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A47349
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Certaine observations vpon Hosea the second the 7. & 8. verses As they were delivered at a friends house who had broken his legg, for which meeting the author was committed to the White-Lyon by Sir Thomas Mallet late judge of assize for the county where he remaineth prisioner of Iesvs Christ. By William Kiffin.
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Kiffin, William, 1616-1701.
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1642
(1642)
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Wing K423A; ESTC R222673
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18,461
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31
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concerning Christ 1 Cant. 12. a bundle of mirth âs my well Beloved to me he shall lye all night betweene my brests Oh saith the soule Christ shall have the chiefest seate of residence in my heart and his lawes shall beare sway in my life what though I am imprisoned reproached disgraced counted a fectious person one that troubleth the State yet this is no trouble at all unto such a heart for he looks up to Christ desiring with him to indure the Crosse and despise the shame but on the contrary mens hearts being set upon the creature their desires being set upon excelencies here reject the excelency of Iesus Christ and the profession of his truth 3. Rea. And last why men in an externall Covenant with God those that God ownes as his may fall back degenerate is because that men nay and they which have more in them then men even the Saints of God themselves doe neglect their spirituall watch they suffer their spirits to wander and then it s no marvell that he who wanders up downe the whole earth seeking whom he may devoure doth meet with this wandring spirit and turne it out of the way and so we see Davids eye was wandering upon Bathsheba Sathan soon caught him in a snare as you may see in 2 Sam. 11.2.4 these with many other reasons might be laid downe for the confirmation of this truth but I judg these may suffice The second thing observable from the words is the meanes it selfe used by God to reduce them to their former state laid downe in these words though she seeke after her Lovers she shall not come as them as if he should say I will take a sure course with them to reclaime them to my selfe though she do goe a whoring after her Lovers and followes other Gods and loveth so to doe she shall not find them that is she shall find no content nor satisfaction in them as formerly she hath done from whence we may observe That when God intends to do any soules good either to reclaime them from a falen condition or to bring persons to the knowledge of himselfe the usuall way that he takes herein is to discover to them the emptinesse and insufficiency of all things that is here below as not being able to give any content or satisfaction to the soule there is something of this truth me thinks appearing in the 14. vers of this Chapter where the Lord saith I will bring her into the Wildernes now we know a Wildernes condition is a condition distitute of all helpe nothing is to be found therein but wild Beasts ready to devoure no help is to be expected in the Wildernes from it so indeed when men are brought into a Wildernes condition having neither penny nor pennies worth as the Prophet saith Esai 55.1 Then is God pleased to speake comfort to his People and then doth he cause them to look upwards but for fuller proof 3 Ierc. 23. see there the ground of their returne to God truly say they the hope of hâls is but vaine nor the multitude of mountaines what then but in the Lord our God is the health of JSRAEL when they were brought to see the strength of all things to help them was but weaknes then they cry in the Lord our God is the health of Israel So in 1 Ecles 1.2 Solomon after his setting his heart to find out content in the creature and after his following other Gods and forsaking the Lord who had appeared twise unto him you shall find upon his returne this is the accompt that he leaves behind him all is vanity and vexation of spirit the reason why God takes such a course with men is because while the soule sees any fullnesse in any thing in heaven or earth whereby to leane to besides Christ it will fasten at the hornes of that Altar be it what it will and never make any further search or inquiry after Christ the cariage of the soule in this case is like the cariage of Iacob in an other for while ther was corne in Canaan Iacob never thinks nor mentions going into Egypt but when there was none there then saith old Iacob Gene. 42.2 why gaze ye one upon another seeing there is Corne in Egypt so in deed while there is any food to be got for the soule here below it looks no higher and therefore it is that the Lord is pleased to out off all springs of comfort and peace to be had from any thing here below that so the soule may see Iesus Christ to be he who has all the Well-springs of comfort and peace and joy and refreshment to the soule 1. Vse Let us a little from the consideration of this Doctrine examine our spirits and see how our hearts stand affected or what our Spirits is fraught with whether with high conceits of the world of the excellency and fulnes and glory of it Or whether with the excellent fullnes goodnesse that is in Iesus Christ certainely this is an undoubted truth that if any man love the world the love of the Father is not in them let them professe what they will therefore it behoves every man to looke about him and see whether God hath ever yet made this discovery to the soule namely that all the things of the world is empry and poore weake not able to give out the least dram of trve comfort to the soule I beseech you let us againe aske our hearts this question as Christ did in the like case are we able to drink of the Cup that Christ hath drunk of And to be baptized with the Baptisme that Christ is baptised with We do not know what imployment Christ may put us upon certaine it is that that heart which is in the last ingaged to the world will never doe any great matters for Iesus Christ he will play fast and loose with Christ this we all professe to know that we cannot serve two Masters God Mammon their commands are so opposite one to each other as that if we obey the one we must reject the other wherefore let us commune with our owne hearts and see a little how our spirits stand affected to Christ do we find upon serious examination that Christ and his laws doth beare sway in our hearts that excellency that is in them doth in the eyes of our soules weigh downe all that riches and honours and pleasures and preferments of the world nay more then this do you see so much excellency in Gods wayes as that it will beare your charges with great allowance through those miserics and sorrowes reproaches and losses that you shall sustaine in this life yea even life it selfe we shall see Paul when he cast up his accompt of matters of this nature he triumphs in that glorious allowance that he saw provided for him by God 2 Cor. 4.1 saith he our light afflictions which are but for a moment they worke for us a farre more excellent eternall weight of glory wherefore