For the Spirit helps our infirmities And then praying is a mass of influences for faith for holy desires for sense of want yea and no man gets the spirit but the praying son Luke 11. 11. Only this shall bide a question How shall they pray for the Spirit that want the Spirit Answ Yea Magus though in the gall of bitternesse is commanded to pray Acts 8. 21. The Law commanded praying to God incarnate when he is revealed to be incarnate As the first command charges all to know the Lord practically in all the wayes of Law and Gospel by which he shal reveal himself and the Lord hath not abated a whit and come down from his holy rigorousnesse as if the Lord would make amends and give us as some Pelagians say a lower and milder Law which forbids not venials Et peccata quotidianae incursionis praecise sub periculo aeternae condemnationis Yea but there is not any Law nor Gospel which forbids not sin under the same penalty that the Law forbids and the Gospel forbids not adultery and murder in David but he is free from eternal punishment if he be humbled for these sins as he must be humbled for lesser and venial sins Psal 19. 12. Psal 51. 5. Psal 130. 3 4. God may strait all men to pay the very stock which he gave them in Adam 2. Are not men inexcusable when they will not await the wind and lie at the tide and use meanes but refuse to command body and legs to present themselves to the sea-side and the ship The body and legs have no influence on the winds so they declare that they hate the covenant and bargain of grace as well as the Law who refuse to stir in his ways 3. The first giving of the spirit is like the growing of lillies and flowers wilde on the mountaines plough or spade can do nothing to cause them so to grow in the garden and the infield Pelagians must not get their will their common universal grace is not the spirit of Adoption and those who say men can pray who never received the spirit of Adoption happily they may complement with the Lord in word but They deny prevening grace and in effect say that nature prevenes grace and men prevene God and not grace prevenes nature For if there be such a thing as prevening nature this were to say the child is born before the mother and the apple growes before the tree and the bloom is before the herb Nay to pray for the spirit and not to pray in the spirit shall never be my Divinity that were to buy Rubies and Jasper-stones with clay and common flints and rocks nay nature cannot trade without grace And while the Lord creates the rose-tree the rose-tree cannot seed nor bring forth rose-trees Oh but it concernes us much Ministers and Professors to have the spirit and to have more of it Too many Ministers in the Land cast never fire on the people they never warm hearts but by hewing and striking and hammering upon the Letter the fire of the Lord falls not down upon the sacrifice Ah our fleece is dry and we are like the Land not rained upon And let men speak Can ye live without the Spirit and his influences more then ye can live without God and without Christ in the world And who cries Lord can my dry bones live misse ye the anointing The complaining of the suspending of influences of the ebbing of the free manifestations flowings and out-lettings of free grace speaks a spiritual disposition For 1. The Church complains to God of it Isa 63. 17. 2. Yielding to a temptation is a pain to the Saints Psal 73. 21 22. 3. The Saints pray for influences of grace for teaching leading quickening inclining of the heart to the way of God uniting of the heart to fear the name of God then must the withdrawing of these be evil 4. When we pray against temptations to sin and not to be led into temptation 5. When we pray for the spirit of grace to be poured on us from on high we pray not for the giving of the bare habit for that could not hinder David Lot Peter Asa Iehoshaphat Aaron Hezekiah and others of the Saints to fall into sad and hainous transgressions but we suit also from the Lord the sanctified use and exercise of grace and so must suit influences 6. When we pray that God would not take his spirit from us Psal 51. 12. nor forsake us nor take the word of truth utterly out of our mouth Psal 119. 43. we then also pray that he would not withdraw gracious influences 7. A gracious finding how sweet safe and comfortable it is to be acted led moved guided by the sweet influences of the spirit cannot but be grieved at the departure of such a guide and counsellour 8. It 's lawful to seek sense of Gods loving countenance in joy in the Holy Ghost Rom. 14. 17. 1 Pet. 1. 7 8. in delighting in God and in duties relating to him and our brethren and in the consolations of the Holy Ghost and in the spirits work of sanctifying us then we may and are to be grieved at the withdrawings of God that we see not his power and glory in the Sanctuary as we have sometimes done Psal 63. 5. The spirit that is of God goes along with the word if we 1. consider the spirits relation to the word My spirit and my words Isa 59. 21. For the Gospel is the chief chair and seat of the spirit Rom. 1. 16. Isa 53. 1. The word is as it were the work-house and shop and the spirit the worker the word the ship or chariot and the spirit drives and stirs the promises The spirit honours so the word the spirit moves and acts when the word moves and acts the spirit utters not a groan but according to the will of God in the word Rom. 8. 26 27. Acts 10. 44. While Peter yet spake these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Holy Ghost fell upon those that heard the word When the ship or the chariot moves the Pilot or Steers-man and the Coach-man are moved with them The poor Minister often drives an empty coach and carries but sounds and letters but when the spirit strikes in with the word and is steers-man in the ship the vessel is afloat and sayls gallantly before the wind 2. The word preached is the breathing of the spirit and the spirit speaks and breaths through the word and it is the word of the spirit the holy Ghost prophesied well of you c. 3. The spirit is referred to the word as the soul to the body the body is but a lump of dead clay if the soul be removed and the word is so many sounds syllables and letters if the spirit act not this is a similitude and would be well exponed There is a two-fold power one subjective and material which comes from the Author the holy Ghost
patiently for the harvest to sayl and wait till the Jewels and Gold come home and the Ship land is commendable this is to bring forth fruit with patience 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 3. To wait upon the flowings of the Spirit which out of holy Soveraignty comes in a larger measure then is ordinary as an high spring-tyde as my heart is confirmed or prepared my heart is confirmed or prepared Is 1. To welcome and adore the Lord in these high manifestations and wisedom requires that the soul which is taken into the Kings chamber and finds many outlettings and sweet and rich accesse in praying should multiply bills and being heard for his own pardon as David was Psal 51. should put in a bill for building of the walls of Zion and so should the soul being in a higher strain and admitted to a more then ordinary feast of fat things eat and drink more abundantly Cant. 5. 1. as Esther finding the King on a strain of graciousness to her Esther what is thy Petition follows her suit and lays hold on the opportunity and her suit is not for the safety of one single man but for the lives of the whole Church of God even all the Jews 2. To leave off wrestling too soon is a sort of violence done and a damming up of the mighty flowings of the Spirit No doubt a lazy pursuing of the victory when we prevail with God is a mighty neglect 4. So to wait for the Spirit 's high manifestation as to set bounds to him and to look this shall be a great feast and the instruments are eminent is a limitting of God hope of that kind would be humble and submissive there being no word of promise as concerning the quantity and measure of the emanations and outlettings of the Spirit for that is his own Soveraignty to doe with his own as he thinks good we would be more careful to receive and believe and praise then to widen hope in order to instruments to wit such a shining Prophet beyond what is revealed sure believing his word is better then censuring Soveraignty Idolatry is here crafty and subtil Ass 6. If we speak of preparations going before the real and physical stirrings of saving grace there are not any upon our part except we say with Pelagians that we begin and the Spirit follows CHAP. XI 1. Our impotency to duties being reproved cannot excuse us in the omitting of them 2. The wicked habit in sleeping men is faulty 3. Therefore the withdrawing of influences excuses not 4. The Creatures sin is not from the Lord 's withdrawing of influences of grace formally but from our withdrawing of our hearts from his moral Commandment 5. The Objection of many if God would give me influences of grace as he did to Moses and David I would be as holy as any discussed the Objector and the Objection both answered 6. The non-sense of the Objection opened 7. A natural man hates influences both physical and moral though he wish physical influences 8. The Objection exalteth nature abuseth grace and many ways reproacheth God his Grace Soveraignty Wisedom c. Q. WHether or no doth our impotency to pray and believe clear and justifie us in that we believe not and pray not Ans Not at all for one and the same cannot be a just excuse and a due rebuke but the holy Ghost rebukes our cannot as a sinful cannot and so our impotency cannot be a just excuse So Joshua chap. 24. 19. Ye cannot serve the Lord. Isa 29. 11. I cannot read the book that is I am sinfully ignorant of prophecy Isa 44. 18. They cannot understand no more then blind men Jer. 6. Their ear is uncircumcised they cannot hearken The Lord grievously challengeth the people ver 11. I am full of the anger of the Lord and denounce wrath against this rebellious cannot for not only is the tree rejected as bearing evil fruit but also because the sap is sour and the bulk rotten Christ speaks rebukingly of some impotent cannot of the world Joh. 14. 17. I will send you the Spirit of truth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the world cannot receive Rom. 8. 7. The wisedom of the flesh is not subject to the law of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 neither indeed can be Ver. 8. They that are in the flesh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cannot please God 1 Cor. 2. 14. The natural man cannot know the things of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is a condemning of the natural man as he is opposed to the spiritual man who is praised as one who knows the secrets of God 2. And he is condemned as one who judgeth the things of the Gospel foolishness John 6. 44. No man can come to me except the father draw him And that is a most wicked shift of him who married a wife Luke 14. 20. therefore I cannot come we excuse such wicked weakness with this God help us we cannot without his grace doe better 3. The very sinful habit and power is reproved in the Word even the power as it is contra-distinguished from the sinful act Psal 14. 1. The habitual fool hath said in his heart there is not a God The habitual blindness and hardness of heart that may be in sleeping men the state of non-regeneration and the state of death and of uncircumcision of heart is condemned Eph. 2. 1 2. 3. Col. 1. 13. 14. Psal 14. 3. their poyson of nature Psal 58. 4. the uncircumcision of heart Jer. 9. 26. the sinful frame of the heart Gen. 6. 5. Gen. 8. 21. Hence of force it must follow that this is no good consequence the sleeping man or swooning man acting and committing no actual guiltiness and making no use of free-will is guilty and rebukable before God as the sleeping Wolf is bloudy the sleeping Lion is cruel because of the bloudy and cruel nature that is inherently in both when neither of them do actually devour so though influences to the material acts of sin be not in our power yet since we lodge that sinful power and virtually as is said consent to want the breathings of God and consent that the sinful acts have hous-room in the sleeping man we are thence guilty upon that account though we sleep and are patient in carrying sinful powers and sinful acts now inherent in us and the withdrawing of influences of grace upon the same account cannot be an honest excuse why I pray not yea the wicked impotency and indisposition and the three Disciples drouziness and sleepiness the same way physical being on them in the night Matth. 26. is a new guiltinesse moral for Christ commanded watching in vigorousnesse then and their actual not praying is another guiltiness 3. Under withdrawings of influences of grace we are guilty 1. In not considering the temptation signs and wonders we see and hear Deut. 29. 3. yea though the Lord 's not giving a new heart be not our sin formally yet our not having
puts in his hand by the hole of the door if this follow my bowels were moved for him And it 's a spiritual condition when the soul fails and the spouse falls a swoon at these words Open to me my sister my love c. Cant. 5. 2 6. And these lesser feelings would be turned into consent and into fixed resolutions as the spouse I opened to my welbeloved I sought him but I found him not I called him but he answered me not And that came from the feeling of his hand put in by the hole of the door ver 4. compared with ver 6. For that word Quench not the spirit 1 Thes 5. 19. includes an affirmative that is cherish kindly and yield sweetly unto the flowings and sweet influences of the spirit 8. A watching condition is a spiritual condition The Spirit of God is much seen in keeping the soul watching Ephes 6. 18. Praying with all prayer and supplication in the spirit is joyned with watching For it 's added and watching thereunto with all perseverance and Jude conjoynes praying in the Holy Ghost with ver 21. looking for or watching after the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life The spirit is willing Matth. 26. 4. forward watchful so is the â—enewed part but the flesh is weak sleepy and lazy And as much as the man hath of the spirit so much holy watchfulnesse hath he and Matth. 25. 26. the evil servant that digged his Masters talent in the earth is called wicked and slothful 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sleepy in opposition to the watching and painful servant who ver 20. gained five talents to five talents Drowziness counter-works the knocking 's and gracious influences of the Spirit of Christ's calling Cant. 5. and answers Christ's piercing words Open to me my sister my love c. with a carnal excuse from drowzinesse it 's not time of night for Christ to seek lodging I have put off my coat how shall I put it on I have washed my feet how shall I defile them Cant. 5. 3. The flesh is a sleeping thing and a dead were we more diligent and painful we might be richer lesser motions closed with become the seed of larger motions The moving of the bowels at Christ's spiritual stirrings that he makes upon the heart grows to this I rose to open to my welbeloved Watching guards against sleeping and watchfulnesse puts the soul upon a resolution to watch sleeping guards no more against watching then then the privation fences off the habit or doth set a man to work against life We sit not watchfully upon the motions of the spirit to warm them and to draw life out of them as the Hen by careful sitting upon dead Eggs bringeth forth living birds Who would think a tree and a huge tree can come from a sorry plant or sixty or an hundred grains of wheat in harvest to be in one single grain cast in the earth in sowing time Can the flesh wait for the Lord is not hope an act of life Yea it 's lively hope opposite to a dead and rotten hope and waking is nearer to life and influences of life then sleeping which is the death of the man as touching the exercise of the sensitive life Then since the spirit is a spirit of life and a quickning and living spirit Rom. 8. 1 Cor. 15. the more watchfulnesse in any the more of the spirit For when the spirit enters in the dry bones they become an army of living men whereas before they were farther from life and spirit then sleeping bones Let us not sleep as do others but let us watch and be sober For they that sleep sleep in the night 2 Thes 5. 6 7. The night is far spent let us walk honestly as in the day not in rioting and drunkennesse not in chambering and wantonnesse nor in strife and in envying Rom. 13. 13. This is like the putting on of the Lord Jesus which is a work of the spirit for sleeping men put not on their garments Ministers especially are to watch yea to watch in all things then in sleeping they must watch 2 Tim. 4. 5. And hardly can fighting and enduring hardnesse as a good souldier of Jesus Christ commended to the Minister 1 Tim. 6. 12. 2 Tim. 2. 3. consist with sleeping if we know how near Satan the roaring Lion who sleeps not is to our quarters and camp 1 Pet. 5. 8. Who can sleep and be secure and resist Satan or stand against him stedfast and fixed in the faith ver 9. Christ is much upon this by Matthew Marke and Luke Watch Watch and pray and lest it slip them again I say to you Watch Matth. 26. 38 40 45. Matth. 24. 42. Matth. 25. 13. Mark 13. 23. Mark 14. 38. Luke 17. 26 27 c. Luke 21. 8 38. cap. 2. 2 46. How can sleeping men receive influences of grace doth the Lord cast influences upon sleeping mens bosomes So are we to act as our acting way be fathered on the spirit as the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon upon Sampson and they fight and the Spirit of the Lord upon Zechariah the son of Jehojadah and he prophecied 2 Chro. 24. 20. Luke 1. 64. the father of John Baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost and prophecied Simeon came by the spirit into the Temple This acting in the spirit is opposed to acting in the flesh and in the spirit of Satan as Bullinger of one brother who slew his brother and pretended the spirit and Pareus tels us the like As the Lord the Father and Son never spake to Abraham Moses to Patriarks or Prophets but he made them know it was the Lord so neither does the spirit act in any though the way seem violent as in Phineas and Samuel their executing of justice but the Spirit makes it known that it is the Spirit and that he is not in the mighty wind nor in the fire but in the calm voice So Samuel leisurely and advisedly convinceth Agag ere he kill him and gives a reason to his conscience from divine justice 1 Sam. 35. 32 33. though Samuel then had laid down the sword It 's an useful word Jude 20. Praying in the Holy Ghost and Ephes 6. 18. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit What is there a praying in the flesh yea if preaching may be from a principle of the flesh out of envy and strife Phil. 1. 15. so may praying be from some rotten principle of fleshly presumption Lord Lord open to us Which us to us workers of iniquity Matth. 25. 11. Luke 13. 25 26. And 2. some prayer flows from fleshly despair and not from the spirit Rev. 6. 16. Mountains and rocks fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne And 3. The enemies of David cry to the Lord out of fleshly fear and unbelief not in the spirit Psal 18. 41. There is a praying out of deadness and from the flesh
only moral or tempting actings or hellish inspirations inductive to sin and it 's no small mercy that the Prince and God of a lost world who by permission acteth really on the air earth and waters yet hath no power of immediate real or physical acting upon minde will affection and conscience he having only a borrowed key and at the second hand power to suit the heart by fancy senses and outward objects 1 Kings 22. 22. John 13. Acts 5. 3. Some one way or other the court-gate of Achabs heart of Judas of Ananias and Sapphira lie open to Satans scout-watches It were safer to watch and fear then to dispute how that subtle Spirit can blow up the lock and get in for he knows not what is in a mans spirit The spirit of a man is under God the onely keeper of this castle and knows rooms doors and what is within 1 Cor. 2. 11. But devils lying about the out-works the senses the fancie and the imagination which is a material house and hath doors windows and entries passible to devils he can here blow the bellows and kindle iron works There be two wayes to know the secrets that are done in a cabinet-camber 1. Satan can send in posts with letters and write his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his wiles to the heart This is one way of putting it in the heart of Judas to betray Christ by sending his mind and will through the fancie to the heart and the fancy being set on work by the will and understanding can carry the missive letter else how could the Lord rebuke the sin of actual imaginations as he doth Jer. 9. 4. Jer. 13. 10. Jer. 18. 11 12. Nah. 2. 11. 2. The heart can write back an answer of the missive letters and print it on the fancy We know there is fire in the house by the smoke that comes out at the chimney A man may speak out at a window to another Satan conveyed by the serpents tongue and by Evahs eyes the living thoughts of a Godhead growing on the tree and can send in a word of a message to the heart All these will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me And thou shalt have thirty pieces of silver if thou wilt deliver up the Lord to us and from the sons of disobedience he gets a return he knew what Achab should answer to the 400 Prophets and heard that Thou shalt goe and also prevail And reason would say since all Satans prevailings have these two 1. A commission sought and obtained to tempt Job c. 1. and as particular as if written as is clear v. 12. Or a sentence of the great Judge to punish sin 1 Kings 22. 20 21 22 23. 2 Sam. 24. 1. It may appear that the lictor and executioner though he know not the heart and the thoughts of the Judge directly yet he knows his own written commission and what sentence he is to execute and what mischief he shall doe 1 Kings 22. 22. as the executioner knows whether the sentence bear heading or hanging 2. Ananias is blamed for Satans lye that he put in his heart Why hath Satan filled thy heart it's like there were a good many seeming arguments moved by Satan to promote the work in Ananias to lye to the holy Ghost Then though Satans knocking and active tempting be not our sin for our Saviour was tempted by Satan yet without sin yet he hath so access to to the heart as our yielding and being passively tempted with any degree of inclination to the tempation is our sin 3. Neither may we dispute or racket arguments with Satan Object We may dispute with Hereticks and convince them though they be Satans instruments Tit. 1. 9. Tit. 3. 10. and the blind man John 9. hold up a dispute in defence of Christ against the Pharisees therefore we may dispute with Satan himself Answ Men to whose ears the Gospel comes are to be gained by the power of the truth 2 Tim. 2. 24 25. We are commanded to confess Christ before men not before devils This end is not attainable in the fallen Angels therefore Christ rebukes Satans confessing of him Luke 4. 34 35. Obj. Christ holds up dispute with Satan Matth. 4. Answ We are to follow what is ordinary in Christs disputing that is to reject Satans temptations not brutishly and irrationally that is not victory over Satan by the light of faith but by evidence of Scripture and must refuse to yield to the temptation and refuse in faith 2. There is something extraordinary in this which we cannot follow for the second Adam here as Mediator carries the person of all the tempted ones as the first Adam did represent all his and gives a proof that he is Michael stronger then the Dragon and that all the tempted seed are by faith to rely on the strength of the tempted Saviour 3. Nor did Christ hold up or entertain the dispute with Satan he only gave one simple answer to every temptation It is written Nor had the dispute 1. It s rise from Christ Christ is rather a patient for our instruction then an agent as touching the rise of the temptation for Matthew saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the tempter came unto him then Christ fetched neither the tempter nor the temptation or dispute 2. Satan brought him to the holy city Matth. 4. 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Satan set him on a pinacle of the Temple v. 8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Devil took him unto an exceeding high mountain and shewed him all the kingdomes of the world Then did not the man Christ goe as from himself to the pinacle of the Temple nor to the exceeding high mountain to fetch and bring on himself the temptation or the dispute See Luke 4. 5 6 7 8. Yea Divines think he submitted that his holy body should be so far acted upon by Satan So Mark 1. 12. the Spirit drives him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 casteth him violently to the desart Evah entertains a dialogue with Satan 1. Speaks by way of complaining of God 2. And doubtingly of the Lords word of threatning Gen. 3. Saul the 1 Sam. 28. seeketh after Satan and makes a journey to him Some influences of God are 1. upon the act yet so as they are willingly received by us 2. Though they be terminated upon the material act under trangression yet is there neither moral warrant nor perswasion to the sinfulness from the Lord but the contrary But when the influence is to gracious acts there are many strong allurements from precept promise threatning to move us to close with the gracious act and virtually with the real influence 3. Satans influences are to shameful acts to walking naked 2. To bloody delusions to kill the children to Molech 3. To unwarrantable delusions to lay aside Scripture and walk in the dark attending on unwritten dreams 2 Divis Some influences of God are ordinis
a manner legal the Father made him ours by free gift the withdrawing of influences 2. The shining and smiling 3. the suspending of influences needful for the act of feeling is physical and real The Lords outward dispensations make no change of 1. Covenant-interest the Covenant is eternal the Lords absence from his own is not eternal Nor is there change in relation of interest no distance of miles no frowning or hiding of his face makes Christ leave off to be a husband a head a ransom-payer a Father 2. Faith layes hold on right and on propriety When the heirs possession is suspended and an out-lawed heir here is an heir the use of the breathings and influences is removed the mill stands and grindeth not the ground is plowed yet the same Lord and heritor of mill and land remaines Hang not your rights writs and charters upon your sense or upon the ups and downs of the Lords dispensation nor doth a believers heaven stand in the particular out-lettings of the Lords free grace or his withdrawings though the more of the Spirit any hath the more doth their spiritual life and being depend upon the operations of grace as all things that grow and have life depend upon the influences of the Sun and Heaven trees and plants and flowers and herbs suffer a sort of death by the departure of the Sun from them and they begin to live again when in the spring the Sun moves near toward them so are the out-goings and gracious influences of the Sun of righteousnesse to the renewed ones in whom is the life of Christ for Christ keeps in being his own life and cannot but keep it in being and operation Rom. 8. 10. And if Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin but the spirit is life because of righteousness v. 11. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by the Spirit that dwelleth in you See both the life of grace in this life is kept in being by the Spirit and the life of the body which shall be made spiritual in the resurrection is restored again by the Spirit of Christ 2. Deserted soules under the Lords withdrawing would neither cast away their confidence nor be too securely comforted when the Lord withdrawes to speak to the former the right in Christ is entire 2. The bargain of Redemption Christs act of buying and dying and paying a price for his own 3. The care of the trust and charge of redeemed soules committed to Christ 4. The act of Atonement made by Christ accepted by God by which justice and the law stands fully satisfied are all whole and untouched under desertion For our obedience is neither in whole nor in part neither in toto nor in tanto any penny of satisfaction to the law but payed upon another account All these 4. stand entire and the land and shore sail not and move not though the green Sailer judgeth so because he and the vessel are in sail 2. Nor is it safe to sleep and lie and be secure when the Spirit in his flowings withdraws It speaks some out-cast or out-lawry and the child should not be quiet when he knows the Father is displeased nor would Ministers heal them with all Gospel and hony and lay aside all Law for what cures help the disease and the first fever the same are good some way for the second fever and recidivation I am sick of love As Cant. 2. Greek wounded of love the Hebrew word imports weakness Judg. 16. 11. If they bind me with ropes I shall be weak as another man Hence it implies languishing pain through want of the feeling and enjoying of Christs presence Cant. 2. 5. Cant. 3. 1 2 3. Cant. 3. 6 8. 2. It implies sicknesse and weakening of the person as in Amnons love to his sister Tamar 2 Sam. 13. 1 2 3 4. It comes from apprehended wrath and the curse of the Law Psal 90. 8. Psal 32. 3 4. Psal 6. 1. Psal 38. 1 2 3 4 c. Dan. 9. 11. Rom. 7. 24. Isa 33. 24. Job 13. 24. Psal 77. 7 8. Psal 88. Psal 80. 7 19. 3. It imports the feeling of that pain The second act of sicknesse Matth. 9. 12. as to the pain through want of feeling and enjoying God 1. Two things are here 1. The want of the life though the believer be still loved chosen redeemed translated from death to life but the Lord who can put a check-lock and an iron bar on all our comforts withdrawes and lets the Spouse swoon and stayes not the heart with flagons of wine and apples that is with the effectual applying of the word of promise by which the heart is established or strengthened Jam. 5. 8. Rom. 1. 11. and by which we stay and rest our selves upon the word the Lord 2 Chron. 32. 6 7 8. Acts 14. 21 22. 2. There is here suspending and the want of the consolations of the Spirit the comforter which is the other want Now the Lord hath holy and necessary reasons why he suspends influences to the feeling and knowledge of these rich comforts 1. His holy Soveraignty Now soveraignty never acts separated from infinite wisedome when it 's most abstract from the object as in making a world or not creating any thing in ordaining of the same lump some to be vessels of honour and some of dishonour There is a reason of the object but never a reason concludent or so objectively binding and limiting the Lord but the contradicent to wit no created world no ordaining of some to honour and some to dishonour should be as good As we see in thousands and millions of possible worlds of other men other Angels and other creatures which he can create 2. Infinite wisedome judges it fitter that old Jacob weep and be not comforted that Joseph be sold into Egypt then be a rejoycing free Patriarch at home that the man Christ lie before him with tears and strong cries then that it be otherwise 3. To infinite wisedom it is clear that a creature and a sinful creature cannot so measure out sense and comfort as the only wise God as it is not so fit all the members of the house servants children strangers should be their own stewards of the bread wine and dainties of the house spices ointments myrrhe aloes and cassia as that there should be one wise and faithful servant over the family that all and every one hand over head run not to the heap Therefore is the Lord to be adored in his wisedome as much in withdrawing influences of sense and comforts as in bestowing them Judge if all the fatherless infants and pupils and minors of the earth were left to be fathers and tutors to themselves how would it be with their inheritances If all the sick on earth were their own only Physicians whether old or
sealing of the Spirit Eph. 4. 29 30. So singing Psalms and Hymns and spiritual Songs with making melody in the heart to the Lord is a proclaiming that there is some fulness of the Spirit if the Spirit could speak in the Saints the two native languages of the Spirit would be praying for that is the cry of the Spirit Rom. 8. 15 23 26. and singing praises Eph. 5. 18 19 20. The way to have influences of the Spirit is to pray continually and fervently and to give thanks always for all things unto God the father in the name of our Lord Jesus Eph. 5. 20. 5. A wicked hardening of the heart is as if ye would cast water on a weakly smoaking fire of green timber that cannot be a seat an office-house to the Spirit and his actings such are interdited of the spiritual seeing and of the Spirits hearing of the Spirit Rom. 11. 8. God hath given them the spirit of slumber eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear to this day It 's dreadful when Prophets preach some stark blind and dead one of the chief and noble operations of the Spirit is illumination and he is a seeing and an enlightning and a hearing spirit 1. Wink not before the shining beams of the Sun yield heartily to the convictions of the Spirit John 16. 7. such as waste away the light of conscience and the convictions of the Spirit are not entrusted again with new actings of the Spirits enlightning 2. Be tender and stand in awe of smaller sins it speaks much of the spirit in David to be smitten with the renting of the lap of Saul's garment 6. Some make themselves uncapable of the actings of the Spirit who seeing great temptations signs and miracles have plenty of means yet remain blind and hard-hearted and dull of hearing Deut. 29. 2 3 4. Heb. 5. 11 12. Joh. 12. 37 38 39 40. if we would improve the actings of the Spirit and delight in the Lords way we should have new influences to walk in his paths Psalm 119. 35. and God teacheth David good judgements for saith he I have believed thy commandments v. 66. So are they-far from new influences who abuse so many plagues and so many deliverances from these plagues as Pharaoh did and crush the motions of a trembling conscience as Felix did a doubt it may be if ever the like acting of a Law-spirit visit such men again 7. All such who remain in the state of unrenewed nature are uncapable of the actings of the Spirit nor does the Spirit lodge in sensual and beastly men Jude v. 19. nor can the world receive the Spirit of truth John 14. 17. no more then the spirit and breathing of a horse can lodge in aâ—pismire It 's true John Baptist was full of the holy Ghost from the womb Luke 1 15. and the Spirit acts him with joy v. 41. when Mary saluted her but John Baptists sin Original was both then pardoned as touching the damnation thereof and subdued as touching the dominion of it Otherwise another spirit acts and works by nature in the sons of disobedience Eph. 2. 2. and these two strong ones can remain and dwell both in one castle then seek translation and to be with Christ if ye would have the Spirit and his influences multitudes no more complain of the want of the influences of the Spirit then a dead mans corps complains of cold of hunger of thirst or of influences of life from the living soul nor complain they of sickness Oh it speaks life to be pained for the waâ— of the Spirit and his influences what wonder that ye cannot perswade a sleeping man that he sleeps 8. Some actings of bitterness wrath clamour anger and malice in the Saints may sadden the Spirit of God darken the evidence of the Spirits sealing unto the day of redemption Eph. 4. 30 31. It must be a sort of suffering to the Spirit and a casting water on the fire and a deadning to David as touching vigorous and lively operations that he acted adultery and murther which moves him to pray for the restoring to him again the joy of the Lords salvation and to be upholden by the Lords free spirit Psal 51. 12. Can a King dwell even in a palace when it is burning and smoaking about his ears therefore holy actings teaching of sinners praying praising Psalm 51. 13 14. 15. to be kind one to another and tender-hearted to forgive one another as Christ did Eph. 4. 32. and to act as the Spirit and to be holy and heavenly in one walk puts the Spirit in a sweet composed temper to act and breath abundantly in his flowings of love and grace 9. It would be observed that influences of the Spirit are contempered with the actings of grace with which they concur the spirit of adoption acts in the grammer of prayer to cry Abba Father and he comes down to the language of children learning to speak and to say Abba and the Spirit helps our infirmities O it must be great help that the Spirit yields it must be creating of new heavens or removing of mountains or dividing of the sea or something like say some nay the Spirit helps us with a groan his influences come down to sigh and weep and mourn like a dove in a Saint Rom. 8. 26. Cant. 2. 14. Ezech. 7. 16. and if so it 's no wonder that the Spirit breaths not on our wild fire anger Well does the Spirit breathe on Christs holy anger he was angry and grieved Mark 3. 5. and was saddened at the offending of God To be angry at the sin of offenders and yet so as to compassionate the soul of the offender this is to fix a fit seat for the influences of the spirit nor can we receive the influences of that spirit who applieth and intimateth pardon and forgiveness when our anger is such to these who injure us as we cannot forgive them and if anger lodge and take chamber in the bosome and brest of a fool can the Spirit breathe supplications in such a brest when the fountain is troubled and muddy with clay it gives no representation of the face and image to the beholder Psalm 119. 135. Make thy face to shine on thy servant but the soul is a dusty and muddy glasse most unfit to receive the irradiations and beams of such a transcendent sun of glory yea it 's some way fitted v. 136. rivers of water run down mine eyes because they keep not thy Law Then a soul mourning for sin is fit to be shined upon by the Lord when the man Christs soul is exceeding sorrowful even to the death Matth. 26. 38. then is his soul fit to receive dartings of the spirit to pray most humbly with his face on the ground v. 39. most believingly O my Father O my Father most fervently with tripple praying 44. more earnestly Luke 22. 44. or more bendedly then
the wound green the tender hand of Christ lovingly and compassionately binds up such broken ones Isa 61. 1. Psal 147. 3. He healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds and bones easily know their own place of bones when his hand puts them in place 4. Iron is the strongest and hardest of mettals yet being hot in the furnace receiveth any impression or figure and bones yield to the smiting of the hammer which it doth not when it 's cold and stiff when the cross hath graciously melted and softened the soul then it receives influences of grace and is ready to receive as Saul Act. 9. 6. trembling and aâ—tonished said Lord what wilt thou have me to doe The proud self arrogant spirit will not receive nor lodge impressions of grace from heaven be not then high-minded but fear otherways there shall be no rain on you and you shall not be ingraffed in Christ 9. Worldly mindedness and savouring of the things of the flesh keeps the soul both under deadness and distance from God the light of glory and the heart and conversation in heaven brings forth that which hath a strong influence of grace with it Phil. 3. 20 21. We look from heaven for our Saviour the Lord Jesus who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body when the soul is in heaven and we all 2 Cor. 3. 18. with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the spirit of the Lord we are neer to the receiving of the aspects of the glorified Redeemer But such as mind earthly things whose God is their belly Phil. 3. 19. can no more receive influences of grace then earth-worms or the Serpent that eateth the dust neither can heaven and the life to come have an impression in the gracious influences of God upon a wretched man who worships clay and hath no heaven but gold how can influences of God be received in the heart of an Idolater Heavens glory upon the soul is so transparent that bread and hunger had no influence upon Moses for forty days when he was in the mount with God and then rays and influences of glory could not but besweetly received on the soul it 's clear in such as stand and live before the throne who are under the eternally shining summer Sun and receive eternally influences of glory Rev. 7. 15. the Lamb leading them they serve God night and day in his Temple v. 16. and see his face Rev. 22. 4. and reign for ever and ever v. 5. and the Disciples forgot bread and garments yea and houses for themselves to dwell in for the three tabernacles were for Christ and Moses and Elias not to shelter them from frosts and rain and hail for they feared not the like injuries to glorified bodies the Disciples say It 's good for us to be here and so it 's good for us to part with houses with ships with fishing with nets with plucking of ears of corn or buying of bread yea it 's good to part with Ordinances preaching to the Jews or Gentiles with working of miracles healing the sick or casting out of divels influences of glory were as connaturally received in the soul that is neer God and heavenly minded as the Moon and Stars receive light from the Sun and dry fewel receives fire where clay and the earthy and drosy part of the Lords creation and his foot-stool can receive no light at all so if earthly mindedness have fixed a seat in the affections the spirit of grace and glory cannot shine through gross and earthy hearts give us corn wine and oyl and the influences of the lovely countenance of God say worldlings we do little value whereas it is night and winter and hell for a child of God when the Lord withdraws influences of faith and feeling loving rejoycing and neer communion with God worshippers of God never miss gracious influences when the soul is sick after Christ influences of God for the high praise of Christ abound Cant. 5. 6 7 8 9 10 11 c. and Psal 63. 1. when the soul thirsteth for God and the heart and flesh cry out for the living God Psal 88. 1 2. and the soul panteth as the hart for the water brooks for God Psal 42. 1. which are crying signs of a heart in heaven then influences of grace like an high spring-tyde and like a full river flow most abundantly even to the satisfying of the soul as with marrow and fatness and to the tongue praising of God with joyful lips and the remembring of God in the bed in the night-watches Psal 63. 4 5 6. and to the extolling of the Lord as God and King Psal 88. 1 2 3. and the breaking of the heart and bones when God is reproached Psal 42. 3 10. 10. Fiery zeal hinder influences burn the Samaritans with fire from heaven say the Disciples O Paul say fiery followers of the Law would destroy the Law of God and have Christ and grace all but received ye the spirit or his influences by the Law ye know not the wild-fire of revenge and the spirit of anger that leads you saith Christ to the Disciples even to the mild beloved disciple John Luke 9. 54. Come saith Jehu and see my zeal for the Lord liar come see my zeal for Jehu and for Jehu his new Kingdom but there were here no influences of the spirit of grace for 2 Kings 10. 31. Jehu took no heed to walk in the Law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam which made Israel to sin Therefore Jehu his fire in killing Baal's priests and Achab's seed being from false principles carnall and selfe ends and called by the holy Ghost Hos 1. 4. blood-shed and murder to be avenged of God must come from bastard influences And when our saviour rights the fire of zeale in John and James he condemnes the Spirit and the influences that made them so brutishly to startle Luke 9. 55. 2. He reduces them to the faith and sound believing of his coming in the world which was to save mens lives not to destroy them v. 56. it 's a notable healing of the too hot blood that is in fierie zeale to believe soundly the meekness of Christ therefore would hot and wild-fire influences be well tried whence they come from Heaven or from Hell for so some who kill the Lords Apostles judge then if sparkles of fire can come from heaven John 16. 2. when it is nothing so Ophni and Phinehas are publickly zealous for the Lord Moses meek in the injury done to him by Miriam and by Core and Dathan and his is fiery against the golden calf in the Lords cause hence influences from God set them a work and eat them up as zeal for the Lords house eat up David Psalm 69. 9. Psalm
119. 139. and Christ John 2. 17. 11. Fleshly uncleanness put them of Sodom to mock and persecute Lot a preacher of righteousness Gen. 19. 9. and their not hearing of Lot prove their influences were not of God The holy Ghost clears to us that David 2 Sam. 11. all along was carried by no saving influences for there we find 1. His idleness 2. His sluggishness in sleeping in day light when the Ark and people of God were in the fields 3. His adultery 4. His sending for Vriah to cover the matter 5. His causing Vriah to be drunk 6. His bloody letter to Joab to kill Vriah 7. His bloodshed 8. His Atheistical talking the state of the war 9. Whereas David mourned for the death of Saul and Abner his enemies and his not looking with godly trembling on workes of divine justice in the Army he passeth this over as a chance of war in all which the spirit that led him in composing heavenly Prayers and Psalms was now far away What actings of the Spirit can swine and dogs receive from God 2 Pet. 2. 12. 22. O but a clean hearth-stone and a chaste holy and clean house would be kept for the kindlings and flamings of the holy Ghost See Tit. 2. 3 4. 1 Thess 4. 2 3 4. 1 Cor. 6. 19 20. let the holy Ghost his temple that he dwells in be neat pure undefiled for influences are the breathings of the Spirit and the holy Spirit breaths not on bruite beasts and on slaves to the lust of the flesh 12. Malice and hatred called man-slaughter 1 Joh. 3. 15. must bemist the soul and darken and benight or over-night both conscience mind will and affections and so as stones or rocks or the sea sands can receive no influences from Sun and clouds to bring forth wheat and barley neither can the heart stuffed with malice for the very incapacity of the soil is the cause why such ground cannot close with such impressions and influences of God 2 Sam. 23. 1. The Spirit of the Lord spake by me there must be quickning influences his word was in my tongue The man that ruleth in the fear of the Lord shall be as the light of the morning when the Sun riseth a morning without a cloud as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain The just Prince and Ruler full of love and mercy to the people of God and full of righteousness is like a morning without a cloud that hath clear influences of a shining Sun the Lord quickning him with light of love mercy and righteousness to the people whom he feeds that he is as the earth receiving from the influence of the Sun clouds and rain warmness that casteth up tender grass and corn But v. 6. The sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away because they cannot be taken with hands 7. But the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear and they shall be utterly burnt with fire in the same place Then malice reigns so in wicked men that if a man touch them and keep society with them in duties of love they bleed the hands of these that touch them as briars and thorns doe except the hands be fenced with iron and steel He notes the Nations to whom David and Joshua offered peace but they blood the people of God and prepare war as is clear in the Ammonites to whom David sent a message of love and they came against him with the sword and war now they are such thorns as are for the fire saith David and that they may be burnt they require no influences of Sun and rain Prov. 4. 17. They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence Acts of hatred are their meat and drink and what influences of the spirit can their way which is the way of darkness v. 19. require Rom. 3. 15. Their feet are swift to shed blood for v. 17. the way of peace they have not known and there is no fear of God before their eyes Be meek and gentle as Christ Isa 42. 2 3. Isa 53. 7. a lamb dumb before the shearer Luke 23. 34. 2 Cor. 10. 1. and that holy meek one lay neer the Sun and the influences of the Spirit Isa 11. 2. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest on him the Spirit of wisedom and understanding the spirit of counsel and might the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord Joh. 3. 34. for God giveth not the Spirit by measure to him neither acteth the Holy Ghost in his sweet breathings on bloody and cruel hearts of persecutors 13. Wordly sorrow counterworketh sound repentance and godly carefulnesse holy defences holy anger against our selves godly fear vehement desire zeal for God revenge such by which we are not to be satisfied with our selves who have committed such wickednesse now all these require influences of the Spirit 2 Cor. 7 9 10 11. 2. The Law-Spirit of bondage being hellish fear Rom. 8. 15. and must be another spirit then the witnessing spirit and the influences of the one different from the other as good wheat that comes of the plowing and sowing of the husband-man and wild corn that comes from no plowing or husbandry but such wild oats grow of their own accord in mountains and in the house-tops Rom. 8. 15 16 17. 3. The hypocritical sorrow of Esau weeping for the blessing and yet saying in his heart he would kill his brother could have no influences of the Spirit Genes 27. 38 41. for heart-prophanness which was in Esau Genes 25. 32. Heb. 12. 16 17. cannot consist with saving influences and Malach. 2. 13. the covering of the Altar with tears crying and weeping to God was bastard sorrow for they married the daughter of a strange God and compare David's godly sorrow Psal 51. wherein he seeks the new heart and the free Spirit to be restored to him there were there strong influences of the Spirit with his weeping and mourning for Absolom when he was killed and the difference is clear this latter seems to be but a wordly sorrow such as mourn excessively for their dead friends 1 Thes 4. 13. banish the Spirit of faith and hope which cheareth the heart with the comfort of the last resurrection Much sorrow spent on it's a case of conscience to be remembred the death of a father brother husband wife children loss of goods argues a carnal mind and blunteth the stirrings of the Spirit consider Martha her grief for her dead brother and her unbelief in tying the not dying of her brother to Christ's presence bodily as man John 11. 21. and her sorrow well near drowns her faith ver 39 40. 14. False joy in corn wine and oyl in full barns Psalm 4. 7. Luke 12. 19. in the pleasant things of a present world must not a little oppose the Spirit in his influences for where that joy is
allurement upon the phancy of the bird enticing it to the net and the bird also physically makes use of its wings God joyning his influence so would we looking to the command and promise of God be induced to bring will and affections under the acting and breathing of the spirit also physically act our faith in the mean time relying upon God for the flowings of his spirit 3. If any thing be said that Soveraignty does also hinder influences for God hides himself will your faith and prayers conclude him that he shall not hide himself but shine Answ Soveraignty should counter work Soveraignty if there were a law passed by the Lord that ever when we pray in faith in that same very nick and moment of time he must take off the arrestment of desertion as if prayer were to speak so a sort of charming of holy Soveraignty But the law is and the promise that when we pray in faith for shining influences he shall remove our night of the hiding of his face and the Spirits sad withdrawing not absolutely but in the way of his own holy and wise Soveraignty and also the prayer of faith hath some other effect then the present removal of desertion prayer keeps the soul under sufficient graces fresh showrings and stays the burnt man under patient induring of the fire in condition of a refreshing cooling and expelling of the heat The man Christ lies under forsaking but influences of the Spirit to pray to believe to submit to hope keeps him vigorous and green that gloriously and triumphingly he endures the Cross for suffering pain in faith and joy is more excellent then the removing of pain CHAP. IIII. Of other impediments of influences in particular coming from the mind will and some other considerable affections and their cures 1. False and heretical light 2. A corrupt will 3 From hatred of Christ 1. THe corrupt wisedom and the wicked learning of men who are carnal and destitute of the truth can produce nothing but doting about questions and strife of words whereof cometh envy strife railing or blasphemys evil-surmisings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 perverse disputing these are the genuine fruits of the heretical spirit 1 Tim. 6. 3 4 5. and of the wisedom of men which neither is subject to the law of God and his truth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 neither can be subject Rom. 8. 7 c. of the carnal man who neither receives the things of the Spirit of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 neither can he know them and observe that the Holy Ghost in both places denies both the act and the possibility of the minds subjection to the truth where the judgement is rotten Now as we may well say the rock hath no natural power to receive an influence from God for the growing of wheat on it nor a thorn-tree to bring forth wine grapes as our Saviour speaks Matth. 7. 16. so neither can the corrupt and heretical mind produce sound truths nor can the Lord give influences in a natural way to a thistle to bring forth figs indeed by a miracle the Lord caused Aaron's dead withered rod to blossome and bring forth almonds And Caiphas I say not by a miracle but in an extraordinary way 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 John 11. 51. not of himself but by the Spirit prophesied and so did Balaam But they did not spiritually and with the light of faith know what they prophesied yea I would crave leave to doubt whether they literally knew that Christ God-man was the star of Jacob the light of the Gentiles and to die for the Elect as many Hereticks yea and the Divels literally know and believe these things with an Historical faith If you would have breathings of the Spirit to know savingly and to assent to divine truths motes and dirt and scales must be removed and the mind renewed then divine illumination is absolutely needful 2. Nor acts the Spirit in the polluted mind and conscience of the world which cannot receive the Spirit Now that power of receiving the Spirit denyed of the world John 14. 17. must be both a power natural and a power acquired by wicked actings for the elect redeemed world by a natural power cannot receive the Spirit of truth 2. If the will be corrupt that it will not come to Christ John 5. 40. and will not have Christ to reign Luke 19. 14. the man cannot lend a seat to the Spirit and his actings to obey and follow God until the fallow-ground of the rocky will be plowed and broken otherwise the man sows among thorns and labours a husbandry to the flesh and not to the Spirit as Paul speaks Gal. 6. 8. and the harvest must be corruption and rotten fruit judge then if the Spirit labours and tills a plot of ground to the flesh and if the Spirit from on high can send down influences and divine impressions of dew and warm sun-beams upon the fleshes plowed earth or if nature intend that rain and Sun-heat shall make the rocks bring forth wheat O how needful is a denyed will when Saul speaks of no will but Christ's and commits all to Christ's will as if his own will were annilâ—ilated though it was perfected Acts 9. the man is fallen to the earth And he trembling and astonished saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lord what will thou have me to doe There is a strong Emphasis in Lord and in the word will His own wicked will was playing the King or the Tyrant over the Saints and when his will is down and the will of Christ up and the man hath been three days in this condition fasting and praying then comes the spirit to take his own chop and to act in Panl v. 17. Ananias saith Brother Saul the Lord even Jesus that appeared to thee in the way as thou camest hath sent me to thee that thou mayst receive thy sight and be filed mith the holy Ghost a humble broken will deadned to self and to all things shall be rained on and such as is rebellious shall be a land of drought Zech. 14. 16. And it shall come to passe that who so will not come up of all the familys of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the king the Lord of hosts even upon them shall be no rain 3. There be strong impediments that obstruct influences of the spirit of grace from all the affections if the heart be not with all watching watched over 1. The world that hates Christ John 15. 18 20. and persecutes him and his servants is the same world which cannot receive the spirit of truth John 14. 17. if ye hate Christ and the Godly no influences of grace for you Ye shal hew all your dayes be ye minister or professor upon hard timber without the Spirits tools ye shall pray preach professe hear sing praise in the letter with out the Spirit and his influences for ye can not receive the Spirit of truth John 14. 17.
of the Lord the husband act in a whorish spouse who grieves that spirit See Psalm 106. 39. Can refreshings come from the fountain of living waters to such as Jer. 2. 13. forsake the fountain and hew them out cisterns broken cisterns that can hold no waters or can the Spirit dwell and act in that soul which abhors God and the spirit of God and his operations no man will lodge in an Inne in which he knows they lie in wait for his life Isa 63. 10. They rebelled and vexed his holy Spirit 2. There are who say Job 21. 14. to God Depart from us for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways and who Prov. 1. 29. hate knowledge Now the spirit of the Lord is a spirit of knowledge and needs none to counsel him and teach him knowledge Isa 40. 13 40. And to one is given by the same spirit saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 12. 8. the word of wisedom to another a word of knowledge by the same spirit and he is Ephes 1. 17. the spirit of wisedom and revelation who gives the knowledge of Christ the Spirit then will not be a teacher to such as hate the master teacher and all his instructions Wil a man be an instructer to a Disciple or Apprentice who to his knowledge hates and flies from him and abhors him who abhors mocks and does despite to the Spirit and will the Spirits going forth be as the pleasant morning in such a man sure the Spirit teacheth not convinceth not guideth not in all truth any John 14. 26. John 16. 7 13. but such only as Christ sendeth him unto John 14. 16 17. 16. 7. I will send him unto you v. 13. He shall guide you He shall shew you things to come John 15. 26. And therefore he comes to this Psalm 73. 25. Whom have I in heaven but thee and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee What is such a man how is he known by another There be three notes by which he is known v. 23. 1. Nevertheless though I be a beast and a tempted fool doubting of a providence I am continually with thee O blessed company Then follow two observable actings and influences of the Spirit 1. The confirming and upholding influence the supernatural manutenentia upholding of the Spirit Thou wilt hold me fast by my right hand 2. There is the guiding John 16. 13. and leading of the Spirit Psal 143. 10. Psal 73. 14. Thou shalt guide me by thy counsel So every element acts and moves most connaturally in its own place the river moves most connaturally within its own channel it 's violent in its motion when it runs above and without its own banks the wind moves naturally in the air but most violently and unkindly in the bowels of the earth for there it causes earthquakes and swallows up houses and Cities The Spirit of the Lord acts and breaths sweetly in a believer but the spirit that moves in a possessed man is proven to be the spirit of the Divel not of God because he moves most connaturally and casteth the possessed one who is his house in fire and water Mark 9. he is not a gracious guest who sets on fire his own lodging Isa 26. 9. With my soul I have desired thee in the night yea with my spirit within me early will I seek thee and that is a work of the spirit to learn righteousness when the Lords judgements are on the earth v. 12. Lord thou wilt ordain peace for us for thou also hast wrought all our works in us The Spirit refers all acting on earth to God for the good of his Church and there follow many expressions of faith and liveliness to the end of the Chapter v. 13 14. the Lords that ruled over us beside thee are dead the people v. 16. prayed to thee in trouble v. 19. Our dead men buried in Babylon shall live and be delivered Could we desire and thirst after God the Spirit should act more abundantly in us 3. From our joy or delight and our sadness and sorrow arise impediments of spiritual influences As 1. Carnal sensual delights and the Spirit cannot be together Jude v. 19. sensual not having the spirit The more men are drowned in sensual lusts the less of the Spirit they have or nothing at all The Apostle Phil 3. makes an opposition betwixt such whose God is their belly and mind earthly things corn wine and oyl and mind not spiritual things and so benow nothing of the Spirit and himself and sound believers who have their conversation in heaven which must speak much spiritual mindedness and mighty influences of the Spirit by which the mind the apprehensions and thoughts the affections hope faith love delight haunt heaven and eternity much The Scripture calls some swine 2 Pet. 2. 22. some other dogs Rev. 22. 15. Does the holy Spirit dwell and breath in and through a prophane and unclean man such as are swine and dogs It 's strange that the preaching of the Gospel and Satan lodge together in Judas Have not I chosen you twelve and one of you is a devil John 6. 7. Matth. 10. 1. And when he had called the twelve disciples he gave them power against unclean Spirits to cast them out and to heal all manner of sickness v. 7. Goe and preach 2. Influences of grace spiritual joy persevering to the end can no more find good soil to grow in a rocky stony proud and graceless heart then corn can grow on stones and rocks Matth. 13. 20 21. though there be a receiving of the word with joy and delight that joy is but false mettal The only cure of this is if we would have our spiritual desires as touching grace and glory and other things annexed to this is to listen to that Psalm 37. 4. Delight thy self also in the Lord and he shall give thee the desires of thy heart What was spoken of love-sickness after Christ the same is true of soul-delighting in Christ that in any precious actings of the Spirit goes along with both Psalm 63. 7. The soules following hard after God Psalm 63. is a fruit of the other v. 6. When I remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee in the night-watches then v. 5. My soul shall be satisfied with marrow and fatness my soul shall praise thee with joyful lips Psal 51. 11. Take not thy spirit of holiness from me Why what special fruit of that spirit doth he seek v. 12. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and firmly sustain me with thy free spirit a willing a princely ruling spirit Joy hath a strong impulsion and hath vehement expressions as clapping of the hands Psalm 47. 1. Shouting Psal 63. 7. In the shadow of thy wings I rejoyced Heb. I shouted And Matth. 5. 12. Rejoyce 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rejoyce and leap for joy as in a dance It 's excellent to strong impulsions of the Spirit to
p. 270 How men naturally complain of sin original 271 We do not so much as by strength of nature we may do and we adde to our own lameness and then we unjustly complain of God for our sinful impotencie ib. That spirit as the spirit lays no obligation on us but to move in Scriptural duties 276 No violence but from our selves hinders us to believe ib. God loves using of external means pro tanto ib. How far we may act to fetch the wind and to get influences ib. We are not to judge of our selves by occasional enlargednesse or deadning of the heart for the time cap. 9. p. 280 Enlargedness of heart and influences are near of kin 281 Branches of enlargedness of heart ib. Influences on the Angels and the glorified ones 283 Many straitned and dead ones reproved 284 Prayer begets holy dispositions to pray and heavenly dispositions to pray begets prayer and faith c. cap. 10. p. 287 Holy acts begets holy acts and holy dispositions beget holy dispositions ib. The Lord so frames his precepts and promises as our actings are suitably required to his influences 288 The differences of the 1. spiritual estate 2. of the temper 3. of the condition 289 What Davids present disposition was 291 The doubling of words noteth 1. certainty 2. addition of assurance 3. fieriness of affection ib. It s fit to make an eike to the holinesse of influences which the Lord offers to us 292 We may speak to God and professe in prayer the sincerity of our heart to God and the causes why 294 Its hard to guide well grace and glory so long as sin dwelleth in us ib. The Lords giving of grace layes bands on him to give more grace and to adde new influences to old 296 What a heart the repenting thief and what a heart Hezekiah brought out before the Lord in his dying ib. â— properties of holy dispositions 298 Dispositions spiritual are seeds of holy actings ib. Zeal bringeth forth holy actings 299 Heavenly dispositions are real helps to holy actings ib. Properties of heavenly dispositions to act under indispositions ib. A disposition counterworking a disposition 300 The spirit in an heavenly disposition at length prevaileth ib. 8 Pride and 9 Wordly mindedness hinder influences of grace lovelinesse and heavenly mindedness promote the same p. 362. c 10 Bastard zeal 11 Vncleanness 12 Malice 13 Wordly sorrow hinders the contrary graces promote influences p. 395 c. 14 Wordly and false joy 15 False love p. 398 c 16 Ignorance and hatred of the Gospel p. 400 17 Wrestling against providences obstruct the influences of God p. 402 God by his influences first acts and stirs by order of nature and in the same moment of time we act and stir without any violence p. 404 18 Heavenly and spiritual thoughts and considerations draw along heavenly influences as unclean thoughts do the contrary p. 405 Keep the oyl of the spirit clean if you would have heavenly influences to fall on the spirit p. 407 We are to act both morally and physically with the spirit p. 408 Prayers conclude not soveraignity ib Other impediments of influences from the mind will and affections p. 4. c. 4. p. 409 Heritical light ib A corrupt will p. 410 Hating of Christ and his grace obstruct influences p. 411 Diverse actings of the spirit in the Spouse sick of love for Christ hold forth influences the spirit as is cleared by the song of Solomon p. 412 Hating of Christ p. 414 The soul loathing of God ib The spirit gives no influences where there is no knowledg p. 415 Influences of the spirit are connatural to the spiritual man ib Sensuality and influence of the spirit are inconsistent ib Soul desires after God have sweet influences p. 416 Spiritual joy speak strong influences p. 417 Literal crying should not exceed the impulsion of the spirit within ib How hope and audacity hinder or promote influences p. 419 Moral acting cannot avail us whithout real influences of the spirit p. 420 Frequent acts of faith promote influences of the spirit ib Hope promotes influences p. 421 Sinful boldness obstructs influences ib Anger hindereth influences p. 422 How Elisha could not prophesie by reason of anger The influences of Musick therein ib A meek spirit is a fit work-house for influences of grace and high revelations instanced in Mosâ—s the man Christ John the beloved disciple p. 423 Horror and unbelieving fear an impediment of influences p. 425 Influences are considered two waies 1. Physically 2. Morally how men resisted the spirit p. 4. c. 5. p. 426 The Lord seeks not our consent to the first infusion of a new heart p. 427 We are married to Christ before we consent to be married p. 430 The Lord determines free will and doth no violence ib We are unexcusable in not doing our duty though the Lord deny his necessary influence p. 432 God acts in all both by the immediate influence of his power and of his person p. 433 The Lord most particularly leads his own p. 435 Two sort of causes one in fieri for the producing of and giving being to a thing another in facto esse for the preserving of the same in being God is both waies the cause of gracious actings ib. The right missing is to misse influences not of gifts and of common grace only but of special grace p. 436 A reprobate can no more miss the special guidance of the sanctifying spirit then a horse can miss the wings of an eagle that are not due to him ib Of the giving of the heart of God p. 437 We are more our own by law and less our own by Gospel ib Christ cares more for his own body then the members care for themselves p. 438 Christ care is rather now more when he is glorified then lesse ib. We vainly think that the habit of grace is given to be our justification and that as a dispensation from sin ib Inability to do without grace is pretented both by the lawless bankrupt and by the humble convert but for divers ends ib The unrenewed man would have come down to his way p. 343 There is a sad threatning against not using of outward means though no promise be made to the using of only outward means p. 344 The opposition made by hypocrites is only in the outward gate p. 345 Reprobates resist not the formal acts of regeneration p. 346 Mr. Baxters order of repentance p. 347 Doubts and reasons against Mr. Baxters new remedying law of grace made to all mankind p. 349 Vniversal redemption extols nature and free will and makes a moral season which heals not nature all the graces that the Gospel owns p. 352 The law teacheth but healeth not p. 357 Our formality in praying ib How nature beginneth and the spirit acteth on and with our literal acting p. 3. c. 14. p. 358 Some truth we must first physically hear and consider before we believe p. 359 Though it be true if the
descend more particularly to enquire 1. What influences are 2. Whencâ— they come 3. The necessity of influences 4. How they are above us and of the Soveraignty of him who best ows them 5. What we may doe to fetch them INfluences are acts of God concurring with created causes under him and a sort of continued Creation as God of nothing makes all things so in his providence he gives a day to all borrowed beings in their being preserved by him and they are the Lords debtors in being acted by him or then they could not stir nor move 2. The same free goodnesse which is a sort of grace which moved God to create the Sun and give it being so also â—â—ts him to give influences to the motions and actings of the Sun the end that moves the Man to make the Plough and the Cart moves him to draw the Plough and drivâ— the Cart by Beasts so that in reference to the end there is debâ—tum quoddam connaturale some connatural dueness of influences all Creatures are dead Cyphers which sigâ—ifie nothing except the influence of God add a figure to them and they lie dead if he stir them not Some Cows let not down their Milk but to their own Calves and the Creatures are as Pictures and Idols who let out no Efficacy no Vertue except the Lord act upon them Sometimes the Sea ebbs not the Wind blows not the Sun shines not the Fire burns not because this influence is as it were the Charm that is a wanting and he hath a sort of a checklock upon all second causes 3. Though God move and must act in all in causes natural and free so as in some sense he must concur in willing and nilling yet he out of Soveraignty of grace stands more aloofe in bestowing influences to gracious and supernatural nilling and willing for Predestination and free Election to glory here hath place for that he prepared in his eternal decree so many outlettings and emanations of free acts of grace to carry to glory so many selected Angels and Men and denyed these outgoings of free love to others he intending they should be to Angels and Men both their grace and song of praise he hath not given out such refined influences of free love to other Creatures to the motions of Sun and Moon to the Seas ebbing and flowing 4. Q. What then is the fountain cause of gracious influences and breathings of the Spirit Ans Sure Jesus Christ must be the meritorious and fountain cause of such influences For 1. We suppose that Christ is the head of the elect Angels God having purposed to save man of grace he gave this mighty separating influence distinguishing the Standing and Elect Angels from the falling and reprobate Angels else it cannot be said they are Elect Angels as 1 Tim. 5. 21. nor can their standing be of free grace for they could not stand except the Lord had chosen them to stand as the means as he chose them to glory as to the end except the Lord had joyned his predeterminating acting to cause them to stand and reconciled them Colos 1. 20. to himself giving to them medicinal confirming grace that they never should be sick Now the Elect Angels are the special Messengers and New Covenant Officers miniâ—tring Spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation Heb. 1. 14. And the Angels Ezek. 1. are acted in all their motions by that Jehovah whose glory Isaiah saw Isa 6. 1 2 3. John 12. 37. of which Jehovah also Ezekiel 1. v. 28. as v. 12. And the four living creatures went every one straight forward whither the Spirit was to go they went and they turned not when they went And also verse 20. They are then rightly called the Angels of the Lord Jesus 2 Thes 1. 7. for they cover their faces it is noâ— blushing for sin and their feet with wings Isa 6. while they stand before and see the face of their Soveraign and high Master and so its clear that the actings of special and supernatural providence toward and about the redeemed Church come from Christ as head of Angels and as the heir of all things who makes all things new Heb. 1. 2 3. Rev. 21. 5. and who works with the father Joh. 5. 17. in a new-covenant providence to make new Heavens and new Earth and to act all for the elects sake Colos 1. 16. 17. yea and this Spirit at whose direction the living creatures move and rest come and go Zech. 1. 12 20. is the same spirit promised and sent by Christ John 16. 7 13 14. of which Christ he shall receive of mine and give it to you by the influences of this Spirit sent by Christ are the Redeemed led Rom. 8. 14. directed Acts 16. 6 9 10 14. sealed and confirmed Eph. 4. 30. having received the earnest of the Spirit 2 Cor. 1. 22. taught guided the Word made effectual John 16. 13. convinced of sin and throughly rebuked vers 7 8 9. comforted Joh. 14. 16. and the memory sanctified and quickned to remember necessary truths Joh. 14. 26. and the whole man made able by the anointing for all things 1 John 2. 20 27. Hence these influences of grace are from the spirit not as from the third person of the blessed Trinity simply for so the spirit is the power of God sometimes as Judge sitting and by a Judicial power making tormenting convictions dreadfully effectual upon the consciences of Divels Matth. 8. 29. Luke 4. 34 35. of which the chains of darknesse may be a part 2 Pet. 2. 4. Jude v. 6. as also neither from the spirit as the power of God Creator Job 26. 13. Job 32. 8. in making and governing all Psal 104. 30. but from the Spirit as the fruit and purchase of Christs death and merits and as saving grace is from Christ the fountain so also the saving influences of Christ as Mediator and of stirring us up to will and do Phil. 2. 13. and to stand and persevere in the state of grace must be dispensed covenant ways Jerem. 32. 3 37 38 39 40. Isa 59. 20 21. Isa 54. 10 11 12. by his bloud So Christ speaketh to the spirit Cant. 4. 16. Stir up thou North wind come forth thou South blow upon my garden that the spice thereof may flow out Where Christ commands influences of the spirit of the North and South wind though of contrary qualities of cold and heat moist and dry both in sharp rebukes and sweet consolations to fall upon his Church and garden and it is his desire as Spouse and Mediator that the Spirit breath upon and make efficacious the word otherwise there is but deadnesse Ezech. 37. 9. Come from the four winds O wind How upon these slain that they may live John 3. 8. And the flowing of the spices is the souls being quickned revived comforted and the graces increased by the breathings of the spirit Hence 1. the
make use of it as he pleaseth but the saving acting of the Spirit is not in every mans power 3. The command is a Rule and Object of our Faith and gives me not strength to obey but the heavenly disposition and saving acting are not the object but the efficient cause which addeth strength to obey the command craves the debt its true its impossible to pray in faith without the acting of the Spirit it follows only that it s so impossible that we are also guilty and unexcusable in our virtual desiring that it may be so We are wounded but we love to shed our own bloud As also in the Regenerate there is never an utter withdrawing the habit of grace keeps the heart warm and loves to be blown upon and stirred even under actual ceasing of breathings Obj. 2. When there is an utter ceasing of the spirit it would appear that the spirit forbids us to lift at his work until the Spirit the only Master of work be there himself Ans One of the three is ever a work either the Father is waiting till the Son pray John 14. or the Son is commanding the breathings of the Spirit It is some casual work that the sinner is the passive object of the Spirit there is never an utter ceasing of the Spirit There are some habitual stirrings of the Seed of God under the ceasing of actual influence as the ripe Apple enclines to fall off the Tree when there is no shaking of it the Ship is a mending in the Shore when she sails not and if it were no more but one of the three is a working about a Child of God it s not to be despised For who knows the thoughts of Christ and his pleading in Heaven for such as suffer the evil of affliction for Christ And if a believer wrestle under deadnesse Christ much more is a work to help a more spiritual sufferer to wit one that is as it were a patient under sin and flesh and the withdrawing of God Obj. 3. There is no Commandment in the New Testament for the doing of half a Duty to wit to pray and not to pray in Faith and Fervour therefore we cannot be commanded to pray when the Spirit withdraws his influence without which the Duty of necessity must be lame and broken Ans It follows not for there is less of the Gospel in the command as a command for in either Law-command or in Gospel-precept the Lord commands whole and unbroken obedience and in it God seeks somewhat which he lost in Adam which we are obliged to doe and he is under no Law to give us grace to obey And as is said we are willing to want his help where the command should put us to a humble missing and mourning for our wants and a distrusting of our own strength and a weeping over our broken condition and a high prizing of our surety and his strength 2. It s a part of command that we go about the bulk or body of the duty and gather together the dry bones and wait humbly until he command the Wind and Spirit to blow on them and we sin in omitting of half a command Obj. 4. His yoak is easie and his Commandments are not grievous but if it be not in our power to pray when he withdraws his Commandments shall be unpossible and his yoak heavy Ans His command is easie by the grace of God and love of Christ the Wheels move sweetly when Grace and Love oyls the Soul and yet it no more hinders that we cannot pray when he withdraws then the burning of the Fire and the rising of the Sun which are works of Nature most easie and sweet are possible when the Lord forbids the Fire to burn and the Sun to rise his Gospel commands actu primo of themselves are sweet but under withdrawings hard and legal Obj. 5. Praying and seeking of God at set and fixed hours were not lawful For if we cannot pray but when the Spirit moves us we cannot say we shall pray at any hour for we cannot tie the Spirit 's joyning to our hours and again if we are to pray at any hour we please we use the habit of grace and supplication when and as we will as a Musitian may sing when he will or not sing Ans 1. We have not any question now about religious set hours such as the morning and evening Sacrifice or the three hours of prayer used by David Morning Evening and at Noon Psal 55. 17. and Daniel chap. 6. 10 11. Acts 3. 1. Acts 10. 3 9 10. and the godly Jews for by no divine Precept are we tied to such hours Papists abuse the Scripture to Canonick hours But in Christian prudence we may fix a time to reading praying conferring on the Word and to other sacred duties yet do we not tie the Spirit 's joyning to our hour the man Christ set a night apart for praying and so did Jacob for wrestling by tears with the great Angel Genes 32. 24. Hos 12. 3 4. without limitting the Spirit in his influences to any time nor yet will it follow that we use the habit or spirit of grace and supplication when we will for sanctified will is to set the time and to actuate it self by the habit of grace And the same Argument shall conclude that the Husbandman who sets a time for plowing and sowing must limit the Lord to joyn his influences For except the Lord build the house they labour in vain who build it though they set days to the hired Masons Except the Lord keep the City the Watch-man watcheth but in vain though times be set to the hired Watchers It s in vain to rise up early Psal 127. 1 2. and it s as impossible to plow build watch rise early without the common influence of God the first cause as it is to pray in Faith without the special breathing of the Spirit of grace Yet Libertines and Antinomians will not say that they sin in setting a time for building plowing watching these seem considerable about hours of praying 1. Though we fix an hour it becomes Faith to await the Angels moving of the water and when the Lord adds his influences to step in and joyn our strength cheerfully and with humble praises to him who draws 2. When there is a bentness of heart such a day or such a fixed hour to pray build not too much upon the appointment and promises of our own heart to say to morrow I le do wonders by prayer remove mountains 1. It s good here as in a purpose of going to a City to continue there a year and buy and sell and get gain to say in a trembling subordination to God as James counselleth chap. 4. 13 15. If the Lord will we shall live so to say if the holy soveraignty of grace breath fairly and strongly I le do well in praying yet not I but his grace and if the wind of
not a Husband-man who for bears plowing and sowing upon the account only that he finds not a season so desirable as he craves and that he is indisposed to plow spiritually as a Christian He who observes the wind shall not sow and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap Eccl. 11. 4. So are we to refer to his holy Soveraignty the flowings of the Spirit and to set about holy duties as if these flowings were in our power We are to know that the command and precept of spiritual duties is laid on us as we are reasonable creatures as hearers of the Gospel not under the reduplication as spiritually or not spiritually disposed as the Creditor and the Law charge men to pay their just debts not as they are poor or rich but as they are debters yea precepts from the Lord bind the creature as the creature and moral precepts bind Men and Angels as capable to obey though not fit and disposed Therefore must we here distinguish betwixt nature capable or having at any time power to obey and the real or as it were the physical aptitude and idoneous disposition to obey The latter takes not away the obligation to pray or believe David's being overclouded with a temptation is not an excuse of adultery and murther nor is he thereby freed from praying Lord lead me not into temptation As 1. Under indispositions moral we rejoyce that sinful indispositions do befriend us and smile upon us to promote sin as some love them well who counsel them and joyn with them in drunkenness and are their brethren in iniquity so do we foment indispositions and welcome and fatten them and do not violence to our corruption and deadness and heardness and some expone false light to be God's secret and virtual approving Will they should commit the sin as Evah saw the fruit that it was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise Gen. 3. 6. Here Evah substitutes the tentation in place of the precept and false light fosters and cherisheth a sinful lust and a wicked disposition to sin It is a sort of tempting of the tempting disposition whereas is were good to complain under a sinful disposition as under the bondage of a part of the body of sin as Paul doth Rom. 7. for a sinful disposition is but a branch and bud of the body of sin which we are to wrestle against as a most dangerous opposite to spiritual obedience Indeed sometime a spiritual disposition to pray or praise or hope goes along with the command Now the obligation of the command to praise is ever one and its good when the man can say My heart is fixed I will praise Psal 5â— and the command to wait on the Lord lies ever on it is a rich mercy when the disposition goes along with the command as Psal 25. 15. Mine eyes are ever in the habit and holy disposition toward the Lord and Psal 130. 6. My soul waiteth for the Lord more then they that watch for the morning Farther not to pray till the Spirit move us and simply to abstain from praying or any other spiritual duty upon simple ignorance that we are not obliged to pray except the spirit move us is weakness in some godly who may be overtaken with that error but in knowing and judicious men who are Libertines it is wickedness and somewhat more then weakness for it is to abstain from spiritual duties though not considering or without religious weighing the Commandment pray continually and is a making of the Spirit 's acting our Bible and to confound the Scripture and the Spirit as Libertines did so Calvin saith of them and so do others 2. The sense of this pray continually cannot be pray assiduously at all occasions except the Spirit withdraw his influences for here three things are considerable If 1. The providential call of God to pray suppose that sickness incursions of Divels or extreme suffering be on If 2. A more special supernatural providence of a heavenly fervor and stirring of the Spirit be on If 3. Only the obligation of a command be on to pray upon all occasions Christian prudence directing to obey affirmative Precepts Now as to the First Ass 1. Suppose there be some seeming contradiction betwixt extreme pain and absence or withdrawings yet a seeming contradiction only and not real it is and the man is called to an habitual praying disposition because what commands obligeth us to be renewed in the spirit of our mind Ephes 4. 23. lays a tie on us to doe it without delay Isa 55. 6. Psal 55. 7 8. Joel 2. 12. and consequenter ever to be in a savoury disposition and to savour of the things of the Spirit whether the spirit actually heat the soul with such savoriness for otherwise our Saviour rebukes the disciples on no just ground when they were sleepy for want of an actual heavenly disposition to pray Could ye not watch with me one hour The physical indisposition to pray does not take away the moral obligation to pray then 2. Though pain and extreme soul-heaviness that the man cannot speak Psal 77. 4. and Hezekiah can but chatter as a crane or a swallow Isa 38. 14. and the Church can scarce breath out a word of prayer Lam. 3. 36. yet doth not the Lord in sending on a physical or judicial indisposition contradict his own moral tie which he hath laid on by his command to pray at all times Ass 2. If a more spiritual heat of Spirit enclining to pray or prophecy or preach or praise be on David Psal 39. 1 2 3. on Ezekiel chap. 3. 14. on Paul Acts 17. 16 17 22 c. on the same Royal Prophet Psal 57. 7 8 9 10. Psal 45. 1 2. then two fires being stirred should flame more vehemently when to this fire there is a command added now though Oars be laid aside as uselesse when the wind is fair and favourable on the Sayls and it be not possible that a man can both ride on a spirited nimble horse and also walk the same time on foot yet here by no means must the word or conscience of the command of God be laid aside For as the physical facility comes from the spirit 's holy impulsion and spiritual warmness that is on so the savoury and gracious morality flows from the considered and believed precept and the sanctified heart would close sweetly both with the one and the other for specially the moral or obediential part is from the command and the most genuine and kindly obedience comes from the Word It is the real and physical part that comes from the Spirit and that is onely so far good and morally lawful as the Spirit and Word goe along together Ass 3. It must be holden that duty as duty is a moral motive we are to be led withal and we to look with fear and trembling to the command what
me hope when I was on my mothers brest c. So is there Psal 102. fainting ver 3. My bones are consumed like smoke and my bones are burnt as an hearth Ver. 4. My heart is smitten and withered like grass And ver 12. there is a rising of faith But thou O Lord shalt endure for ever and thy remembrance to all generations Ver. 13. Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Sion Psal 77. 4. Thou holdest mine eyes waking I am so troubled that I cannot speak Ver. 7. Will the Lord cast off for ever It s low enough now and yet how doth the Church lift up her head Ver. 13. Thy way O God is in the sanctuary who is so great a Lord as our God So Lam. 1. 2 3 4 5 6. 7 8 c. compared with ver 2 22 23. in which actings under unbelief and customary formality with some glimmering of fainting faith eying the command of God in the darknesse when there is no light Isa 60. 10 11 c. there go along some farther actings of the spirit not that we think there is any truth of that of the School-men To him who doth what he can by the strength of nature God denies not helps and influences of grace Yet in these we see God comes along with his influences But if we say 4. That there are in the renewed child of God some stirrings of the spirit in all these acts we go about under deadness then one act of praying and the influence of grace makes way physically to another and that to a third for to say nothing of the promise To him that hath it shall be given of which hereafter I do but provoke to the experience of the Saints if here the second pull of prayer be not stronger then the first and the third then the second and the fourth above the third for when the wheels are a going the Organs of the spirit do not weary And there is a reserve of fresh strength and a stronger recruit and supply in Jacobs wrestling until the dawning reserved and more strength of heavenly violence to prevail with God then in his wrestling all the night Gen. 32. 26. Let me go saith the Angel of the Covenant Christ for the day breaketh And he said I will not let thee go except thou blesse me 28. As a Prince thou hast power with God saith the Lord to him And we see one throwing about of the key when the lock of the door is rusted maketh the second throwing obout more easie and the third throw does yet more and the seventh or the tenth throw makes the passage of the iron bolt yet most easie and the door at length with little violence is opened when now the rust and straitnesse is removed And a flaming of the fire prevailing over a dry tree makes easie way to a second flaming and that to a third and so to all the rest till the timber be consumed and the fire be fully victorious Believing adds to believing praying begets more praying and we see motion breeds warmnesse and that stronger motion and cold hearts that are dead and almost frozen by one smiting of influences grow hotter and by two or three or seven actings of the spirit grow yet hotter and yet more â—ot And there is something in that Cant. 6. 11. I went down to the garden of nuts 12. Or ever I was aware my soul made me like the chariot of Aminadab or of my wilâ—ing people There is some stiffnesse upon the living man when he first begins to move but a little motion makes him more agile Dr. Preston may aim at the like truth If a man saith he were to run a race if he were to doe any bodily exercise there must be strength of body he must be fed well that he may have ability but the use of the very exercise it self the very particular act which is of the same kinde with the exercise is the best thing to fit him for it So in this dutie of prayer it 's true to be strong in the inner man to have much knowledge to have much grace makes a man fit and able for the duty But if you speak of the immediate preparation for it I say the best way to prepare us for it is the very duty it self as all actions of the same kind increase the habits so prayer makes us fit for prayer and that is a rule The way to godlinesse is the compass of godlinesse it self that is the way to grow in grace is the exercise of that grace I wish this man of God and others more experienced then I had said more of this unknown subject and that the Lord would sit builders in both Kingdomes to draw up a body of Theologia practica that Divinity were more in our hearts it s too much in the heads of many only I speak here of preparation to receive influences D. Preston of the preparation to duties to praying under indisposition But I would not be understood so as if I thought acts of influences which are acts of Omnipotency might be sharpened and facilitated by our actings Only my meaning is that the passive capacity of the soul may be widened and enlarged to receive showres of quickening influences from the Lord by frequent acts Experience in my weak apprehension may speak influence of grace oyls the wheels of the soul Prov. 1. 5. A wise man will hear and encrease learning and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels We grow hot like hot iron redded in the fire by praying and are softned and macerated like dry and parched ground by frequent showres and though the heart be frozen and cold when we begin to duties of praying praising meditating conferring of the word hearing yet incalescimus we grow warm by acting the rising of the Sun causeth the Ice to drop off the houses It s a naughty heart that is in the same case after frequent prayer that it was in before It says that the man hath been sweating at the letter and bark of the duty little of the bark or letter of the duty takes glewing with the heart but hardly can the grace of the duty go along with the heart but there is much that cleaves to the heart so that influences thaw the heart Luke 24. 32. Did not say the Disciples our hearts burn within us while he talked with us by the way and while the opened to us the Scriptures Cant. 1. 4. When the King brought me into his chambers we will be glad rejoyce in thee and remember thy love more then wine Sure when the influences of Christ are fiery and live coals it is no wonder they leave lively warmings upon the heart Cant. 4. 16. Awake O North wind and come thou South and blow vpon my garden that the spices thereof may flow out It must be a speech to the Spirit to breath upon the Saints that they may smel and flow more in the actings of
thou wilt not let them goe Deut. 32. 6. Doe ye thus requite the Lord O foolish people and unwise Psal 95. 10. Forty years long have I been grieved with this generation it 's a people that do erre in heart they have not known my wayes So saith Elias to Ahab 1 King 21. 20. Thou hast sold thy self to work evil in the sight of the Lord. Psal 4. 2. O ye sons of men how long will ye turn my glory into shame how long will ye follow vanity and seek leasing Psal 58. 4. They are like the deaf adder which stoppeth her eare 5. which will not hearken to the voice of the charmer And because we are ready to excuse our selves from our impotencie the holy Ghost beares this upon them as a charge Jerem. 13. 23. Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the Leopard his spots then may ye do good that are accustomed to do evil 2 Pet. 2. 14. Having eyes full of adultery that cannot cease to sin Deut. 29. 2 3. 3. Threatnings and curses are charged upon every one who abides not in all that is written in the book of the Law to do it Deut. 27. 26. And yet it 's beyond controversie that no flesh can keep the Law so as it requires else Jesus Christ died in vain Gal. 3. See Deut. 28. 4. We are not freed from an obligation to obey and run even we who are renewed in the spirit of our mind because the Lord drawes not For charges and commands are layed upon us under indispositions yea the Lord speaks to such as lived in suffering times who could not choose but they must be in much heavinesse Phil. 4. 4. Rejoyce in the Lord alwayes again I say rejoyce So speaks he to weak ones Eph. 6. 10. My brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might So speakes Christ to fainting John when in a swoon he could not command himself Rev. 1. 17. Fear not I am the first and the last And to the perishing disciples Mat. 8. 26. Why are ye fearful O ye of little faith And the mourner is most indisposed to believe Isa 50. 10. He that walkes in darknesse and hath no light let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay on his God We are bidden be upon the wing and ready though we be dumpish and indisposed 1 Thess 5. 17. To obey that pray without ceasing in all things give thanks Yea under all contrary dispositions and habits of unbelief we are to act Isa 41. 14. Fear not worm Jacob. 2. Our very graves owe living to God our sinful deadness ought to yield to Christ living in us our heaviness ows rejoycing to him as the night is to remove at the dawning of the day and the cloud is to dis-appear and vanish at the out-breaking of the Sun-light 3. We are to pray under deadnesse as David doth Psal 119. Quicken me in thy way quicken me in thy righteousness quicken me according to thy word c. v. 37 40 88 107 156 159. Deadnesse when David had much of the fulnesse of God hath been creeping on seven times and he seven times prays for quickening like one that is every hour in a swoon out of one swoon he falls in another he makes signs to such as are neer by to be comforted with wine and apples as the Spouse Cant. 2. 5. And therefore this is but a childish shift I am dead and indisposed and therefore will not pray nor believe nor hear nor goe about any such duties Because you are dead and indisposed are you therefore lawlesse and freed of all debt of duties which are imposed by either the Law of God or 2. the constraining love of Christ or 3. bonds and ties laid on you by the free grace of Christ and the state you are in being now translated from death to life Object I le goe about duties when I am free and spiritually disposed Answ 1. What warrant from the Word to delay duties that by present obligation of the Law of God are to be done while it is to day lest hardness of heart come on 2. What assurance can any man have tomorrow or the next hour more then the present hour when deadnesse is on that he shall be master of the Spirits breathing on him to fetch spiritual dispositions Now omission of praying and of other duties is a hainous sin Can sin be a hire to purchase or buy the breathings of the Holy Ghost Did ever man get sweet accesse to God through the Mediator Christ in prayer who delayes praying because he wants a praying disposition And can the Lord welcome in the Mediator Christ the man who fathers the sinful omission of prayer and other duties upon the holy Spirit of God Loose Professors delay their repentance upon this when they are old and a dying they shall be more fit for repentance 3. An indisposition to pray is a great affliction to a godly soul and the so afflicted is to pray to remove that indisposition and to seek in prayer a spiritual disposition to pray and that pray continually is not pray only when a spiritual disposition to pray is on for that should be far from praying continually and that Psal 50. Call upon me in the day of trouble suffereth no such exception Pray to me in trouble but not except ye be spiritually disposed For it hath this good sense call and pray in the day of trouble and in the hour when the spirit is under the soul-trouble of desertion and indisposition and when the Lord hides his face and shines not So the want of a spiritual disposition is the frowning of God upon the soul and it 's an ungracious heart which will not pray when the Spirit in his shining influences withdraws And therefore 4. It 's not the Spirit of the Lord but the spirit of Satan which suggests any such carnal arguing I have no heavenly disposition for the present therefore I will not pray for the Spirit of the Lord quickens men to duties and that is known to be a spirit from hell that weakens men in praying or in any duties CHAP. V. Influences of grace are due to the Saints by promise 2. Some are plagued with plenty of means 3. The scope of the place Deut. 29. 3. The great temptations which thine eyes have seen c. opened 4. The nature of the Lord's promise of influences 5. The efficient causes of influences from the Father and from the Son influences on the Man Christ 6. Influences from the Father how they are ours 7. Influences from the Son Christ which are promised to us how they are ours THere is another way of fetching influences of grace when we carefully use former grace as our Saviour saith to him that hath shall be given And so grace shall bring more grace Sowen wheat brings forth more wheat Psal 119. 1. Blessed are they that walk in the law of the Lord they shall doe no
iniquity then upon the account of a holy walk the Lord must bestow influences of grace to preserve men from doing acts of iniquity And there must be a promise of influences that such as walk in the Law of the Lord shall walk more in that Law Prov. 1. 5. A wise man will hear and encrease more in learning then to spiritual wisedome there must be a promise of influences to encrease spiritual wisedom Isa 40. They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings as Eagles they shall run and not be weary and walk and not faint Then waiting on the Lord shall fetch the wind of new quickening influences to wait more upon the Lord and to run and they that run shall run more and which falls not out in physical running when they are running Now fresh swiftness and recent vigour of speed shall be given to the runner and larger breath and spiritnesse then he had before None are thriving and growing men as the godly are Mal. 4. 2. But unto you that fear my Name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings and ye shall goe forth and grow as calves in the stall Prov. 4. 18. But the path of the just is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day In which dispensation 1. Such as are more proud with plenty of means and plague themselves with abundance occasion the truth of this that Christ sends the rich empty away and throws the mighty down from their seats and their golden and silken chairs Luke 52. 53. And the rich and the full saith Hannah 1 Sam. 2. 5. have hired out themselves for bread And since men will be plagued and poysoned with plenty let it be so and that lie upon them as a word of chiding Deut. 29. 3. The great temptations which thine eyes have seen the signs and these great miracles Ver. 4. Yet the Lord hath not given you a heart to perceive nor eyes to see nor ears to hear unto this day And is the Lord complaining of himself in this place No he will not have them to search into the depth of soveraignty ver 29. because God gave them not an heart Nay but his scope is to complain of the peoples abusing of the plenty of means I gave you the grace of outward means but ye misgraced to speak so your own heart therefore it is just that ye be blind and deaf since ye wickedly wink and stop your ears though it cannot be denied that God would have them humbled by reflecting on their own wilful winking and blindness yet so as they should tremble and stoop at him who can give a new heart and eyes and ears but of soveraignty denies it to the reprobates of whom he complains that the chosen may tremble 2. We are hence led to consider the nature of God's promises that they are much unlike to the promises and covenants between man and man For it comes to this such as have influences from the Lord to run through his free grace the Lord of the same free grace giveth new influences to them to run more The Lord because he makes some rich in grace he makes them of rich in grace yet more rich in grace and whom he loves freely he yet more freely loves And the truth is the Lord makes himself debtor to his own grace not to our industry As Augustine the Lord gave being and milk to my Nurse to feed me thou gavest me nilling and willing where is my merit then 3. Free grace infused the first habit so by infusion of grace he adds parcels to the first habit so that the increase of the habit of grace is as free grace as the first habit and there is no earning nor hiring of grace or engaging of the Lord else grace should not be grace and works should not be works 4. By some hainous old and over years guiltiness we give place to the Divel and rotten talking and malice and wrath stealing in Paul is put to that necessary word Ephes 4. 26 27 28 29 30 31. Grieve not the Spirit of God by which ye are sealed to the day of redemption For such sins bring on withdrawing of influences Christ knocks and ye put a little stone in the Key-hole and the sprent is broken and the dore will neither open nor shut when the wheels of the Horologue are broke there is no sound of hours heard when the bones are crushed the man cannot walk the spiritual organs dispositions and powers of David's soul were blunted and out of frame by his adultery and bloud-guiltinesse No wonder then the Spirit was unwilling to dwell and act in his wonted lodging Psal 51. 11. Cast me not away from thy presence and take not saith he thy holy Spirit from me 12. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with thy free Spirit It s good to keep the wheels whole But sin cannot so interdict or lay an arrestment upon influences as to conclude and restrain the free grace of God nor does the Lord by the Saints falls fall from his soveraignty and princedom of grace yea rather from the heightning and abounding of sin does the reign and Kingly power of grace shine the more the more tumid the boyl is and the more the flesh about it burns and flames with the swelling of the humour the more it is ripened for breaking and healing A Feaver at the height begins to decline as the Sea full at the outmost point of the shore does reflow and ebb again See death and sin's reign and grace and Christ's reign Rom. 5. 15 17 21. See Ezech. 20. 23. Ezech. 16. 59 60. Ezech. 26. 21 22 23. 1 Tim. 1. 13 14 15 16 17. make some ripeness for fulness of grace Though Christ's reign cannot ebb or fall But no thanks to the sinner but great praise to him who makes medicine of the rotten and attry bloud of our wounds 5. It s considerable that gracious actings fetch influences for other gracious actings for grace is nearer of kin to grace then nature can be to grace Now as touching the Author of influences that we may come more particularly to the supernaturalness of influences we know the Father the Son the holy Spirit are all in Scripture said to act upon the soul in a gracious way It shall not be needful to speak much of the Father's influences upon the man Christ in sending and bestowing the Spirit and the anointing above his fellows upon him In the influences of the God-head in a personal union upon the Man Christ in filling him with the holy Ghost from the womb and especially the Lord was mighty in him in preaching with authority so that the hearers were astonished and all wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth in praying while his countenance shined And 2. The Lord's influences were evident in disputing with
twelve ports the foundation of the wall garnished with all manner of precious stones the building of the wall of Jasper what a bride the Lamb's wife is as shee is busked and adorned with the glory of God what a joyful company of harpers cloathed in white follow the Lamb Rev. 14. Rev. 19. Yea 4. Even in this life in the lower countrey and the out-fields the fruits that grow in the land are good Rom. 14. 17. Gal. 5. 22. Psal 72. 16. 1 Pet. 1. 4 5 6. Psal 16. 11. 1 Cor. 2. 9. what a life-guard for Kings sons Isa 6. 2 3 4. Psal 34. 7. Psal 91. 11 12. and on the other hand what golden nothings and clay-dreams does the spirit of the world follow after what spiritual gallantry is in the man that says and resolves time and all that Solomon had shall not satisfie me I must either be a King above time or have nothing Will a beggar aspire to a Kingdom or a sow seek after pearls what does the spirit of the world but lie and swear and whore and oppresse in the sons of disobedience the godly is of a far more excellent spirit 5. It s a poor spirit that acts in Cicero Seneca and other Pagans the bastard and the servants priviledge is little to a Kings heir and son As to the second the differences of that Spirit which is of God are considerable 1. The spirit John 14. 17. remains in his own and dwels in them as in his house Rom. 8. 11. as a man remains and works in a shop or work-house and the soul lives breaths acts discourses in the man so the spirit of adoption prays groans believs teacheth witnesseth speaketh heareth in the believer Matth. 10. 19. Rom. 8. 16 25 26. Now the world cannot receive this spirit John 14. 27. no more then the noble soul of man can find lodging in a brute beast try what spirit acts in you and the principles of your actions and you shall know the influences Every mans moral actings are as John's baptisme from Heaven or of Men what sparkles of influences kindle the heart in your actings 2. The Spirit of God John 16. 13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He shall guide the way to you in all truth Rom. 8. 14. as many 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as are led driven either as a flock by the shepherd or as a ship by the wind are the children of God The Spirit is a Pilot and a Steersman acting and moving in the Saints directing counselling enspiring in all actings its easie to know the spirits leading by what it drives at Rev. 16. 13. For they are the spirits of divels working miracles which go forth to the Kings of the earth and of the whole world to gather them to the battel of that great day of God Almighty This he says of the three unclean spirits like frogs the Popes firebrands and incendiaries who came out of the mouth of the Dragon out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false Prophet What hellish influences must drive these men delivered up to such leaders There is a spirit who rules in the children of disobedience Satan the Prince of the air Eph. 2. The spirit of giddinesse and errour leads Egypt Isa 19. 14. The spirit of whoredome Hos 4. 12. Hos 5. 4. that inclines to Idolatry The spirit of lying 1 Kin. 22. 22. The spirit of errour 1 John 4. 6. The spirit of unbelief that was in the ten spies led and drive many Num. 14. 24. But Caleb had another spirit with him It 's the sin of the time we live in to persecute resist the spirit and the more outlettings of the spirit that appear in Steven the more the Jewes set themselves against him For Acts 7. 27. they cry out with a loud voice and stop their eares and run upon him when he saw heaven open being full of the Holy Ghost he was before full of the Holy Ghost but now there is a high spring-tide and a new mighty flowing of the influences of the Holy Ghost and the height of goodnesse and excellent actings of the spirit drawes out their malice to the full as Steven told them 51. Ye have alwayes resisted the Holy Ghost 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to fall crosse with all the might in a hostile way upon the spirit O tremble to hate and fight against the marrow of godliness and to mock the spirit O that it were not this day the sin of Scotland and of the generality of the Ministers of the Gospel in this Land In the Prelates times the seekers of God met not with such bitternesse as even now they meet with 3. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty 2 Cor. 3. 17. Vphold me with thy free Spirit Psal 51. 12. It 's proper to natural men in whom the spirit dwels not to be vile slaves to lusts and the more of the spirit in any the more active are they in the Lords wayes and hardly can the spirit be where there are not influences of grace For it 's the Spirits office to be stirring and active as the horses of Egypt are flesh and not spirit that is lumpish dead feeble unable to save not spirited active to deliver and in this especially the actings of the spirit appear in the fiery spiritness of heavenly influences Would ye be carried on and helped in duties get the spirit and ye cannot misse heavenly influences the drinesse of the earth speaks the suspending of rain and dew in the clouds and a heaven of brass the man is dead and under bands and straitned in prayer then must the showres of influences be restrained Psal 51. 12. Vphold me with thy free spirit What then v. 13. Then I le teach transgressors thy wayes Take a work where there are an hundred wheels of which the higher moves the lower then when the first and highest moves not all the ninety and nine must stand When the spirit breathes not and influences are restrained what wonder if the soul be deadned For the Marigold loures and weeps in its kind and droops when the Sun is down our prayers would blow upon the North and South wind that they may blow The breathing and blowing of prayer do readily waken up the spirit though he must stir in praying also else we are dead and breathless 4. The spirit that is of God is a praying spirit Jude Praying in the Holy Ghost Of all the Tongues and Languages on earth the Holy Ghost loves most to speak prayer-wise and in the language of humble supplications Rom. 8. 29. We know not what we should pray for as we ought What then shall the work lie Nay the spirit takes it off the poor mans hand but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with sighs that cannot be expressed And rather or spiritual work be at a stand the Third Person lends a lift to the groaning soul that cannot pray
forth opposing of the spirit 3. We are to acknowledge and adore the spirit in his actings and joyn hearty consent thereto 4. Self-denial 5. In a bewildered condition to desire to be led by the spirit 6. Spiritual facility in acting 7. To act much in publick works in the spirit 8. Much watching and praying 9. To converse with spiritual men 10. To be much in spiritual conference are all characters of a spiritual disposition THe third particular is what speaks a spiritual man and spiritual influences Ans He who puts himself under the guidance of the spirit is a spiritual man the will of the Guide should be master of the journey The Prophets Acts 13. Paul and Silas Acts 16. Philip Acts 8. accurately observe the command of the spirit as being as binding as the command of the Father and the Son The commands of God to the men of God were more legal in the Old Testament but the commands of the spirit now in the New Testament have more of free grace and perswasive leading Acts 10. 19. Acts 11. 12. Acts 18. 9 10 11. John 14. 16 26. John 16. 13. We shall speak hereafter of the lying under and obedient receiving of the breathings and influences of the spirit only here where there is a strong bensil of will and much freedom in obedience there is much of the spirit backdrawing in spiritual works proclaims much carnality but who had the anointing above measure was all will and all heart and all spirit to obey and suffer John 10. 17 18. Psal 40. 8 9. 2. The leading and drawing of the spirit when it bringeth forth running and is strongly closed with speaks a spiritual man Cant. 1. 4. Psal 119. 32. Cant. 3. 4. I held him and would not let him go Is not this violence sweet feelings and high commending of him follows when the spirits violence in drawing and the spouses violence in running meet there is a spiritual closing Cant. 1. 4. The King hath brought me into his chambers and what follows we will be glad and rejoyce in thee we will remember thy love more then wine See ver 12 13. Cant. 2. 3. I sate down under his shadow and his fruit was sweet in my mouth Delighting in him is followed with his delighting in the Spouse ver 6. His left hand is under mine head and his right hand doth embrace me 2. Here if in any it 's true to him that hath shall be given he that is willing to be led shall be led and keeping of the Commandments of Christ makes room for the Father and the Son to come hither and dwel fire makes more fire 3. A state of translation is to be gone about The man hath not the spirit till he be once over the water translated to the Kingdome of the dear Son of God Christ is not owner of the man that hath not the spirit If any have not the spirit he is none of Christ's Rom. 8. 9. Christ and the Spirit cannot be sever'd the spirit that is in the first heir is in all the rest and we should take it hard to be called or to be none of Christ's 3. Heed must be carefully taken that none of the Organs or parts of the new creation be broken A spiritual man cherisheth the spirit in all his operations he loves and honours his guide and leader The Scripture notes in four words the wrongs we doe to the spirit Isa 63. 10. They vexed his spirit of holiness the word is Psal 56. 6. they painfully wrested as they gave another figure or fashion to my words Ephes 4. 30. Grieve not the holy spirit The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to sadden rather then to anger Matth. 14. 9. Matth. 17. 23. Matth. 26. 22. Can a friend lodge in a house where he is every hour sadned is not this to chase him away and especially to sadden the King in the act of sealing your Writs and Evidences of Heaven is not this dreadful Ye shall know the spirit to be sadned when he acts deadly and lently as the man who rides on a lame and halting horse advances little in the way the fault is not in the Rider So when the man is straitned in praying and he knocks faintly life and liberty and godly boldnesse is away the tools of the worker being broken how unhandsome is the work 2. There should be an eike made to the working of the spirit there is needful a sort of helping of the spirit by widening opening and enlarging the heart the extending of love desires faith fear to their outmost borders there is an opening of the mouth wide commanded Psal 8. 10. Psal 24. 7. Lift up your heads and be ye lift up ye everlasting doors Cant. 5. 2. Open to me my sister my love my dove c. And this is needful under the actings of the spirit that we stretch the soul beyond it self and make an eike to the spirit of his own Hence that charge 1 Thes 5. 19. Quench not the spirit The word is Matth. 12. 20. Matth. 25. 8. Our lamps are out or quenched Mark 9. 44 46. Some cast water upon the fire and holy flamings of the spirit this makes a cold hearth-stone and mightily obstructs the working of God whereas we should adde new fewel to his fire and blow away the ashes and wrestle against deadnesse dulnesse faintnesse and stir up the grace of God 2 Tim. 1. 6. as smiths with the bellows blow up and quicken the flame do not quench it in your self by unbelief and uncheerful walking and break not one another know that so doe the enemies of Christ He trusted in the Lord that he would deliver him Let him deliver him since he delighted in him Psal 22. 8. That is to act Satans office when men cast water on the flamings of the spirit and crush the spirit and his actings in others 3. Acknowledge and adore the holy spirit as God and follow not Ananias to play the divel to the Holy Ghost to try if the holy Spirit shall find out hypocrisie Acts 5. Satan is the great 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Matth. 4. 3. who tempted the Son And a man may ride so neer the rotten margin on the bank of a mighty River as he will try the highest of free grace why but I may doe this and be pardoned Nay the holy Spirit never said Sin at will with greediness thou wast once a believer It 's dreadful to put a tryal upon the worth of an infinite ransome 2. Upon the most noble and transcendent actings of the spirit this God hath done in me therefore I have liberty to sin Tempted free grace is a transgression with so loud a cry it s heard all Heaven over 4. Joyn hearty consent to all the actings and influences moral or physical of the Holy Ghost and be not beaten from that There is an anger outed in the Father as the offended Law-giver
a stranger on earth hide not thy Commandments from me The Commandments are the way and a hid and covered way is a misery to a stranger or pilgrim A frequent sight of ignorance and errors and a being in love with the spirits leading is good Though a man could get the work through be it praying hearing reading warring governing eating and drinking yet he is not satisfied with the bulk of the work except the spirit be the doer This gracious spirit looks not so much to praying as to praying in the Holy Ghost nor to hearing as to hearing in the spirit of faith nor to fighting though David be stronger then the enemy except the spirit of the Lord lead the army Psal 60. 1 2 9 10. Psal 140. 7 8. Psal 18. 29 30 31. Nay it 's not enough to eat and drink except the spirit act the man to eat and drink for God Men spend and waste away their actings and call not for the spirit to get them compassed about We are men abundance to build the Temple and mighty Kings favour us and work-men have strength in legs and arms to lay stones in the wall O but that will not doe it Zach. 4. 6. Not by might nor by power but by my spirit saith the Lord of hosts and so only is the Temple builded 6. There is a spiritual facility in the spiritual actings of a spiritual man 1. The acting is connatural and easie when it comes from an inward principle the stream naturally without violence flows from the fountain and so doth heat from the fire nor is it any pain to the earth to fall down and descend or for the light bodies fire and air to ascend it 's neither toyl nor labour to the Sun to give light for all these come from principles internal There is violence in the motion of an Horologue and therefore the wheels shall be worn out by time but the actings of the spirit are sweet and facile grace makes the Commandments not grievous it s no pain but easie to a gracious pastor to love Christ it breaks neither leg nor arm to desire Christ and be sick for him and to feed his flock for love to the chief shepherd 2. Psal 25. 9. The meek will he guide in judgement the meek will he teach is ways It 's easie for God to guide any man to guide and lead Lions and Unicorns but in the very object there is a facility to counsel a broken and danted spirit If a man be in his flower and prime and rich and mighty healthy and prosperous readily he will doe but what he will but if the man be in chains and broken and meekned with the rod of God he is easily bowed and counselled to what is good as iron red hot will bow and yield to the smitings of the hammer i'ts hard to lead a Lion The Lord speaks like the Lord to Job cap. 39. 9. Will the Vnicorn be willing to serve thee or abide by thy cribs Canst thou bind the Vnicorn with his band in the furrows or will he harrow the valleys after thee but it is easie to bind a lamb Meeknesse is easily led and drawn when the spirit comes in the man is made pliable for counsel he is a plowed and a broken man who saith Acts 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lord what wilt thou have me to doe There was no pride in him but the fulnesse of the spirit of the anointing above all his fellows and all mankind who said not my will but thy will be done And if any living man should have had his will or a piece of his will it was a man whose holy will could never crook and it was now when sinlesse holy harmlesse nature was debating the greatest question that ever Heaven or Angels knew But the fulnesse of the spirit bids him quit his will and so he did The sweet passive tractablenesse of the spirit of grace will enjoyn the man to be ranged bridled and led of God there be some whom God can neither lead nor drive any inspiration fals upon him a moral influence this I should and ought to doe but I shall not I will not doe it let God doe his best and it is as if a burning cole were cast into the sea or river will it burn the sea will it be welcomed and received no it s presently quenched An unbroken Tyrant void of the spirit when he heard that charge Let my people goe They are my servants saith the Tyrant not thy people Exod. 5. 2. Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice and let Israel goe Let his influences be lodged with meeknesse O wrestle not against warnings but yield to them So are all gracious influences sweet delectable and easie is it pain nay its sweet and pleasant for a field of Roses of Vine-trees to receive showers and summer influences from the Sun and Heaven It was sweet for the baptised man Christ to receive and lodge the Holy Ghost who came down in the form of a Dove on him in all his influences 7. To act much in the spirit brings more abundance of the spirit 1. The more publick the work be the more is the man under the spirit Christ must have been under mighty flowings of the spirit who for the publick Catholick duty of redeeming mankind was willing to be suspended from the influences of his personal comfort and to be under that sad cloud of being forsaken of God that God might embrace us It 's the proper work of the spirit to glorifie God John 16. 14. He shall glorifie me saith Christ of the spirit for he shall receive of mine Then the more we glorifie God and Jesus Christ his Son we testifie we partake the more of the flowings of the spirit The Church hath so much the more of the spirit that she is willing to bear the Lord's indignation because she hath sinned Mic. 7. 9. and bear publick sufferings to illustrate the glory of his justice 2 We are also with Magdalen and other godly persons so far to be dead to the private comforts of love to Christ and his presence and waiting about the grave to anoint his body that we are to wait upon the more publick duties of resting in and of sanctifying of the Sabbath though otherwise the rescuing of the life of an oxe be mercy above this sacrifice If we have much of the spirit we shall patiently submit to the Lord's dispensation of his soveraign withdrawing of influences of comfort yea and delight in other inferior duties What though he will not feast me with the apples of the tree of life and suspend his comforts what if he withdraw joyful influences of believing of glorying and rejoycing in the Lord and feed the poor sinner with absence and exercise him with sad desertions 3. It 's a spiritual condition when Christ casts in feelings and discernable motions of the spirit and not only knocks but Cant. 5. 2 4.
a deluding conclusion we have eaten and drunken where Christ was present and his Saints present therefore the Lord should open to us and Christ hath preached and his faithful Prophets in our hearing in our streets therefore should we be admitted into the Bridegroomes chamber Luke 13. 25. What can then be builded on this I was at the Lords Supper where undoubtedly Christ was in his influences of life I did swear a covenant to God I preached the Gospel I heard ordinarily such a Preacher in whom undeniably the Spirit of God spoke and was intimately acquainted with him and loved him dearly and shall that man be saved and I thrust in hell The great errour is men try not their wayes principles motives and ends Now as touching influences of grace it is not as when the same hand smites upon the string of the harp well tuned and on another string of the harp that is mistuned it 's the same word that sounds in the ears of these in the visible Church but not the same spirit of grace in the same saving influences that act upon the heart yea the spirit leaves the heart of some to its own deadness and acts upon others to bring them to wonder to be amazed and astonished and leaves them there and acts upon a third sort to leave a strong conviction and a work of humiliation upon them but it does no good it 's nothing above a law-work mixt with some letter of the Gospel and the Spirit works in some a lively sound work of saving grace and the same word is the common instrument in all So our Saviours enumeration of four sorts of hearers takes in all Matth. 13. How many wonder and despise and persecute Luke 4. Mark 7. Mark 9. Matth. 12. John 11. Acts 3. Acts 4 c. 2. Influences of the spirit saving and lively are called by the names of the Fathers drawing of the Bridegroomes drawing John 6. 44. Cant. 1. 4. the Spirits leading Rom. 8. 14. the Lords teaching Isa 54. 13. John 6. 45. the blowing and breathing of the wind upon the garden Cant. 4. 16. the Lords quickening in his way Psal 119. 37. the Lords circumcising of the heart Deu. 30. 6. the Lords opening of the heart Acts 16. 14. the Lords instructing and speaking to men with a strong hand Isa 8. 11. the Lords power in believers not inferior to that by which he raised his Son from the dead and quickens the dead that are in the graves Eph. 1. 18 19 20. Joh. 5. 25. But no such showres of influences go along with a meer gift which is eminent in many exercised to the ful to the good of the Church yet such builders of the ark for saving of others perish themselves in the waters 3. If we consider the Lords intention this is clear Did ever the Lord decree or promise to bring any to heaven by the gift of prophecie of wisedome of learning and arts whether the men believe or not or does the husbandman so labour the ground for the growing of the bramble as for the growing and flourishing of the vine-tree or for the thistle and the briar as for the wheat What can Christ make out of a preaching Judas never given to him of the Father nothing he never believing but to send him to his place Assert 6. In one and the same spiritual acting of praying and believing the spirit and the flesh may concurre not as formal principles for the flesh and corrupt nature is no formal principle of praying in the spirit and of believing the holy Ghost useth no such tooles but the flesh concurres by way of retarding and weakening of the acts of praying for it is of the flesh onely that our praying is not with that deepness of humble sense of want with that strong desire with that fervour of believing that becomes So corruption concurs in the worke as the broken thigh or legge in the halting horse as halfe a tooth in eating not as a formal principle of motion Hence the influences of grace must be accommodate to our gracious actings that are mixt he is a meek Spirit who is willing to sigh in a Saint beside the body of sin which casts in something of our sinfull corruption to retard the work 2. In the same prayer the spirit and the flesh speak at once or by turnes Jer. 15. 15. prayes in the spirit O Lord thou knowest me remember me and visit me and revenge me of my persecuters take me not away in thy long-suffering know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke 16. Thy words weâ—e found and I did eat them and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoycing of my heart But in the same prayer the spirit in his suspended influences as it were resting lies by and the flesh mixes in it self v. 18. Why is my pain perpetual and my wound incurable which refuseth to be healed wilt thou be altogether to me as a lyar and as waters that fail Calvin saith we must distinguish betwixt the doctrine yea I adde the prayer that is from the spirit and the sinful complaint in the prayer from the flesh So Job complains spiritually 10. he acknowledgeth and adoreth the power of God which poured him out as milk and crudled him like cheese cloathed him with skin and flesh and fenced him with bones and sinews and gave him life and favour v. 9 10 11 12. Yet the flesh almost casts all down and makes him to lose his thanks v. 18. Wherefore hast thou saith he brought me forth out of the womb O that I had given up the ghost and no eye had seen me Compare Jobs sad complaint with his triumphing faith in looking through so many hundred years to his living Redeemer and Kinsman who shall stand the last man upon the earth v. 25 26. Then are we taught to difference betwixt influences from our sinful flesh and his holy Spirit and to beware of mixing our clay with the Lords pure fountain actings of his Spirit and not to adulterate and vitiate his wine with our rotten water It looked like the zeal of God in the disciples to desire to call for fire from heaven to burn the Samaritans old and young it was a cruel end merciless thing to refuse Christ and his disciples lodging O but saith Christ rebuking them Luke 9. 55. Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of Pray that God would rebuke the flesh while ye pray and try your own spirit and take heed to it 2. Rest not on a gift nor upon the literal stirring and bastard heat that comes from a gift or upon literal tears that often flow from a weakened fancy in prayer Esau both runs and was hot in his hunting for the blessing and sought the blessing with teares but there were here no influences of the spirit of grace Esau Heb. 12. was a prophane man Assert 7. It may be a child of God may be deluded in a particular thinking
his actings from a gift to be actings from grace but 1. An habitual delusion such as was in the five foolish virgins all their life and until the market of buying oyle was spent and over cannot fall into a regenerate man for the Lord reveals his state to him 2. A child of God may all his life not put a distinct difference between the gift of preaching in Judas and the grace of preaching for there is no certainty of faith of the saving grace of others as touching particular men 3. There is in the Saints a spiritual sense of discerning Christs voice and here two things are to be distinguished 1. The actings of sense 2. The objects of sense and spiritual discerning the acts of sense in order to others are not infallible either in the habit or the act the eleven may all their life mistake Judas But as touching the object the saving influences and actings of God have them in some singular and peculiar thing by which actu primo and in themselves they may be discerned As Christs preaching had such grace in it never man spake like him Pauls preaching in the evidence and demonstration and power of the Spirit 1 Cor. 2. had something that a spiritual discerning might take up the garden flower and the wild flower that grows in the mountains are like other yet the senses of seeing and smelling find a difference It 's dreadful when Christs preaching and the Apostles speaking and praying in the holy Ghost brings forth mocking and persecution and the miracles of Christ that were done by the power of God are fathered upon the Prince of devils it 's hard to perswade men of the naughtiness of their own heart What comes from self comes from grace the heart because it is the mans own is good to God the prayers are the mans own and good the lamps they are our own and they shine and therefore the shining is from the oyl of grace within and yet the lamp is empty 2. As to others hardly see we what condition they are in and because the smell of dead bones comes not through marble-stones in the Tomb therefore the paintry of a profession satisfies us yet it was not want of charity that made Micah 7. 2. say The good man is perished out of the earth and there is none upright among men they lie in wait for blood As now it 's called morosity rash judgment to say that the generality of Ministers and too many time-covenanters know little of any work of the Spirit on their hearts 10 Divis There are influences proper to the way to the Country and influences proper to the end and to the Country or influences of grace and influences of glory Influences for the way though they come from Christ our life yet for the most part they come by some meanes the word the seals prayer faith in the promises what influences they have who never heard the Gospel but have the law of nature within and book of creation and of providence without by which they may read and spell a Godhead and duties they owe to God Creator is harder to determine But they shall be witnesses to judge us and shall justifie Sodom Matth. 10. 15. But did we read more meditate more the covenant of grace we should have more of the influences of grace the influences of glory are the immediate and eternal out-lettings of God without word or faith or praying The tree of life hath growing on it apples of life all the moments of the year that is a long summer and a long year the tree is ever green ever blossoming eternally bearing fruit and the inhabitants eternally feasting on the fruit The river of life runnes for ever and ever flowes eternally and never ebbs they eternally drink in life and joy from him which sits upon the Throne and the Lamb. So many millions of glorified ones as there are so many eternal and immediate dependencies and living beames of glory united to the Son of righteousness because Christ is our life Col. 3. 4. therefore must heaven be a life of immediate influences of grace in the first glorious conserving power of God in preserving bodies of clay in a being of 1. Incorruption and immortality beyond sickness cold pain old age and death 2. In a state of glory free of shame 3. In a state of bodily strength power and activity free of weakness 4. In a state of spirituality free of a necessity of earthly helps eating drinking sleeping 1 Cor. 15. 42 43 44. 2. It must be an immediate out-letting of God in the fourth life of eternal blessedness and glory above the life of nature 2. The life intellectual of reason 3. The life of grace in the vision of the face of God 1 John 3. 2. Rev. 22. 4. Job 19. 26. knowing him 4. In the influences of fulness of joy and delights or pleasures and that so long as Christ-God shall live for evermore Now these three 1. Fruition of God as the last end and satisfaction in him onely seeking no other lover but God in Christ 2. Loving and adhering to God there being no room for faith and hope 1 Cor. 13. 13. whence comes filling of the concupiscible part desire delight 3. Praising him eternally and the Lamb. These three I say have both the consideration of duties and of a reward in both considerations the Lord lets out his immediate influences on that blessed company in all these 1. We are sick of love after our prison here rather then for our choisest life 2. We seek not the earnest and first fruits of this life CHAP. II. The nature of the habit of grace that there is 2. Such a habit is clear in the word 3. It 's purchased by Christs merit 4. Hath supernatural actings flowing from it 5. Influences without this habit are but delusions 6. Differences betwixt the habit of grace and other habits 7. Resolutions must be followed with prayer 2. Godly trembling 3. Faith 8. The stronger the habit of grace is the stronger and and more connatural are the acts flowing from it THe third particular is how the Saints may fetch the holy breathings of the Spirit by supernatural habits And touching this we shall speak to these 1. What the habit of grace is 2. How it is the seed of influences of grace 1. What necessity there is of the connexion betwixt the habit of grace and how we may fetch breathings of the Spirit from the habit of grace As to the first The habit of grace is a fixed disposition infused in the soul by the Lord purchased by Christs merit of his death by which we perform supernatural duties 1. A habit is a heavenly disposition or quality gracious by which the man even sleeping is denominated a convert a believer a translated man from darkness to light Col. 1. 13. Acts 2. 44. Acts 4. 4. 1 John 3. 14. 2. It is a fixed quality different from a spiritual disposition as
be assaulted that it may not fail them under temptation and so that prayer of Christ for the disciples and Peter stands good for all believers when they shall actually believe and be winnowed as Peter was the millions of them neither did believe nor were born when Christ as an high Priest offered to the father both the one the other prayer but that Christ in no sense intercedes for the chosen till they be converted and actually believe cannot be defended For 2. Whatsoever Christ hath purchased by the merit of his death as our high Priest offering himself on the cross for the elect that same Christ as our high Priest in heaven applyes them as Intercessor This proposition must be sure for what Christ purchaseth and buyeth by the merit of his death on the cross that he actually makes good as Intercessor in heaven It 's true he is said to buy and redeem persons not things or graces as faith and the habit of grace he purchaseth an inheritance and a redemption to us and we have repentance and remission of sins in and through his blood for in his blood by an Hebraism is for his blood and yet remission of sins is not properly redeemed or ransomed never being captivated but in justice that remission could not be ours but by satisfaction But so it is that Christ purchased by the merit of his death as our high Priest offering himself for the electâ—on the cross that we should be freed from all iniquity Tit. 2. 14. from our vain conversation of unbelief 1 Pet. 1. 18. that we should have repentance remission of our sins in his blood and faith the free gift of God in Christ even when we were not yet born And he died for us while we were yet sinners weak and ungodly Rom. 5. 6. And God commends his love to us that Christ died for us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 while we were yet sinners for if when we were enemies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life If Christ as high Priest offer himself a sacrifice for us to obtain reconciliation to us when we were not born and when we were ungodly and enemie she must intercede that such a purchased reconciliation and merited grace the grace of faith and the habit of faith be in his due time bestowed on us 3. If Christ as our high Priest have received the elect from the Father Thine they were and thou gavest them to me and as Redeemer entrusted to bring them in he must send the Gospel to them as Mediator and intercede that Apostles Evangelists Pastors Teachers may be gifted with the Spirit and sent to preach for the giving of the Spirit that way is a fruit of Christs ascension and kingly triumphing while as he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men as Intercessor for perfecting of the Saints and the work of the Ministery Eph. 4. 11 12 13. that the Gentiles who believe not and the blind may see and be converted Acts 26. 17 18. Acts 13. 46 47 48. 1 Cor. 3. 5. Matth. 4. 15 16. John 10. 16. 4. Christ who had reared up a new form of providence having chosen his own to life must as Mediator take care of the coming of the elect into the world and have a special eye over the wayes of his own chosen that Saul and others fall not into that unpardonable sin against the holy Ghost and that Saul before his conversion goe not farther on then making havock of the Church yet ignorantly through unbelief and this is the more to be laid hold on that the man Christs coming into the world is and goes along with his own decree of electing some to glory and to the great work of saving lost sinners Luke 19. 10. Matth. 20. 28. 1 Tim. 1. 15. of bearing a rare and singular testimony to the Gospel beyond all Martyrs that ever lived John 18. 37. as is clear in the birth and deliverance of Moses Exod. 2. Exod. 3. And also Christ in his providence of predestination to life as Lord Mediator causeth the chosen to be born and live when the Gospel is preached and comes to their ears and works powerfully on their hearts Acts 16. 9 10. Acts 8. 7 8. Acts 19. Acts 9. 11 12 13 c. 5. In another consideration there is an official love of Christ founded upon the identity of nature which is between Christ and chosen ones and the man Christ loving his neighbour as himself and the humanity and natural compassion in Christ is not destroyed but perfected by his state of glory he remains a feeling compassionate high Priest Heb. 4. 14 15. Luke 5. 1 2 3. And also this puts Christ to stretch his love to the unconverted that are his flesh and given to him that he must bestow habits of grace on them and gather the sheep with his arm and drive gently those that are with young and give new influences to fainting ones and refreshing warmnesse in his bosome to the cold and weak young ones in the flock Isa 40. 11. Isa 42. 1 2 3. 3. If the Spirit be a sanctifier and a leader he must be no less constant to his holy end and gracious designe to give what fits the chosen for their journey and so must both give the first anointing the dewing and first rain of spirit poured on the wildernesse and also add new oyl to prevent withering and drying up and adde the royal and kingly seal to confirm and make out his work unto the day of redemption Ah am I master of the fountain saith the withered dry tree yea the three Agents in heaven bring themselves to speak so under this holy necessity to bring down influences to the souls of all his chosen 2. If any saving work be in you it speaks a designe of grace in the Father and the Son which they shall ripen and carry on to perfection 3. Fret not at such as are without God minds love to the chosen ones of them and to reach them with his love in time 4. Get the Spirit he shall not be idle but daily act and Christ in him shall set up a new fabrick of providence and a new reign in the soul 5. In the looking on the frame of providence in them that they are not born in China not in Turky not in America but in a land of life in the kingdome of heaven where the Gospel is preached Look spiritually not naturally upon the time and place of your birth it is either the greatest good or the greatest ill and misery that ye can meet with 2. Consider what is the weight of the guiltinesse of 〈◊〉 despised Gospel that you goe to hell through Christs bounds Emanuels land where the word of the kingdom is preached in the very eye of the Redeemer whereas Heathens are in a manner behind the Redeemers back 3. The husbandmans
plowing preacheth bread and corn in the land the setting up of the shepherd-tents before your door proclames Christs shepherd-care to feed you love Christ and follow the shepherd 4. Collect rather the affirmative 〈◊〉 the negative conclusion When Christ sets up a husbandry in 〈◊〉 Vineyard can ye tell who are interdited heirs and say I am a bramble and a cursed briar and no plant of righteousness no vine-tree therefore he hath no thoughts to make me a part of the soyl that the Father of Christ shall labour and purge Who told you newes of Christs thoughts to interdite you from getting good of the Gospel rather collect the contrary I found a candle lighted in the land of my nativity though my father be an Amorite and my mother a Hittite Why but I may be a piece of lost money whom he seeks if yea love Christ Loves logick is I love Christ or I desire to love Christ therefore Christ loves me and I desire to use the meanes of salvation and to goe up to Jerusalem to worship the King and keep the Feast of Tabernacles therefore I shall be no family or part of the land of Egypt on which there comes no rain Zech. 14. 17 18 19. Seldome doth the use of means want influences where the Lord gives any tolerable conscience of plowing and planting there he sends down watering and refreshing showres from heaven There 's an instinct of natures logick framing hellish consequences Christ loves not me therefore I wil not treat with Christ nor come in terms of communing with him and withal there is no anxious missing of inherent habits it 's not from the Spirit of God ever to be missing objective grace which is eternally in God and never in a paining way to miss subjective grace inherent who is angry who hath resisted his will Rom. 9. And it 's Satans method first to miss Gods love to you and make a quarrel with God for that before you miss your love to God and to the Redeemer Christ and make a plea with your self for not loving of lovely Jesus Christ The servants word is Matth. 25. I knew thou wast a hard man Knowest thou not thy self to be a servant gracelesse and malignant The habit of grace in its own nature is of a middle nature betwixt a power and an act and to come now to the third particular there is for the further clearing of the connexion betwiâ—◠〈◊〉 habit of grace and the acts of grace a question â—o be cleared Whether or not the habit of grace may â—e by and utterly cease from acting to which the answer is in these assertions Assert 1. No habit of grace or any habit as such can reduce it self to acting for it is well neer to the nature of a power the Sun Moon and Stars move not themselves but are moved by some other powers whatever they be 2. We are commanded to stir up the grace that is in us 2 Tim. 1. 6. then must the habit lie dead as it were except we improve it the two talents do not make themselves four the man to whom the talents were given must do that Matth. 25. Assert 2. It 's not improbable that saving grace of it self being not God nor the holy Ghost himself but a created thing may as to its own nature perish and dry up 1. For it is not to be trusted in nor doth the weight of our standing against temptations consist in our stock but in the Lords conserving power Peter had saving faith but that faith could neither keep Peter from falling nor keep the faith from failing but the standing of Peter's faith Luke 22. 32. is in Christs intercession I have prayed for thee leâ—t thy faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be sunken down that which needs a keeper without it self cannot keep it self for faith is but an instrumental keeper But 1 Pet. 1. 5. we are kept and our faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the power of God As also Jer. 1. 9. the weight of Jeremiah's standing couragiously in his Ministry is not on Jeremiah his stock and habit of grace though the Lord had put much precious mettal in him and made him a brazen wall as Prophets are of themselves but clay bottles that are soon broken but in the Lords actual supporting of him by influences from God 19. I am with thee saith the Lord to deliver thee and therefore the strength immortality and stability of the habit of grace is in his power who furnishes actual influences 2. In the decree of God 3. In his covenant and promise 4. In the intercession of Christ no man then can commit idolatry with saving inherent grace to put it in the room of God and to trust in it Be not secure but be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might Eph. 6. 10. who must furnish new influences of grace Assert 3. The habit of grace so far may cease to act and lie dead as notwithstanding that the beloved Christ knocks and speaks heaven into the Church Open to me my sister my love my dove c. Cant. 5. 2. yet she opens not the habit being under the ashes yea being a little frozen and blunted the spouse shifts his presence I have put off my coat how shall I put it on I have washed my feet how shall I defile them And the habit of grace doth not hinder David and Peter and Lot but upon the Lords withdrawing of actual influences they may fall into atrocious and hainous sins Assert 4. Yet in some sense the habit of grace rests not For 1. The habit of grace according to the degrees makes the man stronger as John Baptist by the indwelling of the holy Ghost in some fulness is stronger against temptations of persecutors and so is Steven fuller of the holy Ghost then men not converted 2. The habit of grace debilitates weakens the acts of sin in the regenerate that they sin not with full bensil of will as the indwelling body of sin again weakens the acts of faith and others the like flowing from the habit of grace the combat betwixt the flesh and the spirit proves both the one and the other Rom. 7. 14 15 16 c. for this combat is ever in the regenerate 3. The habit of grace of it self as a weight disposes the renewed man to resist sin as a stone though violently detained in the air actu primo habitually of it self inclines the stone to move downward to its natural place whence come some far-off tendency and habitual bowings of the heart to the love of Christ as warmness of heart Luke 24. 32. stirring of bowels at the inward motions of Christ on the soul even when he is kept out Cant. 5. 5. The covered and borne down habit of grace may and doth break out into praying after him when he is away and most anxiously and carefully seeks him Cant. 3. 1 2 3 4. John 20. 13. 6. There is
9. Lord I have called daily unto thee I have stretched out my hands unto thee Psal 102. the afflicted soul saith v. 4. My heart is smitten and withered like grass And here though buried and dead bones scaâ—tered at the grave mouth as when one heweth timber speak and pray to God Psal 141. and the Church so overwhelmed so that they cannot speak Psal 77. 4. yet they speak prayers 2. There is holy complaining layed in the bosome of an apprehended angry God and though arrows of God stick in the flesh Psal 38. 1 2 3 4. Psal 119. 25. My soul cleaveth to the dust 28. My soul droppeth away for heaviness 83. I am become like a bottle in the smoke Psal 42. 1 2. Psal 6. 1 2 3 prayes and complaines in a holy way to God Like a crane or a swallow so did I chatter I did mourn as a dove mine eyes fail with looking upward O Lord I am oppressed undertake for me 3. It 's half a closing with a sinful disposition when it paines us lesse Paul protests against the fleshes sinful disposition Rom. 7. 15. I allow not the evil which I doe 2. He disowns it v. 17. It 's no more I that doe it but sin in me 3. He condemes himself for it v. 18. I know in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good 4. He complaines of it 23. I am led captive to the law of sin 5. His complaining so grows that he ends in an out-cry O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death and triumphs victoriously in Christ v. 25. From which it is clear that Paul and the flesh part open enemies and that there is no treaty of peace betwixt the spirit and the sinful disposition flowing from the flesh as if the flesh and the spirit were two free co-equal independent Lords and Princes and each must have his own kingdome and princedome to himself and the one must not encroach upon the other for the flesh and its complices must down and the spirit must be up in Christ Nor is there any arbitrary agreement of the matter for the spirit yields no liberty to sin nor gives away one jot or tittle of the holy Law to say Herod by the new covenant may keep his lust and Herodias so he gladly hear John the Baptist 4. There ought to be a going about of all duties of praying believing hearing praising c. under the lowest ebbings of the spirit and the saddest deadness so deadness and indispositions be the sin and sinful affliction and the afflictive sin of the child of God for our obedience to God is the more spiritual that it hath no moral motive from sense and comfort but rather the contrary save onely the word of command So excellently Christ Heb. 10. 9. Loe I come to doe thy will to suffer wrath and the curse for man but Psal 40. 8. I delight to doe thy will thy Law is within my heart His delight was in that saddest commandement to speak so in laying dow his life for his sheep and so had no sense to bear him up for an agony and sadnesse and sorrow to death was upon the holy Saviour when he obeyed and that peculiar law was in the inner part of his heart It 's true his Father loved him for it John 10. 17. Therefore doth my Father love me because I lay down my life that I might take it again But 1. It 's a question if in the act of suffering he felt that love when he complained that he was forsaken of God 2. Therefore the Father loved Christ and Christ did abide in his love because he kept his Fathers commandements John 15. 11. because they were the Fathers commandements 2. It 's a temptation to act under deadness which actually blunts the heart therefore to obey under a formal temptation is more spiritual obedience As for Christ to pray to believe to exhort his disciples to watch and when pain wrath the actual pressing curse puts him to tears and hideous cries Heb. 5. is a perfect copy to all obedience lesse thanks to you to pray when the heart is oyled with real influences and feasted with some holy and the bridegrooms hony-comb and the feelings of the out-lettings of freest love as what praise to a wheel to roll down the mount or for the fire to cast heat or the Sun to yield light Feelings of the strong impulsions and breathings of Christs love carry along such a strong necessity of obeying Christs love being a stronger and a more imperious commander then a fiery Law almost steals away the elective power but to pray under the frame and current of a dead disposition working and re-acting on the contrary from a principle that is strongly real but from pure moral influences from the pure spiritual commands 1 Thess 5. 17. Pray without ceasing and Psal 50. 15. Call upon me in the day of trouble is the most spiritual and perfect obedience That wine hath the most kindly taste and colour of wine and is preserved most connaturally that hath it's being on the mother grape it 's not so when there is something of art I know not what to preserve it by steel or something like that Hence appears the decitfulnesse of our hearts when the delight in the duty comes rather from a meer physical cause less moral to wit from the heavenly flamings of quickening influences not from the command the only kindly mother and moral motive of obedience The withdrawing of the rayes and beams of the personally near Godhead now as it were under a cloud which was wont to give the savourness of strong delight made our Redeemers obedience as is said the more excellent 2. It speaks much of savoury graciousnesse when the temptation is cos gratiae a whetstone to grace and to the spirit of adoption and as sailes and oares to praying and does not blunt us in duties 3. The greater combate with nature the more perfect is the obedience Abraham's natural disposition was strong to love Isaac his onely sonne to let the child take his good night at his aged mother but the command of Jehovah his God in covenant so prevailed as he would shift the temptation and hid the matter from the mother Sarah and strongly second the design of Gods trying with resolved pure spiritual obedience from only the command of God CHAP. VI. The place Luke 24. 32. Did not our heart burn c. is opened 2. Believers can tell the history of the actings of the Spirit 3. Feelings may be strongest after the actings of the Spirit 4. The differences between literal heat and spiritual heat in many particulars 5. And betwixt the Spirits actings with the Word and Enthusiastical raptures There be other holy dispositions most considerable specially these 1. Burning of heart 2. Enlargedness of heart 3. Fixedness of heart 4. Love-sickness after Christ Besides these there be special dispositions to pray
with a challenge of her refusing to open Ah! why did I not opâ—n while he did â—ovingly 〈…〉 knock and lovingly speak Open 〈…〉 my â—â—ster my love c. sense of Christ with chalâ—â—â—â—â—d good 〈◊〉 with tears for 〈◊〉 in the woman thâ—◠〈…〉 his feet with tears sense with faith going along 〈…〉 is commendable it s a spiritual case 〈…〉 up our recâ—nnings what we have profited spiritually by the heart-â—â—â—ingâ— wrought by Christ and this is a third diffrence The moral and 〈◊〉 man 〈◊〉 so â—â—prove his hear as to call himself to a reckoning nor 〈…〉 say wheâ— neere am I to God for my stirring 〈◊〉 reforming religion its kindly life-heat that makes the man more lively and vigorous While he spake The third particular who works burning of heart in these men speaking Jesus Christ when Christ takes the bellows and the fan and stirs up the fire it must needâ— burn boldly and when Christ casts in a coal in the soul it must make heart-flamings John 4. I am he that speaks to thee that made a fire in the womans heart then she leaves well and water-pot and runs to the City So Matth. 9. 9. Matth. 4. 20 21 22. with a word he kindles a fire in the brests of fisher-men who knew nothing of him before and hath an inward work upon the heart Cant. 5. He put in his hand by the hole of the door and my bowels were moved for him that was fire in the bowels and what did Christ here but speak words and this is the fourth difference with little pain but a word speaking he makes a fire There is a huge deal of violence in Esaus running sweating hunting Jacob stirred not after works but staid at home and believed and faith made him blessed the spirit drives not but by the words leading and perswading But is there no violence in the natural and literal heat Yea for Bâ—als priests to cut and bleed themselves with knives and cry till noon and to shout to a deaf God must have in it much violence and it s a very unnatural fire and its a most unnatural wild-fire heat to slay their young children to Molech A man who forces a sigh when a sigh forces not him is a sufferer but what violence is in the constraining Gospel-promise what compulsion is there in love or love-sickness when Christ makes love a key that opens all doors how strongly and how sweetly doth the word of promise carried on by the spirit of Christ force thy soul there is a huge deal of force and violence in fairâ—heed sickness as when a man makes and counterfeits distraction and madness and runs naked While he opened the Scriptures The fourth particular is the fewel that makes the fire the Scriptures opened and opened by Christs key Is not my word like a fire saith the Lord Jer. 23. 15. Yea in Christs baptizing there is fire John baptizeth with water and no more as a cold and watry seal but Christ Matth. â— 11. batizeth with the holy Ghost and with fire The word of prophesie was in Jeremiahs bowels as a fire shut up and this is the fift difference betwixt the literal and spiritual heat the heavenly heart-burning goes along with the Scriptures 2. With the Scriptures so opened and applied by the spirit of Jesus as by a strong power burning coals are cast into the heart As touching the former the difference betwixt this and the Libertines spirit or the Enthusiasts are to be observed and the spirit of the children of God 1. Christs spirit extols the Scriptures It is written saith Christ against Satan Have ye not read in the Scriptures saith Christ against the Sadduces Matth. 22. Search the Scriptures saith Christ they bear witness of me He taught the multitude and disciples as it s written in the Scriptures He rebukes them Luke 24. v. 25. as fools and slow of heart for not believing the Scriptures When he would carry in real influences of grace to the heart he carries them along by the Scripture and opens the understanding that they may understand the Scripture Luke 24. 45. that is the spirit of Satan in some who boast that they are beyond and above the word of the Kingdom and such must be beyond and on the other side of heaven 2. They who wait for the Lord and whose soul waits for God they hope in his word Psalm 130. 5 6. Libertines souls cannot wait for the Lord as the watch for the morning 3. It s a work of the spirit strongly to convince the conscience of not believing in Christ John 16. 7 8. now to believe in him is the sum of the Scriptures of the Gospel Enthusiasts extol perswasions by raptures according to which the brother killeth the brother as Bullinger relates in place of the Scripture-convictions of the spirit 4. The work of the spirit is to comfort for its the spirits office and the sound comfort is patience and comfort of the Scriptures bringing hope Rom. 15. 4. The spirit of Enthusiasts perswades men of peace and comfort without and beside the promises of the Gospel 5. The words of the book of the Law melt the heart of godly Josiah 2 Kings 19. 22. and the Lord looks to him that trembles at his word to dwell with him Isa 66. 2. The Enthusiasts boldly mock the word as an instrument of carnal and fleshly regeneration and seek a new birth from a spirit alone separated from the word 6. Deep humiliation is wrought by the word 2 Kings 22. 14. the pride of Satan reigns in the spirits of Enthusiasts who despise Scripture humility and reproach tears and the work of repentance as a work of the Law and the flesh 7. Strong and couragious fighting even to overcoming gets for a reward the hid manna the white stone and the new name written thereon which no man can read but he that receives it now fighting and overcoming is by the word of the spirit Rev. 2. 17. Eph. 6. 17. and faith in the word 1 John 5. 4. Enthusiasts tell us of a dumb and Scriptureless perswasion by which men are perswaded they are chosen to salvation and can know others by the face that are so chosen 8. The true spirit leads unto all truth John 16. 13 and opens the true sense of the Scriptures and leads no man by a new wild-fire light nor doth the spirit of God sway and determin a topick conjectural way while there is a speculative doubting as touching any light from Scripture whether the course be lawful or warranted by the word or not for the spirit of God leads by Scriptures infallibility Isa 59. 20 21. 9. The actings of the true spirit are gentle civil human and he bids us follow whatsoever is of good report whatsoever things are pure Phil. 4. 8 9. The spirit of Enthusiasts leaving Scripture licences men to abominations which Heathens abhor 10. The actings of the spirit of Christ are seasonable Matth. 10. 19.
in that hour it shall be given you it is not ye that speake but the spirit of your Father speakes in you Enthusiasts spirit suggests night-works to be done in day light and many unseasonable actions contrary to godly prudence as to read godly Treatises when they should hear the Word preached the spirit that suggesteth this is not of God for the spirit of God cannot counter-work himself 11. The spirit of God acts the soul and the man within his own orb and sphere of grace Nature acts not upon the Moon to move it up to the sphere of the Sun nor could it be called a kindly and connatural motion for the Sun to move down in the orb of the Moon It 's not the spirit of the Lord which acts the plow-man to move out of his element in the throne or in another calling in which God hath not placed him for it is not from the motion of the spirit of sanctification for David to go out of his element of grace and move in Satans orb of uncleanness and blood-shed the spirit of holiness is a friend to the holy Law of God all influences and actings of the spirit are to be tried by the same rules by which the spirit is tried some influences to Scriptural duties are from God and his spirit other influences from the Scriptureless spirit of Satan or corrupt man himself every stirring and impulsion must not be fathered upon the spirit of grace The fourth particular is the subject or seat of burning and its the heart did not our hearts burn within us the heart is the only seat of heavenly burnings not simply as the heart of man which is evil and only evil by nature in all its out-goings Gen. 6. 6. Gen. 8. 21. and supplanted and wicked Jer. 17. 9. But the new heart of man Ezek. 36. 26 27. the heart in which the love of God as a flood is spread abroad by the holy Ghost Rom. 5. 5. the heart and soul that loves the beloved Christ Cant. 3. 1 2 3. as for the unrenewed heart it is no more a hearth-stone or a seat to kindle this fire upon nor will it burn in this heart then if you would kindle a fire of coals and fewel and dry timber upon the superfice of the ocean sea for the heart of the unrenewed man would eat up and quench all this fire and the spirit does no more give influences for the heavenly burnings in the heart of an unrenewed man then he gives influences to the water to burn and cast out flamings as a huge fire doth or to the midnight darkness to shine as the Moon or Sun and this is the sixt difference The renewed heart is only the seat of this fire that comes down from heaven the natural heart is not capable thereof Q. Is there not an heart warmness in the natural and unrenewed man Answ Such as is the heart such is the heat such as is the hearth-stone such is the fire and the fewel that but as on it But the differences be these 1. The heat of the unrenewed man is strong and cannot be commanded they hasten as mad men after their idols who run after other gods Psalm 16. 4. And Paul says of his heat in persecuting the Saints Acts 26. 11. I compelled them to blaspheme 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I was abundantly and exceedingly mad and phrentick out of my wit in burning malice against them now the mad man can hardly command his madness yet upon other sinful and mad grounds Paul could have been perswaded on the contrary as the Pharisees were mad against Christ yet the fear of the people and of their own â—â—ns restrained them long from doing violence to him and in matters which neerly concern God the hear of â—n â—â—renewed man may be quenched as a man that counterfeitech himself to be mad can command his madness and 〈◊〉 who fains himself to be sick can command his sickness out one who is really possessed with a Divel and mad and one who is really sick of a raging fever cannot command either madness or sickness hypocrisie hath some dominion and empire over its own cursed heat and 〈…〉 â—ut say mountains on the love of Christ love breathes and lives under it devise torments lent burning quick 〈…〉 of 〈◊〉 or in a seeâ—â—ing Caldron to the Marâ—â—rs of Christ in ten days out off the ten singers one by one and so the rest of the members in diverâ— days or some 〈…〉 devise hellith 〈◊〉 the witnesse of Jesus 〈…〉 and bounded hand and fooâ— as the word 〈…〉 is made use of by the commanding 〈◊〉 sweetly 〈◊〉 love of Christ to die an hundred deaths 〈…〉 rather 〈◊〉 deny Christ for such as so love not 〈◊〉 lives to 〈◊〉 are not their own nor hath a believer 〈…〉 his 〈◊〉 not can the word if 〈◊〉 could 〈…〉 and an â—â—rth of the gold of 〈…〉 of Christ and the strong inâ—â—ence thereof So true is that Cant. 8. 7. Many waters cannot quench love That is a strong fire which all the waters in the Sea cannot quench Nor can the floods drown it If a man would give all the substance of his house for love it would utterly be contemned Then drowning and burning death fair allurements and gifts cannot counter-work the love of Christ What and are loves coales so hot yea he spoke to that v. 6. Love is strong as death jealousie is cruel as the grave the coals thereof are coals of fire which have a most vehement flame the flame of God But natural men for all their heat in the matters of God can let out and let in and stretch out the truth for all their heart-burnings as if it were kid-leather and they may take and give and borrow and lend upon Christs matters whereas the Saints are awed with that Buy the truth and sell it not Let indifferent and cold men who never felt the influences of loves fiery coals know this Ah the interests of Christ have been looked on in Scotland too indifferently and coldly the coales of self-interest burn strongly 2. The bare letter of the Gospel wins not in upon the heart it warmes the skin and not the heart whereas Christs speaking and opening the Scriptures with his Spirit and the key of David casteth not fire upon the heart the heat is all upon the letter and externals and upon Sacrifices New Moons Solemn Assemblies formes without taste All Pauls heat is about Christ and the hope of the resurrection the Jewes his adversaries heat could be nothing of this heart-burning but for Moses Law in the letter circumcision and other ceremonies now wanting their life Christ For Christ had now 1. removed from the letter of the ceremonial law and there is no life there as touching the observance thereof But Christ hath 2. not departed from and gone out of the ceremonial law as touching the doctrinal teaching thereof to lead us to Christ and therefore that law should be read preached
the Spirit in one and the same work the sounding of the word and the breathing of the Spirit may be attended Psalm 130. 5. I wait for the Lord my soul doth wait Whether in his real helping and hearing my crying out of the deeps or on his saving actings upon the dead heart and in his word do I hope there may be a casting of the goods in the sea to help the ship to land there is failing of the eyes in waiting for God Psalm 69. 3. Psalm 119. 8. My soul fainteth for thy salvation 13. I opened my mouth panted for I longed for thy salvation I cannot create breathings But the man in a pit or dungeon though he can make no help to himself yet he can cry and make use of arms and legs when a rope is cast down to him 4. Blowing of the bellows adds nothing to the fire yet it removes the ashes it fans away the earthy part and rarifies it and acts upon the smoke and adds quickning it 's fit to blow upon the habit of grace and heavenly disposition yea to blow in a sanctified way in a gift so Paul 2 Tim. 1. 6. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance to stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the laying on of my hands Erasmus saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is an elegant metaphor from such as care for the fire which is as it were buried under ashes they blow with the bellows and revive and stir up the fire like to die out others think it an allusion to the Priests dayly watching to cherish and keep in the fire which the Lord sent down from heaven and to cast new fewel to it So is that 1 Tim. 4. 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 neglect not the gift that is in thee let it not rust self-sharping and self-impulsion upon the heart and acting upon the habit which is in worse case because it lodges in a lazy heart is required we may deaden and neglect both our souls and the new habit whereas that prayer Lord increase our faith teacheth that we by diligent acting add to the habit to the gift talent and dispensation and the improving of these are forcible means to draw down fresh influences of life the Lord of his grace having brought himself reserving actings of soveraignty and deep wisedom under a sort of promissory necessity to bestow influences and to give one talent to him who makes five talents ten idleness and sleeping then must be no small obstruction to new quickening influences 5. As the husbandman is a fellow-worker in his way with industry and art with the Lord and nature to fit his ridges by plowing and sowing to receive influences of dew and rain and impression from heaven and he works with God and nature who labours the vineyard purges out brambles briars stones prunes the young vine-trees that they may receive influences from Sunne Moon Heavens and Clouds Yet no husbandman no vinedresser can be Lord of the influences of heaven so hath the Lord commanded us to plow up the fallow-ground of our hearts and not to sow among thorns to lie under the husbandry of Ministers sent of God to frequent ordinances to yield up our hearts by willing consent to be acted on by God to resign them and put the heart out of our possession and yield to that suit My son give me thy heart else we mock God in suiting from him enlargedness of heart in a sort of compromising that we shall run if he shall draw and enlarge But we keep fast possession of our own hearts and doe not resign them to God Hence a word of wakening to cry to harp and psaltery to our gift and to our tongue and to our sleepy hearts Psal 57. 8. is requisite as also 2. that we chide with our unbelieving soules Psal 42. 5 11. and command the renewed part to act upon the heart to accuse and convince and rebuke the heart 1 Sam. 24. 5. 1 John 3. 20. 6. The soul can be in no such dead case but it 's capable of an Evangelick command Sardis hath a name they are living and yet are dead then is it useless to speak to Sardis now dead no Rev. 3. 2. Strengthen that which remaines There fly sparkles of fire from the red hot iron of the smith upon those about whether they will or no. From that charge Open to me my sister my love c. there came upon her whether she would or not flamings of love which brought influences on her bowels CHAP. IX The fifth Question is what is the enlarging of heart It is nothing but the wideness and fulness of the soul and powers thereof in its actings Hence these Propositions concerning enlargedness of heart Prop. 1. WHen the soul is widened and stretched out in its actings we are ready to say I shall never be moved Psal 30. I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever Psal 23. 6. which though true when he was banished from the Tabernacle Psal 42. Psal 84. Psal 63. he had uttered thoughts of his state Some say Shall I ever again be dead Shall I ever again doubt as a down-casting soul no I shall believe and hope under temptations to the end But we are no more to judge of our selves by our present enlargedness then we are to pass sentence of the multitude of people of a City by a solemn fair or great market the town is not every day so peopled nor are we to esteem of a river by its swelling and running over banks after a mighty long continued rain 2. Nor are we to judge of our selves according to our ebbing and deadness of disposition that we shall ever again believe Saith the doubting soul Shall I ever again see the beauty and glory of his power as sometimes I did in the Sanctuary Psal 63. The birds reason not so they say not in winter shall ever the Spring and the season of building our nests come again shall birds ever have Summer-singing again And we are ready to make a weapon-shew of grace when the heart is enlarged I 'le doe wonders as if the man were the Father who begat grace and the Lord of his own believing as some believe the horses swiftness is the swiftness of the rider Be humble and pull down the sail when the heart is enlarged Prop. 2. See in the Text enlargedness of heart and running are near of kindred and blood The disposition and the gracious acting by divine influences are near other as the powder and flamings the dry timber and the warm harth-stone to receive flamings There is a near disposition in the Embrio in the framed mass of the birth to receive by the Creators influences a living soul Psal 38. 1 2 3 4. So in Christ Psal 40. the law in the heart and preaching the Lords righteousness in the great congregations are near other 2. The enlarged heart is ripened to receive influences and quickening of grave for running The
young should it not be ill with the health of many Some cures are worse then the diseases there is a sickly and unnatural thirst on some persons sick of a feaver it would be ill with them if either abundance of wine or a fountain of water were at their bed-side the choise and elective faculty of the sick mans mind is often as sick as his body Let me not then be my own comforter but let the Spirit of infinite wisedome enjoy his own office and be the other comforter whom the Father sends in Christs name Q. May not such as are sick of love pray for sense and comfort Answ There are some relative mercies that the Saints may pray for and if they be denied praise and blesse the Lord for the denial of them because we often pray for sense comfort full assurance not as they are acts of gracious duties which were good but as they are taking and alluring rewards and wages before we doe our work Q. 2. Is not languishing pain in love-sickness after Christ an evil to be prayed against Answ No question we may pray against swooning and fainting of the life of God and may pray for the contrary comfort but with submission to infinite wisedom Some diseases are so diseases as some fluxes and some fevers as they are also medicinal helps of health and healthy and lively diseases The Lord and nature under the Lord gives excellent medicine who knows but Hezekiah's running botch which was otherwise deadly was a natural help to his fifteen yeares health and life which followed Look not on the holy Lord when he is acting as a Physitian as if he were acting as a Judge Want with good will the sense and comfort that the Lord would have you want in his infinite wisedome Obj. But whatever we pray for we are to pray for it with submission and a reserve to holy soveraignty as well as we are to pray for sense and comfort Answ It is a doubt and a great one whether with alike submission we are to pray for that which is bonum honestum and a gracious duty as we are to pray for bonum jucundum that which is pleasant or the reward of a duty Hence the question Whether it be lawful to pray for saving influences of grace and how far whether conditionally or absolutely Hence the first Assertion Assert 1. Whatever the clay suites from the potter it should be suited 1. With that general submission or rather subjection which all creatures as creatures owe to their Creator Hence the clay cannot contradict the potter though but a sinful man and say why hast thou made me thus Rom. 9. 20. 2. A negative submission is far required as the contrary to wit a chiding and contending with the Lord in any case whether he give or deny influences is unlawful it 's sin to reply on the contrary to judge or misjudge God v. 20. Isa 45. 9. Woe to him that strives with his Maker See the word in the Hebrew Assert 2. It is most lawful to seek influences of grace for duties at all times 1. The Saints doe pray for influences Psalm 119. 25. Quicken me according to thy word 27. Make me understand the way of thy precepts 29. Grant me thy law graciously 33. Teach me O Lord the way of thy statutes 35. Make me to goe in the paths of thy commandements Cant. 1. 4. Draw me 2. We may pray that God would withdraw his influences from sinful actings Psalm 119. 29. Remove from me the way of lying Psalm 141. 4. Incline not my heart to any evil thing to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity Matth. 6. 13. Lead us not into temptation 3. Influences to will and to doe are promised in the covenant of grace Deut. 30. 6. Jer. 32. 39 40. Ezek. 36. 27. and so doth Christ promise the Spirit and his teaching John 14. 26. convincing John 16. 7. guiding v. 13. Then we may suit from God what he promises to give 4. Our will is to be conform to the holy will of God in his law Rom. 12. 2. 1 Thess 4. 3. 1 Pet. 2. 5. Then may we seek necessary helps for these actings 5. Christ commends praying for the Spirit Luke 11. 13. Matth. 6. 9. John 16. 23. and James is clear in it Jam. 16. 6. and therefore he commands also praying for the saving operations of the Spirit and his influences Assert 3. There is a two-fold contradicting of the Lords will One by way of replying striving and challenging the Lord as doing unequally This is condemned in the cited places Rom. 9. 10. Isa 45. 9. There is another humble contradicting in the woman of Canaan Matth. 15. 26 27. In wrestling Jacob when the Lord sayes Let me goe Gen. 32. 26. In Moses interceding Exod. 32. 10 11 12. Yea when Christ commands the disciples to watch and in order to watching citeth the Prophecie of Zechariah c. 13. who foretold that the flock should be scattered and that they should sinfully forsake and deny their Master he also charges them to contradict that permissive will and decree of God by which it was ordained that the Lord shall withdraw his influences from Peter and the rest of the disciples that their sinful weaknesse might appear therefore suppose the Lord say it 's my decree and will to deny influences of grace to us in such particular actings it 's the Lords mind that we should humbly contradict that holy will and desire and pray in the contrary nor can the Lord command the reasonable creature to will or not to desire saving grace for so the holy Lord should command sin yea to desire and pray for grace is our duty commanded in the Law and by Christ Matth. 6. 12 13. Luke 11. 13. even when we pray that the Lords name may be hallowed his kingdome come and his will to be done by us and others cheerfully Matth. 6. 9 10 11 12. we desire to be kept from sin and to have grace in all things to obey the Lord though we know that he denies his saving influences to us and to many others Assert 4. With this holy contradicting of the Lord will is conjoyned an humble submitting to the Lords denying of saving influences without a sinful counter-working of his holy will now revealed or without charging folly or unequal dealing upon the Lord. For 1. His own grace is his own grace and he is free of all debt and obligation to give gracious influences to Angels or men as also grace to use the measure of grace given is rather to be sought then a large measure 2. There is in love-sicknesse for Christ a weakness of the soul and a fainting for the want of Christ and this may come from the apprehended curse and anger of God for sin which is a disease after conversion that the child of God may be sick of So David Psal 6. 1. Lord rebuke me not in thine anger
Psal 38. 2. Thine arrows stick fast in me thine hand presseth me sore 3. There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin 4. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head as a heavy burthen they are too heavy for me Psalm 90. 7. We are consumed by thine anger and by thy wrath we are troubled thou hast set our iniquities before thee our secret sins in the light of thy countenance Therefore that Rom. 8. 14. For ye have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear is all one with this we ought not to receive it or we have not received the habit but are and may be under the temptation and actual assaults of that spirit of law-bondage Now in this sickness in the renewed soul this is wrong that the conscience goes back to its old prison and comes again under the spirit of bondage for Christ having made our peace by the blood of attonement on the Cross there is ground of peace with God as touching the Law-debt of sin otherwise we fail against the sufficiency of the paid ransome but as touching the blot of sin we are never to have peace that way and so it is good that the soul is troubled that way and that the world is whole and needs not the Physitian Christ is the death of the world and a worse disease Hence the third it 's also good that the soul is pained for the want of righteousness those ingredients make love-sickness a spiritual disposition for Christ 1. That the soul is sick and pained for the want of saving influences 2. It is pained with a spiritual burden a carnal man cannot be pained with a spiritual burden no more then a horse or an Elephant can be sad for the want of a reasonable soul or a sucking child weep because he hath not learning and the knowledge of a Philosopher 3. Sickness is a pain and distemper through want of health and argues a constitution of life and this sickness is a fainting and weakness of the soul for the want of Christ he being the health and life of the soul and that speaks an excellent soul-constitution that the soul lives breathes enjoys its best being of life and the most vigorous and strong life in Christ and when Christ is away in his sweetest operations of felt love and intimate embracings flamings and out-lettings of free grace the soul is deadly sick and there is no cool for this fever but the shining and lovely speaking of the Physitian Christ love hath killed some because they could not enjoy the party loved Elies daughter in Law not only is sick but died because the glory was departed 4. The fits of this Ague are strongest when the Lord is away cold paineth most in the absence of heat sickness in the want of ease and life hence seeking him whom the soul loves in all means and seeking him with care Saw ye him O watchmen whom my soul loveth So there is panting as is in sickmen or chased wild beasts dying a thirst the flesh and the senâ—ble soul crying out for the living God Psalm 42. 1 2. My soul longeth yea even fainteth for the courts of the Lord. In this love-sickness fainting and swooning are neer to dying the moisture turned into the drouth of Summer leanness of body speaks sickness My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God when the pain of the stone and childbirth pain put some to shouting the sickness must be vehement shouting and crying out of pain O pain of pains I want Jesus Christ my soul is away this causeth spiritual distempers and doubts this sickness keepeth the sick person waking there is no sleep there is no rejoycing The woman cannot sleep but riseth early in the morning and weeps on Angels and men John 20. 1 12 13. Ah they have taken away my Lord and I know not where they have laid him It was a branch of this sickness in the man Christ though of a far other kind feeling God to forsake him he with tears and strong cries bemoans himself to God It 's a wicked disposition 1. to think we shall do well enough without influences and the breathing of the Spirit David is in the mist and misses the way when he prays in his blindness Lord lead me and misses life and some degrees of it when he prays so often for quickning the Artificer that wants his tools and instruments can work none 2. When a soul can live contentedly and joyfully and wants God and lives fat and rejoycingly 60. or 70. years without Christ and never missed Christ how few know this sickness Especially 1. The pain of hunger and thirst which is destructive to life the fruitful earths disease and pain in a manner is want of rain and long drouth as Psal 63. 2. Psal 14. 4 6. Lam. 2. 20. this plague brings forth overwhelming of spirit stretching out of the hands when one is a dying and cannot speak the eating of young children the hinde for drouth and want of grass calves in the field and forsakes her young ones Jer. 14. 5. Few are put to shifts of all sorts for want of Christ 2. Few know the sorrow and sadness of an absent husband every wind is blessed in the wifes thought that blows where he is every ship that is thought to carry him home is a ship of desire the earth is loved that he walks on the house blessed that he lodges in and when the husband is dead what mourning does the wife of youth make over his grave Ah few know heart-breaking and sorrow because Christ is gone this were a holy moral happiness in the damned in hell if their sorrow for being banished and punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power 2 Thess 1. 9. were for the want of the saving presence of Christ which makes holy as well as happy 3. Impatiency of desire is paining how long shall the Lord hide his face when shall I see him come even so come there is much paining impatience in that prayer for the marriage day in such as long for his appearance Cant. 8. 14. Make haste my beloved and be thou like to a Roe or a young Hart upon the mountains of spices So as the song began with desire of Christs first coming to kiss her with the kisses of his mouth in Christs more bright appearance in the Gospel preached by himself in the flesh and his Servants the Apostles Pastors and Teachers so it endeth with a strong desire of his second coming that he would come with speed as the young harts which flee for succour to the mountains where spices grow Cant. 2. 17. as there are divers words expressing this impatient desire every hour seeming a day and every day a year to love-sickness longing for that day the dawning whereof is the eternal celebrating of
the solemn marriage betwixt Christ and the Bride the Lambs wife without parting for ever Rev. 22. 12. Behold I come quickly 17. And the Spirit and the Bride say Come And let him that heareth say Come And v. 20. Surely I come quickly Amen even so come Lord Jesus These five comes speak loves desire upon the Bridegrooms side and upon the Brides side in love-sickness 1. How sweet is it when pain it self makes prayers to Christ and want speaks to riches death and deadness to him who is the resurrection and the life 2. Yet sense alone speaking often mistakes and chides yea impatient sense mistaking the wise and holy dispensation of God for Christs absence is wise but not unkind and void of love he does not ever absent himself because he is angry or hates such from whom he withdraws his influences but to increase hunger and lively desire And 3. Holy missing of Christ 2. Careful seeking Cant. 3. 1 2 3 4. Cant. 5. 6 7 8. And 3. Strong desires of love-sickness are more solid and edifying graces then feeling sense and comfort of his presence as we use them and these are often stronger when Christ is absent then present and so the influences of the spirit that accompany missing of Christ 2. Seeking of him 3. And impatient longing for him are more useful then influences that accompanies sense See how lively they are in David when he wants Sanctuary-presence Psal 42. 1 2. Psal 63. 1 2. Psal 84. 1 2 3 4. In the Spouse Cant. 3. 1 2 3 4. Cant. 5. 6 7 8. compared with v. 10 11 12 13 c. Sense never brings forth such a love-song so highly extolling Christ as faith under absence 3. Strong believing and resting upon the promises when the Lord hides himself under love-sickness and apprehended wrath fetch sweeter influences then sense of presence as may be clear in the godly who 1. move questions yet so as love and faith encline most to the edifying conclusion and to faiths side rather then to the judgement of sense Psalm 71. 7. Will the Lord cast off for ever faith under a cloud believeth he will not cast off for ever and will he be favourable no more 8. Is his mercy clean gone for ever doth his promise fail for evermore 9. Hath God forgotton to be gracious hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies In these questions the flesh and unbelieving sense have a great hand the question in sense includes this Is the Lord the Lord and pure faith never moves such a question as that but the aim and scope of faith is to beat down such questions and the sense of faith in these is the Lord hath not cast off for ever the Lord will not leave off to be gracious for ever and ever his mercy is not clean gone his promise and covenant is everlasting and fails not 2. Under the sense of wrath faith eying the nature of God revealed in his word corrects sense Lam. 3. 8. When I cry and shout he shutteth out my prayers Ah no v. 25. The Lord is good to them that wait for him to the soul that seeketh him that is a harbour in place of a rock 2. He was unto me as a Bear lying in wait and as a Lion in secret places Ah not so v. 24. The Lord is my portion saith my soul therefore I will hope in him These are strong and edifying influences of grace under absence 9. What is thy beloved more then another beloved This is not the speech of enemies for they discern her to be the fairest among women and see heavenly beauty and grace in the Spouse 2. They are daughters of Jerusalem professors that seek the beloved with her c. 6. v. 1. yet they are less spiritual and more carnal then the Spouse For 1. They perceive her in a passion and they meet her with a sort of passion What is your Beloved whereof is your Christ made of more then ours either enemies or believers in so far as they are carnal or apt to mistake a spiritual state so must the world say of Noah who was just in his time sure the world thought him too just he 'll build an Ark and he 'll have all the world to be drowned but himself and his house Hence Jeroboams word 1 Kings 12. 28. It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem Why and the Lord commanded them doth God command too much is the Lord too strict So Satan Gen. 3. 1. yea hath God said ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden that is a strict Law-giver who laies bands on your eating of fruit which he hath created to be eaten The believing disciples Matth. 15. 23. Send her away 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 she cries and troubles us with her prayers Were there not some godly who might think Daniel needed not cry his prayers out at his window he might pray and not blow a trumpet There is an Idol called discretion and moderation pray profess Christ leisurely we think to be saved and come to heaven as well as you O what precise lips were Davids I will not name Baal with my lips Psal 16. 4. It 's too great Morosity for Moses to say to a King Not a hoof shall bide in Egypt What matter of cowes if the Church of God be brought out of the house of bondage what if there were not one Israelites four-footed beast breathing on earth so the Church live And 1. Men that find fault with too much zeal and cry moderation look to that walk 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eph. 5. 15. strictly precisely numbring all your foot-steps then shall we be called heady precise fools Nay walk as wise men not as fools 2. Moderate professors stint themselves this I le do and no more it shall do my business Ah speak of influences of grace the ebbing and flowing of spirits the breathings of Christ the Kings chambers the house of wine these are imaginations preach fundamentals faith and repentance what should more such truths as are beyond fundamentals are not necessary obliterate them out of the Scripture that eight souls were saved in the Ark sure it is not fundamental many are saved who know it not yet if any say its not necessary necessitate praecepti he is like a man who pulls off the covering off the house and saith what aileth you I touch not any foundation-stone of the house I hurt not the building What is thy Beloved All professors see not with one measure of light the Spouse is a wonder to many professors not so acquainted with Christ some are led to heaven through much love-sickness and pain and others with stronger influences of grace upon the soul then others it rebukes such as are censorious and uncharitable to others because they have not thronged through the same needle-eye with themselves Ah! 1. How many cast we out that Christ receives in Rom. 14. 3. Luke 7. 39. 2. We look to
what men have not and not to what they have and consider not what God may give them Matth. 19. 30. 3. Some see no good in Christ no good in John Baptist Luke 15. 1. Matth. 11. 18 19. Can any good come out of Nazareth no prophet ariseth from Galilee 4. We pity the sick though our enemy and extend not compassion to the sinner erring though the son of the same father 5. We see the spot in the face the crook in the nose but our own unseen boyls we overlook 6. We see not the secret good in some and their sincerity which is dear to Christ Luke 21. 3. Luke 7. 44 45 46. God hath so ordered that the infirmities of some of his children are ever visible in the streets O fairest among women Here the character of this heavenly disposition of love-sickness which is called savouriness the Spouse savours of the Spirit and speaks like one sick of love and the daughters of Jerusalem smell this savour and look on her as the fairest among women There is a savouriness of grace passive whereby words and behaviour cast a smell whether the children of God will or not and an active savouriness by which those who have any thing of Christ can smell the savouriness of grace in others Now a word of this savouriness as it is in the head in Christ the cause and fountain 2. In the Spouse 3. In the single members The sweet smell of the fountain suppose a well of rose-water is the cause of the sweet smell that is in the streams 1. There is dwelling in him all the fulness of the Godhead bodily John 1. 44. we beheld his glory as the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father 2. What a savoury lump and mass of grace must the man Christ be who is the publick channel of grace through him the savoury waters of the Sanctuary and the river of joy doth water all the indwellings of the City of God Psalm 46. 3. Christ God-man is anointed with the oyl of gladness above his fellows Psalm 45. 7. without measure John 3. 34. The fulness of anointing is upon him Isa 61. 1. Luke 4. 18. His name is as a precious oyntment poured out Cant. 1. 3. And the savour of the knowledge of his name in the preached Gospel is sweet and savours out heaven and life eternal 2 Cor. 2. 14 15 16. and the fulness of grace in him John 1. 16. out of which we all receive John 1. 16. makes him more nor savoury and natural men wonder at the gracious words that proceed out of his mouth Luke 4. 22. and enemies see some of the anointing and shining of God in him never man spake like him never man did like him never man lived like him never man died like him would we come neerer to Christ by faith and love we should smell more of Christ O what a savour hath his birth his life his precious oyntments his death his resurrection he is all savoury Cant. 1. 3. Psal 45. 7 8. Cant. 5. 13. his lips like lillies dropping sweet smelling myrrhe 2 Cor. 2. 15 16. His word a sweet savour of life His countenance is as Lebanon Cant. 5. 15. O what perfume is in his death the smell of Lebanon is delicious 2. There is much savouriness in the Spouse Cant. 3. 6. to the wondering of many Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoak perfumed with myrrhe and frankincense with all powders of the Merchants Cant. 4. 10. the smell of her oyntments is better then all spices v. 11. The smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon Now Lebanon was a field where grew odoriferous trees roses sweet smelling spices and herbs in abundance 3. Every particular professor hath received sweet smelling anointing 1 John 2. 20 27. of the Spirit and they that are after the Spirit savour of the Spirit Rom. 8. 5. 1. Vse If the savouriness of love-sickness be in any they shall use means for it bring the soul under the influences of the sun of righteousness for the sun-beams draw out sweet savours and the actings of love-sickness out of the habit of grace such smell as myrrhe and roses and odoriferous herbs and flowers and they have within such comes out ye cannot draw out sweet smells out of a dead carrion some plague themselves with the Gospel and the Gospel plagued them Satans influences for hating of Christ loathing of the Gospel persecuting the godly are mighty 2. To thrust the heart by acts of love upon Christ encreases love to lay him between the breast as a bundle of myrrhe all the night begets more love-sickness for him 3. Much praying changes the countenance of Christ and of his Jude 20. building up your selves in the most holy faith praying in the holy Ghost Much praying mnst be much edifying of our selves in the faith 4. Know the stink and corrupt breath of many professors rotten words corrupt sects speak disgracefully of Christ as of the man crucified at Jerusalem of the holy Scriptures at of Ink-forms their throat is an open sepulchre O the dead bones and the rotten smell in the heart which come out in words and actions CHAP. XII What may be done in the using of means hearing the word by us to fetch influences if there be any truth in that Deus facienti quod in se est non negat gratiam God denies not grace to the man who does what he can Whether doth God command all use of means external or internal in whole and part 2. Whether grace be above 1. The desire 2. The disposition 3. The prayer 4. The purchase of nature 3. No sufficient universal grace is due to Brasilians 4. Martinez de Ripalda abuseth many Scriptures to prove sufficient grace 5. No Gospel-promise no Gospel-threatning in Scripture concerning universal grace 6. Sinners are now interdited heirs 7. The connexion betwixt natural and supernatural acting in conversion 8. Of the natural providence of God Creator and the supernatural and Redemptory providence of God by which the chosen are converted 1. IT 's a question whether the Lord commands the only meer bulk of the duty to use means and hear and read whether we act in faith or no certain it is not the full and plenary intent sense or purpose of any command of God to enjoyn acts that are maimed lame hypocritical 1. It 's against the perfection of the command The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul Psalm 19. 7. Not only extensively but also intensively and arrests the whole man and all the thoughts and powers of the soul and the principles of the moral actions 2. The Lord forbids rather and rebukes such an use of means as includes sinful defects in the principles manner and end Psalm 50. 16. But unto the wicked God saith What hast thou to do to declare my statutes Isa 1. 12. Who required this thing at your hand that ye
are the influences of saving grace and though there be no promise made to the chosen do this and ye shall be converted yet Christ hath by his blood merited conversion and influences for conversion to them and as in Christ all providences are redemptory providences so hath the Lord ordained according to the decree of predestination and of redemption that hearing coming to such a place where Acts 2. Peter preaches where the Gaoler heares Paul Acts 16. to the well of Jacob where the woman confers with Christ beyond her intention are means of the conversion of such as are ordained to salvation so as providences of themselves natural are sometimes through the intention of God made redemptory providences for the conversion of the chosen 3. There is no connexion promissory betwixt natural or literal acting begun and spiritual acting and heat of the life of Christ As these actings are considered in themselves they seem to be one web but the one part of the web is course and grosse cloth the other is silk and cloth of gold they depend one upon another as some providential and general means and are intended of God 2. there is a coevistence betwixt them by a practise of grace not by a promise of grace 3. There is an order of priority and posteriority betwixt them 4. There is a vicinity material betwixt them as five is a number nearer to seven then three and yet three five seven all differ among themselves in nature and essence to hear is nearer to hearing in faith then no hearing at all or obstinate turning away the ear they are knit together as a piece of institution watered if I might so speak with a command and a heavenly acting of God for as was said before the literal acting some way falls under a commandmâ—nt he who commands hearing in faith commands hearing also 4. If there be a literal fixedness of consideration in looking to the duty and some literal missing and sense of deadness it puts the man in the borders of a spiritual duty and hardly wants the soul so acting the saving flowings of the Spirit the very bulk and body of a promise may give some literal wakening to a dead soul and the skaddings of a threatning maâ— put the dead soul in some motion 2 Sam. 12. 1 2 3 4. David gives a literal hearing by the light of a natural conscience to Nathans general parable At length when the Spirit sets it on by application thou art the man David v. 10 11 12 13. comes to some life of confession I â—ave sinned and there begin the spiritual seeds of Psalm 51. Indeed these two the literal part and the spiritual part make as it were in gross one bulk or body of a work but they are conjoyned as the clay and the gold in Nebuchadnezzars image they are joyned by God not by congruiâ—y or decency on the Lords part but of free grace not by promise not by merit nay not as work and wages but accidentall as touching their natures yet the wise Lord intends the one â—or the other it 's therefore good to be about means the waiting at the tyde is not sailing yet it makes way for sailing What connexion is there betwixt Saul's journey in seeking his fathers asses and Samuel's anointing him King of Israel none at all but a providential union there is but no man can say that there is here either a divine institution or a gracious promise yea or a congruity of means and end of work and wages though there be something of a marred institution in dead and dull hearing tied to saving believing here the same sweet breathing that falls on the rose acts on the hemlock which to me is some mystery to others merit of congruity which is detestable to others a free promise but it being examined well is but merit to others half a promise however the dispensation forbids laziness and commands all even though yet in nature to go about duties as creatures rational covenanted externally with God CHAP. XIII Q. 13. What the unrenewed and the renewed can do in the respective dead condition at the use of means 2. Influences work as God sets them on 3. A gracious heart reflects upon it self 4. We may do more by the habit of grace then we do 5. Divers cases of renewed and unrenewed 7. No promise is made to using of external means only yet a sad threatning is made to the not using of them 8. The opposition by unbelief that reprobates make to the Gospel IT is a matter of difficulty to determine because of the various cases what we may here do in the using of means 1. Unrenewed men and renewed both can do less in using of means when two mountains and two rivers are in the way then when one only is before them an unrenewed having both his natural corruption and a strong temptation against him can do no less So Naaman by his office being obliged to go to the house of the Idol-God Rimmon and not yet converted could more hardly abstain from that outward Idolatry then now when to natural corruption fear of offending his master the King of Assyria is added No doubt Pilate naturally loathed and hated Christ as Herod Acts 12. did the Apostles and the Gospel but when Pilate is afraid to offend the people and to seem an enemy to Caesar and Herod willing to pleasure the Jews it 's no wonder then both be not only weakned in using the means to believe in Christ but also positively oppose Christ and the Gospel and if both had been engaged in a profession of Christ as many now are they might have used means more largely to believe and preferred Christ not in their heart and real estimation of mind to men pleasing but in some externals also but that should be no concludent argument that they really loved Christ because a name may put men to hazard court and means and life rather then deny Christ 2. This seems a considerable difference the earth cannot plow and sow wheat of it self yet when it is plowed and laboured and seeded it can enlive and nourish the sown corn but though we can do much more in the using of means then we do yet means work upon us if they be only external by no necessity of nature but according as he stirs who hath mercy on whom he will though men run and will Nor can we deny but the child of God indued with an habit of grace hath actu primo a power to draw life from the head as the living members can draw nourishment from the stomach through the liver and veins yet the Sun and heaven hath influence in all actings of nature the necessity of actual grace doth not remove any of the vertue and power of the habit of grace so doth the renewed heart lie fair to a Gospel-command and as actions vital are immanent and received often on themselves so here the heart renewed can work upon
lodging to the spirit to breath in Let nature stir first in the using of means First bow the knee stretch out the hands should the Spirit from above first bow the knee and first physically act upon the hands to lift them up nay nature begins in its order before the heat and fire of the spirit come flaming goes not before smoking but contrarily smoking leads the way to flaming the flaming of faith of love of paining desires in their spiritual vigour go not before stirring of the lips and lifting of the eyes to Heaven to pray that is no more true then refreshing and cooling of the heart go before eating and drinking will ye say I will not pray while first the spirit flame I will not hear while first I believe and I will not lay up the promises in the heart while first the heart burns in heat of love with the promises You then say I will not throw about the key until the door be first opened I will not hear the word until the Lord give me faith whereas the way of God is that faith as the end comes by hearing as the means leading to the end Rom. 10. and Gal. 3. Ye received the Spirit by the hearing of faith then of necessity our hearing and lending attention to Christ by the outer entry the ear must go before faith as the mean before the end whereas faith comes by hearing as vital heat is stirred up by running so it is true some inward burnings and flamings of spirit begin like smoking before flaming Psal 39. 1. Psal 45. 1. Acts 17. and then follows spiritual acting of praising preaching praying in which case there is as it were in the soul a fever and an inward boyling of a pot that must run over or new wine that must break the vessel and force vent so that silence or no acting must torment and pain the poor man but that is not ordinary for the set way is that we set to acting and the spirit strikes in as he thinks fit and the believer is to blow and stir the fire under the ashes as if he were seeking the wind and must stir and dig some fire and warmnesse out of the letter and let the spirit blow and flame as he will If any say a preparing of the heart goes well before acting that is true also if any say God commands not simple hearing but hearing mixt with faith what ever truth were in that as hearing without faith is sinful formality yet he commands in a divine order that we should hear to the end we may believe and the Lord commands not that we may believe that we may hear as nature ordains not growing and nourishing that the living creature may eat and sleep but by the contrary nature appointeth eating and sleeping that we may grow and be nourished If any say the Lord commands not hearing as to the substance of the act but saving spiritual and humble trembling at the Word and hearing in faith and this he commands to be done in believing and trembling at the Word in the same act in which he commands hearing It shall be denyed that in the order of begetting faith this is necessary that they ever be on and the same act the Lord preached to Adam Gen. 3. 15. the seed of the woman shall break the head of the serpent Adam by the Law of God of nature was first to hear and consider this first Gospel-truth and then to believe it and receive it in faith he was a rational and moral agent in believing and was not obliged in one and the same to hear and believe but as a rational agent he was first to hear and then to believe after consideration of the Gospel now heard and received in the ear and mind And the like may be said of Pagans at the first hearing of the Gospel they must hear and literally consider the letter of the Gospel before they believe As for the Lord 's commanding to believe to pray to read to praise sure we are to begin our duty of natural stirring in these acts though in another kind of cause God must first act us thereunto nor is the Lord 's stirâ—ing of us by omnipotent grace enjoyned to us but we are commanded to doe our duty and to pray for his drawing that we may run but yet by order of nature we are to doe our parts first in our physical way before we feel the stirring of divine influences Obj. He cannot pray he cannot believe and yet God commands him to believe Answ But his cannot as Mr. Fenner saith does not hinder If a wicked mans cannot only did hinder him he might excuse himself before the tribunal of Christ Lord thou knowest I did my best I would have been ruled by thy Word but I could not I would have been humbled and reformed better then I was but I could not For the culpable only hindering cause is Prov. 1. 29. They hated knowledge the fear of the Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they chused not They would none of my counsel they despised all my rebuke These four acts of wicked will are set down as the only faulty cause of their non-conversion and their not hearkning to wisedoms cry But if God had given efficacious grace which he out of his absolute liberty denyed certainly they would have been converted true and who denyes that All that have heard and learned of the Father come to me John 6. 45. If all such come and none miscarry then thou would have come also to Christ Surely after I was turned I repented Jer. 31. 19. but that is the cause of non-conversion physical and leaves not the blame on the holy Lord for the wicked will not yet remains and the conscience lays not the blame there but loves to have a physical bar of non-conversion to block up the way of moral non-conversion and four times subscribeth and consenteth to the absence and want of the Lord 's saving influence therefore except the unbeliever could say I had a desire hic nunc to abandon my lusts and to believe only this hinders God refâ—sed the sowing of a gracious power in me to believe pray repent and as an austere master he reaps and exacts believing and praying from a man who doth his best and all that in reason and justice can be craved of a man lays upon me threatnings commandments punishments who am only fettered against my will from obeying Hence faithful Mr. Fenner pag. 8. the moral and faulty reason why the wicked do not repent and come out of their sins is not because they cannot though they cannot but because they will not His reasons are 1. The wicked think they have power and yet they will not doe according to their thoughts what is the reason they hope to repent on their dead beds but because they think they have power or at least they are able to beg power of Jesus Christ Now by their
cannot a soul filled with hellish and divelish sorrow such as was the case of wakened Judas receive influences of the Spirit to see a pierced Lord and to be in bitterness as one is for his only son Zech. 12. 10. but must despair and receive influences of hell for hardness and impenitency Obj. But we see the Church lament 3. very unbelievingly quarrelling with God v. 8. When I shout and cry he shutteth out my prayer 10. He was unto me as a Bear lying in wait and as a Lion in secret places And v. 18. I said my strength and my hope is perished from the Lord. Yet verse 24. The Lord is my portion saith my soul therefore will I hope in him then doth not unbelief and sorrow of sad and half despairing so incapacitate and deaden the soul to receive influences of believing Answ There is a far other consideration of a soul under prevailing corruption that is either yet not converted and of a converted man under a strong prevailing temptation when two contrary champions the flesh and the spirit are standing in battel array in the fields each one enemy attending the motions of another as in the former consideration there is a great difference betwixt green timber dry withered fewel or betwixt dry fire-wood fewel though dry yet soaked some days in water in this ease influences of the spirit from heaven influences of the flesh from hell do not so quickly exchange lodgings and go and come to and from divers subjects neither an unrenewed man nor a David under prevailing lust are such fitly disposed fields for showres of influences as in a moment they can cast off deadness and put on a spiritual disposition to receive influences of grace though there be an active celerity on the Spirits part for he can go and come quickly and this is to be seen in a soul under spiritual exercise even now there is a sad complaining I said in my haste I am â—ast out from before thy face and yet with the same breath nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplication Then under sense of being cast out of Gods favour there are also influences to pray and to pray in faith and when the Christian fainting saith My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord Lam. 3. 18. she also saith The Lord is my portion saith my soul v. 24. It 's clear then that fainting and feeling are neer to other and so influences for the one and for the other are neer to other the quickness and celerity of influences is evident in the suddain ups and downs of the soul as the shining of the Sun in March and the showring of the clouds are so neer to other he comes in his shinings as a fire-flaught in the midst of our sad louring and dumpish deadness and when the Lord pleaseth his visits are speedy and swift CHAP. III. How the soul is under plenty of means and dispositions heavenly and yet under scarcity of influences 2. Praying and love to the word according to the will of precept all along through Psalm 119. 3. Delighting in the word reading and meditating thereon fetch heavenly influences 4. Hence 18. obstructions of influences 1. Hardness and blindness 2. Vnbelief 3. Deadness 4. Security 5. Irreligious prophaness and Atheism 6. Vnconstancy 7. Deceitfulness 8. Pride 9. Worldly-mindedness 10. Fiery preposterous zeal 11. Vncleanness 12. Malice and bitterness 13. Worldly sorrow 14. False joy 15. Self-love 16. Wilful ignorance of the Gospel and hatred of Christ 17. Impatient fretting against providences the contraries of all which help to fetch heavenly influences Lasty the Lords manner of contributing his influences makes us not passive lumps and blocks the word shews that God lays a holy necessity on our will so that we are most willing and free agents in spiritual actings 18. Vain and wanton thoughts obstruct influences THe heart as including will and mind and affections is the publick Inne and lodging that receives all influences 1. There is a sweet proportion betwixt the influences of the spirit and the new heart Quest How is it then that the soul is under sweet dispositions and plenty of means and yet wants influences Answ This is to shew the absolute freedom of grace as Cant. 1. the Spouse is in a sweet condition Let him kisse me with the kisses of his mouth for his love is better then wine 3. Because of the savour of thy good oyntments thy name is oyntment poured out therefore do the virgins love thee 4. The King brought me into his chambers yet she stands in need of a pull draw me v. 7. Tell thou me O thou whom my soul loves where thou feedest where thou makest thy flocks to rest at noon-day Here is a soul in love longing to be embraced and kissed smelling Christs precious oyntments taken in to the Kings chamber yet the prayer to be drawn and to be instructed where to find him teacheth that some are at the well-head and yet thirsty and in Christs banqueting house and yet the praying of such to be drawn speaks want of influences and hunger for more except Christ intimately apply his influences to will and to do Cant. 2. 4. He brought me into his banqueting house his banner over me was love 6. His left hand is under my head and his right hand doth embrace me What is here wanting is not this paradise come down from heaven but the prayer v. 5. Stay me with flagons comfort me with apples for I am sick of love is a strong evidence that the Spouse even in Christs arms and in his house of wine where are all the refreshments of heaven is not sick only but fallen into a deep swoon if Christ hold not up the head and stay the soul with quickning influences what then could you make of heaven it self and of Christs sweetest embracements if he teach not how to improve the fulness of this free love in sweetest actings of heavenly duties When John is in heaven and sees heavens glory yet if the present actings of the spirit go not betwixt him and Angel-worship he roves influences must then make Christ to be Christ and heaven to be heaven and the Spirit must open and let out upon the withered soul streams of the well of life otherwise there is the banqueting house of wine and there is yet the hungry and swooning Spouse there is heaven and fulness of glory and there is yet miscarrying John grace must make it self our grace and he will have us to know to whom we owe the thanks both of Christ and of the outletting and emanations of free grace and of the well of life and of the flowings and streamings of that fountain and so the created habit of grace is not to be rested on but Christ acting in his free grace is all in all 2. The Lord gives influences according to his will of pleasure but we must stir and pray and act according to
his will of precept Hence all along Psal 119. praying and influences of grace are woven through other ver 25. My soul cleaveth to the dust that is a work of the Lords gracious will of pleasure Quicken me according to thy word that is a duty of praying according to his will of precept 2. His gracious dealing of his will of pleasure is brought in as an argument to ingage the heart to pray for grace to a duty of the holy will of command 73. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me give me understanding that I may learn thy Commandments v. 10. With my whole heart have I sought thee O let me not wander from thy commandments 3. The acting of a duty according to the gracious will of precept is made an argument why the Lord should bestow saving influences according to his will of pleasure to promote us in duties Psal 119. 40. Behold I have longed after thy precepts quicken me in thy righteousness 58. I intreated thy favour with my whole heart be mercifull to me according to thy word v. 176. I have gone astray like a lost sheepe seeke thy servant for I doe not forget thy commandements 4. Grace prayed for according to the will of pleasure kindles fire for an ingaged heart to do a duty according to the Lord 's holy will in his word 33. Teach me O Lord the way of thy statutes and I shall keepe it to the end 34. Give me understanding and I shall keepe thy Law Yea I shall observe it with my whole heart That is Lord lend me grace and by that grace I shall repay duty borrowed grace makes the soule a debter for duties 32. I will run the way of thy commandements when thou shalt enlarge my heart 5. It 's comfortable for strengthening of faith to lay before the Lord the victory of his grace and the strength of the temptation broken by going on a duty Hence a temptation 23. Princes did sit and speake against me but an influence of grace to do the duty broke the temptation But thy servant did meditate in thy statutes 69. The proud have forged a lie against me A strong temptation but it s broken but I shall keepe thy precepts with my whole heart 81. My soule fainteth for thy salvation but I hope in thy word So all along learn 1. That our free and voluntary trading with grace bringeth home new ships of gold and there is no danger of miscarrying and shipwrack 2. Being once by grace breathed on we are to hold the wheels a going grace puts the believer in a holy circle and running begets more running and the motion ends at us and begins at free grace 3. The nearest purchaser of influences is prayer ver 35. Make me to go in the path of thy Commandments 36. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies 4. Grace given is a strong argument to get more grace as gold buyes more gold 5. Though grace begin and prevene us yet the Lord having once given the stock spiritual want comes from spiritual sluggishnesse we are willing to lose the tyde and complain without cause of the seas motion 6. The ordinary chariot and ship that carrieth the influences of grace is the Word of grace David Psal 119. is sick of love with the Word Law Testimonies ver 47. And I will delight my self in thy Commandments which I have loved 72. The law of thy mouth is better to me then thousands of silver and gold 97. O how love I thy law it is my meditation all the day 103. How sweet are thy words unto my taste yea sweeter then honey to my mouth ver 11 20 24 46 50 52 54 70 86 92 93 96 111 113 105 159 160 c. and in that Psalm the influences of the spirit go all along in every verse in a practical loving delightful panting lifting of the hands to the Commandments v. 32. I le run the ways of thy commandments 34. Give me understanding and I shall keep thy law yea I shall observe it with my whole heart 45. I will walk at liberty for I seek thy precepts 44. I le keep thy law continually 60. I made hast and delayed not to keep thy Commandments 66. I have believed thy Commandments 74. I have hoped in thy Word 77. Thy Law is my delight 81. My soul fainteth for thy salvation but I hope in thy Word 83. I forget not thy statutes 87. I forsook not thy precepts 93. I will never forget thy precepts for with them thou hast quickned me c. all which hold forth if you would have showrs of influences of grace be in love with the Word and let it dwell plentifully in you for look as influences of vigour and life and heat upon roses flowrs herbs grasse apple-trees vines corn go along with light and shining of the Sun so do the influences of the spirit and the spirit in his lively actings delights to be carried in the chariot of the Word Cant. 4. 11. Thy lips O my soul drop as the honey-comb honey and milk are under thy tongue in regard of the precious promises of the Gospel in the sound ministry of the Church and the savoury influences of the spirit that go along therewith therefore he adds the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon Cant. 7. 9. And the roof of thy mouth is like the best wine for my beloved that goeth down sweetly causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak influences of the spirit of grace must go along with speaking such as are ignorant of the Word and loath the precious Gospel and stumble at the Word cannot receive influences of the spirit 7. There is some admirable nearness of the word to influences Psal 119. 11. Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee The word in the letter can keep no man from sinning against God For it is 1. common to all and if not received by saith convinces and condemns Nor 2. can the habit of grace in the heart prevent sinning except sinning unto death but not such sinning as David might or could yea or did fall unto adultery and murther of which he was most afraid Nor 3. can the literal memory of the word hinder sinning and yielding to dreadful temptations though it be treasured up in the memory Nor 4. speaks he of the spirit and inward word of the Swenckefieldians Libertines and the like who forsake the rule of faith the word and depend upon wicked inspirations but by the word hidden in the heart he must mean the Word of God and the engraven Law of God Psal 40. 8. Jer. 31. 33. not simply but as it includes the word dwelling in the heart plentifully Coloss 3. 16. loved Psal 116. 97 103. esteemed and prized highly Psal 119. 72 128. and believed 92 42 43. and so seldomeo â—never have any an high esteem or an habitual love and faith and hope in and to the word
inclines and weighs the soul to spiritual acting and the Spirit must attend the stirring of saving light so inclining the heart with gracious influences 3. When we give way to deadnesse and act literally and carry on the bulk of praying hearing as willing to get the body of the work over and wrestle not for life and power in praying and blow not upon the dead heart to stir up the habit of grace the Spirit withdraws and acts not on deadnesse as the Sun moves not vital spirits in a dead carrion or dead corps for there are none in it the naked name of living professours in the Church of Sardis when it was but a name is plagued with deadness and so with withdrawing of influences Revel 3. 1. the Cocks clapping with the wings adds strength to the crowing should we if the iron be blunt and the edge not whet add and put too more strength Eccles 10. 10. and seek life by stirring as sea-men by sayling about seek and fetch wind we should increase warmnesse of life and hoised up sails should receive wind for humble sense of coldnesse and deadnesse and missing of life is a good sign when it brings forth Psal 119. the prayer so frequent Quicken me Quicken me prayers used as Matins and Vespers and wandering of heart and whorish gadding of the thoughts in private praying brings on deadnesse and as a Smith blows not the bellows on cold iron and cold fewel where there is no sparkle of kindling of fire at all neither doth the North or the South-wind in heavenly influences blow upon such hearts Would ye have God to be more serious in his influences when you are formal and not serious at all in the work 4. Security obstructs actings of grace the Spouse sleeps and Cant. 5. 2. the Spirit withdraws influences to open to the beloved the Disciples sleep when Matth. 26. Christ exhorts them to watch and pray and can the Spirit breath upon a lying and sleeping sluggard there is godly fear on the heart but Peter and the rest of the Disciples in their shameful flight and stumbling at the sufferings of Christ after their fearlesse and fleshly undertaking saying that they should rather die then forsake him prove that the spirits withdrawing by which they fell in that sin goes along with security we would watch and fear always and the contrary of fearing alwayes is hardening of the heart Prov. 28. 14. which infers a withdrawing of that enlightning and softening grace Where there is rising at midnight to praise Psal 119. 62. a preventing of the dawning of the morning to cry to God Psal 119. 147. there must be a continued showr of outlettings of influences of grace for the lengthening out of hoping all the day long as when Christ cannot sleep but watches and prays when others sleep the life of this must hold forth a sea of flowing in continued actings of grace in him 5. A prophane heart void of God and filled with Atheisme also obstructs the flowings of the Spirit so the wicked Psal 14. 4. call not upon the Lord there is not an owning of a God to be worshipped Psal 14. 4. and the thing that goes along with that is oppression they eat up my people as they eat bread and what gracious influences can there be there especially when the Lord complains They are corrupt they have done abominable works 3. They are all gone aside they are altogether become filthy c. and the root is Atheisme The fool hath said in his heart There is not a God God breathes not in his influences on such as deny there is a God till he first blow away the influences of Satan who would darken and blot out the ingraven notions of a Godhead because Satan cannot be an Atheist himself he would make the world speculative Atheists but because he cannot do this he fills the world with practical Atheists it can neither be blotted out of the heart of damned men nor divels but a God and Judge there is but men live without God as if there were not a God and these two species of Atheism are dreadful 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Atheists without God creator 1. When men laugh at a God-head that created all and live by Policy as State-Atheists Or 2. By Reason as moral Atheists or by Nature as many Philosophers and some Physitians such are dead and dry rocks never rained on by influences seldome while the skaddings of the river and streams of brimstone waken them are they out of a sleep for influences on the creature in all its operations especially in these of grace are most proper actings of holy providence he who denies there is such a thing in the world as fire or a Sun must deny that there is heat and light in the world But the other sort of Atheists without Christ God Immanuel are more inexcusable as a Gospel-Atheist is farther from influences of grace then a Pagan-Atheist as is clear from Matth. 10. 15. Matth. 11. 22 23 24. Matth. 12. 41 42. because farther from salvation how few have been converted who were first temporary hypocrites and long despisers of the Gospel 2. who have been long moral naturalists and 3. long bitter and virulent enemies to the Gospel and the godly though otherways grave and civil Be much in believing that God is Heb. 11. that leads the way to the noble actings of faith in Abel v. 4. Enoch v. 5. Noah v. 7. Abraham v. 8. c. and the faith that God is and rules and is good to Israel and that he punisheth wicked men though he make them rich leads the Prophet to the faith of God his gracious providence in guiding the godly by his counsel in holding them by the right hand Psam 73. 1 2 3 c. 23 24 25. 6. The inconstancy of affections obstruct influences even now Martha believed and then Lord he stinketh for he hath lain four days John 11. 27 39. The ebbing and flowing of the Sea the waxing of the Moon the full Moon the declining of it the article of the change have all divers and contrary influences on our bodies on diseases on living dying birth and health and so may we judge of influences from the suddain changes of the heart As 1. It may be taken away Hos 4. 11. stollen away 2 Sam. 15. 6. and as moveables can be stollen away and hid though lands legally by fraud may be stollen away yet physically they cannot be hid so the love and bensil of the heart may and can be stollen away and when hearts are from under the possession of the right owner the Lord our God they are not under his influences when they are not in his world and Kingdom of grace but in Satans power hearts benighted are from under the influence of the Sun and therefore cannot receive the rays and beams of the Sun in the night 2. Except the Lord pursue even renewed hearts they are not the same
to close with influences now as they were the other hour 3. The various words used by the Scripture As 1. Bewitching of the hearts and charming the Galatians from the sound doctrine of Justification through faith only Gal. 3. 1. to Justification by works prove that influences that take yesterday will not take to day for they were hot in running and then cold in sitting down Gal. 5. 7. Deut. 19. 6. while the avenger of blood his heart is hot The Galatians were willing to pluck out their eyes of late for Paul and now their affection to him being soured they look on him as an enemy for he telleth them the necessary and lovely truth Gal. 4. 15 16. 2. The heart is a thing that may be bowed 2 Sam. 19. 14. the metaphor is known to the learned it may be allured and inticed with fair words 1 Cor. 2. 4. yea the whole soul may be bought and sold as Merchants goods with fair words 2 Pet. 2. 3. False teachers through covetousness shall with faigned well decked word as exquisitely dressed as hair make merchandise of you 3. The heart may be turned as streams of a river drawn thorow this part of the land or this part Prov. 21. 1. and from nilling to willing as the Lord thinks fit according to Gods will of precept is often the falling of the Church of Ephesus sinfully from their first spiritual love Revel 2. 4. and the turning from good to evil 4. The heart may be ingaged Jer. 30. 21. glued and made to stick to such an object Psalm 119. 31. given up and delivered Eccles 2. 1 2 3. Eccles 1. 13. 2 Chron. 20. 3. set and fixed to such a way Judg. 13. 3. Judg. 5. 9. touched and moved 1 Sam. 10. 26. stirred to such a work Ezech. 1. 1. and then as the Sun in the Spring and Summer coming neer the earth makes more excellent effects on it then the Sun farther off in Winter when the Lord comes neer he works otherways on the heart then he doth in his absence all which with divers other words say it 's not easie to lie under and receive the influences of God the gardens and meddows stir not out of their place the vine-trees the corn and grass in mountains valleys vineyards flee not away from the falling of wind and dew and the aspect and dartings of heat and beams from Sun and Heavens But ah unstable hearts which withdraw from under the actings of the Spirit and weary of prayer hearing whereas the establishing of the heart with savoury dispositions and delighting in the word fetch home influences as Psalm 119. cleareth 7. The desperate wickedness and deceitfulness of the heart Jer. 17. 9. puts the Prophet to speak to God v. 13. O Lord the hope of Israel all that forsake thee shall be ashamed Influences then must be withdrawn from deceitful workers and if the heart be deceitful above all things then in some regard it 's deceiful above Satan as being a heart-deceiving and murdering of our own souls beyond the privity of Satan we boyling in the secret furnace of the heart many naughty thoughts that are unknown to Satan and who knows the hypocrisie of the heart and what way God plagues hypocrisie with farther hypocrisie and by all sins heart-deceitfulness is within it self a rooting of it self now this deceitfulness being so contrary to sincere and singleness of heart must be uncapable of influences for the upright and sincere heart and truth in the inward parts Psalm 51. 6. is desired and loved Psal 11. 7. Psal 146. 8. exceedingly by the Lord as most like himself Psalm 11. 7. The righteous Lord loveth righteousness his countenance doth behold the upright And so as every thing loveth its own the hen warms and cherishes her chickens and every bird the young ones so must the Lord follow with heavenly and quickning influences sincerity of heart when he particularly saith to them Psalm 32. 11. Be glad in the Lord and rejoyce ye righteous and shout for joy all ye that are upright in heart The Lord must then follow his own planting for the loving of the Lord Jesus in sincerity and the girdle of truth about the loins is a part of the armour of God Ephes 6. 14. with pruning hedging digging and showres from heaven whereas upon the heart unrenewed and still deceitful there shall fall no rain nor is a deceitful heart more capable of lively influences then thick gross misty air can admit of wind or then a torch steeped in mire and dirt is in capacity to receive light and flaming and suppose which yet is not possible God should send saving influences on an unrenewed and deceitful heart remaining such yet could not such a poysoned stem bud and bring forth acts of saving grace as the thorn tree in the fattest and choisest soil neer the Sun under influences of a warm heaven benign clouds a sweet moderate aire could never bring forth delicious wine grapes or pomegranates prevaricators hypocrites and all double-minded halters betwixt the Lord and Baal shall rot in their soil and be as the heath in the wilderness and receive nothing of the actings of God the Lord is far from their reins Jer. 12. 2. God is not in all their thoughts Psalm 10. 4. Salvation is far from the wicked and what are then the influences of God on them for they seek not thy statutes Psal 119. 155. but David v. 156. Quicken thou me according to thy judgements 8. Pride hindereth not a little the out-goings of the Spirit the proud soul is the fallow ground the unbroken and unplowed earth and what can be hoped of wheat or a barley harvest from rain and dew and influences of Sun air and clouds where the plough never broke the earth and the Husbandman did sow nothing but as for the humble and humbled broken and meekned man influences are his by the promise of God O that is a great and an unchangable thing Psal 25. 9. The meek will he guide in judgement and the meek will he teach his way None can be guided and taught practically to walk in the way of God but these who are acted by influences of grace Christ thanks the Father because he reveals the mysteries of the Kingdom to babes or young children Matth. 11. 25. and James 4. 6. But he giveth more grace God resisteth the proud and giveth grace and so influences of grace and more influences of grace to the humble 1 Pet. 5. 5. And see 2. As the Lord and his servant nature hath provided a providence more active and careful in parents for suck and milk to infants and for food to weaned children who are as passive as stones in providing for themselves so doth the Lord rain in a more abundant providence influences of grace on the meekned and broken spirit Low valleys lying toward the Sun kindly receive dew and rain mountains not so 3. If the bones be of new broken and hot and
unrenewed and full and extream at only that which is a worldly good thing the spirit is yet carnal and no saving influences can be there in the regenerate the affections are like two contrary rivers when the one river is full at the flowing in of the sea the river in the contrary coast is low and ebb so joy sorrow love desire c. as the Spirit prevails Rom. 7. as the flesh prevails in its motion so are they up in their fleshly exorbitancies and low in their motions and flowings toward God v. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24. but the joy spiritual at the coming and receiving of the Gospel Acts 8. 5 6 7 8. the joy of believing Rom. 15. 13. the joy of the hope of glory Rom. 5. 2. Matth. 5. 12. the Joy in the midest of heaviness if need be for a season which is unspeakeable and full of glory 1. Pet. 1. 6 7 8. the joy in suffering under reproaches and the spoyling of our goods Heb. 10. 33 34. Acts 5. 41. 1 Thes 3. 9. the Joyingin Christian walking Phil. 4. 4. the joy of the holy Ghost Rom. 14. 17. and the like are all fruits of the spirit and have necessarily conjoyned with them heavenly influences to receive the Gospel Acts 8. to beleive with peace of mind Rom. 15. 13. to hope for glory Rom. 5. 2. Matth. 5. 12. to be comforted under heaviness even to love the holy afflicter 1 Pet. 1. 5 8. to all patience in suffering Heb. 10. 33 34. Acts 5. 41. to walke chearfully in our Christian course Phil. 4. 4 5. all which must be wanting in the false and bastard joy of the world and the like may be said of desire the more men waste their desires in worldly objects the less of the Spirit have they as these two are excellently conjoyned Psalm 73. 24. Thou shalt guide me by thy counsels and afterward receive me to glory Influences in perseverance in the way of God by Gods counselling and leading are here insinuated and beside that a spiritual desire v. 25. Whom have I in Heaven but thee and in the Earth there is none I desire beside thee 15. Self-love is a note of Apostates in the last days 2 Tim. 3. 2. and of men in the state of nature where self-love prevails above the love of God for natural men make themselves the god of gods and the god of their false gods Exod. 20. 4. Judg. 2. 19. Psalm 81. 8. Amos 5. 26. Hos 13. 2. there be men who make themselves their last end it 's contrary to all true holiness and sanctification and so to all acts and influences of the Spirit for it is the proper work of the Spirit to make us holy and he bears the name of the holy Ghost and of the spirit of sanctification upon that reason and therefore where self is the mans god what room is left to holiness and to the influences of grace and where the love of God is spread abroad in the heart by the holy Ghost which is given Rom. 5. 5. and hath a seat in the heart John 21. 15. John 14. 15. Deut. 10. 12. Deut. 6. 4 5 6. Deut. 30. 6. as the habitual fear of God hath also what doubt is there but the Lord shall joyn actual influences of grace to his owne spiritual habits which should put us to self-denial and to be less wedded to the love of our selves and more to love the Lords Word Law and Testimonies Psalm 119. 11 47 72 97 127 128 c. to love Jesus Christ his cause and Gospel more then our own life Matth. 16. 25 26. then houses brethren sisters father mother wife children or lands Matth. 19. 29. Matth. 10. 37. Luke 14. 26. and where this habit of love prevailing in the heart is the Lord denies not actual influences to his own sincere followers and strength of grace to seal his truth with their blood Rev. 12. 10 11. Heb. 11. 33 34 35. Heb. 10. 32 33 34. and when self-confidence and self-love and carnal fear of losing life present prevails by reason of a temptation as is clear in Peter and the Disciples who deny and forsake Christ contrary to their undertaking Matth. 26. 31 32 33 34 35 v. 56 69 70 71 c. the Lord justly withdraws the influences of his spirit 16. The ignorance of the Gospel and the loathing of Christ renders all Pagans who hear the rumour of Christ but receive him not and all Reprobates within the visible Church in a worse condition then rocks and desarts are in for Sun clouds and rain send influences in them but the malignity and driness and coldness of the soil is the cause why they do not spring and blossome as the gardens and meddows but though the Lord send common helps to such Pagans and unbelievers yet it is justice that the Spirit in his influences should be a stranger to such as live strangers to the Son of God for the Son and Spirit go not contrary ways to their operations Carnal professors who study only a form of godliness and aim not at the power of godliness and do but bear the bare letters and outward bulk of baptism and the sound of the word preached and hate Christ and persecute the godly that are chosen by him out of the world come under the name of the world who cannot receive the Spirit nor his influences John 14. 17. and have a spirit of their own the spirit of the world 1 Cor. 2. 12. this spirit is their tutor and guide and such as are out of Christ are led by the prince of the power of the air the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience Ephes 2. 2. and are taken captive by him at his will 2 Tim. 2. 26. Now can these two spirits the Spirit of God and the Divel lodge in one and the same dwelling and exercise their several operation on the same soul No. 17. The sad freatings and wrestlings at the providence of God incapacitates men for influences of grace thrice Psalm 78. the people are said to tempt the Lord and especially in asking meat for their lust v. 18. can he provide flesh for his people v. 20. and the Spirit of the Lord so tempted le ts not out his sweet and saving influences upon such as wrestle with his holy dispensations was there more of the Spirit letten out to Israel for murmuring at the red sea or less yea less Exod. 15. for after that they murmured again at Morat Exod. 14. and in the wilderness of Sin Exod. 16. 1. yea forty years in the wilderness Psal 95. 9 10. They tempted God and did erre in heart and that with their first murmuring in Egypt was a provoking cause of Gods withdrawing his Spirit all these forty years is called v. 8. The day of temptation for to tempt God is a great wickedness he who welcomes all dispensations with godly submission and can bow to his Lords will
and then must you be dry and withered in all your actings whereas influences and manifestations are promised to the lovers of Christ Joh. 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 manifest my selfe to him These sure are the revelations and manifestations of the Spirit John 15. 24. Christ puts a strong wall of difference between the hating world and the disciples v. 24. now they have both seene and hated both me and my Father but not so ye v. 26. when the comforter is come whom J will send unto you from the Father even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father he shall testifie of me v. 27. and ye also shall beare witnesse because ye have been with me from the beginning Here are actings of the spirit in the disciples who love the father and Christ that the spirit acteth them to bear witness of him to the world upon all hazards even to death and torment We see what workes and actings of the spirit is in the Spouse sick of love for Christ which are in that song of songs to be seen comparing Cant. 2. 5. Cant. 5. 8. with other places of the song these works of the spirit are seen 1. A desire to be kissed with the kisses of his mouth Cant. 1. 2. 2. A spirituall smelling of his good oyntments Cant. 13. 3. A prayer to be drawn and a vow to run being drawn Cant. 1. 4. 4. A resolution to rejoyce in his love with all the virgins and chaste followers of Christ Cant. 1. 4. to rejoyce more in his love then in wine 5. A desire to be where Christ dwelleth in the tents of the Shepherds a sound Ministry Cant. 1. 7. 6. A profession of intimate love to Christ so as he lies as a bundle of myrrhe betwixt her brests all the night Cant. 1. 13 16. an extolling of Christ as the apple-tree among all the trees of the forrest Cant. 2. 3. and a delighting to taste the fruits of his love 7. A spiritual feeling in being taken into his celler-house of wine Cant. 2. 4. a desire to be refreshed and established with the promises and comforts of the preached Gospel Cant. 2. 5. Stay me with flagons and comfort me with apples for I am sick of love 8. The feeling of his love-imbracements when they are on v. 6. His left hand is under my head and his right hand embraceth me 9. Because the whole song is a song of love there is a charge given not to offend Christ v. 7. 10. An eying of him by faith in his approaches in the delivery of his people in his coming in the flesh to save the world in the preached Gospel in all which his coming leaping over the mountains and skipping over the hills saith That no impediment of the enemies and the powers of hell and no evil deserving of sin can obstruct his gracious motions to save and comfort his own v. 8 9. 11. The discerning of Christ's calling us in the Gospel v. 10 11 12. My Beloved spake and said unto me Rise up my love my fair one and come away 12. The discerning of his desire of our worship of the Churches praying doctrine and discipline v. 14 15. O my dove let me see thy countenance let me hear thy voice for sweet is thy vice c. 13. The Churches claiming of interest mutual betwixt Christ and his Spouse v. 16. My Beloved is mine and I am his 14. The observing where Christ is his feeding among the lillies in his Church which is clean and comely by his beauty 16. He feedeth among the lillies 17. untill the day breake c. 15. The Spouses desire of his company v. 17. Turn my Beloved and be thou like a Roe or a young Hart upon the mountains of Bether a desire of being with him for ever in glory as Rev. 22. v. 17 20. 16. The Spouses careful seeking of Christ and spiritual restlesness till she find him Cant. 3. 1 2 3 4. I sought him whom my soul loved I sought him but I found him not c. 17. The sweet spiritual smell of the so loved Church v. 6 c. 18. Chap. 5. The Spouses discerning of his knock and voice though she sleep 2. The acknowledging of her sinful denying to let him in 3. The Spirit of Christs acting upon her heart till the bowels of love were stirred in her v. 4. 4. The opening to him 5. The smell of her obedience which she felt like dropping myrrhe v. 5. 19. The Spouses swooning and falling dead at his departure 20. The Spouses praying and seeking him when now he had withdrawn himself and the missing of the sweet actings of the spirit to her sense v. 6. 21. Her seeking of him at the watchmen 1 6 7. 22. Her desire that other professors the daughters of Jerusalem may in prayer hold forth to Christ her spiritual state of love-sickness v. 8. 23. Her preferring of Christ to all other beloveds in Heaven or Earth v. 9. 14. The Spouses high exalting of Christ in all his parts endowments graces and lowliness My Beloved is white and ruddy v. 10 11 12 c. all these and many others the like teach that the spirit in such excellent operations and graces hath his dwelling and seat in an heart strongly filled with the love of Christ But who hates Christ 1. All persecuters of his members John 15. 18. If the world hate you ye know that it hated me before you And it is exponed v. 20. If they have persecuted me they will also persecute you And whoever loves not the Brethren are not translated 1 John 3. 14. and they who love them not hate them 1 John 3. 14. compared with v. 15. how carnal lust and the love of glory from men hindereth influences of the Spirit to love Christ See John 8. 42. If God were your father ye would love me 44. Ye are of your father the Divel the lusts of your father 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ye will do he was a murderer from the beginning v. 50. I seek not mine own glory The strong love of Christ in the heart is a chamber and a house for the Spirit to act in 2. Not desiring of God but an abhorring or a soul abhorring of God hinders influences of the Spirit 1. Are there any who abhor God such a sad word is spoken of the Jews Zech. 11. 8. Three Shepherds also I cut off in one month and my soul loathed them and their soul also abhorred me Departing from God as a whorish woman forsakes her huband is charged upon the confederat people harlotry upon every high hill and under every green tree Jer. 2. 20. even when they said We will not transgress Hos 4. 12. The spirit of whoredom hath caused them to erre and they have gone a whoring from under their God 13. And can the holy spirit
joyn strong and vehement actings of ours High-bended and fervent acts of obedience come not but from strong habits of grace but here I speak of mighty stirrings of influences here we would beware of straining affectation of shouting and expression of delight some bring more out then is within when literal crying and shouting does exceed the inward impulsion of the Spirit it 's dreadful to lye of the Holy Ghost and of his impulsions but to the point Our actings would be proportioned to the Spirits stirring Mighty rivers come from a huge arm of the Sea some streams flowing from little small fountaines run scarce the fourth part of a mile 1 Cor. 15. 10. Strong labouring câ—mes from strong and abundant grace I laboured more abundantly then they all yet not I but the grace of God which was with me A strong influence of the Spirit calls for a strong virtual consent especially when the Spirits impulsion of joy is strong Cant. 1. 12. While the King sitteth at his table and feasts the Spouse with quickening influences and satisfies her soul as with marrow and fatness my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof The spikenard is here the precious oyl or oyntment of spikenard John 12. 1 2 3. that is the smell of her actings of joy delight love were strong and exceeding savoury as his table was a Kings table and fat and the actings of his spirit strong then followes a suitable strong expression of delight v. 13. A bundle of myrrhe is my beloved unto me he shall lie or lodge all night betwixt my breasts And Cant. 2. 4. the King brought me into his house of wine that is into the chamber of the most spiritual and soul-delighting consolations of the Gospel that rejoyce and cheer the heart as excellent wine doth one that is fainting as Psal 104. 15. Prov. 31. 6 7. compared with 2 Cor. 1. 6. 2 Thess 2. 18 19. And the Spouse joynes to this a most vehement disposition of soul-sickness of love for Christ v. 5. Stay me with flagons and comfort me with apples for I am sick of love As also godly sorrow for sinne 2 Cor. 7. 10 11 15. a special work of the Spirit and princely and kingly gift of his Spirit who was raised from the dead to act this sorrow in us Acts 5. 31. as also swoooning and dying at the absence and withdrawing of Christ the beloved Cant. 5. 6. is a fruit of the Spirit and to sleep and eat and drink and rejoyce when the holy Spirit is saâ—ned and when he withdraws his actings is a dismal and sad token though there may some influence of corruption be in sorrowing because the Spirits actings are suspended as they are our comforts or apples to delight children and not as duties that we owe for Christs love to us and conscience of his command which saith Phil. 4. 4. Rejoyce alwayes in the Lord c. and here we would beware of worldly sorrow that causeth death Sorrow and heart-breaking because of the breaking of created comforts as if God were not the soules portion and the Saints all in all should be eschewed this sorrow blunts and deadens the soul from drinking in influences of glory as far Luke 9. v. 32. also Law-sadness dumpish servile down-casting because it deadens and kills as the Law doth must be eschewed indeed sadness that Evangelically mortifies and deadens to created spiritual comforts may quicken the believer to a more vigorous delighting in Christ himself who is more then comfort Psal 119. My soul droppeth away for heaviness and that puts fire in the soul to pray Strengthen thou me according to thy word It appears to be spiritual sorrow that breaks out in prayer Matth. 26. 38 39. Psal 18. 4 5 6. Psal 61. 2. Psal 102. 4. There are in the fourth Class two affections hope and audacity or fool-hardiness which would be taken heed unto Now with hope which looks to good to come and hardly attained we must take in faith one of the fruits of the Spirit Gal. 5. 22. Sometimes one affection in its carnality will counterwork another Luke 24. 41. The disciples believe not for joy and wondering But the special ground is unbelief the wide desire of unbelief thinks God cannot be so abundantly good as to restore to them Christ from the dead and the carnal reasoning of wondring contradicts a possibility of the resurrection over-acting of one affection to wit of joy when it 's literal counter-works the actings of the Spirit in the faith of the promises Hence must Christ soften the heart with swasory actings before the man believe and consider what Christ does morally Luke 24. He opens the Scriptures to the two disciples Luke 24. 27. He rebukes their unbelief v. 25. and as to his own disciples he sent them word with eye-witnesses who saw him that he was risen again but their words seem idle tales to them Luke 24. 11. And he upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart Mark 16. 14. 3. He appeared and spake to them 4. He made their senses witnesses by causing them see and touch his hands and feet 5. He did eat with them which was an action of life 6. He wrought a miracle of bringing multitudes of fish to their net but all is to little purpose until he take a real and effectual way by the working of the Spirit Luke 24. 45. Then opened he their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures Then the opening of the Scriptures though in the mouth of Christ avail little to faith except the Spirit of Christ open another lock even the heart This is one of the first works of the Spirit to convincethe conscience of unbelief John 16. 8 9. and when the Spirit hath taken that castle and brought the soul to be sensible of unbelief he can easily take in the rest of the works frequent casting to of new oyl to the lamp keeps it shining and new fewel causes the fire to flame Frequent repeated acts of believing bring the disciples to get the grace to doe greater works then Christ did because Christ went to the Father John 14. 14. Believe influences of grace and have influences of grace abundantly furnished to you ask the Spirit in faith and the Father is as willing to give the Spirit as a Father is to give bread to his hungry child so here faith makes a fair wind Luke 11. 9 10 11 12 13. It is not so in nature the husbandmans natural faith that it shall be a sweet warm fruitful Summer makes not a fruitful Summer The Sea-mans natural faith believing fair winds and no storms at all makes it not to be so for often faith here is but fancy but faith acting dayly upon the precious promises of the word brings strong gales and summer-influences of heart warmness of the Spirit and in a manner creates new blowings of the North and South-wind fainting under the breathings and knocking 's of
the Spirit of Christ makes him withdraw Cant. 5. 2 6. Here unbelief binds up the wind and breathings of the spirit as it doth the mighty actings of Christ Mat. 13. An unbeliever as touching his state is a Pagan and doth the holy spirit dwell in an Heathen Lively hope for there is a dead and withered hope is no less a fruit of the spirit then faith This is a specifick difference between an unconverted Pagan who wants the spirit and a convert who hath the spirit The former is one who has no hope and so is without God and without Christ and without the Spirit of God in the world and so is not capable of influences Ephes 2. 12 13 14. and one whom the Lord according to his abundant mercy hath begotten again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 1 Pet. 1. 3. For in such a man there be many actings of the Spirit As Faith 2. Perseverance therein v. 4 5. Rejoycing in God v. 6. Patient believing in the furnace v. 7. Love v. 8. all which are fruits of the spirit Gal. 5. 22. And hope under deadness spreads abroad the sailes and hoises them up to receive and gather in the wind it brings home influences of grace to lie at the tide and wait until the wind blow sweetly and fairly from the Spirits earth Hope is the onwaiter expecting showrs of influences in the conscionable using of the means The hope of him who purifies not himself 1 John 3. 3. shall wither hope to the end still flourishing growes on the right tree and speaks a communion with the spirit which hath conjoyned with it the obedience of children the not fashioning our selves to former lusts and holiness like unto God who hath called us 1 Pet. 1. 13 14 15 16. otherwise the hope shall be a broken tree and hath nothing to doe with the Spirit Many say they hope well and it 's good to hope well and live upon thoughts that they shall be saved yet are profane and godless walking after their lusts this is sinful boldness and the spirit dwells in none such There is a boldness of faith in access to God and in approaching to the throne of grace Rom. 5. 1 2 3 4. Heb. 4. 16. by which Davids soul makes her boast in the Lord Psalm 34. 2. It hath these undoubted graces of the spirit faith praying glorying in tribulation patience the love of God spread abroad in the heart by the holy Ghost which is given to us Rom. 5. 1 2 3 4 5. 5. The fifth Class of impediments come from these two 1. Despair and anger What workings and saving impulsions in the spirit can be in Cain Saul and Judas is not conceivable Hope that makes not ashamed Rom. 5. as is said dwells sweetly with the spirit 2. The violence of the passion of anger overclouds the soul so that Elisha is not capable to receive prophetical influences and to prophesie he was so incensed against wicked Jehoram 2 Kings 3. But when the minâ—â—rel played the hand of the Lord came upon him and he prophesied Theodoret saith with the sweetness of the harmony of the Psalms the mind of Elisha was calmed and composed from the storm of anger The sound of musick saith Cajetan makes an inward contracting and gathering together of the actings of the mind and so an elevating of the heart to God Here it is as when blood runs out at mouth or nose the cutting of a vein in the arm makes a diversion of the blood and causes it run in its right channel The sweetness of musick drawes the soul to a bended attention to consider the harmony that it may the more greedily drink in delectation Peter Martyr on the place saith As David by singing a spiritual song chased away the evil spirit from Saul so would Elisha waken up the good spirit by heavenly Psalmes as the sounding of a Trumpet hath influences upon the mind of souldiers to valorous and heroick acts in warre Now musick spiritual the matter being Psalmes to God and it 's like Elisha called for some of the Levites who could sing psalmes on the harp as they were used in publick worship can withdraw the soul in anger from acts of revenge to acts of spiritual attentionâ— musick 2. That being done the soul is setled and the blood for the Physical definition of anger is a kindling of the blood about the heart the moral description of it being a desire of revenge to hold off a contrary and to preserve nature and when the blood is setled and fallen from the heart the organs of prophecying are in a little better frame then when the soul and heart is boyling like a pot in heat and flaming of anger 3. By bending of the mind to a spiritual object the sweet musick in praising of God the some of anger is removed and a spiritual disposition to praise which is nearer by nature to spiritual prophetical influences then the flamings of sinful carnal anger as aer insitus the air that is within in the ear fits the organs to receive the sound and lumen insitum fitteth the eye to receive the species and images of colours and so to see by the contrary the foming of anger within hinders the incoming of prophetical influences as a contrary holds out a contrary Intus apparens prohibet extraneum So the Apostles wills us to put away anger if we would pray rightly 1 Tim. 2. 1 8. I will therefore that men pray every where lifting up holy hands 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without wrath and doubting or contending Anger drowns the soul and renders it like green wet timber unfit to receive the flaming and soul-warming influences of the spirit of adoption 2. A meek quiet spirit like that of Christs is the fittest work-house of heavenly influences Christ the most lovely and meek of men and an infallible copy thereof Mat. 11. 29. Isa 53. 6. Isa 40. 11. Isa 42. 2 3. had the most frequent influences of the in-dwelling Godhead as Isa 61. 1 2 Psalm 45. 7. John 3. 34. 2. Moses was the meekest man on the earth and much of the actings of the spirit were on his soul and he had the most near manifestations of God The Lord spake to him mouth to mouth even apparently and not in dark speeches he beheld the similitude of the Lord Numb 12. 8. Deut. 34. 10. Exod. 34. 5 6. Q. What Prophet was fourty dayes in the mount with the Lord and eat not but Moses Exod. 33. 11. There arose not a Prophet like unto Moses c. 3. John the disciple of love called the beloved disciple gets the name of divine and he saw more glory and more of the visions of God then Peter who is the pretended Vicar of Christ and Head of the Catholick Church so doe Papists dream of an Head-ship For John saw Christ in his glory Revel 1. which made him fall dead at his
feet He saw a throne set in heaven and one sate on the throne and he that sate was to look upon like a Jasper and a Sardine-stone and there was a rainbow round about the throne and four and twenty seats round about the throne and four and twenty Elders who cast down their crowns before him that sate upon the throne c. 4. and the armies in heaven in earth and under the earth praising him He saw in the visions of God the seven Angels which poured the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth He saw Babylons fall the vision of the last Judgment the Bride the Lambs wife adorned with the glory of God He saw the new Jerusalem the golden structure of it the street of gold the twelve ports the wall the foundation of precious stones the river of water of life the tree of life Moses never saw such glory 3. Hence see we that there may be a sinful incapacity on our part and that the pure in spirit see God Mat. 5. and that grace keeps the soul like a calm sea without storm and wind and that if we would be near God we would keep the heart clean and pure We are to beware of grudging and act these three duties 1. Trust in the Lord. 2. Delight in the Lord. 3. Hope patiently for him Psalm 37. 1 2 3 4. There may be an earthquake in the zeal of a meekned Elias there was no godly men on earth left but himself as his angry zeal said to him and the Lord knew 7000. besides him The Lords way of appearing to Elias 1 Kin. 19. taught him some other thing for the Lord was neither in the strong wind that brake in pieces mountaines and rocks nor in the earthquake nor in the fire but in the still small voice v. 11 12. The Spirit was not of God which would call for fire from heaven in the disciples to burn villages and men women and children quick because they refuse lodging to Christ and his disciples for therefore meekly saith Christ and gravely Luke 9. 55. Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of 56. For the Son of man came not to destroy mens lives but to save them You know not that these flamings of the fleshes wild-fire came not from heaven for they smell not of the meek Son of man nor savour they of his saving message No doubt the disciples thought their sparks were kindled at a fire from heaven but that fire came not from God seldom does the Lords Spirit dwell and act in his saving influences in an angry fiery spirit grace meekens hell and hellish passions in the renewed Saints There are no passions in the glorified and perfectly meekned ones who stand before the throne but such as are pure and unmixed fire for the everlasting praises of God Hence showres of influences eternally rain on them night and day without ceasing Isa 6. 2 3 4 Rev. 4. 8. The 6th impediment of heavenly influences is from fear 2 Tim. 1. 7. We are to stir up the grace of God in us and his gifts not from a legal fear For God hath not given us the spirit of fear but of power of love and of a sound mind 2 Tim. 1. 7. Then we take up the Spirit of law-bondage and law-fear of our own will that spirit of fear is not of Gods giving or choosing but it is of our choosing Rom. 8. Such as are led by the spirit of God are willing followers v. 15. For we have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but we have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father It 's like the devils are uncapable of influences of grace because of the horrour and slavish trembling fear that is upon their conscience they be ever under the law of works never under grace no not so much as in offer Matth. 8. 29. Jam. 2. 19. Faith and the spirit of adoption to pray to believe influences of grace is the remedy of this So are we to believe perseverance and that God shall give influences of grace to the end Psalm 23. We shall have waterings and the believers well shall never run dry Psal 104. 33. I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live Psal 104. 33. Psal 146. 1. Psal 52. 8 9. Then he knew of a stock and a new furniture in heaven suppose his own well should go dry CHAP. V. Some properties of Influences of grace 1. That they are invincible and irresistible 2. Of free grace 3. Done by the Lord with a principality of causality 4. Immediately both by the immediation of vertue and of the Lords own presence Influences are considered 1. In the first moment of conversion 2. In perseverance 2. God seeks not our consent to our first conversion 3. We are maried to Christ before we consent to the mariage 4. How the Lord determines free-wil without offering violence to free wil. 5. Gods dominion is equally over free-wil and all natural causes 6. God acts in all both by the immediate influence of his power and also of his person 7. The Lord most particularly leads his own 8. What is the right missing of Influences 9. We are more our own by the Law and less our own by the Gospel 10. Christs care and the members care IT is easier here to know what is not to be said as touching the irresistibility and strength of gracious influences above our free-will then what to say But Influences are considered two wayes 1. Moral'y 2. Physically 1. As they are common to all who hear the word in the visible Church 2. As influences are peculiar to the elect in the business of conversion Assert 1. Common moral influences that goes along with the word preached may be resisted for the Jewes alwayes resisted the holy Ghost speaking in the Prophets Acts 7. 51 52. Zech. 7. 11. But they refused to hearken and pulled away the shoulder and stopped the ear that they should not hear 12. Yea they made their hearts as an adamant-stone lest they should hear the Law and-the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his Spirit to the former Prophets Then the reprobate may and doe resist the immediately inspiring spirit in the men of God writing and speaking that word 1 Pet. 1. 20 21. and the assisting spirit also in the Pastors It 's dreadful in the lower actings of God in the word to despise the Spirit and to give him battel in his first approaches I called and ye refused Prov. 1. 24. Isa 65. 1 2 3. A contradicting of and a warring against the Spirit at the first face is much to be feared O tremble to speak against or to counter-work the Spirit at all 2. Influences proper to the Elect are so also to be looked on 1. In the first moment of conversion 2. In the work of perseverance In the first moment of conversion the sinner prevents not Christ none dead in sins and trespasses ever sent or
due to him Gracious influences are not due to a Judas nor such a guide as the Spirit to any reprobate man therefore they cannot misse such a gracious guide 2. It teaches us to be willing to be led as to 1. Deny our will and wisedome as the blind man should not contend with his leader and guide as if he did see better then his guide Slack your high-bended will and deny it and cavil not with the Spirit this way I must goe whether my guide will or not Let your will be as dead and no will at all and let the Spirit in his will and wisedome reign in you 2. Spread out the sails and give them to the wind resign the heart to the Spirit obey that My son give me thy heart Give Christ your loves as Cant. 7. 12. Keep none of your heart or love to your self but quit fully both to the leading Spirit of Jesus Your love and your heart according to the Gospel-dispensation is not your own or at your disposing whatever property naturall by law you have over your self for the law buyes you not We are less our own and more Christs by the Gospel and more our own by the Law Many profess themselves sons and so to be led by the Spirit yet they have not given eyes wisedome will and love to the Spirit they keep a great piece of their heart and their love to themselves and have an inward reluctancy and wrestling against the wayes of the Spirit as yet remaining debtors to the flesh to pay the debt of service to the flesh Rom. 8. 12 13 14. 5. This is comfortable that Christ makes it the travail of his soul Isa 53. 11. and his soul-satisfaction to see his seed and to bring many children to glory Heb. 2. 10. So his soules work is upon keeping such as are given to him and guiding on his flock John 10. 3 4. in going before his own sheep in calling them by name and in leading them 2. He keeps such as come and raiseth them up at the last day John 6. 37 40. 3. He guides them with prayers John 14. 16. intercedes for them to reduce them when they goe out of the way Heb. 5. 1 2. and all this with soul-satisfaction and delight to get all his off-spring and children which the Lord hath given to him fairly landed and set in the other side of the sea beyond temptations and hazards beyond sin and death as he hath a fellow-feeling and compassion his bowels being moved even now in heaven with our infirmities Heb. 4. 14 15. so far as is suitable to his glorified state as our great High-Priest which hath passed into the heavens So his other affections of desire as our head and natural and kindly care to have all his members guided safe in at the gates of heaven and he must have much soul delight and satisfaction that his own be led with his holy arm and gathered in Isa 40. 10 11. We have a loose faith the head shall care and watch for us though we sleep that is Christ is graciously careful to give influences whether we sleep or wake pray or pray not our care can adde nothing to his care if he will fail in his trust and sleep and let us perish let him see to his own glory two cares one in the head and another in the members are needless nay but his love and care as head sends down influences of godly fear and trembling to the members that they may work with him Jer. 32. 40. 2. Our weakness of faith errs in the other extremity Ah can my deadness and hardness be ever subdued If Christ once sighed for the hardness of sinners hearts and wept over the slain of Jerusalem and counted it meat and drink to bring in the Samaritans to the Gospel John 4. 34. Now when Christ is glorified and the affections of love compassion care are perfected in glory not destroyed should our unbelief say he now cares not for the hard heart and obstinacy of his redeemed ones If thy unbelief must take all the care off Christ and our unbelieving care must doe all let Christ sleep 3. There is a proportion betwixt head and members the soul-travel of the head in heaven and the soul-travel of the members on earth in the use of all meanes hearing praâ—ing praising goe together Awaking head and sleeping members are unsutable He watches prays and watch ye with him and pray FINIS Joan. Strangius de voluntate actionibus dei circa peccatum l. 2. c. 9. p. 211. Sequitur dari priorem actionem cur voluntas Adam elegerit primum actum vitiosum quecunque ille sit nempe quia deus cum praemovit ac praedeterminavit ad istam electionem aut Actionem c. See Rivetn in Cath. orthodoxo tom 2. Q 6. tract 4. n 33. Meratins tom 1. tract de bonitate mal hum acta dispu 11. sc 7. n. 4. Strangius Stranguis ib. Strangius de vol. Act. dei circa p. l. 2. Strangius ib. Strangius de voluntate actio dei circa peccata l. 2. c. 9. p. 214. 2 2. cedit tertia necessitas ex eorum sententia qui dicunt prius ratione nam Deus decreverit condere ante citra peccati eorum praevisioneÌ„ aut considerationem Deum ad manifestandam gloriam justitiae misericordiae craedestinasse ex angelis hominibus alios ad faelicitatem aeternam alios autem improbasse aeternis poenis adjudicandos non potuit fieri ut hoc decretum ex equeretur ex equitur enim Deus quicquid decrevit Non Potuit autem exequi si nullum fuisset peccatum hominum aut Angelorum omnio enim decreta dei samâ— libera sed ex hypothesi unius decreti fit ut aliud necessario ponendum sit ex vi ergo hujus decreti necesse erat ut homo angeli aliqui peccarent God intended that no man should be saved by the law True liberty Grace loves to be restrained from doing evil That the first Adam was to pray for perseverance is not clear Adam was to rely on God for perseverance but as promised by the covenant of works Our grace in the second Adam choicer then that in the first The Lords influences in all Divers write and assert there is not such a thing imaginable as the Lord 's invincible predetermination of second causes but it s but a simple denial of the conclusion Let any man show me how the Lord 's soveraign dominion in procuring all the actings of Angels and Men and of natural causes to be or not to be as pleaseth the Soveraign Lord who doth what he will in Heaven and Earth can stand unhurt and stand it must if ye remove the Lords insuperable predeterminating thereof or some act like this by which all must come to passe or not come to passe as holy Soveraignity will and I shall be silent the arguments for his Dominion being
Original sin is sin properly so called Author Imperf operis l. 1. cont Julianum nihil esse peccati in homine si nihil est propriae voluntais vel assensionis hoc mihi hominum genus quod vel leviter sapit sine dubitatatione consentit Lib. Imperfec operis 2. Quod admoneri non potest ut caveatur imputari non potest ut puniatur nunquam autem Legislator ad hanc venit amentiam ut praeceperit cuiquam noli ita vel ita nasci Lib. de peccato merit remis c. 9. c. 26. si peccator genuit peccatorem justum quoque justum gignere debuisse Item Deum qui propria peccata remittit aliena non imputare item parvulis melius esse ex parentibus non nasci Vt jure damnabiles esse imo comparari parricidis in quibus sit causa ut filii nascantur ad damnationem Vide l. 3. cont Julian c. ultimo Item lib. 5. cont Julian c. 11. lib. 5. 1. oper imperfec lib. 1. cae Mr. Baxter 's Preface to his Confession God will judge none on the meer terms of the law of nature nor condemn them only for original sin They that say otherwise do too injuriously extenuate both the grace of God and the sin of man Are not Infants condemned to death and condemned heirs of wrath Rom. 5. Eph. 2. 1 2. 3. 2. Where hath the grace of God made original sin to be no sin or pardoned sinne Hath Christ washed all Infants in his blood Is that a supposed wrath Eph. 2. Insants are not washed in Christs blood according to Pelagians and Arminians but must be saved by some other name then by the name of Jesus Infants are not washed in Christ's bloud according to Pelagians and Arminians but must be saved by some other name then by the name of Jesus God in creating man is both a creator and also a law-giver We are to be humbled for sin original No man can bring himself in a spiritual capacity to receive grace How to fetch influences The Spirit of grace hath his own influence in actions which the regenerate perform out of custome and formality at least in the progress of these actions 2. Sermon on Pray continually pag. 35. How the Lord brings himself under a sort of necessity of conferring gracious influences A practise of grace and a promise of grace in God A Considerable difference betwixt the Lord's promise of grace and his practise oâ— grace Civil professors are nearer to conversion and to Christ then the openly profane and flagitious and how they are also farther distant External use of means is to be gone about as nearer to conversion then no use of means or extreme prophaneness All even the most indisposed are under a command It s a sinful shift to put away duties because of indisposition We are to pray away indispositions as a great affliction The Lord hath given influences by necessity of a promise A clearing of the place Deu. 29. 3. the great temptations c. August lib. 1. con 6. Nec mater mea nec nutrices meae sibi ubera implebant sed tu mihi Domine per eas dabas mihi alimentum infantiae secundum institutionem tuam divitias usque ad fundum rerum dispositas tu etiam dabas nolle amplius quam dabas nutrientibus me dare mihi velle quod eis dabas dare enim mihi per ordinatum effectum volebant quo ex te abundabant Ripening of guiltinesse makes way to ripening of free grace The three persons the Father Son and Spirit give influences The fulness of influences on the man Christ Influences of the Father upon his own The Lord's beginning of a good work in us brings the Lord under a necessity of conferring influences to the end How shall our short arm reach these influences Christ hath the dispensing of predeterminating influences by office and covenant The influences in the Son are all for our use and good The spirit of the world The glorious things which the spirit of God shews How the spirit of God dwels in his own The spirit of the world in the Antichrist and divers other spirits lead the world Liberty of stirring follows the spirit Praying is proper to the spirit Baron de peccato mort veniali The spirit prevenes nature nature prevenes not the spirit Characters of a spiritual soul We are to pray for influences The spirit conveys the word the spirit's relations to the word A two-fold power of the word Of the power of the word and the power of the spirit and how they are differenced Speaking in the spirit is not ever saving to the hearers The spirit's convictions In the spirit's conviction there is some new strength added to the word A state of pure spirit and of all spirit beyond the word in this life is a fancy Obedience is to be yielded to the spirit as to the Father and the Son Much renewd will is a note of a spiritual disposition Four expressions in Scripture of wrongs we doe to the spirit Vexing of the spirit and violence done to his actings Saduing of the spirit and the signs of it Quenching of the spirit We are to make a sort of eike to the spirit Tempting of the spirit 4 Resisting of the spirit and persecuting of godliness The spirit above self speaks a spiritual one he who is least his own is most God's To doubt as a bewildered man of all ways and to desire to be led of God is a spiritual character Spiritual facility is a spiritual character A publick spirit declares a spiritual man How to improve spiritual feelings Watching is a spiritual condition and near to receive gracious influences To converse with the Saints is a mark of a spiritual condition Spiritual conference frequently used speaks a spiritual condition How Satan knows the actings of the heart Satan keeps correspondence with the heart It 's lawful to dispute with Satans instruments not with Satan Christ sought not the tempter nor the temptation but in a sort a patient in being tempted Differences between Satans influences and these of the Lord. Christ under a necessity of giving sanctifying influences Moral and physical influences Moral influences that are only moral are weak Ordinary and extraordinary influences Prophetical influences It 's dangerous to resist strong light and the influences thereof Private and publick Church influences Strong influences under the Messiah in the New Testament Gospel-influences are strong Some influences are for the habit some for the actings of grace some for both Influences proper to the head Christ and influences on the members Mediatory influences are some way due to the broken in heart and what sort of right they have thereunto A four-fold right to influences is considerable Strong and mighty influences in Christ Gospel-providence how far above the law-providence of Adam Mr Gee treats of prayer Sect. p. 187 188 195. Influences of Christ fundamental and not fundamental The
that the Lord is to be blamed for my non-conversion Our sinfull will not not the Lord's refusal of a power is the culpable cause of our non-conversion The sinful cannot School-men make conversion to Christ the purchase of free will the absurdity thereof Sin original must be pardoned to Pagans in Christs blood of which they never heard say Dominicans Dominicans gross as Jesuits in the matter of grace and free will Cumel dico quinto Deus quantum in se paratus est aâ— dandum omnibus gratiam suam ad vocandum omnes adultos juxta illud Deus vult omnes salfâ—eri ac proinde dicitur communiter quod in potestate cujusvis hominis est salvari quia potest habere per divinum auxilium non quidem ex merito aut dispositione sua aut quia ex innatis viribus aut naturae conatibus ex lege obligetur Deus ad danda auxilia gratiae primam vocationem seu gratiam proveniâ—â—tem sed ex liberali magnisica largitione dei providentis Mat. 11. venite ad me omnes Ib. Qua-propter si homo peccator ita se gereret vitamtra duceret ut nullum novum impedimentum gratiae adhiberet aut obicem nullumque obstaculum tunc auxilium gratiae verè reciperet â—on quidem ex debito sed ex dei largitione qua ipse est ad omnium ostium pulsat unde non ponenti obicem cernimus Deum dare gratiam Conc. trid sess 6. 11. 13. Deus neminem deserit nisi prius deseratur ab ipso sed per hoc nihil tribuitur homini sed tantum quod possit illam gratiam impedire per peccatum vel quod possit vitare peccatum contra legem naturae quo possit illum impedire Prosper epist ad Aug. de Massiliensibus vide Jansenium cap. 18. ib. lib. 12. just c. 13. ad capessenda tam magnifica tamque praecelsa paritatis integritatis praemia quantuslibet jejuniorum vigiliarum lectionis solitudinis ac remotionis labor fuerit impensus condignus esse non poterit qui hoc industriae suae merito vel laboris obtineat Hilarius Epist dicunt hominem ad hanc gratiam qua in Christo renascimur pervenire posse per naturalem scilicet facultatem petendo quaerndo pulsando ut ideo accipiat ideo inveniat ideo introeat quia bono naturae bene usus ad istaÌ„ salvanteÌ„ gratiam initialis gratiae ope meruerit per venire Corn. Jans de haeres pela l. 8. c. 18. Item posse hominem exterrita supplici voluntate velle sanari supplex enim illa voluntas nihil est aliud quam voluntas ex fide supplicans deo pro sanitate et siquid fides non justificatorum petendo mereatur impetrationis quam meriti potius rationem habet unde cum in errore Massiliensium haereret Augustinus frequenter meriti rationem quam in fide oratione collocabat per impetrationem exponit putans inquit Augustinus lib. de praed 5. 5. c 3. fidem non esse donum dei sed à nobis esse in nobis per illam nos impetrare dei dona item ut per illam daretur quod posceremus utiliter Jansen in Aug. tom 1. lib. 8. c. 18. Vnde possit ratio reddi electorum rejectorum sive cur unus prae alio assumatur deo viz. sic habente occasionem sive colorem cur non irrationabiliter ut Cassilianus Coll. 13. loquitur sive caeco quasi modo irrefragabili aliqua constitutione inconsulta hominis voluntate gratiam salvantem uni prae aliis largiretur Hilarius in Epist ad August Prosp Epist ad August Qui autem credituri sunt quive in ea fide quae deinceps per dei gratiam sit juvanda mansuri sunt praestitisse ante mundi constitutionem There may be much seeking and using of mâ—ans and no influences Using of means would be in humility Influences not entertained breed loathâ—ng of the Gospel We may maâ—â—e influences of grace The order of the Lord in conferring of influences A confluence of heavenly influences at one time and in one work Resisting of the Word hinders not influences Refusing of Ordinances hâ—nders not influences Despising and persecuting of the Prophets obstruct influences Resisting of the operations of the Spirit is â—o obstruct influenences Praying and praising promove the Spirits influences Hardning of the heart obstructs influences Not profiting by means obstructs influences Remaining in nature obstructs influences Actings of bitterness wrath malice â—ancor sadden the spirit Influences of the spirit are contempered according to the habit of grace Sorrow worldly obstruct influences 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We cannot expeditely change our spirit from carnal dispositions to spiritual but the Spirit can go and come with great celerity How the soul is under plenty of means and possibly sweet dispositions and yet under scarcity of influences These are together often praying and actual influences and dâ—ties and influences the former according to the Lord's will of precept the latter according to his will of pleasure are interwoven all along Psal 119. Of the sweet nearness betwixt love of the word and the word hid in the heart Psalm 119. v. 11. and spiritual influences Of the word hidden in the heart Felt deliverance wants not influences As the light of faith and softness easily admits an influence of grace so hardnessâ—s and rockineâ—s hardly receive any such impression 2. Vnbelief obstructs influences Influences of grace do no violence to the rational power of nilling and willing 3. Deadness hinders influences 4. Security obstructs influences 5. Atheism obstructs influences 6. The hearts unconstancy doth much obstruct the influences of God 7. Heart-deceitfulness obstructs influences 8. Pride obstructs influences humility capacitates to receive them 9 Worldly mindedness obstructs influences and heavenly mindedness promoves it 10. Fiery bastard zeal hinder influences 11. An unclean heart cannot receive influences of the Spirit 12. Malice and bitterness obstructs the influences of God 13. Worldy sorrow obstructs influences 14. False joy obstructs influences 15. Self-love obstructs influences 16. Ignorance of the Gospel and hatred of Christ obstruct the influences of the Spirit 17. Wrestling against providence obstruct the influences of God God by his influences first acts and we in the same moment of time follow him and act under him and no violence is here 18. Heavenly thoughts and spiritual consideration draw along heavenly influences as earthly and unclean thoughts extinguish influences All actings of grace go thorow the channel of a sanctified judgement which wants not influences of grace Our drawing on of sinful dispositions Keep the oyl of the Spirit clean if you would have heavenly influences to fall on the Spirit We are to act both morally and physically with the Spirit Pâ—ayers conclude not Soveraignty Heretical light hinders the spirits breathings A corrupt will hinders the spirits breathings Hating of grace and of Christ hinders influences Divers actings of the spirit in the spouse sick of love for Christ in Solomon's song of songs speak and hold forth influences of the spirit Hating of Christ Soul-loathing of God obstructs influences The Spirit gives influences where there is no knowledge Influences of the spirit are connatural to the spiritual man Where there is soul-desiring of God there be many influences Sensuality and influences of the spirit cannot be together Spiritual joy speaks strong influences Literal crying should not exceed the impulsion of the spirit within Godly sorrow may help influences How hope and audacity promove or hinder influences One affection counter-works another and hinders faith Moral acting cannot avail us without real influences of the spirit Frequent acts of faith promove influences of the spirit Hope promoves influences Sinful boldness obstructs influences Anger hindereth influences How Elisha could not prophesie by reason of anger A meek spirit is a fit work-house of influences instanced in the man Christ in Meses John Vnbelieving fear an impediment of influences The Lord seekâ— not our consent to the first infusion of a new heart We are maried to Christ before we câ—â—sent to the mariage The Lord determines free-will and does no violence to it We are inexcusable in not doing our duty though the Lord deny his necessary influence God acts in all both by the immediate influence of his power and of his peâ—son The Lord particularly leads his own Two sorts of causes one in fieri for the producing of and giving being to a thing another in facto esse for the preserving of the same thing in being God is both wayes the cause of gracious actings The right missing of influences is to miss influences special The giving of the heart to God We are more our own by law and lesse our own by the Gospel Christ cares more for his own body then the members care for themselves Christs care is now rather more when he is glorified then less