THE Best Acquaintance AND HIGHEST HONOUR OF CHRISTIANS OR A DISCOURSE of Acquaintance with GOD. By Matthew Newcomen Minister of the Gospel Job 22.21 Acquaint now thy self with him and be at peace John 8.16 I am not alone but I and the Father which hath sent me 1 Cor. 1.9 God is faithful by whom ye are called unto the fellowship of his Son Christ Jesus our Lord. 1 John 1.3 And truly our fellowship is with the father and with his Son Christ Jesus James 2.23 Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness and he was called the friend of God Psal 149.10 This honour have all his Saints John 1◠1◠Henceforth I call you not servants but I 〈◊〉 called you friends London Printed in the Year 1668. THE Best Acquaintance AND Highest Honour OF CHRISTIANS Job 22. vers 21. Acquaint now thy self with him and be at peace thereby good shall come unto thee CHAP. I. The opening of the words and of the nature of the great duty of acquainting our selves with God THe words are the words of Eliphaz one of Job's three friends and as it should seem the chiefest of the three either for age or dignity or wisdom for the other two give him the priority in speaking He having in the beginning of the Chapter given Job a bitter pill to chew upon in vers 5 6 7. that he might not leave the mind of Job exulcerated towards the latter end of his discourse attempers his speech to a milder and sweeter strain giving him first counsel vers 21 22. then promising him comfort vers 23. to the end In this 21. v. we have two things Officium Beneficium A work to be done or a duty to be performed by Job and indeed by every one And that in these words Acquaint now thy self with him 2. A benefit to be obtained by the performance of this duty and that is peace and good Acquaint now thy self with him and be at peace so shall good come unto thee Acquaint The word translated acquaint is diversly rendred by Interpreters The Chaldee paraphrase renders it Learn of him The Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be thou hard or stout meaning patient in bearing Affliction The Vulgar Latine Acquiesce ei Munster Conveniat tibi cum eo The Syriack and Arabick Coaequa te ei The Tigurine Accommoda te illi Coccejus Fac periculum Pagnine and Junius Assuesce te illi The French Accointe-toy An old English translation reads it Reconcile thy self unto him Our Translation reads it Acquaint thy self with him Making choice of a word that takes in both the Chaldees disce ab eo And the vulgars Acquisce and the Tigurine Accommoda te illi And Munsters Conveniat tibi cum eo And the old English Reconcile thy self to him As we shall see afterwards God willing * The Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hath as many other words in the Hebrew various significations and some of them seemingly contrary to others as Prodesse Increpare arguere assuescere thesaurizare recondere nocere depauperare periclitari significatione Rabbinis consuerâ Pagnin The septuagint render it sometimes by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sometimes by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sometimes by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sometimes by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sometimes by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sometimes by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sometimes by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Kircher Marius de Calasio observes four principal acceptations of the word in Scripture 1. Prodesse or utilem esse 2. Thesaurizare 3. Calefacere 4. Depauperare to which he adds a fifth of the Rabbins and Chaldees which is periculum facere or periclitari And this great difference of significations which this word is capable of is the reason why there is so great variety in the translation of this Text. The word in the Original translated acquaint is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is used in that Conjugation Hiphil but in two places besides this in all the Scripture The one is Numb 22.30 where Balaams ass saith to him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nunquid assuescendo assuetus sum Was I ever wont to do thus The other is Psal 139.2 where the Psalmist saith Thou art acqainted with all my wayes In the Original it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which our singing Psalms according to the Emphasis of the Original well render And by familiar custom art acquainted with my wayes Acquaint thy self now 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is an expletive particle and signifies as much as nunc ideo quaeso and accordingly some here read Acquaint now thy self Others acquaint therefore thy self Others acquaint I pray thee thy self It is a particle that implies seriousness in him that speaks and weight and moment in the thing that is spoken of Acquaint now thy self with him that is with God The Almighty spoken of before v. 17. and again v. 23. Acquaint thy self with him and be at peace that is thou shalt be at peace for so as the learned Mercer observes it is usual with the Hebrews to put the Imperative mood for the Future tense Thou shalt be at peace thereby good shall come unto thee Good that is all kind of good Temporal Spiritual and Eternal as is exemplified afterwards in the following verses to the end of the Chapter That which from the words thus opened commends it self to our observation is this That the great concernment of every man is to acquaint himself with God I say The great concernment of every man that which every man should make his greatest study and business and look upon himself as most concerned in is to acquaint himself with God I shall immediately fall upon the opening of the Nature of this acquainting our selves with God in these three particulars that are necessarily included in it First This acquainting our selves with God implies a true and right knowledge of God For you will all readily conclude it is impossible for a man to have acquaintance with a person whom he hath never had any knowledge of If a man should come to one of us and name to us a man that lives at Rome or Constantinople or the Indies and ask us if we be acquainted with such a man we would presently say we do not so much as know him therefore how should we have any acquaintance with him Ignorance of God you know is rendred as a reason of mens being estranged from God Ephes 4.18 therefore they that would have acquaintance with God must labour to know God This David exacts of his son Solomon And thou Solomon my son 1 Chron. 28.9 know thou the God of thy Fathers c. Now there is a threefold knowledge of God A knowledge by the ear A knowledge by the eye And a knowledge by the taste Or if you will A knowledge of notion or speculation A knowledge of faith And a knowledge of experience And all this necessary to our acquaintance with God First There is a knowledge
God MAn is as the Proverb tells us a sociable creature God at the first framed him for company and society therefore of Man in his Innocency God pronounced this It is not good for man to be alone Gen. 2.18 Hence it is that every Man naturally seeks to associate and acquaint himself with some Companion or other but since the nature of man is become so corrupted and vitiated by the fall of Adam it concerns every man to be very careful whom he doth acquaint and associate himself with not only for his reputation and honour sake because Noscitur ex socio qui non dignoscitur ex se but also for his souls sake because a mans associate and acquaintance hath a secret and powerful influence upon his mind and spirit to make it either better or worse according as his acquaintance is Therefore it is that the holy Ghost gives that necessary caution Make no friendship with an angry man Prov. 22.24 and with a furious man thou shalt not go lest thou learn his wayes and get a snare to thy soul The same may be said of a drunkard of a swearer of a despiser of the Word and Ordinances of God of a perverter of the truths of God and of every other sinner whatsoever Make no friendship with him lest thou get a snare to thy soul But O how is this wholesom and necessary counsel of the holy Ghost forgotten and how unwary are most men in the choice of their friends and acquaintance though the holy Ghost again tells us With the pure men will learn purity Psal 18.27 and with the froward they will learn frowardness So our English Translation reads it Et cum perverso perverteris Sic Clemens Alexandr Tertullian Athanas Ambrosius Cyrillus Augustinus aliique locum interpretantur so the Vulgar Latin But now I propound unto you here an acquaintance from whence you need not fear any hurt or danger but rather on the contrary may expect much good for so saith the Text Acquaint now thy self with him and be at peace so shall good come unto thee The first benefit of this acquaintance is peace peace with God peace with thine own conscience peace with the rest of the creatures First Peace with God that must needs be because reconciliation and peace with God is as you have heard one ingredient of this acquaintance with God Secondly Peace with conscience for conscience is but Gods Deputy Gods Advocate and Notary in the soul and as among men when a man hath made his peace with the principal Creditor or party that had a controversie in Law against him the Advocate the Sollicitor his mouth is stopped he hath no more to say so here having peace with God thou hast peace with conscience to be sure then thou hast jus ad rem if not jus in re Thirdly Peace with the creatures Job 5.23 24. For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee c. And Secondly Good shall come unto thee and that a threefold good Utile Honestum or Honorificum Jucundum For First this acquaintance with God is the most profitable acquaintance Secondly It is the most honourable acquaintance And Thirdly It is the most comfortable acquaintance First I say acquaintance with God is the most profitable acquaintance there never was any man that ever was acquainted with God nor never will be but got abundance of good by that acquaintance I have read of Calvin and Beza and other men of eminent learning and holiness that the men of their acquaintance have protested that they never were in their company but they returned doctiores aut meliores either more learned or made better what then may and must and will those say that are acquainted with God If the light of a glow-worm will help a man so much what will the light of the Sun When Moses had been conversing with God upon the Mount but for a little time forty dayes and forty nights the Text saith his face did shine Exod. 24.29 Our acquaintance with men may sully and deform us they may affricate some of their errours or vices to us Uva ut mucorem contactâ traxit ab uvâ. But now conversing with God acquainting our selves with God that will make our faces to shine O how humble how holy how heavenly how God-like will that man grow that acquaints himself with God Secondly As this acquaintance with God is a profitable acquaintance so it is an honourable acquaintance Men count it an honour to have acquaintance with those that are their Superiours hence it is that many seek the Rulers favour Prov. 29.26 You read of one Zabud the son of Nathan that he was the principal officer in Solomons Court 1 Kings 4.5 and that he was the Kings friend Which of those think you did he count his greatest honour and if he must have been put to his choice to part with one of them which of them do you think he would most willingly have parted with It is easily determined Surely to be the Kings friend was more to him than his office whatever his office were O then what is it to be the friends of God to be admitted into familiarity and acquaintance with God who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords It is spoken of Abraham as his great honour and the great reward of his faith that he was called the friend of God James 2.23 Cuicunque haec sors contigerit ut amicus Dei sit is humanae foelicitatis terminos transcendit saith Philo. Whos 's lot soever it be to be the friend of God he hath transcended the bounds of humane felicity And yet this honour have all the children of faithful Abraham as well as himself and indeed this honour all may have that will Therefore that Souldier whom Austine mentions lib. 8. Confess cap. 6. said wisely Dic quaeso omnibus laboribus nostris quo ambimus pervenire quid quaerimus cujus rei causa militamus Majoresne esse poterint spes nostrae in palatio quam ut amici imperatoris fiamus ibi quid non fragile plenumque periculis Et per quot pericula pervenitur ad grandius periculum Et quamdiu istud erit Amicus autem Dei voluero ecce nunc fio Tell me I pray whither do we by all our adventures aspire what seek we what run we the hazard of war for can our hopes in the Pallace rise higher than to be accounted Friends to the Emperour and in that honour what is there that is not frail and full of danger and how long will that endure But the friend of God if I will I may be made now presently And who but mad-men or fools would refuse such honour Thirdly This acquaintance with God as it is most profitable and honourable so it is most comfortable pleasant and delightful And here I must appeal to all those
distance that is between the King and him or else he may quickly forfeit his interest in the Kings favour and familiarity So here the distance between God and us is infinite therefore we must manage our converse and familiarity with God with lowest humility and greatest reverence and a deportment of our selves every way answerable to the distance that is between God and us CHAP. II. Of Converse with God and wherein it consists NOw this converse and familiarity with God so far as it is to be managed and carried on by us consists in these seven particulars First In a frequent and daily visiting of God Friends and Acquaintance you know they do often visit one another and that is the way to get and keep acquaintance so should we often visit God First By short and ejaculatory prayers Secondly By set and solemn prayers every day morning and evening And we must look upon this not as matter of courtesie but of duty It was anciently a custom among the Romans that the meaner sort of people among them did constantly go every morning to the house of some or other of the Senators or chief men of Rome whom they had chosen for their patron and solemnly salute him Alex. ab Alex. li. 5. c. 24. and this the great man looked for from his clients as their duty and this the poor people looked upon as their concernment and advantage this being the means to retain him stil for their friend and patron I find also that among the same Romans it was a custom in the families of great Persons that all the Children and servants of the family should every morning come in a body together into the presence of the Lord and Master of the family and give him a solemn Salve and every evening make their appearance together again before him and give him a solemn Vale God is that Sovereign Lord and Father of whom the whole family of heaven and earth is named as the Apostle Paul speaks should not therefore all his Children all his Servants and all his Friends visit him and salute him morning and evening with their prayers There are some indeed that never visit God but when they are in extremities like those Isa 26.16 Lord in trouble they have visited thee A Second thing in which this converse with God consists is in a being much in the presence and company of God Friends and acquaintance you know they do not only visit one another Ne valeam si non totis Deciane diebus Et tecum totis noctibus esse velim Martial but they stay some while each with other they cannot content themselves with short visits with a how do you and no more but they love to be in the presence and company of one another and if it were possible and if their other necessary occasions would permit it they would never part they would be together al the day long So it is here in this converse with God there is not only a visiting of God frequently and daily every morning and every evening but there is an abiding in the presence of God What is that Why there is a twofold presence of God There is a general presence of God whereby we are present unto God Psal 139.7 God seeing and beholding us and this is no more than is common to all the creatures upon earth yea to the devils and damned in hell and there is a special presence of God whereby God is present unto us and we do in the secret of our souls apprehend him as really present to us as if we saw him with our eyes Of this David speaks Psal 16.8 I have set the Lord alwayes before me Now it is this presence of God in which this Converse with God consists when the Soul doth apprehend in it self that God is present with him and set himself as in the presence of God this is a piece of the Souls converse with God To be as we alwayes are in the general presence of God without the special apprehensions of his presence is rather a hinderance to converse and acquaintance with God than any thing else If the best friend I have in the world should come into the room where I were and pass too and again by me and stand right before me all the day long I should be so busie in talking with other men about other matters that I should not regard him nor take any notice of him and this one day after another this were the way rather to break off the intercourse and acquaintance that is between us than to continue it So here wherever we are God is present with us before us behind us round about us if our heads and hearts be so taken up with the world and lusts and vanities that we mind not God though present nor take no notice of him this is the way rather to lose than to gain acquaintance with God If therefore we would converse with God we must take notice of and acknowledge the presence of God First by a frequent and actual remembrance of him and lifting up our thoughts and desires to him Secondly by a reverent demeanour of our selves continually as before him This is that the holy Ghost calls for In all thy wayes acknowledge him Prov. 3.6 chap. 23.17 And Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long And this they that have any acquaintance with God desire to be and do to acknowledge God in all their wayes to be in the thoughts of God and in the apprehensions and breathings after God all the day long and it is their grief that they can be so no more and they can at at least say with David That the thoughts of God are precious to them Psal 139.17 as the presence of an intimate friend is precious unto us and it grieves us that we can have no more of it Besides this there is a solemn presence of God in his Ordinances in regard of which they which attend these Ordinances are said to appear before God and to stand in the presence of the Lord. And God hath appointed set and solemn times for all that are or would be acquainted with him thus to appear before him and to stand in his presence and in our so doing consists a great part of our acquaintance with God A third thing wherein this Converse with God stands is in our improving God and our interest in him and acquaintance with him If I have one that is my intimate friend acquaintance this is the benefit I have by it I have one now into whose bosom I can intrust all my secrets and ease all my griefs and troubles I have one with whom I can consult in all my difficult and weighty affairs with whom I may make bold in all my wants and exigencies so I neither can nor will do with another that is a stranger and none of my acquaintance True friendship and acquaintance stands not
and will sup with him and he with me The Greeks and Romans of old were wont alwayes to have their feasts at supper therefore when it is said here I will come in to him and sup with him it is as if he had said I will come in to him and feast with him And feasting together was of old a Symbole of perfect reconciliation and intimate friendship and acquaintance Now behold here the wonderful goodness and condescension of God and his gracious disposition and inclination towards peace and acquaintance with his poor creatures May we not here now take up that admiring expression of David And is this the manner of men O Lord. Did you ever read or hear of any King or Prince 2 Sam. 7.19 that when his Subjects had highly provoked him by their rebellion against him and he had power enough to crush and destroy them would yet not only send his Heralds and Ambassadours to them to offer terms of peace and reconciliation but would himself go in his own person from house to house and from man to man intreating them severally and by name that they would be friends with him their Soveraign Lord and King and offering if they will but open the door to him that he will forgive them and be friends with them did you ever read or hear of such a thing and is this the manner of men but this is the manner of Gods dealing with his enemies Behold therefore I say and admire the gracious disposition of God towards sinful man and the great desire he hath towards peace and renewed acquaintance with him In the next place see here the folly and madness of all those that are not acquainted with God And this I fear is the state of not a few among us whatever they may think of themselves of whom it may be said as our Saviour said of the Jews John 5.37 Ye have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his shape They were a People that had read and heard the word of God Ay but yet they had never heard the voice of God they had never heard God himself speaking in his word they had seen the temple and the Altar and the rest of those sacred Symbols that were the testimonies of Gods presence ay but they had never seen the face of God in those Ordinances and therefore though they looked upon themselves as the only people in the world that were acquainted with God yet our Saviour tells them they were mistaken they were meer strangers to him Ye have saith he neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his shape O that it were not so with some of us who hear of God indeed but hear not God who have heard of God by the hearing of the ear but never heard God himself by the hearing of the heart who have seen the sanctuaries and Ordinances of God but have never seen the face of God in his Ordinances and in his Sanctuaries and so remain strangers to God and unacquainted with him Particularly here are two sorts whose woful condition this is First Those that are ignorant of God Secondly Those that have no converse with God First Those that are ignorant of God who know not God they must needs be strangers to God and God to them for knowledge is the first step to acquaintance Now by persons ignorant of God I mean not only those that are grossly ignorant who have not a true notion of the Nature Attributes and Persons in the Deity of which there are too many every where but by ignorant perfons I mean those who though they have a true notion of God yet want the real effectual and powerful knowledge of God their knowledge of God is meerly notional and God is to them as it were meerly Notio secunda ens rationis as the Logicians speak To know God really and indeed is as I said before to know him not only by an airy speculation but to know him by a faith of effectual perswasion so to know him as to believe him indeed to be the most powerful wife and good the most just and holy Creator preserver and Governor of the whole universe and accordingly to have our hearts affected with love unto him with desire after him with fear and reverence of him and delight in him This and this only is the true knowledge of God and whosoever they be that are destitute of this knowledge whatever they may think of themselves and of their own knowledge they are yet ignorant of God and strangers from God through the ignorance that is in them Now do we thus know God all of us do we thus know God thus as to acknowledge him love him fear him desire him delight in him The ox the horse the dog thus knows his Master and owner and if we do not thus know our Creator our Preserver our Feeder and Maintainer O how ignorant and brutish are we Isa 1.3 Secondly Others there are that have no converse with God whatever they know of him they have no converse with him Ephes 2.12 but live without God in the world as the Apostle speaks of some That are as mindless of God as regardless of God of all converse with him as if there were no God at all who are so far from visiting God daily with their prayers that they never visit God by prayer at all who are so far from being often in the presence of God as those are that acquaint themselves with God and converse with God that they are never in the presence of God at all Psal 10.4 God is not in all their thoughts as the Psalmist speaks and makes it the very description of a wicked man Now how many such are there among us of whom it may most truly be said God is not in all their thoughts One man he awakes and rises in the morning and as soon as he is up presently without ever taking notice of God or turning his thoughts to him he rusheth into his shop or into his worldly businesses and is engaged in them soul and body heart and hand and so he continues till of necessity he must intermit his labours to take a little food and when he hath done that he returns to his work again and there continues till late at night and then he takes his supper and goes to bed and sleeps till morning and then he riseth and spends the second day as he spent the first and the third as the second and so on one day after another and one week after another and one year after another but God is not in all his thoughts Another is no sooner up and clad but he is presently for his sports and games or his company and cups and these he pursues all the day long There are that rise early in the morning to follow strong drink Isa 5.11 and continue until night â—ill the wins enflame them And as they spend one day
113.5 6. as well as in heaven to converse with men as well as Angels As the Sun in heaven is far above us and yet doth not disdain to inlighten and warm and quicken the poorest worm that crawls upon the earth as well as the Eagle that soars aloft above the clouds and can gaze the Sun in the face Let not therefore any poor soul be discouraged and think or say It is not for such a worm for such a nothing as I am to aspire to acquaintance and converse with God No no Men may be too high for thee to reach and too great for thee to grasp and compass acquaintance with but the great God will stoop to entertain acquaintance with thee if thou wilt acquaint thy self with him He disdaineth not the acquaintance of the least of men nor of the greatest of sinners Such was the condescension of the divine nature that it disdained not the near acquaintance with the humane nature to take it into personal union with himself and such was the condescension of God in our nature that when he was upon earth he disdained not the acquaintance of those who upon common account were the vilest of men even Publicans and sinners Mat. 9.11 And such is still the gracious condescension of God in Christ that he disdaineth not the acquaintance of the meanest Persons or vilest sinners that seek acquaintance of him Nay Secondly He offers and tenders this acquaintance to them and this is not usual for great persons to do to their Inferiours he intreateth and beseecheth poor sinners that they would be reconciled to him and acquainted with him And this he doth Thirdly Out of his meer grace and favour only for their good and benefit not for any gain or advantage to himself Can a man be profitable to God saith Eliphaz No Job 22.2 God cannot be a gainer by our acquaintance that he offers it seeks it is for our good and benefit that we may be made happy and blessed by it O then let not this grace of God be in vain to us but accept we this gracious offer of God acquainting our selves with him CHAP. VI. Particularly exhorting those that never yet had acquaintance with God now to labour for it With Directions for the attaining of it NOw here are three sorts that I would apply my self unto First Those that never yet were acquainted with God My Exhortation to them shall be that they would now acquaint themselves with God now presently without any further delay Secondly To those that have acquainted themselves with God that they would labour to keep and maintain their acquaintance with him inviolate and uninterrupted Thirdly To those whose acquaintance with God is intermitted and they have in a manner lost it that they would labour to renew it First Such as never yet had any acquaintance with God O labour now to get into acquaintance with him Acquaint thy self now with him now presently immediately without any further delay O consider how long you have lived strangers to God already enemies to God already Is it not enough that you have lived twenty thirty forty fifty years already without any intimacy or acquaintance with God O if you love God if you love your own souls live not a day longer live not an hour longer in that strange condition The time past of our life may suffice us to have lived in lasciviousness lust excess of wine 1 Pet. 4.3 c. saith the Apostle Peter And it is high time to awake out of sleep saith the Apostle Paul Rom. 13.11 So say I the time past may suffice us to have lived without God in the world and it is now high time for every one of us to begin to acquaint our selves with him Acquaint therefore now thy self with him Now now while God is pleased to offer and tender this acquaintance Now is the day of grace 2 Cor. 6.2 now is the accepted time Now while the golden scepter is held forth while the Gospel is preached unto you To day if you will hear his voice harden not your hearts Heb. 3.7 If God speak to your hearts and bespeak your acquaintance with him see that ye refuse not him that speaketh but acquaint thy self now with him If any say Quest But how shall we do to get this acquaintance with God I answer Answ O that there were such a heart in you O that every one into whose hands the providence of God shall bring this poor Treatise were come thus far to seek after God as seriously to enquire how they might be acquainted with God! you that are so take these directions First Labour to be fully convinced of an absolute necessity of acquainting your selves with God Look upon it as your great duty look upon it as that upon which not only the comfort of your lives but the eternal salvation of your souls doth depend There are three times especially wherein this acquaintance with God will be found of great and absolute necessity First In a time of common calamity Such a time as our Saviour speaks of Luke 21.25 26. When there shall be distress of Nations upon the earth with perplexity mens hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things that are coming upon the earth and how near such times may be to us and how fast they may be hastening upon us who can tell O then happy are those that have acquaintance with God they have a friend an acquaintance that will not fail them when their own hearts are ready to fail them and would undoubtedly fail them were it not for their acquaintance with God Whereas they that have not acquainted themselves with God will find God himself a terrour to them in the day of their calamity God will deal with them as he threatens I will shew them the back Jer. 18.17 and not the face in the day of their calamity Secondly In the day of death then acquaintance with God will be found absolutely necessary There is no man but when he comes to lye a dying would be glad to have God his friend and to receive his soul into his presence and favour Into thy hands Lord I commend my spirit Lord Jesus receive my soul is the prayer or at least the wish of every dying man and woman that doth not dye like Nabal stupid and senseless as a stock or stone But do you think that God will do this for every one at the first asking surely no. They that never regarded to acquaint themselves with God in the time of their life God will not so easily own them at the hour of their death but they that have acquainted themselves with God in the time of their life they may with much comfort and assurance commend their souls into the hand of God when they are at the point of death And may say with Paul 2 Tim. 1.12 I know whom I have believed and that he is able to keep
intercourse and acquaintance that you had with God which was both the fruit and evidence of the love of God and of your being in favour with him it is possible for you to lose your acquaintance with God so far as that you may look upon God as a stranger and God may look upon you as a stranger as one whom he takes no notice of of whom he hath no acquaintance with you may look upon God as an enemy and God may look upon you as an enemy so far may you lose your acquaintance with God This I must tell you And when I have told you this I need tell you no more for you that have indeed had this acquaintance with God have I know found so much sweetness in it and do so prize and value it that if you were put to your choice whether you would part with the acquaintance of the dearest friend you had Father or Mother or Brother or Sister or Husband or Wife or part with your acquaintance with God nay whether you would part with all you are worth nay with your very lives or part with your acquaintance with God I know you would part with all rather than part with that I look therefore that upon the very hearing that there is but so much as a possibility for you to lose it you should presently ask me What you should do to retain it I answer First Maintain in your hearts this high esteem of your intimacy and acquaintance with God prize it above any other of your enjoyments whatsoever Seemeth it a small matter in your eyes to be the Son-in-law of a King 1 Sam. 13.23 saith David to Sauls servants so say to thine own soul Is it a small matter to have acquaintance with God to be the friend the favourite of God to have familiar access to and intercourse with God O prize it and let God know thou dost prize it as thou wouldst prize heaven it self Secondly Maintain not a discouraging and distrustful but a vigilant and wakeful fear of losing this pretious injoyment Optimus thesauri custos timor est Fear is the best keeper and preserver of things that are dear and pretious many a jewel is lost through carelessness and rechlessness that might have been kept with fear and watchfulness Thirdly Take heed of all such things as may unsoder and dissolve the acquaintance that is between God and you As for instance First Take heed of falling into gross and presumptuous sins for do you not know in your souls that every gross sin willingly committed doth vex and grieve God and do you not know that if you vex and grieve God he will be so far from continuing his friendship and acquaintance with you that he will be turned to be your enemy If I know that the doing of such or such a thing will vex a man that is my friend and yet I will do it vexed let him be I will do it this plainly shews I little value the mans friendship and when he knows it he will value mine as little and so friendship and acquaintance will be interrupted and broken off between us thou knowest as well as I can tell thee that there is no sin but it vexeth God and there is nothing that vexeth God but sin and yet wilt thou sin wilt thou sin though thou knowest sin is the only thing that vexeth God yet wilt thou sin this is an argument thou valuest friendship and acquaintance with God at a low rate And if thou thus sin and vex God and slight his acquaintance I tell thee God will shake thee off from all acquaintance with him and become thine enemy nay himself tells thee so But they rebelled and vexed his holy Spirit Isa 63.10 therefore he was turned to be their enemy Take heed therefore of vexing God by willing and known sin Secondly Take heed of being too familiar and holding too much correspondency and intimacy with wicked and ungodly men that are Gods enemies we our selves will not take him for our friend that is inward and intire with our professed Adversaries Zabud was Solomons friend Solomon had three special and known enemies 1 King 11 Hadad Rezon and Jeroboam Now if Zabud meant to hold in with Solomon it had been no wisdom in the world for him to fall into acquaintance with any of these three persons it had been enough to cast him out of the favour of Solomon for ever so here if we fall into intimacy and acquaintance with Gods open professed branded enemies what can we look for but that God should cashiere us his acquaintance and say to us as he did to Jehoshaphat Shouldst thou help the ungodly 2 Chron. 19.2 and love them that hate the Lord therefore is wrath come upon thee from the Lord. Thirdly Take heed of dealing treacherously with God That is it the Lord chargeth the people withal by the Prophet Jeremiah Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband Jer. 3.20 or as the Original hath it from her friend so have you dealt treacherously with me O house of Israel saith the Lord. A Wife may have her failings upon which the Husband possibly may frown and chide and give her round language but for all that he will be friends with her still and continue in habitation with her still but if once he come to perceive that she deals treacherously with him that she imbraceth the bosom of a stranger that she loves another man better than she loves him this quite breaks in sunder the knot of conjugal love and society between them this is an unpardonable sin and an iniquity to be punished by the Judge Job 31.11 as Job speaks So it is here the friends and acquaintance of God may have their failings and miscarriages for which God may frown upon them chide and rebuke them but yet retain them in his favour still but if once he perceive that they deal treacherously with him if once they come to prefer any thing in their love before himself and his acquaintance this will be a breach indeed between God and them O therefore as you prize acquaintance with God take heed of the inordinate love of the world and the things of the world Remember what the Apostle James saith James 4.4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God Take heed therefore of the world Fourthly Take heed of too much absence from God and discontinuance of acquaintance converse and familiarity with him Some things there are that do dissecare amicitiam chop in sunder friendship and acquaintance as it were at one stroke and some things do dissuere amicitiam unrip and unsew it and loosen it by little and little great unkindnesses wrongs and injuries these cut the bands of love and friendship in sunder but long absence of friends one from another and discontinuance
the Sea that is ever either ebbing or flowing so these are ever either increasing or decreasing either growing or decaying If therefore you would not have your acquaintance with God decay and dye have a care that it may increase and grow And to that end labour to grow in those things wherein acquaintance with God lyes as namely 1. In the knowledge of God Hos 6.3 2. In converse with God 3. In considence in God 4. In conformity unto God Converse with God will conform us unto God and conformity unto God will confirm and increase our converse with God Sixthly Be willing to be ruled by God in all things be punctual in observing his commands exactly careful to please him well in all things So in the verse after the Text Receive the Law from his mouth Job 22.22 and lay up his words in thine heart Let Gods word be a Law to thee Joh. 14.21 23. Lastly Be much in converse with those that are the friends and acquaintance of God Let them be thy companions so they were Davids Psal 119.63 I am a companion of all them that fear thee Let them be thy delight so they were Davids To the Saints that are in the earth Psal 16.3 and to the excellent in whom is all my delight As consorting our selves with the wicked and such as are Gods enemies is the ready way to lose our acquaintance with God so on the contrary consorting with the Saints that are Gods friends is the way to keep and hold our acquaintance with God 1 Joh. 1.3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that ye also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ CHAP. VIII Exhorting those who have lost their acquaintance with God to endeavour the recovery of it I Come now to exhort those who have sometimes had acquaintance with God but have lost it again that they would by all means possible endeavour the recovery of it Now this is a state and condition not impossible for the true Saints and friends of God to be reduced into This is frequently mentioned in Scripture under several notions and terms sometimes under the notion of Gods withdrawing himself I opened to my Beloved Cant. 56. but my Beloved hath withdrawn himself sometimes of Gods hiding himself How long Lord Psal 89.46 wilt thou hide thy self for ever some times of casting out I will cast you out of my sight sometimes of shutting out Lam. 3.8 Also when I cry and shout he shutteth out my prayer sometimes of casting off Psal 43.2 Why dost thou cast me off And every one of these may seem to be a several degree or increase of loss of acquaintance with God First When God doth withdraw himself and doth not so frequently visit the soul with his grace and Spirit as he was wont here now is some abatement some diminution of the acquaintance that was between God and the soul But then Secondly When God hides himself that is when the soul is sensible of Gods withdrawing doth set it self seriously and earnestly to seek God and would fain find him and re-injoy his presence and communion with him and God hides himself and the soul cannot find him but it is as it was with those we read of in Hosea They shall go with their flocks Hos 5.6 and with their herds to seek the Lord but they shall not find him he bath withdrawn himself from them This now is more But Thirdly When God doth not only thus hide himself but cast the soul as it were out of his sight this is more and heavien As if a man when one that hath been his acquantance comes to his house he should not only refuse to see him or speak with him but plainly turn him out of doors this were a sign of great alteration and alienation of mind in one that had been a friend Fourthly When God doth not only cast the soul out but shut him out shut the door of mercy as it were upon him this is yet more Fifthly and Lâ—stly When God not only doth this but even casts off the soul renounceth as it were all friendship and amity with it for the future saying as the Romans were wont to do to their Wives when they gave them a divorce Res tuas tibi habeto Look to your own matters I will have no more to do with you or as the people did when they rejected the posterity of David from reigning 1 Kings 12.16 Now see to thine own house David Thus high may the breach come to be between God and those that have been his friends and acquaintance Now a child of God a friend and acquaintance of God doth then think and conclude that God deals thus with him withdraws himself hides himself casts him out casts him off when he finds God suspending and with-holding the wonted influences of the Spirit of grace from him For this acquaintance between God and our souls as the Lord Jesus Christ is the procurer of it so the Spirit of grace is the Internuncius the manager and worker of it we can neither acquaint our selves with God but by that Spirit nor doth God acquaint himself with us or communicate himself unto us but by the same Spirit When therefore the soul finds those influences of the Spirit of God that it was wont to have in praying and hearing and Sacraments and other holy duties when the soul finds them withdrawn it presently fears yea concludes God is grown a stranger hides himself and casts the soul off Now the influences of Gods Spirit into the hearts of his people are of two sorts Either influences of comfort or influences of grace First There are influences of comfort which the Spirit of God sends into the hearts of the Saints shedding the love of God abroad in their hearts Rom. 5.5 giving them such a real sweet powerful taste and feeling of the love of God in their souls as fills them with joy unspeakable and full of glory Now when these sweet and comfortable influences of the Spirit of God are suspended and withdrawn this cannot but make an alteration in the soul in its apprehensions of Gods love and their in erest in him and acquaintance with him Secondly There are influences of the Spirit of God which are influences of grace and these are threefold Either First That influence of the Spirit whereby grace is first infused and wrought in the soul Or Secondly That influence of the Spirit whereby grace when it is infused is actuated and set on work in the soul Or Thirdly That influence of the Spirit whereby grace is increased and caused to grow in the soul Now for the infusing and working of grace in the soul one single influence of the Spirit is sufficient but for the actuating and increasing of grace renewed and repeated influences are requisite As one act of divine power and
body and these remain when the body is in a swoon though they be secret and hidden and neither felt by the body it self nor discerned by the beholders other influences there are that tend to the perfection of life in the body as tending to motion and sense these are both sensible to themselves and visible in the effects of them to others now these latter influences of the soul into the body may be suspended when yet the other are continued so it is here they are but the sensible and arbitrary influences of the Spirit that are suspended the necessary influences of the Spirit are yet continued Fourthly As it is the influence and not the presence of the Spirit that is withdrawn and as it is but some of the influences not the whole influence that is withdrawn so fourthly this influence is but suspended it is not quite cut off and there is a great difference between these two If water be conveyed through a pipe from a fountain to a cistern if that pipe be stopt the stream is suspended and it is but unstopping the pipe removing the obstruction and the water will flow as plentifully as ever it did before but if the stream be cut off or turned another way then the case is otherwise the matter is irrecoverable Poor soul because thou hast not those influences fresh and lively from the Spirit of God that thou hast had thou thinkest the stream is quite cut off the heart of God thou thinkest is quite turned away from thee Alas thou art mistaken it is only the pipe is stopt something lyes in the way that obstructs the influences of the Spirit of God into thee remove but that and the influences of the Spirit will come in upon thee in as full a stream as ever For which is the last thing that I have to propound to thee for thy consolation thou must not think In the fifth place That because God hides himself and withdraws himself and carries himself at present not as a friend but rather as a stranger as an enemy to thee do not think that he will alwayes do so When he hath said plainly He will not alwayes chide Psal 103.9 Isa 57.16 Iâ—am 3.31 32. neither keepeth he his anger for ever He will not contend for ever neither will he be alwayes wroth He will not cast off for ever But though he cause grief yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies These are clear and express promises of a true and faithful God heaven and earth shall fail before one word or tittle of these promises shall fail It is therefore a great infirmity in thee to think that because God now hides his face from thee he will do so for ever or because that God seems to be fallen out with thee therefore he will never more be friends with thee Thus to think is I say a great infirmity in thee So Asaph acknowledgeth for himself when he had been questioning with his own soul Will the Lord cast off for ever and will he be favourable no more Psal 77.7 8 9 10. Is his mercy clean gone for ever doth his promise fail for ever Hath God forgotten to be gracious hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies He concludes This is my infirmity As who should say It is a great weakness in me so to imagine so it is in thee if thou dost so think These things thus premised as grounds of hope and consolation I proceed now to shew what course you must take to recover favour with God and your acquaintance with him again And so First Enquire whether you have not given God cause thus to estrange and absent himself from you and break off acquaintance with you To that end make use of the particulars laid down before 1. Enquire whether you have not fallen into some known and gross sin 2. Whether you have not held too much correspondence with and delighted too much in the company of wicked and ungodly men 3. Whether you have not been too much carried away with the inordinate love of the world and of the things of the world 4. Whether you have not too much absented your selves from God and neglected your wonted and appointed times of meeting him and acquainting your selves with him 5. Whether you have not dealt unfriendly with God by entertaining jealousies and hard thoughts of God And 6. giving too much credit to Satans lyes and slanders Inquire seriously whether you have not been guilty in some or other of these particulars for usually I must tell you the breach begins on our part we give God cause to estrange himself from us When thou hast done this Then Secondly Take the counsel the holy Ghost gives Do this now my Son Prov. 6.3 and deliver thy self when thou art come into the hand of thy friend go humble thy self and make sure thy friend Or as the Margent reads it Go humble thy self and prevail with thy friend Humble thy self that is the way to prevail with God and to make him yet thy sure friend though he seems to be thine enemy Humble thy self and that upon a twofold account First For the sad condition that thou art in at present Secondly For the sin that hath brought thee into this sad condition First Humble thy self for the sad condition that thou art in Think and say thus to thy self Wo is me for my God my life is departed from me and how am I changed O how was I wont to meet God in his Ordinances and what sweet communion and acquaintance had I once with him but now he hides himself and will not come at me I pray but he hears me not I hearken after him but he speaks not I call but he answers not Behold I go forward but he is not there and backward Job 23.8 9. but I cannot find him On the left hand where he doth work but I cannot behold him he hideth himse f on the right hand that I cannot see him And say again as Job O that it were with me as in moneths past Job 29.2 3 4. as in the dayes when God preserved me When his candle shined upon my head and when by his light I walked through darkness When the secret of God was upon my tabernacle and the Almighty was yet with me It is an excellent meditation Bernard hath to this purpose Whence comes this barrenness that possesseth my soul whence is it that my heart is dryed up like a bottle in the smoke and my soul is like the dry and parched wilderness Non possum lachrymas fundere Bern. in Cant. Sermon 74. I cannot weep I find no savour in Psalms I have no delight in reading of the Scriptures prayer doth not refresh me I have no heart to meditation or any thing that is good Hei mihi Wo is me God visiteth the mountains of my companions but skips over my mountain and never toucheth it Here is one ravished
into the third heavens in holy meditations There is another prays as if he would rend the heavens with his prayers another excels in zeal another in patience another in humility another in holiness These are Souls whom God visits these are mountains upon which God commands the rain of blessing Sed ego miser qui nihil horum sentio but wretched I that feel none of these things what am I but as one of the mountains of Gilboa upon whom there falls neither dew nor rain nor are there fields of offering there Thus humble thy self and bewail thy state and condition Secondly Humble thy self again for thy sin that hath brought thee into this sad condition Think and say thus with thy self Oh what a thing is this that I should by my sin provoke him to leave me in whose presence I have had such life such light such liberty such peace such joy O wretch that I am that that communion and acquaintance that I had with God was of no more esteem with me but that I should thus lose it by my folly I have been careful to keep my interest acquaintance with this and that man but have not been careful to keep my interest and acquaintance with God That which I begged with tears and was many a year a getting how have I by my sin lost it on a sudden O what have I done against my God yea against my self O my folly that have lost that for want of care that now I would redeem again if it were possible with my blood Thirdly Follow God with mournful cryes and prayers beg of him that he would return unto thee and renew acquaintance with thee importune him by all the ancient love that hath been between him and thee that he would be gracious yet unto thee put him in mind of his ancient love to thee Say as the Church Lord Psal 89.49 where are thy former loving kindnesses Lord what is become of all that love which sometimes thou barest and expressedst to thy worthless servant And humbly put God in remembrance of thy ancient love to him seeing God is pleased to be so gracious as to vouchsafe to remember it Jer. 2.2 I remember thee the kindness of thy youth the love of thine espousals when thou wentest after me in the wilderness c. Entreat God to remember there was a time when thy love was more vigorous and more fervent to him than it is now when thou couldst have followed him through a wilderness through a sea through fire and water tel him it is thy grief that thou canst not so love him now entreat him by renewing his love to thee to revive thy love to him beg of him that all old kindnesses may not be forgotten cast up thy weeping eyes with the sad complaint of a bleeding soul to thy ancient friend and his bowels will roll his compassions will relent towards thee Fourthly Submit to any conditions of reconcilement and accept of the lowest degree of restauration to favour and acquaintance with God Say Lord chide rebuke smite me command impose do what thou wilt with me only cast me not out of thy presence cashiere me not wholly and for ever say as the poor Prodigal Make me but as one of thine hired servants as the woman of Canaan Let me but gather up the crumbs among the dogs Lord if I have so far sinned as that I may not be restored to that degree of nearness that I had before if I may not have a place among thy children among thy friends Lord set me among thy servants thy hired servants yea if it be but among the dogs of thy family Lord so I may be in thy presence and see thy face I shall be thankful even for so much Fifthly Go to the Lord Jesus Christ the Dayes-man the Friend-maker between God and Enemies much more between God and those that sometimes were his friends Go to him pray him to take thee by the hand yet once again and reconcile thee anew to God He as God is a middle person between the Father and the Spirit and as God-man he is a middle Person between God and Man he is our Peace he is our Advocate with the Father Who with one appearing in heaven for us with one opening of his mouth can make God and us friends if we had never been friends before therefore go to him ingage him by his Name by his Office by his Undertakings to do this for thee Sixthly Go to the Saints of God that are upon earth that are Gods favourite and acquaintance make thy case known to them entreat them to strive with God in prayer for thee This direction God gave the friends of Job as you may see in Chapt. 42. v. 8. Go to my servant Job and my servant Job shall pray for you for him will I accept Seventhly Whatever the issue of this thy mourning praying and going to Christ begging the prayers of others be though God should hide his face stil carry it strangely still yet think thou and speak thou honourably of God however Following that president of the Psalmist or rather of the Lord Jesus Christ of whom the Psalmist was but a type My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Psal 22.1 2 3. Why art thou so far from helping me c. But thou art holy O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel Lastly If God yet seem still to be angry with thee take the counsel the holy Ghost gives When the spirit of the Ruler riseth up against thee leave not thy place Eccles 10.4 for yielding pacifieth great offences So now when the Spirit of God seems to be provoked against thee leave not thy place leave not thy station leave not praying and hearing and waiting upon God in all holy Ordinances Henry the fourth Emperor of Germany waited three whole dayes in the depth of Winter bare-foot and bare-legged at the gate of the Pope's Castle before he could obtain admission into his presence and recover his grace and favour Upon occasion of a displeasure conceived by the Pope against the City and State of Venice Franciscus Dandalus afterwards Duke of Venice was sent Embassador to Rome to seek reconciliation and when no other means would mollifie the Pope's proud and inraged heart the Prince at length so far abased himself as to put upon his neck a coller and chain and couch under the Pope's table like a dog at his feet to see if by that means he might at length obtain Now shall Princes and Emperors thus abase themselves in seeking the favour of a mortal man and wait in these abasements long O how low should we lye how long should we wait if by any means or at any time we may recover the favour of God and readmission into his presence FINIS