THE SOULES IMPLANTATION INTO THE NATURALL OLIVE By T.H. Carefully corrected and much enlarged with a Table of the Contents prefixed JAMES 1.21 Receive with meeknesse the ingraffed Word which is able to save your soules LONDON Printed by R. Young and are to be sold by Fulke Clifton on New-Fish-street-hill 1640. THE CONTENTS TWo wayes God prepareth the heart for Christ Pag. 1 It is also prepared by contrition and humiliation 2 Doct. None but a broken heart is an house for Christ 3 Two lets of faith removed by brokennesse of heart 6 By faith the soule goeth out to another for all-sufficiencie 11 Use 1. Reproofe to them that would have comfort without brokennesse of heart 15. and them that dislike broken-heartednesse in others 18 Use 2 To get comfort begin in sorrow 22 Use 3 Comfort to the broken-hearted in two respects 25 Doct. The heart must first be prepared for Christ 31 Preparation for Christ standeth in three things 35 Use 1. Those reproved who thinke to have mercie and heaven upon a sudden 40 Use 2 A miserable estate to live in the old sinnes 47 Use 3 Prepare for Christ or thinke not to enjoy him 55 Motives to prepare for Christ 56 Doct. The Ministery a speciall meanes to prepare us for Christ 68 A powerfull ministery consisteth in three things 71 How a powerfull Ministery workes upon the heart to prepare it for Christ 79 Affliction prepares the heart for the Word the Word for God 88 Use 1. Much fault in Ministers that their peoples hearts are not fitted for Christ 84 Use 2 Fearfull is their estate whom a powerfull Ministerie workes not upon 88 Use 3 Let the Word be powerfull to prepare thy heart for Christ 90 Two things keep from Christ 95 What ingraffing into Christ is 99 Doct. Christ delayes not to come into an humbled heart 106 Use 1. Great comfort to each humbled soule 114 Use 2 They are of a naughtie spirit who endure not broken spirits 118 Use 3 Chuse the broken-hearted for companions 120 Use 4 Be thankefull for this great respect of Christ to thy poore soule 122 Use 5 They that would have Christ dwell in them must be willing to be humbled 125 Christ neare the soule yet not discerned for foure reasons in us 133. and for three reasons in Christ 147 Doct. Christ takes possession of every humbled soule 157 Three wayes he disposeth the heart to himselfe 168 Use 1. Reproofe of them that keepe Christ out of possession 171 Use 2 Give all to Christ whose it is 176 Doct. Love and joy by the Spirit wrought in a broken heart for embracing mercie as it deserves 180 The reason of Gods order in working these graces 187 Gods promise the ground of our love and how 195 His love to us begets love in us toward him and how 201 Use 1. Nature breeds no love to Christ 206 Saints love not duly because they rely not on the promise 211 Use 2 Comfort to them that love Christ 213. and blessednesse 216 Notes of true love to Christ 217 Use 3 Reproofe of them that love not Christ in truth 231. sorts of them 238 Enmitie against Christ shewed three wayes 240 Glozing neuters described and shamed 243 Hypocrites enemies to Christ foure sorts of them 246 247 c. Discoveries of not loving Christ 250 Hee thas wrangles against truth never loved Christ 2. arg 254 Expression of sorrow for sin limited 258 Continuall sorrow as needfull as continuall beleeving 261 Use 4 Love the Lord Jesus in sinceritie 272. meanes 273 Three hinderances of loving Christ ibid. 274 Three things in Christ to make us love him 282 Three things done by Christ for a sinner though as yet hee want assurance 286 Two meanes to bring our hearts and the promises together 291 Doct. In greatest wants true Christians have cause enough to rejoyce in God 300 Use 1. Reteine comfort in God whatsoever thou wantest 302 Use 2 Reproof to them that grow uncomfortable for crosses 304 Use 3 Make this sure God is the God of my salvation 305 Six meanes to rejoyce in evill times ibid. Doct. The sorrowful seed-time of true Christians in the exercises of humiliation and mortification yeelds them a rich and joyfull harvest 312. 313 Causes of true joy assured by mourning 314 Use 1. Sharpe Preachers make you gainers ibid. 315 Use 2 Enemies helpe the joy of Christians 315 Use 3 Esteeme none by present grievances 316 Use 4 Sow still though in teares ibid. Use 5 Be patient in suffering for God 317 Use 6 Comfort in death our owne or friends 318 Use 7 Be painfull in thy calling ibid. Use 8 Encouragement to repent of sinne and renew our repentance 319 THE BROKEN HEART ESAY 57.15 For thus saith the high and loftie One that inhabiteth eternity whose Name is holy I dwell in the high and holy place that is in heaven which is his throne and I will dwell with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit to revive the heart of the humble and the heart of the contrite ones THere are two maine parts of the preparative worke for Christ First the manner of the worke on Gods part and this discovers it selfe in these two particulars 1. In proposing Christ in the Ministerie of the Gospell as the most beautifull object which the soule can view or affect Psal 2.12 Cant. 5.9 with 6.1 2. That God doth by an holy kind of violence plucke the sinner from sinne to himselfe as in that place Iohn 6.44 No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him The second is on our part a frame and temper of the heart that God workes upon us by this holy kind of violent drawing This discovers it selfe in these two particulars 1 Contrition 2 Humiliation For the handling of these two wee have chosen this place of Scripture And I intend not to trade with every particular in the Verse but so much in it as fitteth my intendment in hand Expos That which I aime at is in the middle of the Verse I dwell with him that is of a broken heart Give me leave to open the words The great God of heaven that inhabiteth eternity in glory for the comfort of every poore broken-hearted sinner Gods two houses saith hee will dwell with him The Lord hath but two standing houses the one is in heaven in glorie the other is every broken heart and every shivered soule How he dwels in the heart Now how doth God dwell in the heart of a poore sinner The Apostle Ephes 3.17 tells us Christ dwells in our hearts by faith and it implies the constant abode of Christ by his Spirit in the soule being received and entertained by faith So that first there must bee a broken heart before there can bee faith or before Christ will dwell in our hearts to our comfort Consider what a kind of heart it must be wherein God will dwell It must bee an humble and a shivered spirit
Though there is malice neere to pursue thee yet there is mercy neere to comfort thee and God will dwell in thee though it may bee thy neighbours will not dwell by thee Psal 51.17 The sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart O God thou wilt not despise There the Prophet David saith that the Lord preferres this Sacrifice before others What though men distast thee if the Lord accept and regard thee What if men refuse and despise thee if the Lord love thee and delight in thee Therefore all you broken-hearted sinners take this word of comfort goe on and goe cheerily and the God of heaven bee with you Though you bee poore in the world and live in a smoakie cottage yet the Lord will dwell with you in that poore cottage and in that poore family of yours and hee will revive that poore heart of yours Where the King is the Court must be prepared for and when the Lord Iesus Christ comes to dwell in the heart of a poore sinner he will comfort him He that sitteth in heaven and hath ten thousand thousand of Angels to minister unto him hath but two Thrones the highest heavens and the lowest heart What a consolation is this to thee Goe your way therefore and cheere up your hearts with this and say I thanke God I have now an humble and broken heart I hope comfort is comming THE PREPARING OF THE HEART FOR TO RECEIVE CHRIST Luke 1.17 To make ready a people prepared for the Lord. BEfore the soule of a man can share in the merits of Christ Iesus and receive benefit thereby and comfort therefrom before it can bee made partaker of those spirituall benefits which God hath promised to bestow upon his owne two things are required first there must be a preparation of the soule to receive and entertaine the Lord Iesus Christ and secondly there must be an implantation of the soule into Christ and then being thus ingrafted into Christ it hath a title to all those good things which he hath purchased for his Elect. For the conclusion of Saint Iohn is peremptory in this kind Iohn 3.36 He that hath the Sonne saith he hath life and he that hath not the Sonne hath not life As if hee should say There is no hope of receiving any good from the stocke unlesse the graft bee implanted into the stocke before the foule be cut off from the rebellion of Adam it cannot be implanted into Christ and unlesse it bee ingrafted into Christ it can have no comfort from him But if we can once get into Christ we shall have the participation of all spiritual things which he hath prepared for his chosen But it is impossible for flesh and bloud thus to enter into Christ and be implanted into him and therefore that wee maybe implanted into him we must be prepared First there must be a preparation of the soule to be in Christ before it can bee made partaker of Christ and his benefits This preparation is the fitting of a sinner for his being in Christ The Lord Christ being to come in person and to take upon him the ministery of the Gospell he sent Iohn the Baptist as his Harbinger to prepare his wayes and therefore he was indued with all gifts this way He had the spirit of thunder hee was indued with the spirit and power of Elias to make the way plaine for the Lord Christ Iesus and in that spirit hee came and preached to ungodly men and taught them repentance he came to levell mountaines and make crookked things straight to turne the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisedome of the just to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. This was Saint Iohns taske to prepare mens hearts for the receiving and entertaining of Christ when he should come The point of Doctrine to bee observed from hence is this Doct. That the soule of a poore sinner must be prepared for Christ The heart must first be prepared for Christ before he can have any heart to entertaine him This is the maine scope of the Text the maine drift of Iohn Baptist his ministery The hearts of men were not fitted for Christ and therefore he was sent before Christ Iesus to make way for him and to make peoples hearts fit to receive Christ that when the Lord Iesus came he might take place in his and worke effectually in the soules of his to their everlasting peace For the proofe of the Doctrine it is that which was prophesied before Mal. 3.1 for this Prophet was the last of the Prophets for Iohn the Baptists was a kind of intermingled ministerie it was neither Propheticall nor Apostolicall properly Marke what Malachy speakes there of him Mal. 3.1 Behold saith he I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me and the Lord whom you seeke shall suddenly come to his Temple It is plaine to bee observed that Iohn the Baptist is there prophesied of The Iewes sought for a Messias and for comfort through Christ now Iohn the Baptist was to make way for Christ and when the way was prepared then the Lord would stay no longer Mal. 3.1 but would suddenly come into his Temple saith the Text that is into the soules of his children that were willing to receive him upon such termes as hee offered himselfe And as this was prophesied of Iohn the Baptist so it was also performed by the ministerie of Iohn Luke 3.4 The voyce of one crying in the wildernesse Prepare yee the way of the Lord make his paths straite That which Malachy foretold of Iohn is done he comes according to the Prophecie and fulfills what God intended hee should doe and what he was sent for to doe Simile Kings when they goe to any place send messengers and harbingers before them to make all things ready for their entertainement when they come Now Christ is a great King Christ is at King spiritually not temporally to be considered but he is a spirituall King and rules in the hearts of all those that belong to his election of grace and for his enemies if they will not bee ruled by his golden rod with his iron rod hee will breake them in pieces Now as with great Kings there must bee a preparation that all things may bee ready to receive them so it must be with our Saviour Christ he never commeth into the soule of any unawares or on the sudden but he sends his messengers before him his Ministers to prepare them for the receiving of him to humble mens soules to make mountaines low to make crooked things straite to pull downe every thing that exalts it selfe against God and when the heart is thus fitted and prepared then Christ sends his Spirit to take possession of it and rule in it and be a direction of it in the way of life and happinesse And the preparation for him is spirituall That this preparation is spiritually to
his distempers and wil not looke to a Saviour the Son of righteousnesse is come and shines and hee perceiues it not And as Phillip said Iohn 14.8 Shew us the Father and it sufficeth Then Iesus saith unto him have I beene so long a-time with you and yet hast thou not knowne me he that hath seene me hath seene the Father he desireth to see the Father and yet when hee seeth Christ he seeth the Father So it is with this blessed frame of soule for when a poore soule mourns under the burthen of sin and desires that the word of God may prevaile with it and take all away then he desireth to see Christ this is the Spirit of Christ humbling and breaking and waking it is the Spirit of Christ that makes you willing to part with sinne Hath Christ beene so long with you and do you not know him The third is because we judge Christs presence by our owne sense and by some extraordinary sweetnesse that the soule imagins should be with him if Christ were there This is the nature of every poore creature he sets up a kind of imagination in his owne head and thinkes if Christ were come once there would bee extraordinary sweetnesse and joy Now setting up this imagination in his owne conceit hee will heare no other evidence if he cannot find this and so mis-judgeth the presence of Christ This was the failing of Gideon for the spirit of Christ came to him and said The Lord is with hee thou mighty man of valour And Gideon said Oh my Lord if the Lord be with us why then is all this befallen us and where be all his miracles that our Fathers told us of saying Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt but now the Lord hath forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites Iudges 6.12.13 The Angell knew what he said but marke what he replies And hee would not be perswaded that the Lord was there because the enemy had the upper hand he thought God was not present with them because the enemies were vexing them and prevayling against them but the argument was naught for the Angell was certaine of that which he spake Iust so it is for all the world with the poore broken-hearted sinner that now is oppressed with many corruptions Sometimes when the faithfull ministers speake to them and say Goe in peace you broken-hearted sinners the Lord is with you Oh say they if the Lord were with us why doth all this befall us Why are our minds so ignorant and our hearts so vile and sinfull and why are our corruptions so violent Can the Lord be here and so many weaknesses too The Lord hath done great matters for them that he hath done good too and they have rejoyced with ioy vnspeakeable and glorious the Saints of God haue been more then conquerours through him that loved them and have subdued their corruptions but yet we are under the power of our sinfull poysonfull venemous hearts still Can the Lord bee with us and all these abominations not onely presse in upon us but even captive us Yes you mistake the presence of Christ he is as well with you in the opposing of sin as in the over-comming thereof therefore the argument is false The same Apostle that was sometimes more then a conquerour was sometimes led captive as Rom. 7.23 and hee that did walke after the spirit of Christ had the Flesh lusting against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh Gal. 5.17 This is your imagination that if once the King come to your house and keepe court no Traitour must come there yes Traitours are ever where the court is they follow the court for there they thinke to accomplish their villany And you thinke if the King come to your house he must hug you in his arms and presently promote you to all honors so the soule saith If Christ were with me I should have abilitie to doe my duty and I should have more power against corruption Though wheresoever Christ is there is sight of sin yet this extraordinary sweetnesse doth not follow but because they have not this they thinke they have not Christ It is just with the soule in this case as if some Gentleman should receive the King into his house Simile and yet he would not be perswaded the King was come because he did not presently send for him into the presence chamber and advance him to some great place of honour he is there though he will not presently send for you This was the fault of Thomas Iohn 20.25 hee would haue tied the certainty of Christs resurrection to his owne sense and if hee could not doe this and that he would not beleeue that Christ was risen for so the Text saith the Disciples all saw it and did witnesse it but he confines all to the compasse of his owne sense except he could see in his hands the print of the nailes and thrust his hand into his side he would not beleeue Iust so it is for all the world with the poore humbled broken soule When a man depends upon sense and some stirring apprehension Oh saith he if I could see that evidence of Gods love and had that assurance and if my heart could thus breake for my sin and if I had this ability with all care and cheerefulnesse to all holy duties then I could beleeue that Christ were come this I told you before you will not beleeue that the King is come to your house except he will send for you presently into his privy chamber and make you the favorite of the Kingdome And therefore it befalls the soule of a poore sinner as it did good old Iacob Gen. 45.26 his sonnes told him that his sonne Ioseph was alive but his heart did faint for he could not beleeue it but when hee saw the Chariots that his son had sent for him his spirit revived within him and he said It is enough Ioseph my son is yet alive c. Thus it is with us we have the messengers of God and the testimony of Scripture to confirme the presence of Christ but we will not beleeue except wee be charioted with that power and ability and that feeling and except you have your hearts fully satisfied according to your owne imaginations you will not be perswaded that Christ is come into your hearts The fourth also is on our part Bee it so that either we have abilitie to know a Christ and that we see his comming in and that we doe not mis-judge the presence of Christ and doe not account of his comming by our owne sense yea though wee were in the chamber of presence and have had much experience of Christs presence with us yet there is another hinderance which keeps off the poore soule and that is when our eyes bee hindred that wee cannot see Christ though he were before us when the sting of conscience remaines and the fiercenesse of some temptaion presseth in
before him and his right hand shall teach thee terrible things therefore if beauty will please thee he is the fairest of all if strength will please thee hee is the strongest of all if riches will please thee hee is more rich if it bee possible than he is strong for Heb. 1.2 he is the heire of all things he is not for a Crowne or a Kingdome or lands or revenues but the heavens are his and the earth and the sea farre and wide and all the depths thereof are his yea and thine also if thou wilt have him Hee is rich likewise in regard of his grace as the Apostle saith Col. 2.3 In him are hid all the treasures of wisedome and knowledge What wouldst thou have eternall life and happinesse then he that hath Christ hath all these for Christ is the Author of life and happinesse to all that have him and hee hath not onely these in himselfe but hee will infeoffe thee in them if thou wilt but match with him If the world and beauty and strength and life and salvation will prevaile it is all thine let the Lord Jesus Christ once have your love and it is done See what the Prophet David saith Psal 63.3 Thy loving kindnesse is better than life therefore my lips shall praise thee You know what we use to doe in the world if a man match with a maid where there is much wealth wee say he is made for ever so say I Truly the world cannot nor will not doe so for you it promiseth faire and performes nothing If thou set thy heart upon riches and honours they will faile thee Where is all the beauty of the world Some sicknesse or other makes many a men ready to run out of his wits for griefe A man is here in health to day and in hell to morrow but if thou wilt love the Lord Jesus Christ he will never faile thee he onely is worthy of the choyce of thy affections therefore set them not upon that which cannot comfort thee if thou wilt have Christ set them upon him and all that he hath is thine Secondly Christ as he is worthy of our love so he deserves it if his worth cannot win our love yet let his desert have it It is a great matter to win the affections of a man If a man be never so worthy of himselfe for his parts and gifts yet if hee have wronged me and dealt basely with me and exprest the part of an enemy saith a woman I will not have him no not though he had all the world But it is not so with the Lord Jesus Christ for as hee is worthy of all love in himselfe so hee hath dealt mercifully and graciously with you and therefore he deserves your love deale equally with him and give him what he deserves We have had hard dealings from the world and base usage from these base things never a man here but hath found it so for it hath promised much and done nothing and all the pleasures it affoorded us have left nothing but vanity and emptinesse behinde them Let the adulterer come forth and shew what pleasure he hath ever had by his filthy dalliances and base courses he hath had but an ill match a galled conscience for the present and the expectation of plagues and punishments for ever The world also hath vexed the covetous man and pleasure hath disquieted the ambitious man but the Lord Jesus Christ hath ever dealt graciously and mercifully with his servants In your sicknesse who helped you in your want who supplied you in anguish of heart who revived you was it not the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore doe not onely what religion requires but what reason requires If you love them that love you doe not the Publicanes even the same they doe good to such as doe good to them The Lord Jesus Christ hath loved you therefore love you him and enlarge your hearts to him for ever Ob. Oh but saith the soule I confesse the Lord hath been mercifull and it is his mercie that I live and he hath inlarged himselfe towards me but yet I grow gracelesse What love is this if the Lord Jesus Christ give me these and deny me that which is better than these what love is this I now speake to all that want assurance To all such I answer in three things Three things done by Christ for a sinner though as yet he want assurance Ans I will tell thee what he hath done for thee taking thy selfe in the worst condition First consider that thou livest in the bosome of the Church and that Jesus Christ hath brought life and immortality to light by the Gospel many thousands of poore Infidels and Heathen would bee glad to gather the crummes that fall from thy Table The Heathens never knew the way to a Saviour they never had the meanes to comfort them and is not this mercy then that God hath brought the word of life and salvation to thee and set thee under the meanes for he hath not dealt so with other Nations neither have the Heathen knowledge of his wayes he hath not dealt so with many better than thy selfe I meane better in regard of many actuall transgressions of thine Oh therefore love him for this favour Secondly consider farther what the Lord Christ hath done for thee he hath not onely brought the meanes of grace to thee and planted thee in a land of Goshen where thou didst enjoy them but after thou hadst resisted and opposed them and cast his kindnesse behind thy backe and sleighted his Spirit sinfull wretch that thou art he hath often come and intreated thee to receive mercy and though againe and againe thou hast opposed it yet he hath beene patient and good to thee love him for it Again the Lord Christ takes no advantage against thee as thou surmisest He might have done it and that justly too thou that resistest the meanes of grace it is just that thou shouldst never have them If God had sent thee one way and the Gospel another it had beene just but hee hath not done so therefore love him he deserves it at thy hands Thirdly he hath not onely brought thee under the meanes of grace and beene patient to thee though thou hast resisted the meanes but he hath let in some inkling of his love and come neerer to thee than all this Why should Jesus Christ offer mercy to thy wife and child it is extraordinary kindnes thou canst not but know that there are many in the same family that have the same means and yet remaine in a miserable condition and why are thy eyes opened and thy conscience awakened in any measure every morning you rise and every night you goe to bed blesse and magnifie the Lord Christ that hath dealt thus mercifully with you for he is worthy of it as Jude said Joh. 14.22 Why wilt thou reveale thy selfe to us and not to the world why wilt thou shew mercy