that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him Wherefore by our love to our neighbour we may know what love dwelleth in us how we love God and whether God dwelleth in us If we be in this gracious condition that God hath set his love upon us we cannot then lose this principall grace of Faith which is the bond of Gods love to us and we cannot fall quite away from God because a Eph. 4. 30 we are sealed with the Spirit of God into the day of Redemption The sixth reason is grounded upon the merits and intercession of Christ This is a strong reason so to stablish our Faith that it shall never be overthrown for by the merit of his blood we are redeemed out of the captivity of sin and Satan this was an infinite price which Christ paid for our redemption whereby also we are freed from the curse of the Law and from the condemning power of sin because we are made one with Christ by Faith If therefore we can be brought again under the same bondage and slavery or under the same curse or condemnation of sin which we shall be if our union with Christ can be broken then we shall have but little benefit by our redemption and Christ hath paid that great price for us to little purpose also we are not then perfectly made free but are still the servants of sin But Christ hath finished the whole work of our Redemption the eternall son of God hath made us free sin hath therefore no more power over us and the Devil cannot prevail against us to break that union which is between Christ and us by Faith Wherefore this consideration will much strengthen our Faith against all opposition and adversary power that if we are redeemed by Christ and made free by him our state and condition is firm and sure it cannot be removed for Christ will loose none of those whom he hath bought with so great a price and made free by his own power and for whom he hath made intercession to his Father If our Faith should fail then Christs intercession for us must fail we shall then lose Christ and all the benefits that come by him we shall lose all true comfort in this life and eternall blessednesse in the life to come If we conceive thus meanly of the merits and intercession of Christ it is blasphemy in the highest degree The seventh reason for the stability of Faith is drawn from the nature of saving grace which is in corruptâ—ble seed and planted in our hearts by the Holy Ghost whereby there is a new creation wrought in us for Peter saith b 1 Pet. 1. 23 that we are born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the Word of God which liveth and abideth for ever Our first birth is of corruptible seed which is mortall and fadeth away like the flower of the field but our Regeneration or second birth comes from an immortal principle which cannot decay but continueth for ever This Birth is wrought by the Spirit of God and it hath a spirituall life by Faith in Christ which can never dye though it may lye gasping for a time through some violent temptation or sore tryall For if God begins to work a Work of Grace in us he will not leave it untill it be finished From hence we may draw great consolation to our selves in the apprehension that we are weak in grace for though we finde but the beginnings of our Regeneration wrought in us God will not leave his own Work imperfect Though we cannot perform our duties and services to God as we ought yet God will accept the will for the deed in Christ if it proceeds from a faithfull heart and though we find but some parts of true repentance wrought in us as to our own apprehension God will go on in his Work of Reformation untill there be a through change wrought both in soul and body to newnesse of life If Faith or any other spirituall grace be weak in us it will grow stronger it will increase and continue because the Holy Ghost will water his own seed which he hath planted with his spirituall dewes from above The last reason for the confirmation of our Faith is this because the holy Ghost doth dwell in our hearts by faith and where he doth settle his habitation there he will abide for ever If our hearts are purified by Faith in the blood of Christ then we are the spirituall Temple of God and the Holy Ghost will dwell there according to this of Paul c 1 Cor. 3. 16 Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you Thus saith John d 1 John 4 15. Whosoever shall confesse that Jesus is the Son of God God dwelleth in him and he in God The holy Ghost is that true Comforter whom Christ hath sent from the Father to be with every Member of his Church to dwell with them to be in them and to abide with them for ever and where he is there no grace can be wanting If we injoy his comfortable society he will then lead us into all truth for he is the Spirit of Truth no erroneous Doctrine shall infect our souls but we shall rightly understand the wayes of God and be able in some measure to walk in them He will protect us in all dangers he will comfort us in all our sorrowes he will uphold our faith against all assaults and temptations and will give us strength of grace to hold out and persevere in all our tryalls unto the end Wherefore grieve not this holy Spirit by whom we have so much comfort in all conditions of life and by whom we are sealed unto the day of redemption who will confirm and stablish us in the Faith of Christ that we may continue stedfast untill we shall come to live and reign with our blessed Saviour Jesus Christ for ever in heaven The Conclusion of this Treatise NOw for the Conclusion of this Work I do earnestly request every Christian Reader to enter into a serious consideration with himself which way the thoughts of his minde are chiefly bent and upon what he doth set the Meditations of his heart that he may know whether his way be steered towards heaven or not for they do neâ—rest affect his soul and plainly shew what is his chiefest joy and delight If his thoughts are too much set upon the vanities of the world then his heart cannot be Faithfull towards God and there will be no place in his soul to receive that true comfort which otherwise he might have in the sweet fruition of God by his pious and devout Meditations Also if he delighteth to ruminate upon his carnall pleasures or upon any other evill concupiscence or to call to remembrance with approbation his former iniquities he doth sin over again those former sins and doth defile his precious soul with uncleannesse and pollutions
affections with holy desires to imbrace him z Psal 24. 7 and to set open the gates and doores of our souls that this King of glory may come in and dwell with us for ever If we do sincerely from the heart desire such a glorious King and such a bountifull Inhabitant to make his perpetuall abode with us then we must presse hard upon him and importune him earnestly with our frequent and fervent Prayers to abide and dwell with us a Gen. 19 2 3. The two Angels that came to Sodome refused to tarry all night with Lot upon his first intreaty but when he pressed greatly upon them they turned in unto him and entered into his house and he made them a feast and they did eat and then they preserved him from the burning But behold b Revel 3. 20 Christ standeth at the door of our hearts and knocks if we hear his voice and open the door he will come in to us and will sup with us we shall sup with him O the happinesse of that soul that doth hear the voice of Christ when he calls and doth open his heart unto him when he knocks either by the Ministery of his Word by the motions of his Spirit by afflictions troubles crosses or by any other meanes whatsoever But if we will intertain Christ we must have no corrivall with him for God and Mammon Christ and Belial cannot dwell together Thus saith Christ c Luk. 26 13 Ye cannot serve God and Mammon for no man can serve two masters Also thus saith Paul d 2 Cor. 6. 14 15 What communion hath light with darknesse and what concord hath Christ with Belial e Mat. 10 37. If we love father or mother son or daughtor more then Christ we are not worthy of him If the affections of our hearts are carried after the riches preferments and pleasures of this world or after any darling sin then Christ will not dwell there and we lose the comfortable and blessed Presence of the eternall Son of God and the fulnesse of all his excellencies and rich endowments for that which is nothing else but vanity and vexation of spirit Wherefore now we may Meditate comfortably on God through Jesus Christ our Saviour for the terriblenesse of his Majesty is clouded with the vail of his goodnesse the severity of his justice is sweetened with his mercy and tender compassion Christ hath taken our souls out of the hand of Gods justice and hath put them into the hand of his mercy where they shall be kept for true blessednesse to all eternity If his greatnesse doth affright us his goodnesse will allure us if his justice doth drive us from him his mercy and love will draw us to him for by Christ we have a neer relation to God himself either as his servants by grace or as his children by adoption in both which respects our Meditations of him will be exceedingly delightfull to us So likewise if we fix our thoughts upon Christ though his excellencies and dignities are far above the reach of our humane capacity yet by faith we do apprehend him to be our Redeemer and our Advocate now at the right hand of God his Father in the highest heavens and therefore our Meditations of him cannot but ravish our souls with heavenly joy and spirituall consolation in the assurance of our Redemption and of our Atonement with God and also in the hope of our eternall salvation and to be heirs of the kingdome of heaven which he hath purchased for us with his own blood How to Meditate on the Holy Ghost THe Holy Geost is the same spirituall Essence and Being with the Father and with the Son coequall and coeternall with them both but as the Deity is distinguished into three Persons the holy Ghost proceedeth from the Father and from the Son and he is the third Person in the sacred Trinity Christ doth prove that the holy Ghost proceedeth from the Father in these words a Iohn 15 26 But when the comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father he shall testifie of me That he proceedeth from the Son is manifest by this of Paul b Gal. 4. 6 And because ye are sons God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts crying Abba Father John also the beloved Disciple of Christ maketh it plain that the holy Ghost is the third Person in the holy Trinity by these words c 2 Joh 5. 7 There are three that bear record in heaven The Father the Word and the holy Ghost and these three aâ—e One. The Prophet calls him d Isa 11. 2 The spirit of Wisdome and understanding the spirit of counsel and strength the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD e Heb. 9. 14 He is the eternall spirit of God from whom nothing can be hidden according to this of David f Psal 139 7 Whither shall I go from thy Sptrit or whither shall I flee from thy presence Christ calleth him the Spirit of truth g Ioh 14. 16 7. And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive John calls him h Rev. 11. 11 the Spirit of life because by the power of his grace de doth quicken our hearts and revive us when we are dead in our trespasses and sins Paul doth also call him i Rom. 8. 15 16 the Spirit of adoption to witnesse to our spirits that we are the children of God If we fix our Meditations on the holy Ghost as he is in his Divine Essence and Being or as he is one of the three Persons in the sacred Trinity we shall be confounded in these deep mysteries of the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity but if we Meditate upon him according to his proper Office as he is a Comforter or according to his severall operations in our hearts we shall then find much comfortable matter for our hearts to Meditate upon which will minister heavenly and spirituall consolation to our poor souls First therefore we must consider that the proper Office of the holy Ghost is to be a comforter to us in all our afflictions and sufferings for we are dayly exposed to many tribulations and calamities either for the profession of the Name of Christ for the triall of our graces or for our correction when we lye in sin without repentance which would easily swallow us up if we had not some true comforter to support and comfort us in them k 1 Pet. 2. 1â— 1 There is also an host of sinfull lusts in us that war against our souls which do dayly assault us with strong temptations and we are round beset with perills dangers and spirituall enemies which continually threaten our downfall and ruine and do seek to hinder our salvation But above all we are sometimes wounded in our
our lives will be much the harder Time is not gained but lost which we spend without some fruits of grace and godliness which indeed is the true gain of time and therefore we should seek unto God while he may be found c Isa 55. 6. we should call upon him while he is neer otherwise though we seek him he will not be found and though we call upon him he will not answer nor be intreated Thus saith the Apostle d 2 Cor. 6. 2 now is the time acceptable now is the day of salvation But we have just cause to bewail our condition for the corruption of our nature doth so weaken us and the power of our spiritual enemies doth so prevail against us that we cannot break through such strong opposition as they make to hinder this holy work of grace in us I he devil doth cunningly disswade us from it the world doth strongly allure us to follow still the vanities of it and our own flesh doth dayly intice us to carnal pleasures and delights so that we can finde no time to make our peace with God or to improve the means of grace to his glory and to our own comfort Though we do sometimes strive against our sins yet we cannot overcome them or if one sinne be subdued another is ready to rise up against us also though we cannot actually commit a sin yet we may commit it in our sinful desires to it in a sinful remembrance of it in consenting to it or in suffering it to be done when by our place and authority we might hinder it We have also just cause to bemoan our selves for though we do labour for grace and do use all means for it to the best of our power and yet we cannot attain unto it Though it be thus with us yet we must still continue our best endeavours to oppose all the enemies of our salvation and we must still use the means of grace and wait upon God until he shall please to work grace in us by his Spirit also we must pray unto him with a faithful heart that by the omnipotent power of his grace e and by the rod of his strength which is the Word and Sprit he would make us able to overcome our corruptions by seasoning our hearts with grace to subdue the power of our sins by repentance to improve our time to the glory of God and also to break through the snares of the devil the world and the flesh Then God will so bless us in our pious indeavours that we shall prevail against all opposition and adversary power not by our own strength but by the might and power of Jesus Christ our gracious Redeemer f 2 Cor. 12. 9. whose grace and favour is sufficient for us and whose strength is made perfect in our weaknesse under whose banner we fight these spiritual battels for the honour of his great name Of Christ our Redeemer IF it be so that Christ is our Redeemer and hath wrought our redemption with his own blood and hath purchased for us a new Covenant and an everlasting inheritance in heaven as formerly in part hath been shewed also if we have all our strength and power from him against our spiritual enemies without whom we cannot stand against them nor break through the bands of death to injoy that heavenly inheritance which he hath prepared for us we must then know who Christ is what is the nature of his Person what is his power and strength and how he was qualified for this great work that we may have a sure ground to confide in him and to rest upon him as our Redeemer and onely Saviour Also we must know how he hath satisfied the justice of God for our sinnes how he hath conquered death hell and the devil and what price he hath paid for our ransom for without this heavenly knowledge and faith to apply it to our selves vve can dravv no comfort to our souls from Christ neither can vve have any good assurance that vve are freed from the curse of the Lavv that the justice of God is satisfied for our sins that sin hath no condemning power over us that the sting of death is taken away and that we are reconciled again unto the favour of God God hath revealed these deep mysteries to us in his holy Word that the meditations of our hearts may be enlarged upon them for our instruction and edification and for the comfort of our souls as God shall give light to our understandings by his blessed Spirit But as the Prophet saith a Is 53. 8. Who can declare his generation which was from eternity for Christ our Redeemer is the onely begotten Son of God b Joh. 1. 18. who is in the bosom of the Father and was promised and expected since the beginning of the world And when the fulnesse of time was come that God had appointed for his incarnation c John 1. 14 the Word was made flesh for d Heb. 2. 16 he took on him the seed of Abraham and personally united to his Divine nature a true humane body e Luc. 1. 31 32. of the seed of the Virgin Mary f Mat. 26. 38 which was indued with a reasonable soul and the holy Ghost did so sanctifie her wombe that he was born without sin either original or actual And though the humane nature of Christ was taken into his Deity whereby this union was never to be dissolved yet either nature had their whole properties and operations remaining still unconfounded and therefore he was true God and true man g Heb. 2. 17 like unto us in all things h Heb. 4. 15. sin onely excepted and those two natures made but one person in Christ i Mat. 28. 18 to whom God the Father hath given all power in heaven and in earth so that he commandeth and over-ruleth al created power whatsoever God did also give him three honourable offices that he might be every way fit to be our eternal Mediatour between God and us for God ordained him to be a Prophet to teach and instruct us to be a Priest to make intercession for us and to offer such a sacrifice to God for our sins as he would accept and to be a King to rule and govern his Church and also to rule in our hearts by his Spirit Christ being thus qualified hath fulfilled for us and in our nature whatsoever the Law did require of us and his righteousness is imputed to us by faith for our justification that no guilt of sinne might cleave to us in the sight of God When Christ did execute that part of his priestly office which was the offering up of his body a sacrifice for us no heart can conceive and no tongue can express the bitter torments which he suffered both in his soul and in his body to satisfie the justice of God for our sinnes and to purchase our freedome and redemptition out of the captivity
ignominy and such blasphemies to be cast upon him and if he could not deliver himself then Peter would bring himself into many perils and dangers if he did acknowledge that he was one of his Disciples and the Priests and Elders would use him far worse than they did his Master Also if Christ had not some way or other offended though Peter did not know it the Priests and Elders would not be so cruellie bent against him These or the like suggestions the Devil did probably cast into Peters mind to increase his fears to weaken his faith and to overthrow that confidence which he had in Christ Thus the sting of that old Serpent went along with the words of a silly damosel which Peter did not suspect and they entered so deep into him that they poysoned his heart with unbelief and made him to denie that he was a follower of Jesus and also he began to curse and swear that he knew him not b Luk. 22 31 32. though Christ had told him that Satan desired to sift him as wheat and that he should thrice deny him before the Cock did crow which was to make him the more watchful over his words and the more careful of himself yet he did dangerously fall from his dear Lord and Master and he had not recovered himself if Christ had not prayed for him that his faith might not fail for he knew that Peter was not able by his own power to withstand such a strong temptation but would be shamefullie foyled in it though he was so confident of his own strength When Peter was in this fearful condition by his great sin through the cunning of the Devil Christ did graciously look back upon him and touched his heart with his Spirit c Mark 14. and made him remember the crowing of the Cock which was the token of remembrance that Christ gave him Then Peter knew how heinously he had sinned and then also he presently went out from that wicked companie to avoid further occasions of sinning and wept bitterly which was a true Testimonie of the sorrow of his heart because he had so grosly denied his dear Master Here we may discover the frailty of the flesh though we be in the state of Grace if God doth not still uphold us with the power of his Grace For our passions will over-power us our sins will prevail against us and every temptation of the Devil will make us let go the Anchor of our Hope in God if we had not the benefit of Christs prayer that our Faith fail not in these our spiritual conflicts Here also we may see what deep impression sudden fear will sometimes make in our hearts for it will sink our Spirits and take away all humane Strength and Courage Thus it was with Josephs Brethren when they found their Mony in their Sacks mouth d Gen. 42. 28. for their heart failed and they were afraid The Canaanites were not able to stand before the Children of Israel e Denr 11. 25. because the Lord did lay the fear of them and the dread of them upon all the Land Sudden fear will also shake the very foundation of our faith and of all other spiritual Graces that are in us as it wrought upon Peter at this time This is an humane Passion that all men are subject unto but a good Conscience and a watchful Eye are the best preservatives against it For as the Psalmist saith f Psal 53. 4 5. The workers of iniquity are in great fear where no fear is because the guilt of their sin lieth upon their Consciences Here also we may discover the policy of the Devil who putteth his Hook into such plausible and harmless Baits as do give us no occasion to suspect any hurt or danger whereby we are easily brought under his power if we have not the assistance of Gods holy Spirit to escape them Wherefore we have great cause to stand continually upon our watch and to suspect our own strength and to be careful what we speak and what we hear what we do and what we see done what steps we tread and what company we come into for there might be much danger where we see no appearance of it Let Peters example keep us from presuming upon our own strength lest God doth permit the Devil to winnow us as Wheat that we may know how weak we â—re without the power of his Grace and to make us afraid of falling into temptations This fear is not slavish but it is an holy and a true filial fear which will keep us from all occasions of sin whereby God may be dishonoured and it will bring us to an holy care how to walk circumspectly before God in all Piety and Godliness it will also restrain us from all sinful desires and put us forward to the practise of all holy duties From hence also we may draw sweet Consolation to our Souls though the measure of our Faith and of other Graces be but smal for the Devil can do nothing without leave and permission from God who will not give him power against us above our strength but will restrain him from effecting that which his malicious will doth intend and purpose for our hurt He may be permitted to sift us with his temptations as he did Peter he may bring troubles and afflictions upon us as he did upon Job but he shall never overthrow our Faith nor quite bereave us of Hope for God will so order and dispose of our sufferings that they shall procure our good either to purge us from some corruptions that we cherish or else to make us keep more close to our God and this is our great comfort That Christ hath Prayed for us that our Faith might hold out to the end though the combat we fight be very difficult and dangerous and our strength very weak Afflictions and Crosses will try our patience Scorns and Reproaches will try the meekness of our spirits Want and Penury will try our trust and confidence in the providence of God anguish of Soul for sin will try our Faith and Hope in Christ want of answer to our praiers will try the fervencie and faithfulness of them and the fear of persecution or torment will try our constancie and perseverence in the truth If we find anie Grace weak in us Christ will make it stronger if we sue unto him for it by our faithful Praiers For the Spirit of Grace rested upon him that Grace might plentifullie flow down to all that have interest in him by Faith g Psal 13. 3. 2. Like the precious Oyntment that was poured upon Aarons head which went down to the skirts of his garments If this be our Condition that we are daily subject to divers temptations which of our selves we can neither prevent nor overcome we must then keep close to our gracious Saviour and Redeemer who onlie can keep us from them or preserve us in them h 1 Cor. 30. 13.
blessed Saviour to us that he hath not onely given us the shield of faith for our defence against these spiritual enemies y Eph. 6. but hath also furnished us with the whole armour of God which we must put on and buckle close to us with the girdle of verity apprehended by faith that we may be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might and be able to stand against the wiles of the devill For we wrestle not against flesh and bloud but against principalities and powers against the rulers of the darknesse of this world and against spiritual wickedness in high places Also Christ hath given us the wisdom of his Spirit so to use every piece of this spiritual armour that neither by force nor by fraud the devill shall be able to hurt us or to hinder the salvation of our soules For Christ knew how violently we should be assaulted and the weaknesse of our own strength to resist and how cunningly our enemies would plot to undermine us and therefore we should need this spiritual armour to defend our selves and to offend our adversaries and likewise his Spirit of wisdome and his almighty power to use that armour as we ought Fifthly Faith doth much support and comfort us in all the sorrows and troubles of this life for so long as we live in the flesh we are subject to many tribulations and extremities which we cannot patiently bear without the help of faith Princes have their cares the great men of the world are not free from troubles there is no condition of life that can challenge a priviledge from worldly incumbrances and miseries against all which faith doth comfort the servants of God in his promises to uphold them from sinking under their afflictions by that vertue and power which they draw thereby from the sufferings of Christ Wherefore if we doe confide in the promises of God and rest upom them by faith as made unto us so that we can wait without murmuring Gods own time for the performance of them they will then sweeten our sorrows ease us in our troubles comfort us in the afflictions of our soules and give us an assured hope of deliverance out of our distresses The good Kings of Juda and the valient men of Israel obtained many great victories beyond humane expectation because they believed and rested upon the word of promise which they had from the Lord. z Josh 11. 6 8. When Joshua saw divers Kings come against him he was afraid but God did strengthen him with the promise of victory which he rested upon and God made his word good unto him a Judg. 4. 7. Baruch had the like promise against Sisera which the Lord did faithfully perform b 1 King 20 Ahab had two great victories over the Syrians though he were a wicked King because he rested upon the promise of God c 1 Chron. 14. 10. David overcame the Philistims because he believed the word of God d 1 Sam. 30. 8. Also he recovered all the spoil that the Amalekites had taken out of Ziglag because he trusted to the word of promise which he had from God David did find by manifold experience how faithful God was in the performance of his promises which made him so much delight in the Word of God and so often to meditate on his promises which did exceedingly strengthen him in all his afflictions and troubles e Psa 34. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of them all f Psa 50. 15 Call upon me in the day of trouble I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorifie me g Psa 42. 11 Why art thou cast down O my soul and why art thou disquieted within me hope thou in God for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my countenance and my God Thus may a poor soul cheer up his drouping spirits when his mind is perplexed or when troubles and sorrows compasse him about on every side if he hath a word of promise from God to rest upon When God doth visit us with afflictions he hath then some work to doe in us for his own glory and for our good and we must then make use of our faith which will help us much to joyn with him in his own work because he intendeth our good thereby and then he will the sooner remove his rod of correction from us We may understand what Gods purpose is when his rod is upon us if we mark and observe in what manner he doth visit us and also if we doe truly examine our steps how we walk before God from day to day for then we shall discover what good we have omitted and what evill we have committed and we shall find some sweet motions of his Sprit to direct us what we ought to doe for the more speedy effecting of his work in us If our conscience doth tell us of some particular sinnes that have provoked God against us then he will punish us according to the nature of those sins If we are too much addicted to the world he will visit us with crosses losses and troubles in our estate if we are in danger of spiritual pride he will pull us down with a thorn in the flesh or send a Messenger of Satan to buffet us h 2 Cor. 1â— 7. as he did Paul If we are too fond and indulgent to our children he will either take them away or visit us with sorrowes and grief of heart in them as it was with David If we have any darling sin as Sampson had his Dalilah God will make that very sin to be bitternesse to us in the end if by faith in Christ we have not a sweeter taste of the love and goodnesse of God to us If God seeth us secure or presuming upon our own strength he will withdraw his assisting grace and suffer us to fall into many temptations and into grosse sins as he did Peter to make us more watchful over our wayes and to depend more upon him Thus we may find what God intendeth when we are under his visitation for then God calls for true humiliation and repentance for that very sin which he hath discovered to us and a true turning from it unto God with a faithful indeavour to better obedience and then he will forgive our sin and heal our disease by faith in the bloud of Christ But if our conscience doth clear us and yet Gods visitation is upon us it is then to exercise us under the crosse to be made conformable unto Christ our head in his sufferings or to try our faith our patience our hope and affiance in God and what constancy we have to continue faithful to the end though God should delay to remove the crosse from us all which do tend to the glory of God and to our own good i John 9. 3 The man in the Gospel was blind from his birth and yet neither he
thy getting get understanding This is a speciall meanes to come to the true way of holy and devout meditation Sixthly We must dayly practice this religious duty and if we learn to meditate upon our selves what our state and condition is whether it be of nature or of grace it will bring us to the meditation of spirituall things Though it be a very hard matter for a true childe of God to meditate upon heavenly things for his own benefit and comfort yet by use and exercise we may attain unto it and the sweetnesse that we shall find in it will by degrees bring us to delight in this pious duty h Phil. 3. â—0 For by this meanes we shall have our conversation in heaven though we live upon earth and we shall enjoy heaven and heavenly happinesse in some part while we live in this world for if we be frequent in our meditations on the Kingdome of heaven i 2 Cor. 1. 12 the grace of God will make our conversation in this world to be in simplicity and godly sincerity The seventh Direction is to choose such times and such places as are most fitting and most convenienient for this holy duty that we be not interrupted by any occurrence of worldly occasions but that our mindes and our hearts may agree and go together in our meditations The fittest time for this religious service is when God is pleased to give an inclination of will and to move our hearts thereunto by his holy Spirit which time we ought not to let slip nor to lose this opportunity which he tendereth to us because it is the time for grace of his own choosing and the time which he will accept If we take this time and set it apart to imploy our selves in this holy service he will then inlarge our hearts for it he will direct us in it and he will graciously assist us with his Spirit to conceive aright of those things whereon we do intend to meditate As we must be free at that time from all incumberances by our affairs so we must retire to such a place where we may be solitary and private that our hearts may wholly intend our meditations A solitary field is a fitting place to ruminate upon the works of God k Mat. 6. 6. Our closet is most convenient to meditate on the Law of God If we choose such times and places we may freely delight our selves with heavenly and spirituall contemplations Lastly we must prepare our hearts for this pious duty by faithfull prayer that God will be pleased to aid and assist us herein with his blessed Spirit to raise up our affections to enlighten our understandings and to purge and cleanse our hearts from all sinful thoughts worldly cares and from every evill concupisence that we may fully devote our selves to the meditation of heavenly things that this holy service may be performed to the glory af God to the increase of our spirituall knowledge to the strengthening of our faith and confidence in God to carry us on cheerfully through all the troublesome chances and changes that are incident to this life for our holy Meditations will lift up our hearts and affections above all worldly cares and above all the crosses and sorrows that we shall meet with here upon earth Holy Meditation is the prerogative onely of a true Christian AMong many Prerogatives that a true believing Christian hath above all other men this is not the least that he can raise up the Affections of his heart to heavenly contemplations by the power of the Spirit of grace that is in him whereas unregenerate men cannot attain to this high degree of true Christianity by all the meanes that art or nature can afford them for their Meditations reach but to the notions of the brain and are practised onely by the outward man which can yield them no spirituall consolation because they have not the power of grace to move the affections of the heart to heavenly things which only can minister sweetness true consolation to an afflicted soul and to a troubled conscience to give them good hope and assurance of the grace and favour of God and of the pardon and forgivenesse of their sins Carnall men set their mindes and affections upon carnall delights voluptuous men do dayly study how to satisfie their souls with unprofitable pleasures and worldly minded men set their hearts upon covetousness and upon the pomp and vanity of this present world These and the like kinde of men are so pressed down with the burden of sin and they are so encumbered with worldly cares and sinfull delights that they have no power to mount up toward heaven in their affections and no hearts fit for Divine contemplations because they have no interest in Christ and therefore they can have no spirituall light to discern aright of heavenly things But a true believing Christian hath the light of Gods Spirit to give him spiritual understanding he hath strength of grace to withstand all spirituall lets and hinderances and to raise up his affections above all earthly things with the wings of faith he can mount up above all the blocks and impediments that the divell or wicked men can cast in his way to depresse his spirits and to keep down the cogitations of his heart from pious and devout Meditations It cannot be denied but that the dearest of Gods servants cannot sometimes perform this religious Duty as they should because they do often finde the flesh to war against the spirit a Rom. 7. 21 23. as Paul did and that they are so yoked with their unregenerate part that when they would do good either for the glory of God or for the comfort of their own souls evill is present with them which doth disturb the peace of their consciences the quiet of their mindes and the freedome of their spirits and doth also stop the sweet influence of comfort that should come to their souls but especially they are hindered in their Meditations which is a Duty meerly spirituall and cannot be performed but by the spirit yet through Christ they get the victory and they will break through all opposition because b Rom. 7. 22. they delight in the Law of God and in heavenly contemplations after the inward man and their mindes will be set at liberty to serve him c Rom. 7. 25. though with the flesh they do sometimes serve the law of sin If we have given up our names unto Christ and are listed in his roul to fight under his banner we must look for continuall conflicts and combates with our spirituall enemies which dayly seek to ruine our souls by hindering us in our Religious duties but we are sure to have comfort in Christ and power from him to prevail against them and to get the conquest over them all if we can raise up our hearts to contemplate his Omnipotent power his infinite Wisdome and his wonderfull care of us Sometimes
consciences with the guilt of sin which is a burden heavier than we can bear Thus saith the wise man l Prov. 18. 14 A wounded spirit who can bear We can have no true comfort in these or the like afflictions but what cometh from the holy Ghost and no hope of succour or relief in our distresses without him if our spirits are wounded he onely can apply the true Balm of Gilead to cure them This Balm is the blood of Christ which is an universall Remedy to cure all the spiritual diseases of our souls and none but the holy Ghost can apply it to our hearts by Faith Also if the holy Ghost doth not refresh us with the comforts of grace and with the assurance of the love and favour of God we shall be ready to sink under the great weight of our calamities and miseries But we may draw comfort enough from the holy Ghost in what sad condition soever we be for he will sweeten the bitternesse of all our sufferings with true peace of conscience and tranquility of minde in the assurance of the pardon of our sins he will sanctifie all our afflictions and sorrowes with saving grace that they shall be for our good and will witnesse to our spirits that we are in grace and favour with God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour Also he will give us strength and courage to suffer any thing for Christ and for righteousnesse sake and likewise heavenly wisedome rightly to use every part of the whole armour of God to defend our selves from all our spirituall enemies and to beat back or quench all the fiery darts of the divell that his temptations and evill suggestions may not wound our souls to the death Lastly he will perfect all with the gift of perseverance so that we shall be able to stand fast in the day of tryall and we shall have assured hope of conquest and victory in all our conflicts and combates here and to be crowned with immortall glory hereafter Now let this be the desire of our souls and the Meditation of our hearts to draw comfort from the holy Ghost when we are afflicted troubled or any way perplexed with grief of heart sorrow of spirit or anguish of soul which we may do if we know that no outward comforts can support us without God and therefore we do not rest and rely upon them but do seek to the true comforter by earnest and faithfull Prayer in all our necessities which is a sure means to draw comfort from him when we want it Also if we be truly sensible that we do want his gracious assistance to carry us on cheerfully through all the difficulties and dangers that we shal meet with in this world upon our humble supplications to him he will return us a comfortable answer as shall be best for us So likewise if the guilt of our sins doth stick close unto us or if we possesse our former iniquities by a sinfull remembrance of them so that we are truly humbled in the sight and sense of them and that our hearts are touched with a godly sorrow for them the holy Ghost will then come with spirituall consolation to comfort our poor souls with an holy assurance that all our sins are washt away in the blood of Christ by faith Lastly we may draw comfort from this spiritual fountain by our pious and devout Meditations of him for then he will give us a sweet taste of his heavenly graces to comfort us in all conditions of life and he will give us spirituall joy in the midst of all our afflictions also he will unite us unto Christ by Faith and will seal our Redemption to us by his blood whereby we shall enjoy eternal felicity for ever O what sweet Meditations may we draw from this heavenly Comforter in all the sadnesse of our hearts Thus we may Meditate on the holy Ghost as he is the true comforter of our souls we come now to consider of his Divine Operations from whence we may also draw much profitable and comfortable matter for our holy Meditations And for our better understanding herein this eternal spirit of life is set forth in the holy Scriptures by severall resemblances to shew in what manner and how variously he worketh in our hearts that our Meditations may be ordered accordingly First the holy Ghost is resembled to a dove for when Christ was baptized m Mat. 3. 16 he descended in the similitude of a dove and rested upon him which was to shew his spirituall anointing to his Office of Mediatorship and to set forth the true nature of Christ how humble and and meek he was how innocent and harmlesse how loving and how ready and willing he was to do good to all These dove-like qualities were poured upon Christ above measure that we his members might receive the same in some measure from him by the holy Ghost for he will put all the faculties of our souls all the affections of our hearts and all the parts of our bodies into a new frame he will change the corruptions of our nature into an holy temper of proud and haughty minded he will make us lowly and meek of hatefull and malicious he will make us loving and courteous to all he will so season us with sanctifying grace throughout that our evill disposition shall be changed into a gracious condition This spirit of truth will bring us an Olive leafe n Gen. 8. 11 like Noahs dove to let us know that though we be in the midst of troubles dangers or distresses yet we shall be preserved and delivered and though we be troubled disquieted or perplexed in our mindes yet at the last we shall have peace tranquillity spirituall joy and comfort Now by this resemblance of the holy Ghost we may examine our selves what purity and holinesse he hath wrought in us what meeknesse of spirit what patience under the crosse what love to God and to our neighbour and how far we are sanctified in all the affections of our hearts in all the parts of our bodies also how much the corruptions of our nature are weakned in us and how far we are changed from that which is sinful to newness of life if we can finde these Operations of the holy Ghost in us they wil afford us profitable matter for our hearts to meditate upon to the glory of God and for the comfort of our own soules Secondly some of the operations of the holy Ghost are set forth unto us by the resemblance of that o Exod. 13 21 pillar of a cloud which went before the children of Israel by day when they marched out of Egypt to guide them the right way that God would have them go toward the Land of Canaan This pillar did also protect and defend them from their enemies it kept the scorching heat of the Sun from them and it cooled and moistned the earth with sweet and comfortable dewes which was a great refreshing
But in the Redemption of man Christ Jesus the second Person in the sacred Trinity laid aside all his celestiall and heavenly glory which was his due from his first incarnation and from eternity and came down from his Throne of Majesty in heaven and humbled himself to the meanest condition of life here on earth and to the basest and most accursed death even to the death of the crosse that he might Redeâ—m us from the lowest degree of misery and advance us to the highest degree of happinesse even above the blessed Angels in heaven This will be exceeding great joy and comfort to us if we have an holy perswasion of our Redemption by faith in Christ for hereby we have a near relation unto God being made his sons by adoption in Christ and then our souls will so delight in him that nothing will will be hard to us that we shall suffer for his sake and nothing will be too dear for him that he shall require and it will be the desire of our hearts to do his will and the joy of our souls to be joyned nearer and closer unto him also we shall willingly part with our dearest sins rather than our sins shall part us from our God This holy perswasion if it be well grounded will make us fear no adversary power and our spirituall enemies shall not daunt us for we will flee unto Christ as our best refuge in all our troubles and sorrowes we will crave his protection in all our perills and dangers for he is our Redeemer and our Saviour he is the Rock of our salvation in whom we must trust he will give us strength of grace to endure our tryalls to fight his battels and to stand for the truth against all opposition We may safely rest upon Christ and put our confidence in him for comfort and succour when any calamity doth oppresse us for help and deliverance when any spirituall enemy doth assault us for he will be our hiding place in times of danger and our comfort in all our sorrowes and afflictions k Eph. 1. 20 21 22. For God hath set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places farre above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named noâ— onely in this world but also in that which is to come and hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the Church Wherefore let the consideration of all these benefits which we have by our Redemption stir us up with all care and diligence to perform that duty and obedience which we owe unto Christ and to expresse all filiall fear and reverence all love praise and thankfulnesse to him for our Redemption which Work neither God nor man could effect for us but onely Christ who was both God and Man The time of grace GOd is the sole Disposer of Time and he keeps that precious Jewell in his own Cabinet to give to the sons of men what time he pleaseth and he appointeth every one to improve their time for the gaining of the grace and favour of God and of those things that do conduce to the kingdom of heaven and not to spend it vainly sinfully and licenciously To some he giveth more time and to some lesse and all must imploy it to the glory of God and to the good of his neighbour God doth measure out our life by time and some have a longer measure than others and this measure is dispensed to us by moments for we cannot recall the time that is past and we do not injoy the time that is to come so that we have onely the time that is now present which is but a moment and when one moment of time is gone God doth give us another until the measure of time that God hath allotted us be fulfilled If we look upon an hour-glasse we shall see how swiftly one grain of sand runneth after another and so continueth untill all be run out Thus it is with the moments of our life one moment followeth swiftly after another which God would have us duly to consider that we may not waste our time in vain things but imploy it to that end for which God gave it and that is to the working out of our own salvation that God may be honoured and glorified thereby and therefore about whatsoever we spend our time if it doth not conduce to that end it is but lost and vainly spent God hath given us a time for all our necessary occasions here upon earth that all things may be done in their season For as the Preacher saith To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven â— Eccles 3. 1 2. A time to be born and a time to dye a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted and we do observe the times and seasons of the year when to till the ground and when to sow our seed when to reap our harvest and when to gather in the fruits of the earth The Coelestiall Bodies know their times as the Psalmâ—st saitâ— b Psal 164 19. He appointeth the Moon for seasons the Sun knoweth his going down Also the fowles of heaven and the birds in the air have their times appointed for thus God upbraideth his own people by his Prophet c Jer. 8. 7. The Stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times and the Turtle and the Crane and the Swallow observe the times of their coming but my people knoweth not the judgement of the Lord. We are wise enough to know our times for earthly things but we have no care to observe the times of grace how and when we may gain the grace and favour of God that he may accept of our persons and of our holy oblations that we offer unto him and also when we may obtain from him the saving and sanctifying graces of his most blessed Spirit The time of our life is the generall and longest time of grace that God hath given us wherein we should seek his gracious acceptance of us in Christ and wherein he doth work grace in the hearts of all his Elect by his Spirit Now if we measure this time of grace by the length of our dayes accoâ—ding to the course of nature or according to the health and strength of our bodies or by our own foolish fancy that measure is very uncertain for who knoweth whether his dayes shall be many or few Are we not dayly subject to casualities and to sudden death if we be strong and have our health to day we may be weak and sick to morrow though we dream of long life yet it is but a dream for we have no assurance of it If we thus measure the time of grace we shall put it off with delayes untill God doth suddenly bereave us of all time But we must measure out our dayes by the Rule of Gods Word and then we
incline the will or else we cannot receive it All heavenly gifts and spiritual graces come from God which the Father is sometimes said to give according to this of James Å¿ Jam. 1. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights Sometimes also the Sonne is said to give them for thus saith the Apostle t Eph. 4. 8. when he ascended up on high he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men that is he gave not onely places of dignity and of authority to some in his Church but also he gave them all spiritual indowments of grace meet for their several places and functions But these heavenly graces are properly wrought in our hearts by the holy Ghost how and when he pleaseth We must therefore crave his help we must wait his time and attend upon the means until he shall be pleased to work grace in us and we must resolve without delaies or excuses u Heb. 3. 7. to accept of grace even that very day when God doth offer it and not to grieve his good Spirit by refusing the sweet tender of grace or by losing any opportunity wherein God may be glorified by this heavenly work of grace in us Wherefore Ps 8. 4 5. be not thou like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear which will not hearken to the voice of charmers charming never so wisely but when any means of grace is offered or when thou feelest a good motion in thy heart be ready to imbrace it for that is Gods call and then Christ knocketh at the door of thy heart x Rev. 3. 20. as he did at the door of the Laodiceans if thou dost presently open unto him he will come in to thee and will sup with thee and thou shalt sup with him but if thou deferrest it until the morrow thou knowest not whether he will knock again or not O what a bountiful and gratious guest dost thou lose if thou wilt not open thy heart when the Spirit of Christ knocks there either by the preaching of his Word by holy inspirations by his blessings by afflictions or by any other means whatsoever If thou belongest unto him thou wilt know his knock thou wilt know his voice thou wilt make hast and prepare the best rooms in thine affections to give him entertainment and thou wilt clear away all the filth of thy sins by faith and true repentance that he may come into a clean heart that nothing may displease or discontent him for he comes not to lodge with thee a night or two as a stranger or to sojourn with thee a moneth or a year and then to leave thee y Eph. 3. 17. but he will dwell in thy heart by faith z Joh. 14. 23 and will abide with thee for ever by his holy Spirit When he is come he will furnish his rooms with his own furniture he will perfume them with his own merits so that whatsoever issue from thence shall be a sweet savour well pleasing and acceptable to God he will also beautifie and adorn all the faculties of thy soul with spiritual and heavenly graces he wil heal and cure al thy spiritual diseases he will be a Prophet to thee to teach and instruct thee in the wayes of godliness he will be thy High-priest to make intercession for thee and to present thy prayers and oblations unto God his Father also he will be thy King to rule in thy heart with his scepter of righteousness and to subdue all the enemies of thy salvation Christ will feast thee at his own table with bread of life water of life and with heavenly Manna which are precious dainties and spiritual food for thy soul to feed upon and thy heart will rejoice and be glad in him Thou shalt also injoy a Gal. 5. 22 23. the fruits of his Spirit which are love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodnes faith meekness temperance and all that belong unto thee shall partake of the riches of his goodness and of his blessings b Ps 24. 7. Let thy gates therefore stand open that the King of glory may enter in and be thou as ready to receive him with all joy and gladness of heart c Luc. 19. 6. 9. as Zachaeus was to receive Christ when he was in the flesh who brought salvation to his House Be not thou like the spouse in the Canticles d Cant. 5. 2â— who would not rise out of her bed of security to open the door of her heart to her beloved but suffered him to stand knocking and calling until his locks were wet with the drops of the night Now if thou hast any care of thy souls health study and meditate how to observe the times and means of grace and how to improve them to the glory of God and to thine own spiritual gain Canst thou observe the times and seasons of the year for the fruits of the earth and hast thou no care to take the opportunities that God gives thee for grace learn of the marriner who will hoyse up sail when the wind serves for him and when God offers thee grace do thou raise up thy heart and affections to receive it If thou refusest his gracious goodness to thee herein it is no wonder if thou art barren of true vertue and piety if thy soul be without spiritual comfort in thy sorrows and afflictions and it is no marvel if thou art fruitless in all good works If thou wilt make the true gain of thy time thou must diligently attend to the holy ordinances of God thou must thankfully receive his mercies and blessings thou must bear the Cross of Christ with patience and with meekness submitting thy self with all humbleness of spirit to the will and pleasure of God Also thou must repent of holy duties omitted as well as of sins committed and howsoever God shall deal with thee at that very time make an holy use of it for the glory of God and for the comfort of thy soul If the devil hath deluded thee with false pretences or hath lulled thee asleep in his bed of security so that thou hast slighted the means of grace and hast vainly spent thy precious time without any spiritual or heavenly gains thou must labour with all Christian diligence to recover it again which thou maist do by the gracious help and assistance of the holy Ghost herein for thou hast no ability in thy self to get out of these dangerous snares of the devil or to redeem the time that thou hast lost To conclude if thou dost desire to make the true gain of the time of grace thou must strive to remove out of thy heart whatsoever doth displease or dishonour God and whatsoever may hinder the operations of the holy Ghost and the current of grace to thy heart For if thy mind is carried after the love of the world after vain pleasures or sinful delights and if thou dost
suppresse the violence of our passions though we be naturally inclined thereunto Lastly Faith will strengthen us against all doubtings and distrust when Gods corrections are upon us b Heb. 12. 6 7. for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth If we endure chastening God dealeth with us as with sons Thus saith Eliphaz to Job c Job 5. 17. Behold happy is the man whom God correcteth therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty Why then should we mistrust the love and favour of God when we are under his visitation Why do we not put more confidence in his power to defend us more trust in his care to preserve us and more hope in his promises to save and deliver us from our enemies and out of troubles and dangers Wherefore if we do piously meditate upon these things it will be a great strengthening to our Faith and exceeding comfortable to our souls in all our temptations sorrows and sufferings Consider in the next place that as Christ appointed the crowing of the Cock to be Peters remembrancer of his sin so likewise God in much mercy hath many waies to put us also in minde of our sins and to call us to speedy repentance for them which we ought with all care and diligence to mark and observe If God doth forbear and suffer us to go long unpunished for our offences d Rom. 2. 4. his goodnesse herein should lead us to repentance But if he doth give us any check of conscience or layeth any affliction upon us they are as so many warnings to make us remember our sins with grief of heart and to bring us to repent of them that we may escape the evill which otherwise our sins would bring upon us But when the holy Ghost doth touch our hearts as he did Peters he will work with unresistible power to make us think upon our sins with godly sorrow with true contrition and compunction of spirit with hatred and detestation of them he will make us confesse and acknowledge them before God and earnestly to crave the forgivenesse of them by Faith in Christ and to have an holy assurance of it by our true and sound repentance But if we remember our former sins with delight and approbation we sin them over again and this remembrance is sinfull and it proceedeth from our corrupted nature and not from grace which will never bring us to forsake them or to repent of them When Peter came to himself and remembred his unthankfulnesse to his Lord and Master and did see from whence he was fallen he was wounded to the very soul and presently went out to seek a place where he might ease the grief of his heart with his bitter teares Consider now with all pious devotion how dangerous it is and what advantage we give the divell if we reiterate any sins as namely swearing lying uncleanness drunkennesse Sabbath-breaking or the like for it will fasten the guilt of that sin closer to our souls which will not be removed without bitter teares but will press us down to the pit of destruction Consider also that great and crying sins require loud cryes deep sighs and grones and many teares which we cannot pour forth untill we do abandone all our wicked and lewd companions and all former occasions that did intise or provoke us thereunto and untill Christ doth look upon us and touch our hearts with his Spirit to let us know that he doth take notice of them e 1 Cor. 16. 13. We should therefore watch and stand fast in the faith that we depart not from Christ but support our faith with stedfast hope and assurance that he will stablish us with his free Spirit never to fall away from him totally and finally But thou wilt say as sometimes Peter did that though thou shouldst dye with Christ yet thou wilt never deny him nor forsake him but do not trust too much to thine own strength though thou art in the State of grace for if Christ doth not uphold thy faith the power of Satans temptations will prevail against thee thine own heart will deceive thee and the devill will be too cunning for thee f Ezech. 33. 31. Thou maist honour Christ with thy lips and yet in heart thou maist deny him for if the power of a Christian life goeth not along with thy outward profession thou dost then dishonour his holy Name dost forsake Him in thy heart If there be such unfaithfulnesse in thee to Christ thy Saviour and if there be such hypocrisie hidden under a fair profession then every rumour of trouble or danger for Christ every alluring vanity and every delightfull sin will make thee turn aside from him g Psal 78. 57. like a deceitfull bow because thy heart is not well seasoned with grace to make thee stand firm and stedfast unto Christ and to his truth against all opposition If this be thy fidelity to thy Saviour and if thou dost repose so little confidence in him then surely he will not regard thee though thou dost howle and call unto him day and night when thou art in any distresse or misery The Lord complaineth of his own people h Hos 7. 14 that they had not cryed unto him with their heart when they howled upon their beds for they did still rebell against him Wherefore let there be truth and sincerity in thy heart that thy heart and thy tongue may go together in thy Prayers in thy vowes and in all thy services to God and man let thy heart and thy hand go together in thy almes to the poor and in all thy works of charity for if thy heart be not faithfull to God thy best services and duties cannot be accepted Also keep thy heart closely knit to Christ by faith and then he will cast an eye of mercy upon thee as he did upon Peter if at any time through humane weaknesse or upon the violence of any passion or strong temptation thou shalt fall away from him Thy heart is that which Christ requireth for thus he saith by Solomon My son give me thy heart i Prov. 23. 26. give not thy heart therefore to the pleasures and vanities of the world nor to carnall lusts and delights but onely unto God Now Meditate seriously upon all the circumstances of Peters fall and thou wilt find thy self likewise subject to the like provocations and to the like frailties and failings and learn instruction thereby not to be secure because dangers and temptations do every where attend thee and not to presume upon thine own strength for that will not preserve thee but labour to be well rooted in the truth and well grounded in the faith and love of Christ and then no spirituall enemy shall prevail against thee and the cunning stratagems of the divell shall not hurt thee no fear of perills and dangers shall make thy faith in Christ to fail and no afflictions or troubles shall
pain or trouble But wilt thou give so much way to thy passions as to dishonour God thereby is thy minde so much set upon vain pleasures as if no sorrow could come upon thee Did Christ bear his crosse and dost thou think to go free Dost thou not know O fainting soul how to measure thy strength â—f thou dost measure it by the common measure of mature thou wilt find it too weak to bear thee up against those crosses afflictions or temptations which thou shalt meet with in this life but if thou dost measure it by the measure of the sanctuary and by the grace of Christ that is in thee thou wilt then perceive what strength thou hast to bear the crosse for thy strength lyeth not in the wealth or in the arm of flesh but in thy faith in Christ and in the graces of his Spirit If thou hast but a little faith and a small measure of grace thou hast then but little strength and courage to encounter with the assaults of the devill with the troubles and vexations of this world and with the discomforts of sicknesse but art easily surprised with every temptation and sinfull lust and as easily overwhelmed when the waves ef affliction come upon thee Wherefore when thou art upon thy bed of sicknesse or in any distresse and misery complain not of thy strength of body if that be weak and faileth but look to the strength of grace that is in thee o 2 Pet. 3. 18. for grace may grow and increase though the strength of thy body doth decay or is spent and grace will uphold thee from sinking even in the bitter pangs of death and it will make thee to hold on constant to the end in all thy sufferings Consider in the next place that Christ hath appointed his crosse to be the badge of every true Christian which he must wear for the honour of his Lord and Master Thus saith Christ p Mat. 16 24. If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his crosse and follow me Also Paul saith q Acts 14. 22. That through much tribulation we must enter into the Kingdom of God Christ giveth this badge to some for the tryal and the manifestation of his graces in them that he may be glorified thereby to others for their humiliation and to bring them to repentance for their sinnes he doth exercise others under the crosse to conform them unto himself in his sufferings and to make them bear it contentedly Also he gives this badge to some to keep them from security and to prevent their backslidings from God for by these tryals and afflictions he doth alwayes intend the good of his servants and not their hurt Where this mark is truly imprinted there will grace appear and the fruits of it will break forth in their conformity to the will of God in their faith and patience under afflictions and in their rejoycing in the crosse of Christ This was the Apostles joy r Acts 5. 41 that they were counted worthy to suffer shame and rebuke for the Name of Christ And this was Pauls glory Å¿ Gal. 6. 1 for saith he God forbid that I should glory save in the crosse of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world For such is the tender and indulgent care of Christ toward those that wear his livery that though they are put into the fining pot of affliction there to have their drosse and corruptions purged and refined yet he will not suffer them to receive any detriment thereby but he will bring them forth purer gold than they were before Wherefore learn to carry the crosse of Christ in thy heart expect it daily and resolve to bear it willingly when God shall be pleased to lay it upon thee and then thou wilt not feel it so heavie as it is in its own nature also imprint the remembrance of his passion in thy minde thereby to mortifie all thy worldly lusts and sinfull desires This cognizance will tell thee what inheritance thou hast in Christ if thou dost duly examine thy heart when thou art under the crosse how thou hast glorified God by thy faith and patience how much thou art refined from thy corruptions how much nearer thou art brought unto Christ in thine affections to love him to confide in him to delight in the sweet fruition of him and to meditate on his goodnesse and love to thee If thou canst finde such fruits of thy crosse and that in the midst of thy sorrowes thou canst say with holy Job t Job 13. 1â— Though he slay me yet will I trust in him then be confident that Christ hath set his own stamp upon thy heart he will know thee for his own he will hide thee under the shadow of his wings he will provide for thee in all thy necessities and upon all occasions and all the powers of darknesse shall not be able to raise his stamp or the impression of it out of thy heart or to separate thee from Christ Mark further and consider it well that there were some that followed Christ all that dolorous way to Mount Calvary who could not refrain from teares and u Luk. 23. 27 28. sorrowfull sobs but bewailed him and lamented when they saw his dolefull and sad condition and they were chiefly women to whom Jesus turning said Daughters of Jerusalem weep not for me but weep for your selves and for your children Whereby he did graciously instruct them how to fix their mourning upon the right object that their teares may proceed from a principle of grace not to mourn for him because he did suffer no more than what was appointed by his heavenly Father and he did bear it in obedience to his will also he did undertake no more than he was well able to undergoe and no more could be laid upon him than was decreed in his Fathers counsell for the redemption of man But Christ would have them weep and mourn for their sins which brought the wrath of God upon themselves and upon their children for there were grievous judgements which would shortly come upon them Also Christ did intimate to them that their sins and the sins of their children were a great part of the cause why he suffered such contumelies and so much cruelty both by the Jews and by the Gentiles that they might be freed from the guilt and from the punishment of them Consider now that Christ doth give them two speciall reasons why they should weep and mourn for themselves and for their children First because of the great desolation and finall destruction that was shortly after to come upon that famous and renowned City and upon the whole nation of the Jews wherein they and their children should suffer very great calamities therefore Christ did tell them u Lu. 23. 29 That the dayes were coming in which they should say blessed are the barren
blasphemous words and cruell torments upon the crosse even to the pouring out of his very heart blood to purge and cleanse us from the guilt and from the filth of all our sins and that he suffered whatsoever the malice and power of the devill could inflict upon him and also that for the time his Divine nature did refuse to minister comfort to his humanity in these his bitter torments what thankfulnesse then do we ow to our dear Saviour for his wonderfull love to us What can be too dear for him that did account nothing too dear for us what duty what reverence and fear do we ow unto him who hath paid so great a price for our redemption Our best expressions of love and duty are no way answerable to that which Christ hath deserved and which we are Sound to perform unto him yet if they come from a willing minde and from a sincere heart Christ our Saviour will accept them and out of his fulnesse will supply what is wanting in us and God will be well pleased with it for his sake Here is much matter of heavenly comfort for us if our hearts can devoutly Meditate upon it and receive it Our life may be full of misery and our hearts full of sadnesse and perplexity our faith may be so weak that we can have no apprehension of the love and favour of God and our spirits may be so cast down that we cannot raise them up towards heaven we may be pressed with troubles crosses and sorrowes beyond our strength and the light of Gods countenance may be so eclipsed that we can see no token of his grace and favour to sweeten the bitternesse of our sufferings and to support us under the pressure of them but we are ready to faint and to cast off all hope of relief and comfort b Psal 42. 11. but for all this we need not fear our souls need not be disquieted within us for if we wait on God he will be our present help he will be our God and he will not forsake us The brightnesse of his countenance may be darkened for a few hours as it was with the Sun at this very same time c Mal. 4. 2. but the Sun of righteousnesse will again appear to us with healing in his wings then we shal see the salvation of the Lord if we can look up with the eye of faith to our sweet Saviour who was brought to a lower degree of spirituall desertion in the apprehension of his humane nature thn we can be and yet he found a return of the gracious aspect of his Fathers countenance toward him whereby he hath sanctified and sweetned whatsoever can betide us to sink our spirits or to shake our faith and confidence in God If our ear is spiritually bored to hear those dolefull and lamentable words which our Saviour uttered upon the crosse when he was ready to yeild up his Spirit to God his Father and yet apply them to our selves by faith we may then draw vertue and power from them to strengthen our faith and to support our hope in the assurance of his love that he will not bring us to so low a degree of spiritual desertion because our weaknesse will not bear so great a tryall but will make us to hold out to the end by the Almighty power of his eternall Spirit Now learn O my sorrowful soul so to imprint the crucifying of thy dear Saviour in thy heart by faith that thou maist draw grace and vertue from thence to crucifie all thy corruptions and the evill concupiscence of thy flesh that thine affections may not be carried after worldly vanities that thine eyes may not delight to gaze upon obscene spectacles that thine eares may be dull to unsavory speeches but swift to hear words that tend to edification and that thy tongue may have no motion to utter any thing that is dishonourable to God or hurtfull to thy neighbour d Gal. 6. 14. Thus by the power of Christ crucified the world shall be crucified to thee and thou unto the world if thou dost truly believe that he was crucified for thee because it will dull the edge of thine affections to all earthly things it will work in thee an hatred and detestation of all sinfull pleasures and thou wilt dayly labour and e Col. 3. 9. Eph. 4. 22. strive to mortifie the old man of sin that hath had his habitation in thy bosome above these threescore years In thy first creation thou wert a lovely creature beloved of thy God without spot or blemish in soul or in body thou wert beautified and adorned with all graces and holy vertues reverenced and obeyed of all other creatures here upon earth and the celestiall orbs did cast no evill aspects upon thee but now thou art deformed with sin thou art polluted in all the faculties of thy soul and in all the parts of thy body for thou art spiritually blinde naked and void of all goodnesse thou art deaf and dumb to heavenly things thou art lame and impotent and canst not walk in the paths of righteousnesse also thou art so bent and bowed to the earth that thou canst not raise up thy heart toward heaven and so full of spirituall diseases and infirmities that there is no sound part in thee But this is thy comfort O my soul that the blood of thy crucified Redeemer which was spilt upon the crosse will take away all thy deformities of sin and will heal all thy spiritual diseases and his righteousnesse will make thee lovely in the sight of God If this be our condition by nature if we are thus deformed with the guilt of sin that cleaveth to our souls by our fall in Adam and if we have no meanes to regain our first happinesse in Adams first innocency but by Christ and to be cleansed from all our sins but by his blood then our chief care must be how to injoy Christ and how to have this great benefit by his blood If we are ingrafted into him by faith we shall injoy him in his whole nature as he is God and Man we shall partake with him in all his excellencies and graces he will work a new creation in us by his Spirit and a thorough change in all the faculties of our souls and in all the affections of our hearts that no sin shall cleave to our souls for our condemnation for he will also nail the the guilt of all our sins to his crosse upon which he shed his most precious blood to make an attonement for them all He will also take away the stains and filth of our sins by his sanctifying grace and holy Spirit and will put upon us the robe of his own righteousnesse which will cover all our deformities and will make us amiable and lovely in the sight of God By the merit of Christs blood our sins shall never be laid to our charge by the power of his death we are made able
the power of sin will be killed in us that by the sanctifying Grace of the holy Ghost we may be raised up to newnesse of life If we did seriously consider these things we should not keep at so farre a distance from Piety and vertue and we should not be such strangers to a Christian life and conversation but we would use all means to get into nearer society with Christ by true saving faith and by heavenly contemplation that the spirituall dew of his heavenly graces may distill into our hearts to sanctifie us throughout both in soul and in body that in Christ we may be made new creatures To this end we must endeavour to keep our faith still in action and continually to use it upon all occasions and in every condition of life for thereby we shall draw strength and power from Christ to carry us on through all temptations and tryalls and to support and comfort us in all sorrows and tribulations it will purifie our hearts from dead works and suffer no sin to continue with us without repentance to hinder the salvation of our souls This rare example of the goodnesse and mercy of Christ to this believing Thief may keep us from despair because g Ezech. 18 21 22. there is mercy for a sinfull soul if at any time he doth truly repent and turn to the Lord with a full intent and purpose of will to reform his evill it doth also teach us not to be secure or carelesse of our salvation for it is extreamly dangerous to loose any opportutunity of grace that God shall give us or to take so much liberty to sin as to forget to make our Peace with God in time for we must give an account at the last day of all that we have done in the flesh and our condition then wil be most miserable if our reckoning be not made perfect in the righteousnesse of Christ by faith while we live here upon earth and therefore it is the greatest punishment in this life to have no sense of our spirituall misery and not to fear or remember the dreadfull day of judgement Also this consideration should keep us from rash judgement and censuring of any mans condition though he be a notorious sinner for God can give him grace to repent when he pleaseth As this one example of the mercy of Christ to this penitent sinner may keep us from despair from security and from rash judging of others so let it keep us from presuming upon sin in hope of pardon we do wilfully delay our repentance from day unto day and so continue impenitent to the last part of our life because this man had all his sins forgiven even in a moment and was received to mercy at the last hour for God may justly deny us mercy if we refuse grace when the means is offered to us So likewise let it keep us from presuming upon repentance because it is not in our power to repent when we will This heavenly grace is the gift of God and it is the first fruits of faith which the holy Ghost will work in us if we are ready to yield obedience to his holy inspirations or to make the right use of such meanes as he is pleased to use to make us willing to seek unto him for it for if the Spirit of God doth not work it in us we can have no hope ever to obtain it Now consider the strength of faith that was in this poor sinner he gave the highest title of honour to Christ when he we was scornfully mocked and in a most contemptible condition to the eye of all men he did imbrace him and vindicate his honour when he was upon the crosse he did believe that heaven was his Kingdom though he were now reviled and despised of all men and that he had the disposing of all honours and preferments in that Kingdom which made him pray unto him Lord remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdome also his heart was touched with a sensible feeling of his sins he made a pious confession of them and therefore he did pray for mercy out of a true sense of his misery If we can shew the faith of this penitent Thief though our life hath been as vicious as his was and though we turn to Christ late as he did yet we may have good hope of the pardon of our sins and we may comfortably expect his felicity for Christ will return the like gracious answer to our Prayers and the like promise of future happinesse But what faith can we shew if we still dishonour Christ with our words and works how can we trust in him if we do not believe that all regall power both in heaven and in earth is given unto him And how can we hope for future blessednesse from him if we are not confident that he is the disposer of all the glorious mansions that are in heaven what godly sorrow have we for our sins if we still go on in a presumptuous way of sinning And what hope is there of true repentance if we still cherish foster our sins in our bosome if our faith and repentance be no better then thus Christ will not hear our Prayers nor grant our requests Wherefore let not the devill delude thee with security or presumption lest he brings thee to perdition for many have perished with the shadow of this deceitful hope Look well to the truth of thy faith that it be well grounded upon the true knowledge of Christ and of those excellencies that are in him that thou maist firmly rest upon him in all troublesome and dangerous times but chiefly for the redemption of thy soul Neglect not the means of grace and defer not thy repentance for God hateth such as upon confidence of repentance in their old age do presume to sin the moâ—e freely as if God did not know the deceit and hypocrisie that is in their hearts h Deut. 29. 19 20 If thou dost flatter thy self in thy wickednesse and doest blesse thy self in thy heart saying I shal have peace though I walk in the imagination of my heart to ad drankenes to thirst then know that the Lord will not spare thee but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousie shall smoke against thee and all the curses that are written in his book shal lye upon thee and the Lord shall blot out thy Name from under heaven Consider further how much this penitent sinner was humbled in the sense of his sins and of his unworthinesse and also how bountifull and good Christ was to him for he durst not presume to beg any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ but onely some remembrance of him when he came into his Kingdome but Christ did grant him a present possession of his Kingdome Verily I say unto thee To day thou shalt be with me in Paradise This Paradise was the place of blessednesse where all the Saints of God shall be untill the generall
life which do imbitter all our comforts here but when we shall injoy this heavenly Paradise r Rev. 14. 13. the Spirit saith that we shall rest from our labours and we shall feel no more sorrow our bodies shall sleep in the dust untill the generall resurrection but our souls shall rest in joy and happinesse for evermore Though we live a restlesse and uncomfortable life in this world it will be but for a short time but in the world to come we shall have fulnesse of joy and felicity with Christ and with his holy Angels and blessed Saintâ— in heaven which never shall have an end Consider also that Christ did presently grant his request and did suddenly perform his promise for God doth sometimes answer the desires of our hearts before we speak and he will give what we need before we ask When Daniel prayed for the restauration of Jerusalem God answered him before he had made an end of his prayers Å¿ Dan. 9. 21 and caused his Angel Gabriel to flye swiftly to touch him and to inform him of the time when Jerusasalem should be restored But sometimes it is long before we have a return of our prayers because God will try our patience and constancy in waiting his good pleasure and by his delayes to make us more fervent in our supplications for he loves an holy importunity t 1 Sam. 1. 12. Hannah continued long before the Lord in praying for a childe before she obtained her request Also God doth sometimes long delay the performance of his promise to try our faith and confidence in him as he did to Abraham for diverse years before he gave him a child by Sarah his wife and also before he delivered his people out of Egypt Wherefore faint not in thy prayers for what thou desirest neither be weak in faith if thou hast a promise from God but rest upon it with an assured hope for he will choose the fittest time to answer thâ— Prayers and to perform his promise which may most advance his own glory and be best for thy good Of the Virgin Mary NOw did the sorrowes of this blessed Virgin begin when she saw her dearly beloved Son in this lamentable condition upon the crosse and heard the blasphemies and reproaches both of the Jews and Gentiles she saw how the barbarous people did insult over him and what cruell tormens were inflicted upon every part of his body and that he was now ready in this extremity of misery to give up the Ghost a Luk. 2. 34. 35. Now was old Simeons Prophesie fulfilled now did a sword peirce thorough her soul b Isa 8. 14. he was now set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel and for a sign which shall be spoken against If Christ had not strengthened her faith she had been swallowed up of too much grief and sorrow for her tender heart could not induâ—e to see the barbarous inhumanity and savage cruelty that her dear Son suffered whom she knew to be innocent and just and free from any offence For no doubt Christ had formerly revealed to her c Mar. 10. 33 34. as he did to his Disciples both by his words and by his Spirit what he should suffer at Jerusalem and it was so decreed by God his Father for the redemption of man that their faith and confidence in him might be strengthned also that God sent him into the world for this very end and purpose that he might work the salvation of all his Elect by his death And that the holy Virgin might be the better armed to bear her great afflictions at this time she knew him to be the eternall Son of the living God though he was cloathed with her flesh and therefore he was able to bear whatsoewer should be inflicted upon him and that he should suffer no more than what was decreed in the secret Counsel of God She was also fully perswaded that though they did kill him yet he would rise again the third day according to his own words in conquest and triumph over all his enemies maugre all their power and policy to prevent iâ— The blessed Virgin did ponder these things in her minde she laid them up in her heart and did faithfully believe them which did much sweeten her sorrowes and mitigate the anguish of her soul and hereby she did bear her afflictions with the more contented patience Thus will Christ arm his servants with Christian fortitude and will furnish them with spirituall abilities when they are to encounter with any hard tryall and he will give them heavenly comforts for their encouragement when they suffer any sorrowes or afflictions for his sake for they are all as dear unto him as his Mother was Wherefore if we are in any distresse or put upon any service which is above the strength of nature we must look upon the Almighty power of Christ with the eye of Faith as he is God as well as Man and upon his goodnesse and tender love to all his servants and also upon Gods eternall decree and wise providence that nothing can be imposed upon us but what was preordained foreseen by God himself for his own glory and then Christ our blessed Redeemer will fit us for it and if it be too hard for us to undergo he will direct and assist us with his Spirit in it also if the burden be too heavy for our strength to bear he will either lessen the burden or increase our strength or else he will act the part of the Cyrenian and take it off from us in his good time The best of Gods servants can claim no Priviledge from crosses sorrowes and afflictions in this life for they must passe thorough many tribulations before they come to their eternall rest in heaven God hath many gracious ends in suffering his servants to be tempted to be tryed to be buffeted and afflicted and whatsoever the instruments which he useth do intend against them yet he will frustrate their wicked designes and will effect his own work for his own glory and for their good d â— Cor. 12 â— â— 9. Paul had his temptations and his buffetings by the messenger of Satan to keep him from spirituall pride through the abundance of revelations and to manifest the power of God in his weaknesse and the grace and favour of Christ in sustaining him in his sufferings How strangely was Abrahams faith and Jobs patience tryed How was God glorified thereby And how were they rewarded for their obedience and constancy What afflictions did the Israelites suffer in the wilderness and yet they were but the corrections of a loving Father to a stiffenecked son For thus saith Moses to them e Deut. 8. 5 Thou shalt also consider in thine heart that as a man chasteneth his son so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee Holy David did often feel the smart of Gods rod and he found much good and comfort by it f Psal 119.
inheritance hereafter Fourthly when death comes near to us we have most need of the best comforts both for soul and body that we may the more strongly encounter with this terrible enemy in the dissolution of our souls from our bodies but Christ at this time had soure vinegar given him which could no way comfort him but rather aggravate his pains and sorrowes when he was every way in great extremity This doth fitly resemble the case of many of Gods dear servants for they are often troubled and perplexed with many fears doubtings temptations and evil sugestions of the devil when they are to enter into a single combate with death it self for then he will lay their sins before them with all the aggravations that may be and he will labour to hide the mercies of God in Christ from them that they might have no hope or comfort to support them in this great conflict which doth put them into trouble of minde grief of heart and anguish of spirit and it is more uncomfortable and unpleasing to their spirituall taste than any vinegar can be to the palate Then is the time when the Divell is most maliciously bent against them then doth he bestirre himself to trouble the Peace of their consciences to disquiet the tranquillity of their mindes and to keep them from the assurance of the love and favour of God to them in Christ that they should not comfortably resign up their souls unto God he will affright them with the fear of death with the greatnesse of their sins with the hypocrisie of their hearts with their infidelity and unbelief he will labour to keep the gracious promises of God from them or else to perswade them that they belong not unto them that so they should have no comfortable assurance of the pardon of their sins Also he will terrifie them with the fear of Gods justice and with the terrour of the dreadfull day of judgement if it were possible to drive them into despair But here is comfort for a poor sinner that it is thus assaulted by the Divel when he is near his departure out of this life or at any other time that Christ hath sanctified all these sorrowes and conflicts to him and he will confirm his faith and stablish his hope upon his true humiliation for his sins and then those fears and doubtings will vanish away for he knoweth that we are not able to resist such temptations and the weaknesse of our spirits and of body is such that we cannot withstand such strong assaults and therefore Christ will give most strength to our inward man when the outward man is most weak and he will most weaken the power of the Divell when his malice is strongest to do us hurt And though we may be dangerously foyled in these spirituall combates yet Christ will uphold our faith he will give us spirituall consolation and will speak peace to our souls and consciences when through weaknesse of body we cannot expresse the joy and comfort of it Fifthly before we can willingly leave this world we must be well perswaded that we shall injoy a better habitation in the world to come which holy perswasion that we may have we must seriously consider how we have done the works which God hath appointed us how we have improved the talent that he hath lent us how we have glorified God in our calling and what good we have done to our neighbour according to the means and ability that God hath given us for we must give an account of all these things before the Tribunall Seat of God and we shall be judged according to our works Wherefore if we can truly say that we have done Gods works to the best of our power with an upright heart and that we have well improved our time and our talent to the glory of God then we may say with Christ It is finished and with Paul t 2 Tim. 7. 8 I have finished my course and have kept the faith henceforth is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousnesse which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give me at that day and not to me onely but unto all them also that love his appearing And though our work hath been very imperfectly done by us yet Christ our Saviour will make it perfect by that which he hath done for us in our nature and God will accept it for his sake then we shall cheerfully resign up our souls to God at the hour of our dissolution Sixthly Christ doth here teach us to commend our souls into the hands of God we received them immediatly from God and therefore we ought to resign them up again unto him he breathed into us the breath of life which is our chiefest and most precious Jewell and therefore we ought to keep it holy and undefiled for him that when he is pleased to call for it we may be sure to deliver it up to himself for the Divell will be ready watching for it as soon as it is separated from the body and none can keep it from him but onely God Wherefore we must keep our souls so pure and clean that God may accept them and take them into his charge for if we present unto him a filthy soul polluted with the guilt of sin we have no ground to believe that God will take care of it and keep it unto the general resurrection Wherefore we should study and labour to keep our souls clean from sin by washing them dayly in the blood of Christ by faith if they be stained with the sins of the day we should thus cleanse them at night before we sleep and if they are defiled with the pollutions of the night â— we must not forget to wash them with the teares sighes and groanes that flow from a sorrowfull and contrite heart in the morning before we set about our necessary occasions in our calling that we may comfortably believe that God will blesse and prosper our handy work If this be our dayly and constant practise the blessing of God will go along with us in all our actions sin cannot then cleave to our souls to make death fearfull to us death cannot then come suddenly upon us neither will the remembrance of it be terrible but we shall cheerfully commend our souls to God because we may confidently believe that he will keep them in his heavenly mansions untill they shall be again united to our bodies with an unseparable union and made glorious bodies fit to live and reign with Christ for ever But naturall men know not the worth of their souls nor the great price wherewith they are redeemed if they belong unto Christ they suppose that the soul cometh from a Principle of nature as the body doth whereas it is an immortall spirit which proceedeth not from any mortall principle but is breathed into us by the holy Ghost as soon as the body is framed in the wombe and made capable to receive this breath of
upon his Throne of mercy ready to receive us If our faith doth reach no further than to the knowledge of Christ what he is in his divine nature and what he is by incarnation or to his glorious excellencies and dignities as he is the Mediatour of the new Covenant or to the work of mans redemption as he is the Redeemer of the world it is but the bare notion of faith which is not effectual enough to bring us to eternal happinesse Unregenerate men may know and believe thus much of Christ by the letter of the Gospel and yet never be brought into the state of grace by Christ because they have not the grace of faith in their hearts to apply these things to themselves The devils did know who Christ was they knew the purity of his nature and what power he had over them and yet they continued devils still Wherefore we must not rest in the bare notion of faith but if we will believe unto salvation we must then f John 13. 8 9. As Paul and Silas said to the Jaylor Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ we must rest upon him and put our whole confidence in him for our salvation also we must apply him and all his excellent dignities to our selves that we may be well perswaded of our redemption by him and that we are invested into the Covenant of grace by our union with him and that we shall hereafter injoy the perfection of true happinesse If our Faith can reach thus high and lay such hold upon Christ by their particular application of him then let our condition be what it will we shall be happy while we live more happy when we dye and most happy after death for no afflictions or sorrowes of life and no violence or extremity of sicknesse in death shall be able to take this happinesse from us and after death we shall be out of the reach of all our enemies for Christ by whom we have this happinesse will not suffer us to loose it but by the grace and power of faith we shall still draw all spiritual comfort from Christ to our souls to make us truly happy in this life and everlastingly happy in the life to come This is the grace and power of true faith to apply particularly to our selves whole Christ God and Man and as he is our Prophet our high Priest our King our Mediator and Redeemer and then how mean soever our condition be he will make us happy in it and will crown us with everlasting happinesse hereafter for where this Faith is wrought there the holy Ghost will abide for ever and that soul must needs be happy that intertaineth him g Eph. 1. 13. For after that we have believed in Christ we are sealed with that holy Spirit of Primise unto the day of Redemption this Spirit of promise is the earnest of our inheritance which Christ hast purchased for us Consider further that by this means we are neerly joyned unto Christ h Eph. 3. 17. For Christ dwelleth in our hearts by Faith This spirituall union with Christ is more firm and close than the union of the members of the natural body is with the head or the union of the branches is with the vine for nothing can separate us from Christ but he will keep us by his Almighty power unto salvation If we be in this blessed condition nothing can hurt the well-being of our souls but all things shall work together for our good What comfort and what happinesse can we want if we injoy Christ His grace will carry us on cheerfully through all the discomforts that we shall meet with in this life his blessings will be upon all that we injoy and he will give us the fulnesse of happinesse in the life to come Though we be in Christ yet we shall meet with many sorrowes troubles and vexations in this life which will cloud the sense of this our fâ—licity for we have here but the beginnings of that blessed and happy condition which in the life to come shall be perfected and confirmed to us for ever in Christ Wherefore we ought seriously to meditate and study how to injoy Christ who is the true happinesse of our souls and though we have but a taste of this heavenly consolation yet it will sweeten the bitternesse of all misery and as we dayly grow in grace so we shall dayly finde more comfort by our assurance of the fruition of our future felicity in heaven Also the more we grow in grace the more we shall grow out of love with this world because we shall the better see the vanities of it and the more we shall grow in love with vertue and true piety which will bring us to this happinesse and to injoy it to all eternity Concerning our Iustification THe true knowledge of this high Principle of Religion what it is to be justified in the sight of God and how it is wrought in us by the holy Ghost is of great concernment to every true Christian and it doth minister exceeding much comfort to him in the assurance of the pardon of his sins and in the hope of his salvation Now we are justified not for any inherent righteousnesse that is in us nor for any foreseen works we are able to do nor for any grace that is wrought in us but as God doth elect us of his own free grace and love so he doth also freely justifie us First a 2 Cor. 5. 19. by not imputing our sins and iniquities to us Secondly by not inflicting the condemnation of sin upon us Thirdly by imputing the righteousnesse of Christ to us by faith Fourthly by pronouncing and declaring us to be just in the Court of heaven and by witnessing the same to our consciences by his holy Spirit and lastly by his gracious acceptation of us This is our Justification and thus we may be perswaded of it for God hath set up his seat of Judgement in every mans conscience so that when we remember our sins if our conscience doth absolve us by our faith in the righteousnesse of Christ and in the merit of his blood it is a sure evidence of our justification in the sight of God but if it doth condemn us then it will binde us over to answer for our selves at the last and general judgement when it will bring bitter accusations against us and witnesse terrible things against our poor souls for conscience is the highest witnesse next under God The ground of our justification is Gods free grace to us by Faith in Christ who hath taken upon himself the guilt of our sins whereby they are imputed to him and his righteousnesse is imputed to us so that now God doth account us just and righteous because we have no guilt of sin and are cloathed with the righteousnesse of Christ and therefore he will absolve us from all our sins and from the punishment that is due to us for them and he will
pleased to satisfie our desires for our faith will give us as certain assurance to obtain what we pray for as if we did already injoy it We have no hope of succour in our distresses but by prayer and no prayer is prevailing with God but that which comes from a believing heart The gift of prayer may move the affections for the present but it is the grace of prayer that is powerful with God the gift of prayer is but a common gift of the holy Ghost which may be without faith and consequently without any acceptance l Heb. 11. 6. For without faith it is impossible to please God but faith doth alwayes goe along with the grace of prayer and God will not deny such a prayer though it be made in weak expressions for the heart may sigh out a faithful prayer and grone out our desires which the tongue cannot utter nor expresse Now then look well to the purity of thine affections and to the faithfulnesse of thy heart when thou art in the presence of God to hear his word that thy mind be not then about thy worldly affaires or thy thoughts set upon vain things if thou desirest to receive good thereby For if thou doest hear it with an unbelieving heart or full of worldly cares then thy heart is like barren ground where bryars and thornes grow which cannot receive such spiritual seed to bring forth fruit unto salvation Also in thy holy meditations on spiritual things thy heart must be first purified by faith or else thy meditations will not be comfortable to thy soul because thou hast not faith which is the instrument to draw true consolation from Christ So likewise when thou comest to the Lords Table see there be faith in thine eyes to discern the Lords body in those outward elements that thou mayest spiritually feed on him to nourish thy soul to eternal life When thou makest thy supplications to God believe faithfully that thou shalt receive what thou beggest and then thy prayers will not return empty without a blessing In like manner if thy humiliation for thy sinnes be not a fruit of faith but onely in outward shew and not in the sincerity of thy heart with true contrition and godly sorrow for them thy humiliation is no better m 1 Kin. 21. 27. than that of Ahab which produced no reformation of life Also if thou doest confesse thy sinnes when any sore affliction is upon thee and doest not faithfully purpose to forsake them and turn to the Lord thou doest dissemble with God in thy heart and canst not believe that God will forgive them for thy confession is no better n Exod. 9. 27 28. then that of Pharaoh and thou canst have no comfort in such repentance because it is not a fruit of faith for it is onely faith that doth perfect all thy services to God in their righteousnesse of Christ Fourthly we have no defence against the temptations and wicked suggestions of the devill and against the rage of our spiritual enemies but the shield of faith his fiery darts will wound our soules even to the death o Eph. 6. 16. if we doe not quench them in the bloud of Christ by faith his temptations will pierce us to the heart if we doe not beat them back with this impenitrable shield Also he layeth his snares every where so cunningly in our way that we can hardly take a step but we shall step into a snare p Psal 26. 11 12. if we doe not walk in our integriy by faith that our feet may stand in an even place There is no place secure and no condition of life is free from the snares of the devill he layeth them in our calling upon our table in our chambers and closets and under our feet so that every step we take out of the way of godlinesse is an occasion to bring us into his snares and we have no meanes to escape them but to walk in the light of the Spirit of God which we cannot have but by faith in Christ If we walk thus by the direction of his Spirit then as the wise man saith q Prov. 28. 18 26. we walk uprightly and we shall be saved we walk wisely and we shall be delivered But if we have not this spiritual light to guide us we walk in darknesse r Job 18. 8 9 10. we are cast into a net by our own feet and we walk upon a snare The grin shall take us by the heel and the robber shall prevail against us The snare is laid for us in the ground and a trap for us in the way Now then Å¿ Isa 50. 11. if we walk in the light of our own fire and in the sparkes that we have kindled this we shall have of Gods hand we shall lye down in sorrow Thus do spirituall dangers continually attend us which of our selves we cannot escape but if we trust in the Name of the Lord and rest our selves upon God by faith t Psal 91. 3 he will deliver us from the snare of the fowler he will direct us in all our wayes and will guide our feet into the way of peace u Jer 10. 23 For the way of man is not in himself as saith the Prophet it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps If we are taken in any of these snares that the devil layeth for us we have no meanes of recovery but by faith and true repentance for faith in Christ will break the snare and repentance will draw us out of the pit which did threaten our destruction Consider again that the devil laboureth to insnare us with the alluring baits of pleasure and profit thereby to draw away our hearts and affections from God this is a cunning way to deceive us for we suspect no danger and no evill in those things unto which we are naturally inclined so that we may easily be deceived with these guilded baits for without a spiritual light we cannot see the hook that is in them which will pull us into the pit of perdition n 2 Cor. 11. 14. Thus the devil can transform himself into an Angel of light x Mat. 24. 24. to deceive if it were possible the very elect The devil hath so many wayes to intrap us that we cannot passe thorough this dangerous ocean without shipwrack except Christ be our Pilot by faith to steer our hearts and affections and all the faculties of our soules with his Spirit and then we shall escape all these rocks and quicksands which doe continually threaten the ruine and destruction of our poor soules We cannot mount above this black cloud of deadly snares and dangers without the wings of faith and we cannot break the cords of sin without the strength of faith in the death of Christ neither can we get out of the dominion of sin without the power of the same faith in Christ Such is the goodnesse of our