THE SOULES IMPLANTATION INTO THE NATURALL OLIVE By T.H. Carefully corrected and much enlarged with a Table of the Contents prefixed JAMES 1.21 Receive with meeknesse the ingraffed Word which is able to save your soules LONDON Printed by R. Young and are to be sold by Fulke Clifton on New-Fish-street-hill 1640. THE CONTENTS TWo wayes God prepareth the heart for Christ Pag. 1 It is also prepared by contrition and humiliation 2 Doct. None but a broken heart is an house for Christ 3 Two lets of faith removed by brokennesse of heart 6 By faith the soule goeth out to another for all-sufficiencie 11 Use 1. Reproofe to them that would have comfort without brokennesse of heart 15. and them that dislike broken-heartednesse in others 18 Use 2 To get comfort begin in sorrow 22 Use 3 Comfort to the broken-hearted in two respects 25 Doct. The heart must first be prepared for Christ 31 Preparation for Christ standeth in three things 35 Use 1. Those reproved who thinke to have mercie and heaven upon a sudden 40 Use 2 A miserable estate to live in the old sinnes 47 Use 3 Prepare for Christ or thinke not to enjoy him 55 Motives to prepare for Christ 56 Doct. The Ministery a speciall meanes to prepare us for Christ 68 A powerfull ministery consisteth in three things 71 How a powerfull Ministery workes upon the heart to prepare it for Christ 79 Affliction prepares the heart for the Word the Word for God 88 Use 1. Much fault in Ministers that their peoples hearts are not fitted for Christ 84 Use 2 Fearfull is their estate whom a powerfull Ministerie workes not upon 88 Use 3 Let the Word be powerfull to prepare thy heart for Christ 90 Two things keep from Christ 95 What ingraffing into Christ is 99 Doct. Christ delayes not to come into an humbled heart 106 Use 1. Great comfort to each humbled soule 114 Use 2 They are of a naughtie spirit who endure not broken spirits 118 Use 3 Chuse the broken-hearted for companions 120 Use 4 Be thankefull for this great respect of Christ to thy poore soule 122 Use 5 They that would have Christ dwell in them must be willing to be humbled 125 Christ neare the soule yet not discerned for foure reasons in us 133. and for three reasons in Christ 147 Doct. Christ takes possession of every humbled soule 157 Three wayes he disposeth the heart to himselfe 168 Use 1. Reproofe of them that keepe Christ out of possession 171 Use 2 Give all to Christ whose it is 176 Doct. Love and joy by the Spirit wrought in a broken heart for embracing mercie as it deserves 180 The reason of Gods order in working these graces 187 Gods promise the ground of our love and how 195 His love to us begets love in us toward him and how 201 Use 1. Nature breeds no love to Christ 206 Saints love not duly because they rely not on the promise 211 Use 2 Comfort to them that love Christ 213. and blessednesse 216 Notes of true love to Christ 217 Use 3 Reproofe of them that love not Christ in truth 231. sorts of them 238 Enmitie against Christ shewed three wayes 240 Glozing neuters described and shamed 243 Hypocrites enemies to Christ foure sorts of them 246 247 c. Discoveries of not loving Christ 250 Hee thas wrangles against truth never loved Christ 2. arg 254 Expression of sorrow for sin limited 258 Continuall sorrow as needfull as continuall beleeving 261 Use 4 Love the Lord Jesus in sinceritie 272. meanes 273 Three hinderances of loving Christ ibid. 274 Three things in Christ to make us love him 282 Three things done by Christ for a sinner though as yet hee want assurance 286 Two meanes to bring our hearts and the promises together 291 Doct. In greatest wants true Christians have cause enough to rejoyce in God 300 Use 1. Reteine comfort in God whatsoever thou wantest 302 Use 2 Reproof to them that grow uncomfortable for crosses 304 Use 3 Make this sure God is the God of my salvation 305 Six meanes to rejoyce in evill times ibid. Doct. The sorrowful seed-time of true Christians in the exercises of humiliation and mortification yeelds them a rich and joyfull harvest 312. 313 Causes of true joy assured by mourning 314 Use 1. Sharpe Preachers make you gainers ibid. 315 Use 2 Enemies helpe the joy of Christians 315 Use 3 Esteeme none by present grievances 316 Use 4 Sow still though in teares ibid. Use 5 Be patient in suffering for God 317 Use 6 Comfort in death our owne or friends 318 Use 7 Be painfull in thy calling ibid. Use 8 Encouragement to repent of sinne and renew our repentance 319 THE BROKEN HEART ESAY 57.15 For thus saith the high and loftie One that inhabiteth eternity whose Name is holy I dwell in the high and holy place that is in heaven which is his throne and I will dwell with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit to revive the heart of the humble and the heart of the contrite ones THere are two maine parts of the preparative worke for Christ First the manner of the worke on Gods part and this discovers it selfe in these two particulars 1. In proposing Christ in the Ministerie of the Gospell as the most beautifull object which the soule can view or affect Psal 2.12 Cant. 5.9 with 6.1 2. That God doth by an holy kind of violence plucke the sinner from sinne to himselfe as in that place Iohn 6.44 No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him The second is on our part a frame and temper of the heart that God workes upon us by this holy kind of violent drawing This discovers it selfe in these two particulars 1 Contrition 2 Humiliation For the handling of these two wee have chosen this place of Scripture And I intend not to trade with every particular in the Verse but so much in it as fitteth my intendment in hand Expos That which I aime at is in the middle of the Verse I dwell with him that is of a broken heart Give me leave to open the words The great God of heaven that inhabiteth eternity in glory for the comfort of every poore broken-hearted sinner Gods two houses saith hee will dwell with him The Lord hath but two standing houses the one is in heaven in glorie the other is every broken heart and every shivered soule How he dwels in the heart Now how doth God dwell in the heart of a poore sinner The Apostle Ephes 3.17 tells us Christ dwells in our hearts by faith and it implies the constant abode of Christ by his Spirit in the soule being received and entertained by faith So that first there must bee a broken heart before there can bee faith or before Christ will dwell in our hearts to our comfort Consider what a kind of heart it must be wherein God will dwell It must bee an humble and a shivered spirit
Hee dwells in heaven by his glory yet though thou wert as low as hell in thy selfe God will come and take possession of thy heart marvellous graciously In the words so farre as they concerne my purpose the thing mainly observable is the necessitie and excellencie of this broken and humble soule It is the only receptacle of the Lord Iesus Christ If you will have Christ and grace to dwell in you you must get humble spirits Doct. So the Doctrine in generall from hence is this The soule must bee broken and humbled None but the broken heart is an house for Christ before the Lord Iesus Christ can or will dwell therein and before faith can be wrought therein There must bee contrition before there will bee an inhabitation of Christ in the soule As men specially great men will have their houses ayred before they come to lie there so this contrition is the ayring or sweeping of the soule that so it may be inhabited Foretold This was typified and foretold in the old law When the people of Israel were to goe into the Land of Canaan which shadowed the kingdome of grace here and of glory hereafter they must goe through the vast terrible troublesome and roaring wildernesse and through those streights and extreme hazzards before God brought them to the Land of Promise Whereby the Lord typified thus much unto us that before the soule can bee truely possessed of Christ it must goe through these rockie wayes of contrition and humiliation Hos 2.14 Therefore behold I will allure her and bring her into the wildernesse Ad aperiendam spem Hieron and speake comfortably to her And in vers 15. I will give her the valley of Achor for the dore of hope and shee shall sing there as in the dayes of her youth and as in the dayes when she came out of Egypt Compare that 15. verse with Ioshua 7.25 The sloodgate of sorow a dore of hope The doore of hope is nothing else but the expectation of all good things from God which hee hath promised And here remember the story of Achor Achan had stollen the wedge of gold and the Babylonish garment and therefore God departed away from the Campe. Now the Lord pursued him and caused the people to stone him with stones and they called the place The Valley of Achor to this day .i. The Valley of trouble and affliction The Lord hath reference to his former dealing As he did before in the time of Ioshua hee first subdued Achan and then hee gave them successe against all their adversaries As if he had said I will give them the Valley of contrition and humiliation for the Gate to all comfort and sweet refreshing here and hereafter So you must goe through the wildernesse to this Valley of Achor before you can come to this doore of hope to this Land of Canaan you must stone these corruptions of yours which have troubled the Spirit of God and then there is a doore of hope set open for you And as it was foretold so it was the end why the Lord Iesus Christ was sent as Isa 61.12 The Spirit of the Lord is upon mee saith Isaiah in the stead of Christ because the Lord hath annointed mee to preach glad tydings unto the meeke hee hath sent mee to bind up the broken-hearted to proclaime libertie to the captives and to comfort all that mourne Nay 2. Accomplished the Lord hath not onely sent Christ to this end and promised this but he hath done as hee did promise And this is the condition upon which he hath promised and given all comfort to his people as in Psal 34.18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit Hee is neere them to comfort them and to assist them and deliver them and thus the Saints of God have found it as 2 Chron. 33.12 where the Text saith that Manasses humbled himselfe mightily before the Lord and hee found peace to his soule and the Lord pardoned his sinne Hee was a mighty sinner and had mighty rebellions and mighty pride of heart and therefore the Lord laid him as low as the dust though hee were a King As hee had beene a mighty sinner so hee was now a mighty patterne of humiliation and the Lord had mercy on him Two reasons of the point The reasons and grounds of Gods dispensation this way are these two especially 1 Whether we consider the receiving of faith and Christ with it or 2 The keeping and maintaining of faith being received In both these it is plaine that God will breake our hearts before hee gives us Christ or faith I say it is necessary in the way of his providence Reas 1 1 It is an especiall meanes to make way for faith and for Christ because all the lets and impediments which hinder the entrance of faith into the soule are removed by humiliation and brokennesse of spirit Two let ts of faith removed by brokennesse of heart Now besides many other bolts and springs as in a locke there are many springs and little bolts besides the maine bolt so I say there are two maine bolts which make the soule uncapable of faith which being removed faith will come into the soule The first let which is an hinderance to the worke of faith is this 1 Lett. To seek contentment in the naturall condition there is a settled kind of contentment which the soule taketh up in its owne estate and the heart of a sinfull creature sitteth downe well apaid in that sinfull miserable condition wherein he is and hee desireth no other nay hee would have no change in this kind This is one maine bolt which stoppeth the way and keepeth faith from comming into the heart This is the frame of every mans heart naturally So we see in Deut. 29.19 And if it come to passe that when hee heareth the words of this curse that he blesse himselfe in his heart saying I shall have peace though I walke in the imagination of mine owne heart or adde drunkennesse to thirst The Lord will not spare him but the anger of the Lord and his jealousie shall smoake against that man and all the curses that are written in this booke shall fall upon him and the Lord shall blot his name from under heaven People blesse themselves in their condition notwithstanding all the promises of blessing and threatning of judgement If any man have such a root of bitternesse in him and shall blesse himselfe in this condition and say I will promise my felfe an happy end let Moses threaten what he can I tell thee the wrath of the Lord shall smoake against that man See that notable place in Iob 21.14 It imports so much For they said to God Depart from us for wee desire not the knowledge of thy wayes that is wee are as we would be When wholsome counsels and exhortations are ministred namely that
And that other place in Luke 3.5.6 can admit of no other sense Every valley shall be filled and every mountaine and hill shall be brought low And all flesh shall see the salvation of God These words cannot be literally understood for there was no mountaines to be removed nor no vallies to bee filled up for Christ was no temporall King but the meaning is a removeall of all those mountains and impediments that stood betweene Christ and the soule Thus you see the Temple prepared is nothing but the heart truely broken and humbled Secondly let us see what it is to come into this Temple And Christs comming to it As the way and the Temple was so the comming into this Temple is to be spiritually understood and that is when the Lord Iesus Christ comes to take possession of him but consider this he comes like a King and therefore hee hath Iohn Baptist to make way for him The comming of a King discovers it selfe in two things first the King taketh the Soveraigne command of the place where he is and if there be any guests there they must be gone and resigne up all the house to him so the Lord Iesus comes to take soveraigne possession of the soule Secondly the King brings all his provision with him so the Lord Christ brings all provision for the soule with him So then the meaning is this When Iohn Baptist by the power of the word hath wrovght upon the soule and made it humble and low and willing to be at the Lords dispose when the broken heart seeks for a Saviour then the Lord comes suddenly and like a King You humble soules consider this he will take possession of those humble broken hearts of yours and he will bring his owne provision with him he cares for nothing but a vessell emptied and a heart thus fitted and prepared he will bring provision enough of comfort of vocation of adoption of sanctification and the like In this part of the verse thus opened wee have two doctrines first that the Lord Iesus Christ will not delay to come into the heart that is truely humbled and broken Who is the Lord Christ What is the Temple The heart truely humbled And when comes he Suddenly this is the ground of the doctrine The second is the Lord Iesus takes possession of the soule humbled and provides for it as his owne he comes like a King as I said before This is the ground of the second point which discovers the nature of the implantation the first discouers the appurtenances of it Doct. Christ delays not to come into an humbled heart For the first The Lord Iesus will not delay to come into the heart truely humbled as I may say he layeth all other workes aside as if he did looke for none but this how he may come home to the heart truely humbled The Lord will not come at a proud worldly minded man No the Lord leaves all yea heaven and all the world and onely lookes after and loues to live with the humble broken heart For proofe of the point This is the reason why the Scripture doth not content it selfe to shew the marvellous delight that God hath in such a spirit See how plenteous the Scripture is to shew how ready the Lord is to call in at the heart of the humbled soule and to rise and lie and rest to eat and drink and sleep with the humble heart nay when he is come he wil not away againe as wee may see in that example of the lost son Luke 15.20 Hee said I will arise and goe to my father and say Father I have sinned against heaven and before thee and am not worthy to bee called thy son make me as one of thy hired servants As soone as ever he resolved of the worke marke how the father behaues himselfe towards him though he were base and beggarly in his condition He might have said Let thy Harlots and thy Queanes helpe thee But he saw him a far off and ran to meet him and fell upon his neck and kissed him Though he were a wretched creature yet now he because the father saw him humble he remembers not that he had been with Harlots all was forgotten the father saw him afarre off before the child could spie him he pittied him before he could confesse his sin he was more ready to meet him than he was to come and he kissed him before he could receiue any acknowledgement from him This is the marvellous enlargement of the Lord to receive an humble broken heart And when he had kissed him Luk 15.21 22 the lost child said Father I have sinned against heaven and before thee and am no more worthy to bee called thy son But the father said to his servants Bring forth the best robe and put it on him and put a ring upon his hand and so forth as if he had said It is no matter what thou hast bin now thou art come home and hast humbled thy selfe I am glad of it Thus he passeth by all the former misdemenours And so it is in the same Chapter ver 4.5.6 If a man have an hundred sheep and lose one will he not leaue the ninety nine and seek that which was lost And when hee hath found it hee layeth it on his shoulders rejoycing And when he comes home he calleth together his friends and saith Rejoyce with me for I have found my lost sheep The meaning is this The lost sheep is the lost sinner that is wandred from the Lord Iesus Christ The soule that after all the mercies and favours that God hath shewed to allure him he goes away from God and then one drops in a ditch and another is lost in the wildernesse or Forrest yet hee leaues all to seeke the lost sheepe and leaveth not seeking till he findeth it and if he hath found it he reioyceth For the Lord will leave all to seeke a poore lost sinner and the more need thou hast and the more lost thou art in thy selfe the more labour will the Lord take to find thee out and though thou canst not goe the Lord will carry thee upon his shoulders and when thou art come home hee rejoyceth exceedingly This shewes the marvellous bounty of the Lord to poore sinners it is the scope of the Parable concerning the Pearle Matth. 13.45.46 The kingdome of heaven is like unto a wise Merchant man who having found one Pearle of great Price went and sold all that he had to buy it The pearle is nothing else but that rich mercy of God in his son Christ and Christ in the promise is the Pearle and the Merchant-man is every Christian man that wants mercy and comfort to releive him for he saith What is all the world to me if my soule wants mercy Well he knowes where the Pearle is What 's the price of it Sell all Selling of all is nothing but this when a man is content to part with sin and all
naughty spirit who endure not broken spirits Doth Christ come suddenly into the heart truely humbled and prepared Let us trie then and take a taste of the spirits of such men that are not able to beare nor endure the presence of poore broken hearted sinners If the servant will not lie for the masters advantage and if the child leaue his base courses and will not give a carnall father content according to his mind marke how their spirits rise against such men their hearts rise with marvellous desperate indignation against such men they cannot thinke of them with any quiet they cannot brook the sight of them if it be a servant never so loose and vile hee is regarded but the humble child is trampled upon and they say to him You had best goe to your holy brethren and to the company of such and such precise ones This is the undoubted argument of a gracelesse spirit either Christ erres or else thou art out of the way either Christ is to be blamed for his practice or thou Doth he come to such as are humbled and art thou weary of them Thou art a gracelesse soule and an enemy to the Lord of life When the people of Israel began to speake of going into the wildernesse to sacrifice to the Lord their God they did stinke and were abominable in the eyes of Pharaoh and the Egyptians indeed the Egyptians did alwayes dislike them Exod. 5.21 but now they were an abomination to them This was nothing else but a type Pharaoh is the Devill and this Egyptian servitude is our spirituall bondage under sinne How doth thy heart stand towards these poore soules Art thou carried with indignation against them It is an argument of a heart void of grace and that thou art an Egyptian to this day therefore the Lord will requite thee in thy owne kind and that thou art now weary of their society and art not able to live with them and art loath to be seene amongst them and darest not shew thy selfe to come within the compasse of a broken heart lest thy drunkken companions revile thee for the same and say art turned a Puritan now will you bee of their company and then thou swearest thou knowest them not This is a shrewd signe thou shalt never enioy the company of those poore Saints in glory Vse 3 The third use is a ground of instruction and we hence learne how to make choice of our companions Chuse the broken-hearted for companions Learne of our Saviour the broken hearted sinners are the best for society in the world and therefore reioyce thou in their company Let us not thinke much to come to such as Christ comes to let us not thinke that the basenesse of their persons or the meannesse of their estates will be any cause for us why we should discard or disdaine their company Be sure that thy soule bee farre from this carnall distemper Happily thy carnall friend will say Thou wilt disgrace thy person to keepe company with such as those are Make answer for thy selfe and against their face and say They are my betters yea the Lord Iesus Christ blessed for ever keeps company with them and shall not I doe it too The Lord Iesus desires no better company and shall I goe any further If he bee a sound broken hearted sinner it s no matter what his condition be As the Apostle Saint Iohn saith That you also may have fellowship with us 1 Iohn 1.3 Why may some say what great matter is that The Apostle saith our fellowship is no small matter for it is with God the Father and with Iesus Christ There is never a poore soule though hee goe barely and fare meanely but if his heart bee truely humbled his fellowship is with Iesus Christ which is no little matter Zech. 8.23 when the Lord had honoured the Iewes there came many citizens to them and took hold of the skirt of a Iew and said We will go with you for we have heard that God is with you So doe thou Dost thou see a broken hearted man lay hold on his skirts dwell in that house if thou canst and say I will liue with thee for ever God is with thee nay the Lord is in thee yea the company of an humbled soule is even a corner of heaven here upon earth It is so in truth and therefore let it be so in your judgements What is it to be in heaven Wee shall be ever with the Lord this is to be in heaven 1 Thes 4.17 Is this to be in heaven Then wheresoever thou art thou art with Christ thou art in heaven Whensoever thou art in the company of a broken hearted sinner thou art with Christ and therefore in heaven and whensoever thou commest into their company Christ Iesus will give thee the meeting Your fashionmungers count it a matter of credit to have Court fashions this is the Court fashion and the Court is where Christ our Lord and King is Christ dwels in such a house and in such a heart and therefore as thou dost hope to be with Christ for ever rejoyce to be with such persons this is the onely way that a man must take to chuse his company Doe good to all neighbours and all Christians and hope well of all but reioyce especially in those whose hearts are truely broken in the sight and presence of the Lord. Vse 4 4. It is a ground of thankfulnesse to all that are truely humbled before God Be thankfull for this great respect of Christ to thy poore soule Thus you ought to have your hearts stored with thankfulnesse nay to stand and wonder at the goodnesse and kindnesse of God I would have a man spend all his time this way When the Lord Iesus hath gone through many Countries and passed by many rich and honourable and great ones of the world and that he should looke in at a poore family and knocke at a poore mans doore and that hee should looke in at a poore wretched heart of a wife or of a child this is marvellous mercy If a great person especially a Prince or Monarch did looke into a poore mans house or come to visit a man in prison what would the world say Oh the like was never heard of the King himselfe in his owne person lighted there and staid there and went into the dungeon and conferred with him a great while Men would bee besides themselves if they had this favour from the King In Luke 1.43 when Mary was with child of the Lord and came to visit Elizabeth shee said to Mary Whence is this to mee that the mother of my Lord should come to mee I see no ground nor reason for this there is no worth on my part that I should looke for such favour Now if shee were so ravished with the presence of Mary the mother of Christ what maist thou bee then in regard of the presence of Christ himselfe that is come to lodge in thy
liberty For the first I told you that the maine which wee aimed at is to take notice how the soule may come to have an interest and a title to Christ and how to come to be possessed of him and of all that great redemption which he hath wrought Now the application of this discovers it selfe in two things first there must be a preparation secondly there must be an ingrafting of the soule into Christ before the heart can come to be partaker of that sap or of that saving grace which is in Christ and which will flow from him to all that have any interest in him through faith There must be a preparation before the sinner can come to receive Christ For as before conversion he wanted grace so hee is not capable in the next passive power to receive grace For as the Apostle saith the carnall man is not subject to the law of God nor indeed can be for the naturall man perceives not the things of the Spirit of God nay 1 Cor. 2 14. he cannot receive them because they are foolishnesse to him So that there must be a preparation of the soule before Christ will come and take possession of it and an emptying of the soule before Christ will fill it Now this preparation made it selfe known Preparation for Christ stands in two things as you remember in two particulars first in the dispensation of the worke on Gods part that is the Lord drawes the sinner from himselfe and his corruption and breakes that cursed league and combination that is between sin the soule he rends the heart from it for as our Saviour Christ saith No man can come to the Son except the Father draw him Iohn 6.44 Secondly as the dispensation on Gods part so there is something for the disposition which God workes upon the hearts of all that he will prepare for Christ and that is known in two workes contrition and humiliation which we have already handled Two things keepe from Christ These were not things of meere complement but of necessity required as wee haue disputed and it is requisite that the soule have both the workes of contrition and of humilation For there are two maine hinderances which keepe the soule off from Christ as first security in his owne estate whereby the heart is blinded and deluded and sets up his stand and is at rest and quiet in his condition and hee seeth no need of any better and from hence naturall men thinke it needlesse for Ministers to disquiet them and they say What would you have done by us And they thinke it a matter of curiositie either to have their hearts changed or their lives reformed Now therefore the Lord sends in this worke of contrition and pierceth the heart thorow and lets in the horrour of his vengeance and makes the soule see that if he will have his sin he must have his damnation too and by this time the soule comes to see need of a change and hee seeth if he continue thus he is an undone man and shall be damned for ever Thus the Lord pluckes away the soule from that securitie wherein naturally it is setled The second thing which keeps him off from Christ is carnall confidence for when the sinner seeth his misery by reason of his sin that lodgeth in his heart and that hath been committed by him then he begins to seeke succour and to scramble for his owne comfort Well he seeth that sin is dangerous and he will mend now and reforme all that God condemnes him in and he thinkes ovt of his owne power to save his owne soule and to give God content and to make amends for all that he hath done amisse This is his carnall confidence which he hath in his owne selfe-sufficiency and here many thousands of soules perish resting meerly in the huske and shell of their prayers and hearing which in themselves are good and commendable but they are no Mediatours or Saviours to us Therefore that the Lord may plucke the soule from this carnall confidence he sends out another great worke of humiliation and makes the soule see the weaknesse and emptinesse of its duties and that there is enough in its best services to condemne him and for which the Lords wrath may confound him for ever And now the soule seeth that notwithstanding all his prayers and hearings yet his sin remaines yea remaines unpardoned his corruptions are not subdued his conscience not quieted and therefore despairing of all help in himselfe or in the creature he falls down at the foot of the Lord and is content to be at Gods dispose and when the soule is thus fitted then it is prepared to goe out of it selfe and to lay hold upon the Lord Iesus Christ and upon the fountain of all that good that works all good in him This humiliation works and this is the fitting of the soule for Christ Thus farre we have gone all this while the poore sinner is like the children of Israel travelling in the wildernesse partly in the valley of teares and partly in the vast wildernesse they did not immediately come into the Land of Canaan but were wandring under the hands of Moses which was a type of the Law and Ioshua a type of Iesus Christ and Egypt the resemblance of a mans misery under sin and Sathan and their wandring in the wildernesse was like the humbling and breaking of the soule that the Lord may doe it good Now wee are just upon the coasts of Canaan and hard by all those spirituall good things that Christ hath purchased for us and when the soule is thus fitted and prepared there is nothing to bee done but to goe into the good land and take possession I meane when the heart is thus rent from himselfe and his corruption then he must lay hold upon Christ and enter into the good Land but before we goe we must haue the command of our spiritual Ioshua to set us in possession of it Thus you see the soule is like a graft cut off from the old stock by contrition and also pared and fitted by humiliation in regard of any selfe-sufficiency Now the nex part that we are to handle is the ingraffing of the soule into Christ and I will doe two things in the handling of this great work of ingraffing First I will discover the generall nature of this worke leaving all the difficulties and particulars of it till afterward See it in the 2. Doctrine if God give liberty secondly I will shew you how the soule is ingraffed into Christ 1. What this ingraffing is What ingraffing into Christ is This being in Christ may be thus described to you It is a worke of the Spirit of God whereby the humbled sinner stands possessed of Christ and all the good that is in Christ In this description you may take notice of three things which are the speciall guides to you for the vnderstanding of that which we will
sutes best with the hearts of wayward sinners onely hee lets in some incklings of his favour and grace and upholds the heart with so much mercy as may beare it up and yet but with so much Thus the Lord deales with us as a wise father doth with his child Simile hee seeth if he had his portion in his hands he would be riotous and carelesse and therefore it is wisedome not to trust him with his estate but to keepe him low and to keepe him upon dependance that hee may have better subjection from his hands So it is with the Lord he seeth that wee have unruly hearts and that if wee had that evidence of Gods mercy made knowne to us that wee would have we would be so proud and so haughty and so full of contempt and so censorious that there were no living with us therfore the Lord keepes us short and holds such soules low and keepes us only in some hope to hold up our soules and the more dependance the soule hath the more observance hath the Lord from us Experience proveth it true I have many things to write unto you but you are not able to beare them now you are not capable of them yet As it is with a little barke Simile if it should have a great maine mast and broad saile cloathes then in stead of carrying it it would bee overthrowne by them therefore men proportion their mast according to their shippe or barke and if it have skilfull Mariners they strike saile when they come into the shallow or narrow Seas This is the reason why the Lord deales so with us the soule is like the ship and the sense of Gods love and mercy is like the saile that carries us on in a Christian course and if we get but a little saile of mercy and favour we goe on sweetly and comfortably but if God give us aboundance of assurance our cursed rotten hearts would overturne and in stead of quickning of us it would ouerthrow us so that though God doth it the fault is in our selues That I take to bee the ground why many a poore Saint of God hath smoaked out his dayes in doubting and making question of Gods mercy and goodnes and at the houre of death God hath given them a full assurance of mercy Note and so carried them full saile to heaven they were not able to beare this before As a faithfull Minister of God once said to a poore woman that had beene long time questioning her selfe and doubting of her salvation when at last the Lord made it good unto her soule that Christ was her owne then the Minister sayd to her The Lord will not alwayes giue his children a cordiall but he hath it ready for them when they are fainting The comfort of Gods spirit is better then wine Cant 1.2 Now when a man hath a proud haughty selfe-conceited heart if he had much of this cordiall hee would forget himselfe and trample upon every one and therefore the Lord reserues this great mercy to the last this deprives a Christian of abundance of sweetnesse that otherwise God would bestow upon him Let every man therefore goe to his owne heart and examine it if while God is pleased to keepe us under hatches and to knock off our wheeles and leaue us in the dust if yet in the meanest degree we can snarle with Gods providence and say Why do I pray and God answers not others crie and God heareth them and why doth hee not heare me If when we are under wee doe thus then what would we doe if we might haue what we would we would say as the people in Ieremies time Wee will come no more at thee we are Lords Ieremy 2.31 Therefore that the Lord may prevent this proud spirit of ours and that we may walke in humility before him it is just with God to withdraw his Spirit from us if you haue not comfort thanke your selues for it So then gather up all and the summe is this If wee have not the apprehension of Christs presence with us though hee is there then either it is because of our owne ignorance or carelesnesse wee know him not or attend not when hee comes or else we mis-judge the presence of Christ and onely esteeme of his favour and presence according to the extraordinary sweetnesse that we would haue and that wee imagine should accompany the presence of Christ or else because our eyes are held with the hurry of some temptation and some worldly inconvenience that wee cannot see the Lord Christ though hee bee within us or else the Lord justly hideth himselfe from us because we are fallen into some grosse sinne or else parly with some private infirmities and doe not labour to humble our selues mightily for them and strive against them or else we doe abuse the favour of God or else wee have proud hearts that wee are not able to beaâ—e that comfort that we would have therefore I say the Lord hides himselfe from us to prevent evill in us This I take to be the answer to the question in hand Come into his Temple Here is a word that giues us foot-hold for the second Doctrine into his Temple This is a word of propriety as in that place when Christ came into the Temple and saw those that bought and sold in it He made a scourge of small cords and drave them all out of the Temple and the sheepe and the oxen and cast out the changers of money and overthrew the Tables Iohn 2.15 and he claimed the house for his owne saying My house shall be called a house of prayer Mat. 21 13. This word I say is a word of propriety Hee comes not like a stranger or like a forreiner but like a King to his Palace to take possession of it So the Doctrine is this Doct. 2 Doct. 2. Christ takes possession of every humbled soule When the Lord Iesus comes to a soule truely humbled hee taketh possession of it as his owne he comes into his Temple This is the scope of the comparison he comes as a King to his Throne where hee sits and to the Kingdome where hee rules I told you before that the ingraffing of the soule into Christ is nothing else but when the Lord by his Spirit comes to take possession of the humbled soule so that the soule stands possessed of Christ and is made partaker of all those spirituall good things that are in Christ This is generall to all the workes of application of Christ and the footsteps are to be seene in all the workes of of vocation justification adoption sanctification and the like the Lord Iesus gets ground in the heart by all these As in vocation the Lord drawes the soule to himselfe and the soule followes him in justification the Lord undertakes for the sinner and unites the soule to himselfe and makes it one with himselfe in adoption the Lord makes him a sonne and in sanctification
and come to the Court and importune him for pardon it is likely that he may be pardoned nay it shall be so Marry saith he that I will with all my heart and so hee sets forward and comes to the Court his desire carries him thither Thus it is I say with a poore sinner hee is brought home to the Court and about the Court hee attends and askes for every man that comes forth Did you not heare the King speake of me and What doe you thinke of my case At last some of the bed-chamber say to him The King heareth that you are mightily humbled and earnestly desire his favour you shall heare more from him ere long At last the King himselfe lookes out at a window and saith Is this the Traytor Yes this is he that hath beene humbled and lyes at your mercy Then the King calls out and saith His pardon is drawing and it is comming by and by and so the King smiles on him Oh then his heart leapes in his breast and hee saith The Lord preserve your Grace I thinke there was never such a mercifull Prince knowne in the world This is the love and delight that is stirred up Now when the Pardon is sealed and granted then you shall see the worke of faith A poore humbled sinner is this malefactor that hath committed high Treason against the God of heaven for every sinner hath rebelled against the God of grace The stubborne rebellious heart hath stood out against the Lord God which is high Treason though you little thinke it when you goe on wilfully and say This man shall not rule over me Well bee humbled now in time while you have mercy offered for if you bee not humbled the Lord shall send a â—aylor to take and throw you downe to Hell and therefore you had better heare of it now than hereafter when there is no remedie Perhaps the Lord now pursueth a man with his heavie indignation and le ts flye at him and sets conscience on worke to follow him and to dogge him saying This is thy sinne and hell is thy portion to hell thou must Now the soule being beset with Gods wrath in conclusion seeth hee cannot escape the Lords hands and how to purchase mercy he knowes not nor is it possible otherwise for him to escape and yet hee hath nothing to purchase mercy withall therefore hee is content to lye downe before God saying I confesse I have sinned Oh Lord bee thou glorified though I be damned for ever my sinnes are so many and so vile I cannot almost desire mercy but if the Lord will who can let him Now when the heart is thus humbled then there comes a noise a great way off in the Ministery of the Gospell and that saith Thy sinnes are all pardonable so he lookes up and hope saith Lord it may bee a damned creature may bee recovered a dead dogge may be restored to life and a Traytor may be pardoned receiued Then the Lord sends another comfortable message namely That if thou canst but see a need of mercy and looke out and waite for him thou shalt be pardoned hereupon the penitent goes to the Court gate that is hee comes mourning to the Word and saith Oh yee faithfull Ministers of God you are of the bed-chamber and you know Gods minde I pray what doth God intend towards me Hereupon we that are the Ministers of God we tell him your case is right and happely if you attend upon God you may heare more of him hereafter for the Lord heares that you lye at the Court gate and that you are exceedingly humbled and thus farre desire goes At last the Lord Iesus Christ shewes and presents himselfe to the sinner and speakes with him in the Ministery of the Word and saith That fainting weary loaden heart of thine shall bee refreshed and then giveth him a looke of mercy so that his heart danceth within him Still you must understand that the Lord alwayes speaketh by the Ministery of the Word and therefore looke for no strange dreames and visions while the Lord saith Thou art hee that longs for my salvation goe thy way I have heard thy prayers thy pardon is granted and drawne it shall be delivered to thee afterward Now when a poore sinner findes some chearing of heart he may say The Lord spake to me it s done in heaven mercie is comming towards mee the pardon is now granted and is in drawing and shall be delivered to me in due time now againe his heart leapeth within him and hee saith Blesse the Lord O my soule who ever heard of such mercy what my sinnes be pardoned and is the pardon granted and drawne if I never heare more of it and if I goe downe to hell it is enough that God hath once smiled upon mee in his love it is enough though I have the paines of hell upon me for ever for it Esa 40.12 Comfort yee comfort yee my people saith your God Speake yee comfortably to Ierusalem and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished that her iniquity is pardoned So the Lord saith to poore sinners after they have waited long enough and God hath seene their desires to be sound the Lord I say saith Tell that poore man from heaven and from the Lord Christ and under the hand of the Spirit that his sinnes are pardoned and he shall bee received to mercy Esa 66.1 2 3. The Lord lookes to him that is poore and of a contrite spirit and trembles at his word The poore creature comes and trembles at every truth and when hee heares of mercy hee saith Oh that is sweet mercy indeed but it is not mine and he shakes in the consideration of mercy that he should heare of it and not receive it The Lord lookes to him that is he casts a sweet looke upon him and lets in some sweet intimation of mercy and saith to the poore creature I have an eye to thee and my love is unto thee in the Lord Iesus Christ and with that his heart leapes in his bosome Of this kind I take that to be Ier. 31.18 19 20. I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning and lamenting himselfe thus there is a heart humbled broken and thirsting thou hast chastised me and I was chastised as a bullocke unaccustomed to the yoke turne thou me and I shall bee turned thou art the Lord my God Surely after that I was turned I repented and after that I was instructed I smote upon my thigh I was ashamed yea even confounded because I did beare the reproach of my youth Here you see Ephraim bemoaning himselfe as if hee had said I am the man that have enjoyed all the meanes in abundant plenty and yet never profited the Lord hath corrected mee and I was not humbled Oh turne thou me then O Lord for there is no abilitie in mee Now I see the sinnes that before I could not see and the basenesse of my evill courses and I am even