when men love themselves and seek their owne base ends It is one thing in some sort to love a man that is a childe of God and another to love him because he is a childe of God It is one thing to love a godly man and another because he is a godly man A man may love one who is a Scholler and a Preacher but yet not love him because he is a Scholler or a Preacher nay it may be he could love him a great deale better if he were neither The Apostle speakes of love out of a pure heart 1 Tim. 1. 5. And S. Peter of loving the brethren with a pure heart 1 Pet. 1. 22. When love is pure it is true Then it is pure love when it springs from none other Fountaine but the lovelinesse of Gods grace and Image in those whom we love 2 Secondly true love to the children of God and to Saints it loves such above all others the best of all others 1 Pet. 2. 17. Honour all men love the brotherhood There is a love and a respect to be given to all men according to their relations worth quality c. but yet true Christian love bestowes its Beniamins portion the specialty and choise of its affection upon godly ones It loves a godly religious man better than a learned man and the more godly a man is it loves him the more Doe good to all but specially to the houshold of faith Gal. 6. So love all men in their order and degree but let your brotherly love your heartiest and sweet affection be towards such as are brethren Love the brother-hood A love of the brother-hood must be a brotherly love a love as to brethren In a Family a man loves all the servants but yet he beares a more speciall neerenesse and deerenesse of affection to his brethren than to servants 1 Pet. 3. 8. Love as brethren We reade of a young man Mark 10. that came running to Christ and enquiring how he might inherit eternall life And we reade of Lazarus whom Christ raised from the dead Ioh. 11. It is said of both that Christ loved them of the rich young man Marke 10. 21. Then Iesus beholding him loved him of Lazarus Iohn 11. 3. Lord he whom thou lovest is sick Now the young man was a Pharisee only he had some candour and ingenuity in him more than usually was in Pharisaicall spirits and so farre Christ loved him shewed loving respect and carriage towards him But now Lazarus was a godly and an holy man and therefore Christ loved him with a more specialty of affection He loved the one as a morall faire conditioned man that had some good desires and inclination towards good but he loved Lazarus deerely and intimately as a godly and a good man with such specialty of affection that it was enough to know him without his Name by Christs love to him The man whom thou lovest By this try the truth of thy love Whom lovest thou best Have the best men the best of thine affection Are those deerest to thee who are deerest to God the best evidence that can be of the truth of thy love But this proves many to want this love and that they love not the godly as godly men should be loved what ever their professions and protestations of love be For let it be granted that they love them yet let it bee enquired whom they love best to whom their hearts and affections are closest knit Looke upon those that are deepest in their affections and judge whether they be at the best more than morall and civill and whether those that be godly and religious have halfe that affection and love that meere civill persons have Thou doest not love godly men best therefore thy love is hypocriticall thou lovest a morall man better than one that is religious therefore thy love is with dissimulation 3 Thirdly true love loves as the Colossians did Gol. 1. 4. It loves all the Saints Where grace is the ground of love where ever grace is there is love as fire still followes the fuell Grace hath the same beauty in all and if grace be the attractive of affection it drawes affection to all in whom it is The love that is amongst Gods Saints is compared to the ointment that was powred upon Aarons head Psal 133. 2. It was powred upon his head but it rested not there it ran also downe upon his beard nay it ran downe to the skirts of his garments So the love that is among the Saints it diffuses it selfe to all the members of Christ it runs not only upon the head and beard but upon the skirts of the garments to the very lowest and meanest of Gods people in whom there is grace It excludes not any whom God hath received Rom. 14. 3. despises not any whom God hath chosen Iames 2. 5 6. Love the brotherhood sayes S. Peter He doth not say love a brother or such of the brethren but love the brother-hood the whole fraternity society and company of the Saints the whole brood and brother-hood of Gods people Try thy love by this He that loves a godly man for his grace that hath no other thing to commend him neither friends nor riches nor credit nor profit that can love poore godlinesse as well as rich godlinesse that can love grace in rags as well as in robes in russet and leather as well as in silkes and velvets such a love to all Saints is a good evidence of truth of love But when men love onely some great and rich ones that have grace and regard not meaner ones though gracious it is a signe that it is not true love Yea it is a blameable errour in many that though their love be indeed to the godly yet it is with a kinde of confinement only to some as worthy of their communion and affection It is not to be denied but that a man may love some godly men more than othersome Christ himselfe had his beloved Disciple and wee shall finde that thrice Christ shewed some speciality of favour and affection to three of them above the rest Luke 8. 51. He suffered none to goe in save Peter Iames and Iohn Luk. 9. 28. in his transfiguration he tooke up with him onely Peter Iames and Iohn And in his agony when he sequestered himself from the rest of his Disciples yet he takes these three along with him Mat. 26. 37. But yet such a confinement of our affection to some choise ones as goes with a contempt or plaine neglect and exclusion of others of meaner abilities and graces is an unwarrantable thing such as will not be allowed by this signe of love now instanced in 4 Fourthly true love loves and delights in the fellowship and society of the godly Love the brother-hood sayes S. Peter He doth not say love the brethren but love the brother-hood that is as some expound it the fellowship of the brethren and so our former translation reades it Love
and Yours be ever more and more honble and long may Your House flourish in such and all other Honor. Experience lets us see that not only Nobles but Nobility it selfe is mortall and that not only Great Men but Great Houses dye Yet there is a way to make Honours and Houses longer lived than many times they be Davids prayer was this Let 1 Chro. 17. 24 27 the House of thy Servant be established before thee let it please thee to blesse the House of thy Servant that it may be before thee for ever for thou blessest O Lord and it shall be blessed for ever But that is not all that David did as he prayed God to blesse his House so he himselfe also blessed his House And David returned to blesse 1 Chron. 16. 43 his House Needs must his house be established when he not onely desires God to blesse it but withall he blesses it himselfe by doing what ever it might be that might bring a blessing upon his House Then doe Great Ones blesse their Houses when among other things they be like the Nobles of Israel Those Nobles had their staves which haply they bare in their hands as Ensignes of their Nobility Now they made those staves which were the Ensignes of their Honour the instruments also of common good The Princes digged the well the Nobles of the people digged it with Num 21. 18. their staves With their staves of Honour they digged a Well for the common good and publike benefit of the people That is one speciall way to keep the staffe long in a Family and long to continue the Honour Nobility Dignity and wealth of great Families when they improve their Honours and Power to honour God in being serviceable what they can to publike good It lies a black blot upon the Nobles of Tekoah that they put not their necks to the work of Neh. 3. 5. the Lord in not being forward to promote a common good which though a civill worke yet because it conduced to common good is called the worke of the Lord. As that thing blurs their Names so who knowes but it might gradually moulder bring downe and lay their Houses in the dust This is out of question that Doing worthily makes a mans name famous and his House glorious Doe thou worthily Ruth 4. 11 12. in Ephratah say those Elders blessing Boaz And be famous in Bethlehem and let thine House be like the House of Pharez That which was their blessing upon him is and shall be my prayer for you that the GOD of Heaven and Father of our Lord Iesus Christ will be pleased to make good that blessing upon your Honours Persons and hopefull posterity that with Abraham he would make you blessed and blessings that ye being heires of blessing here may be heires of blessednesse hereafter in the Kingdome of Glory Your Honours to serve You IER DIKE A Table of the Heads of this Treatise The due Order of receiving the Sacrament of the Supper and seeking God therein stands in three kindes of Duties 1 Duties Antecedent in doing such Duties as must go before the Sacrament All which come under the generall Head of preparation Preparation is twofold 1 Habituall having the soule furnished with such graces as may make a man a worthy Communicant They are these Knowledge Faith Repentance Charity Obedience 2 Actuall which stands in these things 1 Solemne sequestration of a mans selfe 2 Examination 1. of the Truth of Faith Repentance Love Obedience 2. of the Growth of Grace 3. of our Wants 3 Renewing and quickning our Habituall Graces 4 Excitation and stirring up in our selves strong desires after Christ 5 Stirring up in our selves a strong expectation of the benefits to be had in the Sacrament 6 Earnest seeking of GOD by Prayer 2 Duties concomitant In doing such Duties as accompany the action of Receiving where the generall Duty is The offering up of our selves to God in an holy and spirituall disposition in receiving the Sacrament This stands in five things 1 Solemne and serious meditation 2 An exercise of repentance standing in Godly sorrow for sin A solemne renewing of our covenants with God 3 The actuating of faith upon Sacramentall offers Sacramentall promises Sacramentall representations 4 The Duty of Thanksgiving 5 An Exercise of Love and Mercy 3 Duties subsequent In doing such Duties as must follow after Receiving And they are two 1 Examining a mans selfe how he hath sped at the Supper 1 If sped ill Then 1. finde out the cause of miscarriage and be humbled for it 2 Labour by after-paines to quicken and make the Sacrament effectuall 2 If sped well Then 1. blesse God for it 2. labour to keepe and maintaine the holy frame of heart gotten at the Sacrament 2 A speciall care to keepe our vowes and expresse the power of the Ordinance in our holinesse of life and obedience A Table of the severall Chapters of this Treatise Chapter 1. That God must be sought in a right Order as well as in a right Ordinance Chapter 2. The necessity of Preparation before the Sacrament Chapt. 3. The danger of comming to the Sacrament without preparation Chapt. 4. The necessity of knowledge in a Communicant Chapt. 5. The necessity of Faith in a worthy Receiver Chapt. 6. The necessity of Repentance in a prepared Communicant Chapt. 7. The necessity of charity and love in an orderly Cammunicant Chapt. 8. The necessity of obedience in an orderly Communicant Chapt. 9. The solemne sequestring and setting a mans selfe apart before the Sacrament Chapt. 10. Of examination Chapt. 11. The examination of faith Chapt. 12. The examination of Repentance Chapt. 13. The examination of love Chapt. 14. The examination of obedience Chapt. 15. The growth of Grace and our wants examined Chapt. 16. Habituall Graces to be quickned and renued before the receiving of the Sacrament Chapt. 17. Excitation of earnest desires after Christ and a strong expectation to receive him and his benefits Chapt. 18. God to be sought in speciall manner by prayer before the Sacrament Chapt. 19. Meditation and an exercise of Repentance at the Sacrament Chapt. 20. Faith to be actuated and exercised in the Sacrament and an exercise of thankesgiving love and mercy Chapt. 21. Subsequent duties such as must follow the Sacrament Received Errata Pag. 30. li. â— consent reade conceipt .. 84. l. 10. disposing r. despising p. 100. l. 24. Iohn r. Iob. p. 222. l. 8. is r. it p. 167. l. 5. on r. no. p. 174. l. 1. dele Lords Table p. 231. l. 2. r. a duty p. 265. l. 18. thus r. this p 283. l. 9. faith r. truth p. 288. l. 1. care r. eare p. 328. l. 24. faith r. truth p. 371. l. 17. adde only p. 427. l. 1. implyed r. imployed p. 433. l. 14. Iohn 1. Isaiah p. 443. l. 20. dele the first it p. 516. l. 1. for 16. r. is p. 529. l. 26. duely r. duty p. 532. l. 23. will r. with p.
dares be tried by God himselfe Oh with what sweet confidence might we put our selves upon Gods owne triall when we come to the Sacrament if we our selves had had our selves upon triall first But how dreadfull will Gods examination be to such who neither use nor list nor care before they come to the Sacrament to examine themselves Chap. 11. Of the examination of Faith THat this duty of examination must be done we have seene Let us now consider what it is on which we must examine our selves And the things upon which we must examine our selves are these three 1 The â—â—â—th of our graces 2 The growth of them 3 Our wants The graces that must bee tried and examined must bee specially those before named required to bee habitually in a Communicant Faith Repentance Love and Obedience The truth growth and wants of them all must bee examined A man should examine grace as he doth gold Gold may be counterfeit may shew faire and yet be base mettall in such a case a man examines it by the Touchstone and bringeth it to the Test gold may CHAP. 11 be true and good but may faile in the weight it may be good gold but too light in such a case a man brings it to the scales and to the weight and so either weight or want is discovered So must grace bee examined There is a great deale of counterfeit grace in the world All is not gold that glisters and all is not grace that makes a shew There is a great deale of copper grace copper faith repentance c. in the world What did Moses for a time but the Aegyptian Sorcerers did the same Moses turnes the waters into bloud so doe they Exod. 7. 22. Moses brings Frogs upon the Land so doe they Exod. 8. 6. 7. And their bloud and Frogs seemed as true bloud and Frogs as those brought by Moses Those things they did seemed as great miracles as what Moses did yet Moses wrought realities all theirs were but juglings and sorceries There is nothing that a true Christian can have or doe but an hypocrite may have and doe for the outward semblance as much as he Therefore since a mans graces may be counterfeit they must be brought to the touchstone and be examined there for their truth Againe there is much true grace that is grace indeed faith and repentance indeed which yet have not that growth that their time and meanes they have beene under requires and so want of their weight How often doth CHRIST rebuke his Disciples with this O ye of little faith Therefore in such a case a man must bring his graces to bee examined by the ballance of the Sanctuary which may make knowne to every man what is the weight and what is the want of his graces 1 First then try and examine the truth of Grace whether these graces be truly in us or no. The first grace to be tryed is the grace of faith That which the Apostle puts Christians upon at all times is specially of use before the Sacrament 2 Cor. 13. 5. Examine your selves whether you be in the faith prove your owne selves The Corinthians were very busie about examining S. Paul and his ministery verse 3. Since ye seeke a proofe of CHRIST speaking in me and so we are very ready to be busie in the examination of other men and their faith but sayes Saint Paul examine your selves so it is good for us at all times but specially before the Sacrament to examine our owne faith As Philip before he administred the Sacrament of baptisme to the Eunuch Acts 8. 37. did examine him of his faith so should every man before the receiving of the Sacrament of the Supper examine himselfe of his faith These reasons that pinch us to examination of our faith at all times have strength in them to doe it specially at this time as First without this tryall and examination a man may be cheated gulled and cosened in the poynt of faith It is good therefore to try before we trust Iob 34. 3. The eare tryes words as the mouth tastes meate To the eye many meates seeme pleasant and dainty but the mouth tasting them knowes justly what they be So the eare heares words We should get a good spirituall eare that we may be able judiciously to discerne the faire and flattering words of Satan and our owne hearts These will give a man as good words as may be Doe not say they disquiet thine heart with needlesse feares cheere up thine heart man thou needest not question the truth of thy faith These are good words But now as the mouth tastes meate and by tasting takes a tryall of it so must we labour to have such an eare as may try these words whether they be true or not A good musitian had neede to have a good eare and a good Christian hath neede of a good care too by which he may be able to judge of the false and flattering musicke the Divell and his owne heart make him Try the spirits 1 Ioh. 4. 1. As forreyne spirits without so it is good to try the secret spirits within us For there be two spirits the Spirit of God and the spirit of Satan and Satans spirit doth often counterfeit the voice of Gods Spirit and tels us that we have faith excellent measures of faith when there is no such matter therefore try the spirits That was a vile thing in the people Acts 12. after Herods Oration to cry out The voice of God It is much more vile in us when Satan and our owne heart shall flatter us with false conceits of faith to cry out The voice of God and the voice of the Spirit Try therefore before you trust 2 Secondly it is a very hopefull and comfortable evidence of the truth of faith when it is willing to be tried and desirous to be examined It is a suspicion that that mans gold is not good that is unwilling to have it toucht that a mans cause is naught when he is unwilling to have it tried that a man is no Scholler that shuns examination It is a signe that a mans gold is good that is willing and desirous to have it brought to the touch A good cause desires a faire triall A good Scholler that hath it in him is willing to undergoe examination which a dunce and a non-proficient hath no liking to A faith that is a true faith will be willing to undergoe any triall and examination 3 Thirdly the triall and examination of faith is the strengthning and increasing of it Faith examined and tried proves a faith increased and strengthned Some things sometimes prove the worse and suffer losse by triall but the more faith is tried the more faith is increased Gold is not the worse but the better the purer for triall As the fiery triall of faith betters it and makes it the more pretious and makes it to be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of
sound in love As faith must bee without hypocrisie 1 Tim. 1. 5. so must love Rom. 12. 9. It is dangerous to bee rotten in the faith it is also dangerous to be rotten in our love It therefore concernes a man as well to examine the truth of his love as of other graces Men may doe much and go far in the love of Gods people and yet not love them as they ought to be loved First they may hold an outward correspondency with them in outward peace and neighbourhood they may live quietly by them and with them bee free from quarrels suits contentions vexations and oppositions against them and in these respects may keepe faire quarter with them and yet for all this not love them as godly people are to be loved Abimelech and Phicol Gen. 26. 28 29. desire to live peaceably and quietly with Isaac that there may bee an oath and a covenant betweene them But yet these being heathens could not love Isaac as a godly man should be loved They departed from him in peace Vers 31. Peace is one thing and love is another 2 Secondly they may preferre dignifie advance and honour them and yet not love them as godly men should be loved Besides Gods sanctifying graces there are oftentimes in Gods children other gifts of wisdome prudence learning fidelity skill and activity in secular imployments All which may gaine them great respect in other mens hearts So Pharaoh honoured Ioseph and we see his ground Gen. 41. 38 39 40. So Nebuchadnezzar preferred Daniel and we see his ground Dan. 2. 47 48. So Laban set Iacob over his flocks and we see his ground Gen. 30. 27. So many a Master loves a godly servant not because he is a good man but because he is a good servant This is selfe-love they love them because they love themselves such men are for their ends of profit advantage c. and for their turnes and therefore out of a self-selfe-love and selfe-respect love and respect them That their love of them is not for their godlinesse appeares by this because though there were not one dram of grace and godlinesse in them yet for their other abilities should they be no lesse deere unto them then now they are with all their graces 3 Thirdly they may magnifie them highly commend and reverence them for good men and yet not love them as godly men should be loved Abimelech called Isaac The blessed of the Lord Gen. 26. Herod observed and reverenced Iohn Marke 6. The people magnified the beleevers Acts 5. 13. There were a great many that hated opposed and vilefied them but yet among the Iewes there were some that were of a more tolerable and equall temper and though they durst not goe so far as to joyne themselves with them yet thus farre they went that when others reproached scorned and calumniated them they were ready to commend and pleade for them They would haply thus speake Well you may say this and that and speake your pleasure of them but when you have said all that ever you can yet we see they be very good people very conscionable and godly men they are 〈◊〉 other but what you and we should â—â— Here was magnifying of them but yet not loving them as they should have beene loved because as the Text saies Of these no man durst joyne himselfe to them All this arises not from love but from the conviction of conscience upon the sight of the lustre and beauty of their shining graces and upon the experience of the integrity of their wayes Conscience convinced cannot but open the mouth to give godly men an honourable testimoniall in magnifying and reverencing them 4 Fourthly they may doe them many kinde offices courtesies and favours and yet for all this not love them as godly men are to be loved Ieroboâ—m may invite a Prophet to dinner The very Barbarians did shew courtesie to them Acts 28. 2. and yet were farre enough from this love Humanity civility good nature and good nurture may carry men farre in this kinde 5 Fifthly they may as honour their lives so desire their deaths and yet not love them as godly men should be loved Balaam desires the death of the righteous and that his latter end may be like unto his and yet Balaam that faine would have cursed Israel was farre enough from the love of a Saint Many when they see a godly mans end may speake honorably of him and wish Oh that my soule might rest with his oh that my soule might speed as his for I am perswaded he is in heaven and yet all this while not love a godly man as a godly man should be loved 6 Sixthly they may honour the memory of them when dead and gone and upon all occasions give them honourable testimonialls for their piety godlinesse c. and yet not love them as godly men should be loved The Pharisees Matth. 23. built up the Sepulchres of the Prophets and seemed to shew great love to their memorials and yet if they had beene alive they would have dealt no better by them than their Fathers did Thus much may be done and yet love wanting that love wanting wherewith a Saint is to be loved For with such a love must a man come to the Sacrament in which there is so speciall an exercise of the communion of Saints Since therefore all this is not enough let us see then what it is that is required more that our love may bee such as will qualifie us for the orderly receiving of the Sacrament True love then to the members of Christ to godly and gracious persons may bee thus knowne 1 First it loves them as Saints under the relation of brethren because they be brethren because they bee sons of God the same Father sons of the Church the same common mother and members of Christ our elder Brother When a man loves godly men not because they be great rich learned wise because they may doe or have done him a pleasure but meerely because they have Gods Image upon them in grace and holinesse he loves them as godly persons should be loved When Gods grace in them is the ground and Gods Image upon them is the Loadstone of our love when we love them not because we love our gaine respect c. but because we love God and see them to be his then is our love right 1 Iohn 5. 2. Hereby wee know that wee love the children of God and love them as the children of God bearing Gods Image upon them when wee love God That is true love of godly men when our love to them is grounded upon and flowes from our love to God On the contrary may it be said of many that they love not the children of God No not love the children of God Why I love such and such a man and you will not say but they are the deere children of God I but by this wee know that men love not the children of God
brotherly fellowship Brother-hood implyes sometimes fellowship as Zech. 11. 14. I will breake the brother-hood betweene Iudah and Israel The naturall relation between them could not be broken but their mutuall society and fellowship should be broken they should be divided and dispersed each from other So then they that love the godly love their brother-hood their company their conference and communion with them This evidenceâ— tâ—â— truth of Davids love Psal 1â— 3. All my delight is in the Saints on earth my delight is in their company and conference Many in the world magnifie the Saints in heaven yea some over magnifie them whilest they would give divine worship to them but in the meane time make little account of the Saints on earth nay hate them imprison kill and burne them Apoc. 13. 7. but David delights in the Saints on earth Psal 119. 63. I am a companion of all them that feare thee and of them that keepe thy precepts Try then where lyes thy delight What is the company and society thou affectest If it be the society of the godly thy love is to them But this discovers the hypocrisie of many mens love They doe love godly men with all their hearts But yet examine who be their companions and marke who they be in whose society they delight and are they such as are godly and religious Take they not more delight in the fellowship of drunkards vaine and â—â—â—thy persons Is not godly company the most irkesome wearisome thing in the world to them What can cleere it more that men love not the godly It may be thou commendest them and speakest all good of them but if thou joyne not in society with them thou doest but as those before spoken of Acts 5. 13. They gave the beleevers good words but they durst not joyne themselves unto them It may be thou speakest not against them not because thou lovest them but because thou lovest thy selfe that they may not speake against thee It may be thou speakest well of them and all because with good words thou wouldest buy good words againe This is love in word in tongue but not in deed and in truth Look where thy delight and company is there is thy love 5 True love is hardly angred easily pleased Hardly angred 1 Cor. 13. 4. Charity suffers long Vers 5. It is not easily provoked It will suffer long and beare much ere it will break It may be provoked but not easily Easily pleased 1 Cor. 13. 4. Charity is kind Iames 3. 17. The wisdome that is from above is gentle easily to be intreated God is love sayes the Apostle 1 Iohn 4. 8. And God is slow to anger Ps 103. 8. He suffers long Exod. 34. 6. He is not easily provoked And he is easily reconciled Psal 103. 9. Neither will he keepe his anger for ever Nay not easily to be intreated but he intreates and beseeches us the offending parties to bee reconciled 2 Cor. 5. 20. Now what makes God so slow to anger so quick so easie to be appeased Because God is love It is the nature of love so to be and love is his nature The Apostle presses Christians to two speciall things Col. 3. 13. For bearing one another and forgiving one another if any man have a quarrell against any I but these bee hard things to bee done how shall a man come to be able to doe these things Therefore the Apostle teaches us a way how to doe it in the very next verse and words And above all things put on charity which is the bond of perfectnesse The way to do these things is to get charity and love Mark then the nature of love It is not easily provoked it is hardly angred it is a forbearing grace It is easie to be pleased It is a forgiving grace It is hardly angred because it forbeares It is easily pleased because it forgives Love is a forbearer and a forgiver Try thy selfe by this If thou art exceeding loth to be provoked sufferest much and sufferest long and art willing to beare till the number and weight of the burthens grow so heavie and unsupportable that thy back is ready to breake before thou complaine If thou art willing to swallow injuries and wrongs one in the neck of another so long as they are swallowable that they would not choake or poison thee if thou shouldest offer to swallow any more for no charity bindes a man openly to wrong himselfe such forbearance argues that thou hast put on charity If offences be given thee and wrong grosse wrong done thee yet if thou canst readily cheerefully willingly and cordially forgive it is a good signe of true love But how farre are many from the truth of this grace in their hearts who are easily off the hookes and presently provoked and all to peeces upon a small offence given nay it may be upon no offence given at all only upon an accidentall slip or a faile in a formality and complement No forbearance argues small charity As far are they from love that are of implacable irreconcileable spirits once lost and lost for ever whom no kindnesses can overcome whom no satisfactions can appease nor no wisdome can set in joynt againe Quest But what if a man have done me wrong and diverse wayes injured me by offensive carriages whether am I bound to forgive him or no hee seeking no reconciliation with me Am I bound to forgive where forgivenesse is not sought and must I stay from the Sacrament because I have not forgiven one that wrongs me and seekes not peace Answ In forgiving of an offender there be three things 1 The letting fall of al wrath malice and desire of revenge 2 The testification of forgivenesse A solemne profession of remission 3 The re-acceptance and re-admission of an offendour into former society communion and familiar converse For the first A man is bound to forgive in that respect whether the party offending aske forgivenesse or aske it not A man must so forgive as that he must beare no malice nor nourish any thoughts of revenge For though mine adversary sinne in his obstinacy yet his sin will not warrant me to sin in malice and thoughts of revenge If mine enemy will not doe that which belongs to him yet I may not doe that which belongs to God Therefore for matter of revenge and malice we must alwayes forgive and unlesse a man doe so forgive as to let fall all malice and thoughts of revenge he sins in comming to the Sacrament For the second Our Saviour gives a rule Luke 17. 4. If he trespasse against thee seven times in a day and seven times in a day turne againe unto thee saying It repents me or I repent thou shalt forgive him He doth not say If thy brother offend against thee seven times thou shalt forgive him seven times but if he say I repent Whether he say so or not I must forgive him in regard of malicious and vindictive thoughts But I
that is commanded me and when I have done that which is my duty to doe I must say I am an unprofitable servant then how much more must I say it that am far short of doing all that in this particular I am commanded to do and have not done that which is my duty to do I doubt therefore that I may not come to the Sacrament because I cannot finde my selfe thus prepared I were better keepe away than come unlesse I were thus prepared I have done what I possibly can do but alas how short am I of what is required Answ 1. First have recourse here to that which before was said in the last point of the second Chapter Labour and endeavour to be as exactly prepared as possibly thou canst but if thou canst not attaine to that measure and degree of preparation thou desirest yet if thy heart witnesse to thee that what is wanting in thy preparation is not from sloth idlenesse and lothnesse to take paines but it is the highest degree that with all thy paines thou art able to attaine unto I say unto thee in this case as Saul spake to David in that 1 Sam. 17. 37. Goe and the Lord be with thee Go to the Sacrament and feare not but that the Lord will be with thee 2 Secondly if indeed thou hast no faith no repentance at all wrought or renewed in thee I would in any case advise thee to forbeare for why shouldest thou destroy thy selfe as Salomon speakes in that case Eccl. 7. 16. But now deale uprightly as in Gods presence and take heed as well of bearing false witnesse against thy self as against thy neighbour It is a sin to beare false witnesse against thy selfe as well as to foredoe thy selfe and therefore make conscience of it deale sincerely therefore Darest thou confidently and upon unquestionable grounds affirme it that thou hast no faith no repentance I much feare me sayest thou that I have not That is not the point what thou fearest but what thou assuredly knowest A man may have much faith that feares hee hath none yea there may bee greatest faith where there be greatest feares Thou upon serious examination of thine owne condition not upon an ignorant self-selfe-love darest not for a world resolutely and peremptorily say thou hast no faith no grace no part in Christ then take heed how thou upon thy feares forbeare Gods Ordinance 3 Thirdly if thou have done thine utmost in the sincerity of thy spirit to fit thy selfe for the duty and thine heart charges thee neither with any grosse guilt in thy life nor with any slothfull formality in thy preparation though thou canst not finde thy selfe so fitted as thou wouldest yet go to the Ordinance if it be upon conscience of giving God obedience Christ commands the use of the Sacrament Doe this in remembrance of me Now though thine owne feares discourage and dis-hearten thee and when thou lookest at thy selfe thou fearest to go yet if when thou lookest at Gods commandement and in the conscience of it fearest to stay away here in this conflict of feares let this last feare get the victory and be more afraid to stay from the Sacrament in regard of Gods commandement then to come to the Sacrament in regard of thy discouragement Gods commandement sayes Go thine own discouragements sayes Goe not Give obedience rather to Gods commandement than to thine owne feares Obedience yeelded to God out of pure conscience to his commandement yeelded I say against discouragements and feares may be no whit inferiour unto nor lesse acceptable then a preparation in a more exact and excellent degree then yet thou hast Such obedience is most excellent and most acceptable for that is the most excellent obedience when there is nothing else to toll and draw us on but only Gods commandement When a man finds himselfe in such a frame of spirit as that he questions not but to meet with comfort and a good answer at the Sacrament then possibly not Gods commandement but that comfort may rather seeme to draw him to the duty But now when a man hath some discouragements in regard of the feares of the indisposition of his spirit and yet in regard of Gods commandement dares not absent himself dares not but go it is cleere that such obedience is pure obedience because there is nothing to draw him on but Gods commandement and that hee doth the duty upon this ground Because God will have him do it that he doth it more for Gods sake than his own Excellent is that Exo. 14. 15. The Lord said unto Moses speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward Forwards Why there was great danger before them they go upon a manifest danger the Sea is before them As good go backward to the Aegyptians or as good stand still and let the Aegyptians come and put them to the sword as to goe forward It is but death to stand still but death to go backward and it is no better than death to goe forward What safety can be expected by going into the Sea Well for all this speake to the children of Israel that they go forward Now to go forward because God commands it when nothing but present danger in sight was an argument of pure obedience it was not safety but conscience of obedience to Gods commandement that carried them forwards A man in the truth and sincerity of his spirit hath done his utmost in his preparation and yet his heart misgives him that he shall sin to go to the Sacrament and that he shall run himselfe upon a manifest danger speake unto such a man that he go forward because God commands him to doe him this service and his going forward in obedience being pure obedience it shall returne him at last as great comfort as if he had beene so prepared as his desire was to have beene Object I but my heart is full of feares and doubts I feare and tremble to come to Gods Ordinance in my feares Answ Yet come Feares in comming are no barre to comfort Thou mayest come in feare and yet goe away with much comfort See Mark 5. 33. The Woman fearing and trembling came and fell downe before him And what sayes Christ to her Vers 34. Daughter go in peace She comes to Christ with feare she goes away in peace she came trembling she goes away rejoycing If her feare and trembling had kept her from Christ she had missed of that sweet and comfortable answer Daughter go in peace We know not what comfort we deprive our selves of when we suffer our feares and jealousies to prevaile so farre with us as to keepe us from Christ in his Ordinances Object But my feare is that I shall not meet with Christ nor finde him in his Ordinance and therefore what should I do there Answ A man may then meet with Christ and find him when he least of all hopes to finde him Mary meets with Christ Iohn 20. 15. and supposes