my Discourse against fleshly lusts in the strictest sense as they signifie all manner of uncleanness contrary to chastity General Discourses against vice are seldom successful towards the recovery of men from under their dominion and therefore when we assault the body of death we must level our strokes against particular limbs and members as the surest and the speediest way to our victory BUT that I may discourse with the better success let us consider First the Exhortation it self Abstain from fleshly lusts and this Exhortation is strengthen'd with a twofold Argument one is taken from the opposition of such lusts to the Soul and the other taken from our present state condition and relation We are but pilgrims and strangers NOW that I may make those fleshly lusts as odious to the Christian eye as is possible I will in the first place lay before you some considerations to represent them in their true and proper colors And Secondly I will offer those Remedies from Reason and the holy Scriptures by which we may be defended against their assaults First Do but consider that those fleshly lusts are directly opposite unto the Nature Spirit and Tendency of Christianity It was our Saviour's great design when he took upon him our Nature to fortifie our Spirits beyond the reach of bodily impressions to establish them in an absolute Empire and just Sovereignty over the Senses to exalt that part of us that is divine and heavenly to its true elevation that it might no more truckle under the body that the senses and all the motions that we feel by them might be kept at their true distance and not meddle with that command and authority that belongs to the mind In a word that our Souls might be adorn'd with their true Glory and Majesty When we are thus set at liberty then and not till then are we free indeed when we remember the value strength and excellency of the Soul which though it be united to the Body and therefore must mind the concerns of the Body with great care and tenderness yet it more vigorously desires to be united unto God It may subsist without its Union to the Body but it cannot be happy unless it be united unto God so that this Union of the Soul with God is in a manner folded up in its very nature and essence WE are in the strictest sense the off-spring of God and it was reasonable for us to expect that when the Son of God did appear to reform Mankind he should level his Directions and Precepts against those vices and sins most vigorously that did sink the Soul below its true glory and dignity the sins that took down its Plumes by which it mounted the heavens but now was become soft trifling and degenerate And because no lusts did break the vigour of our mind and blunt the edge of our Spirits and weaken our union with God more than fleshly lusts in the strictest sense therefore do we find the cautions against those sins so frequent in the New Testament with this assurance that he that is in Christ Jesus hath crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts thereof THE Arguments that S. Paul makes use of against those sins are heavenly and sublime 1 Cor. 6.19 20. Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost and you are bought with a price therefore glorifie God in your bodies and in your spirits which are Gods Answerably to this we find that the first Christians notwithstanding of the blackest Calumnies of their Pagan adversaries lived the life of Angels in earthly Bodies their Chastity was so great a Jewel in their eyes that many of their Christian Women most cheerfully resign'd their life rather than part with their honour And Tertullian towards the close of his Apology resolutely defies the impudence of the Pagans for they themselves did acknowledg the purity and innocence of the Christians in this matter because they judg'd it a more intolerable punishment for their Women to be condemned to the Stewes than to suffer Martyrdom How many of the Christian Women among the Romans when the Goths and Vandals made their Irruption into Italy threw themselves into Tyber rather than be expos'd to the savage Embraces of lust and dishonour The Story of the young man recorded by S. Jerom is very memorable who feeling himself entangled in the embraces of a wanton Strumpet did bite off his own Tongue and spit it in her face lest the strength of his temptation and the weakness of humane nature might betray him into Indecencies unbecoming his holy Profession We see then it is most certain and clear that fleshly lusts are in their nature and tendency contrary to that Religion which our Saviour planted and the first Christians embrac'd But Secondly LET us remember that these fleshly lusts are severely punish'd both here and hereafter We are told by Solomon Prov. 6.26 that by means of a whorish woman a man is brought unto a piece of bread And the Parable of the Prodigal in the fifteenth of S. Luke represents the miserable estate of such with great advantage the sufferings that those lusts expose men to are not confin'd to one single capacity but they spread their Poison not only through the body reaching sometimes even beyond the bones into the marrow but also through all the suffering capacities of human nature health fortune life and reputation are the ordinary Sacrifices that are brought to the Altars of this unclean Devil Solomon again tells us Prov. 66.33 That a wound and dishonour is his reward and his reproach shall not be wiped away Have you sometimes observed the macerated Skeletons of Lust worn in the Devils warfare bearing the dishonourable marks of their Masters service sometimes in their foreheads to such a degree of infamy that hardly one would think that Mankind could be made so miserable And though those Trophies of Misery have frequently been displayed to the scandal of Religion disgrace of human nature and the terrour of all Spectators yet so inconsiderate are the most part of Mankind and so stupifying is the Enchantment that it requires a heavenly frame and a bold Resolution to subdue those imperious and stubborn lusts How many did God remarkably punish for this sin Numb 25. Zimri and Cozbie were slain in the very act and four and twenty thousand of the Children of Israel fell for their unlawful mixture with strange Women And though God had left those filthy Creatures without Punishment yet the sin carries corruption in its Nature for he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption in the most literal sense Add to all this the flames of unquenchable fire that are prepared for the Sons of Lust and Wantonness in the other World They may possibly escape the notice and observation of earthly Judges but when the hidden things of dishonesty are brought to light then Heb. 13.4 God will judge whoremongers and adulterers Thirdly CONSIDER that
should be the instruments of unrighteousness To this purpose the Apostle exhorts Rom. 10 v. 1. I beseech you by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living Sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service And again 1 Cor. 6. v. 15. Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ How clear and solid is the Consquence v. 20. You are bought with a price wherefore glorifie God in your bodies and in your spirits which are Gods It was on this Consideration again that he exhorts the Thessalonians 1 Epist 4. v. 4. That every one should know how to possess his vessel the Tabernacle where the Soul dwells in sanctification and honour THE Nimbleness and strength of the body is not to be prostituted to Sloath Idleness and Luxury those Vices thwart the design of God cross the purposes of our Creator baffle and affront the kindness of our great Benefactor Therefore we are taught by the curious Fabrick of our Bodies to remember that God takes special notice how we employ them Psal 494.9 Vnderstand O ye brutish among the people and ye fools when will ye be wise he that planted the ear shall he not hear and he that formed the eye shall he not see LET me add to this that God is to be worshipped with the Body as with the Mind For he made both redeemed both and will glorifie both I need not prove this it were a reflection on the Gravity of my Hearers to offer at any proof of that nature But there are amongst us who have banished the Worship of the Body out of our Churches to bow their knees or to stand upright at some of the more solemn pieces of Worship is thought Superstition and they measure the Purity of Religion by its Rusticities and Undecencies and think that they are never got far enough from Rome unless they oppose all the decent Customs of the civilized World As if the Eternal Majesty of Heaven were to be approached contrary to the Custom of all Nations the Devotion of all Churches and the common Sense of all Mankind THE Devotion of such resembles the Superstition of those Pagans that Strabo mentions that offered none of the Flesh of their sacrifices unto their Gods but affirmed that the Gods were contented with the Blood only as if they had no regard to the Externals of their Worship The behaviour of some of us in the time of God's worship would not become us in the presence of our Governours But customary and universal Faults are not so easily reformed and some of them the more they are reproved the more incurable they become Secondly IS the Body so curiously framed Is this brittle and mortal Edifice so artificially reared Are there such prints of the Finger of God on this Tabernacle even whilst we are here then judge what it will be when it is raised from the dust when it shakes of the dishonours of the grave and appears with its Robes of Light when this unwieldy clog of Flesh and Blood is made pure and aerial nimble enough to vie with the swiftest Angels and fly with ease in the regions of Glory when we shall be all Life Light Spirit and Wing fellow sharers of Angelical Pleasure Now the earthly Tabernacle drags and pulls down the Soul to low and despicable Enjoyments then the Body is made strong and refined to comply with the highest Capacities and Inclinations of the Mind WE shall mount aloft from the Earth unto the Air where his imperial Throne is erected We shall shine ass the brightness of the firmament and as the stars for ever and ever when we are got loose from the Prisons of the Grave and the Fetters of Corruption knockt off but now in our present state how hard is it for us to raise our thoughts to the Liberties of the Sons of God! WHEN we have our feet upon the top of Mount Zion when we see the Glories and Empires of this little Globe below us and we our selves beyond Danger and Temptation far above its frowns and flatteries How will our Souls be transported to find their Garments lighter and our selves encircled in the arms of Divine Love and instead of this lumpish Clay this load that damps and depresses our Spirits the weight that holds them in fetters and captivity we shall then be cloathed upon with our house which is from heaven when mortality shall be swallowed up of life and the shackles of our bondage broken to pieces THE very thoughts of this pure and Angelick state if they dwelt seriously upon our spirits might crack the strings that tie our Souls to our Bodies to think that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is WE cannot express the glory of the Body after the Resurrection better than in the language of the Scriptures There is one glory of the sun another of the moon and another glory of the stars so also is the Resurrection of the dead it is sown in corruption raised in incorruption 't is sown in dishonour raised in glory 't is sown in weakness raised in power 't is sown a natural body raised a spiritual body Thus we are told by the same Apostle to the Philippians that he shall change our vile bodies that they may be fashioned like his glorious body by the power whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself With what confidence then may we lay them down in their grave since we are sure to receive them again pure and incorruptible beyond the Weaknesses and Indispositions of their former Captivity The hour is coming when all that are in their graves shall hear his voice we may triumphantly apply to our selves that place in the book of Job 19.25 I know that my redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth and though after my skin worms destroy this body yet in my flesh shall I see God Thirdly ARE our Bodies such curious Representations of his Wisdom and Skill then we should treat them honourably and decently after the Soul is departed The first Christians had a great care that the poorest of their number should be handsomly interr'd and many times did they dress the bodies of the meanest Christians with costly Ointments and odoriferous Spices that they might do honour to the human Nature and testifie their hope of the Resurrection that the dear Companions of the Soul might be decently treated and laid in their graves as in their safe repositories until the general summons of the Arch-Angel awakened them WHEN their Enemies observed their great care of the Bodies of the Martyrs to do the Christians despite they burnt the Bodies of their dead and scatter'd their Ashes in the Sea lest the Christians might have the satisfaction of doing the common offices of humanity to their deceas'd Relations Certainly the Bodies of the dead should be preserved from all rude Affronts and
that Omnipotence was ingaged in their defence and confirmed their Doctrine When Jupiter and Aesculapius were not able to relieve any of their votaries no not in those Diseases that might be remov'd by the orderly application of Medicine Thus we see that Miracles were absolutely necessary to prove that He was the Great and Glorious Messias And 2. THEY were necessary to confound and baffle the Devil To disposless Satan and break the force of his Kingdom Now when we consider the prejudices that many entertain'd against Christianity in its first appearance how much the World at that time was sunk into the grossest Folly and Vanity how contrary the Doctrine of Jesus and his followers was unto the biass of Mankind how concern'd the Devil was all the World over to uphold his tottering Throne I say when we remember all this and the strange opposition that the Gospel met with we must acknowledge the great necessity of Miracles that we may give a reasonable account of the progress of Christianity the Power of Miracles was a palpable demonstration that reach'd the Learn'd and the Unlearn'd THE jugling tricks of Daemons when in competition with the useful and conspicuous Miracles of the Apostles vanish'd like dreams The Devil was not baffled so much by any thing as by this when he was forc'd out of all quarters and began to yield and give ground wherever the Christians came he retreated with shame and confusion at the Name of Jesus his Altars fell his Oracles were silenc'd and his Sacrifices deserted It was the usual method of the Apostles first to work a Miracle and then declare to the People in whose Name and by whose Authority they had done it An instance whereof we have in S. Peter's curing the Criple that lay at the beautiful gate of the Temple WHEN we reflect upon the strange effect of their endeavours and that such mean persons as they were should prevail upon so many both learn'd and unlearn'd and that not only in barbarous and obscure places but in Rome Alexandria and Antioch and against the whole combination of the strongest prejudices that we can imagine We must enquire into the rational account of it which cannot be resolv'd into the evidence of the thing it self nor unto the credit of their Testimony but unto the undeniable Power of God discovering it self in their miraculous Actions It had certainly been impossible to have subdued the World to Christ without it and as impossible was it for reasonable men to resist the Evidence of such a heavenly demonstration THIS Argument is prosecuted at length by Origen against Celsus where he proves that the Apostles did not so much convert the World by their Sermons as by their Actions When the Souls of Men were drowned in sensuality nothing less than such a cogent demonstration as reach'd both Soul and Body could prevail upon them to so Heavenly a Religion They did not put their Auditors to the trouble of making tedious enquiries into the Nature and validity of their Testimony but prevented all disquisitions of that kind by this infallible Proof AND what rational man could desire any other proof than the immediate attestation of a Divine Power Who could doubt and dispute when he had seen the most Tyrannical and stubborn Devils dispossessed the sick healed and the dead raised By this prevailing and mighty demonstration they bore away their Understandings banish'd all their Scruples and forced open a passage into all their Affections by this means the Gospel prevailed so easily and so speedily over all the World And this Power was so vulgarly known at that time that S. Paul insists upon it as a proof of his true Apostleship Now it adds great weight unto this Argument that the power of Miracles was not confin'd to the Apostolical Age but was continued down to the next Age. WHAT bold Challenges do we meet with in all the Apologetick Writings of the first Christians Offering themselves to the Tryal to see if the Devil be able to stand his ground when he is commanded to retire in the Name of Jesus Justin Martyr in his first Apologie tells the Emperor and Senate that if they pleased they might inform themselves of our Lords power over their Daemons by what was daily done under their eyes And Tertullian c. 23. of his Apologie defies the Heathens in the tartest Language Set before your Tribunals said he any Person that is possess'd and let any Christian command the Daemon to confess what he is he shall confess himself to be a Devil as he did formerly pretend to be a God And Origen in his Book against Celsus triumphs in nothing so much as this We have says he such ways of demonstration as far outstrips all your Greekish way of proof even the demonstration of the Spirit and of Power To them I add Lactantius de Origine Erroris Lib. 2. c. 15. Where he tells us that the Devils are afraid of them that Worship the Living God THIS way of Demonstration was most successful not only to the Conviction of Mankind but also most terrible to the Devils Kingdom And 3. FULLY adequate to the expectations of both Jews and Gentiles The Jews could not reject this kind of proof for they believed their own Religion because founded by Miracles which made the name of Moses so famous amongst them and now and then it was attested by the Miracles of the following Prophets They could not then reject the Miracles of our Saviour without the grossest absurdity and inconsistency to their own Principles AND as to the rest of Mankind it could not but convince the most barbarous amongst them their being no Principles so much received by the Light of Nature as this that the Author of Nature only could change and renverse at his pleasure and to serve the ends of his Providence the Laws of Nature So we find the Barbarians in the 28. of the Acts when they saw that S. Paul shook off the Viper that had fastened on his hand and felt no harm They acknowledg'd it a Miracle and quickly chang'd their Opinion of him They formerly took him for a Malefactor now they take him for a God So deep is this sense left upon the minds of all Men that a Miracle is a sufficient proof of Divine Authority And now we see plainly that the demonstration of the Spirit at the first propagation of the Gospel was the most suitable and rational Evidence whether for convincing the Jews or confounding the Daemons of the Gentiles or for the satisfaction of all Men there was no proof more proper none could be more successful Therefore was it so pertinently alledg'd by our Apostle against the foolish cavils of them that understood not the nature of such a mighty Demonstration I MIGHT now vindicate what I have said concerning Miracles from the Objections of the Jews and Pagans but they are so foolish and trifling that they need not be nam'd When they object
stoop so low as to take notice of man or the highest amongst the sons of men who dwell in houses of clay whose foundation is in the dust THIS Contemplation is so just and so natural to the Souls of Men that it appeared frequently beyond the bounds of the Church Tully argues pertinently from this Consideration that it were the grossest Stupidity the most unaccountable Folly the most unreasonable Madness to admit that we our selves are endued with a Principle of Wisdom and free Election that our Actions are managed by counsel and choice and yet think that the vast Machine of the World the Harmony of all its parts the Beauty Order and Variety of all its wonderful productions should be destitute of some supreme and infinitely wise Contriver to regulate its Motions and order all its Revolutions And this may be discovered in the whole and through every part of it the divine Providence displays its Artifice in the works of Nature to the conviction of the most stubborn and the observation of the most ignorant THE Lillies of the field do exceed the glory of Solomon and the little Flowers that we overlook preach the unimitable Wisdom of their Creator The Beauty of Nature and its Productions infinitely surpasses the faint Endeavours of human Skill and Invention In the best polish'd Steel we discern remarkable protuberances but when we view the works of Nature whether by our eyes immediately or by the interposal of Microscopes we are forc'd to say with the Psalmist Marvellous are thy works and that my soul knoweth right well AND yet no part of the visible frame of Nature points more significantly to the Deity than the Body of Man which made the devout Psalmist retire into himself as into the Abstract and Epitome of the World the Quintessence of the Creation he had for a while ranged abroad his thoughts ran the circuit of the Heavens and saw as it were the Deity tuning the Spheres ruling the Orbs ordering the course of the Sun when he perceived that secret and universal spring of Motion the wheel within the wheels his unfathomable Wisdom his unlimited Goodness his irresistible Power his active Providence his unsearchable Omniscience his Eyes that pierce to the secrets that are buried in darkness then he comes home fully satisfied fraughted as it were with the purchase of his Enquiry I will praise thee O God c. Galen in his Book De Vsu Partium which some say he wrote in a kind of divine Enthusiasm the more he viewed the Skill that is transparent in the structures of human Bodies the Wisdom and Art that shines in the formation of all the parts the more clearly did he discover the Author of Nature And tho he was no great Friend to Religion yet his Philosophy constrained him to acknowledge that there was some divine Skill some invisible Hand that guided the motions of Nature and presided over all its actings they appear to be ordered pondere numero mensura every grain weight weighed in the balance of infinite Wisdom WE cannot look abroad either below or above but all things preach the One Great Numen whose Power and Presence runs to and again without whose Government and Conduct the Elements would break their mutual league and correspondence they would quickly jumble themselves into their original Chaos and break all the Laws of Order and Beauty THIS is the voice of universal Nature but made more loud and audible in the structure of Man's Body So one of the Ancients reasons against that acute Heathen Cecilius after he had considered the Heavens and the Earth the the four Seasons of the Year the Hills Valleys Trees Mountains the Stars and their influence he then as it were to strengthen his Argument to give it the last stroke that he might force his Adversary to yield considers the structure of human Bodies he invites him to admire the stately House that God built for the Soul the five Senses plac'd in the higher rooms to view and watch over the concerns of the body his Eye full of Life and Majesty most useful and yet most beautiful his erect Countenance the convenient habitation of his Brain his Veins like so many channels wherein the Blood regularly circulates his Nervs and Arteries his Stature Proportion and Features his Arms and Limbs the Distance Use and Situation of all his parts undeniably prove the Wisdom of God that displays it self more visibly in Man than any where else So that as that excellent Author reasons 't is hard to know whether the Use or Ornament exceed one the other but to be sure both are undeniable Monuments of infinite Wisdom and Omniscience IT was then a blind Fancy in Epicurus and his Followers to affirm That there was no design in the contrivance of Man's Body As if so beautiful a Fabrick had been rais'd by chance as if the Materials had leapt together without counsel or foresight as if they had started into this order without the direction of some wise and powerful Being as if blind Chance which is no cause at all had been the Parent of Proportion and Order But Tully affirms There is nothing so absurd but some of the Philosophers did own and defend it I leave this Contemplation and let us see how far we may improve the Psalmists Philosophy for the Government of our Lives And The Text offers two things to our Consideration I. The Psalmist's Acknowledgment and Resolution II. The Foundation and Ground of his Acknowledgment I consider the last particular in the first place which tho it be last in the order of the Words is yet first in order of Nature I mean the Ground and Foundation of his Acknowledgment Marvellous are thy works and c. GOD placed Man among his fellow Creatures as Superintendent of the lower World He is the Image of God and in him some rays of the Divinity appear and until such time as he fell from his Obedience by Folly and Presumption all the lower Animals did acknowledge him as their Governour He was plac'd upon the Theatre of the World to hold intelligence with Heaven to be the Mouth and publick Orator of the Creation to admire the works of God And he that was thus taught to admire is himself one of the greatest Miracles in Nature But let us improve this Theory to direct our Christian Practice and Morals And First ARE our Bodies thus curiously fram'd then certainly they ought not to be abus'd to the vilest drudgeries of Sin Why did God build such beautiful Tabernacles Did he design this stately Habitation to be the receptacle of wild and furious Passions and unbridled Appetites to be the dwelling-house of unclean Spirits Is it usual with wise and considerate Men to bestow so much cost and pains in building Houses for keeping the filthiest Creatures Do Men erect stately Palaces for the meanest uses No certainly No more did God design that our Bodies that are so wonderfully made
desirable event WE are to meet with God in the most comfortable and sublime Ordinance and to dress our Souls in their best Robes and Wedding-garments We are to come to this Feast with pure intentions and to arm our selves with the whole armour of God and against every Limb of the body of Death We are to set the pure Law of God before our Eyes and faithfully to compare our actions with it and do you think that this can be done by a superficial glance or can we renverse so easily what is so deeply rooted in our Nature and frame can we by the slightest attempt overturn the works of Satan When we remember that we are to be judged for every secret thought and every idle word and every evil deed how impartial and accurate ought we to be in this Examination when we compare our lives with the Law of God what a formidable Army of our sins do we at first view perceive Our omissions our careless performance of what we do our injuries towards others our foolish impertinent and uncharitable Censures of many our breach of former Promises and Resolutions the hardness of our Hearts against the various Methods of Gods Goodness Patience and Providence against the light reproofs and directions of our own Consciences and the honour of our most holy Profession now when we have gotten such a sight of our sins the Prayer of the Publican in the Temple becomes us Lord be merciful to me a sinner 2. WHEN you have made an impartial discovery of your Condition judge thy self with all severity for if we judge our selves we shall not be judged of the Lord. We are not to judge our selves blindly and with precipitation but upon a full and clear evidence of our Condition nor is it enough to pass sentence against our selves in general forms to acknowledge that we are sinners but we must confess our particular sins such as are our sins in a special manner either by habitual custom temperament of Body ordinary Society or by any other accident or teâ—â—ation for without this particular and ingenuous confession we are not ashamed of what we have done and consequently not truly penitent Let us therefore neither hide nor extenuate our sins before God to whose Eyes all things are naked and open and whose word divides between the soul and the spirit who knows our thoughts afar off and the very first tendencies of our Soul towards evil Apply the confession of the prodigal Son to thy particular state and say with true contrition and humility I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy son THE Grace of God cannot grow to any ripeness and perfection but in the Soul that is truly humble and that sensibly feels it self in the most destitute condition unless our Saviour speedily interpose for our recovery and there is no Method so proper to make us truly humble as to see our selves without disguise naked as in the sight of God When we are stript of our Excuses and artificial coverings by which we endeavour to hide our selves from our Neighbours then we see the vast distance that is between the pure Laws of our Religion and our loose careless and disordered lives God is present with us at all times and his Eyes pierce to the Center of our Spirits Let us therefore go to the bottom of the Sore and examine our actions by that infallible Rule of his Word and then we must condemn our selves in the most serious and afflictive strain of true remorse and contrition and therefore we find that the most eminent Saints have been most accurate and impartial in censuring their own sins and transgressions they were more ingenuous than their most watchful Enemies to aggravate their own follies Thus my heart was griev'd saith the Psalmist and I was pricked in my reins so foolish was I and ignorant I was as a beast before thee 3. WE are to approach this Sacrament with strong resolutions at last to be revenged on our sins Let us reason our selves out of our former idleness and sloth if we are truly griev'd for our sins we must break thorough the ordinary Obstacles that formerly kept us in bondage Is there no strength in this Sacrament to break those Iron bars by which we are shut up under the power of our sins Are our bonds so strong that they cannot be shaken off Are our Appetites so violent and unruly that they cannot be resisted Were not others encompassed with the same flesh and infirmities and yet happily made free And shall we miserably groan under the load of our sins even though we feel that they make us hateful to God Nay let us cast our selves under the compassionate Eye of our blessed Lord and Master and beseech him that he would let us feel the power of his Resurrection and break our Captivity that he would let us know that He that is in us is stronger than He that is in the World that his Wisdom and Strength may interpose to help our weakness and folly that He would gird his victorious Sword upon his thigh and eradicate our evil Habits Let God arise and let his Enemies be scattered and fly before his presence Our resolutions must not only be vigorous and fervent but fixt against particular sins to which our inclinations are more violent and forward 4. COME unto the Holy Table with full trust in the mercy of God He will not quench the smoaking flax nor will he break the bruised reed He blows upon the first sparks of Sincerity until they are flam'd into perfect zeal and Devotion The Waters that He gives are a Well of water springing up unto life eternal He will perfect that which he hath begun The goodness of God and the incomprehensible Love of Jesus are immovable Pillars of our Faith and therefore we are to fill our Eyes with a prospect of Mercy He will not deal rigidly with us neither will he upbraid us with our former guiltiness when we are prostrate at his feet when we plead with him by his boundless Compassion and the Abyss of our miseries The Blood of Jesus is the true Atonement and propitiation for the sins of the World So reasons the Author to the Hebrews that the blood of Jesus must be of infinitely greater force than that of Bulls and Goats and the ashes of an Heiser for he offered himself without spot unto God and that through the eternal Spirit and therefore he lives for ever to make intercession for us and if we believe the sufficiency and merit of his Sacrifice we must also be persuaded of the real efficacy of this Sacrament to convey the Merits of Christs blood to every penitent Communicant This may be easily discern'd by its contrary influence on the prophane and impenitent If he that eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks damnation then certainly it it must convey life strength light