you even so ought you to love one another how was that why Christ loved you freely in opposition to all the injuries you had done unto him It is said 1 Joh. 1.6 7. If we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness we lie and do not the truth but if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another and in John 3.16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son Yea Christ hath so loved us that he hath laid down his life for us and we are to love as Christ loved even to the laying down of our lives for our brethren Fifthly If your love be true it ought to be without restriction yea and without all dissimulation I say you are to love without any restriction the only measure of love is to know no measure and you are to love without any dissimulation yea and your love ought to be also without degeneration many do begin to love spiritually but end carnally but true love is without restriction dissimulation or degeneration Sixthly If your love be true and such as it ought to be then it will never be bought neither can it be sold Love cannot be bought and if it be true love it will never be sold neither directly nor indirectly Seventhly If your love be as it ought to be it will be singular it will make you singular in your love Love your enemies saith Christ It hath been said you shall hate your enemies and love your neighbours but I say unto you love them both love your enemies do good to them that hate you and despightfully use you for if you love them that love you what reward have you do not even the Publicans so Mat. 5.43 44 45. Love them that hate you this is singular love and love where it is true will make a man thus singular in his ways and carriage Eighthly True love is a praying love Saies one I never loved any man till I had prayed for him in particular true love I say is a praying love And true love is a love at all times at one time as well as another And a man that loves truly declares that he is loosned from the world and that he is one that is wrought upon by the Holy Ghost In the Primitive times it was said that they were all of one heart and all things were common among them and when we are thus of one heart and of one mind it doth declare that we have been wrought upon by the Holy Ghost and therefore certainly there is a great mistake in mens love all men say they love the saints they love them in words though I am afraid many love them but little in their hearts But you will say how far is our love to be exercised upon whom and how farr I say no more but this so far as the word Brethren doth extend so far this union and love ought to go Behold how good and how pleasant it is for Brethren to dwell together in unity So far I say as this word brethren extends and that is so far as God is their Father it matters not for opinion or what judgement they are of if God be their Father they are your brethren and are to be beloved by you and so far is your love to reach and extend But you will say wherein doth this love consist Why in these three things In the matter of our judgements In the matter of our Affections In the matter of our Practice First In the matter of our Judgements Rom. 12.16 Be of the same mind one towards another mind not high things but condiscend to men of low estate Be not wise in your own conceit recompence no man evil for evil if it be possible as much as in you lieth live peaceably with all men Secondly In the matter of our Affections in the 10. verse of this Chapter Be kindly affectioned one towards another with brotherly love in honour preferring one another Thirdly In the matter of our Practice read the 3. verse of this Chapter For I say through the grace given unto me to every man that is among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think soberly according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith Thus you see how we should act as to our Judgements Affections and Practices one toward another But you will say if this be so then how much is our love wanting one toward another but what shall we do that our love to one another may be more knit together what shall we do that we may advance and rise to this holy agreement both in our own hearts and others For answer hereunto take these directions First Be serious in this work and lay aside the former hinderances of your love and your former divisions and let not any of you say this is the fault and that is the fault and such a one is the cause of it and such a one is the occasion of it No but lay the sault on your selves lay it upon your selves and not upon others and say It is I the Lord knows it is I it is I that have raised this storm and say as David I have sinned I have sinned Let not your former divisions be forgotten but take warning by them lay not the fault I say upon others but upon your selves and acknowledge it and say It is I I Lord that have sinned And Secondly If you do desire to be serious in this work then do you desire Peace and if it be possible live at peace with all men the same word that is used in the original for Persecutors is also used for peace to shew that we should follow after it with might and main as Persecutors follow those they persecute and that if possible we should live at peace with all Thirdly Be sure you strengthen your love Love must be strengthned else this union cannot continue it is the property of love to interpret love in the best sence to interpret things well Fourthly It is the property of love to speak highly of the person or thing beloved where there is an uniting and a sweet agreement there love will speak high things of each other Fifthly The property of love is to cover the infirmities of those they love and indeed how can there be any agreement if infirmities be not covered It is the property of love to give no offence nor to take any and it is a great sign that there is no agreement nor no love when people are so apt to give offence and to take offence for true love is apt to do neither but to take all in good part Sixthly True love knows how to give and how to take admonitions And thus you have heard what love will do therefore I beseech you to strengthen your love to one another yea I beseech you in the Lord to increase it more
is a Gospel of peace Let your conversation be as becometh the Gospel that you be of one spirit and of one mind So I say this holy agreement is every way suitable and therefore the more pleasant and delightful and so it ought to be unto us Secondly As it is pleasant and delightful so it is a profitable good Behold how good a thing it is it is very profitable For is it not profitable for the dew to fall upon Hermon and upon the hills of Zion to make them fruitfull Why such is the dew of holy agreement when it falls upon the hearts of men And this doth make men increase and multiply in the Church and to be fruitful in good works the Psalmist saith God commandeth his blessing and when God blesseth we shall certainly increase and multiply and this I say did increase the Church and hereby are the Saints both increased and delighted by the blessing of God on them they do increase in things that are good and profitable and this was the thing which Christ prayed for yea prayed for again and again yea as I said it is the great thing which Christ hath commanded A new command c. Is it not therefore good and profitable to love one another Again This is the mercy and the grace that is promised specially in the latter times glorious things are spoken of and promised to the last daies and this is one of those things which are promised and if so it is then certainly good and profitable Again This is the Legacy which Christ left with his disciples and people saith he Peace I leave with you my peace I give unto you not as the world giveth give I unto you John 14.27 and therefore surely this agreement among brethren is very good and profitable Again Certainly it is good and profitable to walk worthy of the high calling to which Christ hath called us as the Apostle speaks Eph. 4.1 2 3. I beseech you to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called with all lowliness and meekness with long suffering forbearing one another in love endeavouring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace c. Again Is it not good and profitable that our prayers should be heard that God should hear and grant our requests and prayers Why look into the Scriptures and you will find that our love is a help to our prayers it is a help unto us whereby to have our prayers heard and answered Again Is it not good and profitable for a man to know that he is a child of God and that he hath an interest in Christ Why look into 1 John 3.14 We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren There is a day of death of natural death whereby man shall pass from life to death and there is likewise a time of spiritual life when a man passeth from death to life Now how shall I know whether I am passed from death to life Why if I love the brethren Yea saith Christ Hereby shall all know that you are my disciples if you love one another not only your selves shall know it but others shall know it also and is it not then very good and profitable For hereby you shall know that your prayers are heard and by this also you shall know that you are passed from death to life and hereby you shall not only know your selves to be Christs disciples but others shall know it also and if it be so then certainly it must be good and profitable Again This will give a relish and a savour to all your injoyments it is the salt of all your comforts Have salt in your selves and have peace one with another Although our condition be never so prosperous yet if we cannot agree among our selves if love and peace be wanting that sowrs all the rest and though the ordinances be never so sweet and our priviledges never so many yet if we be not united together in love all is made sowre this is that which sowrs all our enjoyments the want of love and agreement for that gives a relish to all our enjoyments when we have it Again This is that which will make all things easie unto you though they be never so hard in themselves whereas the contrary will make all things hard though never so easie If I am to do a work or a service for one why though the work be never so hard of it self yet love will make it easie many complain and say they cannot profit by the Ordinances why what is the reason It is for want of love to them there are jarrs and contentions between friend and friend between this man and the other man why it is for want of love Love would make all things easie for you though never so hard Now put all these things together and then you may see what a pleasant and profitable thing it is for brethren to dwell together in unity to love to unite to live in unity one with another Well then if this be so why should we not all abound in it why do not we love and agree one with another if it be so good and profitable as we have heard then let us all agree together But it may be some will say we do live together in love and unity and we are united one to another But First Yet give me leave to mind you of what the Apostle saith 1 Thess 4.9 But as touching brotherly love you need not that I write unto you for you your selves are taught of God to love one another and indeed ye do it towards all the brethren which are in all Macedonia but we beseech you brethren that you increase more and more Though you do it yet we beseech you to increase it more and more and so I say to you yea and Christ hath commanded it also and you must do it in obedience to his command Secondly If our love be right as it should be then we shall love others also even our neighbours and friends and brethren we shall love them as our selves The second Commandment saith our Saviour is like unto it that you love your neighbour as your self Pray for your selves do all the good you can for your selves avoid all iniquity that may come upon your selves and to prove your love to be right do all this for your neighbours also and love them as your selves Thirdly If our love be as it should be we shall then love others because they are godly let them be of this opinion or of the other opinion yet that matters not though they be not of my opinion yet if my love be right I love them because they are godly and I love him most that is most godly and as his increaseth godliness so must my love increase toward him Fourthly If your love be true and such as it ought to be then you will love one another and love your brother as Christ loved
I am comforted saith a poor soul but I know not whether it be in a way of free grace and free love now how may I know that I am comforted in a way of free grace I shall speak to this Negatively and Affirmatively First Negatively There is a comfort that is the daughter of time a man or woman is sorrowful but time wears it out time comforts him this comfort that springs from and ariseth out of time is not true comfort neither is that man truly comforted by free grace But when the soul is truly comforted in a way of free grace then he is comforted by the Holy Ghost the Holy Ghost bearing witness that he is the Child of God Secondly There is a comfort that ariseth from the satisfaction of a natural conscience A man knows by nature that there is a God and that this God is to be prayed unto and therefore he prayes accordingly and when he hath done his natural conscience is satisfied and he is then comforted but noâ— if a mans comfort arise only from this â—â—m the satisfaction of a naturall conscience that man is not truly comforted for he that is truly comforted is comforted by joy in believing in whom believing ye rejoyce Rom. 15.13 Thirdly There is a comfort that ariseth from a mans non-attendance to his own condition Men may be comforted Why Because they never look into their condition how it stands between God and their souls There is a comfort arising not only from a mans conscience but from the non-attendance to his own condition and hereupon he is secure but this is not the comfort that ariseth from free grace and free love Fourthly There is a comfort that doth arise from the use of the creature men are troubled in their minds and they run presently to the Tavern to their Musick or merry Company to put it off and so it may be are comforted but if a mans comfort arise only from the creature he is not truly comforted not comforted with the comfort of free grace and love he that is comforted in this way it is but a diversion to him and not true comfort as straw when set on fire will make a flash and a flame but black ashes remain behind so when men are troubled and they run to the Tavern or to Musick and merry Company all this is but a flash black Ashes remain behind provoked trouble will be angry trouble and angry will be most troublesome when men run to merriment to divert trouble they provoke it Fifthly There is a comfort that doth arise from the common work of the Holy Ghost Some who have tasted of the Heavenly gift and are made partakers of the Holy Ghost and yet fall away Heb. 6.4 The false ground received the word with joy Now if a mans comfort ariseth from these common workings of the Holy Ghost it is not true comfort for he that is truly comforted is comforted in a way of free love his comfort is unspeakable 1 Pet. 1.8 Whom having not seen you love in whom though you now see him not yet believing ye rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory Thus you see Negatively when a man is not truly comforted in these five particulars a man is not truly comforted from time nor from the satisfaction of a natural conscience nor from a non-attendance to his condition nor from the use of the creature nor lastly from the common workings of the Holy Ghost But Secondly Affirmatively we have heard when a man may be said not to be comforted Now when may a man be said to be comforted truly comforted in a way of free grace Beloved in the Lord are you willing to have your comforts tried false and counterfeit things do not love trial now if you be willing to be tried to have your comforts tried it is a sign and a hope that your comforts may be true but I shall not insist on this There are two or three things I shall speak to here First If you have been comforted by the word of promise set on upon your souls by God then are you truly comforted in away of love and free grace for what is the promise but the word of grace But some may say I have had a promise but I fear it may be from the Devil for the Devil may bring a promise did he not bring a pomise unto Christ Mat. 4.6 Saying He shall give His Angels charge over thee and in their hands they shall bear thee up This promise was brought to Christ by the Devil and it may be my promise may be handed to me by Satan and set on upon my soul by him But do but mark this I will only say this one thing to thee poor soul to ease thee of this objection If Satan bring a promise to you it is to lead you into sin to draw you into sin and to that which is evil as this to Christ here He will give His Angels charge concerning Thee cast thy self down He brought a promise to do evil cast thy self down but now if God hand a promise to you it is for your doing of good therefore says Christ to Satan It is written I have a word and a promise too It is written thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God The Devil brought this that he might do evil and God gave Christ a word to keep him from evil and so when you are brought into temptations great temptations if you have a word of promise brought home to your hearts to bear you up under temptation it is not the Devil that gives it in to you that hands it to you No for the Devil is no friend to faith no friend to stay you up for the Tempter will not act against the Temptation saith Luther though the Devil be Magnipotent yet he is not Omnipotent though he be Mighty he is not Almighty And therefore I say if you have a promise comes to you to help you to do good it is not of Satan but of God for he is Almighty he is able to comfort That is the first Secondly Would you know whether you be comforted in a way of free grace and love you may know it by the ebbing and flowing of your comforts which will ebb and flow according to the cause They say the Marygold opens and shuts with the Sun when the Sun shines it opens when the Sun withdraws it shuts it opens and shuts according to the withdrawing and shining of the Sun and so if your comforts be true the more the righteousness of Christ opens before you the more the Sun of righteousness shines upon you the more you will be comforted If your comforts be true the more the freeness of the love of God is opened to you the more will the comfort of the soul be enlarged if your comforts be true the more God shines with his countenance the more is the soul comforted Lord saies David in Psalm 4.6 Lift up the light of thy
countenance upon us Thou hast put more gladness in my heart than in the time that their Corn and their wine increased Now according to the opening and shutting of these things so will your comforts be How is it therefore with you Is there any ebbing and flowing How is the righteousness of Christ How is the light of Gods countenance discovered to you Are they laid open to you Then are you truly comforted in a way of free grace and love That is the second Thirdly If you be comforted in a way of free grace and love then your comforts are true friends to holiness of life That comfort that is wrought by the grace of God without you is the greatest friend to the grace of God within you and to holiness in your lives False comfort is a friend to sin a neighbour a guard to sin but no friend to true and gracious comfort yea those that have this false comfort can indure sins against conscience But now where there is true comfort and comfort from the grace of God there conscience is as the Apple of the Eye and the man cannot indure the least sin he cannot bear the least Mote of sin to lie upon his conscience How is it therefore with you is your comfort a friend to holiness of life and can you say the more comforted I am the more holy I am Then you are truly comforted But suppose I want comfort now and that I am one of a drooping trembling spirit and of an afflicted heart what shall I do that I may be comforted and comforted in a way of free grace I Answer First Go away and be sensible of your unbelief for it is want of believing that hinders our comfort and when the comforter comes he will convince the world of sin and especially of unbelief would you then be comforted in a way of free love Go then I say and be sensible of your unbelief and be humbled for it Secondly Observe what those things are that hinder your spiritual comforts and take heed of them They are many I will only name some of them As First Worldly fears and worldly delights these are enemies to true comfort Secondly Sins against conscience they that sin against knowledge will hardly have peace of conscience nay it is pitty they should have peace lest they be ingaged and incouraged thereby to sin those that sin against Conscience will hardly have peace Do you think to have the Spirit to be your friend whom you grieve so often if then you would be truly comforted you must have a great care of sinning against conscience and thereby grieving the spirit that spirit whereby you are sealed to the day of Redemption Ephes 4.30 would you then be truly comforted Observe I say these things that hinder your spiritual comfort can you think that what you grieve most should comfort you most Therefore as you expect true comfort have a care of grieving the spirit of God Thirdly If at any time God make a tender of grace or offer a word of comfort and peace to you be sure you do not refuse it We are apt to refuse to be comforted but be sure you accept of it especially in a time of Temptation Fourthly Be sure you do not rest upon your own performances in reference to your comforts Brethren and Beloved think on these things and compare them with your own daily experiences I say if you would be truly comforted do not rest on your own performances As we are apt to rest upon our own Righteousness in reference to our Justification so we are apt also to rest upon our own performances in reference to our comforts O take heed you do not go about to establish your own comforts upon the bottom of your own performances for if you do you will not submit to the consolations of God Fifthly If you would be comforted in a way of free grace and love then study much the freeness of the grace of God What is the reason people are no more comforted It is because they see no more of the grace of God the free grace of God the more you look into the riches and freeness of Gods grace the more you will be comforted Sixthly If you want comfort at any time walk graciously in the want of it When you want comfort go to God and say Lord although I cannot see thee yet will I serve thee and although I cannot enjoy thee yet I will obey thee and although I cannot see thy face yet I will follow after thee if by any means I may obtain thee Walk graciously in the want of your comforts Seventhly Set your self to rejoyce in him that gives you comfort Rejoyce in the Lord alwaies and again I say rejoyce saith the Apostle Phil. 4.4 He doth not only say humble your self for sin which is a duty and a great duty but he saith Rejoyce and again I say rejoyce in the Lord Rejoyce in the Lord who gives you comfort freely As much as you have been humbled for sin formerly so much should you now rejoyce that you have been comforted and freely comforted by the grace of God Rejoyce so much in the Lord of your comforts Eighthly To name them only If you would be comforted in a way of free grace and love then be thankfull for your comfort He that is thankfull for a little shall have much be thankfull therefore to God for your comfort Lastly Would you be comforted in a way of free grace and love then go to God for that comfort Friends and Beloved God is willing most willing to comfort and what will you not go to him God is willing to make good his name and his Title now this is one of his Titles I am the Lord that comforteth He is willing to do what Christ was sent to do the spirit of the Lord is upon me to comfort all that mourn Isa 61.2 Is not God willing to do it He hath sent the comforter also to comfort you yea he hath given his Ministers charge to comfort you Comfort ye comfort ye my people Isa 40.1 and are not you willing now to receive what God hath promised I will not leave you comfortless I will come unto you John 14.15 You will be troubled and reason with your selves yet I will not leave you comfortless As one whom his mother comforteth so will I comfort you and ye shall be comforted Isa 66.13 Therefore now O poor drooping soul go to God for he is willing to comfort thee if thou be but willing to go unto him Only in your going to God observe these two or three directions First When you go to God for comfort go to the Office which he hath set up for comfort the Office of the Holy-Ghost Secondly When you go to God shut your eyes and cast your self at an adventure upon the free grace of God Thirdly In going to God for comfort you must stay Gods leasure some come and ask of God and because
and more one toward another But you may say further suppose there be a difference in the matter of our Judgements or opinions what shall we do to remove it Why First Be sure of this that you do not mistake the meaning of that Scripture which your judgement is founded upon It is said There was a division among the people because of Christ why for what was it what was the reason of it It was because of misunderstanding and for want of a right understanding of Christ So I say this division may come for want of a right understanding of the Scriptures upon which our judgement is grounded and founded But Secondly Consider O man whether you do not settle your judgement upon the judgement or opinion of any or upon the knowledge of another Hast thou faith saith the Apostle have it to thy self before God Rom. 14.22 But is not a man then to confess his faith before others when he is called to it Yes But the Apostle speaks here of lesser things if thou hast faith have it to thy self in little disputable things and do not rely upon others but look to thy self and give things a time in due time God will reveal saith the Apostle Thirdly if you desire this holy agreement then do what you can to keep union in the Ministry and between the Ministry It was not for nothing that our Saviour prayed John 17.11 21. Holy Father keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me that they may be one as we are That they all may be one as thou Father art in me and I in thee that they also may be one in us It is not good for people to cry I am for Paul and I am for Apollo and I am for Cephas and the like this is the way to make division therefore do all you can to live in love and unity for love is of God and the contrary is of the Devil Fourthly Take heed of disputation what have we got this many years by disputation those that are weak are sooner brought in by humiliation than by Disputation Fifthly If after all this there do remain division among you by reason of your judgements or opinions then remember the Apostles rule and be sure to walk by it for saith he as we instanced before Let no man think more highly of himself than he ought to think but to think soberly as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith The Apostle directs us to live humbly and walk meekly one toward another and not to be rash or to think highly of our selves But further Sixthly If we would live in love and unity then let us look upon other mens infirmities in conjunction with their excellencies and their excellencies in conjunction with their infirmities and thereby the one will take away or hide the other Let us not pore only upon a mans infirmities upon his Euts as I may say he is a godly man but therefore if you would agree joyn his infirmities and his excellencies together and then look upon him Seventhly If you should meet with any provocation that may weaken your love one toward another then be sure to take that as an opportunity to exercise your patience and your love when you meet a beggar in the streets full of sores then you think you have an opportunity to exercise your charity to give something And so you should say when you are provoked by another to debilitate your love and affection you may say why now have I an opportunity to exercise my patience Again Eighthly If you will live in love and unity then you must resolve with the grace of God to love where you are not beloved let love rise above all difficulties labour for a Gospel spirit to love though you are not loved A Legal spirit is a fretful spirit saith Christ you know not of what spirit you are of labour I say after a Gospel spirit yea the spirit of Christ who was as a Lamb he opened not his mouth if you would live in love and unity then take heed of a Legal spirit and labour after this Gospel spirit Again Ninthly If you would agree together and live in love and unity then be humbled for the want of love to one another and take heed for the future of those things that hinder your love one toward another there are four or five of them observe them and take heed of them First Pride A proud man is much given to contention Secondly Passion For though a man dislikes and is sorry for what he hath done in his passion when it is over and though what he doth in his passion be one thing and what he doth in his serious consideration is another thing yet we are to take great heed of passion Thirdly Another enemy to love is strangeness strangeness ends in enmity when brethren and friends grow strangers one to another then they surmise things one of another and that destroys love and unity Fourthly Another is designing one against another true love knows no designs upon others no man can endure to have designs laid against him designing causeth anger enmity and hatred and hinders true love one toward another Fifthly Another is whispering a whisperer separateth true friends Pro. 16.28 But now if any one should come to me and tell me any thing against a brother I would not believe the whisperer till I had spoken with the other for a cause can never be truly known nor judged of till both parties have been heard speak Thus you may see the five things that hinder love that is Pride Passion Strangeness designing one upon another and hearkning unto whisperers Now as you desire to live in love and unity observe these things and take heed of them Tenthly Let me say to you holy and beloved brethren if you would love one another then forgive one another and live more unto God who loveth you live more to God lest he should turn his love to hatred and wrath against you 11. Strengthen your love to God himself the more love you have to God the more will you love others 12. If you would live in love and Unity then you must willingly take wrong and give up your right for peace sake and for agreement saith Abraham to Lot Let there be no difference between my heardmen and thy heardmen for we are brethren Now Abraham was the elder and therefore it was his right to have the choice but yet for peace sake he gives up his right and sayes to Lot Take what you will the right hand or the left there was a division between them and the Cananites were in the land and therefore it was no good time for them to be at difference one with another when the Cananites were in the land it was no good time then for good men to strive and therefore Abraham for peace sake gives up his right so I say for peace sake and for a holy agreement you should