Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	adoption_n	cry_v	father_n	9,732	5	5.0154	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A33971	Par nobile two treatises, the one concerning the excellent woman, evincing a person fearing the Lord to be the most excellent person, discoursed more privately upon occasion of the death of the Right Honourable the Lady Frances Hobart late of Norwich, from Pro. 31, 29, 30, 31 : the other discovering a fountain of comfort and satisfaction to persons walking with God, yet living and dying without sensible consolations , discovered from Psal. 17, 15 at the funerals of the Right Honourable the Lady Katherine Courten, preached at Blicklin in the county of Norfolk, March 27, 1652 : with the narratives of the holy lives and deaths of those two noble sisters / by J.C.	Collinges, John, 1623-1690.; Collinges, John, 1623-1690. Excellent woman.; Collinges, John, 1623-1690. Light in darkness.	1669 (1669)	Wing C5329; ESTC R26441	164,919	320

he foreknew such a day he believed it he hoped for it and rejoyced So Hearing in Scripture often indeed most ordinarily signifieth much more than bare hearing viz. hearkening attentive hearing believing obeying So for words signifying Passion Thus the wrath and anger of God in Scripture when it is threatned doth not only signifie Gods just will to punish but also his acts of vindicative justice I will bear the indignation of the Lord saith the Prophet because I have sinned against him That is I will bear those punishments which the wrath of the Lord hath brought upon me So here The fear of the Lord doth not only signifie an inward awe and dread of God caused by the Spirit of God in the hearts of creatures upon the apprehension of Gods Majesty Greatness Power Glory Goodness or other Attributes but it also importeth all those external acts all that outward deportment and behaviour which naturally flow or which according to the divine rule should flow from that principle So that the woman fearing Jehovah is not only she who in the contemplation of the Majesty Power Greatness Glory Justice and Goodness of God reverenceth and dreadeth him carrying in her heart a continual awe of the great God of Heaven and Earth which makes her heart and thoughts stoop and bow at the meditation or hearing of him in consideration of that infinite Majesty Glory Greatness and Power which naturally require that homage from every reasonable nature but also in the whole of her conversation in all her actions both before and towards God and men in obedience to that principle of Religion Fear exerciseth her self in all things to keep a good conscience void of offence not daring to do any thing which may provoke this God to displeasure whom she thus dreadeth and being exactly careful to do all things which and as he commandeth This is the woman fearing Jehovah so far as we have yet discovered her But this is not all which this term importeth Once more 3. It is very ordinary as in other Writings so in holy Writ by a figure called Synechdoche to express a part of a thing for the whole Look as the Philosopher saith of moral virtues Virtutes sunt concatenatae the Virtue like beads are all strung in a chain and none can properly be denominated virtuous who in some degree or other hath not all habits of virtue So I may say in matters of grace The graces of Gods Spirit are in a chain too Thou hast ravished my heart my Sister my Spouse thou hast ravished my heart with one of the chains about thy neck Cant. 4. 9. A man cannot have one but he must have all of them nor from a single habit can any be denominated a gracious person in regard of this concatenation of grace It is ordinary in Scripture to find a gracious person expressed Synechdochically under the notion of one singular special habit of grace especially some one more principal operative habit Now of all habits there are none more operative than those of Fear and Love None that take more hold on the souls or whose influence upon it is more evident Hence in Scripture it is very ordinary to find an holy gracious person expressed under the notion of one fearing God or one that loveth God Divines have observed that the former is more common to the Old Testament which gives account to the Church of God under its Paedagogical estate when the dispensation of the Covenant of Grace was more terrible and the latter to the New Testament where it is more sweet Thus the grace and godly conversation of Obadiah 1 King 18. 5. of Job Job 1. 8. of the whole body of severer professors Mal. 3. 16. is expressed and so very frequently and in the New Testament where the dispensation is more sweet and gentle it is more ordinary to express the same things under the notion of believing and loving 1 John 4. 21. He that loveth God John 21. 15. Simon Son of Jonas James 2. 5. lovest thou me Jam. 1. 12. To them that love him 2 Tim. 4. 8. Those that love his appearance So Rom. 8. 28. and in many other places But yet though as the Apostle speaketh we be come now to Mount Sion and we have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but the spirit of Adoption teaching us to cry Abba Father And as the Apostle saith Perfect love casteth out fear Yet those texts must not be understood of an awfull reverential fear and dread of God such as even the holy Angels have Nor yet of that filial fear of God which every child of God hath and must carry with him even to the gates of Heaven but only of servile slavish fear for even under the New Testament we shall find the servants of God expressed under this Notion A godly man in Thesi is thus described One that feareth God and worketh Act. 10. 35. Act. 10. 22. Righteousness So also Act. 13. 26. Cornelius in particular is thus described A man that feareth God and we shall find that the fear of God is so eminently necessary to the constitution of a godly man that any wickedness by warrant of Scripture may be presumed of those that want it Abraham thus excused himself to Abimelech for his not trusting his people with his life and the honour of Sarah I said the fear of God was not in this Gen. 20. ●1 place And on the other side Joseph gives this as a sufficient security to his brethren that whatever they feared he would do them no wrong This do and live For I fear God Gen. 42. 18 So that you see it is but a reasonable figurative way to express the whole of inherent grace under the notion of The fear of the Lord and to express the whole course practice and exercise of godliness under this single habit or act as a common head and this I think enough to have spoken for the explication of the subject in the Proposition and to give you the true notion of a woman or a person fearing the Lord or as the Hebrew phrase in the Text is The fear of the Lord. It is in short An eminently gracious godly woman Or if you will you may take it more largely thus A woman or a person who being possessed of all the graces of the holy Spirit of God communicated in regeneration and being grown up to some degree of perfection in those spiritual habits eminently lives in a diligent caution and taking heed of whatsoever is contrary to the holy will of God and a diligent and exact performance of all those duties of an holy life and conversation which those sacred principles command and produce in obedience to the whole revealed will of God This is the woman of whom this text speaketh The Woman the fear of Jehovah Let me now come to the second thing to inquire what is said of this person That which in short is said of

There is a bundle of Principles some of which have grown too fast too in these evil times which are calculated for the very Meridian of Atheism and devised as if it had been on purpose to banish all dread of God out of mens hearts That things are not ordered by Providence but come in a meer series and succession of necessary natural causes That there are no spirits no such things as indications of divine wrath That there is no Judgement to be made from Providences If we should see the Earth open and swallow up Corah Dathan and Abiram yet there is nothing to be concluded but these may be as honest men as those that do not go down quick into the pit These and such like Principles are Doctrines devised on purpose to make men faces of Brass that they might not blush and necks of Iron that they might not bow at any divine rebukes but might out-face God to the utmost until he tear them in pieces and there be none to deliver 2. Secondly Take heed of customary sinning against God Frequency in sin taketh away the sense of it and a custom of daring God makes men to forget all kind of fear and dread of the Divine Majesty Sin naturally hardens the heart and takes away all natural modesty 4. Fourthly Nothing so contributes to fear as faith Both faith of assent and faith of adherence Faith of assent is that habit by which we give assent to the Proposition of the word Faith of Reliance is a gracious habit by which we rest upon the person of the Mediatour Either of these hath an influence upon us to beget this fear and dread of God in our souls The one as it perswades us of the truth of what the Scripture reveals concerning the Glory and Majesty of God concerning his Purity and Holiness concerning his Justice and Severity all which represent God unto us as the true and proper object of our fear The other as it uniteth us to Christ and endeareth him to our so●ls and so layeth us under a sacred awe of sinning against him as we naturally fear to offend any person whom we dearly and intirely love and honour It is true the Apostle saith Rom. 8. We have not received the spirit for bondage again to fear And again Perfect love casteth out fear But those texts must be understood not of a filial reverential fear but of a slavish servile fear our daily experience teacheth us that the more intirely we love any person the more we fear to offend and grieve them and to do any thing which we think they will take ill at our hands Faith therefore as it is the root of hope and love so it is the kindest root of filial and ingenuous fear 5. Lastly Beg this Grace of God It is a plant of our heavenly Fathers it is a part of Gods Covenant I will put my fear into their heart that they shall never depart from me O beg of God that he would bestow his fear upon you The fear of God is prima gratia saith Bernard torius Religionis exordium radix est custos omnium bonorum i. e. The fear of the Lord is the first grace the very beginning of all Religion the root and the keeper of all good things therefore pray that above all things God would bestow this grace upon your souls But I shall add no more to the first branch of the Exhortation Let me in the next place speak to you in whom God hath created this fear of his great and glorious Name Two things this Doctrine calleth to you for 1. To grow in this excellent habit 2. To live like excellent persons 1. Labour to grow in this excellent habit There is a fear of God in which the more perfect a Christian is the more he decreaseth in it This is that servile and slavish fear which I mentioned dreading God as a Judge an Enemy one that can cast both body and soul into Hell fire The more a soul grows up into communion with God and into an assurance of union with him the more this fear dieth and weareth out of his soul It is a dread of God which attendeth the spirit of bondage and much possesseth the soul in the moment of its conversion and wears off as the soul comes to receive the spirit of Adoption touching it to cry Abba Father and groweth mo●● perfect in Love But there is another fear which as the soul groweth more perfect in love and in the exercise of grace the more this groweth up and increaseth in the soul this is that fearing of the Lord and his goodness of which the Scripture speaks Such a fear as the tender wife fears her husband with and the dutiful child its Parent who he knows int●rely loves him he feareth not his Fathers rod but he fears his frown he fears the change of his countenance towards him This is that habit of fear in which I would have you to grow 2. And as in this habit so in the performance of all acts and exercises by which you may testifiethis your reverencing of the great God of Heaven and Earth The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom saith Solomon it is both the beginning and the perfection of it The fear of the Lord is a grace necessary at all times especially in evil times Cyril saith that the soul that is full of the fear of the Lord velut n●uro obsepta fortis est is strong as a City guarded with a wall and in a manner invincible 2. This Doctrine calleth to you to live like excellent persons I hinted the reason of this before every one should live ratably to his honour and dignity Persons fearing God are the most excellent persons they should therefore live like the excellent of the Earth distinguishing themselves from others by their lives as God hath distinguished them by his favour But I have hinted this before and therefore shall not here inlarge upon that discourse I have but one word more to add That is to the men of the world in general To them I shall speak from the advantage of what you have heard for three things 1. To undervalue other excellencies in comparison with this Learn to speak after Solomon Favour is deceitful Beauty is vain Riches commend not a soul to God they profit not in the day of wrath Why should you set your eyes upon things that are not and admire things that have nothing of worth in them proportioned to your affection to them admiration of them pursuit after them Knowledge is a fine thing by it a man differs from a beast Wisdom and Moral Vertues are excellent things by these things men out-shine men and excel each other as light excelleth darkness But what are all these to the fear of the Lord O then let these things ride but in the second Chariot let the fear of God in the throne of your estimation be greater than they are Remember nothing so much

with her Ladiship and perceiving the stone upon which she stumbled indeavoured her assistance partly remembring her 1. Of what Solomon saith That none can judge of love or hate by all that is before him Eccles 9. 1. For it may fall out alike to him that is spiritually wise and to him that is spiritually a fool 2. Partly by minding her of what the Apostle tells us That God chasteneth whom he Heb. 12. 6. loveth and scourgeth every one whom he receiveth 3. Partly arguing thus with her If afflictions be tokens of divine wrath then health and prosperity are signs of divine love which is evidently salfe 4. Par●ly by remembring her of the many examples of Gods children in Scripture to whom God had wrung out bitter waters in a full cup who yet at that time when they were so afflicted were undoubtedly beloved of God and exceeding precious in his eyes Such were Joseph David Job Daniel and many others recorded in Scripture With these and such like Arguments I had satisfied her sanctified reason and judgement and thought I should have heard no more of this temptation But soon after it was inforced Two things she had to say 1. The greatness of her affliction spake more than a chastisement with a rod she was scourged with Scorpions 2. The Lords multiplying afflictions and repeating sad Providences to her seemed to argue that he had a quarrel against her Why else should he return upon her body when he had served an execution upon all she had besides To this I replied 1. That the afflictions of Gods people are not called cha●●isements because they are l●ght or little but because they come from the hand of a gracious Father not as legal demands of satisfaction to divine Justice offended because they flow from a principle of love not of wrath and are designed to a gracious end 2. That for the multitude of them Job had as many yet was a person singularly beloved of God and one of whom God gave testimony that there was not one like him in all the East 3. That as the afflictions of Job were of divers hands and exceeding heavy so the succession of them was much like to hers God first took away his children then his estate and last of all let loose Satan upon his person and gave him a liberty to tempt him With these and such like considerations I endeavoured to arm her against this fiery dart at last it pleased him who was therefore tempted that he might be able to succour those that were tempted by his mighty power to lift her over this stone of stumbling and she became fully satisfied that she could neither from the greatness nor multitude of her trials conclude any thing against the love of God to her 2. Tempt If during her afflictions she did not also want the inward consolations of the holy Spirit but alas saith she I have no inward assurance of Gods love no sensible consolations c. Perceiving that her adversary had betaken himself to a new battery I endeavoured to direct her in the use of the Armour of God for the rep●lling of his darts thrown from hence by offering to her consideration 1. That even Gods dearest children have often wanted these influences of the Spirit What else made David cry out When wilt thou comfort me and vestor● unto me the joy of thy salvation What else made the Spouse Cant. 3 1. at such a loss for him whom her soul loved What else caused those sad complaints of the Psalmist Psal 77. To this she replied That it was true but surely if she indeed had any interest in God he would not hide himself from one so pressed with affl●ctions as she was God indeed might thus try his children in health and at liberty but would a tender Father so hide himself from so distressed and a dying child This was hard to imagine of God who is Love I replied to this purpose That sensible consolations were not the necessaries of salvation 2. That the love of God to his children is far more seen in giving the soul necessaries than accommodating it with superfluities 3. That God is no where in Scripture tyed by his promise to Saints for the comforts of assurance to be given them in at this or that hour 4. That it is a very great mistake in Christians to judge they want the manifestations of the Spirit because they want these consolatory reflections for the Spirit manifesteth it self in the soul as well by the influences of strengthening and quickening as comforting grace and the witnessings of it That David was become like a bottle in the smoke that his eyes failed for Gods Word saying When wilt thou comfort me Psal 119. 82 83. yet he was at that time Gods child yea the man according to his heart That Job also as might be gathered from several passages in his Book often wanted these sensible manifestations at last I commended a Sermon upon that subject to her after the reading of which her Spirit was more composed and she satisfied that if she could but find the strengthening and quickening influences of divine grace she had no reason for want of sensible consolations to conclude against her self 3 Tempt Satan perceiving this fiery dart well nigh quenched betakes him again to his quiver for another arrow his next device was to perswade her that she wanted also the strengthening grace of God soon after I heard her speaking to this sense 'T is true Sir if I could but find the grace of God strengthening me unto duty against sin I think I ought not to cast away my hope though I do want assurance that I am my Beloveds and my Beloved mine but alas I want this Sir I am now at such a pass I cannot pray c. God hath laid his hand upon my mouth and I cannot open it so much as to say unto him Abba Father Observing the subtilty of this crafty adversary to perswade her from some partial weaknesses and those also much occasioned from bodily distempers that she wholly wanted the workings of the Spirit of Grace I accordingly applied my self to her She tells me it was true she had learned from the Apostle Rom. 8. 11. That if she had the Spirit of Christ she was his which way soever the Spirit as the author of special and distinguishing grace pleased to work in her and she did believe That if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwelt in Rom. 8. 11. 15. Gal. 4. 6. Rom. 8. 26. her he that raised up Christ from the dead should also one day quicken her mortal body by his Spirit dwelling in her But Sir said she this spirit is a spirit of supplication a spirit of adoption teaching to cry Abba Father a spirit helping our infirmities in prayer To which I replied 1. That this was no more than the lot of Gods children Asaph or whoever was the author of that 77 Psalm complained

that he was so troubled he could not speak Psal 77. 4. 2. That the Lord had silenced her Ladiships tongue by his own hand laid upon it in a continual course of afflictions Now though God indeed requires of us the homage of our lips Let me hear thy voice saith Christ to his Spouse Cant. 2. 14. for it is comely And Take unto you words and say saith the Prophet yet he doth not expect this homage where by his providence he dischargeth our tongues of it 3. That there is a praying without the voice which also the Lord heareth Groaning Psa 102. 5. Psal 6. 8. hath a voice Psal 102. 5. and weeping a voice Psal 6. 8. Hezekiah chattered like a Crane yet the Lord heard him In short I besought her Ladiship to consider that the business of prayer was in Scripture expressed by wrestling with God by lifting up the eyes hands heart unto him by pouring out of the soul before him all which might be without the use of words Thus Hannah prayed and was 1 Sam. 1. answered yet spake not a word And I doubted not but her Ladiship thus could and did pray 4. Finally I desired her Ladiship to observe that in Gal. 4. 6. God is said to send his Gal. 4. 6. Spirit into our hearts teaching us to cry Abba Father And Rom. 8. 26. that the Spirit helpeth our infirmities with strong cryes and groans Rom. 8. 26. which could not be uttered Now groans at least are the language of the hearts There is indeed another assistance of the holy Spirit teaching us what to pray for but this floweth not from the Spirit in a way of special grace but as it is the author of spiritual gifts which those might have who had no true interest in God nor had received the Spirit of Christ as a spirit of Sanctification With these and such like considerations I endeavoured to satisfie her Ladiship who yet could hardly be satisfied because she could not pay so full and perfect an homage to God as formerly she had done but her unweariable adversary again reneweth his assault The next news which I heard was this 4 Tempt Sir I have seriously thought upon what you told me and am convinced that though I spake never a word yet if I could keep my heart lifted up to God if I could wrestle with him with my Spirit this were acceptable prayer but whatever you may think I cannot do this When at any time I compose my self to prayer I am tortured with pain that I cannot do it at other times through drewsiness I fall asleep c. By this time her Ladiships tormenting distemperatures prevailed upon her to a great degree so as night and day she had little rest beyond the influence of Anodines stupifying her sense As soon as she had taken these she used to compose her self to secret prayer by and by the operation of the medicine overtook her and inforced sleep when the operation of the Anodine ceased her pains returned and she awoke and then whenever she composed her self to it her pains disturbed her only this she added to her complaint to find out any cause of which for a while posed me That although at first when she composed her self to look up to God she found not much pain yet when she was entered once into her duty she was sure to be racked with the increase of her pain I know that the Devil is but a small friend to our communion with God and would in what he could hinder it I also knew he had a natural power God permitting the exercise of it by which he could disturb bodily humours and divert them to an affected part but not willing to impute it to a praeternatural cause unless quite at loss upon further deliberation I conceived there might be this natural cause of it This good Lady desired when she served the Lord to serve him with her spirit and when she addressed her self to God summoned up all her spirits to do it with the more intention of mind and fervour of spirit Now this I conceived might be a natural cause of the increase of her pain at such a time in regard that her spirits which were wont to serve her body in the supportation of her under her affliction were at this time drawn up to another imployment and the several parts of her body at present left destitute it might give a natural advantage to her infirmity but this was but my particular fancy I told her 1. That short ejaculations were most suitable to her present condition and were heard of God as well as longer prayers for we are not heard for our much speaking 2. I minded her of a speech of Mr. Rutherfords If I were in health I would desire but to cast one long look toward Heaven 3. I told her it was unreasonable for her Ladiship to conclude her self to want the strengthening influences of the holy Spirit because as to this or that act of duty possibly she might not discern such an influence of it It was likely that if her Ladiship examined as to many other duties she might find it and that with an evidence not to be denied 4. I further told her the influence of the spirit was most eminently seen in its workings in strengthening the soul to those exercises of grace which are most proper for our day the present condition and dispensation I meant under which we are and that Faith and Patience were those graces the exercise whereof God more peculiarly requires of his children in a day of affliction and if her Ladiship found the Spirit of God infusing or exerting these habits she need not doubt of the strengthening influences of the Spirit With these things her Lad●ship for a while seemed satisfied but her distempers still increased and during the violence of them put her into a great disorder Satan still followed his game and soon after she tells me 5 Tempt Ah Sir you told me that Faith and Patience are those graces the exercise of which is most proper to my condition and if I found the holy Spirit infusing or strengthening me to the exercise of these habits I might be assured that I was not without the strengthening influences of the Spirit though I did not find such an assistance as I desired to every particular duty But Sir you see I am very impatient restless in my self froward with every body about me I cannot be silent under the hand of God nor keep my self from roaring c. And for Faith S●r you know I have told you I have no assurance sometimes ind●ed I have had what I judged a flash of the light of Gods countenance Once I remember after you had been praying with me and in your prayer mentioned and pleaded many promises it pleased God as I thought to seal some of them to my soul and at some other times that first word which God was pleased to seal unto my

glass and espying a little better air of her countenance a better mixture of colours in her cheeks than in other womens thinks this is warrant enough for her to admire her self stretch out her neck and mince it with her feet all the day after Or if the view of her face doth not in all points please her she thinketh it worth the while to spend both her money and her precious time to mend it with patchings and paintings with trickings and trimmings of her self And doth not the vain gallant think Beauty something who is so bewitched with it that forgetting the noble soul of which he is possessed ordained to higher imployments and the reason which he inheriteth which should guide him to a better purpose thinks his money and his time well spent while both are miserably expended to evidence his dotage upon this painted Sepulchre which it may be within is nothing but darkness filth and rottenness In the mean time let us look wistly upon this thing which we call Beauty is it any more than a perfection of b●dily parts pl●ced in a due proportion each to other and with a due and proportioned mixture of such colours as are proper to flesh and blood As to the former what is there in it more than is to be found in many an Horse or Dog it may be an higher degree As to the latter what is there more than in a Rose or a Lilly Nay what so much as in many a flower of the field or in many a picture As to many of these it may be said as our Saviour said of Solomon compared with the Lilly The most beautiful woman is not for colour like one of them Oh what a lye is beauty then that which in outward appearance is such that a vain woman will sacrifice her soul life estate time to obtain preserve or maintain it that which a vain man will spend all that he is worth in a base service and homage to it when in reality it is no further perfection than may be found in a Dog an Horse or other brute creature yea in a vegetable creature in a pittiful flower or plant above what can be found in any of the Sons and Daughters of men For Favour or Honour it is a thing that carrieth a great shew in the world what high thoughts of themselves doth it raise in them that are ●●gnified with it what a supercilious eye do those that have it but in a superiour degree cast upon those but a step beneath them How much doth it make vain man admired served complemented in the world But in reality what is this gay thing The world is yet at a loss where to find its residence whether in honorante or in honorato in the person that giveth or that receiveth it Certain it is that it is a meer air and in reality just nothing that which is often gained by fordid persons which neither betters the man as to his body mind nor soul only serveth him as to a comfortable subsistence in this life and gains him the wall a cap and a knee and a title Take Riches another thing which in vulgar opinion carries with it a great notion of excellency and imprinteth upon man a considerable difference from his neighbour They make a fair shew and have a great appearance hence whoso hath them swells in the opinion of himself and all he world does him homage But what is silver and gold in reality What is gold more than yellow sand and silver more than white earth considered in it self without the relative value which men put upon it Indeed more by far is to be said for the inward habits of the mind Knowledge Prudence Sobriety and the rest of the moral vertues but neither are they without their vanity as I shall shew you anon I shall add no more to this first thing demonstrating the vanity and emptiness of such other things as inhance the price of one man above another They are a great deal more in appearance than they are in reality 2. The second thing which I instanced in was this They are such as never fill or satisfie the mind of the person possessed of them like dreams of feasts notwithstanding which we are hungry lyes in our right hand like wind in the body which often filleth the stomach and spoileth the appetite to its proper food but never nourisheth the body nor satisfieth the hunger I shall shew 1. That they will not satisfie the wants of the soul 2. That they less satisfie the souls expectation 1. I say first They will not satisfie the souls wants The true wants of the reasonable soul are and can be satisfied with nothing but divine influences It is a noble spirit and none but the Father of spirits can fill its emptiness The soul while it sleeps in the Lethargy of sin while it sojourneth in its estate of estrangement from God like the Prodigal it feedeth Swine and filleth its belly with the husks but after it hath once fixed its resolution to return to its Fathers house nothing less than God can fill it it cries out as once Rachel for children Lord give me Christ or else I die It is plainly impossible that any thing but the favour of God and the sense of that favour or at least good hopes of it through grace should ever satisfie that soul that is once awakened to consider its self as in its natural constitution a spiritual immortal being ordained to an Eternity and as it is in its depraved estate by nature a child of wrath I say again the soul thus reflecting upon it self can be satisfied with nothing less than the sense or firm hopes of Gods favour making over the Righteousness of Christ unto it and accepting it as righteous in and through Christ and whatsoever soul is satisfied without this is either ignorant of its own state and capacity or exceeding vain and careless not regarding its highest concerns As Abraham when God bid him ask what he would and he would give it him replied What canst thou give me whiles I go childless So the awakened soul saith What can God give me whiles I go childless Beauty is a pretty thing but what is it to Eternity Riches are useful things but they will not ransom my soul from the pit of Hell Honour will serve me to take a place or the wall in this world but it will not give me a place at Gods right hand Pleasure is a sweet thing oh but endless torments will be a dreadful issue of it Great Friends and Relations are great blessings but it is Christ alone can stand my friend in the Court of Heaven to speak for me that I may not be sent unto eternal burnings 2. And as nothing but divine influences will satisfie the souls wants so nothing else will satisfie the souls expectation The wise man who had as great experience as any mortal man ever had cries out The eye is not satisfied

God may not fall into He that considereth that Lot and Noah were surprized with Wine and Lot committed incest Abraham fornication or adultery rather what David did in the murther of Vriah and taking of Bathsheba to his bed what Peter did in the hour of temptation and what Job did in his passion will I say be at a great loss to fix upon such a sin concerning which he can say this is a sin which one fearing God cannot be guilty of On the other side there is no sin which a child of God can live in making it his constant course and practice 3. Though the fear of God will constrain a soul to every duty yet even the soul which truly feareth God may either through ignorance or through weakness fail much in the performance of his duty I say the fear of God will constrain a soul to the performance of every duty By duty I mean whatsoever God commandeth to be done your reason teacheth you this Will any of you think that your child or servant feareth you who will not do every thing which you command them The Centurions servants feared him he said to one go and he went to another come and he came to a third do this and he did it Every soul that feareth God doth likewise But yet I say even that soul which truly feareth God may yet fail much in the performance of something of his duty And that 1. Through ignorance or forgetfulness The child that truly feareth his Father may possibly not know or if he hath known he may have forgotten something that his Father would have him do So may a child of God We know in part saith the Apostle and what we do know we through forgetfulness of our duty do not alwaies attend to in the hour when we should do it 2. Secondly Through wantonness we have the best of us wanton hearts which are easily led aside from our duty and while we are in the world we are incompassed with a multitude of temptations we are subject to be flattered from our duty by the Sirens of the world and to be frowned from our duty by the frowns of the world And indeed if the flatteries and frowns of the world have no influence upon us yet our spiritual duty is a thing that agreeth not with flesh and blood it pincheth our flesh and that is very ready to say to us Spare thy self or to suggest to us that God doth not expect from our hands or at least will not strictly insist upon such measures of duty as the holy Scriptures seem to lay out for us but God will give us leave for five hundred to set down fifty Who liveth and doth not fail much in his duty But yet as to this point of duty something will be seen more in a soul truly fearing God than in another soul 1. First The soul fearing the Lord will not live in a constant neglect or omission of any known duty It is one thing to omit a duty at this or that time another thing never to perform it A man or woman fearing the Lord may under the force of some temptation or in a multiplicity of business erre by omitting a morning or evening sacrifice of prayer or praise or in the strict observation of the Lords day But it is not possible that such a one should live in a constant violation of the Lords Sabbath or without God in the world from day to day and from week to week never so much as calling upon his Name the reason is because the fear of the Lord in his heart biasseth him to his duty and though some worldly distraction like a rub to a Boul turneth him out of his road yet when he is over that the biass works again and his soul turneth to his course Again 2. Secondly A soul truly fearing the Lord will hardly omit such duties as God in his precept hath put some special Emphasis upon For as it is in our commands to our children though we may command them many things yet there may be some things that we lay a greater firess upon that our children or servants understand our special will to be that we should be careful in them So it is in the precepts of God there are some which 〈…〉 Lord hath in his Word laid a great Emphasis upon them Our Saviour justifieth this distinction when he telleth the Pharisees They tithed Mint and Annis and Cummin but neglected the greater and weightier things of Gods Law Now here the soul truly fearing God will be very strict and will very rarely omit these And hence possibly it is that souls truly fearing God are generally found very strict in the matter of his worship both as to the thing and as to the manner of the performance God having in his Word more Emphatically and severely declared his will in these things So in matters of Righteousness and Mercy and in all such other things as are the weightier things of Gods Law Thus far I have shewed you how the fear of the Lord in any soul where it is works both 1. In reference to the Word of God it trembles at that 2. In reference to sin 3. In reference to duty I shall proceed yet a little further in this Argument giving you some notes of a person 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fearing the Lord. 4. Fourthly A person fearing Jehovah will have upon his heart a great awe of Divine Judgement or whatsoever looketh like such There is no person truly fearing the Lord but in some measure understandeth what that Lord is and being possessed with a true notion of God it is as natural for the rational creature to fear him in the least roarings of his judgements as for the beasts of the Forrest to tremble when the Lion roareth For as their trembling proceedeth from a natural sense of their subjection to the Lion and the Power he hath over them So doth this persons dread proceed from the apprehensions he hath of the Greatness and Majesty of the Divine Being as also from what he believeth of his severity and justice Besides this There is no soul truly fearing God but hath been at some time or other less or more under the spirit of bondage or some way or other felt the weight of Gods hand and as we say Ictus Piscator sapit and it is natural for a child that hath been once smartly whipped to fear the hand of the Father or the Master a second time So it is for the child of God having once felt the weight of Gods hand he trembleth at every lifting of it up whether it be against himself or others Now it is true the natural fear of a meerly carnal man as well as the reverential fear of the child of God will discover it self upon this occasion and it may offer a foundation of a new question How that reverential fear of God in his judicial dispensations which is and ought to be found in a