him Our prayers have been rather the fruit of our heads and babbling of our lips then the breath of our hearts and panting of our spirits And yet say some soules Suppose our spirits were in prayer We feare Gods spirit was not The father seeketh such to worship him as do it in the spirit and the Apostle calls for praying in the Holy Ghost Now though our own spirit was in our prayers we feare Christs spirit was not It may be wee have prayed in the gifts of the spirit But what are they without the spirit himselfe Againe say the same dejected soules although wee should thinke and hope that we have prayed both in the sincerity of our own spirit and in the strength of Christs spirit yet we feare whether ever God hath regarded Surely he hath been alway angry with for as yet he never answered any of our prayers And to call and not bee heard to pray and not be answered Pro. 1.28 is a threatned judgement This oh this is our feare that we are those at whose calamitie God will laugh as it is Pro. 1.26 Secondly There are others who in their dejection vent other feares As now about the word whether ever it came to them as the word of God and as good seed upon good ground Alas cryeth one poore dejected soule I have heard the word often preached but I fear to no purpose for I thinke I never heard God in it It was the praise of the Thessalonians that they heard the word not as the word of men but as the word of God But it s my shame and sorrow I have rather heard men then God I read saith the soule the Parable of the Sower and I remember there was but one good ground which received the seed aright and I fear I am none of that I doubt I am the high-way-ground or the stony or the thorny but sure I am not the good ground i. e. one who with an honest and good heart having heard the word doth keep it for sure I bring not forth the fruit with patience Thus the fears of some dejected soules work about the word But Thirdly Other dejected souls breathe forth feares about the Promises As whether they have right to them or did ever in the spirit close with them Oh say some soules the Promises are indeede exceeding great and precious But are they ours wee doubt it my soule doubts saith one when I reade the Promises I doe rather read the riches of others then my owne Alas I feare they are none of mine and I dare not indeed cannot close with them Sometimes I have climbed the outside of the Promise I have read the letter but alas I never was in the inside in the spirit of a Promise It s likely many hung upon Noahs Arke without But none were saved but those within And I feare I was never within the Arke of any Promise Fourthly Some soules when cast downe feare their very abstinence from sinne As now whether they did or doe abstaine from sinne in a slavish way for feare or in a Sonne-like way for love I feare saith the soule I have and I do abstaine from sin rather from rationall then from pious principles I doubt I dread the coale of corruption rather for the fire of it which will burne mee then the filib of it which will blacke mee I doubt its the cudgell of wrath that drives me backe rather then the coard of love which keepes mee in from sinne Good soules abstaine from sin from heavenly principles as love of God desire of holinesse and I feare my principles are hellish as feare of damnation and or at best but earthly as shame of men and the like Fiftly Some soules when cast down cry out Oh the sinne against the Holy Ghost I feare saith a dejected soul I have sinned unto death I have sinned against such strong light and such sweet love that I feare my sinne is now the unpardonable sinne which shall not cannot bee forgiven I may well bee cast downe if that bee my case which was Judas his and I feare it is Christ saith all sinne and blasphemy shall bee forgiven but that which is against the Holy Ghost Alas here is my fear that I am guilty of that sin Sixtly The feares of some when cast downe doe not worke thus high yet they vent themselves thus Oh we feare we shall fall away Angells fell Adam fell others fall and are we surer then they Surely we are not so strong and therefore not so sure Many have gone beyond me in the spirit and yet saith the soule have ended in the flesh and I feare I shall doe so too I goe but softly I fall often I looke backe many times and I doubt I shall never persevere unto the death what is it to begin well and end ill what is it to have Ephraims righteousnesse A morning dew Alas mine is no better if so good This is my case and I may well be cast downe for I fear I shall fall The promise of the Crown is to perseverance Hee that is faithfull to the death shall have the crowne of life But I feare I doubt I shall not hold out neare unto death for my heart misgives me and I feare I shall fall away ere long and loose all at last CHAP. 8. The other branch of the workings of spirituall dejections which is greife and sorrow HAving now gone over sundry doubts and feares which are the workings of spirituall dejections I shall touch in a word only upon the other branch viz. That of greife and sorrow For As the soule when it s cast downe is full of feare so likewise its full of griefe Disquieted David vents himselfe not onely in feares but in sorrowes His teares were his meat day and night as it is vers .. 3. He went in mourning ver 9. Sighs complaints expostulations those also are the workings of spirituall dejection Ah Lord what palenesse of face what wringing of the hands what watering of the cheeks doth dejection produce what beating of the breast with the Publican what weeping and crying with Rachell what questioning and crying with Mary doth casting down cause There are two appearances of these kind of workings 1 Within The soule tosseth it selfe up and downe the heart rowles and beates as if it would breake its passage through the body How doth the soule talke with its selfe and aggravate its griefe How is the heart smitten and withered as grasse as t is Psal 102.4 The bowells boile and rest not as t is Job 30.26 2 Without The lips quiver as t is Hab. 3.16 The eyes run down all the night as Lam. 1. the voice that speakes faintly And is there any sorrow as mine was ever soule as I am Did you ever meet with any in my case Thus griefe vents it selfe and thus doth the disquieted soule as it thinkes ease it selfe But I neede not go about to paint these sorrowes some soules are able
conquer because as yet you have not Thy soule may be victorious though not yet That party that is put hard to it at first may come off with the conquest afterward It s a certaine truth that Jesus Christ shall get the full conquest over all things and that he shall bring every thing into subjection to himselfe But now we see not yet all things under him Heb. 2.8 It were a saying fallacious at first hearing to say Christ shall not put all things under him because as yet we do not now see it What if as yet thou hast not got the victory over corruption Mayest not thou be a conqueror hereafter although not new Some that have been worsted in the morning have yet been conquerers ere â—ight Operis victoria finis It s the end that declares the conquest Be not cast down O soule notwithstanding thy corruption doth as yet hold up thou mayst in the end conquer for all that But besides pray consider Sixtly That your soul gets many a victory that you mind not You rout sin many a time if you did but marke it Your soule is so eager after a full and finall conquest that you do not observe many particular successes you give pride unbeleefe uncleannesse c. many a desperate gash but though it be desperate in the heat and height of your spirits you regard it not because t is not dead Say O dejected soule hath not Christ helped thee many a time to put a temptation to flight yea and to give thy corruptions a wound And if so why art thou cast downe with feare of being conquered Christ will perfect victory for thee in the end However mind it Seventhly Sin shall never get the victory ever you Had you but faith at lest could you beleeve this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so is it used and translated Lu. 22.25 you would not feare Is it not expresly said Ro. 6.14 Sin shall not have dominion over you The word signifies to have Lordship Peradventure it may give you a foile but it shall not finally give you a fall It shall never Lord it over you by vertue of a full and finall conquest 'T was said of the Romans that they were sometimes overcome in battell Victi in praelio aliquando in bello nunquam Caesar Com. but never in the War the meaning is they were sometimes routed in an on-set but never conquered Certainly O poor dejected spirits you shall never be totally conquered by your corruptions Christ hath said it that the gates of hell shall never prevaile against his Church So said D. Sibs upon the Cant. page 5. And there is the same regard of the whole Church and of every particular member in regard of the cheifest priviledges 〈◊〉 graces that accompany salvation Hell neither without thee in temptations nor within thee in corruptions shall never prevaile against thee O soule thy Lord hath delivered it and why shouldest thou doubt it Adde to all this Lastly If you could but beleeve you might see victory waiting on you over every corruption Had you Pauls eys even in that combate the sence of which makes you as it did him groane you could see the conquest And be able to be so farre from being cast downe with a feare of being conquered as that in the faith of conquest you would as he did thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord Rom. 7.21 Christ dyed as well to free you from the conquest of sin here as the condemnation of it hereafter In his death you dyed and by the vertue thereof sin in you shall be crucified The Apostle bids you indeed reckon upon this as t is Rom. 6.11 Mind these things O cast down soule and in the consideration of them rouze and raise up your spirits and say why are we cast down and disquieted with fears lest corruption should be too hard for us or doubts that we should never conquer it The Apostle hath said it shall not have dominion over us yea and that we are in all things more then conquerors through Christ CHAP. 7. Satisfaction for soules doubting whether as yet they have closed with Christ THe seventh sort of feares which fill the soule when it s cast downe are about its closing with Christ Case Some there are as I noted that when they are cast downe cry out Oh they fear they never did truly close with Christ in all their lives at lest in a saving way They have so many feares and so little faith so much doubting and so little assurance that they thinke and fear they never did in a right Gospell way close with Jesus Christ Now that I might satisfie such soules and raise them I shall propose these particulars First Satisfaction It s possible to have closed with Christ and yet to doubt it All experienced Divines and Christians know that faith and doubting may dwell together It s true faith as faith doth not doubt but yet where faith is there doubting may be Experience witnesseth to this that hypocrites may and doe thinke they have closed with Christ when they have not And why should not we conceive as well on the other hard that Saints may have closed with Christ and yet think they have not It may indeed be questioned whether the soule doth act faith and know it not But I thinke it cannot be denyed but that the soule may have faith and not act it Peradventure it s not possible in the act of closing to be ignorant thereof But certainly after the act t is possible to doubt Inasmuch as the soule may question whether that act were right I do not fear to lay downe this as an undenyable truth that soules may have closed with Christ and yet doubt it This is the first thing I propose The second is It s possible that all the grounds upon which the soule questions its closing with Christ may be weake and false As the grounds upon which hypocrites conceit their faith to be good may be and are false and insufficient So likewise the grounds upon which a sound beleever may question his faith as bad may be fallible and false too In this case a Saints feare and an hypocrites presumption may be both alike groundlesse These grounds I find amongst others as the main of this feare 1 Want of assurance 2 A not seeing of Christ sweetly 3 An inabillity to trust Christ for other things 4 Some kinde of blasphemous thoughts of Christ Now neither of these are grounds firm enough to build this upon that ones closing with Christ is false First Want of assurance cannot make â—ut a not closing with Christ Assurance is rather a consequent i.e. a thing that followes then a concomitant i.e. a thing that goes with our closing with Christ I know some that make assurance and faith all one But as yet I am unconvinced of any thing that might make that good that every soule that hath closed with Christ is assured thereof I
a substance Doe not dispute thy selfe O soul into doubts rather receive satisfaction Christ will not lose any that are given to him It s his Fathers will he should not as he saith Joâ— 6.39 And surely hee 'l be faithfull to his Father Oh therefore be not thou fearefull of falling but if thou wilt fear let it be with a feare of diligence to keepe thee from security let it not be with a feare of diffidence to fill thee with sorrowes Christ who in no wise would cast thee off when thou commest will in no wise lose thee now thou art come If thou wander hee 'l seeke thee if thou fall hee 'l raise thee yea and what ever may be thy feares hee 'l uphold thee in his Grace even to the Grave and besides hee 'l raise thee up againe at the last day Thus have I passed through those particular Cases which I proposed to my selfe to resolve But alas all that I have said is but dead unlesse Christ quicken it READER pray over these conceptions that a spirit of life may come into them that they may so quicked dejected Soules that they may arise and say to themselves Why are we cast downe and why are we disquieted Let us not give way to our feares and sadnesse but exercise our faith and patience for we shall yet see God as the health of our countenance and as our God But these things are more fully to be spoken unto in the following Sections CHAP. 15. Cure for Soules cast downe by remainder of corruption HAving past through the particular cases of dejected soules I thought it not amisse to adde by way of supplement unto them some other I remember I touched upon eight grounds of Spirituall dejection and least upon the mention of them any soule should be troubled I shall offer somethings to satisfie such who is or may be cast downe about them so that as in the former Section I indeavoured to satisfie the particular feares of dejected soules I shall in this endeavour to cure the generall causes of all dejection Divines know there is a difference between a Cause and a Case the one is the bitter seed the other the sower fruit of dejection Now as I have said something to the one so shall I likewise speake a little to the other To begin then in that order in which I prepared them The first cause of Spirituall dejection was the remainders of corruption Cause this indeed is the root and ground of all dejections And in order to the Cure of a soule cast downe in the sight and sence of remaining corruption I shall lay downe these considerations First Cure Consider that the worke of Christ upon the soule doth not in this Life altogether destroy Place these 2 Sheets k l next after Fol. 132. sinne As long as the soule is in the body there will be sinne in the soule even Paul had a body of sinne and death in him and till death destroy the body thou must not looke to have sinne altogether dead in thee This is granted by all and why should it be questioned by thee O dejected soule Secondly Consider remaining corruption will worke one time or other A Dogge though in a chaine will barke and sometimes bite too a man cannot carry fire in his bosome but sometime or other it wil heat him if it doe not burne him Thou cryest out O dejected soul that they remaining corruption doth oft disturbe thee but why shouldest or how canst thou expect the contrary While thou dwellest in this house of Clay that Dunghill wil annoy thee But Thirdly Remember corruptions groaned under as a burden are rather a ground of rejoycing then of dejection for First it argues a life of bolinesse to feele a weight in sinne Dead men feele no weight be it never so heavie and Secondly it argues an activity of life to groane Many soules rather glory in then groane under a weight of sinne but it is a speciall mercy thou art not as they are Fourthly Beleeve it O soule Jesus Christ doth simpathize with thee under this thy burthen While thou groanest under and art cast down at the sight of remaining corruption thou art the object of Christs compassion It is a good plaister for any sore to consider the pitty of our Saviour Christ pitties thee O poore dejected soule to see thee labouring and groaning under the remainder of sinne Heb. 4.2 Fifthly Consider remaining corruption shall never ruine thee As the remaining Canaanites did not could not ruine Israel in the promised Land so neither shall remaining corruption ever ruine thy soule Could corruption ruine thy holinesse joy salvation glory c. thou mightest be much dejected indeed but that it cannot shall not doe Thy holinesse thy joy thy salvation thy glory c. are all safe in the impregnable bulwark Christs hand which is the infinite power of God and though corruption remaine in thee it shall never ruine these Sixthly Consider Jesus Christ dyed to redeeme thee from the remainders of corruption And doe thou act thy faith on thy Saviours death for thy sinnes death the vertue of his death remaines to keep under corruption from having dominion It is thy duty and let it be thy care and endeavour to goe to Jesus Christ for strength against and victory over thy remaining corruption therefore up and be doing that is beleeving Doe not sit solitary as one cast downe to see some remainders of sin Suppose O soule you had seene some gallant Captaine rescuing a person or place from the power of some potent enemy by breaking the strength and power of the Enemy and by taking up his abode in some Castle neare the place Suppose after this there should appeare some scattered Parties should the person or place be dejected at the remainder of a routed adversary should not they rather goe to their Conquerour and Captaine and intreat him to suppresse those remaining forces Beare up O cast-downe soule the case is thine Christ the Captaine of thy salvation hath routed the maine body of sinne upon his crosse and spoiled corruption of his chiefest strength he hath set up a garrison in thy soule and put in a party strong enough to repell and keep under the remaining forces O goe to him stirre up his Spirit to come forth and to bring thy Conquerours sword to check and suppresse thy tumultuous enemies I meane to lift up thy Saviours crosse against thy corruptions And beleeve it soule there is a vertue still in that Crosse to keep the remainders of corruption under Be not therefore cast downe but beleeve and if thou by the Spirit whom Christ hath put into the garrison of thy soule doe goe forth and mortifie sinne thou shalt live and it shall dye at last CHAP. 16. Cure for Soules cast downe by falls into sinne THe second cause of Spirituall dejection was as I mentioned falls into sinne This casts down the soule that the remainders of corruption doe
things of Christ knoweth no man but the spirit of Christ But Secondly How is thy comfort brought in Is it from Christ in a free word of grace offering himselfe to sinners or is it as I may say from a Christ fetcht in by some performances of thine Certainly the lesse of self in the manner of Christs comming into the soule the more of the spirit in the comfort that ariseth thereupon Some soules have their comfort fetcht in rather by selfe in Christ i.e. what they see of themselves in the way of Christs comming in then by Christ in himselfe My meaning is some soules cannot be comforted in Christ unlesse they see Christ as it were fetched and comming in by their Humiliations Repentings Prayers c. Oh if they can upon them or in them see a Christ comming in they can be comforted This comfort I suspect is legall But now if thou canst say thy comfort as it came from Christ so it came and comes still from Christ held forth purely in a word of grace and that when thou couldest see nothing of seife to fetch in Christ that then in a promise of free grace as that he dyed for and justifies the ungodly when I say then thou wert inabled to receive comfort from Christ so brought it without any selfe-qualifications or performances Surely thy comfort is in and by the spirit for still the lesse of selfe the more of him Thirdly Whereunto doth thy comfort tend Confider this Tends it to a magnifying of Christ to a love and labour unto holinesse or tends it to selfe glorying and a kind of wantonnesse Pray mind it If thy comfort have any tendance to magnifie selfe as if it were something or to lessen sin as if it were nothing thou hast cause to suspect thy comfort is not of the spirit For the very hopes of comfort by him tends unto purifying Be that hath this hope purifies himselfe c. But now if upon any laste or hope of comfort from Christ thy soule begin to admire him in his infinite love for loving thee And to abhor sin for provoking him If thy soule is much in adoring him and not a little in abhorring of solfe If sence of comfort do make thee melt as it were into a Christ-loving and Sin-loathing frame and make thee study what maner of conversation thou shouldest have for that comfort which thou hast had Surely if this be the fruit of thy comfort thou needest not fear but that thy comfort is a fruit of the spirit Thus I have offered something in particular in order to the raising of such soules as are cast down and feare that their call conviction and comfort is not was not of or by the Spirit To this I will adde some things by way of consideration joyntly i th reference to the whole As now First Whatsoever thy call conviction and comfort be its precious and to be prized Suppose it be only in the letter as thou sayst yet in case it be at all t is precious How many thousands are there that no way had either call conviction or comfort But live and lye in sin without any calls or conviction and never questioning truth or ground of comfort go in mirth as Jobs phrase is in a moment downe to Hell Chap. 21.13 Secondly Though your call conviction and comfort be as yet but common it may be ere long speciall That which is first is not alwayes spirituall but that which is naturall and afterward that which is spirituall as it is 1 Cor. 15.46 Christ many times doth ingraft as some Divines say grace upon nature Often times Christ speciallizeth as I may say and spirituallizeth common workings such as at first have only been wrought upon in the letter have afterwards beene wrought on by the spirit Besides this Thirdly Consider if at present thy soule be brought up to close with Christ that now thou hangest as it were about his feet mourning onely for the want of his smiles waiting only for the discoveries of his loves If now thy soule can say I see a need of Christ I am convinced of the want of a Christ I onely pant after and look for the injoyment of a Christ all the comfort that I have all the support of my spirit lyes upon this that I hope he that shal come wil come and will not tarry and that the Lord whom thou lookest for will suddenly come If I say this be the present frame of thy spirit and speake soule is it not so why then art thou disquieted why art thou cast down why dost thou disturbe thy selfe with this fear that thy call conviction and comfort is not of the spirit Certainly when and where Christ is so discovered to be all in all and so pressed after the soul need not cast down it selfe with feare CHAP. 4. Satisfaction unto such as fear that all that which is in them is rather from education then regeneration THis was the fourth fear which I touched upon Case and the satisfaction hereof is to be indeavoured next now for such souls as are dejected and do discover themselves in this fear that which I shall speak unto them shall be in three steps As 1 Generally Satisfaction I desire such dejected soules as cry out Oh all that which is in them is but civillity and education and the like I say I desire such to consider three things as First What it is which in truth doth act them and carry them on in the things of Christ Is it only their head or is it not principally their heart Education doth seldome ingage conscience It may and doth bring into a custome and this it doth meerly upon head-principall i.e. a knowledge that such or such a duty is to be done and that Parents or Tutors have done it c. But now to be brought into the wayes of godlinesse upon heart principles as I may call them i.e. to do such or such a duty upon conscience as finding an ingagement there to them this goes farther then education Consider then dost not thou find a heart-ingagement to the things of Christ so that thou hast some love to and in what thou dost and a hatred to and griefe in the contrary Surely if it be so here is something more and higher then education Then Secondly Consider what if thy naturall relations were dead or which is worse opposite to the things of Christ Suppose this and search what wouldest thou be or doe then 2 Chro. 24. Joash his goodnesse of education it dyed with his Tutour Jehoiadah It s said Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all the dayes of Jehoiadah the Priest But after the death of Jehoiadah we finde that Joash doth not onely leave off that which was right in the sight of the Lord but he served Groves and Idolls yea and he slew Iehoiada's sonne for testifying against him Now then suppose thy Parents and Tutor's dead nay
poore soules there bee so many stones and thornes in our hearts that we feare the good seed hath met but with bad ground in our hearts but know O soules that as no ground is so good but it hath some stones and thornes so your hearts may be good ground notwithstanding some worldly cares and deceitfulnesse Beware least you imagine that you should or could make your hearts good and your soules fruitfull of your selves some have doubtlesse mistaken Christs meaning in that Parable who thinke that their hearts must or could be good ground before the seed of the Word make it so Parables are not to be stretched beyond their intention Thy heart may be was is and will be bad ground ere the good seed make it good thou sayest the seed was good but thy ground i. e. thy heart was nought therefore the Parable speakes sadly of thee c. but be not dejected nor deceived It s the glory of spirituall seed that it wil make BAD ground GOOD It s true other seeds though good yet if sowne in bad ground are lost the bad ground spoyling the good seed But t is otherwise here The bad ground i.e. bad hearts doe not mar the good seed but the good seed mends the bad hearts Every heart since the fall hath and doth bring forth bryers and thornes Now where good seed comes it choakes the bryars and thornes i.e. deceit and corruptions Object Nay but saith the soule t is true if this good seed did abide but alas I feare t is lost all or at best there is but little remaines of the many handfulls that have been sowne upon mee there are but a few graines abide c. Ans Be it so O soule yet if any seed remaine 't will grow and be saving any one seed taking roote in thy heart is immortall and it will remaine Reply But me thinks I hear the soul reply with sighs and saying T is true if I had but any seed abiding with me I could rejoyce for I know the good seed will not dye But I alas I see it not spring up and therefore I doubt c. Duply Tarry O soule The Husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth and hath long patience for it And shouldest not thou waite for the most precious fruit of the heart Jam. 5.7 and have longer patience Even the Lord of the Vineyard waiteth some yeares for his fruit as is deducible from Luk. 13.7 Albe it thou see not the seed spring yet it may be under the clods taking root even under the clods of your corruptions there may be the seed of grace And what if you see it not Should the husbandman who in the Winter lookes upon his field newly or lately sowne and sees nothing but mire and earth and dirt cry out and say all my seed is lost would not every one count him weake and tell him in the Spring he shall see the contrary Thy Spring O soule is comming it s now thy Winter season as before n = * Sect. i. chap. 5. was hinted and now thy seed is not seene for thy corruptions like dirty clods lye upon it But beare up O soule and expect with patience and thou shalt see thy seed springing up unto a Harvest of holinesse and of life But what if I should say as thou dost that thy seed i.e. the word which thou hast heard is dead I should not feed thy fear For know you not that which the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 15.36 thou foole that which thou sowest is not quickened except it dye It s a peece of folly to expect a quickening of seed sowne ere it rot and dye Verily saith Christ except a corne of wheat Joh. 12.24 fall into the ground and dye it abideth alone i. e. it increaseth not Even Christ himselfe sowne in the heart doth at least seemingly dye ere hee springs up Death passeth upon all our mercies in the seed and we find them only as by a resurrection Even that good seed of grace the holy word of the Gospell which hath beene sown in thy heart and lyes now as dead and rotten will arise and spring up ere long and thou shalt see it be not therefore O soule so cast down and dejected Lastly To wind up this case Admit as yet the Word of God never came like it selfe i e. as good seed to thee yet it may now God hath bid us in the preaching of the Word to be instant both in season and out of season And in effect he hath said to us as t is Eccles 1.6 To sow our seed in the morning and in the evening not to with hold our hand And how do we or you know which shall prosper Peradventure the seed that is sown in the evening may prosper with thee though that be lost which was sowne on thee in the morning Christ O soul for ought that I or thou knowest may in this reading or the next cause a blessing to be upon the seed And it may at last bring forth in thy heart sixty yea a hundred fold O be not faithlesse but beleeve Thou who now goest up and downe mourning for the want of a precious seed See Isa 55.10 11. and 35.1 2 3 4 See these places mayest ere long return rejoycing bearing sheaves Hath not the Lord said As the raine commeth down from heaven and returneth not thither but watereth the earth and maketh it bring forth and bud Even so shall the word which goeth forth of his mouth it shall not return empty Thou who now fearest thy selfe to bee a barren Wildernesse shall blossom abundantly and rejoyce This Christ hath commanded me to tell you who are of a fearfull heart therefore be not dejected or cast downe but be strong CHAP. 11. Satisfaction to the soule cast downe and troubled with feare about the Promises THe Promises are appointed and indeed were intended for our comfort but many souls who are dejected are so far from being comforted by them that they are troubled about them O say they had we assurance that we were interested in the Promises we could rejoyce Case but we question our right to them and we feare wee have no part or lot in them c. Now to raise up the soule cast down and labouring under this fear I shall present these particulars to be seriously considered First You have no just ground to say you have no right to the Promises God doth no where say that thou shalt have nothing to do with his Promises Sith God doth not exclude thee why shouldest thou exclude thy selfe It s not enough to say thou art a sinner for the Promises are tendred unto sinners It s observable there is one Promise or other made and tendred unto all sorts of sinners But. Secondly It s your duty to beleeve the Promises are yours and this is the way to come to know it It s a strange and ungospell-like expression to say I would beleeve the
to the full when thou shalt enter into thy Masters joy when thou shalt rest from thy labours thy income shall follow thee when thou shalt come to Abrahams bosome and there thou shalt come dejected soule as poore a Lazarus as thou art then thou shalt have every prayer every sigh every groane come to remembrance and say now thou hast all that which we went out for Rouse up therefore O cast-downe soule God is a good Master you shall not labour in vaine Be not dejected but be stedfast unmoveable alway abounding in the worke of the Lord for as much as you know your labour is not in vaine in the Lord as t is 1 Cor. 15. last why then should you be cast downe for lacke of income CHAP. 20. Cure for Soules cast downe upon insultation of Satan and enemies I Remember another cause I mentioned of dejections was the insultation of Satan and enemies many soules are dejected at this that Satan and his instruments triumph over as it is at large shewed before Now to cure and comfort those Cure let me intreate dejected soules to minde and remember these insuing things First Satan will insult without ground Hee 'l say to David Where is his God and hee 'l but if to Christ concerning his being the sonne of God Sathan is an impudent enemy who will bragge and triumph against a soule for nothing It is the nature of a Dogge to barke a Lion to roare Woolfe a Wolfe to howle and it is the nature of Sathan to insult Be not therefore cast downe at it Secondly Though Sathan insults Christ is a friend and loves us still even at that time that Sathan insulted and buffeted Paul Christs grace was sufficient Should the Childe be cast down for the insulting of the Groome or the Scullion when he is beloved of his Father as his Heire What though Satan say Where is thy God thy hope c. mayest not thou O soule say My God and hope is in Heaven still All the Devils in Hell and men on earth shall never can never seperate between thee and thy God neither Principalities nor Powers nor Life nor Death nor any thing can separate c. Triumph O soule in that Rom. 8.35.37 though Sathan insult be not thou cast downe Thirdly The time shall come when thou shalt tread upon thy insulting enemy and when he shall be ashamed for all his insultations Remember O cast downe soule the God of peace will though thou canst not and that shortly tread downe Sathan under your even thy feet Rom. 16.20 Christ will take thee by the hand and owne thee in the presence of God Angels and men yea and Devills too And then thy enemy Sathan shall see who said where is thy God even then he shall see thy God as thine and be confounded for all his insultation over thee Lastly for wicked men who now it may be deride and scoffe at thee be not dejected for them Because the day will come when they will wish they were as thou art When they shall as much admire at thy happinesse and wisdome as now they sleight thy state and thoughts when God shall bring thee forth to light and thou shalt behold his righteousnesse Then shall all thy enemies see it and be ashamed which said where is the Lord thy God Then shall they licke the dust like a Serpent and shall fear not only because of the Lord our God but also because of thee as it is in that Excellent Scripture Mich. 7.9.10.17 which scripture if thou read seriously and act faith upon I dare assure thee of cure for this cause of dejection viz. insultation of Sathan and enemies CHAP. 21. Cure for Soules cast downe upon corporall Afflictions SPirituall dejection is sometimes caused by corporall affliction A sick body doth in some persons make a sad soul Cause When Hezekiah was sick and had received the sentence and message of death he turned to the wall and wept And the thoughts of the dying of his body produced dejection in his soul Thus indeed it is oft with others Now to cure this cause of dejection I shall not need to be large Only take a few ingredients which mixed together and applyed may serve in this case to raise the dejected Spirit First Consider the great ground of this dejection is a deceit Cure Afflicted soules interpret affliction amisse and therefore are cast downe They take every whipping to be an effect of anger whereas its a signe of love Your Father O dejected soul in your sicknesse is sweet He makes thee sick in thy body to cure some disease in thy soul He doth not afflict thee willingly T is only that thy spirit may be well that he makes thy body ill You have had fathers of your flesh who corrected you and yee gave them reverence should you not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits live Heb. 12.9 This is spoke in reference to affliction By this chastisement God seales up child-ship Do not despise therefore the chastenings of the Lord nor be not dejected for the word will beare this translation when thou art by sicknesse rebuked of the Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. they â—eject their own spirits Philo. Heb 12.5 It s a fault in the chastised child to be dogged and it s a failing in thee O soule by reason of corporall affliction which is but a fatherly chastisement to be dejected Besides Secondly Your father knows your frame He knowes what you can beare and hee 'le lay no more upon you then your strength can master The Lord will not alwayes chide neither will he keep his anger for ever 't is spoken of affliction by diseases as seemes to be hinted vers 3. But as a father pittyeth His children so the Lord pittieth them who feare him for hee knoweth our frame he remembreth wee are but dust As for man his dayes are but as grasse as a flower in the field so he flourisheth Psalm 103.9 13 14 15. Mind this O thou sick and sad soule thy father knowes thy frame he minds thou art but dust and he pittyes thee in all thy affliction which he layes upon thee Yea he sits by and makes all thy bed in thy sicknes as t is Psa 41. And he maketh sore and bindeth up be woundeth and his hand maketh whole as it is in Job 4 18. that is spoken of sicknesse too Christ if hee will can make thee whole And certainly if thou couldest beleeve thou shouldest see his glory as t is Joh. 11.40 Hath he not said enough to make thee say as David said I shall not dye but live to declare the workes of God The Lord hath chastened me sore but hath not given me over unto death see that place Psalm 118.17 18. O bear up dejected heart though thou be sick yet thou mayst recover and goe up to the house of God where thou mayest praise him for health restored to thee and
say Blesse the Lord O my soule and all that is within me blesse his holy name who forgiveth all thine iniquities and healeth all thy diseases Quest Prethee mind this and say doth it not speake to thy dejection Answ No wilt thou say I would beare sicknesse but that I feare death This thought I shall dye is that which casts me down Reply 'T is true I thinke and I know here is the bottome of the doubt and dejection to speake therefore to it directly I le grant it thou shalt dye though it may be not now but suppose I say now Case even now thou shalt die yet consider these things and thou needest not be dejected First Christ came to deliver thee from this feare Cure It s the feare of death that doth more deject then death it self Now remember Christ came to free thee from this feare For as much as the children are partakers of flesh and blood he also himselfe likewise tooke part of the same that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Devill And marke it deliver them who through the feare of death were all their life time subject unto bondage Heb. 2.14 15. Consider Christ hath destroyed him that had the power of death the Devill and hath delivered thee Couldest thou beleeve this and why shouldest thou not thou mightest triumph But Secondly Christ hath tooke away the sting of death Death is a Bee having the hony of deliverance from this vile body c. but it hath no sting For what saith the Scripture The sting of death is sin the strength of sin is the law but thankes bee to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ goe thou to that glorious chapter 1 Corinth 15. and read it O thou that art dejected with feares of death Thirdly Christ will be with thee in that hour thou fearest Thou shalt not dye alone for though all thy friends shall leave thee yet wil not Christ This David knew for speaking of his shepherd and who is the shepheard but our Lord Jesus as t is Hel 13.20 He saith although I walke through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evill he needed not for observe what he saith THOU ART WITH MEE thy rod and thy staffe they comfort me Psal 23.4 Albeit thy relations bid thee farewell and shake hands as not being willing nor able to keep thee longer company yet Christ wil not leave thee nor forsake thee In truth in life nor death hee 'le never doe that as t is Heb. 13.5 Fourthly Death shall be no death to thee A change it wil be and that from worse to the better but it s not a death Did not Christ say it Whosoever liveth and beleeveth in me shall never dye yea though he were dead yet shal he live John 11.26 Thou must not call that death which the Scripture cals but sleep The Scripture speakes of the dead in Christ that they sleep in Jesus 1 Thess 4.14 And she is not dead but sleepeth and our friend Lazarus sleepeth Now why shouldest thou O soule who art weary be cast down with the thoughts of sleep Fiftly Christ hath sweetned death for thee He hath layne in the grave and so honoured and softned that bed unto beleevers Would any child be afraid to lye in its mothers bed Is it not an Honour to lye down in the same bed in which the King of glory lay Art dejected O soule to go into thy Saviours Sepulchre what art thou cast downe with the feares of gain to dye is gaine said Paul Philip. 1.21 Sixtly Christ will raise you up againe Hee hath said so and if he should not he would not only breake his own word but disobey his fathers will neither of which hee 'l doe This is the fathers will who hath sent me that of all which he hath given me I should loose nothing but should raise it up at the last day This Christ spake once yea twice and pray marke it wel John 6 39 41. Christ O soul wil raise thee up againe Should the child be afraid to goe to sleep at night when his Father promiseth to raise him up in the morning Christ hath promised to raise up your bodies again yea and he hath promised to give you a new spirit into the bargaine for t is sowne a Naturall but raised a Spirituall body Put all this together O thou dejected soul and tell me now What cause hast thou to be cast downe with the thoughts of death May not these considerations cure that cause of thy dejection Thou art now troubled with sicknesse weaknesse paines c. but let death come doe not feare it and thou shalt be cured of all Diseases yea and which is better freed from all defilements Methinkes therefore you should rather desire to be desolved then feare death and imitate those who groaned to be uncloathed of this earthly house as knowing they have a better even a building with God an house not made with hands eternall in the Heavens 2 Cor. 5.1 Goe O cast down soule to that Scripture and thou wilt in it finde a Cordiall to cheere and cure thy spirit in this feare CHAP. 22. Cure for soules cast downe and dejected by the sence of Divine wrath A Little wrath of the Almighty casts the soule very low Cause even as low as Hell for what else is Hell but Divine wrath felt How many dejected hearts are there that cry out that the Almighty is angry that he frownes upon them and that every wrinckle in his forehead is a grave burying all their comforts When men smite God can cure and when God giveth quietnesse who then can make trouble but when be hideth his face who then can behold him Job 34.29 Indeed this is a sad cause of dejection and it puts the soule into a very dejected case indeed yet it is not incurable a soule that is cast down by the sence of Gods wrath may be raised if Christ will helpe it to minde and beleeve these particulars First This case is not singular even many holy men and women in all Ages of the world have been in this condition Cure Company is a comfort even in misery Thou needest not cry out O soule and say Was there ever sorrow like unto mine Yes there was thou feelest thine owne paine but David Job Heman Hezekiah c. felt as much peradventure more wrath then thou dost but why doe I speake of particulars When as I remember the Lord had not mercy but INDIGNATION upon Judah and Jerusalem i. e. the whole body of Israel threescore and ten yeares Zach. 1.12 yea as the body so the head of all the godly was made sensible of Gods wrath for Christ drunk the cup of his Fathers wrath it is more then a bad and unsound way of arguing I am under Gods wrath and therefore I am not Gods Childe This way of arguing condemnes all Gods