ever observing that blessed Rule of our Saviour in Matth. 7. 12. And when he had hired or made use of Persons in any Work or Labour he would not only pay them their due which was agreed to and promised but most frequently he would give them somewhat over and above especially if he judged them to be poor and needy That whilst he had bodily His Diligence in his Calling with a holy Frame of Spirit therein Strength and Health to manage Worldly Employments he was always active and industrious therein and he could not be ever charged with any wilful Omission Yet all the while he had his Mind so composed that he was ever in a readiness to a due and regular Attendance on the solemn Duties of his high Calling not suffering any outward Occurrence of what kind soever to distract or unsettle his Mind But when he approached to God in the actual Exercise of any Religious Duties he was still furnished with such variety of Matter and Divine Rhetorick as if all his preceding time had been taken up in and about spiritual Work Such was the habitual Frame of his Soul towards heavenly things And he gave this Advice That we should do Worldly Business with Diligence Patience Moderation and Faith and with such a self-denying respect as if it were the sole Interest and Concern of another rather than our own And when we would make a Judgment of our selves or Actions in matters doubtful we should put our selves in the Room of a third Person in the Case His great Love to the Church His Love to the Church and People of God and People of God rendred him a restless Supplicant and Intercessor in Prayer for them That upon whatsoever Immergency relating to the Church of Christ in general or any Member thereof in particular even for such whom he never knew or saw on the first notice of their Distresses he would be wrestling with God in secret Retirement And if other Christians were at such a time near or occasionally present he would be also urging them to the same Work saying Come let us lift up our joynt Requests to God for them And this at any time of the day and constantly at set times for Prayer he presented their Case and Concern most affectionately before the Lord as a thing which always lay very much on his heart And for the Church of Christ in general his Petitions were observed to be such as these That God would visit Zion the whole Church and visible Body of Christ here in this World That it might be a Glory in all the Earth That as he hath taken hold of the Plough he would carry on his own Work That he would look upon his Son look upon his Covenant look upon that Redemption he hath contrived and designed for the bringing in of Souls unto himself to bestow his own Free Grace upon in making them Vessels of Mercy and Glory That his Church might prosper and every faithful Member of it and become Glorious in Holiness That the Son of Righteousness would break forth and sparkle upon it That his Ordinances might be maintained his Gospel run and be glorified and get Ground every where That God would tender his People as the Apple of his Eye as a Royal Diadem in his hand and as the Object of his Delight That he would give a mighty Check and a dreadful Rebuke unto the fury of all such as bear ill Will to Zion And that all Oppositions and Combustions against his Interest might tend to the Advancement of it of his Glory and the furtherance of the Gospel That Holiness might spread it self throughout the World and the Mouth of Iniquity be stopt in all the Earth That all that Enmity against God and his People which hath been in the World ever since the Infection crept into our Natures from Satan the Prince of Darkness might be destroyed and come to an end That his People might glory in his great Salvation procured and purchased by the Vndertaking of Jesus Christ on their behalf That he would rule in the midst of his Enemies bearing down the Spirit of Wickedness and all the Contrivers of Mischief That he would remember his People under sore Trials and be in the midst of the Storm and say unto them It is I be not afraid and prepare them for every Shock they shall meet withal before the Son of Man appeareth That the Throne of his Grace be lifted up and the Rise of his Glory made conspicuous That the Sceptre of Jesus Christ might sway it self and become Glorious Counter-working all the Wisdom and crafty Counsel of the Serpent's Seed And that he would not suffer his People to be in any Pit out of which his Arm cannot help them That he would keep his Ministers as Stars in his Right Hand that his Enemies which are as the Tail of the Dragon might not scatter them That all his People might be enabled to meditate Terrour and not be afraid when he shall arise to shake terribly the Earth That Salvation might be for Walls round about his People and that God would cause his Glory to shine forth That God would save these Nations with a mighty Salvation and undertake for his own Glory in the midst thereof That for such as are under Bonds of Guilt he would deliver them by his Rescuing Pardoning Grace That he would be mindful of those under inward Trouble by reason of Pollutions within and Wounds of Temptation from without That spiritual Objects might be great in their sight and that he would bring them out with some notable advantage over all the Powers of Darkness that lay Siege against their Faith and Hope His whole Life attested the Tenderness of his Conscience His Tenderness of Conscience and it was particularly remarkable in these two Instances First When he had at any time Moneys lying by him to any value he would lend the same without demanding a Penny Interest And when-ever he received any Interest he would be sure to bestow it wholly in charitable and pious Uses Secondly Whilst he had Trading abroad on all Goods Exported and Imported he was very careful of paying the full Duty or Custom thereon rated and required without Diminution His high Esteem of the Grace His high Esteem of Repentance and Applications to Christ of Repentance with his Applications to Christ shewed it self in his frequent lamenting Confessions of Sin and praying for great measures of Repentance for himself and exhorted others to the same necessary Work And he was a diligent Searcher and curious watchful Observer of his own heart who could not bear with any Guilt but would make fresh Applications to the Blood of Sprinkling saying To be under Guilt was sad but when we are laden in the sence of it if we carry this Guilt to Christ and venture on him for Pardon and Mercy we shall not be cast out And how it was an evil and a bitter thing to
remembrance of you I have you in my eye when I do not bodily see you and in my prayers to him who quickeneth all things and giveth life and growth to whomsoever he will Your Convictions your Temptations inward and outward the wiles and power of the Prince of Darkness which stands against you in Battel Array your infirmity the deceitfulness of sin that will turn and wind and shift from one corner of the Soul to the other to preserve it self from being dislodged the lulling Baits the powerful Swasives the Threats Exigences and Influences of a present evil World the difficulty and yet the necessity of that spiritual Warfare to which you are called and unto which the promise of Victory is made these things I say are in my eye And then I think there is matter enough for one Brother to remember another and to cry out O Lord who shall raise my Brother into the vigorous exercise of faith with power into inward and exemplary holiness Who shall bring him into the Rivers of effectual Contrition and land him on the right Shoar for he is feeble unable and ready to halt in the way Who shall bring him into the strong City the Walls whereof are Salvation and the Habitation thereof Purity Serenity and Peace Wilt not thou O God who alone canst stay the crooked Serpent and say to all obstacles whatsoever Give way Let the ransomed of the Lord return Let the Seed of my Servants to whom my Promise is made come and enter into the strong Hold for I have found a Ransom Dear Brother how and in what frame of heart my Letter will find you I know not but God has guided my Pen to let you know a little what kind of musings I have in my Jealousie and tender Affection towards you If you be busie in these things already these Lines may be Spur and Encouragement if otherwise God can make them a successful Alarm though as mine they are weak short and impotent I live here among the Graves and do not know but that my decease may be at hand though at present in good health and therefore I think meet to let my Arrow fly as near as I can to the White of the Mark for there is no work nor invention in the Grave there is no Return no further opportunity to set the House the heart in order Though my glaunce may be at random God can direct it within the Joynts of the Armour To him I commend it and you I have sent you a Bill of Mortality The voice of God crieth to the City to the Country to you and to me the Man of Wisdom and none else shall see and fear his Name c. 1665. To E. D. N o 83. THe greatest thing I desire is that the presence and blessing of the Lord may be mine and your portion and that is the best portion which is obtained from him by prayer and resignment to his pure Will How in reference to me God has ordered the things of this World to come and go you have in some measure seen that you with me should lay hold upon the most durable substance that so we may become Heirs of that Peace and that Treasure which the World is neither able to give nor take away Upon such a Bottom as that and no other there is safe swimming by faith through all Changes and difficulties unto a Condition of Rest Purity Peace and Satisfaction that will never change I hope Christ has numbred you amongst his Lambs and if God himself be to you and me a Shephard we may in the words of his own Spirit say We shall want no good thing Therefore call much upon him to reveal himself in his Son unto your heart and that he would carry and mould your Concernments and mine in his own bosom and take the whole care and guidance of us into his own hands and also conform us perfectly to his Will and then we are beyond hazard and may be assured to be supplied sufficiently guided by his Grace here and arrive at Glory hereafter c. 1666. To C. M. D. N o 84. IT hath pleased God to exercise our Family with some considerable Trials but still that good word of God remains Light is sown for the Righteous and joy for the upright in heart We may not therefore faint under his Correction but rather attend the voice of his Rod and in flying to Christ say All things shall work together for good Which promise is made to them that love him Let us therefore diligently pry into the Gospel where Christ is to be known and his excellency is able to contract a holy reverential Love which is that qualification to which the promise is made which qualification also lies in the free Covenant I will circumcise your hearts to love me saith the Lord. So that all our welfare lies fully and wholly upon the free Promise and Covenant of God which we are invited to partake of by faith which is also his free Gift Oh that he would help us to open our mouths wide that our hearts may be satisfied in a Land of Drought I am glad to hear your heart steers heavenward and was therefore the more willing to write you c. 1667. To D. H. N o 85. I Sympathize with your conflicting Soul I could make more sad Complaints of my self than it may be would be for your profit but while you or I can look up we may be sure our dear Lord looks down Read the story of Israel's coming out of Egypt and you will find it like your case and mine sometimes they believed and by and by utterly distrusted their deliverance Oh the patience of God exercised and still wrought for his own sake remembring his Covenant You may be sure you are beyond the Notion so long as you long and pray for the power of Godliness therefore let every fear send you to Christ afresh and then you use your fears as God would have you for the Law and Conviction of Guilt is for that end as you read in Gal. 3. and the Soul that comes he will in no wise cast out but in due time make you see the nature of free Grace and what the Life of Faith is Hope still in God you shall yet see and praise him who is whatever you think the health of your Countenance and your own God The Lord be your and our Physician in all respects his Patients are well attended You are not out of my thoughts whose health and welfare my Soul desireth Let all things and Commotions here below cause us to fix upon that which can never change to that Rock I commend you God is gracious our times are in his hand and 't is safe in trusting our selves and our Relations there Your Prayers though at a distance can through Christ administer help as if you were present and therefore be not troubled that God has disposed you at a distance at this time he
the Will of God being the grand purpose of his heart in all he doth delivers him into a holy Rest and maintains an inclination to work still without repining because he is assured his work is not in vain in the Lord. So far as the Will of God appears he is quiet with joy because the pleasure of his work lies in doing God's Will and not his own Communion with God makes up every Breach with an All-sufficiency Disappointments do lock him up within the Sanctuary of God and keeps the Soul at home in the pure tastes of that Communion with God in which it lives Psal 73. 17 25. in a readiness to every good work His good Actions though small as a Cup of cold Water or successless as Isaiah's preaching seemed to him to be Isa 49. 4. yet those works cannot be lost because Communion with God cannot be lost in the vertue of which those works were done through Jesus Christ But while I am thus travelling The Soul sensible of a cold Fit through the Consideration of several P 〈…〉 s redounding to a Believer 〈…〉 way of fruitfulness therein I feel methinks many cold fits to seize upon me as it was in the day that Abraham was troubled with the Fowls which fell upon the Carcases which God commanded him to divide for confirmation of his Promise which Abraham drove away till the Sun went down and when a deep sleep and horrour of great darkness fell upon him then even then did a fresh assurance of the Covenant break forth upon him as Gen. 15. 13. So while I am pursuing after this Salvation of God I find the Clouds gather about me I find not the same sensible Entertainment of the Salvation of God in my heart as sometimes I have done my Soul is filled with guilt and weakness and therefore am forced to retire back from the pursuing the necessary and practical Meditations about the Conversation of Godliness for a season lest I leave an Enemy at my back that is ready to invade me which Enemy if it please the Lord to scatter by his Spirit I shall be more able to attempt the Meditations of the works of Holiness and have fresh Activity to put on the Garments of Fruitfulness in the Service which I owe to Jesus Christ my Lord than methinks for present I am Inward Rejoycing and Peace has been much bruised for certain days by weakness guilt and distraction that has seized on my heart there it lies like a Mountain of Lead when my thoughts would turn inwards I hear nothing but Outcries of Accusation and Guilt possessing my heart I can find no shelter at home I am forced to fly abroad for a Lodging for Company and Food I am now invited to renew my self a Nest above my own heart my heart is grown hard dark and weak it prevails against my former sense of Divine Presence and while it is thus filled with the clamours of Death and Confusion methinks I hear the Spirit and Bridegroom say Come arise this is not your Rest lanch forth through the Ocean of Free Grace and let not thy expectation hanker towards thy self though thy flesh fail and thy heart fail yet God is the strength of thy heart and thy portion for ever My work is to go forth and Oh that I could make a fair Escape to him who stands upon the Shoar to receive me it is not a few Meditations that will do it it needs a Redeemer's hand to fetch me out and pull me up The delight of the New Man is The Soul flies out of all manner of selfish help to Jesus Christ only to be under the Government of the Spirit only and all the Issues of the Spirit flow from the heart of Christ only by which the heart of a Believer is made new in him This Newness lies especially in the Spirit of a Believer which complies with the Spirit of God in the Witness of Adoption even whiles the contradiction of defiled Nature warreth against it And upon the single Interest of this Consideration and Union betwixt Christ and the Soul yielding it self to the renewing of his Spirit doth Faith go forth and claim Forrein Aid viz. the Aid of Jesus Christ to whom it is united in Conveyance of which Aid Christ first takes the Soul more closely into the vertue of that Union that every crumb of his help may truly savour of that Relation which is betwixt him and the Soul through the New Covenant and gives out no saving and effectual Aid otherwise than as the Product and Off-spring of that Union that so Christ may be all in all as the Treasury and efficient Cause of all Relief and that the Soul through spiritual Union only might derive that Relief to it self by Faith and as the Foundation of the Union lies on free Grace so the Application thereof and the abundant help arising thence is carried on through the method of free Grace only for Faith can converse with nothing in order to the Life of the New Man but Free Grace only in the Promse The very nature of free Promises do present to the Soul the consideration of all Relief to lie originally in God and that the Soul is invited thither only to fetch it and cannot possibly return empty for the dispensation of which Grace to the Sons of Men God manifests himself in the Person of the Son who dwells in Humane Nature displaying the Evidence of this Grace in the Gospel and by his Spirit persuades the believing Soul to accept and improve it And the Soul being thus persuaded that his life lies in Christ upon a free Covenant grounded in God's Decree established on free Promises may not stay to ask leave of his guilty heart whether he be fit to lay hold upon this Deliverance but must rather consider the freeness of Grace Pardon and Righteousness which is in this new and living way which God hath made and not Man If Elijah had poured only on the parched Earth that was under his feet he could have had no Argument of Moysture to arise from thence but having by faith prayed to him who governed the Clouds down came Rain and the Drought vanished Guilt of Sin is like a Hedge or a Wall that can easily keep the heart in Impenitency and Unbelief but when Faith working by Repentance seizeth on Jesus Christ it gives Wings to the Soul of a Believer to fly up above all those hindrances of natural Guilt and Weakness and though Sin and Death remain in his Flesh yet he is got beyond the Captivity of the Law of Sin which can no more keep him from the Freedom wherewith Christ hath made him free than a Hedge can keep an Eagle from soaring up in the Air. The Sap which feeds Guilt is Unbelief now when the Sap is withdrawn the Tree dies away by degrees although it remains in its place for a season so is it with the Old Man it combers the heart a while but
a curious Key to the Wards of a Lock and intermits not the least moment from suitable and needful help Isa 27. 3. only he manageth it in his own method which a resigned Soul owns he is satisfied and delighted in Hence comes Peace when the Soul Peace of a Believer by Resignment having viewed the Compass of plentiful Redemption the strength of the Rock that is under him and the Helmet of Salvation that is over him saith Return O my soul to thy rest for God hath dealt bountifully with thee God hath delivered my life from going down to the pit and my eyes from tears and my feet from falling Psal 116. 7 8. I will now lay me down and sleep for no less than God himself makes me to dwell in safety Psal 4. 8. The Peace of Resignation is Christ's Peace which none can divide from a Believer it is his Garison and fortified Security Col. 3. 15. Joh. 14. 27. And from hence flows Love to God the Father Son and Spirit The Love Love of the Father in the Son and by the Spirit in all the unspeakable discoveries of it warms the heart into this Resignation unto him 1 Joh. 4. 19. Christ appearing so amply furnished to conciliate Love and presenting the Bracelets of his kindness and declaring his Wealth Power and Glory of his Kingdom Psal 145. 11. as once Abraham's Servant did to Rebeccah in behalf of Isaac he gains the heart of a Believer to forsake former Contents and resign up the utmost Affections to him The more the Soul resigns the more doth it love and the more it loves the more it doth resign to him The Love of God shed abroad into the heart by the Spirit from the heart of Christ breeds Resignation and that Resignation still feeds Love each moving other with a perpetual motion and so from an endless Principle of Union with Christ runs forth to all Eternity From whence ariseth also a sense Freedom of perfect Freedom the Pales of distance are broken down free Access to God in Christ is gained Mis-apprehensions removed and Open-heartedness interweaves betwixt Christ and the Soul The Heir is no longer Servant but a Son Esther is brought from the Custody of Hegai to the King's Palace The boundless Deity in all its Purity Power and Protection is the Range of a resigning Believer The Law is removed the Prince of this World is judged and cast out the former state of Enmity and Bondage is over and gone and now the Soul dilates it self with full spread into that Freedom wherewith Christ hath made it free Joh. 8. 36. Gal. 5. 1. Which Freedom brings in Boldness along with it the Soul being Boldness once resigned up to Christ is no longer a Stranger but of his Houshold yea betrothed to his Person in Righteousness and Tender Mercy and is always in his eye Resignation betwixt Christ and the Soul being mutually past Darkness is swallowed up of Light there is no shelter for the Beasts of Prey no Weapon that is formed against a Believer can prosper who has resigned himself to the Former of all things he may now dwell safely in the Wilderness and sleep in the Woods a Lyon-like Courage grows in the Soul from the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah to whom by Resignation it is united What now may hinder Satisfaction Why may not the Soul say I Satisfaction have enough my Inheritance is lawfully gotten neither have I got it with my Sword and Bow as Jacob got a Portion from the hand of the Amorite but I have given my self for it I have resigned my whole self to Christ and he has resigned his whole self to me I own and accept his Resignation and he accepts mine What further remains than that I bid farewel to mine own Poverty and Wretchedness and put on Change of Raiment Why may not I dwell amidst the Flagons Cant. 2. 5. of his satisfying Presence I am filled and my Cup runs over And now also who may hinder a satisfied Soul from Joy Will not Joy all the Foundation-work and Walls of this Building bear a Superstructure of Joy in the Holy Spirit Is not the upshot of this Resignation betwixt Christ and a Believer mutual Joy He joys over his beloved with singing Zeph. 3. 17. and her soul rejoyceth in God her Saviour Luk. 1. 47. As far as any degrees of this Resignation tastes these high Privileges so doth a relish of Joy grow in the Soul Resignation brings the Soul into the heart of Christ who hath triumphed gloriously in rescuing his Spouse and now rejoyceth over her as a Bridegroom rejoyceth over the Bride Isa 62. 4. and in the day of the gladness of his heart calls her Hephzibah My delight is in her Which Joy begets an Eccho of its own likeness from her again My delight is in him And thus the Crown of Joy is placed on the Head of Spiritual Resignment The Soul cannot resign to God without Joy in him nor rejoyce in him without Resignment They live in one another because the Seed and Nature of all spiritual Privileges lies in every Privilege and the Nature of this Privilege being endless because God is everlasting the Crown of Joy can therefore never wither And the more this Resignation to God in Christ gets Ground in An Entrance to the purchased Possession the Soul the more is an Entrance made into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ not as it is a Work done by us but wrought in us in which the heart is made to give way and is made voluntary therein by the Spirit of Grace Which Work is here carried on through much Contradiction in the Flesh which strives against it while the Inward Man in every Believer pants after it and finds no Rest but as the Power of this holy Resignation to God in all things prevails till at last it steps over Mortality and leaves every Obstruction behind perfectly and for ever and then God is all in all Christ enjoying his Spouse without any Reluctancy or Unsuitableness in her and she enjoying her Husband without any Vail upon his Face she hears his pure Language and returns pure Language again Love has its full vent on both sides the mutual Yerning of Bowels will then be satisfied the Voice of COME which sounds from Christ above and the Believer below will period it self in one eternal unseparable Meeting Resignation will then enjoy an uninterrupted Delight How astonishing is the thought of this When the thought of it is strained through the weakness of my Faith conflicting with so much Darkness and present Treachery of heart and Self-unworthiness the Glympses thereof makes me both fear and rejoyce at once and yet am not able to rejoyce perfectly for fear nor fear perfectly for hope O infinite Redeemer be over and above all my fear and faintness act like thy self almightily and freely that my heart may shout for Joy in the hope of the
Glory of God and the day of refreshing which is promised to appear Even so come Lord Jesus And now if I might out of all these Considerations but take home to my own heart a few Chips to kindle mine own Fire and be really resigned one Inch nearer to Christ I should think the Meditations of this day happily given in What else doth my Soul long for Some Crumbs of this glorious Banquet that my Soul may inwardly commend the Feast and say The Lord hath done great things for me Yea Lord let thy Kingdom come and thy Will be done I wait and cry Amen Amen How to find God a SANCTVARY in time of Trouble With the manner of the AVTHOR'S entring into Covenant with God PErceiving a dark Cloud and tempestuous Storm to be rising and being called to enter into the Chambers of Divine Protection Isa 26. 20. and finding it the practise of the Lord's people Psal 57. 1. and 143. 9. and Jesus Christ having declared himself a Shelter from the Storm Isa 32. 2. and inviting me to enter into his Rest Matth. 11. 29. I judge it my duty to follow his Voice and betake my self to the Horns of the Altar but being hindred by my own Guiltiness and Unbelief am forced either to wander into Desolation of Mind or else to endeavour to cut my way through the Incumbrances of my own darkness by the Sword of the Spirit If the Lord shall be pleased to favour me and bless this Attempt I shall be safe under his Wings And seeing nothing makes Calamities terrible but Guilt of sin I judge it my duty to set my main Battery against that Strong Hold And to that end having chosen out for my help that blessed Word Rev. 1. 5. He that hath loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood Which Scripture yields excellent Relief to that Soul that can mix it with Faith The words He that hath loved us do import the Ground of a Sinner's Union with Christ for such is the nature of Love and we must be one also with him before ours can be made his and his made ours And the words our sins and his own blood How Christ's blood doth wash being compared together shews that from Union with him flows a transferring of our sins upon him and as it were mixing them without any personal stain with his Blood and so made his Our Infection by his own Will entred as it were by Imputation and Burthen into the Blood of the unspotted Lamb. He suffered himself who was personally without sin to be all over laden with the real Imputation of the loathsome Nature and absolute Guilt of our sins and so became sin for us and yet his Blood remained pure and himself without sin The word Washed alludeth to legal Washings for Purification He removed our sins from us making them no longer ours but his own as the filth of a Garment is washed whereby the Garment becomes clean so our sins passed away Zach. 3. 4. by Imputation and burthen of the Curse into the living Body and Life-blood of Jesus Christ And so the Sinner as the original and principal Malefactor and Christ as Surety do stand both of them before God the righteous Judge and both in some kind equally liable to Sentence for if Christ had not been able to have freed himself from those sins they would have sunk him and the Sinner too And herein the Metaphor of washing a Garment comes short of this Mystery for the filth being gone from the Garment into the Water the Garment is thereby actually cleansed though the Water be never cleansed from the filth that it borrowed of the Garment because the Water and the Garment are two seperated things but in this mystical Washing the Person washed and the Blood washing are joyned together in the Union of Christ's Mystical Person so that if Christ who is the Surety miscarry in his work all they whose hope of Redemption lies only through Mystical Union in their Interest in him must needs perish with him and if he prevail they are delivered for this Washing at his Agony and Death was in some sence Inchoative and yet accounted perfect and was so as it stood in relation to and connexion with his Resurrection which made him a compleat and perfect Author of Eternal Salvation Heb. 5. 9. But how Christ could bear our How a pure Christ was made Sin for us sins and be made Sin for us and yet be personally pure this is a great wonder and he must be without sin all the while else he could not have done away our sins One Contrary expels another but he doth it not at a distance as the Light of the Sun drives away Darkness before it but he enters sinlesly into the state of our Sin that we might enter into the state of his Righteousness He cures not as a Physician who cures by Medicines but was himself touch'd with our infirmities he was made Sin for us he espoused not only the punishment of our Sins to himself but was married also to our Guilt and to all the dreadful workings of it so far as that it made him sick and sorrowful even to the very death He had the guilt of our delight in sin without any delight in it He made himself guilty of all our sins but had none of his own nor no defilement to his Nature by ours If one Man be guilty of another's sin he is defiled himself without lessening the defilement of the other Man because the Guilt is not translated from the one to the other but extendeth and spreadeth its poysonous nature from the one to the other and so fills as it were both Vessels without any remove of the Guilt but Christ's Nature being capable of no personal Infection gives liberty and scope to the Guilt of a Sinner to vent it self wholly into the bottomless and endless Satisfaction Merit and Righteousness of Christ the Mediator till the last drop of it be gone and the Fountain dried up through Union with his spotless Nature Our sins touched him as to an experimental sence of the filth and burthen of them He bare our sins in the Body of his Flesh but that Flesh being personally united to the Godhead remained pure and uncapable of any Corruption through the purity of that personal Union But how unexpressibly far he took in the sense and burthen of all sin and made it his own in the utmost measure and how infinitely pure he still remained the knowledge of this the Angels desire to look into and must be reserved till the Saints come to know as they are known of him Sin dwells in our Nature habitually and actually but lay upon him by Imputation and so passively his Nature bare our sin but could not act it But how should a Sinner come to enjoy Redemption from his Sins by a Mediator thus wonderfully qualified and so admirably sustaining a sinner's guilt This is worth the Enquiry I
Redeemer the Fountain of Acceptation Pardon Life and Health In his hands I desire to leave you and remain c. 1658. To S. D. H. N o 33. I Thought good to send you a Line or two I am my self through the goodness of God in health and in hope of greater things to the Inner Man than I can yet attain My Life is a Warfare in all Respects O blessed be the Lord that is never weary of such a defiled Lump but holds my Soul in some life to this day with expectation that he will never leave till the Wilderness be made a fruitful Field and the Old Man be utterly destroyed for strong is he who hath promised and there shall be a performance to the patient attending on his Word God doth so order the bringing about of our eternal Rest that when he has lifted us over all the Mountains and Valleys of this present Pilgrimage he may at length be admired in them that believe and give matter of eternal Praise when we shall look back and see how we have escaped the devouring Floods and by his hand behold all the present spiritual Enemies lie dead for ever The Weary shall be refreshed the longing Soul satisfied the Captive delivered and the Scattered be yet gathered and return to Zion The Zeal of a faithful and gracious God and our Redeemer will accomplish this Be things how they will yet we are not allowed to say Our Wound is incurable but rather say Salvation is of God and he will be surpassingly wonderful to them that wait on him What though the Fig-Tree do not blossom yet God cannot alter the Word that is gone out of his Mouth Fear not for I have redeemed thee Isa 43. 1 c. Thou art mine to revive the spirit of the humble Isa 57. 15. He delights to dwell among broken Bones as his dwelling place that the Mourners may sing away their grief in God their Saviour There I leave you and commending you to the Lord I rest c. 1658. To D. H. N o 34. SUch is our bodily condition that we cannot make up these distances without the intervening of Letters or Friends but that Communion which I trust we have mutually though under much darkness with the Father and the Son by the Spirit of Grace needs no such helps I trust our Prayers meet at a shorter Cut and that we strive together in the same Faith of the Gospel It may be you find you have much to do to keep your head above water I find the same I bear about the same Body of Death and find the same Contradiction in my corrupt and confused Nature One Christian seems to out-run another till God reveal the mischievous Hell that dwells in our Flesh Then Paul himself will cry out O wretched man that I am and Isaiah that Evangelical Prophet be forced to say All our Righteousness is as filthy Rags What are our poor glimmerings to the brightness of the Sun of Righteousness Were there not an equal Relief in the Mediator for the youngest and weakest of the Flock as well as for them who have long travelled in the Profession of Godliness the Accoutrements of the most experienced Christians would shrivle up and wither away and leave nothing behind in the Soul but such an Out-cry as those Who shall dwell with everlasting Burnings but he that dwells in the burning Bush keeps it from consuming 'T was only the Likeness of the Son of Man that made the three Children in Daniel walk up and down in the Fire and yet safe from burning I will be with you saith God in the Fire and Water his Name is Emanuel God with us His Covenant is free the Purpose of Grace wonderful his good Will ariseth only from himself and will not cannot change and therefore the Sons of Jacob are not consumed We little think oft-times in our fear and discouragement how far our weak Prayers reach they are like an Arrow gone out of our sight and we many times think them lost and forgot and consider not that every dry Groan and watery Tear is put into the Bottle and winds up through the ascending vertue of the Mediation of him who is one with the Father to the Throne of Acceptation Let us comfort one another in this hope that we may labour and travel hard but not faint by the way I remain yours in the highest Bond c. 1658. To S. H. N o 35. I Am much refreshed that the Lord doth so favourably deal with your heart 'T is the best News you can write me of your particular to hear that you are toyling with a bad heart and hurried to and again by one Wave after another This may not be accounted bad News because the straitness of the way to Life consists in such a Warfare 'T is good News to hear that a poor Creature that is not able of her self to think one good thought should earnestly desire to be rid of all sin and that she might own the Holiness of God's Nature against all Pollution The Thirsty shall be filled that 's good News Matth. 5. 6. Always keep these two Supports ready viz. God is both able and willing to perfect his work in you to the end Whatever your Fight be let your Weapons be Prayer and Faith and you shall get the day I leave you to the Lord and rest c. 1658. To B. D. N o 36. I received the sad News of my deceased Sister blessed be the Name of him who was dead and is alive and will shortly cause the Dead to come forth that will be a blessed day for all the Redeemed to visit their precious Kindred And blessed be him who has in any gracious measure watered your heart let him favourably add this also viz. That upon all the Glory there be a Defence This is by my precious Friend whom God hath mightily rescued by his Grace I want nothing but more Communion with that God which you pant after more Faith more Truth and Resting upon him more Satisfaction in him that I may say and believe and sing God is my Portion Will he not rend the Heavens Will he not rend these hearts and appear That the Mountains of every fear and disquiet may skip like Lambs before the presence of our God When shall the Promises be Substance and a faithful compassionate God be an abundant Salvation Can the lowring face of an uncertain World and the things thereof make the Promise and unchangeable good Will of God of no effect doth not he whisper through every dark Cloud and say Come up hither The Lord open our ears to Instruction and let us rejoyce to take our leave of that which will not profit Every Prayer we make saith We have chosen an invisible Inheritance Oh what a glorious thing is Faith at a desperate pinch Then is his Throne high and lifted up when Christ is in profit and loss in life and death the hearts advantage above these
lower Ebbings and Flowings The Lord be with you c. 1659. To B. D. N o 37. IT were a miserable thing for a gracious heart to suffer Crosses if the Curse were in them but seeing their Nature is changed our misery doth not lie in such Dispensations but our Instructions are therein though it is hard to say and believe it and when the Clouds seem to gather thick over ones head then to claim sheltering teaching and purging Power under the Wings of God and to sing as Luther was wont Psal 46. God is a Refuge for us Selah that is a posture some way becoming an Heir of Life and Glory whose Estate is truly secured beyond Thief or Moth. I am sometimes even amazed to think how short I come of what I seem to be and of real acknowledging that God and living in that absolute blessed Covenant which I profess my self a sharer in And doth not these things require rough Dispensations inward or outward to awaken and send a poor Sinner home to that Advocate who is King Prophet and Priest to help But alas dry words my leanness my leanness yet strong is he who hath in some part already and will yet further one day totally remove all things that offend Let us bless him love him and honour all his ways The Lord help you and I to live above the Changes of this lower World There is a Magnanimity in Faith which overcometh the World if we could but attain that pitch The Lord establish our hearts and hopes upon himself he changes not and blessed be his Name I leave you with him and rest c. 1659. To D. D. N o 38. I Know no Refuge but in God and blessed be his Name his Name is a strong Tower this World is but a withering Portion a bad Prop to lean upon the Covenant of Grace will make amends for all I may not complain unless it be against my Unbelief God must have the Glory of all his works and therefore blessed again and again be his Name he hath not left his people whatever the World expect or think and therefore let us charge our hearts to resist sinful Melancholy his ways are still Mercy and Truth and the Children of Zion must shall and will rejoyce in their King a mighty King their and our Saviour The Lord is the Pilot of his Church and People the Vessel may be tost but cannot miscarry such honour and privilege have all believing Penitents The Clouds are thick below but the Lord rules above and hath said It shall be well with the Righteous And though I am unrighteous yet he who I desire to make the Object of my Faith is perfect and in his Righteousness I trust mine there I would cling and rejoyce in the hope of the Glory of God yet to be revealed c. 1659. To D. H. N o 39. SEeing our time here is a Warfare 't is a comfort to perceive the Lord's presence with any poor Soul so as to make it stand out in hope and prayer while Temptations and Corruptions like fiery Darts are flying thick on every side It never goes desperately ill with those that travel towards Zion and are acquainted with Assaults from Satan and hearttreachery from themselves till they begin secretly to whisper Rebellion against the Covenant and Law of God's Grace and say There is no help for me in God David's Excellency lay not so much that he was freer from Sin and sinful Miscarriages than others but in this that he could not endure to say or hear others say of him There is no help for him in God Psal 71. 11. c. 3. 2. and c. 42. 10. That was the Anchor that made him ride out Storms and the Rope that drew him up out of many a deep Pit Let us use the same means with reverence and yet with freedom God is a jealous God and cannot endure to be accounted changeable Jer. 33. 24 25. he keeps both ends of the Covenant and will not give the Glory of any part of that Trust out of his own hands Every Desire every Thirst and Exercise of Resolution or Hope heavenwards and every Soul and Body-deliverance to such ariseth from this viz. that God is faithful 2 Thes 3. 3. though our Labour and Prayer ought therein also to be employed viz. as the means which God has commanded on our part for a Closing with the efficatious vertue of his Spirit by believing whereby the force of Christ's Death and Resurrection becomes singly applicable to remove Guilt and confer a gracious Conformity to his Nature and the Law of Righteousness in the Soul I see you level at the right Mark and own your Relief from the right place and why may I not say You shall yet see greater things than these c. 1659. To D. H. N o 40. THe Lord be praised that you are within such a Covenant that nothing can befall us for evil while our eye is truly rolling heaven-ward yea within such a Covenant as is confirmed in the Blood of him who is able to turn the heart and eye heaven-ward That God hath dealt so favourably with your heart as to tie it to a hungry pursuit after him is much comfort to my Soul and matter of praise to his Name And I account it no small Mercy that my Child is under your care and both of you under God's gracious Wing When we acquaint one another that every day we live is a day of Battel and that the Enemy within us doth rage this is no reason of discouragement because the Battel is the Lords I am put every day to fly to the City of Refuge and I bless the Lord I never found the Gate quite shut against me yet I am forced sometimes methinks to squeeze in Which difficulty ariseth from my Unbelief and want of retaining a frame of tender Resignation not from any straitening in his Bowels but in my own but these days of distance are hastening away I perceive your eye grows dim the Lord bless the Means for Recovery however be not dismayed you shall want never an eye when your Body shall be raised incorruptibly 't is not long thither the Redeemer will be seen eye to eye and then farewel all Imperfections c. 1659. To D. H. N o 41. I Perceieve B. Cr. hath much trouble through Indisposition of Body and it is good it should be so though disquieting to the Flesh and you have a gracious share I perceive also In such Cases it will be some help to turn our thoughts from poring upon the Affliction it self and endeavour by all means to find out the Lesson which God is teaching thereby for that is properly and truly our work in that Christ hath born the Curse for us he hath taken away the wrathful Penalty and left only an awakening and instructory Nature in all the Afflictions that his People meet with Isa 27. 7 8 9. and 63. 9. Psal 89. 30 31 32 c. Oh that
Affections The Lord's Promise is to satisfie the longing Soul To whose favourable Hand and rich Grace I commend you Faithful is God who hath called you into the Fellowship of his dear Son and thereby you have boldness to enter in within the Vail and he hath promised you shall never be cast out for your Iniquities he will remember them no more And though the Cross be somewhat difficult to bear yet the Reserve at last will fully recompence all and therefore lift up your head for Redemption is coming c. 1674. To B. D. N o 116. I Bless the Lord I can remember and mention you as one who is interested in that Promise Jer. 32. 41. I will rejoyce over them to do them good and that he will never leave you till he has perfected that which concerns you in a way of Grace Mercy and Love My great and often Request on your behalf is above all that God would preserve you from the Evil of Sin and from Snares in your daily Walk that he would sprinkle you with the Blood with the Merit of Christ's Satisfaction and Righteousness that he would direct your Path and do all your Works in you and for you and cause you to lean strongly and chearfully on the Arm of his Truth and Grace in reference to all present and future Trials and that you may more than conquer through believing in every Exigence you do or may meet with till the Warfare be accomplished and the days of Trial finished in the Fruition of perfect Freedom For my own part I have reason to bless the Lord that he has favourably held me up and carried me along now these many years since we saw each other though exercised me with some difficulties and considerable Losses yet I hope and do think he has some way or other a Reserve of Kindness for me unworthy me and mine for the Earth is the Lords and the fulness of it And through this Grace I have in some measure and desire held on still to chuse him for my Portion as to things present and eternal As his time was writing of one deceased so your and my times are in the hands of God who is most wise and to be adored and submitted to The days of our anxious Pilgrimage are running out the Lord direct our eyes to that serene unchangeable State where Sins Fears Temptations Turmoils and Difficulties will cease for ever To the Care Counsel Comfort and Communion of whose gracious Spirit I commend you 1674. To T. M. N o 117. SOme time since I received from you a large and very savoury Letter which I do now and then peruse as a friendly Monitor and good help for taking the better view of mine own heart and that Letter together with the Acquaintance I had with you in London doth cause me the oftner to remember you with delight I have understood of your Health by several Friends which I desire if the Lord please may continue and prosper as I am persuaded through the Influences of the Spirit of Christ and his unchangeable Love your Soul prospers To that rich Grace of Christ and to his blessed Conduct in all your Concerns I commend you c. 1674. To H. W. N o 118. REmembring that ancient Amity and Respect that was heretofore between my Father and your self and the continuance thereof for a long time after his Decease between your self and his Family and being not at all conscious to my self that I have for my own part hitherto merited much less designed the Suspence of that good Will but being still heartily desirous of your Welfare I am though distant in place yet as occasion presents often enquiring how 't is with you and understanding that your days are yet drawn forth and that your Pilgrimage though under much infirmity of old Age doth yet continue I was willing to evidence my real Respects unto you by a Line or two and as I do not doubt but that your general aim throughout your days have been to employ your Talent in the Service of Christ while strength and time permitted so I earnestly desire that in the Approaches of a Dissolution you may find that fulfilled to you which David prayed for viz. That the Lord would not leave him in his old Age when Strength faileth Psal 71. 9. The same I desire for you even that you may now experience the refreshing vertue of all those Gospel-Truths which Christ hath so long intrusted you with as his Messenger unto others that you may have the Merit of his Satisfaction and Righteousness applied for your perfect Absolution from all Sin and Guilt the Influence and Conduct of his Spirit to water and steer all your Meditations thoughts hopes and desires the Consolations of his Grace and Love to sweeten your Travel through the Valley of Death and give you at last a refreshing Arrival at the Throne of eternal Rest and there harbour you after all the Incumbrance and Warfare of this present state in the Fruition of his immediate Presence without spot in Jesus Christ the Glimpses whereof I heartily desire you may before-hand partake of as an Earnest of that great full and perfect Revelation and Enjoyment when Time shall be no more So with my hearty and unfeigned Respects I remain yours in Truth and true Affection c. 1674. To H. W. N o 119. I Received yours of the 25th past which was exceeding welcome to me and therefore I return you hearty thanks both for it and your candid Acceptation of that Token I sent you being an Indication such as it was of the respect and value which from my very heart and that deservedly I bear towards you Your Letter written as I see with an aged feeble hand I have read over with great Acceptation and account it to me the same as a precious Balm I understand that Mr. Oxenb after a very small time of Sickness in a few moments space departed this Life And thus we are dropping away hastning towards a Dissolution where the eye that now seeth us shall see us no more Blessed be that Redeemer who will not call home any of his peculiar number before he has finished the design of his Grace and the purpose of his Will by them and in them And blessed are those Souls that are in any saving measure helped by his Spirit to creep out of themselves into his heart and in that Union partake of all the Benefits of his Death and Purchase both for present Grace and hope of Glory In which number I am undoubtedly persuaded that you are included and that you lie under the Aspect of that Divine Goodness and Love which will feed the Oyl in your Lamp and cause your Lamp to be ready trimmed and burning that so when the Bridegroom comes and calls you off to Immortality and Life you may be able to say Loe I come for all is ready Such a readiness the Lord grant also to my poor Soul To his
be able to speak to the hearing of the ends of the whole Heavens O the Melody of that great day when Saints and Angels innumerable shall be the Pronouncers Oh never such Melody Melody that may be heard Millions of Years Millions of Miles O Lord keep me in my present work till thou callest me to future work and prepare me for the glorifying of thee for ever Help me in this instant help me leave me not now help me through this Thicket graciously Lord graciously deal with me at my Dissolution that nothing but Actings of Love and Grace may be shining upon Me. I leave me with thee I desire to do it perfectly April 19. He spake to one that had watched with him the foregoing Night You see how it is with me You are young the Lord affect your heart with a true sense of your eternal State that you may not be befooled of your immortal Soul by a tempting Devil and a tempting World Some space after he took occasion to say It makes my Soul ashamed within me sometimes that I have had the whole Book of all God's Promises and Covenant before me and do believe that there is mine Inheritance and yet to be in such a posture as I am Alas to be made the Children of the Most High and to live like Fools it should make the Soul long to have the utmost of the Grace promised I expect every night and every day and every piece of a day to be gone that when-ever any Qualm comes upon me I am ready to think this is the time and yet I find in my self a natural Reluctancy against Death that I would and I would not but where-ever my Damp my Black my Disquiet is it ariseth from some Tardiness in my Soul to my God I have a great desire to be freed from my Burthens and to be in that State I greatly long for but yet I would willingly that God should pitch my Stakes and determine the matter God's Wisdom and his Goodness goes together for God's Attributes do not cross one another I ought to have a Manly Walk with God it is not a crouching crimbling childish foolish unexpert Walk By Manly I mean to weigh things as they are in the grave Discovery of Scripture Surely I long to be in the Fountain to see it and be for ever in it To one asking him how he did he said It is a great Mercy that my Mind abides in any Conjuncture and that the Wheels of the Clock do not fall all out of order I cannot now converse but I think the Trade meaning the Heavenly Trade goes on and the Lord make it a smart Trade Lord teach me how frail I am all things are best known by Experience as Learning is obtained by Observation Rules and Precepts April 20. Finding himself exceeding faint and weak said I could now lie down and say This is my last if the Lord saw it fit having much ado to retain Life To a Christian Friend that came to visit him he said Blessed be the Lord for the Covenant of Grace and the Surety of that Covenant where our stay is All Goodness all Mercy all Peace c. The way and method God takes he himself hath cut out but what his scope is in this my present Case I do not know Afterward it being told him of the death of an aged Relation who lived to above fourscore Years he spake to this effect Is he dead with whom I never had the opportunity seriously to converse with in the things of a spiritual World Surely this is the time to do any thing for God and to be helpful to others The Lord bless the Providence to that poor Woman his Wife To another Friend taking leave and saying The Lord be with you I hope he will carry you to your Journeys end he replied I hope he will I believe he will never leave me nor forsake me To another poor Christian he gave this Counsel Cling upon Christ and he will never leave you I cannot say much but be sure of that follow hard after Christ and he will never leave you That is all my Experience all that I have been a learning of the Truth and Faithfulness of God these scores of Years Only love him only obey him entirely seek him pray to him much for that is the only likeliest way and I never heard of any that did it faithfully and was lost Then he prayed O my God be near me suffer nothing to miscarry through the All-sufficiency of thy infinitely great Grace To a dear Friend that came to visit him telling him that he was very much upon the hearts of the People of God who prayed for him he replied these words That one heart of Christ sets other hearts awork He farther said I am glad to see you upon account of former Intimacy but I chiefly rejoyce that you have found the same God in Prayer that I have done and that you are hankering after the same Fountain and Spring and cannot live without it as God hath given me also an unwearied Reach after and upon these Grounds I am glad to see you My dear Friend fare you well the Lord be with you To a Relation he spake thus Spring to Heaven though for your springing you spring out of the Body and leave it behind you Let us look to it lest you and I fall short of our Hope Multitudes of Professors standing aloof off have lost their way they have lost their work they have lost their end Our opportunity is as clear in our hand now as ever it was in the hand of David or Paul or any of the Saints of God that lived before us Oh how do I love to see Grace grow in Friends in Relations c. The Lord be with you and carry you and make your Affliction to be a sanctified Affliction that in a little while you may not have any burthen but may see your Salvation and have it April 21. To another Visitant he spake thus I may not stand wondering meaning in reference to his long Sickness but yet I may wonder indeed that ever God made me a Man that ever he made me a rational Creature that ever he brought me forth into the World where the Gospel was and that he hath told me that he will save me for ever Oh that I could wonder admire and adore it You duggle up and down and so I have done heretofore and here we walk over but a little Ground and if we obtain little or much it is but a little got in a little Ground and we have therein trouble But Oh what is it to flee over the whole Heavens and to be every where in God and in Christ In all other good things relating only to this Life all the pleasure we have in seeking them is to think how pleasurable they will be to us when obtained But the delight and pleasure of spiritual things lie much in the very seeking of them