in this common calamity It is from thy self O man it is from thy self this evil is because of our falling from God It is a Righteous thing with God that when man departed from him he should reap the Fruit of his own doings and indeed it is impossible for a creature of our composure and constitution but to feel it self dissatisfied with all worldly material employments and to find trouble and disquiet in it self while it is deprived of its true good If we would have a true account of our disquiet and dissatisfaction this it is God made man of all the works of his hands to be the nearest to himself and hath fitted his principles for a higher life then that which hath the things of this world for its object but man hath made himself like the Beasts that perish We have given our souls into captivity to our bodies or rather we are fallen from our Union with God and are gathered up into our selves and become deprived of a sufficiency in separation from God then it must needs be that we being gone down into a lower state than that which we were made to should find nothing but dissatisfaction and emptiness here we are by nature and hitherto we have brought our selves by forsaking God Now the great inquiry will be what Remedy there is for this our woful condition is there any way whereby we may be delivered from this misery if there be what way is it These words which I have chosen to speak to do contain the Answer to this Inquiry Acquaint now thy self with him and be at peace thereby good shall come unto thee This is the counsel of one of Job's three friends to him in the time of his great affliction You have heard of the affliction of Job and how his three friends came to relieve him with their Counsel but the Devil who had a Commission from God to try his utmost with Job yet sparing his life made use of his friends who are to be a comfort in the hour of adversity to be a great means of his disquiet so that he cries out of them Aliserable comforters are ye all Chap 16.2 And the great way of their troubling him was by mis-applying by making false application of true principles In their Discourses there are many excellent Truths yet by their hard construing ungrounded condemning of him they by God are reproved as not having spoken the thing that was right Chap. 41.7 yet in many things their counsel was suitable and seasonable of which sort the words in the Text may be accounted In this Chapter Eliphaz had been inquiring into the cause of Job's great affliction and holding this for an undeniable Principle that the righteous God being the great disposer of affliction did bring this evil upon him because of his sin he measured the greatness of his sins by the greatness of his afflictions he made account because Gods hand was gone forth in an extraordinary manner against Job therefore there was some extraordinary guilt upon him vers 5. 13. And thou sayest How doth God judge through the dark clouds Thus we have his apprehension of Job as one under great affliction because of his great sins and the Text is Eliphaz his counsel to Job under this character and so is suitable advice to those that are under sickness or great afflictions and that are under the guilt of great sin Acquaint thy self with him and be at peace thereby good shall come unto thee The words are a Doctrine for the soul under a sense of its lost condition with a Promise very comfortable upon the embracing thereof The Doctrine is Acquaint thy self with him and be at peace The Promise Thereby good shall come unto sher These words Be at peace may be referred either to the former as an addition to the Doctrine Be at peace that is keep your selves in a quiet submission to the hand of God or to the latter and so be at peace is as much as peace shall be to thee In the Doctrine we are to consider the Act and Object The Act Aquaint The Object is God DOCTRINE So that the Doctrine is To enter into acquaintance with God This Proposition stands forth to the view of every eye that it is the Duty of man to be acquainted with God Now the first thing that is before us to require after is What this acquaintance with God is Secondly to evidence and clear it to be the Duty of man to acquaint himself with God Acquaintance with God implyes several things 1. It signifies a full and determinate knowledge of this Truth that there is a God and so to know him as to his Nature distinct from all other beings There is a three-fold Knowledge of God 1. A Rational 2. A Natural 3. A Supernatural First there is a Rational knowledge of God which is a clear discovery of an Almighty All-sufficient Cause of all things which is attained by a Reasonable discussing Power of the Soul which argueth from things that are visible and sensible to an invisible and self-principled Cause of all things Man found himself brought into the world furnished with an innumerable variety of Creatures and none of these having power to make it self we see likewise such an accurate order in every particular Creature and in all the Creatures one with another that we cannot but see clearly that there is a Supream Almighty Cause of all things who hath by his power brought forth all things into being who is likewise the most wise Agent who by his unsearchable wisdom hath curiously framed every Creature and by his wonderful counsel hath set them in such an order that they all serve one another till at length they all meet in man as in the common center Secondly there is a Natural knowledg of God which is the inward touch and mental sensation of a Supream Righteous Judge to whose trial we feel our selves under an unavoidable bond in doing good and evil This is that which is commonly called Conscience this a man finds in himself if at any time he have committed any secret sin whatsoever which none in the world knows but himself he feels it to be a pressure upon his spirit as being under the examination of a power superior to himself Now this is nothing else but a secret impression that God hath made of himself upon the minds of Men by which man is bound to stand before the Tribunal of God These two ways of knowing of God were very clear to man in his perfect state but since the fall of man they are much weakened and decayed But Thirdly There is a supernatural way whereby we come to know God which hath repaired our loss by Adams sin and that is by Gods extraordinary Revelation of himself in his holy Scriptures by these we may come to have a more clear distinct knowledge of God both that he is and what he is To these three ways of letting in the knowledge
henceforth good for nothing The mind of man is his eye by which he is to behold God now if this eye be blind if the light be darkness how great is that darkness The Jews in Ezek. 15.1 are likened to a Vine which if it be barren is good for no use Shall wood be taken thereof for any work It is fit for nothing but to burn So it is in man his great use and excellency is his acquaintance with God now if he fails in this he is good for nothing Verily man is a base vile worthless thing without acquaintance with God None are less esteemed among men than they that want wisdome to converse among men None are less esteemed before God than they that know him not that have not acquaintance with him to converse with him Ye see wherein the excellency and worth of man consisteth and that if there be a deformity where ought to be our chiefest beauty the whole is accounted as a deformed piece It concerns us then to look that we keep our glory unspotted our excellency in its due value that we do not degrade our selves below what God hath placed us in If we are not acquainted with God our souls serve us to little purpose it is a causing the Prince the Soul to go on foot and to serve the body which should be as a servant it is to let the candle of the Lord burn out in waste Thirdly Another enforcement of this duty of Acquaintance with God is this If we refuse acqaintance with God it is a slighting the greatest of all the mercies that God bestowes Favors are to be valued either by their proper excellencies or according to the good will of him that bestowes them both these ways this is to be accounted the greatest of mercies In Gods giving us leave to be acquainted with him he gives out himself to be known to be loved to be conversed with to be enjoyed What greater gift can God give then himself God is the portion of his people he is the greatest portion the surest the most suitable and the only durable portion Thus they that know him esteem of him Psal 73.26 My flesh my heart faileth but God is the strength of my heart portion for ever Psal 16.5 6. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance the lines are fallen to me in a pleasant place yea I have a goodly heritage Blessed are the people that are in such a case yea blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. No greater mercy can be bestowed upon any people family or person than this for God to dwell among them If we value this mercy according to the excellency and worth of that which is bestowed it is the greatest if we value it acording to the good will of him that gives it it will appear likewise to be the greatest favour The greatness of the good will of God in giving himself to be our acquaintance is evident in the nature of the gift A man may give his estate to them to whom his love is not very large but he never gives himself but upon strong affection God gives abundantly to all the works of his hands he causeth the Sun to shine upon the evil and upon the good and the rain to descend upon the just and the unjust But it cannot be conceived that he should give himself to be a Portion a friend Father Husband but in abundance of Love Whosoever therefore shall refuse acquaintance with God slighted the greatest favour that ever God did bestow upon man Now consider what a high charge this is to abuse such a kindness from God is an act of the greatest vileness David was never so provoked as when the King of Ammon abused his kindness in his Ambassadors after his fathers death And God is highly provoked when his greatest mercies bestowed in the greatest love are rejected and cast away What could God give more and better than himself And how heavy will this imputation be These are those that look upon God as not worth being acquainted with Let us therefore consider how we shall be able to stand to these Accusations Shall we not be speechless when these things shall be charged upon us Shall we not be confounded when we stand to the trial of him to whom we had offered these great indignities How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation so great a mercy Fourthly It concerns us to acquaint our selves with God for without it we are in a necessity of sin and misery 1. The soul unacquainted with God is in a necessity of sinning Ephes 4.14 Having their understanding darkened alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their hearts For want of acquaintance with God every thought and imagination of their heart is evil continually Rom. 30.10 11. There is none righteous no not one There is none that understands there is none that seeketh after God Not understanding nor seeking after God is the necessary cause that there is none doth good The soul of man is an Active being which is continually in motion if it be not in motion to God and in God it will be in motion from God Hence it is that the prayer of the wicked is an abomination that which goes for prayer God abhors because they are not acquainted with him Isa 1.3 The ox knows his owner and the ass his masters crib but Israel doth not know me vers 13 14. To this saith he your incense is abomination unto me their new moons and sabbaths the calling of assemblies I cannot away with it is iniquity even your solemn meetings Now the reason why there is a necessity of sin without acquaintance with God is because whatsoever is not done with a good heart is not good Luk. 6.45 The good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good fruit and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth evil fruit for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh As an evil tree cannot bring froth good fruit so an evil heart cannot bring forth a good action Now without knowledg the heart is not good Prov. 19.2 That the soul be without knowledg is not good And there is no knowledg like the knowledg of God And acquaintance with him to make the heart good Hos 4.2 Because there is not truth nor mercy nor knowledg of God in the land therefore by swearing and lying and killing and stealing and committing adultery they break out c. Thus want of knowledg of God and acquaintance with God we may plainly see is the necessary cause of sin Now there is no greater evil on this side Hell then that of a necessity of sinning 2 Pet. 2.14 Those of which it is said they cannot cease from sinning are called cursed children He that chooseth any sin rather than affliction doth it through the blindness of his mind
before God and to complement him much and to sit oft at his Table and yet not to be any of his peculiar Friends and special Acquaintance now it ever you would make any thing of Religion and be made highly to praise Gods favour to be really acquainted with him you must labour to understand your distance from him and the unconceivable hazard that you run while you are in a state of Separation from God that there is but one step between you and the state of the Damned for what would become of you if God should say to you this night thy Soul shall be required of you How easily can God in a moment stop your breath and send your Soul and Body into that lake that burns for ever ever is it not then time for you to look about you O this ignorance of our selves how doth it expose us Ar. Epict. l. i. c. 26. He was not a whit mistaken who said That the not knowing of our selves was one of the chiefest causes of our sin and misery and that the consideration of the state of the Soul and the through understanding it's depravedness was the beginning of Wisdom for it's weakness being well known a man will not afterwards trust it in the determination of the greatest things but man will be desirous to consult that great Oracle the will of his Maker and finding his old guide is blind and hath oft misled him thereupon he is the readier to be acquainted with such a one who may direct him in the way to true happiness If you would therefore be acquainted with God you must get well acquainted with your selves you will upon the knowledg of your self be afraid of your self He was none of the weakest men who said That a true sense of folly is no small sign of some proficiency in wisdom Look into thy self O man search every corner behold what abundance of Armour there is in such and such a dark Celler but is this Armour strong enough to encounter a God withal Can'st thou with these Fig-leaves defend thy self against the arrowes of the Almighty behold what a condition thou art in if thou stirrest a step further Yield speedily and throw down thine Arms or you are a dead man Do you know this do you really believe this Is it possible what believe that your Treason is found out and that you are within a little of Execution and yet not tremble yet not seek nor desire pardon When a man throughly understands how things stand between him God and how unable he is to carry on a War against him he will speedily cast a bout how he may conclude a Peace upon any terms As soon as Benhadad knew what a condition his Army was in when he saw the Crowns of his thirty Kings shaken and his warlike Captains cut in pieces or to tremble be like women when instead of a mighty Army of gallant Warriors in martial order behaving themselves bravely in the field he saw their karkases upon heaps their garments rouled in blood the Shields of his mighty Ones cast away and himself wosully deserted how speedily doth he send away his Servants with Ropes about their Necks to beg Peace upon any Terms When the Gibeonites heard what dangerous fighting it was against Joshuah they were not long before they made means to make a Covenant with him So the Soul when it doth seriously consider what a sad Condition it is in while it continues in Rebellion against God it 's impossibility to stand it out long and utter inability to conquer him When it perceives the designs of Satan who first caused this difference between the Soul and God and hath still instigated and stirred it up to persecute with all the violence that might be I say when the Soul sees this before it is quite too late O how doth it bewail it's condition how doth it cry out O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me O what will become of me if I make War still against God And as for flying whether shall I fly from his presence and where shall I Hide my self out of his sight And how shall I look him in the face whom I have thus desperately and ungratefully opposed Can such a Traytor as I possibly expect any mercy if the Lord should look upon me and not immediately cast me into Hell it would be a miracle of Patience And thus the man that begins a little to understand himself speaks to himself and after that he with Ephraim sinites upon his thigh and bemoans his condition exceedingly O that he should ever take up Arms against his gracious Prince O what shall become of him Well I have heard that the God of Heaven is a merciful King I will go and cast my self at his feet if I perish I perish If I continue in this rebellion there is no hopes if I fly there is no escaping and if I yield I can but perish O sad sad is my condition Woe and alas what shall I do in these dreadful perplexities But why do I stay here The avenger of blood followes after me apace well I will go to my God through Christ and I have heard that this is the only way and that there is not the least hope in the world any other way to get a pardon to escape the Wrath to come O that the precious and merciful Jesus would pitty me and stand my Frind now if ever O that he would speak a good word for me Have mercy upon me Jesus thou Son of David have mercy me O make peace for me by thy blood if thou wilt thou canst do more with a word speaking then all the Saints and Angels in the world if ever any poor Creature in the world had need of mercy then have I. O mercy mercy mercy for thy bloods sake But because I shall speak to this under another Direction I shall be the briefer Now when a man is at this pass he is in a fair way for peace but now as long as a man is ignorant of all this he is quite in another note he will never buckle and therefore he shall be broken Therefore consider well your condition observe the actings of your own Soul if you be one of the Friends and Acquaintance of God what means your breaking and hating of his Spiritual Laws What 's the reason if you love God that you can take no delight at all in his company no pleasure in his Sabbaths If you are a Friend of God how hap you come no oftner to his house when he dwells so near you Why do you knock no oftner at his door Why are you so rare in your visits Is this your kindness Is this like a Friend How comes it to pass that there are so many Arms found hid in your house What are they all for What is the meaning of all those Meetings that you give to Gods Enemies What do all those whisperings plots and