift up him that they may appeare above him they can labour to lift up Gods Gospell that they may lift up themselves thereby this is a base disposition that harbours in the heart of most men but I beseech you lye downe in the dust and be content that the Lord may be advanced though thou be disgraced be content that the Lords name may bee praised though thou be dishonoured what though every mans mouth be against thee and every mans hand opposit unto thee yet if God be honoured let that comfort thee nay if any of Gods people advance God more than thy selfe rejoyce in it and let this be the aime of all our endevours for ever Triall 5 The fifth triall is this it is the nature of sound love to covet nearer union with the thing beloved and to have a kinde of earnest impatience and restlesnesse till it attaine a greater measure thereof Observe it this is a thing which flowes from the nature of love especially from this love I now speake of which beseemes the Lord who is the best of all other things which the soule can desire or the heart possesse 2 Branches There are two branches of the point I will handle the one largely and only touch the other Love I say therefore is first of a linking and a gluing nature and it will alwayes carrie the soule with a streame and earnestnesse to enjoy the possession of and union with the thing beloved it cannot have enough of it it is never satisfied with it it covets nothing so much riches now seeme loathsome and profits and pleasures are tedious vanities to him the soule is out of taste with all worldly delights and desires nothing so much as to enjoy Christ this is that he would have Let the wicked have what they will and possesse what they please but let me enjoy that only and I care not When David had beene doting on the things here below at last he came to see better things in God and see how he stayeth his heart Psal 73.25 Whom have I in heaven but thee and there is none in earth that I desire in comparison of thee he bids adieu to all other things and marke what followes It is good for me to draw neare to God As if hee had said let the rich man have his wealth and let the ambitious man have his honour let the drunkard have his cup and the adulterer his sweet dalliances let them drinke and swill and whore and goe downe to hell much good doe it them with their sops let them have what their hearts can desire but it is good for me to draw nigh unto God Oh the pleasures that are at Gods right hand Oh the mercie and holinesse which hee hath prepared and will bestow upon those that are upright When Marie had beene seeking and weeping for a Saviour Christ said unto her Woman why weepest thou Iohn 20.16 Whom seekest thou Marke now what Marie did being moved with love to the Lord she conceived Christ to be the Gardiner and shee spake thus Sir if thou hast borne him hence tell mee where thou hast laid him and I will take him away She would be content to have the body of a Saviour rather than want a Saviour she would have a dead Saviour rather than none but when our Saviour revealed himselfe to her when shee saw that he lived and was risen againe she flew upon him and with marvellous violence embraced our Saviour for so the words must of necessitie be understood for Christ saith Touch mee not for I am not yet ascended the meaning is this Marie was very eager of her Saviour Have I againe seene my Saviour And doe I againe possesse him I will never part with him more Christ saith unto her Marie and so discovers himselfe she saith unto him Rabboni that is to say Master and there she holds as if she would never leave him more now Christ checks her because she depended so much upon his outward presence Hee saith unto her Touch me not for I am not yet ascended as if he had said I shall live many dayes upon the earth and thou shalt bee satisfied with my presence therefore doe not cling so fast unto me for the word touch
signifies as much and the same word is used in the Corinthians 1 Cor. 7.1 opened It is good for a man not to touch a woman that is to cleave and to cling unto her and it is taken from those peeces of buildings which are let one into another her affection was such that she would not part with her Saviour when she had met him This is a lively picture of that love which many a poore soule possesseth when the Lord lets in the glimpse of his love into the heart when the soule hath waited long for mercie and comfort and the Lord is pleased at last to refresh it and cheare it therewith and to let in some sweet incklings and intimations thereof many of Gods Saints begin to bee light headed because they are so ravished therewith they are alwayes cleaving thereunto insomuch that many times they are almost besides themselves Looke as it is with parties that live in the same family Simile and their affections are drawing on one towards another in marriage they will cast their occasions so that if it be possible they will be together and have one anothers company and they will talke together and worke together and the time goeth on marvellous suddenly all the while their affections are drawing on so it is with the soule that loves Jesus Christ and hath this holy affection kindled it thinkes every place happy where it hath heard of Christ and thinkes that houre sweet wherein it put up its prayers to the Lord and enjoyed love-chat with him hee thinkes the Sabbath marvellous sweet wherein God is revealed in the power of his ordinances any glimpse of Gods goodnesse and notice of his mercie in Christ is marvellous comfortable to the soule And it is the desire of the soule to fit by it as the drunkard doth in another kinde so the loving soule would fit by this mercie and love of God that he may be more acquainted with it and more quickned and cheared by it the soule is ravished therewith and overcome as it were with the apprehension thereof Psal 84. David envyed the porter that kept the doore of Gods temple where Gods presence was and the very birds that built their nests there as if hee had said You have liberty to see the sacrifices offered and you may heare the voices of Gods people and you may build your nests in the temple of my God and my Lord and Lord am not I as good as birds therefore his heart was inflamed with the want of these ordinances of God Nay old Simeon when hee had seene our Saviour incarnate his heart was so inlarged therewith that he would have beene content to have left his body that he might have had his full of his Saviour Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace for mine eyes have seene thy salvation as if he had said stand by body let me come to my Saviour let mee bee for ever with him I have beene long enough in this sinfull world already A spouse that is contracted thinkes every day a yeare and every yeare twenty till that day comes shee blesseth the very place where the bridegroome is and she thinkes the parties happy that talke with him and she takes every token that comes from him marvellous kindly but yet shee thinkes if that day would once come wherein she might possesse him and be possessed of him that she and she alone might enjoy her husband Oh this would bee a happy day her heart would bee cheared and exceedingly refreshed therewith so a loving soule that hath beene truly humbled and inlightened in the apprehension of Gods love and mercie and is contracted as I may so say unto Christ hath many thoughts when will it once be that I may be married to Christ and possesse him and bee possessed of him to bee with Christ is best for me such a one thinkes every token marvellous welcome and every promise and every word that reveals any intimation of Gods kindnesse but yet oh when will the day come that I shall be forever with the Lord Jesus this is the highest pitch that Saint Paul speakes of 1 Thess 4. We that are alive and remaine saith he shall bee caught up together with them in the clouds and meet the Lord in the aire and so shall wee bee ever with the Lord thus the soule thinkes when will that day come that I may never be with sinne more never with the world more never with corruptions more never with base company more but with that mercie and that Spirit and that grace and with that Christ for ever and ever this is the guise of the soule and the frame of the heart that is kindled in sound love to the Lord Jesus nay such is the strong and gluing nature of true love that it will make a man bee with the thing beloved though hee bee in never so great misery When Iacobs sonnes came and told him that Ioseph was slaine Iacob was grievously distressed because he loved him deerely now marke what the text saith All his sonnes and daughters rose up to comfort him but he refused to be comforted and said I will goe downe into the grave to my sonne Ioseph he would rather be in the grave than not to be with Ioseph and hee will goe downe into the grave that he may be with him so the wife that loves her husband when hee is in prison shee will bee there with him shee is sorry that it should bee so with her husband but shee will rather bee in the prison with him than want his company so an humble soule that hath his heart kindled in earnest and sound affection to Christ is content even to goe into the grave with the Lord Jesus yea into prison with the Lord Jesus let mee bee with Christ saith he though I be in persecution let me be with the Lord Jesus though I be in dishonour it is a griefe to the soule if Christ bee so but a greater griefe if he may not be with him where hee is Cant. 2.6 when the spouse had wanted her bridegroome a great while and at last the Lord was pleased to reveale himselfe unto her she fastens upon him and rests contented with him and desires no more my beloved is mine and I am his as who should say thou art mine and I am thine let the world thinke what it will I am thy wife and thou art my husband so saith the soule Christ is mine and I am his and if I may have more of that grace and holinesse which is in Christ I have enough I desire no more but without that I cannot be contented I cannot be satisfied Secondly there is a holy restlesnesse and impatience in the soule till it can attaine this it will take no nay at the hand of the Lord but sues for the match though Christ seeme to forbid the banes and it were worth the while to observe how restlesse the soule is and how
in my lusts still now the heart is going out of the world to the Lord Jesus Christ when there is an overpowering vertue of the sweetnesse of the promise that prevailes with the soule above all and affects the heart with the good thereof more than all the rest this is then to be effectually perswaded Now the will and the heart is gone that way let all the temptation and the darling delights of sinne come in never so fast yet the prevailing power of the promise out bids and goes beyond all these and affects the heart more than all these I would have you retaine those things that ye may trie whose hearts are sound many pretend to have a lingering desire after Christ and to seeme to bee for Christ and yet the worke was never sound they were never perswaded powerfully as I now speake and as there is a strong and effectuall perswading so there is a kinde of hourly and feeble perswading and a slight motion of it the heart may seem to make out toward Christ yet never get â—ut because it was never effectually perswaded â—hese slight motions and hourly perswasions are â—ike the untimely birth of a woman that vanishâ—th away and comes to nothing in the end Many a man hath had his eyes opened and the sweetnesse of the promise revealed and the soule â—ad begun to purpose and to be at a hay now â—ay and then he will goe to Christ and yet sinks â—owne againe and falls back and perisheth everâ—stingly As it is with a waggon that passeth by a â—angerous pit being well loaden which if it passe â—ot by hee is undone he is at a set well they will use their skill they pull with might maine â—nd now it is going and then it is comming it 〈◊〉 ever at a hay now hay at last the traces breake â—nd it falls downe irrecoverably So it is with a â—arnall false hearted Hypocrite that hath had maâ—y of these feeble perswasions to pluck a base â—ile heart from his corruptions the Lord hath â—id some hand upon him by the terrours of the â—aw and let in some intimation of mercy and â—t him see what good he might have if he would â—art from his sinnes and he hath many good reâ—lutions the drunkard will be drunke no more â—e adulterer will bee uncleane no more and the â—roud person will never be proud any more it is â—et at a hay now hay but because hee is not â—fectually perswaded hee falls off from his halfe â—odging with God and is wholly overcome with â—nne never to be recovered more this was the practice of Agrippa Act. 26.27 where Paul shewing his conversation and what God had done for him when Agrippa heard this he was even at a dead lift and said Thou hast almost perswaded me to become a Christian almost holy almost humble and almost to forsake my sinnes I will never be more malicious against God and as the originall word saith Thou hast almost perswaded mee in a few things but hee never came to any good at all This is the guise of many that come to some outward reformation and get some knowledge and some parts and some duties performed so that a man would thinke they were making forward toward Christ and yet they recoyle and fall back againe to their old base courses most fearfully Of this generation was this spoke Heb. 6.4 that had a taste of the Heavenly gift that is saving faith they liked the promise but it was never at the heart roots Oh said they comfort ease and salvation is good to be had but they did not take downe the promise and disgest it and make it good blood they wanted this sound perswasion somewhat was neerer to the heart than the promise and therefore it came to nothing An Hypocrite that is tickled and hath some flashy desires as the stony ground was is a little affected with the Word of God This man may entertaine iâ— some kinde of hourely perswasion somewhat of the promise for some respect the promise is this that God will pardon the iniquity of his poore children and ease them of all their miseries and glorifie them for ever The Hypocrite heares this that there is salvation to be had and grace is now offered Oh it is pretty saith the soule then I hope it is possible for something to come to my share in conclusion hee entertaines the promise to pardon him but the promise and the prevailing power of it goe not deepe enough to loose him from his corruptions and to purge him hee would sip of the promises but make a meale of his lusts But a good heart doth the contrary the promise is the standing dish and the Lord â—esus Christ to be loved and embraced that is his meale onely he may sip now and then at his lusts â—nd corruptions The Hypocrite will have his â—ase haunts and his corruptions still but in the meane time hee could bee content to thinke on Christ to pardon him and that these evils might â—ot befall him Part. 2 Now you see what it is to bee effectually perswaded nothing but God can doe this and in his lies the excellency of faith to rest it selfe upon the freenesse of Gods grace that it may have â—n interest in the good thereof that is the end â—f faith there lies the marrow of faith that is the â—ertue and spirituall efficacy of faith that as hope â—aited for mercy and desire longed for it and â—â—ve and joy welcomed it and they all bring the â—romise home to the soule so then the will â—ith Amen Lord let it be so I will goe no furâ—her It is in this case as it was with the woman â—f Samaria Iohn 4.29 When Christ had opened â—er eyes and shewed her the vilenes of her heart â—nd also told her that shee had seven Husbands saying thou art an adulterous woman now when she had heard this away shee goes to the Citie and said Behold a man that hath told mee all that ever I did is not he the Christ Just so all the affections come to the will the great commander and plead in this case and thus begin to strive with the heart Oh saith hope I have waited for this goodnesse of the Lord and my eyes have failed with looking for it And desire saith I have longed for this goodnesse and saith love I have received it and joy saith I have felt the sweetnesse of it is not this mercy worth the receiving Then the will saith is it so indeed hast thou waited for it hope and hast thou longed for it desire and hast thou felt the sweetnesse of it joy then we will all goe to that mercy and seeke no further Let base corruptions and lusts doe what they will wee will goe to that mercy Foure things or Acts. and repose our selves therein Now this resting of it selfe discovers a foure-fold act Act 1 First it implyes a going out of the soule to Christ that the soule
three it strikes three so the soule is thus led by the Spirit of God as Rom. 8.14 and then it obeyes God and doth every good duty and loves God above all and his neighbours as himselfe in truth and in uprightnesse so that the soule is stopped in humiliation and is turned in vocation it receives the poise in adoption and renovation in sanctification and it obeyes God in all things then the conclusion is this all these are saving workes and such as doe undoubtedly accompany salvation but all this while one is not another for two of these are wrought upon us that is preparation and vocation and these are by a passive worke the wheele workes because it is moved and in the other three the Lord conveyes his Spirit to us and mercifully workes the power of sanctification in us and makes us able to serve him and obey him Acts 26.18 Paul was sent to the Gentiles to open their eyes to turne them from the power of darknesse to God that they may receive forgivenesse of sinnes and an inheritance amongst them that are called and sanctified marke all the passages of it from darknesse and Sathan that is in preparation to God and to light that is in vocation and as Saint Peter saith Acts 3.19 Repent and be converted that yee maâ— receive the forgivenesse of sinnes repent there is preparation and bee converted there is vocation turned from Sathan and the power of the Devill that they may be under the power of the Lord Jesus and lye at his foot-stoole as a souldier is turned from such a captaine when hee is content to be under another so the soule is turned from sinne and is content to take presse money and to become a souldier of Iesus Christ Thirdly that he may receive forgivenesse of sinnes that is in justification and an inheritance among them that are sanctified that 's in sanctification all these are done by faith the scope of the holy Ghost there is to discover the frame of grace in the heart and therefore it is not to be understood of the nature of Sanctification but of the worke of it that a man should receive his sanctification by faith and yet is but sanctified in part these are contraries The fourth is onely the worke of sanctification and lastly from the question thus resolved from hence that question falls to the ground and from hence first a man may see it clearly that sanctification comes after justification and secondly whether repentance is before faith or whether repentance is before justification or justification before faith and repentance and thirdly whether there be any other instrument to beleeve in Christ but faith No there is no other for they all concurre by faith Thus much for the first use a word of confutation and information Vse 2 Secondly if it be so that faith is a resting upon God and a receiving of mercy from God then this is a word of terrour to all that still remaine in unbeleefe they are to see their sinne and misery by sinne their sinne is most hainous and their plagues are intolerable if it bee faith that brings a man to Christ and suits a man with all comforts from Christ then all you unbeleeving sinners let your soules shake in the apprehension of all these plagues of which you are guilty It is the misery that befalls poore creatures they are loth to be knowne to be drunkards or theeves or robbers because shame will come to them but not to beleeve the promise and to despise the Lord Jesus Christ you make nothing of this you draw the harrowes lightly after you you confesse this sinne and the other sinne and you doe welcome it but in the meane time no man lookes to his unbeleeving heart and yet this is the greatest sinne of all other and brings the greatest misery as Heb. 3.12 Take heed why what 's the matter For the Lord Jesus Christ his sake take heed lest there be in any of you an evill heart of unbeleefe to depart from the living God this unbeleefe makes you depart from the Lord God you will take heed of whoring and drunkennesse and you will say you are not so and so but I say thou hast an evill and unfaithfull heart and thou art a dead man and a miserable man and thou art gone from the Lord God the God of all happinesse and therefore thou art but a damned man This is the root and the worst of all take heed of an unbeleeving heart it departs away from the living God this is the nature and misery of this sinne What is the estate of the damned in Hell and this shall bee the sentence that is past against the wicked in that day when the Heavens shall melt and the Goats shall stand on the left hand and the Sheep on the right hand and when ye shall see all the Heavens on a flame and you shall heare that fearfull voyce saying arise you damned unbeleeving wretches stand forth and heare your doome what will bee your greatest misery in that day even this Depart from me yee cursed into everlasting flames this is the upshot of vengeance and the sharpest sentence would you not thinke this terrible if you did heare it Now therefore away thou varlet bee gone to Hell I doubt not but the very proudest wretch in hell would then be content to hang upon mercy before hee went to Hell and hee would beg that he might yet breathe to call after mercy If thou wouldest take heed of this sentence then take heed of an unbeleeving heart for by unbeleefe thou passest the sentence against thy selfe thou needest none other to condemne thee Oh therefore get you home and humble your selves in secret and say thus The Lord hath given mee a heart to see the evill of my heart I blesse the Lord thou hast kept my hand my eye my life but good Lord I never saw the horrible nature of sinne which will be my bane to this day I was never burthened with it Oh that I might now take heed of it what shall I say to mine owne heart depart thou wretch to Hell the Lord forbid Oh strive mightily with God and with your owne soules and rest not till you get some strength from Heaven and say if that voice should come againe Oh woe to mee for ever well my unbeleeving heart doth this and hath past the sentence upon mine owne soule you heare these and if you would but take home these truths they would make you stagger See what our Saviour saith Iohn 5.40 You will not come to mee that yee may have life but I know you that yee have not the love of God in you comming is beleeving is this sinne so heavy the Lord fasten it upon your hearts what shall any man goe away and say I will not beleeve there is such a generation whither will you goe If the world calls yee run if the devill calls ye goe presently but will you not
Gods love and quarrelling with himselfe and his owne comfort and the fault was here hee onely tooke a snatch and away but remember this the same promise that you heard in the publike keepe it and be ever sipping of it I confesse saith he my heart was cheered and when I heard such a Minister preach and such a Christian pray I was exceedingly comforted and had sweet assurance of Gods love but now all is gone the fault is your owne for if you would cleave to the promise it would doe you as much good in the private as in the publike it would comfort you at one time as well as at another many times it thus befals us Ministers when we preach of consolation and when wee pray and conferre wee thinke that wee are beyond all trouble but by and by we are full of feares and troubles and sorrowes because wee take not full contentment in the promise wee drinke not a deepe draught of it therefore take heed of these two things whereby poore Christians are marvellously couzened First take heed of attending to the parlies of temptations and of making a pursuit of every temptation of the Devill if you will listen to his chat he will make you forget all your comfort for the Devill casts in a bone of dissention and we snarle at it and parly with him about it and so lose the comfort of the promise therefore talke not with Satan at all but hold your hearts to the truth of the promise that is revealed to be yours Secondly be not alwayes quarrelling and cavilling with carnall reason but when you have any evidence keepe it and let it not be taken out of your hands for it is certaine that there are many poore Christians that cannot but confesse that they have faith and are wonderfully comforted but when they are gone from the Minister their old carnall reason comes againe and they attend not to the promise but to their carnall reason and from hence the devill gets marvellous ground against a poore soule therefore when you have the promise cleared from the Word heare nothing from Satan against that but from the Scripture but throw away all cursed carnall suggestions hold you close to the truth and if the devill can say any thing against the truth so t is if not then hold to it Now is it so that faith makes the life and soule of a beleever full of comfort and contentment then you faithfull soules take heed of ever repining and murmuring against the Lord and when you finde these distempers rising in your hearts still them and suffer not your hearts to murmure against God nor to bee discontented with his good providence Oh saith one I have no sense nor feeling of his love nor I cannot doe this nor that and would you have a man contented in this condition how now soule why did God never give thee any grace nor stir up thy heart to beleeve yes t is true I have a little faith if it were not for that what should I doe it is all I have I have nothing but that Oh for shame hold your peace nothing but that is it all come to nothing is Christ and Grace and Heaven and mercy and all come to but a so much hath God given thee faith and wilt thou not bee content with it seeme the consolations of God small unto thee is it nothing to thee that Christ and Heaven is thine is it nothing that God hath given you his Sonne and that Christ hath shed his heart-bloud for you and made you able to rest upon him is all this nothing It is as much as if a poore man had a thousand pounds given him and hee were angry with his friend for his kindnesse Oh gâ—e your wayes cheered and comforted and murmure no more but say as good Iacob did I have not this nor that but I have a Ioseph in Egypt my sonne iâ— alive I will goe and see him ere I die He is better to me than friends and means and all so goe your way and take heed how you offend the riches of Gods free grace nothing but a heart to beleeve Oh for shame bite thy tongue when it saith so and say Lord I have not friends nor means nor this nor that but I have a heart to beleeve and to rest upon thee Lord cause mee to rest upon thee more and more it is enough that I have a beleeving heart though I never see a good day besides It is enough that I have seene Christ my Saviour and my Redeemer c. It is a mâ—rvellous folly and shame and trouble we dishonour God and Christ and all and make the wicked peoplâ— say that swearers and drunkards goe on merily laughing and rejoycing and these Christians they goe drooping If this bee grace saith one God blesse me from it there is a strugling a striving to get a little grace assurance and power against corruption and yet for ought I see they have no more comfort than I have Oh walke humbly yet cheerfully and comfortably hast thou any wants faith will supply them hast thou any feare of trouble for the time to come faith will cure all feares art thou weake and unable to doe this or that duty faith will inable thee to every duty required doe but beleeve and rest upon Christ and grace and strength will come and thou shalt bee able to doe all things through Christ that strengthens thee Oh saith one this is a lesson for a Paul and for the great standers the Cedars in grace I answer Paul doth not say hee did it of himselfe but by the power and grace of Christ strengthning him and Christ hath as much strength and grace for thee as hee had for Paul if thou beleeve in him and rest in him therefore goe thou thy way and let us all be comforted thou and I and every poore Saint of God may doe well through the grace of Christ that strengthens us Thus much of the fourth use Vse 5 Hence in the next place wee conclude that as the difficulty is great in getting faith so the benefit of it when it is gotten is every way as great therefore it is a ground of admirable comfort to all the servants of God that through his mercy have received this grace at his Majesties hand they ought to be wonderfully comforted because they have it and so to bee thankfull to him that hath wrought it you see the difficulty of faith and the benefit of it Now hath the Lord wrought this in thy soule then goe thy way comforted for what thou hast and be thankfull to him who hath given it thee The Lord gives one man riches and another man advancements and another hath great parts and another large revenues thou seest all these and thy teeth begin to water at them and thy heart begins to bubble and repine at this and thou saist the Lord hath given riches to this man and honours to that
great and marvellous are thy workes and in the 107. Psalme 8. when the Prophet had shewed the great workes that God had done for his people Israel he saith Oh that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodnesse and declare his wonderfull workes before the sonnes of men This was also a type of our spirituall comming home to Christ wee are all slaves to the Devill and in spirituall bondage under sinne hell and death but faith sets a man upon the shore and brings him home unto Christ as Iohn 5.24 He that doth beleeve is passed from death to life Lord saith the poore soule I confesse I was in the mouth of hell but now I am passed from death to life faith sets a man beyond sinne and death and all therefore the soule should be thankfull and sing a song of praise unto the Lord his God Now there are two bottomes from the former Doctrine which give foot-hold to your comfort First by beleeving all the goodnesse and mercie of God is thine and he cannot nay he will not deny thee therefore thou mayst with boldnesse challenge the good of all that mercie and goodnesse of his When God hath engaged himselfe to be a God to thee and to thy seed after thee he cannot take away his mercy from a faithfull soule because hee cannot deny himselfe hee will not denie his truth and his promise therefore the Saints of God cannot but be partakers of all this mercie and goodnesse the Apostle saith Ephes 3.17 Christ dwels in our hearts by faith so Coloss 2.3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdome and knowledge now gather up all and the summe is thus much and there you may see how the comfort comes by faith I lay hold upon a Saviour in whom dwell all the treasures of wisdome and knowledge and so I lay hold upon these what would you have and what is it that may comfort you thou art beggerly in wisdome and in consolation and in all the graces of Gods Spirit but if thou hast faith thou hast a Christ and in him are all the treasures of wisdome and mercie take your treasure and be inriched for evermore you may doe it it is your owne Secondly all the sinnes that thou standest guilty of and all the temptations of Sathan cannot hinder thee from injoying that light and receiving that good which thou hast need of there is no sinne that hath beene committed can stand betweene thee and eternall life be thy corruptions never so many for number never so vile and strong for nature never so long for continuance in them and all those old bruises and old lusts of youth which make thee say can the Lord pardon me and is it possible for such a wretch as I am to have mercie that have all these corruptions I answer it skils not what thy sinnes be see thy faith and repentance bee sound it matters not what thou hast beene a rebell even against God if now thou canst beleeve and rest upon God and repent thee of thy sinnes Quest But now the point growes on the soule is in some reasonable manner satisfied that if it had faith then it could be satisfied but many seeme to have faith and have it not if my faith were true I could gaine some sound comfort to my selfe that all would goe well with mee but how shall I know that Answ I answer I confesse that the faith of the most men in the world is but a meere delusion as I shall discover in the next use of reproofe but that thou maist be undoubtedly perswaded of the truth of this grace that though thy faith be never so little yet it is saving justifying faith I will therefore lay downe some trials I will not now intrench upon any of the particulars that come afterward but onely lay open such particulars for triall as are in the doctrine I know faith purifies the heart and workes by love c. and faith makes a new creature but these come too farre off I will onely gather somwhat from the point in hand Triall 1 First observe the root and rise of thy faith the cause by which thy faith was wrought and from whence it came and this will be an undoubted evidence whether thy faith be good or not therefore when thou dost begin to brag and say I doe beleeve then aske thy heart this question and say how came I by it prove it have I faith make it good then it is not enough to say so but let mee see that it is so didst thou bring it into the world with thee did thy wits contrive it did thy parts and abilities worke it and because thou hast more wit and learning than others and thou thinkest it as easie a matter to beleeve as to understand a hard writing if it bee thus thy faith is a delusion and no faith at all it is true here of faith which Iob speakes of wisdome nature saith it is not in me and eloquence saith it is not in me I know not the way to it all these say I have heard the newes of faith but I am not acquainted with it God onely knowes the way thereof and is the worker of it the text saith Every man than hath heard and learned of the Father commeth unto me the Father must first teach this lesson or else no man can understand it except the Father give thee a heart to know Jesus Christ there is no power in thee that is able to give this grace to the soule hast thou thy faith from heaven then it is like to bee of the right kinde but it must bee from thence it ariseth not from the earth it comes not from parts and gifts and learning it must come from heaven or else it is not of the right kinde all the coine that is currant is minted in the tower by authoritie of the King if not it is not currant in 1 Pet. 1.7 the Apostle cals it precious faith it must bee stamped by the Lord Jesus Christ by the hand of the Spirit it must come from the tower of Zion or else it is copper faith and not saving justifying faith nor that which will stand in steed in the day of triall here or in the day of judgement hereafter as wee say in nature the Alcumists are growne to that skill that they will make Alcumie appeare to be perfect silver and gold and much of it will beare the touchstone insomuch that a man can hardly discover some of it it is so cunningly made but when the fire and the hammer comes it will beare neither of them but the true gold comes from the gold oare and will endure the fire and hammer the alcumie gold comes not from the right place where the gold is it comes not from the minerals from the golden mines so there is a great deale of this alcumie faith for the world is come to this passe that they have a faith of their owne faining
and never rest till you get this blessed grace of faith that you may bee happy by it for ever Sort. 3 The third sort which we will meddle withall and discover that have no part in this saving faith are the meere civilized and seemingly judicious professors such as beare up themselves marvellous comfortably upon their owne wisedome and judgement howsoever these have a name yet it is but a name and no more and for this man that we may discover him and that he may know himselfe we will doe it in three things First I will shew him in his fashion Secondly wherein his falsenesse doth appeare and wherein he falls short Thirdly wherein hee discovers himselfe to fall short First he is a man that will deale very honestly and fairely betweene man and man hee is not scandalous in his practices hee is a man of good parts and deepe understanding and deepe reach if you will beleeve him and he exceeds the most nay even the best in his private paines he is very studious and reads much and can remember well and can expresse himselfe marvellous well and so will carry all before him nay this man is so lifted up in his imagination that hee could almost undertake to teach Ministers how to preach if any man out of weaknesse would condescend to him but if you follow him home to his family there he prayes but once a weeke and if misery and sorrow and affliction come then haply hee can pray twice unlesse some carnall base friend come into his family which haply would scorne him and his profession then he prayes once and scarcely that because hee would not offend his friend and hence it is that poore people make this man an oracle and this mans words and judgement and determinations they are of great weight and if a poore soule which can dive deeply into his owne heart comes and questions his faith and to make some doubt of his graces all is in an uproare presently what say they such a man have no faith the Lord be mercifull to us then if a man of such judgement and parts hath no faith then what shall become of us this mans words cast the ballance any way and his words are of great weight amongst the vulgar sort of people and hence it is that the poore ignorant creatures beare up themselves upon this mans judgement and say they for a man to pray twice a day it is not required and it is more than is needfull and if a man have a minde to stay at home may hee not read the Word in his owne house and get as much good by it as by going to Church wiser than wee thinke so and if it were not so doe you thinke such a man would professe it a man of parts and good judgement and many times Gods owne servants out of the sight of their owne weaknesse and the discouragements of their owne heart and when they see themselves so farre outbidden by their parts then they have such a one in a high account and preferre him above themselves by many degrees now see the guise of this man hence it is that this man falls in love with himselfe and is lifted up into a fooles paradise and he begins to admire at himselfe and for any matter of faith hee doth not question it what a man of such wisedome and such understanding what not he faith he makes no question hee cannot misse of faith and so he goes away comfortably and contentedly thus you see the faith of this man Secondly wee come to view and to see where he falls short now you see him Oh that the Lord would make him see himselfe and brethren observe thus much few of these men are ever brought home by the powerfull preaching of the Gospell and the reason is because their owne wisedome is beyond the ministery of the Word and they say such a Minister is a good Scholer but had hee that wisedome and those parts and the like thus they reare up bulwarkes against the Word of truth that it sinkes not into their hearts therefore to make this man knowne to himselfe observe thus much in the generall the basenesse of this mans faith for it is no better but that he is deluded that he cannot see it it discovers it selfe thus it is bred in his bookes and in his judgement and goes no further and it is far from saving faith therefore that the inditement may lie cleare and that we may outbid him in his booke learning and all know thus much the maine ground of this mans mistake may be discovered thus there are two things in the nature of faith First illumination Secondly application as wee tearme it illumination not onely is when a man hath the common rumours and intimations of the truths of God in the Gospell and knowes the reason of the texts and the meaning of the scriptures this the reprobate may have and this he hath but there is also an operation of the Spirit upon the affections and then there comes an application wherein the soule goes out to the promise and takes that for his good which is thereunto appointed now observe this judicious man hee hath a generall apprehension of the truths of the Gospell but as for that speciall working upon the will and to enter in upon the promises of God and to have the sap and sweet of these and to goe out to Christ and to take all from Christ he is a stranger to this and it goes beyond all his booke learning and hence it is that when the Minister comes to handle these points he saith the Minister was something confused to day and the reason why he faith so it is because hee did not understand them these men are ignorant in the spirituall turnings of the heart Iohn 3.8 9. when Christ came to teach Nicodemus he was at a losse and thought that Christ spoke without booke therefore Christ reads the lecture againe and saith I speake of the spirituall worke that which is borne of the flesh is flesh and that which is borne of the Spirit is Spirit Oh saith he how can these things be he could not gainsay Christ and yet because hee could not understand it therefore hee would not yeeld so it is with this man it befalls this man as it is with some wise Lawyer hee reads over a mans writings and the leases and hee rehearseth the tenour upon which the lands are holden and what right the man hath to them hee layes open all the questions of the law and he reads his name in the will and yet he never reads his owne name there nor any right that he hath to them Just so it is with this judicious professor he is able to dispute of the maine points of the Gospell and shewes that others have right to them and he reads the writings but never comes to partake of them himselfe as it was with the wise men that came to inquire for Christ
him and undoe him as well as ten thousand therefore take order with all creditors that is the wisest way so it is with the soule that lies at the mercy of the Lord that is in so deepe arrerages that it cannot helpe it selfe the onely way is to take order with all occasions not onely answer judgement that it may not object against us but labour to still conscience that it may not accuse us but bee on our side and then all will bee on our side The want of this is the cause why new suits are made and new bills put up against the soule the want of satisfying conscience as experience teacheth us in cases of conscience take a poore sinner that hath all objections and cavils answered fully aske a poore distressed soule are these all the doubts you have and objections that you have yes and are they all answered aye have you any thing to object against the answers no therefore now doth conscience say it is a sinne to deny you have any grace here he stounds and staggers and demurs upon the matter and shakes his head and saith Alas I dare not say so nay I rather say the contrary marke how reasons were answered the bookes drawne the accounts made up and yet conscience is not satisfied but puts in a new plea therefore call a court and trace the businesse againe hath not God wrought this in you that though you are now and then captived by sin yet you say you are willing to be deterred from it willing that God should take possession of you and rule you is not this in your heart the soule saith I should deny the worke of Gods grace to say the contrary why then this is the worke of grace then it is against conscience to deny this therefore conscience give up your bill and cancell all this for I say hath not this man grace yea I affirme he hath let conscience be fully satisfied in this case and when conscience is brought on our side and speaks for us all the cavils that Satan casts and the heart makes conscience will cleare the heart and stands by a man and cleareth all these cavils 1 Iohn 3.12 For if our conscience condemne us not then have wee boldnesse before God the meaning is if our conscience acquit us and speake for us then we are bold before God I know the man he is yet alive that in the extremity of horrour of heart and desperate feare said that hee had sinned against the holy Ghost and therefore would make away himselfe now that which kept him from that wicked attempt was this his conscience told him before that at such a time his heart was sincere before the Lord and that restrained him from that attempt and sustained him against the fiery push of temptation and God afterward blest him with the assurance of his love and favour Rule 3 The third rule is this wee should strive mightily to have our hearts overpowred by the evidence of the truth which reason and conscience make good to us that it may quietly entertaine it and humbly and calmly welcome it that what reason saith and conscience concludes the heart may say Amen and set his seale to that and yeeld and subject it selfe to it This is the third thing and here we sticke for these three things are in the soule of a man that doth as it were maintaine opposition against the evidence of the Word and the verdict of God therein First reason objects secondly conscience accuseth and the heart that is the will gaine-saith the will of a man will not come under submission but it is still on the thwarting hand and wee finde it by experience in the course of temptation when a man hath attended all that can be when a man hath stilled conscience and that is brought on our side yet notwithstanding the heart out of a stubbornnesse not being fully mastered and out of a stoutnesse not fully conquered it gaine-sayes it and raiseth up new and keeps the old quarrells those old quarrels that have beene answered long agoe that a man would have thought they had beene dead long agoe a mans stout heart will bring those in afresh againe it is in this case with a poore sinner as it is with a man that hath a contentious adversary that delights in wrangling the case haply hath beene tried in all the courts in England at last it comes into the Chancery and there it is concluded against him and the decree passed so that now all the businesse is established the Lawyers have pleaded it the Judge determined it and the man is overthrown and therefore now in reason he should sit downe and yeeld but the wrangling party perswades him that hee will not yeeld but hee will goe to law againe and sell all he hath before hee will let let it goe thus therefore hee begins the suit againe and puts in the old plea till at last the Judge knowing the man casts off his plea and flings off his cause and puts him in prison How dare you against the court and the sentence set downe put in the old plea and trouble the court and the law in this nature so it is with the soule the heart of a gracious man humbled in some meaâ—ure and in truth could be content now and then to yeeld to the evidence of reason and verdict of conscience and the soule comes to bee cheered Blessed be God my estate is better than I thought but there is an old breed-bate and proud stout heart a sturdy selfe-wild heart and that begins to bring in the old plea and will maintaine the old quarrell though reason confuted them and conscience condemned the weaknesse thereof and they have beene answered from day to day yet against knowledge and conscience and truth and reason and all the sinner you shall finde out of his distemper of spirit will keep his old objections and maintaine his old cavils and if they were answered over night hee will have them againe in the morning whereas a man would have thought they would never have durst appeared before the evidence of the truth any more because the case was so fully answered and so fully satisfied therefore the wound is here labour therefore to cure it namely get thy heart so far awed get thy soule so far overpowerd with the soveraigne command royall authority of the truth that it may submit it selfe and yeeld to what ever word the Lord reveals to what ever truth the Lord discovers to the soule and beware especially that thou dost not out of a selfe-wild waywardnesse reject and refuse the evidence of the truth and the verdict that the Word passeth upon thy soule for thy everlasting good that because thou hast not comfort as thou wilt therefore thou wilt have none at all it is not so much because thou canst not receive the promise but because out of a waywardnesse of heart thou wilt not entertaine the promise that causeth
thou have honour and glory why here is an exceeding weight of glory hee that hath the promise shall bee made a king and shall have glory that will never vanish doth thy heart hanker after earthly joy and mirth thou shalt finde a greater mirth in the promise than in the crackling of these thorns In the promise there iâ— joy unspeakable and indurable my joy I give unto you and none shall take it away here are rivers of pleasures and so I may say of any thing else doth thy heart hanker after riches tell thy heart that there be unsearchable riches in Christ and through him we have title to all the promises of this life and a better we know he that offers most for the bargaine carries it away therefore wee should observe the goings out of our hearts and what offers it selfe to give us most content and present our soules with a greater good in God in Christ in the promise than in all things else looke as it is in marrying if parts give content then the wisest prevaile if they would have riches then the wealthy obtaine why now wooe thy soule and looke what will please it best and make it appeare to thy soule there is a greater good in the promise honours and riches have spokes-masters and seeke commendations had I but such honour oh it were admirable had I but so much wealth oh it were excellent all this while the promise is shut out and it cannot come to the speech of the soule labour therefore to have accesse to the promise with thy soule and speake a good word for it and say stand by world stand by riches profits and pleasures and preferments roome for the Lord Jesus Christ and put a wonderfull price upon the promise whatsoever the soule doth account as best that it will chuse and leave all others for it doe as Dalilah did shee besieged the heart of Sampson and would not leave him till he powred out his heart to her so let the promise have ingresse and regresse let the promises besiege thy heart that thy heart may give up it selfe to it Hosea 2.7 I will returne to my first husband for then it was better with mee than now so when the heart comes to see and know that there is better riches ease pleasures profits preferments in Christ in the promise than in all the world then it will returne thither I would have the soule outbid the world and labour to out-shoot the Devill in his owne bow and those things which the Devill casts in thy way for hindering thy soule from comming to the promise let those things bee as meanes to usher in the promise as thus when thou seest thy heart looke after friends let those friends usher the way to thinke on the infinite love and favour of God in Christ and when thy heart would faine hunt after wealth let this usher a way to the promise and say if the heart finde such content in riches what would it finde in the riches of Gods grace in Christ thus present a greater good in the promise than in any thing else Rule 2 The second rule is labour to convince thy heart of this that all the things in the world without the promise are not good and hadst thou all that the earth can afford without a promise they were rather a curse to thee than a blessing Heb. 11.1 Faith is the substance of things hoped for it gives a kinde of being and substance to all there is no substance in honour and riches if they bee not in faith they are clogs and snares to a man except faith give a blessing therewith all our prayers have no substance in them but are poore and empty words without faith in the promise to have what we pray for the most broken and meane prayer if it bee mingled with faith it is a very powerfull prayer and the substance of all your hearing and my preaching lyes chiefly in faith otherwise they are but lost labour for faith is it that gives a kinde of being to whatsoever we speake or doe Rule 3 The third rule in this second meanes is this labour to acquaint thy heart with the goodnesse of the promise before carnall reason comes and possesses thy heart how that the promise is most sure and will come when it is most seasonable and is best for thee and when God sees it most fit we shall certainly have it David saith Thy Word is sure in heaven and Heb. 4.16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may receive comfort and mercie in time of need not when I see it sit but when God sees it fit this is it which carries away many poore sinfull hearts from resting upon the promise of God sometimes the heart is a little affected with the excellencie of the riches of Gods grace and seeth what great things the Lord hath done for his soule and saith Oh that I were such a one and let mee dye the death of the righteous but when it comes to passe that hee hath not present ease and comfort then hee casts away the good promise of the Lord and the Devill prevailes wonderfully with those poore creatures therefore saith the Prophet Heb. 3.17 When the fig tree shall not blossome neither shall the fruit be on the vines when the labour of the olive shall faile and yeeld no fruit then will I rejoyce in the Lord and joy in the God of my salvation let the promise so surpriâ—e thy heart that it may be possessed with the all-sufficiencie of it and therefore perswade thy heart the good of the promise will come when it is most seasonable let riches satisfie when death comes then call for your cordiall I tell you the promise will help when all faile Meanes 3 In the third place see that thou expectest all the good which thou needest and canst desire from that sufficiencie of the promise goe to the promise for all good there are all the cords of mercie that must draw thee and there is the all-sufficiencie that can supply all thy wants looke for all from thence and expect power from the promise to inable thee to doe whatsoever thou wouldest in the promise is authority to rule thee expect power from the promise to make thee able to beleeve the promise Object It is a weake plea for a man to say I dare not looke to the promise I cannot beleeve if I could beleeve then I might expect some good Answ Thou shalt never beleeve upon these termes thou must not first have faith and then goe to the promise but thou must first goe to the promise and from thence receive power to make thee able to beleeve the promise Psal 119.49 O Lord remember thy word to thy servant wherein thou hast caused me to trust when men are inlarged in love to a man and make faire promises this perswades the heart to trust to them and to rely upon them for good therefore a
bravely upon halfe of that means which he had So there is never a poore Christian Note this which trades in a Christian course but hee hath a faire estate and may live like a man One promise is enough to make a man live comfortably all his dayes though hee were in never so much want but if hee bee cast behinde hand and goes downe the winde with comfort and joy and sinks because of his pride and distempers and vexation the fault is not in the estate for the Lord left him very well he had a childes portion hee had an heart to feare God and love God as David saith O be mercifull unto me as thou usest to 〈◊〉 to those that love and feare thy Name the fault was not in the promises that they could not nor in his faith that it would not helpe him but he let the promises lie by they came into the table but he never cast them up neither did hee husband then aright hee had a world of comforts and consolations that would have given a man liberty in prison and honour in shame and disgrace and comfort in the time of distresse but hee did not husband them Therefore be advised to doe as the trades-man doth hee will not spend of his stocke but live of his trading So I would have every Christian to make a living of his faith whatever strength thou needst fetch it from grace in Christ and what ever comfort thou wantest fetch it from Christ but live by faith and make a good living of it too and then thou dost improve the promise aright bring but an empty beleeving heart with thee and the oyle will never faile and the meale in the barrell will never decay but continually supply thee as it did that poore widow So goe with an humble heart to the promises and husband it well and thou maist draw life and grace from the promises till doomes day And thus in generall Quest But how shall a man be trained up that he may get this skill of living by faith Answ Every man hath his owne shifts and trickes and lives by his owne devices and the devill hath enough of them in the world that lives this life but the best life of all is little looked after Note Now for the answer know thus much that there are three particulars necessary for the training up of the heart to learne this skill of living by faith How to live by faith First wee must labour to get matter for our faith to worke upon Secondly wee must labour to fit faith for the worke Thirdly wee must labour to order our faith aright in the worke Particul 1 First we must provide matter for our faith to worke upon for this wee see ordinarily if a workman want matter to worke upon either a Carpenter or the like hee must needs cease his worke and he can goe no further and if a mans worke failes how can hee provide for his family This is the complaint of poore people now adayes that they have no worke So it is in a Christian course many poore Christians that are newly set up and are not afore-hand in the world they want even matter for their faith I meane some are ignorant and cannot read and some have not meanes and a preaching Minister and others have but small parts and cannot heare and little doe they retaine of what they doe heare Now because they want the promises of God understood and remembred and rightly applied therefore they live marvellously poore though they might live marvellously comfortable in the world and now they have a word of comfort and sometimes the advice of a friend and they have faith but they want matter for their faith to worke upon and therefore they are scarcely able to uphold their soules in trouble Now the matter of our faith is in the whole Word of God Where the matter of faith is as it is with the Bee in gathering hony as the spider gathers poison out of every flower so the Bee gathers hony out of the same flower and out of the sweetest flower there shee suckes most hony and the Word of God the sharpest course and the fearfullest plagues denounced a gracious heart will gather some good by it and a man hath need of these but above all the sweet of the promises of the Gospell and the sap and sweet therein and the bloud of the Lord Jesus Christ that is communicated thereby Oh the faithfull soule sucks most there Now that wee may provide matter for our faith three rules are to bee observed which are commonly observed in all provisions Rule 1 First they provide and lay in in season timely as soone as they can When to provide matter for our faith this is the practice of him that would husband his estate wisely his care is to buy at the best hand So I would have a good Christian to store up all the good promises of God Remember this first in all the good Word of God seasonably I meane when all thy parts and abilities are strong and nature is able to fight it out while the Faire day of Gods favour lasteth and while the Word and Sacraments are dispensed this is the best time to lay in the promises of God that we may not want them when wee have use of them it is a marvellous weake nay a preposterous course when a man is weake his eyes dim and his heart and strength faileth and he is ready to give up the ghost then to lay in grace and provision of mercy and then for him that hath hated a Minister and loathed the meanes of grace and abused the patience and long suffering of God Oh then to have a Minister come to him and have a promise in the day of persecution then for a man to bethink himselfe of the comforts and promises of the Gospell and when a man should spend on the promises then to get it this is but ill husbandry the better way is this now to be buying at every turne and this is the reason why our Saviour saith Oh if thou hadst knowne in this thy day the things that belong unto thy peace while the Word and thy life and the Sabbaths and the ordinances last this is thy day we know not how soone God may take all from us Oh the estate of the poore Palatinates if it be true that we heare of them they have lost all the meanes of grace and they have idolatry now amongst them and there the enemies force them to goe to masse against their consciences and they cannot see a good Minister nor a good Christian but they weepe to consider the times that once they had therefore let us labour to be wise in the Lord now while the Faire is and consider how God deales with his children Psal 48.9 Wee have thought of thy name O Lord in the midst of the table It is spoken there of the goodnesse of God
good man desperately poore but his heart was desperately proud therefore the Lord will make him good and make his proud heart yeeld and then bestow these things looke for that first and not for the other againe another Christian labours much for the assurance of Gods love and cannot attaine it and seekes to God in the use of the promises and yet he cannot finde it setled God will give thee comfort and consolation but in his owne order and know this that commonly the Lord never debars the soule of comfort but he sees that the heart is not fit for it thy heart would bee proud and carelesse and God should heare no more of thee and thy saile would overturne the boat therefore when God hath abased thy heart and made thee content to want what he shall deny then hee will give thee assurance but it must be in his order and this is the reason why the most smoak out their dayes in discontent the reason is there is a proud heart and a sturdy disposition of spirit that will not come unto Gods termes as it is with a Physitian he will not give a cordiall to his patient when hee will for if he were in a burning fever it were the next way to send him going first he purgeth and makes him fit and then gives him a cordiall so it is in these things which thou cravest the Lord will then give thee thē when thou shalt not surfet of comfort and assurance and prosperity when thy heart is emptied and purged and able to digest these things then the Lord will give them Rule 2 Secondly the Lord will give temporall blessings and that measure of spirituall in his owne due time not when thou and I would but when he sees most fit As Iohn 2.3 4. The mother of Iesus comes to our Saviour they have no wine saith shee she thought shee had Christ at command but hee answers her Woman what have I to doe with thee my houre is not yet come So it is with our soules wee want comfort and strength against corruptions and assurance and assistance What have I to doe with that proud heart of thine saith our Saviour My time is not yet come you would have it now as they said Wilt thou now restore the Kingdome to Israel God will doe it in his owne time and wee must wait his leisure This is one thing that doth necessarily accompany the covenant of grace as I have shewed before that the Lord should dispence of his Kingdome when he pleaseth and not when we will when the Lord seeth these blessings of spirituall mercies and temporall favours are ripe and most seasonable to thy necessities then thou shalt have them but the time is in Gods hand Rule 3 The Lord doth not promise in such a manner and measure and such a peculiar thing to give that temporall blessing and that spirituall assistance that we desire but the Lord will doe that which he knoweth is most fit And the text saith Feed me with food convenient for me there was faith he refers himselfe to God When a man comes to the taylers to have a garment made hee doth not cut out the garment himselfe but refers it to the judgement of the workman so we must doe refer our selves to God and know God promiseth nothing but as he seeth it fit for thy good It may bee thou shalt not have this blessing or that grace As it is with a Potter hee is minded to make so many vessels of honour but it is reserved in the minde of the Potter how big he will make every vessell of honour so if the Lord make thee a vessell of honour goe away contented whether thou hast so much prosperity and so much good and grace or no it skils not it is enough that thou art elected to eternall happinesse Now you see how to mannage and improve the promise aright for your best advantage and to expect from the promise that which it will yeeld The second particular in this third rule of living by faith is this how to take and how to enjoy the sap and sweet of the promise and to live by it when the Husbandman hath sowen his ground and his fruit is ripe and he hath reaped it then he must gather in his come that hee may live upon it So let us gather in the promises when we see the best advantage now let us take the gaine and live by it and that comfortably too in the proofe of Gods goodnesse therein For this end let me suggest these five rules or directions Direction 1 First thou seest what God is in the promise and thou expectest no more than God is there then eye that particular good in the promise which thou standest in most need of eye that good in Christ and in the promise and then set Gods power and faithfulnesse aworke to bring that good and his wisedome to contrive it As for instance I am in persecution and either I would have deliverance and safety that I might not be imprisoned or else comfort and refreshment if the Lord carry me thither therefore I would see all this in the promise still reserving the conditions before mentioned If thou art in prison eye liberty and preservation in Christ he that is the great deliverer of his people and carrieth his people in his hands and then set Gods power and faithfulnesse aworke that can doe it and his wisedome that can contrive it for thy good that which thou seest and needest in the promise that the power wisedome of God may comunicate to thy soule this is the meaning of that place Psalme 37.5 Commit thy wayes unto the Lord trust in him and he shall bring it to passe root thy selfe and lay all thy weight of all thy occasions upon the Lord. Therefore the Apostle saith 1 Pet. 5.7 Hurle your care upon the Lord for hee careth for you It is Gods proper office and worke He careth for thy soule therefore lay it all upon him and put over all thy care into his hands and set his power and faithfulnesse a worke only this is here a little to be scanned I speake not this that we should take no care at all but I say hang all thy weight and burthen of thy care upon the Lord. The Brewer he tumbles the barrell of beere and roules it but the earth that bears it so whatsoever trouble is in thy eare roule it upon the Lord That is thus the weight of a mans occasions lies especially in three things which a man must hurle off himselfe and lay upon the Lord either a man shall not bee able to know what hee shall doe or what hee is commanded or else secondly he shall not be able to doe what God commands and he knowes or else thirdly he shall not finde successe in what he doth It is not a trouble to doe what we can or to imploy our selves as we are able but this is the trouble when the
soule why should I not have that mercie supply and succour saith justice thou art a sinfull wretch and thou hast wronged me saith anger thou hast deserved to be plagued and thou shalt rather bee corrected by me Now faith layes hold upon the riches of the freenesse of Gods mercie in Christ and in him justice is satisfied and anger appeased for all and now mercie is purchased and mercie triumpheth over justice and faith layes hold upon and overcomes God himselfe as I may say with an holy humble basenesse of heart You know what the Lord did to the woman of Canaan when shee had striven with him a great while and would take no deniall at last he saith O woman great is thy faith be it unto thee even as thou wilt take what thou wilt if thou wilt have life for thy child peace for thine own conscience and joy in the holy Ghost take it for it is all thine he as it were turnes her loose to all her treasury if she had gone away at the first or second deniall she had found no help but because shee held out shee had all her hearts desire God would have us wrastle with his Majestie that hee may be overcome in mercie and goodnes I might here have taken some of the most desperate cases that could be that you might have seen what faith would have done in the midst of the want of all meanes and in the greatest extremity that could have befalne a poore sinner but I will not stand about it now at this time now therefore consider what hath been said lay these things up and have them ever by you and practise them and by often writing learn to write and by often living learn to live many people live poorly and make a poore shift to go to heaven but I would not have a Christian to live so but be the master of his art know and see your way and use the meanes and labour to get good thereby that you may have sap and sweet of the promises and goe singing and rejoycing triumphing up to heaven Now that which I conclude withall is this you see how far the Lord hath brought us how the soule hath beene prepared and cut off from sin and himselfe if fitted for the Lord Jesus by contrition and humiliation and that the soule comes to see that there is no hope in the creatures nor any succour in heaven but the Lord Jesus Christ and so at last the sinner comes and lies at the foot-stoole of the Lord Jesus Christ and knowes that either he must be another man or a damned man now when he sees that prayer and all other meanes will not profit and the power of the meanes yet prevaile not and the power of his corruptions is not yet mastered then he looks up to Christ and is contented that he should doe what he will with him now when the Lord Jesus Christ sees him lie wearied then with his corruptions then the Lord gives speciall notioâ— to his soule that it is his purpose to do him good and there is mercie for that broken heart of him with that hope is stirred and saith is it possible is it credible shall all this wretchednesse of mine he pardoned desire is kindled and longs for that dâ—â—â— O that I might once see the funerall of all my saâ—â— and then love joy are cheared to entertaine this mercie and saith O how is the soule bound to the God that offers free undeserved grace to a 〈◊〉 borne rebellious hearted sinner at last the wilâ— saith Amen to the promise and saith O that mâ—â—cie I will have thus the soule is come home to 〈◊〉 by vocation now the prodigall is come home to his father and the fathers heart leaps within hâ—â— brest when he sees him lie at the doore and as the father rejoyceth so the Angels in heaven reiâ—â—â—â— and all the faithfull should rejoyce and say O my husband O my father or my child is come hoâ—â— againe and my wife that was a sinfull woman 〈◊〉 come home againe to her first and best husband you that have found it thus in your selves be comforted you that know it in others rejoyce the 〈◊〉 have heard how the soul is ingrafted into the sâ—â—â— Christ Now afterward if the Lord lend life and liberty we shall come to shew what the soule â—â—ceives from the stock consider what I have saiâ— and the Lord give you understanding FINIS