I have taken up armes against Almightie God If I had but gone to the top of Hell it had beene infinite mercy and if I had been in a dungeon all my dayes and had another world to live and lived it all in miserie it had beene infinite mercie for the Lord to send downe Christ to looke upon me a poore wretch in the dungeon and to speake to me out of the gates of hell and to tell me of this mercie oh it had beene an infinite mercie but to send a Sonne to save me it is incomparable I could not conceive to doe so much evill against him as he hath done good to me oh the breadth of that mercy beyond all limits oh the length of that mercie beyond all time oh the depth of that mercie below a mans miserie oh the height of that mercy above the height of mine understanding If mine hands were all of love that I could worke nothing but love and if mine eyes were able to see nothing but love and my mind thinke of nothing but love and if I had a thousand bodies it were all too little to love that God that hath unmeasurably loved mee a poore sinfull hel-hound Psal 18.1 I will love thee dearely O Lord my strength Oh have I gotten the Lord Iesus Christ to bee my comfort my buckler my shield If I have any good he gives it and if any good bee continued it is he that doth it and if I have any comfort in it it is hee that blesseth it to me therefore I will love thee dearely Oh Lord my strength Thus the point is cleare and stands upon his right bottome Now I come to the Application of it that wee may reape some good and comfort to our owne soules And the use of the point is fourefold for Instruction for Consolation Nature breeds no love to Christ for Reprehension for Exhortation Vse 1. First for Instruction which I desire a little to commend to you because it is seasonable Is it so that the Spirit of the Father kindles this love in the heart truly humbled and enlightned c then conclude this undeniably That there is no power in nature or in a naturall heart I say there is no sufficiencie in the power of nature to bee carried to any love towards Christ we have not this before God gives it nay wee cannot move our selves in love to God before the Lord let in the sparkes of love into our soules True it is we find it by wofull experience it is in our power to love the world and to delight in base lusts and being but naturall men it cannot be but that we should love our selves and the things of this world there is enough of these wilde fires and of this base worldly lust in every naturall soule to expresse it selfe but to love the Lord Iesus Christ and to have a heart inlarged towards him it is a worke of grace that growes not in our hearts I say there is not one sparke of holy love and of this holy fire of love in our hearts at any time neither can we buy or borrow it at the hands of any under heaven further than the Spirit of the Lord is pleased to kindle it and to inflame this grace of love to the Lord Iesus and further than the Lord by the power of his merits is pleased to feed this in our soules It is an unconceiveable misery that any man should bee so farre deluded as to thinke that he can do it by his owne strength and power Saint Paul expresseth it in discovering the vilenesse of himselfe by nature and the freenesse of Gods grace 1 Tim. 1.13 14. I was before a blasphemer and a persecutor but I obtained mercy I wronged Iesus Christ and was malicious against him and opposed against his children Paul could doe this of himselfe so thou canst be malicious against the Lord and against the power of his grace and truth this a naturall man can doe but for him to love the Lord Iesus Christ and to beleeve in him how came Saint Paul by that Why the grace of God was exceeding abundant towards mee with faith and love which is in Iesus Christ As if he had said it was abundant grace that over-powred my unfaithfull heart and made me beleeve and it was abundant grace that over-powred my injurious heart and made me love Christ But how was this it was by the grace of Christ from Christ this faith was wrought and in Christ this love was kindled As if hee had said I thought to cast off the Lord and his grace I was a persecuter and a villaine indeed but that I should beleeve the Lord and love him this was from Christ it was in grace and not in Paul The ball must first fall to the ground before it can rebound backe againe so the Lord Iesus must first dart in his love into the soule before the soule can rebound in love and joy to him againe wee must receive from grace before wee can rebound backe any love to God as 1 Tim. 1.7 God hath not given us the spirit of bondage but of power of love and of a sound minde See what the Lord spake in some case of the Iewes Iohn 5.40 42. speaking home to their hearts hee saith I know you that yee have not the love of God in you Verse 40. he saith Yee will not come to mee and in the 42. verse I know you that yee have not the love of God in you As if hee had said I know it you know it not your selves and though you thinke you have this love to mee yet you are deceived you know not what you are nor what you know but I know and it is as true of every corrupt heart under heaven the love of God cannot bee in the heart of any naturall man whatsoever The reason why I presse this point so much is this it is for these two ends you shall see a double benefit by it Carnall men conceive no difficulty to love Christ First this confutes and overthrowes the conceits of a company of carnal Gospellers that say they fast not nor pray not nor professe not so much as such and such but for the truth of their love to Christ they defie all the world they find no difficulty in the matter and they make no doubt therof and therefore if any Christian man or any faithfull Minister of God shall begin to challenge them with the want of love to Christ and grace they will answer What not loue the Lord Iesus it is pitty that euer that man should live they have loved him and will loue him for ever and all the world shall not perswade them to the contrary Oh poore deluded creatures it is an undoubted argument that thou never hadst the loue of God in thee because thou thinkest it such an easie matter to love him Many men make nothing of it they make it but an holy-day taske and say Who cannot
way and the God of heaven goe with thee this is a worke of God that will never leaue thee and it is a badge and a proper livery that the Lord Iesus gives onely to his Saints never a meere professor under heauen ever wore it nay there was never any hipocrite under heauen to whom God did intend it but onely those whom he hath effectually called and whom hee will save therefore though thou wantest all thou hast all to comfort thee in the want of all and thou maist say I can say little for Christ my tongue falters and my memory is weake yet the Lord knowes I loue the Lord Iesus 1 Ioh. 4.7 it is the incouragement that the Apostle gives saying Love one another for love commeth of God and every one that loveth is borne of God Indeed he presseth it in regard of the love to the brethren but the arguments serve for our purpose for if the loue of the brethren come from God then the loue of God is a more speciall worke of God Therefore can you plead thus with your hearts and say The time was Lord that this wretched sinfull carnall heart of mine could find no relish in the promises of grace and I could not bring this base heart to love the Lord Iesus Christ and the promise was wearisome to me but now I thanke God I can doe that which before I could not doe I thanke God that the promise of life and the light of Gods countenance is more to me now than all the contentments of the world surely I loue the Lord Iesus Christ And is not this of God Yes I warrant theee it is not of thy selfe thou hast beene taught from heaven it was not the schoole of the flesh and the world that taught thee this lecture it is from heaven and the Spirit of the Father hath over-shadowed thee in his promise and hath kindled this sparkle of loue in thee and thou hast that which is sound and true therefore bee comforted and reioyce in it thou canst say more than any man under heaven can say that hath not this sound love in his heart And likewise blessednesse And as this is a ground of comfort so also it is a ground of blessednesse Rom. 8.28 All things worke for the bâ—st to those that loue God Me-thinkes the Apostle speakes of such a love as is wrought by the Spirit of the Father in our vocation they worke for the best to those that are called according to his purpose he minded well towards them and called them from the love of the world And therefore since nothing can harme thee goe thy way and let nothing dismay thee nor discourage thee nay goe away ever cheered I charge you David desired no more but what God was wont to doe to his children that loved his name Doe to mee saith the Text as thou usest to doe to those that loue and feare thy Name Psal 119.132 I know thou lovest them that love thee and wilt save and glorifie them in the end I desire no more but this Doe as thou usest to doe to those that love thy Name Be quieted with thy childs part thy lot is fallen into a marvellous faire ground David a King desired no more and if thou hast so much as hee had it is enough Ob. Oh but some will say this is all the difficulty if a man had this love which came from God effectually calling him it were enough and a man might have comfort in it but there is a great deale of false love and false ioy in the world therefore how shall I know whether mine be any otherwise than theirs that I may not bee deceived as they are How may I know if this be of the right stamp For if it be right love God will owne it Answ Notes of true love to Christ Now for the answer to this question let every man put his love vpon the triall and wee will say no more then that which we have ground for from the doctrine delivered Therefore examine thy loue and thy joy thus Whether dost thou welcome Christ and grace according to the worth of them Now marke this if I prove I love God then there will be joy there too for they both grow upon one root onely this joy hath a little more of the sweetnesse of Gods love in it Now whether we welcome Christ according to the worth of it it will appeare by these five particulars First observe the roote and rise from whence thy love came 1. Triall consider this and weigh it sadly for it is of great difficulty yet it is never failing and it is the narrowest search that I know of therefore looke well to it if it come from the right mint it is currant You know it is the priviledge of Kings and Princes Simile that all the coine that comes from his Mint and is coined with his stamp is warrantable but if there bee any other Mint the King will not allow of it but rather punish him that did it lust so it is with this love it is the priviledge of the Lord Iesus Christ the Sonne of Gods love to mint and to coine love that may bee currant love indeed that hee may take for good payment Therefore doth thy love come from the Spirit of the Father then it is onely fit to close with a Saviour with the Father and the Spirit and so consequently the Father allowes it Great men must bee entertained answerable to their persons Another for such a man to have poore and leane diet it is not meet for him the greatest delicates that can be doe beseeme such men of place So this leane and earthly and naturall love that growes onely out of thy owne parts and abilities or whatsoever it is it is but leane love and poore provision and suites not with God the Father nor Iesus Christ Base love and base things for base men and meane love for meane things and naturall love for naturall things but would you entertaine the Father from heaven and a spirituall Saviour then you must let your love be spirituall to welcome a blessed Saviour This besuits him Simile and otherwise he will not be entertained As it is with flowers the flowers that are of speciall planting as Ieremy speaks of the Iewes and the flowers that are inoculated by the hand of the cunning Gardiner as the Provice Rose or the like there is much care and paines about them but your ordinary hedge row Roses there is no care taken for them Iust so it is with the worke of Gods grace and all other common graces in the world there is a provice love and joy that is a love that comes from the planting and a joy that comes from the inoculating of the spirit This provice love and joy is wrought by the Spirit of God and this makes a sweet savour in the nostrils of Almighty God and of the Lord Iesus Christ and the Lord
Christ will say Oh that love pleaseth me They cannot welcome the Lord better than with this love but the other love and joy pleaseth him not Canst thou say I love the Lord because hee hath loved mee then thy love is of a right mettall and know it for ever that that God which cannot but love himselfe hee cannot but like that love which came from himselfe who is the God of all love and which comes from his owne divine nature Is thy soule affected and enlarged in love to the Lord because thou hast felt and received the rellish and sweetnesse of his grace Dost thou love and joy in God upon this ground namely upon a grounded affection of Gods loue to thee setled and sealed to thy selfe so that thou canst say The Lord hath let in the glimpse of his favour and the Lord hath said it in his truth hee lookes to him that trembles at his word the Minister said it and the Spirit saith it that my mercy is registred in heaven and my desires are received and granted Oh how shall I love the Lord My sinnes are many which I have bewailed and my sighes and sobs I have put up to heaven and at last the Lord hath given mee a gracious answer O how may I love the Lord my strength dearly Lord thou hast looked downe from heaven in love and mercy upon me and therefore my soule shall ever looke up to heaven to thee in love If it be thus with thee thy love is sound and will never faile thee but if any mans love comes from himselfe and therefore loves God that love will onely bring all to himselfe and there is the end of it A man hath a love to his parts and abilities and prayer and preaching and reading and conference and understanding and policy hee loveth these and therefore he would fain be beholden to Iesus Christ to helpe him to honour and to glorifie these parts of his This love was from his parts and brought to his parts and in the meane time the Lord Iesus lay in the dust and his glory was not regarded whereas the love that is wrought by God it alwayes doth draw the love of the soule againe to God and so love from him draws love to him This is the excellencie of this love and this is love of the right kind But if the love of parts and profits draw me to honour and glorifie parts and profits then I love my profits and not Christ Thinke of this often this is certaine this will bee the mainest difference betweene all the love of carnall hypocrites and of the Saints of God I would expresse my selfe to you thus As it is with meat which a man takes downe inwardly and digests it this breeds good bloud but that meate which a man eates and spits out againe and tarries not long with him this breeds no bloud at all So it is in the heart of a poore humbled sinner truely wrought upon to receive Christ in the worth of him and with the hypocrite A heart truely wrought upon by Gods Spirit it takes downe the promise and feeds upon it and it breeds good bloud and complexion True love is like this good bloud and true joy is like this complexion Marke this the promise of God settled upon the heart nourisheth and feedeth the heart and it breeds good bloud but the foolish hypocrite that hath a kind of flattering sweetnes this tickles the heart with vaine conceits but they never goe downe And hence it is that that love which comes from hence it is but a fading love and there is no good bloud nor no good complexion comes from it but rather corruptions and overture Secondly 2. Triall as the root of this love must be from the kindling of the Spirit so if thou entertaine thy Saviour as it beseemes him True love of Christ entertains him as a King thou must entertaine him as a King and that is thus give up all to him and entertaine none with him upon termes of honour but such as retaine to him or be attendants unto him this is the manner of receiving great Princes Love all in a Christ and for a Christ but expresse thy love and thy joy to a Christ above all he is as the King and all the rest are but as retainers and all his servants are as servants to him He that loves any thing equall with a Christ it is certaine he did never love a Christ but he that sets up any thing cheeke by joll with Christ he despiseth him and never receives him It is all one as if a man did put a slave into the same chamber with the King which is all one as to drive him away So if thou dost set up any thing with Christ thou dost drive him away with such base behaviour As in Iames 4.4 O yee adulterers and adulteresses know yee not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is an enemy of God A man cannot retaine fellowship with Christ Iesus and with the world too upon point of honour Simile As the woman that loves her husband she loveth other men as friends and neighbours and will give them very courteous entertainment and welcome them kindly but if they come to claime the love of a wife she abhorres and detests them So a loving heart that loves Iesus Christ as the Bridegroome he loves Christ onely and all for Christ and the rest as friends c. The soule wil love honors or profits or credit or parts and priviledges that they may be friends to speake for a man and to give a man occasion to speake with a Saviour as the wife loves the husband firstly and all the rest she regards onely as they may further the match this way so the Lord Christ and his grace is chiefe to the soule but the world and ease and credit these are meerely as friends to leade him to a Saviour and make him acquainted with a Saviour The soule loves the word and prayer and all Gods ordinances to speake a good word to a Saviour for him but all the rest are despised by him and if any of them come to claime the love of a soule from a Christ it hates them deadly as Luke 14.26 If any man come to mee and hate not father and mother in comparison of me he is not worthy of mee that is if father and mother stand betweene thee and Christ and would have thy soule married to them again the soule hates them This is a plaine difference betweene a sound heart and a false heart in the receiving of Christ the sound heart receives him as a favorite receives a Prince he gives up all to him Simile and lets him have the command of all but now an Inne-keeper entertains him that comes next to him he will take any mans money and will give welcome to any man if it bee the best man
doth Luke 19.27 Those mine enemies which would not that I should raigne over them bring hither and slay them before me He will say Bring hither that enemy of mine he hath opposed mee and grieved my spirit and sleighted my mercy bring my enemies hither not the Heathens or Pagans I regard not them so much but him that hath beene a hater of me and of my Gospel and then shalt thou see the intolerablenesse and unavoydablenesse of thy punishment Oh poore soule what wilt thou say or doe when thou art put to such a plunge as Josephs bowels did earne within him when hee talked with his brethren that he could forbeare no longer I wish that I had a heart to mourne in secret for thee I say what will become of thee poore wretch Happely thou wilt say there is mercy It 's true but thou hast hated that mercy which should save thee or wilt thou thinke that the blood and merits of the Lord Jesus will save thee thou hast trodden upon them Wilt thou say The good spirit of the Lord will prevaile with this wretched heart of mine with what heart canst thou crave aide from the spirit when thy owne conscience can say I have hated that good spirit of the Lord and that mercy which should save mee And when all is done and thou art come to the period goe your way home to your husbands and wives and mourn for them for there is neither mercy nor Christ for them for they also have hated him And when this is done imagine thou didst see the heavens opened and the fire melting round about thee and the Lord Christ coming in flaming fire rendering vengeance to all that obey not the Gospel lay thy hand upon thy breast say that 's I Lord that 's my husband or my childe he is come against us to render vengeance to them that have lived with mee and have opposed the Gospel and the riches of grace and of mercy in Jesus Christ Thinke of these in Gods name and labour to prevent them here that thou mayest bee freed from the punishment of them hereafter Love the Lord Jesus in sinceritie Use 4. The last use is for Exhortation Oh that God would please to worke our soules to this duty which the Saints take up and all of us ought to labour after You heare how the Lord works in the hearts of his and how they which are truely called of God have this love kindled in their hearts Oh therefore what remaines but onely this bee exhorted since you see the way to walke in it and since we see what the Saints of God have and doe let us labour to expresse this frame of heart that so the Lord Jesus may make us partakers of their hapnesse I say let us labour after it and when we have it expresse our loves to the Lord Jesus Christ as wee ought It was that which tooke up the heart of David Psal 18.1 when hee saith I will love thee deerely O Lord my strength As it is with a woman with child though the infant in the wombe have life yet the mothers love is not so great towards it till it bee borne but then she clasps her armes about it with much tendernesse so hee saith I will embrace the Lord with much love I will love him as if hee had said All the world shall not hinder mee but I will love him though I love not my selfe and hee perswades all the Saints of God to do the like Psa 31. 23. saying Love the Lord all ye his Saints who will you love if you love not him Oh you poore ones love you the Lord for you have need of him and all you rich ones love you the Lord for you have cause to doe it and you little ones too if there be any such in the congregation he knockes at every mans doore and perswades every mans heart and he deales faithfully with his Saints therefore if you have but this grace it is an undoubted argument that you are the Saints of God nay though out of thy blindnesse thou couldst never know the way to Christ and out of thy weakenesse thou couldst never close with Christ yet if thou wilt but love him thou shalt know him and be with him for ever 1 Joh. 4 12.16 No man hath seene God at any time God is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him If thy heart be perswaded to continue in God and to be with God for ever then love him and he will dwell in thee for he is love it selfe for so saith the Apostle Love is of God Ob. Oh but some will say it is true we know it is fitting and we ought to doe it but it is a difficult thing and we are unable to doe it though we know it is requisite to be done To love the Lord Jesus we find is a difficult worke and hard although the world thinke it not so Ans I would to God you did finde it difficult and marke what I say that man never loved Christ aright who found it not difficult He that saith Oh such an one as will not love the Lord Jesus it is pitty he should live it is to be feared he did never love Jesus Christ aright Poore silly deluded creature it will cost thee hot water before that day yet when thou hast it it will quit all thy cost and labour Oh but some will say Means to love Christ what are the meanes to prevaile with us and how may wee draw our sturdy rebellious waiward hearts to this love of Jesus Christ I referre the meanes to these three heads 1. First there are some hinderances to be removed 2. Secondly labour to see the beauty and excellencie of Jesus Christ in the promise 3. Thirdly when the promise is come neere and the heart made empty then learne the skill to make the soule and the promise meet Meanes 1. First that you may love the Lord Christ there are some hinderances which lye upon the heart which are marvellous causes of dissention between Jesus Christ and the soule and these must be taken away Now the hinderances of this sort are these three Hinderance 1. The first is this To take off the soule from the love of these base things here below I beseech you observe it be marvellous wise that you lavish not out your soules upon these lying vanities for as it is with a streame Simile if the banke be cut and all the streame run that way then the proper chanell must needs lie dry because all the streame runs another way so is it with the streame of a mans affections if the stream of love joy be let out upon profits or pleasures or honours you cannot have spend you cannot have your affections still when you have spent them upon other things therefore bee sure to knocke them off from the world that you may give them wholly to the Lord.
1 Joh. 2 15. Little children love not the world What if we doe may some say If any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him You must not think to have heaven and hell too to have Christ and the world too It is impossible in reason that a wise should have a true affection of love to her husband and an adulterous affection to her filthy mates too the mate must be abandoned before the husband can be loved as he ought to be Jam. 4.4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God This is meant of spirituall adulterers and adulteresses those that withdraw their hearts from the Lord and have their back-doores for the world O yee adulterers saith he know ye not that he that loves the world cannot love God These two cannot stand together either make these two at ods or else there can be no love to Jesus Christ Another As it is with the body of a man when the heart is hot the heat of the sunne drawes all the heat outwards and leaves the stomack cold insomuch that many times he swelters away so when the profits pleasures of the world come marvellous strongly in a good booty or bargaine and shine hotly upon your fouls and drawes out your hearts to that then they are cold to grace and Christ and the promise as if you were dead men nay many a man hath died and perished everlastingly by this way and meanes When a Gentleman hath stockt his man with money Simile and sent him to the market for such things as hee hath need of hee will not lay out his money upon bables and rattles because the more he layes out the lesse hee hath for his market but he will keep his money together so when the Lord hath stockt your souls with strength of grace so that now you have very violent affections of love and joy if you lay out these affections upon profits and honours when you come to provide for Christ all is already spent One man layes out his love upon his lusts and another upon his chambering and when they come to Christ and grace then their hearts are dead and loose adulterous and have spent all Therefore in a word when the world and profits and honors come say Let us have so much love and keepe so much for Christ tell the world thus and say Nay we must keepe our choyce affections for the best things we must love Christ and therefore let the world stay and let its better be served first This is the first hinderance Hinderance 2. 2 Secondly take heed and cast off those vaine and groundlesse surmises and suspitions which either Satan casts in or thy own heart breeds against the Lord Jesus and his goodnesse There is a cavilling jealousie which is in every mans heart by nature whereby we are subject to thinke hardly or at least to surmise sinfully against the Lord and his dealings with us look how thou doest suspect God to be unto thee Simile so art thou unto him As it is with two friends if they once begin to be jealous of one anothers love and if I once surmise in my heart that he hath some ill will towards me this is the next way to breed in my heart an ill-will towards him therefore be sure to quit thy heart of these A loving conceit makes the thing lovely that wee meddle withall but a groundlesse suspition turnes all another way and also makes us thinke ill of the Lord it takes all with the wrong hand for if a man have the blessings of this world then the soule saith It is true indeed God hath given me these but it is as a hook the Lord makes my table my snare and onely fits me for the slaughter For when the Lord lets in the horror of his wrath into the soule all those blessings come to nothing and are forgotten because the heart hath God in a jealousie and thinkes that God onely fats him to the slaughter and to ruinate him for ever whereas the Lord could as well destroy him presently as beare ill-will towards him Againe on the other side if the Lord gives but a small pittance and allowance then the soule saith The Lord loves not me how straight-handed is he towards me if he did love me it would be otherwise As the naughty stomacke turnes the best diet into ill humours and as the greene glasse makes all seeme greene to him that hath it so it is with the heart that is uncharitably conceited toward the Lord for we notwithstanding all his loving kindnesse still think we have him upon the worst hand and are provoked in our hearts against him Therefore take heed of harbouring any ill thoughts or groundlesse suspitious jealousies against the God of heaven this is ordinary yea too ordinary with our base hearts a vile heart is a breed-bate between the Lord and us for it accuseth God to the soule and then the soule to God and therefore when haply wee labour to bring a poore sinner to looke towards God and to consider of Gods goodnesse to him No no saith he It is true I confesse God is very gracious and it is his goodnesse that I have the meanes of salvation but I shall one day perish and God onely serves his turne of me the Lord never gave me that assurance of his love that such and such have God will one day leave me in the lurch And then the heart is transported with a secret dislike of the Lord Jesus Wretches that we are whereas a good and a charitable conceit of God would make a good construction of his dealings as the wife of Manoah did Judg. 13.22 23. when Manoah offered a sacrifice and an Angel appeared which Angel was the Lord Jesus Christ he said Wee shall surely dye for we have seene an Angel for this was their opinion in ancient times that if a man did see an Angel he should dye the Angel received the sacrifice and did wonderfully accept it and yet hee saith Wee shall surely dye Here was a groundlesse suspition but marke how she reasons If the Lord were pleased to kill us he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands as if she had said Oh doe not you thinke so hardly and uncharitably of the Lord as that he will kill us why did he thus and thus we may rather expect good from God becuse hee hath done good to us before So I say and so I would have thee to say to thy soule The Lord doth mee no harme and therefore why should I think that he intends any unto me I have received nothing but good from the Lord and therefore why should I thinke so ill of God Oh take heed of this 3. The third hinderance is this Hinderance 3. Judging the goodnesse and kindnesse of the Lord according to thy owne desires
THE SOULES IMPLANTATION INTO THE NATURALL OLIVE By T.H. Carefully corrected and much enlarged with a Table of the Contents prefixed JAMES 1.21 Receive with meeknesse the ingraffed Word which is able to save your soules LONDON Printed by R. Young and are to be sold by Fulke Clifton on New-Fish-street-hill 1640. THE CONTENTS TWo wayes God prepareth the heart for Christ Pag. 1 It is also prepared by contrition and humiliation 2 Doct. None but a broken heart is an house for Christ 3 Two lets of faith removed by brokennesse of heart 6 By faith the soule goeth out to another for all-sufficiencie 11 Use 1. Reproofe to them that would have comfort without brokennesse of heart 15. and them that dislike broken-heartednesse in others 18 Use 2 To get comfort begin in sorrow 22 Use 3 Comfort to the broken-hearted in two respects 25 Doct. The heart must first be prepared for Christ 31 Preparation for Christ standeth in three things 35 Use 1. Those reproved who thinke to have mercie and heaven upon a sudden 40 Use 2 A miserable estate to live in the old sinnes 47 Use 3 Prepare for Christ or thinke not to enjoy him 55 Motives to prepare for Christ 56 Doct. The Ministery a speciall meanes to prepare us for Christ 68 A powerfull ministery consisteth in three things 71 How a powerfull Ministery workes upon the heart to prepare it for Christ 79 Affliction prepares the heart for the Word the Word for God 88 Use 1. Much fault in Ministers that their peoples hearts are not fitted for Christ 84 Use 2 Fearfull is their estate whom a powerfull Ministerie workes not upon 88 Use 3 Let the Word be powerfull to prepare thy heart for Christ 90 Two things keep from Christ 95 What ingraffing into Christ is 99 Doct. Christ delayes not to come into an humbled heart 106 Use 1. Great comfort to each humbled soule 114 Use 2 They are of a naughtie spirit who endure not broken spirits 118 Use 3 Chuse the broken-hearted for companions 120 Use 4 Be thankefull for this great respect of Christ to thy poore soule 122 Use 5 They that would have Christ dwell in them must be willing to be humbled 125 Christ neare the soule yet not discerned for foure reasons in us 133. and for three reasons in Christ 147 Doct. Christ takes possession of every humbled soule 157 Three wayes he disposeth the heart to himselfe 168 Use 1. Reproofe of them that keepe Christ out of possession 171 Use 2 Give all to Christ whose it is 176 Doct. Love and joy by the Spirit wrought in a broken heart for embracing mercie as it deserves 180 The reason of Gods order in working these graces 187 Gods promise the ground of our love and how 195 His love to us begets love in us toward him and how 201 Use 1. Nature breeds no love to Christ 206 Saints love not duly because they rely not on the promise 211 Use 2 Comfort to them that love Christ 213. and blessednesse 216 Notes of true love to Christ 217 Use 3 Reproofe of them that love not Christ in truth 231. sorts of them 238 Enmitie against Christ shewed three wayes 240 Glozing neuters described and shamed 243 Hypocrites enemies to Christ foure sorts of them 246 247 c. Discoveries of not loving Christ 250 Hee thas wrangles against truth never loved Christ 2. arg 254 Expression of sorrow for sin limited 258 Continuall sorrow as needfull as continuall beleeving 261 Use 4 Love the Lord Jesus in sinceritie 272. meanes 273 Three hinderances of loving Christ ibid. 274 Three things in Christ to make us love him 282 Three things done by Christ for a sinner though as yet hee want assurance 286 Two meanes to bring our hearts and the promises together 291 Doct. In greatest wants true Christians have cause enough to rejoyce in God 300 Use 1. Reteine comfort in God whatsoever thou wantest 302 Use 2 Reproof to them that grow uncomfortable for crosses 304 Use 3 Make this sure God is the God of my salvation 305 Six meanes to rejoyce in evill times ibid. Doct. The sorrowful seed-time of true Christians in the exercises of humiliation and mortification yeelds them a rich and joyfull harvest 312. 313 Causes of true joy assured by mourning 314 Use 1. Sharpe Preachers make you gainers ibid. 315 Use 2 Enemies helpe the joy of Christians 315 Use 3 Esteeme none by present grievances 316 Use 4 Sow still though in teares ibid. Use 5 Be patient in suffering for God 317 Use 6 Comfort in death our owne or friends 318 Use 7 Be painfull in thy calling ibid. Use 8 Encouragement to repent of sinne and renew our repentance 319 THE BROKEN HEART ESAY 57.15 For thus saith the high and loftie One that inhabiteth eternity whose Name is holy I dwell in the high and holy place that is in heaven which is his throne and I will dwell with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit to revive the heart of the humble and the heart of the contrite ones THere are two maine parts of the preparative worke for Christ First the manner of the worke on Gods part and this discovers it selfe in these two particulars 1. In proposing Christ in the Ministerie of the Gospell as the most beautifull object which the soule can view or affect Psal 2.12 Cant. 5.9 with 6.1 2. That God doth by an holy kind of violence plucke the sinner from sinne to himselfe as in that place Iohn 6.44 No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him The second is on our part a frame and temper of the heart that God workes upon us by this holy kind of violent drawing This discovers it selfe in these two particulars 1 Contrition 2 Humiliation For the handling of these two wee have chosen this place of Scripture And I intend not to trade with every particular in the Verse but so much in it as fitteth my intendment in hand Expos That which I aime at is in the middle of the Verse I dwell with him that is of a broken heart Give me leave to open the words The great God of heaven that inhabiteth eternity in glory for the comfort of every poore broken-hearted sinner Gods two houses saith hee will dwell with him The Lord hath but two standing houses the one is in heaven in glorie the other is every broken heart and every shivered soule How he dwels in the heart Now how doth God dwell in the heart of a poore sinner The Apostle Ephes 3.17 tells us Christ dwells in our hearts by faith and it implies the constant abode of Christ by his Spirit in the soule being received and entertained by faith So that first there must bee a broken heart before there can bee faith or before Christ will dwell in our hearts to our comfort Consider what a kind of heart it must be wherein God will dwell It must bee an humble and a shivered spirit
what thou wouldst have not after thy owne unworthinesse nor the kindnesse which others doe enjoy better than thy selfe murmuring that thou art not worthy whereas thou art not fitted that God should do any thing for thee This mis-judging many times carries the heart with a speciall mistaking against the Lord as it is with a poore creature that hath had the meanes but not received the like comfort and mercy thereby that others have see how the heart reasons saying Others have such and such assistance in the meane time God leaves me and such and such have evidence of his favour but God regards not me had I but such power against corruptions and such evidence of Gods love and favour as God hath given to such and such Christians farre younger than I I seeke and pray and intreat and have not and with that the heart is carried with a secret heart-burning against the Lord this breeds a secret kinde of wrangling and quarrelling and withdrawing from the Lord. Therefore labour thou to still those distempers and to rectifie thy selfe and to judge as thou oughtest Judge not thy selfe by what others have and by what thou deservest but say Blessed be God I am not as I might have been and blessed be God I am not as I have deserved for then I had either beene upon the chaine with felons or upon the gallowes with theeves and robbers or in the Ale-house at my abominations for my nature is prone to it as well as others I confesse I am not so holy as I ought to be but blessed be that mercy in Jesus Christ that I am as I am I have not what others have and yet it is a wonder that I have any thing at all at the hands of the Lord so unthankefull and dead-hearted as I am others are meeke and patient and heavenly and painfull and therefore it is a wonder that I have any thing at all Goe thy way and bee contented with the Lords goodnesse and quarrell no more and mis-judge the Lords kindnesse no more Thus you see the hindrances removed now there is a way made that the soule may come to some termes of love with God Meanes 2. 2. When the soule hath beene thus ordered we must labour to bee throughly acquainted with the beauty and sweetnesse of Christ in the promise that this may provoke our soules to love the Lord and to rejoyce in him When these hindrances are removed there is way made for the promise to come and meet with the soule these breed-bates are sent out of towne and now there may be some possibility of love and this is the next way to worke and draw our hearts to Christ and to kindle in us these affections of love and joy The soule that is loosened from all the causes of jarres and dissentions betweene Christ and him that soule is ready to match with the promise and to bestow it selfe in love upon Christ In a marriage a man must know the party first and the portion and understand both or else he can love neither so thou must see the beauty and excellency of the promise before thou canst love the Lord Jesus As it is in the baser affections the covetous man seeth a good bargaine before hee loves it so that it is the eye that makes the bargaine as one well observes so thou must looke wisely upon the promises and be able to know them and this will make thee love them as in Psal 91.14 Because he hath set his love upon me therefore will I deliver him I will set him on high because he hath knowne my Name How came he to love the name of the Lord because he knew him as it is Cant. 1.2 when the name of our Saviour was as an ointment powred forth then did the virgins love him this name is the graces of our Saviour revealed and communicated to us and Cant. 4.9 see what our Saviour saith My sister my spouse thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes with one chaine of thy necke this is by way of comparison from the lesse to the greater the Spouse of Christ is the Church of Christ and by eye and neck is meant nothing else but the beauty of his grace in the heart truely humbled now the Lord Jesus Christ lookes upon these graces and loves them and is ravished with the fight of them Now if the worke of grace in the heart of a poore sinner ravished the heart of Christ who is the God of all grace then much more if our hearts could but see one finger of the excellency that is in Christ they would bee ravished with earnest love and kindled with violence towards him There are three things that ought mainely to bee respected in the promise that we may eye and apprehend and that our hearts may be kindled with love to the Lord and these three worke love any where First the worth of the party in himselfe Secondly the desert of the party Thirdly the readinesse of the party in himselfe to seeke our good Three things in Christ to make us love him So it is with the Lord Jesus first he is worthy of our love in himselfe considered Secondly he hath deserved it Thirdly he seekes our love Thou that dwellest in a poore cottage wilt hardly beleeve this but I say he seekes thy love First Christ is worthy in himselfe I wonder that the Lord Jesus Christ will suffer himselfe to be beloved by such wretches as wee are if wee had a thousand hearts to bestow upon him we were never able to love him sufficiently for as Nehemiah said Nehem. 9.5 The name of the Lord is above all praise and as the name of God is above all praise that wee can give him so the name of the Lord is above all the love that we can bestow upon him Will you let out your love and affections as wee use to say in the market it is a good penny worth it is worth more money than you shall pay for it so if you will lay out all the affections that you have you may lay them out here and that with good advantage too What would you have you may have enough for your money Wouldst thou have beauty then thy Saviour is beautifull Psal 45.2 Thou art fairer than the children of men yea he is full of grace nay the Spouse Cant. 5.10 saith My beloved is the cheife of ten thousand and in the 16. verse Hee is altogether lovely hee is a very beautifull husband There is no beauty in the world but it hath its blemish nor no day so faire but it hath its clouds but the Lord Jesus Christ is altogether love if beauty will please thee he is altogether excellent Would you have strength Psal 45.3 hee is all strength A wife would not have a cowardly husband therefore the Text saith Gird thy sword upon thy thigh O most mighty ride on prosperously so that Kings are slaine and people shall fall
with Sechem Hamors son Gen. 34.24 when he would perswade the Citizens to joine side with him he doth two things First he did commune with them in the gates and then hee shewes what undoubted good they should bee sure to get by it Shall not their cattell and their substance and every beast that they have bee ours and hereby will they consent if every one bee circumcised as they are He communed of the busines and of the good that comes by it so likewise let us commune with the good of the promises Secondly conclude that the good thou expectest shall come thereby and that all happinesse shall come unto thy soule If thou match with Jesus Christ shall not all his mercy all his excellency all his merits and love yea all his comforts and grace be thine Yes every grace of Jesus Christ and all the comforts not only of this but of a better life Wee stand demurring upon the matters of agreement if we might have a good ingagement what would wee doe lay all these aside and know that if thou wilt have Christ thou must part with all and then thou shalt finde in him what ever thy heart desires 1 Corinthians 3.23 All is yours and yee are Christs and Christ is Gods so I say to every of you if Christ bee thine then all is thine nay all the Divells malice shall promote that which shall make for thy good Therefore is this so that the Lord Jesus Christ is worthy of your love and hath deserved it is he worthy of more love then all that you have and doth he seeke it for he hath sent me this day to entreat love at the hands and hearts of all you poore sinners you then that are in higher rankes and places the Lord Christ is worthy of your affections and he doth offer love to all you that are weary and have need to every poor soule now what answer shall I return to him in the evening shall I say Lord I have tendered thy mercy and it was refused and they sleighted thy mercy and thy promise and they would none of Christ they have taken up their hearts with the world therefore they cannot give up their hearts to thee Brethren it would grieve my heart to returne this answer Christ Jesus becomes a suiter to you and doth beseech you through me to be reconciled to him and to bee blessed by him for ever Will you love the Lord Christ let him have but love from you that is all he cares for I beseech you for the Lord Jesus Christs sake if you will not love him nor his grace and mercy yet love your owne selves deny not this gracious offer lest hereafter you seeke for love and mercy and compassion and be refused and condemned for ever Therefore give up all and bid adieu to all other Lovers And because it is not in your power to love Christ goe to the Father of love and to the Spirit of love and entreat him but to strike one sparke of love from the promise and say good Lord is it true I have a base vile heart and I have contemned thee my only comfort but thou that requirest love thou that art the God of love kindle but one sparke of love in the heart of thy servant that I may love thee more than my selfe and all things here below Hitherto of the love of Christ Next we will speake of joy in God Spirituall Joy HABAKKUK 3.17 18. Although the Fig-tree shall not blossome neither shall fruit be in the vines the labour of the Olive shall faile and the fields shall yeeld no meat the flocke shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no heard in the stalls Yet I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation THIS Text may fitly be called Order The poore mans comfort in a deare yeare It was the Prophets stay in the great desolation which he fore-saw to be comming by the Chaldeans In the first Chapter hee complaines of Israels sinne and the Chaldeans crueltie In the second he sees a vision of comfort for the Church and the destruction of the enemies In the third he prayes for accomplishment and strengthens his faith in prayer by recounting the old dealings of God with his people Now toward the conclusion hee professeth his owne hope and confidence in God which by his example he would worke all godly men unto True hee was greatly afraid at the vengeance of God but by fearing before hand he procured a sweet securitie for time to come verse 16. That I might rest in the day of trouble And in the text he speakes more fully Although the Figge-tree shall not blossome c. Parts In the words is 1. A supposition of great evill which probably might come upon the Jewes vers 17.2 A proposition of his own unmoveable comfort amidst it all vers 18. Exposition Of the supposition In many particulars the Prophet sets forth an extreme vastation and desolation of their countrey all commodities should faile which concerned both delight and necessitie that is Corne Wine Oyle other fruits both small and great Cattell those in the fold those in the stall Sheepe and Oxen all should come short of the wonted plentie I name foure wayes whereby such misery invades a nation and the particular inhabitants First by Warre and the Sword which layes all waste where it comes as in Germany the vines cut the fruit trees rooted up the corne burnt or not sowed flockes and herds driven away Temples and houses laid in their rubbish and people slaughtered Neither Easterne nor Westerne Babylonians can affoord better termes of agreement with the Israel of God Prov. 12.10 The tender mercies of the wicked are cruell Secondly by drought or other calamities of ill weather when the yeare of restraints commeth Jer. 14.1 and then hee describes a grievous famine the former and latter raine is with-holden the sweet influence of the Pleiades is restrained Job 38.31 the heaven made as brasse the earth as iron unkindly windes devouring wormes blast mildew and other evils which we have indured Thirdly by losses and casualties which the wisedome of man cannot foresee nor his power prevent Thus the folds and stalls of Job were made empty and the like hath befallen many a rich man and may hereafter To the world-ward none can rightly be accounted blessed but hee that is fairly buried Others have wine and oyle and olives and other dainties in plentifull measure but this or that man hath lost his part and hath much adoe to sustaine his necessitie Fourthly by meere poverty and utter disability to make such provisions Some never had these fine things mentioned in the Text nor have nor are likely ever to have unlesse at other mens tables with some every yeare is a deare yeare through their whole life though some pinch them more than other A poore empty smoke-bound cottage with course bread and water out
a sinner truly humbled and inlightned love and joy to entertaine and rejoyce in the riches of his mercy so as beseemes the worth of it There are three passages considerable that wee may know the meaning of this Doctrine First this love and joy is no where to be found nor seene but onely in a heart humbled and inlightned For unlesse the heart be humbled it seeth no need of this grace and mercy and therefore despiseth it and is rather carried with a hatred against that grace and mercy that would purge him and troubled with a kind of wearinesse of the power of that grace that would reforme his life and conversation And though hee were humbled yet if he were not enlightned to see this mercy and goodnesse of God he cannot delight in it I know there is wilde love and joy enough in the world as there is wilde Thyme and other herbes but wee would have garden-love and garden-joy of Gods owne planting for such hypocriticall love and joy we will not meddle with here Secondly this love and joy is kindled by the Spirit of the Father for the Father learnes us the lecture and as I told you before of the mind inlightned kindles this holy fire which is rightly compared to the fire of the Sanctuary as in Lev. 9.24 There came a fire from before the Lord and consumed upon the Altar the burnt offering even those sparkes of the pillar of fire which did typifie Christ to them But whether this bee so or no I will not now dispute for as the Lord provided the sacrifice so the Lord caused the fire to come downe from heaven and hence it was that when Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire the Lord consumed them Lev. 10.1 2. so it is in this holy fire of love and joy wee may strike and endevour but our steele and our flint will not worke this indevour nor strike this fire of love and joy It is Iesus Christ from whence all spirituall sparkes of grace doe come and amongst the rest these of love and joy all other love and joy that is not wrought by the Spirit of the Father must be casheered and abandoned it cannot reach to God nor be pleasing unto him It is that which the Apostle inferres in the generall Rom. 8.8 They that are in the flesh cannot please God but it must be joy of the spirit which must please him Now though the soule truely humbled and broken that heretofore hath felt the weight and burden of his sinnes and is now separated from them so that hee dares not meddle with them hee dares as well take a Beare by the tooth and fall quicke into hell as take up those courses againe yet hee hath not power of himselfe to bee enlarged in any love to entertaine Christ or spiritually to joy in him further than the power of the Lord Iesus in the promise shall inable him thereto Suffer me to inlarge my selfe thus The soule is like an empty vessell it stands not at the dispose of sinne or it selfe but it is at the Lords disposition if the Lord will kindle any love and joy so it is for of himselfe hee cannot doe it As it is with some Gentleman in the Countrey Simile he will be content to let the King have the use of his house for a while but he is not able to provide necessaries for him because hee is a meane man therefore the King sends his provision before and then comes himselfe Iust so it is here with a poore humble broken-hearted sinner the poore soule is marvellous well content that the Lord should come and dwell in him and dispose of him but hee is not able to give him any entertainment he hath not any heat of holy affections or love or desire to welcome the Lord as becomes so great a Majestie therefore the Lord is faine to infuse love and joy that by them he may bee welcommed into the soule of the humbled sinner Now when the soule is come to this degree of sanctification then it can worke by it selfe Or thus Simile It is with a broken-hearted sinner as with a burning glasse take such a glasse it will burne any thing by the heat of the Sunne yet it hath no heat in it selfe but receives it from the Sun-beames by vertue whereof it burnes whatsoever is before it Iust so it is with a broken-hearted sinner But all stubborne sinners are like water that will not burne at all I will goe no further than the worke of preparation It is neither sinne nor selfe shall have power over mee sinne shall not and selfe cannot rule me therefore I will wait till the Sunne of righteousnesse will shine forth from heaven from the beavtie of his sanctuary and having received the beames of Gods love and favour effectually upon my soule and being warmed by the Sunne of righteousnesse I shall be able to returne the heat of love to God againe Thus the Spirit of the Father kindles love and joy in a heart humbled and inlightned Thirdly the Doctrine saith that loue and joy are kindled that they may entertaine and rejoyce in the riches of Gods mercy in the worth of it This last clause is added to discover the distinct nature of this love and joy from all the fained love and joy that all carnall and hypocriticall wretches pretend to have to Iesus Christ there is a kind of loving and joying in the hearts of hypocrites as afterward you shall heare So sayes Iudas Haile Master so the Pharisees and the people cut downe branches of the trees to welcome Christ and crid Hosanna Blessed is hee that commeth in the name of the Lord. And in Matth. 8.19 A certaine Scribe came and said unto him Master I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest And so the stony ground Matth. 13.20 did heare the Word with joy and so love and joy goe together But it is not that kind of love which came downe from Heaven nor that which will ever carrie your selves as beseeming the mercie of God in Christ for hee that said Haile Master betrayed his Master with a kisse and Christ might have said Is this thy love and joy wherewith thou welcommest me And the Scribes and Pharisees follow Christ a while and then forsake him and so they that before cried Hosanna Blessed is he that commeth in the name of the Lord within a while after they cry Crucifie crucifie him and the stony ground received the Word with joy and a while after came to nothing This is wild-fire and foolish fire as the Philosopher saith it is bred and hammered out by our owne ends and aimes but they doe not carrie themselves beseeming the riches of Gods free grace in Iesus Christ that is thus An heart thus kindled bestowes the best love and joy upon the Lord Iesus Christ because hee is the best good This is the meaning of that phrase so often intimated Whosoever loveth father or mother more than mee is
and come to the Court and importune him for pardon it is likely that he may be pardoned nay it shall be so Marry saith he that I will with all my heart and so hee sets forward and comes to the Court his desire carries him thither Thus it is I say with a poore sinner hee is brought home to the Court and about the Court hee attends and askes for every man that comes forth Did you not heare the King speake of me and What doe you thinke of my case At last some of the bed-chamber say to him The King heareth that you are mightily humbled and earnestly desire his favour you shall heare more from him ere long At last the King himselfe lookes out at a window and saith Is this the Traytor Yes this is he that hath beene humbled and lyes at your mercy Then the King calls out and saith His pardon is drawing and it is comming by and by and so the King smiles on him Oh then his heart leapes in his breast and hee saith The Lord preserve your Grace I thinke there was never such a mercifull Prince knowne in the world This is the love and delight that is stirred up Now when the Pardon is sealed and granted then you shall see the worke of faith A poore humbled sinner is this malefactor that hath committed high Treason against the God of heaven for every sinner hath rebelled against the God of grace The stubborne rebellious heart hath stood out against the Lord God which is high Treason though you little thinke it when you goe on wilfully and say This man shall not rule over me Well bee humbled now in time while you have mercy offered for if you bee not humbled the Lord shall send a â—aylor to take and throw you downe to Hell and therefore you had better heare of it now than hereafter when there is no remedie Perhaps the Lord now pursueth a man with his heavie indignation and le ts flye at him and sets conscience on worke to follow him and to dogge him saying This is thy sinne and hell is thy portion to hell thou must Now the soule being beset with Gods wrath in conclusion seeth hee cannot escape the Lords hands and how to purchase mercy he knowes not nor is it possible otherwise for him to escape and yet hee hath nothing to purchase mercy withall therefore hee is content to lye downe before God saying I confesse I have sinned Oh Lord bee thou glorified though I be damned for ever my sinnes are so many and so vile I cannot almost desire mercy but if the Lord will who can let him Now when the heart is thus humbled then there comes a noise a great way off in the Ministery of the Gospell and that saith Thy sinnes are all pardonable so he lookes up and hope saith Lord it may bee a damned creature may bee recovered a dead dogge may be restored to life and a Traytor may be pardoned receiued Then the Lord sends another comfortable message namely That if thou canst but see a need of mercy and looke out and waite for him thou shalt be pardoned hereupon the penitent goes to the Court gate that is hee comes mourning to the Word and saith Oh yee faithfull Ministers of God you are of the bed-chamber and you know Gods minde I pray what doth God intend towards me Hereupon we that are the Ministers of God we tell him your case is right and happely if you attend upon God you may heare more of him hereafter for the Lord heares that you lye at the Court gate and that you are exceedingly humbled and thus farre desire goes At last the Lord Iesus Christ shewes and presents himselfe to the sinner and speakes with him in the Ministery of the Word and saith That fainting weary loaden heart of thine shall bee refreshed and then giveth him a looke of mercy so that his heart danceth within him Still you must understand that the Lord alwayes speaketh by the Ministery of the Word and therefore looke for no strange dreames and visions while the Lord saith Thou art hee that longs for my salvation goe thy way I have heard thy prayers thy pardon is granted and drawne it shall be delivered to thee afterward Now when a poore sinner findes some chearing of heart he may say The Lord spake to me it s done in heaven mercie is comming towards mee the pardon is now granted and is in drawing and shall be delivered to me in due time now againe his heart leapeth within him and hee saith Blesse the Lord O my soule who ever heard of such mercy what my sinnes be pardoned and is the pardon granted and drawne if I never heare more of it and if I goe downe to hell it is enough that God hath once smiled upon mee in his love it is enough though I have the paines of hell upon me for ever for it Esa 40.12 Comfort yee comfort yee my people saith your God Speake yee comfortably to Ierusalem and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished that her iniquity is pardoned So the Lord saith to poore sinners after they have waited long enough and God hath seene their desires to be sound the Lord I say saith Tell that poore man from heaven and from the Lord Christ and under the hand of the Spirit that his sinnes are pardoned and he shall bee received to mercy Esa 66.1 2 3. The Lord lookes to him that is poore and of a contrite spirit and trembles at his word The poore creature comes and trembles at every truth and when hee heares of mercy hee saith Oh that is sweet mercy indeed but it is not mine and he shakes in the consideration of mercy that he should heare of it and not receive it The Lord lookes to him that is he casts a sweet looke upon him and lets in some sweet intimation of mercy and saith to the poore creature I have an eye to thee and my love is unto thee in the Lord Iesus Christ and with that his heart leapes in his bosome Of this kind I take that to be Ier. 31.18 19 20. I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning and lamenting himselfe thus there is a heart humbled broken and thirsting thou hast chastised me and I was chastised as a bullocke unaccustomed to the yoke turne thou me and I shall bee 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 you see Ephraim bemoaning himselfe as if hee had said I am the man that have enjoyed all the meanes in abundant plenty and yet never profited the Lord hath corrected mee and I was not humbled Oh turne thou me then O Lord for there is no abilitie in mee Now I see the sinnes that before I could not see and the basenesse of my evill courses and I am even
love Christ I say neither thou nor I can doe it by any power or vertue in our selues nay I say thou art as able to save thy owne soule and to redeeme thy selfe without Christ as thou art able to love Christ unlesse he by the power of his spiritenable thee to doe it Nay you that make nothing of it to loue Christ marke what I say If a man might have happinesse in hand and heaven laid downe upon the nayle if he could love the Lord Iesus of himselfe I say if he had no more but nature he would never goe to heaven nor never bee happy Nay it will cost more than so it will cost time and paines and many teares and prayers you must have the Father come downe from heaven to teach you and you must goe to another schoole than ever you were at yet before you can learne it and unlesse the Father make you able to loue Christ you can never doe it It is true if it were nothing but pratling and professing and yet to stand in open opposition to the power of grace and the spirit this cannot bee for to welcome a Saviour to receive Christ answerable to the worth of him a man cannot doe it by the meere power of nature it is the worke of the Lord as the Apostle Saint Iohn saith 1 Ioh. 1.5 God is light and in him is no darknesse and Ephes 5.8 You were darknesse God is nothing but holines and you are nothing but darknesse Now you know darknesse can oppose light and wickednesse can oppose holinesse but never give way to it nor receive it This is thy nature and condition thou hast an ignorant darke heart of thine owne but the Lord is altogether holines and light and thou canst not receive it nor wilt thou receiue him As 2 Thess 2.10 they would not receive the truth of God in the loue of it the truth of God makes love to thy carnall heart and would plucke thee from thy base lusts and corruptions and would woo and winne thy soule that it might take place in thy heart the world will not receive it Iesus Christ came into the world to save sinners but the world would not receive him so farre were they from seeking to a Saviour that they would not receiue him though he came to offer himselfe to them thou hast a heart that hatest Iesus Christ and cannot loue him and thou hast a heart that can oppose him and his grace but canst not take contentment in that grace and rich mercy of his if thou hast not grace and mercy thou hast but what thou wouldst haue and therefore it is just thou shouldest never haue it The second cause Saints Iove not as they might and should because they rely not on the promise why I presse this instruction is this To shew the disorderly proceedings of many poore Saints that labour extremely to worke their owne soules and to bring their hearts to love Christ that they even fall out with themselues and curse their base hearts that can loue the world and cannot loue Iesus Christ they labour much and would bring their hearts to loue him but they cannot doe it because they goe to worke the contrary way they would bring loue to the promise and not receive love from the promise as if a man should bring water to the sea or light to the sunne It is as if he would have a sun of his owne and yet there is but one sunne of righteousnesse that can kindle this loue of Iesus Christ to carry it selfe worthy of him Therefore be wise herein and thinke not to bring love to the promise but come to the promise for it and goe to the sea for water and looke up to the sunne of Gods loue and be under the beames of Gods mercy and looke not down into that dead frozen heart of thine own for if thou wouldst never so faine thou canst not receive one sparkle of this love from thy owne abilities See his love therein and bee thereby drawne to love him againe and see the fulnesse of those pleasures at his right hand which endure for ever Ioh. 16.14 the Lord Christ saith He shall send the Spirit the Comforter and he shall take of mine that is take of Christs All spirituall graces are Christs therefore goe thou thy way and tell the Lord thus much saying In truth Lord I have not a heart to love thee it is thine owne worke and thou hast sayd that thy spirit shall take of thine and give it to thy servants that thy servants may also give thee of thine owne againe that love and that delight is thine to give that wee may giue thee of thine owne as David spoke of the building of the Temple Thus much of the use of instruction Vse 2. Comfort to them that love Christ In the second place here is a strong consolation to sustaine and refresh the hearts of those that have received this gracious worke though they haue some small weaknesses it skills not be the worke sound it is enough thy soule may bee comforted that the Lord hath enlarged himselfe to thee in this gracious worke I say it is a ground of admirable sweet refreshing of soule to any that finde this gracious love unto Christ A man by nature cannot have this therefore hast thou this by grace Goe thy way as he that hath found a treasury and make much of it and say and know thou hast something more than all carnall wretches can have and thou hast more than all the cunning close-hearted hypocrites under heaven can have let them pretend and fain and flatter what they will Me thinks this should wonderfully refresh the hope of you poore ones for though many times other things goe not well with you yet this is enough to cheare up your hearts for ever You know a childe will loue his father though hee can doe little for him he is a child and therefore though he can doe little for his father yet if he love his father hee is contented so they that haue little meanes and small sufficiencies towards any servants of God and it may be their understandings are not so deepe as others be and their tongues runne not so glib as such and such and they cannot talke so freely of the things of grace and salvation and thou hast meaner parts and canst not enlarge thy self in holy duties and holy services though this is commendable where it is and thou canst not dispute for a Saviour and perform such duties as others can doe yet thou canst loue Iesus Christ and reioyce in him Methinkes there is many a poore soule would say I blesse the name of the Lord that 's all that I haue the Lord knowes that all the friends I have and parts and meanes and abilities in the world they are but as dung and drosse in comparison of Christ Oh it were the comfort of my soule if I might be euer with him Goe thy
that comes he cares not he loves gaine in and aboue all So a good heart resignes up all to a Christ and whatsoever is pleasing to a Christ he will doe it and whatsoever comes from a Christ is welcome but if any man be an enemy against his Majestie and would doe any violence against him he cannot endure it But the hypocrite receives Christ as the Inne-keeper doth his guest if the world come it shall be served and if honour come it is welcome if he may have gain from them they are all welcome and therefore all is welcome because hee may haue gaine by all and so he loves himselfe in all and not Christ 3. Triall It avoydes matter of griefe and displeasure Thirdly the soule that thus entertaines Christ and studies wholly to give contentment to him he is marvellous warie and watchfull that he may not sad that good spirit of God and grieve him and cause him to goe away as displeased or to take away the sweetnesse of it for the present the penitent feares lest there be any thing that may cause this because he entertains him as a marvellous loving friend and therefore if hee should doe any thing to grieve him it would vexe him to the heart See this Cant. 3.4.5 the Spouse sought long for her beloved and at last brought him home and when she had welcomed him she gives charge to all the house not to stirre nor awaken her love till he please When a Prince comes into the house of a great man what charge is there given to make no noise in the night lest such or such a man bee awakened before his time And were it not a basenesse in us if wee should have our hearts more in love with any thing than the service of Christ The soul also when it hath received the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ gives a peremptory charge to keepe watch and ward and gives a charge to hope and desire and love and joy and the minde and all not to grieve nor molest the good spirit of the Lord let there bee no motion but entertaine it no advice but receive it and doe nothing that may worke the least kinde of dislike In Gen. 19.5 6 7 8. when Lot had received the 2 Angels into his house the cursed Sodomites came about the house to abuse them but see how Lot pleadeth with those base wicked people I pray you my brethren doe not so wickedly Behold now I have two daughters which have not known man them will I bring forth unto you and doe unto them as seemeth good unto you onely to these men doe nothing for therefore are they come under the shadow of my roofe This is kinde and honourable entertainement indeed he would rather suffer himselfe than they so a loving heart will doe with Christ he saith Let my soule bee wounded and my honour lye in the dust that Gods name may be honoured let persecution and shame disgrace and any thing come to mee I am willing to endure all but I will doe nothing against Jesus Christ nor against the credit of the Gospel nor speake evill of Gods name no nor dishonour the worke of his grace whatsoever befall me Simile As one that loves a friend will aske his servants what doth your Master like best and what doth hee desire to eat because he would prevent him with kindnesse so marvellous carefull is he to avoid whatsoever may displease him So a soule truly humbled is not content unless God may have his will and therefore it comes to the faithfull Ministers of God and saith How may I please God better and how may I come to entertaine the motions of his spirit better shew me what duties must be done and what sinnes must be avoided You know Christs will and what will please him I beseech you advise me that I may heare and pray and walke and approve my heart so to him that nothing may displease him This I take to bee the maine difference betweene a good heart and a false hypocriticall one Simile For looke what difference there is between a man that takes a servant into his family and a Noble-man that receives a Prince so much difference there is between a good heart a false hypocriticall heart Now a man entertaines a servāt into his house to the end he may serve please himselfe and that the servant may give contentment to him because hee is wise and able to dispatch his occasions and likewise diligent to looke throughly to all and therefore it is that the servant is entertained not for the servants sake but that hee may content his master But he that doth receive a Noble-man into his house he labours to give him all the content that may be he layes by all and attends onely upon him and though hee be a man of great state and hath many to attend on him yet all the servants are charged to see that nothing bee wanting to his guest nay he will rather discontent himself than him because he comes out of an honorable respect to visite him therefore he wil receive him as beseemes his state and person Just so it is with a faithfull soule that receives Christ in the worth of him and one that receives him for gaine onely the one receives Christ as a servant into his family and so all the while that the Gospel and the profession of it and the Lord Jesus may promote his ease and honour and credit then welcome Gospel but if his profits and honour and credit and the Gospel cannot agree together he turnes all out of doores and of a professor hee proves a loather of Jesus Christ because he received him to content himselfe withall But hee that receives Christ in the worth of him will not please himselfe and his lusts and his pride and vaine-glory but though they that are his nearest friends call him and say they must have his company and his attendance yet hee replies No hee cannot the Lord Jesus Christ must be attended and when the old haunts of heart and old lewd courses that have had inward league with the poore sinner come and crave and plead for acceptance hee regards them not nay an humbled soule will rather displease all the great men in the world yea the neerest man that he depends upon and all that glory and pompe than Jesus Christ 4 Triall It rejoyceth most to see Christ honoured 4 Fourthly he that loves any thing in the worth of it it is his good and happinesse to see the good and happinesse of that thing which he loves this is an undoubted argument of sound affection that that which he loves should have all good though hee misse it If any good befall that thing which hee loves hee thinkes himselfe happy and had rather see that honoured than himself this is true love a marvellous sweet passage of a loving heart yea it is the very picture of true love 1
and hee is not able to stoope to it nor to be framed by it These men deale with Christ as men that entertain a neighbour liberally to this end that he will look to his owne grounds onely and not intrench upon his for to have him a Land-lord or Commander over him and to bee in dependance upon him this he cannot beare But the Saints of God doe the second they entertaine Christ as a Land-lord but the other onely as a neighbour Let these men know that all those that are not with Christ are against him though a man stand still and doe nothing and love not warre because he would bee in peace let him I say know that all the wrong that is done by others if he be not a helper against it the Lord will require it at his hands as if he had done it himself as in that place Curse ye Merosh Judg 5.23 because she came not to the helpe of the Lord against the mightie as if a man did say I am loath to meddle before I am called to it But I say thou art called the Gospel was persecuted and thou wouldst not stir therefore the Lord will deale with thee as he did with that luke-warme Church in the Revelation the Lord will spue thee out of his mouth luke-warmnesse is loathsome to the stomacke therefore appeare in your colours what you are that you may be knowne either a Saint or a Divell lukewarme water goes against the stomacke and the Lord abhors such lukewarme tame fooles Hypocrites enemies of Christ 3. The third ranke of those that love not Christ are the fawning hypocrites that will fawne upon the Lord Jesus that make admirable faire weather and professe marvellous affectionate love unto him and will speake for a good cause and hazzard himselfe in it and when all is done he is an inward hater of Christ Of this sort I take Saul to bee 1 Sam. 15.13 the Lord gave a commandement to goe and kil all the Amalekites who when he saw Samuel comming toward him saith Blessed bee thou of the Lord here marke the tricke of an hypocrite I have performed the commandement of the Lord and therefore blessed be God that I see thee that I may give up my account unto thee But saith he What meaneth then this bleating of the sheepe in mine eares and the lowing of the oxen which I heare I need not speake for the bleatings of the sheepe shew that Saul is an hypocrite These men may be discovered by these two passages They doe not desire to give contentment to Jesus Christ but to themselves and withall they lift up their own glory with Christ Foure sorts of hypocrites Of this ranke there are foure sorts The wrangling hypocrite The whining hypocrite The vaine-glorious hypocrite The presumptuous hypocrite The first sort is the wrangling hypocrite I know many men that will professe they are at your command to serve you and to doe what they shall be commanded and they shall thinke themselves happy to be imployed by you and yet in conclusion they intend no such matter They desire to live no longer to do nothing but that which may promote the honour of the Lord Jesus and if they did not think to honour him by this or that they would not doe it but if it come to this that a man must leave his profits or livings or honours for Christ he will not say expressely he will not do it and that hee will not part with his honours and profits for Christ but yet he will stand to quarrell and say It is not fit to doe it and there is no command for it It is admirable to see and to conceive the vileness and basenesse that is in the spirits of these men for when the duty is revealed and enjoyned they will search far and neer to make it no duty they will rake the Divels skull and invent some new shifts to prove that it is not needfull to be done that so they may avoid the doing of it as it is amongst some that follow the fashions of the times though they pretend to doe things comely and to keep close to the Word yet if a new fashion come up though never so absurd they will forget their promise and plead for it not questioning what is lawfull but what most pleases their humour But observe this in thy owne soule do not thinke to quarrell with thy selfe about duties which the Lord requires at thy hands But art thou in good earnest content that the Word should be true as God would have it and to have that accounted naught which God saith is naught It is certaine many will say it for shame but they have an inward league between them and some sin they will not have that lawfull that they may not doe and they will not have that to be sinne which God saith is sinne that they may commit it with quiet ease and liberty striving more to content their owne hearts and the fashion then Christ They must content their liberty they will not be imprisoned and therefore will give full content to a spirit that desires freedome These never had this fire of love to Christ kindled in their hearts Now before I come to the next give me leave to unmaske this hypocrite and to dogge him to his owne doore and for this end First I will shew what this pretence of love to Christ is Secondly I will shew the prankes that hee hath to cover his hypocrisie withall and when both these are opened it will appeare that he onely intends to wrangle and that he hath not this true love of Jesus Christ For first he wil joyne side with Christ in the generall in the common nay when it cōes to the particular case wherin his heart withdrawes yet therein also he wil vow openly that he doth nothing but what his conscience tels him is fit to be done and that which his judgement is fully satisfied in Alas poore conscience he hath couzened thee before or else curbed and charmed thee by saying I am resolved that it is not so therefore conscience you must be of my side yet conscience replies You should not do this or that let the Lord have the glory and take you the shame that all may be warned for ever Thus it was with the old Prophet 1 Ki. 13.18 when he came to couzen the young Prophet he said I am a Prophet also as thou art an Angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord saying bring him back with thee into thine house And thus it is with this wretched hypocrite in his pretence of love unto Christ it is cleare in his conscience he dares not do any thing against the Lord Jesus and in his judgement and in his conscience he thinkes so and so hee hath peace at home but let him goe with his peace Again he will talke marvellously of Gods honour and of the promoting of the Gospel the
hee may doe that which hee hath purposed Let there bee but some frothy Minister or some foolish man or woman that will commend fashionablenesse the fashion-monger will hugge him in his armes and say Hee spake marvellous wisely to the point and very judiciously though he had not one argument whatsoever is spoken to the contrary he will not believe it but the Scripture hath no such thing for where are those words of yellow starch bands and the like Well it is sufficient that he is fashionable to the world the issue is this hee is contented to give himselfe honour and ease and liberty but hee will not content the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore I say he never had this love of God nor this saving grace in his heart Rom. 2.8 But unto them that are contentious and doe not obey the truth but obey unrighteousnesse not those that are contentious with their neighbours but against Gods truth What of them why to them shall be indignation and wrath Such were they 1 Tim. 6.4 Hee is proud knowing nothing When a man should come and joyne side with the word of truth hee is puft up in his vaine minde and hath no sound worke of grace in his heart He that wrangles against truth never loved Christ I doe not say that hee which is ignorant in any truth of Christ but hee that thus wrangles with any truth of Christ that man cannot have any sound evidence of Gods love in this blessed worke of grace and this I prove thus 2. arguments First hee that will have this evidence of Gods love must entertaine the truth aright that is in the love of it not for his own private ends aimes not because it is profitable or honourable but because it is true and he that entertaines one truth in the love of it will entertaine every truth so far as it is revealed but this hypocrite doth not entertain the truth in the love of it and therefore hee cannot have any sound evidence of Gods love Secondly never any man had as yet this worke of true grace that is not yet come from under the power of sinne and Satan for no man is come from under the power of sinne or the dominion of Satan that will joyne side with sinne and Satan against the truth but this man doth joyne side with sinne and Satan against the truth of God and therfore was never come from under the power of sin and so consequently never had this worke of grace I compare this wrangling wretch to the Merchant that will trade with other Princes but not submit to them as King so this man will trade with the Gospel but not subject himselfe unto it and therfore he is but a hang by and a retainer and one that makes a booty of the Gospel Thus much of the wrangling hypocrite The second sort is the whining hypocrite who will continue daily to abuse the Gospel and to grieve the Lord Christ and he thinkes to make up his wrongs by laying open his sorrow that he hath done so and thus he thinkes to be friends with him againe As it is with some servant whom the Master will neither let goe nor yet use as a servant so it is with these whining hypocrites they have great need of the power of the Gospel and yet they are not willing to bee under the power of it however they keepe it in and fawningly flatter it and if they come and say they are sorry for this and that then all shall be well and they entreat the Lord not to take it ill at their hands they will mend it c. so that in truth they love not the power of the Gospel but onely to make gaine of it to themselves Simile As it is with some whining debtor that partly out of covetousnesse would not and partly through indigencie cannot pay hee will come and complaine of his hard peny-worth and desire some respite not that he may give content to the Creditor but to himselfe So it is with this whining hypocrite hee will ever bee complaining but never amending I speake not against sorrow and complaining as though they should be altogether quit of the body of death and of distempers and of their cursed lusts and corruptions for if a man love Jesus Christ as much as ever any mortall man did yet he shall never be quit of this body of death so long as hee is here but I speake against those that are still complaining and vexing themselves in the outward appearance who have teares at command because of some violent passion or for some discredit to the Gospel or some disgrace to themselves and yet stand just at the same stay Oh varlets that confesse their sin to Christ and yet forsake it not that they may love him that thus they may fawne upon Christ making their sorrowes a plea for their sin and think to cry and whine it out and yet returne to their old courses againe Thus it was with Ahab 1 King 21.15 who killed Naboth for the vineyard and in the 27 verse hearing Eliah denounce such heavie threatnings against him knowing himselfe to be guilty of that sin he fasted and prayed and rent his clothes yea prayed in print as the proverbe is but yet hee returnes to his old byas again for in the next chapter he hated Michaiah still This is but the bathing of a mans sins not the drowning of them he thinks to please Christ and to keepe Christ with him because hee cannot be without him and though he sinne against him yet he thinkes to make all whole with complaining This is too ordinary in the world The rebellious hearted sinner that is crosse and peevish and froward he will be a professor in a high strain and pretend great love to the Lord Jesus Christ and complaine of his froward heart but yet he falls into passion upon every occasion and hee to by his complaints thinkes to make all whole againe This is base false hypocriticall love and not the love of the Father that will enable a man to give content in those things that he may easily doe I can hire these men from their passion for money and scare them from it by the Magistrate And shall a reward hire thee or a Magistrate scare thee and shall the Lord Jesus have no power over thee to cause thee to doe it Goe thy way thy heart is naught if thy love were sound it would worke more than all this comes to that is not love at all that is not able to doe so much as this for Jesus Christ the like I may say of the untoward doggednesse of some husbands and masters it is their life to fret and talke like mad-men and thus the cunning chapman will cheat you to day and whine to morrow and hee thinkes this pleaseth the Lord Jesus very well Shee is not accounted a loving wife but an adulteresse that when shee hath played the harlot
When a man entertaines the King he is content though the King put him out of his owne house to bee his servant for the while and if his Majesty may be contented he cares not so it is with a gracious humble heart if the Lord will blast a mans parts and comforts and take all from him and give him Christ naked and onely that honour that is in him hee is contented This heart is right and hee will say It is Gods will to take away these parts honours credit c. and if the Lord Jesus say I will not assist nor comfort thy soule he lyes downe and saith not a word but this Let the Lord be honoured though I be as the dung in the streets whatsoever become of me though I be damned so the Lords glory may be advanced I am content Suppose this should be which indeed cannot be that a man were left destitute of al comfort friends and meanes and all that he hath loved heretofore and in stead of honour were to have shame and imprisonment for liberty and want and dishonour in stead of friends the soule saith It is Gods will to doe so and to take away honour and parts who must order the businesse but he onely Doth it please the Lord Jesus to doe so blessed bee his name for it I shall now be contented let me lye at his feet though I goe downe to hell let me wait on him and let him doe what he will Now all you that are of any of these sorts to you is the Word of the Lord spoken this day and I beseech you in the name of Christ take it in love and as spoken out of indignation to your sinnes to you I say the Minister and the Word saith The Lord bee mercifull to you you are haters of the Lord Jesus there is none of the love of God in the hearts of any of this generation to this day Now do not goe away and say Let the Minister say what he will for hee must say something to hold out the houre What wilt thou shew thy selfe to bee a most notorious wrangling hypocrite Conscience speake is not thy heart met withall as in all the former particulars Conscience saith so and the Lord saith so Oh be perswaded therefore and yeeld the bucklers and say Now I see it is not in truth all that I have done is wrong and false Oh that I could once at last fall upon the right way The Lord perswade your hearts to conceive of it and to say I am still a hater of Christ I am yet an enemy Do I yet live to be saved by Christ and do I hate him think of thy sin and consider thy sorrow 1. Thinke thus much with thy selfe This sinne of all other is most unconceivable and not to bee named much lesse to bee practised and retained Oh that ever any wretch that hath received so much from Christ should still hate him Good Lord that ever there should bee such a wretch upon the earth and yet Lord I am the man I am hee that have approved of the practises of the wicked thou art an open enemy to the Lord Jesus and therefore thinke what thou hast done all this while Rom. 1.19 20. That which may be known of God is manifest in the creatures But in the meane time thinke but what thy sinne is that thou hast not onely the creatures to preach to thee but the Lord Jesus who came downe from heaven It is a wonder that ever he came for such wretches as we are hee hath torne his bowels in pieces for thee and entreated thee to bathe thy soule in his death and bee saved for ever Luke 19.42 yea hee hath wept over thee and said Oh that thou hadst knowne even thou at least in this thy day the things which belong unto thy peace yet thou regardest not Oh thou poore ignorant profane carnall wretch nay the blood of Christ and his teares and the offer of his mercies and his spirit speake to thee and intreat thee to beleeve in him and live for ever and yet thou continuest an infidell You know the spirit of love hath met you in your Churches and in your houses and walked with you in your journeies and said Now open the Lord Jesus calls tenders mercy and you have snubbed it Good Lord is it possible that the blood of Jesus Christ should speake to us and that a company of wretched creatures should trample upon that blood and grieve that spirit rather then forsake their lusts and corruptions You children tell your fathers of this and you wives your husbands and say Is it possible that we have done this and yet live still it is a wonder Therefore reason thus with your selves and say If a heathen shall be condemned that had but trees preaching to him and his conscience open then what shall become of me that have had Christ and his blood to preach to me what will become of me what sin is mine it is a scarlet sin it hath in it all abominations 2. Secondly thinke of thy sorrow how will the Lord Jesus be revenged on thee Doest thou say Oh he is mercifull and will forgive all What wil the Lord suffer his sonne to be trampled upon will God the Father suffer this thinke what will be the end of it Oh thy judgement is intolerable and unrecoverable continuing as thou art Consider the heavinesse of thy plagues 1 Cor. 16.22 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be had in execration or bee accursed or bee made Maranatha that is All the curses of heaven and earth and all the curses of the world to the highest straine of cursing as if he should say All you Churches on earth and all you Angels in heaven curse ye that man and all ye Divels in hell torment that man nay let him be accursed for ever and then blessed Redeemer take this man into thy owne hands and let him be accursed for ever As in Jude 14. And Enoch also the seventh from Adam prohecied of these saying Behold the Lord commeth with tenne thousands of his Saints to execute judgement upon all and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him You thinke it is nothing to speake against the Lord Jesus thousands of Angels shall minister to him and ten thousands shall goe before him and say The Lord is comming to execute judgement upon all that work wickednesse and upon those that have spoken against him So that when the Church of Christ and the Angels in heaven and the Divels in hell have conspired to torment a man then also the Lord Jesus will come to torment him Oh that my heart could bleed and if it were possible breake in sunder for the misery in which you are in that day the Lord Jesus will say to such as hee