Lord is before thee know it for thy good Study thy God Christian roul over his sweetness in thy minde as thou dost the sweet morsel in thy mouth see what he is and what thou hast laid up in him read over daylie his glorious names walk through those chambers of his presence his glorious Attributes look into the chamber of his power and see what thou hast laid up for thee there go into the chamber of his wisdome and see what that will afford thee look into the chambers of his goodness mercy faithfulness holiness and behold what treasures are laid up for thee in each of these enter into thy chambers they are all thine enter into the chambers set thine eye be there let thy meditation be there let thy soul be there every day there 's thy portion search it out and know it for thy good This is the first thing contained in Fruition Knowledge 2. Delight Fruition is the taking the pleasure of what we have Frui est cum gaudio uti Augustine We cannot enjoy what we do not love and love hath delight We cannot enjoy that wherein we do not joy Delight thy self in the Lord Psal 37.4 I sate me down under his shaddow with great delight Cant. 2.3 If his shaddow be so pleasant what will his Sun-beams be Psal 34.8 O taste and see that the Lord is good Our senses help our understandings we cannot by the most rational discourse perceive what the sweetness of honey is taste it and you shall perceive it His fruit was sweet unto my taste Dwell in the light of the Lord and let thy soul be alwayes ravished with his love Get out the marrow and the fatness that thy portion yeilds thee Let fools learn by beholding thy face how dim their blazes are to the brightness of thy day Let thy delights in God be pure and unmixed delights Let thy spirit be so filled with God and so raised above carnal joyes and the matters of them that it be no damp upon thee to have nothing but God Thy wine is the more sprightful when not mixed with water Live above in that serene Ayre which is not incrassated with earthly exhalations Sickly bodies and so sickly souls cannot live in too pure an Ayr. Be so wholly spiritual that spiritual joyes spiritual delights may be suited to thee and sufficient for thee Do not say I want the joy of the Vintage and of the Harvest I want the joy of the Bridegroom and of the Bride I want the sound of the Milstones and the light of the Candle to make my comfort full Let the joy of the Lord be thy strength and thy life Say with the Prophet Habbak 3.17,18 Although the Fig-tree shall not blossome neither shall fruit be in the Vines the labour of the Olive shall fail and the Fields shall yeild no meat the Flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no Herd in the stalls yet will I rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation This is the second thing in Fruition Delight 3. Satisfaction The quiet or resting of the soul in its portion Therefore the Schools say it is onely the ultimus finis the last end that is the proper object of fruition The carnal world whatever they possess yet they cannot be said properly to enjoy it though they be their gods that they live upon their dragg is their god their yarn is their god their plough and their plenty and their pleasure is their god they burn incense to them though they be their gods that they live upon yet they cannot enjoy them there is no rest for them in their god Psal 25.12,13 What man is he that feareth the Lord his soul shall dwell at ease In the Original 't is shall lodge in goodness The soul is never in ease whilest 't is in want every want wrings it can never take up its lodging where it cannot take its rest His soul shall be at ease shall lodge that is shall take up its rest in the goodness of God and when we finde rest in our beds then we enjoy them Is thy soul lodg'd in God O enjoy thy lodging Soul take thine ease thou hast goods laid up for many years Return to thy rest O my soul for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee As it was said to so let it be said by the Church and every Saint This is my rest here will I dwell for ever Here thou mayest find rest when thou hast no other rock to lean upon thou mayest be at rest in thy God in thy most restless state in a weary land in a barren wilderness in a tempestuous Ocean how ever it was in the vision of the Prophet yet thou mayest say if the wind rise the Lord is in the wind if after the wind an earthquake the Lord is in the earthquake if after the earthquake a fire the Lord God is in the fire and where-ever thou findest God thou mayest find rest If thou findest God in a wilderness thou wilt find rest in the wilderness if thou find God in the earthquake or the tempest or the fire even there also thy soul shall find rest when thou canst not rest in thy bed nor in thine house nor in thy land thou mayest still rest in thy God Say Christian say again Return to thy rest oh my soul for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with me Though my helps fail me and my friends fail me and my flesh and my heart fails me God is the strength of mine heart and my portion for ever this is my rest here will I dwell for ever To these I might add a fourth thing wherein Fruition stands The making use of our Portion He enjoys that uses what he hath though the Schools distinguish betwixt frui and uti yet in a sense especially with a respect to our present estate the latter may be comprehended under the former We then enjoy our portion when we have a power and heart to make use of it on all occasions I am thine soul come and make use of me as thou wilt Thou mayest freely I have nothing but 't is for thee thou mayest freely come to my store and the oftner the better welcome have thou not a God lying by thee to no purpose let not thy God be as others gods serving only for a shew Have not a name only that thou hast a God since he allows thee having such a friend use him daily my God shall supply all your wants never want whilest thou hast a God never fear or faint whilest thou hast a God go to thy treasure and take what-ever thou needest there 's bread and clothes and health and life and all that thou needest O Christian learn the divine skill to make God all things to make bread of thy God and water and health and friends and ease he can supply thee with all these or which is better he can be instead of all these
trust to it trust everlasting truth trust to everlasting strength Fear not for there shall not fail one word of all that I have spoken by all my servants the Prophets If you should hear the Lord speaking thus to you from Heaven what would you say Would not this satisfie you Why search the Scriptures that more sure word of Prophecy 2 Pet. 1.19 Read them diligently understond what thou readest and then say if thou doest not there finde the Lord speaking fully to thee the following words CHAP. XVII God speaking from Mount Gerizim Or the Gospel in a Map being a short view of the exceeding great and precious Promises * Mr. I. A. by another hand The voyce of the Herauld O All ye Inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the Earth Come see and hear gather your selves together unto the Proclamation of the great King Hear you that are farr off and you that are near He that hath an ear to hear let him hear I am the voyce of one crying in the Wilderness Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Let every Valley be exalted and every Mountain made low for the glory of the Lord is to be revealed Go thorow go thorow the Gates prepare the way Cast up cast up the High-way gather out the Stones lift up the Standard for the people for the Lord proclaimeth salvation to the ends of the Earth Tydings tydings O ye Captives Hear all ye that look for salvation in Israel behold I bring you glad tydings of great joy which shall be unto all people Blessed newes Prepare your ears and hearts the Lord hath commanded me saying Go unto the people and sanctifie them lâ—t them waâ—h and be ready for the Lord is coming down upon Mount Sion in the sight of all the Nations Not in Earthquakes and Fire not in Clouds and Darkness not in Thundrings and Burnings rending the Mountains and breaking the Rock in pieces He speaks not to you out of the Blackness and Darkness and Tâ—mpest you shall say no more Let not God speak to us lest we dye He cometh peaceably he Law of kindness is in his mouth he preacheth Peace peace to him that is far off and to him that is near Behold how he commeth leaping upon the Mountains he hath passed Mouth Ebal no more wrath or cursing he is come to Mount Gerizim where he standeth to bless the people As Mordecai to his Nation he writeth the words of truth and peace seeking the welâ—are of his people and speaking peace to all his Seed Behold how he cometh clothed with flames of Love with bowels of Compassion plenteous Redemption and multiplyed Pardons O how pregnant is his Love O the rollings of his Bowels Oh how full are his Breasts even aking till they are eased by the sucking of his hungry Children Hearken therefore O ye Children hearken to me To you it is commanded O People Nations and Languages that at what time you hear the joyful sound the Trump of Jubile the tydings of peace in the voyce of the everlasting Gospel that you fall down before the Throne and worship him that liveth for ever and ever Arise and come away Prepare prepare you Hear not with an uncircumcised ear you are not upon a common thing Behold the Throne is set the Throne of grace where Majesty and Mercy dwell together from thence will the Lord meet you from thence will he commune with you from the Mercy-seat from between the Cherubims upon the Ark of the Testimony Lo the Lord cometh out of his Pavilion the mighty God from Sion Selah His glory covereth the Heavens the Earth is full of his praise A fire of love goeth before him mercy and truth are round about him righteousness and peace are the habitation of his Throne he rideth on his Horses and Chariots of Salvation the Covenant of life and peace is in his mouth Rejoyce ye Heavens make a joyful noise to the Lord all the Earth Let the Sea roar the Floods clap their hands and the multitudes of the Isles rejoyce Stand forth the Host of Heaven prepare your Harps cast down your Crowns be ready with your Trumps bring forth your golden Vials full of Odours for our voyces will jarr our strings will break we cannot we cannot reach the note of our Makers praise Yet let them that dwell in the dust arise and sing Bear your part in this glorious service but consider and attend Call out your souls and all that is within you Lift up your voyces fix your eyes enlarge your hearts intend all their Powers here is work for them all Be intent and serious you cannot strein too high Come forth ye graces beset the way be all in readiness Stand forth Faith and Hope flame O Love come ye warm desires and break with longing Let fear with all veneration do its Obeysance Joy prepare thy songs call up all the Daughters of Musick to salute the Lord as he passeth by Let the generations of the Saints appear and spread the way with Boughs and Garments of Salvation and songs of Deliverance Deut. 29.10 to the 13. Ye stand this day all of you before the Lord your God your Captains your Elders your Officers with all the men of Israel your little Ones your Wives and the stranger that is within thy Camp from the hewer of Wood to the drawer of Water That thou shouldest enter into Covenant with the Lord thy God and into his Oath which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself and that he may be unto thee a God as he hath said unto thee and as he hath sworn I have done my errand The Messenger of the morning disappeareth when the Orient Sun cometh forth out of his Chambâ—rs I vanish I put my mouth in the dust The voice of the Lord The soft and still voice O my soul wrap thy face in the mantle and bow thy self to the ground and put thee in the clif of the Rock while Jehovah proclaimeth his Name and maketh all his goodness to pass before thee The voice of the LORD HEar O ye ends of the Earth The mighty God the Lord hath spoken Gather my Saints unto me those that have made a Covenant with me by sacrifice a a Psal 50.1,5 Behold I establish my Covenant between me and you b b Gen. 17.7 By my holiness have I sworn that I will be your Covenant-friend I lift up my hands to heaven I swear I live for ever and because I live you shall live also c c Ioh. 14.19 I will be yours d d Jer. 32.38,40 Yours to all intents and purposes Your refuge and your rest e e Jer. 50.6 Psal 90.1 Psal 46.1 your Patron and your Portion f f Psal 73.26 Esay 25.4,5 your Heritage and your Hope your God and your Guide g g Psal 48.14 While I have you shall never want and
this world these shall not be thine hire the everlasting God will be thy reward thine exceeding great reward exceeding not thy work only but thy very thoughts also A little is too much for thy earnings but the whole world is too little for his bounty less than nothing might satisfie for thy labours but less than himself will not satisfie for his love the eternal God will be thy reward Oh the unsearchable riches of the poorest of Saints Onimium foelices bona si sua nôrint Poor what and yet hast a God! In want what and yet hast all things Is he a God that is thine and art thou still in straits Would a few sheep and oxen vineyards and olive-yards make thee a rich man and can a God leave thee a beggar Is not a pearl more than pebbles Milk and wine than mud and water Men use to say Money is all things meat and drink and clothes and friends and lands virtually all things And is not God more than money Sure he hath said to his Gold thou art my god that cannot say Let God be mine and then go thou thy way Hast thou a God and yet poor Nay farther would the fatness of the earth and the fulness of heaven if thou hadst both be enough for thee Would corn and wine and houses and lands and pleasures here and eternal life hereafter suffice thee And is not God alone as much as all this Dost thou want Star-light when thou hast the Sun Is the Ocean more full for the Rivers that run into it Or would there be any want there if all these were stopp'd and dry Can they contribute to it which have their rise from it Hath the almighty God a self-sufficiency and hath he not enough to satisfie a poor worm Is he blessed in himself and mayest not thou be blessed in him He that thinks any thing less then God will suffice understands not a soul and he that wants any thing more understands not God God alone is as much as God and all the world and this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord God is their portion If enough be not yet said look a while and consider whence thou art taken up into this blessedness What hast thou left What an exchange hast thou made Thou wert taken with the Prodigal from the trough with the beggar from the dunghil yea as a brand out of the burning there thy lot was fallen Oh where hast thou left the rest of the world Blessing themselves in vanity pleasing themselves with shaddows and apparitions feeding on ashes warming themselves at their painted fires sporting themselves with the wind rejoycing in a thing of nought their crackling thorns their glozing pleasures their drinkings and dancings and riotings their horses and their dogs and their hawks and their harlots making a shift a while to make merry with these whilst they are hasting to the pit To that fire and brimstone which is the portion of their cup. Consider man what is the chaffe to the wheat What is a Comet to the Sun What is the night to the day What are bubbles and childrens toyes to â—…e durable riches What are things that are noâ— to hâ—m whose name is I am But oh what is death and wrath and the curse which was once all thine heritage to that life and love and peace and joy and glory which thou now possessest in that God that is thy portion What a poor wretch wert thou once when thou hadst nothing but sin and shame and misery that thou couldst call thine own these thou mightest call thine sin was thine woe was thine death and the grave and the curse and the pit were thine own but that was all thou hadst thy good things thou livedst upon had they been of never so great value were none of thine thine house and thy lands are none of thine thy gold and thy silver and thy substance are none of thine they are all but borrowed or committed to thee as a Steward and all to be given up upon demand and what thou hast spent of them thou must be brought to a reckoning for a poor wretch thou wert and hadst just nothing all that thou hadst was none of thine But now God is thine own all that he is all that he has is thine never couldest thou lay such a claim to any thing thou possessedst to house or wife or childe or body or soul as now thou mayest to thy God God is as surely thine as thou art thy self as sure as thou art a man thou hast a God Come Christian here 's now thy poâ—tion the light of thine eyes the lifting up of thinehead the joy of thine heart the strength of thy bones thy stock thy treasure thy life thy health thy peace thy rest thy all Whom have I in heaven but thee and in the earth there is none that I desire besides thee My flesh and mine heart faileth but God is the strength of mine heart and my portion for ever Psal 73.25,26 Here is thy portion know it for thy good take it for thine own live upon it and live up to it 1. Live upon thy portion Here thou mayest feed herein thou mayest rejoyce herein thou mayest bless thy self for ever Let him that blesseth himself on the earth bless himself in the God of Truth Let him that rejoyceth in the earth rejoyce in the God of truth Let the strong man live upon his strength let the wise man live upon his wits let the rich man live upon his lands come thou live upon thy God come enjoy God and thy soul enjoy God in thy soul enjoy thy soul in God Thou hast possession what should hinder thy fruition In fruition the Schools tells us there are three things which go to the making it up Cognitio Delectatio Quietatio 1. Knowledge according to the clearness or cloudiness of our apprehensions of any good we more or less take the pleasure or comfort of it and therefore the full fruition of God is not till at last when we shall know as we are known Here we see but as in a glass and darkly we know but in part and while we know but in part we love but in part and joy but in part the dimness of our sight makes an abatement upon our joy When the vail shall be taken away when we shall come to see face to face then we shall fully feel what it is to have a God Christian know thou the God of thy Fathers the more thou knowest the more thou hast The carnal world enjoy not God at all God is not known in their Tabernacles In Jewry is God known his Name is great in Israel at Salem is his Tabernacle and his Dwelling in Zion But what of God in Edom or Ammon or Amaleck or Aegypt those dark Regions wherein neither Sun nor Star appears Leave them to their dunghil gods to the gardens which they have desired and the Oaks which they have chosen The