through his heart and he is breathing out his sorrow as though he were going down to hell and he saith If there be any mercy any love any fellowship of the Spirit have mercy upon me a poor creature that am under the burthen of the Almighty O pray and pity these wounds and vexations of Spirit which no man findes nor feels but he that hath been thus wounded It is a sign of a soul wholly devoted to destruction that hath a desperate disdain against poor wounded creatures Is it possible there should harbor such a Spirit in any man if the Devil himself were incarnate I cannot conceive what he could do worse 2. If ever thou wouldst be comforted and receive mercy from God labor never to be quiet till thou dost bring thy heart to a right pitch of sorrow thou hast a little slight sorrow but Oh! labor to have thy heart truly touched that at last it may break in regard of thy many distempers remember the longer seed-time the greater harvest Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted but wo to you that are at ease in Zion Thou hadst better now be wounded then everlastingly tormented and therefore if thou desirest to see Gods face with comfort if thou wouldst hear Christ say Come thou poor heavy-hearted sinner I will ease thee Labor to lay load on thy heart with sorrow for thy sin O what a comfort shall a poor broken heart finde in that day SECT. 5. The extent of this Sorrow HItherto of Contrition the next work is Humiliation which differs from the other not in substance but circumstance For Humiliation as I take it is onely the extent of Sorrow for Sin of which we have spoken and it contains these two Duties 1. Submission 2. Contentedness to be at the Lords disposal The first part of Humiliation is Submission which is wrought thus The sinner having now had a Sight of his Sins and a Sorrow in some measure for Sin he seeks far and wide improves all means and takes up all Duties that if it were possible he might heal his wounded soul Thus seeking and seeking but finding no succor in what he hath or doth he is forced at last in his despairing condition to make tryal of the Lord It is true for the present he apprehends God to be just and to be incensed against him he hath no experience of Gods favor for the while no certainty how he shall speed if he go to the Lord yet because he sees he cannot be worse then he is and that none can help him but God if it would please him therefore he falls at the footstool of Mercy and he lies grovelling at the gate of Grace and submits himself to the Lord to do with him as pleaseth himself or as it seemeth good in his eyes This was the Ninevites case when Jonah had denounced that heavy Judgement and as it were thrown wilde fire about the streets saying Within forty days Niniveh shall be destroyed See what they resolved upon They fasted and prayed and put on sackcloth and ashes who can tell said they but God may turn and repent him of his fierce wrath that we perish not as if they had said We know not what God will do but this we know that we cannot oppose his Judgements nor succor our selves Thus it is with a sinner when he seeth hell fire to flash in his face and that he cannot succor himself then he saith This I know that all the means in the world cannot save me yet who can tell but the Lord may have mercy on me and cure his tdistressed Conscience and heal all these wounds that sin hath made in my soul This is the lively picture of the soul in this case Or for a further light this Subjection discovers it self in four particulars First he seeth and confesseth that the Lord for ought he knows will proceed in Justice against him and execute upon him those Plagues that God hath threatned and his Sins have deserved he seeth that Justice is not yet satisfied and those reckonings between God and him are not yet made up and therefore he cannot apprehend but that God will take vengeance on him What else when he hath done all he can he is unprofitable still Justice remains unsatisfied and saith Thou hast sinned and I am wronged and therefore thou shalt dye Secondly he conceives that what God will do that he will do and he cannot avoid it if the Lord will come and require the glory of his Justice against him there is no way to avoid it nor to bear it and this crusheth the heart and makes the soul to be beyond all shifts and evasions whereby it may seem to avoid the dint of the Lords blow Thirdly he casts away his weapons and falls down before the Lord and resigns himself into the soveraign power and command of God Thus David when the Lord cast him out of his Kingdom he said to Zadock Carry back the Ark of God into the City if I shall finde favor in the eyes of the Lord he will bring me back again and shew me both it and his Habitation But if he thus say to me I have no delight in thee behold here I am let him do with me as seemeth good in his eyes This is the frame of a poor soul when a poor sinner will stand upon his priviledges the Lord saith Bear my Justice and defend thy self by all thou hast or canst do and the soul answereth I am thy Servant Lord do what is good in thine eyes I cannot succor my self Fourthly the soul freely acknowledgeth That it is in Gods power to do with him and dispose of him as he will and therefore he lies and licks the dust and cryes Mercy mercy Lord he thinks not to purchase Mercy at the Lords hands but onely saith It is in Gods good pleasure to do with him as he will onely he looks for favor and cryes Mercy Lord mercy to this poor distressed soul of mine O replies the Lord dost thou need mercy Cannot thy Hearing and Praying and Fasting carry thee to heaven without hazard Gird up now thy loyns and make thy ferventest Prayers and let them meet my Justice and see if they can bear my Wrath or purchase any Mercy No no saith the sinner I know it by lamentable experience that all my prayers and performances will never procure peace to my soul nor give my satisfaction to thy Justice I onely pray for Mercy and I desire onely to hear some News of Mercy to relieve this miserable wretched soul of mine it is onely Mercy that must help me O Mercy if it be possible to this poor distressed soul of mine Me thinks the picture of those poor famished Lepers may â—itly resemble this poor sinner when the Famine was great in Samaria There were four leprous men sate in the gate of the City and they said Why sit we here until we dye if we enter into
the Lord Jesus Christ now the Church leans her self all upon her Husband she walked along with him but he bare all the burthen Cast all your care upon him saith Peter for he careth for you 1 Pet. 5. 7. the Original is Hurl your care upon the Lord The Lord will not thank you for carrying your cares and troubles about you he requires that you Hurl them upon him for he careth for you Fourthly it draws vertue and derives power from the Lord Jesus Christ for succor and supplies and here is the especial life of Faith it goes for mercy and grace and comfort in Christ he knows 't is to be had from him and therefore he fetcheth all from him With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation Isa. 12. 3. The fountain of Salvation is Christ and all the waters of life of grace and mercy are in Christ Jesus Now it is not enough to let down the bucket into the well but it must be drawn out also it is not enough to come to Christ but we must draw the water of grace from Christ to our selves They shall suck and be satisfied saith Isaiah with the breasts of her consolations that they may milk out and be delighted with the abundance of her glory The Church is compared to a childe and the breasts are the Promises of the Gospel now the Elect must suck out and be satisfied with it the word in the Original is Exact upon the Promise and oppress the Promise as the Oppressor grindes the face of a poor man so with an holy kinde of oppression you should exact from the Promise and get what good you may from it Fifthly Faith leaves the soul with the Promise yea notwithstanding all delays denyals discouragements from God faith brings on the heart still it will be sure to lie at the gate and keep the soul with the promise whatever befalls it Excellent is that passage Gen. 32. 26. when the Lord and Jacob were wrestling Let me go saith the Lord I will leave thee to thy self I care not what becomes of thee No I will not let thee go until thou hast blessed me saith Jacob So the faithful soul lays hold upon the Lord for Mercy Pardon Power and Grace and though the Lord seem to give him up to the torment of Sin and Corruption yet the soul saith Though my soul go down to hell I will hold here for Mercy till the Lord comfort and pardon and subdue graciously these cursed corruptions which I am not able to master my self As it is with a Sun-dyal the needle is ever moving and a man may jog it this way and that way yet it will never stand still till it come to the North-point So when the Lord leaves off a believing heart with frowns and with the expression of displeasure and the soul turns to the Lord Christ and will never leave till it go God-ward and Christ-ward and Graceward and saith Let the Lord do what he please I will go no further till he be pleased to shew Mercy Thus the soul once come to Christ it will never away but ever cleaves to the Promise and is towards God and Christ whatsoever befalls it But poor soul art thou yet shut up in Unbelief do then as the Prisoners in New-gate what lamentable cryes do they utter to every Passenger by So do thou look out from the gates of Hell and from under the bars of Infidelity and cry that God would look on thee in mercy and say Spare Lord a poor unbelieving wretch lockt up under the bars of Vnbelief good Lord succor and deliver in thy due time David could say Let the sighing of prisoners come up before thee that indeed was meant of bodily imprisonment yet the argument prevails much in regard of the Spiritual Good Lord let the sighing of prisoners come up before thee let the sighing of poor distrustful souls come up before thy Majesty O send help from heaven and deliver the soul of thy servant from these wretched distempers of heart Is there no cause thus to pray He that believeth not saith our Savior is condemned already He is cast in heaven and earth by the Law and Gospel there is no relief for him abiding in this condition lay this under thy pillow and say How can I sleep and be a condemned man What if God should take away my life this night Alas I never knew what it was to be illightned or wounded for sin I can commit sin and play with sin but I never knew what it was to be wounded for sin I never knew what it was to be zealous in a good cause O I confess I have no faith at all Beloved would you yield this then were there some hopes that you might get out of this condition and state to have a sense of its want to go to the Lord by prayer and to ask hearty counsel of some faithful Minister are the first steps to obtain it And to help a poor wretch in this case O you that are gracious go your ways home and pray for him Brethren let us leave preaching and hearing and all of us fall to praying and mourning In truth I condemn my own soul because I have not an heart to mourn for him we reprove his sin and condemn him of his sin and we must do so but where are the heart-blood petitions that we put up for such a one Where are the tears that we make for the slain of our people You tender-hearted Mothers and you tender-hearted Wives if your children or husbands be in this woful case O mourn for them let your hearts break over them and say O wo is me for my children O wo is me for that poor husband of mine Or secondly hast thou gotten faith then labor to husband this grace well and to improve it for thy best good It is a marvellous shame to see those that are born to fair means I mean the poor Saints of God that have a Right and Title to Grace and Christ and yet to live at such an under-rate I would have you to live above the world for the Lord doth not grudge his people of comfort but would have them live chearfully and have strong consolations and mighty assurance of Gods love Is there not cause why faith if it be right will make the life of a Christian most easie most comfortable Unfaithful souls sink in their sorrows upon every occasion but faith gives ease to a man in all his conversation 1. Because faith hath a skill and a kinde of flight to put over all cares to another We take up the Cross but faith hurls all the care on Christ an easie matter it is to lie under the burthen when another bears all the weight of it Look how it is with two Ferry-men the one hales his Boat about the shore and cannot get off but tugs and pulls and never puts her forth to
THE Doctrine Directions But more especially The Practice and Behavior of a Man in the act of the NEVV BIRTH A TREATISE By way of APPENDIX to the former By ISAAC AMBROSE Minister of Christ at Preston in Amounderness in Lancashire LONDON Printed by J. F. for Nathanael Webb and William Grantham at the Greyhound in Pauls Church-yard MDCL AN APPENDIX Containing both the Doctrine and Directions but more especially the Practice and Behavior of a man in the act of The Second Birth The occasion of this TREATISE HItherto I have given the Doctrine and Application of the Soul-saving Second Birth but some there are whose hearts are so steely that all this cannot work upon them If any such desire yet any more and desire they must or there is no remedy for them I have for their help in the practice brought a Practitioner afore them It was Cesars great praise that he bade his Soldiers still Come and if men had but many Cesars or leaders in these practical points I suppose there would be more followers A plain Doctrine may win some and a particular Direction may win more but a good Example wins most Howsoever then concerning the New Birth I have delivered the Doctrine in the Sermons and Directions in the Appendix yet one thing is wanting which may help more then either to wit the Practice of some Saint in this one necessary thing And what Saint what man that hath writ more on this subject then T. H it was said of blessed Mr. Bolton That for himself he could profess to his comfort on his Deaths-bed That he never taught any godly point but he first wrought it on his own heart the same do I more then probably think was the practice of this man Now therefore I thought fit not onely to contract his Books in this Appendix which some without his privity have unskilfully put out but also and that more especially to set afore you whosoever you are those prime powerful pathetical expressions of his Soul-pangs in the New Birth as matter for your imitation These expressions indeed are they I most especially aym at which if you observe are always delivered in the first person I and I verily believe they were not fained but feeling from his own heart and soul What needs more if either Doctrine in the first part or Direction in the second part or Practice in the third part of the Book which consists most of Practice can work on your souls I hope some of these or all of these will help you on in the way from Corruption to Christianity and from the state of Nature into the Kingdom of Grace CHAP. I. The Souls Preparation BEfore the Soul can share in Christs Merits to speak in the Authors stile or language without any alteration two things are required 1. A preparation to receive and entertain Christ 2. An implantation of the Soul into Christ That there must be a Preparation is the first ground we lay and herein observe we The Matter Maner Means of this Preparation 1. For Matter The soul of a sinner must be prepared for Christ before he can entertain him When Kings go to any place they send to make readiness their Harbengers afore them if Christ the King of Saints come into a Soul there must be a Preparation before he enter and good Reason he is not a meer man an ordinary person but a King a King of Glory David in this case could call upon his Soul so we may expound his Gates and Doors Lift up your heads O ye Gates and be ye lift up ye everlasting Doors and the King of Glory shall come in as who should say Be enlarged Love Joy Hope set open give way for the Lord is coming But who is the Lord it is the Lord of Hosts the Lord strong and mighty the Lord mighty in Battel And with that he knocks again Lift up your heads O ye Gates and be ye lift up ye everlasting Doors and the King of Glory shall come in as if he should say What shall the Lord knock shall the King of Glory stand open suddenly and make all preparation 2. The Maner of this Preparation consists in these three passages First the Soul breaks that League which formerly it hath had with Corruptions and reserves it self for Christ And secondly the Soul is most willing to give way to Christ Jesus and to let him overthrow whatsoever shall oppose him Thirdly the Soul is content that God should rule all not onely the eye or hand or tongue or heart but the whole man it opens all the Gates and desires Christ to come and take all the Keys of the house upon him 3. The Means of this Preparation is the powerful Ministery which God hath appointed for this work and it is discovered in three particulars First in a particular Application of the Truth to the Souls of men with courage Secondly in a confirmation of the Truth by soundness of Argument and plain evidence of Scriptures Thirdly in a kinde of Spiritual heat in the heart and affections of the Minister answerable to that which he communicates to the people And this powerful Ministery works on the soul 1. By discovering what is in a mans heart so that the soul seeth that it never saw before and so is driven to a stand 2. By driving the soul into an awe of sin so that it dares not now meddle with sin as formerly it hath done If any soul that hath enjoyed these Means any while is not yet fitted and prepared it is a fearful suspition that God will never confer any good to that soul Go home then if there be any such and reason with your own souls and plead with your own hearts saying Lord why not yet am I humbled and prepared will Exhortations never prevail with me will Terrors and Reproofs never break my heart into pieces I have heard Sermons that would have shaken the very stones I trod on that would have moved the very seat I sate on the very fire of Hell hath flashed in my face I have seen even the plagues of Hell and if any thing can do me any good why not then those Exhortations Instructions Admonitions and Reproofs that I have often had I have had as powerful means as may be which never yet did me good The Lord be merciful to such a poor soul the Lord turn the heart of such a poor sinner that he may lay hold of mercy in due time CHAP. II. SECT. 1. The general Circumstances of Preparation on Gods part BUt for a further distribution which shall be our method In this Preparation two things are considerable The General circumstances Substantial parts The general circumstances are twofold some on Gods part Mans part On Gods part they are these 1. The offer of Christ and Grace 2. The condition of this offer 3. The easiness of this condition On Mans part two things are considerable 1. That corruption doth oppose this
am afraid therefore to approach near unto the Lords presence Is it so hear what the Lord saith Come unto me ye rebellious people and I will heal your rebellions You that never prayed never came to hear all Rebels come unto me and then the people answer Behold we come unto thee for thou art our God This is great encouragement to a poor sinner he begins now to wonder and say Lord shall all my sins be pardoned shall all my oathes and abominations be forgiven I that slighted so many mercies and committed so many follies shall I be entertained Yes saith the Lord come unto me and thou shalt be forgiven come I command you come 3. The Lord doth not onely command a poor sinner to come in but when he is nice in this case saying There is mercy with God but not for me the Lord then followeth him still and sends another cord after him that if it be possible he may win him and woo him to receive mercy of him If command therefore prevail not he intreats and beseeches him to come and receive mercy and this me thinks should move the hardest heart under heaven We saith the Apostle are embassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christs stead be reconciled unto God rather then you should go away from Christ even Mercy it self will come and kneel down before you and beseech you and intreat you for the Lord Jesus sake to pity your poor souls and to receive pardon for your sins A sinner is not able to comprehend this but he begins to be at a stand and at amazement What that the Lord should beseech him O that thou wouldst receive pardon for thy sins and be blessed for ever Good Lord saith the Soul is this possible that the great King of Heaven should come and beseech such a Traytor such a Rebel as I am to take pardon That a King on Earth should proclaim a pardon to some notorious Traytor this were much but that the King of Heaven should lay down his Crown and come creeping to me and beseech me on his knee as it were to take mercy this is a thing beyond all expectation What shall Heaven stoop to earth shall Majesty stoop to misery shall the great God of Heaven and Earth that might have condemned my soul and if I had perished and been damned might have took glory by my destruction Is it possible is it credible that this God should not onely entertain me when I come and command me for to come but intreat and beseech me to come and receive mercy from him O the depth of the incomprehensible love of God! Imagine you saw God the Father intreating you and God the Son beseeching you as he doth this day Come now and forsake your sins and take mercy which is prepared for you and shall be bestowed upon you Would not this make a soul think thus with it self What for a Rebel not onely to have mercy offered but to be intreated to receive mercy it were pity if I will not take it but I should go to Hell and be damned for ever The Lord he complains Why will ye dye as I live saith the Lord I desire not the death of a sinner Turn ye turn ye why will ye dye ye sinful Sons of men Mercy is offered you the Lord Jesus reacheth out his hand to you fain would he pluck the Drunkard out of the Alehouse and the Adulterer from his Whore O if you break this cord I know not what to say to you this is able to break a Mountain in pieces Shake O Mountains saith the Prophet Why because God hath redeemed Jacob The Redemption of Jacob was enough to break a Mountain let his Mercy break our hearts it is God that begs the blessing is our own 4. If yet all this prevail nothing at all the Lord will then wait and stay in long patience and suffering to see if any time a sinner will turn unto him Our Savior follows poor sinners from Alehouse to Alehouse and says I beseech you Drunkards take mercy and have your sins pardoned The Lord as we may say tires himself and wearieth himself with waiting one day after another and one week after another It may be saith Christ this week this Sabbath this Sermon a sinner will turn unto me what will it never be Are you not ashamed my friends that the Lord Jesus should thus wait your leisure and follow you from house to house and from place to place nay that Christ should every morning appear to your understanding and every night come to your bed-side saying Let this be the last night of sinning and the next day the first day of your repentance O when will you be humbled when will you receive mercy that it may go well with you and with yours for ever If none of the other will move you yet for shame let this cord draw you to the Lord Hear hear his doleful pangs O Jerusalem Jerusalem wilt thou not be made clean O when will it once be A woman that is in travel O how she expects and longs for her delivery I now a throb comes and then she cryes anon comes a second throb and then she cryes again O when comes deliverance Thus God the Father takes on him the person of a travelling woman he travels and travels until he bring forth a son until some soul be converted and brought home unto him O Jerusalem wilt thou not be made clean when will it once be I have waited one ten twenty thirty forty years long have I waited on this generation when will it once be The Lord thus travels in patience looking when we will receive mercy will never our proud hearts be humbled will never our stubborn hearts be softned will never our prophane hearts be sanctified when will it once be Christ hath waited this day this week this moneth this quarter this year these ten twenty thirty forty years on us You old sinners that are gray-headed in your wickedness how long hath the Lord waited on you O for shame let him wait no longer but turn turn ye unto him that ye may receive mercy from him Thirdly if bonds of love move not the Lord hath iron cords that will pluck in pieces to wit the cords of Conscience which thus disputes He that being often reproved doth still harden his heart shall perish everlastingly But thou being often reproved dost still harden thy heart therefore thou shalt perish everlastingly In this Syllogism are contained the Monition Accusation Condemnation of Conscience In the first Proposition Conscience gives the sinner a Monition to come from sin upon pain of the heaviest Judgement that can be inflicted It is the Lord that sends the Conscience on this errand Go to such a man and tell him You have blasphemed Gods Name and you have spoken against Gods Saints and you have broken Gods Sabbaths and you have contemned
to the committing of a sin if it would please God to help me I would forsake my sins with all my heart Why now the poor soul is coming again and God is drawing him again from his corruptions and sinful distempers Fourthly when the soul is thus loosened the Lord then fully plucks it by the cord of his Spirit with an Almighty hand he cuts the soul off from sin and takes it into his own hand that he may govern him and dispose of him according to his own good will and pleasure Thus much of preparation for the substance of it on Gods part CHAP. IV. SECT. 1. The substantial parts of Preparation on Mans part or the disposition of the Soul by Gods work NOw are we to observe the disposition of the soul on mans part which God works on the hearts of whom he draws It is known in two works Contrition whereby the soul is cut off from sin Humiliation whereby the soul is cut off from it self For so it is that either the soul seeth no need to depart from sin or else it thinks it can help it self out of sin the first is called Security when the soul being blinde takes rest and seeing no need to be better desires it not therefore Against this the Lord sends Contrition causing men thereby to know the misery of sin and to see need of a change The second is Carnal Confidence when a sinner begins to seek succor and to scramble for his own comfort in his self-sufficiency against this the Lord works Humiliation causing the soul hereby to see the weakness and emptiness of its Duties and that there is enough in its best services to condemn him for ever Before we speak of the works it is not amiss to begin with the lets The first is Security When the soul is taken up with a secure course and rests it self well apaid in his own practises and therefore it never seeth any need of a change nor ever goes out for a change Now while a man lives thus and blesseth himself in his sin it is impossible that ever he should receive faith or by the power of faith repair unto Christ where faith comes it ever works a change Old things are done away and then all things are become new the Lord therefore to remove this let he burthens the soul extremely and says You will live in drunkenness in covetousness you will have your sins then take your sins and get you down to hell with them At this voyce the Sinner begins to see where he is Is this true saith he then I am the most miserable creature under heaven therefore as they said Men and brethren what shall we do We have been thus and thus but if we rest here it will be our ruine for ever O what shall we do So the soul comes to a restless dislike of it self and saith I must either be otherwise or else I am but a damned man for ever 2. When the soul is thus resolved that it must of necessity change when it seeth his wound and his sin ready before him to condemn him and it hath as it were a little peep-hole into hell the soul in this distress sends over to Prayer and Hearing and holy services and thinks by his wits and Duties or some such like matters to succor it self and it begins to say My hearing and my prayer will not these save me Thus the soul in conclusion rests on Duties I will not say but these Duties are all good honorable and comfortable yet they are not Gods but the Ordinances of God It is the nature of a sinful heart to make the means as meritorious to Salvation A man that seeth his Drunkenness and his base contempt of God O then he voweth and promiseth to take up a new course and he begins to approve himself in reformation of his ways then he cryes Now I will have no more drunkenness now no more scoffing and scorning at those that go to hear the Word and then he thinks What can I do more to heaven I must go All this is but a mans self Why so Christ who is the Substance of all and the pith of a Promise is forgotten a Christ in hearing a Christ in praying is not regarded and therefore the poor soul famisheth with hunger Mistake not I pray you these Duties must be had and used but still a man must not stay here Prayer saith There is no Salvation in me and the Sacraments and Fasting say There is no Salvation in us all these are subservient helps no absolute causes of Salvation A man will use his bucket but he expects water from the well these Means are the buckets but all our comfort and all our life and grace is onely in Christ if you say your bucket shall help you you may starve for Christ if you let it not down into the well for water So though you boast of Praying and Hearing and Fasting and of your Alms and building of Hospitals and of your good deeds if none of these bring you to a Christ or settle you on a Christ you shall dye for Christ though your works were as the works of an Angel As it is with a graft therefore first it must be cut off from the old stock secondly it must be pared and made fit for implantation into another so the soul by Contrition being cut off from sin then Humiliation pares it pares away all a mans priviledges and makes it fit for the ingraffing into Christ Jesus Thus much of the lets and of the works of Contrition and Humiliation in general SECT. 2. A sight of Sin BUt for a further discovery of these two necessary things we shall now enter into particulars and begin first with Contrition which contains these steps A sight of sin Sense of Divine wrath Sorrow for sin The first step is A sight of sin and sin must be seen Clearly Convictingly First Clearly It is not a general sight and confused sight of Sin that will serve the turn it is not enough to say It is my infirmity and I cannot amend it we are all sinners no this is the ground why we mistake our evils and reform not our ways a man must search narrowly and prove his ways as the Goldsmith doth his gold in the fire I considered my ways saith David and turned my feet unto thy testimonies in the Original I turned my sins upside down he looked all over his ways And this clear sight of Sin appears in two particulars 1. A man must see his Sin nakedly in its own proper colours we must not look on Sin through the Mediums of profits and pleasures and contentments of this world for so we mistake Sin but the soul of a true Christian that would see Sin clearly he must strip it of all content and quiet that ever the heart received in it as the Adulterer must not look upon Sin in regard of the sweetness of it nor the Covetous man on
his Sin in regard of the profit of it you that are such the time will come when you must dye and then consider what good these sinful courses will do you How will you judge of Sin then when it shall leave a blot on your Souls and a guilt on your Consciences 2. A man must look on Sin in the venom of it and that you may do partly if you compare it with other things and partly if you look at it in regard of it self 1. Compare Sin with those things that are most fearful and horrible as suppose any soul here present were to behold the damned in Hell if the Lord should give any one of you a little peep-hole into Hell that you saw the horror of the damned then propound this to your heart What are those pains which the damned endure and your heart will shake and quake at it yet the least Sin that ever you did commit is a greater evil in its own nature then the greatest pains of the damned in Hell 2. Look at Sin simply as it is in it self what is it but a profest opposing of God himself A sinful creature joyns side with the Devil and comes in battel Array against the Lord and flies in the face of the Lord God of Hosts I pray you in cold blood consider this and say Good Lord what a sinful wretch am I that a poor damned wretch of the earth should stand in defiance against God! that I should submit my self to the Devil and oppose the Lord God of Hosts Secondly Convictingly that Sin may be so to us as it is in it self and that discovers it self in these two particulars 1. When we have a particular apprehension in our own person that whatsoever Sin is in general we confess it the same in our own souls It is the cursed distemper of our hearts howsoever we hold the Truth in general yet when we come to our own Sins to deny the particulars The Adulterer confesseth the danger and filthiness of that Sin in gross but he will not apply it to himself The Rule therefore is Arrest thy soul whosoever thou art of those sins particularly whereof thou standest guilty To this purpose say Is Murther and Pride and Drunkenness and Vncleanness such horrible sins O Lord it was my Heart that was proud and vain it was my Tongue that did speak filthily and blasphemously my Hand that wrought wickedness my Eye that was wanton and my Heart that was unclean and filthy Lord here they are Thus bring thy Heart before God 2. When the soul sits down with the audience of Truth and seeks no shift to oppose Truth revealed when the Lord comes to make racks in the hearts of such as he means to do good to the Text saith He will reprove the world of sin that is He will convince the world of wickedness he will set the soul in such a stand that it shall have nothing to say for it self he cannot shift it off The Minister saith God hates such and such a sinner And the Lord hates me too saith the soul for I am guilty of that sin Thus many time when a sinner comes into the Congregation if the Lord please to work on him the minde is illightned and the Minister meets with his corruptions as if he were in his bosom and he answers all his cavils and takes away all his objections with that the soul begins to be in a maze and saith If this be so as it is for ought I know and if all be true that the Minister saith then the Lord be merciful unto my soul I am the most miserable sinner that ever was born You that know not your sins that you may see them Convictingly get you home to the Law and look into the glass thereof and then bundle up all your sins thus So many sins against God himself in the first Commandment against his Worship in the second against his Name in the third against his Sabbath in the fourth Nay all our Thoughts Words and Actions all of them have been sins able to sink our souls to the bottom of Hell And secondly that you may see them clearly consider of their effect both in their Doom and in the Execution Onely to instance in their Doom Me thinks I see the Lord of heaven and earth and the Attributes of God appearing before him The Mercy of God the Goodness of God and the Wisdom of God the Power of God the Patience and Long-suffering of God and they come all to a sinner an hypocrite or to a carnal professor and say Mercy hath relieved you Goodness hath succored you Wisdom hath instructed you Power hath defended you Patience hath born with you Long-suffering hath indured you now all these comfortable Attributes will bid you adieu and say Farewel damned souls you must go hence to Hell to have your fellowship with damned ghosts Mercy shall never more relieve you Goodness shall never more succor you Wisdom shall no more instruct you Power shall never more defend you Patience shall never more bear with you Long-suffering shall never more indure you and then shall you to endless easeless and remediless torments where you will ever remember your sins and say My Covetousness and Pride was the cause of this I may thank my sins for this Think of these things I beseech you seriously and see your sins here to prevent this sight hereafter SECT. 3. Sense of Divine Wrath. THe sinner by this time having his eyes so far opened that he beholds his Sins he begins then to consider That God hath him in chase And this sense of Divine Wrath discovers it self in these two particulars 1. It works a fear of some evil to come 2. It possesseth the soul with a feeling of this evil First the soul considers That the punishment which God hath threatned shall be executed on him sooner or later he cryes therefore What if God should damn me God may do it And what if God should execute his vengeance upon me Thus the soul fears that the evil discovered will fall upon him This is the reason of those phrases of Scripture We have not received the spirit of bondage to fear again the Spirit shews our bondage and thence comes this fear Again God hath not given us the spirit of fear that is the spirit of bondage that works fear It is with a soul in this fear as it was with Belshazzar when he commanded the Cups to be brought out of the House of the Lord An hand-writing came against him on the wall and when he saw it his thoughts troubled him and his face began to gather paleness and his knees knocked against one another as if he should say Surely there is some strange evil appointed for me and with that his heart began to tremble and shake just so it is with this fear he that runs ryot in the way of wickedness and thinks to despise Gods Spirit and to hate
the Lord Almighty and to resist the work of his Grace now it may be there comes this fear and hand-writing against him and then he cryes These are my sins and these are the Plagues and Judgements threatned against them and therefore why may not I be damned why may not I be plagued Secondly the Lord pursues the soul and discharges that evil upon him which was formerly feared and now his Conscience is all on a flame and he saith to himself O I have sinned and offended a just God and therefore I must be damned and to Hell I must go Now the soul shakes and is driven beyond it self and would utterly faint but that the Lord upholds it with one hand as he beats it down with the other he thinks every thing is against him he thinks the fire burns to consume him and that the ayr will poyson him and that Hell-mouth gapes under him and that Gods wrath hangs over him and if now the Lord should but take away his life that he should tumble down headlong into the bottomless Hell Should any man or Minister perswade the soul in this case to go to Heaven for Mercy it replies in this maner Shall I repair to God O that 's my trouble Is not he that great God whose Justice and Mercy and Patience I have abused And is not he the great God of Heaven and Earth that hath been incensed against me Oh with what a face can I appear before him and with what heart can I look for any mercy from him I have wronged his Justice and can his Justice pardon me I have abused his Mercy and can his Mercy pity me What such a wretch as I am If I had never enjoyed the means of mercy I might have had some plea for my self but Oh I have refused that mercy and have trampled the Blood of Christ under my feet and can I look for any mercy No no I see the wrath of the Lord incensed against me and that 's all I look for SECT. 4. Sorrow for Sin THe next step is Sorrow for Sin concerning which are two questions 1. Whether it be a work of saving grace 2. Whether God work it in all alike To the first I answer There is a double Sorrow one in Preparation the other in Sanctification They differ thus Sorrow in Preparation is when the word of God leaves an impression upon the heart of a man so that the heart of it self is as it were a Patient and onely bears the blow of the Spirit and hence come all those phrases of Scripture as wounded pierced pricked in the passive voyce So that this Sorrow is rather a Sorrow wrought on me then any work coming from any Spiritual ability in me But Sorrow in Sanctification flows from a Spiritual principle of Grace and from that power which the heart hath formerly received from Gods Spirit so that in this a man is a free worker Now both these are saving Sorrows but they differ marvellously many think that every saving work is a sanctifying work which is false Those whom he calleth saith the Apostle them he also justifies and whom he justifies he glorifies You may observe That Glorification in this place implyes Sanctification here and glory hereafter now before Glorification you see there is Justification and Vocation and both these are saving To the second I answer Howsoever this work is the same in all for substance yet in a different maner it is wrought in most Two men are pricked the one with a pin the other with a spear two men are cut the one with a pen-knife the other with a sword so the Lord deals kindely and gently with one soul and roughly with another There is the melting of a thing and the breaking of it with hammers so there is a difference in persons for instance if the person be a scandalous liver and an opposer of God and his Grace Secondly if a man have harbored a filthy heart and continues long in Sin Thirdly if a man have been confident in a formal civil course Fourthly if God purpose by some man to do some extraordinary great work In all these four cases he lays an heavy blow on the heart the Lord will bruise them and rend the kall of their hearts and make them seek to a faithful Minister for direction and to a poor Christian for counsel whom before they despised But if the soul be trained up among godly Parents and live under a soul-saving Ministery the Lord may reform this man and cut him off from his corruptions kindely and break his heart secretly in the apprehension of his Sins and yet the world never see it In both these we have an example in Lydia and the Jaylor Lydia was a sinful woman and God opened her eyes and melted her heart kindely and brought her to a taste of his goodness here and glory hereafter But the Jaylor was an outragious rebellious wretch for when the Apostles were committed to prison he laid them up in stocks and whipped them sore now there was much work to bring this man home when the Apostles were singing Psalms there came an Earthquake which made the prison doors flie open and the prisoners fetters to fall off but yet the Jaylors heart would not shake at last the Lord did shake his heart too and he came trembling and was ready to lay violent hands upon himself because he thought the prisoners had been fled but the Apostles cryed to him Do thy self no harm for we are all here with that he fell down before them and said Men and brethren what shall I do to be saved For Conclusion give me a Christian that God doth please to work upon in this extraordinary maner and to break his heart soundly and to throw him down to purpose though it cost him full dear this man walks ordinarily with more care and conscience and hath more comfort coming to himself and gives more glory unto God Is it so that the soul of a man is thus pierced to the quick and run through by the wrath of the Almighty then let this teach all how to carry themselves towards such as God hath thus dealt withal Are they pierced men O pity them let our souls O let the bowels of commiseration and compassion be let out towards them let us never cease to do good to them to the very uttermost of our powers And to the performance of this Reason and Religion and pity me-thinks should move us Hear the cry Oh saith the poor soul will these and these sins never be pardoned Will this proud heart never be humbled Thus the soul sighs and mourns and says O Lord I see this sin and feel the burthen of it and yet I have not an heart to be humbled for it nor to be freed from it O when will it once be Did you but know this it would make your hearts bleed to hear him Oh! the sword of the Almighty hath pierced
mean time I dye and starve It falls out in this case with a broken-hearted sinner as with a prodigal childe The Prodigal he hath spent his means and abused his Father and now is there a Famine in the Land and poverty is befallen him he knows indeed there is meat and cloaths enough in his Fathers House but alas what can he expect thence but his Fathers heavy displeasure if a man should say Go to your Father he will give you a portion again would he think you believe this No would he say it is my Father I have offended and will he now receive me yet should a man come and tell him that he heard his Father say so and then shew him a Certificate under his Fathers hand that it was so this would sure draw him into some hope that his Father meant well towards him So it is with a sinner when he is apprehensive of all his rebellions if a man should tell such a soul Go to God and he will give you abundance of mercy and compassion the soul cannot believe it but thinks What I mercy no no Blessed are they that walk humbly before God and conform their lives to his word let them take it but for me it is mercy I have opposed it is grace I have rejected no mercy no grace for me But now if God send a Messenger from Heaven or if it come under the hand of his Spirit that he will accept of him and pass by all his sins this makes the soul grow into some hopes and upon this ground it goes unto the Lord But here observe me that none either in heaven or in earth but onely Gods Spirit can make this Certificate when it is night all the candles in the world cannot take away the darkness so all the means of grace and salvation all the candle-light of the Ministry they are all good helps but the darkness of the night will not be gone before the Sun of Righteousness arise in our hearts Hence it is that it proves so difficult a matter to comfort a distressed soul I shall one day perish saith David I shall one day go down to hell saith the soul Let all the Ministers under heaven cry Comfort ye comfort ye still he replyes I mercy and I comfort will the Lord pardon me It is mercy I have despised and trampled under my feet and I mercy no no Thus we Ministers observe by experience Some that in their own apprehensions are gone to the bottom of hell we make known to them Reasons and Arguments and Promises but nothing takes place what 's the Reason O none but Gods Spirit can do it he must either come from Heaven and say Comfort ye comfort ye my people or it will never prevail let me speak therefore to you that are Ministers you do well to labor to give comfort to a poor fainting soul but always say Comfort Lord O Lord say unto this poor soul that thou art his salvation SECT. 3. Hope in Christ THe minde being thus illightned the Lord calls on the affections Come desire Come love but the first voice is to Hope now Hope is a faculty of the soul that looks out for mercy and waits for the same So the Apostle Phil. 1. 20. According to my earnest expectation It is a similitude taken from a man that looks after another and lifts up himself as high as he may to see if any be coming after him so here the soul stands as it were a tip toe expecting when the Lord comes he hath heard the Lord say Mercy is coming towards thee mercy is provided for thee now this affection is set out to meet mercy afar off it is the looking out of the soul O when will it be Lord Thou sayest mercy is prepared thou sayest mercy is approaching the soul standeth a tip-toe O when will it come Lord here is the voyce of Hope This sinful soul of mine it may through Gods mercy be sanctified this troubled perplexed soul of mine it may through Gods mercy be pacified this evil and corruption which harbors in me and hath taken possession of me it may through Gods mercy be removed and when will it be Lord The maner how Gods Spirit works this is discerned in three particulars 1. The Lord doth sweetly stay the heart and fully perswade the soul that a mans sins are pardonable and that all his sins may be pardoned and that all the good things he wanteth they may be bestowed this is a great sustainer of the soul when a poor sinner seeth his sins in their number nature when he seeth no rest in the creature nor in himself though all means all help all men all Angels should joyn together yet they cannot pardon one sin of his then the Lord lifteth up his voyce and saith from Heaven Thy sins are pardonable in the Lord Jesus Christ 2. The Lord doth sweetly perswade the soul that all his sins shall be pardoned the Lord makes this appear and perswades his heart that he intendeth mercy that Christ hath procured pardon for the soul of a broken-hearted sinner in special and that he cannot but come unto it by this means Hope comes to be assured and certainly perswaded to look out knowing the Promise shall be at the last accomplished the former onely sustained the heart and provoked it to look for mercy but this comforts the soul that undoubtedly it shall have mercy The Lord Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost now saith the broken and humble sinner I am lost Did Christ come to save sinners Christ must fail of his end or I of my comfort God saith Come unto me all you that are weary and heavy laden I am weary and unless the Lord intend good unto me why should he invite me and bid me come surely he means to shew me mercy nay he promiseth to relieve me when I come therefore he will do good unto me 3. The Lord lets in some relish and taste of the sweetness of his love some scent and savor of it so that the soul is deeply affected with it and carryed mightily unto it that it cannot be severed it is the letting in the riches of his love that turneth the expectation of the soul another way yea it turneth the whole stream of the soul thitherward This Reproves 1. Those that cast off all Hope 2. Those that without ground will do nothing but Hope 1. If the Lord stir up the heart of his to hope for his Mercy then take heed of that fearful sin of Despair Despair we must in our selves and that is good but this Despair we speak of is hainous in the eyes of God and hurtful to thee 1. Injurious to God thou goest to the deep dungeon of thy Corruption and there thou sayest These sins can never be pardoned I am still proud and more stubborn this distress God seeth not God succors not his hand cannot reach his Mercy cannot save Now mark
what the Prophet saith to such a perplexed soul Why sayest thou thy way is hid from the Lord the Lord saith Why sayest thou is any thing too hard for the Lord O you wrong God exceedingly you think it a matter of humility when you account so vilely of your selves Can God pardon sin to such unworthy creatures It is true saith the soul Manasses was pardoned Paul was converted Gods Saints have been received to mercy But can my sins be pardoned can my soul be quickned No no my sins are greater then can be forgiven Why then poor soul Satan is stronger to overthrow thee then God to save thee and thus you make God to be no God nay you make him to be weaker then Sin then Hell then the Devil 2. This sin is dangerous to thy own soul it is that which taketh up the bridge and cutteth off all passages nay it plucks up a mans Endeavors as it were quite by the roots Alas saith he what skilleth for a man to pray what profits it a man to read what benefit in all the means of grace The stone is rolled upon me and my Condemnation sealed for ever I will never look after Christ Grace Salvation any more the time of grace is past the day is gone And thus the soul sinketh in it self Will the Lord cast me off for ever and will he shew no favor I said saith David this is my infirmity the word in the Original is This is my sickness as who should say What is mercy gone for ever this will be my death then is life gone 2. This Reproves and Condemns that great sin of Presumption a sin more frequent and if possibly may be more dangerous as they said Saul had slain his thousands and David his ten thousands So hath Despair slain his thousands but Presumption his ten thousands It is the counsel of Peter That every man should be ready to give an account of his faith and hope that is in him Let us see the Reasons that perswade you to these groundless foolish Hopes you say You hope to be saved and you hope to go to heaven and you hope to see Gods face with comfort and have you no grounds it is a foolish hope an unreasonable hope But comfort ye comfort ye poor drooping spirits They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength you say You cannot do this and you cannot do that I say If you can but hope and wait for the Mercy of the Lord you are rich Christians If a man have many Reversions they that judge of his Estate will not judge him for his present Estate but for the Reversions he shall have Haply thou hast not for the present the sense and feeling of Gods love and assurance away with that feeling do not dote upon it thou hast Reversions of old Leases ancient Mercies old Compassions such as have been reserved from the beginning of the world and know thou hast a fair Inheritance You will say Were my hopes of the right stamp then might I comfort my self but there are many false flashy hopes and how should I know that my hope is sound and good I answer you may know it by these particulars 1. A grounded hope hath a peculiar certainty in it it doth bring home unto the soul in special maner the goodness of God and the riches of his love in Christ Jesus It stands not on Is's and And's but saith It must undoubtedly it must certainly be mine and good Reason for this hope hath a Word to hang and hold upon What is that I will wait upon the Lord and I hope in his Word it is a Scripture-hope a Word hope the Word saith The Lord came to save those that were lost why I finde my self to be lost saith the soul and therefore I hope The Lord will seek me though I cannot seek him I hope the Lord will finde me though I cannot finde my self I hope the Lord will save me though I cannot save my self So the Word saith He appointeth them that mourn in Sion to give unto them beauty for ashes will you have a Legacy of Joy Mercy and Pity here it is the Lord Christ left it you I bequeath and leave this to all broken-hearted sinners to all you humble mourning sinners this is your Legacy sue for it in the Court and you shall have it for ever 2. A grounded hope is ever of great power and strength to hold the soul to the truth of the Promise hence take a poor sinner when he is at the weakest under water when all Temptations Oppositions Corruptions grow strong against him and he saith I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul this proud foolish filthy heart of mine will be my bane I shall never get power strength and grace against these sins Here is the lowest under of a poor soul If a man should now reply Then cast off all hope and confidence reject the means and turn to your sins Mark how Hope steppeth in and saith Nay whatsoever I am and do whatsoever my condition is I will use the means I am sure all my help is in Christ all my hope is in the Lord Jesus and if I must perish I will perish seeking him and waiting upon him Why this is Hope and I warrant that soul shall never go to hell I will wait for the Lord yea though he hath hid himself from the house of Jacob The last Use is of Exhortation I desire you I intreat you I will not say I command you though this may be enjoyned if you have any hope of Heaven if you have any treasure in Christ labor to quicken this affection above all The means are these 1. Labor to be much acquainted with the precious Promises of God to have them at hand and upon all occasions These are thy comforts and will support thy soul as the body without comfort is unfit for any thing so it is here unless a man hath that provision of Gods Promises and have them at hand daily and have them dished out and fitted for him his heart will fail 2. Maintain in thy heart a deep and serious acknowledgement of that supreme Authority of the Lord to do what he will and how he will according to his pleasure Alas we think too often to bring God to our bow We have hoped thus long and God hath not answered and shall we wait still Wait Ah wait and bless God that you may wait If you may lie at Gods feet and put your mouthes in the dust and at the end of your days have one crum of Mercy it is enough therefore check those distempers Shall I wait still It is a most admirable strange thing that a poor worm worthy of hell should take up state and stand upon terms with God He will not wait upon God Who must wait then must God wait or man wait It was the Apostles question Wilt
step one step towards Heaven then go to him who is able to work this desire in thy soul It is the complaint of a Christian O they are troubled because they cannot fetch a good desire from their own souls and one falls another sinks a third shakes and they are overwhelmed with discouragement What a wretched heart have I faith one I grace No no the world I can desire the life of my childe I long for and I say with Rachel Let me have honor or else I dye but I cannot long for the unconceivable riches of the Lord Jesus Christ and will the Lord shew any mercy upon me Is it thus remember now desires grow not in thy garden they spring not from the root of thy abilities O seek unto God and confess In truth Lord it is thou from whom come all our desires it is thou must work them in us as thou hast promised them to us and therefore Lord quicken thou this soul and inlarge this heart of mine for thou onely art the God of this desire Thus hale down a desire from the Lord and from the Promise for there onely must thou have it The smoaking flax God will not quench flax will not smoak but a spark must come into it and that will make it catch fire and smoak thus lay your hearts before the Lord and say Good Lord here is onely flax here is onely a stubborn heart but strike thou by thy Promise one spark from heaven that I may have a smoaking desire after Christ and after grace SECT. 5. A Love of Christ VVE have run through two affections Hope Desire and the next is Love A possible good stirs up Hope a necessary excellency in that good setleth Desire and a rellish in that good setled kindles Love Thus is the order of Gods work If the good be absent the understanding saith It is to be desired O that I had it then it sends out Hope and that waits for that good and stays till it can see it and yet if that good cannot come then Desire hath another proper work and it goes up and down wandring and seeketh and sueth for Christ Jesus After this if the Lord Jesus be pleased to come himself into the view of the heart which longeth thus after him then Love leads him into the soul and tells the Will of him saying Lo here is Jesus Christ the Messiah that hath ordered these great things for his Saints and people The Motive or ground of this Love is Gods Spirit in the Promise letting in some intimation of Gods love into the soul thus Psal. 42. 8. The Lord will command his loving kindeness in the day time This is a phrase taken from Kings and Princes and great Commanders in the field whose words of Command stand for Laws so the Lord sends out his loving kindeness and saith Go out my everlasting love and kindeness take a Commission from me and to go that humble thirsty and hunger-bitten sinner and go and prosper and prevail and settle my love effectually upon him and fasten my mercy upon him I command my loving kindeness to do it Thus the Lord doth put a Commission into the hands of his loving kindeness that it shall do good to the poor soul yea though it withdraw it self saying What I mercy will Christ Jesus accept of me No no there is no hope of mercy for me indeed if I could pray thus hear thus and perform Duties with that enlargement and had those parts and abilities then there were some comfort but now there is no hope of mercy for me We demand Is this your case is it thus and thus are you thus humbled and have you thus longed for the riches of his Mercy in Christ Lo then the Lord hath put a Commission into the hands of his loving kindeness saying Go to that poor soul and break open the doors upon that weary weltering heart and break off all those bolts and rend off that veil of ignorance and carnal Reason and all those Arguments Go I say to that soul and chear it and warm it and tell it from me That his sins are pardoned and his soul shall be saved and his sighs and prayers are heard in heaven and I charge you do the work before you come again Here is the ground of Love Gods love affecting the heart and setled upon it it breeds a love to God again We love him because he loved us first The burning-glass must receive heat of the beams of the Sun before it burn any thing so there must be a beam of Gods love to fall upon the soul before it can love God again I drew them with the cords of a man even with the bands of love God lets in the cords of love into the soul and that draws love again to God He brought me into the banqueting-house and his banner over me was love stay me with flaggons comfort me with apples for I am sick of love When the banner of Christs love is spread over the soul the soul comes to be sick in love with Christ Now this love of God doth beget our love in three particulars First there is a sweetness and a rellish which Gods love lets into the soul and warms the heart with you shall see how the fire is kindled by and by As when a man is fainting we give him Aqua-vitae so a fainting sinner is cold at the heart and therefore the Lord lets in a drop of his loving kindeness and this warms the heart and the soul is even filled with the happiness of the mercy of God Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth saith the Spouse in the Canticles for his love is better then wine The kisses of his mouth are the comforts of his Word and Spirit the soul saith O let the Lord refresh me with the kisses of his mouth let the Lord speak comfort to my heart and this is better then wine Secondly as that sweetness warms the heart so the freeness of the love of God let in and intimated begins even to kindle this love in the soul that it sparkles again God setteth out his love towards us seeing that while we were yet sinners Christ dyed for us This commends the love of God the Lord sends to poor and miserable sinful broken-hearted sinners and saith Commend my mercy to such a one and tell him That though he hath been an enemy to me yet I am a friend to him and though he hath been rebellious against me yet I am a God and Father to him When the poor sinner considers this with himself he saith Is the Lord so merciful to me I that loved my sins and continued in them had it not been just that I should have perished in them but will the Lord not onely spare his enemy but give his Son for him O let my soul for ever rejoyce in this unconceiveable goodness of God! Be thy heart never so hard
there and goes away and that draws them and when they grow wet they return back again Now the sea ebbs and flows not from any principle in it self but by vertue of the Moon so the heart of a poor creature is like the water unable to move towards heaven but the Spirit of the Lord doth bring in its beams and leaves a supernatural vertue by them upon the soul and thereby draws it to it self Hence an Use of Instruction This may shew us that the sins of the faithful are grievous to the blessed Spirit not onely because of mercies bonds and engagements which the believer hath received but because a man is come so neer to Christ and the Spirit to be one Spirit with Christ Should a wife not onely entertain a whoremonger into the house but also lodge him in the same bed with her husband this were not to be endured and wilt thou receive a company of base lusts and that in the very face and sight of the Lord Jesus Christ What lodge an unclean spirit with the clean Spirit of the Lord the holy Ghost cannot endure this Let no filthy communication come out of your mouth Ephes. 4. 29. What if there do you may say what a Christian and a Lyar a Christian and a Swearer O grieve not the holy Spirit of God because by it you are sealed unto the day of Redemption The good Spirit of the Lord hath sealed you unto Redemption and knit you unto himself and will you rend your selves from him and grieve him O grieve not the holy Spirit 2. For Examination If thy heart be therefore estranged from such as walk exactly before God because they are humble and faithful it is an ill sign when they are made one spirit with Christ wilt thou be of two spirits with them I confess a godly heart wil have his fits and excursions now and then but all this while this is poyson and the soul of a godly man sees this and is weary of it and is marvellously burthened with it and saith O vile wretch that I am what would I have and what is he that I cannot love him Is it because the good Spirit of the Lord is there shall I resist the good spirit of the Lord and so commit the sin against the holy Ghost away thou vile wretched heart I will love him Thus the soul labors and strives for that exactness and would fain have that goodness which he sees in another Secondly as there is an Vnion with Christ so there is a conveyance of all spiritual grace from Christ to all those that believe in him If you would know the Tenure of this Covenant and how Christ conveyeth these spiritual graces unto us it discovers it self in these Particulars 1. There is fully enough in the Lord Jesus Christ for every faithful soul 2. As there is enough in Christ so Christ doth supply or communicate whatsoever is most fit 3. As the Lord doth communicate what is fit so he doth preserve what he doth bestow and communicate 4. As the Lord doth preserve what he communicates so he quickens the grace that he now doth preserve 5. As the Lord quickens what he preserves so he never leaves till he perfects what he quickens 6. As the Lord perfects what he quickens so in the end he crowns all the grrace he hath perfected And now may I read your Feoffment to you You poor Saints of God you live beggarly and basely here Oh! if you have a Savior you are made for ever it is that which will maintain you not onely Christianly but Triumphantly what you want Christ hath and what is fit Christ will bestow if you cannot keep it he will preserve it for you if you be sluggish he will quicken it in you what would you have more he will perfect what he quickens and lastly he will crown that he perfects he will give you an immortal Crown of Glory for ever and ever Hence we see whether the Saints of God should go to fetch succor and supply of whatsoever grace they want yea increase and perfection of what they have already Christ is made all in all to his Servants why then away to the Lord Jesus he calls and invites I counsel thee to buy of me eye-salve if thou be an accursed man buy of Christ Justification if thou be a polluted creature buy of Christ Sanctification With thee is the well-spring of life saith David and in thy light we shall onely see light it is not with us but with thee it is not in our heads or hearts or performances 't is onely in Christ to be found onely from Christ to be fetched I deny not but we should improve all means and use all helps but in the use of all seek onely to a Christ with him is the well of life away to Christ wisdom righteousness c. all is in him and there we must have them You will say What are the means to obtain these graces from Christ I answer First eye the Promise daily and keep it within view Secondly yield thy self and give way to the stroak of the Promise and to the power of the Spirit for instance Imagine thy heart begins to be pestered with vain thoughts or with a proud haughty spirit or some base lusts and privy haunts of heart how would you be rid of these you must not quarrel and contend and be discouraged No but eye the promise and hold fast thereupon and say Lord Thou hast promised all grace unto thy Servants take therefore this heart and this minde and these affections and let thy spirit frame them aright according to thine own good will by that spirit of wisdom Lord inform me by that spirit of Sanctification Lord cleanse me from all my corruptions by that spirit of grace Lord quicken and inable me to the discharge of every holy service Thus carry thy self and convey thy soul by the power of the Spirit of the Lord and thou shalt finde thy heart strengthned and succoured by the vertue thereof upon all occasions For conclusion to dart this use deeper into your hearts If every believer be joyned with Christ and from Christ there be a conveyance of all spiritual graces unto every believer then above all labor for a Christ in all things Never let thy heart be quieted never let thy soul be contented until thou hast obtained Christ Take a Malefactor on whom Sentence is passed and execution to be administred suggest to him how to be rich or how to be pardoned how to be honored or how to be pardoned he will tell you Riches are good and honors are good but O a pardon or nothing Ah but then should you say he must leave all for a pardon he will answer again Take all and give me a pardon that I may live though in poverty that I may live though in misery So it is with a poor believing soul Every man that hath