that mercy shall deny him any thing and take any thing from him so it is content that mercy enjoyne what it will and make what Edicts and Law it will So that the Commands and Precepts of the mercy of God in Christ may take place in his heart When Iohn Baptist came to prepare them for Christ and the hearts of the people were humbled the Publicans came to him saying Master What shall we doe Luk. 3.13 14 and so the souldiers said Master what shall we doe and he said Doe no man wrong but bee content with your wages The question is not now covetousnesse and crueltie what shall wee doe No the souldiers came now and said Thou art our Master the Spirit of God and the Spirit of wisedome is revealed to thee in the Word command and enjoyne thou what thou wilt and they are content with whatsoever hee commands them The humbled heart is content that mercy doe what it will with him not onely that mercy shall save him for so farre a reprobate and a carnall hypocrite may be content The hypocrite is marveilous willing that mercy shall save him but his lusts and corruptions must rule him still You are content that mercy should save you from your peevish heart and yet your peevish heart must rule you still and you are content that Christ should save you from your drunkennesse and prophaning of the Lords Day but these lusts must rule you still A drunkard that hath gotten some dangerous surfeit is content that the Physician should cure him not because he would leave his drunkennesse but because he would have his health and therefore being up hee returnes to his drunkennesse againe And the thiefe that is condemned to die cryes for a pardon not because he would live to be an honest man but to be free from the halter and therefore when he is freed he goes to the hie way and robs againe it is not for honesty that he desires a pardon but for libertie Deceive not your selves mercy will never save you except mercy may rule you too Here is a heart worth gold and the Lord delights in such a Soule that falls into the armes of mercie and is content to take all from mercy and to be at mercies disposing and to have mercie sanctifie him and correct him and teach him and to rule in him in all things This the heart of a truly abased sinner will have and it will say Good Lord do what thou wilt with me rule this Soule and take possession of me onely doe good to the Soule of a poore sinner If the Lord give any thing he is content and if the Lord take away any thing or command any thing he is content You that are ruled by your lusts think of this When the Lord hath awakened and arrested your Soules and you are going downe to hell Oh then you will crie Lord forgive this and that sinne it is true I have hated and loathed the Saints of God good Lord forgive this sinne oh that mercie would save mee then mercy will answer and say When you are out of your beds you will returne to your old courses againe no he that ruled in you let him save and succour you I will save none saith mercy except I may rule them too Thirdly The last degree of contentednesse is this The Soule is willing that the Lord should make it able to take what mercy will give This is a lower pegge that the Soule is brought unto The sinner before had nothing of his owne in possession nay he can challenge nothing of the other but meerely to doe what hee will and hee is not able to take what mercy will give and bestow And therefore hee is not onely content that mercy provide what it thinks good but also to give him strength to take what mercy gives The beggar that comes to the dole though he have no meanes to help himselfe withall and though he can challenge nothing of the man yet hee hath a hand and can receive the dole that is given him but a poore sinner is brought to this low ebbe and this shewes the emptinesse of it that as hee hath no spirituall good at all and can challenge no good neither is hee able to take that good which mercy provides The hand of the Soule whereby it must receive mercy is faith and the humbled Soule seeth that he is as able to satisfie for his sinne as to beleive in a Saviour that must satisfie And hee is as able to keepe the Law as to beleeve in him that hath fulfill'd the Law for him In Saint Iohn beleeving is call'd receiving Ioh. 1.16 and therefore the poore sinner seeth that it is not onely mercy and salvation that must do him good but hee seeth that if mercy and salvation were laid downe upon the naile for beleeving and receiving of it hee could not doe it of himselfe and therefore the Lord must give him a hand to receive it with You know the Apostle Paul saith Phil. 1.29 The naturall man cannot receive the things that be of God And the same Apostle is plaine to you it is given to beleeve So that faith is a gift and a poore sinner is as able to create a world as to receive mercy of himselfe The want of this is the cause why many a man that hath made a good progresse in the way of happinesse hee falls short of his hopes Many a sinner hath beene awakened and his heart humbled and the Soule comes to heare of Christ and thinks to lay hold of mercy and Christ out of his owne proper power and thus he deceives himselfe and the faith that he dreamed to have was nothing else but a fancie a faith of his owne framing it was never framed by the Almighty Spirit of the Lord in heaven hee never saw need of the power of God to make him able to beleeve as well as to save him and therefore his faith and all came to just nothing Now the broken hearted sinner saith All that I expect it must be from another and I am content to take what mercy will give and that mercy shall deny me what it will and give me what it will and I am content that mercy rule in me nay that mercy must give me a heart to beleeve and to take mercy or else I shall never beleeve Now you see what it is that the Soule must be contented withall The manner of Gods dealing Now I come to shew the maner of Gods dealing with the Soule for the Soule must be content with this too as I told you before The manner of Gods dealing may appeare in three particulars First the Soule stoopes to the condition that the Lord will appoint be it never so hard it is content to come to Gods termes be they never so harsh and wearisome As sometimes when the soule finds that the heaviest hand of the Lord hath laid long upon him that the sharpest
that is you will not goe out from your selves to the Lord Christ and therefore cannot receive mercy and grace from his Majesties hands though thou art never so base and vile if thou couldst goe to the Lord Iesus and rest upon him for mercy nothing should stand betweene thee and heaven but if thou stickest in thy selfe all the grace in Christ can doe thee no good Secondly This carnall confidence makes a man unprofitable under all the meanes that God bestowes Ier. 17.5 6. As the Prophet Ieremy saith Cursed is he that trusts in the arme of flesh and departs from the Lord Why What shall become of him the text saith he shall be like an heath in the wildernesse and shall never see good The nature of the heath is this though all the dew of heaven and all the showers in the world fall upon it and though the Sunne shine never so hotly it will never grow fruitfull it will never yield any fruit of increase but it is unfruitfull still Such a Soule thou wilt be thou that restest upon thy own services sayest because thou hearest and prayest and doest sanctifie the Lords Day therefore thou must needs goe to heaven I say thou shalt never see good by all the meanes of grace if thou makest them independent causes of salvation all the promises in the Gospel shall never establish thee and all the judgements in the world will never terrifie thee thou shalt never have any saving grace wrought in thee by them The truth is hee that hath all meanes and hath not a Christ in all hee shall never see good by all Therefore thou that restest upon thy parts and gifts and upon thy duties thou wilt have a heart so besotted that grace will never come into thy heart and God will never quiet thy conscience It may be a poore drunkard is converted and humbled but thou standest still and canst get no good by all the means in the world Therefore say thus to thy selfe doth this carnall confidence cut mee off from all the grace and mercy that is in Christ and without mercy and pardon from Christ I am undone for ever and without grace I am a poore defiled wretch here and shall be damned for ever after if I rest here I may bid adue to all mercy Nay all the meanes that I have never doe mee good Is this the fruit of my carnall confidence Oh Lord withdraw my heart from it Lastly When all the meanes of grace will not plucke away the Soule from resting upon it selfe The fourth meanes when reason will not rule him nor meanes will not prevaile with a poore sinner as commonly a great while they will not then the Lord tires a poore Soule with his owne distempers And the Lord deales with the Soule as an enemy deales with a Castle that he hath besieged When the Citizens will not yield up the Castle he famisheth them and cuts off all provision and makes them consume within and so at last they are forced to resigne it up upon any termes So When the Lord hath laid siege to a carnall heart and hath shewed him his woefull condition and yet the heart will not of nor will not take up any termes of peace but still hee will shift for himselfe Now what doth the Lord doe hee takes away the comfort of all the meanes that he hath till hee is famished with the want of Gods favour and then hee is content to yield up all to the God of heaven and earth It was just so with this Prodigall all the world could not perswade him but he might live better of his portion and so away hee goes and when hee had tried the world and could get no succour at last he confest it was better to be at a fathers finding and now he saw that a fathers house was admirably good and that the servants and children in their fathers house are happy for they have bread enough and enough againe and to spare too and so hee is forced to returne So it is with many poore distressed soules all the arguments under heaven cannot quiet them and all the meanes in the world cannot plucke them from themselves and we tell them daily that they must not expect grace nor power nor pardon from themselves 2 Ioh. 3. It is mercy and peace saith the Apostle You would have peace of conscience and pardon of sinne and assurance of Gods love and whence would you have it you would have it from your duties it is not prayer and peace nor hearing and peace but it is mercy and peace and therefore away to the Lord Iesus that you may receive mercy from him Yet we cannot get poore creatures from themselves but they would faine shuffle for themselves and have a little comfort of their owne and they say Lord cannot my prayers my care and fasting merit salvation Now what doth God then he saith to such a Soule goe try then put to the best of thy strength and use all the meanes that thou canst and see what thou canst doe See if thou canst cure thy conscience and heale those wounds of thine and subdue the corruptions of thy heart with thy prayers and abilities but when the Soule hath made triall and weltred and wearied it selfe at last he finds that all the meanes he can use cannot quiet him nor comfort his conscience and the poore sinner is pinched and wearied and the Lord will not answer his prayers nor sweeten the desires of his Soule and the Lord will not blesse the Word to him for his comfort and at last the Soule saith Such a poore Christian even a man of meane parts and weake gifts how is he comforted and such a profane drunkard is puld home and hath gotten the assurance of Gods love The Lord hath puld downe the proud hearts of such and such and they live comfortably and sweetly and I have no peace nor assurance of Gods love You may thanke your selves for it they saw nothing and they looked for nothing from themselves and therefore they went home to the gate of mercy to the Lord Iesus Christ and they have bread enough if you would come home to Christ you might have beene comforted also Now therefore goe to the Lord Iesus Christ and as certainly as God is in heaven refreshing and comfort will come into your hearts and mercy which is better then marrow shall satisfie those feeble fainting spirits of yours You see what the way is and what the helps be to pluck off our hearts from resting upon these duties and therefore thinke thus with thy selfe and say is my misery so great and are my duties so weake and is my carnall confidence so dangerous that I may be troubled for ever for any thing that I can doe of my selfe and is comfort no where else to be had but in the Lord Iesus Christ Oh then Lord worke my heart to this duty Sticke not in your selves doe all this but goe
never be blessed for I have had these ends and by respects in all my duties it is I that have sinned against checks of conscience and against knowledge and therfore it is just that I should carry this horror of heart with mee to my grave it is I that have abused mercy and therefore it is just and righteous with God that I should goe with a tormenting conscience downe to hell Oh that if I be in hell I might have a Spirit to glorifie and justifie thy name there and say Now I am come downe to hell amongst you damned creatures but the Lord is righteous and blessed for ever in all his dealings and I am justly condemned Thirdly Hence the Soule comes to be quiet and frameable under the heavy hand of God in that helplesse condition wherein he is so that the Soule having beene thus framed aforehand it comes to this that it takes the blow and lyes under the burthen and goes away quietly and patiently hee is quiet and saith not a word more oh this is a heart worth gold He accounts Gods dealing and Gods way to bee the fittest and most reasonable of all Oh saith he it is fit that God should glorifie himselfe though I be damned for ever for I deserve the worst whatsoever I have it is the reward of my owne workes and the end of my owne way if I be damned I may thanke my pride my stubbornnesse my peevishnesse of Spirit and all my base corruptions what shall I repine against the Lord because his wrath and his displeasure lyes heavy upon mee let mee repine against my sinne that made him do it Let me grudge against my base heart that hath nourished these adders in my bosome shall I bee unquiet and murmure against the Lord because this horror of heart doth vexe mee oh noe let mee blesse the Lord and not Speake one word against him but let mee repine against my sin as the holy prophet David saith Psal 39.9 I held my tongue and Spake nothing because thou Lord haddest done it So the Soule saith when the sentence of condemnation is even seazing upon him and God seemes to cast him out of his favour then he saith I confesse God is just and therefore I blesse his name and yeild to him but sinne is the worker of all this misery that hath befallen mee The holy Prophet Ieremy pleading of the great extremity that had befallen the people of God saith woe is mee for my hurt Ier. 10.19 my wound is grievous but I said truly this is my griefe and I must beare it This is the frame of a heart that is truly humbled it is content to take all to it self and so to be quiet saying this is my wound and I must beare it this is my sorrow and I will suffer it thus you see what the behaviour of the heart is in this contentednesse Hold these well for they are of marveilous difficultie and great use Quest But what is the dealing of the Lord that the Soule must be contented with Answ The behaviour of the Lord towards the Soule in this kind discovers it selfe in two things First In what hee will do to the Soule Secondly in the manner of his dealing how hee will deale with the Soule and the heart must bee contented with both these Sometimes a man will beare a thing but not the manner of it that kills him but God will make a sinner wayt upon God for mercy and beg againe and againe and bee content with the harshest of his dealings and glad he may have it so too The first thing that God will have the Soule contented with 1. First thing that God will doe to the Soule and which the Soule must be contented with is that salvation and happinesse and the acceptation of a mans person now must be no more in a mans own hands nor in his owne abilitie the Lord hath taken the staffe out of his hand and salvation must bee no more put in his owne power Here is a wonderfull height of pride exprest before the Soule will yield to this When Adam was created in his innocency the Lord put a faire stocke into his hand and hee might have traded for himselfe and he had libertie of will and power of grace so that he might have gotten the favour of God by that which he could doe if hee would have done hee might have lived But when Adam had betrayed that trust which God committed to him in the state of Paradise because hee had forfeited this trust the Lord tooke all away from him and nothing shall be in him or from him any more in the point of Iustification or acceptation as any way meritorious Adam in his innocency might have required mercy by vertue of a Covenant from God but Adam shall now have nothing in his owne power any more but he shall have his Iustification and acceptation not in himselfe but in another even Iesus Christ So that the reason why any Soule is justified and accepted with the Lord it is meerely in an other not in himselfe It is a great matter to bring the heart to this for the Soule to see nothing in himselfe but all in and through Christ Oh this is a difficult worke The Lord will not trust him with a farthing token There are two passages marveilous usefull this way and therein you shall see the exceeding pride of a mans heart and it is very common One passage is in the Romanes Where the text saith Rom. 9.31.32 The Iew and the Gentiles sought for righteousnesse that is how they might finde acceptance and righteousnesse in the sight of God The Iew sought this by the works of the Law that is by himself by his sacrifices and washing and the like and he thought these would have acquitted him in the sight of God But the text saith Israel which followed after the Law of righteousnesse hath not attained it that is they have not attained it because they sought it not by faith and from Christ but in and of themselves and therefore they never came to attaine it But most pregnant is that other place Rom. 10 2 3. where the Apostle saith I beare them record that they have the zeale of God but not according to knowledge for they being ignorant of Gods righteousnesse and going about to establish their owne righteousnesse have not submitted themselves to Gods righteousnesse the cause why any man is acquitted of God it is not because of any thing that he hath or doth but it is from anothers righteousnesse But what a great matter is this The text faith That going about to establish their owne righteousnesse they have not submitted c. here in this place there is this remarkable They thought to establish their owne righteousnesse that is their owne duties and services their owne parts and abilities and because they thought to find acceptance for what they did they did not submit Submission argues
a wearinesse to mee to sanctifie the Sabaoth and hearing praying and other holy duties are a burthen to mee to this day my heart is not prepared for mercy good Lord to this day I am a wretched carnall man This is something Now there is some hope And the Soule goes on further and saith Good Lord what will become of my Soule am I Gods to dispose of no no pride and peevishnesse hath rul'd mee and I must cloath my selfe as Pride would have mee This is somewhat indeed And the adulterer saith If the adulteresse come I must goe though I dye for it When the drunkard comes to pull you out tell him of this and say Who hath disposed of you this day and all your life a drunken wretch and a base queane You have heard the word of God checking of you and yet nothing would doe Oh now at last yield and say The Lord hath not disposed of me Now therefore labour that God may dispose of you and let the mighty God pull downe that mightie heart Challenge the Lord with his promise and give him no rest till hee have mercy upon you And you servants humble your selves and say Wee have beene proud and idle together now let us mourne and pray together The time shall come when you will be content that God should dispose of you and you shall desire the Lord to looke graciously towards you and that God would take away your corruptions and that pride which accuseth you and all those abhominations that have beene a shame and disgrace to you therefore now resolve with your selves and say Lord take away this sinne and subdue that corruption and doe thou rule and reigne over my heart and life for ever let the power of thy truth carry mee and turne me from my wickednesse and over-power this proud will of mine and whatsoever vanity is in my life good Lord take it away and frame me after thy minde When this time comes say That a poore Minister did wish you good and that you had a faire offer If you will be at Gods disposing in minde in heart and life the Lord will prepare a place for you in heaven and rancke you there amongst his blessed Saints and Angels for evermore If another mans servant come to demand of you meat drinke and wages you will say You have not beene at my command therefore goe to the Master that you have served let him pay your wages So it will be with you if you goe to God for mercy and comfort in that day the Lord will send you to your lusts and new fashions c. but if any man be Gods servant then every thing shall be fitted for him and though that day be troublesome to the proud and haughty spirit yet it will be a comfort to the godly that they have submitted themselves to Gods word For then Christ shall fill their mindes with wisedome and their wills with holinesse and their lives shall be made honourable and acceptable before him Think of this and labour to bring your hearts to it that Gods will may be your wills and if you be humbled you shall and must be for ever comforted Thus much of the triall of the truth of our humiliation The second part of the use Now I come to the second part of the use that is to examine the measure of our humiliation for as I conceive all the difficulty of a mans course lyes here and the cause why a man receives not the assurance of mercy from God that hee desires or that comfort that he might it is all from hence I say because he is not empty For if the heart be prepared Christ comes immediatly into his temple and the lesse wee have of our selves the more we shall have of Christ This is mervailous usefull and therefore you must know that though the heart be truly humbled and laid low in it selfe in truth and the thing is done yet there remaines a great deale of pride in the heart Take a mighty Castle though it be battered downe yet there remaines many heapes of rubbish and happily some of the pillars stand many Winters after So it is with this frame of Spirit in a high imagination 2 Cor. 10.5 in these Towers of loftinesse Though this Dagon of a mans selfe be fallen downe yet still the stumps remaine and will doe many yeares And it will cost much horror of heart and much trouble before this haughtinesse of heart will be every way pull'd downe and made agreeable to the good will of God Though this distemper is mervailous secret yet a man may take a measure and scantling of it How to try the measure of humiliation The first particular Triall and hee may know how much of this cursed rubbish remaines in his heart by these foure particular rules First looke what measure there is of carnall reasoning against the truth of God when it is made knowne what measure there is of it either subtilly comming in upon the heart or else that doth violently transport the spirit against the spirit so much need thou hast of Humiliation and so much thou wantest of it This is a cleare case Every Saint of God is willing to know the truths that he shall doubt of and is content to yeild himselfe to the truth that shall be revealed and of which he shall be convinced yet there remaines much carnall reasoning against the truth As the Apostle saith Let no man deceive you intruding into those things which he hath not seene Coloss 2.18 vainely puft up in his fleshly minde The ground and roote of this carnall reasoning or the measure of it may appeare in two causes First There is a kinde of perverse darknesse in the heart still sticking in the minde and understanding even of a gracious Godly man And from hence namely out of this mistaking of the minde followes all that carnall reasoning that howsoever the Soule is satisfied yet it will not sit downe but still it sticks in this carnall reasoning and the sinner cannot conceive the truth nor fathom the compasse of it by reason of his owne weakenesse therefore it is long before hee will be perswaded that it is truth and that he is bound to yeild to it When the wisedome of the truth is so plaine and evident that he cannot resist the clearenesse of it yet because he cannot conceive of it he thinkes that hee is not bound to yeild thereunto Object But some will say should a man yeild to that which he cannot conceive Answ To this I answer When the minde is so farre enlightened that he cannot gain-say any thing in reason though he cannot compasse the depth and bottome of the truth yet he should yeild to it and rather goe with reason then follow his owne imagination when there is no reason for it Iust so it was with Nicodemus When Christ spake of the worke of regeneration Ioh. 3.9 he said Can a man be borne