actings whereby it is more easily discerned as for example when a Believer is examining whether he hath true Faith in Christ the Holy Ghost doth sometimes put that grace into act at that very time and then he can say Lord I believe I see faith at this very time working in my heart and so for other graces as repentance love to God and the like When it is thus a poor believer goes thorough the work of self examination with great satisfaction and delight and if it be not always so yet let a Believer pray and search into his heart and wait upon the Lord If he hide his face yet wait upon him for a good hour when he will come unto us and comfort us 4. The stronger the habit of grace in the heart is and the more frequent and constant the actings of grace are the more easily may we come to the knowledg and assurance of the work of grace in us If faith were stronger in the habit and more frequent in the act we might have more assurance that we have the truth of that grace and usually it is so that such have most assurance the like may be said of repentance love to God and other graces Happy is it when a man can truly say shall I question the truth of my faith in Christ when through the grace of God who hath wrought my heart to this self same thing I find a strong bent upon my heart to cleave to Christ as my Mediatour for ever I am continually looking to him he is precious to me the Meditation of him is sweet to my soul I have counted do count and will for ever count all things but dung in comparison of him shall I question the truth of my repentance when I find that I have continual sorrow in my heart for my sins and sighs and cry continually to be delivered from all my corruptions I say happy is that man whose grace is so strong and in such continual motion and action such a man can more easily discern the truth of it let us pray and wait for this 5. Believers must not be taken up wholly in trying of themselves whether they are in the state of grace or no but press forwards in putting forth New acts of Faith New acts of repentance New acts of love to Christ and New acts of mortification of Sin That we may grow up into him in all grace who is our head even Christ Yea sometimes former grace received may be many ways so obscured yea weakned that there is no other way to recover the vigour and comfort of grace but for the Soul to believe in Christ repent and turn to God as if it were but now to begin to follow Christ Secondly Conversion and the work of grace upon the heart is sometimes manifested to us by the more immediate testimony of the spirit If the holy Ghost do indeed perswade and assure our hearts that we are in the love and favour of God then we are effectually called for though God loveth those whom he hath chosen from everlasting and the giving of Christ to die for them and his drawing them to Christ is from that free love and good pleasure of his will towards them yet until a person be converted the holy Ghost doth not assure him that God hath ordained him to eternal life Those whom God hath foreknown he hath predestinated from eternity to the adoption of Children by Jesus Christ but till they be actually sons and daughters which is not till their conversion and believing in Christ John 1.12 The Lord doth not send his spirit into their hearts to enable them to cry Abba Father The Lord indeed sendeth his spirit into the hearts of the Elect to convert them and work faith in them for without the spirit it could never be done but it is an after work for the spirit to come into our hearts enabling us to cry Abba Father assuring us that we are the Children of God Rom. 8.16 And shedding abroad and pouring in the love of God to us in particular into our hearts Rom. 5 5. We must not think that the holy Ghost at first dash doth assure a person that God hath ordained him in particular to eternal life before he insufe the habit of grace and spiritual Life into him but first the holy Ghost having convinced the soul of sin and convinced the Soul of righteousness to justify to be in Christ and in him alone doth enable the soul to apply Christ and come unto him and afterwards as it pleases him doth manifest to the soul the truth of his faith and his pardon through Christ The Holy Ghost works as a Sanctifyer before he workes as a Comforter the Holy Ghost workes faith in the heart before he fill with joy and peace which is onely in believing in Christ and discerning the fruits of our Vnion with him The manner how the Holy Ghost doth assure us that we are the Children of God is a great mystery When the Holy Ghost clears to us the work of grace upon our hearts this is one way that he doth witness to us that we are the Children of God But sometimes he doth it more immediately that when the believer hath not been at that time trying his spiritual estate or it may be is in great heaviness through manifold inward temptations and outward dangers and afflictions suddenly the Holy Ghost makes him to triumph in Christ and rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory Indeed this way of the spirits witnessing to the soul though it is most refreshing and ravishing yet it is not so ordinary as the other and it is more transient and quickly passing away and is rather a cordial for some sowning fit or some Antidote to strengthen the heart in some great appraoching service or tryal then the common food of the Saints in this life If any shall say how do Believers know the voice and witness of the spirit speaking peace and joy by Jesus Christ to their souls from a delusion I answer 1. By a certain spiritual instinct which no man knows but him that hath it by this they know the voice of the spirit from the voice of a stranger 2. By the signs that follow this voice and Witness of the spirit raising our hearts to look to Christ the Mediatour As he from whom all our springs are admiring the love of the father in giving him to be the propitiation for our sins loathing of our selves for our iniquities and stronger desires to walk in universal obedience to the Lord. But now because some seem to examine themselves little concerning the work of grace upon their hearts but in giving a reason of the hope they have that they are passed from death to life speak not of their faith repentance and other graces but say that they had such and such a word given in as for example I have loved thee with an everlasting love or I have blotted out as a
factor feareth the Judge not as a dutiful Son feareth a good Father and that upon judgments that God sends some are said to fear the Lord 2 Kings 17.32 33. that is with a slavish fear yet v. 34. 't is said of the same persons They fear not the Lord nor do after his Statutes that is they had not a gracious and obedient fear of God And likewise because the very Devils are said to tremble Jam. 2.19 that is they even shake with fear of the wrath of God therefore it is necessary to distinguish between that slavish fear of God that is in the very wicked of the World and in the Devils themselves and that right gracious fear of God that is in those that are truly converted which may be done in these following particulars 1. A right fear of God is accompanied with hope in his free mercy in Christ The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him in those that hope in his mercy Psalm 147.11 Some they pretend to hope in Gods mercy in Christ but they do not fear God their hearts are not awed with his Majesty nor afraid to offend him such a hope is not right on the other hand some pretend to fear God and fear sinning a gainst him but they hope not in his mercy but in their own merits they go on under a Covenant of works cast not their Souls upon Christ will not lay their hold upon the hope that is set before them in the Gospel These men have not a right fear of God He that is so moved with fear of the Majesty and Wrath of God that he gets into Christ the Ark that God hath prepared for the saving of Souls and placeth all his hope for his eternal safety in Christ the Son of God this is the man that feareth the Lord aright But if men fear God only as a Judge and Avenger of Sin and look upon him as a hard Master and so are afraid of him and their hearts secretly rise against him but they never look towards his Mercy-seat that they may set their hope in his grace in Christ such have not a right fear of God neither a right reverential nor a right filial fear of God but onely a slavish and servile 2. A right fear of God is accompanied with eschewing evil Job is said to be a man fearing God and eschewing evil Job 1.1 The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart that there is no fear of God before his eyes Psalm 36.1 The gross and horrible profaneness of some wicked men proclaims to every one that they are so far from having a right fear of God such as he puts into the hearts of his people that they have no fear of God no common awe of a Deity at all in their ordinary course for they live as if there were no God that regarded the ways of the Sons of men and would bring them into judgment But where there is a right fear of God there is not a bare eschewing evil but an eschewing evil from an inward principle of the fear and love of God in the heart and delight in his Commandments Now when eschewing evil is made a sign of the true fear of God in the heart it must not be so understood as if Job of whom that character is given in the place above-mentioned or any other who yet truly fear God can so totally eschew evil in this life as to be wholly free from sin for we see by the holy Story that Job himself of whom this is spoken had his passions and sinful failings for which he confessed to God he was vile and abhorred himself in dust and ashes but when such are said to eschew evil the meaning is that they do so in a comfortable measure and in the sincere and earnest desire and endeavour of their Souls 3. A right fear of God is not an involuntary passion and fear which torments the mind but is a pleasing and delightful thing to the Soul Fear hath torment 1 John 4.18 Slavish sinful and irregular fear hath so but a right reverential fear of God is delightful to the Soul it hath no torment in it to the mind The Angels in Heaven and the Saints in all their glory have an high degree of this reverential fear of God And so they find here in this World that they never have sweeter duties then when their hearts are most filled with a reverential fear of God and so in their whole conversation they find that the more they walk in the fear of the Lord the more they walk in the comfort of the Holy Ghost Indeed in such extraordinary appearances of God by outward signs of the Glory of his Majesty as were to Abraham Gen. 15.12.17 to Moses when the Lord appeared in the flame of fire out of the midst of the bush Exod. 3.2 6. to Elijah 1 Kings 19.13 and to Isaiah Chap. 6.5 the best Saint in this mortal state may be over-set and faint and be troubled at the Lords presence for 't is said that when God so appeared to Abraham an horrour of great darkness fell upon him 't is said of Moses he hid his face and was afraid to look upon God and at another time when God spake out of the fire upon Mount Sinai Moses said I exceedingly fear and tremble Elijah hid his face in his Mantie and Isaiah cries out Wo is me I am undone for mine eyes have seen the King the Lord of hosts But it is to be considered that it was not meerly the apprehension of the greatness and glory of the Majesty of God and the reverence of God thereupon that caused this trouble to their spirits but these extraordinary signs of Gods presence which their bodies and spirits in this frail and mortal state could not bear That nevertheless it stands good what hath been laid down that a reverential fear of God is a most pleasing and delightful thing to the Soul of a Christian yea it helps much to compose the body and natural spirits in the service of God and walking with him In a word to distinguish a right feare of God from a slavish or hipocriticall feare it is of that nature that the more we feare him the more we hope in his mercy the more we feare him the more obedient we are to him the more we fear him the more we would fear him and desire to feare his Name and the more we fear him the more we love him he that findeth in any measure such a feare of God put into his heart as is here described is converted and in the state of grace 4. Speciall grace and conversion is held forth in the Scripture by love to God 1 Cor. 8.3 If any man love God the same is known of him Ephes 6.24 Grace be with all them that love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity John 21.17 Simon Son of Jonas lovest thou me and Peter said Lord thou knowest all things thou knowest that I
without some competent measure of knowledge Therefore such as are grosly ignorant and scarce know from any inward illumination whether there be a Christ or no or whether they have any need of him to deliver them from the wrath to come are not to flatter and deceive themselves in thinking they believe in Christ because it is not the way of God to make a New Creation in persons grown up to years and having the exercise of reason but he saith Let there be light Commanding Light to shine out of darkness and shinning into them to give them the knowledge of Jesus our Lord. I know there is great difference of mens parts education and the means of knowledge that men have but God hath none of his Children borne blind altogether spiritually blind and ignorant Though men go blindfold to Hell yet they do not go blindfold to Heaven but the Lord shews them first how they are out of the way that leadeth unto Life and are in the broad way that leadeth to destruction and then revealeth Christ to them as the way to Life and that Faith in him repentance and holiness do accompany Salvation Therefore those that are grosly ignorant are certainly in a bad estate though they are loath to see it let them consider what the Scriptures say of them This is a People of no understanding therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them and he that formed them will shew them no favour Jsaiah 27.11 They do alwayes erre in their hearts they have not known my wayes Heb. 3.10 Which shews that Men must needs erre in their hearts and can never walk with God when they do not know his wayes at all There is none that understandeth there is none that seeketh after God Rom. 3.11 Until men come to have some understanding that they have lost the favour of God and his Image and that there is a way in Christ to come unto God and be accepted with him they will never seek after God if haply they may find him and so we see by Luke 1.70 That those that sit in darkness and totall ignorance and blindness they also sit in the region and shadow of death In the very Suburbs and gate of Hell 2. 'T is a penitent Faith that is true Faith is alwayes accompanied with true repentance this distinguisheth it from that notional Faith that many have they pretend to believe in Christ but they never mourn for sin they do not loath themselves for their iniquities Some may talk of Free Grace and of believing in Christ but look upon sorrow for sin as a bondage-frame and know not what it is to be vile in their own eyes and abhor themselves for their evil ways and doings against the Lord Where it is so there is not true faith their faith is but a fancy and a meer notion who make sin a light matter and have their hearts never rent and broken for it 3. 'T is an affectionate Faith that is true Faith is accompanied with Love to the person of Christ in whom we do believe Indeed that which first affecteth a poor convinced sinner towards Christ is that he is a Saviour and Deliverer from the guilt of sin but in the looking towards him as a Saviour the Soul falleth in love with him also as he is God blessed for ever and as he is filled with the spirit of Grace in our Nature so that union with him is every way desirable to the Soul to them that do believe Christ is precious not onely for his Benefits but for his Person that when a poor Sinner looks to Christ with an eye of faith he looks to Christ with an eye of love too and it is in his heart to say O Lord Jesus to whom I come as a poor lost Sinner to be washed from my sins with thy blood I love thee I prize thee thou are excellent and glorious Didst thou vouchsafe to be manifest in the flesh Didst thou come to seck and save that which was lost My heart cleaveth to thee in love And O that I could love thee more O thou excellent most excellent Lord Jesus O thou art fairer then all the children of men fairer then all the Angels in Heaven O a Saviour and such a Saviour the brightness of the Fathers Glory and the express Image of his Person O thy Name is as an Oyntment poured forth there is none like unto thee I believe in thee and love thee too thou art most sweet thou art altogether lovely O my dear Lord Jesus I first cast mine eyes towards thee as a Redeemer and Saviour being forced and necessitated to look out for a rest for my weary Soul and being a little acquainted with thee thou hast taken my heart with thy glorious person O thou art the mighty God one with the Father O I be hold something of thy glory as of the onely begotten Son of God thou art God manifest in the flesh O 't is Immanuel God with us 'T is the Lord of glory that was crucified for poor sinners He is worthy to be praised he is worthy to be beloved Blessing and glory and honour to this great Mediatour Praise him O ye Sons of men Praise him all the Angels that excell in strength How little can I one poor creature do in praising and admiring of him O help help to praise him help to admire him help to love him let every one have a Psalm of praise to him utter your Songs aloud aloud sing Hallelujahs to this King of glory But if any man doth not admire and love the Lord Jesus neither doth he believe in him 4. 'T is an holy Faith not onely in regard of the Object of it the Lord Jesus Christ the holy One but in regard of the effects of it true Faith is always accompanied with Holiness in some comfortable measure with the principal desire and endeavour of Holiness Our Hearts are purified and sanctified by Faith for he that doth rightly looks to Christ as a Saviour submits to him as a Sanctifier also and it is in his heart to say O Lord Jesus thou art a blessed Mediatour indeed thou art able not onely to save me from the guilt of my sins but to deliver me from the power of my vile lusts Come in thou blessed of the Lord come into my heart set up thy Throne there cast down all my lusts to the ground turn me from my iniquities bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of thee let me be partaker of a second benefit not onely be justified by thee but sanctified by thee Come in thou blessed of the Lord stand not without welcome Christ as a Saviour welcome Christ as a Sanctifier thou art he whom my Soul delighteth in come into thy Temple drive out all my lusts even all of them as thou once didst the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple shew the power of thy grace O mighty one go forth conquering and to conquer
Philistines die with us This makes poor Believers with Sampson desire to die that all their lusts may die too Neither do you call all into question because of outward afflictions how great and many so ever they are for whom the Lord loveth he chastneth and correcteth every son whom he receiveth But say in your hearts the Lord hath humbled us for our sins drawn us to Christ put his fear into our hearts and hath given us many times gracious hints of his favour to us in Christ and now though he seem to walk contrary to us in some outward dispensations and breaks us in our relations and breaks us in our estates and breaks us in our esteem and breaks us in our-health as it was thus with Jacob yet will we trust in him and say that still he is our Father and will not alwaies chide nor retain his anger for ever 3. Let those that are converted hate every false way and meddle with sin no more we may well say the time past suffices and yet we have had to much of sinning already The state of grace is so far from giving any liberty to sin that it layes more obligation to holiness have a care of the sins of the daies wherein we live worldliness mispending of time in unprofitable talk bitterness against those that differ never so little from us in judgment neglect of training up Children in the fear of God and reverence and subjection to their parents want of heavenly discourse pride in apparel false and long haire and abundance of other sins that are to rife amongst some that make a great profession of Religion 4. Shew forth the Praises of him that hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light shew forth his praises not only in words but in works glorifie him on the earth let not his high and holy Name be blasphemed through you Be exceeding tender of the Name and glory of God make not Religion to stink and the savour of it to be abhorred by your covetous practises proud carriage loose conversation adorn the profession of religion with a serious chearfulness a meak zeal a heavenly dilligence in your callings and with a loving and yet a convincing conversation to the World these things may well go together and should do so Christians should be serious and yet chearful they have most cause to rejoyce and shall do it when others shall weep and howl and gnash their teeth Christians should be meek peaceable gentle easiy to be entreated and yet zealous magnanimous and valiant for the truth Christians should be heavenly in their thoughts and affections and discourse and yet deligent in their outward callings heavenly mindedness makes the yoak of outward labour easier and the burden of it lighter Christians should be affable courteous loving to all yet so far from sinful compliance with the waies of the world that they should hold forth the grace of Christ in their conversations that others may be convinced that they are the Children of God and that though possibly they may rail at them with their mouths they may secretly commend them in their consciences and wish their death at last end might be like theirs A concluding Speech to the VNCONVERTED CHAP. VIII Containing advice and counsel to those who are yet unconverted HAving shewn the necessity of conversion the Nature and signs of it I shall now conclude with some advice and council to those who are strangers to any work of grace upon their hearts but are going on in ignorance and blindness and see not into what a gulph and bottomless pit of destruction they are going Wonder not that I am earnest in such a matter and tell you so much of Hell and damnation it is to stop them that being spiritually blind and desparate are running into the lake of fire and brimston which burneth for ever Well then let me direct my speech unto such if God peradventure will give them repentance that so they may be recovered out of the snare of the Devil and escape everlasting destruction Hearken and give ear to this Alarm that is now sounded to you that are yet ignorant and careless of the things that belong unto your everlasting peace Repent repent get into Christ the City of refuge quickly quickly before the Lord come forth against you in his wrath and fury and you be cast into Hell I shall endeavour to set before you the miserable condition you will be in to eternity if you die in your sins and to that end I shall shew you three things 1. The certainty of Hell 2. the misery of Hell 3. The eternity of Hell 1. Consider the certainty of Hell This is that which I would speak of first That there is a place of torment and extream misery into which the wicked are cast their souls entring first into this woful place as soon as they depart this life and at the Day of Judgment their bodies being raised by the Almighty power of God shall be united again with their souls that so both in body and soul they may bear the wrath of God for ever It may be some that may read this may be so ignorant and prophane that they may think that Hell is a fable devised to keep me in awe and think them fools that are scar'd with it therefore let me endeavour to convince them of it for it doth appear indeed by the lives of too many that they believe neither Heaven nor Hell yet there are such fools that say in their hearts there is no God too Psal 14.1 They say so in their hearts and say so in their lives though few of them are so impudent as to say it with their mouths To prove that there is a Hell I might shew that the very heathens as they have a Notion that there is a God so they have a Nation that there is a Hell a state and place of misery into which evil men go after this life likewise I might shew that the boldest Athiests are sometimes struck with a Pannick fear of Hell all which proves that it is an universal Notion of mankind that the soul is immortal and that there is happiness or misery after this life though Atheists smother this conviction what they can But I shall onely insist upon Scripture proof of this point The wicked shall be turned into Hell Psal 9.18 How can ye escape the damnation of Hell Mat. 23.33 Fear him that is able to destroy Soul and body in Hell Mat. 10.28 God speared not the Angels that sinned but thrust them down to Hell 2 Pet. 2.4 To name no more particular places when ye read in the Scripture of everlasting punishment the wrath to come unquenchable fire all those expressions point at the same thing As there is a real Hell as well as there is a real Heaven so there is a local Hell as well as there is a local Heaven Hell and Heaven are not expressions onely to set forth the
sins which if it had been laid upon us would have been eternal but he overwrastled it made satisfaction put away sin by the sacrifice of himself made peace and obtained eternal redemption for us whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that after he had the iniquities of all his people laid and charged upon him yet he rose again the third day is gone unto the Father and is set down at the right hand of the Majesty in the Heavens By one offering upon the Cross he did the work he being an infinite Person God as well as Man his short suffering was of an infinit value He dieth no more there is no need at all of it in referance unto those for whom he made his soul an offering for sins he hath done the work fully to whom be glory for ever This is the Summ and substance of the Gospel Now if any hearing of the danger they are in of the wrath of God for their sins and sensible of the Rebellion and perversness of their hearts and wayes against God would have a Saviour and a sanctifier that it may go well with them for ever this is he Jesus the Son of God He is not here now upon earth to be seen with bodily eyes he is gone into Heaven and is on the right hand of God Look up to him there with an eye of Faith put your trust in him he is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by him Get the knowledge of him out of the word search the Scriptures for they testify of him they tell you what he is what he hath done and what he hath suffered to bring us to God Think of him continually prize him set your hearts on him if you flight him you will find there is no other Saviour no other Mediatour no other advocate with the Father If the work be yet to be done even now whilst thou readest these things look to him close with him give up thy self to him to be saved and Sanctified by him fall in love with him you will never repent of your choice Poor soul what saist thou to a Pardon for all thy sins what saist to peace with God what saist thou to eternal life Come to Christ and thou shalt have all these and a New Heart and spirit to walk in holiness and obedience before God too O doth the Lord affect thy heart for he doth this great work that thou art taken with Christ and art a thirst for this water of life then take it freely as excellent and precious as the Lord Jesus is he bestowes himself freely upon poor sinners the best qualification you can have for receiving Christ is to see your need of him and that you are altogether unworthy of him do you see your sins now the multitude of them the hainousness of them let not your sins drive you from Christ but drive you to Christ Come poor sinners come to Christ his blood cleanseth from all sin his righteousness is able to cover all your unrighteousness Come to Christ but with a true Heart to give him all the glory of your salvation and to desire now to have him reign over you and fear not he is mighty to save Jesus is the Lord of glory consider his God-head in your looking to him to take away your sins Never any Patient came to this Phisitian and missed of cure come with all the spiritual Vlcers running Sores and Bloody Issues of sin touch the hem of his Garment by Faith as the Woman in the Gospel did and you shall see there is vertue enough in Christ to make you whole The Devil labours to make men confident and presumptuous when they are going on greedily in sin but when they are convinced of their lost estate and are looking after Christ then he endeavours to puzle them with many doubts and suspitions as if they were past cure and it were too late now to lock after Christ Ah poor souls do not you see that the hand of Sathan is in all this When you went on in ignorance and prophaness he would not endure you should hear when Ministers preached of damnation and now that you are convinced and stopt in your vile courses and are thinking how you may make peace with God now the Devil cannot endure you should hear of Salvation in Christ the Son of God least you should come unto him that you may have life Thus I have set before them that are not yet converted life and death pardon of sin peace with God and eternal life if the Lord giveth them hearts to repent and close with Christ The Wrath of God and eternal destruction If they still go on in their ignorance prophaness and slighting of Jesus Christ If any that read these things shall say in their hearts they shall have peace and shall do well enough whatsoever some zealous preachers say though they cast Gods law behind their backs and never look after a work of Grace and conversion upon their souls the anger of the Lord and his Jealousy shall smoake against those persons and burn against them for ever But if they shall now tremble at the word of the Lord and lay hold upon the offer of Christ believing on his name and submitting unto him their sins shall be forgiven them for his names sake and they shall be the heir of eternal life through him for though the wages of sin is death even eternal death yet the gift the free gift of God is life even eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord to whom be glory for ever Amen FINIS Books Printed for and Sold by Henry Mortlock at the Phaenix in S. Pauls Church-Yard and at the White Hart in Westminster-Hall THe Saints Ebenezer and Pillar of hope in God when they have none left in the Creature Or the godly-mans Crutch or Staff in times of sadning disappointments sinking discouragements shaking dissolations wherein is shewed the Transcendent Excellency of God his Peoples help and hope with the unparalell'd hapiness of the Saints in their confidence in him over-balancing the Worldlings carnall dependance both as to sweetness and safety by F. English A word in season or 3 great dutys of Christians in the worst of times viz abiding in Christ Thirsting after his instruction and submission to his providence to which is added by way of appendix the advice of some Ministers to their people for the receiving the power and practice of godliness in their familys Oct. The freeness of the grace and love of God to believers discover'd in reference to First Their service and suffering Secondly their consolations Thirdly their salvation and eternal glory together with the Excelency of the fear of God The goodness and pleasantness of brotherly Love the wisdom of hearing the voice of the Rod repentance the only way to prevent Judgments delivered in several Sermons by William Bridg sometimes Preacher of the Word at Yarmouth Death unstung in 8 Sermons Preached at the Funeral of Tho. Moseley an Apothecary who died July 1669 With a brief Narrative of his Life and Death Also the manner of Gods dealings with him before and after his Conversion drawn up by his own Hand and Published by James Janeway Oct. A Fathers Testament Written long since for the benefit of the Particular Relations of the Author Phineas Fletcher sometimes Minister of the Gospel at Hillgay in Norfolk The voice of one crying in a Wilderness or the business of a Christian both Antecedaneous to Concomitant of and consequent upon a Sore and heavy Visitation represented in several Sermons First Preached to his own Family lying under such Visitation and now made publick as a thank offering to the Lord his healer by S. S. a servant of God in the Gospel of his Son FINIS