old for to bless his people therein true blessedness must needs consist now if ye look into the sixth of Numbers ye shall find that therein God commanded Aaron and his Sons for to bless the people verse 23. on this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel saying The Lord bless thee and keep thee the Lord make his face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and if you look into Psalm 67 1. ye shall find that when the Psalmist prayed for a blessing he prayed thus The Lord be merciful unto us and bless us and cause his face to shine upon us Surely therefore the happiness and blessedness of man must needs lye and consist in the light of Gods countenance and the shine of his face Object But if our blessedness doth consist herein then some of Gods own people are not blessed For God doth hide his face from some of them and how many are there even amongst the Saints that complain saying Oh the face of God doth not shine on me Ans True they do so and its possible that God may hide his face from his own Children for a time but what Child of God is there in all the world but the face of God hath shined upon It is possible that a Child of a natural Father may never see the face of his Father his Father may be dead before he is born but no child of God but hath seen his Fathers face for what is the face of God but his favour and what is the shine thereof but the manifestation of his favour and when God pardoned his sin at the first did not he manifest his love and favour to him And doth he not daily do it in supporting him with his Arm In the times of the old Testament the Saints did measure the favour of God too much by outward mercies and blessings because the Land of Canaan was promised them as a favour from God when the Enemy did break in upon them they said That God did then hide his face from them but ye know how is is with the day if it be day the Sun shines and though ye see not the beams thereof yet you see the light thereof so here though you see not the beams of Gods countenance yet if it be day with you you see the light thereof Now it is day with all the Children of God they are Children of the day and therefore whatever they say or think there is none of Gods Children but the face of God doth or hath shined upon Quest But how shall I know that the face of God hath ever shined on my Soul for there are many delusions about this matter How shall I therefore know that God hath ever lift up the light of his Countenance upon my Soul 5. General That is the 5th General therefore I shall now speak to that Ans If God hath ever blessed you in truth then hath his face shined upon you for his blessing and the shine of his face go together as ye have heard Now when God blesses a man then he draws him nearer to himself Blessed is the man saith the Psalmist whom then causest to approch unto thee when God blesses a man then he makes him to encrease and multiply if he bless him in his estate then he doth increase and multiply therein if he bless him in his parts or gifts or graces or comforts then he causeth him to increase therein so at the beginning the Lord blessed Man and said increase and multiply And therefore if thou hast been such an one as hath lived at a distance from God and now at brought nigh to him and increased in thy gifts graces and comforts then hath the Lord blessed thy Soul and so hath shined on thee 2. If God hath ever shined upon thy Soul then he hath wonderfully irradiated and enlightened and taught thy Soul the mysteries of the Gospel which did never enter in thy heart before Psal 67.1 2. The Psalmist saith Be merciful unto us and bless us and cause thy face to shine upon us that thy way may be known c. And says the Apostle 2â— or 4.4 6. God that commanded light to shine out of darkness shine into your hearts to giv you the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ 3ly If this light of Gods countenance hath indeed shined upon your heart then your other carnal kitchâ—n lights have been put out thereby Ye see that when the Sun shines upon the kitchin-fire it doth put it â—ut so if ever God hath shined upon your Soul there â—ath such a glory fallen upon your hearts that thereâ—y all your carnal kitchin-comforts and delights have â—een put out thereby 4ly If God have shined upon thy Soul in truth â—hen are you satisfied with the light of Gods Counâ—enance and yet your desire after it is the more inâ—reased This seems to be a Paradox but it is true â—â—e more a man sees the light of Gods Countenance â—he more he longs after it and the more he longs after it the more be is satisfied with it Shew us the Father saith Thomas and it sufficeth I have now that saith the Soul which doth make me happy therefore I am fully sâ—tisfied yet I have tasted such sweetness in it as I cannot but thirst and long after more Oh when shall come and appear before thee that I may be fully satisfied with thy likeness 5ly If the face of God hath ever shined upon your Soul then there hath been a time when you were in the dark and by the light of Gods Countenance your doubts and fears have been all dispelled at once God never shines but upon those that have been in the dark God that commanded light to shine out of darkness shine into your hearts saith the Apostle and when God shines then all your fea s and doubts and objections are answered at once not by degrees and one after another but the face of God answers all at once As when the Husâ—and comes home though his Wife have had many fears that she should never see him again yet when she sees his face then all her fears and doubts are answered at once So here although you have had many fears that you should never see the face of God again yet when his face shines then all your doubts are answered at once 6ly If the face of God have ever shined upon your Soul in truth then have you been thereby enabled to do and act some great thing for God and you have had an heart given you to do it Cant. 1.12 When the King sits at his Table my Spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof By Spikenard here we are to understand the sweet smelling fruits and graces of thâ— Spouse of Christ Now saith she these graces send forth their smell when Christ sits at his Table when I have the gracious presence of Christ then are my graces most
Odoriferous then can I act and do that for Christ which I never could before then my graces do send forth their smell then can I do some great and special thing for Christ And 7ly If the face of God did never shine upon your Soul then you could and would not be so afflicted for the want thereof Ignoti nulla cupido if you had not tasted of this sweetness you could not be so afflicted for the want thereof but when you think that God hides his face from you then you are as one that goes down to the Pit and you say Oh all the World for one smile from Christ Lord let me see thy face though I be a Beggar and though I have no comforts in this World yet let me see thy face for I am not able to live without the light of thy Countenance 8ly And if ever you have seen the face of God in truth then hath your heart been inflamed with love to Christ upon that account for by him you had your address into the presence of God by him and in him Gods face doth shine upon your Soul God that commanded light to shine out of darkness shine into our hearts to give us the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ Though ye cannot behold and look upon the Sun in his full Glory yet if you look upon the Water where the Sun shines you may see the Sun Now God shineth upon Christ and in him you do see Gods face and therefore if ever God did in truth shine upon your Soul then hath your heart been inflamed with love to Christ upon this â—ccount but if your heart were never inflamed with love to Christ upon this score if you were never afflicted for the want of Gods face and presence if you never were enabled to do any great thing for Christ if you never were in the dark in reference to your spiritual condition if your desires after God were never satisfied and encreased at once if your Kitchin-fire was never put out by divine irradiation upon your soul if you have never been so blessed by the Lord as thereby to be drawn out of the world to himself and to be increased in spiritual things then hath not God shined on you to this day and therefore you are yet to seek for your true happiness Quest But suppose the face of God never yet shined on my soul or that it hath shined and is now hidden what shall I doe that the face of God may shine upon me that so I may be made partaker of this true happiness and blessedness Sixth General Answ That is the sixth General which I will only speak unto and conclude Would you have this light of Gods countenance and the face of God shining on you then 1. Be sure that you take heed of all the sins which do or have hid the face of God from you Isaiah 59.1 the Prophet saith unto the people of God Your iniquities have separated between you and your God and your sins have hid his face from you is Gods face therefore hidden from you look into your life and way and consider what those sins are and take heed thereof 2. The way to have any mercy from God is to be upright in the desiring of it He will be a Sun and Shield to them that fear him and no good thing will he with-hold from them that walk uprightly Is therefore the face of God shining the good thing that you desire Take heed that you do not desire it meerly for the sweetness of it Mâ—lti sunt gulosi spirituales Avila It is a sweet thing to behold the Sun much more the shine of Gods face but if I desire it only for the sweetness of it then I am not upright therein take heed therefore of that 3. If you would have the face of God shining on you then be sure that you stand where God shines and blesses Psal 50.2 Out of Zion the perfection of beauty hath God shined and there saith the Psalmist He commandeth his blessing and life for evermore What is his blessing but the shine of his face and how doth he command it By giving it there he commandeth his blessing There then do you stand where the Lord blesseth and shineth 4. In case that God seemeth to hide his face from you at any time then walk wisely and humbly towards God in the time of his supposed absence then lament after God and his presence as the greatest loss in the world then take heed of jealousies and do not say God is gone and will return no more then be much in obedience and say well though I cannot see God yet I 'le serve him and though I cannot enjoy him yet I 'le obey him and if you carry it wisely and humbly towards God in the time of his absence then will he return again unto you and will cause his face to shine upon you But 5. Take heed that you do not dig too deep into the earth he that is much under ground cannot see the Sâ—n or the shinings of it So if you be much in the world and under ground you cannot see the face of God and the light of his countenance therefore take heed that you be not much under ground in your callings And 6. Whatever frowns you meet withall from men be quiet â—nder them and improve them for usually God shines when man frowns Do men therefore frown upon you take their frowns quietly and wait for a shining God now And 7. Be sure that you do not frown nor look awry upon any that are Christs for how should God look kindly on you when you look unkindly on his How should his face shine on you when your face doth not shine on his Therefore take heed that you frown not on any that are Gods 8. Then throw your self down at Gods feet in a quiet resignation of your self unto God for Gâ—d will surely take them into his arms that doe throw themselves down at his feet â—f I can leave my self at Christs feet he will take me into his bosom and I shall see his face wherefore then throw your self down at Gods feet And 9. Pray and pray much for the presence of God and the shine of his face upon your soul let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth saith the Spouse ye have a command for this Psal 105.4 Seek the Lord and his strength seek ye his face evermore and the Lord hath promised to give you this mercy for look what God promised to his people of old that he promiseth to you and to all his people now Ezekiel 39. 29. he saith Neither will I hide my face any more from them though I have hid my face from them for a time yet I will not hide my face any more from them Would you therefore have the face of God to shine upon you go and pray and pray earnestly for the face and presence of God and say
means of his Conversion who was so famous a man and an Instrument of converting so many Thousands to the true Religion But shall the Prodigal say I fear my Conversion is not right because affliction led me first home to my Father Shall Zacheus say It was but an accidental thing that I ran up into the Sycamore-tree being low of stature and so could not else have seen Jesus for the press whom I desired onely out of curiosity to see And therefore I fear my Call was not right God knows how to make use of Contingencies occasional Providences and of your Afflictions to bring you home to himself And if you be brought home to God by the hand and ministry of affliction that you can say as one did If my Parents had not been undone I had been undone for ever Be content then with affliction and love it the better Usually persons have the greatest love for that Minister that was the first instrument of their Conversion Secondly If any shall say I fear I am not truly nor effectually called because I do not know the time when I was so called there being some that can tell you the very time and the Sermon and the particular word in the Sermon that was effectual to their Conversion But I can give no account of any of these I answer The Sun when it comes into a Room where the windows have no shutters comes in by degrees but it comes into a room where the windows have shutters all at once Where there are the shutters of Profaneness Drunkenness Uncleanness and the like when such men are wrought upon the sun comes in all at once Those that are born of godlâ—â—arents and have been educated and trained up in a godly Religious way they are converted but many times they cannot tell you neither the particular Minister nor the word nor the time when Converting grace came in upon their souls it came in by degrees shall such say therefore they are not truly converted Suppose a man had had the Stone but had got a Powder in the use of which the Stone does wear out by degrees shall that man say I never had the Stone because many that are cured of the Stone it has been by cutting and with a great deal of pain which I escaped and therefore I never had the Stone So shall I because I have not had those terrours and troubles of Conscience that others have felt argue therefore I am not converted No but go and bless God that you are converted That the Stone is wrought out of your heart in a more kindly and gentle way then in others I say What shall I do that I may walk worthy of God who hath effectually called me and in so sweet and gentle a way Fifthly What shall I do that I may walk worthy of God that hath called me since certainly called I am I am either called outwardly onely or effectually If a man invites me to Dinner and I do not go I am yet to carry it answerably to his love in inviting me Much more when the Lord ha's called me and that effectually it is my duty to walk worthy of God who hath thus called me I am come into a great and open field through all these precedent Gates I may proceed to further Particulars hereafter at present only remember That a man is said to walk worthy of God when he walks meetly suitably and answerably to that God that hath called him There are four Expressions Bishop Davenant hath in his Notes upon the Epistle to the Colossians that run into this same matter Sometimes a man is said to walk worthy of God Sometimes of the Lord Christ Sometimes of the Gospel Sometimes of the high-calling whereunto he is called But that I may speak clearly to the Point I shall begin with the first of these and shew you how a man shall walk worthy of God that hath called him to his Kingdom and Glory that is suitably and answerably First Observe the Attributes and Excellencies of God and let them shine forth in you that shine forth in him God is a great God and if you will walk worthy of this great God you must do some great thing for him Solomon when he would build a Temple for God said It must be exceeding magnificent for it was for the great God It is no great thing to Believe Love and Pray and give Alms to the Poor but it is a great thing to believe in the face of Impossibilities To love over the head of Injuries To Pray when ones heart is dead and down To give Alms to the poor out of but a mite or two as the widow did and it is said She gave more then all the rest It is no great matter says one for a man to do great things but to do great things and to think himself Nothing this is a great matter If you will walk worthy of God do some great thing for God Secondly As God is a great God So he is a Sovereign Lord absolutely free and is determined by nothing from without but himself but onely of his own counsels Therefore if you will walk worthy of God what is the thing wherein his good Pleasure lies Labour to know that And not onely to do the thing he commands but serve the good pleasure of God Be ye more gracious because God is so freely gracious Thirdly God is infinitely holy therefore it is not said Almighty almighty almighty nor Great great great but Holy holy holy because God looks upon Holiness as his greatest Excellency So must you if you will walk worthy of God and be holy as he is holy in all manner of Conversation 1 Pet. 1.15 16. Fourthly He is a God-All sufficient Gen. 17. I am God All-sufficient walk before me and be upright You give him the honour of his All-sufficiency in being upright When you step out from God to fetch relief some where else you dishonour God Is it because there is no God in Israel that you go out to the god of Ekron Fifthly He is a faithful God His faithfulness is twice repeated Faithful is he that hath called you 1 Thes 5.24 God is faithful by whom you were called 1 Cor. 1.9 Then would you walk worthy of God who hath called you When ever God makes a promise promise your self that thing because God hath promised it Not because the creature promiseth it being big and full of second Causes but when God promiseth assure your self of it because God hath promised it This is to walk worthy of God as he is faithful Sixthly He is our chief good and our utmost end and therfore in all your affairs you are to begin with him and to rest in him and to be boundless and insatiable in your desires after him A world y man makes the world his end and therefore is insatiable thinks he never ha's enough of it because he makes it his utmost end Secondly If you would