now broken down which was between the Jew and the Gentile and that Christ was as freely given to the one as the other and the merit of his blood was as effectuall for the salvation of the Gentile as it was for the Jew if he were truly received by faith The vail being now rent the Gentile hath free accesse to the Mercy-seat which did typifie the Throne of grace by Christ Long before this God did choose some to be the first fruits of the Gentiles as namely Eliezâ—r of Damascus in Abrahams family Rahab of Jericho Ruth the Moabitesse and Naaman the Syrian with many more Secondly God did hereby shew that now there was an end put to the sacrifices of the Ceremoniall Law because the true Paschall Lambe was slain of whom these sacrifices were but types and shadows and that the Ceremoniall Law was now abrogated c Joh. 4. 22 23. and the true worship and service of God was not confined to Jerusalem or to the Temple but now God might be worshipped in any other place so that it be in spirit and in truth Thirdly we may see the free mercy and goodnesse of God to the Jew and also to the Gentile d Acts 15. 10. for by the death of his Son he hath cased the Jew of the great burden of Ceremonies which neither they nor their fathers were able to bear by putting an end to the Ceremoniall Law and he hath brought the Gentile within the Covenant of grace and hath admitted him into the most holy place for the vail of the Temple which before kept him out is now rent asunder God hath also sanctified every place where he is truly worshipped and served with a pure and upright heart and hath given us as great Priviledges in Christ as he gave to his ancient people the Jews Fourthly by these miraculous signes and wonders God did convince his people of the hardnesse of their hearts and of their wilfull blindnesse who would not see the fulfilling of their ancient Prophesies in Christ nor believe that he was that Messiah which was promised though they could object nothing against it Wherefore their hearts did not relent for their great impiety but the earth and the stony rocks were more sensible than they If we are thus hardned in our sins and thus blinded in our understandings it is a fearfull sign that we are given up to a reprobate minde Fifthly we may hereby see how God made the senselesse creatures to honour his Son at his death though both Jew and Gentile did most spitefully dishonour him in his life Christ honoured his Father while he was living and his Father honoureth him now he is dead by these great wonders and by the Testimony of the Centurion and others who seeing what came to passe said e Mat. 27. 54. Truly this was the Son of God Thus will God honour those that honour him by a vertuous and godly life or by their sufferings in his cause for he will make their innocency to appear and will manifest the truth of their Profession to the honour of his own Name and he will give them immortall glory in the life to come Wherefore if thou art in place of authority honour God by executing judgement and justice without exception of persons if thou art rich honour him in the right use of them and with works of mercy to the poor and needy if thou art poor be content with thy condition If thou hast children honour God in their good education teach them the fear of the Lord and let thy verteous life and good conversation be an example of piety to them Also if thou hast a family command thy children and servants to keep the way of the Lord to walk in his Statutes and to do righteously that the Lord may bring a blessing upon thee and upon thy house If thou art under the crosse honour God with thy patience hope and confidence in him whatsoever thy condition be honour him with thy thankfulnesse Sixthly God doth give us to understand by the trembling of the earth and by the renting of the rocks how powerfully the holy Ghost doth sometimes work upon our hearts at our first conversion to bring us to repentance f Acts 9. as he did at the conversion of Paul g Acts 16. and at the conversion of the Jailor and of diverse others for though our hearts be naturally as stupid and dull to any thing that is spirituall and heavenly as a lump of earth yet when the holy Ghost works upon them with his Almighty power he will make them quake and tremble and he will put a new Principle of grace into them whereby they shall be changed into a gracious condition and their natural dull and stupid properties shall be made active and ready for every holy duty And though our hearts are by nature as hard as any stone and no way capable of any gracious and heavenly impression yet the Spitit of God will break them in pieces and will mollifie and soften every piece to make it tender and flexible to the will and pleasure of God Wherefore if thou dost find this dulnesse in thine understanding this earthly mindednesse and this stupidity in thine affections that thou hast no will to serve thy God also if there be such obduracy in thy heart that thou canst not lament and mourn for thy sins and thy heart cannot melt into sighing and tears for thy transgressions and if there be such unbelief in thee that thou canst not apply any promise of mercy to thy self and canst have no hope nor assurance of the pardon and forgivenesse of thy sins upon thy repentance and turning unto God then make thy condition known to thy Saviour Christ in all meeknesse of spirit and he will put an holy light into thy understanding by his Spirit he will sanctifie thine affections and season them with grace he will take away thy hard heart of unbelief and will make it more sensible of thy miserable condition and will fit and prepare it for a deeper impression of grace Lastly God doth shew by the opening of the graves that there shall be a generall resurrection of every mans body at the last day when they must appear before the judgement seat of God to give an account of whatsoever they have done in the flesh Though our bodies are lockt up in the grave for thousands of years and though their dust and ashes are scattered abroad with the winde to the utmost parts of the earth yet at the last every grave shall be opened and shall deliver up her dead and every grain of dust shall be gathered together that every man may have his own body to deliver up his account before the great and dreadfull Judge of heaven and earth to receive the just reward of their works the wicked to be thrust down with the devils into everlasting burnings for their evill deeds and for their unbelief but such as belong unto
THE COMFORT OF THE SOUL Laid down by way of Meditation upon some heads of Christian Religion very profitable for every true Christian Composed and writen by Iohn Anthony of London Doctor of Physick Psal 19. ver 14. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be alwayes acceptable in thy sight O Lord my strength and my Redeemer LONDON Printed for G. Dawson and are to be sold by John Mountague at the Sign of the White-Dragon in Duck-Lane 1654. I have perused these Divine Meditations Intituled the Comfort of the Soul and do find them to be so Orthodox and solide pious and profitable that I do approve them well worthy to be Printed and Published JOHN DOVVNAME To the Right Honourable Dame Elizabeth Dygby Baronesse of Geshal in the Kingdom of Ireland Grace Mercy and Peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ HAving nothing of mine own that is worthy your Acceptance to express my Cordiall respects and thankfulnesse for those many favours which I have received from you I have taken some spirituall Receipts out of Gods sacred Dispensatory which I am bold to present or Dedicate to your Honour because they are speciall Cordialls for the spirits and precious Antidotes against the evill of sad times Wherein also you will finde some Balm of Gilead for the cure of all spirituall diseases if it be applyed close to the part that is ill affected with the hand of Faith If these things do relish well with your spirituall Palate then I am confident you will take sometime to ruminate hereupon for I know it hath been your constant course to Meditate something dayly of Divine and heavenly things which did strongly induce me to present these unripe fruits of my labours to you which I gathered in mine old age for mine own use according to my first Intention Though I have thus laboured out of my Calling as I am a Physician yet I am not out of my profession as I am a Christian Now seing this Work is come to Publick view I do humbly desire your favourable construction of the frailties that are in it and that you will be pleased to vindicate it from carping spirits for I did not write it to please their curiosity but to refresh and comfort those that do any way stand in need of spirituall consolation If any thing herein can give you any reasonable satisfaction let God have the honour and glory of his own Work and I shall greatly rejoice therein and shall still remain your much obliged Servant JOHN ANTHONY To the READER COurteous Reader if thou dost live under the Crosse and art sensible of these sad times or if Gods visitation be upon thee which makes thee to sigh and groan under the burden and pressure of thy sorrowes so that thy soul desireth comfort and thy spirits want spirituall refreshing and heavenly consolation then I have written this Treatise for thee which I present to thy view wherein thou shalt finde the true way how to demean thy self under Gods visitation how to bear thy crosse with a contented patience how to make the burden of thy sorrowes more easie or how to be delivered out of them if God seeth it to be most for his glory and best for thy good also how to refresh thy spirits and comfort thy soul in what kinde soever it is afflicted Here also thou shalt finde that many of Gods dear servants have suffered as great afflictions as thou canst and yet God did send them comfort and deliverance but specially what Christ thy Saviour hath suffered for thee and what benefit and comfort thou maist have by it if thou canst draw it to thy self and make a particular application of it to thine own sorrowful condition without which it will yeeld thee but small consolation in thy miseries If thou dost meet with any thing here that will fit thy present condition either for edification or for comfort thou must ruminate well upon it to suck out the spirituall juiâ—e to imprint it in thy minde and to bring it close home to thy heart that it may comfort thy soul and cure thy wounded Spirit David found great comfort when he did Meditate on the Word of God My soul saith he shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatnesse and my mouth shall praise thee with joyfull Psal 63. 5 6 lips when I remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee in the night watches And it must needs be so for this is a duty which God requireth and he takes speciall notice of those that do practice it to pour down his blessings upon them as he did upon Isaack who went out dayly into the field to Meditate Gen. 24. 63 64. upon the wonderfull Works of God and then at that very time God sent him a vertuous Wife If the Spirit of God goeth along with thee in thy holy Meditations they cannot but be comfortable to thy soul thou wilt then conceive aright of the secret and hidden things of God and thou wilt see the infinite wisdom ond power of God in all the Creatures his goodnesse and bounty to thee in them and a glympse of the Majesty and glory of the great Creator God Almighty His holy Spirit will also open thy heart to let in whatsoever spirituall good thou reapest by thy pious Meditations For if thou lookest upon the creature and doest not Meditate something of God in it thou dost look upon it in vain and if thou readest or hearest his Word Preached and dost not settle it upon thy affections by ruminating upon it thou canst not edifie thy heart nor comfort thy soul thereby So likewise if thou doest read any thing in this Treatise that is comfortable to poor dejected Spirits it will not comfort thee if it be not well digested in thy heart and applyed to thine own soul If thou art not acquainted with this holy Duty I have given thee some directions how to perform it and if thou doest first practise it upon thy self to meditate upon thine own condition what thou art by nature and what by grace and considerest seriously in thy thoughts what way thou walkest what steps thou treadest and to what end thy wayes do tend thou wilt not onely come to the knowledge of thy self but thou wilt also learn how to Meditate profitably and comfortably upon God thy Creator upon Jesus Christ thy Redeemer and upon the Holy Ghost thy Sanctifier and Comforter I conclude with this saying of an ancient Father Nothing is found more sweet in this life nothing is conceived more comfortable nothing doth so separate the affections from the love of this world nothing doth so fortifie the minde against temptations nothing doth so stir up man and further him to every good work and duty as the grace and benefit of Divine Meditation and heavenly contemplation Thine in the Lord Christ JOHN ANTHONY A Table of these severall Heads contained in this Book MEditation is a Duty
true end for which we were created Now we may take a view of our own condition and we may see in what state we stand with our God For if if we do principally attend to the true end of our Creation that our studies endeavours and all our actions are chiefly bent for the glory of God and that we can truly say with good Hezekiah e 2 Kin. 20. 3 I have walked before the Lord in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in his sight or as holy David said f Psal 26. 3 Judge me O Lord for I have walked in mine integrity I have walked in thy truth Also if we can truly say g Phil. 2. 12 That our whole course of life hath tended to the working out of our salvation with carefulnesse fear and trembling then we are most happy we steer our course to the right end and we shall at length attain to that Kingdom of eternall glory which we desire and hope for But if upon a diligent search we finde our selves to be in a contrary course to sit with vain and prophane persons to have fellowship with hypocrites and dissemblers to love the society of evil doers and to delight in earthly vanities all which will easily corrupt us by their evill example and sinfull wayes then the course of our life is not tending to the glory of God but it is dishonourable to him and destructive to our own souls Thus we are brought into a perillous and dangerous way that leadeth directly into perdition if God in mercy doth not bring us into the right way Wherefore it doth greatly concern us to raise up our thoughts to God our Creator to fix the Meditations of our hearts upon him h Isa 51. 7 to look unto the rock whence we are hewen and to the hole of the pit whence we are digged to look unto Adam our first parent as he was in the state of innocency before his fall that we may labour for his purity that we may follow after his righteousnesse and seek the Lord with pure affections and study how to serve and please him in all things as Adam was then able to do Also it behoveth us to consider how dangerous it is to conform our selves to the common errour of the world that man was born to be for himself and for his ownn ends which errour we must carefully avoid and then we shall labour to sâ—eer our course the right way and we shall bestow our time to the right end i Mat. 6. 33 First to seek the Kingdome of heaven and the righteousnesse thereof and then those things that shall be needfull for this present life shall be added unto us Concerning the fall of man MAn had power and ability given him to stand and continue in that perfect and blessed condition wherein he was created but he did soon fall from God by transgressing his command in eating the forbidden fruit whereby he brought himself and all his posterity that were then in his loyns and came out from him by naturall propagation under the severe curse that God laid upon him for his sin and this was the Originall of sin to all his posterity By this meanes Adam defâ—ced the bright image of God that was stamped upon his soul for he lost the perfection of his understanding the liberty of his will and the integrity of his heart Also the earth was cursed for his sake and the creatures became rebellious to him he is now a slave to the devill and to his own sinfull lusts and he hath no power to redeem himself out of that captivity and bondage onely he hath a possibility by Christ to be restored again to his former happinesse whereas the Angels that kept not their first Station but sinned against God and were thrust out of heaven have no possibility to be again restored Adam also hath made himself and all his posterity lyable to all outward crosses and sorrowes of body goods and good name to all inward troubles of minde and anguish of spirit to all temporall plagues and punishments and to all eternall pains and torments This was our condition in him we did also fall from God with him and our losse hereby is as great as his was our misery as much as his he did eat of the forbidden fruit and our teeth are set on edge so that now we have great cause a Isa 38. 1 2 3. to turn our faces toward the wall with good Hezekiah and to weep with great weeping to be ashamed of our selves and to be confounded in our selves for the sentence of eternall death is pronounced against us and we are now under the curse of the Law and under the fierce wrath and fury of an omnipotent Judge because we have sinned against God our Maker b Psal 137 2 3. we may now hang up our harps on the willowes for we can sing no more the joyfull songs of Zion we are cast out of paradise and out of the favour of God and we are now captives in a strange land under the tyranny of the devill We have not now that sweet familiarity with God which we had in the loynes of Adam before his fall we cannot now injoy the light of his countenance nor look upon him with comfort for all the beauty of our first holinesse is stained and polluted with sin and uncleannesse the pure image of God is defaced in us we have no knowledge in heavenly things no holy zeal in our hearts no purity in our affections and no readinesse of will to obey God We have lost all those precious Ornaments of grace of righteousness and true holiness of heavenly wisdom understanding and fear of God which made us lovely in his sight and now we are wholely naked c Ezek. 16 like a wretched infant that cannot help it self and we are void of all goodness and of all help and comfort in our selves If we look further into our condition we shall see how we are plunged into the depth of all misery for we are now slaves to every vanity and to every base sinfull lust and our servitude and bondage under them is very miserable because they tyrannize over our souls and yet we do willingly submit unto it which make us not able to break those chains of sin wherewith we are bound We have lost our right to the creatures and our dominion and soveraignity over them the earth will yeeld us no increase without excessive labour and toyl we ly open continually to all our spirituall enemies to all kinde of perills and dangers to all sorrows aad miseries in this life and to eternall burnings in the life to come Whatsoever we want in spirituall or temporall blessings and whatsoever we suffer by outward afflictions or inward troubles of minde is the fruit of sin and should make us call to minde and with much grief and sadnesse of heart to think upon our fall in
of sinne and Satan k Isa 53. He was a man of sorrowes he was despised he hath born our griefs he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastizement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed All we like sheep are gone astray we have turned every one to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all Hereby it appeareth that the justice of God cannot dispense with any sinne for he did severely punish it in his own dear Son because he found the guilt of sinne upon him though it were none of his own for he was in his own nature free from any spot or stain of sinne whatsoever Now learn this instruction that when thy heart doth meditate on Christ thy gracious and blessed Redeemer thy thoughts must not rest upon his humane nature but with the piercing eye and power of faith thou must raise them up to contemplate with all due reverence his Deity admire with great admiration that the eternal Son of God was pleased for thy sake thou poor silly worm to leave his glorious mansions in heaven and to lay down that heavenly glory which was ever his due and to condescend so low as to be clothed with thy nature which thou hast stained with the guilt of all manner of sinne that he might cloth thee with his own righteousness and restore thee again to the first purity and integrity in Gods account wherein thou wert created Now then canst thou ever put an end to thy meditations on his abundant love to thee canst thou be unthankful to him that he hath been so rich in goodness to thee so free in his mercies and so liberal in his benefits to such a worthless creature as thou art let him therefore be the chief joy of thy heart and put thy whole confidence in him by faith for thy salvation do not forget so great love but close with him imbrace him with the armes of thy faith be guided and directed by him in all thy wayes and yield all submission to Christ thy King and Governour to obey his Laws and to observe his commands Feed thy heart then and refresh thy soul by ruminating upon the excellencies and al-sufficiency of Christ thy Saviour with thoughts beseeming the honour and dignity of his sacred Person For if thou thinkest upon him onely as he is man thou doest too much undervalue his Highness and if thou conceivest of him as only God thou canst not draw then neer unto him without dread and terror by reason of his glory and majesty and also by reason of thy pollutions and defilements If Christ were onely man he could not have satisfied the justice of an infinite God neither had his blood been a sufficient price for mans redemption and if onely God he could not have suffered the penalty of the Law by his death But if thou doest meditate on him and apply thy self to him by a true and a lively faith as he is thy onely Saviour both God and man l Heb. 4. 16. then thou maist come boldly to the throne of grace where thou shalt receive and find grace to help in time of need and thy meditations of him will be exceeding comfortable to thy soul Thou maist safely fix thy faith upon him and ground thy hope in him for thy salvation m Act. 4. 12 for there is no other name under heaven whereby thou must be saved but by the name of Iesus and according to the esteem thou hast in thy heart of that Name such is thy faith and such is thy hope and confidence in him For if thy thoughts concerning him are low it is a manifest sign that thy faith in him is weak but if they are truly raised up to contemplate and acknowledge his Deity through his humanity it s a good evidence that thy faith is strong in him Wherefore renounce all that is in nature or in humane learning and trust not to thine own abilities or to common grace for thy redemption for they profit thee nothing for thy justification though they may conduce much toward a well ordered and civil life but strive to get faith and all sanctifying grace that the righteousness of Christ may be imputed to thee and that thy life may be truly sanctified and reformed to the will of God We must consider further for our better understanding of Christ our blessed Redeemer that he is set forth in the holy Scriptures by some resemblances which are very comfortable for us to meditate upon because they shew our union with him his special care of us and the great benefits that we shall have by him if we can make an holy application of him to our selves by faith First he is resembled to a vine and then we are the branches n Joh. 15. 5. I am the vine saith Christ ye are the branches He that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit for without me ye can do nothing If we are ingrafted by faith into this true vine we are then so firmly knit and united unto Christ that no power nor policy can separate us from him for o 1 Pet. 1. 5. we are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation we shall be purged and pruned from the guilt and from the pollutions of all our sins and we shall be dressed and adorned with grace and vertue that we may bring forth much fruit in a pious life and holy conversation Secondly Christ is resembled to an head p Col. 1. 18. for he is the head of the Church and we are the members of that body to be guided and directed by him to be taught and instructed of him and as the head preserveth the natural body q Eph. 5. 23 so is Christ the Saviour of every member of his mystical body and as all the members of the natural body draw their sense and motion from the head and are serviceable and obedient to the command of the head as the hands to work the feet to run the back to bear any heavy burden and the like so do we draw all our sense and motion in heavenly things from Christ by reason of the operation of the holy Ghost and we ought to yield all duty and obedience to him to do what he commandeth with all cheerfulness of spirit and willingly to bear his Cross though the burden be very heavy to our weak nature This will give us great assurance that we have a neer relation unto Christ if we find this readiness of will in our selves to submit to his most blessed and holy will Thirdly Christ is called r Heb. 13. 20 that great shepheard of the sheep and thus he saith of himself Å¿ Ioh. 10. 11 14. I am the good shepheard and I know my sheep and am known of mine the good shepheard giveth his life for the sheep The Prophet telleth us
from us if it may stand with Gods good pleasure to whose holy will we must alwaies submit our desires for if it be not his will to deliver us it will be his will to comfort us if we do patiently attend his appointed time This is holy Davids counsel h Ps 27. 14 wait on the Lord saith he be of good courage and he shall strengthen thy heart wait I say on the Lord. And again he saith i Ps 34 8. Blessed is the man that trusteth in him If we thus wait on the Lord he will also wait to do us good for thus the Prophet expresseth the wonderful goodnesse of God to his people k Is 30. 18 And therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto you What can more strongly move us to wait patiently the Lords time when he will be pleased to send us comfort in our sorrows and deliverance out of them l Psa 50. 15 God hath also commanded us to call upon him in our troubles and he hath promised to deliver us and as he hath commanded the one so he will never fail to perform the other But when the Lord giveth this cup to the wicked m Ier. 25. 25. 28. it is the wine cup of his fury to them for their destruction and though they refuse to take it yet they shall certainly drink it Sometimes the Lord maketh his own people drink very deep of this cup for thus the Prophet bewaileth the sorrows and afflictions of Ierusalem n Isa 51. 17. Awake awake stand up O Jerusalem which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury thou hast drunkâ—n the dregs of the cup of trembling and wruâ—g them out But the Lord their God will take a time to plead their causes when they repent and forsake their sinnes and turn unto him o Is 51. 22 23. Behold saith the Lord I have taken out of thy hand the cup of trembling even the dregs of the cup of my sury thou shalt no more drink it again but I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee If God be angry with his servants it will be but for a night joy will come in the morning if he doth suffer the wicked to afflict them it will be for a short time and then he will give them a double measure of consolation for their sorrows and at length will pour out his fury in full measure upon their enemies Though it was the will of God that Christ in his humane nature should drink this cup and the very dregs of it which brought him so low in his own apprehension as if God had forsaken him yet his divine nature did so uphold him that he was able to bear it whereby he hath made that cup milde and gentle to us for all that belong unto him must tast of this cup in this life And as Peter saith If judgement first begins at the house of God what shall be the end of them that obey not the Gospel of God and if the righteous scarcely be saved where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear If God gave this cup of trembling to his own dear Sonne who was full of all good surely then he will not spare us that naturally are dry barren and fruitles Wherefore look narrowly to thy wayes and walk circumspectly before thy God for if thy sins and iniquities breaks upon thee and thou continuest in them without repentance God will put his cup of fury in thy hand and thou must certainly drink it which will make thy heart to quake and tremble when thou doest tast it p â—an 5. 5 6. King Belshazzars countenance was changed and his thoughts troubled him so that the joynts of his loynes were loosed and his knees smote one against another when he did but see the hand-writing that was upon the wall against him how much then wilt thou tremble that must drink the dregs of this cup if thou goest on still in a rebellious way against God without repentance But if thou wilt seek the Lord betimes and meet him by faith in Christ and with a penitent heart he will be found of thee and this cup shall either passe from thee or else it shall be tempered to thy strength that thou maiest drink it with comfort If we look upon our Saviours bloody sweat we shall see the anguish of his soul and with what violence the devil did assault him thus terrible was his Agony because the great Dragon that old serpent the devil did set upon him with all his power and cast his venomous and poysoned darts to wound his very soul if it had been possible and to sting him unto death Though the devil and his wicked instruments were suffered at last to take away his life yet the venome of their malice could not hurt him for as he lived an innocent Lamb without any spot or stain of sinne so he died a sacrifice without blemish holy and acceptable to God and by his death he did vanquish sinne which was the sting of death and by his resurrection he did vanquish the devil who had the power of death and also he subdued all the power of wicked men and perfectly finished the whole work of mans redemption In this Agony Christ found the burden of sinne so heavy upon him and the power of the devil so strong against him that his soul was heavy even to the death What could be wanting to add sorrow to his soul when the great dragon of hell was unchained and let loose upon him yet by the power of his Deity he overcame him though he were forced to a bloody sweat If the beginning of our Saviours Passion was thus bitter and painful to him when he was in his full strength of body how terrible was it afterwards when his body was faint and weak and his spirits almost spent If the devil by his own power did thus afflict his soul how was he afflicted when his soul and body were tortured and tormented by the devil and his cruel instruments in his greatest weakness Wherefore if he did sweat drops of blood for our sakes it is a shame for us to take no pains in his service for the advancement of his Name and to suffer nothing for his glory We can sweat abundantly about our pleasure and profit and about our affaires in this world but we can feel no warmth of holy zeal in our affection toward him neither will we take any pains about the affairs of the Kingdome of heaven We will not suffer our own name or credit to be blemished but we hear the sacred Name of our blessed Redeemer dishonoured and blasphemed we are not moved at it but we can suffer it well enough Also we can professe his Name when there is no opposition against it but if clouds or stormes of affliction and persecution do arise upon us for his sake we are ready quickly to shrink from
be not conveyed to our hearts by faith as it iâ— to the ear and to the hand by the Minister also if the holy Ghost doth not give us a spirituall appetite to it that our heartâ— may spiritually feed upon it it will not be the sweet savour of life unto life unto us but rather the savour of death unto death If the devill can bereave us of the benefites that come by the meanes of Grace and make us lose the opportunity of it and can keep us from the true knowledge of God and of his Son Jesus Christ as he did Judas he will then lead us on in a sinful and wicked course of life until he doth bring us to eternal perdition Thus by degrees he brought Judas from infidelitie to hardness of heart after he had taken possession of him until at last he fell into despair and became his own executioner for his damnable treason against his Lord and Master for presentlie after he hanged himself y Act. 1. 8. he burst asunder in the midst and all his bowels gushed out Thus did God give him his just reward for his horrible sin and impiety against Christ and yet he was one of his Disciples and had as much means of grace as the rest had and also as many common and external gifts of the Spirit as they had and did see the great works that Christ had done And thus will God shew his justice and judgements upon impenitent and notorious offenders that are so hardned in their sins that no meanes of Grace can bring them to Repentance Now examine thy self thou that dailie seest the wonderful works of God if thou canst look beyond nature and see his power and wise providence in them if thou canst discern the finger of God when great men are brought down and men of low degree are exalted also if thou canst see how God will bring to pass his own designs against all opposition of wicked men and that he can discover the hellish plots and maginations of the Devil and his instruments z Plal. 7. 15. and will make them fall into the same pit which they have digged for others a Esth 1. 10. as he did unto wicked Haman If thou seest these and the like things come to pass thou must believe that it is the work of God for his own glory and the good of his Church Peter did see the great works of Christ he did believe that they were wrought by the power of his divine nature Judas did also see the same works but he could not discern the divinity of Christ in them If thy condition be like unto that of Peter that thou canst see a divine power in the great works that are wrought here upon earth and that God by his wisdom and providence can dispose of all the troublesome chances and changes that happen here either in Church or State to his own glory to the good of his people and to the confusion of his and their enemies then thou doest rightlie understand the waies of God by a spiritual illumination that is in thy heart But if with Judas thou canst no discern Gods divine power in his works on earth to over-rule all adversarie power b Psal 2. 2. though they rage in fury and take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed then thine understanding is blinded and thou liest open to all kind of dangers and distractions of mind Search again into thine own heart thou that livest where the Gospel of Christ is sincerely preached and his holie Sacraments rightlie and duly administered and examine thy self with what affections thou doest come to those holie Ordinances of God what grace is wrought in thee and how thy faith is strengthened by them how much sin is weakned and how thy life is reformed Also examine what spiritual life thou hast what fruits it doth bring forth what care thou hast to nourish it by thy profitable hearing of the Word of God and by thy worthy receiving of the Lords Supper if thou canst give a good account that thou hast spent thy time profitably and hast improved the means of grace to the best advantage then thou art a faithful servant to thy Lord and Master Jesus Christ as Peter was But if this heavenlie food will not please thy palate it cannot nourish and comfort thy soul because thou hast some secret corruptions or some beloved sin that keeps the sweet influence of grace from thy heart and then thou wilt reap as little benefit by the Word of God and by his holie Ordinances as wretched Judas did though he heard Christ himself preach to him Surely God doth still send down this heavenlie Manna blessed be his holie name for it and thou maiest gather it for the nourishment and comfort of thy soul if thou wilt but if thou canst find no spiritual sweetness in it thy taste is not then spiritual but it is dulled with worldly cares or sinful pleasures which must be purged out of thy heart by the blood of Christ before thou canst with Peter take pleasure and delight to hear the words of Christ c John 6. 68 which are the words of eternall life and before thou canst make it the joy of thy heart to meditate on the Statutes of God How canst thou hazard thy life for Christ as Peter did and for the truth of his Gospel if thou art not well instructed and a good proficient in his School And how canst thou live a spirituall life to God if thy heart hath not sucked vertue and power from Christ by faith who is the fountain of this water of life and of this coelestial food to nourish thee up to everlasting life Look now a little upon Peters zeal for his Masters safety he resisted those that came to apprehend him d John 18. 10 11. and smote the high Priests servant but Christ cured the wound and rebuked Peter for it because his zeal was not well grounded for he did endeavour to hinder him in the work which God had appointed him to do concerning mans redemption and therefore Christ said unto him The cup which my father hath given me shall I not drink it This may teach us to drink willingly any cup of affliction that our heavenly Father shall give us for it must needs be good and profitable to us if we receive it from God as from the hand of our Father Also that holy zeal or fervency of spirit in Gods Cause is a duty which he requireth and his servants do practise it yet it must be regulated according to knowledge and to the glory of God for blind zeal will lead us into many errours Davids zeal was rightly regulated e Psal 119. 139. My zeal saith he hath consumed me because thine enemies have forgotten thy words f Num. 25. 11 12. Such was the zeal of Phinehas in the matter of Zimri and Cozby which turned away the wrath of God from the
Pharisees Who were greater hypocrites and did deceive more with their seeming sanctity than they And who were more cruelly and maliciously set against Christ Gods Annointed than they Wherefore we ought to be very careful to keep down that high mindedness which we are prone unto if we are in any eminent place of authority in Church or State or if we have any gifts or endowments of the Spirit above other men f 1 Pet. 5. 5. for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace unto the humble lest hereupon the divel draw us into his snares to dissemble with God in the profession of his Name and also with men in our dealings with them We ought therefore to look well to the integrity of our hearts g Psal 51. 6. for God will be well pleased if he findeth truth and sincerity in the inward parts though there may be weaknesses and failings in the performance of our duties to him Hence it was that Christ did commend Nathanael because there was no guil found in him Now look upon thy beloved Saviour for thy instruction and behold how meekly the Lamb of God standeth among those ravenous wolves who sought to devour him Doth not thy conscience tell thee that the guilt of thy sins was as fewell to kindle their rage and to maintain the fire of their fury against him wert not thou some part of the occasion that he suffered such disgrace such ignominy and such blasphemous reproaches as were cast upon him If thy sins had no relation to Christ in his sufferings thou canst have no benefit thereby if thou dost not firmly believe that the guilt of thy sins was imputed unto Christ and that he suffered for thy sake as well as for all the Elect of God his righteousnesse cannot be imputed to thee his sufferings will profit thee nothing and thou canst have no good assurance that thy sins are washt away in his blood i Ezech. 18. â— but thou hast eaten the sower grapes and his teeth were set on edge thou hast committed the trespasse and he hath suffered the punishment that by his stripes thou maist be healed Wherfore thou hast no means to be justified by the righteousnesse of Christ and to have the remission of thy sins by the merit of his blood but by faith in him if thou canst apply him to thy self also without faith in Christ the wrath of God cannot be turned away from thee and thou canst not comfortably rest upon his promises for thy salvation Christ doth here teach thee meeknesse of spirit when thou art unjustly accused spitefully reviled and shamefully used he doth also teach thee patience when thou art in trouble or in any necessity for he suffered farre more in thy nature to be an example to thee of meeknesse and of patience and to sanctifie all thy sorrows and sufferings to thee Wherefore let not thy love to him be abated because of his troubles but rather increase it the more because he suffered for thy sake and for thy good also let not thy confidence in him be weakened because he is now going to Golgotha which is an uncomfortable place to flesh and blood and be not thou disheartned if thou must go the same way and must follow him in the same steps and to the same place for Christ is gone before to sanctifie both the way and the place to thee and to take away the bitternesse of all thy troubles and crosses and therefore if thou wilt not go up after him to Mount Calvary thou art not worthy to ascend up into heaven to him Wherefor labour for Christian fortitude and an holy resolution that when troubles sorrowes or calamities do come upon thee thy minde may not be dismayed with fear nor thy heart faint with grief if thou must drink of these bitter waters of affliction for his sake Consider now k Mar. 14 62. that Jesus plainly told the high priest that he was the Christ the Son of God and that they should see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven whereupon the indignation of the high priest was such that he rent his clothhs he accused him of blasphemy and judged him to be worthy of death His proud spirit could not endure to hear such great things of so poor and silly a man as he conceived Christ to be but he was transported beyond the bounds of sound judgement with a kinde of blinde zeal or rather with furious hatred against Christ for he would not believe his report though he had declared himself so plainly to him according to this of the Prophet l Isa 53. 1. John 12. 38 Lord who hath believed our report and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed This Prophesie of Christ was at this very time fulfilled for now he was brought into such troubles and into such danger of his life that none believed what the Prophets had reported of him or what he did speak of himself his Divine Power was clouded from them he was as a man not able to help himself and his own Disciples staggered in their faith of him at this time This doth often shake the faith of the best of Gods servants when they see the rage of the wicked the perills and dangers that do round beset them and no power appearing to deliver them because God doth not reveal the strength of his arm for their help and succour May we not now justly admire at the incredulity that was in the high Priests heart and at the blindnesse of his understanding who would neither believe the words of Christ nor understand the ancient Prophesies which he knew were then to be fulfilâ—ed concerning the Messiah that was promised which did exactly agree with Christ and could agree with no other but the saying of the Prophet was fulfilled in him m Isa 6 9 10. Go and tell this peoplâ— Hear ye indeed but understand not and see ye indeed but perceive not Make the heart of this people fat and make their â—at 13. 14 15. eares heavy and shut their eyes lest they see with their eyes hear with their eares and understand with their hearts and convert and be healed n Zecha 11. 13. The Prophesie that he should be sold for thirty pieces of silver and that a potters field should be bought with that money was fulfilled before his eyes and yet he would not believe Also Isaiahs Prophesie of Christ was fulfilled at that very time o Isa 53. 3. for then he was despised and rejected of men they hid their faces from him and esteemed him not and yet he would not believe He could not be ignorant what great works Christ had wrought and how powerfull his Preaching was and yet he would not believe but rather this did increase his malice and fury against him The Priests and Elders expected a temporall king to deliver them out of their subjection to the Romanes
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.
further to what height of impiety the spiteful and malicious Jews are brought u Mat. 27 24. Pilate washed his hands in water before he gave sentence against Christ in token as he thought that he was innocent of the guilt of his blood because he knew him to be a just person but the Jewes drowned themselves in the blood of that immaculate Lamb and said Let his blood be on us and on our children O what a burden is innocent blood to the conscience What fearful judgements did they pull down upon themselves and upon their posterity hereby David found this to be true when he did unjustly shed the innocent blood of Vriah â— 2 Sam. 11. for x Psal 51. this fact of his cost him many a tear before he coul get assurance of pardon for it How severe was the punishment that God laid upon Cain for killing his brother Abâ—l and yet these wretched Jewes did wish that the most precious blood of Christ the eternall Son of God might lye upon them and upon their children to which God in justice did say Amen That blood which was the blood of the New y Heb 9 20 Covenant and sealeth redemption to all that do apply it to themselves by faith is made a most heavy curse to the Jewes for their unbelief and it doth rest upon their posterity even to this day because they did despise it and most maliciously trampled it under their feet for they rejected him and would not believe in him for their salvation but preferred a murtherer before him which made their sin the more odious in Gods eye Wherefore let the thoughts and the Meditations of our hearts be how to moderate and suppresse our rash and raging passions that they break not out to wicked wishes or impious execrations to our own hurt or to the hurt of another but specially concerning blood lest God that heareth in heaven should say Amen to it for then the guilt of that sin will lye heavy upon us and the evill which we have unadvisedly wished will be grievous to them except we do speedily repent that God in mercy may forgive us We should therefore set a continuall watch before our lips that we speak nothing against themselves or to the hurt of another for God in his justice may bring the same evil upon us which we have wished either to our selves or to others but we ought to accustome our selves to blessing and not to cursing to wholesome speeches that may tend to edification and not to mischievous words that tend to destruction and then God in mercy will say Amen to it Now observe and mark what barbarous cruelly the Gentiles did use against our dear Saviour for as soon as he was condemed z Mar. 15. 15. they scourged him without limitation of stripes so that this of the Psalmists was verified in Christ a Psal 129. 3. The plowers plowed upon my back they made long their furrows whereas the Jews were limited by the Law of God to fourty stripes When Christ was thus b Deut. 25 3 cruelly scourged then Pilate delivered him to be crucified c Mat. 27. and then the savage Gentiles did mock and deride him they did spit upon him they crowned him with thornes and smote him on the head with a read and then they led him away to be crucified This was a dolefull spectacle and able to make a deep impression of tender compassion in any Christian heart to see a righteous man thus miserably tortured but much more to see the onely begotten Son of God thus dishonoured and thus shamefully used with as much disgrace and shame as they could devise But such inhumanity did reign in their murthering mindes and such cruell deeds were acted with their bloody hands that nothing could swage their malice and cruelty and nothing could mollifie their stony hearts or melt them into compassionate pitty because they were given up to a reprobate minde But let our hearts be touched with a true sense of our Saviours sufferings and with a godly sorrow and compunction for our sins when we ruminate and ponder in our thoughts how unjustly our blessed Redeemer was condemned and how cruelly he was used for our sakes for Gods controuersie was against us and not against his dear Son But because he of his tender love and compassion stept in between Gods fierce wrath and us which he knew was too heavy for us to bear and took upon himself the guilt of our sins and because the desire of his soul was to reconcile us to God his Father he was willing that so much of Gods severe wrath as in justice was due to us for our transgressions should light upon himself which he did meekly undergo to free us from it If we are thus affected when we do seriously think upon the passion of our Saviour Christ it will make us hate our sins with a perfect hatred it will pull down our proud and haughty spirits it will make us thankfully to acknowledge our unworthinesse of so great love from him and it will bind us in a firm bond of love and obedience to him then Christ will commiserate and pitty us in our sorrowes and will comfort us in our sad condition But alas we take no pleasure in such dolefull Meditations we are not feelingly affected with our Saviours tedious and bitter passion and therefore we cannot bring it home to our selves by faith neither can we raise up the affections of our hearts hereunto because we are not perswaded that he suffered more than his humane nature could have born if it had not been supported by his Deity neither do we faithfully believe that what he suffered was for our redemption as it was for all the elect of God and therefore we can draw no spirituall comfort from thence to our souls These sad contemplations are not sweet to our taste they are not delightfull to our corrupted nature nor pleasing to our carnall desires for we had rather go to the house of feasting than to the house of mourning our love to Christ is not so firm and our faith in him is not so strong as to make our mindes constant in these heavenly Meditations which are most profitable for the good of our souls If we find such obduracy in our hearts so little grace in our affections and that our unregenerate part is so prevailing in us that we can take no pleasure to Meditate on the bitter passion of Christ as if he were not to be pitied we may justly condemn our selves of too much ingratitude for his great love to us and we cannot then expect any compassion from him in our afflictions and miseries If we look upon a Kings onely Son and see him suffer all kind of rebuke and shame by rebells and traitors and all kinde of torturings and tormentings for no offence given shall we not pity his miserable condition And shall we not think upon his miseries with sad
darkning of the Sun was also an evident sign to the Jews of their unbelief and to shew the blindnesse of their understanding the obstinacy of their will and that they were given up to a reprobate mind as a just judgement of God for their unbelief and for this their loud crying sin in which sad condition they continue even to this day d 2 Cor. 3. 13 14. for their mindes were blinded and in the reading of the Old Testament there was a vail upon their heart so that they could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished which vail is not yet taken away from them This was typified by that vail which Moses put over his face when he was come down from the Mount and from â— Exod. 34. 33. the Presence of God In the dayes of Samuel God did shew a manifest token of his high displeasure against his people for their great sin f 1 Sam. 12. 17. when he sent thunder and rain in the time of wheat harvest to let them know that their wickednesse was great in the sight of the Lord in asking them a King g 2 Sam. 8. 7. because they had rejected the Lord that he should not reign over them God will set his mark upon obstinate and rebellious sinners that will not be reclaimed and turn to the Lord as he did upon Cain and others to brand them with perpetuall infamy and shame for their impenitency God hath also severall judgements for wicked men as we may see by dayly experience in these sinfull times Some he marks for the sword some for famine others for the pestilence sudden death or the like upon whomsoever his mark is set there the judgement will fall God hath likewise his mark of preservation which he will set upon his own servants in times of mortality or of any other common calamity h Zech. 9. 4. for when he sendeth forth his destroying Angel in a general calamity to destroy thousands he will also in much mercy send forth another Angel to mark and seal those in their foreheads who are to be preserved that whatsoever the calamity be it may not hurt them Consider now how uncomfortable it is to want the light of the Sun and what little joy we can take in this life if we want the light of our eyes and then we shall see that it is much more uncomfortable to want the spirituall light of our understanding Thus saith Christ i Mat. 6. 22 23. The light of the body is the eye if therefore thine eye be single thy whole body shall be full of light But if thine eye be evill thy whole body shall be full of darknesse If therefore the light that is in thee be darknesse how great is that darknesse Wherefore if the Sun of righteousnesse doth not shine upon us to give light to our understanding if he doth not heal the perversenesse of our will and the sinfulnesse of our affections we shall walk in darknesse and in the shadow of death for we shall be without a guide to keep us from stumbling and falling dangerously into grosse sins wherein if we continue without repentance we may justly fear some judgement of God to fall on us or some manifest sign of his indignation to be shewed upon us for our sins We should therefore learn this heavenly wisdom to break off from our sins to day by true repentance turning to the Lord lest we be marked for destruction too morrow and we should make our peace with God by faith in Christ that we may be marked with the seal of redemption which Christ will stamp upon every true believers heart for their preservation from evill in this life and for their eternall felicity in the life to come Consider yet further how the Sun in the Firmament did mourn to see the King of glory thus abased to see the ignominy and disgrace that was cast upon him how cruelly he was used and how unjustly he was put to death This should teach us to mourn for the calamities of the Church of God for the loss of any pillar in that spirituall building We have many examples of the servants of God for this pious duty Jeremiah Ezrah Nehemiah and others mourned and lamented greatly for the first desolations of Jerusalem and of the Temple k Luk. 19. 41 42 43. Christ himself wept over Jerusalem when he beheld it because he knew the finall destruction that should shortly after come upon it When Elisha l 2 King 13. 14. the Prophet was fallen sick of the sicknesse whereof he dyed Joash the King of Israel came down unto him and wept over his face and said O my Father my Father the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof This was a full expression of the grief and sorrow of his heart for the losse of so great a Prophet who was a strong Pillar in the house of Israel Consider also that if there be no mourning and no tears for the sins of a nation or people God will make the heavens to mourn and the clouds to pour down rivers of tears to teach us what we should do when the land is over-grown with the weeds of sin If it be so that the servants of God do mourn for the miseries that his Church doth suffer and for the losse or pulling down of any polished stone in that heavenly building then whose servants are they and what master do they serve that dismember the mysticall body of Christ that pull down any Pillar of his Church or pull any polished stone out of his spirituall Temple whereby it may be in danger of ruine or to fall to decay Also they are in a sad condition that pollute deface or throw down his materiall temples to the dishonour of his Name to the suppressing of his true worship and service and to bring in sects and schismes profanenesse and superstition God will not suffer such instruments of wickednesse to go unpunished but in his due Time he will make them examples of his fury if they do not sincerely repent of their crying sins and cursed abominations By this strange darknesse of the Sun we may also learn how uncomfortable it is to a childe of God to have the light of his Countenance clouded from him m Psal 30. 7 David was much troubled when God did hide his Face from him How was Christ himself perplexed in his soul when the light of Gods countenance was withdrawen from him It made him cry out in the bitternesse of his Spirit My God my God why hast thou forsaken me As it is the greatest blessednesse to â—njoy the favour of God so it is most uncomfortable when we have no apprehension of it Thus saith David of himself n Psal 21. 6 Thou haste made him exceeding glad with thy countenance Also thus he prayeth o Psal 4. 6. Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us It doth likewise teach us
Prophesies were then fulfilled that were spoken of him in his life e Luk. 23. 46. Then he commended his Spirit into the hands of his Father and gave up the Ghost As this Lamb of God lived in perfect innocency so he dyed in perfect meeknesse Then presently after f Joh. 19. 34 one of the souldiers pierced his side with a spear to his very heart and forthwith câ—me thereout bloud and water that the Scripture might be fulfilled g Zech. 12 10. They shal look on him whom they pierced This was also done that we might faithfully believe the truth of his death This is a speciall Article of our Faith which we must stedfastly believe if we will have comfort in the assurance of our redemption for if Christ had not truly dyed the justice of God had not been fully satisfied for our sins we could have had no power to dye unto sin or to mortifie our corruptions and sinfull lusts and death would be most bitter fearfull and terrible to us If Christ had not dyed and rose again how could death have been destroyed How could the sting of death be taken out Who should have sanctified death unto us And how could we be willing to imbrace it Wherefore if we do truly believe the death of Christ and that he dyed for us it will minister much matter of exceeding great consolation to our souls at the hour of our dissolution From the former considerations we may draw much comfortable matter for our hearts to meditate upon First it doth evidently appear that our Saviour Christ did assume to his Deity our whole nature soul and body which did still retain all the properties of humane nature unconfounded with his Deity h Heb. 2. 17 He was like unto us in all things i Heb 4. 25. sin onely excepted His soul was sensible of grief and sorrow his body did feel the smart of pain he was subject to all our naturall passions and infirmities which may be without sin he was sensible of hunger thirst wearinesse and the like he was also subject to mortality though not to corruption for k Psal 16. 10 God would not suffer his holy One to see corruption because he had no spot or stain of sin in him and there was a true dissolution of his soul from his body when he dyed If Christ had not assumed our whole nature he could not have perfectly saved and redeemed us soul and body and then the work which God sent him to do had not been finished but we had still remained in our sins Heb. 10. 10 But the whole work of our Redemption was fully wrought by that which he suffered both in his soul and in his body to give us an holy assurance that we are freed from the guilt of sin here and saved from the condemning power of sin hereafter Secondly we may learn from thence this instruction so to regulate our thirsty desires that they may be for the glory of God and not for own sinfull ends If we thirst after the things of this world for any other end than for the honour of God our thirst is sinful and it will be satisfied with vinegar or gal and if we thirst after blood rapine or revenge the end of these and the like thirsty desires will be the death of our souls But if our thirst be holy and heavenly we shall then have thirsty desires and holy endeavours m Isal 613. how to injoy God and to do his will how to preserve our neighbours safety and how to keep our selves undefiled and if we can say as David did n Psal 143. 6. My soul thirsteth after thee O Lord as a thirsty land then our thirst shall be quenched and our souls shall be refreshed with the sweet comforts of God Also if we thirst after Christ Jesus who is the chief honour of a Christian and after grace and godlinesse which are the true riches of the soul then Christ will be a fountain of living water to us which onely can quench our spirituall o Joh. 4. 10. thirst and refresh our panting souls and it shall spring up in us to everlasting life Christ calleth every one to drink of this water p John 7. 37 Is any man thirst let him come unto me and drink Thus saith the Prophet q Isa 55. 1. Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and ye that have no silver come buy and eat come I say buy wine and milk without silver and without money Here Christ offereth himself and his graces freely But to whom It is onely to such as have a spiritual thirst after him Wherefore if this be the thirst of our souls to injoy Christ and him crucified we shall see such a Fountain of water of life flow out of his blessed fide as will purifie our hearts from all sin and cleanse our consciences from all iniquity whereby our thirsty souls will be more comforted and refreshed than our bodies can be by any Fountain of Water in our naturall thirst r Psal 42. This holy thirst made Davids soul pant more after God than the Hart panteth after the water-brooks Thirdly from this consideration that Christ had vinegar given him in a spunge we may learn this profitable Doctrine that there is no content nor stability in any earthly thing for though we should injoy all the contentment that the world can give us yet it will not satisfie our desires something will be wanting and we shall still thirst after more and we shall finde soureness and bitternesse in the best of earthly things Also that which we do possesse we have it but in a spunge a sudden casualty by fire or water a word spoken against King or State will wring it out a little pain or sickness a little trouble or sorrow will soon blaste the comfort of of it and make it like vinegar to our taste If we should meet with nothing to imbitter or blast our earthly joyes yet in their own nature they are transitory and unstable Å¿ Eccl. 12. 1. and when old age cometh we shall take no pleasure in them and death will quite bereave us of them all Now then if we put our trust in these vain things they will deceive and will give us no solide comfort except we do injoy them in Christ for without him the best of all earthly blessings are but vanity and vexation of Spirit Wherefore let this be our greatest care our chiefest joy and the desire of our souls to injoy Christ to be joyned unto him with the bond of faith and love and then whatsoever our estate or condition be we shall finde comfort in it we shall injoy it with a good conscience we shall glorifie God with it and if we do casually lose it we shall lose nothing by it for we shall still injoy Christ who will abundantly recompense our earthly losses with spirituall comforts here and with an eternall
should he have learned by his own experience what we suffer when we are under the crosse that he might pity us This may teach us to bear patiently whatsoever God doth lay upon us though the instruments that he useth be our deadly foes because it is his will and pleasure to have it so b 2 Sam. 16. 1â— Thus did David meekly bear the cursing of Shimâ—i and would not suffer Abishai to kill him because it was the Lords will it should be so This Meditation will greatly comfort our fainting spirits when we are under any strong temptation or worldly misery that no enemy be he never so powerfull or his heart never so malicious can imagine more against us in his wicked thoughts or act more with his cruell hands than Divine Providence hath appointed Also no calamity pain or sicknesse can afflict us without his will no perill or danger can come near us without his permission and we shall suffer no more under any crosse than God in his wisdom knoweth to to be profitable for us If we are thus perswaded it will greatly comfort us in all our sufferings and keep us from murmuring and repining when GODS visitation is upon us Wherefore let no fear of danger cast down our hope let no storme of persecution shake the foundation of our faith and let no waves of affliction quench the flame of our love or abate the zeal of our affections to our dear Saviour who spared not his own life for us but poured out his very heart bloud for our justification and salvation If the strength of grace that is in us be not answerable to what we suffer or to the power of our corruptions Christ will either take off some part of our burden or give us more strength to bear it and he will also make us able by degrees to overcome our corruptions that we may live a sanctified life to the Lord and then let death come how or when it will we shall dye in the Lord which will be great gain and advantage to us Now let the Meditations of thy heart be fixed upon the death of thy precious Saviour that from thence thou maist draw vertue and power by faith to mortifie and kill the body of sin that by nature is in thee also to have a firm assurance that he hath reconciled thee to God by the merit of his blood Why then dost thou cherish any sin to crucifie thy Redeemer afresh What is this that thou doest when thou delightest in swearing in uncleannesse in drunkennesse and the like Why dost thou delay thy turning unto God Why dost thou thus indanger the salvation of thy soul Oh think upon the iniquity of thy sin with hatred and detestation which hath put to death thy gracious Redeemer think upon thy sin with godly sorrow and true compunction of heart which did so separate thee from thy God that nothing could restore thee into his grace and favour but the death of his eternall Son Wherefore seek earnestly by faithfull Prayer to thy sweet Saviour that thou mayest finde the vertue and power of his death in the crucifying of all the severall members of this body of sin that by nature is inherent in thee that so thy corruptions may be weakened and thou mayest be dayly renewed by the strength of that sanctifying grace which the Holy Ghost hath wrought in thee Consider now in the last place how rigorously God did deal with his onely Son throughout his whole passion he gave him no intermission in his suffering but as soon as one sorrow was past another presently came in the place when one pain was over a greater was ready to supply the room c Psal 102. 4. his heart was smitten and withered like grasse so that he forgat to eat his bread his torturings came so fast upon him that he had no time to refresh himself with bread or water but above all Gods fury was upon him in all his sufferings which made his passion beyond the strength of nature God never dealt thus with any of his servants but still they had some intermission in their afflictions some comfort in their sorrowes and some heavenly consolation to uphold their spirits or else a joyfull deliverance out of them Joseph had his afflictions and yet at length God advanced him to great honour Jobs afflictions came upon him as fast as one messenger could follow another at last misery seized upon his own body but in the end God gave him double as much as he took from him So likewise David and many more have suffered very great afflictions and torments but none like unto Christ whose passion continued to his heath d 2 Cor. 11. Paul was above measure afflicted persecuted and tormented for the Name of Christ and at last he dyed by the sword but all this while he had Christ to support him with many spiritual consolations Wherefore howsoever God is pleased to deal with us in this life it will be in mercy and in judgement for our good and not in fury or in the rigour of his justice for our confusion and he will bountifully reward us in the life to come if we hold out constant to the end What happened at CHRISTS Death VVHen the soul of our blessed Redeemer was dissolved and separated from his breathlesse body a Mat. 27. 51. The vail of the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottome the earth did quake the rocks rent the graves were opened and many bodies of the Saints which slept arose and came out of their graves after his resurrection God did shew these strange signs and wonders at the death of his Son as fore-runners of the fearfull judgements that soon after should come upon that renowned City and upon the whole nation of the Jews and so strike terrour into their hearts for their odious and detestable sin in crucifying the Lord of glory if by any means they could be made sensible of their sins that they might repent and turn to the Lord that so God might turn away his judgements and have mercy on them This hath been Gods usuall course to give warning before he strikes to threaten before the judgement comes and nothing but repentance can stay Gods hand b 1 Kin. 21. 29. Ahabs outward form of humiliation kept off the judgement from himself that God hath denounced against his house by his Prophet The Ninivites repenâ—ed at the Preaching of Jouah and therefore God brought not the evill upon them which he threatned against that great City But the house of Juda would not repent though God sent his Prophets to them early and late and therefore they were carried away captives into Babylon Thus doth God in great mercy give warning before he doth visite a nation or a people in his wrath that they should prevent the judgement by their repentance First God did shew by the renting of the vail of the Temple that the partition wall was
Christ shall be received up to eternall glory The Saints that then arose out of their graves were forerunners of this generall resurrection This was a dreadfull sign to the cruell Jews who had imbrewed their hands in the blood of Christ for the same Jesus whom they crucified shall be the Supream Judge at that day before whom they must appear to answer for this their bloody fact It may also be a terrible warning to all wicked men that are defiled with innocent blood and that live in profanenesse and sensuality fulfilling their sinfull lusts without any remorse of conscience or holy desire to be reclaimed from their wicked wayes and without any care to make their peace with God by faith in Christ and by true repentance for a time will come when they must answer the rigour of Gods justice for all their crying sins and hainous abominations Wherefore enter into a serious consideration with thy self how thou art prepared and fitted for thy grave If thou hast lived to the world to the flesh to the devill or to thy self thou art in a sad and lamentable condition for the grave cannot keep thee from judgement but must open her mouth h Jona 2 10 like Jonahs Whale at the sound of the last Trumpet and it will deliver thee up even as it sound thee If thy grave receive thee an hypocrite a blasphemer a swearer an unclean person or the like it will deliver thee up to judgement all polluted with the guilt and filth of the same sins i Job 20. 11 If thy bones are full of the sins of thy youth they will lye down with thee in the dust and they will cleave fast to thee when thou shalt rise again How canst thou then stand before the Tribunall seat of God and before all his glorious Angels and blessed Saints if thou art in this sinfull condition And how canst thou endure the rigour of his justice and the severity of his judgement If this consideration were well imprinted in thy heart it would make thee afraid to go on in a way of sin without repentance But such as have lived to the Lord shall dye in the Lord and shall sleep quietly in their graves as in their beds k Mal. 3. 17. for they are the Lords Jewels and he keeps them in these cabinets untill the day that he shall make up his Jewels Wherefore if we have any interest in Christ by faith his blood will cleanse us from all our sins his righteousnesse will make us accepted in the sight of God and he will account us as his jewels and then Christ will sanctifie the grave to us l Isa 57. â— We shall enter into Peace we shall rest in our beds walking in his righteousness Thus comfortably shall we enter into the grave if we have an holy assurance by the witnesse of his Spirit to our spirits that we dye in the Lord and then our resurrection will be with unspeakable joy and comfort to us Of the Buriall of Christ THough Christ dyed a most shamefull and ignominious death yet he had honourable buriall according to the manner of the Jews a John 19. 40 41. For Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus two honourable men among the Jews begged leave of Pilate and took down his body from the Crosse and wrapped it in linnen cloathes with spices and laid it in a new sepulchre which was hewen out in a rock wherein was never man yet laid and they rolled a great stone to the doore of the sepulchre But the chief Priests and Pharisees thought him not safe enough and therefore to prevent his resurrection as they thought b Mat. 27. 64 65. they got leave of Pilate to make the Sepulchre sure Then they sealed the stone and set a watch about the Sepulchre yet notwithstanding at Gods appointed time he did rise again from the dead by the power of his Deity which was not separated from his humane nature though he were now dead c Psal 16. 10. for God would not suffer his holy One to see corruption d 1 Cor. 15. 44. and his naturall body was raised up a spirituall and glorified body But what comfort can we draw from Christ now he is dead Can we have any benefit by him as he is now buried It is true which Christ said e John 6. 63 It is the Spirit that quickneth the flesh profiteth nothing Though we can draw no comfort from the body of Christ as it is now in the grave yet by his eternall Spirit which ever liveth we may receive great benefit and much spiritual consolation by the death burial of our Saviour Christ For by faith we may draw vertue and power from thence to kill that body of sin which by nature is in us and to bury it with Christ that the new man of holinesse and righteousnesse may be quickned and raised up in us for it is not enough to mortâ—fie and kill this body of sin but we must also bury it and every member of it with Christ that no sin though it be never so profitable or pleasing to our nature may gather strength to over-power us or to bring us again into subjection that â—very base lust should reign over us to make us slaves unto sin It is true that sin will still dwell in us but the Spirit of Christ will make us able by the vertue of his death so to kill the power of it that it shall not have dominion over us Grace worketh our sanctification by degrees and we cannot expect perfection of holinesse untill we come into the Kingdome of Heaven Now if we will bury our sins in the Sepulchre of our blessed Saviour we must not onely forbear the actuall committing of sin but we must quite loose the delightful remembrance of it for if we do still retain with approbation a sinfull remembrance of our former sins we do then keep them above ground and unburied and they will be odious in the sight of God though the act of sin be mortified in us f Rom. 6. 3 4 5. If we are baptized into Jesus Christ we are baptized into his death and therefore we are buried with him by Baptisme into death that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin but should walk in newnesse of life If we be thus buried with Christ then the sweet perfume and precious odours of his merits will take away the stench and noisomnesse of our sins from the Lord our God Wherefore by faith we shall draw a new principle of grace from Christ to be crucified with him to live and dye in him to be buried with him both in the act and in the delight of sin g Col. 3. 1. and to rise again with him in an holy and sanctified life and we shall be continually with him to have our communion and fellowship with him for every member of his mysticall body will be where he is in
true believer hath by Christ in this life above all other men that have no interest in him by faith and examine thy self hereby what thou hast gained by him If thou hast used the blessings of God and his good creatures soberly and temperately to his glory and not to pamper or cherish any sin to dishonour him thereby and doest return thanks unto God for them with a sincere heart because he is the sole giver of all things that thou injoyest then Christ hath taken away the curse that was upon them and hath made them blessings to thee which thou maist freely use to thy comfort otherwise thou canst finde little comfort in them Also if thou dost truly believe that thy sins were imputed unto Christ and hast an holy assurance hereof by the dayly renuing of thy repentance for thy dayly sins then thou maist be fully perswaded that the guilt of sin which was a burden to thy conscience and did cleave close to thy soul is taken away and that Christ hath nailed it to his crosse whereby thou art freed from the curse of the Law and from the condemnation of sin This consideration will much comfort thee when thou art under the crosse for the evill of punishment that was in thine afflictions is taken away it being part of the curse and thou art but chastised for thy good and not punished for thy hurt Examine thy self yet further what thou hast gained by Christ for if thou canst over-power thy corruptions by the strength of grace and canst leave thy sins before they leave thee and that the remembrance of them is bitter to thy soul and doest dayly strive with a true purpose of heart to newnesse of life then thou hast an evident sign that Christ hath taken away the dominion of sin in thee z Ezek. 36. 25. and hath poured clean water upon thy soul to purifie cleanse thee from all thy filthines Also if thou dost find the fruits of the Spirit of sanctification that thou hast an holy desire to the means of grace and a faithful endeavour to grow stronger in grace that thy heart may be stablished in the truth and thy Faith firm to uphold thee in thy sufferings and tryalls then thou hast gotten great gain and much Advantage by Christ But if thou art perswaded of thine Adoption by Faith in him thou canst not conceive how great thy gain will be for whatsoever a childe can desire of a loving Father thou mayest expect much more from God nothing shall be too dear for thee nothing shall be hurtfull to thee and nothing shall be concealed from thee that may be profitable and advantageous to the salvation of thy soul Let us consider now that our hearts may ruminate well upon it for our great comfort what honour we have by being made the sons of God a 1 Sam. 18. 23. When Sauls servants came to perswade David to be the Kings son in law he gave them this answer Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a Kings son in law seeing that I am a poor man and lightly esteemed How great then is the honour and how highly to be esteemed for a poor wretched captive to be made the Son of the eternall and everliving God to have such a Father to come to in all our necessities such a Refuge in all our distresses such a Protectour against all our enemies and to be heir to such an Inheritance as is incorruptible and eternal which Christ hath reserved for us in heaven Wherefore we should be holy and undefiled in our conversations as becometh the sons of such a Father we should not walk stubbornly before him but in filial fear and reverence obeying his holy will and commands with filial love and submitting to his rod and corrections as a childe ought to submit to his Father If our services are thus performed to God he will then be a tender and a gracious Father to us If we have this Gain by Christ in this life what is the gain of the whole world to it What is all earthly honour to the honour of a true Christian and yet most men covet and desire that gain and that honour and they neglect the true Gain and the true honour of a Christian which is chiefly to be desired b Mat. 16. 26 What is a man profited saith Christ if be shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul If we injoy Christ we have a rich Patrimony we can want no comfort whatsoever shall betide us in soul or in body in goods or good name he will repair all our losses in Adam with his abundant righteousnesse he will also repair all our losses in children servants or estate either in this life c Job 42 10 as he did unto Job or else in the life to come in a more plentifull manner Christ will likewise furnish us with all spiritual abilities to encounter with the enemies of our salvation to stand firmly for the truth and for a good conscience and to endure the tryall of our faith love hope and patience and he will make perfect whatsoever is wanting or imperfect in us d 2 Cor. 12. 9 for his grace is sufficient for us and his strength is made perfect in weaknesse his love and his care of us doth most shine forth when we do most a base and humble our selves and when we do acknowledge our unworthinesse of it In the last place we should Meditate with all thankfulnesse upon the great benefit that we have by the Covenant of grace which Christ hath sealed for us with his blood for we may faithfully believe and comfortably expect that God will perform his condition expressed therein to us though we cannot perfectly perform our conditions to him also that he will purifie and cleanse us from all our filthinesse e Jer. 32. 40. and will put his fear in our hearts that we shall not depart from him Wherefore let not the failings and frailties of the flesh discomfort us nor weaken our faith and confidence in the goodnesse of God to us in Christ for the flesh will rebell against the spirit and the corruptions of the unregenerate part will sometimes breake out upon us to dash and hinder our comfort in this gracious Covenant Therefore Christ hath ordained the two Sacraments to seal this Covenant to our souls for the better confirmation of our Faith f Gal. 3. 26 27. For if we are baptized into Christ by Faith we have put on Christ we are members of his Church and this Covenant is sealed to us g 1 John 1. 7 and the blood of Christ hath cleansed us from all sin If age or sicknesse or any thing else beside sanctifying grace doth keep us from sinning against God this is not the true purging away of sin nor the regeneration and renewing of the holy Ghost because the evill concupisence of the flesh and the sinful desires of the minde will remain strong and
it might run down to every member of his mystical body which was typified by r Psal 133. 2. that pâ—ecious ointment which was poured upon Aarons head and ran down to the skirts of his garments so that we have a spiritual light to discern the things that belong to our peace then Christ hath wrought this life in us by his holy Spirit for in the state of nature we were dead to any thing that is heavenly f 1 Cor. 2. 14 and we could not receive the things of the Spirit of God because they are spiritually discerned Secondly if our soules can feed upon heavenly food and if we can expresse all other actions of a spiritual life as to walk in the paths of holinesse to speak the pure Language of Canaan and to have our conversation in heaven while we live here upon earth we may then be fully perswaded that there is a spirituall life in us for so long as sin reigneth in our mortall bodies and untill there be a new creation wrought in us we are spiritually dead to every good work and we can expresse no actions of a sanctified life Thirdly if our souls are cleansed from the guilt of sin in the blood of Christ and if the filth and stains of our sins are washed away in the Laver of Regeneration by his sanctifying grace and covered under his righteousnesse that they appear not to the dishonour of God or to the hurt of our neighbour and that we delight not in any sin but do study and endeavour to serve and please God with a sincere heart and pure affections it is a sure evidence that Christ hath quickned and raised us up from the death of sin to the life of grace Lastly if our duties and services to God proceed from a clean and a purified heart which is sanctified and perfumed with the graces and merits of Christ then God will smell the perfume of them to accept of our persons and of our holy offerings because the Spirit of Christ is in us Thus we may know to our great comfort if we narrowly look into our condition what spirituall life we have and that we have it onely from Christ and by him Wherefore now if thou desirest to live spiritually by Christ thou must faithfully believe that he hath taken away that spiritual death which by nature was upon thee for thy sins and that he onely can give thee this spirituall life for as he hath vanquished and overcome the power of death both spiritual and temporal so he can give a spiritual life as well as a temporal to whom and when he pleaseth This spiritual life thou must have from him if thou canst make a particular application of him to thy self by faith that he is thy Saviour and thy Redeemer for he hath then breathed into thee the Spirit of grace which hath wrought this spiritual life in thee though at the first thou canst feel no power of it without this application of Christ to thy self thou canst draw no comfort from him and he will profit thee nothing It did much comfort Job in his greatest misery when he did thus apply Christ to himself t Job 19. 25 27. I know saith he that my Redeemer liveth whom I shall see for my self If thou canst bring thy heart to close thus with Christ he will give light to thine eyes food to thy soul balm for thy diseases and comfortable refreshing for thy languishing spirits But if thou art still dead in thy sins and hast no spiritual life in Christ thou canst then feel no comfort by him for what good can light do to a dead man What benefit can he have by the daintiest food What can the best medicine profite him And what sense hath he of the best perfume But if thou doest live in Christ and he in thee thou shalt partake with him in his fulnesse of all spiritual graces u Col. 1. 19 for it pleased the Father that in him should all fullnesse dwell u John 1. 16 And of his fulnesse have all we received and grace for grace Now consider further that Christ is the meritorious cause of this spiritual life x Tit. 2. 14 for he gave himself freely and voluntarily to be an oblation and a sacrifice for us to redeem us from all iniquity and from whatsoever we are lyable unto by reason of sin to wit from the guilt of sin from the dominion of sin from the curse of the Law from the bondage of Satan from the terrours of death and from eternall condemnation Also by the power of his resurrection he hath subdued and overcome death hell and the grave that we might be raised out of the grave of sin to live a spiritual life to God in Christ Christ hath wrought our redemption by his active and passive obedience to the will of God whereby we are justified in his sight for he hath taken our life out of the hand of Gods justice where we had no hope to injoy it and hath put it into the hand of his mercy where we are sure through Christ to have the comfort of it here and the happinesse of it hereafter Though we must passe by the gates of hell before we can injoy the sweet consolation of this spiritual life and though we must bring our selves so low in our humiliation and in mortifying of our sins and corruptions as if we were ready to be thrust down into hell yet God will then give us a spiritual life in Christ to support us he will then raise us up to newnesse of life by the sanctifying grace of his Spirit that our spiritual life may appear and that we may be made fit to injoy Christ for ever in the Kingdom of heaven This is the first main end of the passion of Christ that we may be redeemed by the merit of his blood Secondly Christ is the efficient cause of our spiritual life for as we have our justification by the merit of his blood so we have our sanctification by the same blood and these two cannot be separated but must go together for we have no sure evidence that we are justified in the sight of God but by the sanctification of our lives The Act of our justification is wrought at once as soon as we are ingrafted into Christ by Faith but our sanctification must be a continued Act so long as we live in the flesh for the best of Gods servants have so many spots and stains of sin in them that they have dayly need to pray to be every day purified and cleansed with the blood of Christ and to be dayly renewed with the graces of his Spirit This is the second main end why Christ gave himself to be an oblation for us that he might purifie us to be a peculiar people to himself according to this of Paul y Tit. 2. 14 Christ gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie unto himself
duty or fall through frailty and infirmity u Hos 14. 4. God in mercy will heal our backslidings and will accept of our imperfect performances because we have relation un to Christ by Faith Now then if we will strictly examine the actions of our lives by those former directions we shall easily find whether our works and services to God have been such as he requireth and performed according to his will that we may have peace of conscience in them here and eternal comfort by them hereafter If we can find by this inquiry that our works have been the fruits of Faith and that we have done our duty to the best of our power with a faithful heart to the honour of God and not out of pride or vain-glory to get the praise of men as the hypocrites do or to any other by-end then our Faith will shine forth in our works and God will graciously accept them But if the actions of our life have been evill they will follow us for evill when we lye down and when we rise up and whithersoever we go If we sleep or wake they will molest and trouble us they will aggravate our sorrowes in our afflictions and our pains in sicknesse they will imbitter all the comforts of our life and increase the fear and terrour of death for they will come into our remembrance when we ly upon our death-beds to vex and terrifie our very souls and to make us uncapable of any heavenly consolation untill the guilt of sin that cleaveth to them be taken away by Faith in the blood of Christ Also u Rev. 14. 13 our evill works will follow us unto judgement to accuse us before the great and dreadful Judge x Rev. 20. 13 and then God will judge us according to them if they be found wicked and sinful we cannot but expect the dreadful sentence of condemnation to be pronounced against us Also after judgement they will increase our torments in hell if we do not prevent it in time by our true repentance while we live here in this life Lastly Faith will fit and prepare us for a blessed and a comfortable death for by it we shall steer the whole course of our lives to the honour of y Col. 1. 10. God it will make us fruitfull in every good work that they may be rightly done both for the matter and for the manner and also to the right end as God hath appointed them we cannot then but live vertuously and piously in the true fear of God and he will reward us of his free bounty and goodnesse though not of merit God will remember our works if they are done in sincerity and in truth to comfort us in the sadnesse of our hearts to ease us in the extremity of pain and sicknesse and to give us a peaceable and a quiet conscience in the assurance of the pardon of our sins and of his grace and favour before the hour of our dissolution shall come upon us Such good works will adorn our profession and make our lives comfortable to us and our conversation sutable to our profession and they will follow us for our good whithersoever we go for there is no guilt of sin that cleaves to them because Christ hath taken it a way whereof we are fully perswaded by Faith z Neh. 13. 14. If we can with good Nehemiah put God in remembrance of our good deeds how will it strengthen our hope and trust in God for his protection in all dangers for his help and succour in all our distresses and for his assistance when we undertake any speciall businesse what sweet consolation will it be to us when we are upon our death-beds if with a clear conscience we can put God in minde a Isa 38. 3. as King Hezekiah did that we have walked before him in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which was good in his sight If we thus live and thus dye we may then say with Paul b Rom. 14 8. Whether we live we live unto the Lord and whether we dye we dye unto the Lord whether we live therefore or dye we are the Lords c Rev. 14. 13. John heard a voice from heaven saying unto him Blessed are the dead which dye in the Lord from henceforth yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their works do follow them We may confidently believe that their condition is most blessed because it is the voice of the spirit of truth that doth affirm it We have also great encouragement to be fruitfull in good works because they will go with us even to the Tribunall seat of God for Christ hath fastned them to our souls that God may then look upon them and remember them for the increase of our joy and happinesse hereafter If we do now ruminate well upon all these several excellent benefits and comforts that come by a true and lively faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ we may draw sweet and heavenly Meditations from thence for the comfort of our souls against the power of the devill the rigour of the Law the dominion of sin the fear of death and against eternal condemnation For we shall finde that hereby we are ingrafted into Christ who hath redeemed us from all iniquity and from whatsoever our sins have made us lyable unto and hath cleansed us from all the pollutions and defilements of sin he hath made us the adopted sons of God and hath given us all the priviledges that do belong unto Sons Also we shall finde that by Christ we are invested into the Covenant of grace and have right to all the gracious promises of God which will sweetly refresh our souls in all fears and doubtings in all difficulties and dangers in all extremities and distresses if we can apply them to our souls by Faith and rest upon them with stedfast hope Wherefore let this be the Meditation of our hearts and the desire of our souls to have a near communion with Christ that we may say with the Spouse d Cant. 2. 16 My beloved is mine and I am his or to say thus with Paul e Gal. 2. 20. I am crucified with Christ Neverthelesse I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the Faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me This particular application of Christ to our selves will draw from him the richest Jewels that are in his Treasury the richest robe and the best garments that are in his Wardrope and his very heart-blood for our redemption If we look a little lower and fix our Meditations upon the holy Ordinances of God we shall finde that which will sweetly comfort and delight our hearts if we have Faith to understand and believe what the holy Ghost saith to us in them for our instruction and consolation It was