for outward mercies I even for spiritual mercies Secondly give some grounds and reasons to demonstrate the truth thereof how it comes to pass that there should be so much danger that a people should become the worse for mercies For the proof that you may understand the more distinctly let me lay it down in a double distinction of mercy Mercies are either Privative or Positive Privative that is deliverances preservations from varieties of evils and dangers which otherwise we were liable unto and indeed it is a good rule that some Divines have Majores sunt gratiae Privativae quam Positivae our Privative mercies are greater and more then our Positive mercies are though we perceive them not the dangers that we are delivered from are more then the present mercies we do enjoy Now let us see whether Privative mercies make men the worse when men are delivered do they grow the worse for their deliverance look to this Deut. 32.26 the Lord speaks of a great Privative mercy I said I would scatter them into Corners I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy least their adversaries should behave themselves strangely least they should say Our hand is high I delivered them from their enemies when I took no argument from them for their deliverance then I took an argument from their enemies the Lord made use of that argument I would have given them into the hand of their enemies but I feared least they would wax proud what good now did this deliverance do this people in the 32. Verse Their Vine is the Vine of Sodom and their grapes are the grapes of Gomorrah here is the fruit now that these men brought forth of their Privative mercies that the Lord did not give them into their enemies hands for all that the people grew more wicked under these and their grapes were c. in this manner they improved their corruptions then certainly deliverances Privative mercies men are in danger to grow the worse by them In Psal 78.38 Many a time he turned his wrath away and would not suffer his whole displeasure to arise Were the people the better for it afterwards No they grew so much the more rebellious I will give but one instance more of Privative mercies and it is a famous one And it were well we made these our looking glasses Jonah is sent to prophesie against Niniveh VVithin fourtie dayes and Niniveh shall be destroyed the King with the City were awakened and humbled themselves before God and the Lord was pleased to defer the Judgement they were delivered were the people ever the better or was this deliverance in mercy No the people were never the better as appears if you look to the prophesie of Nahum where you have the destruction of that people threatned to be at hand this people that had fasted and prayed yet notwithstanding vengeance comes upon them with greater fury afterwards In Nahum 3.3,4 Woe to this City that is full of blood and lyes God spared her for a time and respited his wrath but then his wrath came upon them to the utmost thus Privative mercies may make men grow the worse And men may be delivered and a Nation delivered and they growing worse for it the Lord may reserve them to further plagues Secondly there are Positive mercies and they are of two sorts and men are in danger of growing worse by both of them Either temporal or spiritual mercies as if the Lord give men the Scriptures they are in danger to wrest them to their own destruction 2 Pet. 3.6 if God give them his Gospel they are in danger to turn his grace into wantonness In the Epistle of Iude ver 4. Not the word of grace but the priviledges of grace if God give men the Ordinances they say The temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord And we are delivered to commit all this abomination Ier. 7.8,9 and so in Heb. 6.7,8 there is the ground that drinks in the rain of Ordinances and Influences and yet brings forth Briers and Thorns So if men receive spiritual priviledges they may be the worse for them Mat. 3.9 Nay spiritual divination and be in danger to be the worse for it Paul was so 2 Cor. 3.7 there was sent a Messenger of Satan to buffet him least he should be lifted up overmuch Nay spiritual motions and operations Heb. 6.5,6 there are men enlightned that have tasted of the good word of God been made partaker of the gifts of the holy Ghost and tasted the powers of the world to come these are great works and yet notwithstanding what do these do these fit a man for the great Apostacy such as can never admit of a renovation thus When the unclean spirit goes forth out of the man which is a great common work too yet he returns with seven worse spirits then certainly spiritual mercies indanger men they that know most of God and Christ are in great danger to be the worse for such mercies And so it is true of temporal mercies too if you will take notice of that Hosea 1. it is a whole proof of the point in hand the text tells what is the mother of all the decay there spoken of even until they are called Loami they are not my people What is the mother of all this Diblaim and that properly signifies bunches of dryed Figgs and it is and was commonly interpreted to be a great dainty among them Cakes of Figgs were part of Abigals present to David By this the Lord sets forth their great plenty and abundance this is the mother the people had abundance and their hearts were set upon it What was the daughter to this people Gomer the word doth signifie perfection or defection commonly Interpreters take it in the last sense that is brought forth that great defection that great consumption that came upon the whole Land then certainly men may be the worse for temporal mercies that instance I am sure is plain enough in Dan. 7.2 out of the four winds that contended upon the great Sea there arose four beasts When they were grown great so as to become Monarchs they forgate to be men and became beasts and never till then never beasts till they became Monarchs thus there is a great deal of danger that men should grow the worse for temporal mercies I shall give one instance more in Neh. 9.25,26 they took strong Cities and a fat Land and possessed houses full of all goods c. and did eat and were filled and became fat c. Nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against thee here were men that were a great deal the worse for their plenty the Scripture is full of such instances Let this serve for the proof of the point But you will say to me What is the reason are the mercies of God of such a malignant nature so invenomed that they make men grow thus and thus the
to prayer God hears prayers with revenge Gives the things prayed for but out of a peculiar displeasure No wonder then that men be the worse for them take but the instance of Vzziah 2 Chron. 26. he fought many battles and the Lord helped him mightily you will say God intended good to this man sure No all this was in displeasure he mightily helped him till he was strong and then his heart was lifted up to his own destruction My Brethren God doth as much rain snairs on men in mercy as in any other of his dispensations whatsoever and therefore look to it it is a dangerous thing for a people to receive mercy if they do not improve it I shall now speak a few words of Application there are but two uses that I would make of it First of examination Look back upon all the mercies that you have received from God temporal and spiritual mercies privative positive mercies Indeed it is your duty the expression is in Psal 68.26 Bless the Lord from the fountain of Israel Not only for late mercies received but look to the Fountain from whence all mercies did first flow Remember the Lord from Shittim to Gilgal Micah 6.5 it is from the first beginning of mercy to the latter end of them ask but the question now of your own hearts look to your own personal mercies every one in private family mercies and the publick mercies that God hath afforded the Nation and tell me are you the better or the worse for them have you brought forth fruit answerable to the mercy or hath not the Lord cause to say Do you thus requite the Lord oh foolish people and unwise what are the evil fruits that mercies are in danger to bring forth by which people are made the worse and see whether or no a great many of these be not to be found amongst us and if they be you may say the thing is a mercy yet notwithstanding you have little reason to take comfort in it certainly it can never be a mercy to thee nothing is a mercy to you but that which you are the better for There are six things that are the ordinary waies by which men do appear to be the worse for mercy And pray let us see whether all these be not to be found amongst us this is a day wherein you should lay your selves naked before God First the ordinary abuse of mercy is forgetfulness of God Deut. 4.14 When thou hast eaten and art full and dwellest in houses that thou buildest not and enjoyest wells that thou diggedst not then take heed least thou forget the Lord thy God And indeed this is the first and the most natural fruit of a heart fatted with mercy for so it is said here they waxed fat and kickt they lightly esteemed the rock of their salvation the mercies of God make men dis-regard God Now I pray consider if the mercies that raise thee up cast God down in thy soul examine I pray hath respect to God risen by his mercie look to it each particular foul and judge your selves faithfully I am afraid I may speak it with a great deal of bitterness respect to God hath not risen by his mercies to this Nation Nay rather lay aside all things for the things of God we have nothing to do with them Certainly this is an evil thing and is an argument that men grow the worse for mercy Secondly when they are settled upon them and satisfied with them Let them but keep this mercy it will be well with them Let us enjoy this all is well See how the people are brought in it is a strange speech Ier. 2.31 We are Lords say they we will come no more to thee God set them in a good and a prosperous condition now we will own God no more we will raign alone have we seen so much need of God in a mercy or do we ever come in to God but when some present trouble is upon us if any great eminent danger be over us then a fast otherwise if not for a year together it is no matter as much as to say we are satisfied with mercies and have enough of them We are Lords and will come no more at thee Thirdly when men grow refractory unto duty and oppose the things of godliness with a higher hand that is another way by which men grow worse for mercies An untamed heifer unaccustomed to the yoak that is the expression when you shall find such a disposition in you to reject God deride his Ordinances oppose the Ministers corrupt his Scriptures or at least endeavour to make them void by mystical allegorical interpretations and thereby make them a sound of words and no more when men dare proceed to this pass and have a great deal to say for themselves and against duty confidently this is an evil fruit of mercy Fourthly when a people do begin to dote upon their own beauty God sets them in a good condition and they begin to rest in it that evil was the fruit of their mercy Ezek. 16.15 Thou wast comely through my comeliness that I put upon thee But thou didst trust in thine own beauty this is another evil fruit of mercy men grow more self-confident of their own wisdom and their own strength and trust in their beauty a great Argument that men grow much the worse for mercy Fifthly when men ascribe mercy to themselves and would take the glory from God Hab. 1.16 Sacrifice to their own net and say this is great Babel that I have built my wisdom saith one and my power saith another this or that arm of flesh hath got the victory the hearts of men run out to second causes to poor instruments this is an argument that men grow the worse for mercies when they cannot call to mind any former thing wherein the Lord hath been pleased to use them but with great Elevation of Spirit And it must not be spoken of but with the greatest advancement of the instrument that can be And Lastly when men imploy all to their own use when all mens mercies do but serve their lusts one man saith we have obtained this mercy therefore I will be rich now I must sit at the stern saith another the management of all the negotiations of the State is in my hands as much as to say God hath given all these mercies to serve me remember that place in Isa 29.1 It is a Scripture I confess you should have much before your eyes Wo to Ariel to Ariel the City where David dwelt why is Jerusalem called Ariel you have it rendred in the margent the Lyon of God that City and that people which had been as a Lyon to conquer all the neighbouring Nations that none were able to stand before them yet when they abused all these barely to serve themselves the Lord hath a woe for them have these been the fruits that mercies have brought forth amongst us the Grapes of Sodom
have not we reason now as to bewail our wants so to weep over our mercies all this day long and to consider how much we are the worse for those mercies wherein the Lord hath been merciful to you There is a second use of Caution and admonition do you take heed seeing it is so dangerous a thing that the same thing be not justly said of you and charged on you as was here upon Jesurun that they were the worse for their mercies the mercies they received did but ripen their sins and hasten their ruine take heed you bring forth fruits worthy of the mercy you receive as Christ saith bring forth fruits worthy of repentance you may remember it is said of Solomon Cant. 8.11 he had a Vine-yard in Baal-hamon and Solomon let it out but he expected to have the incomes of his Vine-yard the Lord deals so with men whatever the mercies are you do receive the Lord expects returns for them and that your mercies should make you thrive and grow more in grace and more in obedience that you should be the better for them But what are the natural fruits that the mercies of God should bring forth that I may know when they are fruits that grow upon mercy naturally not from sin occasionally that I may say I am the better for mercy I shall name to you six particulars and pray lay them to heart First the proper fruit of mercy is an humble acknowledgment of our own unworthyness when the soul is made more humble under the apprehension of its own unworthiness that is a mercy indeed the Lord directs to this in Deut. 26.5 they were to come to bring their first fruits to God when they came to Canaan they were to come to God and say A Syrian ready to perish was my Father and the Lord brought us out of the Land of Egypt they acknowledge their own unworthiness of mercy when a soul can say as Iacob doth I am less then the least of all thy mercies Secondly the proper fruit of mercy by which a man may be said to be the better for it is when they ascribe all mercy to God when they say VVe have wrought no deliverance in the earth neither have the inhabitants of the earth formed it it is not my bow nor my sword that hath saved me but as David Psal 18.2 VVhen God had delivered him from all his enemies and out of the hand of Saul Now what doth David say The Lord is my strength and my rock he is become my salvation God is all in all he looks on no instruments no second causes Thirdly when mercies do bring a mans sins to remembrance the soul stoops under the apprehension of mercy what will God shew mercy to me one so rebellious and disobedient as I and then the soul reads over the guilt of his sin with new remorse is this thy Voice thy act O Lord whom I have so much provoked that the Lord might have cast me off so long ago It was so with them in Ezek. 16. ult when God shews the greatest mercy that ever he will give them when he will give them sisters for daughters and exalt her to be the mother Church of the earth then they shall remember their waies and their doings and shall be confounded and put their mouthes in the dust and never lift up their faces any more when I am pacified towards them I might have expected that God should have destroyed me rather and sent me to hell as well as to captivity but will the Lord yet shew mercy the soul is in bitterness for this Fourthly when mercies lay upon the men the stronger obligations and a man makes this use of it looks upon himself as more firmly bound to God that is the use they make of mercy in Ezra 9.13 after we have received such a deliverance as this should we rebel as if they should have said if this mercy do not make up the banck against disobedience nothing in the world will do it this makes a man as David to cleave to God with full purpose of heart and to say this God is my God is my God for ever Fifthly when the soul studies what he shall return to God for all his mercies you know that God not only expects returns but proportionable returns And I desire you would take notice of it 2 Chron. 32.26 But Hezekiah rendred not according to the benefit done unto him But can our returns be answerable to our receipts there is a double way to make reckonings even you can never return so much in the thing but in the will and so much the more as the hand of God is large in mercy so much the more thy heart should be enlarged in returns and let me offer this to your thoughts in every affliction it is observed God hath some one special end though the Lord hath many ends do meet in every action for therein his wisdom appeareth But yet notwithstanding some special thing the Lord aims at in every affliction and therefore Iob goes to God and saith Lord shew me wherefore thou contendest with me there is some especial thing that the Lord aims at that he would have his people to endeavour to find out and so it is in every mercy though the Lord have many ends in it yet some special end the Lord aims at in every Mercy which you should consult with God about go to the Lord Jesus as your Priest and desire direction from him enquire what special duties the Lord aims at in this mercy For you can no more thrive under mercy then you concurr with God in his ends set those three ends together Mich. 6.8 and now oh man what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God But it is good for you to spend some time to enquire what is the peculiar thing the Lord aims at in every affliction and in every mercy that is the way to thrive under and to be the better for mercy Lastly that soul is the better for mercy when it loves God the more for it Psal 18.1 a great mercy David had received deliverance from all his enemies Oh I will love the Lord saith he that is the first thing he doth not say I will love the mercy and I will rejoyce in the mercy No I told you it was Austins observation Austin It is an adulterous love the love of an harlot to love the gift above the giver Let this be an evidence of your love that you so delight in the mercy as you delight in the goodness of the God of the mercy and that you keep your selves in the way of mercy ever after why is one particular mercy so sweet the Scripture speaks of Gods drawing out of loving kindness how shall the soul obtain it keep your selves in the way of mercy then thou shalt be sure to be kept in the way of loving kindness continually there
deliver you no more as our Lord Christ after his satisfaction is said to finish transgression and make an end of sin so men by their transgressions may finish and make an end of mercy also it may come to its full number Now why doth the Lord in this manner record and number the mercies he hath bestowed upon a people surely it is in reference unto a Judgement he will call them to an account for the place where he set them on a fruitful hill the wall he made about them of protection the wine-press of Ordinances that he set up in them and the overthrow of their enemies that he wrought for them Thirdly the abuse of mercies is by God imputed to men and punished by him wo to Ariel Ariel was either the Altar of God where the sacrifices were offered or the Lyon of God quod vicinas Gentes subjugasset and yet there is a woe unto them Have I been a Wilderness to you or a Land of darkness and what iniquity have your Fathers found in me therefore I will be a Lyon unto Ephraim and as a Leopard I will observe them And what are these but ultimi judicii praeindicium for now the reasons of Gods Judgements are secret and no soul sees them but the Lord will make it appear in the day 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the day of Revelation of his righteous Judgement and all the Nations of the world shall see that it is not without cause all that the Lord hath done therefore particular Judgements are resemblances of the general Judgement it s said the Sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood Rev. 6.12,13,14 There was a great earth-quake and the Sun became black as a sack-cloth of hair c. which some have misapplyed unto the day of Judgement because of the resemblance in the description of it but it hath a great resemblance because it was all in reference to it therefore all the mercies that people do receive they are in reference to an account Doctrine 4. Fourthly answerable unto mens receits so shall their account be they that have received much shall account for much and they that have received little shall but for a little he that hath received five talents must look to reckon for five and he that hath received but two shall count for no more it is some kind of comfort unto them that have received but a few talents that they count but for a few as he did comfort his friends that had but one eye he should count but for the sins of one eye and it is a comfort unto godly men many times who have little of the things here below that their account for them shall be less then many another mans and it is a great ground of fear and terrour unto them who have received much from God surely great will their account be some shall account for an hundred talents and others but for few indeed much mercy is sweet in the receit but it is sad in the account and yet thus it must be upon a double ground First because all the mercies of God are given unto eternal ends and therefore they shall all of them be brought forth and accounted for in the eternal Judgement its true that the Lord hath some temporal acts that he doth in time but he hath no temporalends they are all of them eternal and all that men do all their actions also are in reference unto eternal ends therefore they shall all be brought forth at the eternal judgement so shall all that the Lord doth also and though the frame of this world shall stand but for a season yet the Lord will have an eternal glory thereby when all the creatures shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God so though there be great variety of mercies given to the children of men yet the glory that God shall have by them shall be everlasting glory as it is in our acts of sin though it be but for a season yet the misery will be everlasting so though Gods acts to the creature in this life be but temporal yet the glory of them will be everlasting there is not any one of these temporal mercies that you enjoy but the Lord doth them to eternal ends and therefore he will reap by them eternal glory and therefore some make that the meaning of that place Eccles 3.14 What ever the Lord doth he doth for ever ab imutabilitate men can change none of the works that they do indeed men may do works in one age which the next age may destroy and pluck down but men cannot do so of the worksof God what he doth there is no man can add to it or take from it For the ends of all Gods works they have all of them reference to eternity he doth them all for an eternal end which shall remain when the work is destroyed yet it shall attain its end and shall redound unto his eternal glory Secondly because all the Judgements of God shall be righteous Judgements now righteousness doth consist in a proportion therefore it shall be exactly answerable unto mens sins which they have committed and to the mercies which they have received it must neither exceed nor fall short there is a great deal of difference between acts of soveraignty and dominion in God when the will of God only is to be looked upon and the acts of his Justice wherein he will deal with the creature by a rule and will plead with him in a rational way so as he shall in the Judgements of God be his own Judge also therefore he is said Esa 28.17 to lay Judgement to the line and Righteousness to the plummet that is summa equitate jus reddere Forer Forer Therefore the Lord will be very exact in it in setting mens accounts in order before them for Jesus Christ shall Judge as man by the man Christ Iesus and therefor it shall be done in such a way as men may be capable of and may understand the reason of his proceedings that so they may justifie the Lord and therefore the Saints are said to Iudge the world because they shall be assessors with him when they shall hear the mercies that he hath bestowed and how he doth require of men his own again in that great day of their account Use If it be so that answerable to mens receits shall their account be then let us consider our mercies that God hath bestowed upon us what persons what people can equal us in mercies surely such will our account be without parallel we are all for receiving mercies at receits we are good but who doth think of his account Go to now you rich men weep and howl you great men men of great gifts men of high place men of great interest let me tell you answerable unto all this will your account be ye that pride your selves in what you have received
the Church Phil. 3.19 it was because their God was their belly and they minded earthly things So that if there be a Diotrephes that loves preferment he must and will have both the Dictates and Inventions of men as well as their persons in admiration for advantage sake Fourthly Cowardize Gal. 6.12 they found out a middle way to mix the bondage of the Law with the liberty of the Gospel that they might not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ but that they might be well thought of on both sides Ieroboham set up Idolatry in Bethel and an old Prophet of the Lord dwelt there yet such was his Cowardize that it seems he had nothing to say against it but that the Lord must send a Prophet from Judah to reprove him 1 King 13. and the truth is had not the Ministers been in many ages a generation of spiritual cowards they had never had so many inventions imposed upon them as they have had Secondly there are also many causes in the people but I will only insist upon this one because they receive not the Doctrine of the Gospel in the purity nor the worship of God in the love of it and therefore the Lord in Justice gives them up unto an efficacy of deceit 2 Thes 2.10,11 They are ready to receive any Doctrine without trying the spirits and to yield unto any command willingly walk after the Commandment Hos 5.11 they are for the most part a lump fit to receive any leaven the Prophets prophecy falsly c. and the people love to have it so Ier. 5. ult for a pompous Religion that consists much in outward shews and that which abounds most in bodily exercise is a thing that is generally well-pleasing unto men Amos 4.5 and usually when men forsake the rule then they look more at what will please them then what will please God this liketh you O house of Israel and this was all they looked at therein Secondly when God turns unto a people in mercy and they return unto him he will free them from all this superstition or idolatrous mixtures Zeph. 3.9 I will restore unto them a pure language which place being compared with that Isa 19.18 They shall all speak the language of Canaan Language there notes consensum cum populo Dei in fide cultu restoring a pure language may signifie purity both in Doctrine and Worship they shall speak no more partly the language of Canaan and partly of Ashdod as in times past but the pure language of Canaan in Judgement I will make them one Nation upon the Mountains of Israel and they shall defile themselves no more with their Idols and their detestable things and from all your Idols I will cleanse you Ezek. 37.2,3 And I will give unto them one heart and one way that they shall fear me for ever Ier. 32.39 Now the reason why the Lord will take away these mixtures when he returns are these First because usually these are the greatest and the most provoking sins of a Nation Hos 9.15 all their wickedness is in Gilgal this was antiently the place of worship 1 Sam. 15.12 and there they did now worship God according to their own devices the Prophet tels them where they did think to please God it was the greatest transgression that they did commit for so I conceive the particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to be taken pro summo in all their thefts adulteries drunkenness c. they did not all of them provoke the Lord so much as that they did worship him according to their own inventions in Gilgal Deo serviendum est non ex arbitrio sed ex imperio There is nothing to be done but by rule Gal. 6.16 now where the creature shall take so much upon himself as to set his wisdom above the wisdom of God and set his threshold beside the threshold of the Lord Ezek. 43.8 it is a provoking sin that the Lord cannot endure Secondly because this is a special cause why God departs from any people now the Lord will never return in mercy unless the cause be taken away that provoked him to depart Ezek. 8.7 every humane invention imposed as necessary to the service of God is an Image of jealousie and the aim of it is to provoke the Lord to go far from his Sanctuary it is finis operis though not operantis Thirdly because of all Judgements upon a people this is the greatest and therefore when the Lord returns unto them in mercy he must take away these Psal 81.12 I gave them up to walk in their own counsels it is spoken as of the greatest Judgement could befall them and so it is for a man to be a rule to himself for he that is his own rule must needs be his own end and he that is his own end must needs be his own God and therefore it is a speech of the greatest displeasure he hath made unto himself Altars to sin therefore Altars shall be unto him to sin Hos 8.11 Fourthly when God doth return unto a people in mercy he doth intend to delight in them and rejoyce over them to do them good and that he can never do in any service that they perform until worship be purged from humane mixtures Mal 3.3,4 When he hath sat in his Church as a refiner and hath purged his worship then shall the sacrifices of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord as in the daies of old then but not till then Use Let this teach every one of us a double duty First hate all idolatrous and superstitious mixtures in Gods worship whatsoever Secondly beware of them First hate them as being the thing that causeth the Lord to go far from his Sanctuary to be unto his people as a wayfaring man that tarries but for a night groan under them as burdens that so the Lord may return unto his people in mercy and restâ—… unto his Church a pure language that they may no longer halt between two opinions no more swear by God and by Malcome but that he may restore to us one heart and one way To move your hatred against it consider First of all kinds of sin this is most defiling thou defiledst thy self with thy Idols Ezek. 22.4 Now what is defilement or filthiness it is saith Aquinas Carentia nitoris quem ex gratia habemus indeed all sin stains and blemisheth the beauty of the soul but this sin above others And if we observe the Scripture we shall see that they have been men of most corrupt spirits and the most profligated consciences that have been most set upon humane inventions in the things of God take the Pharisees for an instance and indeed it is Just with God that they that will find out waies of worship for God to be unto themselves means of sanctification that those should prove in just Judgement a means of desolation Secondly it is most inflaming they have inflamed themselves with their Idols under every
shall be a tract of mercies to thee take heed therefore that your mercies do make you the better for otherwise mercies wronged are the most dangerous things that are medled withal But how shall I know that I know that I am the better for mercies Pray observe these four rules and I have done First thy mercies will never make thee the better unless they be mercies that proceed from a Covenant-right and interest What is that the great promise of the Covenant is I will be thy God that is all that is in God thou hast an interest in then there is infinite mercy in God that mercy is my mercy the God of my mercy and the God of my strength this labour to be sure of what mercy soever thou receivest let it flow from a Covenant-interest that thou hast closed with the Lord and chooses him for thy God no mercy will do thee good else Secondly when a man as he receives all from God doth direct all to God that he that is the first cause is made the last end when the soul saith of him are all things therefore to him are all things I desire to have no benefit from that which God hath no glory from when a man doth so it is an argument that the mercy doth his soul good Thirdly consider this is the mercy that doth you good when it makes thy soul prosperous I would not have you judge of mercies by any thing but with relation to your souls as God gave Gaius a great estate the host of the whole Church in Iohn 3.2 I wish thou maiest prosper as thy soul prospers if God hath given thee a large estate great employments or great dignity amongst men is thy soul the better then thou art the better but never till then take the instance of Iehosaphat 2 Chron. 17.5,6 he had silver and gold in abundance and his heart was lifted up in the way of Gods Commandments how should I know when God gives me riches in mercy why his soul was lifted up and therefore he had them in mercy Lastly wherein your prayers to God are drawn forth more for a sanctified use of the mercy then for the mercy it self this is certain it is said of ungodly men that by the prayers of Gods people their mercies are turned into snares in Psal 69.22 let their table be made their snare and that which should have been for their welfare let it become a trap so their prayers are drawn out that all the mercies that they receive may cause them to thrive and prosper that every thing may work for good together for good as the Lord hath promised to those that love him And so much now for the point which is of continual use to you and therefore I beseech you consider of what hath been spoken March 3. 1652. Vnruly Thoughts quieted BY Divine Consolations At Pauls June 9. 1653. PSALM 94.19 In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul THE Psalm in the Hebrew is without a Title and therefore I can say nothing either of the Author or the Occasion but the Septuagint adds a title and Jerom from them Psalmus David quarta sabbati Ierom. upon which Austin and Ierom have their several conjectures which will be to little purpose to humble you withal only from the contents thereof Musculus and Calvin both do observe that the Psalmist doth here speak de persecutionibus domesticis some that proved great persecutors at home and they do referr it unto Saul and unto his government it is true they had many enemies round about them all the neighbour Nations the bordering Nations they were their evil neighbours the Holy-Ghost calls them so in Ier. 12.14 but yet it seems they had more cruel inmates within worse then all the neighbours without a home-born slaverie amongst all upon earth is the greatest misery home-born Oppression among all upon earth is the greatest tyrannie yet notwithstanding so it seems it was for that is the humor of some men as if they were only ad dominium and all others admancipium nati they born to rule all other men born to serve and such was Sauls party Cush the Ethiopian Psal 7.1 Jews by profession but Gentiles in Religion this misery grew so great upon David that he chose rather a voluntary exile then to subject himself unto the cruelty of those or that hypocritical faction which bare rule in his own Nation as Salv. l. 5. de grat p. 6. such was the oppression in that time of the Roman Governors ut-unum Romanorum erat omnium votum liceat iis vitam agere cum Barbaris This seems to be the great subject of the Psalm In the words that I have read to you there are two things to be considered First Davids affliction if he were the Author of the Psalm and that arose from a multitude of perplexing thoughts within him And Secondly here is Davids Consolation too in the midst of this affliction thy comforts delight my soul amara vulnera sed suavia medicamenta Austin so Austin saith From these two Branches there are two Observations that I have made choice of to speak something to you at present The first is this That in evil times the misery of the Saints of God is more from thoughts within then troubles without Secondly That God provideth Consolations in and answerable unto the afflictions of his people which shall have a power to revive and delight their souls Doctrine first To begin with the first of them In evil times the misery of the Saints of God is more from thoughts within then from troubles without There are three things in the opening of this truth that I shall endeavour briefly to demonstrate to you First That the best men they are not freed while they live here from unruly un-subdued thoughts Secondly That in times of trouble these thoughts come in by multitudes a mans thoughts are never so tumultuous as in troublesom times And then Lastly That the great part of afflictions doth lie more in these tumultuous and unruly thoughts within then in all a mans troubles and afflictions without winds without do not cause an earth-quake but wind within 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For the first even the best men while they live here they are not freed from unruly and unquiet thoughts Thoughts they are the immediate issues of principles the buds and the blossoms of the principles that are in a mans heart and so long as godly men live here they will have corrupt principles in them so long will these principles bud and blossom into unruly and inordinate thoughts while a man is in an unregenerate estate all the imaginations of the thoughts of his heart are evil and only evil Gen. 6.5 because he hath nothing but a principle of sinning in him when he is regenerate yet so long as a corrupt principle remains in him so long there will arise in him unruly unsubdued thoughts it is very true
Oh Samaria hath cast thee off c. and the Eastern part of the Empire Rev. 9.20 It was their Idolatry in worship that did it Fourthly it will bring vengeance upon the Nations as well as on the Churches Hos 8.7 They have sown wind and reapt the whirl-wind Ezek. 10.2 fire from the Altar and scattered over the City it burns the hottest 2. Chron. 7.20 I will pluck you up by the roots out of the Land saies God Thirdly keep close to the word in point of practise also personal holiness the Lord requires of them that would prosper in their way and have God with them in their Government 1 Sam. 12.24,25 they had set up a new Government and the Lord had answered their desires I but he saith fear the Lord and serve him in truth and with all your hearts and consider how great things the Lord hath done for you but if you shall still do wickedly c. there the wickedness of a people indulged by the Magistrate will bring a Judgement upon the Government 1 King 14.5,7 if thou shalt walk before me as David thy Father walked in integrity of heart then c. Here you see the Apostacy of the Governors will bring a Judgement upon the Nation nay though it be but a personal Apostacy hear and fear and tremble you that are the Rulers of the Nation Secondly this is the way to get you honour in the hearts of men when you reform your lives purifie your hearts and your houses as well as your hearts there is a double image that the Magistrate must gain authority by an Image in you as men as well as upon you as Magistrates the Elders were crowned and also cloathed with white garments Rev. 4.9 Thirdly not keeping close to the word in point of practice is the way to provoke God to lay you aside and not to delight in you he loves vessels fitted for the Masters use when you are faithful to God in waies of holiness as well as unto the Nation in waies of Justice Isa 8.2 And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record Uriah the Priest c. A man may be faithful in discharging some trust put upon him by men but yet be unfaithful to God in waies of holiness Contah was a despised broken Idol a vessel in whom God had no pleasure one that God will set himself to disgrace God will pour out contempt upon Princes and all ungodly Magistrates and if you also walk unholily there will be a shame poured upon all your glory they must be called and faithful and chosen that God will delight to use Consider the Judgement upon Shebna he and all his lumber was cast down Isa 22.16,17,18 if men in authority be vain-glorious and self-seeking though they have made many men their creatures and raised parties to strengthen their interest God will sweep away all such rubbish Fourthly this will be a testimony to you if you walk holily and faithfully that you are called to the imployment in mercy and not in wrath if the graces of the condition God hath placed you in be exercised indeed a man may exercise parts and gifts but â—…at doth not make a man acceptable in the sight of God if the imployment a man is in do draw out and improve his corruption certainly it was in wrath not in mercy that he was placed in it therefore Remember your first love 2 Chron. 17.3,5,6 walk in your first waies that yee may have an interest in God to attain mercy from him for your selves and for the people Oh how powerful would the prayers of gracious Magistrates be and how able are they as Moses was to stand in the gap and to turn away wrath they are the shields of the earth Psal 47.9 and they are to be scuta Deo hominibus to keep off Judgements from breaking in upon the people from God as well as violences one from another and can a man do that can he think to turn off wrath from a Nation who doth expect Judgement upon himself daily and is in continuall danger of it And if there be any amongst you that are unsound-hearted under all your shews the Lord will discover you for Iob 34.30 He will not have the hypocrite raign lest the people be ensnared the word signifies a man that walks in a cloud or hath an artificial covering that men may not see and observe his steps God hates such men in authority and for his peoples sake he will not have them raign therefore let me exhort you to be sincere and truly holy in your own persons many of you have been judged so to be continue in it manifest it let it appear that you are better by authority not worse you are called Gods upon earth Oh how unworthy the name of a God will such be A drunken God an unclean covetous God c. Oh let such things be not so much as named amongst you but with abhorrency as becomes Saints see to whom the promise of protection is made and of exaltation also Isa 33.15 he that walketh righteously and speaketh uprightly he that despiseth the gain of oppression that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil he shall dwell on high and the place of his defence shall be the munitions of Rocks bread shall be given him and his waters shall be sure c. I le add but a few considerations a little to quicken you to this duty I le but name them Consider first the mercies that you have received Deut. 8.10 a people purchased with mercy redeemed with a mighty hand saved yea with great salvation Secondly the opportunities you have had Prov. 17.16 opportunity is a price talentum maximum there is a time when the Angels stir the waters and if you miss an opportunitie of doing good God may never honour you with one again Thirdly remember the promises that you have made in the daies of your distress c. What have you held forth to the Nation nay to all the world with hands lifted up to the most high and vowed the endeavour of a reformation and it is a snare after vows to make enquiry the delay of a vow was visited upon Iacob twentie years after c. Fourthly consider the expectation of the Nations all the eyes of the Saints all the world over are upon you and they look what you will do God hath made your cause leading let not your example hinder them that follow you in the way that you have gone c. Fifthly it will be a mighty testimony of your uprightness that your heart is for God and that you are set against evil things persons c. Psal 139.21,22 David appeals to God in it Oh that many of you could do so as he said amicum amo in Deo inimicum propter deum they are your corruptions that are snares both to you and the Nation Sixthly what account
imployed under him this I make appear from Gen. 48.15 The Angel that redeemed me from all adversity the Angel the Redeemer that is his name Called therefore the Angel of the Covenant in Mal. 3.1 Now from hence because God intitled his Son thus this very name doth Christ himself convey to all those that are Officers under him and that it is a name borrowed from the old Testament I shall clearly make manifest and therefore it must be used in the same sense In the Old Testament I find it applyed to all Church-Officers to Prophets in Haggai 1.13 Then spake Haggai the Angel of the Lord in the Lords Message there he is called the Angel of the Lord yea all Gospel Ministers are so stiled In Iob 33.23 When a mans soul draws nigh to the grave and his life to the destroyer that is under the guilt of his own conscience if there be an Angel an interpreter so you are to read it not only Prophets neither but Priests are called Angels too So you shall find Iudges 2.1 There came an Angel of the Lord from Gilgal to Bochim a man would have thought it had been an Angel come from heaven But it is an Angel that came frome Gilgal to Bochim It was a Minister among men as Interpreters expound it But it s ordinarily interpreted of Phineas the Priest And his Message drew such tears from the people that it s called Bochim the place of weeping so some expound that place in Eccles 5.6 spoken against rash vows lest they say before the Angel of the Lord it is an over-sight the Angel of the Lord who is that Look to the 5. of Leviticus ver 5. it will help you to expound that text It was commanded of God that all rash Vows the errors of them should be confest unto the Priest therefore if the title Angel were given to all Church-Officers under the New And cannot in reason be applyed to any one sort of Officers as some have done it lately to Bishops The second expression is that of Stars and that will evidence the thing unto you By stars in the Scripture are meant all men of great place or power either in State or Church Persons of great place and authority in the state Matth. 24.9 where the Lord describing the sad Desolations that should befall Jerusalem he saith Stars shall fall from heaven when some people read that place they conceive it s spoken of the day of Judgement and not of the downfal of that State these shall be brought down from their state and honour and that is the meaning of that place Rev. 8.27 the Sun shall be smitten and the third part of the stars And it s meant all persons of great place in the Church observe Dan. 8.10 from whence in all probability these expressions are taken Antiochus waxed great over the host of heaven for so the Church is called and cast down some of the Stars to the ground and trampled upon them persons of great place are commonly called stars and the edge of the persecution commonly turns upon them When the Lord speaks this to the comfort of his servants that he holds the stars in his hand it were but small comfort to inferiour officers to tell them the Lord holds the stars in his hand that is great men the highest officers but not you when as it s spoken of them all the Church is the host of heaven and all the officers thereof are the stars in Christs right hand that is the first thing Secondly What is the act of Christs care towards these the text saith he holds them in his right hand it signifies two things according to a double expression in the Scripture the right hand of Majesty in Heb. 1.3 and so Christ is said to sit at his right hand The right hand of power Luke 1.76 I conceive the latter is here intended and to be understood of that power that he doth use in mercy to put forth for the protection deliverance and preservation of his people hence it is that in Psal 20.6 all deliverance and preservation is called the salvation of his right hand Rivet and therefore De clementissima Protectione Psalm 22.7 he will protect them with his right hand in this life and he will exalt them with his right hand in the life to come Here give me leave to hint to you four things before I pass from this mark them well for they concern you First take notice from hence that Church-Officers are but stars and they shine but with a borrowed light with a derived light they have their light from the Sun of righteousness the fountain and the Father of lights Mal. 4.2 they must be Seers before they can be Prophets What hast thou that thou hast not received take heed therefore though its true that one star differs from another star in Glory yet let no man exalt himself in regard of his own light thou art but the vessel and hast no more light then the Lord is pleased to put into thee and remember while the stars shine t is night though whilest the night lasts the stars are needful whilest we live here even the best men they walk in the dark and therefore the most glorious times of the Church stand in need of these stars But the day hastens when these stars shall disappear for ever for Christ will put down all rule and all authority and power 1 Cor. 15.28 there shall be no more use of Magistracy or Ministery for ever But yet though the day approacheth it is night still the greatest light and the most glorious discoveries of all the Ministers in the world cannot make day in the soul or in the Church unless the Sun of righteousness discover himself therefore let the people seek out for further direction and get a light from Christ the Sun of righteousness which is a light that all the Ministers Officers in the world cannot impart for all the light that they can bring in is but star-light and they are a woful people and disconsolate souls that only live and walk by star-light all their daies Secondly The stars are in the right hand of Christ that is at his dispose therefore sure he appoints them their Orbs where they shall shine he removes the stars as well as the Candlestick that expression is very observable in Isa 62. How Beautiful are the feet of those upon the mountains that bring glad tidings What beauty is there to be seen in their feet the meaning of it is there is a beauty in the Message that they bring the Lord having made the Gospel ambulatorie and itinerarie that it is carried about from house to house and from place to place by the feet of the Ministery Remember you that enjoy the Gospel that sad expression in Jerem. 7.12 Go to my place in Shilo where I set my name at first and see what I did there Why what did God there he forsook the Tabernacle of Shilo
do not enjoy the same light they do not see the days of the son of man Kings and righteous men have desired to see the days that you see and have not seen them and to hear the things that you hear yet have not heard them Plus uno die vident pueri quam per totius vitae tempora philosophi Gerhard in his Chronology speaks of Infoelix seculum exhaustum hominibus ingenio doctrina claris Gerhard there are dark times and there are times also when the light of the Moon is as the light of the Sun and the light of the Sun sevenfold Esay 30.26 One age hath much and another age hath little Secondly They have not the same deliverances for three hundred years she travelled under cruel persecution under the power of the Red Dragon but at last the Church brought forth a man-childe who was exalted upon the throne of God as the fruit of all their travels all their prayers and as the price of all their blood principem à quo libertatem exemplum fidei mundus accepit Sulpic. There is a time when the Lord doth lift up the rod of the oppressour and there is a time when he doth break their yoke from off the neck there is a time when the enemies do plough upon the backs of the people and make long their furrows and there is a time also when God doth cut their harness and they are able to plough no longer there is a time when God gives his people to be troden down as 〈…〉 in the streets and there is a time when no stranger shall any more pass over it there shall be no more a grieving thorn or a pricking bryer there shall be none to hurt or destroy in my holy Mountain c. there is a time when God doth bend Judab for him and when he doth raise the worm Jacob to thresh the Mountains c and the Lord delivers the land out of the mouths of the Enemies c. Doctrine 3. Whether men have received little or much it is all in reference to an account there is a time when the King will take an account of his servants for he will come to reckon with them Mat. 18.23 There is not a talent that the Lord bestows but it is in reference to this account all mercies received must surely be counted for every one of us must give an account of himself unto God and there are not only personal but there are national accounts he that is Judge of all the world he is the Judge of all Nations Isa 5.3 Iudge I pray you between me and my vineyard he that refers unto men to judge he will be the Judge himself also and he will surely judge them with righteous judgement For First All their mercies are recorded by him they may forget them but he records them what is a great part of the Scriptures but the records of God Chronicles of his several mercies and deliverances that he hath bestowed upon his people in succeeding ages Micah 6.5 Remember from Shittim to Gilgal it was the place of their Transgression when they committed abominations with the daughters of Moab and sacrificed unto Baal Peor did eat the offering of the dead and Gilgal was the first place that they set their foot upon in the Land of Canaan when the Lord rolled away from them the reproach of Egypt from whence it had its name and in the very places the Lord wrote in their names the memorials of his mercies that the very names of the places might be a witness of his mercies to them in memoriam and in testimonium Jehovah jireth Gilgal Berachah c. as you record your victories by the names of Dunbar and the name of Worcester c. the 78. Psalm is nothing else but the Lords records in which he hath written the memorial of that continued Tract of mercies which he gave unto them and the Lord wrote the memory of their mercies in the months Exod. 12.2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months the Lord changed the beginning of their years in the remembrance of his mercy Ver. 14. This day shall be unto you for a memorial How should the third of September be for a memorial unto you c. though the Canon of the Scripture be consigned and the Lord will write this story by an infallible spirit no more to remain upon records amongst men yet they are all of them recorded before him as the Law is written in the hearts of the people of God not with paper and Ink but by the spirit of the living God so doth the Lord record his mercies which he doth multiply upon his people not with pen and Ink but by the spirit of the living God in the heart of God for ever as it s said of the sins of men Deut. 31.34 Is it not laid up in store with me and sealed up amongst my Treasures they are laid up amongst the treasures of God so God hath treasures of mercy also as well as of sins by him c. Secondly they are numbered by him as the Miracles of Christ in the daies of his flesh were numbered as it s said this was the first Miracle that he did and this was the second Miracle that Jesus did after he came out of Judea into Galilee So also the Miracles that Christ did work in glory are all numbered as the Lord numbers the several degrees of his enemies downfal in seven Seales seven Trumpets and seven Vials so he doth number also the several degrees of his peoples deliverances and 2 Numb 14.22 he doth number their sins answerable unto the number of his mercies they have seen my Miracles in Egypt and in the wilderness and they have provoked and tempted me now these ten times it is true that the mercies God bestows on us are a multitude of mercies and it is as easie for us to number the stars as it is to count them all but though we cannot do it yet God can do it and he doth it who can tell the number of the stars and call them all by their names Psal 71.15 David saith that he would shew forth the salvations of God all the day long for I know not the number of them c. and we must consider God hath his set number of mercies for a people if they abuse them and walk unworthy of them he will not shew mercy for ever he will not draw forth his loving kindness from generation to generation Cessat descensus si in perpetuum ascensus cessat as Belishazers Kingdom was numbered the Lord wrote a memorial for him so he will write a memorial upon some mercies as the number of sins is finished as Antichrist hath his Numbers the number of the beast is the number of a man c. and mercies may have their number also even your mercies the Lord may say Now your prosperity is numbered your deliverances victories are numbered I will
and never consider what will be required for all this as it is a great Iudgement to sow much and to bring in little so you are the most miserable men alive to have received much and returned so little The same is also true of Ordinances you that receive much Manna from heaven is rained upon you every day consider what your returns are the ground that drinks in the rain that comes oft upon it and bears briars and thorns is nigh to cursing surely you that keep daies of Thanksgiving now and do not live thankfully do not return to God accordingly you will have a time when you shall curse the day of your mercies and wish that the light of it had never dawn'd upon you But what is the thing that shall be required it shall not be in the thing but in the fruit the mercy indeed God bestows upon us but he expects the fruit from us and that he will surely require of us and more particularly he will require these four things First with what hearts did you receive this mercy did you receive it with a heart set upon the mercy it self or else was your heart carried out towards the God of the mercy Hannah received mercy in a son I but saith she My heart rejoyceth in the Lord 1 Sam. 2.1 Can any of you say it is not the thing we rejoyce at so much as the presence of God and the appearances of God and the return of prayers and without this the mercy would have no sweetness in it how were our hearts carried towards God in the receiving of it how are they drawn out in the remembrance of it Ordinances are nothing without the enjoyment of God in them even heaven is nothing without the enjoyment of God there and therefore mercies are nothing of themselves any further then the soul savours God in the mercies as he said Give me mercies O Lord but give me thy self in them give deliverances but give me thy self in them To love the gift more then the giver it is an adulterous affection the Lord hates it Zach. 11.5 Blessed be the Lord for I am rich and so many may say I wish there were none such amongst you that say blessed be the Lord for I am preserved we are delivered and say that in an hypocritical and formal way men may bless God whose spirits are not at all drawn out to God and to rejoyce in a mercy from God and not in the God of the mercy is to rejoyce in a thing of nought creatures without God are vanity and mercies without God are a lye so it is with the soul that is filled with the blessing but not with the Lord and as the heart should be filled with the love of God so also it should be filled with the fear of God Hos 3.5 They shall fear the Lord and his goodness There are no dispensations of God more aweful to a gracious heart then the discoveries of goodness how shall I be ever able to answer this goodness of God sayes a gracious heart as the neere◠the Lord comes to any in waies of grace the more the fear of God is exalted in their souls I am undone because my eyes have seen the Lord of Hosts so the more God draws neer unto a man or a people in the wayes of mercy how dreadful is it to the soul it rejoyceth with trembling but men usually being delivered from the fear of their enemies they are deprived of the fear of their Redeemer it s a sad Judgement when mercy hardens mens hearts from the fear of God This is all that the Lord requires Deut. 10.12 What doth the Lord thy God require of thee but to fear the Lord thy God c. Surely the Lord that looks with what heart we receive our punishments and therefore he requires that men should accept the punishment he doth also look with what hearts men do accept their mercies their deliverances and in our services that we perform to God we should eye with what hearts God receives them Mal. 2.13 That he receives it not with good will at their hands We should also be sure that God looks into our hearts to see how we accept his mercies mea non placent nisi mecum tua non satiant domine nisi tecum Bernard Secondly how they are remembred by us They remembred not his hand nor the day that he delivered them from their enemies was the charge upon them Psal 78.42 They soon forgot his works nihil citius senescit there is nothing that obtains in our hearts an act of oblivion sooner then mercies but they kept a yearly remembrance of it there was an Ordinance for the remembrance of it made to that purpose in their generation but it was not with affection and with like it was but a formal thing Now that is in Scripture said not to be known which is not known with an affecting knowledge and so that is said not to be remembred which is not remembred with an answerable affection and impression of spirit the Lord looks what impression Ordinances leave upon us and what impression mercies also leave upon us and how the heart is moulded and fashioned by the one and by the other the Apostle saies in Heb. 2.1 That we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things we have learnt lest we should let them slip c. the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and as we are to do so in the Ordinances that we partake in so also we had need of the same mercies that we receive and to remember the affections that were stirred up in us when we did partake of them so it is on the other also and if that be not done the truths we hear are forgotten and so are the mercies also if our memories prove leaking vessels charta bibula let the mercies be what they will that the Lord writes upon us yet they run abroad in us and come to nothing that they cannot afterward be read by us there is a demy-appearance of mercies as spiritual appearances of comfort if there be barely the remembrance of them that it was so but be no affections stirr'd up in it the soul is not cheared by it so it is in the remembrance of mercies also only a dull 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and no more in regard of our own attainments we should forget that which is behind but in regard of the Lords mercies we should never so press towards that which is before that that which is behind should be forgotten and the least mercies should be regarded with most life They shall say no more the Lord lives that brought his people out of Egypt but the Lord lives that brought his people out of the North Countrey c. Jer. 23.7,8 Those mercies which were then called crowning mercies I should think so too if I could see the crown set upon the head of Christ in them the King exalted in his glory c.
is perfect in the parts of it that is 1 Thes 5.23 when a man is sanctified throughout that is in every part though he be not perfectly sanctified in any part perfect holiness is the aim of the Saints upon earth though it be only the reward of the Saints in heaven and here God accepts of the will for the deed and looks upon the things that they aim at as already attained for his end in their predestination was their conformity to the image of his son Rom. 8.29 And according to that end the Lord looks upon them as Christ shall present them without spot or wrinkle or any such thing so that they that are perfect First in the perfection of their holiness Secondly in their aims Thirdly it shall at last end in perfection When that which is perfect is come then that which is in part shall be done away and they shall be the souls of just men made perfect Heb. 12. And it is this last that is the perfection God ascribes to his people to Noah Gen. 6.9 to Abraham Gen. 17.2 Job 1.1 there is a perfection with men as Paul saith he was Phil. 3. Concerning the righteousness of the Law blameless but though I know nothing by my self yet I am not thereby justified for the eyes of the Lord they are pure eyes and he looks not as man looks men look upon the appearance but God looks upon the heart There are three expressions of this in the Scripture First to walk with God as it s said of Enoch Gen. 5.22 and Noah Gen. 6.9 Secondly Abraham Gen. 17.2 God says Walk before me the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the sight and presence of God having alwaies a respect unto his all-seeing eye Thirdly there is a walking after God Numb 14.24 Caleb walked after God and to follow the Lamb wheresoever he goes that is in reference unto the precepts of God the providences of God and the pattern and example of God and these three expressions set forth a choice perfection First in all a mans waies to have an eye to Gods presence Secondly to see God going before him in his precepts and his providence and example to be imitators of him Thirdly to walk with him that is in all these to enjoy Communion with him and to approve a mans heart unto him as David doth here I was upright before him Hence observe First that a godly man may have his heart upright and perfect even in the imperfect on of his waies Secondly a man that is sincere is in Gods account a perfect man sincerity is the truth of all grace the highest pitch that is to be attained here Thirdly sinceerity of heart gives a man boldness even in the presence of God notwithstanding many failings The Lord doth charge the Angels with folly Iob 4.18 how much more man that dwells in a house of clay David whose faith had failed and he said I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul and his tongue had faltered also to Abimilech the Priest three or four several lies he had told yet David can say to God that he was perfect with him for all that it is a strange boldness that the Saints have in the presence of God by vertue of the New Covenant all their sins shall be laid open at the last day as a canceld bond that they wonder how they shall look upon them and not blush but the same spirit of son-ship that shall give them perfect boldness then doth give them boldness in a great measure begins in this life that they shall be able to say Neither height nor depth c. Nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ Now for the testification of it how did he prove this perfection Why by this I have kept my self from mine iniquity the word in the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 some interpreters do refer unto his enemies that he had many corrupt affections that were ready to break forth and in all this time he had very great temptations but yet his care had been to keep them under that they got not the power over him sometimes his unbelief did arise and he was full of despairing thoughts to see that all men were lyers and the promise of God would fail them sometimes the revenge of his spirit did arise that he had motions to avenge himself with his own hand and sometimes the impatience of his spirit in reference unto the mercy promised that he could not stay Gods time but to have used indirect means to accomplish it but he did watch against all these and did not suffer them to carry him headlong c. But there are some Interpreters that commonly refer itun to someproper and peculiar evil and way of sinning that David had respect unto here which the Fathers commonly call peccatum in delitiis a mans special darling and beloved sin and what ever that was David testified his uprightness by it that his care was to keep himself from it Keep himself who made man his own Keeper its the Lord that is his Keeper He is the Keeper of Israel and the preserver of man if a man cannot keep himself from sorrow how is he able to keep himself from sin God indeed in our first conversion works upon us as he did upon the earth or Adams body in Paradise before he breathed a soul into it and made it a living creature such a power as Christ put forth upon Lazarus in his grave for we are dead in trespasses and sins but yet being living he must walk and act of himself the Lord will have us to co-operate together with him for we are built upon Christ not as dead but as living stones 1 Pet. 2.5 The grace whereby we are made alive is his and the power is his he it is that works in us both to will and to do when we perform any thing and yet by his grace we do it also ille facit ut nos faciamus quae praecepit August So we are said to cleanse our selves 2 Cor. 7.1 and to purge our selves 2 Tim. 2.21 and to keep our selves 1 Joh. 5.19 he keeps himself that the wicked one toucheth him not c. Grace is the new creature a new nature therefore hath sympathy and antipathy answerable thereunto to desire the things that make for it and to rise up against the things that are against it as all other natures in the world have a principle to seek their own preservation Doctrine Hence the Doctrine is Even the best and dearest of Gods people have some sins that they are more prone to then others which may be called their own iniquity Secondly that the main power of grace is seen and exercised in a mans preservation from these Thirdly that for a man by the power of grace to be active against these is a special testification of an upright heart Here first we are to enquire what is a mans own iniquity Secondly what