and Strength to follow it We Approve it as Excellent and worthy of all Acceptation 4. The Fourth is the Immoration of Mind on Suggestions approved Unregenerate men being taken with the taste of their sweet Poysons and pleasant Plagues for so are all sinful motions they begin to stay and dwell upon them in multiplied thoughts To survey their alluring circumstances and muse of their gratifications unto this and that Sense and of their Services unto one and another carnal Interest Regenerate Souls come not much behind them here They also finding holy Motions sweet unto their Taste roll them under their Tongues chew and meditate on them greatly and enlarge their considerations of their goodness and profitableness unto all things Delighting themselves in the considerations and saying of them It is good to be here let us stay and think more of these things 5. The Fifth is the Revocation of Suggestions whereon the Mind hath used much to insist Unregenerate men feed not on sinful Suggestions sparingly but nevertheless the morrow is as to day and more abundant Let Business Sickness Sleep or what will interrupt them they let it not be long before they recal their darling Follies Regenerate men also tho' sometimes forced to lay aside out of mind the holy Subjects they have much entertained therein yet fail not to resume them and take them up again very industriously and chearfully No sooner be their Souls unbent with their necessary Avocations but they do fly back again unto them 6. The Sixth is the Conclusion or Resolution to put the Suggestions into execution Unregenerate men court their Souls thus till they gain their Consent and Purpose for actual sin Which said Consent and Resolved will is no small point but the grand Movement of the whole Man Soul and Body And carries in it virtually Act and all On the other side Regenerate men do not spend their foresaid thoughts for that which Profits not Their Consideration issueth in Conclusion Their Spiritual converses with Holy Suggestions impregnate them with lively Resolutions to perform them as soon as they are able All that the Lord hath said we WILL do and WILL be Obedient is the Resolution made and uttered 7. The Seventh is the Perturbation about putting the Suggestions into resolved execution Unregenerate men ordinarily are put hard to it to bring forth the sin they have Conceived Iniquity it self is painfully and with sorrow brought forth And after Resolution to sin the wicked are observed to be pierced through with many cares And it is not much otherwise with the Regenerate having Resolved to Repent and Believe and Obey the Gospel to Receive Christ the Lord and to walk in him Flesh World and Devil are in arms against them presently Herods a thousand seek the Life of this Resolution to destroy it And there is no small Fear and Care and Anxiety riseth in the poor Resolvers Save Lord or we shall yet Perish is their known cry 8. The Eighth is the Aggression or Attempt of the Execution of the Suggestions about which the Perturbation hath been The Unregenerate know that faint hearts cannot perform the Devil's Commands Difficulties they meet with from within and without Conscience checks them Men reprove them c. but they break thro' all and for the pleasure of sin set before them they set to work try their strength to see what they can do If Saul cannot be the death of David it shall not be for want of Attempts The Regenerate know that the desire of the slothful slayeth him because his hands refuse to labour And tho' the Desire of a man be his Kindness and God and good men will accept where there is a willing mind yet a mind of an unactive will is an ill mind of no good will They therefore suffer not fears of Miscarrying always to hold them back from Endeavouring No but tho' Afraid they Trust tho' they Stagger they Believe tho' they Despair they Hope And aside they go and stir up themselves and make tryal what they can do at Repenting at Believing at Obeying the Gospel Striving to enter in at the strait Gate and to walk in the narrow Way whether they be able or no. 9. The Ninth is that Execution of the Suggestions which was Attempted Unregenerate men such as perish do sooner or later execute those Suggestions of Sin and of Satan the Minister of Sin after whose Execution God will never more strive with them or treat about their peace or be found of them Reader Do not mistake this plain passage as though it did intimate that All that trod the former steps in Sin were incapable of Repentance That horrible untruth my Soul abhorreth and my words favour it not I do think that No man is uncapable of Repentance till he hath so sinned But I dare not think ANY man that hath so sinned to be uncapable of Repentance Alas who shall dare to set limits unto the Divine Grace Or who knows not the instances of its admirable extent unto Manasses Mary Magdalen the Penitent Thief on the Cross c. This is said for prevention of thy causless Self-affrightment But I proceed On the other side Regenerate Souls do after their Thoughts Cares and Attempts actually execute those Suggestions of God and of his Ministers after whose execution God will never totally leave or forsake them But binds himself by Oath and by signed sealed Covenant to be their God and to see that all that he hath be theirs This is done on God's part when they do first sincerely RELY on the Promises of the Gospel-Covenant and CONSENT unto the Demands thereof when they make the ANSWER of a good Conscience as St. Peter saith 1 Pet. 3.21 10. The tenth is Reiteration or Repetition of the said Execution of the Suggestions Unregenerate Men do sin over and over those Sins which they do adventure to defie God withall And the Regenerate do all their days keep doing the things whereby they at first gave glory unto God Every Day of the Week and Hour of the Day the Unregenerate do bid God depart from them In the Language of Practice they do so And as oft doth the Regenerate Soul in the same Language COMMIT and SUBMIT himself unto God in Jesus Christ Commit himself to God's saving Mercy and submit himself to God's ruling Authority both lodged in the hand of Christ Lord Mediator 11. The Eleventh is Propugnation of both Execution and Reiteration of the execution of the Suggestions Sinners Plead violently for Entrance and Continuance in Sin They search the Devil 's whole Armory for Weapons to fight with for Sin against Holiness But is it otherwise with the Regenerate No having Committed and Submitted themselves unto God and doing so anew from day to day and that both as their perfect Duty and infinite Interest and Privilege they do search God's Armory for Arguments and Arms to propugnate Holiness and to Shame and expel Sin Holy Wisdom is justified it is
come to the Lord's Supper desiring God to seal unto him the Promise which he layeth hold on and to promote his cravings for Christ as a fountain of both Pardoning and Purifying grace They that rashly deny this do audaciously and most barbarously exclude from the Lord's Table all Christians under desertion and doubting all bruised reeds which it may be are the sittest as well as neediest of any Souls for the holy Banquet I will be the shorter in the remaining Duties because in a manner all are comprehended in this first A second Duty which the Holy Ghost doth often make a means of working Assurance in Believers is Self-Examination Not all that Men will call by the name hereof but that which really is so that which is strictly managed and is as constantly issued That wherein a man sets God before him and having beseeched his gracious Conduct and Counsel falleth to compare what he Hath done and Doth do with what the Gospel Requireth and he Ought to do Examineth his Actions and especially the sincerity of the same q. d. Have I Repented or do I and is my Repentance sincere Have I Believed on Jesus Christ or do I so and is my Faith sound and unfeigned Have I begun or am I beginning a life of Repentance Faith and New Obedience and is it in truth and integrity that I do so Speak out Conscience for judge thou must and conclude one way or other And I will not sleep till thou tellest me what thy Sentence is At least what it is that thou inclinest to believe of my Actions of the soundness of them and of my state thence to be judged of If thou dost say I do not Repent Believe and Obey the Gospel or that I do not sincerely so do I will not build upon a present rotten title I will beg for God's Spirit and a new Heart by him wrought and new Acts by him excited and a new Claim will I make e're I stir out of this place If thou O Vicegerent of God within me if thou sayest that upon thy utmost search things appear better unto thee and that by the Scriptures judging thou believest me to be a true Penitent sound Believer sincere Obeyer of the Gospel I will not give way to importunate scruples and refuse all comfort and be afraid to bid my Soul bless the Lord and all that is within me Magnifie his Name I will humbly Hope in his grace and loudly Praise him in that hope Vncertainty or somewhat worse must be theirs who will not thus Examine themselves But of Souls well informed about the Covenant of Grace and qualified for Self-Examination and much Exercising it in this manner they are few if any that do long endure tormenting uncertainty Vain are all Trials indeed that are not brought unto an Issue and utterly unqualified they are for trial of their states who are unacquainted with the Covenant of Grace the Law and rule of Trial. A third Duty is Putting our one Talent to use with Thankfulness for it and without murmuring against God for want of Assurance Repent as much as thou canst Believe and Obey so and it is more than probable thou shalt soon discern thy self to Repent Believe and Obey Especially if thou art thankful for the little light that keeps thee from very Distraction and Horrors as bad as Francis Spira's it 's very like that God will encrease it unto the light of Noon-day A fourth Duty is accumulated diligence in all Ordinances Fervence in Prayer loosed Peter's Bonds it made Hannah's Countenance to be sad no more c. Accurate Reading and Hearing the Word hath done as great things and so has holy Conference of which I have lately Printed much in a little room Spiritual singing of Psalms is notably commended by devout Ancients and our Modern Divines for this purpose A fifth Duty is Abounding in such acts of Obedience as do most singularly thwart flesh and blood e. gr Full often doth God hasten to make known his Mercy to them who resist carnal temptations and exceed in mercy towards men Isai 58.7 to the 11th To them who run the hazard of their Names and Estates in reproving Sinners To them who bring their bodies into most subjection and make least of carnal Pleasures for the sake of God's spiritual Consolations To them that unweariedly promote Peace though ill requited by the Parties differing Mat. 5.9 To them that resolutely and painfully against the grain of corrupt Nature do love their Enemies and pardon their Injuries and pray for their Salvation A sixth Duty is a most peculiar War against that one sin which above any or all others causeth a Man to doubt of the love of God Some one such there is And when once that capital Make-bate is with a due specialty of care and pains resisted Assurance may be soon expected God useth to command a Calm as soon as such Jonah's be cast overboard A seventh Duty is Bearing in Mind the many Arguments which we may Plead humbly with God before we get Assurance of his Love e. gr 1 His Names Long-suffering Of great Mercy Forgiving Iniquity Transgression and Sin 2 Our own Extremities these Heman did Plead and we ought to Plead Psal 88.14 15. 3 Our Readiness to forgive others their offences against us Luk. 11.4 4 Our Ministers and Friends Compassions and Prayers Alas shall Men's iron Bowels yern and shall the Lords gracious ones be restrained Psal 80.4 5 The ill use that ill men and good ones too are like to make of our horrors and tremblings Psal 69.6 6 Lastly and principally The universal offer of Grace by Christ Jesus made and of all sinners unto heavy laden ones and weary of their sins and of such lives as sin do make them In a word The gracious Man layeth up these things in his heart Indeed he finds not in his Bible that God hath promised that every one that is a sound Believer shall some time or other in this World be made sure that he is so And he thinks it possible that a man may be saved without Assurance Nevertheless he cannot be content with the Possession of Godliness without the Assurance and certain Persuasion of it As we see Men use not to be quieted with Bread and Water though they be enough to keep Life and Soul together no but all do employ their thoughts for further Provisions He is one that wou'd be able to do the things which without Assurance cannot be done To Despise the World to Bear its Reproaches to Die for Christ's sake to be Bold at the Throne of Grace to have the Word and Sacraments as honey to his Taste to be enlarged in Thanksgiving and Praise to be furthered in Repentance to be fortified against Errors c. And in order to these if he hath never gain'd Assurance he is seeking it if he hath it he is diligently maintaining it if he hath lost it he is at work to regain it And one Cordial he hath
God doth not so condemn them Then as to the Season it must be said Times there are in which Self-examination is by no means our Duty Times wherein he that looks into his Heart and Life shall have it with him as he that beholds his Face in troubled Waters which represent it in nothing truely but in all things frightfully Such are times of prevalent Melancholy and of Satans Temptations in their violence and hurry and of frequently prevailing Corruptions before that by frequent acts we have gained some new Experience of our selves In these times a man's present and immediate Duty is to put forth the first act of Faith to cast himself on God in the way of well-doing which he hath a Command to do and that with a Promise of losing nothing by it He is to be advised as he is able to Recal his former evidences and hopes however to lean on the Lord and to Resolve though he slay him yet to Trust in him for restoring grace The next Question is What degree of true grace may we take for the Least and Lowest of all The God of truth direct my Heart and my Hand in my answer I am sensible of the Question 's being as Arduous as Momentous Humbly it is that I here deliver my Judgment and as far as I know the Judgment of our Protestant Divines And as plainly and suitably unto your Apprehensions as I am able The H. Spirit who well knoweth his own Grace in all its various Degrees doth by these Metaphors describe unto us its Lowest degree He compares it unto the Life of a Child new Born John 3.3 Nay to the Life of a Child just quickned in the Womb Eph. 2.5 Agreeably whereto it is named the Forming of Christ in a Soul Gal. 4.19 Now as Mothers in whom Children are formed so Souls in whom Christ is formed do by and by shew it by nauseous Ebullitions from the Stomach and new Pulsations in the Bowels Plainly thus by Loathings and by Longings To that of the Lowest degree of grace it must be said it is a Life a something that makes a man to differ from what he was before as much as a Living Creature differs from a Dead A Life of which Jesus Christ is so the Alpha and the Omega and the All in All that it bears his very Name Christ in us And a Life notified by Loathing of all things that are known to be contrary unto Christ with inseparable Longing after all Mercy from him and all Duty unto him A Life that speaks forth assoon as it breathes and uttereth these words I count all but Loss and Dung that I may win Christ and be found in him and Lord Jesus what wouldst thou have me to do Four things doth the Spirit of Christ attribute unto this least and Lowest Life of grace Which waving others I briefly propose 1. An Eye to Look unto Jesus Christ Even as the stung Israelites looked unto the Brazen Serpent Then he who was Blind was surely Dead And now he that seeth not Christ cannot be Alive If then a man had looked to Aaron or Moses or both that could not have saved his Life and now let a man have all possible respect to Ceremonial Law and Moral it cannot save his Soul 2. Feet to Come on unto Christ Even as the Manslayer came to the City of refuge his only place of Safety from the Avenger The least Grace hath Feet not to say Wings of desire to hasten to him when Christ saith Come unto me 3. Hands also to receive Christ Even as a starving man receives Bread a fainting man receives a Cordial a Beggar receives a Bag of Gold a Wanderer in the Wilderness receives a Guide a Blind man receives Eye-salve a Condemned man receives a Pardon a Leper receives a Cure 4. Ears also to Hear Christ Even as a Servant heareth his Master as a Child his Father as a Wife her Husband as a Subject his King as a ransomed Slave his Redeemer The Father that draws Souls unto Christ efficaciously commandeth all from the greatest to the very least to HEAR his Son In short The Gospel evidently declares that Graces as Stars do differ in glory All Stars be in the Heavens but are of various Magnitudes and Motions All Grace is from Heaven and carries toward Heaven but some doth extreamly differ from other in strength of Parts and in Acts. Yet of them that are so much as New-born or Spiritually Quickned and have Christ in the Lowest degree formed in them we are taught that all do Look unto Come unto Receive and Hear Jesus Christ as he is offered by God That is as Prophet Priest and King to give us the Sight the Pardon and the Cure of our Spiritual Diseases that we want I would be yet more plain and instructive unto the least Babes whose help I do most especially design And therefore conclude with this assertion There are twelve Steps that men take in Sin and in Grace in Evil and Good toward Hell and Heaven The least of Damned Sinners taketh them in Sin and the Least of Redeemed Saints taketh them in Grace He that taketh them in Sin however he be Painted he is a very Sepulchre he that taketh them in Grace howsoever he may be Defiled Blemished and Blackned he is unquestionably a Living Temple of God God dwelleth in him and he in God These Steps here follow in their Natural Order They are Strangers at home that ken 'em not 1. The First is the Admission of Suggestions Unregenerate Men admit the Suggestions of Sin and Satan and the World they brook and bear them as Eve did the Serpents But the Suggestions of the Holy Ghost and his Ministers concerning Repentance and Faith and Holiness they cannot bear but turn from them as from Offers to their Loss Even with Scorn if not Rage Regenerate Souls act quite contrarily They are impatient most times of sinful Motions and answer them as Joseph answered his Mistress with Detestation and hasty Flight And as for the Heavenly Motions foresaid they well Endure them give them audience and turn not away from them as from things stingy and biting 2. The Second is the Retention of Suggestions admitted Unregenerate Men hold their sinful ones in mind and talk with themselves concerning them in secret Places Regenerate men do likewise retain God and his Ministers Suggestions unto them And a great deal of Discourse they have with themselves about the same They commune with their Hearts upon their Beds while others sleep 3. The Third is the Approbation of Suggestions retained Unregenerate men do nextly smile upon their sinful ones inwardly saying this is an agreeable and a sweet Suggestion I would surely follow it if I could So sweet it is I cannot spit it out of my mind The Regenerate do in like sort favour and like well the holy Suggestions unto them made Saying in their Hearts Good is this Word of the Lord. O that we had Skill Zeal