not hinder thy Comfort in feeding on this best and sweetest of Fruits For thy Faith though it be never so weak proves it self to be a Divine Faith by its Operation in thee First In that it empties thy Heart of all conceited Rigteousness of thine own whereby Satan and corrupt Nature would have thee to look for Life and Salvation Secondly In that it carries thee out to rest under the shadow of Christ's Mediatorial Satisfaction hoping and expecting Life and Salvation by his Merits alone Though all Mens Stomachs be not equally sharp at Table yet he that hath the least Stomach might eat to as great Satisfaction and Content as he that eats most Let thy Faith be never so weak thou wilt find by Experience that the oftener thou doest taste of this Fruit of Christ's Death and Resurrection with Application thereof to thy self crying out Believingly My dear Lord Jesus Christ who died to discharge the Debt of my sins and who rose again for my Justification the sweeter and the more delightful will it be and not only so but thy poor weak Faith will by this means gather strength day by day Thirdly And as touching those fearful Doubtings and Questionings whether thou in particular be one of those Elect for whom Christ dyed and rose again I need say no more than to assure thee that this hath been the Case of the most eminent Saints now Triumphing in Glory when in a Militant State as thou now art that Soul that was never troubled with Doubtings and Questionings about his State was never yet blest with a right saving Faith Not that these Doubtings are of the Essence of true Faith or as if thou wer 't not bound to be humbled for them before God and oblig'd to strive against them But an Argument they are that thou art acted by a twofold Principle and that the Devil is now discover'd to be thine Enemy Both which effectually proves thee to be one of those Elect for whom Christ both died and rose again Secondly The Resurrection of Christ is sweet to a a true Believer As the same is a sure and certain Pledge of his own and all other Believers being raised not only from a State of Mortality but also from a State of Imperfect Grace The Resurrection of Christ the Believers Surety is the Ground and Foundation of a Believers both rising more and more to Newness of Life And of his being raised again out of the Dust of Death to partake in the Glory of the last Resurrection Rom. 6.4 5 6. 1 Cor. 15.49.54 Phil. 3.21 Jo. 6.40 Thirdly The Resurrection of Christ is sweet to the Believer as it is an invincible Argument to prove that Christ his Surety having once dy'd and by his Glorious Resurrection overcome Death he is never more to dye so witnesseth the Holy Ghost Rom. 6.9 Knowing that Christ being raised up from the Dead dyeth no more Death hath no more Dominion over him Rev. 1.18 I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive for evermore c. The Ground hereof is the infinite Satisfaction given to his Fathers Justice for the sins of the Elect by that one Death which he underwent If it were possible for Christ to dye a thousand times over and over his dying so many Deaths could not be more Satisfactory to the Justice of God for the sins of the Elect than was that one most shameful bitter and cursed Death of the Cross which he suffer'd and underwent once for all Rom. 6.10 For in that he dyed he dyed unto sin once but in that he liveth he liveth unto God God the Father hath now no more sin to charge on him than what he stood charg'd with on the Cross when he said on his giving up the Ghost it is finished Jo. 19.30 Heb. 10.14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are Sanctified It is not in this Case as it hath been with but too many of Adam's Children and is in this very day who have been forced to pay over and over the self same Debt Such is the Baseness and Knavery of the Oppressours of the Age we live in God the Father of Christ is not such a Creditor he is a Just and a Righteous God And being so there is no Ground to fear that ever he will Twit in the Teeth either Christ his Son the Elects Surety or any poor Believer with those Sins which Christ once satisfied for This Fruit is passing sweet to that Soul who frequently feeds on it Fifthly The Glorious Ascension of Christ from Earth to Heaven is most sweet to the true Believer and it is so on a twofold Account First As it proves the compleat Conquest and Victory of Christ the Believers Head and Surety over all the Enemies of God's Elect of whom it was spoken by way of Prediction Thou hast ascended on high thou hast led Captivity captive c. Psal 68.18 These things are Prophetically spoken of Christ by way of Allusion or Comparison and which are by the Apostle Paul apply'd to Christ's Glorious Ascension Ephes 4.8 The Metaphor is taken from earthly Kings and mighty Potentates who when they had got the Victory over their Enemies us'd to bind to their Chariot Wheels the Chief of the Enemies dragging them along in Triumph Thus did the Lord Jesus the Surety of Gods Elect when he Ascended to Heaven he led Devil Sin Curse of the Law World Death Grave and Hell Captives so that they can never more slave or insult over any of God's Elect this is intended by Christ in Jo. 16.33 In me ye shall have Peace in the World ye shall have Tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the World And the same is intended by Paul in Colos 2.15 And having spoiled Principalities and Powers he made a shew of them openly Triumphing over them in it This also is intended in Rev. 1.18 I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I live for evermore and have the Keys of hell and of death The term Keys denotes the universal Power which Christ by dying Atchieved over all the Enemies of his Redeemed ones Christ's Ascension from Earth to Heaven is every true Believers Triumph over all the Powers of Darkness of this World so witnesseth the Spirit of God Nay in all these things we are more than Conquerours through him that loved us Rom. 8.37 Secondly Christ's Ascension to Heaven is sweet to the true Believer on the Account of the personal Appearance he makes there for all the Members of his Mystical Body That Christ is enter'd Heaven as the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Fore-runner of his Members is expresly set down and affirm'd for the Comfort and Encouragement of all true Believers Whether the forerunner is for us entred even Jesus made an high Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedech Heb. 6.20 For Christ is not entred into the Holy Places made with hands which are the figures of the true
is not that Creature in this Providential Kingdom which is not subjected to the Power of Christ The Lord hath prepared his Throne in the Heavens and his Kingdom ruleth over all Psal 103.19 All Power is given me in Heaven and in Earth Mat. 28.18 Thou â—ast put all things in Subjection under his Feet Heb. 2.8 I am he that liveth â—nd was dead and behold I am alive â—or evermore Amen and have the Keys â—f Hell and of Death Rev. 1.18 Thirdly Not only the Creatures but â—ven all their natural Influences and Motions are subjected to the Power of Christ yea the Craft and Subtilty of all the Churches Enemies are subjected to him No Fire can burn no Water can drown no Thieves caâ— rob no Persecutor can hurt without Christ It is a sure and an infallible Rule iâ— Divinity that as no second Cause caâ— of it self do good to a Man 〈◊〉 neither can it do him harm Weâ— this one Rule but rightly understood and practically improv'd iâ— would free the Minds and Spirits 〈◊〉 true Believers from many foolish aâ— panick Fears which frequently iâ—vade them to not only a lessening but also to a keeping out that Coâ—fort to which as Believers theâ— have Right and which they may oâ—dinarily enjoy were it not for theâ— wretched Neglectiveness herein Wheâ— at any time or in any Case 〈◊〉 meet with a Disappointment and Abuse a Loss or a Cross from aâ— Creature whatever I cease to complain or murmur in God's Presenâ— that which strikes me into a profouâ— Silence is the Consideration and Bâ—lief that such and and such Accidents â—ould not fall out without the Providence of God the Hand of God 〈◊〉 think I is in this rebuking Providence My Soul lay thine Hand upon thy Mouth and cease quarrelling with second Causes lest by going too far that way thou rob the Almighty of the Attribute of his Sovereignty and give it to second Causes as if they could do any thing without him On the other hand when my Meat Comforts and Relieves fainting Nature when the Bed and Sleep Reâ—resh the weary Body Oh! think I â—ow good is God Without whom â—ny Meat my Bed my Sleep c. would do me no good When at any time I am in great Streights as often God knows I am when this or that Instrument steps in to my Succour my Faith though weak is as busie as a Bee calling on me to take notice of the Hand of Providence in the present Mercy Thus if I and other Believers did do more and oftner than we do it would be better with us in point of Comfort than it is But we live more by Sense thaâ— we do by Faith and that 's the Reason why we are such Strangers to solid Comfort in our own Spirits Fourthly There is not the most contingent Accident which falls ouâ— in the World but the Providence of the Lord Jesus orders the same whether it be for chastening or comforting poor Mortals Who is he that saith and it cometh tâ— pass when the Lord commandeth it not Lam. 3.37 Shall there be Eviâ— in the City and the Lord hath not donâ— it Amos 3.6 What but the Cosideration and Belief of this struck Holy David dumb before God when under the Afflicting Rod of God I was dumb I opened not my Mouth because thoâ— didst it Psal 39.9 As hath been already observ'd there is neither Good nor Evil that can fall out without Christ Neither doth it from hence follow that those Creatures which are Active in the Business of Sin are therefore Excuseable and that because they Act from an ill Principle and to an end vastly differing from what Christ designs in permitting it Or that the Praise and Thanks which is due to God's Instruments in serving us should not be given them in due time and place Neither will it hence follow that a Believer is to stand stock still like a Sheep to be robb'd or murdered if he sees himself any way capable of making a lawful Defence The Reason is because self Defence is a Natural Principle and that Man or Nation that would not stand up to resist an Enemy who seeks their utter Ruin would not only herein fall short of the very Bruits but they would be Accessary to their own Murder which is the worst sort of Murder In this Case the true Believer is to look on the the Doctrin of Non-Resistance as a Doctrin which smells rank of Rome and which was â—ontriv'd and brought into these Kingdoms by the Romish Emissaries on purpose to manacle English Men that by that means under colour and pretence of Religious Obedience to Authority England might become uncapable of preserving it self from the Ruin design'd against it by Rome and France The Protestants in England and in all the other Nations about us have cause to Adore and Praise the Providence of Christ for the Entrance which it gave to the Jesuites into Magdalen Colledge and its permitting the Bishops being sent to the Tower For had not these two things Providentially fallen out when and as they did Pâ—ssive Obedience and Non-Resistance had ruin'd the Kingdom before this time But Glory to God on high who hath pitcht on one to Rule and and Govern his Providential Kingdom here on Earth whose All-seeing Eye penetrates into all the Dark and secret Counsels of his Peoples Enemies And who knows Exactissimè most exactly when to time his Peoples Deliverance May this wonderful Work of Providence never be forgotten in England How much of the Jesuites Infernal Craft and Pollicy there is in the Principles of the People call'd Quakers to forward Englands Overthrow would be worth while for all true Protestants and true English Men who love their Country and the Protestant Religion to consider Fifthly That the most dismal Dispensations which fall out in the World shall be all managed by the Providence of Christ for the Good and Advantage of true Believers yea even Sin it self with the most sharp and bitter Afflictions which spring from that bitter Root shall most certainly work for the Good and Advantage of Christ's true Members according to that in Rom. 8.28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God c. This Assertion that Sin it self works for Good to Believers hath not only startled but stirr'd up some to make a great Noise in the Kingdom and that in pretence of opposing and beating down Antinomianism to withstand and decry this as a dangerous Doctrin and that which Encourageth Men to commit and continue in the Practice of Sin Those who are of this Spirit and Principle will find sooner or later how wide they are off the Truth and how injurious they are not only to the Doctrin which is according to Godliness but to the Peace and Comfort of Christ's Members who are able both from the Word of God and their sanctified Experience to contradict this their contradicting God's Truth Concerning which I will only say
THE Only REFUGE OF A Troubled Soul In time of Trouble Affliction OR The Sweet and Soul-Ravishing MYSTERY of the Apple-Tree Explained and laid open in Two Discourses from Cant. 2.3 for the Comfort and Encouragement of the True Believer in the midst of the worst and sorest Afflictions which can possibly befal him in this World And the Awakening the most secure Sinner who is yet a Stranger to the said Mystery Publish'd at the earnest and importunate Request of several Godly Persons who heard the same Preached Come Trembling Sinner hasten taste and see What Fruit grows on the Spouses Apple-Tree By J. Barry an unworthy Minist of the Gospel LONDON Printed for the Author 1700. To his Highly Honoured Friends Doctor John Tarlass Physitian to St. Thomas his Hospital in Southwark and his truly Religious Consort Honoured Sir and Virtuous Madam I Do sincerely own and ingeniously Acknowledge my self so highly oblig'd to you both for your great Kindness and Respect shewn to unworthy me and my Family since we Providentially came as Pilgrims and Strangers into England that I am really concern'd that I can hitherto but Retaliate in verbal Acknowledgments The Divine Providence seeing it best for me to keep me low in outwards and by that means to render me uncapable of that Duty which the Care Pains and constant Diligence of an Able and Faithful Physitian obliges to It is well known both to your selves and my Friends and Relations who were Eye and Ear Witnesses of the near Approaches I made towards the Grave How that I owe my Life under God several times over and over to the great Skill Care and Faithfulness of Ingenious and Faithful Doctor Tarlass And I do now own and Acknowledge the same to the Praise of Jehova the Great and Chief Physitian and the deserved Commendation of Doctor Tarlass his worthy Instrument I hope dear Sir I shall be Enabled to carry to the Grave a becoming Remembrance of your Christian Kindness and Tender Respect shewn and exprest on all Occasions towards the most unworthy of Christs Ambassadors who through special Grace can say in truth that he prizes and values his present Poverty and Reproach occasion'd by his Love to and Zeal for the Gospel of Jesus Christ more than he doth all the Honour and Riches which this vain flattering and bewitching World is capable of advancing to And I greatly hope and sincerely pray that the ever Blessed God who hath endowed you with so Excellent a Gift of Understanding and discerning the State and Condition of Human Bodies and of distinguishing between the manifold and various Maladies and Distempers to which they are obnoxious even to an Excelling the most of Physitians now in London and who hath Crown'd your Labours with such Success as bespeaks you preferrable and desirable above all of your Function by those Patients who have experienc'd your Skill and Faithfulness That this ever Blessed God I say who hath done for you what is now mention'd above what I am capable of expressing may prove your spiritual Physitian in that needful Hour when decaying Nature is breathing out its Vltimum Vale to the present World is and shall be the Prayer and Cordial Wish of your highly oblig'd and thankful Patient who shall not cease whatever others think or say of you to Trumpet out your deserved Fame and real Worth while I enjoy the Faculties of Memory and Speech And what I pray and wish God may be to you in a dying Hour the same I pray and wish he will be to your dear and Religious Consort in whom you are so greatly Blest And for both your sakes to whom I own my self for ever obliged I heartily pray that God may work out for his own by the effectual Call of his own Spirit your dear Posterity that when you are call'd off and they by Providence are call'd on the Stage of publick Service they may be Actted by the same Spirit whereby ye are both Acted so as their Usefulness in their Day and Place may render and bespeak them as serviceable and desirable as their Parents the which if God vouchsafe them as I hope he will they will then live truly Honourable and die lamented as I am confident you will whenever you go hence My prefixing your worthy Names to the ensuing Treatise will I hope be lookt on as a making Amends for my great Deficiency and shortness in Handling so sweet and excellent a Subject especially in the Esteem and Judgment of those who have the same value for you both as I have The Method I have taken in owning your Kindness will I greatly hope be no way displeasing seeing I know not how otherwise to do it to my own Satisfaction I conclude this short Dedication with my hearty well Wishes and Prayer to God for you both that the Subject of the Appletree so weakly handled in the ensuing Treatise may be through the Powerful Influence of the Holy Ghost in both your Souls made as delightful to you in reading it as it was to me in Studying and Preaching it and as Ravishing as it was to those at whose earnest Request I have been prevailed with to Publish the same I am Honoured Sir and virtuous Madam Your ever obliged Friend James Barry THE PREFACE TO THE Christian Reader Courteous Reader WHen first I Preacht on this sweet and delightful Subject the Appletree I little thought or expected to have been seen in Print So far was I and still am from judging my self capable of handling so Mysterious and Profound a Subject as it really deserves to be handled That which induc'd me to a Willingness to Publish my Thoughts and Conceptions about it I lay down in two Particulars First The real Sweetness and Soul-ravishing Delight which with the Spouse I found under the Shadow of the Sweet and Precious Jesus who is Allegorically set forth in this Metaphor whose Fruit hath often reviv'd and exhilerated my fainting Soul while I continu'd sitting under his Divine Shadow to keep and secure me from being scorched to death by the violent Heat of the tempestuous Storms which have been rais'd against me by the powers of Darkness and which have incessantly followed me since I was effectually called out of a State of Nature especially since I was call'd to the Work of the Ministry The only Wise God saw it good to permit Satan and his Instruments not only to commence but even to maintain and keep up a sharp War against me that I might know experimentally what a shadow this Appletree affords to poor Bewildred Soule and how that there is no other shadow than can secure a poor 〈…〉 Secondly The delightful Sweetness which several Savory-spirited Christians declared they met with to the Joy and rejoycing of their Spirits in the handling this Subject Since when I have been often and more than ordinarily importun'd by several both in City and Country to Publish in Print what they heard me deliver on the Appletree Subject They
Love and Favour and the benighted deserted Soul When the Waves and Billows from God are commissioned to pass over the poor Soul as if its utter Ruin were design'd by God This is a Storm indeed and the hardest to be wrestled with by the Man who hath been frequently visited with the sweet and Soul-ravishing Embraces of God's Love Either of these four Particulars if it be sharp on a poor Man it may be compar'd to a sharp Storm at Sea occasion'd by either of the four Winds which may set a Man hard to it But when all four come on a Man at once then the Soul is made to understand what a spiritual Hurricane means A Man may loose his All in this World his Substance may be lost his Trade may fail he may come to be as poor as Job and yet being in Esteem for his Goodness and Honesty he may have Trust and Credit among his Neighbours and so may in time recover his Losses If a Man may be clouded as to his Name and Credit among Men and yet having of his own wherewith to subsist in the sight and midst of his Traducers and Reproachers he may make a pretty good shift to weather the point A Man may be extream poor he may be blacken'd with Reproach he may be visited with bodily sickness yet having sensible Communion with God none of these single storms can overset him because the discerned Smiles of God's reconciled Face supplies all the other wants But for the same Person to be stript of all visible Substance and to become a Proverb of reproach among all sorts as well Friends as Enemies to be smitten in his Health and to feel himself under the actual Arrest of Death 〈◊〉 And at the same time for God to seem to write bitter things against him and to carry it towards the Poor Soul as if he were become the Man's Enemy if there be a spiritual Hurricane this side Hell this is one All these bitter Ingredients met together in that sad Hurricane which the Devil was permitted to raise against Job His Substance swept all away and he left as empty handed as when he came into the World He was cast out of the kind and charitable Thoughts of all as well his Friends and nearest Relations as Enemies and Strangers and the God of his Life and Comfort too did set himself in Battel Array against him Oh! what a Hurricane was this Holy Upright hearted Man in it must needs be very sore and sharp when such a Mirrour of Patience le ts fly such Expressions as to Curse the very day of his own Birth Job 3.1 2 3. and to wish himself to be ameer Non-Entity ver 16. with other Expressions full of unbecoming Reflections on that Just Holy and Tremendous God whom he lov'd and fear'd above all things It were worth while if those deluded and graceless Perfectionists who talk so boastingly and ignorantly of a sinless Perfection had power to consider without prejudice how far Job was from that sinless Perfection they teach and affirm is attainable in this Life and for Proof whereof they bring in Job for one Instance Asserting that he was perfect in their Sense let Job's great Impatience in the time of his sore and sinking Trials together with his own Acknowledgment of his Imperfection in Sanctification be weigh'd in the Ballance of an unbyassed and unprejudicate Consideration and then will it convincingly appear how vain and altogether contrary to God's Truth and the Experience of all true Believers that silly Opinion of theirs is If I justifie my self mine own Mouth shall condemn me If I say I am perfect it shall also prove me perverse Job 9.20 If I wash my self with Snow water and make my hands never so clean yet shalt thou plunge me in the Ditch and mine own Cloaths shall abhor me ver 30 31. Holy David was somewhat near to Job in point of Troubles and Afflictions as appears by Psal 42.7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy water-spouts all thy Waves and thy Billows have gone over me And in Psal 142.4 I looked on my right hand and beheld but there was no man that would know me refuge failed me no man cared for my Soul Other Instances might be here brought in to shew what Hurricanes the Saints of God have gone through and yet it hath not been in the power of those Hurricanes to overset or overcome those Servants of the Living God The higher and sharper the storms were the closer Faith did cling to its Object witness Job's fixed Resolution Though he slay me yet will I trust in him Job 13.15 That of David also is to the purpose Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death yet will I fear no evil Psal 23.4 These and all the most Eminent Saints of God Recorded in Scripture whenever they felt any thing of a storm approach them their way they took for self Preservation was to run by Faith and Prayer to the shadow of Christ And as they so every true and uprighted-hearted Believer when he finds himself stript of all outward Accommodations forsaken of all Relations and familiar Friends made an Obloquy of the blackest Reproach compast about with the shadow of Death and the Face of God himself seeming to Frown on the dying Believer yet in the very height of his Extremity his Faith will catch hold of the Appletree and there will hold come Life come Death Oh! the Excellency and Power of a Divine Faith To apply what hath been discover'd concerning Christ's Suitableness and Commodiousness to answer the necessitous Condition of poor sinners from this Metaphor of the Appletree let the first Use be of Information I will Branch it forth into six particular Branches Branch the first Learn hence how sacrilegious and wicked the Doctrin of Popery is which allows and teaches that there are more Mediators between God and Sinners besides Jesus Christ the continual use Papists make of the Virgin Mary and other Saints in their Praying to God is an evident proof hereof They that doubt hereof let them for their own Satisfaction look into the Rosary or Ladies Psalter which is the poor besotted Papists Vade mecum The which whoever reads comparing the same with the Word of God will soon be convinc'd of the Idolatry of the Church of Rome The Spirit and Word of God assures us that there is but one onely Mediator between God and sinful Men and that the Man Christ Jesus is that Mediator For there is one God and one Mediator between God and Men the Man Christ Jesus 1 Tim. 2.5 But now hath he obtained a more excellent Ministry by how much also he is the Mediator of a better Covenant which was Established upon better Promises Heb. 8.6 And to Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant Heb. 12 24. To convince you of this sacrilegious and damning Doctrin I offer three things to serious Cosideration First The Word of God no where
which can never be overthrown Jo. 3.16 For God so loved the World that he gave his only Begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have Everlasting Life In this was manifested the Love of God towards us because that God sent his only Begotten Son into the World that we might live through him 1 Jo. 4.9 Here 's also a clear Discovery what little Reason the poorest and weakest Believer hath to question or doubt of Christ's Love to him or her What! step in between thee and Hell and not love thee To take all thy Guilt and filth of sin upon himself And for the same to be made a Curse that thou poor undone sinner mightest be made the Righteousness of God in him and not love thee When the incensed Justice of God was up in Arms against thee and just ready to fall on thee for Christ his own Son to step in between thee and that fatal Stroak which had it fallen on thee would have compleated thy Misery and have put thee beyond the reach of all Possibility of ever being saved I say for Christ to step in between thee and that fatal Stroak and to suffer the Sword that would have killed thee to be lodg'd in his own Bowels was as strong and convincing an Argument that he lov'd thee as any can be made use of by God himself Never was there greater and more end aring Love in one Party towards another than the Love wherewith God the Father and Christ his Son lov'd the Elect Neither can God Angels or Men lay down stronger and more convincing Arguments to prove or confirm it so to be than God the Fathers Readiness and Willingness to Sacrifice his own and only Son whom he lov'd equally with himself and the Sons Willingness to lay down his Life and not only so but consenting to be made a Curse for the Elect. Oh! matchless and astonishing Love who ever knew or heard of the like except it self I am the good Shepherd the good Shepherd giveth his Life for the Sheep Jo. 10.11 Greater Love hath no Man than this that a Man lay down his Life for hiâ— Friend Jo. 15.13 But God commendeth his Love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us Hereby perceive we the Love of God because he laid down his Life for us c. 1 Jo. 3.16 And as the Just and Righteous Law of God did not spare the sinless Son of God when Arraign'd at his Bar as a Surety for sinners So neither did the Son of God flinch or shrink in the Contest till he had vanquisht and overcome the Condemning Power of the Law leaving it and all the other Enemies of his Elect Nail'd to the Cross having by his Death on the Cross put to death the Damnatory Sentence of God's Righteous Law against God's Elect and spoil'd all Principalities and Infernal Powers of that accusing Power they had by sin obtain'd against God's chosen Yea having rifled Hell it self with Death and the Grave those destroying and devouring Enemies of Mankind so as that nothing was left in the way to obstruct or hinder the Elects safe Arrival in Heavenly Glory And all this by the Virtue and Merit of that Satisfaction he gave to the Justice of his Father by obeying the Law both Actively and Passively in the Assumed Nature On this Account it is that there remains now no Condemnation in force against that Man or Woman which believes in the Son of God The Moral Law is indeed a Law or Rule of Holy Living to all Believers and as a Looking-glass to discover to Believers the Spoâ—s and Defects which abounds in their Hearts and Lives while in a state of Imperfection and to shew them the continual need they stand in of the Blood and Righteousness of Christ the Mediator till they come to the end of their Race But to condemn or sentence any true Believer in Jesus to Damnation or Eternal Death the Moral Law hath no Power There is therefore now no Condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus c. Rom. 8.1 Christ hath redeemed us from the Curse of the Law being made a Curse for us Gal. 3.13 And can this be any other than sweet to true Believers especially to such as have lain so long in the Laws Prison till the Irons thereof have reached even to the very Soul Secondly The Death of Christ is most sweet and delightful to the true Believer in that in Christ's Death all the Sins and Iniquities of the Believer were Arraign'd and put to death so as the Believer shall never never be Arraign'd or Condemn'd for them either here or hereafter There were two things in sin by which the Elect of God were held captives First the Guilt of sin which lays them open to Condemnation and the Wrath to come From this the Active and Passive Obedience of Christ set them for ever free as hath been already observ'd Secondly The defiling Power of Indwelling sin this also is slain and put to death in the Death of Christ and by Virtue hereof it is that every Believer in Jesus is made to die to sin in Heart and Life through the powerful Efficiency of the Holy Ghost inwardly applying to the Soul of the Believer the Efficacy of the Mediator's Death For what the Law could not do in that it was weak through the Flesh God sending his own Son in the Likeness of sinful Flesh and for sin condemned sin in the Flesh Rom. 8.3 For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the Righteousness of God in him 2 Cor. 5.21 Who his own self bare our sins in his own Body on the Tree 1 Pet. 2.24 Let this Caution be observ'd and improv'd by every true Believer viz. that not the Being of indwelling sin but its condemning and reigning Power are condem'd and put to death in the Death of Christ So as that that indwelling sin which yet remains in a justified Believer shall never either lay him open to Condemnation or to keep the Believer under its captivating Power as before Regeneration it did He will subdue our Iniquities and thou wilt cast all our sins into the depth of the Sea c. Mic. 7.18 For sin shall not have Dominion over you for ye are not under the Law but under Grace Rom. 6.14 For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the Devil 1 Jo. 3.8 He that is born of God doth not commit sin ver 9. Thirdly The Death of Christ is most sweet to a true Believer in that the Curse which sin put into bodily Death it is by Christ's Death taken away to every Believer the Curse due to sin was the very Sting of Death so witnesseth the Holy Ghost The Sting of death is sin c. 1 Cor. 15.56 This Christ the Surety of the Believer bore that the Curse in Death might be turn'd into a
Yea so far are Afflictions and Tribulations from being a Token of God's being a Mans Enemy that indeed to be exempt and free from them is an Argument that the Person is none of Gods But if ye be without chastening then are ye Bastards and not Sons Heb. 12.8 * God 's Afflictive Dispensations are to his own Children the purging Pills whereby God the Great and only Wise Physitian will purge out of the Heart and Affections of his Children those Remains of Sin yet abiding in them And as in Nature those Pills or that Potion which are Bitterest and which makes the Patient sickest are the best for curing though they are hardly gotten down So in Christianity those Corrections and Chastenings from God's own Hand which are the sorest and sharpest to corrupt Nature they are Attended with the greatest Efficacy to kill Indwelling Corruption in the Believer Before I was Afflicted said Holy David I went astray but now have I kept thy Word Psal 119.67 And in another place I know O Lord that thy Judgments are right and that thou in Faithfulness hast Afflicted me Psal 119.75 When the darkest and most dismal Cloud of Affliction and Trouble seems to overcast the true Believer and not only to overcast him but to compass him about so as there appears no likelihood of his Escape yet even then there is a Bright side in that Cloud which shines on the Believers Inside to comfort and encourage him in Trusting in and Relying on God in the way of Believing and Dependance And not only so but we Glory in Tribulation also knowing that Tribulation worketh Patience and Patience Experience and Experience Hope and Hope maketh not ashamed because the Love of God is shed abroad in our Hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us Rom. 5.3 Blessed be God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of Mercies and the God of all Comfort Who comforteth us in all our Tribulation that we may be able to comfort them which are in any Trouble by the Comfort wherewith we our selves are comforted of God 2 Cor. 1.3 4. Nevertheless God that comforteth those that are cast down c. 2 Cor. 7.6 Seventhly and lastly The Lord Jesus Christ the Head and King of all true Believers being Pilot to sit at the Helm of all Affairs wherein the Glory of his Father and the Salvation of his Elect are concern'd he will so Steer the Course of all second Causes in this World as not one of his Believing Members shall ever come short of a Safe and Happy Arrival at Glory but shall most infallibly be securely conducted through all Storms and Hurricanes which can possibly arise to overwhelm and sink the true Believer Let what Times soever God pleases come let what Calamities soever fall out in the Land Plague Famine Civil War Forreign Invasion Penal Laws Bishops Court Devil World indwelling Sin Let all come upon thee at once and display the Banner of their Force Policy and Malice against thee to ruine and destroy thee yet thou who art a real Believer art safe being secur'd under the shâ—dow of the Appletree and not only safe from any Harm which can come to thee by such Storms or Enemies But thou shalt be infallibly assur'd of safe Landing in Heaven and that by Virtue of that Universal Conquest and Victory Atchiev'd by thy Head and King over all his and thy Enemies And his having gone through all those kind of Storms which thou fearest thou shalt meet with and that as thy Representative and hath shot the Gulph of Death and is now Actually Possest of thy Crown and Mansion in the highest Heavens whereto the Efficacious Virtue and Power of thy Redeemers Ascension will in a very short space of time bring thee to behold and enjoy the great and unspeakable things which he hath purchas'd for thee and for all that truly Love and long for his Appearing God is our Refuâ—e and Strength a very present Help in Trouble therefore will not we fear though the Earth be removed and though the Mountains be carried into the midst of the Sea Though the Waters thereof rear and be troubled though the Mountains shake with the swelling thereof Psal 46.1 2 3. Whither the forerunner is for us entred even Jesus made an high Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedech Heb. 6.20 What hath been observ'd from the latter part of the Text concerning the Fruits of the Appletree which are so sweet to the Taste of a true Believer many things might have been spoken by way of Application both to the Comfort and Joy of all true hearted Believers and also to the Terror and Amazement of all Papists Quakers Arminians c. who are destitute of the Fruit of this Appletree When spiritual Famine from God comes on these graceless because Christless Souls when they come to be Hunger-bitten and their starv'd Souls languish away in them for want of the Fruit they now ridicule and scorn Then will that dreadful and killing Word take hold of and be Actually fulfilled in them Esa 65.13 Therefore thus saith the Lord God behold my Servants shall eat but ye shall be hungry behold my Servants shall drink but ye shall be thirsty behold my Servants shall rejoyce but ye shall be ashamed Behold my Servants shall sing for Joy of heart but ye shall cry for Sorrow of heart and shall howl for vexation of Spirit This is and will be the Doom of all those who sit not under the Protecting Shadow of this Appletree The Fruit of this Tree is sweet to none but to those to whom its Shadow is Delightful The Shadow and the Fruit belongs to none but to God's Elect even Christs Redeemed ones Well therefore may the Believer cry out and say with the Prophet Although the Figtree shall not Blossom neither shall Fruit be in the Vine the Labour of the Olive shall fail and the Field shall yield no Meat The Flock shall be cut off from the Fold and there shall be no Herd in the Stalls Yet will I rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my Salvation Hab 3.17.18 The Mediatorial Righteousness of God Man is upon me and his protecting Care and Providence is over me for my Covering to shelter me from the Laws Curse From the Agonies of a fearful Conscience from the dreadful Temptations of Satan and from the deserved Wrath of God Here 's my hiding place in time of Storm and Tempest of whom should I be afraid Psal 27.5 Whenever a Storm arises whether rais'd by Satan or the World or by my own corrupt Nature or by Gods deserting or hiding his Face for a time I presently by Faith and Prayer run to the Appletree and take up my place under its Shadow crying out with Holy David Keep me as the Apple of the Eye hide me under the Shadow of thy Wings from the wicked that oppress me from my deadly Enemies who compass me about Psal 17.8 9.
No sooner am I set down under that refreshing Shadow and become sensible of my Safety but I presently fall upon solacing my spiritual Senses with beholding and feeding upon its Fruit applying unto my self by Faith the saving Benefits of Christs personal Graces and the Improvement he hath made of the same for me a poor Worm together with the saving Benefits of his Word and Works as above discovered appropriating each Particular unto my self Thus the Improvement which my dear Lord Jesus made of the Anointing poured out upon him by the Father to fit him for the Work of Mediation it is mine The Promises of the Everlasting Covenant of Grace which are suited to every Condition I either am or can be in they are mine That wonderful and amazing Work of his Incarnation or becoming Man it is mine It was to Unite me to God in a nearer and firmer Bond of Union than was between God and me in the first Creation The Work of his unparallell'd and matchless Humiliation in my Nature it is mine It was for me to prevent my Perishing by the Damning Pride of my corrupted Nature and to merit and purchase for me Gospel Humility That Work of his perfectly obey'd the Moral Law in Heart and Life it is mine he obeyed the Law for me as my Surety The Death which he suffer'd and underwent it is mine It was for me that he might unsting Death for me and to give full Satisfaction to Justice for my breaking the Law that my Sins might be Arraign'd and put to death in his Death The Guilt of Sin can now no more condemn or cast me at God's Bar neither can its reigning Power from henceforth detain me as its Captive or Slave that I should obey it in the Lusts thereof The Resurrection of Christ from the Dead it is mine He Rose for my Justification hereby I am fully Assured from under the Hand of the Spirit of God that the Whole of my Debt for which Christ my Surety Actually Dy'd and lay confin'd in the Grave is new fully Discharg'd I am from henceforth no more liable to the Arrest of the Law for Sin for that the Justice of God hath by raising my Surety from the Dead Releas'd and Discharg'd me The Ascension of Christ from Earth to Heaven it is mine be Ascended for me as my Surety and Representative to present before his Father the Success of his Negotiation which he undertook for me when on Earth The compleat and perfect Righteousness he fulfilled for me to answer the Laws Demand and the Universal Conquest and Victory which he by that Rigâ—â—eousness hath Atchiev'd over all his and my Enemies he makes open shew of them in Heaven Besides this he Ascended to enter upon the Possession of that Crown and Mansion in Heaven which he himself purchased for me the which he hath as my Forerunner taken into his own keeping for me until I have accomplisht the Service to which he hath appointed me on Earth The Intercession of Christ in Heaven is mine He sits at the Fathers right Hand to lay my Case in all its various Circumstances open before Gods Throne of Grace pleading in my Behalf the Price which he himself hath paid to Justice for the Procurement of all the Good I stand in need of till I come to the end of my Race And to Encourage my coming to God's Throne of Grace in Prayer with a Humble and Holy Boldness to obtain in the Virtue and Merit of the Price he hath paid and the Intercession he makes in Heaven the Mercy and Deliverance which at any time or in any case I stand in need of The Providence of Christ whereby he governs the World it is mine He Orders and Rules all Creatures or secondary Causes wherein I am concern'd for my Advantage and spiritual Good Devil World Indwelling Sin Poverty Reproach Friends Enemies Adversity Prosperity Health Sickness Life and Death No further will the All and Over-ruling Providence of Christ suffer any of these to move or stir then he will order for my Good and Eternal Advantage Matters being brought to so Excellent an Issue through the powerful Operation of the Holy Ghost my Soul finds it self under a Holy Constraint of crying out Admiringly Here 's Fruit indeed none could ever compare with it of these Celestial Fruits that Feast of Fat things promised in Esa 25.6 is made up and they are by Christ himself intended in those Words For my Flesh is Meat indeed and my Blood is Drink indeed Jo. 6.55 What the Prime and Fatness of Beasts and the most delicious and purest of Wines are to feast and satiate the Body The Flesh and Blood of Christ the Son of God as held forth in the Gospel and by Faith apply'd and fed upon is unspeakably more to the Soul of a true Believer to feed his spiritual Hunger and to quench his spiritual Thirst The Believer while he finds himself thus overcast with the Shadow of the Appletree and his spiritual Senses so unspeakably cheer'd and ravish'd with its Fruit he cries out with Peter on the Mount at the Transfiguration of Christ it is good to be here Mat. 17.3 There 's no Shelter like this of the Apple-tree which secures from all manner of Storms be they inward or outward from Devil from the envious wicked World from Heart Corruption or from God hiding his Face Neither is any Fruit to be compared to its Fruit. A Fruit which never fails a Hungry Soul which feeds on it to feed to fatten to corroborate the Soul against all spiritual Qualms and Faintings of Soul A Fruit which as soon as tasted brings the perplexed melancholly distracted despairing Heart and Mind to Rights again A Fruit which is so far from cloying or surfeiting the Believer that the more and the oftener he makes use of it the more doth he long to be at it again This Fruit produceth in the Soul of a Believer such a Holy Dropsie or unquenchable Thirst as nothing short of the Beatifical Vision in Heaven will perfectly cure Rev. 7.16 Come then Oh! come all ye Poor distressed melancholly despairing Souls who dread the Terrible Sentence of the Law who are frightened by thâ—â— Devils Temptations who are readâ—â— to die away in Despair of the Agonies and Wounds which Sin hath occasion'd in your Consciences ye who are afraid ye shall perish for want And are afraid that God's Wrath will be your Portion for ever hasten under the Shadow of the Spouses Appletree lest the Avenger of Blood overtake thee And for thy Encouragement know it that this Appletree affords Shelter to all comers to all sorts of Sinners The oldest Sinners the vilest and most notorious Sinners who breath this sicâ— Hell and Destruction all will find Welcome none will be rejected who have a mind to come All that the Father gieth me shall come unto me and he that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out Jo. 6.37 Ho! Every one that Thirsteth come ye to the Waters and he that hath no Money conâ— and Eat yea come buy Wine and Milk without Money and without Price Esa 55.1 2. And the Spirit and the Briâ—â— say come and let him that heareâ—â— say come and let him that is athirâ—â— come and whosoever will let him taâ—â— of the Water of Life freely Rev. 22.1 All other spiritual Physitians and Means of Cure will be found Insignificant and of no value Here 's the Physitian who must cure thee if ever thou be saved Jo. 8.36 Acts 4.12 And I dare boldly to assure thee that the whole World cannot afford thee a safer Physitian with whom to trust thy Sin-sick dying Soul than this dear Lord Jesus under whose Hands never any Soul yet miscarry'd and for cheapness never was the like The Scriptures last quoted make this plain to which I will only add that of the Apostle Paul Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make Intercession for them Heb. 7.25 And in a better and more Encouraging Place of Scripture I cannot end FINIS