your case is not alone An ancient and learned Author â—aith That every created thing is subject to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Damasc change Consider that all the changes here below are ordered and disposed of by the wisdom of God and yet they make no change in God for he is unchangeable For I am the Mal. 3. 6. Lord I change not therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed And the Lord Jesus as he is an all-sufficient Saviour so he is unchangeable Jesus Heb. 13. 8. Christ is the same yesterday to day and the same for ever And the Covenant which God makes with his people doth not change with our changes but is ordered and sure and unchangeable What was a strong ground of consolation to David you should apply in particular to your own soul * Deus obligavit se aeterno faedere ideo non claudetur tenebris Pet. Mart. in loc Although my house be not 2 Sam. 23. 5. so with God yet he hath made with me an everlasting Covenant ordered in all things and sure for this is all my salvation and all my desire although he make it not to grow You complain that you want Wisdom you must consider that God is a God of Wisdom and blessed are all they that wait on him You are so bewildred and involv'd in many perplexities of spirit as you know not how to extricate your self out of them O! make haste to God and beg Wisdom of him For saith Jam. 1. 5. the Apostle If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him But you complain that you want the sense of the pardon of your sins For answer you may have a pardon though at present you may not apprehend it For there may be a pardon in the Court of the Judg although that pardon for a time when a Christian is in a dark condition be not manifested in the Court of the Conscience Therefore apply these Attributes for your stay support and comfort The Lord the Exod. 34. 6 7. Lord God merciful and gracious long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity transgression and sin Plead these Attributes as your strong-hold and likewise beg of God that not only your sins may be pardoned but that they may be subdued also Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth Micah 7. 18. iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage he retaineth not his anger for ever because he delighteth in mercy As then you beg mercy to pardon you so you must beg mercy to purge and sanctifie you and as you pray that the guilt and punishment of your sins may be took away so you must pray that the filthiness of them may be took away and what God promiseth you must with a sincere heart pray that it may be perform'd to you in particular Then will I Ezek. 36. 25. sprinkle clean water upon you and ye shall be clean from all your filthiness and from all your Idols will I cleanse you Now to be earnest in prayer with God that you may be sanctified as well as pardoned and that your sins may be subdued and conquer'd this is an evident sign of a sincere heart A second ground of comfort is to 2. Ground of Comfort from the divine â—â—omises 2 Pet. 1. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be had in the Divine Promises Of the Promises I shall add somewhat though little by way of supplement to what I mention'd before The Promises are great and precious Promises And all the Promises are in Christ Yea and Amen Gods Promises are not off and on sometimes faster sometimes looser as mens Promises are but they are sure and certain and infallible That I may write what I conceive most proper and suitable for your condition I 'le lay down this Distinction There are two sorts of Promises viz. promises to Grace and promises of Grace 1. For Promises to Grace one is 1. Promises to Grace Joh. 3. 16. Joh. 6. 35. Whosoever believeth on him shall not perish but shall have everlasting life Another is He that cometh to me shall never hunger he that believeth in me shall never thirst A third promise is All that the Father giveth me Vers 37. shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out A fourth Promise is He that hath my Joh. 14. 2â— commandments and keepeth them he it is that loveth me and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest my self to him Q. But it 's probable that you Q. will say That you question whether you have faith in God and love to God I answer Is it not the sincere desire A. and endeavour of your soul to love Christ and to believe in his name And are not you grieved for want of faith and love If so then Secondly I will add for your comfort 2. Promises of Grace that as I shewed before as there are Promises to Grace so there are Promises of Grace i. e. what God requireth of you however you come short of your duty he will in mercy give it to you As for instance there is a word of Command Circumcise your selves and take away the foreskins Jer. 4. 3. of your hearts You may be apt to plead the impossibility of your performing of that great thing commanded Therefore apply to your comfort that special good word of promise And the Lord thy God will Deut. 30. 6. circumcise thine heart and the heart of thy seed to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul that thou maist live Likewise God commands Make you a new heart and a new spirit You will be ready Ezek. 18. 31. to object that it is not in your own power to make your heart new I answer though it be not in your own power neither can you by your own strength change your heart yet you are obliged to confer your utmost endeavours to wash and cleanse your heart for so the command runs O Jer. 4. 14. Jerusalem wash thine heart from wickedness that thou maist be saved How long shall thy vain thoughts long within thee And your duty is to apply the Promise A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put Ezek. 36. 26 27. within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and ye shall keep my judgments and do them What God commands of us he promiseth to give unto us Sect. 24. 3. Ground of Comfort from many Invitations Isa 55. 1. A third ground of comfort wherewith you may support your self is founded
meditation and particular application and I hope and my hearts desire is that through the Grace of God some word or other may leave such deep impressions upon your heart both for instruction and consolation as that you may be better for them all your days Sect. 15. Duty 2. Be much in heartstudying 2. Be much conversant in the studying of your own heart It 's very needful to be well acquainted at home For this self-acquaintance and knowledg of a mans own heart is a very necessary knowledge and a profitable acquaintance This is a great business and an useful imployment for every one to busie himself in searching of his own heart and he that is thus imployed and makes it his business to know and understand himself will know more evil by himself than all the world can tell him of I have read of Heraclitus a weeping Philosopher who being askt what he studied he answered To know himself 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And it was the saying of one of the wise men of Greece Know thy self And this knowledg we shall never attain unto unless we study our own hearts This was the resolution of the Church though at that time under hatches Let us search and try Jer. 3. 40. our ways and turn again to the Lord. First there must be searching and trying and then follows a turning to God And in this turning there are two terms one is from what we Terminus à quo terminus ad quem turn and this is from sin and the other is to whom we should turn and this is to God The heart is exceeding filthy and defiled and therefore frequent washings and cleansings are required So runs the word of command O Jerusalem wash thy heart Jer. 4. 14 from wickedness that thou maist be saved How long shall thy vain thoughts lodg within thee In the Levitical Law when a beast was slain for sacrifice there was a special command for the washing of the inwards and the legs Lev. 1. 9. These washings were typical and put us in remembrance of washing of our hearts and lives For both inward and outward pollution ought to be avoided and we ought to cleanse our selves from both For 2 Cor. 7. 1. saith the Apostle having therefore these promises dearly beloved let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God And both outward and inward purity ought to be endeavoured after It 's the Apostles command Let us draw near Heb. 10. 22. with a true heart in full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed wiâ—h pure water Now let the heart be washt first then the conversation will be purified The heart may be compared to a fountain if that be pure the conversation as so many streams flowing from that fountain will be pure The more we search our hearts the more pollution we shall find in them We shall find them to be a cage of unclean birds and a cinque of all manner of impurity Wherefore above all keepings we ought to keep our hearts for so saith the Wiseman Keep thy heart with all diligence for Prov. 4. 23. out of it are the issues of life Let it be therefore your greatest care and endeavour to approve your heart unto God in sincerity and in truth Sincerity is that which constitutes a Christian and distinguisheth a child of God from an hypocrite Look then especially to the inclination vergency frame and propension of your heart whether it tend directly towards God or obliquely toward the world The difference upon Scripture-record is very great between Asa and Amaziah although neither one nor other were without their failings Asa fail'd in several things yet the root of the matter was in him for his heart was upright toward God so it 's evidenced in the Scripture Nevertheless the heart of 2 Chron. 15. 17. Asa was perfect all his days As for Amaziah though he went a great way yet he came far short of the main thing requir'd for this brand of infamy is left upon record And he did that which was right in 2. Chron. 25. 2. the sight of â—â—â— Lord but not with a perfect heart It 's the common lot of Gods dearest children to have Infirmities yet notwithstanding they can take comfort in the integrity of their hearts So the Spouse confest I sleep but my heart waketh Cant. 5. 2. The sleeping of the Spouse imply'd that she had her Infirmities but her heart waking declar'd her sincerity Sect. 16. Duty 3. Be frequent and fervent in secret prayer Prov. 18. 1. 3. Be frequent and fervent in secret prayer Though separation from the Assemblies of Saints is unwarrantable yet there is a warrantable separation of which the Wiseman makes mention Through desire a man having separated himself seeketh and intermedleth with all wisdom There is a time for retiredness into our Closets of this our Saviour speaks But thou when thou prayest Mat. 6. 6. enter into thy closet and when thou hast shut thy door pray to thy Father which is in secret and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly For this retirement God Isa 26. 20. calls upon his people Come my people enter thou into thy chambers and shut thy doors about thee hide thy self as it were for a little moment until the indignation be over-past Wherefore in your short recesses and retirements which you must take frequently pour out your heart unto God and when you are remotest from company and from the hearing of men then be more earnest in wrestling with God in prayer and supplication Sometimes you may find a listlesness and indisposedness upon your spirit and by reason of such dulness and deadness you may be afraid of venturing upon any holy duty yet you must take heed of neglecting any duty For dulness deadness and indisposedness of spirit are no warrants to neglect any duty but you ought the rather to be more sollicitous unto the throne of Grace for quickning-vertue that God would raise and dispose your heart for his service Although at some time you may be so straitned in your spirit as you may not be able to utter a word yet you may sigh and mourn and groan and breathe after God and these sighings breathings groanings and mournings are all known to God and as for the compunctions of the heart God takes notice of them all We read that the Lord said unto Moses Why cryest thou unto me The Exod. 14. 15. time that Moses thus cryed was when Pharoah and his host pursued the Children of Israel A potent furious Enemy was behind them and the Red-sea before them and whether they went forward or backward their danger was exceeding great either to be drown'd in the Water or slain with the Sword of the Enemy It 's worth our observation that there is no particular word
specified that Moses spake but the crying mention'd there was the cry of the heart which came up to Heaven and the Lord gave a gracious answer unto his cry When none sees you but God and none hears you but God only then be in an especial manner an importunate supplicant and beggar That the Lord in mercy would subdue your corruptions and strengthen you by his grace to mortify sin and quicken you unto holy duties Amidst all the clouds and darkness and gloominess that are incident unto yon be earnest with God that he would smile on you This is that saving real good to be desired principally There be many that say who will Psal 4. 6. 7. shew us any good Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us Thou that hast put gladness in my heart more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased Likewise you must be informed farther That as you ought to pray so you ought not to use prayer only as a duty commanded but likewise you ought to use Prayer as a means to obtain a blessing Neither should you only desire the gift of Prayer but especially the grace of Prayer The gift of Prayer may be acquired by study memory and strength of parts and a faculty of expressing of your self in fit and proper words it to be much desired but principally you must look after and search your heart whether you have the grace of Prayer This is promised and this should be begg'd of God And Zech. 12. 10. I will pour upon the house of David * Longe excellentius est effundit in nos spiritum gratiae quam gratiam ipsam quia nisi spiritus gratiae penetret in animos nostros instillet nobis sensum gratiae erit inutilisâ— Calv. and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplications And where this gracious and praying spirit is there it 's accompanied with godly sorrow for sin for it followeth in the same verse And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his first-born Sect. 17. Further That you may so pour out your heart to God in Prayer as you may have a sure ground of hope to obtain acceptance with God I shall prescribe to you as I have the Scripture-warrant these six ensuing qualifications 1. You must pray in humility 1. Pray in humility We are all poor blind miserable and naked even dust and ashes and shall dust and ashes be proud We are all beggars to God and shall beggars be proud It 's a saying that deserves a remark to be set upon it That there is nothing worse than Nihil est superba mendicitate deterius Qui sibi vilis est Deo charus est Bern. proud beggary When we have to deal with God we can never be humble enough And the more vile a man is in his own eyes the more he is esteemed of in the eyes of God When Abraham interceded for Sodom he acknowledged himself but dust and ashes and Jacob acknowledged Gen. 18. 27. Gen. 32. 10. Psal 22. 6. Cum sis kumi limus cur non es humillimus Bern. himself not worthy of the least of the mercies of God And David accounted himself a worm and no man When we lye low and are vile in our own eyes and pray in humility we are the more capable of receiving a blessing 2. You must prefer all your supplications 2. All Prayers must be put up in the name of Jesus Christ Mat. 3. 17. Act. 4. 12. prayers and requests to God the Father in the Name of Jesus Christ For of Christ a voice came from heaven saying this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased There is no other name but the name of Jesus for salvation Neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven whereby we must be saved The promise which Christ made unto his Disciples is And whatsoever Joh. 14. 13. you shall ask in my name that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the son Luther makes mention of Non solum periculosuÌ„ est sed horribile de Deo extra Christum Cogitare Luth. Loc. Com. 3. Prayer must be made in Faith Matt. 21. 22. the danger and horror of thinking of God without Christ For God without Christ is a consuming fire but with Christ he is a gracious and merciful Father 3. You must pray in faith To such who pray in faith the promise belongs and only to them And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer believing ye shall receive There is no coming unto God the Father without Christ for he is the only Mediator neither is there any coming unto Christ without Faith For saith the Apostle without faith Heb. 11. 6. it is impossible to please God It 's storied of the Persians that when they had offended their King they brought his Son in their arms and so obtained favour we have all offended God and we must present Christ unto the Father in the arms of faith and by him we shall obtain acceptance and remission of all our sins 4. You must add fervency to the 4. Prayer must be made with fervency Gen. 32. 24. Filius Dei luctator fuit v. 25. v. 26. frequency of your Prayers This fervency the Scripture represents by wrestling for of Jacob we read And there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day And though the hollow of Jacobs Thigh was out of joynt yet he continued wrestling with the Angel The Angel said Let me go for the day breaks And he said unto him I will not let thee go except thou bless me Whether Jacobs wrestling was a corporal or a spiritual wrestling only I shall not peremptorily determine For the latter the Scripture is express And though this may be eminenter in a more eminent manner yet non exclusive not excluding a corporal wrestling Read what the Prophet Hoseah saith Yea he had power over Hos 12. 4. the Angel and prevail'd he wept and made supplication unto him This servent Prayer is as it were a besieging and storming of Heaven and taking it by violence And from the Matt. 11. 12. days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force And this holy violence and importunity in Prayer is acceptable unto God What 's that Prayer which avails much It 's an effectual servent Prayer For so â—ith the Apostle The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous Jam. 5. 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quasi dioas deluosam i. e. ardentem assiduam oppoâ—i puvanâ— perfuâ—â—oriae Bâ—zâ— Esthâ—â—â— 16. man availeth much This is aâ— the word imports an inwrought an inward