a noise in the ear without any profit would God require such love from us but that he is Love Gracious Merciful and full of compassion slow to anger hateth nothing that he hath made what can he say more free to thee though thou art as an adulterous Spouse to him yet thou maiest returne and he will receive thee again though thou bringest no merit but demerit to provoke He hath excluded none from his mercy unless they be such as will shew no mercy or else those that sin of malicious wickedness and sin in despight of the Spirit wilfully against light The entail of his mercy is to thousands of them that love him 2 Meditation on Gods Mercy Lord if thou shouldest be extreme to mark what is done amiss who may abide it but there is Mercy with thee c. LORD be merciful to me a sinner we have all sinned and hope in thy Mercy only through the merits of our Saviour If we were not sinners thy mercy would be of no use towards us And our Blessed Lord and Saviour would be of no use to us nor faith nor hope would be of any use nor prayer nor praises But because I am a sinner I pray for thy mercies I praise thee for thy mercies I hope for thy mercies I trust in thy mercy revealed to sinners I believe in the merits of my Saviour and renounce all merit in my self therefore Lord cast me not off because I am a sinner shut not out my prayers for this I will not sin that grace may abound but though I have sinned I am an object of Mercy and thy grace that abounded to Mary Magdalen to Paul to Publicans and sinners may also extend to me Thou hast sent thy Son to call not the Righteous but Sinners To the lost sheep of the house of Israel to seek and also to save that which was lost to quicken them who were dead in trespasses and sins To preach the glad tidings of the Gospel of our Salvation though thy Mercy in giving up thy Son to dye for us that by his death we might escape death and live because he bore the iniquities of us all and by his stripes we are healed That precious blood that he shed upon the ground when the speare was thrust into his body was a sufficient ransom for the lives of all man-kind And as my sins had a concurrent demer it procuring his death so I hope they are joyned in the effect the attonement and expiation That his righteousness may be imputed to me also as my sins were to him 2 Cor. 5. That I may be made the righteousness of God in him Therefore we have need that he should be made unto us wisdom righteousness sanctification and redemption because we were foolish disobedient and deceived serving divers lusts and therefore hast thou proclaimed thy self abundantly pardoning because our sins abound Isa 55. As our Blessed Saviour is the chiefest and greatest of all mercies because he is of more value than all so is he also to be esteemed because in him as in the Fountain are all others contained for by him and faith in his merits only we pray for all others which we need therefore above all we praise thee for him and in him and by him we praise thee for all 3. Meditation All our spirituall mercies as well grace here as glory and eternal happiness hereafter are free without any merit of ours of meer gift and mercy Tit. 3.3 5. We our selves were sometimes disobedent c. But after the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared not by workes of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ c. He is the medium by whom they are derived to us and not our own merit of his fulness we have received grace for grace as the members derive their vital Spirits from the head The converting grace and the confirming graces are both free Ephe. 1.13 In whom after ye believed ye were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise which is the earnest of our inheritance He worketh in us both the will and deed that is good when of our selves we cannot think a good thought Therefore above all we pray that thou wouldst give us thy Son whom thou hast given for us all freely and then with him thou givest us all things and as a Father pittieth his own Children so doth the Lord pitty them that fear him Thy bowels cannot see them want any thing Let him live in us by his word by his Spirit by his image in us by his graces which we receive from his fulness let him be formed in us and by him dwelling in our hearts let us be crucified to the world and dye daily and be buried with him and yet live but so that we may be said not to live our selves but Christ in us Thus let the word and the Sacraments convey him to us Since thou hatest nothing that thou hast made and thy delight is among the Sons of men Pro. 1. Certainly thou dost not afflict nor grieve willingly the Sons of men Therefore when we cry unto the Lord in our trouble he delivers us out of distress Psal 104. He cannot forbear to kiss and embrace his prodigal Son O let thy revelation of thy love to man recall mans straying affections to God If we believe this our faith will work love to him again and we shall be as willing to be reconciled to him as he to be reconciled to us 2 Cor. 5.20 If while we were enemies Christ died for us whom hath he not died for who is excluded from his mercy much more being justified by his blood will he save us seeing he hath done so much for us when we were worse now that we are put in a better relation by the blood of Christ and are reconciled to him and made just persons much more now will he do the rest which is but the consequence of the justification to save us All this is free mercy Not of workes which we have done but of his own good will he begot us and accordingly we are justified freely by his grace 4. Meditation I find no condition annexed to be precedent to make a subject capable of mercy but only want and desire of mercy want I have without my own act or endeavour desire of relief too ariseth spontaneously without my endeavour and largeness of desire proceeds from a covetous mind an eye unsatisfied yet such is the ocean of mercy that it requires but only that we open our mouth wide and he will fill it as he promiseth As long as the widow brought empty vessels the Oyl ran he giveth liberally and upbraideth not he giveth more then we are able to ask or think the debtor doth but desire forbearance but the Lord forgives him the debt Jacob only desired food and
shall be conquerors over them through Christ Jesus And let me not be offended at the Cross of Christ knowing that the Gospel is offer'd upon the termes of self-denial and taking up our Cross and knowing that thou dost comfort thy Servants in all afflictions and that as their afflictions do abound their consolations do much more abound but rather let us count it all joy when we fall into these temptations knowing they work in us patience experience hope and repentance So David before he was afflicted he went astray but by his afflictions learned thy Judgments and he said 't is good for me that I have been afflicted And my afflictions seem not greater than his when he cried out Thy hand is heavy upon me day and night my moisture is like the drought in summer All the day long am I afflicted and chastned every morning I am dried up and my heart is like the melting wax my heart panteth my strength faileth me and the light of my eyes is gone from me my lovers and my friends stand afar off and no man cares for my soul But Lord I will make my prayers unto thee in an acceptable time and call upon thee in the time of my trouble Lord how long shall mine enemies triumph over me Lord when wilt thou comfort me Lord as others have found thee full of compassion and mercy so let me find Think upon thy compassions which have been ever of old Remember not against me mine iniquitys but do away my sins for thy names sake Meditation I don't enough apprehend my proneness to every sin and lust but think my self free from sin and from the danger of falling because I feel it not stirring for the present whereas the reason why it is so is only because various diversions take up my thoughts otherways and keep out those so that they are but only laid asleep as it were and are easily awaked by any temptation if the Lord don't strengthen me and the least opportunity lets them loose upon me so that I am not able to resist them Lord let me watch against all those sins that I find my nature inclined to and against such as I find no inclination to but an utter aversation from because my nature is wholly corrupted and it is the power of God only that keeps me from all sorts of sins and temptations therefore let me fear every temptation and sin and watch against them and pray that I enter not into any temptation for if I once but enter into the temptation I am sure to fall if I have no better support than my own strength though the temptation be but weak my strength is weaker Lord do thou either give me more strength or temptation less let me never enter the lists with this enemy but se defendendo flying him as far as I can let me not desire to know what sin or lust is but let me love the ignorance of it Lord when I confess my sins which I have comitted against so many means of grace thy mercies Judgments promises Threatnings the testimonies of my own conscience of thy holy Spirit and the testimonies of the wicked also I must needs acknowledg thy justice in all my punishments and thy long suffering in this that thou dost not confound me nor quite cast me off as thou didst Saul but punishedst me less than I deserve And I admire thy goodness in this that in the midst of thy wrath thou rememberest mercy and hast delivered me when in my affliction I sought thee herein I rejoice and I beseech thee Lord make me contented to be restrain'd from sin by sorrow Lord thou art my God and my Lord therefore let me acknowledg thee in all my ways wait upon thee serve and obey thee and let me not live as if I were without a God nor according to my own lusts denying the Lord that bought me as those do who make their belly their God or Idolize the unrighteous Mammon and vanities of the world neither let me question thy power in the want of means Thou art my Saviour and my deliverer my Buckler the Horn of my Salvation and my refuge my Stony Rock and my Castle therefore let me have grace to fly unto thee in my time of trouble to trust in thee in thy power and in thy goodness for my refuge and defence and stay my self upon thee and commit my way unto thee as unto a faithful Creator make my Prayers continually unto thee Thou art to thy Servants their hope and strength and present help in trouble therefore let not the surprise of any trouble dismay me as if I were hopeless or helpless thou art the Defender of all them that put their trust in thee mighty to save God all-sufficient therefore let me walk with thee and be perfect O thou who art the Rock of ages the helper of the poor and fatherless helpless and destitute The Fountain of living water Let me always run unto thy fountain for true comfort not to broaken Cisterns Let not the baseness of my nature or my sins dismay me for thou knowest whereof we are made but let me look up to Christ as the Israelites being stung did to the brazen Serpent and be healed Let me taste of the Tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God live even the body and blood Jesus Christ as oft a I eat of this Tree of life in the blessed communion assure me that I am healed of all my passed sins Thou Lord art life and truth I will therefore be guided by thee believe in thee and be dead to the World and all creatures and live unto thee and upon thee In Christ let us have life even the new life of the life of faith and not of sense That the old man may dye daily That Christ may live in us as the head liveth in the members and we in him by faith in the promises of eternal life through him As Abraham did in the Land of promise though he had not as yet received the earthly promise neither did he set his heart upon it nor seek it or suffer himself to be hindred by it in the persuit of his future felicity Thou to a believer art all that is desirable in all conditions whatsoever whom have I in Heaven but thee And whom in earth that I can desire in comparison of thee Thy goodness is infinite and though our sins be never so great yet thy thoughts exceeding our thoughts so far as the Heaven is higher than the earth we may have Hope in thy mercy because it endureth for ever and is over all thy works The Lord will never leave nor forsake those that trust in him though he suffered Daniel to be cast into the Lions Den. The three children into the firye furnace the sword to be put to Isaacs throat yet then he delivered them for the Lord knoweth how to deliver his Lot was delivered though Sodom was burned and so was Noah
and Oyl is increased and may say truly my joy shall be in the Lord as he did and every child of God is commanded this duty in this saying Rejoice in the Lord ye Righteous This excellent grace makes the soul happy wherein it is because he that possesseth it possesseth Christ and all the benefits and priviledges that he hath purchased that incomparable benefit of justification first as it is Rom. 4. and last v. and the 5th and first v. Who was delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification Rom. 3. Being justified freely by his grace Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ This peace is a second benefit or priviledg which faith derives from Christ a third follows by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand the favors of God wherein we stand or the blessed condition of justified and sanctified persons to which we come by Christ through faith and rejoyce in the hope of the glory of God both our present and future condition is made happy by faith and it assures to us that happiness It followes and not only so but we glory in tribulations also knowing that tribulation works patience So that calamities are by faith made consolatory through the sanctified use which faith makes of them they are not only made not formidable as David his fears vanished by relying upon God which he expressed saying What time I am afraid I will put my trust in thee Psal 56.3 He made use of his faith in the time of his fears as he did also in the time of his wants Psal 8. The Lord is my shepherd therefore I shall lack nothing So that faith imboldens the Servants of God against all evil Christ gives and ensures them these priviledges partly by the testimony of his Spirit partly by faith in his merit Ephe. 3.12 In whom we boldness and access with confidence through faith in him Heb. 10.19 We have entrance into the holiest through the blood of Jesus The Spirit assures us that all the Privileges which Christ hath purchased for his people are ours and causeth us to rejoyce in them as ours That all the promises are ours and causeth us to rely upon them because we are assured that Christ is ours by Faith when he is laid hold on as ours all things are ours then it follows that we have peace of Conscience and tranquility in our Souls for he is our Peace Ephe. 2. And we acquiesce in him because we have chosen him for our portion He is reconcilation between God and us he satisfieth our debts makes God at peace with us and our conscences at peace in themselves and our souls satisfied as having nothing more that they can desire but more communion with God as that which satisfieth it We know that God hath no wrath at all towards us nor our consciences any dread or fear of Gods wrath or any terror but assurance of his favour and love and that our sins are washed away by the blood of Christ according to that in Colos 1.20 Having made peace through the blood of his Cross by him to reconcile all things to himself 21. And you that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight if you continue in the faith Hence the soul assures it self that none of the works of Gods severity have any wrath at all against it for in the 24. v. St. Paul saith He rejoyceth in his sufferings But positively they are assured of their adoption and of the love and friendship of God that he will preserve them supply them teach them heal them guide and support them visit them with spiritual consolations and joy in the Holy Ghost and that all things shall work together for their good which makes them willing to submit to Gods chastisements as it is Psal For thy sake are we killed all the day long yet do we not forsake thee This keeps them from murmuring and from covetousness The nature of it is that it can only be where the Son of peace is This peace is a league offensive and defensive whereby the soul hates sin and all that God hates and loves holiness and all that God loves That salutation which our blessed Lord perscribed to his Apostles must needs be the most excellent and desirable that saies Peace be to this house This peace makes all other things at peace with us for he is said To make a league with the foules of the air and the beasts of the field for us in Job and Prov. 16.17 When a mans waies please God he makes his enemies at peace with him Psal 91.10 The plague shall not come neer his dwelling or if it do it shall be no plague Rom. 8.31 If God be with us who shall be against us That is though they are against us the sting is taken out The excellency of it is so great that it passeth human understanding It is an everlasting peace it doth not forsake us in the time of trouble nor in the hour of death Isa 55.3 His mercies are called everlasting It makes us peaceable with men to those we have offended it makes us willing to satisfy them and willing to pardon those that have offended us but the wicked are like the rageing Sea alwaies unquiet It quickens the soul to holy duties the soul considers what it shall render to the Lord for all his mercies towards it Psal 103.3 Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits who forgiveth all thy sins The excellency of it must needs be great because it is the legacy which Christ dying left to his Church not as the world gives gave he it to them but more largely liberally and bountifully and absolutely without any limitation of time or condition David calls it great peace which they have which love Gods word but yet he saith that many are the troubles of the righteous That which followeth makes amends The Lord delivereth them out of all and the Lord will stand by them and deliver them as we know he did the three children out of the fiery furnace and Daniel out of the Lyons den and Job out of the fiery Trials The fruits of righteousness are sown in peace not in discord they which love peace sowe them And this shield of faith is both an offensive and defensive weapon whereby these holy warriours in their spiritual warfare fought the Lords battels under the bloody banner of the Cross of Christ who for the glory that was set before him endured the Cross and despised the shame these follow the lamb and suffer with him that they may also raigne with him and take joyfully the spoiling of their goods knowing that they have a more enduring substance in Heaven And willingly they spend and are spent for God
And prayeth Forsake me not in the time of mine Age when my strength faileth me until I have shewed thy strength unto this Generation and they Power unto all c. Psal 72. He urgeth his holy Resolutions Give the King thy judgements c. Then shall he Judge the people according to right and defend the poor c. He shall keep the simple folk by their right and punish the wrong doer Psal 5.2 Hearken unto the voice of my calling my King and my God Motiv for unto thee will I make my my prayer my voice shalt thou hear betimes O Lord early in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee and will look up Psal 86.11 Teach me thy way O Lord the motive And I will walk in thy truth knit my heart unto thee the motive that I may fear thy name Psal 16. Preserve me O God the motive for in thee do I put my trust Psal 17. And in sundry other Psalms he urgeth the wickedness of his enemies as a motive ver 8. Keep me as the apple of the eye hide me under the shadow of thy wings from the wicked that oppress me the motive with their mouth they speak proudly c. In the 38 Psal he also urgeth the malice and wickedness of his enemies together with his own sorrow and misery by reason of his sins and his enemies ver 2. Thine arrows stick fast in me and thine hand presseth me sore There is no health in my flesh because of thy displeasure neither is there rest in my bones because of my sin ver 20. Of his enemies he saith they were against him because he followed the thing that is good but he will confess his iniquities these motives introduce this prayer Hast thee to help me O Lord God of my salvation In the 4 Psal He makes use of Gods former benefits as a motive for further beneficent saying Hear me when I call O God of my Righteousness the motive for thou hast set me at liberty when I was in trouble Psal 86. He urgeth his afflictions he suffered under Gods hand and his enemies malice and the goodness and mercy of God And concludes O turn thee unto me and have mercy upon me Usual in his prayers is that expression for thy Name sake They who would make use of this as all must must know him in that name which he himself proclaimed Exod. 34.6 For David did refer to this The Lord the Lord God merciful and gracious long suffering and abundant in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin c. The Lord cannot forget his own name therefore cannot forget to be gracious If we can use that inducement of Moses Lord if I have found favour in thy sight it is peculiar to his favourites and obligeth God to hear This is a large Field and may afford great plenty and variety but every man may supply himself with it that list to read and observe the Psalms It is noted by Bishop Cooper that it is not sufficient to seek from God because of that which he is but we must also consider what we are Otherwise as Jehu said unto one demanding Is it peace What hast thou to do with peace So the Lord may answer us though the Lord be gracious what is it to us As to the subject matter of Prayer the Children of God are sometimes mistaken about it and are in doubts St. Paul accordingly confesseth in the behalf of himself and others we know not what to pray for as we ought We find Moses also mistaken in the matter of his Prayer Exod. 33.18 Shew me now thy Glory for God answer'd him that no man could see his face and live and that he could not see it yet Almighty God to shew his propensity in hearing prayer came as neer his request as he could for God answered him in that which was as profitable and useful for him He made all his goodness to pass before him and let him see his back-parts so that Moses lost not his Prayer though he did not obtain the thing he asked Much more may we expect success in our Prayers when we ask such things as he hath commanded us to seek which we know are according to his will and our blessed Saviour also hath engag'd for our obtaining The invitations being so many so importunate and so free viz. To come and buy without money and without price to open our mouths wide to ask and have it appears and we must so believe that Gods bountifulness is such that he is more ready to give than we to ask or receive And like as a Mother whose breasts are full is more desirous to give suck to her Babe than that to crave or receive it such is Gods freeness to us It concerns us then to advise what these rich benefits are which we are to beg and buy without money or price And if we may have what we lack for asking certainly we shall be convinced of the greatest folly in the world if we will lose them for want of asking Many are ignorant of their own wants as the Church of Laodicea who knew not that she was wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked but thought herself in the contrary estate But God adviseth her of her wants and the remedy of it which he sheweth her is to be had of him only viz. Gold tried in the fire that she might be rich and white raiment that she might be cloathed and eye Salve that she might see and freely invites her to buy them of him though she were poor blind and naked and had nothing to purchase them withall therefore we may infer that all men be their condition what it will may come to God in this duty of Prayer for all their needs as we read Jonah 1.5 The Mareners cryed every one to his God For our better direction that we may not miscarry in our suits as the Mother of Zebedees Children did our blessed Saviour hath plentifully instructed us what we should pray for as he here directs the Church of the Laodiceans Matth. 6.9 and Luke 11.2 The Disciples sensible of their own insufficiency do make it their suit to him to teach them thereupon he gives a pattern and rules for them and us to use In which Prayer the three first and the three last petitions are spiritual According to the rule which he gives ver 33. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof From this prayer of our Saviour and the rules by him given and from the precepts elsewhere and the prayers of the Saints we find but these three things necessary to be prayed for viz. Grace and the means of Grace and the rewards promised thereto For though the Children of God do most frequently use confession of their sins and thanksgivings together with their Prayers as Daniel did And Davids Psalms are most of them thus and whether we use them as
the dulness and indisposition of my soul to this religious and most necessary duty of a Christian and desirous by all means to shake it off for a better disposition I held it expedient to consider of some Motives which may awaken me out of this spiritual Lethargy These I fetch from four heads or Topicks viz. A Jucundo Ab Vtili A Necessario and A Facili The four Angels of this Quadrature are to seek him as a Beloved as a Portion as a God as a Father To prove the pleasurableness of it are these places Isa 12.3 With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation Joh. 16.24 Ask that you may receive that your Joy may be full and many of the Psalms and the Book of the Canticles throughout proves this From whence we may infer That the more we use this duty the more joy comfort and satisfaction we enjoy I will make them joyful in the house of Prayer He that with a sincere heart hath made tryal in the time of his sadness can testifie the truth of these promises by his own experience And the Scripture testifieth of Hannah That when she had prayed her countenance was no more sad To know God in all his Attributes is comfortable to his servants but of all to know him in this That he is a God hearing Prayer and hath heard thine is most soveraign for the warming and strengthening of thy faith and all other graces and quickening thee in holy duties One prayer heard is the earnest of hearing another and consequently of helping thee in all thy needs This is intimated in those expressions Eccles 9.7 Go thy way cat thy bread with joy and drink thy wine with a merry heart for the Lord hath accepted thy work For if these services be God's delight no reason that they should be our burthen or a melancholly task This cannot be no man was ever made sad by this duty but the melancholly are made cheerful by it alwaies and transported with joy And if they be accepted by him with delight then we know that they shall not go unrewarded The suits of a Lover to its Beloved how readily are they embraced and answered Such is relation between God and his Saints We know also how acceptable and delightful the service of a child is to his Father though it be but weak and small yet it is sweet pleasant and delightful and doth more endear them to one another and when children are wronged whom else should they fly unto for succour Herein we enjoy God as a loving Father in Christ and he enjoyes us as children and caresses us This urgeth us to present these duties for we endeavour that our presents and services we do to men should yield them delight for thereby we expect acceptation of our persons and a grant of our suit And as a Father he obligeth us to it by his lading us with his daily benefits And bearing us in his arms as a man beareth his Son in all the way that we ge Deut. 1.31 All which he easily forgets who neglects this duty but he that duly performs it acknowledgeth God in all his waies And as the heavenly Hoast rejoyce to fall down and worship him that sits upon the Throne and the Lamb so the Saints militant by the offering of prayers and praises rejoyce before God The Motives ab Utili to prove the profitableness of it All temporal and eternal good that is or ever shall be is the profit which is proposed to be reaped by this Duty and on the contrary the avoiding of all temporal and eternal evil First It easeth us of a great deal of care Be careful in nothing but let your requests be made known unto God c. St. James c. 5. Is any man afflicted let him pray Luke 18. Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation Joh. 16.23 Whatever you ask the Father in my Name he will give it you The Lord hath invited and perswaded us to this Duty by the greatest promises that we are capable of Rom. 10.13 Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved Jer. 33.3 Call unto me and I will answer thee and shew thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you Isa 30.19 At the voice of thy cry when he shall hear it he will answer thee Joh. 15.7 Ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you Matth. 21.22 And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer believing ye shall receive it Joh. 14.13 Whatsoever ye shall ask in my Name I will do it Matth. 7.7 Ask and it shall be given you seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you Job 22.7 Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him and he shall hear thee Zech. 10. v. 1. Ask of the Lord Rain in the time of the latter Rain c. Matth. 6.6 Thy Father who seeth thee in secret shall reward thee openly Psal Thou shalt call upon me in time of trouble and I will deliver thee and thou shalt praise me When we can hope for no help from men God will even then help those that call upon him These and many other promises hath God of his mercy and goodness made to thee to invite and incourage thee to the performance of this Duty for thine own good and profit of soul and body in things temporal and eternal and for the shunning and avoiding of all evils and inconveniencies fins and the punishments thereof and all that humane nature is liable to suffer or fear And by these the Utility of the due peformance of this Duty appeareth And all those who have made trial in sincerity will confess that it is good to draw nigh to God If we know that in him we live move and have our being that he is God that made us and preserves us and upholds all things by his power then to him we will seek for all things necessary for our life and happiness because we know that what we have or desire to have we must have it from him of his free gift And knowing that we brought nothing into the world we must acknowledge that all we have we have it from him Therefore if we desire the continuance and preservation of that we have or seek any other good we must seek it by humble prayer and supplication of his free mercy and goodness This the Light of Nature teacheth Those who seem to themselves to be rich and to have need of nothing like the Church of the Laodiceans Rev. 2. do but deceive themselves These miserable wretches cannot perceive or understand what need they have of praying They have the more need because they understand not their need If the Thief upon the Cross obtained Heaven with a prayer of six words who will not come to such a liberal giver If we consider of God in his relation to us as a Father and our selves as
work to think of the reasons that moved them to sin and to refuse such duties and to see the folly of all those reasons this will be shame and confusion O Lord let me be ashamed of my sins in time savingly by true repentance that I may avoid the eternal shame and confusion and remember with grief all the hard thoughts which I have had of thee and thy waies and grieved that I turned no sooner from sin to God That being derided for holiness I have so little of it But let me not be of them of whom it is said The Lord hath laughed at their calamity for he hath seen that their day is coming Made upon hearing of Mr. J. B. O Lord give me that earnest and first fruits of eternal life which thou usest to give thy afflicted servants in this life which may make me as it did them to rejoyce in afflictions with joy unspeakable and glorious to undergo with joy all manner of slanders and to take joyfully the spoiling of their goods knowing that they have a more enduring substance in Heaven give thy servant to know this of himself which may make me able for the like sufferings and to undergo all that the wicked can inflict not accepting of deliverance and grant that I may see him by faith who is invisible and Jesus Christ my Saviour my Helper and my Redeemer my Recompence and my Reward O Lord let me not put any stress upon my own works for my salvation If with thy servant Paul I could say that as touching the Law I am blameless yet then also must I not count that I have attained but desire to be found in Christ not having mine own righteousness and be sensible that I have deserved thy wrath and fly to the Righteousness of Christ and say with David I will make mention of thy Righteousness only And with Daniel Not for our righteousness but for thy mercy sake save us Deliver me from the Legal Pharisaical spirit thinking to establish its own righteousness not submitting to the Righteousness of Christ Let my righteousness exceed theirs Let me mortifie the body and live strictly as they did and whatever duties they performed let me perform but let me not leave the others undone and those which I do let me not do to be seen but let me perform them to thee in secret that thou mayest reward me openly Neither let me trust in my felf nor despise others nor strain at a Nat and swallow a Camel Lord let not worldly things disturb my quiet though the Earth be moved and the Mountains shake at the tempest of the same Let the River of Life of thy holy City make glad the people thereof Give me the peaceable fruits of Righteousness Give me grace voluntarily to take Christ's yoak upon me and to learn of him meekness and humility that I may find rest to my soul which I can never find without holiness of life and faith therefore give me both that I may be able to say in all conditions the Lord is my Shepherd therefore I can lack norhing Lord as thou hast given us many commands for the duty of prayer and watchfulness the reto with constancy without ceasing and that in all things we should make our requests known unto God and to incourage us herein thou hast promised to reward it openly what we pray for secretly and hast set forth unto us in thy word how thou art a God hearing prayer and many examples of it And that it is the duty in which thou dost most delight and by my own experience I have always found thee such Therefore let me redeem the time for this so beneficial duty according to the example of thy Servants David seven times a day and Daniel three times in spight of the Tirants threats for thou hast always given me the mercies which I asked and I fear I have lost many for want of asking Lord in my distresses and troubles let me not seek for vain comforts in the Creatures but for those comforts which thy word and thy Spirit afford thy Servants for Christ hath promised that he will not leave us comfortless but will send us a comforter O now send this comforter into my heart that I may rejoice with the joy of thy chosen ones and not with the joy of the World this thou hast often refreshed thy Servant with in the midst of the sorrows which he had in his heart Lord let me not neglect the day of my visitation for thou hast said that thy spirit shall not always strive with us Therefore when we feel thy holy Spirit inclining our hearts to good or drawing us from evil let us follow its motions and the express calls of thy word when it seems to us to speak in particular to our soules that we may escape that threatning which saith because I have called and ye have refused you shall call and I will not answer I will laugh at your calamity so when thou visitest us with mercies or afflictions then thou bowest our ear to discipline for in affliction the wicked often will seek thee but not to see thee in thy merciful dispensations is more brutish then the Ox or Ass who know their keepers that feed them Lord let me know the time of my visitation let me lose no opportunity to do good for we know not how soon the opportunity or our lives will be taken away therefore let me lay hold on all opportunities and redeem all time possible for God's service As Paul in the Gaol converted the Gaoler and Philip in his Journey the Eunuch and Christ when he was on the Cross dying conveyed grace to the hearers and salvation to one of the thieves Let me value my time by the duties which may be done in it and let me not spend it in doing that which is impertinent or doing nothing much less in doing ill but in things necessary which is but one thing to serve God the things of this world being only for convenience Teach me to number not only my daies but my hours that I may husband them well to thy glory especially my youthful time let me consecrate to God since I cannot be too soon out of the paw of Satan into the arms of Christ Let me not listen to the Devil when he tells me I shall serve God hereafter but let me give thee the first fruits of my age and of the day and not the flower to the Devil and the dregs to the Lord and let me consider what value I shall have of time when I come to die Lord when thy afflicting hand is stretched out to afflict me in the ruine of my estate or the loss of my reputation and honour or any earthly good how do I search and try my spirit and fear to commit the least sin against thee but no sooner hast thou removed thy hand and the danger that threatned is overpast but then how careless do I walk again and think
my soul let thy impatiente bearing of lyings slanders backbitings and false accusations humble thee and drive thee to seek to God by prayers and tears to assist and help thy weak patience and faith and make thee more conformable to Christ thou canst bear other injuries learn to bear these that thou mayest be blessed O my God do thou preserve me support me and hold me up that I may not fall by wrath and impatience though the injuries I receive be never so great unjust and false yet let me be supported by thy word and thy Spirit in me assuring me of reward in heaven O my God let me contentedly submit to thy chastisments and let me be assured that thou wilt bring good out of evil and that they are sent by thee for my good that I should not be condemned with the world 1 Cor. 11. And by thy assistance I shall go forth to thee without the camp bearing thy reproach Heb. 13.14 And my patience shall be perfected And assure me that in this unjust suffering I take up the Cross of a Christian Another end why God afflicts us is to make us call to mind our sins which procured the afflictions as Josephs brethren called to mind theirs of selling their brother It makes us to search and try our selves what sins we lye in and have not repented off Meditation LORD Sanctify them to us for this end that we may not lye in our sins nor dye in them But may be awakened to search and try our waies and call to mind our sins and repent of them with a godly sorrow unto salvation and turne unto the Lord with all our hearts lest otherwise we perish with the world And let the blessedness which thou hast pronounced upon thy mourners and the comfort which thou hast promised them come on them in the sight of their persecutors for their comfort will be the discomfort of them Another end why Gods afflicts us is to restrain us from some sin which we are prone to so he restrained St. Paul from pride for if God did not restrain us we should fall oftener than we do not only into those same sins which we have formerly committed but also into all others which the nature of man is subject to commit and which we think our selves quite free from as Hasael when the Prophet told him what Villanies he would commit answered him saying Thinkest thou that thy Servant is a Dog yet he did what the Prophet had foretold 2 King 8. So God withheld Abimeleck from sinning with Abrahams wife so David before he was afflicted he went astray but learned Gods judgments by afflictions And said Thy Rod and thy Staff have comforted me by which saying of David it appeares That another end of Afflictions is for Spiritual comfort Therefore 't is said in St. James Count it all joy when you fall into manifold temptations For as sin as soon as committed flies in our face and tells us that we have deserved all the curses threatned in Gods word for our consciences immediately tels us that the wages of sin are death and damnation so afflictions brings to mind our sins and makes our consciences search themselves what sins lye unrepented off Then our repentance brings remission and peace of conscience and joy in the Holy Ghost communion with God and watchfulness and carefulness against sin for the future But to make us more capable of the comfort it seems meet to God to visit us by afflictions Another end of afflictions it to abase and humble us That we may walk humbly with our God humble your selves therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may lift you up where both these ends of afflictions are conjoyned viz. The joy of being lifted up with the humiliation he humbles whom he in tends to exalt Another end is for purgation I will purge away all the dross and tinn Which doth supose that there are some sins committed by and some corruptions remaining in the Servants of God as it is in the 9 of Daniel 11. Yea all Israel have transgressed thy law even by departing that they might not obey thy voice therefore the curse is poured upon us and the oath that is written in the law of Moses because we have sinned Every branch in me that beareth fruit he purgeth Isa 27.9 By this shall the iniquity of jacob be purged As our Saviour was made perfect by suffering so all that are made perfect are made perfect by sufferings When our consciences checks us it causes us to search and try our waies as it is in the Prophet after I was afflicted I smote upon my thigh Another end to bring a man to himself when before he would not know himself nor could understand his frailties and weakness also to bring a man to Christ and to make him go out of himself and the thought of his self-sufficiency and self confidence to seek his salvation in Christ alone for if the word doth not work upon us God doth work by the Spirit of bondage upon hard consciences as David said my reines chasten me in the night season So was the Prodigal Son brought to himself to bethink him of his Fathers house and to return home LORD sanctify them to thy Servant for all these ends that I may find all those opperations wrought in me and let me wait patiently upon the Lord laying my mouth in the dust As water that stands still without motion or agitation putrifieth and the Air corupteth unless it be moved with some gales of Wind so the minds of men become degenerate and their virtues and graces soon languish unless they be excited and exercised by variety of fortune troubles and new difficulties the most troublesome accidents that befall teach and improve a wise man most and learn him the best lessons Time of Trouble is the season for Prayer If Esau had not come against Jacob with an army he had not wrestled with God nor got the blessing Psal 50.15 Call upon me in the time of trouble and I will deliver thee and thou shalt praise me so it is the season for Gods mercy to those who seek it by prayer And as if the sense of our necessities would not force us enough to this duty of prayer he injoynes it by precept and inviteth with a promise which shews both our backwardness to the Duty and Gods readiness to accept our prayers and shew mercy to us and sometimes he is fain to be found of them that seek him not and he is fain to send his Spirit to help us to pray and sometimes he is fain to hear us when we have but a purpose to pray as David said in the Psalms I said I wll confess my sin and thou forgavest my iniquities and sometimes God is fain to prevent us as Isa 64.10 Before they call I will answer and sometimes he will not stay till the end of our Prayer as it is said Whilest they cry I will say
living stones in that building whereof he is the corner stone our Hope is but a fancy if we be dead and slugish 1 Pet. 1.7 It is called a lively Hope and our life a living by faith Consider the burning Zeal of the antient Servants of God Psal 119. My soul breaketh out for the fervent desire that it hath always to thy commandments My soul is a thirst for God Psal 42. As the hart panteth after the water-brooks so longeth my soul after thee O God Psal 16.3 O God thou art my God early will I seek thee My soul thirsteth for thee my flesh longeth after thee And Psal 119. Do I not hate them that hate thee and am I not vexed with them that rise up against thee yea I hate them with a perfect hatred as though they were my enimies So Righteous Lot was vexed with the unclean conversation of the wicked others loved not their lives unto death The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force Jacobs wrestling with God prevailed It is one of the characters of those that are Redeemed as it is said in the Epist of St. That he may purchase to himself a peculiar people Zealous of good works Strive to enter in at the strait gate Many lets we find Be not weary of well doing But the further we run in this race the fresher we are and like bodies tending to their center Velocius in fine quam in principio So the Righteous bring forth more fruit in their latter end When Christians shew their fervour of Spirit in the service of God it is but a scandal to religion to say they are young converts The hypocrite desireth no more but what may be sufficient to serve his turne but the true Christian desires to grow in grace and to abound in the work of the Lord and is grieved that his graces are not perfect By this we imitate Christ for it is said of him The Zeal of Gods house hath eaten him up It was his love to God which caused such Zeal so Davids love made his eyes gush out with water to behold sin Our Blessed Saviour wrought out our salvation by agonies And we are commanded to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling And all the duties of religion are wrought with Agonies striving and Zeal First our faith is to be strived for Philip. 1.17 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Then in prayer we are to strive as it is said Striving togetheir in prayer And this is that circumstance that makes it prevail The effectual fervent prayer of the righteous availeth much The whole Stadium of the Christian life is to be run that motion is the most violent in nature The whole life of a Christian is a continual fighting of a battle wherein we put forth all our strength That gives no time for Diversions and but very little for necessary refreshings with food and sleep All our service we do to God must be with a fervent Spirit If this fire goeth out our services are dull flat and liveless For where there is life there is heat the maxim holds as well in things of Grace as in things of Nature therefore if thou wouldest not offer a sacrifice without a heart so oughtest thou to beware of dulness and coldness in Duties and Graces So if thou wouldest not have thy Spiritual Enemies to get any advantage against thee thou must be watchful And that thou maist fight against them and subdue and conquer thy corruptions thou must put forth all thy strength and all little enough when we wrestle not against Flesh and Blood but against Principalities and Powers and Spiritual Wickednesses in High places And although we do thus fight and put forth all our power and watch against these enemies that they get no advantage and redeem the time from our worldly business diversions and recreations Yet we shall find our selves so hardly beset at all times and too easie to be overcome unless we look to Jesus Christ the Authour and Finisher of our Faith for his succour through whose assistance we become more than Conquerours who is both able and willing to succour his that are tempted This looking to Christ is to set him before us to imitate and call upon him in time of Temptation with fervent Prayer as before is mentioned and to wait upon him for strength as the eyes of a Maid are unto the hands of her Mistriss so our eyes wait upon thee until thou have mercy upon us And so doing we shall find that he is our strength and present help in trouble and know how his strength is perfected in weakness He that saith he is not able of himself to overcome his Spiritual enemies therefore will not put forth all his power and use all these means he is content to be led Captive by them What is it will make thee earnest and servent Consider What it is that lyes at the stake what thou strivest to save and searest to lose Is it a small and light matter or is it a thing of more value to thee than the whole World Thy Immortal Soul and the Eternal welfare thereof This thou strivest for Who doth not strive and struggle to save his Life when in danger much more then must we strive for the saving of our Eternal Life What perils and labours do Men undergo by Land and Sea to get a livelihood for their bodies though they know not how short a time they may live to enjoy it and frequently lose their precious lives in the acquisition of the sustenance of their Lives But how few venture so far for the Eternal sustenance of their Soul or labour so hard or undergo such difficulties to solace or save their immortal Soul How readily doth the Sea-beaten Merchant tossed with the Winds and Waves of the Raging Sea throw hastily over-board all his precious substance gotten with great labour and peril of Life to save his short uncertain Life And wisely too But much more wise is he that throweth away his perishing goods his life and all to save his Immortal Soul and his Eternal Life and well-being He that is the only wise hath told us that we must sell all to purchase Heaven that we must cut off our right hand and pull out our right Eye if they offend us that he that will not forsake Father and Mother Wife and Children and life it self for him is not worthy of him he that will save his Life shall lose it Lord God we will meditate in thy precepts and have respect unto thy ways delight in thy Statutes rejoyce in the way of thy Testimonies and take counsel of them But quicken thou us according to thy Word Ps 119.14 15 16 25. that we may not faint nor be weary Be wise then O my Soul for thy great interest thy main chance to save that with the expence and loss of thy perishing momentary concerns and to bestow thy pains and industry upon this And
priviledge may be gathered from this Argument that it was Jesus Christ's Legacy which he left to his Friends And it may be gathered from the Prayers of the Apostles 2 Thess 3. Now the Lord of Peace himself give you peace always by all means 1 Pet. 5.14 Peace be with you all that are in Christ Isa 26.3 Thou shalt keep him in perfect Peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee vers 22. O Lord thou wilt ordain peace for us That the Saints have freedom and confidence in Prayer and joy thereof If the Lord hath delight in their prayers he will give them reciprocal delight The promise of our blessed Saviour assures us of this priviledge he saith Whatever you shall ask the Father in my Name he will give it you Ask and ye shall receive that your joy may be full David found the truth of it when he said The Lord hath heard my petition The Lord will receive my prayer Psal And Moses in The Lord heard me this time also And Jam. 5. v. 16. The effectual fervent prayer of the righteous availeth much The greatness of the Joy is expressed in the instance of Hanna her countenance was no more sad after she had prayed And agreeable hereto is that of Solomon Eccles Eat thy bread with joyfulness for the Lord hath accepted thee He that hath once obtained his desires of God by prayer is transported with excess of joy and is emboldened and encouraged for all that he wants and can hardly be dejected or dismayed in any trouble if he call to mind the same for the experience of this priviledge inlargeth the soul to enjoy God as his God in whom he hath a sure interest and to a thankfulness of consecrating those mercies as Hanna did to God As they have priviledges of enjoying so have they of doing That the righteous person performs holy and virtuous actions by the assistance of the Spirit with more freeness facility and delight than they can be performed by any principle of morality good nature or ingenuous education is plain for this and that being compared we shall easily see that those that are virtuous by the light of Nature have had more falls than those that are illuminated by the Spirit and the Word of God Therefore David prays Psal 51. Establish me with thy free Spirit And Psal 119. I shall run the waies of thy Commandments when thou hast set my heart at liberty For instance consider with what facility and readiness Joseph being solicited and tempted by his Mistriss to unchast embraces avoided put by and cast off the temptation How can I do this great wickedness and sin Gen. 39. And it came to pass as she spake to Joseph day by day that he hearkned not unto her to lye with her or to be with her And it came to pass that Joseph went into the House to do his business and there was none of the Men of the House there within And she caught him by the Garment saying lye with me And he left his Garment in her hand and fled and got him out Here encountred and assaulted with so strong a temptation of unchastity importunately and uncessantly assailing him backed and assisted with the temptations of Ambition and Covetousness and fit opportunity to accomplish it with secresie and no restraint at all but the All-seeing eye of God would any of the moral Philosophers thus easily and readily have conquered such a Temptation and held it out against the continual importunity and opportunity by the strength of Right Reason Honesty and Truth Certainly they would have broken out into Impatience Rage and bitter invectives of an angry proud Spirit studying revenge and defamation of the Tempter and the extolling of their own virtue or otherwise have transgressed against some of the cardinal virtues which would have giveâ— an offence another way to their own disparagement the offence of others and the discredit of the profession of Philosophy But the freeness readiness and facility of the new Nature yieldeth abundance of peace joy delight and satisfaction to him who is renewed and acted by it and giveth no offence to the beholders but full satisfaction And as in this instance of Chastity we have considered it so may we as fully and clearly see the sweet face and comely beauty of this new Nature and the joy that it yields in the mirrour of patience acted by holy Job And his facility of repelling and vanquishing all the Temptations of Satan his Wife and his three Friends And this freeness smoothness readiness and facility is so delightful in all the encounters that the new Nature hath with the old corrupt unregenerate part that the generosity thereof being compared with the morosity of the severe sullen churlish rigid Philosophers that like the beams of the Sun will make this quite lose its borrowed lustre like the Moon at mid-day Yet those virtuous persons found such sweet delight in virtue by the dimn light of Nature that they esteemed the contemplation thereof above all enjoyments and all content to be in the practice thereof For they were not Men stripped of outward enjoyments and forced to retire but eminent Among the rest Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Pius the Emperour How great then must the joy and content be which the Soul enjoyeth when it feeleth the actings of the holy Spirit carrying it above the strength of Nature in Holiness and every Grace through the Spirit whereby it is assured that Christ liveth in it and enjoyeth him as the Spouse enjoyeth her Beloved in which relation the Soul rejoyceth with exceeding joy as it is described in the Canticles And this relation is inseparable from that Relation of being the Sons of God 1 John 1.1 2. We are the Sons of God but it doth not appear what we shall be The joy of being a Son of God and to be accepted of God as it is said Acts 10.35 In every Nation they that fear God are accepted This must needs satisfie the Soul with joy peace and content and remove all grief and fear The Apostle saith This is our rejoycing that in simplicity and Godly sincerity we have our conversation in the World it is the Nature of Grace to give inward joy And it is often pressed as a duty incumbent upon Believers to rejoyce in the Lord. For such have no cause of fear distrust or despair be their condition what it will Psal 46. Though the Earth be moved and the Mountains shake at the Tempest though the Waters rage and swell here is repose and rest and refuge in the midst of troubles And every grace of the holy Spirit doth causally bring satisfaction peace and joy in themselves And as they excite one another they cause happiness as well efficiently in genere causarum as conditionally by virtue of the pact or Covenant of God made in the Gospel through the merit of Christ Jesus And by those Graces we are restrained from those evils of sin and
by beneficence and bounty and wonderful deliverances wherein his hand and almighty power onely could help us appears by Psal 10â— Which recites the wonders which God wrought for the Israelites in Egypt Whereby he delivered them from that thraldom and afterwards brought them to the promised land that flowed with Milk and Hony The end of all which is expressed in the last ver That they might keep his statutes and observe his laws When God bestowes such great mercies upon us as astonish our understanding as he did to them they were like men that dream when they were deliverd from Captivity when he delivereth us miraculously just then when we are at the very brink of destruction when the knife is at our throats or like brands pulled out of the fire so are we rescued and sometimes we are so rescued from the precipice of Hell before we are consumed it is no cause that may induce us to think that we are better than others or that it is for our own righteousness sake God forwarneth the Israelites from such misconceptions and that caution seemeth to imply that we are prone of our selves to such delusions God commands them when they bring their offering to say A Syrian ready to perish was my Father c. But the cause that moved God was from himself because of his love and favour which he had to them his goodness only was the efficient cause and the final cause his own glory and so it is of all our deliverances that we being delivered should serve him in holiness and righteousness before him all the daies of our lives Sutable thereto is the practice of Gods Servants for they ascribe them not to their own merit but reflect upon their own unworthiness that they may ascribe the more to Gods free goodness and mercy saying with David What am I and what is my Fathers house that thou shouldst do such great things for me Psal 116.9 And Psal 8. Lord what is man that thou art mindful of him or the Son of man that thou visitest him And St. Paul admiers Gods mercy to him who he saith Was the least of the Apostles and not worthy to be called an Apostle Which humility of mind and sense of our own unworthiness kindles the flame of our holy love to God for all his goodness and excites our Zeal to do all we can for God And not only the mercies received are improved to inflame our affections to love God our great benefactor but the mercies also which we hope for and expect hereafter as in 2 of Sam. 7.19 David speaks to God Who am I O Lord and what is my house that thou hast brought me hitherto And this was yet a small thing in thy sight O Lord God but thou hast spoken also of thy Servants house for a great while to come and is this the manner of men O Lord God! Though men the more they have done the less we can expect from them yet with God every mercy is an earnest of a greater therefore he argued well that said The Lord delivered me from the Lyon and Bear and will deliver me from this uncircumcised Philistine So did St. Paul saying The Lord hath delivered me and will deliver me And this assurance and hope alone in the want of all outward comforts by the strength of faith was able to support holy Job for therefore he was a conquerer over all these fiery darts of Satan and was able to do and suffer the good will and pleasure of God because he believed that his redeemer lived and that he should see him at the last day A further improvement the heavenly soul makes of mercies to engage its love and affections to God in the consideration of the overplus which God in his great goodness and liberality bestowes upon us above our desires and requests as when Solomon asked wisdom God bestowed upon him riches and honour and when David asked life God gave him a long life even for ever and ever So Abraham asked a child and God gave him seed as the sand of the Sea And we know of our own experience how God hath exceeded our requests for many temporal blessings which for the present when we had received them seemed great to us and to a thankful heart they will alwaies seem so and have the same operation to affect the heart with burning love to so great a benefactor But much more that overplus of eternal happiness which the Saints believe they shall receive For eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither hath it entered into the heart of man what the Lord hath prepared for them that love him And as a Virgin beloved puts not an estimate upon the gifts of her Lover according to their meer value but according to the respect which she hath to his love whereof they are pledges so the heavenly soul also looks more upon the love and favour of God shewed in his mercies than upon the benefit it receives by them as David expresseth in the Psalmes Psal 63. saying Thy loving kindness is better than life it self Therefore saith the Spouse in the Cant. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth for his love is better then Wine Which holy love the soul delights in and by it all duties in religion and works of piety charity and mortification are made easy delightful and desirable and not burthensome And so love may be said to be the fulfilling of the law because God accepts the will of them that are carried by this principle And they likewise accept of all that comes from God as from his love whether it be affliction or prosperity because they believe that God will bring good out of evils and cause all things to work together for their good and will shew his love and faithfulness in delivering them and will give them their hearts desire if they delight themselves in the Lord. Psal 37.4 And injoy themselves in serving him call the Sabbath a delight and as the Spouse in the Cant. ch 1. Sit under his shadow with delight If they trust in him hope in him rely upon him stay themselves upon him All which duties and all others they can do in some degree through Christ that strengthens them from whom they have all their sufficiency whose Grace is sufficient for them though of themselves they can do nothing not think a good thought for his strength is perfected in their weakness and his Spirit helpeth their infirmity for instance in the duty of Prayer they will approach the Throne of Grace to pray and praise God though they feel in themselves dulness and indisposition because they have found assistance in former duties from Gods Spirit enabling them when they were as much indisposed as at present therefore they do hope for and expect the like again and therefore they go on assured as Abraham was that God will provide himself a Sacrifice A parallel instance is that which St. Paul experienced when the