the last day but he will come to you in the Spirit and judge for your Soul against your Enemies to deliver you from all even Sin which is such a burthen to you As also from Satan the great Troubler of your peace who does either accuse you falsly or aggravates all your Infirmities and Miscarriages though such as he has tempted you to above all reason I shall be glad to have some account from you how it is with your Soul .......... I shall endeavour what lies in me as enabled by the Spirit of Christ to be a helper to your faith and joy ............ I shall add no more at this time but only to let you know That I have you and others in your condition daily in my prayers so I commend you to the mercy of God in our dear Redeemer I am Your very affectionate Friend and Brother in Christ GEORGE PORTER Febr. 21. 1688 9. LETTER II. Written to a Relation of the Author 's by one that had been under Melancholly Mrs. Rogers IF you dare believe one that hath been in your Case which I confess is very sad and much to be pitied you have very much of a Bodily distemper and tho by reason of your Clouds you cannot hope for relief either by spiritual or natural means yet know that nothing is too hard for God to do use both and look up to God as well as you can for a Blessing The Lord's arm is not shortned that he cannot save nor his ear heavy that he cannot hear And tho your Sins and sad Apprehensions keep you in sadness that you cannot see the Lord Jesus nor call him yours yet he sees you bemoaning your Misery and Disability to love and serve him I know you would give all the World were it at your disposal for a glimpse of this favour Do not side with your Enemy so far as to believe that you would not accept of the Lord Jesus to be your King as willingly as to be your Saviour If you can get so much ground of your self then judge you are not alone in this for those that have been in deep Melancholly have not only had hard thoughts of themselves but hard and sinful thoughts of God as if he delighted in the death of a Sinner although he hath sworn the contrary In that dismal condition they could not see the loveliness of Christ nor hardly discern desires after him unless only to be saved from Hell they could plead against themselves That their Day of Grace was past and that they had sinned the unpardonable sin and that for several years Much more I could say but I know it is to no purpose none can speak to the heart but God alone only I beg of you to cherish that hope you have which the Devil would have you disown but had you none you would not ask any to pray for you I knew one that was in so despairing a Condition that did not that nor believed it more possible to be saved than the Devil At length was persuaded to use a Steel Course and Drink the Waters and other means which by God's Blessing did good and as the bodily distemper wore off more clearness came into the Mind and hope returned which before seemed to be quite dead and tho the Party still hath Clouds ........... and Satan is apt to put in that all is naught still through God's Mercy the poor creature can reply I am changeable in my frame God is unchangeable in his Covenants Tho I cannot find the sensible joy nor love nor delight that I would yet blessed be God that he inables me to wait on him in the use of the means by which he hath promised to renew my strength and tho I want that sweet sensible Communion with God which is the Life of Heaven Is it not a Mercy that I can hope in his Mercy Have I deserved such high favours that I must be always full of Joy This is what I would but if the Lord will keep me a poor Beggar 't is infinite Mercy that I am not in Hell and that the desire of my heart is after him I chuse to love him I cast my self on him I neither expect nor desire any other Saviour if I perish it shall be in serving him as well as I can and let him do his will There is forgiveness with him that he should be feared This poor Creature often thinks of that Scripture when Christ spoke to Thomas Thou seest and believest blessed are they that do not see yet believe You say this is no Comfort to you it is not your Case true but you know not how soon it may be This Party that I speak of was in your Case and I verily believe in worse therefore pray cast not off your confidence the Lord I verily hope will shew you Mercy But you must wait be not impatient Is not Redemption from Hell and hope of Heaven-worth waiting for .... The Lord shine in upon your Soul and let you see that whatever he doth is in love and faithfulness Pray for me that I may not forget how it hath been with nor be insensible of your Condition or others in your case ................ I am in some small manner sensible of your trouble I wish I were abundantly more so for then I should hope to be hereafter a partaker with you in your Joys July 24. 89. LETTER III. To a Relation of the Author 's MY very kind and dear Friend whom I much respect and love in the Lord even as I have Cause having found you to be one who I am persuaded Love the Lord Jesus in sincerity which you have fully manifested by your longings after him and your great inward sorrow when you could not enjoy him as you would And now he is returned unto you your soul is at rest rejoycing in him as the Lord your Righteousness Peace and Life in whom you have all your soul needs and desires And the Lord manifest himself to you more and more and fill you with abundance of Peace and Joy in Believing which I doubt not you desire for this end That his Joy being your Strength and your Heart enlarged by it you may be able to run the ways of his Commandments and to serve him not only in sincerity but with all gladness in all love and thankfulness for all his loving-kindness and all the great things he has done for your soul in bringing it out of that horrible pit of darkness and the shadow of death wherein you saw neither Sun nor Moon nor Stars but were afflicted tossed with tempest and not comforted without all light comfort and joy tho the Father of Lights and the God of all Consolation were with you when you perceived him not and could discover no tokens of his Gracious Presence as neither could I in the like gloomy Condition But I now find as you also do blessed be the Father of Mercies That he was ready at hand to
humble saying 1 Cor. 15.10 By the grace of God I am what I am I laboured more abundantly than they all yet not I but the grace of God that was with me He calls himself the chief of Sinners and admires the grace of our Lord that towards him was exceeding abundant 1 Tim. 1.14 And elsewhere he styles the mercies of the Gospel the exceeding riches of the grace of Christ Eph. 2.7 As ever you would have the favour of God continued strive against all pride A man is then proud 1. When he attributes that to himself to his own Industry Wisdom or Prudence which he hath received from God 2. When he attributes to or expects that by merit which is a free gift Or 3. When he thinks he hath that which he hath not Or 4. When he despises others and affects preheminence It is usual with us to take the measures of Pride from the garb or attire from the outward behaviour gesture or the use of some less grave or decent Fashions and indeed there may be an excess in these things that may be very justly blameable But my Friends there is a Pride worse than all this even spiritual Pride that hath in it the very Image of the Apostate Spirit and is truly Diabolical when a man is proud of the Graces or the Gifts of God it alienates from him the Divine Favour for which we are more prepared when we are covered with shame and sorrow And when we are poor in spirit then we may hope that he will enrich us with his Love When we are emptied of all Self-conceit or a flattering opinion of our own Actions then we may hope that he will fill us both with grace and glory VVhat a sorry unbecoming thing is it for a man even the best of men to be proud Alas How soon can the Great God cause all his glory to wither and to fade away What a vain thing is it for a man to pride himself in things that relate to the Body when it is liable to Agues Fevers Consumptions Convulsions and many tedious days and years of pining sickness and must at last be the prey of death and moulder in the Grave And it is no less evil and foolish for a man to pride himself in any thing that relates to his Soul in his knowledge in his faith in his serviceableness for upon his sin an hour of temptation may come upon him that will be an hour of darkness that will cause the light of all these to vanish and what is man when his Conscience is awakened with a sense of guilt when his Sins are set in order before him when the Devil is permitted to sift and vex him to ruffle him with amazing Terrors and the constant view of Hell If God depart from us that Envious raging Spirit who is of great power and malice does with ease insult over us and tread us under his feet Oh! how vain is it for us to be proud that live a miserable life and may dye a very painful death All the Designs of God are to exalt himself and abase the Creature The Consciousness that the Saints have of their own Unworthiness will produce an eternal admiration of his Love and they will all cast down their Crowns before the Throne 1 Cor. 4.7 Who maketh thee to differ from another And what hast thou that thou didst not receive 1 Pet. 5.5 6. 3. That you may not lose the Favour of God you must beware of formality and all slightness of spirit in the performance of holy duties It will be also very prejudicial to us when we can omit them and have no great trouble or regret for so great a Sin Whereas if we were duly tender of the welfare of our Souls we should refresh them with frequent thoughts and meditations as we do our Bodies with two or three meals a day When we bring dead Sacrifices to the Altar of God we need not wonder that we have so little spiritual and heavenly life we need not wonder that we have no more sense of his Favour when we often pray for it as if we prayed not the coldness and indifference of our Petitions shews that we do not much care whether they be granted or denyed and God will not thrust his Mercies upon us whether we will or not none shall enjoy his gracious comfortable Presence but those that strive and wrestle and such as have the zeal of Jacob that will not let him go till he bless them Heaven and Salvation we would all have but God knows we beg it after a very poor fashion and he may justly expel us from the sight of himself because we draw near to him with so little fervour and give him cause to complain of us as of those in Isa 29.13 We are guilty of slightness and formality in duty in these following Instances 1. When we perform them as a task and not with delight and love 2. When we do not excite and stir up our selves to call upon the Lord. 3. When we are satisfied in the bare outward performance and have not those inward exercises of contrition faith and holy sorrow and vigorous desires which are as the life and the soul of Prayer 4. When we suffer our Thoughts to wander or when we run to such Duties from a hurry and a croud of worldly business not considering the greatness of our wants and of that Majesty that fills the Throne before which we pray and how he will be sanctified of all that draw nigh to him 5. When we look not for the answer of our Prayers and when having done our duty we are unsollicitous whether it produce any good effect or no. 6. When we are more studious to approve our selves to the eyes of Men than to the eye of God I might add That if we would not lose the Favour of God we must duly improve all his other Ordinances we must hear as for our lives and take heed that his word do not at any time slip out of our minds We must receive the glad tidings of Salvation with obedient and joyful hearts and upon all fit occasions in the Celebration of the Lord's Supper with holy Affections and a melting zeal keep up the remembrance of the Love of Christ till he come again and with great constancy and seriousness read the Scriptures that direct us how to obtain this Favour of God that is our life but if any person has so little value for the Favour of God that he will not earnestly pray for it he must go without it and smart for his refusal of so excellent a Blessing when it shall be too late to repent 4. That you may not lose the Favour of God that is your life you must avoid all sloth What pains hath God taken what Exhortations what Promises has he used to bring you near to himself what hardships and sufferings did Christ undergo to gain your love and will you do nothing in answer to
and I have hated him He has called me and I have disobeyed his Voice He has provided for me and I have rebelled He has been a Father but I have been undutiful and prodigal and disobedient and now his slighted his forgotten Love and Kindness wounds me to the very Soul Oh! what did I think of when I did not think of him What was it that my vain foolish heart loved when I loved not him that is altogether amiable What was it that I cared for or in what did I spend my time that I did not care for my Soul and the pleasing of my God who spared me and bore with me with an admirable patience I have sinned what shall I do unto thee O thou preserver of men Job 7.20 I will put my mouth in the dust I will loath and abhor may self for mine Iniquities if so be there may be hope I have wandred but my wandrings have cost me dear I have been in a strange Land and with tears will I return home saying Bless me even me also O my Father And then the Love of Jesus constrains the poor Christian to be sorrowful saying Did he leave his Heaven for me and for me that many times would not leave a sin for him for me that was a lost Sheep a dying Malefactor an Enemy by my Evil Works Did he come to rescue me when I was in the very jaws of the Roaring Lyon and at the door of Hell and shall I not be grieved to think that I have requited him so ill for all his Love they were my sins that made him astonisht and troubled and exceeding sorrowful even unto death and yet alas I have done what I could to increase his Agonies by my new sins It was my sin that filled the bitter Cup that betrayed that whipt that exposed to so injurious usage the Son of God my sin that wounded his Breast and raked in his Sides and nailed him to the Tree and made him dye and can I look upon what I have done and not be troubled Can my eyes behold him hanging on the Cross and not affect my heart Never was there any Sorrow like to his Sorrow never was there any Love like to his Love Never was there Disobedience more inexcusable never was Sin more sinful than mine has been I have often made light of that that prest him down to the Grave I have rejoyced at that which made him mourn and weep but I will do so again no more for ever And then it troubles the good Christian to think how often he has refused the motions of the blessed Spirit and how when the Spirit has moved upon his heart with a design to do him good he hath sent him grieved and vexed away All this is occasion of grief tho it do not always express it self in tears for there is a rational sorrow as well as a sensitive one and tho this may be more passionate yet the other is more lasting and durable Those that are converted in their younger days the warmth and heat of their glowing and beginning zeal does more easily dissolve and melt them into tears and then the rivers flow more than they do afterwards but yet when the flood ceases the fruitfulness appears and when their tears are dried up yet their hatred of sin remains for these outward expressions of sorrow are very much influenced by the temper and constitution of the body 2 Cor. 7.10 11. As in the first so 't is in the second birth as soon as they are born they cry No sooner are they brought from darkness into marvellous light but they wonder at their folly and at the grace of God that saved them from it and that wonder does produce love and grief First their hearts are softned with his love and then they mourn for their Provocations tho this wherewith good Christians bewail their sins is not a lazy grief but attended with serious endeavours of new obedience as the Husbandman after the profitable showers of rain sets himself with a renewed industry to cultivate the Ground and it is but reasonable that our eyes that are too often the instruments of sin to us should by tears help us to bewail that sin Isa 38.15 I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my Soul 2 Those that are good Christians weep also for the sins of others The love they have to the name of God causes them to grieve for the reflections and dishonours that are thrown upon it by wicked men They cannot without sorrow behold or hear of the sins of men in general the sins of Kingdoms and Provinces and Towns the sins of Families the sins of their Fellow-citizens their Brethren and their Neighbours the tears that they shed are tears of compassion for the very sad and miserable condition of the World Whilst others make a mock at sin and through the blindness of their folly know not what they do good men lament their unconcernedness and insensibility whilst they see them sporting on the hole of Aspes and touching Firebrands and Death They cannot see men treat their heavenly Father with insolence and scorn but their hearts in a just zeal for his glory rise against them not with indecent passions for their ruine but in an hearty longing for their reformation Psal 119.138 Rivers of water run down mine eyes because they keep not thy Law Thus saith the Prophet to his hearers Jer. 13.17 My soul shall weep in secrew places for your pride mine eyes shall weep sore and run down with tears Our love to our Neighbour and our zeal for God's glory does oblige us to this it must grieve us to think what men are doing when they sin how great a God they provoke to punish them how great a misery they are bringing on their own souls It must grieve us to think how unsafe a way they go and what a dismal end will be to that way Phil. 3.19 Jer. 9.1 The Prophet wishes Oh that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people And yet as one observes when he pronounced these sad words Dubose Sermons pag. 1. the misery of the Jews was not arrived Jerusalem did as yet subsist in its Magnificence and splendor its Temple had not lost thatadmirable Beauty which made it the wonder of the world its Palaces had lost nothing of their Pomp its Walls and Fortresses were entire and the Daughter of Sion was Princess among the Provinces but he spoke thus foreseeing that their abounding sins and their hardness and obstinacy would certainly bring upon them the Judgments of God We must consider what we were our selves when in the house of bondage and serving divers lusts how enslaved and how miserable that so the remembrance we have of our former danger may quicken us to do others all the good we can that they may not fall into hell whilest we
measure of Peace which God hath given you expect not more than you ought but patiently wait in holy walking and dependance upon God till he inlarge you with Joy and Peace in believing 't is a mercy that he allows us peaceable encouraging hopes all must not expect to be treated in his Banquetting-house with his Banner of Love over them 8. Live watchfully Lament daily sailings and so make up Peace with God daily expect it best you will have cause of complaint against your self but still consider God's merciful Promise to Pardon and that for common infirmities he will not be severe nor should we affright our selves with them consider these few things and endeavour to settle your mind upon them God that hath brought you up out of the horrible Pit will I hope preserve you from the like distress I am glad to hear your Brother is grown better in time he may be capable to do Service which I earnestly desire and shall pray for I am Newcastle Jan. 28. 89. Your assured Friend RICH. GILPIN LETTER V. Written to another Relation of the Author 's by an Old and Experiencad Christian My dear Friend I Would not have difference in Opinion or alterations in worldly Conditions to breed a distance between us The Lord pardon us for we are apt to grow cold in love And O that the ancient Spirit of Love among Christians might be revived which would more honour Christ than all our Conformity or Non-conformity For the Kingdom of Christ and the glory of Christianity lies not in Forms and Opinions but in Power and Holiness and Righteousness and Joy of the Holy Ghost and love to one another I have been under deep Melancholly and many Temptations and Buffetings of Satan and many have passed by me as the Levite did the wounded Man in the way to Jericho and have not only withdrawn from me but censured me also I hope I shall love and pardon all those who in the hour of temptation withdrew from me and stood afar off because of my sorrow nay those who added affliction to my affliction It were a shame for me to complain of any unkindness of my Friends when Christ hath been so kind to me he helped succoured me stood by me when all forsook me I looked on my right hand and on my left hand and there was none that cared for my Soul even then did the Lord appear a present help else the great waters of Unbelief and Despair had overwhelmed me for I have had greater Conflicts with Satan greater shakings of Spirit than I had at my first Conversion I have been ready to give up all for lost yet all hath been in order to clearer manifestations of Everlasting Love Christ hath carried me through several Graves several Chambers of Darkness and Fields of Temptation yet all in order to light and triumph and greater discoveries of his Power Wisdom Faithfulness Love to me I have exceedingly put Christ to it as much as ever any I would not believe unless I might put my Finger in his Wounds unless I had such and such clear manifestations and sealings given him O this unbelieving and proud temper of spirit hath cost me very dear though Christ hath wonderfully indulged me I have put him to take strange courses with me nay to throw me with Jonas into the Belly of the Whale and of Hell it self that he might further convince me of my disobedience and unbelief and of his mighty glorious power in preserving and delivering me out of the gulph of Temptations He hath shewed many Miracles of mercy and grace towards me too big for me to express Heaven only is fit sufficiently to declare those wonderful dealings of his If ever any was a pattern of rich grace I am You never so grieved and wounded and tempted Christ as I have done and therefore never was cast into those Hells scorched in those Fires scourged with those Rods exercised with those Temptations that I have been exercised with I cannot tell what God hath been doing to me As the Heavens are high above the Earth so are his thoughts above all my thoughts or words Sure I am I should have been in Hell and in Chains of darkness if I had had my desert But God hath stretched out his Arm of power and love and fetched me up out of the lowest Pit where I was sunk and displayed the banners of his Love over me and opened his heart and shewed me his Blood That thus he should deal with me the very worst piece of old Adam nay a piece of Hell Angels and Men may stand amazed at so great and so unexpected were the manifestations of his Love But what shall I say It is Christ it is Christ an Infinite Person 't is impossible for any other Men or Angels all put together to contain such his Love such strange Love to such an unworthy Wretch I write and speak what I do not fully comprehend If I did fully know it Mortality could not bear it it would immediately be swallowed up and sink under the weight of Infinite Love Ah but dear Friend I am not yet out of Gunshot I see a great Field of Enemies before me a Devil full of Policy and Malice a desperate wicked World a Heart in which is a World of evil nay an Hell of Wickedness all these I have to grapple with each of them stands armed with thousands of Temptations I must fight and overcome too else undone for ever I confess it is a good Fight a glorious Fight because I have such a good Captain but often I am sorely put to it when I take a view of my Enemies I think I shall never be able to stand against such Principalities and Powers The Enemy hath too dangerous Correspondence within me Spiritual Pride and Security Lord keep me humble and watchful and eying the Enemy and also eying my Captain Living out of my self and fighting in his strength and then my Soul shall tread down Strength daily and triumph always in Christ and in the power of his might I hear the Lord is pleased to keep you under the Rod and to exercise you with the Infirmities of a dying body as he doth me He hath worn as I may say his Rods upon me as a stubborn Child He hath tried his Axes and Hammers and Saws upon me you cannot imagine what a Rock I am under all his stroaks I hope Afflictions work more kindly with you than they do with me and that you are found better metal in the fire than I am I hear you are under Melancholly as well as I though not in so great a degree Satan can make use of it to raise strange storms and tempests and confusions and darknesses in the Soul as I have found by experience though Christ turned all to good Such Melancholly Persons had need be pitied and tendred Men usually do not pity them Christ will I could tell you many experiences of a Melancholly Condition but
shall soon decay and that there needs not the Force of his Arm and the Greatness of his Power to crush such worms as we are As David said Is the king of Israel come out after a flea 2 Sam. 24.14 so may we in our distresses say to God Why dost thou arm thy self with wrath against us whom one word of thy mouth can throw upon the ground or send into the grave It is not with him as with the great Oppressors of the world that use their greater power to trample upon those that are of unequal strength no he delights to bind up the broken to heal the wounded and to comfort those that mourn Isa 57.16 For I will not contend for ever neither will I be always wrath for the spirit should fail before me and the souls which I have made Such is the impatience the unbelief and the unsuitable behaviour of his people that they give him cause enough to be always angry but he does not proceed with the utmost rigour of his Justice he freely pardons what with right he might exact Psal 78.38 39. Their heart was not right with him They did flatter him with their mouth but he being full of compassion forgave their iniquity and destroyed them not yea many a time he turned his anger away and did not stir up all his wrath for he remembred that they were but flesh a wind that passeth away and cometh not again And when our extremities are so great and our sense of his displeasure is so very pressing that we know not what to do we may desire him to remember his own Greatness and our Frailty that we are his own handy-work and that we are no more able to resist his Power than we are to change our own natures and to be his Equals Job 13.25 Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro Wilt thou pursue the dry stubble Remember I beseech thee that thou hast made me as the clay Job 10.9 2. Reason why his Anger towards his people is but for a moment is Because he is obliged to it by his Covenant If they break my statutes c. Psal 89.31 32 33. then will I visit their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes nevertheless my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from them nor suffer my faithfulness to fail He is obliged by the Covenant of Grace to be their God to use all the methods that his Infinite Wisdom sees necessary for their final Happiness and if his Anger and their own Afflictions will contribute to this tho their flesh be pained and their bodies smart he will not fail to use those severities His dearest servants may by temptation and their unwatchfulness be overtaken by their spiritual Enemies they may wound and hurt themselves and occasion his departure and to excite them to a due consideration of their Folly he will leave them for a season Their sins are the object of his abhorrence and he may send very sore troubles upon them tho they shall even then come upon a gracious errand and promote their future welfare when in the anguish of their souls they may conclude them to be the mark of his Eternal Wrath he will not spare his rods nor by a fond Indulgence suffer them to take their own course for a Parent you know will correct his own child tho he concerns not himself with those that are strangers to the Family The Anger of God for your sin may deprive you of your dearest Comforts your most kind Relations your most beloved Children your Estate your Health and your Ease and yet in all these he may have a design to make you more full of Holiness and to bring you nearer to himself This is an ordinary Discipline wherewith he trains up all those whom he will convey to Glory tho their own Reason and their gloomy Thoughts may judg that it is for a quite contrary purpose He has promised That all things shall work together for our good and he is faithful when he lays upon us the severest strokes because they stir up our sleeping Grace and purge away our Sin 3. Reason his Anger towards his people is but for a moment Because whatever his present dispensations are he will never throw off the Relation of a Father to them they do not render void the Kindness and the Grace by which he did at first adopt them to be his own A Father when he frowns and when he corrects is still a Father and his bowels earn with him when the rebellion and undutifulness of his child causes him to be severe Tho we groan and weep through the bitterness of our grief yet he changes not his Paternal care as Christ when he was a man of sorrows was pronounced by God to be his beloved Son Psal 103.13 Like as a father pities his children so the Lord pitieth them that fear him None of our earthly Friends can be more tender-hearted than he is only with this difference that they would heal our wounds when they first begin to smart and he being more skilful does make our Cure to advance by slow degrees he does bereave us of this or that enjoyment which we dearly love because he sees it necessary for our Salvation as 't is many times expedient to cut off a gangreen'd part of the body to save our Life He will separate between us and our Iniquities rather than that they should make a separation between us and him and there is nothing but a most tender Love in all this Jer. 31.20 Is Ephraim my dear son is he a pleasant child for since I spake against him I do earnestly remember him still therefore my bowels are troubled for him I will surely have mercy upon him saith the Lord. If there were any ways more mild and gentle that would equally promote our good he would use them with the greatest readiness if our own absolute necessity did not require that he should bring Judgments upon us Nor would he use at all those methods that seem to be rigid and severe Those that are his people should be in as much ease as other Men and laugh and rejoice as much as they do but only that he would by his displeasure teach us that knowledg of himself that faith and that patience and those other Graces which without his seasonable Corrections we should never know 'T is more grateful to him to smile than to frown to reward than to punish Deut. 5.29 O that there were such an heart in them that they would fear me and keep all my commandments always that it might be well with them and with their children for ever When we wander his Goodness and his Love will not suffer him to see us run to misery His Anger will overtake us to stop us in our hasty course and to reduce us into the right way He never strikes but for just Reasons tho they may be for the present very much wrapt up in his own
221. and were not Forgiveness in God somewhat beyond what men could imagine no flesh could be saved Isa 55.88 My thoughts are not your thoughts neither are my ways your ways saith the Lord for as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts It is not the manner of men to pass by multiplied Transgressions as he doth The consideration of his Infinite Mercy removes all those obstructions which our unbelief viewing the greatness and aggravations of our sins throws in the way and tho our sins have been every way inexcusable and do upon every reflection that we make upon them fright and trouble us yet the Mercy of a God surely will yield us some relief for there is no other reason why he does good to this or that sinner but his own Grace Hos 3.4 He freely chuses justifies adopts and renews the Souls of his Elect 't is all not from their merit or from any thing that he foresaw in them but from the good pleasure of his will Eph. 1.5 All that he does for them all that he will do for them to Eternity will be to the praise and glory of his own grace This is the true way to humble us when we see nothing in our selves but what exposes us to misery and that is true Gospel Obedience which is the fruit and product of his Love shed abroad in our hearts This is the only Rock whereon we are to build our Comfort when the Storm comes This Free Grace of God is that which the Saints admire on earth which revives their drooping spirits and which they will wonder at for ever 'T is a shelter from the accusations and the malicious insultings of the Devil for tho he set our sins with all their overwhelming circumstances before us tho we cannot deny the charge and believe that we are miserable in our seves yet do we resolve to flye to the Mercy and the Love of God in Christ We should disparage the Excellencies of his Nature and the Offers of his Goodness if we did not lay hold upon them And this is that which some call a natural Novatianism in the timerous Consciences of Convinced Sinners whereby they doubt and question pardon for Sins of Apostacy and falling after Repentance IX Beware of running into further sin and so to provoke God to further Anger When our Hope is perished there is nothing so evil which we shall not dare to do If help do not speedily come we are apt to say it is in vain to pray it is vain to look up to a God that has thrown us of Jer. 2.25 Thou saidst There is no hope no for I have loved strangers and after them will I go You are lost for ever will the Devil say and therefore it is all one whether you sin or not you can but still be loft this is one of his fiery darts and if by our compliance we suffer it to take hold upon us it will terrifie us the more he will rejoice at our fall and put our Souls by every new Transgression into much more violent and scorching Flames What monstrous Injections what unbecoming Thoughts of God does he suggest and alas how frequently do we entertain them for they come thick upon us In the time of God's displeasure when the edge of his Holy Spiritual Law does wound our Souls what vast multitudes of Corruptions do we then discover that we never saw before How do our old Sins amaze us and new ones arise and spring from them And what can we do in the swelling of Jordan What in so great an inundation but endeavour in our poor feeble manner to look up to Christ for help Beg the Spirit for as one says There is no heart so unclean which this Spirit will not cleanse no soul so feeble which he does not fortifie none so forrowful which he does not comfort none so desolate which he does not cause to rejoice none so slavish which he does not set at liberty none so sick which he does not heal none so dead which he does not quicken Surely he will regard us for he knows that of our selves we cannot bear up against the Winds and Waves And let us always remember That among so many cruel Enemies 't is Unbelief that leads the Van It encourages and draws them on and when we have got the Victory over this all the rest will be daunted and run away By Unbelief we open our hearts and let in all those Thieves and Robbers which deprive us of our Peace It is the defilement of our Consciences by manifold acts of sin that makes us like the troubled Sea which cannot rest And for a Conscience guilty of many neglects to lay claim to God's Mercy is to do as we see Mountebanks sometimes do who wound their Flesh to try Conclusions on their own Bodies how sovereign the Salve is yet often they come to feel the smart of their own Presumption by long and desperate Wounds Let us in the case even of sore Afflictions be afraid to sin Sibbs Souls Conflict p. 31. for that Devil that tempts us will immediately vex and torment us the more for it X. Mistake not those things for evidences of the certain Wrath of God which perhaps are not really so He may suspend the expressions of his Love tho he love us still as Joseph had the tenderness of a Brother whilst his Brethren thought him very angry with them Nay in our secret supports we are not destitute altogether of his care tho we know not how they come As the Metals that lye deep in the ground partake of the Influence of the Sun tho he does not shine upon them with his Light There are few Afflictions but have rather the marks of a Fatherly Kindness in the seasonable Correction of our Faults than the Marks of Displeasure No outward losses no inward troubles that are but for a time are the certain signs of Wrath no tho they be very long and very grievous for it was not so in the case of Job But how shall I know will some say when Afflictions are in wrath It is a question to be answered with great tenderness and caution They are by Divines said to be so 1. When they come with great Violence and suddenly destroy as in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah and in the Deluge Psal 58.9 Before your pots can feel the thorns he shall take them away as with a whirlwind both living and in his wrath Nahum 1.9 He will make an utter end affliction shall not rise up the second time And yet this must have some limitations for a good man may be seized with a violent Disease and suddenly dye of whom we ought not to say that he died by the Wrath of God 2. When there is no Mercy discernable in the Cross but only what is evil 3. When one Evil makes way for another and none are sanctified 4.
that Favour of his that is so graciously bestowed and so dearly bought Be circumspect and walk closely with your God beware of every thing that may stir up your Father's Anger for though he will not throw off so kind a Relation yet his Wrath is very terrible I beseech you to be very fearful of all inward backslidings and of spiritual decays and lest the warmth of your first burning love to God wear away again take heed lest the death that is in his displeasure steal upon you by degrees and lest from a less degree of zeal there come a total indisposition on your hearts for when you once begin to slide the descent is easie as soon as ever you are sleepy rouse your selves by those powerful motives that you may fetch from the Word of God from his Promises and from his Threats slothful Servants will never have their Master's Approbation you have good encouragement manifold assistances and the prospect of a great reward Is your joy your Peace your present Consolation and your Hope nothing worth if it be then let no Dangers no Difficulties whatsoever make you to part with it as knowing that it may cost you dear before you obtain it if it once be lost Take heed that you do not begin to lose your awful sense of God that you do not grow bold with sin take heed that you comply not with the Devil who being forsaken of God would have you to be so and who being shut out of Heaven would hinder your arrival there or at least make you to go uncomfortably thither if he cannot hinder your walking towards that Jerusalem he will endeavour to make you halt and to go with pain thither But to prevent this and all other his malicious Designs be you fervent in the spirit serving the Lord And upon his first withdrawing be you restless till you find him whom your Souls love As you now flourish in the Courts of God take heed that you do not blast your own Fruit seeing you are fixed on the Rock of Ages take heed that you do not pull up your own Anchor and so your Vessel be driven on the Sands and your hope shipwrackt Make no excuses for your not working hard use no delays apply your selves to the most active and zealous endeavours that so you may prevent your own sorrow For the field of the sluggard will be all grown over with thorns and nettles will cover the face thereof and the stone-wall hereof will he broken down Prov. 24.31 These Thorns are evil desires that will spring up of their own accord without sowing they will encrease of themselves and then you will be exposed without defence to every Invader and to all the Birds of prey and consider That as one says * Symmond 's Deserted Soul p. 523. the Duties of godliness are not only a debt to God but a reward to us and in our sloth there is not unfaithfulness only but ingratitude both the Majesty and the Mercy of God is despised Remember what the Church saith Cant. 3.1 By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth I sought him but I found him not c. She did not find him for she sought amiss no wonder she was not blessed with his presence when she sought it in such a lazy manner and therefore tho' she took pains afterwards yet she did not meet with him He chastised her former negligence with a longer absence tho' there was no place which she did not frequent no person of whom she did not ask and yet heard no tidings of him He that suffered on the Cross for her might justly expect that she should leave her Bed and quit her ease for him Cant. 5. from v. 2 to 9. 5. That you may not lose the favour of God which is your Life take heed of an inordinate affection to this World and sensual Delights If the care and business the riches and projects of this World take up your hearts and the flower of your time you will have but few thoughts of him and consequently but a little Love the more you advance in the mortification of your Appetites and your dearest Lusts the more chearful influences you 'l find of his Grace Beware that you love not any thing in this World too much no Child no Relation no Creature-Comfort lest he tear away these Idols from you and the loss of an over-prized enjoyment vex your souls He will have your whole hearts and your must not think that he will show you his favour if you only give him one half and share the other amongst the several objects that your mistaken affections doat upon If you prize this favour of God as you ought you 'l not too vehemently desire any present good nor too sorrowfully bewail its departure from you your Life will be in God and not bound up in any of your Friends lest when they dye your peace and comfort dye at the same time If the World be set upon the Throne the disorder that is thereby offered to God will cause him to frown and to fetch the Rebel and Usurper thence tho with your smart and grief Sensual pleasures will clog and vitiate your appetite that you shall not so well taste nor apprehend the sweetness that there is in God if you have seen his face the beauties and the glories of it will make all the World appear to you as a mean and despicable thing as the Woman that was clothed with the Sun had the Moon under her feet You will see such an attractive excellence in Christ that you will esteem him as the chief of ten thousands and the tempting fair-spoken World will not be able to lead Captive that heart which you have already given to a better Lord and whilest others feed upon Husks you will be treated with the Bread of your Fathers House whilest others pursue the drossy short-liv'd pleasures of sense you will have the delights of Angels and of an Eternal Heaven to feed upon and your splendid satisfaction will keep you from envying them whose ignorance makes them to be content with lower fare and who when they might fly as with the Wings of Eagles chuse to grovel in the dust and as the Moon then is Eclipsed when the Earth shadows it and hinders its admission of the light of the Sun that makes it visible and as in such an Eclipse the nearer that Planet is to the Earth the more durable is its darkness so if we suffer an Eclipse of God's Favour it is when this Earth interposes between him and us when its false allurements and promises turn our Eyes downward which should be always lifted up to that glorious Sun by whose light we see This World is a more dangerous Enemy than we usually take it to be and therefore the Apostle says If any man love it the love of the father is not in him 1 Joh. 2.15 Its Joys are like those false Fires that wander up
or some particular thing that is most precious which Expression calls us to meditate on the infinite tenderness of God's Love to men For a man does not love any thing so much as that which is his own he looks upon other things in which he has no propriety with an indifferent and unconcerned eye even the stately Glories of a Palace do not affect him with so great a joy as the Little Conveniences of his own unobserved Cottage because it is his own And further a Seal often carries the Arms of him whose Seal it is or the Image of some great Person so the work of the Spirit is to engrave in our hearts Faith Hope and Love these are the Ensigns of the New Covenant and form in us the Image of God which consists in Righteousness and Peace and Holiness God does not set this mark but upon those that are indeed his Favourites that by the tenderness and softness of their hearts are prepared to receive Impressions * Claude sur Eph. 4.30 p. 20. But in this matter we are in a great measure passive as the Wax receives the same marks that the Seal stamps upon it these are saving-works of the Spirit which I have mentioned whereas a great many common Gifts are bestowed upon those whom God abhors many a man may have Light enough to shew others the way to Heaven and yet never walk therein himself and he that was a Star in the Firmament of the Church on Earth may sit in darkness 1 Cor. 13.1 2 Thongh I speak with the tongues of men and angels and have not charity I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains and have not charity I am nothing You must under this Head observe these two things 1. Not to expect to be alike strong in every Grace 2. Not to have at all times the same Comforts 1. You must not expect to be a like strong in every Grace We ought to strive to be compleat to have all the pieces of our Christian Armour polish'd and fit for action and well fitted and put upon us but those parts where is the most danger of a Wound those parts where is the seat of Life we are principally to secure and guard So those Graces we are first of all to look after and to cherish which produce and keep the rest in vigour such as Faith and Repentance and Humility Tho' most certain it is that all Men even of those that are God's Favourites are not of the same stature nor the same strength nor have they as much skill in every Duty as it may be they have in one or two it is so ordered by the Holy Providence of God that all in Christ shall have Tribulations but very different many times from one another that so the different Grace that they are to exercise under their several Tryals may shine with a brighter Glory Thus of old Abraham was peculiarly eminent for his Faith Moses for his Meekness Job for his Patience All Believers by the Privileges with which they are invested are Stars but yet even here one Star differs from another Star in Glory As there are several gifts of the same Spirit that are all useful to the whole so the Graces that are wrought by him do according to his Soveraign pleasure produce several effects according to the subjects in which they are and many times are very much advanced or obstructed by a good or ill temper of the body Hence those that have a cholerick temper the fieriness of their natural spirits that upon every small occasion are apt to be enflamed does very much hinder that meekness and calmness which is one of the Graces of the holy Spirit and so others that are naturally tenacious and close and narrow-soul'd do many times smell too much even of these ill qualities when they are converted but it ought not to be so for if there be any particular sin to which we are more enclined by our constitution than to another we ought more industriously to set our selves against that sin 2. You must not expect a continuance of the same comforts at all times for the Spirit blows where he listeth and when he will Joh 3.8 Tho' the new Creature be formed in you by the Grace of God yet you cannot perceive its motions with so distinct a sense at one time as at another tho' by the intercession of Christ his Favourites are secured from a total and final Apostacy yet they may fall now and then and their Life seem to decline and a spiritual faintness come upon it and a very deep sorrow may cover and as it were bury your hopes and your joys but yet there is that vital Principle that shall not see corruption that seed of Grace that will now and then flourish with acceptable fruit Your Faith may in violent temptations be like the weak and undiscernable stirring of the soul when the body is in a Swoon the soul does seem for a while to be departed but after the spirits are refreshed it animates the whole body and exercises all the functions and offices of Life as it used to do When the Ship was most violently tost with a Tempest yet our Lord was there tho' the poor trembling Disciples thought he did not care whether they were lost or saved Thus Mary was drowned with Tears after his Resurrection and not finding him where she expected nor as soon she gave way to sorrow They have taken away the Lord says she Joh. 20.13 and I know not where they have laid him when the very person that she had then in view was the same dear Saviour and Friend that she long'd to see And when with great tenderness and familiarity he discovered himself and called her Mary then she full well knew that it was her Master and her poor drooping heart was filled with joy and transport She fell at his feet and kissed them God does not equally manifest his favour no not even to the same person who sometimes triumphs and sometimes is very desolate as the same vessel that is sometimes lifted up even as to Heaven it self by the rising and the swelling Waves is the next minute sinking to the bottom of the Sea and ready to be swallowed in the formidable depths tho' if we were duly prepared the face of our God would appear with as amiable an aspect at one time as at another for if any frowns be there our sins are the cause and because we are sinful 't is necessary for us now and then to weep as well as always to rejoice The Clouds and the Showers are as needful to the Earth as is the constant shine and the fairer weather Our Graces yield no delight to us till the Spirit actuate and enliven them till he blow upon the garden Cant. 4.16 the spices
sacrifices of joy I will sing yea I will sing praises unto the Lord. Did we ever hope to see the Light of God again Did we ever hope to think of Heaven as our own portion and of Christ as our own Saviour Did we ever hope that we should be thus at ease and thus joyful as we now are God is our helper God is our refuge and our strong hold and blessed be the name of the Lord. 5. Let us call upon our Brethren and our Friends to help us to praise the Lord Psal 145.2 3 8 9 14. as to my self I make these requests Bless the Lord O house of Aaron and Levi Bless him ye Ministers of the Gospel that prayed for me in my trouble and have had your prayers granted Bless the Lord O House of Israel and all ye people every-where that sympathized and also kindly remembred me in my desolate condition Bless him ye Old men that you have got so far towards the haven without being thrown into the waves and so much endangered by the Rocks as I have been Bless him that you have not met with such violent tentations and great sorrows as I have met withal though I set out long after you Bless the Lord ye Young men that you have not been weakned in the way with sore affliction and with the terrors of the Lord which I long groaned under Bless him every one both small and great against whom he does not proceed in such smart and severe Providences and in such long and sharp Afflictions Bless him that you see before your eyes and to help your faith a person lately brought from the borders of the Grave and Hell one for whom you were concerned and for whom you prayed and one that still needs and beg your prayers that he may never come to such a sad and doleful night again It is a common Custom to congratulate our Friends recovery from sickness or when they return from some Foreign Land but nothing does more deserve our common thanks than when a Person is come from under the sense of God's displeasure to a sense of his favour and love again Thus it was with Job ch 42.11 Then came there to him all his brethren and all his sisters and all they that had been of his acquaintance before and did eat bread with him in his house and they bemoaned him and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him And with a design of exciting others to praise God with him is that Psal 66.16 Come and hear all ye that fear God and I will declare what he hath done for my soul Or as the Father of the Prodigal to his obedient Son that repined at the kind usage that he gave to him that was less dutiful upon his returning home Luke 15.32 It was meet that we should make merry and be glad for this thy brother was dead and is alive again and was lost and is found It is the design of God that the great and eminent Deliverances which he gives to some of his Servants should be taken notice of by all the rest that as they usually bring along with them a common Benefit so he should have a common return of praise Ps 66.8 O bless our God ye people and make the voice of his praise to be heard which holdeth our soul in life and suffereth not our feet to be moved And the joining with others that have been in great distress and are escaped is to answer the Obligation we are under to that Precept To rejoice with them that do rejoice And an encouragement to those who are yet in trouble Ps 130.7 Let Israel hope in the Lord for with the Lord there is mercy and with him there is plenteous redemption And to those that yet are at ease we may say as Paul to Foelix that we wish they were such as we in some respects that is excepting our bonds our anguish and tribulation that they also had such experiences of the goodness and the mercy of God 6. Let us always wait and hope for that eternal Felicity which will at length dawn upon all his people in the great morning of the Resurrection and at their entrance into Heaven there will be joy indeed There is no night there 't is a place that is continually blest with a bright and shining day It is true as one says that as in nature the nights are not equal those of the Winter are much longer than those of the Summer but how long soever they be they are always followed with the light of day so whatsoever diversity there is among the Afflictions of the faithful to one they are much longer than to another yet they shall have an end as Jacob wrastled all night but in the morning got the victory I confess that Sinners in this World have their pleasures but so beset with thorns so attended with fears and pains so short and so vanishing that they deserve not the name But in Heaven the Sun that rises in the morning of our new Glory will never set again those pleasures are not like those of Sin for a season but for evermore There our now imperfect Joy will be compleat and full It will be satisfying and eternal too We shall feel the love of God in so sweet and transporting a manner that we shall never doubt whether he loves us or not We shall always behold our Father's face he will look on us with delight and we shall look on him with praise and joy This world because of its lowness is subject to Inundations and Miseries and innumerable Vicissitudes of Pain and Grief but that high and glorious World is the place of Triumph and of Victory then we shall see our Sin that made us weep to be it self totally defeated then we shall see that Devil that tempted us to be trod under our feet and never to be able to tempt us any more Let us often remember that saying of our Lord John 16.21 22. A woman when she is in travel hath sorrow because her hour is come but as soon as she is delivered of the Child she remembreth no more the anguish for joy that a man is born into the world And ye now therefore have sorrow but I will see you again and your heart shall rejoyce and your joy shall no man take from you Oh! what a glorious morning will that be that shall have no cloud to obscure its light and never be followed with a sad or gloomy night As our sufferings here did abound our Consolations then will much more abound We shall forget all our Labour and all our trouble when we see to what a glorious Kingdom we are born tho it was by pangs and torment our joy ' will be like the joy of Harvest of an Harvest that will requite us well for all our care and toil Our hopes here are like the first streaks of light in the Sky that shew the coming of the day but our possession of blessedness will be as the Sun in the fulness of his Glory That delight will indeed be the Sabbath of our thoughts and the sweet and perpetual calmness of our minds that will never be in horror and anguish any more Precious and admirable are those Tears that end so well and which prepare us for so good a state who would not chuse thus to weep that he may rejoyce for ever Lift up your eyes to the Jerusalem above the City of the Living God ye Mourners and Prisoners of hope for it is the City of Peace Rev. 21.3 4. Behold the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his People and God himself shall be with them and be their God and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death neither sorrow nor crying neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away THE END