hearts and wayes and presently to apply the balme of comfort the promise of pardon take the present when we have searched the wound to get pardon and forgivenesse daily as we sin daily Christ bids us ask it daily This will make us fit for comfort by discerning the estate of our souls and the remainders of corruption That which sharpens appetite and makes the balme of God to be sweet indeed is the sence of and the keeping open of our wound a daily search into our wants and weaknesses a daily fresh sight of the body of sin in us and experience how it is fruitful in ill thoughts and desires and actions this will drive us to a necessity of daily comfort And certainly a fresh sight of our corruptions it is never without some fresh comfort We see St. Paul Rom. 7. he sets himself to this work to complain of his indisposition by reason of sin in him and how doth he end that sight and search into his own estate he ends in a triumphing manner Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus After he had complained Oh miserable man that I am who shall deliver me from this bodie of death There can be no danger in a deep search into our waies and hearts if this be laid as a ground before that there is more supplie and heavenly comfort in God and the promises of God then there can be ill in our souls then the more ill we find in our selves the more we are disposed to fetch grounds of comfort from God And together with this searching of our souls and asking daily pardon let us for the time to come renew our covenant with God that we may have the comfort of a good conscience to get pardon for our sins past and renew our resolutions for the time to come And withall that we may use an orderly course of comfort let us every day feed on Christ the food of life let us every day feed upon something in Christ consider the death of Christ the satisfaction he hath made by his death his intercession in Heaven his blood runs afresh that we may every day feed on it We may run every day into new offences against the law to new neglect of duty into new crosses let us feed upon Christ he came into the World to save sinners to make us happie with peace of conscience here and with Glorie afterward Let us feed on Christ daily as the bodie is fed with cordialls so this feeds and comforts and strengthens the soul. This is to live by faith to lead our lives by faith to feed on Christ every day And likewise if we will keep our souls in a perpetual temper of comfort let us every day meditate of some prerogatives of Christians that may raise our souls Let us single out some or other As for example that excellent prerogative to be the Sons of God What love saith the Apostle that we of Rebels and Traitors in Christ should be made the sons of God That of slaves we should be made Servants of servants sons of sons heires and of heires fellow-heires with Christ what prerogative is this that God should give his Son to mak us that were Rebels sons heires and fellow heires with Christ And to consider what follows upon this liberty that we have from the curse of the Law to goe to God boldly to go to the throne of Grace through Christ our elder brother by prayer to think of eternall life as our inheritance to think of God above as our Father Let us think of our prerogatives of Religion adoption and justification c. Upon necessity we are driven to it if we consider the grievances of this world together with our corruptions our corruptions and afflictions and temptations and desertions one thing or other will drive us to go out of our selves for comfort to feed on the benefits by Christ. And consider what he hath done it is for us the execution of his office and all for us what he is what he did what he suffered what procured all is for us The soul delighting it self in these prerogatives it will keep the soul in a perpetuall estate of comfort Therefore the Scripture sets forth Christ by all terms that may be comfortable he is the door to let us in He is the way the truth and the life the water and the bread c. In sinne he is our righteousness in death he is our life in our ignorance he is our way in spirituall hunger and thirst he is the bread and water of life he is all in all And if we cannot think of some prerogative of Christianity then think of some promise as I said before think of the Covenant of Grace there is a spring of comfort in that that God in Christ is our God to death and for ever and that promise I speak of that All things shall work for the best Let us every day think of these things and suggest them to our owne souls that our souls may be affected with them and digest them that our souls and they may be one as it were And every day stirre up our hearts to be thankfull a thankfull heart can never want comfort for it cannot be done without some comfort and chearefulness and when God receives any praise and glory he answers it with comfort a thankfull heart is alway comfortable And let us stirre up our hearts to be fruitfull in the holy actions the reward of a fruitfull life is a comfortable life besides Heaven God alway in this life gives a present reward to any good action it is rewarded with peace of conscience Besides it is a good foundation against the evil day every good action as the Apostle sayth to Timothie it layes up a good foundation The more good we do the more we are assured that our faith is not hypocritical but sound and good and will hold out in the time of tryall It will be a good foundation that we have had evidence before that we have a sound and fruitful faith What do wicked men carelesse sinful creatures that go on in a course of prophanenesse and blasphemie c they lay a ground of despaire a ground of discomfort to be swallowed up in the evil day then conscience will be awaked at the last and Satan will be ready to joyn with conscience and conscience will seal all the accusations that Satan layes against them and where is the poor soul then As it is with them so on the contrary the Christian soul that doth good besides the present comfort of a good conscience it layes a good foundation against the time to come for in the worst times it can reason with it self my faith is not fruitlesse I am not an hypocrite though the fruits of it be weak and mixed with corruptions yet there is truth in them this will comfort us when nothing
will tell them that it is another manner of sin and that it is the fountain of all sin And so for Justification by works conscience it self if there were no Book of God would say it is a false point And then they plead for Ignorance they have blind consciences their Clergy being a subtile generation that have abused the world a long time because they would sit in the conscience where God should sit they sit in the Temple of God and would be respected above that which is due to them they would be accounted as petty gods in the world therefore they keep the people from the knowledge of the true rule and make what they speak equal with Gods word Now if the people did discern this they would not be Papists long for no man would willingly be cozened Let us labour therefore for a true rule And when we have gotten rules apply them for what are rules without application Rules are instrumental things and instruments without use are nothing If a Carpenter have a rule and hang it up by him and work by conceit what is it good for So to get a company of rules by the word of God to refine natural knowledge as much as we can and then to make no use of it in our lives it is to no purpose therefore when we have rules let us apply them In this those that have the true rule and apply it not are better then they that refuse to have the rule because as hath been said an Ignorant man that hath not the rule he cannot be good But a man that hath the rule and yet squares not his life by it yet he can bring the rule to his life there is a near converse between the heart and the brain such a man he hath the rule in his memory he hath it in his understanding and therefore there is a thousand times more hope of him that cares to know that cares to hear the word of God and cares for the meanes then of sottish persons that care not to hear because they would not do that they know and because they would not have their sleepy dull and drowsie conscience awaked there is no hope of such a one It should be our care to have right rules and in the application of them to make much of conscience that it may apply aright in directing and then in comfort If we obey it in directing it will witnesse and excuse and upon witnesse and excuse there will come a sweet Paradise to the soul of joy and peace unspeakable and glorious The last thing I observe from these words is this that The testimonie and witnesse of conscience is a ground of comfort and joy The reason of the joyning these two the witnesse of a good conscience and joy it is that which I said before in the description of conscience for conscience first admonisheth and then witnesseth and then it excuseth or accuseth and then it judgeth and executeth Now the inward execution of conscience is joy if it be good for God hath so planted it in the heart and soul that where conscience doth accuse or excuse there is alway execution there is alway joy or fear the affections of joy or fear alway follow If a mans conscience excuse him that he hath done well then conscience comes to be enlarged to be a Paradise to the soul to be a Jubile a refreshing to speak peace and comfort to a man For rewards are not kept altogether for the life to come hell is begun in an ill conscience and heaven is begun in a good conscience an ill conscience is a hell upon earth a good conscience is a heaven upon earth therefore the testimony of a good conscience breeds glorying and rejoycing Again conscience when it witnesseth it comforts because when it witnesseth it witnesseth with God and where God is there is his Spirit and where the holy Spirit is there is joy for even as heat followes the fire so joy and glorying accompany the Spirit of God The Spirit of glory Now when conscience witnesseth aright it witnesseth with God and God is alway cloathed with joy he brings joy and glory into the heart Conscience witnesseth with God that I am his And it witnesseth with my self that I have led my life thus Our rejoycing is the witnesse of our conscience It is not the witnesse of another mans conscience but my own other men may witnesse and say I am thus and thus but all is to no purpose if my own conscience tell me I am another man then they take me to be But when a man 's own conscience witnesseth for him there followes rejoycing A man cannot rejoyce with the testimony of another mans conscience because another man saith I am a good man c. unlesse there be the testimony of my own conscience Now it is a sweet benefit an excusing conscience when it witnesseth well Let us see it in all the passages of life that a good conscience in excusing breeds glorying and joy It doth breed joy in Life in Death at the day of judgement In life in all the passages of life in all estates both good and ill In good the testimonie of conscience breeds joy for it enjoyes the pleasures of this life and the comforts of it with the favour of God conscience tells the man that he hath gotten the things well that he enjoyes that he hath gotten the place and advancement that he hath well that he enjoyes the comforts of this life with a good conscience and all things are pure to the pure If he have gotten them ill conscience upbraids him alway and therefore he cannot joy in the good estate he hath If a man had all the contentments in the world if he had not the testimonie of a good conscience what were all What contentment had Adam in Paradise after once by sin he had fallen from the peace of conscience none at all A little that the righteous hath is better then great riches of the ungodly because they have not peace of conscience And so for ill estate when conscience witnesseth well it breeds rejoycing In false imputations and slanders and disgraces as here it was insinuated into the Corinthians by false teachers and those that followed them that St. Paul was so and so saith St. Paul You may say what you will of me My rejoycing is this the testimony of my conscience that I am not the man which they make me to be in your hearts by their false reports The witnesse of conscience is a good and sufficient ground of rejoycing in this case Therefore holy men have retired to their conscience in all times as Saint Paul you see doth here So Job his conscience bare him out in all the false imputations of his comfortlesse friends that were miserable comforters they laboured to take away his sincerity from him the chief cause of his joy Yeu shall not
is alway in their eares an ill Conscience when it is mingled with ill newes when there are two feares together it must needs be a great fear And a good conscience when it hath laid up grounds of joy in life in the worst estate and condition of life then it makes use of joy in death for when all comforts are taken from a man when his friends cannot comfort him and all earthly things leave him then that conscience that hath gone along with him that hath been a Monitor and a witnesse all his life-time now it comes to speak good things to him now it comforts him now conscience is some body at the houre of death when nothing else will be regarded when nothing will comfort then conscience doth The righteous hath hope in his death as the Wise man saith Death is called the King of feares because it makes all afraid It is the terrible of terribles saith he Philosopher but here is a King above the King of feares a good conscience is above the King of feares death A good conscience is fo farre from being discouraged by this King of feares that it is joyfull even in death because it knowes that then it is near to the place where conscience shall be fully enlarged where there shall be no annoyance nor no grievance whatsoever Death is the end of misery and the beginning of happinesse therefore a good conscience is joyful in death And after death at the day of judgment there the witnesse of conscience is a wondrous cause of joy for there a man that hath a good conscience he looks upon the Judge his Brother he looks on him with whom he hath made his peace in his life-time before and now he receives that which he had the beginnings of before then he lifts up his head with joy and comfort So you see how the witnesse of conscience causeth glory and joy in all estates whatsoever in life in death after death it speaks for a man there it never leaves him till it have brought him to heaven it self where all things else leave a man Therefore how much should we prize and value the testimony and witnesse of a good conscience And what madnesse is it for a man to humour men and displease conscience his best friend Of all persons and all things in the world we should reverence our own conscience most of all Wretched men despise the inward witnesse of this inward friend this inward divine this inward Physician this inward Comforter this inward Counsellour It is no better then madnesse that men should regard that every thing else be good and clean and yet notwithstanding in the middest of all to have foul consciences But to answer an objection and to unloose some knots It may be said that when the Hearts of people are good yet there a good conscience concludes not alway for comfort VVhere there is faith in Christ and an honest life conscience should conclude comfort here is the Rule this I have obeyed therefore I should have comfort Now this we see crossed oft-times that Christians that live exact lives are often troubled in conscience how can trouble of conscience stand with joy upon the witnesse of conscience I answer the witnesse of Conscience when it is a good conscience it doth not alway breed joy It is because our estate is imperfect here and Conscience doth not alway witnesse out of the goodnesse of it sometimee conscience is misled and so sometimes good Christians take the errour of conscience for the witnesse of Conscience These things should be distinguished Conscience sometime in the best erres as well as gives a true witnesse If we take the errour of conscience for the witnesse of conscience there will come trouble of conscience and that deservedly through our own folly Now conscience doth erre in good men sometimes when they regard Rules which they should not or when they mistake the matter and doe not argue aright As for instance when they gather thus I have not grace in such a measure and therefore I have none I am not the Child of God What a rule is this This is the errour of conscience and therefore it must needs breed perplexitie of conscience A good conscience when it is right cannot witnesse thus because the Word doth not say thus Is a nullitie and an imperfection all one No there is much difference in the whole kind A nullitie is nothing an imperfection though it be but a little degree yet it is something This is the errour of conscience and from thence comes trouble of conscience which makes men reason ill many waies As for instance I have not so much grace as such a one hath and therefore I have no grace Now that is a false reasoning for every one hath his due measure If thou be not so great a rich man as the richest in the Towne yet thou mayest be rich in thy kind Again when conscience looks to the humour you are to live by faith and not by the humour of Melancholy When the Instrument of reason that should judge is distempered by melancholy it reasons from thence falsly Because melancholy perswades me that I am so therefore conscience being led by the humour of the body saith I am so Who bid thee live by humour thou must live by rule Melancholy may tell thee sometime when it is in strength that thou art made of glasse as it hath done some it will deceive thee in bodily things wherein sense can confute melancholy much more will it if we yield to it in matters of the soule it will perswade us that we are not the Children of God that we have not Grace and goodnesse when we have Again hence it is that conscience doth not conclude comfort in Gods Children because it looks to the ill and not to the good that is in them for there are those two things in Gods Children there is good and ill now in the time of temptation they look to the ill and think they have no good because they will not see any thing but ill They fix their eyes on the remainders of their rebellious lusts which are not fully subdued in them and they look wholly on them Whereas they should have two eyes one to look on that which is good that God may have glorie and they comfort Now they fixing their eyes altogether on that which is naught and because they doe not or will not see that which is good therefore they have no comfort because they suffer conscience to be ill led that it doth not its duty And conscience in good men it looks sometimes to that that it should not in others in regard of others It looks to the flourishing of wicked men and therefore it concludes Certainly I have washed my hands in vain since such men thrive and prosper in the world Psalme 37. and Psalme 73. VVho bade thee look to this and to be uncomfortable from thence that thy
hidden windings and turnings for plotting makes it more odious of all men doublers are most hateful How shall we come to attain this Grace to converse in the world in simplicity First of all take it for a rule though many think it no great matter to be a dissembler our nature is full of dissimulation since the fall the heart of man is unsearchable there is deep deceit in man Take a Child and see what dissimulation he learns it is one of the first things he learns to dissemble to double to be false We see the weakest creatures what shifts what windings and turnings they have to save themselves It is a vertue to be down-right for therein a man must crosse himself It is no thanks for a man to shuffle and to shift in the world nature teacheth this to dissemble to turn and wind c. A man need not to plough to have weeds the ground it self is a mother to them though it be a stepmother to good seed So we need not teach men to dissemble every man hath it by nature but it must be strength of grace that makes a man down-right Take that for a ground There are a company of sottish men that take it for a great commendation to dissemble and rather then they will be known not to dissemble in businesse they will puzzle clear businesse when a thing is fair and clear they will have projects beyond the Moon and so carry themselves in it as if they desired to be accounted couzeners and dissemblers Alas poor souls nature teacheth men to be naught in this kind well enough Know therefore whosoever thou art that studiest this Art of dissembling and doubling thy own nature is prone enough to this and the divel is apt to lead thee into it This being laid for a ground how may we carry our selves in the world in holy simplicity that may yield comfort to our conciences in life and in death First consider that the time will come that we shall deal with that that will not dissemble with us Let the cunningest dissembler hold out as long as he can he shall meet with sicknesse or with terrour of conscience he shall meet with death it self and with the judgement of God and hell torment although now he carry himself smoothly and dance in a net as we say and double with the world though he make a fair shew yet ere long thou shalt meet with that that will deal simply with thee that will deal plain enough with thee Thou shalt be uncased and laid open to the world ere long let us consider this We see a Snake or Serpent it doubles and winds and turns when it is alive till it be killed and then it is stretched forth at length As one said seeing a Snake dead and stretched out so saith he it behoved you to have lived So the Divel that great Serpent that ancient old Serpent he gets into the Snake into the wilely wit and makes it winde and turn and shift and shuffle in the world but then some great crosse comes or death comes and then a man is stretched out at length to the view of the world and then he confesseth all and perhaps that confession is sincere when it is wrung out by terrour of conscience then he confesseth that he hath deceived the world and deceived himself and laboured to deceive God also If we would have comfort in the hour of death labour we to deal plainly and directly and of all other sins as I said before remember this is that which will lie the heaviest on us as comming nearest the sin against the holy Ghost For what is the sin against the holy Ghost when men rush against their knowledge in malice to the truth known Where there is most knowledge and most will there is the greatest sin Now in lying and dissembling and double-dealing a man comes near to the sin against the holy Ghost for he knows that he doth ill he plots the ill that he knows and when there is plotting there is time to deliberate a man is not carried away by passion Consider the time will come when you will be uncased when you will be laid open and naked and then at that time of all sins this will lie heavy on thee thy dissembling in the world Therefore every one in his calling take heed of the sins of his calling among the rest of this one of double-dealing And therefore that we may avoid it the better labour for faith to live by faith What is the reason that men live by shifts and by doubling in the world They have not faith to depend upon God in good and plain down-right courses Men are ready to say If I should not dissemble and double and carry things after that manner hwo should I live why where is thy faith The righteous man lives by his faith and not by his shifts not by his wits God will provide for us are we not in Covenant with God Do we not professe to be Gods Children Do children use to shift No a child goes about to do his fathers will and pleasure and he knowes that he will maintain him It is against the nature of the Child of God as farre as he knowes himself to be a Child of God to use any indirect course any windings and turnings in his calling let us depend upon God as a Child depends on his father and of all others God will provide most for them that in simple honesty in plain downe-right dealing depend on him in doing good For God accounts it a prerogative to defend and maintain them that cast themselves on him he will be their wisdom that can deny their own wisdom and their own shifts by nature and in conscience labour to deale directly he will be wise for them and provide for them It is his prerogative to do so and not to suffer his Children to be deserted A little faith therefore would help all this and would make us walke in simplicity If we could make God our alsufficiencie once then we should walk uprightly before God and men For what makes men to double This certainly makes men to double they think they shall be undone if they be direct for if they deale directly they shall lose their liberty or their lives or their opportunity of gaining c. Well come what will deale thou directly and know this for a rule thou shalt have more good in Gods favour if thou be a Christian then thou canst lose in the World if upon grounds of conscience thou deal directly in what estate so ever thou art If thou be a Judge if thou be a Witnesse deale directly speake the truth If thou be a divine speak directly in Gods cause deale out the Word of God as in Gods presence come what will whatsoever thou losest in thy wealth or liberty c. thou shalt gain in God Is not all good in him what is all the
say we did nothing to God we have not obeyed him how can we answer him we must needs yield to the tempter But when we can say with Peter Lord thou knowest that I love thee thou knowest I have laboured to approve my heart to thee and that I have prosecuted this desire with endeavours this will comfort a man in the time of temptation therefore let us labour to have our conversation in sincerity It will afford us much comfort in this life as it did S. Paul S. Paul here was in some grievous sicknesse even to death and he was disgraced as a person that regarded not his promise of coming to them Now what doth he do in all this sicknesse and disgrace what doth he answer to them he comforts himself in this My rejoycing is that my conscience doth testifie my sincerity He runs to God and to his sincerity as his strong hold he approves himself to God Some thing we shall have in this life first or last afflictions or disgraces and troubles will come What is then the strong hold of a Christian Then he runs to his sincerity What would Hezekias have done when he received the sentence of death that he had walked before God in uprightnesse and sincerity Sincerity then is worth more then the world And he that will not labour for that which is worth more then all the world it is a sign he is ignorant of the worth of it A man at the hour of death he would lose all the world if he had it for sincerity Therefore let us not part with our sincerity Let us not offend against sincerity and truth by falshood in our carriage and in our tongues or conversations any manner of way since it will yield us so much comfort in temptations and afflictions and at the Tribunal and Judgment-seat of Christ. Let us not have false aimes and ends and do things in a false manner It is not action onely that God requires but the manner If we regard not the manner God will not regard the matter The matter of the Pharisees performances was very good for stuffe but their hearts being naught God regarded it not Let us look to the manner of doing all that we do that we do them to God that we do them in sincerity in a holy manner The Scripture requires this receive the Sacrament but thus Examine your selves Take heed how you hear Let your conversation be in the world but thus in simplicity and godly sincerity S. Paul doth not say that he rejoyced in miracles or in the great works that he had done in converting of Nations c. which yet were matters of joy but when he comes to joy indeed here is his joy that his Conversation had been in simplicity and godly sincerity And Christians must take heed that they reason not against sincerity another way that is to conclude they have no goodnesse because they see a great deal of corruption and imperfections for imperfections may stand with truth Asa as I said had many infirmities in his life yet notwithstanding it is said that he walked in sincerity So Hezekias it is said he walked before God uprightly yet he had many infirmities and imperfections Nay a man may well retort this upon such poor soules that are witnesses with Satan against themselves in the sight of their sins that their sins being known by them especially with hatred of them it is a sign of sincerity Again others are ready to say I am not sincere because God followes me with afflictions and distresses Reason not so for he therefore followes thee with afflictions because he would have nothing but sincerity in thee he would make thee wholly sincere and purge thee as metal is purged in the fire from the drosse Therefore take heed thus of sinning against sincerity Do nothing in hypocrisie and when we are once sincere let us not sin against it by yielding to the Devil This comforted Job when his friends alledged his corruptions Well saith he you shall not take away my sincerity from me He looked to the eye of God that saw him to whom he approved his heart and that consideration made him sincere and thence he comforted himself So let us comfort our selves in our sincerity against Satan's allegations as a condition of the Covenant of grace which respects not perfection but truth To adde one thing more As there is an order of other graces so there is an order in this sincerity which we should labour for There is this order to be kept We must digg deep we must lay a sincere foundation What is that A deep search into our own hearts and waies by sound humilition We say of digestions if the first be naught all are naught if the first concoction in the body be naught there can never be good assimulation there can never be good blood so if there be not a good a sincere foundation there can never be a sincere fabrick Therefore many mistake and build Castles in the Ayr comb Downes as we say they build a frame of profession that comes to nothing in the end because it is not sincere in this order they were never truly humbled they had a guilefull heart in the cnofession of their sins they never knew what sin was throughly and feelingly Blessed is the man in whose spirit there is no guile Psal. 32. The Psalmist especially means and intends there in regard of down-right dealing with God in the confession of sins For he himself when he did not deal roundly and uprightly with God in the confession of his sinnes with detestation and with resolution never to commit the same again he was in a pitiful plight both of soul and body his moisture was turned into the drought of Summer But when without guile he laid open his soul to God then he came from sincere humiliation and sincere confession to sincere faith Therefore for the order let us first labour to be sincere in the sight of that which is ill in us in the confession of our sins and then we shall be sincere the better to depend upon Gods mercy in Christ by faith And from thence we shall come to sincere Love when we believe that God is reconciled in Christ we shall love him Our love is but a reflexion of his love to us when once we know that he loves us we shall love him again The Spring of all duty is sincere love coming from sincere faith as sincere faith is forced out of the sincere sight of our sins of the ill and miserable estate we are in A man will not go out of himself so long as he sees any hope in himself and therefore sound knowledge of the evil condition we are in it forceth the grace of faith which forceth a man to go out of himself And then when he is perswaded of Gods love in Christ he loves him again Love is that which animates
why do you not take them Your justifying them in the end will be little to your comfort if you condemne them all your life against your conscience for afterwards it is not so much a work of Grace for you to justifie good courses and to acknowledge good things in most men it is not so much a work of Grace as it is the evidence of the thing and when the cloud of sensuallity and the fume that riseth out of worldly pomp is taken away then the naturall conscience comes to see clearly better things not from the love of them not that it is changed and transformed with the love of them but God so discovers it to them to make them justifie his sentence of Damnation the more he discovered to them better courses then they tooke it shall justifie their damnation We are deceived oft-times in mens ends they acknowledge good waies and good courses and on the other side some of Gods good Children they pronounce the contrary but let none trust to that good courses are so evident and clear that if men be not Atheists they must acknowledge them especially when the impediment that hindred them before is taken away You must acknowledge therefore acknowledge now not in your hearts onely but acknowledge them in laying aside your opposition in casting away your weapons and by joyning with them in good courses set not your hands against good courses and good persons set your tongues to speak for their good Take Gods part stand on Gods side it is the best side if you allow it onely hereafter it will be a barren allowance it will be no comfort to you it often falls out to be so O beloved whatsoever courses else you take they will sink and fall they will sink first in your own soules and none will be readier to condemn you then your own conscience when God shall make you wiser you will censure your selves What folly was it how was I deluded with this ill company and with that as wicked company is wondrous powerfull to infuse ill conceits as the Spies they infused discouragement by the Oration they made of the Giants in the Land c. they altered the mind of the whole people It is a dangerous thing to converse with naughty persons the Devil slides together into the soul with their carnal reasoning and alters the judgement for the time that they are not so wise as conscience would make them and as they might be if they did not hearken to the hissing of the Serpent First if you take any conrse but good your own conscience is by and will be the first that will find you out For sin is a base thing a work of darknesse it must be discovered it is a madnesse it must be manifest to all men Popery and all their slights must be discovered and the Whore must lie naked and stink nothing shall be so abominable as Popery and Popish persons ere long Truth will get the victory in the consciences of people and good courses will get approbation Therefore if you approve them not first you shall be unhappy in this life and everlastingly hereafter this shall be the principal torment in hell that you saw better courses then you lived in and you would not give your judgments leave to lead you There was something better Conscience told you but you gave way to your lusts and to the insinuations of wicked men instruments of the Devill rather then to the motions of conscience and of Gods Spirit that awakened conscience This I say will more ease your torment in hell that you might have done otherwise if you had had Grace but you willingly betrayed your selves you silenced conscience you willingly condemned your selves in the things that you acknowledged were naught you did that which you condemned and you did not practise that which your judgment did allow God will have little to do at the day of Judgment with most men in the Church to condemn them for alas their own consciences will condemn them the consciences of all will condemn them that their courses were naught And that makes wicked men so cruel especially if they get into place of authority they know they are not allowed they are not acknowledged in the consciences of those that are judicious thèy know they are condemned there and they fret and fume and think to force another opinion of themselves upon others but it will not be and that makes them that they cannot endure the sight of them that are of a contrary judgment they think themselves condemned in the hearts of such men and that makes them cruel Especially those that have some illumination they cannot abide their own conscience to take its course they cannot abide to see themselves They think themselves condemned in the judgment of others and those that think they have the prejudice of others that their courses are naught they carry an implacable hatred it is a desperate case Hast thou knowledge that they think thy courses naught and on good ground and doest thou hate them and hate to be reformed thy self will this alway hold out No as I said before truth is eternal that which thou acknowledgest must continue it will be acknowledge it will get the victory at the day of Judgment by Men and Angels truth will have the victory it is eternal Take that course for the present that thou mayest be good for the present and hold out to the end as we see the Corinthians here You do acknowledge me and you shall acknowledge me to the end and testifie to the world that you acknowledge the best things and the best persons that you may be one with them by love here and in heaven for ever hereafter I trust you shall acknowledge to the end To shut up this point Let me seal it up with this Make this Quaere to your selves what estate you are in when you come to the Communion whether it be well with you or no if not why will you live any whit at all in the uncertainty of our lives and the shortnesse of them and the danger of the wrath of God when there is so little between you and eternal Damnation in a doubtful in a dangerous estate Are you resolved to be naught then No if you be not Atheists you will not say so Do you intend to be good and come and make your Covenant with God Yes why then resolve to be so A good conscience looks not onely back to sins past to repent of them but for the time to come it resolves to please God in all things and to hold out to the end Some make a mockery of the holy things of God one part of the year they will be holy a rotten foolish affection of people that are Popish In Lent they will use a little austerity O they will please God wondrously but before and after they are devils incarnate so they make that part of the
and delivers him from going to the pit I have found a ransome c. The messenger one of a thousand the man of God that hath the tongue of the learned he hath shewed him where his ransome is to be had he hath shewed him his righteousnesse Thus did S. Peter after he had brought them to Men and brethren what shall we do to be saved then he points them out to Jesus Christ. Therefore the Ministery is called the Ministery of reconciliation and the Ministery of peace they are called Messengers of peace You know joy comes from reconciliation with God in Christ joy comes from peace Now the Ministers they are Messengers of reconciliation and Messengers of peace and therefore Messengers of joy They bring glad tydings of joy You see how Ministers are helpers of joy by shewing to man his ill and then by shewing to man his good and comfort in Jesus Christ they shew that where sin hath abounded grace abounds much more They dig the Mine to let people see what riches what treasure they have in the Word of God and what comfort they have there And then in the continual course of life they are helpers of joy For what do Ministers if they be faithful in their places but advise in cases of conscience what people should do so their Office is to remove all scruples and hindrances and obstacles of spiritual joy by advising them what to avoid and what to do We know that light is a state of joy The Ministery of the Gospel is light it sets up the light of Gods truth it shewes them the way they should go in all the course of their life and thereupon it rejoyceth them The Word of God is a Lanthorn especially in the Ministery Spiritual liberty and freedome that doth make people joyful but the end of the Ministery is to set people more and more at liberty both from the former estate that I named and likewise daily by office to set them at liberty from corruptions and temptations and snares to bring them to an enlarged estate Victory and Triumph is a state of joy Now the Ministers of God teach Gods people how to fight Gods battels how to handle their weapons how to answer temptations how to conquer all and at length how to triumph therefore in that regard they are helpers of their joy they encourage them against discouragements against infirmities and afflictions against Satans temptations shewing them grounds of joy out of the Scriptures Then they are helpers of their joy by forcing it as a duty upon them Rejoyce evermore and again I say rejoyce saith S. Paul They are as guides among the rest of the Travellers that encourage them in the way to heaven Come on let us go chearfully As the Apostles in all their Epistles they stirre up to joy and chearfulnesse so should those do that are guides to Gods people Travellers they need refreshments of wine c. Now thus the Ministers of God help the people of God in their spiritual travel to heaven if the people of God faint at any time then as it is Cant. 2. they refresh them with apples and wine with the comforts of the Holy Ghost they are ready to support and comfort them in all their spiritual falls when they are ready to sink We see by experience in all places where the Ministery of the Word is established how comfortably people live and dye and end their dayes above other people that sit in darknesse and in the shadow of death so we see this is true That the Ministers help joy because they help that that breeds joy not onely at the first but continually help the joy of the people of God even to death And then in death it self the end of the Ministery is to help joy to help them to heaven to help them to a joyful departure hence to give them a good and comfortable loose out of this world drawing comfort out of the Word for this purpose for whatsoever the Minister doth it is by drawing comfort out of the Word shewing them that the sting of death is taken away that now death is reconciled and become a friend to us in Christ that it is but a passage to heaven that now it is the end of all misery and the beginning of all happinesse Blessed are those that die in the Lord so they assist and help them in those last agonies There is special use of the dispensation of the Word in all conditions while we live and at the hour of death You see it is clear I need not further enlarge the Point that the Ministers by reason of the Word which indeed is the main thing that comforts they are helpers of the joy of Gods people But you will say They help Gods people to sorrow and they vex and trouble them oft-times Indeed carnal men think so as the two Witnesses in the Revelations it is said They vexed the men upon the earth so indeed the faithful witnesses of God they vex the earthly-minded base men as Ahab said of Elias Thou art he that troubleth Israel he accounted him as one that troubled Israel when it was himself that troubled Israel these Ministers they are accounted those that marre all the mirth in the world that a man that is given to pleasures and delights he trembles at the sight of them as men opposite to his delights and carnal course he cannot brook the very sight of them so it is with a carnal man But we may make an Use hence to judge of what spirit they are that judge and think so they are not true believers for there is no man that hath given his name to Christ and makes it good by his life that he is a good Christian but he accounts the Ministers helpers of his joy Those that do not so are in an ill course and which is worse they resolve to be in an ill course Therefore let us make much of the Ordinances of God as that which is the joy of our soules not onely make much of the Word of God but of the Word of God in the ministerial dispensation of it for oft-times we find that comfort by the opening of the Word of God that our own reading and private endeavours could never help us to experience shewes that We see when the Enuch was to be converted it was he that read but Philip was sent to open the Word to him and then he went away rejoycing And so the poor Jayler when the Word was opened and applyed to him then he rejoyced therefore as we intend our own comfort let us regard the Ministery Many object that that Naaman the Assyrian did I can have as much comfort by reading I would they were so well occupied but God gives a curse to private means when they are used with neglect of the publick And joy comes from Gods Spirit God will not attend our pleasure to giveus joy
in the Creation and in the Gospel his mercy therefore is above his own workes and above thy workes if thou come in Oyl is of a Kingly nature it swims above all other liquors so the mercy of God like oyl it swims above all other attributes in him and above all sin in thee if thou wilt receive it Father of Mercies In a corrupt estate the special mercy is forgiving mercy if it were not for forgiving mercies all other gifts and mercies were to little purpose for it were but a reserving of us to eternal Judgement but a feeding the Traitor to the day of Execution a giving him the liberty of the priison which is nothing unlesse his Treason be pardoned so the forgiving mercy leads to all the rest Now these forgiving mercies they are unlimitted mercies there is no bounds of them for he being the Father of Christ who is an infinite person and having received an infinite satisfaction from an infinite Person he may well be infinitely merciful and himself is an infinite God his mercies are like himself the satisfaction whereby he may be merciful is infinite hereupon it is that he may pardon and will pardon all sin without limitation if they be never so great never so many This I observe the rather to appease the conscience of a sinner when it is suppressed with terrour and fear of the greatnesse of his sins Consider how God hath set down himself and will be known and apprehended of us not onely as merciful but a Father of mercies and not of one mercy but of all mercies not only giving but forgiving especially Which forgiveth all thy sins and healeth all thy infirmities Psal. 103. This I observe against a pronenesse in us to despair we are not now proner in the time of peace to presume then when conscience is awakened to despair we are prone to both alike For here is the poyson of mans corruption Is God so merciful surely I may go on in sin and cry God mercy and there is an end God is merciful nay the Father of mercies Now in the time of peace sin is nothing with us swearing is nothing rotten discourse is nothing going beyond others in our dealing and commerce is nothing getting an estate by fraud and deceit is nothing The bread of deceit is sweet loose licentious libertine life is nothing and those that do not follow the same excesse and are dissolute it is a strange matter with us they are strange people we think it strange that others do not so and if they be better then we it is but hypocrisie men measure all by themselves so all is nothing Great grosse swearing is nothing men glory in it and to make scruple of it it is thus and thus they have terms for it And what is the bawde for all this Oh! God is merciful and Christ he is wonderous merciful he took our nature that he might die for us c. It is true indeed but when the conscience is awakened then the conscience will tell thee another lesson the conscience will set God as just and Satan will help conscience with accusations and aggravations it is true it is too true the conscience will take part with God and with his word it is true thou hast done thus and thus these are thy sins and God is just And especially at the hour of death when earthly comforts fail and there is nothing but sin set before a mans eyes the comforts that are set before him can do him no good then the conscience will hardly receive any comfort especially the conscienconsciences of such as have gone on in a course of sin in spight of good meanes a conscience of such a man as either refuseth or rejects the meanes because it would favour it self in sin or a conscience that being under means having had it sins discovered to it that conscience will hardly admit of any comfort And there is none but they find it another manner of matter then they think it Sin is a blacker thing then they imagine their oathes that they trifle with and their dissolute and their rotten discourse when they should be better affected upon the sabbath and such like therefore we ought to look to it Well to presse this point of presumption a little further now I am in it We are wonderous prone to abuse this mercie to presumption and after to despaire I consider this before hand that however Gods mercy be unlimited as indeed it is in it self it is so unlimited to those that repent and to those that receive and embrace mercy and mercy in one kind as well as another it is so to those that repent of their sins for God is so the Father of Mercie as that He is the God of Vengeance too he is a just God too The conscience will tell you this well enough when the outward comforts that now you dally with and set as Gods in the room of God and drown your selves in sensuality and Idolatry with the creature and put them in the place of God when they are taken away conscience will tell you that God is merciful indeed but he is just to such that refuse mercies Therefore though his mercy be unlimited to such as are broken hearted to such as repent of their sins for he will glorifie his Mercy as he may glorifie his other attributs he is wisely merciful if he should be merciful to such as go on in sin he should not be wisely merciful Who among men if he be wise would be mercifull to a Child or Servant without acknowledgement of the fault Was not David over merciful to Absalom Yes it was his fault yet out of wisdome he would not admit him into his presence till he was humbled for his fault and made intercession though he doted upon him God is infinitely wise as he is Merciful therefore He will not be Merciful to him that goes on in wickednesse and sin This cannot be too often pressed for the most of the auditors wheresoever we speak the Divel hath them in this snare that God is merciful c. and doth he not know how to use it He is so indeed but it is to repentant souls that mean to break off their course of sin Otherwise if the Mercie of God work the other way hearken to thy doom He that blesseth himself saith God by Moses Denteronomy 29. 16 saith these curses shall not come to me he that blesseth himself and saith Oh all shall be well God is Mercifull c. My wrath shall smoak against him and I will not be merciful to him that goes on in his sins God will wound the hairie scalp of him that goes on in Sin As the Apostle saith Romans 2. he that abuseth the bountie and patience of God that should lead him to repentance he treasureth up wrath against the day of wrath The Scripture is never in any case more terrible then this way In
then it though it doe not wholly expel it but the discomfort remains still in some degree it may be said well to be a comfort The reason why I speake of this mittigation is because in this life God never so wholly comforts his Children but there will be flesh left in them and that will murmure and there will be some resistance against comfort while there are remainders of sinne there will be ground of discomfort by reason of the conflict between the flesh and spirit For instance a man hath some crosse on him what saith the flesh God is mine enemy and I will take such and such courses I will not indure this this is the voyce of the flesh of the old man What saith the spirit Surely God is not mine enemy he intends my good by these things So while these fight here is the flesh against the spirit yet here is comfort because the spirit is predominant but it is not fully comfort because there is the old man in him that withstands comfort in the whole measure of comfort Therefore we must take this degree we cannot have the full comfort till we come to Heaven there all teares shall be wiped from our eyes in this world we must be content to have comfort with some griefe the maladie is not wholly purged Sometimes God removes the outward grievance more fully God helps many times altogether as in sickness to health perfectly but I speake not of that Comfort is that which is opposite to miserie and it must be stronger for there is no prevailing but by a stronger when the Agent is not above the Patient there is no prevailing there is a conflict till one have got the masterie The God of all comfort All that is of all comfortable things and of all divine reasons it must be most substantiall comfort The soule in some maladies will not be comforted by Philosophicall reasons saith the Heathen the disease is stronger then the Physick when he considers Platoe's comforts and the like so we may say of the reasons of Philosophical men Romanists and Moralists when they come to terrour of conscience when they come to inward grievances inward stings that are in a man from a mans conscience as all discomforts usually when they press hard it is with a guilty conscience what can al such reasons do to say it is the state of other men and it is in vaine to murmure and I know not what such reasons as Seneca and Plato and others have it will scarce still the conscience for a fit They are ignorant of the root alas how can they tell the remedie when they know not the ground of the maladie It must be God it must be his Word his truth the conscience must know it to be Gods truth and then it will comfort God is the God of comfort of the things and of the reasons they must be his reasons And he also is the Author of that spiritual presence he is with his children when they are in the fire he goes with them into the water as it is in Esay 45. he is with them in the valley of death they shall find God with them to comfort them so there is a kind of presence with Gods comforts and a banishing of all discomfort And this comfort is as large as the maladies as large as the ills are he is a God of comfort against every particular ill if there be diverse ills he hath diverse comforts if they be long ills he hath long comforts if there be strong ills he hath strong comforts if there be new ills he hath new comforts take the ills in what extent and degree you will God hath somewhat to set against them that is stronger then they and that is the blessed estate of Gods Children he is the God of all comfort St. Chrysostome an excellent preacher yields me one observation upon this very place It is the wisdome of a Christian to see how God describes himself there being some thing in God answerable to whatsoever is ill in the world The spirit of God in the scripture sets forth God fitting to the particular occasions speaking here of the misery and the disgraceful usage of St. Paul being taught by the spirit of God he considereth God as a Father of mercies and a God of Comfort Speaking of the vengeance on his enemies the Psalmist saith thou God of vengeance shew thy self In God there is help for every maladie Therefore the wisdom of a Christian is to single out of God what is fitting his present occasion in crosses and miseries think of him as a father of Mercies in discomforts think of him as a God of comfort in perplexities and distresse think of him as a God of wisdom and oppression of others and difficulties which we cannot wade out of think of him as a God and father almighty as a God of vengeance and so every way to think of God appliable to the present occasion And though many of us have no great affliction upon us for the present yet we should lay up store against the evill day and therefore it is good to treasure up these descriptions of God The father of mercies and God of all comfort To explaine the word a little what doth he mean by God in this place That he is the God of comfort that hath a further comfort in it in the very title that is called the God of comfort In that he is called the God of comfort it implyes two things First it shewes that he is a Creator of it that he can work it out of what he will out of nothing And then that he can raise it out of the contrary as he raised light out of darknesse in the creation and in the government of this world he raiseth his Children out of misery As he raised all out of nothing order out of confusion so in his Church he is the God of comfort he can raise comfort out of nothing out of nothing that is likely to yield comfort Put the case that there be neither medicine nor meat nor drink nor nothing to comfort us in this world as we shall have none of these things in heaven he is the God of Comfort that shall supply all our wants As he shall then be all in all so in this world when it is by the manifestation of his glorie when Moses was 40. dayes in the mountain he wanted outward comforts but he had the God of comfort with him and he supplied the want of meat and drink and all other comforts because he is the God of all comfort in him are all comforts originally and fundamentally and if there be none he can create and make them of nothing God as a God properly makes something of nothing that is to be a God for nothing but God can make somewhat of nothing Gods upon earth call men their creatures in a kind of imitation of God but that is but a
conscience of those that are awakened and Satan useth that as a means to despair in every crosse Therefore let us search and try our souls for our sins for our chief discomfort are from sin for alas what are all other comforts and what are all other discomforts If a mans conscience be quiet what are all discomforts and if conscience be on the rack what are all comforts the disquiet and vexation of sin is the greatest of all because then we have to deal with God when sin is presented before us and the judgements of God and God as an angry judge and conscience is awaked and on the rack what in the world can take up the quarrel and appease conscience when we and God are at difference when the soul speaks nothing but discomfort In this case remember that God doth so far prevent objections in this kind from the accusations of conscience that he reasons that he will comfort us from that that cöscience reasons against comfort he doth this in the hearts of his children to whom he means to shew mercy as we see in the poor Publi Lord be merciful to me a sinner saith he God taught him that reasoning Nature would have taught him to reason as Peter did Lord depart from me I am a sinful man and therefore I have nothing to do with God So our Saviour Christ Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden they think of all people they ought to run from God they are so laden with sin they have nothing to do with God Oh come unto me saith Christ. Therefore when thy conscience is awakened with the sense of sin remember what is said in the Gospel Be of good comfort be calleth thee be thou of good comfort thou art one that Christ calls Come unto me ye that are we ary and heavy laden and Blessed are those that mourn That which thou and the Divel with thy conscience would move thee to use as an argument to run away our Saviour Christ in the Gospel useth as an argument to draw thee forward he comes for such to seek and to save the lost sinners This is a faithful saying saith St. Paul that Christ came to save sinners therefore believe not Satan he presents God to the soul that is humbled and terrified in the sight of sin as cruel as a terrible judge c. He hides the mercy of God from such to men that are in a sinful course he shewes nothing but mercy I but now there is nothing but comfort to thee that art cast down and afflicted in the sence of thy sins for all the comforts in the Gospel of forgivenesse of sins and all the comforts from Christs Incarnation the end of his coming in the flesh the end of his death and of all is to save sinners Look thou therefore to the throne of mercy and grace when thy conscience shall be awakened with the sence of sin and Satan shall use that as an argument to draw thee from God consider the Scripture useth this as an argument to drive me to God to allure me to him Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden And Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost Luther a man much exercised in Spiritual conflicts he confessed this was the Balme that did most refresh his soul God hath shut up all under sin that he might have mercy upon all He shut up all under sin as prisoners to see themselves under sin and under the curse that he might have mercy upon all upon all those that are convinced with the sence and sight of their sins he hath shut up all under sin that he might have mercy upon all those that belong to him This raised up that blessed man therefore let us not be much discomforted but be of good comfort Christ calls us For such as are sinners that are given to the sins of the tongue and of the life to rotten discourse to swearing and such like to such as mean to be so and think their case good oh God is the God of comfort To such as I said before I can speak no comfort nor the word of God speaks none they must have another Word and another Scripture for this word speaks no comfort to such that are sinful and wretched and will be so and justifie themselves to be so All the judgments in the Scripture are theirs hell and damnation and wrath that is their portion to drink We can speak no comfort to such nor the word of God that we unfold it hath not a drop of comfort for them God will not be merciful to such as go on in wicked rotten scandalous courses that because hell hath not yet taken them they may live long and so make a covenant with hell and death and blesse themselves Oh but thou hast made no covenant with God nor he hath made none with thee and hell and death have made no covenant with thee though thou hast made one with them but there are two words go to a covenant Death and Hell shall seize upon thee notwithstanding thy covenant Those that will live in sin in despight of the ministery in spight of afflictions there is no comfort to such I speak only to the broken heart which are fit vessels for comfort God is the God of comfort to such What shall we say then to such as after they have had some evidence of their good estate that they are Christians are fallen into sin is there any comfort for such Yes doth not St. Paul in 2 Cor. 5. desire such to be reconciled to God we are as Ambassadors of Christ desiring you to be reconciled if you have sinned so God hath comfort for those that have sinned Christ knew that we should every day run into sins unawares therefore he teaches us in the Lords prayer to say every day forgive us our debts our trespasses there is Balme in Gilead there is mercie in Israel for such daylie trespasses as we run into Therefore let none be discouraged but flie presently to the God of comfort and Father of mercies And think not that he is wearie of pardoning as man is for he is infinite in mercy And though he be the party offended yet he desires peace with us But yet notwithstanding that we shall not love to run into his Bookes he doth with giving the comfort of the pardon of sin when we fall into it add such sharpe crosses as we shall wish we had not given him occasion to correct us so sharpely we shall buy our comfort dear we had better not have given him occasion God forgave the sin of David after he had repented though he were a good man before but David bought the pleasure of his sin dear he wished a thousand times that he had never given occasion to God to raise good out of his evil to turn his sin to his comfort yet God will do this because God
else will Therefore let us every day be setting our selves in some good way for comfort is in comfortable courses and not in ill courses in Gods waies we shall have Gods comforts In those waies let us exercise the spiritual strength we have let us pray to God and performe the exercise of Religion with strength shew some zeal in it let us shew some zeal against sin if occasion be if it be in Gods work in Gods way Let a man set himself upon a good worke especially when it is in opposition for the honour of God and the peace of his conscience presently there is comfort upon it And that we may not be discouraged with the imperfection of our performances one way of daily comfort is to consider the condition of the covenant of Grace between God and us In the covenant of Grace our performances if they be sincere they are accepted and it is the perfection of the Gospel sincerity Sincerity will look God in the face with comfort because he is with the upright so much truth in all our dealings so much comfort And with sincerity labour for growth to grow better and better God in the Gospel meanes to bring us to perfection in heaven by little and little In the law there was present perfection required but in the Gospel God requires that we should come to perfection by little and little as Christ by little and little satisfyed for our sins and not all at once In the condition of the covenant of Grace we must live and grow by grace by little and little and not all at once The condition of the covenant of grace is not to him that hath strength of grace in perfection but if we believe and labour to walke with God if there be truth of Grace truth goes for perfection in the covenant of Grace We should labour for sound knowledge of the covenant of Grace that now we are freed from the rigor as well as from the curse of the law that though we have imperfections yet God will be our father and in this condition of imperfection he will be a pardoning father and lookes on our obedience though it be feeble and weak and imperfect yet being the obedience of children in the covenant of grace and he accepts of what is his owne and pardons what is ours And every day labour to preserve the comforts of the spirit that we have not to grieve the spirit for comfort comes with the spirit of God as heat accompanies the fire As wheresoever fire is there is heat so wheresoever the spirit of God is there is comfort because the spirit of God is God and God is with comfort wheresoever comfort is God is and wheresoever God is there is comfort If we would have comfort continually every day let us carefully watch that we give way to the spirit of God by good actions and meditations and exercises And by no meanes grieve the spirit or resist the spirit for then we resist comfort If we speake any thing that is ill we lose our comfort for that time conscience will check us we have grieved the spirit If we heare any thing with applause and are not touched with it we lose our comfort conscience will tell us we are dead-hearted and not affected as we should be there is a great deal of flesh and corruption that is affected with such rotten discourse And so if we venture upon occasions we shall grieve the spirit either if we speak somewhat to satisfie others that are nought or if we hear somewhat that is ill from others Want of wisdome in this kind doth make us go without comfort many times want of wisdom to single out our companie or else if we be with such to do that that may please them and grieve the spirit and hinder our own comfort These and such like directions if we would observe we might walk in a course of comfort the God of comfort hath prescribed this in the book of comfort These are the courses for Gods children to walk in a comfortable way till they come to heaven More especially if we would at any time take a more full measure of comfort then take the book of God into your hand those are comforts that refresh the soul single out some speciall portion of scripture and there you shall have a world of comfort As for example let a man single out the epistle to the Romans if a man be in any grievance whatsoever what a world of comfort is there fitting for every maladie there is a method how to come to comfort There St. Paul in the beginning first strips all men of confidence of any thing in themselves and tells them that no man can be saved by works Jewes nor Gentiles but all by the righteousnesse of God in Christ All are deprived of the Glorie of God Jewes and Gentiles every bodie And when we are brought to Christ he tells us in the later end of the third Chapter that by Christ we have the forgivenesse of all our former sins whatsoever he is the propitiation for our sins In the 4. Chapter he comforts us by the example of Abraham and David that they were justified without works by faith not by works of their own but by laying hold of the promises of comfort and salvation meerly by Christ and all that saith St. Paul is written for us But in the first Chapter especially because all the miseries of this life come from the first Adam because we are Children of the first Adam death and miserie comes from that he opposeth the comfort in the second Adam and he shewes that there is more comfort by the second Adam then there is discomfort by the first Righteousnesse in the second Adam reigns to life everlasting and Glorie Sin and miserie came by the first but there is the pardon of all sin by the second Adam he doth excellently oppose them in the latter end of that Chapter In the begining of the fifth Chapter he shewes there the method and descent of joy Being justified by faith in Christ we have peace with God Considering that by the righteousnesse of Christ we are freed from sin We have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And we have boldnesse to the Throne of Grace and we rejoyce in tribulation knowing that tribulation brings forth patience and patience experience and experience hope He sets himself there of purpose to comfort in all tribulation and he saith in these things we rejoyce We rejoyce in tribulation I but for our sins after our conversion after we are in the state of Grace what comfort is there for them there is excellent comfort in the fifth of the Romans If when we were enemies he gave his son for us if he saved us by the death of Christ when we were enemies much more Christ being alive and in heaven he will keep it for us and keep us to salvation now when we are
friends seeing he died for us when we were enemies I but the remainders of corruption in this world trouble us that troubles our comfort the combate between the flesh and the spirit would you see comfort for that you shall see it in Romans 7. Oh miserable man who shall deliver me from this body of death Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So he shewes there what way to have comfort in the combate between the flesh and the Spirit to search into our corruptions to lay them open to God by confession And then in the beginning of the eight Chapter saith he there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus though there be sin yet there is no condemnation though there be this conflict between the flesh and the spirit so he comforts them And for the afflictions that follow our corruptions in this life there is a treasure of comfort against them in that Chapter for doth he not say if we suffer with him we shall reign with him And the same spirit helps our infirmities and teacheth us how to pray We can never be uncomfortable if we can pray but there is a promise of the spirit that stirs up sighs and groanes that cannot be expressed and a Christian hath alway a spirit of prayer at the least of sighs and groanes and God hears the sighs of his own spirit And what a grand comfort is that that I named before vers 28. All things work for the best to them that love God And if God be with us who can be against us And he sends us to Christ if Christ be dead or rather risen again who shall lay any thing to our charge Christ is ascended to heaven and makes intercession at the right hand of God Though Satan lay our sins to our charge Christ makes intercession in heaven at the right hand of God he makes continuall intercession for our continuall breaches with God who shall lay any thing to our charge I but all that power of hell and sin and all labour to separate us from God to breed division between God and us In the later end of that Chapter he bids defiance to all what shall separate us from the love of God in Christ it shall separate his love from Christ first Gods love is found in Christ he shall cease to love Christ if he cease to love us I but we may afterward fall into an uncomfortable case For that he saith neither things present nor things to come shall be able to separate us What an excellent spring of comfort is there in that reasoning vers 32. If God spared not his own son but gave him to death for us all how shall he not with him give us all things eâ—…lse How many streames may be drawn from that spring if God spared not his own son but gave him to death for us all how shall he not with him give us all things else in this world necessar grace provision protection till he have brought us to heaven If he have given Christ he will give all whatsoever is written is written for our comfort I mean this epistle because I would name one instance for all All is written for our comfort as he saith after in the same Epistle The written word or the word unfolded the end of preaching is especially to comfort The Chirurgeon opens a wound and the Physitian gives a purge but all is to restore at the last all that the Chirurgeon aimes at is to close up the wound at the last so all our aime is to comfort We must cast you down and shew you your miserie that you are in and shew you that if you continue in that course hell and damnation belongs to you but this is to make you despaire in your selves and to flie to the God of comfort the law is for the Gospel all serve to bring the soul to comfort Therefore go to the word of God any portion the Psalmes or any special part of the scripture and that by the spirit of God will be a meanes to raise the soul the spirit in the word joyning with the spirit in us will make a sweet close together and comfort us in all tribulation And have recourse daily to common principles all the principles of religion serve for comfort especially the Articles of the Creed I believe in God the father Almightie What a spring of comfort is in that what can befall from a father but it shall turn to good and by a father Almightie though he be never so strongly opposed yet he will turn it to good he is a father Almightie and the Articles of Christ every article hath ground of daily comfort of his abasement in Christ I see my self he is my surety the second Adam I see my sins crucified with him This is the way to reape comfort when the conscience is disquieted when I look upon my sins not in my own conscience but take it out there and see it in Christ dying and crucified in the Articles of abasement to see our sin and miserie all in Christ. For he stood there as surety as a publick person for all What a comfort is this When I see how Christ was abased I see my own comfort for he was my surety if my sins being laid on him who was my surety could not condemne him or keep him in the grave but overcame sin that was laid to his charge surely I shall overcome my corruptions nothing that I have shall overcome mee because it could not overcome Christ my surety his victorie is mine And so if the soul be in any desolation and discomfort all the articles of his Glorification and exaltation his rising again acquits the soul therefore my sins are satisfied for because my surety is out of prison And his ascending into heaven shewes my triumph he lead captivity captive and the enemies that are left are for the tryal of my faith and not to conquer me for Christ hath Lead captivity captive and is ascended into heaven he led all in triumph and sits at the right hand of God to rule his Church to the end of the World he sits for me to overcome my enemies as St. Paul saith excellently Rom. 8. who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods people it is Christ that died or rather that is risen again who fits at the right hand of God And if we be troubled for the loss of a particular friend there is comfort in that article of the communion of Saints There are those that have more grace and that is for me If my own prayers be weak I believe the communion of Saints and have the benefit of their prayers every one that saith Our Father brings me in if I be in the Covenant of grace and of the Communion of Saints If I have weaknesses in my self I believe in the holy Ghost the comforter of Gods elect and my comforter If I fear death I believe the
to do this daily so when we are to comfort others we ought not onely to comfort them but to search them as much as we can what sin is in them and what miserie is upon them and acquaint them with their own estate that they are in as far as we can discerne we may judge of them partly by our selves For we must not prostitute comforts to persons that are indisposed till we see them fitted God doth comfort but it is the abject Christ heales but is the wounded spirit he came to seek but it is to those that are lost he came to ease but it is those that are heavy laden Therefore that we may comfort them to purpose we ought to shew and discover to them what estate they are in that we may force them to comfort if they be not enemies to comfort and to their own souls He is an unwise Physitian that administers cordials before he gives preparatives to carry away the noysome humours they will do little good we ought therefore to prepare them this way if we intend to do them good And then when we see what need they stand in bring them to Christ and the Covenant of Grace that is the best way to comfort them to bring them to see that God is their father when we discern some signs of grace in them For this is the maine stop in all comfort that there is none but they shall find by experience they are ready to say you teach wondrous comforts that there is an inheritance in heaven that God hath provided and on earth there is an issue of all for good and there is a presence of God in troubles this is true but how shall I know this belongs to me This is the cavil of flesh and blood that turnes the back to the most heavenly comforts that are The main and principal thing therefore in dealing with others and with our own hearts is to let them see that there are some signs and evidencies that they are in the covenant of grace that they belong to God Unlesse we see that all the comfort we can give them is to tell them that they are not yet sunk into hell and that they have space to repent But as long as men live in sinful courses that they are not in the state of Grace we can tell them no comfort except they will devise a new Scripture a new Bible if they do so they may have comfort but this word of God and God herein speaks no comfort to persons that live in sin and will do so we should labour therefore to discern some evidence that they are in the state of Grace And ofttimes those are indeed most intitled to comfort that think it furthest from them therefore we should acquaint them with the conditions of the covenant of grace that God looks to truth therefore if we discern any true broken humble spirit a hungring and a thirsting after righteousnesse and a desire of comfort Blessed are those that hunger and thirst it belongs to them we may comfort them If we see spiritual poverty that they see their wants and would be supplied blessed are the poore in spirit be of good comfort Christ calls such If they see and feel the burden of their sins we may comfort them Christ calls them Come unto me yee that are weary and heavy laden If we descern spiritual and heavenly desires to grow in grace and overcome their corruptions if we discover and descern this in their practise and obedience God will fulfil the desires of them that fear him And he accepts the will for the deed There is a desire of happinesse in nature that comforts not a man it is no sign of grace to desire to be free from hell and to be in heaven it is a naturall desire every creature wishes well to heaven but if there be a desire of the meanes that tend to heaven a desire of Grace these are evidences of grace these are the pulses that we may find grace by when they see their infirmities and groane under them and would be better and complain that they are not better and are out of love with their own hearts there is a combat in their hearts they are not friends with themselves When we see this inward conflict and a desire to better and to get victories against their corruptions though there be many corruptions and weaknesses a man may safely say they are in the state of Grace they are on the mending hand For Christ will not break the brused reed nor quench the smoaking flax And where he hath begun a good work he will perfect it to the day of the Lord. He will cherish these weak beginnings therefore we may comfort them on good ground Then besides that in our dealing with them when we have discovered by some evidence that they belong to the covenant that we see by some love to good things and to Gods Image in his Children and by other evidences then we may comfort them boldly and then to fetch from our own experience what a comfort will it be to such When we can say my estate was as yours is I found those corruptions that you groane under I allowed not my self in them as you do not when a man can say from his own experience that notwithstanding these I have evident signs of Gods spirit that I am his then he can comfort others by his own experience And what a comfort is it to go to the experiments of scripture it is an excellent way As now let a man be deserted of God David will comfort him by his experience Psal. 77. Where he saith he found God as his enemie and as Job saith the terrors of God drank up his spirit be of good comfort David would come and comfort thee if he were alive If the terror of God be against thee for sin that thy conscience is awakned be of good comfort Christ if he were on earth would shew thee by his own example that he indured that desertion on the Cross. My God my God why hast thou forsaken me If thou be molested and vexed with Satan Job will comfort thee by his example his book is most of it combating and comfort and so for all other grievances go to the scriptures whatsoever is written is written for our learning Pray to God and he will heare thee as he did Elias Oh but Elias was an excellent man The scripture prevents the objection Jam. 5. he was a man subject to infirmities if God heard him he will hear thee Believe in Christ as Abraham did the Father of the faithful in the promised Messias and he will forgive thee all thy sins Oh but he had a strong faith What hath the scripture to take away this objection In Rom. 5. This was not written for Abraham onely but for those that believe with the faith of Abraham I but I am a wretched sinner there
is no proportion the choyse is much better to have comfort with grievance then to want the comfort together with the grievance St. Paul would not have chosen immunity from suffering he would not have been exempted from the crosse to have wanted his comfort For the disproportion is wide and great the comforts are inward and sweet the crosses for the most part are outward What are all the croses and sufferings in this world set aside an afflicted conscience it is but brushing of the garment as it were some outward thing in the outward man but the comforts are inward and deep But what if there be inward grievances too Then we have deeper comforts then they the crosse is never so deep but the comfort is deeper Oh the depth of the wisedom and love of God! there is the part and dimension of Gods love the depth of it There is a depth in crosses Out of the deep have I cryed to thee But there is a deeper depth of comfort there is a hand under to fetch us up at the lowest Thy right hand is upon me and thy left hand is under me saith the Church to God there is comfort lower and deeper then the greivance though it be inward spirituall greivance Nay of all grievances I know what I speak a little of mine own experience and it is true in the experience of all Ministers and Christians that there is none that have more help then they that are exercised with spirituall temptations of conscience they are forced to search for deep comforts shallow comforts will not serve their turn and when they have them they keep them and make much of them they have more retired and deep thoughts of Christ and of comforts then other people who as they are strangers to their crosses so they are strangers to their comfort There is no degree of proportion between the crosses and the comforts the crosses are momentary the comforts are growing the crosses make us not awâ—…it the worse and the comforts make us better Feare nothing therefore but go on in the wayes of religion and never be discouraged to suffer in a good cause for feare of men to think oh this will come and that will come No no if the sufferings grow the comforts shall grow with it be of good comfort Again Another use may be that we judge aright of those that are disgraced in the world if their cause be good that we should not have distastfull conceits of them as indeed suffering breeds distast naturally in men they love men in a flourishing estate and distast them suffering but that is corruption of men but God is the nearest to them then nearer then ever he was and their comforts increase with their crosses In the conunction between the Sun and the Moon as by expaerience we see in the space between the old and new Moon there is a time of conjunction we think the Moon to be lost in that time because we see her not but the Moon is more inlightened then then ever she was in her self but here is the reason the light part of the Moon is turned to the Sun-ward to heaven-ward and the darke part is turned toward the earth So a Christian in crosses and abasement seems to be a darke creature but he is more inlightned then then ever before why his light part is to God-ward it is not seen of the world the world sees his crosses but they doe not see his comforts and as the Moon is nearer the Sun at that time then at other times so the soul hath to deale with God in afflictions it is nearer to God and his dark side is toward the world As the World sees the Moons Eclipse so the world sees our darknesse but not our inward comforts therefore we should judge aright of others in this case Another use shal be of thankfulness to God that besides the comforts of heaven which are not to be spoken of and which we shal not know till we come to feel them besides the great comfort we have to be free from Hell that we have a measure of comfort here in this world in our pilgrimage and absence from Heaven such a measure of comfort as may carry us with comfort along We ought to be thankfull to God not onely for redemption and glorification but that God comforts us in our pilgrimage that he mingles crosses with comforts nay that in this world our comforts are more then our crosses Some may object I but my crosses are more then my comforts Are they so dost thou suffer in a good cause or no if thou dost thy comforts are more then thy crosses if there be not a fault in thee What shall I doe therefore First Take this direction in suffering pull out the sting of sin though we suffer in never so good a cause for in one suffering God aims at divers things God in thy suffering aims at thy correction as well as at the exercise of thy grace and at thy comfort therefore let affliction have the correcting and amending part first and then the comforting part will ollow Though the cause be good yet Gods Children oft times want comfort till afterward Why They have not renewed their repentance and cleansed their souls they have not pulled out the sting when they have repented of their personall sins that lye upon them and gone back to the sins of their youth and then renewed their Covenant with God and their purposes for the time to come then comes comfort and not before Therefore it is no disparagement to a good cause that sometimes Christians find not present comfort they have personall sins that hang on them that are not repented of which God intends to amend them of as well as to honour them by suffering in his cause Againe if Gods Children complain that their sufferings are above their strength and above measure and desire God to weigh their afflictions they are so great as Job saith It is the speech of sense and not of faith it is the speech of the fit and not of the state there is a fit and a state it is no matter what they say in their fit then the flesh and sense speak and not grace and faith at that time If they judge by sense then they judge so but we know that reason corrects the errours of sense and faith corrects the errours of reason but what do they say in their constant state their comforts are answerable to their crosses either in suffering or afterwards though not alway at the same time So much for that But this will be abused by carnall persons we speak of abundance of comfort but it is to those that have interest in it the book of God speaks no comfort to persons that live in sin and will do so we speak comfort to those that are broken-hearted for their sins that are content to indure the reproach of religion in
despight of the world that will beare the cross of Christ For the other as their jollity increaseth in the world so their crosses and troubles shall increase As it is said Revel 18. 17. of mysticall Babylon the Church of Rome that hath flourished in the world a great while and sate as a Queen and blessed her self As she gloried herself and lived deliciously so much torment and sorrow give her So it is true of every wicked man that is in an evill course and will be and as the Scripture phrase is blesseth himself in an evil course they shall be sure of the curse of God and not of comfort for in what proportion they have delighted themselves in this world in sin in that proportion they shall have torment of conscience if conscience be awaked in this world and in that proportion they shall have torment in the world to come As sin is growing so rods are growing for them wicked men saith St. Paul they grow worse and worse the more they sin the more they may they sink in rebellion and the more they sink in rebellion the more they sink in the state of damnation they fill up the measure of their sins and treasure up the wrath of God against the day of wrath Whosoever thou art that livest in a sinfull course and wilt do so in spight of Gods Ordinance in spight of the motions of the spirit that hast the good motions of the spirit knocking at thy soule and yet wilt rather refuse comfort then take comfort together with direction go on still in this thy wicked course but remember as thy comforts increase in this world so thy torment is increasing And here is the disproportion between Gods children and others they have their sufferings first and their comfort afterward but others have their pleasure first and their torment after theirs are for a time but others for ever Thus we see what we may comfortably observe from this that comforts increase as crosses increase A Word of the fourth and last point How comes this to pass that as our afflictions abound so our consolations abound They abound by Chrst saith the Apostle God the Father he is the God of comfort the Holy-Ghost is the Comforter but how comes this to pass that we that are not the Objects of comfort but of confusion should have God the Father to be the God of comfort and the Holy-Ghost to be our comforter Oh it is that Jesus Christ the great peace-maker hath satisfied God and procured the Holy-Ghost for the holy-Ghost is procured by the satisfaction and death of Christ and he was sent after the resurrection and ascension of Christ. Therefore Christ is called the consolation of Israel and those that waited for Christ waited for the consolation of Israel All comfort is hid in Christ he is the store-house of comfort we have it through him and by him and in him For that God is the Father of comfort it is because Christ is our Mediatour and Intercessour in Heaven that the Holy-Ghost is the comforter it is because Christ sent him and the comforts of the holy-Ghost are fetched from Christ from the death of Christ or the ascention of Christ from some argument from Christ. Whatsoever comforteth the soule the Holy-Ghost doth it by fetching some argument from Christ from his satisfaction from his worth from his intercession in Heaven something in Christ it is So Christ by his Spirit doth comfort and the reasons fetched by the Spirit are from Christ therefore it is by Christ. What is the reason that a Christian soule doth not feare God as a consuming fire but can look upon him with comfort It is because God hath received satisfaction by Christ. What is the reason that a Christian soule feares not Hell but thinks of it with comfort Christ hath conquered Hell and Satan What is the reason that a Christian feares not death Christ by death hath overcome death and him that had the power of death the Devill Christ is mine saith the Christian soule therefore I do not feare it but think of it with comfort because a Christian is more then a Conquerour over all these What is the reason that a Christian is not afraid of his corruptions and sins He knows that God for Christs sake will pardon them and that the remainder of his corruptions will worke to his humiliation and to his good All shall work for the best to them that love God What is the reason that there is not any thing in the world but it is comfortable to a Christian When he thinks of God he thinks of him as a Father of comfort when he thinks of the Holy-Ghost he thinks of him as a spirit of comfort when he thinks of Angels he thinks of them as his attendants when he thinks of Heaven he thinks of it as of his inheritance he thinks of Saints as a communion whereof he is partaker whence is all this By Christ who hath made God our Father the holy-Ghost our Comforter who hath made Angels ours Saints ours heaven ours earth ours Devils ours death ours all ours in issue For God being turned in love to us all is turned our crosses are no curses now but comforts and the bitterest crosses yield the sweetst comforts All this is by Christ that hath turned the course of things and hid blessings in the greatest crosses that ever were And this he did in himself before he doth it in us for did not his greatest crosses tend to his greatest glory who ever in the world was abased as our head Christ Jesus was that made him crie My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee All the Creatures in the world would have sunk under the sufferings that Christ indured what abasement to the abasement of Christ and what glorie to the glorie of Christ Phil 2. He humbled himself to the death of the cross wherefore God gave him a name above all names that at the name of Jesus euery knee should bow both of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth Now as it was in our head his greatest abasement ushered in his greatest glorie so it shall be in us our greatest crosses are before our greatest comforts he is our President he is the exemplarie cause as well as the efficient working cause it is by Christ all this that consolations abound in us it was performed first in him and shall be by him by his Spirit to the end of the world The use that we are to make of this is that in all our sufferings before we come to Heaven we should look to Christ he hath turned all things let us study Christ and fetch comfort from him our flesh was abased in him our flesh is glorified in him now in Heaven in his person And so it must be in our own persons our flesh must be abased and then as he is glorious in Heaven so shall we be in our selves That very
Christian he is now afflicted and now comforted not for his own sake onely but for the good of others and when he shall be afflicted and how long and what comfort he shall have how much he leaves it to the wisdom of God It is a blessed estate if we could think of it to be a Christian that we need to care for nothing but to serve God we need to care for nothing but study to keep a good conscience Let God alone with all our estate for God will inable us to want and to abound in our owne persons and likewise he will sanctifie our estate for the good of others And a Christian will be willling to be tossed and to be changed from vessel to vessell from state to state for the good of others If his afflictions may do good to the Church he is content that God should withdraw his blessings from him and humble him with crosses If his example may be good to others he is likewise joyfull when God gives him rest and causeth an inward comfort he knows that this is good for others he hath learned in his first entrance into Christianity self-denyall not to live to himself but for the glory of God and the good of others as much as he may We should labour therefore to content our selves in all conditions knowing that all is for the best not only to our selves and Gods glory but for the good of others God when he takes things from us and afflicts us and when he comforts us he intends the comfort of others So we should reason when we indure any thing and when we are comforted certainly God intends the good of others by this therefore I will have a speciall care in suffering to carrie it decently and exemplarily knowing that the eyes of many are upon me I wil carry my self so that God may have glory and others may have edification and comfort knowing that I am but Gods Steward to convey this to others that are of the same body with my self Therefore in our communion we have with others upon any good occasion we ought to express the blessed experience of the comfort of God upon us This is the practise of holy men in their meeting with others to shew them the comforts of God to their soules Come I will shew you what God hath done for my soule saith the Psalmist All are the better for a good man he doth good to all and therefore Solomon saith When a righteous man is advanced the Citie rejoyceth They have cause for he hath a publique mind nothing doth more characterise and is a better stamp of a true Christian then a publique mind A carnall man out of self love may grieve at his own sins and may labour to comfort himself but a Christian thinks others shall take good by me It is the mind of Christ and it is the mind of all the Members of Christ when a man thinks he hath nothing except he have it to improve for the good of others A dead sullen reserved spirit is not a Christians spirit if by nature we have such we must labour to help it with grace for grace is a diffusive communicating thing not onely in the Ministers of God but in every Christian grace will teach them to make savourie their conversation to others this way that whatsoever they are or whatsoever they can do or whatsoever they suffer they study to improve all to the good of others And marke the extent of the loving wisedom and providence of God how many things he doth at once for in the same affliction oft times he corrects some in his Children in the same affliction he tries some grace in the same affliction he witnesseth to his truth in them in the same affliction he doth good to others besides the good he doth to them In the same affliction that others inflict he hastneth the ruine of them that offer it at one time and in one action he hastneth the destruction of the one by hastning the good of the other he ripens grace in his Children making them exemplary to others and all in the same Action so large is the wise providence of God It should teach us likewise to follow that providence and to see how many wayes any thing we suffer any kind of way may extend that if one way will not comfort another may When we suffer and are grieved let us consider withall that he that doth the wrong he hastens his ruine and judgment As Pharaoh when he hastned the overthrow of the children of Israel he hastned his overthrow in the red Sea so a pit is digged for the wicked when they digg a pit for the godly And consider to comfort thy self thou hast some sinne in thee and God intends not onely to witnesse his truth but to correct some sinne in thee and thou must look to that thou hast some grace in thee and he intends the tryall of that Look to these things this shews strong heavenly mindedness when there is self-denyall Let us consider what God cals us to for God looks to many things in the same act wherefore doth God give us reason and discourse but to be able to follow him in his dealing as farre as we can reach to But I go on to the next verse VERS VII And our hope of you is stedfast knowing that as you are partakers of the suffering so you shall be also of the consolation THis verse is nothing but a strengthning of what he said before he had told them that whatsoever he suffered it was for their comfort too and now he repeats it again and sets a seal upon it Our hope of you is stedfast knowing that as you are partakers of the sufferings so you shall also be of the consolation In these words he shews that they shall share in the good with him as well as in the ill that the Spirit of God in them should help them to take all the good they could both by his sufferings and by his comfort For as he by the help of the spirit of God intended the publique good intended their good and comfort in all whether he were afflicted or comforted so he saith here he was assured that as they were partakers of his sufferings so they should be of his comforts likewise Here is the truth And the seal of the truth The truth That they were partakers of his sufferings and should be partakers of his consolations And the Seal is in the manner of affirming these truths Our hope of you is stedfast And in this order I will speak of them First Gods Children are partakers of the sufferings of others The Corinthians were partakers of the sufferings of S. Paul Gods Children are partakers of the sufferings of others many wayes First by way of sympathy taking to heart the estate of the Church and Children of God abroad It grieved the Corinthians to hear that S. Paul was afflicted for
even as it is in the natural body so likewise in the mystical body there is a sympathy between the members Likewise they partake of the sufferings of others by way of proportion they suffered in their kind and proportion as he suffered though perhaps not in the same very individual kind There is a portion of suffering in the Church some suffer one way and others another but all partake of sufferings in some degree or other Then again they did partake of St Pauls sufferings in preparation and disposition of mind howsoever now they did not suffer as much as he yet saith he I know as farre as the spirit of God is in you you are prepared to suffer and what we are prepared to doc that we do Christ saith we sell all for the Gospel when upon serious examination of our hearts we find we can part with it when we set our selves to examination what cannot I part with for Christ can I part with my goods Can I part with my life if we can once come to resolution it is done as Abraham is said to sacrifiee his Son because he resolved to do it and David is said to build the Temple because he intended to do it God looks upon us in our resolutions and preparations what we resolve to do that is done So saith he you are partakers of my sufferings not onely by sympathy and in proportion of sufferings but you are prepared he speaks charitably and lovingly to suffer whatsoever I suffer if God call you to it And the ground of Christians partaking of the sufferings one of another it is the communion that is between Christians they are all Members of one body if the hand suffer the head suffers the head thinks it self wronged when the hand or the foot is wronged by reason of the sympathy between the Members as I said and so it is in the mysticall body of Christ. There are these three unions which depend one upon another The union of Christ with our nature which is inseparable it is an eternali union he never laies that blessed mass of our flesh aside which he took which is the ground of all our comfort for God is now at one with us because God hath taken our nature on him and satisfied the wrath of God his Father Next the union of Christ with our nature is the union of Christ mysticall Christ and his Members when they suffer Christ suffers their sufferings are the sufferings of Christ. The third is the union of one Member with another that what one Member suffers another doth suffer therefore the Corinthians were partakers of Christ because their sufferings were the sufferings of Christ and they were partakers of St. Pauls sufferings because his sufferings were their sufferings They were partakers of Christs sufferings because of the communion between the head and the Members and they were partakers of St Pauls sufferings because of the communion of one Member with another And surely there is not a heart that was ever touched with the Spirit of God but when he heares of any calamity of the Church whether it be in the Palatinate in France in the low Countries or in any Country in the world if he heare that the Church hath a blow it strikes to the heart of any man that hath the spirit of God in them by a sympatheticall suffering It is one good signe to know whether a man be of the mysticall body or no to take to heart the grievance of the Church As good Nehemiah did he would not take comfort in the pleasures of a Court in the King of Babylons Court when it went not well with his Country when the Church was in distress he took their grievance to heart So Moses the very joyes of Pharaoh's Court could not please him when he considered the abasement of his Country-men he joyned with them and it is called the rebuke of Christ. So it is with all the people of God there is a communication of suffeings As you are partakers of the sufferings so you shall be also of the consolation Wherein two things are observable First That a necessary precedent condition of comfort is sufferings And then the consequent of this that those that suffer as they should are sure of comfort These two things unfold the meaning of the spirit of God here Before there be comfort there must be suffering for God hath established this order even as in nature there must be a night before the day and a Winter before a Summer so in the Kingdom of Christ in his ruling of the Church there is this divine policie there must be suffering before comfort God will sooner break the league and the Covenant between day and night then this league of suffering and comfort the one must be before the other it was so in our head Christ he suffered and then entred into his glory so all his Members must be comfortable to him in suffering and then enter into their glory The reasons of this are diverse First of all this method and order is first suffering and then comfort because God finds us in a corrupt estate and something must be wrought out of us before we can be vessels to receive comfort therefore there must be a purgation one way or other either by repentance or if not by repentance by affliction to help repentance there must be suffering before comfort The soule is unfit for comfort Secondly This order commends and sweetens comfort to us for fire is sweet after cold and meate is sweet after hunger so comfort is sweet after suffering God fits us to comfort by this by purging out what is contrarie to comfort And he indeares comfort by this those that have felt the cross comfort is comfort indeed to them heaven is heaven indeed to him that hath had a hell in his conscience upon earth that hath been afflicted in conscience or outwardly persecuted it set a price and value upon comfort Partly likewise to sharpen our desire of comfort for suffering breeds sence and sence that stirs up desire and desire is eager now suffering it makes comforts pretious and sets us in a wondrous strong desire after them And by this meanes likewise God comes to his own end which is that our comforts may be eternall therefore we have that which is ill in the first place Woe to us if it should be said to us as to Dives in the Gospel Son son thou hadst thy good here and now thou must have thy ill God intends not to deale so with his Children but they tast the worst wine first and better afterward because he intends eternall happiness to them he observes this method first ill and then good the best at last If this be so then why should we be offended at Gods order why should we not take it not onely gently and meekly but joyfully the afflictions that God sends to prepare and fit
forgiven witnessing that he lives as a Christian should do witnessing that he hath the evidences of his justification that he hath a holy life the pledge likewise of future glory his joy is well bred Likewise it is permanent Other mens joy and rejoycing is but as a flash of thornes as the Wise man calls it as it were a flame in thornes as the crackling of thornes which is sooner gone And it is an unseemly glorying and rejoycing for a man to glory in that which is worse then himself and in that which is out of himself as all other things are out of a mans self and worse and meaner then a mans self therefore a man cannot rejoyce in them and be wise It is a disparagement to the wisdom of a man to glory in things that are meaner then himself and that are out of himself A holy Christian hath that in himself and that which is more excellent then himself to glory in This is our rejoycing the testimony of our conscience All other rejoycing it is vain glorie and vain rejoycing therefore in Jerem. 9. saith he Let not the wise man glory in his wisdome let not the strong man glory in his strength let not the rich man glorie in his riches but if a man will glorie let him glorie that he knowes the Lord to be his and that he knowes himself to be the Lords When he knowes the Lord to be his and himself to be Gods by faith and a good conscience then there is matter of glorying Of all kind of men God doth hate proud boasters most of all for glory is the froth of pride and God hates pride he opposeth pride and sets himself in battel aray against it and who can thrive that hath God for his enemie boasting and pride in any earthly thing it is against all the commandements almost It is Idolatrie it makes that we boast and glorie in an Idoll whereas we should glorie in God that gives it And it is spirituall adulterie when we cleave in our affections to some outward thing more then to God It is false witnesse pride is a false glasse it makes the things and the men themselves that enjoy them to seem greater then they are The divell amplifies earthly things to a carnall man in a false glasse that they seeme big to him whereas if he could see them in their true colours they are false things they are snares and hinderances in the way to heaven and many such names they have The Scripture gives an ill report of them They are vanity and vexation of spirit because we should be discouraged from setting our affections on these things and from glorying in them Therefore let us take heed of false glorying if we will glorie we see here what we are to glory in This is our rejoycing the testimony of our conscience c. And this we may justify and stand by that it is good It is the Testimony of conscience This is our rejoycing the testimony of our conscience The testimony of conscience it is a matter and ground of joy to a true Christian here we are to consider these things First to consider a little the nature of conscience And then that conscience beares witnesse that there is a testimony of conscience And that this conscience bearing witnesse is a ground of comfort For the first Every man feeles and knowes what conscience meanes There be many rigid disputes of it among the Schoole men that had leisure enough of all men knew as little and felt what it was as any sort of men living under the darkness of Poperie and superstition and being in thraldome to the Pope and to the corruptions of the times they lived in They have much jangling about the description of it whether it be the soule it self or a facultie or an act In a word Conscience is all these in some sort in diverse respects therefore I will not wrangle with any particular opinion For what is conscience but the soul it self reflecting upon it self It is the propertie of the reasonable soule and the excellencie of it that it can return upon it self The beast cannot for it runs right forward it knowes it is carried to the object but it cannot returne and recoile upon it self but the soule of the reasonable creature of all even from men to God himself who understands in the highest degree though he do not discourse as man doth yet he knowes himself he knowes and understands his owne excellencie And wheresoever there is understanding there is a reflect act whereby the soule returnes upon it self and knowes what it doth it knowes what it wills it knowes what it affects it knowes what it speakes it knowes all in it and all out of it It is the propertie of the soule Therefore the originall word in the Old Testament that signifies the heart it is taken for conscience Conscience and heart are all one I am perswaded in my soul that is in my conscience and the Spirit witnesseth to our spirit that is to our conscience Conscience is called the spirit the Heart the soul because it is nothing but the soul reflecting and returning upon it self Therefore it is called conscience that is one knowing joyned with another because conscience knowes it self and it knowes what it knowes it knowes what the heart is it not onely knowes it self but it is a knowledge of the heart with God It is called conscience because it knowes with God for what conscience knowes God knowes that is above conscience It is a knowledge with God and a knowledge of a mans selfe And so it may be the soule it self indued with that excellent facultie of reflecting and returning upon it self therefore it judgeth of its own acts because it can return upon it self Conscience likewise in some sort may be called a faculty the common stream runs that way that it is a power It is not one power but conscience is in all the powers of the soule for it is in the understanding and there it rules conscience is it by which it is ruled and guided Conscience is nothing but an application of it to some particular to some thing it knowes to some rules it knowes before Conscience is in the will in the affections the joy of conscience and the peace of conscience and so it runs through the whole soule It is not one facultie or two but it is placed in all the faculties And some will needs have it an act a particuler act and not a power When it doth exercise conscience it is an act when it accuseth or excuseth or when it witnesseth it is an act at that time it is a facultie in act So that we need not to wrangle whether it be this or that let us comprehend as much in our notions as we can that it is the soul the heart the spirit of a man returning upon it self and it hath something to doe in
take away my sincerity saith he you would make me an hypocrite and thus and thus but my conscience tells me I am otherwise therefore you shall not take away my innocency from me And in Job 31. 35. Behold it is my desire that the Almighty would answer me and that my adversaries would write a Book against me I would take it upon my shoulder I would take it as a crown unto me Here was the force of a good conscience in Jobs troubles that if his adversaries should write a book against him yet he would bind it as a crown about him And so David in all imputations this was his joy when they laid things to his charge that he had never done he takes this for his joy the comfort of his conscience So St. Paul he retires to his conscience and being raised up with the worthinesse of a good conscience he despiseth all imputations whatsoever he sets Conscience up as a flag of defiance to all false slanders and imputations that were laid against him as we see in the storie of the Acts and in this place and others saith he in one place I passe not for mans sentence I passe not for mans day man hath his day man will have his Judgment-seat and will get upon the Bench and judge me that I am such and such I care not for mans day there is another Judgement-seat that I looke unto and to the testimony of my Conscience My rejoycing is the witnesse of my Conscience Holie men have cause to retire to their own Consciences when they would rejoyce against false imputations so holy Saint Austin what saith he to a Donatist that wronged him in his reputation Think of Austin what you please as long as my Conscience accuseth me not with God I will give you leave to think what you will If so be that a mans Conscience cleares him he cares not a whit for reports because a good man looks more to Conscience then to fame therefore if Conscience tell him truth though fame lie he cares not much for he squares not his life by report but by Conscience Indeed he lookes to a good name but that is in the last place For a good man lookes first to God who is above conscience and then he lookes to Conscience which is under God and then in the third place he lookes to report amongst men And if God and his Conscience excuse him though men accuse him and lay imputations upon him this or that he passeth little for mans judgment so the witness of conscience it comforts in all imputations whatsoever Again it comforts in sicknesse Ezechias was sick what doth he retire unto Remember Lord how I have walked uprightly before thee he goes to his Conscience In sicknesse when a man can eate nothing a good Conscience is a continuall feast In sorrow it is a Musician A good Conscience doth not onely Counsell and advise but it is a Musician to delight It is a Physitian to heal It is the best Cordiall the best Physick all other are Physitians of no value Comforts of no value If a mans Conscience be wounded if it be not quieted by faith in the blood of Christ if he have not the Spirit to witnesse the forgivenesse of his sins and to sanctifie and inable him to lead a good life all is to no purpose if there be an evill Conscience the unsound body while it is sick it is in a kind of hell already Again take a man in any crosse whatsoever a good conscience doth bear out the Crosse it bears a man up alway because a good Conscience being a witnesse with God it raiseth a man obove all earthly things whatsoever there is no Earthly discouragement that can dismay a good Conscience because there is a kind of Divinitie in Conscience put in by God and it witnesseth together with God so that in all crosses it comforts So likewise in losses in want in want of friends in want of comforts in want of liberty what doth the witnesse of a good Conscience in all these In want of friends it is a friend indeed it is an inward friend a near friend to us Put the case that a man have never a friend in the world yet he hath God and his own conscience where there is a good conscience there is God and his holy Spirit alway In want of liberty in want of outward comforts he hath the comfort of a good conscience A man on his death-bed he sees he wants all outward comforts but he hath a good conscience And so in want of libertie when a man is restrained his heart is at liberty A wicked man that hath a bad conscience is imprisoned in his own Heart though he have never such libertie though he be a Monarch a bad Conscience imprisons him at home he is in fetters his thoughts make him afraid of Thunder afraid of every thing afraid of himself and though there be no body else to awe him yet his conscience awes him Where there is a conscience under the guilt of sin unrepented there is the greatest liberty in the world there is restraint for Conscience is the worst prison Where there is a good conscience there is an inward inlargement A good man in the greatest restraint hath liberty Paul and Silas Act. 16. in the dungeon in the hell of the dungeon in the worst place of the dungeon in the stocks and at the worst time of the day of the naturall day I mean at midnight and in the worst usage when they were misused and whipped with all they had all the discouragements that could be and yet they sang at midnight these blessed men Paul and Silas because their hearts were enlarged there was a Paradise in the very Dungeon As where the King is there is his Court so it is where God is God in the prison in the noysom dungeon by his Spirit so enlarged their hearts that they sang at midnight Where as if conscience be ill if it were in Paradise Conscience would fear as we see in Adam Saint Paul in prison was better then Adam in Paradise when he had offended God Adam had outward comforts enough but when he had sinned his conscience made him afraid of him from whom he should have all comfort it made him afraid of God and hide himself among the leaves alas a poore shift We see then conscience doth witnesse and the witness of it when it is good doth cause the soul to glory and rejoyce not onely in positive ills in slanders and crosses but in losses in want of friends in want of comforts in want of liberty And so for the time to come in evills threatned a good conscience is bold It feares no ill tidings Psalme 112. My heart is fixed my heart is fixed saith David wicked men are like the trees of the forrest Isay 7. Wicked Ahaz his heart did tremble and shake as the leaves with the wind The noise of fear
estate is not good because it is not such an estate So foolish and as a beast was I before thee saith David because I regarded such things No marvell if men be uncomfortable that are led away by scandals Look to faith goe to the Word to the Sanctuarie I went to the Sanctuary saith he and there I saw the end of these men So conscience must be suffered to have its work to be led by a true rule Again conscience sometimes concludes not comfort when there is ground of comfort from the remainders of corruptions and infirmities whereas we should be driven by our infirmities to Christ. And conscisence sometimes in good men doth not exercise its work in good men it is drawn away with vain delights even in the best men And conscience of its owne unworthinesse and of the greatnesse of the things it lookes for being joyned together it makes a man that he joyes not when he hath cause As for instance when the soule sees that God in Christ hath pardoned all my sins and hath vouchsafed his Spirit to me and will give me heaven in the world to come to such a wretch as I am here being a conflict between the conscience and sense of its own unworthinesse and the greatnesse of 〈◊〉 good promised the heart begins to stagger and to doubt for want of sound faith Indeed if we look on our own unworthinesse and the greatnesse of the good things promised we may wonder but alas God is infinite in goodnesse he transcends our unworthinesse and in the Gospell the glorie of Gods mercy it triumphs over our unworthinesse and over our sins whatsoever our sin and unworthinesse is his goodnesse in the Gospel triumphs over all In Innocency God should have advanced an innocent man but the Gospel is more glorious for he comes to sinners to condemned persons by nature and yet God triumphs over their sins and unworthinesse he regards not what we deserve but what may stand with the glory of his mercy therefore we should banish those thoughts and enjoy our own priviledge the promises of heaven and happinesse and all comforts whatsoever so much for the answer of that objection Now if we would joy in the witnesse of a good conscience we must especially in the time of temptation live by faith and not by feeling not by what we feele for the present but as we see Christ in his greatest horrour My God my God why hast thou forsaken me he goes to my God still We must live by faith and not by sense And then if we would rejoyce in extremities remember that God works by contraries God will bring us to heaven but it must be by hell God will bring us to comfort but it must be by sense of our own unworthinesse He will forgive our sins but it must be by sight and sense of our sins he will bring us to life but it must be by death he will bring us to glorie but it must be by shame God works by contraries therefore in contraries believe contraries When we are in a state that hath no comfort yet we may joy in it if we believe in Christ he works by contraries As in the Creation he made all out of nothing order out of confusion So in the work of the new creation in the new creature he doth so likewise therefore be not dismayed Remember this rule likewise that in the covenant of Grace God requires truth and not measure thou art not under the law but under the covenant of Grace A little fire is true fire as well as the whole element of fire A drop of water is water as well as the whole Ocean so if it be true faith true grief for sins true hatred of them true desire of the favour of God and to grow better truth is respected in the covenant of Grace and not any set measure What saith the Covenant of Grace He that believes and repents shall be saved not he that hath a strong faith or he that hath perfect repentance So Saint Paul saith as we shall see after This is our rejoycing that in simplicity and sincerity we have had our conversation among you he doth not say that our conversation hath been perfect So if we would have joy in the testimony of conscience we must not abridge our selves of joy because we have not a perfect measure of Grace but rejoyce that God hath wrought any measure of Grace in such unclean and polluted hearts as ours are for he least measure of Grace is a pledge of perfection in the world to come This is our rejoycing the testimony of our conscience c. Hence we may gather clearly that A man may know his own estate in Grace I gather it from the place thus Our rejoycing is this the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity c. Where there is joy and the ground of joy there is a knowledge of the estate but a Christian hath glorying and a ground of glorying in himself and he knowes it he hath that in him that witnesseth that estate he hath the witnesse of conscience therefore he may know and be assured of it If this testimony were not a true testimony it were something but all men naturally have a conscience and a Christian hath a sanctified conscience and where that is there is a true testimony and true joy from that testimony therefore he may be assured of his salvation and have true joy and comfort a Heaven upon Earth before he come to Heaven it self If conscience testifie of it self and from witnessing give cause of joy much more the Spirit of God comming into the conscience The Spirit beares witnesse with our spirits If our spirit and conscience bear witnesse to us of our conversation in simplicity and sincerity and from thence of our estate in grace much more by the witnesse of two By the witnesse of two or three every thing shall be confirmed but our spirits and conscience and the Spirit of God which every Child of God hath witnesseth that we are the Children of God Rom. 8. The Spirit witnesseth with our spirits that we are the sons of God Therefore a Christian may know his estate in Grace The spirit of a man knowes himself and the Spirit of God knowes him likewise and it knowes what is in the heart of God and when these two meet the Spirit of God that knowes the secrets of God and that knowes our secrets and our spirit that knowes our heart likewise what should hinder but that we may know our own estate It is the nature of conscience as I told you to reflect upon it self and upon the person in whom it is to know what is known by it and to judge and condemne and execute it self by inward fear and terrour in ill and in good by comfort and joy in a mans self It is the property that the soul hath above all creatures to return and recoyle upon it self If this be
naturall to man much more to the spirit of a man For if a man know what is in himself naturally his own wit and understanding which is alway with him bred up with him much more he knowes by his spirit the things that are adventitious that come from without him that is the work of Grace If a man by a reflect knowledge know what naturally is in him in what part he hath it and how he exerciseth it if he know and remember what he hath done and the manner of it whether well or ill then he may know the work of the Spirit that comes from without him that works a change in him We say of light that it discovers it self and all other things so the soule it is lightsome and therefore knowes it self and knowes other things The Spirit of God is much more lightsome where it is it discovers it self and lighteneth the soule it discovereth the party in whom it is As the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 2. 12. We have the Spirit whereby we know the things that we receive of God It not onely worketh in us but it teacheth us what it hath wrought Therefore a Christian knowes that he is in the state of grace he knowes his virtues and his disposition except it be in the time of temptation and upon those grounds named before Therefore we should labour to know our estate to examine our selves whether we be in the faith or no except we be reprobates and cast awayes as the Apostle speakes A Christan should aime at this to understand his own estate in grace upon good grounds But it may be objected how can we know our estate in Grace our virtues are so imperfect our abilities are so weak and feeble I answer the ground of judging aright of our estate it is not worthiness or perfection but sincerity We must not look for perfection For that makes the Papists to teach that there may be doubting because they look to false grounds but we must look to the ground in the covenant of grace to grace it self and not to the measure Where there is truth and sincerity there is the condition of the covenant of grace and there is a ground for a man to build his estate in grace on The perfect righteousnesse of Christ is that that gives us title to heaven but to know that we have right in that title is the simplicity and sincerity in our walking in our conversation as the Apostle saith here This is our reoycing c. Therefore Christians when they are set upon by temptations of their own misdoubting hearts and by Satan they must not go to the great measure of grace that is in others that they have not so much as others and therefore they have none nor to the great measure of grace that they want themselves but to the truth of their grace the truth of their desires and endeavours the truth of their affections Hereby we know that we are translated from death to life because we love the brethren This should stir us up to have a good conscience that we may rejoyce Why should we labour that we may rejoyce Why what is our life without joy and what is joy without a good conscience What is our life with out joy without joy we can do nothing we are like an instrument out of tune an instrument out of tune it yiels but harsh musick Without joy we are as a member out of joynt we can do nothing well without joy and a good conscience which is the ground of joy A man without joy is a palsie-member that moves it self unfitly and uncomely he goes not about things as he should A good conscience breeds joy and comfort it inables a man to do all things comely in the sight of God and comfortably to himself it makes him go chearfully through his businesse A good Conscience is a continuall feast without joy we cannot suffer afflictions we cannot die well without it Simeon died comfortably because he died in peace when he had imbraced Christ in his heart and in his armes Without joy and the ground of joy we can neither do nor suffer any thing Therefore in Psalme 51. David when he had lost the peace and comfort of a good conscience he prayes for the free Spirit of God Alas till God had enlarged his heart with the sense of a good conscience in the pardon of his sins and given him the power of his Spirit to lead a better life for the time to come his spirit was not free before he could not praise God with a large spirit he wanted freedom of spirit his conscience was bound his lips were sealed up Open my lips and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise His heart was bound and therefore he prayes to have it inlarged Restore to me thy joy and salvation intimating that we cannot have a free spirit without joy and we cannot have joy without a good conscience sprinkled with the blood of Christ in the pardon of our sins If it be so that we cannot do any thing nor suffer any thing as we should that we cannot praise God that we cannot live nor die without joy and the ground of it the testimony of a good conscience let us labour then that conscience may witnesse well unto us Especially considering that an ill conscience it is the worst thing in the world there is no friend so good as a good conscience there is no foe so ill as a bad conscience it makes us either Kings or slaves A man that hath a good conscience that witnesseth well for him it raiseth his heart in a Princely manner above all things in the world a man that hath a bad conscience though he be a Monarch it makes him a slave a bad conscience imbitters all things in the world to him though they be never so comfortable in themselves What is so comfortable as the presence of God What is so comfortable as the light yet a bad conscience that will not be ruled it hates the light and hates the presence of God as we see Adam when he had sinned he fled from God A bad conscience cannot joy in the middest of joy it is like a goutie foot or a goutie toe covered with a velvet shoe alas what doth it ease it what doth glorious apparel ease the diseased body nothing at all the ill is within there the arrow sticks And so in the comforts of the Word if the conscience be bad we that are the messengers of comfort we may apply comfort to you but if there be one within that saith thus it is true but I regarded not the Word before I regarded not the checks of conscience conscience will speak more terrour then we can speak peace And after long and wilful rebellion conscience will admit of no comfort for the most part Regard it therefore in time labour in time that it may witnesse well An ill conscience when it should be most
comforted then it is most terrible at the hour of death we should have most comfort if we had any wisdom when earthly comforts shall be taken from us and at the day of judgment then an ill conscience look where it will it hath matter of terrour If it look up there is the Judge armed with vengeance if it look beneath there is hell ready to swallow it if it look on the one side there is the divell accusing and helping conscience if it look round about there is heaven and earth and all on a fire and within there is a hell where shall the sinner and ungodly appear If the righteous scarcely be saved where shall the sinner and ungodly appear at that time O let us labour to have a good conscience and to exercise the reflect power of conscience in this world that is let us examine our selves admonish our selves judge our selves condemn our selves do all in our selves Let us keep court at home first let us keep the assizes there and then we shall have comfort at the great assizes Therefore God out of his love hath put conscience into the soule that we might keep a court at home Let conscience therefore do its worst now let it accuse let it judge and when it hath judged let it smite us and do execution upon us that having judged our selves we may not be condemned with the world If we suffer not conscience to have its full work now it will have it one day a sleepy conscience will not alway sleep if we do not suffer conscience to awake here it will awaken in hell where there is no remedy Therefore give conscience leave to speak what it will perhaps it will tell thee a tale in thine ear which thou wouldest be loath to hear it will pursue thee with terrours like a blood-hound and will not suffer thee to rest therefore as a bankrupt thou art loath to look in thy books because there is nothing but matter of terrour This is but a folly for at the last conscience will do its duty it will awaken either here or in hell Therefore we are to hope the best of them that have their consciences opened here there is hope that they will make their peace with God that they will agree with their adversary while they are in the way If thou suffer conscience to be sleepy and drowsie till it be awaked in hell wo unto thee for then thy estate is determined of it will be a barren repentance Now thy repentance may be fruitful it may force theeto make thy peace with God dost thou think it will alway be thus with thee Thou besottest thy conscience with sensualitie and sayest Go thy way and come another time as he said to St. Paul I will tell thee this peace will prove a tempest in the end Conscience of all things in the world deserves the greatest reverence more then any Monarch in the world for it is above all men it is next unto God and yet what do many men regard the honour 〈◊〉 their friends more then conscience that inward friend that shall accompany them to heaven that will go with them to death and to judgement and make them lift up their heads with joy when other friends cannot help them but must needs leave them in death Now for a man to follow the humours of men to follow the multitude and to stain conscience what a foolish wretch is he though such men think themselves never so wise it is the greatest folly in the world to stain conscience to please any man because conscience is above all men Again those that follow their own humours their own dispositions and are carried away with their own lusts it is a folly and madnesse for the time will come that that which their covetous base lust hath carried them to that shall be taken away as honours riches pleasures which is the fuel of that lust which makes them now neglect conscience all shall be taken away in sicknesse or in the time of despair when conscience shall be awaked Now what folly is it to please thy own lust which thou should'st mortifie and subdue and to displease conscience thy best friend and then when thy lust is fully satisfied all that hath been fuel to it that hath fed it shall be taken away at the hour of death or some special judgement and conscience shall be awaked and shall torment thee for giving liberty to thy base lusts and to thy self And those eyes of thy soul that thy offence delighted to shut up there shall some punishment come either in this life or in that to come that shall open those eyes As Adams eyes were opened after his sin why were they not open before he had such a strong desire to the apple he did not regard them but his punishment afterward opened those eyes which his inordinate desire shut So it shall be with every sinner therefore regard no man in the world more then thy conscience Regard nothing no pleasure no profit more then conscience reverence it more then any thing in the world Happie is that man that carries with him a good conscience that can witnesse that he hath said nor done nothing that may vex or grieve conscience if it be otherwise whatsoever a man gains he loseth in conscience and there is no comparison between those two One crack one flaw in conscience will prove more disadvantagious then the rest will be profitable Thou must cast up the rest again they are sweet bits downward but they shall be gravel in the belly We think when we have gained any thing when we have done any thing we shall hear no more of it as David said to Joab when he set him to make away Uriah Let not this trouble thee So let not this ill gain let not this ill speech or this ill carriage trouble thee thou shalt hear no more of this We take order to stop and silence conscience thinking never to hear more of it oh but remember conscience will have its work and the longer we defer the witnesse and work of conscience the more it will terrifie and accuse us afterward Therefore of all men be they never so great they are most miserable that follow their wills and their lusts most that never have any outward check or inward check of conscience but drown it with sensual pleasures As Charles the 9 th who at night when conscience hath the fittest time to work a man being retired then he would have his singing boyes after he had betreyed them in that horrible Massacre after which he never had peace and quiet And as Saul sent for Davids Harpe when the evil spirit was upon him So wicked men they look for forreign helps but it will not be for the greatest men with their forreign helps are most miserable The reason is because the more they sink in rebellion and sin against conscience the more they sink in terrours it shall be the
greatest torment to those that have had their wills most in the world the more their conscience is silenced and violenced in this world the more vocal it shall be at the hour of death and the day of judgement Therefore judge who are the most miserable men in the world although they have never so much regard in the world besides those that have consciences but will not suffer them to work but with sensuality within them and by pleasing flattering speech of those without them they keep it down and take order that neither conscience within nor none other without shall disturbe them if they do they shall be served as Ahab dealt with Micaia These men that are thus at peace in sinful courses of all men they are most miserable they enjoy their pleasure here for a little time but their conscience shall torment them for ever and shall say to them as Reuben said to his Brethren I told you this before but you would not hearken to me and now you shall be tormented Conscience is an evil beast it makes a man rise against himself therefore of all men those that be disordered in their courses that neglect conscience and neglect the means of salvation that should awaken conscience they are the most miserable for the longer they go on the more they sink in sin and the more they sink in sin the more they sink in terrour of conscience if not now yet they shall hereafter If we desire therefore to have joy and comfort at all times let us labour to have a good conscience that may witnesse well And therefore let us every day keep an audite within doors every day cast up our accounts every day draw the blood of Christ over our accounts every day beg forgivenesse of sins and the Spirit of Christ to lead us that so we may keep account every day that we may make our reckonings even every day that we may have the lesse to do in the time of sicknesse in the time of temptation and in the time of death when we have discharged our Consciences before by keeping session at home in our own hearts This should be the daily practice of a Christian and then he may lay himself down in peace He that sleeps with a conscience defiled is as he that sleeps among wild beasts among adders and toades that if his eyes were open to see them he would be out of his wits He that sleeps without a good conscience he is an unadvised man God may make his bed his grave he may smite him suddenly therefore let us every day labour to have a good conscience that so we may have matter of perpetual joy A good conscience especially is an Evangelicall conscience for a legall good conscience none have that is such a conscience as acquits a man that he hath obeyed the law in all things exactly A legall compleat good conscience none have except in some particular fact there is a good Conscience in fact As the Heathen could excuse themselves they were thus and thus and God ministreth much joy in that But an Evangelical good Conscience is that we must trust to that is such a Conscience that though it knowes it self guilty of sin yet it knowes that Christ hath shed his blood for sinners and such a Conscience as by meanes of faith is sprinkled with the blood of Christ and is cleared from the accusations of sin There is an Evangelicall Conscience when by faith wrought by the Spirit of God in the hearing of the Gospell we lay hold upon the obedience and righteousnesse of Christ. And such is the obedience and righteousnesse of Christ that it pacifieth the conscience which nothing else in the world will doe the conscience without a full obedience it will alway stagger And that is the reason that Conscience confounds and confutes the Popish way of salvation by works c. Because the conscience alway staggers and feares I have not done works enough I have not done them well enough those that I have done they have been corrupt and mixed and therefore I dare not bring them to the Judgement-seat of God to plead them meritorious Therefore they do well to hold uncertainty of salvation because holding merit they must needs be uncertaiu of their salvation A true Christian is certain of his salvation because his conscience layes hold on the blood of Christ because the obedience whereby he claimes heaven is a superabundant obedience it is the satisfaction of Christ as the Apostle saith in that excellent place Heb. 9. 24. The blood of Christ which offered himself by the eternall Spirit that is by the God-head shall cleanse your consciences from dead works to serve the living God The blood of Christ that offered himself his humane nature by his divine to God as a sacrifice it shall purge your consciences from dead works The blood of Christ that is the Sacrifice the obedience of Christ in offering himself fully pacified God and answered the punishment which we should have indured for he was our surety The blood of Christ speaks better then the blood of Abel It speaks better then our sins Our sins cry vengeance but the blood of Christ cries mercy The blood of Christ out-cries our sins the guilty conscience for sin cries Guiltie guiltie hell Damnation wrath and anguish but the blood of Christ cries I say mercy because it was shed by our surety in our behalf his obedience is a full satisfaction to God Now the way to have a good conscience is upon the accusations of an evill conscience by the law to come to Christ our surety and to get our consciences sprinked by faith in his blood to get a perswasion that he shed his blood for us and upon that to labour to be purged by the Spirit There are two purgers the blood of Christ from the guilt of sin and the Spirit of Christ from the stain of sin and upon that comes a compleat good conscience being justified by the blood of Christ and sanctified by the Spirit of Christ. Therefore Christ came not by blood alone or by water alone but by water and blood by blood in justification by water in sanctification and holinesse of life Why do we alleadge this now for the Sacrament We speak of a good conscience which is a continual feast How comes a good conscience to be such a continual feast An Evangelicall conscience is a feast indeed because it feeds on a higher feast it feeds on Christ he is the Passeover Lambe as the Apostle applies it 1. Cor. 5. he is the Passeover slain for us and there is represented in the Sacrament his body broken and his blood poured out for our sins he came to feast us and we shall feast with him Hereupon if we bring repentance for our sins past and faith whereby we are incorporate into Christ then our consciences speak peace and as it is in 1 Pet. 5. the conscience makes a
good demand It is not baptisme but the demand of a good conscience When the conscience hath fed on Christ it demands boldly as it is Rom. 8. of Satan and all enemies Who shall lay any thing to our charge it is God that justifieth it is Christ that died or rather that is risen again It boldly demands of God who hath given his Son the bold demand of conscience prevails with God and this comes by faith in Christ. Now this is strengthened by the Sacrament here are the visible representations and seales that we are incorporate more and more into Christ and so feeding upon Christ once our conscience is pacified and purged from all dead works and we come to have a continuall feast Christ is first the Prince of righteousnesse the righteous King and then Prince of peace first he gives righteonsnesse and then he speaks peace to the conscience The Kingdom of God is righteousnesse peace and joy in the Holy Ghost So that all our feast and joy and comfort that we have in our consciences it must be from righteousnesse A double righteousnesse the righteousnesse of Christ which hath satisfied and appeased the wrath of God fully and then we must have the righteousnesse of a good conscience sanctified by the Spirit of Christ we must put them together alway we can never have communion with Christ and have forgivenesse of sins but we must have a Spirit of sanctification There is mercy with thee that thou mayest be feared Where there is mercy in the forgivenesse of sin there is a disposition to fear it ever after Therefore if for the present you would have a good conscience desire God to strengthen your faith in the blood of Christ poured out for you desire God to strengthen your faith in the crucified bodie of Christ broken for you that so feeding on Christ who is your surety who himself is yours and all is yours you may ever have the feast of a good conscience that will comfort you in false imputations that will comfort you in life and in death and at the day of judgement This is our rejoycing in all things the testimony of our conscience first purged by the blood of Christ and then purged and sanctified by the Spirit of Christ that we have had our Conversation in simplicity and sincerity c. Our rejoycing is this that in simplicity and sincerity This is the matter of this testimonie of Conscience that is simplicity and sincerity Saint Paul glories in his simplieity and sincerity And mark that by the way it is no vain glorying but lawful upon such cautions as I named before but to add a little A man in some cases may glory in the Graces of God that are in him but with these cautions First if so be that he look on them as the gifts of God Secondly if he look on them as stained with his own defects and so in that respect be humbled Thirdly if he look upon them as fruits of his justification and as fruites of his assurance of his salvation and not as causes And then if it be before men that he glories not when he is to deale with God When men lay this and that imputation upon a man he may rejoyce as Saint Paul doth here in the testimony of his conscience in simplicity and sincerity The matter of the testimony of Conscience wherein he glories is simplicity and godly sincerity or as the words may well be read in the simplicity and sincerity of God such as proceeds from God and such as aimes at and looks to God and resembles God For both simplicity and sincerity come from God they are wrought by God and therein we resemble God and both of them have an eye to God a respect to God so it is in the originall in the simplicity and sincerity of God There is not much difference between simplicity and sincerity the one expresseth the other if you will have the difference simplicity especially respects men our conversation amongst men Simplicity hath an eye to God in all things in Religion opposite to hypocrisy in Religion Simplicity that is opposed to doublenesse where doublenesse is there is alway hypocrisy opposed to sincerity and where simplicity is there is alway sincerity truth to God But it is not good to be very exact and punctuall in the distinction of these things they may one expresse the other very well Simplicity Saint Paul's rejoycing was that his conscience witnessed to him his simplicity in his whole conversation in the world his whole course of life which the Scripture calls in other places a walking Saint Paul meanes this first of himself and then he propoundes himself an example to us How was St. Paul's conversation in simplicity Not onely if we consider Saint Paul as a Christian but consider him as an Apostle his conversarion was in simplicity It was without guile without seeking himself without seeking his owne for rather then he would be grievous to the Corinthians the man of God he wrought himself because he would not give any the least scandall to them being a rich people he had rather live by his own labour then to open his mouth he did not seek himself In a word he did not serve himself of the Gospell he served Christ he did not serve himself of Christ. There are many that serve themselves of the Gospell that serve themselves of religion they care no more for religion then will serve their owne turne Saint Paul's conversation was in simplicity he had no such aime he did not preach of envy orof malice or for gain as he taxeth some of the Philippian teachers Some preach Christ not of simplicity and sincerity but of envy c. Then again as an Apostle and a teacher his conversation was in simplicity because he mingled nothing with the Word of God in teaching his doctrine is pure What should the chaffe do with the wheat Jer. 20. What should the drosse do with the Gold he did not mingle his own conceits and devices with the Word for he taught the pure Word of God the simple Word of God simple without any mixture of any by-aimes So the blessed Apostle was simple both in his Doctrine and in his intentions Propounding himself herein exemplary to all us that as we look to hold up our heads with comfort and to glory in all estat es whatsoever so our consciences must bear us witnesse that we carry our selves in the simplicity and sincerity of God Now simplicity is when there is a conformity of pretention and intention when there is nothing double when there is not a contradiction in the spirit of a man and in his words and carriage outwardly That is simplicty when there is an exact conformity and correspondence in a mans judgement and speech in his affections and actions When a man judgeth simply as the truth of the thing is and when he affects as he judgeth when he loves
is unsettled Again by terrours of conscience a double-minded man that will please God and yet be a worldling is unconstant in all his wayes If his eye were single then all his body would be light that is if a man had a single judgment to know what is right to know what in life and in death to stick to all would be single the judgment and intentions go together when a mans judgment is convinced of the goodnesse of spiritual things upon judgment followes intention When a man desires and resolves to serve God and to please him in all things then all the body and his affections are lightsome his affections and his outward man goes with a single eye A man that hath a false weak judgment and thereupon a false weak double intention his body is dark he hath a darksome conversation A double-minded man is unconstant in all his wayes Therefore we should labour for this simplicity in all our conversation Again we should the rather labour for this simplicity because it is part of the Image of God therein we resemble God in whom is no mixture at all of contraries but all is alike And as it resembles God so it bears us out in the presence of God and our own conscience as he saith here Our rejoycing is this the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity c. Now God is greater then conscience A man that carries himself in simplicity and in an uniform even manner to God and to men that man hath comfort in his conscience and comfort before God And of all other sins the time will come that none will lie heavier on us then doubling both with men and with God when it will appear that we have not been the men that we carried our selves to be The reason is the more will there is in a sin and the more advisednesse the greater is the sin and the greater the sin is the greater the terrour of conscience and the greater that is the more fear and trembling before God that knowes conscience better then we do Now where there is doubling where a man is not one in his outward and inward man in his conversation to men when there is a covering of hatred and of ill affections with contrary pretences there is advisement there is much will and little passion to bear a man out to excuse him but he doth it as we say in coole blood and that makes dissimulation so grosse hecause it is in cold blood The more will and advisement is in any sin the greater it is so the aggravation of sin is to be considered and where temptations are strong and the lesse a man is himself so there is a diminution and a lesse aggravation as when a man is carried with passion with infirmitie or the like But usually when men double they plot David he plotted before and after his sin he doubled before and after his sin that was laid to his charge more then all that ever he did in his life He was a man after Gods own heart except in the matter of Uriah Why Because in that he plotted We see before what many shifts and windings and turnings he had to accomplish it He sends Uriah to Joab and gives him a letter to place him in the fore front and useth many projects And after it was committed how did he cover it and when it was hid from men he would have hid it from God a great while till God pulled him from his hiding place and made him confesse roundly Psalme 32. till he dealt directly with God My bones were consumed and my moisture was turned into the drought of summer He did it from men and would have hid it from God Therefore because there was much plotting in that sin that is set down as the onely blemish in all his life He was a man after Gods own heart except in the matter of Uriah Many other faults are recorded in the Booke of God of David but because there might be some excuse they were from infirmity or out of passion or oversight c. they are not so charged on him But this was with plotting it was in cold blood there was much will and advice in it therefore this is doted for a great sin And if it be in our dealing amongst men we should consider who it is we deceive who it is we go beyond in doubling who it is that we circumvent and who it is that doth it Are we not all Christians we are or should be all new creatures And who do we do it to to our fellow-members and to our brethren Therefore in 1. Thess. 4. when the Apostle disswades the Thessalonians from this from double dealing and double carriage to men saith he You are members one of another Let us consider who we are and whom we deal with Now there be some persons and some courses that are likelier and more prone to this doubling then others for want of this grace of simplicity Wherethere is strength of parts there is oft-times a turning of them against God and against our brethren where Grace hath not subdued strong Imaginations strong thoughts and brought all under it there is a turning of those parts against God and against our brethren And as it is in particular persons So some callings are more prone to double-dealing to this carriage that is not fair and commendable before God nor comfortable to the conscience As we see now adaies it reigns every where in every street We see amongst men of Trade Merchants and the like there is not that direct dealing they know one thing and pretend another So likewise in the Lawes there are many imputations I would they were false that men set false colours upon ill causes to gild a rotten post as we say to call white black and black white There is a woe in Esay pronounced against such as justifie hard causes such as call evill good and good evil it is a greater sin then it is usually taken for So go to any rank of men they have learned the Art of dissimulation in their course they have learned to sell wind to sell words to sell nothing to sell pretexts to overthrow a man by way of commendations and flattery such tricks there are which are contrary to this simplicity To cover hatred with fair words to kill with kindnesse as we say to overthrow a man with commendations To commend a man before another who is jealous of the vertues he commends him for To commend a man for valour before a coward to commend a man and thereby to take occasion to send him out of the way To commend a man and then to come in with an exception to marre all To cover revenge and hatred with fair carriage thereby to get opportunity to revenge such tricks there are abroad which oft-times discover themselves at length For God is just he will discover all these
good we have is it not from him And the nearer you come to him the more your happinesse is increased the more you are striped of earthly things the more you have in God Hath not he mens hearts in his hands when you think you shall endanger your selves thus and thusby plain direct dealing without doubling if you be called to the profession of the truth c. Hath not he the hearts of men in his hands to make them favour you when he pleaseth In Pro. 10. He that walketh uprightly walketh boldly He that walketh uprightly not doubling in his courses he walketh safely God will procure his safety God that hath the hearts of men in his hand as the rivers of water he can turn them to favour such a man A mans nature is inclined to favour downe-right dealing men and to hate the contrary You see the three young men when they were threatened with fire come what will O King we will not worship the Image of Gold which thou hast set up They would be burned first What lost they by it Howsoever if we should lose as it is not to be granted that we canlose any thing by direct dealing For the earth is the Lords the fulnesse thereof and the hearts of men are his But suppose they doe yet they gain in better things in comfort of conscience and expectation and hope of better things Faith is the ground of courage and the ground of all other Graces that carrie a mans courage in a course of simplicitie in this World Therefore if we would walk simply and have our conversation in the world in this grace let us labour especially for faith to depend upon Gods promises to approve our selves to him to make him our last and chief end and our communion with him and to direct all our courses to that end This is indeed to set him up a Throne in our hearts and to make him a god when rather then we will displease him or his Vicegerent his Vicar in us which is conscience that he hath placed in us as a monitor and as a witnesse we will venture the losse of the creature of any thing in the world rather then we will displease that Vicar which he hath set in our hearts This I say is to make him a god and he will take the care and protection of such a man S. Paul here in all the imputations in all crosses in the world he retires home to himself to his own house to conscience and that did bear him out that in simplicity he had had his conversation in the world The next particular is In Sincerity The Apostle addes to simplicity this Godly sincerity and he may well joyn these two together for plainnesse and truth go together a plain heart is usually a true heart Doublenesse and hypocrisie which are contrary they alwaies go together he that is not plain to men will not be sincere to God Simplicity respects our whole course with men sincerity hath an eye to God though perhaps in matters and actions towards men Sincerity is alway with a respect to God and so it is opposed to hypocrisie a vice in Religion opposite to God Now this Sincerity that the Apostle speaks of it is A blessed frame of the soul wrought by the Spirit of God whereby the soul is set straight and right in a purpose to please God in all things and in endeavours answerable to that purpose and to offend him in nothing I make a plain description because I intend practice there may be some nicer descriptions But I say It is a blessed frame of the soul wrought by the sincere Spirit of God whereby the soul is set straight and right to purpose and to endeavour all that is pleasing in Gods sight and that with an intention to please God with an eye to God or else it is not sincerity It is such a disposition and frame of soul that doth all good that hates all ill with a purpose to please God in all with an eye to God And therefore it is called sincerity of God or godly sincerity and it is called so fitly because God is not onely the authour of it but God is the aim of it and the pattern of it for he is the first thing that is sincere that is simple and unmixed God is the pattern of it it makes us like to God and he is the aim of it A man that is sincere aimes at God in all his courses wherein he aimes not at God he is not sincere It comes from God and it looks to God For naturally we are all hypocrites we look to shewes therefore sincerity is from God And it is the sincerity of God especially because where this sincerity is it makes us aime at God in all things it makes us have respect to him in all things as the creature should have respect to the Creator the servant to the Master the sonne to the Father the Subject to the Prince The relations we stand in to God should make us aime at him in all things The Observation from hence is this A Christian that hopes for joy must have his conscience witnesse to him that his conversation is in the sincerity of God As the Apostle saith here This is the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity we have had our conversation c. Now to go on with this sincerity and lay it open a little Sincerity it is not so much a distinct thing as that which goes with every good thing Truth and sincerity it is not so much a distinct vertue and grace as a truth joyned to all graces As sincere hope sincere faith sincere love sincere repentance sincere confession It is a grace annexed to every grace it is the life and soul of every grace and all is nothing without it Therefore it behoves us to consider of it I say not so much a distinct thing from other graces as that which makes other graces to be graces without which they are nothing at all so much sincerity so much reality So much as we have not in sincerity we have nothing to God it is but an empty shew and will be so accounted In Philosophy you know that which is true onely hath a being and consistence all truth hath a being all falshood is nothing it is a counterfeit thing it is nothing to that it is pretended to be An Image is something but S. Paul calls it nothing because it is not that which it should be and which the Idolater would have it to be he would have it to be a God but it is nothing lesse All is nothing without sincerity Therefore let us consider of it And that we may the better consider of it let us look upon it in every action All actions are either Good Ill. Indifferent How is Sincerity discovered in good actions Sincerity is tryed in good actions many waies First of all a man that is
we should be able to offer willingly after this sort All things come of thee of thiue owne I have given thee So he humbled himself in thankfulnesse to God For ill actions a true sincere Christian before-hand he intends none he regards none in his heart Psal. 66. If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear my prayers His disposition is to regard none he is in league with none if he were his heart were false his conscience would tell him he were an hypocrite He is subject to infirmities but he doth not respect them he doth not regard them he intends not in his heart to live in them Again if he fall into any sin he is sincerely grieved for them his heart is tender and he sincerely confesseth them without guile Psal. 32. Blessed is the man in whose spirit there is no guile who when he sees he hath sinned he doth not guilefully cloak and extenuate his sin As we see Saul he had many evasions and excuses for himself A true Christian will lay open his sin with all the aggravations that his conscience tells him of As David saith what a foole and what a beast was I what an unthankful creature was I to sin against so many benefits and favours he will be ashamed and confounded in himself And of all sins a sincere Christian is most carefull to avoid his personal sins you may know sinceritie by that He that takes not heed to that which he is most inclined unto he shall be tripped in it An hypocrite and false-hearted man he doth good but it is with a purpose to be favoured in some sin wherein he strengtheneth himself he will doe something that God may be favourable to him in other things But a true sincere Christian though he be inclined by temper of body or by his calling or by the former custome of his unregenerate life to some sin more then another and he hath not shaken some sin wholly off he hath not purged himself wholly of the dregs of it but he findes still a propensenesse in his nature to it yet as far as he is sincere he gets strength especially against that A false-hearted man favours himself especially in those sins and will swell if he be found out in them he will not bear a reproofe But a Christian that is sincere that intends amendment that intends to be better he would reform his heart if it be amisse and is willing to be discovered in his most particular and personall sins that he is prone to We may trie our selves by this not onely by hating sin in generall and at large but how we stand affected especially to those particular sins we are most prone to sincerity as it hates all wicked waies so it hates those sins that are most sweet that we are most prone to as well as any other nay more then any other because those especially indanger the soul. A Child of God will abstain from all evill he will be carefull not onely that others abstain from sin but he will abstain from sin himself most of all Noysome things we hate them alwaies but we hate them most when they are nearest us As a Toade we hate it a farre off much more when it is neare so a sincere Christian hates sin most in his own breast Now because sincerity hath an eye to God I must hate all sin as well as any or else I am not sincere A man that hath the point of his soule to God-ward he will hate all manner of ill little ills as well as great because all sin agrees in this all sin is against God it is contrary to the mind of God and all sin is pernicious to the soule all sin is against the pure Word of God and considering it is so therefore I must hate all sin if I hate any because God hates all and all sin is contrary to the Image of God and not onely contrary to the Image of God but contrary to the revealed will of God contrary to my soules comfort contrary to communion with God and contrary to the peace of my conscience those regards come in every sin every sin hinders that Again where the soule and conscience is sincere there will be a special care for the time to come of the sins we have been overtaken with all So we see how this sincerity may be tryed in abstaining from evill as well as in the good we do For actions that are of a more common nature that in themselves are neither good nor ill but as the doer is and as the doer stands affected a true Christian may be tryed by them thus For the actions of his calling though they be good in their kind yet they be not religious thus he stands affected if he be sincere he doth them as Gods work Common actions are as the doer is affected A sincere man considers what he doth as Gods work he is eommanded to serve God in his calling as well as in the Church and therefore he will not doe it negligently For cursed is he that doth the work of the Lord negligently He will not do it falsely he will not prophane his calling I will not prostitute my calling to serve my lust or to serve my gain doth not God see it is not he the authour of my calling is it not his work saith conscience Yes and therefore he doth common actions with an eye to God and so he makes them good and religious actions For the Grace of God is a blessed Alcumist where it toucheth it makes good and religious though the actions be not so in their own nature it raiseth the actions it elevates them higher then themselves It makes the actions of our calling that are ordinary actions to be holie when they are done with an eye of sincerity to God As Saint Paul saith the very servant serves God in serving his master And so for actions that we account most indifferent as recreations and liberty to refresh our selves a sincere man considers of them as a liberty bought to him by the blood of Christ and considers himself in the presence of God And therefore whatsoever he doth whether he eate or drink c. he still useth his refreshings as in the presence of God and doth all as in the sight of God His conversation that is his whole course whatsoever he doth is sincere with an eye to God He knowes his corruption is such that it most watcheth him in his liberties for the more lawful a thing is the more we are in danger to be intangled in it In excesse in open ills there is not so much danger as in things that seeme indifferent lawfull recreations c. Recreations and such things are lawfull but to spend whole nights unthriftily basely scandalously this way it is not onely against Religion but against civility in a civill mans judgement it is a scandall to the place and person
them and makes them grow more afterward and recover their former backwardnesse A true Christian is alway on the mending hand An hypocrite growes worse and worse alway till he be uncased altogether and turned into hell These and such like considerations may stirre us up to labour to have a conversation in simplicity and godly sincerity Now how shall we come to carry our selves in sincerity that we may have comfort in all estates That we may carry our selves in sincerity First we must get a change of heart our nature must be changed for by nature a man aimes at himself in all things and not at God A man makes himself his last end he makes something in the world either profits or pleasures c. the term that he looks unto therefore there must be a change of heart a man must be a good man or else he cannot be a sincere man Such as we are such our actions will be therefore we cannot be sincere till we have our hearts changed No man can aim at Gods glory but he that hath felt Gods love in himself therefore as a particular branch of that labour to get assurance of the love of God in Jesus Christ for how can we endeavour to please him unlesse we love him and how can we love him unlesse we be perswaded that he loves us in Christ Therefore let us stablish our hearts more and more in the Evidences of his love to us and then knowing that he loves us we shall love him and labour to please him in all things These are grounds that must be laid before we can be sincere to get assurance of Gods love to us in the pardon of our sins Our conscience must be purged from dead works to serve the living God as the Apostle saith that is we cannot serve God to our comfort till our consciences are sprinkled with the blood of Christ which assures us of the pardon of our sins Therefore saith Zachary We are redeemed that we might serve him in righteousnesse and holinesse before him all the dayes of our life So that unlesse a man be redeemed he cannot serve him in righteousnesse and holinesse before him all the daies of his life that is he cannot serve God in sincerity For who will labour to please his enemy Therefore the Papists maintain hypocrisie when they say we ought not to be perswaded of the love of God for then we ought to be hypocrites for how shall we seek him with the losse of favour and of credit and of life it self if we know not that his favour will stand us in stead if we lose these things for him Again that we may be sincere let us labour to mortifie all our earthly affections to the world for how can we be sincere when we seek for honours and pleasures and riches and not for better things Therefore we must know that there is more good to be had in truth in a down-right Christian profession then in all worldly good whatsoever And if we be hypocrites in our profession there is more ill in that then in any thing in the world This will make us sincere when we can be perswaded that we shall get better things by being sincere in Religion then the world can give us or take away from us For why are men insincere and false-hearted Because they think not Religion to be the true good they think it is better to have riches then to have a good mind these things therefore must be mortified and a man must know that the life of a Christian is incomparably the best life though it be with losse of liberty yea with the losse of life it self Simon Magus grew to false affections in Religion because he thought to have profit by it So the Pharisees they had naughty hearts and therefore they had no good by Religion No man can profit by Religion so long as his heart is naught so long as there is some Idol in his heart A good Christian had rather have a large heart to serve God and rather grow in the Image of God to be like him then to grow in any thing in the world and that makes him sincere out of a good judgment because Christian excellency is the best excellency incomparably For he knowes well what all else will be ere long what will all do good riches honours friends what good will they do in the hour of death There is nothing but grace and the expression of it in the whole conversation that will comfort us therefore he undervalues all things in the world to sincerity and a good conscience Again that we may have our conversation in sincerity let us labour in every thing we do to approve our selves to the eye of God We see the Scripture every where shewes that this hath made Gods Children consciencious in all their courses even when they might have sinned not only securely but with advantage What kept Joseph from committing folly with his Mistresse Shall I do this and sin against God Gen. 39. And so Job in chap 31. he shewes what awed and kept him from ill doing in vers 3. Doth not he see my wayes and account all my steps this was it that kept him in awe So the Church of God Psal. 44. being in great distresse they kept themselves from Idolatry and from the contagion of the times wherein they lived upon what ground you shall see in vers 21. If we had done thus and thus shall not God search it out for he knowes the very secrets of the heart So a Christian being perswaded of the eye of God upon him it makes him sincere The eye of God being Ten thousand times brighter then the Sun he being light it self he made the heart and he knowes all the turnings of the heart The consideration of this will make us sincere in our closets in our very thoughts for they all lie naked and open to his view What is the reason that men practise secret villainy secret wickednesse and give themselves to speculative filthinesse because they are atheists they forget that they are in the eye of God who sees the plots and projects of their hearts and the nets that they have laid for their brethren Therefore David brings them in saying Tush God sees us not And that is the reason they are unconscionable in their desires in their hearts in their secret thoughts It is from a hidden Atheisme For if we did consider that the eye of God sees us in all our intents and actions and sees us in what manner we do all and to what end that he sees every action with the circumstances the aimes and ends if the heart did well ponder this it would prevent a great deal of evil Conscience is the witnesse of our conversation a witnesse that will keep us from offending If there were a witnesse by and that witnesse were a great person a Judge c. it would keep us in our
Pharaoh in the overthrow of Gods people saith he Let us work wisely How wisely they were overthrown and drowned themselves their wisdome brought them into the middest of the Sea Consider the vanity of earthly things And then consider how just it is with God to crosse them either in their own time as the rich fool in the Gospel when he had riches for many yeares This night shall they take away thy soul. That we may not walk according to the false rules of fleshly wisdome let us oft think of these things And to adde another thing out of the Text You see here that S. Paul rejoyced in this That his conscience could witnesse that he had not walked in fleshly wisdome so if you do not walk according to the rules of fleshly wisdome you shall have this benefit your conscience shall glory in it To make it clear to you Take in your thoughts a Politician upon his Death-bed that hath striven so much for riches that hath striven to root himself by policy to attain to such and such places to obtain his pleasure and delights in the world what glory what comfort hath he in this There is nothing more opposite to comfort then plotting for as I said before when I spake of simplicity the more will there is the more deliberation and plotting there is in sin the more is the sin because it is done cooly as we say so of all persons usually if their wits be their own the greatest plotters die most desperately For then their conscience tells them that they have set their wits on the rack to do this mischief and that mischief and here his comfort is cooled his peace of conscience is broken What comfort can there be when that which he sinned for that which he broke the peace of his conscience for that is gone and he must be taken and hurried away from that but the wound of conscience the crack of conscience that remains for ever when he shall think That for which I sinned is vanished but my terrour abides for ever A man therefore that walks after the rules of fleshly wisdome he can never say with S. Paul I rejoyce But on the contrary let a man be able to witnesse to himself as S. Paul could At such a time my fleshly subtle wisdome would have discouraged me from doing good and the wisdome of flesh and blood in others would have discouraged me from reforming such and such abuses but I knew it was my duty and I did it here now is comfort At such a time I was moved to such evil by flesh and blood in my self or perhaps in others as a man shall never want the Devil in his friends the Devil comes to us in our nearest friends but I had the grace to withstand it I was not led by such and such ruleâ—… by my acquaintance or by my own devices but I had grace to resist such motions What a wondrous comfort is this There is nothing so sharp in conflict as this To resist Carnal wisdome it is the shrewdest temptation that is from carnal wisdome and as the Temptation is the strongest so the comfort is answerable When Jezabel shall be offered with her inticements with her colours with her paint and a man can dash her in pieces and cast her out of the window when a man can maintain sincerity and honesty what a comfort is this The greater and stronger the temptation is that is resisted the more is the comfort when we come to yield our soules to God when we come to our account Therefore be not discouraged when you are set upon by Carnal wisdome by strong reasons of others or subtle reasons of your own is it against the rule is it against Conscience is it against the Word withstand it that which is sharpest in the conflict will be sweetest in the comfort Again if so be that Carnal fleshly worldly wisdome for it is all one for the flesh is led by the world and both coâ—…spire together and hold correspondence to betray the soul if it be such an enemy that it hinders our joy and comfort and that it ever we will joâ—… we must not be led by carnal wisdome Then we ought in our daily courses to repent not onely of grosse sins but to repent even of carnal devices and carnal designs Why It is the motion and the counsel of Gods enemâ—… and of our enemy therefore as Davia Psalr 37. and Psal 7â—… when fleshly wisdome did suggest to him carnal motions oâ—… doubting of the providence of God that he began to think well of the waies of the wicked that they prospered that were led altogether by fleshly wisdome he censures himself it is the drift of both Psalmes So foolish was I and as a beast before thee As indeed Man is a beast by his own knowledge as Jeremy saith For all carnal men sympathize either with beasts in base lusts or else with Devils in politick lusts either they are like Devils subtle or like beasts brutish in all their courses Therefore when any base thought opposite to the Majestie of God and his Truth and to the Spirit of God moving our hearts ariseth in our hearts think This is the motion of mine enemy of an enemy that lurks in my bosome of Godsenemy of a Traitor let us renounce it and be abased and censure our selves for it as holy David did So foolish was I c. Crush all thoughts and devices of carnal wisdome in the beginning We see that the Godly they ought not nor do not lead their lives by fleshly wisdome nay take it in the best sense take it for the rules of reason they do not lead their lives altogether by the light of nature but only in those things wherein the light of nature and reason may be a Judge For the light of reason the principle of reason is given us as a candle in the dark night of this world to lead us in Civil and in common actions and it hath its use but yet natural reason it becomes carnal reason in a man that is carnal All things are impure to him that is impure even his very light is darknesse Not that the light of nature and that reason which is a part of the Image of God is in it self evil it is good in it self but the vessel taints it Those that have great parts of learning that have great wits and helps of learning as much as may be what do they they trust in them and so they stain them Therefore Luther was wont to say Good works are good but to trust in good works is damnable So nature and reason and learning they are good in themselves but trusting in them they become carnal when a man neglects better rules for them when men scorn Religion as your Politicians usually do then naturall reason in regard of this tainture it becomes Carnal Not with fleshly wisdome or not with natural wisdom as it is a
that he possibly could fuffer and he laid in the other balance the things that he had in hope and promise and he resolves all that I can suffer that should shake me off from my course it is not worthy of the glory that shall be revealed saith he if you balance both you will conclude this There are many things that may shake us in our Christian course St. Paul thought of all Satans snares I am not ignorant of his enterprizes saith he And then for the world that might cast trumperie in his way saith he I am crucified to the world and the world is crucified to me And for any thing that might happen to him he knew that the issue of all things should work for the best to them that love God he includes himself Rom. 8. saith he We know it before-hand we believe before troubles or evills come come what will the issue of all things is in the regiment and power of God and as he pleaseth all shall work for the best to those that love God and therefore as I am so I will be What should hinder if all things help me nothing can hinder me And then Saint Paul took this course he looked forward still Philip 3. I presse forward to the price of the high calling he forgat that which was behind and he resolved to go forward he had a mind to grow better and better alway and this comforted him that he should hold out to the end For it is the reward of a growing Christian to have a sweet sense of his present state of Grace in Gods favour and to hold out to the end Such a man is like the Sun that growes up still till he come to high noon-day as Solomon saith Saint Paul took this course he strove for perfection he had a crown in his eye a crown of righteousnesse and glory and that will not suffer a man to be idle and cold that hath such a thing in his eye Saint Paul to whet his endeavour not onely looked forward but to glory for as Christ looked to the glorie and despised the shame so Saint Paul looked to the crown and despised all his sufferings Then besides Saint Paul was conscious of his own sincerity for grace carries its own witnesse with it self as he saith here I know my conversation This is the testimony of my conscience that in simplicity and sincerity I have walked before you He knew that sincerity is accompanied with constancie and perseverance It is a rule that alway constancie and perseverance are companions with simplicity and sincerity I have begun in sincerity hitherto now I am sincere and have expressed to you the truth of my heart and of my courses and as I am so I meane to be therefore having begun in sincerity I know I shall end in perseverance and constancy Truth of grace is accompanied with constancy all other things are but grasse they are but shewes they will vanish but sincerity the truth of grace is a Divine thing The Word of the Lord that is grace wrought by the Word of the Lord that endures for ever Where there is truth of grace though it be but as a grain of mustard-seed there is perseverance to the end S. Paul knew this well and therefore he builds his trust on these things on these courses that he took We should all take the like course look to S. Paul's grounds and take his courses those be they that will hold out to the end Judicious consideration of all the difficulties to put into the balance what impediments we shall have from the world and what will be great to us when it is ballanced with the glory to come And withall to aime forward still as S. Paul did And take another course that he took likewise to depend upon grace continually he knew there was a Throne of grace open to him alway for the time to come as well as for the time past and present He knew that Christ in heaven was alway full of grace he knew he should not want in any exigent when he should go to him he knew that God would not destitute or forsake any of his Children them that he hath called to see the necessity of wisdome and of courage and comfort Let us do therefore as S. Paul was answered from heaven say His Grace is sufficient for us if not to keep us from all sin yet to keep us in comfortable courses to keep us in sincerity and simplicity the Grace of God is sufficient to bring us to heaven Let us perswade our selves that if we go on in Christian courses in that confidence God will give us grace to bring us to heaven This was S. Paul's confidence therefore he saith I trust you shall acknowledge to the end because I know that I shall continue in simplicity and sincerity to the end God will keep me I shall have grace to beg and he will give me grace for his gifts in this kind can never be repented of Let us take from S. Paul this course and this comfort This course to trust in God for the time to come to have constant resolutions for the time to come to cleave to God and to good courses Let us every day renew our Covenants in this kind and our resolutions to do nothing against conscience to go on in Christian courses let it be our constant course For as Gods Children know they shall continue to the end so it is wrought from resolution so to do and this resolution stirres them up to depend upon God by prayer that he would knit their hearts to him that they may fear his Name that he would give them Grace sufficient c. that he would establish their hearts as David prayes This resolution it drives them to prayer and to all good courses that God would stablish them in every good work in every good thought and desire and that he would knit their hearts nearer to him Resolve therefore every day in dependance upon God to take good courses that so whensoever any Judgment of God shall come or when the hour of death shall light on us it may not come as a snare that it may take us in good resolutions it is no matter how we dye in outward respects if we dye in good resolutions As we resolve so we are for our resolutions are full of will wishes and resolutions they carry the whole man with them and God esteems a man by his will For if there be impediments that are not impossible to man resolution will break through all God judgeth men by their resolutions Teach me O Lord thy Statutes and I will keep them even to the end I have sworn and I will perform it that I will keep thy righteous Judgments every day take we these promises to our selves and bind our selves with them to God In vowes be chary I do not speak of them now I speak of purposes and resolutions alway take in
God with them I trust in God depend upon God in good courses that God do not punish us and give us into desertion for our presumption and then we may know that our state is good Look to S. Paul and see the property of a good conscience it looks back it looks to the present and to the time to come Our rejoycing is this that we have had our conversation hitherto well Is that enough for a good conscience No you have acknowledged me to be as I have written to have a good conscience in my Ministerial course and in my conversation and you shall acknowledge me still This is the glory of a good life that whether a man look above him he hath God to witnesse for him or whether he look to the world to right judging persons he hath them to judge for him he dares appeal to their conscience or whether he look within him he hath a good witnesse from his own conscience which way soever he looks he hath comfort You have acknowledged me and you shall acknowledge I know God will not leave me for the time to come So that which makes up a compleat good conscience is the looking to the time to come as well as to the time past and present A good conscience that is purged by the blood of Christ from the guilt of former sins shall alway have grace to stablish the heart in good resolutions For where there is a cleansing from the guilt where there is pardon of sin there is alway given a power against sin for the time to come We usually say in Divinitie That the grace of God and a purpose to live in any sin cannot dwell in one heart and it is true if there be not a purpose to obey God in all things to leave every wicked way if there be an inclination to any iniquity the heart and conscience is not good A good conscience gives testimony of the time past present and to come And alwaies as I said remember to take God in all your resolutions or else you are liable to S. James his exception in a higher degree Go to nâ—…w ye that say We will do this to day and tomorrow and that in strength and confidence of your own not remembring the uncertainty of humane events how many things may fall out that God may crosse it If it be a presumptuous speech in matters of this life how much more in matters of grace for the time to come which God onely hath in his keeping and gives the will and the deed according to his good pleasure Therefore we should make an end of our salvation with fear and trembling Let us do as S. Paul did trust in God my trust and dependance on God is this that I shall do so because I have a constant resolution to be so to my lives end Therefore joyn them both together every day renew our dependance on God and his Promises The life of a Christian is a life dependant Salvation is wrought out of us by Christ procured by him and our carriage to salvation is wrought out of us by Grace coming from Christ. He keeps the Fountain and he lets out the streams more or lesse as we humbly depend on him so that both salvation is out of us and the carriage to salvation is of Grace all is out of us How should this make us carry ourselves humbly in a dependance on Christ for salvation and the carriage of it And therefore resolve not to offend God in any thing but to trust in God and to look to his Word to trust in God and his Word is all one Psal. 130. Thus we should take S. Paul's course to trust in God and renew our purposes every day And then take S. Paul's comfort to your selves perswade your selves that neither things present nor things to come as S. Paul saith Rom. 8. nothing shall intercept your crown For what he said here before-hand that he experimentally saith of himself 2 Tim. 4. a little before he dyed which was the last Epistle that ever he wrote he saith here they should acknowledge him to the end and there when his end was come what saith he of himself I have fought a good fight I have kept the faith I have run my race now henceforth is laid up for me a Crown of righteousnesse c. Before this time I depended upon God that he would carry me to my end as he hath done and now I am to close up my daies and my Sun is to set this all I have done God that was with me from the beginning is with me to the end I have done all this and what remaines now but a crown of righteousnesse Therefore I beseech you take in trust the time to come as well as any time past resolve well and trust with your resolution live by faith and obedience joyn them both together the one to be the evidence of the truth of the other then take in trust for the time to come all the good that you can promise your selves from God you cannot honour him more I trust you shall acknowledge to the end Saint Paul saith of himself That the grace of God should lead him to his end and that they should acknowledge it you shall not acknowledge me to the end to be rich or to be in favour c. but this you shall acknowledge that I shall be the like man It is uncertain for any thing in the world we cannot promise our selves nor others cannot promise for us but you shall acknowledge this that I will be as I have been to the end You have acknowledged and you shall acknowledge c. Seeing acknowledging is repeated twice as an evidence of a good Christian to approve of the Image of God in another and to acknowledge it Therefore often examine your hearts what you acknowledge do you acknowledge that the abstaining from evil courses from fraud and cunning in your callings that the abstaining from sensual living from carnal policy is good why then take that course resolve upon it Are the courses of Gods Children good why will you oppose them Saint Paul gives an excellent rule Rom. 14. 22. we should not condemn our selves in that which we allow Do you allow in your judgment and in your conscience the best courses as indeed you will do one day then do not condemn your selves in the present for them Happy is that man that condemneth not himself in that which he alloweth saith the Apostle Examine oft-times seriously how your judgment stands in the waies of God how it is built whether upon humane fancy to please any man or upon Divine directions the Word of God If it be so take heed that you do not condemn your selves in those courses and those persons that you allow Do you in your soul justifie such persons why do you not joyn with them why do you not walk their waies are such courses good
with reasons discovering an absolute necessity of geting into Christ and of having him to be our Husband except we will lye under the wrath of God and be damned and withal discovering the fulnesse and excellency that is in Christ. Again it is God onely that must stablish the soul all the parts of it both judgment and conscience For I beseech you what can any humane creature what can any thing under God work upon the soul I mean so firmly as to stablish it and therefore our controversie with the Papists is just and good We say The reason and ground of our believing the Word of God to be the Word of God must not be the testimony of the Church and the authority thereof for alas what can the judgment of man what can the judgment of the Church do It may incline and move the will by inducing arguments and so cause a humane consent but to establish the soul and conscience and to assure me that the Word of God which is the ground of my faith is the Word of God it must be God by his Spirit that must do it the testimony of the Church will never do it The same Spirit that inspired holy men to write the Word of God works in us a belief that the Word of God is the Word of God The stablishing argument must be by the power of Gods Spirit God joyning with the soul and spirit of a man whom he intends to convert besides that inbred light that is in the soul causeth him to see a Divine Majestie shining forth in the Scriptures so that there must be an infused establishing by the Spirit to settle the heart in this first principle and indeed in all other Divine principles that the Scriptures are the Word of God And to go on a little further this is a fundamental errour in our practice For what is the reason we have so many Apostates what is the reason so many are so fruitlesse in their lives what is the reason that men despair in death but even this because men are not built and stablished aright Gods Spirit never stablished their soules in Divine truths For first concerning Apostasie ask them what is the reason they are of this or that Religion They will say they have been taught so they have been brought up to it the company with whom they have conversed have been devout men and have been alwayes led with this opinion and they see no reason to thwart it Is that all Hath not the Spirit wrought these things in thy heart hath he not given thee a taste of them hath he not convinced thee in thy judgment that it is so hast thou not found the power of the Spirit working upon thy soul changing of thee raising of thee drawing of thee out of the world nearer to God hast thou not I say felt the power of the Spirit this way No but thus I was catechized and thus I have been bred and thus I have heard in the Ministery And no otherwise Alas it will never hold out there will be a falling away for when a man believes not that which he believes from the Spirit of God he will be ready when dangerous times come when there is an onset made by the adversaries to fall and to fall clean away as we see it was in the time of Popery for whatsoever is not spiritual whatsoever knowledge is not Divine and from the Spirit of God never holds out Therefore I beseech you what 's the reason that you have many illiterate men that set upon the truth and hold out to the end and on the contrary many great seeming Scholars that are skilful in school-learning and in other Authours do not The reason is the one hath the truth from the Spirit discovering all the objections that the heart of man can make against it and the strength that is in the truth to answer and silence all those objections The other man hath onely a discoursing knowledge an ability to gather one thing from another and to prove one thing by another by strength of parts But the Spirit of God never discover'd the sleights and the corruptions of his heart never fastned and settled his heart upon the truth he never had experience of the truth For indeed nothing doth stablish so much as the experience of the truth on which we are stablished Again what is the reason of that unfruitfulnesse that is amongst men but because truths were never settled in the soul by the Spirit of God That which men know out of the Word of God concerning Christ and the priviledges by him they were never perswaded of it in their hearts therefore they come not to a fruitful conversation It is impossible but that men should be abundantly fruitful that have spiritual apprehensions of Divine things of Evangelical truths Hence comes all our unthankfulnesse and undervaluing of the Gospel The Gospel of it self is an unprized thing however we esteem of it God values it highly we value it not because our apprehensions of it are customary and formal gotten by breeding and education and discourse and not by the Spirit we feel not the spiritual and heavenly comforts of those truths we think we know How comes likewise Despair in time of temptation and in death but onely because men want this stablishing by the Spirit of God Men go on in evil courses trusting to a formal dead humane knowledge gotten by humane meanes and not settled in them by the Spirit of God that hath not sealed the truth in their hearts and hereupon when sharp tryals come they despair because they have no feeling of the truths of the Gospel and so when conscience is awakened and smarts it clamours and cryes out upon all their formall and humane knowledge For they having not a spiritual sense of the mercies of God in Christ and the perswasions of comfort are not so near to support the soul as the tentations and vexations and torments are how can they but despair Now who can still the conscience but the Spirit of God Why now if the knowledge that men had were spiritual and heavenly in all accusations of conscience it would set conscience down and still it I am a sinner indeed I am this and this but I have felt the sweet mercies of God in Christ God hath said to my soul I am thy salvation he hath intimated to my spirit by a sweet voyce Son thy sinnes are forgiven thee Where there is I say a knowledge and an apprehension of these Evangelical truths wrought by the Spirit it sets down Conscience and stills it though the heart rage at the same time There are thousands in the very bosome of the Church that miscarry because of this resting in a literall outward formall knowledge gotten onely by discourse and by reading and commerce with others and never labour to have their hearts stablished in Christ by Gods Spirit You see here then a
have it in Psal. 1. As the chaffe that the wind driveth to and fro because it hath no consistence it is a light body or as the drosse Psal. 119. God shall destroy the wicked as drosse see how the Scripture compares men not onely for their wickednesse but for their misery that have no certain being but on earthly things though they be never so great and as they think deeply rooted when troubles come they are as drosse they are as chaffe that hath no firmnesse before the wind when the wind of Judgment comes they are as stubble presently wasted and brought to nothing I beseech you therefore without deceiving of our own hearts let us enter into our own soules and examine for our knowledge first and then for our boldnesse What doest thou know in Religion that thou wouldest die for or die in we are stablished in no more to purpose then we would dye for Are those truths thou knowest so firmly wrought in thee by the Spirit of God hast thou such experience of them such spiritual sense and taste of the goodnesse of them that thou wouldest be content to part with thy life rather then to part with them thou art stablished then by the Spirit of God in Christ. I do not speak of every little truth it needs not that a man should die for that but I speak for fundamental truths canst thou prove them so out of the Scripture and doest thou find the testimony of Jesus Christ witnessing to thy heart that they are true then thou art confirmed and stablished in these truths I beseech you let us often examine upon what grounds and how firmly we know what we know For have we not many that if the Adversaries should come would conform to Popery and joyn themselves to Rome because they cannot back their principles with Scriptures and because they have not a spiritual understanding and apprehension of Divine truths Now he that is stablished stands firm against temptations and against arguments he will not be won away from his faith but remains unmoveable Therefore I say let us often examine our selves in this particular I believe this and this against the Papists and others I but how shall I stand out for this If tryals should come am I able to prove this from the Scriptures so clear as if it were written as he saith with a Sun-beam The temptation and assaults of the Devil by mens subtile wits and arguments will shake our judgments will hurt more and if time should come try us better then fire and fagot Those Spies that brought an evil report upon the Land of Canaan we see that though the Land when it was won was fruitful enough and the conquest of it honourable c. and therein those Spies discovered their own weaknesse yet when they had made that shrewd Oration and brought subtile arguments to the eye of flesh and blood we see I say how the people were discouraged and how they staggeted So a man that is not stablished he may sometimes have shrewd men to deal withal perhaps Atheists Papists Jesuites and the Devil joyning with them to unsettle men and they will prevail if men be not well settled and stablished before And so for the course of our life and conversation amongst men we should examine how we are stablished in that for we are not onely to stand firm in cases of Religion but for causes of honesty John Baptist was as good as a Martyr though the cause he dyed for was not Religion but a bold telling of Herod when he thought he took an unlawful course in keeping his brothers Wife An honest man may dye and suffer much for civil matters Therefore examine your selves in this I have undertaken this cause upon what ground in what confidence how far would I willingly go in it could I be content to lose the favour of great ones to dye in the quarrel if need be So far as a man is stablished by Gods Spirit so far is he settled also in this You have had Heathen men that would stand out firmly even to the death against all disfavours against all losses and crosses for evidence of Civil truths as you have it storied of Papinian an excellent Lawyer that in the defence of right stood forth to the losse of his life and many other the like examples have been But much more doth the Spirit of God stablish men this I understand this cause is good this I will stand in come what will when I am called to it Let us oft call our selves to an account what we believe and upon what ground what we do and upon what ground we undertake it whether on grounds of conscience or out of spleen and passion When a man undertakes things on natural grounds in great temptations if God do not assist him he will sink Take the strongest courages that are if they have no more but nature though they may stand out sometimes to the shame of Christians yet in some cases they will shew themselves to be but meer natural men And therefore labour for the Spirit to stablish us It is not necessary that we should enjoy our wealth nor the favour of men nor our life it self but it is necessary that we should keep a good conscience it is necessary that we should be saved it is necessary that we should look upon our Judge with confidence at the day of Judgment It becomes Christians who besides the light of nature have the Spirit to stablish them to be settled in their courses to look that the conscience be good the cause good the aym good If such a one give over when the cause is clear and good it is a sign that his heart is not stablished by the Spirit of God in Christ he hath either corrupt aymes or else he is weak and understands not the grounds of Religion and the vanity of this life as he should do There are none that flinch and give over in a good quarrel but either it is from hypocrisie that he pretends to believe in Christ and life everlasting and yet he doth not or else it is from extream and wonderful weaknesse which if he belong to God he shall recover as Peter did and shall stand more strongly another time It is but a forced a false encouragement and stablishing when a man that hath not the Spirit of God shall set light by death though perhaps he die in a good quarrel and with some comfort For when a man shall know that after death there is a Judgment and that God hath many things to lay to his charge when his conscience shall tell him that he is guilty of a thousand deaths if he be not in Christ and his pardon sealed by the Spirit of God in the blood of Christ is it not madnesse to be couragious in that which he cannot conquer It is good for a man to be couragious in time of conquest It is a dastardly thing for
because they grieve the Spirit and quench the Spirit by doing that which is contrary to the Spirit Let us therefore that we may have the more comfort preserve the stamp of the Spirit fresh by the exercise of all grace and communion with God and by obedience and by faith honour God by believing and he will honour thee by stamping his Spirit on thee more and more And let this be our work every day to have the stamp of the Spirit clear Oh what a comfort it is to have this in us at all times if a man have nothing in him better then nature if he have nothing in him in regard of grace if he have not Christs Image upon his soul though he be a King or an Emperour yet he shall be stript of all ere long and be set on the left hand of Christ and be adjudged to eternal torments It is the folly of the times come up of late there is much labouring for Statues and for curious workmanship of that kind and some pride themselves much in it and account it great riches to have an old Statue Alas alas what a poor delight is this in comparison of the joy that a Christian hath by the seal of the Spirit and what is this to the ambition of a Christian to see the Image and representation of Christ stamped in his soul that he may be like the second Adam that he may be transformed more and more by looking on him and seeing himself in him to love him considering that he hath loved us so much for we cannot see the love of Christ to us but we must love him the more and be transformed into him Now this transforming our selves into the Image of Christ is the best picture in the world therefore labour for that every day more and more There is besides the common broad seal of God his Privy Seal as I may call it It is not sufficient that we have the one that we have admittance into the Church by Baptisme but we must have this privy seal which Christ sets and stamps upon the soul of the true Christian Alas for a man to build onely on the outward seals and outward prerogatives which in themselves are excellent yet the standing upon them betrayes many soules to the Devil in times of distresse It is another manner of seal then the outward seal in the Sacrament that will satisfie and comfort the conscience in the apprehensions of wrath at the hour of death or otherwayes It must be this privy seal and then comes the use of those publick open known seales the broad seales then a man with comfort may think upon his Baptisme and upon his receiving the Communion when he hath the beginnings of faith wrought in him by the Spirit of God when a man finds the beginnings of faith in him then he may make use of the broad seal to be a help to his faith We must not be so prophane as to think slightly and irreverently of Gods Ordinances they are of great and high consequence for when Satan comes to the soul and shakes the confidence of it and saith Thou art not a Christian and God doth not love thee Why saith the soul God hath loved me and pardoned my sins he hath given me promises and particularly sealed them in the Sacrament here is the excellency of the Sacrament it comes more home then the Word it seales the general promise of God particularly to my self I am sealed in the Sacrament and withall I find the stamp of the Spirit in my heart and therefore having the inward work of the Spirit and God having fortified the inward work and strengthened my faith by the outward seal I can therefore stand against any temptation whatsoever They are excellent both together but the speciall thing that must comfort must be the hidden seal of the Spirit Let us labour therefore to be sealed inwardly and observe Gods sealing-dayes as we use to speak which though it may be every day if we be in spiritual exercises yet especially on the Lords Day for then his Ordinance and his Spirit go together Now as there is a sealing of our estates that we are the children of God so there is of truths and both are in the children of God as for instance this is a truth Whosoever believes in Christ shall not perish but have everlasting life now the same Spirit that stirred up the soul to believe this seales it in the soul even to death and in all times of temptation and likewise there is no promise but upon the believing of it it is sealed by the Spirit upon the soul for those truths onely abide firm in the soul which the Spirit of God sets on What is the reason that many forget the comforts and consolations that they hear because the Spirit sets them not on the Spirit seales them not What is the reason that illiterate men stand out in their profession to blood whereas those that have a discoursive kind of learning they yield the reason is this the knowledge of the one is sealed by the Spirit it is set fast upon the soul the Spirit brings the knowledge and the soul close together whereas the knowledge of the other is onely a notional swimming knowledge it is not spiritual Those therefore that will hold out in the end and not apostatize those that will stand out in the hour of death against temptation and those that will hold out in the time of life against solicitations to sin they must have a knowledge suitable to the things they know that is they must see and know heavenly things by a heavenly light spiritual things by the Spirit of God And therefore when we come to hear the Ministers of God we should not come with strong conceits in the strength of our wit but with reverend dispositions with dependance upon God for his Spirit that he would teach us together with the Ministers and close with our soules and set those truths we hear upon our soules we shall never hold out else And it must be the Holy Ghost that must do this for that which must settle and seal comfort to the soul must be greater then the soul especially in the time of temptation when the terrours of the Almighty are upon us and when the hell within a man is open when God layes open our consciences and writes bitter things against us and our consciences tell us our sins wondrous near they are written as it were with a pen of Iron and the point of a Diamond upon our soules now I say those truths that must satisfie conscience that is thus turmoiled must be set on by that which is above conscience the Spirit of God who is above our spirits can onely set down our spirits and keep them from quarrelling and contending against the truth and quiet the conscience and this the Spirit doth when it sets the truth upon the soul. And therefore when our soules are disquieted
and troubled and we hear many comfortable truths let us lift up our prayers to God let there be ejaculations of spirit to God Now Lord by thy holy Spirit set and seal this truth to my soul that as it is true in it self so it may be true to me likewise This is a necessary Observation for us all Oh we desire all of us in the hour of death to find such comforts as may be standing comforts that may uphold us against the gates of Hell and against the temptations of Satan and terrours of Conscience why nothing will do this but spiritual truths spiritually known nothing but holy truths set on by the hoy Spirit of God But what course shall we take when we want comfort when we want joy and peace In the third of John there are three witnesses in heaven and three in earth to secure us of our state in grace and the certainty of our salvation The three witnesses upon earth are the Spirit the water and the blood and these three agree in one and the three that bear witnesse in heaven are the Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and the three on earth and these three in heaven agree in one Now the Spirit is the feelings and the sweet motions of the Spirit The water may well be that washing of the Spirit sanctification The blood is the shedding of the blood of Christ and justification by it When therefore we find that part of the seal that extraordinary seal that I spake of before the joy of the Spirit of God that it is not in us what shall we do shall we despair No go to the water when we find not spiritual joy and comfort when the witnesse of the Spirit is silent go to the work of the Spirit in sanctification I but what shall we do if the waters be troubled in the soul as sometimes there is such a confusion in the soul that we cannot see the Image of God upon it in sanctification we cannot see the stamp of Gods Spirit there there is such a Chaos in the soul God can see somewhat of his own Spirit in that confusion but the Spirit it self cannot Then go to the blood of Christ there is alwayes comfort the fountain that is opened for Judah and Jerusalem to wash in is never dry go therefore to the blood of Christ that is if we find sin upon our consciences if we find not peace in our consciences nor sanctification in our hearts go to the blood of Christ which is shed for all those that confesse their sinnes and rely on him for pardon though we find no grace For howsoever as an evidence that we are in Christ we must find the work of the Spirit yet before we go to Christ it is sufficient that we see nothing in our selves no qualification for the graces of the Spirit they are not the condition of coming to Christ but the promise of those that receive Christ after Therefore go to Christ when thou feelest neither joy of the Spirit nor sanctification of the Spirit go to the blood of Christ and that will purge thee and wash thee from all thy sins This I onely touch for a direction what to do when our soules want comfort when perhaps we cannot see the seal of the Spirit in sanctification so clearly To go on now to the next And given us the Earnest of the Spirit Here is the third word borrowed from humane affaires to set out the work of the Spirit in our soules Anointing we had before and Sealing now here is Earnest The variety of the words shewes that there is a great remainder of unbelief in the soul of man that the Spirit of God is fain to use so many words to expresse Gods dealing to the soul to bring it to believe to be assured of salvation And indeed so it is howsoever we in the time of prosperity when all things go well with us we are prone wondrously to presume yet in the hour of death when conscience is awakened we are prone to nothing so much as to call all in question and to believe the doubts and fears of our own hearts more then the undoubted truth and promise of God therefore God takes all courses to stablish us he gives us rich and precious promises he gives us the holy Spirit to stablish us on the Promises he seales us with his Spirit and gives us the earnest of the Spirit and all to settle this wretched and unbelieving heart of ours So desirous is God that we should be well conceited of him he loves us better then we love our selves He so much prizeth our love that he labours by all means to secure us of his love to us because except we know his love to us we cannot love him again and we cannot joy in him c. But that onely in the general Here is earnest and the Earnest of the Spirit that is in plain termes he gives us the Spirit with the graces and comforts of it which doth in our hearts that which an earnest doth amongst men But what is this Spirit an earnest of It is an Earnest of our inheritance in heaven of our blessed estate there We are sons now but we are not heires invested into the blessed estate we have title to God leaves us not off in the mean time while we are in our Pilgrimage he keeps not all for heaven but he gives us somewhat to comfort us in our absence from our Husband from our Lord and King Christ he gives us the Earnest of the Spirit that is he gives the holy Ghost into our hearts which is the Earnest of that blessed everlasting glorious condition which we shall have in heaven hereafter that is the meaning of the words In what regard is the Spirit called an Earnest First of all an Earnest is for security of bargains and contracts so the Holy Ghost assures the soul of salvation being present with his graces and comforts the Holy Ghost is given for security Secondly an Earnest is part of the whole bargain though it be a very little part yet it is a part and so the Spirit of God here and the work of the Spirit and the graces and joy of the Spirit it is a part of that full joy and happinesse that shall be revealed The Spirit dwells not fully in any one he dwelleth no further then he sanctifieth and reviveth but that is an Earnest for the time to come that the Spirit shall be all in all wherein we shall have no reluctancy nor nothing to exalt it self against the sure regiment of the Spirit Thirdly an Earnest is little in comparison of the whole bargain so the work of the Spirit the comforts the joy the peace of the Spirit it is little in comparison of that which shall be in heaven in regard of the fulnesse of the Spirit which we shall have there An Earnest though it be little in quantity yet it
this hope saith the Apostle purgeth himself he that finds some little beginnings of grace and comfort the beginings of heaven upon Earth he frames himself to the perfect state in heaven for it is the nature of faith and hope wheresoever they are to frame the disposition of the person in whom those graces are planted by the Spirit to the condition of that that soul believes and hopes for it is in the nature of the thing it should be so For doth not hope in any man that hopes to appear before some great person make him alter his attire and fashion his carriage and deportment as may be plausible before the person whom he goes to and doth not faith and hope of better things where they are in truth fashion and dispose every man to be such as may be fit for heaven The title to heaven we have indeed by Christ but the soul knowes there must be a qualification No unclean thing shall enter into heaven and therefore where the Earnest is there is a continual desire to be better a continual relinquishing of corruptions more and more a perfecting of the work of mortification and the work of grace more and more for the same Spirit that is an Earnest and gives us any beginning of a better life it likewise stirres us up it fits and prepares us for that state that is kept for us it is impossible it should be otherwise In what strength the Earnest is in that strength sanctification and mortification are and therefore persons that live in sins against Conscience that defile their tongues and defile their bodies let them talk what they will it is but a presumptuous conceit it is not the voyce of Gods Spirit but of carnal presumption for wheresoever the Spirit is an Earnest of heaven it is alwayes preparing and fitting the soul for that glorious happy estate And wheresoever likewise this Earnest of the Spirit is wheresoever this grace is begun in truth there is a desire of accomplishment an earnest desire of the coming of Christ to finish all to finish the bargain Rev. 22. The Spirit and the Spouse say Come that is the Spouse by direction of the Spirit where the Spouse is guided by the Spirit and so far as the Spouse is guided by the Spirit she saith Come Come Lord Jesus come quickly Except in two Cases Except the Christian hath grieved and wounded his conscience grieved the Spirit and then it is loath to go hence Unlesse likewise the spirit of a Christian be careless and would settle things in better order before he go to Christ for this is the fruit of presumption and carelesnesse that it grieves the Spirit of God and the Spirit being grieved grieves them he makes that which should be their comfort their going to Christ by death he makes it terrible for as we see a weak eye cannot endure the light so a gauled guilty conscience trembles to think of Christs coming though the Earnest be there yet if the soul tremble that the soul be wounded stay a while Oh stay saith the Psalmist before I go hence and be no more seen When the wife hath been negligent she would have her husband stay but when she hath been diligent then the wife is willing her husband should come but perhaps things are not settled as they should and therefore she doth not desire his coming as at other times But take a Christian in his right temper he is willing to dye nay he is willing and glad and joyful to go to Christ then he knowes the Earnest shall be accomplished with the bargain then he knowes what God hath begun he will perfect then he knowes all the Promises shall be performed when all imperfection shall be removed and all enemies shall be conquered c. A carnal man doth not say as the Spirit in the Spouse speaks Come Lord come but stay Lord stay and as the Devil that possessed that person What have we to do with thee Art thou come to torment us before our time they think of it with quaking For otherwise they that have the Earnest of the Spirit have joyful thoughts of it and wishes answerable to those thoughts Again wheresoever this Earnest is in truth the Earnest of the Spirit there is growth for it is the nature of things imperfect to come to their perfection that they may encounter with whatsoever is contrary to them and that they may do their functions that they are fitted by for God Now God having fitted the new creature to serve him and to go through all the impediments in this world and all the crosses where he hath begun this work it will labour to come to perfection As in the natural body we are not content to live but when we have life we desire health and when we have health we are not content with that but we desire strength not onely health but strength to perform that we should do So where the spiritual life is begun the living soul is not content to live to find an Earnest a little beginnings but if he have that he would have health he would not have any spiritual disease to lye on the soul that might hinder it in the functions of it and together with health it desires fuller and fully strength because it hath many temptations to encounter with many corruptions to resist many actions to do many afflictions perhaps to bear all which require a great deal of strength wheresoever grace is in truth it is alwayes with a desire of growth and answerable to that desire will be the use of all the means of growth Again to name one or two more and so end Wheresoever the Spirit is as an Earnest it doth as the seal doth spoken of before that as it hath a quieting power an assuring power it quiets the soul wheresoever it si it is given to stay the soul to comfort it that the whole shall be performed in time and therefore the soul that hath the Earnest of the Spirit so far forth as he hath this Earnest it quiets and stayes the soul. A man may know true faith from false and true Earnest from presumption by this as we know other things I say it stills and quiets the soul and it will endure the tryal We say of Alcumy gold it is counterfeit it will not strengthen the heart true gold hath a corroborating power to strengthen the heart whether it be so or no let the Alcumists look to it but it is true that true Eanest the beginnings of faith though it be but in a little measure it hath a quieting a stilling a strengthening power to strengthen and corroborate the soul for it is given for that purpose And a man that hath the least grace will endure the search as true gold will endure the touchstone the false will not and it is a sign that a man hath true grace in him although it be with much
and delight in what we single out but in his own course and way And if Naaman the Assyrian that thought the rivers of Damascus were as good as Jordan and therefore he thought it a fond thing to wash there if he had not yielded to the counsel of his servants he had gone a leper home as he came but he was wiser So those that cavil at the Ordinance of God they may live and die Lepers for ought I know except with meeknesse of spirit they attend upon the Ordinance But you will say Those that are true Christians and good men they are oft-times cast down by the Ministery and brought to pangs of conscience therefore what joy can there be how are they helpers of their joy If they do so yet it is that they might joy S. Paul did bring the Corinthians here to sorrow but he brought them to sorrow that they might joy as you have it excellently set down 2. Cor. 7. 8. For though I made you sorry with a letter I do not repent though I did repent I was sorry that I was forced to be so bitter against you for I perceive that the same Epistle made you sorry though but for a season now I rejoyce not that you were made sorry here is a sweet insinuation but that you were sorry to repentance for you were made sorry after a godly manner that you might receive dammage by us in nothing So the sorow that is wrought by the Ministery in the hearts of people it is a sorrow to repentance a sorrow tending to joy We say of April that the showers of that Moneth dispose the earth to flowers in the next so tears and grief wrought in the heart by the Ministery they breed delight in the soul they frame the soul to a delightful joyful temper after And that is part of the scope of this very text we are helpers of your joy and therefore if I had not spared you but had come in severity all had been for joy so whether the Minister open comfort or direction it is for their joy If they see them not in a state fit then to discover to them their sin and danger and to tell them that they must be purged by repentance before they can receive the Cordial of joy but all is for joy in the end A Physician comes and he gives sharp and bitter purges saith the Patient I had thought you had come to make me better and I am sicker now then I was before but he bids him be content all this is for your health and strength and for your joyfulnesse of spirit after you will be the better for it so in confidence of that he drinks down many a bitter potion So it is with those that sit under the Ministery of God thought it be sharp and severe and crosse their corruptions yet it is medicinal physick for their soules and all will end in the health of the soul in joy afterwards It will be objected again The Word of God and the dispensation of it it is for Doctrine to teach and to instruct and not especially to joy that should not be the main end for we see in Rom. 14. Whatsoever was written was written for our learning so in 1 Cor. 14. he that speakes speaks to edification and exhortation as well as to comfort It is true but all teaching and all exhortation and all reproofe they tend to comfort even Doctrine it self tends to comfort For as it is with divers kinds of food they have both a cherishing vertue in them to strengthen and a healing vertue to cure So it is with the Word of God the doctrinal part of it hath a comforting force And indeed doctrine is for comfort for what is comfort but a strengthening of the affections from some sound grounds of doctrine imprinted upon the understanding whereof it is convinced before The understanding is convinced throughly before the soul can be comforted throughly Therefore the Scripture tending to doctrine that being one end of it tends likewise to comfort because that is the issue of doctrine for what is comfort but doctrine applyed to a particular comfortable use As in Plants and Trees what is the fruit of the tree nothing but the juice of the tree applyed and digested into fruit so indeed doctrine is that that runs through the whole life of a Christian and the strength of Doctrine is in comfort Comfort is nothing but doctrine sweetly digested and applyed to the affections He will never be a good comforter that doth not first stablish the judgment in some grounds of doctrine to shew whence the comfort flowes So that howsoever there be many things in Scripture that are doctrinal yet in the use of them those doctrinal Points tend to joy and comfort As I said in meat there is the same thing sometime that both nourisheth and likewise refresheth as a Cordial So the Word of God both nourisheth the understanding and is as a Cordial to refresh and comfort and it is a kind of joy to the soul to have it stablished in sound doctrine that is the ground of comfort So that notwithstanding any thing that can be objected the end of the Word of God especially in the dispensation of it is to joy and comfort Which should teach people to regard the Ministery in this respect that it is a helper of their comfort that they do not grieve those that help their comfort for what is the end of a Minister as a Minister but to make others joy that both God in heaven and the Angels and Ministers and all may rejoyce together in the conversion of a Christian. Now for people to vex those that by vertue of their calling labour to help forward their joy is very unkind usage yet it was the entertainment that our blessed Lord and Master himself found in the world And S. Paul himself saith The more I love you the lesse I am loved of you And then it should move people to lay open the case of their soules to their spiritual Physicians upon all good occasions People do so for the Physicians of their bodies they do so in doubtful cases for their estates is all so well in our soules that we need no help nor comfort no removing of objections that the soul makes no unloosing of the knots of conscience is all so clear or are men in a kind of numbnesse and deadnesse and Atheism that they think it is no matter that they put all to a venture and think all is well It were better for the souls of many if they had better acquaintance with their spiritual Pastors then they have for their calling is to help the joy of the people and how can they help it except they lay open their estates to them upon good occasion what do they herein but rob themselves of joy they are their own enemies I passe to the third They are helpers of joy
and but helpers They do but utter and propound matter of joy grounds of joy from the Word of God but it is the Spirit of God that doth rejoyce the heart The fruit of the lips is peace it is true but it is when the Spirit of God speaks peace to the soul together with the lips God creates the fruit of the lips to be peace saith Esay The fruit of the lips is peace bâ—… God creates it to be so so the Ministers are comforters but God saith I even I am thy comforter We speak matters of comfort and grounds of comfort but God seals them to the heart by his holy Spirit God is the comforter himself He is the Father of comfort and the God of all consolation And the Spirit is called the comforter to shew unto us that however in the Ordinances the materials of comfort be set abroach to Gods people yet notwithstanding that that that speaks peace to the heart and sets on those comforts to the soul and conscience it is the Spirit of God God himself So there is the outward preaching and the spiritual preaching He hath his chair in heaven that teacheth the heart as S. Austin saith S. Paul speaks but God opens the heart of Lydia he hath the Key to open the heart Therefore you have all attributed to the Spirit of God In Joh. 16. I go hence but I will send you the comforter the Holy Ghost and what shall the Comforter do he shall convince the world of sin of righteousnesse and judgment Do not pretend therefore your own inability that you are unable to comfort or to cast down or to seal unto people their righteousnesse do you that that is your duty propound grounds of direction and casting down and of righteousnesse and of judgment of holy life after and then the Holy Ghost shall go with you the Comforter shall do this to the hearts of people the Holy Ghost shall convince What is Paul or what is Apollo but Ministers Paul may plant and Apollo may water but if God give not the increase what is all Therefore Christ promiseth his disciples that the Holy Ghost should accompany their teaching They might have objected Alas we shall teach the world that they are Gentiles that they are obstinate persons hardened in superstition Do not fear saith he I will send the Holy Ghost he shall fall upon you and furnish you Now when the Holy Ghost was in them and the Holy Ghost in their auditors too together with the Word inspired by the Holy Ghost when the Spirit meetes in these three there are wonders wrought When the Spirit of God is in the teacher and the Spirit of God in the hearers and the Spirit of God in the Word I say when there is one Spirit in the teacher and in the hearers and in the Word there are wonders wrought of conversion and comfort It is the Spirit that must do all we are nothing but Ministers Let a man conceive of us as Ministers and dispensers of the Gospel Ministers of comfort we are and but Ministers just so we are helpers of your joy but we are but helpers Those that account us not helpers of joy know not our calling and those that account us more that we are able to comfort people by the Word they turn the preaching of the Word to magick to a charm We can speak the Word but God must speak to the heart at the same time As it is with Physical water there is the water and there are many strong things in it What doth the water cure or purge it is a dead thing it hath no efficatious quality but to cool c. Whence comes the efficacy There are some cool herbs some strong things in it and then it doth wonders So what is the infusion of the Word but water but aqua vitae water of life the dew of heaven Rosa solis whence is it so as water no but there is a Divine influence and vigour in it that refresheth and quickeneth the soul. It doth not do it of it self but it hath a Divine influence of the Spirit So we see though Ministâ—…s be helpers of joy they are but helpers they are but the conduits that convey that that comes from the Spirit of God they are instruments of the Spirit You see it clear then that God only speaks comfort because the Spirit of God only knowes our spirits throughly The spirit of God can only comfort because he knowes all the discomforts of our hearts he knowes all our griefs all the corners of our hearts that the Minister cannot do The Minister may speak general comforts but the Spirit of God knowes all the windings and turnings of the heart and all the disconsolate pangs of the heart and soul every little pang and grief the Spirit of God knowes it Therefore the Spirit of God is the Comforter he strikes the nail and seales the comfort to the soul we are but helpers Then again the Spirit of God must do it because the soul must be set down with that that is stronger then it self it must be so convinced and set down that it must have more to say against the griefe or temptation then can be alledged by the Devil himself The soul before it be comforted it must be quieted and stilled Now who is above the soul and Satan that tempts the soul Let Satan be let loose to tempt the soul and the soul hath a hell in it self if God let it alone who is above those unspeakable torments of coascience if they be not allayed by the Spirit of God Who is above the soul but the Spirit of God will the soul allay it self no it will never Therefore the Spirit of God that is stronger and wiser then the soul and is the Spirit of light and strength it must set down and quiet and calm the soul that it hath nothing to say against the comfort it brings but quiets it self and saith I must rest I must see this is from heaven I am quiet This the Spirit doth Therefore make this Use of it that in all our endeavours to procure peace to our consciences and spiritual balm to the wounds of our soules let us go to this heavenly Physician not depend over-much upon the Ministery or reading or any outward task but in the use of all things lift up our hearts to God that he would comfort us by his Spirit that he would send the Comforter into our soules Though the disciples had comfort upon comfort by Christ yet till the Comforter came whose office it was to do it to seal his Word to their soules alas they were dead-hearted people but after the resurrection when the Comforter came and refreshed their memories and convinced their understandigs then they could remember all the sweet comforts that our blessed Saviour had taught them before So it is with us we hear many sweet comforts day after day out of Gods
See Hope Opinion Confidence Certain account of and looking for death is a not able means to draw us from self confidence p. 136 Gods Children prone to self confidence p. 137 See Trust. Conformity A threefold conformity with Christ p. 118 Conscience Conscience what p. 219 220 c. Three things joyned with Conscience p. 221 God hath set up a Court in man wherein Conscience is 1. Register 2. Witnesse 3. Accuser 4. Judge 5. Executioner p. 222 Conscience Gods Hall wherein he keeps his Assizes ibid. Judgment of Conscience a forerunner of the great and general Judgment ibid. Conscience beareth witnesse p. 223 What manner of witnesse Conscience is viz. 1. Faithful 2. Inward ibid. How to have Conscience witnesse well p. 224 227 An ignorant man cannot have a good Conscience p. 225 Why men have bad Consciences ibid. Papists cannot have a good conscience why p. 226 The witnesse of a good Conscience the ground of joy why p. 227 235 A good Conscience breeds joy 1. In life p. 228 to 232 2. In death 3. At the day of Judgment A good Conscience comforts in all estates and conditions whatsoever p. 228 229 230 Why a good Conscience doth not alwayes witnesse comfort p. 231 232 Means how to joy and rejoyce in the witnesse of Conscience p. 233 Nothing worse then a bad Conscience p. 236 237 238 239 Labour for a good Concience ibid. Commenâ—…atior of a good Conscience ibid. How to have a good Conscience p. 240 Gods Children have place in the Conscience of others p. 320 Contraries God is able to raise comfort out of contraries p. 42 43 God carries on the work of our salvation by contraries why p. 146 Conversation Conversation what p. 266 Christianity may stand with conversing abroad in the world p. 267 Keligion makes a man converse abroad in the world untainted ibid. A Christians Conversation is best where he is best known p. 273 Corinth Corinth a very wicked City yet ever there God hath a Church p. 4 What is now become of the Church of Corinth p. 5 Corinth the Metropolis or Mother-City of Achaia p. 6 See Achaia D. Danger God suffers his Children sometimes to fall into extream perils and dangers why p. 125 126 c. Day Christ hath a Day p. 339 There be two special dayes of Christ ibid. The measure of a Christians joy is as it will be esteemed at the day of Judgment p. 340 We should often think of the day of the Lord Jesus p. 341 See Judgment Death Gods Children are sometimes very sensible and much afraid of death why p. 130 131 How and in what respect the Saints desire death p. 133 Christ was afraid of death and yet thirsted after it how p. 132 133 Gods Children are often deceived concerning the time â—…f their death why p. 134 Death uncertain how ibid. The time of death uncertain why p. 134 135 Certain account of and looking for death is a means to draw us from self-confidence and from the world and to make us trust in God p 136 Physicians fault in flattering the sick and feeding them with false hopes â—…f long life at the point of death taxed ibid. Affliction called Death p. 171 Deliver God doth not deliver his children at the first but suffers them to be brought to a low ebbe to a very sad condition and why p. 171 172 God delivers after he hath done his work p. 172 Gods time to deliver when p. 173 Gods children alway stand in need of deliverance p. 175 God delivers both outwardly and inwrdly p. 176 180 Christians have deliverance from trouble p. 177 A double deliverance of God p. 178 Experience of Gods deliverance in time past a ground of confidence to expect the like for time to come p. 172 178 182 Objection against the Doctrine of Gods delivering his people from trouble answered p. 179 Deliverance various or manifold p. 180 God will deliver his people out of all trouble p. 181 Dispense No dispensing with Gods Law p. 399 Dissembling Dissimulation Grounds of Dissimulation p. 244 A threefold Dissimulation 1. Before the project p. 224 2. In 3. After Objection for dissembling answered pag. 247 Man naturally prone to dissemble p. 244 250 Dissembling to be avoided and declined p. 371 372 A Christian is no Dissembler p. 317 See Simulation Dominion No man hath dominion over anothers faith p. 519 What is no domineering over the faith of others p. 520 What is domineering over the faith of others ibid. Who are guilty of domineering over other mens faith p. 521 The Church of Rome guilty of domineering over the faith of others how and wherein ibid. Grounds from whence this domineering over other mens faith ariseth p. 527 Double Doubling a great sin p. 247 Man by nature is prone to double and the grounds of it p. 250 Some persons and callings are more prone to doubling then others ibid. A Christian is no doubler p. 317 E. Earnest VVHat the Spirit is an Earnest of p. 486 The Spirit resembled to an Earnest in fiv e particulars p. 486 487 How to know whether we have the Earnest of the Spirit p. 493 494 495 How to get this Earnest of the Spirit pag. 501 502 503 Motives to labour for this Earnest pag. 504 505 End Holy men work for holy Ends p. 347 Equivocation Popish Equivocation odious and abominable p. 246 372 516 Errour How Prophets and Apostles were subject to errours and mistakes and how not p. 374 See Infallible Mistake Experience Former Experience a ground to expect like mercies for the future p. 182 to 188 Extremity God sometimes suffers his children to fall into great extremities and why p. 126 127 Gods people are sensible of their extremity p. 129 See Afflictions Sufferings Tribulations F. Faith Difference between Faith and Presumption p. 441 A double act of Faith 1. Direct pag. 488 2. Reflect Of standing by Faith See Standing To have dominion over the Faith of others See Dominion The foundation of Faith must be out of a mans self p. 544 True Faith is built upon the Word or the Scriptures not upon unwritten Traditions p. 544 545 546 Popish Faith not built upon the Scriptures but upon Traditions p. 545 546 Faith sure and certain p. 546 True Faith will persevere and hold out to the end ibid. It 's by Faith that we stand and withstand all opposition whatsoever ibid. Faith a Christians victory by it he conquers all adversary powers ibid. The Sacrament a means of strengthen Faith p. 550 Falshood Falshood to be declined p. 371 372 Father God as the Father of Christ to be praised p. 21 See Praise God the Father of Christ our Father and the Father of mercies how pag. 21 22 Why God is called the Father of mercies p. 23 Why not the Father of mercy but of mercies ibid. Uses to be made of this Title of God The Father of mercies p. 25 26 27 28 29 30 See Mercy Flesh. Flesh what 276 364 Carnal wisdome why called
Christian. Doct. Prayer a means to convey all good and deliver from all ill Reason 1. It is for Gods glory Reason 2. For our good 1. To shew our dependance on him 2. It exerciseth our graces We must pray though God know our wants Doct. 2. Gods Children can pray for themselves Reason Because they are Children Use. Not to put off prayer onely to others Doct. Christians ought to help one another by prayer A general desire in Heaven Reason Gods children cannot so well pray for themselves sometimes As in sicknesse People to pray for the Ministers For what to pray for them Reason Christians 〈◊〉 not the Spirit of prayer all times a like Prayer not a work of gifts but of Grace Diverse gifts in Prayer Reason To humble great Christians Reason To raise up weâ—… Christians Use. Let no man slight his own prayers Use 2. None to be idle in the profession of religion Doct. 4. Prayer prevails with God Reas. 1. It is obedience to Gods order Reason 2. It sets God on work Instances of prevalencie of prayer To pray for the Church abroad How to present the Church in our prayers to God Use. Not to grieve the spirit in any Quest. How to know whether our prayers help the Church Answ. 1. When we help them otherwise as we are able To leave evit courses 3. To hearken to Gods Word An ill condition not to be able to pray What to pray for for the Ministers Health a gift Against merit All other blessings uncomfortable without health To blesse God for health Quest. Answ. To beg the prayers of others in sicknesse Comfort from the prayers of others Object Sol. Object Answ. Obser. Praise followes prayer Ingratitude a horrible sin Praise of many acceptable To be in love with publick meetings Use. Encouragement to union To stir up others to praise God To praise God for others To be good to many that many may give thanks for us Praise wherein it consists 1. Taking notice of blessings 2. Remembring them 3. Estimation 4. In words 5. In doing good Directions to thanksgiving To look what we have cause to be thankful for 2. Dwell on them in meditation 3. Consider our unworthinesse 4. Consider the misery of our selves and others in want of blessings 5. Keep a Catalogue of Gods mercies Motives to thankfulnesse 1. It is Gods tribute 2. It invites God to bestow new blessings 3. It is the begining of heaven 4. None unthankful but divells Reall thanksgiving To shame our selves for our unthankfulnesse It was a Sacrament day Doct. The more eminent men are the more to be prayed for Doct. Christians driven to make apologies Use. Not to think strange if we be driven to it Quest. Answ. Life the best Apology but not enough sometimes A man may speak in commendations of himself 1. For thankfulnesse 2. For example 3. For defence Question Answ. How a man may glory of the graces in him Doct. Christians have their joy Use. To labour for a temper that we may glory A Christians joy 1. In Election 2. In justification 3. In sanctification 4. In the hope of glory A Christian only can stand to his joy Wicked men labour to hide the ground of their joy A Christian not ashamed of his joy 1. It is well bred 2. It is permanent Pride against all the commandements Conscience what 1. The soulit self 2. A faculty 3. an Act. An Atheist can have no conscience Conscience above reason Three things joyned with conscience 1. It is a knowledge with a generall rule 2. Of our own actions 3. A knowledge with God God hath set up in man a Court wherein conscience is 1. Register 2. Witnesse 3 Accuser 4. Judge 5. Executioner Sympathie between heart and brain Conscience Gods Hall Judgment of conscience a forerunner of the great judgment Conscience beareth witness Josephs Brethren Conscience 〈◊〉 witnesse 1. Faithful 2. Inward Use. Not to sin in hope of secrecy Use. To labour that conscience may witness well Good witness of conscience two-fold 1. Labour for good rules An Ignorant man cannot have a good Conscience Why men have bad consciences Papists cannot have a good conscience why 2. To apply them Doctrine The witnesse of a good conscience a ground of joy 1. From the office of conscience 2. It witnesseth with God 3. Without selves A good conscience breeds joy 1. In life In good estate 2. In cvil estate 1. In false imputations A good man looks more to Conscience then to fame 2. In sicknesse 3. In Crosses and losses 3. At the day of judgement Objection Answer Why a good conscience doth not alway witnesse Comfort Directions to joy in the witness of conscience Obser. A man may know his estate in Grace Object Answer Use. To labour for a good conscience that we may have joy Nothing worse then an ill conscience Evangelical conscience The way to have a good Conscience Question Answer Cautions for glorying in grace Difference of simplicity and sincerity Question Answer Saint Paul's conversation in simplicity Simplicity what Simple without mixture Simplicity 1. Not defect 2. Not rudeness 3. Not credulity Why called the simplicity of God Manby nature prone to double The ground of it Ground of dissimulation Of simulation Aggravation of this sin Simplicity opposite to curiosity Simplicity opposed to lying and equivocation Object Answ. All sorts of lies unlawful Lying opposite to society Motives to simplicity 1 It is comely's 2. Doubling inconstant 3. It is part of Gods Image 4. It brings comforts Doubling a great sin The more will and advisedness in sin the greater sin Doubling with men Some persons more prone to doubling then others Some Callings Merchants Lawyers Man naturally prone to dissemble Simile How to get simplicity 1. To consider one day all will be laid open Simile 2. Labour for faith Sincerity what Sincerity of God Doctr. A Christian that looks for joy must have his conversation in sincerity Sincerity in good actions 1. To know all that is good 2. Universal obedience Sincerity looks at God that commands all 3. Performance of lesse duties 4. Uniformity 5. Humble in performance 6. Humble and thankful after 2. In ill actions 1. He intends none 2. He is grieved for them 3. Careful to avoid personall sins 4. Hatred of all sin 5. Care to avoid sinfor the future 3 Sincerity in actions indifferent Actions of calling 2. Recreations Motives to sincerity 1. All else is nothing Why many men of parts die uncomfortably 2. It gives acceptance to all we do 3. It makes us grow to perfection Use 2. Direction Means to get sincerity 1. Get our hearts changed 2. Get assurance of Gods love 3. Labour to mortifie our earthly affections 4. Do all things as in Gods eye 5. Look to the heart the spring of all our actions Use. Exhortation to labour for sincerity Object Answ. Sincerity all that we can plead It will comfort against Temptations at death It comforts in life Not offend against sincerity Sinning against
seek the glory of God and life everlasting to have spiritual and heavenly ends to seek God in all things The grace of God in S. Paul guided him to lead his life in the simplicity and sincerity of God that is sincerity that looks to and aimes at God in all things And indeed a gracious man and onely a gracious man can look out of himself to an end above himself onely a gracious man can aime at Gods glory at the pleasing of God why because onely a gracious man knowes that he hath better things in God then in the world A worldly man makes himself his term he makes himself his last end because he knowes not better out of himself then in himself he dares not venture upon Gods â—…avour to put all upon that he knowes not whether he be his friend or no he thinks he is his enemy as he may well enough by his ill courses onely the gracious man can put himself upon God he knowes he is redeemed out of a miserable condition into a glorious-estate and if he should be denyed of all the world yet he knowes he hath more happinesse in him then he can look for here he knowes he would be Al sufficient for him he is assured of his salvation therefore he hath higher ends he is sincere in all things God when he is honoured by trusting of him when in sincerity we make him our wisdome and make his Word our rule and the happinesse that he hath promised our chief happinesse that we aime at and rest in him when we honour him so far then he makes a supply of all other things But I spake of sincerity to the full before onely I bring it now to shew how it is a note of a man that makes the Grace of God his guide he walks sincerely he seeks the glory of God Thirdly he that walks by the Grace of God and in the grace of God by it as a rule and in it as a principle he that walks in it and by it and through it you shall see it by the ability that is in him above nature by the things that he doth that other men cannot do that walk not by grace therefore you have a trial of a man that converseth by grace from hence he can crosse the common corruptions of the place and of the time he lives in he is not a slave he is not inthralled to common feares to common hopes to the common joyes and delights that the world is carried withall but as Grace is a thing that is mighty and strong and powerful of it self it is a Spirit the Spirit is like the wind as Christ tells Nicodemus it is a mighty powerful strong thing so it makes him strong it inables a mans spirit to do above himself above that which he could do if he had not grace It makes him deny himself in matter of pleasure in matter of profit it will make him crosse himself in matter of revenge as David spared Saul when he had him in his power It will make him triumph over all estates he can abound and he can want as S. Paul saith Other men are changeable with their condition they are cast down in adversity they are puffed up in prosperity they can deny themselves in nothing they are alwayes inthralled to their base pleasures and profits and honours they are alwayes swayed with some carnal end or other Grace it raiseth a man above nature he can do that which another cannot do he can indure that which another man cannot indure he can dye he can indure shame he can resist that which another man cannot resist In a word you may know Grace in a man that hath great parts of nature How shall we distinguish grace from nature in him Thus you shall have him subdue his parts unto grace and to the rules of Religion If he have a strong wit he will not make shew of the strength of it as though he would break through businesse with his wit but he will consult with conscience You may know a man that is led by grace especially where there are great parts he can deny not onely his corruptions but other things if they stand not at that time with the will of God he forbeares ostentation of learning when he sees it is hurtfull when it is rather to shew himself then to get glory to God or to win soules When a man sees that such and such courses might crush another and advance himself yet if it touch upon conscience he will not do here is a conflict between parts and the Grace of God and goodnesse now when a man in this can deny himself it is a sign that a man makes grace his guide It is not so easie in weaker dispositions for men seem sometimes to be good when it is defect of parts but in men of ability it proceeds not from defect or want of parts but it is the power of Grace onely whereby they are swayed such a man dares not do it he wants not ability or skill but he dares not offend God he dares not seek himself he dares not give scope to his wit and to his vain mind he knowes what spirit in him moves such things and he suppresseth them presently and yields to the motions of Gods blessed Spirit But yet in weaker men a man may know when such a one is ruled by grace thus when a man sees something in him that strengthens nature as Grace takes not away nature but betters it When you see a man that otherwise is simple yet he is wondrous skilful in resisting a temptation skilfull in giving advice skilful in keeping the peace of his conscience skilful in giving reproof even above himself a man may know that he hath a better Schoolmaster that the Spirit of God the Spirit of Grace is his Schoolmaster So that whether a man have strong or weak parts a man may know whether he be led by grace or no. In the weaker it raiseth him above himself in the stronger when the exercise of his parts of nature and grace cannot stand together it makes him deny himself that he may be led by the one he denies the other altogether this is gracious wisdome Again a man may know that he leads his life in gracious wisdome or by gracious wisdome when he fetcheth reasons for his actions not from things below but from Religion from conscience from spiritual things he doth not fetch the reason of his actions from this that this will profit me or I shall advantage my self thus and thus but he fetcheth the reasons and ground of his actions higher this is pleasing to God this is according to the peace of my conscience this is for the good of the Church for the good of the State I live in this is for the good of my Christian brethren The strongest reason of a Christian is that that makes for Religion and for conscience if he may gain in his
own particular one way and gain to the State or Religion another he considers not what will it advantage me but what is it for Religion It is the chief prevailing reason how he may gain to Religion and the glory of God he will not redeem his life to impeach the glory of God and Religion This is a man that leads his life by grace Again where grace is there graces are together there is a sweet linking of them therefore S. Paul instead of wisdome names Grace of God all grace A man therefore may know that he is led by grace when there is no solitary grace for where grace is solitary it is not at all it is but a shadow For there is not one grace but it is of special use in the managing of a Christians life and conversation therefore S Panl instead of wisdome puts grace here For instance there is a great necessity of seeing by a light above nature things above nature If a man lead a life above nature there is a necessity of heavenly illumination and conviction that there is a better happinesse then the world affords And then there is a need of love to carry the soul to that happinesse that is discovered But then there are a world of impediments between us and heaven and happinesse that is discovered to us in the Gospel by Christ Jesus there must be heavenly wisdome therefore to discover the impediments and to remove them And there are many advantages how to attain our end we must use this and this meanes these and these helps that God hath ordained here must be heavenly wisdome to use the advantages and to avoid the hindrances But there are a world of troubles between our end and us between heaven that is discovered and us therefore saith the Apostle Ye have need of Patience And patience that is sustained by hope hope casts anchor in heaven and assures us of happinesse there and then patience sustains us in whatsoever befalls us in this world Therefore the Apostle saith not I lead my life by wisdome but by grace by wisdome as it hath a connexion with all other graces Therefore a man that out of hearing of the Word or reading c. hath it discovered that there is a better way then he takes and yet notwithstanding hath not love to carry him to it nor wisdome to remove the impediments he works not towards his end there is no grace at all there is illumination but it is not sanctified illumination but a meer common work of the Spirit because where true wisdome is there is love and patience and hope and all other graces to carry the whole soul to that happinesse that is discovered Therefore by this you may know a gracious wise man he works to his end alwayes another man heares and wishes Oh it were well if I could attain heaven but carnal policy and base affections hold him in a beastly course of life that he works not to that end onely he hears such things and thinks God will be merciful and Christ hath dyed and when he cannot enjoy the world longer he will have good words that way but that will not serve the turn a man must lead a life in grace that will dye and be saved by grace he must work and carry the whole man with it and not onely have knowledge but faith and love and all a man must work with it Who is a wise man in outward matters is he a wise man that only talks of States matters out of Books he hath read No but he that when he comes to a businesse to negotiate in the world can remove hindrances and attain his end and overthrow the plots of his enemies when it comes to particular actions here is a wise man that can attain his end by working that doth work to his end till he have attained it So he proves graciously wise in Religion that works to his end or else he is a foolish man a foolish builder As Christ saith If ye know these things and do them not you are as a man that builds on the sands your profession will come to nothing Again a man may know that he is guided by Grace that he doth every thing by gracious wisdome when he doth provide for himself best in the best things out of a sanctified judgment when he doth judge aright of differences when he considers that there is a difference between the soul and the body between this life and eternal life there is a main difference between the glorious eternal life in the world to come and this fading life which the soul communicates to the body in this world when a man judgeth the difference between true riches and these things that we are so set upon that are but lent us for a little while When he judgeth between the true honour to be the Child of God and the fading honours of this world that shall lye down in the dust with us and shall all depart and be gone it appears then he hath a sanctified judgment he discerns of things that differ And according to this if he lead his life in gracious wisdome he makes his provision he makes his provision as his judgment leads him his judgment leads him to the best things therefore he provides for the best things As Christ saith of the Children of this world they are wise in their courses in their Generation they provide against beggery they make friends before-hand as we see in that unjust steward So a Christian provides for his soul he looks to that he makes him friends of his unrighteous Mammon he makes him friends of his earthly things that is he doth deserve well of men that they pray for him and so help him to heaven He daily makes his account ready he cuts off impediments that he meets with in the way he troubles not himself with impertinencies he spends not more time then needs about worldly things he useth them as they may help his work to be better and better in grace to be fitter and fitter for glory As he discerneth differences so he makes his provision answerable he provides for the best in the first place Or else he were a foolish Merchant a foolish builder a foolish man every way the Scripture saith he is no better that cannot discern the difference and provide well for himself when other things fail The Scripture doth well call wicked men fooles they have no judgement they do not provide for themselves they prefer these things say what they will before better things they are fooles in their provision Achitophel he made provision he set his house in order and what became of him after he hanged himself He made much provision for the world and at last he knew not how to forecast and provide for his soul. The Scripture calls the rich man in the Gospel a fool he was wise enough to contrive for himself yet he was but a rich