the nostrils feel and smell So knowledge is involved in every grace Faith knows and believes Charity knows and loves temperance knows and abstains patience knows and suffers humility knows and stoops repentance knows and mourns obedience knows and does compassion knows and pitties hope knows and expects confidence knows and rejoyces And therefore wee believe and love and obey and hope and rejoyce because we know God gives us this knowledge as the eye of our souls and by that eye hee enters with all his power and Glory Ephes 3.19 That ye may know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge and bee filled with all the fulness of God Day-light is not that light wee receive by reflection from the Moon and Stars at second hand when the Sun is risen and come in among us then it is day When the Sun of Righteousness is risen in the heart there 's the light of life God is and God dwells in this light and where God dwells every unclean thing vanishes can Darkness dwell with the Sun can Death dwell with Life according to the measure of the manifestation of God in us so far forth is sin necessarily vanished Thou art but the carkasse of a Christian the light that is in thee is darkness the life that is in thee is death if thou bee not in the whole man renewed after the Image of him that Created thee If Christ bee not formed in thy heart if the Love the humility the meeknesse the patience the compassion the holiness of the Lord Jesus be not begotten in thee whatever thou knowest thou knowest nothing as thou oughtest to know if thou hast all knowledge and hast not charity and so if thou hast all knowledge and hast not humility meekness holiness thou art nothing thou art but as sounding brass or a tinkling Cimbal Doubting Christian that complainest of and bewailest thine ignorance and fearest that thou knowest not God look upwards where his Glory dwells lift up thine eyes and see or if thou canst not see lift up thy heart for eyes Lord where dwellest thou let mee see thy Face shew mee thy Glory pitty thy blinde let the eyes of this blinde bee opened and the tongue of this dumb shall bee loosed and speak forth thy praise Look upward and if yet thou seest not thy God look inward canst thou see his Face in thy soul canst thou see his Image on thy heart canst thou behold in this Glasse the Glory of the Lord and finde thy self changed into his Image Comfort thine heart how short sighted soever thou seemest to bee how dimme soever thy Candle burns how weak soever in the Knowledge of God thou complainest thou art thou hast seen God thou hast seen his Face in peace God that commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined into thine heart and given thee the Knowledge of his Glory in the face of Jesus Christ 2. A Fructifying Power this Sun-shine makes a fruitful soil Colos 1.9,10 my desire for you saith the Apostle is that you may bee filled with the Knowledge of his Will in all Wisdome and Spiritual understanding That yee might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful unto every good work and encreasing in the Knowledge of God Strengthened with all might according to his glorious Power unto all Patience and long suffering with joyfulness and Phil. 1.11 Being filled with the fruits of Righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto the Glory and praise of God Full of Light and full of Love of Faith of Patience of Humility and fruitful in every good work Mat. 12.35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things A good man hath a good treasure within him a treasure of Heavenly Wisdome of Divine Truth a treasure of Light God hath shined into his heart Hee 's filled with all the fulness of God And what is laid up within hee brings forth without An evil man hath an evil treasure Satan hath been filling his heart Act. 5.3 Why hath Satan filled thine heart the treasures of darkness are there a treasure of lust and lies Falshood and folly are found with him these treasures of darkness within bring forth darkness dark souls lead dark lives their way is dark their deeds are darkness O how fruitful are sinners in their unfruitful works filled with all unrighteousness fornication wickednesse covetousness maliciousnesse envy murther debate deceit malignity c. Rom. 1.29,30 Their hearts are full and thereupon their mouths full their eyes full their hands full mouths full of cursing eyes full of adultery hands full of violence filled with all unrighteousness O Generation of Vipers how can yee being evil having such hearts speak good things all is evil that comes from you and how can it bee otherwise Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks And in like manner O Generation of Believers How can yee being good but bring forth good things Or how can you say or think there is a treasure of Grace a fountain of light within when no streams spring forth Penury in the life speaks no great plenty in the heart the Truths of God within you are the Seed of God the good seed that hee sows in his fields where there 's good seed sown in good ground you will expect a fruitful Harvest a barren crop speaks a barren soil or no good seed sown there 1 John 2.3 Hereby we do know that wee know him if wee keep his Commandements We know God but are you sure of it are you not mistaken No wee are not mistaken wee know that wee know him But how do you know it Why how are trees known By their fruits ye shall know them How do yee know that this is indeed the Tree of Knowledge Why see what fruits are hanging upon it wee keep the Commandements Here 's Obedience growing here 's Holiness and Righteousness and Mercy Doubtless this is the right Tree for behold all the Commandements the two Tables hanging upon the boughs of it and not broken but kept and observed Wee may as well say Obedience is no Obedience Duty is no Duty Faith and Love and Humility and Patience are not what they are as that the Tree that brings forth this fruit is not the Tree of Knowledge Wee know that wee know him because wee keep his Commandements Yea and the Tree of Life too both in one a Tree of Life to them that lay hold upon her Prov. 3.18 Where these fruits are not found where are nothing but shews and sounds painted fruits where are nothing but the fruits of unrighteousness contention strife covetousness sensuality and the like he 's very ignorant indeed that is not able to say what ever I am ignorant of this one thing I know that I know not God Christian boast not of what thou hast but consider what thou doest try thy head by thine heart and thy
of Canticles whose whole language is all love her heart is so full that her lips overflow with the mention of the excellencies of Christ My beloved is white and ruddy the chiefest amongst ten thousand His head fine gold his eyes Dove's eyes his cheeks a bed of spices his lips are lillies his hands are gold-rings his legs pillars of marble his countenance excellent his mouth sweet yea hee is altogether lovely this is my beloved and this is my friend O Daughters of Jerusalem Cant. 5. Who is a God like unto thee glorious in holiness fearful in praises doing wonders Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the City of our God Thy mercy O Lord is in the heavens thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds Thy righteousness is like the great mountains thy judgments are a great deep How excellent is thy loving kindness O Lord therefore the sons of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings I will speak of the glorious honour of thy Majesty and of thy wondrous works the Lord is gracious and full of compassion slow to anger and of great mercy The Lord is good to all and his tender mercies are over all his works Let all thy works praise thee O Lord let thy Saints bless thee let them speak of the glory of thy kingdome and talk of thy power Let them abundantly utter the memory of thy goodness and sing of thy righteousness O my God thou art all love all goodness all grace all glory O let thy servant bee all praise Let this heart bee an altar and every service a sacrifice let this mouth bee a trumpet and every word a Psalm let my breath bee as incense and every member a censer Let all that is within mee my soul with all its powers let all that is without me my body with all its members shout for joy and sing forth the high praises of God This is the voice of Love And now you have another excellency of the new heart laid open to your view Love An heart to love Christians prize this precious grace prize it and you will write down this word also among the great and precious Promises and if you would prize it aright take your estimate of it from its worth and its want as we use to prize Jewels from their excellencie rarity 1. Prize it according to its worth and excellency Why what is the worth Cant. 8.7 If a man would give all the substance of his house for love it would bee contemned The whole world is not of that value to bee a price for love no it must come by gift it 's not to bee bought for money love is worth as much as a soul and that 's more than all the world What shall it profit a man to win the whole World and lose his own Soul love is as much worth as all Religion 't is the soul and the substance of all Religion all the Graces the Duties and Exercises of it are onely valued according to the love that is in them what is knowledge faith hope patience without love what is prayer fasting alms without charity They are worth nothing shall I say nay they are nothing If I had all knowledge and all faith and were all prayer and all labour and all suffering and had not charity I were nothing Love is worth as much as Heaven is worth as Christ as God is worth to us God is love and God is not if love bee not in us Dost thou prize thy substance Is thy house or thy mony or thy lands any thing to thee Dost thou value thy soul Is Religion is Heaven is Christ is God himself of any account with thee Then prize the love of God Without love God is no God to thee Christ is no Christ to thee Heaven is no Heaven for thee better thou hadst no soul no being than no love O prize the Love of God prize and seek prize and pray pray as for thy life as for thy soul as for thy everlasting Kingdome Lord let mee love thee Get love and get all love and thou wilt bee holy love and thou wilt be humble love and thou wilt bee fruitful love and thou wilt please praise and enjoy thy God love and thou wilt fear serve suffer and die for him love and thou shalt live prize love prize it according to its worth And 2. Prize it according to its rarity Things excellent are rated something the more for their scarcity scarcity raises the Market the VVord of God was precious in those daies 1 Sam. 3.1 that is when there was a Famine of the Word when there was no open Vision O were the love of God as precious as 't is rare what a spiritless carkass is the Religion of many Professours what 's become of the soul of it Oh! we freeze in our Duties we freeze in our Devotions wee are almost frozen out of them all if vvee have a Sacrifice left vvhat fire is there to offer it up The God that answereth by fire let him bee God said Elijah the heart that asketh by fire that ascendeth in fire let that bee the heart for God Behold the wood and the fire but where is the Lamb for the Sacrifice Wee may say behold the wood and the sacrifice but where is the Fire to offer it up our Spirits have taken a cold the chill of them appears in all our duties Rabbi where dwellest thou Love where dwellest thou Zeal of God where is thy abode how many houses must wee search how many hearts must wee walk through e're wee finde thine Habitation The Apostle tells the Romans Rom. 10.2 that they have a Zeal of God but not according to Knowledge wee have the Knowledge of God but oh where is the Zeal the Zeal of thine house saith the Psalmist hath eaten mee up but is not that eater eaten The house hath burnt up the fire or if there be any fire left is it not strange fire not the fire of Love but of Lust of Pride or Covetousness or that wilde fire of envy and contention that heats our spirits Jehu was all on fire against the house of Ahab Come see my zeal for the Lord of Hosts That fire was fury not love or if 't was love 't was self-love not the love of God that made all that flame such hearts are like the evil tongue James 3. set on fire of Hell Such heats are not from above but are earthly sensual devilish wee freeze still while wee thus fry our praeter-natural heats have extinguished the super-natural O! how little kindly warmth do wee find in our spirits do wee feel our hearts working upwards ascending in our flames wee all pretend to love but consider are our hearts making out in their strength after God Wee wish well to his Name and Interest wee wish hee were ours wee wish our selves his O if wishing were loving what Christians should wee be But doth the Kingdom of God suffer violence
get it Why have recourse to the Covenant there it lies for thee But how shall I get it thence why hath the Lord promised to give it thee take the word from his mouth and put it into thine own turn the word of promise into a prayer Doth he say I will give let thy soul answer give Lord give me this new heart I am weary Lord and thou art weary also of this wicked heart at once ease thy self and me Take away this and give me a better heart Turn the word of promise into a prayer and then turn the word of Prayer into a word of Faith He says I will give let thy Faith say thou wilt give I shall have it since thou hast said thy servant also may boldly say Thou wilt do it Thou wilt give me a better heart Farewell my old sins lusts and companions farewell mine old pleasures and ways now for heaven in earnest now welcome the strait gate the new and living way Old things are past away all things shall become new Turn the word of promise into a prayer turn thy prayer into a word of Faith and God will turn the word of Faith into a word of Command Bee it according to thy word Let there be a new light let there bee a new law let there bee a new power let there no more bee a spirit of fear in this heart but a spirit of power of love and of a sound mind And as when he said in the creation of the great world Let there bee light let there bee a Firmament let there bee a Sun and Moon It was so so when he shall say in the new creation of this little world let there bee light let there bee love let there bee power let us again make man in our image after our own likeness It shall be so The Lord hath said I will let thy Prayer say Do it Lord let thy Faith say thou wilt do it and God will say Amen so be it CHAP. X. An heart to know the Lord. 2. AN heart to know the Lord Jer. 24.7 I will give them an heart to know me The knowledge of God is the first excellency of the new heart As in the old so in the new creation as was said before the first word is let there bee light There is not so glorious a preheminence of day above night as of the knowledge above the ignorance of God As the Firmament without a Sun as the body without an eye so is the soul without knowledge What this knowledge of God here promised is will appear if wee consider It s Object Act. 1. The Object of this Knowledge is God not only the Nature or being of God manifested in his Essential Perfections his Glorious Attributes his Infiniteness Eternity Omnipotency c. In his Personal Relations the Subsistences in the Godhead but God in Christ God in Covenant yea the whole Minde and Will of God all that which God hath revealed to us as our Duty or Happinesse God known in the heart is the whole Bible opened The Law opened the Gospel opened Duties Comforts Priviledges made manifest Christ opened in his Sufferings in his Satisfaction in his Spirit in all the Riches of his Glory the whole mystery of Godliness revealed The Heart opened man made known to himself all the depths of the heart all the deceits of the heart all the faculties and powers of the heart with their motions operations inclinations the rectitude or obliquities of them Heaven opened the Crown the Kingdome known everlasting rest glory honour immortality brought to light Hell opened sin known the devil known wrath temptations the curse eternal fire known All this even all that God is and all that hee hath revealed in his Word and Works are the object of this Knowledge of God 2. The Act. To know is to apprehend or understand God and the things of God Jer. 9.24 Let him that glorieth glory in this that hee understandeth and knoweth mee Ephes 3.18,19 That yee may comprehend with all Saints what is the heighth and length and breadth and depth that yee may know the love of Christ This apprehension of God doth not barely note our having received some natural or metaphysical Notions of God and the Truths that are in him But farther it notes 1. An Approbation of him an approving or liking the things that are excellent Phil. 1.9,10 That your love may abound more and more in knowledge and in all Judgement that yee may approve the things that are excellent 2. Appropriation The knowing of God as a reconciled God a God and a God to mee good and good to mee wise and wise for mee My Lord and my God To know God in Christ reconciled through Christ propitious through Christ this is saving knowledge To know and not possess to see and not eat to know an angry God a wrathful God a God lost to know goodness mercy loving-kindness compassion alsufficiency and to have the heart recurre what is this to thee this is none of thine the damned thus know and dye 3 Affection As Psal 9.10 Those that know thy Name shall trust in thee So those that know thy Name will love thee and fear thee and rejoyce in thee and bless thy Name to know and hate God to know and contemn God to know and fly from God to know and Blaspheme and curse God the Devils thus know and tremble But especially that which distinguishes this saving from common knowledge is Its Power Savour 1. It s Power the Knowledge of God is mighty my preaching was not weak but mighty in you 2 Cor. 13. It hath A Transforming A Fructifying Power 1. A Transforming Power 2 Cor. 3.18 Wee all with open face beholding as in a glass the Glory of the Lord are changed into the same Image Rom. 12.2 Bee yee not conformed to this present world but bee yee transformed by the renewing of your mindes by the renewing of your mindes the renovation of the minde both is this change and works it farther upon the whole soul this new light is the new creature old things pass away all things become new where the minde is savingly enlightned God known in the soul is God united to the soul Christ revealed in the heart is Christ formed upon the heart there 's life in this light it is no other than the light of life The Knowledge of God comprehends in it and is involved in and Spirits and animates every grace and duty as the same soul in the eye sees in the ear hears in the palate tastes as the same juyce which is in the Olive fatness in the Fig-Tree sweetness in the Oake strength in the Rose fragrancy in the Lillie beauty So the same grace which in the minde is light in the heart is love holy desire holy fear holy joy and one says that as feeling is inseparable to all the Organs of sense the eye feels and sees the ear feels and hears the palate feels and tastes
carnal pleasures and sensual delights these rose-buds rot the flowers of your gardens wither dead Flyes are in all your ointments the light of the Lord hath shined all your glories into darkness The waters of the Sanctuary have made all your waters brackish there remains no pleasure in them Hee that hath known the Lord hath more or less according to the measure of his knowledge received in the relish and sweetness of it and what hee hath received in hee sends forth before men he hath received and hee is a sweet savour As the Preachers so the Practitioners of piety are a sweet savour of Christ unto God and hand down the sweetness of God unto men They are of savoury lips and of savoury lives the savour of their graces is shed abroad in the Churches of Christ Carnal hearts send forth a stench instead of a sweet smell they are all rottenness the savour of a sepulchre is all they have Their waies stink their words stink their very breath smells of a rotten heart Yea the very best they have their pleasures stink their garments their gallantry their powders and perfumes and sweet odours stink of their proud and vain and sensual hearts But O what a sent do their ulcers and their excrements their oathes and their curses and their scoffs and their lyes send forth Sinners learn to know the Lord and this will quickly change your savour And you that know any thing of God think not that your knowledge is saving till your souls have received in and your waies do send forth the savour of his Knowledge The last of these the savour of this Knowledge the pleasure that it brings in to the soul though taken alone it is but of uncertain signification there may bee some pleasure and joy arise from the common Knowledge of God and sometimes but little taste where there is the truth of Religion But taken in conjunction with the former where is found both the power and the savour the evidence of its soundness will be more full Find all together this transforming this fructifying this savoury Knowledge and you may rest satisfied that this is the saving Knowledge of God And of this is the promise I will give them an heart to know me Oh! how much need have wee still to wait and beg for the accomplishment of this Promise how little sound Knowledge is there found among us Some are weak in Knowledge who have been long taught of God and yet are not taught of God God hath been teaching them but they have not learned of him They have had a good Master but have been ill Schollars weak men so wee call a man of low understanding a weak man Oh! how many weak Souls are there even among professing Christians who though for their time they might have been teachers of others had yet need bee taught the first Principles of the Oracles of God Some men have not knowledge of God I speak this to their shame 1 Cor. 15. Others are men of Knowledge but of weak Knowledge who know much but to little purpose their great Knowledge hath little power in them their Lusts are too strong for their Light Isa 8.11 I spake unto thee with a strong hand and instructed thee If God have spoken to these men yet his hand hath not instructed them the nail hath not been struck deep enough it dwells in the head onely it hath not reached their heart they have an eye but far enough from having an heart to know the Lord their Knowledge doth not lead them on to Religion but must serve them instead of Religion it is all the Religion they have to know what it is 't is made to serve and not suffer'd to guide and govern to serve their turns to serve their interest to serve their pride and their covetousness Their Knowledge of God makes them Devils it helps them to play the Hypocrites to bee Deceivers of others yea and of their own souls It will seek them out acceptable words put prayers into their mouths praises into their lips spirituallize their language furnish them with savoury discourses carry them plausibly through Duties wherein though God hath the Name though Souls have the Name yet are they all but sacrifices to their Lusts The Knowledge of God humbleth but this Knowledge puffeth up and lifteth up puffeth them â—p in their own and lifteth them up in others thoughts and when it hath done this it hath done them all the service they have for it to do unlesse it may bee they have some worse work for it To make rents and divisions in the Church of Christ to maintain disputes to cavel and quarrel to divide and make parties to make twenty Religions out of one till at length they make that one to bee none Whilest the Apostle saies some men have not the Knowledge of God I speak this to your shame I may say also some men have the Knowledge of God I speak this to their shame What the Knovvledge of God and no more Humility the Knowledge of God and no more Charity I speak this to your shame Have the Faith of Christ in respect of persons have the Knowledge of God in respect of Parties Know God and yet divide and scatter and confound them that are of God yea and contend and quarrel about such small differences as somtimes is seen here is God and not there with us and not with you when it may bee a little Charity would tell you for the main hee may bee with both and so much uncharitableness makes it a question whether with either The more such men pretend to the Knowledge of God the greater their shame Friends beware you bee not undone either by your Ignorance or your Knowledge Love not darkness and call not darkness light call not that the Knowledge of God which is not mis-use not that which is hast thou no Knowledge What and such a Promise before thee I will give them an heart to know mee they shall all know me What and such a Gospel before thee the work whereof is to open blinde eyes and to turn from darknesse to light open thy mouth sinner and God will open thine eyes ask and thou shalt have seek and thou shalt finde See wink not at the light that shines round about thee Love not darkness if thou love not death This is Eternal Life to know thee What then is ignorance there 's death in thine heart if there bee no light in thine eye Hast thou Knowledge bee thankful and bee humble bee not high minded but fear prize it but do not abuse it Hast thou received the Knowledge of the Truth Live under the Power of the Truth thou Knowest resign up thy self to it to its transforming Power give it leave to work and to change thee into its own Image Let this new light make thee a new man to its governing Power let it teach thee and rule thee let it teach as one that hath Authority let