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A45113
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The balm of Gilead, or, Comforts for the distressed, both morall and divine most fit for these woful times / by Jos. Hall.
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Hall, Joseph, 1574-1656.
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1650
(1650)
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Wing H366; ESTC R14503
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102,267
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428
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God c. Lo the holiest man may not be exempted from the dread but from the slavish fear of the great Judge We know his infinite justice we are conscious to our selves of our manifold failings how can we lay these two together and not fear But this fear works not in us a malignant kinde of repining at the severe Tribunal of the Almighty as commonly whom we fear we hate but rather a careful endeavour so to approve our selves that we may be acquitted by him and appear blameless in his presence How justly may we tremble when we look upon our own actions our own deserts but how confidently may we appear at that Bar where we are beforehand assured of a discharge Being justified by faith â—we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. When we think of anâ— universal conflagration of the world how can we but fear but when we think of an happie restitution of all things in this day how can we but rejoyce in trembling § 4. In that great and terrible Day our Advocate is our Judge Thou quakest at the expectation of the last Judgement Surely the very Majestie of that great Assize must needs be formidable And if the very delivery of the Law on Mount Sinai were with so dreadful a pomp of Thunder and Lightning of Fire Smoke Earthquakes that the Israelites were half dead with fear in receiving it with what terrible magnificence shall God come to require an account of that Law at the hands of the whole sinful generation of mankinde Represent unto thy thoughts that which was shewed of old to the Prophet Daniel in Vision Imagine that thou sawest the Ancient of days sitting upon a Throne like the fiery flame 〈◊〉 a fiery stream issuing and coming forth from before him thousand thousands ministring unto him and ten thousand times ten thousand standing before him the judgement set and the Books opened Or as John the Daniel of the New Testament saw a great white Throne and him that sate on it from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away and the dead both small and great standing before God and the Books opened and the dead judged out of those things which were written in those Books according to their works Let the eyes of thy minde see before-hand that which these bodily eyes shall once see and tell me how thou feelest thy self affected with the sight of such a Judge such an appearance such a process And if thou findest thy self in a trembling condition cheer up thy self with this That thy Judge is thine Advocate That upon that Throne there sits not greater Majestie then Mercie It is thy Saviour that shall sentence thee How safe art thou then under such hands Canst thou fear that he will doom thee to death who died to give thee life Canst thou fear he will condemn thee for those sins which he hath given his blood to expiate Canst thou fear the rigour of that Justice which he hath so fully satisfied Canst thou misdoubt the miscarriage of that soul which he hath so dearly bought No my son all this divine state and magnificence makes for thee Let those guilty and impenitent souls who have heaped unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath quake at the glorious Majestie of the Son of God for whom nothing remains but a fearful expectation of judgement and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries But for thee who art not onely reconciled unto God by the mediation of the Son of his love but art also incorporated into Christ and made a true limb of his mystical Body thou art bidden together with all the faithful to look up and lift up thy head for now the day of thy reâ—emption is come And indeed how canst thou do other since by vertue of this blessed union with thy Saviour this glory is thine every member hath an interest in the honour of the Head Rejoyce therefore in the day of the Lord Jesus and when all the Tribes of the earth shall wail do thou sing and rejoyce and call to the heavens and the earth to bear thee company Let the heavens rejoyce and let the earth be glad let the sea make a noise aud all that is therein let the field be joyful and all that is in it Then shall all the trees of the wood rejoyce before the Lord for he cometh for he cometh to judge the earth and with righteousness to judge the world and the people with his truth §. 5. Frequent meditation and due prepaâ—ation the remedies of our â—ear Thou art affrighted with the thought of that Great Day Think of it oftner and thou shalt less fear it It will come both surely and suddenly let thy frequent thoughts prevent it It will come as a thief in the night without warning without noise let thy careful vigilance always expect it and thy soul shall be sure not to be surprised not to be confounded Thine Audit is both sure and uncertain sure that it will be uncertain when it will be If thou wilt approve thy self a good Steward have thine account always ready set thy reckoning still even betwixt God and thy soul Blessed is the servant whom his Master shall finde so doing Look upon these heavens and this earth as dissolving and think with Jerome that thou hearest the last Trump and the voice of the Archangel shrilling in thine ears as once thou shalt Arise ye dead and come to judgement Shortly let it be thy main care to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity Who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like to his glorious body according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself Comforts against the fears of our spiritual enemies § 1. The great power of evil spirits and their restraint THou art affrighted at the thought of thy spiritual enemies No marvel Neither earth nor hell hath any thing equally formidable Those three things which are wont to make enmity dreadful and dangerous Power Malice Subtilty are met in them neither is it easie to say in which of these they are most eminent Certainly were we to be matcht with them on even hand there were just cause not of Fear onely but Despair I could tremble thou sayst to think what Satan hath done what he can do what contestation he enabled the Egyptian Sorcerers to hold with Moses how they turned every man his rod into a Serpent so as they seemed to have the advantage for the time of many Serpents crawling and hissing in Phoraoh's pavement for one How they turned the waters into blood How they brought Froggs upon the Land of Egypt 〈◊〉 as if thus far the power of hell would
as it ought to direct his language to others so also to teach him how to make use of others language to him and where he findes it wrongfull either to convince it by a just apology or to contemn it If therefore thou understandest thy self to lye under an unjust obloquie have so much of the man in thee as either to confute or despise it § 5. Comfort from the cause of our suffering Thou art shamefully traduced I could pity thy suffering but withall give mee leave to enquire not so much what thou sufferest as for what If for a good cause I shall turn my pity into envie Truth it self hath told thee thou art in the way to blessedness Who can pity thee for that wherein thou hast cause to rejoyce Blessed are ye when men revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsly for my sake Rejoyce and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven Yea rather pluck up thy spirits and take up the resolution of holy Job If mine adversary had written a book against me surely I would take it upon my shoulders and binde it as a crown to me And say with that gracious King of Israel I will be yet more vile for the Lord. § 6. Comforts from our envâ—ed vertue Thou art reproached by lewd men Thank thine own vertue that thou art envied wert thou so bad as thy detractors thou shouldst sit quiet enough If yee were of the world saith our Saviour the world would love his owne but because yee are not of the world but I have chosen you out of the world therefore the world hateth you Whiles the Moon sits no dogs bark at her it is her shining that opens their mouth Wert thou either obscure or wicked thou mightst be safe but if thou wilt needs bee eminently good look for the lashes of ill tongues They think it strange that yee run not with them into the same excesse of riot speaking evill of you saith the prime Apostle It was not without reason that the great Musitian in the story struck his scholar because he saw the multitude applaud his skill as well knowing that had he been true to his art those mis-judging eares could not have approved him What more excellent instruments had God ever in his Church then the blessed Apostles and what acceptation found they on the earth Being defamed we intreat wee are made as the filth of the world and are the off-scouring of all things unto this day Wee are made a Spectacle to the World to Angels and to men Complain if thou canst of a worse condition then these great Ambassadors of the high God otherwise resolve with the chosen vessell to passe cheerfully through honour and dishonour through evill report and good report towards the goale of immortality § 7. Comfort from others sâ—eighting of reproaches Thou art disgraced through sclanderons reports It is not meer air that we live by How many hast thou known that have blown over a just infamy with a carelesse neglect pleasing themselves to think that they have thriven even under curses and shall their guiltinesse be entertained with more courage then thine innocence Let those whose heart is as foule as their name be troubled with deserved censures doe not thou give so much way to malice as to yeeld any regard to her misraised suggestions thou canst not devise how more to vexe a detractor then by contempt thus thou shalt force spight as that wise heathen truly said to drink off the greatest part of her own poyson §. 8. Comfort from the narrow bounds of infamy Thou art disgraced with an ill fame What a poore matter is this How farre dost thou think that sound reacheth perhaps to the next village perhaps further to the whole Shire wherein thou dwellest it is like the next County never heard of thy name and if thou look yet further off assoon moist thou be talkt of amongst the Antipodes as in the neighbouring region and what a small spot of earth is this to which thy shame is confined Didst thou know the vast extent of this great world thou wouldst easily see into how narrow a corner our either glory or dishonour can be pent up and shouldst confesse how little reason we can have to affect the one or be disheartned with the other §. 9. Comfort from the short life of slander Thou art wronged with an unjust disgrace Have patience a while sclanders are not long liv'd Truth is the child of time ere long she shall appeare and vindicate thee Wait upon the God of truth who shall cause thy light to break forth as the morning and thine health to spring forth speedily But if otherwise what speakest thou of his name which as it is locall so it is momentany sooâ— passed over in silence and oblivion There is a shame my son which is worthy of thy fear which is both Universall before the face of all the world of Angels and men and beyond the reach of time eternall fear this and contemn the other On the contrary if fame should befriend thee so much as to strain her cheeks in sounding thy praises and should cry thee up for vertuous and eminent every way Alas how few shall hear her and how soon is that noyse stilled and forgotten Shortly then let it be thy main care to dâ— mean thy selfe holily and conscionably before God and men leave the rest upon God who shall be sure to make his word good in spight of men and devils The memory of the just shall be blessed but the name of the wicked shall rot Comforts against publique Calamities §. 1. Comfort from the inevitable necessity of changes and Gods over-ruling them THOU art afflicted with the publique calamities so it becomes thee as a good man a good Christian a good Patriot Wee are not entire peeces but are all limbs of a community both of Church and Kingdome whiles the whole body suffers how can we be free This should be no news to us what earthly Kingdome or Sate hath ever enjoyed a constant felicity These publique bodies like as single persons have their birth their infancy their youth their vigour their declinations Even the white marble of that famous Embleme and type of Gods Church after not many centuries of yeares felt the dint of time and mouldred to nothing It is as much as those heavenly bodies above can doe to avoid change well might we be distracted with these troubles my son if we did not well know whence they come even from a most wise holy powerfull just providence Hee that sits in heaven orders these earthly affaires according to the eternall counsell of his will It is that Almighty hand that holds the stern of this tossed vessel and steers it in that course which he knows best it is not for us that are passengers to meddle with the â—ard or Compass Let that all-skilful Pilot alone