promised to give his holy Spirit to them that ask it Luk. 11.13 If therefore thou wouldst have Christ by his Spirit to come to thee invite him aske him beg and intreat him to come and dwell in thy soule and tell him that he shall have every roome in thy heart at command As Rebeckahs brother said to Abrahams servant So do thou say to Christ Come in thou blessed of the Lord wherefore standest thou without for I have prepared the house and roome for the Camels c. Gen. 24.31 Come in thou blessed of the Lord wherefore standest thou without here is roome for thee and all thy glorious traine Here 's an understanding will memory affections they shall be all at thy use and service O Christ wherefore come in thou blessed of the Lord make thy aboade with me Thus continue crying to Christ and longing for him and by this thou wilt declare thy great love unto him and so make thy selfe capable of that sweet promise which saith If a man love mee the Father loveth him and wee will come unto him and make our aboade with him Iohn 14.12 Then will thy condition bee comfortable indeed when thou hast got such glorious in-mates as these to dwell with thee Having thus spoken what I thought fit to the wicked by way of application from this point I will now addresse my selfe to speake unto the godly and shew them how usefull this point may be unto them I shall first speake to strong men and then unto Babes in Christ to such as can tell me that Christ as a Comforter is come to them Secondly to such as can tell mee they never yet found Christ as a Comforter come to them and lastly to such who can tell mee that they have found Christ as a Comforter come to them but now they have lost him To you that tell mee you finde the truth of this doctrine by blessed experience that Christ is come to you I have only two things to say first this Make it sure to thy selfe that Christ indeed as a Comforter is come to thee and that thy soule is not deluded in thy joy consolation Secondly strive so to walke that thy Comforter which is come to thee may never depart from thee First strive to make it sure that Christ is indeed come to thee that the comfort which thou hast is from the Comforter to wit the Spirit of Christ and not from the spirit of delusion There is great need that I should presse this instruction upon you because the spirit of delusion is plentifully powred out in these latter dayes The hypocrite hath his joy and he judges that this his joy is the joy of the Holy Ghost and as good as need to bee whereas it is a joy that shall perish saith the Scripture a joy that will end in desperate sorrow He thinks that Christ as a Comforter is come to him whereas 't is onely the Devill transformed into an Angell of light And thus indeed are many thousands gulled and cheated in their comfort Sadnesse would overshadow the smiling face of many a man if he did but discerne how groundlesse his joy and comfort is and what a vaine shadow instead of a true substance his poore soule is deluded withall Wherefore my brethren it concernes you that tell me you are sensible that the Comforter is come to you to take paines to make it sure to your selves that your soules are not deluded When the Spirit of God came upon Saul that hee prophesied the people that knew him before said What is come to the Son of Kish is Saul amongst the Prophets 1 Sam. 10.11 Thus doe thou say to thy soul who art so merry and comfortable viz. What is come to thee O my soule that thou art now so joyfull and cheerefull Once I am sure thou went'st mourning all the day long is Christ as a Comforter come to thee If Christ by his Spirit have brought glad tydings to thee why then O my glory continue in thy mirth but if not why art thou so merry O my soule thy mirth is but madnesse As David questioned his soule for sadnesse saying Why art thou so sad O my soule and why art thou so cast downe within me So maist thou doe well to question thy mirth saying why art thou so merry O my soule and why art thou so much lifted up within me Is thy Comforter our Lord Jesus Christ indeed come to thee O then my glory cease not to declare thy comfort by any comely posture and gesture but if not a house of mourning O my soule is fitter for thee then a house of mirth garments of Sackcloth and sadnesse would better become thee then garments of joy and gladnesse You know how Isaac once spake to his sonne Art thou said he my very Sonne Esau Gen. 27.24 So doe thou humbly question thy Comforter Art thou my very Comforter indeed Art thou the very Christ the Sonne of God which speakest consolation to my soul You know how Iohn questioned Christ much after this manner that hee might not be deceived concerning him Mat. 11.3 Art thou he that should come or do wee not looke for another So do thou say Art thou hee that should come and comfort my soule or should not I look for another There be many false Christs and false comforters now in the world and they deceive many wherefore I beseech thee speak out and speak plainly to my soule whether thou bee hee that should come and comfort mee yea or not that if I have obtained the true Comforter I may give God the glory of his great kindnesse if not I may seeke out for another How should I know may the strong man in Christ say to me whether hee that is come to my soule with consolation bee hee that should come or not How should I be able to make it sure to my soule that the consolation which I have is from the Spirit of Christ and not from a spirit of delusion To this I thus answer viz. If he that is come to thy soule bee hee that should come to wit Christ thou shalt finde that hee doth more workes then one in thy soule he doth not only comfort thee but hee doth many great works besides this Christ doth many great workes in a mans soule before he comforts him and hee doth many great workes in his soul after he hath comforted him Christ doth many great workes in the soule of man before he comforts him he doth break the heart before he bindes it up he first wounds the heart before he will heale it he casts downe the soule for sinne before he will raise it up Now to break the heart of man which the Scripture compares to an Adamant for hardnesse Zech. 7.12 is a great work and yet this doth Christ throughly before hee comforts throughly The breaking of the hard heart of man hath many great works about it ere it be
dull spirits to magnifie the free goodnesse of the Lord for 't is a worke of all workes that God loves I was a man of a very proud passionate malicious uncleane spirit and yet I obtained mercy God hath given Christ to be with this depraved spirit and in a little time he hath done very much and made a manifest change in my spirit of very proud he hath made it in some measure humble of very passionate in some measure patient of very malicious in some measure loving of very uncleane in some measure continent O! the riches of his love how unsearchable is his mercy and his love past finding out Secondly as I would have you thankfully acknowledge this great favour so I would have you carefully labour to preserve it You find that you have Christ with your spirits take heed you do not lose him Thou wert better lose thy life then lose the speciall presence of Christ with thy spirit 'T is a prime and prinpall blessing as thou hast heard a blessing of more worth then this world nay of more worth then thy soule which Christ values above the world Now choice things we are usually very carefull of and keepe them choicely Christ totally I know can no man lose which hath him after a speciall manner present with his spirit but according to some prime principall operations he may according to others very far though not totally A man may lose the presence of Christ with his spirit totally as a Comforter The Comforter which should relieve my soule is far frō me saith Ieremiah in the person of the afflicted Church Lam. 1.16 'T is probable enough that Davids spirit was thus stript of Christ by his dolorous complaints which frequently wee reade of Is his mercy cleane gone for ever doth his promise faile for evermore Hath God forgotten to be gracious hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies Will the Lord cast off for ever and will he be favourable no more Psal 77.7,8,9 Some carriages in Christians towards Christ make Christ totally alter his carriage towards thē though for his promise sake he will never totally remove himselfe from them As when Christians doe not keep their watch strictly against sinne in all the occasions of it then Christ instead of being a Comforter becomes a convincer and instead of speaking sweet things hee speakes very bitter unto the soule This was the case of David and Peter Or when Christians are carelesse and sluggish to maintaine and encrease their sweet Communion with Christ unyeelding to the sweet motions of the spirit of Christ and turning oft times the deafe eare against the still voice behind them which saith this is the way walke in it Then Christ drawes a curtaine betweene the spirit of man and himselfe and leaves the spirit of man in the darke and full of feares This is notably illustrated by that language of the Spouse It is the voyce of my beloved that knocketh saying open to me my Sister my Love my Dove my underfiled for my head is filled with dew and my locks with the drops of the night The Church was convinced of this that it was her beloved seeking neerer communion with her and yet observe how she replyes I have put off my coat how shall I put it on I have washed my feet how shall I defile them I opened to my beloved but my beloved had withdrawne himselfe and was gone my soule failed when he spake I sought him but I could not finde him I called him but he gave me no answer Cant. 5. You that finde the presence of Christ with your spirits as a Comforter make Christian use of what I have said that you may still enjoy so great a mercy And if you lose the Lord Jesus Christ as a Comforter to your spirits miserable comforters will all other things prove unto you You will mourne and none will bee able to comfort you if Christ as a Comforter forsake your spirits Secondly as a leader a man may very far lose the communion of Christ with his spirit As if a Christian take liberty to sinne against that light which Christ hath set up in his spirit this will make Christ first or last if not timely lookt unto leave a man to his owne understanding to steare his course and then will such a man declare himselfe quickly to be a foole and a beast in many points as David saith Have you not seene Christians of great light erre injudgement and erre in practise Whence comes this weaknesse but from hence that Christ as a leader stands aloofe from their spirits which is a plaine demonstration that a man may lose the presence of Christ with his spirit as a leader David I beleeve found the truth of this as well as of the former by wofull experience A man may collect so much cleerely from his owne words Cast mee not away from thy presence and take not thy holy spirit from me Psal 51.11 The Spirit of God is therefore called by David a holy Spirit because holy in himselfe the Spirit of the holy God as hee said to Daniel but principally here as I conceive Abofficio because the worker of holinesse in us David doubtlesse by his fall found an exceeding weaknesse in his Spirit unto all good over what formerly hee did and a strong propensity againe to erre as every act of sin leaves seed and spawn upon the spirit to bring forth more to cover the first or to commit the like againe But more then all this he found Christ to stand aloofe from his spirit not exercising that speciall dominion in his spirit as before for the subduing of lust and suggesting of holy motions and desires but leaving him as it were to himselfe as one with whom hee would have no more to do And therefore doth David so dolefully complaine Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy Spirit from me you therefore which finde Christ with your spirits as a tender leader take heed of sinning against any part of that light which he sets up in your understandings or against any motions of his spirit which he suggests unto you lest he leave you to your own light and to your own strength and then will you run from lesse sins to greater from one sin to another like David and Peter to the scandalizing of the Gospell and the desperate wounding of your own soules The third and last thing that I would commend unto you by way of counsell is this labour to augment this great favour You finde Christ with your spirits labour industriously to have Christ more and more with your spirits 'T is a prime and principall blessing as you have heard to have Christ with your spirits therefore labour to get as much of this favour happinesse as possibly you can Thou hast Christ with thy spirit as a teacher why thou maist have him yet more intimate with thee and open unto thee in
his breasts all night my meaning is to have a full enjoyment of Christ Thus have I done speaking to such who can tell me that Christ as a Comforter is come to them In the next place I addresse my selfe to speak to such of the godly who can tell me that they never yet found Christ as a Comforter come to them Two or three things I have to say to you from this sweet doctrine 1. First I would have you to labour to beleeve this doctrine that Christ will not leave you comfortlesse but will certainly at last come to you Christ hath repeated his promise which is as a bond with many seales and therefore thou hast just ground to beleeve ô comfortlesse soule that Christ will not leave thee comfortlesse but will come to thee Object What just ground have I to beleeve that Christ will come to me seeing he is holy and I am unholy hee is glorious in holinesse and I am abominable in sin and wickednesse saith the weake comfortlesse soule Sol. Art thou more vile then Manasseh Christ came to him and comforted him Art thou more muddie and earthy then Zacheus Christ came to him and comforted him Art thou more divelish then Mary Magdalen out of whom were cast seven Devils Christ came to her and filled her soule with strong consolation Why should'st not thou beleeve that Christ will come to thee too and quiet and comfort thy mourning spirit Sol. But secondly I answer thus viz. Christ doth not so much lock how thou art qualified as at what hee hath promised Christ hath promised hee will come to thee and he is faithfull and will doe it If thy soule were never so poore never so blinde never so wretched never so naked yet Christ having promised to come to thee hee will make good his word though he come backward with a mantle to cover thy nakednesie as Shem and Iaphet did to Noah If thy soule were full of wounds if thy soule were full of running putrifying sores if thou wert as black with sin as an Ethiopian if thou wert as spotted with sin as a Leopard nay if thy soule did stink within thee as Lazarus body after taken out of the Earth againe yet Christ having promised to come to thee and comfort thee he will doe it though he hold his nose while hee bee comforting thy stinking nasty soule Heaven and Earth shall passe away but not a jot or tittle of Christs promise shall faile The voice of my Beloved behold he commeth leaping upon the Mountaines and skipping upon the Hils Cant. 2.8 Though there bee mountaines and hils of sin in thy soule yet Christ will come skipping over all these with comfort to thy soule rather then thou shalt be left comfortlesse Wherefore O weake comfortlesse soule say not of thy Saviour and Comforter as Balaam did I shall see him but not now I shall behold him but not nigh Num. 24.17 I shall see Christ come with a witnesse nay with many thousand witnesses at the great day when every eye shall see him but I shall not see him come to me now in this soule dolour as a Comforter I shall behold him peradventure as Moses beheld the Holy Land afar off he will never come nigh my poore soule to stay it with those comforts which it needs Cease O weak soule this incredulous language and strive to beleeve and this sweet promise I treat of shall be made good unto thee No sinne so mighty to keepe thy Comforter from thee as unbeliefe Say then O mourning Christian to thy comfortlesse soule Yet a little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry Heb. 10.37 He that hath said he will come as a Comforter to thee will come and will satisfie thy soule with consolation as with marrow and fatnesse Say to thy sad soule with the Psalmist My God will come and will not keepe silence he will speak consolation so plainly that my ignorant soule shall understand so powerfully that my incredulous soule shall beleeve and owne her own mercies Thou art now tossed and almost drowned O my soule with restlesse waves of misery but the Spirit will move upon these waters thou shalt see Christ comming towards thee upon these troublesome waves anon and say be not afraid it is I I that have loved thee and given my selfe for thee and none shall pluck thee out of my hand Secondly as I would have thee to strive firmely to beleeve this truth so I would have thee endeavour patiently to waite the accomplishment of it Beleeve that Christ will come to thee and waite patiently untill hee doe come There is good ground why every soule should patiently waite for Christ comming to him whither we consider our selves which are to bee visited or Christ our visitour If thou O comfortlesse soule consider thy selfe which art to bee visited there is great reason thou should'st waite patiently till Christ come to thee how long soever he stay First thou art a creature and Christ is thy Creator and should not a creature wait on his Creator Thou art a servant and Christ is thy Lord and should not a servant waite on his Lord Consider thee in thy highest relations and they all call for waiting Thou art a Sonne and Christ is thy Father and should not a Sonne wait on his Father Thou art a Wife and Christ is thy Husband and should not a Wife wait on her Husband Secondly consider that thou hast deserved that Christ should never come to thee and yet for â—ll this seeing hee will come to â—hee hast not thou just cause â—o wait patiently till hee doe come how long so ever it bee first Before thy calling thou didst reject Christ and since â—hy calling thou hast often grieved Christ and hast not thou â—hen deserved that Christ should never come to thee Thou hast quenched many a sweet motion of the Spirit of Christ thou hast â—urned the deafe eare to the sweet still voice that hath spoken behinde thee times without out number and so slighted the Spirit of Christ and hast not thou then justly deserved that Christ as a Comforter should never come to thee yet seeing he will come for all this unkindnesse hast not thou just cause to wait patiently for him how long soever he stay Thou hast many weekes many moneths nay many yeeres gone along in a course of grieving Christ and doest thou think much of waiting a few weeks a few moneths a few yeeres for Christ to come to comfort thee Take this in another forme thou didst make Christ wait a long time upon thee ere thou wouldst let him abide with thee as a spirit of reformation and is there not just cause then that thou shouldst wait patiently a long time upon him if he will have it so ere hee abide with thee as a Spirit of consolation how many knocks did Christ give at thy stubborne heart ere thou wouldst open to him how much dew
at last cry Lord Lord and so prevaile quickly for pardon with him who is infinite in mercy Why but thinke on this O ignorant soule No man can call Iesus Lord but by the Holy-Ghost Thou wilt not in thy greatest need bee able to cry Lord Lord unlesse the Lord bee with thy spirit Death will sting thee conscience will gnaw thee Christ will condemne thee Divels will teare thee and yet wilt not thou bee able to cry Lord Lord have mercy on me unlesse the Lord bee with thy spirit but instead of crying Lord Lord for mercy thou wilt burne in malice against the Lord and curse and blaspheme as Divels and damned wretches doe Hast thou never seene condemned wretches not onely dumme but withall desperate too and leape off the ladder themselves without either asking God or man forgivenesse thus in a spirituall sense and much worse wilt thou doe in the great day of judgement for as much as Christ is not with thy spirit Fourthly a mans spirit without Christ is not onely blind and dumme but deafe too And if a man bee blind and dumme yet if hee can heare hee may make some shift to help himselfe wee follow a thing you know sometimes by the sound when wee cannot see it nor speake what it is but when a man is naked blind dumme and deafe too hee is in a helplesse condition indeed and just such is the state of a mans spirit without Christ For Christ as hee is Eyes and Tongue so hee is eares also to the soule of man Hence it is that Iohn speakes so frequently of spirituall hearing after a Hypotheticall manner Hee that hath an eare c. That is if any man have spirituall discerning let him heare what the spirit saith to the Churches Intimating that a spirituall eare is a very rare thing to bee found that which no man hath but hee which hath Christ with his Spirit that hath had his eares boared by the Spirit of Christ as the Scripture speakes all others are as deafe as Adders and cannot heare the voyce of the charmer charme hee never so wisely I would have all that live in their sinnes seriously consider this too as a further degree of unhappinesse You tell us that you will turne from your sinnes hereafter and obey the call of God in the Ministry of his Word but let mee aske you this have you not hither unto turned the deafe eare upon God yes I and so you will doe for the time to come and the reason of both the same because Christ is not with your spirits Let mercies call corrections call let friends call father call mother call husband call wife call let Ministers call conscience call nay let Christ himselfe call in what voyce hee will still voyce or lowd voyce in words never so pleasing or never so piercing yet wilt not thou heare because Christ is not with thy spirit but with Salomons foole wilt on in thy sins and bee eternally punished Fifthly a mans spirit without Christ is without feeling in a dead Palsie all over which how dolorous such a state is in a corporall sense you know much more dolorous in a spirituall sense I am sure As the spirit of man can neither see speake nor heare so neither can it feele without the spirit of Christ The spirit of man without the spirit of God is dead Christ is to our spirits as our spirits are unto our bodies their life and life is the principle of feeling for the dead feele nothing When Christ which is our life shall appeare c. Where there is no Christ there is no life and where there is no life there is no feeling You know the Apostle speakes of some that were past feeling having given themselves over to lasciviousnesse to worke all uncleannesse with greedinesse Ephes 4.9 There the Apostle speakes of such a senselessenesse as lyes upon the soule by a second act of divine justice All humane spirits by the first act of divine justice upon Adam are naturally past feeling and would give up themselves unto all wickednesse with greedinesse did not God restraine To bee past feeling in this latter sense notes principally a want of divine affection when sinne doth not kindly affect the soule with sorrow as in the former sense when sinne doth not at all affect the soule with sorrow when holy wayes and works do not kindly affect the soule with joy as in the other sense when they do not affect the soul with joy at all but rather disturbe and provoke to passion and malice I would have all that live in their sins seriously think on this also as a further degree of unhappinesse You have heard many powerfull Sermons which you have seene work admirably upon others yet they have made no impressions upō your spirits many hundred more may you heare and no divine impression at last be made and the reason of both one and the same because Christ is not with your spirits and by reason of this your hearts are as Adamants which every stroke hardens but not breaks it Let the master smite and the man smite let God smite and his Ministers smite and conscience smite nay let every member of the body bee smitten with punishment to affect the soule with sin yet will it not stir and complaine unlesse Christ be with it Finally a mans spirit without Christ is without tasting or smelling to these senses also you know the Scripture doth allude and therefore fitly here may I to set forth fully the unhappy condition of every spirit without Christ You know the Apostle speaks of some that savoured not the things of God which is a terme applyed in Scripture to the sense of smelling as well as to the sense of tasting and therefore for brevity sake do I here joyne both senses together in a spiritull way of allusion Why all that have not Christ with their spirits are such as cannot rightly savour spirituall things such put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter I would have all you that live in your sins seriously thinke on this too as a further degree of unhappinesse You come oft times to Wisdomes house and though shee prepare you all spirituall dainties yet you can relish nothing but some by things that lye about the dish rather for ornament thē for food And would you know the reason of this 't is because Christ is not with your spirits If Christ were with you you wold feed on every dish at wisdomes table on promises yea on threatnings too To the hungry soule every bitter thing is sweet saith Solomon All that is good and wholesome goes downe well where Christ is with the Spirit You come frequently to Wisdomes house who keeps a Table here and 't were for a King and yet you have leane shrivel'd soules like men in a Consumption every one tels you that you look as if you were starved speak and live as if you never heard a good Sermon from
yeares end to yeares end they tell you that you are so leane and feeble that you need the benefit of all the spirits that every dish at wisdoms table can yeeld to strengthen you and recover you and yet every dish almost goes against your stomacks and that you doe eat is without savour or any other vertue and so you languish with al dainties before you and thus you will goe on languishing untill you quite consume perish eternally unlesse Christ be with your spirits You see I suppose plainly by this time that as it is a prime and principall happinesse to have Christ with our spirits so it is a prime and principall evill and unhappines not to have Christ with our spirits Wherefore having laid open both before you let mee entreat you all to looke in upon your spirits and see who keeps company with them Christ or the divell one of these two is with all our spirits If Christ bee not with our spirits the divellis and wil be If Christ be with your spirits according to the sense and meaning of the Apostle in my text you shall find it by these two things the body is dead because of sin and the spirit is life because of righteousnes 'T is Pauls Character of Christs speciall presence in the soule of man upon earth and therefore of strong authority And if Christ be in you the body is dead because of sinne but the spirit is life because of Righteousnesse Rom. 8.10 The body is dead because of sinne that is the body of corruption is destroyed as in respect of the guilt of it so in respect of the dominion of it And the spirit is life because of righteousnesse that is the regenerate part is vigerous in reference to all righteous wayes And if therefore you would know whether Christ bee with your spirits see whether your bodies bee dead because of sin whether you labour to bring every thought into subjection to Christ or whether you doe not allow your selves liberty to some evill out of love to some pleasure or profit which is that principally wherein the dominion of sinne consisteth as Paul hints unto us where he saith the evill which I doe I allow not That is I doe not approve of it in my heart nor plead for it with my tongue but strive against it with all my strength and it would be more joy to me to be rid of it then if I had a Kingdome conferred on me This is the language right of one that hath Christ with his spirit Secondly see whether your spirits be alive because of righteousnesse if you would know whether Christ be with your spirits or not See whether holy wayes doe heartily affect you I rejoyced when they said come let us goe to the house of the Lord saith the Psalmist He spake like a man having Christ indeed with his spirit his spirit leapt within him like the Babe in Elizabeths Wombe when they spake of drawing neere to God in the duties of his worship A Christian that hath Christ with his spirit sees a taking transcendant beauty in all wisedomes wayes they are all wayes of pleasure and pathes of peace which is spoken in reference to such as have Christ with their spirits for others finde no such thing in them And his spirit opens in them like flowers in the Sunne and smelles fragrantly he bends and cleaves to them in love to that soule sweetnesse which he findes in them And if you finde these things in you I thinke I may safely tell you to your comfort that Christ is with your spirits I may turne this Character into another forme as Paul doth and tell you in his words that hee which is joyned to the Lord is one spirit 1 Cor. 6.17 They that have Christ with their spirits are one spirit with Christ This expression I conceive is something explained by these following words And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soule 4 Acts v. 32. or as the originall hath it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 heart and soule one They that have Christ with their spirits are heart and soule one with Christ They doe idem velle idem nolle What Christ loves they love and what Christ hates they hate Christ loves righteousnesse and hates iniquity Thou hast loved righteousnesse and hated iniquity c. Psal 45.7 They that have Christ with their spirits are heart and soule one with Christ in this They love righteousnesse that is all righteous wayes and hate iniquity that is all that Gods Word condemnes 'T was Christs meate and drinke to doe his Fathers Will they that have Christ with their spirits are one spirit with Christ in this 'T is joy to the just to doe judgement saith Salomon Christ was tender about keeping the least Commandement as well as about keeping the greatest Whosoever shall break one of these least Commandements and teach men so he shall be called the least in the Kingdome of Heaven Mat. 5.19 They that have Christ with their spirits are heart and soule one with Christ in this they are tender to keepe all Gods Commandements least as well as greatest So shall I not be confounded whil'st I have refpect unto all thy Commandements saith David I doe conceive the place forecited so as if Christ did account of one part of his Fathers wil above another I rather thinke that hee there speakes Pharisaeorum more in the Pharises dialect who would make the world believe that they mightily laboured to keepe some precepts but others they thought as many of us now doe that they need not to bee so strict about Now Christs tender Spirit for his Fathers honour could not brooke this halting in religion and they that have Christ with their spirits are heart and soule one with Christ in this That Commandement which the most say is one of the least and may be dispensed with all or at least need not bee so strictly look't unto that as well as any other whil'st a precious part of Christs will a man that hath Christ with his spirit will bee tender to observe Davids spirit smote him for cutting off the lap of Sauls garment as wel as for cutting off the life of Vrijah which plainly shewes that men which have Christ with their spirits are tender about the avoiding of small sins as well as great Now possibly some of you by what hath beene said may see that as yet you have not Christ with your spirits I shall addresse my selfe in the first place particularly to speake to you and then in the second place I shall addresse my selfe particularly to speake to such of you as have by what hath beene said discerned that Christ is indeed with your spirits To you which by what hath been said see that as yet Christ is not with your spirits I have only these two things to say labour to bewaile your great want as persons deeply sensible of it and
imparting divine mysteries if thou follow on to know as the Prophet speaks if thou humbly forget look over all thou hast presse hard after more the things thou knowest not Christ will teach thy spirit morning by morning as by the learned Christ hath taught thy spirit many truths why he will leade thy spirit into all truth if thou urge his promise and beleeve He will fill thee with the knowledge of his will in all wisdome and spirituall understanding If thou pray for it as Paul did for the Colossians Thou findest Christ with thy spirit as a Comforter why thou maist have yet much more consolation from him if thou study to be more pliable to him Thou hast Christ distilling drops of consolation into thy spirit now and then why thou maist have Christ powring in flagons of love into thy soule filling thee with joy unspeakable and full of glory if thou bring thy spirit to bee more lowly and meek for such find most rest to their soules if thou carefully keep comming to Christ still in every pressure of spirit for such finde most ease that is renewing faith still as thou renewest thy sins Thou findest Christ with thy spirit as a quickner strengthner to duty why thou maist find him yet more mighty with thy spirit this way if thou powre out thy spirit often with David for quickning grace and if thou more deny thine own strength and cast thy self more upon his Could we but attain Pauls height in selfe-denyall to bee nothing in our selvs though I am nothing saith he 2 Cor. 12.11 we should finde Christ gloriously present still with our spirits and be more constant in zeale strength to every good work then we are I conclude this thus bee so tractable to Christ that thou maist with Mary winne upon Christ still and think that thou canst never bee neere enough to him nor intimate enough with him and this is the ready way to have a heaven upon earth for the more we get Christ to be with our spirits the more truly may wee bee said to be in Heaven The last thing that I have to say to you that find Christ with your spirits is matter of consolation Here is comfort for you against famine When thy body wants food Christ that is with thy spirit will give that meat to eat which the world knowes not off so that when others repine and curse God and their King in their extremity as the Prophet speaks thou shalt bee patient in this tribulation and instant in prayer to him who can command Ravens to bring thee bread and flesh to feed on and will rather then thou shalt starve if thy life may bee more to his glory then thy death Here 's comfort for you against the sword In the midst of all troubles and fears Christ that is with thy spirit will beare thee up admirably What is the face of an enemy to terrifie if Christ be with thy spirit What is the spoiling of thy goods nay what is the spoiling of thy body if Christ bee with thy soule A Mountaine of misery is but as a Mole-hill if Christ support the spirit To think of the Sword is a naked reference to flesh and blood and so nothing is more terrible but let us that feare the Loro think of it in reference to Christ that is with our spirits then wee shall not be troubled though we heare of warres and rumours of warres no more then at the rumours of any other calamity Here is coÌ„fort for you against the Plague which is here and there scatterd in the Kingdome What is any disease to the body if Christ bee with thy soule As the outward man decayeth the inward man shall be renewed daily because Christ is with thy spirit When thy body is full of paine thy soule shall be full of comfort because Christ is with thy spirit When thy body is sealed with spots for death thy soule shall be sealed with the Holy Ghost unto eternall life because Christ is with thy spirit The plague of the body is nothing if this plague of plagues bee not upon the spirit to wit destitute of Christ Here is comfort for you against persecution When men frowne upon thee without Christ will smile upon thy spirit within when men lade thy outward man w th reproaches Christ will fill thy inward man with comforts when men shut up thy body from the communion of Saints Christ will give thy spirit a large freedome of communion with himself When men strike thy body Christ will stroke thy soule when men kill thy body Christ will save thy soule In a word as the afflictions of Christ abound in thy body so the consolations of Christ shall abound in thy soule because Christ is with thy spirit Name any misery that is incident to man and here 's comfort to be suckt out of this point to oppose unto it Finally in life in death eternally after death Christ that is with thy spirit will be gaine unto thee Thy life he will make comfortable thy death hopefull and thy being after death eternally joyfull Wherefore I will conclude my Sermon for the good of you as S. Paul doth his Epistle for the good of Timothy The Lord Iesus Christ bee with your spirits Trinuni Deo gloria Errata Pro 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 leg 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pag. 7. For say read saw p. 39. l. 6. pro pereunte solep eâ—…nt omnia lege pereunte sole pereunt omnia p. 114. Marg. For I do conceive r. I do not conceive p. 169. l. 7. FINIS