destroyed them Just as Joseph's brethren when they would hinder his promotion sold their brother into Egypt where he arrived to that honour which being foretold was the matter of their envy 6. Gods late dispensations in a way of judgment do call upon you aloud to sue for peace He hath displayed his Flag of Defiance and the Motto of it hath been Peste Ferro Flamma By Plague and Sword and Fire By all these the Lord hath been fighting with us and our sins and rebelling against him is the ground of the quarrel The Sword was drawn which devoured flesh and dyed red the Sea with bloud The Quiver was opened and out flew the Arrows of the Pestilence and what slaughter did those Arrows make Heaps upon heaps the Destroyer kill'd many thousand went down to the Chambers of Death We were ready to conclude when the Plague was over that God had done with us but we were mistaken A Fire was kindled in his wrath which the strongest the stateliest buildings could not stand against How did the flames roar what havock did they make In three dayes space London was no more like it self then the dead bones which have lay'n in the grave for several years are like unto the man when he was alive and in his greatest strength and beauty When these effects of his displeasure are look'd upon with a considerate eye who can doubt that God was angry and how little hath been done to appease his wrath 'T is high time to beg for mercy and to abandon whatever is a bar in Mercy 's way Oh that London oh that England would know the things that belong to their peace We are not brought so low but we may be brought lower if we provoke the Lord to continue still an enemy 7. Consider as yet there is a possibility of being reconciled to God His Arms are open and stretched forth if you will but cast your selves into them If the most wicked will but forsake their wayes and thoughts and return to the Lord he will have mercy upon them and though sin hath abounded he will abundantly pardon Isai 55. 7. Oh what would the damned give that mercy were but possible to be obtained 'T is great mercy that you have not sinn'd your selves beyond the reach of mercy But if the favour of God and peace with him be neglected how quickly may you be concluded under sin and wrath and your salvation become as impossible as is the salvation of those who are in Hell I hope by this time your ears will be readily open to hearken to some Directions how you may have your peace with God made The Directions are these 1. Be sensible of and bewail that enmity which is between God and you You have unnaturally rebelled and risen up against your Father that made you Those members which he formed you have yielded as weapons of unrighteousness those powers which he hath indued your souls with you have employed sinfully You have dishonoured him in your bodies and spirits whereas you should have glorified him in both You are unjustly and unreasonably the Lords enemies what hath he done to deserve your hatred for which of his kindnesses do you fight against him But the Lord is justly an enemy to you because your transgressions against him have been so many and so mighty That you should have hearts alienated from such a God so holy and gracious and to whom you owe all that you are and have it should make your hearts break and melt within you and that you have engaged this God against you should be esteemed an evil and a bitter thing Jer. 2. 19. 2. Let your cryes be strong for peace Resolve never to give over till he whom you have provoked to be your enemy is become your friend If you would have an interest in the favour of God that favour must be intreated and that with your whole heart Psal 119. 58. I intreated thy favour with my whole heart be merciful to me according unto thy word The condemned prisoner at the bar if there be hopes of speeding how doth he implore the Judges mercy The beggar who is ready to starve for hunger how doth he make a noise Bread bread for the Lords sake bread And you have more cause to cry for peace with God for if you live and dye enemies you are everlastingly undone And to hearten you to prayer let that Scripture be consider'd Psal 86. 5. For thou Lord art good and ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee 3. The mediation of Jesus Christ must be used The Apostle tells us That Christ came and preached to them which were far off and to them which were nigh Ephes 2. 12. that is both to the Jews and Gentiles And that peace which he preached by his bloud he purchased The bloud of Christ hath a voice which voice is loud and peace is the thing which his bloud cryes for You must expect peace no other way but by the bloud of the Cross Believe that this bloud of Christ the eternal Son of God is sufficient to make an atonement for your sin and being encouraged by the proffers and promises which he hath made in the Gospel be sure to trust in him to be your Advocate with the Father and he will not fail to mediate your peace who ever believed on him and was confounded Christ is styled the Prince of Peace Isai 9. 6. which shews that he hath an uncontroulable power to make peace when and for whom he pleases 4. Let the design of God in the Gospel be consider'd as matter of encouragement which design is to reconcile the world unto himself 2 Cor. 5 19. God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself not imputing their trespasses to them and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation One great thing which keeps â—en off from God is an unbelieving fear that â—â— is aversâ— from peace rather forward to take vengâ—anâ—â— upon the sinner then ready to forgive his sin But have they who entertain such fears ever look'd into the Gospel If the Lord were so forward to kill and destroy why hath he provided a City of refuge why did he refuse to spare his Son why doth he proclaim himself a God abundant in loving kindness goodness and truth who hath mercy for thousands and forgives iniquity transgression and sin The more firmly you are perswaded of his kindness and compassions the sooner you will yield to him 5. Lay hold upon the Lords own strength if you would have your peace made Consult the forecited place Isai 27. 5. Or let him take hold of my strength that he may make peace with me and he shall make peace with me Though by the strength of the Lord we may understand Christ Jesus who is called the Power of God and the Wisdom of God 1 Cor. 1. 24. Yet I rather think the Holy Ghost doth intimate to us in that place that unless
of and bring home again to the fold 2. No man ought to draw such a sad conclusion in reference to himself that the season of mercy is quite expired Though our election may be made sure yet reprobation is not presently to be discover'd Though upon thy comparing thy heart and life with the Word of God thou mayst know of a certainty thou hast no grace yet thou hast no warrant to say thou never shalt have any As filthy as thou have been washed as unholy as thou have been sanctified as guilty as thou have been justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God 1 Cor. 6. 11. 3. When Satan pesters you with thoughts that there is no help remaining but the acceptable time is all slipt away rather hope the contrary for Satan is a liar and because he is so busie about you 't is a sign that he is afraid of loosing you if he knew certainly that your day of visitation were gone he would be sure of you and so he would be quiet â—nd not as he doth molest and trouble â—ou But for the further relief of those who are apt to discourage themselves and to damp their own endeavours after grace by thinking the day is ended and 't is now too late I shall do two things First Lay down some probable signs Secondly Some certain signs of this Day of Grace's continuance The probable signs of its continuance are these 1. When the heart is inclined to sit under powerful means who knows but by the word of faith which you attend upon the grace of faith may be wrought in you 2. When ever and anon the heart iâ— stirred and conscience awakened by the Spirit and the Lord doth not let yoâ— alone in your iniquities nor suffer you tâ— sleep quietly and undisturbedly the sleep of death 3. When those false grounds of hope which you have built upon are more and more discover'd when you are madâ— to perceive the vanity of confidence iâ— your selves or in your own righteousness and that 't is not enough to bâ— somewhat better then the worst are anâ— that the name of Christians signifies no thing unless you depart from iniquity 2 Tim. 2. 19. Who knows but that being beaten off from insufficient bottoms you may at length be settled upon the right foundation Jesus Christ 4. When there is a great fear least the Day of Grace should be past 't is to be hoped that 't is not past Jerusalem in the text was far from any such fear Usually souls are left senseless when the Lord leaves them Of the old world and of Sodom 't is said They eat they drank they bought they sold they planted they builded they married and were given in marriage and minded nothing else but things of this nature though the floud was so near the one and fire ready to consume the other 5. When sinners are inquisitive what they shall do to be saved 't is probable at least that the day of salvation is not terminated but salvation is near and may be obtained if the terms on which 't is proffer'd are not quarrel'd at but submitted to as good and equal In the second place follow the certain signs that the Day of Grace is not yet concluded 1. This day is not pass'd when the Soul is for peace with God upon any conditions If this be the yielding frame and temper of thy heart certainly thou dost not only know but also art willing to do the things which belong unto thy peace If this be thy language Lord Doth a right eye offend thee it shall be pluckt out doth a right hand offend thee it shall be cut off Those sins that seem most sweet and necessary as long as thou hatest them that is sufficient to discommend them I am resolved to love them no longer Thou hast no reason to give up all for lost No no being thus made willing to cast away every transgression iniquity shall not be thy ruine as you may see Ezek. 18. 30. 2. This Day of Grace is not pass'd when the sinner sets open the door of his heart that Christ the Lord may enter That promise is most sure If any man hear my voice and open the door I will come into him and sup with him and he shall sup with me Rev. 3. 20. Christ complains of the Jews that They would not come to him that they might have life but if any are made willing to come the waters of life are open and none that desire shall be denied them Rev. 22. 17. Let him that is a thirst come and whoever will let him drink of the waters of life freely Doest thou know Christ Art thou acquainted with his Kingdom as well as his Priesthood and art thou willing to have his Kingdom set up in thy heart and thy very thoughts and affections brought into obedience and captivity Art thou willing thus to receive him Certainly thou shalt be received by him and have power to become a child of God Joh. 1. 12. 3. This Day of Grace is not pass'd if Grace be desired above all things in the world If the edge of thy appetite towards the things that perish is turn'd if the pearl of price be indeed of price in thy esteem if that be thy will and desire which is the will of God even thy sanctification surely the Spirit is so far from having left thee that he is in thee 'T is he who raises this hunger and thirst after righteousness which as it shall be satisfied so it argues thy estate blessed Maâ—th 5. 6. 5. This Day of Grace is not pass'd when the heart is grieved for the mispence of so much of this day and is willing to live the rest of it to the will of God 1 Pet. 4. 2. If you judge that the time past of your life doth suffice nay more then suffice to have been foolish and disobedient to God and to have obey'd and served divers lusts and pleasures and if you resolve to dedicate the remainder of your lives in the flesh to the Lord that he may dispose of it certainly the Lord will accept both of your time and you Though you come in late so it be but presently into the Vineyard you shall receive a penny and diligence in your Masters work will be rewarded with your Masters joy 3. A third word of Caution is this Take heed of being strengthned and emboldned by the general practise to idle this Day of Grace away We read concerning Laish That the people dwelt careless after the manner of the Zidonians quiet and secure Judg. 18. 7. And truly this is the manner of most in the world careful possibly they are about many things but as to the main thing utterly careless Their tiâ—e is of little and their souls of less value in their judgments But that the humour and custom of the world may not be followed let these considerations be ponder'd by you 1. The most in
be spared a few years or moneths or weeks longer Oh call time again I never saw thy worth till now If I might be again recover'd and restored oh how often would I pray and how earnestly would I cry for mercy and grace how carefully would I hear and practise But this I should have done before 't is now too late to think and there he stops his thread is cut asunder his soul flyes away and leaves his body a clod of earth And now Brethren are your hearts still mastered 'T is to be hoped concerning the worst in this Congregation that their day is not quite gone but who knows whether this may not be the last hour and if now you will not your own spirits may be quickly required of you or Gods Spirit may depart from you You will wish at last as others have done that the day of salvation had been valued let it therefore be no more neglected 5. Consider If you will not improve the Day of Grace you can reasonably expect nothing but a day of wrath When mercy hath acted its part towards ungodly ones and being still refused makes its Exit then fury and indignation enters upon the stage but of that traged there will be no end Whole eternity will be taken up in feeling the effects of divine displeasure and in bewailing the loss of that Day of Grace wherein this anger might have been appeased I have done with the second Doctrine Doct. 3. The third follows To know in this Day of Grace the things which belong to our peace is our great happiness and wisdom If Jerusalem had been thus wise she would not have been as she was rejected If thou hadst known sayes Christ The defective speech is thus to be made up If the things of thy peace had been understood by thee O Jerusalem thy state would have been as happy as now 't is woful instead of being cut off thou wouldst have been still as near to God and as dear as ever instead of having his wrath poured out upon thee to the uttermost that mercy which hath been so often proffer'd had assuredly been bestowed if thou hadst not foolishly shut thy eyes so as not to see either the value or thy own need of mercy A text somewhat parallel to this we have Isai 48. 17 18. Thus saith the Lord thy Redeemer the holy One of Israel I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee â—o profit which leadeth thee by the way which thou shouldest go Oh that thou â—â—dst hearkened to my commandments â—hen had thy peace been as a river and thy â—ighteousness as the waves of the Sea In the prosecution of this Doctrine â— shall first open to you the nature of â—eace Secondly manifest what are the â—hings which belong to our peace Thirdly confirm the doctrine Fourthly apply it In the first place I am to open to you â—he nature of peace This is a subject no less profitable then pleasant Dulce nomen pacis the name of peace hath a sweet sound Peace implies a blessed conjunction between heaven and earth between the Creator and us his creatures and which follows hereupon a satisfaction and quietness in our hearts so that those disturbances and disorders which were caused by sin are becalmed and regulated The first of these namely Agreement with Heaven is the principally intended peace which Christ speaks of but the other namely Quietness within follows upon this and is the superstructure upon this foundation I shall therefore first explain the nature of Peace above and afterwards of Peace within 1. There is a Peace with God above When I speak of peace with God 't is supposed that by nature God and we are at variance and sin is the make-bate between God and man Sin is a thing that not only causes commotions and tumults here below therefore saith the Apostle From whence comes war and fightings among you comes it not hence even of your lusts that war in your members Jam. 4. 1. but it also sets Heaven and Earth at odds it so besots the potsherds of the earth that they venture to contend with him that is their Maker and who can easily dash them all in pieces Sin hath set us at a vast distance from God and is continually thrusting us further from him yet we may have peace if we will indeed return to him Though we have provoked him to be an enemy yet he is not such an enemy as is irreconcileable Hark what language he utters Isai 27. 4 5. Fury is not in me let him take hold of my strength that he may make peace with me and he shall make peace with me Peace with God is here promised God himself is ready to strengthen us that we may make peace with him and the more abundantly to encourage us he sayes Fury is not in me that is towards them who are willing to be reconciled and to rebel no more he is not at all furious but gracious and easie to be intreated though their awakened and fearful hearts are prone to imagine the Lord is made up all of anger This Peace with God several thingâ— are implied in it 1. Peace with God implies the removal of his wrath All sin is pardon'â— and done away in the bloud of Christ and guilt being cover'd the Lords anger ceases for sin is the only provocation to him See how these are joyned the forgiveness of sin and the taking away of wrath Psal 85. 2 3. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people thou hast covered all their sin Selah Thou hast takeâ— away all thy wrath thou hast turned thy self from the fierceness of thine anger The flaming sword is removed and the Lord sayes Draw nigh to me and I will draw nigh to you We read as of a Gulph fixed between God and damned spirits so of a middle wall of partition between God and unregenerate sinners the former namely the Gulph indeed cannot be passed thorow but the latter the middle wall may be broken down and 't is broken down when our peace is made His wrath abides on those that will not believe that refuse to be reconciled but his anger ceases towards them who believe and yield to him Thrice happy they who are eased of such a load as the wrath of God! Speak O ye troubled Consciences is not this anger your greatest trouble and that which makes the deepest wounds Speak O Hells Inhabitants is not divine wrath a punishment too heavy for you to bear is not this the weight which sinks you lowest in the bottomless pit Finally hear what Christ spake when he felt the displeasure of his Father My Soul sayes he is exceeding sorrowful even unto death Well may they rejoyce who through Jesus are freed from this displeasure 2. Peace with God implies an interest in his love His love is every whit as great towards those who are at peace with him as before his wrath was We may cease to be angry with another and yet
when we cherish those lusts that war against our own souls The Vipers off-spring do eat out the Vipers bowels and sinful lusts in like manner will destroy at last those in whom they are bred and foster'd Oh let us all be reconciled to our selves and not continue any longer the greatest accessories to our own misery I have shewed now what Peace is In the second place I am to manifest what are the things which belong unto our peace 'T is in the Gospel that these things are revealed which therefore is called the Gospel of Peace Rom. 10. 15. How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things Herein is contained an Embassage of reconciliation The God of peace proclaims to the world what an inclination he hath to be a friend and a Saviour to the children of men and informs them upon what articles a peace shall be made and established between him and them The Law of Nature is here silent the Heathens by the light of that could never find out the way how Divine Justice may be satisfied and an attonement for sin made Nay the written Law of God speaks not a word concerning it The Law teacheth our duty convinceth of transgression thunders out curses against transgressours and they would be left under the curse if the Gospel did not tell them how to be redeemed from it and how Grace and Mercy and Peace may be obtained There are three things which the Gospel reveals concerning our peace 1. Who is the Mediatour or Peace-maker Jesus Christ 2. What are the conditions of this Peace 3. How we may attain to an assurance of it 1. One thing which we must know concerning our peace is Who is the Mediatour or Peace-maker between God and men and he is Christ Jesus 1 Tim. 2. 5 6. For there is one God and one Mediatour between God and men the Man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time Here it was that Jerusalem was ignorant a cruclfied Messiah though his crucifixion was necessary to his making of our peace they hid their faces from and disesteemed Christ crucified was to the Jews a stumbling-block and to the Greeks foolishness but to them that are reconciled and saved he is the power of God and the wisdom of God Hence 't is that the Apostle resolves to know nothing besides him All things that are revealed in Scripture must be known with relation to Christ else our knowledge will be uncomfortable and without advantage What good will it do us to hear that God is gracious and merciful unless in Christ he be reconciled what good to be informed of heaven and glory unless Christ who hath the Key of David do open the door that we may enter What good to hear of the Promises unless in Christ they be Yea and Amen to the glory of God Finally what will it benefit us to hear of the priviledges of the Gospel unless through Christ we are admitted to them There is an excellency in the knowledge of Christ our Peace-maker in comparison of which the Apostle counted all things but loss and dung Phil. 3. 8. Christ Jesus is our Peace-maker by a threefold means His Satisfaction his Intercession and the communication of his benefits 1. Christ Jesus is our Peace maker by means of his satisfaction For the iniquity of his people was he smitten and the chastisement of their peace was laid upon him He was sent on purpose to be a propitiation 1 John 4. 10. Herein is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins Christ is said to reconcile both Jews and Gentiles unto God by the bloud of his Cross and to have slain the enmity thereby Corruptible things as silver and gold were insufficient but the bloud of Christ was a sufficient price for our redemption We may conceive such a kind of dialogue as this between Justice and Christ and Man who hath offended 1. Divine Justice thus begins Bring forth the Soul which hath sinned that it may dye A righteous Law hath been broken and 't is but righteous that the curse should be inflicted Here are not one or two but thousands of sins upon record Now therefore I am resolved to whet my glittering sword and my hand shall immediately take hold on vengeance and I 'll make the sinner know to his cost what 't is to provoke the Lord to jealousie 2. Christ answers Hold Justice stay thy hand those sins thou speakest of they are transferred unto another therefore the Soul must not dye that 's guilty of them The debt is great but I undertake to pay it all where thou art wronged it shall be put wholly on my account I am resolved to be the sinners Surety I am content to be made sin for him though I knew none though I never was my self in the least guilty 3. Unto this Justice replyes Then O thou Son of God I must sheath my sword in thy bowels I must wound and bruise and afflict thee where ever I find sin though but imputed I can't forâ—ear to punish it 4. Christ answers again Do Justice strike and spare not I am willing to be wounded that the sinners wounds may be closed and cured I am willing to dye that be may live I am willing to undergo the curse that he may receive the blessing even life for evermore 5. Upon this the sinner wonders and cryes out Oh love that passeth knowledge My Lord my Saviour since thou hast given thy life a ransom for me I am resolved to trust in thee and to lay the stress of my salvation on thee I expect and desire favour and pardon no other way then by thee who art both the Price and the Prince of Peace 2. Christ is our Peace-maker by means of his intercession As his satisfaction is one so his intercession is the other part of his Priestly office He seconds his sufferings by his intercession and we may be confident his intercession will be prevalent because of that love which his Father bears him and because by his sufferings he hath purchased whatever he intercedes for Christ the righteous is our Advocate with the Father 1 John 2. 1. He presents before his Father the compleatness of his satisfaction and how he hath endured the Cross and shame and drank off that whole Cup which his Father put into his hand and fulfilled all righteousness how he did and suffered all that was required of him and all this not for himself but us Whereupon the Father looks upon us with an eye of love he is pacified towards us and as he is Christs God and Father so he is ours too John 20. 17. Go tell my brethren I ascend to my Father and your Father and to my God and your God Christ is our Peace-maker by the communication of his benefits He is made unto us
and sense of the love of God will have the greater influence because it usually finds us in sorrow doubting whether ever favour will be extended towards such as we fearing we are cast-awayes Now when in this doleful darkness the light of Gods countenance is lifted up and he shews his reconciled face oh how do our affections work towards him The Prodigal who came home with a sad and doubtful mind when he found himself in his Fathers armes when he saw thaâ— so long absence and great exorbitancies had not extinguish'd his Fathers love surely the workings of his love towards his Father again were beyond expression 2. Assurance of peace will fill you with joy and wonder You will admire to see how the case is altered with you a while ago you were strangers now friends and favourites a while ago you had not obtained mercy but now you have obtained mercy a while ago dead in sin but now you have attained to the first resurrection and so are some of those happy ones over whom the second death hath no power a while ago the children of wrath and sons of death now adopted the children of God and the heirs of glory Well may your hearts rejoyce and your joy no man taketh from you This joy is not like that of the carnal and ungodly 't is built upon a surer foundation affliction cannot damp it and the thoughts of death and judgment which quite spoil the mirth of the wicked will but highten and increase it it being an earnest of that fulness of joy which after dissolution will be entred into 3. Assurance of peace will mightily engage you unto thankfulness This is one reason certainly why David is called a man after the heart of God because he was so much in praise And assurance will make you abound in thanksgiving Unbelieving doubts and fears cause us to be possessed with a dumb devil so that though our receipts are vast our returns are small We misconstrue mercies and say they are common to hypocrites and that they are given in anger to us and will serve only to increase both our sin and punishment But when we know that our peace is made we shall also know our interest in those blessings which are peculiar to Gods chosen ones and as for outward mercies they will be very much sweetned because coming not only from the hand but from the heart of God and hereupon we shall be the more forward to offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name Heb. 13. 15. 4. Assurance of peace will quicken you to duty and make you stedfast in obedience With what forwardness will you pray when you know you shall be heard with what willingness will you engage in other Ordinances when you know that God will meet with you in them When you attend upon the ministry of the Word the Lord himself hath engaged to be your instructer when you come to the table he will certainly make you welcome and will be not only the inviter but the feast likewise Your expectations may be justly raised and you shall not be ashamed of them What encouragement doth this afford Add also when you know that you are reconciled to God and have had a sight and taste how good and gracious he is you will cleave to him with the fuller purpose of heart you will find so much sweetness in him that all the delights of sin and the world which Satan doth so much magnifie in his temptations will be but cheap and mean in comparison 5. Assurance of peace will set you above the fears of affliction and of death Then you will be able to make application of that supporting truth unto your selves That all chastisements are from love â—â—d tend unto your holiness and profit â—eb 12. 6 10. and this will keep you from fainting and dismayedness of Spirit Nay death it self will rather be desired then feared when you know it will admit you into the Lords presence from whom while in the body you are absent when you know that as soon as this earthly house of your tabernacle shall be dissolved you shall have a building of God â—n house not made with hands eternal in â—he heavens 2 Cor. 5. 1. USE IV. Of Direction how peace may be kept and maintained 1. Let not your hearts be lifted up with pride after the Lord hath manifested himself to you Pride is a great enemy to peace God revives and comforts the spirit of the humble and the heart of the contrite ones Isai 57. 15. Those who observe the workings of their own souls shall find after Gods manifesting himself that pride is commonly one of the first sins which assaults them The Apostle after the abundance of revelations was in great danger of being exalted above measure therefore the messenger of Satan is sent to buffet him that this self-exalting might be prevented Oh do not think highly of your selves do not censure and undervalue others the more low you are in your own eyes your joy and peace will be the more abiding 2. Be watchful even against little sins These will dead the heart and grieve the Spirit causing him to suspend his sweet influences and make way for greater Little sins have their peculiar aggravations How inexcusable are we when we stand with God about a small matter and refuse to do a little for him Mispence of a little time a little excess in using of the creatures a little frothiness of mind the smaller stirrings of pride and passion and such like which are more commonly to be found in professors you must beware of else these lesser sins to your cost and sorrow will be found great enough to interrupt and break your peace 3. Especially take heed of gross transgressions which waste the Conscience When David would needs feed upon forbidden pleasures he lost his peace and the joy of Gods salvation Psal 51. Grosser falls do break the bones and raise a new storm in the Conscience where before a calm was By these you will not only cause the Lords enemies to reproach religion but also your own hearts to reproach you Oh therefore cry Vphold me continually with thy free Spirit and keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins 4. Do the work of the Lord diligently God doth most constantly manifest himself to those who most constantly seek and search for him with their whole heart Jer. 29. 13. Never offer unto God a sacrifice but let it have sound inwards The Psalmist tells us That the Lords countenance doth behold the upright Psal 11. ult When we are sincere and serve him with our whole soul then he shews his face and in his looks we may read his love and through Christ his accepting of us 5. Let your design in begging the continuance of peace be this that hereby you may be encouraged to do more for God and to cleave the closer to him Aim at his