for any thing in mee For what am I O Lord c. Thus you see how the Promises are the breathings of Divine love and affection and upon this account are very usefull and profitable For love is loves loadstone therefore the Apostle saith Wee love him because hee loved us first The sense of Gods love to us will kindle a love in us to God Even as the beams of the Sun reflecting upon a VVall heats those that walk by the Wall So the Beams of Gods love shining into our souls warms our hearts with the love of God The lovâ— of God constrains us as saith Paul 2 Cor. 5. 14. There is a compulsive and constraining power in love What did not Iacob do for the love of Rachel How was Mephibosheth affected with the love of David 2 Sam. 9. 8. It is our duty to love those that hate us but not to love those that love us is more than heathenish and brutish 2 They are the life and soule of Faith Faith without a Promise to act upon is as a body without a soul as a dead flower which hath no beauty or sweetness in it But Faith grounded upon the Promises will inable a Christian to advance in all manner of holiness What made Abraham forsake his Country and his Fathers house and go hee knew not whither Nothing moved him to this but because God had promised to make him a great Nation and hee beleeved it Of all graces none so causal of holiness as the grace of Faith It is a world overcoming heart-purifying life-sanctifying wonder-working grace and therefore the Promises must needs bee very usefull because they are the life and soul of Faith 3 They are the Anchor of Hope Hope is called an Anchor of the soule both sure and stedfast But the Promises are the Anchor of Hope All Hope of Heaven which is not founded upon a Promise is presumption and not Hope Presumption is when a man hopes to go to Heaven upon no ground or upon an insufficient ground But true Hope is a Hope grounded upon a Scripture-Promise And Hope bottomed upon Divine Promises will mightily availe unto purity and holiness Abraham Isaac and Iacob lived as pilgrims and strangers upon earth because they looked and hoped for a City which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God The Old Testament Saints would not accept deliverance upon sinfull termes because they hoped for a better Resurrection The Papists and Arminians are much mistaken in teaching That the assurance of salvation is an enemy to godliness The Scripture saith the quite contrary 1 Ioh. 3. 3. Hee that hath this Hope purifieth himselfe even as hee is pure The true Hope of Heaven will make us live heavenly 4 They are the Wings of Prayer Prayer is a Divine Cordial to convey grace from Heaven into our soules It is a Key to unlock the bowels of mercy which are in God The best way to obtain holiness is upon our knees the best posture to fight against the Devil is upon our knees and therefore Prayer is not put as a part of our spiritual Armour but added as that which must bee an ingredient in every part and which will make every part effectual But now the Promises are the Wings of Prayer Prayer without a Promise is as a Bird without VVings And therefore wee read both of Iacob and Iehoshaphat how they urged God in their prayers with his Promises And certainly the Prayers of the Saints winged with divine promises will quickly flye up to Heaven and draw down grace and comfort into theâ— souls And upon this account it is that the Promises are so useful to a Christian because they are so helpfull in prayer When wee pray weâ— must urge God with his Promises and say Lord Hast thou not said Thâ—â— wilt circumcise our hearts to love theâ— thou wilt subdue our sinnes thou wilâ— give the Spirit to those that aske it Lord Thou art faithfull fulfill thesâ— thine own promises And wee must remember this great Truth That the Promises God makes to us to mortifieâ— our sins for us are greater helps against sin than our promises to God to mortifie sin Many men in the day of their distress vow and promise to leave sin and fight against it in the strength of these promises and in stead of conquering sin are conquered by sin But if wee fight against sin in the strength of Christ and of his promises if wee urge God in prayer with his owne Word wee shall at last get victory over it For hee hath said That sin shall not have dominion over us Rom. 6. 14. 5 They are the foundation of Induâ—try The promises do not make men â—azy and idle as some scandalously say 〈◊〉 they are the ground of all true laâ—our and industry therefore the Apostles perswade us from the consideration of the Promises unto the study of soul-purification to have our conversation without covetousness to flee from Idolatry and to separate our selves from sinfull communion Divine promises are â—reat incouragements unto spiritual diâ—â—gence Object Though conditional Promiâ—es bee the foundation of industry beâ—ause wee cannot have the thing promiâ—es unless wee perform the conditions yet absolute Promises say some are foundations of lasiness and therefore they a firm there are no absolute Promises in Scripture Answ. Absolute Promises are made foundations of industry in Scripture as well as Conditional The Apostle exhorts us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling because it is God 〈◊〉 worketh in us both to will and to do of hiâ— owne good pleasure And the reason is because God performeth nothing which hee promiseth though never so absolutely but in the diligent and conscientious use of the means on our part God promiseth Ezek. 36. 26. to give us a new heart and a new spirit c. but theâ— hee adds vers 37. I will yet 〈◊〉 this bee inquired of by the house of Israel 6 They are the rayes and beams as one saith of Christ the Son of Righteousness in whom they are founded and established As all the liâ—es in a Circumference though never so distant carry a man to one and the same Center So all the Promises carry us to Christ the Center For the Promises are not made for any thing in us nor have they any stability from us but they are made in and for Christ unto us unto Christ in our behalf and unto us so far as we are Members of Christ. Now Jesus Christ is the ground of all soul-purification soul-consolation and soul-salvation And therefore I may safely conclude that the promises are most singularly usefull and advantagious And that it is the duty of all those that desire to live holily and comfortably to consider and ponder the profitableness and beneficialness of the Promises 9 And lastly you must meditate on the great necessity that lyeth upon all men to get a
a right and portion in all the Promises This is that which God saith Exod. 19. 5. If you will obey my voyce indeed then yee shall bee a peculiar treasure c. If yee will obey my voyce indeed not only in word and in shew but in deed and in truth Thus Ierem. 7. 5 7. If yee thorowly amend your wayes if yee thorowly execute judgement c. then will I cause you to dwell in this place c. If yee thorowly amend c. not only in some things but in all things not only outwardly but inwardly also This Rule is expresly delivered by the Apostle 1 Tim. 4. 8. Godlinesse hath the promise of the life that now is and that which is to come If thou beest a godly man in a Gospel-sense that is one who truly and sincerely indeavoureth to bee godly If thou makest Gods Will thy Rule to live by and not thine own Gods glory thy end and not thy own carnal interest Gods love thy Principle If thy Rules Aimes and Principles bee godly all the Promises of this Life and of the Life to come belong to thee It is worth observing that all the Promises of Life and Salvation are conditional Happiness is entailed upon Holiness Glory upon Grace You shall read in Scripture of the blessings of the Covenant and of the bond of the Covenant of the blessings of the Promises and of the condition of the Promises If ever you would assure your selves of your interest in the blessings of the Covenant you must try your selves by your sincere performance of the condition Thus Christ is promised to none but such as beleeve pardon of sin to none but such as repent and Heaven to none but such as persevere in well doing Tell mee then Canst thou say as in Gods presence that thou hast respect to all Gods Commandements though thou failest in all yet thou hast respect to all that thou obeyest God in deed and in truth and that thou sincerely labourest to bee godly This is a certaine signe that all the Promises are thy portion but you that are ungodly and doe not thorowly amend your wayes you that sleight undervalue and despise the commanding Word you have no part no portion in the promising word But it may bee a distressed Christian though without just cause will say that hee is afraid that hee doth not sincerely obey the commanding word and therefore dares not apply to himself the promising word wherefore I adde Rule 2. 2 The more thou art afraid lest thou shouldest have no right to the Promises the more right thou hast in all probability to them This I speak only to the distressed Christian not that I commend his fear But this I say This fear which thou art possessed withall is a probable signe that thou hast an interest in the Promises For a presumptuous Sinner never doubts of his right to them but takes it as a Maxime not to bee denied that they belong to him It is a comfortable saying of Mr. Greenhams When thou hearest the Promises and art in a cold sweat and hast a fear and trembling seizing upon thee lest they should not belong to thee doubt not but that they doe belong to thee For Christ hath said Come unto mee all yee that are weary and heavie laden and I will give you rest And the Prophet Isaiah calls upon those who are of a fearful heart to bee strong and fear not and tells us for our comfort that God will look with an eye of favour upon him that is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembleth at his word Rule 3. 3 The more sensible thou art of thine own unworthiness to lay hold upon the Promises the more thou art fitted and qualified to lay hold upon them For the promises are as I have shewed the fruit of Free-grace Nothing moved God to enter into a Covenant with his people and thereby to become their Debtor but his free love Free grace brought Christ down from Heaven and it is Free Grace must carry us up to Heaven Christ himself is called the gift of God John 4. 10. Moses tells the Israelites Deut. 7. 7 8. The Lord did not set his love upon you nor chuse you because you were more in number than any people c. but because the Lord loved you and because hee would keep the Oath which hee had sworn unto your Fathers hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you c. God doth not love us because wee are worthy of his love but because hee loves us therefore hee makes us worthy Wee must not bring worthinesse to Christ but fetch worthinesse from Christ. And therefore if thou beest sensible of thine owne nothingnesse emptinesse and unworthinesse lay hold upon that excellent Promise Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdome of Heaven Blessed are those who are sensible of their spiritual wants for to them belongs the Kingdome of Heaven as certainly as if they were already in it Rule 4. 4 Study thy interest in the main and fundamental Promise and that will help thee to make out thy interest in all the other The main and fundamental Promise is the Promise of Christ. For all Promises whither Spiritual oâ— Temporal are made to us in and thorough him God hath promised never to leave us nor forsake us and that all things shall work together for our good that is if wee be in Christ God hath said all things are ours whether Paul or Apollos whether life or death whether things present or things to come but it is with this Promise if wee bee Christs Whosoever takes any comfort from any Temporal promise and is not in Christ doth but delude and cheat himself This then is thy work O Christian study thy interest in Christ make out that and make out all If no interest in Christ no interest in the Promises If an interest in Christ an interest in the Promises let this then be thy daily business to make it out to thy soul that Christ is thine Quest. How shall I bee able to doe this Answ. For this purpose you must diligently study three things 1 The Universality of the Promise of Christ. 2 The Freenesse of it 3 The condition upon which hee is tendred 1 The Universality of the promise of Christ. Christ Jesus with all his benefits is promised to every one who is willing to lay hold on him as hee is tendred in the Gospel The Apostles are commanded to go into all the world and to preach the Gospel to every creature hee that beleeveth and is baptized shall bee saved c. If thou hast a heart to beleeve bee thy sins never so great it is for the honour of Iesus Christ to pardon them As the Sea covers great Rocks as well as small so the Mercy of God in Christ will pardon great sins as well as little It will
for it because it will surely come it will not tarry This did Daniel when hee understood the time approached c. hee prayed Dan. 9. 2 3. Thus did David Psal. 56. 9 10 57. 1 2. Thus must you do These are the three great Duties which the Lord requires of us at all times but more especially in these our dayes wherein the Providences of God seem to run quite cross unto his promises The Lord give us grace to practise them So much for this Text. The End of the Fifth Sermon A Brief Repetition of what was said of Mrs. Elizabeth Moore at her Burial THough I have finished my Text yet I have another Text remaining of which I must speak a few words and that is The Party deceased at whose Funeral wee are here met Shee was a Woman I verily beleeve truly fearing God and yet throughout her whole life loaded with many and great troubles God picked her out to bee a pattern of afflictions as hee had not long before that Reverend and godly Minister Mr. Ieremiah Whitakers This Pattern teacheth us three Lessons 1 That all things come alike to all in this world and that no man knoweth love or hatred by any thing that is before him The best of Saints sometimes are upon the Dunghil when the vilest of men are upon the Throne The best of men are afflicted when the worst of men are in prosperity 2 That there is not so much evil in affliction or so much good in prosperity as the world imagineth For if there were God would not bestow so much prosperity upon the wicked and exercise his dear children with so many afflictions 3 That there will come a rewarding day in which it shall certainly bee well with the Righteous When I see a wicked man prosper I say Surely there will come a punishing day in which the wicked shall be turned into Hell When I see a godly man in adversity I say Verily there is a reward for the Righteous verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth Such examples prove that there is another life besides this And that if the godly had hope onely in this life they were of all people most miserable I will not trouble you with a relation of her Christian carriage in the time of her health because it is sufficiently known to most here present I shall onely take notice of her great care and diligence in making her calling and election sure Shee had not her Ark to build when the flood came nor her Corn to get when the seven years of Famine came Shee had laid up a stock of graces and comforts against the evill hour Shee had not her Evidences for Heaven to get at the houre of death But shee had collected and composed them in the time of her life and when shee came to dye shee â—ad neither her graces nor her comforts nor her Evidences for Heaven to seek shee had nothing to do but to dye Her sickness was very long and very painful concerning which I shall briefly acquaint you with these few particulars 1 God moved the hearts of very many godly people to take compassion of her sad and afflicted condition and to contribute liberally shee being poor towards her relief this merciful providence wonderfully comforted her She saw Gods love in it and was so much affected with it that she was for a little while really and exceedingly afraid notwithstanding her great torments by reason of a cancer in her breast lest she should have her heaven in this life and lest this mercy should bee all her portion The Lord recompence that labour of love and that Christian charity a thousand fold into the bosomes of those who manifested so much kindnesse to her 2 Her Patience was very great As God increased her pains hee increased her patience even to the admiration of such of us as were frequent spectators of it She was brought to such a sweet frame of spirit as to bee willing to live under all her torments as long as God pleased and to dye whensoever he pleased 3 Shee was a woman of a very fearful nature and in the time of her health had many doubts and scruples notwithstanding all her care forementioned about her salvation But in her sickness all her doubts vanished God chained up Satan The Devil had no power to tempt her shee felt a great calmness in her soul and had much inward peace and injoyed more of God and his consolations in the time of her sickness than in the time of her health 4 Shee was very forward in spreading and diffusing those graces which God had bestowed upon her and in giving good counsel to those who visited her I have heard her often and often perswading her friends to prize health and to improve it for the good of their souls to lay up against an evill day and to stock themselves with grace before sickness come Shee would frequently say O the benefit of health O prize health praise God for health and improve health for your eternal good 5 Shee was very well vers't in the Scriptures The Law of God was her delight and this kept her from perishing in her affliction Shee was continually fetching cordials out of the Word to comfort her under her great pains and to preserve her from fainting The twelfth Chapter of the Hebrews was a precious cordial to her so was the eight of the Romans and the 2 of the Corinthians the 4. Chapter and the 17 18. verses For our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory While wee look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal 1 Cor. 15 53 54 55 56 57. For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortal shal have put on immortality then shal be brought to pass the saying that is written Death is swallowed up in victory O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory The sting of death is sinne and the strength of sin is the Law But thanks bee to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Iesus Christ. Phil. 3. 21. Who shall change our vile body that it may bee fashioned like unto his glorious body according to the working whereby hee is able even to subdue all things unto himself A little before her death shee said In the Lord Iehovah there is righteousness and strength righteousness for justification and strength for supportation Shee said that the Word of God was the best cordial in the world And that one minutes being in Heaven would make amends for all her pain and misery 6 And lastly I cannot but take special notice of the happy close of her life and of the blessed end shee
it In matters of weight delay is dangerous Abigail made haste to prevent Davids fury Rahab made haste to hang out her Scarlet threed The salvation of your souls is a matter of the greatest concernment and to delay providing for it is not onely a sin against the command of Christ but a sleighting of the Heaven of Christ. How justly may God deny to you who refuse when hee calls either space or grace to turn to him and say to you as it is reported hee said to a man who desired to repent in his old age ubi consumpsisti farinam ibi con-sume furfurem Where you have spent your flower there go spend your branne Therefore let my Counsel bee acceptable to you Make Christ your unum necessarium your one thing necessary and Heaven your primum quaerite Seek yee first the Kingdome of God and his Righteousness Say with David I made haste and delayed not to keep thy Commandements 3 Take heed of resting in the Ministry of man You must not despise the teachings of Orthodox Ministers lawfully called for hee that despiseth them despiseth Christ hee that is above their teachings is above the teachings of Christ for Christ teacheth by them They are his Embassadors and they preach not only in his Name but in his stead yet you must not rest satisfied with the teachings of men but pray That while the Minister speaks to your ears God would speak to your hearts That God would fulfil that blessed Promise Isa. 54. 13. And all thy Children shall bee taught of God That hee would give you an unction from the Holy One to teach you all things That you may see the goings of God in his Sanctuary you may behold the beauty of the Lord and see his power and glory in his holy Temple In a word That God would give you not onely the presence of Ordinances but his presence in them That you may experimentally know what it is to injoy communion with God in Gospel-Administrations 4 Take heed of formality customariness and carelesness in the performance of holy duties Hee that serves God carelesly brings a curse upon himself instead of a blessing For cursed is hee that doth the work of the Lord negligently Hee that serves God formally and customarily doth not serve him but mock him If the Israelites had brought the skin of a beast for sacrifice instead of a beast it would have been counted a mocking of God rather than a worshiping of him So do they who serve God negligently and formally 5 Bee not contented to have a name to bee godly and religious but labour to bee really such as you are supposed by others to bee Remember what Christ saith of the Church of Sardis That shee had a name to live but was dead What will it profit you to bee thought by men to bee godly if God knows that you are ungodly What will it advantage you to seem to go to Heaven and yet at last to miss of it O labour to bee Christians not only in word but in deed and in truth not onely by outward profession but by a holy conversation Rest not satisfied with a less degree of grace than that which will bring you to Heaven It will bee a double Hell to go within an inch of Heaven and yet at last to miscarry 6 Remember what Christ saith of Capernaum The Capernaites were not so bad as the Gadarens who desired Christ to depart from them much less as the Nazarites who thrust Christ out of their Coasts For they heard him preach every Sabbath-day and were astonished at his doctrine And yet because they did not sincerely practise what was taught them Christ pronounceth a heavy doom against them Matth. 11. 23 24. And thou Capernaum which art exalted unto Heaven shalt bee brought down to Hell for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodome it would have remained unto this day But I say unto you that it shall bee more tolerable for the land of Sodome in the day of judgement than for thee It is not enough to praise the Sermons you hear to admire and stand astonished at the Doctrine delivered If you do not practise what is preached If you do not live Sermons as well as hear them it shall bee easier for Sodome and Gomorrha at the day of judgement than for you 7 Take heed that the love of the world doth not eat out the heart of Religion and at last Religion it self out of your hearts Remember what the Apostle Paul saith That the love of money is the root of all evill which while some have coveted after they have erred from the faith and pierced thēselves through with many sorrows And what the Apostle John saith Love not the world neither the things that are in the world If any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him There is no sin so contrary to true Saint-ship as worldly-mindedness A Saint is one who hath much of Heaven in him and is much in Heaven A Saint is one whose original is from Heaven hee is born from above his name is written in Heaven his meditations affections and conversation is in Heaven Hee is one who is elected to things above and called to partake of Heaven and eternal happiness And for such a man to minde things earthly is a sin of the first magnitude Therefore the Apostle would not have covetousness so much as named amongst Christians There is no sin more defiles the soul. It will besmear you and make you spiritual Blackamores and Chimny-sweepers in Gods sight There is no sin doth more dead and dull the heart in the doing of good duties It hinders a man both from and in Ordinances The Farmer and Merchant made light of the call of Christ and one went to his Farm the other to his Merchandize There is no sin will more eclipse the light of Gods countenance from shining upon you The Moon is never in the Eclipse but when the earth comes between us and the Sun A child of God is seldome without the light of Gods countenance unless it bee through the over-much love of the world No sin will more hinder your flight up to Heaven The Ostrich cannot flye high because of the shortness of her wings Jacob was forced in his travelling towards Canaan to go slowly and softly because of his multitude of children of flocks and herds And therefore let mee again beseech you to take heed of worldly-mindedness this will quickly betray you into Apostacy from Christ and from the truths of Christ. A man who loves the world will Judas-like betray Christ for thirty peeces Hee will part with his Religion rather than with his estate This sin is the root of all evil it exposeth a man to all temptations to hurtful lusts to all errors and all kinde of sorrows It will drown your souls in
unmerciful and an uncharitable man is a wicked and an ungodly man Let it bee the care of all those amongst you who are rich in estate to be rich in good works Let every man lay up for the poor according as God hath prospered him remembering that saying of Christ. Come yee blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdome prepared for you from the foundation of the world For I was an hungred and yee gave mee meat I was thirsty and yee gave mee drink I was a stranger and yee took mee in naked and yee cloathed mee I was sick and yee visited mee I was in prison and yee came unto mee 14 Take heed of separating from the publick Assemblies of the Saints I have found by experience that all our Church-calamities have sprung from this root Hee that separates from the publick worship is like a man tumbling down a hill and never leaving till hee comes to the bottome of it I could relate many sad stories of persons professing godliness who out of dislike to our Church-meetings began at first to separate from them and after many changes and alterations are turned some of them Anabaptists some Quakers some Ranters some direct Atheists But I forbear you must hold communion with all those Churches with which Christ holds communion you must separate from the sins of Christians but not from the Ordinances of Christ. Take heed of unchurching the Churches of Christ lest you prove Schismaticks instead of being true Christians 15 Though you never live to see the times setled yet labour to get your consciences setled Pray for the Spirit of Truth to guide you into all Truth in these erring dayes Remember that saying of Christ If thine eye bee evil thy whole body shall bee full of darknesse if therefore the light that is in you bee darkness how great is that darkness God hath given you your understandings to be the guide of the whole man As the Eye is the guide of the body and the Sun of the world so is the understanding of the man therefore you must in praying pray that God would give you a right understanding in all things Pray not onely for the grace of Sanctification but ofâ— Illumination Avoid as soul-poyson all Doctrines 1 Which tend to liberty open a door to prophaneness and are contrary to godliness 2 Which hold forth a superstitious strictness above what is required in the Woâ—d 3 Which are Antimagistratical and Antiministerial 4 Which lift up corrupt nature and exalt unsanctified reason 5 Which preach free-grace to the utter ruine of good works 6 Which lessen the priviledges of Infants and makes their condition worse under the New Testament than under the Old 7 Which are contrary to the Analogy of Faith the ten Commandements and the Lords Prayer 16 Take heed lest being led away with the errour of the wicked you fall from your own sted fastness Take heed of a threefold Apostacy of which this Nation is deeply guilty Of Apostacy 1 In your Judgements from the Truths of Christ and from the Faith once delivered to the Saints 2 In your Affections from that ancient love desire and delight which the Saints of God have had heretofore and you your selves once had in and towards the Ordinances of Christ and the godly and learned Ministers of Christ. 3 In your conversations from that humble and exact walking with God in all good duties both towards God and man which was the credit and honour of the good old Puritan in former daies Let mee speak to you in the words of the Apostles Paul and Peter Wherefore my beloved Brethren bee yee stedfast and unmoveable c. The God of grace who hath called you into his eternal glory by Jesus Christ make you perfect stablish strengthen and settle you 17 Remember that it is the will of Jesus Christ that you who partake of the same word of life and of the same Sacramental Bread and Wine should admonish one another exhort one another watch over one another bear the burdens of one another provoke one another to love and good works seek the good of one another and not your own good only That you should warn the unruly comfort the feeble-minded and support the weak That this is your duty appears from Col. 3. 16. Phil. 2. 4. Heb. 1. 24. Gal. 6. 1. Rom. 15. 2. Rom. 14. 7. 2. Cor. 5. 15. 1 Thes. 5. 11 13 14. The 12th vers speaks of Ministerial and authoritative admonition but the 13 and 14. verses of fraternal and charitative These Texts will rise up in Iudgement against thousands of Christians at the last day I do not say that you are to admonish none but those of your own Society Admonition is an act of mercy It is spiritualis Eleemosyna spiritual Almes and you are bound by the royal law of charity by the communion of Saints the communion of Churches and communion of natures to distribute these spiritual almes to all that need them as God shall give occasion But this I say you ought especially to admonish them and watch over them This is novum though not solum vinculum Some Divines think that one chief reason why the Israelites were punished for Achans sin was because they did not admonish him and watch-over him For the Israelites were commanded in the plural number Josh. 6. 18. Keep your selves from the accursed thing c. Hee was one of the body and because they did not watch over him they communicated in his sin and in his punishment There is an excellent Law in this Nation That every Parish shall provide for its own poor And by parity of reason it is as just and equal That every Congregation should chiefly and especially look to the souls of their own members to warn them admonish them exhort them and watch over them That you may the better discharge this duty you must labour to bee acquainted one with another as far as your Callings and Relations will give you leave It is a great and common sin and much to bee lamented That there is so little knowledge and acquaintance between those that are of the same Congregation They sit in the same Pew together partake of the same Sacrament and yet converse no more together than if one lived at York and the other at London And when they do converse together it is a meer civill and outward converse as amongst sober heathens But there is very little Religious society between them for the spiritual edification one of another Now this must needs bee a great sin For how can you watch over one another edifie and admonish one another How can you support the weak comfort the feeble-minded if not spiritually acquainted one with another And yet it is not my opinion that every member of a Congregation is bound to know every fellow-member I beleeve it was not so in the Church of Jerusalem or of Samaria It is incredible to think that they all knew one
should have perished Iunius and Tremelius translate it Iam diu periissem c. I should long ago have perished Iob was a man eminent for godliness and yet as eminent for afflictions Nay jesus Christ himself was a man of sorrows Isa. 53. 3. Insomuch as that it is truly said God had one Son without sin but no Son without sorrow This our Dear Sister at whose Funeral wee are met was a woman full of many and great afflictions which no doubt would have quite drowned and swallowed her up had not the Word of God supported her therefore it was that shee desired that this Text might bee the subject of her Funeral Sermon Quest. But why doth God afflict his own children with such variety of long and great Afflictions Ans. 1. God doth not do this because hee hates them but because hee loves them For whom the Lord loveth hee chastiseth c. Heb. 12. 6. Did the Lord hate them hee would suffer them to go merrily to Hell There is no surer sign of Gods reprobating anger than to suffer a man to prosper in wicked courses God threatneth this as the greatest punishment not to punish them Hos. 4. 14. And therefore because God loveth his children hee chastiseth them in this world that they may not bee condemned in the world to come 1 Cor. 11. 33. 2 God doth not do this because hee would hurt them but for their good Jer. 24. 5. The good figs were sent into Captivity for their good Heb. 12. 10. Hee for our profit c. God hath very gracious and merciful ends and aims in afflicting his people Give mee leave here to inlarge my Discourse and to give you an account of some of these Divine aims 1 Gods design is to teach us to know him and to trust in him and to know our selves It is a true saying of Luther Schola crucis est Schola lucis the School of Affliction is a School of Instruction Gods 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 His rods when sanctified are powerful Sermons to teach us 1 To know God And this is life Eternal to know him Joh. 17. 3. It is said of Manasseh a Chron. 33. 13. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord hee was God Then when hee was caught among the thorns bound with setters and carried to Babylon before that time hee knew not the Lord Afflictions teach us to know God not only in his power and greatness in his anger and hatred against sin but also in his goodness and mercy For God doth so sweeten the bitter cup of affliction that a childe of God doth many times taste more of Gods love in one months affliction than in many years of prosperity 2 Cor. 1. 4 5. 2 Cor. 7. 4. Adde to this Afflictions teach us to know God Experimentally and affectionatively not cerebraliter as Calvin saith but cordialiter so to know him as to love and fear him and to flye unto him as our rock and hiding-place in the day of our distress It is said Cant. 3. 1. By night I sought him whom my soul loveth c. Some by the word Night understand the night of divine desertion and from the words Gilbertus hath this saying Qui quaerit in nocte non quaerit ut videat sed ut amplectatur Hee that seeks after God in the night of adversity doth not seek to see him and know him formally and superficially but to imbrace him and to love him really and cordially And therefore the Church never left till shee had found Christ and when shee had found him shee held him and would not let him go Cant. 3. 2 3 4. 2 Not onely to know God but also to trust in him 2 Cor. 1. 9. Wee had the sentence of death in our selves that wee should not trust in our selves but in God which raiseth the dead Note here 1 That an Apostle is apt in time of prosperity to trust in himself 2 That God brings his children to the gates of death that they might learn not to trust in themselves but in God which raiseth the dead that is from a dead and desperate condition 3 Not onely to know God but to know our selves which two are the chief parts of Christian Religion It is said of the Prodigal that when hee was in adversity then hee came to himself Luke 15. 17. And when hee came to himself He was spiritually distracted when hee was in prosperity Afflictions teach us to know that wee are but men according to that of David Psal. 9. 20. Put them in fear O Lord that they may know themselves to bee but men Caligula and Domitian Emperors of Rome who in prosperity would bee called Gods when it thundred from Heaven were so terrified that then they knew they were but men In prosperity wee forget our mortality Adversity causeth us to know not only that wee are men but frail men that God hath us between his hands as it is Ezek. 21. 17. and can as easily crush us as wee do moths That wee are in Gods hands as the Clay in the hands of the Potter That hee hath an absolute soveraignty over us and that wee depend upon him for our being well-being and eternal-being These things wee know feelingly and practically in the day of Affliction And it much concerns us to know these things and to know them powerfully For this will make us stand in awe of God and study to serve and please him Hee that depends upon a man for his livelihood knowing that hee hath him at an advantage and can easily undo him will certainly endeavor to comply with him and to obtain his favour The ground of all service and obedience is dependence And did wee really and experimentally know our dependence upon God and the advantages hee hath us at wee could not wee would not but comply with him and labour above all things to gain his love and favour 2 Gods aim in afflicting his children is either to keep them from sin or when they have sinned to bring them to repentance for it and from it 1 To keep them from sin This made him send an Angel of Satan to buffet Paul lest hee should bee lifted up in pride and exalted above measure 2 Cor. 12. 7. 2 When they have sinned to bring them to repentance for it and from it God brings his children low not to trample upon them but to make them low in their own eyes and to humble them for sin Deut. 8. 2. God brings them into the deep waters not to drown them but to wash and cleanse them Isa. 27. 9. By this shall the iniquity of Iacob bee purged and this is all the fruit to take away sin c. Afflictions when sanctified are divine Hammers to break and as Moses his Rod to cleave our rocky hearts in peeces 1 They open the eyes to see sin Oculos quos culpa claudit paena aperit When the brethren of Ioseph were in adversity then they saw
and not before the greatness of their sin in selling their Brother Gen 42. 21. They open the ear to Discipline In prosperity wee turn a deaf ear to the voyce of the charmer though he charm never so wisely But adversity openeth the ear and causeth us to attend When God spake upon Mount Sinah in a terrible manner then the people said unto Moses Speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee and wee will hear it and do it Deut. 5. 27. Memorable is that Text Jer. 2. 24. A wilde Ass used to the Wilderness that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure in her occasion who can turn her away all they that seek her will not weary themselves in her month they shall finde her in her month that is when she is great with young and near her time A wicked man in the day of his prosperity is like a wilde Ass used to the wilderness hee snuffeth at any that shall reprove him hee is of an uncircumcised ear and a rebellious heart but in his month that is when hee is bigge with Afflictions then hee will be easily found this will open his ear to Discipline 3 They will open the mouth to confess sin Judg. 10. 15. 4 They will command us to depart from iniquity Job 36. ◠9 10. Afflictions are Gods Furnaces to purge out the dross of our sins Gods files to pare off our spiritual rust Gods Fannes to winnow out our chaffe In prosperity wee gather much soil but adversity purgeth and purifieth us This is its proper work to work out unrighteousness Dan. 11. 35. Dan. 12. 10. 3 Gods end is not only to keep us from sin but to make us holy and righteous therefore it is said Isa. 26. 9. When they judgements are in the earth the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness And Heb. 12. 10. Hee for our profit that wee may bee partakers of his holiness As the waters that drowned the old world did not hurt the Ark of Noah but bare it up above the earth and as they increased so the Ark was lifted up nearer and nearer to Heaven So Afflictions when sanctified do not prejudice the Saints of God but lift them up nearer unto God in holiness and heavenly-mindedness 4 Gods design in afflicting his children is to make the world bitter unto them and Christ sweet 1 To imbitter the world There are two lame leggs upon which all worldly things stand uncertainty and insufficiency All earthly things are like the earth founded upon nothing They are like heaps made of wax that quickly melt away Riches and honours wise and children have wings and flye away they are like unto Absoloms Mule they will fail us when wee have most need of them They may puffe up the soul but they cannot satisfie it inflare possunt satiare animam non possunt They are all vanity and vexation of spirit so saith the Preacher but most people in time of health will not beleeve these things but when some great sickness betides them this is as a real Sermon to make out the truth of them then they see that a Velvet slipper cannot cure the Gout nor a golden cap the head ache Prov. 〈◊〉 4. That riches avail not in the day of wrath and this imbitters the world 2 To make Christ sweet and precious When Christ and his Disciples were in a ship together Mat. 8. 25. it is said That Christ was asleep and as long as the Sea was calm his Disciples suffered him to sleep but when they were ready to bee drowned then they awoke Christ and said Master save us wee perish Even the best of Saints when fatted with outward plenty and abundance are prone to suffer Christ 〈◊〉 lye asleep within them and so neglect the lively actings of Faith upon Christ but when the storms of affliction and outward calamity begin to arise and they are ready to bee overwhelmed with distresses then None but Christ none but Christ. 5 Gods design in afflicting his children is to prove and improve their graces 1 To prove their graces Rev. 2. 10. Deut. 8. 2. to prove the truth and the strength of them 1 The truth and sincerity of their graces For this cause he loaded Iob with afflictions to try whether hee served God for his Camels and Oxen or for love to God As Solomons sword tried the true Mother from the false So the sword of affliction discovers the sincere Christian from the hypocrite Distresses are divine touchstones to try whether we be true or counterfeit Saints That grace is true which upon tryal is found true 2 To try the strength of our graces For it requires a strong faith to indure great afflictions That Faith which will suffice for a little affliction will not suffice for a great one Peter had faith enough to come to Christ upon the Sea but assoon as the storm began to arise his Faith began to fail and Christ said Why art thou afraid O thou of little Faith Mat. 14. 30 31. It must bee a strong Faith that must keep us from sinking in the day of great Distress 2 To improve our graces It is reported of the Lionesse that she leaves her young ones till they have almost killed themselves with roaring and howling and then at last gasp shee relieves relieves them and by this means they become more couragious So God brings his children into the deeps and suffers Ionah to bee three daies and three nights in the belly of the Whale and David to cry till his throat was dry Psal. 69. 3. and suffers his Apostles to bee all the night in a great storm till the fourth watch and then hee comes and rebukes the winds and by this means hee mightily increaseth their patience and dependence upon God and their Faith in Christ. As the Palm-tree the more it is depressed the higher stronger and fruitfuller it grows So doth the graces of Gods people Lastly Gods aim in afflicting his people is to put an edge upon their prayers and all their other holy services 1 Upon Prayer What a famous Prayer did Manasseh make when hee was under his iron fetters It is thrice mentioned 2 Chron. 33. 13 18 19. When Paul was struck off his horse and struck with blindness then hee prayed to purpose Therefore it is said Act. 9. 11. Behold hee prayeth In prosperity wee pray heavily and drowsily but adversity adds wings to our prayers Isa. 26. 16. The very heathen Marriners cryed aloud to God in a storm It is an ordinary saying Qui nescit orare discat navigare There are no Saylors so wicked but they will pray when in a great storm 2 Upon Preaching Prosperity glutteth the spiritual appetite adversity whetreth it 3 Upon a Sacrament How sweet is a Sacrament to a true Saint after a long and great sickness 1 It makes God and the word of God precious If God sets our Corn-fields on fire as Absalom did Ioabs then hee shall
cannot receive any comfort by it in the day of his distress Iacob was not at all quieted in his spirit for Iosephs being alive till hee came to know of it And therefore wee must not onely provide grace but the assurance of grace that wee may bee able to say with confidence as Iob did upon the dung-hill Iob 19. 25. I know that my Redeemer liveth and with the holy Apostle Rom. 8. 38. I am perswaded that neither death nor life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall bee able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lord. That man who hath got a Scripture assurance of his salvation will bee more than a Conqueror in the day of his distress 3 A stock of Divine Experiences Happy is that man that lodgeth up in his heart all the former Experiences he hath had of Gods love and mercy towards him and knoweth how to argue from them in the day of calamity Thus did Moses in his prayer to God Numb 14. 19. Pardon I beseech thee the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy and as thou hast forgiven this people from Egypt even untill now Because God had forgiven them therefore Moses intreats him to forgive them this Argument is drawn from former experience And thus David incourageth himself 1 Sam. 17 37. The Lord hath delivered mee out of the paw of the Lion and out of the paw of the Bear and hee will deliver mee out of the hand of this Philistine Thus also Paul reasoneth 2 Cor. 1. 10. Who delivered us from so great a death and doth deliver and in whom wee trust that hee will yet deliver us Divine experiences are the Saints great incouragements in the day of Affliction Blessed is the man that hath his quiver full of these arrows 4 A stock of Sermons Wee must do with Sermons as the Trades-men do with the mony they get some of it they lay out for their present use and some of it they lay up against the time of sickness That man is an ill husband and an unthrifty Trades-man that makes no provision for old age or for an evill day and that man is an unprofitable hearer of the word who doth not stock and store himself with Sermons whereby hee may be comforted in the hour of affliction And therefore the Prophet Isaiah adviseth us Isa 42. 23. to hear for the time to come or as it is in the Hebrew for the after-time Sermons are not onely to bee heard for our present use but to bee laid up for after-times that when wee lye upon our sick-beds and cannot hear Sermons wee may then live upon the Sermons wee have heard 5 And lastly Wee must prepare and provide a stock of Scripture-promises which will bee as so many reviving Cordials to chear us and as so many spiritual Anchors to uphold us from perishing in the day of our tribulation What these promises are you shall hear afterwards These upheld David in the hour of his distress and therefore hee saith in the Text Unless thy Law had been my delight I had perished in mine affliction If this our dear Sister had not had this stock shee had been quite overwhelmed under the grievousness of her tormenting pains Bee wise therefore O yee Saints of God and prepare these five provisions in the time of health that so you may live joyfully in the time of sickness 3 As wee must expect and provide for afflictions so also wee must labour when afflicted to improve them for our spiritual benefit and advantage Wee must pray more for the sanctification of them than for their removal It was not the staffe of Elisha that revived the dead childe but Elisha himself It was not the troubling of the waters of the Pool of Bethesda that made them healing but the coming down of the Angel It was not the Clay and spittle that cured the blinde eyes but Christs anointing them with it It was not the cloak of Elijah that divided the waters but the God of Elijah Troubles stroaks blows afflictions and distresses will do us no good unless the Lord bee pleased to make them effectuall And therefore let us pray unto God that hee would give us grace together with our affliction That hee would adde instruction to his correction that hee would make us good schollars in the school of afflictions and inable us to take out all those excellent lessons which hee would have us to learn in it that thereby wee may come to know God more powerfully and experimentally and tok now our selves and our own frailty and our absolute de pendene upon God more effectually that thereby wee may bee more purified and refined that the wind of temptation may cleanse us from the chaffe of our corruption that wee may learn righteousness by Gods judgements and bee made partakers of his holiness Such a good Scholar was Manasseh hee got more good by his Iron chain than by his Golden chain Such another was the Prodigal childe who was happìer amongst the Swine than when in his Fathers house Such was Paul his being strucken down to the ground raised him up to Heaven by the blindness of his body his soul received sight and hee was turned from a persecuting Saul to a persecuted Paul Such another was David who professeth of himself that it was good for him that hee was afflicted and such Scholars ought wee to bee There are some that are arrant Dunces in this School that are like unto the bush which Moses saw which burned with fire but was not consumed the fire did not consume the thorny bush Many such thorny sinners are burnt up with the fire of divine afflictions but their sins are not consumed Of these the Prophets complain Amos 4. 6 7 8 9 10 11 12. Yet they have not returned c. Jer. 5. 3. Thou hast stricken them but they have not grieved thou hast consumed them but they have refused to receive correction they have made their faces harder than a rock they have refused to return Rocks and stones by hewing and polishing may bee made fit for a building But there are some men who by no afflictions will bee amended The Mountains melt at the presence of the Lord and the rocks rend asunder when hee is angry But there are some that have made their faces harder than the Rocks and the Mountains and are not at all affected with Gods anger Of such as these Bernard complains Multi humiliati pauci humiles corripimur sed non corrigimur plectimur sed non flectimur Multo facilius fregeris quam flexeris Non cessant vitia civium usque ad excidia civitatum Prius est interire quam corrigi Prius ipsos quam in ipsis vitia non esse There are others that are the worse for their afflictions like the Smiths Anvil the
the first it is said How much more shall your Father in Heaven give good things c. In the second How much more shall your Heavenly Father give the holy Spirit c. Grace and Glory and all outward good things are his It is said of the Great Duke of Guise that though hee was poore as to his present possessions yet hee was the richest man in France in Bills Bonds and Obligations because hee had ingaged all the Noble-men in France unto himselfe by preferring of them A true and real Christian is the richest man in the World in Promises and Obligations for hee hath the Great God ingaged by promise to bee his God and the God of his As Charles the first commanded his Herald in a challenge to Francis the first King of France to proclaim him with all his titles stiling him Emperour of Germany King of Castile Arragon Naples Sicily c. But Francis commanded his Herald to call him so often King of France as the other had titles by all his Countries implying that France alone was more worth than all his Countries So when a wicked man brags of his Lordships and great possessions when hee boasteth of his thousands a year a childe of God may say God is mine God is mine c. I am richer than all the wicked men in the world 6 You must meditate on the latitude and extension of the Promises The Promises are the Saints Catholicon and Panacea There is no condition a Childe of God can bee in but hee may finde not onely a Promise but a suitable and seasonable Promise to comfort him in it And herein especially consisteth the spiritual Excellency and heavenly Wisdome of a Christian not onely to study the Promises in general but to labour to finde out and having found out to meditate upon such kinde of Promises which are most suitable and most seasonable to the condition hee is in As for example If thou art poor in estate meditate on Psalm 34. 10. Matth. 6. 33. Heb. 13. 5. If barren and without children meditate on Isa. 56. 5. If persecuted for Christs sake meditate on Matth. 5. 10. 1 Pet. 4. 12 13 14. Psal. â—4 12. If sick and under tormenting pains meditate on Psal. 50. 15. Isa. 63. 9. Rom. 8. 28. If reproached slandered and falsely accused meditate on Mat. 10. 25. Mat. 5. 11 12. Luke 6. 22 23. If Satan tempts thee and thou art not able to resist him meditate on Rom. 16. 20. 1 Cor. 10. 13. Gen. 3. 15. 1 Ioh. 3. 8. If thy corruptions bee too strong for thee meditate on Rom. 6. 14. Micah 7. 19. If God hides his face from thee and thou sittest in darkness and seest no light meditate on Isa. 50. 10. Isa. 54. 7 8. If ready to faint in waiting upon God and in expecting the fulfilling of his Promises meditate on Isa. 30. 18. Isa. 63. 3. Isa. 40. 28 29 30. Mal. 3. 1. If ready to dye and full of fears and doubts meditate on 1 Cor. 15. 55 56 57. Hos. 13. 14. Rev. 14. 13. 1 Cor. 3. 22 23. 2 Cor. 5. 1 8. 7 You must meditate on the variety of the Promises and their difference and distinction one from the other The Promises are like unto the stars in the firmament 1 For their multitude they are very many The Scripture is bespangled with Promises as the Heavens are with stars It were happy if the Saints would prove spiritual Astronomers and make it their work to study the nature of these stars 2 For their beauty excellency and influence Every star is beautifull in its kinde and very usefull and advantagious so are the Promises And as the stars are most comfortable in the darkness of the night so are the Promises in the night of trouble and adversity 3 And especially for their distinction and difference For one star differeth from another in glory 1 Cor. 15. 41. There is one glory of the Sun another of the Moon another of the Stars So do the Promises differ exceedingly one from the other in beauty and excellency Some are temporal some spiritual some of things that are eternal Some are conditional some absolute some are Promises to those that have grace some are Promises of grace some are general others particular Some are Original Fundamental and Fountain-Promises as the promise of Jesus Christ of God being our God and of the Holy Ghost Others are derivative depending and rivolet-promises as the promises of all outward comforts here and of eternal life hereafter Now it is our duty to take notice of every ray of gold to meditate upon all the Promises both spiritual temporal and eternal both conditional and absolute both of grace and to grace both general and particular but especially of the Original and Fundamental Promises the Fountain Promises from whence all others as so many streams and rivolets are deduced and derived 8 You must meditate on the usefulfulness and profitableness of the Promises I have already shewed you that they are the Conduits of grace and comfort that they have a soul-sanctifying and a soul-comforting-power Give mee leave to adde That the Promises are 1 The breathings of Divine love and affection 2 The life and soul of Faith 3 The Anchor of Hope 4 The VVings of Prayer 5 The Foundation of Industry 6 The Rayes and Beams of the Son of Righteousness and upon all these accounts are very usefull and advantagious 1 They are the breathings of Divine love and affection It is an Argument of Gods wonderful love to his children that hee is pleased to enter into a Promise and Covenant to bee their God and to give them Christ and in Christ all blessings here and hereafter Wee read Gen. 17. 2 3. when God told Abraham that hee would make a Covenant with him hee fell on his face as astonished at so great a mercy and as thankfully acknowledging the goodness of God towards him The like wee read of David When God by Nathan made a promise to him hee goes into Gods house and prayes Who am I O Lord and what is my house that the Lord my God should do this c. The Promises are the Cabinets of the tender bowels of God they contain the dear and tender love of God towards his elect children God by promising makes himself a debtor to them Now that God who is bound to none no not to the Angels of Heaven should enter into bonds and binde himselfe to give grace and glory to his elect children this is love above expression And there is nothing moved God to do this but as I have said his free grace and mercy For though God bee now bound out of justice and faithfulness to fulfill his Promises yet nothing moved him to make these promises but his love and mercy as David saith of what God had promised to him 2 Sam. 7. 21. According to thine own heart ex mero motu voluntatis and according to thy Word not
hold out I was not taken off from the performance of holy duties no I thought with my self that I am commanded by God to perform holy duties which is the way and means whereby wee may meet with God For hee is ordinarily to bee injoyed no where but in his own ordinances but the Lord took mee off from resting and trusting in Ordinances And as hee made mee to see that without the practise of them hee would not accept of mee so also hee made mee to know that it was not for holy duties for which I was accepted The sins that cleave to my best performances are enough for which the Lord may justly condemn mee if I had no other sins 5 The Lord brought mee to see a Superlative beauty and excellency in the Lord Iesus Christ and my soul was deeply in love with him even with whole Christ in all his Offices and if I know any thing at all of my owne heart I desired Christ as much to bee my King and Prophet to teach and guide mee and subdue mee to himself and rule over mee as to bee my High-Priest to make Attonement by offering up of himself for mee and washing mee in his blood by which I must bee justified 6 The Lord brought mee to see a soul-satisfaction in the Lord Jesus Christ alone and I think I should bee as fully satisfied with Christ alone as my heart can desire If I know my heart it panteth after Christ and Christ alone None but Christ none but Christ. The whole world in comparison or competition with Christ is nothing to mee But in him I see full contentment To see and know my interest in him and to injoy communion with him is that which if the Lord would bestow upon mee I should with Iacob say It is enough and with old Simeon Now let thy servant depart in peace for my eyes have seen thy salvation Now I desire to set down some other Scripture Evidences that I finde upon search and examination of my heart by laying it to the Rule The Word of God My Second Scripture Evidence is taken from Mark 2. 17. Where Christ saith They that are whole have no need of the Physitian but they that are sick and hee came not to call the Righteous but sinners to repentance Now through Gods mercy I can say that I am a sin-sick-sinner the Lord make mee more sick I am not righteous in mine own eyes but a sinner and see my self undone for ever without the righteousness of Christ bee imputed to mee and therefore I hope I am amongst the number of those whom Christ was commissionated by his Father to come to save From Matth. 11. 28 29. I am weary and heavy laden now Christ hath promised to give ease to such And I am willing to take his yoke upon mee and would fain learn of him the lesson of meekness and lowliness and therefore am invited to come unto him I can say with David that my sins are a heavy burden to mee they are too heavy for mee Psal. 38. 4. and I can say that I mourn because I cannot mourn no more for my sins now Christ saith Blessed are they that mourn for they shall bee comforted Mat. 5. 4. From Matth. 5. 3. I think if my heart do not deceive mee I am pòor in spirit now theirs is the Kingdome of Heaven saith Christ. From Matth. 12. 20. I am a bruised reed and smoaking flax and therefore Christ hath promised hee will not break such a reed nor quench the smoak of grace if it bee true grace but hee will increase it more and more as hee saith Untill judgement breake forth into victory And hee came to set at liberty them that are bruised Luke 4. 18. Therefore I hope I am such a one as hee came to binde up and set at liberty Yea and that hee was anointed and sent by his Father to mee and such as I am Isa. 61. 1. From 1 Tim. 1. 15. This is a faithfull saying and worthy of all acceptation saith Paul That Iesus Christ came into the world to save sinners And so say I too it is worthy all acceptation that Christ should come from the bosome of his Father who was infinitely glorious and happy that hee should come into the world to save mee mee a sinner mee the chiefe of sinners mee that if saved I do verily beleeve there is none in heaven nor any that ever shall come thither that hath or will have the cause to magnifie and adore free grace as I shall have And herein doth God commend his love towards mee For if when wee were enemies wee were reconciled to God by the death of his Son much more being reconciled wee shall bee saved by his life Rom. 5. 10. I can say with Paul that I delight in the Law of God after the inward man and I am grieved that I cannot keep it I finde that spiritual war in mee between flesh and spirit which Paul complaineth of and I can say that Paul doth confess over my heart in his confessions Rom. 7. And I can go along with him there from verse 9. to the end of the chapter and from hence I gather that there is some spiritual life in my soul and an indeavour to walk after the spirit and therefore I hope and desire to conclude with him that there shall bee no condemnation to mee but that the Law of the spirit of life in Christ Iesus shall make mee free from the law of sin and death I finde an earnest desire wrought in my soul to bee made like unto Jesus Christ and that it may bee my meat and drink to do and suffer his will as hee would have mee I can say that the Lord hath in some measure put his fear into my heart that I fear to offend him out of love to him and I love to fear him I can say with the Church to Christ Cant. 1. 7. O thou whom my soul loveth and if I know any thing at all of mine own heart Christ is altogether lovely and most desirable to my soul. I think I can truly say with David that I have none in Heaven but thee and there is nothing on earth that I desire besides thee in comparison of thee in competition with thee Though all that is dearest to mee in the world should forsake mee yet if God whom I have chosen for my portion will not forsake mee I have enough It is my desire and endeavour more and more to account all things but loss and dung that I may win Christ. I can with Peter make my appeal to him and say Lord thou who knowest all things thou knowest that I love thee and that it is the desire of my soul to love thee more and to love thee for thy self because thou art holy and good and gracious and the chiefest amongst ten thousand Yea God in Christ alone is worthy to be
beloved and it is my highest priviledge that hee will give mee leave to love him who only can satisfie my soul and redeâ—m it from death eternal who hath justified mee by his blood and sanctified mee by his Spirit whom therefore I love with all my heart and all my soul and all my might and all my strength Finding therefore that God hath drawn out my heart to love him and make choice of him alone I from hence gather and ground my hope that God loveth mee according to that Scripture 1 Ioh. 4. 19. Wee love him because hee first loved us I finde my heart much inflamed with love to all the children of God because they are Gods children and the more I see or finde or hear of God in them the more I finde my heart cleaving to them and I thinke I can truly say with David That my delight is in the Saints and those that excel in grace not because they are friends to mee or I have relation to them in regard of outward obligations but because they bear the Image of God upon them and manifest it in their holy conversation I love them whether rich or poor And though I did never know some of them but onely hear of their holiness and piety yet I could not but exceedingly love such Therefore I hope that I am passed from death to life because I love the Brethren 1 Ioh. 3. 14. I do not only love God and the children of God but I labour to keep his Commandements and they are not grievous to mee But I pray with David O that my waies were directed to keep thy statutes Lord inlarge my heart and I will run the waies of thy Commandements Give mee understanding and I shall keep thy Law yea I shall observe it with my whole heart for therein do I delight I finde I am one that is very thirsty after Jesus Christ and the grace of Christ and I thirst to have his image more and more stamped upon mee and I would fain bee assured by Gods Spirit that I am transplanted into Christ and therefore I long and indeavour after a true and lively Faith because that Grace is a soul-transplanting and uniting grace Now Christ hath promised to satisfie the thirsty Matth. 5. 6. and such Christ hath earnestly invited to come though they have nothing to bring but what may make against themselves yet to come empty and hee hath promised to fill them Isa. 55. 1 2. I am willing to confess and with all my heart to forsake all my sins I am willing to give glory to God in taking shame unto my self I acknowledge my self a guilty malefactor and judge my self worthy of the just condemnation of the righteous Judge of all the earth And I do not only confess my sins but with all my heart I desire to forsake them and to turn to the Lord Now hee hath said hee will have mercy on such and will abundantly pardon them For his thoughts are not as our thoughts nor his waies as our waies Isa. 55. 7 8. It is my constant indeavour to dye to sin to live to newness of life And this is my comfort and hope that hee who hath begun a good work in mee will perfect it For it is hee that worketh all our works in us and for us Isa. 26. 12. and hee that hath wrought in mee to will to do that which is pleasing in his sight will work in mee to do also and that of his good pleasure Phil 2. 13. I hope I am one whom God hath taken into Covenant with himself because hee hath bestowed upon mee the fruits of the Covenant because hee hath circumcised my heart to love him and hath put his fear into mee and hath wrought an universal change in mee and hath given mee a new heart and a new spirit yea his own spirit which hee hath put within mee even the Spirit of Truth which will guide mee into all Truth It is his own promise to give his holy Spirit to them that aske it of him as I have done often Luke 11. 13. and I hope that God will make it in his due time a witnessing and a comforting Spirit I will wait upon him for the accomplishment of all his promises both of grace and to grace Hee hath said hee will bee a Sun and a Shield he will give grace and glory and no good thing will hee with-hold from them that walke uprightly And hee hath promised to subdue our sins for us and hath said That sin shall not have Dominion over us Rom. 6. 14. That hee will bee our God and wee shall bee his children and hee will save us from all our uncleannesses I hope I have a share in this blessed Covenant of Free Grace As for my Affliction that lyeth upon mee though it bee in it self very heavy I much more desire the sanctification of it than the removal I earnestly labour to learn all those lessons which God teacheth mee by Affliction I know I should not bee scourged nor bee in tribulation but that I have need of it it is for my profit to make mee partaker of his holiness Afflictions are an evidence of Sonship Heb. 12. 6 7 8. God hath promised that all things shall work together for good to them that love and fear him And I have had much experience of his faithfulness who hath not suffered mee to bee tempted above what hee hath inabled mee to bear therefore I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him Hee hath chastized mee less than mine iniquities deserve Hee chastizeth mee here that hee may not condemn mee hereafter Faith is the condition of salvation Beleeve in the Lord Iesus Christ and thou shalt bee saved And this is his Commandement that wee should beleeve in his Son Iesus Christ Now I find nothing so hard to mee as to beleeve aright to cast away all my own Righteousness as dung in point of justification and to cast away all my unrighteousness so as that bee no bar to mee and to role and cast and venter my immortal soul upon Jesus Christ and his Righteousness for life and salvation by him alone and to see my self compleat in him this is supernatural Yet I must and will give glory to God and say Lord I beleeve help thou my unbeleef And by this I prove that this precious grace of faith is wrought in mee because Jesus Christ is to mee very precious and I finde in the Word that to them that beleeve hee is precious and I am willing to take Christ upon his own termes as hee is tendred in the Gospel and am willing to give up my self soul and body wholly to him and my love to God and to the children of God is a fruit of my Faith as also my desire to bee made like unto him For hee that hath this hope in him purifieth himself