a familiar spirit that I may enquire of her And his servants said unto him Behold there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor c. What doth he doe in his afflictions why he goeth to a Witch and useth sinful means and all to try what he might doe to prevent the prevailing of the Philistins over him O thou that darest venture on any sinful shift to avoid any affliction why this is an Argument that thou art inordinately disquieted under afflictions Lastly A man is then excessively disquieted under afflictions when he is so troubled for bodily afflictions that he doth distemper his own body You shall read this of Job he was so troubled that his spirits were dried up and his bones they were consumed and his strength was wasted And thus you read in the 38. Psalme of David Thine arrows sticke fast in me and thine hand presseth me sore What follows There is no soundness in my flesh Here the Psalmist did so grieve for Gods hand upon him as to weaken his own body and consume his strength this then is an Argument that sorrow is too inordinate when disquiet and trouble of mind for afflictions doth distemper the body Thus I have done with the third cause of Soul-disquieting that is for outward afflictions SERMON XIII Psal 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 The health of my Countenance and my God I Am on the second part of David's trouble In general I shewed you what are these causes for which the souls of Gods people are troubled and disquieted 1. For the Prosperity of the wicked 2. For the Calamities of the Church 3. For the want of the Assurance of Gods love 4. For the Personal afflictions of the body I now come to the Fourth Fourthly Godly men are disquieted in their soules because of guilt of sin on the conscience the guilt and the power of sin on the conscience of all things in the World doth trouble the soul of a godly man For the handling of this Particular there are several Particulars to be considered First I shall shew you how it appears Gods people are disquieted in conscience for sin Secondly In what seasons and cases the People of God may be most troubled and cast down for sin Thirdly The difference between that sorrow and disquietness of soul of those that are godly and the disquietness of soul of those that are ungodly and reprobate men Fourthly How it comes to pass they are so much disquieted for sins Fifthly When may Gods people be said to be too much disquieted for sin Sixthly If the godly be disquieted so much What is the reason the wicked are not disquieted at all First How it doth appear that the souls of Gods people are apt for to be disquiet in their souls under the guilt of sin And first I shall instance it in David Psal 38. 3. There is no peace in my bones by reason of my sins that is I am exceeding troubled Psal 6. 2. Have mercy on me for my bones are vexed Now the Scripture by a trouble in his bones means an exceeding great measure of trouble that is I am in so great and sore troubles that it doth even vex my soul and trouble my body So likewise again in Lament 1. 13. From above he hath sent fire into my bones c. Now when a man is in so great trouble of spirit and so afflicted in body by reason of sin that there is no quietness in his bones when he is in so great affliction for sin to disturbe soul and body this is immoderate sorrow and too much disquietness So the Psalmist cries out in Psal 51. 8. Make me to hear the voice of joy and gladness that so the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice that is as if he said I have lost by reason of my sin the light of thy face and I have broken my peace Now let the light of thy countenance come into my soul and let the peace of conscience come to my soul which I have lost let this come to me again So again the Psalmist saith I go mourning all the day by reason of my sin and I am sorely troubled for I roar because of the troubles of my heart Psal 38. 6. 8. So again in Psal 77 3. When I remembred God I was troubled I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed Thou holdest mine eyes waking I am so troubled that I cannot speak So in Psal 88. 3. It is spoken of Heman My soul is full of troubles and my life draweth nigh unto the grave And in verse 7 Thy wrath lieth hard upon me thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves And so in verse 16. Thy fierce wrath goeth over me thy terrors have cut me off See how this man doth multiply his complaints by reason of his sore troubles and his great afflictions that lay upon his body and spirit So likewise you read of Job's troubles how he was sorely disquieted by reason of his personal troubles Job 23. Job was troubled and affraid of God and his presence was terrible to him And he complaineth that the Almighty troubled him All which doth make it to appear that the people of God are apt to be disquieted for their troubles and sins Secondly In what seasons is it that the people of God are most apt for to be troubled and disquieted for sin A man is not alwaies disquieted and troubled for the guilt of sin but there are some special seasons wherein God doth let their consciences to be more troubled and disquieted for sin then ordinary Now there are Seven special Seasons wherein conscience is most troubled and disquieted for sin First Case is Upon the consideration of the threatning and denunciation of some great judgement The apprehending of some great judgement doth bring the guilt of sin to remembrance and then conscience is sorely troubled And thus we read of wicked men that they are troubled in conscience in 1 Kings 21. 27 28 when it was told Ahab that he should be destroyed then guilt of sin came to mind and conscience was troubled and his mind perplext and then be went and humbled himself And it came to passe when Ahab heard those words that he rent his clothes and put sackcloth upon his flesh and lay in sackcloth and went softly When he heard of the denunciation of judgement threatned by the Prophet then he went and humbled himself before the Lord. So likewise Jehoshaphat and Hezekia's hearts and consciences were troubled at such a time as this was Secondly a second Case is When the Lord doth lay them under some great affliction when it is not nigh them but when it is already upon them An instance you have of Manasseh 2 Chron. 33. 10 11 12. And the Lord spake to Manasseh and to his people but they would not answer nor hearken
a faithful God a merciful God a pittiful Father and then you can see those blessings that God bestoweth upon you and blesse and glorifie God but when you throw your selves on the ground by a faithful sorrow and lie on your faces for sin to be too much humbled under the sight and sense of it in this case God hath neither glory nor you have no comfort But Ninthly When your sins do discourage your souls from laying hold on Jesus Christ then art thou cast down too much for sin that man surely is sick to death when his disease will not let him send for a Physitian Troubled ones often say doubtingly what the wicked say scoffingly there is no help for me in God this is sinful sorrow Whereas true sorrow and Gospel humiliation for sin it is such a measure and degree of sorrow that instead of discouraging the soul to goe away from Christ it doth encourage the soul to come to Christ and to lay hold on Christ and to prize Jesus Christ above all the world But that is a sinful sorrow when it drives the soul off from Christ and discourageth the soul from comming to him and from setting a high estimation and price upon him nor can the soul in such a condition venture it self upon him As we must not with the Antinomist so fix our eyes upon free grace and mercy that â—e have â—o eye to look upon sin So should we not with doubting and despairing Christians so look upon sin as never to cast an eye upon Jesus Christ And thus I have laid doâ—n â—n these Nine particulars when it may be said that a man may be too much cast down for sin First What sort of men God doth cast down for sin And then Secondly When Gods people may be said to be cast down for sin too much I now come to the Use and that is 1. For Comfort and 2. For Caution Use 1 First of all it may be for comfort if it be so that Gods people may be cast down too much for sin under the sense sight of sin then the first comfortable observation to the people of God is this That God will never cast off his people although he doth and may many times cast down his people though thou be cast down yet comfort thy self Thou shalt never be cast off Ps 94 14 The Lord will not cast off his people neither will he forsake his inheritance Cast down he will his people for sin but cast off his people he will not This made the Apostle come with a God forbid hath God cast off his people God forbid God hath not cast off his people whom he foreknew Rom. 11. 1 2. Secondly It is true Gods people may be cast off seemingly when they are not cast off really it is with them as it was with Christ when he met the two Disciples in the last of Luke he seemed to go away from them as though he would have gone further but Jesus Christ did not intend to goe from them So may God doe to thy soul he may seem to goe from thy soul but God will never leave thy soul he may seem to withdraw his face but he will never really withdraw from thy soul So in Psal 74. 1. O God why hast thou cast us off for ever why doth thine anger smoak against the sheep of thy pasture So Psalm 7. 7. Will the Lord cast us off for ever Psal 89. 38. Levit. 26. 44. Now this was not really so but it was only seemingly so God did not cast his people off though he cast them down the Church apprehended that God had cast them off but God did not so really Augustin hath a good observation on Job 14 45 Whither I go ye know and the way ye know But Thomas said we know not whither thou goest and how can we know the way Here is a seeming contradiction between Christ and Thomas Now Augustin hath a good note on these words They said they did not know and Christ said they did know Now how shall this be reconciled Now the meaning is this The Disciples and Thomas did not know their own knowledge and they had more grace and knowledge then they knew of themselves It may be so with thee God may cast thee of seemingly when thou maist think it really but God doth not really cast off his people therefore let this comfort thee Thirdly It is not the measure of humiliations for sin but the truth of humiliation for sin to which grace is annexed the promises are made to grace not as strong grace but as true grace not to humiliation as to the measure of it and the length of it but to the truth of it the Scripture doth not entaile a promise to faith as strong faith but to weak faith to little faith to faith that is small if true though it be but as a grain of mustard seed and the greatest promises is entailed to the least measure of faith It may be O Christian thou hast not a great measure of faith but hast thou little faith not strong faith hast thou weak faith O comfort thy self all the promises are entailed to that beginnings of faith it may be thou hast not faith like to an ear of where but is it like to a grain of mastard seed there is promises for that It may be thou hast not rivers of tears but hast thou any tears for sin any sorrow for sin God accepts of that God doth hold open his bottle to those whose eyes distilâ—e few drops of tears as well as to those that make their heads fountains of water and their eyes rivers of tears Though that be false of Libertiues and Antinomist that say promises are made to sinners as sinners so it is false too to hold that they are made only to sinners just so far and thus deeply troubled For total want of grace many a soal hath perished but never was any man damned for want of degrees Promises are made to grace to its truth and not to such a degree of grace grace true though it be weak is looked upon by God as having Interest in the promises therefore this should comfort thee Fourthly Let this comfort thee that God hath made promises not only to humiliation but also for humiliation hast thou a hard heart God hath made promises that he will break thy hard heart God hath promised to take away thy heart of stone and give thee a heart of flesh God hath promised to take away thy old heart and give thee a new heart both these you have laid down Ezek. 11. 19. I will give them one heart and I will put a new Spirit within you and I will take their stony heart out of their flesh and I will give them a heart of flesh And thus much for comfort I now come to the Use of Caution In the treating on this doctrine that Gods people may be cast down under the sight and
God doth bear to them I shall reduce the Reasons into these Four Heads First It ariseth from a mans own self Secondly It commeth from God Thirdly From the Divel Fourthly It commeth from other men These may be the Four general Causes why Gods people are cast down under the want of Gods love and favour to their souls First It ariseth from a mans own self and that in these Six regards First From the prevalency of natural melancholy in a mans body The prevalency of melancholy in a man doth darken the understanding and it troubles the fancy and it doth disturbe the reason and sadden the soul and cloaths it in mourning weeds and when these meet together it must needs cast the man down and suspend the sense of Gods favour from him Melancholy it is the mother of discomfort and discontent and it is the nurse of doubts Think of that story which you read of Daniel 4. concerning Nebuchad-nezzar He did eat grass like an Oxe he knew not whether he was a beast or a man But his fancy was troubled and his understanding was darkened and his reason was gone and thus natural melancholy maketh a child of God to think that he is a child of the Divel when he is a child of God and it makes him to think he is a brat of Babylon when indeed he is a son of Sion It is no more wonder saith Baxter for a melancholy man to doubt and fear despair then it is to see a sick man groan and a child crie when he is beaten the best way to cure this belongs rather to a Physitian then to a Divine There is a natural distemper in the body is the cause of melancholy yet trouble of conscience doubtings distresse of spirit are the companions of it You may silence a melancholy man when you cannot comfort him If you abate his sadnesse by convincing arguments yet when he retires alone through the prevalency of this humour all is forgotten his comforts are but a day or two old 2. The second cause of the suspension of the favour of God it is this spiritual security and indulging and harboring in the heart any known sin there is nothing in the world that will so much hinder him of and keep the soul from the assurance of the favour of God as the harbouring in the soul any known sin for all the while David did harbour in his heart and indulge and hide his sin from God he did lose the light of Gods countenance and he lost the shining of Gods face upon his soul insomuch that he prayeth to God to restore unto him the joy of his salvation It is true the salvation of David was not lost but the joyes of his salvation the comforts and consolation that he formerly enjoyed that was lost and for this he begs of God for to restore unto him Psal 51. 12. restore unto me the joyes of thy salvation Although that sin cannot make a child of God to lose salvation it self yet sin may cause God to suspend the comforts and the wonted joyes of his salvation I may say concerning this case as Philosophers say of Earth-quakes When the wind is in the Air spread abroad and diffused in the Air then it doth not throw down either hill or mountain but when the wind is gathered together and lies in the caverns of the Earth then it causeth Earth-quakes and over-turns all that is about it so while that sin is not kept close in the soul and while it is not indulged there and whiles it is not hid and concealed but confessed and repented of and prayed against it doth not much hurt but when that sin is indulged and kept close and not repented of nor prayed against but indulged in the soul this will make a heart-quake and a conscience-quake and will fill thy heart with horror and amazement Psal 32. 3. When I kept silence my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day When a man doth conceal his sin it troubles his soul and woundeth his heart and breaketh his peace if you will break Gods Law it is but just and righteous with God to break your peace God will not encourage any of his people by giving them peace and comforts and mercies in any sinful course and however the Antinomians hold us in hand and would make us believe that our comforts have no dependance on our sinful actions whereas God teacheth us no such thing saith the Prophet Isaiah The work of Righteousness that is peace and the end thereof is quietness and assurance for ever Here you see that comfort and consolation and joy and peace and assurance is annexed to the works of Righteousness when as discomforts and discouragements are annexed unto sin if you break Gods Law God will break your peace God will break your heart the same promises of peace cannot be made to the godly and wicked for they have promises of divine peace the other have not Ezek. 14. 4. Therefore speak unto them and say unto them Thus saith the Lord God Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart and putteth the stumbling block of his iniquities before his face and cometh to the Prophet I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols When a man shall come to the Prophets to the Ministers of God and shall make great complaint of his inward trouble in his soul and much cast down within himself and yet in the mean time keep and harbour known sins upon his own heart God hath said he shall not answer that man that he might give him comfort but saith God in the 5. v. Thus saith the Lord repent and turn your selves from your idols and turn away your faces from all your abominations and then God will answer him but those that will not turn from their evil wayes God will answer such a man with rebuke and God will set his face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb and cut him off he that keeps sin in his heart and indulges sin there there shall be no peace in his conscience nor serenity nor quietness of soul he shall not in joy the smiles of Gods face the light of Gods countenance but the sense of his wrath much anguish and sorrow and perplexity of mind for his sin The third cause of the souls suspension and want of Gods favour it is the defectiveness of the people of God in the exercising of their graces little grace shall have but little evidence and if you are not abundant in the exercise of grace you will not have the comfort of grace but in a weak measure Ioh. 14. 21. He that hath my Commandements and keepeth them he it is that loveth me and he that loveth me shall be loved of my father and I will love him and will manifest my self unto him You know that all the stars in the Firmament
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 scalvat that signifies prosperity in the Hebrew is rendered by the Arabick investigatio by the Septuagint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 inquisition or examination to make a search or to examine and the reason is this prosperity makes known a mans disposition as we say of Magistracy Magistratus indicat verum when a man comes to be a Magistrate it will shew what a man is so I may say prosperity will shew what a man is it will find a man out therefore saith Anselme in his Sentences Tribulatio probat unam patientiam prosperitas verô omnes virtutes examinat adversity and trouble it tries but one grace that is your patience but prosperity it will try all your graces it will try your love whether you love God or the World it will try your zeal whether you will venter Christ or your estates O beloved wilt thou envie a man that doth prosper in the World when it is so hard a matter for a good man to use well a prosperous condition It is said of Pius Quintus he was called pious because in their account when he was a mean man he was thought a good man but when he came to be Cardinal he doubted of his Salvation but when he became a Pope he despaired of Salvation Beloved when you are in a mean condition you live holy and pray better then now you doe God had more service from you then now he hath when you have gotten your great livings and much of the world It is a Note that Bernard hath on Psal 91. 7. A thousand shall fall at thy fide and ten thousand on thy right hand but it shall not come nigh thee The genuine sense of that place is the godly should not fall in that time by the plague but saith Bernard I may apply this to prosperity on the left hand there shall be ten thousand fall by prosperity when it may be not a thousand fall by adversity Beloved if so be adversity slays his thousands prosperity slays his ten thousands Secondly Confider that the prosperity of wicked men hastens their end and their ruine Wilt thou envy a mans prosperity when thou seest prosperity hastens his ruine Psal 37. 1 2. Fret not thy selfe because of evil doers neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity For they shall soon be cut down like the grasse and wither as a green herb The more a flower is blossomed the neerer it is to its withering time When wicked men do flourish and blossome broadest they are then neerest to be cut down therefore fret not thy self against evil doers for they shall soon be cut off Prov. 24. 19 20. Fret not thy self because of evil men neither be thou envious at the wicked For there shall be no reward to the evill man the candle of the wicked shall be put out Their prosperity shall hasten their ruine but not their reward there shall be no reward to evil men Would not you account it folly in a man that is heir to so many thousand pounds per annum to enuy a Stage-player in a cloth of Gold in the habit of a King and yet not heir to one foot of Land why though he hath the form and respect and apparrel of a King or Nobleman upon the Stage yet he is heir to nothing Thus wicked men though they are arrayed gorgeously and fare deliciously with Dives everyday wanting nothing having more then heart can wish they are only possessors thou godly man art the heir The Oxe that is the labouring Oxe is longer lived then the Oxe that is put into fatted Pastures putting him there doth hasten the slaughter of the Oxe when the Lord puts wicked men into fat Pastures he doth it to hasten their ruine Thirdly Consider that another mans prosperity is not a hurt to thee nor a prejudice to thee therefore do not envy their prosperity Suppose a wicked man hath much by his muchnesse thou hast never the lesse thy portion is not impaired because anothers is encreased Leahs fruitfulnesse was no cause of Rachels barrenness yet she envied her Why dost thou envy a wicked man when thou seest him grow rich and Prosper this is an Act of folly because his prosperity it is no hurt to thee nor no prejudice to thee Fourthly Consider that thou in this life hast a prosperity which wicked men have not and in the life to come thou shalt have prosperity that they shall never have Here are two parts in this Consideration the One is this 1. That in this life thou hast a prosperity that wicked men have not 3 ep John 3. 2. Beloved I wish as I pray above all things that thou maist prosper and be in health as thy soul prospers When thy body doth not prosper that it is diseased when thy estate doth not prosper that thou art behind hand the labour of thy hand cannot fill thy belly nor cloath thy back even then thy soul may prosper In the Psalmist language thy soul may flourish like a green herb Psal 92. v. 13. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God They shall be fat and flourishing c. The graces of the spirit may thrive in thee when nothing prospers nor goeth well with thee in the World now wicked men though they doe prosper in their bodies they prosper not in their souls they prosper and thrive in wealth and goods not in grace It is a remarkable Text in Psal 106. v. 15. And he gave them their request but sent leanesse into their souls He gave them their request but what follows he sent leanesse into their souls the Quails were dainty food it did fat their bodies but their souls starved their souls thrived not their graces grew not their souls starved Suppose thy estate doth not encrease yet does thy graces thrive this should comfort thee and free thee from all disquietings in thy inward man 2. For the life to come thou shalt then have prosperity that no wicked man shall have this consideration should allay all disquietness thus the Psalmist doth Psal 17. 2 last Verses David speaks of men that have their portion in this life children enough and money enough for all their children to give them large portions What doth David doe to prevent repineing and disquietings of soul mark the next words As for me I will behold thy face in righteousness His meaning is I see them prosper here they have many children and they have enough for them all but as for me this satisfies me I shall behold thy face that is when my body shall be raised at the resurrection day and I shall come to Heaven this will satisfie me and this did quiet the spirit of David Fifthly Consider that prosperity makes wicked men worse and adversity makes good men better there are two parts in this likewise 1. Prosperity makes wicked men worse In the chapter I read this Afternoon God
Church of God was never in a more glorious condition then it is at this day Yet whatsoever they say he that doth but rightly look at things and make but a diligent scrutiny into the Churches condition may easily see and behold the Church of God to be very low that the glory and the face of the Church of God was never so blurred as at this day and in these times wherein we live and we may say where is our glory become we may see our glory even standing on the threshold and ready to take her wings and fly away as a Bird and our eyes may behold it if God prevent it not for do we not see a cloud of troubles and sore afflictions hanging over our heads ready to fall upon us in these parts of the world and will certainly fall if God out of his infinite mercy do not prevent it Do we not behold prophaness and wickedness yea great wickedness to abound among us and that to appear also in the Church and that doth appear so much the more when the government of the Church which should keep out heresie and prophaness is cryed down and a toleration of all religions cryed up as if that were the true Church where most prophaness and errors abound where ever these sins abound there we may judge that it is the Churches swouning if not the Churches dying time The erroneous doctrines doctrines of Divels which do so much abound in our daies who do cast off the Assemblies of the true Church and seduce the people to sinful practices labouring to corrupt their judgements by unbottoming them from the truth and new principling them with false opinions these are the things do most hurt us This was that which troubled the Church of God of old in Revel 2. 15. this is called Satans seat where such opinions are propagated in verse 13. and these Principles are those which God hateth and for which God hath a controversie with the people where ever they are tolerated these opinions errors and heresies are they that disturbe the peace and trouble the patience of the Church of God not onely when wicked men are in power and place in the state but when wicked and prophane erroneous heretical and heterodox Opinions trouble the Church and the Lord knows how soon this Land may be overspread with them that may make us to say that the glory of the Church is departed and flown away for these are the Churches reproach and not her glory For if things do go on as we see they begin the Church of God may say they were never in a worse condition But in the handling of this particular that the people of God may not be too much cast down for seeing the calamity of the Church I shall First lay down some cautions 2. I shall shew you that the people of God have been afflicted for the calamaties of the Church 3. To shew you the difference between the sympathizing with the Church in her troubles and sinful troubles of mind 4. To lay down some Rules that notwithstanding the troubles of the Church and people of God be many and great yet it is the duty of the people of God not to be too much cast down First When I say that the people of God are not to be too much troubled for the calamities of the Church I do not intend by that to press you to a Stoical insensibility and sottish stupidity of the Churches miseries as you are not to be like Stoicks not to be troubled for the calamities of the Church at all not to have any fellow-feeling in your brothers miseries you must not be of an indifferent Galliolike spirit not to be cast down nor affected with the troubles of the Church but I would have you to be affected with the afflicted for the troubles of the Church in measure in a holy sense and a holy humbleness of heart for the troubles of the Church Secondly When you do find such a sympathizing and sensible fellow-feeling of the Churches miseries you are to cherish and to stir up that in you and that you are not to check your hearts for it for this is your duty and not your sin 1 Cor. 12. 26. as it is with the body corporal and natural so it is with the body mystical and spiritual as in the body if the head be in pain all the body every member of the body is sensible of it so it is with the mystical body if one member be in pain and suffer the rest of the members are in trouble for it Thirdly You are to check those castings down and those troubles of soul that doe disanimate and discourage you and lay you under such sorrow of spirit and under such trouble of mind as to lay you under a hopeless condition and that in your sorrrw you cannot retain any future hopes concerning the Churches future welfare and thus having laid down the cautions 2. I shall now lay down the Second particular to shew you that the people of God of old have been greatly sensible of and afflicted for the troubles of the Church of God and under this Head there are two sorts of persons to be considered 1. Those that did foresee the troubles of the Church and they did fear it and were troubled for it 2. Those that did feel the troubles of the Church when it did come and these were troubled also First Those that did foresee when the troubles of the Church would come and they were troubled the one was Elisha he did foresee the troubles of the Church and he fell a weeping and when he was with Hazael he asked What doth trouble thee my Lord And he answered and said Because of the evil and the wickedness that thou wilt doe unto the children of Israel to dash them against the stories and the strong holds thou wilt set on fire and then women thou wilt rip up with child the story you may read in 2 Kings 8. 12. 13. For saith he thou shalt come to be King and thou shalt do this great wickednesse and the consideration of what this man would doe to the Church of God made this good man so to weep And so likewise we read of the Prophet Isaiah Therefore said I Look away from me I will weep bitterly or I will be bitter in weeping labour not to comfort me Why what is the matter that this good man will be thus heavy and weep because of the spoiling of the daughters of my people What should the Prophet weep so for there was nothing in his daies but quietnesse and peace and plenty and yet in these daies the Prophet wept bitterly and would not be conforted the trouble was not now really come for it came not a hundred years after his death but the Prophet did foresee that it would come certainly upon the people of God and this consideration made him to weep and for this his heart was sore troubled
ver 2. From the end of the Earth will I cry unto thee when my heart is over whelmed lead me unto the rock that is higher then I. This is the carriage and behaviour of ungodly men Again Wicked men look more after comfort then after duty if God give them ease and peace they never care for grace but God's people look after duty more then comfort in disquiet of conscience when the Converts were troubled in mind they cry'd not after comfort but after duty they cry'd Men and Brethren What shall we doe what shall we doe to be saved Thus I have dispatched to you the third Querie the Differences in these fourteen Particulars between the disquiet of soul for sin that may be found in wicked men that Evangelical holy trouble of soul for sin which is found in the godly The fourth Querie is But why are God's people so much disquieted for sin that they are more troubled for sin then they are comforted in the sight of their graces sin shall damn their souls Why then doth sin so much disquiet their consciences There are five Reasons 1. It ariseth partly from that softness of heart that tenderness of Conscience that is implanted in God's people by God the eye it is troubled at a mote when the hand is not troubled at a greater thing the eye is the tenderest part of the body Why beloved God's people they have tender consciences sin on their consciences is as a mote in their eye that greatly troubles them It is worth your notice that as God doth make a promise that he will keep his people as the apple of his eye Deut. 32. 10. He found him in the desart land and in a waste bowling wilderness he led him about he instructed him he kept him as the Apple of his eye So Gods people are said to keep his law as the apple of their eye Prov. 7. 2. Keep my Commandements and live and my Law as the apple of thy eye Beloved a blow on the eye offends the eye you must keep the Law as the Apple of the eye the apple of the eye is the tenderest part of the eye one breach of the Law by sin will as much disquiet thee as a blow on thine eye if thou keepest the Law as the apple of thine eye A second cause or reason is this God's people are troubled for sin because God's people seeing themselves that they are more in sinning against God then they are in obeying God therefore sin troubles them and disquiets them more grace is as the gleaning of the Vintage and sin is as the full harvest Job 15. 16. How much more abominable filthy is man which drinketh iniquity like water God's people see their sins like Mountains and their graces like Mole-hils my lusts burn like a flame but my graces like a glowing coal my sins at full tide but my graces at a low ebb that makes God's people to be so much troubled for sin disquiet of soul is more incident to the godly as the moth is ordinarily in the finest Cloth and the worm in the Rose sooner then the Briar A third Reason is this Because sin is more visible and manifest to the soul then their graces are therefore they are more troubled for sin You read in Galatians 5. 19. Now the works of the flesh are manifest which are these adultery fornication uncleanness lasciviousness idolatry witchcraft hatred â—â—riance emulations wrath strife c. But when the Apostle gives you the list of the graces of the Spirit he doth not say that the fruits of the Spirit are manifest but the fruits of the flesh are manifest to shew as one observes well that a man may more easily discern and have a sight of his sin then a godly man can have in the sight of his grace A fourth Reason is drawn from a Consideration that Christ's soul was troubled for sin Christ's soul was troubled for sin as imputed to him though he had no sin inherent in him Now is my soul troubled saith Christ Christ did not only suffer in his body upon the Crosse but likewise in his soul in the Garden John 12. 9. His soul was not troubled for his own sin for there was no guile found in his mouth but it was for our sins he was troubled Now Beloved O! Christ was troubled for thy wounds for thy sins and this makes a godly man reflect shall Christ's soul be troubled for my sin that was imputed to him and shall not I be troubled for sin that is inherent in me A fifth Reason is this That the People of God might taste and see the evil and the bitternesse of sin the more in the course of their lives and may be more put in awe to commit sin for time to come this is a reason that Solomon gives why godly men are troubled in mind for sin Eccles 7. 25 26. I applied mine heart to know and to search and to seek out wisedom and the reason of things and to know the wickednesse of folly even of foolishness and madness And I find more bitter then death the woman whose heart is snares and nets That is to know the evil of sin folly and madnesse is meant sin in Solomon's Dialect and saith he I find it to be more bitter then death Solomon by experience speaks this I find sin to be worse to me then death Beloved this is God's end why he will make a man to find out the wickednesse of sin to be troubled in conscience for sin is that thou mightest find sin to be more bitter to thee then death that so thou mightest avoid those sins and shun them for which thou hast smarted so much And thus I have finished the fourth Quaery SERMON XV. Psal 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 The health of my Countenance and my God Question 5 A Fifth Quaery in order is this When may God's people be said to be excessively or too much disquieted in soul for sin There are seven particulars to resolve this four of them I shall gather from one Psalm Psal 77. 2 3 4. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord my sore ran in the night and ceased not my soul refused to be comforted I remembred God and was troubled I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed Thou holdest my eyes waking I am so troubled that I cannot speak Here are four discoveries laid down when a man's disquiet and trouble of soul for sin is immoderate and excessive First When a man is so disquieted under the guilt of sin that he is not only unable to receive comfort but he is unwilling to receive that comfort that belongs to him v. 2. my soul refused to be comforted This was his sin I prove it by the 10. v. And I said This is mine infirmity It was an infirmity in Asaph