Wormwood fretted his guts but did not strangle and end him conscience forc'd him every day and every night to drinke a new draught that kept his Spirit in continuall torture and yet he could not get his soule out of this body nor have it consumed in The terrours that conscience kindles they are so terrible that they will make a man wish for death nay inflict death upon himselfe and all to put an end unto them and yet all will not doe because these tortures fasten upon the Spirit but destroy not the Spirit Finall the sorrowes of hell they are such as are not in the least measure pittied by God Though the damned in hell be tormented with sulfurous flames which is a very fierce fire and though they cry and roare howle and yell shrich and gnash the teeth continually and all this in the hearing of God continually which would stirre nay turne the bowels of any man to heare but a moment yet it stirres not God a jot though he hath heard these dolorous cries so many hundred yeares to give them the least good word or good looke So that sorrow which conscience raises in the soule upon the breach of sincerity God seemes not to pitty in the least measure for a long time Though the spirit of man be rackt tortured and affrighted even unto distraction yet God will not so much as afford a good looke to the soule Though he pray and fast and consume himselfe with fasting yet not any beame of light and love that the revolting soule shall see in the countenance of God to take hold on and to comfort himselfe by Hence 't is that the Psalmist complains of God and his mercy as cleane gone Will the Lord cast off for ever and will he be favourable no more is his mercy cleane gone for ever doth his promise faile for evermore Psal 77.7,8 Nay many times God serves back-sliding Christians as he served the Israelites of old to wit increases their sorrow when they are in earnest suit for release and comfort so farre he is from pittying of them and as Ioseph carried himselfe to his brethren instead of pittying them in their want he spake affrightingly to them and told them that they were spies and so put them in feare of the losse of their lives Just thus for a time doth God usually carry himselfe to revolting Christians he is so farre from pittying them notwithstanding all their prayers that he calls them dogges and speakes roughly to them and puts them in feare of the losse of their best lives and seemes resolved to proceed against them as his enemies begge and cry as long as they will Job points at this where he saith Wherefore hidest thou thy face and holdest me for thin-enemy Iob 13.24 And is not this hell indeed to be in soule misery and to have no compassion from God To be pittied and condoled by a mans friend though he be not able to helpe him we take it as a great mercy and moderation of misery Iob would so have accounted it But when such as we take for friends doe not onely forbeare to pitty but set themselves against us in our misery and adde to our afflictions this makes misery unspeakeably miserable and a lively Embleme of Hell indeed But I goe no further this way Secondly as the sorrow which conscience causeth upon the breach of sincerity is unspeakeable strong no other in a manner but the torments of hell so 't is oft times unspeakable sudden As the Wind raises hideous stormes and tempests at Sea on a sudden that endangers the drowning of all So conscience when once the soule hath turned aside to crooked waies oft times of a sudden raises hideous storms and tempests in the soule which addes exceedingly to the torture Horrour and terrour breaking forth suddenly affrights more by farre then if it came with warning The fire that conscience kindles in the soule is like the setting a fire of Gun-powder very sudden as 't is very fierce After once a breach is made upon sincerity conscience laies traines of wild-fire and blowes up all a mans joy on an instant and sets on fire the soule and then lets in legions of such spirits whose dwelling is onely in fire to keep Garrison against all promises of good to this soule and then the soule becomes like Tashur feare round about the face of God terrible the face of friends terrible the thought of sicknesse death and the thought of death hell and the thought of hell as at the doore and unavoidable As the Arrowes which God will shoot against the enemies of his Church shall goe forth as lightening Zech. 9.14 so the Arrowes which God shootes by conscience against such as turne aside to evill waies they goe forth oft-times as lightâ—ings very sudden very swift Sometimes when a sinner like Belshazzar is in the very act of sinne conscience writes downe a mans doome in his heart and in such legible letters that the sinner cannot choose but read and tremble When a sinner is taking pleasure in unrighteousnesse of a sudden conscience breaks forth into thundring and lightning in the soule and the sinner is as one descending quicke into hell And immediately while he yet spake the Cocke crew and the Lord look'd backe upon Peter saith the text Luke 22.60 On a sudden while Peter was in the very act of denying a cocke crew within to wit conscience that made Peters spirit die within him Once and twise Peter denied Christ and Christ did not awaken conscience and set him at him to pull him by the throat but the third time immediately while he yet spake conscience like a Lyon ranne upon his soule and made him beleeve that hee would be a tormentour to him as he is to the damned before the time Sometime conscience may let a man alone after he is turned aside from sincere walking but if the soule still goe on of a sudden conscience will break forth into thundering and lightning so fiercely as he did in Peters soule on whom if Christ had not look'd backe Peter would have gone neere to have served himselfe as Iudas after he had betrayed his Master To conclude all This I am sure O sincere soule that as conscience will make thee know to thy comfort that 't is a sweet thing faithfully and sincerely to serve God so conscience will make thee know to thy griefe that it is an evill and a bitter thing to turne away from the good way of the Lord. Having therefore now set good and evill before thee make a wise choyce Chuse rather to undergoe any thing that man or divell can invent that thou maist still enjoy the peace and joy of a good conscience then to have the greatest honour this world will afford and shipwracke sincerity and so lie liable to the lash of an evill conscience FINIS 2 COR. 1.12 For our rejoycing is this the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity not
done amisse a thousand worse persons have found mercy and are gone to Heaven and therefore thou needst not so much trouble thy selfe O my soule He that beleeves makes not hast 't is time enough yet to amend all that is amisse and to be as good as the best 4 All this while that it is a hidden vice a transforming vice a flattering vice 't is a hardning vice All the while hypocrisie lies hid and after it is discovered and shifts and flatters it insensibly hardens so that whilst deceiving the soule is miserably deceived and then becomes past feeling conscience being seared with an hot iron that is God utterly leaving conscience to doe any office any longer for him in checking such a shifting shuffling sinner in his sinfull way And when this worke is done upon any soule you may leave tolling and ring out for he is dead and gone for ever Now because hypocrisie is of such a shuffling subtile nature as this 't is very hard for a man to become truely sensible of it and throughly affected with it and therefore I exhort you which are convinced by what was formerly delivered of your unsoundnesse first to labour to be truely sensible of it and deepely affected with it 'T is a vice that of all vices puts you into the furthest unlikenesse to God and the neerest likenesse to the divell It puts you into the furthest dissimilitude to God of all vices for God is most upright saith Isaiah Thou most upright doest weigh the path of the just Isai 26.7 God is most upright and an hypocrit of all men least upright and therefore an hypocrite of all men is least like God and yet most like the divell of whom I may say as the Lord of the Leviathan He is King faith God of all the children of pride So is the divell King of all the children of hypocrisie As 't is said of God that he is most upright so it may be said of the divell that he is most guilefull an arch hypocrit and therefore guilefull persons are most like the divell and the more guilefull the more like and hence is Elimas who was full of all subtilty by way of eminencie called the child of the divell by Saint Paul who knew well how aptly to stile hypocrits 'T is a vice that turnes man into a divell and God into fury fiercer then the divell for the divell is but Gods creature and therefore though his fury be unexpressible by us yet it is finite in it selfe but Gods fury against hypocrits is infinite and therefore you shall finde him spending a whole chapter in breathing out woes against hypocrits and therefore hell as the most suitable place and the greatest torments in hell as the most suitable thing to an infinit fury is reserved as a peculiar portion for hypocrits Were infinitnesse communicable and by a finite creature susceptible no lesse then infinite fury should hypocrits burne in When thou hast by such considerations as these brought thy spirit to be truely affected with thy unsoundnesse then judge thy selfe for it that thou maist not be judged of the Lord. Judge thy selfe as one most injurious to Christ and his glory of all men Judge thy selfe as a Traitour to the King of Kings as one that hast craftily conspired with the divell and thine owne heart to keepe out Christ from ruling and raigning in thee as one that hast subtily betrayed the honour of God in every action thou hast performed seeking thy selfe under pretence of seeking him Judge thy selfe as a cheater that hast beene cunning to deceive the godly and thine owne poore soule Judge thy selfe as a selfe-soule-murtherer that hast craftily baffled thine owne conscience that Gods word might not convert and turne thee from thine ungodly course and so save thy precious soule Judge thy selfe as a Iudas that kissest Christ bowest and cringest to Christ and yet betraiest and crucifiest Christ In a word judge thy selfe as a right hand of the divell by which he hath done a great deale of mischiefe judge thy selfe as a capitall offender as a sinner of all sinners the chiefe and then beg pardon And intreat God to cure the foule disease of thy heart Tell him how long this disease hath beene upon thee and what a loathsome creature ' tath made thee and what a prime vitall part 't is fastened upon and how neere perishing thou art and how 't is past the cure of all other Physicions and Surgeons and that there is but one way with thee speedily if thou hast not remedy forthwith from him and that thou hast nothing of thine owne to satisfie him for the cure of it but hast a friend Christ that will pay all Remember this to begge him who fashioneth all mens hearts alike to mend thy bad heart with a new one according to his promise Onely a new heart is an upright heart and this God hath promised to give and this thou must urge and believe and waite and this way shalt thou be healed helped and saved To you which upon examination finde that you do in simplicity and godly sincerity order your conversation in this world I have onely this to say you doe no more then you ought and therefore there is no place for boasting 'T is our beauty in Gods eye to be vile in our owne eyes what ever our parts and endeavours be Thy uprightnesse of integrity comes farre short of that uprightnesse of perfection in which thou wast created and therefore when thou hast done all that thou canst yet say that thou art an unprofitable servant a man that comes farre short of what thou shouldst be and of what once thou wast But that which I would rather stand on a little is this Thou that walkest sincerely doest no more then thou oughtst and therefore goe on The Apostles exhortation to the Hebrewes shall be mine to you Looke diligently least any man faile of the grace of God least any root of â—…ternesse springing up trouble you and thereby many be defiled Heb. 12.15 We have that within us and that without us which will corrupt our simplicity and turne us aside from our sincere conversation if we doe not watch over our selves 1 Where simplicity is hypocrisie is not wholly extir pated some remainders of this foule evill are in the best heart and these rootes of bitternesse if you be not still labouring to grub up they will quickly over-grow sincerity and all good in the heart And as we have that within us which will quickly seduce us from that simplicity which is in Christ so we have that without us too which will do the like if we be not very watchfull to wit the divell and his children The divell is an arch Apostate himselfe and he labours might and maine to make all the sons of men to fall from grace and goodnesse as he hath done that so every one may be as neere like himselfe in sinne and misery as may be He goes about
of men Thus to order a mans conversation is to live sensually and not sincerely and therefore conscience gives testimony against this man and not with him and so consequently checks and curbs this joy and not causeth it conscience dampes this mirth much by griping the spirit now and then in the midst of laughter Spirituall joy is the soules rejoycing in God as reconciled in Christ Spirituall joy is the soules rejoycing in God c. Divine joy is therefore called spirituall because the subject of it is a spirit and the object of it is a spirit and all the manifestations of it spirituall The subject of divine joy is the spirit of man Divine joy doth not take onely the eare or the eye or the taste or the smell as carnall joy doth but the heart Let the heart of them rejoyce that seeke the Lord Psal 105.3 The heart is broken for sinne and this is made to rejoyce in Gods mercy as a pardoner of sinne the same bones which are broken are made to rejoyce Make me to heare joy and gladnesse that the bones which thout hast broken may rejoyce Psal 51.8 Davids heart was so overcharged with sorrow that his bones were ready to breake in his body and in this he desired some divine refreshing that so all things out of order might be quieted and composed againe As sorrow is no sorrow unlesse it take the heart so joy is no joy unlesse it warme the Spirit And therefore saith David My soule shall be joyfull in the Lord it shall rejoyce in his salvation Psal 35.9 God doth honour that in man with joy with which man honours him by obedience now the soule of the upright obeyes God My Soule hath kept thy testimonies and I love them exceedingly Psal 19.167 and therefore God made Davids soule to rejoyce I delight to doe thy will O God yea thy Law is within my heart Psal 40.8 The Law of God was within Davids heart and therefore the joy of God was within his heart too Hypocrits doe not with their soules keepe Gods testimonies their righteousnesse is like Ephraims an outside righteousnesse that vanisheth and so answerably God giveth them an outside superficiall joy that soone vanisheth and perisheth They doe not set their hearts aright to obey God as David useth the expression Psal 78.8 and therefore God doth not tune and set their joy aright so that it jarres at the best their spirits and their faces are not alwaies merry together in the midst of laughter their hearts gripe them Divine joy takes the spirit of man wholly and oft-times immediately Divine joy takes the spirit of man wholly when at lowest A dram a sparkle the least measure of divine joy that can be thought of revives and makes glad the whole Spirit of man as a drop of strong water warmes the whole heart Hence 't is that David when he had but a drop of divine joy distilled into his heart as 't is but a drop of this heavenly liquor that our weake giddy soules can beare whilst here below presently he breakes out as a man warmed all over I will praise thee O Lord with my whole heart I will shew forth all thy marvellous workes Psal 9.1 The like phrase you shall finde David often speaking in David found his whole heart warmed by those sparkles of divine joy which God strooke in his darke dolorous heart and this fetcht life in him still when ready to faint and swoon and then all he returned to God againe which he gave him God warmed his whole heart with joy and he returned his whole heart to God in thankesgiving Divine joy warmes all that is within and all that is without soule and body and sets both at worke to praise God Praise the Lord O my soule and all that is within me praise his holy name Psal 103.1 All that was within David was warmed with divine joy and therefore all that was within him he would have should returne thankes and praise unto the Lord. Elsewhere he cals upon all without him And my soule shall be joyfull in the Lord it shall rejoyce in his salvation this is for all within him then in the next verse saith he All my bones shall say Lord who is like unto thee Psal 35.9,10 Divine joy warmes all that is within a man and all that is without it warmes Spirit flesh and bones the whole man and sets all on fire to praise the Lord. As divine joy takes the Spirit wholly so it oft-times seises upon the Spirit immediately breaking forth in the heart as lightning without any certaine knowne medium by which to come into the soule David doth darkly hint this where he saith Rejoyce the soule of thy servant for unto thee O Lord doe I lift up my soule Psal 86.4 Thou needest not this to speake in or that creature to worke by to revive a drooping Spirit as if the Psalmist had said thou canst put joy and gladnesse into the sad soule of man by thine owne immediate worke as well as if forty Ministers were imployed this I beleeve that none without thee can rejoyce me but thou without any other canst doe it and therefore unto thee doe I lift up my soule Sometimes God doth worke by secondary meanes and inferiour instruments to rejoyce the soules of mourning sinners as David would have comforted Hanun by his messengers at other times he will make use of none but his owne Spirit to beare witnesse with our spirits that we are the Sonnes of God and walke before him as obedient children and so rejoyces the soules of his people in troubles Thus did God rejoyce the soule of Paul and Timothy in their troubles and sorrowes by the Almighty worke of his Spirit he assured their spirits that they were his and that their waies were pleasing to him which made them thus to speake in the midst of miseries Our rejoycing is this the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity not with fleshly wisedome but by the grace of God we have had our conversation in the world c. Secondly divine joy is called spirituall because the object of it is a spirit The object of divine joy is God who is a Spirit saith John Divine joy hath God for its immediate object and all other good things as beames of this Sunne as streams from this fountaine as mediat objects comming from and relating to God God alone is the object of divine joy Most true 't is that God hath alwaies in his right hand Heaven and in his left hand earth to wit all the Kingdomes of this world to bestow upon whom he will but had he neither or would he part with neither to any beside himselfe but keepe all in his owne hand yet an upright man would joy in him and desire no better object to let out his affections upon Although the Figge tree shall not blossome neither shall fruit be in the vines the labour of the Olives shall faile and the
his sword in the bowels of his brethren nay he knew not his father nor mother no nor the children of his loynes that he might declare his sincere love to the glory of God when opportunity was offered Thinke on Gideon who threw downe the Altar of his father that he might declare his sincere love to God when he called him hereunto Thinke on Asa's dethroning his mother and stamping her idols to pouder 2 Chron. 15.16 And on Salomons denying the request of his good mother Bathsheba when she requested a bad thing to wit Abishag the Shunamite for Adonijah which was given to lie in Davids bosome in his old age to keepe him warme and to cherish him All these worthies were not swayed by foolish pitty but looked over all relations to obey the will of God and to declare their sincere love to him upon all occasions offered Wherefore The second and last use of this doctrine shall be fore exhortation Seeing there be speciall times and occasions for the delcaration of sincerity and that many have broken thorough all impediments to take hold of them let us also strive thus to doe Two things I would exhort you to to observe such times and secondly to take fast hold of them Seeing there be speciall times for the declaration of sincerity let us give all diligence to observe when they are by God offered to us Shut not your eyes against such times nor through ignorance and carelessenesse over-looke such times Quest But how should I know speciall times and occasions for the declaration of sincerity Answ I answer by these three things First by the dependancy of Gods glory and thine owne eternall good upon times occasions and actions If the glory of God and thine owne eternall good depend much upon the doing or suffering of this or that thing so depend that if not performed both Gods glory and thine owne peace fall to the ground this is a speciall time and occasion for the declaration of sincerity and therefore observe it Secondly by strong internall motions and movings to this or that duty together with the hand of God externally in a speciall manner by mercies and corrections seconding 'T is said you know that the spirit of the Lord moved Sampson at times in the campe of Dan. That is God after a speciall manner stirred him up now and then to that great worke of fighting with the Philistins to which he had assigned him So likewise now the Spirit of God doth at times move mens hearts after a powerfull and speciall manner to this duty or that to the mortification of this lust or that and seconds this strong internall motion by such mercies and corrections as may most suitably tend to further this motion and spurre on backward man to the performance of this duty This is a speciall time for the declaration of sincerity observe it Balaam doubtlesse had speciall motions and internall stirrings not to goe about to curse Israel and the Angell of the Lord without seconding to hinder him and yet for all this sword within and sword without he would on You that will doe as he did must looke to fare as he did So on the other hand Mordecai doubtlesse had strong internall motions and stirrings to labour for the good of the Jewes and the downefall of proud Haman and the providence of God externally after a speciall manner seconding which he observed and answerably moved in this golden opportunity and so wonne much honour to God to himselfe and good to his Church Thirdly by the word of God The word of God is so full and perfect that it plainely sets before every man that studies it what is of weight to be done and what is of moment not to be done It sets forth things to be done or not to be done with all the circumstances about them which makes them of more speciall consequence or lesse So that if a man looke upon an action or occasion by the word of God he shall presently be able to see of what consequence the thing is and how answerably he is to move in and about it whether with more or lesse care and diligence Hence 't is that Christ willed those which he urged to imbrace him to search the Scriptures concerning him intimating that there they should see of what consequence this worke was of imbracing Christ and following him Secondly as I would have you to take notice so I would have you to take hold of speciall times and occasions for the declaration of sincerity When you have espied these golden opportunities fasten upon them Quest But how should I take hold of these golden opportunities aright I answer the taking hold of these golden opportunities aright consists in these three things viz That a man when such times are brought about to him by the providence of God set himself first speedily and secondly thoroughly to answer them and thirdly that he goe about all in the strength of Christ First a man that would take hold aright of speciall times and occasions for the declaration of sincerity must be speedy in this worke Time we say tarries for no man And opportunity is the extract and quintessence of time and farre more gliding Opportunity let slip possibly a man may have never such another though he should live an hundred yeares Hence 't is that Christ speakes so dolefully to Ierusalem which had slipt her opportunity O Ierusalem Ierusalem if thou hadst knowne in this thy day the things that belong to thy peace but now they are hidden from thine eyes Secondly as you must set your selves speedily so you must set your selves throughly to this worke if you would take hold of these golden opportunities aright That is you must set your selves to declare sincerity answerable to the occasions and speciall opportunitie which God offereth For this is to take hold of these precious opportunities aright to wit whē speciall occasions for the declaration of sincerity present themselves after a speciall manner to declare our sincerity in them When a speciall occasion of this kinde was offered to Paul by Peters Judaizing you know with what courage and spirit Paul declared himselfe answerable to the occasion To whom I gave place not for a moment Whom I withstood to the face for he was to be blamed Gal 2. And Moses likewise though a very meeke quiet and patient spirited man yet when a speciall occasion for the declaration of his sincerity was offered by Aaron and the peoples making a Calte with what a Lyon-like courage did he shew himselfe And old Ely because he did not set himselfe thus to declare his sincerity when his sons of provoked God to wit answerable to that speciall occasion offered you know what construction God made of his mild cold carriage in that urgent waighty matter betweene God and his sonnes Thirdly a man that would declare sincerity aright in all occasions offered thereunto must set about this worke in the strength of
Christ and not in any strength of his owne I will goe in the strength of the Lord God I will make mention of thy rightousnesse even of thine onely Psalm 71.16 I will goe in the strength of the Lord God c. That is in every designe and in every businesse I will depend wholly upon the aide and assistance of God and upon no strength of my owne Thus we know David went against Goliah when he would declare his sincere love to God whom Goliah blasphemed Thus must we doe when ever we set upon any opportunity wherein to declare our sincere love to God or else we shall doe as Peter deny Christ instead of standing for him answerably to the occasion offered Now that what hath beene said touching this point of taking hold of golden opportunities offered for the declaration of sincerity you may all observe and follow thinke on these two or three things God calles for it Conscience calls for it Church and State calls for it Soule and body will else severely smart for it First thinke on this God calls for this at our hands that we should declare sincerity according to the speciall occasions calling thereunto Gather your selves together c. saith the Lord to the disobedient Jewes and in them to us before the decree come forth before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you Seeke ye the Lord all ye meeke of the earth seeke righteousnesse seeke meekenesse it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lords anger Zeph. 2.1,2,3 A speciall time was offered wherein to shew themselves for God and for good and God called upon them carefully to take it as they tendered their temporall and eternall good God calls us now to the declaration of sincerity as by his word so by his workes both of mercy and justice God hath loaded us with mercies and corrections of all sorts and all for this end that we should declare our sincere love to him answerable to all opportunities offered hereunto Many a time as the Psalmist saith hath he turned away his anger and hath not made a full end of us when we have highly provoked him thereunto and all for this end that we should declare our sincere love to him answerable to all opportunities offered thereunto To the language of the Lord by the Prophet Amos I may fitly here allude God hath withholden the raine from us when there have beene but three months to the harvest God hath caused it to raine upon one shire and county and not upon another God hath smitten us with blasting and Mildew and all this to bring us to declare a sincere love to him according to all opportunities offered and yet we are backward hereunto God hath smitten us with the pestilence againe and againe and with the sword hath he threatned us againe and againe and all this to bring us on to declare a sincere love to him according to all occasions offered and yet we are backward hereunto Therefore thus will I doe unto thee saith the Lord to Israel and because I will doe thus prepare to meet the Lord thy God O Israel Amos 4. So say I to you forasmuch as all the milde meanes which God hath hitherto used are not effectuall for this end to bring us to declare our sincere love to him according to all opportunities offered therefore we must expect that God will take some severe course with us for the time to come and because we are to expect this at the hands of God let us prepare to meet the Lord our God Let every one of us repent of our halting and time-serving past and for the time to come let us set our selves to declare a sincere love to God according to all occasions offered 2. Conscience calls us hereunto as well as God Speciall occasions for the declaration of sincerity now so frequently and so openly shew themselves that every mans conscience tells him that he should shew himselfe a great deale more then he doth for God his King and Countrey As in the night the Owles and the Bats looke abroad so in these darke sad daies of sinne and wickednesse the eyes of Owles and Bats the eyes of wicked and secure sinners begin to open and their consciences begin to tell them that they should doe something more now then they have done for God and the good of this Church and Kingdome 3. Church and State cals for it They both now with one dolefull voice cry out to us in the language of the Psalmist Who will rise up for me against the evill doers or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity Psal 94.16 They know not neither will they understand they walke on in darknesse all the foundations of the earth are out of course Psal 82.5 Finally soule and body will else severely smart for it if we doe not now step in to take hold of all opportunities for the declaration of sincerity Curse ye Meroz said the Angell of the Lord curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof because they came not to the helpe of the Lord against the mighty Judg. 5.23 This curse may all such expect who now come not forth to declare their sincere love to Christ and his truth upon all just occasions calling thereunto The soules of such Christians as now neglect and put by these golden opportunities of declaring their sincere love to Christ will be given up to lukewarmnesse coldnesse deadnesse hardnesse and some to obstinatenesse and maliciousnesse against God and all goodnesse which are all soule cursâ—s with a witnesse And such bodies as have in them such cursed soules as these you may assure yourselves they shall meet with misery enough first or 〈◊〉 Paul intimates something to this purpose where he saith At my first answer no man stood with me but all men forsook me I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge 2 Tim. 4.16 Such as take not hold of speciall times and occasions for the declaration of their sincere love to Christ and his truth may feare that sad things will be first or last laid to their charge such as shall make body and soule shake Let us therefore all as we love our bodies and soules and as we professe love to Christ which should be dearer to us then our bodies or soules take hold of all opportunities for the declaration of sincerity As God brings about speciall times and occasions for this end so let every one of us after a speciall manner take hold of them that we may after a speciall manner be honoured of God both here and hereafter Dixi. Trinuni Deo gloria Imprimatur Tho Wykes Febr. 24. 1639