Selected quad for the lemma: grace_n
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A63269
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Of the causes and cure of sad disconsolate thoughts in Christians. By one of their sympathizing fellow-members, W. Traughton
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Troughton, William, 1614?-1677?; J. D., engraver.
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1677
(1677)
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Wing T2317; ESTC R219353
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23,660
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96
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The Day before he dyed he called for the holy Bible with these very words Come O come Death approacheth let us gather some Flowers to comfort in this Hour And turning with his own Hands to the Eight Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans he gave me the Book saith Mr. Leigh who relates these Passages in a printed Book and bade me Read At the end of every Verse he made a Selah or Pause and gave the Sense in such sort and feeling as we perceived was much to his own Comfort but more to our Joy and Wonder Having thus continued his Meditation and Exposition for the space of two Hours or more on the suddain he said O stay your reading What Brightness is this I see Have ye light up any Candles To which it was Answered No It is the Sun-Shine For it was about five a Clock in a clear Summer's-Evening Sun-shine saith he nay my Saviour's Shine Now farewell World welcome Heaven The Day Starr from on high hath visited mine Heart O speak it when I am gone and Preach it at my Funeral That God dealeth familiarly with Man I feel his Mercy I see his Majesty whether in the Body or out of the Body I cannot tell God He knoweth But I see Things that are unutterable And raising himself as Jacob did upon his Staff he shut up his blessed Life with these blessed words O What a happy Change shall I make from Night to Day from Darkness to Light from Death to Life from Sorrow to Solace from a factious World to a Heavenly Being O my dear Bretheren Sisters and Friends it pittieth me to leave you behind yet Remember my Death when I am gone And what I now feel I hope you shall find ere you dye That God doth and will deal familiarly with Men. And now thou fiery Chariot that came down to fetch up Eliah carry me to my happy Hold And all ye blessed Angels who attended the Soul of Lazarus to bring it up to Heaven bear me O bear me into the Bosom of my best Beloved Amen Amen Come Lord Jesus come quickly And so he fell asleep O therefore Enrich thy Soul with those Hevenly Treasures and fill thy Heart with those blessed Truths and Divine Mysteries that are contained in the Scriptures as the Saints whom I have mentioned and many thousands more have done in their great Straits and Temptations Acknowledge the Goodness of God and magnifie the Riches of his Grace towards poor Sinners Many and wonderful O Lord my God are Thy Thoughts to us-ward they are more than can be numbered Psal 40.5 And again How pretious are thy Thoughts unto me O God How great is the Sum of them Psal 139.17 Now that thou may'st have a right and spiritual understanding of the Holy Scriptures whilst thou readest them for the benefit and comfort of thy sad disconsolate soul First Beg Wisdom of the only VVise God who gives liberally and upbraideth not Jam. 1.5 that by God's VVisdom thou mayest know God's Mind and discern the true sence and meaning of the Scriptures by the Assistance of the Divine Spirit which Indited the same What the VVoman said of Jacob's-Well may be truly affiâ—med of the Scriptures Thou hast nothing to draw with and the VVell is deep John 4.11 Scripture mysteries are profound and our Capacities but shallow desire the Lord therefore to anoynt thine eyes with Eye-salve that thou mayest see and to open thine Understanding that thou may'st rightly and spiritually understand the Scriptures Rev. 3.18 Psal 119.18 Luk. 24.45 Luther professed that he got more Understanding by Prayer than by all his Study besides Secondly Labour for a truly gracious Spirit which being once attain'd thou wilt be able to penetrate into the inward Marrow and mystery of the Holy Scriptures He will best comprehend the true sence of Scripture in his head that hath it written and impress'd upon his heart Thou wilt never as one truly observes understand Paul's meaning unless thou art endued with Paul's spirit The Secret of God is with them that fear him and he will shew them his Covenant Psal 25.12 14. And Christ in the Gospel will manifest himself to them that Love him and such shall know the mind of the Lord Joh. 14.21 22 23. Thirdly Come to the reading and perusing of the Scriptures with an humble self-denying frame of heart and be not puffed up with a vain Conceit of thine own knowledge and attainments He that thinks he knowes any thing knowes nothing yet as he ought to know 1 Cor. 8.2 Empty Vessels are most receptive and so are self-emptied Christians It 's a great help to Knowledg not to be ignorant of our Ignorance * Deo meo gratias ago quod Ignorantiam meam non ignoro The fruitful showers quickly glide away from the lofty Hills But they stay and smoke in the Low-Valleys God who resists the Proud gives Grace and Spiritual Knowledge to the humble With the Lowly is true Wisdom Prov. 11.2 And the Meek and Humble he will teach his Way Psal 25.9 Math. 11.25 Fourthly Observe and eye Christ and Salvation by him as the very Scope Marrow and Substance of the whole Scriptures What are the Scriptures but as it were the Spiritual swadling-Cloaths of the Holy Child Jesus He is the Truth and Substance of all the Types and Shaddows He is the Matter and Quintescence of the Covenant of Grace under all the Administrations thereof The Center of all the Promises In whom they are yea and Amen 2 Cor. 1.20 The Thing signifyed sealed and exhibited in all the Sacraments of the Old and New-Testament The holy Scripture What is it else but Christ's Light whereby we come to know him Christ's Voyce whereby we hear and follow Him and Christ's Cords of Love whereby we are drawn into sweet Union and Fellowship with Him But to Conclude Suppose thou should'st have Breach upon Breach and still remain a sad pensive Soul all thy Dayes here in this Life without any Spiritual Comfort or Inlargment after all thy Wrestlings and Endeavours it may be for twenty thirty or forty Years yet What is this to Eternity What if it were for a hundred Years so thou com'st to Heaven at last and escap'st those Everlasting Torments which are prepared for the Wicked Ye shall weep and lament saith Christ to his Disciples Joh. 16.20 but the World shall rejoyce Yea but your Sorrow shall be turn'd into Joy and the World 's Rejoycing into Sorrow and Lamentation Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be Comforted Math. 5.4 The Lord supports his People by the secret powerful Influence of his Grace whil'st they walk in darkness and want the Light of Spiritual Consolation And here let us consider these four things 1. God doth never totally desert his Saints The Lord will not forsake his People for his great Name 's sake 1 Sam. 12.22 He hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee Heb. 13.5 The Words are Emphatical Here
that he had hid the word in his heart that he might not Sin against God Psal 119.11 And Hierom tells us of one Nepotian who by long and assiduous Meditation of the holy Scriptures had made his breast the Library of Jesus Christ in respect of Divine thoughts and cogitations Holy Job esteem'd the Word of God more than his necessary food Job 23.12 And the Psalmist preferr'd it before the Honey and the Honey-comb before great spoyles and thousands of Gold and Silver Psal 19.9 Psal 119.103 162. And the blessed Apostle commands us not only to have the word of Christ with us but in us and not only to have it in us but to have it dwelling and abiding in us richly in all Wisdom and spiritual understanding Col. 3.16 As for Mens writings they are mingled with Vanity Mistakes Imperfections Corruptions savouring too much of a carnal Spirit but God's Word * In Sacra Scriptura quicquid docet veritas quicquid praecipitur bonitas quicquid promittitur felicitas Nam Deus veritas est sine fallacia bonitas sine malitia fellcitas sine miseria is satisfactorily full without all Vaninity most Wise Faithful and True without Falshood or Folly compleatly perfect without the least Imperfection most pure and refined without Corruption or Carnal mixtures wholly Spiritual sweetly resembling that most Divine Spirit which endited the Scriptures Here are unfolded the mysteries of the Covenant of Grace made up of Heavenly Cordials for Sin-sick souls Here are the promises of this life and of that which is to come exceeding great and precious Here are the comforts of God able to counterpoise and overcome the greatest sadness and sorrow Art thou poor Here 's a Treasury of Riches Art thou sick here 's a Shop of Soul-medicines Art thou fainting here 's a Cabinet of precious Cordials Art thou Afflicted here 's thy Solace Art thou Persecuted here 's thy Protection Art thou deserted here 's thy support Art thou Tempted here 's thy Victory Whilst thou livest here 's the Rule of thy Conversation and when thou dyest here 's the hope of thy Glorification and therefore well might one of the Antients profess that he adored the fulness of the Scriptures And Luther himself used to say he would rather eat up his own Writings which yet were instrumental to give much Heavenly light and knowledge than that People by reading them should neglect the reading and studying of the Holy Scriptures This is the Book of Books as David said of Goliah's Sword there 's none like that Ex allis paleae viles hinc grana leguntur Aurea Tu paleas linquito grana lege Mens Books with worthless Chaff are stor'd God's Scriptures golden grains afford Reject the Chaff and spend thy pains In Gleaning up these golden Grains The Holy Scripture is profitable for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction for Instruction in the paths of Righteousness and for Support and Consolation that drooping dejected Spirits may not be overwhelmed with Satan's Temptations This sweet Consolatory Vertue and Soul-supporting Property of the Scriptures is demonstrated by the happy Experience and Sense of Spiritual Comfort and Refreshing which Saints find therein even such of them as are exercised with great Dolors and Troubles of Spirit Thus David did comfort and support himself with the word of God in his saddest Affliction This is my Comfort in my Affliction saith he for thy Word hath quickned me And unless thy word had been my delight I had perished in my Affliction Psal 119.50 51 92. Paul writes unto the Saints at Thessalonica that they should comfort one another with these Words 1 Thes 4.13 And the Love-sick Spouse being ready to fall into a Spiritual Swound through the Sense of Christ's Estrangements from Her cryes out to the Ministers of the Word the Friends of the Bridegroom O stay me with Flaggons and comfort me with Apples for I am sick of Love Cant. 2.5 Wine and Apples are pleasant refreshing Cordials to fainting Spirits And so are the pretious Promises and sweet Doctrines of Christ to sad and pensive Souls Augustine and his dear Companion Alipius How were they in their great Soul-Afflictions raised up and comforted with two Sentences of Scripture Augustine as he tells us in his Confessions lib. 8. Cap. 12. Tom. 1. deeply laying to heart his Sin and Misery such a mighty Storm arose in his Soul as brought a shower of Tears whereupon he with-drew from Alipius a good distance that he might more freely and fully pour out himself in Tears I laid me down saith he under a certain Fig-Tree I know not how and I opened Sluce to Tears and the Floods of mine Eyes burst out thy acceptable Sacrifice And not in these Words but to this Sense I spake many things to Thee But thou O Lord how long How long wilt thou be angry for ever O Remember not former Iniquities For I felt my self held by them and I cast forth miserable Expressions How long How long To Morrow and To-Morrow Why not now Why not this Hour an end of my Filthiness These things I spake and wept in the bitter Contrition of my Heart And behold I heard a Voyce as of a Boy or Girle I know not whether from a neighbouring House saying with Singing and oft repeating * Tolle lege Tolle lege Take up and Read Take up and Read And presently with changed countenance I intentively began to think whether Boyes in Playing were wont to sing any such thing Nor could I remember that ever I heard it The violence of my Tears being repressed I rose up Interpreting nothing else to be divinely commanded me than that I should open the Book and read what Chapter I first found For I had heard of Antonius that by Reading of the Gospel which he happily light upon he was admonished as if what he had read had been spoken to him Go and sell all that thou hast and give to the Poor and thou shalt have Treasure in Heaven and come follow me and that by this Oracle he was presently converted to thee Therefore being thus incited I returned to the same place where Alipius sate for there I had laid the Apostle's Book when I thence rose I snatch'd it up opened and silently read that Chapter on which mine Eyes were first cast Not in Rioting and Drunkenness not in Chambering and Wantonness not in Strife and Envying But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no Provision for the Flesh to fulfill the Lusts thereof Rom. 13.13 14. Nor would I read further nor was there need For presently with the close of this Sentence as it were with the light of Security infused into mine Heart all my darksom Doubtings fled away Then either putting my Finger in the place or what other signe I know not I shut the Book and with a chearful Countenance I told it to Alipius But what was done in himself which I knew not he thus declared He asks to see what I read