will still molest and trouble us and there is no evill in our afflictions and sufferings because the nature of them is changed into Fatherly chastisements which conduce to our good and not to our hurt Also we may draw great consolation from our Adoption if we Meditate upon the right which we have thereby to all the promises of God to all his holy Ordinances to all his blessings to whatsoever is good for us or we stand in need of and also to an heavenly inheritance after this life is ended If we consider the mercies of God to us in Christ they will afford us matter enough of comfortable Meditations for if we search the Scriptures m Zech. 13. 1. we shall find a fountain of mercy that God hath opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for nucleannesse wherein we may wash away all the guilt and stains of our sins if we can apply the streames thereof to our hearts by faith this Fountain is the blood of Christ which the holy Ghost here meaneth n Joh. 4. 10 In Christ we shall finde water of life to refresh our panting souls when we are in any distresse or lye languishing under the sense of our sins o John 6. 48. 58. Christ is also the bread of life whereof if we eat by faith we shall live for ever p Col. 3. 11 Thus Christ is made all in all to us by faith q 1 Cor. 1 13. for he is made unto us wisdome and righteousnesse and sanctification and redemption His wisdome will teach us the way of truth it will guide us in it and it will dispose of all things for our good His Righteousnesse is a garment of salvation to us his Spirit of grace will inrich us with all heavenly endowments to lead an holy and sanctified life and conversation Also r Psal 103 3 4 by his redemption all our iniquities are forgiven all our spirituall diseases are healed our life is redeemed from destruction and we are crowned with loving kindnesse and tender mercies Let us consider also for our further comfort in our Meditations on God Å¿ Eph. 3. 17 that Christ the eternall son of God doth spiritually dwell in our hearts by faith and he doth not come to lodge with us as a guest or to sojourn there for a time and then to be gone from us but he cometh to abide and to dwell with us for ever he hath taken up his habitation there and our faith will cleave so close to him that he will never depart from us neither will he suffer us to depart from him We read that Ittai the Gittite one of Davids worthies would not leave the King when he fled from his son Absalom but he answered the King in this manner t 2 Sam. 15 21 As the Lord liveth and as my lord the King liveth surely in what place my Lord the King shall be whether in death or life even there also will thy servant be Thus close doth our faith cleave unto Christ for it will not suffer us to leave him neither will he leave us but our faith will be still with Christ both in life and in death O happy is our condition if we have such an Inhabitant in our hearts if Christ hath setled his abode there he wil execute his Priestly Office to make intercession to his heavenly Father for us u 1 Pet. 2. 3 and he wil make us a royall priesthood to offer up ourselves and our prayers unto God and to present unto him our spirituall sacrifices and oblations our thanks and praises for blessings and mercies received and a broken and contrite heart for sins committed which sacrifices God will not refuse Christ will also execute his Propheticall Office in our hearts to teach and instruct us the right way to true holinesse and godlinesse of life and conversation and how to attain unto eternall salvation in the life to come So likewise Christ will rule and reign in our hearts as King by his Spirit of grace to order and govern us in all our wayes and actions to over-rule and subdue all the Spirituall enemies of our salvation to protect and keep us from all perills and dangers to provide for us what is needfull for our good and also to comfort us in all our sorrowes and in the anguish of our souls to keep us out of the power of the devill at the hour of death and u 2 Tim. 4. 8 to give us a crown of righteousnesse which he hath laid up for us at the day of his appearing Here is yet more matter of comfort to be drawn from Christ in our Meditations of him when he doth spiritually dwell in our hearts and that by faith we do injoy his sacred society for he doth cloth us with his own Righteousnesse for our justification and he doth endow us with the graces of his Spirit for our sanctification that through him we may be able to overcome the world the flesh and the devill and so to over-power the corruptions of our nature that our sinful lusts and the evill concupiscence of our flesh shal not have dominion over us x Rom 8. 16 and his spirit will bear witnesse with our spirits that we are the children of God Christ will also put a spirituall light into our understanding to discern the things of God which a naturall man cannot do and to know our own condition from whence we are fallen and how to be recovered he will give us grace upon the sight and sense of our sins to be truly humbled for them to repent and turn to the Lord for he delighteth to dwell with those that are of a broken and a contrite heart according as he speaketh by his Prophet y Isaiah 57 15 Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity whose Name is holy I dwell in the high and lofty place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones Christ will also change the perversenenesse of the will to put it into a frame of conformity to the will of God and he will take off the immoderate affections of our hearts from all earthly things and will raise them up to heavenly contemplations to study holinesse of life to love that which Christ loveth to delight in his Commandments and in his Ordinances and to practise with a willing minde all holy duties which he requireth both to God and to our neighbour in Publick and in private at home in our families and to others upon all occasions Then we shall find heavenly joy and spirituall consolation when we set our hearts to Meditate thus on God in Christ Wherefore the consideration of these great benefits and comforts which we have by Christ should be strong and prevalent motives to us to prepare our hearts to receive him to inlarge our
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
consciences with the guilt of sin which is a burden heavier than we can bear Thus saith the wise man l Prov. 18. 14 A wounded spirit who can bear We can have no true comfort in these or the like afflictions but what cometh from the holy Ghost and no hope of succour or relief in our distresses without him if our spirits are wounded he onely can apply the true Balm of Gilead to cure them This Balm is the blood of Christ which is an universall Remedy to cure all the spiritual diseases of our souls and none but the holy Ghost can apply it to our hearts by Faith Also if the holy Ghost doth not refresh us with the comforts of grace and with the assurance of the love and favour of God we shall be ready to sink under the great weight of our calamities and miseries But we may draw comfort enough from the holy Ghost in what sad condition soever we be for he will sweeten the bitternesse of all our sufferings with true peace of conscience and tranquility of minde in the assurance of the pardon of our sins he will sanctifie all our afflictions and sorrowes with saving grace that they shall be for our good and will witnesse to our spirits that we are in grace and favour with God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour Also he will give us strength and courage to suffer any thing for Christ and for righteousnesse sake and likewise heavenly wisedome rightly to use every part of the whole armour of God to defend our selves from all our spirituall enemies and to beat back or quench all the fiery darts of the divell that his temptations and evill suggestions may not wound our souls to the death Lastly he will perfect all with the gift of perseverance so that we shall be able to stand fast in the day of tryall and we shall have assured hope of conquest and victory in all our conflicts and combates here and to be crowned with immortall glory hereafter Now let this be the desire of our souls and the Meditation of our hearts to draw comfort from the holy Ghost when we are afflicted troubled or any way perplexed with grief of heart sorrow of spirit or anguish of soul which we may do if we know that no outward comforts can support us without God and therefore we do not rest and rely upon them but do seek to the true comforter by earnest and faithfull Prayer in all our necessities which is a sure means to draw comfort from him when we want it Also if we be truly sensible that we do want his gracious assistance to carry us on cheerfully through all the difficulties and dangers that we shal meet with in this world upon our humble supplications to him he will return us a comfortable answer as shall be best for us So likewise if the guilt of our sins doth stick close unto us or if we possesse our former iniquities by a sinfull remembrance of them so that we are truly humbled in the sight and sense of them and that our hearts are touched with a godly sorrow for them the holy Ghost will then come with spirituall consolation to comfort our poor souls with an holy assurance that all our sins are washt away in the blood of Christ by faith Lastly we may draw comfort from this spiritual fountain by our pious and devout Meditations of him for then he will give us a sweet taste of his heavenly graces to comfort us in all conditions of life and he will give us spirituall joy in the midst of all our afflictions also he will unite us unto Christ by Faith and will seal our Redemption to us by his blood whereby we shall enjoy eternal felicity for ever O what sweet Meditations may we draw from this heavenly Comforter in all the sadnesse of our hearts Thus we may Meditate on the holy Ghost as he is the true comforter of our souls we come now to consider of his Divine Operations from whence we may also draw much profitable and comfortable matter for our holy Meditations And for our better understanding herein this eternal spirit of life is set forth in the holy Scriptures by severall resemblances to shew in what manner and how variously he worketh in our hearts that our Meditations may be ordered accordingly First the holy Ghost is resembled to a dove for when Christ was baptized m Mat. 3. 16 he descended in the similitude of a dove and rested upon him which was to shew his spirituall anointing to his Office of Mediatorship and to set forth the true nature of Christ how humble and and meek he was how innocent and harmlesse how loving and how ready and willing he was to do good to all These dove-like qualities were poured upon Christ above measure that we his members might receive the same in some measure from him by the holy Ghost for he will put all the faculties of our souls all the affections of our hearts and all the parts of our bodies into a new frame he will change the corruptions of our nature into an holy temper of proud and haughty minded he will make us lowly and meek of hatefull and malicious he will make us loving and courteous to all he will so season us with sanctifying grace throughout that our evill disposition shall be changed into a gracious condition This spirit of truth will bring us an Olive leafe n Gen. 8. 11 like Noahs dove to let us know that though we be in the midst of troubles dangers or distresses yet we shall be preserved and delivered and though we be troubled disquieted or perplexed in our mindes yet at the last we shall have peace tranquillity spirituall joy and comfort Now by this resemblance of the holy Ghost we may examine our selves what purity and holinesse he hath wrought in us what meeknesse of spirit what patience under the crosse what love to God and to our neighbour and how far we are sanctified in all the affections of our hearts in all the parts of our bodies also how much the corruptions of our nature are weakned in us and how far we are changed from that which is sinful to newness of life if we can finde these Operations of the holy Ghost in us they wil afford us profitable matter for our hearts to meditate upon to the glory of God and for the comfort of our own soules Secondly some of the operations of the holy Ghost are set forth unto us by the resemblance of that o Exod. 13 21 pillar of a cloud which went before the children of Israel by day when they marched out of Egypt to guide them the right way that God would have them go toward the Land of Canaan This pillar did also protect and defend them from their enemies it kept the scorching heat of the Sun from them and it cooled and moistned the earth with sweet and comfortable dewes which was a great refreshing
incline the will or else we cannot receive it All heavenly gifts and spiritual graces come from God which the Father is sometimes said to give according to this of James Å¿ Jam. 1. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights Sometimes also the Sonne is said to give them for thus saith the Apostle t Eph. 4. 8. when he ascended up on high he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men that is he gave not onely places of dignity and of authority to some in his Church but also he gave them all spiritual indowments of grace meet for their several places and functions But these heavenly graces are properly wrought in our hearts by the holy Ghost how and when he pleaseth We must therefore crave his help we must wait his time and attend upon the means until he shall be pleased to work grace in us and we must resolve without delaies or excuses u Heb. 3. 7. to accept of grace even that very day when God doth offer it and not to grieve his good Spirit by refusing the sweet tender of grace or by losing any opportunity wherein God may be glorified by this heavenly work of grace in us Wherefore Ps 8. 4 5. be not thou like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear which will not hearken to the voice of charmers charming never so wisely but when any means of grace is offered or when thou feelest a good motion in thy heart be ready to imbrace it for that is Gods call and then Christ knocketh at the door of thy heart x Rev. 3. 20. as he did at the door of the Laodiceans if thou dost presently open unto him he will come in to thee and will sup with thee and thou shalt sup with him but if thou deferrest it until the morrow thou knowest not whether he will knock again or not O what a bountiful and gratious guest dost thou lose if thou wilt not open thy heart when the Spirit of Christ knocks there either by the preaching of his Word by holy inspirations by his blessings by afflictions or by any other means whatsoever If thou belongest unto him thou wilt know his knock thou wilt know his voice thou wilt make hast and prepare the best rooms in thine affections to give him entertainment and thou wilt clear away all the filth of thy sins by faith and true repentance that he may come into a clean heart that nothing may displease or discontent him for he comes not to lodge with thee a night or two as a stranger or to sojourn with thee a moneth or a year and then to leave thee y Eph. 3. 17. but he will dwell in thy heart by faith z Joh. 14. 23 and will abide with thee for ever by his holy Spirit When he is come he will furnish his rooms with his own furniture he will perfume them with his own merits so that whatsoever issue from thence shall be a sweet savour well pleasing and acceptable to God he will also beautifie and adorn all the faculties of thy soul with spiritual and heavenly graces he wil heal and cure al thy spiritual diseases he will be a Prophet to thee to teach and instruct thee in the wayes of godliness he will be thy High-priest to make intercession for thee and to present thy prayers and oblations unto God his Father also he will be thy King to rule in thy heart with his scepter of righteousness and to subdue all the enemies of thy salvation Christ will feast thee at his own table with bread of life water of life and with heavenly Manna which are precious dainties and spiritual food for thy soul to feed upon and thy heart will rejoice and be glad in him Thou shalt also injoy a Gal. 5. 22 23. the fruits of his Spirit which are love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodnes faith meekness temperance and all that belong unto thee shall partake of the riches of his goodness and of his blessings b Ps 24. 7. Let thy gates therefore stand open that the King of glory may enter in and be thou as ready to receive him with all joy and gladness of heart c Luc. 19. 6. 9. as Zachaeus was to receive Christ when he was in the flesh who brought salvation to his House Be not thou like the spouse in the Canticles d Cant. 5. 2â— who would not rise out of her bed of security to open the door of her heart to her beloved but suffered him to stand knocking and calling until his locks were wet with the drops of the night Now if thou hast any care of thy souls health study and meditate how to observe the times and means of grace and how to improve them to the glory of God and to thine own spiritual gain Canst thou observe the times and seasons of the year for the fruits of the earth and hast thou no care to take the opportunities that God gives thee for grace learn of the marriner who will hoyse up sail when the wind serves for him and when God offers thee grace do thou raise up thy heart and affections to receive it If thou refusest his gracious goodness to thee herein it is no wonder if thou art barren of true vertue and piety if thy soul be without spiritual comfort in thy sorrows and afflictions and it is no marvel if thou art fruitless in all good works If thou wilt make the true gain of thy time thou must diligently attend to the holy ordinances of God thou must thankfully receive his mercies and blessings thou must bear the Cross of Christ with patience and with meekness submitting thy self with all humbleness of spirit to the will and pleasure of God Also thou must repent of holy duties omitted as well as of sins committed and howsoever God shall deal with thee at that very time make an holy use of it for the glory of God and for the comfort of thy soul If the devil hath deluded thee with false pretences or hath lulled thee asleep in his bed of security so that thou hast slighted the means of grace and hast vainly spent thy precious time without any spiritual or heavenly gains thou must labour with all Christian diligence to recover it again which thou maist do by the gracious help and assistance of the holy Ghost herein for thou hast no ability in thy self to get out of these dangerous snares of the devil or to redeem the time that thou hast lost To conclude if thou dost desire to make the true gain of the time of grace thou must strive to remove out of thy heart whatsoever doth displease or dishonour God and whatsoever may hinder the operations of the holy Ghost and the current of grace to thy heart For if thy mind is carried after the love of the world after vain pleasures or sinful delights and if thou dost
pain or trouble But wilt thou give so much way to thy passions as to dishonour God thereby is thy minde so much set upon vain pleasures as if no sorrow could come upon thee Did Christ bear his crosse and dost thou think to go free Dost thou not know O fainting soul how to measure thy strength â—f thou dost measure it by the common measure of mature thou wilt find it too weak to bear thee up against those crosses afflictions or temptations which thou shalt meet with in this life but if thou dost measure it by the measure of the sanctuary and by the grace of Christ that is in thee thou wilt then perceive what strength thou hast to bear the crosse for thy strength lyeth not in the wealth or in the arm of flesh but in thy faith in Christ and in the graces of his Spirit If thou hast but a little faith and a small measure of grace thou hast then but little strength and courage to encounter with the assaults of the devill with the troubles and vexations of this world and with the discomforts of sicknesse but art easily surprised with every temptation and sinfull lust and as easily overwhelmed when the waves ef affliction come upon thee Wherefore when thou art upon thy bed of sicknesse or in any distresse and misery complain not of thy strength of body if that be weak and faileth but look to the strength of grace that is in thee o 2 Pet. 3. 18. for grace may grow and increase though the strength of thy body doth decay or is spent and grace will uphold thee from sinking even in the bitter pangs of death and it will make thee to hold on constant to the end in all thy sufferings Consider in the next place that Christ hath appointed his crosse to be the badge of every true Christian which he must wear for the honour of his Lord and Master Thus saith Christ p Mat. 16 24. If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his crosse and follow me Also Paul saith q Acts 14. 22. That through much tribulation we must enter into the Kingdom of God Christ giveth this badge to some for the tryal and the manifestation of his graces in them that he may be glorified thereby to others for their humiliation and to bring them to repentance for their sinnes he doth exercise others under the crosse to conform them unto himself in his sufferings and to make them bear it contentedly Also he gives this badge to some to keep them from security and to prevent their backslidings from God for by these tryals and afflictions he doth alwayes intend the good of his servants and not their hurt Where this mark is truly imprinted there will grace appear and the fruits of it will break forth in their conformity to the will of God in their faith and patience under afflictions and in their rejoycing in the crosse of Christ This was the Apostles joy r Acts 5. 41 that they were counted worthy to suffer shame and rebuke for the Name of Christ And this was Pauls glory Å¿ Gal. 6. 1 for saith he God forbid that I should glory save in the crosse of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world For such is the tender and indulgent care of Christ toward those that wear his livery that though they are put into the fining pot of affliction there to have their drosse and corruptions purged and refined yet he will not suffer them to receive any detriment thereby but he will bring them forth purer gold than they were before Wherefore learn to carry the crosse of Christ in thy heart expect it daily and resolve to bear it willingly when God shall be pleased to lay it upon thee and then thou wilt not feel it so heavie as it is in its own nature also imprint the remembrance of his passion in thy minde thereby to mortifie all thy worldly lusts and sinfull desires This cognizance will tell thee what inheritance thou hast in Christ if thou dost duly examine thy heart when thou art under the crosse how thou hast glorified God by thy faith and patience how much thou art refined from thy corruptions how much nearer thou art brought unto Christ in thine affections to love him to confide in him to delight in the sweet fruition of him and to meditate on his goodnesse and love to thee If thou canst finde such fruits of thy crosse and that in the midst of thy sorrowes thou canst say with holy Job t Job 13. 1â— Though he slay me yet will I trust in him then be confident that Christ hath set his own stamp upon thy heart he will know thee for his own he will hide thee under the shadow of his wings he will provide for thee in all thy necessities and upon all occasions and all the powers of darknesse shall not be able to raise his stamp or the impression of it out of thy heart or to separate thee from Christ Mark further and consider it well that there were some that followed Christ all that dolorous way to Mount Calvary who could not refrain from teares and u Luk. 23. 27 28. sorrowfull sobs but bewailed him and lamented when they saw his dolefull and sad condition and they were chiefly women to whom Jesus turning said Daughters of Jerusalem weep not for me but weep for your selves and for your children Whereby he did graciously instruct them how to fix their mourning upon the right object that their teares may proceed from a principle of grace not to mourn for him because he did suffer no more than what was appointed by his heavenly Father and he did bear it in obedience to his will also he did undertake no more than he was well able to undergoe and no more could be laid upon him than was decreed in his Fathers counsell for the redemption of man But Christ would have them weep and mourn for their sins which brought the wrath of God upon themselves and upon their children for there were grievous judgements which would shortly come upon them Also Christ did intimate to them that their sins and the sins of their children were a great part of the cause why he suffered such contumelies and so much cruelty both by the Jews and by the Gentiles that they might be freed from the guilt and from the punishment of them Consider now that Christ doth give them two speciall reasons why they should weep and mourn for themselves and for their children First because of the great desolation and finall destruction that was shortly after to come upon that famous and renowned City and upon the whole nation of the Jews wherein they and their children should suffer very great calamities therefore Christ did tell them u Lu. 23. 29 That the dayes were coming in which they should say blessed are the barren
blasphemous words and cruell torments upon the crosse even to the pouring out of his very heart blood to purge and cleanse us from the guilt and from the filth of all our sins and that he suffered whatsoever the malice and power of the devill could inflict upon him and also that for the time his Divine nature did refuse to minister comfort to his humanity in these his bitter torments what thankfulnesse then do we ow to our dear Saviour for his wonderfull love to us What can be too dear for him that did account nothing too dear for us what duty what reverence and fear do we ow unto him who hath paid so great a price for our redemption Our best expressions of love and duty are no way answerable to that which Christ hath deserved and which we are Sound to perform unto him yet if they come from a willing minde and from a sincere heart Christ our Saviour will accept them and out of his fulnesse will supply what is wanting in us and God will be well pleased with it for his sake Here is much matter of heavenly comfort for us if our hearts can devoutly Meditate upon it and receive it Our life may be full of misery and our hearts full of sadnesse and perplexity our faith may be so weak that we can have no apprehension of the love and favour of God and our spirits may be so cast down that we cannot raise them up towards heaven we may be pressed with troubles crosses and sorrowes beyond our strength and the light of Gods countenance may be so eclipsed that we can see no token of his grace and favour to sweeten the bitternesse of our sufferings and to support us under the pressure of them but we are ready to faint and to cast off all hope of relief and comfort b Psal 42. 11. but for all this we need not fear our souls need not be disquieted within us for if we wait on God he will be our present help he will be our God and he will not forsake us The brightnesse of his countenance may be darkened for a few hours as it was with the Sun at this very same time c Mal. 4. 2. but the Sun of righteousnesse will again appear to us with healing in his wings then we shal see the salvation of the Lord if we can look up with the eye of faith to our sweet Saviour who was brought to a lower degree of spirituall desertion in the apprehension of his humane nature thn we can be and yet he found a return of the gracious aspect of his Fathers countenance toward him whereby he hath sanctified and sweetned whatsoever can betide us to sink our spirits or to shake our faith and confidence in God If our ear is spiritually bored to hear those dolefull and lamentable words which our Saviour uttered upon the crosse when he was ready to yeild up his Spirit to God his Father and yet apply them to our selves by faith we may then draw vertue and power from them to strengthen our faith and to support our hope in the assurance of his love that he will not bring us to so low a degree of spiritual desertion because our weaknesse will not bear so great a tryall but will make us to hold out to the end by the Almighty power of his eternall Spirit Now learn O my sorrowful soul so to imprint the crucifying of thy dear Saviour in thy heart by faith that thou maist draw grace and vertue from thence to crucifie all thy corruptions and the evill concupiscence of thy flesh that thine affections may not be carried after worldly vanities that thine eyes may not delight to gaze upon obscene spectacles that thine eares may be dull to unsavory speeches but swift to hear words that tend to edification and that thy tongue may have no motion to utter any thing that is dishonourable to God or hurtfull to thy neighbour d Gal. 6. 14. Thus by the power of Christ crucified the world shall be crucified to thee and thou unto the world if thou dost truly believe that he was crucified for thee because it will dull the edge of thine affections to all earthly things it will work in thee an hatred and detestation of all sinfull pleasures and thou wilt dayly labour and e Col. 3. 9. Eph. 4. 22. strive to mortifie the old man of sin that hath had his habitation in thy bosome above these threescore years In thy first creation thou wert a lovely creature beloved of thy God without spot or blemish in soul or in body thou wert beautified and adorned with all graces and holy vertues reverenced and obeyed of all other creatures here upon earth and the celestiall orbs did cast no evill aspects upon thee but now thou art deformed with sin thou art polluted in all the faculties of thy soul and in all the parts of thy body for thou art spiritually blinde naked and void of all goodnesse thou art deaf and dumb to heavenly things thou art lame and impotent and canst not walk in the paths of righteousnesse also thou art so bent and bowed to the earth that thou canst not raise up thy heart toward heaven and so full of spirituall diseases and infirmities that there is no sound part in thee But this is thy comfort O my soul that the blood of thy crucified Redeemer which was spilt upon the crosse will take away all thy deformities of sin and will heal all thy spiritual diseases and his righteousnesse will make thee lovely in the sight of God If this be our condition by nature if we are thus deformed with the guilt of sin that cleaveth to our souls by our fall in Adam and if we have no meanes to regain our first happinesse in Adams first innocency but by Christ and to be cleansed from all our sins but by his blood then our chief care must be how to injoy Christ and how to have this great benefit by his blood If we are ingrafted into him by faith we shall injoy him in his whole nature as he is God and Man we shall partake with him in all his excellencies and graces he will work a new creation in us by his Spirit and a thorough change in all the faculties of our souls and in all the affections of our hearts that no sin shall cleave to our souls for our condemnation for he will also nail the the guilt of all our sins to his crosse upon which he shed his most precious blood to make an attonement for them all He will also take away the stains and filth of our sins by his sanctifying grace and holy Spirit and will put upon us the robe of his own righteousnesse which will cover all our deformities and will make us amiable and lovely in the sight of God By the merit of Christs blood our sins shall never be laid to our charge by the power of his death we are made able
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
be so well disposed for such an heavenly duty or else the divell will be ready to suggest unto him evill thoughts or to bring into his remembrance some of his former sins to disquiet the peace of his conscience to trouble the tranquillity of his minde and so to interrupt his thoughts that his meditations may not be for the honour of God nor yet fruitfull and profitable to himself and therefore he must crave the assistance of the Spirit of GOD by Prayer Rules of direction for our holy Meditations VVHerefore now that our Meditations may be holy and acceptable to God and that we may finde sweetnesse and comfort in them we must carefully observe these few Directions following The first is to fix our meditations upon holy things and not upon that which is vain and unprofitable for they do most conduce to the glory of God and to the comfort of our soules This is Pauls counsell a Col. 3. 1 2 to set our affections on things above not on things on the earth whereby we shall give a clear evidence that we are risen with Christ from the death of sin to the life of grace As our affections are carried so are our meditations if they are carried to worldly vanities our mindes will be so incumbered that we cannot freely meditate upon those things that concern the Kingdom of heaven neither will our meditations be for Gods glory or for our eternall good But if our affections are carried toward heavenly things then our meditations will be spirituall and heavenly and our actions will be tending to the honour of God b 1 Chron. 29. 3. David set his affection to the house of his God and therefore he prepared abundantly of his own proper good of gold and silver which he gave to the building of it Wherefore it concerneth us very much to keep our hearts close unto God that our minds may be raised up to him in our heavenly contemplations and that he may be glorified in all our actions The second direction is that our meditations must be of the heart as well as of the brain otherwise this Duty is not so performed that God will accept it It is the heart which God respecteth in all our services to him without which our best duties are not regarded c Luk. 2. 19 The blessed Virgin kept all the sayings of the shepherds and others concerning Christ and pondered them in her heart Oh how acceptable is that sacrifice which is offered up to God with a pure and perfect heart how effectuall is that Prayer which is presented unto him with a true and faithfull heart how pleasing are those Almes to God that are given to the poor with a willing heart and how comfortable are those meditations which proceed from an upright heart The brain may work and the cogitations of the minde may be set upon holy objects and all to little purpose if the affections of the heart be wanting Thirdly the end of our meditations must crown the work with gracious acceptance and this must be the glory of God We do greatly honour God in our meditations when we ruminate upon his incomprehensible Essence how infinite he is in all his Divine Attributes and how wonderfull in all his works also when we meditate upon his Law and upon his gracious promises to us in Christ if hereby we are brought to reverence and adore his Sacred Majesty to love him for his goodnesse and to yield due obedience unto his commands and if we can rest upon his promises and discern his wisdome and glory by his Works This must be the main end of our meditations and if we do seriously meditate upon the holy things of God to an holy end then God will accept them and we shall be edified by them But if we propound any other end to our selves whether it be for discourse or vain-glory or the like we seek not the honour of God herein but we delude our selves and defraud our souls of that heavenly comfort which otherwise they might have Fourthly our hearts and consciences must be purified and cleansed from dead works by faith and true repentance that an holy zeal may be kindled in our affections and that our souls may feel the comfort of a spirituall warmth by our holy meditations For if there be any guilt of sin that cleaveth fast to our consciences because we have no assurance by repentance that it is washt away in the blood of Christ by faith it will cool the zeal of our affections and stop the current of Gods assisting grace so that our meditations can make no holy impression in our hearts no print of Piety in our lives and conversations neither can they send forth any beams of true consolation to our souls Wherefore if our hearts are not sanctified and seasoned with grace our meditations cannot be to the glory of God nor to our own spirituall good neither can we say as the Psalmist did d Psal 104 34. My meditation of God shall be sweet I will be glad in the Lord. This will move our hearts and affections and will put a spirituall life into our meditations when our hearts are cleansed from the guilt of sin so that we can freely meditate upon the bounty and goodnesse of God in all his dealings with us this we may do if faith goeth along in all our holy meditations Fifthly we must have some spirituall understanding in those things whereon we desire to meditate that the holy Ghost may guide us in our meditations and then we shall glorifie God and comfort our souls thereby otherwise the thoughts of our hearts will wander and go far astray from the matter whereupon they should be fixed and we may easily lose our selves in the dark if the spirit of God doth not give us some spiritual light to guide and direct us therein and we can receive no benefit by this holy service if it be not performed with an understanding heart The more knowledge we have of what we intend to meditate the more will our hearts be enlarged for it and the deeper impressions will our meditations make in our affections and the greater will be the comfort of our souls This was the saying of the Psalmist e Psal 49. 3. The meditation of my heart shall be of understanding Thus saith Paul f 1 Cor. 14 15 I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the understanding also I will sing with thâ— spirit and I wil sing with the understanding also so likewise we must meditate with the spirit and with the understanding also How can we learn the Commandements of God and how can we keep his Law if the Lord doth not give us understanding in them by his Spirit This heavenly wisdome is the gift of God which we must with all care and diligence labour for according to this of Solomon g Prov. 4. 7. Wisdome is the principall thing therefore get Wisdom and with all
thy getting get understanding This is a speciall meanes to come to the true way of holy and devout meditation Sixthly We must dayly practice this religious duty and if we learn to meditate upon our selves what our state and condition is whether it be of nature or of grace it will bring us to the meditation of spirituall things Though it be a very hard matter for a true childe of God to meditate upon heavenly things for his own benefit and comfort yet by use and exercise we may attain unto it and the sweetnesse that we shall find in it will by degrees bring us to delight in this pious duty h Phil. 3. â—0 For by this meanes we shall have our conversation in heaven though we live upon earth and we shall enjoy heaven and heavenly happinesse in some part while we live in this world for if we be frequent in our meditations on the Kingdome of heaven i 2 Cor. 1. 12 the grace of God will make our conversation in this world to be in simplicity and godly sincerity The seventh Direction is to choose such times and such places as are most fitting and most convenienient for this holy duty that we be not interrupted by any occurrence of worldly occasions but that our mindes and our hearts may agree and go together in our meditations The fittest time for this religious service is when God is pleased to give an inclination of will and to move our hearts thereunto by his holy Spirit which time we ought not to let slip nor to lose this opportunity which he tendereth to us because it is the time for grace of his own choosing and the time which he will accept If we take this time and set it apart to imploy our selves in this holy service he will then inlarge our hearts for it he will direct us in it and he will graciously assist us with his Spirit to conceive aright of those things whereon we do intend to meditate As we must be free at that time from all incumberances by our affairs so we must retire to such a place where we may be solitary and private that our hearts may wholly intend our meditations A solitary field is a fitting place to ruminate upon the works of God k Mat. 6. 6. Our closet is most convenient to meditate on the Law of God If we choose such times and places we may freely delight our selves with heavenly and spirituall contemplations Lastly we must prepare our hearts for this pious duty by faithfull prayer that God will be pleased to aid and assist us herein with his blessed Spirit to raise up our affections to enlighten our understandings and to purge and cleanse our hearts from all sinful thoughts worldly cares and from every evill concupisence that we may fully devote our selves to the meditation of heavenly things that this holy service may be performed to the glory af God to the increase of our spirituall knowledge to the strengthening of our faith and confidence in God to carry us on cheerfully through all the troublesome chances and changes that are incident to this life for our holy Meditations will lift up our hearts and affections above all worldly cares and above all the crosses and sorrows that we shall meet with here upon earth Holy Meditation is the prerogative onely of a true Christian AMong many Prerogatives that a true believing Christian hath above all other men this is not the least that he can raise up the Affections of his heart to heavenly contemplations by the power of the Spirit of grace that is in him whereas unregenerate men cannot attain to this high degree of true Christianity by all the meanes that art or nature can afford them for their Meditations reach but to the notions of the brain and are practised onely by the outward man which can yield them no spirituall consolation because they have not the power of grace to move the affections of the heart to heavenly things which only can minister sweetness true consolation to an afflicted soul and to a troubled conscience to give them good hope and assurance of the grace and favour of God and of the pardon and forgivenesse of their sins Carnall men set their mindes and affections upon carnall delights voluptuous men do dayly study how to satisfie their souls with unprofitable pleasures and worldly minded men set their hearts upon covetousness and upon the pomp and vanity of this present world These and the like kinde of men are so pressed down with the burden of sin and they are so encumbered with worldly cares and sinfull delights that they have no power to mount up toward heaven in their affections and no hearts fit for Divine contemplations because they have no interest in Christ and therefore they can have no spirituall light to discern aright of heavenly things But a true believing Christian hath the light of Gods Spirit to give him spiritual understanding he hath strength of grace to withstand all spirituall lets and hinderances and to raise up his affections above all earthly things with the wings of faith he can mount up above all the blocks and impediments that the divell or wicked men can cast in his way to depresse his spirits and to keep down the cogitations of his heart from pious and devout Meditations It cannot be denied but that the dearest of Gods servants cannot sometimes perform this religious Duty as they should because they do often finde the flesh to war against the spirit a Rom. 7. 21 23. as Paul did and that they are so yoked with their unregenerate part that when they would do good either for the glory of God or for the comfort of their own souls evill is present with them which doth disturb the peace of their consciences the quiet of their mindes and the freedome of their spirits and doth also stop the sweet influence of comfort that should come to their souls but especially they are hindered in their Meditations which is a Duty meerly spirituall and cannot be performed but by the spirit yet through Christ they get the victory and they will break through all opposition because b Rom. 7. 22. they delight in the Law of God and in heavenly contemplations after the inward man and their mindes will be set at liberty to serve him c Rom. 7. 25. though with the flesh they do sometimes serve the law of sin If we have given up our names unto Christ and are listed in his roul to fight under his banner we must look for continuall conflicts and combates with our spirituall enemies which dayly seek to ruine our souls by hindering us in our Religious duties but we are sure to have comfort in Christ and power from him to prevail against them and to get the conquest over them all if we can raise up our hearts to contemplate his Omnipotent power his infinite Wisdome and his wonderfull care of us Sometimes
affections with holy desires to imbrace him z Psal 24. 7 and to set open the gates and doores of our souls that this King of glory may come in and dwell with us for ever If we do sincerely from the heart desire such a glorious King and such a bountifull Inhabitant to make his perpetuall abode with us then we must presse hard upon him and importune him earnestly with our frequent and fervent Prayers to abide and dwell with us a Gen. 19 2 3. The two Angels that came to Sodome refused to tarry all night with Lot upon his first intreaty but when he pressed greatly upon them they turned in unto him and entered into his house and he made them a feast and they did eat and then they preserved him from the burning But behold b Revel 3. 20 Christ standeth at the door of our hearts and knocks if we hear his voice and open the door he will come in to us and will sup with us we shall sup with him O the happinesse of that soul that doth hear the voice of Christ when he calls and doth open his heart unto him when he knocks either by the Ministery of his Word by the motions of his Spirit by afflictions troubles crosses or by any other meanes whatsoever But if we will intertain Christ we must have no corrivall with him for God and Mammon Christ and Belial cannot dwell together Thus saith Christ c Luk. 26 13 Ye cannot serve God and Mammon for no man can serve two masters Also thus saith Paul d 2 Cor. 6. 14 15 What communion hath light with darknesse and what concord hath Christ with Belial e Mat. 10 37. If we love father or mother son or daughtor more then Christ we are not worthy of him If the affections of our hearts are carried after the riches preferments and pleasures of this world or after any darling sin then Christ will not dwell there and we lose the comfortable and blessed Presence of the eternall Son of God and the fulnesse of all his excellencies and rich endowments for that which is nothing else but vanity and vexation of spirit Wherefore now we may Meditate comfortably on God through Jesus Christ our Saviour for the terriblenesse of his Majesty is clouded with the vail of his goodnesse the severity of his justice is sweetened with his mercy and tender compassion Christ hath taken our souls out of the hand of Gods justice and hath put them into the hand of his mercy where they shall be kept for true blessednesse to all eternity If his greatnesse doth affright us his goodnesse will allure us if his justice doth drive us from him his mercy and love will draw us to him for by Christ we have a neer relation to God himself either as his servants by grace or as his children by adoption in both which respects our Meditations of him will be exceedingly delightfull to us So likewise if we fix our thoughts upon Christ though his excellencies and dignities are far above the reach of our humane capacity yet by faith we do apprehend him to be our Redeemer and our Advocate now at the right hand of God his Father in the highest heavens and therefore our Meditations of him cannot but ravish our souls with heavenly joy and spirituall consolation in the assurance of our Redemption and of our Atonement with God and also in the hope of our eternall salvation and to be heirs of the kingdome of heaven which he hath purchased for us with his own blood How to Meditate on the Holy Ghost THe Holy Geost is the same spirituall Essence and Being with the Father and with the Son coequall and coeternall with them both but as the Deity is distinguished into three Persons the holy Ghost proceedeth from the Father and from the Son and he is the third Person in the sacred Trinity Christ doth prove that the holy Ghost proceedeth from the Father in these words a Iohn 15 26 But when the comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father he shall testifie of me That he proceedeth from the Son is manifest by this of Paul b Gal. 4. 6 And because ye are sons God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts crying Abba Father John also the beloved Disciple of Christ maketh it plain that the holy Ghost is the third Person in the holy Trinity by these words c 2 Joh 5. 7 There are three that bear record in heaven The Father the Word and the holy Ghost and these three aâ—e One. The Prophet calls him d Isa 11. 2 The spirit of Wisdome and understanding the spirit of counsel and strength the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD e Heb. 9. 14 He is the eternall spirit of God from whom nothing can be hidden according to this of David f Psal 139 7 Whither shall I go from thy Sptrit or whither shall I flee from thy presence Christ calleth him the Spirit of truth g Ioh 14. 16 7. And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive John calls him h Rev. 11. 11 the Spirit of life because by the power of his grace de doth quicken our hearts and revive us when we are dead in our trespasses and sins Paul doth also call him i Rom. 8. 15 16 the Spirit of adoption to witnesse to our spirits that we are the children of God If we fix our Meditations on the holy Ghost as he is in his Divine Essence and Being or as he is one of the three Persons in the sacred Trinity we shall be confounded in these deep mysteries of the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity but if we Meditate upon him according to his proper Office as he is a Comforter or according to his severall operations in our hearts we shall then find much comfortable matter for our hearts to Meditate upon which will minister heavenly and spirituall consolation to our poor souls First therefore we must consider that the proper Office of the holy Ghost is to be a comforter to us in all our afflictions and sufferings for we are dayly exposed to many tribulations and calamities either for the profession of the Name of Christ for the triall of our graces or for our correction when we lye in sin without repentance which would easily swallow us up if we had not some true comforter to support and comfort us in them k 1 Pet. 2. 1â— 1 There is also an host of sinfull lusts in us that war against our souls which do dayly assault us with strong temptations and we are round beset with perills dangers and spirituall enemies which continually threaten our downfall and ruine and do seek to hinder our salvation But above all we are sometimes wounded in our
to the people of God in their march through that hot Countrey We are by nature under the spiritual bondage of sin and Satan which is far worse than the Egyptian bondage was to the Israelites and we have no means to be brought out of it but by an almighty power and if God doth deliver us yet we are so ignorant of the way to the heavenly Canaan that we cannot set one step toward it except the holy Ghost doth put a spiritual Light into our understanding to teach and instruct us in the right way to heavenly happinesse And because we shal meet with many spiritual enemies so long as we march thorough the wildernesse of this world the holy Ghost will so protect and defend us that they shall neither hurt our souls by their power nor keep us out of Canaan by their subtilty or malice He will guide and direct us into all holy duties he will give us holy desires and true endeavours to do the will of God and to walk humbly before him in this present world Also the holy Ghost doth protect us from the heat of Gods wrath by working faith in us to lay hold upon the merit of Christs death for the pardon of our sins and by conferring grace for the sanctification of our lives So likewise he doth refresh and comfort our fainting spirits with the sweet dewes of heavenly consolations and he doth mollifie and soften our obdurate and stony hearts with those influences of grace that descend from him that we may p Joel 2. 28 Gal. 5. 22 23. be fruitfull in all good works This holy Spirit doth also quench the fire of sin which otherwise would inflame the whole man with sinful lusts And lastly the holy Ghost doth purge and cleanse the soul from the filth of sin as water washeth away the filth of the body This doth God promise by his Prophet q Zech. 36 25. I will pour clean water upon you and you shall be clean from all your filthinesse and from all your idols will I cleanse you Wherefore we ought seriously to ruminate upon these operations of the holy Ghost for we cannot find the right way to the heavenly Canaan by all that nature or humane learning can afford us we cannot over power our spiritual enemies by our own strength we have no holy desires and no ability in our selves to any thing that is good nothing that is in our power can keep us from the wrath of God and we have nothing that can refresh and and comfort our afflicted spirits But here we shal find that the holy Ghost wil be our guide to this heavenly Country he wil be our Protector against all adversary power and he wil be a true comforter to us in all our sorrowes and upon all occasions in all conditions of life He will bring us unto Christ and wil firmly unite us unto him by faith r 1 Cor. 10. 1 2. for as the ancient Fathers were all under the cloud and all passed thorough the sea and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea so we are baptized unto Christ by the holy Ghost that our sins may be washed away in his blood and that we may be sanctified by this spirit of grace to live in true holinesse and righteousnesse all our dayes If we can thus Meditate on the holy Ghost it wil be exceeding profitable and comfortable to our souls Thirdly the holy Ghost is resembled to the pillar of fire that conducted the Israelites by night out of Egypt toward the Land of Canaan Now we must consider that such as are the properties of fire such are some of the operations of the holy Ghost in our hearts Fire is the most pure Element and purifies all other elements it doth naturally mount upward it is bright and shining and giveth light to all dark places It doth also warm and comfort every part of our bodies and it is the most active of all the other elements it purifies the gold and burnes away the drosse Thus it is with the holy Ghost for he is essentially pure in himself and purifies every soul from dead works into which he comes he wil not suffer any unclean lust or evill concupiscence to have dominion where he dwelleth and he wil raise up the cogitations of the minde and the affections of the heart to mount upwards in heavenly contemplations Also whereas by nature Å¿ 1 Cor. 2. 10 11. we cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishnesse unto us neither can we know them because they are spiritually discerned God hath revealed them to us by his Spirit for the holy Ghost wil put a spiritual light into our hearts to discern the deep things of God he wil also inflame our affections with an holy zeal to the glory of God and will make our love fervent to the truth So likewise the holy Ghost wil melt our hard and stony hearts and make them tender and gracious flexible and yielding to every holy duty And whereas our hearts are naturally bound up in unbelief and heavy and sluggish to any thing that is good t Psal 119. 32. the holy Ghost wil so inlarge them that with all cheerfulnesse of spirit and willingnesse of minde we shall run the way of Gods Commandements Wherefore now if we have found any of these operations of the holy Ghost in our hearts we shal be in some measure purified and refined from our sins and pollutions we shall have some of the drosse of our corrupted nature consumed and the heavenly graces of the Spirit of God wil shine forth in the integrity of our lives and conversations Also we shall have some spiritual light to guide our darkned understandings in the knowledge of God and of his wayes some fervency in our Prayers some love to the truth and some holy zeal to the true worship and service of God we shal delight in his Law we shal study to do good works and it will be the desire of our hearts and the comfort of our souls to Meditate day and night in the Commandements of God If these Operations of the holy Ghost which are resembled to these two pillars cannot easily work upon us if these cannot raise up our affections to heavenly contemplations and to be forward and ready to every good duty in the service of God then surely we are exceeding dull and stupid and we have great need to pray earnestly that the holy Ghost will be pleased to come with his unresistible power and break our hard stony hearts and molifie this extreme obduracy that is in them with his suppling grace that so we may more easily take the impression of his sanctifying grace in us Consider further that these two pillars which did lead the Israelites out of Egypt were a visible sign of the presence of God with them to conduct them in the way to Canaan to protect and defend them from all their
enemies and to deliver them out of all dangers And they were in the form of pillars to be a clear evidence to them that the Lord would not leave them nor forsake them but would constantly abide with them until he had brought them past all danger and had delivered them out of all their troubles and until he had given them rest from all their enemies u Act. 12. Thus the Angel of the Lord delivered Peter out of prison and would not leave him untill he had brought him past the first and second ward and through the iron gate into the city where he might secure himself from Herod who sought his life These pillars were also a witnesse to them of the Covenant and Promise which God made to their Fathers that he would give them the land of Canaan for their inheritance and that the people should alwayes remember to the glory of God their miraculous deliverance out of Egypt and the wonderfull goodnesse of God to them all the time they travelled through the vast wildernesse for they had still a pillar to conduct them and God would have a memoriall kept of all his wonderfull works Thus w Josh 24 the Lord commanded Joshua to take twelve stones out of Jordan and to leave them in the place where they should lodge that night to be a perpetuall memoriall that the waters of Jerdan were out off before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord when it passed over Jordan In Nehemiahs time x Neh. 9. 12 19. the Levites in their confession of Gods goodnesse do remember how God brought his people out of Egypt led them by those two pillars though they did highly provoke God by their molten calfe yet he forsook them not in the wildernesse the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day neither the pillar of fire by night y Gen. 19. 26. Lots wife became a pillar of salt because against Gods commandement she looked back toward Sodom z Luk. 17. 32 which great judgement Christ would have to be perpetually remembred a Gen. 31. 45 52. Jacob set up a stone for a Pillar as a memoriall of his integrity to Laban and for a witnesse of the Covenant that was between them Also b Gen. 35. 20 he set a pillar upon Rachels grave for a perpetual memorial of her c 2 Sam. 18. 8. Absalom reared up for himself a pillar in the Kings dale for the perpetuity of his name for he said I have no son to keep my name in remembrance and therefore he called the Pillar after his own name If we do well ruminate upon these things and imprint them in our hearts it will make much for our spiritual consolation for where the holy Ghost doth settle his abode it is to abide there for ever and if we enjoy his blessed presence it is the greatest comfort of our souls He will be as a strong Pillar for us to rest upon when we are assaulted with strong temptations or beset with perills and dangers or any way visited with sorrowes and afflictions he is also such a Pillar of true comfort as will not leave us in any sad condition or misery but will still continue with us untill he hath brought us out of all our troubles dangers and distresses This similitude of a Pillar doth so strengthen our faith and hope in God that nothing shall be able to overthrow the foundation of it This is also great consolation to us that we have the Spirit of truth to bear witness to our spirits that we are in the love and favour of God though the outward man be miserably afflicted perplexed and tormented This consideration will appease the clamours of our sins and the accusations of our consciences and though we are in our own apprehension as quite forsaken of God yet we shall hereby be preserved from sinking under so great a pressure of temptation and though the devill doth aggravate our sins to make us cast off all hope of pardon yet this blessed Spirit will make us look up to Christ by faith as he was upon the crosse and we shall see the guilt of all our sins nailed to the same crosse and the righteousnesse of Christ to be imputed to us which will frustrate the malicious designe of the devill against the salvation of our souls Here also we may find profitable matter for our instruction and edification for it doth teach us to rest firmly upon the aid and assistance of this blessed Spirit in all conditions of life and in all the calamities and tribulations that we shall meet with in this present world It doth also binde us to a thankfull remembrance of all the benefites which we have received from him of all the heavenly endowments which he hath bestowed upon us and of all the spirituall graces which he hath wrought in us that we may imploy them to the glory of God and to the good of our own souls and therefore we ought not to grieve the Holy Ghost nor quench his gracious motions but to yield all willing and ready obedience to his good will and pleasure This doth also teach us to rest upon the promises of God both for provision for succour in time of need and for the salvation of our souls for he that hath promised is faithfull and true and if we wait his appointed time he will assuredly perform it Lastly we must mark and observe what speciall operations of the holy Ghost we have found in our hearts either for the illumination of our understandings in heavenly things or working our perverse wills to the will of God or sanctifying of our affections to newnesse of life that we may glorifie God by our thankfulnesse for them Fourthly the holy Ghost is resembled to a seal for d Eph. 13 14. We are sealed with this holy spirit of promise which is the earnest of our inheritance untill the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of his glory Also Paul saith e 2 Cor. 1. 12 that God hath sealed us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts Also again he saith f Eph. 4. 13. Grieve not the holy Sptrit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption Whatsoever God hath decreed for our preservation and salvation is sealed with this Spirit of Truth and cannot be reversed but is more firm g Esth 8. 8. than the law of the Medes and Persians h 2 Tim. 2. 19. for the foundation of God standeth sure having this seal The Lord knoweth them that are his In times of common calamities God will set 〈◊〉 seal of preservation upon his own servants that thâ—â— shall not be hurt i The Angel that ascended f 〈…〉 East having the seal of the living God cryed with a loud voice to the four Angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea saying hurt not the earth neither the sea nor the
trees untill we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads The holy Ghost doth also seal the New Covenant and all the gracious promises of the Gospel to our hearts by faith k Joh. 3. 33. and if we receive his testimony we do set to our seal that God is true Why then do we not rest upon them why is our faith shaken with every gust of temptation and with every little trouble that cometh nere us Are we so weak in faith that every blast of affliction shall blow us down Why are we so doubtfull of our salvation that we are ready to let go our hold on Christ when we look upon our dayly slips and failings that are caused by the subtility of the devill by the inchantments of the world and by the allurements of our carnall lusts We do not consider that we are sealed with the holy Ghost unto the day of Redemption And when we suffer afflictions or tribulations we do not consider that they shal not hurt us for we have the seal of God in our foreheads and he wil sanctifie all our sorrowes for our good whereas to the wicked they are the beginnings of those eternall torments which they shal suffer hereafter for ever Here we may find sweet consolation in all conditions of life for if we are loath to leave this world and those possessions which we do here enjoy let our hearts and mindes be raised up to meditate upon that inheritance and those possessions which Christ hath purchased for us by his blood which we shal enjoy in heaven for we have the seal of the holy Ghost for the truth of it and then we shal be willing to leave these vain and earthly riches and we shal earnestly desire to enjoy those heavenly and durable treasures which are there laid up for us If the foundation of our faith be shaken this seal of the holy Ghost will settle it sure The Lord knoweth them that are his The Covenant of Grace is confirmed to us by this seal and we may faithfully rest upon it for all the promises of God therein contained shall be performed in their season Our spirituall enemies our crosses and tribulations and death it self cannot hurt us because we have this seal of the holy Ghost for he will take away the print of the devils seal which by nature is upon our hearts and wil stamp his own image in the room l Rev. 9. 4. 5 But those men that have not the seal of God in their foreheads lye open to all the judgements of God to be tormented as with the torment of a Scorpion when he striketh a man Lastly the Holy Ghost is resembled to winde for when he hath any great work to do in us he will come with power to rectifie our stubborn wils our obdurate hearts and rebellious affections he will come like a rushing winde to make us quake and tremble before him and to beat down all the strong holds of sin that our hearts may be prepared to receive him and that he may freely work his own work in us Thus he came upon the Apostles m Act. 2. 2 3 with a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty winde and filled all the house where they were sitting and then he gave them the gift of tongues to speak the language of every nation whither he should send them and he gave them all spirituall graces and abilities fit for that Office and function whereunto he had called them Secondly he is resembled to wind because his Operations are free to himself and he is no way necessitated in his workings for he worketh in every one when and how he pleaseth Thus said Christ to Nicodemus n John 8. 3. The winde bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest the sound thereof but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth so is every one that is born of the spirit Gods election is of free grace not of works o Gen. 4. 4. he had respect to Abell and to his offering but he refused Cain and his offering p Rom. 9. 11 13 15 20. God did choose Jacob and rejected Esau the children being not yet born for thus saith God to Moses I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion We are as clay in the hand of the potter cannot he make of the same lump one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour Shall the thing formed say unto him that formed it why hast thou made me thus Thus saith the Lord by his Prophet q Isa 45. 10 Wo unto him that saith unto his Father what begettest thou or to his mother what hast thou brought forth r Jer. â—8 6. for we are in Gods hand as the clay is in the potters hand So likewise Å¿ 1 Cor. 12. the holy Ghost bestoweth his gifts diversly some have one gift some another some have more and some have lesse none but Christ had a fulnesse of all gifts and t John 1. 16 of his fulnesse have all we received and grace for grace As there is great diversity in the gifts u 1 Cor. 12. 6. so there is as great in the operations of the holy Ghost and yet all proceed from the same Spirit for God worketh all in all Thirdly the holy Ghost is resembled to winde because he doth blow away the chaff and vanity of our sinfull inventions and idle cogitations that our mindes may be the better fitted and prepared for heavenly contemplations and for the worship and service of God Now to bring all this home in particular to thy self consider what comforts and benefites thou dost enjoy by the holy Ghost both as he is the true comforter whom Christ sent down from the Father to abide with thee for ever and also by his holy operations according to those severall resemblances and then thy meditations of him will be comfortable to thy soul He will be a carefull Father to provide for thee he will be a wall of defence round about thee he will dull the sense of all thy pains and torments that thou maiest the better bear them as he did to the three children in the fiery furnace and to some of the holy Martyrs in their torments Though thy sufferings are above humane strength yet he will give thee strength of grace to bear them contentedly for he will raise up thy heart u Heb. 11 20 to look to the recompense of reward which God will give thee in heaven of his own free love bounty and goodnesse Also if the crosse lieth long upon thee and thou canst not get it removed by thy earnest supplications yet thou needest not be out of hope for the heavenly comforts of the holy Ghost will never fail thee but will still bear thee up against all the boysterous billowes of temptations and sorrowes Though thy whole life be a life of misery yet the
son commit iniquity I will chastise him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the children of men but my mercy shall not depart away from him But God punisheth the sins of the wicked in anger and with much severity for their destruction his own children are reformed by their corrections but the wicked are more hardned in their sins by their punishments This of the Prophet is verified in them n Jer. 5. 3. O Lord thou hast stricken them but they have not grieved thou hast consumed them but they have refused to receive correction they have made their faces harder than a rock they have refused to return God doth also bestow his mercies and blessings upon them both he doth commonly give more of his temporall blessings to the wicked than he doth to the godly to leave them without excuse and to give them means and ability to glorifie God but they abuse them to sin and uncleannesse to excesse and riot o Eccl. 5. 13 This is that evill which the Preacher did see under the sun namely riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt But God hath speciall gifts and blessings which he bestoweth onely upon the godly and these are the saving and sanctifying graces of his Spirit which are peculiar onely to them and reserved for them Wherefore now if we seriously ruminate upon the Works of God we shall finde much matter for our instruction and for our spirituall consolation The knowledge of the creature is a ready way to bring us to the knowledge of the Creator and the due observation of the Works of God will bring us to the love of him to the fear and dread of him and to the obedience of his commands We have dayly experience of the Works of Gods Providence and of his goodnesse to us in Christ which should strengthen our faith hope and confidence in him though he doth sometimes bring us into great straits and layeth great tryalls upon us and it should keep us from murmuring and repining though he doth long delay to send us help and comfort in time of need Also it should keep us from carking care and from immoderate seeking of earthly things because God will provide for us and will not suffer us to lack any thing that is good We should therefore wait upon him and wait patiently for his salvation in all our wants and necessities in all our troubles and tribulations and in all straits and distresses which the malice of the devill or wicked men can bring upon us for God can and will by his wise Providence turn that to our good which they intend and purpose for our hurt How should we then delight to meditate on God in all his Works seing p Psal 145. 17. the Lord is righteous in all his wayes and holy in all his works What comfort can we want in the saddest times seeing God watcheth over us by his Divine Providence for our good what need we fear the malice or power of our spirituall enemies seing we have Gods Protection to keep and defend us from them If we â—ay up these things in our hearts our souls will have the comfort of them in all the sadnesse and sorrowes that we shall meet with in this life Concerning the Creation of Man NOw we come to the Principall piece of Gods Workmanship which he wrought here upon earth and that is the Creation of man in which great Work the three Persons in the sacred Trinity did agree with one consent and gave him such a body as should be capable of immortality and such a soul as should receive the impression of the image of God for thus saith the Lord a Gen. 1. 26 Let us make man in our image after our likenesse Man must needs then be created in innocency in righteousness and true holiness without spot and blemish or any imperfection either in his soul or body There was no perversnes in his wil no folly in his understanding no corruption in his heart for God gave him ability and a willing minde to obey him and a wise and an understanding heart able rightly to know God his Creator and to worship and serve him as he ought to be served Also he did know the nature of all the beasts in the field of all the fowles in the air and the vertue of all herbs and Plants and God made him presently fit for that rule and soveraignty which he gave him over the creatures God did also set his love upon him and crowned him with glory and honour according to the words of the Prophet David b Psal 8. 4 5 6. What is man that thou art mindfull of him or the son of man that thou visitest him For thou hast made him a little lower than the Angels and hast crowned him with glory and honour Thou maâ—est him to have dominion over the work of thy hands thou hast put all things undâ—r his feet For he was created in his full perfection fit to rule and govern the creatures whom God had made for his use and service As God did shew his wonderfull wisedome and power in the creation of Man because he made him such an excellent creature of the dust of the earth so he now sheweth no lesse power and wisdome in fashioning him in the womb for thus saith holy David c Psal 1 39. 1â— 15. I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made marvelous are thy Works and that my soul knoweth right well my substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth The Preacher also saith d Eccl. 11. 5 That we know not how the bones do grow in the wombe of her that is with child There are more wonders in man than there are parts and members of his body and every one of them calls for due consideration The eye is but a little member and yet the best oculist cannot finde out all the wonders that are contained in it Who can discover the windings and turnings of the brain how it worketh upon whatsoever it apprehendeth It is troubled with visions and dreams in the night it is at no quiet all the day man hath no command over his own thoughts but they flie swiftly from the East to the West and they bring back to remembrance things that were long past and gone So likewise there are such secret corners in the heart that no man is able to discover what is hidden there God only that formed it knoweth the breadth and deepth of it his all-seeing eye can search into it and nothing that lurketh there can be hid from him Who can declare the wisedome of God in the Creation of man in the faculties and endowments of his soul in the structure of his body and how he is fashioned in the womb we may admire at these things but we cannot comprehend them Now let us bring down our thoughts
Adam and how rebelliously we have sinned against God in the whole course of our lives If this be our condition which is most true as we are in the Staâ—â— of nature what comfort can we then take in all worldly pomp and dignities what contentment is there in all earthly pleasures and delight they are all nothing else but vanity and vexation of spirit We may injoy more of this world than our hearts can desire and yet our soules may starve for want of spiritual food and comfort d Gen. 4. 12 Cain was heir apparent to the whole world and yet he was driven out from the presence of God and became a vagabond upon earth So we may injoy whatsoever the world can afford us and yet God will not look upon us with a gracious aspect and then our condition will be no better than that of Cain We may injoy health wealth peace liberty and all manner of prosperity and yet our souls may be sick they may languish with sadnesse of heart they may be much perplexed and shut up as it were in a dungeon because they are so restrained by the corruptions of our nature that they have no freedome to mount upwards towards heaven It is nothing so uncomfortable to live in perpetuall darknesse and never to see the light of the Sun as it is to have our understandings spiritually darkened and to live without the light of the e Mal. 4. 2 Sun of righteousnesse to have no appearance from him to open the eyes of our understandings to be a guide to our reason to season our hearts with grace and to shew us the way that will bring us to heavenly happinesse This is our condition by nature we are out of the favour of God our life is void of all true comfort and consolation we walk in darknesse f Isa 53. 6 we go astray like silly sheep and follow our own inventions and we have no ability in our selves to return again into the right way Wherefore let our hearts be throughly affected with this our sad condition let our Meditations hereupon draw us to a godly sorrow for our sins which may bring us to true repentance and newnesse of life let this be our chief care and the desire of our soules to regain the grace and favour of God and to be reconciled unto him Let our souls bewail our sins with hearty contrition and true compunction let our teares manifest the grief of our hearts and the truth of our repentance for our transgressions and let us cast our selves down at Gods footstool and humbly acknowledge our offences to him suing earnestly to God by prayer for the pardon and forgivenesse of them through Faith in Christ Also we ought to be humble petitioners to God for a supply of such graces as we want to strengthen â—s against the corruptions of our nature and against all the enemies of our salvation This should be our constant practise every night before we sleep to make our peace with God for the sins of the day past wherein we have failed of our duty and wherein we have dishonoured God that our souls may rest in peace as well as our bodies do rest in quiet So likewise every morning we should acknowledge our thankfulnesse to God for the comforts of the night past and to crave his blessing upon our labours the day following If we continually practise this duty it will keep us from grosse sins and great offences and it will make us take all occasions to renew our Repentance with God for our sins Every fit of pain or of sicknesse that we feel and every crosse or affliction that we suffer calls loud for repentance because it is a fruit of our sins also every blessing and every good thing that God is pleased to bestow upon us cryeth loud for our thankfulnesse because it is bestowed of his own free bounty and goodnesse and not for any merit or desert of ours Though we are miserable vile and wretched in our selves yet God is gracious and mercifull and doth dayly give us occasions to glorifie him and he doth use all means to bring us home again unto himself for he doth not delight in the death of a sinner but rather that he should repent and turn unto him neither doth he deal with us according to our sins nor reward us according to our deservings but hath paid a great prize for our redemption out of this miserable condition Concerning the Redemption of Man VVHen God saw man in this sad condition a lamentable spectacle of wofull misery then he took pity upon him a Ezek. 16. 8 and this time of his wretched estate was the time of Gods love to him for soon after his fall God made a gracious promise of Redemption to him b Gen. 3. 15 that the seed of the woman should break the serpents head This promise God did afterwards renew to the Patriarks which was concerning Christ the Lord that should come in his appointed time whom God did plainly reveal to some of the Prophets c Gal. 4 4 5 VVhen the fulnesse of the time was come God sent forth his son made of a woman made under the Law to redeem them that are under the Law that we might receive the adoption of sons d 1 John 4 9 10 In this was manifested the love of God toward us because that God sent his onely begotten Son into the world that we might live through him Herein is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the Propitiation for our sins e John â— 18 The onely begotten son of God who is in the bosome of his Father came down from heaven and assumed our nature and took upon himself the guilt of our sins to Redeem us from the curse of the Law from the dominion of sin and Satan and from the power of death f 1 Cor. 7. 23 Christ hath also paid an infinite price for our Redemption even his own most precious blood and the full vialls of Gods wrath were poured out upon him because he did undertake to satisfie the justice of God for our sins for thus saith the Prophet g Isa 53. 6. The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all h Acts 12. 7 8 Now let us gird up our loines with Peter and binde on our sandals i Eph. 6. 15 and let our feet be shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace to be fitted and prepared for our deliverance out of prison for the chains of our sins are taken off and the prison doores are opened to set us at liberty and to redeem our souls from destruction This Work of our Redemption is so great a mystery that the blessed Angels do adore it with much admiration but they cannot comprehend it it was decreed in heaven before the world was and all the three Persons in the holy Trinity had their severall operations
will hear our supplications and prayers if they proceed from a true sense of the want of what we pray for Thirdly he will succour and comfort us in our sorrowes and distresses if we cry unto him in the true apprehension of our own misery Lastly such is the goodnesse of God that he will incline our will and put holy desires into our hearts to seek the light of his countenance when we are prepared for it by true humiliation and sorrow for our sins for then he will hear our prayers he will grant our requests and will graciously accept us though our sins had formerly moved him to hide himself from us Consider further that the principall meanes of grace is by Jesus Christ our Saviour by whose righteousnesse we are justified by whose grace we are sanctified and by the merite of whose blood we are saved so that without Christ we can neither come into grace and favour with God neither can any sanctifying and saving graces be wrought in us to make us capable of salvation Now God hath appointed the sincere Preaching of his Word to be a special meanes to reveal Christ perfectly and fully to us and to work faith in us whereby we are knit and united unto Christ from whom all other sanctifying and heavenly graces do plentifully flow and they are conveyed to us by the operations of the holy Ghost Thus saith the Apostle q Rom. 10. â—7 Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God and it bringeth in with it all other spirituall Graces For the Word of God containeth in it whatsoever is needful to salvation and there is no grace but we may attain to it by this meanes if the holy Ghost doth accompany the administration of it to bring it close to our hearts God hath also other meanes which he useth for the working of grace in us and to bring us home when we go astray from him for every blessing that we receive every affliction that he sendeth and every motion of his Spirit that we feel is a call from God and a meanes that conduceth to the gain of some grace or other His blessings should stir us up to glorifie God with our praises and thankfulnesse r Rom. 2. 4. his goodnesse should lead us to repentance and his love to us should binde us to love him again also the sorrowes and miseries that we suffer in this life should teach us godly sorrow for our sins and patience under the crosse they should humble us and bring us to true repentance and newnesse of life so likewise every motion of his holy Spirit should move us to obedience and to conformity of will to the will of God and the dayly experience we have of Gods care over us should teach us to confide in God and to rest and depend upon him in all conditions of life whatsoever These and the like means God doth use to quicken up those graces that lye languishing in us and are as dead to our apprehension and also to make us seek unto him for his grace and favour which is sufficient to support us in all our tryalls and distresses These heavenly motions of the holy Ghost is Gods still voice which should make deep impression in our hearts because he doth thereby immediatly from himself reveal his will and pleasure to us what we ought to do to which holy inspirations we ought to yield our willing obedience though it be irksome to our nature and crossing the unregenerate part of our will as to repent and to leave a darling sin which we have long nourished in our bosomes This is a time when we may gain the grace and favour of God if we are ready to listen to this voice and cheerfully to obey it Wherefore this ought to be our care to imbrace any meanes or opportunity that God shall tender to us for grace because it is Gods time of grace and he will second his own time and his own meanes with a blessing if we imbrace it but if we will be feasting when we should fast and pray or rejoicing when we should mourn and weep we do then discover too much disobedience and rebellion against the will of God Now we ought to examine our selves how we have profited under the meanes of grace how the Word of God hath wrought upon our hearts and affections what heavenly graces have been wrought in us by it or by any of Gods holy Ordinances and what spirituall comfort we have found by them Also we ought to examine what thankfulnesse we have returned to God for his blessings what sorrow of heart we have had for our sins how we have been humbled under the crosse what reformation of life Grace hath wrought in us how we have obeyed the holy motions of Gods Spirit and how we have been ravished in soul with earnest desires to do the will of God If we have lived long under a powerfull Ministery and yet have gained little or no knowledge of Christ and of the truth and no faith or saving grace is wrought in us by the power of it we have then lost so much time of grace and we have not improved the meanes of grace to our best advantage nor to the right end as God hath appointed which is to gain grace for the spiritual good of our souls Wherefore let these be the Meditations of our hearts how to improve the time and the meanes of Grace to the right end that we may be found good stewards and profitable servants to our Lord and Master Jesus Christ by that gain which we shall make of grace in this little stock of time which he hath given us in this life For the more time and the more meanes of grace we do enjoy the more fruits of grace we must bring forth or else we shall be unprofitable servants If we improve our time for grace as we ought we shall gain the love and favour of God in Christ our hearts will be seasoned with all spirituall graces and our conversation will be in heaven while we live here upon earth for we shall live a gracious and a comfortable life now and a glorious and blessed life hereafter Also let this be the true desire of our souls to redeem the time of grace that we have lost and to improve the meanes of grace to more profit that the fruits of it may appear in our obedience to Gods Commandements in our zeal to the true worship and service of God and in our care to walk in all piety and vertue which we may the better do if we daily addresse our selves to God by faithfull prayer for the gracious assistance of his holy Spirit herein In the last place we must consider that though God doth give us time and meanes for grace yet we cannot attain unto it without the speciall working of the Spirit of grace in us for he must put a spirituall light into our understandings he must open our hearts and
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
outward ministration of it to make it profitable and comfortable to our souls Examine now thy self what impression the doctrine of Christ hath made in thy heart which thou hast often heard sincerely preached and how thou hast been profited by it what knowledge thou hast gained in heavenly things how thou art confirmed in the truth of Gods Word how thy faith in Christ is established what hope thou hast of eternal salvation and how firmly thy faith is grounded upon the promises of God Also how thou art humbled for thy sins and what reformation of life it hath wrought in thee what patience and meekness of Spirit thou hast in thy sufferings what zeal for the glory of God what constancy in thy tryals and what love thou bearest to thy neighbour these and the like benefits thou maist have by the Word of God if thou art a profitable hearer of it If upon due examination of thy self thou doest find any of these operations of the Spirit of God in thee it is a sure evidence that he hath made thee a profitable hearer of his Word Many did hear Christs doctrine from his own mouth and yet they received no good by it so thou maist hear his holy Word and be no whit the better for it if it be not preached as wel to thy heart by the Holy Ghost as it is to thine ear by his Ministers Oh consider how many worthy sermons thou hast heard without profit what thou hast been taught and yet not edified nor reformed because thou didst hear them with uncircumcised ears and with a poluted and unbelieving heart for thy heart is naturally unfit to receive the heavenly doctrine of Christ until rhe holy Ghost doth prepare it and season it with grace that it may bring forth fruit unto newness of life o Hos 10. 12 There is so much fallow ground in us which is barren and unfruitful that the good seed of the Word of God cannot be sown to us in righteousness to reap the fruits of it in mercy untâ—l the holy Ghost breaks up this fallow ground with the power of his sanctifying grace neither can we seek the Lord that he may come and rain righteousness upon us Wherfore p Ier. 4. 4. we must be circumcised to the Lord and the foreskins of our hearts must be taken away and the vail that is upon our understandings must be removed and we must be purified by faith before we can be made fruitful in an holy and vertuous conversation by the Ministry of the word Wherefore imbrace the holy doctrine of Christ with pure affections lay it up in a clean heart and ruminate upon it in thy serious meditations that it may abide with thee to make thee grow dayly in grace vertue and godliness until thou comest to a full stature in Christ Consider therefore and observe how thou art inwardly affected when thou hearest it what delight thou hast in it and what impression of grace it makes in thy heart for if thou delightest in the Lords Sabbath and rejoicest when his Word soundeth in thine ears q Luc. 5. 41 as the babe did leap for joy in Elizabeths wombe when she heard the salutation of the Virgin Mary because Christ was then in the Virgins wombe thou art then in a blessed and comfortable condition r Isa 58. 13 14. and thy soul shall delight in the Lord who shall feed thee with the heritage of Jacob. Christ doth also teach us what we ought to do by his works that we dayly see both of justice and of mercy which are his silent Preachers and therefore they ought to be carefully regarded for there is no act of his but is intended for our instruction Noah was many years in building the Ark which was a long sermon to teach the world of the ungodly what God intended to do God Å¿ 1 Pet. 3. 20 waited then for their repentance and conversion an hundred and twenty years while the Ark was a preparing t 2 Pet. 2. 5 Noah also was a Preacher of righteousness to them all that time and did warn them of the wrath of God which did hang over their heads for their sins Thus doth God also deal with us for he doth visit us with sickness he doth teach us thereby to prepare our selves for the hour of dissolution and to perfect our account which we must make to the great Judge of heaven and earth at the last day that so we may willingly resign up our selves unto God when death shall part them from our bodies When God suffereth us to fall into temptations then he calls us to pray for his assisting grace for strength of faith and for constancy to stand out against the devil to the end that he may give us the crown of victory If he doth visit us with losses troubles or afflictions it is to teach us patience and meekness and to humble our selves under the hand of God until he doth deliver us If he doth chastise us for our sins it is to bring us to repentance When God bestoweth his blessing upon us or removeth the cross from us u Ps 50. 15 then he calls for a thankful remembrance of his mercy and goodness to us howsoever God dealeth with us either in judgement or in mercy it should teach us to glorifie him as well in our sufferings as for his blessings Thus God doth teach and instruct us what we should do and how to obey his will both by his Word and by his Works and as our ear must be open to his Word that it may be conveyed to our hearts by the holy Ghost so we should dayly observe the Works of God and how he dealeth with us that our hearts may receive instruction and our tongues may blesse his great and glorious name Wherefore we ought to listen to Gods voice in them that our hearts may return an answer of obedience agreeable to his will Of Christs Priestly Office GOd did also ordain Christ to be a Priest accord-to this of David a Ps 110. 4. The Lord sware â—nd will not repent Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedeck He was anointed to his office not with the material oyl of the sanctuary but with the spiritual unction of the holy Ghost when he was baptized and he did execute it partly by his prayers which he did frequently offer up to God his father for all his elect in the dayes of his flesh and partly by that sacrifice which he offered up upon the cross at his death b Heb 7. 24 25. Christs priesthood is unchangeable and eternal for he is still our High-priest and ever liveth to make intercession for us and therefore he is able also to save us to the uttermost that come unto God by him c Heb. 8. We have such a High-priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heaven d Heb. 7. 26 27. For
be overthrown it may be shaken with his boistrous and violent temptation but it shall never be cast down because our faith is built upon a sure rock which is Christ Iesus our King and head If sorrows and crosses breaks in upon us which we could not prevent nor avoid we need not fear for we shall see the salvation of Christ either in our strength and patience to bear them meekly or in our deliverance out of them or else he will sanctifie them to our good We need not cark and care for the things of this life but when we have done our best indeavour in an honest and lawful calling we must leave the event and success to God which peculiarly belongeth unto him and then he will have a care of us Å¿ Deut. 8. 3. for man liveth not by bread onely but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord. t Luc. 12. 24 God feedeth the young ravens when they cry unto him then much more will he feed us for it is part of his Kingly office to provide all things that are needful for those that belong unto him Shall not the head provide for the members of the same body and shall not Christ provide for us who have neerer relation to him by faith Now try and examine thy self search into thine own soul to see if Christ hath set up his scepter of righteousness in thy heart to bear rule in thine affections to regulate thy crooked and perverse will and to bring unto his subjection whatsoever resisteth or rebelleth against the Spirit of grace If thou dost find the fruits of sanctifying grace in thee then make a further scrutiny to see unto what measure of grace thou hast attained What corruption hath it mortified in thee what strong holds of sinful lusts hath it beaten down how is the body of sinne dismembred and weakned how strong is thy faith to rest and depend upon Christ in all difficulties and dangers canst thou joyfully bear the scandal of the Cross canst thou meekly bear the loss of thy friends of thy liberty or estate for his sake hast thou faith and patience to suffer afflictions persecution sword or famine for him and canst thou resist unto blood if Christ thy King shall call thee to it then it is an evident sign that his Kingdome of grace is well established in thy heart and hereafter thou shalt have a large inheritance in his Kingdome of glory Pet. 1. 10 Wherefore give all diligence to make thy calling and election sure that thou mayest be invested into his Kingdome of grace here which will bring thee hereafter to eternal blessedness in the Kingdome of heaven Now set thy mind and the meditations of thy heart upon Christ as he is thy King and resolve with an holy resolution to submit thy self to his rule and government to be directed by him in all thy wayes and to expres thy thankfulnes to him for his great care of thee who by his divine providence disposeth all things for thy good If troubles and calamities follow thee like the billowes of the Sea Christ will calm them if they are ready to overwhelm thee then even then will Christ take thee by the hand u Mat. 14. 31 as he did Peter upon the sea and will keep thee from sinking If God looks angerly upon thee for thy sinnes Christ will appease his wrath and make intercession for thee If death looks upon thee with a grim countenance and is ready to bereave thee of thy soul and to expose thy body to the worms yet know with holy Iob x Iob 19. 25 that thy Redeemer liveth also y Luc 6. 22. that he will give his Angels charge to carry thy soul up into Abrahams bosom and at length he will raise up thy body out of the dust and will make it a glorious and incorruptible body fit to live and raign with him for ever Thus and much more will Christ do for all those that have any relation to him by faith or that belong to his spiritual Kingdom for the honour of his great Name and for the eternal good of his Church Of the Passion of Christ. VVHen Christ had finished his Prophetical office in his Ministry and had wrought so many miracles as seemed good to his divine wisdome the time was then come that he must offer up a sacrifice to God for our redemption which was his whole humane nature soul and body for our sins then a Rom. 4. 25. God delivered him up to the power of the devil and into the hands of his enemies for our offences because the guilt of all our siâ—nes was charged upon him For before this very time neither the devil nor his deadly enemies had any power against him this was the time which God had decreed in his secret counsel that Christ should submit himself to their malice and power that the work which God had sent him to do might be finished and when that work was perfectly wrought then God delivered him out of their power by his resurrection and ascension Wherefore we ought to prepare our hearts for holy and devout meditations upon the Passion of Christ which was most bitter to his humane nature because the wrath of God was poured out upon him for our sins and the powers of darkness were let loose against him like so many wolves to worry this immaculate Lamb of God or like so many fierce mastifes against the Lion of the Tribe of Iuda but the innocency of Christ did carry him through his whole Passion and by his own power he overcame the sury of all his enemies though they were permitted to torment and torture him at their pleasure even to the death Christ suffered nothing for himself but it was for all those that were of the election of grace the guilt of whose sins he did take upon himself and to pay their debt to satisfie the penalty of the Law for them by his death and the justice of God by the merit of his blood also it was to cloth them with his own righteousness that they might be justified in the sight of God Therefore let no circumstance of his Passion pass without due consideration b Lam. 1. 12 Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto his sorrow which was done unto him wherewith the Lord hath afflicted him in the day of his fierce anger How was the perfection of beauty stained How was the Sun of righteousnesse clouded How was the bright morning starre darkned How was the Lord of glory contemned blasphemed scorned and spightfully used How was perfect holiness and innocency accused rejected condemned cruelly tormented and most shamefully killed And how was Truth it self despised and troden under foot Can we think upon his Passion without tears and mourning if we belong unto him Can we ruminate upon it and not accuse and condemn our selves who were the cause why he suffered these things and much
more For the guilt of our sinnes brought all this evil upon him our sins brought the eternal Son of God from his glorious palace in heaven to be of the lowest degree and condition among men here upon earth and to be exposed to all the ignominy reproach and cruelty that the devil and wicked men could put upon him otherwise we had been still aliens and strangers unto God we had been still under the curse of the Law and under the dominion and power of sinne and Satan Wherefore we have great cause to admire the riches of his mercy of his goodness and love to us nothing could move him to do this for us but his tender mercy and his free grace for he saw nothing in us to move him to pitty but our misery and wretched condition this was the time of his love then did he cast his skirt over us to hide our shame and then did he undertake this great work of our râ—demption Now let the consideration of what Christ hath suffered for us and of the great benefits which we received thereby bind us in a firm bond of love and thankfulness to him and how to express it by our due respect to all his Commandements The incarnation of Christ without his Passion could profit us nothing the purity of his doctrine could not edifie our hearts if he had not shed his blood to clense us from our sins his prayers to God could not avail us nor procure mercy for us if he had not offered a sacrifice and shed his blood to satisfie the justice of God for all our transgressions also the perfect pattern of his holy life could not bring us to the integrity of conversation if he had not died that sinne might be mortified and killed in us and if he had not also rose again to quicken us up to newness of life It is therefore the Passion of Christ that reconcileth us to God that takes away the guilt of our sinnes that gives us power to mortifie and subdue them that pulleth out the sting of death that bringeth heavenly joy and comfort to our dejected spirits and at length will bring salvation to our souls But an unregenerate man is not sensible of the bitter passion of Christ he can feel no sweetness in it because he hath no spiritual tast he knows not the power of it and he can have no benefit by it so long as he is in that condition because he hath no spiritual relation to Christ He lives in health wealth and pleasure he feels no misery he is not afflicted with crosses troubles and sorrowes like other men his mind is not troubled and his thoughts are not disquieted for his sinnes they come not neer his heart and therefore he regardeth not the afflictions of Ioseph he looks not after the Passion of Christ nor after the salvation of his own soul thereby but he blesseth himself in this his condition though there be no true comfort in it Thus the devil deludes him and leads him on in blindness of understanding in hardness of heart and in gross security to the great danger and hazzard of his soul unless God in much mercy doth annoint his eies with his spiritual eye salve to let him see his own sad condition and to bring him unto Christ by faith Let no man therefore measure his spiritual condition by those outward blessings that he enjoyeth for a poor man may be rich in grace and godliness and a rich man may be empty and void of all piety and goodness God doth commonly give more wealth to the wicked than he doth to his own servants c Eccl. 5 3 and their large portion of earthly blessings may be for their hurt Consider now O vain man who blesseth thy self in thy plenty that thy misery is so much the greater by how much thou art less sensible of thy sinne and the closer thou art joined to the world the farther thou art from Christ and the more thou delightest in earthly pleasures the less comfort canst thou have in the passion of Christ Though thy riches and honours do dayly increase yet thy sinnes will make them bitter to thee for the least of all thy sinnes though conceived but in thought onely and never acted will bring thee under the curse of the Law and will make thee lyable to the eternal wrath of God and it will so pollute and defile thy soul and so poison the whole man that God will abhorre thee for thy filthiness and whatsoever floweth from that corrupted fountain is unclean Thy riches and pleasures will keep thee from mount Calvary where Christ was crucified so long as thou delightest in them more than in the meditation on the Passion of Christ The blessings which thou injoyest are curses unto thee so long as thou art without Christ and him crucified and continuest in thy sinnes without repentance There is a sting in every thing that thou possessest which sting is the evil of sinne and it will wound thy soul to the death if it be not cured by the blood of Christ which he shed in his passion and it must be truly applied to thy heart by faith Do not think that the mercy of God will save thee for if thou hast no interest in Christ crucified and neglectest the means of grace when it is offered the guilt of thy sinnes cleaveth still to thy soul and thou canst lay no claim to the mercies of God but art under the severity of his justice Where is now the civil honest mans comfort that thinks to gain heaven by his outward form of godliness without the blood of Christ What is the condition of the great men and mighty hunters of this world who think they are highly in the favour of God because they abound in all earthly pomp and pleasure if they have no interest in the passion of Christ Surely their condition is no better than that of the Lacdiccans d Rev. 3. 27. who thought themselves rich and increased with goods and had need of nothing and knew not that they were spiritually wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked If any cloud of afflictions and crosses doth but shadow their earthly felicity it takes away all their joy and it is ready to break their hearts for they think that to be their greatest misery because they do not see how poor and naked they are of grace nor the evil of their sins how they are holden in subjection to every carnal and base lust and to every evill concupiscence which will bring all misery whatsoever upon their souls But let my heart still ruminate and meditate upon the Passion of my dear Saviour e 1 Cor. 2. 2 and let it be the desire of my soul to know Iesus Christ and him crucified who is my wisdome righteousness sanctification and redemption For f Heb. 9. 14. it is onely the blood of Christ who through the eternall Spirit offered himself without spot to
he smote him with his sword and he died n 2 Sam. 13. 28 29. Thus treacherously did Absalom kill his brother Amnon when he invited him to a feast in his own house The Disciples did little think that Judas betrayed his Master when he came and saluted him with a kiss but Christ knew it who is the searcher of all hearts and none but he could know it for he knew what he had done with the Rulers what compact and bargain he had made with them and what he did further purpose and intend to doe and therefore he said unto him o Luke 22. 4◠Judas betrayest thou the Son of man with a kisse Thus saith a reverent Divine It is a special cunning of the devill and it is full of danger to put a smiling and an alluring countenance upon his baits as he doth by his temptations of profit and gain which like unseen bullets wound and kill before they are discerned or like the viper that putting us to no pain brings us into a pleasing slumber of security which endeth in the dead sleep of death and condemnation For prosperity and worldly allurements hide hostility under the pretence of friendship and makes us love the weapons that hurt us and to refuse the meanes whereby we may be cured and these make conquest not onely of our power and strength but also of our hearts wills and affections and they retain us in a voluntary servitude having no desire to come out of this pleasing bondage or to recover our liberty though the meanes be offered to us This is the policy and subtle cunning of the devil to beguile poor soules with such fair pretences for in their smiles and fawnings he doth secretly attempt their ruine and destruction Consider further p Mat. 10. 1 8. that when Jesus sent forth his twelve Disciples to preach he gave unto them all power against unclean spirits to cast them out to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease to cleanse the lepers and to raise the dead they had freely received these gifts of him and therefore they should freely dispense them Judas had the same power and received the same gifts with the rest of the Disciples but because his heart was not seasoned with sanctifying grace though he did cure others yet he could not cure himself and though q 1 Cor. 9. 29. he did preach to others yet he himself was a cast-away he had the gift of preaching but not the grace of preaching he had faith to work miracles but not the grace of faith unto justification and to rest and confide in Christ for his salvation These gifts of the holy Ghost are sometimes given to unregenerate men and yet they are no whit neerer to the Kingdome of Heaven Wherefore let no man rest secure of his salvation because he hath such excellent gifts for except the holy Ghost doth conferre sanctifying grace with his gifts they will not be effectuall to salvation We may have the gift of prayer of temperance of continency of patience and of all morall vertues and yet if we have not the grace of prayer that we can pray in faith and the grace of all other vertues as being the fruits of faith they will not be acceptable to God nor profitable to us for the salvation of our soules Wherefore if God hath given us the gifts of his Spirit and the meanes of grace we ought to use his gifts to his glory and to improve the meanes of grace for the sanctifying of his gifts unto us that we may 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to eternal life Let this be our dayly study and constant care to inrich our soules with true saving grace and then the devill cannot so easily undermine us and we shall be so watchful over our wayes that no iniquity shall cleave to our souls For if the devill can fasten any one sin upon us he will soon link another sin to that and will draw us on from sin to sin untill they make a strong chain which will pull us down into the pit of destruction unlesse we break every link of this chain with true repentance Also if we be thus watchful it will keep us from security and from presuming upon our own strength in times or places of danger r Psa 119. 37. and we shall turn our eyes from beholding vanity and refuse the false favours which the world doth promise us for the fear of God will be alwayes before our eyes and then we may be confident ſ Psa 91. 11 that God will give his Angels charge over us to keep us in all our wayes lest at any time we dash our feet against a stone or least we stumble at those blocks which the devill layeth in our way t Mat. 26. 41. Christ hath commanded us to watch and pray that we enter not into temptation u Eph. 6. 13. and he hath given us spiritual armour and weapons of defence which we must take unto our selves that we may be able to resist in the evill day Let us learn u Psa 58. 5. the wisdome of the Serpent by stopping our eares against their charming perswasions and by suspecting most their malicious attempts when with greatest shew of love they smile and fawn upon us We must now consider by the example of Judas that unlesse the Spirit of God doth accompany the use of all his holy Ordinances we may outwardly partake of them but we shall not inwardly be edified by them neither shall we find any spiritual consolation in the use of them because there is no efficacious working of the holy Ghost in our hearts the outward man may be affected for the present but the inward man cannot be edified for there will be no illumination wrought in the understāding to conceive rightly of heavenly things no true conformity in the will to the will of God no holy zeal in the heart and affections and no pious Reformation will be wrought in the life and conversation x 2 The 〈◊〉 2. All men have not faith as saith the Appostle all men do not profit by the meanes of salvation and all men are not edified by the preaching of the Word of God We may joyn with the Congregation in hearing in praying in singing of Psalmes some shall receive comfort and instruction others shall receive no benefit thereby we may also partake with them in the Lords Supper and we may feed our bodies with the outward Elements in that Sacrament but we shall never feed and nourish our souls to eternal life with that spirituall Grace which is signified by them except our hearts are prepared to receive it through the sanctification of the Spirit we may eat and drink the Bread and Wine but we cannot eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ but onely by faith our souls may languish and starve for want of heavenly food and nourishment if the milk of Gods word and this spirituall food
inheritance hereafter Fourthly when death comes near to us we have most need of the best comforts both for soul and body that we may the more strongly encounter with this terrible enemy in the dissolution of our souls from our bodies but Christ at this time had soure vinegar given him which could no way comfort him but rather aggravate his pains and sorrowes when he was every way in great extremity This doth fitly resemble the case of many of Gods dear servants for they are often troubled and perplexed with many fears doubtings temptations and evil sugestions of the devil when they are to enter into a single combate with death it self for then he will lay their sins before them with all the aggravations that may be and he will labour to hide the mercies of God in Christ from them that they might have no hope or comfort to support them in this great conflict which doth put them into trouble of minde grief of heart and anguish of spirit and it is more uncomfortable and unpleasing to their spirituall taste than any vinegar can be to the palate Then is the time when the Divell is most maliciously bent against them then doth he bestirre himself to trouble the Peace of their consciences to disquiet the tranquillity of their mindes and to keep them from the assurance of the love and favour of God to them in Christ that they should not comfortably resign up their souls unto God he will affright them with the fear of death with the greatnesse of their sins with the hypocrisie of their hearts with their infidelity and unbelief he will labour to keep the gracious promises of God from them or else to perswade them that they belong not unto them that so they should have no comfortable assurance of the pardon of their sins Also he will terrifie them with the fear of Gods justice and with the terrour of the dreadfull day of judgement if it were possible to drive them into despair But here is comfort for a poor sinner that it is thus assaulted by the Divel when he is near his departure out of this life or at any other time that Christ hath sanctified all these sorrowes and conflicts to him and he will confirm his faith and stablish his hope upon his true humiliation for his sins and then those fears and doubtings will vanish away for he knoweth that we are not able to resist such temptations and the weaknesse of our spirits and of body is such that we cannot withstand such strong assaults and therefore Christ will give most strength to our inward man when the outward man is most weak and he will most weaken the power of the Divell when his malice is strongest to do us hurt And though we may be dangerously foyled in these spirituall combates yet Christ will uphold our faith he will give us spirituall consolation and will speak peace to our souls and consciences when through weaknesse of body we cannot expresse the joy and comfort of it Fifthly before we can willingly leave this world we must be well perswaded that we shall injoy a better habitation in the world to come which holy perswasion that we may have we must seriously consider how we have done the works which God hath appointed us how we have improved the talent that he hath lent us how we have glorified God in our calling and what good we have done to our neighbour according to the means and ability that God hath given us for we must give an account of all these things before the Tribunall Seat of God and we shall be judged according to our works Wherefore if we can truly say that we have done Gods works to the best of our power with an upright heart and that we have well improved our time and our talent to the glory of God then we may say with Christ It is finished and with Paul t 2 Tim. 7. 8 I have finished my course and have kept the faith henceforth is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousnesse which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give me at that day and not to me onely but unto all them also that love his appearing And though our work hath been very imperfectly done by us yet Christ our Saviour will make it perfect by that which he hath done for us in our nature and God will accept it for his sake then we shall cheerfully resign up our souls to God at the hour of our dissolution Sixthly Christ doth here teach us to commend our souls into the hands of God we received them immediatly from God and therefore we ought to resign them up again unto him he breathed into us the breath of life which is our chiefest and most precious Jewell and therefore we ought to keep it holy and undefiled for him that when he is pleased to call for it we may be sure to deliver it up to himself for the Divell will be ready watching for it as soon as it is separated from the body and none can keep it from him but onely God Wherefore we must keep our souls so pure and clean that God may accept them and take them into his charge for if we present unto him a filthy soul polluted with the guilt of sin we have no ground to believe that God will take care of it and keep it unto the general resurrection Wherefore we should study and labour to keep our souls clean from sin by washing them dayly in the blood of Christ by faith if they be stained with the sins of the day we should thus cleanse them at night before we sleep and if they are defiled with the pollutions of the night â— we must not forget to wash them with the teares sighes and groanes that flow from a sorrowfull and contrite heart in the morning before we set about our necessary occasions in our calling that we may comfortably believe that God will blesse and prosper our handy work If this be our dayly and constant practise the blessing of God will go along with us in all our actions sin cannot then cleave to our souls to make death fearfull to us death cannot then come suddenly upon us neither will the remembrance of it be terrible but we shall cheerfully commend our souls to God because we may confidently believe that he will keep them in his heavenly mansions untill they shall be again united to our bodies with an unseparable union and made glorious bodies fit to live and reign with Christ for ever But naturall men know not the worth of their souls nor the great price wherewith they are redeemed if they belong unto Christ they suppose that the soul cometh from a Principle of nature as the body doth whereas it is an immortall spirit which proceedeth not from any mortall principle but is breathed into us by the holy Ghost as soon as the body is framed in the wombe and made capable to receive this breath of
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
a spirituall manner because Christ will draw him to himself by his Spirit Thus is Christ also present with us by his grace and holy Spirit to assist and support us to teach and instruct us in what condition soever we be There is the same relation by faith between Christ and us as is between the head and the members and we shall injoy the comfort of this blessed relation by our heavenly Meditations of him for then by his Spirit he is present with us to teach us some heavenly instructions for our edification which we ought carefully to practice that he may be honoured thereby There is no time or place but we may take occasion to Meditate something on Christ for the good and comfort of our souls either as he is our Mediator and Redeemer or as he is our Prophet to teach and instruct us our high Priest to present our Prayers and oblations to God or our King to rule and govern us by his Spirit If we Meditate upon his passion upon his death and buriall he will shew us how low he did humble himself to advance us and it will much comfort us in our afflictions and sorrowes and also it will fit and prepare us for death and for the grave that we may as willingly lye down in the grave where we shall rest in peace as we take our rest and sleep in our beds By these and the like Meditations of Christ we shall injoy his sacred society by his Spirit and he will make us feel true consolation thereby But if we Meditate upon the Exhortation of Christ we must raise our affections up to the highest heavens for there he sitteth at the right hand of God above all principalities and powers and then he will shew us how victoriously he triumpheth over all his enemies and that he hath subdued all the enemies of our salvation to teach us to fear and reverence his sacred Majesty to perform all dutifull obedience to his Commands and to submit to his rule and government And because he is our Advocate with the Father we may come boldly to him in all our wants troubles and necessities Also faithfull Prayer is another speciall means to injoy the comfort of this happy relation and Communion which we have with our Saviour Christ in all conditions of life and upon all occasions whatsoever to give us comfort in all our distresses strength of grace against temptations protection in all dangers and deliverance out of all troubles If our Prayers proceed from a faithfull heart they cannot return without a blessing for they will open Christs rich treasury and whatsoever is there we shall have so much of it as is good for us This kind of prayer will yet reach higher for it will so prevail with Christ that he will open his heart to us and conceal nothing from us that may conduce to an holy and sanctified life here and to the injoyment of eternall blessednesse hereafter If we dayly converse thus with Christ in our Meditations and Prayers we shall have our conversation with him in heaven though we live in a vale of misery here upon earth Now then examine thy self what communion thou hast had with thy dear Saviour hath he walked with thee in the field as he did with Isaack in his Meditations Hath he travelled with thee in the way as he did with the two Disciples as they went to Emmaus Went he into a strange land as he did with Joseph into Aegypt or was he in prison with thee as he was with him and with the Apostles Hast thou had his company in thy bed-chamber or in thy closet as David had Was he in the dungeon with thee as he was w th Jeremiah Hast thou had his company when thou hast been among spoilers as Daniel had among the Lyons and as Paul had when he was in the Lyons mouth And hath he been with thee upon thy sick-bed as he was with Hezekiah Then surely thou hast received some blessing from him then thou hast learned holy instructions of him how to bear thy crosse without murmuring and how to endure thy sufferings with meeknesse of spirit Then also thou hast learned how to pray zealously how to live piously how to fix thy trust and confidence on him and how to set thine affections upon him by the plentifull experience which thou hast had of his goodnesse to thee that so thou maist dye in his love and favour Examine thy self also what sin thou hast killed and buried for if thou dost leave thy sins because thou hast not ability to continue still in them thy sins do leave thee but thou dost not leave them and they are not buried with Christ in his Sepulchre for thou retainest still the remembrance of them with delight and approbation and if thou hadst ability and opportunity thou wouldst be as vicious still as ever thou wert before For unlesse faith had sealed thy union with Christ thou canst have no power from his death to mortifie thy corruptions or to bury thy sins with him neither canst thou live unto righteousnesse and true holinesse Consider in the last place what subtile policy was used to make the Sepulchre sure that the body of Christ might not be stoln away and to prevent his resurrection from the dead for they sealed the Stone and set a watch about the Sepulchre But God did hereby make the truth of his resurrection the more evident to the great comfort of his children and servants but to the perpetuall shame and confusion of his enemies and of such as will not believe it For Gods Decree must stand and nothing can prevail to frustrate his determinate Councell Whatsoever wicked men do vainly imagine or contrive God will bring to passe what he hath decreed for his own glory This is great comfort to the servants of God that are under tyrannicall pressures and can see no means how to be delivered out of their slavery for God will bring about his own purposes and will be honoured in their deliverance to the shame and rebuke of all their enemies Consider also that those malicious Jews could not but be convinced in their consciences that Christ was the Son of God by those strange wonders which they saw at his death and yet they still spit out their blasphemies against him though he were dead and in the presence of Pilate they term him a deceiver Thus it is with wicked men when they are given up to a reprobate minde for there is no end of their wickednesse against God and no end of their malicious and mischievous practises against his servants and against all that professe his Name A brief Summe of the Humiliation of CHRIST CHRIST was in the bosome of the Father from eternity where he was cloathed with fulnesse of Majesty and Glory in the highest heavens and had the Dominion and power over all things both in heaven and in earth but when he was to undertake the Work of our Redemption
with Christ and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindnesse toward us through Christ Jesus b Eph. 4. 23 This renovation in the spirit of our minde is wrought in us by the holy Ghost through Christ for he was anointed with the holy Ghost for this end and purpose that by him we might be raised up from the death of sin to a spirituall life of grace according to the signification of his Name for as he is Christ he is Anointed of God and as he is Jesus he is the Saviour of the world to save us from our sins and to work salvation for us whereof we are not capable untill we have a spiritual life wrought in us Thus saith the Spouse of Christ c Cant. 1. 3. Thy Name is as oyntment poâ—red forth A precious Oyntment hath many excellent vertues d Psal 104. 15. for it maketh a chearful countenance it comforteth and strengtheneth all the parts of the body it healeth all diseases and it sendeth forth a sweet savour when it is poured out which refresheth and comforteth all the senses Thus is Christ to every true believers soul he is the Anointed of God as saith the Psalmist of him e Psal 45. 7. Thou lovest righteousnesse and hatest wickednesse therefore God thy God hath anointed thee with the oyl of gladnesse above thy fellowes f Act. 10. 38 for he was anointed with the holy Ghost and with power First by the power of his holy unction Christ doth put a spiritual light into our understanding by his Spirit that we may see how to walk in the paths of godlinesse and truth according to this of old Simeon g Lu. 2. 31 32. that God had prepared him to be a light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of his people Israel h Psal 97. 11 Light is sown for the righteous and the comfort and gladnesse of it for the upright in heart This Prophesie was fulfilled in Christ i Isa 2. 9. The people that walked in darknesse have seen a great light they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death upon them hath the light shined k Eph. 5. 14 Wherefore awake thou that sleepest in fin and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light If we want this heavenly light we must needs wander and go astray from God and we have no means to obtain such a light but by Christ It is sin that hath brought this darknesse and this spiritual death upon our souls and none but Christ can take it away This is the beginning of our spiritual life when we have some light to discern the spirituall things of God for the good of our souls Secondly Christ is the food and nourishment of our souls to preserve this spirituall life in us whose flesh we must spiritually eat and whose blood we must spiritually drink by faith in the hearing of his Word preached and Sacramentally when we come to his holy Table or else we have not this spirituall life in us l John 6. 48 53. I am that bread of life saith Christ which came down from heaven who so eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternall life and I will raise him up at the last day for my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed Wherefore if our souls do hunger and thirst after this heavenly food and do earnestly desire to be refreshed and fully satisfied therewith it is an evident sign that there is a spiritual life in us for Christ doth freely offer himself to every empty soul that can feed upon him by Faith in his Word or in his Sacraments But if our desires and the affections of our hearts are taken up with the love of this world and of earthly vanities it s no marvell if we have no hunger nor thirst after Christ and that we feel so little want and need of him Thirdly the blood of Christ is the true balm to heal and cure all the diseases and wounds that sin hath made in our souls it is like m Lu 10. 34 the good Samaritans wine and oyl for it hath a cleansing and an healing vertue There can be no wound so deep in the soul and no ulcer so festered but this precious Oyntment will cleanse and heal it if it be rightly applyed by faith and true repentance for repentance layeth open the wound by true confession and faith applyeth the remedy to it and then repentance giveth us an holy assurance that we shall be cured This is the way and the means of recovery when our souls are sick of any spirituall disease and also to preserve that spirituall life which is in us Lastly when the heavenly graces that flow from Christ are poured out upon our soules they will greatly refresh and comfort our spirits in all sadnesse of heart and they will so persume all our actions and services which we perform unto God that their sweet savour shall ascend up unto him that he may smell it and graciously accept of us and of our offerings n Gen. 8. 21. When Noah offered burnt offerings to the Lord after the floud the Lord smelled a sweet savour and accepted his sacrifice and blessed him exceedingly Wherefore if our souls are perfumed with grace they will so perfume all our holy oblations which we offer up to God that he will in mercie accept them for his Sonnes sake o I rev 5. 8. But the sacrifices of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord and they stink in his nostrils because they proceed from a corrupt and unclean heart which is not perfumed with grace how much â— Eccl. 10. 1 more when he bringeth them with a wicked mind â—o 21. 27 Sin is like dead flies in the ointment of the Apothecary which causeth it to stink for sin maketh us odious in the sight of God Wherefore take heed with what heart thou comest into the presence of God and that thou bringest no oblation to him with a wicked mind but first purifie thy heart from sinne by faith in the bloud of Christ and see that thy soul be perfumed with sanctifying grace and then come and offer thy gift and God will accept it But if there be any sin in thy bosome unrepented of or any iniquity in thy heart which thou seekest to hide from God then he cannot smell a sweet savour of thy prayers of thy praises and thanksgivings or of any duty which thou performest to him to make it accepted because thy heart is not upright before God Now we must examine our selves what spiritual life we have by Christ and we must know how he is our spiritual life if we will have any comfort thereby First q 1 Joh. 2. 20 If we have this holy unction from Christ which was poured upon him above measure that
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
upon his Throne of mercy ready to receive us If our faith doth reach no further than to the knowledge of Christ what he is in his divine nature and what he is by incarnation or to his glorious excellencies and dignities as he is the Mediatour of the new Covenant or to the work of mans redemption as he is the Redeemer of the world it is but the bare notion of faith which is not effectual enough to bring us to eternal happinesse Unregenerate men may know and believe thus much of Christ by the letter of the Gospel and yet never be brought into the state of grace by Christ because they have not the grace of faith in their hearts to apply these things to themselves The devils did know who Christ was they knew the purity of his nature and what power he had over them and yet they continued devils still Wherefore we must not rest in the bare notion of faith but if we will believe unto salvation we must then f John 13. 8 9. As Paul and Silas said to the Jaylor Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ we must rest upon him and put our whole confidence in him for our salvation also we must apply him and all his excellent dignities to our selves that we may be well perswaded of our redemption by him and that we are invested into the Covenant of grace by our union with him and that we shall hereafter injoy the perfection of true happinesse If our Faith can reach thus high and lay such hold upon Christ by their particular application of him then let our condition be what it will we shall be happy while we live more happy when we dye and most happy after death for no afflictions or sorrowes of life and no violence or extremity of sicknesse in death shall be able to take this happinesse from us and after death we shall be out of the reach of all our enemies for Christ by whom we have this happinesse will not suffer us to loose it but by the grace and power of faith we shall still draw all spiritual comfort from Christ to our souls to make us truly happy in this life and everlastingly happy in the life to come This is the grace and power of true faith to apply particularly to our selves whole Christ God and Man and as he is our Prophet our high Priest our King our Mediator and Redeemer and then how mean soever our condition be he will make us happy in it and will crown us with everlasting happinesse hereafter for where this Faith is wrought there the holy Ghost will abide for ever and that soul must needs be happy that intertaineth him g Eph. 1. 13. For after that we have believed in Christ we are sealed with that holy Spirit of Primise unto the day of Redemption this Spirit of promise is the earnest of our inheritance which Christ hast purchased for us Consider further that by this means we are neerly joyned unto Christ h Eph. 3. 17. For Christ dwelleth in our hearts by Faith This spirituall union with Christ is more firm and close than the union of the members of the natural body is with the head or the union of the branches is with the vine for nothing can separate us from Christ but he will keep us by his Almighty power unto salvation If we be in this blessed condition nothing can hurt the well-being of our souls but all things shall work together for our good What comfort and what happinesse can we want if we injoy Christ His grace will carry us on cheerfully through all the discomforts that we shall meet with in this life his blessings will be upon all that we injoy and he will give us the fulnesse of happinesse in the life to come Though we be in Christ yet we shall meet with many sorrowes troubles and vexations in this life which will cloud the sense of this our fâ—licity for we have here but the beginnings of that blessed and happy condition which in the life to come shall be perfected and confirmed to us for ever in Christ Wherefore we ought seriously to meditate and study how to injoy Christ who is the true happinesse of our souls and though we have but a taste of this heavenly consolation yet it will sweeten the bitternesse of all misery and as we dayly grow in grace so we shall dayly finde more comfort by our assurance of the fruition of our future felicity in heaven Also the more we grow in grace the more we shall grow out of love with this world because we shall the better see the vanities of it and the more we shall grow in love with vertue and true piety which will bring us to this happinesse and to injoy it to all eternity Concerning our Iustification THe true knowledge of this high Principle of Religion what it is to be justified in the sight of God and how it is wrought in us by the holy Ghost is of great concernment to every true Christian and it doth minister exceeding much comfort to him in the assurance of the pardon of his sins and in the hope of his salvation Now we are justified not for any inherent righteousnesse that is in us nor for any foreseen works we are able to do nor for any grace that is wrought in us but as God doth elect us of his own free grace and love so he doth also freely justifie us First a 2 Cor. 5. 19. by not imputing our sins and iniquities to us Secondly by not inflicting the condemnation of sin upon us Thirdly by imputing the righteousnesse of Christ to us by faith Fourthly by pronouncing and declaring us to be just in the Court of heaven and by witnessing the same to our consciences by his holy Spirit and lastly by his gracious acceptation of us This is our Justification and thus we may be perswaded of it for God hath set up his seat of Judgement in every mans conscience so that when we remember our sins if our conscience doth absolve us by our faith in the righteousnesse of Christ and in the merit of his blood it is a sure evidence of our justification in the sight of God but if it doth condemn us then it will binde us over to answer for our selves at the last and general judgement when it will bring bitter accusations against us and witnesse terrible things against our poor souls for conscience is the highest witnesse next under God The ground of our justification is Gods free grace to us by Faith in Christ who hath taken upon himself the guilt of our sins whereby they are imputed to him and his righteousnesse is imputed to us so that now God doth account us just and righteous because we have no guilt of sin and are cloathed with the righteousnesse of Christ and therefore he will absolve us from all our sins and from the punishment that is due to us for them and he will
iniquity of our sinnes unto Christ our Saviour and of his free grace to account us just by the imputation of his righteousnesse to us through faith So likewise hereby we have the adoption of sonnes and all the priviledges that do belong unto sonnes These are such benefits and such comforts as none can conceive but such as doe injoy them and none can injoy them but by Christ and there is no way to have them by Christ but onely by a true and a lively faith in him Secondly by faith we are invested into the Covenant of grace and all the gracious promises that are contained in it doe belong unto us also by faith we have great comfort and hope in all other the promises of God whether they concern this life or the life to come for we believe the truth of his word and his ready will to perform what he hath promised and though his promises are sometimes impossible to nature and above humane reason yet faith gives us ability to rest upon them because we believe that he is faithful that hath promised and able to perform his word Thus saith Solomon Blessed â— 1 Kings â— 50. be the Lord that hath given rest unto his people Israel according to all that he hath promised there hath not failed one word of all his good promises which he promised by the hand of Moses his Servant The promises of God are limited to the condition of faith and obedience and though they are above our capacity yet we may confide in them for he will perform them in his due time b Rom. 4 18 19 20. God made a promise to Abraham that his seed should be as numerous as the starres in the firmament when he was about an hundred yeares old and yet betâ—g not weak in faith he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief but against hope he believed in hope that he might become the father of many Nations and he was fully perswaded that what God had promised he was able also to perform c Heb. 11. 11 Sarah through faith received strength to conceive seed though she were barren and past age and she was delivered of a child because she judged him faithful who had promised If we do thus rest upon the promises God in all conditions of life and in all the chances and changes that can happen to us it will fit and prepare us to receive them contentedly at Gods hands But the special servants of God may be so over-pressed with the extremity of afflictions that they are ready to distrust the truth of Gods Word and to waver in their assiance and confidence in him if he delayeth to perform his promise and to help them This was Asaphs case who thus complained d Psal 74. 8 10. Is his mercy clean gone for ever doth his promise fail for evermore But he doth presently check himself and acknowledge that it was his infirmity thus to distrust the goodnesse of God Thus saith Peter e 2 Pet. 3. 9. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise for he will remember to perform it when his time is come that it will make most for his glory and for our good Wherefore f Heb. 6. 12. we must wait patiently upon God and then we shall inherit the promises g Eph. 1. 13. for by faith we are sealed with that holy Spirit of promise that we may confidently rest upon God and upon the truth of his Word Wherefore if we are well acquainted with the Scriptures we shall find many promises of grace to strengthen our faith when we are under any temptation to comfort our soules when we are in any anguish of spirit or under the pressure of any crosse or calamity And when we have found a promise that will suit with our present condition then to make use of our faith to lay hold upon it to apply it to our selves and to rest firmly upon it though it be above hope for God can and will assuredly perform it to our great consolation If God doth deferre the performance of it longer than we expect yet we must patiently wait upon him for when he hath wrought his own work in us for his own glory and our good he will not then delay to perform it a moment longer Thirdly by faith we shall receive much profit and comfort by Gods holy Ordinances without which our services to God cannot be performed according to his will The preparation of the heart to the profitable â—earing of the sacred Word of God is by faith h Act. 15. 9. because hereby our hearts are purified and cleansed from all sin in the bloud of Christ that no guilt of sin may cleave to our soules and consciences to stop the current of grace to our hearts and to hinder the free working of the Spirit of God upon our affections by the ministry of his word that it cannot take root in us for our edification and instruction to convince us of our errours to reprove us for our sinnes and to comfort us in all sorrows and sadnesse of heart It is faith that makes our hearts good ground fit to receive the seed of Gods Word that it may take deep root in us to fructifie and bring forth much fruit to the glory of God What comfort can we have by the Word of God if we doe not hear it with hearts purified from our corruptions by faith how can it profit us if there be not an holy preparation to receive it that the holy Ghost may imprint it in our hearts to be a word of power in us unto salvation and to be the Savour of life unto eternal life and how can it be fruitful in us to the reformation of our lives if our hearts are not seasoned with faith i Rom. 10. 17. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God and then it is a special meanes which the spirit of God useth to convey spiritual knowledge to the understanding holy desires to the will to study and endeavour to a godly life and also true consolation to the soul So likewise our hearts are prepared by faith to the worthy receiving of the Lords Supper for as we doe refresh our bodies with the Bread and Wine so our soules are refreshed and comforted by our spiritual feeding on the body and blood of Christ by faith Also faith will put an holy zeal into our prayers to make them fervent and effectual to prevail with God to send us a gracious answer in his good time Thus saith our Saviour Christ k Mar. 11. 24. What things soever yee desire when yee pray believe that ye receive them and yee shall have them O what comfort might we find in our prayers when we are in want sorrow or in any necessity if we did pray with zealous affections and did faithfully believe that our petitions are granted before we receive them then we would wait upon God until he is
pleased to satisfie our desires for our faith will give us as certain assurance to obtain what we pray for as if we did already injoy it We have no hope of succour in our distresses but by prayer and no prayer is prevailing with God but that which comes from a believing heart The gift of prayer may move the affections for the present but it is the grace of prayer that is powerful with God the gift of prayer is but a common gift of the holy Ghost which may be without faith and consequently without any acceptance l Heb. 11. 6. For without faith it is impossible to please God but faith doth alwayes goe along with the grace of prayer and God will not deny such a prayer though it be made in weak expressions for the heart may sigh out a faithful prayer and grone out our desires which the tongue cannot utter nor expresse Now then look well to the purity of thine affections and to the faithfulnesse of thy heart when thou art in the presence of God to hear his word that thy mind be not then about thy worldly affaires or thy thoughts set upon vain things if thou desirest to receive good thereby For if thou doest hear it with an unbelieving heart or full of worldly cares then thy heart is like barren ground where bryars and thornes grow which cannot receive such spiritual seed to bring forth fruit unto salvation Also in thy holy meditations on spiritual things thy heart must be first purified by faith or else thy meditations will not be comfortable to thy soul because thou hast not faith which is the instrument to draw true consolation from Christ So likewise when thou comest to the Lords Table see there be faith in thine eyes to discern the Lords body in those outward elements that thou mayest spiritually feed on him to nourish thy soul to eternal life When thou makest thy supplications to God believe faithfully that thou shalt receive what thou beggest and then thy prayers will not return empty without a blessing In like manner if thy humiliation for thy sinnes be not a fruit of faith but onely in outward shew and not in the sincerity of thy heart with true contrition and godly sorrow for them thy humiliation is no better m 1 Kin. 21. 27. than that of Ahab which produced no reformation of life Also if thou doest confesse thy sinnes when any sore affliction is upon thee and doest not faithfully purpose to forsake them and turn to the Lord thou doest dissemble with God in thy heart and canst not believe that God will forgive them for thy confession is no better n Exod. 9. 27 28. then that of Pharaoh and thou canst have no comfort in such repentance because it is not a fruit of faith for it is onely faith that doth perfect all thy services to God in their righteousnesse of Christ Fourthly we have no defence against the temptations and wicked suggestions of the devill and against the rage of our spiritual enemies but the shield of faith his fiery darts will wound our soules even to the death o Eph. 6. 16. if we doe not quench them in the bloud of Christ by faith his temptations will pierce us to the heart if we doe not beat them back with this impenitrable shield Also he layeth his snares every where so cunningly in our way that we can hardly take a step but we shall step into a snare p Psal 26. 11 12. if we doe not walk in our integriy by faith that our feet may stand in an even place There is no place secure and no condition of life is free from the snares of the devill he layeth them in our calling upon our table in our chambers and closets and under our feet so that every step we take out of the way of godlinesse is an occasion to bring us into his snares and we have no meanes to escape them but to walk in the light of the Spirit of God which we cannot have but by faith in Christ If we walk thus by the direction of his Spirit then as the wise man saith q Prov. 28. 18 26. we walk uprightly and we shall be saved we walk wisely and we shall be delivered But if we have not this spiritual light to guide us we walk in darknesse r Job 18. 8 9 10. we are cast into a net by our own feet and we walk upon a snare The grin shall take us by the heel and the robber shall prevail against us The snare is laid for us in the ground and a trap for us in the way Now then Å¿ Isa 50. 11. if we walk in the light of our own fire and in the sparkes that we have kindled this we shall have of Gods hand we shall lye down in sorrow Thus do spirituall dangers continually attend us which of our selves we cannot escape but if we trust in the Name of the Lord and rest our selves upon God by faith t Psal 91. 3 he will deliver us from the snare of the fowler he will direct us in all our wayes and will guide our feet into the way of peace u Jer 10. 23 For the way of man is not in himself as saith the Prophet it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps If we are taken in any of these snares that the devil layeth for us we have no meanes of recovery but by faith and true repentance for faith in Christ will break the snare and repentance will draw us out of the pit which did threaten our destruction Consider again that the devil laboureth to insnare us with the alluring baits of pleasure and profit thereby to draw away our hearts and affections from God this is a cunning way to deceive us for we suspect no danger and no evill in those things unto which we are naturally inclined so that we may easily be deceived with these guilded baits for without a spiritual light we cannot see the hook that is in them which will pull us into the pit of perdition n 2 Cor. 11. 14. Thus the devil can transform himself into an Angel of light x Mat. 24. 24. to deceive if it were possible the very elect The devil hath so many wayes to intrap us that we cannot passe thorough this dangerous ocean without shipwrack except Christ be our Pilot by faith to steer our hearts and affections and all the faculties of our soules with his Spirit and then we shall escape all these rocks and quicksands which doe continually threaten the ruine and destruction of our poor soules We cannot mount above this black cloud of deadly snares and dangers without the wings of faith and we cannot break the cords of sin without the strength of faith in the death of Christ neither can we get out of the dominion of sin without the power of the same faith in Christ Such is the goodnesse of our
blessed Saviour to us that he hath not onely given us the shield of faith for our defence against these spiritual enemies y Eph. 6. but hath also furnished us with the whole armour of God which we must put on and buckle close to us with the girdle of verity apprehended by faith that we may be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might and be able to stand against the wiles of the devill For we wrestle not against flesh and bloud but against principalities and powers against the rulers of the darknesse of this world and against spiritual wickedness in high places Also Christ hath given us the wisdom of his Spirit so to use every piece of this spiritual armour that neither by force nor by fraud the devill shall be able to hurt us or to hinder the salvation of our soules For Christ knew how violently we should be assaulted and the weaknesse of our own strength to resist and how cunningly our enemies would plot to undermine us and therefore we should need this spiritual armour to defend our selves and to offend our adversaries and likewise his Spirit of wisdome and his almighty power to use that armour as we ought Fifthly Faith doth much support and comfort us in all the sorrows and troubles of this life for so long as we live in the flesh we are subject to many tribulations and extremities which we cannot patiently bear without the help of faith Princes have their cares the great men of the world are not free from troubles there is no condition of life that can challenge a priviledge from worldly incumbrances and miseries against all which faith doth comfort the servants of God in his promises to uphold them from sinking under their afflictions by that vertue and power which they draw thereby from the sufferings of Christ Wherefore if we doe confide in the promises of God and rest upom them by faith as made unto us so that we can wait without murmuring Gods own time for the performance of them they will then sweeten our sorrows ease us in our troubles comfort us in the afflictions of our soules and give us an assured hope of deliverance out of our distresses The good Kings of Juda and the valient men of Israel obtained many great victories beyond humane expectation because they believed and rested upon the word of promise which they had from the Lord. z Josh 11. 6 8. When Joshua saw divers Kings come against him he was afraid but God did strengthen him with the promise of victory which he rested upon and God made his word good unto him a Judg. 4. 7. Baruch had the like promise against Sisera which the Lord did faithfully perform b 1 King 20 Ahab had two great victories over the Syrians though he were a wicked King because he rested upon the promise of God c 1 Chron. 14. 10. David overcame the Philistims because he believed the word of God d 1 Sam. 30. 8. Also he recovered all the spoil that the Amalekites had taken out of Ziglag because he trusted to the word of promise which he had from God David did find by manifold experience how faithful God was in the performance of his promises which made him so much delight in the Word of God and so often to meditate on his promises which did exceedingly strengthen him in all his afflictions and troubles e Psa 34. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of them all f Psa 50. 15 Call upon me in the day of trouble I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorifie me g Psa 42. 11 Why art thou cast down O my soul and why art thou disquieted within me hope thou in God for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my countenance and my God Thus may a poor soul cheer up his drouping spirits when his mind is perplexed or when troubles and sorrows compasse him about on every side if he hath a word of promise from God to rest upon When God doth visit us with afflictions he hath then some work to doe in us for his own glory and for our good and we must then make use of our faith which will help us much to joyn with him in his own work because he intendeth our good thereby and then he will the sooner remove his rod of correction from us We may understand what Gods purpose is when his rod is upon us if we mark and observe in what manner he doth visit us and also if we doe truly examine our steps how we walk before God from day to day for then we shall discover what good we have omitted and what evill we have committed and we shall find some sweet motions of his Sprit to direct us what we ought to doe for the more speedy effecting of his work in us If our conscience doth tell us of some particular sinnes that have provoked God against us then he will punish us according to the nature of those sins If we are too much addicted to the world he will visit us with crosses losses and troubles in our estate if we are in danger of spiritual pride he will pull us down with a thorn in the flesh or send a Messenger of Satan to buffet us h 2 Cor. 1â— 7. as he did Paul If we are too fond and indulgent to our children he will either take them away or visit us with sorrowes and grief of heart in them as it was with David If we have any darling sin as Sampson had his Dalilah God will make that very sin to be bitternesse to us in the end if by faith in Christ we have not a sweeter taste of the love and goodnesse of God to us If God seeth us secure or presuming upon our own strength he will withdraw his assisting grace and suffer us to fall into many temptations and into grosse sins as he did Peter to make us more watchful over our wayes and to depend more upon him Thus we may find what God intendeth when we are under his visitation for then God calls for true humiliation and repentance for that very sin which he hath discovered to us and a true turning from it unto God with a faithful indeavour to better obedience and then he will forgive our sin and heal our disease by faith in the bloud of Christ But if our conscience doth clear us and yet Gods visitation is upon us it is then to exercise us under the crosse to be made conformable unto Christ our head in his sufferings or to try our faith our patience our hope and affiance in God and what constancy we have to continue faithful to the end though God should delay to remove the crosse from us all which do tend to the glory of God and to our own good i John 9. 3 The man in the Gospel was blind from his birth and yet neither he
should highly prize our Faith because it is the principall grace that the holy Ghost worketh in our hearts and it maketh all other graces profitable and effectuall to us according to their severall natures Our repentance is not sound and true if it be not a fruit of Faith for we cannot truly humble our selves before God and freely confesse our sins unto him with a contrite heart if we do not look upon him as our mercifull Father by Faith in Christ that we may have good hope of the pardon of our sins neither can we shew any fruits of repentance by mortifying the corruptions of our nature but by the vertue and power of Christs death which we must draw to our selves by Faith and also by our regeneration to newnesse of life but by the power of his resurrection which we must also have by faith Our repentance can give us no holy assurance of the remission of our sins if we do not believe that Christ hath fully satisfied the justice of God for them all by the merit of his death g Lu. 21. 19 We cannot possesse our souls in patience when we suffer afflictions and tribulations and when we are under the crosse if we do not belive that Christ hath sanctified our sufferings to make them work for our good and that h Act. 14. 22 through much tribulation we must enter into the Kingdom of heaven We cannot love God with true filiall love nor obey him with filiall reverence and fear if we are not perswaded of our adoption in Christ by Faith i Mat. 10. 42 Our works of charity will not be accepted unlesse they are done in Faith as to the Disciples of Christ and then we shall not lose our reward Thus doth Faith put life and vigour into all other graces to make them effectuall and powerfull for our sanctification and for the spirituall comfort of our souls which is a special consideration to make us account of our faith as a principall Grace without which we can have no hope of salvation Thirdly k Mat. 13. 46 Faith is that Pearl of great price which the Merchant man in the Gospel found and sold all that he had to buy it for no humane learning no abilities of nature no wealth or riches can purchase we must renounce our trust in all these before we can buy this rich pearl for it is above the strength of nature to attain unto it and no power of men or Angels can procure it but we must have it of the holy Ghost he keeps it in his own power and we may have it of him without money and without price if in the true humiliation of our spirits we beg it of him But if we seek to buy this pearl of the world we shall pay dear for it and yet not have the right Pearl the lustre of these pearls can reach no further than to the object of the eye but the lustre of this true Orientall Pearl will shine in all dark places of woe and misery and it will pierce the very heavens to the eye of God himself Notwithstanding we do so highly value the pearls that nature or this world doth afford us that we will take any pains or be at any cost to gain some of them though they are of no worth to rest upon when we are in any spirituall misery whatsoever but as for this precious Pearl we are loath to part with any thing for it that by nature is near or dear to us or wherein we take pleasure and delight Thus we delude our selves with vain hopes and we rest upon that which cannot help because we know not the worth of true Faith to make it the instrument of our trust and confidence in God through Christ Let this consideration also advance the estimation of Faith in our hearts and affections because by it we gain Christ with all his excellencies and in Christ we gain the injoyment of the grace and favour of God and the assurance of eternall salvation Wherefore if this be the transcendent worth of true Faith we should then with all care and diligence seek out where it is to be had and labour by all means to obtain it If God seeth this holy desire in us he will then give us to understand by his Spirit that this rich pearl is no where to be found but in his own Cabinet also he will prepare our hearts and our will for it he will anoint our eyes with spirituall eye-salve to finde it and he will direct us to the means how we may obtain it First therefore we must know l Eph 2. 8. 8. that Faith is onely the gift of God which he bestoweth upon whom be pleaseth m Eph. 1. 19 and he works it in us by his mighty power Secondly God will give us hearts to seek it of him by fervent Prayer which is a powerfull means to obtain any thing of God Thirdly his Spirit will go along with the Preaching of his Word that if we hear it with sincere affections it may work Faith in us n Rom. 10. 17. for faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God Lastly when we have found this precious Pearl in his Word God will make us willing to buy it though we give for it our souls and all the faculties thereof our hearts our affections and all the parts of our bodies all which must be given up to the Lord or else we cannot injoy true faith and yet this is not all for we must empty our selves of all conceit of our own worth and quite renounce all confidence in worldly things all sinfull pleasures and every sin that presseth us down or that cleaveth close to us or else we cannot obtain this precious Pearl of God Fourthly we may conceive that Faith is of great estimation because it is so rarely found upon earth Thus saith our Saviour Christ concerning Faith o Lu. 18. 8. When the Son of man cometh shall he finde faith on the earth It is such a rare Jewell as is scarcely to be found few do injoy it and none can rightly esteem of it but onely such as have it p Rev. 2. 17. Christ promiseth to give a white stone to him that overcometh and in this stone a new name is written which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it We cannot obtain this white stone of purity righteousnesse and true holinesse but by Faith whereby we are cloathed with the righteousnesse of Christ which is this white stone also we shall know this new name that is written in it for by Faith we shall put on Christ and shall be made new creatures to live as becometh new Christians in newnesse of life and in uprightnesse of conversation It is true which Paul saith q 2 Thes 3. 2. that all men have not faith for there is so much wickednesse fraud deceit and unbelief among men that true faith can hardly be found is it is
written r Rom. 3. 10 11. There is none righteous no not one there is none that understandeth there is none that seeketh after God there is none that doth good no not one Most men fix their â—aith upon wrong objects which will deceive them in the end some upon false gods as upon Ashteroth Chemosh Dagon Belzebub and the like others put their confidence trust in the arm of flesh in strong towers or in the creature as Senacherib Nebuchadnezzar and others some again ground their faith upon their works all which delude themselves with vain hopes thinking to find help and comfort in these false objects where none can be expected But the true object of this Divine grace is God himself upon whom onely we must fix our Faith for if we trust in him we shall not be confounded Many have the notion of Faith in their brain but not the grace of Faith in their hearts and many have the outward profession of Faith but not the vertue and power of it to lay hold upon Christ and to make him their onely trust and confidence The Souldiers Faith is in his valour for he believeth not that Å¿ Ps 144. 1. God teacheth his hands to war and his fingers to fight and that he giveth victory to whom and when he pleaseth If the Magistrate did believe t Rom. 13. â— that he had his power and authority from God to use it in justice and in truth to whom he must give an account how he hath relieved the oppressed and how he hath judged the cause of the fatherlesse and Widow he would not then strain the Lawes beyond their true meaning nor pervert judgement for anjust ends The rich mans confidence is in his wealth and goods not believing u Lu. 12. 20 that this night they may be taken from him or he from them All these and many more come short of true justifying faith and therefore they know not the singular worth and esteem of it Wherefore it is evident that this heavenly grace is peculiar onely to the Elect of God such as are true Christians and such as are poor in spirit and humble minded that know the worth of this precious Jewell that do earnestly seek for it and use the right means to obtain it these onely are willing and ready to apply themselves unto God by prayer and supplication that he will be pleased to work it in their hearts by his Spirit that it may be firmly grounded upon Christ that onely he may be the Object of their Faith in whom dwelleth all fulnesse and who onely is able to support help and comfort them in all their necessities both spirituall and temporall and as he is able so he is as willing to do it Wherefore they do renounce all other confidence and they stick close unto Christ they rest and depend upon him using the means which he hath appointed to make their lives comfortable here and eternally blessed in the world to come Lastly the great estimation that we ought to have of Faith will appear by this consideration that the devill doth most oppose it and seeketh by all means to hinder the working and the growth of it in our hearts because it is the onely instrument of our salvation by Christ We cannot conceive what stratagemâ— he will cunningly use to deceive us and if it were possible to overthrow our faith First he will assault us with temptations and evil suggestions as he did David when he numbered the people to make him trust more in his own strength than in God Secondly he will labour by his subtile perswasions to keep us still in unbelief or else to make us presume of salvation by the mercies of God without Faith in Christ Thirdly he will delude us with a temporary faith which will not bear us out in strong tryals and temptations and so to lose the time and opportunity that God doth give us for the obtaining of true saving Faith Fourthly he â—oth bewitch us with the sinfull delights and vanities of this world to steal away our hearts from God and to keep us from a firm trust and confidence in him or else to keep us under the slavery and bondage of some sin which will nip the fruits of our faith and keep it from increase Lastly to further his wicked design he will labour to hold us in ignorance and blindnesse that we should not see our own miserable condition nor know how to get out of it Thus the Devil doth set himself against Faith because upon it dependeth our hope of salvation and because it is the chief piece of our spirituall armour to resist and conquer him and it is a shield so strong that his fiery darts cannot pierce it to wound or hurt our souls Wherefore we must look well to our Faith that the devil do not undermine it for then he will rob us of these blessed fruits that come thereby But our hope is in the promises of God and in the intercession of Christ as a sure Anchor to uphold and strengthen our Faith that it fail not though it be assaulted with much malice and violence In all ages the Devil hath had his wicked instruments which have turned many away from the Faith and have opposed the Prophets and Ministers of God and have persecuted those that did professe the Name of Christ to make them forsake the Faith u Gen. 3. Thus he made the Serpent his instrument to deceive Eve x 1 Kin. 22. Thus he made Zâ—dâ—kiah to withstand good Michaiah and to seduce King Ahab from following the word of the Lord. y Acts 13. 8 10. Thus also Elimas the forcerer withstood Paul and Barnabas seeking to turn away Sergius Paulus the Deputy from the Faith to whom Paul said O full of all subtilty and all mischief thou childe of the devil thou enemy of all righteousnesse wilt thou not cease to pervert the right wayes of the Lord Thus also the devil doth sometimes prevail against the servants of God z 1 Kin. 13. He made the old Prophet to seduce the man of God that was sent to Bethel and to transgresse the Commandement of God This should teach us the more highly to love and prize Faith because the devil so much hates it and to stick the closer to it because he doth so much oppose it This should also teach us to love those that wicked men hate and to hate those that they love if we observe what they do most delight in we should hate their vice and love the contrary vertue If they delight in gluttony or riot we should hate that and love temperance and sobriety if they take pleasure in uncleannesse then we should love chastity If they delight in pride we should delight in humility and lowlinesse of Spirit they have so much of the devils nature in them that they cannot truly love any thing that is pious and holy because it is that which God loveth neither
that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him Wherefore by our love to our neighbour we may know what love dwelleth in us how we love God and whether God dwelleth in us If we be in this gracious condition that God hath set his love upon us we cannot then lose this principall grace of Faith which is the bond of Gods love to us and we cannot fall quite away from God because a Eph. 4. 30 we are sealed with the Spirit of God into the day of Redemption The sixth reason is grounded upon the merits and intercession of Christ This is a strong reason so to stablish our Faith that it shall never be overthrown for by the merit of his blood we are redeemed out of the captivity of sin and Satan this was an infinite price which Christ paid for our redemption whereby also we are freed from the curse of the Law and from the condemning power of sin because we are made one with Christ by Faith If therefore we can be brought again under the same bondage and slavery or under the same curse or condemnation of sin which we shall be if our union with Christ can be broken then we shall have but little benefit by our redemption and Christ hath paid that great price for us to little purpose also we are not then perfectly made free but are still the servants of sin But Christ hath finished the whole work of our Redemption the eternall son of God hath made us free sin hath therefore no more power over us and the Devil cannot prevail against us to break that union which is between Christ and us by Faith Wherefore this consideration will much strengthen our Faith against all opposition and adversary power that if we are redeemed by Christ and made free by him our state and condition is firm and sure it cannot be removed for Christ will loose none of those whom he hath bought with so great a price and made free by his own power and for whom he hath made intercession to his Father If our Faith should fail then Christs intercession for us must fail we shall then lose Christ and all the benefits that come by him we shall lose all true comfort in this life and eternall blessednesse in the life to come If we conceive thus meanly of the merits and intercession of Christ it is blasphemy in the highest degree The seventh reason for the stability of Faith is drawn from the nature of saving grace which is in corruptâ—ble seed and planted in our hearts by the Holy Ghost whereby there is a new creation wrought in us for Peter saith b 1 Pet. 1. 23 that we are born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the Word of God which liveth and abideth for ever Our first birth is of corruptible seed which is mortall and fadeth away like the flower of the field but our Regeneration or second birth comes from an immortal principle which cannot decay but continueth for ever This Birth is wrought by the Spirit of God and it hath a spirituall life by Faith in Christ which can never dye though it may lye gasping for a time through some violent temptation or sore tryall For if God begins to work a Work of Grace in us he will not leave it untill it be finished From hence we may draw great consolation to our selves in the apprehension that we are weak in grace for though we finde but the beginnings of our Regeneration wrought in us God will not leave his own Work imperfect Though we cannot perform our duties and services to God as we ought yet God will accept the will for the deed in Christ if it proceeds from a faithfull heart and though we find but some parts of true repentance wrought in us as to our own apprehension God will go on in his Work of Reformation untill there be a through change wrought both in soul and body to newnesse of life If Faith or any other spirituall grace be weak in us it will grow stronger it will increase and continue because the Holy Ghost will water his own seed which he hath planted with his spirituall dewes from above The last reason for the confirmation of our Faith is this because the holy Ghost doth dwell in our hearts by faith and where he doth settle his habitation there he will abide for ever If our hearts are purified by Faith in the blood of Christ then we are the spirituall Temple of God and the Holy Ghost will dwell there according to this of Paul c 1 Cor. 3. 16 Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you Thus saith John d 1 John 4 15. Whosoever shall confesse that Jesus is the Son of God God dwelleth in him and he in God The holy Ghost is that true Comforter whom Christ hath sent from the Father to be with every Member of his Church to dwell with them to be in them and to abide with them for ever and where he is there no grace can be wanting If we injoy his comfortable society he will then lead us into all truth for he is the Spirit of Truth no erroneous Doctrine shall infect our souls but we shall rightly understand the wayes of God and be able in some measure to walk in them He will protect us in all dangers he will comfort us in all our sorrowes he will uphold our faith against all assaults and temptations and will give us strength of grace to hold out and persevere in all our tryalls unto the end Wherefore grieve not this holy Spirit by whom we have so much comfort in all conditions of life and by whom we are sealed unto the day of redemption who will confirm and stablish us in the Faith of Christ that we may continue stedfast untill we shall come to live and reign with our blessed Saviour Jesus Christ for ever in heaven The Conclusion of this Treatise NOw for the Conclusion of this Work I do earnestly request every Christian Reader to enter into a serious consideration with himself which way the thoughts of his minde are chiefly bent and upon what he doth set the Meditations of his heart that he may know whether his way be steered towards heaven or not for they do neâ—rest affect his soul and plainly shew what is his chiefest joy and delight If his thoughts are too much set upon the vanities of the world then his heart cannot be Faithfull towards God and there will be no place in his soul to receive that true comfort which otherwise he might have in the sweet fruition of God by his pious and devout Meditations Also if he delighteth to ruminate upon his carnall pleasures or upon any other evill concupiscence or to call to remembrance with approbation his former iniquities he doth sin over again those former sins and doth defile his precious soul with uncleannesse and pollutions