Canticles and the 7th it is said Much water cannot quench love neither can the flouds drown it that is All the evils in the world of afflictions for so commonly they are shaddowed out in the Scripture So Matth. 7. 27. affliction by rain persecution by flouds as temptations by winds by waters and persecutions which ordinarily are tearmed flouds cannot drown or overwhelm this love not wash it away or bear it down Afflictions cannot do it though they if any thing be as waters to quench it and which quench the love of many false Spouses But as the stone Asbestus being once fired can never be put out by any force though it consume it self so is it with this Marriage-knot this heating of the soul by the love of Christ when once it is hot by love throw whole Buckets of afflictions poverty sicknesse shame let fall whole showres of evils continued afflictions plunge it into a Sea of sorrows the longest and greatest pressures and trials and this love will not out but burn in the midst of the waters This fire of Heaven is like the other fire of destruction that never goes out Nor yet can the flouds drown it flouds are both deep waters and violent waters for those two things are included in a floud beside water namely depth and violence of water Some things cannot be drown'd because the water is not deep enough Other things because the water is not strong enough by its force of running to bear them down But when these two depth and force meet in one water that water of all others is most likely to drown So is it with evils some evils are not deep enough to swallow up those that lye under them and therefore they hazard not their love much or if they be deep yet not violent enough but creep on men insensibly and soe they keep some strength against them that they are not overcome by them as sicknesse coming more insensibly and slowly because not deeply rooted is oftentimes wrought out by the naturall strength or at least not so troublesome to nature Whereas those that are deep and strong to overthrow the body and lay it in the Dust so is it with some men they can endure afflictions and many but if deep and violent evils as persecutions if not by the length yet by the soarnesse and violence they make the love of men to moulder away to nothing Continuall shame it may be by ordinary men fellowes does but shake it but the deep reproach and violent injuries of great one drownes all by taking away their footing that hold they had of Christ because it was not deeply rooted so that they which are not able to stand against the flouds but their love is drowned quite and overwhelmed in them that it rises no more are no true but false Spouses of Christ And therefore to shut these two up together we may see it in that of our Saviour of the stony ground which when Matth. 13. 21. tribulations or persecutions come are offended The meaning of the words is this That there are two sorts of men which seem Spouses to Christ and are not Some that take him for better only and not for worse for when the worser tribulations or persecutions come they fall away Others that have a little faster hold on him but not in the right Spouse-like affection for when persecutions come though tribulations did not shake their love they fall away for so the words are to be understood that one of the two either tribulations or afflictions divide them from their supposed Husbands that they cannot stand against the flouds Whether then if thou canst stand against the Waters yet canst thou stand against the flouds Art thou so deep and strong in love as not to be covered and borne down by the depth and violence of persecution for they that are rightly espoused to Christ will hold him for better for worse yea in the worst that can come Lastly The last signe of a right conjugall love is to deny all affection to any other that would unjustly have it She that is a Wife tyed to her Husband in a right choice and affection so as to take him not by constraint but purely from love will let her love stirre to no other than to him which is her Husband So that soule which is rightly espoused to Jesus Luke 9. 23. Christ denyes her selfe of every Whorish affection to the world For that is to deny our selves when natural corruption would faine move too and askes leave to go out to the world for the satisfying of that old selfe But Spouse-like affection sayes no you shall not move to pleasure you shall not goe to credit you shall not run to profit again no I am espoused to Jesus Christ he it is that hath my love I dare not give it to any other besides Him have I given my heart and I will keep it for him As a Spouse may have such motions rising up to the beauty and excellencies of others which otherwise she could like well enough but because she hath given him her love she rejects such motions as not fit for her condition so the soul that is espoused to Christ may have such unchast motions rising up to the excellency of the creature which she otherwise could like but because she hath given Christ her heart she cast out such motions as the Sea doth dirt Doest thou then give way to false affections rising in thy heart to prevent the love of Christ thou hast no Spouselike affection and so art no true Spouse On the contrary doest thou beat down all false loves such affections as naturally boyle up in thy heart to the satisfying of the flesh that old self Doest thou give sin a peremtory denial when it would carry thee away from Christ to the creature it is then a sign the knot is tyed between thee and Christ and thou maist take comfort in it Other signs from the other degrees of nearnesse might here be added but these are the main If this unworthy Tractate may beget profit or acceptance it is that I wish The Lord Jesus Christ who is our nearnesse joyn our spirits nearer daily to his Father by his holy Spirit in faith and holinesse and preserve us all to his eternal Kingdome and glory Fare well FINIS
near him in any relations more than stones and trees or little more having no faith to spread these relations over them so having no faith they have nothing of holinesse nothing but sinne which turns them away from God that they come not near him so much as to give him a look so as to give him a word if unawares they meet him in his Ordinances But Holinesse what it is Gods people are near him in holinesse which is the new casting of the whole man in the mould of faith to the mind of God And this is the greatest nearnesse of all other for this more properly concerns God Faiths nearnesse is a nearnesse to God for our selves to make us safe but holinesse is a nearnesse to God for himself first and then for our selves Faith sets us under the covert of Gods love to shelter of wrath But holinesse makes us like unto God to restore our first perfection we lost in Adam and this is the thing God intends in the working of faith to restore us by holinesse Now Gods people are near in a double respect in holinesse 1. In the holinesse of Heart 2. In the holinesse of Life First They are near him in the holinesse of heart which is a breaking down the partition wall of sinne or taking away the distance made by sin and a partaking of the like nature with God himself 1. Hence first they Nearnesse of similitude are said to be like God near him by the nearnesse of similitude The holinesse of the heart being the new Coyning or Stamping of the Image of God upon the heart or the new drawing of the Image of God in the colours of holinesse upon the heart That as we say such a picture is very near meaning the man it represents look on him and the picture together and they are very like so look on that tablet of the heart wherein the Pencil of faith in the Hand of God hath Drawn in the colours of holinesse the Image of God and they are very near very like On the contrary a man on whose heart faith hath not stampt this holinesse is no liker God than darknesse the Sun there is not so much as the first draught of his Image And therefore you see no more of the Image of God in his heart than of the image of a man in a beast But faith bringing holinesse into the heart makes Gods people of his Image face answering to face by wiping out the draught of Satan Therefore 1 Joh. 3. 3. Whosoever hath this hope in him purifies himself as he is pure that is faith draws a Coppy of holinesse in the heart like to that which is in God faith boiles up to such a holinesse as he hath When faith comes it sweeps the heart of the dirty corners of sinne which made God before to be a farre off but when sin is swept then comes in another nearnesse 2. The nearnesse secondly of a Temple and house then the heart is consecrated Gods Chappel when the rubbish and dirt of sin is first purged away And therefore 't is said The Temple of God is holy 1 Cor. 3. 17. whose Temple ye are that is when once ye come to be holy then ye are made Temples of God So also Gods house Eph. 3. 17. the place of his continual nearnesse to them that look as a man is near his house and nearer that than any thing else so God and a holy heart are near and nearer than any other Nay the holy heart is all the dwelling God hath below He hath Esay Rom. 8. 9. no other house than his people no other rooms in his house than their several hearts no other parlour or room of delight than that heart which is best adorned and hanged with grace that is most holy And this is not a house which stands empty of the inhabitant but 't is a house whereof he saith as he said of the Temple Here will I dwel for ever for I have a delight in it But farther as they are near to God in the holinesse of heart so also Secondly In the holinesse Near in holiness of life of life whereby they live to him Gal. 2. 19. and so they are said to live with him and to walk with him that is they are such whose lives reach to him and end in him And so they live with him that is they make him their acquaintance indeed as before we shewed they had the title of friends They be not only called friends but they live as friends once friends and ever so such as are never parted or severed Therefore this nearnesse of life is exprest by walking with God Enock walked with Gen. 5. 24. God that is he was as near God in his life as a man is to him with whom he walks he went even with him walkt not a farre off from God but close to him side by side as we may so say Other men that have no faith live a farre off from God as men of another Country as acquainted only with sinne and the world to whom and with whom they life But Gods people are a people near him in their lives They are near him first in their thoughts so near him therein that their thoughts are said to be upon him Mal. 3. 16. Those that thought upon his name So David nothing more ordinary than thoughts on God so that he was his Meditation Psal 63. which is the staying and continuance of the thought on the thing So again in their will and affections their Love Hope Joy Fear is said to be of him and in him In desire they follow hard after him Psal 63. 8. yea getting once near him they cleave to him Deut. 4. 4. which cleaving is chiefly by love and joy so all their words and deeds are to him Lastly They are near Nearnesse in their lives by serving him him in their services for faith makes them not only Officers in his Court but to wait and attend upon him to follow the Court and attend in their courses of service in all the times of worship yea to be such as stand continually before him to be of his Presence-Chamber and at his elbow Whereas others either live from his Court or are banisht the Court serving Sin the World and Satan or if they come to Court to tender their service they set their hearts another way as false servants which do homage in heart to other Lords than their own when they are in the Court. So these when they stand in Gods Courts seeming to serve him their hearts attend in the Court of Satan the Prince of this world Therefore they are said to honour him with their bodies their hearts being farre from him Isai 29. 13. farre from him in the word farre from him in prayer or any other service of his But Gods people are near unto him in all their service they are near unto him in the Word as the Apostle
and seem as if they loved him But it is because he hath much to give and they expect much They love him as he is mercifull and bountifull as he is full and open-handed As he opens out of his Treasury of goodnesse deals out peace and safety gives forth wealth and friends compasses them about with kindnesse fils up their Cup till it run over But they go no farther in kindnesse than he doth in bounty They both measure and limit their love by his goodnesse and therefore if he turn the stream of mercy a little from them their goodnesse and love dries up also It may be they can be content to Pray and hear the Word and perform the other offices of love if they may get by it Assemble Hos 7. 14. themselves for Corn and Wine as the Prophet speaks But this is to do duty to mercy to pray to peace and safety to love not him but his And so the most do with God as men do with those that are greater than themselves A great man because he is rich and powerfull and can do much for them to him they pretend a great deale of friendship and shew of love but if he once dry up in bounty or stop in kindnesse they are gone for new friends to reap new kindnesse whereas if they loved the man for himself their love would last so long as the person not the purse or power only remaind And who would take such ones to be friends that loved but so only And so do you think to go for friends when you come for nothing else Will God take you to be friends to him when your love is only spun forth by mercy when it is only linked to peace and riches or the like when your friendship is only planted and rooted and grows in the soyle of his bounty by the dew of his favour and is not built upon him You would not take such a man to be your friend that is a friend to your Chest or Table only Yet God hath a great many such Chest such Table friends that are as great friends there as any but if once the Purse is shut the Cloth drawn their friendship is taken away also Whether then can you love God stript of all considerations of kindnesse so that you will not break with him though he draw in his kindnesse but keep him still though he had nothing to give no Heaven hereafter to make you happy nor peace and wealth and the like to stay you here 't is then a sign you are his friend But if you love him as he appears in mercy only as he is covered over with kindnesse it is a sign you are no friend of his he that is a friend loves not so much his as him Secondly Another 2. Sign of friends sign of friendship is mutual trust to each other Whether then will you trust him and may he again trust you First Whether will you trust him that is will you take him on his bare word without any more that is to trust a man when thou relyest on him for his bare promise And so that is to trust God for a mercy not when you have hold on him and the mercy too one hand on him another on the thing But when you lay hold on him with both hands that his promise is all the hold you have Many will trust him when they have security trust him for a mercy deliverance health or life when they have a pledg when they are in the way of deliverance or life trust to the staffe when they have hold of one end of it whereas he that is a friend will take his word as soon as his bond Trust him against trust against hope As Abraham because he was a friend of God believed him against hope for a son even then when in nature and reason he could see no issue To trust him with a pledg is no more than an enemy will do any man will trust so only a friend will trust for the bare relation of friendship Again Whether may God trust thee he that is a friend God dares betrust with any thing betrust him with riches betrust him with health or friends betrust him with greater things even with Jesus Christ which is all his stock of mercy and betrust with grace also because he will give all or the Revenues of them to God again Other men though he gives them health or wealth or the like yet he trusts them not with them as looking for them again And therefore what he bestowes on them it is given as an exercise of his bounty and not any exercise of their trust and fidelity which is therefore some smaller matter that he gives as these outward things which he looks not for again Even as we deal with men that have oft deceived us or are poor and needy if they come to borrow we lend them not any thing we look to have again because we dare not trust them but it may be we give them something out of our bounty for their need So much for this third Sign The next is Whether art thou Sign 4 espoused to Christ or not If thou art espoused to him then First Thou likest him and lovest him better than any other As a loving Wife if you ask her how she likes her Husband she will answer I care not what others do how they like him for my part I like him better than any other So the Spouse of Christ in the Canticles Cant. 5. 9. when she is askt how she likes Christ what her beloved is better than other beloveds saith she He is the chiefest of ten Vers 10. thousand that is Let others say what they will like or dislike she likes him better than any in the world besides For He is white and ruddy Vers 10. that is he is perfectly beautifull for colour And so she describes him throughout summing up all in the 16. Verse that He is altogether lovely Vers 16. that is there is nothing to be seen in him that is any deformity to hinder liking or love but he is most comely Other men as the Prophet Esay sayes though in another case See no form or comelinesse in him but he is unto them as a Blackmoore that hath nothing sightly All his grace and holinesse is unto them but as so much blacknesse though it be his perfect beauty And therefore let him come never so often a wooing to them in his Word and Ordinances he cannot get a promise for they like him not Whether then doest thou like Jesus Christ and like him above all others if thou art espoused to him thou doest so There are many that seem to like him and make love to him in praying c. can be content to do something to have him if they might have him with some ease but they like him not better than any other than a lust of pleasure or gain or credit We see this in