goodnesse and sight without injoyment It is by knowledge I see it is by love I enjoy LXXXVIII 1. There is in us an inward man so there is an outward 2. There is a new man so there is an old man 3. There is a law of the minde so there is a law of the members and there is a law also of the spirit of life 4. There is a voluntarie dominion in sin and there is an involuntarie 5. There is an universall tyrannie of sin and there is a particular 6. There is a regeneration in the minde and will and there is a regeneration in the members and affections 7. There is a complete will or volition and there is an incomplete will or velleitie 8. There is a generall or confused judgement and there is a more particular or distinct judgement 1. The inward man is the minde the outward man is the body 2. The new man is grace the old man is sinne 3. The law of the minde is knowledge and conscience the law of the members is sin the law of the Spirit of life is saving grace 4. The wicked are under the voluntarie the godly under the involuntarie dominion of sin 5. Originall sin is an universall tyrant actuall sins are particular tyrants 6. Regeneration in the minde and will is knowledge and desire Regeneration in the members is action or working the will of God 7. Volition followes the last judgement of reason velleitie followes the antecedent or confused judgement 8. By a generall and confused judgement my will affects the good which is commanded by Gods law by a particular and distinct judgement my will affects the evil which is condemned by Gods Law Lord 1 as I praise thee for the inward and the outward man 2 so will I much more praise thee if thou wilt strengthen in me the new man of grace and weaken the old man of sin 3 if thou wilt give me the law of the spirit of life to illuminate the law of the minde and to debilitate the law of the members 4 Make my service of sin involuntarie 5 and though I cannot be free from that catholike tyrant of originall sin yet in thy mercy deliver me from the insolencie of these particular tyrants my actuall sinnes 6 And let not my Regeneration be only intellectuall but also operative and effectuall 7 Rectifie and cleere my judgement that it may direct my will 8 And make my will to affect the good which thou câ—mmandest and to dis-affect the evil which thou condemnest LXXXIX Though Predestination as it is an act or work of God can nothing be furthered or hindered by our good or wicked lives yet salvation which is the effect of Predestination may be furthered by prayers and holinesse hindered by our infidelitie and wickednesse for God who preordained Salvation preordained also the means which may help forward our Salvation Lord let not the conceit of my Election dull me with securitie or puffe me up with presumption but assist me that by good works I may make my Election sure and in feare and trembling I may work out my Salvation XC There are three books of life the one is Gods Register book the other is Gods book of Statutes the third is his book of Records In the first as in a Register are set down all the names of the predestinate in the second which is the Scripture are set out all the duties that are to be performed by the predestinate in the third are set down all the good actions and sufferings of the predestinate Out of the first we cannot be blotted for our names are written in Heaven and though an earthly mother may forget the fruit of her womb yet our heavenly Father cannot forget the fruit of his Spirit Out of the third book we may be blotted because our sinnes may occasion him to forget our good works and to slight our suffrings Lord I confesse that I have slighted thy sacred Book of divine Statutes therefore thou maist justly blot me out of the book of thy remembrance but in that thou hast not blotted my name out of thy first book I ascribe it to thy immutabilitie and if thou wilt not blot out my patience and suffrings out of thy other book I will admire and praise thy mercy XCI Though God loves all men yet he saves not all men he loves them because he made them he saves them not because he willed it not he could not in justice will all mens Salvation seeing man by his voluntary unjustice deprived himself of Salvation he loves his own image but hates that which defaced his image he loves the man but hates the sin and if it were not for sin he would not punish man Lord thy love to man is unspeakable in that thou savest some and thy justice is unsearchable in that thou savest not all I cannot blame thy justice but my sins that caused my miserie I cannot brag of my merits but of thy goodnesse that moved thee to mercie XCII God hates the sins of man because he loves his own justice with the love of †complacencie he hates the miseries of man because he loves mans welfare with the love of * amitie but by accident he loves the death of wicked men because he hates the works of iniquite Thus it is as naturall for God to hate evil as it is to love himself and as impossible for him to love evil as it is to hate himself XCIII Christ loved us when we were his enemies and he loves us being his friends when we were his foes he suffered death for us being his friends he hath purchased life to us that love was greater then this if we consider the object this love is greater then that if we consider the benefit O my God how am I bound to thee who when I was thine enemie didst weare the crown of thornes for me and being now thy friend hast bestowed a Crown of glory on me Let not the servant repine to beare the reproaches of so gracious a master who was content to beare the sins and shame of so ungracious a servant XCIIII God did first will his own glory 2. Mans existence 3. His righteousnesse 4. His own Promises 5. The execution or accomplishment of them concerning mans happinesse Gods glory is the great wheele of this clock which moves all the rest the finall cause which moves all other causes Had it not been for his glory I had neither had being nor well-being he gave me existence he made me to his image he promised me happinesse and he hath performed it to the end I might glorifie him Shall I then dishonour thee O God by whom I am what I am when I look on my creation and am by grace what I am not by nature when I look on my regeneration Therefore I will praise the glory of thy power for my existence the glory of thy goodnesse for my righteousnesse the glory of thy mercy in promising
thee that by the cordiall of a generall pardon my soule may be cured and totally saved by thee II. So severe is the great Judge of the quick and the dead that when he shall come to judge the world in righteousnesse at his presence the powers of Heaven shall shake the elements shall melt the starres shall fall the sun shall be darkned the sea shall roare and the moone shall give no light yea the heavens shall be rolled up like a scrole and shall passe away with a noise Lord if the righteous shall scarcely be saved where shall sinners appeare If there be no puritie in the Angels nor stabilitie in the heavens nor holinesse in thy Saints what shall become of me who am sold under sin and drinks in iniquitie as water But my comfort is that thou hast committed all judgement to thy Son who died for sinners Shall I feare to be judged by a brother or appear before a Saviour He that left Heaven to suffer death for me will he after death shut Heaven against me I will not feare from that mouth the sentence of condemnation which by prayer hath been the meanes of mediation between God and me Surely he that came to seek that which was lost will not loose that which he came to seek III. Such is the severitie of Gods Justice that he will not exempt his own children from temporarie punishments though he died for them 1. Because like gold they must shine in the furnace of affliction 2. That they may not be damned with the world 3. That they may be the better fitted for Heaven for they must be baptized in this red sea before they can obtain that heavenly Canaan and through the temple of Vertue must passe into the temple of Honour 4. That the wicked may have lesse cause to complain when they see Gods own Sonnes not spared 5. That by chastisements sin may be suppressed as Pauls pride by an Angel of Satan was buffetted 6. That the Patience Faith and Obedience of the Saints might be manifested and exercised that the metall of their vertues may not for want of exercise be rusted 7. That in some sort they might be made conformable to Christ their Master for if he suffered for sin that knew not sin shall we escape punishment that are born live and die in sin Shall the head be wounded with thornes and the members sleep in beds of Roses 8. That others by their example may be animated to run with patience the race which is set before them 9. That Gods love to them may be testified for he passeth by bastards and corrects those whom he loves Lord with all reverence I kisse thy rod by it I am bettered thy flail doth not break me but separates the chaffe from me thy fire purifieth but consumeth me not in thy morter the more that the spices of my vertues are bruised the more they are made fragrant My spirituall Camomell by thy treading is not spoiled but made more redolent in thy Presse though like grapes I am squeezed yet the pretious liquor of my vertues are not lost but increased the more that the stormes of afflictions beat upon me so much the more like a strong Cedar let my roots be fastned in thee the darker the night is I will like a star fastned in thy firmament shine the cleerer and the more burthen thou layest upon me with the Palme I will rise the higher I acknowledge Lord thy goodnesse in that thou hast not drowned the Ark of my soul in the flood of afflictions but hast raised it higher then the highest mountaines Thy rod hath sweetned my bitter waters and thy salt hath preserved me from rottennesse IIII. Such is the severitie of Gods Justice that some mens temporarie sinnes are punished with eternall paines because the person offended is eternall the happinesse which they lost is eternall their desire to sinne is eternall the malice of Satan in tormenting men is eternall the Justice of God is immutable the fire of hell is inextinguishable the repentance of wicked men in hell is impossible the wrath of God without Christ is implacable Lord make me seriously to meditate upon these infernall paines which for acerbitie are unspeakable for varietie innumerable for permanencie interminable that I may not run the hazzard of suffring endlesse torments for the injoyment of a few short and fruitlesse vanities make me to prevent thy wrath by timely repentance that I may before I goe hence obtain thy favour and indulgence V. As God in his Justice suffers his Children to lye under the rod of correction and adversitie so doth he permit wicked men to flourish with all outward prosperitie Lazarus starves whilst the rich Glutton surfets whilst Ioseph is a prisoner his brethren are at libertie and whilst Belshazzar is feasting Gods people are in captivitie This God is pleased to suffer 1. That his goodness may appeare which causeth his sun to shine upon the good and bad 2. To make the wicked inexcusable who have not wanted the bait of outward blessings to bring them to goodnesse 3. That we may know worldly prosperities to be none of Gods choicest blessings seeing bad men injoy them and outward adversities to be none of his chiefest judgements seeing good men are annoyed by them 4. That the wicked may not complain for wanting the reward of their good actions verily they have received their reward here let them be content with their temporarie blessings that is all the reward they shall have let them take then that which is their own and goe their way 5. The more outward prosperitie is heaped on them the greater judgements are prepared for them 6. It stands with Gods Justice that these temporall vanities which they preferre to life eternall should be the occasion of their stumbling and downfall 7. Here is the comfort of Gods Children that he who heapes so many outward and earthly benefits on his Enemies will not forget to bestow inward and heavenly blessings on his Friends if the few good actions of wicked men are here so plentifully rewarded surely the many sufferings of good men cannot be forgot and obliterated O my God as thy outward blessings which are but temporall content not my desires which are immortall neither am I assured by them that thou lovest me seeing thou bestowest them on such as hate thee therefore Lord conferre on whom thou wilt wealth and honour that which I desire of thee is thy love and favour VI It stands with Gods Justice to suffer us to fall into divers doubts and tentations when we are puffed up with pride and conceit of our own excellencies he will by such meanes humble us that we may see our own infirmities he will suffer us with Peter to sink in these waters that with him we may flie to our Master Jesus the Angel of Satan is permitted to buffet us that we may with Paul pray to him whose grace is sufficient for us God himself in these
tentations wrestles with us as the Angel did with Iacob but we must not despaire though we halt he that strives with us all the night will give us a blessing in the morning and he that commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son will send an Angel to Abraham to rescue his son though Satan seek to winnow us yet we have a supporter of our faith a Saviour who prayes to his Father for us Feare not drowning though these billowes of tentations shake our ship so long as we have Christ with us in the ship though our tentations are unpleasing for a wounded spirit who can bear though all the waves and stormes of the Almightie goe over our head though from our youth up we suffer his terrours with a troubled minde though he give us vinegar and gall to drink and feed us with the bread of teares in a word though he would slay us yet with Iob let us trust in him he will lay no more on us then we can beare he can make the same rod that beats us support and comfort us and though the vinegar which he powres into our wounds be sharp yet he will temper it with oile he can sweeten our corrupted potage with meale as well as our corrupted waters with salt What though the gall of tentations be bitter what though the spitle and clay of afflictions be unpleasant so long as he can by them recover our spirituall eye-sight which we by pride have lost Give the Physician leave to lance and scarifie so long as by such meanes he can cure thee of thy maladie O great Physician of my soul I will not refuse to swallow the bitter Aloes of afflictions if by them thou canst purge out the rank humours of my sickly affections If I cannot obtain the Crown but by fighting in this bloudie field if I cannot attain the haven of Heaven but by sailing through this stormie sea be thou my Pilot to conduct me my Captain to lead me and my King to reward me or rather thy own worke in me O my God if these waters of tentation doe at any time over-flow their banks like Iordan let the presence of the true Ark of the Covenant drive back these waters that I may passe safely through them to the land of eternitie let the rod of thy passions divide this red sea of tribulations and let the long robe of thy righteousnesse which farre exceeds Elijah's mantle in vertue and largenesse make me a way through this Iordan to the Kingdome of true happinesse VII 1. God in his severe Justice doth often punish a multitude for the sinnes of one man one Achan offends and all the host of Israel suffers 2. Oftentimes he punisheth the children for the parents to the third and fourth generation 3. Sometimes he punisheth the good for the sinnes of the bad Mordecai Daniel and the three Children are punished with captivitie for the Jewes rebellion and iniquitie 4. Oftentimes for mans transgressions he destroyes the dumb creatures Man sinned and the earth with the beasts are destroyed In this God is not unjust though his judgements be occult for if the Chirurgion can strike the arme for the infirmitie of the head why may not God punish one for the offence of another if by punishing the one he can cure the other 1. It was no injustice in God to punish a multitude for the sin of Achan because the multitude was guiltie of other sinnes though not of the sinne of Achan 2. It is no injustice in God to punish children for the sin of their parents because they are parts of their parents 3. Neither is it injustice in God to punish the good for the offences of the wicked because no man is so good that can say he is no wayes wicked 4. It is no injustice in God to punish the creatures for mans transgression seeing it was Gods goodnesse to make the creatures for mans use and recreation thus as God can justly punish a whole nation for the sinnes of a wicked Prince so as justly can God punish a good Prince for the sinnes of a wicked nation O Lord if harmelesse Infants who have not sinned but in their pareâ—ts are not exempted from thy justice how shall I who to the stock of my parents sinnes have added such an increase of actuall transgressions think to escape And if the dumb creatures which know not sin are punished for mine iniquitie doe not I deserve to be punished both for mine own sins and for subjecting the creature unto vanity VIII Gods Justice appeares in punishing the wicked in releeving the oppressed in rejecting the bribes of rich men in refusing to accept the persons of any men in pronouncing just judgement and putting the same in execution towards all men and in tempering his justice with mercy towards the most wicked men He drowned the first world for their abominations he relieved the Israelites from their oppressions he spared not kings and rich men for their wealth and greatnesse and yet in sparing some when he drowned the world he shewed his mercy and goodnesse O thou righteous Iudge of the world look with the eye of Iustice upon the oppressions of thy Church and remove them and with that same eye of Iustice look on her oppressors and destroy them but yet with the other eye of mercy look upon such of her persecutors as thou wilt save and in time reclaime them DIVINE MEDITATIONS UPON Gods Mercie I. AS there is in God no passion so consequently no compassion yet he is truly the God of Mercie because there is in him a promptitude to help those that are in miserie This mercy he extends not only to the good that love him but also to the bad that hate him 1. That they who are bad by their own perversenesse may be made good by his love and kindnesse 2. As no man is so bad in whom there is not some goodnesse and no man so good in whom there is not some wickednesse so God is not so unjust as to suffer the one to goe unpunished nor is he so mercilesse as to suffer the other to goe unrewarded 3. As he sheweth mercie to the bad and to those by whom he is hated he will teach us by his example how to carrie our selves to those by whom we are persecuted He healed the eare of him that came to apprehend him he forgave Peter that denyed him he made Paul a vessell of mercy though he persecuted him he prayed for those that crucified him and he died for those sheep that went astray from him he causeth his sun to shine upon the good and bad his rain to fall upon the just and unjust O my God I acknowledge thy goodnesse and mercie towards me a wretched sinner who am sold under sin and laden with iniquitie O let this thy goodnesse be a forcible meanes to reclaime me from the course of sinne that I may henceforth walk before thee in truth in righteousnesse and in
all but mercifull onely to some yet though his grace be more universall and communicable his mercy is more wonderfull and amiable Lord the noblest of all thy Attributes is thy goodnesse to thy creatures but the excellencie of thy goodnesse is in shewing mercy to sinners Thy goodnesse made me a man but thy mercy a happy man by the one thou deliverest me from nothing by the other from worse then nothing thy goodnesse gave me being and thy mercy well being XXXII In every sin the act and the obliquitie in every vertue the act and the circumstances are distinguishable In sin the act is alwayes good metaphysically but evill morally either because it is prohibited as the act of eating the fruit to Adam or because it is repugnant to justice and sanctitie though they were not prohibited as theft and murther In every vertue the act is alwayes good both morally and metaphysically but the circumstances may be evill as to give almes is good but to give out of pride is evill I will not forbeare to doe good because the circumstances may be evil nor will I venture to doe evil because the circumstances may be good If God command that which may seeme to be evil I will doe it for his command makes it good if he forbids that which may seeme to be good I will not doe it because his prohibition makes it evil Adam sinned in eating of the fruit though seemingly good because God prohibited it and the Hebrewes sinned not in spoiling the Egyptians though seemingly evil because God commanded it XXXIII God did no wayes necessitate Adam to sin neither by inward perswasion nor by outward coaction besides he gave him a law easie to be kept and power sufficient to keep it He did then neither will nor decree his fall nor perswade nor force it only he gave way that he might fall who had power to stand that being by Christ raised from his fall he might more firmely stand Lord as thou didst permit my fall so be now pleased to remit it I fell willingly from thee make me to returne as willingly to thee Thou gavest me a will to stand or fall give me a will to rise and so to stand that I may never fall again XXXIIII There is a two-fold necessitie the one is * Syllogisticall the other is * reall there was a Syllogisticall necessitie of mans fall in respect of Gods fore-knowledge but not reall Gods prescience was an antecedent not a cause and mans fall was the consequent not the effect of that prescience but there is a reall necessitie of that which God decreeth Lord I did not sin because thou didst foresee it but because I was to sin therefore thou didst foresee it my fall was a necessarie sequell of thy precognition so let my rising be a necessary effect of thy Predestination XXXV Sin properly is not the punishment of sin because we sin willingly we suffer punishment unwillingly in sinning we are agents in punishments we are patients yet sin may be the cause of sin not that one sin can procreate another but because one sin can deserve and prepare the way for committing of another Lord free me from the guilt and stain of Adams sin which hath been both the preparatorie and meritorious cause of all my actuall sins XXXVI God worketh on the will either by a physicall motion or by morall perswasion and he perswades either powerfully by his Spirit or sufficiently by his Word so he hindereth sin either by his law prohibiting it or by his power inhibiting it let no man sin presumptuously because he is not stopped in the full careere of his sin powerfully though there is not alwayes an inhibition by his Power yet there is still a prohibition by his Law to make us inexcusable Lord work on my depraved will physically work morally work sufficiently and work powerfully by the Word by thy Spirit by thy Law by thy Sword circumcise my heart and eares the one by the Sword of the Spirit the other by the Sword of the Word if I cannot be restrained by thy Law to forbeare the forbidden fruit with Adam let me be constrained by the glittering of thy sword to stop in the wayes of wickednesse with Balaam XXXVII Though nothing is contingent to God yet his knowledge may consider contingencies as they are contingent for what by man is done contingently by him it is foreseen certainly in which regard Gods judgements are founded upon sin which may more fitly be called the object and occasion of his judgements then the cause Lord the cause of thy judgements is thy justice and my sin the occasion thy justice is eternall thy judgements are just my sins are contingent if it were not for thy judgements I should not acknowledge my sinnes if it were not for my sinnes thou couldst not exercise thy judgements and if it were not for thy justice there would be no proportion between thy judgements and my sinnes the exercise of thy judgements will cease if thou put an end to my sins but thy justice shall not cease though thou in mercy pardon my sins XXXVIII Nature is before grace and the works of creation before the effects of Predestination Man was first made a living soul by the outward breath of Gods mouth and then was made a quickning spirit by the inward breath of the holy Ghost so he decreed first to give man naturall abilitie by the work of Creation and then to bestow on him supernaturall graces the effects of Predestination Lord thou hast gifted me with naturall faculties whereby I exceed the beasts and thou hast endowed me with supernaturall graces whereby I am equall to the Angels I praise thee for the work of thy Creation much more for that of Predestination by the one thou madest me a man by the other a happy man make me to exceed the beasts as much in morall vertues as I excell them in naturall abilities so make me to equall the Angels as much in love and obedience as I come neer them in supernaturall happinesse XXXIX God did first foresee that Adam would sin before he predestinated Christ to die for sin he foresaw the disease then prepared the remedie he foresaw the leprosie then ordained the bloud of his Son to wash it for as the sinner only is capable of the grace of Regeneration so this grace was preordained to the sinner in Gods Predestination O my God if thou wast so provident as to prepare physick for my sinfull soule before I had sinned I am confident thy goodnesse is not now lessened but that thou wilt apply that same physick to my soule having sinned XL Gods Image in man consisted in nature and naturall properties in morall vertues and supernaturall graces the first were totally retained in Adams fall the third totally lost the second lost in part Again the essentiall part of Gods Image remained to wit the soul but the accidentall part was lost to wit justice and