little washing doth cure it another hath a wound in the thigh or the arm that must have a great deal of lancing and washing ere it bee whole Oh! sins are wounds the least vanities are knocks on the crowns but there are blasphemies and uncleannesses and unrighteousnesses with a witness and the Lord must deal a little harshly with thee how else should hee deal with thee Tremble at every little sin but tremble especially at great sins I say not that great sins shall hinder us from Christ but upon the account of them at our first beleeving wee may meet with harshness in Christ The deeper our wounds the sharper our cure alwaies Thirdly There are a third sort of people that cannot but expect Christ will deal harshly with them Those that do neglect many a sweet and gracious tender of mercy and salvation by Jesus Christ many a day Suppose two people in the same Congregation one is crouded here that never heard the Gospel all his daies another is here that hath heard the Gospel many years you that have neglected sweet calls and precious opportunities if Christ receive you at last it will bee rich mercy but it will bee harshly I have often thought of it young people do not know how much bitterness of spirit they avoid by closing with Christ betimes My thinks I see some souls under such a condition you have stayed out all day and come home at midnight I do not say you shall not bee received when you come but you may bee received with a whip and go to bed without a Supper as wee use to say to some children Now I am afraid of one snare of the Devil My thinks I hear the Devil whispering to some souls well bee it so as you say so long as Christ will receive you at last so long as I shall not go to Hell so long as I shall have mercy at last then I will go on c. I will speak three words to this First of all It is more than you know I say it is more than you know that you shall bee saved at last I say it is possible Christ may receive the soul but how do you know it who did tell thee that it thou didst sin so many years after all thou shouldest have Christ with a whip and a knock Secondly It is a thousand to one that it shall bee so The soul that puts off closing with Christ upon this presumption that hee shall have it at last and will presume to tarry because hee perswades himself of a sure reception though it may bee sore I say these of all persons in my judgement have ground to fear lest the Lord give them to a deluded heart to damning dreams and soul-cheating hopes I fear if any bee thus Christ will not receive them no not at first nor last neither sweetly nor severely therefore take heed of this delusion But let mee add Thirdly I will suppose this that thou shalt bee saved at last very harshly Consider the terms dost thou know how harsh they will bee Dost thou know what terrours of the Lord may bee upon thee what terrours of Hell may bee in thee c Oh Sirs who knows the power of Gods wrath who knows the terrour of a wounded conscience can you live seven years under the apprehension of Gods wrath fourteen years under terrour and every day to walk up and down under everlasting burnings Beware how you go on upon those tearms but let every soul bee wise now beware now bee watchful now that sith the Lord though hee bee sweet can bee bitter beware how you provoke him to bee so to you Last Use The third and last Use It is for Exhortation to exhort you all to receive this truth so as not to bee offended with it I say so to receive this truth c. I remember our Lord and Saviour in John 16. preaches the truth of persecution upon this account These things saith hee I speak that you may not bee offended c. My Brethren this Truth this great Truth this strange Truth that Christ may deal thus hardly with some souls that come to him I preach it and tell you of it that you may not bee offended not offended when it comes to pass as to your particulars There are two offences one is therefore to say I will never go to Christ The other offence is I finde it so that Christ is harsh and therefore I will go no further I pray bee not thus offended First Do not stumble upon this as a rock of offence and say I will not go to Christ this is but to some I do not say the Lord will deal thus with all say not were I in the Woman of Canaans condition I could never hold up and therefore I will stand off Do not say so who are you that walk uprightly and avoid sin and snatch at a tender of mercy and are willing to come at a call go to Christ and you will finde that hee will entertain you friendly or suppose it bee seemingly harsh yet remember better bee entertained by Christ seemingly harsh than not to go at all and bee shut out for ever bee not offended therefore do not stumble at going to Christ Secondly Let no soul bee so offended at this dealing as to say I will bee gone I will bee gone I will wait no longer By Brethren it may bee there may bee some poor soul here before the Lord that may say I am a second Woman of Canaan a woman of a bitter spirit of a grieved soul because I have gone to Christ and am not entertained I have got Father Mother Minister childe to pray for mee I am not yet answered My beloved for all this thou art but a Woman of Canaan and the Lord may deal with you as such what though hee speak not at all or but harshly this is not new neither do thou so wonder at it or bee offended by it as to think of drawing back or going away from Jesus Christ Therefore let mee speak two words to thee 1 One is Bee advised 2 The other is Bee encouraged The first word is of Advice I pray take advice O poor heart Thou sayest thou hast gone to Christ and hee frowns thou sayest thou hast looked up to the brazen Serpent and yet the sting of the fiery Serpent abides thou sayest thou hast called for a crum of bread and no answer comes bee advised to look about you to see why God deals thus with you you may bee bold with the Lord Jesus hee never checked the Woman with boldness ask Christ Lord is thy design to humble mee then do so or Lord what is thy design is it to try mee then do so but support mee Is it to heighten thy self in my heart Lord what is thy design look about you and consider for which of all the Reasons it is that the Lord deals thus with you Secondly Bee encouraged to wait upon the Lord yet a
shee did not speak it But then in the second place Quest 2. Why doth our Lord say unto her Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt Take a double Answer to this likewise Answ 1. The Lord Jesus saw that this Woman did want more things than one Jesus Christ saw all her wants and all her wishes too though shee did not express them That place in Romans 8. is known to all of you but the 27. verse is not so often taken notice of And hee that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the spirit because hee maketh intercession for the Saints according to the will of God The soul sighs and groans by the Spirit and many a time the soul doth not know his own sighing who shall know it why Hee shall know it that makes intercession this is particularly spoken of Jesus Christ The Spirit helps thee to sigh and thou canst not tell thy own sighs Jesus Christ can tell what it means I say Jesus Christ knows for that place is to bee understood particularly of Christ for it is hee that maketh intercession as it is there expressed It is a Scripture which may much stay our hearts Christ knows what wee want even then when wee cannot tell our selves onely in the general sigh Minde it Oh my Beloved you go to Jesus Christ with one word and a many sighs the Lord will answer all your sighs and will say Bee it to you not onely as you speak but as you groan and as you sigh too Answ 2. The Lord Christ loves to shew his bounty in rewarding any souls for any delay Isa 61.7 for your shame you shall have double And Zechariah 9.12 Turn yee to the strong hold yee prisoners of hope even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee Upon these accounts it was that our Lord doth not answer this Woman with a particular word take what you come for but in a general way bids her take all things any thing which shee could desire take what thou wilt as thou wilt But to proceed to the last Question The Third and last Question is Why doth the Lord give this in the last place Her Daughter was made whole One would have thought this should have been the first word Woman go thy way thy daughter is whole but first hee speaks of her Faith and then to her souls desire Why doth Christ so that is the Question Answ Now the Answer hereunto is easie and it may bee this Our Lord Jesus is wise and gracious and therefore knowing what wee need most and what is best to bestow upon us Hee doth still give that first which is most necessary and which is the chiefest My Beloved I pray remember it The Lord loves to give the best mercies first her Daughter was possessed with a Devil but that was but a corporal infirmitie her own soul was more under the power of the Devil and the deliverance of that most needful therefore hee gives the more necessary thing first O my Beloved you have a wise Christ a good Christ hee will satisfie particular desires but hee will first do the best things Indeed Christ reacheth us to begg the best things first Seek yee first the Kingdome of Heaven and therefore first pray Thy Kingdome come But wee are ignorant and apt to mistake wee often ask the best things last Now Christ will give the best first Therefore hee begins to speak to the Mothers soul here before hee mentions her Daughters distemper But let this suffice for these Questions To come to the words there are many Points observable from this place Particular Notes I shall take in by the by and therefore shall not touch upon them Neither shall I press the words too hard there is no need of it This Text like a brave hony-comb drops out in three things like hony without any pressing First Observe here What it was that carried the Woman on and thorow all this while what bladder kept his Woman from sinking It was Faith O Woman great is thy Faith Secondly Observe What rich bounty is here here is glorious Grace rich Grace Have what thou wilt And then Thirdly Observe That shee hath a particular grant of her special request her Daughter was made whole It is the second thing I do principally aim at but shall speak of the two other And first Observe from the first That it is true Faith alone that carries the soul thorow all difficulties and discouragements in the way to Christ I shall not bee large in the handling of this Point I have often spoken of Faith and the work of Faith as it doth receive Christ how that is performed c. therefore I shall confine my self to the Text and the boundaries of it to shew that in all the difficulties the soul meets withall in coming to Christ Faith bears the soul up under all And pray mark what I say I say true Faith nor strong Faith neither do I say a degree of Faith but a true Faith It is true this Woman had great Faith and shee needed it for she had great difficulties but the Point lies positively thus Faith if it bee true it is that and that alone that carries up the soul above all difficulties and discouragements in its coming to Christ I suppose I need not tell you that there are difficulties in the way of coming to Christ This Woman knew there were difficulties and discouragements but what carried her thorow did her Patience carry her thorow shee had that did her reverend esteem of Christ carry her thorow shee had that did the pinch of her wants carry her thorow No Christ doth not say Oh Woman great is thy patience or great is thy esteem of mee or great is thy want But O Woman great is thy Faith It was the Womans Faith that carried her thorow these difficulties I will demonstrate this Doctrine by some instances and therefore I shall mention some of the difficulties which are in our way to Christ and shew how that it is Faith and Faith alone by which the Lord doth use to help us against all these difficulties Now therefore I pray minde it and you may mostly observe in our-coming to Christ There are four waies from whence our difficulties and discouragements do arise and you will see that true Faith alone will carry the soul thorow all these The difficulties arise thus from 1 Self 2 Satan 3 The World 4 Christ himself may do that seemingly which may and doth make it difficult to come unto him But now yet see as to each how Faith carries the soul thorow all these To begin with the first which is Self that comes in to oppose us And pray good people look about you your selves are the greatest hinderances to keep you from Christ now what shall carry us up above our selves but Faith by Faith Moses denies himself And saith Christ Whoever will come after mee must deny himself how shall hee do
doth appear upon this consideration nothing but this could have so quieted the heart of David that the childe was happy Indeed some think that the phrase I shall go to him is no more but I shall bee dead as hee is and they say David did acquiesce in this that the will of God was fulfilled and therefore David comforts himself in this I shall go to him But if this had not been to Heaven it could have been no great comfort Alass what comfort is this bare thought to a mourning Parent my childe is dead and I shall dye too David might have had that comfort in Absolons death but here was his comfort I shall go to him i. e. to glory the bare grave is not comfort nor was it to David but the glory beyond the grave is And this is that comfort which doth stay the heart I shall go to him Though God did not hear him for his childes life yet I think for his childes soul So that is another thing to satisfie any Christian in this case I say when Christ doth not hear prayers to restore a childe to life and health yet in this case in particular go to the Lord Jesus you may go and you may prevail for corporal kindnesses for them and if not for their bodies who can tell but you may for their souls Then I beseech you all in the words of the Apostle Phil. 4.6 compared with verse 19. Bee careful for nothing but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request bee made known unto God My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus Whatever your condition bee bee not over careful go to the Lord Jesus and hee will supply all thy wants hee will give a pardon to thy soul and a plaister to thy body and to thy childes body too you may go to Jesus Christ for what you will in a way of beleeving and to bee sure you shall alwaies prevail in spirituals and sometimes in corporals But there are two questions that wee must answer First But in what cases may it bee lawful to put Prayer and Faith a working in going to Christ for corporal kindnesses Secondly When may wee hope that wee may prevail with Christ for corporal kindnesses First In what cases may wee go to the Lord Jesus and set Prayer and Faith on work for corporal kindnesses It is a Case of Conscience which is not oftentimes touched upon Three things I shall tell you to regulate you and then in any case you may go to Christ and act Faith for corporal mercies First When the thing is lawful that you ask There are many things that are not lawful for us to ask Like Neroes Mother ask and say I will have my Son King though I dye for it You may not begg of the Lord that your childe may bee thus great or thus honourable but you may begg of the Lord life and health creature accommodations so far as necessary these things you may begg and go to Christ for Secondly You must look that your spirits bee not inordinately set upon the things When ever thou findest thy heart inordinately set upon any thing then do not pray for it And then Thirdly When you can appeal to Jesus Christ that the end for which you begg a corporal kindness it is for his glory then you may begg it As David there in Psa 119.17 Deal bountifully with thy servant that I may live and keep thy Word You may go and say Lord Jesus Let my childe live for what end that hee may bee a great man a rich man c. No the Lord will abhor it But that my childe may live to serve the Lord if that bee your end you may pray for it And then Quest 2. But you will say When shall I know or may I guess that I shall prevail with Christ What are the signs of the time and season when I may hope I shall prevail with Christ for mercy c Answ I answer When the frame of your spirit is as the frame of the spirit of the Woman of Canaan I pray mark it a little what the frame of the spirit of this Woman was Take it in some particulars I will name onely two viz. First Shee had this frame of spirit That though shee mentioned her childes case yet shee seems to minde her own soul most And Secondly Shee had this as the frame of her spirit To beleeve for both Now to urge it in a few words to you The first frame of her spirit was That though shee did begg this mercy for her childe yet the frame of her spirit was principally set upon her soul This poor Woman did desire her Daughters life but however Lord bread for my poor soul Oh Sirs when you can go to God and say Lord I would have such a corpotal mercy but however Lord soul-mercy when you can desire a sick childe may bee made well but especially an evil heart mended when your soul is set mostly upon your soul and its concernments then are you in a good frame Secondly This Woman was raised up to measure of Faith Indeed some great and considerate Divines do think that that Text of James 5. where it is said The prayer of Faith shall save the sick is to bee understood in reference to a particular Faith And my Beloved howsoever yet let mee tell you it is not alwaies necessary wee should have a particular perswasion yet when the Lord doth intend to answer in a corporal kindness hee doth secretly either out of the word or by providence hint some word that may bring the soul to a beleeving frame Something is presented to us which raiseth up a Faith in us so that when wee are in such a frame of heart as to minde spiritual things most and yet to beleeve that in a temporal thing God will gratifie us then may wee expect that wee shall not bee ashamed of our Faith and that wee shall have the particular corporal mercy granted to us But to end This is that I would press upon the whole As ever you would have mercy for body and soul go to Jesus Christ But now there is some general word that I would draw from the whole story Wee have now dispatched this whole discourse of the Woman of Canaan What is there that is upon my spirit to begg of the Lord for you and for my own soul but this That this story may bee alwaies a good story to us First of all therefore I say Look about you that the story of the Woman of Canaan may not bee a sad story to any Is there any such as may have cause to fear that you will say Yes man or woman whoever thou art who dost not faithfully go to Jesus Christ the story of the Woman of Canaan shall condemn you you have no excuse to keep you off from going to Jesus Christ but this Woman will condemn you
whose soul was bitter coming to the Prophet and so soon as shee came to him shee fell down and caught him by the feet I pray behold and learn in all your addresses unto Jesus Christ put forth the highest affection put forth the most intenseness of your spirits that may bee cry and get hold of him Christ will not charge thee with unmannerliness Shee cried it notes the Agony of her spirit that shee was in Oh that our drousie careless souls would but learn of this Woman Many are so far from crying that they scarce lisp But remember it Sirs when you come to the Lord Jesus stir up all your souls let all your affection then go out Oh! when should wee ever let out all our souls to the utmost if not then when wee come to close with Jesus Christ There is a lawful and laudable passion to bee manifested in this matter Christ loves and likes to hear our cries O let not this poor womans crying cry any of us shame who are so far from a crying after Christ that wee do almost cry away Christ Well behold her praise-worthy passion and go thy way soul and imitate her therein Never approach Christ but with much passion with most earnest and ardent affection Secondly Shee cried Have mercy on mee Poor Woman shee speaks as one poor in spirit that is rich in Faith as Christ calls her afterwards shee had no Merit but shee knew the Lord had Mercy Behold it and know this as a lesson to bee learnt hence viz. That when you approach Christ let it bee by Mercy by meer Mercy That same poor Publican in the Gospel of Luke cries Lord bee merciful to mee a sinner My Brethren right closing with Christ right saving justifying Faith which carries the soul to Christ eyes nothing but Mercy This is the main incouragement that keeps up Faith yea and this is the great Motive that doth still prevail with the Lord therefore wee should take hold of it in Ephes 2.4 It is said But God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith hee loved us c. Thou hast misery that pincheth thee but the Lord hath mercy that will pitty thee and thou that sayest thou hast no works know this the Lord hath much grace Behold the Woman of Canaan and see how shee doth and wee ought to eye and plead meer mercy and that onely and alwaies when wee come to Christ Thirdly Observe a little further what shee saith Lord thou Son of David Shee speaks in language beyond the learning of the Scribes and Pharisees though they were great Doctors of the Law yet they had not learned this mystery to look upon Christ as the Lord and as the Son of David It was indeed a miracle that a Woman of Canaan should have this knowledge and wee might say as it was said in another case of Christ whence hath this Woman knowledge why my Brethren what could any of us have said more to Christ to speak out our Faith what is it but that wee do beleeve in the Lord Jesus Christ This phrase speaks Faith Learn hence In all your addresses to Christ to come in the language of Faith and speak to Christ as becomes Jesus Christ Still know hee is the Lord Davids Son the promised one indeed When you come to deal with Jesus Christ bee not hasty consider who hee is hee is the Lord and hee is the Son of David the true and the onely Messiah Remember this lesson in all your addresses to Jesus Christ remember this good example it is a Saints pattern There are two sorts of people I would desire to look upon this pattern The first are those who it may bee are but now beginning to close with Jesus Christ And secondly Those who it may bee have revolted and back slidden from Christ and are now returning again I pray Sirs make as much haste as you can but observe how you go Go to Jesus Christ with much affection with much humility renounce Merit and cry Mercy and still give the Lord his due So you see this Woman of Canaan doth and go thou O soul in any case and do likewise That is all I will speak to the second head To proceed to the third and last thing Behold once again the occasion of this Womans coming It was That her daughter was grievously vexed with a Devil The Evangelist Mark saies shee was vexed with an unclean spirit The one is a general the other is a particular expression of it I do not think it worth the while to dispute about this infirmity or this possession under which her Daughter lay what it was All that I shall note shall bee not of a Physical but rather of a Spiritual and Theological Nature from this Mothers coming to Christ upon this occasion In the general shee takes her childe to bee possessed with a Devil shee goes not to a figure-flinger not to any cunning man as simple ones use to say shee goes not to the Devil in a Doctor to cast out the Devil of her Daughter No but shee comes to Christ I pray in the general Learn in all cases distempers diseases c. to go first to Jesus Christ You may go to men to Physicians though not to Wizards but you must go to Christ and behold the Woman of Canaan to establish you in that good Christian custome of having recourse to Christ on all occasions in all necessities whether for yours and your selves But this is general There are two things in particular The first particular thing I would have you learn out of this Mothers coming upon this account Is Parentive pitty in compassion on children This Woman of Canaan pitties her childe and cries as if shee her self felt her Daughters pain and though shee was not sick simply yet shee was Sympathetically thou that canst let the little one cry and it may bee perish while thou art fooling abroad Oh remember the Woman of Canaan have pitty on your poor children and for their sakes go to Jesus Christ And do I mean onely you should go to Christ for them when they are sick no but Oh pray for thy childes sick soul It was a notable speech of one of the Antients said hee Wilt thou mourn over a body from whom the soul is gone and not over a soul from whom God is gone Oh shew that you have spiritual sympathy many of you have a natural sympathy if you see the childe burn and snake c. of a Feavour thou canst pitty him but it may bee thou seest him shake and reel with drunkenness and not pitty them at all It is Motherly pitty to sympathize with sick bodies but Christian pitty to sympathize with sick souls Friends put on bowels as the Elect of God as the Woman of Canaan and have compassion on your children In all their afflictions bee yee afflicted with all their sorrows bee yee affected and go to Christ on their behalf but not onely for bodies
especially considering the many former Presidents of persons coming to Christ that this woman should have been embraced presently How lowly doth shee come how loudly doth shee cry in the language of what Eaith doth shee speak yet Christ doth not answer her Remember yee the Lord Jesus may let a soul sometimes long lye before him and never take him up You indeed read of the Prodigal who when hee fell upon his face the Father fell upon his neck but beware thou promise not thy self this presently Christ may let thee fall upon thy face and not fall upon thy neck In Matthew 11. verse last You have there a sweet call Come unto mee yee that are weary c. Now I pray minde it a poor soul may go to Jesus Christ very weary and heavy laden and the Lord may let it lye a great while under the burthen of filth under the burthen of guilt and of fears and may seem for a while not at all to minde it Certainly it could not bee a little while that David lay under the burthen of Gods absence after hee had sinned against him See Psal 38. and the beginning where hee complains That his wounds did fester and were corrupt David was like a man going to a Chirurgion with many wounds and the Chirurgion lets the wounds stink before hee gives a plaister to him Sinners look about you The Lord Christ may let you lye without a plaister many a day without washing your wounds many a day Paul prayed three times for one thing and that thing denied him If ever you come and knock and cry and call and the Lord doth not presently open do not say never one was so dealt withall as I am the Woman of Canaan was so before thee that is clear shee was not presently made welcome Secondly The Lord did not onely not entertain her but did not speak a word to her So it is expresly vers 23. The Lord answered her not a word Oh my Brethren how harsh was this what not a word O! not a word Why if the Lord Jesus will not presently give the balm that the wounded soul doth beg will hee not speak No not a word And yet it is noted Shee cried after him yet not a word not a word It is upon record as the case of Saul setting forth the greatness of his distress when God did most severely deal with him That he Lord did not answer him by dreams or visions nor by Urim nor Thummim that is God did not speak a word And my Brethren let mee tell you It is a harsh dealing when the Lord shall let us lye crying and hee bee dumb as if hee did not hear It is harsh not to bee heard There are two waies by which the Lord speaks viz. 1 By his Spirit 2 By some actual dealing with the soul 1 Sometimes Christ saith by the Spirit Soul bee of good comfort thy sins are forgiven 2 At other times hee gives good signs by supporting and refreshing the soul but it may so fall out as that hee may carry it so seemingly harsh as not to answer a word to the soul either way And this is no new thing wee read in Psal 22.1 2. David there who was then a type of poor souls cries out there Why art thou so far from helping mee and from the words of my roaring O God I cry but thou hearest not So in Job 30.20 saith Job I cry unto thee and thou dost not hear mee I stand up and thou regardest it not Hee saith God did not so much as regard what hee said If the Lord Jesus would not presently entertain us to do as wee wish yet certainly one would think a word were but little but sometimes Christ will not speak a word Thirdly The Lord carries it so seemingly harsh that when others speak on her behalf hee refuses to hear Mark it here were as wee say good spokesmen for this woman Vers 23. His Disciples besought him saying send hâ—r away for shee crieth after us i. e. As if they should say Lord the poor woman cries very loudly shee cries after us as the beast after the Foal c. What saith Christ why I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel Hee puts them by hee gives them a denial and something more as wee shall shew by and by In Numb 12. you read a sad story of Miriam Moses his Sister shee had provoked God and God had smote her with a Leprosie and Moses cried to the Lord for her saith the Lord If her Father had spit upon her face should shee not bee shut out of the Camp seven daâ—es Oh my Brethren sometimes the Minister may the Father may pray and the Mother may pray for the childe and yet the Lord will not speak but put them off If Moses and Samuel should speak to mee for this people yet my minde could not bee towards them Jer. 15.1 Oh my Brethren It is no new thing for the Lord to carry it so seemingly harsh as not to hear others when they speak on our behalf Possibly the soul may say I am unworthy to speak but had I some friend to speak on my behalf certainly then hee would hear why they may all speak for thee and yet Christ may put them all by Fourthly The Lord doth reject her though shee doth renew and reiterate her motion again to him This is harsh And pray minde how shee doth it Shee came and shee WORSHIPPED him saying Lord help mee It is not said in verse 22. that shee worshâ—pped him or that shee fell down But here it is said Shee worshipped him Shee renews her request with vehemency and with reverence and here was her humiliation put forth Weigh it but a while Lord help mee c. My Brethren shee speaks at this rate as if shee should say Lord help if thou do not help mee I perish Lord help mee if thou dost not help mee vain is the help of Man Shee adores him as the Lord But doth this prevail nothing less though shee renews her cry yet the Lord turns her off It is harsh not to bee bid welcome not to have a word not to have others heard when they speak for us but when the soul shall repeat and re-inforce and as it were heighten her humiliation and prayer then to bee rejected this is an addition to all the former yet sometimes the Lord doth thus And wee finde a like instance to this in oâ—hers saith Job in chap. 16.6 7. Though I speak my grief is not asswaged and though I forbear what am I eased but now hee hath made mee weary thou hast made desolate all my company The Lord may as it were tyre out the soul and make it weary And so in Psal 69. and the beginning I sink into the deep I am weary of crying my throat is dried mine eyes fail while I wait for my God The Lord may let the soul cry again and again till
the very moisture is dried up and yet to put it off so that the soul may cry out with Job Job 23.13 hee is of one minde who can chaâ—ge him c Therefore the Church hath a remarkable expression Lamentations 3.8 Also when I cry and shout hee shutteth out my prayer Shouting it is an addition unto crying Why here is the poor woman crying in vers 22. I and shee cries and shouts in vers 25. and yet the Lord puts her off Fifthly The Lord Christ may carry it so seemingly harsh that hee may hint that that may seem to dash the poor creatures hope Oh this is sad and sore indeed Beloved That the poor creature who it may bee came with a little Faith and a little Hope should bee entertained so harshly as the soul may bee ready to say Now farewel Faith and farewel Hope c. Thus the Lord hath carried it to some before as if hee had cut off all their hope It was a very sad expression that they used Ezek. 37.11 Then hee said unto mee Son of Man these bones are the whole house of Israel Behold they say our bones are dried and our hope is lost wee are cut off for our parts Why truly poor soul Jesus Christ may so speak to you that you may say Now our hope is gone and wee for our parts whatever may bee the portion of others for our own particulars wee are cut off and cast off And Christ may carry it so as if hee gave I say as if not that hee doth really but I say as if hee gave us ground so to say that hee hath cut off all our hope and destroyed all that upon which our expectations were bottomed You have Job complaining of this himself Job 19.10 Mine hope hath hee removed like a Tree But of all expressions that is the most remarkable which you have in Lam. 3.54 The waters flowed over mine head then I said I am cut off Oh Sirs Jesus Christ may for a while so speak that the soul may say now my hope is perished and now I will sit down and despair And mark it but a little in this great instance of this woman of Canaan For here are two words that Christ useth to this woman which indeed did seem for it was no more than a seeming to dash all her hope in peeces First TheÌ„ one is I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel i. e. As if Christ should say My good friends my dear Disciples you pitty the woman so it may bee do I but what shall I do I cannot go beyond my commission I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel this woman is none shee is a Canaanite Now how might the poor woman complain sadly Oh Lord are none of the Canaanites in thy commission am not I in thy commission then farewel Lord Hee speaks a word that might even dash all her hope So say some souls Christ is onely for the Elect I am no elect one and thus the soul goes away hopeless Secondly And the other word that Christ speaks which might dash all her hope is in the 26. vers It is not meet to take the childrens bread and to cast it to doggs Oh what a killing word was that poor heart shee might rather have expected that the Lord would have looked upon her as upon a silly Lamb as upon a trembling Dove that hee would speak softly to her but how roughly doth hee speak And how might this poor woman have mourningly muttered and in secret sighs have hereupon spoke thus in her self What must not doggs have childrens bread what said hee c. Ah my soul didst thâ—u mark it Doggs and childrens bread and I none of them and it is not meet c. Brethren Christ may call a Lamb a Dogg this seems to bee very harsh It was a harsh speech that the Lord did use to his people when hee cried Go to your Gods that yee have served Christ may say you are a dogg get you gone Quest But how could Jesus Christ speak thus wee know hee did account her Israel in the Spirit though not in the Letter as a Lamb not a dogg how did Christ then say I am not sent but to the lost sheep and thou dogg must not have childrens bread Answ There are these kinde of Answers First Some there are that say thus Christ speaks after the manner of Men as a Minister in the way of his Ministery guided by his Commission So Mr. Cartwright those that were not of the Jewish Church either by birth or proselitism they were out of the commission that seems to satisfie some But I will tell you what satisfies mee The Lord speaks two waies 1 Either plainly and positive as hee intends and as things are 2 Or by way of Trial probationally to try us Mark it The Lord may speak that to try us that hee doth not intend neither doth hee mean as hee speaks The Lord may bid Abraham go offer Isaac yet hee meant no such thing John 6.6 When Christ spake of buying bread for the multitude it is said this hee spake that hee might try them Thus the Lord speaks that hee might try us The Lord may speak doubtingly and hint heavy words not that hee hath hard thoughts but onely that hee might try us Hee may speak doubtingly of our Election that wee may make it sure Sixthly and lastly Herein Christ may shew himself seemingly harsh in that hee may at last keep us long ere hee doth send us away with that wee come for This woman had at last her request but it was long first as wee say Christ may entertain us and not speak any way so as to trouble us yet for all that hee intends not to give us presently the thing wee come for My Brethren the Lord Jesus may make us wait daies weeks months and years though hee let us within his house and speaks to us now and then and yet hee may not presently give us the particular thing that wee come for this is usual for Christ to make some tarry which yet hee turns not away And truly wee that are hasty count this harsh Christ may make us wait a great while and that wee esteem and it seems to be very harsh But this is a known thing and I shall not enlarge upon it at all Therefore thus much of the first thing wherein Christ may seem to carry it harshly towards those that come to him The second thing is Whence comes this to pass that Christ doth so carry himself Truly my Brethren It is strange after so many clear Prophecies after so many comfortable Promises after so many experiences of Christs kinde dealing that hee should with any soul at any time upon any account carry it thus harshly to them I shall give you an account of this in general first and in particular afterwards My Brethren In the general you must know this That Jesus
little longer Tarry thou the Lords leisure yet a while In Psal 40. saith the Psalmist there I waited for the Lord and at last the Lord heard mee hee brought mee up also out of an horrible pit and hee hath put a new song into my mouth Oh it is a blessed Scripture wait thou yet for the Lord thou art yet in a horrible pit of sin and filth fear and doubt thou cryest yet the Lord doth not hear I but yet hee may hear this is no strange thing indeed the soul is ready to say as the Church Oh all you that pass by is there any sorrow like to mine Lam. 1.12 So it may bee your soul is ready to say was there ever any sorrow like mine my conscience disturbs mee Satan disturbs mee I go to Christ and hee doth not hear mee hee will not answer Oh bee of good comfort and wait still hee that calls thee as the Woman of Canaan Dogg now will say to thee Go thy way great is thy Faith Indeed my Brethren when I was drawing up the conclusion of this by my self I thought I should meet with a Woman of Canaan and I was bid to incourage her thus First All this harshness it is but in shew As wee told you the last day Joseph had bowels though for a time hee dealt roughly Secondly All this will not last Joseph will speak peace and the Lord Jesus that seems rough now hee will speak to thee in soft language at last Therefore you that are as the Woman of Canaan waiting upon Christ and yet hearing nothing from him bee comforted and counselled First Bee comforted your condition is blessed Blessed are they that wait at the posts of Wisdomes gates Prov. 8.34 c. This may bee the condition of a beleever and it is blessed Object I saies the soul If I did but know that or think that Repl. Did Josephs Brethren know hee knew them did they think hee wept and his bowels yearned It was their happiness Joseph knew them though they knew it not And it is comfort Christ knows us when wee are and may bee as ignorant of him as they of Joseph That is the foundation of our life and comfort that the Lord may and doth know us first before wee know him and hee still knows us even while wee know not him Minde that in the second Epistle of Timothy chap. 2. vers 19. Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure having this seal the Lord knoweth them that are his Let that word bee for thy comfort But then Secondly Bee counselled to carry your selves very wisely Carry it well and it shall bee your wisdome I know indeed my Beloved wee need much wisdome to carry it wisely when Christ doth frown Oh! wee are apt to have impatient spirits murmuring spirits rising spirits nothing is so provoking as unkindness from Jesus Chrâ—st I look for no better from the Law or from the Devil but that Christ should speak death or Christ call Dogg or that hee that was sent to give the children bread should say hee was not sent to mee Oh this doth wound mee this doth kill mee saith the poor soul Well yet bee counselled to wait Do not think evil of nor speak hardly concerning Jesus Christ. Hee knows as wee say what hee doth there may bee many reasons of this carriage of his and therefore whatever bee his carriage to thee let thy carriage to him bee good if Christ deal with thee as with the Woman of Canaan do thou deal with him as shee did Now what that is wee shall come unto next Souls must still carry it well to Jesus Christ The Fourth SERMON Matthew 15.25 and 27. verses Then came shee and worshipped him saying Lord help mee And shee said Truth Lord yet the doggs eat of the crumbs which fall from their Masters table AS a fine Copy fairly written which doth attract the eyes of all to look upon it and stir up the spirits of ingenious Scribes to imitate it Such my Beloved is the Example of the Woman of Canaan the history whereof is here recorded and which we are now handling It is a fine Copy and fairly written Here are great things glorious Mysteries held forth and you and I should look upon them and indeavour to read and imitate them There are four heads unto which wee did reduce the whole matter of this discourse First The Coming of the Woman to Christ Secondly The Carriage of Christ to the Woman Wee were ending of that the last day The Woman shee came with much devotion in much affection The Lord contrary to what hee was wont turns away makes as if hee did not hear hee would not vouchsafe to speak a word and when hee was intreated by the Disciples hee puts them off and when shee renews her request again hee speaks harshly c. The Lesson wee then did go upon from the whole you know was this That sometimes Christ is seemingly harsh to some souls that come to him Wee opened it and gave the Reasons of it and applied it And that which wee did aim at truly it was principally two words The first was to exhort you all that sith Christ doth sometimes seemingly entertain some souls harshly That you would not provoke him so to do As the Lord lives and as your souls live if you stand out too long if you put off Christ too often though at the last hee may save you it will bee by fire Therefore I beseech you especially you that bee young take a Christ while you may have a Christ while Christ knocks softly and speaks sweetly and wooes lovingly entertain him lest hee go away and make you come after him crying and it may bee a great while ere hee come back again The second word was To you poor souls that may bee the children of this Woman of Canaan that have gone to Christ and have found him stand at a distance Do not despair no new thing is fallen upon you The Lord Christ doth sometimes use so to deal with souls And my Brethren as you shall see afterwards though hee stand at a distance now hee will in time embrace you sweetly The Woman of Canaan that was entertained harshly went away joyfully But how did shee carry it under this harsh dealing That is the third head wee are now to speak to Here the carriage of the Woman is set out in these two Verses the 25. and 27. verses And mark it in vers 25. It is said Shee came and worshipped him saying Lord help mee My Brethren As the Lord said to Peter in another case wee must say of the Woman in this Flesh and blood hath not revealed this to you Flesh and blood could not teach nor help the poor Woman to such a carriage What for the Lord to turn away for the Lord to put off and for her to re-inforce her devotion renew her suit afresh and to come and worship him c. The 27. verse Truth Lord yet the Doggs
dost thou call upon mee for Wine in the middle of the feast shee was taken up as wee say sharply I but how sweetly doth shee carry it In vers 5. saith shee to the servants Whatsoever hee saith unto you do it Truly a very sacred speech it was and argued that her soul was really good and would appear so to Christ even when his carriage was to appearance very cross to her Lastly You have this story in the Text which in a sense as I said is the greatest of all four for beleeve it God never dealt so with Aaron Job and Mary as hee did with this Woman nor in some respects consideratis considerandis as they say did they carry it so well as shee There was something in those children of Abraham for so they were which did oblige and inable them to carry it better than could bee expected from this stranger this Canaanite yet shee transcends in her holy humble sweet behaviour to our Lord as I shall open by and by Well There are two things to bee opened for the explication of the point The first is How the soul should carry it well to Christ when Christ carries it ill to him Wherein doth this good behaviour lye Let the Lord carry it how hee will what is our good behaviour I say what is our good behaviour which wee should shew to him And then secondly Why wee ought so to carry it what are or may bee the reasons and grounds of such a carriage I begin with the first And shall not instance nor inlarge in any particulars but what wee may finde in this pattern and pray mark it well For my thinks in this Text there are six things in this Womans good behaviour shewing and evidently teaching all of us what should bee out carriage when wee come to Christ c. First of all Though the Lord dealt roughly with her shee kept up honourable thoughts of him Secondly Shee doth not suddenly nor sullenly go away but tarries and waits upon Christ Thirdly Shee speaks to Christ as professing her onely hope in his help Fourthly Shee denies nothing of what the Lord seems to charge her with Fifthly Shee doth gather upon Jesus Christ as it were and catches bold of that by which Christ would cast her off Sixthly and lastly Shee was content to have a little in the lowest manner when shee might not have her first and great request in the highest manner First of all This good carriage the Woman had Shee thinks honourably of Jesus Christ The Lord puts her off hardly what doth shee do doth shee in a carping censorious manner revile and speak evil of Christ Crieth shee out oh pride O stateliness O sowre man Doth shee say yee followers of his is this your good Lord and Master whatever hee may say or you think certainly hee is an austere man and beleeve it hee is a surly Master c. not a word of this but the Text saith Shee came to him and worshipped him and said Lord help mee If Jesus Christ had dealt never so well with her shee could not have dealt better with him It is the Royal Carriage of the Spouse of Jesus Christ The â—ueen in Psal 45. when shee was brought into the Kings presence and dealt withall best All that is advised and required of her is this Hee is thy Lord worship thou him But this poor Woman when shee is turned off shee comes to him and worships him and saies Lord help mee When the Lord seems to deal harshly with a soul the Devil is at hand to put on a poor soul to think hardly of Jesus Christ Oh Sirs Experimentally souls know this to bee true that they can hardly keep down murmuring thoughts when Christ doth not entertain them presently I remember it was the speech of Mr. Calvin intimating the moderation of his spirit about Luther saith hee Though Luther should call mee a Devil I would honour him as a Saint So truly do thou though Christ call thee a Devil do thou honour him as the Messiah In Psal 22. you have a very remarkable passage Why art thou so far saith the Psalmist from the words of my roaring O my God I cry in the day time but thou hearest not vers 1 2. It was harsh dealing for God to let David cry all the day long and not to hear him what then Read the 3. vers But thou art holy c. Oh Sirs Sirs look about you and learn your Lesson well you must carry it well to Christ though hee deal harshly with you you must speak to him and think of him honourably you must beware of blasphemy The Devil thought Job would curse God if God carried it cross but hee was deceived and set Satan bee deceived so in you hee will tempt and put you on to entertain dishonourable thoughts of Christ and if it may bee hee will make you charge God foolishly and speak of Christ fouly but take heed see your pattern of piety in this womans practice and carry it as shee did Whatever Christ do or say though hee put thee off and call thee dogg yet come neer and bow worship him and call him Lord Say hee is holy and honourable and thou wilt still count him so this is thy good behaviour which will bee thy wisdome and glory to strive for and to come up unto This is the first thing in this Womans carriage I proceed A second thing in her good behaviour is this Shee doth not suddenly nor sullenly go away from him Shee goes not away in a fume or a pet as wee use to say No but as the Disciples said Master Shee crieth after us Poor souls may come to Christ and cry and hee may go away knock and hee not open call and no body answer what shall you do Oh take heed of going away grumbling and sullen The Woman shee renews her cry shee comes and saies Lord help mee Truly my Brethren it was a proud speech of those in Isa 58.3 that said Wherefore have wee fasted and thou seest not Wherefore have wee afflicted our souls and thou takest no knowledge c And my Brethren it is spiritual pride for us to say Lord why do I cry and thou not hear keep on crying Soul that is thy duty Wee are apt to bee very sullen though the Lord bee very wise in not hearing what wee say It was a strange peece of sullenness in Jonah in Jonah 4.8 when hee wished in himself to dye and said It is better for mee to dye than live It will argue much hypocrisie in your coming to Christ if although Christ do deny you do not tarry and wait upon him begging In Job 27.10 It is said of the hypocrite Will hee cry alwaies Thou sayest thou dost hunger for Christ thou dost thirst for Christ thou hast a hungring and thirsting for righteousness well then because you have it not will you go away it is but an hypocritical hunger were it cordial it would
have you dealt treacherously with mee O house of Israel saith the Lord. What then do they deny it No. A voice was heard upon the high places weeping and supplâ—cation of the children of Israel for they have perverted their way and they have forgotten the Lord their God Oh here is good carriage when the Lord shall deal harshly bring all thy sins to remembrance rip up sin here and fin there Oh with a voice of weeping say truly it is so Let God charge any thing Let Christ say what hee will hee cannot lye whatever his language bee If Christ say Swine Dogg reply nothing onely say as this Woman did Truth Lord. That is the fourth thing But then again Fifthly This Womans good carriage lies in this Shee doth gather upon Jesus Christ as it were and catches hold of that by which Christ would seem to cast her off and doth take an argument from his harsh speech to plead for her self It is not meet to give the childrens bread to Doggs See how shee takes hold of it Truth Lord But the Doggs may eat of the crumbs that fall from their Masters Table Doth Christ say go Woman dogg Woman say thou I will take hold of this word a crumb Lord. It is good when a soul can catch hold upon a Christ even by that with which hee would put it off For instance suppose Jesus Christ should say to thee thou art an ungodly wretch come not to mee catch hold of that and say thou art a God that justifies the ungodly Saith God thou art a Rebel get thee gone catch at it and say truth Lord it is so but the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to give gifts to Rebels Doth the Lord yet say thou art an enemy answer true Lord but there is reconciliation for enemies in the blood of Christ c. Learn to catch at that hand by which Christ seems to thrust thee away hold that It is indeed a Mystery but so is all godliness and wee must learn it and out of this Womans example wee may bee helped therein That is the fifth But not to inlarge I will come to the next The sixth and last thing in her good carriage is this That shee is content with a little in the lowest manner if shee may not have a great deal in the highest manner For mark her expression A crumb Lord there is little and under the Table I will bee glad to stoop so low and lick that which lies there upon the ground Oh that this frame of spirit were in us surely it is a blessed thing to bee thus bowed in our hearts to stoop thus to Christ Wee cannot enough admire nor I fear imitate this Woman pray look upon her listen to her Truly my thinks the poor Woman saies thus Indeed I am a poor Canaanite I am not one of the children of the house of Israel I may not sit down at the childrens table nor take of the bread so soon as cut from the Loaf but I will bee content to take it under the table there I will lye c. And truly my Brethren this was the good carriage of the Prodigal mark how the Prodigal comes home Father make mee one of thy hired servants Hee doth not say Father remember I was a childe and let mee come in for a portion c. No but make mee but a servant and what servant would hee bee a hired servant the houshould servants had a priviledge that the hired servants had not I shall turn you to a Scripture for it Exod. 12.44 45. verses The hired servant might not eat of the Passeover when the houshold servant might Hee would bee a hired servant that if his Father would not take him into full grace and give him a childes place and portion again hee would bee contented with any thing Now the Lord help you and I to think of these things here is good carriage Here are six things you see wherein shee carries it well But now In the second place I should give you the Reasons why this same good carriage should bee notwithstanding Christ carry it harshly There are three heads of Reasons First of all If you consider who Christ is to whom you come Secondly If you consider what your selves are who come to this Jesus Christ And Thirdly If you consider the Errant for which you come to him at any time you will finde in all these three Matter and Motive enough to make you carry it thus well to Christ though hee carries it ill to you The Woman considered who Christ was the Son of David the Messias and shee considered who shee was a Canaanite and shee remembers that shee had a childe under the power of the Devil and let us touch a little upon them First Consider who Christ is to whom you come I shall hint out my meditations as to this in four particulars who Christ is First of all Hee is the Lord God blessed for evermore Therefore worship thou him saith the Psalmist Psal 45.11 FOR hee is thy Lord and because hee is thy Lord therefore worship thou him The Lord Jesus to whom you and I come hee is the Lord Jehovah God blessed for evermore and should wee not carry it well to him wert thou to come to a man but a meer man upon a weighty affair though hee were a little cross thou wouldest carry it well and shouldest thou go to the Lord God blessed for evermore and carry it ill Surely the consideration of a God ought to fill the soul with all reverence in every approach unto him and with all humbleness of carriage in our dealings with him If thou art an Arrian doubting and denying Christs deity there might bee the shadow of a Plea for an irreverent deportment but being thou art one who callest Christ Lord and professest at least to acknowledge him God this very thing obligeth thee to demean thy self well however hee deals with thee Secondly As hee is thy Lord so hee is thy Life My meaning is thou goest to him without whom thou canst not live and therefore thou hadst need to carry it well Whither should wee go saith Peter thou hast the words of eternal life Christ is your Physician for that you must carry it well to him you do carry it well and wait upon a Doctor fairly because your life lies upon it and will you not deal so with Christ when the life of your souls lies upon it I knew a Physician that was of great Name and Practice a man of a very cynical spirit as rugged crabbed a carriaged person as any of that Profession hee could scarce give a pleasing look and would often give course cross indeed very bad language and yet I have heard him so reverently spoke unto and so patiently waited on that I have admired it but what was the reason Oh hee was a Doctor and they came to him knowing his skill and therefore it made them carry themselves so respectfully to him Oh
life when they have been going out of the world they have had joy and comfort The story of Mris. Drake is known shee had many terrours much sadness no smiles from Christ all her daies till at last when shee came to dye a little before her death Christ dealt so kindly that shee went out of the world in an extacy and ravishment of spirit full of peace and full of joy triumphing in the Lord so that in the Issue of our time and life wee shall finde Christ kinde however hee is at first to us But then Thirdly Or else in the Issue of all things When all things shall bee wrapt up by a final End and Issue put to them then Christ will shew himself kinde however strange hee did seem to carry it to poor souls before You read of a day in Mal. 3.17 in which the Lord will make up his Jewels and then you shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked c. And Matthew 25. there Christ speaks very sweetly when the Lord shall say to those on his right hand Come yee blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdome prepared for you c. Then hee shall say to this poor man and woman thou didst mourn after mee all thy daies thou didst wait upon mee all thy life and though I seemed to carry it strange thou wert sincere Come yee blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdome prepared for you c. I do observe that this carried up the heart of Job in Job 19. I know that my Redeemer liveth and hee shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth and then in my flesh I shall see him c. This Text in Job is worth its weight in Gold upon many accounts That that Jesus Christ that is now at the right hand of the Father Job many thousand years ago said hee should know upon the Earth and though hee set him up as a mark to shoot at then yet hee knew at last hee would deal kindly with him Well then I pray put all together Persons truly comming to Christ in the Issue either of the Act of coming or of their Lives or of all things shall finde this to bee a certain Truth that Christ will deal sweetly with them however now hee may seem to carry it strangely And my Beloved I shall not need to bring any other instance to prove it than this instance in the Text. Never was any so strangely dealt withall as the Woman of Canaan and yet what a blessed Issue doth hee make with heâ— Oh Woman great is thy Faith bee it unto thee even as thou wilt c. There are onely two things that I aim at in the explication of the point And The first is to shew you wherein the kinde close of the Carriage of Christ in the Issue shall appear to poor souls however at first hee may carry it strangely And Secondly The ground of this Wee shall begin with the first And I shall out of this instance of the Woman of Canaan shew you how kindly Christ will carry it at last in the Issue though hee carry it roughly at first Pray observe this speech Jesus answered and said unto her c. I remember in the book of Ruth when Boaz had espied Ruth and talked of her to his servants hee spake to her himself in vers 8. and what saith shee in verse 10. Shee fell upon her face and bowed her self to the ground and said unto him Why have I found grace in thine eyes that thou shouldest take knowledge of mee seeing I am a stranger It was a marvelous act of kindness that Boaz should take knowledge of her to speak to her Just so mee thinks it was here Christ at first talks to his servants of this Woman hee did not speak at first to her but to the Disciples of her But now although before the Lord did not seem to take knowledge of this Woman yet I say now the Lord is so kinde as hee turns to her and takes notice of her and hee speaks exceeding kinde to her Oh Woman great is thy Faith bee it unto thee even as thou wilt c. Let us open it a little Here are three Parts First Oh Woman great is thy Faith Secondly Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt Thirdly At the same hour her Daughter was made whole First Hee answered and said unto her O Woman great is thy Faith My Beloved wee must open this by degrees and it is very much which is here contained For First of all Hee answered and said unto her O blessed kindness that Jesus Christ that before answered her not a word hee now opens his lips and vouchsafes to speak to her David who knew what an act of kindness this is sets it forth both in the Negative and in the Affirmative Negatively speaking of his enemies in Psal 18.41 They cried but there was none to save them even unto the Lord but hee ANSWERED THEM NOT. And Affirmatively speaking of himself in Psal 118.5 I called upon the Lord in distress the Lord answered mee and set mee in a large place Oh my Beloved it is an act of kindness that Christ will speak Let not my Lord bee angry saith the soul do but speak to mee Oh it is mercy and kindness when the Lord breaks his silence and doth but speak to us Why now Christ you see speaks to the Woman And it is said Jesus answered and said unto her hee answers his Disciples before about her but did not speak to her now hee speaks to her Remember you not the expression in Cant. 8.13 Thou that dwellest in the Gardens the Companions hearken to thy voice cause mee to hear it Oh saith the poor soul sometimes Blessed Lord thy Companions hear thy voice Angels that wait upon thy Throne they hear it and the Saints in the Sanctuary they hear it and I am without knocking Lord let mee hear thy voice Here is the first step that hee vouchsafes to speak to her Secondly Hee saith unto her Woman c. how soft is this language Now hee doth not speak to her in a rough manner but Woman My Beloved you know what is said of Job Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind who is this that darkens words of wisdome without knowledge Job 38.1 2. But behold the Lord hee answers in a still voice hee speaks as a man to a woman By Beloved had the Lord spoken louder it may bee it would have broke her the Lord will speak to poor souls in a still voice I remember a prayer of Job Job 13. about verse 20. Onely do not two things unto mee then will I not hide my self from thee withdraw thine hand far from mee and let not thy dread make mee afraid c. And it is worth our considering because it will open what wee are upon hee doth as it were capitulate with God and hee makes but one Article Let not thy dread make mee afraid As if Job
should say Lord if thou wilt but take away thy dread if thou wilt not speak in thy Majesty as a great God then speak Lord. That this is the meaning appears by Elihu his interpretation of it in Job 33. about 6 7. verses Behold I am according to thy wish in Gods stead I also am formed out of the clay Behold my terrour shall not make thâ—e afraid neither shall my hand bee heavy upon thee Job was afraid to hear God speaking as wee say in high language and therefore desired God to forbear it Why you see Christ doth here forbear high words hee now speaks to this woman in a low and loving manner even as a man to a man or a woman to a woman Hee answered and said unto her Woman Without doubt this familiar word and way of speaking to this Woman did much chear her heart and shee might hereupon say as Ruth did to Boaz when hee spake familiarly to her saith Ruth in the story Ruth 2.13 My Lord hath comforted mee and hath spoke friendly unto mee It is much mercy that Christ will give us an answer But it is much more mercy that hee will give us a soft answer You know the story of Eliah God saith hee would speak to him but hee came in a whirlwind before hee came in a soft answer but Eliah was a strong man and could bear what wee cannot If Christ should not speak to a poor heart in a still voice but in a whirlwind alass it would over-power the soul Therefore it is that Christ speaks as a man to his friend yea as a Father to a childe so you know hee did use to speak Daughter bee of good chear Son bee of good chear And thus wee finde it in other places the Lord speaks friendly Zach. 1.13 And the Lord answered the Angel that talked with mee with good words and comfortable words If Jesus Christ do not speak at all or if hee do speak yet if it bee not comfortable words wee count it strange and harsh and so it is and may bee as wee have shewed at first But still know now for all this whatever hee saith at first yet at last hee will speak comfortable words Thirdly Christ condescends yet and speaks more kindly for hee owns acknowledgeth and commends this poor Womans Faith Mark it Oh Woman great is thy Faith Why here is our third step The Lord Jesus eyes and owns her Faith and that is a great act of kindness Poor soul Thou lyest at the feet of Christ thou sayest I have desire but no hope I have fear but no faith thou that art full of fears yet the Lord will call thee for all that Releever hee will spy out and acknowledge thy Faith and call thee a Daughter of Abraham as here Woman great is thy Faith It is the kindness of Christ hee will espy our gold under much dross our little coal of fire under many embers Christ will do for us as for the Church of Philadelphia Rev. 3.8 saith Christ Thou hast a little strength and hast kept my word Or as hee said in that same chapter to Sardis A few Names are among you O how doth Christ speak to this Woman now at last Mark it and see is not the language altered Christ at first spake to her as a Woman of Canaan calls her upon that account as some call Turks and Infidels Dogg but now hee speaks to her as a Daughter of Abraham for so are beleevers called in Gal. 3.7 saith the Apostle Know yee therefore that they which are of Faith the same are the children of Abraham In this speech Christ tells her in effect Shee is an Israelite Once it was poor soul a stranger an enemy a Canaanite a Hittite such were the words in which Christ at first did as it were speak to thee Well but yet stay a little and thou shalt hear Christ speaking in kinder language hee will yet call thee Son Daughter Saint Friend in a word no more a Canaanite but at last Christ will speak to thee as an Israelite and say of thee as of Nathaniel Behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile I Pray minde it it is an admirable discovery this how kinde Christ will carry it at last Whatever sin hee charges in a spirit of conviction at first yet alwaies at last hee will acknowledge our Faith I say our faith and love and whatever is good in us I appeal to you O experienced souls are not you afraid to own your own faith One while your unbeleeving fears another while the humble working of your hearts will not let you see your own Grace I but you have a kinde Christ that will take notice of it and own it though thou bee a Canaanite in thy first address and in thine own account and Christ may seem therefore to deal harshly with thee yet still I say in this hee will at length bee kinde and shew it in eyeing and acknowledging any good every Grace that is in thee But I proceed unto the next thing here in Christs speech The fourth which is Great is thy Faith Hee doth not onely own but honour her Faith Oh my Beloved what an act of kindness is this commendation of Christ Praise is a fruit of love a sign of love why my beloved Jesus Christ will deal so kindly that hee will praise you at last Hee doth now praise this poor Woman whom hee seemed to sleight before And though Christ may at first seem to sleight and despise us yet at last hee will not only own but honour us And this is certainly his kindness How kindly did hee deal with the poor Woman in Luk. 7 hee was entertained by a Pharisee and had large entertainment yet how doth hee turn himself to the Woman and how kindly did hee deal with her Hee commends not the Masters Feast but the Womans Faith Nay hee seems to reproach the Pharisee that invited him and to exalt and honour the poor sinner that came unto him Her Love and Faith are very much praised by Christ there vers 46 47 50. Oh Sirs that Jesus Christ that you go unto truly however at first hee may seem not to own you much less to honour you at last hee will both own and honour you Look as Jesus Christ will deal severely with painted Sepulchres Hypocrites so hee will deal sweetly with sincere Beleevers That is one part of this kinde speech wherein our Lord deals very kindly though at first hee spake to her harshly The second part is Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt Wee may say of these words as one of the Antients said of some others They are wonders and not words Oh how doth the Lord condescend in kindness now to this poor Woman of Canaan when hee saith Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt Once hee said I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel Once hee said It is not meet to take the childrens
Lord may seem to put us off for a while and make as if hee would not give us a Morsel yet secretly hee will give supports to the soul as in Psal 138.3 In the day when I cried thou answeredst mee and strengthenedst mee with strength in my soul Secret sufficient soul-strength shall certainly bee given in by Jesus Christ however hee may carry it at first at last the soul shall bee able to say All the while Christ did frown upon mee I had some secret supports given So that though the example bee rare and though some things in it bee extraordinary yet in these three particulars every soul at last shall finde Christ will carry it kindely however at first hee may carry it strange To come now to give an account of the Reasons of the point There are many Reasons which if need were wee might dilate upon I shall onely name these four or five The first Reason whence it comes to pass that Jesus Christ will deal thus kindly at last Is taken from God the Father My Beloved that same Will Command and Commission which Jesus Christ hath received from the Father and which hee is careful to observe is the great reason of this Carriage of Jesus Christ I pray mark it a little Christ coming into the world hee comes not onely as our Saviour but as his Fathers Servant and this hath an influence upon the heart and upon the hand of Christ in all his carriage to us This i. e. That hee comes as the Fathers Servant and because God the Father will have him do thus and thus therefore to bee certain hee will do it As for instance doth Jesus Christ come into the world to dye for sinners what is the ground of it because God the Father hath given him in Commission so to do So will not Christ break the bruised Reed nor quench the smoaking Flax as it is prophesied hee will not Isa 42 Why this is the Reason because hee is his Fathers Servant as it is there vers 1. and God hath charged him that hee shall not break the bruised Reed c. And so in this particular Jesus Christ will at last deal kindly with all that truly come unto him because this is the will of him that sent him This is particularly the reason in John 6.37 38. a Scripture that you may look upon as the foundation of your Faith but I wish you did well understand what you did build your Faith upon All that come to mee I will in no wise cast off What is the reason Mark the 38. vers For I came down from Heaven not to do my own will but the will of him that sent mee When you act your Faith upon Jesus Christ for his kindness I pray look to God the Father likewise and this will further strengthen your Faith The poor soul is ready to say why should Jesus Christ receive mee why should Jesus Christ carry it kindly to mee what is there in mee nothing But there is another ground there is the will of him that sent him there is the Fathers will God the Father deals well with us for Christs sake and Jesus Christ deals well with us for the Fathers sake So that now my Beloved when the poor soul goes to Jesus Christ you may imagine that God the Father saies thus Son deal well with that soul it is my will that thou shouldest not cast him off Indeed in this place Christ doth intimate that hee doth carry himself according to his Commission The Commission that was given to Christ it was the ground of this whole carriage of Christ But here is the Commission Christ hee shall not give childrens bread to Doggs yet if Doggs will come to him and lye at the Fathers door it is the will of his Father that hee should not cast them off Secondly The innate kindness and tenderness of the heart of Christ is the reason of this truth that hee will deal well at last though hee seem to carry it strange at first My Beloved the Lord Jesus hath that personal renderness in himself that if his Father should never have wished him nor willed him to deal thus kindly with poor souls his own bowels would have put him on to it Indeed the bowe 's of Christ are so tender that the tenderest love is set out by the bowels When Paul would have the Philippians to know how much hee did love them and long after them saith hee Phil. 1.8 I long after you in the bowels of Jesus Christ My Beloved the Lord Jesus Christ hee hath tender bowels and because of that it is that hee doth deal tenderly with poor souls that come to him What is the particular nature and notion of bowels in the Scripture it is this For a person to bee moved at last by the sense of a persons misery though at first hee may seem to stand off You have many notable instances of this That of Joseph what was it which made Joseph deal kindly at last though hee did deal roughly at first In Gen. 43.30 His bowels yearned within him and that made him to speak kindly to his brethren O my Beloved The Lord Jesus is full of bowels hee doth pitty many times when hee is not spoken to as in Luk. 7.13 It is said there concerning a Woman that Christ had compassion on her hee was troubled for his bowels did yearn towards her The Lord Jesus having therefore such tender bowels thence it comes to pass that though at first hee may carry it strangely yet at last hee will carry it kindly This poor Woman of Canaan once the Lord seemed to speak harshly to her but his bowels did yearn and upon that account hee dealt well at last The third Reason in a word is this Christ will carry it thus well at last because in a sense hee is very fearful and therefore very careful that none do perish in a good way at least through his neglect My Beloved Christ is fearful of the perishing of poor souls especially in a good way and most especially through his neglect Sinners look about you if you will rebel and run away from Christ and wander from him and perish Christ cares not but if thou hast a heart to look towards God if thou goest after Jesus Christ and criest to him hee is very fearful lest thou shouldest perish in such a good way Isa 57.16 Saith God there For I will not contend for ever neither will I bee alwaies wrath for the spirit should fail before mee and the souls which I have made If Christ should carry it tough alwaies the spirit of the poor creature would fail If so bee you will wander in the high waies from Christ then the speech of the Prophet may bee made good in Isa 51.20 Thy Sons have fainted they lye at the head of all the streets as a wilde Bull in a Net they are full of the fury of the Lord the rebuke of thy God Yea but if
than ordinary remarkable and to bee minded by us Here is a Woman and a Woman of such a Country and so coming and that upon such an account that both the one and the other and altogether may very well bee brought in with a Behold I have formerly spoken at large of souls coming to Christ how God leads them and how by Faith they are brought to him and therefore shall not handle that now Onely there are here three heads of Observation to which I shall reduce all at this time And as sometimes I make three Sermons upon one head or point so at this time I shall make one Sermon upon three heads And the order in which I shall proceed to speak of them shall bee this First Wee will a little consider the party coming Secondly The manner how shee comes Thirdly The occasion or the account upon which shee comes at this time To begin with the first Behold saith the Holy Ghost A Woman You will bee ready to say to mee What shall wee see in her why truly in this Woman coming to Christ you shall see this Truth That the way to Christ is very free for poor souls of any place in any condition Here is a Woman I list not to quibble upon that but here is a Woman of Canaan Canaan of all the places at those times had a mark upon it to bee most opposite to goodness and it may bee said of it as once it was said of another place Can any good come out of it But of what place of the Country shee was a borderer to Tyre and Sidon Now Tyre and Sidon were the worst places of that Country They were in a sense the Sodome sinks of Canaan The Salvage places as wee say of some Sea-Towns the most notorious Cities of all that Country and yet now a Woman of this bad Country the door is open and shee comes to Jesus Christ You read of some in John 12.20 21. that came to Philip and said Sirs wee would see the Lord c. Why my Brethren It is a certain truth whatever Country you are of whatever place sex or condition the way is open and you may freely come to Jesus Christ This truth is so general in all the Gospel and so frequently preached that I shall not need to stay upon it You read that Christ freely invited and lovingly entertained all that came even Publicans and Harlots Sinners and Rebels Enemies and ungodly ones I say not qua tales but qui quondam tales i. e. such as once were so vile and therefore unworthy and unlikely to come yet come they did and the way was not hedged up nor the door shut against them There are three ends why I touch upon it and for which I desire you to Behold this truth in this woman First Behold this Woman and truth for this end To let you see The certainty of that great truth That some of all sorts shall bee saved Is the way to Christ open and free for any sex of any condition and Country then some of all sorts and Countries shall come in Rev. 7.9 you read besides the sealed ones of the Jews the Holy Ghost takes notice of an innumerable company of the Gentiles and they are thus set out to bee of all Nations and Kindreds and People and Tongues My Brethren I do not intend so much as in the least to prop the opinion of general Redemption but this I say that sith the way to Jesus Christ is so free and so open unto all that therefore some of all though not all may come to him and shall bee saved at last I say not that all shall bee saved I could wish that errour had died with Origen but I say some of all i. e. some of all conditions Countries Kindreds c. shall bee saved by Jesus Christ And why O soul may not wee bee of that some But secondly See my Brethren what an incouragement here is unto Faith The poor soul would come and when hee comes hee must beleeve your Faith are your feet by which you must come to Christ But now the great question is When the soul is upon his way going to Christ or upon his feet It is such a sinner that the question is May hee come yes hee may the way is open and free to any In Luk. 7.37 You read of a Woman that came to Christ that is called a sinner c. What ever Country you are of I pray minde mee bee it never so barbarous and base Bee thou O soul a sinner of any City suppose Sodome there is this ground for your Faith to build upon and if you could as it were peep and look within the Veil you should see that there are some of your Country-men and women in Heaven Father Abraham was in an Idolatrous Nation yet in the 51. of Isaiah saith the Holy Ghost Look to Abraham consider what hee was c. and Behold saith my Text A Woman of Canaan came to Christ take notice of her well for this end also to strengthen my Faith you may come what ere bee your Country Thirdly Behold withall How inexcusable poor creatures will bee that do not put forth indeavours to come to Christ What will you have to say will you say you might not this truth will tell you there is a way open for any of you This story as it is in Mark 7.24 saies Christ would have hid himself but hee could not Therefore as it is an incouragement to Faith so it will leave unbeleef without excuse This poor woman will condemn thee poor Christless careless Creature Behold her coming and tremble to think of thy tarrying away To terrifie all poor negligent souls that minde not seek not come not to a Christ is another end why I would have you all behold the Woman of Canaan coming When shee is gone before what will become of you if that you follow not after certainly her coming will bee your condemnation So much for the first head the party coming Secondly How doth this Woman come Why truly my Brethren you must keep Behold in your hand all along Behold how shee comes shee comes crying and saying Lord thou Son of David have mercy on mee Verily my Brethren this manner of her coming deserves a Behold as the very coming it self There are three circumstances in the manner of her coming First It is said shee cried Secondly Shee cried Have mercy on mee And thirdly O Lord thou Son of David First Shee cried unto him The word doth denote a very passionate cry the Syriack doth use a word which doth signifie such a cry which is as a beast that doth low after its Calf Shee cried unto him that is Shee came with abundance of affection and of intention of spirit The Evangelish Mark tells us shee fell at his feet I cannot better open this than by turning you to that which is as it were a parallel 2 King 4.87 where you have a poor woman