gracious acceptation and intertainement at his Throne of Grace That it is naturall also to his Name To forgive iniquity transgression and sinne That is sinnes of all sorts kindes and degrees whatsoever There is none so hatefull and hainous whether naturall corruption or ordinary outward transgression or highest presumption but upon repentance God is most able ready and willing to remit it 7. God the Fathers compassionate pangs of infinite affection and forwardnesse to entertaine into his armes of mercy all true Penitents As I live sayth the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turne from his way and live turne yee turne yee from your evill wayes for why will yee die O house of Israell Ezech. 33.11 Woe unto thee O Ierusalem wilt thou not bee made cleane When shall it once be Ier. 13.27 They say if a man put away his wife and shee goe from him and become another mans shall hee returne to her againe Shall not that Land be greatly polluted But thou hast played the harlot with many lovers yet returne againe to mee sayth the Lord Ier. 3.1 Oh that my people had hearkned unto mee and Israel had walked in my waies I would soone have subdued their enemies and turned my hand against their adversaries The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him but their time should have endured for ever Hee should have fed them also with the finest of the wheate and with honey out of the rocke should I have satisfyed thee Psal. 81. O that thou hadst hearkned to my commandements then had thy peace been as a River and thy righteousnesse as the waves of the Sea Thy seed also had been as the sand and the off-spring of thy howells like the gravell thereof his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before mee Isa. 48.18 8. His mercifull almightinesse in putting life and lightsomnesse into the most dead and darkest heart Seeke him saith the Prophet that maketh the seven Starres and Orion and turneth the shâ—dow of death into the morning Amos 5.8 Suppose thou sâ—ttest thy selfe to seeke Gods face and favour and art presently set upon with this temptation But alas My soule is so blacke with sinne and darke with sorrow that it is to no purpose for mee to proceed c. But now in this case consider who Hee is that thou seekest it is He that made of nothing those beautifull shining glorious constellations Orion and the Pleiades and nothing in the world is darker then nothing Hee is Hee that turneth the darkest midnight into the brightest morning c. 9. Christs sweetest dearest most melting invitations of all truly troubled soules for sinne unto the Well of life and their owne everlasting wellfare Come unto mee all yee that labour and are heavie laden and I will give you rest Mat. 11.28 O Ierusalem Ierusalem thou that killest the Prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee How often would I have gathered thy children together even as a Hen gathereth her Chickens under her wings c. Mat. 23.37 And when hee was come neare hee beheld the City and wept over it saying Oh if thou hadst knowne even thou at least in this thy day the things which belong unto thy peace Luke 19.41.42 In the last day the great Day of the Feast Iesus stood and cried saying If any man thirst let him come to mee and drinke 10. Precedents in Gods Booke of many hainous and horrible sinners received to mercy upon their humiliation As Eve Magdalen Paul Zacheus Sodomits 1. Cor. 6.9.11 Crucifiers of Christ. Acts. 2. 11. Experience perhaps of the Comforter converted from a more wicked and desperate course then the Patient himselfe And it doth not a little refresh the heart of him who grievosly wounded in conscience and thereupon sending for a skillfull and faithfull Messenger of God and when he hath opened his Case fully unto him to heare him say when he hath sayd all My Case was farre worse then yours every way Nay but besides those notorious sins I have named unto you I have defiled my selfe with many secret execrable lusts Be it so saith the spirituall Physition yet in the daies of my vanity I have been guilty of moe and more hainous crimes then any you have yet spoken of Yea but even now when I have most need of should most prize reverence and lay hold upon Gods blessed Word Son and Promises I am pestilently pestered with many abhorred villanous and prodigious injections about them Not a man alive replies the Man of God hath had his head troubled with more hideous thoughts of such hellish nature then I c. 12. That pretious Parable Luk. 15. wherein all those loving passages of the Father unto his prodigall Son to wit His beholding him when hee was yet a great way off his compassion running towards him falling upon his necke kissing him putting on him the best Robe and the Ring killing the fatted Calfe c. doe shadow that immeasurable incomprehensible love of God the Father to every one that is willing to come out of the Divels cursed service into the good way But come as farre short of expressing it to the life as the infinite greatnesse of Almighty God surpasseth the finite frailty of a weake man and worme of the earth 2. In a second place Let us take a view of some of those most delicious and sweetest streames of dearest comfort which spring abundantly out of that fruitfull Fountaine of compassion and love Psal. 103.13 Like as a Father pittieth his Children so the Lord pittieth them that feare him See also Deutâ—r 8.5 Malac. 3.17 Hence may wee draw refreshing enough to our thirstie soules in many passages of heavy thoughts and grievous complaints about our spirituall state 1. In the distempers and damps of prayer thus Suppose the dearest Sonne of the loving'st Father to lie grievously sicke and out of the extremity of angvish to cry out and complaine unto him that hee is so full of paine in every part that hee knowes not which way to turne himselfe or what to doe and thereupon intreats him of all loves to touch him tenderly to lay him softly to mollifie all hee may his painefull misery and give him ease How ready thinke you would such a father bee with all tendernesse and care to put to his helping hand in such a ruefull case But yet if hee should grow sicker and weaker so that hee could not speake at all but onely looke his Father in the face with watery eies and moane himselfe unto him with sighes and groanes and other dumbe expressions of his increased paine and desire to speake Would not this yet strike deeper into the Fathers tender heart pierce and melt it with more feeling pangs of compassion and make his bowells yerne within him with an addition of extraordinary dearenesse and care to doe him good Even just so will thy heavenly Father bee
deale and converse with for recovery and cure This secret and saving influence I speake of might bee evidently discerned in Master Peacocke even at the worst Some reverend Ministers standing by his bed of sorrow asked him if they should pray for him Marke well his answer Take not the Name of God in vaine said hee by praying for a Reprobate Which words well weighed seeme to imply and represent clearely to a spirituall discerning judgement some good measure even of the highest degree of divine love preferring the glory of God before the wellfare of his owne soule rather willing to have the meanes of his salvation neglected then the Lord dishonoured One asking another time whether hee loved such an One meaning a godly man Yes saith hee Why For his goodnesse Another comming to him upon the Lords day willed him to put his hand to a note of certaine debts This is not a day for that said hee And at the same time hee would hardly suffer any to stay with him from the Sermon Beeing told of suffering plaisters out of Gods Word to rest upon his wounded soule Hee brake out thus Oh! if I had Oh! if it would please God I had rather then any thing in this or other three thousand Worlds By these we may see and other passages to the same purpose that our blessed God had a secret working and saving influence upon his soule even in the depth and hideous darkenesse of his most grievous desertion Here is love first unto God in a high degree secondly deare affection unto his Children and that for his Image shining in them thirdly love unto his Sabbaths and salvation of others fourthly vehement desires after grace and Gods favour All which were undeniable demonstrations of an undamned state to every understanding eye Nay unquestionable arguments of spirituall life and designation to eternall blisse Whereupon my resolution was then and protestation upon good ground That if all the powerfull eloquence which rested with in the reverent bosome of mine owne deare Mother the famous Vniversity of Oxford managed by the Sâ—raphicall tongue of the highest and most glorious Angell in heaven had been industriously set on worke for that purpose except I had heard my blessed Redeemer say I will rend a member from my Body and throw it away The holy Spirit say I will pull my seale from that Soule which I have savingly sanctifyed my gracious and mercifull Father say I wil this once faile forsake One of mine I could never have been possibly perswaded that that soule of his so richly laden with heavenly treasure and gifts of God never to be repented of so syncerely exercised in the waies of God and opposition to the corruption of the times c. should possibly perish 2. Secondly suppose thou shouldest walke in darkenesse and have no light in the sense of the Prophet for the residue and remainder of thy few and evill dayes in this vale of teares nay and dye so before comfort comes yet be not discomforted For fearing God and being upright-hearted thy Soule shall most certainely bee preserved in spirituall and eternall safety by staying upon thy God tho thou bee without any sense of joy and peace in believing This life tho never so long is but a moment to the life to come But the kindnesse is everlasting with which hee will have mercy on thee Thy sufferings are but short whatsoever they bee But thou hast eternity of joyes in the World above purchased and prepared for thee by the hearts-blood of that blessed Saviour of thine upon whom thy soule relies It is the Divels policy say Divines to procure for his slaves all the favours honours and advancements all the prosperities and pleasures hee can possibly lest if hee should not follow and fullfill their humours this way they might thinke upon seeking after and serving a new Master Noâ— caring to vexe or molest them in this World because hee knowes full well hee shall have time enough hereafter to torment them in Hell And wilt not thou contrarily be content if God so please to passe thorow this vale of teares even with Hemans horrour Psal. 88.15 Sith Heaven is so neare at hand and thou hast a little before thee an everlasting time to row in the bottomlesse and boundlesse Ocean of all glory and blisse in an endlesse variety of new and fresh delights infinitely excellent and sweet aboue the largest created conceite 6. Let us suppose a Christian in these three states And it is no uncouth thing to those who obserue or feele Gods secret and unsearchable dealings with his Children 1. First in a faire and comfortable calme and Sun-shine after the tempestuous troubles and travaile in the pangs of the New-birth when the light of Gods countenance the first refreshing warmth of his sanctifying Spirit the fresh sweetnesse and vitall stirrings of grace the ravishing consciousnesse of his happy conversion doe fill his soule as with marrow and fatnesse and feede it with a kindly and more lively disposition to all good and godly dueties 2. Secondly in a spirituall Desertion when the sense of Gods favour love and woonted presence the comfortable vse and exercise of the Ordinances graces and spirituall affaires langvish and leave him for a time 3. Thirdly In the state of recovery and restitution from such a fearefull Dampe and deprivation of divine comfort unto former ioyfull feelings and re-enjoyment of his Beloved so that his revived soule may sweetly sing My Beloved is mine and I am his Now I doubt not But that the middle of these three estates being accompanied with hearty griefe and groanes for Christs absence restlesse pantings and longings after a new resurrection as it were of the sensible and fruitfull operations of grace renewed desires and endeavours for regainement of accustomed surer hold by the hand of Faith patient and praierfull waiting for the returne of Gods pleased face c. is as pleasing and deare if not more to our mercifull Father as either of the other two Doe you not thinke that the Fathers of our flesh are as lovingly affected and meltingly mooved to heare the obedient Child sigh and sob cry out and complaine because they looke not kindly upon him but for triall of his affection have hid for a time the much desired beames of their fatherly favour under some affected angry frownes as when things are carried more currently and comfortably betwixt them without any great distast and discontentment or occasion to discover the mutuall impatiency of their loves one unto another And shall not the Father of our Spirits who loves us with the same love with which he loves the Lord Iesus himselfe surpasse as farre in affectionate compassion towards us in the like Case as an Almighty God doth a mortall Man He cannot chuse because the word is already gone out of his mouth Like as a Father pittieth his Childe so the Lord pittieth them that feare him Psa. 103.13 I am
If any man thirst Let Him come unto mee and drinke And these are thine owne words Those who hunger and thirst after righteousnesse shall be filled I challenge thee Lord in this my extremest thirst after thine owne blessed Selfe and spirituall life in Thee by that Word and by that Promise which thou hast made that thou performe and make it good unto mee that lies groveling in the dust and trembling at thy feet Oh! Open now that promised Well of life For I must drinke or els I die Heare then and in a word is thy comfort In these hungrings and thirstings of the soule there is as it were the spawne of Faith semen fidei there is aliquid fidei in them as excellent Divines both for learning and holinesse doe affirme Howsoever or in what phrase soever it bee exprest sure I am such desires so qualified as before shall bee fulfilled satisfied accomplished possessed of the Well of life and that is abundant to put the thirsting Partie into a comfortable and saving-state as I said at first The words of Scripture are punctuall and down-right for this which I say Blessed are they which doe hunger and thirst after righteousnesse for they shall bee filled Mat. 5.6 If any man thirst let him come unto mee and drinke Ioh. 7.37 The Lord heareth the desire of the humble Psal. 10.17 Hee will fullfill the desire of them that feare Him Psal. 145.19 The Lord filleth the hungry with good things Luk. 1.53 Let Him that is athirst come And whosoever will let him take the water of life freely Rev. 22.17 Hâ— every One that thirsteth come yee to the waters c. Isa. 55.1 I will poure water upon him that is thirsty flouds upon the dry ground Cap. 44.3 These longings and desires this hunger and thirst before a sensible apprehension and enjoyment of Christ arise from a sense of the necessity and want of His blessed Person and pretious bloodshed which the afflicted Soule now prizeth before tenne thousand Worlds and for whose sake is most willing to sell all and to abandon wholly the Devils service for ever Those after a full entrance into the holy Path and joyfull grasping of the Lord Iesus in the armes of our Faith arise partly from the former taste of unutterable sweetnesse we found in Him partly from the want of a more full and further fruition of Him especially when He is departed in respect of present feeling as in times of desertion extraordinary temptation c. In the Passage that is past I understand the former in those that follow the latter 2. Secondly Concerning desertions I intend a larger and more particular discourse and therefore I passe by them here 3. Thirdly Wee may have recourse for comfort to this pretious Point in some speciall temptations of doubtfullnesse and feare about our spirituall state When spirituall life is runne as it were into the roote in some particulars and actuall abilities to exercise some graces and discharge some duties are returned to nothing for the present but groanes desires and longings to doe as God would have us For instance Thou art much afflicted because thou feeles the spirit of prayer not to stirre and worke in Thee with that life and vigour as it was woont but beginnes to langvish in the inward man for lacke of that vitall heate and feeling in the mutuall entercourse and commerce betweene God and thine owne Soule which heretofore hath many times warmed thine heart with many sweet refreshings springing from a comfortable correspondence between thy holy eiaculations and his heavenly inspirations betweene thine humble complaints at the Throne of Grace and his gracious answers Nay it may bee thou throwes downe thy selfe before His Seate of mercy in much bitternesse of spirit and for the time can say little or nothing the present dullnesse and indisposition of thine heart stopping all passage to thy woonted prayers and damming up as it were the ordinary course of thy most blessed heart-ravishing conference with thy God in secret But tell mee true poore Soule Tho at such a time and in such an uncomfortable Damqe and spiritual deadnesse thou feeles not thine heart enabled and enlarged for the present to poure out it selfe with accustomed fervency and freedome yet doth not that heart of thine with an unutterable thirst and desire long to offer up unto his Throne of Grace thy suites and Sacrifices of prayers and praises with that heartinesse and feeling with al those broken and bleeding affections which a grieved sense of sinne that hangs so fast on and an holy greedinesse after pardon grace and nearer communion with his heavenly Highnesse are wonâ— to beget in truly-humbled Soules If so Assure thy selâ—â— this very desire is a prayer of extraordinary strength dearenesse and acceptation with thy God I say with that thy mercifull Lord God who is as farre more compassionately and lovingly affected to his Childe then the kindest Father to his dearliest beloved Sonne as the infinite love of a tender-hearted God doth surpasse the faint affection of a fraile and mortall man Suppose thy dearest Childe were in great extremity and should at last grow so low and weake that it were not able to speake but onely groane and sigh and cast it's eye upon Thee as One from whom alone it look't for helpe Would not thine heart melt over thy Child a great deale more in that misery then ever before when it was able to expresse it's minde I am sure it would It is just so in the present Point For like as a Father pittieth his children so the Lord pittieth them that feare Him Nay and much more if wee consider the muchnesse and quantity For looke how farre God is higher then man in Majesty and greatnesse which is with an infinite distance and disproportion so farre doth Hee passe him in tender-heartednesse and mercy See Isa. 55.8.9 Thou mayst sometimes upon the awakening illumination and search of thy conscience after some drouzy repose and deeper sleep upon the bed of security some fouler ensâ—arement and longer abode in some knowne scandaloâ—s sinne after the Canker of earthly cares and teeth of worldly-mindednesse have ere thou bee well-aware with an insensible pleasing consumption eaten too farre into the heart of thy Zeale and other graces In the apprehension of some present terrour arising from a more serious and sensible survay of the now abhorred villanies and abominations of thine unregenerate time or from the grieved remembrance of thy falls and failings of thy sins and unservice-ablenes since thy conversion which I am perswaded trouble the Christian most and goe nearest to his heart c. I say in such Cases as these Thou maist feele such a fearefulnesse and faintnesse to have surprised the hand of thy Faith that it cannot so presently and easily recover it 's former hold nor claspe about the glorious justice and meritorious blood of Christ with that fastnesse and firmenesse of assent with that comfort and
of his pride vers 23. The Ecclesiasticall story reports that the loathsome and dreadfull end of Arrius that execrable enemie to Iesus Christ was hastned by the prayers of the good and orthodoxe Bishop Alexander who wrastled with God in earnest deprecations against him all the night before Doe you not thinke that Gardiner went sooner into his Grave for his cruelty towards Professours of the truth by their groanes against him and by the cry of the bloud of that glorious Paire of Martyrs at Oxford which hee so insatiably thirsted after Let all those then that tread in these mens paths tremble at their ends And if no better motive will mollifie their doggednesse yet at least let their love unto the world themselves and sensuall waies take them off and restraine them from this persecuting rage least it set on worke the prayers of Gods people and so they bee taken away before their time and cut off from a temporary supposed heaven of earthly pleasures to a true everlasting Hell of unspeakeable torments sooner then otherwise they should 13. The hearts and tongues of all good men and friends to the Gospell are fill'd with much glorious joy and heartiest songs of thankesgiving at the downefall of every raging incurable Opposite when the revenging hand of God hath at length to the singular advancement of the glory of his justice singled out and paide home remarkeably any impenitent Persecutour and implacable enemie See for this purpose The song of â—oses Exod. 15. Of Deborah Iudges 5. The Iewes feasting after the hanging of Haman Esther 9 17. Psa. 52.6.9 And 58.10 And 79.13 1. Macca 13.51 Onely let the heart of Gods childe be watchfull over it selfe with a godly jealousie in this Point That His reioycing bee because Gods justice is glorified His Church delivered Satans kingdome weakened c. not onely for his owne ease and end for any personall or particular by-respect Now it is an heavy case A man in His short abode upon earth to behave himselfe so like a dogged Curre and incarnate Divell that all good men are and ought to bee passingly glad when hee is gone In this Point I comprise and conclude all sorts of Persecutours Of which some are profest and open as Bonner and Gardiner and many such morning Wolues Some Politicke and reserved who many times are the more pernicious For of all manner of malice and ill will that is most execrable deadly and doth the most hurt which like a Serpent in the faire greene grasse lies lurking in the flatterings and fawnings of a sleering countenance Which kisses with Iudas and kills with Ioab entertaines a man with outward formes of complement and curtesie but would if it durst or might stabbe Him in at the fifth rib that hee should never rise againe When a mans words to thy face are as soft as oyle or butter but his thoughts towards thee composed all of bloud and bitternesse of gall and gunpowder Some are notorious villaines as many times in many places the most desperate blasphemers stigmaticall Drunkards rotten whore mongers cruell usurers and fellowes of such infamous ranke are as so many bloudy Goades in the sides of Gods servants and the onely Men to pursue all advantages against the faithfullest Ministers Some are of more sober carriage faire conditions and seeming devotion Act 13.50 Some are the basest fellowes the most abiect and contemptible vagabonds and the very refuse of all the Rascalls in a Countrey This we may see by Iobs complaint Cap 30. But now saith Hee they that are younger then I have mee in derision whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flocke They were children of fooles yea children of base men they were viler then the earth And now am I their song yea I am their By Word And in Davids Psa. 35. Yea the Abiects gathered themselves against mee c. and I was the song of the drunkards Psal. 69.12 And in the Persecutours of Paul Act. 17. But the Iewes which belâ—eved not mooved with envie tooke unto them certaine lewde fellowes of the baser sort c. Some againe are men of place and parts As the same David complaines in the same place They that sit in the gate speake against mee That is men in high roomes and of great authoritie And as all sorts of Persecutours so I comprehend all kindes of persecution 1. By hand as did Herod Act. 12. Iulian Bonner c. 2. With tongue by mocking Galat. 4.24 compared with Gen. 21.9 See also Psal. 69.20 Hebr. 11.36 By slandering even in reporting true things maliciously to the prejudice of Gods children Psalm 52. By reproaching and reviling Zeph. 2.8 By insulting with insolent speeches Ezech. 36.2 and 26.2 3. In heart by hatred Ezech. 35.5 By rejoycing in the downefall or disgrace of the Saints Ezech. 35.6 4. In gesture Ezech. 25.6 Because thou hast clapped thy hands and stamped with the feete c. Behold therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee c. Take heede of so much as looking sowre upon or brow-beating a servant of Christ lest thou smart for it Looke upon the quoted Places and you shall see Offenders in any of these kindes plagued and paide home as Persecutours of Gods people And thus let such extremely Wicked men be frighted from persecuting any way those Men or Meanes which are appointed and sanctified to furnish us with spirituall store and strength against the dayes of evill Ob. But against that which hath beene said in this Point for the singularity and soveraignty of grace and good conscience to support the Spirit of a Man in evill times to keepe it calme in the most tempestuous assaults and conquering over all commers it may bee objected and some may thus cavill Men who never were or ever did desire to bee acquainted with Gods grace or good men expresse sometimes and represent to By-standers an invincible stoutnesse much boldnesse and bravenesse of minde in times of greatest extremitie and under most exquisite tortures and therefore it seemes not to be peculiar to the Saints and the priviledge of Gods Favourites alone to stand unshaken in stormy times undaunted in distresse and comfortable amidst the most desperate confusions Answ. I answere Such confidence is onely in the face not in the heart enforced not kindly affected not effectuall not springing from the sole Fountaine of all sound and lasting comfort in humane Soules sense of our reconciliation to God in Christ but from some other odde accidentall Motives from Weake and unworthy grounds 1. In some from an ambitious affectation of admiration and applause for extraordinary undauntednesse of spirit and high resolution It is reported of an Irish Traitour that lying in horrible anguish upon the Wheele an Engine of cruellest torture with his body bruis'd and his bones broken asked his friend standing by whether he changed countenance at all or no. Affecting more as it seemes an Opinion of prodigious manlinesse and
all woe made partaker of all good at peace in himselfe and fitted and in tune to doe God some service This is to some sooner to some later according to the helpes and meanes they haue and wise handling they meet withall and as God gives power It is hard to say at what instant faith is wrought whether not till a man feeles that hee apprehends the promises or even in his earnest desires hungring and thirsting For even these are pronounced blessed But here for I desire and endevour as much as I can possibly in every passage to prevent all matter both of scruple in the upright hearted and of cavill in the contrary minded let no truly humbled sinner bee discouraged because Hee cannot finde in himselfe these severall workings or other graces in that degree and height which Hee desires and hath perhaps seene heard or read of in some others If hee have them in truth and truly thirsts and labours for their increase hee may goe on with comfort Neither let any bee disheartened though Hee did not observe so distinctly the order of the precedent acts nor could discerne so punctually their severall operations in His Soule yet if in substance and effect they have been wrought in Him and made way for Iesus Christ Hee needs not complaine As this man of God in experimentall divinity so our renowned and invincible Champions in their Polemicall discourses upon other occasion speake to the same purpose telling us also of some antecedent Acts humbling and preparing the soule for conversion There are say they certaine internall effects going before conversion or regeneration which by vertue of the word and Spirit are wrought in the hearts of those which are not yet iustified Such as Illumination of the mind and conscience with the knowledge of the word and will of God for that purpose Sense of sin feare of punishment or legall terror advising and casting about for enlargement from such a miserable estate some hope of pardon c. Let mee but adde one other and Hee also of excellent learning And then I have done Such is the nature of man Saith hee that before hee can receiue a true justifying faith hee must as it were bee broken in pieces by the law Ier. 23.29 Wee are to bee led from the feare of slaves through the feare of Penitents to the feare of sonnes And indeed one of these makes way for another and the perfect love thrusts out feare yet must feare bring in that perfect love as a needle or Bristle drawes in the threed after it or as the potion brings health In the preparation and fitting us for our being in Christ hee requireth two things First The cutting of us off as it were from the wild Olive-tree By which hee meaneth two things First A violent pulling of us out of the corruption of nature or a cutting as it were by the knife of the law of an unregenerate man from His security c. Secondly A violent atraction to Christ for ease man at the first plainely refusing it The hunted beast flies to his den the pursued malefactor to the hornes of the altar or city of refuge Pauls misery Rom. 7.24 Drives him to Gods mercy The Israelites are driven into their chambers by the destroying Angell Balaam is made to leane backe by the naked Sword Agur to runne to Ihiel and Veall that is Christ Pro. 30.1.2.3 When he is confounded with his owne brutishnesse God must let loose his Law Sinne Conscience and Satan to baite us and kindle hell fire in our Soules before wee will bee driven to seeke to Christ. Secondly A paring and trimming of us for our putting into Christ by our humiliation for sin which is thus wrought God giveth the sinner to see by the law his Sinne and the punishment of it The detection whereof drives Him to compunction and a pricking of heart which is greater or lesser and carries with it divers Symptomes and sensible passions of griefe And workes a Sequestration from his former courses and makes Him loath Himselfe c. And yet by the way once for all take this Caveat and forewarning If any should think of these precedent Acts these preparative workings of the Law and Gospell which make way for the infusion of faith as any meritorious meanes to draw on Christ it were a most false rotten foolish execrable popish absurd Luciferian misconceit and might justly merit never to obtaine mercy at Gods bountifull hands nor part in the merits of Christ I speake thus to fright every one for ever from any such abhorred thought God the father offers His Sonne most freely God so loved the world that hee gave His onely begotten Sonne that whosoever beleeveth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life Ioh. 3.16 Vnto us a child is borne unto us a Sonne is given Isa. 9.6 If thou knewest the gift of God saith Christ unto the woman of Samaria and who it is that saith to Thee Give mee to drinke Ioh. 4.10 Much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the Gift of righteousnesse c. Rom. 5.17 Christ calleth Himselfe a Gift And it is called the Gift of righteousnesse And nothing so free as Gift And therefore those Divines speake not unfitly who say It is given unto us as fathers give Lands and Inheritance to their children as kings grant pardons to their subjects having merited death They give them because they will out of the freenesse of their minds All those who would come unto Christ and desire to take him as their wisedome righteousnesse Sanctification and redemption must bee utterly unbottomed of themselves and built onely on the rich and free mercy of God revealed in the Gospell They must bee emptied First Of all conceit of any righteousnesse or worth in themselves at all Secondly Of all hope of any ability or possibility to helpe themselves Nay filled thirdly with sense of their owne unworthinesse naughtinesse nothingnesse Fourthly and with such a thirst after that water of life Ioh. 4.14 that they are most willing to sell all for it and cry heartily Giue mee drinke or else I die And then when they are thus most nothing in themselves doe so long for the rivers of living water they are certainely most welcome unto Iesus Christ and may take Him most freely Heare how sweetly Hee calls them Ho every one that thirsteth come yee to the waters and hee that hath no mony Come yee buy and eat yea come buy wine and milk without mony and without price Isa. 55.1 In the last day that great day of the feast Iesus stood and cryed saying If any man thirst let him come unto mee and drinke Hee that beleeveth on mee as the Scripture hath said out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water Ioh. 7.37.38 It is done I am Alpha and Omega the Beginning and the End I will give unto him that is a thirst of the Fountaine of the water of
confession and repentance Davids Petition O cleanse thou mee from my secret faults did assuredly prevaile with God for the forgivenesse of all His unknowne sinnes and shall bee powerfull for that end to the worlds end to all those that so pray with Davids spirit and sincerely Besides these two cases first want of knowledge and secondly want of remembrance in the sense I have said There is also a third and that is thirdly want of time which if truly so doth also sometimes excuse the omission of some particular sinnes As wee may see in the Thiefe upon the Crosse. For want of leisure Hee could not possibly punctually revise His vile abominable life nor peruse with remorse all the particulars of His former wicked and abhorred courses But He had infused into His Soule by Iesus Christ an habituall grace of true Repentance which if Hee had lived would have carried Him faithfully along over all the notorious Passages of His lewd and lothsome life with a truly contrite broken and bleeding Soule So that if Hee had had space I doubt not but Hee would have prooved a very eminent extraordinary and exemplary Penitent And therefore the Lord in mercy did gratiously accept the desire and purpose the inclination and preparation of His heart that way But to returne to the Point and give my advise in the Case proposed Let the Party who so takes on for some notorious sin only and there takes up His rest be told That tho He dwell with deepest sighes heaviest heart and saltest teares upon some of His greatest and most speciall sinnes yet the rest must by no meanes bee neglected That which is most crying and crimson must serve as a Cryer that I may so speake to summon the rest into the Court of Conscience and as a Remembrancer to bring them to minde and remorse As Davids murder and adultery brought even His Birth-sinne into His memory Psalm 51. And that sinne of strange wives many other sinnes to Ezra's minde Ezra 9. When a father beates His childe for some one speciall fault He is wont to remember unto Him and reckon with Him for many former mis-demeanours also When a Bankrout is once clapt up for one principall debt the rest of His Creditours ordinarily come thicke and threefold upon Him When once Thou begins to reckon with thy conscience for some one extraordinary rebellion never cease untill thou hast searcht thorowly and ransackt it to the bottome that it may smart soundly before Thou hast done with penitent anguish and true remorse for all thy other sinfull corruptions also When horror for some one hainous sinne hath seiz'd upon thy heart follow Gods blessed hand leading thee to conversion and thorow the Pangs of the New-birth to unspeakeable and glorious joy by giving way to all the rest to bring in their severall inditements against thy Soule And bee not afraid thus to arraigne cast and condemne thy Selfe as guilty of innumerable sinnes and worthy ten thousand Hells before Gods just Tribunall For then shalt thou there most certainely find a gracious Advocate at His right hand To whom if Thou make sute and seeke in truth Hee will by the plea and price of His owne pretious blood sue out a pardon for thine everlasting peace When the guilty rage of thy raigning corruption begins to presse upon thy conscience lay on loade and more weight still by a penitent addition and painefull apprehension of all thy other sinnes that growing very sensible of thy spirituall slavery weary of the Dungeon of lewdnesse and lust sensuality and death wherein the Divell hath kept Thee long and thine heart being happily broken and bruised to the bottome and scorch'd as it were in some measure with Hellish flames of guilty horrour Thou mayst see and feele the greater necessity of Iesus Christ set Him at an higher price with more eagernesse and impatiency thirst for His righteousnesse and blood long for spirituall enlargement more then for worlds of pleasures glory or wealth rellish the hidden Manna of the promises most kindlily and cast thy wounded and bleeding Soule with more delight and sweetnesse into His blessed armes of mercy and love For O how acceptable is the Fountaine of living waters saith a worthy Divine to the chased Hart panting and braying The blood of Christ to the weary and tired Soule To the thirsty conscience scorched with the sense of Gods wrath Hee that presents Him with it How welcome is Hee Even as a speciall choise man One of a thousand The deeper is the sense of misery the sweeter is the sense of mercy The Traytour laid downe upon the blocke is more sensible of His Soveraignes mercy in pardoning then Hee who is not yet attached In our dead security before conversion God is faine to let the Law Sinne Conscience Satan a deepe sense of our abominable and cursed state loose upon us and to kindle the very fire of Hell in our soules that so wee might bee rouzed and afterward more sweetly and soundly raised and refreshed For after the most toylesome labour is the sweetest sleepe after the greatest tempests the stillest calmes Sanctified troubles and terrours establish the surest peace And the shaking of these windes makes the trees of Gods Eden take the deeper roâ—ting I confesse that commonly true Converts at the first touch and turning and after too cry out most of and are extraordinarily troubled with some One capitall sin and that which in their dayes of darknesse and vanitie wasted their conscience most and detained them with strongest entisements and hold-fast in the Divels bondage Hence it was that Zacchaeus was so ready and willing to restore fourefold that so Hee might bee rid of the sting and horrour of His former raigning sinne Luk. 19.8 That blessed Paul as it seemes amongst other dreadfull apprehensions of His former unregenerate courses was so much vexed and wounded in heart for that Hee had been a Persecuter 1. Timoth. 1.13 1. Cor. 15.9 But yet should they take-on never so much houle and roare for that one sinne if besides they did not by the conduct of the blessed Spirit descend also to a more particular acknowledgement confession and repentance of all other knowne sinnes and they ought by clearing the eye of naturall conscience industrious inspection into the pure Cristall of Gods Law discover as many as they can possibly all were nothing Hee which is grieved say Divines for one sinne truly and unfainedly from His heart will proportionably bee grieved for all the sinnes that Hee knoweth to bee in Himselfe If wee favour any one sinne in our heart or life or calling wee cannot enjoy Gods favour If there bee any sensuall lust or secret corruption which a man purposely labours to cover and conceale from Gods pure eye the search of His Word and mortifying grace what hope can Hee have that it is covered with the blood of Christ from the wrath that is to come or warranted by any promise of grace from
as upon an unsavoury rotten Carrion Thou and the World must bee as two dead carcasses upon one Beere without any delightfull mutuall commerce or enter-course strangers and starke dead one unto another in respect of thy any further trading with the vanities thereof For keeping a good conscience standing on Gods side and Christs sake Thou must deny thy Selfe Thy worldly wisedome carnall reason corrupt affections Thy acceptation with the World favour of great Ones credit and applause with the most Thy passions profit pleasures possibility of rising and growing great Thy nearest friends dearest companions ease liberty life and grow by little and little into Hesters most noble and invincible resoluâ—ion ever when doing Gods will threatneth any earthly danger And if I perish I perish But not to perish so is everlastingly to perish and so to perish is to bee saved for ever Thou must thus resolve upon this Selfe-deniall when Thou first enters into Profession or else thou wilt never bee able to hold out in thy spirituall Building or conquer in the Christian Warfare See and consider the occasion and how earnestly Christ enioynes it Matth. 16.24 c. Luk. 14.24 c. and presses it with two Parables But all will come to naught and thou cursedly conclude in open Aposâ—acy grosse Hypocrisie or Selfe-deceiving Formalitie Consider the young Man in the Gospell Hee came hastily unto Iesus Christ and would needs bee His Disciple and follower upon the sudden But alas Hee did wofully mistake Little did he know neither indeed would know what belonged unto it That the servant of such an heavenly Master must bee no earth-worme That every one of his Disciples must take up their crosse and follow him For his sake part with any thing every thing bee it riches honours credit pleasures c. And therefore when once Christ for the triall of his heart had bid Him go and sell that he had c. Hee had soone done Hee was quickly gone Now had this young Man gone away without this Lesson Hee had gone away a Disciple as well as any other and perhaps as iolly a Professour as the forwardest of them all and that both in his owne strong opinion and charitable mis-conceite of the rest who were true of heart As Iudas did a long time and the foolish Virgines all their life long Too many such Professours as Hee would have prooved are to bee found even in this Noone-tide of the Gospell abroad in the World who beeing at their first entrance into Profession not soundly humbled nor laying a sure foundation not resolved upon an universall Selfe-deniall nor weighing with due fore-cast what it will cost them doe afterward behave themselves thereafter upon any gainefull occasion greater triall and temptation or beeing put to it indeed They are wont from time to time to discover their rottennesse open the mouthes of the prophane and shame all They are like unto Reeds which in a calme stand bolt upright and seeme stiffe and strong but let a tempest breake-in upon them and they bend any way While their temporall state is untoucht their outward happinesse unhazarded they seeme resolute thorow and couragious but let a storme of persecution bee raised against them Let them bee put into a great fright that if they stand to it they may bee undone c. And then they cowardlily hide their heads pull in the hornes as they say and shamefully shrinke in the wetting unhappily holding it better to sleepe in a whole skinne then with a good conscience Like the Eagle they soare aloft with many goodly religious shewes and representations but they still keepe their eye upon the Prey and therefore when advantage is offered they will basely stoope from forwardnesse honesty generosity humanity any thing to seize upon a worldly commodity office honour some earthly pelfe and transitory Nothing Some of these after Profession for some time fall quite away from it and turne Epicures or Worldlings if not Scorners and Persecutors Others hold-on in a plodding course of formall Christianity all their life long and at last depart this life like the foolish Virgins and in that formall manner I told you of before Neither be thou dis-heartned with this counsell of leaving all for Christ. For thou shalt bee no loser but a great gainer thereby Besides eternall life in the World to come Thou shalt receive an hundred-fold now in this time as Christ Him selfe tells thee Mark 10.30 If thou part with worldly ioies thou shalt have quiet in the holy Ghost spirituall joy unspeakable and glorious neerer familiarity with God deerer coÌ„munion with Iesus Christ c. To which the pleasures of ten thousand Worlds were they all extant were but extremest paine If thou lose thine Husband He that made thee will be in his stead unto Thee Thy Maker is thine Husband the Lord of Hosts is his Name If thou lose thy Father The Al-sufficient Iehouah blessed for ever will pitty thee as a Father pittieth his Children If thou lose thy friends and the worlds favour Thou shalt have all and the onely excellent upon earth to love Thee dearely and to pray heartily for Thee In a word If thou lose all for Christs sake Hee will bee unto Thee All in All And in Him all things shall be thine in a farre more sweet and eminent manner All things are yours whether Paul or Apollo or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come All are yours and yee are Christs and Christ is Gods 6. When the spirituall Physition shall see the soile of his Patients heart well softned with sorrow for sinne comfortably warmed with refreshing beames of fauour from the face of Christ and so seasonably fitted for to enter a Christian course and to bring forth fruits meete for repentance let him throw-in some timely seedes of Zeale holy precisenesse undaunted courage and unshaken resolution about the affaires of Heaven and in the cause of God from such quickning Scriptures and excellent examples as these Luk. 13.24 Rom. 12.11 12. Ephes. 5.15 Phil. 1.10.11 Matth. 11.12 Revel 3.16 Ruth 4.11 Esth. 4.16 Nehem. 6.11 1. King 22.14 Heb. 11.24.25 1. Sam. 20.32 Acts 21.13 c. That it may bee happily preserved from the ranke and flourishing but rotten and fruitlesse weede of formality and luke-warmenesse Which pestilent Canker if it once take roote in the heart it will never suffer the Herbe of grace if I may so speake the heavenly unfading flowers of saving grace to grow by it while the world stands Nay and will proove one of the strongest bolts to barre them out and the most boysterous cart-rope to pull-downe extraordinary vengeance upon the head of the Party For as a loathsome vomite is to the stomacke of him that casts it out so are luke-warme Professours to the Lord Iesus Reuel 3.16 I marvaile many times what such men meane and what worship service and obedience they would have the
refreshing which sprung out of that promise upon her forlorne and fearefull soule or the excesse of that love which shee bore ever after to those blessed lines to the mercy that made them and to the blood that sealed them An other terrified in conscience for sinne resolves to turne on Gods side but the crie of his good-fellow companions strength of corruption and cunning of Satan carrie him backe to his former courses A good number of yeares after hee was so throughly wounded that whatsoever came of him he would never returne againe unto folly Then comes into his minde the first of the Proverbes whence hee thus reasoned against himselfe So many yeares agoe God called and stretched out his hand in mercy but I refused and therefore now thâ— I call upon him hee will not answer though I seeke him early I shall not finde him Whereupon was his heart filled with much griefe terrour and slavish feare But the Spirit of God leading him at length to that place Luke 17.4 If thy brother trespasse against thee seven times in a day and seven times in a day turne againe to thee saying I repent thou shalt forgiue him He thence happily argued thus for himselfe Must I a silly sinnefull man forgive my brother as often as hee repents and will not then the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort entertaine mee seeking againe in truth his face and â—avour God forbid From which hee blessedly drew such a deale of divine sweetnesse and secret sense of Gods love that his trembling heart at first received some good satisfaction and afterward was setled in a sure and glorious peace An other godly man passing through his lâ—st sicknesse with such extraordinary calmâ—nesse of conscience and absolute freedome from temptation that some of his Christian friends observing and admiring the singularity of his soules quiet at that time especially questioned him aboue it He answered that he had stedfastly fixed his heart upon that sweetest promise Isa. 26.3 Thou wilt keepe him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because hee trusteth in thee And his God had graciously made it fully good unto his soule And so must every Saint doe who would sound the sweetnesse of a promise to the bottome make it the arme of God unto him for sound thorow-comfort Even settle his heart fixedly upon it and set his Faith on worke to broode it as it were with it's spirituall heate that quickenesse and life may thence come into the soule indeed For God is woont to make good his promises unto his children proportionably to their trust in them and dependance upon his truth and goodnesse for a seasonable performance of them Now all these promises in Gods blessed Booke which addes infinitely to their sweetnesse and certainty are sealed with the blood of Iesus Christ Heb. 9.16 and confirmed with the Oath of Almighty God Heb. 6.17.18 God willing more abundantly to shew unto the heires of promise the immutability of his counsell confirmed it by an oath That by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie wee might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us Oh what a mighty and pretious invitation is this to beleeve perfectly The speciall Aime of Gods oath whereas his promise had been more then infinitely sufficient was to strengthen our consolation And therefore every heart true unto Christ ought hence to hold fast not a faint wavering inconstant but a strong stedfast and unconquerable comfort Otherwise it sacrilegiously as it were robs God of the glorious end for which hee swore 5. The free love of God Which how rich and glorious how bottomlesse and boundlesse a treasure it is of all gracious sweetnesse abundant comfort and endlesse bounty appeares in this that Iesus Christ blessed for ever that unvalew-able incomparable Iewell came out of it For God so loved the World that hee gave his onely begotten Sonne that whosoever beleeveth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Ioh. 3.16 And therefore every syncere servant of Christ when upon a serious and sad survay of his Christian waies finds himself to come so far short of that which God requires and himselfe desires That his prayers are very faint his sorrow for sinne very scant his love unto the brethren too cold His spending the Sabbaths very unfruitfull His spirituall growth since he gave his name to Christ very poore His profiting by the meanes hee enjoyes most unanswerable to the power and excellency thereof His New-obedience almost nothing c. For so hee is wont to vilifie himselfe Whereupon hee is much cast downe and out of this apprehension of his manifold unworthinesse concludes against himselfe that hee hath little cause to bee confident in the promises of life or to presume of any part and interest in Iesus Christ and so begins to retire the trembling hand of his already very-weake Faith from any more laying-hold of comfort I say in such a Case being true-hearted he may safely and upon sure ground have recourse to this ever-springing Fountaine of immeasurable mercy and raise up his drooping soule against all contrary oppositions with unspeake-able and glorious refreshing from such places as these Hos. 14.4 I will love thee freely Isai. 55. Ho every one that thirsteth come yee to the waters and hee that hath no money come yâ—e buy and eate yea come buy wine and milke without money and without price And Chap. 43.25 I even I am hee that blotteth one thy transgressions for my owne sake and will not remember thy sinnes Revel 21.6 I will give unto him that is athirst of the Fountaine of the water of life freely c. God never set the Promises on sale or will ever sell his Sonne to any Hee never said Iust so much sorrow so much sanctitie so much service or no Christ But Hee ever gives Him freely Every truly humbled heart which will take him at the hands of Gods free love as an Husband to bee saved by him and to serve him in truth may have him for nothing Yet I must adde this there was never any who received the Lord Iesus savingly but hee laboured syncerely to sorrow as much for sinne to bee as holy to doe him as much service as hee could possibly And when hee reflected upon his best hee ever desired it had been infinitely better 6. The sweete Name of the Lord. Which hee proclaimes Exod. 34.6.7 wherein he first expresseth his essence in one word The Lord The Lord. Which doubled is effectuall to stirre up Moses attention Secondly three Attributes first His power in one word Strong Secondly His justice in two formes of speech not making the wicked innocent visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon childrens children unto the third and fourth generation Thirdly but his speciall goodnesse and good affection towards repentant and beleeving sinners in seven
1 Mercifull and 2 Gracious 3 Long-suffering and abundant in 4 Goodnesse and 5 Truth 6 Keeping mercy for thousands 7 Forgiving iniquity transgression and sinne In which there are implyed un-answerable replies to all the scruples doubts exceptions objections which may arise in a troubled soule 1. Thou sayest perhaps that thou art plunged into the depth of extremest spirituall misery both in respect of sâ—â—fulnesse and cursednesse The present sense whereof is ready to sinke thee into despaire Be it so Then take my counsell in this Case Cast thine eye upon the first and fairest flowre in this heavenly-glorious Garland of divine goodnesse And thou shalt finde a fame greater depth of mercy ready to swallow up thy depth of misery The mercy of God and misery in this kind are relatives No misery no mercy much misery much mercy transcendent misery transcendent mercy the onely difference is the mercy of God is infinite thy misery finite And therefore how much spirituall misery soever thou bringest in a broken heart to the Throne of grace Gods bountifull hand will weigh out to thee a proportionable measure of mercy nay a measure without measure super-abundant running-over For where misery in a truly humbled soule aboundeth there mercy doth much more abound 2. Or suppose that at thy first turning unto God tho truly humbled yet thou art tempted not to take Christ out of this ccoÌ„eit because thou art but euen now come out of hell and horrible courses and as yet hast no good thing in thee at all Or after some progresse in Christianity reflecting in time of temptation upon thy whole carriage since conversion and finding it to have been so fruitlesse and full of failings Thou concludest thy selfe in thy present feeling to be extremely vile of a very doubtfull state for thy soule if not stark naught That no Professour upon earth walkes so unworthily and if Ministers knew thy heart and weake performance of holy duties they would not bee so forward to presse comfort upon thee c. I say in these two cases and the like it is a great happinesse and sweetest comfort that the mighty Lord of Heaven and Earth hath proclaimed himselfe to bee Gracious which imports thus much to poure out abundance of extraordinary bounty upon a most undeserving partie To place dearest affection and desire of doing good there where there is no desert at all As if a King to make his royall favours more illustrious should raise a worthlesse Wretch a most contemptible Vassal to be his worthiâ—â—â— Favorite highest in his love And therefore bring 〈◊〉 to the Throne of Grace but a true sense of thy misery a syncere thirst for mercy an humble acknowledgement of thine unworthinesse and God hereupon for his Christs sake will thinke thee worthy of the riches of his grace the righteousnesse of his Son all the promises in his Booke all the comforts of his Spirit a Crowne of immortality and blisse For hee is gracious and an universall glorious confluence of blessednesse in all kinds is promised to poverty in spirit and shal most certainely to the vtmost bee made good unto it for ever 3. But alas I saith an other have most wretchedly mis-spent the flower and strength of mine age in vanity and pleasure in lewdnesse and lust The best of my time hath been wofully wasted in Satans notorious service and sensuall serving my selfe c. And therefore tho I bee now weary of my former waies and looke backe upon them with a trembling heart and grieved spirit yet I am affraid that God hath given over looking after mee that His patience towards mee is expired and my day of visitation out-stood And that he will not vouchsafe to cast his eye of compassion upon such a Blackamore Leopard as I am so overgrowne with corruption and growne old in sinne especially having so long neglected so great salvation forsaken mine owne mercy so long and so unthankefully despised the riches of his goodnesse and forbearance leading mee to repentance I confesse it is something rare to see men gone-on so long and growne old in sinne to returne and give way to any saving worke of the Ministry because too often in the meane time they so harden their hearts that they cannot repent yet notwithstanding bee thou assured in the Word of life and truth if now at length thou be truly touched indeed and will come-in in earnest the Father of mercies will receive thee freely to mercy and embrace thy bleeding soule in the armes of his everlasting love through Christ. For it is a title of highest honour unto him to be long-suffering Hee all this while waited that hee might bee gracious unto thee And now undoubtedly upon thy first resolution to returne in truth hee will meete thee with infinitely more compassionate affectionatenesse then the Father in the Gospell his Prodigall who when hee was a great way off his Father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neckâ— and kissed him c. 4. Yea but saith an other Though I have been a Professour long yet many times my heart is full heavy and more loth to beleive when I seriously and sensibly call to minde the hainousnesse of my unregenerate time and see in my selfe besides since I was illightned and should have behaved my selfe in forwardnesse and fruitfullnesse for God answerably to my former folly and furiousnesse in evill so many defects and imperfections every day and such weake distracted discharging of commanded duties both to God and man Take then counsell and comfort in this Case by casting thine eye upon Gods kindnesse He is abundant in kindnesse which hath these foure pretious properties First To bee easily intreated Secondly To be intreated for the greatest Thirdly to passe by involuntary infirmities Fourthly to accept gratiously weake services Even â— fraile man if of a more noble generous and kind disposition will bee easily appeased for the unpurposed offences errours and over-sights and well pleased with the good will syncere indeavours and utmost especially of those who hee knowes to bee true-hearted unto him and desire heartily if they were able to doe all hee desires even to the height of exactnesse and expectation How much more then will our heavenly Father deale so with his children who is in himselfe essentially kinde and infinitely 5. Yea but saist thou many times when I reach 〈◊〉 the hand of my faith to fetch some speciall promise into my soule for refreshing and comfort and weighing them well and comparing advisedly my owne nothingnesse worthlesnesse vilenesse with the riches of mercy grace and glory shining in it and marking the dis-proportion I am overwhelmed with admiration and astonishment and to tell you true say sometimes to my selfe Is it possible that this should be so That so glorious things should belong to such a wretch and worme as I am But turning thine eye from a distrustfull and too much dejected dwelling upon thine owne
affected and deale with thee in hearing helping and shewing mercy when all thy strength of praier is gone but onely groanes and sighes Nay with incomparably more affectionatenesse For looke how farre God is higher then Man in Majestie and greatnesse which is by an infinite distance and disproportion so far doth he passe him in tender-heartednesse and love See Isai. 55. 8.9 Or be it so That thou art able to speak unto God and in some measure to utter thy mind yet in thy conceit it is so weakly coldly and confusedly that thou thinkes As well never a whit as never the better c. Take notice here that Gods Child is able First sometimes to poure out his soule unto his God with life and power Secondly sometimes to say something but with much coldnesse deadnesse of heart and distractednesse as he complaines without his woonted feeling and freedome of spirit Thirdly At other times he can say just nothing but groane and sigh and only desire hee could pray For this last looke upon the last passage For the second to wit when the Christian is troubled that hee can say something and speake words unto God yet it is without that order efficacy fit phrase and comming-off so comfortably as he thinks is to bee found in other Professours c. I say in this Case consider that as a Father is more delighted with the stammering stuttering as it were with the in-articulate and imperfect talke of his owne little Childe when it first begins to speake then with the exactest eloquence of the most famous Oratour upon earth so assuredly our heavenly Father is infinitely better pleased with the broken interrupted passages and periods of prayer in an upright heart heartily grieved that hee can doe no better nor offer up a more lively hearty and orderly sacrifice then with the excellently-composed fine-phrased and most methodicall petitions of the learned'st Pharisee Nay his soule extremely loathes the one and graciously accepts the other in Iesus Christ. As concerning the complaint of coldnesse bee assured that tho thy prayers proceede out of thy mouth faint and feeble cold and uncomfortable yet springing from a syncere heart purified by Faith truly humbled under Gods mighty hand for sinne seconded with groanes and griefe with an holy anger and selfe-indignation that they be not more fervent and piercing and offered in obedience unto God are most certainely as it were by the way fortified and enlived with the pacifying perfections and intercessory spirit of Iesus Christ sweetly perfumed with the precious Odours of his fresh-bleeding Merits and blessed Mediation so that they strike the eares of the Almighty with farre greater strength and irresistable importunity then is ordinarily imagined And are as sweet-smelling sacrifices in his nostrils The very sight of whose crucified Sonne at his right hand tendering the suite can calme his most angry countenance and convert by a sacred meritorious attonement his displeasures and wrath into compassions and peace Now blessed bee God that the weake prayers and broken sighes of tempted and troubled spirits have this happy promise and prerogative That before they presse as it were into the presence of God the Father they are mingled in the meane time with the soveraigne and satisfactory incense in the golden censer whence evaporating out of the Angels hand I meane the Angel of the Covenant for so the truest Interpreters understand the place they ascend into the sight of our gracious Father incorporated and enwoven as it were into that pretious and pleasing fume And that it pleaseth the blessed Spirit in the needefull time of spirituall extremities to draw the petitions of our sometimes speechlesse heavy and distracted hearts Iesus Christ the great Angell of the Covenant to perfect perfume and present them Hee that by an excellency and title of highest honour is stiled the Hearer of praiers to receive them into his mercifull hand and bosome of compassionate acceptation Goe on then poore soule Thou that sorely â—roopes under the sensible waight of thy manifold weakenesses and unworthinesse this way and thereupon sometimes sinfully drawes back with some thoughts of giving-over quite which is that the Divel desires and would utterly undoe thee forever presse forward in the name of Christ unto the Throne of Grace with a lighter heart then thou art wont Shall the Lord Iesus call and cry for a Pardon for those who put him to death who were so farre from seeking unto him that like so may Evening Wolves they sought and suckt his blood and will hee shut his eares thinkes thou from thy complaints and groanes who values one drop of his blood to quench thy spirituall thirst at an higher price then the worth of many Worlds Comfort thy selfe invincibly It cannot bee 2. In the faintnesse of Faith and want of feeling Thou beholdest sometimes a Father holding a little Childe in his armes now whether dost thou thinke is the Child safe by it's owne or by the Fathers hold It claspes about the Father with it's little weake hands as well as it can but the strength of it's safety is in the Fathers arme Nay and the Father holds the faster when at any time hee perceives the Child to have left it's hold Thou art tied as it were unto Christ by a double bond first of the Spirit and secondly of Faith Thou layest hold on Christ by Faith and hee holds thee by his Spirit Now thy Infant Faith or after some good standing in Christianity weakened and sorely wounded in thy present feeling hath lost it's hold-fast And therefore thou thinkes all is gone and walkes dejectedly and uncomfortably as tho not any promise in Gods Booke or drop of Christs Blood were thine c. But assure thy selfe being sound at the heart roote and walking in the light as God is in the light thy heavenly Father in this Case holds thee so fast by his Spirit that no Man or Divell not all the powers of darkenesse or gates of hell can possibly plucke thee out of his hand Nay the excellency of his power is most gloriously improoved and made more illustrious in thy greatest extremities and extremest spirituall weakenesse And hee holds it his highest honour to hold thee the fastest when thy hold is gone Heere then and upon this ground thou hast a Calling and maâ—st comfortably for hee is ever most loving and tender hearted in times of temptation to all that are true of heart exercise that most excellent act of faith To beleeve without feeling To beleeve when the face of God doth shine upon thee with sensible refreshing and when thou enjoyest plentifull and pregnant proofes of his favour is no great matter no such maistery But then to beleeue when all sense of Gods love is gone and the light of his countenance hid from thee when all goe quite crosse and contrary in the apprehension of carnall reason then is the highest praise this is the perfection of faith The very dull
senselesse and soulelesse earth upon which wee tread may teach us to rest and depend upon God in such a Case It is a mighty and massy body planted in the middest of the thinne aire and hangs upon just nothing in the world but only upon Gods Word By that alone it is there established unmooveably keepes his place most steadily never stirs an ynch from it It hath no props or pillars to uphold it no barres or beames to fasten it nothing to stay and support it but the bare Word of God alone Hee upholdeth all things by the Word of his power saith the Apostle Heb. 1.3 And yet not all the creatures in the world can shake it or make it tremble Bee it so then that thy Faith hath lost it's hold-fast that for the present thou findest no feeling no encouragements of joy and peace in beleeving no sensible pawnes and pledges of Gods wonted favour c. Yet for all this cast thy selfe upon the sure Word of that mighty God who hath established all the ends of the earth and reared such a great and goodly building where there was no foundation and questionlesse thou shalt bee more then infinitely everlastingly safe and setled like mount Zion which cannot bee removed but abideth for ever 3. In failings of new-obedience Thou puts thy sonne into imploiment sets him about thy businesses He improves the utmost of his skil strength and indeavour to doe thee the best service hee can and please thee if it were possible to perfection But yet comes short of what thou desires and failes in many particulars and therefore he weepes and takes-on and is much troubled that hee can give no better contentment Now tell mee thou whose heart is warmed with the tendernesse of a Fathers affection whether thou wouldest not bee most ready and willing to pardon and passe-by all defects and failings in this kinde Nay I know thou wouldest rejoyce and blesse God that hee had given thee a Child so obedient willing and affectionate Proportionably thy heavenly Father sets thee on worke To beleeve repent pray read the Scriptures heare the Word conferre meditate love the Brethren sanctifie his Sabbaths humble thy selfe in daies of fasting and praier poure out thy soule day and night as the times require in compassion fellow-feeling and strong cries for the Afflictions of Ioseph the destruction of the Churches and those Bretheren of thine which have so long laine in blood and teares to bee industrious and serious in all workes of justice mercy truth c. And thou goest about these blessed businesses with an upright heart and in obedience unto God but the several performances comes far short of what his Word requires and thy heart desires and thereupon thou mournes and grieves and afflicts thy soule in secret because thou canst not come-off with more power and life nor bring that glory unto God in thy Christian walking which so many mercies meanes and such a ministery may exact at thy hands In this case now of these involuntary failings and humble disposition of thy heart therefore bee most assured thy All-sufficient Father will spare thee as a man spareth his owne sonne that serveth him Nay and with so much more kindnesse and love as the heavens are higher then the earth and God greater then man 4. In case of a spirituall Desertion A Father solacing himselfe with his little Child and delighting in it's pretty and pleasing behaviour is woont sometimes to step aside into a corner or behind a dore upon purpose to quicken yet more it 's love and longing after him and try the impatiency and eagernesse of it's affection In the meane time hee heares it cry run about and call upon him and yet hee stirres not but forbeares to appeare not for want of compassion and kindnesse which the more it takes-on the more abounds but that it may dearelier prize the Fathers presence that they may meete more merrily and rejoyce in the enjoyment of each other more heartily Conceive then and consider to thine owne exceeding comfort that thy heavenly Father deales just so with thee in a spiritual desertion He sometimes hides his face from thee and withdrawes his quickning and refreshing presence for a time not for want of loue for hee loves thee freely He loves thee with an everlasting love hee loves thee with the very same love with which He loves Iesus Christ And that deare Son of his loves thee with the same love his Father loves him But to put more heate and life into thine affections towards him and heavenly things To cause thee to relish communion with Iesus Christ when thou enjoyest it more sweetely to preserve it more carefully to joy in it more thankefully and to shunne more watchfully whatsoever might rob thee of it To stirre up all the powers of thy soule and all the graces of God in thee to seeke his face and favour againe with more extraordinary and universall seriousnesse and industry For we finde with pleasure possesse with singular contentment and keepe with speciall care what we have sought with paine Wee may see this in the Spouse Cantic 3.1 c. under the pressure of a grievous Desertion Ponder every particular By night on my bed I sought him whom my soule loveth I sought him but I found him not I will rise now and goe about the Citty in the streetes and in the broad wayes I will seeke him whom my soule loveth I sought him but I found him not The Watchmen that goe about the city found mee to whom I said Saw yee him whom my soule loveth It was but a little that I passed from them but I found him whom my soule loveth I held him and would not let him goe untill I had brought him to my mothers house and into the chamber of her that conceived mee I charge yee O yee daughters of Ierusalem by the Roes and by the Hindes of the field that yee stirre not up nor awake my Love till hee please And lastly that when the comfortable beames of Gods lightsome countenance shall break out againe upon thy soule and thy Beloved is returned thou maist sing that triumphant song of Faith most joyfully I am my Beloveds my Beloved is mine Desertions then delaies of this nature are fruites of thy heavenly Fathers love and ought to bee no discouragements unto thee at all holding thy integrity His love thereby is intended towards thee by the restraint of the influence as it were and sense of it from thy soule as a Brooke growes big by damming it up for a while And thy love is more enflamed towards him when thou now feeles by the want of it what an heaven upon earth it is to have his face shine upon thee with it's quickning refreshing presence and that a sensible embracement of Iesus Christ in the armes of thy Faith is the very life of the soule as the Soule is the life of the Body the Crowne of all sweet
contentment in this vale of teares and a piece as it were of everlasting pleasures 5. In times of triall Thou seest sometimes a Father setting downe his little One upon it's feet to trie it's strength and whether it bee yet able to stand by it selfe or no But withall hee holds his armes on both sides to uphold it if he see it incline either way and to preserve it from hurt Assure thy selfe thy heavenly Father takes care of thee with infinitely more tendernesse in all thy trials either by outward Afflictions or inward temptations The thou shouldest fall yet shalt thou not bee utterly cast downe for the Lord upholdeth thee with his hand Psal. 37.24 Never did Gold-smith attend so curiously and punctually upon those pretious mettalls hee casts into the fire to observe the very first season and bee sure that they tarry no longer in the furnace then the drosse bâ—â— wasted they thorowly purified and fitted for some excellent use as our gratious God lovingly waits to take thee out of trouble and temptation when the rust 〈◊〉 removed from thy spirituall armour thy graces shiâ—â— out and thou heartily humbled and happily fitted to doe him more glorious service for the time to come I meane when hee hath attained the end which hee mercifully intended in love and for thy good 6. In conceits of our unworthinesse David commanded Ioab and the other Captaines to entreat the young man Absolom gently for his sake 2. Sam. 18.5 A rebellious traiterous Sonne up in armes against his owne Father gracelesly and unnaturally thirsting out of a furious ambitious humour to wâ—ing the Regall Scepter out of his hand and to set the Imperiall Crowne upon his owne head How dearely and tenderly then will the Father of mercies deale with a poore humbled soule that sighes and seekes for his favour infinitely more then any earthly treasure or the glory of a thousand worlds 7. I will suppose thou hast broke some speciall vow which were a grievous thing made before the Sacrament upon some day of humiliation or such other occasion and so forfeited thy selfe as it were and thy soule into the hands of Gods justice to bee disposed of to the dungeon of utter darkenesse if thou weâ—t served as thy sinne hath deserved And thereupon thou art much afflicted and sore troubled in minde to have suffered thy selfe to be so sottishly ensnared againe in such a dis-avowed sin against so strong a purpose But here consider whether thou being a Father would'st take the forfeiture of a bond and advantage of breaking day especially full sore against his will from thy dearest Childe intreating thee to intreat him kindely Much nay infinitely lesse will thy heavenly Father deale hardly with thee in such a Case if thou complaine at the Throne of Grace with a grieved spirit renew thy covenant and tell him truly that thou wilt by the help of the holy Ghost guard thy heart with a narrower watch and stronger resolution for the time to come If wee confesse our sinnes hee is faithfull and iust to forgive us our sinnes 1. Iohn 1.9 And in such a Case wee have ever a blessed Advocate with the Father Iesus Christ the righteous Cap. 2.1 8. A Father sometimes holds his Child over a Pond River or Well to fright him from it lest at some time or other he fall into it But the Child especially if of riper conceit and wiser thoughts laughes perhaps in the Fathers face dreads no danger dreames not of drowning And what 's the reason thinke yee Only because hee knowes hee that holds him is his Father So thy heavenly Father holdes thee as it were over Hell in some strong temptation upon purpose to terrifie thee from tampering so much with the Divels baites so that thou sees nothing about thee for the present but darknesse and discomforts the very horrors of eternall death ready to take hold on thee yet for all this upon the ground of this loving gracious resemblance thou maist be comforted and cry confidently with Iob Tho he slay me yet will I trust in him With David Tho I walke through the valley of the shadow of death I will feare no evill Who is among you saith the Prophet that feareth the Lord that obeyeth the voice of his servant that walketh in darkenesse and hath no light Let him trust in the Name of the Lord and stay upon his God 9. A Son by the seducement of some dissolute and drunken Belials is drawne into lewd and licentious company and so plunges presently over head and eares into pestilent courses Falls unhappily to swaggering drinking gaming the mirth and madnesse of wine and pleasures And at length to expresse to the life an exact conformity to that compleat character of the professours of Good-fellowship as they call it and Epicurisme both for pursuite of sensuall delights and persecution of true professours Wisd. 2.6 c. 12 c. Whereby he wasts his Patrimony cuts the heart of his Parents wounds his conscience c. His Father mournes and grieves consults and casts about with all love and longing for his recovery and returne At length out of sense and conscience of his base and debosht behaviour vile company dishonouring God banishing good motions c. Hee comes to himselfe intreats his father upon his knees with many teares that hee would bee pleased to pardon what is past receive him into favour againe and hee will faithfully endeavour to displease him no more but redeeme the losse of the former with the improovement of the time to come How willingly and welcomely thinke you would such a Father receive such a son into the bosome of his fatherly affection and armes of dearest embracement And yet so and infinitely more is our heavenly Father mercifull and melting towards any of his relapsed children returning unto his gracious Throne with true remorse and hearty griefe for so going astray Which is an incomparable comfort in case of backe-sliding which yet God forbid 10. A Father indeede will lay heavier burdens upon his son now growne into yeares and strength and puts him to sorer labour and harder taskes But while hee is very young hee is woont to forbeare him with much tendernesse and compassion because he knowes hee is scarce able to carry himselfe out of the mire Even so but with infinite more affectionatenesse and care watchfullnesse and love doth our heavenly Father beare in his armes and forbeare a Babe in Christ. See Isai. 40.11 This may bee a very sweet and pretious cordiall to weake consciences ar their first conversion Who when they cast their eie upon the hainousnesse and number of their sinnes the fiery and furious darts of the Divell the frownes and angry foreheads of their carnall friends the worlds lowring and enmity the rebelliousnesse and untowardnesse of their own hearts pressing upon them all at once and so considering that refraining from evill they make themselves a prey are ready to sinke and faint and
feare that they shall never hold out For they may hence ground upon it being upright-hearted and believing that God who knowes their weakenesse full well will not suffer them to bee tempted above that they are able but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that they may bee able to beare it So that over all these adversaries and ungodly oppositions they shall most certainely bee more then conquerours 11. When thou art dejected in spirit and walkes more heavily because thou comes short of stronger Christians in all performances services duties and fruitfull walking and thereupon suffers slavish doubtes and distrusts least thy ground worke bee not well laid to beate back and barre out all spirituall joy and expected contentment in thy Christian course I say then and in such a Case Suppose a Father should call unto him in haste two of his children One of three yeares old the other of thirteene they both make all the hast they can but the elder makes much more speede and yet the little one comes on wadling as fast as it can and if it had more strength it would have macht the other Now would not the Father accept of the youngers utmost endeavour according to it's strength as well as of the elders faster gate being stronger I am sure hee would and that with more tendernesse too and taking it in his armes to encourage it And so certainely will thy heavenly Father deale with thee in the like Case about thy spirituall state being true-hearted and heartily grieving praying and indeavouring to do better 12. Suppose a Child to fall sicke in a family The Father presently sets the whole house on worke for the recovery of it's welfare Some runne for the Physitioâ— others for friends and neighbours Some tend it others watch with it All contribute their severall abilities endeavours and diligence to doe it good And thus they continue in motion affection and extraordinary imploiment about it farre more then about all the rest that are well untill it recover With the very same but incomparably more tender care and compassion will thy heavenly Father visite thee in all thy spirituall maladies and sicknesses of Soule The whole blessed Trinity is stirred as it were extraordinarily and takes to heart thy troubles at such a time Even as a Shepeheard takes more paines and exercises more pittie and tendernesse about his sheepe when they are out of tune See Isa. 40.11 Ezech. 34.16 upon which places heare the Paraphrase of a blessed Divine The Lord will not bee unfaithfull to thee if thy heart bee uprighâ— with him tho thou bee weake in thy carriage to him foâ— hee keepes his Covenant forever And therefore in 〈◊〉 40. the Lord expresseth it thus you shall know mee as sheepe know their Shepheard and I will make a covenant with you and thus and thus I will deale with you And how is that Why the covenant is not thus only as long as you keep within the boundes and keepe within the foâ—ld as long as you go along the pathes of righteousnesse and walke in them but this is the Covenant that I will make I will drive you according to that you are able to beare If any be great with young I will drive them softly If they bee lame that they are not able to goe saith hee I will take them up in my armes and carry them in my bosome If you compare this with Ezech. 34. You shall finde there Hee puts downe all the slips wee are subject unto speaking of the time of the Gospell when Christ should bee the Shepheard hee shewes the Covenant that hee will make with those that are his Saith hee if any thing bee lost if a sheepe loose it selfe this is my Covenant I will finde it If it be driven away by any violence of temptation I will bring it backe againe If there bee a breach made into their hearts by 〈◊〉 occasion through sinne and lust I will heale them and binde them up This the Lord will doe this is the Covenant that hee makes But I was telling you the whole blessed Trinity takes on if I may so speake after a speciall manner in all the spirituall troubles especially of all those who are true of heart God the Fathers bowells of mercy yerne compassionately over thee when hee sees thee spiritually sicke The distressed and disconsolate state of thy soule puts him into such melting and affectionate pangs as these Oh thou afflicted tossed with tempest and not comforted behold I will lay thy stones with faire colours and lay thy foundations with Saphires c. Comfort yee comfort yee my people saith your God Speak ye comfortably to Ierusalem and cry unto her that her warfare is accoÌ„plished that her iniquity is pardoned c. Iesus Christ out of his owne experience knoweth full well what it is to be grievously tempted what it is to have the most hideous thoughts and horrible injections throwne into the minde that can bee possibly imagined Nay that the Divell himselfe can devise See Mat. 4.6.9 What an hell it is to want the comfortable influence of the Fathers pleased face and favour See Mat. 27.46 And therefore hee cannot chuse but bee afflicted in our afflictions and very sensibly and sweetly tender-hearted in all our spirituall troubles They pitty us most in our sicknesses who have felt the same themselves In that hee himselfe suffered and was tempted hee is able to succour them that are tempted Heb. 2.18 As for the blessed Spirit it is his proper worke as it were To comfort them that mourne in Zion To give unto them beauty for ashes the oyle of joy for mourning the garment of praise for the spirit of heavinesse And yet besides all this thy heavenly Father in the distresse of thy soule sets also on worke the Church of God about thee Faithfull Ministers to pray for and prepare seasonable and sound arguments reasons counsels and comforts out of Gods blessed Booke to support quicken revive and recover thee all they can Private Christians to commend thy Case unto the Throne of grace and mercy and that extraordinarily with mightinesse of prayer upon their more solemne daies of humiliation 13. A Father sometimes threatens and offers to throw his little-one out of his armes But upon purpose only to make him cling closer unto him Our heavenly Father may seeme to cast off his Childe and leave him for a while in the hands of Satan for inward temptation or to the rage of his bloody agents for outward persecution But it is onely to draw him nearer to himselfe by more serious seeking and sure dependance in the time of trouble and that with the hand of his faith hee may lay surer hold upon his All-sufficiency Thus and in the like manner peruse all the compassionate passages of the most tender-hearted parents to their best beloved children in all cases of danger and distresse And so and infinitely more tenderly will our
heavenly Father deale withal that are upright-hearted in all their troubles trials and temptations For the dearest love of the most affectionate Father or Mother to their Childe is nothing to that which hee beares to those that feare him Isa. 49.15 Psal. 103.13 Deut. 8.5 3. Thirdly there is a pretious Principle in the mysterie of salvation which as a comforting Cordiall-water serves to quicken and revive in the sownings and faintings of the Body defection of the spirits and sinking of the heart So it may bee soveraigne to support and succour in afflictions and dejections of Soule and weakenesses of our spirituall state It is thus delivered by Divines A constant and earnest desire to bee reconciled to God to believe and to repent if it bee in a touched heart is in acceptation with God as reconciliation Faith repentance it selfe A weake faith shewes it selfe by this grace of God namely an unfained desire not onely of salvation for that the wicked and gracelesse man may have But of reconciliation with God in Christ. This is a sure signe of Faith in every touched and humbled heart and it is peculiar to the elect Those are blessed who are displeased with their owne doubting and unbeliefe if they have a true earnest desire to bee purged from this distrust and to believe in God through Christ. Our desire of grace faith and repentance are the graces themselves which wee desire at least in Gods acceptation who accepteth of the will for the deede and of our affections for the actions Hungring and thirsting desires are evidences of a repenting heart True desire argues the presence of things desired and yet argues not the feeling of it It may not bee dissembled that there are in the world many definitions or descriptions of faith such as doe not comprehend in them that onely thing which is the chiefe stay of thousands of the deare servants of God and that is desires which may not bee denyed to bee of the nature of Faith I expresse my meaning thus That when a Man or woman is so farre exercisâ—d in the spirituall seeking of the Lord his God That hee would bee willing to part with the world and all things thereof if hee had them in his owne possession so that by the Spirit and Promises of God hee might bee assured that the sinnes of his former life and such as presently doe burthen his Soule were forgiven him and that hee might believe that God were now become his God in Christ I would not doubt to pronounce that this Person thus prising remission of sinnes at this rate that hee would sell all to buy this pearle did undoubtedly believe Not onely because it is a truth though a Paradoxe that the Desire to believe is Faith But also because our Saviour Christ doth not doubt to affirme that they are blessed that hunger and thirst after righteousnesse because they shall bee satisfied And to him that is a thirst I will give to drinke of the water of life freely And David doubted not to say The Lord heareth the desire of the humble I thinke whensoever the humbled sinner sees an infinite excellency in Christ and the savour of God by him that it is more worth then all the world and so sets his heart upon it that hee is resolved to seeke it without ceasing and to part withall for the obtaining it now I take it is Faith begun What graces thou unfainedly desirest and constantly vsest the meanes to attaine Thou hast There is no rocke more sure then this truth of God That the heart that complaineth of the want of grace desireth above all things the supply of that want useth all holy meanes for the procurement of that supply cannot be destitute of saving grace Such are wee by imputation as wee bee in affection And he is now no sinner who for the love he beareth to righteousnesse would bee no sinner Such as we be in desire and purpose such we be in reckoning and account with God who giveth that true desire and holy purpose to none but to his Children whom hee justifieth We must remember that God accepts affecting for effecting willing for working desires for deedes purposes for performances pence for pounds and unto such as doe their endeavour hath promised His grace enabling them every day to doe more and more If there be in thee a sorrow for thine unbeliefe a will and desire to believe and a care to increase in Faith by the use of good meanes there is a measure of true Faith in thee and by it thou maist assure thy selfe that thou art the Child of God It is a great grace of God to feele the want of Gods graces in thy selfe and to hunger and thirst after them If you desire healing of your nature groane in desire to grace perceive your foulenesse unto a loathing of your selfe feare not sinne hath no dominion over you Sense of Want of grace complaint and mourning from that sense desire setled and earnest with such mourning to have the want supplyed vse of good meanes with attending upon Him therein for this supply is surely of grace What graces thou unfainedly desirest and constantly usest the meanes to attaine Thou hast Take it in short from mee thus A true desire of grace argues a saving and comfortable estate The truth of which appeares clearely By Scriptures Reasons Both ancient and moderne Deuines Proofes Mat. 5.6 Blessed are they which doe hunger and thirst after righteousnâ—sse for they shall bee filled Here to a desire of grace is annexed a Promise of Blessednesse which comprehends all the glory and pleasures of Christs Kingdome here and all heavenly joyes and everlasting blisse hereafter Ioh. 7.37 If any man thirst let him come unto mee and drinke Psal. 10.17 The Lord heareth the desire of the humble Psal. 145.19 Hee will fulfill the desire of them that feare Him Luk. 1.53 The Lord filleth the hungry with good things Reu. 22.17 Let him that is athirst come And whosoever will let Him take the water of life freely Isa. 55.1 Hâ— every one that thirsteth come yee to the waters c. And Cap. 44. vers 3. I will poure water upon Him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground O Lord I beseech thee saith Nehemiah let now thine eare bee attentive to the prayer of thy servant and to the prayer of thy servants who desire to feare thy Name Here those who desire to feare the Lord are stiled His servants and proposed as men qualified and in a fit disposition to have their praiers heard their petitions granted their distresses relieved their affaires blessed with successe And no doubt thâ—s Man of God would make speciall choise of such Attributes and affections which might proove powerfull and pleasing Arguments to draw from God compassion favour and protection And therefore a true-hearted desire to feare the Lord is a signe of His servant
concerning the Man that trusteth in God if the fire hath proclaimed it selfe unable as much as to singe an haire of His head If Lyons beasts ravenous by nature and keene with hunger beeing set to devoure have as it were religiously adored the very flesh of the faithfull Man what is there in the World that shall change His heart overthrow His faith alter his affection towards God or the affection of God to Him Nay and besides sith I onely understand a temporary passive Desertion I must suppose it in Him also who sees full well and doth acknowledge from whence Hee is fallen is very sensible of His spirituall losse afflicted much with the absence of the quickning and comforting influence of grace and grieved at the heart-roote that Hee cannot doe His God service and performe holy duties with that life power and lightsomnesse as Hee was woont and thereupon resolves to give no rest unto His discontented Soule from cries complaints and groanes untill Gods face and favour bee turned towards Him againe and bring with it former feelings and fruitfulnesse now so highly prized and heartily praied for Which blessed behaviour doth clearely difference Him from the Back-slider a truly miserable and right wofull Creature indeede who insensibly falles from his forwardnesse first love intimate fellowship with the Saints and all lively use and exercise of the ordinances and divine duties and yet is never troubled to any purpose neither doth chalenge or judge Himselfe for it at all For wee are to know that the presence of spirituall weakenesses decaies and wants and absence of due dispositions accustomed feelings and former abilities of grace onely then argue a Backslider and are evill signes of a dangerously declining Soule when they are willingly carried without remorse or taking much to heart without any eager desire or earnest endeavour after more heate and heavenly mindednesse A Christian may be without Gods gratious presence and comfortable exercise of grace in present feeling and yet no Forsaker of God but rather left of Him for a time His heavenly wisedome for some secret holy ends so disposing while by grieving striving strong desires Hee unfainedly thirsts after and seriously pursues his former acceptation and forwardnesse Here then is comfort God hath hid his face from thee for a season and thou art left to the darknesse and discomforts of thine owne spirit and thereupon art grievously dejected thinkes thy Selfe utterly undone yet take notice that In a spirituall Desertion properly so called thou doest not willingly forsake God but God forsakes Thee or rather as Divines truly speake seemes to forsake Thee For Hee dealeâ— with Thee in this Case as a Father with His Childe who sometimes upon purpose still loving Him extremely hides Himself from Him as tho He were quite gone to make it discover and manifest it's love unto Him by longing seeking and crying after Him And that for excellent ends and ever for thy endlesse comfort first To trie whether Thou wilt trust in Him tho He slay Thee as Iob did Every Cock-boate can swim in a River every Sculler saile in a Calme In ordinary gusts any man of meaner skill and lesser patience can steere aright and hold up the head But when the blacke tempest comes a tenth wave flowes One deepe calls an other when the tumultuous darkenesse of the sky the roaring of that restlesse Creature represents terrible things and Heaven and earth are blundered together as it were with horrible confusions when nature yeelds spirits faint hearts faile then to stand upright and unshaken then to say with David I will not feare tho the earth bee removed and tho the mountaines bee carried into the middest of the Sea Tho the waters thereof roare and bee troubled tho the Mountaiâ—es shake with the swelling thereof Selah I say thatâ—s the Man which is found at the heart-roote indeede and steele to the backe and then is the invincible might and incomparable valour of Faith made knowne with a witnesse who ever hath Gods sure Word for the Compasse and the Lord Iesus at the Helme Then doth this glorious grace shine and triumph above nature sense reason worldly wisedome the arme of flesh and the whole Creation In such desperate extremities and sorest trials it shewes it selfe like the Adamant that nothing will breake the Palme tree that yeelds not to the waightiest burden the Shoote-Anchor that holds when other tacklings breake the oile that ever over-swims the greatest quantity of water we can poure upon it And with this improovement of the extraordinary power of faith God is exceedingly well-pleased and highly honoured Secondly To en-ure thee to patience obedience and submission to His blessed Will in every thing even extremest sufferings if Hee so please Thirdly To worke in Thee a deeper detestation of sinne and further divorce from the world Fourthly To quicken improove and exercise some speciall graces extraordinarily Thou didst hide thy face saith David and I was troubled Then I cried unto Thee O Lord c. Then was the spirit of praier put to it indeede and so was the grace of patience waiting and the like Fifthly To cause thee to prize more dearely and to keepe more carefully when it comes againe Gods glorious presence and the quickning influence of His grace and comfort Wee never apprehend the worth and excellency of any thing so well as by the want of it The un-interrupted secure enjoyment of the best things and even those that please us best without vicissitude and enter change is woont to breed such cheapnes and satiety and so dulls the Soules appetite that it is neither so affected with their pretious sweetnesse nor thankfully â—â—vished with the present possession of them as it ought Health is then highly valewed when sicknesse hath made us sensible of such a Iewell wee then rellish our food extraordinarily when wee have fasted longer then ordinary Rest doth then refresh us most when our bodies have been tired and over-travelled Sixthly To make thee conformable in some measure to Christs immeasurable spirituall sufferings Seventhly To manifest and make illustrious His mightinesse and mercy in thy deliverance and the power of Christs resurrection Wilt thou shew wonders to the Dead saith Heman Shall the dead arise and praise thee Selah Those whom the mercifull hand of God hath lifted up out of the depth of a spirituall desertion will easily acknowledge it as omnipotent a worke and wonder as to pull out of the mouth of Hell and raise a dead man out of the grave Eighthly To represent unto thee the difference of thy condition in this life and that which is to come This is our time of nurture not of Inheritance Here wee walke by faith not by sight Wee live by faith not by feeling In this vale of teares wee are killed all the day long But heavenly glimpses of unspeakeable and glorious ioy and spirituall ravishments of Soule are seldome and short Their
the Cardinals the Sicilian Even-song and the Parisian Mattins nay the wish of Nero that Rome had but one Head which hee might cut off at one blow came farre short of this invention which spared neither age sexe nor degree Well then if thou shouldest have approved and consented unto the suggestion of this most execrable and unheard-of villany for which Hell hath not a fit Name nor the World a sufficient punishment thou hadst made thy selfe the most prodigious Beast that ever breathed an abhorred Monster of Mankinde and justly merited to have passed presently from most exquisite tortures here to endelesse torments in another World But now if all the while the motion was making thy heart had risen against it with indignation and loathing thou protested'st to the Party thy abominating any thought that way from the heart roote to the pit of hell and immediately running to the King shouldest have discovered and disclaimed it as a most detestable and hellish plot I say then what Man could have justly blamed thee or wherein could thy conscience any way accuse thee It is so in the present Point As that other incarnat Divell in his kinde so the Divell himselfe throwes into thine imagination most hideous thoughts and horrible blasphemies even against the dreadfull Majesty of Heaven the thrice blessed and ever-glorious Trinity the holy Humanity of the Lord Iesus c. To which if thou shouldest understandingly assent and approve indeed thou mightest expect most worthily to become ten times fouler then the ougliest Fiend in Hell But sith thou knowest in thine owne conscience that thy heart trembles with horrour and amazednesse when they are offered nay violently thrust into thy minde That thou resists and rejects them with all the power and prayer thou canst possibly canst not chuse but out of a pang of infinite detestation and heart-rising turne thus or in the like manner upon the Tempter Most malicious enemie to the glory of my God and good of my Soule thou troubles thy selfe and mee in vaine I doe infinitely acknowledge my blessed Creatour Redeemer and Sanctifier to bee one incomprehensibly glorious wise gracious God Heaven to be wholly filled embroidered impaled with nothing but holinesse and happines All the Creatures to be good as they issued out of the hands of God and Remembrancers to us of his power wisedome and goodnesse Gods blessed Booke to be all most holy most true a rich treasury of heavenly wisdome and sweetest knowledge c. And thy cursed self to be the onely Authour and Brocher of all sinne hurt and uncomâ—linesse And to thee and thine alone they belong Mingle not thou thy malice with my lowliest most deare and reverend thoughts of my Father my Saviour my Comforter c. And thou art also woont presently to presse in private into Gods glorious presence and prostrate thy selfe before his righteous Throne there to discover this hellish malice to complain how villanously the Divell deales with thee to protest thine innocency and infinite hatred of those horrible blasphemies to cry heartily for pardon patience and power against them And therefore it being thus with thee thou maist upon good ground bee more then infinitely assured that they are not imputed unto thee at all but wholly set upon Satans score Hence it is and from this ground that I have many times told some thus tempted That when they have passed a day prest upon violently and pestred with the furious intrusion of such un-utterably foule and fearefull injections they have in all likelyhood spent that day with farre lesse sinne in their thoughts and more freedome from guilt and provocation of divine anger then if they had been free Because they being so earnestly and vehemently deprecated withstood with such aversion and loathing protested against unfainedly and that upon such termes that they would rather bee torne in pieces with wild Horses die ten thousand deathes doe or suffer any thing then yeeld the least assent or approbation thereunto they are then I say not their transgressions but afflictions Not their iniquities but miseries Not their sinnes but crosses Nay and further for their comfort If they should bee haunted by them untill their ending houre which God forbid and beat backe such accursed and hatefull spight from every humble soule yet cleaving close unto the Lord Iesus hating all sinne and having respect to all Gods commandements they are not able at all neither can any whit hinder hurt or any way prejudice their spirituall state and everlasting salvation 3. Every servant of Christ hath his share in some affliction or other and is ever made in some good measure conformable to him in his sufferings Those who have the raines laide and left upon their neckes without curbe or correction are Bastards and not Sonnes They may as the holy Ghost tells us prosper in this World and passe peaceably out of it and have no bands in their death like other men they may live and become old and bee mighty in power Their seede may bee established in their sight with them and their off-spring before their eyes their houses may be safe from feare neither may the rod of God bee upon them Their Bull may gender and faile not their Cow may calve and not cast her Calfe they may send forth their little Ones like a flocke and their Children dance They may take the Timbrell and Harpe and reioyce at the sound of the Organ they may spend their dayes in wealth and in a moment go downe to the Grave At last die even like a Lambe as they say But when all is done they are utterly undone and everlastingly By reason of the horrour and angvish that shall come upon their soules the affliction the worme-wood and the gall for horrible is the end of the unrighteous generation they are immediately throwne downe from the top of their imaginary felicity and untroubled bed of seeming peace to the depth of extremest misery and bottome of the burning Lake But it is not so with the servants of God He scourgeth every sonne whom hee receiveth Hee hath onely one Sonne with out sinne none without suffering saith an ancient Father But here take notice that in this dispensation of fatherly corrections amongst his Children He ever out of his unsearchable mercifull wisedome singles out and makes choise of those which are most punctuall and simply the fittest for their spirituall good And therefore both for the kinde and particular let us ever humbly and thankfully submit and wholly referre our selves to the sweet and wise disposing of our most loving and dearest Father Who ever knowes best what is best for us in such Cases both in regard of his service and our sufferings his glory and our gaine what wee are able to beare How hee hath furnished us before-hand with spirituall strength to goe through temptations and troubles what spirituall Physicke is most quicke and operative and apted to the prevention cure and
Poenit cap. 8. Art Respondeo si admit teremus o Id. Ibid. p Argumentum rectè probat â—os qui timorem servilem habent inor dinatos malos esse c. Id. Ibid. Art Respondeo argumentum q I grant the Lord who is the most free Agent takes liberty and workes as it pleaseth Him and there is oddes and difference for time measure and such things But for the generall alwayes the same By humbling first then comforting c. Master Rogers of Dedham Of Faito cap. 2. pag. 67. r David Psal. 38. beeing put in minde by His sicknesse of Gods wrath against sinne was full sorely afflicted in Soule So that Hee cries There is no soundnesse in my flesh because of thine anger neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sinne For mine iniquities are gone over mine head as an heavy burden they are too heavy for mee I am troubled I am bowed downe greatly I goe mourning all the day long I am seeble and sore broken I have roared by reason of the disquietnesse of my heart My sorrow is continually before mee s But how may this reâ—â—â—siâ—ation with as great if not greater 〈◊〉 than at first turâ—ing unto God 〈◊〉 which â— Rom. 8.15 〈…〉 received the 〈◊〉 it of Boâ—dage againe to â—â—arâ— which seemes to iâ—port thus much that Gods Childâ— receiâ—eâ— the spirit of bondage no more after Hee hath once received the spirit of adoption revealing and evidencing â—nto Him that Hee is a Sonne and that God is His Father In answer The same Spirit produceth these contrary effects By the 〈◊〉 feare and terrour By the Gospell peace and prayer â—acit duâ—s spiritus 〈…〉 adoptionis his contraria tribuit effecta ùon quò tâ—â—t 〈◊〉 Spirits 〈◊〉 â—â—quod â—iasâ—em spiritus diversa contraria sint effecta per Legem per Evangelium â—er Lege◠〈◊〉 Spiritus sanitus arguit mundum de peccaâ—o de iâ—â Dei malediâ—â—â—oce aterâ—â—â— c. Par. in â—oc Now at the first taking a Man in hand to turne Him unto the 〈◊〉 the spirit of bondage by the worke of the Law doth testifâ—e unto the Soule that it is in a wretched and lamnable state bound over in the guilt of it's owne sinne and Godâ—â—â—ry wrath to dâ—â—th and Hell and damnation for ever that so it may bee driven to Iesus Christ for release and pardon But after the plantation of Faith and presence of the 〈…〉 â— never testifies so againe because it would be an untruth It may afterward workâ— an apprehension that God is angry but not that He is not a Father The hiding of Gods face which may often befall His Childe the darknesse of our owne spirits 〈◊〉 which may revive all the old guilt againe and the Divels cruell pressing 〈…〉 â—pon such advantages raise these hideous mists of horror I have in hand 〈…〉 after-tempests which are so terrible Of which our Onely-wise and All-power 〈…〉 makes excellent use both for our selves and others and attaines thereby His owne most glorious secret and sacred end as appeares in the following Passage t 〈…〉 est â—word diâ—â—re 〈…〉 qui patâ—â—batur non ut puniretur sed ut â—robaretur August Tom. 9. p. 1. pag. 1487. a 1. Prima generalior causa afflictionum sunt peccata vel nostra vel aliena 2. Altera ut exerceamur probemur ne peccemus cauti reddamur 3. Tertia ut declaretur in nobis gloria potentiae ac bonitatic Dei Musc. in Ioan. cap. 9. Docet Christus ut maximè omnes homines peceatores sint non tamen omnes afflictiones propter peccatorum merita contingere Nam Deus habet in homines quos affligit diversos respectus alterum impeccata alterum in suam gloriam Si gloriam suam respiciat affligit non propter peccatum sed ad gloriam manifestandam Sic afflixit Iosephum Israelitas in Aegypto c. Brentius Ibid. b Now whether a MaÌ„ after Hee is in state of grace may feele this wound bleed afresh is a question with some through their weakenesse Tho if we consult with Scripture and experience the question is out of question Loe all these things saith Elihu truly worketh God oftentimes with a Man that Hee may turne backe His Soule from the Pit Examples are frequent c. Sclater in hâ—â— S.S.S. * 1. Cor. 2.12 c It is not unknowne in Lancashire what Horses and Cattell of her Husbands were killed upon His grounds in the night most barbarously at two severall times by Seminary Priests no question and Recusants that lurked there abouts And what a losse and hindrance it was unto Him being all the stocke He had on His grounds to any purpose In the story of the holy life and Christian death of Mistris Katherin Bretteâ—gh pag. 6. d Ibid. in Mast. Leyghs Postscript to Papists c Et sipeccatum in quibuscunque calamitatibus causae locum semper habeat nempe efficientis originalis tamen non semper peccati poena finis est is quem intuetur Deus c. f Si Deus peccata respiciat iniquitatis merita nullam est adeò ingens supplicium quo non merito affligamur omnes quotquot originâ—m nostram ex Adamo ducimus Si enim Deus iniquitatem observauerit quis sustinebit Psal. 130.3 Brent In Iohan. Cap. 9. 2. Chron. 33.11 g Gods Children are bruised Reeds befâ—re their conversion and often times after Before Conversion all except such as being bred up in the Church God hath delighted to shew himselfe gracious unto from their Child hood yet in different degrees as God seeth meet and as a difference is in regard of temper parts manner of life so Gods intendment of imployment for the time to come For usually hee empties such of themselves and makes them nothing before Hee will use them in any great services Doctor Sibbes Bruised Reed pag. 10. h Quan vis resipiscentia dolorem semper secum adferat de peccatu â—raeteritis praesentibus non tam proprie tamen aut â—ssentialiter consistit in dolore atque in aversatione odio peccati in firmo proposito hom prosequendi Amos 5.14.15 Odio habete malum amate bonum Amesius Medull Theol. lib. 1. cap. 26. Sect. 32. i Nâ—n nocent peccata praeâ—eâ—â—ta si non plaâ— câ—t prâ—sentia August De temper Serm. 1â—1 cap. 10. Peccata non nâ—cent si non placent Ideâ— k It thou be truly and unfainedly gâ—ievâ—d for this that thou canst not â—ee grieved thy humiliation shall bee accepted Perkins Case of Conscience 〈◊〉 cap. 5. Scit 2. Case Dulcat quâ— quia peccavit quia Deum offâ—ndit aut salâ—e doleat quia 〈…〉 doleâ—cisae 〈…〉 â—it ut Deo magis placeat homini utiliuâ— sit velle esse 〈…〉 sâ—atire contritionem aut deâ—otionem quta velle habere non habere general afflictunen â—oâ—dis Itaâ—â— dot trascere tibi ipsi atque damnabilem te iudica quò 〈…〉 non deleaâ— quanâ—â—â—