look't inward into ourselves and taken an impartiall view of our own vilenesse it will be requisite to cast our eyes upward unto heaven and there to see against whom we have offended even against an infinite Majesty and power an infinite mercy an infinite justice That power and Majesty which hath spread out the heavens as a Curtain and hath laid the foundations of the earth so sure that it cannot be moved who hath shut up the sea with bars and doors and said Hitherto shalt thou come and no further and here shalt thou stay thy proud waves who doth whatsoever he will in heaven and in earth who commandeth the Devils to their chains able therefore to take infinite vengeance on sinners That mercy of God the Father who gave his own Son out of his bosome for our redemption That mercy of God the Son who thinking it no robbery to be equall unto God for our sakes made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and being found in fashion as a man humbled himself and became obedient to the death even the accursed death of the crosse That mercy of God the holy Ghost who hath made that Christ mine and hath sealed to my soul the benefit of that blessed redemption Lastly that justice of God which as it is infinitely displeased with every sin so will be sure to take infinite vengeance on every impenitent sinner And from hence it will be fit and seasonable for the devout soul to look downward into that horrible pit of eternal confusion there to see the dreadfull unspeakable unimaginable torments of the damned to represent unto it self the terrors of those everlasting burnings the fire and brimstone of that infernal Tophet the merciless and unweariable tyranny of those hellish executioners the shrieks and howlings and gnashings of the tormented the unpitiable interminable unmitigable tortures of those ever-dying and yet never-dying souls By all which we shall justly affright our selves into a deep sense of the dangerous and wofull condition wherein we lye in the state of nature and impenitence and shall be driven with an holy eagernesse to seek for Christ the Son of the ever-living God our blessed Mediatour in and by whom onely we can look for the remission of all these our sins a reconcilement with this most powerfull mercifull just God and a deliverance of our souls from the hand of the nethermost hell SECT XIII IT shall not now need or boot to bid the soul which is truly apprehensive of all these to sue importunately to the Lord of life for a freedome and rescue from these infinite pains of eternall death to which our sins have forfaited it and for a present happy recovery of that favour which is better then life Have we heard or can we imagine some hainous Malefactor that hath received the sentence of death and is now bound hand and foot ready to be cast into a den of Lyons or a burning furnace with what strong cryes and passionate obsecrations he plies the Judge for mercy we may then conceive some little image of the vehement suit and strong cryes of a soul truly sensible of the danger of Gods wrath deserved by his sin and the dreadfuâ— consequents of deserved imminent damnation Although whaâ— proportion is there betwixt â— weak creature and the Almighty betwixt a moment and eternity Hereupon therefore followeâ— a vehement longing uncapablâ— of a denyall after Christ anâ— fervent aspirations to that Saviour by whom only we receive a full and gracious deliverance from death and hell and a full pardon and remission of all ouâ— sins and if this come not the sooner strong knocking 's at the gates of heaven even so louâ— that the Father of mercies cannot but heare and open Neveâ— did any contrite soul beg of God that was not prevented by his mercy much more doth he condescend when he is strongly intreated our very intreaties are from him he puts into us those desires which he graciously answers now therefore doth the devout soul see the God of all comfort to bow the heavens and come down with healing in his wings and heare him speak peace unto the heart thus thoroughly humbled Feare not thou shalt not dye but live Be of good cheer thy sins are forgiven thee Here therefore comes in that divine grace of Faith effectually apprehending Christ the Saviour and his infinite satisfaction and merits comfortably applying all the sweet promises of the Gospell clinging close to that all-sufficient Redeemer and in his most perfect obedience emboldning it self to challenge a freedome of accesse to God and confidence of appearance before the Tribunall of heaven and now the soul clad with Christs righteousnesse dares look God in the face and can both challenge and triumph over all the powers of darknesse For being justified by faith we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. SECT XIV BY how much deeper the sense of our misery and danger is so much more welcome and joyfull is the apprehension of our deliverance and so much more thankfull is our acknowledgement of that unspeakable mercy The soul therefore that is truly sensible of this wonderfull goodnesse of it's God as it feeles a marvellous joy in it self so it cannot but break forth into cheerfull and holy though secret gratulations The Lord is full of compassion and mercy long suffering and of great goodnesse he keepeth not his anger for ever he hath not dealt with me after my sins nor rewarded me after mine iniquities What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord. I will thank thee for thou hast heard me and hast not given me over to death but art become my salvation O speak good of the Lord all ye works of his Praise thou the Lord O my soul SECT XV. THe more feelingly the soul apprehends and the more thankfully it digests the favours of God in it's pardon and deliverance the more freely doth the God of mercy impart himself to it and the more God imparts himself to it the more it loves him and the more heavenly acquaintance and entirenesse grows betwixt God and it and now that love which was but a spark at first grows into a flame and wholly takes up the soul This fire of heavenly love in the devout soul is and must be heightned more and more by the addition of the holy incentives of divine thoughts concerning the means of our freedome deliverance And here offers it self to us that bottomlesse abysse of mercy in our Redemption wrought by the eternall Son of God Jesus Christ the just by whose stripes we are healed by whose bloud we are ransomed where none will befit us but admiring and adoring notions We shall not disparage you O ye blessed Angels and Archangels of heaven if we shall say ye are not able to look into the
found in the rash and unwarrantable expressions that have fallen from the mouths of unwary suppliants but we must addresse our selves with due preparation to that holy work we must digest our suits and fore-order our supplications to the Almighty so that there may be excellent and necessary use of meet rules of our Devotion He whose Spirit helps us to pray and whose lips taught us how to pray is an alsufficient example for us all the skill of men and Angels cannot afford a more exquisite modell of supplicatory Devotion then that blesser Saviour of ours gave us in the mount led in by a divine and heart-raising preface carried out with a strong and heavenly enforcement wherein an awfull compellation makes way for petition and petition makes way for thanksgiving the petitions marshalled in a most exact order for spirituall blessings which have an immediate concernment of God in the first place then for temporall favours which concern ourselves in the second so punctuall a methode had not been observed by him that heareth prayers if it had been all one to him to have had our Devotions confused and tumultuary SECT III. THere is commonly much mistaking of Devotion as if it were nothing but an act of vocall prayer expiring with that holy breath and revived with the next task of our invocation which is usually measured of many by frequence length smoothnesse of expression lowdnesse vehemence Whereas indeed it is rather an habituall disposition of an holy soul sweetly conversing with God in all the forms of an heavenly yet awful familiarity and a constant intertainment of ourselves here below with the God of spirits in our sanctifyed thoughts and affections One of the noble exercises whereof is our accesse to the throne of grace in our prayers whereto may be added the ordering of our holy attendance upon the blessed word and sacraments of the Almighty Nothing hinders therefore but that a stammering suppliant may reach to a more eminent devotion then he that can deliver himselfe in the most fluent and pathetical forms of Elocution and that our silence may be more devout then our noise We shall not need to send you to the Cels or cloysters for this skill although it will hardly be beleeved how far some of their contemplative men have gone in the Theory hereof Perhaps like as Chymists give rules for the attaining of that Elixir which they never found for sure they must needs fail of that perfection they pretend who erre commonly in the object of it always in the ground of it which is faith stripped by their opinion of the comfortablest use of it certainty of application SECT IV. AS there may be many resemblances betwixt Light and Devotion so this one especially that as there is a light universally diffused through the ayre and there is a particular recollection of light into the body of the sun and starres so it is in Devotion There is a generall kind of Devotion that goes through the renewed heart and life of a Christian which we may term Habituall and Virtuall and there is a speciall and fixed exercise of Devotion which wee name Actuall The soul that is rightly affected to God is never void of an holy Devotion where ever it is what ever it doth it is still lifted up to God and fastned upon him and converses with him ever serving the Lord in feare and rejoycing in him with trembling For the effectuall performance whereof it is requisite first that the heart be setled in a right apprehension of our God without which our Devotion is not thanklesse only but sinfull With much labour therefore and agitation of a mind illuminated from above we must find our selves wrought to an high awfull adorative and constant conceit of that incomprehensible Majesty in whom we live and move and are One God in three most glorious Persons infinite in wisdome in power in justice in mercy in providence in al that he is in al that he hath in all that he doth dwelling in light inaccessible attended with thousand thousands of Angels whom yet we neither can know neither would it avail us if we could but in the face of the eternall Son of his Love our blessed Mediatour God and Man who sits at the right hand of Majesty in the highest heavens from the sight of whose glorious humanity we comfortably rise to the contemplation of that infinite Deity whereto it is inseparably united in and by him made ours by a lively Faith finding our persons and obedience accepted expecting our full redemption and blessednesse Here here must our hearts be unremoveably fixed In his light must we see light no cloudy occurrences of this world no busie imployments no painfull sufferings must hinder us from thus seeing him that is invisible SECT V. NEither doth the devout heart see his God aloof off as dwelling above in the circle of heaven but beholds that infinite Spirit really present with him The Lord is upon thy right hand saith the Psalmist Our bodily eye doth not more certainly see our own flesh then the spirituall eye sees God close by us Yea in us A mans own soul is not so intimate to himselfe as God is to his soul neither doe we move by him only but in him What a sweet conversation therefore hath the holy soule with his God What heavenly conferences have they two which the world is not privy to whiles God entertaines the soule with the divine motions of his Spirit the soul entertains God with gracious compliances Is the heart heavy with the grievous pressures of affliction the soule goes in to his God and pours out it self before him in earnest bemoanings and supplications the God of mercy ansers the soul again with seasonable refreshings of comfort Is the heart secretly wounded and bleeding with the conscience of some sin it speedily betakes it self to the great Physitian of the soul who forthwith applies the balme of Gilead for an unfailing and present cure Is the heart distracted with doubts the soul retires to that inward Oracle of God for counsail he returns to the soul an happy setlement of just resolution Is the heart deeply affected with the sense of some special favour from his God the soul breaks forth into the passionate voice of praise and thanksgiving God returns the pleasing testimony of a cheerfull acceptation Oh blessed soul that hath a God to go unto upon all occasions Oh infinite mercy of a God that vouchsafes to stoop to such intirenesse with dust and ashes It was a gracious speech of a worthy Divine upon his death-bed now breathing towards heaven that he should change his place not his company His conversation was now before-hand with his God and his holy Angels the only difference was that he was now going to a more free and full fruition of the Lord of life in that region of glory above whom he had truely though with weaknesse and imperfection enjoyed in this vale of tears SECT
bottome of this divine love wherewith God so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten Son that whosoever beleeveth in him should not perish but have everlasting life None oh none can comprehend this mercy but he that wrought it Lord what a transcendent what an infinite love is this what an object was this for thee to love A world of sinners Impotent wretched creatures that had despighted thee that had no motive for thy favour but deformity misery professed enmity It had been mercy enough in thee that thou didst not damn the world but that thou shouldst love it is more then mercy It was thy great goodness to forbear the acts of just vengeance to the sinfull world of man but to give unto it tokens of thy love is a favour beyond all expression The least gift from thee had been more then the world could hope for but that thou shouldst not stick to give thine onely begotten Son the Son of thy love the Son of thine essence thy coequall coeternall Son who was more then ten thousand worlds to redeem this one forlorn world of sinners is love above all comprehension of men and Angels What diminution had it been to thee and thine essentiall glory O thou great God of heaven that the souls that sinned should have died and perished everlastingly yet so infinite was thy loving mercy that thou wouldest rather give thy onely Son out of thy bosome then that there should not be a redemption for beleevers Yet O God hadst thou sent down thy Son to this lower region of earth upon such terms as that he might have brought down heaven with him that he might have come in the port and Majesty of a God cloathed with celestiall glory to have dazeled our eyes and to have drawn all hearts unto him this might have seemed in some measure to have sorted with his divine magnificence But thou wouldst have him to appear in the wretched condition of our humanity Yet even thus hadst thou sent him into the world in the highest estate and pomp of royalty that earth could afford that all the Kings and Monarchs of the world should have been commanded to follow his train and to glitter in his Court and that the knees of all the Potentates of the earth should have bowed to his Soveraign Majesty and their lips have kissed his dust this might have carried some kind of appearance of a state next to divine greatnesse but thou wouldst have him come in the despised form of a servant And thou O blessed Jesu wast accordingly willing for our sakes to submit thy self to nakednesse hunger thirst wearinesse temptation contempt betraying agonies scorn buffeting scourgings distention crucifixion death O love above measure without example beyond admiration Greater love thou saiest hath no man then this that a man lay down his life for his friends But oh what is it then that thou who wert God and man shouldst lay down thy life more precious then many worlds for thine enemies Yet had it been but the laying down of a life in a fair and gentle way there might have been some mitigatiō of the sorrow of a dissolution there is not more difference betwixt life and death then there may be betwixt some one kind of death and another Thine O dear Saviour was the painfull shameful cursed death of the crosse wherein yet all that man could doe unto thee was nothing to that inward torment which in our stead thou enduredst from thy Fathers wrath when in the bitternesse of thine anguished soul thou cryedst out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Even thus wast thou content to be forsaken that we wretched sinners might be received to mercy O love stronger then death which thou vanquishedst more high then that hell is deep from which thou hast rescued us SECT XVI THe sense of this infinite love of God cannot choose but ravish the soul and cause it to goe out of it self into that Saviour who hath wrought so mercifully for it so as it may be nothing in it self but what it hath or is may be Christs By the sweet powers therefore of Faith and Love the soul findes it self united unto Christ feelingly effectually indivisibly so as that it is not to be distinguished betwixt the acts of both To me to live is Christ saith the blessed Apostle and elsewhere I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which now I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himselfe for me My beloved is mine and I am his saith the Spouse of Christ in her Bridall song O blessed union next to the hypostaticall whereby the humane nature of the Son of God is taken into the participation of the eternall Godhead SECT XVII OUt of the sense of this happy union ariseth an unspeakable complacency and delight of the soul in that God and Saviour who is thus inseparably ours and by whose union we are blessed and an high appreciation of him above all the world and a contemptuous under valuation of all earthly things in comparison of him And this is no other then an heavenly reflection of that sweet contentment which the God of mercies takes in the faithfull soul Thou hast ravisht my heart my sister my Spouse thou hast ravisht my heart with one of mine eyes Thou art beautifull O my Love as Tirzah comely as Jerusalem Turne away thine eyes from me for they have overcome me How fair is thy love my sister my Spouse How much better is thy love then wine and the smell of thine ointments better then all spices And the soul answers him again in the same language of spirituall dearnesse My beloved is white and ruddy the chiefest among ten thousand Set me as a seal upon thine heart as a seal upon thine arm for love is as strong as death And as in an ecstaticall qualm of passionate affection Stay me with flaggons and comfort me with apples for I am sick of love SECT XVIII VPon this gracious complacency will follow an absolute self-resignation or giving up our selves to the hands of that good God whose we are who is ours and an humble contentednesse with his good pleasure in all things looking upon God with the same face whether he smile upon us in his favours or chastise us with his loving corrections If he speak good unto us Behold the servant of the Lord be it unto me according to thy word If evill It is the Lord let him doe whatsoever he will Here is therefore a cheerfull acquiescence in God and an hearty reliance and casting our selves upon the mercy of so bountifull a God who having given us his Son can in and with him deny us nothing SECT XIX VPon this subacted disposition of heart wil follow a familiar yet awfull compellation of God and an emptying of our soules before him in all our necessities For that God
our redemption and his blessed Sacrament to seal up unto us our redemption thus wrought and purchased And with souls thus thankfully elevated unto God we approach with all reverence to that heavenly table where God is both the Feast-master and the Feast What intention of holy thoughts what fervour of spirit what depth of Devotion must we now finde in our selves Doubtlesse out of heaven no object can be so worthy to take up our hearts What a clear representation is here of the great work of our Redemption How is my Saviour by all my senses here brought home to my soul How is his passion lively acted before mine eyes For lo my bodily eye doth not more truly see bread and wine then the eye of my faith sees the body and bloud of my dear Redeemer Thus was his sacred body torn and broken Thus was his precious bloud poured out for me My sins wretched man that I am helped thus to crucifie my Saviour and for the discharge of my sins would he be thus crucified Neither did he onely give himself for me upon the crosse but lo he both offers and gives himself to me in this his blessed institution what had his generall gift been without this application now my hand doth not more sensibly take nor my mouth more really eat this bread then my soul doth spiritually receive and feed on the bread of life O Saviour thou art the living bread that came down from heaven Thy flesh is meat indeed and thy bloud is drink indeed Oh that I may so eat of this bread that I may live for ever He that commeth to thee shall never hunger he that beleeveth in thee shall never thirst Oh that I could now so hunger and so thirst for thee that my soul could be for ever satisfied with thee Thy people of old were fed with Manna in the wildernesse yet they died that food of Angels could not keep them from perishing but oh for the hidden Manna which giveth life to the world even thy blessed self give me ever of this bread and my soul shall not die but live Oh the precious juice of the fruit of the Vine wherewith thou refreshest my soul Is this the bloud of the grape Is it not rather thy bloud of the New testament that is poured out for me Thou speakest O Saviour of new wine that thou wouldest drink with thy Disciples in thy Fathers kingdome can there be any more precious and pleasant then this wherewith thou chearest the beleeving soul our palate is now dull and earthly which shall then be exquisite and celestiall but surely no liquor can be of equall price or soveraignty with thy bloud Oh how unsavoury are all earthly delicacies to this heavenly draught O God let not the sweet taste of this spirituall Nectar ever goe out of the mouth of my soul Let the comfortable warmth of this blessed Cordiall ever work upon my soul even till and in the last moment of my dissolution Doest thou bid me O Saviour doe this in remembrance of thee Oh how can I forget thee How can I enough celebrate thee for this thy unspeakable mercy Can I see thee thus crucified before my eies for my sake thus crucified and not remember thee Can I finde my sins accessary to this thy death and thy death meritoriously expiating all these my grievous sins and not remember thee Can I hear thee freely offering thy self to me and feel thee graciously conveighing thy self into my soul and not remember thee I doe remember thee O Saviour but oh that I could yet more effectually remember thee with all the passionate affections of a soul sick of thy love with all zealous desires to glorifie thee with all fervent longings after thee and thy salvation I remember thee in thy sufferings Oh doe thou remember me in thy glory SECT XXIX HAving thus busied it self with holy thoughts in the time of the celebration the devout soul breaks not off in an abrupt unmannerlinesse without taking leave of the great Master of this heavenly feast but with a secret adoration humbly blesseth God for so great a mercy and heartily resolves and desires to walk worthy of the Lord Jesus whom it hath received and to consecreate it self wholly to the service of him that hath so dearly bought it and hath given it these pledges of it's eternall union with him The devout soul hath thus sup't in heaven and returnes home yet the work is not thus done after the elements are out of eye and use there remains a digestion of this celestial food by holy meditation and now it thinks Oh what a blessing have I received to day no lesse then my Lord Jesus with all his merits and in and with him the assurance of the remission of all my sins and everlasting salvation How happy am I if I be not wanting to God and my self How unworthy shall I be if I doe not strive to answer this love of my God and Saviour in all hearty affection and in all holy obedience And now after this heavenly repast how doe I feel my self what strength what advantage hath my faith gotten how much am I neerer to heaven then before how much faster hold have I taken of my blessed Redeemer how much more firm sensible is my interest in him Neither are these thoughts this examination the work of the next instant onely but they are such as must dwell upon the heart and must often solicite our memory and excite our practise that by this means we may frequently renue the efficacy of this blessed Sacrament and our souls may batten more and more with this spirituall nourishment and may be fed up to eternall life SECT XXX THese are the generalities of our Devotion which are of common use to all Christians There are besides these certain specialties of it appliable to severall occasions times places persons For there are morning and evening Devotions Devotions proper to our board to our closet to our bed to Gods day to our own to health to sicknesse to severall callings to recreations to the way to the field to the Church to our home to the student to the souldier to the Magistrate to the Minister to the husband wife child servant to our own persons to our families The severalties whereof as they are scarce finite for number so are most fit to be left to the judgement and holy managing of every Christian neither is it to be imagined that any soul which is taught of God and hath any acquaintance with heaven can be to seek in the particular application of common rules to his own necessity or expedience The result of all is A devout man is he that ever sees the invisible and ever trembleth before that God he sees that walks ever here on earth with the God of heaven and still adores that Majesty with whom he converses that confers hourely with the God of spirits in his own language yet so as no
their parting Yea how should we rather rejoyce that the houre is come wherein we shall be quit both of the guilt and temptations of sinne wherein the clogge shall bee taken away from our heels and the vail from our eies wherein no intestine wars shall threaten us no cares shall disquiet us no passions shall torment us and lastly wherein we may take the free possession of that glory which we have hitherto lookt at only afar off from the top of our Pisgah SECT XIX Holy dispositions for Contentment and first Humility HItherto we have dwelt in those powerfull considerations which may work us to a quiet contentment with whatsoever adverse estate whether of life or death after which we addresse our selves to those meet dispositions which shall render us fully capable of this blessed Contentation and shall make all these considerations effectuall to that happy purpose Whereof the first is true Humility under-valuing our selves setting an high rate upon every mercy that we receive For if a man have attained unto this that he thinks every thing too good for him and self lesse then the least blessing and worthy of the heaviest judgement he cannot but sit down thankfull for small favours and meekly content with mean afflictions As contrarily the proud man stands upon points with his Maker makes God his debter looks disdainfully at small blessings as if he said What no more and looks angerly at the least crosses as if he said Why thus much The father of the faithfull hath practically taught us this Lesson of humility who comes to God with dust and ashes in his mouth And the Jewish Doctors tell us truly that in every Disciple of Abraham there must be three things a good eye a meek spirit and an humble soul His Grandchilde Jacob the Father of every true Israelite had well taken it out whiles he can say to his God I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which thou hast shewed unto thy servant And indeed in whomsoever it be the best measure of Grace is Humility for the more Grace still the greater Humility and no Humility no Grace Solomon observed of old and Saint James took it from him That God resisteth the proud and giveth Grace to the humble so as he that is not humble is not so much as capable of Grace and he that is truly humble is a fit subject for all Graces and amongst the rest for the Grace of Contentation Give me a man therefore that is vile in his own eies that is sensible of his own wretchednesse that knows what it is to sin and what belongs to that sin whereof he is guilty this man shall think it a mercy that he is any where out of Hell shall account all the evils that he is free from so many new favors shall reckon easie corrections amongst his blessings and shall esteem any blessing infinitely obliging Whereas contrarily the proud begger is ready to throw Gods alms at his head and swels at every lash that he receives from the divine hand Not without great cause therefore doth the royall Preacher oppose the patient in spirit to the proud in spirit for the proud man can no more bee patient then the patient can be discontent with whatsoever hand of his God Every toy puts the proud man beside his patience If but a flie be found in Pharaohs cup he is straight in rage as the Jewish tradition lays the quarrell and sends his Butler into durance And if the Emperour doe but mistake the Stirrup of our Countreyman Pope Adrian he shall dance attendance for his Crown If a Mardochee doe but fail of a courtesie to Haman all Jewes must bleed to death And how unquiet are our vain Dames if this curle be not set right or or that pinne mis-placed But the meek spirit is incurious and so throughly subacted that he takes his load from God as the Camel from his Master upon his knees And for men if they compell him to goe one mile he goes twain if they smite him on the right cheek hee turns the other if they sue away his Coat he parts with his Cloak also Heraclius the Emperour when hee was about to passe through the golden gate and to ride in royall state through the streets of Jerusalem being put in minde by Zacharias the Bishop there of the humble and dejected fashion wherein his Saviour walked through those streets towards his passion strips off his rich robes lays aside his Crown with bare head bare feet submissely paces the same way that his Redeemer had caried his Crosse towards his Golgotha Every true Christian is ready to tread in the deep steps of his Saviour as well knowing that if hee should descend to the Gates of Death of the Grave of Hell he cannot bee so humbled as the Son of God was for him And indeed this and this alone is the true way to glory He that is Truth it self hath told us that he who humbles himself shall be exalted And wise Solomon Before honour is humility The Fuller treads upon that cloth which he means to whiten And he that would see the starres by day must not climbe up into some high Mountain but must descend to the lower Cels of the earth Shortly whosoever would raise up a firm building of Contentation must bee sure to lay the foundation in Humility SECT XX. Of a faithfull selfe-resignation SEcondly to make up a true contentment with the most adverse estate there is required a faithfull selfe-resignation into the hands of that God whose wee are who as he hath more right in us then our selves so he best knows what to doe with us How graciously hath his mercy invited us to our own ease Bee carefull saith he for nothing but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests bee made known unto God we are naturally apt in our necessities to have recourse to greater powers then our own even where we have no engagement of their help how much more should we cast our selves upon the Almighty when he not onely allows but solicits our reliance upon him It was a question that might have befitted the mouth of the best Christian which fell from Socrates Since God himselfe is carefull for thee why art thou solicitous for thy selfe If evils were let loose upon us so as it were possible for us to suffer any thing that God were not aware of we might have just cause to sink under adversities but now that we know every dram of our affliction is weighed out to us by that all-wise and all-mercifull Providence Oh our infidelity if we doe make scruple of taking in the most bitter dose Here then is the right use of that main duty of Christianity to live by faith Brute creatures live by sense meer men by reason Christians by faith Now faith is the substance of things hoped for