Name of God threaten all those people that seek not after the knowledge of God thâ—â— though God made them yet he will not save theâ— if they do not know him Isa 27. 11. For it is â—people of no understanding therefore he that maâ— them will not have mercy on them If thou doâ— not know God though thou hadst outward lifâ— from him yet thou canst not expect eternal lifâ— from him for if thou dost not know him he wiâ—â— not have mercy on thee And therefore To Remember thy Creator is to know God Secondly To Remember God is to Trust 〈◊〉 God to lay the confidence of the soul upon God and upon God only Psal 20. 7. Some trust 〈◊〉 chariots and some in horses but we will remember the name of the Lord our God So much faith in God so much remembrance of God when God is not believed on and when God is distrusted when any thing beside God is trusted then God is forgotten And therefore when Solomon saith Young man Remember God that is seek after faith in God let them trust in God let them not trust in their strength trust in their parts let them not trust in their wealth let them not trust in their friends their fathers to provide for them no let them Remember God let them put their trust in God for that is a remembring of God Thirdly To Remember God is to Love God to prize him to have a high account of God to love him dearly above all things for when God is not loved above all things whatsoever God is forgotten We will remember thy love more then wine The upright love thee Cant. 1. 4. We will remember thy love more then wine that is our heart is affected with thy love our heart is taken with thy love we finde more sweetness in the love of Christ then in the sweetest of creature comforts so that when Solomon saith Young man Remember thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth that is set thy affections upon God betimes prize him above all thy comforts and enjoyments if the heart be not set upon God the Lord is forgotten Fourthly To Remember God is to Serve God and to obey God to walk with him and to worship him to honour him this is a Remembring of God Deut. 8. 11. Beware that thou for get not the Lord thy God in not keeping his commandments and his judgements and his statutes which I command thee this day If thou dost not yeild obedience to the will of God thou forgettest God but to yeild obedience to the Will of God is to Remember God So when Solomon saith Young man Remember God in the dayes of thy youth that is Walk with God and take heed of disobeying God sinning against God for if thou sin against God thou forgettest God and therefore be found walking with him and worship the Lord in truth for that is a remembring of him Fiftly To Remember God is to spend the thoughts of the heart upon God When a man spends many thoughts upon a person or upon such an object he then remembers it and so when the thoughts of the heart are spent upon God then God is remembred But when God is not thought upon but vain thoughts thrust out the thoughts of God there is no remembrance of God the wicked they are said to forget God God is not in all his thoughts Psal 10. 4. And therefore when Solomon saith Young man Remember God that is young man spend thy thoughts upon God thou hast many thoughts in youth do not let them run out to base objects to soul-destroying objects but Remember God let God be often in thy minde and let the thoughts of thy heart be spent on him thy many thoughts and thy best thoughts thy choice thoughts let them be spent on God for that is a Remembring of God Sixtly and lastly To Remember God is to Endeavour after communion with God Seek to see the face of God and to have the presence of God in and thorow Christ to walk with God this is a remembring of God when a man neglects his friend and hath no communion with him he is said to forget his friend and so that soul that seeks not after communion with God that soul forgets God And therefore when Solomon saith Young man Remember God that is let the strongest endeavour and pursuit of thy soul be after God that thou mayest enjoy God and act for God and serve him That 's the first particular you see what it is to Remember God But secondly The second thing is to shew you what cause there is that all the sons of men should Remember their Creator First of all God is worthy yea only worthy to be remembred What is in any creature in any object that does make it worthy of the thoughts of your heart Look unto God and you shall finde it infinitely more in him Is it Goodness Kindness bounty Liberality Wisdome Power and Greatness Beauty and Loveliness Go all the world over and finde out all the excellencies that you can name and you shall finde them all to meet and center in God all divine perfections are in him originally there is Love and Bounty Goodness and Meekness yea infinite grace in God He is good and he doth good and he doth good to the worst of creatures even to those that forget him while they run away from him Yea the most forgetful of God they have showers of mercy poured down every day upon their heads Now because of those excellent glorious perfections that are in God God is worthy to be remembred of the sons of men Secondly He is worthy to be remembred because he hath Done so much to be remembred God hath taken more care of this one thing then he hath done of any thing else besides the great work of the salvation of his people that the sons of men might remember him when man went out from God in Adam God saw that man would soon forget him man would have forgotten that there was a God now what a great deal hath God done that the sons of men might remember him He hath written the remembrance of himself upon every creature that wheresoever man looks either upward or downward he shall see some footsteps of God somthing that God hath done to remember him he hath engraven some remembrance of himself upon every creature Psal 8. 3 4. verse 9. When I consider thy heavens the work of thy fingers the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained Verse 4. What is man that thou art mindful of him and the son of man that thou visitest him When I saw saith he the remembrance of God that was graven upon the Sun Moon and Stars and so upon every creature on the face of the earth why then at Verse 9. he cries out O Lord our Lord how excellent is thy Name in all the Earth Nay The Lord hath engraven the remembrance of himself upon all his
him no if Christ had intended that Christ would never have come into those coasts and therefore his intent was not that she might not have found him he might have gone into the wilderness and gone where she might never have heard of him no that she might seek him and exercise faith and presse in upon him And oh that this might give incouragement to you poor souls who are looking after Christ who hath hid himself from you O consider that if Jesus Christ had intended so to hide himself as you should never find him Christ would never have come upon your coasts Christ would have gone some where else he would never have come so nigh to you as he hath done he would never have come so nigh to your souls and never have drawn nigh to you in such a word of grace and promise no he hides himself that you might seek him and not with an intent you might not find him Secondly consider what an ingagement this doth lay upon all our souls this example of the woman of Canaan in finding out Christ and pressing in upon Christ when she had no invitation Oh what an ingagement is this for our souls to believe in Christ What an ingagement to come to Christ to come in faith seeing Jesus Christ doth not hide himself in a private house as he did then no Christ he draws nigh to us and stands as it were upon the house top Wisdome stands in the open street and there she cries and makes proclamation O ye fools how long will you love folly ye simple ones how long will you love simplicity So then if she came to Christ when Christ hid himself what an ingagement have we to come to Christ when Christ stands upon the house top If she press'd in to Christ when she had no invitation O what an ingagement lies upon us in the day of grace to come to Christ We have many a word of incouragement He sayes Look to me and be you saved And he sayes Behold me to a nation that was not called by his name O the gracious invitations that we hear from Christ from day to day Christ sets the door of Grace wide open let him come and whoever will let him come and he doth ingage that whosoever comes shall not be shut out shall not find the door of Grace shut against him whoever comes to Christ by faith shall find that all their sins and iniquities shall not shut the door against them And therefore to conclude this if this woman came when she had no invitation to come O what an ingagement is it for us to come to Christ now Christ stands so as he may be seen afar off O that God would perswade the heart of some poor sinner to come to Christ by faith But to passe by this We shall now consider who this woman was A woman of Canaan came First Described first by a woman a woman is the weaker vessel more weak ordinarily then men stronger passions greater fears subject to doubts and yet here is a woman Behold a woman came Secondly She is described to be a Canaanite a woman of Canaan she was of the stock of the Canaanites a cursed Nation cast out of the Land for their abominations and their Land given to Israel for a possession and yet this woman though a Canaanite comes to Christ Thirdly She being a Canaanite it follows that before the Lord revealed himself to her she was a very sinful woman so the rest of the Canaanites were not only vile in respect of kindred but vile in respect of actual transgression and yet behold this woman of Canaan here coming to Christ So then the Doctrine is this That the Lord many times is pleased to make choice of the most weak and the most unworthy and the most sinfull and causeth them to come to Jesus Christ She was a woman there is her weaknesse a Canaanite there is her unworthiness sinful in respect of actual transgression even as the rest of the Canaanites We shall clear this Point to you from the Word of God and give you Instances that the Lord makes choise many times of the weakest and unworthiest and win upon their hearts and cause them to believe in Christ First of all for Gods chusing those that are weak and bringing home such to Christ it will appear that God many times chuseth the weakest Weak in respect of Estate Parts Age. Sex To clear these first Such as are weak in estate poor such as are mean in estate for the most part the Lord makes choice of such Go and tell John saith Christ Matth. 11. that which you have heard and seen unto the poor is the Gospel preached and the poor receive the Gospel And in James 2. Hearken my beloved brethren hath not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heires of the Kingdom Some rich some of great estates are chosen but for the most part the vein of Gods election runs thorough the loins of those that are poor Secondly Weak in parts If you consider such as are weak in parts and gifts that have no great natural parts and gifts God many times nay for the most part makes choice of such 1 Cor. 1. 26 27. For you see your calling brethren how that not many wise men after the flesh not many mighty not many noble are called but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the mighty Thirdly If we consider those that are weak in respect of age young men the Lord many times makes choice of young men bringing them in and revealing more of himself to them then he doth to old men youth is weak young men are weak though not in natural strength yet in morral strength for youth is accompanied with strong passions and lusts that weaken the mind and understanding young men for the most part are most rash and inconsiderate Arguments of weaknesse Young Rehoboam his young Counsel what rash judgement did they give to their King that cost him his life And young men are most apt to be lifted up with pride and therefore saith the Apostle A Bishop must not be a novice and yet many times notwithstanding young men are accompanied with so many weaknesses yet the Lord is pleased to make choice of them There are many Instances of it that the Lord hath made choice of young men and brought in young men He made choice of Samuel when he was very young he ministred before the Lord God spake to him and gave out visions to him concerning Elie's house when he was a child And so if you look upon all the Kings of Judah you shall find none more zealous for God then Josiah was Josiah was brought home to God when he was a young man 2 Chron. 34. In the eight year of his reign he made a great reformation
now speak to the second Proposition this woman was in great afflictions and distresse her daughter was possessed with a devil and that was a sore burden to her spirit Now this great affliction makes her cry loud for the Text doth not say she came intreated and besought him but the Text sayes she came and cryed unto him saying Have mercy on me O Lord. So then observe this Strong afflictions will raise strong cries even in Gods own people In the opening of the Point I shall shew you two things First That there is a cry of the flesh and a cry of the Spirit Secondly That great and sore afflictions of 〈◊〉 continuance may raise both these cries it will make both the flesh to cry and the Spirit to cry First There is a cry of the flesh and that is twofold It is either a natural cry 〈◊〉 sense which Nature hath of the burden and affliction which is upon it Or Secondly It is a sinful cry which is accompanied with disorder I say the cry of the flesh it is either meerly natural or sinful the flesh is weak it is an emblem of weakness and is weak indeed and a little affliction will make the flesh to cry the Lord remembred that man is but as dust before the wind Now the flesh may cry out and may complain and yet may not sin in that complaint it is true indeed when a man or woman shall cry out of a little affliction when the hand of God doth but touch him and then cry out with great cries strong cries when as the affliction is but little that discovers want of wisdom and want of strength but now when the affliction is very great sore and urgent and the flesh doth cry out through the frailty there may be an expression of complaint and yet not sinful Job in his great afflictions made many complaints poured out many strong cries and yet in many of his complaints he sinned not Job 6. 1 2 3. O that my grief were thoroughly weighed it would appear heavier then the sand of the sea Yea you shall find that our Lord Jesus Christ himself having taken our flesh and the frailties of our flesh for he took our humane frailties but no sinful frailtieâ— and in the dayes of his flesh he cryed his great affliction made him cry out he put up his cries with tears and supplications in the dayes of his flesh as the Apostle speaks Heb. 5. 7. And in Psalm 22. which Psalm is a Prophecy of Christ he cryes out bitter 〈◊〉 My God my God why hast thou forsaken me â—hy art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring Strong cries and yet no sin in Jesus Christ so that the flesh may cry and yet not sin for grace when it comes into the soul doth not destroy nature it doth not make man insensible and the spirit insensible but it allows the flesh to be sensible and to cry out of his burdens so it be without sin Secondly There is another cry of the flesh that is raised by sore afflictions and that is a sinfull cry now this sinful cry you shall know it thus First of all It springs from pride it will make a man cry out through pride of heart he cannot bear his burden nor submit to the hand of God through pride of heart When a creature stands upon it to justifie himself and accuse God calls God to an account Why am I thus And what am I worse then others And why should God take me out from all others to make me an example to all others What have I done And what is my sin more then others When a creature will not submit to God in his afflictions but charge God foolishly and when as he quarrels with his affliction if any affliction but this I could have born it but as for this affliction my spirit cannot bear it O here is a cry that is raised by affliction but it is a sinful cry Secondly There is a cry in affliction that doth spring from impatiency and that is a sinful cry when a man or woman shall cry out with a great cry and make a great lamentation and yet their burden but an ordinary burâ—â—â— only they make it great through impatiency noâ— that the affliction is so in it self if the Lord had given a heart to carry patiently under it but there is many a poor creature struggles with his affliction as a young beast unaccustomed to the yoak the yoak is easie but by struggling and striving it pinches and makes it cry out and so a man by striving under the yoak of the Lord though it be Jobs counsel that it is good to bear the yoak yet it throught impatience cryes out this is a sinful cry Thirdly That is a sinful cry that springs from unbelief and is accompanied with unbelief when as a man or woman in time of affliction shall give way to hard thoughts of God whatever cry is accompanied with unbelief is a sinful cry Yet this is the case of many they cannot perswade themselves that there is any love in the heart of God towards them and any love in such an affliction I cannot believe it that there should be love in such an affliction that God should lay such a heavy burden upon me and have any love to me when it cries out thus with unbelieving cries this is a sinfull cry And so when a man cannot be perswaded that the Lord should make a good end with him in affliction O sure I shall perish one day and fall by the hand of this affliction I shall be broken all to pieces and never be able to stand under my burden when as the soul is thus filled with unbelieving dispairing thoughts concerning God and concerning the end of his affliction and so cry out in unbelief this is a sinful cry First And again great and sore afflictions may occasion such cries even sinful cries as the cry of unbelief and impatiencies and that upon this ground there are remainders of corruption in the best heart there is sinful flesh as well as spirit Secondly Great afflictions do expose Gods own people to great temptations many times they go together great afflictions and great temptations for the Devil seeks his opportunity to doe mischief as the Lord waits to be gracious so Satan waits to doe mischief Many times in great afflictions when the waters are high then the Devil will assault God makes use of affliction to make his people seek him early but now the Devil he waits to make the soul cry out with a sinful cry and many times the Lord suffers him to prevail But this cry of the woman of Canaan was not the cry of pride impatience and unbelief but her cry was the cry of the Spirit And therefore let us examine what that cry of the spirit is which the Lord doth raise in the hearts of his people in
because it is hard to make impression upon young men they being very apt to put the evil day far from them and to put the good day far from them too the day of conversion and returning to God being the first of all good dayes the day-break of Eternity he therefore doubles his Exhortation to them And he begins in chap. 11. verse 9. there he gives one warning piece to young men Rejoyce O young man in thy youth and let thy heart cheer thee in the dayes of thy youth and walk in the wayes of thine heart and in the sight of thine eyes But know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into judgement Youth is very sinful and it is very hard for young men to bear reproofs That Solomon speaks in an Ironical way that it might make impression upon their hearts as if he should give them leave 〈◊〉 do what they will Let thy heart cheer thee in the dayes of thy youth and walk in the wayes of thine heart and in the sight of thine eyes Take youâ— pleasure and run after vanity and scorn reproofâ— and satisfie your lust as much as you will do saith he But take this also with you Know that for all these things God will bring thee to judgement But how shall a young man be delivered from his folly What remedy is there against this evil in youth By what means may a young man be cleansed He sets down a remedy in the Text Remember thy Creator If thou wouldest be turned from sinful vanity in thy youth Remember God in thy youth And he presseth the Exhortation with many Arguments Remember now thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth Remember him So I will saith the young man I have health and strength and time before-hand I am but in the beginning of my youth and I may remember my Creator though I do it hereafter O! Take heed young man saith he Remember now thy Creator Take heed of delaying take heed of putting it off till another time do it now the future time is not in thy power thou know'st not what to morrow will bring forth and therefore if thou would'st remember God do it now And good reason that thou shouldest do it now for he is thy Creator thy being and thy soul is from him thy life is from him and thy comforts are from him He is thy Creator therefore remember him now And he presseth this Duty by the advantages which a man may have in youth of seeking after God and the disadvantages that will come by putting off seeking after God in early yeers There are evil dayes a coming saith he and therefore Remember now thy Creator before the evil day come There is the evil day of old age a coming and that Solomon describes by an excellent Allegory or Metaphor from vers 2. to ver 7. In verse 2. he sets forth the evil day of Old Age While the Sun or the Light or the Moon or the Stars be not darkned nor the Clouds return after the rain The Sun and the Moon and the Stars will be darkned saith he that is all the powers the faculties of thy soul thy understanding thy affections thy internal and external senses thy memory thy hearing and thy seeing and all other helps which he calls the Sun Moon Stars and Light they will be darkned there will be a decay in all the faculties of Nature The clouds return after the rain The body will be full of infirmities a cloudy day it will be the clouds return after the rain after the day when it hath rained insomuch as you think it would rain no more the clouds return again and so in old Age the clouds will return again and again upon thee there is a cloudy day a coming and a dark day in old age when thou canst not see to do thy work and therefore Now Remember thy Creator And there is another evil day that he speaks of in verse 7. and that is the day of death Then shalâ— the dust return to the earth as it was and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it Therefore considering all this I counsel thee to remember thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth The Proposition or Doctrine then is this That it is the duty of all the children of men to seek after God in the day of youth Therefore the Scripture takes notice of some of the servants of God and sets them forth as patterns and examples that every man should remember God in the dayes of his youth The Scripture takes notice of some good thing that was found in Jeroboam's childe 1 Kings 14. 12 13. Arise thou therefore get thee to thine own house and when thy feet enter into the City the child shall die And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave because in him there is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam In all the Family there was but one good childe and there is notice taken of him and the Lord thought of him in mercy that he did not see the evil that came upon his fathers house The Scripture takes notice also of Josiah in 2 Chron. 34. 3. For in the eighth yeer of his Reigne while he was yet young he began to seek after the God of David his father He was but sixteen yeer old and yet then did he seek after the God of David his father And David he tells us He trusted in God from his youth Psal 71. 5. For thou art my hope O Lord God thou art my trust from my youth And O that young men would look upon these patterns wherefore doth God take notice of them and wherefore are they recorded in Scripture but that young men might make them patterns and tread in their steps to Remember their Creator â—in the dayes of their youth But in the opening of the Point I shall first shew you what it is to remember God Secondly Shew you what cause all men have to Remember God Thirdly What advantage it is to Remember God in youth Fourthly Make some Improvement First What is it to Remember God First To Remember God is to know God knowledge is the beginning of remembrance there is no man can remember that which he doth not know therefore that man that is ignorant of God he doth not remember God neither can he because he doth not know God So then when Solomon saith Remember thy Creator in the dayes 〈◊〉 thy youth it is as much as if he should say betimes seek after the knowledge of God to know him as he is in himself and as he is in his Son to know him for your God and your portion and your Inheritance and your Saviour where there is no knowledge of God there is no Remembrinâ— of God Therefore the Prophet Isaiah dotâ— press men to seek after the knowledge of God and in the
Providences there is some remembrance of God upon every mercy all those mercies that have been made thy portion which thou hast enjoyed since thou hadst a beeing wherefore are they but that thy soul might remember God Nay God hath written his name upon his judgments in the earth that he might be remembred wherefore God he doth work wonderfully that as his mercies are wonderful so his judgements are wonderful wherefore doth God do such great things in the earth Doubtless that he might be remembred that men may say Verily there is a reward for the righteous and a God that judgeth the earth Nay God hath set up Conscience in every mans soul and wherefore hath God set up Conscience in every man but that Conscience might put us in minde of God That every man's Conscience might speak for God that it might stand up and cry for God Remember God and Conscience doth cry and doth speak and men may hear the cries of Conscience if they will not stop their ears When men sin Remember saith Conscience that for all these things God will bring thee to judgement Nay further God hath engraven his Name upon his Ordinances and the great end is that he might be remembred This is the great end of the Ordinance of the Lord's Supper Do it in remembrance of me saith Christ and so every Ordinance the Word that is preached to you it is that you might remember God wherefore is Prayer and every Ordinance but that the sons of men might remember God He hath engraven some remembrance of himself upon all his Ordinances See then what cause there is that you should remember God seeing God hath done so much that he might be remembred Thirdly There is cause that the sons of men should remember God for God is their Creator Remember thy Creator Now God being our Creator it is but a just and equitable thing that thou shouldest remember God thy Creator thy being is from him thy life is from him thy soul is from him thy comforts are from him all thy enjoyments are from him thou hast not the least comfort in the world but what comes from God he being thy Creator it is but a just thing that thou shouldest remember him yea thy dependance is upon him as he is thy Creator thy life is not only from him but thy life is in his hand and thy soul is not only from him but thy soul is in his hand it is in his power to kill and to save to destroy both body and soul And if there be so great a dependance that man hath upon his Creator that not only thy comforts but thy breathing thy soul and thy eternity is in his hand there is good cause that thou shouldest remember thy Creator Fourthly There is good cause that we should remember God for while you remember God you remember your selves for all good comes to the creature by remembring God thy peace and thy rest thy comforts thy satisfaction and thy contentments thy establishment of heart thy hope for life for heaven for glory there is not any good thing that a creature can enjoy or hope to enjoy but it must come in by remembrance of God And while you remember God you remember your selves remembring God thou enjoyest God and enjoying God thou enjoyest all good whatsoever good reason then that thou shouldest remember him That 's the second particular Thirdly I shall shew you what advantage it is to man to remember God in youth First There is this great advantage for the most part that soul that remembers God betimes in its coming unto God he findes the easie and the ready way to God the longer a man forgets God the further he goes from God every day he is going from God and therefore it will be the harder task to come back again it is a harder task to cast over a great Account then to cast it up while lesser though in respect of God all things are alike and God can as easily forgive many transgressions as few he can wash away great sins as well as small but yet when poor creatures come to look towards God through their unskilfulness they make it a difficult thing to finde God and to return to God when they go a great way from him the greater account they have to cast up it proves so to man because of his unskilfulness though to God all things are alike So that the sooner men begin to look after God they finde an easier way to come to Christ they have some helps in nature that when a man is once turned to the Lord his natural abilities being sanctified become great helps so that young men have more advantage in respect that natural parts are more strong the Understanding and Memory and Reason the Senses Internal and External they are all more vigorous and these prove helps to a man when once the heart is sanctified and the sooner a man turns to God the more he hath of these helps Yea Christ is very ready to go out to meet such children and young men Are the hearts of young ones towards the Lord The heart of Christ is towards them and he is mightily taken with such and will go forth and meet them The young Progigal in the Gospel no sooner did he think of returning to his fathers house but his father ran out to meet him But you will say for ought we see young men meet with as much trouble as others and when they come to remember God they are afflicted as much as others and it proves hard to them as to others I answer If it be so hard when they do return to God in youth it would have been much more hard if they had stayed till old age and if they do meet with difficulties and temptations and it prove a hard way it is because that the Lord seeâ— it is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth and I might add that the Lord will recompence all with abundance of grace and with the discoveries of himself That is the first advantage that young men have many times for the most part they finde the ready way to Christ Secondly They have this advantage The Lord for the most part doth discover more of himself to them that begin betimes to remember God then to those that begin more later Joel 2. 28. And it shall come to pass that I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh and your Sons and your Daughters shall Prophesie your old men shall dream dreams your young men shall see visions Let not old men grudge at God's dispensation it is mercy to them that they shall dream Dreams but the young men shall see Visions they shall have clearer discoveries of God and that is a great advantage Thirdly There is this advantage They that remember God betimes they have an opportunity of doing more for God then other men have for when men begin late it is work enough to get
remembred and of all things God only shut out O my friends Take heed of this great sin this Mother sin Forgetting God But secondly I beseech you to Remember thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth Young man do not put off your remembrance of God it may be you will say to me you will remember God hereafter that is folly The Wise man teacheth you better giveth you better counsel Remember thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth As much as if he should say Remember now thy Creator in what part of your youth soever you be Remember Now thy Creator Now seek after the knowledge of Christ if ten yeers old Now Remember God if fifteen years old if twenty yeers old Now Remember thy Creator yea if thirty years old and so to every Age to which the word of the Lord comes Even Now Now remember thy Creator And O that young men and young women would think upon the advantages that many have by remembring God in youth they were spoken of before And let me further tell you for your encouragement young men that to remember God betimes it is a great prerogative and a great dignity to be the first in Christ the Apostle speaks of some that were first in Christ and he speaks honourably of them Eph. 1. 12. That we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ And it was the honour of that people that were first in bringing back David great honour was put upon them that went out first to meet David their King And so to be the firstâ— that go out to meet with Christ the first that honour him the first that close with him and believe in him this is a prerogative and it is kindness that God will never forget Jer. 2. 2. Thus saith the Lord I remember thee the kindness of thy youth the love of thy espousals when thou wentest after me in the Wilderness in a Land that was not sown the kindness of thy youth I will not forget saith God And the Lord will say so to young men and young women that are looking after Christ and remember him betimes thou remembredst me in thy youth and I will remember the kindness of thy youth when thou leftest all to follow me thy vanity thy comforts thy contentments that other young men closed with and followed after though they lead to destruction this kindness of thy youth Christ will remember to the very last day And let none that hear me this day think that they are too young and 't is not for them to trouble themselves with such matters to remember God and to look after God as young as you have remembred God Jeroboams childe remembred God Josiah at sixteen years of age set himself to seek after the Lord And I pray consider youth go the grave as well as others nay more die in their youth then in their old age O that young men would remember God betimes And there is none so young but must be accountable to God there is sin enough to condemn the youngest if not actual sin thou hast a sinful Nature and that is enough to condemn the youngest that hears me this day And therefore O that the Lord would perswade young men to remember betimes their Creator and know that it will be your comfort in the latter end As the neglect of God in youth will be a great deal of sorrow when God smites and comes to lay you upon the bed of sickness and ready to give out your breath then it may be you will cry out Lord Remember me but how sad will it be to reflect upon your selves and to think that you have not remembred God When as it hath been the comfort of many a poor soul that their work hath been done and when they have lain upon their sick bed they have given up themselves willingly to God having gotten the knowledge of God and gotten faith in Christ they are blessing God that their work is done for them by Christ O how sweet and comfortable will it be to you young men when you come to die to see that your great work is done and that you have believed and have nothing to do but to die Solomon was very pittiful to your souls young men and therefore he calls upon you to Remember your Creator in the dayes of your youth And in the bowels of Christ I speak to you this day to study this lesson of lessons To Remember Now thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth And let me say to old men if young men had need to remember God Oh what cause have old men to remember God They that have lived many years and not remembred God O it is high time that thou shouldest make haste thou art going to the grave the land of forgetfulness where there is nothing can be done for eternity when once in the grave O that God would perswade the Ancient Such as have neglected to remember God that they would now remember their Creator and do not say I have mispent my youth and I fear my time is over and there is no hope for me I had as good go on in my wayes of sin O say not so The thoughts of the Lord are not as your thoughts nor his wayes as your wayes but as the Heavens are higher then the earth so are his thoughts above yours and his wayes above yours You have spent many years in sin and vanity and forgotten God and your thoughts have been upon vanity it may be many years but the thoughts of the Lord to do good to his people are from eternity O that Now you would at last in your old age remember God! Old men I beseech you to remember your Creator there is hope wherefore hath God spared you so long Reason so with with your selves to encourage you to look to Christ when through Unbelief you say there is no hope you have walked in sin and God might have cut you off and it is infinite mercy that God hath not cut you off but seeing the Lord hath spared me surely I may hope though I have forgotten God in the dayes of my youth yet say I will now remember my Creator and seek after faith in him And know for thy comfort and encouragement that there is infinite thoughts of mercy in the Lord Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and turn to our God for he will abundantly pardon Isa 55. 7. O stay no longer venture no longer for there is one evil day upon you the evil day of old age is upon you and there is another a coming O Remember God and make haste to do it quickly before the Sun and Moon and Stars be darkned before the body return to the earth and the spirit to stand before God that made it But I shall now come to press this duty upon
to David Doctrine How true faith closeth with Christ as Lord. The necessity of believing in Christ as Lord. What the Socmians object against this truth The second part of the Doctrine that true faith comes to Christ as he is the son of David A grosse mistake concerning the body of Christ The necessity that every man and woman believe in Christ as man Something to be read in that name thou son of David First fruit of this womans faith Doctrine The Point confirmed by Instances from Scripture The grounds of the Point Application How to know whether we keep our eye upon God Doctrine The cry of the flesh what it is The first cry of the flesh The second cry of the flesh How to know whether the cry of the flesh be sinful Grounds why there are sinful cries in Gods own people What the cry of the Spirit is Application Tryals to know whether our cry be the cry of the flesh or the cry of the spirit Doctrine The second part of the Doctrine Application Doctrine Gracious ends why the Lord defers an answer to the prayers of his people Application How to know when God hath heard our prayer The duty of such souls to whose prayers God is silent and gives no answer First to mind their duty Secondly to justifie God Thirdly to maintain good thoughts of God Fourthly be looking to God thorow the Mediator Fifthly wait patiently Doctrine Who Gods people are bound to pray for What are the special times in which we are bound to remember others before the Lord. Application What those times are that we are bound more especially to call upon others to seek the Lord for us Doctr. 1. Doctr. 2. Satans design Gods design Historical Proposition Vse 1. Vse 2. Vse 3. Vse 4. Application Vse 1. Vse 2. Vse 3. Vse 4. The Duty of souls whom Christ hath found Duty 1. Duty 3. Duty 4. Duty 5. Doctrine Election described Arguments proving Election to be an act of Gods good pleasure Quest. Answ Our Election known to others Our Election may be known to our selves Third part of the Doctrine How the Doctrine of Election is a comforting Doctrine Second ground of comfort Third ground of comfort The fourth ground of comfort The fifth ground of comfort The sixth ground of comfort The seventh ground of comfort Eigth ground of comfort Ninth ground of comfort Tenth ground of comfort Fourth part of the Doctrine Gods people may meet with many temptations concerning others election 1. Remedy 2 Remedy 3 Remedy Rom. 11. 33. 2. Temptation 1. Remedy 2. Remedy 3. Remedy 4. Remedy 3. Temptation Luke 17. 34 35 36. 4 Temptation How to silence the fourth temptation Gods people meet with many Temptations concerning their own election 2. Temptation 3. Temptation 4. Temptation 5. Temptation 6. Temptatiod 7. Temptation Rules to silence those Temptations Gods people may meet withall concerning their Election Rule 1. Rom. 9. 20. Rule 2. Rule 3. Rule 4. How to worship God Rule 5. Vse 1. To those that have not attained to the knowledge of Gods love It 's of concernment to make our Election sure The adversary seeks to hinder souls in making their Election sure Our comfort doth depend upon the making Election sure Our holiness depends upon the making Election sure How to make our Election sure What Duties electing love engages Christians unto The priviledges of the house of Christ Priv. 2. Priv. 3. Priv. 4. Priv. 5. Priv. 6. Priv. 7. Vse 1. Vse 2. Vse 3. Vse 4. Duties of Church-Members Duty 1. Duty 2. Duty 3. Duty 4. Doctr. What worship it is that God requires of his people when afflicted and tempted Wherein spiritual Worship consists External Worship what and wherein it consists Instance 1. of Job Instance 2. of David Instance 3. of Jonah Instance 4. of Christ Grounds of the point why it is the duty of Gods people to worship in time of affliction Ground 2. Ground 3. Ground 4. Ground 5. Ground 6. Vse 1. Vse 2. Vse 3. What Gods people should beg for in time of affliction Doctr. This was a temptation to Moses To Isaiah To Jeremy To the woman that had the Issue of blood To the Centurion The particular discoveries of unworthiness that prove matter of temptation to Gods people Gods ends in suffering his people to be tempted about their unworthiness End 2. End 3. End 4. Vse 1. Vse 2. How to know when God presents unworthiness and when Sathan presents it What to do when tempted about our unworthiness Doctr. Who are the children that have right to the bread How persons may be said to be under an outward Administration of the Covenant Who are Dogs wicked men dogs Vse 1. Vse 2. Vse 3. Vse 4. Vse 1. Motives to perswade us to the duty of Justifying the Lord. How a young man may be delivered from his folly Doctr. What it is to remember God The Causes why we should remember our Creator The Advantages of remembring God in youth Vse 1â— The evil of not remembring God Isa 49. 15. Helps to remember God aright Every believer is as a ship upon the Sea of this World Vse 1. Vse 2. Vse 3. Vse 4. Vse 5. Vse 6. Vse 7. Vse 8. Doctr. 2. The efficient cause of true hope is God The formal cause of hope What is the object of hope The Concomitant of hope The anchor of a believing soul is sure and stedfast The ground that a believers hope is fastned upon Vse 1. Vse 2. Vse 3. How to obtain true hope
Gospel that he should carry it into the dark corners that Christ should leave Jerusalem and carry the Word of Grace into the dark places that the Lord should make choice of most unlikely places places most destitute of the Gospel oh the wonderful dispensation of the Lord nay that the Lord should there make some poor creatures eminent in grace this is another wonder that the Lord should bring in some out of the dark corners and make them most eminent in Grace make them patternes of â—aith as this woman of Canaan was here was faith in this woman that made the soul of Christ to wonder Now what a wonderful dispensation is â—his and discovery of the free Grace of God That all is of God nothing in man nothing in the â—eanes without his blessing that he should make â—ome to believe in the dark places yea not only to â—elieve but with such an admirable faith as this woman that he should make them that were at â—he greatest distance to be most nigh and the greatest sinners the excellentest Saints Oh the â—â—eeness of Gods Grace in his dispensations This should teach us to put on bowels of merâ—y towards sinners towards them that are in the â—ark places of the world All Christians that are 〈◊〉 the world that hath received the light of Christ â—hould be filled with compassion towards them â—hat sit in darkness if we dwell near Jerusalem 〈◊〉 should pitty them that dwell in the coasts of Tyre and Sidon and if we can do nothing pray that â—he Lord would send forth labourers into his harvest to send some into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon Oh pray that the Lord would send forth labourers into his harvest that there may be somâ— called out there that may be strong in faith an excellent in holiness nay they that may be broughâ— in out of such places they may go far beyond them that dwell nigh Jerusalem out-strip them 〈◊〉 faith and holiness seeing the Lord may have suâ—â— a people in dark places as he had here a preciouâ— soul the woman of Canaan let us pitty them thaâ— are in darkness and pray that the Lord would senâ— forth his light to them Matth. 15. 22. And behold a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts and cryed unto him saying have mercy on me O Lord thou son of David my daughter is grievously vexed with a Devil SERMON II. BEhold a woman came out of the same coasts The Evangelist Mark does take notice that when Christ came into these coasts of Tyre and Sidon he entred into a private house and would have hid himself there Mark 7. 24 25. And from thence he arose and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon and entred into an house and would have no man know it but he could not be hid For this woman of Canaan comes and finds him out and falls down and worships him So then we may observe this briefly That where there is a seed of faith in any soul where the work of faith is begun it will find out Christ whereever he is This woman had a seed of faith she heares of Christ and though Christ goes about to hide himself he could not be hid Whereever faith is begun in any soul it will find out Christ never rest till it find out Christ it will come to him where-ever he is Christ cannot alwayes be hid to the eye of faith Where the body is there will the Eagles be gathered together saith Christ The Eagles will find out the dead body though it be never so remote though it lay in a secret cave of the earth and so where there is faith the soul will find out Christ Christ cannot alwayes lie hid from the soul For the eye of faith it hath some resemblance like the eye of God There is nothing can be hid from the eye of God Psal 139. 7 8 9. Neither shall I go from thy presence if I go to heaven thou art there and if I make my bed in hell thou art there if I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea thou art there And so the eye of faith hath resemblance to the eye of God though indeed the eye of faith cannot alwayes see God yet where there is faith the soul will be pursuing after God and Christ My soul followeth hard after God sayes David Psal 63. 8. David had faith and his soul pressed after God made hard after God Faith will follow Christ whereever he is if in heaven faith will follow him there if he go down to hell even in dark dispensations faith will follow him there if he flie to the uttermost parts of the earth and seem to be at a great distance faith will follow him there Christ cannot be hid alwayes from the eye of Faith it will follow him when he hides himself as the Spouse in the Canticles when Christ hid himself from her yet she follows him and seeks him at home and abroad and leaves no place unsought and she never gives over till she finds him seeks till she finds and at last she found him whom her soul loveth Nay I may say faith will see something of Christ whereever he is not only follow after him but see some glimpse of him whereever he is though he go down into hell the soul will see something of Christ in such a dark dispensation in the hardest saying of Christ faith will find something of Christ as the Lord calls this woman a dog and yet she finds out something of Christ And therefore to apply this briefly First Brethren O that we might take this woman for our pattern to follow after Christ and find him out when he hides himself You that walk in darkness and see no light oh that you would look upon this woman and make her your pattern Christ hid himself from her ah but she finds him out and Christ could not be hid One would have thought it had been a bold part of this woman when Christ retired himself into a private house that she should find him out and press in upon him ah but the Lord did not reprove her for her boldness it pleased Christ well enough And oh that we might seek after Christ and presse in upon Christ even then when Jesus Christ seems to hide himself that he might not be found And for your incouragement does Christ seem to be hid from you as from this woman of Câ—naan never leave till you find him go where he is wait upon him in an Ordinance look to him in a promise and press in upon him and let me say for your incouragement Jesus Christ doth not hide himself from you that you might never find him no the end of Christs hiding himself is that you might seek him that you may seek him earnestly diligently as the Wise men did Christ did not hide himself from this woman with an intent she should not find
that was the man but the man Christ Jesus is now the Mediator and therefore such as do either deny that Christ did take our nature or that he doth retain our nature and rose in our nature and asCended in our nature doth mightily help forward the design of the Devil he alwayes had a design to overthrow this foundation of faith and such men are the Devils chief Instruments he knows that if Christ did not rise in that body again if he can take away that he knows that all preaching is in vain and faith is in vain and therefore the Pharisees when put on by the Devil they gave the Souldiers money to say that his Disciples stole him away Surely the Devil he knew that doctrine was of great concernment and therefore they were put upon to say his Disciples stole him away and such men as deny Christs Resurrection they take the Devils hire and their faith will be but the faith of the Sadduces and will leave them short of life Thirdly And in the third and last place How may are there that many confess both these that may confess Christ is God that he is Lord and that he is Man true man and yet not look unto Christ as he is fit every way for that work as fitted with strength and meekness and mercy for that great work of perfecting his peoples salvation As you desire to have faith that is of the right stamp would you have it rightly grounded and have it laid upon such a foundation as God hath laid and on such a foundation as will hold O then look to this womans confession look up to the Lord to make such a discovery of Christ to your souls that Christ may be discovered to you as Lord and that you may close with him as man God in our nature satisfied in our nature and making intercession in our nature and look upon him as one appointed by God the Father for therein lay a great deal of a Christians comfort when the soul comes to eye this Mediator as one appointed by God and one â—itted every way for it full of mercy and full of power if the Lord shall make such a discovery of Christ to your souls so as to cause you to lean your souls upon him for life and salvation this will be found to be faith rightly built this is the faith of Gods Elect. Matth. 15. 22. And cryed unto him saying have mercy on me c. SERMON IV. FIrst This womans faith is declared by the fruits of it and the first fruit of her faith it was the applying of her self unto Christ in a way of prayer She comes to Christ and she prayes unto him and he prayer is set forth by the fervency of it for she did not only intreat but she cryes unto him her prayer was no cold prayer but she put up fervent supplications and strong cries Secondly Her prayer is set forth by the Argument she useth in her pleading with Christ for that mercy the cure of her Daughter and the Argument she useth is taken only from his free Grace and that she pleads Have mercy on me O Lord thou son of David She doth not present any worthiness of her own but she takes hold of mercy So that the truth that I shall commend to yoâ— is this That whereever there is true faith it will maâ—â— the soul to cry unto Christ and to plead mercâ— and free grace in the greatest affliction He affliction was wonderful great My daughter is grievously vexed with a devil She come to Christ and cryes and takes hold of hiâ— mercy I had thought that I might handle the whole Point but I shall not be able to go thorough it 〈◊〉 once and therefore shall divide it into three Propositions The first is this That faith will make 〈◊〉 soul to come to Christ in a way of prayer and applâ— it self to Christ alone in the greatest affliction Secondly The greater the afflictions of 〈◊〉 faithful are the stronger are their cries 〈◊〉 Christ Thirdly When a gracious heart cries unto Christ it pleads nothing but mercy renounces all his owâ— worthiness and takes hold only of mercy and 〈◊〉 grace I shall speak to the first at this time That faith will make a soul come to Christ and cry to Christ pour out his complaints before Christ when it is 〈◊〉 the greatest distress and under the forest affliction and burden This woman she applies her self 〈◊〉 unto Christ cries only unto him she doth 〈◊〉 go to the Idol-gods of her own Nation she seâ—â— not unto them nor trusts in them though the people were an idolatrous people and had many gods that they sought after but she leaves them all whatever others do and she goes to Christ seeks not to the gods of the Nation but applies her self to Christ Secondly When she comes where Christ is she cries only to him she doth not cry to man she doth not poure out her complaints to man no not to the best of men she doth not cry to the Disciples she doth not cry to Peter James or John but she poures out her cries to the Lord O Lord thou son of David Faith makes her in her distress to look to the Lord alone applies her self only to Christ in a way of prayer This is the counsel that Eliphaz gives to Job chap. 5. v. 8. sayes he If I were in thy condition I would go to God I would apply my self to God I would seek to God and commit my cause to him I would not seek to creatures I would not make my complaint to the creature because they cannot pitty me nor help me no it is lost labour I would go to God and seek to God and I would not keep my burden my self I would not bear my burden upon my own shoulder and stand groaning under my burden 〈◊〉 I would go to God and commit my cause to him it is good counsel that he gave Job and O that we might be inabled to follow it And for the confirmation of the Point you shall find many Instances in Scripture of the â—aints applying themselves to God alone in the â—â—me of their distresse I might hold forth very many but I shall only give you one or two Look â—pon David as he expresses himself Psal 14. 1. 〈◊〉 so on I cryed to the Lord with my voice to 〈◊〉 Lord did I make my supplication and poured out my complaints before him and shewed him my trouble And when was it It was in a time of great distress Ver. 3. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me I went to God and made my complaints known to him I went not to the creature but to God And Jonah he was in a sad distressed condition and yet faith brought him to apply himself to the Lord when as he was in that sad estate Jonah 2. 1 2. Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God out of the fishes belly and said I cryed by
reason of mine affliction unto the Lord out of the belly of hell cryed I and thou heardest my voice He was so low in his own apprehension as was possible for him to be in the belly of hell And what did he do I cried to the Lord he applied himself to the Lord and spread his sad condition before the Lord and he did not loose his labour Thou Lord heardest me Now for the grounds of the Point That faith will teach a soul to go to Christ and make his complaint to Christ in all his affliction for faith discovers to a soul that all afflictions are from God the Lords hand is in all the crosses and troubles and whatsoever is matter of complaint the hand of God is in it Is there any evil in the city and I have not done it saith the Lord by the Prophet Amos Is there any evil of affliction that I have not brought upon a people As to the evil of sin that is not from God for that is no being that is a privation but as for affliction all the affliction that doth berall the children of men it is from the hand of God and upon this ground Eliphaz perswadeth Job to apply himself to God Job 5. 6 8. Affliction cometh not forth of the dust neither does trouble spring out of the ground I would speak unto God and unto God would I commit my cause Trouble doth not spring from the ground it is not from second causes whatsoever trouble the people of God meet withall â—any of the sons of men it springs not from the dust Whence then It is from the hand of God there is a secret wheel a great wheel of providence that sets all on work second causes cannot move if that great wheel does not move so then when this comes to be reallized to the soul as faith doth discover it because God hath spoken it that trouble is from God whether inward or outward therefore it will carry the soul unto God and make the soul apply it self to God and Christ alone Secondly Faith doth discover that as all afflictions are from God and makes the soul see the hand of God in every stroke so it doth discover that the end of all afflictions is to carry the soul to God that is the end of all afflictions to bring God and the soul nigher together God doth not love to have any of his people at a distance from him and therefore he sends forth affliction to bring them nigher to himself And therefore in Hosea 5. 15. I will go and return to my place till they acknowledge their offence and seek my face in their affliction they will seek me early He brings affliction for this very end that they may draw nigh to him And in chap. 6. 1. you may see the fruit of their affliction Come and let us return to the Lord for he hath torn and he will heal us he hath smitten and he will bind us up This is the fruit of their affliction they were brought nigher to God God will have his people injoy more communion with him dwell with him and make them more conformable to him more like to himself and therefore many times he layes great and sore afflictions upon them For when the Saints shall be in such a staâ—e and such a condition as nothing shall come betwixt God and them when they shall so dwell in God as never to goe out from God when there shall come no sin no corruption betwixt God and them then there shall be no more affliction then the Lord God shall wipe away teares from the faces of his people no more sorrow and sighing now the end is attained when they are gotten so nigh to God as nothing can come betwixt God and them Now when faith discovers this that it is the end of affliction to bring the soul nigher to God it puts the soul upon it in its affliction to return and apply it self to God alone Thirdly Faith will make a soul come to Christ and Christ alone in distress for faith doth discover that the help of the creature is in vain in time of distress it is faith that doth reallize to the soul the vanity of the creature and that the creature cannot help in the day of distress And therefore the Psalmist cries out Psal 60. 11. Help Lord for vain is the help of man Man cannot help and therefore he applies himself to God alone Help Lord for vain is the help of man Till the soul sees that vain is the help of the creature it will not in good earnest cry Help Lord faith shews the soul that in vain is salvation hoped for from the hils and from the multitude of mountains in vain is salvation hoped for from creatures from great men the highest of all There is many a poor soul can tell you by sad experience and say it by sad experience in vain have I sought help from men and cried to men and spread my complaints before men and therefore it is good for me to draw nigh to God for if you look upon all the sons of men you shall see how fruitless a thing it is for a poor soul in distress to apply it self to man and to go and pour out his complaints to man he may speak to such men as are not at all sensible of what he speaks he may tell a sad relation of his sufferings and burdens and yet not at all affect the heart of him that he speaks to There are some such men in the world nay very many that regard not the affliction of Joseph that are altogether insensible of the burden that lay upon other poor creatures that hath no compassion and cannot be affected It is said of Gallio that he cared for none of those things when as they made complaints of things of Religion he cared for none of those things and so when some come and make complaints of their burdens they care for none of those things And thus it was with Lazarus that lay at the rich mans gate it is very like he made many complaints shewed him his sorrow and sores but his heart was not at all affected the very dogs had more pitty upon him they came and licked his sores And so it is many times when we make our complaints to men they regard not Or secondly Sometimes when we make complaints to men though there be some pitty and some compassion in them and they will expresse it in good words yet very little help and assistance will many men afford they will seem to pitty and have compassion but there are some men that will do very little to the relief of a poor creature under distress that comes and makes complaints of his burdens The Apostle James speaks of some such chap. 2. 15 16. If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food and one of you say unto him depart in peace be you warmed and filled notwithstanding
you give him not those things that are needful for the body what doth it profit Alas it is in vain to make complaints to such what doth it avail It may be some will pitty with good words be you warmed and filled but they give them not those things which are needful for the body thus many a poor creature looses his labour Thirdly When a poor creature makes complaints to man and cries to man it may be he shall make complaints to those that do pitty him and would relieve him with all their heart but it is beyond their power to relieve and so if a poor man that wants the things of this life it may be he goes and makes his complaints to another he pitties him and would help him but he that hath a will hath not power many times and it is not in his hand to do it and he cannot uphold anothers estate but he must break his own many times it is so And so when they come and make complaint of the weakness and infirmities of their bodies it may be they are affected and they would help ah but it is beyond their power And so when a poor soul comes and complains of distress of mind and shew the wounds of his spirit and lay them open it may be godly friends may pitty you and desire to help you but their hand is toâ— short to carry the plaister to your heart and conscience and to cause it to stick there and therefore after all it will go away unsatisfied in all these causes they that would help you if they could they may say as the King of Israel 2 King 6. 26 27. the woman there comes and makes a sad complaint in the time of famine at verse 26. And as the King of Israel was passing by upon the wall there cried a woman unto him saying help my Lord O King And what sayes the King to her verse 27. And he said if the Lord do not help thee whence shall I help thee Alas my bowels are towards thee but if the Lord does not help thee in vain is the help of man Fourthly When you make your complaints to men sometimes it falls out so that instead of ease from under your burdens your burdens are increased sometimes men may add to the burdens of the afflicted through unskilfulness not knowing how to speak to them and how to carry it towards them yea sometimes men may aggravate the burdens of the afflicted when they make their complaints wilfully through pride and disdain and covetousness And thus it was when David sent to Nabal he was in a great strait for provision and he sent to Nabal in his strait for relief and he sent him a churlish answer Who is David and the son of Jesse I know him not shall I send my corn and my oxen that I have killed for my shearers and give it to him I know him not And you know what Judas did meet withall when he went to the Pharisees and said I have sinned in betraying the innocent bloud What is that to us a bargain is a bargain if you have sinned look you to that Whereas if he had gone to Christ with that complaint he might have had comfort but he went to them and they spake that which aggravated his sorrow and he goes and makes away himself So that I say in time of affliction faith causeth a soul to go to Christ for it doth discover what man is Fourthly There is this ground of the Point Faith will make a soul go to Christ alone for it discovers to the soul that in Christ there is all sufficiency to help it there is all in Christ that may pitty him and for the helping of him it is not in the creature but it is to be found in Christ for Christ is furnished with compassion there are bowels of compassion towards his poor creatures in distresse it is an impossible thing that Christ should be insensible as men are you may spread your complaints before some men and they never be moved no more then the stones in the street but the Lord Jesus he is not without compassion great bowels of compassion towards his people he cannot be insensible of any burden that lay upon a poor creature that comes to him In all their afflictions he is afflicted he bears our sickness he carries our sorrows Christ he feels the weight of all affliction and sorrow and burdens that do at any time lie upon his people Secondly As Christ hath compassion so he hath a will he is alwayes willing to do good to poor creatures that come to him Men as you have heard they are not alwayes willing they may give you a parcel of good words but give you not those things that are needful Now Christ he never puts off his people with good words though one good word from Christ be more worth then all that men can do for you but Christ he will not give you good words alone but as he opens his mouth in grace so he opens his hand in mercy he opens his mouth and his hand at the same time and he is very willing to relieve and therefore it is that he calls poor creatures to him you may see his willingness by the invitation that he gives to all poor creatures that are under any distress Come to me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest Whatever the burden be whether the burden of sin or sorrow Christ makes proclamation you have his invitation Come to me and I will give you rest and call upon me in the time of trouble and I will deliver How doth this testifie the willingness of Christ to relieve his poor creatures Thirdly He hath not only compassion but he also hath power in his hand Christ can do it he is able to do what he pleaseth Thou hast done whatsoever thou pleasest in heaven and earth and in all deep places The deepest affliction and sorrow that any of his people may sink into the Lord Jesus is able to stretch forth his hand and help them he hath all store of provision in his house there is an infinite treasure of mercy all mercies are laid up in Christ it shall not break his estate to uphold your estates for all the creatures in heaven and earth are the Lords the heavens and the earth are the Lords and the fulness that are in them therefore there is power in Christs hand to relieve his people Fourthly Christ cannot aggravate sorrow and affliction he will not aggravate the sorrow and affliction of any of his people that come to him Christ will never say to a poor soul as the Pharisees to Judas see thou to that When a soul comes and sayes Lord I have sinned Christ never gave such an answer see thou to that he never did neither can he aggravate the sorrows and burdens of poor creatures that come to him Now when faith discovers this to the soul and
shews that afflictions are from the Lord and shews that all afflictions are for that end to carry the soul higher unto God and shews that all the help of the creature is vain and shews that there is an infinite supply of grace and mercy all-sufficiency of grace in God and Christ to relieve at all times and in all straits these discoveries that faith makes will carry the soul to Christ and make the soul apply it self to Christ and cry to him and spread his complaints before him in time of great distress A word or two by way of Application First of all If it be so that faith carry the soul to God and Christ alone in time of distres what shall we think then when men by their affliction and in their affliction are carried further off from God And yet so it is with many their afflictions set them at a greater distance from Christ many a man is hardened by his affliction and so set at a greater distance from God by that trouble and distresse he hath upon him afflictions drive many a man from God make him run away from God run any where then unto God there is many will run to the creature and their eye is not to the Lord the holy One of Israel they run to the creature to comfort them run to the world and run into the way of their lust but apply not themselves to the Lord in the day of their distress You know that Ahaziah ran to the Devil when he was in distress so far was he from running nigh to God in distress that he run to the Devil himself he sends to the gods of the Nations to know whether he should recover or not This is a discovery that there is no seed of faith in such a soul for where there is faith but in the seed of it the least seed of faith it will make a soul at least to be looking to Christ and crying after Christ in the day of distress it will at least cry unto Christ though there may be many workings of corruption and temptations and many distempers of spirit may be bubling up in time of affliction yet faith will carry the soul to look towards Christ and cry after him as Jonah did when he was in the belly of hell I said I am cast out of thy sight yet will I look toward thy holy temple He applies himself to Christ And so a gracious heart will be looking to Christ and the more faith the more it will look and the louder it will-cry But secondly Let it be a word of exhortation O that it might provoke us all to deal more with God and Christ in the time of our affliction and distress O that we might cry more to him and pour out our complaints more to him as this poor woman did she comes and cries O Lord thou son of David Poor souls are apt to look to the creature in the day of distress and think such and such creatures can comfort Surely my bed shall comfort me and my couch give me ease sayes Job but he found no such matter and so we are apt to say of this and that creature I will go and make my complaint to him he will give me some refreshment poor souls are very apt under their burdens to go up down and scatter their complaints Ah but they take not the right course of going to Christ and crying to him and pouring out the complaints of their souls before him and therefore it is that when they goe to men they meet with little satisfaction and little relief and comfort and their spirits are filled with discontent and dissatisfaction when as they meet with such men sometimes as have no compassion at all in them and sometimes meet with good words and no more and sometimes meet with such as pitty them but have no power and sometimes meet with some that will aggravate the affliction and just it is with God it should be so when we will not look to the Rock O that such disappointments might reach us to look to the Lord we have thought that this creature might ease but we have met with disappointments O that these disappointments might teach us to go to Christ as this woman And thus the poor man did for his son that he would cast out the unclean spirit I went said he to thy Disciples and they tryed to cast out the unclean spirit but could not and then he comes to Christ I have been with thy Disciples and they could not cast out the unclean spirit but thou canst do it and Christ did do it And O that these disappointments might teach us to goe more to Christ and make our complaints more to him in time of distress Quest But you will say What may we not go to our friends is it not lawful to go to men when we are under pressures and burdens either of the outward or inward man and to such and such as may relieve us may we not apply our selves to them Answ I answer yes We may apply our selves to men but take heed we do it in Gods way I say under burdens and distresses either outward or inward we may apply our selves to men but take heed we doe it in Gods way Quest But you will say How shall we know we do it in Gods way Answ I answer first of all when you do it as an Ordinance of God when we make use of the advice and help of others and go to others as to an Ordinance of God then we are not out of Gods way when we do it in obedience to the Will and Commandement of God and Christ when one that is wounded in spirit shall apply himself to those that are godly that hath the mind of Christ in obedience to the command of Christ Confess your sins one to another and pray one for another Now if out of obedience to Christ I go and confess my sins to one that is godly and desire him to pray for me when we apply our selves to men as an Ordinance of God then we are in Gods way Secondly When we shall keep the eye of our souls upon God alone for help when we apply our selves to men for any help and yet shall keep our eye upon God and look upon God as the great moving cause look upon God as the fountain of all relief and comfort and shall look upon the creature only as Gods Instrument this is but a pipe and an empty one too if God do not fill it when as the eye is thus upon God and eye God as principal in all that comfort and relief that we expect and look upon the creature as the means then we may apply our selves to the creature and not out of Gods way And a man may know whether he keeps his eye upon God when as he does apply himself to the creature thus Are your expectations from the creature or from God If a mans eye
be upon God then he will not expect much from the creature and applies himself to the creatures because they are means and because it is an Ordinance but dare not expect much Secondly If a man doe meet with disappointments and he do apply himself to the creature in Gods way disappointments will not add any great trouble or vexation to that man or woman though he meet with little refreshment nay though instead of help and refreshment he should meet with an addition of his sorrow and trouble yet if in Gods way he will not be troubled because his eye is upon God and I see it is not the will of the Lord I should yet have comfort and why should I fret my self seeing the Instrument is but an empty pipe and no creature can refresh me if the Lord doe not refresh me And thus you have seen when we are in Gods way and when out of Gods way in applying our selves to the creature and looking to the creature for help and for relief And O that this might teach us to go more to God and apply our selves more to Christ Object But it may be some poor soul will say Well I have not only gone to the creature but I have applyed my self to God and yet truly I meet with little refreshment I have cryed to Christ in the time of my affliction and yet my burden doth continue Answ First To this I answer It may be when thou hast come to Christ thou hast complained of thy burden and of thy affliction but thou hast not complained of thy sin thou hast not complained of that which is the greatest matter of complaint and if thou hast at any time looked more to thy burden and affliction and hast not complained of that which is the greatest matter of complaint no wonder then though thou hast met with no ease Secondly Let me say it may be thou hast brought thy complaints and spread them before the Lord yet thou hast not left thy burden with the Lord many a soul comes with a great burden ah but it carries it away and does not leave it with the Lord and if the burden be not left with the Lord no wonder that we have no ease Christ is willing we should leave our burdens with him and in so doing we shall finde refreshment Thirdly And let me say further that it may be the Lord hath heard thy cry and thy complaint but thou art not aware of it thou hast not taken notice of it through unthankfulnesse thou hast not observed that which the Lord hath done the Lord at least he hath thus farre heard thee that he hath supported thy spirit under thy burden and thou hast been kept up so that thy soul hath not failed and thy spirit hath not fainted under thy burden and truly this is a great mercy and worthy to be taken notice of And this is the difference between your going to God and the creature Oh that we might be invited by this to apply our selves more to Christ in time of distresse and spread our complaints before Christ for in going to the creature many times the spirit is wounded ah but in going to God the spirit shall be supported though Christ doe not give out a present answer yet the heart shall be supported under all its burdens but now in going to man many times the heart and the spirit it is wounded by those disappointments that we meet withall while we expect that from the creature which it cannot do Two things only I shall propound to urge this duty upon you to make us more in going to Christ and less to the creature It is a great sin and folly when as we leave Christ and goe to the creature in the day of our distress First It is a great sin for what do we then but set up the creature in the room of Christ You know how sensible Jacob was of this evil he lookt upon it as a great evil when as Rachel came to him she wanted children she comes to her Husband Give me children or I die O what sayes he Am I in Gods stead Can I give thee children When as she came and made her complaint to Jacob and murmured because she had not the mercy of children she goes to Jacob and sets up Jacob in Gods stead and so when we are under our burdens and make our complaints to the creature and not to God why the creature may say as Jacob am I in Gods stead Secondly There is a world of folly in it in going from God in time of distress to the creature It is a piece of greâ—â— folly for a man to go from the fountain to the broken cistern to leave the fountain and think a broken cistern should supply him It is a great deal of folly for a man to go to a deaf man one that cannot hear pour out his complaints expect that he should speak a word of refreshment so much folly there is when we go to the creature and do not apply our selves to God If a man should go to a begger one that hath no food or rayment and a man should spend a deal of time in asking food and rayment and if he do not give it go away railing what a deal of folly were it And so a great deal of Folly there is when we do go to the creature and do not go to God we go to them that are poor and naked and forsake God that hath all store of provision and mercy laid up in himself O that the consideration of our sin and folly in going to the creatures might cause us at all times in our distresse to go to God as this poor woman did and cry to him that is the Lord. Matth. 15. 22. And behold a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts and cryed unto him saying have mercy on me O Lord thou son of David my daughter is grievously vexed with a Devil SERMON V. HEre is a declaration of this womans faith the tryall of it and the conquest of it The last day we came to consider the declaration of this womans faith in the fruits of it it carries her soul to Christ in a way of supplication and prayer and the Argument she useth in prayer is only the free Grace of Christ Have mercy on me thou son of David The Doctrine was this That whereever there is 〈◊〉 seed of faith in any foul it will carry it out to Christ and make the soul cry unto him and take hold of his mercy We divided it into three Propositions First That faith will carry the soul to Christ in time of affliction and make it seek to Christ and Christ alone Secondly Afflictions when they are great and strong will raise strong cries Thirdly A gracious heart pleads only mercy and free grace only takes hold of mercy and looks not at all to his own worthiness I spake to the first of these the last day I shall
cry the more earnestly after him he sees that they begin to flag in their prayers and do not cry so loud as they have done the Lord he will withdraw that so he may stir up a spirit of prayer bring them into such an affliction that so they may cry the more earnestly the storm was raised when Christ was upon the sea with his Disciples to make them cry the more earnestly The Lord seems to sleep many times at the prayers of his people that so by the prayers of his people he may be awakened Quest But you will say What need we cry thus earnestly to the Lord for he is found of them that seek him not we cannot find God by our seekiâ—â— him he must seek us he is found of them that 〈◊〉 him not Answ I answer It is true God is found 〈◊〉 them that seek him not that is when God comes first into a poor soul he breaks in upon it he prevents it with grace and mercy and he seeks us and brings home grace and mercy to the soul before the soul sought the Lord. But now when the Lord hath found a soul and brought home a soul to the knowledge of himself through Christ O then he expects that that soul should continually wait upon him and be seeking of him in that way which is of the Lords own appointment It is true he is found many times of those that seek him not but the Lord is not found of those that seek him lazily he hears not cold prayers no it is the cry of the spirit the Lord heareth Quest Ah but some will say I cannot cry and pray I cannot continue in prayer my spirit is overwhelmed and I am so shut up that I know not how to utter a word in the presence of the Lord. Answ I answer Though thy spirit be overwhelmed thou mayest pray and cry aloud to the Lord David did so and why mayest not thou Psal 142. 3. I cryed sayes he and it was when my spirit is overwhelmed and although thou canst not utter a word to the Lord yet thou mayst pray and cry with the cries of the spirit the Spirit of the Lord stirs up sighings and groanings in the hearts of his people which cannot be uttered So when thou canst not speak a word to the Lord yet thou mayest cry Job could noâ— speak yet his soul cried to the Lord and his eye cried to the Lord Job 16. 20. My friends scorn me but mine eyes poure out teares unto God When he knew not how to speak a word his eye looked to the Lord if he cannot poure out his prayer his eye shall speak and his soul shall speak this may be an effectuall prayer Object Ah but I am filled with the sence of my unworthiness I dare not go before the Lord I dare not beg any mercy nor stand in his presence I am filled with the sence of my own unworthiness Answ I tell thee though thou beest filled with the sense of thy unworthinesse yet thou mayest and ought to cry to the Lord and poure out thy soul in supplication The Publican that went up to the Temple he durst not draw nigh he looked upon himself as an unworthy sinner and yet poured out his prayer to the Lord the sence of thy unworthinesse should not hinder thee in the pouring out of thy prayer to the Lord the more unvorthy the more need of going to the Lord and the more sensible of thy unworthinesse the sooner the Lord declares his acceptance Oh that the Lord would make us all mindful of this our duty we are apt to cry with the cry of the flesh but O that in the day of our distresse we did cry with the cry of the spirit Let the crie that springs from pride impatiencie and unbelief be silent laid low and let it not open its mouth but crie with the cry of faith with the crie of the spirit this will be a good evidence that affliction hath wrought the right way and that the Lord hath done us good by our affliction Till the flesh be silent and the spirit raised up to cry in faith we shall never have any evidence that we have received benefit by our affliction but when the soul shall be in affliction and the spirit up and cry it will be a good evidence that the soul hath received good by the affliction And to say no more the Lord will soon draw nigh to that soul that shall thus be found waiting for him when the flesh shall be silent and the spirit cry the Lord will soon hear that crie You know the Lord is a tender hearted Father and he will not suffer any of his children to be tempted above what they are able to beare he will not suffer them to sink under their burden but will come in with delivering mercie for the Lord doth sometimes hear the crie of the flesh so he hath heard the crie of the flesh though not the sinful crie yet the crie of nature the Lord hath heard that crie He heard the crie of Ishamel when as he was ready to perish for thirst The Lad cried and he heard the crie of the Lad and the Lord opened the eyes of Hagar and she saw a well of water He heard the crie of the flesh so gracious is the Lord yea he heares she crie of the young Ravens of the young Lions and the Lord he opens his hand and satisfies them O that this might be an incouragement to goe to God in all times of distresse let it be never so great the Lord is a God of compassion and if he does hear the crie of the unreasonable Creatures and the crie of the flesh O surely the Lord will much more hear the crie of the spirit when his people come and apply themselves to him through Christ such as hope in his mercie and are found waâ—ting for his salvation Surely the Lord he will find out the best time in which he will come in with deliverance to his Servants Matth. 15. 22. Thou son of David have mercy on me SERMON VI. WE observed the last day that great and strong afflictions will raile strong cries make Gods people crie loud It was a sore affliction that was upon this woman Ms daughter is grievously vexed with a devil and whâ—â— she comes to Christ she doth not only pray 〈◊〉 cry to him But to passe on and consider something thâ—â— still remains and that is to look upon the Argument that this woman useth in her crie to Christ her Argument is mercy she cries mercy 〈◊〉 free grace she doth not look to any worthiness 〈◊〉 her self neither doth her unworthiness discourage but looks beyond both and she closeth 〈◊〉 mercy and free grace Thou son of David 〈◊〉 mercy on me She comes to the son of David 〈◊〉 knew David was a merciful Prince and King 〈◊〉 shews mercie to his very enemies David spared the life of Saul when he had him at a great
but full of sin full of all manner of unrighteousness not only lost the Image of God but is filled with the image of the Devil and discovers that all the imaginations of mans heart are evil and only evil and that from his youth upward Now when the Spirit of the Lord comes to make this discoverie to a man that he is thus filled with sin and lets a man see what a filthie thing sin is how displeasing to God how contrary to his Holiness that soul that hath this discovery can plead nothing of his own when he comes to God but mercie and free grace Thirdly The Spirit of the Lord doth discover to man that he is a poor weak creature that he is one that can do nothing to help himself out of this miserable state that he can do nothing to procure a better condition for himself that he can make no satisfaction to God for the least of his transgressions full of sin ah but he cannot make satisfaction for the least transgression he cannot lay down a price to redeem his own soul he cannot change his own heart and he cannot work up his own spirit to believe in Christ he cannot subdue any lust in his own heart a poor weak creature that can do nothing cannot think a good thought nor move toward God Now when the Spirit of the Lord discovers this to a man O then he sees there is nothing to plead but mercie Fourthly The Spirit of the Lord doth discover to a soul that his natural estate is a state of enmitie the Lord rips open a mans heart at his conversion and shews him what enmities is in his bosome how full he is of contrary workings in his heart and spirit to the Lord he sees that secret enmitie that he never saw before Now when this comes to be discovered to a man or woman that they are in a stare of enmitie to God and the workings of that enmitie cannot cease if the Lord doth not put forth the mightie power of the death of Christ I say that soul that hath all these discoveries made to it first sees that it hath no worthiness pleads nothing of his own especially such a creature so full of wants so full of sin and so full of weakness and so full of enmitie such a creature can plead nothing of his own when he comes to the great God Nay as it sees that it hath no deserts to plead so it sees that there are contrary deserts I say these discoveries will make a soul sensible of contrary deserts that it deserves nothing but hell and wrath and confusion rejection from the Lords presence for ever and ever The Prophet Daniel was sensible of these contrary deserts of the people Dan. 9. 8. To us belongs nothing but shame and confusion So that you see when the Lord by his Spirit comes to discover to man what a vile creature he is such a soul sees that it hath nothing to plead as matter of merit but mercie And as in its first coming so whenever a gracious heart goes to God after it is brought home reconciled made one with God through Christ after it hath walked with God yet even then no gracious heart that can plead any worthiness any righteousness of his own when he goes before God he cannot plead any of his graces nor any of his own services non any of his own sufferings and if so then there is nothing to plead I say a gracious heart cannot plead his own graces it cannot plead his faith not holiness it cannot present that to the Lord that the Lord for such and such graces should bestow mercie for the very faith of the Saints is imperfect now that which is imperfect cannot merit any thing abundance of unbelief mixed with the strongest faith Lord help my unbelief It is true indeed that David in some of his Psalmes desires God to look upon his faith Psal 25. 20. Deliver me for I put my trust in thee But he doth not look upon his faith as merriting any thing at Gods hand but only desires that God would look upon his Covenant the Lord had promised grace to his people in trusting upon him so that he doth not desire the Lord to look upon it as any act of his for faith is little worth as an act of ours but he puts the Lord in mind of his Covenant of the Promise that he made with his people And the Saints as they cannot plead faith so they cannot plead holiness for as their faith so their holiness is imperfect they have many failings manyfold corruptions are found in the most gracious heart therefore they cannot plead holiness before the Lord. It is true Hezekiah in Isai 38. 3. and so Nehemiah spread before the Lord what they had done and how they had walked but that can be no Argument that we should make use of that as an Argument no Argument that that was the best Argument but I say they only did desire the Lord to look upon his own work in them they were far from pleading any merit any desert And therefore you shall find the best of the Saints when in the best temper have been found disowning their own righteousness and their own worthiness Paul he had as much to plead and to trust too as any man living and yet he looks upon all as drosse and dung in comparison of Christ in respect of pleading righteousness all is drosse and dung though it is good in its place yet to lay it as a foundation it is drosse and dung And see what is said Job 9. 20. If I justifie my self mine own mouth shall condemn me if I say I am perfect it shall also prove me perverse O that they would mind this that boast of perfection Job was as perfect as any yet if I justifie my self mine own mouth shall condemn me if I say I am perfect it shall also prove me perverse The very saying I am perfect would condemn me it would declare that I am lying against the truth and I should declare my imperfection while I am pleading perfection Thus a gracious soul dare not plead faith nor holinesse Secondly It dare not plead any services when it hath done its utmost for God it dare not plead what it hath done no work no services no tears no fastings it dare not plead these before the Lord. Indeed you shall find many unsound hearts that have pleaded these things and trusted to them many unsound hearts and hypocrites that have looked much to their righteousness to their prayers and fastings and their good works and services that they have done for God they have pleaded these before God Isai 58. Wherefore have we fasted and thou hast not seen and afflicted our soul and thou regardest not And so you know the storie of the Pharisee and the Publican that went up to the Temple to pray the Pharisee he stood upon it to justifie himself Luke 18. 11 12. he stood
much upon his own justification what he was not and what he was I am not as other men are extortioners unjust adulterers or even as this Publican I fast twice a week I give tithes of all I possess But the Publican he smote upon his brest saying God be merciful to me a sinner and the Publican he went away justified rather then the Pharisee Though hypocrites look at their services yet a gracious heart dare not look at any thing it hath done Matth. 25. When Christ takes notice what the Saints hath done and sayes Come ye blessed of my Father I was hungry and you gave me meat thirsty and you gave me drink naked and you cloathed me Why Lord say they when saw we thee a hungry thirsty and naked when did we these things to thee What did the Saints do good works ignorantly did good and did not know No that which is done out of ignorance is sinful no they knew what they did and that they did but according to the mind of Christ ah but when done they take no notice of it their right hand shall not know what their left hand doth for they dare not plead their services and their duties upon this account For they know whatever is good is not theirs but Christs whatever in them that is good and whatever good they have done is by the Lords Spirit and therefore they know there is nothing for them to plead by way of merit no the more they are inabled and assisted to do for Christ the more they are ingaged unto Christ Christ is not ingaged to them but they ingaged to Christ And besides whatever they have done in the service of the Lord as theirs it is accompanied with many weaknesses and frailties that if it were not for Christ and his righteousness and Christs presenting them God the Father could not accept the best service that ever was done by the best men And besides the Saints know that when they have done all they can they are unprofitable servants if they could do a thousand times more for God yet they have nothing to plead Christ teacheth us so Luke 17. 10. So likewise ye when you shall have done all those things which are commanded you say we are unprofitable servants we have done that which was our duty to do Mark if it were possible for any of Gods people to do all that the Lord requires yet there is nothing to plead you have done but that which was your duty that which was your debt Now the payment of a debt is no ingagement he to whom the debt is paid is not ingaged you have done but your duty And so the best of all the Saints if they could do all that is required they do but pay their debt there is a debt of thankfulness not debt of justice we have done that which is duty which we owe to mercie and free grace Again the Saints cannot plead their sufferings Though a man suffer never so much and suffer never so well and suffer upon a good ground and suffer for the name of Christ yet there is nothing that he can plead by way of merit for there is no man suffers without sin there was merit in Christs sufferings because he suffered and had no sin of his own he was the Lamb of God without spot but now the best of Saints upon earth who do suffer for the name of Christ cannot suffer without sin though it is not punished for sin yet still there is sin in the person and so can be no desert And then beside it is that which the Saints owe to Chris as they owe all duties so they owe all suffering for the name of Christ and if they should suffer a thousand times more then ever any man suffered it is but what they owe and therefore suffering cannot be pleaded no more then services And so you have the first part of the point But of the second part to speak more briefly to that as a soul is taken off of it self so it pleads only mercie flees to free grace comes to naked mercie First For a gracious heart it sees and knows that there is a fulness in mercie to satisfie all its wants all its desires there is enough in mercie to make abundant supply to it as it sees there is that in it self which may make it run from it self so there is that in mercie and free grace which may make it run to it as to a City of refuge There is a fulness in mercie which may answer the soules desires and wants for as you heard before when the Lord doth discover to a man that he is a poor creature destitute and naked why the same spirit doth discover that there is enough in mercie to supply all wants mercie hath made great provision for the poor naked destitute creature and as it discovers to a soul that it is a sinful creature so the same spirit doth discover that there is enough in mercie to take away all sin and pardon all transgressions and mercie and free grace hath set open a fountain an infinite fountain a bottomless fountain of merit in the blood of Christ for the washing away of sin and as the soul sees that it is a poor weak creature so the same spirit doth discover to it that mercie is strong and mercie is able to reach him in every condition and able to lift him up in the lowest condition and as it sees that it is an enemie to God so the same spirit doth discover that mercie can reconcile it shew what is done for the reconciliation of poor creatures mercie hath given Jesus Christ for to slay the enmitie and to reconcile poor lost creatures Thus I say a gracious soul it will flee to mercie it sees that there is a fulness in mercie to answer all its wants Secondly And as it sees a fulness so there is a freeness in the Lords mercie and therefore runs to mercie as this woman did and pleads mercie and to cast her self into the armes of mercie because free see that the Lord is a tender hearted God and that mercie flew freely from him mercie makes free invitations the soul seeing and hearing that it is perswaded to apply it self to mercie Thirdly Such a soul will flee to mercie because it knows that all that God doth for his people in the business of salvation it is for the exaltation of mercie and free grace the great work of the redemption of souls it is only for the exaltation of mercie and free grace it vvas free grace that found out the vvay of redeeming souls and free grace that gave sinners to Christ and free grace that gave Christ for sinners and free grace gives Christ unto sinners and all that God doth in sanctifying and saving his people is upon the account of mercie and free grace and therefore the Lord he invites souls to himself and he makes choice of such as may most of all declare the
riches of his mercie vvhen he sends to invite men to come in to him he sends to the high vvayes and hedges goes and compels them to come in Go and call the blind and the lame When Christ makes a feast he sends to the poor he knovvs that the poor hungry souls vvhen they shall taste of the riches of his grace they vvill be thankfull and they vvill advance mercie and free grace and therefore he sends to the high-vvayes and hedges to compell them to come in Thus you have seen both the parts of the Doctrine opened A vvord or tvvo for improvement and I shut up all First Let us take heed brethren and friends that vve be not found looking to any vvorthinesse of our ovvn vvhen vve come to Christ take heed that vve be not found looking to any righteousnesse of our ovvn take heed vve bring no price in our hand vvhen vve come for mercie that vvill spoil all O there is many a poor soul by this is kept from coming to Christ from closing vvith Christ from resting upon Christ and so from salvation because it is a hard matter to bring them off from looking to something of their own men will hardly be perswaded that they do so but yet it is a very ordinary thing and thousands more do it then will be perswaded they doe it who doe look upon something of their own and so are kept from Christ Whence is it else that men stand so much upon their own justification men stand to plead for themselves and justifie themselves and quarrel with God in time of affliction and entertain hard thoughts of God it is because men have too good thoughts of themselves Whence comes it else that men are up and down in their spirits and comforted according to their actings But from hence because men are proue to look to something of their own as a foundation of their acceptance with God Whence is it else that men are kept from closing with Christ because of the sight of their unworthinesse But from hence because men would have a price in their own hand to buy grace of him and mercy of him But it may be many a poor soul will say that he doth not look to his worthinesse God forbid that I should do it sayes the soul Ah but thy unworthinesse does keep thee from Christ and if so then thou supposest that some worthinesse in thee should make thee close with Christ Now I beseech you Brethren that we do not look to any thing in our selves think not to bring any price with you when you come to Christ but know that we are poor and naked and miserable sinfull and weak and full of enmity against God and Christ that there is nothing that we can plead what is there that we would carry If you had more grace you could not plead that if you had done more service you could not plead that and if you had suffered for Christ you could not plead that O then why do our souls flag and hang back and do not make hast to Jesus Christ And let me tell you that souls that have nothing have best acceptance I said before that if you carry a price you loose all your labour Christ deals with the poor and with none else and trades with them that have no mony and I say that souls that come to Christ most empty most naked most destitute most desolate in the apprehension of their own vileness sinfulness enmity that soul that comes thus to Christ shall have best acceptance If a man comes and pleads any thing else pleads Lord I have done so and so I have been so and so this moves not the Lord to tell God of your righteousness and what you have done it moves not God at all but to tell God what a poor creature you are full of sin and full of weakness full of enmity and full of wants this will move the Lord Is it not so with your selves I pray consider how it is with our selves and what it is that moves us when a poor man comes what is it that moves us O when he shall spread his wants and expresse the sence of his wants and misery a poor man comes to you and sayes O Sir pitty me help me I want every thing I have not a rag to put on my back no bread to put into my belly I am blind I am lame I have no legs to walk with no hands to work with O this will make impression upon the hearts of men though hard And shall not this move tbe Father of mercies O it will prevail much If a soul shall goe and say Lord I am miserable naked no eye to see no legs to walk no hands to work O this speaks loud when the soul shall cry Lord help Lord hear me I tell you this will plead very loud in the eares of God for Christ as I said before he will deal with none but the poor he will heal them that have nothing you have many Physitians that goe up and down and give it out that they will heal the poor for nothing So Christ gives it our in the Gospel that he will heal the poor and none but the poor let a poor desolate naked empty soul goe to Christ and say Lord thou hast invited poor sinners to come that have no money and I am such an one Lord heal me Christ will heal such a soul Christ will not heal the rich if they be rich and full they have no need of him The rich he will send away empty but the poor shall not goe away empty O then that this might perswade us that when we go to God we might go poor in the sense of our own unworthiness for it is the best thing to move the Lord to mercy Lastly Let us make mercy our refuge for it is not enough for a man to run from himself if he does not run to mercy if he does not run to free grace if he goes any where else there is no healing Now therefore it calls upon us all every one in the Congregation this day to make mercy and free grace our refuge O that we might goe to God upon that account at this woman of Canaan did Have mercy on me O Lord thou son of David She comes to mercy and pleads mercy and rests upon mercy and free grace Oh that we might make more use of mercy and free grace for all things Let us come hither for pardon of sin Doe you want pardon of sin Plead with mercy and free grace flee to the Promises of mercy I will be mercifull to their sin and remember their sin no more And so would you have peace Goe more to free grace plead more with mercy there peace is to be had it is mercy that creates the fruit of the lips peace peace And so doe you want healing healing of your corruptions of your distempers of spirit What is it that you want O goe
to free grace it is to be had in mercy there is healing for you I will heal their back-slidings and love them freely Oh that the Lord would help us all to flee to this refuge Doe you desire any thing Goe upon the account of mercy doe not stand upon any worthinesse any justification of your selves and if you be kept from Christ by your unworthinesse then you have an eye to your worthinesse O that we might not look upon any worthinesse If a man come to you and plead that you would take pitty upon him it would move your hearts more then if a man should come and require of you that you should doe so and so for him because you have done so and so for others No but if he falls down at your feet it prevails more with you and so when God sees that a man stands upon it upon his own justification O this does not prevail but when a soul cometh to the foot-stool of free grace and pleads nothing but mercy I am worthy to be cast out but thou hast given an invitation to sinners and here I will wait at the foot-stool of free grace this will move the bowels of Jesus Christ Quest Ah but may not a man cry for mercy and yet goe without it Answ True indeed it is possible a man may cry for mercy and call for mercy in a dead cold formal way many a poor creature will say Lord have mercy on me and he trusts to his Lord have mercy on me and so thinks that should save him but that is not to trust in mercy they trust in their saying so but they trust not in mercy It is possible that a poor wretch in time of extremity may cry out Lord have mercy and yet not apply himself to mercy for the soul that applies himself to mercy he applies himself in Gods way Now Gods way in shewing mercy it is in Jesus Christ if a man cries never so loud for mercy yet if he does not apply himself in Gods way look thorough the Mediator he may cry and go without it but he that doth apply himself rightly to mercy he seeks it in Chist for mercy will doe no good out of Christ therefore a gracious heart applies himself only to Christ and he that applies himself to mercy he waits the Lords time for mercy So that a man may say Lord have mercy and cry out for mercy and yet be far from obtaining mercy But now this let me say that if any poor soul that is sensible of his own misery that sees it is full of wants and full of sin and unrighteousness and full of weakness unable to help himself and full of enmity so that it can do nothing but sin against God I say a soul that shall see this and shall apply it self to mercy in mercies way look to God through Christ the Messias come as this woman to the Messias O thou son of David have mercy on me no soul that shall thus apply himself to the mercy of God thorough Christ being sensible of his own lost condition and shall there wait but certainly the Lord will make a good end with that soul and that soul as the Apostle speaks Shall find grace and mercy to help in time of need Matth. 15. 22. My daughter is grie vously vexed with a Devil SERMON VII YOu have seen this womans faith in her coming to Christ and closing with Christt as Lord and as the son of David We shall now see the love of this woman here is her love as well as her faith there was a great deal of love and compassion in her towards her daughter the stroke that was upon her daughters body fell upon her spirit and lay heavy there and therefore she doth not say Lord have mercy upon my daughter but Lord have mercy upon me It is my affliction and my burden Lord have mercy upon me for my daughter is grievously vexed with a Devil Her daughters affliction was heavy upon her spirit Quest But you will say Whether was this affection natural or spiritual grace Whether did she speak this from natural affection to her child or was this a fruit of her faith Answ I answer Here was both natural affection and spiritual grace for seeing this woman had a seed of faith in her as hath been proved natural affection could not work alone where there is the grace of faith in the heart it will not leave nature to work alone but grace will step in and rectifie natural affection order natural affection set bounds to natural affection set natural affection upon a right ground and make them look to right ends where there is grace natural affection cannot work alone Indeed in that heart where grace doth not dwell there nature works alone as the natural affections grief and sorrow and anguish in a natural man where the spirit is not nature works alone he cannot propound any spiritual consideration to himself to quiet his grief and sorrow he may fetch in some carnal considerations or he may stay till nature settle of it self time may wear out his grief but no work of grace to compose the spirit time must work it out But now in a gracious soul nature cannot work alone but grace will step in to order and rectifie to set bounds to the affections and will help to compose the spirit and so we may conclude of this woman here was first natural affection in her nature did teach her to love her child but natural affection did not work alone here was also the spiritual grace of faith faith taught her to love her child aright nature taugh her to love her child but grace taught her to love her child aright So that there was the working both of nature and grace Quest But you will say Was it not an evil to give way to natural affection Answ I answer No natural affection is not the corruption of nature Indeed there is a great deal of corruption in natural affection but natural affection is not the corruption of nature no natural affection is part of the Image of God the remnant of the Image of God which was left in man since the fall of Adam for it is a sin to be without natural affection The Apostle speaking of the sins of the last dayes he reckons up this as one without natural affection Rom. 1. 31. Natural affection is part of the Image of God and it is that without which the world could not be continued The Lord in abundance of mercy and wisdome hath planted natural affection in the hearts of Parents to their Children for if it were not so Gods name would soon be dishonoured and there would be all manner of cruelty and the race of mankind would soon be destroyed so that it is a mercy to have natural affection but to have spiritual grace to work with natural affection to have faith to set natural affection right and to cause it to work aright that
misery or not to regard her misery not to take notice of such a poor creature as she was now both these were contrary to what she had heard of Christ and to that she had believed was in Jesus Christ without doubt she had heard out of the Prophet Isaiah that the Lord Jesus Christ when he came should bind up the broken-hearted and preach deliverance to the captives now when she applyes her self to Christ Christ seems not to be that compassionate Saviour certainly she had heard that Sions King was meek and lowly and that he would not break the bruised reed nor quench thâ— smoaking flax but Christ seems to disdain her and take no notice of her nor look after such avile worm as she was nay she had believed that Christ was low and meek as appeareth by that expression of hers in ver 22. Thou Son of David have mercy on me now David was a merciful Prince and was very pitiful and compassionate and very meek and lowly and humble therefore she believed that the Lord Jesus Christ was much more compassionate and she did believe that he would not disdain her though she was a poor Gentile but Christ seems to be quite contrary and answered her not a word this was a sore trial The Doctrine then is this That it is a very sore and great tryal unto the Lords people when the Lord is silent to their prayers and gives no answer to their cries In the opening of the point I shall shew you that God hath dealt thus with his own people and that it hath been a very sore tryal unto And then shall shew you wherefore the Lord is pleased thus to try his people which will make way for the Appplication First God hath dealt thus with his people I shall point you to some places of Scripture David often maketh this complaint Psalm 28. 1. Vnto thee will I cry O Lord my rock be not silent to me lest if thou be silent to me I become like them that go down into the pit How earnestly doth David beseech the Lord that he would not be silent to his prayer Lord Do not turn away thy ear from my prayer and do not shut thy mouth be not silent If thou dost not speak something to me in answer to my prayer I am not able to hold out but shall be like them that go down to the pit And Psalm 69. 3. he maketh a sore complaint I am weary of my crying my throat is dried mine eyes fail while I wait for my God The trial was so great to his spirit that it had an influence upon his Body when David cryed to the Lord he answered not a word his throat was dried and parcht up and his eyes began to fail And so the Prophet Jeremiah Lam. 3. 44. he expresseth it in the name of the Church Thou hast covered thy self with a cloud that our prayer should not pass thorow God seems to hide himself and cover himself with a cloud and did so hide himself as prayer could not find him he gave him not a word And the Prophet Habakkuk he complains of it chap. 1. ver 2. O Lord how long shall I cry and thou wilt not hear even cry unto thee of violence and thou wilt not save Nay that it was a sore trial you shall see it in those expressions of the Prophet David spoken of in the person of Christ Psalm 22. 2. O my God I cry in the day-time but thou hearest not and in the night-season and am not silent It was a sore affliction to Christ himself O my God I cry in the day-time and in the night-season that is I cry continually night and day never silent But thou art continually silent to me this was a sore affliction and burden to Christ himself Now that this is a sore affliction and trial for God to be silent to the prayers of his people it appears First if you consider that relation the Lord stands in to his people and they to him he stands in relation of a Father they his children he stands in relation of an Husband they his Spouse he stands in relation of a friend they his friend Abraham he was the friend of God and so is every believer God a friend to him and he a friend to God now it is a sore trial when one friend shall cry to another or a wife to an Husband or a child to a father and these relations not give one word of Answer if a poor child in great extremity should cry to his father father help me and the father not to give one word this is a sore tryal if a man cry to a stranger and meet not with one word it is no great disappointment but when a child cries to a father or a wife to an Husband or a friend to a friend and they not to speak a word it is a great trial Secondly it will appear to be a great trial because there is nothing in all the world that a gracious soul longs more after then this that the Lord would be giving a return of prayer that there may be a converse betwixt God and the soul to speak to God and to hear God speaking back again to it nothing that a gracious foul more longs after oh it longs to hear a word from God it knows that the return of prayer is the way to make a soul rich towards God and to make it rich in experience in faith in thankfulness in obedience Oh how doth a Merchant-venturer long for the return of his commodity from a far Country truly there is no merchant in the world can long more for the return of his commodity from a far Country then a gracious soul longs for the return of prayer oh saith the soul when wilt thou come unto me Now if it be that which a gracious soul doth more long after then any thing in the world it is a great trial when God doth not give a return of prayer Thirdly A gracious heart when it puts up a prayer to God it looketh for a return for an answer Psalm 85. 8. I will hear what God the Lord will speak And so the Prophet Habakkuk after he had prayed I will get me upon the watch-tower and I will watch to see what he will say unto me I will wait to see what God will speak by his spirit or by his providences one way or other God will speak Now to have this expectation disappointed to wait upon the Lord for an answer and the Lord not to speak one word this is a sore trial Fourthly it must needs be a great trial when God gives never a word of answer for a believing soul knows assuredly that if God do not answer none else can hear prayers and give a return to prayer it is Gods name oh thou that hearest prayers unto thee shall all flesh come God only can hear prayer and God only can give an answer it is God only
that can reach out mercy to the soul and speak a word of comfort and counsel God only can speak a word of strength a word of peace the creature cannot No it is God only I create the fruit of the lips peaâ—y peace Now when a soul looks up to the Lord and meets with nothing from him and knows that there is no answer to be expected from the creature this must needs be a great and a sore trial Fifthly it will appear to be a great trial if we consider that the flesh and Devil are exceeding ready to make a great advantage of this providence of God and dispensation towards his people for they will improve this to the dishonour of God and discomfort of the soul and therefore a great trial In two or three Particulars I shall shew you how ready the Flesh and Devil is to improve this to Gods dishonour and the souls discomfort First the Flesh and Devil will raise up many doubts and jealousies and mis-giving thoughtâ—â— both concerning God and concerning a man own condition and concerning the duties and services which are offered up to the Lord. They will make the soul to doubt of the goodness of God to doubt of the free-grace of God to doubt of the faithfulness of God of the truth of God Surely saith unbelief the Lord is not so gracious as thou hast taken him to be thou hast rested upon the Arm of his mercy and thou hast believed his grace to be sufficient for thee in every condition thou hast looked toward him as toward an infinite compassionate God but where are the compassions of the Lord now not to speak one word to relieve and comfort thee Thus will the Devil and the unbelieving heart object when the Lord doth not give out a present answer yea unbelief will be accusing the faithfulness of God Oh! where is his Word and his Promise He hath said that they that call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved He hath said Call upon me in the time of trouble and I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorifie me â—h where is the faithfulness of God God is unmindful of his promise Asaph was under this temptation Psalm 77. 7 8. Will the Lord cast off for ever and will he be favourable no more Is his mercy clean gone for ever doth his promise fail for evermore And thus he goeth on making many Queries concerning the goodness and faithfulness of God Secondly as the Devil and the Flesh doth raise many doubts and jealousies concerning the faithfulness of God so there are many doubts cast into the soul concerning the eternal estate and condition of the soul and that upon this ground when as the soul hath sought the Lord and the Lord not answer presently the soul begins to doubt oh surely I am no child of God no sponse no friend God could not deal so with children not to give one word of comfort not one word of answer Oh surely I am an Hypocrite for the prayer of the upright is his delight and if there were any truth of heart in me the Lord would give out an answer and thus the Devil and the Flesh-raise many jealousies and fears about the souls eternal state Or Thirdly if the Devil and the Flesh prevail not so far as to cause the soul to question the goodness of God and the Truth of God or to question its own Sonship yet they will prevail so far as to make the soul question his services and his duties which it hath performed to God Oh! surely I have not spoken to the Lord as I ought surely I have not been fervent in Spirit serving the Lord my prayer hath been but words of my own not the teachings of his Spirit if it had been his own Spirit the Lord would have heard his own Spirit but my prayer hath been accompanied with so many infirmities as it hath not reached up to heaven And thus you see how many a poor soul is led into temptation upon this ground the Lords being silent to the prayers of his people But you will say wherefore doth the Lord thus try his people I answer sometimes indeed the fault is in our selves that we have no answer to our prayers for it is possible that a man or woman that hath faith in Jesus Christ may be remiss in their walkings they may neglect some known duty or they may connive and wink at some evil way and if so no wonder though the Lord be silent at their prayers If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear my prayer If David regard iniquity if there be any way of sin that his heart closeth with the Lord will be silent to his prayers if any iniquity be regarded no wonder though the Lord do not hear Yea sometimes Gods own people are found remiss in their duty and though they pray they pray remisly and coldly their prayer is accompanied with so much deadness and distraction there is so little life and so little spirit the Spirit speaks so low that the Lord cannot hear and he will not hear and when it is so that we pray coldly and lazily we make but a light matter of it and are not found crying to the Lord with our hearts no wonder though the Lord be silent to our prayers Yea sometimes Gods own people may miss of an answer because they do not look after an answer and then the fault is their own when as we shall put up our petition and shall not be looking after our prayer shall not be found looking up as David speaketh Psalm 5. 3. In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee and will look up I will wait for an answer and hear what God the Lord will speak Psalm 85. 8. But when we do not regard our prayer then no wonder there is no answer I say therefore the Lord is sometimes silent to the prayers of his own people and the fault is in themselves But the Lord is not alwayes silent upon these grounds A gracious heart may walk close with God and may regard no iniquity and desire not to connive at any sin and it may wait upon the Lord for an answer and yet the Lord may be silent and give no present answer to the prayers of his people Why so why will the Lord deal so with any of his people I answer for gracious ends as First that they may exercise the spirit of prayer which is given out the Lord he loves to hear the cry of his people he loves to hear the voice of the children when they speak in prayer there is nothing on eath that God delights more in 〈◊〉 let me see thy face and let me hear thy voice saith Christ to his Spouse for thy voice is sweet Noâ— because the voice of faith in prayer 〈◊〉 sweet to the Lord the Lord he seemeth 〈◊〉 to hear or not to take notice for the present thâ—â— so they may pray the
them they know not what they do We should pray that the Lord would open their eyes that the Lord would turn their hearts to himself first and then to us Brethren such a prayer is very welcome to the Lord as welcome as most prayers that his people can make when you shall from the heart pray to the Lord for those that injured you and done you wrong such a prayer seldom goes unrequited Sometimes the Lord gives in the soul of an enemy at the request of his people and oh what a choice mercy will that be if thou mayst gain the soul of an enemy if a soul may be delivered from going down to the pit why the Lord many times gives in the soul of an enemy but if the Lord should not give in the soul of an enemy that prayer shall not go unrewarded it may be sometimes the Lord will give in the soul of a friend thou goest to God and thou prayest for such an enemy Lord forgive such an enemy Lord open his eyes and turn his heart and forgive his transgression if the Lord does not grant that request it may be the Lord will give in the soul of a child or some of thy relations because thou hast found in thy heart to pray for an enemy or else the Lord will reward that prayer by giving out more of himself thou beggest for an enemy if the Lord do not that the Lord will give thee more grace more of his Spirit the Lord it may be will cause his face to slaine more upon thee while thou at his commandment and for his sake canst find in thy heart to pray for them that are thy enemies and have done thee wrong thou hast prayed for an enemy and I will be a friend to thee saith the Lord I will shew thee more friendship more of my face this is the first thing Oh that the Lord would teach us to practise it it is our duty to pray for those that have done us wrong Secondly if it be our duty to pray for those that have done us wrong then it is our duty to pray for such as the Lord hath made instruments to do us good Creatures they are but instruments and all the glory is due to God alone ah but God is to be sought to for the instrument hath the Lord done us good by such an instrument in respect of our souls in a word of counsel and direction we are to pray for them When God made use of Abigail in giving a word of counsel to David how did he bless the Lord and pray to God for her 1 Sam. 25. 32 33. And David sad to Abigail blessed be the Lord God of which sent thee this day to meet me and blessed be thy advice and blessed be thou c. And so hath the Lord made any instrumental any way to do us good in the outward man to give any refreshment we are bound to remember them before the Lord thus did Paul 2 Tim. 1. 16. The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus for he oft refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains Onesiphorus was a means of refreshing Paul in his bonds and Paul looked upon it as his duty to remember him before the Lord he begs a blessing for him and his houshold The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus it is our duty to remember those before the Lord that have been used as instruments to do us good Thirdly it is our duty to remember before the Lord even those that are strangers to us those that we have not known if we know their conditions If the Lord hath brought the condition of strangers to us if the condition of strangers be a sad condition we are bound to remember them and to present their condition before the Lord and thus did the Disciples here in the Text this woman she was a stranger to them they never saw her face before she was of a strange Nation one of the Cananites and yet when the sad condition of this woman was brought before them and they heard her cry their hearts were moved with compassion and they besought Christ for her Lord send her away Lord grant her requestâ— And the Lord layd a great charge upon his people Israel that they should remember strangers and not oppress strangers but shew kindness to them and this is one part of the duty we owe to them to remember them and if in any sad condition we are bound to present them and their condition before the Lord. Fourthly If it be a duty to remember Strangers then much more to remember our own Relations and to present them before the Lord. All our Relations what ever they be as we stand related to others in Political Societies there is an engagement to remember them before the Lord a mutual tye betwixt the Magistrate and the people and they are bound to pray one for another godly Magistrateâ— and godly people are bound to remember one another You know King Solomon he was one that feared the Lord and he was very much in praying for the people 1 Kings 8. 22. he spent much time in prayer And so back again it is the peoples duty to remember their Governours The Apostle lays it upon Christians as their duty 1 Tim. 2. 1. I exhort therefore that first of all supplications prayers intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men ver 2. for Kings and for all that are in Authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty In this relation there is a mutual tie to remember one another before the Lord. And if we come to Family-societies there we shall see relations are bound to remember one another before the Lord the relation of Husband and Wife Parents and Children Masters and Servants the Scripture holds it forth as a duty incumbent upon all Christians to remember their relations mutually before the Lord. Husbands are bound to remember their wives to present their condition before the Lord Isaac prayed for Rebeckah Gen. 25. 21. and at his request the Lord was entreated and so back again the wife is bound to remember the husband And so in the relation of parents parents are bound often to present their children before the Lord the example of Job is given for our imitation Job 1. 5. And it was so when the dayes of their feasting were gone about that Job sent and sanctified them and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt-offerings according to the number of them all for Job said it may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts thus did Job continually See Job presented them all one by one before the Lord and begged mercy for them and that the Lord would take away the guilt of sin which they might contract while they were feasting in one anothers house And so good old Jacob performed this duty for his children even then when he lay a dying
is first of all to take off the soul from the use of the means to make the soul undervalue the means and to cast off the means Thus he tempts poor creatures that have prayed and have met with no answer but they are worse others have prayed for them and yet they grow worse and worse why then he perswades to undervalue the means for while a soul is thus waiting upon God in Gods way mercy is not far off therefore the Devils great design is to drive the soul out of Gods way What is prayer and why will ye pray any longer you are never the better for your own prayers nor the better for others prayers and thus the Devil discourageth the soul from waiting upon God in the use of the means Secondly Satans design is to drive the soul upon the rock of despair to make a soul to cast away his confidence Why will you hope any longer and pray any longer you see all is in vain God heareth not your prayers God heareth not others for you others have prayed and cried in your behalf and there is no answer and your misery is greater then before and therefore why should you wait any longer Satans great design is to make a soul cast away all his hope and confidence and to dash and break it in pieces upon thaâ— rock But now God hath a design of mercy in it though it be so that the affliction grow greater and greater after the use of means yet God hath a design of mercy For by that First of all God will teach the soul not to rest upon the means but upon himself Satans design is to draw the creature from the use of means and Gods design is to draw the creature more to the use of means And truly we are ready to drive our selves upon this work either to cast off prayer or else to rest upon the means and therefore it is that a poor soul is so cast down when as it hath been waiting upon God in the use of means hath been praying looking to the promise and hath been calling in the help of others I say we are apt in this case to shew forth the frowardness of our spirits which doth evidence that we look too much to the means We think prayer should save us and upon the use of means if the Lord doth not come in we are murmuring Now the Lord will teach us this to use the means but not to rest upon the means but to rest upon himself upon his arm for salvation and upon his free grace and not upon any means Secondly God hath this design when the condition of the creature seems to grow worse and worse after the use of the means why the Lord doth not presently help it is because that he will appear at such a time when his work of deliverance will be most glorious He will come in the most seasonable time when as deliverance shall be most welcome and that is at such a time when all means fail when the creature hath tryed all means whatsoever As the woman that had the issue of blood she went from Physitian to Physitian and yet the worse Oh the cure from the hand of Christ was welcome And so when the poor man brought his son to the Disciples he tried all means and the Disciples could not cast the Devil out Oh when all means failed that was the time for Christ to step in The Lord will then appear at such a season when poor creatures are brought to the lowest state when a poor soul saith Lord we have used such and such means but still worse and worse oh Lord we know not what to do but our eyes are towards thee Oh this is a time that the Lord will draw nigh to his people And therefore to reflect a little upon this doth God make this to be the condition of any of you have we been under some great affliction and burden and some great temptation and have been using all means and still we find it grow worse and worse according to our own apprehension worse after prayer then before more temptations after prayer then before more temptations after looking to the promise then before if this be thy condition be not discouraged for this hath been the condition of many of Gods people This was the condition of the woman of Canaan here before thee she was worse after prayer then before she was worse after the Disciples had prayed for her then she meets with a flat denial and Christ saith to her that he was not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel This was the condition of the woman of Canaan and yet the Lord Jesus he loveth this woman and he had an intent to shew mercy to this woman and to grant her request And therefore if this be your condition oh take heed of the Devils design the Devils design as you heard before is to make you undervalue the means and to drive you to despair take heed of the Devils design And though this should be your condition do not think the worse of the Ordinance of God do not think the worse of prayer the worse of your duties and do not think the worse of the prayers of others do not think the worse of searching the Scripture and of applying your selves to the promises do not think the worse of these things it is the Devils design to make you undervalue the means And take heed that you do not now cast away all hope Satan will tell you that there is no hope concerning you the servants of God have prayed for you and now no hope Oh know that that temptation will drive you upon the rock of despair but oh that you would look to God and know that he hath a design of mercy towards you nay in this very thing that it is worse and worse with you he hath a design of mercy in it he will draw you off from resting upon the creature and resting upon means and the Lord will now teach you to rest upon himself and God will come in when it shall be most welcome Oh therefore in such a condition we should set faith a work though to sence we seem to be worse and worse and deliverance further off then ever worse after prayer then before prayer oh yet we should set faith a work for faith will see that deliverance is near and conclude it because it is Gods way in which he walks towards his people When the people of Israel were most grievously oppressed by the Egyptians then the Lord handed out deliverance O soul though the clouds do seem to gather and it be darker with thee then ever yet say I will wait upon the Lord in his way and I will be found praying still and calling in the help of others still Oh that we might set faith a work and we should see that Gods salvation were neer But I shall pass from this I am not sent but
though they may be gone very far from God though they have gone a great way from God yet give them not up for desperate Christ hath other sheep then these that he will bring in and know that the Lord is able to bring them in though they be gone far from God and far from his way yet God is able to bring them in the great Shepherd is able to finde them and to lay them on his shoulder and able to bring them into his Fold and therefore we should not be hopeless but still be found waiting upon God in the use of the means if we say there is no hope then we give over the use of the means Hope still and wait upon God in the use of the means cry to God in their behalf wait upon the great Shepherd that he would go forth to seek and to save And we should labour to carry so towards all friends and neighbours and relations that are for the present opposite to God and his wayes that we may gain them they may be such as Christ may bring in Christ's sheep were lost so were we and so were they and therefore take heed that we do not set them off from Christ do nothing to make them out of love with Christ but oh look upon them as those that Christ may bring in and therefore let us do what we can for them Secondly It lets us see the sad condition for the present of those that do not believe in Christ O! that all sinners would consider their sad condition Truly it is a lost estate that every sinner is in and that is a sad estate for a man to be lost lost to God and lost to himself and lost to others yea so lost that he is altogether useless and unserviceable neither profitable unto God nor man yea so lost as he is in a hopeless condition to have no hope Truly there is not any sinner that goes on in a way of sin that hath any true ground of hope and that is a sad condition which is a helpless condition helpless in respect of the creature helpless in respect of himself helpless in respect of all men and oh it is a dangerous way O that sinners would think of it for a man to be lost in a dark slippery dirty way for a man to be lost in a wilderness to have none to guide him no friend to comfort him none to help him out in a vast howling wilderness compassed about with dismal darkness it is a sad condition especially when there are wilde beasts in the wilderness and every step that he sets he treadeth on a Serpent and a Lion in the way O that God would perswade sinners of this their lost condition to be lost and thus lost is a sad estate yet this is their misery and men are not sensible of it And it is more sad because it is the soul that is lost and O! what would it advantage a man or woman to gain the whole world and to lose their own souls What ever slight thoughts men or women have of their precious souls that lodgeth in their bosomes it is of more worth then ten thousand worlds now for a soul to be in the wilderness a soul to be in the dark a soul to be in the midst of Serpents and Lions O it is a sad estate and condition the Lord open the eyes of men and women to see into this their sad condition Thirdly Are poor creatures by nature in a lost estate and condition O that they that are lost would hear the voice of Christ the great Shepherd Every man is lost before brought home to Christ and O that poor lost souls might hear the voice of Christ this day here is glad tydings O that men would receive it The Son of man came to seek and to save thaâ— which was lost Here is glad tydings to you that are in a lost condition O that God would bore the ear of the soul to hear this voice of Christ it is the Shepherd that cryeth after you O my sheep return to me I am come out of heaven to seek you and to save you and I am now gone forth in the ministration of the Gospel for this purpose O that poor lost sheep would hear the voice of the Shepherd and would receive the glad tydings that he brings either men are sensible of their lost estate or they are not there are some that are lost yea many and they know it not but it is more sad for a man that is lost and will not be perswaded that he is lost but he hath a good opinion of his way such a man goes the faster and rideth the faster and he will the sooner be at his journeys end Now to those that are lost and know it not let me say unto you that the Lord Jesus doth at once hold forth both your danger and the remedy against that danger Christ doth by one word hold forth to you that you are lost and he doth hold forth to you the way by which you may be saved from that lost estate you heard that he was sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel and to the lost sheep of the Gentiles too though Christ's present work was not among them but now Christ sends to the lost sheep of the house of the Gentiles as to the house of Israel and by his word he would convince you that you are lost and doth discover to you the way to come out of that lost condition by believing O that you would hear the voice of the great Shepherd that comes forth this day and gives you an invitation to return But there are some that are sensible of their lost estate O they see it and they know that they are lost and therefore they look upon themselves as the most miserable creatures well here is glad tydings for you this day The Son of man is come to seek and to save what is lost You see your condition to be a sad condition and you say it is lost and what ever it is it can be but lost why the Lord Jesus he was sent on purpose to save that which was lost it was the work that Jesus Christ was sent about the great thing that was put into Christ's Commission the great work that his Father put into his hand to save what was lost Now therefore look to the promises of God yea that gracious promise in Ezek. 34. v. 16. I will see that which was lost and bring again that which waâ— driven away and will binde up that which was broken and will strengthen that which was sick Thiâ— promise it concerns the poor lost sheep how he will seek them and save them and binde them up O behold there the readiness that is in Christ to finde them and indeed Christ hath the greatest care of such poor lost sheep If a man hath a hundred sheep and one of them be gone astray doth he
not leave the ninety and nine and goeth into the mountains and seeketh that which is gone astray He goeth forth to seek the one sheep that is lost you being that one lost sheep and you looking upon your own condition to be lost and you are sensible that none is so lost as you he will leave the ninety and nine to seek you And therefore hear the glad tydings of your Shepherd he cometh forth to seek you be you willing to come to Christ and O! what joy will there be in heaven at your return Fourthly and lastly It lets us see and O that we might see the infinite riches of the grace of God in Christ to poor sinners O! here is grace indeed What rich mercy was that that sent out Jesus Christ to seek lost sheep O! that we might consider a little of the greatness of this grace of God the exceeding riches of it that the Lord should send forth his Son Jesus Christ to seek lost sheep O! consider what worthless creatures we were how unuseful and unprofitable both to God and man nay the Lord saw how little useful we should be afterward how little we are able to return to the Lord for this his great mercy yet the Lord sent forth his Son to seek you And consider that this was at such a time when we could never have returned to the Lord when we could never have found God though we had sought him we could not have found him if we had had any disposition to have sought after the Shepherd we could not have found him no by all our searching we could never have found him And then when it was so with us that we could not finde the way to go home again that he should send Jesus Christ to shew us the way that he makes by the Shepherd to lead the wandring sheep home O free grace If the Lord had sent forth the least Angel of heaven to have sought poor lost sinners it had been mercy but that God should not commit this work to his servants but give a Commission to his Son and make it his great work to seek poor lost sheep O great love nay when we could not finde God and when Angels could not have found us if they had sought us herein is the exceeding riches of grace Nay it was at such a time as the Lord might have sent his Justice to have found us out God might have sent the Avenger of blood after us the Lord might have set all our sins upon us to have found us out they might have followed us as so many Avengers of blood O that at such a time God should send Christ to finde us out after all our sinful wandrings from God! that he should make his Son to come and seek O infinite love And therefore let me speak to those that have received this grace Hath the Lord found out your souls Hath Jesus Christ found you out in your wandrings and through mercy brought you home to God Hath he brought home any poor soul to believe in Christ and to give up it self fully and for ever to Christ O! be thankful for this mercy and labour to walk worthy of it and study to know what is your duty now you that are Christ's sheep and were lost O! what is your duty Christ hath found you surely some duty you owe to Christ Why this is our duty It is our duty now to seek Christ to seek much faith in Christ if Christ hath sought us and took so much pains in seeking us that were not worth the seeking after O! how should we lay forth our selves to seek Christ Seek him every day seek much of Christ seek his face evermore seek more of Christ every day Christ sought us when we were not worthy and shall not we seek him who is infinitely worthy who is the desire of all Nations Again It is our duty to seek others Christ hath found us it is our duty to seek others to pity the sheep that are lost that for the present are in a lost estate and condition take some pains to seek them according to your Talent and opportunity O take pains to seek others Assoon as ever Christ found Andrew Andrew he findes Simon Peter O! Come saith he and see Christ I say if Christ hath found us let us labour to finde others labour to bring them to the knowledge of Jesus Christ the great Shepherd The Lord gave a Commandment Deut. 22. 1. That if any man saw his neighbours Oxe or Sheep go astray he should pity them he should not hide himself from them but he should pity the poor lost sheep and the lost Oxe Doth God take care for Oxen Doth Godtake care for Sheep That a poor lost Sheep be brought home to his Owner And that a poor lost Oxe be brought home to his Owner And doth not God take more care for poor lost souls And is it not a more acceptable work to bring home lost souls O pity poorlost souls tell them of Christ shew them the way to Christ and know that if you shall be an instrument in the Lord's hand to bring home a lost soul to Jesus Christ the Owner O it will be service very acceptable to God your Father Thirdly If Christ hath found us then we should lose no opportunity of honouring him Let us know that we are the Lord's we are not our own any longer but engaged to be the Lord's sought out by Christ and saved by Christ and brought from a wandring condition and lost in a wilderness and yet found by Christ in this wilderness condition O let us know that we are engaged for ever to be the Lord's therefore let not Christ's sheep lose any opportunity of doing service to Christ take heed that we do not lose any opportunity of being profitable to Christ bringing honour to Christ in our generation for that is expected by Christ the Shepherd So Paul did engage for Onesimus in the Epistle of Philemon Onesimus he was a poor run-away sheep Paul he findes Onesimus and he brings him home to Christ he was instrumental in his conversion and he sendeth him to his Master and he tells him that now he will be profitable before he was unprofitable but now he will be profitable to thee and to me and to Christ before unprofitable A sheep is of no use when lost but when it s found then it is profitable and so if the Lord hath found our souls O that we might do all we can to bring honour to Christ and lift up his name in this our generation for Christ hath sound us for that end Fourthly If Christ hath found us we should be content to lose all we have for him Let all go for Christ it matters not what we lose for Christ if Christ hath found us If God calls for our estates let that go if Christ hath found us we have that which is better then a great estate it had
life begins here in holiness and that is eternal life to know the Father and the Son that is the end for which God doth predestinate that they might be holy through the sanctification of the Spirit and that they might be blessed and happy for ever But in respect of God the great end of Election it is the praise of his own grace that so they that shall be saved they may for ever admire and advance that rich and free grace of God towards them that chose them so freely when as they were so vile this is the end of Election Fiftly We may consider the means by which God doth fulfil and execute his Decree of Election The means of executing his Decree it is Christ Jesus as Mediator he chose such and such to bring them to such and such an end by such means by Christ Jesus and by Faith in him Christ as Mediator he is the cause of the means of God's executing and fulfilling his Decree though not the cause of Election but the cause of the means of God's executing and fulfilling his Decree for God would save them no other way but by Jesus Christ in Ephes 1. 4. you have these all together According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love Here you see it is an Act of God from eternity before the foundation of the world and at v. 5. you may see it is an Act of his Free Grace According to the good pleasure of his Will v. 5. He was not moved thereunto by any thing in the creature no it was according to the good pleasure of his Will And you see also the several ends for which God hath chosen v. 4. in respect of the creature the end is that we should be holy and at v. 5. that we should be happy and attain the inheritance of children and the great end of all is in v. 6. That this may be the praise and glory of his grace And then there is the means by which God doth execute this Decree v. 4. He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world So that you see somthing of this great and wonderful mysterie of Election in this place But there are two things further which I shall insist upon for the clearing of the Truth to you in the opening of which I shall meet with those things that are most of all objected against this Truth This Act of God from eternity it was 1. Absolute 2. Immutable and Vnchangeable There are these two general heads which will clear up much of the minde and will of God in this Truth 1. God's Decree is absolute and free 2. It is unchangeable First It is absolute and free it doth not depend upon any thing in the creature God did not chuse because he foresaw men would be such and such he did not chuse any because he foresaw they would believe as some imagine he did not chuse any because he foresaw they would be holy his decree and choice and love it was not grounded upon any thing in the creature for the Lord he hath no such respect in his choice you may see what is said of Esau and Jacob in Rom. 9. 11. The Apostle is there treating of this mysterie and he doth there let us know that it is free and absolute and doth not depend upon the work or worthiness of the creature For the children being not yet born neither having done any good or evil that the purpose of God according to election might stand not of works but of him that calleth v. 12. It was said unto her the elder shall serve the younger v. 13. As it is written Jacob have I loved but Esau have I hated Before they had either done good or evil God made choice of Jacob God did not chuse him because he foresaw he would be better then his brother Esau no Esau and Jacob were all alike unto God nay if there were any preheminence Esau had it he was the first born and was not Esau Jacobs brother saith God yet I loved Jacob Mal. 1. 2 3. and I hated Esau I have bestowed special love upon Jacob less upon Esau Not that God hates the creature without some consideration but hating here is to shew a less love Christ saith a man shall hate his Father and Mother for Christ's sake that is love them less then Christ and Jacob had two wives one was hated the other loved Rachel beloved and Leah hated that is less loved and so God here he bestows special love upon Jacob and not upon Esau And it is evident from Scripture that God could not chuse for foreseen faith and holiness for the Scripture holds forth that both faith and holiness they are the fruits of Election and therefore not the cause of Election men therefore believe and are made holy because God hath chosen them from eternity Acts 13. 48. As many as were ordained to eternal life believed see here faith is made the fruit of Election and of God's love from eternity the words cannot be read thus That as many as believed were ordained to eternal life but as many as were ordained to eternal life believed and so holiness or sanctification cannot be the cause of Election no it is the fruit of Election see Ephes 1. 4. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love He hath chosen us that we should be holy not chosen us because we were holy but that we might be holy holiness then proceeds from God's special love And I shall make it further evident to you from some Arguments from Scripture that it is not possible God's choice should be grounded upon any thing in the creature but meerly an Act of his own good pleasure for First of all that which maketh the Will of God to depend upon the creature that cannot be a true doctrine but now if God doth chuse upon foreseen faith and works because he foresaw the creature to be such then the Will of God doth depend upon the creature which destroyes the divine nature of God and the freedom of God's Will it is not possible that God's Will should be determined but by its self now if God chose upon foreseen faith and works then God's Will is determined by some thing in the creature Secondly It doth derogate much from the freeness of God's grace as also from the greatness of the mysterie and of the wonder of the Gospel I say If God did chuse men because he foresaw that they would be holy it derogates much from the freeness of his grace If it be of works then it is not of grace If God's choice were grounded upon such a foresight of faith and holiness then it is not an election of grace And it derogates much from the great mysterie of the Gospel God will
in heaven Rejoyce in this that God hath chosen you and loved you that he hath loved you with an everlasting love and that he hath given you to his Son and will bring you to life and happiness to the praise of his grace in this rejoyce And therefore it is that the Spirit of the Lord is given out to believers that they might know their election it is one end of Christ's sending the Comforter the Spirit of the Lord who searcheth the deep things of God and so reveals them unto believers Now this is among the deep things of God God's eternal love this is one of the depths that made the Apostle cry out when he considered God's way from eternity to poor creatures The Spirit searcheth the deep things of God and reveals them to his people the Spirit of the Lord stood by when he did write the names of his children in the book of life the Son was present and the Spirit was present even from eternity before the world was made when God writ the names of his people in the book of life and therefore the Spirit it is one of God's Witnesses and is given to testifie this to his people he is sent by Christ to testifie what he saw from eternity that the names of such and such were written in the book of life God hath given us of his Spirit that we might know the things that are given us freely of God 1 Cor. 2. 12. Now this is one of the things that are freely given us of God this absolute choice this love of God that was from everlasting if ever any thing were free this is free now the Spirit of the Lord is sent to cause us to know the things that are freely given us of God Now when the Spirit of the Lord doth make known to a soul that it is elected somtimes it makes use of the testimony of the blood of Christ and of the testimony of Water and somtimes he declares this to the soul by his own immediate witness the Spirit of the Lord doth sometimes make it known mediately and somtimes immediately Mediately There are three that bear record in earth the Spirit the Water and the blood and these three agree in one 1 John 5. 8. Now the Spirit that â—â—â—keth the blood of Christ anâ— sprinkles it upâ— the soul and causeth faith to be wrought in the soul to lay hold upon the blood of Christ and then there is the witness of the Blood And so all the Spirit of the Lord doth change the heart and renew the heart there is the witness of the Water now when the Spirit of the Lord doth shine upon these the soul can thorow these draw comfortable conclusions concerning its own election And somtimes there is a more immediate witness The Spirit it self bearing witness that we are the children of God Rom. 8. 16. Add his own Testimony beside all others that a soul is loved of God so that you see the second general head which is this that this great mysterie of election may be known it may be known unto others and to our selves And therefore O that we might wait upon God for the discovery of it Men are found negligent in this great business because they think it is too high for them who can ascend into heaven say they they think it is presumption for them to ascend into heaven and who can know say they that they are loved from everlasting But O! know souls that there is an absolute Election of grace and this Election may be known it may be known to others and it may be known to our selves O therefore that we might give the Lord no rest and our souls no rest till this great mysterie be made out to us though it be a secret a wonderful secret Yet there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets saith Daniel to King Nebuâ—â—â—dnezzar Dan. 2. 28. Thongh it was a secret 〈◊〉 past my reach saith he yet there is a God in â—aeven that revealeth secrets and so I say though 〈◊〉 be a secret yet there is a God in heaven that â—ealeth secrets and therefore wait upon the â—rd that we may know that we are elected Matth. 15. 24. I am not sent but unto the lost shâ— of the house of Israel SERMON XIII BUt to come to the third part of 〈◊〉 Doctrine which is this That the Doctrine of Election is a comfortable Doctrine It holds forth solid ground of comfort and greâ— refreshment to the people of God Although â—â—ny spurn at it and carnal reason ready to rise 〈◊〉 against it yet it is a doctrine of sweet and solâ— comfort to God's people And I shall shew yoâ— how it is such a comfortable doctrine First This is a ground of comfort to poor soulâ— that God's love doth not depend upon any thing 〈◊〉 the creature a ground of unspeakable comfort that God he fetcheth all his arguments of lovâ— out of his own bowels not from any desert in thâ— creature Alas if God's love had gone by desert in us there had been but little hope And I do not know what solid ground of comfort they can lay that contend so for a conditional Decree grounded upon the creatures acting for if the Lord had not loved and chosen till he had seen some worthiness in the creature till he had seen some better improvement in us then in others if the Lord had suspended to love and to chuse till then O! what little hope might any creature have had that know the contrary workings of his own heart What little hope of being saved But now when all is of Free grace and the Lord overlooks all unworthiness and chuseth freely and loves freely O this is a ground of hope and great consolation Secondly There is another ground of comfort and refreshment from this Doctrine It doth assure us that the Lord is very ready to be entreated that the Lord is not hardly brought off to shew mercy to poor sinners that there is not an unwillingness in God to this work as unbelief and the Tempter would suggest why It was that which was the purpose of God from everlasting I say God from all eternity hath purposed it It was the counsel of God the great work of God that which God spent his thoughts upon from all eternity they were as I may say the first thoughts of the heart of God to love and pity and to save and to bring about that great work of saving sinners by the blood of Christ this was the great contrivance of God and it is a great ground of comfort and refreshment A poor soul may doubt whether God be willing to save and willing to be reconciled to him that hath sinned so and so O! This Doctrine doth comfort exceedingly for certainly if it were the great work of God from eternity the Lord is not unwilling now to do it Christ tells his Disciples That the Father himself loveth you That is
about the election of others and their own election First They may meet with many temptations about the election of others And first of all this may be a temptation a soul may be prying by the eye of carnall reason into this great Mystery of Gods eternal purpose and counsell it is possible that the people of God may suffer much this way and by this may be brought into great temptations and snares by giving way to carnall reason and setting carnall reason on work to look into this great mystery and to desire and covet that their reason may be satisfied this proves a great snare and a great temptation to men when they shall goe about to satisfie their carnall reason and shall be unsatisfied in that they cannot apprehend to be according to reason if their reason be not satisfied they cannot rest in the purpose and decree of God oh this leads many a poor soul into great snares and great temptations And as a remedy against this temptation know this let us know that God is no bound to give an account to our reason of any of his actings He giveth no account of his matters saith Job God is not bound to give an account to the creature he is absolute and free and is not bound to give an account to our carnall reason Besides Let us know this that our reason is a corrupted and a crooked rule and shall we goe about to measure the counsell of Gods purpose and his acting from eternity by our crooked rule and not subscribe to them unlesse we make them out by our crooked rule Oh! let us know that when this temptation presents it self our reason is a crooked rule and Gods rule strait and our rule being crooked we must not goe about to measure Gods actings and purpose by our reason Thirdly As a Remedy against this know that though our reason were never so strait yet there are many things in God that are too deep for us to find out Though our reason be not crooked though it be spirituallized there are many of the wonderfull mysteries of God that we cannot comprehend though they are not against spirituall reason yet they are above our reason that it is not possible and so long as in this state we cannot comprehend them it cannot be made out to our reason those wonderfull mysteries of God therefore we must not goe about to search them out by our reason and be disconted because our reason is not satisfied but we must rest satisfied in the will of God admire that which we cannot comprehend know that God is not unrighteous if he chuse one and leave another he is not unrighteous though we cannot make it out to our carnall reason but oh let us stand and wonder and admire as the Apostle did he could not satisfie his reason but he stands and admires and cries out oh the depth of the wisdom and counsel of God! how are his wayes past finding out Secondly carnall reason may put us upon some other temptations a soul may be tempted exceedingly about that way of God his chusing some and not taking all a gracious heart may meet with this temptation and be much disquieted with this oh why will not God save all the World he saves some men but oh why will not God save all we think it had been better if God had saved all there is mercy enough in God to save all and there is enough in the death of Christ to save all his blood hath price enough and vertue enough to satisfie for a thousand worlds why then would not God save all To silence this temptation that it is infinite grace that God saves any when we consider what the lost condition was that man brought himselfe into what strangers and enemies how desperately bent and set against God Oh! the indignity that hath been done to God by the sons of men oh what free grace is it that God will save any we should rather stand and wonder that God will save so many thousands yea millions when as he might have left all in condemnation Oh! let us not wonder that God hath not saved all but wonder that God hath saved so many and that any of us are in the number of those that are saved And further to silence this temptation why say that the fault is not in God the fault is in the creature thy destruction is of thy self Gods purpose is not the cause of any mans destruction no man brought destruction upon himselfe and man bringing destruction upon himself God may chuse whether he will save him or no. And we may say further for the clearing of God that God doth lay blocks in mens way to keep them from running to hell he layes many commandements and many promises to keep men from sinning God put many morall barrs in mens way though the Lord is not pleased to work powerfully and overcomingly yet there are many barrs that God doth lay in mens way to keep them from sinning so that mens own consciences shall witnesse that their destruction is of themselves Yea I may say further for the clearing of God that God doth afford means of life and meanes of salvation there is sufficient means afforded to a great part of the World if not to all I say there is sufficient meanes afforded for bringing men to life and salvation to those that sit under the Gospel Though it is true the Lord doth not alwayes nor to all men make them effectuall infallibly yet I say there is a sufficiency in the means if there were no lett in the creature but that the Lord doth not make those means afforded to us effectuall infallibly to bring men to life and salvation therein we must rest in the good pleasure of the Lord. Againe this is another temptation why doth God chuse this man and not that man why Peter and not Judas Judas sin it was no greater then Peters sin Judas betrayed Christ Peter denyed Christ and is forsworne now that God should chuse one man and not another why this man and not that man To silence this temptation we must know that the Lord is free and mercy it belongs to him and he may shew it where he pleaseth As for this God will give no account to the creature why one man and not another why the Lord will shew mercy to one man not to another You know what Christ saith There shall be two men in one bed the one shall be taken and the other left two women shall be grinding together the one shall be taken and the other left two men shall be in the field the one shall be taken and the other left Two in the same condition the one taken and the other left And for this we must rest in the good pleasure of God and nothing else will quiet our spirits if we doe not rest in the good pleasure of
meet withall concerning their own Election First A poor soul may be thus tempted that it is an impossible thing for it to attaine to the knowledge of Gods love this is a secret this is that which was transacted in Heaven and therefore sure it is not possible for me to attain to the knowledge of this that the Lord hath loved me and hath written my name in the book of life Men may have some good hopes of it but surely saith the temptation it is presumption for any man to think or say he may come to assurance that the Lord hath written his name in the Book of life for there are these two things against it First Secret things belongeth to God Secondly No eye hath seen what is done in Heaven and if eye hath not seen it how shall I attaine to the knowledge of it In Answer to this temptation know and consider that many of the Saints of God hath attained to the knowledge of Gods eternall love and hath risen to this assurance that the Lord hath loved and will love with an everlasting love The Apostle Paul did attaine to it and he gloryes in it yea then when he speaketh in the person of all the Elect of God Rom. 8. 33. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect it is God that justifieth Vers 34. Who is he that condemneth it is Christ that dyed yea rather that is risen again who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us Vers 35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ He stands up to challenge all the world and the powers of darknesse who dare lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect And in the 38. verse see what he further saith For I am perswaded that neither death nor life nor Angels nor Principallities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come Vers 39. Nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. So then you see it is a thing not impossible to attaine to the knowledge of Gods eternall electing love Nay it is laid upon all the Saints as a duty to seek after the knowledge of it 2 Pet. 1. 10. Wherefore the rather brethren give diligence to make your calling and election sure for if you doe these things ye shall never fall So then election may be made sure and it is a duty which lyeth upon all believers to strive after that they may make their calling and election sure Now if it be so that this is a thing that may be attained unto and that the Saints hath attained unto and a duty which all the children of God are put upon then certainly this is a temptation and know it is a temptation that it is an impossible thing for any to attaine to the knowledge of Gods electing love But Secondly The second temptation concerning our election may be this a poor soul may be thus tempted it is true there may be the knowledge of Gods love and many of the Saints have attained to this knowledge but as for me I have no certainty I have striven and I have waited upon God and sought for assurance but I have not attained it and therefore I am ready to conclude surely the Lord hath not loved me others sought and they have attained and have assurance I have sought and I cannot meet with assurance of the love of God and therefore certainly the Lord hath not loved me I Answer to this temptation know that thou canst not conclude that God hath not called thee effectually because thou hast not assurance and if thou canst not conclude that God hath not called thee effectually because thou hast not assurance much less canst thou conclude that God hath not chosen thee from eternity because thou hast not assurance But Secondly In answer to this temptation hath not the Lord given thee a heart to close with Christ as held forth in the Gospel to poor lost sinners hath not God made thee willing to accept of Christ hath not the Lord in some measure inabled thee to cleave to Christ and dost now resolve to cast thy self upon Christ to venture all upon Christ even thy eternity why then know here is that which gives the essence the being of faith this accepting of Christ held forth in the Gospel with thy resting upon him it is the being of faith and this faith is no other but the faith of Gods elect the fruit of Gods electing love it springs from that eternall love which chose his people unto salvation through faith and therefore though there be not the comfort of faith assurance is the comfort of faith the flower that grows upon the fruit of faith yet if there be that which gives the being of faith thou mayst not conclude that the Lord hath not loved thee because thou hast not assurance Thirdly In answer to this temptation thou sayst thou hast no assurance of Gods electing love and therefore thou concludest that God doth not love thee As thou hast no assurance that God hath chosen thee so thou hast no knowledge of the contrary and mayest not conclude the contrary that God hath not chosen thee for if thou shouldst so conclude thou mayest lye against the truth and therefore cease to draw any conclusions of that which is not knowne to thee and give up thy self to doe the revealed will of God and what is that but that thou take hold of the offer of salvation and receive Christ that you believe in the name of his Son for this is his commandement 1. Joh. 3. 18. But Thirdly this temptation may arise in the soul namely a desire that God would give it a signe an extraordinary signe it resolves it cannot believe and will not believe unless God give itâ— signe This is a temptation that some of Gods people hath met withall To answer this temptation know that it is not Gods ordinary way to give satisfaction to the soul concerning his love by giving an extraordinary signe it is true the Lord may sometimes in some cases condescend to his people and may give an extraordinary signe yea the Lord may and hath prevented his people sometimes with an extraordinary signe to prevent their unbeleefe when they have not asked a signe You have heard of that woman that sometime lived in Cambridge that was many yeares in a tempted condition and being sorely afflicted one day she took up a glasse in her hand and cast it against the ground with this expression I am as surely damned as this glasse is broken and it pleased God so to order it that the glass was not broke which was to the conviction of her unbeliefe I say the Lord may give a signe yea when it is not asked but it is not Gods ordinary way but now for a soul to stand it out with God that it cannot beleeve unless God
Electing love walk worthy of it improve this your mercy that great mercy the knowledge which God hath given you of his love in Christ improve it let it be an engagement upon you to duty To what duty doth this Love of God engage unto First Let this love of God to you engage you to a holy confidence to a holy trust in the Lord and a stedfast relyance upon Christ and his grace in every state and condition the Lord would have you make this improvement his love is discovered for this end that your faith may be strengthned and your hope strengthned and made more firm and lively Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect it is God that justifieth c. Rom. 8. 33. Thus doth the Apostle improve it If God be for us who shall be against us I am perswaded that neither death nor life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shal be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nay saith he in all these things we are more then Conquerours Christ would have his people improve this love for the casting out of fear perfect love casteth out fear it is casting out fear though it hath not cast out fear Fear not little flock it is your Fathers good pleasure to give you a Kingdom he would strengthen them against fear by setting before them the Father 's Electing love it is the Fathers good pleasure to give you a Kingdome O that we might improve this for the strengthening of our confidence Secondly If the Lord hath discovered his love know that it is an engagement as to Confidence so to Holiness a holy and unblameable walking before God The adversaries of this Truth pretend that this is a Doctrine of Liberty Ah! but there is no such tendency Put on as the Elect of God bowels of mercy If you be the Elect of God put on bowels of mercy and so be you like to Christ I say know that this is the end of God's Electing love God hath chosen you wherefore hath he chosen you Eph. 1. 4. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love This is the great end of God's love and the discovery of it that you may be holy O! Know that if God hath loved you you should be holy Thridly Know that you are engaged to walk humbly Who put the difference What was it that made the difference This Doctrine of free Electing love hath taught you that it is grace that hath made the difference not your free will and improvement but it is free grace that made the difference The Lord saw us so far from improving of that which he gave us as any other and therefore this may silence all flesh before the Lord let not flesh glory Why what hast thou to glory in If thou be better then others whence was it It was from free love and therefore it engageth thee to walk humbly with thy God Fourthly It is an engagement to Love O! love the Lord dearly if the Lord hath made out his Electing love you are engaged to love him again shew forth much love love to Christ and love to the Image of Christ love to the way of Christ love to the Truth of Christ love to the Ordinances of Christ love to the Saints of Christ As I have loved you saith Christ so ought you to love one another John 13. 34. As I have loved you as much as if Christ should say this is the greatest argument that I can propound to you to move you to love one another I have loved you If the Lord have loved you with this electing love and hath discovered that his love to you you are engaged to love him and his people and whatever hath the Image of God and of Christ upon it And so I have done this point this great mysterie this Doctrine of Election I desire not to read this Verse again there is one thing more which I shall but touch and so conclude I am not sent but to the lost Sheep of the House of Israel The House of Israel What is the House of Israel Why the seed of Abraham the posterity of Jacob whose name was Israel the twelve Tribes they are the House of Israel they were the peculiar people that God chose out of all the Nations he left other Nations and he chose them for his peculiar people he chose them to be his House when he took them into Covenant with himself and they took hold of his Covenant they became a Church of Christ and this Church of Christ is the House of God Israel is God's House That 's the Point that I shall but touch and so shut up all Every true Church of Christ is the House of God They are a House and they are the House of God What was spoken of that Church may be said of every true Gospel Church they are a House and God's house they are God's Houshold they are called the Houshold of Faith Gal. 6. 10. And so again in Ephes 2. 19. Now therefore ye are no more Strangers and Forreigners but Fellow Citizens with the Saints and of the Houshold of God And this is prophesied of by the Prophet Micah chap. 4. vers 2. And many Nations shall come and say Come Let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord and to the House of the God of Jacob speaking of Gospel-times the Churches of the Lord are called the House of God Christ as a Son over his own House whose House we are c. Heb. 3. 6. Now in a house there is a Master of the Family why the Master of this Houshold is Christ every houshold hath a Head a Master the Lord of the Family Christ is the Master of this Family he is the Lord the Head of the Church If they call the Master of the house Beelzebub saith Christ how much more shall they call them of his houshold Matth. 10. 25. Christ is the Head and the Lord and he is the Master of his House of his Church the Master of the great Family Secondly The Members of this house they are fellow Brethren fellow Servants sometimes they are called Children Members of a Family they are either Children Servants or Friends that dwell in the Family The Lord calleth his people his children his servants somtimes his friends still he owns them the members of his house are fellow brethren and fellow servants Thirdly In a great Houshold you have Officers and Stewards Great Families they have their Stewards they are under their Lord to oversee the house and to look to the wayes of the house and to make provision for the house and to give them their meat in due season In this House of Christ and in every Gospel Church Christ hath appointed
And then Fourthly Make some Improvement First To consider What is that Worship which the Lord requires of his people when afflicted and tempted 1. This Worship it is either the Worship of the Spirit Internal Or 2. It is the waiting upon God in those Institutions of his own which he hath appointed for his people to wait upon him in which is External Worship This Worship first is that of the Spirit You will say wherein doth it consist Why it consists First of all In that holy fear and Reverence which we owe unto the Lord and should be acting towards God when God brings into such a condition Fear and Reverence it is a part of Internal Worship Fathers of our flesh corrected us and we gave them reverence shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of Spirits Heb. 12. 9. When as the soul is filled with a holy fear fearful to sin against God and to dishonour him in affliction and temptation when the spirit is fearful to grieve the Spirit of God in affliction when it is fearful to take the name of God in vain in the time of affliction by unprofitable and unfruitful bearing of affliction when the spirit is thus composed to a reverend childe-like fear before the Lord in the time of affliction this is part of that Internal Worship the soul owes to God Secondly This Worship consists in Love as well as in fear when the soul is acting in love toward God in time of affliction or temptation as that it dares not conclude that God loves him the less though he be afflicted though he be in temptation so also he desires not to love God one jot the less notwithstanding all afflictions and temptations when the desire of the heart is towards God in time of affliction or temptation O! when wilt thou come unto me saith David Psal 101. 2. And saith the gracious heart let me have God's presence in affliction rather then deliverance from affliction when as the soul is carried out to delight in God in the time of affliction to rejoyce in God and to glory in God and to comfort it self in God as David did when he was sâ—rely distressed at Ziklag yet he encouraged himself in the Lord his God 1 Sam. 30. 6. Though God taketh away many comforts yet if he give himself the soul is looking towards his portion as a blessed portion one God is better then all the comforts that I have lost I have lost friends and relations but one God and Christ is more excellent then all the creatures in the world when the heart is thus breathing in love towards God in time of affliction or temptation this is a part of that Internal worship it owes to God Thirdly This Internal Worship is that Trust and Affiance the soul hath which it placeth in God alone when the soul is acting of faith in the Lord The Lord is my portion my soul hath said it and therefore I will hope in him I will look toward him I will rest upon his Arm doubtless thou art our Father though all this hath befallen us doubtless God's intentions are gracious it is for my good that he doth thus afflict me doubtless the Lord can and will make a good end of these afflictions for that is his promise Now when the soul is thus roling upon God and resting upon his promise cleaving to the faithfulness of God for the fulfilling of his Promise in time of affliction or temptation this is a great part of that inward worship which God doth require of the soul when it shall thus believe in hope above hope and against hope as Abraham the Father of the faithful did this is Inward Worship Fourthly It consists in the submission of the soul to God That Inward Worship that God doth require of his people in time of affliction or temptation I say it consists in the submission of the spirit unto God when a man desires to make a resignation of his Will unto God If this cup may not pass from me thy will be done when a soul is content to be at the dispose of God for the kinde of affliction and measure of affliction and the time of affliction well if God encrease my burthen let him encrease my strength and my soul shall glory in him if the Lord will continue my affliction longer and I must drink of this cup again and again yea the third time if the Lord will afford his presence in affliction my soul desires to submit to the Lord when thus the heart is affected toward God submitting falling down before the Lord and making a resignation of his Will to the Lord's Will This is that special Worship of the Spirit that Internal Worship that the Father of Spirits calleth for from his children in time of affliction But secondly This Worship must be External as well as Internal and it consists in the giving honour to God in those wayes that are of his own appointment especially in these two First In the pouring out of the soul in supplication before the Lord. Secondly In speaking good words of God These are two great parts of that external worship that God calls his children to in time of affliction to speak gracious words unto God and to speak good words of God to his praise and honour First It is the pouring out the Supplication of the Soul before the Lord in prayer it is a special exercise that God calleth his people to in time of affliction and temptation to be much in supplication pouring out their souls before the Lord. Now this Supplication this Prayer which the Lord doth require and doth delight in it is accompanied First With Humility As you shall finde in the example of this woman her prayer in the day of her distress it was a humble prayer a humble supplication one of the Evangelists observes the Evangelist Mark chap. 7. ve s 25. that she came and fell at his feet this woman came and fell at the feet of Christ and cryed to him Lord help me It is a humble prayer that the Lord doth delight in when the spirit lyeth low before the Lord when the creature is sensible of his own vileness and shall acknowledge with Jacob That he is less then the least of all those mercies which he doth desire and expect at the hand of God that if ever the Lord be gracious it must be free grace somthing in himself that must move him when the soul is enabled by the Spirit of the Lord to put up such a prayer this is a part of that external worship that the Lord requires Secondly You shall finde that this womans prayer was accompanied with Fervency her very expression doth hold forth and declare the ardency of her spirit she cryed before O Lord thou Son of David have mercy on me and now again she breaks forth into this expression Lord Help Why it is such a prayer that God taketh delight
in such a supplication as is sent up with a holy fervency unto God and indeed the Lord brings his people into the furnace of affliction and temptation that so he may kindle this holy fire of zeal and fervency in their bosomes the Lord doth raise the storms that so he may make the Disciples to cry the louder Now therefore when the spirit is thus carried out to God this is such worship as he requires and expects Again thirdly We shall finde that this woman supplication it was accompanied with Faith Fervency without faith could not avail but there is an expression of her faith that Title which she gave to Christ Lord Lord help she looked upon him as the Lord of heaven and earth so she applies her self to him in her distress infinite 〈◊〉 power he was the Lord and had infinite power he was able to help so she resteth upon his all sufficiency sure he that is the Lord the Lord of all he hath power enough in his hand and grace enough in his heart he can do what he please why such a prayer the Lord accepts of as is accompanied with faith the promise is made to faith What-ever you ask in my Name believing you shall receive and the prayer of Faith shall save the sick the prayer of faith can do great things Fourthly This womans prayer was accompanyed with Constancy she held on notwithstanding the discouragements she met withal they were very many and great the Lord as you heard before was silent to her a long time when he speaks he speaks a sad word that he was not sent to such as she was yet she holds on this discouragement might have beaten her off and made her to have said well I see that there is no hope I shall lose my labour but notwithstanding all discouragements she doth continue in supplication she worships and she cryes Lord help It is constancy in Prayer that the heart of God is taken with Christ you know spake a parable to this end Luke 18. 1. That men should pray alwayes The soul should continue with God and abide with God Resolve not to go away from his feet but there to sit and there to wait and there to cry till the Lord be gracious this part of that external worship the Lord requires of his people in time of affliction and temptation Secondly The other part of external worship is in speaking well of God in affliction and temptation So doth this woman she spake well of Christ when she worshipped him she calleth him Lord by which word she doth First of all Exalt and honour Christ Secondly She Justifieth him Both these are good words which God takes well from his people in the time of affliction or temptation First She doth Exalt him she spake to his honour thou art the Lord what-ever I be though I be a poor vile creature as she acknowledged afterward when Christ converted her yet thou art the Lord nay though Christ should debase her yet she would exalt him O this is an excellent frame of spirit an excellent part of that worship we owe to God And as she doth honour God So Secondly She Justifieth him O Lord that very word doth justifie Christ in all his dealings towards her Thou art the Lord thou art Jehovah infinite free and absolute and may do what thou pleasest and in all this thou hast done me no wrong neither canst thou do wrong for thou art the Lord I am thy poor creature thy vassal but thou art the Lord thus she justifieth Christ Now when the soul is thus carried out in time of affliction and temptation to speak such words as may be to the honour of Christ and so to speak as to justifie Christ in all that hath befallen it Lord thou hast done me no wrong thou art righteous though my affliction be very great though my temptation be very prevalent yet the Lord is righteous in all that hath befallen me if he should afflict me seven times more and heat the Furnace seven times hotter I could not say thou wert unrighteous When the soul is thus carried out I say to speak well of God to speak honourably of God and to speak to the justifying of God in his dealings this is a great part of that worship which we owe to God in time of affliction And so you have seen the first particular What it is to worship the Lord or what is that worship which the Lord doth expect from his people in time of affliction and temptation Secondly I shall give you two or three Instances for the proof of the Point That it is the duty of the Saints thus to worship what-ever the affliction or the temptation be and that both with Internal worship of the spirit and with External worship speaking good words unto God and of God Thus it was with Job look into Job 1. 20 21. Then Job arose and rent his Mantle and shaved his head and fell down upon the ground and worshipped and said Naked came I out of my mothers wombe and naked shall I return thither the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the Name of the Lord. Job he was under great afflictions at this time all his substance was taken away a sad and unparallel'd affliction and no doubt but it was a day of great temptation to Job for that was the Devil's designe to make Job blaspheme God to his face and therefore without doubt Sathan did suggest horrible temptations or else he had not well prosecuted his designe and yet notwithstanding it was a day of affliction and a day of temptation Job worshipped the Lord expressed holy fear and reverence expressed love and expressed his trust his confidence and his submission and he prays and he praiseth he spake to God and he spake well of God all parts of worship he fell down and worshipped and said The Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken blessed be the Name of the Lord And so David often met with afflictions and temptations and yet you shall finde him worshipping in divers of his Psalmes Yea look upon Jonah and take Jonah for an instance and O that God would make these his Saints patterns to us Jonah 2. 2 3 4. He was in a sad affliction and his affliction was accompanied with temptation he was as low in his own imagination as if he had been in the belly of hell and yet even then when in the Whales belly in the depth of affliction and compassed round about with sore temptations Then Jonah worshipped the Lord vers 4. Then I said I am cast out of thy sight yet I will look again toward thy holy Temple I said I was cast out of thy sight there is a temptation of distrust when in that sad condition in the bottome of the Sea yet will I look towards thy holy Temple and at vers 7. When my soul fainted within me I remembred the Lord and my prayer came in
unto thee into thy holy Temple When he was in this condition he prayed and he poured out his soul before the Lord. I shall only give you one instance more and that is of Christ himself when as he was in a sore affliction and his affliction accompanied with temptations then he prayed Luke 22. 39 40 41 42. And he came out and went as he was wont to the Mount of Olives and his Disciples also followed him And when he was at the place he said unto them Pray that ye enter not into temptation And he was withdrawn from them about a stones cast and kneeled down and prayed saying Father if thâ—â— be willing remove this cup from me Nevertheless not my Will but thine be done and at vers 44. it is said being in an Agony he prayed more earnestly His affliction doth increase and his temptations do increase and as they encrease so he cries the more earnestly to his Father Afflictions do not make Christ cease to worship no he worships the more and he cryeth the louder and prayeth the more earnestly Thirdly We shall consider the Grounds of the Point Why it is the duty of God's people to worship God in time of affliction and temptation First Because there is no affliction or temptation but it is from the Lord it is his Messenger it is of his sending we have to deal with God in it and it is fit that we should fall down and worship him when God sends affliction Isa 45. 7. I form the light and create darkness I make peace and create evil I the Lord do all these things It is not spoken of Natural darkness the darkness that is of the Ayre that was not created by God there is no creating cause withdrawing of light causeth darkness but God saith he creates darkness he creates Metaphorical darkness that darkness which he sends as an affliction to his own people I create it there is no darkness but that which is of the Lord 's forming and creating In the Creation of the world God said let there be light but God never said let there be darkness but now when God will afflict any of his people he creates darkness and there is no darkness till God say let there be darkness when God sayes let there be darkness in such a man's estate all his comforts shall wither when God says let there be darkness in such a man's family there shall be darkness for he can turn the Sun or Moon or Stars into darkness he can take away the head of the Family the children that are as the Stars of the Family if God speak the word though there be never so many in the family he can turn light into darkness and so when God sayes let there be darkness in such a man's spirit O then though it was comfortable before it will be as sad and as dark in the inward man even as it is with the Ayr at midnight darkness is of God's creating and therefore when-ever the Lord brings us into a state of darkness affliction and temptation either outward or inward it is time then to worship the Lord. Secondly We should then worship the Lord in time of affliction and temptation for it is the Lord only that can enable a man to bear temptation or affliction there is need I say that we should apply our selves to the Lord for he only can enable a poor creature to grapple with his affliction and temptation If the Lord help not the proudest helper in the world shall stoop and not be able to bear up a man under the least affliction especially when the affliction is accompanied with temptation and is wounding A wounded spirit who can bear It is only everlasting Armes that can support under such a condition surely therefore it is our duty in affliction and temptation to fall down and worship Thirdly The Lord only can give a sanctified 〈◊〉 of affliction he only can do us good by our manifold temptations affliction it self cannot profit sad experience shews it a man may have stroke after stroke and yet receive no profit no spiritual advantage I am the Lord thy God that teacheth thee to profit Isa 48. 17. God only can teach to profit Blessed is the man whom thou correctest and teachest Job 5. 17. When God's instruction and teaching go along with his correction that man is blessed that affliction shall be blessed Affliction it self cannot do it and therefore there is need that we should apply our selves to God Fourthly God only can remove the affliction and he only can rebuke the distemper and silence the temptation for certainly both affliction and temptation as I said before they are the Lord's messengers they are the Armies of the Lord of Hosts they go and they come at his command he gives out the word and he bids affliction to charge and it chargeth and if he bids it to retreat it shall retreat God only can deliver from affliction and from temptation therefore surely it is our duty to worship in affliction and temptation Fifthly It is the end of all afflictions and temptations to bring the soul nearer to God to drive the soul nigher God We are very prone to content our selves to live at a distance from God before I was afflicted I went astray saith David Psal 119. 67. Now the end of affliction and temptation is to fetch home the stragling sheep to bring God and the spirit nigher together therefore it is fit that we should fall down and worship for therein do we draw nigh to God when the soul falls down and worships God with Internal worship fear him love him trust him and submit to him and when it is pouring out its soul and lifting up the name of God speaking good words of the Almighty surely herein the soul draws nigh to God and so affliction attains its end Sixtly and lastly This is the way to ease and rest in our afflictions we cry out for ease and rest that is the thing we seek after the way to have ease and rest is to fall down and worship for by so doing the soul doth cast its burthen upon the Lord. When it doth thus fall down and worship with the worship of the Spirit fear and love and trust now the soul casteth its burden upon the Lord and his burden being left there it bringeth in unspeakable rest I say when the soul by inward worship hath gone to God and left his burden upon the Lord O! it bringeth in ease to the spirit whatever the affliction or temptation be Well then to Apply this in a word First What cause have we to be ashamed that we have come so far short of this Duty in the time of affliction or temptation We have been afflicted at one time or other who hath been free many of your souls have been exercised with temptations but O! What hath been the carriage of our spirits under them Have we fallen
of all in the vileness and sinfulness of our hearts and natures when as men or women come to be acquainted with the vileness of their nature and see what rebellion is in the heart and finde that there is a by as upon the spirit that doth carry it off continually from God the heart enclined toward vanity evermore O! How do vain thoughts and sinful imaginations croud in continually And they do defile the most holy Service that is taken in hand O! This proves matter of temptation This body of sin and death it made the Apostle cry out O miserable man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death Rom. 7. 24. It had been a pressing temptation if the Lord had not made a discovery of the way of deliverance and salvation to him for a poor soul is apt to fear surely there is nothing of God in me if there were any seed of God in me my heart would never be so vain and the byas of my spirit would never carry me out from God so O! I fear I am not made partaker yet of the Divine Nature The sight of that woful evil that is in the heart proves many times a sad temptation that it is hard for a poor soul to get over it And Secondly When the Lord doth leave a poor creature to sin after mercy and against mercy it hath been saved by the Lord delivered by his right hand pressed with such and such a mercy and yet overtaken in the snare of sin sinning against mercy many times proves a sore temptation O! I am afraid that I am none of the Lord's children mercy hath not its kinde work upon me it doth not bring forth those fruits which the Lord may look for when he gives out such mercies sinning against mercy many times proves a sore temptation Thirdly When the Lord leaves a poor creature to fall again and again into the same sin O! this proves matter of temptation when as the soul hath seen the evil of sin and hath bewailed it hath run to the Lord for strength against it yet hath been overtaken again and again in the same sin that I say proves matter of sore temptation Surely may the poor soul say my spot is not the spot of children I have been overtaken once and again whereupon the poor soul may be tempted to cast away his hope and confidence and not only tempted to cast away its confidence but tempted to depart from God and to go out from the wayes of obedience There is no hope say they in Jer. 18. 12. but we will walk after our own devices and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart We have back-slidden again and again and there is no hope for us we had as good go on and take our fill in sin This temptation is set on many times by falling into sin That is the first That unworthiness by reason of sin Secondly Unworthiness by reason of that miserable weak and frail condition that the children of men are in the great distance that man is at from God this proves matter of temptation to many a poor soul when he considers that he is a poor piece of dust and ashes and that there is an infinite distance between God and the creature he is from everlasting to everlasting he is Jehovah and changeth not But we are poor creatures that are of yesterday and are going down to the grave to day and shall be in the place of silence to morrow O this proves matter of temptation and discouragement Will the Lord look down upon such a poor creature and upon such a piece of dust and ashes Is it possible that the Lord should humble himself to take notice of me And besides that common condition of frailty which all men are in the Lord is pleased to bring some of his people into a lower condition then that which is the ordinary state of man and yet he is as low as dust Yet I say the Lord is pleased to bring some of his people into a lower condition then ordinary By affliction God makes mans state to be low when he brings him into an afflicted state and when God maketh mans comforts to be low taketh away those comforts and those relations which have been his refreshments I say when a man is brought thus into a low and afflicted condition this added to that common condition of frailty it setteth at a great distance from God and it proves many times matter of discouragement and temptation to a poor soul So it was with Job chap. 14. v. 1 2 3. Man that is born of a woman is of few dayes and full of trouble he cometh forth like a flower and is cut down he fleeth also as a shaddow and continueth not And dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one Lord saith he Is it possible that thou shouldest humble thy self so far to look down upon such a one That God should look down with the eye of pity upon such a one frail man is one that is brought so low one that sitteth upon the dunghil Unworthiness by reason of frailness proves a temptation many times to Gods own people Thirdly Unworthiness by reason of coldness and deadness in affection When a poor soul finds how dead his heart is towards God O! I have a heart for the world and I have affections to friends and relations there is love to creatures nay there is affection enough to vanity but little or no heart for God there are not those breathings those thirstings those pantings after God not that first love which somtimes it hath found to the Lord and to the things of Christ O! This proves matter of discouragement and temptation O! I fear that the love of God dwelleth not in me saith a poor soul I finde my heart so dead and so strait towards God open to the world but strait to God O! I fear that the love of God dwelleth not in me How can it be that God should set his love upon such a one Surely if the love of God were in me I should love the Lord more then I do Deadness and coldness in affection toward the Lord it proves many times a sore temptation Fourthly and lastly Unworthiness by reason of unusefulness and unserviceableness to God that is matter of temptation when as a poor creature sees that it can do little or nothing for the Lord O! I am a barren tree I am a dry branch I see that others are fruitful I see that others have the promise fulfilled to them they bring forth much fruit they are serviceable in their generation they are an honour to God and do good to men but as for me I know not wherein I can honour him I know not wherein I can be useful or serviceable O I bring forth no fruit unto God and therefore am afraid that I am the Tree the Apostle Jude vers 12. speaketh of without fruit twice dead plucked
we may apprehend there is coldness and deadness and unusefulness and it may be the Lord hath made them deeply sensible of it but if there be but a little wheat though covered with chaffe do not cast it away a little wheat is precious though there be but a little gold and a great deal of dross yet if we can discern any of Christ's gold we should help forward the work of Christ and not help forward the work of Sathan But secondly Take heed that we do not give way to this temptation let Christians especially weak Christians take heed that they do not give way to this temptation poring upon their unworthiness as to be discouraged and to be beaten off from Christ and staved off from their duty We may look upon our unworthiness and we ought to look upon our unworthiness and O that we could look upon our unworthiness more then we do in God's way to look upon it when God doth shew us our unworthiness in God's glass then we may look upon it without danger but now it is dangerous to look upon it when Sathan presents unworthiness to behold it in the Divel's glass it is dangerous and proves a very sore temptation Quest But you will say How shall we know when God presents unworthiness and when Sathan presents unworthiness How shall we know when it is duty to look upon unworthiness and when it is sin to look upon unworthiness Answ First of all When God doth present unworthiness and vileness to us he doth also present himself to us he doth not present the unworthiness of the creature and leave it there but when God shews his people their unworthiness he also shews himself that you may look with one eye upon the Lord as you look with the other eye upon your unworthiness so did the Church in Micah 7. 18. Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage Vers 19. He will subdue our iniquities and thou will cast all our sins into the depth of the Sea She had looked upon her unworthiness and upon her vileness and had seen her iniquity but she also looked unto God who is a God like unto thee And truly when we look upon our unworthiness we may say and we ought to say O Lord Who are such vile sinful and unworthy creatures in the whole world as we are But take heed that we stay not there and rob God of his grace but even then look up to the Lord and say Who is like unto thee Who is like unto me for unworthiness But who is like unto thy Son Christ for worthiness and righteousness No God like unto thee No Saviour like unto Christ Secondly When God presents our unworthiness and vileness it is to make us run nearer to himself and it hath that effect and that operation upon the heart when God shews a man or woman their vileness it makes them run nearer to God But now when Sathan shews sinfulness and vileness it is to draw the soul away from God and so forsake its own mercy when God made a discovery to the Prodigal of his own unworthiness it made him hasten to his father that discovery was from God it made him hasten home I will arise saith he and go to my Father and I will say Father I have sinned against thee and am not worthy to be called thy son When as the soul shall thus look upon its unworthiness and make the more haste to God make the more haste to Christ flee the faster to the City of Refuge that discovery is of God Thirdly When God doth discover a souls unworthiness he doth make the soul notwithstanding thankful he keeps the soul in a thankful posture notwithstanding the discovery of its unworthiness So David the Lord helped him to see his own unworthiness and the unworthiness of his people yet David in the midst of that discovery was kept in a thankful frame 1 Chron. 29. 14. But who am I and what is my people that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort Lord we are poor unworthy creatures I and my people King and people Ah but still his heart was kept thankful and he is the more thankful to God that God should employ such in any service that is done for him But when as the sight of our unworthiness doth make us to repine against God and put the spirit into a murmuring and discontented frame that discovery is not from God but from Sathan When God leadeth a soul into the discovery of unworthiness yet he makes the soul thankful Fourthly When God discovers unworthiness it shall be no hinderance to the soul in waiting upon God in his Ordinances when Sathan discovers unworthiness he doth thereby endeavour to discourage and to beat off the soul from waiting upon the Lord in the way of his Ordinances This woman of Canaan she is not discouraged she goeth on crying and praying and Hezekiah and his people they went on to wait upon the Lord notwithstanding they were made sensible of their unworthiness and their want of preparation according to the preparation of the Sanctuary but when a soul is discouraged beaten off from prayer it is not for me to go to God it is not for me to pray and to wait upon God in his Ordinances one so unworthy Surely this is from Sathan this is not the discovery of God Fifthly and lastly When as God discovers a man's unworthiness it shall not take him off from any service that God calleth him to when as Sathan doth discover unworthiness it taketh a man off from that work which God layeth before him Moses was taken off from the work of the Lord by the sight of his own unfitness and unworthiness he goes on to make many excuses one after another it was a great stumbling block in his way and it did hinder him from following God in that service that God called him out unto in his generation Moses he looked upon his unworthiness and he was under a temptation therefore thus you see and may know when God discovers unworthiness and when it is duty to look upon unworthiness and on the contrary when it is of Sathan and when it is your duty to look away from your unworthiness we may see it and must see it in God's glass but not in Sathans And O that God would fasten this upon the spirit let us take heed that we do not give way to this temptation Weak Christians you that are apt to be discouraged with the thoughts of your unworthiness take heed of giving way to this temptation for you will exceedingly hinder your own comfort by poring upon your unworthiness when Sathan presents it and you will enslave your own spirits it will hinder you from that freedome which Jesus Christ hath purchased and which Jesus Christ tenders to you it will hinder your souls from establishment it will keep you alwayes in
the Lord both in his sayings and doings when God shall speak against him and discover his vileness and sin it will say Truth Lord or when God shall threaten most severely nay when God shall walk in those ways that are hard to bear yet a soul that is truly humbled desires to submit to the Lord and to justifie the Lord. And secondly When God shall not only speak himself but when God shall make use of men yea wicked men and shall set them to speak against it when God shall set them to revile and set them to act against it to persecute it the soul that is truly humbled it will justifie the Lord in that dispensation so did David 2 Sam. 16. 7 8. And thus said Shimei wheu he cursed Come out come out thou bloody man and thou man of Belial the Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul in whose stead thou hast reigned and the Lord hath delivered the Kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son and behold thou art taken to thy mischief because thou art a bloody man Shimei he came and railed against David it was a great indignity that was done against David by that railing wretch and he took up stones and cast at the King at verse 6. and it was when David was in distress he was driven out by Absalom from Jerusalem he takes that advantage he comes and rails and calls him the bloody man and saith he the Lord hath now avenged the blood of thy masters house upon thee yet David at this time justifies the Lord verse 10. So let him curse because the Lord hath said unto him Curse David who shall then say Wherefore hast thou done so See here how David justifies the Lord though that which this raising man did object against David was false he calls him a bloody man in respect of Saul's house David was clear in that and innocent yet David he layes it to heart and concludes that God had some designe in it though in respect of Saul's house I am not a bloody man yet I shed the blood of Vriah David he is silent the Lord hath bid him curse David and therefore David useth many arguments for to justifie the Lord and to quiet his own spirit and the spirit of others as you may see vers 11 12. And David said to Abishai and to all his servants Behold my Son which came forth of my bowels seeketh my life how much more now may this Btnj amite do it Let him alone and let him curse for the Lord hath bidden him Verse 12. It may be the Lord will look on mine affliction and that the Lord will requite good for his cursing this day And so David in patience doth possess his soul and justifie the Lord in that dispensation A word or two of Application and so I shall conclude First of all This calls upon us to be more in the practise of this duty O that the Lord would help all his people to learn this lesson It is a hard lesson we had need look up to the Lord that he would teach us to justifie the Lord when he speaks and acts against us when he speaks himself or when he suffers men to speak against us It is our duty as you have heard to justifie the Lord as this woman of Canaan did and as those in Micah 7. did I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him O that we could make those holy men our pattern that we heard spoken of before Look upon Moses upon Aaron upon David upon Hezekiah upon Job upon good old Eli upon this Woman of Canaan O! How did they justifie the Lord when the Lord spake hard things and stretched out his hand in a way of sore affliction Still we finde them justifying the Lord and O that we could look upon them as our pattern To perswade us to this Duty First of all Consider That it is the Lord It is the Lord that speaks it is the Lord that acts when-ever there is any affliction upon us it is of the Lord and if it be of the Lord and from the Lord why should we not justifie him That was a prevailing argument with good old Eli when as those terrible threatnings came to his ear That God would do that against his House at which both the Eares of every one that heard it should tingle and that the iniquity of Eli's House should not be purged away with sacrifice nor offering for ever It is the Lord saith he let him do what seemeth him good He hath power over all creatures as the Potter hath power over the clay and saith David I was dumb I opened not my mouth because thou didst it Secondly Consider That all that God speaks and doth is God and if so Why should we not justifie the Lord You know what Hezekiah said 2 Kings 20. 19. Good is the Word of the Lord A hard word it was that all his Treasure should be carried unto Babylon and his Sons also and made servants there and yet he sath good is the Word of the Lord. What-ever God doth is good though it may seem to be never so hard yet there is some good in all that he speaks and doth and the Lord doth it for good Doth not thy Word do good Every word of the Lord is good and doth good to them that are his children though it be a hard word yet all God's words and all God's wayes shall work together for good he will bring good out of them if the heart be submitting to God and justifying the Lord in that dispensation Thirdly Consider That there is mercy in every dispensation and that God doth afflict less then the sin deserveth Though the affliction may seem to be hard truly if we look into our own hearts and wayes we might see that there is that which might provoke the Lord to afflict seven times more The Church in the Lamentations when she came to consider how she had provoked the Lord though before she had cryed out bitterly of her Wormwood and Gall yet in Lam. 3. 22. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not We have provoked the Lord greatly and it is mercy that we are not consumed mercy that we are out of hell and therefore good cause that we should justifie the Lord. Yea and let us justifie the Lord when he suffers men to speak against us O! This is a hard lesson to flesh and blood but know it is a duty that God calls for when men do revile and speak evil and do accuse us so and so still it is our work to justifie the Lord Look back to that pattern of David in the case of Shimei and let us make it our pattern when-ever we meet with revilings and hard sayings from men he justified the Lord though it was false that which Shimei did accuse him of That he was a bloody
man in respect of Saul's House yet he justified the Lord the Lord sees that I am a bloody man though not in that particular and therefore saith he The Lord hath bidden him Either thou art guilty or not guilty when God suffers men to revile and speak evil and to fasten such accusations upon thee if thou art guilty it is thy duty to make use of it by whomsoever God shall discover it make use of that which comes out of the enemies mouth to finde out the evil that is in our own hearts But if thou art clear and not guilty of that which thou art accused of yet in respect of the Lord there is cause of justifying the Lord So David though he was not guilty in that respect that Shimei said he was guilty yet saith he it is just with the Lord and it is a righteous thing that I should be thus accused by Shimei And for the quieting of thy spirit use those Arguments that David did Behold the Son out of my Bowels riseth up against me and therefore shall I think it a great matter for a stranger to do it So let us say behold here is that which riseth up in mine own heart the corruptions in mine own bosome that doth me many an ill turn shall I think much that strangers do accuse me And consider also that which David said The Lord doth hear the curses of Shimei and will do me good by it And so if thou canst approve thy heart to God and art not guilty of what men do accuse thee of and that thou canst say it is false in respect of man but in respect of God thou sayest Truth Lord Know that the Lord he can do thee good by it and that he will turn those very curses of men to thy good Again One word of Use more and so I shall conclude Look up to the Lord for this grace of Humility O! What cause have we to give up our hearts into God's hand that he may make us truly humble Surely we shall never be able to justifie the Lord if the heart be not laid low and made truly humble The Lord Jesus he had humbled this woman he had laid her very low he had sanctified her affliction to humble her she had met with great afflictions her daughter was vexed with a dvvil the Lord sanctified that affliction to humble her And she also met with great temptations three sore Temptations we read of and the Lord also sanctified those temptations to humble her And she had also met with discoveries of grace and love the Lord revealed himself very gloriously to her faith or else she could never have held out the Lord also sanctified those discoveries to humble her and lay her low Truly if this woman had not had a humble heart she could never have carried it so in the time of affliction and in the time of this temptation but she would have flown in the face of Christ Christ calls her dog and tells her That it is not meet to take the childrens bread and give it to dogs if her heart had not been humble she would have discovered her self to have been a dog she would have barked against him but she carried it very graciously and in all that Christ spake justified him Truth Lord. O that we might go to the Lord and beg of God that he would give out more of this grace of humility to us A proud heart will never justifie God when he speaks himself or when he suffers men to speak a proud heart will never take a repulse from God nor reproofs from men O! There is need of the grace of humility that will enable a soul to justifie the Lord in what-ever he shall speak and in what-ever he shall do The Apostle saith God resisteth the proud but he giveth grace to the humble He gives this grace to the humble that they shall carry it graciously when the Lord speaks against them when the Lord shall make a discovery of their hearts to them of their Corruptions to them of the deserving of their Transgressions to them they shall justifie the Lord and say Truth Lord all is true And when God shall suffer men to speak against them the Lord gives grace to the humble they shall have this grace made able to justifie the Lord. And truly When the soul is brought into this posture when the soul is thus truly humbled before the Lord and can justifie the Lord when the Lord speaks it is not far from deliverance Salvation is nigh Deliverance is at hand the time of God's Controversie is at an end When God hath thus humbled the soul under his mighty hand and made it willing to lye low and to justifie the Lord in all that he speakes and doth surely the time of refreshment from the presence of the Lord is not far off The Prophet Ezekiel he lay low before the Lord there were discoveries of the glorious Majesty of the Lord made to him at the latter end of the first Chapter As the appearance of the Bowe that is in the Cloud in the day of Raine so was the appearance of the brightness round about this was the appearance of the likenesse of the Glory of the Lord and when I saw it I fell upon my face See here he lay low before the Lord and in Chap. 2. and Verse 2. What is said And the Spirit entred into me when he spake unto me and set me upon my feet And truly Brethren When the Lord giveth out such a frame of spirit that the heart is made so humble as to lie low before the Lord and to justifie the Lord in what he speakes and doth the Spirit of the Lord is not far Salvation is not far off As the Spirit did enter into Ezekiel and set him upon his feet so the Spirit of the Lord will come into that soul and fill it with joy and refreshment from the Lord's presence Eccles 12. 1. Remember now thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth while the evil dayes come not nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them SOlomon having spent a great part of his life in following after vanity and being brought by the Spirit of God to a serious consideration of his wayes he doth write this Book of Ecclesiastes as the Book of his Repentance and like a true penitent he takes care of the souls of others and gives warning to all men that they should take heed that they do not split against those Rocks against which he cast himself He is exceeding careful of the souls of men and in a special manner he takes care of the souls of young men he speaks once and again to them that they might be warned by him and not spend their youth in vanity that they might not lose the comfort that they might enjoy by enjoying God and that they might not lose their opportunities of doing God service in their youth Now
the heart established in the knowledge of the love and free grace of God it is a great work and a long time before the heart be established upon Christ and the Promises and till that be done little work or service is done for God But when men begin betimes they have time to get their hearts established upon Christ and the Promises and upon the free grace and righteousness of Christ and then they have time also to act for God and the Lord makes use of them to do him much service in their generation And O what a great advantage is that So that you have seen the Point handled First What it is to Remember God Secondly What Cause the Sons of men have to Remember God Thirdly What Advantage it is for the Sons of men to Remember God in youth Now by way of Application First of all It discovers and reproves the folly and madness that is bound up in the heart of the children of men If this be the duty of all the sons of men and a point of great wisdome to remember God betimes then this discovers the folly and madness that is in mens hearts to forget God How many in this Congregation I fear may fall under this reproof that have not yet emembred God How many in their youth and how many past youth that have not yet remembred God that have all their dayes forgotten the Holy One of Israel O that the Lord would convince poor creatures of this evil not Remembring God Shall I shew you the evil of it and O that God would shew you the evil of forgetting God First of all It is the Mother and cause of all other sins whatsoever for it were not possible that many should sin against God as they do if they did not forget God all sin grows upon this root of Forgetting God The Psalmist maketh it the cause of all evil that is committed because men do forget God Psal 50. 19 20 21 22. Verse 18. When thou sawest a thief then thou consentedst with him and hast been partaker with Adulterers Verse 19. Thou givest thy mouth to evil and thy tongue frameth deceit Verse 20. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother thou slanderest thine own mothers son Verse 21. These things hast thou done and I kept silence thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thy self but I will reprove thee and set them in order before thine eyes Verse 22. Now consider this YE THAT FORGET GOD lest I tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver you As much as if he should say here is the cause of this evil that is committed by you your Forgetting God It were not possible that men should dare to sin in the face of God if they did not forget God And it were not possible that men should sin in secret against God if they did not forget God they forget that God is an all-seeing God and that for all these things he will bring them to judgement It is not possible that children and servants should lye and steal and be unfaithful if they did not forget God if they did but remember that he would bring them to judgement and that no lyar shall come into the New Jerusalem if men did remember God they would not sin against God But this is the cause of all the sin in the world Mens forgetting God Secondly There is this Evil It makes a man spend all his time in vanity he comes up and goes down to the grave in a momen and hath lost all the time that he hath lived The truth is he hath not yet begun to live that hath not remembred God he hath not lived to the end of his life what is the end of his life but that he may remember God But man forgetting God his life is a fruitless life a vain life he comes up and sins and lives in vanity and goes down to the pit and never lives to the end of life because man remembers not God Thirdly There is this evil in it It makes men altogether unwilling and unable to dye as it makes their lives unprofitable so it makes their deaths dreadful what is the cause that men fear death Because they did not remember God in life if they had remembred God if they had known God and trusted in God and walked with God they would not have been so fearful of death but when men come to be made sensible that they have spent no thoughts upon God but upon their lusts and sin and so brought their dayes to an end they must needs fear to go to God see then how much evil there is in this great sin of not remembring God But you will say We hope that we do remember God God forbid that we should forget him What Forget God We hope we shall never do that while we live O my friends It is a harder matter to remember God then the world dream of how many thousands in the world are there that forget God that would be loth to be told that they are forgetters of God And yet I fear will be found so another day They that walk contrary in wayes of sin they are forgetters of God let them say what they will though they may have a way of worship and prayer to God and hear of God and read of God yet if they be found walking contrary to God such men will be interpreted by God to be forgetters of him Consider this all ye that forgâ—â— God Psal 50. 22. speaking of the Hypocrites â— Why they had many prayers and did many good works are they forgetters of God Yes their hearts were never upright with God they never trusted in the Name of God they were never found serving of God so as they might pleasâ—â— him and therefore the Lord calls them Forgetters of God O that the Lord would convince you of this great evil of forgetting God Secondly By way of Exhortation I beseechâ— you in the Name of the Lord to Remember God This day Remember God Remember him and Remember him in youth I shall speak a little to each of these First I beseech you Remember God to know God to trust in him to love him to obey him and to spend your thoughts upon him let the endeavours of your heart be after the Lord This is to Remember God And O that God would call upon you all and call you up to such a remembrance of him O remember how worthy God is to be remembred and remember what God hath done that so the sons of men might remember him and if after all this that God hath done after all the remembrance that God hath written of himself in his Word and upon his Works and upon his Ordinances and Providences men shall be found Forgetters of God as all sinners are how sad will their condition be another day You have a memory for the world and what No remembrance of God! God only worthy to be
Gods own people for there are many things that may evidence that this Duty is neglected by God's own people What is the Cause of all the dark and sad apprehensions of God to many of God's own people Why Because they have not remembred God What is the cause of all those distrustful thoughts that do arise in the hearts of God's own people That our hearts are ready to sainct within us That God is no more trusted for the things of this life and for the things of Eternity Why all these distrustful thoughts they spring from this root not remembring God when the Disciples did distrust Christ Matth. 16. 8 9 10. Why saith Christ O ye of little faith Why reason ye among your selves because ye have brought no broad Verse 9. Do ye not yet understand neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets ye took up Verse 10. Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many baskets ye took up As if Christ had said to them if ye had remembred me and my power my works of providence my former goodness it were not possible that ye should have distrusted but in that ye have so little faith it is evident that ye do not remember me and what I have done Truly if at any time we distrust God for the fulfilling of any promise it is because we do not remember God we do not remember the faithfulness of God in fulfilling Promises we do not remember the former experiences we have had of the goodness of God and of the power of God O how much distrust is to be found in Gods own people And because there is so much distrust it is evident that there is little remembrance of God Nay further it appears that Gods own people are guilty of this sin of Forgetting God Because there is so much coldness and deadness in our hearts to God O how much deadness in heart and affection in the things of God What little Love What poor weak Breathings after God What little delight in the Lord Whence comes all this coldness of heart this forsaking of our first love It comes from this root because we do not Remember God we do not remember that he is altogether lovely and desireable we do not remember that his wayes are beautiful there is much deadness and coldness even in God's own people and therefore there is little remembrance of God Nay further It appears that God's own people are guilty of this sin because there is so little done for God by them and so much done against God so many failings so many breaches of Covenant so much scantness so many haltings and swervings in our walkings with God Whence is all this but because we do not remember God we do not remember what a God he is we do not remember the Rule that he hath given us to walk by we do not remember that he will be worshipped in Spirit and in Truth little is done for God and that discovers that God is little remembred Nay further How many vain thoughts lodge in the hearts of God's own people O! How do the current of their thoughts run out to vanity How many crooked thoughts How many fruitless unprofitable sinful thoughts How few of the precious thoughts of the heart are spent upon God And whence is this But because God is not remembred Nay further How little is God pursued after How little do we prize Communion with God How little delight in the presence of God How little do we seek after the Image of God and conformity to Christ Whence is all this but because we do not remember that the enjoying of God is the souls happiness and that the enjoying of Christ is the souls perfection so that by all this it appears that there is little remembrance of God even among God's own people And O what cause have we to take up a sad complaint against our selves and every one to smite upon his own breast that we should be so negligent of this Duty of remembring God O what hath God done for many of his people How many how dear how precious are the thoughts of God to his people Psal 40. 5. Many O Lord my God are thy wonderful works which thou hast done and thy thoughts which are to us-ward they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee If I would declare and speak of them they are more then can be numbred Now that God should spend his precious thoughts upon us and we spend so few of our choice thoughts upon God O what an ill requital is this O what hath God done that he might remember us He hath graven the names of his people upon the palms of his hands Isa 49. 16. Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands For a man to be so careful to remember his friend as to cut his name upon his own flesh that is love indeed why God hath graven the names of his people upon the palms of his hands that so he might remember them Yea he hath taken upon him the relation of a Father and hath the bowels of a Mother Can a woman forget her sucking childe that she should not have compassion on the son of her wombe Yea they may forget yet will I not forget thee Now Brethren and Christian friends the consideration of God's remembring us should make us to be ashamed that we should think no more of him But you will say to me what is there in God that we should remember him The Spouse in her description of Christ saith of him that he is altogether lovely so I may say of God he is altogether worthy to be remembred in his Nature in his Essence in his glorious Eternal Being He is worthy to be remembred in all his Attributes his Wisdome his Power his Goodness and Loving Kindness his Faithfulness and his Truth his Omnisciency and Omnipresence He is worthy to be remembred in all his Works for God he hath done them for that end that he might be remembred both the works of Creation and works of Providence He is worthy to be remembred in his Word every word of the Lord is precious as gold that is purified seven times He is worthy to be remembred especially in his Son and O that we might spend more of the thoughts of our heart upon God as he hath revealed himself in his Son His Name is Glorious and worthy to be remembred Jehovah our Righteousness He is worthy to be remembred in his Love and Free grace in his Promises in his everlasting Covenant made with poor creatures in Christ we need not ask what is in God that we should remember him look where you will and there is not any thing in God but is worthy of remembrance and therefore O that the Lord would stir us up to this duty to remember the Lord to spend the precious thoughts of our hearts more upon him David is a pattern to all
though thou dost not meet with one word of answer from the Lord though thou hast cryed nights and dayes weekes months and years and hast not met with with one word of answer yet be comforted this may be the condition of Gods own people And let me say further by way of encouragement that the Lord he extends much good to thee in this deferring and delaying to give out an answer it is for gracious and merciful ends to thy soul that the Lord do not give thee the present mercy thou prayest for he will exercise the spirit of prayer he will exercise thy faith and patience and he will fit thee for mercy and mercy for thee and thou shalt have it so at last as thou shalt bless God for it Yea let me say further though an answer be not given out thy prayer is heard and thy person 〈◊〉 accepted Thy prayer is heard with the Lord oh that that might be a stay to poor souls that are in this condition as the woman of Canaan was that cry and have cryed long I say thy prayer is heard Oh sayes the soul that I knew my prayer were heard if I did but know that the Lord hath heard my prayer I would be content to wait all my dayes for an answer I have been crying for the light of his countenance and for the assurance of his love I have been crying night and day and if the Lord hath heard my prayer I should be content to wait for an answer But how shall I know that the Lord hath heard my prayer I answer thus First of all by that secret support by those secret hints which the Lord is pleased at one time or other to bring to thy spirit some hint of life some hint of comfort Surely if thou hast observed while thou hast waited upon the Lord there hath been some secrets hints of comfort that after thou hast been before the Lord thou hast been at ease and thy trouble is not so great as it was Hannah when she poured out her soul before the Lord she was in great distress but before she went away the Lord heard her prayer and this was the sign there was some ease in her spirit her burden was taken off a great deal refreshed in her spirit and so though the Lord hath given thee but the least hint of comfort the Lord hath heard thy prayer and in due time he will give a full answer Secondly thou mayst know that the Lord hath heard thy prayer by that strength he hath given thee to go thorow Thou art under sore afflictions and temptations such as are ready to break thy very spirit to make thy soul fade and faint and yet thou art supported thou hast cryed to the Lord and thou saist thou hast no answer why doth nor the Lord support thee if the Lord doth support thee and bear thee up under thy burden he doth in some measure answer thee or else how comes it to pass thou hast not sunk under thy burden when Paul besought the Lord under his temptation he prayed thrice that is often that God would take off the Messenger of Satan the temptation was not taken off ah but Paul was heard in his prayer in that the Lord did bear him up under his temptation My grace is sufficient for thee though I do not think good to remove the temptation I have heard thy prayer my grace is sufficient for thee So then remember poor soul that if the Lord hath supported thee the Lord hath heard thy prayer Thirdly doth the Lord carry on thy soul to continue in thy prayer that although thou hast prayed and met with no answer yet thou art resolved still to go on and sayst though the Lord hath not spoken one word to me I will not give over speaking to him but my soul shall still cry after God That was the resolution David took up Psal 27. 4. One thing have I desired of the Lord that I will seek after I have desired it and though I have not attained it I will seek after it as long as I live Is it so that the Lord doth carry up thy spirit still to wait upon him and still thou art crying and breathing after the Lord in prayer that very thing is a certain sign that the Lord hath heard thy prayer Fourthly doth the Lord enable thee and make thee willing to wait upon him thou hast not a present answer yet thou wilt wait as David when he had been at prayer he waited for the mercy Psalm 27. 14. Wait on the Lord be of good courage and he shall strengthen thine heart Wait I say on the Lord. Oh my heart wait I say wait on the Lord Hast thou through grace so spoken to thine own heart I have no answer but I desire to wait and I check mine own heart that I can wait no more quietly I speak to mine own heart to wait I say wait on the Lord if it be so the Lord hath heard thy prayer Fifthly observe how thy spirit and how thy carriage is towards God in that time of Gods delay Is thy heart kept up towards God and thy conversation in a way of obedience that thou art desirous still to walk with God and thou durst not go out from God though God give thee no answer but thy heart is made more humble and thou art more meek and more obedient and more watchful and observant of thy heart and watchful over thy wayes is it so the Lord hath heard thy prayer though he gives thee no answer And therefore I say take no care for an answer I speak to such poor souls as have prayed and cryed and have not met with one word of answer from the Lord take no care for an answer only mind that which is thy duty and let the Lord alone he is preparing an answer he is waiting to be gracious he waits for a fit season for such a season as his grace and mercy may be most exalted be not thou so solicitous about an answer but mind what is thy work and thy duty And do thou hold on thy duty in praying to pray in crying to cry yea do thou cry louder then even and the more Christ seems to stop his ears and shut his mouth and give no answer the louder do thou cry as this poor woman did ver 25. Lord help me Secondly this is thy duty while the Lord thus deals with thee to justifie God and condemn thy self clear the Lord lay the blame upon thy self say the Lord is righteous and the Lord is holy and though he make wait me longer and longer yea many years for this mercy yet the Lord is righteous and there is no iniquity in him the Lord cried and I did not hear and the Lord is righteous though he makes me wait long the Lord is gracious that he speaks at all to such a poor creature that there is any promise that he will give out an
answer Oh justifie God and say the Lord is holy thus did the Psalmist Psalm 22. 3. But thou art holy O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel though thou dealest thus with me thou art holy thou art just and thou art righteous and thou art good and faithful though silent for the present to my prayer And so let us say if the Lord be silent to any of our prayers yet Lord thou art holy thou art righteous Thirdly this is thy duty labour to maintain good thoughts of God it is not enough to justifie not to charge God but to maintain good thoughts of God at that time that God is silent to our prayers and do thou believe that God is contriving good at that time now is the Lord waiting to be gracious and preparing an answer Oh this is a blessed frame of heart and how pleasing would it be to God to believe that he is good and that he is gracious and this very thing it is for good for the good of my soul that he may exercise faith and patience and try my perseverance and that he may fit me for mercy and mercy for me Oh that we could entertain good thoughts of a gracious God when he defers an answer Fourthly be looking to God through the Mediator close more with him through the Son look to the great God through the son of David look to him through that merciful and compassionate High-Priest look more to God through Christ and there rest Fifthly and lastly wait patiently for him oh take up a resolution to wait upon the Lord charge thy own heart to do it as David did and though he speaks not to day nor to morrow though he speaks not this month this year not in this opportunity yet say I will wait for the Lord I will wait in every season and get upon the watch-tower and wait patiently and see which way Christ will come to thy soul know it is thy duty to wait take hold of his promise he is a God of judgement and waiteth to be gracious he waiteth for an opportunity and therefore it is good thou shouldst wait it is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. Matth. 15. 23. And his Disciples came and besought him saying send her away for she crieth after us SERMON IX CHrist as you have heard is silent to the prayer of the woman he answered her not a word whereupon the Disciples they step in and perform an office and duty of love for this poor woman they step in and they plead with Christ for her Lord send her away for she crieth after us It is a great question with some whether the Disciples did pray for this woman here or no some think that they did not make any request for her there is no mention of any they only say Lord send her away for she crieth after us Lord stop her mouth send her away give her an answer dispatch her for she crieth after us and this was done say they that so the trial of this womans faith might be the greater But I rather conceive that the Disciples in these words did pray for her they did perform an office and duty of love in interceding with Christ for her For First of all it seems they were very earnest in it they came and besought him saying send her away Surely if it had been only to stop her mouth to dispatch her the Disciples would not have been so earnest with Christ to beseech him good nature would have taught them more compassion and therefore grace teacheth them much more And then they seem to be affected with the cry of the woman she crieth after us send her away it breaks our hearts the cries that she makes Thou Son of David have mercy on me And thirdly it is clear and evident in the following verse from the answer that Christ gives upon their seeking of him I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel Therefore it is evident that the Disciples did not plead with Christ to send her away to stop her mouth but they did plead with Christ though not mentioned that he would grant her request The truth then which the words hold forth to us is this That it is the duty of Christs Disciples to present the conditions of others unto the Lord in prayer as well as their own We find that Moses the servant of the Lord was much in this work much in praying for others and interceding for Israel upon every occasion he steps in and pleadeth with God for the people And so David in many of the Psalms he presents the conditions of others unto the Lord. And our Lord Jesus Christ himself who is our great pattern was much in the performance of this duty John 17. you shall â—nd there that the most part of the time that Christ spent in prayer it was spent in praying for others there is but one petition that he put for himself in ver 1. and repeated again in ver 5. and all the rest of his time it was spent in praying for others for the Disciples for those that were converted and for those that did belong to God that were not converted Many requests the Lord Jesus makes in the behalf of others and but one for himself And so the Apostle Paul who was a follower of Christ he was much in this work of praying for others Rom. 1. 9. he did appeal to God that he did not neglect this duty For God is my witness whom I serve with my spirit in the Gospel of his son that without ceasing I make mention of you alwayes in my prayers And so 2 Tim. 1. 3. I thank God whom I serve from my fore-fathers with pure conscience that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers Paul did remember others before the Lord. But in the opening of the point I shall shew you First who they are that we are bound to pray for whose conditions Gods people are bound to remember before the Lord. Secondly what are the special time we are called unto this duty to remember others before the Lord. If you ask who they are that we are bound to pray for First we are bound to pray for them that have done us wrong a hard lesson but a lesson that Christs Disciples must learn we must pray for those that have done us wrong that have done evil and spoken evil of us See what our Saviour Christ saith Mat. 5. 44. But I say unto you love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you See here out of Christs own mouth this is our duty if we be Christs Disciples we must pray for them that persecute us and despitefully use us we should go to the Lord and beseech the Lord to forgive them thus did Christ Father forgive
be my anchor will hold I have an invitation to it Who is among you that walketh in darkness and sees no light let him trust in the Lord and stay upon his God Isa 50. 10. though it be in a storm at midnight let him cast anchor upon me saith God let him trust in the Name of the Lord and stay upon his God this the poor soul hears and being encouraged by the Word of the Lord it cast anchor and makes a desperate venture That 's the sixt Seventhly The anchor is useful not only in a storm but the anchor is useful in a calm when the ship at Sea is be calmed and cannot sayl they cast anchor and so this anchor of hope it is needful in a calm for if it were not for this anchor of hope a believing soul could not have any settlement in a calm though a man hath never so much for the present if he hath not hopes that his goods shall be increased his heart will be disquieted and so hope is useful in the greatest calm to hope that the present good that they have shall not be lost that that measure of grace and spirit that the Lord hath given them shall be carried on from one degree to another till he hath perfected it if it were not for this the heart could not have any peace in the greatest of his enjoyments And thus you have seen the second particular First I have shewn you what saving hope is Secondly That this saving hope is the Anchor of the soul The third and last particular is To shew you that this anchor of a believing soul is sure and stedfast And it will appear in these few particulars First It is made of good mettle it is that which will not bow nor break it is not as the hope of an hypocrite the hope of an hypocrite is compared to a spiders web that breaks presently the spiders web it is a poor thing to hold a ship fast in a storm but this saving Hope that the Spirit of Christ doth work in the heart of believers it is made of good mettle it was not digged out of their own bowels but fetcht from Christ it is Christ that is the store-house of all grace it is made of gold of tryed gold Their faith is more precious then gold saith the Apostle and so their hope is more precious then gold and more firm and solid then gold the matter of it is sure and stedfast Secondly It is well wrought and therefore it must needs be sure and stedfast for it is an anchor of Christ's own working The God of hope sill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope through the power of the holy Ghost Rom. 15. 13. and saith the Apostle Peter 1 Pet. 1. 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead The hope of the Saints it is a grace that is of God's own begetting it is an anchor of Christ's own making and that which comes out of the hand of Christ must needs be sure and stedfast Thirdly It is sure and stedfast for the Cable that holds it is sure and stedfast and that is the Word of the Lord now the Word of the Lord which is the Cable that a believers hope is fastned unto it is twisted of many precious promises all being twisted together must needs be strong the least of them is stronger then heaven and earth Heaven and earth shall pass but not one jot or tittle of the word of the Lord shall fail till all be fulfilled The promises they are the cable which a believing souls anchor is fastned unto and therefore it is sure and stedfast Fourthly It is cast upon a sure ground What is the ground that a believers hope is cast upon I answer First It is fastned upon Jesus Christ first upon Christ crucified upon the death of Christ upon the sufferings of Christ by which Christ hath made satisfaction for sin and brought in everlasting righteousness to cover the nakedness of poor creatures their love is fastned upon the wounds of Christ the sufferings of Christ That 's the first ground for a believers hope to fasten upon Secondly The Anchor of a believers hope it fastens upon the Resurrection of Christ 1 Pet. 1. 3. Blessed be God that hath begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ that is a main ground for hope to fasten upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ the poor soul looks to Christ Christ dead and risen and in that Christ rose from the grave he hath given full satisfaction to his Father he hath paid the debt and is a common person for his people that come to him by faith so that the resurrection of Christ doth strengthen the faith of the soul exceedingly it gives the soul assurance that it shall be accepted with God the Father because Christ is risen again Thirdly It fastens also upon the Intercession of Jesus Christ He is able to save to the utmost all that come to God by him for he ever liveth to make Intercession for them Now this gives great encouragement to a poor soul that is made sensible of his own lost condition of being far off from God it would fain draw nigh and know not which way to come when this is discovered that Christ sits in heaven to plead for poor souls and to make Intercession for all that come to God by him this causes the soul to give a venture to fasten upon Christ Secondly As the soul fastens upon Christ so also it fastens upon God the Father by Christ it goes to the Fathers and takes hold of him First It fastens upon the free Grace of the Father that infinite everlasting love which did finde out the way of Redemption for poor creatures that love which gave Christ at first and which gives poor creatures to Christ and which tenders Christ in the everlasting Gospel there the anchor of hope takes hold Secondly Hope takes hold of the strength of God He is a God mighty in strength he can overcome all difficulties all enemies that are betwixt him and my soul he can overcome all my unworthiness all my provocations yea he can overcome himself his own wrath and displeasure that which no creature can do this being presented to a poor soul that is in a sad doubting condition this helps through grace to draw the soul to Christ and to fasten it upon God Thirdly It fastens also upon the unchangeableness of God and this gives a sure hold to the anchor of hope He is not as man that he should lye Who is it that hath spoken Who is it that tenders Christ to poor creatures It is not the word of him that is the true and faithful witness Is it not the strength of Israel that cannot lye nor
as the sons of men that he should repent Now when the Lord doth thus present his Son and Himself to a poor soul Christ in his death his resurrection ascention his intercession and his own free grace and love his strength his faithfulness this becomes a sure ground for hope to fasten upon and so you have seen the third thing handled A word of Application and I have done First of all It lets us see the sad condition of all men that are without Hope you will say they are in a sad condition that are at sea without an anchor and truly this is the condition of many men they are in a sad condition for they are without hope and O that men would now lay it to heart to see what a sad condition they are in without this anchor of saving Hope you that are without hope it is not possible you should stand in a storm however you may be quiet in a calm it is not possible that you should bear up in time of storm and therefore though men may seem to look towards God and seem to make a progress in God's wayes if there be not an anchor of Hope they will be driven back again cross winds will arise at sea and if you have not this anchor of hope in Christ and in the Father's free grace they will be driven back again without hope it is not possible you should be neer unto God and keep nigh unto God and what a miserable condition is it to be without God in the world Truly so long as you are without true saving hope you are without God in the world so long as 〈◊〉 are without hope they are in a heartless and listless condition where there is no hope there is no endeavour What is the reason that men are so slothful in looking after God It is because that their hearts are not established by hope in Christ and in the Fathers free grace where there is no hope there can be no right endeavour if hope fail all endeavours fail Nay further while men are without hope they must needs be in a sinful polluted condition for it is hope that purgeth the soul and purifieth the heart Having this hope let us cleanse our selves and he that hath this hope he is pure even as he is pure he looks after purity as God is pure that men go on to defile themselves and to work all manner of iniquity it is because that they have no true hope toward God Truly this doth discover that many men have no hope in God because they live at such a distance from God and are not kept close to God nay they are contented to live at a distance from God and will not endeavour seeking after Christ Wherefore I beseech you think upon it what a sad condition it is to be at Sea without an anchor your hearts would melt within you to see a ship driven with storms upon the rocks and no anchor to cast out yet this is the condition of many thousands in the world they are at sea and ready to split upon the rocks and no anchor of hope O that the Lord would make many a heart sensible of it Secondly As it is sad to be without hope so it is more sad to have a deceitful hope for the disappointment of hope is the greatest torment that can befal a poor creature better never to have hope then to have hope frustrated to be disappointed the disappointment of hope proves shame and confusion of face to men Job 6. 20. they were confounded because they had hoped they came thither and were ashamed they were deceived of their expectation and were confounded Better never to have hope then to be disappointed of your hope and in Job 11. 20. the hope of a wicked man shall be as the giving up of the Ghost it shall be gone in a moment as a man in one moment he breaths forth his spirit and gives up the ghost so the hope of a wicked man soon perisheth Now look to your hope that you may not have such hope as will be like the giving up of the ghost examine your hope see whether it be such hope as the Apostle speaketh of that will be as an anchor to the soul both sure and stedfast whence did your hope arise I pray examine that whether it was from your selves or from Christ if your hope be from any thing in your selves it is hope that will not hold it is not sure and stedfast examine what was the efficient cause of your hope how was this hope begotten in you Did you see that it was out of the hand of Christ and that it was begotten in you by the mighty power of God Did the Lord cause you to see that it was not possible that you should create hope in your selves til Christ come beget hope in you Know certainly if it were not a hope of Christ's begetting it is an anchor that will not hold Again examine what it was that fastned your hope Was it the word of the Lord that made you to hope the sure word of promise Was it the word of man or the word of the Lord if it were any thing but the word of the Lord that made you to hope your hope will not hold Examine also upon what ground your hope is cast Is it cast upon the arm of flesh or upon the arm of the Lord what-ever hope is cast upon the arm of flesh will not hold Examine also whether your hope be cast upon the free grace of God or upon the things of the world your prosperity in the world there are thousands in the world that cast the anchor of their hope upon the mammon of this world because God hath prospered them in the world and given them abundance of these outward good things therefore they hope that God loveth them and will give them another world but if your anchor of hope be cast upon your gold or your great estate and not-upon the free grace of God it will deceive you Upon whatsoever it be cast beside God and Christ it will not hold if it be cast upon your duties your desires and good meanings and endeavours your prayers and tears your charity if the anchor of your hope be cast upon these it will not hold yea if it be cast upon your graces your hope will not hold for whatsoever is made the ground of hope beside Christ is the arm of flesh even grace and the actings of grace in the soul they become flesh if made the ground of our hope Now I beseech you look to your hope for certainly the hope of most men is not of the right stamp what-ever they pretend How do many deceive themselves God is not in all their thoughts nor in any of their wayes and yet have hope toward God You say you have hope in God and yet your hope doth not purifie your hearts but as wicked as ever walking in the wayes