inlarged in my discourses upon some former propositions Sermon XII Canticles 1. 2. For thy Loves are better than Wine I Am now come to the last proposition I observed from these words which I told you might be either considered As a Reason why she desired the tokens of Christs distinguishing loves a reason drawn from her knowledge and experience of the goodness the transcendent goodness of them In this notion I have already spoken to the proposition arising from them Or 2. As an argument of her petition by which she pleadeth with God for the thing which she desired An argument drawn from the value she set upon his love From whence results this proposition Prop. 10. That our value and estimate of the love of Christ above all other things is an excellent argument for a Soul to use with God for the obtaining of it An argument is a mean brought either to prove a proposition or to move the Affections The Logicians bring arguments to prove the just connexion of Subjects and Predicates in propositions The Orator useth them to move mens wills and affections the business of the Soul with God in any prayer is the business of an Orator the Arguments he hath to use are such as may move God to bestow the good things upon him which he desireth If you observe all the prayers of the Servants of God upon Sacred Record you shall find them much to consist of Requests or Petitions and arguments backing or inforcing those requests These arguments you will observe drawn from several heads Sometimes from the Nature of God Sometimes from their relation unto him Sometimes from the promises made in the case Sometimes from the greatness of their misery Sometimes from Gods Power and the freeness of his Grace Psal 25. 7. According to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness sake O Lord. Sometimes from their faith alliance to and dependance upon God Psal 25. 2. O my God I trust in thee let me not be ashamed So from various other heads I say amongst others A Souls just prizing and valuing of the loves of Christ is an excellent argument for a Soul to use to inforce a petition for them 2. The goodness or badness the strength or weakness of an argument derives wholly from its subserviency to its end its cogency or no cogency The End here aimed at is by prayer to obtain the loves of Christ so as the goodness of the arguments to be used in this case depends upon the force they have with God to move him to grant the requests of our lips 3. Persuasive arguments have their force either upon a natural account and that is mostly from the infirmity of our Natures which renders them subject to be affected with fine words passionate expressions we must not imagine that God can be moved with any such thing and therefore fine phrases in prayer are very insignificant things Or else upon a moral and rational account As now amongst men if one can come to another requesting a favour from him and say Sir you promised it me there is a force in this argument upon a moral and rational account such an argument is this in this case If a Soul can go to God pleading for the manifestations of his love unto it and truly tell him that it valueth his love and favour above all created comforts tho the bare naming of this and delivering it in fine significant words will do nothing with God in order to the obtaining of it nay though this affection and temper of our Souls can merit no influence of grace from God yet considering the persections of the Divine Nature and the obligations which God hath laid upon himself It will have a great moral vertue and efficacy and be of great force with him for the obtaining the influences of Divine Grace and the communications of his love Hence I shall desire you in the first place to observe what frequent use the People of God have made of it in their applications to the Throne of Grace David especially Psal 42. 1 2 3. As the Hart panteth after the water-brooks so panteth my Soul after thee O God my Soul thirsteth for God the Living God when shall I come and appear before thee O God His Request there lies in the last words That he might come and appear before God the Argument he useth is from the value he had for such a mercy so as the Hart did not more pant after the water-brooks The same Argument he useth and much in the same case Psal 84. 1 2. The great Petition of that Psalm was for a liberty again to enjoy God in his Ordinances what is the Argument he useth to enforce this Petition How amiable are thy Tabernacles O Lord of Hosts V. 1. My Soul longeth yea even fainteth for the Courts of the Lord my heart and my flesh cryeth out for the Living God So he goes on in a variety of Phrases all expressing but his great value and estimate of such a mercy to that degree that he preferreth the condition of a poor Sparrow or Swallow to his own in the want of it You have him using the same Argument again Psal 63. 1 2 3. O God thou art my God early will I seek thee my Soul thirsteth for thee my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty Land where no water is To see thy Power and thy Glory as I have seen Thee in the Sanctuary Because thy loving kindness is better than life The Petition is much the same and the Argument the same I might instance in many other places of the Psalms but this is sufficient And certainly this were enough if no more could be said to justifie this Proposition That Argument which the man according to God's own heart used and so often used is certainly a good Argument and of due force and efficacy but this was an Argument he often made use of But I shall further shew you the value of this Argument from Reason First This Argument speaketh Christ in the Soul What the Apostle saith in another case No man calleth Jesus Christ Lord but from the Spirit may be applied in this No man can truly say that he prizeth the Loves of Christ above Wine above all created comforts whatsoever but from the Spirit none but the true Christian the truly spiritual man sets any considerable value upon Christ's Loves To you that believe saith the Apostle he is precious Now what Joseph said to his Brethren of Benjamin Bring your Brother Benjamin or see my face no more God hath said to every one of us Bring Christ with you or see not my face We are all transgressors from the womb and God heareth not sinners for their own sakes but for Christ's sake therefore we are commanded to ask in Christ's Name God indeed as our Father by Creation may hear us crying for temporal good things in the day of our wants so he heareth the young Ravens when they cry
to the Humane Nature in the personal union of both Natures in the Lord Jesus Christ Christ was sanctified and set apart and constituted as a person fit to be our High Priest and King This as I told you in my last discourse was one of the sacred uses of Oil which the Jews made there was a sweet anointing Oil made by Gods special prescript for the consecration of the High Priest the Tabernacle and their holy Utensils with this also they anointed their Kings This did but typify the anointing of the Holy Ghost and by the receiving of this Vnction Christ was constituted our High-Priest and the King upon the Holy Hill of Sion By the Grace of Hypostatical Vnion he was made so I mean by the union of the Divine and Humane Nature in the one Person of Christ Christ indeed had an Essential Kingdom equal with the Father by his Eternal Generation but he obtained his Mediatory Kingdom by vertue of his Incarnation and Vnction The new and living way was consecrated for us through the vail that is to say his flesh Thus he was made our High-Priest our King our Prophet and by his gracious dispositions and qualifications he was made fit for a Mediator For such an High Priest became us who is holy harmless undefiled separate from Sinners and made higher than the Heavens who needed not daily as those High Priests under the law to offer up Sacrifice first for his own Sins then for the People c. Heb. 7. 26. 27. 2. The Graces of Christ were like good Oils or Ointments as they were used in Sacrifice they cannot indeed so properly be called a Sacrifice but they were as the Oyl poured upon the meat offering There is a dispute whether the Passive Obedience of Christ only or his Active obedience also be imputed to us and be our righteousness not to meddle with that supposing his passive obedience to have alone been the Sacrifice yet his Active obedience must be allowed as the Oyl poured upon it The meat offering was usually some Beast or Bird slain but then they were to come and pour Oyl upon it Christs death upon the Cross was his offering That was the Sacrifice but his Graces were as the Oyl poured upon this offering had not he that died been pure and holy righteous and separate from sinners meek obedient c. he could not have been accepted for others for he must have offered for himself as the Apostle teacheth us Heb. 7. 26 27. Thus his personal graces and perfections were like good Oils with respect to the use of Oil in Sacrifice upon the account of them it was that he offered up to his Father a Sacrifice for the Sins of his People which was acceptable Thirdly The Personal Graces and perfections of Christ were like good Oils for their sweet savour These perfections are those things which make the name and person of Christ as a sweet smelling savour in the Nostrils of every understanding gracious Soul what is it which maketh any Soul love Christ what maketh its own private meditations of him or the report which it receiveth of him so exceeding sweet to the Soul but these excellencies and perfections which are in him His free and infinite love to the Sons and Daughters of Men his pity and compassion his slowness to conceive a wrath and readiness to forgive his freeness to heal his Peoples backslidings his purity and holiness his patience and meekness These are those things which make Christ appear so lovely and amiable to gracious Souls Lastly like good Oils they serve the Soul for food What doth a Soul that hungereth and thirsteth after Righteousness seed upon but the Righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ some indeed have found a Righteousness of their own to feed upon but I doubt whether those Souls that feed on nothing else will appear fair and well liking in the great day of the Lord Suppose a Soul pined away in the sense of its iniquities what doth it live upon but only the free Grace and mercy of God in the Lord Jesus Christ As Hezekiah said in another case By these things men live so doth every Spiritual Soul make use of the Grace of Christ and may say By the Righteousness of Christ I live by thelove pity and tender mercies of Lord Jesus Christ I live By his fulness of grace I live for of his fulness we receive Grace for Grace Thus you see how upon all accounts The grace of Christ is like good Ointments But thus much generally We are upon a Bed of Spices it is good for us to be here let me therefore speak a little more particularly shewing you particularly What these Graces of our Lord Jesus Christ are which are upon all these accounts as good Oils or good Ointments I shall answer this in several particulars 1. The Grace of Vnion is as a good Oâ—l There is a three-fold Union considerable with reference to Christ 1. His Eternal Vnion with his Father This is what he saith in the Gospel once and again I and my Father are one but it is not proper to call this Grace It was natural his Generation who can declare 2. The second is the Hypostatical Vnion of the Divine and Humane Nature in the One Person of the Mediator This was Grace the assumption of our Nature to make one Person with the Divine Nature this was an act of Grace it was not Natural not Eternal but the product of Divine and free 〈…〉 time It was the Grace both of the first and of the second Person in the Trinity to assume humane nature into an Union with the second Person 3. There is an Vnion of Christ with Believers I in you saith Christ and you in me These are mysteries the two latter I mean not to be fully known and understood until Christs second coming At that day saith our Blessed Lord Joh. 14. 20. You shall know that I am in my Father and you in me and Lin you That there is such a thing we know how it is we do not know but in the mean time this is also of Grace This in the second sense is terminated in Christ in the last it is terminated in the truly believing Soul I am sure both are as good Oils That Grace which was both from the Father and himself considered as God by which our Nature was assumed into a oneness with the Second Person in the God-Head This is like a good Oil this was the sweet anointing Oil of his Consecration by this he Was constituted out High-Priest capacitated to offer a Sacrifice to his Father both meritorious and acceptable As God he could not die as meerly the Son of man he could not merit as God-man he could do both O this makes Christ exceeding lovely in the Eyes of a Spiritual intelligent Soul Christ as God is full of Glory and Majesty but his Glory is invisible his Majesty is incomprehensible but now when the Word was made flesh
and came and dwelt amongst us then as the Evangelist saith we beheld his glory as the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father full of Grace and Truth All the comfort of a Soul dependeth upon Christs Incarnation and what he did and suffered as manifested in the fl sh Oh! how sweet this is to the Soul to think of this together with the satisfaction which by vertue of this he gave to Divine Justice and the daily intercession which he makes together with the consideration that in this Capacity he entred into the Heavens as our forerunner and we sit together with and in him in heavenly places as the Apostle speaks are matters of exceeding sweet Meditation upon these the Soul liveth and supporteth its faith The Grace of Vnion also considered in the last notion is exceeding sweet This Grace is rooted in Christ and terminated in the Soul By this the Soul is consecrated to God by vertue of this it is consecrated a Priest to offer up Spiritual Sacrifices to God acceptable through the beloved by this it is comforted and refreshed when it is terrified with the thoughts of the disunion with God occasioned by the fall of Adam and that separation which its daily sins make betwixt God and it By this the Soul liveth its Spiritual life for Spiritual life lies in the union of the Soul with God which is made by and in Christ Secondly The Grace of Love in Christ is as a sweet Oil or Ointment That holy disposition which is in him by which he takes delight in the Sons of Men willeth them good with respect to their several capacities God is love saith the Apostle Christ is Love as he is God but as Mediator he is infinitely full of love his pardoning Grace is nothing but free love respecting a guilty creature his healing restoring Grace is free love respecting a backsliding Soul I will heal your backslidings and love you freely He hath in him comfort for them that are sad strength for them that are weak now is not this an Ointment that giveth a good savour I appeal to any Soul that hath been pricked at the heart for sin and felt the load and burthen of it How sweet hath it been to a Soul to apprehend the Lord Jesus Christ as one who pardoneth its iniquities How sweet hath it been to a Soul smitten with the sense of its backslidings to apprehend Christ as one who healeth backslidings and hath mercy even for the rebellious also When a Soul is discouraged at the apprehended difficulty of duty the strength and prevailings of sin and corruption how sweet is it to the Soul to think of Christ's strengthening grace the Promises against the Dominion of sin and the over-powering of temptation c. That we who of our selves can do nothing yet can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth us Thirdly The Righteousness of Christ is a good Oil or Ointment There is a threefold Righteousness may be conceived in the Lord Jesus Christ 1. Considering him as God so there was in him an universal rectitude and perfection of nature What is essentially good pure and perfect is the object of Love Thy Word is pure saith David therefore doth thy Servant love it 2. Considering him as Mediator so his Righteousness was his Active and Passive Obedience Whether both be imputed to us for Righteousness that is another question as to which I shall only say this That the usual Objection That his Active Obedience was but the debt of his humane Nature which was a Creature and therefore could not be imputed is of no value for his Righteousness was the Righteousness and Obedience of a person that was God Man so had a surplusage infinitely beyond the debt of the humane Nature considered as a creature Most certain it is he had a Righteousness yea and a Righteousness which is reckoned to us for Righteousness his Name is The Lord our Righteousness and he was made of God for us Wisdom Righteousness Sanctification and Redemption and this is a sweet Ointment for by this the Soul knows that God hath said to it Take away that Soul 's filthy garments and clothe it with a change of garments By this it knows under the utmost sense of its own unrighteousness that it hath a Righteousness wherein it shall stand before God and its Sins shall be as if they never had been by this the Soul knows that its imperfect duties and short performances of the Divine Law shall be made up through the more perfect performance of the Lord Jesus 3. There is also a Righteousness of the humane Nature of Christ which was the conformity of his Soul to the whole Will and Law of God There is no holy disposition required of any humane Soul but was to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ Holiness Meekness Patience universal Obedience now this also is a sweet smelling Ointment 1. As these dispositions render any Subject lovely any creature though found in it more imperfectly much more Christ in whom they are found most eminently There is none but naturally loves one who behaveth himself blamelesly in whose heart we can discern no guile one who is in his behaviour humble meek lowly gentle patient full of goodness now these and all other excellent Virtues being in Christ eminently make him the excelling Object of our Love Christ was meek and lowly Matth. 11. 29. he was humble condescending to those of low degree He made himself of no reputation Phil. 2. 7. Though he was rich yet for our sake saith the Apostle he became poor For his patience he was led as a Lamb to the Slaughter and as a Sheep before the Shearers so opened he not his mouth What should I speak of his readiness to forgive his praying to his Father that he would forgive those that crucified him all these made Christ an exceeding lovely Object 2. But now Christ as Mediator hath not only these excellent habits as Ornaments for himself but as the Fountain of Grace to distribute to us Of his fulness we have received Grace for Grace 1 Joh. v. 16. These are now Christ's good Ointments for the savour of which the Spiritual Virgins love him And that they may do so it is necessary they should receive the savour of them At the savour of thy good Ointments So then they must not only cast a savour but the Soul that loveth Christ for them must receive the savour of them The last Question is How a Soul receiveth the savour of them I answer two waies 1. By Faith I mean not here Justifying Faith that brings in experience to the Soul of which more by and by I mean here only Faith of Assent whose Object is the Proposition of the Word to which the Soul fixedly and steadily subscribeth So as the Revelation which is there becomes as certain to it as matter of sensible demonstration For Faith is as the Apostle telleth us the Evidence of things not
Christ is so sweet to the Soul I answer 1. Because it signifieth him to be the fountain of the greatest spiritual good to us his name Messiah and Christ signify him to be separated and set apart of God for the accomplishment of the great business of our Salvation his name Emanuel signifies him to have Hypostatically united in one Person the Divine and Humane Nature that he might be a fit Mediator that he might die and merit salvation for us by dying his name Jesus signifies that he is a Saviour his name Shiloh speaketh him to be a Peace-maker his name of an Advocate signifies him to transact our business in Heaven for us his name of High Priest signifies him to have offered for us a propitiatory Sacrifice to have made an atonement for us to bless us to interceed for us the like I might say of his other names Now if the name of a friend who hath done some great kindness for us be oft-times sweet like an Oil poured forth unto us how much sweeter must be his name by whom we are blessed with all Spiritual blessings Secondly Because by his Name or in his name our greatest blessings are obtained How sweet must that name be to the begger upon the use of which all its wants are supplied Is salvation worth any thing There is no other name under Heaven by which we can be saved but only the name of Jesus do our Souls want any thing Whatsoever you shall ask in my Name that I will do that the Father may be glorified in the Son John 14. 13. Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my Name he will give it you ch 16. v. 23. Is the Soul trembling under the sense of its guilt doth horrour surprize it do the terrors of the Lord distract it a wounded Spirit who can bear by the discovery of the Lord Christs name to it in the Gospel promises in the mercy truth and faithfulness of Christ it is freed from these The discovery the least discovery of Christ to the troubled Soul is like the Sun beam to the weather beaten and be-wildered Traveller like the shadow to him whom the heat maketh faint like light to him that fitteth in darkness like life to him that fitteth in the shadow of death How sweet is the discovery of Christs truth in his promises the sealing of a promise to a poor doubting Soul Every Soul that hath experienced it will say It is like Oil poured forth I come to the application of this discourse Is the name of the Lord Jesus so exceeding sweet like an Oil poured forth Oh then what is Christ himself It is Origens application Si solo nomine Quid ejus faciet substantia How sweet is the Oil upon the Crown of the head when that which runs down to the skirts of the garment is so sweet Open all created boxes admit that all their sweet qualities would unite and conspire to make one compounded fragrant smell distill all the odoriferous herbs that the Earth bringeth forth mix all the sweet gums and odoriferous spices of Arabia and the whole Eastern part of the world let them all make one body and contribute all their delicious qualities to the composition of one Oil or Ointment to please the wanton sense of a Creature what would they all signify to one Christ Oh blessed Jesus thou that art altogether delights clear the Nostrils of vain Creatures stopt with their own lusts and the vanities of pitiful creature satisfactions and contentments that they may take the air of thy delicious names and follow thee in the savour of thy most precious Ointments Secondly Is the name of Christ in this life so exceeding sweet Oh what will the enjoyment of Christ in Heaven be When the Saints shall see him as he is when they shall be ever with the Lord beholding his face rejoycing in his presence when they shall be at his right hand where are and shall be Pleasures and fulness of Pleasures and that for evermore here we know in part and see in part and the greatest part of that we know of Christ amounteth not to the least part of what we do not know then the Saint shall see him face to face and know him as he is known by him Surely we should cry out with the Psalmist Blessed is the man whom thou chusest and causest to approach unto thee that he may dwell in thy Courts Here we sit but under the shadow of the Apple tree yet it is with great delight and his fruit is pleasant unto our tast how sweet will it be to be within the arms of it If a Garden of Flowers or a Bed of Spices casteth aâ—sweet smell at a 1000 miles distance what will it do when we come near it O you to whom the name of Christ is as an Ointment poured forth follow the savour of it it will bring you to that place of delights where your Souls shall be ever satiated but never nauseated Thirdly Observe from hence the difference betwixt a natural carnal man and a spiritual man The name of Christ is published in all our parts of the world The Gospel is published that is Christs name saith Gencbrard upon my Text but the natural man discerneth no sweetness in it he can smell sweetness in a perfume but in the name of Christ he can smell nothing sweet Nay what is more unpleasing to a carnal heart than the name of Christ and there is reason for it for to him Christs name is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah his name is a Judge an Enemy c. In the second place what an argument is here to persuade those that hear it to labour for a discovery of Christs name to their Souls To persuade sick and fainting Souls to make application of Christs name to themselves To all to study Christs name more to wear it upon their hearts to meditate of it c. 1. To persuade those who know little or nothing of Christ as yet to get a knowledge of Christs name sweetness naturally enticeth the sense and attracts the Soul shall the incomparable sweetness of Christ draw no Souls unto him shall the air of Solomons name bring the Q of the South from the furthest parts of the Earth and shall Christs name draw never a Sinner invite never a Soul to come and tast and see how sweet how good the Lord is You that are enticed with the smell of a flower that lay out your mony for persumes of no value will you have no value for these sweet Ointments Alexander the great was said to have had such a rare temper of his body that it cast forth a natural sweetness I am sure there is an infinite a transcendent sweetness in the Lord Jesus O let the Virgins love him Men and Women that are in a state of Nature are in one sense Virgins not for purity but as not married to Christ O do you love Christ for the
savour of his good Ointments Consider what a difference there is betwixt this Object of your Loves and those pitiful Objects which your Souls are so hot in the pursuit of One man's heart is after his Wine another's after his Riches a third after the Pride of Life The Name of these things is like the opening of a Dunghill which sendeth forth a stench they bring up an ill report upon your Souls Christ's Name is like an Ointment poured out 2. What an Argument doth this afford to persuade troubled fainting Souls in their spiritual Swoonings and Deliquiums to apply themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ Ludovicus De Ponte upon my Text telleth us Oil is a sign of Peace it healeth wounds it nourisheth the weak it feedeth the Candle with light It exceedeth all Liquors Christ's Name is as Oil as Oil poured forth it brings Peace to a disturbed Soul it healeth the wounds of a wounded Spirit it nourisheth the weak Soul it exceedeth all created Oil. O meditate upon this excellent Name There is something healing and refreshing almost in every Name of Christ 3. Finally Let those who have tasted how good the Lord is study Christ's Name more meditate upon his Name his Promises his Mercy Truth and Faithfulness more wear his Name upon your hearts There is no Christian but is subject to its faintings David's Soul fainted for the Lord's Salvation Psal 119 81. But he hopes in the Lord's Word He had multitudes of perplexing thoughts but in the midst of all the comforts of God refreshed his Soul You that have experienced the sweetness of his Name study yet a farther knowledge of him and acquaintance with him Sermon XV. Cant. 1. 3. Because of the savour of thy good Ointments Thy Name is as Ointment poured forth therefore do the Virgins love thee I Have yet something further to discourse to you from this Text. You have heard from it 1. That Christ hath good Oils or good Ointments which cast a savour 2. That his Name is as an Oil or Ointment poured forth It followeth Therefore do the Virgins love thee When I opened the words I noted to you a double sense of the term Virgins each contrary to the other Some taking notice of the term Virgins as signifying persons in a single and solute state and condition understand by it persons that are natural and unregenerate not yet by Faith married and united to this spiritual Bridegroom intended in this Song who upon the pouring out of the sweet Oil in the Preaching of the Gospel which is part of his Name are invited and allured to take a complacency in the Lord Jesus Christ to desire him to will and chuse him as their Lord and their Saviour There is a truth in this When I shall be lifted up saith Christ I will draw all men after me But I do not think this the sense of the term 1. Because I am not willing to interpret Metaphors used in Scripture into a sense different from all other Texts of Scripture where the same terms are used Now I do not remember that in all Scripture Heathens Unbelievers Natural and Unregenerate men are called Virgins but only such as are the Saints and Servants of God 2. Nor secondly are they so they beâ—ng married to their lusts and to the world c. Upon which account the Scripture expresseth them under the notion of Adulterers and Adulteresses persons that are filthy unclean defiled c. 3. Neither can the Natural Unregenerate man be said while such to love Christ because of the savour of his good Oiutments they are constantly expressed under the notion of such as hate God and hate Christ By Virgins therefore I then told you the Scripture generally understands the Saints Indeed Professors at large in the Parable Matth. 25. 1. are set out under the notion of foolish Virgins But the wife Virgins are the true Children of God Rev. 14. 4. 2. Cor. 11. 1. The Proposition then is this Prop. 13. That the Saints who are Virgins love the Lord Jesus Christ for those excelling graces which they discern in him In the handling of which I shall 1. Enquire why Saints are called Virgins so shewing you the propriety of the Metaphor 2. Whence it is that they love Chr st for the savour of his Ointmenâ—s and the pourings out of his Name First Why are the Saints of God called Virgins Not because they are not married The Soul of man will not be alone it will be united to something if it be not united to God and Christ it will be united to the world to lust and corruption I say it will not be alone The same therefore that are here called Virgins are elsewhere called The Spouse of Christ the Bride the Lamb's Wife c. Such as are espoused to one Husband God faith of them I am married to you saith the Lord. But they are called Virgins 1. Because they are free from those things to which Vulgar Souls are married but which are not the proper Husbands of reasonable Souls God hath created man's Soul for himself and its Maker only can be a proper Husband for it A Soul may be united to other Objects but they are not just Matches they are not proper Husbands for Immortal Souls that are Spiritual Substances and under ordinations for Eternity The most of Souls are married but they are unequally yoked For a Spiritual Substance to be united to a clod of Earth to a little yellow Earth or Sand is a very unequal match For a Soul to be united to any sordid lust any sinful pleasure is a very unequal match The Souls of Voluptuous men of Covetous worldlings of Ambitious men they are indeed married they have made a Covenant with their lusts and with the world and with these things they eat they drink they sleep they converse they keep a constant communion as the married woman doth but they are all this while Adulterers and Adulteresses because these things are not proper matches for the Soul of man it is like the marriage of a Man to a Beast Now in this respect the Saints are Virgins not defiled with this adulterous Union they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 2. 20. Hence they are called undefiled in the way Psal 119. 1. They are Virgins with respect to any Marriage-Union with the world or any sinful lusts or any thing which is not a proper match for a rational immortal Soul They indeed live in the world and use the world but they use it according to the Apostles Precept as if they used it not they live not with the world as the Wife lives with her Husband delighting in it looking upon it as their chief Joy and Portion they make use of the world and the things of this world for their lawful occasions as the Man may use the Woman that is not his Wife but the world is not that which their hearts cleave to
us to be reconciled unto God If the Lord had only sent to us to give us warning of a wrath to come and timely notice to flee from it leaving us meerly to our own wills whether we would hear or forbear accept or refuse This had been love above the usual mercy of men who do not usually spend much time in treating and intreating those enemies whom they can easily crush and tread under foot Yet had God done no more for our Souls though in this he had shewed great love yet we through the natural stubborness and perverseness of our hearts had been undone for ever How many are in a high Road to ruine and eternal destruction whom God hath been thus intreating and beseeching many years 2. But now that the Lord should not only do this but put forth an act of power though not saving them against their wills yet making them willing to be saved and in order to it not verbally but really willing to receive Christ as tendred to them in the Gospel so as not only to be saved by him but to submit to those Laws and Rules in the observance of which they shall obtain Salvation and not only so but that God should assist the Soul in the performance of these acts not only giving it to will but to do also This certainly must transcendently commend the love and goodness of God to those Souls that have experienced such grace That God doth not so much for all speaks indeed severity to them but that he doth it for any speaks his unspeakable goodness and good will to their Souls I say that he doth not this for all speaks to them severity but yet justice and that not only in regard of that stock of sufficient grace wherewith our Pro-parent was intrusted which being lost God is under no obligation to restore but also in regard that God never denieth his special Grace until the Soul hath abused his common Grace 3. Nay lastly That the Lord should take care of our Souls after that we are once brought to Christ that he should put his fear into our hearts to keep us from departing from him and never depart from us to do us good that drawing Grace should follow us all the days of our life This certainly is the heighth of Divine Love more than this God could not have done for any Soul those for whom he hath done this must be highly beloved What now is left for such a Soul to do but to strive after perfection to live in a constant eying this All-sufficient God this Fountain of all Fulness and living in dependance upon him To live in a continual thanksgiving to and love for that God who hath dealt thus graciously with it and in a daily care not to grieve that holy Spirit by which it was first drawn to Christ and by which it is sealed to the day of Redemption and guided and kept that it doth not slip fatally O love you the Lord all ye his Saints Let drawing Grace find no renitency no resistance from any of your Souls God hath done for you more than others what will you do for God nay what can you do for that God who hath not only called but pluckt you out of the horrible Pit Take the Cup of Salvation and be for ever praising the Lord. Again we may from hence learn though not the proximate yet a true and remoter cause why the Gospel is preached to many so ineffectually Our Saviour tells us Many are called but few are chosen Isaiah cried out Who hath believed our report to whom is the Arm of the Lord revealed Paul in his Preaching was to some the savour of life unto life to others the savour of death unto death When Christ himself Preached some believed others were hardened Whence so great a difference when the Word was the same the Preachers the same both to those that believed to those who were hardened They had all reasonable Souls those Souls had all the same powers the same faculties I mean powers and faculties that had the same virtues We see the same in the experience of every day Indeed there may be some Preaching that may bear no better proportion to the instruction of the ignorant or the conviction of a sinner and turning him from his sinful courses than the Clay and Spittle had to cure the blind man's eyes from which no such effect could have flowed but by a miracle but where there is the same Scriptural spiritual lively powerful Preaching we see this effect Two sit in the same seat one's heart is changed the other 's is not one goes on in his leud courses and perisheth for ever the other is converted his heart changed whence is this difference Is it from him that willeth or him that runneth think you or from him that calleth from him that sheweth mercy because and on whom he will shew mercy We will grant that the one doth not make that use of God's common Grace which he might and therefore the Lord righteously with-holds his special Grace But could not the Lord if he pleased influence the one Soul as well as the other to make a good use of his common Grace Hath God think we no influence upon men inclining their hearts to make a due use of his common Grace When men have said what they can the conversion of every Soul is the effect of the Lord 's drawing and when the Lord doth not draw the Soul doth not cannot come or run The natural man hath many things which draw him another way and God is not pleased to put forth his power upon the Soul Indeed properly nothing but our own lusts draw us another way but our natural passions are inflamed several waies You have an instance of the principal of them in the Parable of the Marriage-Feast which the King made for his Son recorded by Luke c. 14. 18 19 20. Matth. 22. v. 5 c. A certain great man Matthew calls him a King made a great Supper Matthew calls it a Marriage for his Son he bade many saith Luke he sent forth his Servants to call them that were bidden to the Wedding saith Matthew They would not come saith Matthew They all with one consent began saith Luke to make excuse They were invited by potent Arguments I have prepared my Dinner my Oxen and my Fatlings are killed and all things are ready come you to the Marriage Matth. 22. 4. In general it is said They would not come they made light of it they made excuse What drew them another way Lu. 14. 18. The first said I have bought a piece of ground and I must go and see it I pray thee have me excused And another said I have bought five yoke of Oxen and I go to prove them And another said I have married a Wife and therefore I cannot come who is this King Even the King of Kings the Lord of Lords who is his Son but the Lord
his possession v. 8. which Kingdom he doth not only exercise over all in order to the gathering of his Church subduing the hearts of people unto himself and then over his Church gathered by giving laws to it and setting Officers over it but more particularly in the hearts of all believers in whom he ruleth by his Spirit But why doth the Spouse here speak to her beloved or of hÄ—r beloved in this lofty stile and not rather in that familiar stile which she generally useth in this Song What if we should say 1. That in other places of this Divine Song she is speaking to him here she is speaking of him God is the King of Kings the Lord of Lords yet when we pray unto him we are licensed and commanded to say unto him Our Father when she speaks of him to others she useth another stile and saith the King though we are allowed an holy boldness in our accesses and addresses to the Throne of Grace yet this is not exclusive of that holy fear and reverence which we owe unto God as our King we ought to remember that he who is our Beloved our Father is also our King 2. What if we should say that this lofty compellation is used to enhance the favour that she had received She was not admitted into ordinary Chambers but into Royal Chambers the King hath brought me into his Chambers No words are too big to express the singular favour of God to our Souls 3. What finally if we should say that she changeth her stile to intimate the persons who must expect signal favour from God and to remember her self of her duty in consideration of such favours I say first to intimate to us who those Persons must be that expect any singular favours from God they must be such as apprehend and receive Christ not for a Saviour as a Priest only but such as own and acknowledge him as a King as their Lord to command and to rule over them according to that promise John 14. 21. He that hath my Commandments and keepeth them he it is that loveth me and he who loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and manifest my self unto him It might also remember her of the duty she owed unto God in consideration of his favour to her she resolveth to own and to acknowledge him as her Lord her King But these things being premised I come to that Propesition which I raised from the connexion of these words testifying the Lords hearing of her Prayers the words are immediately annexed to her Petition Whence I observed That it pleaseth God sometimes to make very quick returns to his Peoples Prayers That it is so appears 1. By the Lords answering his People sometimes before they speak or while they are speaking Isaiah 65. 24. It shall come to pass that before they call I will answer and while they are yet speaking I will hear Nothing can be quicker then that for God to take notice of what his people have in their hearts to ask and to give it before they can form it by their lips into words or while they are speaking to give an answer you have the first exemplified in David Psal 32. 5. I said I will confess my transgression unto the Lord he had not confessed he had only said in his heart that he would confess his transgression to the Lord and saith he thou sorgavest the inquity of my sin you have an instance of the latter in Hannah the Wife of Elkanah 1 Sam 1. She was praying her lips moved but her voice was not heard yet the Lord heard her and though the time must be fulfilled before she could have a Son yet 1 Sam 1. 18. It is said of her at present that she went away and did eat and her countenance was no more sad She had a present answer of peace her mind was quieted her countenance was no more sad you have another instance in Daniel to name no more Dan. 9. 20. Daniel with the rest of the Jews had been in the captivity of Babylon near 70 years the time was almost expired as to which God had promised they should come out Daniel sets himself to pray and you have a copy of his prayer from Dan. 9. v. 4. to v. 20. Observe now v. 20. And while I was speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my People Israel yea v. 21. While I was speaking in prayer the man Gabriel whom I had seen in a vision at the beginning being caused to fly swiftly touched me about the time of the evening oblation and he informed me and talked with me and said O Daniel I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding at the beginning of thy supplication the Commandment came forth and I am come to shew thee for thou art greatly beloved c. Here now the Lord made a very quick return to Daniels prayer while he was speaking the Lord answered him But a return of prayers may be quick though it be not thus quick but after the interval of some few months days or years Abraham was thus answered as to his Prayer mentioned Gen. 17. and David glorieth in the assurance of this Psal 4. 3. The Lord will hear when I call upon him But now because on the one hand this is a very desirable mercy and many times the Souls of Gods people are discouraged and flagg in duty because the vision is yet for an appointed time It will not be out of our way to inquire what prayers these are that meet with so quick an audience from God God doth not this at all times nor for all persons no not for those who are most beloved of him David himself complaineth Psal 22. 2. O my God I cry in the day time but thou hearest not and in the night season and am not silent The Church complains of some times when God is angry with the prayers of his people Psal 80. 4 Gods own People sometimes shoot arrow after arrow to find what they shot first hence you so often meet with it as a piece of the Saints Prayer Hear my prayer O God give ear to my Supplications Let us a little enquire from whence this variety of Providence proceeds as to this hearing and answering of prayers God is the Lord that changeth not therefore we are not consumed we must therefore find the cause in the persons praying or in the prayers which maketh this difference as to Gods answers That so quick and gracious answers may be obtained something is necessary on the party praying Something with respect to the matter prayed for Something as to the manner of putting up the prayer 1. As to the Person praying 1. No Soul can expect such an answer unless persons in special favour with God this the Angel told Daniel Dan. 9. 23. At the beginning of thy supplication the commandment came forth and I am come to shew thee c. for
that Gods appointed time to shew mercy either to a people or to a Soul is come when the Lord poureth out upon them the Spirit of grace and supplication he more specially moveth and inciteth his people to ask when it is in his heart to give the mercy that they ask of him and on the other side the restraining of prayer from God on our part or the with-holding the Spirit of Prayer on Gods part is an ill sign that our mercy is yet afar off 2. A second exercise of grace the exciting of which God aims at is that of faith Zech. 13. 9. They shall say the Lord is my God this is now when a Soul for the mercy which it desireth is brought off all dependances upon the creature and brought to a sole Eying of and dependency upon God and this is true both as to more publick and national mercies and also as to more private and personal mercies Israel were a great way off mercy when they trusted on the broken reeds of Aeâ—ypt and Assyria instead of helping them they ran into their hands and more wounded them but they were very near mercy when they said Hos 14. 3. Ashur shall not save us neither will we ride upon Horses neither will we say any more to the work of our hands ye are our Gods for in thee the Fatherless finds mercy Mark what God addeth in the very next words I will heal their backslidings I will love them freely for mine anger is turned away I will be as the dew unto Israel he shall grow as the lilly and cast forth his roots as Lebanon Hence again it appeareth that when People for the mercies they want and would ask of God are brought off all forreign dependencies all creature confidence and brought to a single sole confidence in God this is an excellent sign that the day is dawning upon them and the time come which God hath set in his eternal thoughts wherein he intendeth to shew them favour 3. A third end which God aimeth at in and by our afflictions is the probation and trial of grace I will melt them and try them Jer. 9. 7. I will bring the third part through the fire and will refine them as Silver is refined and will try them as Gold is tryed Faith and Patience are those two graces which are more eminently tryed in an hour of affliction you have them both mentioned together James 1. 2 3. My Brethren count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations knowing this that the trial of your faith worketh patience and again let patience have its perfect work 1 Pet. 1. 6. You are in heaviness through manisold temptations that the trial of your saith being much more precious then that of Gold that perisheth though it be tried with fire might be sound unto praise honour and glory c. by faith here is meant a relieance and dependance upon God notwithstanding our trials Job expresseth it well Job 13. 15. Though he slay me yet will I trust in him Hence again if a Soul findeth that its affliction be it of what nature it will hath humbled it to Gods foot made it quiet and patient resolving meekly and without repining or murmuring to bear the indignation of God because he hath laid it upon it and that it hath brought him to a reliance and dependance upon God though it doth not see him this again is an excellent sign that Gods set time is come 2. A second rule to know Gods set time by is this When a people or a particular soul is wrought into such a frame as the promise of mercy is made unto David saith of God Psal 20. 17. Thou hast heard the desire of the humble thou wilt prepare their heart thou will cause thine ear to hear Mark first God prepareth the heart then he causeth his ear to hear first he prepareth the hearts of people to receive the mercy then he gives out the mercy now how doth God prepare the heart but by working of it up into such a frame as he hath promised the mercy upon and unto 1. He worketh the heart into a patient meek humble submissive frame he heareth the desire of the humble as you have it in that text but of this I have spoken but now 2. In the mountain of the Lord it shall be seen We are then prepared for mercy when we know not how longer to uphold and subsist without it Isaiah 57. 16. I will not saith God contend for ever neither will I be alwaies wroth for the Spirits would fail before me and the Souls which I have made v. 18. I have seen his ways and will heal him and will lead him also and restore comforts unto him When Peter cried out that he sank then Christ lent hhim is hand when the Soul apprehends itself as it were at the last gasp that is often Gods time for he will not suffer his peoples Spirits to fail nor the Souls which he hath made 3. In such dispensations of mercy to the People of God as must depend upon the destroying or removing of their Enemies the exceeding wickedness of the enemy is a good sign that Gods set time is near for the Salvation of his people from them I build this conclusion upon Gods Word to Abraham Gen. 15. 16. where God gives this as the reason why the seed of Abraham should not till after four hundred years take a possession of the land of Canaan for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full The wicked have their day and their day is with reference to the people of God the very power of darkness but as it is with the darkness of the night they say it is darkest just before the dawning of the day so the darkness caused to the Church of God by the wickedness of the wicked when it is at the thickest is a good presage of approaching light So as though the day of the gteatest malice oppression and wickedness of wicked men be a very sad day even the power of darkness yetin this it speaketh well that the salvation of Gods people is nevernearer 4. Lastly In regard the set times of our mercies are hidden from the best of Gods people in case they have not a present answer in kind they must be content if they have it in value I pray observe this God answereth the prayers of his people more ways then one sometimes he answereth them by denying them nor is this a way of answering to be despised for whatsoever the particular thing be which a reasonable Soul desires its general desire is some good Our reasonable natures will not suffer us to ask any thing which is bad if we so apprehend it now such is the infirmity of our state that we in all circumstances do not know what is good for our selves So that God often in denying a particular desire of our Souls answereth the general desire of our Souls we ask what would do us
Enallage of tenses to justify their interpretation to say the King hath is put for the King shall bring me c. Aquinas Piscator and some others thus interpret the Spouse The question about degrees of glory is not well agreed amongst Divines there are great Divines on either side as to that opinion nor is it a small difficulty to open in what the glory of one Child of God when he comes in Heaven shall excell anothers When it is certain that they shall all see God inherit his Kingdom be satisfied with his likeness and there shall be no want to any Soul there especially we being taught by our Saviour that every labourer in the Vineyard shall have his penny But yet it is very probably judged by Divines That in that firmament as well as in that which is lower the stars shall differ one from another in glory and that when Christ told his Disciples they should sit upon twelve Thrones judging the twelve Tribes of Israel he by it expressed some greater degrees of glory then shall be the portion of his more common Disciples besides that the Scriptures speaking of God's rewarding all men according to their works compared with the disproportion which we see in the works of Believers make it yet more probable So that I must confess my self very inclinable in this point to be of the mind of those Divines who think that in the Mansions of Glory there shall be Chambers though I am not able to distinguish them from the lower Rooms in those blessed Mansions But yet I am not inclinable supposing this to interpret the Spouse as speaking of them here but rather judge her by this phrase designing to express her felicity not discerned by the Eye of Faith which is the Evidence of things not seen but by the Eye of Sense some special favour now received from God and I am therefore concerned further to enquire what these favours may be 2. God hath Chambers of special Providence Some indeed understand that Text Isa 26. 20. Come my people enter into the Chambers and hide thy self concerning the Grave because the righteous are taken away as the Prophet saith from the Evil to come But others and I think better interpret it as an invitation of God to his people in calamitous times to betake themselves into the Chambers of his special providenee the Psalmist saith Psal 91. 1. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of his Wings In this Chamber there are Closets there is a special providence that attendeth and watcheth over the whole Church as the whole Nation of the Jews were under more special providences than the Heathens but yet there is a more special providence attends the people of God who are so indeed Which is abundantly proved throughout the 91 Psalm so Psal 34. 18. The Eye of the Lord is upon those that fear him and upon those that hope in his mercy To deliver their Souls from death and to keep them alive in Famine But in regard the Spouse here speaketh not of herself as under any circumstances of outward misery or affliction I do not think this is her meaning in this Text these are not the Chambers concerning which the Spouse boasteth that the King had brought her into them she is speaking here doubtless of more spiritual inward dispensations 3. God hath his Chamber of Audience where he receiveth heareth and giveth answer to the prayers of his people This is a near degree of the Souls communion with God and what God hath promised them Psal 34. 15. The Eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his Ears are open unto their cry And again v. 17. The righteous cry and the Lord heareth them and delivereth them out of all their troubles This is a favour which the Lord affordeth every believer the promises of hearing prayers belong to them all but yet in this Chamber there are Closets also God sometimes granteth a more speedy answer to his pecples prayers sometimes he delayeth and seemeth to be angry with and to shut out his peoples supplications from him but you know it was my whole business in my last discourse to prove and to give you some account of this which may very well supersede any larger discourse upon it under this Proposition Abraham Moses and Daniel and Job were all entertained in these Chambers so are many of the Servants of God at this day men mighty with God in prayer such Favourites in the Court of Heaven that they have no more to do then to form their Petitions and to put them into the hands of Christ and to get upon their Watch-Tower with Habakkuk and see what the Lord will answer God seemeth to have said unto them as Ahasuerus said to Esther What is thy Petition O my Child and what is thy request it shall be performed even to the half of my Kingdom Solomon was entertained by God in this Chamber when the Lord appeared unto him in Gibeon and asked him what shall I give thee and when after his prayer upon the dedication of his Temple the Lord again appeared to him and said I have heard thy prayer and have chosen this place for my self a Soul may be said to be brought into this Chamber either when it findeth that God hath answered its prayers at any time Or 2. When it before it prays ordinarily findeth a persuasion within itself that it shall be answered and so goeth with boldness and confidence to the throne of grace and poureth out its self unto God without doubting 4. God hath Chambers which I may call the Chambers of his special presence This being the thing which I conceive chiefly intended in this metaphorical expression I shall spend a little time in the explication of it The Scripture speaking much of Gods presence with and absence from his people his being with them or forsaking them and departure from them that you may in some measure understand those phrases Consider 1. There is a presence of the Divine Essence in all places in respect of which it is said The Lord filleth Heaven and Earth In respect of this he is never far from any of us he is neither shut up in nor shut out of any place nor is he more present in one place then he is in another according to that barbarous verse Enter praesenter Deus est ubique potenter God is every where in respect of his being essential presence and power 2. There is a presence of the Divine goodness it 's communicative goodness for there is an essential goodness which can never be separated from it wherever the divine being is there is infinite goodness but there is in God not only a goodness of perfection which is essential to God and inseparable from him but a goodness of bounty and beneficence which is nothing else but the goodness of God affecting the creature and flowing out upon the creature now this
dependeth upon the will of God He sheweth mercy where he will shew mercy Thus God is said to be present where he sheweth mercy and kindness and to be absent where he with-holdeth his acts of kindness Thus the Saints in Heaven are said to be ever with the Lord in Heaven because they shall be ever under the fullest manifestations of his glory and goodness and the damned are said to depart from God because they are never like more to see him or feel him in any manifestations of his mercy and goodness the shewing of mercy and goodness is so natural to God so much his proper work and delight that he is said to be wholly absent from them to whom he will never more shew kindness and mercy So as to this life God is said to be present with a people when he sheweth them goodness and mercy to be departed and to be absent from them when he with-holdeth from them such dispensations as they have formerly enjoyed and are suited and proper to their wants or desires Now these mercies or good things being such as are suited to the necessities of our bodies here in this life or of our Souls the first of which we usually call the good things of common providence The latter the good things of special grace God is said to be present with or absent from his people with respect to the one or to the other with respect to the good things of common providence God is present with a people when he goeth forth with their Armies gives them peace and plenty success in business prosperity in their tradings and commerce and on the other side he is said to be absent from them and to be departed from them when he goeth not forth with their Armies but makes them to fall before their enemies when he sends amongst them famine and pestilence c. Thus as to particular persons as God is said to be present with persons when he upholdeth their Souls in life their bodies in health when he blesseth them in their businesses and relations and maketh the works of their hands to prosper so he is said to have forsaken them and to be departed from them when he leaves them to sicknesses blasts them in their Estates c. thus Gods presence and being with his people his absence forsaking of and departing from a people or person are often taken in holy writ Thus God may be present with the very worst of men thus he may be absent and depart from the very best of his people But then there is a presence of God with men and women with respect to the good things of special grace Now these things again are such as are either absolutely necessary to salvation Or 2. Such influences as though they be not absolutely necessary to the salvation of the Soul yet do highly accommodate the Soul in its way to Heaven Of the first sort are the graces of justification and of Regeneration Sanctification without these the Soul can never enter into the Kingdom as to these therefore God is always present with never absent from the Souls of any whom he hath chosen and called out of darkness into light in that sense the promise doth and ever shall hold true He will never leave his people nor forsakethem But now there are other influences of grace exceeding pleasant of high advantage accomodation to the Soul in its way to Heaven such are further degrees of strength and ability further freedom lâ—fe and activity and chearfulneâ—s in the service of God pâ—ace of conscience and joy in the Holy Ghost these are not absolutely necessary unto eternal life and salvation nor to the upholding of spiritual life in the Soul the want of them is only afflictive to the Soul and incumbers it in its spiritual life without a total destruction of it as to these God giveth more or less to the Souls of his people and to the same Souls more or less at one time then at another and so is said to be present or absent from them according to the greater or lesser degrees of these influences which he vouchsafeth unto them and those Souls may be said to be brought into the Lords Chambers to whom he vouchsafeth greater degrees of these gracious influences and those Souls may be said to be under desertions forsaken of God to whom the Lord denieth such degrees of these influences as either themselves have before enjoyed or others do enjoy As to these God is very various in his dispensations they being such dispensations as God upon the covenant of grace is left at liberty to dispense out to the Souls of his people or to with-hold from them according to his own good pleasure and wisdom and which accordingly he doth dispense out in pursute of the design of his own glory and as according to his infinite knowledge and wisdom he seeth will be most for the good of his people when God dispenseth out more of these he is said to be more present with the Souls of his people when he more with-holdeth them he is said to be absent not that at any time he is wholly absent from the Souls of his people as to his gracious presence for without that they were able to do nothing the seed of God abiding in the Soul must be upheld in its life and cherished by the influence of the Sun of righteousness upon the Soul but as God though he be alwaies present in the world by his essential presence yet doth not alwaies shew forth his power in upholding and preserving this or that part of it no not the same parts of it which is the reason of that sickness and mortality with which some parts of it are affected more than others and the same parts of it are affected at some times more than others So as to spiritual influences though he alwaies vouchsafeth such a presence of his gracious influences as shall keep up spiritual life in the Soul yet for further gradual influences the want of which is yet consistent with spiritual life in the Soul the Lord granteth or with holdeth them according to his own will guided by his infinite wisdom with respect to the great ends of his own glory and his peoples good And the Lords withdrawings of this nature are the cause of all the Souls sickness and spiritual distempers upon this are the grievous complaints of the people of God of the strength of their corruptions the violence of temptations their deadness and inactivity to in the operations of the spiritual llfe their heaviness sadness and want of comfort When the Lord granteth out to any of the Souls of his people more of these influences then he may be said to bring them into his Chambers when they find more internal strength to the performance of their duties that their meditation of God is more sweet to them they can believe with less doubting pray with more faith more fervour less distraction
I do not misconceive him David seems in this to have failed Psal 22. 2 3 4. O my God saith he I cry in the day time but thou hearest not and in the night season and am not silent But thou art holy O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel Our Fathers trusted in thee they trusted and thou didst deliver them they trusted in thee and were not confounded but I am a Worm and no Man a reproach of Men and despised of the People c. To silence this corruption so exceedingly natural to us let me offer a few things to thy thoughts 1. The first shall be the Lords Prerogative to shew mercy where he will shew mercy This our Saviour hints me in the Parable of the Labourers sent into the Vineyard Mat. 20. 15. when those who had wrought all the day received their penny in proportion to those who had wrought but a few hours they complained the Master of the Vineyard saies to them May I not do with my own what I please All influxes of grace are Gods own It is a prerogative that every one of us claims for himself to dispose of his love especially some degrees of it as we please why should we deny that to God which every one of us claimeth to himself The Prince will not allow the Subject to dispose of his favour no more will the Father allow it to his Child why should we think God is not at the same liberty especially considering 2. That God by it doth us no wrong You have this in the same Text Friend I do thee no wrong Mat. 20. 15. This now dependeth upon this hypothesis that the grace of God cannot be merited by any he that hath the greatest manifestations of Divine love hath them freely he who hath the least discoveries of it hath what he hath freely without any preceding merit in himself If God will let one of his Children walk in the light of his countenance and another to walk in the dark and see no light if he will treat one in Chambers another in a low and more common Room yet he doth not wrong to any There is no injustice in the case in appearance to us he sheweth indeed more severity to the one and more goodness to the other but he is unjust to neither because neither hath merited any thing that he receiveth 3. God hath with held from thee nothing for which he agreed with thee This is a third thing which the Master of the Vineyard told those labourers that repined because they had not more then those who had laboured less Mat. 20. 15. Did I not saith he agree with thee for a peny we can lay claim to nothing of anothers but either upon the plea of a Native right thus the Child laies claim to his Patrimonial Estate as heir at law or upon the account of purchase by vertue of some compact or agreement or some valuable consideration given him for it we can lay no claim to the Grace of God as our Patrimonial right as Heirs to it we are indeed called Heirs but it is by adoption nor upon the account of any valuable consideration given who hath given first to God and it shall be repaid to him again All the claim we can lay to any thing either of Grace or Glory is upon the account of a Covenant that God hath made with us or with Christ on our behalf and by us accepted when we come to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ The question is what God hath agreed with us for he hath agreed with us for a Kingdom Fear not little Flock saith Christ it is your Fathers will to give you a Kingdom He that believes on me is not condemned saith our Saviour he is passed from death to life He hath agreed with us for all that grace and mercy which is necessary to bring us to this Kingdom That he will give us a clean heart and a new heart that we shall be kept by the power of God through faith to salvation But where hath the Lord agreed with the Souls of any of his people for equal measures of his manifestative love Nay plainly God in the Covenant of his Grace hath reserved himself a liberty to chastife and afflict his people either for the probation of Grace or for the punishment of sin and this is one species of affliction by which God doth both try the faith and patience and also correct the errors and miscarriages of the best of his people But you will say is not manifestative love promised I answer it is but so are not the measures of it nor yet the particular time for the discovery of it 2. It is but the matter of a conditional promise John 14 21. He that hath my Commandments and keepeth them he it is that loveth me and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and manifest my self unto him Psal 50. 21. To him that ordereth his conversation aright I will shew the Salvation of God The promises of Eternal life and Salvation are made to Faith and holiness without which both which none shall see God but not to degrees of the one or of the other a weak faith may bring a Soul to Heaven so will an upright and sincere heart though incumbred with many lustings of the flesh against the Spirit but the case is otherwise as to some degrees of the manifestative love of God which much depend both upon degrees of faith and degrees of holiness also Our Saviour hath determined doubts and fears indications of little faith and reason will determine them inconsistent with much joy peace and comfort in the Soul that holiness in some good degree is necessary to our peace will appear to any Soul that considers that nothing but sin will break our peace with God So that if thou beest not conscious to thy self that thy faith is as strong as others and thy ways as perfect before God as theirs thou hast no reason to expect the same manifestations of Divine love No tho thou beest one who truly believest and truly lovest and fearest God God hath agreed with every believer for eternal life and salvation for pardon of sin and a clean heart and the upholding of him by his power unto salvation But he hath not agreed with every such Soul for the same measures of peace and comfort the same degrees of his manifestative love he hath reserved himself a liberty to reward those with these more special favours who walk most closely and exactly with him in their conversations Those therefore who find their Souls under temptations to repine at God for doing more for others then for them should do well to reflect upon themselves and to consider whether the faith of those others be not more strong and their walking with God more close and exact then theirs if it be they are not to wonder that their Souls are more highly favoured and more
This saith he thou hast seen O God keep not silence O Lord be not thou far from me so Psal 38. 21 22. Psal 71. 12. Every Christians experience is a full proof of this so as the Proposition needeth no further proof only let me shew you the reason of it The great Reason is Because we are all of us more prone to live by sight then by faith The Apostle saith we live by faith not by sight He tells you what he himself and other Christians then did and what all good Christians should do The just saith the Prophet shall live by faith But through our infirmity we do live more by sight then we do by faith It is a lesson very hard to flesh and blood could we live more by faith there would be these two consequents to such a life 1. In the day of our sensible contentments we should live more upon the word and promises of God then upon any sensible comforts and enjoyments But it is hard for us to have a staff lent us and not to lean upon it so when it breaketh we come to see our errors and see more need of the influences of Divine Grace at such then at other times 2. We should see as much in God and in Christ to uphold and maintain our selves in an evil day as at any other times for the promises are the same and Christ in whom all the promises are yea and Amen is the same and Gods all-sufficiency is the same he is at all times the God that changeth not This being premised as the great and original cause we may conceive some further and more particular reasons 2. Because in this Noon all creature comforts fail yea and in some afflictions sensible spiritual comforts sometimes fail also In trials that are more external such as bodily afflictions persecutions c. outward comforts fail when the Sun shineth upon our Tabernacles and the rod of God is not upon us we are then ready to forget God when Jeshurun waxed fat he kicked up the heel when these outward consolations are taken away then the Soul beginneth to see that it stands in need of some other supports If the Affliction be some divine desertion then the sensible consolations of the Holy Spirit fail also what Daviá said in his prosperity Psal 30. 6. I shall never be moved we are all of us too prone to say in the day of our prosperity but as it fared him with v. 7. so it fareth with us when the Lord hideth his face we are troubled It is too natural even to the best of men not to know the God of our mercies in the day of our mercies It was Israels sin Hosea 2. 8. For she did not know that I gave her Corn and Wine and Oil. We do not so duly attend to that which we profess to know that our Soul strength and Soul comforts are from the Lord and hence it is that in the day when they are withdrawn we see a more special need of the presence and influence of Christ upon us It is the unhappiness and infirmity of humane nature that we seldom either understand our mercies or the Author and Fountain of them till we come to want them while we have health and peace and liberty while we have inward strength and quiet we neither understand the value of these mercies nor Eye God as we should do as the Author of them but in the noon time of our tryals and afflictions whether more immediately from God in bodily afflictions or divine desertions or more immediately from men then we both understand the value of our mercies and also what need we have of the presence of God with us and the influences of God upon us At other times we live very much upon our more sensible enjoyments now we have not them to live upon and so see a more need of a God and a Christ to live upon 3. Ordinarily at such a time Our lusts and corruptions move very impetuously A man never so well knows the lusts and corruptions of his own heart as in an evil day Natura vexata prodit Sâ—ipsam Anger a man we say and you will see his temper when God by his providence vexeth a poor creature as others will see something so he will see more what lusts and corruptions are in his heart The Devil knew this well enough when he replyed to God commending his servant Job Put forth now thine hand and touch him and he will eurse thee to thy face Now as every good Soul keepeth a watch upon his heart and observeth the motions of sin and lust in his Soul so he never seeth more of the need of the presence and influence of God upon his Soul then when Iniquities prevail against him When Paul cries out of the body of death he presently cries out O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me 4. Lastly His Grand Adversary the Devil is never more busy then at such a time Times of afflictions are not only times of divine temptations when God proveth and tryeth his People whether they will adhere and keep close to him but of Diabolical Suggestions and temptations also When the Devil is making tryal whether he can pluck a Soul out of Christs hand and out of his Fathers hand The Psalmist calls the Devil The fowler and he knows hard weather is the best time for his purpose he first gets a commission against Job to take away all that he had saving his life onely and then his Wife cometh and persuadeth him to curse God and dye and he followeth him with many other Suggestions and temptations This was the reason of Saint Pauls writing to the Church of Corinth to restore the incestuous Person who by his order was cast out of their communion lest saith he he should be swallowed up of too much grief and Satan should have advantage against him for we are not ignorant of his devices We are never so sensible what need we have of our friends as when our enemies appear most busy most strong and active Hence it is that although a believer seeth a need of the presence and influence of Christ at all times yet he never seeth so great a need of him as in a time of great and sharp trials and afflictions when trouble is hard at hand I shall shut up this discourse with a Word or two of exhortation shortly This should ingage all of us so to behave our selves towards our Lord in the morning of our prosperity that we may not want his presence and influence in the noon of our trials afflictions and adversity It is a mighty folly in any of us to live as we had no Prospect of the ordinary or necessary contingencies of humane life Prudence quasi providence Solomon saith The wise man hath his Eyes in his head And these Eyes are imployed in looking forward as well as round about him at the present It is a great folly in
say it may be more or less God may more or less communicate himself to the Soul as to his influences of strengthening quickning comforting grace and the Soul that moveth from these principles may be able more or less to communicate itself to God in the exercises of meditation faith joy and delight in God Nay sometimes Gods influences may be so secret and indiscernable that the Soul may cry out as one forsaken of God and a stranger to him This hath so plentiful an evidence in Holy Writ as the truth of it cannot be disputed We find David Psal 22. 1. crying out My God! my God why hast thou forsaken me Why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring and the Psalmist Psal 77 3. I remembred God and was troubled v. 4. I am so troubled that I cannot speak v. 7. Will the Lord cast off for ever And will he be favourable no more Is his mercy clean gone for ever Doth his promise fail for evermore Hath God forgotten to be gracious Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies There are many instances of this nature in the Psalms we have an instance in this Song Cant. 5. 1 2. By night upon my Bed I sought him whom my Soul loveth I sought him but I found him not v. 2. I will rise now and go about the City in the streets and in the broad places I will seek him whom my Soul loveth I sought him but I found him not v. 3. The Watchmen that go about the City found me to whom I said saw ye him whom my Soul loveth So Cant. 5. 5. I rose up to open to my Beloved and my Hands dropped with Myrrh and my Fingers with sweet smelling Myrrh upon the Handles of the lock I opened to my Beloved but he had withdrawn himself and was gone my Soul failed when he spake I sought him but I could not find him I called him but he gave me no answer What do all these metaphorical expressions purport but this that there are times when the Soul finds a difficulty to maintain or discern its communion with God Sometimes God doth not as at other times breath upon communicate himself to the Souls even of the best of his people the faileur seemeth to be on Gods part for some just cause the Soul findeth some freedom to impart and communicate its self to God but findeth not Gods assistances influences and communications of himself to it as it desireth and as it hath experienced from God at other times this looks like the case of the Spouse in those two places of this Song before mentioned Sometimes again the Soul easily discerneth the faileur in itself it cannot meditate upon God It remembreth God and is troubled it cannot pray with any fervour nor exercise faith with any boldness this seems to be the case of the Psalmist Psal 77. That the thing is so evident let me therefore rather spend time to search out the reasons of such a dispensation on Gods part and affliction on ours 1. Oh Gods part we usually call such a dispensation a desertion so as the cause of it is the withdrawing of some divine influences from the Soul It was truly said of Augustine Deus non deserit etiamsi deserere videatur Though God seemeth to forsake yet he never wholly forsaketh any Soul to whom he is united it is the withdrawing only of some sensible manifestations of his love All divine desertions are either founded in Divine Justice or in the Divine Wisdom so as the account which can be given of any such dispensation on Gods part must fall under one of those two heads 1. When it is founded in Justice it alwaies is for the punishment of sin For though God upon the Covenant of Grace hath reserved no liberty to himself eternally to forsake his people no nor yet totally yet he hath reserved to himself a liberty for temporary afflictions of them you have as to this particular a fair copy of the Covenant of grace Psal 89. 26. 27 c. The Covenant of Grace was made with Christ from Eternity the tenour of it was revealed variously to Adam upon the Fall to Noah to Abraham to David in that Psalm you have the revelation of it to David v. 20. 21 22 23 24 25 26. He shall cry unto me thou art my Father my God and the rock of my Salvation Also I will make him my first born higher then the Kings of the Earth v. 28. My mercy will I keep for him for evermore and my Covenant shall stand fast with him His Seed also will I make to endure for ever and his Throne as the days of Heaven As this Covenant was made with Abraham and his Seed I am thy God and the God of thy Seed Gen. 17. So in the further revelation of it to David it is declared to relate to him and his Seed Now followeth v. 30. If his Children forsake my Law and walk not in my Judgments if they break my Statutes and keep not my Commandments That is if they sin against me for all those phrases do but express sin then v. 32. Will I visit their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes Nevertheless my loving kindness will I not utterly take from him nor suffer my faithfulness to fail My Covenant will I not break nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips God you see hath reserved to himself upon his Covenant of Grace with his People a liberty to visit their transgression with the Rod and their iniquity with stripes but no liberty utterlyto take away his loving kindness from them Afflictions which are there call'd a visitation with rods and stripes either respect the outward or the inward man Those which relate to the outward man are diseases pains persecutions c. Those which relate to the inward man are desertions and temptations which God permitteth though himself moveth none to Evil. Desertions are either total or partial as to the former God hath foreclosed himself by the Covenant of Grace in which he hath said He will never leave his People nor forsake them His loving kindness he will not utterly take from them nor suffer his faithfulness to sail Psal 89. 33. Partial desertions therefore are the only rod the only stripes which God hath reserved to punish his people with as to their inward man who break his Statutes and keep not his Commandments these must be the withdrawings of some manifestations of his love which are promised to those who love him and keep his Commandments Hence it is that as Sampson found the continuing influence of God upon him as to his bodily strength while he kept his vow and covenant with God as a Nazarite yet when he had betrayed himself to Dalilah and she had shaved off his locks he discerned that God was departed from him and he had not strength to do as at other times whatever he resolved so
and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 desideravit he hath desired Love is nothing else but a willing of good to the object beloved and desire is the eldest Daughter and first fruit of love For the particles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 therefore they shew the cause of the believers loving of the Lord Jesus Christ because of the savour of his good Ointments The excellencies of grace which are in him of which it hath a spiritual sense This whole verse comprehends a second Argument by which the Spouse inforceth her first petition The first was drawn from that high esteem which her soul had of the love and grace of Christ 2. This is drawn from that particular affection which she had for him common to all spiritual Virgins which she shews was not brutish and irrational no it was because he was full of grace which was more precious than the most excellent Ointments and she had received the savour of this grace for his discovery of himself to the world as a Saviour and more specially to her soul as her Saviour was as an Ointment poured forth You may now take the substance of these two verses and so of the Spouses first and great petition thus Oh! That it might please my dearly beloved Saviour who is my Spiritual Bridegroom to shew me some token of special love and to multiply those tokens to me more specially in and by the words of his Mouth in Gospel Doctrines to speak unto my Soul which doth really prefer the tokens of his love and influences of his grace before the most choice of all creature comforts My beloved is full of grace and love which is sweet like good Ointment every discovery of himself is as sweet as Ointment poured forth therefore doth my Soul love him and not my Soul only but the Souls of all those who are not deflowered by the world and by lusts From the words thus opened several propositions of truth may be observed The mercies which the believing Soul thirsts after are spiritual distinguishing mercies The least of Christ a kiss is exceeding precious to a gracious Soul Though the least influences of grace be precious to believers yet they will not be satisfied without the fullest dispensations of grace and most frequent repetitions of it Believers have special thirstings after the Word of God The kisses of his Mouth The thirst of a true believer will not be satisfied without a Spiritual inward communion with Christ in his Ordinances The kisses of his Mouth A gracious Soul will be very bold and earnest with God for this spiritual communion with him The Lord Jesus Christ hath Loves A variety of Grace The Loves of Christ are better than Wine than all created comforts whatsoever The believing Souls knowledge of the Excellencies which are in Christ is the ground of its earnest desire of fellowship and communion with him It is an excellent Argument for a Soul to use with God for the obtaining of favours from him if it can truly say that it preferreth his favour before all created goods The Lord Jesus Christ hath good Ointments which cast a savour The name of Christ is as an Ointment poured forth Virgin Souls love the Lord Jesus Christ for those excelling graces which they discern in him Sermon II. Canticles 1. v. 1. 2 3. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his Mouth for his loves are better then Wine Because of the savour c. I Have in my former Exercises opened the Text and named those propositions of Doctrine which are couched in the words or rationally to be deduced from them I come now to the particular handling of them beginning with the first The thirst of a believing Soul is after Spiritual distinguishing mercies Nature teacheth every one to say who will shew us any good Good is a thing that all the creation is enamoured upon God is the fountain of all goodness Every good and perfect gift cometh from above from him who is the father of lights Who being not a debtor to the creature must needs dispense it out freely Hence that goodness of God which is his goodness of Beneficence not only dwelling in him as a piece of his divine perfection But flowing from him as a stream from the fountain of his liberality is properly called Mercy whether it be good to us in respect of its sutableness to our outward and bodily wants or to our more inward and Spiritual necessities Hence the Mercies and savours of God are either Bodily respecting out outward Man or Spiritual respecting our inward man The former such now as life health peace and prosperity riches c. are such as God gives to his Enemies as well as to his Friends he maketh his Sun to rise upon the evil and the good And sendeth rain on the just and unjust Math. 5. 45. Spiritual good things again are either Gifts of common or of Special Grace Gifts of common grace such as knowledge invention memory utterance c. These are indeed Spiritual gifts so called by the Apostle 1 Cor. 12. 1. ch 14. 1. because given out by the Spirit of God and tending to innoble the Spiritual part and they are also called the best gifts 1 Cor. 12. 31. They are so in their kind better than those which only concern the outward man but St. Paul himself mentioneth better than these in the very same Text I shew you a more excellent way Neither are these distinguishing favours but given in common to wicked as well as to good men But now there are Spiritual mercies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so called Not only because they come from the Spirit of Grace and innoble the Spiritual part of man but because they are suted to the greatest necessities of our inward man Such are the grace of Justification Union to and reconciliation with God pardon of Sin and the Senses of that pardon together with all the fruits of the Spirit of regeneration and Sanctification These are the distinguishing favours of God which difference the Child of God from him that is not Now I say these are those favours which the believing Soul thirsteth after and longeth for expressed here under the Metaphor of kisses And properly expressed under that notion Men and women use not to kiss such as they hate but such as they have an affection for It is a civil usage amongst us so to salute strangers indeed but frequency of kisses speaks a distinguishing love and some intimacy of Affection and are not ordinary unless amongst very intimate Friends such as is the Husband and Wife Brethren and Sisters c. But yet a little further When Isay the thirstings of gracious Souls are after such distinguishing tokens of divine love I understand it not Exclusively The Children of God are made up of flesh and blood as well as any others and subject to the same necessities and infirmities
they have in them cravings and lustings of the flesh David prayeth hard for his life Psal 39. ult and Abraham for a Child and Job for health Jonas is fond of a gourd and Agur beggeth food convenient for him and although Rachel may be too importunate for a Child and Paul for the removal of the Thorn in his flesh yet there is a lawful desire of the good things of this life allowed yea commanded us in that form of Prayer which our Saviour prescribes We are bid to pray Give us this day our daily bread But the Child of God first seeks the Kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof according to our Saviours prescript Mat. 6. 33. I remember David hath such an expression as this Psal 27. 4. One thing have I desired of the Lord that will I seek after that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in his holy Temple If a Child of God had but one thing to ask of God this should be it that it might behold the face of God this is that which it would seek after and look out for Yea this is that which their Souls desire eminenter These are the things for which they will wrestle with God and will not let him go until he shall bless them with them Other things they will beg but these are the things their Souls will spend their strength in and lay the stress upon did you hear the secret pleadings of the awakened Soul with God you would easily discern the difference between the desires it hath towards outward things and those which are in it towards Spiritual and distinguishing mercies and be easily able to say Those are the things that this Soul would have pardon of Sins sense of Gods love victory over its lusts and corruptions strength and inlargement of heart in the service of God These are the things which this Soul would have It asks a Ring but the kiss is that to which it hath most mind And all this must be understood of the gracious Soul when it is itself not in its fits of passion and infirmity then Elijah and Job and Jonah and any of the Children of God may speak according to the flesh the law of their members prevailing against the law of their mind hath brought them into captivity to the law of Sin These things being premised for the explication the truth of the proposition will be abundantly evidenced from the example of the man according to Gods own heart holy David and that in several Psalms Psal 4. 6. Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me There be many that say who will shew us any good but Lord lift thou up the light of thy Countenance upon me The light of the Sun will please others but 't is only the light of thy Countenance that will please me Psal 63. v. 1. 2. My Soul thirsteth for thee my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is To see thy power and thy glory in the Sanctuary The sight of the Sanctuary will please another but nothing will please David but the sight of Gods power and glory in the Sanctuary Other-where he prays that the Lord would shew him his way and unite his heart to fear his name That God would come unto him and shew himself unto him c. Nor is it hard to find out the reason of it which lies In the sanctification of the renewed man he hath a new heart given unto him A new heart signifies a new understanding a new will and new affections New not as to the faculties themselves but as to the motions and operations of them in which the soul still follows the dictates of reason and proceedeth in the method of a rational creature 1. The Soul is renewed in its understanding from whence proceedeth a new notion and Judgment concerning things The old Serpent cheated our first Parent when he persuaded her that the fruit of the forbidden Tree was to be desired because in the day she should eat thereof her Eyes should be opened and she should be as God knowing good and evil for from that day forward she was struck blind and the Disease according to Divine ordination proved hereditary All we who are the Children of Adam are born blind neither able to take the true notion of good and evil nor yet to make up a Judgment concerning either discerning the things that differ but naturally every one calleth Evil good and good Evil. The Psalmist saith that man stood not in honour but became like the Beast that perisheth In this much like the Beast indeed that we are meerly led by the conduct of a sensitive appetite not discerning those things which are truly and spiritually good and the reason of this is our not understanding our selves for the nature of all good lying in a conveniency and sutableness of the object to us a knowledge of our own state and wants must reasonably be supposed to a right judgment concerning good and Evil. But amongst other Evils accrewing to us by the fall this was one that we are by nature Blind as to our own State and Strangers to our own Souls not understanding that we are by Nature Children of Wrath poor miserable blind and naked but conceiting that we have need of nothing Hence it is that the Soul is not able to judge of the goodness of Union and Communion with God pardon of sin reconciliation with God c. Nor indeed doth it come to understand it until the Eyes of the understanding be opened by the application of Spiritual Eye-salve laid on by the Finger of the holy Spirit of God Till this time the Soul seeth no beauty in Christ nothing for which he should be desired The goodness of Riches and Pleasures and Honours it knows but as for that transcendent goodness and Excellency which is in Christ what it is it doth not understand Hence it naturally desires life health riches honours success in worldly affairs and such common gifts as may serve it in the world with credit and applause and reputation But for spiritual things for distinguishing tokens of love it is not able to take the heighth and length and depth and breadth of the love of God in them nor to discern their conveniency and sutableness to its undone state and condition hence with the Cock in in the Fable it prefers the Barly Corn before that Pearl of great price for the purchase of which the wise Merchant is willing to sell all that he hath But now the regenerate soul hath its Eyes open to discern the things that are excellent and as it is taught by the Spirit of conviction the truth of its natural and unregenerate Estate so its Eyes are opened to see that nothing but the special love of God in Christ is a good suitable to it or worthy of its caring for
and hence the soul is taught by it's own reason to thirst after these manifestations of Divine Goodness as those which above all others are proportioned to its wants and highest necessities 2. But 2dly These desires are not the product of an enlightned understanding only but of a renewed will also So wofully depraved is our corrupt nature that the inferiour powers of our Souls have withdrawn themselves from the command of reason and whereas it is the method of a reasonable Soul to imbrace or refuse a thing with the will according to the judgment which is by the understanding given in concerning it it often falls out otherwise by reason of our Souls disorder He that not only knoweth the will of God but also approveth those things which are most excellent yet hath no hearthimself to close with them he is ready to teach another like the hand of a Statue in a way which directeth a Traveller but moveth not he teacheth not himself hence the renovation of the understanding although the great wheel of the Soul is not sufficient to make the Soul to will those things which are spiritually good Mans Soul is like a Clock broken in pieces every of whose Wheels must be mended before it will again move truly But the gracious man is renewed as well in Spirit as in Body and in Mind The day of the Lords Power is come upon him and of unwilling he is made willing God hath given him to will Phil. 2. 13. taking away that natural enmity and stubborness which was in his heart and disposing and enabling him to will those things which are in themselves most desirable and which are most pleasing unto God Now there is nothing more pleasing unto our Heavenly Father than to see his Children more sond of their Fathers love than of any thing else which is in his hand to bestow upon them And this is the true reason of the gracious Souls thirst after spiritual things To which may be added secondly the Souls assurance That other things shall be added to it Mat. 6. 33. If saith the Apostle he hath given us his Son shall be not with him give us all things All inferiour good things are but appendices to these great spiritual blessings with which the Soul is blessed in Christ Jesus the Woman that hath her Husbands heart easily commandeth his purse The Child of the bosom needs not trouble itself for a new Coat It is a spiritual subrilty of a gracious heart to be most desirous of spiritual things other things will come alone they are but appurtenances to this great possession and an easy faith will assure the Soul that if Men who are evil know how to give good things to their Children who are once possessed of their Affections God will not be wanting to his People especially considering that his liberality extends to the grass of the Field and to the Birds of the Air because they are his Creatures Let this notion in the first place shew you the vast difference betwixt the renewed soul and that which is yet in its natural estate Grace considering our weak estate is not so easily discernable in us from our Actions as from our Affections The bent of the heart doth best discover the state of it whether it be renewed or no. All Men and Women in the Christian world come under one of these three ranks They are either 1. Profane and dissolute Persons Or 2. Hypocrites or seeming professors who have a form of Godliness but deny the power thereof Or 3. Such as are Disciples indeed the true Children of God God is the fountain of all mercy and goodness and nature itself teacheth man something of this Hence every ones Soul is looking out towards God for some good or other 1. The worldling and profane Person says who will shew us any good But what is the good which he thirsts after an increase of Corn and Wine and Oil The objects for the lusts of the Flesh the lust of the Eye and the Pride of life let the Swines belly be filled with these husks and he is satisfied let who will take Grace and Heaven and heavenly things as he understands not his need of them noâ— the excellency that is in them so neither is his Soul carried out in any desires after them 2. The Hypocrites design is of another nature he would fain appear to be something though indeed all his glorying be but a vain shew and a meer appearance when indeed he is nothing Now that which he desires is something proportioned to this end he possibly covets the best gifts like Simon Magus who when he saw That through the laying on of the Apostles hands the Holy Ghost was given said Give me this power also that on whomsoever I lay my hands he may receive the Holy Ghost Acts 8. 18. The Hypocrite may desire a gift of Prayer a gift of Prophecy and such like common gifts of the Holy Ghost which may serve his design in appearing Godly and Religious and this satisfieth him 3. But the gracious Soul is satisfied with none of these All his desire is after the gifts of special grace the obtaining of union with and reconciliation to God the light of Gods countenance c. and nothing less than this will satisfy his thirst It is reported of Luther indeed he reports it of himself that when he first Preached the Gospel in Germany he was much courted by some great Persons and presented with many gifts which made the good man jealous that God intended to put him off with these things but saith he Protestatus sum c I made a protestation to my God that I would not be so satisfied The Sons of Keturah may be put off with portions but Isaac must have the inheritance The gracious Soul is a true Artabazus he thinks his Saviours kiss is better than a Cup of Gold and indeed I know no better evidence of a gracious heart than this to be found unsatisfied without the special and distinguishing love of God yet that you may not deceive your selves I must tell you that as it is possible that one who is a stranger to God may desire these distinguishing favours from God So the desire of those good things which are but the issues of common providence is often found in gracious Souls and that in too high a degree But as the former proceedeth from some inconstant principle and lasteth not long in the unregenerate Soul nor is much in earnest while it continues but like Augustines desire to be rid of his lusts while in the mean time as he confesseth he secretly desired that God would not hear his prayer so the latter desires in the Child of God are secondary and subordinate or if irregular and immoderate no more than fits of passion out of which grace soon recovers him Secondly Let me beseech you all to make these spiritual distinguishing mercies of God the object of your desires I
hope there 's none who hears me this day but is sometimes breathing out the desires of his Soul unto God in Prayer Oh! let this be the lauguage of your Prayers Let him kiss me with the kisses of his Mouth Let others beg of God Riches and Honours and the favours of Men Let others beg the golden Ring but do you desire the kiss Consider The Soul of the rational Creature stands obliged by the law of reason to desire the best things Is there any thing to be compared with special grace this is that more excellent way which the Apostle propounds to be coveted before the best gifts You read in the book of Esther ch 5. v. 9. 11. concerning Haman that he called for his Wife and tells her of the great honour to which the King had advanced him and of his great Riches but saith he all this availeth me nothing while I see Mordecay suting in the Kings Gate When the poor worlding sits down and thinks how God hath blessed him with Riches Honours and whatsoever contentments the creature can afford him hath he not cause to say All this availeth me nothing whil'st I have no assurance of the love of God whil'st for ought I know or have reason to believe the wrath of God may be flaming against me and I one of those who shall after all these sweet enjoyments spend an Eternity in that fire which is prepared for the Devil and his Angels Riches profit not in the day of Wrath no nor any thing else will profit in that day but an interest in Christ How much better is a dinner of Herbs with the love of God than great Treasures with his hatred A morsel of bread with an interest in Christ than a stuffed Ox with the wrath of God Secondly These influences alone will evidence distinguishing love Indeed other gifts may possibly speak no love at all The Israelites desired a King God granted them their desires and saith by his Prophet that he gave them a King in his Wrath. It may be truly said concerning the gifts of God to many a poor Creature he gives them Riches in his Wrath Honours in Wrath outward prosperity in Wrath outward good things dipt in divine vengeance the wrath of God may smoke against them while the quails are betwixt their teeth Poenalis nutritur impunitas This is a secret of Divine Justice which every one seeth not It is the saying of a devout Author that God often useth impios melle suo punire to punish wicked men with their own Hony But God never gives a kiss in Wrath he cannot give osculum Iscarioticum where he kisseth he loveth God throws the good things of this life amongst his Enemies his Friends living in the same world it may be get something of them but they are no distinguishing mercies But whomsoever he kisseth that Soul is certainly beloved of him Thirdly There are no petitions please God so well as those which are put up for spiritual things When Solomon begged of God a wise and understanding heart it is said that the saying pleased the Lord well Yea God shewed that it pleased him well for he received in abundance what he asked not Nor is this hard to be conceived by us who have the same affections towards our own Children had any one of us who are Fathers 2 Children and we should put it to their choice what they would ask of us and the one should ask that we would settle so much land upon him the other should tell us he desired not our lands but should importunately beg that his Father would love him best would not the latter please you best should we not be ready to give that Child-more than it asked You read of the two Daughters of Naomi Orpah and Ruth Ruth 1. 14 15. they both followed their Mother in law while she was full but when she was empty Orpah kisseth her Mother in law and leaveth her Naomi would have had Ruth have done so too but v. 16. Ruth refuseth and tells her Whither thou goest I will go and where thou lodgest I will lodge thy People shall be my People and thy God shall be my God where thou diest I will die and there will I he buried Which is as much as if she had told her that she valued the company of her Mother above all other concerns Did not this think you indear her to Naomi and certainly nothing can more endear a soul to God than for it to judge his favour better than life and his loves more than Wine Now to engage your hearts to prefer the kisses of God before any other good things with which the hand of his providence can make you happy there needs no more than that you should be truly possessed with the notion of your own wants and rightly understand the differences of good He that knows how much more excellent than the Body the Soul of man is will quickly understand that those things which are proportioned to its wants are more desirable goods than those which are only suted to our more outward concerns Study but the excellency of the love of God and the vanity and Earthliness of the Creature the state of your souls by nature and with respect to that guilt which by multitudes of Sins you have contracted from which nothing can excuse you but the blood of Christ nor any thing evidence your absolution to quiet your accusing and condemning consciences but the kisses of his Mouth and you will need no more to evince to you that these coelestial kisses are of all good things the most excellent the most desirable which being well understood the rational Soul directly moveth to a choice and desire of them above and before all other things Sermon III. Canticles 1. 2. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth IT is the Spouse that speaketh she saith not Let him embrace me nor as elsewhere He shall lie all night betwixt my breasts but Let him kiss me Quid tam minimum submissum quam osculetur me is De Ponte his note upon the Text. A kiss is the least token of conjugal love and affection Hence observe The least tokens of Christs special distinguishing love are very desirable to believing Souls The free Love of God shining out through Christ upon souls predestinated unto glory in the pardoning of their sins the acceptation of their persons the renewing of their natures in strengthening quickening comforting influences of grace is what we call the distinguishing Love of Christ being not the effects of his Philanthropy but his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 now the tokens of this are more or less or may be so called According to the degree of their Emanation from Christ and the Spirit of Christ Or According to our judgment and apprehension or Estimation 1. According to the degree of their Emanation God whose heart is at all times the same towards his people yet is pleased gradually to
Store-house a Shop that hath a Salve for every Sore a Medicine for every Distemper Hence indeed it is morally impossible that a regenerate Soul should not value the kisses of Christ's mouth The Breath of Christ is comforting to those that are sad strengthening to those that are weak quickening to those that are dull an healing to all the Soul's Diseases and there are infinite Records of the Cures done by it both in Scripture and in all Ecclesiastical Story and in all Experience A Christian converted cannot meet with another but he or she hath some story to tell them of some Cure wrought in them by the Word of God I had perished saith one in such an affliction if the Word had not been my delight I had perished saith another under such a temptation if such a Promise had not supported me O the infinite Cures which the Word of God Read and Preached hath done upon a numberless number of Souls Look almost into any Church of God There are many Souls that were dead in trespasses and sins and by the Word were brought to life many Souls that were dropping into the bottomless Pit whom the Word laid hold upon and saved from it Here 's a broken heart that was bound up by some lines of holy Writ There 's a tempted Soul fetcht out of the depths of Satan by a Promise in the Word There hangs a poor fearful doubting Soul resolved by it and brought to a settled state The Regenerate Soul meets with these Stories in all its new company And Thirdly It hath a reason to believe them because it hath had it self a great Experience of the Virtue of it The Word saith such a Soul it is that which hath saved my Soul from Hell My Soul my poor Soul was in a full career to the Devil the Word in such a Sermon in such a Scripture met me and turned my face Heaven-ward others my companions in sin dropt into the Pit my foot was upon the brink of perdition it is God's mercy I was not ingulphed in Eternal Misery God shewed me this mercy by his Word Shall that Word be ever out of the tast of my Soul Shall not I wait upon God in the Reading and Hearing of it as long as I live Hath Christ conveyed his Breath his Life into my Soul by the kisses of his mouth and shall he not by it convey all things that my immortal Soul stands in need of Let others that never tasted the good Word of the Lord to whose Souls the Lord never created the fruit of the lips peace peace undervalue and despise the Word of the Lord let them undervalue Scriptures and despise Prophecyings and count vain idle Books better to read in than the Book of God vain idle discourses better than lively Soul-saving Sermons I have tasted better things I know otherwise Once more There appeareth to the renewed Soul a beauty and excellency in the word of God surpassing all other writings of what nature soever You shall observe in the world two or three sorts of People 1. Some there are who indeed hardly deserve the name of rational Creatures they delight in no fort of knowledge in nothing of any tendency to ennoble the mind of man but only in sensual things hence they almost hate a Book or any thing which may have any tendency to adorn and any way ennoble the mind of man 2. Others have some delight in knowledge but it is an airy knowledge of things that are superfluous and signify nothing as to the use of mans life a knowledge of things only which please the fancy tickle the senses furnish the tongue with discourse for all humors and companies Romances and Play Books any Books of idle discourse and foolish stories please them but for the knowledge of such things as should ennoble their minds they have no fancy for it nor any Books or discourses that have any tendency to such an end these are a sort of titular Christians that are not yet come up to the highest forms of Heathens 3. There is a third sort of more noble Souls that love Knowledge and despise vain and airy knowledge that islueth in no good and worthy end as to mans life but seek such a knowledge as may make them wife to the rational ends of the life of man You shall now never find these men much employing themselves with reading or hearing of Playes or reading Romances they abhor the feeding of their Souls with Coals and Dirt and cheating themselves with lies and falshoods nor debauching their minds with sordid and silthy Books and discourses they will be reading Books of H story and Philosophy which may serve their Souls as to the most noble ends or life and indeed such as are come thus far are yet but come on to the highest forms of good Pagans But the good Christian is got beyond these he hath discerned that God is the greatest good and the fruition and enjoyment of God is the fruition of the greatest good and that the enjoyment of God an acquaintance fellowship and communion with him is more to be desired than all the world besides Whatsoever Books or discourses therefore have either in their own nature or by any ordination of God a tendency to bring the Soul of Man to a knowledge of God to an acquaintance or communion with God appear to him the best Books the best discourses in the world and this he doth by as rational an operation of his Soul as a sober Man counteth a true History better than a Romance or a Lecture of Moral or Natural Philosophy better than a Play or an â—dle sight All floweth from his right notion of his chief end for that being once truly fixed in the Soul of Man he measureth other things by their tendency or no tendency as means in order to that end It is because the sensual Man maketh the satisfaction of his senses the â—nd of his life that he thirsts after merry Meetings Balls and Dances and Revellings and Chamberings and Wantonness and Books of fine words and full of filthy or at best witty discourses as the best Book to spend his time in and discourses to spend his time upon It is because the moral Man hath fixed upon the ennobling his mind with human knowledge and habits of moral vertue that he despiseth those things before-mentioned as contrary to his design and the main end of his life and chuseth rather the moral writings of Seneca Aristotle Plato c. than any other idle Books to spend his thoughts upon And it is because the true Christian hath fixed upon the glorifying of God and the saving of his own Soul as the great end of his life that he thirsteth after and hath such a delight in the World of God and the Interpretation and application of that which is that which we call Preaching 2. Besides the Philosopher observeth that like delighteth in its like Look what complexion the Soul is
every good Christian what Soul is there that knoweth any thing of God or of the nature and end of Ordinances that can be satisfied with meer reading of a Chapter of hearing of a Sermon without finding his heart at all affected with what he reads or hears any operation of it at all upon his heart and conscience Formalists indeed who think that God is pleased with noises and empty sounds and with meer bodily labour which profiteth nothing may be satisfied with going to Church and hearing a discourse from a Pulpit and that too of small or no tendency to do good to a Soul but it is impossible that a conscientious Christian that looks upon Ordinances as opportunities under a Divine appointment wherein God hath promised to meet the Souls of people and bless them wherein God hath appointed to come and to speak unto peoples Souls should be satisfied with the meer external action or homage but he must thirst after that blessing which God hath promised to his people when he meets them in places or duties wherein he hath recorded his Name to dwell But I shall shew you further how highly reasonable this is upon this Hypothesis That there is such an inward communion of God with his People in his Institutions One reason may be because a meer outward Communion with God is not distinguishing mercy and this is known to every Soul who knoweth any thing of God Pariter adeunt pariter audiunt said Augustine Hypocrites as well Saints go to Church hear Sermons read Chapters This is a favour God gives to all within the pale of his Church which is a field hath Tares in it as well as Wheat a Drag-net whose swallow hath in it good Fish as well as bad Every Hypocrite may yield God the homage of his Eye and Ear and some thoughts I shewed you before that it is of the nature of a Child of God to thirst after distinguishing mercies This is that which such Souls long after to have some tokens of good from God which may speak God's loving-kindness to them They are awakened to a sense of their lost condition by nature and to a fense of Eternity and they know nothing but the Adoption of Sons nothing but an Union with Christ can do their Souls any good with reference to their greatest wants Besides such Souls as they thirst after what is best suited to their Souls greatest wants so they have learned to value the Love and Favour of God above all earthly things They know that all within the pale of the Church are not in the favour of God many are called and few are chosen Strait is the way and narrow is the gate that leadeth to eternal life and few there be that find it Many shall seek to enter and shall not enter Secondly A meer external Communion with God is upon the point no Communion with him It is indeed improperly called a Communion with him God saith our Saviour is a Spirit and from thence a Christian concludeth that those who worship him must worship him in Spirit and Truth I told you before That in all Communion there must be a mutual communication In our Communion with God God communicateth something of himself to the Soul and the Soul must communicate it self in some degrees unto God Now in our meer external Communion with God in the hearing of his Word or reading of it what doth God communicate to us nothing but the revelation of his Will to our exteriour senses or common sense and understanding and the last but in an imperfect degree What doth man communicate of himself to God he lends him his Eye to gather up the Letters of a Book to present them to his understanding he lends him his Ear to hear sounds which may carry some notions of God to the understanding he lends him a little bodily presence and labour to do for a little time what he hath commanded him to do but all this while the man communicateth not his heart and soul his will and affections to God nor doth God communicate any thing of his power and goodness unto the Soul So that if we consider God as a Spirit and who requireth of us the homage of the Soul and inward man it is upon the point no fellowship and communion with God at all Thirdly A meer external fellowship and communion with God in his Word if it may be so called wants those two adjuncts which most allure and inflame the Soul with desires they are pleasure and profit There is no true pleasure in it no true profit and advantage to a Soul arising from it I noted to you before that one reason of the Soul's thirst after communion with God in his Word is the pleasure and sweetness which every pious Soul findeth in it David saith the Word was sweeter to his tast than the Honey and the Honey-comb and he saith That one day in the Lord's Courts is better than a thousand elsewhere But let us a little wistly consider wherein the sweetness of the Word lieth what maketh the Bible to be sweeter than another Book or a Sermon to be a more pleasant discourse than any other The sweetness cannot lie in the gratifying of our exteriour senfes or of our fancy much reading is a weariness to the flesh so is much hearing much study The sweetness of the Word of God and discourses out of it lies in the fittedness of the revelations there and of such discourses to the distresses and spiritual necessities of the Soul and the insight the Word gives us into the great things of God the great Mysteries of the Kingdom of God Now no pleasure no delight no sweetness of this nature ariseth to or in any Soul from a meer external communion with God in it Hence it is that carnal unregenerate men had rather spend four or five hours at a Play or a Musick-meeting or Ball than one at a Sermon they find no sweetness no pleasure at all in the Word The Preacher indeed may be as one that hath the voice of a pleasant lovely Song and have some witty sentences this may please them or if they be persons that are prophane and hate all Religion and Godliness he may use his wit in some jeers and squibs at Religion and this may tickle their lusts a little but a discourse out of Scripture tending to the true ends of Preaching informing the Judgment in the Doctrines of Faith or persuading the practice of Godliness are the most unpleasant sounds in the world to such mens Ears There is no Soul breathing that takes or can take any pleasure from or find any sweetness in reading or hearing that experienceth no inward communion with God in the action or at least that desires none 2. A second great Attractive and mover of our desires is profit and advantage and in this case it must be the profit and advantage of our Souls for they are actions from which no worldly profit and
be translated Let him kiss me or He shall or will kiss me with the Kisses of his Mouth Her Prayer was the Prayer of Faith This is a prime requisite in all our Prayers to God Math. 21. 22. And all things whatsoever you shall ask in Prayer believing you shall receive Jam. 5. 15. The Prayer of Faith saveth the sick He saith the Apostle that cometh unto God must believe that he is and that he is a Rewarder of those that seek him Nor is that General Faith enough for that Soul that goeth to God for any particular Mercy there must be a more particular Faith both as to Gods Power and Love with reference to that good thing that God is able to do that thing for him yea and willing also so far as in his infinite Wisdom he shall see it good When the blind men had come to Christ begging Mercy Matth. 9. 27 28. saith he Believe you that I 'am able to do this They said Yea Lord then he touched their Eyes Nay the Prayer of Faith signifieth more a trusting and relying on God for the doing of the thing we ask It is very much to observe how much the holy Scripture layeth upon this with Reference to the hearing and answering our Prayers Jam. 1 5. If any of you lack Wisdom let him ask of God But v. 6. let him ask in Faith nothing wavering According to your Faith saith Christ so be it to you The Unregenerate man cannot ask in Faith he wants the Habit his Soul is shut up in Unbelief and Gods People may be too guilty of not asking in Faith giving too much way to temptations and hearkening too much to the jealousies and suspicions of their own Souls Secondly The Spouses Phrase speaks an holy boldness He shall kiss me with the Kisses of his Mouâ—h Indeed this differs but gradually from the other it must be a boldness of Faith and in this Sense we are to come boldly to the Throne of Grace Eph. 3. 12. We have boldness and access with confidence through the Faith of him Hence Heb. 4. 16. Let us therefore come boldly unto the Throne of Grace that we may obtain Mercy and find Grace to help in a time of need Thirdly The abrupâ—ness of the Phrase speaketh Passion and Ferveney The fervent Prayer of the Righteous availeth much Jam 5. 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The working Prayer When the whole Soul is in Prayer set on work the Understanding discerning the good the Soul prayeth for discerning God able to give it and willing also discerning the Promise by which God hath made himself a Debter to the Creature for it The Will in willing it the Affections in intense desires of it Men may pray and their Souls be hardly set at work at all only they so far as it influenceth the Eye to see Words in a Book or the Understanding to invent Words which the Tongue may utter This Prayer signifies little it is the fervent working Prayer that availeth much when the whole Soul is at work wrestling with God as Jacob did that it may receive the Blessing Fourthly The form of the Word speaks Reverence Let him kiss me O that it might please the Lord to kiss me so much the Phrase sounds in our Dialect In all our Service of God he requireth Reverence and a godly Fear He that dareth not to come to God but doubteth whether he may presume to ask of him knoweth not the Lords goodness he that dares to come without Reverence knoweth not the Lords Majesty and Greatness As boldness and Confidence without doubting becomes us with respect to his Goodness Love and Faithfulness so Fear and Reverence becomes us with reference to the Greatness and Majesty of the Divine Being Lastly her Speech speaketh Modesty She asketh but a Kiss Modesty is not opposite to an holy Boldness in Prayer She peremptorily asks somthing which might speak his special peculiar Love Yet there is a modesty imported in her words in that she asketh no more than the Kisses of his Mouth In three things we should shew a Modesty in Prayer if it be rightly ordered 1. In the asking the good things of this Life with a due Submission to the Will and Wisdom of God It speaketh too much boldness with God to be too importunate for things that are not absolutely and infallibly good for us under all circumstances It is enough for us that God hath promised to withhold from us no good thing We prefer our own to the Divine Wisdom in such importunities 2. In the asking of Spiritual Mercys Modesty ought to be shewed also in submitting our selves to the VVill of God as to Dispensations or Degrees of gracious Manifestations not absolutely necessary they may be asked but they ought to be asked with limitations if God seeth they be good for us if he that knoweth our Hearts seeth that we will use them for his Glory c. 3. In not prescribing time to God as to the granting of those things which are not in the present time necessary We ought to believe God wiser than our selves and to limit our Requests by the Terms of his Promise to beg the things which God hath promised upon the Terms which he hath promised I have now finished my Discourses as to the Spouses first Petition Let him kiss me with the Kisses of his Mouth I shall in my next exercise proceed to the Argument by which she backeth this her first Petition For thy Loves are better than VVine Sermon IX Canticles 1. 2. For thy Loves are better than Wine I Have done with the Spouses first Petition Let him kiss me with the Kisses of his Mouth Wherein as I have shewed she manifested her Desire after near and special Communion with her beloved and some distinguishing token of his favour I come now to the Argument by which she backeth this Petition that is expressed in the words I have now read to you The Argument is drawn from the value she had for his Love The reason of her before mentioned Desire was the excellency she apprehended in the favour of her Lord which she expresseth in a way of comparison She saith It is better than Wine And she makes this her Estimate of the Love of Christ an Argument for Gods manifestation of it to her Soul I shewed yon the Sense of the words before I have nothing now to do but to discourse the Propositions arising from the words so opened the first of which was Prop. That Christ hath Loves There are Loves in Christ He is not onely lovely and so the object of our Love the chiefest of Ten thousand but he is Loving and we are the Obiects of his Love Of old He rejoiced in the habitable parts of the Earth and his Delights were with the Sons of Men Prov. 8. 31. The Apostle telleth us 1 Jo. 4. 16. That God is Love It must be understood of God in Christ For take Man as he is stated upon the Fall and
Of these here the Spouses predicates 1. A goodness 2. A transcendent and excelling goodness My work must be to demonstrate both 1. That they are good 2. That they are good before wine before all Sublunary goods all created comforts of what nature soever 1. That they are good The true nature of all good lyes in the conveniency and Sutableness of things which we so call to some wants and necessities that we have and lye under Hence the Philosopher describes Good to be the Object of our desires what all men desire for we desire nothing but in order to the supply of some want or other that we are sensible and apprehensive of A man may indeed desire what is not good but he must apprehend some goodness in the thing which he desireth So that to demonstrate the loves of Christ to be good there needs no more than to prove them convenient and admirably Suited to some thing which we want to Supply us in that want That I may restrain my discourse to the Loves of Christ as mediator I shall only premise what I hope you all believe That we have Souls as well as Bodies the Soul is an essential part of man and as much excelling and better than the Body as the body is better than rayment This admitted whatsoever suiteth the Soules wants must necessarily be good and eminently good The Souls wants are many but its principal wants are reducible to five heads 1. Pardon Righteousness Peace Purity Hopes or assurance of Eternal life and Glory 1. It wanteth pardon of Sin This is a want which the Soul brought into the world with it it was by nature dead in trespasses and Sins conceived in Sin brought forth in iniquity a Child of wrath by nature Eph. 2 3. This want hath grown upon the Soul from the day of its birth It s Child-hood and youth were altogether vanity who knows the Errours of his life The righteous falls seven times a day who can tell how often he offendeth It is true not one of many is sensible of this want but that only increaseth their misery It is certain this is a great want of a Soul Christ else had never directed us to pray Forgive us our debts There is a debt of ten thousand Talents upon every Soul that hath not tasted of Christs pardoning grace That it is not arrested for it proceeds only from Gods patience who sometimes beareth long with vessels of wrath fitted for destruction The Love of Christ is Suited to this want It is he that forgiveth Sins and washeth the Soul from the guilt of sin with his blood He dyed for our sins saith the Apostle He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities saith the Prophet Isaiah Ch. 53. 5. We have Redemption and forgiveness of Sins through his blood This Love of his is so suited to this want of the Soul that it can be supplyed no other way God forgiveth sin and none but he who but the creditor can discharge the debtor but it is for Christs sake that God forgiveth us Eph. 4. 32. Without blood there is no remission this was tipyfyed as the Apostle teacheth us by the Beasts of old slain for Sacrifices of Expiation and Atonement and without his Blood we could have had no Remission for it is very vain as the same Apostle instructs us for any to think that the blood of Bulls and Lambs and Goats could de away Sin 2. Secondly The Soul wants Righteousness A righteousness wherein it should stand before God as if it had never sinned against him For the righteous Lord saith the Psalmist loveth righteousness and the Apostle tells us Rom. 3. 15. That God declareth his righteousness for the remission of Sins Such is the nature or at least such is the will of God that he remits no sins but upon a first declaration of his righteousness Neither doth God accept any Soul but the righteous Soul we have no righteousness our works will not make this Web. God therefore imputeth Righteousness without works Rom. 4. 6. In the Gospel God hath revealed his righteousness from faithto Faith Rom. 1. 17. This is the righteousness of Christ Rom. 8. 3. For what the law could not do because it was weak through our flesh that God himself hath done sending his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemning sin in the flesh That the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us Hence Christ is by the Prophet called the Lord our Righteousness and the Apostle saith he was made of God for us wisdom righteousness And hence the Apostle Prayeth Philip. 3. 8 9. That he might win Christ which he expounds v. 9. And be found in him not having my own righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the Faith of Christ the righteousness which is of God by faith It is called the Righteousness of God because it is that which God accepteth us for the righteousness of Christ because it is his perfect Satisfaction to and obedience to the law and the righteousness of faith because it is by faith by us received and applyed and made ours But in Christ and from Christ the Soul must find and have that righteousness in which alone it can stand before God 3. A third great want of the Soul is Peace Peace with God Peace with itself Rom. 8. 7. The Carnalmind is Enmity to God Take a man in his natural state he is an Enemy to God and God is an Enemy to him He hath no peace with God and if he hath any quiet in his own mind it is but a Truce not a Peace the product of Gods silence not the product of his favour Now in Christ and in him alone the Soul hath peace In the world saith our Saviour to his disciples you shall have trouble but in me you shall have pcace My peace saith he I give unto you I leave with you It is he that hath reconciled the whole number of the elect to God by his death and it is he who doth by his Spirit and the word of reconciliation committed to his Ministers actually reconcile Souls unto himself He is therefore called our Peace we have Peace with God through him Rom. 5. 1. And therefore the Apostle in all his Salutations prefixed to his Epistles prayeth Mercy and Peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ 4. A fourth great want of the Soul is Purity No unclean thing shall enter into the new Jerusalem Take the Soul of a Christian Naturally it is an impure filthy Soul what can be clean that is born of a Woman Or how can that which is clean come from that which is unclean The connate proneness of our hearts to whatsoever is evil and the natural aversion of our hearts to any thing that is good is a sufficient proof of this The promise of the clean heart and of the new heart in Ezek. 36. as you know are both
Name I will mention but three things First His Word is his Name The Gospel of Christ is his Name that expresseth to us what Christ is Christ saith that he had manifested his Father's Name unto the men whom he had given him out of the world Joh. 17. 6. that is his Fathers Truths the Doctrine of his Gospel The Lord Jesus is made known by his Gospel That doth the same thing for Christ that our Name doth for us it lets the World know whose Son Christ is what he is what he hath done and suffered for Sinners and this is to the Soul exceeding sweet as an Oil that is poured forth Secondly His Mercy is his Name All those declarations of his love and good will towards his Peoples Souls of which his Gospel is full All the Emanations of his Love When the Lord telleth Moses his Name he thus proclaimeth it The Lord The Lord merciful slow to anger As God gets him a great Name upon Pharaoh and the wicked of the Earth by executing Justice and Judgment so he gets himself a great Name amongst his Saints by shewing meâ—cy His Name is I even I am he that blotteth out transgressions for my own Names sake I will heal your backslidings and love you freely Lastly His Truth is his Name By Truth I mean his Faithfulness in fulfilling his Word Thy Truth reacheth unto the Clouds saith David Psal 108. 4. David Psal 138. 2. resolveth to praise God's Name for his Loving-kindness and for his Truth Jesus Christ is much known to us by his Truth and Faithfulness to his Promises making good to his Peoples Souls what he hath said hence he is called the Amen the Faithful and the true Witness Rev. 3. 14. Pareus upon that Text saith that Christ is called the Amen for that reason which the Apostle giveth 2 Cor. 1. 19 20. because he is not Yea and Nay but he is Yea and because all the Promises of God in him are Yea and Amen Thus I have opened to you what that Name of Christ is which the Spouse compareth to an Oil or to an Ointment poured forth 2 Qu. But why to an Oil poured forth Certainly for the usefulness of it under that circumstance Ointment in the Box Oil inclosed and kept up in the Vessel is no way so useful as when it is poured out If we use it for food it must be poured out if for Medicine if for Ornament which way soever we use Oil or Ointment it must be poured out then it becomes useful to us But that which I take to be what is principally intended is Thy Name is exceedingly infinitely sweet Oil is sweet in the Vessel where it is kept it is sweet if but dropped out by drops But saith the Spouse of Christ Thy Name is as an Oil or Ointment poured forth Thou hast not only a sweetness and excellency in thy self but all the grace and mercy in thee is communicated and that not in drops or little measures but as Oil poured forth that hath scope of Air enough to diffuse it self in and by If Christ had No Name by which he could be made known to us yet there would be in him as God blessed for ever infinite goodness as well as Majesty and Glory the fulness of the God-Head would be in him he would be full of Grace and Truth but now his Name makes him to be as an Oil poured forth by that we behold his glory the glory as of the begotten of the Father full of Grace and Truth Joh. 1. 14. When the invisible incomprehensible excellency love and grace of Christ is made known unto us either by the Gospel or by the emanations of his grace and mercy or the demonstrations of his truth and faithfulness by any of his personal names or names of Office wâ—ich are given to him then like Oil or Ointment poured out he appears to the Soul transcendently incomparably sweet This now appears both from Scripture and from experience 1. From Scripture how sweet are thy words unto my tast faith David Psal 119. 103. More to be desired are they than gold yea than much fine gold sweeter also than Honey and the Hony-comb Psal 19. 10. In his name shall the Gentiles trust Mat. 12. 21. Adam had a little of Christ made known unto him One promise we read of no more The Seed of the Woman shall break the Serpents head Gen. 3. 15. It was like Oil poured forth and kept him from a deliquium in the sense of the first sin and his being turned out of Paradise Abraham heard a little of Christs name it was to him like Oil poured forth he saw my day and rejoiced saith Christ John 8. he saw the day star arise afar off he saw but the morning the dawning of the morning too of Christs day and at a great distance how sweet was it to him He saw my day saith Christ and he rejoiced I might give you very many instances of the sweetness which the Saints of God perceived upon the several discoveries of Christ made to them But what needs any further demonstration than what ariseth from the consideration of the thing and from the experience of any Child of God to whom Christ is or hath been made known how sweet must rest be to one that is weary ease to one that is heavy laden both these are promised from Christ Mat. 11. 29. how sweet must the name of a Saviour be to one that is lost and undone the name of Redeemeâ— to one that is a Captive The name of a Mediator to one that hath offended a potent adversary able to crush him every moment 2. I appeal further to the experience of every Child of God even every Soul who hath tasted any thing of Christ and who hath heard any thing of his Name when a Soul is troubled to think how often how heinously it hath offended God how sweet is the name of a Mediator when it is brought to a sense of its sin and apprehends itself lost and undone how sweet is it to remember the name of Jesus given unto Christ because he was to save his People from their sins when a Soul considereth that without Blood without a Sacrifice there is no remission of Sin how sweet then is the name of an High Priest over the House of God who offered up himself once for our Sins and having done so ascended up into Heaven and ever sitteth at the Right Hand of God to make intercession for the Sins of his People How sweet to the Soul that is afraid lest its lusts should have dominion over him is the name of Christ as a King given unto him because he is to rule in the hearts of those who are once subjected and subdued unto him How sweet are his mercy his truth his promises when at any time the latter are applied to the Soul and the former any way made known in the Soul Doth any one ask whence it is that the name of
David saith before he was afflicted he went astray but his affliction had learned him to keep Gods Statutes Psal 119. But it is said of Ahaz 2 Chron. 28. 22. In the time of his distress he trespassed more against the Lord This is that King Ahaz and I am sure the same is said of the body of Israelites Amos 4. 6 7 8 9 10 11. God followed them with judgment after judgment yet they returned not unto him Afflictions are good remembrancers to them who have learned their duty before but they must be some particular afflictions that give leisure for Instructions to be then first given or time for the digestion of them if they can be given I conclude in short whatever use God may sometimes make of Afflictions it is not the drawing by them which the Spouse here prays for Secondly There is a drawing by liberal distributions of mercies of common Providence Thus God saith Hosea 11. 4. I drew them with the Cords of a man with bands of love So Jer. 31. 3. With loving kindness have I drawn thee Love is of a drawing nature it is like the hook in the intrails of a Creature which draweth more forcibly than Cords fastened to the flesh and outward part But experience teacheth us that this is not a sufficient Cord to draw Sinners Souls to God God in his parable of the Vineyard Isaiah 5. repeats what he had done for the Israelites and concludes v. 4. What could have been done more to my Vineyard that I have not done in it Yet when he looked it should bring forth Grapes it brought forth wild Grapes Oppression instead of Judgment and a cry instead of righteousness How many thousands are there in the world that are incompassed with Mercies of this nature they have healthy bodies pleasing relations full barns plentiful estates they want nothing yet are they Enemies to God and to the Cross of Christ nor do the People of God ordinarily run most after or walk most close with God when they most abound with the good things of this life Gods People Jer. 2. that followed him in a Wilderness and in a land of droughts forsook him when they came into a land that flowed with Milk and Hony whence Agur prayed as much against Riches left he should being full blaspheme God as against poverty And even the man according to Gods own heart offended more when he was come to sit upon his Throne in Hierusalem than when he was hunted like a Partridge in the Wilderness and knew not where to rest and this is seen in our ordinary experience 3. God draweth us thirdly by the potent arguments of the Gospel as it lieth before us to be read or as it is opened and applied to us by the Ministry of the Word Man hath a tunable ear and is a reasonable Creature so as arguments have a great force upon humane nature and the more as any of us are more knowing and rational and able to raise conclusions from Principles Into this sense Interpreters do interpret those words of our Saviour John 12. 42. When I shall be lifted up I will draw all men after me after my death upon the Cross I will send my Apostles up and down the world to be witnesses of my death resurrection and ascension and to persuade men to receive me in my true notion as the true Messias and Saviour of the world Accordingly the Apostle tells the Corinthians that Christ had committed to them the word of Reconciliation Now then saith he 2 Cor. 5. 20. We as Embassadours for Christ as tho God did beseech you by us we pâ—ay you in Christs stead to be reconciled to God and this must be the meaning of that command to the Servants Luke 14 23. Compel them to come in Christ is not there speaking to Magistrates or of their duty but of the duty of Ministers who have no power from him to compel any but by a lively and powerful Preaching the Gospel the potent arguments of which set home upon reasonable and ingenuous Souls by the gifts God hath given to his Ministers have a kind of compulsory force and power in them and the Apostle tells us that Faith comes by hearing Rom. 10. and as men are by it drawn to Christ so they are also by it drawn after him and therefore Peter exhorts Christians 1 Pet. 2. 2. As new born babes to desire the sincere milk of the Word that they might grow thereby The believing Soul followeth Christ in the scent or favour of his precious Ointments It is the publishing of the Gospel that makes the name of Christ an Ointment poured out Fourthly God may be said to draw men by the common motions of his Spirit impressing good thoughts upon us either upon occasion of his Providential dispensations or while we read or hear the word some say that there is a common Ministration of the Spirit attending the preaching of the word sufficient to assist every Soul that will to repent and believe and to do what God requires of us in order to Salvation that the holy Spirit doth ordinarily attend the preaching of the word and suggest to and imprint upon the hearts of those that hear it some good thoughts is what will not be denied I believe there are but few who have used to attend the preaching of the Gospel where it hath been faithfully and livelily preach'd but must own that he hath heard the Lord standing at his door and knocking But still the question is whether this be all the drawing which the Spouse here begs No doubt but she begs such a cause such operations of a cause as should be productive of the effect The effects are coming unto Christ running after Christ Coming is not expresly mentioned in this Text but it is Joh. 6. 44. No man cometh unto me except the Father who hath sent me draw him and it is included in the term running The question therefore must be whether such a drawing as is by common mercies by the preaching of the Gospel or by the common work of the Holy Spirit all which reprobates may have is sufficient to innable a Soul yet a stranger to God to come to Christ or to innable any Soul already come to Christ to run after him I think not and therefore I conclude in the last place 5. That both in the Souls first motions to Christ and its further motions after him the Lord putteth forth a powerful influence of his Spirit of grace beyond the arguments of the word the suasion of his Minister and the common work of the Spirit attending all faithful preaching of the Gospel This I take to be that drawing the Spouse here prayeth for and which our Saviour mentions John 6. 44. as some think with an allusion to the phrase of this Text nay some bring that Text John 6 44. to prove this Book quoted in the New Testament This I firmly believe because I am convinced there is such a work
of all Souls to whom the Gospel is Preached which is very strange for which of us seriously willeth any effect and want no power to effect it and the thing is not effected that an Almighty God should seriously will what he from all eternity knew should never be effected and will that which he hath a power to effect yet never is never shall be effected is a strange piece of Divinity or sense Or else it is faulty 2. By maintaining a greater power in the will of man in its lapsâ—d state than in the will of God which is against all reason and can be owned by none but such as deny God to be omnipotent I have in opening and proving the Doctrine said enough to shew you the vanity of this dream I shall only add a word or two 1. That this pretended willing of God which they affirm to be real and serious and yet inefficacious not producing the effect is incompâ—tent with that infinite wisdom and knowledge which must be in him who is the fountain of all knowledge and wisdom Indeed man who hath no knowledge of future contingencies may sâ—riously will that such a person should be moved exhorted and call'd upon to do such or such a thing upon the doing of which he should have an estate and yet he may be left at perfect liberty whether he will do it or no and so the reward may not be certain but contingent to him But that God who from all Eternity had a certain perfect knowledge who would and who would not believe and could not know it but because he had willed it for the will of God only from Eternity could make that certain which it itself was but contâ—ngent I say that this God should seriously will the salvation of all those to whom the Gospel should be Preached and their faith and holiness as a means in order unto it when he from all eternity knew that only some of those to whom the Gospel should be Preached would believe and obey and therefore knew it because he had eternally willed their faith and holiness and salvation I say this is a strange mystery which it will be hard for any thinking men of any degrees of sense or reason to understand 2. Indeed if this Doctrine were true no Soul could be saved at least it were possible that no Soul should be saved Our Lord tells us Joh 6. 44. That no man cometh unto him but he whom the Father draweth and every one as he is learned and taught of the Father cometh unto him So then it is not of him that willeth noâ— of him that runneth but of the Lord who sheweth mercy and man that is born again is not born again of the will of the Flesh nor of the will of Man of God And it must be said of God He hath begotten us not only he hath treated and intreated us and proposed salvation to us but he hath begotten us influencing renewing changing the heart of the Creature by his power not leaving us to the power of our wills upon his word being pâ—eached unto us and the arguments of the Gospel used to us I appeal to any whose heart God hath changed whether they think their hearts had ever been turned to God if this had been all God had done for them that is given them his Gospel and by that invited them to turn unto him nor can it be supposed that when an all-knowing all wise God from all Eternity had a certain infallible knowledge who should be eternally saved and of the powers and inclinations of all mens hearts that he should leave the means in order to this salvation so imperfectly willed that it was left possible that by those means none should ever be saved and obtain what he certainly fore knew and therefore fore-know because he had willed it But I have already abundantly shewed you the opposition of these notions to the plain revelations and reason of Scripture It is said that God opened the heart of Lydia Acts 16. 14. And certainly if man had such a power being unregenerate to repent and believe upon the proposal of the Gospel and pressing the arguments of it supposing the common work of the Spirit always attending the Gospel he would much more have a power being converted to walk with God to run after him for the Soul not changed is not only impotent but unwilling and stubborn when converted it is willing though â—eâ—k yet not so weak as before conversion and according to all reason the Soul which is both stubborn and wholly weak hath more need of a power foreign to its own power which can be no other than the power of God then that Soul which is now made willing and only weak and not so weak as the inconverted Soul is but this is enough to shew you the vanity of these principles which yet obtain so much in the world 2. The Papists say the same thing that the others speak they will grant That man hath no power to spiritual things without the assistance of Divine Grace he cannot believe say they the mysteries of Divine Salvation this Bellarmine proves from Joh. 6. 4. where he desires his Reader to observe that it is not no man doth but no man can come to the Son except the Father draweth him Nay he tells us that without the special grace of God to help him man cannot love God nor prepare himself for Grace nor will any thing which tends to Salvation oâ— Godliness But then they tell us 1. That this Grace of God is not the sole agent That the Soul of man as to the first grace is no meerly pâ—ssive but also active God indeed calleth and by special grace excites and his grace aideth the will of man in believing He falls heavily upon Luther Calvin and Chemnitius for saying that the Soul in the reception of the first grace is meerly passive Pelagians and Arminians ascribe to the will of Man the whole power of closing with the promise by faith being once offered in the preaching of the Gospel Papists seem to divide Gods glory betwixt him and the will of man God say they must send his Grace but his Grace is not that alone which produceth the effect for the power of mans will though infeebled by the Fall is yet alive and God accommodating the Soul with the aid and assistance of his Grace the Soul joins with it and this they assign for the reason why one heart is changed and not another for God proposeth his special grace to all where by the way you may take notice that they call special Grace what we call common because administred to all because free will works better in him that is converted than in the other thus still Arminians and they are agreed that the fountain of all Spiritual and Eternal good is in mans self that man makes himself to differ and so hath wherein to glory and that man is the first
temptations As easie a thing as some make it to believe many Souls smitten of God and truly afflicted under the sense of sin find it one of the most difficult things in the world to give such a firm and steady Assent to the Revelation of the Gospel as will produce in their Souls any grounded confidence and resting on the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour and shall be productive of such a change of heart and life as the Gospel requireth Hence though they be truly wounded in the sense of sin and have taken up resolutions through the Grace of God to sin no more as they have done formerly yet they cannot tell how to bring their Souls to any fiducial adherence and rest on the Lord Jesus Christ but they are still full of doubts and fears concerning their spiritual and eternal state the guilt of their sins is upon their consciences and they pine away in and under it but they are not able to reach out an hand to the Promise in and through Christ they have deep sights of their misery but they can see no hope no mercy at all in God for them Now to such Souls as these this is some relief to consider That no man cometh to the Son unless the Father draweth him It is no wonder that thou who hast formerly been not a stranger only but an enemy to God canst not at first come unto him without a powerful influence of Divine Grace when as those who are brought home to God stand in need of a daily Divine Influence to enable them to walk with him and to run after him This is not the weakness or frowardness or badness of thine heart alone it is the condition of every lapsed Soul And here the thinking Soul will come to feel the wound given it by the Fall of Adam and its own original corruption No man hath by nature more aptitude than another to acts truly spiritual You will say this is very cold comfort We are sure if we be without Christ we are undone and what if our hearts be no worse than others were till they were made better by the Power of Divine Grace so long as that they are so bad as we cannot come to Christ for life We have been lying in this state at the Pool of Bethesda under the Ordinances of God many months and years others within the time have been rolled in here we lie still as weak as ever I will but offer two things to the relief of a Soul thus complaining 1. That every Christian drawn to Christ doth not presently discern it Faith is one thing the sense of that Faith is another thing Many a Child of Light doth not walk in the Light I would hope charitably that that Soul which complains that it cannot believe and seriously bemoans its impotency doth believe a serious desire to believe is generally the fruit of believing I would say to the Soul that thus complaineth Thou art awakened to consider an Eternity and that thy Soul is hastening towards an Eternity yet thou dost not despair thou hast some hope In what is thy hope What dost thou trust in with reference to thy Eternal Happiness Such a Soul will easily see that its Moral Righteousness or Formal Performance of Duties are not the things it hopeth in Where then is thy hope those degrees of hope which keep thee out of the Pit of despair fixed Where can it be fixed but in Christ exhibited in the Promises of the Gospel so as thou rather complainest for want of sense than for want of 〈◊〉 2. If thou dost but pray and wait thou shalt see Christ will make thee to see that he hath drawn thy Soul unto himself Never poor Soul perished under thy circumstances that is heavy loaden under the sense of sin and weary of its sinful courses and sensible that it hath no Righteousness wherein it can stand before God and panting and thirsting after the Lord and his Righteousness I have alwaies thought that God would not be wanting to any as to his special Grace that had made the best improvement he could of common Grace But this case riseth higher God hath begun his good work in thy Soul and he will perfect it he hath begun with thee in a way of special Grace and more shall be added he hath brought to the birth and shall he not give strength to bring forth so as thou hast nothing to do but to pray to wait upon God in his Ordinances and to wait for God with patience Secondly I hear others complaining They would run after God they would follow the Lord fully the Spirit is willing but the Flesh is weak they find their corruptions their temptations so strong their strength against them so small that they wonder they hold out so long and fear they shall one day fall They cannot find that they run after Christ something of duty they do but with so much dulness and heaviness as is far from running Christian be of good comfort 1. The Lord will draw thee do what in thee lieth the Lord will draw thee Who saith Paul shall deliver me from this body of death He presently subjoyns I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. The Spouse prayeth in Faith when she saith Draw me and we will run after thee If Abraham had considered his own body at that time dead as to such acts or the deadness of Sarah's womb he had never glorified God by a strong Faith in the Promise Rom. 3. 21. He considered none of these but the Promise only and concluded that what the Lord had promised he was able to perform Thou considerest how busie the Devil is and what he can do How strong thy lusts are how weak thou art and how little thou art able to do But thou dost not consider what a mighty God can do what he can do who hath said To him that hath shall be given and he shall have in more abundance Thou seest a great Mountain of lusts and corruptions great Mountains of temptations and thou art afraid But what art thou O great Mountain before the Lord 's Zerubbabel If it be the Lord's work who shall let him 2. Consider The Lord may sometimes not draw 〈…〉 as at other times and our running will bear a proportion to his drawing The Mother will never leave the little Child to go wholly alone for fear it falls she will alwaies have an hand upon it but she may sometimes put forth more sometimes less of the strength of that hand God never leaveth us wholly to our selves he knows we cannot stand or go without him but he sometimes lets us feel more of his strength sometimes less 3. Going slowly when God slackens his hand is indeed running that is equivalent to a going faster with a further influence It is like the Widdows Mite who hath no more to put in Like Hezekiah's chattering like a Crane Like the voice of David's weeping Like the sorrowful sighings of the
acts of special powerful Grace but yet in a different kind and degree 2. Secondly Betwixt a real drawing after him and a gradual drawing I told you before that all Divine drawing signifieth a sweet and powerful influence of the Spirit upon the Soul by which it is allured changed and melted into that duty which the Soul oweth to God in obedience to the Gospel now as it is in our drawing of a thing or person to us we may put forth more or less power as we please So in the divine drawings though divine drawing be a mercy of that nature that it shall and will follow the Soul all the days of its life God will never depart from the Soul to which he is thus united to do it good and he will put his fear into its heart that it shall never depart from him yet he puts forth more or less of his power according to the good pleasure of his own will and the conduct of his own infinite wisdom and according also to our behaviour toward him let me for the relief of such a Soul lay down three conclusions 1. First I say there is no Soul by the Father drawn to Christ but that Soul is also and shall be by the Spirit drawn after him Upon the Souls being drawn to Christ there followeth an Vnion between Christ and the Spirit of Christ and the Soul that is so drawn Christ after that time is in the Soul and the Soul is in Christ hence his Spirit is put into their hearts and dwelleth in them a multitude of phrases of that nature are to be found in holy writ It is called an ingrasting into Christ Now it is not possible that the Soul should be ingrasted into such a stock but it must partake of the fatness of the stock and grow up in him the seed of God abiding in the Soul it cannot but grow and spring up in it Some Communion with Christ alwaies follows this union So that unless the union with Christ could be wholly broken and dissolved its communion with Christ cannot be wholly interrupted interrupted it may be but I say not wholly interrupted Secondly 2. The least influence of special Grace keeps the Soul moving for and towards God and in a willingness to sorve and obey him and preserveth it from a total falling away Papists say that we may fall away both totally and finally Lutherans say we may fall away totally but not finally but we say the justified Soul can neither fall away totally nor yet finally if he could fall away totally the union betwixt Christ and the Soul must be dissolved or the union remaining the communion consequent to that union might be wholly interrupted neither of which can be 3. But Thirdly The holy Spirit dwelling in the Souls of Believers and working in them putteth forth its power sometimes more sometimes less as a free agent and according to the good pleasure of his own will as is the drawing so is the running Hence the Soul moveth sometimes with more sometimes with lesser strength sometimes with more promptness and readiness sometimes with less as the holy Spirit is pleased more or less to exert and put forth his power in and upon the Soul Now from this discourse it appeareth that a Soul that findeth that God hath renewed and changed it so far that to will is present with it and it hath an heart to do though it wanteth such a strength such a freedom to and chearfulness in duty as others rejoice in and itself hath sometimes found yet hath no reason to conclude that it was never truly drawn to Christ because as it apprehendeth it is not drawn after him all the evidence of which that it hath is because it doth not run as at other times all this may be yet the Soul may be truly drawn to him and also drawn after him though not so powerfully as it may be it hath felt itself at other times or seen others drawn In the second place This notion may inform us That a running after Christ is the duty of a Christian The life of a Child of God is in Scripture ordinarily expressed under the notion of a walking with God a phrase that some in this age would scoff at but one of the ancientest by which in Scripture a course of holiness is expressed Gen. 5. 24. Enoch walked with God and was not but now if walking be taken in opposition to running there is something more than walking with God the duty of a believer even this running after Christ which I have been describing to you Hence it is also expressed under this notion So the Spouse here expresseth it we will run after thee So David I will run the ways of thy Commandments So St. Paul so run that you may obtain we are not only under an obligation to serve God but to serve him with all our might all our strength to serve him with readiness and freedom of Spirit this is that which elsewhere is called a growing in Grace and corresponds with the Israelites motion and pace to Hierusalem mentioned Psal 84. a going from strength to strength It is a long journey that we have to go from the minimum quodsic the least degree of Grace to the maximum quodsic the fulness of stature which is in Jesus Christ and therefore we had need run sinners run in their sinful courses Lusts get strength and discover their activity daily men make hast to be compleat in sinning to fill up the measure of their iniquities Men make hast to be rich in the world and shall the Children of God make no hast to be rich in Grace David saith My Soul followeth hard after thee Psal 63. 8 St. Paul tells us that he pressed forward toward the Mark Phil. 3. 14. Ah! where are those Souls of whom we can say they run after Christ How few are those Souls that follow hard after God that go as fast as they can though it may be they cannot go as fast as they would 1. How many are there in the world that appear to us as if they were moving after God but move meerly as Machines and Ingines they are rather moved from some forreign principle without them than move from any intrinsick principle all hypocrites all formal professors do so they follow Christ for the Loaves or are drawn from the consideration of their own credit and reputation some are drawn to some degrees of duty from the reflections of their natural conscience this is now no running after God they may do many things which God requires but it is from no internal principle 2. How manẠare there that instead of running halt We dare not say that they do not move at all we hope their hearts are right we hope they are the Children of Jonathan but they are lame of their feet with one foot they seem to go right with another they fail they are like Naaman the Syrian who pretended that he would serve
Hypocrite would seem to be somthing but is nothing he doth nothing he is inconcerned in the good of others Souls whereas if he were a true Plant of righteousness he would cast his Seed Prov. 10. 21. The Lips of the Righteous feed many It is an iâ—l sign that there is a truth of grace wanting in that Soul in which are found no endeavours to propagate the knowledge fear of God But I shall shut up my Discourse upon this Argument with a word of Exhortation to all those who profess themselves to have received the special grace of God So to manage their conversation that others by their examples or by their means may be provoked to run after Christ Christ tells his Disciples Mat. 5. 13. That they were the Salt of the Earth and v. 14. The light of the World a City set upon an Hill that God had not lighted up a light in their Souls to be hid for no Man lighteth a Candle to put to it under a Bushel saith he but to be set on a Candlestick that it might give light to all them that are in the House Upon this he foundeth an Exhortation v. 16. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorifie your Father which is in Heaven I see no reason to restrain those Texts unto those that are the Ministers of the Gospel they are true of all true Christians the Children of God in the World are the Salt of the World and it is their duty to season others They are the light of the World and to shew light to the World they are obliged so to live that being themselves drawn others also by their means may run after Christ You will say to me how shall this be How should a Christian so live as to draw others to run after Christ I answer It will very much depend upon 1. The Seriousness of his pious behaviour towards God 2. The Humility and Inn cency and quietness of his behaviour toward men 3. His abounding in good works 4. His Communicativeness both of his Gifts and of his Experiences I will a little inlarge upon all these 1. I sav First It will much depend upon the Evenness and Seriousness of a Christians pious behaviour toward God Religion is in it self a lovely thing and many who cannot get leave of themselves to be pious and devout yet are constrained to commend it in others where they see the Practitioners in it serious and even in their practice for nothing is more odious even to common Eyes than to see men act a part in Religion but for a Christian in praying to pray in hearing to hear to be serious and in earnest in his acts of devotion so to demean himself that he shall appear to others to mind what he is about to be fervent in Spirit while he is serving the Lord is lovely in all mens account to see men gaping about the Church whiles they are pretending to pray sleeping or talking when they are pretending to hear the Word of God winneth none but rather estrangeth the World from God and makes them think there is nothing in Religion but a vain shew But to see a Christian serious and servent in prayer diligent and attentive in hearing hanging as it were upon the Preachers Lips as it is said of those who heard Christ Luke 19. 48. we translate it they were very attentive to hear him the Greek is they did hang upon him this makes People think there is something in Godliness Especially when men are even in their pious conversation that their warmth in Piety is not by fits but there are the same at all times having to do with the same God and being in the same service of God 2. A second thing upon which the inciting others to come to and to run after Christ doth much depend is Christians behavior towards men so three things much commend the grace of God to the World 1. Humility Pride and self exalting are generally odious to all men and men as it were by a natural instinct conclude there is nothing of God in those in whom they see much of Pride discovered by an immoderate boasting uncharitable judging and censuring superciliousness a scorn and contempt of others but now where men have the advantage of the Word of God which commands men to deny themselves to be cloathed with humility in honour to prefer others before themselves to learn of Christ for he is meek and lowly c. they are much more confirmed in this and any thing of pride in Christians doth rather estrange men from God and Christ then cause them to run after him 2. Innocency in Christians is another thing which much commends the ways of God to others Christ commanded his Disciples to be wise as Serpents innocent as Doves Paul exhorteth the Philippians 2. Phil. 15. to be blameless and harmless the Sons of God without rebuke Most People have a natural Notion of God that he is full of goodness and doth no Man harm and those who are in any measure acquainted with the Scriptures observe that Christ's conversation on Earth was an innocent harmless conversation the Apostle Heb. 7. 26. calleth him not only undefiled and separate from Sinners but holy and harmless Now an innocent conversation implieth righteousness in all injustice there must be harm done to others 3. A third thing that makes an honest and winning Conversation towards men is quietness and peaceableness in opposition to Tumultuousness Sedition and quaâ—reling The Apostle commands us to study to be Qâ—iet 1 Thess 4. 11. I need not enlarge upon this Experience tells you how much a quietness and peaceableness of behaviour obligeth the World and how much a contrary temper disobligeth it from Men and Women professing to Religion and Godliness God is the God of Peace and delighteth not in confusion 3. A third thing upon which much depends the winning and gaining of others to run after Christ is abounding in good works I here restrain the Notion of good works understanding by them acts of Mercy and Charity towards men Our Saviour bids us make our selves Friends of the Mammon of Vnrighteousness and by it teacheth us that good works of this Nature are not unprofitable as to our own Souls though they are no fit price to purchase Heaven with But they are also of great use to save the Souls of others as they have a tendency to commend the grace and ways of God unto other men On the other side acts of Oppression Cruelty and uncharitableness have a great malignity to estrange Souls from Religion and Godliness It is a sad story I have somewhere met with upon the Cruelty shewed by the Spaniards to the Indians upon their pretended converting them to the Faith of the Gospel A great Person of the Indians would know whither the Souls of the Spaniards went when they died to Heaven or to Hell and being told they went to Heaven replied Then
thou art greatly beloved Ordinary subjects may have their petitions answered but they must be favourites that have the Kings ear presently those Souls to whom God gives present answers of prayers are ordinarily such as are beloved greatly beloved A good natured Mother may help a Child that is another persons being in any ill circumstances and crying to her aloud and fiercely but it is a sign the Child is her own when her bowels yern towards it as soon as it begins to cry yet I find two instances at least in Scripture of Gods present answering the cries of persons in no such state of favour with God Ahab and the King of Nineveh 1 Kin. 21. 27 28 29. Jonas 3. 4. But besides that those instances relate meerly to temporal mercies and such wherein not those Persons alone but great bodies of people were concerned and in such cases as nothing but a present answer could have done them good as to the thing wherein they were heard Nineveh was within forty days of ruine and it was only a deferring of that judgment which God had threatned as to which they were heard I say besides these things it is one thing what God may do out of the abundance of his goodness and mercy and another thing what they may with any confidence expect It is most certain that persons who are strangers and enemies to God and so under a threatning That although they make many prayers God will not hear them and of whom God hath said that their sacrifices are abomination cannot hope that the Lord should answer much less presently answer their prayers 2. As to a present answer of prayers it is necessary not only that the persons praying be believers persons in favour with God but that their prayers be prayers of faith that they exercise faith in their prayers James 1. 5. If any of you want wisdom let him ask of God But v. 6. Let him ask in faith nothing wavering for he that wavereth is like a wave of the Sea driven of the wind and tossed and James 5. 15. The prayer of faith shall save the sick Prayers for Persons sick ordinarily require present answers now saith the Apostle the prayer which saveth the sick must be the prayer of faith This is a point not well understood viz. how to pray in faith and what exercise of faith is required in prayer I shall therefore shortly open it and shew you what exercises of faith are necessary to that Soul that would have his prayers at all answered at least who can expect a present answer 1. Faith in prayer must respect Gods being and goodness This the Apostle informeth us Heb. 11. 6. He who cometh unto God must believe that God is and that he is a rewarder of them that seek him That God is and that he is able to give what we ask of him Believe you saith Christ to the blind man that I am able to do this If God be if he be God he is able to do whatsoever we ask of him But this is not all we must also believe the goodness of God That he is a rewarder of them that seek him one who hath said to the Children of Men seek ye my face and who never said to the seed of Jacob seek ye my face in vain This is the first act of faith in prayer whosoever cometh to seek God for any mercy must steadily agree to this That God is and is able to grant the thing he asks of him and that he is infinitely good and a rewarder of those Souls that obey his will in that precept seek ye my face 2. Faith must respect that promise which God hath made for that mercy or good thing which we come to God for There is hardly any particular good thing for which God hath not somewhere in his word made a particular promise now this promise is Gods bond which faith laies hold on and prayer puts in suit if we want a particular promise respecting the specifical mercy yet there are general promises within the latitude of which those particular good things fall such as those Psal 84. 11. He will give grace and glory and no good thing will he with-hold from them that walk uprightly Psal 34. 10. They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing Rom. 8. 24. We know that all things work together for them that love God 1 Cor. 3. 22. 23. All things are yours and you are Christs and Christ is Gods Now I say that he that prayeth in faith must have his Eye either upon some of these more general words in which God hath promised all good things or those particular promises wherein God hath promised that specifical mercy which he comes to ask of God Mar. 11. 24 What things soever you desire when you pray believe that you shall receive them and you shall have them It is not only necessary that when we go unto God in prayer we should Eye him as the fountain of power so able to grant what we ask of him and as the fountain of goodness so willing to relieve all the streights and supply all the necessities of poor creatures but 3. As a God of truth and faithfulness that he believe that he shall receive what he asketh of God and to this end he must see the good thing either generally or particularly promised 3. There is yet a third act of faith necessary which is a casting of our Souls upon God in the promise a trusting in him for the receit of the thing we have asked of him James saith we must ask in faith nothing wavering the Soul must not doubt within itself whether God hears or will give in a gracious answer yea or no but commit itself wholly to God upon the credit of his promise believing that he who hath promised is able to perform and trusting in him for a performance This is now praying in faith and the truth is all other praying is but praying in formality of which we can expect no more profit then ariseth from a meer bodily labour This now is necessary with reference to an answer especially a quick and a present answer on the part of the person praying 2. But something also is necessary to be observed with respect to the matter that we pray for 1. It must be something which is truly and really good for us and of which we stand in need Our need of a thing and the goodness of it for us is not to be measured from our sense and apprehension for we are often mistaken and do not keep what is good for our selves and therefore must refer our selves to the wisdom of God who knoweth what things we have need of It is true that there are some things so perfectly and absolutely good as they can never be evil such are the pardon of our sins the love and favour of God c. But there are other things that are not so which at some time we
may have a need of and they would be good to us at another time we have no need of but they would be hurtful and pernicious to us and this is the reason why our supplications for some things may be absolute and peremptory for other things they ought to be limited conditioned and put up with a reference of our selves to the will and wisdom of God God cannot give evil things unto his Children though they ask them never so importunately never so frequently This our Saviour hath taught us Luke 11. 11. 12. If a Son shall ask Bread of any of you that is a Father will he give him a stone or if he ask a fish will he for a fish give him a Serpent Or if he shall ask an Egg will he offer him a Scorpion if therefore you being evil know how to give good gifts to your Children how much more shall your heavenly Father give his holy Spirit to them that ask him Mat. 7. 11. it is give good things to them that ask him It is most certain that no one would ask things that are or would be hurtful to him wittingly Children through ignorance may but if they do their parents that have more wisdom will not give them such things No more will our Heavenly Father who knows it is nothing but ignorance that causeth us to ask any thing of that nature And this may help us to understand Gods dispensations and satisfy the people of God though they have not all those things they ask of God if they be such things as are not absolutely and perfectly good they may be such things as the Lord knoweth under our circumstances would be evil and pernicious to us and we are answered by being denied them for though through our weakness and ignorance we asked them as believing them to be good yet had we known them as indeed they were we would have prayed against them The things we ask must be good and such things as we stand in need of indeed therein lies the nature of goodness or they are no matter of a promise and consequently ought to be made no matter of prayer nor would be but for our infirmity and weakness and consequently they may be denied us and we may never have an answer by receiving the things which we ask but are answered in having them denied to us 2. What we ask must be according to the will of God 1 Joh. 5. 14. And this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to the will of God he heareth us The Spirit maketh intercession for us according to the will of God Indeed this doth very little differ from the other for whatsoever is good for us is doubtless according to the will of God It is Gods will that no good thing should be with-held from them who live uprightly But there is yet something further that I shall add under this head which is necessary in order to the receiving of a present answer from God If we would have a present answer we must ask for such things not only as it is the will of God we should have but as it is according to the will of God we should have at such a time as we ask and under such circumstances as we then are Solomon telleth us there is a time for all things God hath appointed times and seasons for all his dispensations of providence he had not only promised Canaan to the seed of Abraham but he had set the time after four hundred and thirty years he had not only promised a deliverance out of the Captivity of Babylon but he had also set the time seventy years Hence Daniel was presently heard when he prayed the Text telleth you that he understood by Books the number of the years whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the Prophet that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolations of Hierusalem Then he set his face to the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplications with â—asting c. Dan. 9. 2 3. and while he was speaking God gave him an answer To Habakkuk it fell out otherwise he put up a prayer to to God ch 1. his answer was ch 3. v. 3. The Vision is yet for an appointed time but at the end it shall speak it shall not lie tho it tarry wait for it because it will surely come it will not tarry Had the believing Jews prayed never so often never so seriously for the coming of the seed of Abrahams out of Aegypt and going into Canaan before the four hundred years were expired they could have neither expected nor received any present answer other than according to the tenor of that to Habakkuk because Gen. 15. 16 17. Though God had promised Abraham that he would give unto his Seed the land of Canaan yet he had also told him that they should be strangers in a land that was not theirs and they should serve them and they should afflict them 400 years but afterwards they should come out with great substance and v. 16. In the fourth generation his Seed should come again into Canaan All things are seen by an Omniscient Eye and ordered by an eternal thought Now where the believing prayer meets with an eternal thought as to the time of the mercy there the answer is alwaies present See therefore how confidently the Psalmist prayeth Psal 202. 12. Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Sion for the time to favour her yea the set time is come when the time the set time for God to favour a Nation or a particular Soul is come then the answer is alwaies present It is therefore the great wisdom of a Christian before he sets himself to pray to inquire so far as he may whether Gods set time for the collation of the mercy is come But will a good Christian say How shall I ever find out this how shall I knows when Gods set time to favour his Church or to favour my or anothers particular Soul is come Times and seasons are not in our hands nor within the compass of our knowledge The case indeed was plain as to the Jews with reference to their servitude in Aegypt and Captivity in Babylon God had then revealed it to and by his Prophets but we have no such revelations now concerning Nations or Churches much less concerning particular Souls It may be my Soul is under the power of some violent and impetuous temptations under the pressure of some strong lusts 〈◊〉 corruptions in some dark hour of desertion I find 〈◊〉 in the case in Holy Writ these promises are sufficient grounds for me to pray but if my prayer must be suited to Gods will as to the time how shall I ever know how to perform my duty how shall I ever pray in faith 1. As we say in our law When in any contract for payment of any sum of money no particular time is exprest for the payment the
hurt God denieth it because he would do us good and not hurt In this case if the Lord giveth us an heart content to be without the thing we ask he abundantly answereth our prayers and giveth us the general and true desire of our Souls God sometimes answereth our prayers by giving us idem the same thing which we ask but this he never doth but where he seeth it is for our good and that under our present circumstances sometimes he answereth us by giving us tantundem the value of the mercy though not the particular thing which we ask of God thus he answered Paul as to the thorn in his flesh and this is a real answer and with this every Child of God ought to be fully satisfied and contented But this is enough to have said to this point how Christians may know whether Gods time his set time to favour his Church or the Souls of his people is come a point of great concern in order to the satisfaction of Christians why they have not a present answer to their prayers to abate their dissatisfaction as to the inequal motions of Divine Providence in this answer of prayers 3. Lastly Something is necessary with reference to the manner of our prayers if we would so pray as to receive a present answer So two things are necessary 1. That we pray Believingly 2. Fervently 1. Believingly I opened this before under the first head and therefore shall say nothing to it here 2. Fervently That is that which alone I shall here speak to This is much mistaken if it be thought to lie in the vehemency of our tone and expression it lyeth much deeper in the intension of the mind and the Souls secret affection to and in the duty James tells us ch 5. v. 16. The effectual servent prayer of the righteous availeth much The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which properly signifieth operative and working and so working as it produceth the effect The Prophet speaking of God Isaiah 41. 4. useth this expression who hath wrought and done it the Septuagint translate the Hebrew word there by this word the Apostle useth it to express such a working as that by which God bringeth about his decrees Eph. 1. 11. Who worketh all things according to the counsel of his will and again he useth it to express the working of the Devil in wicked men whom he calleth Children of disobedience Eph. 2. 2. In the primitive times those who were acted by the Devil were called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because of the great power and force which the evil Spirit put forth upon and shewed in those miserable creatures that were possessed Piscator upon the Text Jam. 5. 16. translates it Ardens the burning flaming prayer Beza translateth it Efficax the efficacious prayer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doubtless signifies that prayer which setteth the whole Soul on work There is a cold dead lazy prayer where the tongue only is set on work or only the tongue and the head or the fancy the one to invent and compose matter the other to utter it but neither of these is that fervent prayer which St. James speaketh of but that prayer which setteth the whole Soul in motion towards God where not only the fancy and imagination and understanding are imployed to invent and suggest matter the will to will it but the affections which indeed in a reasonable creature are but the motions of the will towards its object with the utmost intension to desire it to exercise an hope in God for it c. this is the fervent working prayer mentioned by St. James this prayer doth much with God Jacobs prayer was such a prayer Moses saith he wrestled with God until the morning he said unto God I will not let thee go until thou blessest me the Prophet expounds it Hosea 12. 4. He wept and made supplications unto him by this prayer he had power over the Angel and prevailed as it is there in the words immediately preceding yea and he had a present answer God blessed him before he parted with him as you read in his History Such a prayer was Daniels to which he received also a present answer Dan. 9. v. 3. I saith he set my face to the Lord God to seek by Prayer and Supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes such was Elijahs prayer 1 Kings 18. 42. The text saith He put his face betwixt his knees a posture signifying the great intension of his mind and spirit It is a praying with strong cries and groans which cannot be uttered which is the Apostles phrase Rom. 8. 26. This praying comes up to the first and great commandment Yhou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Soul and all thy strength This is like the drawing the arrow to the head which sendeth it with more force to the mark nor indeed is there a better sign of a sudden answer than when the Lord hath thus prepared the heart A man seldom finds his Soul more then ordinarily fervent and importunate with God for a mercy but when the Lord hath determined suddenly to give it in to him Thus now I have shewed you in what cases God ordinarily gives in speedy answers to his peoples prayer But God doth not do this alwaies David himself complaineth Psal 22. 2. O my God I cry in the day time but thou hearest not and in the night season and am not silent The Church crieth out Psal 80. 4. O Lord God of Hosts how long wilt thou be angry with the prayers of thy people And again he shutteth out my prayer Lam. 3. 8. What should be the reason of these inequal dispensations from the hand of the same God and gracious Father I answer 1 Why may not God do it that we may not track him in his ways He will be known to be a free agent He will sometimes give present answer that his people may be confirmed in their faith that God is a God hearing prayer The God that never said to the seed of Jacob seek my face in vain he will not alwaies give a present answer that we may not ascribe too much unto prayer nor will he alwaies delay that we may not ascribe too little to it If God should alwaies give a present answer we should ascribe too much to prayer and make an idol of a duty That the Lord might secure his own glory and be owned as the God of our mercies the object of our faith and dependence the free fountain of all our good things God is pleased sometimes sooner sometimes later to give in answer to his peoples prayer 2. But there may be reason enough for it fetched from the prayers themselves One prayer may be made more in faith than another more fervent than another more fitted to Gods set time for the bestowing of a mercy than another it is true nothing of these can render the prayer more meritorious our prayers take them at the best are too
more strict and close walking with God Let this ingage us to perfect holivess in the fear of the Lord. Study therefore the closest degrees of fellowship and communion with God the strictest course of an holy conversation There is a great deal of difference even in good mens communion with God some are more upon the mountwith God then others are more in holy meditation and contemplation more in secret duties more in prayer more in watchfulness more warm and zealous for God David had many worthies but he had a first three to which the others did not come up though they did worthily God hath many Souls that he loveth that are dear and precious in his Eyes but he hath also his first threes some that excel and out-run others these are they that have most of Gods Ear for tho the first grace be not given because men keep his Commandments yet further grace the manifestations and signal tokens of Divine love are given out according to the promise Jo. 14. 21. as men love and keep the Commandments of God you therefore that would excel in the favour of God that would have Gods ear fully and presently open to your supplications study to excel in holiness Doth a poor Courtier in the Courts of Earthly Princes bless himself in having the Ear of his Prince that if he hath a Petition to put up unto his Prince he can go immediately into his presence and have his Petition presently signed whereas the Petitions of others are rejected or at least deferred so as he is constrained to wait months or years And is this no priviledge no happiness at all that a poor Soul can immediately go unto the Lord of Heaven and Earth to him who is the Fountain of all grace and goodness and if he wants any thing freely present his Petition to him and have it signed presently not let the Lord go until he hath blessed him when as a wicked man tho he maketh many prayers yet is not heard yea those that may have some interest in God yet walking more loosely and more imperfectly may cry a long time and yet not be answered if we had nothing more then this to commend to us holiness in all manner of conversation and the strictest degrees of walking with God yet this certainly should be enough I shall add but one word more in application of this discourse I put into the Proposition the term sometimes God doth not alwaies but sometimes give in a quick answer to his peoples prayers Let not the people of God therefore think it strange if they have not presently an answer to their prayers God is not alwaies alike quick in his returns to the prayers of his people He always heareth them he will be certain to answer them but he is not alwaies equally quick in the answer of them This is many times the trouble of Souls that belong to God it was Davids trouble expressed Psal 22. 2 3. It was Asaphs trouble though God did at last hear him as you read v. 1. yet he had first spake as in v. 7. 8 9. Will the Lord cast off for ever and will he be favourable no more Is his mercy clean gone for ever Doth his promise fail for evermore Hath God forgotten to be gracious hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies yet because the not hearing of prayers is threatned as a judgment and punishment upon wicked men and mentioned in holy writ as the reward of mens regarding iniquity in their hearts This often causeth a great deal of trouble in the Spirits of Gods People Let me therefore shut up this discourse in advising alittle what that man or woman should do that lieth at least under some apprehensions that God doth not hear or hath not heard their prayers they cry in the day time and are not silent in the night season yet God heareth not 1. In the first place Let such a Christian examine whether it be not his own mistake Thou thinkest God hath not heard nor answered thy prayers art thou not in a mistake All answers of prayers are not discernable to our sense It may be God hath answered thee by denying thee the particular thing that thou askedst of him thus he answered Paul by denying him as to the thing he asked which was the taking the thorn out of his flesh He better knoweth what we have need of then we our selves know it the general desire of thy Soul was for some good thou didst therefore desire health riches c. because thou didst apprehend them suitable and convenient and so good for thee God who knoweth thy Soul the frame and temper of it he seeth that these things would be for thy hurt he therefore with-holdeth them and so in not answering answereth thee in not answering thy particular request he doth answer the general desire of thy Soul and only correcteth thy ignorance in thy request 2. You have heard that God sometimes answereth by giving though not the thing yet the value of the thing which thou askest i. e. that which is every way as sutable and convenient and as profitable for thee as that which thou didst desire Hath not God according to thy prayer removed thy affliction yet hath he supported thee under it hath he filled thee with inward consolations hath he told thee as he did Paul that his grace should be sufficient for thee Dost thou call this no answer God answers the prayer of that Soul to whom he giveth the full value of the thing it asketh though he doth not give the thing itself 2. If thou canst not find that God hath answered thee neither in kind nor in value Review thy prayer and see if thou canst not find some failure in that for which God with-holds his answer I suppose thee a person reconciled to God through the blood of Christ other Souls either pray not at all or if at all they make a meer formality of the duty and put up prayers as Children shoot arrows never regarding whither they flie or what becometh of them but even in a good mans prayer there may be such failures as may give God a just cause to with-hold an answer without any breach of Gods truth or faithfulness thou mayest not have prayed in faith but too much doubting thou mayest have prayed for something which thy wise Father saw was not good for thee or at least not good for thee under some present circumstances under which thou art if thou findest any thing of this nature thy work is to correct thy prayers if thou wouldst receive an answer 3. If thou dost not find this if thou canst not charge thy want of an answer upon some defect or failure in thy prayers nor yet find that God hath answered thee either giving thee the thing which thou didst ask of him or the value of it in a quiet and contented frame of Spirit in the want of it or in the supportations or consolations of
his Spirit but thy Soul is yet unquiet and impatient it is thy duty yet to wait upon God to chide down thy tumultuous and unquiet thoughts all the risings up and murmurings of thy Soul against God to adore and to admire God where thou canst not see or understand him to acknowledge Gods goodness and holiness though thou canst not discern his goodness as to thee in this particular Thus did David Psal 22. 3. after he had complained that he had cried in the day time and the Lord did not hear and in the night season and was not silent v. 3. he saith But thou art holy O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel This is most certainly our duty under such providences as these are we must not look in this life to understand all Gods ways and methods of providence much less the reasons of them that is a piece of knowledge reserved for another world all that we have to do is to observe and study them and where we cannot find them out to admire and adore them and to wait upon him that wrappeth up himself in thick darkness and hideth his face from the House of Jacob. This waiting doth not only signify a passive quietness silence and patience but an active doing our duty Waiting on the Lord and keeping his way are put together Psal 37. we ought not to leave off praying because in our apprehensions at least our prayers lie by without answer much less to slacken our course of holiness but to resolve as the Church did for Zions sake so for our own sake not to hold our peace we have for this an excellent president in the example of the Church Psal 44. 17. All this is come upon us saith she yet have we not forgotten thee nor dealt falsely in thy Covenant Our heart is not turned back neither have our steps declined from thy way though thou hast sore broken us in the place of Dragons and covered us with the shadow of death then she concludeth with prayer v. 23 24 25 26. Awake why sleepest thou O Lord arise cast us not off for ever wherefore hidest thou thy face and forgettest our affliction and oppression For our Soul is bowed down to the dust our belly cleaveth to the Earth Arise for our help and redeem us for thy mercy sake Sermon XXV Cant. 1. 4. The King hath brought me into his Chambers IF any asketh who is this King whom the text speaks of as the question soundeth like that Psal 24. v. 8. Who is the King of glory So the answer must be much the same The Lord strong and mighty the Lord mighty in Battel the Lord of Hosts he is the King of Glory He is the King of Nations for all the Nations of the Earth are the work of his hands and he hath a Native Lordship and dominion over them He is the King upon the holy hill of Sion the King of Saints they have chosen him he ruleth in them and reigneth over them they have chosen him he hath subdued their hearts unto him and hath chosen them for his peculiar people this is the King of whom the Church and the believing Soul here speaketh and saith The King hath brought me into his Chambers It is the same Person of whom she spake v. 2. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth To whom she said v. 3. Draw me and we will run after thee There she spake to him as her beloved here she speaketh of him as a King there she prayed for something that she wanted here she praiseth and giveth thanks for something she had received I have already taken notice of the alteration of her stile of her so sudden giving thanks upon the quick return God had made to her prayers I come now to consider the mercy or good thing she had received which she expresseth in the same metaphorical dialect which she useth throughout this Song The King hath brought me into his Chambers when I at first opened the whole verse I endeavoured to find out what this mercy was in the receit of which the Spouse triumpheth in this text I then considered Chambers as places more lofty then others and and of more privacy and secrecy and from thence concluded that the Spouse by this phrase signifieth some special favours which she had received from God some special and more near and intimate degrees of fellowship and communion with God into which her beloved had taken her The Proposition I offered from the words for my further explication was this That the Lord Jesus Christ hath Chambers in which he sometimes entertaineth the Souls of his people He hath a favour for them all Rooms in his House for all the sizes of his people but he hath Chambers for some or into which he sometimes takes up the Souls of his Saints the subject of my discourse will be such special favours as God sheweth to some Souls or to the Souls of his people at some times This is evident in holy writ Abraham was called the Friend of God Moses is called his Servant emphatically Moses my Servant is dead David the man according to Gods own heart Solomon was named by God Jedidiah a man beloved of God There are four degrees in the love of God as it respecteth the Children of men 1. He hath a Philanthropy or general love which he sheweth towards all He leaveth not the Heathen without witness In him all men live move and have their being from him they have fruitful times and seasons which fill their bellies with food their hearts with gladness their bellies are filled with his hid treasure The patience of God leadeth them to repentance The invisible things of God even his eternal power and God-head are made known to them by his works of Creation by the things which he hath made 2. He hath a more special love for his Church This is seen in his more special providence exercised towards his whole Church which are more watched over and preserved by a common providence then any other body of people are They have also the Oracles of God the Ordinances of God and means of grace and this latter is certainly an effect of the death of Christ 3. He hath yet a more special love for all those within his Church who are effectually called whose hearts God hath seized and subdued to himself they are made partakes of more special grace being called justified and sanctified and such who shall hereafter be most certainly glorified 4. But there is yet another specialty of Divine love even amongst those who are made partakers of special saving graces some are more specially favoured in this life and shall be more eminently then others glorified in that life which is to come These more special favours to the Saints that are all made partakers of the same saving grace are the subject of my present enquiry 1. Some here understand the mansions of glory but they are forced to make an
uneven towards us that in the darkness of our Spirits we might sometimes read the darkness of our loose and sinful conversation God thus punisheth our pride our hypocrify our neglect of duty our wilful yielding to temptations to which we might have made a better opposition And upon the withdrawing of these influences we have all just reason to search and try our own hearts and to reflect upon our own ways to search out if we can the cause why when others are in the Mount with God we are still kept in the valley while they are in the Chambers we are kept in the lower Rooms this is certain that though possibly the punishment of sin be not alwaies the next cause moving God to such dispensations yet we have alwaies reason to suspect it having our Souls never so free from sin but we may find enough to justify God in them 2. It may be reasonable that God should thus deal with us that we might know as I told you in handling the other Doctrine that his grace is free and he a free agent in the dispensation of it Not only first grace but further grace also in God is free indeed else it could not be grace we should never understand the freeness of grace if it were equally dispensed We in our little manifestations of our love to our fellow creatures challenge to our selves a liberty and think our selves free to shew it where we will God certainly must in justice be allowed the same which we should not be brought to see and acknowledge if we saw God treating all his Servants and at all times to the same rate and in the same degree 3. It may be the mind of God to make a trial of his peoples grace to draw forth some habits into acts which would not be so exercised if some of his people were not under different dispensations and the same Souls sometimes variously exercised The Soul that is with the Lord in his Chambers is more a receiver from God then a giver to him It gives him the exercise of its saith in its reflex act which indeed is not very properly an act of faith It offereth up unto God the sacrifice of joy of praise and thanksgiving it followeth here in the next words we will be glad and rejoice in thee It may exercise its love of complacency and delight in God But all this while where is the exercise of the Souls panting and breathing after God of its faith of adherence unto and dependence upon God of its hope in God and patient expectation of and waiting for God where is the exercise of its patience and submission to God under severer providences It is reasonable that God should see all those blessed habits which he hath infused into the Soul drawn forth into act 4. The good Judas asked Christ John 14. 22. Lord how is it that thou wilt manifest thy self to us and not to the world Christ told him because they loved him more and kept his Commandments better There is the same reason to be assigned why Christ will manifest himself to some of his Saints more then to others because at some times the love of his people more manifesteth itself to him by a stricter keeping of his Commandments and the love of some good men is greater for God Now to encourage men as I before said to perfect holiness in his fear though he will give them all glory yet some shall in this life have Gods goodness made to pass before them more then others that others may see what it is to be much with God 5. Lastly God often doth it for the good of others And indeed this generally is the reason of that more special communion with God which some have more then others as to the Revelation of his mind and will unto them thus God would not hide from Abraham the thing which he had to do against Sodom because Abraham had a Family to instruct God taketh Moses up into the Mount and revealeth his mind and will unto him that he might teach the People over whom God had set him his Statutes and Judgments the same reason is to be given of Gods special communications to the Prophets under the Old and the Apostles under the New Testament and doubtless the same reason is to be assigned for Gods more full revelation of his mind and will already revealed in the Scripture to his faithful Servants in the Ministry who generally know more of the sense of Scriptures and the mind and will of God revealed in them then other Christians do because God designeth that the Priests lips should preserve knowledge and the people should enquire at them and there is the same reason to be given for some more then ordinary influences of grace upon some Christians Souls See 2 Cor. 1. 4. Blessed be God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of mercies and the God of all comforts who comforteth us in all tribulation that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we our selves are comforted of God God hath made us one for another and in the dispensings out of his own gifts and graces he hath respect unto the serviceableness both of Ministers and others one to another But this is sufficient for the Doctrinal part of this discourse Sermon XXVI Cant. 1. 4. The King hath brought me into his Chambers YOU have heard the Proposition raised from these words God hath Chambers in which he sometimes entertains the Souls of his people As there are specialties of common Providence so there are specialties of special and distinguishing grace He takes some of those who love and fear him into nearer degrees of fellowship and communion with him then he doth others Man will claim himself a prerogative in this the Parent will be more fond of more kind to one Child then another though he owns them both as his Children and will give to them both a portion The Prince who hath a tender love for all his Subjects yet will be allowed his favourites Let us not then accuse God in such dispensations of partiality or injustice let us not murmur that we have lesser shares in his manifestative love This is a thing we are very prone to Christ taught it us in the Parable of the Prodigal Luke 15. The Son that was alwaies at home with the Father v. 28 29. was angry and would not go into his Fathers House no not though his Father intreated him because the Father had killed a satted Calf to entertain his Prodigal Brother returning our Saviour doubtless intended in that parable to check the Jews envy at the kindness Christ was about to shew to the Gentiles or did at that time shew to Harlots to Publicans and Sinners but it reacheth further we shall find all our hearts too prone to this to repine at the further manifestations of the love of God to others Souls then unto ours If
climb up those steps which God hath made for us by which we may ascend into these Chambers we must blame our selves if we abide below But this is not alwaies the cause in some cases we must have recourse to Gods prerogative and must rest in this Even so O Father because it pleaseth thee Some Souls are dignified with a special communion and familiarity with God so was Abraham Moses David yet possibly if we look into the records we have of their lives we shall find more blots in some of them then in some others who we do not read were taken up into such eminent degrees of favour We cannot give just reasons and accounts of all Gods acts of Grace it is enough that God wills them In the mean time if we find but a good hope through grace an heart changed and cleaving to God if we can say with Peter Lord thou that knowest all things knowest that we love thee though we cannot boast of such special providences as others nor of such visions of peace nor of so quick an hearing of our prayers tho we dare not pretend to be such favourites of Heaven yet let us not be discouraged possibly as to us the Lords time is not yet come possibly it never will come God is a great Soveraign and unquestionably free as to these things he knows what is best for us he will deny no good thing to us We may say of the whole Family of God as the Queen of Sheba said of Solomons 1 Kings 10. 8. Happy are thy Men happy are these thy Servants which stand continually before thee and heaá¹™ thy wisdom There are some of Gods Servants that as to these enjoyments are more happy then others but there are none but are happy none but have reason for ever to admire the difference which God hath made betwixt them and others to admire what God hath done for their Souls bringing them out of the horrible Pit if they have not if they cannot see reason to rejoice in such a prospect of Heaven as othershave yet they have reason to rejoice in an equal deliverance from Hell I will shut up this discourse with two words of exhortation 1. The first directed to those who can say with the Spouse The King hath brought us into his Chambers 2. The second to those who walk with God but have not yet arrived at this Are there any who can speak the language of the Spouse and glory in this not only that they are brought home to Christ but that the King hath brought them into his Chambers the Lord hath dignified them with some special favours and manifested himself more to them then unto others the following words of this Text will let them know what is their duty I will saith the Spouse be glad and rejoice in thee and remember thy loves more then Wine 1. Be glad and rejoice in God we are often called to for this rejoycing in the Lord Psal 33. 1. Psal 97. 12. Phil. 3. 1. 4. 4. and in many other Texts Such is the portion of Gods Children such their state and condition that they have a continual cause of rejoycing and giving of thanks be they under what circumstances they can there is ground enough for them in all things to give thanks but they are more eminently obliged to it when they are under the highest manifestations of Divine Love This rejoycing in the Lord is I conceive opposed both to a carnal joy in sensual objects and also to a rejoycing meerly in that ease and satisfaction which the good thing giveth us for which we rejoice As now suppose a rich man giveth a poor man 20 s. it is one thing for the poor man to rejoice in the gift as suited to to â—his necessitous circumstances another thing to rejoice in the love and favour of the giver This is now the duty of the spiritual man he ought not only under the manifestations of divine love to rejoyce in the Lord more then in all the world and all the affluences and contentments of it which is expressed in the next phrase we will remember thy loves more then Wine and is commensurate to what David saith Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me for thou shalt thereby make my heart more glad then in the day when their Corn and Wine increased I say this is not enough for a Soul thus dignified he ought more to rejoice in the favour of God shewed him in these specialties of his favour then in the ease and satiâ—faction which the mercy received giveth unto his Soul And herein lieth the purity of the spiritual mans joy nor is his joy genuine and perfect till it come to this pitch 2. The second phrase in the Text expressive of this dignified Souls duty is We will remember thy loves more then Wine The term remember is taken in Scripture in a great latitude and expressive both of all that affection which is due to the remembrance of the object and of all that practical duty which is consequent to it I shall touch a little upon both these and that very shortly for I shall God willing speak to both these expressions in order more fully 1. Remember Christs loves with the remembrance of the heart I shall instance but in one fruit of this and that is faith Remember his loves so as for them to trust in God more and to cast the care of thy Soul in an hour of distress the better upon him upon consideration of thy past and present experience We are too ready both to forget our sorrows and to forget our comforts to forget our sorrows by giving our selves a liberty to the same sins for which we have smarted and to forget our comforts by giving liberty to the same dejections and despondencies again after the experiences of Gods favour 2. Remember Christs loves practically so as to make them obligations upon your Souls to a close walking with God See the example of David Psal 116. 1 9 12 18. But I shall speak all this over again when I come to handle the next words and shall therefore add no more My second Branch of this Exhortation shall respect those whom God hath not thus far dignified the Lord hath as they hope admitted them into his family but he hath not yet brought them into his Chambers Some communion with God they hope they have and an heart that panteth after a more full and near communion with him but this they have not yet attained to they walk in the dark and see no light the Lord giveth them an heart to pray but they cannot glory in such a full and quick return of prayers as others have they have not that inward joy and peace which as to some Souls is consequential to believing the question is now what they should do what their duty is under their present circumstances I will open it in two particulars 1. Certainly they ought not to despond
and be dejected and conclude against themselves as if they had no share in the love of God much less to repine and murmur against God Against murmuring I offered you some considerations under the first branch of application Against condemning your selves or concluding against the goodness of your spiritual state I shall offer something now There is no ground at all for any such conclusion from these providences The Child 's right to the Father is not to be determined from the portion much less from any particular expression of the Fathers affection if the Child be begotten by the Father if owned by him as his Child this is enough tho some other Child may have more smiles and some particular expressions of kindness which it wanteth If a Christian hath any evidence that he is born again not of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of the will of God born again of the Spirit by the incorruptible Seed of the Word this is enough to entitle him to a Sonship if he hath received the Lord Jesus Christ this John 1. 12. gives him a right to be called the Child of God and this new birth is discoverable by the new features in the Souls face the Souls assimilation to God in holiness If these things be found it is a most unreasonable conclusion to conclude against thy Sonship for want of some special favours bestowed upon others and not upon thee so as there is no ground for thy reprobating thy self upon this account and concluding against thy spiritual state because of thy want of some degrees of spiritual priviledges by others enjoyed nor hast thou more ground to despond and to deject thy self as if thou never shouldst attain what thou hast not as yet attained David sets us a rare example in this case Psal 42. 5. Why art thou cast down O my Soul why art thou disquieted within me hope thou in God for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance The longest night hath a morning following there commonly is a circulation in Divine Providence and as to the Soul of man day and night Summer and Winter follow one another as by a Covenant he that doth not grieve willingly nor willingly afflict the Children of men will not be alwaies crushing the Prisoners of the Earth nor suffer the Souls which he hath made to fail before him 2. As thy condition will prompt thee to endeavour to amend it and to make the case of thy Soul more easy so I would have thee look upon it as thy duty St. Paul had not attained but he forgetting what was behind pressed forward to what was before unto the price of the high calling It is the state of our Souls that we are not perfect neither as to action nor as to fruition but it is all our duty to strive after perfection both after a perfection with respect to action which the Apostle calls a perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord and a perfection as to fruition as to the enioyment of God you have heard that the King of Glory hath Chambers in which he entertaineth some of his peoples Souls admitting them to a fuller further and sweeter enjoyment of himself then others have Let therefore no Christian sit down fully satisfied till he get up into these Chambers I have shewed you a Christian ought to be so far satisfied as if God pleaseth to chain him for a time in a lower room my meaning is to lay a necessity upon him to live beneath these Mountains not to repine murmur against God not to conclude against his spiritual state and interest in God not to despond and defect himself and conclude that because it is now dark it shall never be light with him but yet he ought not to be so far satisfied as not to look after higher degrees of enjoyment of and communion with God There are all the arguments imaginable to be pleaded in this case Whether from profit or pleasure or honour c. But those are so obvious that I shall but wast time to inlarge upon them Every Soul that hath any spiritual sense will acknowledge the desirableness of this But will some Souls say what shall we do that we may attain them I have but four things to offer in this case with which I will conclude 1. Study to abound in active grace The grace I am speaking of is that grace wherein man is partly passive Active grace is that by which we are inabled to our duty in obedience to the will of God the Stairs by which Souls ascend to the Kings Chambers mentioned in the Text as I have interpreted it are the steps of universal holiness which the Apostle calls an holiness in all manner of conversation The promise of Gods shewing his Salvation Psal 50. 21. is made to him that ordereth his conversation aright and the promise of Gods manisesting himself to his peoples Souls is made to them that love Christ and keep his Commandments It is true God sometimes useth his prerogative and hides his face from the most pious and holy Souls for a time and shutteth out their supplications from him you have instances in holy writ as well as in our daily converse but it is past all controversy that those enjoy most of God who walk most with God and the closest walking is the most sweet and comfortable walking Study therefore to excell in holiness that 's the first 2. Behave thy self well in the lower Rooms Look to thy self while God keeps thee in a dark condition that thou dost not add to thine own Chains and lengthen the hours of thy darkness affliction is Gods School by which he fits us for consolation Dost thou ask me what I mean by behaving thy self well I answer short 1 Being watchful and striving against sin those corruptions especially which thou shalt discern most busie in such an hour such as murmuring unbelief impatience c. 2. Keeping up thy hope and saith in God so did David as I shewed you Psal 42. 5. Blessed are they saith our Saviour who have not seen and yet believed 3. Humbly acknowledging thine iniquities thy unworthiness to receive the least mercy or look of grace from God 4. Panting thirsting after fuller degrees of communion with God thus David Psal 63. 1 2. My Soul longeth my flesh thirsteth for thee to see thy power and thy glory c. 3. Abstract thy self as much as thou canst from the world You shall observe that the Servants of God have chosen Mountains places of solitude and removed from the noise of the world when they designed any acts of more special communion with God so Christ often went into a Mountain to pray And God oft chose such places more specially to communicate his mind to his people It was in the Mount God talkt with Moses face to face as a man talks with his friend Divines have observed that those Persons who have enjoyed
promises The only thing that I can fancy why a Christian should make a doubt here is because they may be consequent to the removal of some bodily distempers whose influence upon the mind might cause those troubles that weakness or dulness such as Melancholy c. But hath God no hand in bringing or removing such bodily causes if he hath as certainly there is no evil in our bodies more than in our Cities which he hath not done why may not God both afflict us as to our spirits by sending such distempers upon our bodies and also remove the former which are the effect by the removal of the latter which he hath made to be the cause So that admit these things consequent to the removal of some bodily distemper yet they are the effect of God and may be and ought to be looked upon as the answer of our prayers 3. The greatest difficulty of judgment in this case is as to those things which are but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the things which concern this life which God giveth to the righteous as well as the wicked to the sinner crying unto him as well as unto his Children How a Christian shall discern that God when he gives him in these mercies gives them in as a God of Truth and Faithfulness remembring his promise to his Servants nor indeed is this Judgment very easie to the most discerning Christian Something I shall say in the case whether what will be satisfactory or no I cannot tell 1. If they have been given in after prayer made with a Spirit indifferent not too importunate I mean for the receiving of them we may hope well We may observe in Scripture that sometimes common good things have been wrung out of the hands of God by too much impatience and importunity which have never proved blessings Such were the Quails Num. 11. 31 32 33. the Text saith while the flesh was yet between their teeth e're it was chewed the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the People Such was the first King given to the Israelites even Saul the Prophet saith Hosea 13. 11. I gave thee a King in mine anger But when a Christian begs of God any good thing without too much impatience and importunity with an indifferency of Spirit resigning up himself to the will of God as to the receiving of it and God after such a prayer gives in the mercy I know not why we should not conclude it an answer of prayer This I think was the case of Hannah 1 Sam. 1. She was indeed grieved and troubled because God had denied to her the blessing of a Child in this trouble she prays in a solemn manner we read not of any anger in her Spirit against God any impatience or sinful importunity but she prays as a Woman of a troubled Spirit the Lord gives her a Child it was but a mercy of a common nature wicked Women have Children as well as others but it is given in after a solemn prayer she looks upon the Child as begged of God For this Child saith she I prayed and the Lord hath given me my Petition which I asked of him 2. I shall add but one thing more viz. When together with the good thing there is an heart given to the person to improve and make use of it for the honour and glory of God James lets us know that God never gives us in mercies in answer to our prayers and as evidences of his love and faithfulness that we might consume them upon our lusts when he tells those to whom he wrote James 4 5. You ask and receive not because you ask amiss that you may consume it upon your lusts when God giveth us in an outward mercy if he giveth it us in performance of his promise and in token of his love and favour he together with it gives in an heart inclined and ready to make use of it for the honour and glory of his name This is also exemplified in the case of Hannah in the text before-mentioned 1 Sam. 1. 27 28. For this Child saith she I prayed the Lord hath given me my Petition which I asked of him therefore also I have lent him to the Lord as long as he liveth he shall be lent unto the Lord. In the margent of your larger Bibles you will see it may be read He whom I have obtained by Petition shall be returned to the Lord. You have another no less famous instance of it in David Psal 116. v. 1. I love the Lord because he hath heard my voice and supplications The Lord hath heard his voice v. 1. He had inclined his ear unto him v. 2. The Lord had dealt graciously with him v. 7. He had delivered his Soul from death his Eyes from tears and his feet from falling Now mark the product of this He loved the Lord because of it v. 2. He resolveth to call upon the Lord so long as he lived v. 9. To walk before the Lord in the land of the living v. 13. To take the cup of salvation and to call upon the name of the Lord. v. 14. To pay his vows v. 16. To be the Lords Servant v. 17. To offer the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving c. Now where upon prayer for a more common mercy suppose life health riches success in business we find that the Lord hath given us both the thing which we asked of God and an heart to honour God with it and to make a due improvement of it we have there no reason to doubt but that it is given us in answer to our prayers and in testification of his faithfulness and love towards us This now is of great concern to us in order to our gladness and joy in him upon the receiving an answer of our prayers for how shall we rejoice in him upon any such occasion unless we discern our good things coming from him This I think is enough to have spoken to this question and upon this whole argument I shall now proceed as God gives me opportunity to the other effect this mercy had upon the Spouse We will remember thy loves more than Wine But of this hereafter Sermon XXIX Cant. 1. 4. We will remember thy Loves more than Wine YOU heard in my last discourse the first effect that the Beloveds favour shewed to his Spouse in the quick return he made to her prayers and the royal favour he had bestowed upon her in bringing her into his Chambers admitting her to some more special and intimate degrees of communion with himself had upon her it put gladness into her heart and brought her up to an exulting and rejoycing in him Joy is but a passion cito fit cito perit that doth not last alwaies it is like a Land-flood that is sometimes up but will in a short time abate Ordinary Joys do so But the Spouse resolves to keep up here and to this end she saith She will remember the Loves of Christ and give them a
memorial suited to their excellency We will saith she remember them more than Wine or which is the same in the Hebrew dialect Before Wine I shall immediately close with the Proposition Prop. The Soul that hath once received the grace of Christ will remember his Loves more than Wine In the handling of it I shall keep to my usual method of Explication Confirmation and Application In the Explication I shall inquire what is here meant by Christ's Loves 2. What is meant by Wine 3. What by Remembring the Loves of Christ more than Wine We met with the same word v. 2. the Septuagint translate it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and according to them the Vulgar Latine Vbera tua thy Breasts that which causeth the different reading is the cognation of that word which signifieth Love with that which signifieth a Breast the difference is only in the points the matter is not hard to compound for those that will have it translated Breasts agree in the sense thy Loves all the difference is we contend the word in its original signification primarily so signifieth they say it so signifieth only in a figure By Christ's Loves she doubtless meaneth the manifestation of his Love which she calleth Loves because of the variety of them But of these I have had occasion heretofore once and again to discourse The term Wine I have also before opened We all know that in its primary literal signification it signifieth the Juice of the Grape certainly this is much too low a signification for this place It hath besides this a figurative sense in Scripture and so it is either taken Synecdochically Thus Bread and Wine in Scripture doth often signifie all things necessary for our food and subsistence or Metaphorically for whatsoever is sweet and delicate and this I take to be the genuine sense of the words We will remember thy Loves more than all wordly enjoyments how necessary or pleasant soever I am aware of some other senses which some Interpreters put upon this phrase but I take them to be forced and strained This seems without more adoe to be the plain and unconstrained sense of the words But having before opened these two terms that which I have principally to attend is the opening of that term Remember 1. Remembring properly signifieth a reflex act of our understanding by which the former impressions which we have received either of notions or things is revived and brought again to our minds and thoughts whatsoever we receive either by our exterior senses or by our common sense or any other way maketh an impression upon us now this impression through the coming in of a variety of other objects is apt to wear out and die in our Souls when the thoughts or notion of them revives and is repeated upon our Souls then are we said to remember the things In this sense it is a meer natural Act. 2. It is an usual observation of Divines that words of sense used in holy Writ do not signifie the bare acts of those senses which are expressed by them but those affections which are excited by such acts in our Souls and those effects which those acts do ordinarily produce in our actions and conversation And so this term Remember is often used in holy Writ When Solomon calls to the young man to Remember his Creator in the daies of his youth he intendeth not only the act of his memory and understanding that he should call to mind that he had a Creator and what a one he was but that he should rÄ—member to love him and to fear and obey him to pay him the homage that was due to him Eccles 12. 1. When the people of God in Scripture prayed that the Lord would remember his tender mercies Psal 25. 6. And David prays that the Lord would remember him and all his afflictions Psal 132. 1. and that the Lord would remember his Word unto his Servant He prays that the Lord would shew him the goodness that he had promised and suit his dispensations of providence to his afflicted state in proportionable succours So when God's People promise to remember him the promise is not of a bare act of the memory and understanding but of the several powers and faculties of the Soul usually set on work by such a notion and remembrance of things of that nature so as the remembrance of the Loves of Christ signifieth several things 1. The keeping the expressions and manifestations of his Love upon our thoughts or retrieving the thoughts of it if they have slipt us or the impressions of it have been in any measure worn out Thus remembring is opposed to forgetting To the practice of any duty incumbent upon us is not only required our notion or knowledge of the thing as our duty but the presence of it in our thoughts at the time when it is to be done by us for let us know it never so well if we do not think of it in the season when it is to be performed we shall not do it Now saith the Spouse We will remember thy Loves that is we will keep a fresh scent and impression of them the savour of what thou hast done for my Soul shall not go off my Soul This is the duty of every good man and woman it is in it self an homage to God God hath given us a power of remembring and thus we give unto God the homage of that power of our Souls Our memory is as the chest of our Souls which God hath given us not only to lock up worldly things or notions in but to lock up in them spiritual notions and impressions Two waies we serve God with our memories 1. When we use them to retain spiritual notions to keep up the Knowledge of God and the things of God in us 2. When we use them as repositories for the works of God for the retaining in our minds what God hath done for us 2. As it is in it self an homage to God the homage of that power in us which we call the memory so it is the Mother of all our other homage we must remember a thing past before we can be afresh affected with it before in the sense of it we can do any thing which such a dispensation calleth to us for 2. It implies a meditation and pondering upon the Loves of Christ David promiseth unto God not only a meditation of his Law and Word his Statutes and Precepts Psal 119. 148. 15 but also of his Works Psal 77. 12. 143. 5. The Works of God are either more publick and general or more private and personal There are Works of God without us such are his Works of Creation and Providence works of Go d upon us and within us such are all his works of special grace They are either such as are abâ—ding in their effects at least or transient the latter are the objects properly of our memories the other are the objects of our contemplation and
and persecutions But comely hrough an imputed righteousness and through the habits of grace with which God hath adorned her I come now to apply that discourse and First We may from hence gather the true notion of a child of God and understand how he stands distinguished from one that is a natural man and yet an unbeliever The true notion of a child of God is this He is one who is imperfectly perfect Black but comely you shall observe in Scripture that perfection is both predicated and denied concerning the People of God Not as if I had attained or were already perfect saith Paul Phil. 3. 12. We are commanded to strive after perfection to endeavour to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord but it is a mark which no man hitteth Heaven is the only place where just Souls are made perfect both as to their fruitions and as to their Actions A thing is then said to be perfect and so a person when there is nothing wanting to it or him nothing that can be added and in this sense no man can be said to be perfect on the other side we are not only commanded to study perfection but it is said of many in holy Writ that they were perfect Noah was a just and perfect man Gen. 6. 9. Job was perfect and upright Job 1. 1. Paul saith he spake wisdom amongst them that are perfect 1 Cor. 3. 6. Phil. 3. 15. Let us as many as be perfect A Christian is perfect in the same sense that he is comely In short there is a threefold perfection may be predicated of a Christian 1. A Perfection of Justification In this sense every believer is comely through Christs righteousness put upon him and reckoned to him and he is perfect for the state of justification is a state that admits not of degrees thus we are as the Apostle speaketh to the Colossions compleat in Christ 2. There is a Perfection of Regeneration and Sanctification this is threefold 1. Of degrees thus none is perfect no not one none liveth and Sinneth not against God there is something to be added to the best mans habits and Acts of Grace 2. Of Parts thus again every believer is perfect Sanctified as the Apostle speaketh in body and mind and spirit the man is made a new creature all the faculties and powers of his Soul are renewed and Sanctified 3. Of scope design and intention This is uprightness this is called perfectness because God upon the covenant of grace accepteth the Soul upon the account of Christ as if it had fulfilled the whole Law of God Rom. 8. 3 4. What the Law could not do in that it was weak through our flesh God sending his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin or by a Sacrifice for sin condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit God accounteth the righteousness of the Law fulfilled by those who walk after the Spirit tho personally it is not because Christ condemned sin in the flesh Thus Noah is said to be a perfect man Gen. 6. 9. and Job a perfect man and upright this is expounded v. 8. one that feareth God and escheweth Evil. For in the strict sense of perfection Job saith chap. 9. v. 20. If he justified himself his own mouth should condemn him if he should say he were perfect that should prove him perverse 3. There is a comparative perfection in this sense the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 3. 6. That he spake wisdom amongst them that were perfect and Phil. 3 15. Let us as many as be perfect be thus minded that is as many of us as are comparatively perfect whose attainments as to knowledg and faith are higher than others The State of the Saints is in no other sense a State of perfection So as I say they are imperfectly perfect which is the same with that of the Text Black but comely And this sufficiently distinguisheth the believer from the unbeliever whether the profane person or the hypocrite The unbeliever may say he is black but he cannot say he is comely What beauty can there be in any Soul not reconciled to God they are all blackness all deformity It is true there is a great deal of difference in these men some of them are black and filthy in the eyes of the rational and more orderly part of the World such is the Atheist the profane Curser and Swearer the Blasphemer the Drunkard the Thief the Oppressor the unrighteous and intemperate man these are the fots of the Earth the spots of the World the shame and reproach of the Nation or City in which they live Beasts walking in humane shapes But there are many others who have much beauty in them in the eyes of the World and humane reason yet are not comely in the eyes of Christ If a man be Sober and Temperate Just and Righteous Kind and Charitable tho he liveth not up to the strict rule of the Gospel and the Commandments of God yet living up to the conduct of humane reason and the advantages of humane society which the others infect and destroy the World counteth him a very good man full of beauty and comeliness applaudeth commends and courts him But now the Lord Christ not judging according to the outward appearance but according to the heart seeing in this mans heart no love of God constraining him to these acts nothing of the fear of God awing this mans Soul unto his duty God I say seeing him in these actions neither acting from a persuasion that this is the will of God nor from a belief of the Promises or of the Threatnings nor from an Obedience to the Precepts of God but meerly from Politick and rational principles from self ends interests that he may appear to men to be good and seeking in these actions the praise of men not of God Or meerly under the conduct of reason commanding their passions in order to their more comfortable being in this World and a more honorable and acceptable converse with the best men in it God I say seeing this judgeth these morally vertuous men black we that are Parents to Children and Masters 〈◊〉 Servants tho we cannot judge of their hearts yet can distinguish betwixt actions which they do upon and in obedience to our command and what they do not at our command nor out of obedience to us tho they be things which done please us being what we would have had done God who knoweth the heart will much more do so I remember our Saviour Matth. 23. 23. pronounceth a wo to the Scribes and Pharisees for faith he you pay Tythe of Mint and Annis and Cummin and have omitted the weightier matters of the law judgment mercy and faith these things ought you to have done and not to have left the other undone Christ judgeth the comeliness of a Soul not meerly from its external acts
for I delight in the law of God after the inward man 2. Let him Secondly examine himself whether there be not a comeliness in him in and under his blackness of Affliction and worldly opposition A wicked man may be black through affliction but his blackness is like the blackness of a coal which is a dead colour and hath no beauty in it The Child of God is also black from the same cause but his is like the blackness of a polished marble which hath a great beauty and comliness in it The trial of his faith in his afflictions appeareth more precious then that of gold that perisheth his love to God then appeareth by his panting after him and firm adherence of Soul unto him his meekness his patience all shine forth under his afflictions The demeanour of People under afflictions will much discover whose they are 3. Thirdly The comeliness of the Spouse of Christ is not a comeliness without blackness but a comeliness norwithstanding blackness That is to say It is not a Native but an adventitious and Superinduced comliness nor adventitious from any good dispositions or any acts or indeavours of our own singly but a gracious imputation and infusion The imputation of Christs righteousness the infusion of gracious habits a comeliness arising from Christs comeliness put upon the Soul So as tho the poor creature hath been guilty before God and iniquity yet doth sometimes prevail against it the righteousness of Christ being reckoned to him for righteousness and his heart being renewed Sanctified through the Spirit of Christ and the bent of it being set right for God notwithstanding his blackness the Lord doth judge him comely and beautiful overlooking his blackness by reason of sin and infirmity 4. Lastly Every Child of God will own and be truly sensible of his blackness I am black saith the Spouse The hypocrite boasteth of his whiteness come saith Jehu to Jonadab and see my zeal for the Lord God of hosts God I thank thee saith the Pharisee I am not as other men are Extortioners Unjust Adulterers or even as this Publican I fast twice in the week I give tythes of all that I possess Luk. 18. 11 12. he owneth nothing in himself but whiteness aversates all blackness yet v. 14. he went away to his house not justified Hypocrites are hardly perswaded to own in themselves any blackness The Children of God are as hardly perswaded to own any beauty or comliness in themselves I gave you before the Instances of David and of Paul The reason is because the hypocrite trusts to a Spiders web a righteousness from himself spun out of his own Bowels and he is concerned to justify his integrity and to make it as whole as he can again all that he doth is to be seen of men and therefore he must set the best face of his actions that he can the Child of God seeketh for no such things in himself but despairing in himself he flyeth to the righteousness of Christ and freely confesseth and owneth his own nakedness that he might be clothed with that righteousness again the Child of God seeketh not the praise of men nor his own honour and glory but seeketh the praise of God and the honour and glory of Christ alone Thirdly This notion affordeth a great relief to the People of God against their own dejections and despondencies 2. Satans temptations and 3. The worlds upbraidings 1. Against his own despondencyes and dejections A Child of God living under the power of that Precept 2 Cor. 13. 5. Examine your solves prous your selves whether you be in the faith or uâ— is often looking into his own heart and can seldom please himself with the prospect He seeth in his own heart much of Vnbelief much of Vaniâ—y much of Hypocrisy always some lust or other a body of death remaining in him iniquity prevailing against him he sinneth 7 times every day and he seeth it every night and oft times as much out of heart much dejected crying out Vnclean Vnclean I am black wofully black no better then a painted hypocrite I make a fair shew to the World and deceive some of my brethten but alas they do not see that luft and vanity that pride and passion that folly and hypocrisy which I can with half an Eye discorn in my own Soul surely I deceive myself I have no portion in God no relation to Christ I cannot be his Spouse Christian be of good Chear thou art black but art thou not also comely When a Child of God hath found out the best of himself all his comfort will be found to lie in that one text Rom. 8. v. 1. There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit He can neither look into his own heart and see his inward thoughts and the motions there nor consider his tongue and the issues of that nor compare the best of his actions with the Divine rule but he feeth himself by all condemned and findeth nothing to relieve him in is dark thoughts but in Christs imputed righteousness and that there no is condemnation to them that are in Christ And that is enough provided that he hath this evidence of his being in Christ That he walketh not after the flesh but after the Spirit 2. It affordeth the same relief against the most desperate temptations of our grand adversary the Devil Satan we say first tempteth to Sin and then he makes advantage of our hearkening to his temptations to tempt us to further sins and those of a more heinous and horrid nature to despair of Gods mercy to destroy our selves c. He first attempteth to make the Soul black by moving it to sinful acts then his next work is to perswade the Soul that God will never pardon such a sinner Christ can never Love such an Ethiopian Hence those strong violent impressions upon Souls under the power of temptations God is an holy God of purer eyes then to behold iniquity he can never set his heart upon such a polluted vile wretch as I am I have been guilty of thousands of willful Omissions of duty and Commissions contrary to my duty possibly some particular sin or sins lie as an heavy load upon the poor creatures conscience The Spouse here hath furnished such a Soul with an answer to the tempter The Spouse of Christ is black but yet comely Let then such a Soul thus answer these suggestions of the tempter O thou Prince of darkness it is true I have been a grievous sinner and as such Christ cannot Love me so far forth as I am black I am unlovely but I am not wholly black Christ cannot Love my sins but he can pardon my sin and Love my Soul The Lord hath been graciously pleased to pardon my sins upon my repentance and my acceptation of the Lord Jesus Christ and receiving him as my Saviour he hath said to me while I
was in my blood live he hath fixed his Love upon me who was by birth an Ethiopian he hath hung a Chain about my neck I am black but I am comely I have met with a story of a Minister who going to visit and pray with a poor creatureâ— possessed by the Devil the Devil thought to have stopt his mouth by objecting to him some sins committed by him in his youth The holy man answered confessing the charge but Satan saith he upon my repentance Christ hath since that washed me with his blood Another story I have met with of a worthy Person who lying upon his sick bed and being alone one opens the door and comes in in the habit of a Scrivener with a Pen and Inkhorn and Paper andsetting himself down at the table in the Chapter called the sick man by name and told him he was sent from God to take account of him of all the sins he had done for which he must presently go and answer to God before his Judgment seat The good man rightly apprehending that it was the Devil had assumed an habit to tempt and distrub him bid him go on and write first Gen. 3. 15. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel Upon which the evil Spirit presently disappeared Speaking only from my memory I may forget some circumstances but this is the substance of the story What the Devil in these cases did by a more audible voice he doth yet every day by impressions made more secretly upon the Spirits of some or other that fear God For tho conscience will of it self often bring sin to remembrance and reflect sins upon the Soul committed long before yet they are some times reflected with such violence and degrees of terror and attended with such strong motions and sollicitations to despair of Divine mercy and to self murder that it is but reasonable to judge there is more in them then the ordinary workings of conscience In such a dark hour as this it will be a great relief to a Soul to think that the Spouse of Christ is black but comely Doth the Devil then object thy blackness whether by reason of past or present sins in bar to thy trust and confidence in God for the forgiveness of them through the blood of Christ Reply to him Satan I have been black I confess it I am black but I am comely also having my Garments washed and rouled in the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World I am as the Tents of Kedar they are black but I am also as the Curtains of Solomon they are exceeding beautiful 3. It also relieveth a Christian under Persecutions and afflictions and against the Worlds upbraidings because of them The Barbarians concluded Paul a Murtherer because they saw a Viper cleaving to his hand and the men of the World are very prone to judge and condemn the People of God for what happeneth to them in this life they see the blackness of Gods Peoples visages under affliction and persecution but the love of God in chastening them that they might not be condemned with the World the exercises of their faith and trial of it and its appearing more precious then that of Gold their patience its perfect worâ— hâ—se are things in which their comeliness appeareth in and under afflictions these are things which they do not see Gods People are also ready to conclude against themselves because of their tryals but there is no just reason for it afflictions are but a blackness of the skin the Child of God may notwithstanding them be within exceeding beautiful and comely The tents of Kedar though they had black and unlovely coverings and outsides yet within might be fill'd with Spices and Riches I shall shut up this discourse with some few words of exhortation to that duty which this notion of truth calls to us for 1. It calleth to all the People of God for humility a mean and low opinion of themselves beauty is often a great temptation to Pride whether it be natural or artificial The Daughters of Sion were haughty and walked with stretched forth Necks and wanton Eyes Isaiah 3. 16. Spiritual beauty gives no advantage to a Soul to think of it self above what it ought to think In all reason we should have been some cause to our selves of that whereof we glory we should have some propriety in it and there should be in it some perfection The comeliness of Gods People is neither natural nor any acquest of their own There are three things which may keep the most comely of Gods Children humble First The consideration of their former blackness Let but any of them look back to the rock out of which they are hewen and to the hole of the Pit out of which they were digged and they will see no reason to be exalted above measure their Father was a Syrian their birth was of the land of Canaan their Father was an Amorite their Mother an Hittite and in the day wherein they were born they were cast out to the loathing of their persons not salted not swadled at all Nor was this all there is none of them but had their conversation in times past according to the Prince of the power of the Air fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind Children of Wrath by nature c There is none of them but hath reason to pray that the Lord would not remember the sins of their youth against them and to beg of God that for them he would not write against them bitter things nor make them to possess their years of vanity None of them but before Christs comeliness was put upon them had been guilty of sin enough to make them to walk softly all the days of their lives Secondly The consideration of their present blackness is enough though they are comely yet they are black still they have a body of death a law of their members the lustings of the flesh against the Spirit sins that easily beset them weights that often press them down the beauty of the best of Gods People is but like the beauty of the Moon which is full of spots hath a dark part and often suffers great Eclipses and all whose light is borrowed He observeth not his own heart that doth not see enough in the imperfect and extravagant motions of it to keep him humble Thirdly The third is the consideration from whence he deriveth his beauty If men and women would but debate a little with their own reason they would see no reason to be proud of a comeliness arising from any external Ornament it is something beneath a Reasonable Being to be beholden to a Stone Jewels are no more or a little Earth such are Gold and Silver a Plant or a Fly or a Silkworm or a Sheep a little Wool or Flax for
black either through some sinful failing or through some sharp trial of affliction look upon him as wistly as you will to move your pity your Bowels of compassion and tears to excite in you the Spirit of Prayer and supplication on his behalf to quicken you to use all means in your power to help him up and to restore him in the Spirit of meekness but take heed of copying out his failings But I shall speak more fully to these things hereafter when I come to the next verse Sermon XXXIV Cant. 1. 5. I am black but comely O you Daughters of Hierusalem as the Tents of Kedar as the Curtains of Solomon YOU have heard me discoursing the first and second Propositions which I observed from this Text I shall now discourse the third and fourth for I shall handle them together as I did the 2 former Take them thus As it is the duty of the believer to confess own and acknowledg his or her failings and infirmities so he ought also at other times to own and acknowledge his graces and beauties You see here are two Propositions 1. Godly Men and Women will and ought at sometimes to acknowledge their corruptions blackness and infirmities 2. That they ought also at other times to own and acknowledge their graces and beauty The Spouse doth both in one breath I am saith she black but comely The handling of this Proposition will lead me to the discoursing of 2 Questions or Cases of Conscience I begin with the first Qu. In what cases how and to whom a conscientious Man or Woman is bound to confess his or her sins Ans 1. Vpon all occasions and at all times he is bound to confess all his sins unto God Not that the Divine knowledge can be bettered by such a confession for he who knows what things we have need of before we ask them knoweth what sins we are guilty of before we confess them but it is a piece of homage we owe unto God and a duty which his revealed will hath made and declared a medium in order to our obtaining of mercy and forgiveness 1 Joh. 1. 9. If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins There was of old a confession required before the bringing of the Trespass Offering Num. 5. 6. Consonant to this you will find the practice of all the Servants of God I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord Psal 32. 5. Thus you read of the more publick Confessions of Daniel Ezra Nehemiah This is on all hands granted as a duty out of question and to be extended to all and all manner of sins especially in secret Prayer where no sins ought to be hidden from the Lord those we know and remember ought to be confessed more particularly others more generally 2. There are diverse cases wherein a Christian is obliged to confess his sins unto his Brethren or to such as God hath set over him as his Guides They may all be reduced to three heads Where 1. The glory of God Or 2. The good of his neighbour Or 3. The good or peace of his own Soul may be promoved or advantaged by such a confession I will mention 4 more special cases in which all or some of these may be concerned 1. Where a Christian hath stumbled upon the same stone and fallen and by reason of such fall may be under temptations to cast away his confidence in God and despair of Divine Mercy In such a case as this my Brothers peace and spiritual good may probably be promoved by telling him that even also my foot slipped but yet through Grace I was recovered In this sense I understand David confessing his sins Psal 51. 13. and praying for the restoring of Gods Salvation Then saith he I will teach transgressors thy way and sinners shall be converted unto thee I will tell others what a great sinner I have been and how notwithstanding the multitude and greatness of my sins I found favour with thee and this shall incourage them to confess their sins and humble their Souls before thee and implore also thy mercy and favour Thus Christ bids Peter Luk. 22. 32. When he was converted strengthen his Brethren When thou art converted in that Text is as much as when thou art recovered from thy fall how â—hould he strengthen his Brethren but by confessing his fall and Gods goodness in recovering him by telling our Brethren that our circumstances were the same with theirs and how the Lord shewed us mercy we both direct them what to do we help their faith and confidence in God and strengthen them in their addresses and applications to the Throne of Grace 2. Where any man discerneth that his Brethren are prone to think of him above what they ought to think this is that which made Paul forbear his glorying 2 Cor. 12. 6. Lest saith he any man should think of me above what he seeth me to be and doubtless this was that which made that great Apostle though he sometimes magnified his Office and the Grace of God bestowed upon him yet also so oft to vilify himself as 1 Tim. 1. 13. Who was before a blasphemer a persecutor injurious but obtained mercy less then the least of all Saints Eph. 3. 8. One born out of due time doubtless this ought to be carefully avoided by us we ought to take heed that Gods glory be not given unto us and his Grace obscured or eclipsed by mens having us in admiration In such a case a true believer will not be ashamed more then Paul to own his own sins and blackness 3. A third case is Where a Christian seeth that without bringing a scandal upon the Gospel he may by owning and confessing his sins unto men advance the glory of Gods Free-Grace and make God to be more admired and adored in the emanations of it Free-Grace is that which hath made the Child of God what he is and is therefore the admirable object in the believers Eye and where a Christian seeth an opportunity to predicate that and advance it in the Eyes of any he will not lose it nor stick at the shaming and dishonouring himself so God may have his glory from that shaming of himself Now because Free-Grace is never more magnified then when a multitude of sins are forgiven and a great sinner is received to favour a good Christian observing circumstances where they will fit this end will not spare this acknowledgment though it tendeth to his own shame and dishonour So that God may be glorified he is content to take shame to himself I say observing circumstances and indeed the chief circumstance to be observed is the reputation of Religion He will therefore decline it in the presence of profane and ungodly men who would make an ill use of such discourse to blaspheme the good and holy ways of God Thus David refrained from good talk whiles the wicked were in sight Psa 39. v. 1 2.
humiliation before it be brought home to Christ The Soul being enlightned by the Spirit of Grace seeth the vileness and filthiness of its own heart to that degree that it is ashamed and thinks that it cannot abase itself enough in the sight of God and from this disposition of the Soul to abhor loath and shame itself proceedeth this freedom willingness in the Soul upon all occasions with respect had to Christian prudence to vilify itself by the confession of its own blackness and infirmity 2. It proceedeth also from the habit of humility given to and wrought in the heart of every believer this is one of the perfections of the new Creature it differeth from the other little more then as the dâ—sposition from the habit This teacheth the Soul at all times a mean and low opinion of itself The Hypocrite is alwaies proud and looks upon all his gifts and good actions with a multiplying glass which makes them appear more then they are and greater then they are The humble Soul looks upon all as less In me saith Paul there dwelleth no good thing Hence he can hardly be heard to say any thing but in diminution and defamation of himself 3. It proceeds also from this Souls more perfect understanding the mark of perfection He knoweth better then another what God requires of him what degrees of faith love zeal holiness this makes him a better judge of his own imperfections and more ready to confess and bewail them The Hypocrite and natural man understandeth not the breadth of the Divine Law what faith what holiness God requireth of him he is proud knowing nothing as the Apostle speaks of some 1 Tim. 6. 4. not only his Pride prompting him to exalt himself but his ignorance knowing nothing as he ought to know it is the cause of his want of freedom to this duty It is with such a man as it is with a Sophister in the University A little knowledge that he hath puffeth him up he thinks he knows all things But when he comes to be Master of Arts to have lookt into Books a little more and to understand the compass of learning a little better then he complains of his ignorance and the small portion of knowledge which he hath So the man that hath but a mean and imperfect knowledge of the will of God he is proud and thinketh he knoweth all things but when God comes to open his Eyes and to let him see the mysteries of Divine knowledge he seeth more duty then he saw before and consequently more sin and more defects in his own Soul There is a vast difference betwixt that knowledge of duty sin which is in the heart of a Child of God under the illumination of the Spirit of Grace and that which is in a Soul not under that special illumination 4. Again a Christians often compuring himself with others and judging himself by their measures is often a great cause of this The natural man ordinarily chuseth companions like unto himself and judgeth of himself by their measures seeing himself as the Pharisee Luk. 18. to exceed the Drunkard in temperance and sobriety The Extortioner in justice and mercy the Adulterer in chastity The Atheist in a formality of dutiness a form of godliness he seeth no blackness in himself to confess he is Captain of his Form But now the converted Soul being come to be a companion of those that fear the Lord he sets before himself the examples of the Saints of God in Holy Writ and of those that are yet in the world that excel in virtue In the Scripture he reads of the faith of holy Abraham who believed in hope against hope not staggering at the promise through unbelies the patience of Job who when he had lost all his Estate all his Children yet did not speak inadvisedly with his lips nor charge God foolishly he reads of Davids exceeding love and delight for and in the law of the Lord. When he looks amongst his new Companions he sees in one Christian more tenderness of heart in another more faith in a third more zeal and activity for God then he can find in himself hence he cryeth out of his blackness and bewaileth his coming so short of others 5. Again he liveth in a daily sense of his wants and defects My sin saith David is ever before me and so his tongue doth but express the inward sense and apprehensions of his Soul 6. Lastly as all such Souls will be sensible of their defects and wants so they are continually desirous of an healing of their wounds and a Supply and relief Which they know confession is the way to obtain As for confession unto God the Wise man hath told us Prov. 28 13. That he that covereth his sins shall not prosper but who so confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy David telleth us Psal 32. 3. That when he kept silence his bones waxed old through his roaring all the day For saith he Day and night thine hand was heavy upon me my moisture is turned into the drought of Summer What remedy did he find v. 5. I acknowledged my sin unto thee I said I will confess my trangressions unto the Lord and thou forgavest the iniquity of my Sin Nor was this a particular favour to David but what others may expect upon the like application to God v. 6. For this shall every one that is Godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him A Godly man knoweth that as the hiding of his disease from the Physician and his wounds from the Chirurgeon is not the way to be cured or healed so neither is the hiding of the nakedness of his Soul fâ—om God the way to have it covered for altho in this there be a difference that our spiritual Physician knoweth our diseases without our discovery of them to him which the earthly Physician doth not yet God notwithstanding his knowledge requiring our acknowledgment makes the case the same And the reason is much the same for the confessing of our sins especially in some cases to a faithful Minister or to private Christians God sent Abraham to Abimelech Gen. 20. 7. For faith he he is a Prophet and he shall pray for thee thou shalt live Genesâ— 20. v. 7 and he sent Jobs friend to Job Job 42. v. 7. and saith he my servant Job shall pray for you for him I will accept This in the first place lets us see the difference between a Child of God and one who is but a formal hypocrite An hypocrite generally seeth nothing but whiteness in himself Jehu can see and call Jonadab to see his zeal for the Lord God but he can see nothing of his own self ends in all that he did The Church of Laodicea said I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing tho at the same time she was wretched
easily be gathered the reasonableness of this duty There are four things that call to us for it and make it our duty 1. The first is the honour and glory of God This is the great end of all our actions for this cause we were born for this cause we came into the World I have before told you that we have no other way to glorify God but by the predication or speaking of his greatness or goodness or some other of his attributes and by our holy life and conversation in obedience to his will Now of all Gods attributes there is none wherein he more delighteth then in shewing mercy and whoso tells of Gods acts of grace doth eminently glorify God for the riches of his grace and goodness are discovered in Christ and as in his giving of Christ for poor lost sinners so in the application of that purchased redemption to the Souls of his poor creatures Bless the Lord O my Soul saith David Psal 103. v. 1 2 3. and all that is within me bless his holy name Blessthe Lord O my Soul forget not all his benefits who forgiveth all thy iniquities healeth all thy diseases 2. The Second reason is the good of our Brother Next our immediate magnifying and glorifying of God there is nothing more our duty then the consulting the good of our Brethren and he is highly serviceable to God who is any way serviceable to the Souls of others either in winning them to God or advantaging them in their walking with God The Souls of Christians have often great advantages by hearing what God hath done for the Souls of others in their circumstances It incourageth them to make their applications to God to hope and trust in his mercy to wait untill he will be pleased in like manner to be gracious to them David Psal 69. 32. makes this as an argument with which he pleadeth with God for mercy for his Soul He promiseth first v. 30. That he would praise the Lord with a song and magnify him with thanksgiving then he addeth v. 32. The humble shall see this and be gladand your hearts shall live that seek God for the Lord heareth the poor and despiseth not his Prisoners By the humble is to be understood as in many other Texts of Scripture Persons in low mean and afflicted conditions It much conduceth to the raising up of the Spirits of a man under torments of bodily pain and affliction if one comes and tells him I was in the same condition and had the same pain yet I by such and such applications recovered and it is of no less usefulness to one of a poor and broken Spirit for one to come to him under his doubts and fears and despondency because of the guilt of sin when another Christian comes to him and tells him I also was a blasphemer a drunkard an injurious Person yet I obtained mercy I bless God my doubts are resolved my fears scattered and I am inabled through grace to hope in the frèe gerace and mercy of God through the Lord Jesus Christ Wher now such an opportunity as this is which is not very frequent there the good of our Brother calls to us for such a declaration what God hath done for our Souls 3. A third reason is the duty of a Christian so far as he may to avoid Scandal and Offence Offences and mutual dissatisfactions one in another destroy all the freedom and sweetness of Christians communion each with other and it is our duty so to walk as to give no offence to Jews or Gentiles much less to the Church of God 2. Cor 20. 32. There are two ways by which offence is given 1. By doing some actions as to which we are at a perfect liberty by which we cause our Brother to sin against God As to these the Apostle cautioneth Christians very largely both in his Epistle to the Romans and to the Corinthians But these kind of offences are not obviated by Christians declarations of what God hath done for their Souls as to the influences of saving grace but rather by the declaration of his knowledge and forbearing such actions as he hath a liberty to but no necessity that presseth him to the doing of them at least till his Brother be Satisfyed in the lawfulness of them 2. By some Scandalous actions these indeed are Scandala data Scandals that are given and such sores as a Christian ought by all means in his power to endeavour healing of and whether such things have been done before or after a change wrought in our hearts it is our duty to do what in us lyeth to remove the Scandal of them which I know not how it can at first be done without some declaration to the party or Church offended what God hath done for us what a change he hath wrought in us until by a contrary conversation which is a work of time the best evidence we can make it more really to appear to them 4. Lastly The Credit of our professions some times calls to us for it and this is the reason of the performance of this duty with reference to the men of the World who seek all advantages to reproach the good and right ways of the Lord. But this is enough to have spoken doctrinally upon this argument From hence in the first place we may observe That a Child of God may know that he or she is comely Indeed this is not the lot of every Child of God at all times and for them that do know it there are degrees of their knowledge Some have a more some a less certain knowledge but I say a good Christian may know it The Papists indeed make all a Christians faith to be languid and uncertain but Paul was perswaded that nothing should separate him from the Love of God The Spouse knew she was sick of Love and here that altho she was black yet she was also comely tho as the tents of Kedar yet as the Curtains of Solomon also Peter knew that he loved his Master so as he durst appeal to him and say Thou that knowest all things knowest that I Love thee and St. John giving us rules how we might know that we are translated from death to Life supposed that it might be known and if it had not been possible surely Peter would not have quickened us to the use of all diligence to make our calling and election sure That every good Christian doth not certainly know his Spiritual Estate is unquestionable That he who doth know it this day may fall into doubts and fears concerning it is also certain But it is as plain in Scripture that a Christian may walk in the sense and view of his own sincerity and uprightness he may know it by the more special influence of the holy Spirit which witnesseth with our Spirits that we are the Children of God and this is of all other the most certain and comfortable knowledge He may also
from above 2 When we boast our selves to have some good or some measures of good and perfection which we have not 3 When we slight and despise others whom we judge to come short of our perfections They likewise prescribe a threefold remedy for this distemper 1. The consideration of our native weakness and infirmity 2. The consideration of the infinite greatness and perfection of God 3. The consideration of our own gifts and graces in the shortness and imperfections of them In short therefore there is no need to fear the discovery of any Pride in the acknowledgment of what God hath done for us provided 1. That we do not play the Hypocrites boasting beyond our line of what we never experienced what God never wrought in us The proud man arrogateth more to himself then doth belong unto him 2. Provided that thou doest intitle God to all that thou hast of good in thee It is truly said by the Schoolmen Cum aliquis aestimate bonum quod habet ab alio ac si haberet a seipso fertur per consequens appetitus ejus supra modum in propriam excellentiam That is If a man judgeth that that good which he hath from another proceedeth from himself his desire is immoderately carried out after his own excellency and this is Pride They are therefore highly concerned to look to themselves as to this that attribute so much to the power of mans will without any influence of special and distinguishing grace you shall observe how careful St. Paul was against this upon all occasions where he mentioneth his grace I live saith he but yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God I was a Persecutor a Blasphemer Injurious but I obtained mercy and the grace of the Lord was exceedingly abundant in me with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus I am the least of the Apostles not worthy to be called an Apostle But by the Grace of God I am what I am It is no pride to acknowledge what God hath given us and done for us but to arrogate it to our selves as done by our own power this is pride 3. Provided 3dly That thou dost not despise the day of small things in the Souls of others Scorning contemning and despising those for whom God hath done or we think that he hath done less then he hath done for us This will speak Pride the proud Soul as he alwaies arrogateth too much to himself so he alwaies giveth too little to his Brother and haughtily over-looketh what he hath so that his Brother alwaies seems low and vile in his Eyes 4. Lastly Provided That with the acknowledgment of thy perfections and graces thou conjoynest an admiration of Gods goodness an acknowledgment of thy unworthiness and of thy sinful failings and imperfections Thus you see the Spouse doth in this Text. I am black saith she but comely So did Paul in the places I before quoted 3. A third Bar to this is Novelty This can only be pleaded with reference to our acknowledgments to the Church or the Officers of it with respect to our either being admitted into a full communion with it in all Ordinances or being restored to it after some lapse for the more private practice of it to our Brethren it is as old as David as may be seen from Psal 66. v. 16 17. As to the former it was from the beginning certainly thus None were admitted into the Gospel Church without a profession of repentance and faith in Christ None after a lapse or Apostacy was restored to the Church without it Indeed through the corruption of times both the one and the other practice hath degenerated into a meer formality and now it seemeth new to us But as it is but a reduction of an Apostolical and Primitive Practice so there certainly is nothing more reasonable both for the comfort of the particular Soul from whom this declaration is desired and for the satisfaction of the Minister of Christ who is but a Steward of the mysteries of Christ and ought to be faithful and also for the mutual satisfaction of such as are to be Members of the same Body 4. But lastly whatever is pretended it is much to be feared that Pride is the true hinderance of this Christian and Spiritual duty 1. Either we think it beneath us to discourse of spiritual things and to acknowledge all to the free grace of God Or 2. We think we come short of some perfections which others have attained and we are ashamed to let others know how short we are But O that Christians would grow more familiar with spiritual things We think that it is a piece of Charity if we hear of a Neighbour that is full of pain or very sick ofsuch adistemper as we have formerly laboured under to goand tell him how we were what we did what effect and issue it had but we find an awkness to relate to fellow Christians how we lay labouring under the guilt of sin and perplexities of conscience and burthens of temptations and what our applications to God were and what relief we found from his free grace and mercy But in the performance of this as well as other duties there may be miscarriages Let me therefore conclude with offering some directions for the better management of this duty They shall be three 1. Take heed to the principle moving thee to such actions That must be love to God the principle of all religious actions without which we do nothing acceptably this is determined by the Apostle 2 Cor. 13. 1 2. It is love that is the fulfilling of the law and indeed we can no otherwise in any point fulfil it Take heed that self-love be not the principle if by it thou seekest thy honour and praise self love only principleth thee but if thou dost it that God may have the glory of his Grace that the Souls of others may be profited and advantaged That offences may be prevented or removed That the dirt may be wiped off which the world throweth upon profession In these cases the love of God is thy principle 2. Take heed to the manner of thy doing it As to that I shall only hint 2 things 1. See that God hath all the glory It is lawful for thee to boast of the Grace of God but you must be sure to boast in the Lord and in all thy acknowledgments of any spiritual good thou oughtest to sing with David Psal 115. 1. Not unot us O Lord not unto us but to thy Name be given the Glory for thy mercy and for thy truth sake 2. Do it with all the greatest lowliness and humility of mind and expression that thou art able so as nonw may for what thou hast received of grace think of thee above what he ought to think Paul forbare to speak what he could have spake after his rapture into the third Heavens
green pastures for his flock in the day time and a secure fold for them at night yea and a fitting shadow for them at noon Christ doth so for his little flock to whom it 's his his Fathers and his will to give a Kingdom There shall be no want of those that fear him In the day time of their lives he feeds and protects them by his providence he nourisheth them by his ordinances and daily influences of grace In the night of death he folds their Bodies in the grave their Souls in Abrahams bosom It is the work of a Shepherd to provide and look out pasture for his sheep when that ordinary pasture is burnt up like a wilderness It is our great Shepherds work to provide feeding and resting places when either publick trials afflictions and persecutions debar them of their ordinary subsistence upon common providence or ordinary and more publick dispensations of publick ordinances and institutions the common food of their Souls But you will say to me what are these shadows from the heat these feeding and resting places which Christ hath provided wherein to feed and rest his flock at such a Noon 1. First he feedeth them upon the promises either more general or more specially suited to their particular trials Jeremiah saith Jer. 15. 16. I found thy words and did eat them and they were the joy and rejoicing of my heart Jeremy possibly there speaketh of the word of Prophecy which was as welcome to him as his meat But what was the word of Prophecy but the revelation of the will of God to him which when it was foretelling some judgment to come upon the People is more ordinarily called The Burden of the Lord The Believing Soul also in the Noon time of his Affliction and tryal finds the word of the Lord this he digesteth by faith and they become the joy and rejoycing of his heart By these things men live said Hezekiah some understand his affliction Others the promises of God made to him in the day of his Affliction The carnal heart understands not this food it is to him all one with feeding upon the air The promises are onely yea and Amen in Christ they are as shew bread of which none but the Royal Priest-hood can eat when the Child of God hath nothing else to eat he will yet feed upon a promise I had perisht saith David in my affliction if thy word had not been my delight Psal 119. v. 92. Latimer is said to have made his last meal upon that promise 1 Cor. 10. 13. Faithful is God who will not suffer us to be tempted above what we are able It is also reported of one Mr. Midgely a Minister in Yorkshire that being under horrid temptations to destroy himself and going once to the water side with design to do it carrying in his pocket the New Testament he paused a while to read a little and happily fell upon that text Mat. 1. 28. 29. Come unto me all you that are weary and heavy laden and I will ease you upon the reading of which he said to himself or to God rather sayest thou so I will not then drown my self yet The large field of the promises is one of those green pastures Where Christ at Noon feedeth his flock and maketh them to rest It is a feeding place which is at all times green the promises contain the Sure mercies of God He that liveth upon meer Sensible enjoyments feedeth but upon Grass and Flowers The Grass will wither and Flowers will fade But the word of the Lord abideth for Ever and there are some promises or others which sute the Soul in all its states and circumstances of Tryal and affliction 2. Secondly Christ sometimes feeds his flock at noon upon Special Providences And these are also of several sorts either of Protection from the Evil or Sustentation in and under trouble or deliverances out of trouble sometimes when thousands and ten thousands fall on their right and left hand The Plague shall not come nigh their dwellings according to the promise Psal 91. v. 7. In a time of famine Corn shall be fetched out of Egypt for Jacobs Family the Prophet shall be fed by a raven or the multiplying of the little meal in the widows barrel and the little Oyl in the cruse Sometimes they shall by some miraculous or at least inexpected waies and means be delivered out of trouble so were the three Children in the fiery fornace Daniel in the den of Lions of these there are multitudes of instances in Ecclesiastical History 3. Thirdly He sometimes feeds his People by Special influences either of strengthening or comforting grace In the multitude of my perplexing thoughts saith David thy comforts delight my Soul Psal 34. v. 19. As the sufferings of Christ abound in us saith the Apostle so our consolations abound by Christ 2 Corinth 1. 5. He will saith Job put strength into me Hence the Servants of God are inabled to rejoyce in tribulation under sicknesses have professed that they were never better and in great trials have rejoiced with a joy unspeakable Rejoycing in tribulation floweth not from the Tribulation For no affliction is joyous but grievous but from the influences of God upon the Soul in and under its tribulation Some one or other of these waies and means Christ feedeth his flock in a time of Trial and maketh them to rest in the Noon time of Trials and afflictions I proceed to the application of this discourse This in the first place commendeth the love of Christ to his little flock They say the Devil leaves the Witch when she is once in Gaol or upon trial for her life how true that is I cannot tell but certain it is that his Servants have no great help from him in an hour of straits and adversity this indeed speaks no love which never so much or so clearly shineth as through a Cloud of sad Providences Solomon tells us that a friend is made for an hour of adversity But herein is the Love of Christ manifested to those that have relation to him my Soul saith Mary Luk. 1. 4647. doth magnify the Lord and my spirit hath rejoyced in God my Saviour for he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden Christ regardeth the low estate of his People he leaveth them not when they are in distress Isaiah 43. 1 2. Fear not for I have redeemed thee I have called thee by thy name when thou passest through the waters I will be with thee and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee when thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burnt neither shall the flame kindle upon thee For I am the Lord thy God the holy one of Israel thy Saviour This lets us see the wonderful difference betwixt the state and condition of believers and unbelievers The world hath no places where to make their flocks to rest at Noon The Devil takes no care for his flock at
their Evils 2. Secondly Friendship speaketh free and ingenuous Love Not the Love of a Child to a Father which is Natural to which he is obliged by a filial duty because of his Fathers care of and provision for him not the Love of a Servant which is purchased by a kind usage and dependance A friend loveth freely The Love of true Friends is ordinarily an inaccountable thing They love one another and can hardly give one another an account of it further than a goodness and excellency a suitableness and likeness which they discern or at least think they see each in other Christs Love to us is free He healeth our backslidings and loveth us freely He hath mercy on whom he will have mercy The reciprocal Love of the believing Soul is not so free and so ingenuous as is his beloveds love to him Yet it is thus far ingenuous that it is not only for that the Soul hath from Christ but for that goodness and excellency which it discerneth in Christ this we had before Because of the Savour of thy good Ointments therefore do the Virgins Love thee 3. Love properly doth not make a friend unless it be mutual and reciprocal Indeed in a large sense a man may be said to be a friend to his Enemy That is to wish well to him and to do him some kind Offices But this is not friendship All Friendship implyeth a reciprocation of Love Christ Loves the believer and every true believer loveth Christ So they are Friends in the strictest and most proper sense Indeed there is a great difference which is well expressed by one of the Casuists thus We will good to him but we do not bestow that good upon him which we will him But he while he willeth good to us also giveth us that good which he willeth and by his loving us maketh us good and lovely But every Child of God truly loveth Christ truly I say that is sincerely though not with that kind or degree of Love with which Christ loveth him Lord saith Peter thou that knowest all things knowest that I Love thee And If any man Loves not the Lord Jesus saith the Apostle let him be Anathema Maranatha 4. Lastly Love of friendship alwaies speaketh Communion betwixt the two Lovers We are bound to Love our Enemies and in every good man there is such a Love even to those that hate them but this is no Love of friendship for the Precept of Love to Enemies obligeth onely against malice and private Revenge and to common Offices of kindness it doth not oblige to intimacy or to any near fellowship and Communion with them We are so far obliged to Love our Enemies as to bear no malice against them to take no private Revenge upon them to be ready to do any acts of kindness for their Souls and any common offices of love But I say we are not by it obliged to make them our intimates nor to keep any fellowship or communion with them But in a Love of friendship there is alwaies Communion or a mutual Communication of the Parties loving each to others Christ gives this account of his love of friendship to his disciples John 15. 15. Henceforth I call you not Servants for the Servant knoweth not what his Lord doth but I have called you Friends for all things I have heard of my Father I have made known to you Christ Communicates himself to believers to such as are his disciples indeed he is in them they in him and he is daily Communicating of his life and strength to them for John 15. 4. Without him they can do nothing They are daily communicating themselves unto him making a secret surrender to him of their hearts their wills their affections Communicating their wants and desires to him by Prayer c. Thus I have justified the notion of Christs Love his friend his Companion to be agreeable to what the Scripture revealeth concerning Christ and the believing Soul This in the first place leadeth us into a just admiration of the Divine Love and condescension Who is this that calleth from Heaven to Earth to the Worms of the Earth and speaketh in this language My Love My Friend My Fellow Is it not he who is the Eternal Son of God God over all blessed for ever he to whom there is none like and besides whom there is no God He whom God calleth his fellow and who thought it no robbery to be equal with the Father And to whom doth he speak Is it not to those who must say to corruption thou art my Mother and to the Worms you are my brethren and my Sisters To those whose Fathers are Amorites and whose Mothers are Hittites who by nature are dead in trespasses and sins unclean Children of unclean Parents Will the Lord Love such Ethioptans as we are by nature Such Enemies as we have shewed our selves by practice Will the Lord make himself a companion to the creature that is but as the dust of his feet What manner of Love and condescension is this For him whom the Eternal Father hath proclaimed to be his Son and that Son in whom he is well pleased in whom the Lord hath set up his rest he whom Kings and Prophets desired to see whom Angels and glorified Saints adore to whom the Father hath given a name above every name he who hath Heaven for his throne the Earth for his footstool and the utmost ends of the Earth for his possession to say to us My Love My Friend My Companion Certainly these terms ought to ravish our hearts and to affect them with in expressible admiration and to whom doth he say thus Is it only to the Glories and beauties of the World To the Emperors Rings Princes and Nobles thereof No he saith thus to every believer even the meanest that treadeth upon the Earth to the most poor distressed afflicted creature to Job that sits upon a dunghill scraping himself with a potsheard to Lazarus that lyeth at the rich mans gate full of sores and begging bread while the Dogs lick his sores to the poorest believer living in the meanest and dirtiest Gottage to those whom the World revileth slighteth scorneth to those who have spit in his face and abused his patience and despised his goodness that have hardened their hearts against him grieved his holy Spirit Yet having repented of these things and being turned to him to these he calleth to these he saith My Love My Friends My Companions He upbraideth them not for their former miscarriages to these he becometh a fellow Prisoner in these he becomes a fellow helper these shall be joint heirs with him Hear O Heavens be astonished O Earth never was Love like this never such matchless Love Let all our Souls swallow up themselves in this gulph of unfathomable Love and while we are sinking let us cry out O the height and depth and length and breadth of the Love of God in Jesus Christ It is a
grace are made to the exercises of grace Christ will be alwaies giving to those who are alwaies working out their Salvation with fear and trembling exercising themselves to Godliness These exercises are those sacred means in the use and not without the use of which he hath promised the influences of further grace Men mistake the promises of further grace if they apprehend them made to any who do not their duty as to the fulfilling of them when God had made those large promises of which you read Ezek. 36. He concludeth v. 37. Thus faith the Lord God I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them I will do it faith God but yet I will be inquired of to do it for them And for that promise Matth. 13. 12. Whosoever hath to him it shall be given and he shall have more abundance though by the foregoing verse where our Saviour giveth a reason why he soake to his disciples more plainly then to others Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven but to them it is not given It seems to be a promise of further grace to those to whom the first grace is given Yet in Matth. 25. 29. where the same promise is repeated and annexed to the parable of the talents it is plainly to be understood of those who have and use and improve what they have so as take those two Texts together they are a promise indeed of further grace to be given but to such as make a just improvement of what grace God hath first bestowed upon them 2. Secondly Our exercises of Godliness are indeed the wearing of these Jewels God gives men and women grace for their uses exercise is the use of the habit and the end for which the Lord giveth it What man will be continually buying clothes and Ornaments for his Wife who when she hath them will not wear them They are no Ornaments if they do not adorn us how shall they adorn us in the sight of the World which cannot look into our hearts unless we use and wear them How can we wear and exercise our grace but by works of piety towards God and goodness towards men I will add yet one thing more 3. It is but ingenuity in us when our Lord is never weary of giving out to us never satisfied never thinking that he hath done enough for us to be thinking we have not done enough nor can ever do enough for him when we hear Christ saying to us I will make them borders of Gold and Ornaments of Silver Should not we be saying We will take some new steps in the ways of God do some further acts of obedience then we have yet done forget what is behind and press on to what is before unto the price of the high calling Shall my beloved never think me fine enough Adorned enough And shall I ever think my self holy and Spiritual enough Serviceable enough to him in my generation Shall not I be ever trying some new ways to advance Christ in the World in my family in my own Soul Christ asks his disciples what do you do more then others Matth. 5. You receive more but what do you do more Every good Christian should ask himself these two questions 1. What do I more then others I have more mercy then others what do I more than they It is a shame for a Christian to do no more than a Publican a poor wretch that never tasted how good the Lord is yea it is a shame for him to do no more than he who hath not received the measures of grace which he hath received The 2d Question I would have him propound to himself is What do I do more than I was wont to do Wherein do I go on from strength to strength Wherein do I exceed my self Christ is preparing new measures of grace for giving out new measures of grace to me What new affections have I for Jesus Christ What new performances do I do for him The second thing in which I told you Holiness lay was in mortification of lusts and vitious habits in eschewing evil c. Is our Lord making and preparing new Ornaments for Believers How should they be afraid to grieve and dishonour him This Notion affords a double Argument whereby to press this second part of Holiness 1. From Ingenuity It is no way ingenous and becoming Christians to be pulling Jewels as it were out of Christ's Crown while he is adding Jewels to our Crown to be spoiling Christ of his Honour and Glory while he is consulting our honour and satisfaction O therefore grieve not his holy Spirit 2. There will by it arise a disadvantage to your Immortal Souls What Husband will still be bringing new Ornaments to a froward and disobedient Wife that taketh no care to please him Duty may oblige him to see that she shall not want necessaries but he will certainly cut her short of superfluities God in this as I have shewed you deals after the manner of men God's Cove nant his Truth and Faithfulness to that will oblige him notwithstanding his Peoples frowardness to give them what grace is necessary to bring them to Heaven but they must look to be cut short of that more grace which they otherwise might receive from him The Soul of a Christian who giveth himself too much liberty may be saved but it will be as through fire When David had fallen into those two great sins of Adultery and Murder I remember God sent Nathan to him with this Message 2. Sam. 12. 7 8. I anointed thee King over Israel and delivered thee out of the hands of Saul and I gave thee thy Masters Houses and thy Masters Wives into thy bosom and gave thee the House of Israel and Judah and if that had been too little I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things wherefore hast thou despised the Commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight c. God there aggravaâ—eth 〈…〉 not only from those mercies which he had already received from God but from that Love which was yet in his heart for him and his readiness to do much more for him than he had yet done Think when you have any temptations to sin against the Lord that you hear Christ saying to you I died upon the Cross for you I washed you in my Blood I have pardoned thy sins clothed thee with my Righteousness changed thy heart put my 〈◊〉 into thee and if that had been too little I was ready to do for thee such and such things to make for thee Borders of Gold and Studs of Silver and shouldst thou now favour thy lusts which are the Enemies of Christ shouldst thou now despise the Commandments of the Lord and do evil in his sight Let this ingage all of us to fulfil the Precept of the Apostle 2 â—et 1. 5. Giving all diligence To add to our faith
give to the Poor and if I have taken anything from any by false accusation I restore him fourfold Will he have Peter gird himself and come to him upon the waters Peter will do it immediately Doth he call Simon and Andrew from their Nets to follow him upon a promise that they shall be made Fishers of men and doth he by and by require James and Zebedee to do the like they immediately leave their Father forsake their Nets and follow him Mark 1. 16 17 18. 2. The phrase signifies as much as I will entertain him with the highest Evidences of most cordial Affection I have more than once noted that the heart lies under the left breast however the breasts are the place of love It were endless to enlarge upon those several Scriptures expressing the satisfaction of gracious Souls upon the presence of Christ with them or his returns of presence to them One or two of them shall suffice The first shall be that of David Psal 146. You will discern upon the reading of that Psalm that God had returned to his Soul in Influences of mercy testifying his gracious presence he had heard his supplication v. 1. Inclined his Ear unto him v. 2. helped him v. 6. Mark with what a satisfaction his Soul receiveth these Influences v. 2. I will call upon him as long as I live v. 7. Return unto thy rest O my Soul v. 12. What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits I will take the cup of Salvation c. v. 16. Oh Lord truly I am thy Servant I am thy Servant and the Son of thy handmaid c. How welcome is the presence of God to Davids Soul Do you use to say to your friend Sir what shall I provide for you I think my self much beholden to you I am much your Servant for this kindness rejoiced to see you c. Observe if David here speaketh not much the same language The other instance shall be that of the Spouse Cant. 3. 4. when she had recovered her beloved I found him whom my Soul Loveth I held him and would not let him go untill I had brought him into my Mothers house and into the Chamber of her that canceived me The Child knoweth not how to express its love to its friend better then by bringing him or her home to its Mothers or Fathers house What need any further evidence then that exuberance of joy which is found in every gracious Soul upon any return of divine love which may evidence Christa abiding with it 3. Vehement passions will also discover a gracious Souls desires to the Enjoyment of Christ and his abidings with the Soul When they saw our Saviour weep over Lazarus his grave Joh. 11. They cry out How he loved him He that seeth a Friend mourn when his Friend is gone from him or perhaps but going the woman jealous of any whom she but suspects would draw away her husband from her falling into fits of passion whes he doth but fear such a thing will easily conclude that this friend this Wife is eagerly desirous of the presence and abiding of his friend or her husband with her and Secondly he that observes the jealousy of a gracious Soul over the Lord its Saviour and of every sin of Omission or Commission which it suspecteth as that which may probably separate betwixt his Soul and it He that observeth what slavish fear the Christian yet living in the enjoyments of God is often tormented with left he should lose his beloved presence oâ— takes notice of his weepings even till he can weep no more when he lies but under a perhaps false apprehension that he hath withdrawen himself in displeasure how his Eye oft-times consometh with grief how he makes his bed to swim and wateroth his Couch with tears must needs conclude that the abidings of Christ with the Soul are great objects of its desire And no wonder though they be so as we shall see by enquiring upon the third question Qu. 3. Whence it is that a gracious Soul is so desirous of Christ's lodgings and abidings with it To make a thing the object of a reasonable Soul's desire it is required That the understanding conceive it under the Notion of good and some good which it wanteth and may possibly obtain and according to the degree of goodness apprehended in an object proposed so is the motion of a reasonable Soul's desire more or less towards it Now that which appears to us as good appears so 1. Under the notion of profitable and advantageous Or 2. Under the notion of sweet and pleasant or under the notion of vertaous and honourable It is almost impossible to conceive but that the spiritually enlightened Soul should apprehend the abidings of Christ with it transcendently good upon all these accounts 1. Under the notion of Vertuous and Honourable What greater honour can betide a poor creature than to have the Almighty pitch his Tents in and with it for the Lord of Heaven and Earth to make his abode with a Worm the Eternal Son of God to dwell with Dust and Ashes yea and delight to dwell and continue with it Such honour have all the Saints and no wonder if they be so fond of it Doth Abigail think it an honour to be but a Servant to an Earthly David and Mephibosheth judge it an honour to be admitted to eat Bread at his Table What is it then to have the Son of God in the Arms of our Souls and to have him dwell in our hearts and make his abode there 2. Nor certainly can any thing be more sweet to a gracious Soul The joy and peace that peace which passeth all understanding which is the issue of believing ebbs and flows according to the abidings of Christ with the Soul His presence makes an Heaven and his absence makes an Hell there There are two Passions which are like overflowing Floods and drown a Soul's beauty and comfort Fear and Grief the presence of Christ with the Soul keeps them both under The Soul of the Saint cannot fear when it knows that it is He that saveth it and upholdeth it with the hand of his Righteousness and the Children of the Bride-Chamber himself told us cannot mourn while the Bridegroom is with them 3. For the advantage which accrews to the Soul by the abidings of christ with it besides that already mentioned in the quiet and holy security which it hath by his company which is infinitely above the value of all other concernments I say besides that the advantage is exceeding great I will mention but two things 1. Its enemies are still when the Captain of our Salvation is in our quarters there 's no great fear that the enemy will beat them up The tempter hath nothing to say whiles he that succours the tempted is speaking peace to the Soul God must first say to the Devil behold this Soul is in thy hands before he can meddle with it And our
from expressing exuberant affection to it lest the Child by it take advantage to go on in courses of disobedience Christ dearly loves many a poor Soul that hath its wanton tricks and is full of failings but he will not say to such a Soul Behold thou art fair my Love I will add but one thing more 4. Lastly Possibly Christ hath spoke and spoke it to thee often Behold thou art fair my Love Behold thou art fair but thou hast not heard him I have already told you that many of God's People are very deaf of that Ear. I was about to say there is no better sign of a gracious Soul than not to be too ready to hear such messages of peace God sometimes speaks so as the Soul cannot but hear when he pleaseth to set the Broad Seal of his Spirit unto the poor Soul this indeed is an audible voice and distinguishable enough But God in every Sermon speaks to the Believer Thou art fair my Love thou art fair We never Preach those great Truths of God That whosoever believes shall be saved and whosoever is justified by Faith hath peace with God and such like but God to every Believer that hears us speak Thou art fair my Love thou art fair But alas not one of many hath an Ear to hear no not those who truly believe It is in this case as with Samuel 1 Sam. 3. 4 5. Samuel was young and had not been used to the voice of God God calls him once away he goes to Eli the Lord calls a second time Samuel runs to Eli again and so a third time till Eli instructed and assured him it was the voice of God Till the Spirit of God brings the voice of God in the Gospel to the Ear to the inward Ear of a Christian he will not understand God speaking peace to him when indeed he doth speak it In very deed it is for want of Spiritual Logick The Word of God hath the Proposition He that believes is fair Though a man hath been a Thief a Drunkard a Covetous person c. yet if he be washed if he be justified if he be sanctified in the Name of our God and through the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ he is fair Thus much is plain in the Word 1 Cor. 6. 11. But now when the Soul should come to assume But I am washed I am justified I am sanctified there it fails and these may be the Reasons of a gracious Soul's complaint in this case But I have spoke enough to the first of the five Circumstances which I mentioned I proceed now to a second The Spouse had been admiring Christ comparing him to a bundle of Myrrh to a cluster of Camphire or Copher Now Christ adds Behold thou art fair my Love Behold thou art fair Obs High out-goings of a Soul toward Christ are ordinarily productive of great returns of the Love of Christ upon the Soul Duty in us is not the Father of Grace for who hath given first unto God and it shall be repaid to him again but extraordinary influences of Grace are commonly the wages of great duty It is very seldom that any Soul lets Christ know that he is exceeding dear to it but by the next Post the Soul shall know that it is very dear to Christ Doth God hear Ephraim bemoaning himself thus Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised as a Bullock unaccustomed to the yoke turn thou me and I shall be turned for thou art the Lord my God c. Ephraim shall presently hear God saying Is Ephraim my dear Son Is he a pleasant Child for since I spake against him I do earnestly remember him still therefore my bowels are troubled for him I will surely have mercy upon him saith the Lord. Is the Spouse sick of love Cant. 5. 8. Doth she indeed think her Beloved the chiefest amongst ten thousand c. She shall presently hear him saying Thou art beautiful O my Love as Tirzah c. Turn away thine Eyes from me c. ch 6. v. 4 5. I might instance in many Texts of Scripture but I forbear Will you know the reason of this Take it 1. Negatively 2. Positively 1. Negatively It is not because there 's any merit in duty Christ is no Merchant of Grace he gives it but he sells it not Indeed it is a contradiction to speak of meritorious duty if it be duty it is the payment of a debt on our part and can be no purchase-mony The compass of that Commandment Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy Soul and with all thy strength is of an exceeding latitude there 's no finishing of it by any creature in this life It was from the jejune Interpretation that the Pharisees of old and the Papists of late have put upon the Law of God that they ever dreamt that man was able to perform it much less do any thing of supererogation The foundation-stone of man's Salvation is laid in Grace and the top-stone is Grace too To the whole Building you must cry Grace Grace But Positively 2. It is from the overflowings of Divine Grace in him who is our Fountain-head the Lord Jesus Christ The Eye that weeps for its sin till it can weep no more doth not by its tears make it self an Handkerchief to dry its Eyes but a tender-hearted Saviour moved from his own bowels cannot but afford it one and say unto it why weepest thou The Soul that for Christs sake parts with Father Mother Children Brethren Sisters all doth not by this purchase to it self peace of Conscience or eternal life Alas what proportion is there betwixt things temporal and such as are Spiritual and eternal But he who hath both these to give gives them upon the Souls performing its duty in this particular Matth. 19. 29. The Soul that casts up many a long look to the Lord Jesus Christ and earnestly wisheth for his presence with it and valueth it above the World and seeks for it more then for Gold or hid treasure doth not by this earn Christs Love to it but Christ from the fulness of his grace makes choice of this Soul to reveal himself unto The Prophet Isaiah Ch. 30. v. 18. hath such an expression as this The Lord will wait that he may be gracious unto you Christ is a fountain of Grace a full fountain now when the fountain is brim full of water the water waiteth for an opportunity to diffuse it self it may be there is a bank that hinders the full river that it cannot diffuse its water the water therefore works secretly and softens the bank first till a breach be made and then it emptieth it self by it Christ is a sea a full sea of Grace but sinful man casts up a bank against this sea a bank of unbelief A bank of stone hardning his heart a bank of earth favouring an earthly mind a bank of mud delights in sensual lusts and