is a subsisting of three persons every one so set out unto us as fitted for us to trust in the Father as a Creator the Sonne as a Redeemer the Holy Ghost as a Comforter and all this in reference to us God in the first person hath decreed the great work of our salvation and all things tending to the accomplishment of it God in the second person hath exactly and fully answered that decree and plot in the worke of our redemption God in the third person discovers and applyes all unto us and fits us for communion with the Father and the Sonne from whom he proceeds 3. GOD cannot be comfortably thought upon out of Christ our mediator in whom hee was reconciling the world to himselfe as being a friend both to God and us and therefore fit to bring God and the soule together being a middle person in the trinity In Christ Gods nature becomes lovely to us and ours to God otherwise there is an utter enmity betwixt his pure and our impure nature Christ hath made up the vaste gulfe betweene God and us there is nothing more terrible to thinke on then an absolute God out of Christ. 4. Therefore for the better drawing of us to trust in God we must conceive of him under the sweet relation of a Father Gods nature is Fatherly now unto us and therefore lovely 5. And for further strengthning our faith it is needfull to consider what excellencies the Scripture giveth unto God answerable to all our necessities what sweet Names God is pleased to be knowne unto us by sor our comfort as a mercifull gracious long suffering God c. When Moses desired to see the glory of God God thus manifested himself in the way of goodnesse I will mâ—… all my goodnesse passe before thee Whatsoever is good in the creature is first in God as in a fountaine and it is in God in a more emiâ—… manner and fuller measure All grace and holinesse all sweetnesse of affection all power and wisdome c. as it is in him so it is from him and we come to conceive these properties to bee in God 1. by feeling the comfort and power of them in our selves 2. by observing these things in their measure to be in the best of the creatures whence wee arise to take notice of what grace and what love what strength and wisdome c. is in God by the beames of these which we see in his creature with adding in our thoughts fulnesse peculiar to God and abstracting imperfections incident to the creature for that is in God in the highest degree the sparkles whereof is but in us 6. Therefore it is fit that unto all other eminencies in God wee should strengthen our faith by considering those glorious singularities which are altogether incommunicable to the creature and which gives strength to his other properties as that God is not onely gracious and loving powerfull wise c. but that he is infinitely 〈◊〉 and unchangeably so All which are comprised in and drawne from that one name Iehovah as being of himselfe and giving a being to all things else of nothing and able when it pleaseth him to turne all things to nothing againe As God is thus so he makes it good by answerable actions and dealing towards us by his continuall providence the consideration whereof is a great stay to our faith for by this providence God makes use of all his former excellencies for his peoples good for the more comfortable apprehension of which it is good to know that Gods providence is extended as farre as his creation Every creature in every element and place whatsoever receiveth a powerfull influence from God who doth what pleaseth him both in heaven and earth in the sea and all places But we must know God doth not put things into a frame and then leave them to their owne motion as wee doe clocks after wee have once set them right and ships after wee have once built them commit them to winde and waves but as hee made all things and knowes all things so by a continued kind of creation he preserves all things in their being and working and governes them to their ends Hee is the first mover that sets all the wheeles of the creature a working One wheele may move another but all are moved by the first If God moves not the clock of the creature stands If God should not uphold things they would presently fall to nothing from whence they came If God should not guide things Sathans malice and mans weaknesse would soone bring all to a confusion If God did not rule the great family of the world all would breake and fall to pieces whereas the wise providence of God keepeth every thing on its right hinges All things stand in obedience to this providence of God and nothing can withdraw it selfe from under it If the creature withdraw it selfe from one order of providence it falls into another If man the most unruly and disordered creature of all withdraw himselfe from Gods gracious government of him to happinesse hee will soone fall under Gods just government of him to deserved misery If hee shakes off Gods sweet yoake he puts himselfe under Sathans heavy yoake who as Gods executioner hardens him to destruction and so whiles hee rushes against Gods will he fulfils it And whilst he will not willingly doe Gods will Gods will is done upon him against his will The most casuall things fall under providence yea the most disordered thing in the world sinne and of sins the most horrible that ever the Sunne beheld the crucifying of the Lord of life was guided by a hand of providence to the greatest good For that which is ca suall in regard of a second cause is not so in regard of the first whose providence is most cleerely seene in casuall events that fall out by accident for in these the effect cannot be ascribed to the next cause God is said to kill him who was unwarily slaine by the falling of an axe or some instrument of death And though man hath a freedome in working and of all men the Hearts of Kings are most free yet even these are guided by an over ruling power as the rivers of water are carryed in their channels whither skilfull men list to derive them For setling of our faith the more God taketh liberty in using weake meanes to great purposes and setteth aside more likely and able meanes yea sometimes he altogether disableth the greatest meanes and worketh often by no meanes at all It is not from want of power in God but from abundance multiplying of his goodnesse that hee useth any means at all there is nothing that he doth by meanes but hee is able to doe without meanes Nay God often bringeth his will to passe by crossing the course and stream of meanes to shew his own soveraignty and to exercise our dependance and maketh
God should take his Spirit from us there is enough in us to defile a whole world And although wee bee ingrafted into Christ yet wee carry about us a relish of the old stocke still David was a man of a good naturall constitution and for grace a man after Gods owâ—… heart and had got the better of himselfe in a great measure and had learned to overcome himselfe in matter of revenge as in Sauls case yet now wee see the vessell is shaken a little and the dregs appeare that were in the bottome before Alas wee know not our oâ—… hearts till we plow with Gods heiâ—… till his Spirit bringeth a light into our soules It is good to consider how this impure spring breaks out diversly in the divers conditions wee are in there is no estate of life nor no action wee undertake wherein it will not put forth it selfe to defile us It is so full of poyson that it taints whatsoever wee doe both our natures conditions and actions In a prosperous condition like Dâ—…vid we thinke we shall never be 〈◊〉 Under the Crosse the soule is troubled 〈◊〉 drawne to murmur and to be sulleâ—… and sink downe in discouragement 〈◊〉 be in a heat almost to blasphemy 〈◊〉 weary of our callings and to quaâ—… with every thing in our way See 〈◊〉 folly and fury of most men in this for â—…s silly wormes to contradict the great God And to whose perill is it Is it not our own Let us gather our selves with all our wit and strength together Alas what can wee doe but provoke him and get more stripes Wee may be sure hee will deale with us as wee deale with our children if they be froward and unquiet for lesser matters we will make them cry and be sullen for something Refractory stubborne horses are the more spurred and yet shake not off the rider CAP. XII Of originall righteousnesse naturall corruption Satans joyning with it and our duty thereupon §. 1. BVt here marke a plot of spirituall treason Sathan joyning with our corruption setteth the wit on worke to perswade the soule that this inward rebellion is not so bad because it is naturall to us as a condition of nature rising out of the first principles in our creation and was curbed in by the bridle of original righteousnesse which they would have accessary and supernaturall and therefore alledge that concupiscence is lesse odious and more excusable in us and so no great danger in yeelding and betraying our Souleâ—… unto it and by that meanes perswading us that that which is our deadliest enemie hath no harme in it nor meaneth any to us This rebellion of lusts against the understanding is not naturall as our nature came out of Gods hands at the first For this being evill and the caâ—… of evill could not come from God whâ—… is Good and the cause of all good and nothing but good who upon the creation of all things pronounced them good and after the creation of man pronounced of all things that they were very good Now that which is ill and very ill cannot be seated at the same time in that which is good and very good God created man at the first right he of himselfe sought out many inventions As God beautified the heaven with starres and decked the earth with variety of plants and hearbs and flowers So hee adorned man his prime creature here below with all those endowments that were fit for a happy condition and originall righteousnesse was fit and due to an originall and happy condition Therefore as the Angels were created with all Angelicall perfections and as our bodies were created in an absolute temper of all the humours so the soule was created in that sweet harmony wherein there was no discord as an instrument in tune fit to be moved to any duty as a cleane neat glasse the soule represented Gods image and holinesse §. 2. Therefore it is so farre that concupiscence should be naturall that the contrary to it namely Righteousnesse wherein Adam was created was naturall to him though it were planted in mans nature by God and so in regard of the cause of it was supernaturall yet because it was agreeable to that happy condition without which he could not subsist in that respect iâ—… was naturall and should have beene derived if hee had stood together with his nature to his posterity As hear iâ—… the ayre though it hath its first impression from the heate of the Sunne yet is naturall because it agreeth 〈◊〉 the nature of that element and though man be compounded of a spirituall and earthly substance yet it is naturall that the baser earthly part should be subject to the Superiour because where thâ—… is different degrees of worthinesse it is fit there should be a subordination of the meaner to that which is in ordâ—… higher The body naturally deâ—… food and bodily contentments yet iâ—… a man indued with reason this desire iâ—… governed so as it becomes not inorâ—…nate A beast sinnes not in its appetâ—… because it hath no power above to order it A man that lives in a soliâ—… place farre remote from company may take his liberty to live as it pleasâ—… him but if he comes to live under the government of some well ordered Citie then hee is bound to submit to the â—…wes and customes of that Citie under penalty upon any breach of order So the risings of the soule howsoever in other creatures they are not blameable having no commander in themselves above them yet in man they are to bee ordered by reason and judgement Therefore it cannot be that concupiscence should be naturall in regard of the state of creation It was Adams sin which had many sinnes in the wombe of it that brought this disorder upon the Soule Adams person first corrupted our nature and nature being corrupted corrupts our persons and our persons being corrupted encrease the corruption of our nature by custome of sinning which is another nature in us as a streame the farther it runnes from the spring head the more it enlargeth its channell by the running of lesser rivers unto it untill it empties it selfe into the Sea So corruption till it be overpowred by grace swelleth bigger and bigger so that though this disorder was not naturall in regard of the first creation yet since the fall it is become naturall even as wee call that which is common to the whole kinde and propagated from parents to their children to bee naturall So that it is both naturall and against nature naturall now but against nature in its first perfection And because corruption is naturall to us therefore 1. we delight in it whence it comes to passe that our soules are carried along in an easie current to the committing of any sinne without opposition 2. Because it is naturall therefore it is unwearied and restlesse 〈◊〉 light bodies are not wearied in thâ—… motion upwards nor heavie bodies iâ—… their motion
devices turned upon their owne heads will more torment them In this case it will much comfort to goe into the Sanctuary for there wee shall be able to say Yet God is good to 〈◊〉 God hath an Arke for his there is no condition so ill but there is Balme in Gilead comfort in Israel The depths â—…f misery are never beyond the depths of mercy God oft for this very end strips his Church of all helpes below that it may onely rely upon him and that it may appeare that the Church is ruled by an higher power then it is opposed by And then is the time when we may exâ—…ct great deliverances of the Church when there is a great faith in the great God From all that hath beene said wee see that the only way to quiet the soul is to lay a charge upon it to trust God â—…d that unquietnesse and impatiency me symtomes and discoveries of an unâ—… leeving heart CHAP. XXVI Of divine reasons in a beleever Of his minding to praise God more then to bee delivered TO goe on I shall yet praise him In these words David expresseth the reasons and grounds of his trust namely from the interest hee had in God by experience and speciall covenant wherein in generall we may observe that those who truly trust in God labour to back their faith with sound arguments faith is an understanding grace it knowes whom it trusts and for what and upon what grounds it trusts Reason of it selfe cannot finde what we should beleeve yet when God hath discovered the same faith tells us there is great reason to beleeve it faith useth reason though not as a ground yet as a sanctified instrument to finde out Gods grounds that it may rely upon them He beleeves best that knowes best why hee should beleeve Confidence and love and other affections of the soule though they have no reason grafted in them yet thus farre they are reasonable as that they are in a wise man raised up guided and laid downe with reason or else men were neither to be blamed nor praised for ordering their affections a right whereas not only civill vertue but grace it selfe is especially conversant in ruling the affections by sanctified reason The soule guides the will and affections otherwise then it doth the outward members of the body It swayes the affections of confidence love joy c. as a Prince doth his wiser subjects and as Counsellors doe a well ordered State 〈◊〉 ministring reasons to them but the â—…le governes the outward members by command as a master doth a slave â—…his will is enough The hand and foot â—…ve upon command without regarding any reason but wee will not trust 〈◊〉 rejoyce in God without reason or a 〈◊〉 of reason at the least Sinne it selfe never wanted a reason 〈◊〉 as it is but we call it unreasonable â—…use it hath no good reason for it for reason being a beame of God cannot strengthen any worke of darknesse God having made man an understanding creature guides him by a way sutable to such a condition and that is the reason why God in mercy yeelds so far to us in his word as to give us so many reasons of our affiance in him What is encouragement and comfort but a demonstration to us of greater reasons to raise us up then there are to cast us downe Davids reasons here are drawne partly from some promise of deliverance and partly from Gods nature and dealing with him whom as he had formerly found an healing a saving God so he expects to finde him still and partly from the covenant of grace hee is my God The chiefe of his reasons are fetched from God what he is in himselfe and what hee is and will be to his children and what to him in particular though godly men have reasons for their trst yet those reasons be divine and spirituall as faith it selfe is for as naturally as beames come from the Sunne and branches from the roote even so by divine discourse one truth issueth from another And as the beames and the Sunne as the roote and branches are all of one nature so the grounds of comfortable truths and reasons taken from those grounds are both of same divinity and authority though in time of temptation discourse is oft so troubled that it cannot see how one truth riseth from another this is one priviledge of heaven that our knowledge there shall not be so much discoursive proving one thing by another as definitive seeing things in their grounds with a more present view the soule being then raised and enlarged to a present conceiving of things and there being no flesh and blood in us to raise objections that must be satisfied with reasoning Sometimes in a clearer state of the soule faith hath not so much use of reasons but upon neere and sweet communion with God and by reason of some likenesse betweene the soule that hath a divine nature stamped upon it and God it presently without any long discourse runneth to God as it were by a supernaturall instinct as by a naturall instinct a childe runneth to his Father in any distresse Yea and from that common light of nature which discovereth there is a God even naturall men in extremities will runne to God and God as the Author of nature will sometimes heare them as he doth the yong Ravens that cry unto him but comfortably and with assurance onely those have a familiar recourse unto him that have a sanctified sutable disposition unto God as being well acquainted with him Sometimes againe faith is put to it to use reasons to strengthen it selfe and therefore the soule studieth arguments to help it selfe by either from inward store laid up in the soule or else it hearkeneth and yeelds to reasons suggested by others and there is no gracious heart but hath a frame sutable and agreeable to any holy and comfortable truth that shall be brought and enforced upon it there is something in his spirit that answers what ever comes from the spirit of God though perhaps it never heard of it before yet it presently claimes kindred of it as comming from the same blessed Spring the â—…ly Spirit and therefore a gracious heart sooner takes comfort then another as being prepared to close with it The reasons here brought by David are not so much arguments to convince his judgement as motives and inducements to encline his will to trust in God for trusting being a holy relying upon God carieth especially the will to him now the will is led with the goodnesse of things as the understanding is led with truth the heart must be sweetned with consideration of love and mercy in him whom we trust as well as convinced of his ability to doe us good the cords that draw the heart to trust are the cords of love and the cords of love are especially the love of him to us whom we love and therefore the most prevailing reasons that
her head again Now is the time to follow God with prayers that hee would perfect his owne worke and plead his owne cause that he would be revenged not onely of ours but his enemies that he would wholly free his Church from that miserable bondage These beginnings give our faith some â—…old to be encouraged to goe to God for the fulfilling of his gracious promise that the Church may rejoyce in the salvation of the Lord. God doth but look for some to seek unto him Christ doth but stay untill hee is awaked by our prayers But it is to be feared that God hath not yet perfected his worke in Zion The Church is not yet fully prepared for a full and glorious deliverance If God had once his ends in the humiliation of the Church for sinnes past with resolution of reformation for the time to come then this age perhaps might see the salvation of the Lord which the generations to come shall be witnesse of wee should see Zion in her perfect beauty The generations of those that came out of Egypt saw and enjoyed the pleasant land which their progenitors were shut out of who by reason of their murmuring and looking back to Egypt and forgetfulnesse of the wonders which God had done for and before them perished in the wildernesse There is little cause therefore of envying the present flourishing of the enemies of the Church and of joyning and colluding with them for it will prove the wisest resolution to resolve to fall and rise with the Church of Christ considering the enemies themselves shall say God hath done great things for them Kings shall lay their Crowns at Christs feet and bring all their glory to the Church And for every Christian this may be a comfort that though their light for a time may be eclipsed yet it shall break forth David at this time was accounted 〈◊〉 enemie of the State had a world of false imputations laid upon him which hee was very sensible of yet wee see here he knew at length God would bee the salvation of his countenance But some as Gideon may object if 〈◊〉 intend to be so gracious why is it thus with us The answer is Salvation is Gods own worke humbling and casting downe is his strange worke whereby he comes to his owne worke For when hee intends to save he will seeme to destroy first and when hee will justifie he will condemne first whom hee will revive hee will kill first Grace and goodnesse countenanced by God have a native â—…red Majesty in them which maketh â—…e face to shine and borroweth not its lustre from without which God at length will have to appeare in its owne likenesse howsoever malice may cast a vaile thereon and disguise it for a time And though wickednesse as it is base borne and a child of darknesse may shelter it selfe under authority a while yet it shall hide it selfe and runne into corners The comfort of comforts is that at that great day the day of all dayes that day of the Revelation of the righteous Iudgement of God the rightous shall then shine as the Sunne in the firmament then Christ will come to be glorious in his Saints and will be the salvation of the countenance of all 〈◊〉 Then all the workes of darknesse shall be driven out of countenance and adjudged to the place from whence they came In the meane time let us with David support our selves with the hopes of these times CHAP. XXX Of God our God and of particular application MY God These words imply a speciall interest that the holy man had in God as his God being the ground of all which was said before both of the duty of trusting and of praising and of the salvation that hee expected from God He is my God therefore be not disquiâ—…d but trust him He is my God therefore hee will give mee matter to praise him and will be the salvation of my countenance God hath some speciall ones in the world to whom he doth as it were â—…e over himselfe and whose God he 〈◊〉 by vertue of a more speciall covenant whence we have these excellent expressions I will be your God and you shall be my people I will be your Father and you shall be my sonnes and daughters Since the fall wee having lost our communion with God the chiefe good our happinesse stands in recovering againe fellowship with him For this end wee were created and for this redeemed and for effecting of this the Word and Sacraments are sanctified to us yea and for this end God himselfe out of the bowels of his compassion vouchsafed to enter into a gracious covenant with us founded upon Jesus Christ and his satisfaction to divine justice so that by Faith wee become one with him and receive him as offered of his Father to be all in all to us Hence it is that CHRIST hath his name Immanuel God with us Not onely because hee is God and man too both natures meeting in one person but because being God in our nature he hath undertooke this office to bring God and us together The maine end of Christs comming and suffering was to reconcile and to gather together in one and as Peter expresseth it to bring man againe to God Immanuel is the bond of this happy agreement and appeares for ever in heaven to make it good As the comfort hereof is great so the foundation of it is sure and everlasting God will be our God so long as he is Christs God and because hee is Christs God Thus the Father of the faithfull and all other holy men before Christ apprehended God to be their God in the Messias to come Christ was the ground of their interest Hee was yesterday to them as well as to day to us Hence it is that God is called the portion of his people and they his jewels he their onely rock and strong Tower and they his peculiar ones Well may we wonder that the great God should stoope so low to enter into such a covenant of grace and peace founded upon such a Mediator with such utter enemies base creatures sinfull dust and ashes as we are This is the wonderment of Angels a torment of devils and glory of our nature and persons and will be matter of admiration and praising God unto us for all eternity As God offereth himselfe to be ours in Christ else durst we lay no claime to him so there must be in us an appropriating grace of faith to lay hold of this offer David saith here My God But by what spirit by a spirit of faith which looking to Gods offer maketh it his owne whatsoever it layes hold of God offereth himselfe in covenant and Faith catcheth hold thereon presently With a gracious offer of God there goeth a gracious touch of his spirit to the soule giving it sight and strength whereby being ayded by the same spirit it layeth
of it neither is 〈◊〉 to bee attained or maintained without the strength and prime of our care I speake especially of and in regard of the sense and comfort of it For the sense of Gods favour will not bee kept without keeping him in our best affections above all things in the world without keeping of our hearts alwayes close and neere to him which cannot bee without keeping a most narrow watch over our loose and unsetled hearts that are ready to stray from God and fall to the creature It cannot be kept without exact and circumspect walking without constant self-deniall without a continuall preparation of spirit to want and forsake any thing that God seeth fit to take from us But what of all this Can we crosse our selves or spend our labours to better purpose one sweet beam of Gods countenance will requite all this We beat not the ayre we plow not in the sand neither sowe in a barren soile God is no barren wildernesse Nay hee never shewes so much of himselfe as in suffering and parting with any thing for him and denying our selves of that which wee thinke stands not with his will Great persons require great observance We can deny our selves and have mens persons in great admiration for hope of some advantage and is any more willing and more able to advance â—…s then the great al-sufficient God A Christian indeed undergoes more troubles takes more paines especially with his owne heart then others doe But what are these to his gaines What returne so rich as trading with God What comforts so great as these that â—…re fetched from the fountaine One day spent in enjoying the light of Gods countenance is sweeter then a thousand without it Wee see here when David was not onely shut out from all comforts but lay under many grievances what a fruitfull use he makes of this that God was his God It upholdâ—…h his dejected it stilleth his unquiet soule it leadeth him to the rock that was higher then he and there stayeth him It â—…eth him with comfortable hopes of better times to come It sets him above himselfe and all troubles and feares whatsoever Therefore waite still in the use of meanes till God shine upon thee yea though wee know our sinnes in Christ are pardoned yet there is something more that a gracious heart waites for that is a good looke from God a further enlargement of heart and an establishing in grace It was not enough for David to have his sinnes pardoned but to recover the joy of salvation and freedome of spirit Therefore the soul should alwayes be in a waiting condition even untill it bee filled with the fulnesse of God as much as it is capable of Neither is it quiet alone or comfort alone that the soule longs after no nor the favour of God alone but a gracious heart to walke worthy of God It rests not whilest any thing remaines that may breed the least strangenesse betwixt God and us CHAP. XXXIII Of experience and Faith and how to wait on God comfortably Helps thereto My God THese words further imply a speciall experience that David's soule had felt of the goodnesse of God hee had found God distilling the comfort of his goodnesse and truth through the promises and he knew he should finde God againe the same he was if hee put him in minde of his former gracious dealing His soule knew right well how good God was and he could seal to those truths he had found comfort by therefore he thus speakes to his soule My soule what my soule that hast found God so good so oft so many wayes thou My soule to be discouraged having God and My God with whom I have taken so much sweet counsell and felt so much comfort from and found alwayes heretofore to sticke so close unto me Why shouldst thou now bee in such a case as if God and thou haâ—… beene strangers one to another If we could treasure up experiments the former part of our life would come in to help the latter and the longer we live the richer in faith we should be Even as in victories every former overthrow of an enemy helps to obraine a succeeding victory The use of a sanctified memory is to lose nothing that may help in time of need Hee had need be a well tryed and a known friend upon whom wee lay all our salvation and comfort We ought to trust God upon other grounds though wee had never tryed him but when hee helps our faith by former experience this should strengthen our confidence and shore up our spirits and put us on to goe more cheerefully to God as to a tried friend If we were well read in the story of our owne lives wee might have a divinity of our owne drawn out of the observation of Gods particular dealing towards us we might say this this truth I dare venture upon I have found it true I dare build all my happinesse upâ—… it As Paul I know whom I have trustâ—…d I have tryed him he never yet failed â—…e I am not now to learn how faithfull â—…e is to those that are his Every new experience is a new knowledge of God â—…nd should fit us for new encounters If we have been good in former times God remembers the kindnesse of our â—…uth we should therefore remember the kindnesse of God even from our youth Evidence of what we have felt helps our faith in that which for the present we feele not Though it bee one thing to live by saith and another thing to live by sight yet the more wee see and feele and â—…aste of God the more we shall be led â—…o rely on him for that which as yet we neither see nor feele Because thou hast â—…een my helper saith David therefore in â—…be shadow of thy wings will I rejoyce The time was Lord when thou shewedst thy selfe a gracious Father to me and thou art unchangeable in thy nature in â—…hy love and in thy gifts Yea when there is no present evidence but God shewes himselfe 〈◊〉 contrary to us yet a former taste 〈◊〉 Gods goodnesse will enable to lay claime unto him still Gods concealing of himselfe is but a wise discipline for a time untill we be enabled to beare the full revealing of himselfe unto us for ever In the meane time though we have some sight and feeling of God yet our constant living is not by it the evidence of that we see not is that which more constantly upholds the soule then the evidence of any thing we see or feele Yea though our experience by reason of our not minding of it in trouble seemes many times to stand us in no stead but we fare as if God had never looked in mercy upon us Yet even here some vertue remaines of former sense which with the present spirit of faith helps us to looke upon God as ours As wee have a present strength from food received and digested before
was a King of himselfe What benefit is it for a man to bee Ruler over all the world and yet remaine a slave to himselfe §. 9. 8. Againe David here doth not onely resolve but presently takes up his soule before it strayed too farre from God the further and the longer the soule wanders from God the more it intangles it selfe and the thicker darknesse will cover the soule yea the loather it is to come to God againe being ashamed to looke God in the face after discontinuing of acquaintance with him Nay the stronger the league growes betwixt sinne and the soule and the more there groweth a kinde of sutablenesse betwixt the soule and sinne Too long giving way to base thoughts and affections discovers too much complacencie and liking of sinne If we once give way a little griefe will turne into bitter sorrow and that into a setled pensivenesse and heavinesse of spirit feare will grow into astonishment and discouragement into despaire If ever we meane to trust God Why not now How many are taken away in their offers and essayes before they have prepared their hearts to cleave unto God The sooner wee give up our selves to the Lord the sooner wee know upon what termes we stand and the sooner wee provide for our best security and have not our grounds of comfort to seeke when wee shall stand most in need of them Time will salve up griefe in the meanest of men Reason in those that will suffer themselves to bee ruled thereby will cure or at least stay the fits of it sooner but Faith if we stir it up will give our soules no rest untill it hath brought us to our true rest that is to God therefore we should presse the heart forward to God presently that Satan make not the rent greater Lastly here we see that though the soule be overborne by passion for a time yet if grace hath once truely seasoned it it will worke it selfe into freedome againe grace as oyle will bee above The eye when any dust falls into it is not more tender and unquiet till it be wrought out againe then a gracious soule is being once troubled the spirit as a spring will bee cleansing of it selfe more and more Whereas the heart of a carnall man is like a standing poole whatsoever is cast into it there it rests trouble and disquietnesse in him are in their proper place It is proper for the Sea to rage and cast up dirt God hath set it downe for an eternall rule that vexation and sinne shall bee inseparable Happinesse and rest were severed from sinne in heaven when the Angels fell and in Paradise when Adam fell and will remaine for ever separated untill the breach be made up by faith in Christ. CAP. XVI Of trust in God grounds of it specially his providence BUt to come neerer to the unfolding of this trusting in God which David useth here as a remedy against all distempers Howsoever confidence and trust bee an affection of nature yet by the spirits sanctifying and carrying it to the right object it becomes a grace of wonderfull use In the things of this life usually hee that hopes most is the most unwise man he being most deceived that hopes most because he trusts in that which is uncertaine and therefore deceitfull hope is counted but the dreame of a waking man But in Religion it is farre otherwise here hope is the maine supporting grace of the soule springing from faith in the promises of God Trust and hope are often taken in the same sense though a distinction betwixt them hath somtimes its use faith lookes to the word promising hope to the thing promised in the word faith lookes to the authority of the promiser hope especially to the goodnesse of the promise faith looks upon things as present hope as to come hereafter God as the first truth is that which faith relyes on but God as the chiefe good is that which hope rests on trust or confidence is nothing else but the strength of hope if the thing hoped for be deferred then of necessity it ensorces waiting and waiting is nothing else but hope and trust lengthened Howsoever there may be use of these and such like distinctions yet usually they are taken promiscuously especially in the old Testament The nature and use of faith is set out by tearmes of staying resting leaning rolling our selves upon God c. which come all to one and therefore wee forbeare any further curious distinction Now seeing trusting in God is a remedy against all distempers it is necessary that wee should bring the object and the act God and the Soule together for effecting of which it is good to know something concerning God and something concerning trust God is onely the fit object of trust hee hath all the properties of that which should be trusted on A man can bee in no condition wherein God is at a losse and cannot helpe him if comforts be wanting he can create comforts not onely out of nothing but out of discomforts He made the Whale that swallowed up Ionas a meanes to bring him to the Shore The Sea was a wall to the Israelites on both sides The devouring flames were a great refreshing to the three children in the fierie furnace That trouble which we think will swallow us up may be a meanes to bring us to our haven So mighty is God in power and so excellent in working God then and God onely is a fit foundation for the soule to build it selfe upon for the firmer the foundation is the stronger will the building be therefore those that will build high must digge deepe the higher the tree riseth the deeper the root spreadeth and fastneth it selfe below So it is in faith if the foundation thereof be not firme the soule cannot build it selfe strongly upon it Faith hath a double principle to build on either a principle of being or a principle of knowing the principle of being is God himselfe the principle of knowing is Gods word whereby God commeth forth out of that hidden light which none can attaine unto and discovereth his meaning towards us for our good This then must 1. be supposed for a ground that there is a God and that God is that is hath a full and eternall being and giveth a Being and an order of Being to all things else some things have onely a Being some things life and being some things sense c. and some things have a more excellent being including all the former as the being of creatures indued with reason If God had a not being nothing else could be In things subordinate one to another take away the first and you take away 〈◊〉 the rest Therefore this proposition God is is the first truth of all and if this were not nothing else should be as we see if the heavenly bodies doe not move there is no motion here below 2. In the divine nature or being there