dwells in me that I cannot think the Lord has been effectually at work upon my Soul That the work of the Gospel is to purifie the heart is plain from Joh. 17.17 Sanctifie them through thy Truth thy Word is truth so 1 Pet. 1.22 Seeing ye have purified your hearts in obeying the Truth thorow the Spirit unto unfained love to the Brethren The Gospel if it works it works to the purifying of the heart Answer As it is a work of the Gospel to cleanse and purifie the heart so it is not all the work it does nor is it the first work it doth nor the work that is first manifest upon the Soul The Law it humbles the sinner and makes him see his need of Christ the first work of the Gospel is to give the sinner hope that he may be delivered out of his undone condition and the next is to make him willing to subject to and accept of the Grace of God in the Gospel Psal 110.3 Thy People shall be willing in the day of thy Power Therefore Soul if thou dost make this Objection this I would say to thee Consider whether thou canst find that the Gospel hath done its first work upon thy heart hath made thee willing to accept of Grace in the Gospel-way and to bow and fall at the foot of Jesus Christ As to thy Holiness the holiness of thy heart will at first discover it self hardly by any other ways then by thy love to Holiness then by thy hatred of Sin and thy fighting against the Corruptions that be in thy Soul thy Conquest and Victory over Sin must be the work of time the fruit of much pains and long waiting many excellent Souls have not attained unto this Paul himself found impurity remaining and Corruption like to bear him down and therefore cries out O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this Body of Death But then Objection 3. The Soul objects and says But I have been but a little time under any Soul-Work and therefore I may soon be mistaken I may reckon I am an Israelite and may be but an Edomite still for it is but a little while that I have had any workings upon my heart I have gone indeed from Duty to Duty for a long time together but I have sat in and under them like a Stock or a Stone and moved not and therefore whether the Workings that are upon me are genuine or whether they be spurious and not of the right kind I know not Answer I answer therefore The work of Grace upon the heart is wrought in a little time a little time doth it there are indeed many preparations to it the Soul may fall under many convictions and many struglings may be in the heart of a poor creature before the new Creature is formed but Grace is infused into the heart in a moment at once It is the Devils design to oppose young Converts and puzzle them with endless questions about their state I would therefore that thou shouldst consult for thy satisfaction which way is the bent of thy Soul Canst thou say thy desire is for Communion with God for fellowship with Father Son and Spirit Thou wouldst fain see him who is invisible and fain wouldst know him whom to know is Eternal Life If the bent of thy heart be really for God it is bent and bowed though it hath not been long with God thou mayest conclude I think with some comfort the Lord hath been at work upon thy Soul and thou art one of the Israel of God though thou art but a little one of that Tribe But then Objection 4. Says the Soul Many of much longer standing and of much more raised confidence have afterwards miscarried and it has appeared that their Souls have not been right with God and therefore my heart trembles lest I should not be an Israelite indeed Answer To this I would answer That indeed it is so and it may be thought of with sorrow of heart that many Souls after long profession have been but empty Vines bringing forth fruit onely to themselves And happy is he that by other mens harms learns to beware A holy fear and jealousie over thy heart is very good and there is great cause for it considering the many and great miscarriages that are among Professors They say of Trees that are well rooted being shaken with the Wind they are made to root the better It may be thus may thy Temptations touching thy state be if thou art rooted in Christ thy Temptations may be for thy further setling in thy state But yet to be always perplexing thy self with questions about thy state may not onely marre thy comfort but may spoil thee in thy growth also and may prove a great hindrance to thee My poor thoughts are therefore these Be sure to make use enough of Christ see thy All in him that he is thy Righteousness for Justification and that from him is the work of thy Sanctification he must begin it and it is he also that must carry it on lie at his foot live upon him and let all thy expectations be from him and whoever may fall I think thou wilt stand and wilt be found one of the Israel of God that shall be made glorious in the day of Christs Glory I am perswaded if thou canst do as is hinted in Isa 45. ult see thy Righteousness in him and thy Strength in him and canst glory in Christ it is a good ground to thee to hope that thou art of the Israel of God with whom it is like for ever to go well Objection 5. The Soul may object and say further But alas I have had few Visions of God and that makes me fear Israel of old had many and he had sometimes very glorious Visions that did greatly comfort and strengthen and bear up his Soul Answer I answer That visions of God indeed are exceeding sweet very sweet but the dispensing and giving them forth is in the hand of God and he must do it how and when he pleaseth and it is good in his sight sometimes to let his own People sit in darkness and see no light Hast thou seen the face of God at any time If thou hast had but some Visions of him though not so many as thou wouldst yet it is ground of rejoycing to thee and thou oughtest from thence to conclude much to thy own comfort A little hint of Good Will is given in to be lived upon in after times However which way is it thy Soul does press Art thou waiting for the manifestation of the love of God in Christ Are these the things which thou art seeking of together with a Conformity to the mind and will of God If so thou hast cause of Thankfulness and Joy Briefly Watch against those devices of Satan whereby he labours to do thee hurt and put thee besides thy present proper work Thou art one of them that are escaped this day and God
EBEN-EZER OR Profitable Truths after Pestilential Times Being some MEDITATIONS Upon ISAIAH 4.2 SHEWING The MERCY and the DUTY Of Those that have Escap'd the Slaughtering Pestilence As also That all Slaughter shall end in the Exaltation of CHRIST and the setting up of HIS KINGDOM Together with An Epistolary Preface To the Citizens of London Westminster By THOMAS BLAKE London Printed in the Year 1666. To the Citizens of LONDON and WESTMINSTER A few Things are humbly offered needful to be considered SIRS IN this day of the Lords Controversie a Cup of trembling hath been put into your hands and you have drank deep of it Such Slaughters rarely if ever have been within your Walls since their Foundations were first laid The memorable year of Twenty Five must not be compar'd with Sixty Five either for the number of the Slain the continuance of the Visitation or such unwonted reiterated Increases and Decreases And O that suitable to the dread of the Dispensation Effects might be wrought upon all your Hearts that the Lord may be pacified towards you and may not add to this Plague seven other and worse Plagues You are now comforting your Hearts with thoughts that the bitterness of Death is past your Trade will return and the Cloud that hath darkened your glory and splendor will vanish To which I heartily say Amen the Lord do so But if I thought it would be born and kindly received I would take leave to tell you I have my fears fears not bottom'd upon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Apostles expression is 1 Tim. 4.7 profane and old Wives fables but upon Considerations as I judge more solid An account of which be pleased to take in a few words First Cities every way famous have had their Periods all worldly glory carrieth decaying Principles in its bowels It may as the Sun go forth in its beauty and strength until it climb to its Meridian and thenceforward it will decline until its lustre set in obscurity As they say of the World so of Cities they have their Youth and Manhood in which they are in their strength and vigour and after that Old Age until they return to the dust out of which they were raised Tyre a City of strength called the strong City Josh 19.29 an ancient and enriching City yet from the Lord went forth a Commandment to destroy it Isa 23.11 Babylon once the Metropolis of a mighty Empire and consequently stood upon suitable advantage-ground for its security yet could not bear up it self against that Sentence Isa 14.4 Thou shalt take up this Proverb against the King of Babylon and say How hath the Oppressor ceased the golden City ceased Ceased to be as well as to oppress It is the destiny of some that when they cease to oppress they must cease to be also Jerusalem the beloved City honour'd by the King of Heaven that Fountain of all true Honour against her cries the Prophet Isa 3.8 Jerusalem is ruined and Judah is fallen God commands and threatneth concerning Tyrus Ezek. 26.4 Break down her Towers I will also scrape her dust from her and leave her like the top of a Rock not so much as any Monument should remain Jamseges est ubi Troja fuit Others their memory is perished Psal 9.6 Thou hast destroyed Cities their memorial is perished with them Secondly Sins great Provocations have been precedaneous unto and the procuring Causes of the ruine of Cities God is known to be long-suffering to all among whom he is known he doth not strike much less destroy without a cause nor yet for every cause God can bear long yet will he not bear always Wickedness may in places of eminency as Diseases in the Body lurk up and down for a season till by continuance they grow strong seiz the Vitals and down goes the House of Clay Sin drowned the old World and burnt Sodom and Gomorrha and they are left upon record as Examples of Divine Vengeance to put a restraint upon the exorbitancies of sinful Cities Every publick sin of Cities as they are a Body and Community or the sin of them that are the visible owned authority in them acting as such is a stroke at their Foundations and many such may soon level them with the ground There are Prognosticks of decaies approaching Death not onely in the Natural but in Bodies Politick also The Death-Marks upon Cities of old have been such as these 1. Pride God resisteth the Proud is true concerning a Nation City or Man It it was Moabs height that laid him low We have heard of the pride of Moab he is exceeding proud therefore shall Moab howl for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn Isa 16.6 Tyrus said I am of perfect Beauty Ezek. 27.3 thence was she defaced and brought to nothing Foelicissima Dicta foret si non sibi visa fuisset 2. Oppression especially oppression and cruelty towards the Lords own People Wo to the oppressing City Zeph. 3.1 Rev. 18.21 With violence shall that great City Babylon be thrown down and shall be found no more at all and why so that follows vers 24. In her was found the Blood of Prophets and of Saints and of all that were slain upon the Earth God will make inquisition for Blood especially for the Bloood of his Abels that will cry all that have had their hands in it call themselves by what name of distinction they will will be found to be Brats of Babylon and they and their Cities may fall thereby One of the great Sins that came up into remembrance against Tyre and Zidon was this The Children of Judah and the Children of Jerusalem have ye sold to the Grecians that ye might remove them far from their border Joel 3.6 3. Treachery and Unfaithfulness Amos 1.9 For three transgressions of Tyrus and for four I will not turn away the punishment thereof because they dilivered up the whole Captivity of Edom and remembred not the Brotherly Covenant 4. False-Worship Jer. 19.11 I will break this City as one breaketh a Potters Vessel that cannot be made whole again and they shall bury in Tophet till there be no place In Tophet they sinned in their corrupt Worship and there they must fall by this their iniquity Certainly wo to them who after Light received and solemn Covenants made dare to corrupt the Worship of God and defile the Sanctuary with their detestable things wo to them whether Persons or Places 5. The baseness of pretended spiritual men There is a wo against Jerusalem Zeph. 3.1 and why Her Prophets are light and treacherous Persons her Priests have polluted the Sanctuary they have done violence to the Law HER Prophets and Priests saith God not MINE some of their own making they do wickedly and would wrest the the Word and labor to make it speak for their abominations 6. Contempt of the Gospel This evidently was Jerusalems undoing They killed the Prophets and stoned them that were sent unto them and upon
from that bondage and Christ had therefore his Name Jesus Mat. 1.21 Because he shall save his People from their sins Though the Canaanites may dwell in the Land they shall become tributary they shall not sit at the Stern turning the Soul which way they please Christ brings Salvation from Hell he hath the Key of David that shuts and no man openeth and opens and no man shuts he delivereth from wrath to come 1 Thes 1.10 Salvation from sin and the most dismal issues and consequences thereof and from a temporal deliverance the Soul hath occasion to consider and think of these Salvations Psal 103. I suppose might be penn'd upon the occasion of some temporal deliverance for this reason because the Psalmist saith in the fourth verse The Lord did heal his diseases and redeemed his life from destruction what doth this make the Psalmist think of in vers 3. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities who healeth all thy diseases it made him think of pardoning Grace and greater Mercy that he was made partaker of through the Lords bounty and goodness Hezekiah from his temporal deliverance was raised to think of some higher pieces of kindness Isa 38.17 Thou hast in love to my Soul delivered it from the pit of corruption for thou hast cast all my sins behind my back Now if from this Branch of the Lord you have this fruit not onely of an Escape from temporal evil but freedom also from greater and the escape from temporal ones help to raise up the Soul to consider its interest in higher things then your Escape it self should render Christ more dear and precious to you then he hath been in times past This therefore may serve for the ground of the point why the Soul should from its Escape have higher Thoughts of Christ I come now to the second thing propounded for prosecution of this Doctrine When may a poor heart have some cause to conclude its Escape hath this effect attending it That it is accompanied with more precious thoughts of this Branch of the Lord I answer to it in five things 1. If in thy Escape thou findest thy heart more crucified unto the World that it is gotten out of thy heart beyond what it was it is to be hoped the Branch of the Lord grows in thy heart and flourisheth more then it did Methinks it is with the heart of a poor Creature with respect to Christ and the World as it is between the Sea and Land the Sea sometimes breaks out and overflows much of the Earth you can very hardly recover any Land out of the Sea and be able to fence it out or if you do it is at every turn ready to break in again and swallow up all that hath been recovered out of it this World breaks in like a Sea and swallows up the hearts of many poor Creatures it drinks up their Souls Eccles 3.11 Also he hath set the World in their Hearts the World is so rooted in them that it over-runs them Some are called in Scripture the men of this World Psal 17.14 From men of this World which have their portion in this life and they are called the Men of this World because there is nothing else they love and delight in How hard a thing is it for Christ to get ground upon the Heart so as to sence out this World witness that case Luk. 18. when one comes unto Christ and saith Good Master what shall I do to inherit eternal Life he bid him at last ver 22. Go sell all thou hast and distribute unto the Poor and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven and come and follow me and when he heard this he was very sorrowful for he was very rich Some of whom it is hoped sometimes are recovered out of the World and the World in some good measure fenced out of their hearts that one would think there were no great danger of its returning yet it again breaks in like a torrent and carries them away so that all their Profession comes to nothing This World is a Sea that drowns thousands thousands of Professors are by it born down headlong yet some through the power of Christ over-come the World 1 John 5.4 Who ever is born of God overcometh the world and this is the victory we have over the World even our Faith Then the World is said to be overcome when it is fallen in a mans esteem and love when a Soul is convinced what Idolatry it is for this World to rule in the heart for Covetousness is Idolatry when the Soul comes to see that all below is empty perishing and vain and that that fades in the very using then it is overcome in some good measure Now Soul if thou canst say that thy Escape in the day in which God frowned upon the World hath made thee see all to be vanity and vexation of Spirit and that thy heart is an entertainment for something more noble it is to be hoped that Christ hath gained upon thee Psal 45.10 11. Hearken O Daughter and consider and encline thine ear forget also thine own Kindred and thy Fathers House so shall the King greatly desire thy Beauty for he is thy Lord and worship thou him You must not worship the World then you worship it when it hath that place in the Heart that Christ should only possess but if the love of this World be rooted out it is to be hoped that the love unto Christ hath expelled it and the sight of Christ more excellent hath made thee trample upon these terrene objects It was Moses his ardent love unto Christ that made him esteem the reproaches of Christ greater riches then the treasures of Egypt Heb. 11.26 It was his value for Christ made him under-value these things I desire I might reach every of your Consciences that read these lines if God will own me so far I would urge it upon you We are yet escaped through infinite mercy hath your escaping had this effect to raise up in you higher thoughts of Christ than formerly Can you witness it by this evidence You are possibly some of you those that have had much to do in the World and concernments of it if you have not been entangled by it and found that it hath been very apt to get upon your hearts I must say Either you know not your hearts or you have sped much better then most in your capacity But can you say It is now turn'd out of doors that the leasure-time you have had hath helped you to look above this Earth to view things of a more excellent nature and Christs glory hath so ravished your Souls that you can say that there is nothing that your souls love above or equal with him Put it to your Consciences I charge it upon you as your duty from the Lord. And 2. If you can say Sin is out of your Heart more then it was it is to be hoped Christ is there if that be down Christ is