no Psalme but such as was sweet Still hee spake with the voice of joy and praise But now consider againe On the other hand as I may say the left the soule is sometimes at a losse Sorrow sometimes playes its reakes as we say and turns joy out of doores The soule is deprived of wonted injoyments this now casts it downe Sorrow clips the soules wings it makes the spirit flag and faint it turns festivalls into mourning It causeth the soules Spring to bee as the Autumne It brings on Winter and raine too and affords the singing of no birds but the Owle and the Pellican And quite contrary to what the soule is when divinely elevated that it is while sadly dejected So that as joy is the Springtime and Summer of the soule sorrow is the Autumne and Winter You know what is the nature of Autumne and Winter Flowers fade leaves fall cold nips trees wither sap runnes downe night growes long and dark too wayes grow dirty aire chilly all things looke unlovely Thus t is with dejected soules their flowers fade their leaves fall c. By this you may guesse at the nature of spirituall dejections Yet a little more In the Text are two words hinting the nature of spirituall dejections One is casting downe which as I noted in the explication is as much as laying the soule levell the bending or the bowing down thereof It s the soule set on the dunghill or lying prostrate on the ground This is one word The other is disquieted Now that word properly as I opened it notes a storme and tumult This then holds forth the nature of spirituall dejections to be the soules storm and tumult The soule cast downe is afflicted and tossed with tempests and not comforted as t is Esay 54.11 O thou afflicted tossed with tempests it s spoken unto dejected Syon The soul cast down is as a tumult things are in it in a confused disorderly way As when people in a rout or riot are out of all order so is the soule when dejected This shall suffice to hint at the nature of spirituall dejection Its you see in briefe the soules low posture It s a David on a dunghill in a valley It s the souls throwing it selfe down It s the soule in a tempest tossing and tumbling to and fro or it s the soule as in a tumult quite out of the even and orderly frame in which it sometimes was and alwayes should be CHAP. 6. Shewing the workings of a soule cast downe THe nature of spirituall dejection being seen in the generall wee shall now take a view of the Workings thereof in particular Now the working of spirituall dejection appeares in 1 Feares and Doubts 2 Griefe and Sorrowes First the working of spirituall dejection appeares in feares and doubts The soule cast down is full of doubts One while it doubts this thing another while that Now this feare fills it anon another For look as the soule lifted up is full of hope and assurances and carried forth in expectations so the soule cast down is full of feares and exceedingly perplexed with doubtings Oh saith the poor soule dejected and disquieted I fear this and I doubt this Can you resolve me in this doubt or helpe mee in this feare and the like I shall instance in severall feares and doubts which usually trouble the soule when and while it s cast down First The soule when dejected it feares the worke of grace It saith I feare whether ever God wrought upon mee at least I doubt it Sure I am saith the dejected soule God is a rocke and his worke is perfect But alas there are so many imperfections in my soule that I question his worke in me I know God works both to will and to doe But alas though I wilâ— sometimes I doe never I feare God hath not wrought in me Paul was confident that where God began a good worke hee would perfect it And this makes me diffident that he hath not begun at all in mee I see so many debillities deceits decayes that surely I may say as he if the Lord be with me why is all thuâ— befallen mee Judg. 6.13 The soule knowes the worke of God is glorious And sure it is that if he will worke none shall hinder But Oh saith it I finde my soule so in-glorious and I feele so many hindrances that I doubt I shalâ— dishonour God to thinke sure I am a afftaid to say he hath wrought upon me This is one feare Secondly The soule cast downe sometime discovers its fears in other termes its dejection workes up in other doubtings As now whether its grace be true or counterfeit Grace that is false is frequent but that which is true is scarce Common workings are ordinarie but speciall ones are rare Counterfeit coyne is in Beggars purses but true coine is the portion of the rich I am sure saith the soul when it is dejected there is a fained saith and a false love Christ eies unfained faith and such Tymothies was but I feare mine is not The Scripture calls for unfained love let love be without dissimulation Rom. 12.9 and the Apostles love was such Yea but I doubt mine For my part saith the poor cast down soule I question not whether the faith of others in the head Christ be sound or whether the love of others to the members beleevers be sincere But I doub my owne True saith the soule I though once I bad faith in Christ and love to the brethren and that my gold was not counterfeit c. But now I feare and doubt all Then Thirdly Other soules cast down have other feares sure saith one whatsoever worke is only in the letter t is death and not life and for my part I feare whether mine have been by the spirit I doubt saith the soule under dejections whether my calling were orely by the voice of man in the bare letter or of Christ in the spirit T is true the word came to some not in word only but also in power and in the Holy ghost 1 Thess 1.5 But alas I doubt whether it came so to mee There are convictions and comforts which are but naturall legall and false And I doubt whether mine have not been such There are indeed convincings and comfortings which are Evangelicall and spirituall Christ saith the Holie Ghost shall convince of sin and of righteousnesse but I feare he never did convince me of either thus workes the disquieted soules of some Againe Fourthly The feares of some in spirituall dejection appeare about their holy actions as hearing praying repenting c. And about these the feares of the Soule cast down workes thus I doe sometimes pray or rather indeavour to pray I do sometimes mourn for sin or rather I do some thing like repentance But alas whence doth this proceed I doubt the principles whence these acts do arise are but poore and low and carnall It may be education profession ingenuity morality or at best
Secondly Learne hence to be thankefull for any freedome from disquietings Be thankefull O ye unshaken soules to Christ It s his sweetnesse which hath kept you from being in a storm It s greater mercy to have a soule kept free from disquietings then to have a body kept free from distempers seest thou another soul cast downe be thankfull to the Lord Jesus that thou art not sitting by it in the same case Take heed of thinking that your settlement is of your selves and consequently of cersuring others who are disquieted It s certainly a great fault in many that they censure such as they see dejected They find fault with that in others which they are not able to prevent in themselves Did not Christ beare up thy spirit Oh soule thou wouldest quickly sincke There are causes of spiritual dejection in thee as well as in others It s Christ that keepes them under otherwise they would soon cast thee down Bee thankefull therefore to Christ and take heed of censuring others Yea Thirdly Prepare for dejections Such as are subject to saintings have their cordialls in readinesse so should you have O soules who are lyable to spirituall faintings There are cordials enough did you know them It s your Saviours goodnesse that hee stored up remedies suitable to all your distempers acquaint your selves with them before you need them that they may not be to seeke when they should be used Quest You will say what preparation shall we make Answ For this I shall speak something more generall and something more particular Generally In order to spirituall preparation for soule dejection mind these things First That such a thing there is as soul-dejection and that you are lyable unto it Be not strangers unto this truth but know as the most healthfull body may sometimes be distempered so the most holy soule may sometimes be disquieted The not minding of this makes many soules which are cast downe sadder then otherwise they would be It s an aggravation unto any sorrow that it comes unexpected Be sure therefore to remember this that t is possible sadnesse may seize upon your soules and cast you down It s common to saints to be dejected sometimes This being often and seriously thought on before dejections come will prepare you to beare them when they come Secondly Be well acquainted with the Coverant of grace The not aright and clear understanding of it as hath been shewed is the cause of much dejection Acquaint your souls therefore with this in the freenesse of it doe not mix water with wine 't will abate the strength of it and render it lesse able to comfort what God holds forth free let not us looke upon as conditionall The pure wine of the Covenant which is the best cordiall for a fainting spirit looseth its vertue when t is mixed with the puddle waters of conditions Bee built up therefore in the freenesse of the Covenant Know also the fulnesse of it It extends it selfe to the forgiving of all sinnes and to the bestowing of all grace Remember also the firmenesse of the Covenant its immutable unalterable whatsoever fainting fit overtakes thee the Covenant of grace thus known and beleeved will revive thee Thirdly Treasure up your own and others experiences The remembrance of experiences in times of lifting up will exceedingly support in times of casting downe when the spirit begins to be in a storme for divine absence Call to minde that it sometime injoyed the calme of a divine presence Many soules forget the time of their first love and the effect of that is sinfullnesse And many forget the day of Christs first lâ—ve and the fruit of that is sadnesse In the day of your dejections call to mind the time of your espousalls The premeditation of what the soule sometimes enjoyed is a good preparation for a time when it may be dejected But these things are onely in the generall I shall therefore proceed to particulars And my advise to soules is that they indeavour to acquaint themselves as much as they can with particular cases And accordingly to provide suitable cordialls It s a peece of humain prudence in provision for corporall distempers that men do not only lay up some generall Catholicke medicines as Phisitians call them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But they provide particular medicins for particular diseases Surely we should be if not more yet at least as much careful in provision for spiritual distempers as for corporal And in order thereunto we should study to understand what may be a suitable support unto us under soul-castings down An essay unto which we shall hold forth in the following Section SECT II. CHAP. I. Satisfaction to soules cast downe and discovering their feares about the truth of the worke of grace HAving in the former Section hinted at severall fears which appeare in soules cast downe I shall now apply my selfe to satisfie dejected soules with reference to those particular feares And I shall proceed in that order which I mentioned them in and beginne with the feare of a soule cast downe and venting it selfe about the work of grace Oh say some soules the worke of grace is precious but I feare in me it s not perfect Case Satan hath had his workings in me Eph. 2.2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but I feare whether Christ hath wrought the good worke in me I have found the Devill powerfully working in me But I feare Christ hath not as yet begun to worke upon me c. In order to the raising of a soul cast down Satisfaction and fearing this I shall offer briefly Some 1 Cautions and 2 Considerations First Some Cautions we had need be wary in our conclusions which we make about our soules state 'T is easie but 't is dangerous to conclude amisse here It s as well I will not say as much a fault to conclude against our soules as having no worke of grace as 't is to cousen our soules as if we had Be cautious therefore O soule who sayest thou fearest Christ hath not yet wrought upon thee Take heed how thou judgest even thy selfe in this case and for this end take with thee these 3 Cautions viz. 1 Of binding your selves to particular examples 2 Of confining Christ to any methods or wayes 3 Of concluding any thing from present sence First Take heed of binding your selves to particular examples Oh say some Christ hath not wrought upon us Quest Why Oh soules not upon you Ans Why Hee hoth not wrought upon us as upon such and such Reply But consider O soules Gods workes are not alway alike Though the worke of grace be the same in all in regard of the matter yet it is not the same alwayes in regard of the manner The manner of Christs working is divers It s bad eyeing in order to the judgement of our worke of grace examples Christ comes to Matthew at the receit of custome and speakes to his heart so home that Matthew
But the soule convinced by the spirit is convinced of this sin as of the sin of sinnes viz. unbeleefe Oh saith a soul which is convinced by the spirit I know drunkennesse is a sin uncleannesse is a sinne pride a sin c. But I know unbeleef is a sin as great ray greater then them all This is laid upon my spirit that Christ is come into the world sweetly discovering the love of God freely tendering reconcilement in his blood But I Oh I did little see and much slight him I did not make it my worke to go after him nor have I been willing when he hath come after me to accept him And this oh this hath been nay I fear 't is still my sin Oh this base vile damnable unbeleefe is that which hath and doth lye upon my spirit Other sins put me in an â—â—â—solute necessity of salvation and this sealed me under damnation HEE THAT BELEEVETH NOT HE IS CONDEMNED ALREADY Oh that Scripture tooke hold on me Christ came and was willing to imbrace but I would not beleeve He came sweetly weeing and I stood out sinfully rejecting He tendered grace freely and I did put off that tender wretchedly He said come unto me and I le ease you and I did not could not would not beleeve and therefore came not to him This O this I am convinced of as my sin and this I doubt is my sin to this day The truth is I can hardly beleive yet that Christ came to save sinners Why say Oh soul doth not thy heart answer to these things as face to face is there not a copy of this complaint in the secret tables of thy heart If there be pray who should nay who could write it but the spirit Who could take these things of Christ and reveale them unto thee but the spirit Surely if none can call Jesus Lord but by the spirit as it is 1 Cor. 12.3 Then none could be convinced so far of sin for not receiving of or beleeving in which is all one this Lord Christ but by the Holy Ghost But Secondly What is the great principle upon which you are most convicted Is it SENSE or HOPE of divine love It may be thou hast sometimes tasted how good the Lord is Peradventure you have had some sence of the love of God Or It may be you have only sometimes attained some hopes of divine loves Now is it this that doth most affect thy heart in thy conviction Doth not thy soule say Oh! what a vile wretch have I been who have despised the riches of Gods goodnesse and who have not been led thereby unto repentance Standest thou convinced of the greatnesse of sins by the consideration of the greatnesse of his love Because God hath been is and thou hopest will be exceeding good Art not upon this convinced that thou art and hast been exceeding bad Surely so much as love and sweetnesse hath had an influence upon thy conviction so much the spirit hath been in it The hand of wrath may convince a Pharoah that he hath sinned but an eye of love will make a Peter weep bitterly Therfore Thirdly In thy convictions for sin what sight hast thou had of Christ The spirit where he convinceth of sin he also convinceth of righteousnesse as t is John 16.10 i.e. the spirit convinceth the soule that albeit it is unrighteous yet there is a righteousnesse in Christ which it may have The spirit where he is a messenger of sin comming in and convincing the soule thereof he is also an Interpreter taking the things of Christ and so shewing thereof unto the soule the spirit is that one of a thousand to shew unto man his uprightnesse as t is Job 33.23 An hypocrite may be convinced by the Law but alas in that conviction he sees only a Moses But a Saint is convinced not only by the Law but the Gospell and therefore in his conviction he sees a Messiah Canst not thou say O soul when thou wert convinced that thou wert a sinner thou wert also convinced that there was a Saviour Didst not thou see a remedy as well as a disease a healing plaister as well as a killing wound A Saviour as well beseeching sinners to come unto him that they might have life as blaming of them for not beleeving in him that they might be free from death Surely soule its the spirit who giveth life the letter killeth Where the letter convinceth only it doth leave a soule under the sentence of death But if together with the sentence of death for sin thou didst also see the hopes of life in a righteousnesse then there was something more and higher then the letter in thy conviction even the Holy Ghost If then when thou wert convinced thou didst see unbeleife as the great sin and divine love as the great aggravation of that unbeleife and yet withall a sight of free and full righteousnesse tendred as a cure of both If I say thou didst see these things in thy conviction why art thou cast down O soule and why dost thou fear the spirit was not in thy conviction To go on then to the last branch of this fear and doubt Thou sayst O soul that dost fear thy comfort was not from the spirit At lest thou sayst thou dost doubt it It s true after thy storme thou didst heare a still voyce but sayst thou was the spirit in that voyce Sometimes even after conviction thou dost say thou didst feel comfort but thou fearest whether it were from the spirit or from the letter and fancy c. Why now in order to the scattering of this fear let me intreate you to consider these three things First Whence it was that thy comfort was fetched which was brought to thee was it not such as one of a thousand could not bring came it not from Jesus Christ who can only give man his righteousnesse as it is Job 33 23. He shall take of mine and shall shew it unto you saith Christ of the spirit Job 16.15 Where the spirit brings in comfort it is still shewed to be fetched from Christ Alas canst not thou say It was not from any creature men or Angell that the hope of your comfort came Alas miserable Comforters were they all But it was onely from Christ where the spirit comforts he doth it still in a discovery of Christ As he shewes Christ pierced by the soule and useth that sight unto conviction so he discovers Christ willing to imbrace the soul and useth this sight unto consolation The peace and comfort of some is rather from a cessation of the trouble of conscience then from a sight and discovery of Christ Now if thy comfort came only from an apprehension of Christ and from a sight of the things in him why art thou disquieted as if thy comfort were not from the spirit Since as no man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of man which is in him 1 Cor. 2.11 Even so the
a substance Doe not dispute thy selfe O soul into doubts rather receive satisfaction Christ will not lose any that are given to him It s his Fathers will he should not as he saith Joâ— 6.39 And surely hee 'l be faithfull to his Father Oh therefore be not thou fearefull of falling but if thou wilt fear let it be with a feare of diligence to keepe thee from security let it not be with a feare of diffidence to fill thee with sorrowes Christ who in no wise would cast thee off when thou commest will in no wise lose thee now thou art come If thou wander hee 'l seeke thee if thou fall hee 'l raise thee yea and what ever may be thy feares hee 'l uphold thee in his Grace even to the Grave and besides hee 'l raise thee up againe at the last day Thus have I passed through those particular Cases which I proposed to my selfe to resolve But alas all that I have said is but dead unlesse Christ quicken it READER pray over these conceptions that a spirit of life may come into them that they may so quicked dejected Soules that they may arise and say to themselves Why are we cast downe and why are we disquieted Let us not give way to our feares and sadnesse but exercise our faith and patience for we shall yet see God as the health of our countenance and as our God But these things are more fully to be spoken unto in the following Sections CHAP. 15. Cure for Soules cast downe by remainder of corruption HAving past through the particular cases of dejected soules I thought it not amisse to adde by way of supplement unto them some other I remember I touched upon eight grounds of Spirituall dejection and least upon the mention of them any soule should be troubled I shall offer somethings to satisfie such who is or may be cast downe about them so that as in the former Section I indeavoured to satisfie the particular feares of dejected soules I shall in this endeavour to cure the generall causes of all dejection Divines know there is a difference between a Cause and a Case the one is the bitter seed the other the sower fruit of dejection Now as I have said something to the one so shall I likewise speake a little to the other To begin then in that order in which I prepared them The first cause of Spirituall dejection was the remainders of corruption Cause this indeed is the root and ground of all dejections And in order to the Cure of a soule cast downe in the sight and sence of remaining corruption I shall lay downe these considerations First Cure Consider that the worke of Christ upon the soule doth not in this Life altogether destroy Place these 2 Sheets k l next after Fol. 132. sinne As long as the soule is in the body there will be sinne in the soule even Paul had a body of sinne and death in him and till death destroy the body thou must not looke to have sinne altogether dead in thee This is granted by all and why should it be questioned by thee O dejected soule Secondly Consider remaining corruption will worke one time or other A Dogge though in a chaine will barke and sometimes bite too a man cannot carry fire in his bosome but sometime or other it wil heat him if it doe not burne him Thou cryest out O dejected soul that they remaining corruption doth oft disturbe thee but why shouldest or how canst thou expect the contrary While thou dwellest in this house of Clay that Dunghill wil annoy thee But Thirdly Remember corruptions groaned under as a burden are rather a ground of rejoycing then of dejection for First it argues a life of bolinesse to feele a weight in sinne Dead men feele no weight be it never so heavie and Secondly it argues an activity of life to groane Many soules rather glory in then groane under a weight of sinne but it is a speciall mercy thou art not as they are Fourthly Beleeve it O soule Jesus Christ doth simpathize with thee under this thy burthen While thou groanest under and art cast down at the sight of remaining corruption thou art the object of Christs compassion It is a good plaister for any sore to consider the pitty of our Saviour Christ pitties thee O poore dejected soule to see thee labouring and groaning under the remainder of sinne Heb. 4.2 Fifthly Consider remaining corruption shall never ruine thee As the remaining Canaanites did not could not ruine Israel in the promised Land so neither shall remaining corruption ever ruine thy soule Could corruption ruine thy holinesse joy salvation glory c. thou mightest be much dejected indeed but that it cannot shall not doe Thy holinesse thy joy thy salvation thy glory c. are all safe in the impregnable bulwark Christs hand which is the infinite power of God and though corruption remaine in thee it shall never ruine these Sixthly Consider Jesus Christ dyed to redeeme thee from the remainders of corruption And doe thou act thy faith on thy Saviours death for thy sinnes death the vertue of his death remaines to keep under corruption from having dominion It is thy duty and let it be thy care and endeavour to goe to Jesus Christ for strength against and victory over thy remaining corruption therefore up and be doing that is beleeving Doe not sit solitary as one cast downe to see some remainders of sin Suppose O soule you had seene some gallant Captaine rescuing a person or place from the power of some potent enemy by breaking the strength and power of the Enemy and by taking up his abode in some Castle neare the place Suppose after this there should appeare some scattered Parties should the person or place be dejected at the remainder of a routed adversary should not they rather goe to their Conquerour and Captaine and intreat him to suppresse those remaining forces Beare up O cast-downe soule the case is thine Christ the Captaine of thy salvation hath routed the maine body of sinne upon his crosse and spoiled corruption of his chiefest strength he hath set up a garrison in thy soule and put in a party strong enough to repell and keep under the remaining forces O goe to him stirre up his Spirit to come forth and to bring thy Conquerours sword to check and suppresse thy tumultuous enemies I meane to lift up thy Saviours crosse against thy corruptions And beleeve it soule there is a vertue still in that Crosse to keep the remainders of corruption under Be not therefore cast downe but beleeve and if thou by the Spirit whom Christ hath put into the garrison of thy soule doe goe forth and mortifie sinne thou shalt live and it shall dye at last CHAP. 16. Cure for Soules cast downe by falls into sinne THe second cause of Spirituall dejection was as I mentioned falls into sinne This casts down the soule that the remainders of corruption doe
not only worke but that sometimes they prevaile sometimes the soule is actually overtaken with sinne and falls it may be into some foule fact now this causeth casting downe to cure which Cause I shall speake something in particular when I have premised this one thing in generall viz. It must be confessed it is sad to fall into sinne Sadnesse After the soule hath been in Christs armes to fall into the pits of Satan for so sins are must needs goe to its heart indeed it goes to Christs He is offended really and mightily that any soules who have tasted his grace in pardoning past sins and knowen that such a pardon cost his bloud I say he is offended that such should afterward commit or fall into any sinne but yet all things weighed there may be much yea and enough said to cure and comfort a soule dejected because of falls into sin after grace As First Such a thing as this is consistent with grace This is that which causeth the dejection of such soules as fall into sinne Cure that they are thereby drawne to doubt the truth of their grace for say they surely had we been ever really and strongly wrought upon wee could never have failen into such and such sins But yet these soules should doe well to remember that Sampson fell againe and againe into the same sinne of wantounesse See Judg. 14.3 15.20 16.1 and yet he is in the Catalogue of the children of Abraham and reckoned up amongst the worthy beleevers Heb. 11. It s the opinion of many holy and wise persons that David fell more then once into the sinne of lying and that therefore he prayed to be kept from the way of it Psal 119.29 I mention not this to countenance much lesse to incourage presumptuous desperate sinners but only to cure perplexed and dejected Saints ye are deceived O ye dejected soules if you thinke your falls into sinne be inconsistent with grace Secondly Consider falls into sinne are not falls from salvation The Covenant of Grace is not made null by thy fall O cast-downe soule though Israel have played the Harlot yet Christ remaines a Husband Jer. 3.1.1.14 God did expresly say though thy children sinne and though I visite their sinnes with a rod yet my Covenant will I not breake Psal 89. Peradventure O soule thou art cast downe as thinking thy fall into sinne hath cut off the band of the Covenant but thou art mistaken Yea Thirdly There is a speciall salve prepared for this sore a particular cure for this cause of dejection viz. Promises of pardon after falls into sinne I LE HEALE BACK-SLIDINGS Hos 14.3 Surely that supposeth falls into sinne after grace for what else is backsliding and that directly proposeth pardon and healing to such soules Returne yee backsliding children and I will heale your backslidings Jer. 3.22 Marke O dejected soule Christ calleth thee to returne and he speakes to thee as to a Childe still notwithstanding thy falls into sinne therefore be thou advised to arise and to goe to him urge him with his promise and hee 'l make it good Neither is this my advice but the advice of the Lord. Heare him in Hos 14. O Israel returne unto the Lord thy God marke it thy God still for thou hast fallen see soule how he points at thy state by thine iniquity Take with you words and turne to the Lord and say unto him Take away all iniquity and receive us graciously Rise up therefore and obey this command and counsell and certainly in this case thou wilt finde cure and comfort CHAP. 17. Cure for soules dejected about the Covenant of Grace I Said that ignorance of the Covenant of Grace was likewise a cause and a chiefe cause of Spirituall dejection and therefore I hinted in the use of the first Section advice to study it I shall briefly offer something to this here for many times dejected soules cry out They are and may be well cast downe for alas they are not in that Covenant Cause Were I in the Covenant of Grace cryes the dejected soule I could rejoyce but alas I doubt it and therefore I am dejected Alas I finde many things in that Covenant promised which indeed I could wish but alas I want and how can I thinke I am in the Covenant when I have not the things promised in it in my owne soule c. But let me intreat thee a little to consider these particulars in order Cure to cure this cause of thy dejection First The things of the â—ovenant are not wrought all together there are many particulars promised as feare new spirit tender heart c. each of which is wrought in its time and order It is true the generall root of all these is given to the soule viz. The Divine nature but yet the particular branches spring up in their season Thou wouldest see all O soul but thou must stay the time and thou shalt Secondly Neither is any one particular perfectly wrought at once a soft heart is a thing wrought by degrees and to have the Law written in our hearts is businesse of time it is a long Copy which Christs Spirit is writing a long time As we are alway learning so that is alway writing Thou O poore soule wouldest have all together and at once and in truth who would not be glad if it might be to have it so but we must wait for this worke is not the businesse of a day but of our whole life Thirdly Christ knowes who are in Covenant though we doe not He is the Mediator of it and he may see and know that thou art in that Covenant though thou doe not The Father who hath made a Purchase in his owne name and his Childes may and doth know the Childe to be in the writing though the Childe doe not Christ your Father made the Covenant in the purchase of his Bloud on your behalfe and so knowes thy name to be in it though thou cannot see nor read it there by reason of thy infant age and condition of Childe-hood But Lastly Suppose it as thou fearest take hold of the Covenant now 1 It is a free Covenant reached out to poore sinners upon tearmes of grace Free Grace rich grace and not upon workes or qualifications It promiseth all things but it requires nothing but acceptance 2 It is a full Covenant it extends to all sinnes originall actuall great little to sins of ignorance and infirmity to sins of presumption and obstinacy I say therefore Arise O cast-down soule God in the Covenant of Grace calls to rebels and saith Let them take hold of my strength that they may make peace with me they shal Esa 27.5 He calls every one to come to incline his eare and saith Hee 'l make an everlasting Covenant with them even the sure mercies of David Isa 55.1 2. It may be thou thinkest that thou hast stood out too long It is true a day
to the full when thou shalt enter into thy Masters joy when thou shalt rest from thy labours thy income shall follow thee when thou shalt come to Abrahams bosome and there thou shalt come dejected soule as poore a Lazarus as thou art then thou shalt have every prayer every sigh every groane come to remembrance and say now thou hast all that which we went out for Rouse up therefore O cast-downe soule God is a good Master you shall not labour in vaine Be not dejected but be stedfast unmoveable alway abounding in the worke of the Lord for as much as you know your labour is not in vaine in the Lord as t is 1 Cor. 15. last why then should you be cast downe for lacke of income CHAP. 20. Cure for Soules cast downe upon insultation of Satan and enemies I Remember another cause I mentioned of dejections was the insultation of Satan and enemies many soules are dejected at this that Satan and his instruments triumph over as it is at large shewed before Now to cure and comfort those Cure let me intreate dejected soules to minde and remember these insuing things First Satan will insult without ground Hee 'l say to David Where is his God and hee 'l but if to Christ concerning his being the sonne of God Sathan is an impudent enemy who will bragge and triumph against a soule for nothing It is the nature of a Dogge to barke a Lion to roare Woolfe a Wolfe to howle and it is the nature of Sathan to insult Be not therefore cast downe at it Secondly Though Sathan insults Christ is a friend and loves us still even at that time that Sathan insulted and buffeted Paul Christs grace was sufficient Should the Childe be cast down for the insulting of the Groome or the Scullion when he is beloved of his Father as his Heire What though Satan say Where is thy God thy hope c. mayest not thou O soule say My God and hope is in Heaven still All the Devils in Hell and men on earth shall never can never seperate between thee and thy God neither Principalities nor Powers nor Life nor Death nor any thing can separate c. Triumph O soule in that Rom. 8.35.37 though Sathan insult be not thou cast downe Thirdly The time shall come when thou shalt tread upon thy insulting enemy and when he shall be ashamed for all his insultations Remember O cast downe soule the God of peace will though thou canst not and that shortly tread downe Sathan under your even thy feet Rom. 16.20 Christ will take thee by the hand and owne thee in the presence of God Angels and men yea and Devills too And then thy enemy Sathan shall see who said where is thy God even then he shall see thy God as thine and be confounded for all his insultation over thee Lastly for wicked men who now it may be deride and scoffe at thee be not dejected for them Because the day will come when they will wish they were as thou art When they shall as much admire at thy happinesse and wisdome as now they sleight thy state and thoughts when God shall bring thee forth to light and thou shalt behold his righteousnesse Then shall all thy enemies see it and be ashamed which said where is the Lord thy God Then shall they licke the dust like a Serpent and shall fear not only because of the Lord our God but also because of thee as it is in that Excellent Scripture Mich. 7.9.10.17 which scripture if thou read seriously and act faith upon I dare assure thee of cure for this cause of dejection viz. insultation of Sathan and enemies CHAP. 21. Cure for Soules cast downe upon corporall Afflictions SPirituall dejection is sometimes caused by corporall affliction A sick body doth in some persons make a sad soul Cause When Hezekiah was sick and had received the sentence and message of death he turned to the wall and wept And the thoughts of the dying of his body produced dejection in his soul Thus indeed it is oft with others Now to cure this cause of dejection I shall not need to be large Only take a few ingredients which mixed together and applyed may serve in this case to raise the dejected Spirit First Consider the great ground of this dejection is a deceit Cure Afflicted soules interpret affliction amisse and therefore are cast downe They take every whipping to be an effect of anger whereas its a signe of love Your Father O dejected soul in your sicknesse is sweet He makes thee sick in thy body to cure some disease in thy soul He doth not afflict thee willingly T is only that thy spirit may be well that he makes thy body ill You have had fathers of your flesh who corrected you and yee gave them reverence should you not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits live Heb. 12.9 This is spoke in reference to affliction By this chastisement God seales up child-ship Do not despise therefore the chastenings of the Lord nor be not dejected for the word will beare this translation when thou art by sicknesse rebuked of the Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. they â—eject their own spirits Philo. Heb 12.5 It s a fault in the chastised child to be dogged and it s a failing in thee O soule by reason of corporall affliction which is but a fatherly chastisement to be dejected Besides Secondly Your father knows your frame He knowes what you can beare and hee 'le lay no more upon you then your strength can master The Lord will not alwayes chide neither will he keep his anger for ever 't is spoken of affliction by diseases as seemes to be hinted vers 3. But as a father pittyeth His children so the Lord pittieth them who feare him for hee knoweth our frame he remembreth wee are but dust As for man his dayes are but as grasse as a flower in the field so he flourisheth Psalm 103.9 13 14 15. Mind this O thou sick and sad soule thy father knowes thy frame he minds thou art but dust and he pittyes thee in all thy affliction which he layes upon thee Yea he sits by and makes all thy bed in thy sicknes as t is Psa 41. And he maketh sore and bindeth up be woundeth and his hand maketh whole as it is in Job 4 18. that is spoken of sicknesse too Christ if hee will can make thee whole And certainly if thou couldest beleeve thou shouldest see his glory as t is Joh. 11.40 Hath he not said enough to make thee say as David said I shall not dye but live to declare the workes of God The Lord hath chastened me sore but hath not given me over unto death see that place Psalm 118.17 18. O bear up dejected heart though thou be sick yet thou mayst recover and goe up to the house of God where thou mayest praise him for health restored to thee and
say Blesse the Lord O my soule and all that is within me blesse his holy name who forgiveth all thine iniquities and healeth all thy diseases Quest Prethee mind this and say doth it not speake to thy dejection Answ No wilt thou say I would beare sicknesse but that I feare death This thought I shall dye is that which casts me down Reply 'T is true I thinke and I know here is the bottome of the doubt and dejection to speake therefore to it directly I le grant it thou shalt dye though it may be not now but suppose I say now Case even now thou shalt die yet consider these things and thou needest not be dejected First Christ came to deliver thee from this feare Cure It s the feare of death that doth more deject then death it self Now remember Christ came to free thee from this feare For as much as the children are partakers of flesh and blood he also himselfe likewise tooke part of the same that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Devill And marke it deliver them who through the feare of death were all their life time subject unto bondage Heb. 2.14 15. Consider Christ hath destroyed him that had the power of death the Devill and hath delivered thee Couldest thou beleeve this and why shouldest thou not thou mightest triumph But Secondly Christ hath tooke away the sting of death Death is a Bee having the hony of deliverance from this vile body c. but it hath no sting For what saith the Scripture The sting of death is sin the strength of sin is the law but thankes bee to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ goe thou to that glorious chapter 1 Corinth 15. and read it O thou that art dejected with feares of death Thirdly Christ will be with thee in that hour thou fearest Thou shalt not dye alone for though all thy friends shall leave thee yet wil not Christ This David knew for speaking of his shepherd and who is the shepheard but our Lord Jesus as t is Hel 13.20 He saith although I walke through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evill he needed not for observe what he saith THOU ART WITH MEE thy rod and thy staffe they comfort me Psal 23.4 Albeit thy relations bid thee farewell and shake hands as not being willing nor able to keep thee longer company yet Christ wil not leave thee nor forsake thee In truth in life nor death hee 'le never doe that as t is Heb. 13.5 Fourthly Death shall be no death to thee A change it wil be and that from worse to the better but it s not a death Did not Christ say it Whosoever liveth and beleeveth in me shall never dye yea though he were dead yet shal he live John 11.26 Thou must not call that death which the Scripture cals but sleep The Scripture speakes of the dead in Christ that they sleep in Jesus 1 Thess 4.14 And she is not dead but sleepeth and our friend Lazarus sleepeth Now why shouldest thou O soule who art weary be cast down with the thoughts of sleep Fiftly Christ hath sweetned death for thee He hath layne in the grave and so honoured and softned that bed unto beleevers Would any child be afraid to lye in its mothers bed Is it not an Honour to lye down in the same bed in which the King of glory lay Art dejected O soule to go into thy Saviours Sepulchre what art thou cast downe with the feares of gain to dye is gaine said Paul Philip. 1.21 Sixtly Christ will raise you up againe Hee hath said so and if he should not he would not only breake his own word but disobey his fathers will neither of which hee 'l doe This is the fathers will who hath sent me that of all which he hath given me I should loose nothing but should raise it up at the last day This Christ spake once yea twice and pray marke it wel John 6 39 41. Christ O soul wil raise thee up againe Should the child be afraid to goe to sleep at night when his Father promiseth to raise him up in the morning Christ hath promised to raise up your bodies again yea and he hath promised to give you a new spirit into the bargaine for t is sowne a Naturall but raised a Spirituall body Put all this together O thou dejected soul and tell me now What cause hast thou to be cast downe with the thoughts of death May not these considerations cure that cause of thy dejection Thou art now troubled with sicknesse weaknesse paines c. but let death come doe not feare it and thou shalt be cured of all Diseases yea and which is better freed from all defilements Methinkes therefore you should rather desire to be desolved then feare death and imitate those who groaned to be uncloathed of this earthly house as knowing they have a better even a building with God an house not made with hands eternall in the Heavens 2 Cor. 5.1 Goe O cast down soule to that Scripture and thou wilt in it finde a Cordiall to cheere and cure thy spirit in this feare CHAP. 22. Cure for soules cast downe and dejected by the sence of Divine wrath A Little wrath of the Almighty casts the soule very low Cause even as low as Hell for what else is Hell but Divine wrath felt How many dejected hearts are there that cry out that the Almighty is angry that he frownes upon them and that every wrinckle in his forehead is a grave burying all their comforts When men smite God can cure and when God giveth quietnesse who then can make trouble but when be hideth his face who then can behold him Job 34.29 Indeed this is a sad cause of dejection and it puts the soule into a very dejected case indeed yet it is not incurable a soule that is cast down by the sence of Gods wrath may be raised if Christ will helpe it to minde and beleeve these particulars First This case is not singular even many holy men and women in all Ages of the world have been in this condition Cure Company is a comfort even in misery Thou needest not cry out O soule and say Was there ever sorrow like unto mine Yes there was thou feelest thine owne paine but David Job Heman Hezekiah c. felt as much peradventure more wrath then thou dost but why doe I speake of particulars When as I remember the Lord had not mercy but INDIGNATION upon Judah and Jerusalem i. e. the whole body of Israel threescore and ten yeares Zach. 1.12 yea as the body so the head of all the godly was made sensible of Gods wrath for Christ drunk the cup of his Fathers wrath it is more then a bad and unsound way of arguing I am under Gods wrath and therefore I am not Gods Childe This way of arguing condemnes all Gods
Comfort Counsell FOR DEJECTED SOULES OR A Treatise concerning Spirituall DEJECTION In which is HANDLED 1 The Nature Of Spirituall Dejection 2 The Working Of Spirituall Dejection 3 The Grounds Of Spirituall Dejection 4 The Remedies Of Spirituall Dejection And in which is held forth Satisfaction to some particuler Cases and generall advice for any Soule who is cast downe Being the Heads and Sum of divers Sermons Preached to a particular Congregation From Psalm 42. last By John Durans Preacher of the Gospel and Pastour of a Church of Christ in Canterbury 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Isa 35.3 Strengthen the hands which are sick and confirme the dejected knees Psalm 94.19 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In the multitude of my tempestuous thoughts within me thy consolations shal abundantly delight my soul Printed at London by R.I. for Hannah Allen at the Crown in Popes-Head-Alley 1651. This shade's the Authors outside but this booke his inside opens prethee doe not looke Admiringly one either Passe them o're as emptye shaddowes for they are noe more Both bookes and writers y'ea and all things else at best are shaddowes but the bodye's Christ Soul art dejected Christ alone can ease thee and giue both comfort and councell to raise thee A.P. THis Authour hath two Books already extant the one is Entituled Sips of Sweetnesse or Consolation for weak Beleevers The other is Entituled A Discovery of the Glorious Love of Christ to Beleevers A Dedicatory PREFACE TO His Beloved-Ones The Flock of CHRIST over which the Holy Ghost hath made him OVER-SEER My dearly beloved in the Lord THE heart of Christ who is the cheif Shepheard is much set upon the feeding of Beleevers who are his chosen Flocke Ezek. 34. ◠10 11 12 13 14 15. Before hee came into the World he did Prophesie that hee would feede his Flocke himselfe And when hee went out of the World hee charged his Servants to doe the like When hee had asked of Peter again and againe Ioh. 20.16 17 18. whether hee loved him He required nothing as a seale thereof but this that hee should feede his sheepe Indeed then doe wee declare our love unto our Lord when wee feede his Flocke which is amongst us as it is 1 Pet. 5.2 And if wee doe not this wee make void the end that he aymed at in giving us as Pastours to his people which himselfe expresseth in the promise to bee this Ier. 3.15 viz. The feeding of his People with knowledge and understanding But while any indeavour to doe this they are Pastors according to his owne heart id est such as himselfe is and delights in This consideration I humbly hope I may truly say hath made an impression upon my heart both to desire and indeavour to feede you who are the Lambs the Sheepe of the Lord Jesus Phil. 1.7 For thus it is meete for mee to thinke of you all and thus I have you in my heart I must confesse I have still thought and found that there is a great difficulty in this Divine worke And a great deale of holy VVisdome and Strength is requisite which I hope you pray for in my behalfe to feed the Houshold of Christ with not onely Meate but with that which properly is their Portion and that in season I remember our blessed Lord speakes of him as of a rare Bird and hard to bee found Who as a wise and faithfull Steward Luk. 12.42 T is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Demensum cibum each soule hath its measure see Eph. 4.7 gives the Houshold their Portion of meate in due season WHO THEN saith Christ IS THAT FAITHFUL AND WISE STEWARD To bee able to give meate not poyson nor Huskes and the portion of meate that which is proper and fit for each and this in due season i. e. when t is peculiarly needfull and requisite I say to bee able to doe thus requires not onely faithfulnesse but wisdome too and that in a large measure And if you say you have not found mee such a Steward so Wise and so Faithfull I must sigh and seale to the truth thereof For alas Who is sufficient for this But albeit this bee above my attainement yet it is in my indeavour a true though a weake witnesse whereof I hope the insuing Treatise will be When it was delivered to your eare which Job saith tryes words as the mouth doth meate Iob 12.13 You were pleased to testifie to this truth that it was your portion of meat in due season And divers of your professed that your soules were fed and refreshed by it as by meate suitable and seasonable for you This hath made your intreaty prevalent with mee to represent it to your eye in Print to try it again And the most precious God grant that you may bee led by his spirit in it as in a greene Pasture by the still Rivers and that your soules may lye downe and feede therein SO as that those that see you may justly speak of you as of a Flocke and field whom the Lord himselfe hath blessed This is all that I shall say to you about this Treatise But I shal take the advantage of this Presse to leave the Print of Three Words of advice upon your hearts The words are these 1 Keepe to your Fold 2 Eye your Shepheard 3 Walke as Sheep 1 Keepe to your Fold Beware of wandering from Mountaine to Hill Jer. 50.6 which I may safely allegorize thus of going from one high notion to another forgetting your resting place Certainly the Churches of the New Testament which are built upon the faith and walke in the order of the Gospell Sion is the place Christ the rest of soules It is hee that gives It is there that he gives rest are the places where Christ feedeth and where hee maketh his flockes to rest at noone In them are the footsteps of his flocke and these are the tents where hee feedes his Kiddes as it is Cant. 1.7 8. O never bee as those weake and wanton spirits who wander from these Folds Dinah by wandering got nothing but a rape And I wish some of late could not say the like 'T is true some are gone out from us of whom I am not so Apostolicall as to say but I must bee so charitable as to pray it may never appear they were not of us But it s your mercy that as yet you stand O bee not high minded but feare least you fall For certainly it is so farre from being an ascent to spirituall height Heb. 10.25 26. that it is a degree of falling away to forsake the Assemblies of Saints which are the Folds of Christ II Eye your Shepherd i.e. The Lord Jesus 'T is true Men have a name of being Shepherds but t is but as ciphers have of being figures which all know are nothing except one stand by them Even Paul himselfe was not a substantiall Shepherd It was not hee but Christ that did all And
next fear which I shall speake unto is that which concernes the Authour of that worke which is in the soule Some soules when they are cast downe Cafe cry out they feare that all that worke which is passed upon them is no more then in the bare letter as they call it i. e. they doubt whether it be of the spirit yea or no as was opened in the former part c. Now for the removing of this feare Satisfaction and to raise up a soule that is cast downe and lyes doubting whether its calling conviction and comfort be from the spirit yea or no I shall speak to each of these by themselves First For thy calling O soule thou sayst thou fearest thou wert only called by men i.e. wrought upon to leave thy sins and former course by the meer wit and oratory of men in perswading c. There be three things which I would offer to scatter thy fear in this particular 1 Consider that thy call may be by the spirit though thou doe thinke it was by man only It s certaine that the spirit speakes to our hearts mostly by men Immediate calls are rare It may be you feare your call was not by the spirit because 't was by men It might be mans speech and the spirits call 'T was Christ that preached to the Ephesians though it were Paul that spake Paul tells them Christ came and preached peace to them Ephes 2.17 And yet we know Christ was never at Ephesus and Paul speakes this of Christ after the time of his suffering as is deducible from vers 16. Indeed 't was Christ that preached by Paul And though man was the trumpet yet the spirit was the breath that filled it when thou wert called from thy sin Look as in Samuels case it was the Lord called him and he thought 't was Eli as 't is 1 Sam. 3. so it may be with you and the reason may be as it was in Samuels case He was a child and so did not know yet as the text saith the Lord It may be thou art a child as yet O soule and art not so well able to distinguish of the Lord from men Thou as yet mayest not be acquainted with the mysteries of the spirit and therefore thou mayest thinke t is only man when it was the spirit which called thee Hereafter when thou shalt grow up to a fuller age in Christ this childish thing and feare may be done away And thou shalt no more speake as a child and say thou fearest 't was man only that called thee But thou shalt be taught of God and know thou wert called by the spirit 2 Call to minde in what frame of soule thou wert if thou canst call it to mind when thy first call was and consider what it was and is which doth prevaile with you Happily thy soul was in a direct way of opposing God and thou didst little thinke of him when he called thee The more unexpected it was the more of the spirit was in the call Besides say O soule was it not naked truth plaine simple truth that did and doth most take with thy heart Surely the more plaine truth was which did worke upon you the more of the spirit was in that worke It s a rule case the lesse of man the more of God Art not able to say O soule that thou wert going on in a vaine vile way of living without God and that thou wert so taken up with the world and vanity c. that God was not in all thy thoughts And that at a time thou didst either read or hear such or such a naked truth As to instance that thou wert a child of wrath by nature that out of Christ there is no hope of salvation c. And that hereupon unexpectedly thou didst find thy heart moved to take another course Peradventure thou hadst read or heard and didst know the same truth before O but at such or such a time thou didst find thy heart more wrought upon by it then ever I beseech you seriously say hath it not been thus with you If it hath why doubt ye that your call is not by the spirit But 3 Call to mind And in sincerity tell and confesse what it was that thou wert ialled from and what it is that thou wert called to Canst not thou say thy call was not so much at lest not only from misery but it was from sinne T is true many a man by naturall conscience and fleshly principles is thus far wrought upon in a call that it is willing to come out of misery I but thy soule can say it was willing to come from sinne and 't was from that which in thy call thy heart was taken off Yea and art not thou able to say thou didst find thy heart in thy call really going out after as conceiving thou wert called unto holinesse as t is 1 Thes 4.7 Cannot you appeale to God that in your call you did at lest that now you do find your hearts not only called and made willing to leave a sorrowfull estate and come into a happy one But also to leave a sinfull estate and come into a holy estate Certainly if your call were not only from misery but from sinne And if it were to be as well and as much nay more unto holinesse then unto freedom from misery I say if you can clear this And do not your consciences oh ye dejected souls witnesse to this then why do ye doubt what reason have you to feare that your call was not of the spirit To come therefore to the other thing viz. Secondly To your Conviction You say you doubt whether that were of the spirit and evangelicall or only by the letter and legall Now to satisfie you in this there are 3 questions which I would put unto you And in the sincerity of your hearts resolve them 1 What was the great sin of which you were and are convicted when thy heart was convinced of sin what was the greatest sinne which then thou wert convinced of Search your hearts and consider what answer to give can you say it was unbeleife Certainly if you were convinced of that it was the spirit which wrought that conviction I desire not to be mistaken I do not urge this as if I thought there either were not or needed not any more conviction then this for certainly saving conviction extends it selfe to all sin and in particular to our particular speciall sinnes But my aime is to hint something as a signall discovery of conviction by the spirit and in order to this it is which I am now speaking Now then wert thou ever convinced of unbeleefe Hast thou seen this to be a sin yea and to be a great sin Certainly if thou hast thy conviction hath been of the Holy Ghost It s the peculiar worke of the spirit to convince of unbeleefe as t is John 16.9.11 Many a soule is convinced of these or these sins
fearing thou hast no more then education It may be but a feare or if it should be reall yet there is you see hope and comfort for this thing CHAP. 5. Satisfaction for such as fear they are at best but Hypocrites THere are some soules who when they are sadde Case and cast down they cry out against themselves for Hypocrisie To these I must now speake and in order to the quieting of their disquieted mindes I shall propose these particulars First It s at lest a peece or part of sincerity to question hypocrisie Satisfaction Hypocrites doe not use to question themselves It s the very nature of Hypocrisie to be shye of and to avoid as much as possible any tryall And it s of the nature of sincerity to be questioning Thy very feare O soule of hypocrisie is a fruit of sincerity The Pharisee did not suspect himselfe neither did the Publican purge himselfe yet you know who went away justified Christ O soule will and indeed delights to justifie such as condemne themselves Thine own suspition is not an evidence of thy hypocrisie Look as wicked men are said to feare where no feare i.e. no ground of feare is So likewise Saints do sometimes Cant. 1.6 It s worth the noting though the Church cry out looke not upon mee because I am blacke much like the Leper in the Law Levit. 13.45 yet Christ saith of her thou art all faire and hast no spot Christ O soule can discover sparkles of gold under thy clods of dirt and he can see peeces of sincerity even in thy feares of hypocrisie Secondly An unknown iniquity is not an argument of hypocrisie Sinne must be known and yet concealed ere it brand one for an hypocrite Many soules question their sincerity because of secret sins Peradventure some corruption bubbles up that they were not aware of they perceive some sin that had a long time laine secret and this makes them feare they are hypocrites but it should not David is sensible of secret sins and he cryes out against them cleanse me from my secret sins Psal 19. Yet he can and doth stand to and plead his sincerity Psal 26.1 2. Look as in point of sincerity it s not enough to serve God by doing his will But we must know it and be willing our selves So likewise in the point of hypocrisie it s not simple sinning but knowing and hiding thereof that makes it so The Assyrian was Gods rod and he did serve him Howbeit saith the Text he meaneth not so neither doth his heart thinke so Esa 10.7 The Assyrian service was not sincere for he nere meant to doe what he did Proportionably thy sins O soule are not hypocrisie for as much as thou knewest them not neither didst mean to keep them if thou didst know them Quest Consider this O sad dejected soul thy sins which are newly broke out are they not such as thou didst never dreame of Is it not that which thy soule loatheth and thou didst thinke thy selfe most free from Ans Yes They are so and this makes me fear my heart that it should so long conceale these corruptions which now I see Reply But know O soule it s a mistake from hence to conclude hypocrisie Certainly thy ignorance will excuse thee herein Hypocrisie is properly a feighning or counterfeiting either of vertue where t is not or a concealing of vice where it is Didst ever boast or feigne thy selfe better then conscience told thee thou wert or didst ever conceal or extenuate sins thou knewest in thee If not why fearest thou thy self an hypocrite It s a painting of a Sepulcher that denotes hypocrisie there may be unknowne sins where there is sincerity But Thirdly Some mixtures of this bitternesse will be in the best while in the body There is no grace so perfect in this life as that its free from all mixture Our gold is never so refined but that there will at lest cleave to us some drosse As the strongest faith doth not free any from all incredulity So the purest sincerity doth not free from some hypocrisie Even Peter and Barnabas are taxed by Paul and recorded by the spirit no have had at lest a tange of this bitternesse they are down-right charged with dissimulation Gal. 2.13 It s a true assertion of an accute writer that Hyporisie is in all Torshall but with so great a difference that all are not to be called hypocrises You will not call every doubting soule an Infidell why should you because of some remainders of hypocrisie conclude your selves hypocrites Job is charged even by God himselfe to darken counsell by words without knowledge Iob 38.2 And yet God tells Satan that he was a perfect and upright man But suppose the worst O doubting soule suppose not a little but a great deal of hypocrisie be in thy heart Consider Fourthly Our happinesse is built and bottomed more and rather upon the sincerity of Christs heart to us then upon the sincerity of our hearts to him Christ knew before he loved us that we would deale treacherously as it is Esa 48.8 It s charged upon the Church that she was not as sincere As Solomon describes a wife Pro. 31.11 i.e. to be one in whom the heart of her husband might trust the Lord said of Iudab she was treacherous and her heart was not turned wholly but fainedly to him Ier. 3.10 Yet he saith unto her I am married unto thee vers 14. It s our happinesse Christ abideth faithfull as t is 2 Tim. 2.13 our welfare is not founded upon our own hearts but upon his And as the whole body of sin and hypocrisie did not keep him from loving us sincerely at first so the remainders of hypocrisie shall not make him to love us lesse now Reader if thou be not a Spider I may tell thee this Christ can and doth love hypocrites His heart is sincere though our hearts be hypocriticall i.e. one that sucks poison out of wholesome things Sucke the speech and if thou bee a Bee thou wilt find not onely sweetnesse but sanctity yea and sincerity in it too Rouze up O cast downe soule Christ hath writ his love and thy life upon his owne heart not on thine There it remaines sound notwithstanding thy rottennesse The fountaine of free grace is open even for adulterous Iudah and treacherous Israel Object Yea but yet my hypocrisie is odious is it not my double dealing with Christ is dreadfull in it selfe I am sure it is so to me I see it and while I see it I cannot but be sad If it bee Christs glory that his heart is sincere towards me the more it s my sin and shame and sorrow that my heart is not so towards him Answ True O soule thy hypocrisie is thy sin but thy shame and sorrow for this is thy grace or rather Christs and thy glory For Fiftly It s a mercy to have a sight and sence of hypocrisie Christ certainly
intends a cure in this opening the wound Some Hypocrites have a seared conscience I feare they are incureable But this discovery of thy disease is a signall of health Christ deals well with those whom he wounds he hath balme for the bruised Many a wretch playes the hypocrite all his life and goes into hell in the conceit he lived in Yea 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Signifies a Player usually t is rendred Actor by the Latines some shall come conceited of sincerity at last saying Lord Lord But Christ will then make them know what they are It s mercy that he discovers thee to thy selfe here The Publican is better in his sackcloath confessing then the Pharisee in his vizzard praising But. Sixtly Add to al this the consideration of the promise of the spirit to them that aske him Lu. 11.13 Though thy spirit be hypocriticall yet Christs spirit is sincere Christ hath promised to send him It s but aske and have David it seemes was in your case and he prayed Renew in me a right or a sincere spirit And you know what incouragement he gives This poore man said he he speaks as if he were as poor as thou oh soul cryed and the Lord heard him Psal 34.6 It s the Covenant of promise that he will give a new heart Object T is so indeed but alas I have prayed and yet not received and therefore my joy is not full I have groaned under this hypocrisie many yeares And yet see not the promise of the comming of Christs spirit c. Answ Surely thou art mistaken O soule in saying the spirit is not come Those groanes of thine are his That softnesse is an effect of him Peradventure all thy hypocrisie is not yet cured I said in this life it would not be The spirit will be a refiners fire all your dayes It s true he could burne up all at once but thou couldest not bear it Such a fire would breake thee Gold-smiths proportionate their fire else the refining pot would crack Certainly the Lord Christ considers we are but earthen vessells therefore the refining fire is heated accordingly The spirit purgeth out hypocrisie by degrees In time he 'l have purged out all Even this dejection of thine is a degree of purging And this fruit thou shalt have of this feare That thy feare of hypocrisie shall worke for thy sincerity why then art thou cast downe O soule be not disquieted so with the feare of hypocrisie trust in God waite on the spirit for thou shalt yet praise him as sincere to thee and making thee so to him CHAP. 6. Satisfaction for soules who fear they shall never get the victory over corruptions THe next sort of cast down soules which I would indeavour to raise up Case are such as are much disquieted and cry out upon their corruptions Oh say they corruptions are strong and we are weake They fight we oppose as well as we can but we doubt the conquest We feare corruption will get the day well may we be cast downe while we lye under this fear c. Now for the satisfaction of such souls and in order to the lifting up of their dejected spirits I would offer have them to consider these things First This combate may consist with Satisfaction and indeed ever is with a state of grace It s the weaknesse of some to think and say that their conquest is compleate and that they are in perfect quiet Surely I say these words are rather discoveries of weaknesse then of strength and perfection Israel was not at rest when in Canaan Neither are those soules who are troubled with and for sinnes in Aegypt It s not an Israelitish spirit to say either others or our selves are in Aegypt because we have still combatings Even in Canaan they had their combatings God left some there to keep his people in action Doe not thinke especially do not conclude thou art still in Aegypt because thou art not freed from fightings and feares Beleive O soule thou mayest be in the land of promise and yet be troubled with the combates For Secondly Even choyce Saints have been as you are i.e. pestered with corruptions and troubled with fear of conquest Paul had been as high as any even in the third heavens and yet he had his buffettings yea and he crys out of them again and again You think your selves sometimes in a sadder estate then any And you say were ever any so wretched as you are Yes O soule Paul even Paul who came behind none nay who was before any in grace and guifts he was as wretched as you are And he crys out so O wretched man that I am Marke that I am as if none other were as he It s a comfortable and raising thought O ye cast downe soules Other choyce Saints have been in as wretched a condition as you are by reason of the combatings of corruption Thirdly Consider it s a rich mercy to have a heart to strive with and to be affraid of corruption Many a wretch is at peace with sin yea many are in Covenant with hell and death Some there be who are so far from fighting with and fearing of corruption that they pay tribute to it and make provision for it Many a wretch is a voluntary conquered captive unto sin And its mercy that you have a heart to strive Time was when you were free from righteousnesse i.e. had none at all and then you served sin It s grace that now you do oppose it and deny to yeeld service to it Were you at peace with sin you might feare your enmity with God But being at warre with it you may have peace in him But. Fourthly As long as your soul is kept up in a striving way it s a sign of strength Why should you say you are weake and feare c. sith you are so strong as to fight Weake ones are not fighters had you not some divine strength you could not stand before corruption But seeing you are after long fighting able yet to stand and strive why are you cast downe as if you should not get the day Consider O dejected soul that it argues a tree to be well rooted that stands after much blowing And it s a signe of a strong and valiant souldier if he keepe to his ground and flinch not notwithstanding great combating And certainly it may argue unto thee that through Christ thou art yet strong In as much as still thou art able to strive Object Oh but I feare for future thou wilt say because as yet sin stands strong notwithstanding all I doe against it I feare I shall never after all my striving get the victory over it Reply But why O soule shouldst thou thus feare Peradventure as yet thou hast not resisted unto blood in striving against sin Bear up yet a little longer strive yet still sin will bleed and fall ere long For Fiftly Consider It s no argument that you shall not
can perswade my selfe that many have closed with Christ who yet cannot say they have assurance nay who cry out thus they doubt they never closed with Christ Many soules say indeed they fear they never closed with Christ because they want assurance O say they could we doubt so much if we did beleeve had we closed with Christ aright we should have been assured of salvation long ere this c. But surely the soules mistake 1 themselves and 2 assurance First They mistake themselves in that they thinke assurance is an act of theirs It s a part of the spirits sealing not of their closing It s true he that beleeveth hath the witnesse in himselfe as t is 1 Iohn 5.10 But that witnesse is that God is true in what he saith of Christ as is clear by the context there but it s not this assurance that really I have closed with and am one with Jesus Christ Yea Secondly They mistake assurance in that they make it the formallity of faith which is rather a fruit Faith is this That the soule fully beleeving a free tender of Christ to sinners goes forth to close with and rely upon Christ It s not an assurance of an interest in Christ that is the evidence not the act of closing So that it s not ground enough for thee O soule to doubt thy aright closing with Christ because thou wantest assurance No nor Secondly It s not ground enough for thee to doubt thy closing with Christ because of his not smiling upon thee Verily say some poor dejected soules we never as yet did in a right way close with Christ for he never as yet smiled on us Ah! his smiles are our life but alas we see not them and therefore we cannot but question our closing with him But this is not a sufficient ground for the one may be without the other The child may truly hang about the mothers necke and yet she not kisse it Yea and the mother may sincerely love though she do not smilingly look upon the child Christ called the woman of Canaan a dog and yet he loved her as a lamb she beleeved and closed with him to such a height that he said she had great faith and yet notwithstanding Christ smiled not upon her at lest at first Thou mayst have closed with though as yet thou seest not a smile in the face of Christ towards thee Do not question thy closing with him for want of his smiling upon thee No neither Thirdly It s not your inabillity to trust Christ for other things that should make you question your closing with him I doe not doubt but that David did trust God for the life of his soule when yet he did not for the life of his body Albeit he said he should one day fall i.e. dye by the hand of Saul Yet certainly he had and did close with Christ for his soule The promise holding forth Christ is absolute and full the promise holding forth the creature is oft conditionall and short The soul may close with the one and not with the other A soule may not be able to close with a promise for life health safety wealth c. and yet he may close with a promise of Christ Hee hath not the same ground for the one that he hath for the other Nay Lastly Some kind of blasphemous thoughts of Christ are not a sufficient ground to question our closing with Christ Satan may indeavour to represent Christ ugly to the soule that closeth with him as beautifull Why should a soule think that Satan may not as well make it question whether Christ be the son of God as he did indeavour to make Christ himselfe to doubt it Many a precious heart Note this ye dejected hearts who hath high thoughts of Christ as precious may yet upon Satans injections be tempted to question his deity But why should they question their closing with Christ upon Satans suggestions Suppose a woman married to some man loving him as the handsomest and delâ—ghting in him as her Head and Husband Suppose that some person hating and maligning her Husband should still haunt her and be bawling in her eare that her Husband is deformed unlively 〈◊〉 c should she for this call her marriage in question Mind it O ye spirituall Spouses of the Lord Jesus you are married unto Christ your soules may close with Christ and yet Satan may dog you and haunt you and put in hard and blasphemous thoughts into you while yet notwithstanding you reject them mourn under them and are troubled at them and certainly 't were weaknesse in you to question your closing with Christ because of these blasphemous thoughts Quest But you will say Doth not closing with Christ deliver the soule from blasphemous thoughts of Christ Answ No It only secures the soule from closing with them It s one thing to have another thing to close with blasphemous thoughts The soule that is closed with Christ will not close with blasphemous thoughts no more dost thou O soul dost thou are they not as a dagger unto thy heart What though Satan speak ill of thy husband Christ to thee shall his blasphemy for it s not thine make thee question thy faith Why then art thou cast down upon that as if thou didst not hast not closed with him But to passe from this Thirdly I would intreate soules cast down and doubting their closing with Christ to consider What right closing with Christ is Summarily it s this For the soule upon the sight of a necessity of Christ to go out to close with or to cast its selfe upon Christ as freely tendred Saith the poor soule I see Christ tendred freely and I am sensible I need him fully hereupon I go and lye down at his feet This is summarily to close with him You must remember to distinguish between taking and tasting of Christ Taking is closing tasting is comfort The one is not the other It may be O soule thou hast not as yet tasted Christ yet thou mayst have taken Christ The woman that sat at Christs feet weeping had taken Christ for Christ speakes of her faith but she did not tast him till he said thy sins are forgiven thee Weeping soules you sit at Christs feet but it may be you have not as yet tasted his favour Learn to know that your closing with him for forgivenesse is distinct from his saying to you your sinnes are forgiven This consideration weighed would much satisfie such as being cast downe question their closing with Christ But to this I shall adde more Therefore Fourthly Pray mind this Our safety and welfare doth more and rather depend upon Christs closing with us then upon our closing with him And Christ knowes that when we do not know this Here is the surest seale of our salvation the Lord knoweth who are his 2 Tim. 2.19 Christ Oh soul closeth with thee and he doth know it though thou knowest not thy closing with him The
now Davids spirit could not chuse but be very full And yet mark what he saith Who am I O Lord God and what is my house that thou hast brought me hither-unto And this was yet a small thing in thy sight O Lord God but thou hast spoken also of thy servants house for a great while to come and is this the manner of men O Lord God But now marke it what followes upon this as it were entry upon the duty And what can David say more unto thee for thou O Lord knowest thy servant See how he is straitened so that hee cannot say more But he is fain to say as sometimes it may be you have done Lord thou knowest thy servant So that you see there may be the spirit where and while the soule is straitned and certainly as Hypocrites may have inlargements and yet not the Holy Ghost so Saints may have the Holy Ghost and yet want inlargements Thirdly Consider How much of God as a Father didst thou see in prayer It s the worke of the spirit to helpe the soule to see God as a father and to cry Abba and to fill the soule with not words and expressions but with sighs and groanes unutterable So that then to satisfie thy self O dejected soule in this feare consider thy very feare is choyce And it may not be as thou fearest But shall I suppose it suppose it should be so that as yet thou didst never pray Suppose I admit it that thou didst not in the sincerity of thy spirit nor in the assistance of Christs Spirit pray yet for all that consider these things First Free grace can and doth beseech soules to accept of peace and love who doe not begge for it God by us saith the Apostle beseecheth you Though thou didst not nor canst pray to God yet free Grace comes and as I may say prayes to thee Thou sayest I shall never have peace and reconciliation for I never by Prayer did beseech God for it Why remember God tenders and in his free grace comes and beseecheth you to accept of it Secondly God can give though ye cannot or doe not begge he is able to doe abundantly above all that we can aske or thinke Ephes 3.20 yea and he is willing for before they call I will answer saith the Lord And he is found of them that seeke him not Though God be pleased to come in in prayer yet he is not tyed to it Besides Thirdly consider its Christs worke to offer up prayers for us he lives for ever to make intercession Heb. 7.25 when thy heart is dead he lives and he prayes for those that doe not cannot pray for themselves Fourthly know the Spirit is promised for asking Luk. 11.13 you who cannot pray remember to aske and to waite for the Spirit And you have Christs word to encourage and assure you that you shall have the Spirit so that now why are you cast downe as fearing you never did pray consider your feare is good yet it may be groundlesse However Gods heart first opens it selfe to us Be not cast downe unto despaire know God can and will give to such as neither doe nor can aske besides in time he 'l prepare thy heart and cause his eare to heare as it is Psal 10.17 why may not this raise thy soule who art cast downe and sayest thou didst never pray Ob. But wilt thou say Suppose I have prayed indeed I hope I have and daily I desire to doe it but alas What though I pray if God doth not heare what though I call he doth not answer This O this doth disquiet my soule I have prayed oft but I feare I have been heard never Ans Indeed this is the other branch of the fear according to what Christ hath given me I shall endeavour to scatter it I must acknowledge O soule that its a misery scarce expressable to pray and not to be heard But yet know many conceive themselves in this misery without ground In order therefore to the satisfaction and raysing of thy soule under this dejection let me prevaile with thee to consider with sincere and serious spirit these particulars First God may have heard thee though thou doe not thinke so It s true peradventure God hath not yet returned an answer in some particulars but yet he may have heard your prayers God is a free Agent and so he may take his owne time to send an answer Suppose thou send a Letter to a friend by a sure Messenger what though you have not an answer presently will you say your Letter was lost or that your friend did not receive it Why the case is so your prayers are your letters to God and Christ is a sure messenger though as yet God hath not sent his answer yet your Letters are read your prayers are accepted and in time viz. Gods time they shall be punctually answered God will answer your prayers that cry unto him night and day though he heare long as it is Luk 18.7 But Secondly It s possible the answer may be sent and you have not observed it There are Letters at the Post-house sometimes for us which only want fetching home The Spirit who brings returnes from Heaven hath an answer for us but we eye him not Job speakes of Gods going by and he saw him not of his passing on and he perceived it not Job 9.11 O how many times doth God go by us in acts of providence clearly and directly answering our prayers and yet we doe not see it nor perceive it Besides Thirdly for any thing you know your prayers will not be answered till you are dead your Children or the Churches may have answers of your prayers when you are gone or it may be God will reserve the answer till your death How many dying soules have said now O now we see and heare that God hath answered all our prayers Why then art thou cast downe O soule about thy prayers as if they were not answered Obj. But I cannot beleeve that God will ever answer Sure I am its well if it be so that I have eyed Providences exactly and could as yet never see any answer and what God will doe for time to come I know not but I doubt c. Ans Be it as thou fearest what if God as yet have not answered thy prayers in many in any particulars yet be not dejected O soule over-much for consider First unanswered prayers are not lost thou hast not prayed in vaine for God never bid the house of Jacob doe so thy letters are filed up in Heaven and though they are not answered yet they are remembred God doth not forget your labour of love in your letters of love for such are prayers it s our duty to pray 't is Gods grace to answer though as yet he reveales not that grace yet it makes not voyd our duty Secoundly God may be pleased with thy prayers though he doe not answer The Mother is pleased with
expostulates the matter with his owne soule he summons it to a reasoning He askes his soul why art thou cast down and he pursues the question again and saith why art thou disquieted within me CHAP. 2. Something premised in order to the first branch of the Point ERe I doe proceed to the proofe of the first branch I shall premise this viz. That the soule is apt to give way to dejections Dejected persons are very free to give way and to yeeld unto dejection Peradventure this may bee hinted here in this word cast downe and which may be rendred why dost thou cast downe thy selfe some read it quare conturbas me i.e. why dost thou O my soul trouble me The soule is apt to trouble it selfe Rachell wept and would not be comforted She gave so much way to weeping that she would not give way to comfort Are not my dayes a few saith Job cease then that I may mourne a little so some render that Ut plangum paululum Dolorem â—â—â—um Job 10.20 Sure Job did give way to his sorrow when he set himselfe as it were to weep And the Psalmist holds forth as much when hee saith my soul refuseth to be comforted Psa 77.3 Certainly he that refuseth comfort gives way to sorrow You dejected soules speake the truth is it not thus Do not you give way to sadnesse at least sometimes How oft do you dispute against your selves How oft do you maintaine your sorrowes How oft doe you argue against your comforts and flye from your comforters Surely you do often give way to sadnesse Now the reasons whence it comes to passe that dejected soules are proane to give way to sadnesse and dejection may be these First A strong conceit that they have reason so to do Oh-say many we may well weep and mourn we may wel be dejected and castdown we have reason for it so they conceit And albeit when the reason is told it appears light yet they are apt to conceit it weighty It s with dejected souls as it was with Micah when his carved Image his Ephod his Teraphim his graven Image and his Priest were taken away Hereupon he gathers together his servants and neighbours to pursue them that had stole them And being asked the reason he saith ye have taken away my gods c. and doe you aske me what aileth me He conceited hee had great reason to be troubled Even so many poore soules who have lost it may be but their Idolls Relations Parts Inlargements c. which they idolized they are cast downe and they give way to it as conceiting they had ground so to be Secondly Dejected soules are prone to give way to dejections From a strange kind of perversnesse which doth often times seize them especially in their sadnesse Even good Jonah was overtaken with this evill God sees him cast down and comes to him and saith Doest thou well to be angry and he said I do well to be angry even to the death Jonah 4.9 Ah Lord what a perverse speech is here How sweetly doth God reason with him God might have reprooved him have chid him but hee doth not he only askes him if it were well done as a loving father askes the sad child child dost well to be sad And yet observe Jonah's perversenesse I do well saith he yea I do well to be troubled unto death What a sullen speechis this Dejected soules is it not so with you sometimes Are not you perverse Doth not your soul say it s well to be sad This is another reason of your giving way thereunto Thirdly An over-high esteem of some things which the dejected soule hath lost makes it give way to sadnesse Soules doe over-value many things this makes them over sad many times Rachell did prize her children too high and that made her give way to sorrow so farre as that she would not be comforted because her children were not T is possible to prize even spiritual things too high as Parts Performances Ordinances c. And if we prize them too high we will soon give way to sorrow for want of them too farre Fourthly An opinion though groundlesse that it must be so makes many give way to sorrow and dejection Some conceit because t is said that blessed are they that mourn and woe to them that laugh c. Therefore the soule must be sad and heavy and dejected These Scriptures are mistaken and the mistake of them is the reason why many give way to dejection It s true Christ pronounced the mourners blessed but it was rather to stop their mourning then to increase it It was rather to give them joy then to give them ground to sorrow It s true also Christ did denounce woe to them that were merry and did laugh But it was such whose mirth was carnall and so madnesse Not to such as rejoyce in the Lord for that we are commanded to doe alwayes But yet from the mis-understanding of these and the like Scriptures dejected soules conceit a recessity of sadnesse that it must be and therefore they give way unto it Fiftly Some conceive that the truth of humiliation lyes in its depth and therefore they give way to dejection as conceiving that to be deep and true humiliation It was observed by an experienced Divine Dr. Sibs that men are deceived when they thinke a dejected spirit an humbled spirit Many a poor heart thinks its weeping its sorrow its going heavy c. to be true and deep humiliation and I wish some Preachers had not gon too far this way now upon this account it s no wonder if they give way to it Lastly It s the innate nature of melancholly to give way thereunto There is certainly a religious melancholly and some delight in it They conceive a kind of Divinity in dejection Sorrow hath a kind of sweetnesse in it And a soul cast downe is prone to feed upon its dejection There is an innate propensity in all sadnesse and melancholly as indeed there is in all the passions to feed and nourish it selfe And hence it is that souls cast down are prone to give way thereunto CHAP. 3. The first Branch proved that Christians should not give way to sadnesse HAving premised that we are prone to give way to sadnesse and dejection I shall now prove the contrary It s true de facto O dejected soules that you art prone to give way to your dejections But it s not true de jure I know by experience you are lyable to it but I know that it should not be It is your wisdom and it should be your care not to give way to your dejections and castings down The Text witnesseth it selfe clearely to this truth This question hath in it the force of a negation why art thou cast downe virtually is as much as thou shouldest not be cast down As Ier. 2.36 Why gaddest thou about c. It s as much as there is no cause for it and it should
together you will know your worke which is in your deepest dejections to be patient and not to murmur To be content to tarry Gods time and not to hasten releife To looke out and eie how God appeares towards you and for you And to do all this with hope that yet you shall be raised and settled CHAP. 3. Some grounds of the point WE may peradventure think this strange but yet t is true And albeit we may conceive it a rigorous thing yet t is rationall And there are many reasons why a soule cast down should be content thus to bear tarry and expect c. I shall not name all that I could these may suffice First Its Gods will Hee wills that iâ— all and in this case we should waite And his will is the highest reason The people of God were much dejected when in Babylon yet then and with reference to that it was that God commanded them to waite Habba 2.3 Hee that commandeth conversion commands also waiting Turn to thy God saith he I but it may be might the soule say God will not turn to me yet marke it wait on thy God continually Hosea 12.6 It s true God will cure and raise dejected soules but hee 'l take his own time Therefore we ought and we must be content to tarry and waite in hope But Secondly It s but equall that we should waite and expect because we cast our selves downe For the most part our dejections are our own as I formerly noted we throw our selves down and its but meet we should expect and wait patiently til God will raise us up Besides Thirdly We are not alwayes fit for comfort We are not always prepared for a raised estate and therefore we may be content with a cast down one The Lord waits to be gracious as it is Esa 30.18 God is fain to tarry till we are fit for to be raised and surely if he tarry with we should be content to tarry for a cure Thou dejected heart consider thou art not fit to be out of the pit thy sadnesse at present suits best with thy state Thou art not able to mannage joy Nor as yet art thou skilfull how to carry thy self in a sublime and raised condition Now God waits on thee for this end that he may fit thee for joy and fil thee with joy why then shouldest not thou upon this account be content to waite and expect in hope and patience Fourthly Soules in their deepest dejections should be content to waite and expect c. because they cannot raise nor helpe themselves The child that is down and cannot raise it selfe must be content to lye should it cry and struggle never so much yet it could not helpe its selfe Christians dejected in spirit you are as children you cannot raise your selves It s true you can fall of your selves even without Satan you can create troubles and fears without him and it s your fault and folly that too oft you do so But yet though you can deject your selves without the helpe of Satan you cannot raise your selves without the power of God why strive you and cry you in vain Till God create peace you cannot injoy it you should therefore be content to tarry and waite his leisure Fiftly It argues humility to be thus content Proud Benhadad will not waite what said he shall I waite for the Lord any longer 2 King 6. â—lt It s the same word with this in the Text. His meaning is hee 'l not be patient nor tarry nor expect and hope any longer But though proud Benhadad will not yet humble David would and did A soule that is humble will be content to tarry dayes weeks years for the Lord. If God will not raise him now hee 'l wait in hope that he may hereafter It argues a soule too much lifted up that cannot be content to lye till God will take it up Habbakkuk after he had said we must wait for the vision addes His soul which is lifted up is not right ch 2.4 He bids us behold this i.e. consider it that it argues a proud and a rotten heart that cannot will not wait A lowly mind becomes a low estate If your condition be low and you cast down you must be so lowly as to be content to wait and tarry in hope with patience Lastly God tarryed at first a long time for our rising from sin and it s but just that we should tarry a while for our raising from sorrow How long O cast down soule did God waite and expect thy conversion why shouldest not thou be content to waite for his consolation Christ expected the fruits of the Spirit unto holinesse a great while and shouldest not thou expect and waite for the fruite of the Spirit unto joy a little Surely it s but reason we should waite with patience till God raise us out of the pits of sadnesse and dejection sith he waited long for our rising out of the pits of sinfulnesse and defilement CHAP. 4. Some uses of this point YOu see both what it is to waite and you see also great reason why it should be so Dejected soules this point calls on you to make use of it you heare what you should doe as wel as what you should not you heard before you were not to give way unto your sadnesse But you heare now you must beare it in patience with hope Two extreames you are prone unto but you should avoyd and strive against both The first is this You are apt to give way too much to your sadnesse and dejection The second is quite contrary You are apt to throw off all and content to beare none Either you would deject your selves too low and be more sorrowfull then Christ would have you Or else you would struggle too much and not lye in patience till he raise you On the one hand your mourning is as those that have no hope and on the other you murmure as those who have no patience But both these extreames should be avoyded for as the former point tells you you should reason with your selves and not give way to mourning so this tells you that you should in patience possesse your soules and at no hand give way to murmuring I wish you would and could make the right use of this point I shall touch at three uses which you ought to make and Christ help you that you may The uses are For 1 Humiliation 2 Caution and 3 Exhortation First This point might serve to humble those who doe not as they should I meane such as are dejected and yet wil not waite in patience with hope How oft is it that they cry out Their case is insufferable and they 'l not beare it and their condition is desperate and it s in vaine for them to hope But be humbled O yee sad soules for these speeches you heare what David did and you should do you hear what others have done in your case and what you should doe