First if it deserveth the right name of hatred it is impartial And therefore he that truely hateth sin he doth hate all manner of sin and in all manner of persons He must hate all manner of sin He may not hate riotousnesse and love covetousnesse hate swearing and love lying hate publick prophanesse and love private perfidiousnesse or the contrary I hate every false way saith good David Psal 119. 128. And to that purpose he prayeth unto his God saying Incline not my heart to any evil thing Psal 41. 4. Doubtlesse 't is hard to finde a man whose heart is not inclin'd to many evil things But wher 's that Soul amongst us that is not so wedded unto some bewitching lust some Dalila one bosom sin or other of which we are inclineable to say as Lot did sometime say concerning Zoar Is it not a little one Gen. 19. 20. Yet every sin is a transgression of the Law 1 Joh. 3. 4. And cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the Law to do them Gal. 3. 10. And therefore the Prophet David Search me O God saith he and know my heart try me and know my thoughts And see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting Psal 139. 23 24. And the Apostle Paul Let us cleanse our selves from all filthinesse of the flesh and spirit perfecting holinesse in the fear of God 2 Cor. 7. 1. And likewise St. Jude exhorteth To hate even the Garment spotted by the flesh Jude 23. Alluding haply to those forbidden things of the Law whereby their very Garments were defiled And intimating to us under the Gospel That we ought to abstain even from all appearance of evil according to that of Paul 1 Thes 5. 22. And as we must hate sin in general so we must hate all sinne in every person A man would think there had been no great cause of offence for Jehosaphat to assist Ahab in the recovery of Ramoth Gilead They were both of the stock of Abraham joyned in affinity professed the same Religion the cause was just and the enemy an idolatrous Heathen Neverthelesse Jehu the Seer said unto Jehosaphat the King Shouldest thou help the ungodly and love them that hate the Lord Therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord 2 Chron. 19. 2. And are there not too many amongst us that do professe much detestation against the miscarriages of such as are either averse or unprofitable to our designs whereas a little affinity or friendship or faction or the like carnal complyance will easily over-rule us to approve and patronize the most abomiâ—able actions Like wicked Ahab who hated the saving truth in the mouth of Micaiah because it was contrary to his intention and imbraced a pernitious lye from the mouths of his false Prophets because it was agreeable to his present resolution as in the 2 Chron. 18. Yea such is the damnable deceitfulnesse of self-love that many of us are thereby bewitched to censure those sins most severely in others which we our selves are ten times more notoriously guilty of And thinkest thou this O man that judgest them which do such things and dost the same that thou shalt escape the judgement of God saith Paul Rom. 2. 3. Verily this carnal self-love must of necessity be turned into spiritual self-hatred either temporal or eternal For we are sure that the judgement of God is according to truth against them which commit such things as saith the same Apostle Rom. 2. 2. Nothing is so offensive unto God or so destructive to our selves as sin The pestilence in our bloud the poyson in our bowels and the sword in our sides all these together can but kill the body according to a temporary death But sin is of so desperate a strain that it destroyes both soul and body too and hurries them into eternal torments And therefore he that hateth not all sin and in all persons chiefly in himself his seeming hatred is Hypocrisie and his love to God and his own Soul is nothing bettter Therefore be not deceived God is not mocked Gal. 6. 7. Secondly hatred if 't is true and perfect it is impetuous or violent nothing will satisfie it but the death or the destruction of every thing whereon it resteth We finde that Esau hated his brother Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father had blessed him And Esau said in his heart the dayes of mourning for my father are at hand then will I slay my brother Jacob Genes 27. 41. And doubtlesse he had done as he intended had not the Lord his God preserved Jacob according to his power Gen. 32. 11. We likewise finde how that the sons of Jacob did hate their brother Joseph Gen. 37. 4. And they consulted together to slay him verse 20. And if we deal more kindly by our sins it is a sign we are but angry with them we do not hate them with a perfect hatred like that of David wherewith he did hate the haters of his God Do not I hate them O Lord saith he that hate thee And am I not grieved with those that rise up against thee I hate them with a perfect hatred Psal 139. 21 22. There are two great evils in and belonging unto every sin to wit the evil of iniquity Psal 32. 5. And the evil of punishment Lam. 3. 39. Whereof the first is essential and offensive to the spirit the second is accidental and offensive to the flesh And from hence it proceedeth that the spiritual man hateth sin for the iniquity thereof In reference to God But the carnal man is angry with sin onely because of the punishment thereof in relation to himself God is not in all his thoughts saith David Psal 10. 4. And therefore because he hateth not the iniquity which he ought to hate the punishment which he hateth shall fall upon him unto his confusion Gen. 4. 13. Whilest he which hateth that which God doth hate shall surely be approved of by God Rev. 2. 6. And therefore it will be of special use unto us to consider with what vehemency the Prophet David endeavoureth to aggravate the violence or the severity of his hatred against sin and sinners in his 101. Psalm Wherein he maketh divers protestations or promises unto this very purpose saying I will see no wicked thing before mine eyes I hate the work of them that turn aside it shall not cleave to me verse 3. A froward heart shall depart from me I will not know a wicked person verse 4. Who so privily slandereth his neighbour him will I cut off him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer verse 5. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my hâ—use he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight verse 7. I will early destroy all the wicked of the land that I may cut off all wicked doers from the citie of the Lord verse 8. Thus
of this fruitfull Tree are natural and those things that are to be spoken of the faithfull man are spiritual and then we shall finde that they agree in all these particulars For as this natural Tree is richly planted well rooted full of Sap flourishing fair and fruitfull So the spiritual man is likewise richly planted well rooted full of sap flourishing fair and fruitfull The ground wherein he is planted is Jesus Christ His root is faith his sap is love his green leaves are gracious professions his fair and beautifull blossoms are blessed and holy desires and his good fruits are godly performances or good works And whosoever shall thus resemble this flourishing Tree according to these six properties I dare avouch him for a true believer And therefore we will now begin to examine whether we be in the faith according unto these particulars First we must be richly planted That is we must be planted into Christ We finde that they which are made partakers of the benefits and blessings of Jesus Christ are called Trees of righteousnesse the planting of the Lord Isa 61. 3. Verily we are all originally wilde slips every man and woman must say with David Behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me Psal 51. 5. This is a very bad ground to thrive upon This is all the comfort that we have received or may expect to receive from our earthly old man For in Adam all die And therefore it is necessary that we be removed and planted into the heavenly new man For as in Adam all die even so in Christ shall all be made alive as in 1 Cor. 15. 22. Hereby we shall injoy a double benefit Namely the benefit of Christs death and the benefit of his resurrection For if we have been planted together in the likenesse of his death we shall be also in the likenesse of his resurrection saith the Apostle Rom. 6. 5. Where he teacheth us that whosoever is planted into Christ according to the likenesse of his death he shall be also planted into Christ according to the likenesse of his resurrection For in that he died he died unto sin but in that he liveth he liveth unto God Likewise reckon ye also your selves to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord saith the same Apostle in the same Chapt. at the 10. and 11. verses But it may be demanded how a man may be said to be dead indeed unto sin seeing that so long as a man liveth in the flesh he shall never be altogether free from the lusts of the flesh the snares of the world and the assaults of Satan which will continually provoke unto sin and sometimes prevail even in the most sanctified Soul the best disposed and the most retired Christian under heaven Insomuch that Paul cries out The good that I would I do not but the evil which I would not that I do Rom. 7. 19. And in the 23. verse of the same Chapter 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 And the Apostle James In many things we offend all James 3. 2. And likewise John the beloved If we say that we have no sin we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us 1 John 1. 8. I answer that I understand these words dead indeed for very near dead or even as good as dead And not for totally or absolutely dead For so I conceive a man shall never be dead indeed unto sin untill this corruptible shall have put on incorruptiâ—n and this mortal shall have put on immortality then and not till then shall be brought to passe the saying that is written Death is swallowed up in victory 1 Cor. 15. 54. And therefore how the Perfectionaries dare to give God the lie and their own consciences the blinde baffle is a thing beyond mine apprehension Neverthelesse as there are certain symptomes or signes or accidents by which we may be able to judge when a man is naturally a dead man as we say or at least so far spent that there is no hope of his recovery and that before his Soul hath utterly forsaken his body So if we shall consider the same symptomes or signes after a spiritual manner we shall be able thereby to conjecture when a man may be said to be dead indeed unto sin before he is wholy freed from the corruption of nature There are many signs that may confirm our judgements in this particular I shall instance onely four Namely losse of appetite losse of speech losse of memory and losse of motion The first is losse of appetite and that is when sin begins to be odious or loathsome The Soul of the wicked desireth evil saith the wise man Prov. 21. 10. But when a man beginneth to die unto sin that which before was his desire is now become his disease he loaths that most which formerly he most longed after We read that David being in a hold and a garrison of the Philistines in Bethlehem David longed and said Oh that one would give me to drink of the water of the Well of Bethlehem which is by the Gate And three mighty men brake through the Host of the Philistines and drew water out of the Well of Bethlehem that was by the Gate and took it and brought it to David Neverthelesse he would not drink thereof but poured it out unto the Lord or before the Lord And he said be it far from me O Lord that I should doe this Is not this the bloud of the men that went in Jeopardy of their lives Therefore he would not drink it 2 Sam. 23. 14 15 16 17. This was much in a King to deny himself in that which even now he so vehemently desired But little or nothing in comparison of that repugnancy or opposition that is usually found to be in the Saints of God For whereas before their effectual calling and conversion their carnal desires may peradventure be so pressing and importunate upon them that they can devour widdows houses drink iniquity like water and work all uncleannesse with greedinesse Yet when through the grace of God they begin to be sensibly sick of sin their appetites are so strangely altered that they do not onely dislike and distaste every thing that is unlawfull but likewise they do utterly abhorre it as it is odious or displeasing in the sight of God They abstain from all appearance of evil according to that precept of the Apostle 1 Thes 5. 22. This is one sign whereby we may discover when a man may be said to be dead unto sin Another is losse of speech The tongue saith the Apostle is an unruly evil full of deadly poison James 3. 8. And David describing a wicked person saith That he oasteth of his hearts desire and blesseth the covetous whom the Lord abhorreth Psal 10. 3. Yet his mouth is
evermore Psal 16. 11. As for profit although it be a lesson that she could gladly learn yet she will take it onely at Gods teaching I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit saith her beloved Isa 48. 17. For otherwise what is a man profited if he shal gain the whole world and lose his own soul Mat. 16. 26. And for worldly preferments experience tells her they are little worth But the word teacheth her by the mouth of her own Lord. That whosoever shall do the will of his Father which is in heaven the same is his brother and sister and mother Ma. 12. 50. And these are such perpetuall preferments as all the world cannot present her with And lastly when the dull flesh would detain her from her attendance on the holy word perswading her that she may slumber still and take her rest awile 't is yet two early by an hour or two and that the weather is foul and wet and cold with the like flatteries and indulgencies Neverthelesse she starteth up and saith my beloved speaks and says unto me Rise up my love my fair one and come away for lo the winter is past the rain is over and gone As Cant. 2. 10 11. Or be it ne'r so rainy cold or foul or full of lets and inconveniencies yet neither shall the flesh the World nor Divel prevent her from the search of her beloved till with that Propet she can safely say with my whole heart have I sought thee Psal 119. 10. And thus she is resolved when and where and How she is to seek her saving Lord. But seeing there are now such multitudes that cry up Christ lo here lo there is Christ and yet our Saviour saith believe it not Mat 24. 23. How shall the longing soul be sure to know when she hath found the Christ her Lord indeed In answer to this much materiall question She must consider that this Lord of glory is alwayes guarded by a glorious train of gifts and graces infinite for number with which he enters into every soul that is thus qualified and prepared But least my taske should be as infinite I shall describe but onely six of them As namely Life Light Humility Assurance Peace and Joy These alwayes are at hand if not in sight to give attendance to this royall Bridegroom And to confirm the Soul in this her search FIrst where this Prince of life is there is life He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son hath not life saith St. John 1 John 5. 12. And this life is evidenced by these four particulars namely Sense Motion Resolution and Action The first thing that appeareth in this spiritual life is Sense whilest we want this life of Christ we are altogether senselesse no better then dead dead in trespasses and sins Verily as the body without the Soul is dead so the soul without Christ is dead also She is alienated from the life of God and being alienated from the life of God she is past feeling saith the Apostle Ephes 4. 18 19. She perceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God 1 Cor. 2. 14. Ye she is altogether ignorant of her own wretched condition She knows not that she is wretched and miserable and poor and blinde and naked As Rev. 3. 17. But when Christ who is her life appeareth unto her he reviveth and quickeneth her For as the father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them even so the Son doth quicken whom he will John 5. 21. And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins saith St. Paul Ephes 2. 1. He gives the soul the feeling of her sins the sight of Gods fierce wrath and indignation and fearfull judgements thereupon depending And being thus made truely sensibe of her own miseries immediately she doth begin to stir and move her self towards the consideration of her present dangerous condition and the most probable means for her recocery Thus the Jews when they were pricked in their hearts at the relation of their former impieties they said unto Peter And to the rest of the Apostles Men and brethren what shall we do Acts 2. 37. And thus the regenerate Jaylour being awaked by the power of God in that great earth-quake feeling the foundations of the prison shaken seeing all the doors opened and the prisoners bands loosed and hearing notwithstanding all this that none of them were escaped immediately he called for a light and sprang in and came trembling and fell down before Paul and Silas and brought them out and said Sirs what must I do to be saved Acts 16. 26 c. Nor will this motion admit of rest until it putteth on a resolution No sooner is the soul thus throughly troubled or moved with the sense of her own miseries but she will carefully resolve upon some way or other to work her release And in like manner this her resolution if it be firm and constant will endeavour to put it self into some suddain action All these four signs degrees or passages of a spiritual life do well appear in that story of those four lepers that sate at the gate of Samaria in the time of the famine the 2 of Kings the 7. beginning at the 3 verse For albeit their parly and proceedings were meerly rationall yet they may be applyed unto this our spiritual purpose First it appeareth that they became sensible of their present distresse for they said one to another Why sit we hear untill we die Secondly their thoughts were moved and stirred to work their deliverance If we say we will enter into the city say they then the famine is in the city and we shall die there and if we sit still here we die also Thirdly they took up a Resolution Now therefore come and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians if they save us alive we shall live and if they kill as we shall but die And what they did so purpose and resolve they fourthly forthwith did perform and finish They rose up in the twilight to go unto the camp of the Syrians c. And the successe was rich and admirable For they not onely relieved refreshed and inriched themselves but their whole city also No lesse remarkable to this very purpose is that Parable of the Prodigall by which our blessed Saviour himself intended a spiritual incouragement Luke 15. 17 c. First he came to himself that is he became sensible of his own calamity Secondly he was moved and troubled that his fathers hired servants should fare so much better then himself How many hired servants of my fathers have bred enough and to spare saith he and I perish with hunger Thirdly he resolveth to cast himself upon his fathers compassion I will arise and go to my father and say unto him father I have sinned against heaven and before thee c. And Fourthly he puts his resolution into action And he arose and came to his father And then
Divinity And both of these are left upon Record by that sweet singer in his nineteen Psalm The first in the first six verses The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth his handiwork c. to the 7 verse This is the lesson of Philosophy That of Divinity is examplified from the sixt to the twelfth verse The law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul c. The mighty volume of the works of God may be perused by the light of nature and it is so fairly and so plainly written that every soul even as they run may read it What is he that sees the heavens and earth and those innumerable creatures contained in them And shall consider their Originall together with their Order Vse and End by which in which for which and unto which they were made placed fitted and intended but must confesse the wisdom power and Godhead of that great arm by which they were created This is in brief the lecture of Philosophy whereby the Lord doth manifest himself to every creature that is indued with Reason The second means whereby we are inabled to see and know God is by the light of his word This is the safest and most christian way This is Gods lecture of Divinity where he presents himself unto the eye of every knowing soul But none can read it comfortably and effectually but such as are Partakers of the divine nature as 2 Pet. 1. 4. I know there are they that esteem themselves great politicians and are indeed very worldly-wise men who will be apt to say do not we understand the holy Scriptures and see God in them what should hinder us Truly I will not say but such as these may read and understand the word of God rationally and morally but not spiritually and savingly These things are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that Believing ye might have life through his name saith St. John John 20. 31. And thus to know Christ or God in Christ Is not from the flesh but from the Father which is in heaven Mat. 16 17. Again our onely Saviour telleth us That the words that he speaketh they are spirit Jo. 6. 36. And the Apostle Paul That the law is spirituall Rom. 7. 14. Now the naturall man receiveth or perceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishnesse unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned But he that is spirituall judgeth or discerneth all things 1 Cor. 2. 14 15. But peradventure it will be demanded How much may a judicious morall man see of God in his word by the light of naturall reason industry and experience Truely I conceive that he may see even as much as the spirituall man seeth one thing onely excepted But without that one thing he had as good or better see nothing He is able to see God as he is the creator of all things Gen. 1. 1. c. As he is the almighty God as Gen. 17. 1. As he is a consuming fire as Deut. 4. 24. A God of gods and Lord of lords a great God a mighty and a terrible which regardeth not persons nor taketh rewards as Deut. 10. 17. The King eternall immortall invisible and the onely wise God as 1 Tim. 1. 17. Yea he may see him in a nearer relation so near as to say The Lord our God as Deut. 6. 4. Thou art our Father our Redeemer as Isa 63. 16. Our Saviour as Jude 25. But haply you will say that this is much for a naturall man to see and know by the light of Reason what would you have him know more Truely let me tell you all this is nothing worth unlesse he can see so far as to say with good David O Lord of hosts My King and My God Psal 84. 3. And with the penitent Prodigall I will arise and go unto my Father Luke 15. 18. And with righteous Job I know that My Redeemer liveth Job 19. 25. And with the blessed mother of our Lord My soul rejoyceth in God My Saviour Luke 1. 47. And with believing Paul I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved Me and gave himself for Me Gala. 2. 20. These are such proper and peculiar interests as are discovered by the light of God and none can see or know them savingly but such a one as is the childe of God And as this saving light directeth us unto the knowledge our Sovereign Lord So it instructeth us to know our selves in reference to God and by this means it teacheth us to entertain Humility This the third obedient courtier which still attends upon that King of kings And whom Christ seems to send before his face as to prepare usher in his way into the new illuminated soul Nor did there ever any soul injoy the saving presence of her loving Lord but by the conduct of this favorite For God resisteth the proud but giveth grace unto the humble James 4. 6. And therefore Peter doth advise us saying Be ye clothed with humility 1 Pet. 5. 5. But forasmuch as he is much abused by some that do usurpe his name and office although in nature they are nothing like him I therefore shall endeavour to set forth four sorts that do and do pretend to march under his colours and assume his titles And of these the first is a treacherous Humility The second is a cowardly humility The third is a constrained-humility And the fourth is the true and the sound humility The first I say is a treacherous humility And under this fair-seeming Cloak doth lurk many a foul perfidious design The Prophet David in his description of a wicked person Psal 10. saith That he croucheth and humbleth himself that the poor may fall by his strong ones verse 10. 'T is strange to any honest heart to see how some will counterfeit humility and cast themselves beneath their prouder thoughts to gain the reputation of good men good lowly men but though they gull the world the blear-eyed world yet he that knows their hearts doth see for truth that they are nothing so And whosoever shall believe their forgeries shall finde at length that they are inside Wolves though outside Sheep Wolves in Sheeps cloathing Ye shall know them by their fruits saith our Saviour Mat. 7. 16. Proud Absolon conspiring to depose his tender father David from his Kingdom that he might wickedly usurp the same When any man came nigh to him to do him obeysance he put forth his hand and took him and kissed him And on this manner did Absalon to all Israel that came to the King for judgement so Absalon stole the hearts of the men of Israel 2 Sam. 15. 5 6. See here how this ambitious rebel humbleth himself even to the lowest and worst of the people thereby promoting his conspiracie that so he might advance himself above the greatest and the best of Kings And is it not a
when the Soul deliberately findeth she is confirmed she hath found her Lord. ANd now the chiefest thing that she desireth is to be sure of his affection And to that purpose she indeavoureth to satisfie her self in these three Queries whereof the first is this whether the Lord who is of purer eyes then to see evil and cannot look upâ—n iniquitie Habak 1. 13. Can notwithstanding set his love upon such simple Creatures as the sons of men Seeing we are all as an unclean thing and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags as Isa 64. 6. Therefore to be resolved in this point she turns her self towards the word of God and sets her self to search the holy Scriptures where her dear Lord directeth her to these and many the like precious promises The mountains shall depart and the hills be removed but my kindnesse shall not depart from thee saith the Lord that hath mercie on thee Isa 54. 10. Can a woman forget her sucking Childe that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb Yea they may forget yet will I not forget thee saith the same loving Lord Isa 49. 15. But I saith the Soul am very sinfull exceeding subject to transgresse True saith the Lord thou hast made me to serve with thy sins thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities But I even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake and will not remember thy sins Isa 43. 24 25. I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously and wast called a trunsgressour from the womb but for my name sake will I defer mine anger c. Isa 48. 8 9. Again the Soul objects against her self But I have felt the goodnesse of my God and sometimes tasted something like his favour whereby I have been seriously resolved to give my self for ever to his service And yet as one forsaking her first love I have returned to my former courses and lost the hold of all my precions hopes Why I will heal thy back-sliding and will love thee freely saith her good Lord Hos 14. 4. Thus comforted the weary Soul proceeds to ruminate upon her Lords performances The wonderfull works that he hath done for the Children of men The glorie which thou gavest me I have given them that they may be one even as we are one I in them and thou in me that they may be made perfect in one and that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me saith our Lord in his prayer to his father on the behalf of his Apostles together with all other believers John 17. 22 23. I lay down my life for the sheep saith our good shepheard John 10. 15. No man taketh it from me but I lay it down of my self saith he again verse 18. And greater love hath no man then this that a man lay down his life for his friends Jo. 15. 13. Most true it is no man hath greater love But our dear Lord both God and Man hath greater for he did lay down his life for his enemies when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his son Rom. 5. 10. These are excellent arguments of his more excellent affection Yet to confirm her faith beyond all scruple she will examine some of his chief witnesses And first St. Paul who testifieth that our Lord hath purchased his spouse with his own bloud Take heed therefore unto your selves saith he and unto the whole flock over the which the holy Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the Church of God which he hath purchased with his own bloud Acts 20. 28. Again Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us Gal. 3. 13. And ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold c. But with the precious bloud of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot saith St. Peter 1 Pet. 1. 18. c. his own self bare our sins in his own bodie on the Tree that we being dead to sin should live unto righteousnesse by whose stripes we are healed saith the same Apostle 1 Pet. 2. 24. Now hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us saith that beloved Disciple 1 John 3. 16. And therefore unto him that hath loved us and washed us from our sins in his own bloud and hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and his father to him be glorie and dominion for ever and ever amen Rev. 1. 5 6. Scarcely for a righteous man will one die saith our Apostle Rom. 5. 7. But that the onely begotten Son of God whom he hath made Heir of all things should die a cursed death to redeem the foul Souls of filthy despicable sinners Hear O Heavens and be astonished O earth This is an unconceiveable love a bottomlesse affection But now the Soul having perused his promises considered his performances and examined his witnesses till she is well resolved in this truth In the next place she asks to what intent did Christ redeem us at so deer a rate And learned Paul informs her Eph. 5. Husbands love your wives saith he even as Christ also loved the Church and gave himself for it that he might sanctifie and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word That he might present it to himself a glorious Church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blemish c. Eph. 5. 25 c. But can so great a Lord vouchsafe such grace as to betroth or marry to himself such wretched weak and undeserving creatures As Paul in that place seems to intimate This is the second question in which the Soul desireth to be satisfied And thereupon she runs to his Records and there by his assistance findes it written I will betroth thee unto me for ever Hosea 2. 19. And by his Prophet Jeremy Turn O back-sliding Children for I am married unto you Jer. 3. 14. Having considered these testimonies Then from his word she frames such arguments as may confirm her in this blessed truth First it appeareth that the Lord doth marry his Church unto himself In that he ealleth her his spouse Cant. 4. 8. Come with me from Lebanon my spouse And in the four next ensuing verses of that Chapter he extolleth her beauty her affection her profession and her ehastity four several times under the title of his spouse his sister his spouse His sister in regard that he had taken unto himself her flesh And his spouse in regard that he had joyned her unto himself in the spirit Secondly it is evident that the Lord marrieth his church unto himself For that he will have her call him husband Thou shalt call me Ishi that is in the Originall my husband and shalt call me no more Baali that is my Lord saith he to his church of the Jews Hos 2. 16. Thirdly it