have liberty to go sit with her God Her Closet work was no chambering and wantoness but a serious study to make heâ—â—â—â—lling and election sure To this end she reads with understanding observing and carefully transcribing the promises she had gathered up her Bonds and knew how much God was in his Word an accomptant to her Soul and was never in want but she had a Bond to put in sute knowing that he was faithful that had promised She was a consciencious attender upon God in his Ordinances and it was her practise not to hear as one that looks his natural face in a glass that presently goeth away and forgetteth what manner of man he was She would observe mater al passages and upon her retirements record them with her pen if in any thing â—â— doubted she ceased not till she was satisfied And whereas it is the too blame-worthy practise of Christians to seek cavils against themselves striving by their cavillings to unsettle their spirits she rather stadyed to make it her work to find what interest God had in her Soul then what she might have to say against her self nor in this was her labour without fruit Thou shalt read here what a writing she had drawn for Heaven to make it sure to her Soul and 〈…〉 had striven so the Lord had crowned her Souls endeavours with such an assurance as failed not her Soul in her dying hour It was my happiness to be a witness to the latter end of her life It pleased God to continue her holy day to the last hour in such a measure that Death had not an ill look from her There mightst thou haue seen Christian what a conquest Christ had made over Death and Hell Death had in her truly lost his sting and Hell was cheated of its victory Captivity was led Captive I shall commend to thee this little piece penned with her own hand by which thou mayst disâ—â—â—â— with what an excellency of Graces as well as Gifts the Lord had crowned her I commend it to thee not to be read only but that as by a true touchâ—â—one thou mayst try thy own Soul by it and find whether thou beest ready to dye or no. Thou shalt find this choice Servant of God dealing truly with her own heart neither presumptuously flattering nor unwarrantablâ— dejecting her own Spirit For what of â—â—ine is added I beseech thee take the goodwill that he that offers it bears to thy Soul I acknowledg there is nothing of a Schollar in it if there be the more of Christ let God have the Glory thy Soul the benefit and the Author thy prayers who is Thy true Servant in the work of the Lord Jesus John Collings From my study Aug. 27 1648. Infallable Signes OF Saving Grace Each one an Evidence for Heaven each Evidence an Antidote against the Fear of Death Death being to the Soul endowed with Grace only Heavens Gate to enter in by or through it to Eternal Glory and Happiness IT is a â—rrevokable decree of Heaven that all men must once dye yea it is the Law of the God of Nature and must be obeyed no avoiding it The Scripture faith it is appointed to all men once to dye Therefore oh my Soul seeing there is no escapâ—â—â— Death thy only way is to prepare for in get the sting of it taken away so shall it not hurt thee nor be terrible to thee no cause then to fear Death for it shall be but a messenger sent from God thy Father to fetch thee home to him and free thee from all sins which is thy greatest burden and all sorrows and miseries that sin occasioneth and carry thee to Heaven to Happiness and Glory to thy Saviour and Redeemer the Lord Jesus Christ to raign with him for ever in Heaven Now the only way to make Death thus to thee is to clear up thy evidences for Heaven Wherefore on my Soul get thee more Interest in Christ make that more sure to thy self that Christ is thine and thou art his and then no cause at all for thee to fear death As it is certain that Death will come even to thee as well as to others so is it most uncertain the time when it shall come Therefore my Soul defer it not for it stands thee as much upon as thy life may as thy eternal well being for evermore to make that sure to thy self even now while it is called to day and that upon good grounds that thou hast a sure title to Heaven art an heir of it and hast an Interest in Christ then it shall be well with thee after Death that shall be a happy change for thee no cause then to fear it Therefore oh my Soul why art thou so cast down And why art thou so disquieted within me And why fearest thou Death so much Hast thou not some Evidences of Truth of Saving Grace to prove thou art in Christ Darest thou deny it Thou canst not Oh therefore now clear them up view them well again meditate on them seriously bless God for them and let them support and comfort thee against the fear of Death at all times in all extremities or distresles whatsoever may befall thee Consider seriously with thy self hath not God promised to support thee in and deliver thee out of all afflictions and distresses in the best time and mean while that all shall work for thy good Therefore trust thou in him for he never fails any that trust in him rest thou on his promise and he will make it good to thee The first ground work of Grace in thee â—s this God hath given thee the sight of thy self thy sinful wretched and miserable yea damnable condition by nature thy sins both many and great as well thy inâ—â—nd corruption of which David complains Psalm 51. 5. As also thy continued actual transgressions all thy life along which are the fruits of that bitter root either outward or inward to wit thy natural aversness to all good pronness to evil perversness of heart rebelliousness of will disorder of affections and distemper of thy whole Soul in every part not as a meer natural disturbance only but as a spiritual disease a wicked and wretched disposition evil in it self of it self displeasing to God and deserving his curse and damnation of thy Soul and body although it should never break forth into any actual excess And now my Soul hath not God also in some measure humbled thee and broken thy heart too for thy sins Are they not a burden too heavy for thee to bear Wert thou not once in thirte own apprehension in a most desperate condition ready to sink under the load of them Therefore oh my Soul â—o Christ calleth thee to come to him and promiseth he will ease thee Mat. 11. 28. There is a promise for thy faith to rest on apply it to thy self to support thee Dost thou not confess thâ—â— to God bewailing 〈◊〉 with great grief and sorrow of heart
more and thou shalt have more Grace that is the only way to obtain it And remember Mr. Archers Answer once to thee concerning this particular Dear Sister Let not that make thee doubt thou christ no truth of â—ence which is an Evidence or effect of Grace and is not until Grace be â—t is no sign thou hast not Grace but their thou hast Grace These things which make thee doubt added to the former make me assumed of the goodness of thy state Satan ever makes that to be feared and doubted that is true and good These be conflicts of corruption Satan which company Grace These be that smoak that argues fire and Christ will not by 〈◊〉 the smonking Flax They be effects of Sanctification therefore be comforted here with I beseech you Another sign of truth or Grace is Thy very fear and jealousie of thy own unsoundness and deceitfulness of thy heart this acquits thee of hypocrisie and justifies thy sincerity this is a holy jealousie fear of falseness to God and that thâ—se are not in sincerity in thee For first These dispositions in thee desires and endeavors being signs or Grace must of necessity be granted to be signs of sincerity since that that is no grace in truth that is not sincere Secondly thy diligent search and inquiry into thy self and jealousie of thy self is an evident argument of the sincerity of thy heart and that thou wouldst not deceive thy self with flattery false or vain hopes Another signe of true Grace is thy putting thy self upon tryal of others that thou didst not rest satisfied with thine own tryal of thy self but desiredst Gods Ministers whom thou didst judg most sincere strict and faithful much pressing them to deal truly plainly and freely with thee without any flattery as they will one day answer it to the great God of Heaven And they bear witness to thee my soul from Gods own Word of the much of Grace in thee Thou didst not account thy own poor weak endeavors â—o search and try thy self sufficient although thou didst it to the utmost of thy power and ability apprehending that they might be more able to discover some deceit of thy heart that thou couldst not finde out There follows another signe of saving grace that is yet farther Thou hast put thy self upon the Lords own tryal How often hast thou in secret gone to thy God on thy knees and earnestly intreated and beseeched him to search thy heart and reins thy most secret sins and intimate corruptions and that he would shew thee thine iniquity and cleanse thee from thy sin not willing to hide any one from him so David Psal 39. 23 24. Search me O God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me And the Lord hath at sometimes made answer to thy heart That he is thine and thou art his shewed some little glimpse of his love and favor to thee as it were at 〈…〉 which hath been more joy of heart to thee then if thou hadst a thousand worlds Therefore O my soul praise thou this God of love and all that is within me praise his holy name as Psal 103. 1. Oh magnifie his free-grace mercy and love that he hath given thee some love-tokens as pledges of more hereafter Oh my soul raise up thy self to sound out the praises of the Lord and all that is within me bless his great and glorious name For truly he hath delt bountifully with thee Oh how can I how shall I express my thankfulness unto him Surely I will tell others what the Lord hath done for my poor soul that they also may trust in him For truly it s never in vain to seek and wait and trust in the Lord. Therefore O my soul do not be no more cast down and so disquieted within me Trust in God for I shall that is he will give me cause to give him thanks he is my present help and my God As David said so say I. Oh that I could chide my soul out of its unquiet condition seeing I cannot I will complain to God of it and desire him to do it for me as David did Psal 43. 6. O my God my soul is cast down do thou raise and comfort it for thou art able to do it Though I cannot I know thou Lord art able to cheer and revive my drooping spirits and thou wilt cause me to taste how good thou art that I may set forth thy ravishing sweetness unto others acquainting them what great and unexpressible goodness the Lord hath manifested to me O dwell my soul a while here suck more sweetness out of this love of God O how great is this love of God that pardons all thy sins of nature and custome oâ— long continuance as well as later great as well as smaller of omission as well as commission sins of ignorance and knowledg secret sins and more open sins sins in thought word and act sins of thy youth and â—â—per age He blots them out all as a creditor that takes his pen and blots out all debts leaves none to condemn O the greatness of this infinite love of God O stand still and behold what love the Father hath shewed wonder and be amazed and ravished with this love of all loves O the riches of this love of God to thee O admirable superabundant surpassing love O excellent precious sweet unheard of love O wonderful indeed rare unspeakable unutterable unexpressible incomprehensible love O love everlasting one dram whereof is better then life it self much sweeter then the hony and the hony comb Another Evidence of Grace is the sweet intercourse that hath been betwixt God and thee my soul Sometimes thy praying to him his answering thee Gods upholding and quieting thee sometimes in greatest dangers so Job and David Therefore stir up thy faith and live by it for time to come Thou hast humbled thy soul and God hath comforted thy soul Now he hath this communion with none but his own children Another Evidence of Grace is Thy hearty sorrow and grief for thy sinning against mercies and unthankfulness for them and not profiting by them arising from the consideration of Gods goodness to thee whom thereby thou dost offend These are undoubted signes of Grace Psal 51. 3 4 5 6 10. I acknowledg my transgressions and my sin is ever before me Against thee thee onely have I sinned and done evil in thy sight that thou mighâ—est be justified when thou speakest and be cleared when thou judgest Behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me Behold thou desirest truth in the inward parts and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me Psal 19. 12 13. Cleanse me from my secret sins keep thy servant also that presumptious sins raign not over me Rom. 7. 14 15 22 23 24. For we know that
Andrâ—wâ— in Norwâ—â—â— HOâ—â—â— 13. 14. O death I will â—â— thy plagues O grave I will be thy destraction THis Chapter easily divideth it self into three parts 1. A grievous Reprehension to v. 10. 2. A sad Comination from the 10. to the 14. verse 3. A seasonable Consolation from the beginning of the verse where my Text is coâ—châ— to the end of the Chapter My Text begins the last part of the Chapter The sense of which is ambiguously controverted by Expositors Some will have it to be a promise meerly relating to the deliverance of the Jews out of Captivity in which sense some concâ—ive the same phrase almost taken Isai 25. 8. But it is plain from the Apostles Commentary 2 Cor. 15. 55. that it is not to be restrained to that sense The Hebrews opinion is altogether for it But Christian Interpreters gâ—ided by the Apostle generally render it a prediction of the deliverance of the Elect from Sin Death and Hell by the Lord Jesus Christ Some Controversie there is yet amongst them about the direct sense some amongst which is Calvin and Oecolampadius will have it to be a spiritual promise but conditional as if the sensâ— were this If they had repented and turned unto me I had delivered them even from the gates of Death But Jerom with others make it an absolute promise of a Redemption from from Sin and Death by Christ and will make the words to be the speech of Christ promising Redemption to his Elect. Joyn both together and the sense is perfectly this Christ doth here promise Redemption to his Elect under the type of the deliverance of the Children of Israel ouâ— of Babylon The deliverance of the Children of Israel out of Babylon was â—ypical That 's promised here viz. That after a certain time he would redeem them out of the power of the Babylonish Captivity where they should lye as buried for a while But the Antitype was the Elect of God â—o whom Christ promiseth a Redemption from Death and the Grave I I the Lord Jesus Christ Jehovah the second Person in the Trinity Will Ransom Redeem It signifies to deliver out of some bondage by vertue of a price paid by another for his friend I will pay the debt due to my Fathers Justice and Wrath and buy them out of their natural slavery Them The Elect in a spiritual sense the Jews in a plain sense as the words are a promise of a deliverance out of the Babylonish Captivity From the hand of the Grave that is the power of the Gravâ— To be in ones hand is to be in their power therefore our Translation readeth it power Of the Grave The Baâ—ylonish Grave if you look upon the promise as meerly respecting them 1. Sin 2. Death and 3. Hell are all here understood So the Apostle applies it 1. Cor. 15. Thus Christ hath fulfilled it for his Saints I will redeem thâ—m from death It is but a repetition of whâ—t was promised before The word is doubled for it is certain O death Christ speaks O death Spiritual Temporal Eternal I will be thy plagues O grave I will be thy destruction I Jesus Christ will be by my coming and dying and rising again will be in time 't is yet but a little while but I will come and tread upon thy neck thy plagues Jerom and Ambrose read â—t 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thy contention I will engage in the quarrel betwixt thee and my elected ones Death had a quarrel against all the children of Adam by vertue of that original word In the day that thou â—atest thereof thou shalt surely dye Others read it Plagues or Destruction The difference ariseth from the neâ—rness of kin that is betwixt the Heb. words signifying Contention and the Hebrâ—w word signifying Plagues The Greeks read it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Victory I will be thy Coâ—â—ueror Others read it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Punishment just Punishment c. I will be thy â—inâ— with Justice O grave I will be thy destruction Thy sting thy cutting off Here Christ saith I will be The Apostle triumpheth as of the thing done 2 Cor. 15. 55. O death where 's thy sting c. Christ having then dyed conquered death risen and ascâ—nded You have now the sense If you look on the whole Verse you have in it these three parts 1. A redemption promised in which you may note 1. The Redeemâ—â— I Christ. 2. The Act I will redeem 3. The Redeemed Them 4. The time I will 5. The slavery Death the Grave 2. The manner of this redemption 1. By himself I being â—â—aths â—uine 2. With a price paid I will redeem 3. The confirmation of it Repeâ—â—â—ance shall be hiâ— from miâ—â— eyes I cannot change or eat my words I have said it and it shall be done My Text contains the second part where you have Christ threatning death to be its plagues and the grave to be its destruction The Doctrine is shortly this Doct. Christ for his Believers is become deaths plague and the graves destruction There is no change in the Doctrine from the very words of the Text only what Christ here spake in the future tense I will I have put in the preterperfect tense as the Apostle Christ prophesied his coming by Hosea we preach the prophesie fulfilled Two things would here for Explication be enquired into 1. What death Christ is a plague to 2. How Christ became the plague of death and the destruction of the grave to his people The distinction of death is ordinarily known 1. Spiritual which is the souls death in sin We were all of us dead in sins 2. Temporal which is the separation of the soul from the body 3. The third is Eternal The death of body and soul for ever The first consists in the separation of the soul from God The second in the separation of the body from the soul The third in the separation of both body and soul from the presence of God for ever If it be askt concerning which of these Christ speaks and to which of these Christ is a plague and destruction I shortly answer to all First he is a plague to the Spiritual Death a destruction to that grave Ephes 2. 1 5. You hath be quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins By reason of Adams fall all the elect became dead in sins and children of wrath by nature as well as others Christ coming quickens the dead soul with his enlivening Grace Ezek. 16. 6. I said unto thee while thou wert in thy blood live yea I said unto thee while thou wert in thy blood live O death Spiritual Death he hath been he is he will dayly be thy plague Secondly He is a plague to Temporal Death Indeed it is the last enemy that shall be put under the Conquerors feet before he resigneth up the Kingdom to his Father First He is a plague to it for he hath delivered us out of the power of it he hath made the door
Yea dost thou not abhor thy self judg and pass on thy self the sentance of condemnatior to be thy due desert and that it were just with God if he had cast thee into hell long ago No no hypocrite ever was willing to have this filthy sink of his wholly laid open to God as thou my Soul art But did God leave thee in this miserable wretched desperate and damnable condition thou art in by nature since the fall of Adam whose 〈◊〉 thou wert then in and so guilty of his sin and not only so but deprived of that Image of God that there is in thee nothing that is good noâ— a strange averseness and unpâ—ness to all good and a pronness and readiness to all evil No no for ever blessed praised and magnified be my good God that out of his own free and unspeakable love infinite mercy and abundant goodness he hath found out a way and shewed thee a way and means to free thee from this misery save and make thee eternally happy that neither Angels not men could do no way whereby no â—â—eature no means in Heaven or Earth 〈◊〉 do it as Acts 4. 12. Neither is there salvatioÌ„ in any other for there is no other name under Heaven given amongst men whereby we must be saved Even then God manifested his superabundant surpassing unsearchable unexpressable incomprehensible love to the utmost to give his only begotten and deerly beloved Son the Lord Jesus Christ the second Person in the Trinity God to take upon him our nature and dye and shed his most pretious blood for sinners of whom thou art chief and in the Gospel God offereth his Son Christ freely to all that will come and drink of this water of Life freely as Rev. 22. 17. therefore as freely to thee as any other Yet further to heighten this wonderful Love of God consider the time when he did this even then when thou desiredst it nor nor soughtst it nay when thou wert an enemy and traytor to him and then for God so infinite in Majesty so to condescend to poor wretched sinful man that had so falâ— and plunged himself into such a woful sinful and damnable condition Oh how great is the riches of his mercy and love Yet God 〈◊〉 not there but behold more in the Gospel he opens the worth Excellency All sufficiency and Fitness of Christ to save thee in particular and he helps thee with grounds and incouragements to beleeve in Christ though but weakly and he doth in some measure strengthen thee to rest and cast thy self on his mercy in Christ because of his promises yea at such times as there is a sense of the waâ—â— of him so David Psalm 42. 5 8 9 11. And now my Soul â—ast thou not not accepted of and imbraced this free offers or render of Christ made to thee by God thy Father in as much as the Gospel is preached to thee and that upon his own terms in all his offices applying him to thy self to be thy King and Soveraign Lord to rule and govern thee by his Laws his Word and his Spirit to be thy Prophet to discover the Counâ—ile of God to thee and reveal himself to thee in his Gospel and to guide and instruct thee in his Baths Dost thee not as much and heartily desire to have Christ rule thee as to love thee or â—oâ—he a Priest to offer up himself a Sacrifice for thee Thou darest not thou canst not deny it A second Sign or Evidence of Saving Grace â—o thy earnest and unsatisfied restless desire of Christ Nothing but Christ can satisfie my Soul I thrist after him my hearts pants for him as the Hart after the rivers of water so panteth my Soul for thee O Lord and I will never give thee rest but will wrastle with thee as thy Servant Jacob once did I will never let thee go thou that hast promised to give Christ to them that ask till thou give me Christ and make me to know that he is mine and I am his I can in truth say so for as I can search and know mine own heart if it do not deceive me as the Apostle saith Phil. 3. 7 8. The things that werâ— advantage to me I now account loss for Christs sake yea I esteem all things but as dung incomparison of Christ Dost not thou my Soul prize Christ sat afore all outward contentments Even in the height of them they are but as withered flowers to thee no pleasure not sweetness in them without Christ Nay no inward corruption but thou art right willing to part with for him It 's not the manner of Hypocrites to be thus willing to relinquish all outward contentments much less to â—aâ—don all inward corruptions for Christ but in them is still some private Reservation But the earnest desire of my Soul is to have all sin subdued in me Lord Lord by the power of thy holy Spirit mortifie and kill every sin Oh! let not any one sin rule in me that I should obey it in the lust of it though sin doe well in me yet let me overcome it truly it is my heavy burden that I am in yoked with sin therefore long I to go out of my self for in me is nothing that is good But in Christ is all ability to duty and against sin all life and profit from the Ordinances and Christ conveys all especially to his Members by their resting on him for it which we call beleeving Now Gods gracious invitations to come to Christ thou my Soul dost imbrace and upon the serious consideration of the all-sufficiency fitness and willingness of Christ to save thee and the infinite love of the Father to give his Son for thee and the unspeakable love of Christ in his condescâ—ntion to the Father so to dye and undergo all the wrath of God and all for thee and the freeness of the mercy of God offering Christ in the Gospel and his Commandment to beleeve as 1 John 3. 23. And this is his Commandment that we should beleeve in the name of his Son Jesus Christ Also the sweetness and freeness of his promises to them that beleeve Now in obedience to the one and confidence of the other thou my Soul are at length thereby imboldened and incouraged to repair to Christâ— and by the freeness of the promises art incouraged to apply them to thy self not daring to exclude thy self but dost beleeve though but weakly A third Sign or Evidence of Saving Grace is thy Faith thy full purpose of heart and setled resolutions and endevors still ever to rest and 〈◊〉 upon the Lord Jesus and his merits alone for the discharge of thy sins thy Sanctification Justification thy Souls safety and salvation this indeed is the very act of justifying Faith to which life and salvation is so oft in the word promised and shall unsailably be made good well therefore mayst thou rest satisfied in it yet I rest on him to strengthen my weak faith I
say not that Faith as my act doth justifie me but it is instrumental as it 's hand to receive Christ and unite thee to him those righteousness alone is the meritorious cause of thy Justification Now here is a promise for thee to rest on John 3. 16 36. Whosoever believeth in Christ shall not perish but have everlasting life And he that believeth in the Son hath everlasting life Now my Soul exercise thy Faith apply this promise to thy self I beleeve and therefore I shall have everlasting life Labor for that reflect act of thy Soul to know more that thou dost beleeve The sincerity whereof in thee is in some measure approved by thy resigning and giving up thy self wholly to him as the Apostle Gal. 2. 20. I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and thâ— life which I now live in the flesh I live by the Faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me Desiring as well to be ruled and guided by him as saved by him purged as pardoned freed from the power as the punishment of sin cleansed from the filth as discharged of the guilt of sin What though thou art not able wholly to put it in practise but lost full of and come short in performance thereof was not this the Apostle Paul his own case which he so â—â—â—gely deploreth Rom. 7. 15. 23. I allow not that which I do for what I would that do I not but what I hate that do I. I see another Law in my members rebelling against the Law of my mind and leaving me Captive to the Law of sin which is in my members It sufficeth to warrant the sincerity of thee my Soul and Spirit in this case that with the same Apostle in the same place Thou takest notice of thy failings art grived for them there is in thee a nature or part that abhors them thou watchest against them endeavorest what thou canst to reclaim thy self upon discovery of falling laborest by carnest prayer to God against them and continuest constant in the use of the means sanctified by him for spiritual strength and abillity and restest on Christ and expectest from him power to overcome thy corruptions Therefore comfort thy self herein O my Soul and apply this to thy self for thou art but in the same case that Apostle Paul was then in who at that very time had truth of grace and was even then in a most happy and blessed condition Therefore fear not though thou findest many temptations either to despair or to think all thy hope but presumption none of the Saints or Servants of God was ever heard praying to be rid utterly of their corruptions forthwith and at once Suffice them and thee it may and must that he will one day rid them utterly of all and mean while to support thee Know that thy corruptions shall never so prevail against thee as to reduce thee again to the sway and soveraignty it once had in thee when it had its throne in thee these shew that there is a part in thee that is regenerated as Paul had Now to such as these are the promises of God made good Malla 3. 16 17. A book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and thought upon his name And they shall be to me saith the Lord of Hâ—sts in thee day a flock and I will spare them and man spareth his own son that serveth him 2 Chron. 30. 18 19 20. Hezekiah prayeth to the Lord to be merciful to him that prepareth his whole heart to seek the Lord God though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the Sanctuary And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people Psal 33. 18 19. Behold the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him and upon them that trust in his mercy to deliver their Souls from death and to preserve them in famine Psal 37. 40. The Lord shall help them and deliver them from the wicked and shall save them because they trust in him Psal 34. 22. The Lord redeemeth the Souls of his Servants and none that trust in him shall perish Oh my Soul set thy Faith a work lo here are promises for it to rest on apply them to thy self for they are precious Another Sign or Evidence of Grace is thy constant desire of and love to the Ordinances of God whereby these may be attained and that for this very end that thou mayst know what God requires of thee and be enabled to practise it and get strength against thy corruptions endeavouring to apply thy self thereto with delight in the use of them This evidently testifies the sincerity of thy desire love and affection to God as David urgetâ—â— oft and presseth the like for himself Psa 119. 11. I have hid thy promise in my heart that I might not sin against thee Also Vers 24. Thy testimonies are my delight and my counsellors And Ver. 33. Teach me O Lord the way of thy statutes and I will keep it even to the and. Also Vers 40. Behold I desire thy commandments quicken me in thy righteousness Hypocrites desire the and only delight in them for by and sinister ends not enduring them where they find they cross their corruptions But the closer they come home to thee and most strike at thy corruptions the better thou likest and more lovest them thou dost not spare any sin I have sworn that I will Psa 119. 106 keep thy righteous judgments Another evidence of Saving Grace is thy hatred of every false way desiring God to discover to thee thine iniquity that thou art most prone or aptest to fall into by natural inclination custom or company This was made an argument of Davids integrity Therefore O my Soul make thou the same application to thy self also to uphold and comfort thee And dost thou not groan under the â—urthen of thy inward corruptions and thoughes as well as actual transgressions Wouldst not thou fain be rid of them Is it not thy greatest grief that thou dost dayly so sin against God who is so good so loving and merciful to thee Thou darest not deny it Oh that I might and could so live as never to commit any one sin more so long as I live to offend so good a God as he is to me not no more grieve nor quench his holy Spirit in the motions of it â— I resolve so to do Oh that I could do so Another sign of true Grace Hast thou not respect unto all Gods Commandments desiring universality of sincere obedience to all alike not shunning any one nor reserving any sin to thy self So David Psa 119. 5 6. O that my ways were directed to keep thy Statutes Then should I not be ashamed when I have respect unto all thy Commandments And when fallen dost thou not loath thy self the more for that and renew thy faith in Christ and repentance as sin is renewed
desire it more then my appointed food thou Lord sure I trust will be prevailed with Seeing the unjust Judg was so through importunity shall not the just and righteous yea merciful God be prevailed withall when importuned for that which he promiseth to give Yes surely he will most certainly make good even that promise to thee my soul in particular Do but trust in him and press him with his own Word nay more it 's a part of that new Covenant that God hath made with his servants that he will take away the heart of stone that is all that hinders Grace and he will give them a new heart and put his Laws in their inward parts and write it in their hearts and will be their God and they shall be his people Jer. 31. 33. and Ezâ—ek 36. 25 26 27. And that he will put his Spirit within us and cause us to walk in his statutes beleeve so and it shall be so to thee Be encouraged and wrestle still for thou shalt obtain in the end Hath God said it Build thou on it Only go on in use of his means limit not the holy one he is a free Agent he may work when and how he pleaseth he delights to hear his children beg and cry oft to him and remember how prevalent prayer in Faith hath been with God how great things it hath obtained of God for particular Servants of God as that of Peters delivery by the prayers of the Church Acts 12. when condemned to dye the next morning and no way or means that he knew â—t to escape And so for Nations too Doth the Lord then say seek my face Oh let my heart Answer Lord thy face I do I will still seek and wait till thou Answer Another Evidence of Grace is Thy earnest desire to serve the Lord in sincerity with an upright heart above the desire of Life it self so far as thou canst search and knowest ought by thy self this must needs be an infallible sign of true Grace for nothing but truth of Grace can possibly desire this Another sign of true Grace is Thou fearest at some times that thou hast no true Faith or at least that it is decaying dying with thee when as no true Grace either stands at a stay or decays which makes thee full of discouragements and disquietness of spirit fearing thy estate is not good but what ever change is in thee O my Soul of seeming decay in Grace or increase of corruption yet thou canst not but be sure in the main for wher there is a sense of sins evil and a groaning under it a high Valuation of Christ and Grace and longing after it with a self-emptiness a desire and purpose to hang on Christ as thou darest not deny but 〈◊〉 in some measure in thee there is ground of comfort and therefore apply it to thy self else thou wrongest thy self and the spirit also Thou fearest falling into sin let it make thee more watchful and trust more and more carefully in Christ the view of thy wants should not discourage thee but abase thee in thine own esteem quicken thee to use the means and press thee to go to Christ and rest on him who can and will help all that thus repair to him Therefore fear not falling off for God hath promised to put his Fear into the hearts of his that they shall not depart from him Jer. 32. 40. Apply that promise to thy self by Faith Having once true Grace it can never be lost why therefore O my Soul art thou so cast down and why art thou so disquieted within me Trust stil in God for I will or shall yet give him thanks he is my present help and my God Psalm 42. 5 11 verses Or art thou thus disquieted because thou art often foiled by sins that thou resolvest against Oâ— consider thou hast an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ who is thy Reconciliation he sitteth at the right hand of God and there he plead thy cause for thee Or is it because thou art still full of fears that thy Grace is not true Thou didst once beleeve it was true and that upon good ground Therefore question not that ground-work now that were to go about to rip up or undo all that work of Grace that God hath wrought in thee Why then is it O my Soul because of those inward corruptions within thee that rebel against the Law and Will of God and such effects of them as thou canst not be rid off with whatsoever care and caution thou canst use Or such sins slips and oversights as thou art unwillingly overtaken withall or dost inconsiderately slip into For thou dost not allow thy self in any known sin For this remember what was once my Cozen Gatakers Answer hereunto to wit consider S. Paul his case read but what he saith of himself Rom. 7. from vers 15. to vers 24. That which I do I allow not for what I would haâ— do I not but what I hate that do I. If then I do that which I would not I consent unto the Law that it is good Now then it is no more I that do it but sin that dwelleth in me For I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing For to will is present with me but how to perform that which is good I find not For the good that I would that do I not but the evill which I hate that do I. I find then a Law that when I would do good evil is present with me For I delight in the Law of God after the inward man but I see another Law in my members warring against the Law of my mind and bringing me into Captivity to the Law of sin which is in my members And if you can say more of your self then he there doth of himself I much marvel if not you may conclude your estate to be no worse then his was God indeed hears the prayers of his but yet he doth not presently give in kind the thing prayed for The Apostle Paul was heard when he prayed to be rid wholly of some corruption and temptation that he was anoyed and often foiled with 2 Cor. 12. 7 8. Lest I should be exalted above measure through the Abundance of the Rovelations there was given to me a throne in the flesh the massenger of Satan to buffet me For this thing I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me Remember Gods Answer to him vers 9. My Grace is sufficient for thee So shall it be my Soul to thee if thou rest on his Word it shall be so But mark he was not presently freed from it but upheld in it Or is it out of the sense of thy want and great need of more Grace Oh let not that discourage thee indeed thou hast the more need to go to Christ by Faith who is the Fountain and Spring of all he hath enough and so fetch vertue and strength from him beleeve
the Law is spiritual but I am carnal sold under sin For that which I do I allow not for what I would that do I not but what I hate that do I For I delight in the Law of God after the inward man But I see another law in my members warring against the law of my minde and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death 2 Cor. 7. â—â— Godly sorrow causeth repentance unto salvation not to be repented of Lord give me more of that sorrow Now God reckons not thy failings nor imputes thy corruptions to thee as thine as by his Apostle and his Spirit speaking in him he assures thee Rom. 7. 16 17. If then I do that which I would not I consent unto the Law that it is good Now then it is no more I that do it but sin that dwelleth in me But God accepts thy person and performances in his Son as he did Paul there though never so poor and imperfect he regardeth not so much what thou art or dost as what thou wouldâ—â— be and do Another evidence of Saving Grace is thy hearty and true love to the children of God for Grace-sake meerly for the good thou seest and beleevest to be in them even those who otherwise thou couldst not love this the Apostle John makes to be a signe That we are translated from death to life because we love the brethren as 1 Joh. 3. 14. Therefore as it gives attestation for thee my Soul so take thou the comfort of it from Gods own Word and bless God with humble thankfulness for it so David Psa 119. 63. I am a companion to all them that fear thee and keep thy precepts Another signe of Grace is this Thy joy and hope and love is fixed and set not on things below but on things above in heaven this argues that thou art risen with Christ and is that which may well be a pledg and earnest to thee that thou shalt one day appear in and enjoy Glory with him See Col. 3. 1 2 3 4. If ye then be risen with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God Set your affections on things above not on things on the earth for ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God When Christ who is our life shall appear then shall ye also appear with him in Glory Yea thy present dis-esteem and undervaluing of all worldly honors profits preferments or greatness in the height of them accounting them vain and of small value to thee And indeed let worldlings hunt and scramble for them that have no better portion in heaven But thou my Soul I bless God seest better sweeter and more precious and durable riches spiritual things that last for ever that will satisfie the Soul The love and favor of God Heaven and Glory everlasting that shall never perish and peace of conscience and pardon of sin these indeed are well worth the desiring and laboring for Alas the other cannot afford one jot of comfort nor satisfie the conscience when troubled for sin or when death cometh Oh then nothing but Christ will serve the turn or stand in stead I Therefore now labor to get Christ to be thine and then he will not leave nor forsake thee no not when thou comest to dye and hast most need of him when friends and all creature-comforts will leave us And truly the greatness of the world doth oft steal away our hearts These are bâ—â—â—s and snares both worldly credit and profit I mean that take many a soul in their nets by means whereof many come to lose their souls ere they are aware of it because they have no 〈◊〉 or else no hearts to look after their precious Souls that must last for ever after these bodies with all the fading comforts here below are gone and perished We do or may see how fleeting and uncertain all creatures and all comforts here are every day sounds it in our ears and continually our eyes may see it in the corps dayly carryed to their graves and how riches take their wings fâ—â—e away as Prov. 23. 5. I am sure within these few last years God hath abundantly shewed and fulfilled that Scripture How many thousands not only of the meaner sort but of the great ones of the world even now in these our days worth very many hundreds a year now have not bread for their families Men get goods that many times know not who shall enjoy them But I will seek the Lord for at his right hand are joys and pleasures for ever more that shall last to all eternity My Soul this thy setled resolution is a pregnant testimony of thy love and affection to God As also that God hath created a new heart and put a new spirit within thee and thou therefore art become a new creature Again That change which God hath wrought in thee is not always alike not at all times so lively Neither yet again at all times alike cold dead and dull not always dejected not always comforted because as there is something in thee spiritual so also there is a part of flesh in thee that wars against the Spirit so is it with Gods Saints with the Apostle Paul so with David and the rest and when thou confessest thy sins to God in secret thou bewailest thy sins of thought which never trouble Hypocrites or other sort of sinners Another signe of Gods love to thee is this Though thou hast had sore conflicts of long continuance yet hast thou not been overwhelmed nor overcome but upheld and that thou usest in them spiritual weapons arguments from the power of God and from the all-sufficiency and goodness of God and thine own experience of the same having found the presence of the Spirit of God in power so supporting thee that thou hast not fallen away nor sunk under them but resolved still to trust in God by his assistance though he should kill thee as Job did Job 13. 15. at that time when thou hast had no present comfort Another sign of true Grace is Thy searching and earnest inquiry for what sin God layeth his hand of affliction upon thee and thy mourning that thou art no more bettered by afflictions for that is Gods end in afflicting his yea that thou desirest to be draw'd nearer to God by them that thou mayst say that it was good for thee that thou wert afflicted And before I was afflicted I went astray but now I keep thy word As David Psalm 119. 67. Lord make good to me that promise That all things shall work together for good and therefore afflictions to them that love God to them who are called according to his purpose Rom. 8. 28. Lord I would fain love thee The desire of my Soul is to thy name and to the remembrance of thee With my
Soul have I sought or desired thee in the night and with my spirit within me will I seek thee in the morning As Isaiah 26. 8 9. For whom have I in Heaven but thee and I have desired none in the Earth with thee As Psalm 73. 25. And thou hatest sin as it is a breach of Gods Law Another Evidence of Gods Love to thee That at such times as thou hast renued thy Faith in Christ and again given up thy self in more solemn manner wholy to him God thereupon hath given ease to thy heart which is a sign that he accepted what thou gavest him and that he wil not cast thee away I know whom I have believed that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him as 2 Tim. 1. 12. And I am perswaded he will do so And my Soul since thou hast found favor in the eyes of God that he hath been pleased to manifest his Grace to thee consider what cause thou hast of comfort and joy Now that it may be aright conceived what Grace I mean There is a twofold meaning of the word Grace in Scripture First It is taken for the gracious good Will or Favor of God where by he is pleased of his own free love to accept of some in Christ for his own This Divines call first Grace because it is the fountain of all other Grace and the spring from whence they flow and it 's therefore called Grace because it makes a man gracious with God but this is only in God Secondly Grace is taken for the gifts of Grace and they are of two sorts Common or special Some are common to both Elect and Reprobates Believers and Hypocrites As Knowledg a gift of prayer and the like Some are special Graces and they are proper to the Saints therefore called saving Graces whereof some are most principal and absolutely necessary unto Salvation such as is Faith without which none can be saved And some other which are very comfortable as the feeling of Gods love Peace of Conscience Joy in the Holy Ghost Now if God have first of his gracious good will and free love accepted thee in Christ And secondly if he have given thee any evidence of the same by the saving graces of his holy Spirit wrought in thee which thou darest not deny then O my soul bless praise and magnifie this God of love for this his infinite unutterable and superabounding love to thee Hath he given thee any grace It s because he loves thee and truly no cause at all why God should love thee as thou art in thy self but the clean contrary rather to hate and abhor thee But he looks upon thee in his onely begotten and dearly beloved son the Lord Jesus Christ God-man and seeing no other means in all the world to save thee Gods love was so great That he gave his onely begotten son to die for thee And see here also the exceeding great love of Christ to thee that gave himself to dye for thee took thy nature on him stood in thy steed fulfilled the Law satisfied the justice of God for thy sin He suffered on the Cross for thee he procured pardon of sin salvation and heaven for thee he merited it all for thee for his was worthy his righteousness is the meritorious cause of thy justification He is now thy Redeemer thy Advocate that pleads thy cause for thee to God he makes peace with God for thee he â—its at the right hand of God the Father and makes intercession for thee God is now become of a just severe and angry Judg a loving Father in him Therefore now my soul receive all from him by promise that shews his love as a Father Oh the free and sweet love that is in an uncompelled promised I will love thee freely saith the Lord Hosea 14. 4. It s free love indeed in God to thee wards Oh therefore let this special free love of God cause thee to study how to return love to him and live to him Remember what he hath done for thee how thy sins wounded thy Saviour peirced and crucified him and nailed him to the cross how thy sins made his most precious body be overrun with his heart blood how thy own betraying and selling thy soul to sin and Satan made him to be betrayed and fold to suffer and die yea how he indured the torments of Hell as it were the most heavy and sorest wrath of his Father for thy sin What O what great and vehement love was in Christ thy Saviour that made him sweat drops of blood for thee my soul These are as so many cords of love from Christ to thee to cause thee to love Christ Oh that I could love thee my dear Saviour as I should It s my hearts grief that I cannot so love thee as I would Oh my dull and drousie soul awake rouze and quicken up thy self and stand amazed at this love of Christ Shall or can so many sweet expressions of such unexpressible love of Christ to thee pass without Eccho Shall every passage of Christ from his birth to his death all preach forth love to thee And shall thankfulness be wanting in thee towards him Shall his birth work thy new birth his cross take away thy curse Shall his pains procure thee rest Shalt thou â—e cleared by his sorrowful sadness Thou be made free by his bonds happy by his misery fed by his hunger refresht by his weariness rejoyced by his anguish Thou my Soul be excused before God by his being accused before men And shall not love flush and burn in my brest to him Oh my God do thou inflame my heart with this Love kindle some further heat of Love in me give me one drâ—â— more of it draw up my Love and most entire intimate affections Shall I as it were freeze for want of Love to my Saviour when his Love is so hot to me Far be it from me No my loving Lord I do love thee I will love thee dearly Oh help and enable me to love thee more Oh my Soul sleep not under such Comforts never forget such love as this is it is sufficient to fill all thy sences all thine affections And yet see more This Love is not only for some years but for eternity Whom he once loves he loves to the end as John 13. 1. He is a never failing Fountain of Love Oh my Soul therefore distrust not despair not of his Love though thou art so full of sins which indeed of all things God hates most yet behold the Love of God all these though so great so many they cannot separate between thee and thy God but in and through Christ he still loves thee accepts thy person and services It 's not some slips or falls that thou art overtaken withal that are hated resolved against not wittingly willingly deliberately committed nor delighted in nor allowed but slipt and fallen into unawares These cannot finite his infinite Love
He that dyed and bled for thee will not lose thee now he hath done so much for thee No thy sins shall not eternally separate â—hâ—e from him Sin may over-cloud the beams of his Love but it shall not cut off the Being of his Love to thee Be thou sensible of thy load of sin and thou art capable of his Love He that suffered not a cup of cold water to go unrewarded will not permit a â—ar for thy sins or for his Love to go without reward Let not the sense of thy own wretched miserable and undone condition discourage thee not the fear of his displeasure dishâ—â—â—â—en thee there is Love enough in him for all that there is a Sun within these Clouds there 's Love within these frowns Can Christ forget thee whose burning Love made him sweat drops of blood for thee No he cannot he will not he may withdraw himself to sharpen thy desire he may â—â—em lost to inflame thee to seek morâ—â—arnestly and instantly It may be my Soul thou thinkest thou wantest him because thou desirest him and dost not sensibly at some times feel thou hast him but know thou desirest him because thou lovest him you know it 's so in natural love and thou couldst not love him had he not first loved thee But if thy sinful neglects have sent him away from thee let thy future diligence draw him home to thee If thou hast lost him by sin seek him by true repentance and he will be sound of thee He cannot be long absent from a weeping Soul He is Love and that will yearn and melt when it sees tears If thy sins fear the hand of Justice â—o Love is a Sanctuary If thy sins make thee tremble before the Judg Love is an Advocate there 's nothing but the Love of Christ to thee will do it for thee and supply it to thee Oh my dear-bought Soul that cost so precious a price as the very heart-blood of the Lord Jesus Christ wrap up thy self in this consideration Want not comfort while thou hast or mayst have enough yea abundance but make him that is all in all to be thy All in all thy Wants and Necessities Thou canst want nothing but his ABVNDANT LOVE can supply thee Art thou cold in holy duties His love can warm thee Art thou flat in thy spirit His love can rouze thee Art thou still hard under the means His love can soften and melt thee Art thou liveless under ordinances His love can quicken thee Art thou incorrigible under afflictions His love can bend thee Art thou fallen by any sin His ardent love can raise thee and revive thee and make thee alive Oh excellent comfort joy unexpressible and love surpassing Oh thou who art Love it self who art only amiable thou whom my Soul loveth longeth for and thirsteth after panteth for as the hunted Hart after the rivers of water Oh God my God come thou oh come thou and do all this to my poor soul Oh warm heat and inflame me with love to thee who hath so loved me Oh melt my heart with thy love revive and quicken me that am so dull and dead in my self shed thy love abroad in my heart more and more which may enable me to express sincere cordial and hearty love to thee all the days of my life by walking more closely with thee and trusting more in thee and resting more on thee Oh my soul make that good the Scripture saith They that know thy Psa 9. 10. name will trust in thee It s the work that God appoints thee to do to beleeve in Christ as Joh. 6. 29. Also it 's his commandment that we beleeve in the name of his Son Jesus Christ 1 Joh. 3. 23. And Christ himself calls thee that art weary of and heavy laden with the burden of thy sins to come to him and he promiseth to ease thee or give thee rest Math. 11. 28. And he calls out to any that will come Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to to the waters and ye that have no money come and buy and eat yo come buy wine and milk without money and without price Isa 55. 1. And so Revel 22. 17. Every one that thirsteth let them come and who ever will come and drink freely of the waters of life And whosoever comes to him he will not cast off Joh. 6. 37. And besides all these offers of Christ and his command to beleeve there 's abundance of sweet promises which God hath made to them that beleeve as Joh. 3. 16. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever beleeveth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Also Verse 36. He that beleeveth on the Son hath everlasting life He is as sure and as certain of it as if he had it already in possession And God delights in them that hope in his mercy Psa 147 11. And the Lord redeemeth the souls of his servants and none that trust in him shall perish Psa 34. 22. The Lord is a shield and a helper to all them that trust in him Now God that made these rich free and precious promises is Truth it self and therefore is so in performing all his promises God is not as man that â—e should lye neither as the son of man that he should repent Hath he said and shall he not do it And hath he spoken and shall he not accomplish it O yes as Numb 23. 19. Nay more it 's a part of his Covenant with his people therefore Oh my Soul press the Lord with his Covenant and he will perform it even to thee and so all his promises also What good thing dost thou or canst thou want either spiritual temporal or eternal that God hath not promised to give thee And what evil thing caust thou fear or suffer that God hath not promised to save thee from the evil of it at least Are there not promises of giving thee Christ and with him perfect Righteousness and Justification and in this life such a measure of Sanctification as he will accept of both all the necessary graces of the Spirit and victory over every lust and perfect Sanctification after death as also a sufficient ability to every service and duty a passing by and covering of all imperfections and perseverance to the end and in the end life everlasting Again a sanctified use of all Afflictions either preservation from or deliverance out of them in the best time with such Administration of all outward necessaries as he shall see best for his glory and thy good Assistance also in any sufferings for his name and a reward for them And what now can be thy estate in which thou mayest not hope yea and joy in that hope too as Rom. 12. 13. Art thou under the guilt of some sin power of some lust want of some grace absence of Gods Spirit or assurance of Gods favor or under some persecution or outward affliction Hath not God
stand meerly by the latch When Adam had his mittimus made to the Gaol of the Grave Death turns the lock bolts up the door when he had gotten him but once in his custody never intending to part with the prisoner more Christ seeing the Gaoler so confident in his Tyranny Well saith he let him be good of his office for I will ransom them froÌ„ tho power of the grave I will make Death know he is but to keep his prisoner till further order Indeed this was decretally done before the beginning of the world by Christs Word given to his Father and Christ ever and anon in the time of the Jews let his elected ones know there was an evasion out of the grave by the resurrection of several persons but the time of Christs actual and full becoming the plague of death and the destruction of the grave was when he dyed and rose and led captivity captive Thus Christ is the plague of Death and the destruction of the grave for all men and women in the world but to his Elect only for good there is an escape-way out of the deepest grave already and at the last day there shall be an actual freedom Secondly He is to Beleevers the plague of this Death and the destruction of this Grave by taking away the cause of fear of this death out of all their hearts they can stand upon the top of the grave and sing O Death where is thy stiâ—g O Hell where is thy victory The Elect â—ad it noâ— been for Christ for â—eaâ— of death had all their life time been subjeâ—t to bondage Heb. 2. 15. â—â—rasmuch therefore as the children were partakers of flesh and blood he also took part with them v. 1â— that â—e might dâ—liver them The Saints of God can stand over the grave and say Surely the bitterness of death is past though they cannot say the time oâ— death is past 3dly Christ to his Elect is the plague of Death temporal â—n that he hath taken away the final evil of it and hath made that which would have been theiâ— maâ—â—eâ— for â—â—ine and evil to be their desire and servant for good Death thought to have been goâ—ler of the bodies of Gods Saints till the day of judgment and then Hell should have had them delivered up God says No their bodies shall be in thy custody but thou shalt deliver them up refined to Glory to Eternal Rest to be with me for ever So that now it is the voyce of Gods child I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ And in this we groan earnestly being burthened not for that we would be unclothed but clothed upon that mortality may be swallowed up of life Death is ease now to the Saints of God the hard stones are but pillows of doun The grave from a place of terror is turned into a retiring house from the busie sweating world O death Christ is thy plague O grave â—e is thy destruction Thirdly Christ is the plague and destruction of Eternal Death they shall never taste of that Beleevers are past from death to life He that is the Amen that was dead and is alive yea alive for ever more he hath the keyes of Hell and Death Rev. 1. 18. Christ is the Angel that came down from heaven Râ—v 20. 1. that hath the key of the bottomless pit and he that hath a part in the first resurrection on him the second death hath no power Rev. 2. 11. Overcoming Saints shall not be hurt by the second death Now this is our victory that overcometh the world even our faith Beleevers are Conquerors in and through Christ and Christ hath conquered hell for them for the lake which burns with fire and brimstone is the second death Rev. 21. 8. Christ now hath saved them from this this hath no power over them O death he is thy plague O grave he is thy destruction Thus I have opened the first and shewed you what Death what Grave Christ is a plague to Now let me shew you in the next place How Christ is the plague of death the grave of destruction To this I shall answer in three or four particulars briefly 1. By his enlivening Spirit 2. By his dying Love 3. By his rising Power 4. By his ascending and reigning Glory First By his enlivening power Thus he is the plague of spiritual death he comes and sees the soul that he hath chosen dead in â—respasses and sins it neither speaks nor hears nor sees nor moves spiritually it is more cold then the frozen earth Christ breathes into it the breath of life The Son quickeneth whom Joh 5 21. Iohn 6. 63 he will Christ doth it meritoriously The Spirit doth it instrumentally Joh. 6. 63. It is the Spirit that quickeneth He maketh the dead soul to begin to hear the voyce of the Son of God and live to begin to relish heavenly things and savor things which are above to stand upon its legs and walk a little in the ways of godliness Secondly By his dying Love Christs death was that which destroyed death He was the first of those that rose from the dead by power from himself to live for ever Christ dying shewed the grave his power Christs dying was the plague of death 1. In his own example He brake through the bolâ—ed door of the Grave though the stone was rolled and sealed He was he that was dead and is alive yea that lives for evermore O Death he was thy plague in himself he was â— Pâ—t 3 18 dead and is alive thy lock could not keep him 2. In the merit of it Christs death in the merit of it was the plague of death and the destruction of the grave The sting of death is sin saith the Apostle Christ dying satisfiâ—d his Fathâ—rs Wrath and Justice So that though death lives for a while yet he lives without a sting it can do no member of Christ hurt and it shall not live long neither for though it be the last enâ—my that shall be destroyed yet it shall dye too 1 Cor. 15. 26. Christs death was the graves destruction it destroyed sins life which is the spiritual death for Christ having dyed sin is dead too Rom. 6. 6. Our old man is cruciâ—ied wiâ—â— him that the body of sin might from henceforth be dâ—stroyed that henceâ—orth we should not serve sin Vers 9 10. In thâ—â— he dyed he dyed once unto sin Vers 11. Likewise râ—ckon you your selves to be dead indeed unto sin By Christs dâ—ath temporal death is destroyed in the power of it for he himself led captivity captive In the fear or it Fâ—rasmuch as â—â—e children were partakers of flesh and blood â—e also himself took part with them that through death â—e â—ight destroy him that had the power of dâ—â—th â—ven the devil And deliver them that through fear of death were all their life time subject to bondage Heb. 2. 13 14. In the bitterness of it for now we know