but also and especially for their souls This is the first particular But the second is that which I would stand upon Considering that this distemper upon the Daughter did bring the Mother here unto Christ I would especially speak to this and intreat you to Behold this occasion of her coming and it will afford us a very profitable Note The Note is this Behold what occasions the Lord sanctifies sometimes to bring souls to himself What is the occasion My Daughter is sick The particular Doctrine is this That sometimes the Lord doth sanctifie corporal or external occasions and afflictions to bring souls home to himself The great means the standing Ordinance by which the Lord brings souls to himself is the Word and the Word Preached But yet I say besides that the Lord is pleased sometimes to make use of other means and among the rest sometimes the Lord doth sanctifie external afflictions to bring home poor souls to himself There are two things in all external afflictions that I would have all to minde First God sending Secondly God sanctifying of these afflictions First You should observe That God sends them Afflictions do not arise out of the dust if any evil be in the City or Family it is the finger of the Lord it doth not come by chance or fortune it comes from God and wee ought to behold him in it But then secondly Observe the Lord sanctifying afflictions The Lord doth not alwaies sanctifie affliction where hee sends it But sometimes God doth sanctifie it unto many good and gracious ends and purposes and in particular I say God doth sometimes to some souls sanctifie afflictions to this end to bring home the poor soul to himself There are three Comings unto Jesus Christ in all which the Lord doth sometimes to some persons make use of corporal afflictions First There is that which wee call our first fundamental Coming to Jesus Christ when the soul doth first come to Jesus Christ from his wandering rebellious estate and condition when it is first brought out of the wilderness Secondly There is our gradual Coming to Christ When the soul that is come to Christ in a good measure comes a little nearer hee comes from strength to strength and so by degrees appears before God in Sion Jacobs Ladder had many staves and coming to Christ hath many steps and stairs Therefore besides our prime or first coming unto Christ there is a perfecting progress or ascendent going to or growing up in Christ higher and higher which is as it were our coming nearer and nearer Thirdly There is our Coming to Christ which is our Return after some eminent Revolt when a soul hath left its first love Now in all these and unto all these the Lord doth sometimes sanctifie externall afflictions the Lord doth sometimes sanctifie external afflictions to bring the soul home to himself As Poverty The Lord makes many an one poor that they may look after a rich Christ And Disgrace from creatures the Lord permits and sanctifies that to make the soul long and labour that they may bee precious in his sight And Sickness upon us and ours the Lord doth sometimes kill the childes body to save the Mothers soul take away the husband the hee may bring the wife home to himself wee might give many notable instances As in Matth. 8.2 There you finde a Leper came to Christ and what occasion brought him truly this mans Leprosie brought him to Christ and for ought wee know had not this man been a Leper hee had never come to Christ In Matth. 9.27 There wee hear blind men calling after Jesus Christ but why you shall see in that place their blindness upon their eyes make them look after Christ And Matth. 21.14 The blind and lame came to him to the Temple to bee healed c. Thus it pleaseth Christ sometimes to sanctifie corporal afflictions to bring us home to himself There are two Reasons why the Lord doth this The first relates to us The second unto himself First of all I say The Lord doth sometimes take this course upon our account considering us the Lord works thus on us In Jer. 9. saith the Lord there I will melt my people for how else shall I do for the daughter of my people i.e. As if hee should say I cannot tell else what to do for them Oh my Brethren the Lord sees sometimes nothing else will do it but affliction Mee thinks I hear the Lord sometimes speaking of a poor creature after this manner There is such a one who so long as hee can bee well and do well as to externals I shall not hear of him I must therefore take some other course with him well I will go and melt him c. Oh Sirs this is our folly that whatever Arminians dream wee are so backward to come to Christ that except hee draw wee will not go nay except hee drive wee will not stir nor step forward all the perswasions of the Lord they will not work us up to free will except hee make hee add power to perswasion Indeed in the day of his power wee are potentially not perswasively onely made a willing people as Psal 110. Upon this account it is that Christ is as wee say fain to use the Rod sometimes to bring us home to himself How oft doth Christ say sith my Pipe will not my Rod shall fetch such a sheep and such a sheep i. e. It may bee thy soul and thy childes soul I will make it a day of power and by grace I will follow them with one means after another You know what is said by the Lord of a backward people in Hosea 5. verse the last In their affliction they will seek mee In 2 Sam. 14.30 You read Absolon sent for Joah to come to him and hee would not but Absolon sent and fired his fields and then hee comes My Brethren wee may very well parallel it God saith sometimes go Minister preach to him judgement and threatning and that will not do and go mercy that will not do then go sickness Oh! sickness must preach a Sermon before many will hear a word Well here is the first Reason which as I said relates to us Afflictions are sent and sanctified to bring us to Christ because often nothing else will Truly I say this is our naughty Nature that fair means will not work upon us and this is our Fathers grace that hee will take other means but hee will effect his work Secondly The Lord doth it upon another account which relates to himself To shew us That hee is not tied to means but can work by any providence if hee please The Lord hath more means than one and hee is a free Agent hee can use which hee pleases If Onesimus a naughty and bad servant will not bee wrought upon at home under a good Master hee shall bee brought to the Gaol to hear a Sermon there you have that intimated in the Epistle to
Philemon The account of it take in brief thus Philemon was a godly man and a good Master and hee had 2 Church in his house but Onesimus was nought for all that his Master could not by any means work upon him but hee breaks out and away it is likely hee runs And by the hand of Justice God ordering of it is brought to a Gaol where a Prison prepares him to hear and a prisoner is provided to preach and now hee is wrought upon God hath many waies if wee run from one hee hath another to meet with us in If a Pulpit do not a Prison shall if a soft word win not a hard shall hee will have us see that hee is not tied to any means and therefore sometimes will by a sickness a loss c. bring us home as well as by other waies There is onely one Objection that must bee answered Object But doth not his seem to give some advantage to those who cry down the preaching of the Word It hath been a seemingly fair but a really poor Argument of those to tell us that God can make any thing an Ordinance and therefore they cast off preaching and say what need that cannot and doth not God work sometimes without that Repl. I answer generally My Brethren One good means may very well go hand in hand with another And my Brethren none of the Lords means are Yea and Nay destructive one of another or inconsistent one with another All may and all shall stand and in vain do wee think to make one an Argument against the other It is certain God can alwaies and hee doth often work by afflictions But yet the Word is the chief known tried and standing means And after all that hath been said to the contrary I still think that though the Lord may make use of and sanctifie afflictions as sickness upon us and ours to bring us home to himself yet it is very rarely without the Word There are two Considerations in particular that I would have you minde First Many times Afflictions as poverty and sickness do make a word to work a word that wee have heard The words of the wise saith Solomon they are as Nails fastened Now it may bee the Lord fastens or rather puts in a Nail in the Assembly by his Word and the poor soul runs away now the Lord sends an affliction after him to fasten the Nail and the man is cast upon a sick-bed and now saies hee I remember such an instruction Affliction brings home and drives home a word formerly preached unto us which wee heard and did not regard or remember but now by an Affliction are made to do both I have thought Affliction doth that which Posset-drink doth in Physick it is a plain similitude yet mark it A man takes Physick and it works not then give him a draught of Posset-drink and that makes it work that helps it on so it is here A Word is given out and it works not then the Lord sends Affliction and that makes it work But still it is the Word that works the Word formerly heard c. You know what is said in Psal 141.6 It is said there when they are overthrown in stony places they shall hear my words for they are sweet Why the words were sweet before and heard before but then they shall bee made to relish and then they will minde them Well minde this though Affliction work it is rather as a help to the Word than of it self without the Word This is one Consideration Secondly Another Consideration is this That mostly the Lord makes use of Afflictions if not to back what wee have heard yet to bring them to hear Minde it Many a time the poor Creature hath lived without Sermon-hearing all his daies and Affliction comes and that drives him to the Word Now the soul will go to Lectures now the soul will wait on the Ministery so that Affliction doth rather bring him to the Word as the means that work and bee an effectual means without it I pray then mark these Considerations to keep up your highest thoughts of the Word and that preached as the prime means verily experience seals to these two things that the work of Affliction rather seconds a Word heard or brings the soul to hear the Word than simply works without it Now then for the Application of this There are five Uses that I shall lay before you First Doth the Lord this way use and sanctifie sickness and affliction sometimes upon us or ours Then look about you and see whether God hath sanctified any affliction upon you Wee live in a sickly time it may bee sickness hath been in all your families hath this like the Woman of Canaan brought you to Christ did the sickness of thy body advance thy foot to Christ You will say Wee are like the Woman of Canaan and God forbid but wee should go to Christ when wee were sick But did it bring you to Christ in a soul-way in a soul saving-way Quest How shall I know that Answ Let mee propose two things to you to let you try First When any affliction brings a soul to Christ besides the material sickness or affliction that is upon the outward man the soul is sensible of something like it lighted upon the inward Man There is a sense of the same spiritually as well as corporally As now when sickness brings a man to Christ hee speaks thus I am sick my head akes I and saith the man my heart akes too Oh wife I am a poor sinner I cried first out I am sick in body but now I am sick in soul still the soul sees something like it in spirituals if his sickness brings him to Christ If thou onely art sensible of a corporal disease and goest to Christ for that then it is but a corporal coming not a soul nor a saving coming unto Christ but when thy sick body leads thee to the sense of a sick soul when thy Feavour thy Ague brought thee to feel the like distemper in thy soul and thou thereupon wentest unto Christ for that then was sickness indeed sanctified in a soul-saving-way Secondly Observe this Hee that by any affliction or sickness is brought home to Christ whatever the issue of the affliction may bee his heart is for certain moving still towards Christ even after the sickness is gone You may have a man while the sickness is upon him then hee may bee up in prayer with his Lord have mercy c. but when it is gone his sickness is gone and devotion is gone too But if this bring him to Christ though the sickness bee gone yet the man follows after Christ still and mindes him The soul after sickness is as hee Luk. 8.38 who besought the Lord that hee might bee with him O soul if thou camest to Christ sick thou desirest to bee with Christ well I pray then look to it see if your afflictions have been sanctified
A Cluster of Grapes Taken out of the Basket of the Woman of Canaan OR COUNSEL and COMFORT FOR BELEEVING SOULES Comming to CHRIST and meeting with Discouragements BEING The summe of certain SERMONS Preached upon Matthew 15. from Verse 22. to Verse 29. Wherein among other things is declared more particularly I. What seeming harsh entertainment the soul may find from Christ II. What holy and humble behaviour the soul ought to have under that entertainment III. How blessed and comfortable a conclusion Christ will make with the soul at last By JOHN DURANT Preacher of the Gospel in CANTERBURY London Printed for L. C. and are to bee sold by H. Mortlocke at the Phoenix in Pauls Church-yard neer the little North-door 1660. This shade 's the Authors outside but this booke his inside opens prethee doe not looke Admiringly one either Passe them o're as emptye shaddowes for they are noe more Both bookes and writers y'ea and all things else at best are shaddowes but the bodye's Christ. Soul art dejected Christ a lone can ease thee and giue both comfort and councell to raise thee A. P Durants Counsel and Comfort for Beleeving Soules To the Right Worshipful Thomas Bonner Esq Mayor the Recorder Aldermen Sheriff c. With the Reverend the Ministers and the Saints and Faithful ones in Christ Jesus in the Town of New-castle upon Tine Grace and Peace bee multiplyed THat Dedication of Books hath been wretchedly abused is a thing past doubt Holy and wise men in all ages have complain'd of it and some of late years have scrupled it But yet that Books may bee dedicated is to mee beyond controversie Such Books as carry in them any thing besides what is truth and of concernment gain no patronage by a Dedication no persons being great enough to patronize errour or vanity And such Dedications as are onely stuffed with applause and flatteries as they have not been owned by any wise Patron so they have been rejected by every understanding Reader When Writings as Vessels are fraught with rich and necessary things and such are all spiritual Truths with which kind of Treasure I have indeavoured to fill this Tract And when Dedications are designed rather for service than for ceremony which is my design in this then without doubt they may pass without stop or Scruple as Ships consigned to particular Ports and persons Nor can such Dedications be suspected as a precarious policy to seek patronage of what is written Certainly Luke never intended that when hee dedicated his Gospel to Theophilus Neither may they be accused of Patent Monopoly as if they onely intended the persons to whom they are directed Without doubt the same Evangelist Luke intended the General good in his Gospel though hee sent it first to the particular hand of his most excellent Friend as hee did also his History of the Acts. The following Sermons are intended by mee for the general good of many But I thought it more than meet to consign them particularly to your Port and persons which when you have received may pass further as Commodities of price and profit to many souls Now if I bee demanded a reason of this particular Assignation unto you spare mee to say the truth which is this I do heartily desire 1 to witness how much I honour you whom God hath honoured And 2 also to acknowledge a debt wherein with and for my Brother jointly and my self singly I am ingaged unto you which albeit I cannot repay yet I must remember I know your Virtue and Prudence will not bear those worthy words of your own worthiness which yet may bee spoke concerning you with truth and soberness And I can truly say I never loved to rub their itching ears who count no sound sweet but what trumpets their own praises Upon this account I shall forbear to speak that of you to your selves which yet I think I am bound for the benefit of the example to tell others Yet this I must needs crave your License to print that having heard of you much by the hearing of the ear I saw more by the seeing of my eye when I was amongst you And though my stay was not long yet my observation was such as that I must say that those good reports of your Town do not like the bad rumours of the times exceed the truth If fame bee found so faithful in its reports of all persons and places as of yours henceforth It will bee a Slander to call her Liar You are indeed as you have been famed persons fearing God doing justice holding forth the truth and practising godliness I must say of many Towns which I have seen The fear of God is not in those places but of New-castle I may say in a sober sense JEHOVAH SHAMMAH the Lord is there For you Right Worshipful Magistrates suffer mee though not to applaud yet to approve how much soever you are above my approbation your worthy doings in the management of your power and places wherein if you have any equals I am sure you have no Superiors I could wish others did imitate that wherein you excell You are found to bee Ministers of God to such as do good for good and those that do evill Know you bear not the Sword in vain Sabbath-breakers Swearers but why should I instance in particulars all sorts of vicious persons feel your Sword sharp and you a Terror to them whereas your eies are upon those that are faithful Ministers and people fearing God and doing that which is good have of you the praise of the same I beseech you give mee leave not to praise your selves but to provoke others to a godly jealousie to tell these Southern parts that there is fair weather in the North And if in any place in England certainly in your Town and under your Government men may and do lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty And this one thing I must needs say Were all the Ministers in England so carefully and tenderly provided for and encouraged as they are in New-castle there would not be that complaining in our streets as there now are upon that account Indeed the Ministers of your place have their double honour Your incouragement of them and provision for them is such that I know not whether I should intreat other parts to imitate your Bounty or Wisdome most Certainly both are laudable You know not any Minister among you by any Character but of Christ To preach and practise the power of godliness is the work you equally countenance and encourage them in and though there bee as where is not some difference amongst them yet that makes no difference of them to you who have the like care of all What can I say of this Spare mee to take up the Psalmists words For my brethren and companions sakes I will now say Peace be within thee yea the peace of God which the Learned know to comprehend in it all blessings be for ever
upon you and yours for your unparallel'd care and kindness to Christs Ministers amongst you And for you my Reverend Brethren Let mee beseech you to improve so choice a mercy as you have under your Magistrates I know you desire not how much soever you deserve praise yet let mee say you are to bee praised for that you are of one heart though in all things not of one head you minde and speak the same things of faith and life Though yee disagree in some things of Church-rule and Order your publick worship is in the same place and with the same Spirit There is not heard in your Pulpits where you preach by turns the noise of Axes and Hammars Heats Debates Disputes are exiles at your Assemblies you fast and pray together your design is the same and your endeavours are joint to convert sinners and to establish Saints Those loose and vain opinions which have pestered and plagued many places by your zeal and unity for truth are through Christs blessing marvelously prevented in your Congregations and as for those unchristian Divisions and Animosities which are elsewhere the sinne and shame of dissenting Professours by the Spirit of Love and Peace which rules in your hearts and appears in your labours they are either not at all or not prevailing in your place But that I may not trouble you with more I will onely adde this further that I perceive yee have well studied that Text Psal 77. which speaks of this as Israels happiness that God led them by the hand of Moses and Aaron Surely the people of your Town seem to bee led but by one hand Indeed Moses goes before as it is but fit and Aaron comes after Your Magistrates in Civils and your selves in Spirituals are so one in hand and I hope in heart that though you have offices distinct yet your indeavours are joint and both make up one great mercy to the people under you As they incourage you so yee reverence them They are not such who assume power in Spitituals but leave your work to your selves and yee I hope none of yee are as those who despise Dominion nor intermeddle with the politick affairs Let that heart be filled with sorrow and that hand and head be cursed of the Lord that indeavours in the least the breach of that holy and righteous harmony that is betwixt you I presume yee will say Amen to my prayer for you in this particular To you then holy and beloved Brethren Who fear God and have faith in Jesus and are blessed by and a blessing to such a Magistracy and Ministry Let mee speak also a few words I bear you witness to others that there is amongst you the Spirit and conversation of the good old Puritans whom I mention with honour it is your credit that you are not in this day of reproach and blasphemy which is upon profession for Professors faults a shame to that worthy name wherewith yee are called The itch of novel opinions the botch of vain fashions the plague of neglect of duties and slighting Ordinances and Ministry these are not seen amongst you or on you I verily saw much of Christ in you your carriage was seeming exact and I hope your study is to bee what you seem for Wo be to Hypocrites and Sinners hollow-hearted Professours or ignorant and profane persons in New castle They that are bad under Magistrates and Ministers so good will bee damned without mercy under two of the greatest witnesses that can bee against a people But I hope better things of you though I thus speak I beseech you so live that by your good examples concurring with the power of your Magistrates and preaching of your Ministers yee may help to convince and convert evill doors at least to put to silence the ignorance of foolish men To you all Magistrates and Ministers and Saints jointly and severally let me return my hearty humble thanks for that singular respect which for many years yee have expressed to my ever dear and beloved Brother whose lot is cast among you It is to mee matter of joy and praise before the Lord that since it pleased God who disposes of all our persons and places to carry him so far from all relations that he did vouchsafe to fix him amongst your selves who abundantly make up all relations in your care and kindness to and for him Now the blessed God for ever reward your love to him and his Let your goodness accept of mee who am obliged in and for him this short but sincere acknowledgement for the same I shall not trouble you with the remembrance of that kindness which when by the good hand of God I visited my brother and saw yee you were pleased to express It is your goodness you had rather shew kindness than hear praise Therefore I judge it would trouble you if I should blaze that which yet was such and so great as I have and must speak of to others and before the Lord with thanksgiving your receiving mee and love to mee was in the Spirit of the Gospel yee did receive mee in the name of a Prophet and in the name of a Disciple howbeit I am unworthy that honour Oh that hee who rewards a cup of cold water given upon such an account would abundantly reward your large and loving respects to me even poor me in that way and upon that score My gratitude would overflow did not the consideration of your Modesty which loves not to hear its own applause set mee bounds I will therefore conclude thus May your Persons your Government your Labours your whole Town and your Universal All be alwaies under the special favour of the blessed God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ in whom I remain Right worthy Reverend and Beloved Sirs Your most obliged and most affectionately humble servant JOHN DURANT To the Reader TO serve the counsell of God in a mans particular Generation is a duty incumbent on all that profess themselves the servants of Christ and to bee sincere and diligent therein is to bee in the exercise and partake of the sure mercies of David But to bee willing to do any thing which may bee service to Christ in another Generation and to bee indeed successefull therein is a blessing which few attain unto And yet though such a blessing be obtained but by a few I perswade my self it may at least bee desired and pursued by all For as wee are to covet earnestly the best gifts so are we to aim at and endeavour the best service and such is that which lasts and lives when wee are gone and fallen asleep in our Graves I hope I shall be freed from the crime and censure of pride if I say that my aim in these small pieces which I have been pressed formerly to print was to serve not onely my present but the next Generation And I must acknowledge to the praise of the glory of Christs grace that my experience of
the good liking and acceptance of my Labours this way gives mee grounds to hope that my service may extend it self beyond my own age Certainly books last longer than men and they speak when wee are dead and gone Hereupon I am encouraged once again to appear in the Press for the same service which is only to subserve the counsell of God for the good of thy soul Christian Reader by the following Sermons concerning which I will onely preface a few words about their Occasion Scope and Mode 1 For the Occasion take that thus there is extant among those choice labours of that Man of God Mr. William Bridge now of Yarmouth one Sermon pitty it is there were no more upon the story of the Woman of Canaan This Sermon I had a Childe who is now with him who gave it that was much taken with it I perceived shee read it often with savour and delight whereupon it was in my heart to inlarge a little more upon that subject which certainly is sweet to all those who have spiritual senses exercised to discern the glory and rellish of Gospel discourses This was indeed Reader the occasion of these Sermons 2 The Scope of them is to do good to many who are the sons and daughters of Mystical Canaan In the History of the example here opened wee may observe what ought to bee the carriage and what may bee the comfort of any soul that hath or shall come to Jesus Christ Indeed the way of coming to Christ I have not inlarged in having formerly done that in my Ministerial course the special thing attended and aimed at is to direct and help poor souls who know and are in the way to Christ but lie under temptations and troubles by reason of some seeming harsh delatory and denying entertainment which they meet withall And therein I hope this work will be unto thee Reader of advantage 3 Concerning its Mode or the manner of handling these Sermons truly it is without affectation or curiosity either as to phrases or fancies and in the same plainness wherein they were preached and taken are they now without any further polish printed And truly the bread of life is best when it is plain Experience hath put it beyond controversie that the truths of God take and work most sweetly and soveraignly where they are delivered most plainly and simply Not in the wisdome of man but in the simplicity of the Spirit and in that ordinary language wherein the Lord gives to each man utterance The way of such mens preaching is exceeding bad albeit the matter may bee truth and good who rather tickle the ear than touch the hearts of their hearers This last I studied and therefore that other I neglected And Reader if thou affect words thou maiest spare thy pains for upon that score the ensuing Sermons will yeeld thee no pleasure But in case thy heart bee set on things which may concern thy soul read humbly and seriously and I dare under Christ promise thee profit for thy pains My desire was and is to serve poor humble hungry souls that will be glad of any of the crumbs which Christ gives and if thou bee such fall to and the Lord be with thee in thy perusal of these Sermons which with thy soul I commend to the blessing of Christ desiring thee Reader in thy prayers to remember him who is Thine in soul-service for Christs sake John Durant THE Woman of Canaan coming unto Christ The First SERMON Matthew 15. from vers 22 to vers 29. And behold a Woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts and cried unto him saying Have mercy on mee O Lord thou Son of David my Daughter is grievously vexed with a Devil But hee answered her not a word and his Disciples came and besought him saying Send her away for shee crieth after us But hee answered and said I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel Then came shee and worshipped him saying Lord help mee But hee answered and said It is not meet to take the childrens bread and to cast it to doggs And shee said Truth Lond yet the doggs eat of the crumbs which fall from their Masters table Then Jesus answered and said unto her O Woman great is thy Faith bee it unto thee even as thou wilt And her Daughter was made whole from that very hour IN all our addresses unto Christ which is the great business of our Life and Happiness it concerns us not onely to know the great Precepts that should guide us and the gracious Promises that may incourage us But also to bee well acquainted with all those Patterns and Examples of any that have gone to Christ before us and likewise with those occurrences which they did and wee are like to meet withall in this work Now my Brethren unto this purpose I know no one story in all the New Testament which speaks of any coming to Christ like that which I have read to acquaint us a little by way of Pattern what wee should expect when wee come to Christ In the coming of this Woman to Christ wee have something very patternable for us to minde And in the carriage of Christ to her wee may see what wee may expect at the hands of Christ even then when wee come to him There are fix heads unto which the whole story as it is here recorded may bee reduced First You have the coming of the Woman unto Christ in vers 22. Secondly You have the seemingly harsh entertainment that Christ gives her at first for hee answered her not a word and though his Disciples spake on her behalf hee puts them off Thirdly You have the Womans good behaviour notwithstanding all this vers 25. Shee worshipped him saying Lord help mee Fourthly You have the Repulse that Christ doth give to that in vers 26. But hee answered and said It is not meet to take the childrens bread and to cast it to doggs Fifthly You have her yet renewed recourse to Christ after that repulse in vers 27. Truth Lord yet the doggs eat of the crumbs which fall from their Masters table Sixthly and lastly You have the blessed issue of all in vers 28. Then Jesus answered and said unto her O Woman great is thy Faith bee it unto thee even as thou wilt c. My intention is not to confine my self to the Method but to the Matter In which you have The Coming of the Woman The Entertainment of Christ The Carriage of the Woman under all And the blessed Conclusion wherewith all is ended At present wee shall consider the first of these The Coming of the Woman of Canaan And behold a Woman of Canaan came out of the same Coasts and cried unto him saying Have mercy on mee O Lord thou Son of David my Daughter is grievously vexed with a Devil This Note Behold is observed to bee a Note of Attention and it is put in to usher in some matter that is more
began Behold the Woman of Canaan for it may bee her condition is yours in a sense you have a sick childe as shee had c. I pray thereupon go to Christ as shee did verily Christ will in no wise cast you off in case you come Suppose the first Motive bee low and corporal yet the Matter may prove high and spiritual Who knows but the Lord hath sent divers sicknesses up and down for this end to bring divers souls to Christ I pray therefore minde it and in all affliction look and long that it may have the same operation on you which it had on this Woman who was by this means brought to Christ And this shall suffice for this verse Christ may seemingly entertain at first very harshly The Second SERMON Matthew 15. from vers 23 to vers 29. But hee answered her not a word and his Disciples came and besought him saying Send her away for shee crieth after us But hee answered and said I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel Then came shee and worshipped him saying Lord help mee But hee answered and said It is not meet to take the childrens bread and to cast it to doggs And shee said Truth Lord yet the doggs eat of the crumbs which fall from their Masters table Then Jesus answered and said unto her O Woman great is thy Faith bee it unto thee even as thou wilt And her Daughter was made whole from that very hour BEsides those Many Men which upon an eminent account are recorded in the Gospel there are also sundry Women who are in an eminent manner recorded likewise and concerning whom the Holy Ghost hath noted something for our special observation and imitation Among others there are Two Women in the Gospel which are very remarkable The one is the Woman that you read of in Luke 8. who is called a sinner And the other is the woman commonly known by the name of The Woman of Canaan and both these women are recorded for eminent coming unto Jesus Christ Wee have here in this place the story of The Woman of Canaan and indeed it is a very holy History and many things are in it which are to bee heeded by us The last day I gave you an account of the Method in which the Holy Ghost doth here record it But letting pass the Method I told you I would stand upon the Matter of the story wherein you have four heads First The coming of the Woman to Christ Secondly The entertainment that Christ doth give her Thirdly You have her carriage under that entertainment Fourthly and lastly The blessed issue of all Wee began the last day with the first The coming of the woman to Christ in vers 22. And behold a Woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts and cried unto him saying Have mercy on mee O Lord thou Son of David my Daughter is grievously vexed with a Devil There are three Circumstances in her coming that wee stood upon The Party coming The Manner of her coming And the Occasion of her coming The Party coming It was a woman of Canaan A Woman of Canaan neer Tyre and Sidon of a bad place in a bad Country But wee told you the way to Christ is open to all But then how did shee come Shee came with much affection shee cried Lord and shee came for meer mercy Justifying Faith still goes to Free Grace and Meer Mercy And shee came to him as hee was the Messiah the Son of David shee did and wee must eye Christ as hee is in all our addresses Lastly But what brought the good woman here Why truly it was a sick childe at home that was sore sick that brought her to Christ Whence wee observed That sometimes the Lord doth sanctifie sicknesses and other afflctions upon us and ours to bring us home unto himself I pray minde it For My Brethren wee have lived for some months under one sickness or other But now let mee ask you the question Have you done like the Woman of Cannan have you gone to Jesus Christ not onely for them but have you gone for your souls to Jesus Christ Mother hath thy sick childe brought thee savingly to Jesus Christ or husband let mee ask thee hath the sickness of thy wife done a cure upon thy own soul can any of you say blessed bee God the Lord took away a childe or husband but that was a strange cord that drew and brought mee to himself Oh! blessed is that sickness upon you or any of yours which as the Woman of Canaans brings you home to Jesus Christ Therefore I shall press it home a little further in four things by way of consideration for you to take the more special heed unto the things which I then spake and you heard viz. The improvement of all afflictions to bring your souls to Christ Consider first Possibly yea probably the Lord did therefore send such a sickness to thy soul that hee might bring thee home to himself The Lord saw nothing else would do thee good and therefore sent that Thou wert it may bee a poor vain creature that couldest scoff at a Sermon and no preaching would do thee good now it may bee the Lord sends sickness to bring thee in Hee doth by sickness as by a special servant send for you and it stands you upon to go to him therefore now Brethren look about you if ever God send a Messenger of a particular Errant if the Messenger have not his answer woe bee to you It is a great evil to neglect any of the Lords Messengers Secondly It is certain wee have all more reason to go to Christ for our souls than upon the account of any sickness for our bodies Our souls are our highest concernment and there is more sickness and more danger in and upon your souls which should carry them to Christ than can bee upon your selves and families There are but a few whose souls are better than their bodies Indeed wee read of one hee had a holy soul but a weak body holy Gaius in the third Epistle of John but generally our souls are worse than our bodies and therefore wee have more reason to go for our souls The Feavour it may bee is upon thy body and is it not in thy soul the Devil possesses thy childes body doth hee not possess thy own soul Oh therefore considering you have more reason to go for your souls than your bodies set every thing bee sanctified in you and have that work upon you Thirdly The Lord Jesus hath more bowels and hee is easier prevailed withall to do for the soul than in any case for our bodies or for the bodies of our Relations You never read of any that came to Christ for their souls that Christ did cast them off The Lord Christ may in wisdome and grace deny you when you come for your body hee may say it is not good you should bee well but hee will never
say It is not good your souls should bee well Fourthly and lastly The person that goes to Christ in and for his soul by any affliction gets more by the affliction than hee could get by all things else Minde it I beseech you Oh my Brethren what do you get when you come to Christ why saith Christ Hee that comes to mee shall never hunger nor thirst more that is in his soul And hee that comes unto mee I will in no wise cast out you get soul-satisfaction and soul-enjoyment and is not that above all bodily gettings And therefore I beseech you upon these accounts look about you how the hand of God is sanctified to you by the afflictions which are have been or may bee on you But wee shall now proceed How doth our Lord entertain this woman which is the second thing wee are to come to Christs manner of entertainment Why truly my Brethren very strangely very harshly wee may speak it with reverence very harshly In vers 23. Hee answered her not a word and though the Disciples spake on her behalf vers 24. Hee saies Hee was not sent but to the last sheep of the house of Israel though shee worships him and renews the request again hee tells her It was not meet to take the childrens bread and cast it to doggs vers 26 From the whole carriage of Christ to her observe this Doct. That sometimes the Lord Jesus is seemingly harsh to some poor souls when they come to him Or if you will thus Christ sometimes very roughly entertainâ— poor souls Mark the point well Indeed it is a strange point A point that seems to câ—oss all the Gospel What that Christ whose Name is Love and whose Nature is Love that Christ who is rich in Mercy who is full of pitty who hath made sweet Promises to invite and left great presidents to incourage us to come that ever hee should entertain us with frowns with harshness with severeness this is strange Yet sometimes this is true Wee have a great instance of it here in this poor woman and wee shall indeavour to open it to you onely before I proceed to the proof I pray consider and remember how I express the point to prevent mistakes It is easie to misunderstand this unto the dishonour of Christ and our own disturbance if wee minde it not well Therefore consider how I word or phrase the point Now there are three words which I put into the doctrine which are as so many limitations or cautions that neither you nor I may mistake Christ nor the text nor the president when ever wee speak of it First I say seemingly Secondly Some times Thirdly I put in to some souls First of all I say Christ is seemingly harsh in his entertainment My Brethren Jesus Christ is not really so but a man may seem to bee that hee is not It was said of Paul Act. 8.17 18. this man seems to set forth strange doctrines which yet hee did not hee preached true doctrine viz. The right way of the Living God It was a slander of him that said in the Parable of Christ that hee was a hard Master But yet it is a real truth Though Jesus Christ bee not so yet hee may SEEM to bee so Jesus Christ may seem to bee and to do that which neither hee is nor will do It is said in Luk. 24.38 that Christ made as though hee would have gone further Christ really did not intend it but made as wee say a shew of it and so here Christ doth not intend to deal harshly with any that come no certainly Christ intends all Love and all sweetness c. but yet hee may seem so to do Minde that word it is seeming or in shew Christ carries it harshly But then secondly It is so but sometimes it is not alwaies The Lord will not chide for ever as David said And so in Isa 57.16 hee will not contend alwaies nor bee wroth for ever My Brethren Jesus Christ may seemingly carry it so sometimes but not alwaies As first meeting in John 20.15 when Christ and Mary met in the Garden Christ ar first carries himself strangely but afterwards hee opened himself sweetly and clearly to her and so Christ may for a while carry himself seemingly harsh or rough it may bee for a moment a day a year a few years but not alwaies Christ cannot alwaies restrain his bowels nor cast off for ever Take these two truths as everlastingly and undoubtedly true The first is That Satan will not alwaies spare thee And secondly Christ will not alwaies chide thee Satan for a while will give a soul good words to tempt him to sin and folly and to that end may speak fair and smooth but at last Saran will bee like himself a Devil a dread and terrour And Christ may for a season carry it harshly but hee will not indeed cannot do so for ever To the end hee must bee as hee is very kinde And then thirdly It is but to some persons not to all My Brethren all that come to Jesus Christ are not entertained alike the most are entertained with present love but a few some there are that hee doth seemingly for a while entertain with frowns I do not read of any such story in the Gospel as this Wee read of many who came to Christ and all entertained by Christ sweetly none but this poor woman is left as a president of this point but yet one clear President is enough for proof And there are onely two things wee shall do in the amplification of the Point First of all Wee shall shew you How Christ may seemingly carry it harshly and strangely to poor souls when they come to him Secondly Whence it comes to pass that Jesus Christ thus strangely carries himself seemingly harsh For the first How doth Jesus Christ discover any seeming harshness in his carriage to those that come to him I will go no further than to the instance of the Text. I will gather six things out of this story wherein you and I may learn and see that sometimes Christ may discover as if hee were unkinde harsh and severe First It appears upon the first view of the whole Hee did not entertain her presently Secondly Possitively Hee did not so much as give her a word So it is vers 23. Thirdly When others spake to him on her behalf hee refuses to hear Vers 23 24. Fourthly The Lord doth reject her though shee doth renew and reiterate her motion again to him Vers 25. Fifthly Hee hints that which might as one would think dash the poor creatures hope Vers 26. Sixthly and lastly Hee may keep us long ere hee send us away with that wee come for As hee did her Now soul minde it and if Christ seem to frown and to carry it strangely let it not seem strange for it is no new thing First The Lord Jesus Christ doth not entertain her presently One would think I say one would think
especially considering the many former Presidents of persons coming to Christ that this woman should have been embraced presently How lowly doth shee come how loudly doth shee cry in the language of what Eaith doth shee speak yet Christ doth not answer her Remember yee the Lord Jesus may let a soul sometimes long lye before him and never take him up You indeed read of the Prodigal who when hee fell upon his face the Father fell upon his neck but beware thou promise not thy self this presently Christ may let thee fall upon thy face and not fall upon thy neck In Matthew 11. verse last You have there a sweet call Come unto mee yee that are weary c. Now I pray minde it a poor soul may go to Jesus Christ very weary and heavy laden and the Lord may let it lye a great while under the burthen of filth under the burthen of guilt and of fears and may seem for a while not at all to minde it Certainly it could not bee a little while that David lay under the burthen of Gods absence after hee had sinned against him See Psal 38. and the beginning where hee complains That his wounds did fester and were corrupt David was like a man going to a Chirurgion with many wounds and the Chirurgion lets the wounds stink before hee gives a plaister to him Sinners look about you The Lord Christ may let you lye without a plaister many a day without washing your wounds many a day Paul prayed three times for one thing and that thing denied him If ever you come and knock and cry and call and the Lord doth not presently open do not say never one was so dealt withall as I am the Woman of Canaan was so before thee that is clear shee was not presently made welcome Secondly The Lord did not onely not entertain her but did not speak a word to her So it is expresly vers 23. The Lord answered her not a word Oh my Brethren how harsh was this what not a word O! not a word Why if the Lord Jesus will not presently give the balm that the wounded soul doth beg will hee not speak No not a word And yet it is noted Shee cried after him yet not a word not a word It is upon record as the case of Saul setting forth the greatness of his distress when God did most severely deal with him That he Lord did not answer him by dreams or visions nor by Urim nor Thummim that is God did not speak a word And my Brethren let mee tell you It is a harsh dealing when the Lord shall let us lye crying and hee bee dumb as if hee did not hear It is harsh not to bee heard There are two waies by which the Lord speaks viz. 1 By his Spirit 2 By some actual dealing with the soul 1 Sometimes Christ saith by the Spirit Soul bee of good comfort thy sins are forgiven 2 At other times hee gives good signs by supporting and refreshing the soul but it may so fall out as that hee may carry it so seemingly harsh as not to answer a word to the soul either way And this is no new thing wee read in Psal 22.1 2. David there who was then a type of poor souls cries out there Why art thou so far from helping mee and from the words of my roaring O God I cry but thou hearest not So in Job 30.20 saith Job I cry unto thee and thou dost not hear mee I stand up and thou regardest it not Hee saith God did not so much as regard what hee said If the Lord Jesus would not presently entertain us to do as wee wish yet certainly one would think a word were but little but sometimes Christ will not speak a word Thirdly The Lord carries it so seemingly harsh that when others speak on her behalf hee refuses to hear Mark it here were as wee say good spokesmen for this woman Vers 23. His Disciples besought him saying send hâ—r away for shee crieth after us i. e. As if they should say Lord the poor woman cries very loudly shee cries after us as the beast after the Foal c. What saith Christ why I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel Hee puts them by hee gives them a denial and something more as wee shall shew by and by In Numb 12. you read a sad story of Miriam Moses his Sister shee had provoked God and God had smote her with a Leprosie and Moses cried to the Lord for her saith the Lord If her Father had spit upon her face should shee not bee shut out of the Camp seven daâ—es Oh my Brethren sometimes the Minister may the Father may pray and the Mother may pray for the childe and yet the Lord will not speak but put them off If Moses and Samuel should speak to mee for this people yet my minde could not bee towards them Jer. 15.1 Oh my Brethren It is no new thing for the Lord to carry it so seemingly harsh as not to hear others when they speak on our behalf Possibly the soul may say I am unworthy to speak but had I some friend to speak on my behalf certainly then hee would hear why they may all speak for thee and yet Christ may put them all by Fourthly The Lord doth reject her though shee doth renew and reiterate her motion again to him This is harsh And pray minde how shee doth it Shee came and shee WORSHIPPED him saying Lord help mee It is not said in verse 22. that shee worshâ—pped him or that shee fell down But here it is said Shee worshipped him Shee renews her request with vehemency and with reverence and here was her humiliation put forth Weigh it but a while Lord help mee c. My Brethren shee speaks at this rate as if shee should say Lord help if thou do not help mee I perish Lord help mee if thou dost not help mee vain is the help of Man Shee adores him as the Lord But doth this prevail nothing less though shee renews her cry yet the Lord turns her off It is harsh not to bee bid welcome not to have a word not to have others heard when they speak for us but when the soul shall repeat and re-inforce and as it were heighten her humiliation and prayer then to bee rejected this is an addition to all the former yet sometimes the Lord doth thus And wee finde a like instance to this in oâ—hers saith Job in chap. 16.6 7. Though I speak my grief is not asswaged and though I forbear what am I eased but now hee hath made mee weary thou hast made desolate all my company The Lord may as it were tyre out the soul and make it weary And so in Psal 69. and the beginning I sink into the deep I am weary of crying my throat is dried mine eyes fail while I wait for my God The Lord may let the soul cry again and again till
the very moisture is dried up and yet to put it off so that the soul may cry out with Job Job 23.13 hee is of one minde who can chaâ—ge him c Therefore the Church hath a remarkable expression Lamentations 3.8 Also when I cry and shout hee shutteth out my prayer Shouting it is an addition unto crying Why here is the poor woman crying in vers 22. I and shee cries and shouts in vers 25. and yet the Lord puts her off Fifthly The Lord Christ may carry it so seemingly harsh that hee may hint that that may seem to dash the poor creatures hope Oh this is sad and sore indeed Beloved That the poor creature who it may bee came with a little Faith and a little Hope should bee entertained so harshly as the soul may bee ready to say Now farewel Faith and farewel Hope c. Thus the Lord hath carried it to some before as if hee had cut off all their hope It was a very sad expression that they used Ezek. 37.11 Then hee said unto mee Son of Man these bones are the whole house of Israel Behold they say our bones are dried and our hope is lost wee are cut off for our parts Why truly poor soul Jesus Christ may so speak to you that you may say Now our hope is gone and wee for our parts whatever may bee the portion of others for our own particulars wee are cut off and cast off And Christ may carry it so as if hee gave I say as if not that hee doth really but I say as if hee gave us ground so to say that hee hath cut off all our hope and destroyed all that upon which our expectations were bottomed You have Job complaining of this himself Job 19.10 Mine hope hath hee removed like a Tree But of all expressions that is the most remarkable which you have in Lam. 3.54 The waters flowed over mine head then I said I am cut off Oh Sirs Jesus Christ may for a while so speak that the soul may say now my hope is perished and now I will sit down and despair And mark it but a little in this great instance of this woman of Canaan For here are two words that Christ useth to this woman which indeed did seem for it was no more than a seeming to dash all her hope in peeces First TheÌ„ one is I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel i. e. As if Christ should say My good friends my dear Disciples you pitty the woman so it may bee do I but what shall I do I cannot go beyond my commission I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel this woman is none shee is a Canaanite Now how might the poor woman complain sadly Oh Lord are none of the Canaanites in thy commission am not I in thy commission then farewel Lord Hee speaks a word that might even dash all her hope So say some souls Christ is onely for the Elect I am no elect one and thus the soul goes away hopeless Secondly And the other word that Christ speaks which might dash all her hope is in the 26. vers It is not meet to take the childrens bread and to cast it to doggs Oh what a killing word was that poor heart shee might rather have expected that the Lord would have looked upon her as upon a silly Lamb as upon a trembling Dove that hee would speak softly to her but how roughly doth hee speak And how might this poor woman have mourningly muttered and in secret sighs have hereupon spoke thus in her self What must not doggs have childrens bread what said hee c. Ah my soul didst thâ—u mark it Doggs and childrens bread and I none of them and it is not meet c. Brethren Christ may call a Lamb a Dogg this seems to bee very harsh It was a harsh speech that the Lord did use to his people when hee cried Go to your Gods that yee have served Christ may say you are a dogg get you gone Quest But how could Jesus Christ speak thus wee know hee did account her Israel in the Spirit though not in the Letter as a Lamb not a dogg how did Christ then say I am not sent but to the lost sheep and thou dogg must not have childrens bread Answ There are these kinde of Answers First Some there are that say thus Christ speaks after the manner of Men as a Minister in the way of his Ministery guided by his Commission So Mr. Cartwright those that were not of the Jewish Church either by birth or proselitism they were out of the commission that seems to satisfie some But I will tell you what satisfies mee The Lord speaks two waies 1 Either plainly and positive as hee intends and as things are 2 Or by way of Trial probationally to try us Mark it The Lord may speak that to try us that hee doth not intend neither doth hee mean as hee speaks The Lord may bid Abraham go offer Isaac yet hee meant no such thing John 6.6 When Christ spake of buying bread for the multitude it is said this hee spake that hee might try them Thus the Lord speaks that hee might try us The Lord may speak doubtingly and hint heavy words not that hee hath hard thoughts but onely that hee might try us Hee may speak doubtingly of our Election that wee may make it sure Sixthly and lastly Herein Christ may shew himself seemingly harsh in that hee may at last keep us long ere hee doth send us away with that wee come for This woman had at last her request but it was long first as wee say Christ may entertain us and not speak any way so as to trouble us yet for all that hee intends not to give us presently the thing wee come for My Brethren the Lord Jesus may make us wait daies weeks months and years though hee let us within his house and speaks to us now and then and yet hee may not presently give us the particular thing that wee come for this is usual for Christ to make some tarry which yet hee turns not away And truly wee that are hasty count this harsh Christ may make us wait a great while and that wee esteem and it seems to be very harsh But this is a known thing and I shall not enlarge upon it at all Therefore thus much of the first thing wherein Christ may seem to carry it harshly towards those that come to him The second thing is Whence comes this to pass that Christ doth so carry himself Truly my Brethren It is strange after so many clear Prophecies after so many comfortable Promises after so many experiences of Christs kinde dealing that hee should with any soul at any time upon any account carry it thus harshly to them I shall give you an account of this in general first and in particular afterwards My Brethren In the general you must know this That Jesus
Christ is not so tied by Prophecie nor obliged by Promise but that in all his dealings hee may act as in his Prerogative Hee is the freest Agent that is It is prophesied of Christ That hee will gently lead those that are with young and promised that those that come to him hee will in no wise cast off Now Christ is not so bound up by this Prophecie or Promise but that hee may act his own Preregative And there is a double Prerogative Christ will maintain First Of his Absolute Will Secondly Of his Infinite Wisdome First The Prerogative of his Absolute Will I say Absolute Will My Brethren Jesus Christ may give Mercy to whom hee will and hee may give Mercy how hee will I finde our Lord and Saviour two times in particular standing upon the Prerogative of his Will And let us in a word consider them One is in Matth. 20.15 where hee speaks of himself in a Parable May not I do with mine own what I will The other is in the last of John 21 22. where Peter asks Christ Lord what shall this man do saith Christ in vers 22. If I will that hee tarry till I come what is that to thee Christ will have all to know his will is free Hee wills as hee wills What if God will shew mercy this way to one and another way to another hee hath his Prerogative Royal what if hee will when Jairus comes for his Daughter go presently and what if hee will dispute it with the Woman of Canaan Christ will still so act as to maintain the Prerogative of his Will Secondly Hee will maintain the Prerogative of his Wisdome Though hee come with a commission yet hee is to act as his Wisdome is And thus though hee bee a servant as hee is the Fathers servant sent with absolute command to receive poor souls when they come Yet how and when and what way is left to his own Wisdome Rejoyce and bee of good comfort Christ is bound to receive all that come to him I but how hee should receive them that is left to his Wisdome And it may bee much wisdome in the Lord Jesus Christ to receive some harshly and some sweetly Two boyes go to School the one is of a rugged nature and the other of a sofr nature The Masters wisdome knows how to deal with either of them So that now this is the general account Jesus Christ being left to the Prerogative of his own Will and Wisdome hee doth therefore sometimes entertain some souls harshly There are six particular accounts of it that I cannot now name but must leave to bee inlarged the next time Use Onely for the Use of this My Brethren you have heard a strange yet a certain Truth That the Lord Jesus doth sometimes seemingly entertain some souls harshly Now all that I would say is this 1 Do not Mistake mee 2 Do not Mistake your selves 3 Do not Mistake this Truth There are these three Mistakes that all our hearts are liable to either the one or other of them one while they mistake the Preacher and say hee spake that which never entred into his heart to speak Another while they mistake themselves and a third time the Truth it self Now I pray thee take heed of all these Therefore first Do not Mistake mee Though I tell you the Lord Jesus may entertain some harshly I do not this to keep you off from Christ Oh the Lord knows here is my heart and this must bee my labour while I live to draw you to Jesus Christ But what said Christ in John 16.3 having before been telling them of great persecutions they must go thorow saith Christ These things I tell you that when they come yee might not bee offended Oh soul that is my aim intent that if thou art a poor soul coming to Christ thou mayest not bee startled I tell you before-hand Christ may frown hee may turn the deaf ear not that you should keep off but that when these things come to pass that you should not stumble nor bee offended but that you should go on And therefore is there ever a poor soul that saith God hath wrought upon mee lately but I have been going to Christ and I have knocked and hee speaks not a word Oh bee not discouraged the Lord sometimes will do thus Secondly Do not Mistake your selves Poor sinners are apt to mistake themselves as now when they hear of Christ that Christ is ready and willing to receive us what use do they make of it Why say they then wee may go when wee will and so live as they list and think to go to Jesus Christ No mistake not Christ may receive thee harshly do not deceive your selves Christ is a Lion and hee can roar though hee will not tear you to peeces yet hee knows how to carry it severely sometimes There is Hay and Stubble laid upon the foundation and yet they are saved but how but as by fire Sinners sinners you may bee saved coming to the Lord Jesus as the Woman of Canaan but beleeve it you may bee saved by fire hee may call you Dogg before hee gives you the childrens bread and make you wait long before hee answer Do not mistake your selves and provoke Christ to make you know this truth to your cost and sorrow Thirdly Do not Mistake the point A mistaken truth is the ground of some great errours as well as any thing else indeed many errours are truths mistook And there are two Errours that people may run into if they mistake this point First Doth the Lord Christ deal thus with some Therefore what therefore Why I was mistaken the Lord never dealt so with mee therefore I am not right Nay stay there I did not say the Lord dealt so with all nor alwaies but with some at sometimes there are some the Lord kisses presently Two humours coming to the Physician have not the same kinde of Physick Fine or thin humours and rough and strong humours are not alike purged the one is and may bee purged more gently the other more roughly You have an instance of two in one place viz. Lydia and the Jaylor Act. 16. Fine Lydia as I may so call her of a tender spirit the Lord takes up the latch and enters softly silently without any great noise without any rough hand but the rough Jaylor hee hath an Earthquake c. Do not say I am not right because the Woman of Canaan was so dealt with and I am not Secondly Do not mistake the point and say Well it is true and the Lord deals thus with mee and I think it will never bee better Oh say not it will never bee better No my Brethren though the Lord deal harshly with thee yet hee will use thee better Cry not Oh the Lord hath entertained mee harsh and hath been silent and not spoke and that which hee hath spoken hath been in wrath hee hath called mee dogg and therefore I can expect
nothing c. Why know the Lord doth do it but sometimes and know that that God that speaks harshly to thee now will speak sweetly afterwards Note that place Judges 10. The people of Israel there cry to God deliver us this once what saith the Lord in vers 13. You have forsaken mee go to your Gods I will deliver you no more get you gone saith God and yet mark they follow on their cry save us but this once and it is said in vers 16. his soul was grieved for them Oh my Brethren though the Lord do seemingly entertain you harshly at first yet bee of good comfort hee may yet speak well to you yea hee will at last Onely let mee conclude with a little peece of the story of Joseph It may bee there are some of the women of Canaan that have cried long pray remember Joseph and Josephs Brethren came down to him My Lord say they wee are the children of one Man and wee come to buy corn and Joseph answered them roughly by and by hee laies one by the heels hee lets them go and keeps but one Oh the poor Brethren of Joseph might think what shall wee do wee are come into a strange Country and wee meet with strange language wee came to buy bread and wee are made prisoners you all know the story how Joseph entertained his Brethren at last Three things are in Josephs story in the book of Genesis First Though hee speaks roughly yet his bowels were towards his dear Brethren Secondly Though hee spake roughly it was that hee might have Renjamin And thirdly Though hee spake roughly yet at last hee entertained them royally Jesus is our Joseph and wee go to him for corn the Lord may speak roughly to us as Joseph did to them But first Hee hath bowels when hee speaks roughly Oh Jesus his bowels did roll to this poor woman when hee spake roughly When I spake against him my bowels were turned within mee saith God of Ephraim Oh thou childe of Canaan thou sayest hee hath called thee Dogg beleeve it hee is grieved for it at his heart Oh the sounding of the bowels of Christ are often towards us when hee seems to carry it harsh And then secondly Why did hee speak so harshly at first it was all to get Benjamin let us allude to it and apply it to you You have a Benjamin the Lord loves your hearts your soul your spirit that is your Bejamin the Lord speaks roughly that hee may have Benjamin and when once that Benjamin comes a living heart is brought to him hee will quickly make friends Lastly Joseph made a large recompence for all and truly so will the Lord Jesus make a large amends for all Oh children of Canaan in the Promise and thou woman of Canaan in the letter though the Lord seem harsh at first yet at last hee will bee sweet they shall have corn and mony too they shall have enough to bring them where they shall have all the Land Thou shalt have soul and body-mercies mercy for the way and mercy for the Country The Lord Jesus will deal bountifully The Lord may deal roughly but hee will yet deal royally How did hee deal with this woman Oh Woman bee it unto thee even as thou wilt Jesus did never speak so to any body Christ may say at last Oh soul go to the pot of Manna and take and eat what thou wantest what thou wishest And poor soul bee it to thee even as thou wilt for soul body daughter and all Though the Lord Christ may speak roughly at first and entertain seemingly severe yet hee doth end really sweet Thus much at present Reasons why Christ at first seems to bee harsh The Third SERMON Matthew 15. from vers 23 and so on But hee answered her not a word And his Disciples came and besought him saying Send her away for shee crieth after us But hee answered and said I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel Then came shee and worshipped him saying Lord help mee But hee answered and said It is not meet to take the childrens bread and to cast it to doggs c. BEsides those things which are commonly experienced and which must bee certainly expected in the coming of every soul to Christ besides those there are some RARE extraordinary things that now and then fall out upon some souls in their coming to â—hrist And my Brethren it concerns us to bee acquainted with them that in case they should befall us as others wee may know what to think and how to carry our selves Now in this story of the Woman of Canaan wee have some of those rare and extraordinary things which may befall some souls when they come to Christ Indeed wee have not the like History in all the New Testament unto this you read of many that came to Christ and you read how Christ did entertain them but you never read that Christ did carry it so to any as hee did to the Woman of Canaan There were four heads of matter unto which I said we might reduce this story First The coming of the Woman to Christ that wee have dispatched The Woman came upon a low account at first shee had a childe-sick possessed with Satan and her sick childe did revive a dead soul and brings her to Christ But now the second head wee are come to It is Christs entertainment of this Woman How doth Christ entertain her shee comes with much affection shee speaks with great humility how doth Christ welcome her truly very strangely hee answers her not a word And when the Disciples spake on her behalf hee seems to reprove them when shee renews her request hee puts her off with a dreadful answer so strangely doth Christ sometimes carry it to poor souls The Doctrine wee are upon from the carriage of Christ to the Woman is Doct. That Iesus Christ is seemingly harsh sometimes to some souls when they come to him Wee expressed the Doctrine with more caution because it is rare and it must not bee mistaken Therefore wee told you the lâ—st day those three expressions are boundaries of the point 1 It is but seemingly There is harshness in the carriage when none in the heart 2 And that sometimes 3 And but to some persons wee do not read of any more but this one to whom Christ did carry it so There were two things I said I would open in the doctrinal part First Wherein Christ might shew some kinde of harshness sometimes to poor souls This wee opened by this instance of Christs carriage to this Woman 1 Hee doth not entertain her 2 Hee doth not speak to her 3 Puts off them that spake for her 4 When shee renews her request shee is not the better 5 Nay hee speaks that as might dash her hope 6 And at last hee doth for her but upon a great dispute and after denials and delaies Secondly But whence is it that the Lord should thus
say they hunger who yet have not a spiritual stomach at all to Christ the Bread of Life They ask bread but it is onely an asking Now Christ will try us and by this strange carriage hee trieth us indeed And for us to continue begging crying bread after Christ hath spoke to us as to this woman After hee hath said I am not sent for you it is not meet to give unto you bee gone what should a Dogg have childrens bread after this I say to wait and worship to beg and reiterate cries for bread this will make Christ say this longing is sincere and strong beleeve it here is a hungry soul indeed Many wish for Christ who do not heartily hunger for him Secondly Christ will try Faith too and it is good for us to bee tried in our Faith Saith Christ Here comes a soul to mee hee looks as if hee would take hold of mee I will try whether hee bee one of Jacobs children that will wrestle a fall and keep his hold when I seek and seem to cast him off I will see if I call him Dogg Whether hee will trust and beleeve hee may bee a Childe It was a trial and demonstration that Jobs Faith was right when hee would trust in a killing God and it will try our Faith indeed to wait upon and cling to a seemingly rejecting Redeemer And this was the great matter in the case of this poor woman Oh Woman great is thy Faith Jesus Christ did all this to try the womans Faith God will see whether the soul will take hold of an angry Christ and run after a going-away Christ In 1 Pet. 1.7 saith the Apostle there That the trial of your Faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth c. It is not spoken of Faith in it self that that is more precious than gold that perisheth though that is precious but of the trial of it The very trial of Faith is a precious thing Now that Christ may try our Faith as well as our Hunger therefore hee deals a little harshly with us Thirdly The Lord hath this design too By his harsh dealing with one hee will make many wise When two or three of the younger boles shall see the Father deal something harsh with the eldest it teaches them all something The Lord help us wee are a company of mad untoward children wee neglect many a precious opportunity Christ calls and wee will not answer c. Now when Christ shall deal harshly with some then wee shall bee made wise to hearken when Christ calls How many have preached this truth from that experience Children have some Parents said take a Christ while hee smiles take a Promise when it is tendered you do not know what it may cost you I neglected my seasons and I found it a hard matter for mee to close with Jesus Christ You have a great word in Heb. 3.7 8. Wherefore to day if you will hear his voice harden not your hearts as in the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderness c. What doth hee allude to hee alludes to the story of the children of Israel in the wilderness and of Gods harsh dealing with them and all because of their unbeleef The Lord Jesus Christ hee doth deal harshly with many leads them thorow wildernesses stings them with Scorpions to make others wise to accept of mercy when and while it may bee had Ah! how many think it an easie matter to come to Christ and have bread presently and therefore defer and delay put by at best lay by many a choice tender till another time as they think wherein they may at pleasure take it But now when they shall see such examples as this that a man or woman may come and call and crouch and worship and begg and yet bee put off yet have no mercy No nor no kinde word as was this womans case this will make them wise to take heed how they refuse that which afterwards they may request with tears and yet bee rejected But besides fourthly The Lord Christ doth deal thus that indeed hee may bring the soul to Gospel-self-denial I say unto Gospel-self-denial The Lord is resolved that whosoever will bee his Disciple must deny himself Now some have observed that nothing doth so much tame any as hunger The Lord Jesus Christ will take the soul upon the hip and make the soul fully deny it self and now saith God If thou wilt come to mee in my way well otherwise no bread Bread bread saith the hungry man if I may have it this way or that way any way I will take it well saith Christ I see the soul is come pretty well too as wee say I will keep off a little longer make him fast a few daies more Deny him till hee is ready to dye for hunger and then I shall make him deny himself in his honour in his inheritance in his very birth-right I shall make him say what profit will that or any thing do mee if I dye for hunger and I am at the point of death Therefore whatever the terms are I will deny all part with all for this Bread of Life So that real universal self-denial is by the Lords grace effected through this delaying and seemingly-denying carriage And to this end or for this reason doth Christ sometimes deal with us as with the woman of Canaan Hee will seemingly deny us that wee may really deny our selves Hee will tame us and then put his own terms upon us and for that end carries it so strangely to us Fifthly Christ doth intend to heighten himself in our hearts Before Christ give us himself hee will greaten himself And my Brethren it is our sore misery that wee are too apt to have sleight thoughts of Jesus Christ Now Christ will make us prize him very highly and therefore wee shall come by him very hardly It is a Rule and a general Observation That wee prize that highly which wee come by very hardly Oh Sirs the Lord Christ knows how to heighten himself in your hearts by deferring to grant your request Possibly thou art a poor ignorant creature in thy first coming unto Christ one who thinkest well but not well enough of Christ Thou valuest him a little but not as the chiefest Now Christ is resolved to heighten himself in thy heart and will therefore keep off so long that thou shalt come thereby to prize him at a higher rate than all the world and shalt have cause to say I value him much and love him dear for I came by him very hardly and was fain to wait long before I did enjoy him Lastly The Lord Christ may have this end Namely That the soul might catch at him more hastily and keep him more fastly therefore hee doth hold off thus and deal thus harshly wee are not eager enough in closing with Christ My Brethren the soul is apt to linger in the matter of taking Christ but when Christ
shall stand off that will make the soul come on more hastily Jesus Christ doth catch us by craft as the Apostle saith 2 Cor. 12.16 Truly Christ doth catch some poor souls by craft as the fisher-man doth the fish you know or may have heard how that is The fisher-man laies the bait and draws it as it were away hee draw it before the fish and when the fish is ready to take it hee doth make as if hee snatched it away and why so truly that the fish may catch at it more eagerly and bee held by it more surely So doth Christ with us when hee shall offer and seem to draw back when hee shall come neer and suffer us as it were to touch him and then snatch away again this will make us come on more earnestly and close with him more eagerly The soulby this means takes the bait I and the soul will hold it too when it hath it beleeve it Sins the Lord Jesus Christ is kinde to catch by craft Well this is the account of the Reason wherefore it is that sometimes Christ is seemingly harsh to some souls There are but three Uses I aim at in this Doctrine Use 1. The first Use is To let us all see that Christ is not so easily come by as the generality of people do think All have Christ freely but not easily Minde it My Brethren I think and I will tell you my thoughts because it may awaken you and do you good I think many will go to Hell as upon other mistakes so upon this that they do think it easie to go to Heaven and easie to come by Jesus Christ But if it bee true that Christ stands a loof off from a poor soul then it will appear to bee a hard work to come by him Remember this you will finde three things will make it hard work ere Jesus Christ and you bee brought together 1 The backwardness of your own hearts 2 The many hinder ances and puts in of Satan 3 And the seeming backwardness of Jesus Christ First Your own hearts will bee backward Ah soul unless the Lord make it a day of his power they are not a willing people Psa 110. hee that talks of free-will I am afraid was never sensible of free-grace nor of the backwardness of his own heart Secondly The Devil makes it hard work too Verily when the soul would go to Christ the Devil will hinder and set one to hinder another to keep the soul off from going to Jesus Christ But thirdly and especially The seeming harsh dealing of Jesus Christ makes it very hard work Oh say some poor souls My thinks the Lord makes mee willing and hungring after a Christ but when I come to Christ Christ hangs off My thinks God the Father is willing I should have Christ hee hath sent him the Spirit is willing hee hath revealed Christ to mee and my heart is willing but I come to Christ and hee doth not hear mee verily here you will finde difficulty and it will much pazzle and try Faith to beleeve upon and close with a Christ who seems to stand at a distance His seeming harsh dealing will make it real hard beleeving Use 2. The second Use is of Caution I pray learn by this to take heed how you provoke the Lord Jesus Christ to deal thus harshly with any of you My Brethren the Lord Christ can frown and look bitterly and deal severely c. and beware how you provoke him so to do The truth is there bee some souls that rationally I mean religiously rationally cannot expect otherwise that if Christ do receive them hee should receive them very harshly Let mee in a word touch upon this and do you remember it Two words I would speak my minde in that I may not bee mistaken First this I do not say that there are any souls that have reason to think Jesus Christ will reject them Whatever you are Canaanite Perisite or Jebusite c. Whoever you are before the Lord I do not say there is reason for you to conclude that there is no coming to the Lord. But This I say secondly That though you have no reason to think hee will cast you off yet you have reason to think hee will deal harshly with you you may have reason to fear hee will not presently entertain you First I think there bee some souls that may verily expect God may make them stand at the door and wait till they cool their heels and though Christ will let them in at last yet hee may set them stand all night Some souls Christ may let them bee hoarse with crying and yet Jesus Christ may stand off Secondly There are some souls that may expect that though hee should let them in yet it may bee with them as with some childe the childe is let in and hee sits at the table but the Father looks so strangely and harshly on him that his meat doth him no good thou mayest never rellish mercy sweetly till thou comest to Heaven it may bee Thirdly There are some souls that may expect that though Christ will give them mercy yet hee will dispure it out with them that they shall wrestle a whole night as Jacob and go limping all their life time and bee called Dogg many a time and as it were threatned with a cudgel before ever hee give them childrens bread Therefore I beseech you for the Lords sake souls look about you Now there are three sorts of people that have thus reason to think that though Christ may receive them at last yet it may bee very harsh at first First Those that have dealt very harshly with Jesus Christ With the froward I will bee froward saith God Grace will receive froward ones at last yet hee will bee harsh Why what was the matter Joseph looks so roughly upon his Brethren their consciences could tell them Wee had not pitty upon our Brother Gen. 42.21 Sirs there are many poor souls deal harshly with Jesus Christ I say deal harshly with Christ is there any deals harshly with him you will say how can that bee why bee not mistaken as you deal with Christs members so you deal with him You scoff at poor Saints and Christ takes it as against himself O minde it you that have been or are the persecutors of the Lords people you can expect no other but that Christ should deal harshly with you since you have done so by him It may bee there is a poor man or woman by thee that hath precious Faith I say that hath precious Faith thou dealest hardly with them and so thou dealest hardly with Jesus Christ in them and hee may do so with thee Secondly Those souls that have lived in any more notable prophaneness than others may expect if Christ receive them it should bee as the woman of Canaan harshly Take a plain similitude Let two men go to a Physician the one hath a little knock on the crown a little dressing a
little longer Tarry thou the Lords leisure yet a while In Psal 40. saith the Psalmist there I waited for the Lord and at last the Lord heard mee hee brought mee up also out of an horrible pit and hee hath put a new song into my mouth Oh it is a blessed Scripture wait thou yet for the Lord thou art yet in a horrible pit of sin and filth fear and doubt thou cryest yet the Lord doth not hear I but yet hee may hear this is no strange thing indeed the soul is ready to say as the Church Oh all you that pass by is there any sorrow like to mine Lam. 1.12 So it may bee your soul is ready to say was there ever any sorrow like mine my conscience disturbs mee Satan disturbs mee I go to Christ and hee doth not hear mee hee will not answer Oh bee of good comfort and wait still hee that calls thee as the Woman of Canaan Dogg now will say to thee Go thy way great is thy Faith Indeed my Brethren when I was drawing up the conclusion of this by my self I thought I should meet with a Woman of Canaan and I was bid to incourage her thus First All this harshness it is but in shew As wee told you the last day Joseph had bowels though for a time hee dealt roughly Secondly All this will not last Joseph will speak peace and the Lord Jesus that seems rough now hee will speak to thee in soft language at last Therefore you that are as the Woman of Canaan waiting upon Christ and yet hearing nothing from him bee comforted and counselled First Bee comforted your condition is blessed Blessed are they that wait at the posts of Wisdomes gates Prov. 8.34 c. This may bee the condition of a beleever and it is blessed Object I saies the soul If I did but know that or think that Repl. Did Josephs Brethren know hee knew them did they think hee wept and his bowels yearned It was their happiness Joseph knew them though they knew it not And it is comfort Christ knows us when wee are and may bee as ignorant of him as they of Joseph That is the foundation of our life and comfort that the Lord may and doth know us first before wee know him and hee still knows us even while wee know not him Minde that in the second Epistle of Timothy chap. 2. vers 19. Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure having this seal the Lord knoweth them that are his Let that word bee for thy comfort But then Secondly Bee counselled to carry your selves very wisely Carry it well and it shall bee your wisdome I know indeed my Beloved wee need much wisdome to carry it wisely when Christ doth frown Oh! wee are apt to have impatient spirits murmuring spirits rising spirits nothing is so provoking as unkindness from Jesus Chrâ—st I look for no better from the Law or from the Devil but that Christ should speak death or Christ call Dogg or that hee that was sent to give the children bread should say hee was not sent to mee Oh this doth wound mee this doth kill mee saith the poor soul Well yet bee counselled to wait Do not think evil of nor speak hardly concerning Jesus Christ. Hee knows as wee say what hee doth there may bee many reasons of this carriage of his and therefore whatever bee his carriage to thee let thy carriage to him bee good if Christ deal with thee as with the Woman of Canaan do thou deal with him as shee did Now what that is wee shall come unto next Souls must still carry it well to Jesus Christ The Fourth SERMON Matthew 15.25 and 27. verses Then came shee and worshipped him saying Lord help mee And shee said Truth Lord yet the doggs eat of the crumbs which fall from their Masters table AS a fine Copy fairly written which doth attract the eyes of all to look upon it and stir up the spirits of ingenious Scribes to imitate it Such my Beloved is the Example of the Woman of Canaan the history whereof is here recorded and which we are now handling It is a fine Copy and fairly written Here are great things glorious Mysteries held forth and you and I should look upon them and indeavour to read and imitate them There are four heads unto which wee did reduce the whole matter of this discourse First The Coming of the Woman to Christ Secondly The Carriage of Christ to the Woman Wee were ending of that the last day The Woman shee came with much devotion in much affection The Lord contrary to what hee was wont turns away makes as if hee did not hear hee would not vouchsafe to speak a word and when hee was intreated by the Disciples hee puts them off and when shee renews her request again hee speaks harshly c. The Lesson wee then did go upon from the whole you know was this That sometimes Christ is seemingly harsh to some souls that come to him Wee opened it and gave the Reasons of it and applied it And that which wee did aim at truly it was principally two words The first was to exhort you all that sith Christ doth sometimes seemingly entertain some souls harshly That you would not provoke him so to do As the Lord lives and as your souls live if you stand out too long if you put off Christ too often though at the last hee may save you it will bee by fire Therefore I beseech you especially you that bee young take a Christ while you may have a Christ while Christ knocks softly and speaks sweetly and wooes lovingly entertain him lest hee go away and make you come after him crying and it may bee a great while ere hee come back again The second word was To you poor souls that may bee the children of this Woman of Canaan that have gone to Christ and have found him stand at a distance Do not despair no new thing is fallen upon you The Lord Christ doth sometimes use so to deal with souls And my Brethren as you shall see afterwards though hee stand at a distance now hee will in time embrace you sweetly The Woman of Canaan that was entertained harshly went away joyfully But how did shee carry it under this harsh dealing That is the third head wee are now to speak to Here the carriage of the Woman is set out in these two Verses the 25. and 27. verses And mark it in vers 25. It is said Shee came and worshipped him saying Lord help mee My Brethren As the Lord said to Peter in another case wee must say of the Woman in this Flesh and blood hath not revealed this to you Flesh and blood could not teach nor help the poor Woman to such a carriage What for the Lord to turn away for the Lord to put off and for her to re-inforce her devotion renew her suit afresh and to come and worship him c. The 27. verse Truth Lord yet the Doggs
continue It is an Argument of spiritual pride for us not to wait and tarry begging though the Lord seem to keep off denying It was a proud speech of the King of Assyria in 2 King 6.33 Behold this evil is of the Lord what should I wait for the Lord any longer Nay hee should have said it is of the Lord and therefore it is meet I must I will wait so this Woman did and so must wee wait and not go away Many a soul is apt to give all over to cry I will pray no more seek no more this is evil and must be watched against An humbly wise soul will wait and wee ought so to do for that is another peece of this example and another part of our good behaviour But then Thirdly A third thing I do observe as the good carriage of this Woman that should bee ours to Christ is That shee doth really tell the Lord that her onely hope was in his help LORD HELP MEE c. The Lord seems to put her off shee comes and worships him c. and cries out Lord help mee a comprehensive speech it is My thinks there are three things in that expression which I shall briefly open unto you First It is as if sâ—ee should say Lord thou alone canst help mee Secondly As if shee should say If thou wilt not help mee no body will And Thirdly It is as if shee should say Lord If thou wilt not help mee I am resolved is go no where elsâ— and therefore O Lord help mee Well mark it It is your Copy you must 〈◊〉 if thou wilt carry it as thou oughtest and therefore lay it up in thy heart First Though the Lord reject thee tell the Lord yet hee is thy help there is no other Name whereby I can bee saved but thine no other Physician but thee no other balm but thee no other help but in thee this is good carriage Secondly Wee must not only look to Christ as the helper but as hee alone that will do it Tell Christ that if hee do not help thee none will therefore Lord help That speech is spoken out to that purpose Psal 69.20 Reproach hath broken my heart and I am full of bitterness and I looked for some to take pitty but there was none c. This poor woman might have said as the Woman with the bloody Issue I have been with all the Doctors and none can cure none cast the Devil out of my childe O soul it is a savoury speech to say Lord all help but thine is in vain I have gone here and there to this and that creature but all are empty all are hopeless all are helpless It is thee alone O Lord that I see can help therefore O Lord hear and O Lord help And then consider it further Thirdly Shee holds it out as one resolved to go to no body else Lord help shee will not leave him It is said They that forsake thee and go a whoring they shall all perish But it is good for mee to draw nigh to God as hee said Psal 73. vers last I have thought this to bee a part of the intendment of that expression in Psal 16.1 4. Preserve mee O Lord for in thee do I trust Their sorrows shall bee multiplied that hasten after another God their drink-offerings of blood I will not offer nor take up their names into my lips I have I say thought it to bee as if hee should say Lord help mee I will go no where else I will not go to an Idol thou canst do it and thou wilt do it and no body else can do it and I am resolved to go no where else here I lye here I will dye if I must none can none shall bee to mee a helper but thy self alone and therefore Lord help Well that is the third thing in this Womans carriage which is our Copy But to proceed Fourthly Mark it a little This good Woman carries it well to Christ in that shee doth not dâ—ny what the Lord did hint about her unworthiness Christ calls her dogg and shee doth not at all deny it Oh Sirs a beleeving soul acts highly but it goes humbly Mark but a little the phrase My thinks our Lord and Saviour doth speak two sad things to her in one word It is not meet to take the childrens bread and to cast it to doggs In this speech it is evident that Christ First Hee calls her Dogg And Secondly Hee tells her It is not meet for Doggs to have childrens bread yet how humbly doth shee carry it Shee saith TRUTH LORD As if shee had said I may bee a Dogg and am so and it is not meet for mee to have childrens bread c. Oh Sirs if the Lord Christ in the day of your distress when you shall go to him under the sense of your sins if then I say hee rip up and charge upon us our sins and shall say to thee but thou wert a drunkard but thou wert a swearer c. then know how to he have your selves and say Truth Lord it is so I dare not I do not in the least deny it It is good carriage to confess the truth of what Christ laies to our charge I meet with two sad examples of the Lords own people that were got upon so proud a pin that they did deny what God charged them with In Jeremiah 2. God charges them with fooleries and going away from him saith God in vers 23. How canst thou say I am not polluted I have not gone after Baalim see thy way in the valley know what thou hast done thou art a swift Dromedary traversing her waies Now mark in vers 35. Yet thou sayest because I am innocent c. That God should charge them with Idols and they say that they are innocent it argues a very proud heart and it was very ill carriage a behaviour which did not become them yet so it was And just so bad a behaviour is theirs in Malachy 3.13 saith God there Your words have been stout against mee yet yee say What have wee spoken so much against thee Oh Sirs souls that are in a saving condition do know this that I am going to say when the conscience accuses flesh and blood will go to put all off what I a drunkard I a swearer c. I thou art and if God charge it upon thee it is and must bee thy good carriage in all humility to lye down and say nothing You have a notable word in Lam. 3. It is good for a man that hee bear the yoak in his youth vers 29. Hee putteth his mouth in the dust if so bee there may bee hope Oh do not deny any sin the Lord charges thee withall if there bee any hope it is in this putting thy mouth in the dust But of all examples I will commend you to that in Jeremiah 3. saith God in vers 20. Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband so
soul Christ is thy soveraign Physician thy onely Doctor upon that account let him do or say what hee will as hee will bee it never so seemingly cross for really ill hee cannot carry it it becomes thee to have a good behaviour Thirdly Hee is Wisdome infinite Wisdome one that knows what hee does Alass my Beloved if the Lord Christ were capable of folly wee might charge God foolishly but Job knew Gods wisdome was infinite and therefore hee would not charge God foolishly When hee rips up thy sins bee still hee knows what hee doth When the Lord Jesus shall launce the wound and cut conscience and tell thee of sin and rip up unworthiness lye still carry it well hee is very wise How oft doth the Chirurgion binde the Patient and cut and launce it How oft doth hee search the wound and gash the flesh yet still is the Patient quiet hee silently submits why hee knows the Chirurgion is wise and one that understands both what and wherefore hee doth so Truly Beloved Christ is infinite in wisdome doth nothing but what wee need and hee can yea and in time will give a good reason why hee carries it thus or thus unto us as I formerly told you in the second Doctrine therefore wee ought to bee silent and carry our selves reverently and well unto him Fourthly and lastly Consider further who the Lord is why truly the Lord Jesus is so generous so gracious that hee cannot bee angry if wee stoop Hee cannot carry it ill if wee carry it well The Lord Jesus is of so sweet a disposition of so tender bowels that when hee sees us weep his bowels turn within him Christ though hee roar and make thee tremble yet if thou bow and fall and art silent hee will as they say of the Lion in such a case Lick and love thee It was the glory of the King of Israel that when Benhadads servants came to him with ropes about their necks hee was overcome with it 1 King 20.32 33. Oh you know I have once yea twice told you of Joseph I must tell you once more of him Joseph speaks rugged very roughly yet at last hee bowed what was the cause of it Look upon the story In Gen. 45. you have that which doth usher in his speaking kindly In the first vers Then Joseph could not refrain himself c. when was that Look into chap. 44. from verse 18. downward Then when Reverend Judah his Elder Brother and the rest with bended knees and doubtless with weeping eyes lay at his feet humbly under all and yet earnestly supplicating Oh how doth his bowels yearn towards them So then when thou shalt lye at his feet humbly supplicating laying out thy misery and what thou dost expect hee cannot hold out witness this Woman of Canaan unto whom at last Jesus Christ sweetly condescended though at first hee carried it towards her strangely as you have heard Truly as shee found wee may expect even the same condescension if wee have the same carriage Christ hath that innate sweetness that infinite grace those soft affections that however hee begins roughly hee will conclude comfortably as I shall shew when I come to it Remember Christs Name is Love and Lovingness is with him The consideration of his Nature calls upon thee O soul for such a carriage as I have opened therefore study it If thou well knowest Christ who hee is thou canst not well forget what carriage is suitable to such a person so that if you consider who Christ is to whom you come and withall if you do not forget your selves and the Arrand you come to him about you cannot but carry it well to him though hee should carry it seemingly harsh to you I should proceed to open these two other things viz. The consideration of our selves and our business to and with Christ are grounds for this good behaviour but I see at present I must end here Therefore now I shall onely name two words of Use First I will ask you a Question And secondly I will give you a word of Advice First I will ask you this one Question If it bee our duty to deal well with Christ when hee deals ill with us What shall become of those that deal ill with Christ when hee deals well with them If when Christ frowns wee should worship him if when Christ puts us off wee should then draw near to him if when Christ calls us Dogg wee should worship him as our Lord What shall wee think of those who when Christ smiles invites doth them good they do ill to Jesus Christ Oh my Brethren Monsters they are and not Men and yet I must tell you wee need not go to Africa to finde these Monsters people professing the Lord are apt to deal ill with Christ when hee deals well with them In Jeremiah 2. saith the Lord there Testifie against mee what iniquity have your Fathers found in mee c. Is there any such before the Lord Oh let mee testifie for the Lord against you what evil did Christ do to you why then dost thou blaspheme the Name of God thou hast often heaâ—d by his servants I lay down my life for sinners and yet thou wilt swear by the Life of Jesus Christ If the Lord had spoke angerly thou shoâ—ldest have blessed him and wilt thou now curse him when hee speaks kindly In Malachy 3.13 14. saith the Lord there Your words have been stout against mee wherein have they been stout In that you have said it is in vain to serve God and what profit is it that wee have kept his Ordinances c. Mark it a â—iâ—tle I gather out of this Scripture this truth that whoever speaks sleightly of the Ordinances of Jesus Christ his words are stout against Jesus Christ Have you not spoke sleightly of prayer praying breaking bread of Church-fellowship as if these were vain your words are stout against Jesus Christ Sirs If the Lord Jesus should make every hearing of a Sermon twenty pound yet you were bound to honour him by hearing a Sermon And if hee should make breaking of bread fire and fagot you were obliged notwithstanding to ingage in that duty But now you have all sweetly why are your words stout against the Lord you may have Ordinances free and worship with peace and yet your words are stout against Jesus Christ Christ will say one day to such There was a Woman of Canaan that carried it well when I dealt crosly with her but you carried it cross to mee even when and while I was all kindness to you Oh Sirs think not that Christ can take it well nay hee must needs take it ill If this Question I hint fasten on thy heart O soul and finde thee in this fault O humble thy soul for this thy sin Thy carriage is quite contrary to this point and example which I have opened to you The second word I would speak is a word of Advice and that is but
this one word Who are you before the Lord that are of this house that this good Woman was That are under the frowns of Christ at present that have heard Jesus Christ call you Dogg that have prayed often and been put off alwaies I pray take a word of Advice carry it well even now unto Jesus Christ You know what the wise man tells us in Eccles 7.14 In the day of prosperity bee joyful but in the day of adversity consider I would but a little allude to it It may bee there sits a soul but it is a day of prosperity with him hee praies and the Lord hears hee looks and the Lord smiles But there is a Man or Woman with whom it is the day of adversity thou callest and Christ doth not answer it is thy day of adversity Now consider consider what consider how thou carriest thy self Look to thy lips do not sin do not murmure though thy wounds stink though thy conscience burn though thy soul tremble it is thy day of adversity and therefore consider Oh consider how the Lord eyes thee to see how thou wilt carry it Take heed the Lord do not see a cursed Canaanitish carriage in thee here is a good Canaanitish carriage in the Text. I remember what a godly man said within these seven years lying under a great pain of a great grief of which hee died as hee groaned exceedingly saith one you groan much I replied hee But though I groan I dare not grumble Though Christ keep thee a little at staves end and carry it harshly yet bee of good courage and confidence wilt thou but wait a little wait the Lords leisure carry it well hee will deal well with thee Bee therefore advised how thou behave thy self surely a waspish spirit and a murmuring tongue argue one is not well advised as wee say in his carriage Therefore go home as an advised Christian let the Lord Jesus do or say what hee pleaseth hold thou thy peace suppress thou thy passion and in all things shew a humble reverend blessed behaviour to him But of this more in the next Reasons why wee ought still to carry it well to Christ The Fifth SERMON Matthew 15.25 and 27. verses Then came shee and worshipped him saying Lord help mee And shee said Truth Lord yet the doggs eat of the crumbs which fall from their-Masters table AS to bee entertained by Christ really and readily is a great mercy so to bee rejected by Christ though it bee but seemingly must needs bee a great misery Indeed there cannot befall a poor soul a sadder evil than to come to Christ needing and expecting relief and to receive either an absolute denial or unusual delaies at the hands of Christ And yet my Brethren this is a case that sometimes hath befallen many and may befall us Wee have a notable instance of it before us in this story of the Woman of Canaan There were four things I told you that wee would principally speak unto in the handling of this story The first was the Coming of this Woman The second is the Manner of the Entertainment that shee had by Christ which was very sad not an absolute denial but a strange and unusual delay Thirdly Now wee are considering the Carriage of this Woman under this strange and rough entertainment that shee received from Christ The point is of concernment for us to consider that whensoever it will befall any of us upon any account wee may know how to carry our selves as shee hath done In these two verses wee have her Carriage and after wee had opened that wee gathered up all into this one Observation viz. Doct. That it is the duty the wisdome the glory of a Christian to carry it unto Christ very holily when hee seems to carry it to the soul very harshly Or shortly thus Wee must carry it really well when Christ carries it seemingly ill There were but two Principal things which I said were necessary to bee handled in the explication of the Point The First is What this good Carriage is wherein this holy and blessed behaviour to Jesus Christ doth lye And secondly Upon what account it is our duty and glory to have this Carriage Now for the opening of both of these I did onely confine my self to the example in hand to see how the Woman carried it and to see from her what were the Reasons that did prevail with her to carry it thus to Christ Here are six things wherein this good thing viz. this good Carriage of this good Woman appears First Though the Lord dealt roughly with her shee kept up honourable thoughts of him Secondly Wee shewed shee did not suddenly nor sullenly go away but still shee cries after him And Thirdly Shee speaks to Christ as professing her onely hope in his help Fourthly Shee denied nothing that Christ speaks against her Christ seems to say to her First That shee was a Dogg And then Secondly That shee should have nothing Truth Lord saith shee Fifthly Shee doth gather upon Jesus Christ and by that very hand which hee thrust her off shee gathers hope Lastly Shee was content to have a little in the lowest manner when shee might not have her first and great request in the highest manner Wee did the last day open these more largely But now whence is it that wee must have and labour for this good Carriage or what is the reason wee should carry it thus holily to Christ though hee seem to carry it roughly to us I referred the reason of it to three heads I told you if wee do consider either Jesus Christ or our selves or the Errand upon which wee come to him at any time wee shall see great reason to carry it well to Christ howsoever hee may seem to carry it ill to us And all these three considerations wee have here in the Woman First Consider who Jesus Christ is when you go to him Why truly my Brethren hee is the Son of David and our Lord Because hee is our Lord therefore wee must worship him It is because Masters are Masters therefore servants must carry it well wee did open that and therefore shall not repeat it now But Secondly Consider wee our selves who wee are that go to Jesus Christ and my Brethren you will see that such as wee are coming to Christ should carry it very well to him though hee should seem to carry it ill to us Alass what was this Woman Certainly the Holy Ghost did help her to look within to see her self as shee was viz. a poor Woman A Woman of Canaan of Tyre and Sidon a Woman that was a Dogg by Nature such a Woman had need to carry it holily when shee comes to Christ And my Brethren if you look upon your hearts as shee was so are wee you will see all the reason in the world to carry it holily and humbly to Jesus Christ though hee should carry it seemingly harsh to you First My Brethren wee are poor
the Lord you hear this though Jesus Christ should spurn at you you should worship him though Jesus Christ should cast you off with a denial yet you should lye at his feet and honour him I beseech you take heed when Christ smiles upon you do not spurn at him when hee doth good to you bee not you bad to him This is a necessary caution even to those that pretend to God In Deut. 32. What a large Catalogue of good Carriage is there of God towards a people When they were in a desert Land hee lead them and as an Eagle hee bare them on his wings c. 10 11. verses Hee found him in a desert Land and in the waste howling wilderness hee lead him about hee instructed him hee kept him as the Apple of his Eye As an Eagle stirreth up her Nest fluttereth over her young spreadeth abroad her wings taketh them beareth them on her wings So the Lord alone did lead him and there was no strange God with him c. Here was good Carriage from the Lord but how did they carry it See in verse 15. But Jesurun waxed fat and kicked thou art waxed fat thou art grown thick thou art covered with fatness then hee forsook God which made him and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation c. Oh! as Moses said in verse 6. Do yee thus require the Lord O foolish people and unwise Jesurun the Lords people the Lords heritage a people that profess God are very apt to carry it ill when the Lord carries it well And I wish to God this were not the Carriage of England this day now wee have peace and advantages and opportunities But now the Lord doth well wee carry it ill I beseech you beware of it I shall press it in a few words Who is there of you all before the Lord but I may say to you as the Lord said to his people by Jeremiah Have I been as a barren wilderness or a dry heath c. There is not the most notorious Rebel that lives out of Hell but is beholding to Christ for being preserved Who of you all that have not had choice dealings by Jesus Christ I beseech you do not deal ill with Christ I know you are ready to say what do wee deal ill with Christ I pray mark it I will speak but two words First When thou sinnest wilfully after Christ hath called thee from sin and tendered thee a pardon thou dealest ill with him Minde well that place Heb. 10.26 If wee sin wilfully after wee have received the knowledge of the truth i. e. The great truth of the Gospel-grace in and by Christ distinguished vers 28. from Moses his Law then what follows why vers 29. It is accounted base and dispiteful dealing with Christ who shed his blood for sinners Ah thou wretch dost thou hear Christ pitties wretches and is come to procure and give in pardon to sinners and calls Come sinner leave thy sin take my pardon cast off thy wickedness accept my grace and yet thou turnest thy deaf ear thou now declarest a hard heart and dealest ill with Christ who is dealing well with thee Well then I say whoever thou art that when thou hearest that Christ died for enemies that hee hath gifts for Rebels and that hee is ready to justifie the ungodly and now wilt bee a Rebel still this is dealing ill with Jesus Christ This is that which the Apostle calls trampling under foot the blood of Christ c. And so Secondly When you deal ill with any of the eminent things of Christ you deal ill with Christ You know what the Lord will say at the last day Mat. 25. For as much as you have done it to any of these little ones you have done it unto mee When you scoff at any member of Christ Jesus Christ saith There is one scoffs at mee And when you deal unworthily with any of the things of Christ as the Ministers of Christ Luk. 10.16 Hee that heareth you heareth mee and hee that despiseth you despiseth mee and hee that despiseth mee despiseth him that sent mee c. It is not spoke of the Twelve but of the Seventy Those that hee had sent out to preach in his Name though they were not the Twelve extraordinary ones I say but the ordinary Disciples I pray minde it ordinary Ministers are so near Christ that hee accounts despising of them as a despite of himself And so for Christians the meanest of them all c. Consider them that thou dost despise what are they they are the Lords Messengers for thy good and they are the Lords Members whom hee tenders And so I say for any thing of Christ they that deal ill with them deal ill with Christ I know what is the great Objection against this and I remember Dr. Stoughton did well answer it Wee do not take these to bee the servants of Christ the Lords people his answer is Beware you do not smite as chismatick a holy one and a Saint bee found a bleeding Well I beseech you take heed of this many that pretend to have much from Christ they deal exceeding ill with Christ it is a sin without excuse Therefore the Lord doth make the 2. of Jeremiah to bee a conviction to leave them without excuse Christ may say unto you all whom in misery hee hath supported in want supplied in all things sustained I say Jesus Christ may speak thus to you If so bee in the day of your distress I had let you lye under the burthen of sin If when you came to begg mercy I had put you off with a denial or long delay you ought to have carried it well but how inexcusable will you bee that while Christ carries it well to you you carry it ill to him But the most proper Use is to speak something to direct us all to this good Carriage You hear however Christ carries it to you yet you ought to carry it holily and humbly to Jesus Christ And it may bee there is some poor soul or other that is now going to Christ It may bee thou art a Months-Convert and thou art wrestling long with Christ and hast no answer or it may bee thou art a backslider and art returning to Christ or hast been with Christ upon some family corporal occasion hear how you are to carry it I will hold out my thoughts distinctly that I may the better direct And I shall press the Use under two heads Cave Viz. 1 Beware beware of ill carriage Unto Christ Cura Viz. 2 Take care labour for a good carriage Unto Christ Under these two Particulars I would press this good Womans practice upon my self and you That however Christ seems at any time in any thing to carry it to us although it seem ill yet let not us carry our selves ill to him but rather overcome our evil with good and study to behave our selves to Jesus Christ as wee ought I beseech you attend
it First Beware of ill Carriage Satan is at your elbow hee is tempting hee is busie to make you curse God and dye This was Satans main work to provoke Job to ill Carriage and that is his work upon thee now Satan seeth thee groaning under a sin that thou hast no ease now Satan is tempting thee to carry it ill but beware do not carry it ill Take heed of two things as the principal peeces of good Carriage First Beware of evil words and wishes Secondly Of unlawful works and indeavours First Beware of evil words and wishes My Brethren wee are apt in affliction to sin with our mouths But oh Sirs let mee tell you Mouth-sin is great sin Tongue-sin on Earth is tormenting-sin in Hell Do not speak ill nor wish ill Do not speak ill It was an ill speech yet that good man drops it in his trouble Psal 73.13 Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain and washed my hands in innocency And it was a very ill speech of the Church in Lam. 3.18 I said my hope is perished from the Lord. And a bad wish of Job Job 6.8 9. Oh that I might have my request and that God would grant mee the thing that I long for even that it would please God to destroy mee that hee would let loose his hand and cut mee off Beware of speaking unadvisedly with your lipâ— Saith the soul I cannot stand up under the frowns of Christ and I would to God I might dye now God notes what you say Jer. 45.3 Thou saidst woe is mee now Mark God noted what Baruâ—h saith But you will say may not the soul speak may not the bitter heart vent it self may not I speak of my condition as it is I pray mark but these two or three things First of all You may speak but it is our misery wee are apt to speak more than it is Many a time wee cry out of our misery more than it is But Secondly Mark this though wee may speak It it best to hold our peace Better is it for the soul to put his mouth in the dust then there will bee hope as wee opened Lam. 3.29 But then Thirdly In all your speaking you must distinguish between humble prayer and hasty speaking You may go before the Lord again and again and speak to him as the Woman of Canaan you may tell the Lord your wounds stink and fester your bones are broken c. but you must not do this unadvisedly or passionately Quest How shall the soul know even in prayer that hee doth not speak of his sad condition badly Answ I answer first When in all your prayers and expressions unto God you leave your complaint upon your selves This was Jobs practice Jeb 10.1 saith Hee My soul is weary of my life I will leave my complaint upon my self I will speak in the bitterness of my soul i. e. I will say Lord my wound is great but I made it c. you may expostulate with God but still leave your complaint upon your selves i. e. lay the fault of all upon your selves do not blame Christ Confess whatever thou feelest smart or sore that thou must onely thank thy self for it Lay not thy sorrow to thy Saviours charge whatever you say speak not as charging Christ but condemning self That is one thing And secondly As you must leave the complaint upon your selves so you must not absolutely and peremptorily condemn your selves The soul is apt to cry out my case is bad and it will never bee better I conclude I must perish there is no hope c. Ah! these condemning concluding absolute concluding speeches thus against our selves proceed from passion and are of that kinde of words which wee must avoid But it is not enough to watch words take heed especially to your works Therefore Secondly As you must beware of sinful words and wishes so beware of sinful works and indeavours When the Rod of God is upon thy back take heed of putting forth thy hand to evil Sauls way was a wicked way Indeed the Lord dealt sadly severely with him neither to answer him by vision nor dream by Urim nor Thummim was very sore and grievous And my Brethren to bee able to forbear at such a time any thing that may seem a way to help I confess it is very hard But although it bee difficult yet it is duty Wee must beware of going to Witches and Wizards for counsel in any case It was Sauls sin and I wish it had died with him but it remains too great a practice in these times Oh take heed of it Take heed I say you do not by any evil practice seek to ease your selves Though Christ should not answer thee no more at present than God did Saul though hee do neither speak to thee himself nor suffer his servants to speak on thy behalf as here in this Womans case yet beware of doing any unwarrantable thing to ease thy minde Bee not as Saul at Endor No neither bee as Saul in Mount Gilboa as the story is 1 Sam. 30. At Endor hee consults with a Witch At Gilboa hee took a sword and slew himself O take heed of that temptation viz. Self-Murther I have heard it often as observed heretofore and I know that to this day it is an evil practiue many take they will lay violent hands upon themselves this is to go back to hell for a plaister And surely such a plaister hath so much venome in it that it is madness to expect Virtue from it I beseech you therefore beware This is the first part of my advice Learn your duty at least thus far Not to carry it ill in word or work however in any thing the Lord deal with you But my Point saith more therefore I must press it Wee must carry it well to Christ however hee may seem to carry it to us And therefore to come to that in the next place Secondly Recompence not evil with evil but rather recompence evil with good It is true as I have often said Christ cannot carry it really ill but however do thou recompence evil with good Now to that end I pray minde this Woman of Canaan and imitate her write after her Copy do as shee did let your Carriage to Christ answer her Pattern in all the particulars which I opened and instanced in And to this end give mee leave to commend to you the exercise of three Graces in the exercise of which shee was and in them you should bee and so shall carry it well to God Namely Humility Prayer Resolute Faith First Observe her Humility and go thy way and do likewise However the Lord carries himself to thee humble thy self under his hand Christ could not speak a word never so bad but shee would hee viler If the Lord would say Dogg shee would â—ay so too Especially labour to carry it humbly in this one thing to accept of any measure in any manner of comfort that Christ gives you
Thou art perplexed comfort thou wouldest have Now observe Christ it may bee offers thee a crumb and thy proud heart will not accept of comfort unless thou mayest have much This is just like a little childe the Mother gives it a small peece of bread and it cries and throws it away if hee may not have his Brothers peece of bread Ah! Beloved look to your hearts Take heed of this proud peece of childishness If your hearts were humble you would accept of and thank Christ for a little As it is with the hungry soul so it is with every humble soul Hee admires mercy in a morsel and is willing to stoop under the Table to take up a crumb Put on therefore and bee cloathed with humility and put it forth shew it in your Carriage to Christ as this Woman of Canaan did It was the humility of her soul by which shee carried it so well and this is the first Grace in her Carriage unto Christ wee should indeavour to conform our selves I come to the next Secondly Observe in her the Grace of Prayer I do not say the Gift of Prayer But I observe it as the Grace of Prayer for here was no great gift Oh Sirs however the Lord doth keep up Prayer your case cannot bee so bad but pray you may and pray you must Do but observe an instance or two in the Book of the Psalms of very sad cases and yet they did not give over Prayer Psal 61. there you have the Psalmist crying after God in the first verse But when would hee cry Why when my heart is overwhelmed vers 2. Thou sayest thy heart is overwhelmed and thou canst not it is in vain to pray Mark the Psalmist prayed then Again Psal 88. observe how sad the case of Heman is set forth there My soul is full of trouble my life draweth nigh unto the grave vers 3. And so on But what saith hee in vers 13. But unto thee have I cried O Lord and in the morning shall my Prayer prevent thee Though the case was very sad yet it was not past praying Here is the Devils temptation What wilt thou pray it is in vain thou hast prayed and Christ doth not answer Nay hee hath returned thee a rough answer So indeed the Serpent subtilly suggests to take us off from Prayer But resist the Devil in that temptation do thou yet pray and give not over yet say I will pray unto him say with Jonah Yet I will look again towards his holy Temple Jonah 2.4 Quest But if the soul say But I cannot tell how to pray I have not a Gift of Prayer Answ If thou bee a Saint Thou hast a Grace of Prayer And observe this thou canst pray as much as the Woman of Canaan Lord help mee and Truth Lord c. Here are but three words Lord help mee And let mee in allusion tell you but three words that you should pray to the Lord let your case bee what it will First Lord thou onely canst help mee all the men in the world cannot help mee Secondly Lord thou didst help many as bad as I. Thirdly And Lord If thou didst never help any as bad then now thou wilt have the more glory by helping mee Object Possibly the soul will be ready to say But alass Jesus Christ puts mee off I would pray but hee turns away and will not hear and I would catch hold of him but hee runs away Repl. You know what Jacob did Gen. 32.26 27. Hee would catch hold of God though hee would bee gone and you must wrestle with him and cry after him You must not let him go You see the Disciples tell Christ that this Woman cried after them vers 23. Shee was as one that ran after another who went away Shee crieth after us say they do thou so if Christ seem to go run after cry after Bee not put off renew and re-inforce thy Prayer again and again Indeed in this the Grace of Prayer differs from the Gift the Grace lives and lasts the Gift dies and goes out Well then stir up thy self to take hold of God and keep thy hold having taken it Pray if thou canst but a little and go again and pray the same words again and again Christ himself did so Three times hee prayed in the same words Mat. 26.44 Bee not ashamed if thou want variety of expression A few words prevail with God and Jesus Christ Therefore I say Pray alwaies however Christ carry it cast not away thy Prayers but continue in it so this Woman did and wee must do likewise But Thirdly Bee resolute in your Faith And pray let mee mark this by the way Though shee doth not say Lord I beleeve yet shee did beleeve The Woman was acting the Grace of Faith all this while and shee acts it very resolutely shee speaks as one beleeving him to bee the Messiah as one whose onely hope and help was in him and as one that did cleave and adhere to him Our Lord Jesus witnesseth to the Womans Faith vers 28. It was strong and resolute shee did beleeve and was acted and upheld as I shall shew hereafter by Faith in all this address A Faith shee had and a Faith shee expressed really though it is not expressed literally as to the terms yet it is evident as to the Truth of it that shee did beleeve so do you Beleevers are ready to think that in time of trouble it is a time to pray and to hear but not to beleeve c. Thou thinkest thou mayest cry after Christ and wait upon Christ I but thou shouldest beleeve in him Isa 50.10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord that walketh in darkness and hath no light let him trust in the Name of the Lord and stay upon his God So Job I wil trust in him though hee kill mee That act of Faith I am now pressing is Trusting and I pray minde it what kinde of Faith I press in this particular It is a Trusting Faith Job did trust and hee that feareth God must trust in him at all times yea in the dark And truly this word or term Trust doth very fitly set forth the thing I intend to press you in this particular unto Now that you may a little understand it consider that there are four words in the Scripture that set forth the great Mystery of Beleeving There is first The general word Faith I beleeve Lord help my unbeleef Secondly There is the particular word of Hope Hee hopeth Thirdly There is a particular word of Knowledge which is as much as Assurance I know whom I have beleeved And Fourthly There is this word Trusting And now what is the nature of Trust A man that beleeves hath a pretty deal of light of God but hee that hopes hath a little more hee hath more that knows but what hath hee that trusts I shall give it you in this similitude One comes to another Sir I know you can help mee
Luk. 18. And the Third is this Woman of Canaan Here are three Women whom Christ at first did not seem to minde yet hee dealt with them very well at last And Bee yee comforted in this confidence Hee will deal as well with you as ever hee did with them Christ is still the same in love and kindness Oh that wee could bee the same with this Woman of Canaan in her carriage And thus I have done with that particular viz. how the Woman did behave her self hereafter wee shall see how shee sped and what was the happy Conclusion of all Faith alone carries the Soul thorow all Discouragements unto Christ The Sixth SERMON Matthew 15. vers 28. Then Jesus answered and said unto her O Woman great is thy Faith bee it unto thee even as thou wilt And her Daughter was made whole from that very hour AS the dawning day after some long and dark night And as the cooling winds in the midst of some great and scorching heat so are these words of our Lord to the Woman of Canaan very comfortable and very refreshing The man that hath lain tossing all night with what joy doth hee entertain the dawning of the day and the Traveller that is spent with heat with what eagerness doth hee suck in the cool breathings of the wind Now such was this speech of Christ to the Woman of Canaan in this place They were as a day dawning and as a cool refreshing to her soul By this speech my Beloved no doubt no doubt but this poor Woman was now marvelously refreshed and as much as her soul could want or wish shee had from the Lord in these words as wee shall see afterwards Then Jesus answered and said unto her O Woman great is thy Faith bee it unto thee even as thou wilt These words have the last particular which I noted in this story Namely the Issue or the Conclusion that Christ made with this Woman The beginning was very sad A poor Woman at the feet of Christ begging much but seeming not to bee heard but behold the issue is very good That Jesus Christ that answered her not a word answers her now many words and many comfortable words Oh Woman great is thy Faith bee it unto thee even as thou wilt c. There are two things you may observe in this Answer of Christ here First You have here Christs Commendation of her Faith And Secondly You have Christs Condescention to her desire First You have Christs Commendation of her Faith O Woman great is thy Faith Thou art not onely a Beleever but a great Beleever thou art no more a Woman of Canaan but a Woman of Israel no more a Dogg but a Childe Great is thy Faith Secondly You have the Condescention of Christ to her desires Now that is held forth in two things First More Generally Secondly More Particularly First More Generally Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt Oh great word a word exceeding the Womans wish Our Lord as his manner is exceeds her request The poor Woman would have been glad of a crumb and by this word my-thinks Christ â—ids her go to the Table and cut what shee would take not onely crumbs but what peeces shee pleased Secondly Hee doth particularly grant her particular request about her Daughter For her Daughter was made whole from that very hour There were three Questions which truly my thoughts did suggest when I considered these words and they were if I may so say they were in my own heart to make in the reading of these words And I shall propose them with the Answers thereof being they are Questions not of strife but of much edification The First Question is this The Lord commends this Woman for her Faith Wherein doth her Faith appear Secondly Why doth the Lord say to her Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt And Thirdly Why was the request shee made first granted last Quest 1. The Lord saies to her Woman great is thy Faith why wherein did the Womans Faith appear Shee prayed that wee read shee cryed that wee read shee worshipped that wee read but it is not said shee beleeved Shee doth not say as hee I beleeve Lord help my unbeleef How then doth Christ say Oh Woman great is thy Faith Two Answers I shall give Answ 1. The Lord Jesus Christ doth know that which wee cannot see That may and doth appear to Christ which oftentimes doth not appear to us Hee needs not that men should tell him for hee knows all things c. John 16.30 The Woman needed not to tell Christ that shee did beleeve for Christ himself saw it The Lord Jesus Christ doth observe that in us which wee do not many times observe in our selves In the last day when the Lord shall judge both the righteous and the wicked hee will rell the righteous they did this and that thing which they did not know as that speech intimates When saw wee thee naked and cloathed thee Matth. 25. The Lord can see a few Names in Sardis and a little strength even there where the heart can scarce finde any thing Therefore minde it by the way and do you O poor of the flock that fear your own Faith I say do you hear and rejoyce Jesus Christ can see Faith in us when many times wee cannot see it in our selves that is light to him which is in the dark to us Answ 2. Mark this Answer You must distinguish between the real beeing and the extrinsical or explicite appearance of Faith Things may bee really and essentially which are not visibly and explicitely And the Scripture takes notice of some things that are really though not explicitely As now in Job Job 1.5 Peradventure my Sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts That is implicitely they may do it So the Lord takes notice of those things that are in us i. e. real and true though it do not appear in the formalities thereof That poor Woman in Luk. 7.50 had Faith though there was no formal profession of it Christ hath a discerning eye hee can see what is in us even as in the root before the bud or fruit appear Hee can and doth know what is in us radically though wee do not so visibly and expresly make it out Now such was this Womans case Though here is no explicite Confession or Profession of Faith yet shee did that which is Faith implicite And in this Woman there was real Faith which did act her in this address to Christ as you will see if you consider it for what is Faith Faith is the coming of the soul to Jesus Christ Shee comes Faith is the casting of the soul upon Christ Shee cast her self upon Christ Faith is a resting on Christ without a word of evidence or assurance The Woman doth so You may by this satisfie your selves then in the first question This Woman did beleeve though she did not in so many words express it shee shewed it though
shee did not speak it But then in the second place Quest 2. Why doth our Lord say unto her Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt Take a double Answer to this likewise Answ 1. The Lord Jesus saw that this Woman did want more things than one Jesus Christ saw all her wants and all her wishes too though shee did not express them That place in Romans 8. is known to all of you but the 27. verse is not so often taken notice of And hee that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the spirit because hee maketh intercession for the Saints according to the will of God The soul sighs and groans by the Spirit and many a time the soul doth not know his own sighing who shall know it why Hee shall know it that makes intercession this is particularly spoken of Jesus Christ The Spirit helps thee to sigh and thou canst not tell thy own sighs Jesus Christ can tell what it means I say Jesus Christ knows for that place is to bee understood particularly of Christ for it is hee that maketh intercession as it is there expressed It is a Scripture which may much stay our hearts Christ knows what wee want even then when wee cannot tell our selves onely in the general sigh Minde it Oh my Beloved you go to Jesus Christ with one word and a many sighs the Lord will answer all your sighs and will say Bee it to you not onely as you speak but as you groan and as you sigh too Answ 2. The Lord Christ loves to shew his bounty in rewarding any souls for any delay Isa 61.7 for your shame you shall have double And Zechariah 9.12 Turn yee to the strong hold yee prisoners of hope even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee Upon these accounts it was that our Lord doth not answer this Woman with a particular word take what you come for but in a general way bids her take all things any thing which shee could desire take what thou wilt as thou wilt But to proceed to the last Question The Third and last Question is Why doth the Lord give this in the last place Her Daughter was made whole One would have thought this should have been the first word Woman go thy way thy daughter is whole but first hee speaks of her Faith and then to her souls desire Why doth Christ so that is the Question Answ Now the Answer hereunto is easie and it may bee this Our Lord Jesus is wise and gracious and therefore knowing what wee need most and what is best to bestow upon us Hee doth still give that first which is most necessary and which is the chiefest My Beloved I pray remember it The Lord loves to give the best mercies first her Daughter was possessed with a Devil but that was but a corporal infirmitie her own soul was more under the power of the Devil and the deliverance of that most needful therefore hee gives the more necessary thing first O my Beloved you have a wise Christ a good Christ hee will satisfie particular desires but hee will first do the best things Indeed Christ reacheth us to begg the best things first Seek yee first the Kingdome of Heaven and therefore first pray Thy Kingdome come But wee are ignorant and apt to mistake wee often ask the best things last Now Christ will give the best first Therefore hee begins to speak to the Mothers soul here before hee mentions her Daughters distemper But let this suffice for these Questions To come to the words there are many Points observable from this place Particular Notes I shall take in by the by and therefore shall not touch upon them Neither shall I press the words too hard there is no need of it This Text like a brave hony-comb drops out in three things like hony without any pressing First Observe here What it was that carried the Woman on and thorow all this while what bladder kept his Woman from sinking It was Faith O Woman great is thy Faith Secondly Observe What rich bounty is here here is glorious Grace rich Grace Have what thou wilt And then Thirdly Observe That shee hath a particular grant of her special request her Daughter was made whole It is the second thing I do principally aim at but shall speak of the two other And first Observe from the first That it is true Faith alone that carries the soul thorow all difficulties and discouragements in the way to Christ I shall not bee large in the handling of this Point I have often spoken of Faith and the work of Faith as it doth receive Christ how that is performed c. therefore I shall confine my self to the Text and the boundaries of it to shew that in all the difficulties the soul meets withall in coming to Christ Faith bears the soul up under all And pray mark what I say I say true Faith nor strong Faith neither do I say a degree of Faith but a true Faith It is true this Woman had great Faith and shee needed it for she had great difficulties but the Point lies positively thus Faith if it bee true it is that and that alone that carries up the soul above all difficulties and discouragements in its coming to Christ I suppose I need not tell you that there are difficulties in the way of coming to Christ This Woman knew there were difficulties and discouragements but what carried her thorow did her Patience carry her thorow shee had that did her reverend esteem of Christ carry her thorow shee had that did the pinch of her wants carry her thorow No Christ doth not say Oh Woman great is thy patience or great is thy esteem of mee or great is thy want But O Woman great is thy Faith It was the Womans Faith that carried her thorow these difficulties I will demonstrate this Doctrine by some instances and therefore I shall mention some of the difficulties which are in our way to Christ and shew how that it is Faith and Faith alone by which the Lord doth use to help us against all these difficulties Now therefore I pray minde it and you may mostly observe in our-coming to Christ There are four waies from whence our difficulties and discouragements do arise and you will see that true Faith alone will carry the soul thorow all these The difficulties arise thus from 1 Self 2 Satan 3 The World 4 Christ himself may do that seemingly which may and doth make it difficult to come unto him But now yet see as to each how Faith carries the soul thorow all these To begin with the first which is Self that comes in to oppose us And pray good people look about you your selves are the greatest hinderances to keep you from Christ now what shall carry us up above our selves but Faith by Faith Moses denies himself And saith Christ Whoever will come after mee must deny himself how shall hee do
it with suggestions of Sense or Reason But then A second Direction is Let Faith have its perfect work Therefore as the Apostle faith about Patience so let Faith have its perfect work Faith goes at first to half a Promise but let it alone it knows where to fetch a whole Promise Let Faith alone it will go to a Promise for what for refuge for help for all Faith will go to and look upon Abraham as Isa 51.2 and finde incouragement from him Nay it can run back to Adam and help it self with the thoughts of his experience let Faith have its course and it will carry you to every Promise and Example to incourage you If it have its perfect work it will gather strength from all the Word of God to help you in your work of closing with Christ I beseech you in these Directions strengthen and labour to incourage Faith O soul minde it storms and trials may come and then you will need afresh to run to Christ Look to your leggs your Faith it is that must carry you If death come death and doubting will come together now remember what must carry you thorow nothing but Faith Trust to no parts duties c. onely trust to the Lord in the way of Faith I shall conclude with two things First Woe to thee poor soul whoever thou art that wantest Faith I do not say woe to thee that art a poor man nor woe to thee if thou beest mean in the world nor say I thou art a sick or weak man and therefore woe No No But art thou an unbeleever a soul without Faith then woe indeed to thee Ah woe bee to that man that wants Faith for without Faith it is not possible to please God or to go to Christ and how sad is the state of that soul that can do neither Woe to all unbeleevers Secondly Blessed are you that have Faith I say not that have so great a Faith but Faith true Faith I say Blessed are you that beleeve you that do beleeve though but a little yet your little Faith will do this great work it will keep you from drowning it will carry you to Christ That little Faith Peter had for all his fears kept him up from sinking I remember what our Lord said to Nathaniel who beleeved as I may say a little Beleevest thou thou shalt see greater things than these John 1.50 Do but go on beleeving and thou shalt see greater things than yet thou hast seen Two things your Faith will do First It will bee your Leggs to carry you to Christ and that thorow all difficulties so you see it did this Woman And Secondly It will if I may say so Compel as it were Christ to entertain you after all denials Ah souls what a glorious entertainment did Christ give this poor Woman at last Well therefore strengthen Faith and that will help you to do as this Woman did and then you shall in the Issue speed even as shee did But of that in the next Christ will bee certainly kinde at last The Seventh SERMON Matthew 15. vers 28. Then Jesus answered and said unto her O Woman great is thy Faith bee it unto thee even as thou wilt c. YOu have sometimes seen or at least heard of a poor beggar who hath long lain and loudly cried at the gate of some great person and yet never liftened to never let in but anon it may bee the Master of the house himself hath opened the door and spake to the man kindly and dealt with him very comfortably how was the face of this beggar lightened how was his heart refreshed just so Nay greater than so was the heart of the Woman of Canaan cheared when our Lord answered and spake unto her the words that I have read Shee had as it were lain long and cried loud and begged hard and no answer but now at last the Lord answers and the Lord answers sweetly Oh Woman great is thy Faith bee it unto thee even us thou wilt The last day wee came to this verse in it I told you wee had the last particular of the story of the Woman of Canaan which holds forth the blessed conclusion which our Lord doth make with this poor Woman After I had hinted and resolved three questions I told you there were three particulars which in an eminent manner are remarkable in this place The First wee did dispatch then and that was this The Grace which did carry on and carry out this poor Woman in all this address it was her Faith And thence wee noted this Doctrine Doct. That it is onely Faith which can carry the soul thorow all difficulties and discouragements in the way to Christ Onely Faith Remember it Sirs some of you have a little knowledge and others of you have a great deal of Profession some of you talk much and the poorest thinks it may bee as well of himself as hee that saith most but remember whatever you know talk or think nothing will carry you to Jesus Christ but Faith you may have fine words and good wishes but alass wording and wishing is not coming to Jesus Christ Why this Woman had other gifts and other graces shee had much humility and shee had much patience and shee had a fine gift of prayer c. yet it is not said Woman much is thy patience or great is thy love strong are thy prayers but oh Woman great is thy Faith c. Wee did open the point at large and pressed it upon you in the Application in divers particulars which I shall not add unto or repeat Onely I beseech you my Beloved let this abide upon your hearts streng then Faith When you come to dye you will then see a need of Christ if you do not now and if you have not a living Faith you cannot have a living Christ and then is your soul dead before death Faith is another kinde of thing than the world is aware of wee hardly know the notion now but wee shall never bee able to know the preciousness of it as indeed it is precious but by the experience of it Now the greatest experience of Faith is seen in that blessed business of going to Christ In that wee have this experience of the use power and price of Faith that whatever wee have and pretend unto nothing but sincere single Faith will carry us unto Jesus Christ But I proceed The second thing which indeed is the principal thing is this The kindness of Christ now to this Woman You see his commendation of her Faith well now mark his condescension to her how much doth Christ condescend to this poor Woman hee condescends to talk with her commends her Faith and complies with her wishes to heal her Daughter c. Oh blessed condescension The Observation from the whole will bee this Doct. That however the Lord Jesus may deal at first with poor souls that come to him in the issue hee will deal very kindly
life when they have been going out of the world they have had joy and comfort The story of Mris. Drake is known shee had many terrours much sadness no smiles from Christ all her daies till at last when shee came to dye a little before her death Christ dealt so kindly that shee went out of the world in an extacy and ravishment of spirit full of peace and full of joy triumphing in the Lord so that in the Issue of our time and life wee shall finde Christ kinde however hee is at first to us But then Thirdly Or else in the Issue of all things When all things shall bee wrapt up by a final End and Issue put to them then Christ will shew himself kinde however strange hee did seem to carry it to poor souls before You read of a day in Mal. 3.17 in which the Lord will make up his Jewels and then you shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked c. And Matthew 25. there Christ speaks very sweetly when the Lord shall say to those on his right hand Come yee blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdome prepared for you c. Then hee shall say to this poor man and woman thou didst mourn after mee all thy daies thou didst wait upon mee all thy life and though I seemed to carry it strange thou wert sincere Come yee blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdome prepared for you c. I do observe that this carried up the heart of Job in Job 19. I know that my Redeemer liveth and hee shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth and then in my flesh I shall see him c. This Text in Job is worth its weight in Gold upon many accounts That that Jesus Christ that is now at the right hand of the Father Job many thousand years ago said hee should know upon the Earth and though hee set him up as a mark to shoot at then yet hee knew at last hee would deal kindly with him Well then I pray put all together Persons truly comming to Christ in the Issue either of the Act of coming or of their Lives or of all things shall finde this to bee a certain Truth that Christ will deal sweetly with them however now hee may seem to carry it strangely And my Beloved I shall not need to bring any other instance to prove it than this instance in the Text. Never was any so strangely dealt withall as the Woman of Canaan and yet what a blessed Issue doth hee make with heâ— Oh Woman great is thy Faith bee it unto thee even as thou wilt c. There are onely two things that I aim at in the explication of the point And The first is to shew you wherein the kinde close of the Carriage of Christ in the Issue shall appear to poor souls however at first hee may carry it strangely And Secondly The ground of this Wee shall begin with the first And I shall out of this instance of the Woman of Canaan shew you how kindly Christ will carry it at last in the Issue though hee carry it roughly at first Pray observe this speech Jesus answered and said unto her c. I remember in the book of Ruth when Boaz had espied Ruth and talked of her to his servants hee spake to her himself in vers 8. and what saith shee in verse 10. Shee fell upon her face and bowed her self to the ground and said unto him Why have I found grace in thine eyes that thou shouldest take knowledge of mee seeing I am a stranger It was a marvelous act of kindness that Boaz should take knowledge of her to speak to her Just so mee thinks it was here Christ at first talks to his servants of this Woman hee did not speak at first to her but to the Disciples of her But now although before the Lord did not seem to take knowledge of this Woman yet I say now the Lord is so kinde as hee turns to her and takes notice of her and hee speaks exceeding kinde to her Oh Woman great is thy Faith bee it unto thee even as thou wilt c. Let us open it a little Here are three Parts First Oh Woman great is thy Faith Secondly Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt Thirdly At the same hour her Daughter was made whole First Hee answered and said unto her O Woman great is thy Faith My Beloved wee must open this by degrees and it is very much which is here contained For First of all Hee answered and said unto her O blessed kindness that Jesus Christ that before answered her not a word hee now opens his lips and vouchsafes to speak to her David who knew what an act of kindness this is sets it forth both in the Negative and in the Affirmative Negatively speaking of his enemies in Psal 18.41 They cried but there was none to save them even unto the Lord but hee ANSWERED THEM NOT. And Affirmatively speaking of himself in Psal 118.5 I called upon the Lord in distress the Lord answered mee and set mee in a large place Oh my Beloved it is an act of kindness that Christ will speak Let not my Lord bee angry saith the soul do but speak to mee Oh it is mercy and kindness when the Lord breaks his silence and doth but speak to us Why now Christ you see speaks to the Woman And it is said Jesus answered and said unto her hee answers his Disciples before about her but did not speak to her now hee speaks to her Remember you not the expression in Cant. 8.13 Thou that dwellest in the Gardens the Companions hearken to thy voice cause mee to hear it Oh saith the poor soul sometimes Blessed Lord thy Companions hear thy voice Angels that wait upon thy Throne they hear it and the Saints in the Sanctuary they hear it and I am without knocking Lord let mee hear thy voice Here is the first step that hee vouchsafes to speak to her Secondly Hee saith unto her Woman c. how soft is this language Now hee doth not speak to her in a rough manner but Woman My Beloved you know what is said of Job Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind who is this that darkens words of wisdome without knowledge Job 38.1 2. But behold the Lord hee answers in a still voice hee speaks as a man to a woman By Beloved had the Lord spoken louder it may bee it would have broke her the Lord will speak to poor souls in a still voice I remember a prayer of Job Job 13. about verse 20. Onely do not two things unto mee then will I not hide my self from thee withdraw thine hand far from mee and let not thy dread make mee afraid c. And it is worth our considering because it will open what wee are upon hee doth as it were capitulate with God and hee makes but one Article Let not thy dread make mee afraid As if Job
should say Lord if thou wilt but take away thy dread if thou wilt not speak in thy Majesty as a great God then speak Lord. That this is the meaning appears by Elihu his interpretation of it in Job 33. about 6 7. verses Behold I am according to thy wish in Gods stead I also am formed out of the clay Behold my terrour shall not make thâ—e afraid neither shall my hand bee heavy upon thee Job was afraid to hear God speaking as wee say in high language and therefore desired God to forbear it Why you see Christ doth here forbear high words hee now speaks to this woman in a low and loving manner even as a man to a man or a woman to a woman Hee answered and said unto her Woman Without doubt this familiar word and way of speaking to this Woman did much chear her heart and shee might hereupon say as Ruth did to Boaz when hee spake familiarly to her saith Ruth in the story Ruth 2.13 My Lord hath comforted mee and hath spoke friendly unto mee It is much mercy that Christ will give us an answer But it is much more mercy that hee will give us a soft answer You know the story of Eliah God saith hee would speak to him but hee came in a whirlwind before hee came in a soft answer but Eliah was a strong man and could bear what wee cannot If Christ should not speak to a poor heart in a still voice but in a whirlwind alass it would over-power the soul Therefore it is that Christ speaks as a man to his friend yea as a Father to a childe so you know hee did use to speak Daughter bee of good chear Son bee of good chear And thus wee finde it in other places the Lord speaks friendly Zach. 1.13 And the Lord answered the Angel that talked with mee with good words and comfortable words If Jesus Christ do not speak at all or if hee do speak yet if it bee not comfortable words wee count it strange and harsh and so it is and may bee as wee have shewed at first But still know now for all this whatever hee saith at first yet at last hee will speak comfortable words Thirdly Christ condescends yet and speaks more kindly for hee owns acknowledgeth and commends this poor Womans Faith Mark it Oh Woman great is thy Faith Why here is our third step The Lord Jesus eyes and owns her Faith and that is a great act of kindness Poor soul Thou lyest at the feet of Christ thou sayest I have desire but no hope I have fear but no faith thou that art full of fears yet the Lord will call thee for all that Releever hee will spy out and acknowledge thy Faith and call thee a Daughter of Abraham as here Woman great is thy Faith It is the kindness of Christ hee will espy our gold under much dross our little coal of fire under many embers Christ will do for us as for the Church of Philadelphia Rev. 3.8 saith Christ Thou hast a little strength and hast kept my word Or as hee said in that same chapter to Sardis A few Names are among you O how doth Christ speak to this Woman now at last Mark it and see is not the language altered Christ at first spake to her as a Woman of Canaan calls her upon that account as some call Turks and Infidels Dogg but now hee speaks to her as a Daughter of Abraham for so are beleevers called in Gal. 3.7 saith the Apostle Know yee therefore that they which are of Faith the same are the children of Abraham In this speech Christ tells her in effect Shee is an Israelite Once it was poor soul a stranger an enemy a Canaanite a Hittite such were the words in which Christ at first did as it were speak to thee Well but yet stay a little and thou shalt hear Christ speaking in kinder language hee will yet call thee Son Daughter Saint Friend in a word no more a Canaanite but at last Christ will speak to thee as an Israelite and say of thee as of Nathaniel Behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile I Pray minde it it is an admirable discovery this how kinde Christ will carry it at last Whatever sin hee charges in a spirit of conviction at first yet alwaies at last hee will acknowledge our Faith I say our faith and love and whatever is good in us I appeal to you O experienced souls are not you afraid to own your own faith One while your unbeleeving fears another while the humble working of your hearts will not let you see your own Grace I but you have a kinde Christ that will take notice of it and own it though thou bee a Canaanite in thy first address and in thine own account and Christ may seem therefore to deal harshly with thee yet still I say in this hee will at length bee kinde and shew it in eyeing and acknowledging any good every Grace that is in thee But I proceed unto the next thing here in Christs speech The fourth which is Great is thy Faith Hee doth not onely own but honour her Faith Oh my Beloved what an act of kindness is this commendation of Christ Praise is a fruit of love a sign of love why my beloved Jesus Christ will deal so kindly that hee will praise you at last Hee doth now praise this poor Woman whom hee seemed to sleight before And though Christ may at first seem to sleight and despise us yet at last hee will not only own but honour us And this is certainly his kindness How kindly did hee deal with the poor Woman in Luk. 7 hee was entertained by a Pharisee and had large entertainment yet how doth hee turn himself to the Woman and how kindly did hee deal with her Hee commends not the Masters Feast but the Womans Faith Nay hee seems to reproach the Pharisee that invited him and to exalt and honour the poor sinner that came unto him Her Love and Faith are very much praised by Christ there vers 46 47 50. Oh Sirs that Jesus Christ that you go unto truly however at first hee may seem not to own you much less to honour you at last hee will both own and honour you Look as Jesus Christ will deal severely with painted Sepulchres Hypocrites so hee will deal sweetly with sincere Beleevers That is one part of this kinde speech wherein our Lord deals very kindly though at first hee spake to her harshly The second part is Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt Wee may say of these words as one of the Antients said of some others They are wonders and not words Oh how doth the Lord condescend in kindness now to this poor Woman of Canaan when hee saith Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt Once hee said I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel Once hee said It is not meet to take the childrens
bread and give it to Doggs But how well is the world mended with this poor creature Now the Lord doth not hint that hee was not sent to her but hee calls her beleever Now hee doth not tell her shee should not have childrens bread but now hee bids her take what shee would Once it may bee poor soul Jesus Christ said this to thy conscience Thou art a Rebel deserving no mercy at another time it may bee hee said this Thou art a filthy person and not yet prepared for mercy I but at last Christ will no more mention guilt or filth but hee will say to thee Rebel There is a pardon And to thee polluted sinnet There is purging and cleansing yea hee will say to thee poor soul There is Mercy All Mercy Any Mercy what thou wantest what thou wilt there it is c. As it is in this expression here to this Woman of Canaan I will open this too in two or three steps Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt First How fully doth the Lord spenk to this Woman Psal 81.10 Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it Woman take to the full as much as thou wilt As if our Lord Christ should say Woman Thou art a poor Woman of Canaan and art in want and I have a rich Treasure it is unsearchable go to the Mine take what thou wilt Woman I see thou art a poor hungry soul and I am Manna and bread from Heaven come to mee and take as much as thou wilt Woman thou hast made but one Petition but I see more in thy heart take what thou wilt My Beloved the Lord Jesus Christ hee gives like himself very largely to poor creatures Hee satisfies their souls even to the full David at last could sing such a song as this is Psal 103.3 Bless the Lord Oh my soul who forgiveth all thine iniquities who healeth all thy diseases c. You that lye hungring at the gate of Christ and cry bread Lord a Morsel Lord yea a Câ—umb Lord Christ will say There is a whole Loaf bee it to thee as thou wilt It was the speech of a dying Saint that lived long full of sorrow I am now as full of joy as my heart can hold See Zach. 9.12 Turn yee to the strong hold yee prisoners of hope even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee Good now minde it poor soul it may bee Jesus Christ may shut thee up in prison yet there thou wilt bee a prisoner of hope I but what shall you have at last Hee will render double unto thee All the Lords children at last they shall have double So it was with Joseph hee had hard usage at first cast into prison c. but at last hee is out and Governour of all the Land At last Christ will deal with you all as hee dealt with Joseph The Lord Jesus will deal with a bountiful hand full heaped up running over That is the first thing But then Secondly Bee it unto thee EVEN AS thou wilt It relates to the Manner eminently as well as to the Matter As thou wilt that is in such a manner as thou wilt When David came up to Araunah to have the threshing-floor and cattel for a sacrifice hee would have them so and so And Araunah said to him Do what seemeth good unto thee 2 Sam. 24.22 And there is very much in that The Lords people have their hearts many times set upon the manner of their mercy Deal bountifully with thy servant as thou usest to do unto those that love thy Name saith David in Psal 119.132 The poor soul that lies at the feet of Christ would have mercy and have such mercy as his Lambs have that lye in his bosome Thomas hee would have a sign from the Lord and hee would have such a sign John 20.25 and in vers 27. Christ condescends to him but a little to open this One while the soul will have Love I and it must bee immediate Love Let him kiss mee with the kisses of his mouth Cant. 1.2 It was a very elegant and holy allusion of Bernard and therefore I shall mention it There is the kiss of the foot of Christ and of the hand and of the mouth of Christ i. e. There are several sorts of kinde expressions now the Spouse specifieth what kinde of Love-expression shee would have as sometimes the soul doth and may do shee would have not the kiss of the feet but of the mouth and Christ gave it her as shee intimates vers 4. Minde it then One while thy soul will have immediate Love-Tokens and the Lord will give you as you will Another while the soul cries out as David in Psal 35.3 Say thou unto my soul thou art my salvation c. The childe will have bread and it will have it upon the Mothers lap Another while the soul is ready to say Shew mee a token for good that those that hate mee may see it and bee ashamed Psal 86.17 18. Oh my Beloved what infinite love is it in Jesus Christ that hee should condescend so low as to give us not onely what wee will but as wee will That expression is very full in Psal 145.19 Hee will fulfil the desire of them that fear him The soul hath what hee will and just as hee will have it his whole desire And so Jesus Christ will do and therefore bear up your hearts you that come to Christ hee may deal harshly with you at first but hee will let it bee as you will at last Thirdly and lastly Bee it unto thee Christ is very positive very peremptory hee speaks as one resolved to do The Lord Jesus doth not say I will think of it or I will take it into consideration and it may bee it shall bee so but hee is positive Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt Two things there are that I eye in this expression Bee it unto thee First It is a Commanding word Secondly It is a Creating word First It is a Commanding word Bee it unto thee The Lord doth as it were command and say Woman I have commanded that it shall bee so In Psal 42.8 Saith the Psalmist there The Lord will command his loving-kindness in the day time and in the night his song shall bee with mee The poor soul while it is in the world it must deal with means as well as with grace and the soul is ready to say will the means give out Just as the poor petitioner that deals with a Lord but hee deals likewise with some of the Officers though the Lord grant his request yet hee doubts whether hee shall get it our of the Officers hand why saith hee I have commanded it Remember and rejoyce in this hint O poor heart who hopest Christ is free but doubtest what means may do Possibly thou hast said this I have good hope the Lord will speak kindly to mee but will the Ordinances give it out too why
saith God I have commanded it it shall bee so Bee it unto thee My Beloved Jesus Christ at last will say I command every Ordinance every Creature every word thou readest that it bee to thee as thou wilt Time was at first that Christ carried it so as nothing did subserve you or yeeld unto you any respect but when the Lord is reconciled at last hee will command all to bee yours Time was when no Man Means Creature Ordinance had any commission to smile on you or speak well to you and then it was sad But at length Christ will give a word send a Commission to all and command them saying Bee it so and so to such a poor soul as it will as it wisheth Secondly As there is a Commanding so there is a Creating Power in the Word and that is much Beleever Beleever though the Lord carry it at first like a man astonished hee will create mercy at last As in the Creation of the world God said Let there bee light and there was light c. So in Isa 57.7 saith God I create the fruit of the lips peace The Lord that creates light out of darkness peace out of trouble sweet out of bitter Hee will create for thee bee it light unto such a soul such a soul wants light and there is light created for him strength bee thou created for him c. I remember the Apostle Peter doth exhort Beleevers as their last refuge to eye the creating power of Christ and act Faith upon him not onely as a Redeemer but as a Creatour In 1 Pet. 4.19 Saith hee Commit the keeping of your souls to him in well doing as unto a faithful Creatour Soul if Creating Mercy can help you bee confident Christ will put it forth at length there shall bee another fiat another let there bee this or that for such a soul and that with creating influence in it And oh how kindly doth Christ carry it now at last that hee commands all and will create rather than fail comfort for this poor Woman Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt Thus have wee in Christs speech to this Woman seen as in a glimpse what his last dealings will bee with those that come to him And is not this enough to confirm your hearts that at last Christ will bee kinde however hee is at first But I proceed to the other thing here in Christs Carriage to this Woman Thirdly Her Daughter is made whole the same hour Poor Creatures you are full of unbeleef and I must say to you as John said These things are written thâ—t you might beleeve Christ will deal so well with poor souls that at last hee will give them their desires to the full And that which may bee their request in an eminent manner more particularly will the Lord Christ give them that I pray mark it a little thus The soul wants many mercies wishes all but it hath some particular pinch for the present c. Now that shall bee given in to the soul You have a fine expression to import the condescention of God to particular mercies in Psal 21.2 4. Thou hast given him his hearts desire and hast not with-holden the request of his lips Hee asked life of thee and thou gavest it him even length of daies for ever and ever Why my Beloved you that wait upon the Lord and truly come to him know and remember however hee carries it as if at first hee will grant nothing yet at last hee will grant every thing and in particular that Mercy that particular special Mercy which thy heart is drawn forth to mention before the Lord. Oh saith the soul I would have all sin dead but let this sin dye Now the soul shall have his this thing In this thing the good Lord bee merciful to mee why the Lord will in that thing bee kinde Let the soul single out its particular request Oh in this matter in that childe in this cause c. And hee shall finde Christ at last will come down to that very thing But I shall speak to this in the last Sermon by it self therefore I will not urge it here Onely now put all together and tell mee if the point bee not certain That Christ at last will deal very kindly with souls that truly come to him however at first hee may seem to deal harshly What could the poor soul wish more than shee had hee spake kindly now hee doth what shee will and as much as shee will now her Daughter shall bee whole in a moment c. This is all I shall say for the demonstration of the point There are some Objections to bee answered I shall at this time mention one Object I but will the soul say This is a particular example and particular examples they are not foundations for general conclusions Here is a Woman of Canaan and the Lord deals well with her what is this to mee For Answ Beloved in the Lord know this That every example of Gospel-grace is not so particular but that it is a general pattern All this was written that wee might beleeve And you know what the Apostle saith in that same Rom. 15. and the beginning These things are written for our learning c. Do not say This was a Woman of Canaan and I am a poor other kinde of creature Know this was written for thee In 1 Tim. 1.16 saith Paul there That in mee first Jesus Christ might shew forth all long-suffering for a pattern to them which should hereafter beleeve on him to life everlasting If the Woman of Canaan were alive shee would say I was a pattern for thee shee would say Christ dealt thus with mee first to shew how hee would deal with other poor creatures afterwards Let this bee an answer But then the Second Answer is this The account upon which shee had this grace it was not particular but common A particular thing with a particular account is too streight to bee made a general Rule but a particular example upon a general account may bee made a general Rule remember that Now this mercy was given to her not upon any personal particular account but upon a general account what is that account Woman great is thy Faith Shee hath this mercy not as a Woman nor as a Woman of Canaan nor as so and so speaking but as a Beleever Now upon this Reason Because the Lord dealth thus with her upon the account of Faith where-ever there is true Faith the Lord will deal thus It is the particular argument of Rom. 4. The Apostle proves that Abrahams Justification was a general type to others How doth hee prove it because it came to him by Faith The strength of the Argument lies thus Abraham was not justified as such a man upon any personal account but because hee was a beleever and therefore hee argues that all beleevers should bee justified as hee was Therefore do not say it was a particular example it
is a pattern and it is upon a general account There are onely two words of Application I shall make at present First I will gather one terrible Consequence from all this consolatory discourse And Secondly I shall gather one Rational Caution from the whole First I shall gather a terrible Consequence from all this When mercy is preached and comfort is held out wee have many snatch for it that have nothing to do with it And while I would comfort a Son or Daughter of Abraham I would not strengthen the hands of any in sin Well then sinners hear and fear Look about you as I use to say for certainly As Jesus Christ will deal kindly with those that truly come to him at last So hee will deal exceeding terribly with those who notwithstanding all his good carriage carry it ill to him If Jesus Christ Man or Woman will deal well with that soul that did tarry long because it tarried out to the end then hee will deal ill with thee whoever thou art who notwithstanding all his good carriage to thee dealest perversly with him though hee wooes you and beseeches you now yet at last hee will deal terribly with you at last there shall bee two in one bed the one shall bee taken and the other left Verily my Beloved Look as mercy and kindness will oblige the heart of Christ to bee kinde to waiters and commers at last so the justice and wrath of Christ will as it were ingage Christ to bee dreadful to Rebels and impenitent ones at last Husband thy Wife came to Christ and waited on him long Christ will in the issue bee kinde to her But thou standest it out still art a Rebel to this day Oh tremble to think what Christ will do at last Hee will judge and condemn and destroy thee upon whom hee hath waited long and who yet at last wouldest not come in The Jews are a sad example of this terrible Consequence that I am upon The poor Canaanites that Christ dealt so severely withall all the Prophecies of the Messiah were sealed books to them c. at last in the fulness of time Christ comes and hee speaks mercy to the Gentiles but how doth hee deal with the Jews the Jews that hee had been kinde to because they came not in hee turns away from them to the Gentiles Now therefore I beseech you look about you Christ hath been dealing well with you many a day beleeve it the Lord will deal harshly with you that stand it out and deal ill with him As hee will bee merciful at last to the home-commers so will hee bee cruel and yet just to you that have and do stand it out to the last all your daies Consider this then you that forget Christ lest the Lamb prove a Lion to tear you in peeces that yet continue in your sins and impenitence A second word I beseech you let mee give you all one Rational Caution If the Lord will deal so well at last then pray now bee so wise as not absolutely to conclude against this Truth Is there a poor Woman of Canaan before the Lord that hath had many a frown and many a hard put off many a frighting without and fear within Beware how you conclude against everlasting mercy for Christ may bee kinde at last That which I would press is in allusion to the 77. Psalm about the 7. vers Will the Lord cast off for ever and will hee bee favourable no more c. I observe that good man did never positively say so but onely hee questions it and before hee comes to conclude in vers 10. hee saith It was his infirmity Thou sayest shall I cry and never bee heard shall I beg bread and not have a crumb know that the Lord that hath a deaf ear at first will have a hearing ear at last Therefore it is but a reasonable request you that are waiting upon the Lord it is but a reasonable thing I beg of you Do not say the Lord will never bee gracious I shall inlarge it more hereafter But my thinks a Question is put now and I will in a word answer it Quest But what shall I do in the mean time I think the Lord will bee good at last but I shall starve in the mean time Answ Pray look once more into the story of Joseph Joseph carried it very roughly at first but hee carried it well at last but what do they do in the mean time Why they shall have bread to carry them unto their home The Lord Jesus is every way Joseph before hee doth reveal himself and deal kindly with you you shall have bread to live upon Though the Lord seem to carry it strangely now hee will do as Joseph did Give you bread to support you in your journey Look into the Scripture there is bread enough for you Never did the Lord let any perish but hee gave them sufficient to carry them up and to support them even in the way beside the best and abundance which is kept till last Therefore lift up thy hanging down hands and stay thy soul even at present Jesus Christ will give in necessary secret supplies before hee reveal himself in the open ample manifestations of his grace You shall even while in the Journey and the wilderness have a Viaticum travelling necessaries and at the end you shall have the full possession and inheritance of the Milk and Hony in Emanuels Land This I have proved and shall next time give you grounds for it Sure Grounds that Christ will bee kinde at last The Eighth SERMON Matthew 15. vers 28. Then Jesus answered and said unto her O Woman great is thy Faith bee it unto thee even as thou wilt c. THat all Persons Conditions Affairs are exposed to alteration and change is a truth no less sweet in some respects than bitter upon others Indeed my Beloved upon some accounts it is our misery that wee are mutable but withall upon other accounts it is our happiness that things shall not as wee say stand alwaies at one stand This present season though it bee sharp and cold an alteration will follow and a warmer season will come Our very bodies though sometimes weak yet a change doth come and wee are rendered strong And as it is thus with us in corporals so blessed bee God it is thus with us in spirituals Though for a time wee may lye under the wrath of man and the frowns of God yet a change will come for God hath said Hee will restrain the wrath of Man as it is Psal 76.10 and for his own anger hee will take it away so hee promiseth Hosea 14.4 Though for a time this Woman of Canaan was under the frowns of Christ though hee seemed to take no notice of her yet behold what a change is here hee that before would not answer her a word doth now answer her many words and many comfortable words Hee answered and said unto her Oh
called thee truly it was his anger and wrath that was upon her and yet hee had called her as a Woman refused Poor heart thou art as a woman grieved in spirit yet the Lord is kinde Object I but you will say That is a Promise made to those who once were in the heart of Christ who once were married to the Lord and afterwards seem to bee separated Answ 1. That is true and therefore by the way if there bee any of you that once were married to the Lord and by your sins are separated bee of good comfort the Lord doth caâ—l thee But secondly Though the sixth verse speak to one that was once a Wife yet the first verse speaks to one that was never a Wife Sing O barren thou that didst not bear for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married Wife So that mark it put it either way thou that once wast married to Christ and thou that wast never married there is a song of praise for you Whosoever you are that come to Jesus Christ whether it bee your first coming in the day of conversion from an unregenerate estate or second coming in the day of your return from a backsliding estate I say which soever it is if you come Christ will bee kinde unto you I will conclude And two words I shall speak First Know It is absolutely impossible that it should bee otherwise but that Christ should deal well with you at last You know the Apostles expression Heb. 6.18 That by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lye wee might have strong consolation c. When you have the Lords Word and the Lords Oath when you have the Lords Promises and many Experiences It is impossible now that God should fail here are immutable things You have the Experience of this Woman of Canaan and you have the Experience of many thousands besides the Promises and Oath of God and Christ so that I say it is impossible that it should change and bee otherwise It cannot bee but that Christ should deal well at last with those that come unto him I say again and Oh remember it it cannot possibly bee otherwise Secondly It is very probable your comfort may bee nearer than you are aware of Possibly thou wilt say It was never worse never further off Bee it so upon this account thou wert never nearer to comfort My Beloved it is a certain Truth When wee are ready to give up hope and ready to perish that is the time of our refreshing and reviving Possibly now thou dost think thou art at the worst the Lord may be ready to deal kindly with thee When did the Lord reveal this kindness to the Woman of Canaan when after hee had spoken worst of all Hee had said It was not meet to give childrens bread to Doggs and presently after this word hee saith Bee it unto thee even as thou wilt It may bee the Lord tells thee It is not meet to give thee bread now bee of good comfort now hee calls thee Dogg and is ready to beat thee off a thousand to one if hee do not give you childrens bread Indeed this I observe as a particular thing in the story of Joseph when was it that Joseph brake out in his kindness to his brethren See in Gen. 45.1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself c. When truly when Judah had told him such a sad story in chap. 44. vers 18. As if Judah should say My Lord great man what shall I do if thou do not let Beâ—amin go c. Then Josephs heart melted Happily thou art brought to this question Lord what shall I do Lord I have waited prayed cried and Oh Lord what shall I do why bear up thy heart now thou art near sinking the Lord may reveal himself to thee as hee did to the Woman of Canaan Well that is the first and the proper Use To comfort those that are in the Woman of Canaans condition I shall add but one word of Exhortation If it bee thus that the Lord Christ will deal thus kindly at last however hee carry it at first Then let the same minde bee in you that was in the Lord Jesus This you know is a great Rule That wee should bee followers of Christ Wherein shall wee bee followers of Christ First Carry it thus one to another Secondly Carry it thus to Jesus Christ First Carry it thus one to another If so bee through frailty you have carried it too roughly one to another hitherto carry it kindly now Bee not of a rough spirit irreconcilably It is time for Beleevers to lay aside their bitterness which hath been their sin and shame many years Oh that whatever unbrotherly ungospel-like carriage hath been amongst Saints and too much hath been may now at last end Let us in this imitate Christ to carry it well at last for a long time wee have carried it harsh and ill And in particular cases between one Relation and another one friend and another bee as Christ sweet and kinde in the cloze what ere you are or have been at first Secondly And especially Carry it so to Jesus Christ There is never a one of you but have carried it very strangely to Christ at first the Lord help you to carry it well at last Have not you carried it to Christ as Christ carried it to the Woman of Canaan The Woman of Canaan called but hee would not answer Christ comes to you and calls you but you will not answer Christ calls you you will not hear Young man saith Christ turn to mee it is not meet for mee to do so hath the young man answered I will not cast my youth and strength on a doting disgraced way as many do so have your hearts said too often And so for old and rich and great ones how oft have they put off Christ with no answer or at best with a delatory one I may say to you all that many a time after many a call and in many a case you have dealt unkindly with Christ Well but however though you have carried it ill to Christ heretofore yet pray carry it well at last I shall allude to a speech in Matth. 21.28 Christ speaks of two Sons of a certain man and hee came and said to the first Go work to day in my Vineyard hee answered and said I will not but afterwards hee repented and went c. The Lord Christ shews in that parable how some yea many deal with him Hee calls and commands the poor soul hee saith to the sinner Go to work leave off sin but the soul returns answer No I will not Oh this is naughty carriage yet now if wee recall our selves and say as hee said at last I go But afterwards hee repented and went This will bee doing good at last and however our former carriage hath been Christ will accept and count this well and say Here is good carriage
all doth depend upon Jesus Christ Now my Beloved That the Lord may fulfil temporal Promises hee will upon the faithful coming of his servants sometimes give them temporal mercies Wee shall now come to the Use There are but two Uses that I would make of this Point First of all therefore Let this serve for a word of Conviction And Secondly For a word of Instruction First It serves for a word of Conviction To convince the folly and the mistake of many poor creatures who think and say that going to Jesus Christ may bee good for the soul but they cannot tell what it is for the body Repentance Faith real Conversion to the Lord Jesus may save our souls but they cannot see what it will do for their bodies This kinde of Dutch-divinity is every where to minde Mammon and body best and most and to think Religion is not for any profit or purpose in those particulars But see here this folly and know that Religion is good for all things Length of daies are in Christs right hand and in his left riches and honour Oh souls learn to see going to Jesus Christ is good not onely for our souls but for our bodies You shall go to the Lord Jesus Christ and have the mercies of Heaven and the mercies of Earth too Can the Son of Jesse give you Olive yards and Vine-yards c. Was the speech of Saul 1 Sam. 22.7 So say the men of the world Do you think to get any thing by being godly Yes if the Lord please you may get for body as well as for soul by going to Jesus Christ The world is mightily mistaken that think godliness is good for nothing but salvation it is good for this present world too But then Secondly Let it serve for an Use of Instruction To teach us all whither to go in all cases whether spiritual or corporal why to go to the Lord Jesus Whatever thy case bee away to Christ going to Christ is good for soul and for body What is your condition Say some I am a poor man and I have a little estate and a great charge I hope beleeving in Jesus Christ will save my soul but what shall become of my Family go to Jesus Christ hee can give corporal as well as spiritual mercies Saith another I am sick c. little do wee know what may bee expected from Christ even in corporal cases You have a fine speech in Proverbs 3.16 Length of daies are in her right hand and in her left hand riches and honour Shee is a tree of Life and shee is health to the Navel and the Flesh chap. 4.22 This is spoke of Wisdome what Wisdome why it is spoken of Essential Wisdome Jesus Christ why what of Christ it is said Length of daies are in his right hand Eternity of Life is a right-hand-mercy for Jesus Christ to give I but how shall I live here why In his left hand are riches and honour You go to Jesus Christ and say Lord I have a dead soul dead in trespasses and sins Lord Length of daies are with thee But thy body is sick why go to Christ hee can cure bodies too and is this onely for your selves No but for others too you may go to the Lord Jesus not onely for a morsel of bread for thy poor soul but for some cure for thy childe Object But may I go to the Lord Jesus will the Lord Christ accept mee who come to him upon a carnal account Answ For answer That Jesus that hath the mercy of God to pitty souls hath the pitty of a man to pitty bodies and humane compassions will prevail with him for bodily pitty Object I but will the soul say Is there then any hope that I may prevail with the Lord for my sick childe Answ My Beloved I told you in the beginning That the Prayers and Faith of the Parent will much prevail with Christ for the good of the childe In Gen. 17. Abraham goes to the Lord and hee praies for Ishmael Oh that Ishmael might live in thy sight That is that hee might bee the childe of the Promise Hee was a Son of the Flesh but not an Heir of the Promise but yet mark what follows though Ishmael should not bee the childe of the Promise yet the Lord doth there assure Abraham of this that Ishmael shall bee blessed Isaac is the childe of the promised seed yet Ishmael shall bee blessed too Many a time doth the Lord hear the prayers of his servants even for an Ishmael i. e. for a childe yea a carnal childe and this is certain even bad children have many corporal mercies for their Parents sakes and wee may expect it Object But wee have known many a Parent that have gone in Faith to Jesus Christ for a poor childe that never have prevailed How then can you build us up in this Truth when wee see the contrary Answ I answer If thou goest to the Lord and prayest for a childe and dost not prevail God deals no worse with thee than hee dealt with thy betters David who was a man after Gods own heart went to God for a childe and hee prayed hard but yet the Lord did not hear him You have the story in 2 Sam. 12.16 David besought God for the childe and fasted c. And if it bee so with you yet are you as well in this respect as David was But more fully to answer the Objection I pray mark it that in that place there are two things might satisfie David and so any in the like case First It was not good for David that the childe should live I make that appear thus what was the childe that David did desire might live you know the story it was the base-begotten childe which hee got upon Bathsheba Certainly it was not good for David that the childe should live had the childe lived it would have been his Fathers shame c. When thou goest to God to begg the life of thy childe if thy childe do not live what is the reason hee may live to bee thy shame Some have begged of God the life of a childe what ever came of it God hath given it as a curse and the childes life hath been a monument of their shame and a perpetual heart-breaking to the Parents all their daies As a good Woman once sadly said So that is one thing it may bee for good to the Parent that God should not hear prayers for a childes life and then that may satisfie us if hee do not But then Secondly Though the Lord did not hear David for the life of the childe I perswade mee Hee did hear David for the soul of the childe I shall give you this account of it Saith David in v. 23. I shall go to him but hee shall not return to mee Whither is that not so much I shall go to him in my body to the grave but in my soul to God And my Beloved that this is intended
doth appear upon this consideration nothing but this could have so quieted the heart of David that the childe was happy Indeed some think that the phrase I shall go to him is no more but I shall bee dead as hee is and they say David did acquiesce in this that the will of God was fulfilled and therefore David comforts himself in this I shall go to him But if this had not been to Heaven it could have been no great comfort Alass what comfort is this bare thought to a mourning Parent my childe is dead and I shall dye too David might have had that comfort in Absolons death but here was his comfort I shall go to him i. e. to glory the bare grave is not comfort nor was it to David but the glory beyond the grave is And this is that comfort which doth stay the heart I shall go to him Though God did not hear him for his childes life yet I think for his childes soul So that is another thing to satisfie any Christian in this case I say when Christ doth not hear prayers to restore a childe to life and health yet in this case in particular go to the Lord Jesus you may go and you may prevail for corporal kindnesses for them and if not for their bodies who can tell but you may for their souls Then I beseech you all in the words of the Apostle Phil. 4.6 compared with verse 19. Bee careful for nothing but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request bee made known unto God My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus Whatever your condition bee bee not over careful go to the Lord Jesus and hee will supply all thy wants hee will give a pardon to thy soul and a plaister to thy body and to thy childes body too you may go to Jesus Christ for what you will in a way of beleeving and to bee sure you shall alwaies prevail in spirituals and sometimes in corporals But there are two questions that wee must answer First But in what cases may it bee lawful to put Prayer and Faith a working in going to Christ for corporal kindnesses Secondly When may wee hope that wee may prevail with Christ for corporal kindnesses First In what cases may wee go to the Lord Jesus and set Prayer and Faith on work for corporal kindnesses It is a Case of Conscience which is not oftentimes touched upon Three things I shall tell you to regulate you and then in any case you may go to Christ and act Faith for corporal mercies First When the thing is lawful that you ask There are many things that are not lawful for us to ask Like Neroes Mother ask and say I will have my Son King though I dye for it You may not begg of the Lord that your childe may bee thus great or thus honourable but you may begg of the Lord life and health creature accommodations so far as necessary these things you may begg and go to Christ for Secondly You must look that your spirits bee not inordinately set upon the things When ever thou findest thy heart inordinately set upon any thing then do not pray for it And then Thirdly When you can appeal to Jesus Christ that the end for which you begg a corporal kindness it is for his glory then you may begg it As David there in Psa 119.17 Deal bountifully with thy servant that I may live and keep thy Word You may go and say Lord Jesus Let my childe live for what end that hee may bee a great man a rich man c. No the Lord will abhor it But that my childe may live to serve the Lord if that bee your end you may pray for it And then Quest 2. But you will say When shall I know or may I guess that I shall prevail with Christ What are the signs of the time and season when I may hope I shall prevail with Christ for mercy c Answ I answer When the frame of your spirit is as the frame of the spirit of the Woman of Canaan I pray mark it a little what the frame of the spirit of this Woman was Take it in some particulars I will name onely two viz. First Shee had this frame of spirit That though shee mentioned her childes case yet shee seems to minde her own soul most And Secondly Shee had this as the frame of her spirit To beleeve for both Now to urge it in a few words to you The first frame of her spirit was That though shee did begg this mercy for her childe yet the frame of her spirit was principally set upon her soul This poor Woman did desire her Daughters life but however Lord bread for my poor soul Oh Sirs when you can go to God and say Lord I would have such a corpotal mercy but however Lord soul-mercy when you can desire a sick childe may bee made well but especially an evil heart mended when your soul is set mostly upon your soul and its concernments then are you in a good frame Secondly This Woman was raised up to measure of Faith Indeed some great and considerate Divines do think that that Text of James 5. where it is said The prayer of Faith shall save the sick is to bee understood in reference to a particular Faith And my Beloved howsoever yet let mee tell you it is not alwaies necessary wee should have a particular perswasion yet when the Lord doth intend to answer in a corporal kindness hee doth secretly either out of the word or by providence hint some word that may bring the soul to a beleeving frame Something is presented to us which raiseth up a Faith in us so that when wee are in such a frame of heart as to minde spiritual things most and yet to beleeve that in a temporal thing God will gratifie us then may wee expect that wee shall not bee ashamed of our Faith and that wee shall have the particular corporal mercy granted to us But to end This is that I would press upon the whole As ever you would have mercy for body and soul go to Jesus Christ But now there is some general word that I would draw from the whole story Wee have now dispatched this whole discourse of the Woman of Canaan What is there that is upon my spirit to begg of the Lord for you and for my own soul but this That this story may bee alwaies a good story to us First of all therefore I say Look about you that the story of the Woman of Canaan may not bee a sad story to any Is there any such as may have cause to fear that you will say Yes man or woman whoever thou art who dost not faithfully go to Jesus Christ the story of the Woman of Canaan shall condemn you you have no excuse to keep you off from going to Jesus Christ but this Woman will condemn you
Three Excuses some make First Alass I am a poor man or a poor woman that have heard but a little of Christ and am but a stranger to Christ so was the Woman of Canaan I but saith another Secondly I have something else to look after a great family or a sick childe c. The Woman of Canaan had a sick childe but did that keep her from Christ No that brought her to Christ If that speech had been spoke with gravity that one said upon that in the Parable Luk. 14.15 Hee might have brought his Wife with him it had been right enough you should bring relations with you to Christ do your indeavour to bring children let not children keep back you But thirdly Alass I cannot tell where to finde Christ It is a marvelous hard thing now adaies to finde a Jesus Christ Mark what the Woman of Canaan did The Evangelist Mark who records this story Mark 7.24 saith that Christ entered into a house and would have no man know it but hee could not bee hid for a Woman of Canaan found him out c. It was one of the tempting but the gracious tempting hours of Jesus Christ But hee could not bee hid for a Woman of Canaan found him out The Lord doth look thou shouldest finde a Jesus Christ and never leave looking till you do finde him The Woman of Canaan will condemn such as these Let not the story of the Woman of Canaan bee ever a sad story to you But Secondly Let the story of this Woman bee a sweet story alwaies to your spirit Let it bee a story as a store-house unto which you may go and fetch some comfort in your wants Who of you have been waiting upon Christ many a day and have not what you begg go to the Woman of Canaan and eat out of her basket There are three things in the story that will speak comfort to you First That many sins and great unworthiness shall never finally keep the soul from Christ Oh Sirs you go to the Lord Jesus and you knock but your sins bolt the door you cry but your corruptions cry louder the woman of Canaan will tell you I was as bad as you and the Lord heard mee Secondly This story hath this in it for your comfort That Prayers cast back may have a blessed return afterwards The Lord Jesus may now seem to be dumb so that hee may make thee speak the more Christ you see as in this womans case was silent as to granting her request a long time yet you see at last hee answers and that largely and lovingly Go to this story for that comfort were the woman of Canaan alive shee would tell you this experience A soul may have a Prayer returned in mercy that at first was seemingly cast off Thirdly The woman of Canaan will tell you this That a mercy may come at last of which the soul hath no assurance What assurance had the woman of Canaan none why the woman of Canaan will tell you I had comfort in the end though I had no assurance souls are much cast down for want of particular assurance They pray and hope but are not assured why what assurance had this woman Nay had shee not the quite contrary had not she a seeming rejection at first and no assurance at all But behold shee hath the mercy before any previous assurance And so may you have though no assurance now yet possibly you may have the mercy desired very speedily However learn and remember thâ—â— You may IN TIME have a mercy of which you have as yet no assurance Thus meditate on this story and look into it as I said as into a store-house of comfort in many cases To end all Beloved as the Apostle James said You have heard of the Patience of Job and what end the Lord made with him so say I you have heard of the Practice of the woman of Canaan and what end the Lord made with her Let not this story bee forgot as an old story is but remember it many a day yea all your daies For certainly there is much sweetness and refreshing which you may gather from this record of the Woman of Canaan FINIS Courteous Reader These Books are printed for and sold by Henry Mortlock at the Sign of the Phoenix in Pauls-Church-yard near the Little North-door Folios A Commentary upon the whole Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians wherein the Text is learnedly and fruitfully opened with a Logical Analysis spiritual and holy Observations Confuration of Arminianism and Popery By Mr. Paul Bain A Commentary on the Proverbs Ecclesiastes Canticles and the Major Prophets By John Trap M. A. Quartos An Exposition of the Prophecy of Ezekiel By William Green-hill The dividing of the Hoof or seeming Contradictions throughout sacred Scriptures distinguished resolved and applied By William Streat M. A. Some Sermons preached upon several occasions By Peter Sterry Large Octavos A Treatise of the Divine Promises in five Books In the first A general Description of their Nature Kinds Excellency Right Use Properties and the Persons to whom they belong In the four last A Declaration of the Covenant it self the bundle and body of all the Promises and the special Promises likewise which concern a mans self or others both temporal spiritual and eternal By Edw. Leigh M. A. of Magdalen-Hall in Oxford The Hypocrites Ladder or Looking-glass or a Discourse of the dangerous and destructive nature of Hypocrisie the reigning and provoking sin of this Age wherein is shewed how far the Hypocrite or formal Professor may go towards Heaven yet utterly perish by three Ladders of sixty steps of his Ascending By John Sheffield Minister of the Word at Swithins London An Improvement of the Sea upon the nine Nautical Verses in the 107 Psalm wherein among other things you have a very full and delightful Description of all those many various and multitudinous Objects which they behold in their Travels through the Lords Creation both on Sea in Sea and on Land viz. All sorts and kinds of Fish Fowl and Beasts whether wilde or tame All sorts of Trees and Fruit All sorts of People Cities Towns and Countries By Daniel Pell Preacher of the Word Small Octavos Several Treatises useful for Christian Practice viz. Warning to Backsliders The way to true Happiness Mercies Memorials A Sermon preached on the fifth of Novemb. Milk and Hony first and second Part Orthodox Paradoxes The New Commandement Divine Similitudes or Mysteries and Revelations By Ralph Venning The exceeding Riches of Grace advanced by the Spirit of Grace in an Empty Nothing-Creature viz. Mris. Sarah Wight Published by H. Jessey A Servant of Jesus Christ A Latin and English Grammar By Charls Hool M. A. Physical Rarities containing the most choice Receits of Physick and Chirurgery for the Cure of all Diseases incident to mans body Hereunto is annexed the Physical Mathematicks of Hermes Trismegistus Published by Ralph Williams Practitioner in Physick and Chirurgery Twelves Spiritual Experiences of sundry Beleevers with the Recommendation of the sound savoury and spiritual worth of them to the sober and spiritual Reader By Vavasor Powell Minister of the Gospel The Saints Desire or Divine Consolations being a Cordial for a Fainting Soul containing Observations Experiences and Counsels The Saints daily Duty the Life of Faith and how a Soul may live in the sweet enjoyment of the Love of God c. By Samuel Richardson FINIS