weary of the exercise of his Mercie and therefore hee goes on to adde Mercy to Mercy Wee say the Bee gives Hony naturally the sting only when shee is forced to it So God it is natural to him to shew Mercy but hee is provoked to exercise Judgement Hence hee is called the Father of Mercies begets Mercy Mercy is the Issue of God most natural to God and being so hence Mercy pleaseth him Actions of Nature are Actions of Delight God is never so well pleased with any carriage towards his Church as those which are in the wayes of mercy Nay if hee do afflict his Church it is to shew Mercy Mercy is the end of all his dealings towards his Church and therefore Mercy being so natural so pleasing and that the Mercy of God is the ground of his expressions of love to us as it is though our sins may draw out the expressions of his Justice yet his Mercy doth arise from himself Hence wee may have a ground to expect yet greater things than ever 6. Consectary If the heart of Christ bee so much taken with his Church Then see with what confidence wee may pray for the good of the Church of Christ Christs heart is taken with it A man may pray for himself and doubt of hearing because hee is not able to make out his particular interest in Gods Love But if a man pray for the good of the Church hee is sure to have hearing because the heart of Christ is taken with it Let us then make use of all our interest and acquaintance in Heaven in the behalf of the Church at this time 1. It is a thing which God commands 2. A thing which God expects 3. A thing which God rewards 4. A thing which God threatens the neglect of Much might bee said to move you Your good and your evil lies in the Churches As Jeremy used this as an argument why to pray for the civil estate of Babylon because in the peace thereof they should have peace if theirs in Babylons how much more ours in Sions 7. Consectary If the heart of Christ bee so much taken with his Church Then what will become of those who are enemies to his Church and People Is the heart of Christ so much taken with his Church and People Then woe bee to them that offend his Church If you touch them you touch the apple of his eye Gods People are dear to God They are his Spouse his Children his Members purchased with the price of his bloud his inheritance his Portion all his commings-in Those hee dyed for shed his bloud for one drop whereof is worth a thousand Worlds And therefore those whom hee was content to shed his bloud for certainly hee doth more esteem than all the World besides Wee say whiles the Iron is in its own nature you may handle it and meddle with it but if once the nature of fire bee added unto it if you touch it it will burn you So whiles the Children of God are but the Children of men you may deal with them as with other men but if once the nature of God bee stamped on them the Image of Christ bee drawn upon them it will bee dangerous for you to meddle with them least fire break out of their mouth to devoure you Wee read Zach. 12.3 God said hee would make his Church a burthensome stone c. St. Jerom on that place saith it was a Metaphor taken from the custome of the Jews who to try their strength had at the gates of the City great stones if they could lift them well and good but if not they crushed themselves with them So God will make his Church a burthensome stone Whoever lifteth at it shall crush himself whoever seeks to hurt it shall ruine himself You see it in Pharaoh Haman Achitophel Julian Haman lifted so long at this stone that it fell on him at last and crushed him Pharaoh followed the Children of Israel so long that hee could not return at last but was overwhelmed in the Waters Julian attempted it so long till at last himself was overthrown Hee that shoots in a Peece over-charged strikes down himself not that which hee aimed at Hee who intends evil against the Church shoots in a Peece over-charged and is sure to bee struck down with his own recoil Wee see it in our dayes They who have digged pits for us have fallen into them themselves They who laid snares for us in them is their own foot taken They have but made Rods for their own backs paved a way to their own destruction digged graves to bury themselves in seeking our ruine The Scepter of Christ hath been too strong for the Principality of Satan hee hath a Rod of Iron a Scepter of Power Eris sub pedibus an arm of strength to crush in peeces all his enemies And therefore as Pilates wife said of Christ Have nothing to do with that just man So I to thee seest thou a godly man beware of having any thing to do with him by way of offence For their Angels alway behold the face of their heavenly Father 8. Consectary If the heart of Christ bee so much taken with his Church Then see here the Ground of Acceptation of the services of his people God being taken with the Persons is taken with the performances of his People Hee had respect to Abel and then to his Offering Christ his heart was taken with the person and then with his performance Hence Christ saith to his Church Cant. 2.14 Let mee see thy Countenance let mee hear thy voice for thy Countenance is comely and thy voice is sweet Indeed if Acceptation should arise from the worthiness of our duties wee should never look to bee accepted There is so much sin in our services so much evil in our good so much coldness in our best heats so much formality in our chiefest power so much deadness in our best life so much of the World so much of our earth in our imployments for Heaven And if Acceptation should arise from any worth in them wee should bee sure to miss of it But arising from his good will and Mercy to us his heart being first taken with us is taken with our performances Hence the Assurance of Acceptation Nay and not only of our purest and perfectest services but even of our poor and imperfect duties such as wee throw away for dead and cast prayers Cant. 5.1 Hee drinks the Milk as well as the Wine Wee look upon a prayer accompanied with deadness distraction as a cast prayer Oh! say wee how can God accept of such impure imperfect services But hence it ariseth not from the excellency of your prayers but from the indulgency of his Grace It is the voice of his Spouse though never so weak It is the cry of a Member of his though never so faint And hee can put his odours his incense to them though never so impure and make them acceptable Rev. 8.4
by unbelief do slight all the threats of God denounced against sin if you make childs play of them as the word signifies 2 Pet. 3.3 If you look upon these but as Bug-bears things to keep men in awe and not real things No marvel if you bee not Humbled But if by Faith you would Realize these things to your selves and behold them not as Fancies and sad dreams but such things as are infallibly true real things not as painted Hell painted fire but as reall you would them finde them to work These mingled with Faith would lay a man in the dust Now this is a property of Faith to Realize the Object or thing beleeved and hence comes an influence on the soul to humble and abase it 3 Faith doth not only take up humbling Considerations and Realizeth all these to the Soul But Faith makes all this present Faith doth give a present being to all this Hence Heb. 11.13 Faith imbraceth the promise The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Faith kisseth the promise gives a present being to the promise And as it gives a present being to the promise or word of comfort so to the threatning and word of terror Faith discovers death and hell and all at hand for Sin Faith looks upon sinne in all it's Doomes-day apparrel and array smels fire and Brimstone in sin Whereas unbeleevers they look on these things at the wrong end of the Prospective and that makes things neer seem a far off and that afar off is not seen at all But Faith looks upon them through the right end of the prospective And there things a far off are seen at hand present Hence it is called The Evidence of things not seen As it was said of Abraham Hee saw the day of Christ and rejoyced and yet Abraham was dead many hundred of years before Christ yet by vertue of his prospective by vertue of his Faith hee saw it as if it had been present though it were never so far off So here though the second day of Christ the day of judgement bee a far off yet Faith sees it and is humbled Faith gives it a present Being 4. Faith applies and brings home all this to Soul As the word of Comfort the Promise is applyed and brought home to the Soul by Faith so the word of Terror the Threatning is brought home to the soul by the same Faith by which the Soul is cast down and humbled The manner of Faiths Application is by a practical Syllogisme where the Major or first Proposition is the Word of God The Assumption or second Proposition is the Testimony of Conscience and the conclusion is inferred from them both as hee that beleeveth not but continueth in sir is for the present guilty and obnoxious to wrath at the last Judgement But I beleeve not but continue in sin Therefore I am for the present guilty and obnoxious to wrath to bee inflicted at the last Judgement Seventh Royalty 7. Faith is an Heart-softening-Grace Such a Grace as doth not only humble us but soften us not only break us 7. Royalty of Faith It s an Heart-softening-Grace but melt us In the Law it humbles us it breaks us but the heart like a flint every dust still reteins its flinty stony Nature is a stone And therefore in the Gospel it melts us it dissolves us Thunders of Sinai terrifie but Dews of Sion mollifie So much Faith so much Sorrow they are like the Fountain and the Stream whereof the one ariseth no higher than the other So much Faith and apprehension of Mercy so much brokenness of spirit for sin Where Unbelief doth stony the Heart harden the Heart dries up the spring and issues of sorrow No Heart is so hard as an Unbeleeving-heart neither the Promises nor Threatnings neither Mercy nor Justice neither Word nor works will melt it Faith on the contrary turns the Soul into Water dissolves a man into tears opens all the deep springs of sorrow in the Soul 1. Faith looks upon Heart-melting-Promises Takes a survey of the Riches of Gods Love and Mercy in making such precious Promises which doth exceedingly melt 2. Faith takes up Heart-softening-Considerations from the Love and Mercy of God towards us which are Heart-melting-Mercies from the goodness and sweetness of God Faith makes us see God as hee is It makes God no otherwise than hee is not more gracious not more merciful than hee is But Faith discovers him as hee is a gracious and a mercifull God It doth but undraw the Curtain but take off the Mask which Satan and Infidelity have put on and makes us to behold God as hee is in all his glorious excellencies Soul saving attributes and Mercies which who can behold by Faith but must needs mourn and dissolve into tears that they have offended him Thus you see Ezek. 36.31 when God had discovered himself in his Pardoning-Mercy his washing Forgiving-Mercy to the beleeving soul then they shall mourn and bee humbled Oh! There is nothing breaks the heart more than Mercy nothing melts a man more than the smiles of God the Mercies of God which being discovered to the Soul the Soul is not able to stand stubborn under it 3. Faith looks upon a Soul-melting a Soul-softening Object upon Christ a wounded a broken Christ And who can behold him but with an Humbled and a broken-broken-heart A bleeding Christ without a bleeding Heart Oh! Here is enough in this Object to open all the springs of sorrow in us wee need not to go to Bellarmines Twelve Considerations to open the Fountain of tears in us wee need not bring in the miseries of mankind for one nor the sad condition of the Souls in Purgatory for another Wee need not bee beholden to him for such considerations as these to help us to mourn Oh! Here is enough in Christ in a broken and wounded Christ to open all the springs in thee and if thou hadst a Fountain of tears to spend them all The Considerations of his sufferings 1. Either in themselves 2. Or in their cause 3. Or as the Effects of sin 1. The Considerations of his breakings and sufferings as they were in themselves 1. The sufferings of his Body What woundings breakin gs scourgings crownings peircings did hee endure upon his Body 2. The sufferings on his Soul What conflict and struglings with the wrath of God the powers of darkness what weights what burdens what wrath did hee undergo when his Soul was heavy unto death be set with terrors as the word implies When he drunk that bitter Cup that Cup of bitterness that Cup mingled with Curses which made him sweat drops of blood which if men or Angels had but sip's of 't would have made them reel stagger and tumble into Hell 2. The Consideration of his sufferings in the Cause as the meriting cause of all our good procurer of all our Peace Life Salvation Hee was wounded that wee might bee healed scourged that wee might bee solaced drank the
his heart on us but though hee saw what wee would bee yet hee loved us How then shall it bee able to over-turn the thoughts of his heart when once they are fixed on us Men indeed are not able to see to the utmost of things they are not able to discover and fore-see all the inconveniences and evils that may arise and therefore that being discovered after which was not fore seen before may bee a ground to alter their affections and change their thoughts when fixed The less Judgement and fore-sight in men the more fickleness and changeableness in men But now God hee fore-saw all Hee fore-saw all that which thou now thinkest is a ground for him to alter his mind to thee And if all that fore-seen could not hinder him from fixing his love on thee neither shall it bee able to move him to take off his heart when once his heart is taken with thee Hence hee is said to make an everlasting Covenant with us and hee will never depart from us Nay Hee will put his fear into our hearts that wee shall never depart from him Jer. 32.40 And Isa 54.9 10. saith the Lord speaking of the Covenant of Grace which hee will make with his people It shall bee as the Waters of Noah unto mee for as I have sworn that the Waters of Noah should no more go over the Earth so have I sworn that I will not bee wroth with thee nor rebuke thee As if hee had said this is as sure as the other the one as firm as the other You have experience of the one beleeve the other I give you the same pawn the same seal of Heaven to confirm it If Men were as bad as Devils they should never bring a second flood upon the World because God hath sworn never to destroy it And as hee hath sworn to that and is therefore stedfast and immutable So hee hath sworn to the other that hee will never leave you nor forsake you and therefore God will not Object But alas Do wee not see that God doth sometimes forsake his Church and People Answ Now for the answer of this wee will premise these three Distinctions 1. There is a seeming and there is a real forsaking 2. There is a Temporary and an eternal forsaking 3. There is a partial and a total forsaking From these wee will lay down three Conclusions in answer to the Objection 1. Conclusion God doth sometimes Seemingly Deus bonos non negligit cum negligit when hee doth not really forsake his people God doth not really neglect his People when hee seems to neglect them Hee seemed to neglect and forsake Job Heman David Christ himself when hee cryes My God! My God! why hast thou forsaken mee It was Dissimulatio non indignatio as one speaks Hee feigned himself to bee gone but was not gone The Cloud may take the Sun from our sight but not rent it from the Skie God may seemingly bee gone when hee is really there Hee seemed to bee gone from Job but hee was really there Otherwise Job could not have trusted in him in that great difficulty The same I may say of Heman of David Though God seemed to bee gone yet hee was really there Otherwise they could not have prayed exercised their Faith and sought after God as they did So also was it with the Church in the Canticles cap. 3.1 cap. 5. beg And that is the first Conclusion God may seemingly when not really forsake his People 2. Conclusion God may partially forsake his People but hee doth never totally forsake them I say God may in part forsake his People which may bee occasioned on their part by some fresh and new-acted sin As you see it was with David Psal 51.1 David had sinned God had withdrawn himself God was gone comfort was gone light was gone for a time Works of Darkness and walking in Darkness went together Hee did not follow the Direction and therefore wanted the Consolation of the Spirit But though hee doth partially sometimes yet hee doth never totally forsake his people For the clearer understanding of this Conclusion you must know there is a threefold Presence of God 1. Quickening 1. Comforting 3. Supporting 1. God may forsake a man in part in respect of his Quickening presence and leave a man to the barrenness flatness deadness of his own spirit for a time that the soul cannot pray hear meditate do any thing as formerly it hath done As it was with Sampson when his locks were cut his strength was gone and therefore though hee thought to go out and do as hee did in former times yet hee found there was no such matter hee was become even as another man so it is here our strength lyes not in our hair but in our head When God is gone our Locks are cut our strength is gone And though wee may think to go upon duties as at other times and meet with those lively and vigorous workings of spirit in duty yet wee shall finde no such matter wee are even become as other men Indeed so much of his Quickening Spirit God leaves in the worst of times as usually to keep up the heart to duty The soul will pray will read c. but hee gives not so much as to carry the soul through the duty with that life and vigour of affection which formerly it had Time was that the soul never came to prayer without an inflamed heart never upon the duty without a quick and inlarged soul But now the spirit is dead in duty cold in duty heartless in the performance of those things wherein the heart was so much taken 2. God may forsake a man in respect of his Comforting presence Though man is not able to rob us of our comforts and take away our joyes they are such as the armes of men are not long enough to reach yet God hee can Hee may eclipse our joyes and damp our comforts and withdraw the beams of his Countenance from us and leave us in darkness and trouble I say hee may turn our Day into Night our Light into Darkness our Comforts into Discomforts Thus you see it was with Job with David with Heman Psal 88. who although they had the Quickening-presence of God yet they wanted his Comforting-presence And indeed of the two it is better to want the Comforting than the Quickening-presence Better to want Comfort than Life Joies than Graces or the lively exercise of them The one is the Esse the other but the Bene Esse of a Christian A man may live and serve God and obey him and yet want his Comforting-presence as you see Isa 50.10 But hee cannot live without his Quickenning-presence 3. God may forsake a man in part in respect of his Quickening-presence and hee may more forsake a man in respect of his Comforting-presence But God doth never forsake us in respect of his Supporting-presence In the saddest condition in the darkest night in the stormiest day the soul
yet here hee that beleeves most and loves most makes most haste The more the soul beleeves and the more the heart is taken with Christ the greater are the desires to bee with him Till Simeon had gotten Christ into his armes hee was unwilling to dye but after hee had Christ in his armes Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace for my eyes have seen thy salvation Indeed here are but the Espousals between Christ and the soul Some Broken-Rings Contracts Espousals betwixt Christ and us But then is the great Marriage-day the Solemnization of our Nuptials to all eternity Here wee do see him but dimly and darkly at the best and there are oftentimes clouds come in and interpose themselves between Christ and us but then wee shall see him face to face and never shall there cloud come between Christ and us to all eternity There wee shall see him in his Glory his full discoveries Here wee injoy him but in part The distance is great betwixt him and us All which distance doth arise from that within us Were it not for sin wee might bee in Glory even in Grace But then wee shall injoy him in fulness Heaven is the place which God hath intended to set forth himself to his People in his Glory to all eternity Where there shall bee no fears no sin never smoak of distrustfull thoughts shall arise more Where there shall bee no sorrow no tears All sighing and sobbing shall pass away and nothing but joy shall keep the house Wee are now the Sons of God But it doth not yet appear what wee shall bee for wee shall see him as hee is 7. Sign A heart taken with Christ thinks nothing too much to do nothing â—â—o much to suffer for Christ You know Love cannot bee posed Wee say there is no difficultie in Love Things impossible to others are easie to them who love And things burthensome to others delightfull to them who love If once thy heart bee taken with Christ thou wilt think nothing too much to do nothing too much to suffer for him As Christ thought nothing too much for us because his heart was taken with us neither shall wee think any thing too much for Christ Wee read how prodigal the Saints have been of their Riches their Blood their Lives for Christ because they loved him 1. They have not accounted their estates too dear for him Heb. 10.34 They took joyfully the spoiling of their goods 2. They have not accounted their lives too dear Rev. 12.11 They loved not their lives to death for him If they must dig in Mines or be cast to bee devoured by Wild-Beasts for Christ as it was the usual sentence of Christians Christiani ad nâ— talla ad Ecstias in the primitive times they were willing to do and suffer it See this in the Virgin of whom Basil speaks who was condemned to death because shee would not worship Idols And the like of old Polycarp and others This is certain A soul taken with Christ knows no difficulty in its love It loves him with an unlimited an uncircumscribed love which no duty no difficulty can pose 8. Sign A heart taken with Christ is exceedingly cast down with the withdrawings and absence of Christ The comforts of the soul are laid up in Christ and when hee is gone all is gone Comfort gone Joy gone the Heart gone with him As Mephibosheth said Take all now my Lord is come back so the soul saith Take all take the World take Riches take Heaven and Glory so far as Heaven and thou are two things That my Lord may return with my soul Datkness is terrible to the soul and this is thick darkness and therefore saith with Absolom let mee see his face mea non prosunt sine te nothing besides thee can either satisfie or profit mee 9. Sign A heart taken with Christ is fully content and satisfied with the injoyments and possession of Christ The possession of the thing beloved doth content the soul so far as there is satisfaction and contentment with it The reason why wee do not meet with full contentments and satisfactions here in the possession or our loves is because they want of fulness But now it is not so with Christ Hee is able to brim the soul to satisfie the spirit to answer all the desires of the heart and therefore the heart taken with him needs must rest satisfied and contented with him Such a gulf of desire is in the soul of men that if God should cast in a thousand worlds there would bee no contentment except Christ bee cast in And Christ is so full contentment that if God bestow him they will neither need nor desire any more And thus much shall serve for the use of tryal wee will now come to an use of Exhortation and conclude this Use of Exhortation 1. To them of his Church 2. To them who are not of the Church 1. To them of his Church Is it so that the heart of Christ is so much taken with his Church and People 1. Direction to them of the Church 1. Walk suitably to this love Dignities and suitable walkings to dignities must go together Now this suitable walking wee will express in these five things 1. Walk chearfully 2. Walk thankfully 3. Walk humbly 4. Walk watchfully 5. Walk obediently 1. Walk chearfully Walk as Heirs of such a Mercy Here is a truth speaks comfort when all the world speaks nothing but terrour 2. Direction to them of the Church 2. Beware of abusing this love Precious things are committed to us by a word of Caution This is a precious Truth and therefore let mee adde to it this word of Caution Beware of abusing this Love of Christ Christs Love are his bowels and hee will never indure to have his bowels injured his love abused You know a man will not have his Love injured the abuse of his power of his wisdome greatness doth not touch a man so nearly as the abuse of his Love This is an injury men cannot indure So to speak after the manner of men Christ can least indure his Love should bee abused There is no abuse like it Therefore beware of it Now this Love of Christ is injured these wayes and beware 1. When wee slight the intreaties reject the tenders cast aside the offers and beseeches of his Love When love stoops to you when the mercy and goodness of Christ doth as it were come on its knees to you and intreats you to do this or not to do that And yet you will stop your ears pull back your shoulder slight the intreaties This is an abuse 2. When the Love of Christ doth slacken our hearts to duty loosen our ingagements makes us more remiss to or in service This is to abuse his Love Wee should reason from Mercy to Duty and not from Mercy to Liberty Abundance of Grace calls in for abundance of Duty The Love of Christ should constrain us as
a glass the glory of the Lord wee are changed into the same Image from Glory to Glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord 2 Cor. 3.18 In nature the meat is digested into the nature of the eater Here the eater is turned into the nature of the meat The contemplation of his Glory makes you glorious They will bee 5. Soul-winning Thoughts Love you know is of an attractive nature Amor amoris Magnes Nothing wins more than Love Love is the Loadstone to draw Love again As the Sun shining upon a Glasse begets a reflection of the beams back again so the love of God shed abroad in our hearts begets a reflection of love back again toward God You see Mary Much was forgiven her shee had tasted of much love from God and shee returned much love again to him Shee loved much The Power of God doth shake the heart The Majesty of God doth dread the heart The Justice of God doth awe the heart But it is the Mercy of God the Love of God which doth perswade win and draw the heart Nothing wins a mans heart to God but his Love The fear of God dread of God may bring a mans feet into his wayes but it is the Love of God which brings his Heart into his wayes They are 6. Soul-quickening 7. Soul-comforting thoughts Oh then that wee were but wise to improve this Doctrin this truth to the good of our souls I tell thee Christian if thou wouldest give this truth but scope in thy heart it would help thee and relieve thee of all the burdens under which thou groanest 1. Dost thou labour under a proud heart this would humble thee 2. Dost thou labour under a dejected heart this would raise thee 3. Under a dark heart this would comfort revive thee 4. Under a dead heart this would quicken thee and put the Spirit of Heaven into thee whiles thou art on earth 5. Under an hard heart this would break thee Nay this would melt thee dissolve thee into waters I say the more thou gets up with Elijah into this Chariot of love the more would the mantle of sin and corruption depart from thee 6. Under a worldly heart This would dead thy heart for ever to the World and set thee all on flame with the fire of heavenly affections I am confident of it whatever a Christian desires to injoy whatever a Christian desires to bee rid of if hee can but dwell upon this truth and bee able to manage it Hee shall have it more fully hee shall have it more quickly than any other way Wouldest thou bee rid of a proud heart wouldest thou have an humble heart wouldest bee rid of a dead heart and desirest a quick heart wouldest bee rid of an hard heart and have a broken heart wouldest bee rid of an unbeleeving of a doubting of a dejected heart and wouldest bee mighty in Faith full of comfort Why do but let thy soul bee carried captive with this Truth bee but content this Truth should master thee bee but willing to entertain it beleeve it imbrace it I am confident on it all this will bee done I may set down a probatum est to it Oh! That wee were wise to manage this Truth There are many look upon this but as a pleasant dream a Chimera a fiction And some beleeve it but slightly there wants depth of earth And some there are poor souls to whom the comfort of this truth belongs who think this is too good news for them They think if they should own it it would bee but too great a sale for too small a Boat rather overturn them than do them good rather ruine them than help them And therefore they must feed upon black thoughts upon Hell upon justice upon sin upon their corruptions Ah! Poor souls Satan deludes you you take a way to undo your selves Either to discourage you to say there is no hope or else to break you that you shall never bee able to do God service Look as long as you will into Hell pry as long as you will into the dark vaults of your souls rake as long as you will into the kennel of your hearts You shall finde nothing in Hell but Hell in your hearts but sin and having found it run from him That man looks too much on sin who shutteth his eyes from a mutual interview of love between God and his soul And hither you must come at last Free-Grace must bee owned Free-Mercy must bee acknowledged and advanced by you if ever you would bee saved if ever you would bee comforted You mâ—y think what you will but sure I am 1. There are no Christians more chearfull 2. None are more thankfull 3. None are more humble 4. None are more beleeving 5. None are more active 6. None are more couragious 7. None more serviceable and usefull toward God and men than they who lye continually at the breast of the promise than they who set up Gods Free-Grace and own that good which God makes out to them Thou mayest bee a Christian but thou wilt bee a sad Christian an uncomfortable Christian a dark Christian a deserted Christian a dead Christian an unserviceable Christian if thou dost go on to feed upon black thoughts and wilt not own that comfort which Christ tenders imbrace that good which Christ speaks and beleeve the Riches of his Grace and Mercy to poor sinners Do but sit down and from the sight and sense of thine own unworthiness take but occasion to advance Free-Grace and Mercy Let there bee place for that to come in Let those thoughts finde entertainment And thou shalt quickly finde a strange change in thy spirit 1. Thou who couldest not mourn before shall now bee able to poure our tears as if thou wert all turned to water 2. Thou who before couldest not beleeve couldest not bee comforted wilt even think it a wonder that ever thy heart should bee so dark so doubtful 3. Thou who before wast dead shalt now finde a spirit of life come into thee and make thee active in the work of the Lord. Make but the Experiment and thou wilt converse more with the promise with the Love of Christ with the Free-Grace of God whiles thou livest if you would but remove your unbelief But who shall remove this stone God alone must do it But if this were done this truth would let in a flood of mercy upon you and even sink and over-whelm you in a Sea of mercy and glory where now you go drooping and hang down your heads because you will not own that portion which Christ hath left you nor that comfort which Christ doth tender and speak to you 4. Direction to them of the Church 4. Direction to them of the Church 4. Labour for a reciprocall affection a mutual taking between Christ and us Is Christs heart taken with you Oh! let your hearts bee taken with him Doth Christ love you Oh! do you love Christ Are you
Parent The Master to the Servant The Servant to the Master c. Faith is the great Task-Master of the Soul But it is not like Pharaohs Task-Master to command burdens and afford no help To require the Tale of Brick and give no Straw This indeed the Law doth It is an hard Task-Master It commands but gives no ability Jubet fed non juvat Efficit quod imperat Jubet juvat But not so Faith It commands and laies in strength to do It gives what it commands by going over to Christ and fetching strength from him whereby the soul is inabled to obey what it is commanded It is said of Christ That His Government shall bee upon his shoulders Not only in his hand having a Scepter only to command but upon his shoulders wherein there is support to obey commands So it may bee said of Faith which governeth from Christ and by Christ Its Government is upon its shoulder inabling the soul to do what it commands 1. Faith begets Soul-inabling-Principles Principles in the soul suitable to the things commanded whereby a man is inabled to obey All strength for new Obedience ariseth from a new Nature And this new Nature is nothing else but that conformity to the Law of God whereby a man is not only able to obey but willing to obey when Principles are wrought in our hearts suitable to the Precepts when there is a Law within us answering to the Law without us It will be meat and drink it will be natural to obey it is not now hard to pray to clear The yoak is easy the burden is light These things are not tasks but delights not medicines but meat not physick but food Psal 40. I delight to do thy Will saith David and what was the ground Thy Law is in my heart There were Principles agreeable to the Precepts and that made him not only to obey but to obey with delight 2. Faith supplies a man with Soul-inabling-Strength from without Wee have need not only of preventing but assisting Grace not only of operative but cooperative strength not only of inherent but of assistant the continual succours aids and supplies of the Spirit of Christ And Faith doth supply the soul with strength from him without whom wee can do nothing and through whose might wee are inabled to do all things Faith laies in supplies of strength from Christ wherewith wee are inabled for any service It calls in for all the strength of Christ the aids of the Spirit whereby wee are strengthened 2. Faith doth furnish a man with Soul-inabling-considerations 1. From God the mercies of God the goodness and sweetness of God All which do incourage and inable the soul to obey A loving Master makes a diligent Servant A mercifull God a working Christian Nothing doth so prevail with the heart as love The Love of Christ constrains us When Faith shall discover to the heart what we were what we are what God might what God hath done with us it will break out with David with a Quid Retribuam c. What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits I will take the cup of Salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows c. Psal 116.12 This overcomes the Soul with Love That heart that is overcome with the sweetness of mercy is prepared to overcome any difficulty of service My heart is prepared my heart is prepared 2. From the work Faith furnishes a man with soul-inabling-considerations from the excellency of the imployments hee sees a peece of Heaven in tem hee sees these services full of beauty sweetness desireableness No service to the service of the King Oh! what then is the service of the King of Kings 3. From the rewards which God hath promised to obedience And these rewards Faith makes use of to quicken and stir up the soul to Obedience to bee spurs and incentives to us as they were to Moses who had an eye to the recompence of the Reward as they were to Christ himself who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross and despised the shame Heb. 12.2 and Heb. 11.26 All which have a mighty influence into the soul to inable and quicken it to Obedience 2. Faith inables the Soul to suffer Yea and to suffer the sufferings of the greatest magnitude You see Heb. 11. Through Faith they were stoned they were sawn asunder were slain with the sword 1. It puts the soul into a suffering frame It deadens a mans heart to the world mortifies a man to to the world and makes a man alive to God A man dead to the world doth not much care either to leave the world or any thing in the world now Faith deadens a mans heart to the World 1. Faith puts the Judgement into a right frame It makes the Judgement lightly to esteem of earthly and highly to esteem of Heavenly things lightly to esteem the favours and frowns of men highly to value the favour and fear the frowns of God 2. Faith prevails with the Will to chuse God above all and to part with all the leave all if they come in competition with God This Faith doth habitually in habituall preparations in the work of Grace when first the Will chuseth with Christ Thus Faith inables the soul to do actually when ever it is brought to tryall 3. Faith works upon the Affections to love God above all to delight in God to fear him c. A man who loues any thing chuseth any thing prizeth any thing above God is a man unfit for sufferings hee is not in a sufering frame If God and these things come in competition they with Demas will forsake God and cleave to the present world Men whose hearts are too much ingaged to the World whose affections are too much set upon the Creature men whose wills chuse any thing more than God whose Judgements do prize and esteem of any thing more than God to whom God is little and the world is great these men are unfit for tryals And therefore this is the first way whereby Faith doth inable the Soul by putting it into a suffering frame 2. Faith doth furnish the soul with suffering Resolutions A beleeving heart is a resolved heart Nothing causeth a suspension in the Will more than Unbeleef Hee that doubteth is like a wave of the Sea sometimes going this way and sometimes carried back again Whereas Faith doth resolve the heart makes the soul resolve as Peter but in a better strength I will dye rather than deny thee Faith doth cloathe the soul with suffering resolutions to go through a Sea through a Wilderness through the hottest Skirmishes the hardest Tryals for Christ You see it every where in Scripture In Michaiah in Jeremiah in the three Children in Daniel in the Apostles And to these I might adde many more As that of old Polycarp when hee was perswaded to deny Christ rather than to dye for Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
consulting with Faith and following the guidance thereof she was resolved to do the duty though see perished in the doing thereof And it was her safety The like in Abraham You see what an Exigent hee was put unto Hee was to part with his Son his only Son the Son of his Love the Son of his old age a Son of so many Prayers and so many Promises No doubt if hee had consulted with flesh and bloud and carnal reason they would have bid him to spare his Son but following the guidance of Faith hee was willing to sacrifice his Son Heb. 11.17 By Faith Abraham when hee was tryed offered up his Son Isaac of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed bee called Accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead c. So it was Faith whic guided Moses to leave the pomp and glory of Pharaohs Court and to chuse rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to injoy the pleasures of sin for a season esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt Heb. 11.24 If hee had followed the guidance of Reason or sense hee had miscarryed That would have told him that hee was to regard himself and his present happiness and not throw himself out of all But then hee had been mis-led But following the guidance of Faith hee forsakes all This Guidance of Faith they wanted Joh. 12.42 Who durst not confesse Christi for fear of being thrown out of the Synagogue If they had had Faith it would have guided them to Jesus Christ bee the Issue what it will The like of the Young-man Hee went far but when it was put to him to leave all to follow Christ to sell all it is said Hee went away sorrowful Hee consulted with Sense and Reason hee wanted the Guidance of Faith which would have directed him to part with all to cast away all rather than to leave Christ The like of Balaam Either hee must forsake the wages of Unrighteousness or curse the People but hee had more desire of mans reward than hee had Faith to expect God and so hee miscarryed And my Brethren such like straits wee may meet withall in our way to Heaven And if wee follow not the Guidance of Faith wee are sure to bee mis-led It hath been the ordinary choice that the Saints have been put to Either forsake thy God or forsake thy Goods Either leave Christ or leave thy Comforts Either renounce Christ or lose thy Friends thy Father thy Mother nay thy liberty thy life To these exigencies and straits Gods people have been driven And had they not had Faith they had surely been mis-led but having Faith it guided them to suffer losse of friends loss of goods loss of liberty loss of life it self for Christ as you see up and down in Abraham in Moses in Jeremy in Paul and the rest of the Apostles who accounted not their lives dear to them for Christ And it was the usual speech of the Primitive Martyrs when they were perswaded to leave Christ rather than to suffer Parce precot Imperator tu Carcerem ille Gehennam Spare good Emperour thou canst but cast into prison God into Hell The like of Cyprian of Policarp The like of Frederick the Elector of Saxony who was prisoner to Charles the fifth and was promised inlargement and restitution to his former dignity If hee would come to Mass It was Faith guided him to return this answer In earthly things I am ready to yeeld to Caesar In heavenly only to Christ And Christ is more welcome to mee in Bonds than Caesars Court without Christ Thus I might run down in particular examples in all ages and shew you how Faith hath guided men in these straits which had they followed the direction of Reason and Sense they had been lost for ever It is Faith which guides the heart in these difficult cases It is an Heart-guiding-Grace And this is the way Faith doth reject the wisdome of the flesh and goes by Gods light It shuts our eyes and walks by Gods light It follows God as the blinde man follows his Guide all his dayes Hee who makes Gods Word all his Reason shall have God a Counsellor Faith will not own the wisdome of the flesh the carnal minde is enmity to God It will not bee subject It is full of contumacy and stoutness against God and his wayes Faith will neither own the Flesh as a King nor as a Counsellor As it will not obey the commands of the flesh so it will not follow the counsels of the flesh Peter would not consult with flesh and blood but was obedient to the heavenly vision where is implied if hee had hearkened to flesh and bloud hee had been disobedient to the heavenly vision But Faith makes God its guide Psal 48.14 This God is our God for ever hee shall bee our guide unto death Faith seeks direction from God who is the Counsellor the God of all wisdome And the Soul that leans upon God for wisdome shall not want it He who trusts in the God of wisdome shall not want direction I say hee who shuts his own eyes and sincerely falls down at the feet of God for counsel shall have direction from him If indeed wee seek as Balaam with a double heart or as the Children of Israel did Jer. 42. who asked counsel but were resolved of their way wee then may miscarry But hee who seeks with an humble and upright heart that asks the way to Sion with his face thitherward resolved to go as God directs Such will God direct in his way such hee will guide in all the wayes of Judgement As the Moon by darting her beams and influence into the Sea doth move that great body backward and forward which they say is the cause of the ebbings and flowings of the Sea so God doth in difficult cases dart such a beam of light into the Soul such strong influences into the Spirit as doth carry the soul the way it should go A man may follow his own wisdome and miscarry but hee that shuts his eyes and follows God is sure not to bee mis-led Hee who rejects the counsel of the flesh and is resolved to walk by the direction of the Spirit though never so unlikely to flesh and bloud is sure to go right You see an example of this in Balaam in Saul sparing of Agag and the best of the flock in sacrificing before Samuel came to him But I 'le name but one Jer. 41.10 to the end of the Chapter Johanan who was the Captain of the Residue of the Jews left in Jerusalem desired Jeremy though with a double and deceitful heart to enquire of the Lord whether hee should go down to Egypt or abide at Jerusalem And bound himself with a vow that Whatever the Lord said hee would do it Jeremy comes and tells him hee must abide at Jerusalem and God would preserve him
you all to tremble And do you think the word Promising Beseeching Intreating could bee so unprofitable if you had Faith to mingle with it to apply it to your selves It is because you bring no Faith to the Word that the Word of God is not a raising a quickening a comforting word to your souls That it is not an inlightening a convincing a converting and a reforming word So for the Sacraments Could these bee so unprofitable could you live under them and get no further victory of lust no more increase of Grace if you did bring and exercise Faith here to fetch from this treasure opened It is necessary to every Ordinance necessary to your Callings necessary to every condition Wee had need of Faith to go through all the conditions of this life Through Prosperity Adversity Sickness Health Losses and Injoyments As the Apostle said of Patience the Daughter so I say of Faith the Mother You have need of Faith that after yee have suffered the Will of God yee might inherit the Promise Heb. 10.36 If our condition bee prosperous wee had need of Faith to see all is for good and need of Faith to inable us to make a good use of it 1. You had need of Faith to see the Tenor of your injoyments That you injoy them not only out of leave but out of Love not only from a general Providence but from a particular Promise 2. You had need of Faith to see further than your present Estates to look upon these pence and farthings as earnests of better things as something in hand for those things in hope 3. You had need of Faith to see the heart of the giver in the gifts his Affection in the expression the God of Mercy in the injoyment of Mercy to taste the fountain in the stream An unbeleeving man hee is not able to clear this Hee may have prosperity in Judgement and heap up Riches to his own destruction All his Wealth may bee but fuel to that fire to make Hell hotter as Oile to kindle the flame of lust so fuel to increase the fire of torment hereafter So if our condition bee troublesome and afflicted wee had need of Faith to see all is for the best and need wee had of Faith to make the best use of it to humble us wean us winne us c. Faith can see good in all making all good to him though in themselves never so evil 3. There are Motives drawn from the excellency of Faith I shall say no more of it but what I have already said and you may read in these several Royalties of Faith already laid down The second branch of the Exhortation is to you that have Faith Let mee exhort you to exercise your Faith 1. In matter of Justification under the guilt of sin Trust in God for Pardon for Justification What though thy sins bee never so great Iniquity Transgression and sin sins of Nature sins of Course sins of Custome what though they bee bloody and crimson sins yet hee can pardon hee can forgive them Thy sins are great his Mercy is greater Thy sins are many His Mercies are more Thy sins have abounded His Mercy superabounds As thou hast been plentiful in sinning so hee is in Mercy for pardoning sin Isa 1.18 Though your sins were as crimson they shall bee made white as Snow though as red as Scarlet they shall bee as Wooll Isa 55.7 Let him return to the Lord and hee will have mercy upon him and to our God for hee will multiply pardons Though thy sins have weakened the Law and made that unable to save thee or do thee good Rom. 8 3. yet they have not weakened Christ and Grace Christ is able to save to the utmost even to the utmost of your sins the utmost of your doubts and fears Non datur summum malum There is neither quality nor quantity of sins that can pose the fulness of Christ There is not so much evil in sin in all thy sins as there is Mercy in him If thou canst beleeve all things are possible to the Beleever They are Christs own words Mark 9.23 It is possible for thy greatest rebellions to pass away as a cloud and to bee dispelled and scattered as a mist if thou canst beleeve Hee can drown Mountains as well as Molehils 2. Trust in him for Sanctification Christ is full of all Grace and Truth Joh. 1.14 hee is able to fill a World of hearts with Grace Thou desirest more love brokenness of heart sincerity fruitfulness Christ is able to afford thee all of all this 3. Trust in him for mortification of thy lusts and corruptions Go over to Christ for power to subdue your lusts and unruly corruptions If ever you would make any happy conquest of lust by Faith have recourse to Christ there you shall have strength against your unruly affections Christ is as able to cleanse as to clear to purge to subdue and take down the power of sin as to take away the guilt of sin 1. Wee have his Prayer to subdue and conquer our lusts to sanctifie our Natures John 17.17 Sanctifie them through thy Truth 2. Wee have his Promise I will subdue your iniquities Micah 7.19 Sin shall no more have dominion over you Rom. 6.14 3. Wee have his Power who is able to subdue all things to himself Phil. 3.21 Hee will trample Satan under our feet 4. Wee have his office and fidelity to appeal unto where wee may complain of our own flesh Hee undertook it as a part of his business to purge and cleanse his people Tit. 2.14 Hee came not only to bee a Redeemer but to bee a Refiner a Purifier Hee gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquitie and to cleanse and purifie us to bee his peculiar people zealous of good works 5. Wee have his Merits as a Sanctuary to fly to as to a Laver as to a Fountain set open to wash us from all sin filthiness and uncleanness Zach. 13.1 4. Exercise Faith in case of Difficulties 1. In case of Temptation Thou art it may bee in many Temptations Exercise Trust. Thou knowest who hath conquered Death Hell who hath overcome Principalities and Powers all the Powers of Darkness who hath led captivity captive and triumphed over all on the Cross Trust therefore in him 1. For support and strength in the Combat Hee hath promised My Grace shall bee sufficient 2 Cor. 12.9 God is faithful who will not suffer you to bee tempted above what you are able But will with the Temptation give an issue that wee may bee able to bear it 1 Cor. 10.13 2. Trust in him for deliverance out of it and victory over it That hee should conquer the strong man and snatch us as brands out of the fire and tread down Satan under our feet Rom. 16.20 Deliver us out of Temptations 2 Pet. 2.9 The Lord knâ—ws how to deliver his out of temptations 5. Exercise Trust in case of Desertions When God
will come whoever hath a mind let him come Bee his sins what they will bee for nature for number for continuance yet come and finde acceptance Who is a God like unto thee That pardonest iniquity and passest by the transgressions of the Remnant of thy heritage Thou reteinest not anger for ever for thou delightest to shew mercy Mic. 7.18 There are two things when men are humbled which keep them off from beleeving either 1. A doubt of Gods Power Lord if thou canst 2. A doubt of his Will Lord if thou wilt 1. Some doubt of his Power Oh! Is God able to pardon such a sinner as I have been Can hee pardon so great so bloudy so crimson sins If they were but such or such I should not doubt But being so great how can God pardon 2. Others doubt of his Will They will bee ready to say They know there is a fulness of Power in God hee is able to forgive my sins let them bee what they will bee hee hath a Sea of Mercy able to drown Mountains as well as Mole-hills But alas I doubt of his Will whether hee will shew mercy to such a sinner And therefore if ever you would beleeve you must get an heart convinced of the 1. Fulness and al-sufficiency of Christ to pardon 2. And of the freeness and willingness of Christ to shew mercy to such as do beleeve Dwell upon such considerations as these are being means to beget Faith When men are once convinced of the fulness of God they will come over to him if withall they bee fully convinced of their own need It is possible for a man to beleeve this fulness in Christ and yet not bee able to clear his acceptance Wee read of the Lepers who seeing nothing but death in their condition 2 King 7.3 4 resolved not to stay there but to go over to the Camp of the Assyrians If they save us alive say they wee shall live and if they kill us wee can but dye And there were many reasons which might cause them to expect no better but death from them 1. They were Jews and so their enemies 2. They might bee suspected for Spies 3. If not yet they were Lepers good for no service such as might infect the whole Camp Yet seeing their Misery in want of bread and knowing that there was bread to bee had they resolved to adventure So if there were but a through discovery 1. Of our own Misery a conviction of that 2. Of the fulness and all-sufficiency of Christ it were possible so far to prevail with a man as to throw himself on Christ though hee bee not yet able to clear whether God will ever accept him But when wee take that other consideration in and do think of the sweetness and freeness of Gods love and mercy to accept of poor returning sinners what should then hinder but the soul should come over and beleeve in him And therefore if ever thou wouldest have Faith cherish these thoughts dwell much upon such considerations as these Men say they would beleeve but in the mean time they never cherish such thoughts and considerations as may beget Faith If there bee any thing in the Word which makes against them this they will harbor and cherish they will feed upon the Wormwood and the Gall but if there bee any thing to nourish and cherish Faith this they will suppress They have an ear open to hear what the Law what sin what Satan saith but none to hear what God saith in the Promise They will promote the Devils cause his arguments sharpen his weapons against themselves But they will silence the pleadings of Gods Spirit in them They will look upon the dark side of the Cloud not the light side The threatnings of the Law they will apply and set on with all their might But if Promises come they finde no acceptance with them They will nourish considerations of their sins their guilt their misery by reason of sin and aggravate it to the utmost but the thoughts of Gods Love of the freeness of his Mercy of the promises of pardoning sins these they reject My Brethren This is not the way to get Faith If ever you would beleeve you must study the freeness of Gods Mercy in Christ his willingness to pardon and forgive poor sinners if they come over to him 2. The second means for the strengthening of Faith are these 1. Make use of the Ordinances 1. The Word 2. The Sacraments 3. Prayer 1. The Word Wee say The same way things are begotten the same way they are nourished Corpora naturalia eodem modo quo generantur nutriuntur Faith is begotten by the Word and Faith is nourished by the Word It is both the Begetter and the Nourisher both the Breeder and the Feeder of Faith Rom. 15.4 1 Joh. 4. 2. The Sacraments which were instituted and set up for this end to increase your Faith God knew hee had to deal with unbeleeving persons and therefore hee doth not only give the Promise his Covenant and Oath for the confirmation of us but to all these hee annexed his Seal the Sacraments Mountains upon Mountains to confirm us A man would not desire so much of any honest man as God hath here condiscended to for the confirmation of our Faith One would have thought his bare word had been enough considering the Truth and sufficiency of the Person that spake it But hee hath given his Oath Nay but hee rested not there but his Seal too The Sacraments And therefore make use of them 3. Bee much in Prayer that God would strengthen and increase thy Faith Prayer is the fuel of Faith the food of Faith A man may as well live without meat as Faith without Prayer As the soul lives by Faith so Faith lives by Prayer Faith helps Prayer and Prayer helps Faith again As there is a Communion among the Ordinances every Ordinance doth help another The Word helps Prayer and Prayer helps the Word So there 's a Communion between Ordinances and Graces Faith helps Prayer and Prayer helps Faith Prayer cannot say of Faith I have no need of thee nor Faith of Prayer What need have I of thee As there is a mutual dependence of one Christian on another a means to nourish Communion as Christians help one another One may say Help my Zeal and I will increase thy knowledge strengthen my Faith and I will inflame or kindle thy affections so here There is a mutual dependence between Faith and Prayer Faith saith to Prayer Help mee to beleeve and I will help thee to pray And Prayer to Faith Help mee to pray and I will help thee to beleeve Such a Communion there is And therefore bee much in prayer for strength 4. Live much in the Heaven of the Promise Feed upon the freeness and sweetness and fatness of the Promise Delight your selves in fatness Let your way lye much above live much out of your selves This is your way A man
and see 4. Nathaniels desire to bee satisfied hee goeth out with him and that is the summe of the discourse between Philip and Nathaniel The second discourse is between Christ and Nathaniel from vers 47. ad finem In which you have five things observeable 1. Christs profession or commendation of him vers 47. Jesus saw Nathaniel comming to him and saith of him Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile 2. Nathaniels reply ver 48. Whence knowest thou mee which may bee construed two wayes 1. Either by way of question being convinced that hee spake right and that hee discovered his heart to him hee demands how it came to pass that hee knew his spirit so right as though hee had said it is true I desire to walk uprightly and sincerely with God but how canst thou tell that how is this discovered to thee art thou able to judge of the heart none knoweth that but God only 2. Or the words may bee conceived as a blunt and more rude reply whence knowest thou mee you never saw mee before nor I you and how then can you give so high a commendation of one you are no more acquainted with And I take them in this last sense because hee came with such a prejudice against Christ ver 40. 3. Christs further and clearer manifestation of himself to him vers 48. Jesus answered before Philip called thee under the Fig-tree I saw thee as though hee had said I there saw enough to discothy sincerity I saw what there thou didst or because I saw thee when thou thoughtest none did thou mayest well think I know thy heart 4. Nathaniels noble confession or profession of Christ vers 49. Nathaniel said Rabbi thou art the Son of God thou art the King of Israel 5. We have Christs commendation of this act of his Faith v. 50. Jesus answered because I said I saw thee under the Fig-tree beleevest thou with a promise of future and fuller revelation thou shalt see greater things than these Here you see that Christ passeth by his failings which were 1. His prejudice against Christ because of the place can any good thing c. 2. His rude reply to Christ when he discovered himself to him whence knowest thou mee these Christ passeth by and falls into the commendation of his present act of Faith So gracious a Saviour wee have that when wee present him with our duties hee will not remember our infirmities Hee saith I will remember your sins no more viz. to object them against us to upbraid much less to condemn us for them Hee did not object agaâ—nst Manasseh his witchcrafts and idolatries nor against David his Murder and Adultery nor against Matthew that hee had been a Publican and an Oppressor nor against Zacheus that hee had been an Extortioner nor against Mary Magdalen that shee had been an Adulteresse nor here against Nathaniel his behaviour towards him when once the soul comes in hee receives it and remembers its sins no more but hides and covers them In the Text observe three general parts 1. An open commendation of Nathaniels Faith because I said c. 2. A silent reprehension of others unbelief Beleevest thou 3. A gracious promise of future and fuller Revelation thou shalt see greater c. In the first consider 1. The Person commending Christ 2. The Person commended Nathaniel 3. The thing for what his readiness to beleeve 4. The ground of his Faith because I said I saw thee under the Fig-tree beleevest thou as if hee had said doth so small a thing induce thee to beleeve I have wrought no miracles raised no dead c. I shall do greater things in the sight of others heal the sick give sight to the blinde cleanse the Lepers cast out Devils raise the dead and yet many of them will not beleeve For the promise of fuller Revelation the words are thou shalt see greater things than these which is promised Either as a reward of his former Faith or for the increase of his present Faith and in these words hee points at what after miracles hee would do Thus you see the parts of the Text laid open to you but there is one thing yet which is necessarily to bee unfolded in the Text before wee leave the general view of it which is the ground of his beleeving which was Christs saying that hee saw him under the Fig-tree The question is Quest How so small a thing as this saying that hee saw him under the Fig-tree could bee likely to produce so noble a confession and profession of Christ or make him to beleeve Ans Wee will not now speak of Gods working by it for so wee know nothing is so small but by his working in and by it may prove admirably efficacious as on the contrary if hee work not no thing though never so great otherwise and seemingly promising will bee able to do any thing as wee see in the Jews who although they saw his miracles such as none but a God could do yet they beleeved not Wee will consider the thing in it self and so I finde these two things in it which might draw out such a confession and make him put forth such an act of Faith Because I said unto thee I saw thee under the Fig-tree 1. It may bee hee was then taken up with the meditation of the Messiah who was to come for at this time their thoughts were all full of it Luk. 2.25.48 and so God might now suggest to him that hee would reveal him to him 2. Or it may bee out of evidence and conviction of the omnipresence of Christ that hee could see him under the Fig-tree Nathaniel thought that hee had been alone and no eye had seen him and therefore when such an evidence was brought to his spirit that Christ saw him yea not only his person and outward actions but his heart also hee was thereupon convinced of the divinity of Christ and so cryeth out Rabbi thou art the Son of God c. Quest 2. But you will say How did this discover that Christ was the Son of God or the divinity of Christ Ans Hee knew that corporally hee was not there and therefore although his eyes told him that Christ was a man yet in that when absent hee could see him under the Fig-tree it did discover and declare him to bee God But 2. I think this speech of Christ which was the ground of Nathaniels Faith had not only relation to his seeing of Nathaniels person but to some special peece of service which Nathaniel was then upon Either meditation prayer or the like which Christ saw and his heart in it as if Christ had said I saw not only thy person under the Fig-tree but also the workings of thy spirit there I saw in them the uprightness and sincerity of thy heart and the goings out of thy soul when thou wert there alone which brought such a conviction of the divinity of Christ with it that it made him
bee content to climb to Heaven by a thread of our own spinning God is willing to give and wee would deserve hee would have all of Grace and wee would have all of debt Wee would fain bring our penny to the Promise yea when wee are nothing wee would bring our own nothingness So hard it is to make a soul empty and when that is done to bring that empty soul over to the Promise 3. A third ground from our selves which makes men humbled so slow to beleeve It may bee too much tenderness they are affraid of abusing Gods Justice in their closes with his Mercie Oh say they I am affraid of presuming of Mercy It was their fault before to presume the fear of it their fault now I say to presume of Mercy was their fault before and the fear of presuming is their fault now One would think this to carry a fair forehead they dare not beleeve say they and why so because they are affraid to presume is not this a good pretence But ah here is the Prince of darkness like the Angel of light let us examine it thou sayest thou darest not beleeve because thou art affraid to presume And why dost thou fear to presume It is presumption to beleeve Mercy and yet continue in a way of sin and it is presumption to expect Mercy in a way of unbelief but it is no presumption to beleeve Why dost thou fear thou shalt presume thou canst not say thou takes that which doth not belong to thee for it belongs to whoever can take it But it may bee thou sayest thou art not fitted for Mercy thou art then fit for Mercy when thou art made willing to close with Mercy in the tearms of Mercy that is to take Mercy as to render up thy self to duty as to give up thy self to obey But thou sayest thou shalt presume for thou art not worthy of Mercy And wouldest thou bee worthy of Mercy dost thou know what thou sayest wouldest thou deserve Mercy where then were Grace This overthrows the Covenant of Grace it cannot bee a Covenant of Grace if there should bee any thing of thy bringing which is not of Gods bestowing May wee not say to thee truly what Eliab Davids Brother falsely said to him when hee told him hee came out for Gods Glory Hee tells him no it was the pride of his heart 1 Sam. 17.28 So thou pretends Gods Glory thou sayest because thou wouldest not wrong Gods Justice and make Gods Mercy a sinfull mercy therefore thou doest not beleeve but take heed it bee not the pride of thy heart If the time would permit I would put something to thee 1. By way of Question 2. By way of Supposal 1. That which I should have put to thee by way of question should have been 1. Couldst thou not have beleeved God would bee mercifull unto thee if thou wert not so sinfull 2. If thou wert more humble if thou hadst more Grace couldst thou not bee content to pennance thy self for a time for thy former sin were not this good and what were this but to make thy humiliation a step to Mercy to a pardon 2. That which I would put by way of supposal Suppose thou hadst been a Traytor and thy Prince should offer thee a pardon for all thy treason upon condition of acceptance and rendring up thy self to him for service And thou shouldest refuse a pardon because thou art a Rebel or Traitor or because thou doubt'st of the truth and reality of thy Princes tender or else because thou thinkest thou art not able to do him service for future therefore wilt not accept of a pardon for present what should wee think of this Or suppose a Creditor should tell thee if thou wouldest but bring thy books come to him and reckon with him and acknowledge thy debt hee would pardon thy debt And the debtor should now refuse to come 1. Either because hee is not able to pay 2. Or because hee thinks hee shall bee able to discharge all himself in time 3. Or else because hee doubts of the truth of his intention in stead of bringing him to reckon that hee might pardon him hee intends to arrest him and cast him into prison Is not here a great deal of pride and unbeleef and wronging of love And how shall wee interpret this standing off is not the case alike God tenders mercy to thee as a Prince a pardon and thou refusest why either thou beleevest not the truth of this that God offers pardon upon beleeving or else thou thinks to deserve thine own pardon So God offers thee an acquittance if thou wilt bring thy book and come and reckon with him confess sin acknowledge Mercy but thou commest not and what is the reason either thou beleevest not the truth of this this is too good news to bee true thou thinkest it is but to take advantage against thee You think when you go to God in confession you go as a debtor into the hands of a hard Creditor who doth but wait to arrest him You cannot beleeve the truth of this offer or else you think you shall bee able to pay your own debt in time 4. Another ground from our selves why wee are so slow to beleeve is that wee doubt of Gods will wee doubt whether God will have mercy on us yea or no. It is with us as with a Prince or Creditor as before were wee but well setled in the Major of the Gospel in these truths 1. That God sent his Son for this end into the World to save poor sinners 2. That Christ was able to save to the utmost 3. And that Christ was as willing as hee is powerfull wee should not bee so slow of heart to beleeve My Brethren what can God do more to perswade you of his willingness nay more what could Christ do more than is done Will you go by his revealed will and that you shall bee judged by at the last day why there you see nothing but willingness of God and Christ to accept of them who come If you should go by the revealed will of man you may bee deceived they may speak one thing and intend another But if you go by the revealed will of God you cannot miscarry because Gods heart is really the same that his word is hee speaks not a syllable more than hee will make good Men speak often more than their hearts or they may speak contrary to their hearts but God doth not hee really intends what hee speaks And his revealed will tells thee that hee would have thee saved by comming c. that if thou wilt beleeve thou shalt bee saved That if thou confess c. therefore no cause to doubt of Gods will 5. A fifth ground of our slowness to beleeve It may bee you finde some rest to your souls on this side Christ It may bee you have been troubled for sin have been in anguish of conscience and you have prayed you have mourned
the more at their bringing in As you see Paul Luther Augustine All Gods people are Souldiers but few are Champions some hee hath for lighter skirmishes and less humimiliation will serve their turn to prepare them for them But such as hee intends for the main battle to bee Champions in his cause hee doth usually exercise with greater difficulties that so they might not start aside in the day of tryal 4. Some hee intends to bee patterns and examples of mortification in the world and therefore carries them on with troubles of spirit and lets them lye longer in them that being raised up they may bee dead to the World ever after Thus you see the like measures are not necessary neither inrespect of Gods ends nor in respect of your selves and why then should any mans humiliation bee a pattern for thee All that can bee said in it is this that so much is required as to cast us out of our selves make us weary of our sins willing to sell all cut off right hands pull out right eyes to part with the dearest and beloved sins for Christ Wee all agree it is sufficient when it doth cast a man out of himself and bring him over to Christ and how much that is who can set down A less degree will do that in one which it will not in another if the same measures were alike necessary for all then it would follow 1. That every one is so to labour to come to that measure as to receive no comfort in the Promise till hee have attained it 2. And it would follow that what comfort any may have gotten in the Promise they are to yeeld up if they have not had the like measures that others have attained to and what perplexities fears doubts would so bee left in the consciences of men so that they would never finde a bottome to stand on As in Grace a man would never have comfort if his comfort were to arise from the measures and not from the truth So in humiliation many poor souls in taking others for a pattern have lost the rule and put themselves into a greater in capacity to close with the Promise at a greater distance from Christ than they were before and have made themselves miserable for the present and for the future and so have gone drooping even to their graves And it had been better for many speakers and hearers too if this Doctrin had been pressed more before How many have had their heads broken in peeces with it and it is easier for these troubles to break the head than to break the heart But thus much for the second Thus you see wee have finished the two generals That wee are slow of heart to beleeve What are the grounds that men are slow of heart to beleeve 3. Wee come to the next what are the reasons that this temper of spirit is so offensive unto God I have given you many reasons in my Sabbath dayes discourse on the third of John Why God was so severe against unbeleef All which would serve as so many demonstrations of this point wee will at this time adde but these three more Reas 1. Slowness of heart to beleeve is a temper very offensive to God because it argues and speaks a corrupt heart A heart byassed with other respects which hinders from closing with Christ As Christ saith Joh. 5.44 How can you beleeve when you seek honour when you are byassed with such respects as these Such a spirit either it argues ignorance or pride or love of sin or jealousy of the truth of God the goodness of God and this is very offensive jealousy is the rage of a man c. which is more provoking because God hath so far condescended to our weakness for our establishment that hee hath not only given us his Promise his Covenant his Oath and Seal and all to comfort us And if notwithstanding all this wee shall nourish a spirit of jealousy and cherish our doubts and distrusts this must needs bee very displeasing unto God Vae nobis si nec juranti Deo credimus Aug. If a man should give you his Promise and yet to satisfie you to his Promise hee should annex his Oath and to his Oath his Seal c. If yet notwithstanding you will bee jealous and distrust him how would this make a mans bloud to rise how would hee break forth into rage what will you not beleeve mee do you think mee to bee a Devil do you think I will bee perjured c. And how much more must this provoke God who is immutably true of his word One syllable being a better bottome for a soul to rest upon than all the Protestations of men and Angels men though true Angels though true yet they are not in themselves immutably true because they are but Creatures but now God is hee is truth it self no shadow of change in him Nay and not only true but able to make good his Word what hee hath promised Men may bee true and yet want ability to perform but what God hath said hee will do because hee is faithfull and hee is able to do because almighty And hath God condescended to us so far as not only to give us his Promise his Oath Covenant and Seal and are wee yet slow of heart to beleeve do wee yet nourish jealousies and distrusts Why then judge if this must not needs bee a high provocation of God And that is the first reason because this sin speaks corruption of heart Reas 2. Because such a spirit what in it lyes makes void and null the great things of God I say as much as in thee lyes for thou canst not do it As the Apostle saith God is faithfull whether men beleeve or beleeve not so God is mercifull powerfull wise gracious true whether men will beleeve or beleeve not But this I say as much as in thee lies thou makest void all the great and stupendious things of God wee will name these seven 1. Thou makest void the great councels of God all the thoughts of his wisdome in contriving such a way to advance his glory in the salvation of men God had purposed and contrived from everlasting to make himself glorious to set up and advance the glory of his wisdome and grace and this is the way his wisdome pitched upon from everlasting to do all this by sending of Christ into the World and thou by standing out dost not only frustrate Gods ends in thy salvation but as much as in thee lyes nullest and makest void all the thoughts and contrivings of his wisdome for all this is to no purpose while thou stands out and wilt not beleeve 2. Thou makest void all the thoughts of his Mercy in which he desired to set forth himself and make himself visible to the lost sons of men by sending of Christ into the World But now if thou wilt not beleeve to what purpose were all these great things of God to what purpose
his spirit his soul was heavy to death Mat. 26.38 when hee sweat drops of blood c. Luk. 22.44 7. Doth hee say thou art still full of corruptions Why but thou mayest say Christ is full of holiness and by him though I bee black yet I am comely As I look not to be justified by mine own inherent righteousness so I shall not bee condemned for this remaining corruption so long as it is not reigning so long as seen and sorrowed for Though I desire to bee acceptable to him in holiness yet I do not desire that my holiness should bee the ground of my acceptance Thus may a soul which hath closed with Christ bee able to weild this to set Christ against whatever Justice Law Sin Satan brings Oh! then let us bee stirred up you that are slow of heart to beleeve to come over thou seest thou canst do him no greater pleasure Thou thinkest thou dost well in doubting but thou dost exceedingly offend God thou canst not do him a greater discourtesy c. Object But doth God command every one to beleeve pardon Ans God commands every one to do the act of Faith but not to beleeve a pardon till hee have done that If any shall get hold of the horns of the Altar and yet rest in sin God will deal with him as Joab c. 1 King 2.28 29. c. God commands thee not to beleeve a pardon so long as thou purposest to go on in sin but yet hee alwayes commands thee to beleeve him so as to give up thy self to Christ c. that thereby thou mayest have pardon and assurance and salvation A TREATISE OF THE Miserable Condition OF UNBELEEVERS BY SAMVEL BOLTON D. D. And MASTER of C.C.C. LONDON Printed by Robert Ibbitson for Thomas Parkhurst and are to be sold at his Shop over against the Great Conduit in Cheapside 1656. A TREATISE OF HYPOCRISY BY SAMVEL BOLTON D. D. And MASTER of C.C.C. LONDON Printed by Robert Ibbitson for Thomas Parkhurst and are to be sold at his Shop over against the Great Conduit in Cheapside 1656. A TREATISE OF HYPOCRISY ISAIAH 58.2 Yet they seek mee daily and delight to know my wayes as a Nation that did Righteousness and forsook not the ordinance of their God They ask of mee the Ordinances of Justice they delight in approaching to God A TEXT which I may tremble to read and you to hear Well may wee ask that question Lord who is it then that shall bee saved Is it possible to do thus much and yet miss of Heaven Lord who is it then that shall bee saved The whole World may bee divided into four ranks of men 1. Some that are in the Church visible but not of the Church invisible 2. Some that are of the Church but not in the Church 3. Some that are both in the Church and of the Church 4. Some neither in nor of the Church Some that have both right to and possession of this great priviledge Some that have possession but not right Some that have right but not possession Some neither possession nor right But yet to come nearer Those that are within the pale of the Church and so within the bounds of Gods call wee may rank into these three orders of men 1. Some who are Atheistical and prophane Such as will do nothing for Heaven as Gallio They care for none of these things Act. 18.17 2. Some who are Hypocritical and unsound That will do something but as good as nothing 3. Some who are sincere and upright Who will come up to Gods price and walk throughly in all the wayes of God But wee shall yet draw them into a narrower compass viz. Those who are pretenders to Heaven Of which there are but two sorts of people in the World For wee will cast out the Atheist the Worldling the prophane Person the Drunkard the Swearer These are men upon whose forehead you may read They are going to Hell There are then but two sorts which are pretenders for Heaven 1. The first is the Formal Christian 2. The second is the Upright and Sincere 1. The first Hee will do something for Heaven hee will bid much for Heaven hee will walk in the round of duty hee looks to the matter but neglects the manner 2. The second hee will come up to the price hee will do all Gods commands looking to the Manner as well as to the Matter The one hee will give God the carkass and body of duty The other hee will give God the life and spirit of duty Of the first sort wee have some in the Text who went high to fall short of Heaven at last Surely if wee but read the words and if God had not said they had been unsound wee should have judged them of the best of men Do but cast your eyes upon the Text and read over the particulars 1. They seek God and not for a time only in a storm in trouble as many will do Beleeve mee they go further They seek mee daily They had their morning and evening Prayers 2. They delight to know my wayes 1. They knew the wayes of God 2. They delighted to know his wayes which is equivalent to this they did not only know the wayes of God but desired to know the wayes of God and for ought I know might have some kinde of delight in the knowledge of his wayes 3. As a Nation that did Righteousness and forsook not the Ordinances of their God That is if you looked upon them they would seem to bee as holy a people as any I have in the World There is none who would judge otherwise of them by any outward appearance but that they were as holy as sincere as any in the World Though they were not a Nation that did Righteousness yet they appeared to bee so They were as a Nation that did Righteousness not only as a Nation who heard who knew who spake Righteousness but as a Nation that did Righteousness They appeared to the judgement of the World to bee as exact as the choicest Saints which God had in the World 4. They ask of God the Ordinances of Justice They desire and pray that God would inform them in the wayes of Justice how they should bee governed and ruled in the World a people which hath respect to their civil Laws and Government pretending to desire Gods Warrant Gods Direction Gods Rule in all things As if they would do nothing even in their civil Affairs without Gods special Warrant and Direction 5. They take delight in approaching to God Than which how can wee have an higher expression What do they approach to God and daily approach to God as you see in the beginning And do they delight in approaching to God do they delight in hearing do they delight in praying do they delight in approaching to God in his Ordinances Here was a stupendious height What can wee say more how can wee go any higher Here wee may stand and
when the soul is compassed with thick darkness sincerity will open a Casement and thereby let light into the soul Psal 112.4 Unto the upright there ariseth light in darkness in the darkest whereas Hypocrisy is like painted windows keeps out light Sincerity will be like windows of Glass transparent let in light 6 Motive 6 Sincerity doth fence the heart against apostacy Partial and Total Wee will now come to the means to get a sincere heart Cure Hypocrisy Which is in which I shall indeavour to apply my self to the cure of an hypocrite But before I come to lay down the means of cure I must tell you this 1 It is a difficult cure 2 A painful cure 1 A difficult cure 1 Hard to cure It is one of the hardest cures are wrought upon the souls of men A cure seldome wrought Wee have heard of a bloody and Idolatrous Manasses an unclean Mary an oppressing Publican a persecuting Paul and many other fearful and great open and notorious sinners wrought upon brought to life But where have we read of the return of a Judas of a Simon Magus where do wee read of one example of such as have been grosse hypocrites who have afterward been savingly wrought upon I confesse it is all one with God to do the one as the other it is as easy with him to change the heart of an hypocrite as any other for infinite power and grace knows no difference but it is a thing not so usually done And though as easy in respect of God yet more difficult quoad nos And so I would have you understand me that the difficulty is in respect of us 1 It is hard to convince such a man that hee needs a cure 1 Hard to Convince you see it in Rev. 3. vers 16 17. God tells them they were luke-warm neither hot nor cold there was their distemper and yet you see what thoughts they had of themselves in the 17. vers Thou sayest thou art rich and increased in goods and hast need of nothing and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked So you see it is hard to convince such a man Another man is easily convinced the very lives of them who are holy are convictions to his Conscience and if the word be held out he is ready to fall down as not able to stand up under the light and evidence of it In such men wee have a friend within them even their own natural consciences are on our side and ready to take part with us against themselves and fly in their own faces telling them such and such things ought not to bee done But now in the other neither the examples of holy men nor precepts of the word do so farre convince them for in outward appearance they walk as blamelesly as the best Nay and natural Conscience is also for them and being satisfied with some general performances of duty is ready to take part with them and to withstand any conviction that can bee alledged You see this in the Scribes and Pharisees they walked blamelesly in the general to the eyes of the world as you hearby his confession in opposition to the Publican and they fasted and prayed and did much and by that the mouth of conscience was stopped the quarrels of conscience were answered and you finde how hard it was for Christ himself to convince them They were so far from being convinced by his example that they thought themselves more strict than hee he did but they would not accompany themselves with sinners and therefore they gave ouâ—the was a wine bibber a glutton a friend of Publicans and for his doctrin this was so farre from convincing them that they thought their lives more strict than his precepts they were followers of the Law exact and rigid in legal observances and thought his doctrin too licentious too full of liberty for them So that is the first it is hard to convince them Hard to humble them 2 It is hard to humble them Humiliation follows conviction if hard to convince hard to humble Do wee denounce threatnings against sinners alas they are none of them these threatnings do not concern them but others for their parts they walk unblameably in the world It is not the mercyes nor the judgements the promises nor the threatnings the word nor the works of God which humble them In others there may be some natural tenderness some remorse of spirit when they hear of Gods judgements against sin But for this man it is not all the terrors of the Lord not all the humbling breaking discoverys of sin or judgement which fasten upon him to humble him No mans heart so hard as the Hypocrites hee hath not only a natural hardnesse but a contracted hardnesse nay a fortified and strengthened hardnesse his heart is fortified against all reproof against all the denunciations of wrath and judgement You have a taste of it in the Scribes and Pharisees You know they were Hypocrites hee who knew their hearts better than they knew their own tells them so And it was not all the miracles hee did in his life nor all the wonders which hee shewed at his death which could break and humble their hard hearts you see the Sun was darkned the earth quakes and trembles the vail of the Temple was rent the graves open the rocks cleave asunder yet all this doth not move their hard hearts Hard to reclaim them 3 It is hard to reclaim them for 1 The Devil hath got greater power in them than in others 2 The Forts of Sinne and Satan are more strengthned in them 3 The means of reclaiming lesse efficacious Hee is able to sit out Sermons and duties without any manner of working upon his spirit at all That which moves others moves not him which works upon the hearts of others doth leave his heart unwrought upon He is a man as I told you prayer-proof Sermon-proof and Ordinance-proof no Mercy no judgement no promise no threatning no word no works no prayer no Sacraments no physick no salve no counsell no advice no light of nature no light of example no private help no publick exhortation prevails with his heart hee 's a man in the fore-lorn hope his condition neer desperate Custome in the use of things doth take away the power of working You see in your bodies a little thing works upon the humors when you are not used to it whereas if accustomed to it a much greater will not stir the humors I have read that Mithridates by accustoming himself to eat Poyson at last durst venture upon poyson as meat nothing did hurt him The customable use of things takes away the power of working So it is here the custome of Ordinances in a formal way doth take away the power of working by them You see it in the Sacrament may bee when you came first to the Sacrament then Conscience had some natural tendernesse in
suffered to lye upon thy spirit in serious consideration would e'ne half work the cure it would cure all gross Hypocrisy strike down all by-ends and base ends which thy spirit aims at in the doing of holy duties and vvould do much in the cure of close Hypocrites in the mending of false Principles an honest heart vvould not bee false to God though God should not see him hee loves God hee is the friend of God and you knovv a friend vvill bee true to his friend as vvell absent from him as present vvith him vvhen hee sees him not as vvell as vvhen his eyes are on him But I am not novv to deal vvith a true sincere heart I am laying dovvn means for the cure of a false heart and a great one this is Think and beleeve there is a God and this God an all-seeing God vvho knovvs thy heart and spirit And as hee is all eye to see so hee is all hand to punish thee if thy heart bee not sound vvith him 3. Means 3. Means of cure is Thou must bee nevv made the vvay to mend thee is to nevv make thee thou must bee all undone again taken in peeces and made up again before ever thou canst be better Some peecing and patching up vvill not serve the turn but thou must have a nevv making before thou bee better There is no mending the stream till there bee an healing of the fountain The fountain and spring within thee is infected and corrupted the heart is unsound and what can bee expected from an unclean heart but unclean acts from an unsound spirit but unsound services and therefore this must bee made new before ever you bee cured Thou must have a new Judgement for thou seest by a false light Thou must have a new will for this is corrupt Thou must have a new heart for this is desperately wicked I tell thee there is no mending thee but by new making thee You may go and patch up your selves but it is but like the putting of a new peece of cloth into an old garment it breaks out again and the rent will bee made worse 4. Means 4. Is Prayer which is instar omnium Oh! desire God with David to make thy heart sound in his Statutes sound in Prayer sound in hearing sound in obedience That all thou doest may arise from right Principles have a right rise go by a right rule and bee directed to a right end Pray that God would give thee sound Principles and sound purposes That that little measure of Grace hee implanteth in thee may bee accompanied with abundance of sincerity and truth of heart And having gotten a sincere heart let it bee your care to fence and guard your heart against Hypocrisy I will give you but one preservative which is this 1. Before you go upon any duty clear the sincerity of your hearts make your end as high as may bee Set out aright loose off well begin in God in Gods strength in Gods grace in Gods assistance A good beginning will make as good a close 2. When thou art upon the duty then look to thy heart suffer no base no by-ends to steal in to poison all thou doest Keep thine eye stedfast upon God in the doing of the duty Do the duty as if there were no men no hopes no fears no rewards in the World as if none but God and thou were in the World 3. Afterwards when the duty is done if there hath been any thing if God have quickened inlarged inflamed humbled thy heart give God all the glory Beware least it bee with thee as it was with Paul and his company that when a fire is kindled a viper come out of the heat Hath God kindled a fire in thy heart warmed inflamed thy spirit Oh! beware that a viper come not out of the heat a viper of pride of vain glory Know this they that seek Gods glory in the work will give God the glory when the work is done If then there have been any good let God inherit all the glory but if any evil take it to thy self for it came from thee and let it bee thy work to lament it to bee humbled for it And now this Rule will bee of special use There are four uses 1. This will fence thy heart guard and strengthen thy heart against Hypocrisy this will keep out Hypocrisy here is no place of entrance for it 2. It will keep down Hypocrisy for Hypocrisy gets no ground so long as it is seen and mourned for 3. This clears the heart in the main that thou art no Hypocrite though there may bee Hypocrisy in thee yet being seen fought against mourned for resisted it reigns not it shall not denominate thee an Hypocrite 4. It will clear thee of the sin of Hypocrisy God will never charge thee for that which thou chargest thy self withall hee will not impute that to thee which thou imputest to thy self That which is thy misery God will never impute to thee as sin Hypocrisy seen mourned for sighed under resisted fought and prayed against shall never bee a condemning Hypocrisy And so much shall now serve for the first branch of the exhortation with the motives to get sincerity with the remedies to cure Hypocrisy and preservatives against it Second Branch of the Exhortation is Having gotten Clear sincerity labour to clear this to your own souls that your hearts are sincere It is a thing possible to bee cleared a man may come to evidence to himself the sincerity of his own graces and gracious performances And it is a thing necessary to bee known in respect of your peace of your comfort So necessary that you can neither live with comfort nor dye with comfort unless you bee able in some measure to clear the sincerity of your hearts the integrity of your spirits And being a thing so necessary I will here lay down some Rules and directions for the better inabling of you to this present duty 1. Rule 1. Make a through and sound search deceits lye low Hypocrisy is spun of a fine thread and is not discerned without diligent search A false evidence is the fruit of a superficial search Though gross Hypocrisy is seen without search yet close Hypocrisy must bee narrowly searcht into otherwise you shall not bee able to discover it Here you must not only read over your selves in your actions but in your affections not only in your practises but also in your Principles Hypocrisy lyes low it is a root sin The heart of man is deceitful above measure saith the Lord who knows it Jer. 17.9 like a crested picture on the one side an Angel on the other a Devil And I must tell you that sin lyes at the bottome of a deceitful heart and therefore it will ask some pains to discover it It was a fair speech of the Children of Israel Deut. 5.29 Whatever the Lord shall say unto us wee will do And it may bee they meant
been so great but it was to part with his Isaac a Child of many prayers and of many promises and in whom his heart delighted 6. And again if hee had been to part with him in the ordinary way of nature by natural death the tryal not so great but hee was to part with him in a Sacrifice wherein hee was to bee mangled and cut in peeces 7. But yet had another been the executioner of his child it had been some mitigation But Abraham himself must bee his executioner hee must do this sad act And not to do it among his friends who perhaps might have stept in and comforted him in this tryal but hee was to go three dayes journey to an unknown place and there hee was to take away the life of him hee loved so dearly Yet herein Abraham obeyed Gods command and therin shewed his sincerity When the Precept of tryal might seem to contradict the Precept of Obedience when his dutiful Obedience to the one might seem to speak his undutifulness to the other yet herein hee declared his sincerity Whereupon God tells him now I know thou loves mee when now thou hast made it known now thou hast discovered thy sincerity seeing thou hast not with-held thy only son Gen. 22.12 here was sincerity now I know thou fearest God The like I might instance in Job in David in Mordecai they had their discovering times times of tryal So that God doth still single out some special times wherein hee discovers the sincerity of his own people And if you would bee ever able to clear your sincerities read the carriage of your hearts at these special times One quarter of an hour may give a man surer evidence of his sincerity or hypocrisy than all the time of his life besides There are five special times wherein you may have the advantage Read your spirits in times of if you bee careful to read your own spirits to clear the sincerity of your hearts 1. In times of darkness and temptation 1. Darkness Read the actings and goings out of your spirits at such times an unsound spirit will now fall from God desist in his duty strike sail But the sound spirit hee will hold closer to God Cujus faciem timer ejus faciem invocaâ— and follow him when hee seems to forsake him Hee will go on to love him although hee bee not able to clear whether ever hee shall bee beloved of him Hee will repent of sin though hee bee not able to evidence whether ever God will pardon sin Hee will go on to obey and serve God though hee bee not able to determine whether ever God will reward his obedience or no. Such like dispositions do now break forth in a sincere heart in the times of greatest darkness which in times of clearer manifestation have no occasion to shew themselves And these are the most undoubtedst evidences of your sincerity which perhaps you shall ever meet withall in your lives As wicked men do discover their greatest corruptions in their highest advancements so Gods people do discover and exert and put forth the highest acts of grace in their lowest and meanest conditions As the Sun shews greatest glory when it is lowest when setting So c. As Christ set out the greatest acts of divinity in his lowest abasements then hee sealed up the beams of the Sun rent rocks graves open the earth trembles c. So the Saints c. This is that the Psalmist saith unto the upright there ariseth light in darkness Where the heart is unsound it is dark in the greatest light so on the contrary there is light in the greatest darkness Hypocrisy is like painted windows which let in no light sincerity is like windows of Glass Times of manifestation 2. See how your hearts and spirits work towards God and towards sin in times of light and clearer manifestations of God Where the heart is unsound comfort doth him no good hee will do something in a storm then perhaps pray c. but hee will do nothing in a calm Comforts make him more careless more loose more remiss in his Christian way Where on the contrary hee who hath a sound spirit as hee is carried strongly towards God when hee with-holds his manifestations so if God do but let in a beam of his Countenance into his soul hee rejoyceth more in it than in a World Nay and these comforts do quicken him to further duty hee cannot lye at anchor but hee must launch out into the deep and lay out himself his parts his abilities c. I have sometimes told you that quickness and comfort may bee separated a man may have comfort without quickness hee may have joy without life But quickening was never separated from comfort A man cannot have joy but there will bee life c. Affections are like tinder and Comfort like sparks not a spark of comfort can fall upon the heart but the whole soul is set a fire and carried strongly on after God Comforts from God ever lead the soul to communion with God Of outward distress 3. See how your spirits do work towards God in times of outward distress and calamities upon you 1 An unsound spirit hee is for the most part proud and impatient under Gods hand and ready to think God doth him wrong in afflicting him But where the spirit is sincere hee is humble hee is patient hee layes his mouth in the dust kisseth the rod and accepteth of the punishment of his iniquity as you see the phrase Levit. 26.41 Example in Aaron 2. Again an unsound spirit hee roars under the lashes Flagella dolent quare flagellantur non dolent cryes under the affliction never complains of the sin As you see Jer. 30.15 Why cryest thou c. But where the heart is sincere no evil troubles him so much as the evil of sin You see it in David when plagued 3. Again an unsound spirit hee desires to have the stroke removed not to have his heart amended The other desires rather the amending of his heart than the removal of the stroke Saith Bernard I had rather God should better my heart than remove his hand rather continue my strokes Malim erudiri quam â—ruâ— than my sins You see this in Job when Gods hand was on him Job 34.32 That which I see not teach thou mee and if I have done iniquity I will do it no more as if hee had said Lord I know not the particular cause of this distress what it is thou aims at what I see not teach thou c. 4. A fourth time Of Prosperity wherein to read your hearts is in times of prosperity An unsound spirit grows worse by mercy mercy deadens sâ—â—â—â—ens his heart Isa 26.10 Let favour bee shewed c. Hazael professed much when hee was low but no sooner advanceâ— but mark then how hee acted against God his Church and people indeavouring to make his raising their ruine So
Saul Jehu Where now on the contrary where the heart is sound all their raisings raise God God is advanced in all their advancements And the higher God sets up them the higher will they indeavour to raise and set up God his glory his cause his people Mâ—â—cies on an enemy strengthen him to sin but on a friend strengthen to service hee is but a man of greater ability to serve God Many think if they were but so rich so great Oh how would they advance God and his cause how make all to serve him but thy heart may deceive thee if thy heart bee not sound the higher God raiseth thee the lower thou wilt lay him the more good God doth for thee the more evil thou wilt do to him It is a special time to read your spirits to see to your sincerity in time of prosperity There is no tryal in afflictions alone they have something in them may make men humble meek c. but look to them in times of prosperity of a Church Religion cause of God Many men have stood firm in the times of affliction of a Church which stagger fall back in times of redemption of a Church That is the saddest It is no strange thing for men to stagger to fall in the times of a declining in the Church for fear c. But that is a corrupt heart indeed corrupt with a witness that falls away in prosperity That is the fourth time 5. See how your spirits work in time of difficulty of danger Of Danger An unsound heart thinks how hee may avoid the danger a sincere spirit how hee may avoid the sin Heb. 12.4 striving against sin not against danger trouble but against sin to keep their consciences pure and undefiled An unsound spirit thinks how hee may save his carkass a sound Christian how hee may keep his conscience As Epaminondas who resolved to keep his buckler or dye for it being wounded to death Cryes out num salvus clypeus meus intimating hee was not hurt if his buckler were safe What hee of his buckler a sincere heart cryes out of his conscience num salva conscientia An unsound spirit hee sees and judgeth his safety sometimes to lye in the neglect of duty and therefore in times of danger hee will bank and decline his duty for fear of man But a sound spirit hee sees his safety to lye in the doing of his duty and his danger in the neglect of it An unsound spirit will rather choose sin than affliction Job 36.21 But where the spirit is sincere he will rather chuse the greatest evil Vultis in vincula injure vultis in mortem voluptas est mihi than the least sin as Daniel and the three children Ambrose saith will you cast me into prison will you take away my life all this is desirable rather than sin And when Eudoxia the Empresse threatned Chrysostome with banishment go tell her saith he I fear nothing in the world but sin And the reason is Nil nisi peccatum timeo because they look on sin as the grand and universal evill the womb of evill and all other evils but the births of sin It hath been the founder of hell for before sin no hell t was that which laid the corner stone in that dark vault nay it is that which hath filled hell with those treasures of wrath and still addes to it and increaseth the fewel Rom. 2.5 Nay they look not only upon sin as â—n evil universal but as universally evil no good in sin And therefore when the Apostle would speak the worst of Sin hee could find no name worse than in its own to set it out by sinfull siâ— as you see Rom. 7.13 These may bee the special times wherein you may read your own spirits and bee able to gather evidences of your sincerity 3. Branch of Exhortation You that have cleared your sincerity do you labour to maintain the evidences of it c. 4. Branch of Exhortation To exhort them whose hearts are sincere that they would declare the sincerity of their hearts on all occasions I have told you that God hath special times for the tryal and discovery of the sincerity of his own people And it should be our wisdomes to take notice of those times and seasons and our care at those times to declare our sincerity Balaam had once a time to declare his sincerity when hee was hired with wealth and honor to curse the People of God but not approving himself at that time hee was branded for an hypocrite for ever Saul had once a time to discover his sincerity when hee was commanded to go and slay all but missing that time of declaring sincerity hee is branded c. The young man had a time too when Christ propounded to him to part with all and follow him but missing that not taking time to declare sincerity c. Solomon had a time too but he was too neglectfull and what follows hee is questioned whether ever saved or no he is pictured between heaven and hell as if men knew not where to fix him These had all special times afforded to them of declaring their sincerity and like vile wretches they make them times of discovering Hypocrisy And there is not a man of you but God doth afford you some or special other occasions in your lives of declaring the sincerity of your hearts which if God give wisdome to discern of and a heart to close with you will bee happy but if not you will smart for it God may suffer you to lye and roar upon your death-bed for want of an evidence of sincerity because you are neglective of declaring your Sincerity when God affords you an occasion of it Oh what sad thoughts will these bee when thou shalt look upon thy life and think with thy self Such a time I was in such a place in such an office had such an opportunity to shew my self for God to advance his glory to do good to his Church his people his cause and yet vile wretch I neglected it I bawked it I was unserviceable or I used my power my strength my authority as an Engine against God against his people against his cause this will be trouble with a witness Well then if you would prevent this let every one in their several places and stations declare the Sincerity of their hearts Make your places your power your parts your riches your friends serviceable to God to his Church to his Cause As Christ made all his Ascensions for the good of his Church so do you Think it not much to adventure and hazard any thing for the glory of God the good of the Church Pray for the Church act for the Church do for God suffer for God run this brave adventure to hazard all for the good of the Church of God Hee who raiseth up Gods glory though by the ruines of himself hee who advanceth Gods cause though himself lye low for it shall
hee was for theirs 3 A third incouragement that wee have to these duties is from the consideration of Gods love to his Church and many precious ingagements to them in promises The Church is dear to him wee are his Spouse his Members such as hee dyed for c. Wee are his 1. By Choice 2. By Purchase 3. By Gift 4. By Covenant And being his hee will do great things for us also Gods love to his Church is that into which wee may resolve all the mercies hee doth for his Church and is the only ground of our Faith and hope to expect mercies from him It is the Sea the spring Well then having so strong incouragements to these duties I would now have spent a little time to have pressed these duties on you but I forbear 9 Information 9. Information This may inform us what is the reason that God suffers wicked men to conceive and to hatch mischief against the Church Nay and to bring up their designes to ripeness that they are ready for execution why God doth not disturb them all their way Here is the Reason Because hee can do wonders Though hee let them go on yet they can never get the advantage of God nor can they make it past Gods help It is but shewing a wonder at last and all is dasht Men when they see an adversary whom they can easily Master when they please they will let them go on counsel advise lay their heads and power together and seem to take no notice of them They know the further they let them go the fuller and compleater will bee their overthrow at last So doth God here Hee suffers wicked men to go on but is because hee knoweth hee can overtake them though they think they have got the start before they come to the goal or get the prize When men see there would bee some hazard at last when they had brought their design to ripeness or did fear that the adversary would bee too strong for them then they will labour to hinder the beginnings and gatherings they will indeavour to crush the birth of their counsels or they will set themselves against their power as soon as they can And this is the wisest way among men But now God hee can let them go on hee can let them bring their designes to ripenesse they can never swell so big as to bee too great for his power to conquer them can never make their design so strong as to non-plus his wisdome and skill to help And therefore hee will let them go on because hee can dash them in their Man-hood as well as in their infancy in their strength as well as in their weaknesse It is but shewing a wonder and all is done And this was the Reason why God suffered the five Kings of Canaan to lay all their strength together that they might bee able to do that joyntly which they were never able to do singly Yet it is said The Lord hardened their hearts to joyn together to come against Israel Though they thought by this means to overthrow Israel yet Gods end was to make the quicker dispatch the fuller overthrow of them And therefore hee let Pharaoh also to go on did not stop him in his preparations nor hinder him in his setting forth but let him follow them to the utmost God knew hee could have him at the last hee could shew a wonder and break all in peeces The like of Haman God could if hee would have dasht his bloody counsel in the beginning hee could have set the King against it But hee lets him go on and bring his design to ripenesse and then declares a wonder and ruines him and his counsel too And this is the reason why God suffers wicked men to go on gather themselves together bring their designs to the utmost Because hee can break them in the end as well as in the beginning It is but doing a wonder at last which is familiar with God and all is broken in peeces And therefore Melancthon saith Non est judicandum de operibus dei ante quartum actum 2. Use Let it bee an Use of cautional Advise to wicked men 2 Use is for Caution to the wicked Let them beware of designing or attempting any thing against the Church and People of God seeing they have such a one on their side as can and will do Wonders for the relieving of them It was a truth which Zerish Hamans wife told him Esther 6.17 If Mordecai bee of the seed of the Jews before whom thou hast begun to fall thou shalt not prevail against him but shalt surely fall before him It seems it was a known truth of those dayes even among Heathens that there should bee no power nor counsel against the Church of God God would do wonders for them Gods people are dear to God they are all the riches hee hath in the World Hee calls them so His Inheritance his Portion his Jewels his Treasure Hee hath a great deal of lumber in the world besides but these are his Jewels only and it cost him dear to make them Jewels It was no lesser than the price of his own blood As the Apostle saith You were not redeemed with silver and gold but with the precious blood of Christ 1 Pet. 1.19 Gods people are all the Income Christ had for his blood and sufferings all that Christ desired all that God promised and all he enjoys As you see Isa 53.11 12. Hee shall see of the travel of his Soul and shall be satisfied c. And do you think then that God will not preserve his People yes certainly and will not stand to do wonders to preserve them Assure your selves God will never desert his cause his Church his People when things are brought up to their ripenesse that God is as it were drawn out to discover to the world in what cause hee will stand for what persons hee will fight Then he will declare it to the comfort of his Saints and to the cost of all those who are enemies to the Church of God God hath promised That hee will never leave us nor forsake us Hee hath said Hee will bee with us as hee was with Joseph in Prison And that not onely as a Spectator but as an Actor not as one to look on and take notice onely but as one to relieve and help us His power shall bee with us his Wisdome with us c. And as hee is with his Church so is hee against the Enemies of it His Power is against them before whom All the Nations of the Earth are but as the drop of a bucket And his wisdome against them his justice and truth against them And Woe bee to them whom God is against Thou maiest stand out against the power of men but not of God if he once prove thine enemy Hee hath a rod of Iron a Scepter of power an arm of strength to crush in peeces all his adversaries And
is still to seek in every difficulty and gone in every new strait whereas hee who laies up Experiences and can make use of them feed upon them hee shall be inabled thereby to depend upon God in any strait and difficulty whatsoever Thus you see David God delivered me out of the Paw of the Lyon and out of the paw of the Bear and hee will deliver mee out of the hand of this Philistim David feeds on the Lyon And because he hath been my helper therefore under the shadow of his wings will I rejoyce Now in the passing of this duty of dependence upon you I find two things to bee great enemies to it which be you aware of 1. Beware of Obliterating the Notions of God 2. Beware of burying the remembrance of his works 1. Beware of Obliterating the Notions of God Had Moses seen God and had the same Notions and apprehensions of God at the Rock that he had at the Red sea which was a far greater difficulty then to fetch water out of the rock he could have trusted in God for that as well as for the former But those thoughts and conceptions of God were for the present darkened and over-shadowed with Passion and therefore hee could not trust God then So if David had had the same apprehensions of God when he counterfeited himself Mad for fear of Abimelech the King of Gath or when he was pursued by Saul and burst forth into these words I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul which he had at other times as when he saith Ps 27.1 2 3. The Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear the Lord is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid when the wicked mine enemies and my foes came upon me to eat up my flesh they stumbled and fell Though an host pitched against mee my heart should not bee afraid though war bee raised against mee In this will I be confident Or when hee saith to Saul concerning Goliah God that delivered mee out of the Paw of the Lyon c. hee will deliver mee from this uncircumcised Philistim Or when hee saith God is our hope and strength a help in trouble ready to bee found therefore will not wee fear though the Earth bee moved though the mountains bee hurled into the depth of the Sea Hee would not have so fainted in these like or lesse exigences So had Abraham had the same apprehensions of God when hee feigned his wife to bee his Sister which hee had when God made him the Promise of a Sonne or when hee went to sacrifice his Son hee could have trusted and depended on God in this câ—se as well as in the former this difficulty being far short of the other So did Gods people see God at all times as they do at some times they would then be able to depend on God and trust in him in any cases though never so difficult but if they lose the apprehensions and conceptions of God and suffer Passion and fear to raise up a cloud to overshadow and darken their understandings they shall never bee able to beleeve and depend upon God in any difficulty and therefore first hold up the Notions of God of his power wisdom mercy and the like 2 Beware of burying the remembrance of his former works Psal 78.6 7. They were commanded to tell the wondrous works of God to their children that the generations to come might set their hope in God and not forget the works of God Intimating that the best way to keep up their hope and dependance on God was to hold up the remembrance of what hee had done Hee that forgets the one will not be able to do the other And therefore you see it set down as a reason of the Disciples distrust Their hearts were hardned They forgat the miracles of the Loaves Mark 6.52 Intimating that it they had remembred that they had not now been to seek in this present difficulty And indeed the want of the remembrance of former mercies doth cause us to distrust and hinders us in our dependence on God for present and future straits whereas on the contrary holding up the remembrance of former will inable us to hold out in present and future distresses You cannot think his arm is shortned you cannot think God cannot nor can you think God will not that he hath helped before and will help no more for mercy is tyed to the Church by covenant Wicked men may injoy a mercy to day but they can have no assurance to have another to morrow because mercy is not tied to them by Promise or by Covenant But now mercy is tyed to the Church by Covenant by Promise Hee hath tyed his mercy to us by his Truth Psal 25. All his ways are mercy and truth not only mercy but truth All God doth is but Performance of Promises wee hold his mercy by Tenor of truth and may challenge mercy by vertue of his truth And therefore David could say Psal 23.6 surely mercy and goodness shall follow mee all the days of my life Wicked men cannot but the Saints may say Mercy shall follow mee all the days of my life Not in this or that particular but in every passage of Providence as the water followed the children of Israel the rock followed them 1 Cor. 10.4 from one station to another as long as they wandred in that dry and thirsty wilderness 5. Use Doth God do wonders for his Church Then it is good being on the Churches side They have a God with them that can do wonders for them what though our enemys have skill power strength and multitude yet we have a God who is stronger than the strongest wiser then the wisest who can over-power and overplot our enemys who alone can do wonders for us As Plutarch said of the Scythians that though they had no musick nor vines yet they had Gods among them So whatever is wanting to a people if they have God with them there is a plentifull supply of all You may set God against all and hee can weigh down all advantages When Charls the Fift Emperor of Germany sent his Herald with challenge again Francis the First King of France Hee commanded the Herald to proclaim him with all his Titles Styling him Emperor of Germany King of Castile King of Aragon of Naples and of Scicile Francis commanded his Herald to proclaim as often King of France as the other had titles of honor by all his Countries Implying that France alone was more worth than all the Countrys the other had So when our adversaries do glory in their strength in their skill in their power and multitudes let us oppose God against them whom they oppose and there is enough to weigh down what ever advantage the arm of flesh can have against us we have a God with us whiles wee are with him with his cause with his truth And hee can do wonders for us 6. Use Doth
thus taken with it and given you the grounds and reasons of it I will now descend to application If so bee that the Heart of Jesus Christ be taken with his Church and People Then from hence wee may deduce these Consectaries 1. Consectary 1. This then may bee a ground for us to expect and hence our Faith may bee strengthened in the expectation that Christ will yet do more for his Church and People than yet hee hath done Indeed hee hath done much for our Nation for our English Sion Hee might have ruined us for a Generation of such as provoked him Wee have been a Provocation of his Anger to this day Hee might have suffered our carkasses to have fallen in the Wilderness and kept our posterity to have entered into Canaan Wee have looked toward Egypt toward Babylon Hee might have laid the foundation of purer times in our bloud raised up a purer Church upon the ruines of us But God hath seemed to over-look our great unworthiness And to the terror of our enemies and even to the astonishment and wonder of us all hath begun set forth and gone forward in a way of mercy such wayes as have been untrodden in former times And that which God hath given us in hand is an earnest of what wee have in hope that wee have in possession bids us but look to what wee have in promise And expect the performance of it because God loves the Church the Heart of Christ is taken with the Church Hee loves his Church and therefore hee will purifie his Church aad take away her dross and tinne Hee loves his Church and therefore will hee reform his Church Hee loves his Church and therefore will hee take away whatsoever doth offend all soul-burthens all conscience-burthens which oppress the spirits of his own People 1. The Church is his Fold and hee will destroy the Wolves which have gotten in to devoure the sheep 2. The Church is his Field and hee will weed out the Tares and binde them in bundles to burn them 3. The Church is his House and hee will sweep it 4. It is his Flore and hee will fanne and blow away the chaff That love which made him ingage himself to his Church in precious promises will not suffer him to rest till hee hath made good those promises to it That love which moved him to begin will not suffer him to rest till hee hath made an end You see in Ezek. 37.27 the whole Chapter is but an addition of Mercy to Mercy When God begins to go forth towards a people in a way of mercy hee knows no stop hee can make no end I will do this and also this as you see in that Chapter God adds Mercy to Mercy And the reason is because Free-love begins and that knows no end The proceedings of Gods Mercy towards his Church and People do arise from himself his own Free-Grace His Justice is from us but his Mercy is from himself If when hee threatned to punish Israel hee saith hee will adde Judgement to Judgement This and this also will I do Amos 4.12 How much more then when hee promiseth to shew Mercy to Israel will hee adde Mercy to Mercy God hath Also's of Mercy as well as of Judgement See in Ezek. 37.27 My Tabernacle also shall bee c. Well then Is the Heart of Christ taken with his Church and People Then will wee with confidence beleeve and with patience wait and expect that Christ will yet do more for his Church and People than ever hee hath done because hee loves them Let us but joyn Supplication with Expectation Praying with Waiting and wee shall see it to the joy of our hearts I never read that ever God bestowed any great Mercy and deliverance upon his Church and People but he first stirred up the hearts of his people mightily to pray unto him And never did God mightily stir up the hearts of his People to seek him but hee wrought some great Mercy and deliverance for them God loves to make his People as thankful as they were prayerful As happy Injoyers as they were humble Seekers When Trouble sends us to Prayer then Deliverance shall send us to Praises Let us then joyn our Supplications to our Expectations Times of great Expectations should bee times of Great Supplications whether they bee 1. Expectations of Hope the Object whereof is Good 2. Or Expectations of Fear the Object whereof is Evil. 3. Or Mixed Expectations between Hope and Fear as our times are they are times of Expectation and therefore they ought to bee times of Supplication Wee are now big with Expectation let us now bee mighty in Supplication Great Stones are not to bee turned over without great strength Great Mercies are not to bee gotten without great strivings The Man-child of Deliverance is not to bee brought forth without pangs Let us then bee mighty in Prayer That will make all our present throws and pangs subservient to deliverance And then let us stand still and wait 1. Wait for performance of Promises 2. Wait for performance of Prayers There are many thousand Prayers registred in Gods-book and many thousand Tears put up in Gods-bottle Let us wait when all these shall come down upon our heads in a warm shower of Mercy Wait when the great revenew of Prayers will come in The longer the stay the greater will bee the harvest Wee say great Engines move slowly Magnarum rerum tarda molimina Smal things they are quickly wheeled about but great Mercies they are long in conception long in the womb and long in the birth This is all our comfort God will not bring to the birth and afterward not bring forth nor will hee bring forth and afterward shut the womb again as hee saith Isa 66.9 Hee is Alpha and Omega the Beginner and the Finisher where hee laies the foundation there hee will lay the roof upon it 2. Consectary If the Heart of Christ bee once taken with his Church and People Then hee will never take his heart off from them His heart once taken shall never bee taken off Men may love to day and hate to morrow but God cannot whom hee loves once hee loves to the end even to all eternity As there was nothing in us that was the ground of his planting his love upon us so there is nothing that shall bee able to over-turn the thoughts of his love when once they are fixed on us Indeed our behaviour may bee such as may cause God to bee angry with us and correct us sharply yea and make us to know wee had better never to have tryed conclusions with him But there is nothing shall cause him to hate us and cast us off Hee may correct his Spouse but hee will not divorce her The Israelites were so hard-hearted that for every trivial fact they would put away their Wives But the Lord hates putting away Mal. 2.16 If sin fore-seen were not able to hinder him from planting