they finde him But this is a strange thing that no man can so seeke him before he hath found him And surely as no man can sincerely seeke God in vaine so no man can sincerely desire grace in vaine A man may loue Gold and yet not haue it but no man loueth God but he is sure to haue God saith Augustine Wealth a man may desire and yet be neuer the nearer it but Grace no man euer sincerely desired and missed of it It is true here that the Psalmist in another case saith Lord thou hearest the desire of the poore thou hast prepared their heart and thine eare hearkeneth to their prayers It is God that hath prepared the heart and wrought this desire in it for it is God that worketh such willingnesse in vs and he will neuer frustrate the desire that himselfe hath there wrought Yea as no man saith he can seeke God but he that hath found him and it is a signe therefore that a man hath alreadie found God in part when seriously and sincerely he seeketh him So no man can desire grace but he that alreadie hath grace for he that desireth grace hath grace to desire it and it is an infallible signe therefore that a man hath alreadie some measure of grace that doth seriously desire to haue it He would neuer desire to feare God that stood not in some awe of him alreadie nor desire to feele in himselfe a loue of God that did not in some measure already loue God Nor could a man euer truly desire sanctifying grace were not his heart alreadie sanctified by the Spirit of Grace which hath wrought also in him that desire of it Not to adde that the greatest part of a Christian mans perfection in this life witnesse Pauls owne ingenuous confession of himselfe and who went euer beyond him How farre at least come the most short of him consisteth rather in will then in worke and in desire and endeuour more then in deed True it is indeed that any naturall man may desire happinesse glory saluation and eternall well-being Oh saith Balaam that I might die the death of the righteous and that my latter end might be like his he desired indeed to die their death but to liue their life he could not endure it is naturall for euery one to desire his owne naturall good But to desire spirituall grace holinesse sound sanctification faith vnfained the true feare of God serious repentance is more than any naturall man euer did or can doe And therefore Blessed are they saith our Sauiour as that are poore in spirit and that mourne for their spirituall defects so that hunger and thirst after righteousnesse after spirituall grace after a supply of them Now what is hunger but a want of food with a sense thereof and an earnest desire of it or what is thirst but a drought a want of drinke and a vehement desire of it For in hunger and thirst there are these three things first an emptinesse in the one and a want of moisture in the other for it is not want of food simply but want of wetting that causeth this secondly a sense of this emptinesse and want of moisture with a speciall kinde of paine and griefe in the bodie proceeding from it For a man may be emptie bodied and yet not affected thus with it as in some diseases and where naturall heat is much wasted and thirdly a vehement desire of such either nouriture or moâ—sture whereby this emptinesse may be filled or this drought slaked For a man may be emptie and sicke againe in some sort with it yea readie to die of it and yet haue no appetite to his meat neither but a loathing of that rather whereby hee might be refreshed and releeued he may be emptie of food and yet feele it not he may feele it in some sort and yet not desire food But in hunger and thirst ordinarily doe these all three concurre Yea so vehement and violent is this desire of such supply oft in hunger and thirst that for a bit of bread or a cup of drinke men haue many times been content to part with the dearest and pretiousest things that they haue beene possest of In like manner is it in this spiritual hunger and thirst There is first spirituall pouertie a vacuitte an emptinesse of grace to sight and sense it may be vtterly of all in deed and truth of some degree of it there is secondly a griefe and painfulnesse in the heart and soule arising from the apprehension of it a mourning and bemoaning of ones selfe for the want of it and thirdly an earnest desire of it aboue all things in the world so that as a man throughly an hungred counteth all nothing in regard of meat a man heartily a-thirst all nothing in comparison of drinke he would giue any thing for it so the soule thus affected with the blessed Apostle counteth all nothing but drosse and dung in comparison of Christ the knowledge of him faith in him and conformity vnto him It is with it as with a Kings childe that though it be neuer so richly arrayed and haue neuer so many costly iewels hanging about it yet all is as nothing to it nothing but the nurses brest can still it when for want of food it is out of quiet So nothing but spirituall grace can here satisfie the soule all other things are esteemed as nothing to it Or as with some women that goe with childe and are subiect to longing they will part with any thing for that that they long for and are readie euen to sinke downe to faint to goe away yea to die if they haue it not So here spirituall grace and the sense and assurance of it is the thing longed for that they would giue a whole world for to obtaine if they had it and they are readie euen to faint and sinke vnder that heauie weight of griefe that surchargeth their distressed soules because they cannot yet finde and feele that in themselues which yet vndoubtedly they haue For certainly whosoeuer they be that can finde themselues in this sort affected either they must confesse themselues to be in a blessed estate and consequently in the state of grace for what true happinesse out of it or else they must contradict our Sauiour and charge Truth it selfe with vntruth who hath pronounced them blessed that are so affected And this I desire to haue well weighed and seriously considered for the staying of many troubled soules What is it that doth so much trouble thee and in this lamentable wise distresse and distract thee Oh saith he presently I haue no faith no repentance no loue no feare of God no sanctifying no sauing grace in me Why doest thou see a want of these things in thy selfe Yes that is it that so grieueth me that I cannot loue God stand
and Angels put together is as none in regard of his being the same with himselfe The first of them is in this tearme excluded from sound ioy the second is admitted to it as well as the third or the fourth yea therefore rather than the third by much because it is sure in time to attaine to the fourth and it may well therefore constitute a distinct sort or degree to make vp the number propounded at first to wit imperfecta sed firma or firma sed non pura non perfecta An imperfect Righteousnesse but yet firme or a firme and permanent Righteousnesse though not yet pure and perfect Since that the Grace of God begun here in the Hearts of his holy ones though neuer so infirme and weake in it selfe yet being supported and vpheld by the power of his Spirit is sure neuer wholly or fully to faile but as the light that the Moone receiueth from the Sunne though to our seeming but very little at first shortly after the change as we tearme it yet it increaseth more and more daily till it come to the full so shall the light of Grace in Gods Children though but little scarce sensible at the first either to others or themselues yet it shall grow on till it come to it full growth which when it hath once attained that which will not be in this life it will neuer herein contrary to the manner of the Moone impaire or abate againe So that the Point that hence ariseth is this that Ioy belongeth to the Vpright And to the Vpright only First to the Vpright that is as well to those that be sincere-hearted as to those that be perfectly and exactly righteous yea to all vpright bee they strong or weake ones bee they well growne or but new borne babes in Christ Iesus For whereas there are two ranckes of Men truly Righteous The former of such righteous ones as neuer fell neuer sinned the estate of the elect Angels that need no repentance that like the Prodigals elder Brother neuer left their Fathers house nor euer offended him in ought The latter of such righteous ones as haue fallen indeed but are risen againe through Gods mercie in Christ their Sauiour restoring them in part and raising them vp againe by repentance the state of all the faithfull in part f renewed and regenerate and restored againe to their Originall Righteousnesse Or to come nearer to the Point The former of those that are righteous in regard of a perfect habite or an absolute perfection of righteousnesse And so our Sauiour Christ only here on earth was and the Saints saued now in heauen are The latter of those that are righteous in regard of the desire studie endeuour and imperfect practise rather than perfection of righteousnesse Such as sincerely desire to feare and to serue God and endeuour constantly to doe his will as haue respect to Gods Commandements and thinke vpon them to obserue them though they cannot keepe or fulfill them so as they should that follow after righteousnesse as a worke-man doth his trade that he hath bound himselfe an apprentice to though he be not yet his crafts-master And so Iob is said to be Iust though he had his infirmities and failings by his owne confession not a few So Zacharie and Elizabeth are said to haue beene righteous in Gods sight that is truly and sincerely though not perfectly righteous for they were not also without their wants And euen these latter also haue right to and may haue part in the ioy here propounded as well as the former though the former enioy it farre more fully than they doe For God will be mercifull yea he hath alreadie beene and is mercifull to those that set their hearts aright that desire to feare his name And I will be with him saith God of Salomon if he endeuour to doe my will And Then saith Dauid shall I not be confounded when I haue respect to all thy Precepts When I am vpright with my God And The louing kindnesse of the Lord is from euer and for euer vpon those that thinke vpon his Commandements to do them And He that followeth after Righteousnesse shall finde Honour and Life true honour and eternal Life For vnto those that by patient perseuerance in well-doing seeke honour and glory and immortalitie will God render Life eternall And therefore to such also euen in expresse tearmes is ioy promised and such also in expresse tearmes are enioyned to reioyce The righteous shall be glad in the Lord and trust in him and all without exception that are vpright in heart shall reioyce And as here Light is sowen for the righteous so else-where Light in darknesse ariseth to the vpright And againe hauing in the beginning of the Psalme pronounced them blessed not that neuer sinned but that haue sincerely repented them of their sinnes in whose soule there is no guile he concludeth with an incitement yea an iniunction laid vpon all such to reioyce Be glad yee righteous and reioyce in the Lord and be merry yea shout for ioy all yee that are vpright in heart And if there be great ioy in heauen for such sure there may well be much ioy also here on earth vnto such And this may be further confirmed vnto vs if we shall consider 1. That it is not so much the quantitie as the qualitie and sinceritie of his grace in vs that God principally regardeth A little pale and course Gold is of much more worth than much bright Copper than much fine Brasse And a good peece of Gold is true Gold though it be bemired and besmeared with durt an ingot of Gold is good Gold though it haue much drosse still mixt with it Nor will a man that is in his wits cast away his money be it Gold or Siluer for the foulnesse of it or the Gold-smith his wedge for the drosse that is mixt with it but where he meeteth with neuer so little good gold and it be but a grain or two mixt with neuer so much drosse he will not leaue the gold for the drosse but keep the drosse with the gold till he haue fined it and so seuered and freed the one from the other In like manner here Gods grace in the hearts of his Children though it be mixt still with many infirmities yea and corruptions yet is it true Grace and much better than all those seeming shadowes and though glorious yet but counterfeit shewes of it that are found either in Heathen mens liues or in the courses of Hypocrites Nor will God therefore in regard of those infirmities and corruptions mixt with it reiect it but rather haue a care of them in whom it is to cure and to correct them that his
in awe of him trust in his mercie repent of my sinnes as I should Yea but doest thou not seriously and vnfainedly desire to doe thus Oh yes I desire it aboue all things in the world and I would be willing to buy and it were with a whole world the least measure a dramme or a drop onely of such grace And who is it I pray thee that hath wrought this desire in thee Not the Deuill he would rather quench it all he could in thee Not thine owne corrupt heart that is naturally most auerse thereunto It must needs then be the worke of the Spirit of God and of him who affirmeth them to be all in a blessed plight that thus hunger and thirst after grace and assureth them withall that they shall one day be satisfied Giue her meat said our Sauiour when he had raised Iâ—irus his Daughter to shew that she was not reuiued only but recouered A good stomacke we say is a signe of good health And as hunger is a signe of health in the body so is this spirituall hunger of health in the Soule An eighth Note of Sinceritie may be a desire and endeuour of growth in grace Desire I say and endeuour for where desire indeed is there endeuour also will be there cannot but be a serious endeuour where the desire of the heart is sincere But grow in grace saith Saint Peter inciting hereunto and in the knowledge of our Lord Iesus Christ. And Desire the sincere milke of the Word that yee may thereby grow And it is the ioynt prayer of the Apostles to their Sauiour and ours Lord encrease our Faith therein crauing a further improuement of that grace that alreadie they had receiued And the Heathen man himselfe maketh it a note of a good man that hee studieth daily how he may grow better than hee is not contenting himselfe with any degree or measure of goodnesse Yea the Apostle Paul telleth vs that the whole bodie of Christ whereof euery true Christian is a limbe is so compact together in it selfe and so firmely fastned with certaine spirituall nerues and ligaments to the head that from it there is by them conueighed to each part a continuall supply of spirituall grace both sufficient to furnish it and to further the growth of it Yea but peraduenture will some say that is it that maketh me misdoubt my selfe that to mine owne seeming I stand at a stay and mee thinketh I haue so done for a long time together I answer It may well so be and yet mayest thou be growing for all that The eye can see other things but it cannot see it selfe Wee can easily see the face and the countenance of another we cannot behold our owne but by reflection onely Christians many times better discerne how others grow in grace and come forward than how themselues doe though it may be growing as fast or faster than they The Boat that crosseth vs on the Riuer seemeth to goe farre swifter than ours though our owne goe as fast or faster than it and the land it selfe to passe by vs while we stand still when indeed we passe by it it standeth still Strangers that come by starts some continuance of time betweene to vs can better iudge of the growth of our children than our selues who haue them continually in our eye And it is the manner therfore of curious Artists Picture-drawers and the like to stand sometime aloofe off viewing their worke yea or to goe wholly away from it and to leaue it a while and after some space of time to returne to it againe that they may the better discerne any the least defect in it Our continuall conuersing with our selues maketh our owne growth many times to be not so discernable of our selues as of others Which may the rather befall vs because this spirituall growth in the most is ordinarily but by insensible degrees A man may stand gasing a long time vpon the Diall and yet not perceiue how the hand there stirreth though it be stirring all that while hee may in warme springing weather sit night and day beside the young greene grasse and yet not discerne the shooting vp of it though by the warmth of the weather it be continually sprouting Thou maist well therfore be growing though thou doest not discerne it As a man may haue grace and yet not know it so he may be growing in grace and yet not be aware of it But doest thou not desire and endeuour to grow in it If thou dost so it is certaine that thou dost grow and art growing howsoeuer thou seest it not To vse Gersons similitude or one somewhat like it at least A man is bound for the East-Indies and shapeth his course thitherward but by the way is put off oft by crosse winds to the westward hee is compelled to put into diuers harbours and to make some stay by the way there either to shift off stormie weather or to take in fresh water And yet all this while we say he is going onward on his way because his purpose and resolution still continueth the same It is much more so in spirituall things because our very growth it selfe in them consisteth much euen in resolution and desire The strength of desire neuer a whit furthereth the sea-man so long as hee lieth wind-bound to the making of his port but the very strength of our desire may conueigh vs nearer to God may carrie vs higher as with Eagles wings vp towards heauen Yea this thy greedie desire of grace may make thee lesse sensible of thine owne growth As the Heathen man obserueth that the earnest desire of what men would haue maketh them forgetfull of what they haue I forget what is past saith the Apostle and presse on to what is before Their eye is more vpon what they want than vpon what they haue It is with good Christians in this case as with rich worldlings that like men in a race haue their eye on those that be before them not on those that come after them they are euer eying those that seeme to out-strip and out-goe them in wealth and thinke they haue nothing they are but poore men so long as they come short of such and such And so is it with these they are oft eying those whose either examples they reade of or whose courses and graces they are in some sort eye-witnesses of and thinke that they haue nothing they make no progresse at least worth speaking of so long as they come behinde and keepe short of such And this is it oft that maketh them complaine so much of their wants their slow progresse and that they cannot perceiue but that they stand still at a stay Which yet complaint of theirs and feruent desire of growth in grace is a sure argument of sincere and vndoubted grace in them Yea