in this thought in your heart that he hath done all well let not your secret thoughts so much as call them in question if once ye question ye will quickly censure them hold this perswasion that nothing can be better then what he doth nothing can be added and nothing diminished from them he doth all in number weight and measure it s so exactly correspondent to his purpose and designe as if it were weighed out and measured out for that end Let this secretly reprove your hearts the perfection of his Works stains our works O how imperfect are they And which is worse how impudent and bold are we to censure his and absolve our own If he have a hand in our work yet these imperfect works are perfect in regard of him as we have a hand in his perfect Works yet his perfect Works are imperfect in regard of us SERMON II. Deut. 32. 4. 5. He is the rock his work is perfect for all his ways are Judgement a God of truth and without iniquity Just and right is he 5. They have corrupted themselves their spot is not the spot of his Children c. THere are none can behold their own vilenesse as it is but in the sight of Gods glorious holinesse Sin is darknesse and neither sees it self nor any thing else therefore must his light shine to discover this darknesse If we abide within our selves and men like our selves we cannot wisely judge our selves our dim sparkle will not make all the imperfections and spots appear but if men would come forth in the presence of his Majesty who turns darkness into light and before whom hell is naked O how base and vile would they appear in their own eyes Is it any wonder that the multitude of you see not your selves when holy Esay and Job had this lesson to learn Esay gets a discovery of his own uncleannesse in the sight of Gods glorious holinesse Ch. 6. 5. which I think made all his former light darknesse He cryes out unclean as if he had never known it before And so Job since I saw thee I abhored my self in dust and ashes Ye hear much of him and it doeth not abase you but if ye saw him ye would not abide your selves you would prefer the dust you trade on to your selves Ye who know most there is a mystery of iniquity in your hearts that is not yet discerned ye are but yet in the coast of that bottomlesse Sea of abomination and vilenesse Among all the aggravations of sin nothing doth so demonstrate the folly yea the madnesse of it as the perfection goodnesse and absolute unspottednesse of God It s this that takes away all pretence of excuse and leaves the famine nothing no place to hide its confusion and nakednesse and shame into And therefore is it that Moses when he would convince this people of their ways and make them inexcusable he draws the paralel of Gods ways and their ways declares what God is how absolutly perfect in himself and in his works had given no cause of provocation to them to depart from him And then how odious must their departing be When both are painted on a brod before their eyes it makes sin become exceeding sinful When the Lord would pierce the hearts of his people and ingrave a challenge with the point of an Diamond he uses this as his pen Have I been a wilderness to Israel a Land of darkness why say my people we are Lords we will come no more to thee Jer. 2. 31. What iniquity have your Fathers found in me that they are gone from me and walked after vanity Jer. 2. 5. There are two things in sin that exceedingly abuse the creature the iniquity of it and folly and madness of it It s contrare to all equity and reason to depart from him that hath made us and given us a Law to whom we are by so many obligations tyed But what is the folly and madness of it to depart from the fountain of living waters and dig broken Cisterns that can hold none Ver. 13. This is a thing that the heavens may be astonished at and if the earth had sense to understand such a thing the whole fabrick of it would tremble for horrour at such a madnesse and folly of reasonable souls And this evil hath two evils in it we forsake life and love death go from him and choose vanity It 's great iniquity to depart without an offence on his part He may appeal all our consciences and let them sit down and examine his way most narrowly what iniquity have ye found in me what cause have ye to leave me But when withall he is a living fountain he is our glory he is a fruitful land a land of light our ornament and attire in a word our life and our consolation our happiness and our beauty what word shall be found to express the extream madness of men to depart from such an one change their glory into that which doth not profit If either he were not a fountain of living waters or if there were any fountain beside that could yield water to satisfie the unsatiabledesires of men it were more excusable but what shadow shall be found to cover such an iniquity that is both infinite sin and incomparable loss It s the Scriptures stile given to natural men fools and simple all sin hath folly in it but the people of Gods departing from him hath extremity of folly in it beside iniquity because they do embrace a dung-hill in instead of a Throne they make the madest exchange that can be imagined glory for shame life for death at least consolation and peace for vanity and vexation and anguish of spirit If ye would be duely affected with the sight of your own evils look upon them in this consideration and in the view of God your large portion ye will be forced to confess your selves beasts in his sight Psal 73. 22. Oh that men would consider how good and blessed the Lord is how he is alone and nothing beside him in heaven and earth all broken cisterns all dung and unprofitable all vanity and vexation he only self-sufficient all others insufficient and therefore a proportioned good for our necessity desires and I am sure ye would be constrained to cry out with David Whom have I in heaven with thee or in earth beside thee It is good for me to draw near to God Ye would look on drawing near and walking with him and before him not only as the most reasonable thing but the best thing most beautiful for you most profitable for you and all other wayes would be looked on as the wayes of death His work is perfect The Lord looked and behold all was good that was made so it was at first the fabrick of this world was an exquisite and perfect work a suitable demonstration of his infinite wisdom wonderful in all the parts of it and in the unity and harmony of the
of Israel by this Redeemer But now we are surrounded with Consolation before and behind Christ already come so that we may in joy say lo this is our God we have waited for him others waited and longed and we see him and Christ shortly to come again without sin to our Salvation And what could be able to take our Joy from us if we had one Eye always back to his first coming and another always forward to his comeing again SERMON XV. Isai 64. 6 7. But we are all as an unclean thing and all our righteousnesses as filthy raggs c. THis peoples condition aggreeth well with ours though the Lords dealing be very different The Confessory part of this Prayer belongeth to us now And strange it is that there is such odds of the Lords Dispensations when there is no difference in our Cohditions Always we know not how soon the complaint may be ours also This Prayer was prayed long before the Judgment and Captivity came one so that it had a Prophesy in the bosome of it Nay it was the most kindly and affectionat way of warning the people could get for Isaiah to pour forth such a prayer as if he beheld with his Eyes the Calamity as already come And indeed it becometh us so to look on the Word as if it gave a present beeing to things al 's certain and sensible as if they were really What strange stupidity must be in us when present things inflicted Judgments committed sins do not so much affect us as the forefight of them did move Isaiah Always as this was registrat for the peoples use to cause them still look on Judgements threatned as performed and present and anticipat the day of Affliction by repentance and also to be a Patern to them how to deal with God and plead with him from such grounds of Mercy and Covenant Interest So it may be to us a warning especially when sin is come to the Maturity and our secure backsliding Condition is with Child of sad Judgements when the harvest seemeth ripe to put the sickle in to it There is in these two Verses a confession of their own sinfulness from which grounds they justify Gods proceeding with them They take the cause upon themselves and justify him in his Judging whither Temporal or Spiritual Plagues were inflicted In this Verse they take a general survey of their sinful Estate concluding themselves unclean and all their performances and commanded Duties which they counted once their righteousness And from this ground they clear Gods dealing with them and put their mouth in the Dust and so from the Lords Judgment they are forced to enter into a search of the Cause so much sin and from discovered sin they pronounce God righteous in his Judgment perceiving a great difference in the Lords manner of dealing with them and their fathers they do not refound it upon God who is righteous in all his ways but retort it upon themselves and find a vast discrepance between themselves and their fathers Verse 5. And so it was no wonder that Gods Dispensation changed upon them God was wont to meet others to shew himself gracious even to prevent stroaks But now he was wroth with them Nay but there is good cause for it They rejoyced and wrought righteousness but we have sinned And this may be said in the general never one needeth to quarrel God for severe dealing If he deal worse with one then with another let every man look into his own bosome and see reason sufficient yea more provocation in themselves then others Always in this Verse they come to a more distinct veiw of their loathsome condition Any body may wrap up their repentance in a general notion of sin but they declare themselves to be more touched with it and condescend on particulars yet such particulars as comprehend many others And in this Confession you may look on the Spirits work having some Characters of the spirit in it First they take a general view of their uncleannesse and loathsome Estate by sin Not only do they see sin but sin in the sinfulnesse of it and uncleannesse of it Secondly They not only conclude so of the Natural Estate they were born into and the loathsomnesse of their many foul scandals among them But they go a further length to passe al 's severe a sentence on their Duties and Ordinances as God hath done Isai 1. and 66. The spirit convinceth according to Scriptures Light and not according to the dark spark of Natures Light and so that which Nature would have busked it self with as its Ornament that which they had covered themselves with as their Garment had spread their Duties as robs of Righteousnesse over their sins to hide them all this now goeth under the name of filthinesse and sin They see themselves wrapt up in as vile raggs as they covered and hid Commanded Duties and manifest Breaches come in one Category And not only is it some of them which their own Conscience could challenge in the time but all of them and all kinds of them Moral and Ceremohial Duties that were most sincere had most Affection in them all of them are filthy raggs now which but of late were their righteousnesle Thirdly there is an universality not only of the Actions but of Persons not only all the Peoples or Multitudes performances are abomination but all of them Isaiah and one and other the holiest of them come in in this Category and Rank we are all unclean c. Though the people it may be could not joyn Holy Isaiah with themselves yet humble Isaiah will joyn himself with the people and come in in one prayer And no doubt he was al 's sensible of sin now as when he began to prophecy and growing in holinesse he must grow also in sense of sinfulnesse Seing at the first sight of Gods Holinesse and Glory he cryed unclean c. Isai 6. 5. Certainly he doth so now from such a principle of accesse to Gods Holinesse which maketh him abhore himself in Dust and Ashes Fourthly They are not content with such a general but condescend to two special things two spiritual sins to wit Omission or shifting of spiritual Duties which contained the substance of Worship None calleth one thee few or none none to count upon calleth on thee that is careth for immediat accesse and approaching unto God in prayer and meditation c. Albeit External and Temple Duties be frequent yet who prayeth in secret or if any pray that cannot come in compt the Lord knoweth them not because they want the Spirits stamp on them This must be some other thing nor the general conviction of sin which the world hath who think they pray all their days Here people who though they make many prayers Isai 1. Yet they see them no prayers and no calling on Gods Name now But Fifthly to make the challenge the more and the confession more spiritual and compleat there is discovered
unto them this ground of their slacknesse and negligence in all spiritual Duties None stirreth up himself to take bold one thee Here is the want of the exercise of Faith Faith is the Souls hand and grip Jo. 1. 12. Heb. 6. 18. 1 Tim. 6. 12. Isai 27. 5. No body a waketh themselves out of their deadnesse and security to lay hold on thee Lord thou art going away and taking goodnight of the Land and no body is like to hold thee by the Garment No Jacobs here who will not let thee go till thou bless them None to prevail with thy Majesty every one is like to give Christ a free Pasport and Testimonial to go abroad and are almost Gadarens to pray him to depart out of their Coasts There is a strange lousnesse and indifferency in mens spirits concerning the one thing necessary Men ly by and dream over their days and never putteth the Souls Estate out of question None will give so much pains as to clear their interest in thee to lay hold on thee so as they may make peace with thee Now can there be a more ample and lively Description of our Estate both of the Land and of particular persons of it Since this must not be limited to the Nation of the Jews though the Prophet spake of the generality of them Yet no doubt all mankind is included in the first six-Verses And any secure people may be included in the seventh Verse for Paul applyeth even-such like speeches Rom. 13. that were spoken as you would think of Davids enemies only Yet the Spirit of God knowing the mind of the Spirit maketh a more general use of their condition to hold out the Natural Estate of all men out of Christ Jesus But there are in these two Verses other two things beside the acknowledgment of sin First the acknowledgment of Gods Righteousness in punishing them for now they need not quarrel God they find the cause of their sading in their own bosome they now joyn sin and punishment together wheras in the time of their prosperity they separated punishment from sin and in the time of their security in adversity they separated sin from punishment at one time making bare confession of sin without fear of Gods Justice at another time fretting and murmuring at his Judgments without the sense of their sin But now they joyn both these and the sight and sense of Gods displeasure maketh sin more bitter and to abound more and to appear in the loathsome and provocking nature of it so that their acknowledgement hath an edge upon it And again the sight and sense of sin maketh the Judgment appear most righteous and stoppeth their mouth from murmuring In the time of their impenitency under the Rod their language was very indifferent Ezek. 18. 2. The fathers have eaten sour graps and the childrens teeth are set on edge They have sinned and we suffer they have done the wrong and we pay for it But it is not so now verse 5. The Fathers have done righteousness in respect of us and thou was good unto them but we are all unclean and have sinned and so we are punished Secondly they find some cause and ground in God of their general defection not that he is the cause of their sin but in a righteous way he punished sin with sin God hid his Face denyed special Grace and Influence and so they ly still in their security and their sin became a spiritual plague Or this may be so read none calleth on thy Name when thou hid thy Face from us and when thou consumed us because of our iniquities And so it serveth to aggravat their deep security that though the Lord was departing from them yet none would keep him and hold him Though he did strike yet they prayed not Affliction did not awake them out of security and so the last words Thou hast consumed us c. Are differently exponed and read Some make it thus as it is in the Translation Thou hast hid thy face and left us in a spiritual deadness that so there might be no impediment to bring on deserved Judgment If we had called on thee and laid hold on thee it might have been prevented we might have prevailed with God but now our defence is removed thou hast given us up to a spirit of slumber and so we have no shield to hold of the stroak thou hast now good leave to consume us for our sins Another sense may be Thou hast suffered us to consume in our iniquity thou hast given us up to the hand of our sins And this is also a consequent of his hiding his Face because thou hid thy Face thou letteth us perish in our sins There needeth no more for our Consumption but only help us not out of them for we can soon destroy our selves First sin is in its own nature Ioathsome and maketh one unclean before God Sins nature is filthiness vileness so doth Isaiah speak of himself Chap. 6. 5. when he saw Gods Holiness So doth Job abhore himself which is the Affection which turneth a mans face off â— loathsome object when he saw God Job 40. 4. and 42 6. Look how loathsome our natural condition is holden out by God himself Ezek. 16. You cannot imagine any deformity in the Creature any filthiness but it is there The filthiness and vileness of sin shall appear if we consider first Sin is a transgression of the holy and spiritual Command and so a vile thing The Command is holy and good Rom. 7. And sin violateth and goeth flat contrary to the Command 1 Job 3 When so just and so equitable a Law is given God might have exacted other rigorous duties from us but when it is so framed that the Conscience must cry out all is equity all is righteous and more then righteous thou might command more and reward none It is Justice to Command but it is Mercy to Promise Life to obedience which I owe What then must the offence be against such a Just Command and so Holy If Holiness be the Beauty of the Creation sin must be the Deformity of it the only spot in its Face Secondly look upon sin in the sight of Gods Holiness and Infinit Majesty and O how hainous will it appear And therefore no man hath seen sin in the vileness of it but in the Light of Gods Countenance As Isai 6. 5. Job 40. and 42. God is of purer eyes then to behold iniquity he cannot look on it Hab. 1. 13. All other things beside sin God looketh on them as bearing some mark of his own Image all was very good and God saw it Gen. 1. and 2. Even the basest Creatures God looketh on them and seeth himself in them But sin is only Gods Eye-sore that his Holiness cannot away with it is most contrary unto him And as to his Soveraignty it is an high contempt and rebellion done to Gods Majesty it putteth God off the Throne will take no
as the â—â—n you would wash by it Secondly the uncleannesse of mens practice maketh unclean performances unclean hands make unclean prayers Isai 1. 15. When men go on in sin and use their members as instruments of unrighteousnesse against God and guiltinesse is above their head unrepented of and unpardoned then whatever the members act for God in religious Duties it must be also abominable for will God take prayers from such a mouth thaâ— cursing cometh out of Isai 3. 10 11 12 Shall sweet water come out of one Fountain with bitter Or can a Fig Tree bear both Thistles and Graps Certainly profane Conversation must make unclean profession And therefore your coming to the Church and Ordinances your praying in your Families or such like must of necessity be defiled since out of the same mouth cometh cursing railing lying filthy speeches Your tongues are so often imployed in Gods dishonour to blaspheme his Name to slander your Neighbours to reproach the Saints that all your prayers must be of the same stamp and al 's bitter as the other stream of your actions When you stretch forth your hands to make many prayers to take the Bread and Wine shall not God hide his Face from such hands as are unclean with many abominations some murdering some abusing their Neighbours some Sabbath-breaking some filthinesse how oft have your hands and feet served you to evil turns And therefore your good turns will never come in remembrance Nay believe it you cannot be heard of God while you cover any offence And this I may say in general even to the Saints any known sin given way to and intertained without controlment without wrestling against it hindereth the acceptation of your solemn approaches If your heart regard iniquity shall God hear Ps 66. 18. No believe it the least sin that you may judge at first venial and then give it toleration and indulgence shall separat between Gods Face and you Your prayers are abomination because of such an idol perked up in the heart beside God that getteth the Honour and Worship due to him and God must answer you according to it Ezek. 19. 1 3 4. God will not be enquired of such as give allowance to sin Ezek. 14. 2 3 4. And on the other hand no sin how great and hainous soever can hinder Gods gracious acceptation when Souls fly unto Jesus and turn their back upon sin or giveth it no heart allowance And to the multitude I say all that you do or touch in a Duty must be defiled because your whole way is unclean Hag. 2. 12 13 14. Think you to sin all the week thorow and worship God on the Sabbath will you lie swear commit adultery rail and curse and come and stand before me saith the Lord No certainly you cannot be accepted And will you hate reformation in your lives and yet take his Covenant in your mouth and call your selves by his Name Christians And shall not God challenge you for that al 's much as for your swearing and cursing and lying c. Indeed the Lord putteth all in one Roll and you need not please your selves in such things Psal 50. 16. Jer. 7. 9 10. For it is all one to you to go to Tavern to drink and come to the Sermon to blaspheme Gods Name and call on it because the profanity of the one defileth the other and the holiness of the other cannot make you holy Thirdly the natural mans performances want the uprightness reality and sincerity that is required it is but a painted Tomb full of rottenness within it is but a shadow without substance for he wanteth the spiritual part of worship which God careth for who will be worshiped in spirit and truth Joh. 4. 23. Now what is it that the most part of you can speak of but an outside of some few duties soon numbered You hear the preaching and your hearts wander about your business You hear and are not so much affected as you would be to hear some old story or fable told you A stage play acted before this generation would move them more then the Gospel doth So that Christ may take up this Lamentation We have piped to you and you have not danâ—ed lamented to you and you have not mourned You use to tell over some words in your prayers and are not so serious in any approach to God as in twenty other things of the world Whatever you plead of your hearts rightness and have recourse to it when your conversation cannot defend you yet your hearts are the worst of all and have no uprightness towards God for you know that what Duties you go about it is not from an inward principle but from Education or Custome or constraint Are you upright when you are forced for fear of censure to come here or to pray at home Is that sincerity and spiritual worship And for the more polished and refined professors you have this moth in your performances and this flea to make your Oyntment to stink that you do much to be seen of men therefore what little fervour of spirit is in secret Duties There you may measure your altitude and your life And O how wearisome how lifeless are secret approaches you would not have many errands to God if you thought no body looked upon you And for spirituality it is a Mystery in all mens practice Who directeth his Duty to Gods Glory If you get some flash of liberty you have your desire But who misseth Gods presence in Duties which a world will approve Who go mourning as without the Sun even when you have the Sun-shine of Ordinances and walketh in the light of them And fourthly though your performances had uprightness of heart going alongs and much affection in them yet all are filthy because of want of Faith in Jesus Christ When you make your Duties a covering of your sins and think to satisfy Gods Justice for the rest of your faults by doing some point of your Duty then it cannot choose but be polluted in his sight And this very thing was the cause of Gods rejecting the Jews righteousness even because they did not look to the end of the Mystery Christ Jesus Did not pull by the vail of Ceremonies to see the Immaculat Lamb of God slain for sin And therefore doth the Lord so quarrel with them as if he had never commanded them to do such things Isai 1. 12 13. Who hath required these things at your hands bring no more vain oblations all is Abomination Even as God should say to you when you come to the Church who required you to come Who commanded you to come to hear the Preaching What have you to do to pray What warrand have you to communicat All your Praying Hearing Communicating is Abomination who commanded you to do these things Would you not think it a foolish Question You would soon answer that God himself commanded you and will he not let us do his bidding Indeed this
purpose by Gods Grace to take more hold of God There is little minding of Duty and that maketh little doing of it Once ingage your hearts to a love and desire of more of this come to a point of resolution I must know him more and trust more in him be more acquant with him And Secondly Put your self in the way of Duty It is God that only can stirr you up or apply your hearts to the using of violence to God But ye would be found in the outward means much and in these ways God will meet with you if you wait on him in them For thou hast bid thy face from us Here is the greatest plague a spiritual plague The last Verse was but the beginning of sorrows We all do fade c. But lo here the accomplishnent of Misery God hiding his face and consuming them in the hand of their sins First The Lords hiding of his Face and giving up a people to melt away in their sins punishing with judicial blindness and security is the worst Judgment it filleth the Cup full This complaint goeth on still worse And certainly it is worse nor their fading as a leaf and exile out of their Land It is not without reason that great troubles and afflictions are so expressed thou hid thy face As David said thou hidst thy face and I was troubled importing as much as it â— not trouble that doth trouble but Gods hideing of his Face that maketh trouble troublâ— It is in so far trouble as it is a sign of his displeasure and as the frowns of his Countenance are upon it Therefore the Sainâ— aggravating their Affliction say thou hideâ— thy face You know the face is the placâ— wherinto either kindness or unkindness appeareth The Lords Countenance or Face is a refreshful sweet manifestation of himself to a Soul It is the Lord using familiarity with a spirit and this made David more glad nor Corn and Wine Now the hideing of the Face the withdrawing of his Countenance is when the Lord in his Dispensation and dealing doth withhold the manifestation of himself either in life or consolation When he covereth himself with Clouds round about that neither can a soul see in to the backside of it into his own warm heart nor can the Sun-beames shine thorow to quicken and refresh the soul The Lord draweth over his Face a Vail of a crossing dispensation or such like There is a desertion of the soul in the point of life and spiritual action and there is a desertion in regard of consolation The varieties of the Lords desertions run upon these two As a Christians life is action or consolation and the Lords influence is either quickening or comforting so his withdrawing is either a prejudice to the one or the other Sometimes he goeth mourning all the day nay but he is sick of love Sometime he is a bottle dryed in the smoak and his moisture dried up The Christians consolation may be substracted and his life abide but he cannot have spiritual consolation if he be not lively This life is more substantial comfort is more refreshful life is more solid comfort sweet that is true growing â—olid meat â—his but sawce to eat it with The hiding here meant is certainly a spiritual punishment The Lord denying unto this people grace to understand the voice of the rod he appearing as a party against them leaving them to their own carnal and lazie temper and thus they lay still under Gods displeasure Now there is nothing like this first because it is a spiritual punishment and estates are not to be valued and laid in the ballance with the soul Albeit men are become so brutish as to abase their souls and prostitute them to any thing yet all a man hath is not considerable to it Secondly It is a more excellent thing is removed by it In his favour is life all felicity and happiness is in Gods countenance If a man have not this what hath he else Losses are according as the thing is Nay but here is more My Lord is taken from me my God hath forgotten me And indeed if mans true happiness be in communion with God certainly any interruption coming in must be sad and make a man more miserable then the world knoweth There is a greater emphasis in that word Thou hast bid thy face then if he had said All the world hideth their face and maketh a scorn oâ— us Therefore first know what is the worsâ— thing of the times Many of you think sword and pestilence and the burdens of the time the worst things and if you were now to complain the saddest complaint would be Affliction is laid on our loins But know this if your Cities were desolate if your Land were made a wilderness and we captives in another Land there is yet a worse thing then all these and think you not this strange Nay I say there is something worse already in us that we know not of and it is this Make the hearts of this people hard A spirit of slumber and deadness from the Lord upon the Land There are multitudes he will never shew his face unto it is still vailed from them and they know him not Ye that think all were well if ye had peace and prosperity and know no hiding of Gods countenance no anger but when he striketh certainly you know not what his countenance is by all these things men neither know love nor hatred Secondly Whatever calamity come upon you outwardly deprecat most spiritual plagues and Gods deserting If you have Gods countenance it may make you glad in much sadness You would be most careful lest any partition-wall come in lest his countenance change on you if you grieve his spirit and break his heart Seek to have his face to shine and this shall be a Sun with healing under his wings O but Christs countenance is comely when it is seen without clouds but ofteâ— it is overclouded with much provocation Secondly The Lords hiding of his face hath influence on the temper of spirits and disposition in duties The truth is in general In him we live and move and â—ave our beeing And more especially in many things that is spiritual we are of our selves able to do nothing The creatures holiness and especially our life is but as the rayes that the Sun of Righteousness sendeth forth round about him and if any thing come between it evanisheth As the Marigold that openeth itâ— leaves when the Sun riseth and closeth when it goeth down again so exactly doth our spiritual constitution follow the motions of his countenance and depend wholly on them Thou hides thy face and they are troubled Psal 104. 9. The Lord needeth no more but discountenance us and we are gone Alwayes first be more dependent creatures we use to act as from habits within without any subordination to the Lords grace without us but we find that our sufficiency is not of our self How often doth your spiritual condition change on you in an hour You cannot command one thought of God or act from any habit of grace even then when you can bring forth other gifts in exercise Ye find that grace findeth more difficulties moe interruptions therefore learn to attend the changes and motions of his countenance Secondly When you find your heart dead and you concluded under an impossibility of taking hold on God in a lively manner then I pray you look unto the Lords suspending of his influence and let your whole endeavours be at the Throne of Grace to help it It will not be vour own provoking of your self to your duty but you must put your self upon God that he may cause his face to shine Thirdly Though the Lords hiding his face be often a cause of our deadness and his desertion maketh all to wither yet we have often a culpable hand in it And he hides his â—â—ce being provoked so to do One thing we may mention Grieving of the Holy Ghost whereby we are sealed quenching the motions of the Spirit maketh the Spirit cover his face with a vail and hide it There is here ordinarily a reciprocal or mutual influence Our grieving him makes him withdraw his countenance and his withdrawing his countenance maketh us to wither and grow barren Fourthly The most sure and infallible token of the Lords hiding his face is security and a spirit of deadness and laziness when folk go about duties dreaming and do all as it were thorow their sleep Therefore we may conclude sad things on this Land that the Lord hideth his face from us And therefore arise and do not settle and quiet your selves in such a condition The Lord is angry needeth any more be said No more needeth to kind children but the rod must follow this to make anger sensible FINIS