but desire he should carry you away out of this vale of misery that mortality might be swallowed up of life If you would doe all this in earnest you would be so farre from feare of death that you would if you were put to your choice with the Apostle choose to hee dissolved and to bee with Christ which is best of all and so farre from fearing the day of Iudgement that you would love and long for Christs appearing waiting with patience and chearfulnesse when your change shall be Indevour to follow these directions then suppose that you cannot keepe downe these fears and conquer them as you would yet be not discouraged for fears and doubts in this kinde doe flow many times from strength of temptation rather than from weakenesse of Faith Moreover what if you cannot attaine to so high a pitch in your Faith as S. Paul had are you so ambitious that no other degrees of Faith shall satisfie you Orare you so foolish as thence to conclude that you have no Faith Thirdly Whereas you say you are without feeling therefore you feare you have no faith I acknowledge that want of feeling and want of sense of Gods favour is that which doth more trouble GODS tender-hearted Children and make them more doubt of Gods love and of their iustification than any thing else whereas I know nothing that giveth them losse cause For first What meane you by feeling If you meane the enioyment of the things promised and hoped for by inward sense This is to overthrow the nature and to put an end to the use of faith and hope For Faith is the ground of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seene And the Apostle faith Hope that is seene is not hope Indeede faith giveth a present being of the thing promised to the beleever but it is a being not in sense but in hope and assured expectation of the thing promised Wherefore the Apostle speaking of our spirituall conversation on earth saith We walke by faith not by sight These two faith and feeling are opposite one to the other in this sense For when wee shall live by sight and feeling then we shall cease to live by faith Secondly If by feeling you meane a ioyous and comfortable assurance that you are in Gods savour and that you shall be saved and therefore because you want this joyous assurance you think you have no Faith you must know this conclusion will not follow For Faith whereby you are saved and set into state of grace and this comfortable assurance that you are in state of grace and shall be saved doe differ and are not the same It is true Assurance is an effect of faith in al that have this assurance yet it is not such a proper and necessary effect which is inseparable from the very being of faith in man at all times For you may have saving Faith yet at sometime be without the comfortable assurance of Salvation To beleeve in Christ to Salvation is one thing and to know assuredly that you shall be saved is another For Faith is a direct act of the reasonable soule receiving Christ and Salvation offered by God with him Assurance riseth from a reflect act of the soule namely when the soule by discourse returneth upon it selfe and can witnesse that it hath the afore-mentioned grace of faith whereby a man can say I know that I beleeve that Christ Iesus is mine and I know that I beleeve that the promises of the Gospell belong unto mee The holy Scriptures are written for both these ends that first Faith and then assurance of faith and hope should be wrought in men These things are written saith S. Iohn in his Gospell that you may beleeve that Iesus is the Christ the Sonne of God and that beleeving you might have life through his name Againe these things have I written saith the same Apostle in his Epistles to you that beleeve on the name of the Sonne of GOD that yee may know that you have eternall life and that you may beleeve that is continue to beleeve and increase in beleeving on the name of the Sonne of God A man is saved by faith but hath comfort in hope of Salvation by Assurance So that the being of spirituall life in respect of us doth subsist in Faith not in Assurance Feeling And that is the strongest and most approved faith which cleaveth to Christ and to his promises and which holdeth his owne without the helpe of feeling For albeit Assurance giveth unto us a more evident certainety of our good estate yet faith even without this will hold us certaine in this good estate whether we be assured or not Wherefore some Divines have well conceived of a double certaintie of things apprehended by mans judgment The first is Certaintie of Adherence and cleaving fast to the thing it beleeveth causing a man from the bare assent and consent to the truth and goodnesse of the promise and from the Commandement of God in his Word which bids him beleeve and rest on his promise for to cleave to the promise and to relie on it and to obey that Commandement which commādeth him to beleeve in Christ Iesus yea though this truth bee not otherwise so evident and cleare to the understanding as to satisfie mans natural reason For though Faith in its minority cannot alwayes comprehend to the full how and by what meanes or why in reason the thing promised should be fulfilled yet because it conceiveth thus much that the things of God are not fully comprehended by humane reason and that the truths of God are infallible whether it comprehend them or not will first beleeve and rest on the promise and then afterward consider how it may be so farre as is fit to be understood by reason Hence it is that albeit reason as it is now corrupt will still be obiecting and will be satisfied with nothing but what it may know by sense and by demonstration from Artificiall Arguments yet Faith even above and against sense and all naturall reasoning will give credit unto and rest upon the bare naked divine witnesse of the Word of truth for his sake that doth speake it Secondly there is a certaintie of Evidence namely when the thing beleeved is not onely said to be true and good but a man doth finde it so to be by sense and experience and is so evident to mans reason convincing it by force of Argument taken from the Causes Effects Properties Signes Contraries and the like that it hath nothing to object against the thing propounded to be beleeved The certaintie of Adherence is the certaintie of Faith The certaintie of Evidence is the certaintie of Assurance The certainty of Assurance and evidence is of excellent use for it maketh a man fruitfull in good workes and doth fill him ful of joy and comfort therefore it must by all meanes be gotten yet it
to be at his owne disposing not at ours It should be your care onely to be present at GODS Ordinances and when you reade or heare the Word or will of God to indevour to beleeve and obey it As when hee saith Thou shalt love the Lord thy GOD with all thy heart Thou shalt beleeve in the name of the Lord thy God and trust in his Name Thou shalt obey the voyce of the Lord thy God and serve him and such like Attend to the Word heedfully and because this Word is infallibly true and excellently good bring your thoughts and heart to beleeve and to approve it and say within your selves these are true these are good this I ought to doe this I would beleeve and doe Lord helpe mee and I will doe it O that my wayes were directed to keepe thy statutes In such like agitations and reasonings of the reasonable soule it pleaseth GOD to give his grace both to will and to doe his Commandements But secondly doe not say that you have not faith and the feare of God and love to him all which God of his free grace promised as you heard to you absolutely which graces are indeed the conditions fore-going the reward promised when as in truth you have them For what kinde of duties be these thinke you Are they Legall which require perfect exact and full degrees of faith feare and love Or are they not Evangelicall Such as doe require truth in all these and doe not exact ful perfection in degrees If you have desire if you can desire to feare him which is the scantling of the feare of Gods people as Nehemiah calleth it so if you desire to beleeve and will to obey in the inmost longing of your soul according to the measure and strength of grace in you this according to the Tenour of the blessed Gospell of our Lord Iesus Christ is true and acceptable through Christ for whose sake GOD doth accept the will for the deede in all such cases wherein there is truth of will and endevour but not power to doe Furthermore if you thinke that it is your well doing that must make you acceptable to God you are in a proud and dangerous errour Indeede God will not accept of you if you doe not indevour to doe his will but you must propound to your selfe another end than to be accepted for your well-doing You must doe your dutie to shew your obedience to God and to shew your thankfulnes that God hath pleased and doth please to accept you in his Sonne Christ and that it is your desire to be accepted through him But I would have you which are pressed with the load of your sinnes looke neerely judiciously and impartially into your selfe it may be you have more faith feare of God and obedience then you are aware of or then you will be knowne of Can you grieve and doth it trouble you that you have so little faith so little feare of GOD and that you doe shew so little obedience and is it your desire and indevor to have more and to doe as well as you can though you cannot doe so well as you should then you have much faith feare and â—bedience For to grieve for little â—aith feare and obedience is an â—videntsigne of much faith feare â—nd obedience For whence is â—his trouble and griefe but from Gods saving graces And to â—rieve for little sheweth that you â—ong for and would have much Let this suffice to be a full answer to the principall doubts whereof fearefull hearts will â—ake no answer Never yeeld to your feares waite on God still â—or resolution of your doubts in â—is best time For it is not man that can but it is God that both â—an and will speake peace to his people not onely outward but inward peace In the meane time though you can have no feeling comfort in any of GODS promises yet consider God in the Lord and that Christ is Lord of all you are his creature you owe to him all obedience wherefore you will as much as you can keepe your selfe from iniquity and you will strive to doe his will let him do with you as hee pleaseth yea though he kill you or though he give you no comfort till death you will trust in him and will obey him and it is your desire to rest and hope in him as in your Redeemer then whether you know that God is yours or no I am sure he knoweth you to be his this is an argument of strong faith And you are upon a sure ground The foundation of God remaineth sure The Lord knoweth his and who be they Even all that professing his name depart from iniquitie And whosoever in his heart would he in truth doth depart from iniquity Something remaineth yet to be answered Many say that doe what they can they are assaulted still so thicke with temptations that they cannot have one houres quiet What of that Doth this hinder your peace with God that the Devill the World and your lusts Gods sworne enemies are not at peace with you So long as you have peace of Sanctification in this degree that the faculties of soule and body doe not mutinie one against the other but hold a good correspondencie in joyning together against their fleshly lusts which fight against the soule you are in good case I meane when the Vnderstanding Conscience Will and Affections are all willing to doe their part against sinne their common enemy Not but that you shall find a sensible warring opposition in all these while you live here even when you have most peace in this kinde but how The unsanctified part of the understanding is against the sanctified part of the understanding and unsanctified will against the sanctified will and so in all other faculties of the soule flesh in every part lusteth against spirit in every part spirit in every part lusteth against flesh in every part For as every sanctified part hath the spirit so it hath likewise the remaines of the flesh fighting one against the other Now if that your faculties and powers be ruled all by one spirit you have a good agreement and good peace within you notwithstaÌ„ding that the flesh doth so violently warre against this spirit For this warring of sinne in your members against the spirit the warring of the spirit against sinne argueth clearely that you have peace with God and this warre continued will in time beget perfect peace But let no man ever looke to have peace of sanctification perfect in this life For the best are sanctified but in part Wherefore let no man professing Chrisâ— think that he shal be freed from temptations and assaults risinâ— from within or comming from without so long as he liveth in this world Are not Christians called to be Souldiers Wherefore wee must arme our selves that we may stand by the power of Gods might and quit our selves like
had faith they should not doubt of their iustification nor of Gods love to them in Christ But many doubt that they have no faith or if they have any it is so little that it cannot be sufficient to carry them through all oppositions to the end unto salvation First if you have any faith though no more then as a graine of Mustard-seed you should not feare your finall estate nor yet doubt of Gods love for it is not the great quantitie and measure of faith that saveth but the excellent property and use of faith if it be true though never so small For a man is not saved by the worth of his faith by which he beleeveth but by the worth of Christ the person on whom hee beleeveth Now the least true faith doth apprehend whole Christ as a little hand may hold a Iewel of infinite worth as well though not so strongly as a bigger The least infant is as truly a man as soone as ever it is endued with a reasonable soule as afterward when it is able to shew forth the operations of it though not so strong a man even so it is in the state of Regeneration Now you should consider that God hath Babes in Christ as well as â—ld men feeble minded as well as strong sicke children as well as whole in his familie And those that have least strength and are weakest of whom the holy Ghost saith they have a little strength in comparison yet they have so much as through God will enable them in the time of greatest trials to keepe Gods Word and that they shall not deny Christs Name Also know God like a tender father doth not cast off such as are little feeble and weake but hath given speciall charge concerning the cherishing supporting and comforting of these rather than others And Christ Iesus hee will blow up and not quench the least sparke of faith This which I have said in commendation of little faith is onely to keepe him that hath no more from despaire Let none herby please or content himselfe with his little faith not striving to grow and be strong in faith If he do it is to be feared that he hath none at all or if he have yet he must know that hee will have much to doe to live when he hath no more than can keepe life and soule together and his life will be very unprofitable and uncomfortable in comparison of him that hath a strong faith But you will say you are 1 so full of feares and doubtings 2 you are so fearefull to dye and to heare of our comming to iudgement and 3 you cannot feele that you have faith you cannot feele joy and comfort in beleeving wherefore you feare you have no faith First if you having so sure a word and promise doe yet doubt and feare so much as you say it is your great sinne and I must blame you now in our Saviours name as he did his Disciples then saying Why are you fearefull why are yee doubtfull O yee of little faith But to your reformation and comfort observe it he doth not argue them to be of no faith but onely of little faith saying O yee of little faith Thus you see that some feares and doubtings doe not argue no faith Secondly Touching feare of death and judgement some feare doth not exclude all faith Many out of their naturall constitution are more fearefull of death than others Yea pure nature will startle and shrink to think of the separation of two so neare and so ancient and such deare friends as the soule and body have been Good men such as David and Hezekiah have shewed their unwillingnesse to die And many upon a mistaking conceiving the pangs and paines of death in the parting of the soule out of the body to be most torterous and unsufferable are afraid to dye Whereas unto many the neerer they are to their end the lesse is their extremitie of paine and very many goe away in a quiet swoone without paine And as for being moved with some feare at the thought of the day of Iudgement who can thinke of that great appearance before so glorious a Maiesty such as Christ shall appeare in to answer for all the things he hath done in his body without trembling The Apostle calleth the thoughts thereof the terror of the Lord. Indeede to bee perplexed with the thoughts of the one or other argueth imperfection of faith and hope but not an utter absence of either You have other and better things to doe in this case than to make such dangerous conclusions viz. that you have no faith c. upon such weake grounds You should rather when you feele this over-fearefulnesse to die and come to Iudgement labour to finde out the ground of your error and study and indevour to reforme it Vnwillingnesse to dye may come from these causes First From too high an estimation and from too great a love to earthly things of some kinde or other which maketh you afraid and too loath to part with them Secondly You may bee unwilling to die because of ignorance of the super abundant and inconceivable excellencies of the happinesse of Saints departed which if you knew you would bee willing Thirdly Feare of death and comming to Iudgement doth for the most part rise from a conscience guilty of the sentence of condemnation being without assurance that when you dye you shall goe to heaven Wherefore if you would be free from troublesome feare of death and Iudgement Learne 1 to thinke meanely and basely of the world in comparison of those better things provided for them that love God and use all things of the world accordingly without setting your heart upon them as if you used them not 2 While you live here on earth take your selves aside oft times in your thoughts and enter into heaven and contemplate deeply the ioyes thereof 3 Give all diligence to make your calling and election and right unto heaven sure unto your selves But let me give you this needfull Item that you be willing and ready to judge it to be sure when it is sure and when you have cause so to judge Let your care bee onely to live well joyning unto faith vertue c. and you cannot but dye well Death at first appearance like a Serpent seemeth terrible but by faith you may see this Serpents sting taken out which when you consider you may for your refreshing receive it into your bosome The sting of death is sinne the strength of sinne is the Law but the Law of the spirit of life in Christ hath freed you from the law of sinne and of death I confesse that when you see this pale horse death approaching it may cause nature to shrinke but when you consider that his errant is to carry you with speede unto your desired home unto a state of glory how can you
it were with a forced wil and constrained yeelding against the will but howsoever it may be with much opposition and conflict yet you must so beat downe the opposition that when you give consent you bring your will to doe it readily and freely with thankfull acknowledging your selves much bound to CHRIST all the dayes of your life for that he wil vouchsafe to make you such an offer When consent is rash faint and not free this will not hold for good any long time but when your consent is advised compleate and free out of true love to CHRIST as well as for your owne benefit the knot of marriage betwixt Christ and you is knit so fast that all the lusts of the flesh all the allurements of the world and all the powers of Hell shall not be able to breake it By this which hath beene said touching the nature of Faith many who thought they had faith may see that yet they have none For they onely beleeve in generall that there is a Christ and a Saviour who offereth grace and salvation to mankinde and hereupon they presume This generall faith is needfull but that is not enough it must be a perswasion of Gods offer of Christ to a man in particular that the will in particular may be induced to consent There must likewise be that particular consent of will and accepting of CHRIST upon such tearmes as he is offered They that receive Christ aright enter into the marriage covenant resolving to forsake all other and obey him and to take up his crosse and to indure all hardnesse with him and for him as shame disgrace povertie hatred and spite in the world and all manner of misusages this they consent to and resolve upon for the present and from this time forward for the whole time of their life which things many neither did nor intended to doe when they gave their names to Christ they onely received him as their Iesus one by whom they did looke to be saved and honored looking that he should endow them with a faire ioynture of heaven but they did not receive him as their Lord. In doing thus they erred in the essentials of marriage For they erred in the Person taking an Idoll Christ for the true Christ They erred in the forme of marriage they tooke him not for the present nor absolutely for better for worse as we speake in sicknesse and health in good report and ill report in persecution and in peace forsaking all other never to part no not at death Wherefore Christ doth not owne these foolish Virgins when they would enter the Bride-chamber but saith I know you not For because there was no true consent on their part they had no faith and their contract or marriage with Christ was only but in speech but was never Legall nor consummate By this which hath beene said others who have Faith indeed may know they have it namely if they so beleeve the Covenant of Grace established in Christ that with all their harts they accept of him and it so that they will stand to it on their parts as they are able and rest on it so farre as it concernes Christ to fulfill it For this is Faith Vnto this some fearefull soules will reply If we have not Faith except unto assent to the truth we doe also receive Christ offered with a deliberate entire and free consent to rest on him to be ruled by him and to take part with him in all conditions then we doubt that we have no Faith because wee have so hardly brought our selves to consent and finde our selves so weake in our consent and have beene so unfaithfull in keeping promise with Christ Truth fulnesse and firmenesse of consent of will to receive Christ may stand with many doubtings and with much weakenesse and sense of difficultie in bringing the heart to consent For so long as there is a law in your members warring against the law of your minde you can never doe as you would If you can bring your hearts to will to consent and obey in spite of all oppositions this argueth heartie and full consent and a true Faith Nay if you can bring the heart but to desire to receive Christ and to enter into Covenant with GOD made mutually betweene God and you in Christ and that it may stand according to the offer which he maketh unto you in his Word even this argueth a true and firme consent and maketh up the match betweene Christ and you Even as when Iacob related the particulars of an earthly Covenant into which he would have Laban enter with him Labans saying I would it might be according to thy word gave proofe of his consent and did ratifie the Covenant betwixt them If you can therefore when God tenders unto you the Covenant of Grace willing you to receive Christ in whom it is established to enter into this Covenant If I say you can with all your heart say to GOD I would it might be according to thy word The Covenant is mutually entred into and the match is made betwixt CHRIST and you And whereas it doth trouble you that you cannot be so faithfull to Christ as your Covenant doth binde you it is well you are troubled if you did not with all make it an argument that you have no Faith for in that it heartily grieveth you that you cannot beleeve nor performe all faithfulnesse to Christ it is an evident signe that you have faith You must not think that after you are truly married to Christ you shall be free from evil solicitations by your old lovers Nay sometimes a kinde of violence may be offered by spirituall wickednesses unto you so that you are forced to many evils indeede against your will as it may befall a faithfull wife to be forced by one stronger then she yet if you give not full consent unto them and give not your hart to follow them your husband CHRIST will not impute these rapes unto you Yet let none by this take liberty to oftend Christ in the least thing for though Christ love you more tenderly and more mercifully than any husband can love his wife yet know ye he doth not doâ—e on you he can see the smallest faults and sharply though kindly rebuke and correct you for them if you doe them presumptuously But he esteemeth none to breake spirituall wedlocke so as to dissolve marriage but those whose hearts are wholy departed from him and are set upon and given to something else If you thus looke into the nature of faith I speake to a soule troubled for sinne you may know and feele that you have it 3. You may know a lively faith likewise by most certaine consequents and effects I meane not comfort and joy which are sometimes felt and through your fault sometimes not but by such effects which are more constant and more certaine and may be no lesse felt than
joy and comfort if you would feele for them Amongst many I will reckon these First you may know you have Faith by your feeling and opposing of the contrary if you feele a fight and conflict betweene beleeving and doubting fearâ— and distrust and in that combat you take part with beleeving hope and confidence or at least desire heartily that these should prevaile and are grieved at heart when the other get the better If you feele this doe not say you haue no feeling Doe not say you have no faith This conflict and desire to have faith gaue proofe that the man in the Gospel who came to Christ to cure his child had faith I beleeve Lord saith hee Lord helpe my unbeliefe Doe not say as I have heard many this man could say I beleeve but we cannot say so I tell you if you can heartily say Lord helpe my unbeliefe I am sure any of you may say I beleeve For whence is this feeling of unbeliefe and desire to beleeve but from Faith Secondly You may know you have Faith I speake still to an afflicted soule which dareth not sinne wittingly for that you wil not part with that Faith which you have upon any termes I will aske you that have given hope to others that you doe beleeve that yet doubt you have not truth of faith hope in God only these questions and as your heart can answer them so you may judge Will you part with that faith and hope which you call none for any price Would you change present states with those that presume they have a strong Faith whose consciences do not trouble them but are at quiet though they live in all manner of wickednesse Or at best are meerely civilly honest Nay would you if it were possible forgoe all that faith and hope and other graces of the Spirit which you call none at all and returne to that former state wherein you were in the dayes of your vanity before you did indevor to leave sinne and to will to indevour to settle to Religion in earnest Would you lay any other foundation to build upon then what you have already layd Or is there any person or thing wheron you desire to rest for Salvation and direction besides Christ Iesus If you can answer no but can say with Peter To whom shall wee goe Christ onely hath the words of eternall life you know no other foundation â—o lay then what you have laid and have willed and desired to lay it right you resolve never to pull downe what you have built thogh it be but a little It is your griefe that you build no faster upon it By this answer you may see that your conscience before you are aware doth witnesse for you and will make you confesse that you have some true faith and hope in GOD or at least hope that you have For let men say what they will to the conttary they alwaies thinke they have those things which by no meanes they can be brought to part with Thirdly If you would have feeling and proofe of your faith and Iustification feele for it in the most certaine effect which is the exercise of your Sanctification Doe you feele your selves loaden and burthened with sinne Doe you feele your hearts â—ke with sorrow for sinne And with all do you feele your selves to be altered from what you were Doe you now beare good will to Gods Word and Ordinances And doe you desire the pure word of God that you may grow in grace by it Doe you affect Gods people therefore because you thinke they feare God Is it your desire to approve your selves to God in holy obedience And is it your trouble that you cannot doe it Then certainly you have Faith you have an effectuall Faith For what are all these but the very Pulse breath and motions of faith If you feele grace to be in you it is a better feeling then feeling of comfort for grace in men of understanding is never severed from effectuall Faith but comfort many times is for that may rise from Presumption and false Faith Grace onely from the Spirit and from true Faith SECTION 6. A removall of feares rising from doubting of Sanctification IT is granted by all that if they be truly Sanctified then they know that they have Faith anâ— are iustified But many feare they are not Sanctified and that foâ— these seeming reasons First some feare they are noâ— Sanctified because they doe noâ— remember that ever they fâ—â— those wounds and terrours of conscience which are first wroughâ— in men to make way to Conveâ—sion as it was in them who weâ—â— priâ—â—â— aâ— heart at Peters Seâ—… mon and in S. Paul and the Iaylor Or if they felt aâ—â— terrâ—… they feare they we but certaine flashes and for runners of Hellish â—â—â—ments liâ—â— those of Cain and Iudas As it is in the naturall birth with the mother so it is in the spirituall birth with the childe There is no birth without some travell and paine but not all alike Thus it is in the new birth with all that are come to yeares of discretion Some haue so much griefe feare horror that it is intolerable and leaveth so deepe an impression that it can never be forgotten others have some true sense of griefe and feare but nothing to the former in comparison which may easily be forgotten There are causes why some have or at least feele some more some lesse 1. Some have committed more grosse and more hainous sinnes than other therefore they have more cause and neede to have mâ—re terrour and heart-breaking than others 2. God doth set some apart for greater imployments than others such as will require a man of great trust and experience wherefore GOD to prepare them doth exercise such with greatest tryals for their deepe humiliation and for their more speedy and full reformation that all necessary graces might bee more deeply and more firmely rooted in them 3. Some have beene religiously brought up from their infancie whereby as they were kept from grosse sinnes so their sinnes were subdued by little and little without any sensible impression of horror Grace and comfort being instilled into them almost insensibly 4. Some by naturals constitution and temper of body are more fearefull and more sensible of anguish than others which may cause that although they may bee alike wounded in conscience for sinne yet they may not feele it all alike 5. There may be the like feare and terror wrought in the conscience for sinne in one as well as another yet it may not leave the like lasting sense and impression in the memory of the one which it doth in the other Because God may shew himselfe gracious in discovering a remedy and giving comfort to one sooner than to the other As two men may be in perill of their lives by enemies the one as soone as hee seeth his danger seeth an impregnable
which also doth minister unto you matter of assured hope and comfort Another will say I doe even faint in my troubles and in my feares and I am ready to give over all what shall I doe What would you have me to doe Your case is not singular many other have beene and are in this case It is no otherwise with you than it was with the Psalmist and Ionah Doe as they in that their fainting did First give not over but remember God call upon him give him no rest Secondly trust on him and wait untill you have comfort That holy man of GOD said My flesh and my heart faileth but GOD is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever Likewise Ionah â— said I am â—ast out of thy sight yet I will looke againe toward thine holy Temple And againe when my soule fainted within mee I remembred the Lord and my prayer came up unto thee into thine holy Temple that is as if he had said unto God I prayed unto thee in the name of Christ and thou didst heare me When you walke in the darkenesse of affliction and inward discomfort Hee to whom God gave the tongue of the learned to speake a word in due season to him that is wearie giveth you counsell and whose wil you in this state of yours follow if not his his counsel is this saying Who is among you that feare the Lord and obey the voyce of his servant that walketh in darkenesse and hath no light Let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon his God Marke it He that feareth and obeyeth yet may bee in darkenesse and have no light what darknesse is this but that spoken of vers 4. viz. an afflicted wearie soule without light of comfort And men thus distressed must trust in the Lord and stay on their God Yet these poore soules who whether they should be sharply reproved or pitied more is hard to say I am sure they deserve both will yet object strongly It is true they that feare God and obey him may trust in the Lord and stay upon God And he hath made most rich promises to theÌ„ that know him that doe feare and obey him See here is promise with condition saith one I must feare the Lord I must obey him I know God will doe his part if I could doe mine but these I doe not what warrant then or ground have I to looke for comfort or any thing at Gods hand for his promises belong not to me I know well that with this doubt the Devill doth much perplexe the afflicted soules of many of Gods dearest children and by it keepeth off all the remedies which Gods Word can afford so that they cannot fasten and doe them good For the propositions of the Word are easily assented unto but all the matter lyeth in the application of them to the wound It is still put off and keepe his Commandements there he promiseth with Condition here he absolutely promiseth those on whom hee intendeth to bestow these blessings that he will put his feare in their heart that they may be capable of them And which is more to the end that men might repent beleeve and live godly which is the Condition to which the promise of forgivenesse and Salvation is made God declareth that he hath raised Christ and exalted him to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give this faith and repentance that their sinnes may be forgiven and their soules saved by him I pray consider well whether al these promises of this sort be not made absolutely on GODS part and without any Condition on mans part Wherefore whereas God hath made many excellent promises of free and great rewards as to heare the prayers and to fulfill the desire of them that feare him and to give life and glory to them that beleeve obey him and that do hold fast the confidence and the rejoycing to the end you see that here are promises of the first sort made with a kinde of Condition But that GOD will give his people both to will and to doe these things required in the condition he hath absolutely promised as hath beene clearely proved If you yet reply and say are not these latter promises made under condition of our well using the outward meanes thereof such as hearing of the Word prayer c. GOD indeede commandeth these meanes to be used and if we performe them aright God will not faile to blesse the good use of these meanes but this well using them is not in our owne power neither is it a Condition for which God is necessarily bound to give Faith and to plant his feare in our harts any otherwise than by his promise but it is a Condition by which he hath ordained ordinarily to give these graces to al which in the use of them shall waite upon him for them For both the giving of his word and the giving us minds to heare the Word and the opening of the heart to attend and the convincing and alluring the heart to obey hang all upon those absolute promises They shall be all taught of God and the rest before mentioned Wherefore let none of yeares thinke that without hearing praying and the right using of Gods ordinances they shall ever have faith and the feare of God wrought in them or shall ever come to Heaven For wee are commanded to pray heare c. and that in Faith or else we can never looke to receive any thing of the LORD And doing what lieth in manspower in the right using the meanes of Saluation is of great consequence although it be not a sufficient cause to move GOD necessarily to give grace For I am perswaded that the best should have more grace if they would doe what in them lay continually to make good use of the outward meanes of grace and the worst should be guilty of lesse sinne if they would doe what in them lay to profit by the good use of the said meanes And the neglect or abusing of the means is sufficient cause why God should not onely withhold grace but condemn men for refusing it But some will yet say let all which hath beene said be granted I finde that God hath not fulfilled these his absolute promises to me for I doe not yet feare God and obey How can I hope How can I choose but feare my estate Let this for the time be granted that God hath not planted his feare in your heart c. as yet May hee not doe it hereafter Sith hee hath made unto you such excellent promises to fulfil them without condition on your part but that you should onely use the meanes and waite Will you not give him leave to fulfill them in his owne time And will you not waite and be glad if they may be fulfilled at any time Times and seasons of Gods communicating his graces are reserved
your selfe to sleep at night you must as Christ foreshadowed David did have thoughts on â—…d and set him alwayes before 〈…〉 When I awake I am still with 〈…〉 saith David in the night remembred God and his hope 〈…〉 meditation was on Gods word â—…iah in the person of all the â—…hful saith With my soule have â—…sired thee in the night yea with 〈…〉 spirit within me will I seeke â—…e early 〈…〉 In the Instant of awaking let our hart be lift up to God with â— thankfull acknowledgement â—f his mercy to you For it is he â—…at giveth his beloved sleepe â—ho keepeth you both in soule and body while you sleepe Who â—…enueth his mercies every morning for while you sleepe you â—…e as it were out of actuall posâ—â—ssion of your selfe all things â—…se Now it was God that kept â—ou and all that you had restoâ—ing them againe with many â—ew mercies when you wake 2. Arise early in the morning if you be not necessarily hindred following the example of our Savior Christ and of the good housewife in the Proverbs For this ordinarily wil make much for the health of your body and for the thrift both of your temporall and spirituall state for hereby you shall have the day before you and shall gaine the most and the fittest times for exercises of Religion and for the workes of your calling 3. In the time betwixt your awaking and arising if other pertinent profitable thoughts offer not theÌ„selves it will be useful to think upon some of these I must awake from the sleepe of Sinne to Righteousnesse as well as out of bodily sleepe unto labour in my calling The night is far spent the day is at hand I must therefore east off the works of darknesse and put on the armour of light I must walke honestly as in the day I am by the light of grace and kowledge to arise and walke in it 〈…〉 well as by the light of the Sun 〈…〉 walke by it Think also of your waking out of the sleepe of death â—…d out of the graue at the â—…und of the last Trumpet even 〈…〉 your blessed resurrection unto â—…ory at the last day It was one 〈…〉 Davids sweet thoughts speaâ—…ing to God When I awake I â—…ll be satisfied with thy likenesse When you arise and apparell â—our selfe lose not that prime â—ime when your wit is freshest with uncertaine impertiâ—ent boundlesse and fruitlesse â—houghts as it is the fashion of most men and women for to â—oe This is a fit time to thinke upon the cause why you have need of apparell namely the fall and sinne of your first Paâ—ents which from them is derived to you For before their fall their nakednesse was their comelinesse and seeing it they were not ashamed It will likewise be to good purpose to consider what base stuffe thâ— wise providence of God hath appointed to bee the matter oâ— apparell The riâ—ds of plants thâ— skinnes haire or wooll of bruiâ— beasts and the Spittle of thâ— Silkworm very excrements and cast apparell of vnreasonable creatures Which as it doth magnifie the wisdome power and goodnes of God in chusing and turning such meane things to such excellent use so it should humble and keepe downe the pride of man For what man who is in his wits will bee proud of the badge of his shame even of that arparell for which under God he is beholding to very plants and beasts Now also is a good time to cal to mind what rules â—reto be observed that you may apparell your selfe so as becommeth one that professeth godlines namely That your apparell for matter and fashion doc suite with your enerall and speciall calling and â—ith your â—sstate sex and age That your wearing your appaâ—ell be for health honostic and â—comelinesse 3 That you rather goe with 〈…〉 lowest than with the highest of your state and place 4. That the fashion be neither strange immodest singular or â—idiculous 5. That you be not over curions or overlong taking up too much time in putting it on 6 Neither the making nor wearing of your apparell must savour of pride lightnes curiositie lasciâ—iousnesse prodigalitiâ— or base covetousnesse But it must be such as becommeth holinesse wisedome thrift and honesty and such as is well reported of 7 Follow the example of those of your ranke and meanes which are most soâ—er most frugall and most discreet While you apparel your selfe it wil be seasonable and profitable also by this occasion to raise your thoughts and to fixe them upon that your apparell which doth cloath and adorne your inward man which is spirituall and of a divine matter which never is cut of fashion which never weareth out but is alwaies better for the wearing Thinke thus If I goe naked without bodily apparell it will be to the shame of my person and to the hazard of my health and life But how much more will the filthy nakednesse of my soule appeare to the eyes of men of Angels and of God himselfe whose pure eyes cannot abide filthinesse whereby my soule will be exposed to most deadly temptations and my selfe to Gods most severe Iudgements except I have put on and doe keepe on mee the white linnen of Christs Spouse the righteousnesses of the Saints that is Iustification by faith in â—…st and sanctification of every 〈…〉 by the Spirit of Christ â—…nd because every day you â—…be assaulted with the world â—…esh and the devill you shall â—…veli to consider whether you â—…e put on and doe improve 〈…〉 coat of male that complete arâ—… prescribed â—…hen it shall happen that you 〈…〉 use your looking-glasse and â—xperience find that it serveth â—iscover and to direct you â—…w to reforme whatsoever is â—…omely and out of order in â—…r body you may hereby reâ—…mber your selfe of the necessiâ—… and admirable use of the mirâ—…r and glasse of Gods Word and â—…spell of Christ both read and â—…ached for the good of your â—…le For this being understood 〈…〉 beleeved doth not onely â—…w what is amisle in the soule 〈…〉 how it may bee amended 〈…〉 insome measure will enable you to amend for it doth noâ— onely shew you your owne face but the very face and glory 〈…〉 God in Christ â—esus which bâ— reflexe upon you will through the Spirit worke on you a moâ—â— excellent effect than on Mos face in the Mount which yet wâ—… so glorious that the people couâ—… not endure to behold it For 〈…〉 this Gods glory which by faitâ— you behold in the Word yoâ— shall be changed into the same 〈…〉 mage from glory to glory even 〈…〉 by the Spirit of the Lord. Touching these things whicâ— I have prescribed to be though upon when you arise and pâ—… on your apparell in the morning and those other which I shâ—… prescribe when you put off yoâ—… apparel at
exercises of Religion and the company of those that be religious ignorantly judging all of that Religion to be such Besides Hypocrisie is high treason against God for it is a guilding over and setting the Kings stampe upon base mettall It is tempting and mocking of God to his face A sinne so abominable that his holy justice cannot indure it Fourthly Gods judgements on such hypocrites are manifold For this cause God giveth them over to beleeve lyes even Popery or any other damnable error or heresie Hence it is that God giveth them over many times to fall from good in seeming to evill in profession and thence from evill to worse even unto finall Apostasie And at last when God taketh away an Hypocrites soule he is sure not onely to lose his Hope which addeth much to his Hell but to be made to feele that which he would not feare being ranked with those Sinners which shal be punished with the greatest severity in the eternall vengeance of Hell-five For after that an hypocrite hath played the civill and religious man for a while upon the Stage of this World his last Act when his life is ended is to be in deed and to act to the life the part of an incarnate and tormented Devill He shall have his portion with the Divell and his Angels When feare hath surprised the Hypocrites who shall dwell with devouring fire Who shall dwell with everlasting burning Saith the Prophet Happy were it for them if this warning might fright them out of this their sinne Consider likewise that Hypocrisie doth much harme even there where it doth not raigne and that more or lesse according as it is more or lesse mortified For first it bringeth the soule into a generall consumption of grace no sinne more Secondly it blindeth the minde and insensibly hardeneth the heart no sinne more Thirdly it maketh a man slight and overt in the best actions Fourthly it causeth fearefull declinations and falling backe Fifthly it deprives a man of peace of Conscience in such sort that a spirituall Physician can hardly fasten any hope or comfort upon him on whose Conscience doth lye the guilt of hypocrisie yea hardly upon him that doth but feare he is guilty For he putteth off al the remembrances of his good affections and actions saying all that I did was but in hypocrisie Sixthly and lastly Besides that it bringeth many temporall iudgements it causeth that a man loseth many of his good workes done in Hypocrisie though through Gods mercie hee lose not himselfe which not losing himselfe is because he is found in Christ Christs Spirit of uprightnesse raigning in him Now to induce you to love Vprightnesse and to labour to be upright Consider the good which accompanieth uprightnesse First temporall and outward but secondly and chiefly that which is spirituall eternall and inward Vprightnesse hath the promises of this life It is a meanes to keepe off Iudgements or in due time to remove them If affliction like a darke night overspread the upright for their correction and tryall for a time yet light is sowne for them and in due time will arise unto them The upright caÌ„not want health wealth friends or any thing that can be good for them Moreover this uprightnesse doth not onely provide well for a mans selfe but if any thing can leave a blessing and a good portion to his Children and to his Childrens Children Vprightnes will The holy Ghost saith the generation of the upright shall be blessed The spirituall blessings which belong to the upright are manifold The upright man is Gods faverite even his delight Hee is hereby assured of his Salvation For although an upright man may fall into many grievous sinnes yet presumptuous sinnes shall not reigne over him he shall be kept from the great transgression he shal never sinne the sinne unto death Yea hee shall be kept from the dominion of every sinne By uprightnes a man is strengthened in the inward man it being that Girdle that buckleth and holdeth together the maine peeces of the complete armor Nay it is that which giveth proofe to every piece of that armour it strengthneth the backe and loynes yea the very heart of him that is begirt with it Hee that is upright is sure to haue his prayers heard and to be made able to profit by the Word of God and by all his holy Ordinances Doe not my words saith God doe good to him that walketh uprightly The upright mans services to God in prayer hearing receiving Sacraments c. though performed with much weakenesse and imperfections shal through Christ bee accepted of God Nay where there is not power the will of an upright man is taken for the deed and where there is power and deed both even there the uprightnesse and readines of the will is taken for more than the deed according to that commendation of them who were said not onely to doe but to be willing a yeare agoe For many do good things which yet doe them not with an upright will and ready minde 6 The upright man hath alwayes matter â—f boldnesse before men He can make an Apologie and Defence for himselfe against the slanders of wicked men and against the accusations of Satan who are ready upon every slight occasion to hiâ— him in the teeth and say he is an hypocrite and that all which he doth is but in hypocrisie but hee can gave all them thelyâ— that charge him with dissimulation or hypocrisie He knoweth more of his hypocrisie than they can tell him he findeth fault with it and accuseth himselfe for it more than they can doe yet this he can say hee alloweth it not he hateth it and his hart is upright towards God He careth not though adversariâ—t write a booke against him Iob 19. 2â— 24 25. He hath his defence if men will receive it they may if not he dareth to appeale to Heaven For his Record is on high Hee hath alwayes a witnesse both within him and in Heaven for him 7. Vprightnesse is an excellent Preventer and Curer of despaire arising from accusations of Conscience even of a wounded Spirit of which Salomon saith Who can beare it For either it keepeth it off Iob 27 5 6. Or if it be wounded this Vprightnesse in beleeving and in willing to reforme and obey is a most soveraigne meanes to cure and quiet it or at least it will allay the extremitie of it Not but that an upright man may have trouble of minde and that in some extremitie but he may thanke himselfe for it because he will not see acknowledge that Vprightnesse which he hath and doth not apply it nor cherish it which if he wold doe there is nothing would answer the accusations of his accusing Conscience nor bring more feeling comfort to the soule soo ner or better than this will 8
spirit of spirituall ioy Where it doth testifie that you are Gods children there it will give you new harts causing you to desire and endevour to live like Gods children in reverent feare and love leading you in the right way checking you and calling you backe out of the way of sinne stirring you up to prayer with sighes desires and inward groanes at least making you to coÌ„fesse your sinnes and to aske and hope for pardon in the name of CHRIST And will still be putting you on to live like obedient children giving you no quietif you doe not Thus much of the first and principall meanes of getting true peace and comfort Secondly If you would have the invaluable Iewell of pâ—ace then abstaine as much as is possible from the act of all grosse and from all presumptuous sins and from the allowance of any sinne For the more sin the more guilt and the lesse sin the lesse guilt Now the lesse guilt lyeth upon the Conscience the more peace of Conscience the more guilt the lesse peace Thirdly When you fall into sinne for who liveth and sinneth not then with all speed affect your heart with godly sorrow for it cause it to be a burden and a load and wearinesse to the Conscience but withall affect your heart wiâ—h hope of mercy forgivenes and grace through Christ. Then with all humble submission you must seeke unto GOD the God of peace but come to him by Christ Iesus the Prince of peace upon whom lay the chastisement of your peace Aske mercy and forgivenesse Aske repentance grace and new obedience Beleeve in Christ If you doe all this then you come unto Christ and unto God by Christ according to his Commandement and you have his sure promise that you shall have rest to your soules This doe for in Christ onely can you have peace This true application of CHRISTS bloud and satisfaction will so sprinkle the Conscience from the guilt of sinne that there shall remaine no more Conscience for sinne that is no more guilt which shall draw upon you the wrath of God and eternall punishment for sinne whence must needs follow peace of Conscience because the Conscience hath nothing to accuse you of guiltinesse being washed off by Christs bloud As soone as David after his foule sinnes could come thus to God his heart had ease But when you have thus gotten a good and cleare Conscience take heede of defiling it againe or giving it any matter of unrest Be as tender in keeping your Conscience unspotted and unwounded as you are of the apple of your eye Sin not against knowledge and Conscience and in any case smother not the good checks and watchwards of your Conscience For if being washed you doe againe defile it this will cause new trouble of heart and you must againe apply your selves to this last prescribed remedy In the fourth place CHRIST having taken upon him the burden of your sinnes which was intollerable you must take upon you and submit unto the yoke of Christs service which is light and easie You must indevour to doe whatsoever hee hath commanded in his Word and Gospell following his steppes in all his imitable actions in all humility and meekenesse in all spirituall and heavenly mindednesse When you can thus subject your selves to Christ in holinesse you shall have peace For the holy Ghost saith the worke of righteousnesse is peace and againe saith To be spiritually minded is peace that is bringeth with it peace I comprehend CHRISTS yoke of the Gospell in these three Faith Hope and Love As these three be in you and abound in the same degrees shall peace be in you and shall abound Having Faith in Christ saith the Apostle we have peace with God It is God that justifieth who shall lay any thing to your charge For justifying Faith is the ground and spring from which onely sound and true comfort doth flow Hope will make you wait and expect with patience for the accomplishment of GODS sure promises whereby it will hold you as steady and as sure from wracke of soule as any Anchor can hold a ship God doth therefore give hope that it may be as an Anchor sure and stedfast Though while you are in the Sea of this world it doth not keepe you so quiet but that you may bee in part tossed and disquieted with the waves and billowes of feare and doubt to try the goodnesse of your vessell and strength of your Anchor and tacklings Yet you shall be sure not to make shipwracke of Faith and a good Conscience if you shall lay hold upon this hope set before you And as for Love They that love the Lord shall have peace you must therefore love God love his ordinances and his people Love God with all your heart Love your neighbours as your selves love Gods Commandements For great peace shall they have saith the Prophet that love Gods Law and nothing shall offend them Whosoever doe thus take up Christs yoke and follow him shall find rest to their soules and peace shall be upon them as upon the Israel of God Fiftly If you would have peace use all good meanes whereby you may bee oft put in remembrance of the exhortations and consolations of God They in the Hebrewes were therefore out of quiet and readie to faint in their minds both because they forgat the exhortation which said My sonne despise not the chastening of the Lord c. And because they forgat the consolation which saith Whom the LORD loveth he chasteneth The principall meanes of being put in minde of GODS consolations are these following 1. You must be much Conversant in Scriptures by reading hearing and meditating thereon For they were all written to that end that through patience and comfort of the Scriptures you might have hope The Scriptures of God they are the very Wells and Breasts of consolation and Salvation The Law discovers sinne and by its threats against you and by relating judgements executed upon others doth drive you to Christ The promises of the Gospell made to you and the signification of the accomplishment thereof to others doe settle and confirme you in Christ whereby your heart is filled with joy and consolations The Gospell is called the Gospell of peace and the Ministers of the Gospell are said to bring glad tydings of this peace â—t is the bright shining light in the Gospel which will guide your feet in the way of peace 2. Be much in good Company especially in theirs who are full of ioy and peace in beleeving whose example and counsell will mind you of joy and comfort and will be of excellent use unto you to establish you in peace Sixtly and lastly Acquaint your selfe with God touching the course he useth to take with his children in bringing them to glory Acquaint your selfe with God