an Annalogical Death a speedy Consumption of all our corrupt and drossy Parts so as the pain must be the more intense by its shortness than in the ordinary course of death Briefly that change is death and our death is a change as Job stiles it Job 14.14 The difference is not in the pain but in the speed of the Tâ—ansaction Fear not then the sentence of Death remember them that have been before thee and that come after for this is the sentence of the Lord over all flesh Ecclus. 41.3 11 THOU fearest Death So do not Infants Children or Distracted Persons as the Philosopher observes Why should reason render us more Cowardly than defect of reason doth them Thou fearest that which others wish for O Death how acceptable is thy sentence to the needy and to him whose shrength faileth that is now in the last age and is vexed with all things and to him that despaireth and hath lost patience Ecclus. 41.2 VVherefore is light given saith Job to him that is in misery and life unto the bitter in Soul VVhich long for hid Treasures which rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they can find the grave Job 3.20 21 22. 12. HOW many invite the violence of Death and if refus'd do as Ignatius threatned he would do to the Lyons force his Assault Death is the same to all The Difference is in the Disposition of the Entertainers could'st thou loost upon Death with their eyes he would be as welcome to thee as to them At least why shouldst thou not labour to have thy heart so wrought upon that this Face of Death which seems lovely and desirable to some may not appear over-terrible to thee 13. THOU art afraid to die Could'st thou have been capable in the Womb of the use of reason thou wouldst have been more afraid of coming into the World than thou art of going out For why should we be more afraid of the better than of the worse Better is the day of death than the day of ones birth saith the Preacher Eccles. 7.2 better every way our birth begins our miseries our death ends them The one enters the best into a wretched World but the other enters the good into a World of Glory Certainly were it not for our infidelity as we came crying into the World so we should go rejoycing out And as some have solemnized their Birth-day with feasting and triumph the Primitive Church hath enjoyned rejoycing upon the Dying day of her Martyrs and Saints 14. THOU abhorrest Death and fleest from it as from a Serpent but dost thou know his sting is gone what harm is there in a sting-less Snake Hast thou not heard of some delicate Dames that have carried 'em in their Bosom for coolness and pleasure of their smoothness The sting of Death is Sin 1 Cor. 15.56 He may hiss and wind about us but cannot prejudice us when that Sting is out Look up O thou believing Soul to thy blessed Saviour who hath pluckt out this sting of Death and happily triumphs over it O Death where is thy sting O Grave where is thy Victory 1 Cor. 15.55 15. THY Soul and Body old Companions are loth to part It is but forbearing their Society a while they but take leave of other till they meet at the Resurrâ—â—â—â—on in the mean time they are safe and the better 〈…〉 It is commendable in the Jews otherwis◠〈…〉 Men that they call their Grave 〈…〉 thâ— House of the Living and when thâ—y 〈…〉 â—urial of their Neigbours they 〈…〉 â—nd cast it into the Air with those words of the Psalmist 72.16 They shall flourish and put forth as Grass upon the Earth 16. DID we not believe a Resurrection of the one part and a re-uniting of the other we had reason to be daunted with thoughts of a Dissolution But now we have no cause to be dismayed with a little Intermission It was the saying of a Wise Heathen That Death which we so fear and flee from doth but respite Life for a while not take it away The day will come which shall restore us to Light again Settle thy Soul in this assurance and thou canst not be discomfited with a necessary Parting 17. THOU art afraid of Death when thou art weary of thy days labour art thou afraid of rest Hear what thy Saviour who is the Lord of Life esteems of Death Joh. 11.11 Our Friend Lazarus sleepeth and of Jarius his Daughter Matt. 9.24 The Maid is not Dead but Sleepeth Neither useth the Spirit of God any other Language concerning his Servants under the Old Testament Now shall I sleep in the Dust saith holy Job Job 7.21 and of David 2. Sam. 7.12 When thy days be fulfilled thou shalt sleep with thy Fathers nor yet under the New For this cause many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 11.30 18. THE Philosophers were wont to call Sleep the Brother of Death but God says Death is no other than Sleep it self a Sleep sure and sweet When thou liest down at Night to thy Repose thou canst not be certain to awake in the Morning as when thou layest thy self down in Death thou art sure to wake in the Morning of the Resurection Out of this Bodily Sleep thou may'st be startled with some noise of Horror fearful Dreams Tumults or allarms of War but here thou shalt rest quietly in the place of Silence free from all internal and external Disturbances and in the mean time thy Soul shall see none but Visions of Joy and Blessedness 19. BUT oh the sweet and hearty expression of our last rest and the Issue of our happy resuscitation which our holy Apostle hath laid forth for the consolation of his mournful Thessalonians 1 Thess. 4.14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again Even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him So that our belief is Antidote enough against the worst of Death And why are we troubled when we believe Jesus dyed and what a Triumph is this over Death that the same Jesus who dyed rose again And what a comfort is it that the same Jesus who arose shall come again and bring all his with him in Glory And lastly what a strong Cordial is this to all good Hearts that all which die well sleep in Jesus Thou thoughtest perhaps of sleeping in the Bed of the Grave and there indeed is Rest But he tells thee of sleeping in the Bosom of Jesus and there is Immortality and Blessedness O blessed Jesu in thy presence is the fulness of Joy and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore Psal. 16.12 Who would desire to walk in the World when he may sleep in Christ. 20. THOU fearest Death But on what terms doth Death present himself to thee If as an Enemy as the Apostle stiles him 1 Cor. 15.26 The last Enemy that shall be destroyed is Death thy unpreparedness will make him dreadful but thy readiness and
wish well to the Publick and make thine own Peace with God for thy particular Offences Renew the Covenant with God of a holy and strict Obedience and then pour out thy Prayers and Tears for an universal Mercy Then thou wilt not only pull away one Brand from this Consuming Fire but assist to quench the common Conslagration 11. THY Heart bleeds to see the woful Vastation of Civil Discord and the deadly fury of domestick Enemies Certainly there is nothing under Heaven more dreadful than the Face of an Intestine War nothing that so nearly resembles Hell Killing Dying Torturing Burning Shrieks Cries and Ejaculations fearful Sounds and furious Violences and whatsoever may increase Horror The present Calamity oppreâ—â—es one another Fear One is quivering in Death another trembles to expect it One begs for Life another will sell it dearer Heâ—e one would rescue one Life and loseth two another would hide himself where he finds a Merciless Death Here lies one bleeding groaning and grasping parting with his Soul inextremity of Anguish and another of a Vigorous Spirit kills and dies at once Here one wrings her Hands teaâ—s her Hair and seeks for some Instrument of a self-inflicted Death rather than yield her Chastity to a bloody Ravisher another clings to her Husband and takes part of the Murtherers Sword rather than let go her Embraces One is tortured for the Discovery of hid Treasure another dying upon the Rack out of Jealousie 12. IT is pity that Christians should be so bloodily Cruel to one another That he who bears the Image of God should thus turn Fiend to his own Flesh and Blood These are worthy of our bitterest Lamentations I love the Speculation of Seneca's Resolutely-Wise Man that could look upon the glittering Sword of an Executioner with undazled Eyes and makes it indifferent whether his Soul pass out of his Mouth or Throat But I should more admire the Practice Whilst we carry this Clay about us Nature in the best of us must shrink in at the sight of Death Yet these are the due Revenges of the Almighty's Punitive Justice so provok'd by our Sins that we cannot claim an easier Judgment 13. DOST thou not see Physicians when the Body is highly Distemper'd and the Blood Inflam'd to order the opening of a Vein and extracting out so many ounces as may leave the rest sit for Correction Why art thou over-troubled to see the great Physician of the World take this Course with sinful Mankind Certainly had not this great Body by wilful Disorder contracted these Spiritual Diseases and defiled the Blood that runs in these Vulgar Veins with Riots and Surfeits we had never been so Miserable as to see these Torrents of Christian Blood running down our Channels But could we bewail and abandon our former Wickednesses we might live in hope that at last this deadly Issue might stop and dry up and leave a Possibility of a Blessed Recovery 14. THOU art amaz'd with Grief to see the Pestilence raging in our Streets in so frequent a Mortality as breeds a question concerning the number of the Living and the Dead That which is wont to abate other Miseries heightens this the Company of Participants It was certainly a hard and sad Option that God gave to David after his numbring the People Chuse thee whether Seven Years Famine shall come unto thee in thy Land or three Months Flight before thine Enemies or two days Pestilence 2 Sam. 24.13 We may believe him when we hear him say I am in a great Strait but his wise Resolutions soon brought him out Let us fall now into the hands of the Lord for his Mercies are great And let me not fall into the hands of Man 2 Sam. 24.14 He that sent these Evils know their Value and the difference of their Malignity 15. YET he opposes three days Pestilence to seven Years Famine and three Months Vanquishment He knew there was advantage betwixt the dull Activity of Man and the quick Dispatch of an Angel It was a favour that the Angel who in One Night destroy'd an Hundred fourscore and five thousand Assyrians 2 King 19.35 should in three days cut off but Seventy thousand Israelites But the Almighty in his Judgments remembers Mercy We read of Grand Cairo wherein Eighteen hundred thousand were swept away in one Years Pestilence enough one would imagine to have De-Populated the whole Earth And in our Chronicles of so general a Mortality that the Living were hardly sufficient to Bury the Dead In the Year 1624 died of the Plague in one Week Four thousand four hundred sixty three and in our last Visitation 1665 was a larger Number In one Week Seven thousand one hundred sixty and five and in the whole Year Sixty eight thousand five hundred ninety six It was his tender Mercy that he spared any Alive But he Wounds that he may Heal and in wounding heals us for his Compassions fails not to us Sinners 16. THESE are dreadful demonstrations of God's Displeasure but there is this alleviation of our Misery that we suffer more immediately from a Holy Just and Merciful God The Kingly Prophet had never made that distinction in his Choice if he had not known a difference betwixt the Sword of an Angel and an Enemy betwixt God's more direct and immediate Infliction and the Malice of Men. It was but a poor Consolation given by a Victorious Enemy to dying Lausus Comfort thy self in thy Death with this that thou fallest by the Hand of Aeneas But surely we have just Reason to Comfort our Souls when a Pestilential Death compasses us about from the Thought and Intuition of that Gracious Hand under which we suffer So as we can say with good Eli It is the Lord. 17. IT is not amiss to nominate those Maâ—ks of Infection God's Tokens such they are and ought to Summon up our Eyes and Hearts to that Almighty Power that sends them with the Resolution of Holy Job Tho thou kill me yet will I trust in thee It is none of the least Miseries of Contagious Sickness for it bars us from the Comfortable Society and Attendance of Friends or else repays their Love and kind Visitation with Death Be not dismaid with this Solitude thou hast Company with thee whom no Infection can indanger or exclude There is an invisible Friend that will be sure to adhere to thee though thou art avoided by Neighbours and will make all thy Bed in thy Sickness and supply thee with those Cordials which thou in vain expect'st from earthly Visitants 18. INDEED justly do we stile this Sickness for the Mortalness and Generality of the Dispersion Yet there is a Remedy that can cure and confine it Let but every one inspect the Plague of his own heart and the Land is healed Can we with David see the Angel that smites us and erect an Altar and offer God the Sacrifices of our Prayers Penitence and Obedience we shall hear him say It is enough 2 Sam. 24.16 His
are thy Guests and Inmates to Sojourn with thee in this Retiredness What if the Light be excluded from thee It cannot hinder thee from seeing the Invisible The Darkness hideth not from thee saith the Psalmist but the Night shineth as the Day the Darkness and the Light are both alike to thee Psal. 139.12 5. I may say without dubiousness God hath never been so evidently seen as in darkest Dungeons for the external Light of Prosperity directs our Visive Beams which are strongly contracted in a deep Obscurity He must descend low and be in Darkness that would see the glorious Lights of Heaven by day They ever shine but not seen except in the Night If thine Eyes be blessed with this invisible Prospect thou art exempt from envying those Persons tho they could see all that the Tempter represented to the view of our Saviour upon the highest Mountain All the Kingdoms of the World and the Glory of them 6. THOU art forced to Retiredness but with what Disposition of Mind and Body If thou hadst a burden'd Soul the open and free Air could not refresh thee and if thou have a sincere Heart a strict Closeness cannot dismay thee thy Thoughts can keep thee Company and cheer thy Solitariness If thou hadst an unsound Body afflicted with the Gout Rupture or Luxation of some Limb thou wouldst not complain of thy Retiredness thy Pain would make thee insensible of thy Confinement But if God have blessed thee with Health how easily may'st thou digest an harmless Limitation 7. A Wise Man as Laurentius observ'd doth much in Solitude So may'st thou employ the Hours of thy close Retiredness and bless God for so happy an Opportunity How memorable an Instance hath our Age afforded us of an Eminent Person to whose Learning we are all oblig'd for that noble History of the World The Court had his Youthful Years and the Tower his latter Age The Tower Reform'd the Court in him and produc'd these worthy Monuments of Art and Industry which we should in vain expected from his Freedom and Jollitry It is observ'd that shining Wood within doors loseth its Light It is otherwise with this and many active Wits which had never shin'd if not for Confinement 8. THOU art close shut up Anchorets have sued for this as a Favour which thou esteemest a Punishment and having obtain'd it have plac'd Merit in that thou apprehend'st Misery Our History relates of one who when the Church Where his Cell was annex'd was on Fire would not come out but Die and lye Buried under the Ashes of that Roof where his Vow had fix'd him 9. THOU art Imprison'd Wise Men are apt in all Events to enquire into the Causes Wherefore dost thou suffer Is it for thy Guiltiness Make thy Goal God's Correction-House for the reforming of thy Wickedness Remember and imitate Manasses the evil Son of a good Father who upon Humiliation by his just Imprisonment found an happy Expiation of his horrible Idolatries Muders and Witchcrafts whose Bonds brought him home to God and himself Is it for Debt Think not to pay thy Creditors with a lingring Durance if power be in thine hands for a Discharge If there is Fraud and Injustice in this Confinement Fear thou a worse Prison if thou wilt wilfully live and die Indebted when thou mayst be Free and Honest 10. STRETCH thine ability to the utmost to satisfie others tho thou art Impoverish'd But if the hand of God have disabled thee labour what thou canst to agree with thy Creditors If they are Cruel look up with Patience to the Almighty who thinks fit to afflict thee with their Unreasonableness and make the same good use of thy Sufferings as if from the immediate Hand of thy Creator If it be for a good Cause rejoyce in this Tribulation and be exhilerated with the Blessed Apostles that thou art Counted worthy to suffer shame and bonds for the Name of the Lord Jesus Acts 5.41 For every just Cause he owns Neither is he less a Martyr that sufâ—ers for his Conscience in any of God's Commandments than he who suffers for matter of Faith and Religion 11. REMEMBER that Cordial Word of thy Saviour Blessed are they that are persecuted for Righteousness sake for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Mat. 5.10 In such a Prison thou shalt be sure to find good Company as Joseph Micaiah Jeremiah John Baptist Peter Paul and Silas and all the Holy Martyrs and Confessors of Christ from the first Plantation of the Gospel to this present Repent if thou canst to be thus accompanied and choose not rather to violate a good Conscience for freedom than to be kept under a Momentary Restraint 12. THOU art a Prisoner Make the best of thy Condition close Air is warmer than open and how frequently do we hear Birds sing sweeter Notes in Cages than in Woods It is thy defect if thou art not amended by thy Retir'dness Thou art a Prisoner So is thy Soul in thy Body there not restrain'd only but fetter'd yet complains not of the straitness of these Clay-Walls or weight of those Bonds but patiently waits for a happy Goâ—l-delivery So do thou attend with all Long-suffering the good hour of the Pleasure of God Thy period is set not without regard to thy Advantage He in whose hand are all Times hath determined a sit time to free thy Body from these Prison-Walls and thy Soul from this Prison of thy Body and to restore Body and Soul from the Bondage of Corruption to the Glorious Liberty of the Sons of God Rom. 8.21 A Prayer in Confinement O Holy Lord God who wouldest not the death of a Sinner but rather that he should turn from his Wickedness and live Lord Convert my Soul remove my Sins and frame my Heart Affections and Life according to thy blessed Will Thou who hearest the Poor and despisest not the Wretched Captive visit all that are bound Lord hear them in an acceptable time and help them in the day of Salvation Preserve the Oppressed and Despised of Men Say unto the Prisoners go forth and to them that are in Darkness shew your Selves Bind up the Broken Hearted proclaim Liberty to the Captives and open the Prison to them that are shut up Comfort them that Mourn let their deep Sighing come before thee And according to the greatness of thy Power preserve thou them that are appointed to dye 2. LORD lift thou up my head enlarge my feet and bring me out of all bondage that I may live to serve and praise thee in the Assembly of thy Servants However thou pleasest to dispose of me Let all my Sufferings redound to thy Glory and my own Salvation Give me Patience to endure and a constancy to depend on thee a firm Faith to apprehend thy Promises and a hope to expect thy Saving Health Consider my Weakness and lay no more upon me then thou wilt Enable me to bear cheerfully Sanctifie my Afflictions and make them good to me in the
had not been in such an extasie but to depart and to be with Christ is that which raiseth his Soul 35. WHEN Socrates was to dye for his Religion he comforted himself with this that he should go to Orpheus Homer Musaeus and the other Worthies of former Ages Poor Man Could he have known God manifested in the flesh and received up into Glory 1 Tim. 3.16 and in that glorified state sitting at the right hand of Majesty could he have known the Blessed Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim Angels Arch Angels Principalities and Powers and the rest of the most Glorious Hierarchy of Heaven Could he have been acquainted with that Celestial Choir of the Spirits of Just Men made Perfect Heb. 12.23 Could he have known the God and Father of Spirits the Infinite and Incomprehensible Glorious Diety whose Presence transfuses Everlasting Blessedness into all those Citizens of Glory And could he have known that he should have an undoubted interest in that infinite Bliss how gladly would he have taken of his hemlock and how joyfully would he have passed to that happy World 36. ALL this we know and no less assured then of our present being with what comfort should we think of changing our present Condition with a Blessed Immortality How sweet a Song was that of old Simeon Luke 2.29 Lord now lettest thou thy Servant depart in peace according to thy word for mine eyes have seen thy Salvation That which he saw by the Eye of Sence thou seest by the Eye of Faith even the Lords Christ verse 16. he saw him in Weakness thou seest him in Glory why should'st thou not depart not in peace only but in joy and comfort 37. HOW did the Proto-Martyr Stephen triumph over the rage of his Enemies and the fury of Death when he had once seen the Heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God Acts 7.56 God offers the same blessed prospect to the Eye of thy Soul Faith is the Key that opens the Heav'n of Heav'ns fix thy eyes upon that Glorious and Saving Object Thou canst not but lay down thy Body in peace and send thy Soul into the hands of him that bought it with the cheerful and sweet Recommendation of Lord Jesus receive my Spirit Acts 7.39 A Prayer at the Hour of Death O LORD GOD Almighty I humbly acknowledge my own vileness through the whole course of my Life And seeing thou hast thus long spared me now accomplish thy Mercy in me Be thou my God forever and my Guide unto the end O Comfort me now my Heart trembleth in me and the terrors of Death are fallen upon me give me the long expected fruits of my hopes proposed to me in thy Word O Blessed Jesu who art the Death of death now shew thy self my Saviour Take from my afflicted Soul the sting of Death and assure me of Victory Loose the Pains allay the Fears and Sorrows and Sweeten the bitterness of Death untill in my enjoying thy Presence it be swallowed up in Victory O Holy Saviour who hast had Experience of all our miseries for Sin without Sin and hast admitted us to be Baptized into the Similitude of thy Death and Resurrection Let me now feel in my Languishing Soul the Power and Efficacy thereof 2. O Christ whose Human Soul in thy Passion for my Redeemption was heavy unto Death now mercifully Consider my Frailty who am now at the point of Dissolution O now give me an Invincible Faith in thee against which the Gates of Hell shall never prevail now speak Peace and Comfort to my poor Soul Thou who pouredst out thy Soul to Death for me receive my wearied Spirit to Eternal Life Let not this fearful passage be too bitter to me but be thou ever present with me in all my sufferings O Holy Ghost the Comforter of all the Elect leave me not Comfortless let me be gathered to my Fathers in Peace Bring me to that Life wherein thou hast promised to wipe away all Tears from our Eyes Where shall be no more Death Sorrow Pain nor any bitter Effects of Sin Lord hear me O thou who despisest not a broken contrite Heart have mercy upon me Lord receive my Petitions and in thy appointed hour come Lord Jesus my Saviour and Redeemer deliver me from this bondage of Corruption even so come Lord Jesus come quickly Amen SECT XVII Of Judgment 1. THOU apprehendest true Death is terrible but Judgment more both succeed upon the same decree It is appointed unto Men once to dye but after this the judgment Heb. 9.27 It is not more terrible than thought on Death because he strikes and lays before us examples of Mortality cannot but sometimes take up our hearts but the last Judgment having no visible proofs upon our thoughts too seldom fright us 2. YET who conceives the Terror of that day When the Sun shall be turn'd into darkness and the Moon into blood Acts 2.20 That day which shall burn as an Oven when all the proud and all that do wickedly shall be as the stubble Mal. 4.1 That day in which the Heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the Elements shall melt with fervent heat the Earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up 2 Pet. 3.10 That day wherein the Lord Jesus shall be reveal'd from Heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ 2 Thess. 1.7 8. That day wherein the Lord will come with fire and with his Chariots like a whirlwind to render his anger with fury and his rebuke with flames of fire for by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh Isa. 66.15 16. That day wherein the Son of Man shall come in his Glory and all the Holy Angels with him and shall sit upon the Throne of his Glory and all Nations shall be gathered before him and he shall separate them one from another as a Shepherd divideth his Sheep from the Goats Mat. 25.31 32. And that day wherein all the kindreds of the Earth shall wail because of him Rev. 1.7 3. THAT great and terrible day of the Lord Joel 2.31 wherein if the powers of Heav'n be shaken how can the heart remain removed And if the World be dissolved who can abide it Alas we are ready to tremble at Thunder in a Cloud and at Lightning that glances our Eyes what shall we do when the Heavens shall break in pieces and be on flame about our Ears Oh who may abide the day of his coming and who shall stand when he appeareth Mal. 3.2 4. YET be of good cheer amidst all this horror there is comfort whether thou be one whom it shall please God to reserve upon the Earth to the sight of this dreadful day he knows in whose hands our times are but this we are sure of that we are upon the last days And we may spit
and then if it stand with thy good Pleasure heal my Body and raise it that I may glorifie thy Holy Name in the Congregation of the Righteous 2. BUT if in thy Omniscency thou hast otherwise determined that this Visitation shall put a period to my frail Mortality I humbly beseech thee to fit and prepare me for that last and great change Wean me from all the fading pleasures and vain allurements of this sinful World that I may become a meet partaker of thy Heavenly Kingdom Send down O LOrd thy Light and thy Truth into my inward parts that I may understand thy Wisdom secreetly Support the weakness of my Faith that I may with a strong Assurance lay hold upon the Blood of Jesus by whose Merits I expect Salvation and to Reign with thee in thy Heavenly Kingdom Amen SECT III. Affliction of Conscience 1. THY Sin is ponderous upon thy Soul Bless the Omnipotence thou art sensible of it Many hath more weight and boasteth of Ease There 's Musick in this Complaint the Almighty delights to hear it next to the Melody of Saints and Angels Pursue and continue these sorrowful Notes if ever thou expectest Comfort It is this Godly Sorrow that worketh Repentance to Salvation not to be repented of 2 Cor. 7.10 Weep still and be not too much hastly to exhaust thy Tears for they are precious and rendred fit to be reserv'd in the Bottle of the Almighty Psal. 56.8 Over-speedy Remedies may prove injurious to the Patient And as in the Body so in the Soul Diseases and Tumours must have their due Maturation ' ere there can be a Cure The Inwards of the Sacrifice must be three times rinsed with Water Lev. 1.9 One Ablution will not serve turn But when thou hast Evacuated thine Eyes of Tears and unloaded thy Breast of leisurely Sighs I shall then by full Commission from him that hath the Power of Remission say to thee Son be of good Comfort thy Sins are forgiven thee Mat. 9.2 2. THINK not this Word meerly formal and forceless He that hath the Keys of Hell and of Death Rev. 1.18 hath not said in vain Whose Sins ye remit they are remitted John 20.23 The Words of his Vicegerents on Earth are ratified in Heav'n only the Priest under the Law hath power to pronounce the Leper clean Lev. 13.3 Had any other Israelite done it it had been as unprofitable as presumptuous It was a good Expression that fell from Elihu When a Man's Soul draweth nigh unto the Grave and his Life to the Destroyer if there be a Messenger of God with him an Interpreter one among a thousand to shew unto that Man his Uprightness then He i. e. God is Gracious unto him and saith Deliver him from going down into the Pit I have found a Ransom Job 33.22 23 24. Behold this is thy State thy Souls Life is in danger of the Destroyer through his powerful Temptations I am howsoever unworthy a Messenger sent to thee from Heaven and in the Name of the Almighty that sent me do here upon thy serious Repentance before Angels and Men proclaim thy Soul fix'd in the Court of Heaven The Invaluable Ranson of thy dear Saviour is accepted for thee so thou art deliver'd from descending into the Pit of Perdition 3. OH happy Message thou replyest were it receiv'd with Comfort But Alas my heart is possest with deep Grounds of Fear and Diffidence not easily to be remov'd That convicts me whil'st you offer to acquit me and positively acquaints me I am a worse Criminal than a Spectator can imagine My Sins are beyond measure hainous such as my Thoughts tremble at and Tongue dare not express to God that knows 'em against whom only they are committed If there is Horror in their very Remembrance what will their be then in their Retribution 4. THEY are bitter things thou urgest against thy self no Adversary could plead worse But I admit thy vileness be thou as wicked as Satan can make thee It is not his Malice or thy Wickedness that can exclude thee from Mercy Be thou as sordid as Sin can expose thee yet There is a Fountain opened to the House of David Zach. 13.1 a bloody Fountain in the Side of thy Saviour for Sin and for Uncleanness Be thou as Leprous as that Syrian was of old 2 King 5.18 if thou canst but Wash seven times in the Waters of this Jordan thou wilt be clean Thy Flesh shall come again to thee like to the Flesh of a little Child Thou shalt be at once sound and innocent Be thou stung with the Fiery Serpents of this Wilderness yet if thou cast thine Eyes to that Brazen Serpent erected for thy Malady thou wilt find Cure Wherefore came Christ into the World but to save Sinners Add if thou wilt Whereof I am Chief 1 Tim. 1.15 Thou canst alledge no worse by thy self than the best did before thee who in the Right of a Sinner claimeth the Benefit of a Saviour 5. WERE it not for Sin what use were there of a Redeemer Were not Sin hainous how should it require such an Expiation as the Blood of Christ The magnitude of thy Sins merits but to magnifie the Mercy of the Forgiver To remit the Debt of Farthings were insignificant but to forgive thousands of Talents is the height of Bounty Thus God deals with thee He permits thee to run on to so deep a Sum that when thy Conscious heart hath proclaim'd thee a Bankrupt he may infinitely oblige thee and glorifie his own Mercy in crossing the Reckoning and acquitting thy Soul All Sums are equally dischargable to the Munificence of our Great Creditor in Heav'n As it is the Act of his Justice to expect the least so it is of his Mercy to forgive the Greatest Had we to do with a Finite Power we might sink under the Burthen of our Sins But having an Infinite Power to attend us let thy Care be to lay hold on that Infinite Bounty and as thou art an Object of Mercy sinful and miserable enough so conclude thy self as thou art a Subject proper to receive it as a Penitent Believer Open and enlarge thy Bosom and assume this Free Grace and close wth thy Blessed Saviour and in him possess thy self of Remission Peace and Salvation 6. COMFORTABLE Expressions thou confessest to those that are capable of them But what is this to me that am neither Penitent nor Believer Alas That which is Honey to others is Gall and Wormwood to me who want the Grace to Repent and Believe as I ought Why art thou so imprudent and unjust as to conspire with Satan against thy own Soul Why wilt thou be so unthankfully injurious to the God of Mercies as to deny those Graces which his good Spirit hath bestowed upon thee If thou wert not penitent why are these Tears What means these Sighs and Passionate Expressions of Sorrow which thou utterest It is no Temporal Loss that afflicts thee nor Corporal Distemper that thus
are raised to a greater height of Godly Zeal than ever Corinth had never been so rich in Grace if not defiled with so foul a Crime Confess now if this be not in effect thy Case Shouldest thou ever have detested thy Sin if thou had'st not been drawn in to commit it Shouldst thou have had so fervent a Love to God had it not been out of a sense of his great Mercy in remitting it Wouldst thou have been so weary in thy Stops as thou art if thou hadst not slip'd Give Glory to God but shame to thy self and Bless him for the benefit that he hath been pleased to make of thine Offending him 11. BUT Alas thou sayst my Case is far worse than it is conceiv'd I have been more than once miscarried into the same Sin For after I have made profession of my Repentance I have been transported into my former Wickedness Having washt off my Sin as I thought with many Tears yet I have suffer'd my Soul to be defiled again I must not flatter thee this Condition is Dangerous Those Diseases which upon their first Seisure have receiv'd Cure after a Relapse have threatned Death Look upon the Saints of God thou shalt find they have kept a distance from that Fire wherewith they have been formerly Burn'd Thou shalt not find Noah again Uncovered through Drunkenness Nor Judah climbing to Tamer's Bed Thou shalt not take Peter again in the High-Priest's Hall denying his Master or after St. Paul's Reproof Halting in his Dissimulation Gall. 2.11 12 13. 12. BUT tell me notwithstanding Art thou truly serious with thy God Hast thou doubled thy Humiliation for the Reduplication of thine Offence and sought God more instantly with an unfeigned Contrition Hast thou found thy Soul hath a greater detestation of Sin than thine acquaintance with it hath indulg'd thee Hast thou taken this occasion to lay hold on thy Saviour and to reinforce the Vows of strict Obedience If so this unpurpos'd Reiteration of thy Sin shall be no Prejudice to thy Salvation It is one thing for a Man to walk on willingly in a beaten Path of Sin another thing for him to be led out of the way of Righteousness by the violence of a Temptation which he soon recovers by a sincere Repentance 13. THE Best cannot but he overtaken with Sin But He that is Born of God doth not commit Sin 1 Joh. 3.9 He may be transported but makes not a Custom of doing ill His Heart is against that his Hand is drawn to And if in this inward Strife he is over-power'd he lyes not down with a willing Mind but struggles and with a reassumed Courage tramples on that which formerly supplanted him Didst thou give thy self to a resolved course of Sinning and betwixt whiles smite thy Breast with a formal God forgive me I should have no Comfort for thee but rather send thee to an afflictious Remedy of the Almighty for Correction if possibly those Stripes may prevent thine Everlasting Torments 14. BUT now since What thou hatest that thou dost and thou dost that which thou wouldst not and it is no more thou that dost it but Sin that dwels in thee Rom. 7.19 20. Exclaim as much as thou wilt on the sinfulness of thy Sin bewail thy Weakness with a better Man than thy self O wretched Man that I am who shall deliver me from the Body of this Death Rom. 7.24 But know that thou hast found Mercy with God Thy repeated Sin may grieve but cannot prejudice thy Soul Had we to do with a Finite Compassion it might be abated by wasting it self on a frequent Remission as a great River may be drawn dry by many small Out-lets But now that we deal with a God whose Mercy is Infinite it is not the greatness or number of our Offences that makes a difference in his free Remission That God who hath charged our weak Charity Not to be overcome of Evil but to overcome Evil with Good Rom. 12.21 justly scorneth that we should imagine his Infinite and Incomprehensible Goodness can be check't with our Evil. 15. IT was not without a singular Providence that St. Peter came to our Saviour with that Question in his Mouth Lord How often shall my Brother sin against me and I forgive him till seven times That it might produce this Gracious Answer for our perpetual Comfort I say not unto thee until seven times but until seventy times seven Matth. 18.21 22. Lord if thou wilt have us sinful Creatures indulgent to one another in our Mutual Offences what Limits can be set to thy Mercies in our Sins against Thee Be we Penitent for thou art Gracious A Prayer against Temptations O Lord thou art the God of my Strength and to thee alone I fly for refuge the Tempter is now busie and labours to undermine me and more especially when I least suspect him But O let me be always ready to meet him in the Gate before he advances too far upon me Let not a Supine carelessness seize upon my Spirits but excite me to Vigilancy that I may stand upon my Guard ever prepared to resist him even in the beginning of his first Assaults Lord grant I may be fortified with Faith Courage and Resolution so that with the Assistance of thy Grace I may gain the Conquest 2. FURNISH me with thy compleat Armour the Helmet of Salvation the Sword of the Spirit and the Shield of Faith whereby Satan may be vanquished do thou Arm and so Strengthen me with thy Grace that through the Power of thy Might I may prevail against him and put him to flight when he is intending the greatest mischief and most advantage against me so shall I sing Praises unto thy Name both now and ever and teach others to resort unto thee in their greatest dangers and hardst Conflicts even then when the powers of darkness shall most obstruct them Amen SECT V. Imbecillity of Grace 1. THOU complainest of the Imbecillity of Grace Some little motions thou art sensible of God's Spirit but so insignificant that thou canst not find any solid Comfort Thou seest others thou say'st whose Breasts are full of Milk and their Bones moistned with Marrow Job 21.24 whil'st thou languishest under a Spiritual Leanness and Imbecillity Thou wantest that vigorous Heat of holy Affections and that Alacrity in the Performance of Holy Duties which thou observest in other Christians I like this Complaint and tell thee That without this thou could'st not be in the way to happiness 2. THINK'ST thou that those whom thou esteem'st eminent in Grace make not the same moan that thou do'st Certainly they never had any if they did not complain of too little Every Man is sensible of his own wants and ready to pass secret Censures upon himself for being applauded by others Even the Man after God's own heart can say But I am Poor and Sorrowful Psal. 69.29 He was a great King when he said so it was not Meaness in Estate that troubled him but
in the Faces of St. Peters Scoffers that say where is the promise of his coming Knowing that the Lord is not slack but he that shall come will come and not tarry 2 Pet. 3.4 9. Heb. 10.17 And some may live to see the Son of Man come in the Clouds of Heaven in this last Scene of the World 5. IF so let not thy heart be dismay'd with these fearful things Thy change shall be sudden one Moment shall put off Mortality and clothe thee with Incorruption not capable of fear and pain The Majesty of this appearance shall add to thy Joy and Glory Thou shalt then see the Lord himself descend from Heaven with a shout with the voice of the Arch-Angel and with the trump of God Thou shalt see thy self and those other which are alive and remain to be caught up into the Clouds to meet the Lord in the Air and so shalt thou be ever with the Lord. On this Assurance the Apostle subjoyns Wherefore comfort one another with these words 1 Thes. 4.16 17 18. And if ever there were comfort in words not of Men or Angels but of the God of Truth these will afford it to our trembling Souls 6. BUT if thou be one whom God hath determin'd to Summon before the great day of his appearance here is a joy unspeakable and full of Glory For those that sleep in Jesus shall God bring with him 1 Thes. 4.15 They shall be of that Glorious Train which shall attend the Great Judge of the World Yea they shall be Co-assessors to the Lord of Heaven and Earth in this Judicature sitting upon the Bench when guilty Men and Angels shall be at the Bar To him that overcometh saith Christ will I grant to sit with me in my throne even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father upon his Throne Rev. 3.21 What place is here for any terror since such heavenly Magnificence fulness of Joy and Eternal Glory 7. THOU art afraid think of Judgment I had rather thou wert awful than timorous when St. Paul Acts 24.25 discoursed of the judgment to come it is no marvel that Felix trembled But the same Apostle when he pressed to his Corinthians the certainty and generality of our appearance before the Judgment-Seal of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his body whether good or evil adding knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we perswade men but we are made manifest to God 2 Cor. 5.10 11. 8. THE holiest Man is not exempted from the dread but slavish fear of the great Judge We know his infinite Justice and are Conscious of our manifold failings And how can we acknowledge these and not fear But this fear works not in us a Malignant repining at the severe Tribunal of the Almighty but a careful endeavour to approve our selves that we may be acquitted by him and appear blameless in his presence How justly may we tremble when we look upon our Actions and Deserts But confidently appear at the Bar where we are assur'd of a discharge Being justified by Faith we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord Rom. 5.1 When we think of a Conflagration of the World how can we but fear But when we think of a happy restitution of all things how can we but rejoice in trembling Acts 3.21 9. THOU quakest at the expectation of Judgement Surely the Majesty of that great Assize must needs be formidable And if the delivery of the Law on Mount Sinai Exod. 19.16 18. were with so dreadful a Pomp of Thunder and Lightning Fire Smoak and Earthquakes that the Israelites were half dead with fear in receiving it with what terrible Magnificence shall God come to require an account of that Law at the hands of the whole sinful generation of Mankind 10. REPRESENT unto thy thoughts that which was shewed to the Prophet Daniel Dan. 7.9 10. Imagine thou sawst the Ancient of days sitting upon a Throne like a fiery flame a fiery stream issuing and coming forth from before him thousand thousands ministring unto him and ten thousand times ten thousand standing before him the judgment set and the Books opened Or as John the Daniel of the New Testament saw Rev. 20.11 12. A great white throne and him that sat on it from whose Face the Earth and the Heavens fled away and the dead both small and great standing before God and the Books opened and the Dead judged out of those things which were written in those Books according to their works 11. LET the eyes of thy mind foresee that which these bodily eyes shall once see and tell me how thou feelest thy self affected with the sight of such a Judge such an appearance and such a process And if thou art in a trembling Condition cheer thy self with this that thy Judge is thine Advocate that upon that Throne sits not greater Majesty than Mercy It is thy Saviour that shall sentence thee how safe art thou then under such hands Canst thou fear he will doom thee to death who dyed to give thee life Canst thou fear he will condemn thee for those sins which he hath given his blood to expiate Canst thou fear the rigour of that Justice which he hath so fully satisfied Or canst thou misdoubt the miscarriage of that Soul he hath so dearly bought 12. NO all this Divine State and Magnificence makes for thee Let those guilty and impenitent Souls Rom. 2.5 who have heaped unto themselves Wrath against the day of wrath quake at the Glorious Majesty of the Son of God for whom nothing remains but a fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries Heb. 10.27 But for thee who art reconciled unto God by the Mediation of the Son of his love and incorporated into Christ and made a Member of his Mystical Body thou art Commanded with all the Faithful to look up and lift up thy head for now the day of Redemption is come Luk. 21.28 Ephes. 4.30 13. AND indeed it is thy priviledge since by vertue of a blessed Union with thy Saviour this Glory is thine every Member hath an interest in the Honour of the Head Rejoyce therefore in the day of the Lord Jesus Phil. 2.16 And when the Tribes of the Earth shall wail Rev. 1.7 Do thou Sing and call to the Heavens and Earth to bear thee Company Let the Heavens rejoyce and let the Earth be glad Let the Sea make a noise and all that is therein Let the Fields be joyful and all that is in it Then shall all the trees of the wood rejoyce before the Lord for he cometh for he cometh to judge the Earth and with righteousness to judge the World and the People with his Truth Psal. 96.11 12 13. 14 THOU art affâ—ighted with the thought of the Great Day Think oftner and thou shalt less fear it it will come surely and suddenly let thy frequent thoughts prevent it it will come as a Thief in the
Night without warning or noise Let thy careful vigilance expect it and thy Soul shall not be surprized nor confounded Thine Audit is sure and uncertain Sure that it will be but uncertain the time If thou wilt approve thy self a good Steward have thine Account ready and set thy reckoning even betwixâ— God and thy Soul Blessed is that Servant whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing Mat. 24.46 15. LOOK upon the Heavens and Earth as Dissolving and think with St. Jerome that thou hearest the last Trump and voice of the Arch-angel shrilling in thine Ears Arise ye dead and come to judgment Let it be thy main care to live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World looking for that Blessed Hope and the Glorious Appearing of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus Chirst who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity VVho shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like to his Glorious body according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself Phil. 3.21 A preparatory Prayer of the Judgment to come O Omnipotent Lord God who hast appointed a day wherein thou wilt bring all the world to judgment with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil O make me try my Soul daily and hourly at the Bar of my own Conscience that accusing and judging my self for my sins and transgressions thou mayst not condemn me at thy dreadful Tribunal Lord let that remarkable day be often in my thoughts that the fear of it and thee may be ever before my eyes And my Conscience may be kept more pure by the power of that dread and fear give me an earnest desire and a careful endeavour to direct all my ways and to order the whole Course of my Life according to the Rule and Precepts of thy Holy VVord let it be my utmost care and diligence to have a good Conscience in all things and to live so that my Life being approved of thee my Death may be happy and my appearance before thee in the day of thy coming surrounded with joy and comfort 2. GRANT that the Merit of thy Death and Vertue of thy Resurrection may both Mortifie all my Sinful and Corrupt Affections and raise me to the Life of Righteousness that dying to Sin and governed here by thy â—ower and hereafter Acquitted by thy final Sentence I may at last arrive to a perfect Union with thee with a full view and eternal enjoyment of thee and thy Blessed Presence Grant this through thy Mercies O Heavenly Father thy Merits O Gracious Jesu and thy Assistance O Holy Spirit Three Persons One only VVise Omnipotent and Immortal God to whom belongeth all Honour Praise Might Majesty and Dominion in Heaven and Earth from this time forth and to all eternity Amen SECT XVIII Spiritual Conflicts 1. THOU art affrighted at the thought of Spiâ—itual Enemies Earth nor Hell hath any thâ—ng so formidable Power Malice and Subtilty are mâ—t in them Neither is it easie to say in which of these they are most eminent Certainly were we to match with him on even hands their was just cause not of Fear but Despair 2. I could tremble thou sayst to think what Satan hath done and what he can do With what Contestation he enabled the Egyptian Sorcerers to stand with Moses how they turn'd their Rods into Serpents and seemed to have the advantage of many Serpents crawling and hissing in Pharaoh's Pavement Exod. 7.12 How they turn'd waters into blood vers 22. and brought Frogs upon the Land of Egypt Exod. 8.7 as if thus far the power of Hell would presume to hold Competition with Heaven What furious Tempests he raises in the Air as that from the Wilderness beat upon the four corners of the House of Job's eldest Son and overthrew it Job 1.19 Now Job was the greatest Man in the East Job 1.3 His Heir dwelt not in a Cottage but a strong Fabrick which could not stand against this Hurricane of Satan 3. WHAT fearful Apparitions he makes in upper Regions What great wonders causing Fire to come down from Heaven on the Earth in the sight of Men Rev. 13.13 Lastly what grievous Tyranny he exerciseth upon the Children of Disobedience Eph. 5.6 Couldst thou expect any less from those the Spirit of God himself styles Principalities and Powers and Rulers of the Darkness of this World and spiritual wickednesses in high Places Eph. 6.12 and the Prince of the Power of the Air Eph. 2.2 4. SURELY it were no Victory to be a Christian if we had not powerful Opposites but dost thou not consider that this Power is by Concession and the Exercise but with Permission and Limitation What Power is their in any Creature which is not derived from the Almighty This Measure the Infinite Creator was pleased to communicate to them as Angels which they retain and Exercise as Devils their damnation hath stript them of Glory but we know not how much their strength is abated 5. AND we may perceive how their Power is bounded Those that turn'd their Rods into Serpents could not keep 'em from being devour'd of that one Serpent of Moses Those that brought Frogs upon Egypt cannot bring Lice those that were suffer'd to bring Frogs lose that power to take 'em away Restrained Powers must know their Limits and we knowing them must set limits to our Fears a Lion chain'd can do less harm than a Cur loose Why art thou concern'd at the powerfulness of Spirits whilst they by an over-ruling Power are tied to their Stake that they cannot hurt thee 6. THY Fears are increas'd with their number which are as many as Powerful one Demoniack was possessed with a Legion how many Legions then tempt those Millions of Men upon the face of the Earth whereof none is free from their Solicitations to evil That holy Man whom our counterfeit Hermits pretend to imitate in the Vision of his retiredness saw the Air full of them and their snares for Mankind and were our Eyes as clear as His we might perhaps meet with the same Prospect But be not dismaid Couldst thou borrow the eyes of the Servant of an Holier Master thou shouldst see that there are more with us than against us â— Kin. 6.16 Thou shouldst see the blessed Angels of God pitching their Tents about thee as the Powerful Vigilant and Constant Guardians of thy Soul These are those Valiant ones about thy Bed They all hold Swords being expert in VVar every one his Sword upon his Thigh because of fear in the night Cant. 3.7 8. 7. FEAR not therefore but make the Lord Even the Most High thy Habitation then there shall no evil befall thee neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling For he shall give his Angels charge over thee in all thy ways they shall bear thee up in their hands lest thou dash thy foot against a stone and besides this indemnity Thou shalt tread upon
Mar. 12.7 Luke 20.14 How sure work did they think they had mâ—de when they saw him through their subtil procurement nailed to the cross and dying upon that tree of shame and curse when they saw him laid under a Sealed and Guarded Gravestone And now begins their Confusion and his Triumph Now doth the Lord of Life trample upon Death and Hell and to perfect his own Glory and Man's Redemption by his most Glorious Resurrection 20. AND as it was with the Head so with the Members When Satan had done his worst they are zealouser upon their sins and happier upon their miscarriages God finds out a way to improve their evils to advantage and teaches them of Vipers to make Soveraign Treacles and safe and powerful Trochises The Temptations of Satan sent from his Power Malice and Subtilty are but fiery darts for their Suddenness Impetuosity and Penetration If we can hold the Shield of Faith before us Eph. 6.16 They shall not be quenched but retorted in the Face of him that sends them and we shall with the holy Apostle find and profess that In all things we are more then Conquerors through him that loved us Rom. 8.37 And in a bold defiance of all the Powers of Darkness say ver 38 39 I am perswaded that neither Death nor Life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. A Prayer in Spiritual Conflicts O Blessed Jesu the Lord of Life Prince of Glory and Captain of our Salvation the perplexing trouble of my destracting thoughts do by their sly insinuations and secret importunities disturb the quiet of my mind and make my holy duties become a weariness to my Soul They cool the heat they damp the Vigor and dead the Comfort of all my Devotions Yea even when I beseech God to forgive my sins I then sin whilst I am praying for forgiveness whether it be in the Church or the Closet so Frequently and so Violently do these vain thoughts withdraw my heart from thy service that I cannot have confidence thou hearest my Suit because I know by Experience my own deafness and therefore sure needs must thou O God be far off from my Prayers whilst my heart is so far out of thy presence and hurried away with a Crowd of vain Imaginations 2. But Lord keep my Faith fixt upon thy Mediation let me behold thy Incense when I offer my Sacrifice and though distractions have withdrawn me from my self yet let not distrust drive me from my Jesus O give me an encrease of Saving Knowledge which will prove a sure means of Sanctifying my thoughts Mortifie in me all vile Affections and Inordinate Passions and suppress all evil thoughts and vain Imaginations and by thy Special Grace Excite and Cherish in me Holy and Speritual Affections Thou who hast vanquisht Satan and all the powers of Darkness O give Victory to me and all languishing Souls in our Spiritual Conflicts guide us with thy Counsels sustain us with thy Grace refresh us with thy Comforts preserve us in thy Love and crown us with thy Glory Amen Amen Hallelujah SECT XIX The Character of Patience 1. PATIENCE is a peaceable disposition of the whole Man not troubled nor troublesome but abstaining from whatsoever may disturb himself or others In its Definition we may observe these five heads first the nature of Patiencâ— it is peaceable and quiet not subject to sudden Passion light Motions or short Affections towards it but an habitual Disposition and due Composure of a Mans self which may bear the impression of David's Motto Psal. 120.7 I am for Peace 2. SECONDLY the subject of Patience The whole Man not the external but the internal the heart and head the mind and manners must be dispos'd and compos'd towards it Principally indeed the Heart For out of it are the issues of Life Prov. 4.23 and unless there be a Meek and Quiet Spirit 1 Pet. 3.4 It is impossible to acquire it but withall there must be a quiet Hand Psal. 24.4 A quiet Eye Job 31.1 A quiet Ear Prov. 2.2 And a quiet Tongue Psal. 39.1 And all parts and faculties of the Soul disposed to Patience 3. THIRDLY the parts of Patience is not in being troubled or being troublesom neither actively impatient in displeasing others nor passively impatient in being disquieted by others Fourthly the practice of Patience is an abstinence from whatsoever may disturb for so the word Patience commonly Translated doth import And St. James doth thus describe it Jam. 1.21 A laying aside of all filthiness and superfluity of maliciousness 4. FIFTHLY The Object of Patience or Impatience either in our selves or others Men disquiet themselves either by Causeless conceit of offence offered when it is not By being too suspicious and Inventers of evil things Rom. 1.30 or by too much taking to heart an offence when it is offered by being too Furious 2 Tim. 3.3 Men disturb others either in offering occasion of offence by being Injurious and Disorderly 2 Thess. 3.11 or by bitter seeking Revenge being full of Maliciousness Rom. 1.29 So Men likewise disturb themselves and others when they continue in their sins and never think of Repentance As Elijah told Ahab 1 King 18.18 It is thou and thy Fathers house that trouble and disquiet Israel 5. BY this short view we have taken of Patience we may behold the true Character of a Patient Man He is one of a Mild Nature and true Christian Temper swift to hear slow to speak and slow to wrath 1 Pet. 3.4 Phil. 2.5 Jam. 1.19 His head is not over-laden with Cares of this Life nor his heart with Fears his eyes are not itching after Vanities nor his Ears after Novelties Luk. 21.34 Prov. 29.25 Jer. 22.17 Act. 17.21 6. His Hands are not intermeddling with impertinent business nor his Feet swift to run into Evil His Mouth is far from Cursing and Bitterness kept in as a Bridle that it should not Offend 1 Thes. 4.11 Prov. 4.26 Rom. 3.14 Psal. 39.1 Psal. 17.3 His whole body is fit for a Load of Injuries which he bears not out of baseness and cowardise because he dares not Revenge but out of Christian Fortitude because he will not Rom. 12.13 7. HIS Arms are strengthned by the Mighty God of Jacob his hands are washt in Innocency and his breast is the breast plate of Righteousness Gen. 49.24 Psal. 26.6 Eph. 6.4 The hid-man of his heart consisteth of A meâ—k and a quiet Spirit and his Bowels are Bowels of Mercy Meekness and Compassion 1 Pet. 3.4 Col. 3.12 His Loins are girt about with Truth his Knees are pliable to Bow his Legs to bear and his Foot standeth in an even place Eph. 6.14 Psal. 26.12 8. HE is one can moderate himself in Prosperity and content himself in Adversity His hopes are so strong they can insult over the greatest discouragements and his apprehensions so deep that